Ever since the sun broke out in Birmingham prior to the India game, things have been going the way of Eoin Morgan’s sideEngland would have spent plenty of time in the lead-up to their encounter with New Zealand pondering the best way to winkle out Kane Williamson.The Black Caps’ captain had been averaging 113 in the tournament, with match-winning centuries against South Africa and West Indies that had once again underlined his status among the world’s elite batsmen. Related: England dispatch New Zealand to seal Cricket World Cup semi-final spot Related: MCC urges members to buy tickets for Pakistan-Bangladesh World Cup match Continue reading...
Since final defeat to Pakistan 27 years ago, England have given fans and writers little but frustration at the one-day showpieceThere was a time, just a few days ago, when it felt like this week’s Spin was destined to be a wake, a coming-to-terms with another unexpectedly premature World Cup departure for an England team completely and thrillingly restyled since their last such failure, but still unable to escape the same miserable fate. Sunday’s victory over India has at the very least postponed such soul-searching, and it could yet be that the competition will culminate in the English not drowning sorrows but downing champagne.Whether it helps them into the semi-finals or simply precurses fresh disappointment, England’s victory over India –...
Bairstow may have misunderstood coverage of England defeats but the opener righted a few perceived wrongs with his centuryThere was something utterly inevitable about Jonny Bairstow notching up a century against India, even if the celebration that followed it was, outwardly at least, less pointed than some might have expected.In Perth, during England’s doomed Ashes campaign of 2017‑18, he greeted three figures by butting his helmet – a nod to his infamous nightclub greeting for Australia’s Cameron Bancroft at the start of the tour. And in Colombo last year, when plonked at No 3 against his wishes and shorn of his beloved Test wicketkeeping gloves, came the beetroot-faced guttural roar. Related: Jonny Bairstow blasts critics ‘waiting for England to fail’...
More imaginative selections are required, fielding must be ruthless and Joe Root given a new roleEoin Morgan is a fearless captain but quite a cautious selector. His response to a limp display against Sri Lanka was to pick an unchanged team. Liam Plunkett, the master of the middle overs, has been sidelined. Tom Curran, England’s most incisive bowler of the past year, has become the invisible man. Either of them would take more wickets than Moeen Ali and probably make more runs than James Vince. Continue reading...
The 50-over game, and the game in general, is fast disappearing in England which would make finally becoming world champions in the format a little peculiar‘Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.’Jonny Bairstow knows what the problem is. Two days after the invertebrate batting collapse against Australia, six days after the invertebrate batting collapse against Sri Lanka, Bairstow spoke out this week. Some English people – journalists presumably; self-motivating strawmen definitely – don’t want England to win the ICC World Cup. This apparently is the problem. Related: India happy to move through gears and stick to usual World Cup script | Anjali Doshi Continue reading...