England captain Alastair Cook believes the fourth Ashes Test starting in Melbourne, Australia, today is the perfect stage for his battered side to salvage some pride and work toward ending what has been a miserable series on a high.
Cook’s men arrived as favorites to retain the Ashes with a fourth successive series win over hosts Australia, but have already relinquished the urn and were rocked further with the shock retirement of spearhead spinner Graeme Swann on Monday.
The England skipper, who celebrated his 29th birthday yesterday, will be forced to reshuffle his bowling attack following Swann’s departure, but was keen to look for positives ahead of today’s match after a so far woeful tour.
Photo: AFP
“It’s been an interesting week,” Cook told reporters in Melbourne yesterday, with his England side already 3-0 down in the five-Test series after heavy defeats in Australia’s Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
“Losing the Ashes and with Swannie going as well, it has been a different week. When you lose games of cricket, naturally your confidence does slip,” he added.
Monty Panesar is expected to come in for Swann, while pace bowlers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad are battling a loss of form and a foot injury respectively.
Photo: AFP
Wicketkeeper Matt Prior could also miss out due to a poor run of form with the bat and recent problems with the gloves, but Cook said that whoever lines up for England in Melbourne will be united in their quest for redemption.
“We’re desperate to turn it around and you don’t often get the chance to play a Boxing Day Test match at the MCG [Melbourne Cricket Ground], which reportedly is going to be pretty much sold out for the first day,” he added.
Cook praised Swann’s contribution to the England side over the past five years and was keen to emphasize that the spinner’s comments in a news conference on Tuesday accusing some international players of “disappearing up their own backsides” were not aimed at any of the current squad.
“A phone call to Swannie reassured me very quickly that it wasn’t at all about any of the England players,” the skipper added. “He totally 100 percent reassures me and the whole England team that it’s not about us. So to me, the matter’s closed on that.”
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
By the time Cameron Menzies finally left the arena on Monday, the blood gushing from the gash on his right hand had trickled down his wrist, part of his forearm and — somehow — up to his face. Smeared in crimson and regret, and already mouthing sheepish apologies to the crowd, he disappeared down the steps, pursued by a stern-looking Matt Porter, the chief executive of Professional Darts Corp (PDC). The physical scars from Menzies’ encounter with the Alexandra Palace drinks table after his 3-2 defeat against Charlie Manby at the Darts World Championship would be gone within a few weeks.
Manchester United on Monday blew the lead three times to miss out on moving up to fifth in the Premier League as AFC Bournemouth would not be beaten in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford. United have lost just once in their past 10 games, but Ruben Amorim would be frustrated as more points at home were frittered away despite arguably the best attacking display of his reign in charge. Amad Diallo and Casemiro gave the hosts a halftime lead either side of Antoine Semenyo’s equalizer. Two Bournemouth goals from Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier in seven minutes at the start of the
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
RSS