Crouch: England can be in their Pomp

PETER CROUCH is confident his successful partnership with Jermain Defoe at Portsmouth can thrive with England if the pair are chosen for the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The duo have struck up a good understanding on the south coast but face stiff competition from Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney.

Crouch said: "It helps that we play together at club level. If we spend any time on the pitch with England, we will slip straight into how we play at Portsmouth.

"We clicked together straight away. We play to each other's strengths. We set each other up and play very well as a combination.

"In fairness, I've played with Jermain right from the England Under-21s. The fact we played together will help internationally as well but we have other strikers in the squad."