It is difficult to guesstimate the scale of the ‘controvassy’ had English footballers answered the call on the Wembley turf

Ashton Agar’s record-breaking Test debut will give Englishmen nightmares for years to come, but was just a “dream come true” for the Australian teenager.

Kevin Pietersen holds the key to whether he ever plays for England again, England coach Andy Flower said yesterday.

England were relieved to emerge from a nerve-wracking and barely fathomable first day of the final Test with the edge over Pakistan.

JADE DERNBACH’S 25th birthday will surely be his happiest yet if he can take his unexpected shot at World Cup glory with England.

IRELAND wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien believes his brother Kevin must learn to manage the expectation that comes with his new role as a fans favourite.

CAPTAIN William Porterfield rued the fact that Ireland did not put up a more imposing total as they went down to a five-wicket defeat to India in their World Cup Group B match in Bangalore yesterday.

IRELAND’S Kevin O’Brien hit the fastest hundred in Cricket World Cup history to sentence shell-shocked England to an astounding three-wicket defeat at Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Ireland's Kevin O'Brien hit the fastest hundred in World Cup history to sentence shell-shocked England to an astounding three-wicket defeat at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium tonight.

ENGLAND’S worst World Cup fears were realised yesterday when their leading one-day batsman and former Irish star Eoin Morgan was ruled out of the tournament with a fractured finger.

ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss has admitted Eoin Morgan could be ruled out of the World Cup because of a fractured finger.

Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline unveiled a deal today to buy the company behind Maximuscle protein shakes used by rugby player Gavin Henson, cricket star Stuart Broad and footballer Jermaine Jenas.

TO lose one of the world’s great managers may be regarded as a misfortune.

EOIN MORGAN’S second Rose Bowl hundred of the summer helped England clinch the troubled NatWest Series 3-2 with a landslide 121-run victory over Pakistan.

ANDY FLOWER is unrepentant about England’s management of the ball, despite South Africa’s transitory suspicions that tampering might have been afoot during the third Test.

Andrew Flintoff was appropriately involved in the pivotal moment as England bowled out Australia to reclaim the Ashes at the Oval today.

ENGLAND bowling hero Stuart Broad played down his own contribution after the home side moved into a dominant position against Australia in the decisive fifth Test at The Oval, yesterday.

ENGLAND are facing an anxious wait to determine whether they face another dilemma over the balance of their side after all-rounder Andrew Flintoff emerged as a doubt for the second Ashes Test.

ENGLAND salvaged a dramatic draw in Cardiff as the first npower Ashes Test was embroiled in controversy during a tense finale.

MICHAEL CLARKE became the first dismissal under floodlights in Test cricket in Britain last night but only after boosting Australia’s position in the Ashes opener in Cardiff.

IRELAND gave notice that they may be more competitive than expected in this season’s Friends Provident Trophy despite losing to Nottinghamshire by 56 runs at Clontarf in the first match of the campaign.

ENGLAND lost a highly-charged thriller at The Brit Oval yesterday as India levelled the NatWest Series of one-day internationals by completing a huge run chase in the final over.

ENGLAND will fly back home from the Caribbean next week and face an inevitable clamour for change following one of their most testing winter campaigns in recent years.

Paul Nixon and Claude Henderson led Leicestershire to only their second Liverpool Victoria County Championship Division Two victory of the season, extending Gloucestershire’s miserable record at Cheltenham College.