Root’s 262, also his highest Test score, was one of relentlessness and determination.

He scored just 68 of his 264 runs in boundaries meaning the rest were taken by running ones, twos and threes in sweltering heat nearing 40C.

That was made more impressive by the fact, until being dismissed in the 286th over of the match, he had been on the field for all but eight deliveries.

In comparison, Brook crashed 29 fours and three sixes, once again showing his wide-array of attacking shots.

“Harry Brook has the shots of Kevin Pietersen and the rhythm and hunger of Joe Root,” former England captain Nasser Hussain said on Sky Sports.

“That is a combination of two of England’s greatest players.”

Brook, 25, eased beyond his previous best Test score of 186 before attacking further late in his innings. His knock also added to his five centuries in his previous 18 Tests and took his average to 62.50 – the third-highest of any player to have played 20 or more innings.

Root said: “He’s got such a complete game – he can score all around the wicket.

“He plays seam well, spin well and high pace well, and that’s a pretty good recipe for scoring runs.

“I’m not surprised at all in him going on and doing something special like that, but I don’t think it’ll be the last time we see him with a monster score by his name.”

EX-PREMIER LEAGUE wonderkid Aaron Connolly has bravely revealed his alcohol addiction fight.

The Irish international forward, 24, completed a free transfer to Championship promotion chasers Sunderland last month as he looks to resurrect his career.

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Connolly famously burst on the scene in the top-flight aged 19 at Brighton with a brace against Tottenham.

He left the Amex – following disappointing loan spells at Luton, Middlesbrough and Italian side Venezia – four years later having featured more on the gossip pages than sport ones.

Connolly did score eight times for Hull City last term but that was not enough to stop him from getting released.

Now he has decided to tell his story to coincide with World Mental Health Day on Sunderland’s website.

Connolly had left home for the South Coast aged 16 but he says everything changed after that day against Spurs.

He said: “I remember it – 5th of October, 2019, it was a 12.30 kick-off. I’m never going to forget that day. It was one of the best days of my life, but also one of the worst because the following five years was from that.

“I just stopped working, stopped doing the things I should have kept doing. I started to believe the hype, and I just didn’t turn into a good person after that. I was tough to be around.

“I didn’t know how to deal with it, if I’m being honest. My parents tried, but they weren’t living with me. I was living with my ex-girlfriend at the time, and it’s hard because I didn’t ever feel like I had that authoritative figure to keep me grounded.

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.

“My parents did try, but I just let myself believe everything people were saying online and it just took over. I always say to my parents, I started to live the life of a footballer without the football side of it.

“That was the hardest thing to admit at the time, that I wasn’t doing all the things that had got me to the position where I could go and get my house and treat my family, and do all that sort of stuff.

“It hurts to look back and speak about it because I know if I had done everything right, maybe I would still be in the Premier League. Maybe I wouldn’t, but at least I’d know I’d given it all I could to try to stay at that level.”

Connolly explained how both his on and off-field life began to spiral as alcohol became a bigger and bigger problem.

He said: “It was obvious I had a problem with alcohol for a good few years.

“I had my parents, who never drank before and were always telling me when I was younger to stay away from alcohol. That was always their thing because of addiction to alcohol in my family.

“I didn’t listen, clearly. It got me into a lot of trouble and a lot of problems, and it just became something that I relied on.

“It felt like my buzz used to come from football, and winning games and scoring goals, and it got to a point where the buzz was more from drinking alcohol than going out on a football pitch.

“I used to look forward to the games finishing so I could have time to go and have a drink and socialise.

“I say socialise, but it was just an excuse to go and get drunk, to go straight to alcohol, and that was where I got my buzz from, whereas before, it was always the buzz of football and being around an environment like I am now.

“For three or four years, that just wasn’t there.”

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Connolly managed to rediscover some form at Hull despite his “life being a mess” but he finally realised he needed to take drastic action after he was released in June by the Tigers.

He explained: “I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t live the way I was living. It was killing people round me, to be honest. My family, my friends. Mainly, it was killing me, really.

“I had one of my best seasons last year at Hull, but off the pitch, my life was a mess. The manager at Hull, to be fair, always looked after me, and always tried to help.

“But it just got to a point where, it wasn’t like life wasn’t worth living, it wasn’t a big dramatic thing, but it was just that my life was so unmanageable and I couldn’t control what I could do and couldn’t control my alcohol.

“It just got to a point where I had to make a decision where I needed to go to a treatment clinic, and I spent a month there in the summer.

“I just said to my agent, ‘I don’t want you to contact any clubs. I’m not doing this for football, I’m doing this so I can get my life back, and if stuff in football comes with that, then that’s a bonus’.

“It wasn’t even the football that was taking the biggest battering in the end, it was my life, my relationships, my friends. Everything was just failing and falling apart.

“When your parents are calling you and you’re not answering calls because you know you’re breaking their hearts, it’s time to realise that you’ve got a problem.”

Now after sealing himself an opportunity at Sunderland, Connolly wants to tell his story in the hope that it might help at least one other person struggling.

He added: “It’s an addiction, and the toughest thing I ever had to do was go in there. The PFA helped me pay for my treatment, and I know some people might not be able to afford it, but it’s important to know it’s not just park bench, vodka bottle. Anybody can get affected by it.

“There’s no price tag or no amount of money in the world that can cure it. It’s a disease, an illness. But going to the clinic was the best and worst month of my life.

“I just hope this might help people. I had everything every young boy would dream, but I couldn’t get hold of my addiction without that help.”

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Since turning professional in 2001 as a 15-year-old, Nadal has spent 2,543 hours and 15 minutes on court in 1,307 ATP Tour matches – 1,080 of which he has been on the winning side of the net.

The first title of his career arrived in 2004 on the clay courts of Sopot, a tiny city in northern Poland, before he shot to fame the following season.

In 2005, Nadal broke into the world’s top 10 – where he would stay for a record 912 consecutive weeks.

Nadal would win a further 91 ATP Tour titles, including 22 Grand Slams – 14 at the French Open, four at the US Open and two at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

The US Open was elusive for the longest time but when he conquered New York in 2010, he became the youngest man in the Open era to complete the ‘career Grand Slam’.

With Olympic singles gold already in his locker from Beijing 2008, that US Open victory also wrapped up a ‘career golden Grand Slam’.

It is an achievement matched by only four other players – Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic.

APPLY the handbrake, throw on the shackles, make England boring again. 

Because here was a night to remember why Gareth Southgate used to pick balanced teams. And how he led the Three Lions to two major finals. 

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Because this was a tactical omnishambles from interim chief Lee Carsley – who may have gambled himself out of a job with a bizarre team selection and an embarrassing defeat, the first time England have ever lost to Greece.   

Carsley started with NO recognised centre forwards, then ended up with what Mike Bassett referred to as four-four-f***ing-two.

A flawed attempt at trying to crowbar all of England’s attacking midfield talent into the same team ended in misery. 

If this is ‘Carsball’, it looked suspiciously like a car crash. 

This was the sort of line up the public urged Southgate to play during the Euros, and for some time before that. It didn’t work.

And against better teams than the Greeks, ranked 48th in the world, it will work even less well.

Even after Jude Bellingham’s 87th-minute equaliser, England were beaten by Vangelis Pavlidis completing his double to snatch the winner in injury time. 

England will now struggle to win promotion from the second tier  of the Nations League, given that the Greeks are top with a 100 per cent record.

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More importantly for the long term, the FA’s plan to promote former Under-21 boss Carlsey as permanent manager may have been holed beneath the waterline.

It was not just that England lost, it was that they lost with such an unconventional line-up, as the Greeks ensured the interim boss came acropolis in spectacular style.

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Carsley played Bellingham and Phil Foden as a pair of false nines, in a starting line-up which included two flying wingers and Cole Palmer playing too deep in central midfield, alongside a horribly exposed Declan Rice. 

The former Republic of Ireland player abandoned this experiment after an hour and soon had two authentic centre forwards on the field in Dominic Solanke and Ollie Watkins. That didn’t work either.

The scoreline could have looked far worse, given that Greece had THREE efforts ruled out for offside as Jordan Pickford suffered a personal horror show and Carsley’s side appeared hopelessly naive. 

With Wembley sold out on a school night, Carsley decided to give the public what they’ve wanted for some time. 

Got a load of exciting attacking midfielders? Well why not play the whole lot of them. 

Indeed, given that John Stones, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Rico Lewis all often double up in the centre of the park for their clubs, you could argue that Carsley had selected nine midfield players. 

It promised to be entertainingly chaotic and right from the off, it was. 

Bellingham swivelled and shot from 20 yards, Odysseas Vlachodimos tipping over and after the Real Madrid man was hacked down, Palmer curled a free-kick onto the roof of the net.

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The damning stats that underline England horror show

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Greece are the lowest ranked side to beat England in a competitive match in 19 years.

The away side were the lowest ranked side to ever beat England on home soil.

It was the first time Greece had never beaten England in their history.

Greece had never scored a goal at Wembley before tonight (the famous 2-2 with Becks free kick was at Old Trafford)

Vangelis Pavlidis’ strikes were his first since June 2022 vs Cyprus.

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Jude Bellingham’s 87th-minute equaliser was England’s first shot on  target since the third  minute (also Bellingham).

Yet at the other end, England were defending with legs akimbo – and they were not helped by Pickford looking as if he had clown music playing in his head. 

After Pavlidis curled a shot wide with England completely exposed, Pickford and Stones were involved in a horrible mix-up and the keeper passed straight to Greek skipper Anastasios Bakasetas, whose lob was spectacularly cleared off the line by Levi Colwill.

Yet from the resulting corner, Pickford completely missed a punch, allowing West Ham’s Konastantinos Mavropanos to head into the net – only for a linesman’s flag to save England. 

Next, Stones made an excellent block to deny Bakesatas and people were beginning to understand why boring old Southgate used to pick balanced teams. 

Bellingham was impressive, though and when he cut back for Palmer, England’s Player of the Year put his foot through the ball from eight yards out and skied a chance he would rarely have missed in a Chelsea shirt. 

Anthony Gordon sent a free header over before Bukayo Saka ended the half with a booking for tripping Giorgios Masouras to stop a Greek break. 

It had been a madcap, and somehow goalless first half. 

But within five minute of the restart, England were behind.

Konstantinos Koulierakis ploughed straight through the heart of Carsley’s team before Vangelis Pavlidis, surrounded by three defenders, was able to stab past Pickford. 

Saka was forced off through injury and replaced by Noni Madueke and soon Rice was booked for clattering Manolis Siopis before the resulting free-kick caused more mayhem. 

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Pavlidis had another effort ruled for offside before the false nine idea was chucked away on the hour mark, Watkins arriving in place of Gordon before Solanke came on for the hapless Foden, who never carries his Manchester City form into England duty.

The Greeks thought they had it sown up when Pavlidis tucked home a low centre from Tzolis after a dozy pass from Pickford – but VAR ruled out the effort for offside. 

It was huge let off for Carsley before Solanke cut back and the ball ran for Bellingham to ram home from 20 yards.

Even then England subsided, Lewis at the centre of a mass defensive cock-up which allowed Pavlidis to drill into the far corner.  

It was a scene which summed up the whole night — England shambling and humiliated.

In the technical area, Carsley fell to his haunches in despair. Surely the FA can’t appoint him after this.

England wing Bo Westcombe-Evans will make her second international start in Sunday’s WXV1 decider against Canada in Vancouver.

Regular starting wing Abby Dow, who scored two tries in last weekend’s victory over New Zealand, is unavailable after a head knock.

Lock Rosie Galligan and flanker Maddie Feaunati are the other two changes to the starting XV that defeated the world champions.

Westcombe-Evans, 22, scored on her debut in England’s opening WXV1 victory against the United States, before being replaced by Dow for the Black Ferns game.

“Bo has been really impressive in the past 10 weeks,” Red Roses head coach Mitchell said.

“She has a similar physical attribute to Abby [Dow] and Jess [Breach] in the fact she has got a good outside break and fend.

“She’s a young woman developing her game and is surrounded by fantastic team-mates. It is a great opportunity for her and part of her development.”

Centre Helena Rowland retains her spot at outside centre, with Holly Aitchison favoured at fly-half over Zoe Harrison.

After starting against New Zealand, lock Abbie Ward and flanker Morwenna Talling drop to the bench.

The WXV1 hosts comfortably defeated France and Ireland in their opening two games and, like Mitchell’s side, remain undefeated – meaning the winner on Sunday will clinch the title.

A WWE legend has ruled out coming back for John Cena’s retirement matches.

Cena, 47, is set to call it quits at the end of 2025.

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First, he will have a series of retirement matches as he says goodbye to the promotion.

Kurt Angle, however, will not return to face Cena.

Angle, 55, last wrestled in April 2019 after facing Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35 in New Jersey.

While appearing on the Notsam Wrestling podcast, Angle was asked about potentially entering the ring one last time for Cena’s retirement matches.

In response, Angle admitted that, while he reckons he could get it booked, his body simply wouldn’t hold up to it.

The WWE legend said: “Listen, I’m sure if I made a call, I could make it happen.

“But there’s no way I can do it. But I would love to be one of John Cena’s retirement matches.”

Angle then revealed that he’d wanted Cena to be his last opponent before retirement, only for Vince McMahon to have had other ideas.

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“I mean, I’m the one [with whom] he had his first match,” Angle added. “I wanted John to be my retirement match.

“I don’t know if you knew that, but I requested that to Vince. ‘You’re gonna have to wait till next year because you have a programme with Baron Corbin.’

“So I was like, ‘OK. I don’t think I can go another year, Vince.’ He said, Well, then it is what it is.’”

Angle also claimed that he felt his previous 2006 WWE departure had left a sour taste with McMahon.

He said: “I love Baron Corbin, but I just felt that my second time in WWE, I wasn’t so much appreciated.

“I think it has a lot to do with me leaving the company high and dry in 2006 and going straight to TNA.

“I was supposed to go back to WWE in six months. Vince wanted me to take six months off and come back. So literally, when I left his office and I quit, I called TNA and got a contract that day.

“I didn’t wait a second. I knew what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go and I think they were like, ‘OK, well if he comes back we’re going to teach him a little lesson,’ which is fine.

“I understood… I love my TNA run.

“I think I came into my own right around 2006 when I was having my best wrestling, and that’s when I moved over to TNA.”

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