Sporting weekend: FA Cup final and Great Manchester run on the menu
WE’VE picked the perfect weekend to launch our round-up of sporting events to entice both the armchair fan and people who want to get out to see some live action.
Of course, there’s the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley featuring Manchester United who play Crystal Palace (kick off on Saturday is at 5.30pm), but the most mouthwatering event locally is perhaps the Great Manchester Run on Sunday.
England football team manager Roy Hodgson is the honorary starter of the event which gets under way from Portland Street at 11.30am.
Thousands of runners will join triple Olympic gold medallists Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba in Europe’s biggest 10K event, which is set to raise an estimated £6m for charity.
It is the 14th staging of the Great Manchester Run which will produce its 300,000th finisher.
Runners will be entertained by bands along a route which takes them past Old Trafford, home of the Red Devils, towards Salford Quays before turning back towards the city centre and the finish line on Deansgate.
We should not forget, of course, that the cricket season has started with Lancashire back in Division One of the SpecsSavers County Championship.
Encouragingly, the Red Rose side are currently third in the table, but there is lots of cricket yet to be played.
Lancashire are in action in the shortest form of the game when they take on Derbyshire in the NATWEST T20 Blast on Saturday. The first ball at the Emirates Old Trafford will be bowled at 2.30pm.
Lancashire’s next home four-day match starts on Sunday at 11am when their opponents will by Surrey.
Local league cricket in the North West, particularly around Greater Manchester is massive.
We’ve picked third-placed Lancashire League side Ramsbottom’s home clash with Colne at their charmingly named Acre Bottom ground on Saturday, for special mention.
Another interesting fixture is the Bolton League fixture between second-placed Heaton who take on Adlington in a home match at Lower Pools with the action starting at 1.30pm.
This is the first season that the renown leagues, Bolton League and Bolton Association, which has featured many visiting international cricketers down the years, has been amalgamated, with all teams playing eachother only once.
Rugby league is also a summer sport and Salford Red Devils’ outspoken owner Marwan Koukash owner stirred things up like this by saying Super League needs to split from the Rugby Football League.
The sport celebrates the 10th anniversary of Super League with a Magic Weekend oval ball fest in at Newcastle’s St James’ Park featuring a series games.
Third-from-bottom First Utility Super League Salford will 12th-placed Widnes on Saturday (kick off 2.30pm).
Top-of-the-heap Warrington Wolves meanwhile take on Castleford who are seventh in a match that kicks off at 4.45pm, also on Saturday.
Fifth-placed Wigan Warriors then face basement club Leeds Rhinos for the game which kicks off at 7pm.
On Sunday, St Helens take on Huddersfield Giants, kick-off 3.15pm.
