If gambling is a fool’s game, then waging money on the England one-day team must be the preserve of a lunatic. Quite literally anything could happen tomorrow, including, unfortunately, a washout.
Strange but true: since the start of 2007, England have beaten every major nation in an ODI series, except Pakistan, who they have not played. Australia and New Zealand were defeated at the same time, in the Commonwealth Bank series in 2007, and between then and now, notable scalps, such as Sri Lanka away and India at home (both 2007), have been interspersed with equally notable defeats.
What of the series’ that have been decided on the final game, as this one will be tomorrow? Again, England’s record – four wins, three defeats – offers few clues.
Of course, as a fan I’m thinking 2-2 would be a decent result – one I’d have taken a couple of weeks ago, but the players must be thinking the opposite if their pretensions of attaining some elusive consistency are genuine.
Having missed out on one final in South Africa in October, Strauss’s men have now engineered another, and the prize of becoming only the second team to beat South Africa at home in an ODI series seems every bit as worthwhile as the Champions Trophy – with the added bonus of no white blazers.
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