The title should be explained. We have a 50-over World Cup coming up next month. A 7-week monstrosity, including a month of group stage from which 8 out of the original 14 will qualify. Realistically, there are 9 teams competing for those 8 places. Which basically equates to a month of pointless ODI cricket. And what is currently going on in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, to help 6 of the guaranteed quarter-finalists prepare? A month of pointless ODI cricket. I'll admit it, it's ground me down. Well done, to the ICC and the Future Tours Programme. You have beaten me. But I am determined to finish this Home and Away series and I'm also determined to staunchly ignore the World Cup group stages. So I thought I'd take the opportunity to see how all 6 of these sides are shaping up, rather than giving my usual blow-by-blow analysis of each of the 350 matches between England and Australia between now and February. Here are the results of the first 4 anyway:
1st ODI (Melbourne) - Australia 297-4 (49.1 overs) (Watson 161* off 150) beat England 294 (49.4 overs) (Pietersen 78 off 75, Strauss 63 off 65) by 6 wickets with 5 balls remaining
2nd ODI (Hobart) - Australia 230 (48.2 overs) (Marsh 110 off 114) beat England 184 (43 overs) (Bollinger 9-0-28-4) by 46 runs
3rd ODI (Sydney) - Australia 215-6 (46 overs) (D Hussey 68* off 89, Haddin 54 off 59) beat England 214 (48 overs) (Trott 84* off 119) by 4 wickets with 24 balls remaining
4th ODI (Adelaide) - England 299-8 (50 overs) (Trott 102 off 128, Prior 67 off 58, D Hussey 4-0-21-4) beat Australia 278-7 (50 overs) (Watson 64 off 72) by 21 runs
So on the face of it, you would have to say that Australia are shaping up better than England for the World Cup. Whilst they have certainly played the better cricket in the series so far, I would still say England are better placed to make an impact on the subcontinent, due to the particular balance of their side. Looking at Australia's scores as well, you can see they have been indebted to some supreme individual performances to get runs on the board - Shane Watson's innings in the first game was so perfectly paced and destructive when it needed to be - one of the finest one-day knocks I've ever seen. Shaun Marsh, heroic centurion in game 2, is not actually in the squad. I have championed Marsh for a long time and he really has been unlucky with injuries which have stifled any momentum that he has gathered, but he will take Mike Hussey's place in the side should he fail to recover from a hamstring strain. Steve Smith has been far more effective here than in the tests with bat and ball - making useful lower order runs quickly and finding a knack for wicket taking in the short spells that stand-in skipper Michael Clarke has afforded him. If and when they fire as a team, they will go far. Sadly, with Nathan Hauritz injured in game 2, they have no frontline spinner with which to tie the scoring down in the middle overs, which is going to be crucial on the subcontinent. Smith and fellow part-timer David Hussey will carry the load, although Xavier Doherty astounded everyone in game 3 when he bowled a clearly bemused Paul Collingwood with a turning delivery!
England can make excuses - they were denied by Watson's genius in Melbourne and since then have never had their first choice bowling attack to hand (incidentally Chris Tremlett, their best bowler in this series, is not in the World Cup 15), with injuries to Broad, Swann and Bresnan, coupled with the unavailability of Jimmy Anderson in games 1-3. But this England team does not make excuses. They will see the lack of depth in the bowling as a concern, but less though than the batting issues. Matt Prior was given the gloves over Steve Davies for the World Cup and responded with two limp ducks at the top of the innings before responding in game 4, following the lead of Aussie counterpart Brad Haddin in hitting over the cover region for early boundaries. He needs to finally prove he has the consistency in this form, although his glovework remains fairly solid. Andrew Strauss and Eoin Morgan have both looked good but found ways of getting themselves out at crucial times. Michael Yardy has not been as effective as he was during the summer, going for runs with the ball and not scoring heavily in the lower-middle order. However, Jonathan Trott has been the Number 3 that England have needed for so long in all forms of the game - playing with solidity, allowing the more flamboyant players to make the shots and keep the scoreboard ticking over at a healthy rate. If the other batsmen can calm themselves down, don't rule England out for the rest of the series and indeed from the World Cup!
Turning to other shores now, with South Africa vs India, a series won 3-2 by South Africa. Concerns remain about the length of the tail in the home camp, although the return from injury of Jacques Kallis should allow them to drop one bowler and strengthen the batting - Johan Botha is a spot too high at 7 just now. Their bowling attack certainly has the potency to be effective all around the world, but they need to rid themselves of the "chokers" tag and the form of Graeme Smith, one 50 in a losing cause apart, remains a concern. India were not at their best, although Virat Kohli looks to be their man to play the Trott role, carrying the batting on many occasions throughout the series, although they will be bolstered by the return of Sehwag, Gambhir and Tendulkar for the tournament which they are co-hosting. Add in the phenomenal power batting of Yusuf Pathan down the order (he does a job with the ball as well) and the fervent home support, and you must start them as favourites, despite the setbacks in this series.
And finally, the two enigmatic sides who could cause an upset in the tournament - New Zealand and Pakistan. Both are woeful test sides right now. But their strengths have always lay in the shorter form of the game. The series is currently 1-1 with 3 to play, Pakistan having handed out a lesson in late innings slogging (Shahid Afridi 65 off 25!) in Christchurch this morning. All they would need to do is survive the banana skins of the group stages (can anyone really see Kenya qualifying? And Canada? To quote the Alternative Rugby Commentary "What the fuck are they doing there?"). After that, they need to win 3 games in a row to win the tournament. Both sides are capable of beating anyone on their day. Pakistan have the better bowlers, skipper Afridi gets through the middle orders quickly and Umar Gul is devastating at the death, whereas New Zealand, with McCullum, Guptill, Taylor and Oram probably edge the batting in terms of consistency (although Abdul Razzaq and Afridi can win games on their own with the bat for Pakistan - just not very often!). How they both get on is anyone's guess.
I am aware that Sri Lanka and West Indies are starting an ODI series on Monday, having had it postponed in the summer after it was brilliantly scheduled for monsoon season. The truth is, I can't be arsed to cover it. It's just too much. I really seriously will not be covering the group stages of the World Cup at the very least. Unless something like Bob Woolmer dying happens again.
I'll finish off the England tour next week
RM
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