Having already identified a powerhouse batting line-up, West Indies white-ball Head coach Darren Sammy says the only task left is to assign specific roles for bowlers to be fully prepared for this year’s ICC Men's Twenty20 (T20) World Cup at home in June.
Cricket’s shortest format remains a strong suit for West Indies, who won both their T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2016 under Sammy’s captaincy.
The regional side again showcased their prowess when they won T20 series against South Africa, India and England in 2023, and posted three successive 200-plus scores in Australia earlier this year, despite losing that series 2-1. Those results have left Sammy upbeat about the prospects, as they look ahead to the global showpiece to be hosted jointly in the West Indies and United States.
“The way my batters batted, I think it’s the first time a team had scored over 200 three-consecutive times whether batting first or chasing, and it speaks volumes of the power that we have in that squad. It sends a strong message to the world from our batting group that West Indies is a dangerous force,” Sammy said in a recent Cricket West Indies interview.
“I’ve said it before to my guys. I said to them, ‘I’ve seen this team before, this type of power, the explosiveness’. It was a team that I captained before, so to see it eight years since I left the game... man, it’s exciting times for us in the World Cup coming in June," he added.
Still, death-overs bowling remains an issue with the team, and as such, Sammy pointed out that they are in the process of finalizing candidates for various bowling roles.
Rising fast bowler Shamar Joseph is on Sammy’s radar for the World Cup, especially after the 24-year-old’s headline-grabbing debut in the Australia Test series earlier this year.
Joseph’s exploits were widely celebrated across the region and Sammy believes winning the World Cup on home soil would help sustain that interest in the game.
“When West Indies do well, there’s a buzz. You saw Shamar Joseph’s exploits in Australia and how it created a buzz in the Caribbean. So, for us, and for me as a coach, to lift the silverware, it will mean everything," Sammy declared.
“But, obviously we need to tinker and work on some different bowling roles and that myself, James Franklin and the captain [Rovman Powell] have been speaking to various persons that we want to execute different roles.
“I’ve been speaking and working diligently with our analysts looking at grounds, different venues we’re going to have [for the T20 World Cup] and the different dimensions and different conditions in the surface and making sure we have the right personnel to fill in those key roles," he shared.
Rovman Powell and his men will begin their World Cup campaign with a Group C contest against Papua New Guinea in Providence, Guyana, on June 2.
However, until then, Sammy said the focus is on their preparation to ensure efficient execution when game time comes.
“The preparation both on and off the field is going good. Leading up closer to the World Cup, I think a few of my boys will be in the IPL playing. We have a series probably just before the World Cup – three matches against South Africa – so building up to that, we’ll be ready," Sammy explained.
“And again, we’re at home, we know the conditions, it’s not about adapting. It’s just about making sure we execute well when the day comes," he ended.
Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite hailed his maiden England call-up a dream come true.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with the Toffees, playing 31 times in all competitions after he spent last season on loan at PSV Eindhoven.
Branthwaite has benefited from injuries in the centre of England’s defence to be selected for the March friendlies with Brazil and Belgium, but promised to take in every moment when he links up with Gareth Southgate’s squad for the first time next week.
“It’s a dream come true,” Branthwaite told evertontv. “To represent your national team at any level is a massive achievement but for it to be the senior squad, I’m over the moon.
“I found out in training. The gaffer pulled me and told me I’ve been selected, so I was buzzing when I heard the news.
“You can only affect what you do on the pitch and give yourself the best possible opportunity to be selected and that’s by putting in good performances on the pitch.
“That’s what your only focus can be, really, and that’s been from when I came into the team to now – it’s just to keep delivering that high level and see where that takes me.
“I messaged my dad and he said he’s very proud of me. He said: ‘All of the family is proud’, so it’s a lovely feeling. I just can’t wait to join up with the team.
“They’re obviously really tough fixtures but I’m really happy to just be in the squad, take every moment in and see where it takes me.”
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Southgate insisted former England Under-21 international Branthwaite had been picked on merit.
He added: “He’s good with the ball, shows good composure, good mentality.
“He’s a left-footer and we don’t have many left-footed defenders. He’s in on merit and we’re keen to find out more about him.”
Toni Kroos has been recalled to the Germany squad after an absence of almost three years, the country’s football association has announced.
The Real Madrid midfielder revealed last month he was planning to come out of international retirement.
The 34-year-old made himself unavailable for selection after Germany’s elimination from the delayed Euro 2020 tournament but has reversed his decision following talks with new coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Former Bayern Munich boss Nagelsmann, who took charge of the national side last September, has included Kroos in a 26-man squad for friendlies against France and the Netherlands later this month.
This would indicate Kroos, who has 106 international caps and won the World Cup in 2014, is now in the picture for this summer’s European Championship.
Veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, the former Germany captain, has also been recalled for the first time since breaking his leg in a skiing accident in December 2022.
Galopin Des Champs bids to join the Prestbury Park immortals when he defends his Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup crown on Friday.
Willie Mullins’ stay stayer erased any stamina doubts with an ultra-impressive success in the blue riband 12 months ago, staying on strongly up the hill to finish seven lengths ahead of game runner-up Bravemansgame.
Although subsequently defeated by Fastorslow in both the Punchestown Gold Cup and when reappearing in the John Durkan, Galopin Des Champs firmly accounted for his reopposing rival when producing a dominant display in last month’s Irish Gold Cup, a victory which supplemented a clinical display at Leopardstown over the Christmas period and sees him head to the Cotswolds in peak condition.
The first time Paul Townend and Galopin Des Champs joined forces at Prestbury Park, the Irishman finished on the deck in the Turners Novices’ Chase as the then bold-jumping novice forfeited a 12-length lead when falling at the last.
However, the Closutton number one was handed plenty of plaudits for the way he nursed the eight-year-old to Gold Cup glory last year and with his mount now the ultimate professional, Townend is relishing the prospect of linking up once again.
“It was disappointing to get beat in the John Durkan but he was very good at Christmas and again at the Dublin Racing Festival,” said Townend.
“People had doubts about him (last year) and you always have doubts I suppose when a horse runs in the Gold Cup – until they stay, they don’t stay. We had confidence in him that he would stay and he did.
“Like us all, he’s getting older and wiser and a bit more laid-back and he’s developed into the finished article.
“I’m looking forward to getting back on him and it’s always exciting. I’ve had the horse underneath me (a few times) in the Gold Cup and you wouldn’t be anywhere without the horses and the rub of the green.”
Golden Miller famously won five successive Gold Cups in the 1930s, with Cottage Rake, Arkle and Best Mate recording heralded hat-tricks in the Cheltenham Festival feature. But as a rule, back-to-back champions are a rarity in the modern era, with the great Kauto Star even surrendering his crown in 2008 before regaining the title a year later.
The outlier in the past 20 years is Al Boum Photo and now Galopin Des Champs has the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious former stablemate and provide Closutton with their fourth Gold Cup in six years.
However, the trainer’s son Patrick Mullins believes there are few similarities between the pair, viewing the stable’s latest Gold Cup hero as a “superstar”.
He said: “They’re chalk and cheese a bit. Al Boum Photo very much had his own way of jumping. I remember schooling him one day in Punchestown after racing and Paul just said ‘close your eyes and trust him’!
“He broke Ruby’s leg one time and he fell at the last with David (Mullins) another. He wasn’t a flashy horse and didn’t work fantastically well, whereas Galopin Des Champs is a superstar.
“It’s a bit like Nicky Butt and Roy Keane, but Al Boum Photo won two Gold Cups. It feels to me like he was more a specialist horse for that race, whereas Galopin is a superstar of the sport.”
Martin Brassil knows all about the might of Galopin Des Champs, but his Fastorslow is the only horse to lower the defending champion’s colours in the past two seasons.
The eight-year-old is the general second favourite as he prepares to lock horns with Galopin Des Champs yet again, but his handler believes there is plenty of depth to a competitive Gold Cup.
“We’re looking forward to the race and it’s a really strong renewal of the Gold Cup,” said Brassil.
“They call it a wind operation but we’ve just cauterised his palate that’s all (since Leopardstown last month). There is more than one horse in the race and some really good Grade One winners in there, it’s a strong race that will take plenty of winning.
“He’s as entitled to be there as any of the others, though. The horse has travelled over great and has eaten and drank and stuff and it’s all system go.”
Gordon Elliott’s Gerri Colombe entered the season as a major Gold Cup player in the making and was disputing favouritism after making a winning return at Down Royal.
However, hopes were tempered somewhat when trailing some 23 lengths behind Galopin Des Champs in the Savills Chase at Christmas.
Asked how he can reverse that form with Galopin Des Champs, Elliott said: “We need a miracle, I’d say.
“He’s in great shape, he didn’t run his race at Christmas and it’s going to be very hard to turn that distance around, but we’ll see what happens.
“He was unlucky when he just got touched off here last year and it’s an open race if you take the favourite out of it.”
Owners Robcour have a second string to their Gold Cup bow in the form of Gentlemansgame, who made a successful raid on the Charlie Hall Chase in the autumn, downing Paul Nicholls’ Bravemansgame.
Mouse Morris’ gigantic grey heads to the blue riband on the back of just three chasing starts but would have a fighting chance of giving his handler a second Gold Cup victory if repeating his Wetherby heroics.
Ten-year-olds Jungle Boogie (Henry de Bromhead) and Monkfish (Mullins) are others from Ireland in the Gold Cup mix, representing the two trainers who have traded the last six runnings of the race.
The latter is a dual Festival winner who finally gets his crack at the main event having been seen just the four times since winning the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase here in 2021.
However, one who will not to be at the start is John ‘Shark’ Hanlon’s King George hero Hewick, who is likely to now head for the Randox Grand National after ground conditions curtailed Gold Cup hopes.
In a post on X, Hanlon said: “After walking the track this morning, we have decided Hewick will not run in the Gold Cup.
“While this is disappointing, we are doing what’s best for the horse”
Steven Naismith believes Stephen Kingsley can still earn more Scotland caps even though the on-form defender did not get the nod to join three of his Hearts team-mates in the latest squad.
Free-scoring captain Lawrence Shankland plus goalkeepers Zander Clark and Craig Gordon were included in Steve Clarke’s 25-man pool for the national team’s pre-European Championship friendly double-header against Netherlands and Northern Ireland later this month.
Kingsley, who won the last of his two caps against Ukraine in September 2022, was also understood to have been in the thoughts of the Scotland boss after returning to his best form at Tynecastle this term.
However, the prospects of the 29-year-old former Swansea and Hull defender – who can play at centre-back or left-back – going to Germany this summer appear slim after he did not make the squad announced earlier this week, with Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson, Liam Cooper and Scott McKenna the left-sided options preferred by Clarke.
“The fact he’s being talked about as being part of the national set-up, he can be proud of that,” said Hearts boss Naismith.
“You never know what can happen. He’s been in the set-up not so long ago after a long period out, and that’s what he’ll strive for.
“The whole Scotland squad has gone up a few notches so he can take credit from making the last squad he did (in 2022) because the competition at that point was really good.
“Yes, there’s a lot of left-sided players but that versatility Stephen’s got probably puts him in a slightly different bracket. It will be hard work for him to make the Euros squad but he will never give up.
Despite his international omission, Naismith has been hugely impressed with the way Kingsley has asserted himself as one of Hearts’ key men since arriving in 2020 after injuries derailed his career down south following his first Scotland cap in 2016.
“I’d argue he’s in the running for our club player of the year,” said Naismith. “He’s consistent, he’s the ultimate professional and he’s somebody who has had to work really hard in the last five years because of the injuries he’s come through.
“I played with him in the national set-up and to go from how promising that part of his career was to then have such a long period out, your career will go one way or the other so he’s worked really hard to maximise himself.
“He probably came to Hearts at a time when he could have been at a higher level but his (injury) history counted against him. He’s come in here and the fit has been brilliant.
“He’s a leader, he’s versatile and he’s got real quality. I think he’s been one of our best players this season.
“The biggest thing for him is that he’s enjoying everything at the moment, he’s enjoying his football and where he sits within the squad. He’s a big help for me personally.”
Connections of L’Homme Presse could do little but sit and watch last year’s Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup unfold before them, but 12 months on he is tasked with leading the British charge in the blue riband.
With the Irish raiders dominating the top of the Gold Cup market, it falls on Venetia Williams’ nine-year-old to fly the flag for the home team, having already enjoyed one special day at the Cheltenham Festival when winning the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase in 2022.
Owned by Andy and Pam Edwards alongside Peter and Patricia Pink, it was injury that saw their pride and joy miss the action in the Cotswolds last year, but he served a timely reminder of his staying qualities when making an emotional winning return at Lingfield in the Fleur De Lys Chase.
Things didn’t go to a similar plan when putting the finishing touches to his Gold Cup preparations in the Ascot Chase last month, although his handler is unperturbed by that reversal at the hands of the speedier Pic D’Orhy.
“I still assess his Ascot run exactly as I did on the day,” said Williams.
“I was very pleased with the run and it wasn’t the ideal race for him as it was just over two and a half miles on nearly good ground which we know is too much of a speed test and not a stamina test.
“In the circumstances up against Pic D’Orhy, who is very much a speed horse, I was very pleased with his run.”
The Herefordshire handler used the Ascot Chase to set-up Teeton Mill’s Gold Cup bid in 1999 and Williams will be hoping L’Homme Presse will fare better in his crack at the blue riband than that runner, who was pulled-up as the 7-2 second favourite in the year See More Business ruled the Cotswolds.
“He will line up at the start with all of them and it’s a very competitive race, so he will have as good a chance as any of them,” added Williams.
“It’s the Gold Cup isn’t it and there’s lots of top horses there, but I like to think we will have our chance. It’s what you hope to be doing with a horse of his quality and you hope to be competitive at the top table and we will see. Hopefully he will be there good and well.”
See More Business was of course the first Gold Cup winner for Paul Nicholls, who has gone on to score with Kauto Star in 2007 and 2009 and Denman, whose 2008 triumph sandwiched in the middle.
Bravemansgame came closest to giving Ditcheat a first Gold Cup since 2009 when second to Galopin Des Champs last year and the champion trainer believes he has his star stayer in much better shape than when runner-up in defence of his King George title on Boxing Day.
He said: “It just didn’t work in the autumn, it was heavy ground in the Charlie Hall and then we ran him a bit quick in the Betfair Chase, which was close enough to Kempton. It just didn’t work out but he’s very well now.
“In another year we’d have done things differently and the ground may have been different, but I’m very happy we haven’t run him since Kempton and we could go to Aintree or Punchestown like last year.
“He worked well on Saturday morning, he looks great and I think I have him in a good place. He did well at Kempton (in a racecourse gallop) and he’s in better shape than he was then.
“We’ve all got to beat the favourite but I’m really happy with where he is, I think we’ll see a much better horse than we’ve seen so far this season and if he runs like last year, he’ll be there or thereabouts.”
Bravemansgame was up with the pace until giving way to the eventual winner after the last 12 months ago, but Nicholls does not envisage a change of plan this time around as they seek a different outcome to the finish.
He added: “I’ll leave tactics to Harry (Cobden). Last year he was right on the front end and at the end of the day he ran a great race riding him like that.
“Galopin Des Champs was dropped in and had a dream run (last year). They are going to ride him a lot more positively now because he stays and Harry will slot in where he is happy.”
Two places behind Bravemansgame at Kempton over Christmas was The Real Whacker, who further enhanced his Gold Cup claims when second in the Cotswold Chase on Festival Trials day.
Trained by Yorkshire-based Irishman Patrick Neville, he was a brave winner of the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the meeting in 2023 and this has been the eight-year-old’s ultimate goal ever since.
Neville said: “He’s in great form, this has been the target all year and we’re hopeful he’s improved again from his last run.
“Hopefully the ground will dry out a little bit, but we’re not too worried about it – it is what is at this stage and he did win in soft ground there last year.
“He was just looking around a bit the last day and we’ve worked him a few days in the visor and we’re a bit like Tesco, every little helps! He’s entitled to be there and I couldn’t be happier with him going into the race, so we can do no more.”
Corach Rambler is another with winning form at Prestbury Park and the dual Ultima winner will now take his chance at the highest level en route to the defence of his Grand National crown.
“It’s a difficult thing as we feel the National is his main aim, but we know he runs well round Cheltenham so that gives us hope he can run well,” said trainer Lucinda Russell’s partner and assistant, Peter Scudamore. “We’re hopeful he could get a place.”
Also taking in the blue riband before a trip to Aintree next month is Gary Moore’s Welsh Grand National victor Nassalam, who bids to join the likes of Native River, Synchronised and Burrough Hill Lad by supplementing victory in the Chepstow marathon with success in the Cotswolds.
Moore said: “This rain will be beneficial to him, it will slow the others down a bit hopefully.
“I personally didn’t think he had the class for the Gold Cup before he ran the race he did in the Welsh Grand National. I’m kind of being guided by the handicapper, he’s kind of telling me he’s a 160 horse. Is he? I don’t know.
“I’ve never trained a Gold Cup horse and I’ve never trained a Grand National horse. I think he’s entitled to run in his ground because he jumps and stays well, but (if it dries) he might not get his ground to see him at his best.”
Warren Gatland says he relishes the high-pressure stakes of international sport as Wales strive to avoid a first Guinness Six Nations wooden spoon for 21 years.
Gatland oversaw Six Nations titles triumphs, Grand Slams and two World Cup semi-final appearances during his trophy-laden first stint as Wales head coach from 2007 to 2019.
He returned to the role as Wayne Pivac’s successor ahead of last season’s Six Nations, with Wales finishing fifth on that occasion.
But if Wales fail to beat Principality Stadium visitors Italy on Saturday, then they will prop up the final table, which has not happened since Gatland’s fellow New Zealander Steve Hansen was in charge for the 2003 campaign.
Asked about the pressure, Gatland said: “I love it. You find out about people in weeks like this when you are under a bit of pressure, how you respond to that pressure, who is going to put their hand up, who is going to accept the responsibility.
“You find out so much more about individuals when you are under pressure.
“And that is what international sport and professional sport is all about, whether you are playing for Grand Slams or you are at the other end of the table and fighting for survival and fighting to make sure we get a win on the weekend.
“I am still learning about the game, still asking questions about things that you would do differently and how you would prepare differently.
“If you think you know everything, then you are probably in the wrong thing. Things keep moving on, and it is looking at the game and the changes and trying to stay in front of those changes and being proactive about those sort of things.”
Gatland’s squad rebuilding process is under way, one that was underlined by Test retirements last year of Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny – their fellow cap centurion George North will follow after the Six Nations – Louis Rees-Zammit quitting rugby for a possible American football career, Liam Williams playing in Japan, plus injuries to players like Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake and Taulupe Faletau.
“You tend to go back and look a little bit at history,” Gatland added.
“You can go back as far as 2003, which probably wasn’t the best year for Welsh rugby, but two years later that team won the Grand Slam.
“It does take a bit of time. You can’t coach experience. Players learn from being out in the middle. They make mistakes, but it is how you rectify those mistakes for them to be better the next time.
“We know where we are as a group. This group of players have worked incredibly hard and I can’t question the effort.
“Looking at some of the statistical data in terms of GPS numbers, they are very good. There is no way they are not trying out there.
“Both winning and losing become habits, and we’ve got to break that. We are desperate for a win on Saturday.
“We are desperate to go out there and start well and continue to play well for 80 minutes to show as a group we have been improving.”
North will bow out of the international game following a career that saw him help Wales win four Six Nations titles, including two Grand Slams, and play in four World Cups.
The 31-year-old back, who will play for French club Provence next season, has scored 47 tries for Wales – a figure only bettered by Shane Williams – and he is his country’s third most-capped player behind Alun Wyn Jones and Gethin Jenkins.
Gatland added: “He was probably thinking to himself when was the right time (to retire) from a physical point of view.
“We would have loved for him to still be involved, but the conversation with him was that he didn’t want to continue playing for the next couple of years and then potentially leave us in a bit of a hole 12 months out from a World Cup.
“I completely understood his decision with him going to France and taking the family with him.
“It is not completely a surprise to me because we had already had a couple of conversations. We would have loved to have had a player of his ability still to be involved, but at some stage everyone calls time.”
Protektorat proved dropping back in trip was no issue when producing a brilliant display to claim the Ryanair Chase for the red-hot Dan Skelton team at the Cheltenham Festival.
A Grade One winner over three miles, he was third and fifth when tried in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the past two years and connections resisted taking a third crack at the blue riband to revert to one of the day three features
There was plenty of pace on show with Stage Star and Ahoy Senor leading the field along, with Protektorat among those right on that duo’s tail in the hands of Harry Skelton.
Having travelled menacingly into contention it appeared 9-4 favourite and defending champion Envoi Allen was the one the front-runners had to worry about heading into the straight, but neither Stage Star or Protektorat were ready to give up the fight and although Stage Star faded after two out there was still plenty of fight left in Protektorat.
There was little to separate Protektorat and Henry de Bromhead’s charge jumping the final fence, but it was Protektorat’s stamina reserves which then came to the fore late in the day as the 17-2 chance stormed up the Cheltenham hill to victory.
It was Skelton’s fourth victory at this year’s Festival, and also the second in the space of 40 minutes for the collective of owners that include Sir Alex Ferguson and John Hales – whose famous yellow colours Skelton donned in the saddle.
Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior has called on UEFA to issue sanctions over racist chants about him by Atletico Madrid fans.
The Brazil forward was the target of chants by Atletico fans prior to their Champions League last 16 match against Inter Milan on Wednesday night.
He replied to a post on X, formerly Twitter, about the chanting and wrote: “I hope you have already thought about their punishment @ChampionsLeague
@UEFA.
“It’s a sad reality that even happens in games where I’m not present!”
UEFA has not commented on the matter at this stage. Official reports from the match will be received and reviewed on Thursday, before any decision is taken regarding disciplinary action.
Some of Jamaica’s finest young swimmers will gather at the National Aquatics Centre at the National Stadium in Kingston on March 15 and 16 to compete in the 26th staging of the Mayberry All Island Swim Meet.
The meet will see 1080 athletes taking part in total representing 38 Preparatory Schools and 28 High Schools.
“We are very excited about this partnership with Mayberry and we’re looking forward to some great competition. The athletes are very excited and we’re looking for some records as well as a great turnout,” said Aquatics Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) President Lance Rochester speaking to SportsMax.tv at the launch of the meet on Wednesday.
This meet is also serving as a vehicle for some of the competing athletes to fine-tune their skills in preparation for the Carifta Swimming Championships set for March 28-April 7 in Nassau.
“A number of the athletes who are on the Carifta Games team for Bahamas later this month are using this as a final tune-up event to get some competition sharpening prior to that event,” Rochester said.
Title sponsors Mayberry Investments Limited have been partnering with the ASAJ since 1999. Other sponsors for the meet include Couples Resorts, Supreme Ventures Limited, Ultra Financier, FirstRock Real Estate Investments Limited, Matrix Group, Iron Rock and Stewarts.
“Sponsors and partners are absolutely critical. We can’t do events like these without them. We can’t plan effectively or budget effectively without them so we’re very grateful for that support,” Rochester said.
He also discussed plans for Jamaica to eventually expand to competing in other aquatic disciplines.
“Swimming is now moving towards expanding. We want to provide more opportunities, first at the learning to swim level where we believe all children have a right to learn how to swim. We also want to expand to the other aquatic disciplines. Swimming is the core but we have seven other aquatic disciplines which still have so much untapped potential and, over time, we believe that we’ll be laying the foundation towards producing the elite-level results at the world stage that all Jamaicans want to see,” he said.
Blackburn striker Sammie Szmodics is one of three new faces named in John O’Shea’s 26-man Republic of Ireland squad for their friendly double-header against Belgium and Switzerland.
Szmodics is set for his international bow after topping the Championship scoring charts with 21 goals so far this season, while Lyon defender Jake O’Brien and Middlesbrough forward Finn Azaz are also called up for the first time.
O’Shea, who was appointed interim head coach in February, will lead his side out against Belgium at the Aviva Stadium on March 23 before hosting Switzerland three days later.
Captain Seamus Coleman returns to the squad for the first time since Ireland’s 1-0 defeat to France in March.
Robbie Brady, Callum O’Dowda and on-loan Millwall striker Michael Obafemi are also handed recalls.
Gareth Southgate has revealed in-form Arsenal defender Ben White does not want to be selected by England at the moment.
The 26-year-old has starred for the Premier League leaders this season but has not featured for the national team since the 2022 World Cup.
White returned early from Qatar for what the Football Association called “personal reasons” and reports later emerged of an alleged bust-up with England assistant Steve Holland.
Southgate denied any such bust-up on Thursday, when he had hoped to include the defender in his squad for March’s Euro 2024 warm-up friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
The manager revealed White would otherwise have been in his 25-man squad, explaining: “Clearly on form I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in.
“We, John McDermott and I, had a call from Edu (Arsenal sporing director) last week (and he) said Ben didn’t want to be considered for England squads at this time.
“For me that is a great shame. He is a player we took to the Euros, a player we took to the World Cup and I spoke to him post-Qatar because I wanted to pick him.
“He is not available to us and there is no issue between us at all and I also should say there is never any issue with (coach) Steve Holland because that has been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that.
“I want that door wide open. He would be in this squad but he’s not available to us and I have to focus on who can help us.”
White has earned four senior England caps since his move to Arsenal, but has not been part of Southgate’s plans since an early departure from the last World Cup in Qatar.
Earlier on Thursday, White signed a new contract with the Gunners, admitting it is “unbelievable” to have found his home at the Emirates Stadium.
The 26-year-old agreed a new four-year deal, with the option for a further 12 months in north London, the PA news agency understands.
White has been a vital part of Mikel Arteta’s side as they sit top of the Premier League and prepare for a first Champions League quarter-final appearance in 14 years.
He featured in every Premier League game last season as Arsenal were pipped at the post by treble-winners Manchester City but has further impressed in his role at right-back this campaign.
Having come through the ranks at Brighton, White spent three seasons out on loan – with Newport, Peterborough and Leeds, respectively, as he gradually made his way up the leagues.
He then spent a solitary season in the Brighton first-team before impressing Arsenal enough that the Gunners forked out £50million to sign him in the summer of 2021.
Asked if Arsenal now feels like home, White replied: “I have been on loan three times, I have been places for a year.
“I think this is the first time I’ve actually settled and known I am not going anywhere in the summer. Being here is unbelievable and I’d love to stay (for more years).”
Sir Alex Ferguson was in the Cheltenham Festival winner’s enclosure as Paul Nicholls got off the mark for the week when Monmiral hunted down Kyntara in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle.
Running in the famous yellow colours of Ferguson’s co-owner John Hales, the seven-year-old has always been held in high regard by those at Ditcheat.
Despite that, he was sent off at 25-1 in the hands of Harry Cobden, sporting first-time blinkers as he was given a patient ride by his title-chasing jockey.
Cobden edged his mount into contention heading down hill for the second time, but it seemed the bird had flown when the bold front-running Kyntara set sail in his bid to provide Mel Rowley with a first Festival success.
However, Monmiral still had plenty in reserve and emerged as Kyntara’s sole challenger at the last before storming home to crush the long-time leader’s dreams.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Anthony Gordon have received their first England call-ups but there was no place for Kalvin Phillips in Gareth Southgate’s last squad before making his Euro 2024 selection.
Joe Gomez, who won the last of his 11 senior caps in October 2020, has returned from the international wilderness for March’s Wembley friendlies against Belgium and Brazil.
Ivan Toney is back involved at the first opportunity after serving an eight-month Football Association betting ban, but Raheem Sterling was conspicuous by his absence once again.
Phillips has been dropped after a torrid run of form since he joined West Ham on loan in January.
Phillips was at fault for a goal on his debut against Bournemouth before he was sent off at Nottingham Forest last month and hooked at half-time of Sunday’s 2-2 draw at home to Burnley.
England boss Gareth Southgate said: “Well, I think he knows exactly what we think of him. A good version of him is an important player for us and that’s why we’ve supported him as we have.
“Unfortunately his form hasn’t been good enough and I’ve spoken to him about that. He understands.
“He has all the attributes to force his way back in. He just needs to find that rhythm and confidence because there is an outstanding player in there.”
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