Commonwealth no-shows snub England

I'm very disappointed to read that the prospect of seeing Jessica Ennis wrapped in an England flag and humming along to Jerusalem is going to be denied me.

England absentees include Olympic track cycling champions Victoria Pendleton and Bradley Wiggins, world gymnastics champion Beth Tweddle, and World and European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis.

England have been hard hit. Wiggins has won seven Olympic medals, three of them gold, and Pendleton was sprint champion in Beijing. In addition to Ennis, athletes who have snubbed Delhi include World 800 metres bronze medallist Jenny Meadows, World junior 100m champion Jodie Williams, Martyn Rooney and Perri Shakes-Drayton, European bronze medallists this month (400m and 400m hurdles), steeplechaser Hattie Dean (fourth in Barcelona), Gemma Simpson (fifth in the 800m there), and Michael Rimmer, currently fifth fastest among men’s two-lap runners in the Commonwealth rankings.

You'd think these athletes would move heaven and earth to be out in India representing their country at the Commonwealth Games, but apparently they won't.