The World Cup has begun…

So, the World Cup has begun. On Thursday we were treated to a parade of rickshaws, each of which contained one of the Captains from the fourteen (yes, that’s fourteen) teams competing in this years tournament. A six week One Day marathon, the ICC World Cup consists of two groups of eight teams; with the top four from each advancing to the knock-out stages. This part of the tournament lasts for about a month. At the end of which will be the result we could all predict right now. (OK, that might be a little unfair - the West Indies may fail to make it to the quarter final stage). While the thought of the Cricket World Cup fills many with dread (and that’s just the actual cricket lovers) England’s two warm up games, but particularly their last, have provided a faint glimmer of hope.

The big change has been the promotion of Kevin Pietersen. Why, after playing 110 ODI’s, he (and the England Management) have suddenly decided this is the best place for him to bat, who knows and who cares. His 66 against Bangladesh on Friday showed that KP ‘The Opener’ may just work. Frankly, its about time KP took on more responsibility. He his often hailed as England’s best batsman and he likes to be the showman. So, what better place to bat than at the top. Ego aside though, KP is a mighty fine player and if he can bat out a majority of the fifty over’s (allowing players such as Jonathon Trott and Ian Bell to accumulate runs around him), England wont lose many matches.

Paul Collingwood also showed a much welcomed return to form on Friday, with his 65. While Stuart Broad has been even more impressive on his return from injury; taking two five-wicket hauls. With Graeme Swann set to join the team early next week, things might just be falling into place. The absence of Eoin Morgan is obviously still a massive blow, but lets see if the other batsman can stand up to the plate.

If we have to endure six weeks of an ICC tournament, lets at least have an England victory at the end of it.

A series finished but not forgotten (unfortunately).

It has nearly been a week since England lost the One Day International series against Australia 6-1. In all sense and purposes it was a terrible series and that’s not just because England were hammered (the second time incidentally, they have lost a limited over’s series by such a margin after winning the Ashes; the other being 2009). Whether both sides were just fatigued (seven games at the end of a five match Test series is ludicrous) or suffering from a post-Ashes hangover, the quality of the cricket has been poor all round. Australia won simply because they weren’t quite as bad as England. To make matters worse for both sides, but particularly England, this ODI series has an injury list which would give Holby City a run for its money. In total, six of England’s players had to return home early. This included Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Ajmal Shazad, Chris Tremlett, Paul Collingwood and most worryingly of all, Eoin Morgan. Thank heavens the tour ended when it did.

If we rewind to the winter of 2009, England’s tour of South Africa marked the start of their improvement within the limited format of the game. A series win against the Proteas (in their own back yard) was no mean feat. Neither was beating Bangladesh, winning the Twenty20 World Cup, beating Bangladesh again (this time in England), beating Australia and then beating Pakistan both in the summer of 2010. Such a transformation is often accredited to the presence of Morgan. A rare talent, possessing both power and finesse, many have argued that Morgan showed the England players how to lift up a bat, to attack and back yourself. While this is undeniably true and his recent poor run of form in Australia (sitting around for three months can’t have helped, neither could the broken finger) has been a major factor in England’s string of losses, it is not the only cause. For some reason, this current England One Day squad have looked like the team of old. Timid, hitting ‘nothing’ shots, indiscipline in the bowling, inconsistent in selection and all with predictable results. The fact that this latest series witnessed five run outs in the space of three innings, indicates a team unsure of what they are doing.

Looking forward, the England squad fly out to Bangladesh today. They play their first warm-up match on the 22^nd and then face six group matches; five of which will be played in India. If you thought things were going to get easier, think again. In fact, if anything, England face an even tougher task. Australia, as I have already mentioned, were not playing great cricket- certainly not a brand of cricket good enough to win a World Cup. In contrast teams like India, Sri Lanka and South Africa will be fresh and raring to go. Bereft of their best one day player, unsure of what balance to have (Prior to open? Collingwood as the fifth bowler?) and with many others nursing injuries, England’s chances of winning have been seriously hampered.

Saying that, though, not many people would have given them a chance in the Twenty20 World Cup and look what happened there. In cricket you just never know.