1-0 England. Four to go….

Taking into consideration England’s performance in Saturdays Twenty20 match and also the fact that the last time they played Sri Lanka in a One Day game (the World Cup quarter final in Colombo) they lost by ten wickets, expectations weren’t exactly high for Tuesday’s game. If England have been slowly growing in confidence within the Test Match arena (currently standing at third in the world rankings and with their sights firmly set on the number one spot), their performances in the shorter format of the game have been distinctly average.

After yet another disastrous World Cup campaign then, the team who faced Sri Lanka on Tuesday was minus six of those who had played in that fateful quarter final. Under new leadership in the form of Alastair Cook, (someone who wasn’t even included in the World Cup squad let alone opening the batting a few months ago), England actually played very well. Craig Kieswetter (returning to the squad after yet another change of wicketkeeper) showed promise as an opener; taking his time to get in before accelerating his scoring rate. How long he will last in this role, however, remains to be scene. One thing which is for sure, though, is the place of Eoin Morgan. Simply outstanding in the Twenty20 match (one of England’s only shining lights duringt that game), Morgan continued on in the same fashion. Promoted up the order ahead of Ian Bell (the first positive move from the new Captain), the Middlesex man did what he did best. Indeed, when him and Kevin Pietersen were both at the crease, their destructive potential was apparent for all to see. The one down side then, with regards to England’s batting, was the fact that they lost key wickets in close succession. The loss of Pietersen, Morgan and Bell severely staled England’s run-rate, as the two new lower-middle-order batsman struggled to get the ball away. One costly over from Lakmal (perfectly taken advantage of by Tim Bresnan), greatly assisted the home side in reaching a target of 230. If the batting prowess of the Sri Lankans had been reaffirmed on Saturday, as Mahela Jayewardene and Kumar Sangakkara pummelled England’s relatively inexperienced bowling attack, the return of James Anderson proved too much for them. With figures of 4-18, Anderson accounted for three of their top four and with such power hitters back in the pavilion, their could only be one result. However unlikely that may have seemed a few days ago.

Sri Lanka Back On Top

If Sri Lanka looked out of place in their whites, then they never looked more comfortable than when in their more colourful attire. A team much more confident and, it has to be said, skilled in the shorter format of the game (greatly helped by the return of certain players, particularly Lasith Malinga), the Sri Lankans totally outclassed their feeble opponents. With Stuart Broad taking over the captaincy, England opted to leave out Ian Bell (arguably their most in-form batsman) in favour of three ‘all-rounder’s’. While the inclusion of Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Luke Wright may have provided more options with the ball, it left England’s middle order batting somewhat depleted. As Mahela Jayewardene and Kumar Sangakkara expertly demonstrated, ‘proper’ batsman (i.e. touch players and stroke makers) can be just as effective in the shorter format. The way they batted was sublime and put England’s sloggers to shame. While the trio mentioned above are all undeniably good cricketers, none posses the batting skills needed to marshal the middle overs of play (often when the spinner is on and quick singles and strike rotation is needed). Trying to whack every ball out of the ground simply wont work. On the plus side, the partnership between Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan was brilliant; with Morgan in particular taking full advantage of a number of full tosses. Had one managed to go on and see out the remaining overs, things might have been different. As it was, England were at least twenty runs short and thus never in the contest. Lets hope the One Dayers are more competitive.

CricketChicks ODI team for the series against Sri Lanka:

1) Alastair Cook

2) Craig Kieswetter

3) Jonathon Trott

4) Kevin Pietersen

5) Ian Bell

6) Eoin Morgan

7) Tim Bresnan

8) Stuart Broad

9) Graeme Swann

10) Chris Tremlett

11) Steven Finn or James Anderson

Lords Under Threat?

It was announced last week that Lords will not be hosting a Test Match when the West Indies come to England next year. Apparently, the ground was outbid by Cardiff, who will host one of three Test Matches alongside Edgbaston and Trent Bridge in 2012. I don’t know about you, but I think this is outrageous.

Lords is the ‘home of cricket’. It has a history and aura which no other ground can match. The idea of a visiting side not getting the chance to play on the hallowed turf, to walk through the long room, to get their name on the prestigious honours board, is utterly ridiculous. If I were the West Indies team I would be asking some stern and serious questions. Their position in the ICC World Rankings may have had some impact on the decision, as it seems unlikely that a higher ranked team would be treated in such a manner (can you imagine if India had been denied a Lords test?). Saying that, Bangladesh did get to play a Test at the home of cricket. This leads onto the fact that there have, in the past, been some concerns raised about the dominance of London in hosting games (with, quite often, the Oval also hosting a match). Yet, with regards to the impending West Indies series, not even the Oval was awarded a Test Match. Surely at least one should be in the capital?

More importantly though, is the question as to whether Cardiff will even be able to fill their ground. If recent evidence is to go by, then the answer is no. Hosting the first Test in the current series against Sri Lanka, the Swalec Stadium did poorly on pre-sale tickets and large sections of the ground remained empty throughout. Admittedly, the weather didn’t help and the opposition wasn’t as alluring as Australia, but Lords managed to sell out for the first three days with the remaining two also pretty full. The allure of Lords is a strong crowd puller, whether the other Test Match grounds like it or not. In fact, in my opinion, Lords shouldn’t even have to bid. As a Test Match venue, there is simply no competition.

A Break or Two

After the excitement of the Cardiff test, (where despite almost persistent rain - who’s bright idea was it to play a test match in Wales, in May? - Sri Lanka capitulated on the final afternoon and were all out for 82), the Lords Test Match seemed rather dull. Despite a couple of breaks - Dilshan’s thumb and a pavilion window (is anyone actually buying the story that Matt Prior’s bat ‘accidentally’ set off an avalanche of the said item, resulting in shattered glass and the cut ankle of an MCC member? No, me neither. The more likely story is that, after having had to endure Alastair Cook plod his way to yet another century and then being told it was his job to up the ante - a ploy which resulted in him being run out for four - Prior got back to the dressing room in a fit of anger and threw something straight at the window. Simple.) - nothing else really happened.

As already mentioned, Cook reached another milestone, Prior (before his break) also played well

for a century and Dilshan (also before his break) was sublime, as he notched up the highest score by a Sri Lankan at Lords. While the batsmen then, (with the exception of the first mornings play) looked competent, England’s bowling giants (the tallest in Test Match history, with a combined height of 9 feet, eight inches) struggled to find the right line and length. While the inclusion of Steven Finn seems to have vindicated itself with his ‘four-for’, having three tall, ‘hit-the-deck’ bowlers seemed a bit, well, samey. With Lords typically being one of the most productive grounds for swing bowling, one cannot help but wander if England may have been better off including Jade Dernbach or Ajmal Shazad in their squad? While this is of course all hindsight, when you add yet even more rain into the mix (OK, so Wales isn’t the only place to receive wet weather) and the cautious nature of Strauss and Flower, a draw always seemed the mostly likely option. Sri Lanka’s bating is too good to let another spectacular collapse happen again; though their ‘heavyweights’ in the form of Jayewardene and Sangakkara, could do with some runs.

Let’s hope that down at The Rose Bowl the sun is shinning, the cricket is exciting and the windows remain intact.

Over and Out

It was the toughest quarter-final. Sri Lanka at home. But England only have themselves to blame for the position they found themselves in today. Had they managed (as expected) to beat both Ireland and Bangladesh they would have finished top of their group and in line for a quarter-final against New Zealand. Not that they would have been guaranteed to win that match (New Zealand after all managed to see off the mighty South Africa), but it certainly would have been less daunting.

All in all, like all previous World Cups, this tournament has been a massive disappointment for both the England team and their supporters. Players have been injured (Kevin Pietersen, Ajmal Shazad and Stuart Broad), while the managements plans - well, what plans? - have been jumbled and, frankly, desperate. In their defence, however, it is unfortunate that Michael Yardy had to return home early (an admission of depression being both incredibly brave and a stark indication that the international schedule is just too hectic) and (with reference again to the latter) that the World Cup always occurs straight after an Ashes tour down under. Inevitably then, players are both fatigued and below their best. This aside, though, England have underperformed. Fortunate to get through the group stages, today their luck run out. Up against an exciting and ambitious team, England were found wanting; being humiliated by a ten-wicket defeat.

Looking forwards, England will return home within the next couple of days for the rest and relaxation many have publicly been crying out for. While being on tour since the end of October must be tiresome, how many will soon be returning to India for the IPL? A tournament which takes place during what is technically a ‘rest period’ and is motivated solely by money. As for the remainder of the World Cup, lets hope the semi-finals provide some excellent, entertaining cricket. After all the most eccentric and inconsistence team have finally been knocked out.

So, the rollercoaster that is England’s world cup campaign continues after they (just) managed to beat the West Indies and other results have gone their way. We don’t know about you, but CricketChicks are not sure if their nerves can actually take anymore.

The good, the bad and the downright awful

England have now played three matches in this years ICC World Cup and what can we say. Their performances have ranged from the sublime to the downright awful. Whereas most of the Test playing nations have managed to beat the associate teams with ease (ten or nine wicket wins being the norm, with the West Indies bowling Bangladesh out for just 58, yesterday), England have struggled. Once again facing those men in Orange (the last time being in that infamous Twenty20 World cup opener), England’s bowlers were expensive, as the Nerthlands racked up a thoroughly competitive score. England managed to force a victory, but only just.

Yet, this was nothing compared to Wednesday’s match against the men in Green. Odds on favourites to brush aside the minnows, Ireland’s victory over England will go down as one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history. While taking nothing away from Kevin O’Brien’s brilliant hundred (the fastest ever scored in a World Cup), England’s bowlers were appalling. With the exception of Graeme Swann, the seamers were totally indiscipline. James Anderson being the greatest concern, as he is now the most expensive England bowler in World Cups. How much longer he features in the starting eleven remains to be seen. Add to this, England’s atrocious fielding (five dropped catches in the match against Ireland) and you have defeat written all over it. Will they fair any better against Bangladesh and the West Indies - matches which, pre-tournament, were seen as nothing more than mere formality.

In the match against India, though, England looked a thoroughly competent side. A batting master class from Sachin Tendulkar helped India to a formidable total (one which incidentally, could have been a lot more menacing had it not been for some excellent death bowling by Tim Bresnan). At half time, lets be honest, no one would have given England much of a chance. Similar run chases of the past, have usually resulted in England capitulating. But, some superb batting from Andrew Strauss (upstaging the little master himself) and Ian Bell, took England to within a comfortable distance of victory. But, no. It wouldn’t be England if there wasn’t some sort of disaster. Opting to take the batting power play, England lost four wickets for twenty-five runs. Suddenly, with new batsman at the crease and the fielders up, things began to look a little more difficult. An ever increasing run-rate resulted in more departing wickets. It was only thanks to some power hitting by Bresnan and Ajmal Shazad that England managed to get a draw. A game of mixed emotions for all then. As while England should have won, they did well to reach India’s score of 338. Moreover, they definitely played their part in an exciting game of fifty over cricket.

Indeed, if there is one word that can sum up England’s campaign so far, its entertaining. Lets just hope tomorrows drama’s (with England there is bound to be some) ends in an England victory.