Sports�n�All � you may say that I�m a dreamer, but I�m not the only one, Scotland to win the 20-20, Ali Brown to score a ton

Welcome back to Sports�n�All, where we�re wondering if Rooney will get straight back in the England team, despite Heskey playing out of his skin. And I know, I know Scotland are bottom of the group and India will have to have a collapse of massive proportions to even give them a dream of getting through. But I�m an optimist and it would be fantastic to see Scotland make it past the group stage.

Rahul Dravid has quit as Indian captain. No great surprise this, as some of his decision making has been suspect for quite a while and there was dissatisfaction rumbling around many sources. It is a shame in a way though. There can be no doubt that Dravid is a quality player, with a range of shots and mental strength not seen often in the game. India�s swift and ungainly exit from the World Cup probably sealed his fate in the end. In the eyes of many, a team with so much talent should not be struggling in either form of the game. However, there is rarely ever just one reason for a problem and closer inspection of the team reveals cracks. The aging trio of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly are showing signs that their greatness is fading slightly, and speaking to an India fan the other day suggests that some fans agree with this. Partner this with an inexperienced bowling attack (much like England) and you have a quality team without the glue to hold it all together under pressure. It�s perhaps unsurprising that the one-day series with England was so close, as both teams have frailties. I for one do hope to see India challenging for top spot soon enough, because they have a habit of producing players who play attractive cricket.

Another England team with flaws is, of course, the rugby union team presently battling its way through the World Cup in France. Everyone has written them off already and I am struggling to find ways to inject a bit of positive thinking into the discussion. I suppose the best that you can say about England is that they are solid, with reliable players pretty much across the park. The question is, of course, can these players conjure a win against South Africa It will take a team performance of the highest order and rely on the Springboks being caught on the hop and perhaps underperforming. Key players for England are Josh Lewsey, Jason Robinson, Andrew Sheridan and Mike Catt. If they can all work together then I think the game could be close. If not then England could be staring down the barrel of a World Cup hammering. And I hope I�m not here next week lamenting exactly that.

Roger Federer is to take on Pete Sampras. I thought I�d misread that headline when I saw it. I�m excited about this even though it is just an exhibition match, and really it isn�t sports news as the result is largely irrelevant. I suppose I�ll link it into something topical, and that is Federer�s victory in the US Open. He really does exude class, and you wouldn�t want to bet against him carrying on in such dominant fashion for the next few years. The argument is that Sampras had more difficult opposition, but I think that each generation produces different challenges. Davydenko, Djokovic and Nadal have every chance to be as much of a challenge as Courier, Agassi and Ivanisevic. It�s always a privilege to watch these players battle it out and when Federer pulls out a magnificent dipping cross court shot out of nothing against Djokovic it reminds you just how good they are.

Lastly, my plea to Steve McClaren (should he happen to read this blog), is to keep faith with the players who beat Russia. They put everything into the game and it would be great to give a settled England team at least one more chance to prove that they�re not just a flash in the pan. Let�s see if Lampard and Rooney get back in the team for the game in Russia on the plastic pitch. It should be interesting if nothing else.