Foiled By Windies And The Weather

England did well to scrape past India by a relatively small margin and would have expected to capitalise on that victory by taking their place in the semi-finals. Sadly the weather conspired to make life difficult and the West Indies had a shortened target thanks to Duckworth Lewis. This meant an easier run chase which was always going to put them in the driving seat.

Team selection for this match was surprising as England decided to leave out Dimitri Mascarenhas and play Adil Rashid instead. This is not the first time that Mascarenhas has been omitted and those lessons have still not sunk in. The all rounder should be one of the first names on the team sheet when it comes to Twenty20 cricket. The fact England is without Flintoff makes the decision to leave him out even more mystifying.

As per usual England did not quite get enough runs and if they are to become a force in this form of the game this is something that needs to be addressed and rectified. If the totals are consistently short of a par score when batting first this puts immediate pressure on the bowlers which is not ideal.

England is not far from finding a winning formula although you have to wonder whether they will be ruthless enough to do what still needs to be done. A new captain for Twenty20 is a must and this should be sorted out quickly. One player who many observers thought would make an impact is Graham Napier. More Twenty20 specialists need to be given an opportunity to show what they are capable of.

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Embarrassed By The Netherlands

The winter tour of the Caribbean provided ample humiliation but England really embarrassed the nation in their opening Twenty20 world cup match. They somehow conspired to lose the opener by 4 wickets. Right throughout the Dutch innings England had numerous chances to win the game. Catches were dropped and a number of run out opportunities were thrown away by failing to hit the stumps.

If any newcomers were watching they could be forgiven for assuming the international cricketers were playing in Orange. The Netherlands played well but the England display was enough to make you cringe. Instead of the host nation having a good tournament, England will do well just to progress beyond the first round of matches.

The penny will not drop with England where Twenty20 cricket is concerned. It is not rocket science when you have only a 20 over innings. Yet again England did not clear the boundary rope. Our batsmen should not have to be taught how to score sixes by playing in the IPL. It is a skill they should already possess as international cricketers. Twenty20 is all about getting a move on and scoring at a competitive rate.

Strauss decided that Twenty20 was not his thing but if he is not suited to the shortest form of the game the same could be said of Collingwood. He may be a respectable one day cricketer but nudging and nurdling does not win games in the 20 over arena. The fact Collingwood was given the captaincy probably saved his place. It was a move that smacked of desperation considering he has already failed as skipper.

Plenty of variation is required on the bowling front to keep the batsmen guessing. Dot balls and sixes make the difference in Twenty20 cricket and England seems to have a problem with both.

England has made some progress where team selection is concerned but more needs to be done. Twenty20 specialists should be selected and players from the one day side should only be picked on merit. To be successful in 20 over cricket, there can be no room for passengers. Every member of the team needs to be able to contribute when required.

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Rare Test Match Victory

England did well to defeat the West Indies with two days to spare but that is exactly what they should be doing if they are to have any hope of an Ashes win. Some people said the wicket at Lords was flat but it was nowhere near as flat as some of the pitches the West Indies groundsmen served up over the winter. On the recent Caribbean tour, the England bowlers actually bowled to Sarwan’s strengths allowing him to fill his boots. In this test match, it was refreshing to see those lessons have been learned.

Ravi Bopara helped himself to another hundred and barring a dramatic loss of form he is certain to keep the number three position. You cannot argue with two centuries in two test matches and he is now the man in possession. Later this summer he will face stiffer challenges than this Windies bowling attack offered him.

Graham Onions had a tremendous debut although Australia will be a different proposition if he retains his place. He does not possess express pace but is accurate and bowls at the stumps which is something the England attack has not done enough recently. Onions will develop into some player if he can generate some more pace.

In the spin bowling department Swann continues to look a far better selection than Panesar. He offers aggression as well as runs with the bat plus he has no problem taking wickets.

England has got off to the perfect start and the team can only beat the opposition that is put in front of them. Taking wickets and scoring runs against Australia and South Africa will prove to be an entirely different proposition.

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Flintoff Injured In The IPL

It was always a concern that Andrew Flintoff would succumb to injury after going to play in the IPL. It came as no real surprise to learn that he has sustained an injury on his right knee. He is returning home to have more surgery which will rule him out of the forthcoming West Indies series.

It seems to be one injury after another for Flintoff and the extent of his participation in the Ashes series must surely be in doubt. You have to wonder whether his body can continue to cope with the demands of being a pace bowler. He will work hard and overcome this latest setback just like previous ones. When he is match fit again how long will it be before he is injured again?

There is a nagging feeling the all rounder will struggle to avoid injuries for the rest of his career. Flintoff is a giant of a man and his size puts enormous stress on his body when he is bowling. It is possible that with age his body is no longer able to stand up to such rigorous activity. Many sportsmen suffer terrible luck with injuries and there comes a time when you have to question whether the body can keep going.

Nobody wants to see Flintoff retire because he is such a key player for England. When he regains full fitness then surely his workload needs to be lightened. This has been said before but then we had the farcical scenes in the West Indies where Flintoff was continuing to bowl whilst clearly injured. That was a classic example of how dependant on Flintoff the team has become.

They have not said so but privately England would have preferred Flintoff to sit out the IPL. They now face an anxious wait to get him fit and firing for the important series against Australia.

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