Liam Livingstone must finally seize moment for England on global stage | Ali Martin
The England players who hit the golf course on Sunday morning probably did the right thing, really,Back at the team hotel they were replaying the defeat against Australia the previous night on a jumbo‑sized screen, with the gentle flute muzak in the lobby barely softening the sight of Josh Inglis going gangbusters,Plenty went back to their own struggle to tee off with the bat,At the 30-over mark, England were 200 with just two down, only to finish 351 for eight,It was their highest score at a global event, the highest by any side at a Champions Trophy.
But it was still only par and swiftly bumped down to No 2 as regards the second of those two records,Well in excess was a must given the evening conditions that followed and Jos Buttler, among those to let things slip when holing out on 23, tried to mask his disappointment yet again,Australia were ruthless, while England did hint at improvement before things unspooled,But even with the semi-finals not yet out of reach, there are growing shades of Joe Root’s final days as Test captain here,The more authentic post-match reaction came from Ben Duckett.
In contrast to the Gordon Brown smile that Buttler has tried through this run of winter defeats, a glum Duckett admitted he was “pretty flat”,And not without good reason,After leaving India with a groin injury and questions swirling about his ability to kick on after starts, the opener’s wonderfully stitched 165 had set a platform for colleagues to exploit,It’s here where, along with Buttler and Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone enters the conversation,The last recognised batter, strolling out at 280 for five with nine overs to go, Livingstone muscled one typically brawny six to the short square boundary before taking on the longer one to perish for 14 off 17 balls.
Had Jofra Archer not raided 21 at the death, a pretty convincing defeat would have become a shellacking.In contrast to the late dew that fell at the back end of the chase, Livingstone said on Sunday that two softening balls and a slowing pitch were the problem.And in fairness, No 7 is a tough, specialist role; sometimes tasked with putting out a fire, other times needing to squeeze the trigger from the get-go.But just shy of 100 white-ball caps – 37 one-day internationals, 60 Twenty20s – and a senior in the squad aged 31, these are also the moments across five International Cricket Council tournaments he is still truly to seize.Indeed, despite some bilateral success these past 12 months, Livingstone averages 15.
4 with the bat when there is a global trophy at stake, with a best of 33.That 33 is also the closest he has come to nailing the role on the big stage, only to be caught hitting into the wind needing 25 from 17 balls to beat South Africa in the T20 World Cup last year.Had he got England over the line, the far trickier semi‑final against India, on a turner in Guyana, would have been swerved.For all this, Livingstone is one of the first names in the XI, those leggies and off-breaks – a creditable one for 47 from seven overs on Saturday night – making him England’s next best spin option after Adil Rashid.They have slightly painted themselves into a corner with the squad overall, as the reserves are Tom Banton, a top‑order bat, and three quicks in Saqib Mahmood, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton.
Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotionIt was a tough first outing for the frontliners, Archer and Mark Wood fading after fearsome starts and, in combination with Brydon Carse, whose back-of-a-length heft was too easily pulled by Inglis and co, they shipped 8.5 runs per over combined.There is no left-armer, a shortage of variation among the right-armers, and no frontline spinner should they somehow kick on and play the Dubai semi-final.“Like anything, it can take a little bit of time,” Livingstone said, when asked about Brendon McCullum’s impact since becoming white-ball head coach this year.“But we don’t really have time on our side in this tournament, for sure.
Hopefully that turnaround comes in the next game and we can ride away from there.”England stay put for now, Afghanistan next up in Lahore on Wednesday – another day‑nighter in which again conditions could lurch – before switching to Karachi to play South Africa three days later.They may yet ride away to make Buttler’s smile less forced.But as per their past two global events, they continue to do it the hard way.
Steve Borthwick may focus on results but England fans want to see an identity | Gerard Meagher
About an hour after the final whistle on Saturday, England’s victorious players still swigging from the Calcutta Cup, Steve Borthwick was deep inside Twickenham discussing how his players finally got their hands back on the trophy. He was justifying their route-one tactics, explaining why England showcased so little with ball in hand; essentially, why they seemed to revert to a tactical approach that wins matches but few admirers.Borthwick was asked a perfectly reasonable question – was it the coaches’ decision to do so or the players adapting on the hoof in response to Scotland’s gameplan? – and he did not answer it properly. He was bristling, looking for hidden meaning in the question that just wasn’t there. He was asked it again and once more failed to provide an answer
Freeman believes in England’s Six Nations title hopes despite fans’ boos
Tommy Freeman has admitted that England understand supporters’ frustrations amid a chorus of boos during the scrappy win against Scotland, but he believes Steve Borthwick’s team are still alive in the Six Nations title race after back-to-back wins.Borthwick has revealed that Freeman’s Northampton teammate George Furbank is unlikely to feature in the final two games, against Italy and Wales, having suggested previously that he could, but England go into the second fallow week third in the table with favourable fixtures to come.While the 16-15 victory on Saturday ended a run of four successive defeats by Scotland, and was a first against the auld enemy at Twickenham since 2017, supporters made clear their feelings regarding England’s route-one approach and they could be heard groaning and jeering as Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith put boot to ball. The former captain Will Carling described England’s victory as “very ugly” while the World Cup winner Will Greenwood said “they simply play no rugby”.Scotland scored three tries to England’s one – a controversial score by Freeman amid uncertainty over whether he grounded the ball – but the 23-year-old winger sought to explain his side’s approach
Liam Livingstone must finally seize moment for England on global stage | Ali Martin
The England players who hit the golf course on Sunday morning probably did the right thing, really. Back at the team hotel they were replaying the defeat against Australia the previous night on a jumbo‑sized screen, with the gentle flute muzak in the lobby barely softening the sight of Josh Inglis going gangbusters.Plenty went back to their own struggle to tee off with the bat. At the 30-over mark, England were 200 with just two down, only to finish 351 for eight. It was their highest score at a global event, the highest by any side at a Champions Trophy
Italy 24-73 France: Six Nations – as it happened
Antoine Dupont led France to an overwhelming 73-24 rout of hosts Italy as they ran in 11 tries in an action-packed Six Nations triumph on Sunday, bouncing back in style from their one-point loss to England in their last game two weeks ago.The French captain was at his imperious best as he directed matters at the Stadio Olimpico and scored two tries, as did fullback Leo Barré. The other French tries were shared among Mickaël Guillard, Peato Mauvaka, Paul Boudehent, Gregory Alldritt, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Theo Attissogbe and Pierre-Louis Barassi, while Thomas Ramos booted over eight conversions and substitute Maxime Lucu one.Italy had opened the try scoring through Tommaso Menoncello in the 12th minute with his centre partner, Juan Ignacio Brex, dotting down their other first-half try in what had been an end-to-end opening. Paolo Garbisi contributed a try midway through the second half and kicked over the conversion while Tommaso Allan booted over a penalty and two conversions, but the hosts finished almost 50 points adrift
India beat Pakistan by six wickets in Champions Trophy – as it happened
Virat Kohli completed his 51st one-day international century with the winning runs as India beat Pakistan by six wickets in their Champions Trophy match in Dubai.Electing to bat first, Pakistan made 241 before being all out with two deliveries left in their stop-start innings. Saud Shakeel (62) and Mohammad Rizwan (46) scored the bulk of the runs for Pakistan while spinner Kuldeep Yadav claimed 3-40.Kohli anchored a tricky chase with his unbeaten 100, completed with a cover drive that saw India reach their target. Shreyas Iyer added 56 as India registered their second successive victory in Group A of the tournament with 7
Arizona apologize for anti-Mormon chants after team’s loss to BYU
Arizona have apologized after some of the team’s fans directed abuse at BYU after the Cougars’ upset victory over the Wildcats on Saturday.The game, in Arizona’s home arena, ended in controversy after a number of calls went BYU’s way. As the players left the court chants of “Fuck the Mormons” could be heard around the McKale Center. Around 98% of BYU’s student body are Mormons and the university is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.“Following tonight’s men’s basketball game, it was brought to our attention that an unacceptable chant occurred,” Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois said in a statement
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