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  • "I think their minds were already on the plane home. I am just not sure they were here to play today."
    Jamie Siddons on Bangladesh's performance in the last league match of the Asia Cup

    Jul 4, 2008

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    Right. So, is anyone else a bit bored?

    By Will last year, at the start of June Leave a comment on this post

    Was anyone else bored by large parts of today? I was, and looking at the scorecard I have absolutely no reason to be anything other than full of adrenaline. Instead, I just feel “eh” and I don’t know why.

    It wasn’t without incident. The period of play when Fidel Edwards steamed in, supported by Jerome Taylor at the other end, was West Indies’ most captivating of the series. Seven wickets, nearly 300 runs and yet I was left with a feeling that nothing memorable happened.

    Perhaps it was that no England batsman “went on” to a hundred. Maybe it was West Indies’ laughably awful fielding. It could even just be a form of professional detraction from the emotions of watching your country play. But I’m unsettled by it and think it has more to do with knowing that, in spite of West Indies’ improved display, tomorrow England ought to blow them away. It is utterly depressing seeing West Indies in this state; watching Corey Collymore trundle in like a baying donkey. He was frighteningly quick a few years ago but stress fractures and other nasty injuries have taken their toll. Edwards was severely sharp but, as one “staff” member of the Windies party told me, they cannot risk him bowling more than five overs at a time.

    As an England fan, I thought they were distinctly poor today. West Indies did put the ball in better areas (a phrase which, someone recently told me, is absolute nonsense: you can’t put a ball in more than one area at a time! Ah the pedantry of journalism) but England looked distracted and, well, a bit bored too.

    Clearly I am talking a load of nonsense. Thoughts welcome.

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    6 Responses to “Right. So, is anyone else a bit bored?”

  • Harry R wrote:
    June 7th, 2007 at 11.42 pm

    “West Indies did put the ball in better areas (a phrase which, someone recently told me, is absolute nonsense: you can’t put a ball in more than one area at a time! Ah the pedantry of journalism) ”

    Amazing how consistently everything everyone ever says about language seems to be a load of crap. I’m curious—did they suggest an alternative?

  • Kathy wrote:
    June 7th, 2007 at 11.43 pm

    Yeah, I can’t say it got me terribly excited either.

  • Ian wrote:
    June 8th, 2007 at 9.27 am

    England seemed to suffer from the same complacency. They batted when against better oppo they might have bowled; and gave their wickets away (Cook, Vaughan, KP and Prior) against medium pacers instead of knuckling down. Only Bell(y) looked like he wanted a ton, but while he played beautifully, he never gets your pulse racing.

    I thought the Windies bowled extremely well yesterday. They clung on to a few and got a couple of decisions that had previously gone the other way. I really hope they crash 350 today - it would do England, and maybe us, the power of good.

    It is amazing though how fickle we are. We were abject in the Ashes and worse at the World Cup. Now we’re winning again (just 1-0, don’t forget), the public groans that it’s too easy. Exactly the same happened against Sri Lanka last year and we drew the series…

  • Scott wrote:
    June 8th, 2007 at 12.17 pm

    You only sing when you’re losing?

    You English are mad.

  • Kathy wrote:
    June 8th, 2007 at 1.07 pm

    Well Scott, I can’t claim to know, since I’m not English, but I think the preferred scenario is snatching victory from the jaws of defeat….

    It’s not very Australian, is it.

  • Wraye wrote:
    June 8th, 2007 at 7.15 pm

    Scott, I’m English, I sing in the bath, losing or not.

    Yes, the English are mostly mad.

    Does this help?

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