Dragons vow to mac it fly!
SUPER LEAGUE will be flying by the seat of its pants when it returns to action on August 2.
Clubs are fighting for their survival, most expecting losses between £2million and £4m.
Fixtures or venues have still not been announced, other than the opening day’s three catch-up games.
But Catalans Dragons coach Steve McNamara (right) is just happy for his team to be up and
BEN STOKES is a natural leader.
But he will need help from other senior players to make a success of the England captaincy.
That’s the view of Paddy Upton (below), who coached Stokes at the Rajasthan Royals in last year’s Indian Premier League.
The South
African admits he was hugely impressed with the way Stokes interacted with the younger members of the Royals’ squad.
And, as Stokes prepares for his debut as England skipper – in what is likely to be a one-off cameo in Joe Root’s absence – Upton is backing his man to make a success of it.
“He is probably the best I’ve ever seen – absolutely
ENGLAND have confirmed Dom Bess as their No.1 spinner for their return to Test cricket against the West Indies this week.
Bess keeps the slot despite Moeen Ali’s comeback and the availability of Jack Leach.
Bess (right), 22, was behind that pair at the start of last summer, but Leach’s illness over the winter – and Moeen’s self-imposed break from red-ball cricket – brought an flying again – in and out of France. He said: “I cannot wait for that first kick-off. The adrenaline of going back in and preparing to win.
“That is what keeps us going, the highs and the lows of games. There won’t be any crowds but it is still really exciting.”
McNamara initially promised to set up camp in England if quarantine rules had demanded it.
But travel restrictions have since been eased, and France has dealt with unbelievable – when it comes to helping out the young guys,” said Upton.
“When it came to practices, he was the person who led the energy, led the enthusiasm – he pulled people along with him.
“I was gobsmacked at how amazing he was in that regard.
“What is it in his make-up that gets him to do stuff like that?
“It’s quite clear that he’s just really very down to earth.
“He’s very humble, he comes from a humble background.
“He really does carry those family values, those ‘mates values’ with him. He has that family ethic.”
Stokes will need all those skills when he leads England out for the first Test of a bizarre summer opportunity that the youngster grasped in South Africa.
Moeen, along with Jonny Bairstow, does not make the nine reserves. Joe Denly is in the 13, ahead of uncapped Dan Lawrence.
England’s 81st Test skipper
Ben Stokes will likely line up with three seamers from his five options – James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes. coronavirus to the extent that 5,000 maximum crowds will be allowed there from July 12.
Former England head coach McNamara said: “We are really conscious that people have lost their lives and our thoughts go out to them and their families.
“But if we can give a bit of light back, as football and the NRL have done, then that will be good.” The Dragons will feature in the opening day triple-header in four against the West Indies at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl this week.
Root will be absent for the birth of his second child – handing Stokes his first experience of captaincy since he led a Durham age group side 12 years ago.
“What’s important isn’t so much who is the captain, it’s who is in the leadership team,” added Upton.
“When you have that leadership team, then you have the bases covered.
“There are some really experienced guys in this England side and that’s going to be important.
“On the field he will have one or two lieutenants there to help him out.
“I’m sure that he’ll be fine as a caretaker.”
And as Stokes has proved time and again in the field – he is a safe pair of hands. weeks’ time. They play champions St Helens, with Hull KR vs Toronto and Huddersfield vs Leeds also featuring at Headingley.
Then the following two weekends are expected to feature tripleheaders on the Saturday and Sunday but no venues or fixtures have been announced. The rest of the season is also shrouded in fog.
McNamara said: “Our stadium can host games safely. We have a detailed bio-security plan. The top priorities are safety, and getting all clubs through this financially.”