England pay for trouble at top
Antigua - So England’s World Cup semi-final dreams are hanging by a thread after defeat by Australia and, to be frank, they can have few complaints.
Their top order, in the much-felt absence of Marcus Trescothick, has failed to fire at this tournament and it let them down here for the fifth time in six games.
Michael Vaughan has managed just 83 runs in six innings but is deemed indispensable because of his astute captaincy.
Mind you, armed with a bowling attack which lacks the control, nous or potency to skittle the best teams on decent pitches, there was little he could do as the world champions cantered home.
For the second game in succession, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen provided a silver lining with a terrific partnership. Indeed, Bell seems to feed off his flamboyant colleague so much - and so quickly are they united anyway - that England ought to seriously consider having them permanently at two and three.
Bell’s assault on Glenn McGrath took everyone by surprise and provided one of the highlights of the day. The veteran was taken off after his first three overs went for 25 and, with Pietersen also timing the ball beautifully, runs came easily in their stand of 140.
But three wickets fell for 15 in 36 balls to dash any hopes of a massive total, although Pietersen batted intelligently to complete his fourth ODI century – and first in two years - having been dropped on 50 and 63.
Fellow big-hitter Andrew Flintoff, by contrast, appears totally out of touch with the bat and, not for the first time, was outfoxed by a spinner.
England’s final score of 247 was well short of what looked on at 164-2, even though Shaun Tait bowled tremendously - he was just too quick for Vaughan and Strauss - while Nathan Bracken and Brad Hogg were miserly.
Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist survived confident leg-before shouts in the first two overs of the reply and Vaughan also missed a glorious opportunity to run out opposite number Ricky Ponting on 21.
Against a team as good as the Aussies, now a completely different proposition to the one which lost in the CB Series finals, those things have to go for you.
Flintoff bowled with typical gusto but with the rest struggling, Ponting and Michael Clarke were never under any real pressure and, although Ponting fell towards the end, England were well beaten.
South Africa’s shock defeat by Bangladesh means Vaughan’s men are not completely out of the running for a last-four spot.
But so far they have not been consistent enough in all three departments to deserve progress.
Good assessment, to be honest. England will be very lucky, almost undeserving of a place in the semis. They haven't lit up this tournament at all. I'd rather give a semi-final place to Ireland or Bangladesh, quite frankly. At least they've worked for what they've achieved.
Complain about this postVaugam is not capable for the captaincy of england team. He is just a person who is in the team for no use.
Complain about this postif michael vaughan is a great captain then he should drop himself. they got rid of mal loye after a lot less chances. he might have been useful today.
Complain about this posttait and hogg were the keys.
hogg doesn't have the monty mania hype but he's a much better one day spinner and he's a wicket taker in the middle overs.
Tait is all over the shop half the time but he's also a wicket taker like malinga.
teams with wicket takers are the force at this wc which is why i can see only nz(bond) aus(tait) sl(malinga) going for the crown.
added to that kp got selfish and batted for his ton instead of pushing things along.
enland well beaten and their upset in the cb series must seem like a fading memory now.
Complain about this postThe lesson is simple. Choose players with proven form. Vaughan has no form and should not have played. Find another capatain (Collingwood?). Mahmood is consistently expensive (even if he can take five weickets against a minnow) and should never have played. (And the stats people might like to check the byes he gave away against SriLanka, byes being the difference between the two sides).The rest deserved a place. But England would have been in with shout if any two players replacing these had performed just a bit.
Complain about this postEngland's batting today was a disgrace! Other than Bell and KP, there were so many out there who could not even get to double-figures. Flintoff from now on should play but as a bowler and not as an all-rounder. Drop him down the order to 8 or something. Move up Bopara to 6 and Paul Nixon to 7. Our openers are all rubbish, Strauss, Joyce or Vaughan. And seriously, maybe I'm being ignorant here, but is Vaughan's captaincy really that different from Flintoff's? His batting is starting to drag the entire team with him. Vaughan's usefulness to the one-day team is well overrated. He's starting to be a liability the way I see it.
Another lousy performance from England, they are starting to make me sick. This is so frustrating, like a car which breaks down every other day. Get your act together folks!
Complain about this postDare I say it another somewhat typical display from the England team. Sajid Mahmood, although inspired at times is simply not consistant enough to play out and out as one of our main strike bowlers, not that really any of the possible replacements are looking that brilliant; Plunkett also lacks consistancy, and despite Lewis' undoubted ability, I just think that he's not really the man for the World stage. I think that the best bet would be giving Broad a run in the future, his pace and bounce will hopefully produce in ODI what Harmison never could.
Despite our best efforts as a bowling team I can't help but feel that our batting display left them with little to really work with. We need a stronger opening partnership, with a batsman who can dominate and intimidate strike bowlers; my choice would have been Loye, but it's understandable how he wasn't picked for the World Cup due to his technical problems.
Despite this I don't want to be all gloom and doom, I think that our somewhat uninspired form is less to do with selection and actual skill, but more to do with confidence and momentum. Had we beaten Sri Lanka then I think that we would've won today as the middle order would've perhaps performed better. Also the future's looking good with Pieterson batting consistantly, Bopera's obvious talent, Collingwood's alround ability and hopefully Trescothic's return from an incredibly tough time.
Maybe this was just a year or two too early? Can we perform in four years time?
Complain about this posttotally agree with the blog. england are not in the same league as the aussies and it was shown today. their bowling lacked potency on a godd wicket and this looks to be their biggest problem.
Complain about this postEngland badly missing a Marcus Trescothick player to open the batting........
Complain about this postNotice that MT returned for Somerset today with 256 off 117 balls!!!!!
I don't understand why so many teams pick such different sides for one-day games, compared to their test match sides. With Harmison, Hoggard, Flintoff, Anderson and Panesar, England would have the makings of a solid bowling line-up. As it is, there is little to chose between the current bowlers and my boy's school team. Its the same game, after all. Shouldn't we be persuading the likes of Harmison that he owes it to the country to play. I don't believe in this 'I've retired from one-dayers' nonsense. If he can't be bothered to turn up to the world cup, we shouldn't be picking him at all.
Complain about this postSorry to say it but England have been lucky to get this far...
Vaughny and Strauss are just not good enough to hack it at the top order...
Freddie looks like he wants to get back to his pedalo! His bowling was ok but still should be better for his class.
The only players of note are Nixon, Bopara, Pieterson and Collingwood...
England should take a leaf out of the Ireland's world cup and enjoy it for what it is....as much as i want them to progress they are just not good enough....
Time to leave the world cup for the big players and i bet Pieterson wish perhaps he wasnt in the England team...
If he wasnt England would not have got past 100 runs...SLIGHTLY WORRYING!
Enjoy the flight home boys....
Complain about this postAnother disappointing loss, however i do not think that this result was a walk in the park for australia. yes it was comfortable in the end but at least during phases of the game, england looked to be on top. the key for england i think is not to radically change the batting line up, but to alter the bowling line up as it is obvious we are short of a natural wicket taker. Liam Plunkett was one of the leading wicket taker in the CB series and despite his tendencies to be somewhat expensive at times would offer an outlet for Vaughan. Also in Stuart Broad, i believe we have a young, aggressive, economical and wicket taking talent and with games against WI and SA, maybe it would be worth the 'risk'.
i would also like to point out Vaughan's reluctancy to bowl Bopara during the third wicket partnership, or in fact at all. the pitch was obviously becoming slower, and a wicket to wicket bowler could have proved to be useful. also, isn't Ravi deemed as a partnership breaker at essex? i know this is the international stage but he has already proved his ability with bat, and got the wicket of Hussey during the CB series.
Complain about this postIts really annoys me the way that England will not swap around the order,Pieterson should definitely come in at 3, Vaughan should rop down the order he is i disaster opneing the battting,Strauss looked like he was caught in headlights.
Complain about this postWe seemed to be cruising at 162-2 then as usual the blackm mist came down and we collapsed we should have been looking at 280-290 minumum,
One point about the bowling when we had they struggling to get runs why bring back did we not carry on with slow bowling like collingwood and bring Bopara on ,
As usaul, Pieterson was great and bell excellent but we lost again
If Michael Vaughan is to justify his place on his skills as captain only, he must bat at 6 or 7. England continue to start badly and he is the primary reason, having had such little time to prepare following his long history of injury. England think they are playing clever but in fact they are playing into opponents hands by being arrogant in the face of common sense, If Vaughan & Fletcher continue to make decisions to suit the out of form captain above the best interests of the team and suppOrting public, then they should pay for their decisions at the end of the World Cup.
Complain about this postIt does not matter what total England post as the bowling is so inaccurate that we are sure to lose anyway.The dire consequences of Duncan Fletcher's selection policies and coaching over the last 4 years are plane for all to see.Saj Mahmmod would be lucky to get into the Ireland team yet I bet Fletcher has already put his name down for the next game.Until Fletcher goes England will never make a decent one day team.
Complain about this postI think that a lot of positives can be taken out of this game, not because of the result but of how close it ended up.
Complain about this postFair enough, australia had a lot of wickets in hand but on such a great wicket i would have expected australia to score the runs a bit quicker, especially considering the batting performances they have put in as of late.
To be perfectly honest, I expected England to get thumped today. They have been showing some progress but, in my opinion, Australia have been in another league. It was good to see Pieterson and Collinwood putting in a fantastic partnership yet again and I agree that England need to re-look its top order. I think the reason that Collinwood and Pieterson achieve such great partnerships is the fact that they compliment each other. Pieterson is a hard hitter whilst Collinwood is a very delicate wristy player. I feel that the trouble with England at the moment is that the top order are far too similar players.
We have blown it. We are looking at individuals to lift the team rather than a cohesive effort. Freddie cant do it on his own. England can only blame themselves.
Complain about this postApparently Trescothick scored an unbelievable 256 runs on his return to Somerset which included an astonishing 19 sixes!! Hopefully that's rekindled his appetite for international cricket because his firepower at the top of the order has been sorely missed.
England just don't have the bowling firepower right now, Neither Anderson or Mahmood have done too well overall and they are our strike bowlers!! Panesar is not taking as many wickets as I would like either. it doesn't matter so much that the top order's not firing because if the bowlers can't take 10 wickets then thats the game already almost lost.
Complain about this postIf you are part of team of which eight batsmen only manage 27 runs between them, you are in trouble. With a non-playing captain actually on the pitch and effectively reducing your team to ten men, things actually get worse.
England have managed scratchy wins against three non-test playing teams in this tournament and are clearly miles the worst of the so called big boys.
For them to make the semifinals would be a travesty. They are greatly outclassed in the super eights.
Not sure what the answer is. Getting rid of the spent force that is Michael Vaughan would be a start.
David Amies
Complain about this postFlintoff: 4 from 20 balls
Bopara: 21 from 36 balls
So given that end-result, the question needs asking, in my opinion, WHY WAS FLINTOFF SENT IN AHEAD OF BOPARA YET AGAIN? If Mr. Geoffrey Boycott had been present, there is little doubt in my mind that he would have mentioned his mum, a stick of rhunrab, and being able to score much better than a particular England 'all rounder' on what Mr. Paresh Soni's colleagues (including the great sir Viv Richards) in the TMS box described as a 'good batting pitch'.
Congratulations to Bell on improving his scoring on being moved up the order, and to KP for his ton; also to the Australian bowling line up. Even when they're having an 'off day', they still managed to show up most of the England batsmen for the one-day minnows that they are, with that (regrettably) magnificent tour-de-force, and I can't see where the Australians are going to lose a game against- except maybe Ireland if the famous 'luck of the Irish' kicks in.
Complain about this postEnglang lose again after being on top.
drop vaughn down the order, let strauss n bell open with flintoff at 3.
however if we can win last 3 games we will make da semis
Complain about this postEight players getting less than 9 runs, unbelievable, we need the batsmen to start batting, I could go in there and do myself no harm at the moment. We're a long way from looking comfortable, without Bell and Pietersen we could have been skittled out for 30!
Complain about this postFlintoff is obviously weak against spin. Give him a chance to open with Bopara. Atleast it will let him play some free strokes without any pressure and get england off to a good rapid start atleast sometimes and mark my words this will be the beggining of a legendary opening partnership for england. If not, it cant be any worse then it is already.
Complain about this postAs for vaughan and strauss/joyce let them come in after bell, KP, and collingwood.
England dint deserve ta get to da super 8's in da first place.... Da only match whr dey put up a fight wuz wit SL... Apart from dat, Bangladesh have performed much better in comparison to England. England have a gud team in paper, players like KP, Colly, Bell and Freddie have been proven match winners in da past... but dis current team does not have da hunger for success... they may pocess it, but they dont display it wen they play..... U only have to look at teams like SL and Aussies perform.. Their body language speaks for themselves. U can see em enjoying their cricket.. The same cannot b said for England. God Bless u England... Hope u get to da semis some day, but not this world cup for certain......
Complain about this postMichael might be there by dint of his astute captaincy but I can't help feeling a few runs from a less astute captain would hold England in better stead!
Also, with Freddie currently our best bowler but in the doldrums with his batting shouldn't we let him bat at 8 - the opposition wouldn't like to see him strolling out then and it would put them on the defensive.
Complain about this posttheres no point dropping Saj Mahmood, Plunketts not had no match practice in ages, Strauss was brought in at the wrong time, he needs to carry on. Vaughan has been abysmal its time he realised he was captain and he desparetly needs a captains innings
Complain about this posti think they should get geraint jones back in the side after this tornemant and keep him there , maybe even move him up the order , give him confidence like he had early in his career , even if its just in one day
Complain about this postThere may be an obvious answer to this, but why doesn't Hoggard play in the one-day side? He's been one of our most reliable and economical bowlers of recent years.
Complain about this postA patched up bowling attack, misfiring batsmen and some sloppy fielding....England are lucky to still be where they are.....apart from KP, they seriously need someone to stand up and deliver...all they need to do is remind themselves that they're still in this tournament and have another chance..
Complain about this postThe only teams playing exceptionally well are Australia & New Zealand. They will have off days sometimes. If England can sneak in, and it's a big if! then anything can happen in knockout stages.
SA & WI are playing worse than us so all is not lost yet.
Complain about this postSame old story...same old faces..same old result..with one or two exceptions, no guts no pride and no application..Gilchrist rightly got the benefit of the doubt...Hayden was as plumb as you can get..but then Bowden was the umpire ! Vaughan needs dropping down the order or better still dropping...Mahmood is cannon fodder...I cant go on...Im too depressed
Complain about this postIt seems to happen everytime England plays and it hurts when the middle order doesn't put up a strong fight.
Complain about this postWe need EVERYONE to play their part in a match and apart from KP/Bell and Bopara, the rest of the team just fell apart.
Trescothick is over hyped, scoring a big score this weekend in county cricket doesn't make up for flaking on his team mates and having to return back to England from Australia, on the back of not traveling to India.
The player England are missing is Loye, and perhaps Bophara should be batting further up the order as well. He is an aggresive player that often goes for it.
Complain about this postSomething that Joyce and Strauss do not, who are looking more and more like test and not ODI players by the day.
Then there is the issue of the much vaunted captain, perhaps he should bat lower than the order, or open with a string of aggresive players behind in case he fails.
Mahmood is awful.
Problem is we have no alternative.
Why do we not play Hoggard??
Complain about this postI was disappointed at the reaction of Pietersen to his ton..a good achievement, but how he milked it!
Complain about this postThey had lost their way...yet again!!
The batting is very disappointing..look at the Sri Lanka effort!!! And it could be the last World Cup for Vaughan, Flintoff, Collingwood.
We don't "frighten" anyone..we are seen as an easy touch!!!!!!!
If it's any consolation, what we really wanted to do was knock you out of the competition. And we couldn't do that. Chin up.
Complain about this postwell done AUS. Eng have to go home. I wonder wether we have a good team to play or not. if not we should not come to world competition to get humiliate.
Complain about this postSaj Mahmood needs to be dropped and the battling line up needs changing completely... Vaughn shouldn't be dropped but he shouldn't open either and Flintoff should be moved up the order to take advantage of the power plays...
Complain about this postNo cricketer or player of any game should be allowed to fail continually yet still be selected. This is doubly important when you select a captain. Vaughan has tried and tried but been found wanting. Bite the bullet, move on, and look for better. To do otherwise demoralises those who are currently succeeding and those who aspire to play for their team and country.
Complain about this postWas there and aswv it. Peterson is anothere Kallis; Useless. He cost Englandany chance of a win. When Bell got out on 77 he was 61 in 60 balls and toook 12 overes to get to 77. Hi celabraratotion on reaching 100 was as if he won thhe world cop on his own instead of losing it by not trying to score. In earlier blogs i siad Vaugtbhn needs to go. If her stays as captain it's thge end for england. He is a good captain but nothing spectial; cant bat; cant field and is no more than a an OKI captanis; Flintoff is no better than a powso=ibble slogger at No: 9/10 and batting him at 6 is a joke.....
Actually cost us any chance of a win.
The coach and selectaors have to ve fools as every one sees and realoises how stuopid they are
Complain about this postFor a while we had hope while Bell and KP were batting but there was always the nagging thought that once one of them got out that it would be the usual England collapse.
Here is a mad idea! With the England top-order batting such a disaster now, open with Bell and KP, and bring in Plunkett and Dalrymple - both can bowl and both will probably get more runs than Vaughan, Joyce or Strauss.
Complain about this postIt's long since past the time for England to pick their best 11 (from the squad on tour), and frankly. Michael Vaughan doesn't qualify. He's a shadow of the player he was in Australia in 2002/3 when at the height of his batting powers. There's a media scam that his captaincy is somewhat Brearleyesque following the 2005 Ashes triumph where he proved himself slightly more competent than Ponting, and because of that alone almost, he's worth his place. Well in my opinion he isn't, and proper analysis of that 2005 Ashes series will show that England played above themselves with Australia somewhat below themselves for the hosts to squeak home to a deserved a 2-1 win. In the WC tournament to date, Vaughan was a distant third in terms of hard statistics when analysing the performances of Joyce, Vaughan and Bell in the top order. Yet Joyce (top placed of those three before today's game) was the one who had to stand down to be replaced by the mis-firing Strauss. There certainly was a consensus both in these blogs and the media in general that his removal would be the correct course of action. Eh....why? I'm a Joyce supporter and proud that he's made it from Irish cricket to the England ODI squad. I would feel that more appropriately his batting place is in the Thorpe role in the test team rather than opening in the one-day team.
Complain about this postessentially, due to England's mainly defensive bowling line up, we have to bowl first, hope to take early wickets and restrict a team to a score. We cant bat first full stop, as we never know whether to stick of twist..
England can still qualify, and in Bell, Colly and KP and Flintoff with the ball we have players who can really hurt the opposition, but time and time again the likes of Saj Mahmood with the ball and vaughnie and fred with the bat undo all the good work.
Complain about this postBye Bye england .
Complain about this postNever mind the absence of Marcus, what about the absence of Mal Loye? I seem to remember that Trez wasn't actually in Australia during England's 3 - 0 win in the ODI series. Come to think of it, neither was Vaughan - and Strauss didn't play either!
Mal Loye did. He scored quickly, set the tempo and did well. OBVIOUSLY his reward for such sterling work was to be totally excluded from the World Cup England squad in favour of the usual suspects. England will simply never get anywhere while such skewed favouritism is so rampant. Also, I seem to remember that Flintoff did a great job as captain in the absence of our most 'indispensible' captain.
Vaughan is not a one day cricketer, neither is Strauss. The way in which the ODI side is picked should be completely seperate from the Test match selection process - it's a seperate game and should be treated as such. England have paid the price for the pathetic exclusion of Mal Loye, I hope they have learned the lessons and will address it - but somehow, I doubt it.
Complain about this postWhen are we going to realise that an average of 14 runs per innings just isn't good enough for a top order batsman, captain or not? If Michael was being honest, he wouldn't even pick himself, but basically it's true what Kevin says, we need a new coach who can make the difficult decisions and bases selection entirely on current form as opposed to friendships and bygone eras.
Complain about this postEngland will never be able to compete with the best in the world in any sport until they realise that non performing players need to be sidelined.
Today's batting performance followed a depressingly familiar pattern - initial collapse, followed by a hugely promising partnership and then once Bell was out, collapse again. The bowling was also predictable - Flintoff dependable, some good overs from Anderson and Mahmood, but also plenty of leg-side dross, and Panesar ineffective. Too many of our players are inconsistent on a regular basis for us to have a chance of winning the WC, and even though it's still possible for us to make the semis, it would be a bit of a travesty if we did. Bangladesh have beaten two test sides so far - we haven't beaten any.
As for Vaughan, I'm afraid his time has run out. As a batsman, he's not making runs, and as a captain, he's not winning matches. So why is he there?
Complain about this postWhy the fuss ? Apart from an aberration in Australia last year England have been useless at the one day game for several years. Why was it going to be any different now ?
Complain about this postI think England's captaincy was very poor in all areas of this match.
Bangladesh teenager Tigers who beat South Africa and knocked India which was one of the favourite, out of the competition. These teenager
Complain about this postTigers were the best.!!!
It's long since past the time for England to pick their best 11 (from the squad on tour), and frankly. Michael Vaughan doesn't qualify anymore. He's a shadow of the player he was in Australia in 2002/3 when at the height of his batting powers. There's something of a media scam that his captaincy is somewhat Brearleyesque following the 2005 Ashes triumph (where he proved himself slightly more competent than Ponting), and because of that alone almost, he's worth his place. Well in my opinion he isn't, and proper analysis of that 2005 Ashes series will show that England played above themselves with Australia somewhat below themselves for the hosts to squeak home to a deserved a 2-1 win. In the WC tournament to date, MPV hasn't been able to coax a winning performance from his players against any of the major cricketing nations, as well as personally being a distant third in terms of hard statistics in analysing the performances of Joyce, Vaughan and Bell in the top order. Yet Joyce (top placed of those three before today's game) was the one who had to stand down to be replaced by the mis-firing Strauss. There certainly was a consensus both in these blogs and the media in general that the removal of Joyce should be the correct course of action. Why should that be? I'm a Joyce supporter and proud that he's made it from Irish cricket to the England ODI squad. For me, Ed has played a bit to tentatively at times, seemingly unsure whether to hit out or to try and play the anchor role. Being almost in two minds has accentuated this tentativeness, and the English management need to get his roll better defined (hopefully not 12th man). But he has scored runs and has a MOTM performance in this tournament for the record. Personally, I feel that he his better suited to the Thorpe role in the test team (if he ever get's that chance) rather than opening for the one-day team.
Complain about this postThe person who said it is a year too early for England may well be right but doesn't it show how lightly one day cricket is taken in England - they have had FOUR YEARS to plan for this tournament. Vikram Solanki must be choking on his chapathis every mealtime when he sees the English excuse for a top order.
And why is Fletcher hellbent on turning Monty into Giles?
Complain about this postAs a Sri Lankan and a neutral observer of this game I cant believe the amount of stick KP gets by the so called england supporters. I mean he is human and u think 100 of 120 is slow?? I think KP slowed for two reasons, firstly the pitch slowed down and secondly he knew he had to stay through the whole innings.
Complain about this postI think KP is the only decent world class performer (no he isn't the best batsman in the world though!) in a pretty average Eng team. Flintoff is a good bowler but a hit and miss batsman. Strauss, Vaughan, Bell Joyce are decent test batsman but do not have the 'know how' in the ODI and are pretty confused on how to go about their innings. Bowling attack is very poor though and dont have the fire power to take enoguh wickets.
In short Eng cant and dont deserve the semi final spot.
Just hurry up and come home!
Complain about this postOk ok, why is everyone on Vaughn's back here. When he was out injured everyone was calling for him to come back quick and rescue us. Now that he is back and struggling slightly we call for his head.
Typical with us english fans. We do it with the football side as well. When we don't win we get hounded for it.
You can tell the players are trying their best. Their faces after Sri Lanka said it all. Some are struggling but that isn't through choice.
If we go out so be it. That means we weren't good enough but enough of all the anti player stuff because they wouldn't be in the team if they were not the best options available.
Complain about this postLucky to have got this far really, I didn't hold much hope, obviosuly I wished they had succeeded.
Performance nothing to write home about, just no consistancy anywhere, it seem's we just have to relay one of them having a 'good day' be it batting, fielding or bowling, even I would feel confident running between the wickets with England in the field.
Sorry some of the OT's in the game has served us well in their playing day's but not today, time for a change starting at the very top ...
...out with the old tie brigade in with some new - but who, we have absolutely no one, same goes with the player's who is there with consistancy, no Peter May, Colin Cowdrey, Ken Barrington, John Edrich... where are the Trumans Statham's, Underwoods ... they didn't have Helmets for goodness sake and the ball was coming down a darn sight faster...
... sorry they've gone from men to whimps - time to get the marbles out..!
David Smith
Complain about this postLeigh, Nr Manchester UK
Maybe its time for England to have somebody else as one day captain so that Vaughan can fight for his place just like everybody else.
Complain about this postEngland don't deserve to go through to the semi-finals. They are missing Trescothick terribly and just lack a bit extra in all departments. Vaughan should just concentrate on the tests.
Complain about this postengland need to reshape the batting order
Complain about this postbell should carry on opening after his good display today
ian botham is right flintoff should open with bell and Pietersen should be promoted to 3
also bopara should bat 7 below collingwood and Vaughan should be at 6
personally i think nether strauss or joyce should be in the team, the bowling is weak and broad or daylrymple should cum in and play
we won't get into the semi finals and the selection pannel need to reconsider the whole squad for the next series we play.Vaughan is the best captian in the world but he doesn't score runs so he should be dropped. England need to pick players on form not on names and reputations
Englands seniors will have to go. The recycling era is over. Let the Young & diciplined blood takeover. The team has displayed the most rotten sportsmanship in the entire history of the England Cricket.
Complain about this postMaybe, what if, bring back.........is all a load of bunkum. We were outclassed and outplayed, by our nemesis once again. Sure, KP and Bell raised there games, and scored well, but the rest crumbled...AGAIN. We can all sit here and say its was closer than we think, but personally, i think the aussies were just cruising, doing what they have to to win. For the final games, we should be going out there and just enjoying our cricket, seeing what we can do. Constantly changing the line up is useless, keep the same XI, and give them free rein to do whatever. Its obvious they can`t get anyworse. This cup is gone, we dont deserve to be in the semi`s, lets salvage something with 3 innovative performances to finnish off with.
Complain about this postHow dare Pieterson score 104 and hogg the ball not giving all the other English batsmen a
chance to score runs?
p.s. Extras 18 outscored Vaughn, Strauss, Collingwood, Flintoff, Nixon, Mahmood, Panesar and Anderson
Complain about this postYes agree fully with your assessment,they really can't complain at all the results so far,and in reality as a team do not seem to be able to put in a whole team effort mainly because the teams results depend upon each player and their individual form.and overall they have not acheived a collective consistency.
On scores alone Vaughan apart from being Captain does not deserve his place,Flintoff is one of those players who can at times make a real difference but again his batting has simply been not good enough,I think they should have retained Joyce,this was not the time to bring Strauss back and of course apart from the odd moment when the bowlers get it right they just can't penetrate teams as good as Australia,basically Australia are a class apart at the moment and to me appear to have a far better mental attitude to the game as well.
Complain about this postI say it again and again
Complain about this postozies play 100 percent 24 hours a day 7 days a week 52 weeks per year.
when it sinks in and we get this dedication we will start winning again.
we have the talent.
when will the need for discipline be recognised?
are the management team looking at themselves as well?
Can't remember a single occasion where Vaughan won a one day game for England. Why is he here ?
Complain about this postits time for flectcher to go and freddy to have rest mahmood just hasnt got it vaughan needs a rocket up his arse bring back mal loye come on bangledesh beat them cocky aussies
Complain about this postWhat's the fuss ? Two key wickets played on !! You have to learn to support your team through thick and thin. One mediocre performance and the hatchets come out. You're stressing out your team - my vote is for a good night out at "Rumours" !!
Complain about this postThe result shows that Australia completely outplayed England, but, I reckon the game was much more close. England played well only in parts and 247 was never enough. Pieterson and Bell took fight to the opposition, but, rest of them just fell like pack of cards. I remember India had a problem in the world cup regarding Sehwag and Dravid had to make a tough call, now, same is the problem with Vaughan, but, the batsman who deserves to be dropped is himself. I have no idea why Joyce was dropped, the only reason was that he was a young new player, it was Vaughan who should have been dropped. Flintoff looks like shadow of himself right now and I believe that he should be dropped down the order above Nixon and Bopara who is in form should be playing up in the order. I cannot accuse Strauss as he was given only one chance. Bowling attack is also not up to the mark and I am wondering why Plunkett was not played. He has given Gilchrist enough trouble in the past and is a decent bat also. Anyways, all is not lost for England and it's that do or die now. West Indies and South Africa will be all fired up and that makes the tournament even more exciting. England can still make it to Semi finals but that will take some doing. All I can say is Best of Luck
Complain about this postHow much longer are we to tolerate Vaughans presence in this team, not just as opener but as skipper aswell. It seems we are to persevere until he makes a score and then we will be told "we told you so". It is already too late for this world cup, but his turgid tempo sets the tone for the rest of the innings.
Complain about this postIt amazed me that it was Joyce, the only one of our top 3 with a ODI 100 to his name was the one to make way for the return of Strauss. It should have been Vaughan, and with his place, the captaincy too!
I doubt whether at this stage in the competition, Mal Loye would only have scored some 80+ runs, but we shall never know. Poor Mal made way for Vaughans inspirational captaincy, and how inspiring. Wins over Canada, Kenya and Ireland but losses to Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand say it all. He says we were close to wins against the Aussies and Sri Lanka, had we had a more positive start by himself, then we may have won. But we didn't.
A fundamental difference has been in the way Australia handles loss, compared to that of England. When Australia goes down - and may i say in shocking circumstances (England and NZ! i mean seriously!) then the first thing the team does is do away with excuses, admit things need to improve and rally around captain Ponting. There are no plaudits for 'almost' there moments, and only a complete team performance is accepted....You would not find an Ian Bell being complemented for a meagre 70 odd run innings in a 7 wicket losing side within the Australian ranks.
As for Ponting, well he now has to be considered the penultimate cricketer of the last decade, even a step above Lara or Tendulka, surely. I mean the guy bats in the hardest spot, number 3 in both Tests and 1-days, has consistenly won matches for Australia against all the best teams and performed at the most important of times in the big games. He has unbelievable fielding ability, a captaincy record to match the greatest and an incredible following within his own team. As long as Ponting is within the Australian ranks it is almost impossible to imagine them losing this World Cup, and extending there unbeaten run to a mammoth 30 odd matches!
Complain about this postGood assessment but how can a team, who has not beaten a top ranked side this tournament still be in the hunt for a semi final spot? England have beaten Kenya, Canada and Ireland and yet, are still talking about making the semis. Surely something is wrong with this system??
Complain about this postEngland were going to lose this game anyway but the margin of defeat was no doubt increased by the mystifying batting of the "world's no. 1 ranked ODI batsman" - Kevin Pietersen. I suppose selfish batting is the right description to describe his 'stroll' from 60 odd to his century which he celebrated as if though he had blasted the Aussies attack to smithereens or as someone else had commented 'as if he had won the world cup for England'.
His 'will-get-to-my-100-at-any-cost' attitude and the success flushed(after the Sri Lanka match) batting by Bopara cost England at least a good 30-40 runs - not that it would have prevented the Aussies from getting past that but it would have put some pressure on them and made the match a more closer affair.
KP even helped an otherwise expensive McGrath to drop into a good line and length together with Bracken so much so that when KP tried to blast away on grinding to his 100, he failed miserably and the England innings ended with a whimper not a bang. Many a batsman will try to score a hundred given chance but I can only think of a very few who will try to do so at the total expense of his team's chances given England's position in the Super Eights. KP and co. should have had a look at Mohammed Ashraful and his unselfish batting in trying to drive his teams total to a very competitive one against South Africa.
My prediction: Kevin Pietersen will battle with Matthew Hayden for the "honour" of ending up as the most successful batsman in this World Cup while England will be vying with Bangladesh to decide who will not finish second last.
Complain about this post02:15 AM on 09 Apr 2007, peter underhill wrote: I say it again and again
ozies play 100 percent 24 hours a day 7 days a week 52 weeks per year.
when it sinks in and we get this dedication we will start winning again.
we have the talent.
when will the need for discipline be recognised?
are the management team looking at themselves as well?
Damn right Peter, though I'm less sure about the talent bit; is talent really talent if it isn't properly and consistently exploited?
Complain about this postWas it only 3 or 4 days ago that England fans were suggesting England were peeking just at the right time?
England are not one of the top 4 teams, and will only make progress towards becoming one of those 4 when they accept that work does actually need to be done. At this stage that will mean new openers, and more incisive bowling, at the very least.
Complain about this postI fully agree with Roshan Fernando in his assessment of Kevin Pietersen. It was quite sad to see a batter of KP's calibre playing for a 100 rather than his team.
Complain about this postHis exaggerated celebrations said it all -
One more point is that while he was batting in his 90s Nasser Hussein and Michael Atherton were at the commentory box( in SET MAX channel - India). When Atherton asked Hussein whether KP shud hit out or play for his hudred Hussein replied that he should play for his 100 first and then he should hit out..............quite an astonishing answer......So I guess one cant blame KP alone for his "records come first" attitude
What a disapointing effort again. The critical stages of one day cricket must be recognised and seized by thinking cricketers. Firstly, after the fall of the 3rd wicket, Nixon should have gone in to force the issue. Secondly, when the squeeze was on the worst bowler for the pitch was brought on, Mahmood. Thirdly, the selectors picking Strauss???, what drugs are they on. Vaughan is not good enough to bat in the powerplays, and Flintoff should be thrown in as an opener like Gilchrist is for Oz. Mahmood is a passenger as he is neither a wicket taker nor economical.
Complain about this posteverone seems to forget that this aussie team is probably one of the greatest sides inthe last 40 yrs.they therefor make other teams look very average.
Complain about this postFeel sorry for England cricket destiny, as they being the founders of game cricket.it is sad to see that they do not have strike bowlers who could challange Aussie batsmen when Aussies do not take extra risks but marched peacefully for 48 overs.It was a dull and boring match to watch.Without any slight hesitation we have to accept that only when SL and Bangladesh play with others we really get nerve racking, nail biting, hair raising true spirit of cricket, with beauty,elegance and value for time in this tournament
Complain about this postVaughan is a top order batsman. He needs to play in the rest of the world cup, if he give himself some self-confidence, it could rub off on other under-acheiving players. Don't drop Vaughan, there's a big score coming...
Complain about this postThe 51st State Should Play Baseball
Watching the Apprentice last week I noted that Donald Trump fired the candidate because he was too confident and want to share the resources with competing team.
Well if that is how winners go than I believe Duncan Fletcher and Michael Vaughan should go. Already the team is playing with 20 percent less resources. 10 percent of Michael Vaughan and 10 for Joyce or Strauss.
Successive defeats in the same pattern have not made the management think, leave apart tinkering.What on earth they are looking for heavenly intervention???
You come lose three wickets KP plays and build a decent platform and then all thrown away leaving nixon and tailender to salvage something. If this is how team support each other than please let nixon come at one down atleast he will have assurance having someone after him.
Yesterday match was a crisis, not in term of england defeat as it was expected but in the way they loose it. Flintoff never guessed Hogg ball in australia and he was sent in again at the same number to face him. Secondly when there is one hitter on other side in KP why one need to have Flintoff, send in Bopara to rotate and let Flintoff slog in last ten.
And about captaincy well it was awful at best -
Nobody asked monty to take wickets.
If you count how many times the last ball of the over was hit for four and specially the time when the asking rate was 5.7 then you realise how miserable vaughan was.
Course of action
Forget the night drink and other incidents, don't fool people. Its time to rock the boat.
Make freddie captain in next match and ask him to open the inning to play the new ball coming on to the bat and let him make his presence felt. Anyways he is not making runs lower down and Vaughan is not even expected to make runs anywhere in ODI
Ask KP to be less Selfish otherwise we keep on making the below par scores and keep loosing.
Get in Plunkett at least he will swing to take wickets rather than just trying to stifle the opposition.
Batting order
Bell
Flintoff
KP
Collingwood
Bhopara
Darylmple
Nixon
Plunkett
Saj Mahmood
Anderson
Monty
This team has four bowlers and four batsmen and 4 all-rounders. Compare to the present team which has four batsmen three batsmen and three bowlers and two all rounders.
Complain about this postA bit of reality here. An England side that's been chopped and changed for years and is rated near the bottom of the ODI rankings for major teams was beaten by an Aussie team who are both the form team of the tournament and, irrespective of the official ranking, the best ODI team in the world right now.
England were competitive for large parts of the game but lacked the extra class to tip the balance and I think part of the frustration is that we ran Australia closer than we should perhaps have expected.
Looking at the individuals :
Strauss looked in decent touch and deserves another chance.
Vaughn seems to have no luck or form at the moment and should drop down the order
Bell played well but his old familiar hiccup of playing in the air too much got him again
KP I disagree with the ascertain that he was selfish. Look how many balls he actually faced and you'll see that most of the time when England wobbled he was kept off strike and on a pitch difficult to play with an old ball, he effectively had to restart his innings and holed out trying to accelerate
Collingwood/Bopara/Nixon not their day with the bat but they've earned their places in other games
Anderson good enough, best of what we have out there
Saj....no, just no. Not an ODI bowler by any stretch
Monty someone needs to remind him that he's in there to take wickets and not be a flat trajectory Giles clone.
The bones of a decent team but a shuffle is needed for the next game :
1. Strauss
2. Bell
3. KP
4. Collingwood
5. Bopara
6. Vaughn
7. Nixon
8. Dalrymple
9. Flintoff
10.Anderson
11.Broad
Gives us a depth of batting and, if we have to play a defensive spinner, at least have one that can bat a little if need be in Dalrymple.
Complain about this postBroad should be given a chance if Plunkett is not in favour or form and Vaughn (carried at no.6) needs to remember that Bopara (and also Bell) can bowl medium pace would take the pace off the ball well for a delayed power play2 (yes, use that power play tactic!).
Englad lost due to the fact, England did not score enough runs,short of 20-30 runs. I blame Kevin Pietersen for slowing down to get his ton,selfish at expense of team.
Complain about this postThe recognised openers can't open, the bowlers can't bowl or bat, apparently we haven't any captains in county cricket who are tactically aware, can use the bat only a very little bit, and are available for selection, so much for Hussain's brave new world, totally shot to pieces very quickly, perhaps the selectors can find their way back to the drawing board, and select players whose performances will better the current flops, I mean, that really shouldn't be too difficult, should it?,how do you get worse than no runs and no wickets, after all, with change we can only carry on losing, so what's new and at least someone else will have had a chance, on the other hand..... just perhaps!!!!.
Complain about this postWell all is over for England in Caribean, I don't know whats up to the couch and the captain, why they open with voughan, why they don't open with Bopara and flintof. Welldone Aussie, you are indeed the world's best team, coz without Lee, Watson, Martyn and Warn you can eat any side easily, Your are the Best....... Allas England, I don't know why they prefer Sajid Mahmood to Plunkit, he is a master piece...
Complain about this postKP just can't win.He gets criticised for not getting a century and then gets criticised when he does.Scoring became harder when the ball softened and he had to try and bat out the innings.He maybe should have tried for singles but the other batsmen were getting out and not giving him the strike. Australia played as they needed to play.Do enough without taking risks,and accelarate with wickets in hand.The pitch slowed more and more as the game went on,so Ponting did well.He kept Clarke calm as well.What a canny cricketer he is.Bit suicidal between wickets though.England did not post enough runs,and the openers must take the majority of the blame for that.Strauss should have been played earlier in the tournament not brought back in such an important game.
Complain about this postThe bowling attack is seriously flawed, I have not seen a poorer one in over 45 years in any forms of the English National Cricket.
And the team can not get away from the spin they keep rolling out about their performance, this can only come from one person. Ask an Australian to sum up our performance and they will be honest, brutal but honest.
To bury your head in the sand and to deny the serious weekness and strategy of our game hoping that it will just turn out ok with positive thinking is just plain bonkers.
We need someone to sort it out.
I am available, I am sure I can do a better job and I am only half bonkers.
Complain about this postAndy
Anderson good enough, best of what we have out there
Saj....no, just no. Not an ODI bowler by any stretch
Monty someone needs to remind him that he's in there to take wickets and not be a flat trajectory Giles clone.
The bones of a decent team but a shuffle is needed for the next game :
1. Strauss
2. Bell
3. KP
4. Collingwood
5. Bopara
6. Vaughn
7. Nixon
8. Dalrymple
9. Flintoff
10.Anderson
11.Broad
Gives us a depth of batting and, if we have to play a defensive spinner, at least have one that can bat a little if need be in Dalrymple.
Broad should be given a chance if Plunkett is not in favour or form and Vaughn (carried at no.6) needs to remember that Bopara (and also Bell) can bowl medium pace would take the pace off the ball well for a delayed power play2 (yes, use that power play tactic!).
You are right.I am from India and I am supporter of england.I think england can reach the final.I am disappointed with england yesteday.This is exactly what england should be doing.Ian bell and andrrew strauss should open and michael vaughan should come after that with kevin pietersen should come at 4.Playing jamie darlymple is a good move.Although I prefer plunkette to broad.
you are right about saj mahmood.He was very expensive.And he probably cost england the match.monty panesar was unlucky but I think he should be there.A good move will be to remove billy bowden as the umpire for england.mathew hayden was plumb and he was not given out.England should compain to the ICC and the match referee about this.Just think about australia being
o/1 and ricky ponting walking in.It would have been difficult for australia to win.
I would like a england vs new zealand final.
Complain about this postToo many players in this team are there on the basis of reputation and not form and you have no chance of winning this tournament with that attitude and acceptance. It starts at the top with Vaughan, Strauss and Joyce all failing with the bat. What is wrong with Mal Loye? You cannot afford to carry a capt so far out of form. In addition I do not know what is wrong with Flintoff, but he is there only for his bowling at the moment so drop him down the order, he certainly cannot justify himself as an allrounder. If we lose one more game we are out so lets then drop all those who have not delivered and give the others practice for the future. If we lose our next game, drop Vaughan, Joyce, put flintoff down the order, promote Bopara and make Collingwood capt.
Complain about this postFact this team have not delivered and the sooner they understand that the public want and expect to see the hunger back, the better. Anyone can have a bad day at the office, but how you respond is the key and too many of this team are in cruise mode and need to get back to a genuine pride and hunger to wear the shirt
Isn't it time we used the right approach to the team. Pick the best in-form squad, which should be fully fit. Then, from that squad pick a captain!
Complain about this postWhy is Vaughan in the side at all? As a previous blogger said, if he were a decent captain he would drop himself. He must realise that the team comes first not the captain!
Quick question - which ODI England captain since 1975 has managed to score 50+ per game, take 5 wickets or catches every time he's on the field, and still display the tactical nous to beat the (then) current ODI champions?
Complain about this postWe have this discussion every time England gets itself into bother (ie at least once per game England plays). Being England ODI captain seems to be turning into an unlearning curve - forget what made you good enough to be captain in the first place, just aim for slogmeister status and to hell with the rest (the sure route to KP clonedom). Poor, poor Vaughny ...
England again rued a golden oportunity.Vaughan showed again that he is a liablity to the team by not leading from the front in terms of runs.Bell and Peterson played superbly but could not continue till the end.They need to fire again to give atleast some hope for the team to reach the semi finals.All the best to them!
Complain about this postAn absolute joke should be made to come home asap to stop any further embarrassment
Complain about this postI always believe that you should select the best possible eleven and then choose the most suitable player too be captain.Not vice-versa!
Complain about this postEngland's undoing is their conservatism in their approach to one day cricket, and as for astute captaincy, I fail to see it. A slow pitch, the Australians tied up, and the Captain brings on Mahmoud with an economy rate pushing six to helpfully provide the pace needed to allow the runs to flow again; at the top order, the Aussies long ago moved Gilchrist to the top of the order to score at speed - even more important in the Power Play era. If he gets out, he gets out, and there are no recriminations. They have the batsmen to come. Put Flintoff in the Gilchrist role. Against the Aussies England again signified their defensive intent from the outset (more astute captaincy? Don't think so.).
Pietersen? Can't win; he is virtually opening the batting already, so the debate about whether he should be at three or four seems somewhat hypothetical. He's expected to perform the anchor role, repair both top order and mid-order collapses, and blast the bowling to pieces at the end of the innings, and gets savaged if he doesn't achieve all of them. I believe analysis will show that one of the problems was that he actually had difficulty getting the strike, as one other area England are proving inept in is rotating the strike with singles. Credit to Ponting for exploiting this; evidence that our astute captain and equally astute coach had given this issue some thought in terms of where they put their fielders, and who they put in key positions was sadly lacking. And am I the only observer who finds it odd that at this level England take the field with one player, Anderson, who can field with only one hand?
Flintoff to open, Bopara at three, Collingwood to captain, drop Vaughan, put Strauss at six, bring in Broad instead of Mahmoud, and play Anderson only if he can field (and not duck out of catches as against Sri Lanka.)
Complain about this postvaughn dropped
line up
bell
joyce
bopara
pietersen
collingwood
flintoff
darymple
nixon
plunkett
anderson
monty
england are too bad
Complain about this postdarymple should replace strauss
joyce replace vaughn
plunkett replace mahmood
Why on earth didn't Bopara get a bowl? Pitch was getting lower and slower, even a novice like myself would've tried the spin option.
This raises a couple of questions: 1) why do we have a spinner in the side? and 2) has Vaughan's confidence suffered so much due to his abysmal batting performance that it's affected his ability to make crucial decisions such as this?
Complain about this postsarat is the best
Complain about this postWhy is Saj in the team?
Complain about this posthe is utterly useless
England do not deserve to progress to the semi-finals even if they do win the next 3-games, which have to say looks extremely unlikely given recent results... We struggled to beat Ireland and tbh i can see Bangladesh getting a result against us....
I have to ask a simple question, WHY IS VAUGHAN opening the batting? It's so ridiculous having someone who just doesn't seem to be able to cope at this level, put him down the order and have maybe Flintoff opening the batting, he's another case example of someone that looks like a fish out of water with a bat in his hand....
Complain about this postGeez, some people really have it in for KP here!
I'm guessing the same people having a go at him for settling down and making sure he batted through the innings (or as good as) are the same people who castigated him for getting out trying to hit out against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. What would you all be saying had he tried to hit out, been caught for about 75 and England made 220? I guess it would have been along the lines of "irresponsible KP, throwing it away just as we were loosing wickets!"
Personally I reckon he did just the right thing, on losing Bell, Collingwood and the hapless Flintoff in quick succession he buckled down and set his sights on 260 rather than 300. However there was no support from the other end! The guy has top scored in all of England's matches against test playing nations, why pick on him?
On another note, Australia were simply cruising with the bat. Vaughan is hailed as a great captain, wee shouldn't a great captain have done something while Clarke when about scoring 50 at a strike rate in the high 80s, with just 2 fours? For me his captaincy yesterday was average, and his batting has long gone.
Also Joyce has looked in decent nick (although not scored runs) so should come back in the team, Strauss also should stay, he's a class player going through a bad patch, but KP MUST move up to 3 (or open), the argument that he's down at 4 to protect him from the new ball is quite simply rubbish. Flintoff also has to go down from 6, and Mahmood must be replaced by Plunkett or anybody else for that matter. Anderson is bowling all right (although not as well as he can) and Monty should be encouraged to attack more.
My England team then:
Joyce
Bell
Pieterson
Strauss (capt)
Collingwood
Bopara
Nixon
Flintoff
Plunkett
Panesar
Anderson
Ausrtalia would still win though...
Complain about this postI've always wondered if the best cricket players in the world are all over here in the USA playing American baseball. Just imagine a team of batters like Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals), Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants), Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees), etc., etc., etc. (too many to name). Not even the famed googly pitch would have a chance against any major league baseball players batting in cricket.
I mean, come on, you cricket batters are hitting a round ball with a flat sided bat. LOL!!! Like that's a hard thing to do. If you used a round bat like American baseball then I might be impressed.
For me personally after over 20+ years of playing American baseball you all would never get me out in cricket. I'd score hundreds of wickets, overs, unders, runs, hits and every other possible way to score in cricket. I'd be batting for a hundred years in a row at least.
Complain about this postplease drop the two players from the squad: The captain and Mahmood! Everytime Mahmood bowls I need to swicth my channel.
Complain about this postI don't agree with most of you. I think Vaughan is worth his place for his captaincy, but given that England can't always be 2-20 after 12, he has to bat lower. Opening with freddie is a lunatic idea - he's completely out of form. Bell and Strauss are the obvious opening pair, then KP at three, then Colly, Vaughan, Bopara and Fred at 7.
I don't understand why they stick with Saj - he only gets rubbish wickets and can't bat nearly as well as Plunkett.
Nice to see Monty get a hit yesterday - about time too...
Complain about this postNo matter how good Michael Vaughan is deemed to be as a captain, he is currently a passenger in an already weak batting line-up. He has had more than enough opportunities to prove his worth and failed at every one of them. It would also be a mistake to reinstate Andrew Flintoff as captain, he seems to treat an international cricket tour as a family holiday. Paul Collingwood, out of our existing crop of in favour players, would probably be the best option for the position.
Complain about this postThe time to replace Duncan Fletcher is also long overdue, he has to shoulder much of the blame for the team's dismal performances on the field and their antics off it. Any manager worth his salt would never let his charges have so many chances of embarrassing themselves and the rest of the team, not to mention their country.
i think england lost the golden opportunity to beat aussies and be there in the semi's .160 for 2 to 190 for 5 shows their lack of mental toughness which is very essential against the team like Australia.My best wishes are with english team and i am optamistic that they will reach to semi finals ,but in present scenario,its just a dream.
Complain about this postWith the 2 obvious exceptions, England were poor with the bat. Monty seems to lack variation with the ball, and Mahmood was expensive. It seems that his 4-50 against Sri Lanka was a flash in the pan. England should consider 3 changes: Mahmood, Monty and Strauss out, Plunket, Broad and Dalrymple in. Broad is a talented kid that should be given a chance against Bangladesh. I also heard certain commentators mentioning that Freddie should open. It wouldn't be a bad ploy, as the ball doesn't move around that much, it is hard and new, and will come on to the bat. This is what Freddie could need to fire again with the bat. I don't fancy him facing Bangladesh's spinners.
Complain about this post3 wins out of 3 in Barbados is possible for England, but they really need to buck their ideas up. Here's my team to play Bangladesh:
Bell
Flintoff
Pietersen
Vaughan
Collingwood
Bopara
Nixon(wk)
Dalrymple
Plunkett
Broad
Anderson
As an Aussie can I offer some advise to England. Before the Ashes began there were all sorts of talk about Dad's Army, etc. I would be the first to admit that our team is older than most. But three differences between the 2 sides is [1] in the mental area, and [2] in the skills area and [3] mateship [or call it teamwork or playing to win for each other not for personal glory]. In all the areas England lag well behind a number of the key cricket nations.
Examples are ripe in this game - Strauss in his mental state, Vaughan in the skills area and Pietersen who reminds me so much of Kallis in that he plays more for himself than for the team. That may be harsh to some but if it was not true he would have maintained his strike today at around 100 nd not let it drop to around early 80's as he sought to get his first 100 against Australia.
Look at the difference between this England side and the one back In January. Mal Loye was replaced by Vaughan, Pietersen wasn't there, neither was Strauss.
Is Vaughan and his captaincy really worth that much to the side that basically England starts their innings at 1 20 or thereabouts? I doubt it.
England do need to thinking laterally or creatively in their planning for the future. To do this Fletcher must go. Also Strauss must go. Vaughan must go too. Flintoff must drop down to 8 in the order [or come up to open]. Bopara should go up and be given extended time to grow/perform. Pietersen must bat at 3. Broad should be given a go in the side. Panesar must be allowed to be an attacking bowler and not a defensive "Giles" replacement. He is at his best when he is attacking.
There is a future. But it means some drastic changes. Will that happen? No, of course not. England is too staid to try anything radical. That will be to the detriment of one-day cricket in England in the long run.
Complain about this postSome very interesting comments here - thanks for posting them.
I do find, however, the criticism of Pietersen's innings hard to comprehend. Having been dropped by Hayden from a poor stroke, he knuckled down and made sure he got to three figures - which is exactly what England have been asking him to do. Pietersen is a class above the rest and the England team will be built around him for the next few years.
As far as Flintoff is concerned, I've been thinking for some time that he should open the batting. He would then have free rein to go for his shots and try to hit over the in-field. Having him in the middle order doesn't work because he cannot play spin. The expression 'flat track bully' was once used about Graeme Hick - well, the same is true of Flinotff, in my opinion.
Michael Vaughan's lack of runs in one-day cricket is very worrying - I can't imagine someone playing 80 odd games for Australia without making a single century and keeping his place. With Flintoff demoted and Strauss only just back in the side, he is, however, the best option as skipper - Paul Collingwood would be the only possible alternative, but what effect would that have on his game?
I remember Mike Brearley being picked for his captaincy and how his opening stand with Geoff Boycott was so slow, it effectively killed England's chances of winning the 1979 World Cup final. But at least Brearley did manage to guide the team to the final - it will now be a miracle if Vaughan does the same.
Complain about this postWhere was the aggression at the 28-30 mark. After Bell got out, Pieterson batted for himself - 64 off 65 balls - ton off 120 - rubbish, cost us the game in way. The Aussies were on the back foot and we managed to get them back into the game. How the Koertzen incident changed the game!!!! Stopped 4 runs, put Bell on strike and wicket....... Flintoff - 4 off 19 balls, no agressive shots at all and surrendered his wicket tamely. Looks out of sorts. Think Beefy is right - shove him at the top of the order and give him the license to belt it. Pieterson should be at 3 too.
Bowling, well the less said about Mahmood the better. Plunkett does well against the Aussies, not sure why he wasn't in the side today.
Thought that Hogg bowled out of his skin, but wasn't put under any pressure at all by non-aggresive strokeplay. Ponting again has got out of jail. His captaincy is poor, but cricket's a game of luck and he certainly has his fair share.
Anyway, roll on 2011.........
Complain about this postVaughan stays. Strauss in for Joyce. Could have been Strauss for Vaughan. Vaughan for Flintoff: what's the essential difference? How can it be that England's top three are so limited? At least Joyce scored a ton.
Bangladesh, with an 18yr old wicket keeper, were superb v. SA with a superb energetic display in the field. Their bowling with the spinners had SA in turmoil. Their performance puts England's in perspective. Ireland, with something like 87 ODI caps at least have shown grit against teams many times more experienced.
Complain about this postA team cannot play with 2 batsmen in the top 6 who score no runs. Flintoff must stay as a bowler but Vaughan must go. He has never been a 1-day success as a batsman and now is a complete failure. Strauss, or Collingwood, or frankly anyone, can captain.
Complain about this post"Different to" and a split infinitive puts this writing on a par with England's cricket. Does this chap think he's a Yank?
Complain about this postWhy doesn't Matthew Hoggard get selected for the one day internationals - he is clearly better than Mahmood and Anderson - more accurate and relable - all this business about not being a one day cricketer is nonsense - we're ALL one day cricketers to start with, otherwise we wouldn't play. He's a good professional cricketer - pick him and he'll give 100% Yorkshire grit and determination!!
Complain about this postMake them hit straight post mid-on and mid-off back and bowl line and length.
England needs to make more use of the first 10 overs of power play. Would it be a stupid experiment to promote Nixon to open ? He's got the experience and the strength, and is wasted batting at number 9
Complain about this postMuch as I dislike KP, I think he's due credit for his performance in this match. He was the only rock in the England innings and got absolutely no help from his teammates.
And yes, while the top order failed and the middle struggled, I'm surprised that there's been so little mention of the tail collapse. Tailenders in any team can scratch around and get a few runs or at least swing and hope to make a few big ones before they get out. Taking none of the credit away from the Aus death bowling, England's tail hardly wagged -- 4 wickets fell so tamely in 2 overs!!!
After looking in decent tick in the middle of their innings, Eng lost their way yet again. If SA are 'chokers', what's the word for England?
Complain about this postFor goodness sake, isn't it about time to shake up the batting order! Get Flintoff to open the innings with Bell. Flintoff could put the fear factor on the opposition bowlers. KP at No 3 and Vaughn, somewhere in No 6. Have the selectors, manager and captain, no imagination or tactics at all? Carting Strauss in, after dropping him for a period, without ODI practice for sometime, to face Australia in a critical game? Sheer lunacy..
Complain about this postBell
Collingwood
Pietersen
Bopara
Strauss
Vaughan/Joyce
Flintoff
Nixon
Broad
Anderson/plunkett
Panesar
That team would do well because the best batsmen are coming in earlier so there is not the same pressure as when they have to come in after the top order have callapsed. I also think the bowling attack is stronger and there are more options. This team will do for now but after the world cup there needs to be serious changes. New coach, new captain, less players been picked on past glory's.
Complain about this postWasn't it blindingly obvious yesterady that if 4 of your top 6 batsmen score 18 in a one innings game against the best team in the world that you are going to struggle to say the least?
There is therefore no point in blaming KP for this that or the other.
And in that context not much point of blaming Saj M or the bowlers either. They did pretty well and just high-lighted the ineptitude of the failing batsmen.
And so the debate as to whether Vaughan and Strauss are One Day players will go on I guess as will Flintoff's exact status as a batsman.
The trouble with Vaughan and Strauss is that they don't seem that interested in this form of the sport ?
Complain about this postFirst of all i think England were very unlucky first off in the bowling. They had 2 plum LBW appeals strangly turned down by the umpires. Had we had those 2 wickets, things might have been different.
The second piece of bad luck we had was when Belly cut an expected 4 straight onto the umpire at square leg. Had that gone for a 4, the chances of him thick edging one to the catcher would have decreased, and i think he would have stayed in for his ton.
I think many people a re yet again frustrated with KP for only thinking of himself when getting his ton. Firstly, i believe that had he not got his ton, people would have been saying "ooooh.. well he should have just stayed in a knocked it around for his 100", but what he actually did do was for me is what people have been asking him to do. When Belly got out, the middle order collapsed and he consolidated his inning when he was on about 80. He held it together for England, and had he got out carelessly then people would be up in arms!!!
If anyone should be booted out, then Vaughen should, and get back Tressy as soon as possible.
We are badly in need of Jones again, so when he gets back he will be a revelation.
As for Flintoff... he should be relegated to number 9 batsman, as i could pick Hogg better than he can for G*d sakes.
What a joke!!!!
Other than that. England have been playing brilliantly.... haha.. not!!!
Complain about this postWell lets face it - since Jones was sent in as a pinch hitter, England have always struggled. I am turning to the future with this one for next year: 1) Cook 2) Bell 3) Pieterson 4) Joyce 5) Collingwood 6) Bopara 7) Davies 8) Flintoff 9) Broad 10) Panesar 11) S. Jones. Pick 20 players to play all the tests and 1 dayers and stick with them - give them a chance. KP and IB must be fed up to say the least. As for Mahmood - average county bowler at best ! Last rant - England got momentum going in Oz under Flintoff, so why did we destroy that to accommodate someone with dodgy hamstrings and an ave. of 26 ! Botham for 1-Day coach !
Complain about this postah well - we saw it coming, didn't we?
Let's face the facts - we can run up about 200-250 against anyone. We have to understand that the only way we will win games is by our bowling and not our batting, because trying to improve that in a short time is impossible. That is why we need to bring back Plunkett and be creative in the use of the powerplays. We have to pressure the opposition's batters to take chances.
Bowling to take wickets is our only hope. Forget trying to limit the runrate blah blah.....
Complain about this postI think it's time for the selectors to say good bye to England's captain. To be fair he hasn't shown performance and brings the whole team down. It appears that he is taking a valuable slot for a batsman.
Complain about this postThe batting of this england team just gets more and more frustrating. Vaughan should not be in the side, I don't care how much people bang on about his captaincy I don't see anything particularly innovative about it personally and he has had all the chances he deserves as a batsman in this form of the game.
What has happened to Freddie is anyones guess, from worlds best all rounder to complete numpty with the bat - incredibly frustrating but I think there may be something in having him open.
KP played well yesterday, there is no point citicising him for his scoring rate at the end, he was losing wickets all around him and wanted to make sure he stayed there, and nobody who didnt actually bat there yesterday knows how easy or difficult it was to score runs. What I will happily ciritcize him for is his celebration. It shouild have been apparent to him that we had nowhere near enough runs to win the game so that celebration was all about him .. and does nothing to dispell the rumours of him not really being a team man.
As has already been said, England dont deserve a place in the semis but I will be more than happy if they do get one!
Complain about this postIn Australia, the captaincy of the Australian cricket team is regarded as a more important post than that of Prime Minister.
Complain about this postThere is no way that an Australian captain would retain the number one baggy green if they didn’t perform as a tactician, as a batsman, or as a fielder or a bowler for that matter.
And there is no way that they would retain the captaincy on their skills as a captain alone.
It seems that the hardest thing to achieve from an English player’s point of view is to be sacked from the England squad.
When this WC tournament is finished, Fletcher should be stood down with immediate effect. England should move heaven and earth to get Tom Moody to take over. He's now got international experience with SL; the Aussie work ethic and attention to detail; and an in-depth knowledge of the English game. Do you think for one second that TM would accept such an average performer in Vaughan as his ODI captain? Not likely, and a number of hard decisions need to be made before this team is capable of competing consistently at the highest level in the one-day game.
Complain about this postSeems to me like vaughan is there to make up the numbers..
Theres probably 6 other players that would quite happily fill that roll and score runs for there country..
Players need to e left out if their not performing this will soon hit them and they will realise the cant get in theteam on merit they must perform for their counties!
Complain about this postThe best you can say about this England team is that it is mediocre. Our strike bowlers do not penetrate and one of them is so erratic that it is becoming embarassing. Flintoff's batting has obviously regressed and his bowling is becoming predictable. Panesar cannot field and he is being shown up by the performances of the opposition's slow bowlers. Strauss is inadequate as a fielder. and neither he nor Joyce convinces as batsmen who will succeed in one day cricket. We have a thirty seven year old wicketkeeper who is going nowhere. Pietersen is not a team player and never will be. Vaughan is not a good captain as he consistently makes the wrong decisions. Fletcher and his coaches have eschewed flair and individual skill for predictable routine which fools no-one save the inexperienced and naive. I predict a defeat by Bangladesh as on the evidence of performance this England team is in meltdown.
The commentary on TMS still fails to provide a clear picture of events on the field of play. I really do not want to listen to Agnew and Marks discussing sailing nor do I need information about a golf tournament. You are watching a cricket match gentlemen and your job is to provide details of the cricket match, not to indulge in idle badinage.
Complain about this postIf I was KP I'd be mightily hacked off at turning in performance after performance only to have his sorry selection of team mates let him down time and time again. And all Vaughan has managed to do in this World Cup is unsettle the squad with his disciplinary demands over Flintoff - a woeful over-reaction. Then again, did we expect England to really be anything other than the sorry shower they are? Not least when led by the increasingly ignorant, arrogant and clueless Duncan Fletcher?
Complain about this postMe, Jonny D and Desmondo McD are disappointed with Flintoff as he is as bad as both myself and my building. We believe that England need Chunky McD to win the world cup even though he has a sore hip, Dep DEP de! TIL BLAZES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Complain about this postIt's time Fletcher made some brave decisions to give us any chance in this World Cup - I bet he's on his way anyway.
Complain about this postVaughan is finished and was never started at One Day International cricket. So it is time a new captain was appointed and my choice would be Paul Collingwood. It would give him a chance to prove himself capable of taking over from Vaughan.
Vaughan could then be told he must prove himself by scoring early runs in County Cricket otherwise he loses his Test place.
Then it's time for a radical change with Flintoff opening with Bell. It's a no brainer that Pieterson bats at 3 and Collingwood at number 4. A safety net of Strauss or Joyce at 5 with Bopara and Dalrymple at 6 & 7. Nixon at 8 followed by Broad, Anderson and Panasar.
Mahmood should never play for Engand again at any level as he just isn't up to it. Broad is a definate England player and should get straight into the team.
Nothing further to lose at this stage but for Gods sake make an effort to move this Englan team on !
Vaughan please drop yourself. Seriously, if we had a few more runs at the top instead of you playing we would most probably be a dead cert for a place in the semi final. Pietersen once again brilliant and who can truly win a match on his own. We didn't have him in Australia and we still beat the Aussies! It is looking increasingly difficult to progress but Bangladesh did us a great favour by beating SA. Either SA, WI or Eng to fight for the fourth place unless of course Bangla spring another surprise! Also, Mahmood should be dropped, he may be a wicket taker but his economy rate is too poor and gives too many 4 balls. Monty's place too, dare I say is not too permanent either - Darylmole would certianly gives us more depth to the batting and if he had played yday instead of Monty we may have won? Bring Plunkett in as he is a better bowler and certainly better bat than Mahmood. Has the same ODI batting average as captain Vaughan but a much better strike rate (in the eighties). We might just squeeze through to the semis but would be a miracle! Vaughan has been a big disappointment and his position is threadbare and could be the reason why we don't progress to the semi finals. Please practice some county cricket and get some runs and then try and get back into the team after some runs for Yorks.
Complain about this postI think we need to look to the future and find a new captain. Bringing in a new captain should start a new era for the team which is what we need now!
Complain about this postVaughn and Bell worked a treat!
Complain about this postI think some of you have been listening to Botham too much, he was a great captain wasn't he... ;)
Flintoff to open?? seriously? considering you're all moaning about Vaughan not coming up with the goods what on earth makes anyone think flintoff would? His batting so far in this tournament has been atrocious, no thought what so ever into his shot selection and he's playing like he's messing around in the nets not on the international stage representing his country.
"freedom to play his shots", he's been trying to play his shots, and been made to look stupid whilst doing it, he's just another walking wicket like Vaughan, Strauss and Joyce.
There is no solution to this problem because the squad we have brought, thanks to fletcher, is not up to the task. The only possible chance we have of making use of the opening overs is to open with Bell and Pietersen with Colly at 3, but then they're facing the new ball and more likely to get out to that opening sighter or bit of early swing and just face a collapsing batting lineup behind them, the pressure is on them even more. Those three must be so fed up to be in a team of such losers. Individually in a no pressure match all of our players have the ability to play well, but as soon as it matters and the pressure is on they have no mental aptitude to raise their game and perform at the highest level, they let themselves down more than they do us.
Complain about this postIm So looking forward to the end of the fletcher/Graveney reign....
Tom Moody to be installed, thats what he is waiting for as he's wife and kids are happy living in the midlands it should be the natural thing to do....a complete change..
Goodbye kevin-No-Shine, goodbye Jeza Snape (who)...goodbye after all these wonderful years David-no clue-Graveney
Goodbye saj, there is only room for one talented sports man in your family and cousin amir khan has all that talent, so thanks for the memories of leg side slow full tosses and lucky wickets.....
ane hello again Simon Jones, how we miss you!
Goodbye Jimmy Andreson, dont bother!
Hello again Hoggy and dare I say it harmy....but a definate hi to stuey Broad....lead us through the valley of Death young stuart into a brave new world..
hello to steven Davis, now I admire Nixon and reverse sweeps for six, its been emotional, but when will you, fletch and vaughney learn that telling Monty to bowl flat and quick is a no brainer.....you bloody fools..!...Steven davis the job could well be yours soon young man.
Freddie, get the chip off your shoulder, (and out your belly for that matter) sort it out now.
vaughn, sorry, the one day game not for you, welcome back to test cricket but leave the other form to some one else..
Now I have been saying these things since November and first test so Im jumping on no band wagon, but someone please listern to all these many thousands upon thousands of hints over the past six months and learn something.
Complain about this postEnjoy the change, its coming fast!
I'm sure this must have been raised elsewhere by someone, but what about having a different team manager/coach for the ODIs?
We already have different teams for Tests and one-dayers so why not different management, too?
As for reshuffling the pack at this stage in the tournament, we have little to lose. So it would be good to see Bell and Nixon open, Pietersen at three, followed by Bopara, Colly, Vaughn and Flintoff. Nothing to lose by giving Broad and Plunkett a go instead of Mahmood or even Anderson.
Complain about this postthe trouble with England is this typical over reaction to defeat..
the words written here knocking Vaughan are a disgrace.. 2 weeks ago everyone was knocking Flintoff - now he is seen as the One Day Captain in waiting? has anyone see him bat?
as for those calling for Tresco have u all been on the rum? he is not in the squad and when he was all his runs dried up. u might as well say England would win the world cup if Hayden was English or Shane Bond.
the truth is we are not good enough. the stuff written here is hilarious about what batting order we should have as if it would make any difference... Pietersen to 3, Flintoff to open etc.
to use a football analogy it does not matter what line up Watford field they are still Watford!
England lack 2 quality bowlers and 2 openers.. and that's it. there is no one else good enough so we will go out because the others are better.
Complain about this postPeople are jumping on the band-wagon about Vaughan. I don't think anyone could do a decent job with the current team. He should be dropped for his batting. The problem is the opening partnership. Piertersen and Bell were effectively openers yesterday, why not give those a go? People shouldn't be thinking "Well what if Piertersen gets out?" Go positive, the longer he bats the more runs he'll score. If not KP then Bopara? Someone else who has the capability to score a few runs.
Complain about this postThe issue of England's performance being so abysmal in the world cup or anyhwere or in any sport is simple.
The press build up players until they believe that they are better than they actually are, and the public joiins in.
The truth is that when it comes to it, our players, by and large are only good enough against each other or lesser countries (although they are catching up fast). That's possibly hy overseas plyers we've never heard of until they come here seem to do well here.
The answer to who should be in the England team at the moment (and this applies to Cricket, Rugby, Soccer or any other team) is simple; there are no better players generally speaking than those out in the WEst Indies; there ae some in the WI who it may be argued shouldn't be there on the drounds of fitness (Vaughn) or Age(Nixon, although he has performed better than anticipated), but there aren't many not there that would definitely be a better choice.
What is lacking is Leadership from Fltcher and Graveney, motivation from evryone and the continuing belief that it'll come right in a minute as it eventually did in Australia.
There is little forward planning and no thought of throwing in untried people as Australia have with Tait (good move or what) except Bopara who for some reason bats below Flintoff and rarely bowls.
Tactics - supposedly Vaughn's strength are totally lacking. Good idea toreplace Joyce -who isn't an opener and replace himwith Bell who isn't an opener and put Strauss who is an opener at 3. Good idea to have Plunkett the hero of Australia and the only bowler who camn swing the ball not playing and I wonder where the next balls going Mahmood in the team -Plunkett can bat a bit too!
All in all were stuck with what we've got - openers out of form, no top order, total reliance on Pietersen and Bell to make runs and no discernable bowling threat. POnting's tongue was firmly in his cheek when he said yesterday was close!!
Please stand down Mr Fletcher and take Vaughn with you, I feel sorry for all the injuries but you can't pich up at the world cup after a year out and play by memory.
Complain about this posti agree pretty good assesment of the england squad!!
vaughan should definately be dropped!! i still find it hard to believe that our countries top leading run scorer, mal loye, was dropped for a captain that has never shone in one day cricket. loye could have surely done far better in yesterdays game than most of our batsmen did!!
and yes....england surely cannot make the semi's and most certainly dont deserve to be there!!
Complain about this postI felt that KP was too selfish in trying to get his century. it seemed that was all that mattered to him at the time and he stopped playing his natural hitting game. If he had they may have been able to post a par score of around 280+. He seemed so self absorbed that didn't even cross with Bopara when he got out.
Still at least he got a century cos without it, who knows what would have happend to England.
Complain about this postLosing to Australia was expected. With the current team as it is, losing to Bangladesh is a distinct possibility. The people who are slating KP should realise without his and Bell's efforts yesterday England would have been stuffed completely. Had KP got out trying to push things along he would have been slated for irresponsibility. Get some perspective or, even better, get some knowledge.
Trescothick is a huge absence at the top of the order. Mal Loye and Vikram Solanki should be in the squad rather than Ed Joyce and Andrew Strauss to try and fill that gap.
Remember England played Mike Brearley as a perceived specialist captain for some time. And lost a World Cup final in so doing. But won the Ashes two years later.
Why is Duncan Fletcher still picking Sajid Mahmood? Liam Plunkett's doing drinks duty again, so if he does come back for a game he will be rusty. For me Plunkett's a better player and offers a bit more than Mahmood.
England reached the World Cup final in 1992 with Ian Botham opening the batting. Why not do the same with Flintoff now? Flintoff seems better when the ball is coming on to the bat rather than trying (and failing) to read Brad Hogg.
Pietersen at 3 is something I'm not too sure about. If he gets out early then that gives the momentum to the opposition. I'd definitely have him no lower than 4 though. Like him or not, KP is the strongest batsman in the team.
Michael Vaughan should come in number 6 or 7. But then the manic dashing around could play havoc with his hamstrings or knees again.
Ravi Bopara looks good and is showing the right attitude. Should get the chance to bowl more. Got Mike Hussey as his first wicket.
If England do get to the semi finals, I won't feel all that confident they deserve to be there. I won't feel there is a definite move in the right direction until Duncan Fletcher is moved aside and replaced with someone in possession of a good track record of getting younger players into the system and giving them the space to play their natural game, not forcing them to be something they aren't.
I'm not the only one calling for Tom Moody. Seems lots of people all round the world would like Tom as their next coach. The ECB have got some hard work to do to get him.
Complain about this postI honestly thought we hasd a good chance of winning this game as I sat listening yesterday afternoon. But yet again England threw away what was looking to be at least 300, which would have been a formidable target for Australia to chase.
Our top order just isn't performing, and when you're facing a side such as Australia, it's vital that you get a good start with the bat.
Credit to Pietersen and Bell though for stablising the innings, but Vaughan must be dropped futher down the order, as he clearly isn't getting the job done where he is now.
Complain about this postWhile it was disappointing and infuriating to lose after being in a good position with KP and Bell, we shouldn't be too surprised, especially after a quick look at the ODI player rankings. Yes, Pietersen is top of the batting, as the media are so fond of pointing out. But who's the next England player on the list? Colly at No. 21! All of Australia's top six yesterday are in the Top 15.
If we look at the bowling, it's even worse. Only Fred is in the Top 20, at number 12, then comes Jimmy Anderson down at 29.
My point? We're simply not good enough at the moment to win the thing, and even to make the semis would be a superb achievement. But we do have the nucleus of a good team: KP, Colly, Fred (as a bowler only at present), Bell, Bopara. So let's just finish the Super 8s, treat any win (including Bangladesh) as a bonus, then go home and start building for the future.
Complain about this postYou mention Marcus Trescothick in your article and I'm glad because I thought he had been forgotten about. England have failed to find a suitable replacement for him at the top of the order and need him back. I know a lot of people will disagree, saying he let England down when they needed him but they need him now and if he can discover some form for Somerset before May, I think he should seriously be considered for a recall, provided he is fit and well.
Complain about this postEngland looked like they had nothing left to give, and have run out of ideas. Vaughan, I'm afraid, is simply not good enough and will either have to consistently start producing runs, drop down the order or retire. His captaincy was lacklustre against the Australians and is not enough to warrant his place in the side. Mahmood is expensive and cannot bat either. Plunkett lacks his pace but does not leak as many runs and often takes wickets at vital periods of an innings. Or why not young Broad? Give him a chance before he loses his youth and ends up being another Anderson.
On the plus side of yesterday's performance, well played Pietersen...he was excellent and his hundred was thoroughly deserved. Now we need to see more hundreds; he laid the foundation for the rest (Bell, Strauss, Flintoff etc) to go on and make big scores. It's not difficult; yesterday's pitch was a god-send which England did not take advantage of. They were well short of a decent score and have paid the price. Much as I support them, I don't feel they deserve a place in the semis and don't really see how it is possible.
I want to give the message to Mr. Vaughan that Tigers are well prepared to face you in the upcoming match on 11 April to win and to get runs against England. We too wish to bring the semi-final within our reach. The tigers are also in must win ambition and time will whistle the position. Md. Shamsuddin
Complain about this posti think england's batting stank yesterday, but rock on australia! although they didn't need to do much to get defeat england. england's batting was appaling to say the least. Bopara was one 1 out of 3 to get double figures, and everyone but him, bell and pietersen got less than 10. Strauss, who i always thought (or hoped) would do a better job than joyce, is an idiot. He returned from the shadows to score a marvellous and massive score of 7, although i must say that joyce would not have done any better. in fact, i predict that, at joyce's best, he would've got one whole run less than strauss.
Complain about this postso what do they do? england has no players who are really worth anything, pietersen is not an entirely consistent batsmen and bell is certainly not, and as for bopara, his whole career looms ahead of him for him to prove himself? what does duncan fletcher do? does he pick a whole new squad or does he sink into the shadows, too ashamed to be seen in public again?
find out next time, in the next installment of 'Fame or Shame?'...
I have much respect for Vaughan - and he is invaluable in test matches. However, the captain's role in ODIs is much less important - power play tactics are the only really tricky ponderables and a pre-planned strategy can be adopted for them. Sure an able and intelligent captain provides flexibility and can force wickets and yet, and yet... Vaughan's consistent failure with the bat is damaging both in terms of a wasted team member and in terms of demoralizing. The person who said if Vaughan is such a good captain, he should drop himself is essentially right - it would be more dignified and show great team spirit if Vaughan temporarily stepped-aside from the team. Flintoff, Strauss and, perhaps, Collingwood could all captain. My fav would be Flintoff - if England can swallow their pride over his stupid antics. Flintoff actually bats better when he is captain too!
Complain about this postReplace Vaughan completely.
Complain about this postThe selectors made a mistake before we even left for the W. Indies, Goughie should have been at least part of the squad! He could've provided much needed experience, bowls a good line and length, is very rarely eratic (no names mentioned there Saj Mahmood) and unlike the majority of the team he can do a bit with the bat!
Complain about this postTo all of those suggesting Hoggard have very short memories.
Hoggard bowls line and length deliveries which in test match cricket is exactly what you want. In ODI cricket batsmen love bowlers who only have one plan and can't bowl above 90mph (see the pasting handed out to Pollock on numerous occasions this WC and Pollock, I think you will all agree is considerably a better version of Hoggard).
The best bowlers in ODI are either the express quicks or those who mix it up, with the truly world class being those who have both i.e. Lee in his pomp.
Complain about this postEngland need 11 new players. Top three are useless, next three cannot win it by themselves. Why not have 5 fast bowlers that can also bat. Why do we have to put up with a few that can bat and the rest are there to make the numbers up. What is wrong with 5 that can bat and 5 fast bowlers and a wicket keeper that can bat. Nuff said
Complain about this postGet Tres back at No1 ASAP against Bangladesh, SA and Windies, after his amazing 250 today
Complain about this postSack Vaughan.
Complain about this postWe can't carry a runless opener any longer.
It's time for a change at the top. Vaughan has never cut the mustard as a one day batsman and there is no room for passengers in this team. Astute captaincy my arse, it's time for a change !
Complain about this postAnother poor show from the English. But I don't think that it was that horribly bad. Just unlucky that the 250 was against Australia.
Complain about this postThe game is up for england. after all the focus on vaughan for so long; the post-ashes celebratory two years and some horrendous team selection it's all coming home to roost. what we are witnessing is the end of an era - admittedly it only lasted one summer in 2005 but it's over - get rid of the lot of them.
Complain about this postTime to remove the comfort zone ... Central contracts maybe if they need to earn their money & place it might cause them to actuallyu make an effort
Complain about this postAlthough another disappointing defeat, it's good to see at least a couple of players fronting up against the Aussies. If only the entire team could follow the example set by Pietersen, Bell, Bopara and Nixon we might be able to win some matches. The transformation of Bell in particular from a nervous wreck in 2005 to see him with the confidence to dispatch McGrath to all parts was good to see. A bit more of this self belief from the England players and improved selection may see an England side able to beat the best in the one day game, unfortunately it isn't going to happen in the Caribbean this year.
Complain about this postThe best ever come backs start with poor performance such that people believe that a come back is not possible.
Complain about this postIt would appear that there has been no one wishing to criticise the captain for his decision to have Flintoff waiting until Hayden and Gilchrist get set before being brought on to bowl.
He is our best bowler (Gilchrist cannot play against him) and would have at least given us a chance to get amongst the Australian top 3 players.
Complain about this postfor all the good it's going to do.......
As an outsider I perceive the malaise in the England team to be a complete lack of coincidence between expectation and reality. Flintoff, the overpowering character in the team, brings a 'laddish' attitude to it. We don't need 'lads' we need MEN. The idea of saying 'the lads are up for it' every time is useless because the team lacks concentration and application. In the Ashes we lacked the mental ability to sweat it out and to produce the toughness demanded by top-grade professional sport. Being tough does not mean having tatoos and getting hit by McGrath and carrying on. It is not about going to bed slaughtered at 4 am and still being able to play the next day. Being tough is about having the mental stamina and the intellectual capacity to remain totally focused on the game. Toughness is not about hitting a 6 after your 3rd delivery. Its about concentrating enough to avoid getting stumped and then going on to build an innings.
There have been some tough players in the England team through the years - hard-nosed fighters like Alec Stuart and Darren Gough....at the moment I think that Collingwood is about the only fellow in the team with the right attitude. Maybe Bell and KP are in the zone, too, but thats about it. I like Dalrymple's attitude but he lacks practice.
Top international cricket is a highly demanding game both physically and mentally. We are physical enough thats for sure. We lack brains and application - and they don't come from 'laddish' dressing rooms.
The only thing for it is to dump Flintoff, Mahmood and be totally ruthless with the rest of them......if they get out because they faced a snorter or were in a run-chase, then fine. If they get out because they are too thick to play a defensive stroke, then they are dropped. Same with bowling - if they bowl pathetic schoolboy wides or full tosses on leg, they are dropped.
They need to get an atmosphere going where success breeds success, rather than the current 'the lads played their hearts out' - and still lost.
Complain about this postDoes noone else think that at this stage England need to start trying something different and ask some questions at the minute KP is the only thing for teams to think about. Move flintoff to open with Bell, give him a role to attack the powerplays with no pressure. Play KP at 3. When I watch England i find myself wanting the other team to take 2 quick wickets just to avoid the painstaking experience of watching Vaughan and Strauss/Joyce score at a slow rate and get out for about 20. Take a chance and drop mahmood for broad. My line up would be:
Bell (showing great touch feeds off KP)
Flintoff (no pressure needs to hit is way into form)
Pietersen (get him in quickly)
Vaughan (Best of a bad bunch need his captaincy)
Colly
Bopara
Dalrymple (anythings better than vaughan or Joyce may aswell have an extra spin option)
Nixon
Broad
Anderson
Panesar
I think the likes of South Africa would be a lot more concerned by this lineup than the consistently useless team at the moment. Each batsmen has something to offer when coming to the crease this way. Teams know little about Broad and theres potentially 4spin bowlers (SA dont like spin as Tiger proved).This is also a very good fielding line up.
Complain about this postWhy are so many commentators saying that England's chances of getting to the Semi's are "hanging by a thread" as a result of this latest loss. Seems to me not enough notice has been made of the Bangladeshi victory over SA. As far as I am concerned the situation is exactly the same as it was before the Australia match and exactly how it would have been even had we (England) beaten Australia; namely if we win the next three games we progress; lose any and we go home. For my money its a straight shoot out between Eng/ WI/ SA for the last slot, the team that plays the best cricket over the next few days will go through and WILL DESERVE IT.
Complain about this postVaughan should be dropped, give Strauss another chance, and bring back Joyce. Dropping Freddy down the order might work. What to do with the bowlers???? Maybe Freddy to open with Anderson. Mahmood is too expensive.
Complain about this postOn current form England don't warant a semi place.
How can Vaughan be labelled as "indispensable because of his astute captaincy"? We are talking about the captain of a failing side!!! Is there a media campaign to not highlight the blatantly obvious - Vaughan was a one series wonder and is no where near good enough to be in the England side. The nonsense about his captaincy is there in black and white in the record books. Can everyone wake up and smell the coffee - Vaughan must go and there must be investment in promising youth and not one series has beens.
Complain about this postThere´s no doubt about it, Vaughn has to go. He is just simply batting terribly, and certainly should have the courage and sense to drop himself. We´ll be dead lucky to get to the semis.
Complain about this postEngland will be lucky to get through at this stage and will have to rely upon other results outside their control falling into place. However, I can see them upsetting the South Africans in their must win encounter.
Although England have not been up to scratch as a one day unit this world cup they were unlucky to lose to Sri Lanka and can draw positives from both that narrow loss, and the heavy defeat to Australia. In order to be competitive they need to shake things up a bit- move Vaughan down the order, start with Bell and Strauss (should have been in from the start), and move Pietersen up to three. Playing Mahmood has been a mistake (despite this 4 wickets against Sri Lanka)- Plunkett seems a better choice. We need Flintoff to start firing with the bat- at modern one day level you must have a competent all rounder and with Bopara not bowling, Flintoff failing with the bat- Collingwood is as near as we come to this. Trescothick returned yesterday with a dazzling 267 for Somerset at a strike rate of more than 200- if only he had done so earlier we might be singing Englands praises right now.
Complain about this postIt is time for Vaughn to forget about Captaining England. His contributions so far are dismal. Time to reorganise and have a real go in the remaining matches.
Complain about this postEngland should sign Bangla Desh coach and releive defensive coach from their team which has all the ingredients but due to lack of cricketing vision he could blend the team together on different matches. His approach to the test and one day matches are identical in approach and his match strategy is easil identified by their opponents who take evasive action.
Complain about this postEngland versus Australia game pitch hitter should have been sent when Ian Bell lost his wicket as Pietersen petrol seems to have finished.
His dependence of Flintoff who is off for more of the world cup is far from over. It now seems the last rites for England World Cup Dreams is over which looked so bright when Ashes was won comprehensively in home series and soon lost in away series.
by the way - I know the TMS team were scornful of it - but I think it was quite right of Collingwood to try bowling the bouncer, At least he's trying the unexpected, and if it had taken a wicket from a miss-timed hook shot it would have been a 'great example of Collingwood's cricketing brain in action'.
TMS bods! - Please do not rubbish the players' efforts to do something out of the ordinary after complaining that the team is 'ordinary'!
Complain about this postFor crying out loud lets get the old crocks out of the team.
Complain about this postPut some young blood in, they cannot do any worse.
Our Captain is short of talent and ideas.
They shoot horses don't they!!
After this series the whole of England's side has to be re-thought. The selectors must be re-examined too. Only two of the present team have earned their places-Pietersen and Bell. And perhaps Nixon. Even Flintoff's selection is no longer automatic. Vaughan's captaincy has been gravely lacking: a captain must do more than just captain. To be winning games and not scoring may be enough, but he is doing neither. Trescothic and Strauss should be paired
Complain about this postagain as openers; for the rest, the other seven choices are wide open.
to 'diehard fan' (169 above)
I agree that the coach depends too much on Flintoff for both batting and bowling.
What is your opinion on how the Bangladesh coach could help England?
We need discipline and application more than anything, so if he can make our team believe in that, let's have him.
Complain about this postBrowsing one of the daily tabloids filling it's back cover with KP's exuberant celebration of his century, my instant reaction was "Wot? they lost (again)... what exactly should we be celebrating?
Complain about this postWhilst I would not denigrate KP's personal achievement, achieved in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a World Cup fixture vs Australia, I feel before we break out the open-top bus again, with indecent haste, we should pause for a second to put this into proper context.
The top six loosely named "recognised" batsmen scored less than 18 runs between them,including the much vaunted (sorry no pun intended) saviours of English cricket, Vaughan & Flintoff, who both looked badly out of touch, failed yet again with the bat, and excepting KP and the admirable Ian Bell.
A smarter and more mature KP would not have thrown his wicket away stupidly yet again, (not the first time), knowing that all the recognised batsmen were gone.
England are without a win against any of the better cricketing nations, and without grace of better run-rate would even now be propping up the foot of the table. Bangladesh's win against RSA has thrown them and others a barely-deserved lifeline. Disgraceful.
MT back ???. He will just go sick when he gets off the plane.
Flintoff, keep him out of the bar and he will get better. As for KP, once he got his 100 he was not interested, just gave the wicket away.
Bring in Collingwood as captain and start afresh.
Complain about this postwasn't it when fred was skipper that england beat the aussies? bring back fred!
Complain about this postHello folks!
Here we are again. How many times do we have to go over the same things. None of us are selectors and I am sure there are people who have posted on here who have never or hardly ever played cricket. I for one am the described.
However, from reading the interesting and insighting thoughts on the blogger on this board, I could safely say that we could do a better job then the muppets at the ECB... What are these guys paid to do, someone remind me?
It is blantly clear what the problems are....
- Vaughan is useless as an opener
- Vaughan is NOT a one-day captain
- Vaughan is seriously out of form
- Vaughan should be dropped as a one-day captain at least.
- Flintoff is not an all-rounder and is not deserved of the number 6 spot.
- Mahmood is far to inconsistent for a one-day player
- The batting order is completely wrong
Now, I think the solutions are.....
- Collingwood to be made as captain
- Demote Flintoff to number 8
- Drop Michael Vaughan
- Promote Pietersen to 3
- Keep Bell as an opener
- Call in Stuart Broad to replace Mahmood
- Utilise Bopara more with his bowling and promote him up to either opener or 4.
With the above considered, I would go with the following team.....
1. Ian Bell
Complain about this post2. Mal Loye or Ed Joyce
3. Kevin Pietersen
4. Andrew Strauss
5. Ravi Bopara
6. Paul Collingwood
7. Paul Nixon
8. Andrew Flintoff
9. Stuart Broad
10. Monty Panesar
11. James Anderson
I agree with most of what you say nohopers but Flintoff is an allrounder who has simply lost form with the bat.He has scored runs against everyone in the past.You also continue the policy of only having 4 bowlers which is simply asking for trouble.Colly and Bopara are really not good enough.We have the allrounder in Flintoff so we must have 4 proper bowlers rather than going down the bits and pieces route again.However,just how long we can stick with Anderson,Mahmood and Plunkett and just hope they improve is another thing.I also have to question the bowling coach as he could do no worse if he hid in a cupboard and ate biscuits all day.
Complain about this postWhat an absolute shambles, only three batsman in double figures, one gets nearly half the score. The whole team looked dejected. It is obvious Fletcher does not learn lessons, he consistently picks the wrong team & players not in-form. You ask any other country, if they would pick someone for his country at the very top level, who has not played cricket at any standard for over 12 months, everyone will agree, you can not pick any player for his captaincy alone. You also must keep players who are in form & captaining well, Strauss did an excellent job last summer for England, actually winning matches - what happened to him?. Flintoff was not long ago the best all rounder, some slight misdemeanor & he is out, big suprise so is his form. This coach is definitely the worst ever, he is a looser, the quicker he leaves the better for England.
Complain about this postThe last two ODI performances by England have underlined the fact that apart from one or two players they are no longer a first class cricketing nation. Michael Vaughn does not deserve his place as captain - this position requires the person to lead by example in batting and in the field vis a vis Ricky Pontin for Australia. The sooner this sorry excuse of a team return home the better.
Complain about this postHey bandwagon jumpers, the England Local isn't your train. You may want to try Platform 3, the New Zealand Express has a few First Class seats reserved for you. Or perhaps try the Australia Special now departing from Platform 4, it may be a bit crowded but I'm sure you'll all find a nice place there.
Get used to the fact that every team is going to spend time in their nadir. The shooting-self-in-foot thing doesn't help, but at least stop being so negative. Carrots usually work better than sticks.
CARN YOU INGERLANDERS!
Complain about this postNoHopers you're spot on there. Despite the incredble amount of bandwagon jumping off the England wagon -- there has been an incredible amount of incompetence. You literally beat me to the punch for everything you wrote, except I would ask if Ravi Bopara can bat at 5, and where would Marc Trescothick (heaven forbid he ever comes back) be if he was ever in?
Either way...maybe not so bad if we get rid of the bandwagon jumpers with this loss to Aus. When success returns, it'll be all the sweeter for those who have stayed true.
Complain about this postTreat that as a wake up call. A reasonable but totally predicted result. Much better application was the best positive point.
Reckon they should give everyone, excluding Mahmood a second chance. Try another bowler, but he is not a world beater. Was so relieved to see Strauss coming into bat. Shame he played on. Looked assured but couldn't ride his luck getting out to the best bowler. Very disappointed to see Mahmood come in. Useful back up but not frontline. Why not play Plunkett. He took it to the Aussies last time.
Give Vaughn one more chance against Bangladesh otherwise someone else needs to be given time to come in ready for the Semis.
Can't believe the number of half decent top order batsmen we have but none with any consistency.
Reckon we should try out a few bowlers against Bangladesh before it is too late in the semis.
Also stop talking pointless rubbish about getting ready for the next World Cup when we have this one to concentrate on in the next week.
Complain about this postRe: Post#114 princess wrote:
"After looking in decent tick in the middle of their innings, Eng lost their way yet again. If SA are 'chokers', what's the word for England? "
Jokers ?
:-)
Complain about this postI think England have performed as well as anyone could realistically have expected them to have done. They have lost to the top three sides whilst at least giving each of them a game. Sure, if they had just done a bit better they may have won one of them… but if they can beat SA then they should finish fourth, as they are going to end up with a better net run rate than SA. England’s biggest problem is a lack of confidence. They are batting conservatively; they seem to be so afraid that they are going to collapse that they end up scoring 20-30 runs less than they should. Nevertheless, I think this will be good enough to beat WI and Bangladesh: WI don’t seem to be able to apply themselves and Bangladesh win games when the opposition becomes too confident and tries to score too quickly; not England’s problem at the moment. England have been consistent (if mediocre), SA inconsistent; it all depends which SA turns up next Tuesday.
Complain about this postIn terms of the team, it is too late now to change the personnel. Plunkett is very similar to Anderson; he has more control than Mahmood so would be better if defending a total, but Mahmood is more likely to take a wicket. Flintoff is going to be a ‘lamb to the slaughter’ at the moment if he comes in 6 against Bangladesh’s three spinner attack. Hence, the idea of putting him in up the order against the seamers is probably a reasonable idea to give him some confidence back; he can’t do any worse there than what he has done at 6. Get Flintoff and Strauss to swap batting positions, add a bit of belief and England may look like a reasonable team.
Aaarghhh! Can we can the Mal Loye rubbish please? In Australia he averaged 20 with a strike rate of 77 and a high score of 45. Hardly setting the world on fire.
There's no easy answer to the England problem. They are a good bunch of players, but they aren't (with a few obvious exceptions) world class and they obviously don't deserve a semi-final spot—you need to actually win some games for that.
I agree that Vaughan should be dropped down the order. Perhaps to number 12? Letting him carry the drinks for a while might give him a chance to watch some players who actually make an effort.
Complain about this postQuote - "everone seems to forget that this aussie team is probably one of the greatest sides inthe last 40 yrs.they therefor make other teams look very average."
Funny how New Zealand, Kenya, Canada and Ireland also made England look very average.
"Flintoff never guessed Hogg ball in australia and he was sent in again at the same number to face him."
Actually, the problem was exactly that — he DID guess. He just guessed wrong. No one seems to be able to pick Hogg's wrong'un. Go Georgie!
Complain about this postExit stage right. I hate to say it, but we've simply not shown the application or consistency to compete effectively. There have been some bright performances but too few and too little, compare and contrast with the top teams who all have four or five good performances per game and a stronger supporting cast.
It hurts but we cannot always rely on last minute miracles or the exploits of Bell or KP. Cricket is a team game and everyone needs to pull their weight. The nucleus of a side have to perform and that just has not happened.
Complain about this postVaughan has been playing as if it's Test cricket. Openers in ODIs are supposed to go for it and at least get 6 an over in the first 15 overs.
Complain about this postVaughan is a great Test captain and player, but nothing wrong with using him only for Tests. The Aussies used to do it when Mark Taylor was dropped for the one-dayers in some of the 90's.
How KP could be rated as the world no 1 batsman above Ponting is a mystery that must rate alongside how the pyramids were built!
KP is a fine batsman for sure. Unfortunately for England he is a selfish one too. Depending on which way you look at it - he either held England's innings together and gave it respectability and a total to defend, or he selfishly laboured towards a century at a time when the scoring rate needed to be maintained or even accelerated. Both views seem to have some truth.
Would I love to have KP's talent in my side? For sure! Would it be ahead of Ponting? NEVER!
Complain about this postwe have to bring Marcus Trescothick back in the team. He is totally fit and England can put big score in the board.
Complain about this postJust a reminder that Australia has taken it's number 1 spot Again overtaking SA by points.
Complain about this postWe never normally make good use of the power plays. We have missed Trescothic immensely. We tries Mal Loye, who wasn't given much of a run out. Joyce and Vauhan and Strauss are too lightweight to make the most of te first 20 overs.
Complain about this postThe answer could be to let Flintoff loose for the power plays. He is agressive can clear the fielders easily during the power plays.
Consider him to be a bowler rather than an all-rounder, but during the power plays he could perform.
He is not good against spin, which is what comes in by the time he comes in to bat.
Let him face the seamers and he'll hit the runs again.
With Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff not firing for England their chances of going to the semis look almost zero! The problem in my opinion is not the form of the players, but somehow the whole team seem to be acting like proxies. They are there but are they really there?
And what about the wickets? I am seriously thinking now that Australia are being officially favoured with smooth and shiny pitches! all other teams have encountered troublesome pitches...but not Australia!
Complain about this postWhen Bell and Pieterson were together 300 plus was on the cards - that would probably have been a winning score.
The problem is that it is only these two and Colly that are in form out of the top 6. Pieterson went into his shell - partly because he was desperate for his century but partly also because he must have feared a collapse.
The players seem to be battered by their Ashes experience. What they need is some momentum over the summer against slightly easier sides. Hopefully S Jones and Tres will return and maybe S Broad will be ready for the step up
Complain about this postI've said before England are stuck in a timewarp when it comes to One Dayers, no imagination, no inventiveness. Look at the 20 over Power plays, other teams split them and use them to their advantage, i.e Sri Lanka and Australia; England bowl them back to back.
Complain about this postDon't know were to start regarding the team, bowlers who are expensive, batsmen who can't consistently score runs. To be frank, England don't deserve to make the semis, losing games against top sides; which is the fault of the way the tournament is organised.Anyway a new coach and captain are needed, quickly.
A captain who shouldn't be there,muddled thinking on the batting line up and a bowling line up that would not hack in the Nat West Trophy let alone the international arena.How can Fletcher continually pick Mahmood when he consistantly goes for 6+ per over ? The whole selection process is a farce.Throughout the whole winter we have sent out substandard teams.Duncan Fletcher's test match record is reasonable.His one day record is abysmal because he simply does not understand what the requirements are.When he goes before the TCCB with his winter report Sir Alan Sugar should be in the chair so that he can point the finger and say '' your fired ''
Complain about this postI've been reading the blogs for a little while now and from what I've seen, I hope the England team doesn't read them. What a fickle bunch of people the England 'fans' are. Every team has its uptime and its downtime and no amount of castigation or 'advice' from you so-called 'experts' will change that. A national team deserves support at all times including the times when they are in a slump, so my advice to all England fans is 'try a bit of honey with the vitriol please' ... it might even encourage the team to improve, bearing in mind of course that they would even bother to read some of the stuff posted in here.
Complain about this post