QUESTIONABLE DECISIONS...

First an apology for being absent from these pages for a week or so - entirely due to matters beyond my control but good to be back and thank you to those aficionados who have enquired about my whereabouts.   Anyway, here we go again.

And I resume normal service by referring to two decisions taken over the weekend concerning sporting issues.   The first is the selection of the England squad to compete in the upcoming European Championships which begin at the end of the week.  And being a Saints fan my first gripe is about the apparent omission of Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse despite his really quite impressive performance in the last two pre-tournament `friendlies.`  

It was plain for all to see that his abundant energy, his relentless pressing, incisive passing and dead ball brilliance would bring something a little different to the options open to manager Gareth Southgate.  But no, instead Southgate has preferred Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson who has not played a full game since mid-February and is clearly less than match fit.  In addition he displayed his usual arrogance by donning the captain`s armband, pulling rank over Dominic Calvert Lewin, the designated penalty taker, and promptly missed the one penalty chance he was given with a tame effort that summed up his performance in the time he was on the pitch.

Trouble is, he plays for one of the `big six` - you remember them, the ones who were prepared to tear up competitive football in favour of a closed shop European Super League. I feel more than a trifle miffed for Jame Ward-Prowse who, of course `only` plays for Southampton.  The rascal in me hopes in a way that Southgate`s decision comes back to haunt him.

The second questionable decision concerns England cricket`s new man Ollie Robinson who made an impressive debut in his first test match for England in the drawn game against New Zealand.  The storm broke around him when somehow a couple of 10-year old tweets that he put on Twitter were apparently deemed sexist and/or racist in nature.  Once this came to light, Robinson issued a prompt, heartfelt and genuine apology for something he did all those years ago when he was still a teenager.

Never mind all that, the ECB have banned him from international cricket `pending an investigation` so Robinson has left the England camp and trudged back to Sussex, his playing county.  I was not surprised to hear that Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has queried the ECB decision of which I hope there is a swift reversal very quickly.   Now when I was 18 or 19, despite Twitter and its ilk not having been invented, I`m pretty sure I did and said a few things that were of their time and in hindsight likely to have caused some offence to some people.   But such is the innocence and inexperience of youth and I would have hoped that Robinson` apology and regret would have been accepted so we can all `move on,` as they say.

(Preview alert ::  Also in my enforced absence some other `issues` have come to light which might encourage me to rant about but which might also impact on those of a sensitive nature.  Watch this space.....or not, a the case may be.)