England gets another chance to redeem themselves from the tags of 'also-rans' as they take on Australia .
England and Australia have been best teams in World T20 tournament and will go head to head to decide who are crowned champions as England seek to win their first ever world competition in 35 years.
England have been outstanding throughout and after Australia's sensational semi-final win against Pakistan on Friday today's game has all the ingredients of being something very special.
Paul Collingwood and his men have played each game without fear and have been able to express themselves as both individuals and a united team knowing that they have belief in one another's skill levels and execution of plans while being totally adaptable to every situation.
This is without doubt the most relaxed yet confident England side I have seen and the way they have responded to the pressure has been a joy to watch.
Every player has played their part in reaching the final and it now needs one last massive effort to secure a victory all England fans have been waiting for - it's 35 years since the first one-day World Cup and England's name does not appear on any of the trophies. All that could change by tonight.
However, it won't be easy as Australia have shown that they have come to terms with this form of the game having struggled previously. Their pace attack of Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson is a handful, especially on what should be a quick and bouncy pitch.
How England's top order cope with the 90mph thunderbolts will have a huge bearing on the outcome of the game. Also, Australian bowling attack seemed vulnerable in their last game against Pakistan.
For England, the opening pair of Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter have proved a huge success as they have been prepared to take the attack to the opposition and it's vital they continue in the same way today.
The excellent form of Kevin Pietersen and Morgan has bred confidence and adds a cutting edge to their play.
It is apparent Collingwood and the coach Andy Flower have instructed the team to play with freedom and take the attacking options knowing they have their total support even if it doesn't always come off.
It isn't just with the bat either as the bowling has been of the highest class with great variety and control and all the plans expertly executed.
The innovations of the slower ball and slow bouncer have proved hugely successful while the spin twins of Graeme Swann and Mike Yardy have worked exceptionally well. Australia too has great depth to their batting and with Michael Hus-secoming in at seven they will always believe that they will score enough runs to ensure victory as proved in their thrilling semi final win.
It really is too close to call but England's greater all -round variety in batting and bowling will hopefully tip the scales in their favour. It's been a long time, but today could be the day when England can finally be called world champions.
ENGLAND'S WORLD FINALS HEARTACHE
1979 World Cup: WEST INDIES beat ENGLAND by 92 runs
England reduced the Windies to 99-4 but 86 from Collis King set up an easy World Cup final win for Clive Lloyd's team.
1987 World Cup: AUSTRALIA beat ENGLAND by 7 runs
This is the closest England has ever got to winning the world title. They were set for World Cup final glory until Mike Gatting's reverse sweep sparked a collapse that gifted it to the Aussies.
1992 World Cup: PAKISTAN beat ENGLAND by 22 runs
England had looked impressive on the way to the World Cup final, but even Ian Botham could not inspire his team as much as Imran Khan inspired Pakistan.
2004 Champions Trophy: WEST INDIES beat ENGLAND by 2 wickets
A Marcus Trescothick ton was not enough in the Champions Trophy final as a ninth wicket stand saw the Windies home.
With its alluring blend of powerful batting and disciplined bowling, Andy Flower and Paul Collingwood have constructed England’s finest one-day outfit since they reached the 50 over World Cup final in 1992.
England are the only one of the eight major international teams without a major limited overs victory and despite their excellent form will have their work cut out against Australia.
Typically, Michael Clarke’s Australians are producing some awe-inspiring cricket to coincide with England’s overdue resurgence.
Australia's miraculous victory over Pakistan in the semi-final was described as the finest ending to a cricket match ever by experts, as Mike Hussey smeared 22 off just four balls to knock out the hosts.
The finale was a perfect illustration of how T20 has altered pre-conceptions about what is possible from a short period of time as well as underlining Australia’s immeasurable bloody-mindedness.
But with Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan lighting up the England middle order Australia are taking on the team most likely to prevent them lifting a first T20 World Cup.
Gone are the days of dithering in the powerplays and ineffective accumulation against spin, this England side bats with almost nerveless gusto.
True, the top five contains four players brought up outside of the UK, but such facts can be swept under the carpet if they combine to bring home a first ever ICC trophy.
Perhaps more essential however have been the performances from the five man attack of Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy.
Sidebottom and Broad have rewarded the selectors faith in leaving out test match talisman Jimmy Anderson while Yardy and Bresnan could both make cases for being the tournaments surprise package.
Collingwood has barely needed to call upon Luke Wright or himself as a 6 or 7th bowler and the control exerted early on by Bresnan in particular has been a highlight of the tournament.
Australia’s top order has been their weakest link so far and England will undoubtedly be looking for a strong start on what will almost certainly be a true, bouncy track at the Kennington Oval.
That will suit both sides better than the sluggish strips prepared in Guyana and St Lucia but how England cope with the rapid trio of Dirk Nannes, Mitch Johnson and Shaun Tait could determine the fate of the trophy.
Openers Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb should continue to play positively and will feel more at home against pace than spin.
If they find a way to cope with the hostility and give the likes of Pietersen and Morgan a platform on which to build then maybe we will see England’s name on a trophy for the first time.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
2:30 AM
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Boosted by their emphatic win against Pakistan and Kevin Pietersen’s return to form, a confident England side will line-up against hot on form South Africa in the Super Eights of World Twenty20 here Saturday.
Both teams produced clinical fare in their first Super Eights matches after not so good preliminary round matches. While England outsmarted defending champions Pakistan by six wickets, South Africa saw off a brief New Zealand challenge to win by 13 runs.
Both teams will rely on their strong pace attack to notch-up the decisive edge for a semi-final berth.
England were unlucky to start their campaign with a loss against West Indies despite a good batting display as rain and Duckworth-Lewis calculations conspired against them. They were given a fright by Ireland in their must-win match before rain came this time to their rescue and England moved into the Super Eights on the basis of superior run rate.
Against Pakistan, England excelled in all departments. The new opening combination of Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb has looked good while Eoin Morgan has been brilliant with the bat. They badly wanted Pietersen to fire and he did against Pakistan. It is certainly their best batting line-up in limited overs cricket in a long time.
“Every single bloke from one down to nine or 10 can hit sixes. That’s brilliant, a great improvement and great for English cricket,” said Collingwood.
However, the captain sounded a note of caution ahead of the match against South Africa.
“There are a few areas to improve on, we were a bit sloppy at the end, but I was pleased with how we took the momentum back in the middle of Pakistan’s innings.”
The pacers Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad, and Tim Bresnan have performed well while the slower bowlers Michael Yard and Graeme Swann have been equally to the task.
Collingwood is happy that Pietersen is among runs. “It was a great knock by KP against Pakistan. We all know what KP can do, and when he’s in that kind of form he’s very dangerous.”
England beat South Africa by five wickets in a warm-up match in Barbados. South African captain Graeme Smith believes his team is peaking at the right time
“Every game in this competition is now crucial,” Smith said.
“They (England) will have confidence but we faced them in a warm-up game so we have a pretty good idea how we’d like to play against them.
“If we can improve five or ten percent, then we will push England hard.”
South African put on a challenging total of 170 for four against New Zealand with big-hitting Albie Morkel hitting five sixes in his 40 off 18 balls.
South Africa boast of a strong batting line-up and the shuffle up the order is showing good results. Smith opens the batting with veteran Jacques Kallis who had been in exceptional form in the Indian Premier League (IPL). With Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers and Albie Morkel, the middle order looks formidable and the team can always fall back upon Jean Paul Duminy.
The bowling department has a sharp four-pronged pace attack of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Charl Langeveldt and Jacques Kallis with variety and depth.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
3:17 AM
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The T20 world cup in West Indies today enters into the Super 8 stage. The first match between Pakistan and England will be played today. The match will surely be an exciting one with mercurial Pakistan taking on England who has been unpredictable in this format of the game. One paper, teams look absolutely similar and it is difficult to pick a winner.
The match will be played at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
Pakistan had an easy match against Bangladesh. Australia defeated Bangladesh yesterday to ensure that Pakistan goes through. There were certain anxious moments in yesterday's match as Australia was 6 down at one stage with not even 70 runs on board. In the end, Australia's experience and venomous bowling was enough to overcome Bangladesh's charge.
England have had a rough tournament so far as they lost to West Indies by D/L method in match interrupted by rain after a solid batting performance. Rain came to their rescue next day when they could manage only 120 against Ireland. However, a torrential shower ensured that the match got abandoned early into Ireland's innings handing England one point, good enough to scrape through to next stage on better run rate.
Pakistani will have to really improve their bowling and fielding to match up to England. Australia plundered Pakistani bowlers in their last encounter. On the other hand, England has bowled well in the earlier stage with the pace attack in particular well settled. The English batting has also been consistent with Collingwood, Pietersen, Lumb and Kieswetter, the team has solid performers in both in the opening as well as middle order.
Thu May 6 13:30 GMT 13th Match, Group E - England v Pakistan
Thu May 6 17:30 GMT 14th Match, Group E - New Zealand v South Africa
Sat May 8 13:30 GMT 17th Match, Group E - New Zealand v Pakistan
Sat May 8 17:30 GMT 18th Match, Group E - England v South Africa
Mon May 10 13:30 GMT 21st Match, Group E - Pakistan v South Africa
Sat May 10 17:30 GMT 22nd Match, Group E - England v New Zealand
Each team will get 2 points for a win and 1 point for NR.
In case of a tie (i.e. both teams score exactly the same number of runs at the end of their respective innings), a super-over decides the winner. This is applicable in all stages of the tournament.
The ranking in a groupd will be decided based on following criteria:
Higher number of points
If equal, higher number of wins
If still equal, higher net run rate
If still equal, lower bowling strike rate
If still equal, result of head to head meeting.
Top 2 teams from the group will qualify for semi-finals.
For the second consecutive day, rain played spoilsport in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup bringing curtains to two sides that had the will but not the luck to succeed. After Zimbabwe bowed out mainly due to rain, it was Ireland’s bad luck that saw them being edged out despite restricting the spirited English for mere 120 runs at Guyana on Tuesday. While Ireland failed to live up to their promise, England qualified for the Super Eights following the no-result washout.
It was a bad day for Ireland, who on their last trip to the Caribbean stunned Pakistan in the World Cup and were on their way to achieve a similar victory by restricting England to 120 for eight. The day once again belonged to former Irish cricketer and current English batsman Eoin Morgan who once again top-scored for his team with 45 valuable runs. For the second time in as many days and innings, Morgan found support at the other end in the form of Luke Wright while rest of the side failed to reach double figures. Wright made 20 runs and besides the openers was the only one who crossed 10. England will now have to worry more about their batsmen’s form as both Kevin Pietersen and skipper Collingwood fell cheaply.
In a stand of 41 with Wright, former Irishman Morgan revived England’s fortune with some typically innovative shots before being dismissed in the final over. His 37 ball stay featured five fours and gave England total the respectability it lacked t one time.
For Ireland, opening bowlers Boyd Rankin and Trent Johnson were the top bowlers. Not only did they apply breaks on their opponents scoring but also motivated the other bowlers to do something out of the ordinary, and they did just that. They tamed the English team mainly due to calculated bowling by their Australia-born pacer Trent Johnston who took one wicket for 14 runs. Kevin O'Brien also chipped in with2 wickets for 22.
The tension reached the English camp even in the second innings as they feared a second dose of Duckworth-Lewis misery as soon as rain disrupted play early in the Irish innings. But as luck was with the men in blue, the downpour and the rules worked in their favour, making the match a no-result affair and providing England the one point they required to qualify.
The same Duckworth-Lewis method, that was criticized after England lost to the West Indies despite scoring 191 runs, saved England as they went through on superior run-rate. Ireland, who also lost to the hosts in their opening match paid dearly for their 70-run defeat where they were bowled out for a record tournament low of 68.
For the second consecutive day, rain was the winner and cricket the loser as continuous downpour meant the match failed to reach the five-over limit after which the run rates are compared to decide the winner. Instead, Ireland managed just 14 for one off 3.3 overs, taking the game towards eventual abandonment.
It was a cruel end for Ireland's Twenty20 World Cup as they deserved better treatment after forcing England to scrap for each and every run. They would have been set a target of 61 in nine overs had rain stopped but it didn’t happen. England inched into the Super Eights despite winning a single match and now look forward to starting their Super Eight campaign against either defending champions Pakistan or Australia in Barbados on Thursday. The eventual opponent will be decided after the crucial match between Australia and Bangladesh today.
England are in dire straits as they have lost their yesterday’s encounter against West Indies. They are also not in a good shape mentally as rain played a big part in England's loss.
They will have to overcome their disappointment as they locks horn with Ireland in a winner takes all encounter. Both the team have to win today in order to qualify for the next round and though England are the stronger opponent going into this match but I still feel Ireland can surely stun them.
What England doesn’t need today is the rain disrupting their run again. If the rain gods didn’t played a part in yesterday’s match then England was looking like a winner even after West Indies started their proceedings well.
The team needs to put that same performance today. Michael Lumb and Craid Kieswetter were impressive and England crowd will love to see him blasting the Irish attack today.
Kevin Pietersen and Collingwood may not have to come down today if the opening pair gets their act right. Youngster Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright had a great match against the host and I hope they continue with their good form against their neighbors. The England bowling couldn’t do much in the last game and I hope the likes of Sidebottom, Swann and Broad would turn the things around for their team. I would have loved to see Jimmy Anderson playing today but i think England will play with an unchanged squad.
Meanwhile Ireland has got nothing to loose and they should play their heart out to win this match. They have slay big giants like Pakistan in the last World Cup and they can surely do it today going by the fact that both the neighbors play in a pretty similar style and knows each other well.
Niall O’ Brien is again my bet for this match along with his brother Kevin and Captain William Porterfield they needs to get their act right. The likes of Alex Cusack, Paul Stirling and Gary Wilson are still left to prove their mettle and hope they do it today. Ireland has to attack their neighbors through their bowling. They did well against West Indies and I am sure that the likes of Boyd Rankin, George Dockrell and Andre Botha will play an important part as they are the ones who can make a big difference in today’s match.
Monday, May 3, 2010
10:13 PM
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West Indies captain Chris Gayle was a happy man yesterday afternoon, following his side’s eight-wicket victory over England and their qualification for the Super Eight phase of ICC World Twenty20.
However, he was in sympathy with his English counterpart Paul Collingwood over the manner of England’s defeat--on the Duckworth/Lewis method of calculation.
The system came into play in both matches at the Guyana National Stadium yesterday. Earlier, Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe in Group B by 14 runs on the D/L.
Zimbabwe needed to be 43 at the end of five overs but were unable to get there. And then the West Indies, their innings interrupted at 30 without loss after 2.2 overs chasing 192 to win, were given a revised target of 30 runs in 22 remaining balls after the rain. They got them with one ball to spare.
Afterward Collingwood, commenting on the loss, suggested that the D/L method be adjusted for the T20 game.
Gayle had no objection to this. "I will support what Collingwood has said" he told the media afterwards. "It’s something that can be adjusted so it can be even for both teams."
"It was a good game. It was unfortunate for England to actually lose in this manner."
The Windies always had their eye on the skies once the target had been set for them.
Gayle mentioned that they knew weather was going to play a part, so the first five overs can determine the game, so we decided to go hard and see what we could get out of the first five overs. The target was actually 43 at that particular stage and it actually went in our favour. But after the game was reduced, we were most likely to win the game from there.
This time, there was no miscalculation of what was required as occurred last year in the one-day series between these same two teams.
Darren Sammy was named Man-of-the-Match for his economical figures of 2/22 in 4 overs.
It was the second straight game in which he had picked up the accolade and he said he was just happy to be playing his part.
England were left frustrated by a Twenty20 Duckworth-Lewis result for the second time in under a year against West Indies.
This time, they saw the hard work they had put into their 191 for five come to nought as their hosts successfully chased a revised target of 60 in six overs between the rain breaks at the Guyana National Stadium.
"There's a major problem with this Duckworth-Lewis in this form of the game," said captain Paul Collingwood.
"I've got no problems with it in the 50-over form. But I know it's made us very frustrated tonight (Monday).
"It certainly has to be revised for this form of the game."
He added: "I'm trying to take the emotion out of that defeat. But I think 95% of the time when you get 191 for five on the board you are going to win the game.
"Unfortunately, Duckworth-Lewis seems to have other ideas - bringing the equation completely the other way.
"It's the second time it's happened to us now against West Indies, so it is very frustrating - because we've played a near perfect game but we've lost."
Eoin Morgan (55) and Luke Wright (45*) earlier shared a brutal stand of 95 to help England set the Windies a tough target.
But Chris Gayle had chosen to field first, in anticipation perhaps of history repeating itself after the West Indies had notably got the better of England in similar circumstances to knock them out of last year's World Twenty20 at The Oval.
England are likely to be the worst-affected of teams set to travel to the Caribbean for the ICC World Twenty20 next weekend, should airspace continue to be shut-down because of volcanic ash.
London is en route for several other national teams planning to make their way to the West Indies. But whereas they can feasibly make alternative arrangements, England cannot alter their departure point.
Ireland team are already in the Caribbean, along with Zimbabwe, having travelled earlier this month for a series of one-day international and warm-up matches.
Minnows Afghanistan are also expected to arrive soon, despite having had their initial plans disrupted already by the ash cloud which has brought flights in the UK and Europe to a standstill.
England are due to leave next Sunday, with two warm-up matches planned in Barbados, before they begin their campaign in Guyana.
Contingency plans will be hard to come by, with remaining European airports in the same situation as Gatwick and Heathrow and several England players still on the sub-continent in any case for the Indian Premier League - which concludes next weekend.
England fast bowler Stuart Broad insists that he missed the Indian Premier League (IPL) to avoid breaking down or suffering from burnout before the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.
"It would have been good to play more Twenty20 leading into the World T20 later this month, but I needed a rest," The Sun quoted Broad, as saying.
"I feel better for the break and we have a busy international season and a hectic winter coming up," he added.
Earlier, team-mate Kevin Pietersen had suggested that the IPL would have given England's bowlers valuable Twenty20 experience.
However, Broad said: "I don't agree at all that England's bowlers will be underprepared because we're not in the IPL."
The 23-year-old made a decision last December that he would not put his name forward for the IPL auction, which allowed teams to sign new players for the current season.
"The IPL is something I would like to do in the future, it's a fantastic tournament, but I just felt that this year after the tour to Bangladesh and with a hectic year ahead I just needed a little break," Broad added.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
7:52 AM
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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the team for T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. The selection has thrown 2 surprises in the form of Hampshire opening batsman Michael Lumb and Somerset wicketkeeper batsman Craig Kieswetter.
Team will be led by Collingwood who is currently representing Delhi Daredevils in IPL-3.
The squad is as follows: P D Collingwood (Durham, captain), J M Anderson (Lancashire), R S Bopara (Essex), T T Bresnan (Yorkshire), S C J Broad (Nottinghamshire), C Kieswetter (Somerset), M J Lumb (Hampshire), E J G Morgan (Middlesex), K P Pietersen (Hampshire), A Shahzad (Yorkshire), R J Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), G P Swann (Nottinghamshire), J C Tredwell (Kent), L J Wright (Sussex), M H Yardy (Sussex).
Matt Prior lost out wicket-keeping slot to Kieswetter. Prior has not been dropped for (lack of) his keeping abilities, but because of his failure to score consistent runs in one-day cricket.
