England v New Zealand 2nd Test: Joe Root says he will play his natural game at Headingley
Joe Root considered the pressures which will come with playing a first Test at his Headingley home ground and vowed to carry on doing what has come naturally during his rapid rise to the summit of English cricket.
The new star of England winced slightly when it was put to him that Yorkshire have marketed this second and final Investec match against New Zealand as the Joe Root Test but there is no question that he is the main reason for the late interest among locals in a game that had seen sluggish ticket sales.
Now a man who has taken the New Zealand attack for 290 runs in three innings on this tour will try to maintain the form of his life at the Leeds ground where he grew up watching and playing the game.
Playing his natural game: Joe Root says he will keep it simple at Headingley I must have been about 10 when I first came here for a Yorkshire trial, said the 22-year-old from Sheffield.
I was nervous and very small, well smaller.
Ever since then I ve found it a special place and hopefully that will continue this week.
It was a reminder of how young Root is when he said he had watched the likes of Michael Vaughan and Sachin Tendulkar play Test cricket at Headingley as a very young kid .
He is now a key part of an England batting line-up which showed worrying signs of vulnerability at Lord s.
I watched Tests here and my dream was always playing for England and being a part of all that, said Root.
It’s definitely something that spurred me on and I just want to keep living my dream.
Catching practice: Root during a nets session I ve not thought too much about this being at my home ground.
I m just looking to do everything I can to prepare well and take it one step at a time.
I want to enjoy every moment of it.
New Zealand, reeling from the capitulation for 68 which cost them the first Test after they had been on top, vowed to remind Root of the weight of expectation in the hope of unsettling a batsman of seemingly implacable temperament.
He’s still pretty young and all the stuff about being at home and playing in front of his family will definitely be in the back of his mind, said New Zealand’s combative left-arm swing bowler Neil Wagner.
As a bowling unit we ll definitely have a couple of words with him and try to get under his skin.
But he seems to have a good head on him.
Part of the team: Root catches a ball during a training session and has a joke with the rest of the squad Wagner was refreshingly open about his fondness for sledging, which he says he and Tim Southee will continue to employ.
It’s good to get in a guy’s face and irritate him, said South African-born Wagner.
You ve got to make them really angry and get them to the point where they think they hate you.
It’s just trying to get that split-second concentration lapse that could give you a wicket.
It gets me going too.
It’s a mind battle.
But not to every player.
You have to be careful who you do it to, added Wagner.
Nick Compton played well in Wellington when we tried to get under his skin and ended up scoring a century so some players thrive on things like that and others tend to be a bit more nervous.
Open and honest: Neil Wagner faced up to the press after his Twitter outburst You have to make sure you use this sort of thing for the right player.
Jonny Bairstow might be one to try it on but Alastair Cook is one of those who the more you talk to the better he ll play.
New Zealand yesterday ruled BJ Watling out of the Test, meaning Martin Guptill will come in and bat at six as captain Brendon McCullum takes back the gloves.
The impressively bearded Dan Vettori will play instead of the injured Bruce Martin if he comes through his second training session today after an absence of 10 months with injury.
Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest glory: European Cup final special – Golden Years
There’s always been something gloriously special about football’s European Cup final.
The most important club match anywhere in the world every year, the occasion has produced countless wonderful images and moments, not to mention great performances and memorable drama.
This Golden Years special takes you back through the decades, with a selection of images from the European Cup final, ahead of this weekend’s all-German clash between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
Please use the comments section at the bottom of this article if you wish to share your own European Cup memories, and we’ll return with another nostalgic special next Wednesday.
Taken at the first European Cup final to be played at Wembley in 1963, this picture shows AC Milan’s goalkeeper Giorgio Ghezzi punches clear under pressure during their clash with Benfica.
The great Eusebio put the Portuguese giants in front at Wembley, but two goals from Jose Altafini won Milan the first of their seven European Cups.
You may have spotted the empty seats in the background – that’s not a surprise, as the official attendance was only 45,700, when the ground held 100,000-plus Liverpool captain Emlyn Hughes doffs a red hat to supporters after the 1977 European Cup final victory over Borussia Monchengladbach in Rome.
The Merseysiders had already won the league title that year but lost the FA Cup final to great rivals Manchester United, before lifting themselves to claim victory in the Eternal City four days later.
Goals from Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and a penalty from Phil Neal gave Liverpool victory and they were kings of Europe for the first time This picture says it all about the despair of losing such a big match, with England star Chris Waddle having his head in his hands following Marseille’s defeat in the 1991 European Cup final against Red Star Belgrade in Bari.
The game finished 0-0 after extra-time, with Red Star then winning a penalty shootout The most important goal George Best scored for Manchester United came on an emotional night at Wembley in 1968, when a 4-1 win over Benfica made United the first English club to be crowned champions of Europe.
Best scored his goal with the game at 1-1 in the first period of extra-time.
Further goals from Sir Bobby Charlton, his second of the night, and an 18-year-old Brian Kidd sealed United’s win.
Manager Sir Matt Busby had led the club to victory 10 years after surviving the Munich Air Disaster Real Madrid players celebrate in Paris after winning the first European Cup final in 1956.
Real were actually 2-0 and 3-2 behind against French outfit Stade de Reims, but eventually won 4-3.
Real legend Alfredo Di Stefano scored their opening goal, with Hector Rial on target twice.
This was the start of a period of amazing domination for Real, who won the first five European Cups It wasn’t to be for Terry Venables in Seville in 1986.
Venables, pictured here with his assistant Allan Harris, had taken Barcelona all the way to the European Cup final, but despite being overwhelming favourites to beat Steaua Bucharest they were beaten on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Venables has always been a popular figure in Barcelona, having led the club to their first league title for 11 years in 1985, but he would have been a true legend in Catalonia had his team won that night Here’s another European Cup final to have been played at Wembley, the 1971 clash between Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam and Greek outfit Panathinaikos.
In this picture, Ajax’s Gerrie Muhren (older brother of former Manchester United and Ipswich midfielder Arnold) celebrates as an effort from Arie Haan loops into the net over Panathinaikos goalkeeper Takis Ikonomopoulos and seals a 2-0 win in the closing minutes of the match – the first of three successive European Cup wins for Ajax You may recognise former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti playing for AC Milan in the 1989 European Cup final in the Nou Camp.
Steaua Bucharest were in the final again but they were no match for Milan, who produced a spellbinding performance to win 4-0, with two goals each from Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten Younger readers that have seen Aston Villa’s recent troubles may be surprised to see this picture from 31 years ago – here Peter Withe scores the only goal of the 1982 European Cup final in Rotterdam, giving Villa a famous victory over Bayern Munich.
Withe played at a host of clubs, but his longest spell was with Villa, where he played between 1980 and 1985 There’s something special about the pilgrimage to a European Cup final for supporters – among the most famous has to be the trip to Lisbon for Celtic fans in 1967.
Here a group of them arrive back in Glasgow in high spirits after seeing the ‘Lisbon Lions’ pull off a glorious 2-1 victory over Inter Milan One particularly special thing about the competition is the trophy itself – ‘Old Big Ears’ – which is seen here lifted by Bayern Munich’s Franz Roth at Hampden Park in 1976.
Roth and Bayern had every reason to be delighted, as he scored the only goal of the final against Saint-Etienne, which won Bayern a third successive European Cup Bayern Munich have been kings of Europe on four occasions but have also lost five finals.
They have lost twice recently, in 2010 and 2012, while English fans may remember Aston Villa’s win in 1982 and Manchester United’s incredible recovery in the 1999 final.
The match that may be less well remembered here is the 1987 final in Vienna, where Bayern were winning 1-0 until the closing stages before Porto came back to claim victory with an equaliser from Rabah Madjer – seen here celebrating with Antonio Sousa and Paulo Futre – and a winner nine minutes from time from Brazilian Juary It’s amazing to think that for all Barcelona’s recent success in the European Cup, it was only 21 years ago at Wembley that they won it for the first time.
Here, Ronald Koeman fires home his free-kick winner in the 1992 final against Sampdoria.
Barca have since won the European Cup on three further occasions, and all against English clubs – beating Arsenal in 2006, and Manchester United in both 2009 and 2011 – the latter two under manager Pep Guardiola, pictured to the left here Imagine waking up to ‘Old Big Ears’ the morning after scoring the winner in the European Cup final.
Here, Kenny Dalglish is sharing a bed with the trophy after his goal saw off Belgian side Bruges in the 1978 final at Wembley.
Liverpool had a second successive European Cup and Dalglish had ended his first season at the club perfectly Three months after becoming Britain’s first ever million pound footballer when joining Nottingham Forest from Birmingham, Trevor Francis heads the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmo at Munich’s Olympic Stadium.
Forest, who beat holders Liverpool in the first round, were kings of Europe a year after winning their first league title.
It was a monumental triumph for their charismatic manager Brian Clough This picture shows a view of Munich’s Olympic Stadium through the flags waved by Nottingham Forest supporters at the 1979 final.
It was an incredible time to be a Forest fan – a year later, Brian Clough’s team successfully defended their European title, beating Hamburg 1-0 in the Bernabeu For a certain generation of Manchester United supporters, Scottish striker Denis Law will always be known as ‘The King’ of Old Trafford.
Law joined United in 1962, and his goals had already helped the club to two league titles and an FA Cup.
Unfortunately, Law missed United’s European Cup final win in 1968, having to watch from a hospital bed, where he was recovering from a knee operation.
He looks in pretty good spirits in this picture taken before United’s 4-1 win over Benfica The 1967 European Cup final between Celtic and Inter Milan at Lisbon’s National Stadium is one of the most famous games in British football history.
Jock Stein’s team of local players, all born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park, became the first British team to win the European Cup with a memorable 2-1 win.
In this picture, Celtic players begin to celebrate an equaliser from Tommy Gemmell.
A winner from Stevie Chalmers in the Portuguese capital made Stein and his team legends in Glasgow and beyond Real Madrid’s first defeat in a European Cup final came in Amsterdam in 1962, with Benfica claiming a famous 5-3 win.
A hat-trick from the great Ferenc Puskas was all in vain for the Spanish giants.
In this picture, Benfica pair Fernando Cruz and Germano thwart Alfredo Di Stefano (on the floor) during a Real attack.
Benfica’s win meant a second successive European Cup for them but amazingly they haven’t won a continental trophy in the 51 years since Our final picture this week comes from one of the most famous European Cup finals of them all, the 1960 clash between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park.
Here, Ferenc Puskas scores from the penalty spot, one of his four goals in Real’s glorious 7-3 victory.
Alfredo Di Stefano scored Real’s other three goals, as the Spaniards won a fifth successive European Cup in front of an enthralled Glasgow crowd of 127,621
Wade secures RPA awards double
Christian Wade caps a tremendous season with an RPA awards double Wasps wing Christian Wade has scooped a unique double at the Rugby Players’ Association awards.
The 22-year-old has been named both the Players’ Player of the year and Young Player of the Year following a spectacular season.
Wade scored 18 tries in 26 appearances and finished as the Aviva Premiership’s joint leading try-scorer along with Wasps team-mate Tom Varndell with 12 tries.
Jonny Wilkinson is the only other player to win both RPA awards, but he did so in different years, taking the young player trophy in 1999 and the main award in 2003.
“I didn’t know that.
I am really shocked and humbled,” Wade said.
“When it is the players who you play week-in, week-out it makes it that more special.
It is the greatest feeling to have the respect of your peers.
“Looking at the quality of the nominees in both awards I didn’t expect to win and I am thankful to come out on top.” Wade won the Players’ Player of the Year award ahead of Leicester flanker Julian Salvi with Saracens and England prop Mako Vunipola in third.
Vunipola finished runner-up in the Young Player of the Year award with his brother, the Saracens-bound Wasps No 8 Billy, in third.
Wasps were strongly represented with lock Joe Launchbury named the Monitise England Player of the Year for 2012-2013.
Santa Cruz wants Malaga stay
Roque Santa Cruz: Striker is prepared to take a pay cut to stay Malaga Sky Bet Football Betting Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds Football Betting 10 Free Bet Roque Santa Cruz is prepared to take a pay cut to make his move to Malaga a permanent one for both his professional ambitions and his family’s future.
The Paraguayan striker has spent the season on loan at the Spanish side from Manchester City and would like to make the move full time after being told he is wanted next season at la Rosaleda.
Malaga’s financial problems mean they may have to sell some of their stars, such as reported City target Isco, but could retain others if they are willing to reduce their wages.
“I will take any decisions thinking about my family,” said Santa Cruz.
“I will think about my children and how another change of circumstances would affect them.
“Now I think that what is best is that they have a bit of continuity and stay with what has been started here.” Looking at the future through professional eyes, the forward would not object to taking a pay cut to stay in Andalucia with Malaga.
“The main thing is that the club keeps going and puts in place a long-term project,” he continued.
“I think that they are working out what they will have to spend and, as a result, the majority of players will be asked if they will take a cut in order to stay and create a credible plan.
“Malaga have told me their intentions and that they want me to stay.
They are trying to reorganise the deficit and have all the numbers in order.”
Simon and Querrey advance
Gilles Simon: Will face Pablo Andujar in Nice quarter-finals Highest remaining seeds Gilles Simon and Sam Querrey both eased into the quarter-finals of the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur.
Querrey was given a tough test before seeing off Sergiy Stahkovsky 7-5 6-3, while Simon had things slightly easier as he beat fellow Frenchman Guillaume Rufin 6-4 6-3.
Fourth seed John Isner was eliminated from the tournament, however, after he was defeated 6-4 1-6 7-5 by Robin Haase.
Isner sent down 14 aces and broke his opponent’s serve a total of four times, but was still edged out at the end of the deciding set.
French wildcard Edouard Roger-Vasselin also booked his place in the quarter-finals after registering a 2-6 6-4 6-2 win over Ricardas Berankis.
Roger-Vasselin will face Querrey in the last eight.
Pablo Andujar will face Simon in the quarter-finals after the Spaniard crushed Lu Yen-hsun 6-2 6-0.
Albert Montanes and Paul-Henri Mathieu will also face-off in the quarters after beating Victor Hanescu and Carlos Berlocq respectively.
Dylan Hartley says Northampton’s underdog spirit can upset Leicester
Dylan Hartley says victory over Leicester in the Premiership grand final would prove a point to Northampton’s critics.
Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images Northampton have never previously reached a Premiership grand final but those who give them little chance of defeating Leicester should pause before betting their mortgage on the outcome.
Rarely has a team of supposed underdogs sounded as motivated as the Saints and their captain Dylan Hartley is promising the Tigers a thunderous contest at Twickenham on Saturday.
Leicester will be playing in their ninth successive Premiership final but Northampton, according to Hartley, want to prove a point to those who wrote them off as title contenders in January and February.
“We’re just trying to prove people wrong,” confirmed Hartley, seeking a performance to match the Saints’ stunning semi-final victory over Saracens.
“There’s so much motivation.
We’ve got lads leaving the club, we’ve got the underdog tag and we’ve had an up-and-down season.
I expect our desire to be there and everyone in the team is the same.
In fact, I guarantee it’ll be there.” The hooker is also keen to get stuck into his opposite number and England and Lions rival Tom Youngs before both men fly out to Hong Kong as team-mates on Monday.
“I see this weekend as a chance to win a major trophy for the club but the subplot to that is Tom Youngs,” admitted Hartley, who relinquished his England starting place to the Leicester man this season.
“If I play well it puts my hand up to the Lions selectors.” Northampton’s other driving force is their chastening Heineken Cup final defeat by Leinster in 2011 when they lost 33-22 having led 22-6 at half-time.
Jim Mallinder, the club’s director of rugby, admits that experience took its toll but reckons it could work in his side’s favour.
“Coming so close to winning a Heineken Cup final, that doesn’t go away overnight,” said Mallinder.
“There are a lot of players who are still feeling a bit hurt from that.
There is pressure on them because they’ve lost their last two finals and will probably be feeling the heat a little but we’ve been through a bit of pain ourselves.” He is also keen to show that Northampton are a better team than their mid-season results suggested.
“If you read most of the papers in January and February, which we did, we came in for quite a lot of criticism.
That’s because we were losing games and not playing particularly well but we knew internally we shouldn’t be written off.
We’ve learned from our mistakes and developed our game.
We don’t need to think about great team speeches or hitting ourselves in the changing room.
The emotion will be there.
It’s about getting our processes and game plan right.” Leicester, however, hammered the Saints 36-8 at Franklin’s Gardens in March and Mallinder is urging his players to replicate instead the power and intensity of their semi-final performance.
“We know we’ve got to find that again if we’re going to have a chance against Leicester.
We’re got one British Lion and they’ve got six.
They’ve got the experience of playing in a lot of Premiership finals and they’ve been unbeaten in the league since February.
Everything is in Leicester’s favour, so we’ve got to produce another performance like the Saracens one to have a chance.” The former Leicester and England centre Dan Hipkiss, meanwhile, has been forced to retire with immediate effect because of a shoulder problem.
The 30-year-old, who won 13 England caps, had hoped to play on for Bath next season but medical specialists have advised him to hang up his boots.
A knee operation is also threatening to sideline the Wallaby wing Digby Ioane for the start of this summer’s Test series against the Lions.
Ioane, who has signed to play for Stade Fran ais next season, had arthroscopic surgery to clear out damaged cartilage in his left knee and the Australian Rugby Union has suggested he will be “touch and go” for the First Test against the Lions in Brisbane on 22 June.
London Wasps’ prolific try-scoring wing Christian Wade has achieved the unique distinction of winning the Computacenter Players’ Player of the Year and LV= Young Player of the Year awards in the same season.
The uncapped Wade earned the nod from his fellow professionals at the Rugby Players’ Association dinner ahead of Leicester’s Julian Salvi and Saracens’s Mako Vunipola.
Joe Launchbury was voted England’s player of the year.
Carberry carves up Lancashire
Michael Carberry continued his excellent form in the Yorkshire Bank 40 as holders Hampshire extended their lead at the top of Group B with a nine-wicket victory against Lancashire in Southampton.
Hampshire chased down a target of 245 with six overs to spare, Carberry finishing on his career-best one-day score of 150 not out.
The opening batsman, who hit 96 against Durham last Sunday, plundered 18 fours and five sixes in his 115-ball masterclass.
He dominated a first-wicket stand of 77 with James Vince, whose departure for 25 to Kyle Hogg in the 10th over was the only moment of joy for Lancashire’s bowlers.
Carberry was joined by his skipper Jimmy Adams and the second-wicket duo guided Hampshire across the winning line without further loss.
Adams’ contribution to a 172-run partnership was 66 off 62 deliveries.
Prince ton Ashwell Prince had earlier hit a century in Lancashire’s total of 244-6.
The South African scored 100 off 85 balls, including 11 fours and a six, at the top of the order after Lancashire had been asked to bat.
He received good support from Karl Brown (44) in a third-wicket stand of 112 before Wayne White (27no) and Gareth Cross (36) finished the innings with a flourish.
The result is Hampshire’s fourth victory from five matches in this season’s competition, putting them four points clear of Essex in Group B, while Lancashire have won only one of their first four fixtures.
Adriano signs new Barca deal
Adriano: Barcelona full-back has signed a new contract to 2017 Sky Bet Football Betting Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds Football Betting 10 Free Bet Barcelona full-back Adriano Correia has signed a new four-year contract to stay with the Spanish champions until 2017.
Adriano joined Barcelona in 2010 from Sevilla in a ‘ 9.5million ( 8.1m) deal and has added to an already impressive trophy haul.
During five seasons with Sevilla he won six trophies, but has since helped the Catalan giants to eight more, including two league titles and the Champions League.
The Brazilian utility player is seen as a vital squad player by Barcelona and has been rewarded as such with a new long-term contract.
“FC Barcelona have agreed to terms with Adriano Correia to renew the player’s contract for four additional seasons, through June 30 of 2017,” a statement on the Barca official website read.
“The player’s buyout clause is set at 90million euros ( 77m).”
Hamburg part with Arnesen
Frank Arnesen failed to get Hamburg back into Europe Sky Bet Football Betting Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds Football Betting 10 Free Bet Hamburg have parted company with sports director Frank Arnesen by mutual consent, the club has confirmed.
The Dane has spent two years with Hamburg, including a spell as interim manager, but has failed to secure European football for a second successive season.
Arnesen was under contract at the imtech Arena until June 2014 but agreed to terminate that deal after a majority of the club’s board failed to support an extension to his contract at a meeting on Tuesday evening.
A statement from the Hamburg board cited a “difference in opinions concerning the long-term direction of the club” for the decision to part with the 56-year-old.
The statement continued: “This season’s performance is an indicator of his successful time here.
We would like to wish him all the best for the future both personally and professionally.” Arnesen joined the German side in 2011 from Chelsea.
Wozniacki toppled in Brussels
Caroline Wozniacki: Was dumped out in the second round of Brussels Open Top seed Caroline Wozniaki was sent crashing out of the Brussels Open after suffering a 6-2 6-4 second-round defeat to Zheng Jie.
Zheng, who had to play her rain-delayed first-round clash with Mallory Burdette earlier in the day, produced a huge shock to see off the former World No 1.
The Chinese player made slightly more unforced errors than her opponent but dominated the winners count by 34 to 17.
“She’s a very tough player and fought until the last point,” Zheng told the WTA’s official website.
“I’m so happy I could win this match.
We’ve played many times before and she’s always so tough to beat.
But she’s also a very nice person, ever since she was a junior.
I’m very proud and this gives me a lot of confidence.” Britain’s Elena Baltacha could not build on her tough opening-round win as she lost out 6-2 6-0 to Varvara Lepchenko in the last 16 at the Belgian tournament.
Third seed Dominika Cibulkova was also eliminated, the Czech player losing her first-round match with Kaia Kanepi 6-4 7-6 (8-6).
Kanepi will face Lepchenko in the quarter-finals.
No 6 seed Julia Goerges was another casualty, being forced to pull out of her contest with Romina Oprandi due to a right wrist injury.
Romandi will face Zheng in the last eight, while the other quarter-final in the top half of the draw will see Sloane Stephens go up- against Peng Shuai, who edged past Olga Govortsa 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4).
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