South Africa ignored our dire warnings and went ahead and included Andre Nel in the team. They will pay for this. Soon. Maybe as soon as the semi-final. Despite the presence of Andre Nel in the bowling line-up, England, taking a leaf out of India's playbook, imploded spectacularly. They made a mind boggling score of 154 and South Africa knocked it off without breaking a sweat.
England's first wicket fell when the score was 9 runs in the 8th over. That's right, 8th over. Whatever one might say about the English performance on the cricket field, one has to admire their stubbornness with sticking to their "plan". What was the "plan"? To bat sedately for 20 overs without losing wickets ("back to the basics" approach) and then accelerate like hell in the last 15 overs.
They got the "bat sedately" part right but the "not losing wickets" and "accelerate in the last 15 overs" parts - not so much. It was a disgrace that Ravi Bopara, who has looked much better then at least 5 of their star players, batted at number 7. Mind you, that was a promotion. He batted at number 8 in the earlier matches. Stupid and highly moronic.
England was one of the dark horses of this tournament back when the world cup started last century. They were coming to the Windies after beating Australia and having won the VB Championship. The team has a good bowling attack, some in-form batsmen (Bell, KP, and Colly), Monty, and Flintoff. It's sad that they couldn't all play well in the same match. Forget about the 'all' part, even if three of their players played well, they would have done well.
Today's performance was truly depressing. We were pumped up for a great tussle between England and SA. What with this game being a virtual quarter-final and on top of that there was this whole sideshow of KP and Smith. This could have been a great match. Unfortunately, only one team showed up for this match and that team was not England.
On the bright side(?), England will play more matches in this world cup than India and Pakistan combined. Furthermore, all cricket lovers have a great cricket match with nothing at stake to look forward to:
England Vs West Indies.
That game is going to rock! Everybody will score centuries and then all the bowlers will take hat-tricks. Mark your calenders. It's the must see match of the tournament. You heard it here first.
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Bangladesh Vs England, Super Eights
West Indies and England were two teams that Bangladesh could fancy their chances against. That's what we thought before the Super Eights started. One can now scratch England off that list. England put in a impressive bowling performance and skittled out Bangladesh for 143. Panesar (who was not very impressive against Australia) did a great job and picked up 3 wickets for 25 runs in his 7 overs. Surprisingly, Sajid Mahmood was pretty good too. We get the feeling that Mahmood is a rich man's Ajit Agarkar. He will bowl well when everything is going swimmingly well but will wilt under pressure.
Chasing a meager score of 143, England decided that the match needed a little fizz and started losing wickets. Eventually, England scored the required runs but crawled instead of sprinting towards the total. They took 45 overs to score the runs. Bangladesh scored 143 in 37 overs. That is just ridiculous. England made real heavy weather of the chase. It was not entertaining cricket but England got the two points they desperately needed.
England's next match will be against South Africa. The winner of that match will go to the semi-final. England will need to pick up their game to have a chance of beating SA.
Chasing a meager score of 143, England decided that the match needed a little fizz and started losing wickets. Eventually, England scored the required runs but crawled instead of sprinting towards the total. They took 45 overs to score the runs. Bangladesh scored 143 in 37 overs. That is just ridiculous. England made real heavy weather of the chase. It was not entertaining cricket but England got the two points they desperately needed.
England's next match will be against South Africa. The winner of that match will go to the semi-final. England will need to pick up their game to have a chance of beating SA.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Australia Vs England, Super Eights
As we write this, England are 61-2 in the 14th over. Ian Bell just hit 3 fours off McGrath's bowling. McGrath is shaking his head and swearing. What a beautiful sight. The second powerplay is on and Clarke is already on with his spin. Clarke is proving very hard to get away with. KP just made us a liar by advancing down the pitch and hitting a spanking straight drive for 4 and then he goes again and hit a huge 6. Brilliant shot. England 74-2 after 15 overs.
Once again, the English openers fell cheaply. Both (Vaughan and Strauss) fell to Tait. Oooh Brad Hogg into the attack. This will be interesting. Chinaman into the attack. KP uses his feet really well. Interestingly, Ponting has not taken the third powerplay. Three runs from the over. England 77-2 after 16 overs.
Update 1:
England is now 99-2 after 19 overs. KP is going great guns. Like the commentators keep reminding us, he is very tall. Okay. Got it. Shut up already. Bard Hogg is in his 3rd over. He is getting a little bit of spin. KP lucky that his leading edge did not carry to a fielder. Hogg is bowling well. England 101-2 after 20 overs.
Both Bell and KP are playing spin pretty well. Maybe Ponting wants to get the fifth bowler in quickly. Clarke and Symonds are doing the fifth bowler' job so far today. Nicely pulled by Bell for a couple. Bell seems like a very sensible player but his running between the wickets is a bit shambolic. England is doing a good job of milking the fifth bowler. 107-2 after 21 overs. This is good sized ground. England taking a lot of easy singles. Beautiful late cut from Bell. It didn't get him the four the shot deserved. 115-2 after 22 overs.
Both batsmen on 49. Good innings from both of them. KP is playing the dashing innings while Bell is playing the steadying hand. Symonds into the attack and it is KP's 50. Nice innings. Go on play some more and get the 100. Bell's 50 now. Very nice innings. Brilliant attempt by Ponting to take a very hard catch. KP gets a life. Will he make it count? We will find out.
Update 2:
Another nice over for England. 7 runs from the over. England 126-2 after 24 overs. Hogg is getting through his overs pretty quick. Symonds starts his over and Bell says 'hello' with two sweet boundaries. Nasir Hussain can't stop himself. He is going ga-ga. We are happy for Nasir. Another nice over for England. 12 runs off the over. 138-2 after 25 overs. Brad Hogg is bowling well but KP and Bell are settled and are taking the easy singles. Lucky! KP is very lucky. Everybody missed it and England gets 4 byes. Nasir just said: "Shouldn't give Australia any kind of chance." He is very angry with KP for getting beaten. 146-2 after 26 overs.
Australia takes its thrid powerplay. Very important 5 overs coming up. Tait into the attack. Great shot from Bell. 4runs. Ah! McGrath into the attack-again. McGrath Vs KP. As everyone knows, McGrath broke KP's ribs in Australia. Great shot from Bell. Bell is on fire. Uppishly driven on the off-side (McGrath says "catch" but there was no chance) for a four. Very nice shot from Bell. 161-2 after 28 overs.
There is a conspiracy. KP hits the ball up in the air and Haydos drops an easy catch! what joy! Haydos dropped a very easy catch. Will it be enough for Australia to drop Haydos from the team? KP now has two lives. He better make it count now. Tait is working up pace. The last ball was about 94 mph. Good over from Tait. Very unlucky. McGrath back into the attack. KP looks a little unsettled now. It is funny that KP starts off with a lot of confidence and after he score about 50 or so, his confidence level starts dropping and his strokeplay becomes a little shaky.
McGrath gets Bell. Caught by Hussey. Bell couldn't keep his drive down and it flew directly into Hussey's hands. Great innings from Bell. Out for 77. This brings Collingwood into the middle. Another man in form. Good over for Australia. 166-3 after 30 overs.
Update 3:
Wow! Tait gets another wicket! thin outside edge to Gilchrist. Colly gone for 2 runs. England again in a spot of bother. Flintoff comes in to bat. He has been in horrendous form recently. Can he play a big innings when his side needs it? Great bowling from Tait. He is working up a lot of pace. 168-4 after 31 overs. Good captaincy from Ponting. Brad Hogg into the attack. Flintoff struggles against spinners. Scratch that, Flintoff is struggling against everyone. Drinks. 169-4 after 32 overs.
Couple of tidy overs from Australia. 175-4 after 34 overs. England need to keep wickets till about the 43rd over. A good score for England will be about 300 runs. Bracken into the attack now. Another tidy over. 178-3 after 35 overs. Great bowling from Brad Hogg. Flintoff was all at sea. Flintoff stumped by Gilly and England is 179-5. Great bowling from Hogg. This chinaman is good. Funnily enough, McGrath is talking to Hogg about his bowling.
Flintoff's wicket brings Ravi Bopara in and he is off the mark right away. England 181-5 after 36 overs. Hogg is bowling brilliantly. England needs another "big partnership". Hogg again. "Hoggie" says Gillie. Excellent spell from Hogg. Bopara can't seem to read Hogg's spin. Good bowling. Very good bowling. 10 overs for 36 runs and 1 wicket. 190-5 after 38 overs.
Symonds back into the attack. Beefy is going on about something or the other. England 195-5 after 40 overs. Beefy says "10 overs to go then". Brilliant. Somebody please give Beefy a Fields Medal. He is a mathematical genius. McGrath back into the attack.
Update 4:
England get to their 200 in the 42nd over. Well, England will be very happy if they score about 280. Tait into the attack now. The man with 3 wickets. KP is losing his timing. He is struggling. Not getting enough strike is what the commentators are saying. Good bowling from Tait. 207-5 after 43 overs. We will have to revise the target some more. England will now be happy with about 265 runs. The time to hit out is coming. McGrath is coming on and England will have to go after him.
Nice shot from KP. Short and wide, KP puts it away easily.
Nice shot from Bopara. Lovely cover drive. 4 runs. 223-5 after 45 overs. 229-5 after 46 overs. Bracken is back on. A full tos and KP can't put it away. Gets a single. Bopara needs to pick up his strike rate now. Gone! Bopara gone. Flicked beautifully but picked Hussey out near the square boundary. Gone for 21 runs. England 230-6 in the 47th over. England is losing its way here. KP batting on 96. One gets the feeling he is going to wait till he gets his hundred.
Time is running out for England. They need to start hitting. 232-6 after 47 overs. KP on 99. There. 100 for KP. He looks happy. He should be. Good batting from KP. A little tame by his standards but England was losing wickets at regular intervals and he really couldn't break free. What is he going to do now?
Nice over from McGrath. 236-6 after 48 overs. England, for some mysterious reason, has decided to just putter around instead of hitting out. They should have been slogging about 4 overs ago. Maybe the side has decided that 250 is a good enough score to defend. They need some boundaries. KP looks like he has forgotten how to hit boundaries. KP is gone. Out. Tried to make room and hit on the off-side. Didn't connect properly and holes out to Clarke in the outfield. Out for 102. Nice innings but one gets the feeling that it could have been better.
Too fast. Too much happening. First, Mahmood got out for a duck then Nixon hit a 6. The very next ball, he hold out to Hodge and got out. So, England are 246-9 in the last over. Will they reach 250? Apparently not. England all out for 247.
In the end, England will feel that they fell short by about 30 runs. The partnership between Bell and KP was great but other than that, England played pretty badly. Excellent bowling from the Aussies. Bracken, Tait, and Hogg were the stand-out bowlers.
On the face of it, the Aussies should not have any problem chasing this score down.
Update 5:
Hayden is very lucky to be still there. Shout for LBW turned down by the umpire. It looked plumb and Haweye cofirms it. Very lucky. Australia 1-0 after 1 over. Mahmood into the attack and Gilly takes up his offer and spanks a loose ball to the boundary. Australia on its way. Another boundary from Gilly. 9-0 after 2 overs.
Gilly is motoring along. 3 fours for his 12 so far and the Aussies move to 18-0 after 4 overs. Hadyen advancing down the wicket ala KP but the bowler doesn't bite and gives him a wide. Great shot by Hayden. Lofted on-drive over a wide mid-on's head. 4 runs. 24-0 after 5 overs. Finally, a good over from Mahmood. Maiden over. Three slower balls in that over. How long before Gilly starts depositing those slower balls outside the stadium?
England has to know that the only way they can win this match is by bowling out Australia. No slips but a short cover and a wide fine leg as the close-in catchers. Anderson strays and Hayden dispatches it to the boundary. 4 runs. Another beautiful cover drive from Hayden. 4 runs. Anderson is not bowling well. Time to bring in Flintoff. 34-0 after 7 overs.
Anderson still continuing and Gilly is still scoring freely in his bowling. England were unlucky early on not to get LBW's but its all Australia now. Good comeback from Anderson in the last 3 balls of the over. 45-0 after 9 overs. Great shot from Gilly. He picked up the slower ball from Mahmood and sent it to the boundary. 4 runs. 52-0 after 10 overs.
Update 6:
Flintoff into the attack. Hayden walks down the pitch and pulls powerfully. 4 runs. Somebody please get this man out. Somebody didn't hear us properly because instead of Hayden, Gilly gives Collingwood an easy catch. Gilly gone for 27. Australia 57-1. Panesar into the attack now and Ponting walks in too. Hayden and Ponting - two players we dislike the most. It would be funny if Hayden gets Ponting run out and then gets out the very next ball. This will lead to an Australian collapse and people will be so pissed that Hayden will be dropped from the team and Ponting will be made to carry the drinks for the rest of his life. We can dream, can't we? 58-1 after 12 overs.
Flintoff over the wicket to Hayden. Hayden is advancing down the pitch. What is wrong with this guy. Coward. Stay in the crease and play. Haydos takes a big swing and misses. All the England players are chatting with Hayden. Hayden takes up the bait and swings Flintoff to the boundary. 4 runs. This man is very powerful. 62-1 after 13 overs.
Panesar to Ponting and he gets off the mark with a nice lofted shot for four. The English commentators are whining about the "ugly aussies" sledging KP. Okay, lets call off the match and award it to England. Australia 68-1 after 14 overs. 71-1 after 15 overs. Australia motoring along on cruise control now. 83-1 after 17 overs. 89-1 after 19 overs. Paul Collingwood comes into the attack. Hayden is already on 41. Please get this guy out. GONE!!!!! First ball. Colly clean bowls Hayden!!! Brilliant! Australia now 89-2 in the 20th over. Clarke joins Ponting at the crease. The top four of Australia have been fantastic. If England gets the top four, Australia will be definitely under pressure since the other batsmen have not had all that much batting the last few games. Australia 91-2 after 20 overs.
Update 7:
Flintoff is doing a terrific job. Very tidy. But it has to be worrying Vaughan that he has already bowled 5 overs. 94-2 after 21 overs. 96-2 after 22 overs. Another tidy over from Colly. James Anderson into the bowling attack. Can he continue applying the pressure? He gave away a lot of runs in his first spell. 5 balls and 2 runs so far. Good over. 98-2 after 23 overs.
Australia doing its "hitting to the fielder" for singles. A lot of runs to the Mid-on. Commentators want a faster fielder than Strauss at mid-on. Have to agree with them. 5 runs off Colly. 103-2 after 24 overs. Another good over from Anderson. Colly to continue. Monty misfields and it is 3 runs. 111-2 after 26 overs. England doing a good job but they need wickets to keep this game from going Australia's way.
Ravi Bopara is loosening up. Will Vaughan give the ball to him? 5 runs from the Anderson over and the Aussies are 116-2 after 27 overs. Collingwood to continue. Nice shot from Ponting. Used his wrists to turn the ball towards deep-square leg. 4 runs. Things are easing up a bit for the Aussies. England needs another wicket. Now. 124-2 after 28 overs. Sajid Mahmood with his slower deliveries comes into the attack. Great shot! 4 runs for Ponting. Hit past mid-off and was very sweetly timed. 132-2 after 29 overs. Monty into the attack now. He is pushing the ball through too fast. He ought to slow down his deliveries a little bit. Tidy over. 134-2 after 30 overs. Drinks.
Update 8:
England needs wickets. Mahmood continues and Ponting greets the first ball and drives it past Point for a 4. Another 4. This time on the leg side. This takes Ponting to his 50. Another good innings when his team needs it. Mahmood is falling apart. Somebody please get Ponting out or this match will be over pretty soon. 13 runs from the over. 147-2 after 31 overs. Bad bowling from Mahmood. Time to bring Bopara into the attack. The Aussie running between the wickets is fantastic. Panesar is not looking threatening in the least. 152-2 after 32 overs. Flintoff into the attack. He just has 4 overs left. Freddie couldn't do much and Australia is cruising along at 159-2 after 33 overs. England needs a wicket.
Panesar to continue. He is not troubling the batsmen at all. Nice shot from Ponting. 4 runs over mid-wicket. Ponting is a great batsman. This game is over folks. 165-2 after 34 overs. Collingwood into the attack now. Where is Bopara? Can Colly do it again? No. 171-2 after 35 overs. Ponting and Clarke are making it look easy. Clarke just hit a great shot for 4. 185-2 after 37 overs. England NEEDS WICKETS. No one to take them though. Bring in Bopara, I say. Panesar to continue his unthreatening bowling. 2 fours from the over and some singles takes Australia to 196-2 after 38 overs. Flintoff back into the attack. 199-2 after 39 overs. 201-2 after 40 overs.
This game is over. Australia will win this game easily.
Update 9:
Ponting gone. Run out! Brilliant piece of fielding from Colly. Great batting from Ponting. Nobody deserved to get his wicket. His batting was superb and he did the job for his team with a very well made 86. Australia should be able to easily win the game from here on. Suddenly, England seemed to have gotten a second win. Too little too late, unfortunately. Good over from Flintoff. 202-3 after 41 overs. Symonds bludgeons the slower ball from Colly to the boundary. 4 runs. Symonds goes again. KP takes a brilliant catch very close to the boundary rope but can't control his step. Treads very close to the rope and finally steps inside rope but lets the ball go. Meanwhile, the batsmen run two runs. After a lot of discussion, the batsmen get two runs. The very next ball, Symonds hits a huge six. A very good over for Australia. 215-3 after 42 overs.
Flintoff bowling his last over. Brilliant shot from Symonds. Symonds is on fire. Great cameo so far. Good comeback from Flintoff. 219-3 after 43 overs. Mahmood back into the attack. Nasir is a very bitter man. He reminds us of the long suffering Indian cricket fan. Meanwhile, Clarke goes hard at Mahmood and gets a boundary. 226-3 after 44 overs. Australia should win this very comfortably. James Anderson into the attack. When the final analysis is said and done, England will realize that it lost the match because they batted like twits at the end and because they did not let Ravi Bopara bowl. 5o for Clarke. Good batting from him. Time for the Pup to take the old lady home.
Symonds pounds another 4 over extra cover. 240-3 after 46 overs. We like Nasir Hussain. He has a very self-deprecating sense of humor which is very endearing. Clarke picks up another 2 and the Aussies now need 6 more runs. Please finish it off this over. No such luck. 4 to win. Next over perhaps.
Mahmood to bowl the 48th over. Bouncer to Symonds. Good bowling. Another bouncer and Symonds is ready. Pulls it to the boundary for another 4. Good win for Australia. Symonds played a great cameo of 28 runs in 28 balls. The man of the match for our money is Ricky Ponting.
Once again, the English openers fell cheaply. Both (Vaughan and Strauss) fell to Tait. Oooh Brad Hogg into the attack. This will be interesting. Chinaman into the attack. KP uses his feet really well. Interestingly, Ponting has not taken the third powerplay. Three runs from the over. England 77-2 after 16 overs.
Update 1:
England is now 99-2 after 19 overs. KP is going great guns. Like the commentators keep reminding us, he is very tall. Okay. Got it. Shut up already. Bard Hogg is in his 3rd over. He is getting a little bit of spin. KP lucky that his leading edge did not carry to a fielder. Hogg is bowling well. England 101-2 after 20 overs.
Both Bell and KP are playing spin pretty well. Maybe Ponting wants to get the fifth bowler in quickly. Clarke and Symonds are doing the fifth bowler' job so far today. Nicely pulled by Bell for a couple. Bell seems like a very sensible player but his running between the wickets is a bit shambolic. England is doing a good job of milking the fifth bowler. 107-2 after 21 overs. This is good sized ground. England taking a lot of easy singles. Beautiful late cut from Bell. It didn't get him the four the shot deserved. 115-2 after 22 overs.
Both batsmen on 49. Good innings from both of them. KP is playing the dashing innings while Bell is playing the steadying hand. Symonds into the attack and it is KP's 50. Nice innings. Go on play some more and get the 100. Bell's 50 now. Very nice innings. Brilliant attempt by Ponting to take a very hard catch. KP gets a life. Will he make it count? We will find out.
Update 2:
Another nice over for England. 7 runs from the over. England 126-2 after 24 overs. Hogg is getting through his overs pretty quick. Symonds starts his over and Bell says 'hello' with two sweet boundaries. Nasir Hussain can't stop himself. He is going ga-ga. We are happy for Nasir. Another nice over for England. 12 runs off the over. 138-2 after 25 overs. Brad Hogg is bowling well but KP and Bell are settled and are taking the easy singles. Lucky! KP is very lucky. Everybody missed it and England gets 4 byes. Nasir just said: "Shouldn't give Australia any kind of chance." He is very angry with KP for getting beaten. 146-2 after 26 overs.
Australia takes its thrid powerplay. Very important 5 overs coming up. Tait into the attack. Great shot from Bell. 4runs. Ah! McGrath into the attack-again. McGrath Vs KP. As everyone knows, McGrath broke KP's ribs in Australia. Great shot from Bell. Bell is on fire. Uppishly driven on the off-side (McGrath says "catch" but there was no chance) for a four. Very nice shot from Bell. 161-2 after 28 overs.
There is a conspiracy. KP hits the ball up in the air and Haydos drops an easy catch! what joy! Haydos dropped a very easy catch. Will it be enough for Australia to drop Haydos from the team? KP now has two lives. He better make it count now. Tait is working up pace. The last ball was about 94 mph. Good over from Tait. Very unlucky. McGrath back into the attack. KP looks a little unsettled now. It is funny that KP starts off with a lot of confidence and after he score about 50 or so, his confidence level starts dropping and his strokeplay becomes a little shaky.
McGrath gets Bell. Caught by Hussey. Bell couldn't keep his drive down and it flew directly into Hussey's hands. Great innings from Bell. Out for 77. This brings Collingwood into the middle. Another man in form. Good over for Australia. 166-3 after 30 overs.
Update 3:
Wow! Tait gets another wicket! thin outside edge to Gilchrist. Colly gone for 2 runs. England again in a spot of bother. Flintoff comes in to bat. He has been in horrendous form recently. Can he play a big innings when his side needs it? Great bowling from Tait. He is working up a lot of pace. 168-4 after 31 overs. Good captaincy from Ponting. Brad Hogg into the attack. Flintoff struggles against spinners. Scratch that, Flintoff is struggling against everyone. Drinks. 169-4 after 32 overs.
Couple of tidy overs from Australia. 175-4 after 34 overs. England need to keep wickets till about the 43rd over. A good score for England will be about 300 runs. Bracken into the attack now. Another tidy over. 178-3 after 35 overs. Great bowling from Brad Hogg. Flintoff was all at sea. Flintoff stumped by Gilly and England is 179-5. Great bowling from Hogg. This chinaman is good. Funnily enough, McGrath is talking to Hogg about his bowling.
Flintoff's wicket brings Ravi Bopara in and he is off the mark right away. England 181-5 after 36 overs. Hogg is bowling brilliantly. England needs another "big partnership". Hogg again. "Hoggie" says Gillie. Excellent spell from Hogg. Bopara can't seem to read Hogg's spin. Good bowling. Very good bowling. 10 overs for 36 runs and 1 wicket. 190-5 after 38 overs.
Symonds back into the attack. Beefy is going on about something or the other. England 195-5 after 40 overs. Beefy says "10 overs to go then". Brilliant. Somebody please give Beefy a Fields Medal. He is a mathematical genius. McGrath back into the attack.
Update 4:
England get to their 200 in the 42nd over. Well, England will be very happy if they score about 280. Tait into the attack now. The man with 3 wickets. KP is losing his timing. He is struggling. Not getting enough strike is what the commentators are saying. Good bowling from Tait. 207-5 after 43 overs. We will have to revise the target some more. England will now be happy with about 265 runs. The time to hit out is coming. McGrath is coming on and England will have to go after him.
Nice shot from KP. Short and wide, KP puts it away easily.
Nice shot from Bopara. Lovely cover drive. 4 runs. 223-5 after 45 overs. 229-5 after 46 overs. Bracken is back on. A full tos and KP can't put it away. Gets a single. Bopara needs to pick up his strike rate now. Gone! Bopara gone. Flicked beautifully but picked Hussey out near the square boundary. Gone for 21 runs. England 230-6 in the 47th over. England is losing its way here. KP batting on 96. One gets the feeling he is going to wait till he gets his hundred.
Time is running out for England. They need to start hitting. 232-6 after 47 overs. KP on 99. There. 100 for KP. He looks happy. He should be. Good batting from KP. A little tame by his standards but England was losing wickets at regular intervals and he really couldn't break free. What is he going to do now?
Nice over from McGrath. 236-6 after 48 overs. England, for some mysterious reason, has decided to just putter around instead of hitting out. They should have been slogging about 4 overs ago. Maybe the side has decided that 250 is a good enough score to defend. They need some boundaries. KP looks like he has forgotten how to hit boundaries. KP is gone. Out. Tried to make room and hit on the off-side. Didn't connect properly and holes out to Clarke in the outfield. Out for 102. Nice innings but one gets the feeling that it could have been better.
Too fast. Too much happening. First, Mahmood got out for a duck then Nixon hit a 6. The very next ball, he hold out to Hodge and got out. So, England are 246-9 in the last over. Will they reach 250? Apparently not. England all out for 247.
In the end, England will feel that they fell short by about 30 runs. The partnership between Bell and KP was great but other than that, England played pretty badly. Excellent bowling from the Aussies. Bracken, Tait, and Hogg were the stand-out bowlers.
On the face of it, the Aussies should not have any problem chasing this score down.
Update 5:
Hayden is very lucky to be still there. Shout for LBW turned down by the umpire. It looked plumb and Haweye cofirms it. Very lucky. Australia 1-0 after 1 over. Mahmood into the attack and Gilly takes up his offer and spanks a loose ball to the boundary. Australia on its way. Another boundary from Gilly. 9-0 after 2 overs.
Gilly is motoring along. 3 fours for his 12 so far and the Aussies move to 18-0 after 4 overs. Hadyen advancing down the wicket ala KP but the bowler doesn't bite and gives him a wide. Great shot by Hayden. Lofted on-drive over a wide mid-on's head. 4 runs. 24-0 after 5 overs. Finally, a good over from Mahmood. Maiden over. Three slower balls in that over. How long before Gilly starts depositing those slower balls outside the stadium?
England has to know that the only way they can win this match is by bowling out Australia. No slips but a short cover and a wide fine leg as the close-in catchers. Anderson strays and Hayden dispatches it to the boundary. 4 runs. Another beautiful cover drive from Hayden. 4 runs. Anderson is not bowling well. Time to bring in Flintoff. 34-0 after 7 overs.
Anderson still continuing and Gilly is still scoring freely in his bowling. England were unlucky early on not to get LBW's but its all Australia now. Good comeback from Anderson in the last 3 balls of the over. 45-0 after 9 overs. Great shot from Gilly. He picked up the slower ball from Mahmood and sent it to the boundary. 4 runs. 52-0 after 10 overs.
Update 6:
Flintoff into the attack. Hayden walks down the pitch and pulls powerfully. 4 runs. Somebody please get this man out. Somebody didn't hear us properly because instead of Hayden, Gilly gives Collingwood an easy catch. Gilly gone for 27. Australia 57-1. Panesar into the attack now and Ponting walks in too. Hayden and Ponting - two players we dislike the most. It would be funny if Hayden gets Ponting run out and then gets out the very next ball. This will lead to an Australian collapse and people will be so pissed that Hayden will be dropped from the team and Ponting will be made to carry the drinks for the rest of his life. We can dream, can't we? 58-1 after 12 overs.
Flintoff over the wicket to Hayden. Hayden is advancing down the pitch. What is wrong with this guy. Coward. Stay in the crease and play. Haydos takes a big swing and misses. All the England players are chatting with Hayden. Hayden takes up the bait and swings Flintoff to the boundary. 4 runs. This man is very powerful. 62-1 after 13 overs.
Panesar to Ponting and he gets off the mark with a nice lofted shot for four. The English commentators are whining about the "ugly aussies" sledging KP. Okay, lets call off the match and award it to England. Australia 68-1 after 14 overs. 71-1 after 15 overs. Australia motoring along on cruise control now. 83-1 after 17 overs. 89-1 after 19 overs. Paul Collingwood comes into the attack. Hayden is already on 41. Please get this guy out. GONE!!!!! First ball. Colly clean bowls Hayden!!! Brilliant! Australia now 89-2 in the 20th over. Clarke joins Ponting at the crease. The top four of Australia have been fantastic. If England gets the top four, Australia will be definitely under pressure since the other batsmen have not had all that much batting the last few games. Australia 91-2 after 20 overs.
Update 7:
Flintoff is doing a terrific job. Very tidy. But it has to be worrying Vaughan that he has already bowled 5 overs. 94-2 after 21 overs. 96-2 after 22 overs. Another tidy over from Colly. James Anderson into the bowling attack. Can he continue applying the pressure? He gave away a lot of runs in his first spell. 5 balls and 2 runs so far. Good over. 98-2 after 23 overs.
Australia doing its "hitting to the fielder" for singles. A lot of runs to the Mid-on. Commentators want a faster fielder than Strauss at mid-on. Have to agree with them. 5 runs off Colly. 103-2 after 24 overs. Another good over from Anderson. Colly to continue. Monty misfields and it is 3 runs. 111-2 after 26 overs. England doing a good job but they need wickets to keep this game from going Australia's way.
Ravi Bopara is loosening up. Will Vaughan give the ball to him? 5 runs from the Anderson over and the Aussies are 116-2 after 27 overs. Collingwood to continue. Nice shot from Ponting. Used his wrists to turn the ball towards deep-square leg. 4 runs. Things are easing up a bit for the Aussies. England needs another wicket. Now. 124-2 after 28 overs. Sajid Mahmood with his slower deliveries comes into the attack. Great shot! 4 runs for Ponting. Hit past mid-off and was very sweetly timed. 132-2 after 29 overs. Monty into the attack now. He is pushing the ball through too fast. He ought to slow down his deliveries a little bit. Tidy over. 134-2 after 30 overs. Drinks.
Update 8:
England needs wickets. Mahmood continues and Ponting greets the first ball and drives it past Point for a 4. Another 4. This time on the leg side. This takes Ponting to his 50. Another good innings when his team needs it. Mahmood is falling apart. Somebody please get Ponting out or this match will be over pretty soon. 13 runs from the over. 147-2 after 31 overs. Bad bowling from Mahmood. Time to bring Bopara into the attack. The Aussie running between the wickets is fantastic. Panesar is not looking threatening in the least. 152-2 after 32 overs. Flintoff into the attack. He just has 4 overs left. Freddie couldn't do much and Australia is cruising along at 159-2 after 33 overs. England needs a wicket.
Panesar to continue. He is not troubling the batsmen at all. Nice shot from Ponting. 4 runs over mid-wicket. Ponting is a great batsman. This game is over folks. 165-2 after 34 overs. Collingwood into the attack now. Where is Bopara? Can Colly do it again? No. 171-2 after 35 overs. Ponting and Clarke are making it look easy. Clarke just hit a great shot for 4. 185-2 after 37 overs. England NEEDS WICKETS. No one to take them though. Bring in Bopara, I say. Panesar to continue his unthreatening bowling. 2 fours from the over and some singles takes Australia to 196-2 after 38 overs. Flintoff back into the attack. 199-2 after 39 overs. 201-2 after 40 overs.
This game is over. Australia will win this game easily.
Update 9:
Ponting gone. Run out! Brilliant piece of fielding from Colly. Great batting from Ponting. Nobody deserved to get his wicket. His batting was superb and he did the job for his team with a very well made 86. Australia should be able to easily win the game from here on. Suddenly, England seemed to have gotten a second win. Too little too late, unfortunately. Good over from Flintoff. 202-3 after 41 overs. Symonds bludgeons the slower ball from Colly to the boundary. 4 runs. Symonds goes again. KP takes a brilliant catch very close to the boundary rope but can't control his step. Treads very close to the rope and finally steps inside rope but lets the ball go. Meanwhile, the batsmen run two runs. After a lot of discussion, the batsmen get two runs. The very next ball, Symonds hits a huge six. A very good over for Australia. 215-3 after 42 overs.
Flintoff bowling his last over. Brilliant shot from Symonds. Symonds is on fire. Great cameo so far. Good comeback from Flintoff. 219-3 after 43 overs. Mahmood back into the attack. Nasir is a very bitter man. He reminds us of the long suffering Indian cricket fan. Meanwhile, Clarke goes hard at Mahmood and gets a boundary. 226-3 after 44 overs. Australia should win this very comfortably. James Anderson into the attack. When the final analysis is said and done, England will realize that it lost the match because they batted like twits at the end and because they did not let Ravi Bopara bowl. 5o for Clarke. Good batting from him. Time for the Pup to take the old lady home.
Symonds pounds another 4 over extra cover. 240-3 after 46 overs. We like Nasir Hussain. He has a very self-deprecating sense of humor which is very endearing. Clarke picks up another 2 and the Aussies now need 6 more runs. Please finish it off this over. No such luck. 4 to win. Next over perhaps.
Mahmood to bowl the 48th over. Bouncer to Symonds. Good bowling. Another bouncer and Symonds is ready. Pulls it to the boundary for another 4. Good win for Australia. Symonds played a great cameo of 28 runs in 28 balls. The man of the match for our money is Ricky Ponting.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
England Vs Sri Lanka, Super Eights
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.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
England Vs Ireland, Super Eights
Ve vill write thees match report like thees because eet vas a most boring match. England somehow managed to beat Ireland. Heartache for eeenglees fans has been postponed. That's feene, ve 'ave all the teeme een the world. Kant yu teel?
Ve kant think of anything elsie to say. Oh yeah, Collingwood is gud and so is gud 'ol Flinty. Oh yeah again, Pie San ees not the beeeeeest batsman een the world. 'E ees not even klose. He ees nuthin compared to Dhoni. No one but Dhoni in thees world cup 'as scored two ducks. As ve kan teel from personal experience, scoring 2 ducks in 3 matches EES 'ARD WORK, MKAY.
Ve kant think of anything elsie to say. Oh yeah, Collingwood is gud and so is gud 'ol Flinty. Oh yeah again, Pie San ees not the beeeeeest batsman een the world. 'E ees not even klose. He ees nuthin compared to Dhoni. No one but Dhoni in thees world cup 'as scored two ducks. As ve kan teel from personal experience, scoring 2 ducks in 3 matches EES 'ARD WORK, MKAY.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
England Vs Kenya, Group C
England beat Kenya and are through to the super 8's. We didn't see this match because we were busy watching the Australia-SA match. We are happy that England got through - somebody has to give Ireland and Bangladesh hope for a win in the Super 8's. England team has a very subcontinental trait of being able to lose to anyone on any given day and beating anyone on any given day.
Happy days are ahead for cricket fans rooting for the weaker teams.
Happy days are ahead for cricket fans rooting for the weaker teams.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Canada Vs England, Group C
Freddie Flintoff was sacked as the vice-captain due to his frequent infractions or some thing like that. Frankly, we don't care. It's okay to show up drunk everywhere if you win the ashes but not okay to go out on a drinking binge if you lose. Anyway, It didn't matter though, England beat Canada quite easily and showed India and Pakistan how it is done.
Friday, March 16, 2007
England Vs New Zealand, Group C
We can empathize with the English fans. They are on a roller coaster ride from hell. One instant, their team looks like they can beat anybody in the world and then lunacy sets in and their team has the capacity to lose to any team in the world. Their team is so fickle that they make the Indian team look consistent.
One instant they are cruising along at 133/4 and in a blink of an eye, they are tottering at 138 for 7. Somebody should tell Michael Vaughan that just because he is playing an ODI doesn't mean he has to try and hit every delivery out of the ground.
English fans - we feel your pain. We have been on that road before and it is not pleasant. Just hang in there and hope that the bad times are behind you. The English team can only get better from here.
We loved how Stephen Fleming used Shane Bond. Apparently, Shane Bond has the license to take wickets. Corny, we know. In our defense, we heard that on TV and if it is on TV, it has to be true, right?
Despite all the injury troubles plaguing New Zealand, they are looking good. They will go far in the tournament. Maybe even till the semi-finals. New Zealand has played a lot more ODIs than England and that experience shows. They lost 3 quick wickets but showed no signs of panic. They calmly and coolly went about collecting their runs and chased down England's total quite easily.
England don't have a choice now; they have to play 7 batsmen and hope that the part time wares of Collingwood and Pietersen will suffice. Their batting is too unpredictable as it is right now.
One instant they are cruising along at 133/4 and in a blink of an eye, they are tottering at 138 for 7. Somebody should tell Michael Vaughan that just because he is playing an ODI doesn't mean he has to try and hit every delivery out of the ground.
English fans - we feel your pain. We have been on that road before and it is not pleasant. Just hang in there and hope that the bad times are behind you. The English team can only get better from here.
We loved how Stephen Fleming used Shane Bond. Apparently, Shane Bond has the license to take wickets. Corny, we know. In our defense, we heard that on TV and if it is on TV, it has to be true, right?
Despite all the injury troubles plaguing New Zealand, they are looking good. They will go far in the tournament. Maybe even till the semi-finals. New Zealand has played a lot more ODIs than England and that experience shows. They lost 3 quick wickets but showed no signs of panic. They calmly and coolly went about collecting their runs and chased down England's total quite easily.
England don't have a choice now; they have to play 7 batsmen and hope that the part time wares of Collingwood and Pietersen will suffice. Their batting is too unpredictable as it is right now.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Other Warm-Up Matches
Australia spanked England
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka
Pakistan beat South Africa
Some Observations:
We don't think that Australia solved its bowling problems. Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson went for a lot of runs. Hogg did manage to bowl well but we don't think he is going to be this consistent in all the games. Stuart Clark bowled himself into the playing eleven and McGrath was steady. The best bowler in the side seems to be Shaun Tait. It will be interesting to see what the Australians will do with Shane Watson.
Panesar bowled exceedingly well but we don't think he is going to see much action in the world cup. Jamie Dalrymple, though a mediocre spinner, will be in the playing eleven because of his batting. England needs some help in the lower order. They have the same problem as Australia - being too top-heavy.
Though Sri Lanka lost, they shouldn't be worrying too much. Their only concern should be Mahela Jayawardene's batting form. With Malinga, Vaas, and Murali, they have a well-rounded bowling attack and can hope to do well in all conditions?
Pakistan looked very good. We are very afraid of Pakistan - especially when everyone discounts it. The way pitches have been playing, spin is going to be a major factor and Pakistan has good spin bowling options. Revamping their batting order might be the best thing they did for the world cup. Younis, Yousuf, and Inzi get the most time in the middle and they still have Shoab Malik and Afridi to shepherd the tail.
South Africa did not look good. Looks like they are struggling on slow and low pitches. Their lack of a good spinner might haunt them throughout the tournament. Their bowling attack is good enough to win against most teams but not Australia.
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka
Pakistan beat South Africa
Some Observations:
We don't think that Australia solved its bowling problems. Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson went for a lot of runs. Hogg did manage to bowl well but we don't think he is going to be this consistent in all the games. Stuart Clark bowled himself into the playing eleven and McGrath was steady. The best bowler in the side seems to be Shaun Tait. It will be interesting to see what the Australians will do with Shane Watson.
Panesar bowled exceedingly well but we don't think he is going to see much action in the world cup. Jamie Dalrymple, though a mediocre spinner, will be in the playing eleven because of his batting. England needs some help in the lower order. They have the same problem as Australia - being too top-heavy.
Though Sri Lanka lost, they shouldn't be worrying too much. Their only concern should be Mahela Jayawardene's batting form. With Malinga, Vaas, and Murali, they have a well-rounded bowling attack and can hope to do well in all conditions?
Pakistan looked very good. We are very afraid of Pakistan - especially when everyone discounts it. The way pitches have been playing, spin is going to be a major factor and Pakistan has good spin bowling options. Revamping their batting order might be the best thing they did for the world cup. Younis, Yousuf, and Inzi get the most time in the middle and they still have Shoab Malik and Afridi to shepherd the tail.
South Africa did not look good. Looks like they are struggling on slow and low pitches. Their lack of a good spinner might haunt them throughout the tournament. Their bowling attack is good enough to win against most teams but not Australia.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Australia Beats Zimbabwe
Australia beat Zimbabwe handily. However, they could not bowl out Zimbabwe. That has to worry the Captain, right? Wrong. Ponting was not concerned. In fact, he said that he was very happy about Australia getting to bowl their full 50 overs.
We know that a little bit of posturing is involved in everything Australia does but it is telling that Ponting chose to contrast their supposedly wonderful 50 over workout with England's not so wonderful 23 over workout. One might wonder why England did not avail themselves of a full 50 over workout. Because, England's bowling was good enough to bowl Bermuda out for 45 runs. The three defeats at the hands of England in the CB series hurt, eh monkey boy?
Our belief is that if England failed to bowl out Bermuda, their already tenuous self confidence might have totally collapsed. Seriously, if this is an instance of Australian "mind games" then there is trouble in paradise and the Australians are very concerned with their inability to bowl out Zimbabwe. The 6 losses in the recent past have affected Australia more than we thought.
We know that a little bit of posturing is involved in everything Australia does but it is telling that Ponting chose to contrast their supposedly wonderful 50 over workout with England's not so wonderful 23 over workout. One might wonder why England did not avail themselves of a full 50 over workout. Because, England's bowling was good enough to bowl Bermuda out for 45 runs. The three defeats at the hands of England in the CB series hurt, eh monkey boy?
Our belief is that if England failed to bowl out Bermuda, their already tenuous self confidence might have totally collapsed. Seriously, if this is an instance of Australian "mind games" then there is trouble in paradise and the Australians are very concerned with their inability to bowl out Zimbabwe. The 6 losses in the recent past have affected Australia more than we thought.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Australia Vs England, CB Series Match 7, 2007
Did anyone see the match? We think only we understand the significance of what England is doing. They are setting up Australia and the rest of the world. After this, no one in their right mind would associate England and winning. Come World Cup time, England will start bludgeoning the opposition into submission and the whole world is shocked at the English duplicity. This cunning is what made the British Empire. This has to be the plan. There can be no other explanation.
No Team can be this bad.
Can they?
No Team can be this bad.
Can they?
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