England fail (yet again)
Were I a prophet I suppose I would derive a smug satisfaction in questioning from the outset England’s credentiala to win the ICC World Cup but as it was I paid out a lot of money, had 2 unbearable rail journeys and lost my distance glasses – all to witness the sorry spectacle of craven defeat to Australia and yet another tournament in which England entered hopes high but look like leaving tail between the legs.
Once England batted second I feared the worst.
The swagger of ordering scorecards with a 500 total was long gone. In the first 20 overs the English speedsters lost their line and length so Aaron Finch and David Warner could cannily use the pace of the delivery to exploit the gaps.
In the second 25 overs England tightened up and 286 seemed a feasible total to beat, but not when you lose 3 wickets for 26.
Now the favourites have a job on their hands to beat India and New Zealand (one may do) in order to qualify.
We could have done with Alex Hales and David Willey out there as the batting resistance was poor. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and – above all, with 5 wickets Jason Behrendorff – maximised the moisture in the air.
Smart cricket?
Most of the crucial wickets were due to daft shot selection by the English batters. Personally I don’t like getting drunk at sporting occasions, though most around me did.
On this occasion I did feel the need for a drink and chat on any topic other than the England under performance.
The outgoing train was an hour late because of “earlier flooding in Haywards Heath” of which I could see no sign as the train crawled past. On the way back there were no trains at all beyond Gatwick to Brighton on Southern Fail although the excuse now changed to “earlier signal failure”.
There were no seats on the overcrowded train to Gatwick to pick up the city Thamelink line. The tube was humid, hot and overcrowded. Somewhere along the line I lost my glasses. I am a fully paid up member of the TV-watching group now.
