Fearless captain’s cavalier innings shows his England side are no longer cowed by a canary-yellow onslaught in one-day cricketEoin Morgan had tipped the raucous Eric Hollies stand here to be one of England’s chief assets before their encounter with Australia. As the captain signalled the charge that would eventually dump their rivals out of the Champions Trophy, the army of assorted bananas, gorillas, Mexicans and Nintendo characters duly responded. Related: England’s carefree Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes ensure Australia exit Related: Ben Stokes universally praised after Champions Trophy ton for England Continue reading...
Morgan’s bowling changes and attacking fields have England in a positive frame of mind in the Champions Trophy and almost everything has gone according to plan - so farIt would be daft to get too excited at England grabbing their semi-final slot days before anyone else. This does not guarantee a romp to the final and then the trophy. But the current climate makes a change to the agonising postmortems that accompanied England’s early flight home from the 2015 World Cup.The margin of New Zealand’s defeat in Cardiff – 87 runs – was misleading. After 30 overs of their run chase the Kiwis were 156 for two in pursuit of 311; Kane Williamson, after some early scares, was cruising with...
Supporters of India and Pakistan shoved rivalries aside and paid their respects to the victims of the London attack at an Edgbaston Champions Trophy tie won by IndiaAmid the hustle and bustle of the Edgbaston Road one man stood quite still. The crowd flowed around him like a river past a rock, men, women and children on their way to the game, all sporting splashes of brilliant green and bright sky blue. Nearby a band banged drums while fans danced giddy circles around them. Off to one side, pedlars cried out “hats, horns, scarves and masks” and touts looking for spare tickets muttered muted inquiries under their breath.Theirs was a slow business, since no one was selling. TV crews cut back...
England’s loyalty to low-scoring opener could end soon and the hosts will need a more varied bowling attack in Champions Trophy matches to comeThere is no better time for an honest review than after a flawed victory. England have a win under their belts against Bangladesh and by 6pm on Thursday it was all reassuringly straightforward. But earlier there had been disconcerting moments and some of them took place before the match began.The first ones came with the teamsheet. Might Jake Ball become the new Gary Ballance? These two are very worthy cricketers. But in the 2015 World Cup the selection of an out-of-form Ballance for England’s first match came to personify the insecure safety-first instincts that were to bedevil...
The 1992 World Cup winners have been left behind by their all-conquering neighbours but there are signs that the old aggression is returningIt is customary when India play Pakistan at cricket to dwell on the astonishing scale and sweep of the spectacle. The usual starting figure of half a billion global television viewers is expected for both teams’ opening Champions Trophy game on Sunday at Edgbaston. There will, of course, be the usual fascination beyond the sports pages, too, at a group-stage game of a moderately sized competition in a glitzed-up old colonial sport that can still feed out into a wider geopolitical obsession. Perhaps the notion of cricket diplomacy will once again be raised, the idea that playing one...