This Round Up comes straight from the pen of Mr George Bouras (Filling in for Rob Barnett)

England built a commanding lead in the Second test against India at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

After a shaky first innings from the home side Ian Bell led the England recovery in the second innings, scoring 159, but the batsmen – who had been bumped up the order to No. 3 in the wake of a shoulder injury to Jonathan Trott – had been given out 12 overs previously in unusual circumstances.

Fielding the final ball before tea, Praveen Kumar rescued Bell’s shot just short of the boundary but Bell (in no small part down to Kumar’s lack of urgency to return the ball to the middle) believed the ball to have gone for four and left the security of his crease, making his way to the pavilion.

When Kumar eventually threw the ball in, India’s wicketkeeper and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni knocked off the bails and, after a replay had proved the ball had indeed not gone for four, umpire Asad Rauf was forced to dismiss Bell.

In a great act of sportsmanship Dhoni incredibly withdrew his appeal during the interval, though, and Bell was allowed to continue at the crease with Eoin Morgan, adding a further 12 runs to his total before being caught and bowled by Yuvraj Singh.

England no go into the penultimate day of the test 374 runs ahead with four wickets still remaining in their second innings.

In Formula 1, Jenson Button won his second grand prix of the season in a rain-affected race in Hungary.

The decision to fit harder, more durable tyres than his opponents paid off when the rain began to fall in the final quarter of the race. After tussling with Lewis Hamilton for the lead Button was able to pass his McLaren teammate and finish ahead of championship leader Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso with Hamilton, who later served a 10 second drive-through penalty, in fourth.

With the start of the Premier League season only two weeks away, the pre-season form of some of England’s biggest clubs was under close scrutiny this weekend.

Chelsea took on Aston Villa in the final of the Barclays Asia Cup and Fernando Torres scored with his first touch as his side cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory. Nine weeks after their humbling at Wembley in the Champions League final, Manchester United took on FC Barcelona – and this time emerged victorious – in a friendly in Washington. Nani and Michael Owen got United’s goals either side of a Thiago Alcatara equaliser. Arsenal invited Paris Saint-Germain, Boca Juniors and New York Red Bulls to the fifth annual Emirates Cup but the hosts were unable to muster a win in either of their two matches, drawing 2-2 with Boca and 1-1 with the Red Bulls, and it was the American side who took home the trophy having defeated PSG in their first match.

Wigan Warriors maintained their place at the top of Super League with a fairly straightforward 30-16 win away at Hull F.C. Warrington Wolves kept the pressure on Wigan at the top of the table, though, crushing Bradford Bulls 64-6 with Ryan Atkins going over for four tries to restrict Wigan’s lead to just point.

In golf, Yorkshireman Simon Dyson won the Irish Open in a nailbiting finale on the 18th hole. The amateur finished tied for 9th place in the Open Championship a fortnight ago.

Yani Tseng won the Women’s British Open by one shot over Caroline Masson; the fifth major title already under the belt of the 22-year-old.

Lewis Hamilton won the German Grand Prix to go third in the Formula One driver’s championship.

The Englishman snatched the lead from Mark Webber at the start but lost it and regained it before holding off Webber and Fernando Alonso.

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel finished fourth but still holds a 77-point advantage over second-placed Webber with Hamilton five further back, four ahead of Alonso.

Mark Cavendish, from the Isle of Man, became Britain’s first winner of the Tour de France’s green jersey for the best sprinter.

Cavendish won the final stage of the tour, which finished in Paris. Australia’s Cadel Evans took the overall prize, the coveted yellow jersey.

Amir Khan knocked out Zab Judah in five rounds to unite Boxing’s light-welterweight titles in Las Vegas.

The 24-year-old defended his WBA belt and took Judah’s IBF crown, ultimately by landing a right-hand blow to the body.

Rugby League’s Challenge Cup semi-final draw has thrown up two derbies with Wigan to face arch-rivals St Helens and Castleford meeting Leeds.

In the quarter-finals Wigan beat Warrington 44-24, St Helens thrashed Hull KR 54-6, Castleford edged Huddersfield 22-18 and Leeds overcame Hull FC 38-22.

In Cricket, England’s first Test with India at Lord’s was set for an enthralling final day with the hosts requiring nine wickets for victory and the tourists an unlikely further 378 runs.

Kevin Pietersen’s first-innings double century put England in control before Rahul Dravid’s hundred ensured India avoided the follow-on. Andrew Strauss’ side were in trouble at 62 for five in their second innings but Matt Prior’s ton allowed Strauss to declare, setting India 458 to win.

County Championship Division One leaders Durham lost by nine wickets to Somerset, leaving the title-race open after second-placed Lancashire and third-placed Warwickshire beat Yorkshire and Sussex respectively. Bottom side Hampshire drew with Nottinghamshire.

Division Two leaders Northamptonshire drew with Derbyshire, second-placed Middlesex beat Surrey and third-placed Gloucestershire saw off Kent.

In the Pro40, Sussex and Surrey remained on course for the semi-finals with victories over Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Lancashire also boosted their prospects with wins.

Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke won Golf’s Open Championship at Royal St George’s in Sandwich, Kent.

The 42-year-old finished three shots ahead of his nearest rivals, Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, on five under par.

Clarke’s first major title was Northern Ireland’s third in little over a year after Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell won the last two US Opens.

In Football, Manchester City have agreed to sell captain Carlos Tevez to Brazilian side Corinthions for £39million.

The Argentinian striker, who helped City reach the Champions League for the first time last season, said he wanted to leave Manchester to be closer to his family in Argentina.

Tevez’s switch would be the second big Premier League transfer in a week after England winger Stewart Downing moved from Aston Villa to Liverpool for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £20million.

In Cricket, England begin their four-Test series against world number one India at Lord’s on Thursday, knowing victory by two games will put Andrew Strauss’ side top of the rankings.

Strauss, guesting for Somerset, warmed up nicely with a fifty and an unbeaten century against the tourists in the drawn tour match at Taunton.

Domestically, the Twenty20 quarter-final line-up has been confirmed with Hampshire playing Durham, Leicestershire facing Kent, Nottinghamshire meeting Somerset and Sussex taking on Lancashire.

The Pro40 resumed with surprise wins for the Netherlands over Kent and Scotland against Northamptonshire while Middlesex beat Yorkshire. The other four games were rained off.

In Rugby League’s Super League, leaders Wigan and second-placed Warrington beat Wakefield and Harlequins respectively. St Helens went third with victory over Catalan Dragons and Huddersfield losing to Bradford.

Castleford and Leeds remained sixth and seventh with wins over Crusaders and Hull FC respectively. Hull KR saw off Salford.

England’s cricketers came from 2-1 down to beat Sri Lanka 3-2 in the 50-over series between the sides.

New one-day captain Alastair Cook led his charges to a thrilling 16-run win in a tight final game at Old Trafford to seal the series victory.

Many had questioned Cook’s selection as skipper, which saw him recalled to a side he had not played for in more than a year, but he responded with 298 runs in the five-match rubber.

Domestically, the first four quarter-finalists for the Twenty20 Cup have been confirmed as holders Hampshire, last year’s runners-up Somerset, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. The other four will be known by the end of Friday evening.

In Formula One, Fernando Alonso won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone to claim Ferrari’s first win of the season.

The Spaniard took the lead from Sebastain Vettel while the runaway championship leader was in the pits. Vettel finished second, his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber was third and Lewis Hamilton the leading British competitor in fourth.

England’s Luke Donald, Golf’s world number one, warmed up for this week’s Open Championship with victory in a rain-reduced Scottish Open.

After the tournament was cut from 72 to 54 holes, Donald finished on 19 under par – four shots ahead of Sweden’s Fredrik Andersson in second.

Wigan stayed top of Rugby League’s Super League with a 38-6 victory at Harlequins, but Warrington remained one point behind in second courtesy of a 28-16 win over third-placed Huddersfield.

St Helens took advantage of that result to move a point behind the Giants with a 46-6 triumph at Wakefield. Fifth-placed Catalan Dragons remained level on points with Saints thanks to a 38-18 defeat of Leeds.

Sixth-placed Castleford beat Bradford 34-30 and seventh-placed Hull saw off Salford 52-16. Outside the play-off places Hull KR won 38-10 at Crusaders.

In Football, Tottenham remain determined to keep playmaker Luka Modric although the player has claimed Spurs went back on a promise made last summer when they blocked a move to Chelsea last month.

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has again been linked with a move to Barcelona and team-mate Samir Nasri remains subject of a bid from Manchester United. The Gunners have been suggested as rivals to Liverpool for Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing’s signature.

Novak Djokovic won his first Wimbledon Tennis title, preventing Rafael Nadal from winning three in a row with a 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 victory.

Djokovic took over from Nadal, who beat Britain’s Andy Murray in the semi-final, as world number one the next day. The Serbian had done enough before the final to knock the Spaniard off his perch and the Wimbledon triumph confirmed his new status.

Petra Kvitoca, of the Czech Republic, won the women’s title, beating Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-4.

In Cricket, England trailed Sri Lanka 2-1 with two one-day internationals to play after suffering a six-wicket defeat at Lord’s.

New one-day captain Alastair Cook scored 119 at the top of the order to set the tourists 247 to win. However, Dinesh Chandimal’s unbeaten 105 led them to victory with 10 balls to spare.

Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Hampshire were well on course to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup with all three winning over the weekend. The remaining places seemed open with both divisions congested in the middle.

David Haye failed in his attempt to unify Boxing’s heavyweight division as he lost on points to Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg.

Haye, who was outboxed and outmuscled, blamed the defeat on a broken little toe, which he claimed restricted his right hand.

Rugby League’s Super League remained much the same this weekend. Leaders Warrington won a 48-18 at Castleford, second-placed Wigan beat Leeds 26-24, third-placed Huddersfield defeated Crusaders 40-12, fourth-placed St Helens saw off Hull 28-14 and fifth-placed Catalan Dragons were 34-28 winners at Bradford.

Elsewhere, Hull KR thrashed Wakefield 70-14 and Salford beat Harlequins 26-18.

In Rugby Union, England flanker James Haskell will rejoin Wasps in 2012 on a three-year contract. He was recently released by Stade Francais and will play for Ricoh Black Rams in Japan after the World Cup.

Finally, Scotland’s David Millar and Wales’ Geraint Thomas were in the top four after the first two stages of Cycling’s Tour de France. Norway’s Thor Hushovd held the yellow jersey.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy led from the first round as he stormed to Golf’s US Open title by a mammoth eight shots at the Congressional Club in Maryland.

The 22-year-old, who squandered a similar position in the final round of this year’s Masters, won his first major and set a dozen records in the process.

His 16 under par was the lowest score in the competition and he became the youngest US Open winner since Bobby Jones in 1923 plus the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods in 1997.

In Football, England were knocked out of the European Under-21 Championship at the group stage after suffering a 2-1 defeat to the Czech Republic.

Manager Stuart Pearce’s team needed to win to reach the last four and led through Danny Welbeck’s 76th-minute header. However, Czech substitutes Jan Charmosta and Thomas Pekhart scored late goals to send England home.

Tottenham face a battle to keep playmaker Luca Modric after the Croatian said he wanted to move to Chelsea, who had a £22million bid rejected. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said the midfielder is not for sale at any price, but Chelsea were expected to make an improved offer with Manchester United and Manchester City also possibly bidding.

In Rugby Union, England won the last Churchill Cup with a 37-6 win over Canada in the final at Worcester. It was the final chance for several players to make their case for the 45-man extended World Cup squad, which was due to be announced on Monday. Prop Matt Stevens, who has served a two-year drugs ban, was expected to be included.

In Rugby League, Matt King’s hat-trick helped Warrington stay top of Super League with a 46-16 win over Hull KR. Huddersfield are level on points with the Wolves thanks to a 28-20 victory against Catalan Dragons.

Wigan are third and St Helens fourth after the Warriors’ 32-10 win over Saints. Leeds are fifth following a 12-7 victory versus Crusaders. Hull FC beat Bradford 28-14, Harlequins saw off Wakefield 40-22 and Castleford defeated Salford 15-8.

In Cricket, England were on course to win the Test series against Sri Lanka going into its final day. Ian Bell’s unbeaten hundred allowed Andrew Strauss to declare with a lead of 193 and the tourists were 112 for three at stumps on day four of the third Test at the Rose Bowl. Paceman Chris Tremlett had taken six first-innings wickets on his former home ground. England led the series 1-0.

Domestically, Nottinghamshire and Sussex were top of the Twenty20 North and South groups respectively going into a week of County Championship games.

Finally, in Tennis, Wimbledon fortnight arrived with Britain’s hopes again pinned on Andy Murray, who was due to play Daniel Gemeno-Traver in the first round on Monday.

Jenson Button overtook Formula One Championship leader Sebastian Vettel on the final lap to win the Canadian Grand Prix.

Vettel spun his Red Bull under pressure from Button, who recovered from a collision with McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton and Fernando Alonso failed to finish a severely rain-affected race in which Mark Webber came third. Vettel still leads the Drivers’ Championship by 60 points from Button.

In Football, England began the European Under-21 Championship with a creditable 1-1 draw against Spain.

Danny Welbeck’s late goal cancelled out Ander Herrera’s early strike. England’s next game is versus Ukraine on Wednesday.

Alec McLeish has resigned as manager of Birmingham City, who won the League Cup this year but were relegated from the Premier League.

Former England manager Steve McClaren has been named Nottingham Forest’s new boss after they sacked Billy Davies. McClaren has been out of work since being dismissed by Wolfsburg in February.

In Cricket, James Anderson is set to return from a side strain in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl, starting on Thursday.

Anderson, who missed the drawn second Test at Lord’s due to the injury, was due to make his comeback on Sunday for Lancashire. However, all Sunday’s domestic Twenty20 games were washed out. Nottinghamshire, who beat Warwickshire on Saturday, led the North Group while holders Hampshire top the South Group.

In Rugby Union, England Saxons will play Canada in the final of the Churchill Cup on Saturday, having secured their place with a 41-14 win over Tonga.

Tonga conceded three set-piece penalty tries and there were touchdowns for Jordan Crane and Billy Twelvetrees, plus 16 kicked points by Rory Clegg.

In Rugby League, the vast majority of those involved in Friday evening’s 16-12 victory for the Exiles over England played two days later in Super League when the top two lost.

Warrington were beaten 16-18 at home to Salford and Huddersfield lost 13-10 at Wakefield. Wigan and St Helens missed the chance to go top, drawing with Castleford and Bradford respectively. Catalan Dragons beat Crusaders 31-18, Leeds thrashed Hull KR 44-14 and Hull FC thumped Harlequins 38-6.

In Tennis, Andy Murray was due to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Monday in the Queen’s Club final, which rain delayed from Sunday.

Manchester United had to make do with the Premier League title this year as they were outclassed by Barcelona in the Champions League final at Wembley.

Although Wayne Rooney equalised Pedro’s opener before the break, Lionel Messi and David Villa made it 3-1 to the Spanish champions in a dominant performance similar to their victory over United in the 2009 final.

Swansea will face United in the Premier League next season after they beat Reading 4-2 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley thanks mainly to Scott Sinclair’s hat-trick.

Saracens were crowned domestic Rugby Union champions for the first time courtesy of a nail-biting 22-18 win over holders Leicester in a repeat of last year’s play-off final at Twickenham.

The Tigers snatched victory late in that game and looked set to do the same when they laid siege to Saracens’ line for seven minutes after the 80 minutes had elapsed.

However, Sarries’ defence held firm to deny Leicester a try in the game as James Short’s first-half touchdown and Owen Farrell’s perfect goal-kicking display proved decisive.

The domestic season ended when England, minus their Leicester and Saracens players, lost 32-38 to the Barbarians at Twickenham.

In Rugby League Warrington, Wigan and Huddersfield remained level on points at the top of the table thanks to victories over Leeds, Hull KR and Hull FC respectively. There were also wins for St Helens, Bradford, Castleford and Catalan Dragons.

In Cricket, England snatched an astonishing victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Cardiff. Persistent rain had seemed to make a draw the only possibly result, but England dismissed the tourists for 82 on the final afternoon to complete a remarkable innings-and-14-run win.

Earlier, Andrew Strauss’ side had responded to Sri Lanka’s 400 with 496 for five declared courtesy of Jonathan Trott’s 203, Alastair Cook’s 133 and Ian Bell’s 103 not out. The series continues at Lord’s from Friday.

In the County Championship, Lancashire remained top of Division One with a crushing win over Hampshire. Durham were second after they thrashed bottom side Worcestershire and Somerset thumped Yorkshire. Northamptonshire led Division Two after wet weather forced draws in all four games last week.

England’s Luke Donald became world Golf number one with victory at the PGA Championship at Wentworth. Donald beat countryman Lee Westwood at the first hole of a play-off.

Run-away Formula One world championship front-runner Sebastian Vettel extended his lead to 58 points with a first win in the Monaco Grand Prix at Monte Carlo.

Birmingham and Blackpool were relegated on a nerve-shredding final day of the Premier League season in which five teams separated by one point battled to avoid going down.

Birmingham, who began the day one place above the drop-zone, were defeated 2-1 at Tottenham and Blackpool surrendered a 2-1 lead to lose 4-2 at Manchester United, who afterwards celebrated their 19th top-flight title.

Wolves lost 3-2 at home to Blackburn but, like their opponents, stayed up and Wigan’s 1-0 win at Stoke ensured their safety.

Second-placed Chelsea lost 1-0 at Everton and later sacked manager Carlo Ancelotti. Manchester City finished level on points with Chelsea thanks to a 2-0 win at Bolton.

Fourth-placed Arsenal, who drew 2-2 at Fulham, will have to pre-qualify for next season’s Champions League. Tottenham’s win clinched fifth and ensured they will play in the Europa League.

Liverpool finished sixth despite losing 1-0 at Aston Villa, West Brom came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Newcastle and West Ham, who finished bottom, lost 3-0 at home to Sunderland.

In Rugby Union, Leinster came from 22-6 down at half-time to beat Northampton 33-22 and win their second European Cup in three years. Harlequins won the Challenge Cup thanks to a last-gasp converted try, which sealed a 19-18 win over Stade Francais.

In Rugby League’s Challenge Cup, Wigan beat Bradford, Huddersfield saw off Catalan Dragons, Castleford pipped Wakefield after extra time, Leeds defeated Harlequins and Hull KR were too good for Salford in the all-Super League ties. St Helens, Hull FC and Warrington also reached the last eight.

In Cricket, Eoin Morgan will take the retired Paul Collingwood’s place in England’s team for the first Test against Sri Lanka in Cardiff, starting on Thursday, after being preferred to Ravi Bopara. Morgan made 193 in England Lions’ 38-run defeat to the tourists.

Lancashire went top of Division One of the County Championship with victory over Roses Rivals Yorkshire. Northamptonshire still lead Division Two despite not playing this week.

Surrey and Northants made it five 40-over wins from five by beating Hampshire and Scotland respectively. Also in Group B Warwickshire saw off Durham. Sussex are top of Group A after beating Kent and Yorkshire were too good for Worcestershire. In Group C Essex thrashed the Unicorns and Lancashire scraped past Nottinghamshire.

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel took his fourth Formula One win in five races despite the close attention from second-placed Lewis Hamilton in the Spanish Grand Prix.

In Golf, Ian Poulter beat fellow Englishman Luke Donald 2&1 to win the World Matchplay tournament in Spain.

All the leaders threw their pearls into the air to carve a strategy in taking the church forward. Passionate handshakes and fervent nods surfaced across the room. Faith was rising like the hands of a zealous composer. Contact numbers of those in the ‘business’ were being shared after every sentence as old hats clocked each other’s smiles of affirmation. “This is it” one man mumbled, resulting in a collective “amen” from his new missionary associates.

Before too long the more vocal members of the meeting were drawing up a timescale of change. Life became an abacus of prediction where even the most pragmatic mind was converted to sheer optimism. They had truly nailed down the best way to transform the world around them. In less than two hours it seemed like a room full of strangers had discovered the secret which had escaped their ancestors. They could almost hear the voices of heaven calling out their names in the awards ceremony of history.

And slowly, in the background, tiny droplets of rain began to fall on the windows of the bespoke office. As quiet as a child sleeping still in a Bethlehem cattle market, was the rain falling outside.

As the volume of the weather increased, frowns began to grow on the faces of those with big names. Soon the discussion fell silent. Nothing but the rain could get a word in edgeways.

For all the plans and schemes, strategies and visions, each leader was totally helpless. Though the silence in the room was clearly the only winner of bragging rights, the group squirmed like awkward children. They were on a roll, but now were forced to pause. The room was completely dependent on the rain stopping before they could return to barking out their mission statements.

Yes, without vision the people perish, but without submitting to the sovereignty of God we may as well be playing hopscotch with the hedgehogs.

Nothing grows without Jesus watering the plans. Nothing. We are absolutely minimal in God’s agenda for this world, in fact, it’s a grace gesture that we are involved at all. There’s a very thin line between vision and selfish desire. And I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to thinking more about my importance than I should. If there’s one lesson I hope to master in this world, it’s how to deny myself for the sake of others.

Peace.