It's been a contrasting week for English sport. Whilst the football team was hilariously dumped out of the World Cup, the cricketers actually managed to get the better of a bitter old rival to reflect the progress made in limited overs cricket in the last 12 months. 3 wins out of 3 over the Aussies sealed the series with two games to play. Here are the scores and my opinions on the performances as I saw them (thus there may be a bit of inconsistency in my views as individual form ebbed and flowed):
1st ODI (Rose Bowl) - England 268-6 (46 overs) (Morgan 103* off 85) beat Australia 267-7 (50 overs) (Clarke 87* off 97) by 4 wickets with 24 balls remaining - the 3000th ODI of all time featured one of the finest knocks you are likely to see. Eoin Morgan's 3rd hundred was his first against serious opposition and featured shots in every area of the ground, which incidentally looks ready for its first taste of Test cricket next year after re-development. It was a pretty stiff run chase on a slightly slow track which offered a bit of varied bounce for the seam bowlers, but Morgan made it look easy, well supported by cameos from Kieswetter (38), Luke Wright (34) and Tim Bresnan (27). The difference between Morgan's innings and that of Michael Clarke for the Aussies was the ability to effortlessly accelerate when needed. Clarke has been struggling for form and it showed but this innings was much needed both for the individual and the team. England's bowling was OK, but both Bresnan and Stuart Broad became a bit predictable with the shorter delivery and were quite expensive. Michael Yardy impressed with his economy in the middle overs. Australia were carried by Ryan Harris and never seriously threatened to restrict the run chase. Skipper Ricky Ponting will want to stop getting out to the pull/hook shot.
2nd ODI (Cardiff) - England 243-6 (45.2 overs) (Morgan 52 off 64, Strauss 51 off 56) beat Australia 239-7 (50 overs) (White 86* off 98, Watson 57 off 59, Broad 10-0-44-4) by 4 wickets with 28 balls remaining. This was a much more collective effort from England, spearheaded by birthday boy Stuart Broad. The 24-year old had his 100th ODI wicket gift-wrapped as Tim Paine strangled one down the leg side but he really earned his 3 other wickets with some intelligent use of variations, in contrast to the 1st match. The extra lift to remove Ponting and the excellent bouncer to short leg to remove Clarke showed both a bowler who knows his game inside out and also a captain who had done his homework on the opposition. Strauss really proved that he is still the man for 50-over cricket. He'll be pleased that he got his runs at a fast rate but annoyed he didn't see the game through to its conclusion, as will Morgan and Paul Collingwood (48). Cameron White's innings was so mature and showed how far he has come in the last 18 months or so - to start off by rescuing the innings from 94-4 and seeing off the spinners to end up whacking the ball to all parts to post a competitive score was outstanding and he did not deserve to end up on the losing side. More than can be said for the bowlers, who really missed the injured Harris and conceded far too many extras - Clint McKay the worst culprit. Is James Hopes a quality international cricketer or a man to make up the numbers with bat and ball? They need a bit of X-Factor...
Which arrived in the...
3rd ODI (Old Trafford) - England 214-9 (49.1 overs) (Strauss 87 off 121) beat Australia 212 (46 overs) (Watson 61 off 76, Swann 10-1-37-4) by 1 wicket with 5 balls remaining. It should never have been this close. The way that Dougie Bollinger and Shaun Tait (the 95mph Wild Thing who provided said X-Factor) rallied late on to cause England to slip from 185-3 to 203-9 was impressive and gives the Aussies hope for the future. So where was Tait before this match? Had Nathan Hauritz not got injured, how badly would the Aussies been thrashed here. The yorker that cleaned up Craig Kieswetter first ball underlined the damage he can do. He finished with 10-1-28-3. Bollinger (10-3-20-3) was equally impressive, coming into form after a slow start to the series with his tight lines and late movement in the air and off the pitch. But England didn't half throw their wickets away, Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright in particular. Credit to Tim Bresnan (14*) for finishing off, his first major contribution to this England side. England's spin attack looks really good now. Swann bowls the attacking line outside off, tempting the batsman down the pitch. This strategy did for Ponting, who really needs a score now, as he was well stumped by Kieswetter, who looks more impressive with gloves than bat, contrary to reputation. Yardy continues to provide economy as well as the odd wicket, critically removing Tim Paine here, who was starting to look dangerous for the first time here (44). The Aussie batsman look collectively low on confidence - Watson needs to convert his scores to hundreds and the others need consistency!
By the way, for that knock in the first match, Eoin Morgan is a Victoria Sponge LAD.
So now to the quieter realms of the counties, where I got a taste of live action at sunny Taunton for the first time this year in the T20 Cup. We (Somerset) were playing reigning champions Sussex Sharks, in a replay of last year's final. It looked pretty ominous when Matt Prior (referred to as "England's No.2" throughout by the many Kieswetter fans in the ground) followed up his 117 earlier in the week with 36 off 13, including a huge six that sailed straight over my head at deep square leg, nearly hitting an expensive Audi and the beer tent! But when he fell, the bowling tightened, with Alfie Thomas and Kieron Pollard tightening the screw to bowl them out for 159, never enough on a flat, sunbaked Taunton wicket. We cruised home really, led by Marcus Trescothick's 50 off 33, the first time I've seen him get a big score live. All the other batsmen chipped in. The banter got really good as the cider was consumed, with the chant at the top of this article being cleverly directed at Sharks' leg-spinner Will Beer. He then got clobbered out of the attack. Fair play to Prior who constantly signed autographs in the field while we barracked him. A misfield off a James Hildreth reverse sweep being a highlight. A fun evening and an easy 7 wicket win.
One final point - Pakistan are now in town for series against Australia and England. They started off at Lord's with a T20 against the MCC, featuring many former greats, such as Brian Lara, Sourav Ganguly and Chris Harris. By all accounts, it was quite a good game:
Pakistan 165-5 (20 0vers) (Umar Akmal 51* off 30 3 x 4s 3 x 6s, Shahzaib Hasan 34 off 19 6 x 4s 1 x 6s, Harris 4-0-26-3, Nabi 4-0-18-1) beat MCC 159-5 (20 0vers) (Blizzard 73 off 59 6 x 4s 3 x 6s, Shoaib Akhtar 4-0-19-2) by 6 runs.
They are currently playing Kent in a 3 day game. News to follow next week
RM
1st ODI (Rose Bowl) - England 268-6 (46 overs) (Morgan 103* off 85) beat Australia 267-7 (50 overs) (Clarke 87* off 97) by 4 wickets with 24 balls remaining - the 3000th ODI of all time featured one of the finest knocks you are likely to see. Eoin Morgan's 3rd hundred was his first against serious opposition and featured shots in every area of the ground, which incidentally looks ready for its first taste of Test cricket next year after re-development. It was a pretty stiff run chase on a slightly slow track which offered a bit of varied bounce for the seam bowlers, but Morgan made it look easy, well supported by cameos from Kieswetter (38), Luke Wright (34) and Tim Bresnan (27). The difference between Morgan's innings and that of Michael Clarke for the Aussies was the ability to effortlessly accelerate when needed. Clarke has been struggling for form and it showed but this innings was much needed both for the individual and the team. England's bowling was OK, but both Bresnan and Stuart Broad became a bit predictable with the shorter delivery and were quite expensive. Michael Yardy impressed with his economy in the middle overs. Australia were carried by Ryan Harris and never seriously threatened to restrict the run chase. Skipper Ricky Ponting will want to stop getting out to the pull/hook shot.
2nd ODI (Cardiff) - England 243-6 (45.2 overs) (Morgan 52 off 64, Strauss 51 off 56) beat Australia 239-7 (50 overs) (White 86* off 98, Watson 57 off 59, Broad 10-0-44-4) by 4 wickets with 28 balls remaining. This was a much more collective effort from England, spearheaded by birthday boy Stuart Broad. The 24-year old had his 100th ODI wicket gift-wrapped as Tim Paine strangled one down the leg side but he really earned his 3 other wickets with some intelligent use of variations, in contrast to the 1st match. The extra lift to remove Ponting and the excellent bouncer to short leg to remove Clarke showed both a bowler who knows his game inside out and also a captain who had done his homework on the opposition. Strauss really proved that he is still the man for 50-over cricket. He'll be pleased that he got his runs at a fast rate but annoyed he didn't see the game through to its conclusion, as will Morgan and Paul Collingwood (48). Cameron White's innings was so mature and showed how far he has come in the last 18 months or so - to start off by rescuing the innings from 94-4 and seeing off the spinners to end up whacking the ball to all parts to post a competitive score was outstanding and he did not deserve to end up on the losing side. More than can be said for the bowlers, who really missed the injured Harris and conceded far too many extras - Clint McKay the worst culprit. Is James Hopes a quality international cricketer or a man to make up the numbers with bat and ball? They need a bit of X-Factor...
Which arrived in the...
3rd ODI (Old Trafford) - England 214-9 (49.1 overs) (Strauss 87 off 121) beat Australia 212 (46 overs) (Watson 61 off 76, Swann 10-1-37-4) by 1 wicket with 5 balls remaining. It should never have been this close. The way that Dougie Bollinger and Shaun Tait (the 95mph Wild Thing who provided said X-Factor) rallied late on to cause England to slip from 185-3 to 203-9 was impressive and gives the Aussies hope for the future. So where was Tait before this match? Had Nathan Hauritz not got injured, how badly would the Aussies been thrashed here. The yorker that cleaned up Craig Kieswetter first ball underlined the damage he can do. He finished with 10-1-28-3. Bollinger (10-3-20-3) was equally impressive, coming into form after a slow start to the series with his tight lines and late movement in the air and off the pitch. But England didn't half throw their wickets away, Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright in particular. Credit to Tim Bresnan (14*) for finishing off, his first major contribution to this England side. England's spin attack looks really good now. Swann bowls the attacking line outside off, tempting the batsman down the pitch. This strategy did for Ponting, who really needs a score now, as he was well stumped by Kieswetter, who looks more impressive with gloves than bat, contrary to reputation. Yardy continues to provide economy as well as the odd wicket, critically removing Tim Paine here, who was starting to look dangerous for the first time here (44). The Aussie batsman look collectively low on confidence - Watson needs to convert his scores to hundreds and the others need consistency!
By the way, for that knock in the first match, Eoin Morgan is a Victoria Sponge LAD.
So now to the quieter realms of the counties, where I got a taste of live action at sunny Taunton for the first time this year in the T20 Cup. We (Somerset) were playing reigning champions Sussex Sharks, in a replay of last year's final. It looked pretty ominous when Matt Prior (referred to as "England's No.2" throughout by the many Kieswetter fans in the ground) followed up his 117 earlier in the week with 36 off 13, including a huge six that sailed straight over my head at deep square leg, nearly hitting an expensive Audi and the beer tent! But when he fell, the bowling tightened, with Alfie Thomas and Kieron Pollard tightening the screw to bowl them out for 159, never enough on a flat, sunbaked Taunton wicket. We cruised home really, led by Marcus Trescothick's 50 off 33, the first time I've seen him get a big score live. All the other batsmen chipped in. The banter got really good as the cider was consumed, with the chant at the top of this article being cleverly directed at Sharks' leg-spinner Will Beer. He then got clobbered out of the attack. Fair play to Prior who constantly signed autographs in the field while we barracked him. A misfield off a James Hildreth reverse sweep being a highlight. A fun evening and an easy 7 wicket win.
One final point - Pakistan are now in town for series against Australia and England. They started off at Lord's with a T20 against the MCC, featuring many former greats, such as Brian Lara, Sourav Ganguly and Chris Harris. By all accounts, it was quite a good game:
Pakistan 165-5 (20 0vers) (Umar Akmal 51* off 30 3 x 4s 3 x 6s, Shahzaib Hasan 34 off 19 6 x 4s 1 x 6s, Harris 4-0-26-3, Nabi 4-0-18-1) beat MCC 159-5 (20 0vers) (Blizzard 73 off 59 6 x 4s 3 x 6s, Shoaib Akhtar 4-0-19-2) by 6 runs.
They are currently playing Kent in a 3 day game. News to follow next week
RM
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