This isn’t a question I thought I would ever have to ask.

But, at the launch of the new Laureus-supported Urban Stars project in Manchester yesterday, I can reveal it did actually happen.

And the evidence below has captured it for the ages…

A smarter street dancer than Sir Bobby you surely never will see... and isn't Michael getting into it??

The Ashes-winning cricket captain and legendary World Cup winner were in Salford, Manchester for the launch of the new project that aims to tackle youth crime.

It hopes to do this by drawing in young people and offering them a chance to get off the streets and involved in sporting opportunities.

In addition to trying their hand at some street dancing, the two sports legends handed out awards to some project participants and watched some of the young sports enthusiasts take part in football exercises.

Sir Bobby and Michael with their street dance teachers

You can find out more about the event and read what Bobby and Michael had to say about sport and youth crime in our news section here.

And for video of Michael and Sir Bobby’s street dancing efforts, head over to our Facebook page!

In the meantime, be sure to follow Laureus on Twitter @LaureusSport to get the latest news and pictures from our events and top insight into the world of sport.

In the sports sections of the UK newspapers this weekend, amongst the near exclusive coverage of the start of the English Premier League and cricket success, a very specific line of thought was emerging.

Not surprisingly, this referenced the riots of the past week across England and the capacity for sport to be a positive tool in fighting the causes of this anti-social behaviour.

Community sports projects such as Fight for Peace (above) work in areas directly affected by youth crime... and positive results are now showing

This is the message behind one of London-based paper The Guardian‘s lead sports articles about professional footballer, Charles N’Zogbia.

The article, leading with the quote “Football has saved me from a life in jail”, clearly highlights the positive social aspects sport can have on the lives of the individual.

In his Observer comment piece (sister paper to The Guardian), England goalkeeper David James makes more explicit reference to this idea. He argues that:

“Football can play an… active role in helping communities by really engaging through local projects.”

One project already pursuing work such as this is the Laureus-supported Urban Stars, which operates in UK communities from London to the West Midlands to Manchester; the former and latter in areas directly affected by the riots, namely, Croydon and Salford.

As shown above, support for community sports projects has been popular these past few days, but the argument still remains that they’re nothing but a luxury; particularly at a time of remarkably tight economic conditions.

My blog of last week made the case for how such ‘luxuries’ can, in their helping children off the streets, in fact save government money.

And in addition to this, as Laureus visits Urban Stars in Manchester today with Academy Member Sir Bobby Charlton and Ambassador Michael Vaughan, it is worth looking at a case that has shown how valuable sports projects can be to indviduals and the communities in which they live as well.

One of the young participants of the Urban Stars project in Croydon, an area that saw so much rioting, is Natalis.

Before Urban Stars he was frequently getting in trouble with the police, particularly after an incident on a bus where he assaulted a police officer. Natalis had severe anger management problems and needed to channel his negative energy, so he joined the football session of the project.

Natalis has now been attending the Urban Stars project since 2009 and he has engaged in over 400hrs of activities. During this time his character has developed and he has come on in leaps and bounds since his first session.

Natalis, who is now 18, attends college and recently enrolled onto an electricians course.

And though he still tries to come down to sessions from time to time, much of his focus is spent towards staying at home and helping with his family and younger siblings.

Natalis had this to say about his experience of Urban Stars;

“Since coming to the Urban Stars project I have grown in confidence and also made loads of friends and developed my football skills, but I have also calmed down with my anger and become a role model with my brothers.”

Cases such as Natalis’ may appear modest at first, but it is such changes in the lives of individuals that ultimately work toward a greater understanding of the societal values that lie at the heart of peaceful communities.

Check back here for a report on Sir Bobby and Vaughan’s visit to Urban Stars in Manchester and follow us on Twitter @LaureusSport for pictures and news as soon as it happens.

At the start of this summer’s Test series between England and India, all talk was about the great Sachin Tendulkar.

There was some passing mention of  the series hitting the 2000th Test ever held mark, but most of the back pages were far more concerned with the legendary India batsman Tendulkar and whether or not he would reach his landmark 100th Test century.

Sachin Tendulkar in action against England this summer

Since then, however, the series hasn’t quite lived up to Tendulkar’s incredibly high standards.

So far for the series he is averaging just 23.80 and has recorded only two scores higher than 20.

However, his year previous to the current series was far more successful. And he still stands as a nominee for both the ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test player of the Year.

And, when it comes to the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, the chances of victory for a cricketer of Sachin Tendulkar’s quality should never be underestimated.

Do you think there is still time for Tendulkar to reach his 100th Test century and boost his chances for next year’s Laureus Award?

Let us know your thoughts in the box below or on Twitter @LaureusSport.

This weekend’s London triathlon was a time for heroes.

The Brownlee brothers have raised the hopes of a nation for next year’s Olympics by coming first and third. Meanwhile, fellow Brit Helen Jenkins has stoked similar expectations by winning the women’s race.

The triathlon also saw a return to a high-profile sporting event for England cricket hero Michael Vaughan, Ashes-winning captain of 2005.

Michael Vaughan was part of our celebrity team

One man, however, though perhaps not a champion triathlete, achieved something equally as great as the Brownlees this weekend.

And we were there (with a camera) to document his success.

Mthoko looking a little dazed pre-race

Whilst our Laureus team of 22 runners prepared for this year’s London leg of the ITU triathlon, little did our friend Mthoko know that he had one of his day’s biggest challenges  right in front of him already.

And this was before the race even began.

He needed to get himself into the dreaded, skin-tight triathlon suit.

At first all seemed to be going OK

Mthoko is part of the team here at Laureus and spends his time helping and coordinating the many projects we support across the world.

Now, Mthoko is a very health conscious young man.

He is a passionate  swimmer, he lifts weights. Basically, he is the just the kind of person who should be in perfect shape for the challenges that a triathlon brings.

One such challenge he didn’t anticipate was that of the suit.

Mthoko took the advice 'Hit the ground running' a bit too literally..

Eventually, but only with a little help from his friends,  Mthoko got to the starting line, suit and all, and completed the race in a very respectable time.

Team Laureus in their stylish yellow swimming caps

All 22 of our charity runners, in addition to Mthoko, finished the gruelling course. And the funds raised of over £14,000 will now go toward supporting our 87 humanitarian sports projects across the world.

So a very big, and well deserved, congrats to everyone who took part.

And a special well done to Mthoko…

Were you taking part in this year’s ITU London triathlon? Were you one of the many people who watched from the sidelines? What were your experiences of the race?

We would love to hear from you so drop us your thoughts in the box below or let us know on Twitter @LaureusSport

Last night was Edwin van der Sar’s much deserved testamonial match at the Ajax Arena in Amsterdam and, as one of our Ambassadors, Edwin made the truly generous gesture of donating a portion of the revenue from the game to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

Edwin at his testamonial match last night

Some of us here at Laureus were lucky enough to see the match and the atmosphere coming from the 52,000 fans truly was incredible and did total justice to a player who has achieved so much during a great footballing career. In fact, earlier today, we were sent a video that really shows how great the experience was at the stadium, so head over to our facebook page at facebook.com/LaureusSportforGood to watch.

The attendance for the match really was amazing

The final score between Edwin van der Sar’s ‘Dream Team’, which happened to be coached by Sir Alex ferguson, and Edwin’s old team Ajax was 2-1. Everton striker Louis Saha and Arsenal great Dennis Bergkamp scored the goals for Edwin’s team, whilst Derk Boerrigter scored a consolatory goal for the Ajax opposition.

We were really proud to be chosen as one of the charities to benefit from the match

And last night, for the first time, to truly celebrate the event, we provided a Twitter commentary for the match, reporting on the goals with pictures straight from the stadium. So, if you want the chance to keep up to date with the latest developments from Laureus, our projects and events such as Edwin’s testamonial, then be sure to follow us @LaureusSport.