The Drama Called English Cricket

Posted: Monday, March 23, 2009 by Sanya Michelangelo in Labels: ,
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Yes, English Cricket is full of drama. It's an unscripted movie. In 2008, Collingwood and Vaughn resigned. They were the best. The best captains England could have. 

Collingwood is one of the best fielders in the world and he inspires others in the England squad to be a good fielder when he is the captain. He just lifts them up and it would not be wrong to call him a "superman". Which English Cricket fan can forget  the captain who led the side in the memorable Ashes 2005? 

Vaughn was smart and knew what to do in the situation of crisis. Then came the appointment of the egotistic Kevin Pietersen as the captain. He wanted the coach Peter Moores removed after a spat with him and thought that  the ECB will follow his orders. ECB not just fired Moores but forced Kevin to resign too. 

Rumours tell us that the spat was over not selecting Michael Vaughn when KP was vacationing in South Africa. 

This wasn't all, Allen Stanford offered ECB $20 million Twenty-20 Matches in the Carribean. This offer was made to India and South Africa too but they declined it but ECB accepted it very quickly. I didn't like the Stanford Super Series and didn't watch much of it. Matches in Carribean are not too enjoyable anyway. 

During one game, Matt Prior's pregnant wife, Emily, was seen sitting on the lap of the shithead Stanford. There were other England WAGs around him as well and the England cricketers didn't look too comfortable watching it. Stanford was also allowed to be in the dressing room with the players which they didn't like at all. 

This year, he is known as a fraud and the deal is over. Now, lets just keep the asshole aside and talk about the hotties. Firstly, I'm glad that the so called "consistently inconsistent" James Anderson is now getting consistent and he is 26 so he has a long way to go and time to improve a lot. He played really well against the Kiwis last year, but then, all England players did. 

Ryan Sidebottom was the star and taking most of the wickets. Jimmy and Broady were a great help though. They not only bowled well but batted well too. And even together! Ryan Sidebottom was the PCA Player of the year in 2008. 

England thrashed New Zealand at home and away too. They not only did this but defeated South Africa by 4-0 in ODIs as well. Then came the losing streak which was broken by a win against West Indies in the 1st ODI by winning by 1 run (D/L method). 

I love it when they play at home. England has got the finest grounds in the world ang the crowd is always good. Bad Light and rain interrupt matches rarely. England has the longest day in the world-16 hours so bad light is not a problem. 

Test cricket is largely dependent on English cricket fans. You won't see England playing with empty stands no matter where they play. Barmy Army are the best cricket fans in the world and they are known for cheering England in every situation. 

I've heard them chanting "He's big, he's bad, he's better than his dad, Stuart Broad! Stuart Broad!" and "Jim Jim Jim jimmy Anderson!" Freddie "Flinstones" and KP are cheered a lot and loved too. They would not throw stones at their players when the team is losing, like Asians do. Now, back to cricket. 

England certainly played better than India in the test series they lost 1-0 last year and better than the islanders too. But they didn't win either of them. India just chased the target in an inning after KP declared and WI wrapped up England for 51 in the 1st test. 

And they are not good in Twenty-20. So why do lose? Even though they play like like the world's best team in tests? Aren't they capable of winning? Sure they are. But England have always been like this. They would rarely be the World No.1 team or the World No.8 team. Neither the best nor the worst. 

They would not lose to Bangladesh but would not win the world cup either. Bangladesh have defeated Australia once and India twice but not England. Currently, they are not playing with their best team. It's like they choosed the captain before choosing the team. Why did Strauss play in the Twenty-20? 

And what the fuck is Batty doing in the team? Good for nothing. The batsman that England picked in the 1st two ODIs are not bad but they are a bad combination. Who are the hitters? Kevin Pietersen, Mascarenhas. But Mascarenhas is not doing well at the moment. And you need more players like those. So what if Swann and Freddie are injured? They could still play the uncapped Adil Rashid. And Luke Wright. Enough for today, goodbye!

England vs West Indies 5th Test Day 5

Posted: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 by Sanya Michelangelo in Labels: ,
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The match is still going on, tea is over so I've taken time off to post this. West Indies are 78/3 and England need 7 more wickets to win. The pitch curator said before the test that the pitch will help spinners from Day 2 onwards. However, it was totally flat on Day 2 and 3 and for the most part of Day 4. The West Indies lost their last six wickets for 111 in their first innings on Day 4. England declared on 237/6 at lunch on Day 5. They still have a chance of winning but after the 3rd test, we can never celebrate before it's over. The look on James Anderson's face yesterday brought tears to my eyes. Flat pitches are of no use, they just make bowlers cry and the test result in a draw. West Indies need 162 runs from 35 overs and it still doesn't seem like they are gonna win. It's a brave decision by England but it's a chance they had to take. If they win it, series will be levelled at 1-1 but it would be a big thing as they only had two sessions to bowl out West Indies and it's always great to end the series on a winning note. Earlier today, England batted beautifully and scored 157 in 23.4 overs. Kevin Pietersen scored his first century of the series after being dismissed in the 90s earlier in the series. I'm gonna go and watch jimmy now! Hope we'll have something to celebrate!