Titans running away with Championship

The Titans took an almost unassailable lead at the top of the MTN Domestic Championship, their three wins this week maintaining their 100% record and giving them an 11-point lead over the Dolphins. However, all of the victories were hard fought.Their game with the Warriors was the match of the week. Warriors posted 221 for 9 and the Titans seemed to be coasting as they reached 221 for 7 before losing two wickets in three balls. They eventually squeezed a one-wicket win. Against the Lions they again struggled, eventually overcoming a target of 139 with four wickets In hand. A hundred from Tatenda Taibu enabled Zimbabwe Chevrons to score 223 for 8, and when the Titans slid to 166 for 7 an upset seemed likely. But David Wiese and Brendon Reddy added an unbeaten 58 in five overs to see them home.The Dolphins started the week with a thumping win over Zimbabwe, Johann Louw’s 5 for 27 setting them on their way to a five-wicket victory, and two days later Louw was again to the fore with 4 for 23 as they beat Cape Cobras by four wickets. But their hopes of staying in touch with the Titans suffered a major blow when they crashed to a five-wicket loss at the hands of the Lions.The Eagles lifted themselves into the middle of the table with two solid wins over the Cobras and the Warriors. Roger Telemachus was the star against the Warriors with 6 for 24. The Cobras, who led the competition early on, suffered two more defeats to leave them struggling to make the semi-finals.The Lions and the Warriors are still in with a chance of the semi-finals, and on form you have to prefer the Lions who won both their games while the Warriors lost both theirs. Zimbabwe, with one win in seven, will not be competing in the knock-out stages in mid March.The picture will be much clearer this week as the Cobras and the Lions play the Warriors. At the top of the table, the Titans can almost wrap up the league if they win home matches against the Dolphins and the Eagles.

Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against
Titans 7 7 0 0 0 30 +0.751 1335/260.3 1321/302.0
Dolphins 7 4 3 0 0 19 +0.612 1230/276.3 1151/300.0
Eagles 8 4 4 0 0 18 +0.089 1524/320.1 1504/322.0
Cape Cobras 7 3 4 0 0 13 -0.137 1285/284.4 1241/266.5
Lions 7 3 4 0 0 12 -0.299 1449/305.2 1452/287.5
Warriors 7 3 4 0 0 12 -0.708 1213/306.2 1395/298.5
Zimbabwe 7 1 6 0 0 4 -0.287 1414/309.0 1386/285.0

One year on, Inzamam remembers Woolmer

Inzamam: “I want to forget the tragedies of the World Cup, but I can never forget Bob” © AFP
 

Twelve months after the death of Bob Woolmer, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has admitted that he will never forget the inspirational coach.”Pakistan cricket will always be indebted to Bob Woolmer for his contribution to the game,” Inzamam told AFP. “I want to forget the tragedies of the World Cup, but I can never forget Bob. He was not only an excellent coach, but also a very good human being.”Woolmer, who had also coached South Africa, was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica on March 18, 2007, just a day after Pakistan had been sensationally knocked out of the World Cup following a shock defeat to Ireland. The tragedy was initially treated as murder but after the biggest manhunt in Jamaican history and following months of wild speculation, an inquest jury in October eventually returned an open verdict on Woolmer’s death.Inzamam was so shattered by the events that he quit one-day cricket in tears immediately after Pakistan’s last game in the World Cup.”He [Woolmer] was helpful to all and very accommodating. He always thought about the team and saw to it that we kept improving,” said Inzamam, who also quit Test cricket in October last year. “After the defeat to Ireland we were all depressed but Bob was trying to console everyone and was trying to convince us that it was just a bad day and things would improve for the team.”He asked me what were my plans. I told him that my mind was not working and we would talk the following day, but that opportunity never came and we got the shocking news of his death.”Mushtaq Ahmed, the former legspinner, said Woolmer was an inspiration for all those he coached. “Bob was successful at county level where he coached Warwickshire, then lifted South Africa and was hoping to build Pakistan into a great team before he met a cruel fate.”The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has dedicated their indoor cricket school to Woolmer, which was inaugurated by both the Pakistan and South African teams. “Bob will be remembered in Pakistan cricket and hopefully his legacy will continue,” said PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf. “His memory is still fresh because his contribution to Pakistan cricket was immense.”Both Inzamam and Mushtaq said they were willing to help at Woolmer’s academy in South Africa.”I feel for his family because they are the real sufferers. Whenever they need me to coach at Bob’s academy, I will be more than willing to go,” said Inzamam. “Perhaps through this we can pay back for what he did for Pakistan.”

Desmond Tutu to deliver Spirit of Cricket lecture

The 2008 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture will be delivered by Desmond Tutu.A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, Tutu will become the eighth Cowdrey Lecturer when he speaks at Lord’s on Tuesday June 10, the second South African to be invited to speak at the event and the first lecturer to be drawn from outside the circle of international cricket.The MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture was inaugurated in 2001 in memory of the late Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge, a former president of MCC, who, together with another former president, Ted Dexter, was instrumental in the Spirit of Cricket being included as the Preamble to the 2000 Code of the Laws of Cricket.Tutu rose to prominence in the 1980s with his vigorous anti-apartheid activism in South Africa. As the chairman of the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Tutu led a formidable crusade for justice and racial conciliation in South Africa. His tireless work was recognised in 1984, when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, following a short stint as the Bishop of Johannesburg, Tutu was elected the first black Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986, an office he held until his retirement in 1996 (he now serves as Archbishop Emeritus). In 1996, he was appointed by Nelson Mandela to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the body set up to probe gross human rights violations during apartheid. Following the presentation of the Commission’s report in October 1998, Dr Tutu has served as a visiting professor at several overseas universities and has been awarded over 50 honorary degrees from academic institutions around the world. He has published several books and collections of sermons and is widely known as a cricketing enthusiast.”Tutu is revered around the world as a moral voice and someone who speaks with gravitas on a range of issues,” Keith Bradshaw, the MCC’s secretary, said. “He’s an inspirational man who has spent a lifetime speaking out for truth and justice and I am sure that his views on the game – and the Spirit of Cricket in particular – will be hugely interesting to cricket followers around the world.”Over 500 invited guests and Members of MCC, together with many eminent figures from the cricket world, will gather in the Nursery Pavilion at Lord’s to hear the lecture.

Mumbai face tough test of form

Match facts

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

Shane Warne has said that his side, the Rajasthan Royals, have some “surprises” in store for the Mumbai Indians (file photo) © Getty Images
 

The Big Picture

It will be a match between the Invincibles and the Resurgents. After one blip, the Rajasthan Royals haven’t looked capable of putting a foot wrong while the Mumbai Indians, who looked set to sink after four straight losses, have managed to turn the tide. But what could have been the showpiece of the tournament will not materialise, not yet at least: Sachin Tendulkar, yet to play a match in the IPL due to groin injury, won’t be squaring up against Shane Warne.Yet Mumbai, after back-to-back wins, will approach the match with belief and confidence. After appearing rudderless in the initial matches, they were led from the front by Shaun Pollock in their spectacular come-from-behind win against the Delhi Daredevils. Pollock seems to be easing into captaincy and grasping the strengths and weaknesses of his side.Batting, though, remains Mumbai’s major weakness. Dwayne Bravo’s 64 has been the lone match-winning innings, and it is also the only half-century recorded by a Mumbai batsman. Sanath Jayasuriya and Robin Uthappa, of whom much was expected, have disappointed. A casual attitude and lack of patience have been the features of their batting, leading to an absence of partnerships. They have their task cut out against a resourceful bowling attack, cannily led by Warne.If Rajasthan have to guard against anything, it is the possibility of an off-day. Every trick they have tried has worked so far has worked like a dream. Warne has promised more surprises, and be sure that he will be up to something. Apart from carrying some momentum in to the match, Mumbai would also hoping that the law of averages catches with the old geezer.

Tournament position

Mumbai Indians P6 W/L2/4 NRR -0.889
Rajasthan Royals P6 W/L5/1 NRR +0.873

IPL form (last five matches)

Mumbai Indians LLLWW
Rajasthan Royals WWWWW

Watch out for …

  • Warne and his bagful of tricks. What has he got up his sleeve now?
  • Sohail Tanvir against Sanath Jayasuriya. Tanvir has been quite a handful against the lefthanders, and his natural angle, into the left-handers, will give Jayasuriya no room to free his arms.
  • Shaun Pollock v Graeme Smith. Pollock will relish the prospect of getting rid of Smith, who replaced him as captain of the South African team and chose younger and sharper bowlers over him.
  • Big hitting from Yusuf Pathan, Shane Watson and Ravindra Jadeja

    Team news

    Tendulkar batted close to 20 minutes in the nets but has decided to extend his recovery period by another week, which means he could be back for their next game, on May 14. Pollock indicated that Mumbai are likely to retain the winning unit even if there were concerns about Abhishek Nayar, the big-hitting allrounder, who is suffering from a side strain. But he has almost been playing as a specialist batsman and Pollock said they were going to treat him that way.Mumbai(probable) :1 Shaun Pollock (captain), 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Dominic Thornely, 6 Yogesh Takawale (wk), 7 Abhishek Nayar, 8 Rohan Raje, 9 Saurabh Tiwari, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Ashish Nehra.Ten Rajasthan players opted out of the optional practice session held at the Bandra Kurla grounds and none of them was a foreigner. A relaxed Warne said that even though the team was on a high after five straight victories, he was not allowing anyone to get the “foot off the pedal”. He also said that to reach the semis the team needed about seven to eight victories, perhaps suggesting he would retain the side that he has kept unchanged for the last two games.Rajasthan (probable): 1 Shane Warne (captain), 2 Graeme Smith, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Swapnil Asnodkar, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Mohammad Kaif, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Siddharth Trivedi, 11 Munaf Patel

    Stats and trivia

  • Tanvir’s 6 for 14 in Rajasthan’s previous game against the Chennai Super Kings, are the best-ever figures in Twenty20s
  • Robin Uthappa, with 177 runs at 35.40, is the highest run-getter for Mumbai, and he is 10th in the overall list of run-getters.

    Quotes

    “We think 7 to 8 wins would clinch a fourth semis spot, so we need to win our next 2-3 games. We are in pretty good shape, but we don’t want to take foot off the pedal. I’ve got a few surprises for them tomorrow. It could be fun if they come off.”
    Shane Warne, Rajasthan’s captain”Every game is crucial for us now as we did not get off to a great start. We need to get two wins under the belt and we need to keep confidence and momentum going. Rajasthan Royals are on a high having won five games in a row and they are the form side of the tournament so it’s a big as for us to win. They understand each other, they know what their role are so they are the team to beat..”
    Shaun Pollock, Mumbai’s captain

  • Harbhajan faces minimum ten-match ban

    If banned by the IPL, Harbhajan will miss the rest of this edition of the tournament © Getty Images
     

    Harbhajan Singh faces a minimum ten-match ban from the Indian Premier League if an official hearing, in New Delhi on Monday afternoon, finds him guilty of having hit Sreesanth, his India team-mate.Harbhajan also faces separate action from the BCCI, which has asked him to explain, “as a contracted player”, his role in the incident after the IPL match between the offspinner’s Mumbai Indians and Sreesanth’s King XI Punjab on Friday. Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said on Monday that Sudhir Nanavati, a lawyer, has been appointed to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” and submit a report “within 15 days” to Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, who will refer the findings to the board’s disciplinary committee for possible action.Sreesanth, meanwhile, faces either an official reprimand or a strong unofficial warning for his “provocative” actions leading up to the incident, which was captured on one of the host broadcaster’s on-field cameras.”I understand the BCCI is looking into the [Harbhajan] matter separately,” IS Bindra, a member of the IPL governing council, told Cricinfo. When asked about the possible penalty involved, Bindra, who is also president of the Punjab Cricket Association which hosted Friday’s match at Mohali, confirmed that Harbhajan faced a minimum ban of 10 IPL games.If the minimum ban is applied by Farokh Engineer, the match referee, it would still seriously affect Harbhajan’s chances of playing any further role in this edition of the IPL. Mumbai Indians, who lost their first four games, have 10 more to play in the home-and-away league format till the semi-finals.However, hectic efforts are on by some officials within the BCCI and IPL, run by the Indian board, to ensure that the “judicial principle of double jeopardy” is applied in this case, and Harbhajan is not “punished for the same offence twice”. This would mean that the offspinner could be punished by the IPL, which is officially a domestic event, but may not face any separate sanctions from the BCCI on playing for India.”Any action from the BCCI’s side could result in a further ban from playing in a specified number of Tests and ODIs. But that would run contrary to the basic judicial principle of double jeopardy. Normally, any person shouldn’t be punished for the same offence twice,” a senior official told Cricinfo.But another section within the Indian establishment, which has had its eye on Harbhajan ever since allegations of indiscipline were reported against him by the team management during the Greg Chappell era, is keen to see that “strong action” is taken to send out a “serious message” in the “larger interests of the game”.Officials from this hardline group were also not entirely convinced of Harbhajan’s version of events during the subsequent race row last year involving Andrew Symonds in Australia. “Once Sachin Tendulkar backed Harbhajan’s version of the race crisis in Australia, the BCCI had no option but to support him all the way,” said another BCCI official, who said he was strongly pushing for a strict penalty.However, officials on both sides of the Harbhajan debate agree it is time Sreesanth, the temperamental fast bowler who has crossed the line of accepted on-field behaviour often in his two-year career, is pulled up as well, either in the form of an official reprimand or a private warning. “The fresh video evidence might prove Harbhajan is guilty, but nobody should ignore Sreesanth’s history of on-field problems and provocative actions leading up to the incident,” an IPL official, who was present in Mohali, said on Friday.Interestingly, Harbhajan and Sreesanth told reporters on Saturday they had “sorted out the issue” and were now like “brothers of one family”. But Engineer, the adjudicator on Monday, said: “We are not going to sweep things under the carpet.”

    Warriors' collapse costs them play-off spot

    Warriors failed to chase down a target of 128 against Lions and their 21-run loss denied them a play-off spot in this season’s Ram Slam T20. With Titans already through to the final, the play-off will now be played between Dolphins and Cape Cobras at Kingsmead on December 9 and the winner will meet Titans in the final on December 12.Looking for their third straight win, the Warriors line-up imploded in the chase and folded for 106 in 18 overs. Dwaine Pretorius (3 for 19) and Eddie Leie (4 for 32) were the main wicket-takers for Lions.Pretorius ran through Warriors’ top-order, taking three wickets at the start to help reduce the side to 34 for 5 by the seventh over. Christiaan Jonker scored an attacking 45 but he played a lone hand and once he was dismissed by Leie in the 16th over, the Warriors lower order folded quickly.After being put in to bat, Lions’ innings was driven by contributions from Dominic Hendricks (35) and Devon Conway (20), which helped them recover from a shaky start of 40 for 3 in the seventh over. Pretorius’ run-a-ball 14 and Fortuin’s 13 in the latter half of the innings helped lift the score to 127 for 9. Basheeru-Deen Walters had the best returns among Warriors’ bowlers with 3 for 21, while Andrew Birch and Sisanda Magala ended the innings with two wickets apiece.Andre Russell’s all-round performance – 4 for 11 followed by a blazing 66 not out off only 23 balls – guided Knights to a comfortable four-wicket win over Titans in Benoni. The bonus-point win for Knights had no bearing on the positions of the two teams in the table – Titans, are already through to the final, while Knights finished last on the table, two points behind Lions.Put in to bat, Quinton de Kock and Graeme van Buuren tried to lift Titans’ innings taking them to 45 for 2 from a score of 9 for 2. The Knights bowlers, however, chipped away at the wickets limiting Titans to 136 for 9. Van Buuren top-scored with a 41-ball 57 that included six fours and three sixes. Chris Morris scored an 11-ball 21 in the death but Russell denied Titans a strong finish, taking three wickets in his final two overs.Russell walked in to bat with Knights at 54 for 4 in the ninth over and went on to smash seven sixes and four fours in his 66. Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi suffered the brunt of Russell’s attack, and conceded 32 and 42 runs respectively. His charge helped Knights chase down the target by the 16th over.

    Brathwaite silent on struggling Samuels

    West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite has plenty to say about his batting, his doughty 85 on the first day of the SCG Test, his development on this tour, and the prospect of bowling on a turning Sydney pitch. He has nothing at all to say about, or for, Marlon Samuels.In a telling interlude as Brathwaite spoke about how he has evolved as a batsman on this trip, becoming more proactive to counter Australia’s bowlers rather than simply trying to wait them out, he became decidedly tight-lipped about Samuels, the run-out they were involved in, and the older man’s contribution to the tour.It may well have been a case of if you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all, for Samuels has endured a wretched tour, notching a meagre 35 runs in five innings – an average of seven for those not paying attention – and earning plenty of criticism for his apparent lack of verve in the field. At the time of the run-out, which was Samuels’ call, West Indies were in a decent position. After it, they subsided to 6 for 207.”I think those things happen in cricket. I’m not sure what to say about that,” Brathwaite said. “It was just a misunderstanding.”Queried further on Samuels’ contribution this tour, Brathwaite clammed up. “There’s not much I can say about that at the moment,” he said. A further question to that effect drew a similar response from the team media manager.What was left to discuss was an innings that impressed many, lacking only the catharsis of reaching three figures after Nathan Lyon finally found a way to confound Brathwaite’s previously sure feet and sound mind. “It is a good challenge,” Brathwaite said of Lyon. “I think he is bowling quite well and I just have to keep believing in my ability. They fielded well today and for me it is about trusting my defence and working towards my plan.”It is a tour where I am learning and I just want to keep going out there and building a foundation for my team and learning in the process. On a first-day pitch that is spinning like that, once we get a score, anything about 300 will put ourselves in a good position.”I think the spinners bowled well, it is just about trusting your defence and backing your shots and you can score. Coming from the last game, when the guys showed some improvement, it is key to keep showing that improvement and supporting one another.”As for the pitch, Brathwaite was surprised by how much deviation it offered, but was eager to see how his team might fare on it – and how he might bowl on it. “I was quite surprised, I didn’t expect the first day to spin like that,” he said. “I heard it can spin here but I didn’t expect that.”So as batters, once we put some runs on the board, we can put some pressure on Australia. It is important when we do bowl that we string those dots together because dots balls can build pressure and that brings wickets. I will be looking forward to [bowling]. We will just have to see what happens.”

    India Women celebrate historic series win

    Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:06

    Anjum: India were always ahead of the par score

    India Women created history at the MCG on Friday, where their ten-wicket win resulted in their first bilateral series victory over Australia Women in any format. In a rain-affected T20 contest the Australians reached 8 for 125 from 18 overs, led by captain Meg Lanning with 49, but they failed to take a wicket during the chase and India reached their revised target of 66 with five balls of their allotted 10 overs remaining.India’s bowling was tight and their work in the field was outstanding after Mithali Raj won the toss and sent Australia in. Jhulan Goswami set things off on a fine note by bowling Grace Harris in the first over of the match and she picked up a second wicket when Beth Mooney lofted over the cover fielder Anuja Patil, who ran back with the flight to complete a brilliant catch that left Australia at 2 for 28.Patil’s sharp fielding again came to the fore when she snapped up the ball at short mid-on and threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end to find Ellyse Perry short attempting a quick single, and Australia were 3 for 33. While Lanning was at the crease Australia still had hope of a competitive score, though, and her 70-run partnership with Jess Jonassen steadied the innings.But the match arguably turned on a piece of great fortune for India when Jonassen drove straight back down the pitch and the ball clipped the fingers of the bowler, Harmanpreet Kaur, and ricocheted back onto the stumps to have Lanning run out for 49 off 39 balls. Jonassen (27) slog-swept a catch to deep midwicket in the same over.The Australians struggled to find the boundary in their remaining overs and the left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad proved hard to get away, and picked up two wickets in an over. India made a fine start to their chase through Raj and Smriti Mandhana and when rain arrived in the eighth over of the chase they were ahead of the D/L target on 0 for 52.The rain eventually relented but only to allow a further 2.1 overs with India needing a further 14 runs on the re-adjusted D/L score. Raj and Mandhana cruised to victory with five balls to spare, Raj finishing on 37 from 32 balls and Mandhana on 22 off 24. India had an unassailable 2-0 lead with one match still to play.

    Man Utd eye up Liverpool target Carvalho

    Manchester United are eyeing up a summer move for rumoured Liverpool transfer target Fabio Carvalho, according to a fresh transfer claim.

    The Lowdown: Liverpool keen on Carvalho

    The Reds and manager Jurgen Klopp brought in Luis Diaz during the January transfer window and they were also strongly linked with a move for Carvalho.

    [web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/liverpool-latest-developments/” title=”Liverpool latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

    The 19-year-old has been a star performer for Championship leaders Fulham this season, scoring seven goals and registering five assists.

    Pundit Kevin Phillips has even branded Carvalho as ‘exciting’ whilst Fabrizio Romano says the teenage talent is someone ‘Klopp wants’ at Anfield personally.

    While Liverpool are expected to return for him at the end of the campaign, a new update suggests acquiring his signature may not be easy.

    [freshpress-quiz id=“375258″]

    The Latest: Man United join the race

    According to The Daily Star, United are also keen on signing the Englishman, having sent scouts to watch him against Manchester City in the FA Cup fourth round.

    The Red Devils are ‘planning a hijack bid’ to sign Liverpool’s target this summer as they eye a ‘last-ditch attempt to stop him heading to Anfield’.

    [web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-20/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

    The Verdict: Why join United over Reds?

    While this is a worrying claim from a Liverpool perspective, the Reds would likely be the more appealing proposition at the moment, with their bitter rivals seemingly in turmoil on and off the pitch, by their past standards.

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    Carvalho would surely jump at the chance to work under Jurgen Klopp and the fact that he is an advocate of youth means he would likely get a chance to shine, as has been the case with his former Fulham teammate Harvey Elliott.

    There was a time when it was United who the young English players wanted to join but the current situation is now very different, which is a testament to the job Klopp has done.

    In other news, a foreign source has made a Liverpool transfer claim. Read more here.

    Tom Huddlestone is wasted by England

    In the aftermath of Fabio Capello’s announcement everybody has their views and opinions about the players that missed out, with  Theo Walcott’s omission dominating the focus of the English press.

    But what about the likes of Adam Johnson, Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and Darren Bent, who were all left out in favour of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Matthew Upson, Michael Carrick and Emile Heskey? Surely some of those players should feel hard done by?

    For this article I will be making a case for Huddlestone, who I think is being wasted at international level and at least deserved to make the final 23-man squad off the back of an impressive season for Tottenham. The 23-year-old midfielder played in the majority of games in the Premier League for Harry Redknapp’s side and helped the north London club qualify for the Champions League after finishing the top four.

    With his passing abilities Huddlestone has the ability to unlock a defence and if deployed in a three man midfield he could let the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard (both are being wasted at international level in a laboured 442) do what they do best. It looks as though Gareth Barry will get over his recent injury troubles, so England can play this way if they still wished to. But why is Carrick going to South Africa?

    Manchester United’s Carrick has had an awful season at Old Trafford and has spent far too much time on the bench, but he has still miraculously made his way into Capello’s squad. Admittedly Carrick is a good passer of the ball but he doesn’t offer a whole lot else in my opinion. Whereas, Huddlestone has been described by his manager Redknapp as the best passer of a ball at Tottenham and they have the likes of Croatia’s Luka Modric amongst their ranks. As well as having great passing ability and vision he also boasts a great physical presence, which Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail suggests makes him as imposing as any centre-back. Physicality is important and we don’t want to see players getting pushed off the ball, so our deep lying midfielders should have been Barry and Huddlestone, not Carrick. West Ham’s Scott Parker could also have done a good job for England as a tough tackling midfielder, but his lack of England caps counted against him in the same way as it went against Huddlestone.

    Like many other England fans I have an opinion on Capello’s selection and the optimism is starting to wane a little for me. For me the whole day was farcical as we got updates every half an hour or so about the latest player who was/wasn’t going.

    Oh well, Capello’s a good manager and it seems as though we are in winning ways (even if it is winning ugly) and the Three Lions have a good chance as long as the Italian keeps those troublesome WAGs away, we avoid any penalty shootouts and every other nation has a few bad days.

    Tom Huddlestone screamer against Bolton:

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