Having come so close to victory, England’s men’s team suffered yet more World Cup heartbreak with a semi-final defeat to Argentina. They took the lead when Anthony Gordon turned in Morgan Rogers’ cross after an impressive team move, but then retreated quite spectacularly. England spent much of the final half hour defending their own box, …
Continue reading “World Cup pain and the hope that is truly secure”
It’s been a fantastic couple of weeks for that most traditional of sporting contests – Test cricket. First we had South Africa’s men battle back to pull off a thrilling run chase against Australia to claim the World Test Championship at Lord’s. Then, nine days later, England’s men rallied impressively to defeat India at Headingley …
Continue reading “Test cricket and the call to wait patiently “
Having stumbled through much of Euro 2024, England now find themselves in the final after a last-gasp 2-1 victory over the Netherlands. It has been remarkable progress for a team who appeared so ponderous in the group stage and then came within minutes of being knocked out by a more dynamic Slovakia side. England’s semi-final …
Continue reading “Watkins, Palmer and the perfect substitution”
When Stuart Broad took the final Australian wicket to seal England’s victory in the fifth men’s Ashes Test it was hailed by many as a fitting end to a pulsating series. Having only announced two days beforehand that he would be retiring from cricket after the match at The Oval, Broad had Alex Carey caught …
Continue reading “Broad, The Ashes and the power of stories”
It was both ordinary and extraordinary. Lionel Messi’s Argentina defeated France to win the men’s football World Cup, having lived up to their billing among the pre-tournament favourites. But they did so in the sort of dramatic circumstances we have hardly ever witnessed, after a Kylian Mbappé-inspired France twice roared back from seemingly nailed-on defeat …
International sport is coming thick and fast right now, with cricket and both rugby codes taking centre stage before the controversial football World Cup in Qatar steams into view. While England’s men’s teams are pursuing the world T20 cricket title and the rugby league World Cup, their female colleagues have been sweeping all before them …
Continue reading “The importance of doing, not just listening“
As a young footballer, one of the coaching tips I can most remember receiving is the safety first defensive strategy of ‘if in doubt, put it out’. The logic behind this was clear: if the ball is in danger of going near your goal and there is no obvious risk-free way to retain possession, then …
Continue reading “Overplaying and the danger of stubbornness”
Surnames are an important part of who we are. Our first names were generally chosen by our parents, but our surnames are handed down by successive generations. They tell us we are part of a family lineage that we may be able to trace back over hundreds of years. And even if we can’t draw …
This is one of my favourite times of the year as a tennis fan. Wimbledon is just around the corner and we can look forward to two weeks of action on the famed grass courts of SW19. There is something magnificent about how pristine the courts are on the opening day and then slowly become …
Have you been bitten by the Wordle bug yet? Hopefully, that won’t be as random a question as it sounds as whenever I log onto social media I find friends posting about it. If you’ve not come across the word puzzle game, you can check it out here. It’s a very simple concept that may …
Running the Race