England miss out

"You can't expect to win if you don't take your chances," commented a disappointed England coach Malcolm Wood after his side's 2-1 defeat to India in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

In temperatures just short of 40C, India had taken the lead against the run of play, Daljeet Singh Dhillon taking advantage of a shaky England defence.

England were given a lease of life 15 minutes after the interval with a controversial penalty stroke award. Danny Hall remained the coolest person in the stadium, ignoring the delaying antics of goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan, before scoring.

Deepak Thakur scrambled the winner in the 64th minute after Jimi Lewis had saved well from Bikramjhit's penalty corner.

England had created a load of chances for their goal-shy forwards. They will be hoping to meet India in more conducive conditions at the cool hour of 8.30 on Sunday morning for the fifth-place play-off which is the most they can now hope for.