14/12/2025

theSun on Sunday DEC 14, 2025

SPORTS 12

Rethink required for caged Lions Needing to win all three remaining Tests to win back the Ashes, will England make changes in Adelaide?

PIT LANE

NORRIS GETS HIS HANDS ON F1 TROPHY LANDO NORRIS laid hands on the Formula One winner’s trophy at a prize-giving gala in Tashkent on Friday as outgoing champion Max Verstappen stayed away due to illness but sent a congratulatory message to the Briton and McLaren. Norris clinched the title in the final race in Abu Dhabi last Sunday, beating Red Bull’s Verstappen by two points in the 24-round season with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri third overall. The 26-year-old is the 35th Formula One champion since the first in 1950 and 11th Briton to win the crown. “Obviously this is a lot of people’s dreams, a lot of racing drivers’ dreams and I got to finally live it,” Norris told the audience in the Uzbek capital. “Live that one dream that I had when I was a little kid.” Norris used an expletive as he spoke alongside newly-reelected FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who has cracked down on drivers swearing and jokingly replied ‘10,000’. “I got fined. But I can pay it off now,” said Norris. Four-times champion Verstappen was awarded the F1 Action of the Year in his absence for his overtake on Piastri in the opening lap of the Imola race. “I’m very sorry that I couldn’t be with you tonight. The doctors have prevented me from flying,” said the Dutch driver in a recorded message. MAX VERSTAPPEN was impressed with Charles Leclerc’s display at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix despite the Ferrari driver failing to chase down Lando Norris. The latter claimed his maiden Drivers’ Championship title by coming home in third place at the Yas Marina Circuit. He only needed to get on the podium to clinch the honours and did what he had to do, denying Verstappen a fifth straight title. Leclerc finished fourth and looked like he would make a move on Norris in the early stages of the race. However, he was unable to get close enough and fell out of DRS range relatively quickly. In the closing laps, he was on much quicker tyres than his McLaren rival but once again failed to catch up in spite of his best efforts. If he had managed to overtake Norris before the chequered flag, it would have resulted in Verstappen winning the title. Although that didn’t materialise, the Dutchman felt compelled to acknowledge Leclerc’s efforts after the race. “I think Charles drove his heart out to try and get on that podium, so that was also impressive to see,” he said. “Of course, they went for a two stop and that made it even more complicated because if you stay on a one-stop backing the whole thing up, it’s tough.” In other news, the FIA have confirmed that Mohamed Ben Sulayem will serve a second term as the organisation’s president after winning this year’s election. VERSTAPPEN ‘IMPRESSED’ WITH FERRARI’S LECLERC

England players walk off the field at stumps during the Second Ashes Test against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane on Dec 7. – AFPPIC

IF, for whatever reason, one wished to idle away the time between the second and third Tests of this Ashes series, per haps a fun game to play might be to speculate on the English selection once they arrive in Sydney for the final fixture of the tour. Now, such a suggestion may feel premature with the contest still alive, and a bull ish Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes certain that the tourists can roar back, but even those with a limited appreciation of past Ashes his tory will recognise that the English XI that ends a disas trous trip Down Under tends to be rather different than that which one might have imagined at its start. Take 2017/18, for example, when England fielded a final attack containing Tom Curran and Mason Crane – neither is likely to add to their combined three Test caps. Four years earlier, it had been Boyd Rankin and Scott Borthwick, neither sighted again in England whites. Such selections are not exclusively the preserve of the 21st century – the 1994/95 trip ended with Mark Ramprakash bowling 19 overs of off-spin with an all-seam attack made to toil at the Waca. While a recalled Colin Cowdrey, then 41, opened the batting for England in the sixth Test 20 years earlier – a

things wrong in the first innings in Brisbane. It is easy to see why England like Carse with his draught-horse qualities, but there felt a striking difference in skill and steadiness between the two sets of seam ers in the second Test. Josh Tongue would perhaps not offer the latter – the Nottinghamshire quick has gone at more than four an over in his short Test career – but his awkward angle, speed and ability to target the stumps make him a noted threat against the tail, with England’s failure to extin guish an innings a persistent problem. The short square bounda ries of the Adelaide Oval can make line-and-length bowlers more valuable on what can be a true surface, which may also bring Matthew Potts into the frame. Travis Head feasted on the raw Harshit Rana during Australia’s encounter with India during the Border Gavaskar Trophy last year; the hosts have a decision to make on whether to keep the left-hander at the top of the order, or return Usman Khawaja to the side and slide Head back down at his home ground. England’s own batting order will be of intrigue, too. Four relative failures as a unit may mean a sacrifice is offered; Ollie Pope would

game England won by an innings at the conclusion of a bruising trip. The point, then, is that there is a tendency for the baby to go with the bathwater when things head south for England in Australia. There was an interesting moment in the post-match wash-up on TNT Sports that followed defeat at the Gabba when Matt Prior, the former wicket keeper, asked fellow 2013/14 tourist Stokes what he felt he could learn from that trip. “Don’t panic. Don’t flap. Don’t waver,” was the now captain’s reply. England, it would seem, are in no mood for launching infants at this juncture but will clearly consider changes for Adelaide. It is as much approach as personnel that has appeared to be the prob lem for the visitors so far, but an alteration in mindset and mentality may need to be underlined by more obvious tweaks to the side. The ruling out of Mark Wood for the remainder of the series is a blow – soon to be 36, the fear is that the popular seamer may have played his final Test, leaving England without their fastest and most experienced bowler. Still, though, one would anticipate a different attack in Adelaide after Stokes himself conceded that he and Brydon Carse in particular had got

appear most vulnerable, with Jacob Bethell getting a score under his belt for the Lions in a heavy defeat against Australia A. The removal of the vice captaincy from Pope would appear to make such a switch at No. 3 more straightforward. It is striking how callow England’s batting order has felt at times, given the cap count put into certain players: Pope and Zak Crawley, for example, have played more Tests than Ray Illingworth, Graeme Swann and Darren Gough. That neither feels a significantly improved com modity over that time is, obvi ously, an issue. Yet equally, it shows how this England environment has committed to some individu als in a way that others may not have. While McCullum and Stokes have been ruthless in removing Alex Lees, Ben Foakes, Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach and James Anderson, perhaps the bravest decision now would be to have courage in their convictions, despite the situation facing them. That may mean backing Pope, or bringing in Shoaib Bashir – backed to the hilt as lead spinner, he is yet to fea ture in the series. If England are to revive their hopes, clearer thinking will be required. – The Independent