Time for me to sign off. Thanks for your company and correspondence. It’s been quite a day for England supporters: a six-hour rave disguised as a Test match, followed by a nice calm stint in the chill-out zone watching the football. Do join us again in the morning for the cricket, or if you can’t handle all that excitement, drop in on Monday night when I’ll be watching England take on North Macedonia at Old Trafford.
Here’s Rob Knap, picking up on Mary Waltz’s email (45 min). “I tend to agree with Mary’s comment,” he says, “it’s difficult to get excited about this kind of mismatch, though always good to see players like TAA and Saka in full flow. In fact, it’s the selection which is most interesting. I know this is hardly novel to suggest Maguire is lucky to get a start, but, well, Maguire is lucky to start. Perhaps it’s because Southgate knew it would be a fairly easy run-out, and he can work the ball better than Mings when he moves up the pitch (as you said in the commentary).” Both were good at that tonight.
“But I wonder what Mings is thinking after the season he’s had. Confession: I’m a Villa fan, but having seen them play several times this year (and previously had doubts about him), I feel he’s really tightened up his game and looks as good a defender as we’ve had for a long time. He’s been simply superb for Villa – as Southgate will know. However good a guy Maguire is, I imagine easy to manage, etc, and he’s clearly a good player too, despite the troubles he’s had recently, I just find it odd that Southgate carries on picking him when he’s hardly played and there are (Mings I think, others are available!) much better alternatives based on current form, mindset, etc.
“Keep up the good work, and hope to see you on the OBO during the Ashes too!” Ha, thanks, I’ll be there, as long as the Aussies haven’t given up and gone home before the third Test.
