Posts
Loading ...bit rich coming from an Australian batsman isn’t it? I mean, there’s only one batsman carrying us at the moment! Although, i suppose there’s such names as shane warne.
England a ‘one man team’?
By Scott 2 years ago, mid-April Leave a comment on this post
Actually that is a simplification of remarks that Matthew Hayden made in an interesting interview to The Wisden Cricketer magazine. I think if you challenged him on that score, what he would agree is that Andrew Flintoff is the player that made the difference between the two sides. He does add tremendous depth to England’s cause and I doubt England can be a real force in cricket without him.
Not that the likes of Simon Jones, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick are not great cricketers. It is just that Flintoff completes the team, instead of just having a collection of useful cricketers.
It’s notable that Flintoff made an impression on Australia; indeed, so much so that selectors immediately started looking around for their own version. They invested hopes in Shane Watson, and he’s got a bit about him; a hard hitting batsman and a fast bowler that can get the ball up at around 140 kmph. However he injured himself in the Test against West Indies at the Gabba and his place has been taken by Andrew Symonds. Symonds has proved himself a modest cricketer at this level, and is no match for Flintoff, at least in Test cricket.
And sadly Watson’s comeback plans have been thwarted again. He scored 201 before retiring hurt in Queensland’s win in the Sheffield Shield, and that injury has now kept him out of the ODI leg of the Bangladesh tour. Australia will have to look elsewhere to find a match-winning all-rounder.
Tags: all-rounder, andrew-flintoff, andrew-symonds, australia-in-bangladesh, england, gabba, marcus-trescothick, match-winner, matthew-hayden, michael-vaughan, queensland, shane-watson, sheffield-shield, simon-jones, wisden-cricketer-magazine |
6 Responses to “England a ‘one man team’?”
April 13th, 2006 at 3.02 pm
April 13th, 2006 at 3.16 pm
One man team? I don’t know, but England would struggle to replace Fred if he’s injured or not available for what ever reason, but then, any team in the world would struggle to replace a man of his calibre.
April 13th, 2006 at 3.33 pm
The England team at this particular point in team revolves around the hub that is Flintoff.
An ironic resemblance to the circumstance India found itself in many moons ago.
The whole team relied on one or two key players to mark the line between a win or a loss. Upto recent times when India rested on Tendulkar’s shoulders. Not so in the last one or two years.
Whilst with England, there are now only one or two key players on which hang the maybe-maybe-not players. They will need to be given time to settle and establish themselves on the strength of their own capabilities and performance.
Till then Flintoff’s broad shoulders will need to be that much stronger and wider to carry England through the turbulent waters.
April 13th, 2006 at 5.44 pm
I don’t think Flintoff ‘carries’ England, though he does play a major role. We have Jones, Trescothick and Strauss. The Aussies don’t have an all rounder of Flintoff’s ability, instead they’re carried by one batsman and one bowler. If you have a player like Freddie in any team, he’s always going to play a big role and it’ll be a blow when he’s missing but it doesn’t necessarily mean you depend upon that person. Any team in the world would struggle to replace a player like Flintoff.
April 14th, 2006 at 4.57 am
England are still a good side without Flintoff, but to be truly competitive against the best they would have to unearth at least one prolific run scorer; and get better returns from Harmison, Hoggard and Jones, the bowling would seem to be the problem particularly against the swagger of the Australian top six.
That said Australia also has a lot of thinking to do.
April 14th, 2006 at 3.26 pm
I found Haydens comments a bit rich, suggesting that Freddie carried us through the Ashes when Hayden had a shocking Ashes series. Yes, we would miss Fred dearly, but would Australia miss Hayden if he was booted out of their team?
Bitterness, is all.
Comments
« Not quite the great escape, but that was actually a very good Test match. | Main | Hove is where it’s at »
