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His century was his first in four seasons at the Rose Bowl and received rapturous applause from the other players on the balcony. It is testament to the atmosphere in the club that his less eye-catching shots were cheered as loudly as Pietersen’s thunderbolts.He was dismissed just six runs after his century by Simon Jones, one of two successes for the England bowler who got fewer of his 29 overs in the favoured area than he might have liked.Team spirit is a much used, oft abused phrase but one that Hampshire, under the guidance of their manager, Paul Terry, and Warne, appear to have. Whether all the new foreign recruits understand the importance of that, or have adapted quickly enough to the rough-and-tumble of English football, is debatable; Carragher loyally turns a possible criticism into a positive by saying: “The manager is new to the Premier League, so I’m sure we’ll do better next season. Having followed such Merseyside heroes as Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman in completing the metamorphosis from Blue to Red, he is as keen as any Kopite to write a new legend by beating Milan on Wednesday.”At this club, we always hear all the stories of the past, so in 20 years we want to bore all the young people with our stories,” he declared late last week.

Lewis has become an admirable bowler, who knows where he is bowling and why, but the feeling persists that Tremlett’s height and bounce will make him the more difficult proposition.The selectors made a hard call among the batsmen but avoided it among the bowlers.. On the wall of the directors’ guest-room at Anfield is a specially commissioned map of Europe, charting Liverpool’s adventures down the years across the breadth of the continent, from Dundalk to Vladikavkaz. All the great venues are there, including the finals in Rome (twice), London, Paris and Brussels, and although Istanbul already features for an away tie with Galatasaray, the list needs updating So, the younger generation feels, does Liverpool’s history. So, the younger generation feels, does Liverpool’s history.
Jamie Carragher was six years old (and an Everton supporter) when the club last won the European Cup, and only 12 at the time of the last domestic title, in 1990.

The men in question were Key, Bell, Graham Thorpe and Kevin Pietersen. Fletcher conceded that it was a contentious judgement call which had been extremely difficult. “But is it all black and white? There are grey areas.” There are, but it might be wise not to talk of how long it takes players to become accustomed to international cricket when they are so easily jettisoned. Key will find it hard to get back now, not least because the siren calls for Pietersen will only grow louder.