Pretty much agree except for Antonsson (no thanks) and Nuttall (not certain he's good enough for the L1 never mind the Championship). Conway has to be a question mark too. He's 32/33 but plays much older. Whittingham is a puzzle - classy player and proven goalscorer in the Championship. Is he worth persevering with or is he too old and his desire gone ? . We need 5 at least Championship (or better) quality players in.

......... but does Mowbray trust youth ? The signs are he doesn't.

Mick McCarthy says he wants to stay in football. He would be welcome any time at Ewood.

When and why did it close?

When are the Australian bowlers going to confess that they knew about the cheating plot too ? There's no way that a captain would make an arbitrary decision to rough up the ball without consulting his bowlers.

Smith's cheating, to plan and take sandpaper on to the field of play with the intent purpose of altering the surface of the ball, is an entirely different level to those two. And Atherton and Trescothick's is nothing compared to the systemic cheating in Asian cricket, which you've failed to mention. The whole truth has still not come out to my mind. There's no way the Australian bowlers would not have known about this. As a former bowler, I'd have been fuming if my team-makes had been tampering with the ball without my knowledge. The Australians have been known for their lack of sportsmanship for decades, which is why there's generally a feeling of schadenfreude around the world at this furore. Basically, the cheats have been found out and the low esteem in which they were held has sunk even lower..

Irrelevant. Different time, different era. Smith's cheating was more blatant, and pre-meditated. Atheron admitted he had been a "fool" but not a deliberate cheat. Trescothick used saliva from boiled sweet to rub the ball, which I don't see any different to the saliva from chewing gum that most players have in their mouths, so hardly in the class of Smith who used sanctioned the use of sandpaper to rough up the ball. Smith, Warner and Bancroft's cheating has taken the offence to a new level. They've all got off lightly.

In my playing days it was always the bowlers who mucked around with the ball. Picking at the seam was favourite. It seems inconceivable to me that 3 batsmen should decide to alter the ball without the knowledge of the bowlers.

Cue another Sam argument. Wherefore art thou, Gavin ?

McCarthy was my best pick before CoCo turned up. If Ipswich would like to do a swap with Mowbray I wouldn't object.

Smith doesn't deserve any sympathy. He knew exactly what he was doing but the rancid win-at-all-costs ethos in the team meant he was blind to it. He cannot expect an easy ride when he returns either - crowds will give him a hard time. No matter what he achieves in the rest of his career, his character as a person and record as a batsman is permanently stained . Warner would be no loss to cricket if retired today. Nasty and provocative player who does besmirches the good name of cricket.

VAR is fine in rugby but it isn't right for football. Rugby is largely a stop-start game of set pieces in which the ball is often hidden from view, including when tries are scored. VAR is useful in that respect. Football is (or should be) a free flowing, spontaneous game and VAR will only serve to make it less of a spectacle. Wembley left a sour taste because the decision didn't feel right. It's quite likely VAR will play a significant part and possibly ruin the World Cup.

Yes, a very good record. Does that make him "world class" ?

Could someone define "world class" because it seems to me everyone's favourite player is "world class" ?

No he isn't. He's a very good striker who's had a couple of very good seasons.

Yes, so they are "world class" in the true sense of the term. You can't get any higher. Kane is on a lower level, so he isn't world class. I'm glad we cleared that up.

Kane's a very good player but "world class" (an overused term anyway) refers to the very best players - the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta etc.etc. Kane isn't in their league and still has it all to prove at the very highest level

Sorry, still doesn't cut it.

Smith is the captain - he has admitted leading blatant cheating. The integrity of the game is at stake here and the 2 players have sullied the name of cricket. Smith should be sacked by the Australian cricket authorites and the ICC should give him a quick and meaningful ban.

Yes, got me there!

They need to withdraw that ad quickly. Also, what's a "Leged"? Leg end would be more appropriate after his cheating. Why hasn't the ICC slapped an immediate ban on those two cheats ?

Scoring alot of goals in the Premier League doesn't make Kane "world class"

All of them are good players - none are out of the top drawer or "world class". An therein lies the explanation of why England will always fail

Same old Aussies, always cheating. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/43526870 Bancroft and especially Smith should get long bans from Test cricket for this.

Go back 20 plus years and the Premier League was dominated by English (British) players - so we had the numbers then yet England still weren't good enough to win a tournament (or even reach a final). Under Taylor and Keegan we were a laughing stock. The basic problem is we have never had enough true world-class players compared to successful nations like Spain, Germany, France, Brazil etc), and we've never had a coach who has been able to get the most out of the players we have (although Eriksson did well). Germany have had some distinctly ordinary sides in the past but because they are organised and well coached they rarely if ever fail in the big tournaments.