England

2022 - 3 - 26

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Image courtesy of "Irish Examiner"

England start pursuit of Women's Six Nations title with big win in ... (Irish Examiner)

It took nine minutes for the defending champions to go over for the first time through Packer and Emily Scarratt kicked the conversion on her Test return after ...

Holly Aitchison and Connie Powell added further tries after the restart before prop Packer secured a personal treble after some assistance from the TMO. Scarratt would play 58 minutes and finish with a 10-point haul after England went over six times in the opening half. It took nine minutes for the defending champions to go over for the first time through Packer and Emily Scarratt kicked the conversion on her Test return after a broken leg last year.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Joe Root should resign but finding his England replacement is not ... (The Guardian)

West Indies series defeat could be final straw for Root and now England must be more flexible in approach to captaincy.

That is the solution of diehard adherents to the captaincy mystique. So, what of recent members of the England set-up? The advent of the Hundred is symbolic of a sleepwalk to decline; it may be a godsend for women’s cricket but the death knell for the men’s game. Before the Ashes, out went Tim Paine out of the blue. It is tempting to be mesmerised by the mystique of the great captain, which is mostly Mike Brearley’s fault. This takes us to the likes of Rory Burns, James Vince, Tom Abell, Sam Billings, Tom Westley and Will Rhodes. Ho hum. In cricket the captain is a deliciously important post but there is still scope for a bit of experimentation. Today that may result in suggesting the elevation of Eoin Morgan, who last played a game of cricket with a red ball in April 2019. In fact his period in charge was a consequence of a freakish set of circumstances involving two larger-than-life characters – Kerry Packer and Ian Botham. Post‑Brearley, the armchair experts like to seek a repeat performance in times of crisis. This is the sort of crisis we like, one we can revel in, a sporting calamity but no more than that. He has done his time in charge and at the moment it is not working. Others may use England’s demise this winter as confirmation of a county structure that’s not fit for purpose.

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Image courtesy of "The Irish Times"

Joe Root vows to continue as England captain after series loss to ... (The Irish Times)

3rd Test, Day 4: England 204 & 120 (K Mayers 5-18) lost to West Indies 297 (J Da Silva 100no) & 28-0 by 10 wkts. England's ailing Test team chalked up ...

He told BT Sport: “I think I made it quite clear at the start of this game and throughout this tour I’m very passionate about trying to take this team forward. We’ve shown what we’re capable of as a group. There was a modicum of resolve on show, just enough to make the specialist batters wonder how and why they had proved so easy to dislodge, with the lead nudged up to 27 in 54 minutes. Throughout this series we’ve played some really good cricket. This decisive third Test had started with everything on the line and England relatively confident after getting the better of two flat track draws in Antigua and Barbados. Set a paltry 28 to take the third Test and a 1-0 series win, they needed just 29 balls to continue their proud home record in this fixture.

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Image courtesy of "The42"

Shaw feels 'wanted' by England as he opens up on United struggles (The42)

Luke Shaw scores England's equaliser against Switzerland. Image: PA. LUKE SHAW BELIEVES feeling 'wanted' and 'playing with a smile on my face' is the key ...

“Of course, it is hard to enjoy when we are losing and not playing well at club level. Shaw did, however, elaborate on the differences between club and country, with the 26-year-old adding: “It is always important to feel like you are wanted. “I think when I come here it is about enjoyment and playing games with a smile on my face.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

The one that got away? Ivory Coast's Zaha prepares for England ... (The Guardian)

The Crystal Palace winger will be the first former England player to face the Three Lions if he plays on Tuesday.

Could things have been different if Southgate had pushed hard to name him in his first squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia in October 2016? Raheem has been a key part of our team for a long period, Lingard had done a fabulous job and, at the start, we had Lallana, who was our player of the year for the first 18 months or so. And, with opportunity scarce at United under David Moyes, Zaha would find himself back with the Under-21s for the remainder of the autumn programme. It will be a piece of history because no player has ever switched his allegiance from England and then returned to face them. Capped at youth levels, Zaha was given his senior bow by Roy Hodgson against Sweden in November 2012. Was he the one that got away from England?

Joe Root's position as England captain is untenable after yet another awful defeat (unknown)

Root is a nice guy and a great batter but he has lost touch with reality if he still thinks he is the best man for the job, writes Chris Stocks.

The best thing on this trip has been the attitude of this group. But Root has to accept responsibility for his failures during his five years as captain and must now be held to account. Justin Langer, another Australian, would be the ideal candidate for the second. Passion will only get you so far, as Root has found out during a run of results in which England have won one Test in 14 months. But recalling England’s two all-time leading wicket-takers will not lead to a dramatic change in results. Whoever takes over as director of cricket, and also the new coach, might have very different ideas.

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Image courtesy of "Reuters"

End of the road for Root, say former England skippers (Reuters)

Former England captain Michael Atherton said current skipper Joe Root should step down following Sunday's 10-wicket defeat by the West Indies in the ...

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Image courtesy of "FRANCE 24"

Root's future as England captain in doubt after West Indies rout (FRANCE 24)

Joe Root may be "passionate" about remaining as England's Test captain but should he stay in the post after the West Indies inflicted the latest damaging ...

Former skipper Nasser Hussain accused "world-class batsman" Root of lacking an "instinctive feel for the game as captain" and being party to a "cop-out" following England's controversial decision to leave James Anderson and Stuart Broad -- their two all-time most successful Test bowlers -- out of the squad for the Caribbean. "As was obvious to anyone who was present in Australia, and should have been obvious to anyone who wasn't, Root has reached the end of the road as captain," Atherton wrote in The Times. But a thumping 10-wicket defeat in the third and final Test against the West Indies in Grenada on Sunday condemned England to a 1-0 series loss after two draws.

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Image courtesy of "The Irish Times"

'Hugely unfortunate' if Kane breaks England scoring record in match ... (The Irish Times)

Southgate suggests he is prepared to omit Kane from starting line-up against Ivory Coast.

We need to find out about players and we still can bring players from the bench. Gareth Southgate says it would be “hugely unfortunate” if Harry Kane was to break the England goalscoring record in a match where supporters were banned. All of the players are also in a part of the season where they’re coming in off a heavy load of games and are going back into important games, so this is one of those occasions when it works for us and the clubs when it comes to sharing the load.

Conor Gallagher impresses as Harry Kane scores again at Wembley (unknown)

Player ratings as England won 2-1 against Switzerland in their international friendly at Wembley, a game which featured three debutants and an impressive ...

Denied on the angle early in the second half and looked set to miss out on his moment until gifted a chance from the spot. His pass through to Harry Kane for a chance in the second half was even better. It was his hopeful hooked ball forward that led to the equalising goal. Difficult circumstances for him, in fairness, and he stuck at it, showing his versatility as he moved to right-back later in the game. A tough examination on his debut, but came up with some important blocks and clearances. Before his opening 45 minutes were through, he had played his part in a goal - his interception crucial to England's equaliser.

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