Nicely done lads. England levelled the T20 series in New Zealand this morning with a brilliant performance that must have left the Kiwis feeling shellshocked. When I turned on the TV and saw that we’d set the hosts 242 to win my eyes almost popped out of their head. It was the 11th highest score by a major international side in history. And it was England’s highest score by some distance – beating the 230 we scored against South Africa in Mumbai during the last World T20...
A 5/10 Performance
England lost the third T20 against New Zealand overnight. It was very much a 5/10 performance – by which I mean that a miserable collapse of five wickets for just ten paltry runs cost us the game. Doh! It was a bit like watching the Test team in pyjamas. England were cruising at 139-2 off 14.4 overs and only needed 42 off 32 balls with two established batsmen in Vince and Morgan at the crease. But eighteen deliveries later we were 149-7 with all the recognised batsmen back in the hutch...
World Cup Final Here We Come
I won’t ask you to boot up your phone and laptop cameras, but I wish you could see the beaming smile etched across my face. There’s nothing better than destroying / obliterating / absolutely tanking the Aussies, and to do it in a World Cup semi final is all the sweeter. England were brilliant today and Australia were woeful. It was the complete opposite of the group game at Lord’s. What a difference three weeks makes. Now I’m afraid I’m not qualified to discuss the minutiae of today’s game. As...
Still Alive
What a weekend of cricket. I’ll start by quickly mentioning the Pakistan and Afghanistan contest, which was one of the best ODIs I’ve seen in ages. Although I feel desperately sad for Afghanistan, who really should have won, I tip my hat to Pakistan’s middle and late-order. It was some comeback. The game was so intriguing because in a low scoring affair every run mattered. It was deliciously old-school. Once the rate climbed above a run-a-ball, one sensed Pakistan would be...
One-Trick Ponies Looking Like Donkeys
If the World Cup was a bilateral series – the criterium by which we reached the top of the world rankings – we’d currently be celebrating a 4-3 series win. Everyone would be extolling the vim and virtuosity of our victorious squad, and the management would be basking in the glory of yet another triumph. But this isn’t a bilateral series. Recent defeats in the World Cup’s league format have hurt our prospects badly. I’ve long said that the current England side...
Mathews Sticks It To Us
We should have known better. I should have known better. When Sri Lanka were meandering along at 4 runs per over in the 40th over of their innings, puzzled looks were exchanged, and predictable jokes were made. Nick Hoult of the Telegraph thanked Angelo Mathews for showing him what an ODI in the 1970s would’ve looked like. And yours truly got in on the act by sarcastically claiming that the Tavare / Boycott partnership was working it’s socks off for Sri Lanka (occupation of the...
