England fullback Freddie Steward has been cleared to play for his country with immediate effect after the red card he received against Ireland was overturned.
Steward was dismissed in England's final Six Nations clash of this year's tournament as they lost 29-16 to Grand Slam winners Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
The 22-year-old received the contentious red near the end of the first half after his shoulder connected with the head of Hugo Keenan.
Steward appeared before an independent disciplinary committee via video link to protest his innocence.
The committee determined that head contact with an opposing player had occurred and believed it had been an act of foul play, adding Steward "had been reckless in his actions and in his upright positioning as he approached and came into highly dangerous contact with the other player".
However, it was also decided that "there were sufficient mitigating factors including the late change in the dynamics and positioning of the opposing player which should have resulted in the issue of a yellow card rather than a red card".
The decision means Steward will not face a ban and is free to play again immediately.
England captain Owen Farrell said after the game: "I was surprised [at the red card] if I am honest. But it is not up to us, we don't make the rules, we don't put them in place, we don't hear what goes on on the ref mic and the process that they go through.
"That is the decision they came to and you have to accept it."
Daniel Vettori: England’s winning habit more impressive than style of cricket
Daniel Vettori insists it is England’s winning habit rather than their ‘Bazball’ style that has earned the respect of Australia ahead of this summer’s Ashes.
Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have inspired a thrilling revival of England’s Test team, winning 10 out of 12 matches by adopting an aggressive, never say die mindset.
Australia are aiming to retain the Ashes when the series opens at Edgbaston on June 16 and assistant coach Vettori, who played alongside McCullum for New Zealand, insists the hosts’ results trump how they were achieved.
“Irrespective of the style they’re using, they’re playing winning cricket and that’s the thing everyone gravitates towards,” Vettori said.
“The fact that they’ve played so well over an extended period of time has been what’s so impressive.
“Brendon wouldn’t want to make the attention about himself, but he’s got this moniker going for him now. That’s Brendan since he came out of the womb – he’s pretty positive.
“England keep coming and so you’ve got to anticipate that and not back off.”
England are hoping that Stokes is able to play a full part in the five-Test series following his struggle with a knee injury that has required a cortisone injection.
However, there is uncertainty over what contribution their talisman will be able to make with the ball after he was unable to bowl in his side’s most recent outing against New Zealand in February.
“We’re preparing for him to be his normal self. He’s one of the top all-rounders in world cricket. We know how much he brings to the table as an all-rounder,” Vettori said.
“It’s like Cameron Green for us, offering that balance and ability to come in and be an aggressive weapon along with his batting, which has been exceptional.
“Every team wants their all-rounder up and running because it makes things run so smoothly.”
While England warm-up for the Ashes with a one-off Test against Ireland, Australia face India in the ICC World Test Championship final at the Oval.
Vettori is undecided over who has the better build-up.
“Ask me again on the back of these four days of prep!” the former spin bowler said.
“But there’s a real excitement that we have the ability to play one of the best teams in the world in such a crucial game and that should set us up well for the Ashes.
“It’s six Tests of high intensity and you couldn’t ask for anything more.”
England team bus delayed after Just Stop Oil protests
England’s Test summer failed to get off to the best start after the team bus was delayed on its way to Lord’s by Just Stop Oil protesters.
Jonny Bairstow posted a photo on his Instagram story on Thursday morning, which showed Just Stop Oil protesters and police officers in front of their team coach in the middle of a road in Kensington by England’s hotel.
Bairstow’s caption read: “If we’re a bit late, it’s not our fault.”
However, there was no delay to proceedings on the opening day of the one-off Test against Ireland with the four-day contest getting under way at 11am as planned – despite the five-minute delay to the team’s journey.
Just Stop Oil protesters were able to disrupt the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham between Saracens and Sale last weekend.
Two men wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts invaded the pitch midway through the first half and threw orange paint powder onto the field before being removed by security staff.
A similar incident occurred at the Crucible during the World Snooker Championship in April.
Robert Milkins’ match against Joe Perry was interrupted when a man wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt jumped on to table one and tipped orange powder over the cloth.
Amid the threat of potential protests this week at Lord’s, the MCC said it has enhanced its security measures in some areas for this match.
“We look forward to welcoming players and spectators to the first international Test match of the summer at Lord’s. Their safety and security is the highest priority for MCC,” an MCC spokesperson told the PA news agency.
“We have a number of ground regulations that help us achieve that; including not entering the playing area or demonstrating.
“Whilst protests would disrupt the game, we have a number of security measures in place, some visible, some less so to deter this. In some areas we have enhanced those existing provisions ahead of this summer’s schedule.”
England team bus delayed by five minutes after Just Stop Oil protests
England’s Test summer failed to get off to the best start after the team bus was delayed by five minutes on its way to Lord’s by Just Stop Oil protesters.
Jonny Bairstow posted a photo on his Instagram story on Thursday morning, which showed Just Stop Oil protesters and police officers in front of their team coach in the middle of a road in Kensington by England’s hotel.
Bairstow’s caption read: “If we’re a bit late, it’s not our fault.”
However, there was no delay to proceedings on the opening day of the one-off Test against Ireland with the four-day contest getting under way at 11am as planned.
Just Stop Oil protesters were able to disrupt the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham between Saracens and Sale last weekend.
Two men wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts invaded the pitch midway through the first half and threw orange paint powder onto the field before being removed by security staff.
A similar incident occurred at the Crucible during the World Snooker Championship in April.
Robert Milkins’ match against Joe Perry was interrupted when a man wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt jumped on to table one and tipped orange powder over the cloth.
Amid the threat of potential protests this week at Lord’s, the MCC said it has enhanced its security measures in some areas for this match.
“We look forward to welcoming players and spectators to the first international Test match of the summer at Lord’s. Their safety and security is the highest priority for MCC,” an MCC spokesperson told the PA news agency.
“We have a number of ground regulations that help us achieve that; including not entering the playing area or demonstrating.
“Whilst protests would disrupt the game, we have a number of security measures in place, some visible, some less so to deter this. In some areas we have enhanced those existing provisions ahead of this summer’s schedule.”
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