England expects! But win is tough ask

ENGLAND expects! Well, to be fair, we expected last week too.

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A better verb might be something like ... prays!

Certainly, a bit of divine intervention wouldn't go amiss in today's second Ashes Test at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium (kickoff 2.30pm, live BBC One).

England went down 26-6 in the first Test at Wembley last week and the scoreline didn't flatter Australia.

There was a hope the Kangaroos might be a bit 'under-cooked' for game one but as it turned out medium rare was good enough. England, meanwhile, appear to have forgotten to turn on the oven.

Head coach Shaun Wane has chosen to try different ingredients this week though there's a slight feeling a whole new kitchen may be required ... perhaps even a new chef.

Wigan's Everton FC fan Harry Smith will start in the halves with Wane hoping his kicking game will give his side more 'control' in the way they end their sets.