Bale injury hits Wales hard ahead of England clash

Wales today announced that Gareth Bale will not take part in this Saturday's vital Euro 2012 qualifier against England at the Millennium Stadium with a hamstring injury.



Bale's injury is a huge blow for Wales



Bale had been carrying a slight hamstring problem into Tottenham's last game against West Ham at the weekend, which had put doubts over his fitness for the England came. It has not become clear that playing for Spurs at the weekend has aggravated the injury enough to put him out of this weekends game.

There has been rumours of a fall out between Wales and Spurs over the injury but Wales boss Gary Speed was quick to dis spell such rumours.

This is huge blow for the Welsh in the build up to this one, as with Bale's form this season, the Welsh fans were in high hopes of a victory over their neighbours. However, this injury will do nothing to help those hopes. This injury will give England a boost as they would have been weary of the threat the Bale possesses after out playing world class full-backs such as Maicon in this seasons Champions League.

England were favorites before the Bale injury, but will be even more so now with this announcement, however, Wales still carry a threat within their team. Players such as Craig Bellamy and Aaron Ramsey have the ability to make a game of it on Saturday and England will have to be weary of that.



England prepare ahead of big qualifying clash



England go into the game with no injury issues from the original squad that was announced. Andy Carroll is expected to partner Wayne Rooney in attack for England. Wolves midfielder Matt Jarvis will be hoping to make his debut, but that is likely to come from the bench. James Milner, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Lennon, Ashley Young, Scott Parker and Stewart Downing are all fighting for a place in the midfield along side the likely midfield two of Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry.

Re-instated skipper John Terry is likely to have a new partner in the centre of defence with ex-skipper Rio Ferdinand and Matt Upson out injured. Spurs' Michael Dawson is the most likely replacement, however, he is battling for that place with Bolton's Gary Cahill, Man City's Joleon Lescott and Everton's Phil Jagielka.

Saturday's promises to be an enthralling encounter as Wales have been waiting a long time for revenge after England beat Wales at the Millennium Stadium the last time the teams met, in a World Cup qualifier as Joe Cole gave England a 1-0 win that afternoon in the summer of 2005.

Why is the England captaincy such a big issue?

Yesterday, Fabio Capello reinstated John Terry as England captain at the expense of Rio Ferdinand. This has outraged many in football, but at the end of the day, does it really matter who wears the armband?



Terry is looking to repay the England faithful

 Once again John Terry is in the headlines and again they concern the England captaincy. England boss Capello removed Terry as captain after off the field problems that Terry suffered before the World Cup last year. Capello then appointed Rio Ferdinand as permanent captain, which too many seemed the logical choice. Sadly, Ferdinand was injured before the World Cup and missed out on captaining his country in the tournament which left Vice-captain Steven Gerrard the job of captaining the side through the dismal campaign. 

It was assumed that Ferdinand would continue to be England captain, despite his current injury problems and that Terry's days as captain were long gone. However, Capello has taken a massive u-turn and re-appointed Terry as the permanent captain after believing he had taken his punishment after a year of not being the captain.  

Although, there are now concerns over this sudden re-appointment, as the rift between Terry and ex Chelsea team mate Wayne Bridge caused massive splits between team mates in the England squad and in club sides. John Terry's profile has been hugely tarnished because of his personal issues and a lot has been exposed about his personality. This does have the potential to upset harmony within the England camp before the huge Euro 2012 qualifying clash against Wales this Saturday.

You can only feel for Ferdinand who has hardly had the chance to captain his country properly with injuries hampering his oppotunity to succeed and before he had the chance to, the title has been stripped from him for no apparent reason.



Ferdinand is left wondering what he did wrong

With all that said, does it really matter who wears the armband? No it really shouldn't, although, the English press has a tendency to make the England captaincy more of a drama than it ought to be. An armband and a title should not mean that they are any different to the other players on the pitch. Other leaders such as Ferdinand and Gerrard can still have their say on the pitch as their opinion is just as valid as their 'captain's'.  

It is about time that the England captaincy stops being a soap opera and becomes something that is cherished by the person who holds it, as it does carry a certain amount of responsibility, with young kids constantly looking up to their heroes and modelling themselves and aspiring to be the next England captain.

England scrape into last eight after heroic victory over the West Indies

England managed to scrape into the last eight of the ICC Cricket World Cup after their epic 18 run win over the West Indies in Chennai on Thursday. South Africa managed to beat Bangladesh on Friday which secured England's passage through into the quarter-finals.

England came into the game knowing that anything less than a win would mean elimination from the tournament at the group stage, which was unthinkable. The team was again forced to be changed by captain Andrew Strauss with the injury to Ajmal Shahzad for the rest of the tournament leaving England with only two front line seamers in Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan. Luke Wright was included in the side for the first time in the tournament as England needed more bowling options. Off-spinner James Tredwell was preferred to Michael Yardy as the second spinner along side Graeme Swann. The batting line up remained the same with Strauss and Prior opening followed by Trott, Bell, Morgan, Bopara and Wright.



Prior is bowled after bright start


Strauss won the toss and decided to bat first and with Prior, they got England off to a flyer with England nearly going at ten runs per over for the first 6 or 7 overs before Prior was bowled by Andre Russell for a run a ball 21 with the score on 48. Skipper Strauss soon followed for 31 off 39 including one six leaving England 79-2 off 11.2 overs as Trott and Bell took over in the middle. England looked to be crusing on 121-2 before Trott was leg spinner Devendra Bishoo's first international wicket as he chipped the ball to Chris Gale at mid-wicket for a well played 47. This sparked a collapse for England, yet again. Ian Bell was bowled brilliantly by Kemar Roach for a frustrating 27, Eoin Morgan was caught behind needlessly off Bishoo for 7 and Ravi Bopara fell cheaply also as he chopped on to his own stumps after a delievery from Roach. England were now left reeling on 151-6 with Luke Wright and James Tredwell left at the crease. Wright, after his supprise inclusion, suddenly became the key man. Both men managed to put on 41 together before a mix up saw Tredwell run out for 9. Tim Bresnan joined Wright in the middle with the score on 192-7. Wright turned out to be the the lift England needed as he came out of his shell to smash England towards a respectable total, before he was bowled for a very well played 44 off 57 balls. Tim Bresnan also contributed with 20 off 27 as England were bowled out for a decent 243 off 48.4 overs. 

Wright scored a vital 44 to
rescue England



The West Indies, although they let England get up to a good score with some poor bowling and fielding in the last few overs, would still fancy their chances with some powerful hitters in the side such as Chris Gale, Kieron Pollard, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Darren Sammy. England would have to produce the kind of performance that saw them beat South Africa a few weeks ago.

Typically, Chris Gale started the innings in an explosive style, smashing England's opening bowlers, Tremlett and Bresnan for 36 runs in the first two overs as the West Indies were well on the way on 50-0 off 5 overs. England needed something to turn the tide, and Strauss provided that something, buy bringing on the off-spinners Swann and Tredwell. However, it wasn't the lead man Swann who provided the breakthrough, it was the unlikely lad Tredwell who got the prize wicket of Gale, LBW for 43 off 21 balls. Tredwell then dismissed Devon Smith, the other opening batsman, stumped by Prior for 10 and England were back in the game as the West Indies stuttered on 67-2.



Gale took the attack to England
from the start



Darren Sammy took the attack to England as he started to smash the England bowlers around the park. Tredwell, however, continued to take wickets as he dismissed Darren Bravo for 5 after an excellent catch by Strauss at first slip. Ravi Bopara then provided the vital wicket of Sammy as he played onto his own stumps for 41 off 29 including 3 sixes. Pollard produced a brief camio as he looked to put his side back into the accendancy but Graeme Swann provided England with that huge wicket as he was caught LBW for 24. Wickets continued to tumble as Swann, Tredwell and Bopara reeked havock as the Windies fell away. However, Andre Russell gave his side hope as he smashed 49, however, it was going to be England's night as they tore through the rest of the West Indian batting line up to complete a fantastic 18 run victory and bowl the West Indies out for 225 as Jonathon Trott ran out Suliman Benn to spark off wild England celebrations.



Tredwell's 4-48 was crucial
to England's win



After the victory, England confiremed that young Surrey fast bowler Jade Dernbach is to be called up to the squad to replace the injured Ajmal Shahzad. Dernbach's call up is a supprise to many, but his reletively unknown ability might prove a positive for England as teams won't be aware of his strengths and weaknesses.

England are likely to face Sri Lanka in Colombo in the quater finals, and are only three victories away from becoming World Champions. But lets not get carried away.. yet.

England lose KP but Morgan might be the perfect man

After beating South Africa, the England squad was on a high, until star man Kevin Pietersen was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup with a hernia problem. However, the previously injured Eoin Morgan has been called up to replace Pietersen, which may not be a bad thing at all. Is this a blessing in disguise for England?



KP: Gutted after injury cuts his World Cup short



Pietersen has been England's leading man since he was introduced into the side in 2004, but recently has become inconsistent, after starting off his career with high scores on a regular basis. There is no doubting his ability to be able to win matches for his country and a team with Kevin Pietersen in is a stronger one.

Although, it is clear that Pietersen is carrying an injury, which could make him vulnerable as the tournament gets older, which could jeopardise the teams chances. Morgan was not originally in the squad as he was injured when England had to announce their final squad. He has now recovered from injury and is a fantastic replacement for Pietersen. There is no doubt Morgan would have been in the squad if it wasn't for his injury. His injury paved the way for Ravi Bopara to get back into the side, and he certainly took his chance against South Africa.

The reason why this could be a bless in disguise for England is Morgan's magnificent ability to win games for his country. Countless times in his short career, his innings has been the one that has all but ensured England have won One-day internationals. His injury at the start of the tournament was a huge blow, but his is back in the side, sadly at the expense of Pietersen.

You may argue that Pietersen has just as much, if not more ability than Morgan to be able to win a game for England. However, I ask you, how many times has KP done that in the last few years for England? Generally he does like the big occasions, such as the Twenty20 World Cup where he was crucial, but Morgan offers England something that Pietersen sometimes doesn't. Pietersen isn't the type of player who will keep the score board ticking, he's a player who likes to push on and score runs quickly to take games away from sides in the blink of an eye. Morgan has the ability to keep the score board ticking and the ability to accelerate at a vast pace as using his amazing hitting ability and technique.



Morgan: may benefit from Pietersen's misfortune

 With Morgan back in the side, England do have an issue with who opens the innings with Andrew Strauss, as Pietersen had been doing so for the first four games of the tournament. The obvious choice would surely be Matt Prior as he was opening during the dismal One-day series in Australia though January/February. However, I am still not convinced as to whether he can deliver in One-day cricket for England. He is without doubt our best Test Match keeper, but he does struggle in ODI's, but whether or not he is the man for the one-day scene, that is yet to be seen. If Prior is over looked for the openers role, the only other options England have are to open with Jonathan Trott or Ian Bell, who have both opened for England before. However, it would make sense if Prior was to open, due to the fact he did so very recently down under.

The injury to Pietersen has certainly given Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss something to think about, but England have strength in depth and to bring a player in such as Eoin Morgan, you can't afford to complain too much, it may well be the best thing that happened to England.

Liverpool do title chasers a favour as they crush United

Dirk Kuyt scored the easiest but the most memorable hat-trick of his career to give Liverpool a huge win over their bitter rivals at Anfield. Kuyt was in the right place at the right time all afternoon as the Reds ran out 3-1 winners.

Manchester United came into the game on a run of 3 defeats in 5 league games, which is not the Manchester United we have come to know, especially this season. Liverpool, since the arrival of Kenny Dalglish as manager, have risen up the table dramatically with 3 wins in their last 5 with one defeat, one of those wins at Stamford Bridge, which shows their improvement under Dalglish.

Liverpool seemed to run the show from start to finish, with United seemingly contributing to their own downfall. The first goal was all about Luis Suarez, who danced through 3 or 4 United defenders in the box before sliding the ball between Edwin Van Der Sar's legs for Kuyt to tap in on the line.

Kuyt sends the Liverpool fans into raptures on Sunday

The first goal seemed to really liven the game up, with Jamie Carragher lunging in on Nani, which sparked huge protests from the United players, but Carragher luckily stayed on the field. The second goal of the game came in the space of 5 minutes and ironically it was set up by Nani, but at the wrong end. He tried to head clear a cross from the right, but only managed to head back towards his own goal, leaving Kuyt with an easy header from 4 yards out.

Liverpool found themselves 2 to the good at half time, with Man United looking like a side who had run out of ideas. The pressure was on Sir Alex Ferguson as with Chelsea playing tomorrow, the gap between the top 4 was getting ever closer.

Just after the hour mark, the game was settled, as Steven Gerrard's free kick was parried at the near post by Van Der Sar, with Kuyt the only man in the box to react and left himself with the simplest of tap ins to hand him his first hat-trick for Liverpool. The Kop were going crazy as their team were 3 goals to the good over their bitter rivals.

Liverpool's record signing Andy Carroll made his long awaited debut for the Reds as he came on with 15 minutes to go. He received a standing ovation from the Liverpool faithful as he looks to become the next famous Liverpool number 9. However with the scoreline the way it was and the amount of time left in the game, he wasn't able to make an impact.

It's not like Manchester United not to have the last say on the day, as the increasingly impressive Javier Hernandez pulled a goal back in stoppage time with a slick angled header into Pepe Reina's far corner from six yards to give the United fans something to cheer about.

It was Liverpool's day and after a tough season so far, this result will make their fans very optimistic for next season. Their main aim this season would be to try and get into Europe, however, these are worrying times for United, as their recent form isn't that of champions, although, write Sir Alex's men off at your peril.

England show fight to turn heads once again

England's hopes of winning the Cricket World Cup for the first time seemed bleak to say the least after a shocking defeat to Ireland. However, a magnificent show of character put the hopes of the nation and players back on track with a sensational victory over hotly fancied South Africa. 

Peterson ripped though England
early on

Andrew Strauss' men realised before the game that this was a must win after defeat to the Irish, but with South Africa in excellent form going into this one, victory seemed unlikely. England's chances became even more unlikely after the worst possible start with Strauss and Kevin Pietersen falling in the very first over to left-arm spinner Robbie Peterson. Soon after, Ian Bell fell poorly to that man Peterson, leaving England reeling on 15-3. That brought the steady Jonathan Trott and the recently out of favour Ravi Bopara to the crease, with England in need of a big partnership.

Trott was cool as ever

They both started off slowly, with the instinctively attacking Bopara realising the situation and ensuring he didn't do anything stupid. Trott looked composed, and he was vital to England's chances of getting any sort of a score. The partnership started to progress, and both players were beginning to score runs more freely. However, South Africa captain Graeme Smith may be to blame for this. After starting with spin in the form of Peterson, which had England on the racks, he decided to turn to pace, ignoring the fact that England were not coping with the spin on a typically spinning Indian wicket. This may have been the turning point in the innings, as both Trott and Bopara were able to get  themselves in and acclimatise themselves with the situation and start to build a partnership, using the pace bowlers to score runs off.



Bopara proved key for England

 The partnership got to 99 with England recovering excellently on 114-3. However, South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir provided the vital break though with Trott smashing the ball back at Tahir who took an excellent catch off his own bowling to dismiss Trott for 52. This proved to be the catalyst for England's collapse. Matt Prior and then the excellent Ravi Bopara were both dismissed soon after with Prior only making 10 and Bopara a well played 60. England were now back in the mire on 148-5, but 200 still looked realistic, and on a pitch like this, it looked defend able.

Tahir started England's collapse

However, the tail was not able to wag for England and it fell away with out a trace as England were all out for a poor 171. For once in this tournament, England's batting was looking frail, when before it had been their strong point. This time, it was all down to the bowlers, who had been letting the side down in the previous 3 matches in the tournament, but the pitch looked to give the bowlers something, but could England pull of a miraculous victory?

Amla gave SA the perfect start

This did not look possible as South Africa were cruising on 63-0 with captain Smith and Hashim Amla providing the Proteas with the perfect start to their run chase. However, typically it was Graeme Swann who provided England with the belief that they can win this game, as he dismissed Smith, caught behind, for 22. This started a mini collapse with Amla and Kallis falling leaving South Africa 82-3, game on.

England began to make inroads

A recovery was needed for South Africa to put them back in the ascendancy, with the in form AB De Villiers (2 hundreds already in the World Cup) and Francois Du Plessis now at the crease. This seemed to materialise for South Africa with the score now increased to 124-3 and a South African victory looked assured. Although, this is England and nothing is black and white, especially in the World Cup so far and how right that proved to be.

James Anderson, who has been disappointing in the tournament so far, provided the vital break though, as he bowled the key man, De Villiers, for 25, Du Plessis was run out brilliantly by Ian Bell for 17 and JP Duminy bowled again magnificently by Anderson for a duck, the game was tipped on its head with the score now 124-6, England were in the driving seat all of a sudden. Robbie Peterson, the scourge of England at the start of the game, also fell cheaply leaving South Africa 127-7 and England were on a roll.

Morne van Wyk and Dale Steyn now had the huge task of trying to re-build the innings with victory looking unlikely, South Africa only need just over 3 runs an over, but the momentum was now with England.



South Africa contributed to
 their own downfall



Steyn and van Wyk were beginning to sift the momentum with a partnership now worth 33 with the score at 160-7 and only 12 runs to win with plenty of overs to spare. However, it was Tim Bresnan, brought back into the attack, who broke the resistance, bowling van Wyk who played onto his own stumps for a patient 13, 160-8. Dale Steyn was now the key wicket for England as he was now into his 20's and capable of scoring the remanding runs in a short time.

 


Broad was the man of the moment
finishing off the tail dramatically


Stuart Broad, England's key wicket taker in One-day cricket, was the man who provided the moment of magic, with an excellent delivery which rattled into Steyn's pads, directly in front of the stumps and was given out LBW for 20. In came last man Imran Tahir with the score on 164-9 and 8 runs still required. It was that man Broad who didn't waste any time in finishing off South Africa as Morne Morkel went after a wide delivery and edged to Matt Prior and England bowled out South Africa for 165 and won by just 6 runs.



England players celebrate
a fantastic result

England had pulled of one of the most miraculous victories in the World Cup so far. Considering the up and down form of the side and after the incredible defeat to Ireland, to defend 171 against such a talented side deserves huge credit, and Andrew Strauss' side look more like the team we have come accustomed to over the last year or so. Ravi Bopara was rightly named man of the match for his vital 60 which gave England hope of defending their score. England's World Cup chances have taken a turn for the good.

English rugby yet again starts to peak at the right time

As I am not an expert on Rugby, this article may not be as accurate as some of my other articles, however, I do follow the sport and always have a keen eye on it when the Six Nations or the World Cup is involved. To me, certainly in recent years since I have been following, England seem to always come good just before the World Cup... that tends to be a good sign, in Rugby anyway.

In all the other sports England compete in, the World Cup is built up so much and we always expect ourselves to have a good chance to win it, what ever the sport. Football is a classic example, Cricket is another. You could argue is a fair statement as we are up there as one of the best in the World on paper in those sports and should be successful in such tournaments, but in Football and Cricket it seems, we never turn up, that is evident currently in the Cricket World Cup in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with England going in as one of the favourites after a fantastic few years on the pitch, but the team is choking, which is all too regular (for what ever reason).

 

Martin Johnson looking to win
the World Cup as a player and a coach



However, although the England Rugby team isn't expected to win the World Cup as much as the national side is in Football and Cricket, that seems to be the reason for why they have been surprisingly successful in recent tournaments (although in 2003 there was huge expectation). The 2007 World Cup however, England went into it as Champions, although, no-one would have predicted after losing their opening game (ironically to South Africa) 36-0, that they would meet South Africa again in the final. They may have lost that final in 2007, which was a poor game, it showed that if a team goes into a competition with less expectation, that can lead to the team playing more freely and with less pressure on their shoulders from back home.That looked to be the case in 2007, and arguably in 2003 with such teams as the All Blacks and Australia around.



Chris Ashton has become integral
to England's hopes

 With England doing so well in the Six Nations this year, peoples hopes are risen again, as after the previous two World Cups, the England team has been largely unsuccessful and not lived up to the expectations and reputation they had worked so hard to achieve.

With such victories against Australia last Autumn, and impressive wins over Wales, Italy and France, they are well on their way to becoming a force to be reckoned with again, but they are by no means favorites for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, which could be a positive once again.

An interesting fact that has caught my attention is that the last time England won the Grand Slam in the Six Nations was in 2003.. surely that isn't a sign!? England, if they can win their last two Six Nations games at home to Scotland and away to Ireland, which will be extremely tough, and win the Grand Slam, then people will start to talk about 2003 once again.





Can England win the World Cup this September.. why not!?

(Oh, and the head coach is Martin Johnson.. remember him?)