logo
Adil Rashid rallies behind Brook as England's new captain

Adil Rashid rallies behind Brook as England's new captain

Following Jos Buttler's decision to step down, 26-year-old Harry Brook has been handed the responsibility of leading England's white-ball revival.
Senior players are fully behind him, with Adil Rashid confident that Brook is the right man to take the team forward.
"I am sure he is ready but when someone takes over the captaincy it is not an overnight thing. He has got time, he has done well so far with what he's done,' Rashid said, speaking to PA news agency.
'I am sure he will be a very good leader and going forward he will do wonders for England cricket.
'He will not take it lightly. There is obviously a lot of thought that has gone into it with him taking over the captaincy of the ODI team and T20s. It is a big task, it is a big thing but they gave it to him because he thinks he can be the one.
'We all believe he can be the leader and captain of the ODIs and T20. It will be tricky (to balance), but I am sure he has got the capability, the mindset, the hunger and drive to do that and lead England to wins and World Cups.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

De Bruyne secures Belgium win over Wales in seven-goal thriller
De Bruyne secures Belgium win over Wales in seven-goal thriller

Gulf Today

time4 hours ago

  • Gulf Today

De Bruyne secures Belgium win over Wales in seven-goal thriller

Kevin De Bruyne spared Belgium's blushes after blowing a 3-0 lead to beat Wales 4-3 and kickstart the Red Devils' 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Monday. Goals from Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku inside half an hour had given Belgium a dream start. Wales, though, rallied through a Harry Wilson penalty, Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson to stun the side ranked eighth in the world. But De Bruyne rode to his nation's rescue, as he has so often in a stellar career, by steering in Tielemans' perfect cross in the 88th minute. Defeat was Craig Bellamy's first as Wales manager as they fell just short of a national record of 10 matches unbeaten. However, there remains plenty of positives for Wales' hopes of reaching next year's World Cup. They sit second in Group J, one point behind North Macedonia, and three in front of Belgium, who have two games in hand. Only one side will automatically qualify with second earning a place in the play-offs. After a 1-1 draw at North Macedonia on Friday to begin their qualifying campaign, Rudi Garcia recalled three of his Premier League stars in Leandro Trossard, Amadou Onana and Tielemans and Belgium clicked into gear. De Bruyne's shot struck the arm of Johnson inside the area to give Lukaku the chance to open the scoring from the penalty spot for his 89th international goal. Tielemans rounded off a brilliant team move for the home side's second moments later as he turned in Maxime De Cuyper's low cross. A dazzling solo effort from Doku compounded Wales' woes as they seemed set for a second half of damage limitation. However, Harry Wilson's penalty reduced the visitors' deficit in first half stoppage time after Matz Sels was controversially penalised for a clash with Chris Mepham. Bellamy's men were right back in the game when Wilson brilliantly picked out Thomas to slot home Wales' second six minutes into the second period. Johnson's header completed the comeback 21 minutes from time, but the visitors were unable to hold out against Belgium's superior firepower. Lukaku had a second goal controversially ruled out for the ball being out of play in the build-up after a lengthy VAR review. That proved to be a mere reprieve for Wales as moments later Tielemans' cross picked out the unmarked De Bruyne to volley in at the back post. Meanwhile, Italy got off the mark in their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with Monday's 2-0 win over Moldova, Luciano Spalletti's last game as Italy coach. Giacomo Raspadori and Andrea Cambiaso scored in each half for the Azzurri who sit third in Group I, trailing leaders Norway by nine points, and are at risk of missing a third straight World Cup. Only top spot in the group gives direct qualification for next year's finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico and even having played two games fewer than Norway, Italy's best chance looks to the be finishing second and reaching the play-offs. However Italy were denied a place at the last two World Cups after being beaten in the play-offs and are in the midst of an identity crisis following their disastrous title defeat at last year's European Championship. Spalletti, who presided over a dismal last-16 exit at the Euros, coached Italy on Monday having already been told that he was to be sacked after the 3-0 thumping dished out by Norway in their opening qualifier on Friday. 'When you're the national team coach you have no excuses, it's you who selects the squad,' said Spallett to public broadcaster Rai. 'It's the coach who has to make the difference and unfortunately I wasn't able to do that.' Spallettti goes out after another uninspiring match played in a flat atmosphere in Reggio Emilia, where Italy got the three points needed but did little to inspire confidence in the future whoever replaces Spalletti. Claudio Ranieri is widely reported as being the Italian Football Federation's preferred candidate to replace Spalletti and guide Italy towards the World Cup, even though he retired from coaching after performing a near miracle with Roma this past season. Agencies

Haaland scores as Norway crush Italy in WC qualifier, Croatia rout Gibraltar
Haaland scores as Norway crush Italy in WC qualifier, Croatia rout Gibraltar

Gulf Today

time3 days ago

  • Gulf Today

Haaland scores as Norway crush Italy in WC qualifier, Croatia rout Gibraltar

Erling Haaland scored and Norway humbled Italy 3-0 for the first time in 25 years in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Friday. Haaland collected a through ball from playmaker Martin Odegaard and rounded goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the box for the third goal three minutes before halftime. It was his 41st goal in his 42nd match for Norway to the delight of the spectators at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, including King Harald V of Norway. Haaland also scored when Moldova was beaten 5-0 and Israel 4-2. Norway remained perfect in qualifying after three games in Europe Group I. Striker Alexander Sorloth received a precise pass from Antonio Nusa then beat Donnarumma with a left foot shot. Nusa, the 20-year-old attacking midfielder, was a constant threat to the Italian defense. He left behind two defenders and doubled the advantage with a rising shot from inside the area. Italy was missing some regulars for its first qualifying match, while others failed to impress, including Mateo Retegui, the best Serie A scorer. Defenders Alessandro Buongiorno and Mattia Gabbia, defensive midfielder Manuel Locatelli and forward Moise Kean were all injured while key center back Francesco Acerbi, who was meant to mark Haaland, turned down his callup. Diego Coppola played center back in the three-man defensive line used by coach Luciano Spalletti that was not able to stop Norway. In the other Group I game, Israel won in Estonia 3-1 for a second win and second place. The Azzurri are under pressure from the start of their qualifying after failing to reach the last two World Cups. Winning the group is the only way to ensure direct qualification to next year's tournament in North America. The second-placed team goes into the playoffs - the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively. A four-time World Cup champion, the only other time Italy didn't qualify was for the 1958 edition. Italy hosts Moldova on Monday when Norway will be in action at Estonia. Croatia opened its qualifying with a 7-0 rout of minnow Gibraltar. Mario Pašalić and Ante Budimir struck twice for Croatia within two minutes to break the deadlock after half an hour. In the second half, substitutes Andrek Kramaric and Franjo Ivanovis scored a couple each and Ivan Perisic piled on. Croatia was runner-up in the 2018 World Cup and third in 2022. In the same Group L, Adam Hložek and Patrik Schick each scored as the unbeaten Czech Republic beat Montenegro 2-0 for a third straight win. Belgium was 1-0 up on a goal by defender Maxim De Cuyper but Ezgjan Alioski salvaged a draw for North Macedonia in a surprise in Group J. Wales tops the group with seven points from three games after a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein. North Macedonia was two points behind. Europe will have 16 teams in the expanded 48-team field for the World Cup. They will come from the winners of the 12 qualifying groups plus four from a playoff of the 12 group runners-up together with four best-ranked group winners in the Nations League that don't finish first or second in the qualifying. The group stage of European qualifying runs through November. Meanwhile, Belgium's defence came in for criticism after giving away a late equaliser to North Macedonia in their World Cup qualifier on Friday but coach Rudi Garcia said he had to show faith in them ahead of their next clash against Wales on Monday. Agencies

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store