England v Pakistan ODI
Yesterday I went to Lords for the second match in the ODI series. The ECB have missed a trick by scheduling only four tests which ended in parity and ODIs instead of a deciding test. The tourists have shown little enthusiasm and even less application in the first match at the Ageas Bowl. Yesterday the contest ended in the first 15 minutes after Pakistan strangely decided to put England into bat. Year after year the September one day competition now the Royal London was won by the team that bowled first and took after advantage of the moisture in the morning. Yesterday it was left to Sarfraz Nawaz to fight a rearguard action with a century but England were always within themselves in overhauling the target of 251.
Jason Roy was out for a duck just when a big innings would have added weight to his inclusion in the squad against India. As the result became self-evident I reflected on the present state of English cricket. At the heart of it is resolving the tensions between the white and red ball game. Andrew Strauss is the man to do this. When I was at the first day of the test at Edgbaston he spent the whole day locked up with the Chief Executive of the PCA . In the past a previous administrator might spend a couple of hours and then would glad hand in the hospitality boxes. Watching one ball flying though Josh Buttler’s gloves, one that Alan Knott and Bob Taylor would have gathered effortlessly, I thought that one route into the England side is to convert from a capable fielder and strong batter to wicketkeeper. Finally who is coming through to reinforce the batting line up and spin department at test level ?
As ever Lords with every seat sold was at its wonderful best. By mid afternoon the hubbub fuelled by wine, Pimms and beers created a buzz and few were actually watching the game as it finished with a comfortable England victory of 4 wickets. I was delighted to bump into an elderly barrister I’ve know for years and we applied our mind to a present world XI. With Kane Willimason, Steve Smith, AW de Villiers, Kohli and Amla as musts I could only see Joe Root make it as batter, and possibly Ben Stokes and Jimmy Anderson.
