SWANNY'S WORLD OF SPORT: An Indian hero, English '˜villains'. Joshua is great, Hartley is not

The original England squad selection was flawed, the team selection for each individual Test has been hopeless and the captaincy has been atrocious.
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Dec 2016, 15:00 BST
My hero Virat Kohli.My hero Virat Kohli.
My hero Virat Kohli.

A team with too many fragile characters (Adil Rashid) and aging stars (Jimmy Anderson) has also been made to take part in a ridiculous schedule.

But it’s time for change at the top. Alastair Cook should quit and concentrate on accumulating runs and he should take the dismal selection panel with him. Get ex-England players who play in the County Championship to select the squad. Paul Collingwood for one.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Joe Root can bed in as skipper against the not-so-mighty South Africans and useless West Indies next season before preparing to defend the Ashes next winter. It might actually improve Root’s run return. Captaincy hasn’t exactly harmed Virat Kohli.

Most Popular
England captain Dylan Hartley is sent off.England captain Dylan Hartley is sent off.
England captain Dylan Hartley is sent off.

HERO OF THE WEEK

Even amid the gloom of England’s hopeless winter campaign, it’s impossible not to admire the genius of Indian captain Virat Kohli Huge runs in a thrilling style and to think there was a debate before this series started as to whether Kohli or Joe Root was the best batsman in the world. Kohli is number one by a massive margin.

JOSHUA TO BE THE SPORTING STAR OF 2017

Anthony Joshua will smash Wladimir Klitschko in their World Heavyweight title fight next year and win the Sports Personality of the Year prizes for 2017. Klitschko will be 41 for heaven’s sake and he lost to fat boy Tyson Fury in his last bout. Joshua is a star though. Humble and dedicated, unlike most of the blowhard clowns who embarrass the noble art with their pre-fight nonsense.

England flops Alastair Cook and Adil Rashid.England flops Alastair Cook and Adil Rashid.
England flops Alastair Cook and Adil Rashid.

SACK THIS ENGLAND SKIPPER

England’s rugby union team did well to get so many games out of Dylan Hartley without their skipper embarrassing us all with his thuggish tendencies. But his swinging punch and subsequent red card playing for an outclassed Northampton side last weeekend proved he’s not really fit to wear the armband.

Related topics:EnglandTyson Fury