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GlawsCroucher

Listed below are comments made by GlawsCroucher between Thursday, 10th July 2008 and Friday, 2nd October 2009.

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Champions Trophy surpasses expectations 12:12pm on 02 Oct 2009 "At 11:52am on 02 Oct 2009, paulyfan wrote:

Stuart Broad's injury is a worry, but hopefully the England medical staff can get to the bottom of the problem as soon a possible"

I agree. He has taken vital wickets in the last few matches and needs to be fully fit. The last thing England need is for the injury to rear up again halfway through the match.
Champions Trophy surpasses expectations 11:19am on 02 Oct 2009 Nice to see a good balance of opinions! Supporters of teams progressing well seem happy with the format and style. The opposite applies to those whose teams have already been eliminated. All in all a not unexpected response and highlights the subjectivity of sport. If England had continued their poor form I'm sure that the general opinion would have been that it is a second-rate meaningless competition and test cricket is the only true format of the game. It seems that this lack of expectation has been one of the factors that have allowed England to play with some freedom. Ignoring all comments about pitches and spirit of the game (both teams use the same pitch after all), England have looked a more relaxed and positive group and their cricket has reflected this. SA on the other hand, whilst arguably the top ODI team at present, had the weight of a home crowd's expectation on them and let it get to them (with the exception of a sublime innings by Smith at Centurion). Rugby fans will have seen a similar trend with NZ in the last few RWC's. Entering a tournament as favourite is not always an advantage.

Hope this afternoon's semi continues in the same vein. I have a nasty feeling that England might tighten up again now that there is a sniff at some silverware. Hope that I am proved wrong and we see a good contest.

On other issues, I have no problem with Mitchell Johnson winning the award. He had a huge impact on the game during the preceding year and looks a class bowler. With so many advantages offered to the batsmen these days, with such powerful bats and organisers wanting 5 day pitches to get maximum revenue, it is refreshing to see a bowler rewarded. Strauss had an outstanding year and was worthy of a nomination. In my mind that is also an acknowledgement of his accomplishments despite not actually winning overall. To call Johnson a "joke of a cricketer" says more about the author of the post in my opinion. 80 wickets in 17 matches and I wouldn't want to face him without the aid of a riot shield.

Please forgive any slight England bias in either this post or the main article. It is after all a UK website and therefore the Ashes is always going to get more prominence than a series between two overseas teams! Hardly a crime.
First day to the hosts 8:45pm on 10 Jul 2008 I would be really interested to see the stats on Vaughan's dismissals. It seems to me that he is castled more than most International No.3's (supposedly the teams best batsmen). If this is the case it does suggest a fundamental flaw in technique, rather than lack of concentration or other factors.

Having said that, I would still keep him in as Skipper for the moment. Back him to produce at least one ton this series. As suggested above, if Flintoff is to rejoin the team then it has to be at the expense of an existing bowler, not a batsmen. Based on wicket taking alone it would suggest that Broad is the most likely candidate. His batting has impressed, but he is supposed to be part of a quartet capable of taking 20 wickets in a match.

For me the spin factor is going to be one of the most interesting of the series. Monster is a true international quality spinner, and from the looks of today, Harris falls some way short of that mark.

Great day's play for the home team. More tomorrow please and let's pray for good weather!

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