England football manager Roy Hodgson was on hand at The Oval yesterday to give his congratulations to Alastair Cook's Ashes-winners in person.
Hodgson, accompanied by assistant Ray Lewington, chatted to players from both the England and Australia teams as they trained ahead of the Ashes finale at the south London ground, which starts on Thursday.
He had been invited to The Oval by Australia doctor Peter Brukner, who worked with Hodgson when they were both at Premier League giants Liverpool.
The former Reds manager even had time to cast his eye over the England cricketers' warm-up football kickabout -- with the likes of Adam Lyth and Jonny Bairstow having being promising soccer players in their youth.
Hodgson's England side are currently unbeaten in their qualification campaign for the 2016 European Championships in France and are not in action until they face minnows San Marino next month.
And he stayed on to give a short 'team talk' to Cook's men, who've already clinched the Ashes after their innings and 78-run win over Australia in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge gave them an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
The Oval clash comes ahead of England's tours of the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, the world's top-ranked Test nation, with Cook's team looking to do what no England side has done before in winning four matches in a home Ashes series.
"I just congratulated them on regaining the Ashes and wished them luck on their tours this winter to the UAE and South Africa," said Hodgson.
As for the England cricketers' football skills, Hodgson added: "They were good.It comes as no surprise that people who are good at one sport are good at another.
"A couple of them could probably have had a career in professional football -- but thankfully for us, they chose cricket."
Bairstow said he hoped he had caught Hodgson's eye.
"It's great to have Roy here watching on," he said.
"I used to be in the academy at Leeds United, so I'm sure he'll spot my talent -- and that will be a big factor in the way I play.
