Category: Limited Over

Having taken an enforced week off, I was fully expecting to see England efficiently eliminated from the Champions Trophy with a minimum of fuss. Instead, I find that they have beaten the two strongest teams in their group. I find myself wondering: How did this miraculous turnaround occur?

Many think that England have already lost the plot after their Ashes victory. They are mistaken. Preparations are already underway for the next Ashes series in Australia in 2010/11, and early plans are currently being executed with great success.

John Bracewell, the Gloucestershire coach and one-day guru, has made an interesting point regarding England’s ODI batting woes. He suggests that Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah are playing for their own places rather than the team. Consider this in the light of selection policy, however, and it is the selectors who are at fault for fostering this environment.

Aside from the 3-0 scoreline, there are signs that the England team just aren’t that into this ODI series. First Stuart Broad and now Paul Collingwood and James Anderson are being rested from the team.

For the 3rd consecutive match, Andrew Strauss tells us, England’s batsmen have underperformed. Tell us something we don’t know. Actually, this is the 4th ODI in a row if you count the game against Ireland when England mustered just 203/9 and narrowly won a rain-affected match.

Fifty over cricket is the runt of the cricketing litter. We know what happens to the runt. To start with, it gets the leftovers, but when the rest of the litter’s appetite increases the leftovers suddenly disappear. It hangs on for a while, then it dies.

Watching England and Australia muddle their way through seven ODIs after the Ashes has finished is like going to your favourite restaurant and having the main course before the starter. Nobody wants a bowl of soup when they’ve just finished a plate of steak and chips.