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Why is Harry Kane taking corners? Its a question many England fans are asking - and struggling to answer - following the countrys 1-1 draw with Russia at Euro 2016. The Tottenham striker was top scorer in the Premier League last season but, rather than aiming to get on the end of corners in Marseille, Kane was delivering them - with mixed success - in Englands tournament opener.Kane took six corners against Russia on Saturday night, with two particularly poor efforts flying over the box, forcing Dele Alli to dash after the ball to keep it in play on the other side of the field. In the Premier League this season, Kane took just seven corners for Tottenham, where Christian Eriksen is the dedicated set-piece specialist. And all seven of those Kane corners were taken short. Kanes corners vs Russia 1 - Overhit. Alli retrieves on other side of pitch. 2 - Finds Smalling. Defender heads over from penalty spot. 3 - Cleared at near post. 4 - Cleared at near post. 5 - Overhit. Russia clear.6 - Short to Lallana. Kane receives the ball back but cross just evades Cahill. However, he was handed corner-kick duty by Roy Hodgson for Englands first Euro 2016 warm-up game against Turkey on May 22 and has continued to take them since.I dont need to apologise for Kane taking a corner, Hodgson said at the time. Especially if youve got a player with his quality striking a ball and no one else in the team who comes up to that level of striking a ball.Its a move Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp is critical of. The former Liverpool captain - an expert at striking a dead ball during his playing days - says the responsibility should fall to an England midfielder, so Kane can concentrate on scoring himself. We need Kane in the box. To have our best striker taking corners doesnt make any sense. Jamie Redknapp Were allowing one of our best players to take corners - and its not good news. I cant understand it, he told Sky Sports News HQs Euro Verdict.Weve got some very good technical players - Alli, Wayne Rooney - so why are we letting Harry Kane take them? He can deliver a good ball and he has that cross where it dips into the box, but Im sure most players can do that. We need Kane in the box. To have our best striker taking corners doesnt make any sense.Ray Wilkins, a former set-piece taker for England, was equally confused by the tactic.It baffles the life out of me, he said. If youre a midfield player playing at international level and you cant kick a ball 40 yards, unopposed, and stick it in an area of 10 yards at a height where you have an opportunity to score, you shouldnt really be playing. Kane only took seven corners for Tottenham all season - and all were short passes Indeed, in the past two Premier League seasons Kane has scored 10 times from set-piece situations (not including his one goal direct from a free-kick) and, in 2015/16, no player scored more goals from inside the box. All the indicators are hed be a more than useful presence in the opposition box for corner-kick routines.However, the bare facts of his corner-taking at Euro 2016 make for interesting reading: no player has completed more successful corners so far in the tournament and Kanes corner-kick stats are far more impressive than Dimitri Payets efforts for France against Romania. Corner-kick takers in first two days of Euro 2016 Player Country Corners taken Found team-mate Success rate Nicolae Stanciu Romania 3 3 100% Harry Kane England 6 4 66.6% Xherdan Shaqiri Switzerland 3 2 66.6% Taulant Xhaka Albania 2 1 50% Vladimir Weiss Slovakia 2 1 50% Oleg Shatov Russia 3 1 33% Dimitri Payet France 5 1 20% Adrian Popa Romania 1 0 0% Ricardo Rodriguez Switzerland 1 0 0% Ermir Lenjani Albania 1 0 0% Ergys Kace Albania 1 0 0% Aaron Ramsey Wales 2 0 0% Robert Mak Slovakia 1 0 0% Aleksandr Kokorin Russia 1 0 0% It should be pointed out, though, that one of Kanes completed corners was a short pass to Adam Lallana and another found Alli - who had to fetch the ball from the far side of the field after it had been over hit.None of Englands other starters against Russia are regular corner-kick takers for their clubs - although second-half sub James Milner took 116 in the Premier League for Liverpool - so Kane seems likely to retain the role for Englands second Group B game with Wales.Until an England player heads home one of his centres, the debate about his suitability for the task will rumble on… Also See: Hodgson defends Rooney sub Rooneys Russia stats Josh Taylor Jersey . Marcus Olsson, 23, joins Blackburn on a free transfer from Swedens Halmstads. He made 139 appearances and scored 17 goals in his four years with the club. He earned his first caps for Sweden this month, featuring against Bahrain and Qatar. Bobby Doerr Jersey . -- Fantasy football owners and Denver Broncos fans can rest easy: Peyton Manning is back. https://www.cheapredsox.com/1831z-sandy-...ey-red-sox.html. Levante, which had lost five straight including a Copa del Rey game last weekend, fell behind at its Ciutat de Valencia stadium when Ionut Sapanura opened the scoring for Elche in the 26th minute. Stitched Red Sox Jerseys . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Boston Red Sox Pro Shop .Mack, a reserve guard who came in averaging 3.8 points, made all six of his 3-pointers as the Hawks went 16 for 28 from behind the arc.Trailing 50-38 midway through the second quarter, Atlanta outscored Cleveland 89-48 the rest of the way and sent the Cavaliers to their largest loss of the season.PHILADELPHIA - If the Philadelphia Phillies are planning to ship closer Jonathan Papelbon off at the trade deadline, now might not be the best time to do it. Papelbon surrendered a game-tying homer to Buster Posey in the ninth, and the Phillies ultimately fell 9-6 to the San Francisco Giants in 14 innings on Tuesday. It was Papelbons third blown save. "Hes been good all year," Ryan Howard, who had two hits, said of Papelbon. "You cant put it on him." Brandon Crawford hit a bases-clearing double to break the stalemate in the 14th and Tim Lincecum earned his first career save. Crawford snapped a 2-for-22 skid with his two-out hit off the wall in left-centre field and finished with four RBIs. Posey, who also doubled and scored in the 14th, had four hits, including two doubles, two runs and an RBI on his homer. "It was one pitch," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "He was first-ball swinging." George Kontos (3-0) earned the win for the second straight night. Lincecum, San Franciscos ninth pitcher, got the final two outs for the save. Jeff Manship (1-2) surrendered four runs and lost. The Giants (56-44) improved to 8-2 in extra-inning games and 6-0 on the road. The Phillies (43-57) fell to 6-7. "Its tough right now," Howard said. "Its just how it goes sometimes. Its just not going our way this year." Hunter Pence had three hits, including a fifth-inning homer. Pence is a lifetime .353 hitter with 14 homers in 34 gammes against Philadelphia.dddddddddddd Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run homer in the fifth, giving him five homers and 13 RBIs in his last 10 games. Marlon Byrd had a pair of RBIs on a double and a groundout and made a great leaping catch into the right-field wall to rob Gregor Blanco of extra bases in the sixth. Yusmeiro Petit, making a spot start for injured Matt Cain, allowed seven hits across five innings, struck out five and walked two. Roberto Hernandez limited San Francisco to three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings, walked three and struck out one. Ken Giles allowed one run in the seventh after entering the game with a 14 2/3-innings scoreless streak. "His command wasnt as good as its been," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "But he hung in there." Ben Revere had three hits and two stolen bases. NOTES: Philadelphia is 6-7 in extra-inning games. ... Philadelphia placed outfielder John Mayberry Jr. on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with left wrist inflammation and recalled outfielder Darin Ruf from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. ... One day after returning from a two-month DL stint because of a strained left elbow, Phillies LHP Cliff Lee felt fine Tuesday. "Some ordinary soreness in his legs," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Nothing with the arm at all." ... Wednesday night, Phillies RHP A.J. Burnett (6-9, 4.08) opposes Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (11-7, 3.38) in the third game of this four-game set. ' ' '