What now for Alastair Cook and Jimmy Anderson after their latest milestones? Chasing down Sachin Tendulkar and 600 Test wickets respectively June 1, 2016 As well as England wrapping up a series-clinching victory against Sri Lanka this week, there were also some extremely impressive milestones for skipper Alastair Cook and seamer James Anderson. The question now is, how far can these guys go? At 31 years and 157 days, Cook became the youngest player in history to reach 10,000 [...]
England manager Roy Hodgson reveals attacking hand and lack of conservatism in confirming Euro 2016 squad May 31, 2016 England boss Roy Hodgson appeared to throw caution to the wind after shunning any temptation to opt for conservatism when confirming his 23-man squad for Euro 2016. As expected, teenage Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford completed his meteoric rise, having only made his first-team Old Trafford debut in February, by making the cut in a [...]
Learning your tournament fate can be a weird process — Roy Hodgson has made the wrong call with Danny Drinkwater May 31, 2016 I feel for the players who have been left out of England boss Roy Hodgson’s final Euro 2016 squad. There isn’t any way to dress it up, it must be hugely devastating and extremely demoralising. Fortunately, I always made the cut when in that situation but I remember being there on the last day with then [...]
Counting the pennies: No Las Vegas party for AFC Wimbledon chief Erik Samuelson as focus turns to plotting path to Championship May 31, 2016 While AFC Wimbledon’s promotion-winning players were on a plane to Las Vegas for a celebratory jaunt paid for by a mystery supporter, chief executive Erik Samuelson was today back at his desk putting the finishing touches to next season’s budget. The champagne had barely stopped bubbling but thoughts within the club’s hierarchy had already turned to [...]
AFC Wimbledon continue fairytale rise up football pyramid with victory in League Two play-off final, paving way for third-tier clashes with MK Dons next season May 30, 2016 Delirious AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley revelled in his side’s promotion as their fairytale rise up the football pyramid continued with victory over Plymouth Argyle in the League Two play-off final at Wembley. Leading scorer Lyle Taylor notched his 23rd goal of the season before robust frontman Adebayo Akinfenwa, who revealed post-match he is to [...]
David Haye accepts invitation to fight newly-crowned WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew May 30, 2016 Former world heavyweight king David Haye has opened the door to a showdown with newly-crowned WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew, promising the Merseyside fighter he would be “smashed to bits”. Bellew claimed the vacant WBC title with a brutal third-round knockout of Ilunga Makabu at Goodison Park on Sunday to become the United Kingdom’s 13th [...]
History-maker Alastair Cook relieved as burden of reaching 10,000 Test runs is removed in England’s crushing nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka May 30, 2016 England skipper Alastair Cook welcomed the burden being removed from his shoulders after becoming the youngest player to pass 10,000 Test runs in his side’s series-clinching nine-wicket demolition of Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street yesterday. Cook needed a total of five runs and reached the milestone with a leg-side clip for four as England comfortably chased down [...]
Striker Daniel Sturridge returns to England training as Roy Hodgson prepares to finalise his Euro 2016 squad May 30, 2016 England manager Roy Hodgson will tomorrow confirm the 23 players which he will entrust to deliver success for the Three Lions in this summer’s European Championship in France, which starts on 10 June. Striker Daniel Sturridge boosted his chances of proving his fitness by returning to training today after missing Friday’s 2-1 victory over Australia, having reported [...]
England boss Eddie Jones points to sacrifices made by Luther Burrell as Northampton centre called-up for tour of Australia May 30, 2016 England head coach Eddie Jones admits that Northampton Saints centre Luther Burrell’s abject refusal to accept his place in the international wilderness was key to his call-up for this summer’s three-Test tour of Australia. Burrell was today announced as the replacement for Manu Tuilagi, who was last week ruled out with a torn hamstring, in [...]
I’ve seen PGA Championship winner Chris Wood up close and he is a perfect fit for Ryder Cup stardom May 30, 2016 While victory at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth does not guarantee Chris Wood a debut Ryder Cup place, it virtually secures a spot in the Europe side for Hazeltine in September and what a wonderful addition he will be. I was fortunate to captain Great Britain and Ireland, and therefore Chris, in the 2013 Seve [...]