Cascarino: Crouch better bet than Heskey

Former Aston Villa striker Tony Cascarino believes Tottenham Hotspur forward Peter Crouch can have as big an impact at next summer's World Cup finals as Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard. The giant front-man is set to start against Brazil in Doha this weekend with fellow targetmen Emile Heskey and Carlton Cole nursing injuries. And the former Republic of Ireland international insists Crouch is technically a much better footballer and bigger threat in front of goal than Heskey. “Peter Crouch doesn’t seem to have convinced Capello yet of his ability but for me he can have as big an impact at the World Cup as Rooney or Gerrard," he said. “He is so much better than all the other strikers England have available to play his role and I’m certainly not convinced by Heskey even though he is currently first choice under Capello. “Heskey may be useful on a rainy night in November when you need a striker to bully an opposition defence but at the finals in South Africa it will be a totally different situation." And Cascarino was keen to point out that the former Leicester, Liverpool and Wigan striker has had his chance to impress at three major tournaments in the past. “One thing that doesn’t get mentioned about Heskey is the little impact he has had at previous tournament finals.