1. Section:GDN PS PaGe:1 Edition Date:150805 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 4/8/2015 20:41 cYanmaGentaYellowblack
12A
Robert Kitson
Stuart Lancaster has insisted no firm
decisions have been taken on the final
make-up of England’s World Cup squad
and denied that Sam Burgess is all but
guaranteed to make his final 31 for the
tournament.Therehavebeensuggestions
the Bath player is already a shoo-in but
Lancaster made it clear that such reports
are inaccurate.
As he prepares to whittle down his
wider squad to 36 players on Friday, the
head coach emphasised he still had an
open mind in certain positions, not least
midfield where Burgess is among several
candidates.“It’sincrediblereally,consid-
ering I was on holiday,” said Lancaster,
referring to a report last week he had
already finalised his team to face France
at Twickenham on Saturday week.
“We didn’t even discuss selection until
Sunday. We’ve come to recognise as a
group that speculation always surrounds
theEnglandteam.Sometimesit’sanedu-
cated guess, sometimes it’s widely inac-
curate. It’s not ideal, but for the record,
thefirstdiscussionwe’vehadonselection
was on Sunday.”
Lancasteralsostressedheis“alongway
from naming the 31” and said there are
“stillalotofdiscussionstobehad”. Either
way, the chances of Danny Cipriani mak-
ingthisweek’scuthavebeenbolsteredby
a further delay in the police investigation
followingthefly-half’sarrestonsuspicion
of drink-driving in June.
Cipriani has been rebailed until
November pending further inquiries,
leaving him free to maintain his push for
a place. In the absence of any charges,
Lancaster says the player will be treated
like any other member of the squad and
said the delay was mere coincidence. “I
was fully expecting him to go back to the
police station on Monday,” said the head
coach.“Ifsoitwascertainlynothingtodo
with me; I don’t have that power.”
Cipriani is available to face France,
with Lancaster indicating he did not
intend to pick his strongest side until the
game against Ireland at Twickenham on
5 September.
Ali Martin
Australia’s under-fire captain, Michael
Clarke,goesintotomorrow’s fourthAshes
Test at Trent Bridge angered by sugges-
tions his international career will be over
after the series.
With his side 2-1 down, following the
eight-wicket defeat at Edgbaston, the
34-year-old has faced increased scrutiny
overhispositionafterscoringonly94runs
in his six innings against England this
summer, at an average of 18.8.
“I think somebody said they could
see it in my eyes that I was finished after
this series,” Clarke wrote in his column
for Australia’s Daily Telegraph. “That’s a
complete load of rubbish. To this day, I’m
thefirsttotrainingandthelasttoleave,so
don’t tell me that I don’t have the desire
and the hunger.”
While Clarke walked away from one-
day cricket following Australia’s World
Cup victory earlier the year, it is clear
any change of leadership in Tests will
not come through his full international
retirement.
“I have no intention to walk away from
cricket,” he added. “I’m 34, not 37, and I
wanttokeepplayingforAustraliabeyond
this series. However, I will be judged on
performance, like everybody else.”
Clarke’s struggles have not been lost
on Stuart Broad, who leads the England
attack on his home ground in the absence
of side-strain victim Jimmy Anderson,
needing one wicket to reach 300 in Tests.
Andersonhasremainedwiththesquadfor
TrentBridgeandwillcontinuetofeedinto
the plans, with Mark Wood set to replace
him after appearing untroubled when
bowling in practice following a painkill-
ing injection to alleviate ankle soreness.
TheDurhamfastbowlercouldsharethe
new ball with Broad, who has dismissed
Clarke a record 10 times in Test cricket
and is plotting more early pressure for
the Australia captain. “We obviously talk
a lot about him and what plans we have
for him,” Broad said. “We are quite proud
at the way we have bowled at him so far.
“We have made it hard for Michael but
he will be working hard to get the better
ofusandweknowhowdangerousheis.It
is going to be a different attack obviously
without Jimmy but we must make sure
that we are right on the money for those
first 20 balls.”
Broad was confident Anderson – seen
runningontheoutfieldyesterday–would
return for the series finale at the Kia Oval.
In the meantime Broad, heading into a
first Test apart since his new-ball partner
missed out against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in
2011,willleadWood,StevenFinnandBen
Stokes through good communication.
“It is important not to apply too much
pressure on myself. It will be important
the bowling unit talk pro-actively in this
game,” said Broad. “That is what Jimmy
and I do naturally, so I will have to be a
bit more conscious of that this week.”
Askedaboutthepossibilityofbringingup
300 wickets on his home ground, Broad
said: “I do not want to look too far ahead
becausethatwilltakemeawayfromstick-
ing to my gameplan and routines. But it
would be a dream come true to get it at
Trent Bridge.”
Alastair Cook’s men must call a halt to
an unprecedented sequence of results
that has seen them go WLWLWLW in
theirpastsevenTestsiftheAshesaretobe
regained in Nottingham. “We are consist-
ently the most inconsistent side and we
have to change that,” Broad said. “There
is no point ignoring and pretending it has
not happened.”
While England are busy battling for the
Ashes, plans are being drawn up for their
winterseriesagainstPakistanintheUnited
ArabEmirates,wheretheformerSriLanka
captain Mahela Jayawardene is set to be
hiredasaconsultant.Jayawardeneworked
with the England head coach, Trevor
Bayliss, and his assistant, Paul Farbrace,
during their time in charge of Sri Lanka.
Australia captain insists he still has hunger
to lead before decisive Trent Bridge Test
Angry Clarke
vows to fight
for his future
Lancaster coy
over inclusion
of Burgess in
reduced squad
Page 4 Page 2
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Michael Clarke has
endured a dismal
Ashes series so far,
scoring 94 runs
from six innings and
averaging just 18.8
batting at No4
Sam Burgess is not
yet guaranteed his
place in England’s
squad despite
reports, according
to the head coach
Stuart Lancaster
Real Madrid
Tottenham
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