I'm going to come out and admit that I have a soft spot for the SA team. So despite enjoying England's performances so far and wanting them to win the series, a little part of me is sulking due to SA general ineptness in the one day series so far.
Their performances for the past 18 months have made them on of the better teams to watch - attacking batsmen and bowlers, a captain prepared to take some risks and some exceptional fielders (AB de Villiers being the main example). This series should have been thrilling to watch with Smith and Gibbs against Harmison and Anderson being one of the prime highlights.
I realise that the Test series was the main aim for the Saffers (and thank heavens for that - proof that Test cricket is not going to crumble and fade under the crazy volumes of Twenty20 being played), but surely it can't be that hard to motivate yourselves to perform for a series that would have given them the chance to become the number one team in the world. They have been unlucky with injuries - both Morkels, Steyn coming back from a broken thumb and now the loss of Smith with tennis elbow. The squad appears to have enough batting depth with the return of Gibbs and introduction of Duminy into the starting 11 but lacks world-class backup bowlers.
Unless they pull themselves together today at the Oval this series will be lost. As England are currently 126-1 after 20 overs, losing the series appears to be the most likely outcome. The winter series against Australia was supposed to be the battle between the best two teams in the world - based on their performaces here SA have a lot of work to do to make that series competitive. They'll need a fully fit team and the mental strength to get over what has been a sequence of shocking performances.
ETA: SA are fighting back and have England 159-4 after 28 overs. By 6pm tonight this post may be mostly irrelevant.
Showing posts with label ODIs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ODIs. Show all posts
Friday, 29 August 2008
Monday, 25 August 2008
Quick Rant
Woke up this morning expecting to watch Eng vs SA on Bank Holiday Monday only to find out the game is actually tomorrow. Four of the games in this 5 match series are on weekdays - have the ECB forgotten that people have to go to work?
On top of making it difficult for people to actually get to the game they have also started charging outlandish and downright ridiculous prices for tickets. A family of 4 would need to pay £200 on average to go to a game together, which in this credit-crunch world is insane. Add in the fact that cricket in the UK is not shown on terrestial TV anymore and the chances of kids getting into the game are becoming smaller and smaller. They have to settle for a 45min highlights package on 5, which while shiny and action packed is too short for people to get a proper feel for the game. The point of the Sky TV deal and all the "Team England" sponsorship (Hugo Boss anyone?) was to bring more money into the game for the counties and grassroots - surely some could be used to subsidise ticket prices.
On top of making it difficult for people to actually get to the game they have also started charging outlandish and downright ridiculous prices for tickets. A family of 4 would need to pay £200 on average to go to a game together, which in this credit-crunch world is insane. Add in the fact that cricket in the UK is not shown on terrestial TV anymore and the chances of kids getting into the game are becoming smaller and smaller. They have to settle for a 45min highlights package on 5, which while shiny and action packed is too short for people to get a proper feel for the game. The point of the Sky TV deal and all the "Team England" sponsorship (Hugo Boss anyone?) was to bring more money into the game for the counties and grassroots - surely some could be used to subsidise ticket prices.
Friday, 22 August 2008
England's one day adventures
Having spent 21 years of my life watching cricket I thought it was about time I did something else. So now I'm writing about it.
England's performance tonight was good on the surface but despite the win the underlying faults remain. Ian Bell continues to frustrate - someone of his talent simply should be getting more runs while Matt Prior continues to find novel ways of getting himself out. The reliance on KP and Flintoff to accelerate in the later stages of the game works well in England but else where such as the subcontinent or games played during the day without floodlights they will need a more attacking start. Having said all that I think England need to stick with Bell and Prior for at least a few series in a row. They need to work out how to bat at the top of the order and how to bat together, which takes time. They managed to provide a reasonable start tonight even when looking scrappy at points.
The bowlers seemed to work well as a unit with Harmison's return taking some of the pressure off Flintoff. Broad remains a problem with the ball - he'll only learn by playing but has appeared ineffective all summer despite the obvious advantages of his height and reasonable pace. KP's bowling changes were astute throughout the game and this team is most definitely taking on his character. The rest of the series will be interesting as SA will have expected to win this series and should perform better in the next game. England will be full of confidence and the rest of the series should be tight.
England's performance tonight was good on the surface but despite the win the underlying faults remain. Ian Bell continues to frustrate - someone of his talent simply should be getting more runs while Matt Prior continues to find novel ways of getting himself out. The reliance on KP and Flintoff to accelerate in the later stages of the game works well in England but else where such as the subcontinent or games played during the day without floodlights they will need a more attacking start. Having said all that I think England need to stick with Bell and Prior for at least a few series in a row. They need to work out how to bat at the top of the order and how to bat together, which takes time. They managed to provide a reasonable start tonight even when looking scrappy at points.
The bowlers seemed to work well as a unit with Harmison's return taking some of the pressure off Flintoff. Broad remains a problem with the ball - he'll only learn by playing but has appeared ineffective all summer despite the obvious advantages of his height and reasonable pace. KP's bowling changes were astute throughout the game and this team is most definitely taking on his character. The rest of the series will be interesting as SA will have expected to win this series and should perform better in the next game. England will be full of confidence and the rest of the series should be tight.
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