John Etheridge

Colin Hart was a legendary figure in sports journalism. He knew everyone and everything in boxing and athletics. Covered Ali’s greatest fights, Bruno used to sleep at his house before Wembley fights. His boxing column appeared in the Sun as recently as March 7. RIP.

Little option other than to sack Jon Lewis after the Ashes whitewash. But plenty of problems with England women remain - lack of succession planning, fitness, mentally fragile etc Most of all, must find a way of attracting more athletic and dynamic girls to cricket.

Fair play to Harry Brook for pulling out IPL to prioritise England. In the past, players tended to withdraw when their auction price was low & by concocting an injury. But Brook went for £550,000 and he's risking a two-year ban. Helps his chances of being Eng white-ball captain.

Jos Buttler thinking: "This is my last game as captain. I can rely on the lads to send me off with a top performance." Less than three hours later... Jos Buttler thinking: "Thanks a bunch, lads."

Jos Buttler is a decent man whose passion - and he does have plenty of passion - is sometimes masked by an understated public persona and perhaps some natural shyness. He's made the right decision to stand down and we hope he recaptures his dazzling form with the bat.

Replacing Brydon Carse with Rehan Ahmed suggests England's selection was wrong in the first place. Spinners already proving effective in the Champions Trophy. And looks even more strange now that Rehan didn't play in any of England's seven recent white-ball matches in India.

The greatest sportsman in the UAE today? Tadej Pogacar, of course! Can he win the final uphill stage of the UAE Tour?

England's highest score in ODIs is 182 by Ben Stokes. Duckett currently 161* in the 47th over.

England have got worse on this trip with all the flaws repeated and magnified. People on the ground confirm they have hardly practised in recent days. Sure, it can be difficult with travel between every game but questions about preparation need to be asked.

RT @chetannarula: @JohnSunCricket It is. Not nets in Cuttack or Ahmedabad. Joe Root was the only one to practice ahead of 2nd ODI.

Kevin Pietersen seeming to confirm this. He says only Joe Root has had a net in the past week or two. Tom Banton arrived and spent the pre-match day playing golf. Pietersen and Shastri saying this should be the chance to improve in Indian conditions.

John Etheridge @JohnSunCricket

Ravi Shastri has just said on TV: "From what I've heard, England have had just one net session this entire trip, if not any. If you're not prepared to do the hard yards, you're not going to improve." Surely, that can't be true?

Ravi Shastri has just said on TV: "From what I've heard, England have had just one net session this entire trip, if not any. If you're not prepared to do the hard yards, you're not going to improve." Surely, that can't be true?

The malaise is repeating - England batsmen getting in, reaching 20-plus but then departing before making a significant score.

Gus Atkinson's aggregate figures in three matches on this tour... 17-0-177-2

Phil Salt contributed more than half of England's runs. Next best score was ten. Sure, England needed to go hard chasing such a big total but, on a flat pitch, failing to reach the end of the 11th over is pretty damn awful.

Not often a batsman reaches a hundred in the 11th over of a T20 innings! Fantastic batting by Abhishek Sharma 100* (37)

Really dodgy that Dube is playing for India. 'Concussed' less than 48 hours earlier. Now fit to play! What about medical protocols and protection? Hmmm.