It never fails to amaze me reading the contrasting opinions from our feedbackers at Cricinfo while covering these one-dayers, especially with England in such limp form. Of the 1000 or so emails, a fair chunk criticised us for our anti-England stance, accusing us of racism, bias toward Ireland and whatever else. What game were they watching? The one we were watching was between a feisty, energetic team full of lively promise and intent. The other was England at their timid best.
I defy anyone to tell me their performance today was anything better than average. They were half asleep; at times careless; more often than not timid or cautious in their intent and generally lacking authority. This is not, I assure you, to demean Ireland. They have exceptional ability, but class will invariably out – as it did today. The manner of the victory was so mundane, so unimpressive that it was hard to distinguish who was the minnow.
Why bat first on that pitch? Boyd Rankin, Ireland’s towering fast bowler, utilised the conditions expertly and made Ed Joyce look even more clueless. Vaughan should have sent them in, knocked them over and ticked off the runs. Instead, Ian Bell again puffed out his chest, rolled up his sleeves ala his mentor, Alec Stewart, and tried to assert his authority on proceedings in the form of strutting. All this showmanship is fooling no one. Runs is what England need from him, not peacockery. Pietersen was glamorous and brilliant, but got bored, leaving Collingwood to make something of the innings which, inevitably, he did. Without his burst, Ireland would’ve won today.
And then the bowling. Saj Mahmood looked okay initially, but was far too wide of the off stump and his once excellent surprise slower ball is being used as his escape hatch far too often. Anderson mixed the dreadful with the delightful in equal measure, as is his wont. Six balls on, or just outside off stump. It really is not that difficult and I remain flummoxed as to why England cannot do it. And Monty, for all his control, has forgotten how to flight the ball. I’m also convinced there is something amiss in his action; he’s pushing the ball through, straining…the balance at the crease on delivery has gone and there’s no loop.
All in all, England just look pissed off and don’t want to be there. Know the feeling.
Will, I’m trying to organize a last ditch effort trip down to watch AUS v IRL and WI v ENG. Should I bother?
A close friend of mine (who is originally from Trinidad) organized a World Cup Trip for himself and a number of friends from our club in Colorado. They’re all from India. Guess what? Every one of them pulled out after India were eliminated.
I’m upset at these former team mates of mine (coloradocricket.org) to leave him hanging like that. Do they love cricket? Or just India?
In any case, I’m trying to scrap together last minute flights for myself and my wife. It has to be Barbados because India and West Indies were supposed to play there. I’ll have tickets to three games.
If I make it, will you be in Barbados? Wanna have a real life live debate over everything cricket? Maybe it’ll make your trip more eventful? Who knows.
Yeah – go. Cricket in the Caribbean is like nowhere else. Not that I’ve ever been. Sorry to destroy the myth but I’m actually based in London…my editor (and a whole other Cricinfo people besides) is out there.
And yes, re India. They love cricket, but they love Indian cricket much more.
It’s interesting that KP is currently ranked no.1 in the ODI world, considering his last ODI centry was in Feb. 2005, I believe. It suggests that he’s a steady eddy (read “boring”) rather than a brilliant swashbuckler. The reality is that HE gets bored and lacks discipline and committment. Not a team player. Give me “ugly” Mathew Hayden any day.
Ian Bell’s innings was a droppable offense. I think Jimmy Adams mentioned how Matthew Hayden not scoring of his first 18 balls against the West Indies should serve as a lesson for Bell and Vaughan on how you can start an odi innings watchfully, before making up for it later on. Indeed, Collingwood’s knock today was another fine example of this.
It seems Bell has taken this too literally. For him to have matched Hayden’s century of 110 balls, he would have had to score his last 69 runs in 26 balls!
I think Bopara should take Bell’s place as a middle order batsman with Dalrymple coming back into the side. However its slightly worrying that Bopara seems to have been relegated to a Mark Ealham allrounder instead of being the genuine middle order batsman that he is.
The equivalent is if somebody had tried to make Paul Collingwood into an allrounder early on in his international career rather than allowing him to develop as a batsman. Wait, I think they did try that with him in Pakistan when Duncan Fletcher famously said he thought Collingwood was bowling at 80mph. Two others who I think were also misused in this manner were Ben Hollioake and Rikki Clarke.
Ravi Bopara has far more potential as another Paul Collingwood or Scott Styris then he does as the next Adam Hollioake.
Agree with every word, Will. I was in a vile mood by the end of that performance, despite the win, and fair play to Ireland for their achievements. These well-paid sportsmen need a kick up the arse. The energy and commitment of Nixon and Collingwood put the others to shame.
Fiona, I think KP’s problem is that he IS trying to be a team player, trying to play “responsibly” because the higher order have failed yet again, and not playing his natural game, which ties his head in a knot.
I am desperate to listen to wc online in India. All India radio is broadcasting matches but some of the comentators are pathetic. Any help? I am inIndia
you can’t judge this game purely on stats – if hayden got out early after 18 dot balls it would have been a crap innings (‘a dropable offence’) and if bell had gone on and accelerated as collingwood did it would have been a ‘mature steadying innings’ or some such guff. if people play cricket they should know better. that said, bell isn’t my first choice…i’m not sure england actually have a first choice. but he stuck out his chest and tried to get on with it; if he’d wandered out looking like he was down and out everyone would have criticised his negative body language (remember that world class opening bat michael atherton and his negative body language?)what’s bell meant to do? give up? he’s got balls and i think will make the grade at test level., but he doesn’t look a natural one day player. and it’s not as if there are players around the counties people say should be included; we are left with the awful realisation that this might be our best (and i use the word advisedly) team. we just aren’t good at one day cricket. and our confidence is rock bottom despite an illusory victory in the australian series. we have been thumped by the aussies in the ashes; freddie is clearly out on his feet – heavy men to carry those bowlers. vaughan is a passenger with the bat. anderson, saj and plunkett are talented and frustrating in their ability to mix shit and gold. not to mention the bizarre inability in international clas bowlers to locate those three woody things. only colly is in form. and people slag off kp for just making 50s every time – yes i know it’s annoying, but he keeps scoring. in that state we really aren’t much better than the minnows. ireland are confident and deserving of their place in the super 8. they have nothing to lose and can play as they wish – and good for them. bangladesh are the same but with much more quality and could be a real challenge for us. the fans need some perspective and to refrain from getting on the team’s back at every opportunity. fair criticism and no toleration of sloppiness and lack of effort are fair enough (essential) but we as fans are going to have to accept there are much better sides out there than us. and then the pros have to work out how we can improve – i have no idea how that can be done and what systematic changes are needed, but people get paid lots of money to know these things and they have yet to deliver. but it isn’t all with the players and i happen to believe them when they say they are giving their all.
Simply Wondered, I take your points, and well expressed, and often I feel the same way. But I want them to do better, to play well, to play better than they did today, when they looked so drab, no matter how hard you may say they were trying. I think they’re capable of playing better, and no matter how philosophical I might be sometimes, other times I just get frustrated and disappointed. They are paid well to do nothing else but play this game, and practise to be good at playing this game. Sometimes it doesn’t look like it. And it’s embarrassing when a bunch of part-time amateurs give them such a run for their money.
what puzzled me was England’s attitude in the field – they looked completely bored, out of it, like they couldn’t be bothered with a team like Ireland. and Freddie! After what we’ve read, his session in the nets and Vaughan having had a hand in his sacking, Fred’s spirit seemed to be completely gone. The only times any England player seemed to be happy was when Monty got his wicket (Monty’s usual celebration) and Vaughan’s first ODI wicket in months – peothey ple seemed more bemused than excited though.
I don’t think it’s so much about the stats but the attitude they had during the game. I was all prepared for them to lose the ODI, to be honest – I started almost rooting for Ireland actually, they really deserve to be there.
and michael, re India cricket fans, the thing that disappoints me most is their attitude towards cricket – one game and the players are gods, one game lost and people burn the players houses. It’s far far worse than the British media! I think the best fans in cricket are the Barmy Army – they clearly love cricket and England cricket, and support England no matter what. They enjoy cricket for cricket itself, not for the winning, and I think that’s incredibly lovely.
And Hayden did not get out. That’s the point. He’s a better batsman than KP and his stats show it. Certainly there are things that stats don’t show, but let me remind you that Hayden just decimated South Africa and West Indies. Not Scotland and Bermuda. He’s in pristine touch, able to mix all-out attack with stingy defense perfectly as game demands it. He is the current role model to commentators and press alike on how to bat in the conditions.
England has missed a few tricks here. Loye should be there, age and all. Strauss is suntanning while the top order continues to fail.
Sri Lanka have a dashing opener in Jayasuriya. South Africa in Smith. Australia in Gilchrist. West Indies in Gayle. Bangladesh in Iqbal. Even Bray of Ireland has a go early. New Zealand and England aren’t starting with someone who’ll slog the ball. It’s a bit baffling really. Loye should have come with the requisite of offering some other big shot than the sweep.
Since he isn’t there, what about having KP come open? Joyce is in Disneyland, drop him. Strauss as your other opener, your rock. Vaughn at 3. Collingwood at 4. THEN Bell at 5. Force that puffy chest bastard to actually score at a-run-a-all.
kathy – i feel every word of your passion and i share it – the frustration!!!! these are better cricketers than they are giving and they do just seem not to be wanting it now – give them all figjam’s ability, monty’s boundless joy, collingwood’s application and badger’s sheer fucking tenacity and we might be runners up…
michael – you just might have something there; fancy taking over from grumpy dunc?
I have to agree with Strauss opening – Joyce and Vaughan aren’t openers! England seem to have a Pakistan-like problem with openers now that Trescothick’s gone and they’ve dumped Strauss. And though Bell seems to be a shoo-in for the ODI team, I’m having my doubts about him these days. Test, sure, but for ODIs he seems to either get out feebly, or hit a decent 50 and throw his wicket away, as if to say “oh, a fifty, that’s my job done, I’m heading back to the dressing room.”
The problem with Bell in ODI cricket is 100% mental. Technically he’s sound, perfect for the one day game, in fact, but if he had Pietersen’s confidence he’d be a much better player. It’s no surprise that his best performances always come with Pietersen as his partner, it’s like he inspires Bell to be bold.
Number 3 is a crucial role in modern ODI cricket, it’s almost become like having a third opener, and it’s important to have someone who dominates. That’s why I think South Africa miss a trick playing Kallis at 3 when it should be Gibbs (as he’s more aggressive), with Kallis at 4. In an ideal world your best batsman and most aggressive are one and the same (Just look at Ponting’s role for the Aussies) but in the absence of that, number 3 should be your most aggressive player, 4 your best batsman.
That’s why I’d have England play Bell at 4 with Pietersen move up to 3. And Cook should be given a chance in ODI cricket, he’s done well so far. The top 4 for both Tests and ODI should be Cook and Strauss opening, Pietersen at 3, Bell at 4, Collingwood at 5. Bopara should be pencilled down at 6 and Flintoff at 7, with the option to swap them if you’re running out of overs and need the big shots.
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Maybe it’ll make your trip more eventful? Who knows.