Just like picking one’s nose or belching in public, losing to Australia is not a habit we want to get into. However, after another lamentable batting performance today, we’ve now lost four in a row. The only saving grace is that both teams have got so many injuries – thanks mainly to a ridiculous workload that seems more suited to a Siberian concentration camp than a cricket tournament – that the series has become something of a farce.
England don’t want to be there (when asked about the schedule, Andrew Strauss admitted the players are grinning and bearing it) and the Aussies are also worried about their mounting injury list. Can’t we just draw a line under the CB series now, declare the Aussies 3-0 winners, and forget about the whole bloody affair? If neither team wants to play, what’s the point? No wonder both sides are playing so many bad shots. Their minds are obviously elsewhere.
Thus far Bresnan, Swann, Pietersen, Michael Hussey, Tait, Johnson and Hauritz have all been injured during the series – some of these players may not play in the World Cup as a result. What a waste. And let’s not forget that Anderson, Broad and Ponting have also been recuperating at home. Thank heavens the England management made the wise decision to give Jimmy a rest before this tedious and unnecessarily long series began.
The main argument in favour of these games is that they serve as preparation for the World Cup. That’s simply not true. The pitches in the subcontinent are totally different and the games will follow a completely different pattern and tempo.
During the World Cup, batting teams will seize the initiative early in the first powerplay (because there will be very little seam movement) and the run rate will be squeezed by spinners in the middle overs. In the current CB series, surviving the new ball has become a hazardous exercise – just ask Matt Prior – and the wickets have helped the seamers. The conditions in the second ODI in Hobart were about as dissimilar to the subcontinent as it’s possible to get.
It could be argued, I suppose, that the games allow teams to finalise their starting XIs and establish some rhythm and confidence, but again this hasn’t proved to be the case. The injuries are actually disrupting preparations – and many of the star performers thus far, such as Shaun Marsh, weren’t even selected in the World Cup squads.
Therefore, we can see no point whatsoever in continuing the series. Obviously an early curtailment is never going to happen, so maybe we should pray for inclement weather? It would actually be a small mercy if the remaining games were rained off.
An abandoned series would enable our players to go home, introduce themselves to their families – after three months away from home, they’ll probably need to remind their wives and children who they are – and get some bloody rest before the World Cup. It might also be the only way England can avoid a 0-7 whitewash ;-)
James Morgan
I couldn’t care less about the one-day series, and nor do most of the England players. They’re clearly desperate to get home, and the Aussies are fired up and wanting revenge for the Ashes. Seven ODIs is far too long a series anyway – if the ICC are serious about stamping out corruption they could think about limiting these kinds of series to 3 or 5 to minimise the number of dead-rubber games and the players’ temptation to, at least, not try their hardest in every one.
The one-dayers will not be called off because the grounds have mostly been all sold out … plus the TV and radio rights have sold well. True that’s the cart leading the horse (the cricket itself), but that’s modern sport for you.
Come the World Cup both England and Australia will pay the penalty though. Clearly this is the wrong sort of preparation and the injury list grows.
It all seems a bit different now; as I type Australia are 227 for 7 at Adelaide … and heading (touch wood) for defeat. 3-1 in the series. The whole ODI series will be forgetten as soon as it is over, hidden by the huge shadow of the Ashes, but full crowds and decent TV audiences mean people are enjoying it. Not good prep for the World Cup, I agree,
Careful Jeff – never, ever, say England are about to win!