England Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

A stunning rearguard action from James Faulkner denied England their first win of their torrid tour of Australia in Brisbane.

This defeat will arguably hurt more than the others, with England seemingly cruising towards victory in this second one day international.

The tourists seemed to be in complete control when Australia, chasing 301 to win after a superb century from Eoin Morgan, were 244-9 after the dismissal of another one of England’s tormentors this tour, Mitchell Johnson.

However, a action-packed 69 not out followed. The innings included five 6’s and three 4’s, including three in the final over to seal the win for the home side.

Fifties from Shaun March (55) and Glen Maxwell (54) kept the scoreboard ticking over but England always seemed to have the ability to break the partnerships, with Tim Bresnan taking 2-64.

A combination of poor bowling and incredible shot making was the undoing for England, with questionable tactics from under-fire skipper Alastair Cook.

Earlier on in the day Morgan was well supported by Ian Bell who made 68 and Jos Buttler scored 49 as England just made it to 300.

Despite the defeat, improvement signs were there England, especially in the bowling department. Despite another failing with the bat, Joe Root took two wickets and again raised the question as to why England aren’t playing another spinner.

Chris Jordan was impressive again and gives another dimension to the attack, with the highlight of his 2-53 being the stunning caught and bowled dismissal of danger man David Warner.

However, with the next game only being two days away in Sydney, injury concerns are there for the tiring tourists. With Morgan struggling with a sore calf and Boyd Rankin going off the field towards the end of the match could be doubts.

Expect changes from England, with Stuart Broad returning from rest and possibly another spinner added to the side.

The misery continues for Ashley Giles’ men, with the embarrassment of a double whitewash becoming even more realistic.

 

 

Picture source: Twitter

FIFA World Cup 2014: The teams to watch

The day is here, the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil ‘begins’ today as the draw for the group stages take place in the Costa do Sauipe.

England head into the draw wary of the challenges that may face them early on in Brazil, with the Three Lions currently in pot four. However, a late twist by FIFA could see England move into pot two which could make their draw even harder.

Below are four teams, one from each pot, who Roy Hodgson’s men will want to avoid.

Pot One: Belgium 

A side that England should know well, with Belgium boasting a group of household names including Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet, Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini and Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany.

A high-tempo style, used in recent years so successfully by Spain is employed by this young hungry team. They topped their qualification group with relative ease, seeing off home nations Wales and Scotland as well as group rival Croatia.

With the steel of Kompany and Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen at the back, with the cutting edge of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard combined with the pure force of premier league powerhouses Romelu Lukaku and Christian Benteke could lead to danger for an already fragile English side.

Key Player: Eden Hazard

Prediction: Semi-Finals

Pot Two: Nigeria

The Super Eagles go into the World Cup as the biggest African threat, having recently won the 2013 African Nations Cup with on-loan Liverpool winger Victor Moses winning player of the tournament.

With only five African teams competing in Brazil, the pressure will be on the Africans to improve on their performance from South Africa where they finished rock bottom in their group.

Another high energy team which is renowned for it’s physicality could pose a treat to England’s chances. They also have experience of playing in a hot climate, so the fitness of their players could also give them an advantage.

Key Player: John Obi Mikel

Prediction: Group Stage/Last 16

Pot Three: USA

Another side that England will be familiar with having faced them in the previous World Cup group stage in South Africa with the infamous goalkeeping mistake by ‘keeper Rob Green which inevitably cost him his England career.

Former Spurs midfielder Clint Dempsey leads Jurgen Klinsmann’s men into Brazil after an impressive 2013, which saw them score 51 goals in all competitions.

Sunderland summer signing Jozy Altidore will lead the line and will hope his premier league form will be different to his international form and record cap holder Landan Donovan will want to make his last World Cup a memorable one.

Key Player: Landan Donovan

Prediction: Last 16

Pot Four: France

It is well documented that France should be the team to move into pot two, with them being the lowest rank team in pot four, but if England move into pot two, France would be considered a tricky draw.

With world-class players littered throughout their squad, this could be the time for Didier Deschamps’ men to emulate the success of their head coach, who captained his side to a victory on home soil in 1998.

Expect France to be awkward customers for whoever they are drawn against, England will be hoping it isn’t them.

Key Man: Frank Ribery

Prediction: Quarter Finals

Ashes Insight: Who is going to replace Trott?

With the sad and unexpected news about Jonathan Trott leaving the England touring party due to a stress related illness, it leaves the question as to how the team will be shaped in his absence.

Firstly, what are the options for the number three position vacated by Trott?

Current middle-order batsman Joe Root is the favourite to move back up the order having been replaced as opener by the experienced Michael Carberry. He has become more of a ‘utility player’ for England, having batted at number two, four, five, six and seven during his relatively short England career.

If the English selectors decide against Root at three, then it could be Ian Bell who moves up from number four. This would lead to a shuffle in the whole batting line up, with Kevin Pietersen and Root moving up a place each vacating the elusive number six spot.

Jonny Bairstow was given the nod in the home Ashes series last summer, but a consistent run of inconsistent performances never solidified his place in side.

If another batsmen is what captain Alastair Cook and coach Andy Flower want they could turn to Root and Bairstow’s county team-mate Gary Ballance.

Ballance has been in sublime form with the bat in Yorkshire’s push for the County Championship and the selectors could be tempted in bringing him into the side to provide more fire power lower down the order, something which was desperately lacking at the Gabba.

A final alternative could be Durham’s Ben Stokes. Stokes is widely regarding in the County circle and starred with both bat and ball to help Durham clinch the title ahead of Yorkshire this season.

The selection of Stokes could allow greater flexibility to the English bowling line-up, with the door possibly being opened to either Monty Panesar or Steven Finn, who are not seen as been the two most reliable bowlers on tour.

Despite Stokes having no test cricket experience, the same was said for Trott back in the 2009 Ashes series. He came into the final test and arguably clinched the series win with a second innings 119.

If Stokes did get the call-up, few would expect the same heroics as Trott but after seeing the English side so dominant over the past five years, the fans what an immediate improvement from the humiliating defeat in Brisbane.

Despite the Yorkshire pair putting across strong cases, I believe the Durham all-rounder will pip them both to the post, which won’t be for the first time the year.

Formula One: Brazilian Grand Prix Review

Sebastian Vettel made it nine wins in a row in Brazil by stating that seasons like this only come around “once in your life.”

The newly crowned four-time Formula One World Champion eased home ahead of retiring teammate Mark Webber, who drew the curtain on his 215 race career.

Vettel was emotional about the season coming to a close: “It’s sad that this year has come to an end, with this kind of thing coming around once in a lifetime.”

Victory equalled Alberto Ascari’s record of nine straight victories in one season but Vettel played down the comparison between them both: “You can’t really compare it, it’s at a completely different time.”

This also culminated in the end of what can only be described as a frosty relationship between the pair, which came to light after the controversial ‘team orders’ scandal in Malaysia earlier in the season, where Vettel disobeyed his team to snatch victory off the Australian.

Another potential flashpoint was a rare moment of panic from the Red Bull mechanics where both drivers came into the pits at the same time.

Vettel was expecting another lightning quick stop, but his record-braking race almost didn’t culminate when the team were expecting Webber.

The mix-up ironically summed up the Vettel-Webber relationship during the season. Turbulent.

Despite this, Webber was happy to draw a line under the season: “I am very proud to have raced with those guys (Vettel and Fernando Alonso) in the end.”

“It was a real pleasure for me to finish today’s race like I did.”

The attention now turns to next season, with radical changes, especially in the personnel within the teams hoping to make it more competitive.

However, the similarities are still evident, with Webber’s fellow countryman Daniel Ricciardo taking over the reins at Red Bull.

He joins after being groomed by Toro Rosso, with the long-term aim being to partner Vettel in a Championship battle at Red Bull.

His development has been closely monitored, and beat off experienced rival Kimi Raikkonen for the Red Bull seat. Ricciardo follows Vettel in joining Red Bull after a promising season which featured a career best finish of 7^th at the Chinese and Italian races.

Unfortunately there was no fairy tale for home favourite Felipe Massa, who signed off his eight year Ferrari career with a frustrating last race.

He was left irritated by a drive-thru penalty which he incurred after breaking a pit-lane rule which ruined his already faint hopes of a podium finish.

Furthermore, the signs were there for the British drivers leading into next season. Jenson Button finished a very credible 4^th to give McLaren something to build on after a very poor season by their standards.

Former McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton has had better success at his new team Mercedes.

Despite a frustrating 9^th place finish in Interlagos, where Hamilton clinched the 2008 World Championship, he finished 4^th overall in the standings to give real hope that he can be the man to dethrone the dominance of the German next season.

Four to watch: On the plane to Brazil?

With selection for the World Cup in Brazil hotting up, I look at the players who could make a push this season to try and make it onto England’s plane.

Ben Foster – Goalkeeper 

Despite being currently injured, the West Brom ‘keeper is a serious contender to be going to Brazil. After a U-turn on his international retirement, Foster put in several impressive performances during the 2012-13 season that saw that Baggies finish eighth in the Barclays Premier League. Coincide this with an out of form (and out of favour at Manchester City) Joe Hart and the possibility of Foster pulling on the England shirt again doesn’t seem as unimaginable as first thought.

With England’s next friendly against Denmark not being until March next year, it will allow Foster to recuperate from a wrist injury that has troubled him since August. If Hart is still in and out of the City by then and Foster is playing well for West Brom then it will be interesting to see who Roy Hodgson gives the nod to. But watch this space.

Luke Shaw – Left Back

Shaw is tipped to be one of the faces of English football for many years to come. Strangely, that could be his undoing for next years World Cup. With three left backs in Ashley Cole, Leighton Baines and Kieran Gibbs arguably ahead of him in Hodgson’s plans, it will be difficult for the 18 year-old to force his way into the side. Difficult, but not impossible.

Although it is early days, Southampton and Shaw especially have received glowing accolades for the style in the way they have marched into the top six. With new FA chairman Greg Dyke putting an emphasis on bringing younger players through to provide experience for future tournaments, with the target being set to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Shaw could have a stronger chance.

The main question raised is should Shaw be given a chance? He’s been impressive in Gareth Southgate’s new under 21 side so he has some experience representing his country. Don’t be surprised to see Shaw joined Foster for the friendly in March.

Steven Caulker – Centre Back

Recently a forgotten man by England, Caulker is now plying his trade at the improving Cardiff City after a surprising move from Spurs last summer. Unlike Shaw he has played for England, in his only cap against Sweden last year he managed to get himself on the score sheet. The disappointing element of the game is that England lost 4-2, with Caulker at the heart of England’s defence. However since then, many things have changed.

Caulker is free from injury and seems settled at Cardiff and under former Scottish defender and now manager Malky Mackay he has become more solid compared to the expansive style played under Andre Villas Boas at Spurs. The central defensive position is well documented as being a weak spot for England and despite Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka seemingly nailing down a starting spot for Brazil, Caulker could still sneak in under the radar and become a contender for next year.

Ravel Morrison – Midfield

Like Shaw, Morrison is currently shining in the under 21’s and is also leading the line for his club side West Ham. In a side which is desperately deprived of a striker with the absence of Andy Carroll, Morrison has come to the fore, and is currently the club’s leading goalscorer in the league.

After being let go by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012, Morrison has had a point to prove with him not fitting into the ‘Manchester United mould of a player’, which Ferguson insisted on. A change of scenery and a move down to the capital has so proved a wise decision and has become then main man for Sam Allardyce at Upton Park.

He has represented England at every level bar the senior squad and has a real chance of featuring before the World Cup if his form continues. In a squad which isn’t blessed with game changing players, could Morrison be the man who can come off the bench and change the complexion of a game?

In any squad, think Theo Walcott in 2006 and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2012, there is always a surprise. This year it could be Ravel Morrison.