Flintoff not thinking about becoming England coach
Flintoff led the Lions on trips to South Africa and Australia in the winter and, having been with England Under-19s for their win against India in Northampton on Monday, joined the full squad at their practice on Tuesday in Birmingham before the second Test against India.McCullum was made England Test coach in 2022 and has overhauled the side by implementing a positive approach since. At the start of the year he also took on the role of England white-ball coach, having replaced Australian Matthew Mott who was sacked last year.Flintoff worked under Mott on a temporary basis, first in September 2023 and then at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean last year.He is also a long-time friend of England managing director of men's cricket Rob Key, who has said Flintoff would make an excellent head coach in the future."I'm enjoying working under Keysy," said Flintoff, a crucial player in England's famous 2005 Ashes win."It's no secret he's one of my best mates and he's helped me so much in other things. With Baz, we've got a great relationship and the utmost respect."He's unbelievable and the culture he's created is incredible. It's similar to what Gareth Southgate did with the football lads."Flintoff had largely moved away from cricket prior to his crash in December 2022, which left him with serious facial injuries.After an initial private return – he attended matches in a balaclava at the invitation of Key – he was named head coach of the Superchargers' men's side in The Hundred last year and has become an increasingly public figure again."I'm not looking at the franchise world or anything else, although I do the Northern Superchargers which came around last year and I enjoy working with [Superchargers captain] Harry Brook on that."I think 'I've got a job to do here' and it's not like 'what's next?'."Former all-rounder Moeen Ali also joined England's staff on Monday as they prepared for the second Test which begins on Wednesday.
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The Sun
20 minutes ago
- The Sun
Diogo Jota and Andre Silva's tragic deaths show sport is nothing more than a joyful distraction from what truly matters
AT THIS time of year, with the transfer market abuzz, there is a tendency to view elite footballers as commodities. Their price-tags, fees, resale values and contract lengths are discussed by us all with the casual air of stockbrokers observing the gilt markets. 9 9 And then on a sunny morning in early July, chilling news arrived from Spain which made all of that talk sound so trivial, so brutal, so cold. Diogo Jota — newly wed to Rute Cardoso, his childhood sweetheart and mother of his three children — was dead at 28. Jota was a freshly crowned champion of England with Liverpool and a mainstay of the Portugal team who had just won the Nations League again and are rated as dark horses for next summer's World Cup. But above all Jota was a human being, as fragile as the rest of us. A husband, a father, a son and a brother to Andre Silva — the 25-year-old fellow professional footballer who perished with him yesterday when a tyre blew and his Lamborghini burst into flames. Jota was at the peak of his powers and in the prime of his life — married for just 11 days, he had posted footage of his wedding on social media just hours before his death. The poignance was agonising; the grief of those left behind unimaginable. When the news of Jota's death broke, it was a warm, sun-drenched summer's morning in England. 9 9 The All England Club was opening up its gates for day four on Wimbledon's lawns, the cricketers of England and India were preparing for the second day of the Second Test at Edgbaston and transfer speculation was fizzing around online. Then, suddenly, the world of sport froze. For while sport is the most important of unimportant things, we all know at heart that it is nothing more than a joyful distraction from that which truly matters. At Anfield, masses of floral tributes were left and warm respects paid. Liverpool is a club which has sadly experienced tragedy too often before and which honours those lost with a fierce, protective pride. At Anfield, Jota will never be forgotten. Few football clubs cherish their heroes quite as warmly and Jota the Slotter, the clinical finisher with that extraordinary burst of pace, was one of the best of Arne Slot's champions. Sometimes, while watching the Reds, you could forget that Jota was on the pitch. Then, with a sudden acceleration and a thrust of the boot, he had won them the match. He so often proved the matchwinner when arriving from the bench, in the Anfield supersub traditions of David Fairclough and Divock Origi. But as a deep-lying centre-forward or from the left wing, he was an integral part of the squad built by Jurgen Klopp, and honed by Slot, which won the title by a country mile last season. 9 Jota scored the first goal of the Slot era in a 2-0 opening-day victory at Ipswich and the last time he netted was the winner in the Merseyside derby in April. A little over a month ago, he cavorted on the Anfield pitch when Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy. Jota, capped 49 times by his country, was not the star of his club or international teams. Those were Mo Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo. Yet football's Galacticos do not win trophies without the versatility and selfless work-rate of players like Jota. Still, his record of 65 goals in 182 appearances for the Reds was extraordinary for a player who was not a regular starter. In five seasons, he won every major domestic honour and played in a Champions League final, against Real Madrid in 2022, which Liverpool were unfortunate to lose 1-0. After spells with Pacos de Ferreira and Porto in his home town, Jota arrived in England at Wolves, on loan from Atletico Madrid, and helped to propel Nuno Espirito Santo's team from the Championship to the Europa League in three seasons. At Molineux, his loss was also deeply felt by a club where he was 'adored and cherished'. Yet this year had represented his peak, as a footballer and as a man. In the space of a month Jota won major honours with Liverpool and Portugal, then married his girlfriend of 12 years — the couple posing before the altar of a church in Porto with their two sons and baby daughter less than a fortnight ago. 'I'm the lucky one,' Jota had posted on social media. How heartbreaking those words read now. How fragile we are. 9 9 9
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Why have record number of seeded players lost at Wimbledon?
Seismic shocks have been a hot topic in the opening days at Wimbledon - and for good reason. With just one second-round match to conclude at the end of Thursday's play, a record 36 seeded players had been eliminated - surpassing the tally of 35 at this stage of the 2020 French unprecedented number of high-profile exits have opened up the men's and women's singles draws, with French Open champion Coco Gauff and men's third seed Alexander Zverev among the highest-ranked players to exit.A record total of eight top-10 seeded players dropped out in the first round - the most at any major tournament since the start of the Open era in one of the top-five seeded women's players - world number one Aryna Sabalenka - has progressed to the third round for just the second time in the Open of the top-10 ranked players exited in the first round at a Slam for only the third time in the past 25 years, before British fourth seed Jack Draper also fell in the second what could explain it? Unusual conditions Players had to contend with sweltering conditions as Wimbledon recorded its hottest opening day on record, with temperatures exceeding 30C on Monday and were given ice packs, cold towels and plenty of water to help cope with the conditions - but some still reported struggling and Briton Cameron Norrie admitted the weather "was a bit of a shock to the system".In addition to the heat, its effect on the grass courts and their interaction with the balls has been a source of frustration for some 27th seed Denis Shapovalov, knocked out in the first round, said: "The balls are the worst, the grass tour has turned into a joke. This isn't grass any more, the court is slower than a clay one."Slower courts allow players more time to play the ball, leading to longer rallies and physically-draining longer Wimbledon's head groundsman Neil Stubley agreed the heat has contributed to slower courts as the dry grass grips the ball more, he felt criticism of the bounce was unfair. 'Heavy and slow' balls What about the balls then? Is there anything different there?After her outstanding win over former champion Marketa Vondrousova, British number one Emma Raducanu spoke about the influence she felt they were having."You get a little bit extra with the new balls [but] I feel like once they're a few games or a few long rallies in, these Slazenger balls really fluff up quite quickly and get heavy and slow," she said. "I think it benefits the bigger hitters because they have time to load and give it some."Raducanu's coach Mark Petchey previously claimed heavier tennis balls are affecting her ability to compete with the game's big to Wimbledon, no changes have been made to the specification of the ball since 1995, but players should expect the ball to feel lighter and faster on a warm, dry day, compared to heavier and slower on a cold, damp day. Short grass season One factor that is unchanged but remains an issue for players is the quick turnaround before - and short nature of - the grass court lasts for less than 50 days, beginning for some before the conclusion of the French Open at the start of June and ending with Wimbledon on 13 managed to enter just one grass court tournament - losing in the Berlin Open first round - before Wimbledon, having won the French Open on 7 June."I think this Slam, out of all of them, is the most prone to having upsets because of how quick the turnaround is from clay," said the American second tournament director Jamie Baker told BBC Sport: "Definitely, the players spend less time on grass than they do on other surfaces. I think the big macro picture is just the calendar is too long and the players are playing too much." Player burnout Concerns have long been raised by high-profile players regarding the Casper Ruud criticised the ranking system earlier this year, describing it as "a rat race", while Australian world number nine Alex de Minaur put his early French Open exit down to "feeling burned out".After her second-round loss, women's fourth seed Jasmine Paolini said she needed to try to "reset" mentally, adding: "I feel a little bit tired right now. It was two intense months before here."On that topic, Raducanu said: "It's a mentally really challenging sport. What I've found [useful] is trying to surround yourself with good people, trying to win the day and focus on the process as much as possible. It's really difficult to take your joy from the results because it's so up and down. It's a rollercoaster."German Zverev, the highest-ranked casualty in the men's draw so far after a five-set loss to the 72nd-ranked Arthur Rinderknech, also spoke openly about finding himself "in a hole", saying he felt "very alone" out on the court and has struggled mentally since losing the Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner in January. The domino effect Could the sight of other top seeds going out cause others to fear the same fate, while giving lower-ranked players greater belief? Still in contention after coming back from a set down in her opener, American sixth seed Madison Keys said: "I think when you are sitting and watching everyone kind of fall, it adds a little bit of stress to the situation. I was pretty close in my first round, so I feel like I dodged a bullet a little bit."In addition to the short grass season and demanding schedule, American former player Tracy Austin also pointed to the increasing depth in both the men's and women's games, with lower-ranked players believing they can upset the top the stronger competition, Frances Tiafoe, the 12th seed beaten by Norrie in the second round, said: "You have [unseeded] floaters and some young guys playing well. The game is just really tough, it has incredible depth right now. If you're not ready to go, you're going to lose. It seems like [some of the seeded] guys weren't ready to go."Former British number one Jo Durie added: "I think everybody in the locker room is thinking, 'I have got a chance at this tournament'. I really do think more seeds are going to fall." Who might benefit? In a quarter of the women's draw which included the eliminated Paolini and Chinese fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, American Amanda Anisimova has perhaps benefited 13th seed would not face anyone ranked higher than 30th seed Linda Noskova until the semi-finals, where she could meet world number one Sabalenka - although the unseeded Naomi Osaka, a four-time major winner, remains in her the men's singles, Russian Karen Khachanov can reach the quarter-finals without facing a fellow seed, following defeats for Zverev, ninth seed Daniil Medvedev, 16th seed Francisco Cerundolo and former runner-up Matteo could also make it to the quarter-finals without encountering another seed, with Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca or qualifier Nicolas Jarry awaiting in the fourth round if the Briton can first overcome Mattia 2002 and 2019, men's singles seedings were determined by a surface-based formula reflecting recent grass court achievements, before it aligned with the world rankings used for the women's whether the amount of early shocks this year provides a case for bringing that back, former world number five Durie said: "I do think there should be a consideration because grass is really unlike all the other surfaces. I think it was a good thing at the time. It would be interesting if they brought that back."
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Ruthless Novak Djokovic shows no mercy to brave Dan Evans as he dismantles him in straight sets - but here's why the Brit deserves heaps of respect, writes OLIVER HOLT
By way of a brief precursor to a match that was an uphill struggle for a fine player and a good man, when Dan Evans tested positive for cocaine — a non-performance enhancing drug, in 2017 — he was banned from tennis for a year. When Jannik Sinner twice tested positive for an anabolic steroid, clostebol, in March last year, he was banned for three months, did not miss a single Grand Slam and has been welcomed back to the sport as a wronged hero. Go figure. Go figure this, too: when Evans agreed to partner Andy Murray in the men's doubles at the Olympic Games last summer and carried him through an emotional swansong to a magnificent career by reaching the quarter-finals, he did so knowing he would sacrifice 111 places in the ATP rankings and drop from 58th to 169th. He has been dealing with the repercussions of that sacrifice ever since and so when he walked on to Centre Court to play his second-round match at Wimbledon on Thursday against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, he was already experienced in the art of fighting against adversity and trying to defy the odds. Evans, who needed a wildcard to play in the men's singles this year, was a joy to watch in a first set where he fought like a tiger to stay with Djokovic and played some brilliant tennis in a contest that was high on quality and entertainment. This was not the Djokovic of the first round when he struggled against Frenchman Alexandre Muller. This was the Djokovic with whom we are much more familiar: relentless, unyielding, metronomic and merciless. Evans, 35, gave it everything during that first set. Djokovic's first serve in the match was an ace. Both of Evans's two first serves were aces. In his second game, he had to work incredibly hard to hold his serve. He saved four break points before clinching it. One rasping cross-court forehand that set up a winning volley even brought applause from Djokovic but Evans faced three more break points in his next service game and came back from 0-40 to save them and hold again. 'If I had to sum it up,' Evans said with a wry smile after the match, 'it felt as if the tennis balls were back in my pocket very quickly and never stayed in there a long time. Novak showed again why he is a contender here.' Evans saved two more break points at 4-3 down in the first set, which brought his total to nine. But then he could hold back the waves no longer. On the 10th break point, the British No 5 hit a backhand long and Djokovic quickly took the set. Evans started the second set with a magnificent cross-court backhand passing shot that left Djokovic stranded at the net but he began to tire a little under the scrutiny of the examination to which he was being subjected, and soon the Serb No 6 seed broke him again. Djokovic then raced into a 4-1 lead. 'His serving has just been absolutely remarkable,' Tim Henman said of Djokovic on the BBC. 'Dan Evans is having to work extremely hard for every single point.' Near the start of the third set, as Djokovic began to accelerate towards the finish line, the crowd rose spontaneously to applaud Evans and roar him on as he girded himself for one last attempt at defiance. Djokovic was impervious to it all. He closed out the set 6-0, the 50th time he has inflicted that score on an opponent in a match at a Grand Slam, tying Andre Agassi's record.
