Barry puts Lamps in shade

Gareth Barry edged out Frank Lampard in the battle to partner skipper Steven Gerrard in England’s midfield for the crucial European Championship qualifier with Estonia at Wembley.

As he hinted yesterday, coach Steve McClaren opted to stick with Barry, who performed so well in last month’s victories against Israel and Russia, although Lampard was on the bench after recovering from a torn thigh muscle.

The rest of McClaren’s side picked itself, with Sol Campbell’s introduction for injured skipper John Terry and Wayne Rooney’s recall in place of broken metatarsal victim Emile Heskey long since confirmed.

Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and Joe Cole were also included, even though a booking against the Group E minnows would rule them out of Wednesday’s potentially hazardous trip to Russia.

McClaren packed his bench with attacking options, with David Bentley, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe all among the substitutes as England looked to maintain a three-match winning run in their group that would put them five points clear of Russia in the qualification battle.