Alarm Bells Ringing for England as Finch Exerts Control

England is the glorious gift that keeps on giving. Having dominated ODI cricket for the past two years as they set themselves up for World Cup glory in a tournament set in their own country, the wheels have come loose and wobbly as the finish line approaches, and as the world looks on with bated breath the panic must be now well and truly setting in after being dominated by an Australian side whom they felt would be their bunny.

To be fair, one wonders why England does this to themselves. If there is one ground in England that Australia feels at home, where they grow and extra foot in height and are determined to succeed at, it is Lords. It is where Australia feels they have an advantage, certainly over grounds like Headingley or Trent Bridge. No matter how prestigious it must have felt, the support of England vocally will never be as loud at Lords because the Members are above that kind of boorish behaviour. If they want hostile support, Trent Bridge was the perfect venue, especially given the recent history between the two teams at that venue. England took them for 6/481 just last year in an ODI, and three years before that Stuart Broad rolled them for 60 on the first morning of the Test match with 8/15. What a lost opportunity for England not to play there. But of course, they were probably so confident of winning this game they didn’t even consider the fact that Australia might just fight back. 

England has shown their penchant for chasing, but Australia has also shown in this tournament that they prefer to set a target and bowl out their opposition, just like the grand old days of ODI cricket. To see Australia fall back to this method of play has been a joy over the slash-em-till-the-end England format that has always looked as though it has to fall apart eventually. The best case scenario for Australia was to bat first, and Eoin Morgan offered it to them on a platter after he won the toss. That is not to ignore the fact that Australia had their fortune inside the first ten overs. There were edges, there were play-and-misses, there were untimed strokes in the air just beyond the reach of fielders. But you need some luck to bat in such conditions, and Australia was offered this and they took it. England bowled too short in those early overs, wasting the movement in the pitch by doing so. When the ball was pitched up they were rewarded but they then fell back to that short of a length style, and Finch and Warner were able to negotiate that. They took Archer and Wood out of the game when those two have been England’s go-to wicket takers. It was a telling moment. 

Australia’s openers put on a century partnership once again, which has been the base on which they have succeeded this World Cup. David Warner again was not expansive but still managed to go at around a run a ball. It hasn’t always been pretty since his return to the team but he has done the job as prescribed, and that has been massively important. There is no doubt that the team plan has been to not lose early wickets so that they can have a dash in the final ten overs, and perhaps in the past Warner would have proscribed to have gone down his own route. In this tournament though he has played the team role perfectly and as a result not only done well himself but set his team up in almost every match. Aaron Finch again was superb. One cannot speak highly enough of his return to form after his low Australian summer. I said most of this after the last game, but his excellence in negotiating the weakness in his batting that every bowler in the world knew about, and building on his form has been superb. 

7/285 was a great score in the conditions, built up by both Smith and another terrific innings at the death by Alex Carey. His keeping may still have some improvement in it but his batting has been fantastic in this tournament. He is setting himself up as the next Test keeper, but it is his ODI temperament that is winning raves at the moment. 

Aaron Finch’s captaincy now came to the fore, being brave enough to open with Jason Behrendorff. The experts of the commentary panel decried not having both Starc and Cummins with the new ball, but they were floored by the second ball as much as James Vince was as the perfect inswinging yorker put paid to his innings. Starc followed up by taking care of Root and Morgan, before Behrendorff returned to claim Bairstow, and at 4/53 after 14 overs England was in calamity. It was high class fast swing bowling, with the differing fuller length of the bowling being the key to the dismissals. Behrendorff returned at the end to cleanup the tail and finish with 5/44 from his ten overs, while Starc with pace and fury picked up another big haul to finish with 4/43. Some will suggest you can’t have two left arm bowlers in the same team as it takes away their uniqueness. In 2015 Australia had Johnson, Starc and Faulkner in their winning team. It’s safe to say these two will be together for much of the rest of this tournament. 

Where to now for England? Their much-vaunted attacking style has now been brought down by three teams at this World Cup, and their decree that they would attack with the bat down to number eleven has been shown to be a fallacy. It has also shown that they don’t have a fallback plan once that all-out attack plan comes under the pump. Stokes tried hard to manipulate a recovery in the middle order but once he was undone by a thunderbolt from Starc there was little else that could be done. For a team that had made 300 totals so often in the two years leading up to the World Cup, on surfaces that suited exactly that, they have been unable to find a way to negotiate the different pitches that have been prepared in their own country under the direction of the ICC. It has been eye-opening for them and for those of us watching. Where ODI cricket had become just a slugfest, a match such as this one where a team had to dig deep and work hard for their runs doesn’t suit the way England has been playing their one day cricket. Australia however, through necessity because their attempts to play the current English style of cricket failed so dismally over the previous twelve months, has rediscovered the style of cricket that not only suits its team best, but conveniently suits the conditions they have found in this tournament best. 

Australia has now qualified for the semi-finals, something no Australian could have been confident about just a couple of months ago. England on the other hand are facing the very real threat of missing out on the finals completely. They must win one of their final two matches, both of whom are against teams who are currently undefeated – New Zealand and India. If there hasn’t been any panic in the dressing room to this point, then you can bet your life that there is more than a little panic beginning to creep in now. And isn’t that just a wonderful thing as an Australian supporter...

Outsiders Look to Shock Big Three in Finals Chase

And so as we head into the final third of the World Cup tournament, seven teams remain a chance of reaching the semi finals, though it must be said that three of those teams are still very outside chances of doing so. It will take a great deal of skill and an ounce of luck if any of Sri Lanka, Pakistan or Bangladesh are going to force their way into a semi final spot. That’s not to say that it can’t happen, and as has already been seen in recent days, cricket is a funny game and wont be dictated to by what ‘should’ happen.

The thing in favour of these three teams is that by a quirk of the draw the four teams currently entrenched in semi finals positions have to play one another over the course of the next two weeks. Australia plays both England and New Zealand, England plays Australia, New Zealand and India, New Zealand plays Australia and England, and India plays England and New Zealand. Given this is the case, those four teams must face defeat somewhere in their final matches – in theory only one of them could go through undefeated. It means there is a chance of catching them and getting past them if any of those three teams outside the four won all of their remaining matches. However much like those in front of them, they all have a tough road in order of achieve that. 

Sri Lanka are on six points, just a game behind England. They have a favourable draw, given they play both South Africa and the West Indies who are out of contention and may be lacking in the fortitude to put up tough game. If they win those two games, they face India on the final day of the preliminary rounds, and by that stage will know if they are a chance of making the finals or not. England and New Zealand will have completed their tournament, and Australia play on the same day. At the start of the tournament I can admit that given the side they had chosen I believed Sri Lanka would finish next to last. They have done well to be in the position they are in, though two washouts may have raised their profile higher than they would have been. Their best chance is if England lose all three of their remaining matches, which at the start of the tournament I’d have found just as unlikely as Sri Lanka still being in the semi-final race at this stage.

Pakistan has been as inconsistent and unpredictable as ever, and yet once again they are still an outside chance of making the finals. Sitting on five points they will need some luck though. A defeat in their next match against New Zealand will rule them out, but a win there and then against Afghanistan would make their final match against Bangladesh one which could well decide the final spot in the semis if other results go their way. It does seem unlikely that 11 points would be enough to squeeze into the semis which is the most Pakistan can reach with three wins. If they beat New Zealand though it will throw a cat amongst the pigeons, especially if the Kiwis then also fall to Australia. 

Bangladesh also sit on five points, and also must win all three games to be a finals chance. A win tonight against Afghanistan will leave them with a huge clash against India next Tuesday which they will have to win if they want to be a chance of progressing, which will leave them that final match against Pakistan as above, which could be a final in itself. 

It has to be said that it does appear unlikely that any of these three teams can force their way in front of those top four as they sit now. New Zealand is practically safe, while Australia requires only one win from its last three matches to be out of reach. India needs two wins from their last four to be also out of reach of these teams. The only realistic chance for these three teams is to win all three of their games – and that means all of them winning a game against one of the current top four - and for England to lose two of their last three matches. Is that a possibility? Yes. Is it likely? No. Would it be a dream come true to see England miss the finals of the World Cup they are hosting once again? My word yes!

The next few days will help to clear up some of these questions, but for now let’s enjoy the fact that most of these games are still live ones, and can influence finals positions, which will bring out the best of all the players and teams. With three weeks to go, there is still plenty to be excited about, not the least the outside chance of England choking most righteously.

Australia Wins Despite Warne's Words of Woe

Depending on whether or not you listen to and agree with everything Shane Warne says, Australia played the perfect game to the conditions and the opponent last night in their victory over Bangladesh, and win that sees them as an almost certain semi-finalist in this year's World Cup, something that up until two months ago seemed a near impossibility. 

I take issue with much that Shane Warne has to say, simply because it all becomes white noise after awhile. Once he gets stuck on something he refuses to let it go. Even if he is proven wrong, he will find a way to turn it around so that he is actually right – in his own way of thinking. Somehow over the last few years he has been raised to god-like status among the commentary panels around the world, and given his amazingly massive ego he has soaked all of it up and allowed the hype to continue to push his ‘credentials’ to the point that he just says whatever he believes over and over again, ignoring all other facts or actions that may be to the contrary of what he is saying, and just belligerently pushing his own agenda. His motto is “if you say enough things, eventually you will be right”, and when he is he is the first person to look around and make sure everyone knows that he said that, while his commentary mates slap him on the back and tell him and the viewers how amazing he is. Don’t get me wrong, everyone is entitled to their opinion and they can push it as hard and as often as they like. I’ve no doubt most people think that of myself when it comes to certain things, perhaps even about Shane Warne himself. 

He was a great bowler and he changed the way the world thinks about leg spin bowling for which I am grateful. But if you are a commentator – and you want to be considered a GOOD commentator - you cannot just go around and publicly heckle those cricketers you have a grudge about being selected, and then constantly push for those who you think should be in the side. You have to show some sort of balance in what you say, and Warne certainly does not do that.

I’m sure you all know as well as I do that the players he does not want in the Australian team are Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Starc. He has plastered them publicly whenever given the opportunity, and even when they have done well he grudgingly acknowledges it before suggesting that it is not before time and that they would still be better served selecting *choose a player* in their place. It’s plainly obvious he doesn’t rate them, so much so that the players themselves have been forced to defend themselves in interviews because the media picks up on even the slightest thing Warne says and runs with it. Both Khawaja and Starc have been excellent in the way they have handled Warne’s constant badgering, and continue to show on the field why Warne is so often wrong about them. 

On the other hand, in case you didn’t know, Warne thinks that Marcus Stoinis and D’Arcy Short should be playing every form of cricket for Australia, and will use any opportunity to push their cause when asked about selections. That’s fine, it's his opinion, but once again there needs to be a balance. As Stoinis has gone through a lean period with bat and ball, not once has Warne called for his sacking from the team, nor has he had a go at him leaking runs or not taking wickets in the same way he is happy to berate Starc about. Prior to the start of the World Cup, no one had scored more ODI runs in 2019 than Khawaja, and yet because he didn’t immediately set the world on fire Warne has constantly questioned his place in the team. 

Last night, Australia batted the way that they have discovered works best for them in securing victories in 2019. They have tried to copy England’s bash-at-al-costs method and it hasn’t worked. They have tried India’s tactics as well, and that hasn’t worked. What has worked is a simple method of building the rate of the innings without losing wickets, gradually increasing from five runs an over to six runs an over, and then launching at the back end with wickets in hand. This method last night allowed them to reach 381 off 50 overs. Not many teams are beating that, no matter what size the ground or how fast the outfield.

Warne wasn’t happy. His four tweets during Australia’s innings last night were as follows:

“Big game in the World Cup for the Aussies against Bangladesh. I’m very surprised that S Marsh has been left out & Khawaja kept his place at 3, plus Lyon isn’t playing instead of Zampa. High scoring ground Trent Bridge & the Aussies need to show that they can post a score of 375+”

“This very conservative approach by Aust is very odd, especially on a small ground with a super quick outfield & as the ball hasn’t spun or seamed. Leaving way to much for Maxwell, Stoinis and Carey to do. Only a wicket down, Aust should be going after the bowling big time !”

“Ps I still believe Australia can challenge India & England for the World Cup trophy, but not with this game style or batting order. Australia have fire power but have decided not to use it & gone with playing conservative cricket ! Not sure why followers, it’s very strange !!!”

“Awesome from Maxwell & a stunning 100 from Warner too. Khawaja doing great, but ridiculous he didn’t run. Why wasn’t this happening 20 overs ago. As I said in previous tweets, Aust has the fire power but have decided to play conservatively till the last 10 overs ! Why ?”

Conservative cricket totalled 381 runs, and Australia won by 48 runs. It was the perfect plan for the conditions and the opponent. If they had done any differently and lost wickets, and only made 320, what would Warne have said then? Probably blamed Khawaja I guess. 

Is 380 enough to beat England and India in the modern day World Cup? Or New Zealand for that matter? To be honest, that’s not the question. The question is, can AUSTRALIA beat England or India? Each game is a different scenario and needs to be played to the conditions. Australia did that last night and won the game. That’s all that is required. When Australia plays England on Tuesday, they may score 400 and get beaten, or they may score 280 and win, just as they did in the warm up game. Australia batted and bowled to the conditions last night and won. The score is irrelevant, playing as a team to the position of the game is. And no doubt Warne will be able to twist his words to show that he actually was very supportive of the team last night, because in the long run that’s what he is best at – manipulating the conversation to make it about him.

Another Doomed World Cup Swamps South Africa

Six months ago there was a certain dread hovering over Australian cricket supporters over the fate of our team at the upcoming World Cup. The team had lost its way in an attempt to copy either England’s or India’s way of playing the game, and succeeding at neither. Exciting batsmen were chosen and they didn’t come off. Various bowling combinations were tried and didn’t come off. The new captain was struggling for form and under pressure to hold on to both his job and his position in the team. In a worst case scenario it wasn’t that difficult to see Australia struggling to win a game at the World Cup. 

Instead, this is exactly what has happened to South Africa.

The destruction of yet another World Cup event has this time not come down to the fate of the rain or a miscalculation of the run rate required or a fatal run out with the game all but won. This time around the team has just not been able to get into the tournament at all, and no doubt the eventual fallout will be far reaching for their cricket.

What has gone wrong? Losing Dale Steyn for the tournament before he could even play a game was problematic but not unable to be covered. The bowling attack still looked strong enough with Rabada, Ngini, Phelukweyo and Tahir, while the batting with Amla, De Kock, du Plessis and Markram had all shown good signs in recent tournaments at home and in the IPL.

The loss to England in the first match of the tournament should not have been a clincher, but it was the way they lost that immediately sounded alarm bells. Having restricted England to 311 their batting was ripped apart by the English pace, with the clocking of Amla in the helmet by Jofra Archer a turning point. He hasn’t looked likely to score runs since that incident and it seems to have sucked all his confidence out. The injury to Ngidi that restricted him to four overs against Bangladesh hurt them in allowing them to reach 330, and the batting against failed to be up to the task. They needed to step up against India but were again comfortably defeated. At 2/29 against the West Indies when the game was abandoned it could not be said they were in a comfortable position. Even in their one victory against last placed Afghanistan, the batting was not dominant, taking 28 overs to secure the 126 runs they required for victory.

In a tournament when 280-300 would be considered the minimum score required to win matches, South Africa has totalled this just once in the four games they have had that opportunity to bat to, in a losing chase against Bangladesh. Whereas other countries have been led by their top four batsmen in setting up their totals, South Africa’s have coughed and spluttered. Whereas other countries have had their fast bowlers punching holes in the opposition batting, South Africa’s have barely caused a ripple.

For South Africa it has been a disaster, and watching it unfold has been like an alternate reality, because there is no doubt many of us thought we would have been watching Australia perform just like this. Instead, although they have not been completely dominant, Australia has found a way get through the bad periods and do enough to win matches. South Africa has not scrapped like this at all, and so they find themselves with zero chance of playing in this tournament’s semi-finals. Perhaps they didn’t think that the continued drain of players from their ranks to careers in English County cricket through the Kolpak law was a problem. On the face of their tournament here, one would suggest that they need to seriously reassess that if they want to rebuild after this World Cup is over.

Match 20: Finch Blasts Australia to Brink of Finals

Australia last night completed what looks on paper to be a fairly comfortable victory over Sri Lanka, by the somewhat disturbing margin of 87 runs. Whether or not the result would have been different if Sri Lanka had chosen to bat first on winning the toss is something worth considering, and though Australia had their hiccups along the way with some dead patches in the batting again and some concerns about the pace of runs being conceding at certain parts their bowling, the victory gives Australia some breathing room at the halfway point of their World Cup campaign.

Aaron Finch has had a pretty interesting 12 months. He went from being a cog in the Australian batting line up in ODI’s and T20 to being a Test opening batsman and captain of Australia in both short formats of the game. It could be seen to have been a tough transition, one where the runs dried up as he tried to find a way to perform all of these roles. In the end he lost his place in the Test team and was being spoken of as being on his last couple of chances in the ODI team that he had been tasked with leading to the World Cup. Fortunately, in India and then Pakistan both he and his team clicked, and his form and his captaincy helped to create eight straight wins and confirm his place.

His century last night was the well-deserved result of his workload and presence of mind. He has been good on the field, wringing generally good bowling changes and field placements, and his innings put his team on the road to victory. His driving was superb and his running between the wickets especially with Steve Smith made the difference when runs were hard to come by. Finch has been through a lot with the upheaval in Australian cricket, and this innings and his leadership is a fitting reward.

The conundrum over Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh continues to linger. It is difficult to have both in the same ODI team such is their similar way of batting, and it means that at least one of them is batting out of place. Marsh’s 2018 was exceptional with multiple centuries batting at number three, while Khawaja’s first half of 2019 was just as exceptional as Finch’s opening partner. Now both are suffering from squeezing both Warner and Smith back into the team, and neither has been able to grasp the change. It seems unlikely both will be required from this point on, and whoever does miss out will feel aggrieved. Australia cannot win the World Cup without runs from whomever gets the nod in the best XI from this point on.

The issue of winning the toss and fielding has come to the fore again after last night. Sure, the wicket may be fresh, and the cloud cover may provide conditions conducive to seam bowling, but surely pitches prepared especially for ODI cricket – that are hard, fast and true – are best for batting first on and setting a target, thus placing the team batting second under pressure from the start. Is this just an old-fashioned outdated idea? That winning the toss and batting is a disadvantage? I still do not understand it, and surely Sri Lanka missed a trick again by doing so. If they had batted and scored 330, would Australia have been good enough to chase it down? India beat Australia by doing just that, batting first and setting a total that proved too hard to chase down. Australia has now benefitted from both Pakistan and Sri Lanka giving them the chance to do so.

Sri Lanka showed that Australia still doesn’t have it all their own way, with the opening partnership between Karunaratne and Kusal Perera motoring along at almost eight an over with the pace bowlers all getting a bit of tap. What was interesting was that although Starc finished with four wickets and was lauded for his pace, and Kane Richardson finished with three wickets, it was Glenn Maxwell who changed the course of the match. He started with 46 not out off 25 balls with the bat, just the kind of innings Australia wants him to play. Following up with the ball, he didn’t take a wicket (though if Finch had not burned a review nine balls earlier he most certainly would have concluded Karunaratne’ knock long before he got to 97) but he choked down the run rate and managed to drag the game back towards Australia. His 0/46 from 10 overs may not look like much on paper, but he finished with the best economy rate of all the Australians and did the job required of the number five bowler. Given that the previous captain and coach of Australia had more or less banished Maxwell from the bowling crease, it makes you wonder just what was happening in the final 12 months or so of that era of the Australian cricket team; that someone who played such an important part of the last World Cup victory with both bat and ball had been shunned to point of being excluded from all facets of the team. It also begged the question again as to why there has been no specialist spinner chosen for the past two matches for Australia, and whether they can possibly challenge for the World Cup without one.

At 2/186 off 32 overs Sri Lanka was in the game, but that old adage – ‘the pressure of runs on the board’ – eventually played its part. The loss of Karunaratne at this score took away the drive of the scoreboard, and then the loss of 4/17 from nine deliveries from Cummins and Starc drew a line through the middle order and eliminated any chance of victory. The difference here was that after the initial onslaught from the top four batsmen, Sri Lanka did not have anyone capable of continuing in the same direction to pull off a victory. This is certainly not the case with England and India who have, for instance, Jos Buttler and MS Dhoni ready to even up the run rate at these points of the innings. Here lies the danger for Australia’s fans – Sri Lanka don’t have the same firepower that those two teams do. This could well have been a different result if this match was against either of the two favourites for this World Cup.

Despite some ups and downs, Australia has gotten to the position they would have hoped for after their first five games, with only the loss to India being a sore point. They have set themselves up now as ‘almost’ certain semi-finalists, but with four games remaining, against Bangladesh, England, New Zealand and South Africa, they will have to improve further still if they are to continue on their winning ways.

Match 19: England's Statement of Intent

If it wasn’t obvious before this, England made a statement last night in their match against the West Indies that was undeniably concerning to every other nation in this tournament – we aren’t mucking around, and we are going to destroy every one of you.

England’s bowling attack might not be perfect, but they have three massive pillars in the attack that are going to do the most damage, and if they continue to do that damage then the other pieces of the puzzle are just filling in the gaps while they rest. Mark Wood was superb last night, his pace and line almost impossible to get away. Jofra Archer improves with every match with that metronomically designed technique that only seems to leak runs through edges, while Chris Woakes continues to be underrated for his ability to hit the pitch and still gain perfect swing. After stymying the batting early, the two cheap wickets Joe Root picked up allowed Morgan to bring back his guns in Wood and Archer who destroyed the West Indian tail, who lost 5/24 from 8 overs to have their momentum cut off at the hip. These three will continue to do this to the lower order of every team given the chance.

The two soft dismissals that the West Indies handed to Joe Root changed the course of the match. A 91 run partnership between Pooran and Hetmeyer had gotten the Windies back on track with an outside chance of making a 280 total, which in turn would have given their bowlers something to bowl at. Instead, Hetmeyer lobbed the ball back to Root, and then Holder back-edged a ball that would have been five wides down the legside back to Root as well, and the innings hit a roadbump. A change by England that was forced by a slight case of desperation paid off in spades. When the luck runs with you…

There is a scare in the England camp, with both Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan injured while fielding and unable to bat. That may be a problem going forward, but today England barely skipped a beat. Firstly Joe Root stepped up to open, and peeled off an effortless century at better than a run a ball. His partnership with Bairstow was excellent and nothing much was lost there. Then Chris Woakes came in at number three. Was it just taking the mickey? Certainly with Stokes and Buttler still in the bank it wasn’t going to hurt if it failed, but Woakes batted like he is capable of, and made a lazy 40 runs off 54 balls before finally holing out. At the moment, everything England tries seems to work out.

For all the hope that the Windies would be able to ride on the domination of Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, it just hasn’t happened. Gayle has tried hard but has been unable to get away in the 50 over format like he does in the 20 over game. Even last night having made 36 off 41 balls he needed to make a big hundred to lead his team, but he seems less capable of batting time like he could a decade ago. Russell is beset by every injury the body can muster, and every time he tries a little harder he tweaks something else. Last night he re-hurt his wrist hitting a six and was dismissed soon after. With the ball he cracked Bairstow in the helmet but fell over in his follow through, which re-hurt his knee and ankle, and he left the field. Whether either of these guys can contribute further to the tournament is yet to be seen.

Missing two of their top four batsmen, and with their fourth and fifth bowlers combining for 19 overs and 116 runs, England still bowled their opponents out for a paltry 212, and got them two wickets down with 17 overs to spare. It was a massive statement of intent. The Windies had monstered Pakistan and should have beaten Australia. England destroyed them with half a team. Those injuries to Roy and Morgan will be a concern if they persist beyond the next game, and despite their loss to Pakistan themselves it is going to take something special to beat this team over the next few weeks.

Match 18: Fourth Washout Leaves Challengers in Limbo

It probably hasn’t become a farce yet, but the 2019 World Cup is quickly sliding into infamy as yet another match was abandoned without a ball being bowled. It was the third complete washout of the tournament, and the third no result match in the last four days. Only three teams have now not had a ‘no result’ fixture – England, Australia and Afghanistan.

What does this mean for the two teams today, New Zealand and India? Maybe not a lot. It robbed us of what should have been an excellent match and what would also have given us an eye into the future of the tournament. Unless something goes spectacularly wrong you would expect both teams to reach the semi-final stage, and given both are still undefeated at this stage perhaps that’s an easy summation to make. For India, it leaves them short on match time for their big clash with Pakistan on Sunday, while New Zealand will have a gap of eleven days between matches when they play South Africa next Wednesday. Their tournament gets tougher from here on in, and their true ability to chase a maiden World Cup will be clearer over the next two weeks.

Match 17: Warner, Cummins and Fielding Save Australia from Disaster

Australia has somehow managed to bumble its way to a necessary but hardly dominating victory over Pakistan in their World Cup clash overnight, and though there were elements that shone through that could be taken as positives one wonders just how much the other teams in the tournament have gleaned from their inability to finish off at different stages of the match.

• Batting first was never going to be easy but once again Finch and Warner made the best of a difficult situation. On a pitch that didn’t offer as much as it looked as though it would at the toss, the opening partnership put their team in a great position, putting on 146 runs in the first 22 overs to set the innings up for a massive score. Neither had it their own way, and they both had their share of luck when it came to play and misses and some old school Pakistan fielding and catching, but they made the most of what they were offered and did the job they were required to do.
• On the other side, Mohammed Amir gave a masterclass of fast seam bowling. Bowling on the right length and in the right corridor he consistently beat the bat to the point of perpetual frustration for the Pakistan team. He beat the outside edge, he beat the inside edge, he shaved the stumps, he did everything but get that initial breakthrough. His first spell was superb but the lack of support at the other end hurt him dialling up the pressure. He then came back, and in his next two spells picked up a wicket with his first ball, and eventually finished with 5/30 from his ten overs. Not only did he stifle the Australians with few chances to score and by taking wickets, he almost solely drew back what should have been a massive score to a chasable one. All aspiring fast bowlers should take the vision of that spell and bottle it.
• Australia’s batsmen caused much of their own misery, with their shot selection at crucial times costing the team the momentum they craved. Finch got carried away when he was on top, and instead of seeing off the returning Amir as the threat he was tried to put him to the boundary and lost. Smith and Warner had moved along smoothly and there was no need to do anything rash when he lost his wicket to the inoffensive part time spin of Hafeez. Maxwell started brilliantly against spin and was then undone by pace without giving himself time to have a look. Marsh and Khawaja both also failed to identify the Amir threat and lost their wickets instead of just pushing him around for singles when he had so few overs left to bowl. At 2/220 in the 34th over Australia should have been looking at 350 as a minimum, and probably closer to 380. To be bowled out for 307 in 49 overs once again showed that they cannot be a real threat for this tournament without a change in the batting philosophy in the middle order.
• David Warner capped his comeback with the century he craved, though he had help from the Pakistan fielding which gave up numerous misfields and several dropped chances. Added to the poor discipline of the bowlers outside of Amir and it is remarkable that they only had to chase 307. Indeed at the halfway mark they had to be favourites to take the game which was an impossibility with an hour left of the innings.
• Australia’s bowlers once again showed that they can be penetrative but that the discipline is still not what they would like. The early difference was Australia’s catching was terrific, as three of the first four batsmen were caught right on the small Taunton boundaries. Alex Carey put his poor game with the gloves against India behind him by snaring four catches here, with one off the inside edge from the bowling of Cummins a beauty. And the final wicket to fall to a singular piece of brilliance from Maxwell to run out the Pakistan captain really told the tale of the difference between the two teams – not the batting, not the bowling, but the fielding. Another great lesson for all kids out there.
• At 6/160 off 30 overs though this game should have been wrapped up, but again Australia’s bowling tactics hurt them, bowling too short to the tail and allowing Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz and Sarfaraz Ahmed to get themselves within an outside chance of victory. The 7th and 8th wickets added 104 from 14 overs and with 44 runs needed from 6 overs Pakistan looked to do the impossible again. There was clean striking sure, but once again the watcher was left wondering if Australia will ever learn how to close out an innings without bowling short at the tail end, and concentrate on bowling at the stumps. 

Australia may have won, but the questions over their batsmen finishing off an innings, and their bowlers doing the same, remain. They couldn’t beat India because of this, and they will struggle to defeat England and New Zealand for the same reasons. The third and fourth bowling options are still shaky, and the middle order combination still needs to be settled. For Pakistan the loss just complements their usual story – when they fire they are unbeatable, when they field like a bush 4th grade team they cannot overcome those odds.

Match 16: Rain Rules Again as World Cup Stalls

The World Cup of Rain has treated us to another spectacle, this time with the abandonment of the match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh without the toss even occurring. It is the second match that has been a complete washout, and along with yesterday’s match lasting less than eight overs, and the threat that tomorrow’s match between Australia and Pakistan also could have no result, there is a real chance that finals spots could now be affected by these drawn fixtures. 

Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes lamented the lack of spare days following this washout, though to be fair with both games over the past two days, a spare day would not have helped unless the games were being moved to Dubai as the rain has well and truly set in over those two venues. It is a difficult thing to do a schedule and also stitch in reserve days for inevitable weather delays, but if there is anywhere it should be done it has to be England. 

Have the washouts been costly yet? Perhaps not. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are unlikely to be pushing for finals places, and after their disastrous start neither is South Africa. The West Indies may be ruing only picking up a point against South Africa but perhaps may also be quietly happy about it. 

The 2017 Champions Trophy, won by Pakistan, had the same problems. Australia was washed out in two of their three games before losing to England, and missed the semi-final as a result. The longer the rain goes the greater the probability that a team or teams will have their qualifications for the end of the tournament decided by rain rather than performance on the field. 

No matter what, the weather doesn’t look good for the rest of this second week of the tournament, and while no games may be completely abandoned, there is a real chance that shortened matches decided by Duckworth-Lewis will occur, and this may be where the whole tournament is turned on its head.

Match 15: Rain May Have Saved South Africa and Yet Condemned Them

The rain that came and washed out the match between South Africa and the West Indies last night, condemning the result to an unsatisfactory draw when it looked as though a terrific contest was at hand, possibly benefitted South Africa more than their opponents despite it now looking as though their chances of making the finals stage are all but over.

Rain was always a chance of having a big say in this World Cup given the country it is being played in, and it will be a curse to some and a benefit to others. South Africa has had a difficult start to their campaign, while the West Indies has found plenty of positives in their first two matches. Given that the former was 2/29 off 7.3 overs to the latter when the rain came and persisted for the rest of the day, there is every chance South Africa will be pleased to have finished the day with one point and not zero.
Having changed their team to accommodate more batting with Aiden Markram and an extra paceman in Hendricks, and knowing a loss would mean the end for them, losing those two early wickets was a worrying sign. The Windies looked on top and despite the absence of Andre Russell would have been confident in closing out their good early start. The rain means both take a point from the game.

For South Africa it probably won't help them. They will still logically need to win all of their remaining five matches to even be a chance of making the semi finals and with matches still to come against New Zealand and Australia that will prove a difficult proposition. For the Windies, a point doesn't do them too much harm at this stage, and with their next engagement against England likely to be just as exciting. They still have their semi final fate in their hands, while South Africa must now not only win every game but hope other results fall their way. Given their luck at previous World Cups this appears like a very unlikely proposition.

Match 10: Sublime Smith Guides Australia to Victory

It may not have been all about one man, but there is little doubt that if Australia did not have Steve Smith back in its one day team last night, they would have fallen to a heavy defeat against a resurgent West Indies XI. There were various peripheral performances that drove the victory for Australia last night, but without Smith’s calm guiding hand with the bat at number four it would all have come to nought. It emphasised just how much Australia has missed his batting and leadership in the game, and will also have rung alarm bells for England for the upcoming Ashes series as well.

• The West Indies executed their battle plans perfectly in the first half of this match. They had made no secret that they would be targeting Australia with the short ball, and while only one actually took a wicket, they all contributed to the early dismissals. Thomas’ peach to get Finch caught behind was a beauty. Warner’s prod to gully as his desire to get bat to every ball defeated him. The barrage that rattled Khawaja so much that he ended up in such a muddled mindset that he threw his wicket away (albeit to a great catch by Hope). Maxwell’s brain explosion second ball in trying to hook. Stoinis seeing a paddock of space but pulling straight to the only man at mid-wicket. All of it was planned strategy, and despite the wides that came along with this plan it was more than worth it with Australia at 4/38 and then 5/79. They should not have made more than 150.
• Alex Carey and Nathan Coulter-Nile were both exceptional. Carey was criticised by the commentators for being just 3 off 25 deliveries, but like Smith he took the time to get his eye in and have a look at the bowlers and the wicket. He then proceeded to put every loose ball away, and was only defeated by the drinks break, immediately after which he was dismissed. His 45 from 55 balls was exceptional. Coulter-Nile has had a good time with the bat in recent games, and with 16 overs to bat he used it all to his advantage. With the fire having receded from the bowling attack and the pitch, he blasted away at precisely the right time, making his highest score of 92 from just 60 balls on the same ground that Ashton Agar had made 98 in his debut Test six years earlier. 
• What to do about the no ball rule? Chris Gayle fell LBW to Mitch Starc which hurt the Windies chase. However, after the event the ball before the dismissal was shown to be a no ball – by a lengthy margin. Indeed you can only wonder how Chris Gaffney missed it. If it had been called, then the delivery that dismissed Gayle would in fact have been a free hit. More to this, if that previous delivery had taken a wicket, it would have gotten the usual look at by the third umpire and would have been overturned because it WAS a no ball. Yet because it didn’t take a wicket, it wasn’t looked at. You can understand how the Windies would have been aggrieved at this, and there’s no doubt that the current rule in regards to reviewing no balls has to be looked at. It can’t be good enough to only look at possible no balls when a possible wicket is at stake. In short form cricket where the ‘free hit’ rule applies, every no ball has to be actioned or a batting team is then disadvantaged. 
• The Windies fought hard with the bat, and were probably in the position to win it at 4/190 needing just over a run a ball. The dismissal of Hope by Cummins stalled the chase, and the return of Starc at the end was a key. Firstly he picked up Andre Russell to remove that danger, and the dismissal of Brathwaite and Holder both in the 46th over was the crucial final play. In the 2015 World Cup Starc was the talisman. He is not as feared this time around but for Australia he is just as important if they are to challenge later in the tournament. He took the last four wickets to fall and finished with 5/46 from his ten overs. It was a statement. 
• But it all comes back to Steve Smith. Coming to the crease at 2/26, he calmly took dot balls and singles to build into his innings, even as wickets fell at the other end. He didn’t bother with his strike rate, he just play the ball on its merits and moved along at his own pace, almost oblivious as to what else was happening. When Carey and Coulter-Nile got into their swing, he calmly gave them the strike and stayed in his headspace. As the innings reached its conclusion he began to break out, and it was only a freaking catch by Cottrall on the boundary – one of the best you’ll see – that halted him just as he was about the take over. He left at 7/249 having scored 73 from 107 deliveries, and through his calm and commanding batting he was able to guide his team to a defendable total. Carey, Coulter-Nile, Starc and Cummins were all tremendous. But without Steve Smith, Australia would stand today at one win and one loss in this World Cup, and not two wins. 

What has Australia learned from this match as they prepare to take on India in two days’ time? Hopefully that it is okay to build an innings at the start and increase the pace after that. Smith and Carey showed what could be done in the middle order, and if our top order showed that patience perhaps it will work just as well. The Windies lost their way with their bowling in the last 20 overs, whereas Australia seemed to improve. It was an important difference. Everyone will need to contribute if Australia is to beat India on Sunday.

Match 7: Afghanistan Blows Chance to Take Down Sri Lanka

Afghanistan won’t get a better chance to win a match at this year’s World Cup than they did last night, and the method of their collapse in chasing a mid-range target has more than likely confined them to spectators for the remainder of the tournament. Though no one expected them to challenge for the title, there was great hope that they would push for not just one victory but multiple victories during the six week tournament. After falling to Sri Lanka last night, that now seems like fairy take stuff. Mind you, this could well be the only victory Sri Lanka tastes as well. It should also be noted that once again a team that was invited to bat first after their opponents won the toss and gave up that advantage has once again won. Runs on the board… and all that…

• Sri Lanka’s opening duo of Karunaratne and Kusal Perera made a great start, taking 92 from the first 13 overs. That they then lost ten wickets for 109 runs from the following 24 overs, even given that rain changed their batting equation, is what has proven costly for this team for some time. One suspects against most other teams it would have cost them the match, But… runs on the board… and all that…
• Hamid Hassan was taken for 30 runs from his first two overs of which no delivery managed to reach the 140kph range. But his second spell was a beauty, combining with Nabi and Rashid to squeeze the life out of the Sri Lankan innings. His speeds reached the heights of 145kph as he had in the first match, and his next four overs produced 1/16 and multiple deliveries flying past the edge to pound into the keepers gloves. He still has a lot to offer this World Cup in regards to excitement.
• Two periods defined the match, and both saw five wickets fall in next to no time. Sri Lanka had been cruising at 1/144 off 21 overs when Mohammed Nabi took three wickets in one over, but which required the nous of putting in a slip during a period where the batting team was on top. It was great to see attacking cricket being rewarded, with Thirimanne bowled by alazy shot, and then both Mendis and Matthews fooled by clever bowling that resulted in catches at first slip. This then led to the onset of the run out of Thisara Perera through the pressure being exerted by Nabi, Hassan and Rashid, all of which topped off an excellent period of play by the least experienced team of this World Cup.
• Similarly, after Afghanistan had gotten away to exactly the kind of start they needed if they were to win this game, it was the excellence of Malinga and Pradeep in particular that turned the game around, with five wicket falling for just 23 runs over nine overs that destroyed any hope of the underdogs getting up and winning the match. There was good bowling by all the Lankan seamers, but the four wickets from the recalled Pradeep who did not play in the first game was the clincher. He hit the pitch and moved the ball such that the batsmen were consistently under pressure, and his two spells both contained two wickets.
• Afghanistan’s batting is not up to a standard at this stage where it can win these contests. They are more likely to get runs from their lower order than the top order, and there doesn’t seem to be a stable presence at this stage in the batting order. In the short contests they will continue to be felt, but they need to develop a strategy for the 50 over game that includes scoring runs without throwing the bat at the ball as hard as they can.

While the match itself was made up of moments that created an exciting contest, it also proved that neither of these teams are likely to provide any upsets for the remainder of the World Cup. That may prove to be yet another early call in a tournament where those kinds of calls have already proven to be far from accurate, but on face value here neither team looks to have the balance required to make a big splash at this year’s tournament.

Match 6: England Drop the Ball as Pakistan Redefine Unpredictable

If any team was going to go through this World Cup undefeated, it was England. Their recent ODI record was superb, and coming into their match with Pakistan, whom they had just defeated 4-0 in their recent bilateral series, and whom themselves had been savaged by the West Indies just days before, no one could really see anything but a strong English victory. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

• On Pakistan’s side was the fact that they score over 300 three times in that just-completed series, something that wold have given them some hope. Doing it again would have seemed unlikely after being routed by the Windies, but the batsmen did their job. Not only did they get the start they needed from the top order, they finished off in style. 30 runs came from the final three overs of Pakistan’s innings to get them to 348, and having been sent in by Eoin Morgan they couldn’t have asked for anything better.
• England would have decried the number of balls edged over or through the keeper and slips when they batted, and they would have been right. There were plenty of edged shots flying wide of the field set. However, that was more than evened up when England batted, as both Root and Buttler had a similar amount of luck in edges circumspectly dividing the available fielders to the boundary.
• The match changed on Jason Roy shelling a sitter at mid off from the bat of Mohammed Hafeez. Whether or not the sun hindered his efforts he immediately started looking for excuses when really there were none. Hafeez was on three at the time, and Pakistan was 2/134 off 24 overs. If that catch was taken, England win the game, simple as that. As it turned out, Hafeez went on to make 84 runs off 62 balls and added 145 runs in 18 overs while he was at the crease. It was a game changer. Adil Rashid, the bowler, ended up going for 43 from five overs, though he bowled far better than the figures say. If Hafeez goes early he may well have run through the rest of the batting line up.
• Jason Roy had a dog’s day out. Several misfields added to his dropped catch meant he was already in a foul mood. He was then fired LBW by Shadab Khan which looked as plumb as you like, yet he and Bairstow chose to burn their only review to have that confirmed. He’s a moody cricketer and is all smiles when the world runs for him. When it starts to move against him, he tends to drop his bundle pretty quickly.
• It looked to be a similar story when Joe Root was dropped on 9 at 1/33, though perhaps not immediately. Pakistan was on top at 4/118 in the 22nd over, but Root along with Buttler then carried their team to 248 off 39 overs before his eventual dismissal. It left 101 still needed with 11 overs to bowl, but at this stage Pakistan would have been ruing not getting Root early. Certainly there was at least twenty strokes from both batsmen that were edged behind the wicket for major runs.
• Buttler was phenomenal once again. He may have been quiet in the first match but he was superb here, playing all of his strokes and consistently going at a high strike rate. He likes to come in with 15 overs left and play this kind of knock. The fact that had to come in so early and was still able to dominate is a testament to his form and growing reputation. His dismissal at 288 with 5.3 overs remaining to score the unlikely 61 runs to win made sure it was well out of reach for the Englishmen.
• Mohammed Amir had another fantastic day with the ball, though 2/67 from ten doesn’t look like it. He was unfortunate again most of the day, as he has been since his return to international cricket. Along with Wahab Riaz he has made a difference to this team, and both have proven selector Inzamam-ul-Haq correct in his decision to bring the ‘veterans’ back into the squad.

England may have stumbled here, but their main components showed that even when they didn’t all click they were still close enough to almost snatch a match they probably shouldn’t have gotten so close to. There is no need for panic within their camp at this stage. Pakistan has again shown their complete unpredictability, though one suspects that this is what will stop them from progressing to the finals stage. Time will tell if that statement is as obsolete as the one made about England going through unbeaten.