Partly because Chris Woakes is a doubt for the match. I always find it weird Cricket still operates on a selector and coach model when most international team sports have moved to the head coach making all the selection sections
Yeah to be honest I never like to throw in new openers for the marquee series’. Never seems to work, just look at Australia in the BGT with McSweeney, and he was coming into a much better and more stable team than our one, yet struggled.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-u...evolution-franchise-model-relegation-rfu-cvc/ Rugby aims to permanently abolish relegation.
Nat Sciver-Brunt is being lined up as the next England captain by the new coach, Charlotte Edwards. (The Guardian)
This feels like a short term thing due to a lack of other options being ready or regulars in the team. She doesn't really come across as a natural leader, and has struggled at times when filling in. Let's see how it goes with a coach who knows her well, though.
I think he's probably a little older than 14 (probably 15 or 16), but regardless he's a ridiculous talent.
One rumour is he is 18 months older than his claimed age. That’s not unknown in India, they have a lot of people saying they extremely old but are not - haven’t heard of it in Indian sport before through. I can’t see how they can cover it up for ever through.
Back home, Nat Sciver-Brunt has been named England Women's Captain. I'm not holding out too much hope here.
England Men's squad for Test Match against Zimbabwe Ben Stokes (Durham) - Captain Gus Atkinson (Surrey) Shoaib Bashir (Somerset) Harry Brook (Yorkshire) Sam Cook (Essex) Jordan Cox (Essex) Zak Crawley (Kent) Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire) Ollie Pope (Surrey) Matthew Potts (Durham) Joe Root (Yorkshire) Jamie Smith (Surrey) Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire) https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4257173 Cox and Potts the two not likely to play.
Would be odd if they didn't play Potts after getting Durham to rest him last week, in the middle of a pace bowler injury crisis.
What a cracking game of rugby and against all the odds Northampton Saints beat Leinster in Dublin. What a win considering how poor they have been domestically and having important players out injured. Let’s not forget Leinster is basically Ireland…..
Going to be interesting to see whi does and doesn’t go on the Lions tour and who has to settle for their country’s own tour.
Well in front of Farrell, Freeman and Smith are surely on the plane plus wouldn’t surprise me if Pollock is on also, he’s such a talent imo and only 20, his future is scary!
What Northampton did, with also about 9 of the starting 23 still injured… no Sleightholme or Hendy, 3 yellow cards away from home to that monster Leinster side is ridiculous. Northampton were 15/1 or 30pt predicted loss by the bookies minimum.. and they won. Pollock really is starting to remind me of McCaw. Forget England and lions, you are watching potentially the birth of an All Time Greats fledgling career. Finn Smith stuffed Predengast who can’t tackle won’t tackle. Freeman is mustard and Mitchell is the best 9 in the British isles. shout out to Dingwall and Hutchinson in the centres as well as the pack. What a shift they put in. One of the all time great performances. Henry Pollock is 20. Bloody Hell.
James Rew has become the youngest Englishman to hit 10 first-class centuries since Denis Compton as the 21-year-old made 116 from 189 balls to help Somerset see off Essex in a memorable three-wicket win. (The Telegraph) Maro Itoje appears in pole position to assume the British and Irish Lions captaincy with his main rival, Caelan Doris, now a major doubt for the tour of Australia. (The Telegraph)
For the upcoming India series, Rohit Sharma has retired, so Bumrah is likely to captain them. Not really a shock - his test record has been poor for a while.