On the pitch Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes took centre stage. Off it, the fans’ joy suggest cricket is doing just fine as it isWelcome to the World Cup. Thirteen years, seven England captains, assorted white‑ball revolutions and one frankly alarming opening ceremony in the making: England and Wales 2019 is finally up and running. Related: Stokes and Archer star as England beat South Africa in Cricket World Cup Ben Stokes’s feat joins a long list of contenders for the title. Among English cricket’s other finest recent catches:Paul Collingwood England v Australia, third ODI, Jun 2005As Matthew Hayden produces a powerful cut, Collingwood soars high, arched back, and holds the ball tight. Hailed as one of the best catches of all time. ...
Victory for England, fireworks from Chris Gayle and a Sri Lankan meltdown: our pundits set out their forecasts for a month and a half of ODIsVic Marks Australia. England may have the batsmen but Australia, if they’re fit and firing, have the bowlers in Starc and Cummins, plus a highly motivated Warner and Smith. Two other reasons: they have won five out of 11 World Cups. I’m usually wrong. Related: Boos, hairbands and Cricket World Cup predictions – The Spin podcast Related: West Indies' Jason Holder: ‘Hopefully we can bring the people of the region closer’ Related: The Spin | A brief history of the Cricket World Cup Related: Gareth Batty’s guide to the Cricket World Cup grounds Related: The...
Team with no selection issues but plenty of injury worries find themselves in a no-win situation with the World Cup loomingWarmup matches are a curious creation. With days until the Cricket World Cup, England played Australia on Saturday to lose by a dozen runs, then will suit up against Afghanistan on Monday. Both are unofficial matches that will never be reflected in international annals. These matches lack validity, but their existence implies they have value.That’s true for teams working out their best combinations or fine-tuning a style, but England’s one-day side are doing neither. They have been ready to play a World Cup since Pakistan’s fast bowlers used a tacky Cardiff pitch to knock them out of the Champions Trophy...
One must pick himself up and the other is flying high but it is to be hoped that both can justify inclusion in the squadEngland’s preparations for the World Cup have been silky smooth for the past two years, during which a settled side with a very good captain, audacious batsmen and tenacious bowlers who have learned to keep their heads high even when the ball has just disappeared over the boundary have become the best in the world, according to the ICC rankings.But now with the start of the tournament a month away the usual pin-pricks – an inconvenient list of injury concerns over Jason Roy, Joe Denly, Tom Curran and Sam Billings and the perennial worries over the...
Hans Pomeranz’s thinking helped bring Test highlights to Australia and ignited his distinguished film careerWhen Hans Pomeranz died in 2007, the Sydney Morning Herald’s obituary described “a force in Australia’s film industry”. Born into a Jewish family in Enschede, Netherlands, in 1938, he survived the second world war in an orphanage and, later, by masquerading as the son of a Protestant minister. At the end of the conflict he and what remained of his family – his sister is believed to have died at Auschwitz – were reunited and emigrated to Australia, where he went on to secure an apprenticeship at a film laboratory. He became, in time, an editor of considerable renown, the husband of the film critic and...