Apologies for the tardiness of the post, meetings etc this morning.
Today is the first of two matches between the sides with the World T20 looming on the horizon. Comments on the game below, and a review of it to come later.
The women’s match is coming to a conclusion at the time of writing. These double headers are a great idea for getting people into the ground, and of course ensuring television coverage.
You’ve got me. TLG was at The Who last night, and is working(ish) today, so it’s Dmitri for your “sort of” match report.
In the end we were well beaten today. Alex Hales can hold his head high. Reece Topley can do so too. The rest… well we’ll be charitable and say some might look at themselves. However, to use an awful phrase, the direction of travel is still pointing the correct way. Setbacks are natural.
There’s a temptation to view ODI cricket as black and white. England’s previous tactics, exemplified in the World Cup, were out of date, out of time and out of ideas. The new approach is attacking, aggressive, more in tune with the requirements of the 50 over game. The meme today is that the latter is good, except when it doesn’t work.My personal view is that this is exceptionally lazy, and easy, punditry. Laud the excitement, scold them for being reckless. It’s called having your cake and eating it. Nasser Hussain, I’m talking about you.
Too many were bemoaning the England team hitting out and getting out, and not “playing the conditions”. Remember when we scored the 400 at Edgbaston last year – it wasn’t from 200 for 1. The punditerati seem to love this attacking stuff, except when it fails. You have to wonder if they are suffering from ADHD or something. I expect it from professional Yorkshiremen (and shiny toy ones too). You need to work out what is most likely to win. There’s commitment to the plan. That’s not a bad thing, as a whole.
The fact is that these games are of their moment. England won the World T20 in 2010, and have not won an international tournament other than that (I mean ICC of course). These bilateral series scarcely have any relevance. We beat New Zealand in a decider last June, and lost to Australia in a decider in September, but we don’t really recall them (you hear anyone mention Bairstow’s Houdini act in the NZ game?). This is the journey to massive event, and there will be bumps along the way. The only way to win games consistently playing this way is to continue to play this way. I know some will rue the lack of brains (I did) and it’s a fair comment, but this team approaches a game aiming for 300 minimum. I’d rather see them fail in trying than just whimper up to a score.
Well done to Alex Hales for his sensible, well-made hundred. Sure, his partners let him down, but it’s still good to see the tyro opener knuckle down and make a century. This will do him the world of good. He’s had a fine series. Reece Topley’s opening spell opened up the match, but class and experience in AB and Hashim steadied the ship and then took the game by the scruff of the neck. While this is a young England team, it’s also a quite young South African bowling attack, and the differencce in ODI caps, as Simon pointed out earlier, isn’t vast. But experience is married with maturity in the senior pros in the home team, and this was clever, sensible batting chasing a mediocre total.
Lots will be made that we lost a series from 2-0 up. Shrug your shoulders. So what? The next two international tournaments at 50 over level are being played on our fair shores. Let’s get to be the best in those conditions. These overseas jaunts sell tickets for home grounds, get people watching on TV, and can provide some stunning entertainment. But they mean little. We all know that. We know now what we knew before, but with more evidence.
Hales – more solid presence at the top of the order, and now nailed on for his spot after top scoring this series.
Roy – Still more miss than hit. Might find himself under pressure.
Root – World class, the anchor man who scores at a decent lick. Two centuries in losing causes. First batting name on sheet.
Morgan – Disappointing with the bat. Disappointed with him for that interview. Sure it’s a coincidence the series went downhill after that.
Buttler – One magnificent hundred, one impressive closure, then failed. He’s this team in a nutshell. When he’s good, we’re very very good.
Stokes – Absolutely infuriating at this form of the game. Some good contributions but we know there is more.
Ali – Frustrating series. I await the siren calls to get him to open if Roy doesn’t make some strides.
Rashid – You know, I like him. Bowled well when I saw him. He’s not going to be lights out.
Broad – Not really made a compelling case to play in this squad, rather than just save him for tests.
Woakes – The dullest enigma going. Some like him, some don’t. Good squad man.
Willey – Absolutely not convinced he’s international class.
Topley – Made some strides. I’m not convinced he’s the solution, but I’m also sure he’s not the problem.
Jordan – Doesn’t appear to have progressed. Got to be under pressure.
Be interested to hear your thoughts.
AB was majestic after a relatively quiet South African summer. He took his time to get in, and had the luxury of knowing a target in doing so, and timed it to perfection. It was a wonderful captain’s innings. It clinched a series that looked lost. He reminded us of his ability. Appreciate it while it is here.
At 8am tomorrow morning (just, as I start writing this at 11:50) the decider will commence at the iconic Newlands ground. South Africa have clawed it back to 2-2, with a skin of their teeth win I’ve not seen a jot of. I have the highlights on my Tivo so I’ll get around to it. But it’s not exactly a priority at the moment.
You can share your comments below, as always. I’m not sure when I’ll surface from my pit, but it won’t be 8am, that’s a certainty.
I did describe myself to someone, after a particularly superb flounce on Thursday, as a world-class sulker. Difference between me and many others is I’ll admit I can be a right old stroppy sod. But this series is doing nothing for me. It changed tack a little more when the media strategy, about as transparent as the cleanest of windows, to build up to the World T20 announcement, and then throw Cook out to do his “aww shucks, down on the farm” routine, and I’m honest in that. Me and English cricket are currently in a phase of conscious uncoupling.
So while we look at the loss of Waitrose (worth reading George Dobell’s tweets on this) and the rearrangement of the deckchairs on SS Cricketer Magazine – and Evans-Tipping entrepreneured brilliantly – there’s a series to be decided. The essence is in the lack that this really matters. Do we care who won the deciders in our ODI series in the summer? Not really. We enjoyed it when we beat New Zealand, shrugged when we collapsed in a heap against the Aussies. It’s the overall, and I hate this phrase, “direction of travel” that matters. The Champions Trophy in 2017 is the target.
So enjoy this piece of cricketing fluff if you like – yeah, I know what I said before, but let’s face it, I have to face reality – and get involved emotionally if it’s your thing. I’ll be around mid-morning if you need me.
Meanwhile Adam Voges becomes the third man to make 239, while dropping his average below 100. Andy Ganteaume stands alone, still.
Happy Days!
Just occasionally you get an ODI that’s genuinely gripping. They tend to be usually forgettable and in truth although this was a good example of the format, it still won’t be one that is recalled in a decade. It’s just the disposable nature of 50 over cricket.
Even so. This one see-sawed almost like a Test match, with England getting themselves into terrible trouble at 108-6 with only Hales and Root at that point making any impression on the game. Rabada had ripped through the England top order, not for the first time, and an early finish seemed on the cards.
Root got England up to a half reasonable total, aided by Woakes (who had a good game all round) and Rashid. Root’s century was in the circumstances an outstanding one, quite possibly the best he’s made in short form cricket. But even a total of 262 looked woefully inadequate, especially when the build up had been full of suggestions that 400 was a competitive score.
It didn’t quite turn out that way, as while the South African batsmen all made contributions, England kept chipping away. Broad took out Amla at the top of the order, while Duminy decided that if England couldn’t get De Villiers out then he could, running him out in spectacular style thanks to an athletic pick up and throw from Woakes. 143-5 and 210-8 left England hot favourites but a combination of an astounding innings from Chris Morris and some fairly poor bowling and fielding under pressure turned that around.
Rashid’s removal of Morris with the scores level made it interesting but he’d already won the game for his team, and Imran Tahir applied the coup de grace.
So it’s 2-2 going to Cape Town and all to play for. England will be scratching their heads about losing this one. From absolutely nowhere they got in position to take the series, and then it was taken away from them. That can happen, and they did at least give themselves the chance of a win by continuing to attack even from the wreckage of their innings at the mid point of the first dig. Equally, South Africa will feel that they both nearly threw it away, and also stole a game they had no right to win. How very odd all round.
In other news today, the ECB rather carelessly lost Waitrose as the team sponsor. According to the Mail, the supermarket both felt undervalued and ignored by the ECB, and we’re also unwilling to double the value of it as the ECB wanted. To add to that, they were apparently unimpressed that the ECB were trying to find new partners even before they’d decided not to renew. It is good to know that the ECB treat their sponsors with the same degree of contempt they do everyone else, and perhaps Waitrose too can now consider themselves Outside Cricket with everyone else.
No more Team Waitrose. I’m not sure who will be most relieved.
One other small item that came out of the Mail report was to say that the ECB lost a potentially “lucrative” sponsorship with Johnson’s Paint because of minimal TV coverage of the county game. Whether that means the small number of county matches currently on Sky, or the lack of a wider audience on a more open TV channel is open to question, but it seems both surprising and inept if it’s the former, as persuading Sky to cover additional county matches should have been well within their range of abilities.
After this week, if you can give a flying one about this match then good on you.
Because I don’t. Not today. I will be at one of my best mate’s leaving do and will not be watching a single ball of this. The game will not merit a mention at the do. I will check in to see how this is rumbling on, but even then, I’m not sure that I’ll have anything to say.
However, TLG advises me that he’ll be watching, so he’ll help you through the day. I’ve a lot spinning around in my head to write but I need to think a bit more.
But please, please, please. Don’t let me stop you. Comment away.
“This is not what you wanted. Nor what you had in mind” Moderat.
Something a little odd happened yesterday. England announced their World T20 squad, and to the surprise of no-one Kevin Pietersen was left out. One or two journalists outside of Fleet Street – Andrew Miller at Cricinfo – did point out that on merit he should have been picked but of course it was always known this wasn’t about cricketing merit. We’ve been here for some time of course, and while the ECB could have been clever and used this one short tournament to largely defuse the ongoing disconnect between themselves and large numbers of Outside Cricket people (amateur players, supporters that kind of thing – the worthless types who merely pay all their wages) they chose not to, and pretended it wasn’t happening. Now that in itself wasn’t the odd thing, unless talking about the oddness and duplicity of the ECB itself. No, the odd thing was that on the very day of the announcement, Alastair Cook suddenly was made available for interview at a Chance to Shine launch event, to numerous media sources.
Now clearly this is a fortuitous coincidence, what else could it be? Having been silent since returning from South Africa (perfectly reasonably so) and without any cricket until the start of the domestic season, his schedule and that of the ECB clearly would have been rather busy, but obviously this one day was the notable gap in his busy diary, not a day earlier and not a day later. As Goldilocks would have said, yesterday was “just right”.
Some cynics, who may also be such things as bilious inadequates, and are quite probably also impertinent, have wondered about this timing. One or two may have idly wondered if it was even deliberate, perhaps a specific arrangement to provide the press with ample copy gifted by the chosen one, there to fill numerous column inches and ensure that no one went off message and asked difficult questions. Such dreadful scepticism should never form the basis of dealings with the ECB, who have after all shown themselves to be honest, upright types, not given to deceit, deception or subterfuge in any way, and certainly not the kind of body to brief against players or grotesquely insult the entire non-professional playing and watching base of England and Wales and then refuse to even acknowledge they might have annoyed anyone.
On that basis, one could hardly expect the written press to then acknowledge the timing, or to ever openly state that they were being played and draw attention to that, for that would mean that said interview might not transpire. Equally, given the announcement of the squad for the World T20, it would of course be rather unusual to ask the England Test captain for his view on the exclusion of players who the great unwashed might be talking about. For since they are nothing other than resources to be exploited, anything they might want to know is of no relevance whatsoever. Now, doubtless when granted an audience with our noble lord, there would have been restrictions on the questions, so to pick an entirely random example from the air, it’s distinctly possible that the various ECB media teams may have expressed a preference for the Great Satan Pietersen’s name not to be mentioned. And of course when faced with such a plaintive request, our brave souls with their pens could have no recourse except to obey – for how else would they gain the insights into the Glorious Leader’s thoughts and musings?
Now the press of course would rarely ever debase themselves by abiding by restrictions imposed by a sporting body in order to gain access to anyone, for such behaviour would be contrary to fearless and free journalism, and prevent interviews actually shining a light on what people might like to know rather than what those in authority want the message to be, so perhaps it is merely that there is no interest in the matter instead. Perhaps no one cares or wants to know, which is why there are never any articles about Kevin Pietersen published, and nor are there any hits, let alone hundred of comments made.
In a pig’s eye.
Let’s be clear here, either the press supinely obeyed restrictions which is pathetic, or those involved didn’t think it worth asking the question, which is unprofessional. It isn’t entirely black and white, for some who have been openly critical of many of the ECB’s actions over time bought into this, and presumably considered it worth the price in this instance in order to get the story. There is a professional decision to be made, and in each individual case it could be justified. But when it is both so blatant and when it applies across every single person carrying the story, it moves beyond that. When it is so obviously the ECB’s intention to stage manage the agenda and avoid scrutiny, then there really isn’t an excuse for it. In some instances it’s entirely to be expected, in others, it’s frankly disappointing.
Perhaps less surprising, given the context, is that little of what Cook did say was given close examination, being allowed to speak for itself. For example, he highlighted the problem of burn out for those players who play multiple formats for England, and he is right to as well, given how the ECB milk their players for as much revenue cricket as possible. 2016 has a ludicrous schedule with 16 Tests, 18 ODIs and 4 T20s – plus the World T20 itself. So when he says
“Those two [Root and Stokes], plus Moeen, are dead certs in all three squads. And there’s going to have to be times to take those guys out of international cricket. When it becomes a chore, you need to protect them.”
he is quite right. Yet those with longer memories may recall the occasional previous player bemoaning the workload of playing in all formats, particularly when playing through injury, only to be told to “man up” and stop complaining. Indeed, when attempting to reduce that workload, the response was to deem it a retirement from two forms of the game. So Cook is quite right, but all it does is highlight the hypocrisy of the ECB, not for the first time.
With England engaged in a one day series in South Africa, Cook had observations about how England had played the game:
“The game of one-day cricket has changed over the last two years. We were slow to catch on to that. We were one year behind the revolution. The guys who have gone in now and taken it forward are brilliant to watch and exciting to watch.”
This is also true, and he’s entirely correct that they are exciting to watch as well. Given how England approached the World Cup last year, and Cook’s own part in that approach, it remains intriguing how this can have failed to merit a follow up question in some quarters. For this is the “problem” with Cook all too often, what he says is very often entirely fair comment, but the lack of context and reminders about where it came from simply make those statements, left alone as they are, quite ludicrous. Cook is no fool, he knows exactly that he was part of the problem, for when asked about the same thing in the Daily Mail he said
“As captain, I was fully responsible for that. It’s hard to take, but we were one year behind the revolution.”
Cook’s response to his sacking as ODI captain is well known, but the acute personal disappointment was always going to colour his response. So that realisation does him credit, though with the proviso that not all player are afforded the privilege of being forgiven for speaking out of turn. But certainly the Guardian was feeling especially warm and friendly for it went on
Cook scored 766 runs in seven innings in Australia in 2010‑11 – “probably the best I’ll ever bat” – and is now targeting the next Ashes series there, in 2017-18, possibly as his swansong.
which is an example of telling the truth, but entirely avoiding the wider truth. For Cook batted like God in that series, but has a dire record in the other Ashes series he has played – so why bring up that one that is five years ago now? How does that have greater relevance than the South Africa series where he again struggled? Articles that cosy up to him do him a huge disservice, for they merely give the impression of an adoring journalist sat at his feet listening to him tell sad stories of the death of friends instead of a player who might actually have something of value to say. Readers can spot adoring flattery a mile off. In the same article Cook talked about the change in approach from England
“We got to No1 in the world by being really methodical, very insular, and we ground [the] opposition down. We played to our strengths hugely. We became a very efficient side who didn’t have many bad days,”
which is as good a summary of that England side as I’ve seen. It’s insightful, honest and accurate.
Likewise when talking to Lawrence Booth in the Mail, his observation that
“I thought I was going to step down as captain after the Ashes, whether we won or lost, but the way this side had gone, it didn’t feel like the right time. What’s motivating me at the moment is not just the runs, but pushing the side forward.”
has the ring of truth to it, and as far as the Test team goes, it’s probably what most others expected at the time too. But Cook actually captained that side fairly well, having been utterly woeful as skipper up to that point. Carrying on was probably as beneficial to the team as it is to a player who has finally grown into the role somewhat. Having done so, it reached the point that he had actually genuinely become the captain. Cook was quick to praise Bayliss and Farbrace, and they do deserve credit for ensuring that Cook actually captains the side, rather than being a cipher for a coach itching to get into the action. It is entirely possible that Cook could have flowered as captain far earlier than he did.
Cook does also suffer because of entrenched views about him, so even saying
“In T20, there is always an element of luck. The best side wins it but, because it is such a short tournament and a short form of the game, it only takes a team to get on a roll, get a bit of confidence, and they’ll win it.”
can receive criticism for being viewed as a slight on the 2010 winning side, yet in the shortest form of the game luck does play a part. That side could have gone out in the group stages had the weather been only slightly more unkind. Cook is quite right.
He also suffers from the hypocrisy of those within the ECB structure. Paul Downton, who Cook would hardly consider to have been entirely straight with him either, identified Kevin Pietersen’s desire to reach 10,000 runs as being emblematic of selfishness, yet Cook can be asked about the possibility of playing 200 Tests and say
“I’d love to do it”
Of course he would. So would anyone in his position, and it would be a fine achievement too. It is grossly unfair to criticise Cook for this as personal ambitions are entirely part of the game and are not just acceptable, but crucial for self-motivation. Those who bang on about it being a team sport always miss the point; a batsman does not raise his blade on reaching a hundred because he’s really, really pleased for the team, nor does a bowler celebrate a five for by thinking instantly about the match position. Thus it was equally unfair to use it as a stick to beat Pietersen with. It is the double standards of response to the words depending on who says it.
Cook himself may wonder why he gets such a derisive response from so many quarters, having spoken and said many perfectly reasonable things. The problem is those behind him and above him, and their positioning of him as the standard bearer for all they believe. He bears some responsibility for allowing himself to be part of that, but he is not the main problem, he is simply being used to advance a specific agenda and image. He is a fine opening batsman, not as great as his cheerleaders would claim him to be (in the same way that Pietersen wasn’t as great as some of his main cheerleaders would claim him to be – not that it is relevant in itself to what happened), but a very fine batsman still. He took his time about it, but he has developed into a perfectly competent Test captain too. The problem for him is that he is also the visible face of a regime that regards all others with complete contempt. And that the press have allowed this to unfold and continue to uphold it.
As long as this state of affairs continues, the response will be the same. Not from all, but from enough to worsen the reputation of all involved.
All.
I have reason to believe that there is someone trying to bring the site down. It’s not paranoia, but we’ve got two very ominous click sources in the past 24 hours. If this site is to go down, we will revert to the old one.
Hopefully a false alarm. But I’m not so sure.
We’ll keep you informed.
UPDATE – No more attempts and speaking to an IT guy at work the threat is small. But if there is anything odd (and I don’t mean commenters) let me know.
I love my Ipod. It’s one of them 160GB classic Ipods. I bought it just before Apple, in their infinite wisdom thought that they were obsolete and decided it was all about those silly “minis” or “Iphones” or whatever. But I love walking out of my house every day, on the way to work, having the shuffle on for the 23k tracks there are on there and wondering “what will today throw up”? I mean, it’s not all great. ITunes is the spawn of satan, but you can’t have everything.
Anyway, I was walking into work and the news had broken a little before of the team for the World T20. I was checking the phone when the Carly Simon song with that well known Nile Rodgers riff came on. It’s as if the Ipod had the same thoughts as me. Why?
As I said on Twitter this morning, I am not a three year old. I knew he wasn’t going to be picked. If the people out there are dense enough to think that then they aren’t worthy of reading a single piece on here. But I still thought. Why?
After a work function in Park Lane, I rambled down Oxford Street, passing Grosvenor Square, looking at the building, thinking about the future. I was there to purchase my wife’s Valentine’s present (hope she likes it) and then wend my way home. On the bus I caught up with some of the correspondence on line, read some of the tweets, and felt like shit, to be honest.
Got to the station, and boarded it. Still head full of “what should I write”. I Whatsapped Chris and told him I probably wouldn’t be on tonight, and I probably shouldn’t be. Then, near the end of my train journey came on one of my favourite pieces of music of recent times.
It’s “And I Will Kiss” by Underworld. Or as it is better known worldwide as that music from the Pandemonium portion of the Olympic Opening Ceremony. And it takes me back. I’m an emotional sort, and that piece of music still brings a little tear to my eye. It is immense. It has everything in it. It was played when our country was being portrayed to the world. And it made me immensely proud to be British. It filled my heart and soul with a joy I can’t express. I wished my mum and dad were here to see the ceremony and hear the music. My brother, no lover of that thing, texted me to say it was amazing. He doesn’t say things like that. No matter what anyone else out there thought, my family loved it.
It lasts 19 minutes, and I’m listening to this music and just getting overwhelmed by it as I always do. Yes, a little alcohol might have assisted, but it generally doesn’t matter. And I go back to when it was released. A week before textgate and all that nonsense. While we were getting humped by South Africa and the scapegoating was in full effect. I thought of Andrew Strauss getting upset that KP was fraternising with key South African players, and then thinking “what do you think Ian Botham would have said to Strauss if he moaned about him being too close to Viv and Joel?”. But that’s by the by. It’s all moot now.
And the thing is that the swelling of pride in my country, the love of the music, the joy of the sport, ended. Two weeks of Mo, Vicky, Chris, Greg, Jess, Brad, Laura et al, and watching, in person, the GB women’s basketball team run the eventual silver medallists, France, so damn close, and then it was gone. Sure, it’ll all be repeated in Rio later this year, but it won’t all be here again. While that was going on, England’s cricket team went off the effing rails. The contrast was stark.
And I Will Kiss will remind me, did remind me of that. How, on the one hand, the country rallied behind the participants, not knowing personalities, not showing suspicions, but enjoying sport, while our precious cricket lot got into a spat and started leaking like a sieve. Like it always did.
And that brings me to the present. I really don’t like the ECB. They run the game like a fucking old boys club. There’s snobbery. There’s cowardice. Overall, there’s arrogance. They know that out there there are many, many cricket fans who would love to see the dust settle between the ECB and KP. There are a lot that don’t, but their needs have been more than catered for in the last two or so years. The dust isn’t settled by saying “sorry old chap, sorry you’ve cancelled a £200k contract on a wild goose chase, and made us look like muppets, but hey, how about a little part time job as a matter of goodwill?” but by being honest. Telling us what the trust issues are, not “I don’t want to get into that” which has been far too easy on them. But again, that’s for another day.
They know there are many KP fans out there. Their attitude towards them this week has been downright insulting. Eoin Morgan’s “that’s from me” without so much as an explanation was bad enough. Anyone who thinks I overdid it on the Outside Cricket Day yesterday, that’s why. It’s contemptuous. Then for Bayliss to say “his name never even came up” put the tin hat on it. So that’s that then. And you want me to put money in your coffers to watch you lot? I doubt that this even entered their mind. I find people with these sort of attitudes just don’t think like that. What can I say….
I’m not asking for him to be selected. I’m asking for some bloody openness and transparency. I’m asking for a cricket reporter, if there are still any out there, to do their damn job and get answers to the questions. TLG earlier made the eloquent point that this is about not selecting on merit. We’ve done that to death. This is about owing something to the supporters who wanted him back. Who want selection on merit. Who want to know what it was he did that was so wrong that he’s been blackballed and airbrushed from history. And no, it is not the book. That was not what got him sacked.
And so, when And I Will Kiss ended, this Ipod read my mind. As I walked down the hill to my house, there came on this…
Such a shame to believe in escape
‘A life on every face’, but that’s a change
Until I’m finally left with an ‘8’
Tell me to relax, I just stare
Maybe I don’t know if I should change
A feeling that we share, it’s a shame(Such a shame)
Number me with rage, it’s a shame
(Such a shame)
Number me in haste
(Such a shame)
This eagerness to change
It’s a shameThe dice decide my fate, that’s a shame
In these trembling hands my faith
Tells me to react, I don’t care
Maybe it’s unkind if I should change
A feeling that we share, it’s a shame
Read more: Talk Talk – Such A Shame Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Good night all.
England announced their squad for March’s World T20, making a late bid to match their previous and astounding heights of omnishambles over the last few years. The selection of Liam Dawson, apparently on the back of a good Lions tour, is certainly eyebrow raising. Trevor Bayliss’ swiftly made it clear one way or the other than if it all goes horribly wrong it ain’t down to him guv, by openly stating he hadn’t seen him play and that he was trusting the selectors. The tone is so often the giveaway, and saying he was a good fielder “apparently” spoke volumes. Of course, it’s not remotely Dawson’s fault, and he will be rightly thrilled and excited at his call up. That James Whitaker stated it was on the back of the Lions tour may have been because it’s rather hard to state it was due to last year’s T20 blast when he failed to take a wicket. Stephen Parry can count himself unfortunate.
Dawson may well go on to be a success, and there is nothing at all wrong with selections based on a hunch that the player will go well, but there is the suspicion that he will be little more than drinks carrier on this trip.
Broad too has been omitted, which rather makes his call up to the ODI series in South Africa somewhat peculiar, as he could have been given the time off to recover if he wasn’t going to be in the squad. As it stands, and given he isn’t playing in that series so far, it seems pointless to make England’s key Test bowler hang around.
The selectors have managed to thoroughly pretend the various T20 competitions going on around the world don’t exist by ignoring Luke Wright. England play too few T20 matches for there to be a pattern of international success to draw upon, and Wright is unquestionably a specialist in this form of the game.
And then there’s Kevin Pietersen. His non-selection is a surprise to no-one, but the idea that England have six better T20 batsmen to draw upon is laughable. It is thus a team selection for reasons other than cricketing ones. Some will approve of that, many will not. No one will be shocked, but the ECB once again are making it clear that teams are not decided on what players can do on the field. They could have made the argument that they felt others would be more effective, which would be open to question, but a cricketing decision. Instead they said that he wasn’t even discussed, and thus confirming the point that cricketing matters were not the focus. As ever, the point is not about one player’s presence or otherwise, but what that means for all others going forward – if they don’t like you, then no matter how many runs or wickets you might take, you will not get in the side.
Some have suggested that England are amongst the favourites for the tournament, but the bowling looks somewhat thin for India conditions. Even so, in competition cricket, they may well find a way, for not too many would have pointed to Ryan Sidebottom being so outstanding in the one global tournament England have ever won. Steven Finn is in the squad despite his injury, and he is the one member of that attack shorn of Stuart Broad who looks a wicket-taker, his fitness is critical to England’s chances.
The fundamental objection to the ECB remains that they would prefer not to give themselves the best chance of winning something, in favour of internal politics.
As a statement of policy, it takes some beating.
Thought I’d stick up some more of my snaps to finish the day. There’s no match report today as both TLG and I saw none of the game….
You have to love the game. You really do.
Being Outside Cricket 