In retrospect, this was always going to be a fantastic match. It had all the ingredients: two captains marshaling the resources they have brilliantly, two good bowling line-ups, and two great batsmen in Jayasuriya and KP. If there were any doubts, it was about which England side would show up. The English side we saw in Australia showed up and played hard. In Ravi Bopara, England have found something special - a cool customer who remains unfazed under pressure. Though England lost, they have learnt something about themselves. They were in a pressure cooker situation with SL applying the screws (just shush, we know we mixed up our metaphors. okay?) and they came out of it without disgracing themselves.
However, we have to say that if England had realized that the world cup had started some time back instead of today, they might have acquired the hard edge needed to win close matches by now. That was the major difference between the two teams. SL were like battle hardened troops who were led by an astute and respected captain who knew the side's strengths and weaknesses while the English were like gifted rookies who needed some hard earned experience under their belt before they could consistently beat the better sides.
Sri Lankan batting lives and dies with Jayasuriya. If Jayasuriya clicks, they put up a good score and when he fails, they don't. However, the Sri Lankan bowling is a different matter altogether. Despite what anyone says, the strength of both teams is their bowling. This is especially true of SL, who have in the recent times acquired the knack of defending low/medium totals. Their belief in their bowling prowess is such that they don't count themselves out of any match. Added to that, the massive improvement in their fielding means that they have mental superiority over the batting team while defending totals.
Today was a very good example of how they win their matches while defending totals: get a couple of quick wickets in the beginning, slowly start exerting pressure by not allowing boundaries, have Jayasuriya bowl at one end to get through the overs quickly and economically, cut of easy runs with their electric fielding, bring in a fast bowler (Malinga/Fernando/Maharoof) or Murali (Oh, by the way, KP cannot be considered the best ODI batsman in the world till he wins some games for his side. The tussle between KP and Murali was fantastic with Murali coming out on top today) for shock treatment and to get another wicket or two, rinse, and repeat.
The only reason England even got close to winning the match was due to a superb partnership between Paul Nixon and Ravi Bopara. They scampered their singles and kept the asking rate in control so that they could blitz at the end. They nearly carried it off too. It was a brilliant effort. We don't know anything about Ravi Bopara but based on just this match, he deserves to bat higher up. Maybe even in Flintoff's spot. Will England do it? Based on the whole Ashley Giles episode (that of not dropping him for Panesar), they won't. Too bad for them.
SL now looks set for the semi-final. They already have 6 points and a win over Ireland will see them in the semi-finals via net run rate. England still have a chance, assuming they will beat Bangladesh, they have to win 2 out of 3 more matches against WI, Australia, and South Africa. If they beat Australia this weekend, they will get into the semi-finals. Since the world cup just started for them, maybe the England side which showed up today will show up again against Australia.
5 comments:
The best game yet. Ravi Bopara was a sight to behold. He played an extremely well-placed but unconventional paddle shot to hit a boundary on the second ball of last over to Fernanando. England needed 11 of 5 balls at that point. That shot spoke volumes about his temperament. England have clearly been busy debugging Murali. The reverse sweep was one indication of how to handle him. He got Peitersen today, but one thought that both Nixon and Bopara had a fix for Murali and he proved not quite effective against them. You should have seen how much Murali was enjoying the challenge.
That is why we love Sri Lanka! They have the best cricketing spirit of all teams I have seen yet in this world cup...well, them and Bermuda.
by the way, KP cannot be considered the best ODI batsman in the world till he wins some games for his side
A century every couple years or so would be nice, too.
Face it -- Haydos is once again the best ODI batsman in the world. Sentence formation isn't a prerequisite for the title.
(By the way -- I just finished Pundits From Pakistan while on holiday in Australia -- it certainly justified your effusive review. I knew that Bhattacharya could write, but I had no idea that he could craft such a joyous and thoughtful long-form work. I look forward to his World Cup book.)
Sanjay: Agreed. Brilliant match. SL and England played really well.
TJ:
Hope you had a good vacation. Must have been fun, going to Australia and watching the Australians kick some serious ass in the Windies. Yes. Haydos is the best ODI batsman - right now. It hurt a lot to say that. But, facts are facts.
Oh well, on the bright side, he still can't speak coherently. Though sentence formation isn't a prerequiste for being the best batsman in the world, just wait till he retires! No commentary job for Hayden.
Glad you read and liked Pundits From Pakistan. Brilliant book. Any good tour books involving the Aussies? I've read some Jack Fingleton, Keith Miller, and Bill O Reilly...so any recommendations from the recent past?
That's a nice summing of the match.
Unfortunately, I missed all the good bits. But it seemed as though England show some character for the first time since...well, for the first time.
Credit to the Lankans for keeping the pressure on. But, you rather feel that Pieterson lost the match for England. Which shows you how good he is - we are now expecting him to win matches single-handedly.
Atheist: Thanks. KP is a fantastic batsman. No doubt about that. He really needs to go on and make big scores when he is all set.
I wan't blaming KP for the loss. He played well but he could have won the match for England. There is a difference between the two...does that make sense?
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