Craig Overton was the last man out at Old Trafford as Australia retained the Ashes
Australia arrived in England as holders of the Ashes urn and will
leave with it still in their possession. Taking the last of the eight
wickets they needed to win on the final day of the Old Trafford Test saw
them go 2-1 up in what has been a thrilling series with one match left
to play.
The England team captained by Andrew Strauss in 2010-11 was the last
visiting side to claim the urn. Should they avoid defeat at The Oval,
Australia will have won an Ashes series in England for the first time
since 2001 and in doing so inflict England’s first defeat in any home
Test series since 2014.
This is how England can go about winning the Ashes back next time.
Being a cricket fan is not easy sometimes. You find yourself hiding your obsession to avoid hearing the typical ‘it’s so boring’ or ‘I don’t understand it’ responses. Liking cricket feels almost like a taboo, akin to saying you’re into taxidermy or the music of Dido.
Just when it needed it, cricket put on its greatest ever match. The stars were aligned on Sunday. An England team in the World Cup final on home soil, a nation crying out for some sporting success and available to watch on free-to-air television. What a time to play out the most nerve-wracking, topsy-turvy, closest game the sport has ever seen.
It was in early January 2003, just before school started again after Christmas, that I first got into cricket.
I was 10 years old and would get up in the morning to find my dad in the living room watching the Ashes Test from Sydney on TV. On the screen, I could see Michael Vaughan batting for England and can remember thinking ‘this is great’.
Vaughan’s strokeplay, especially his cover drive, were just so pleasing on the eye. I knew next to nothing about the sport at the time. I didn’t know England were 4-0 down in the five match series. I didn’t know the Australian team was one of the best there had ever been. But I was fascinated by this Englishman artfully approaching these little red missiles being fired at him and making several Australians chase after them. I didn’t want to stop watching.
Watching Michael Vaughan bat got me into cricket
I would say I love football and cricket equally. Thankfully, with the end of the football season signalling the start of the cricket season in this country I rarely have to choose between the two. If I had to pick just one, however, it would be cricket.
So much can happen at any moment in a cricket match. Every ball is an event. There are so many ways for the batsman to score runs and so many ways for the bowler to get him out. Football tends to be mostly tedious until the last ten minutes of a game. And cricket is so aesthetically pleasing – it certainly takes the crown of ‘the beautiful game’ for me. Sorry, Pele.
I also love how cricket is so incredibly difficult to be good at. You’ve got three disciplines to tackle and it’s hard to be proficient at any of them. The chances of being good at all three are next to zero. International cricketers seem almost superhuman compared to mere mortals like me. Just look (below) at this catch England’s Ben Stokes took in an Ashes Test in 2015.
Cricket was the new cool in 2005 when England won the Ashes for the first time in 18 years, beating an immensely strong Australia 2-1 in what is unlikely ever to usurped as the best Test series of all time. The game was on the front and back pages of the newspapers and 7.4 million people tuned in to watch the end of the final Test live on Channel 4.
Since then, the England cricket team has only been visible on live television to Sky Sports subscribers. Prohibitively expensive to many and not likely to be stumbled upon by the casual viewer, cricket dropped out of the national consciousness and the numbers of people playing and watching sank. The conclusion of the final Ashes Test in 2009, only on Sky Sports, was watched by less than two million.
These are the reasons why this year’s World Cup has been so important for cricket in the UK. The world’s best players have been competing on our doorsteps for nearly seven weeks. Fan parks have opened the tournament up to thousands of newcomers. And to top it all, England came into it as favourites and have reached the final.
England thrashed Australia in the semi-finals to reach the Cricket World Cup final for the first time since 1992
It’s hard to put into words what England winning the World Cup would do for the game. How often can we say that England are world champions in any sport? With the match against New Zealand at Lord’s being the first time the England team can be seen live on terrestrial television for 14 years – it’s going to be live on Channel 4 – this is a massive opportunity for cricket to engage with the wider public once again.
I’d love for a kid to catch sight of cricket on the TV for the first time on Sunday and be captured by it in the way I was sixteen years ago. For Jonny Bairstow or Joe Root to inspire in the way that Michael Vaughan did. After all, success makes you popular.
The Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand at Lord’s will be live on Channel 4 and Sky Sports on Sunday 14th July, with the first ball at 10.30am.
37 days after it began, the Cricket World Cup has reached the end of the group stage and just the two semi-finals and the final are left to be played.
Before it started, I wrote a guide to the tournament and explained why I was so excited about it. This feels like an ideal time to look back at the five weeks of action we’ve seen and ask: has it lived up to the hype?
Rain
The World Cup got going with hosts and favourites England comfortably beating South Africa at The Oval. On day two, everyone was excited about what appeared to be the return of fearsome West Indian fast bowling as Pakistan were bounced out for 105.
On the first Sunday of the tournament, Bangladesh scored 330 against South Africa and successfully defended it to give us the first eyebrow-raising result. So long seen as minnows in the game, Bangladesh are now a competitive outfit in international cricket and look to be getting better and better.
Having beaten Pakistan 4-0 in an ODI series just prior to the World Cup, England would have been expecting to make it two wins from two when the two sides met again at Trent Bridge. However, Pakistan won by 14 runs – despite centuries from Joe Root and Jos Buttler – to give the favourites a reality check.
It was in Cardiff, the venue for Afghanistan versus Sri Lanka, where rain first reared its ugly head in the tournament. Having been blessed with the hottest and driest summer for forty years last year, things were very different in 2019 and an unusually wet couple of weeks saw four matches unable to render a result – three of them without a single ball being bowled. During this time, I spent a lot of time arguing with people on the internet who seemed to think that rain was somehow unique to the UK and that we shouldn’t be allowed to host future international tournaments. One of the matches lost to the weather was the fascinating prospect of India against New Zealand.
Rain caused havoc in the early stages of the World Cup
The first thriller
India began their campaign almost a week into it, apparently because they wanted their players to have extra time to rest after their efforts in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Their first match was a comfortable victory over South Africa – a third defeat for the Proteas, which left them teetering on the edge of elimination.
Up to this point, the World Cup had seen many strong individual performances but mostly one-sided games. Under the lights at The Oval, Bangladesh and New Zealand put an end to that. Chasing 245 to win, the Black Caps got over the line with just two wickets to spare. The following day, Australia recovered from 38-4 to set the West Indies 289 to win. Mitchell Starc’s 5-46 saw the holders win by 15 runs.
New Zealand won a close game against Bangladesh at The Oval
England racked up 386-6 against Bangladesh in Cardiff, winning by 106 runs to get back on track after their defeat by Pakistan. India beat Australia by 36 runs after the Australians took a muddled approach to chasing 353, but Aaron Finch’s side bounced back with a victory against Pakistan in Taunton.
England thrashed the West Indies in Southampton, bowling their opponents out for just 212 and chasing it down with more than 16 overs to spare. However, injuries suffered by Jason Roy and captain Eoin Morgan cast a shadow on the result.
India and Pakistan met at Old Trafford. A rivalry that goes way beyond sport, earlier this year there had been a threat that India would boycott the match as political tensions between the two countries escalated. 700,000 applications for tickets had reportedly been made for the game at a ground that holds around 25,000. India won handsomely.
Bangladesh chased 322 with ease to beat the West Indies, Shakib Al Hasan with an unbeaten century – the all rounder had a fine World Cup, amassing more than 500 runs.
England, and Eoin Morgan in particular, had a field day against Afghanistan in Manchester. The skipper hit a record 17 sixes on his way to 148, the hosts posting a total of 397-6 and setting up a 150 run victory. The next day, Edgbaston hosted its first match of the tournament and we were treated to an exciting finish as New Zealand chased 242 in the final over to beat South Africa. New Zealand had been 137-5, but an unbeaten 106 from their captain Kane Williamson and 60 from Colin De Grandhomme saw them home.
England captain Eoin Morgan smashed 17 sixes in his 148 against Afghanistan
Australia saw off Bangladesh in Trent Bridge’s final game, but Bangladesh got within 48 of the Aussie total of 381 to once again show that they are no pushovers.
Blown wide open
The weather had finally dried up and the cricket on show was entertaining, but it did seem like the likely semi-final line up of Australia, England, India and New Zealand was almost inevitable. Cue an English batting collapse.
England had been utterly transformed since the 2015 World Cup, playing aggressive cricket like no other. But against Sri Lanka at Headingley, they came unstuck. Restricting their opponents to a meagre 232-9, everyone was expecting England to sail to victory. They completely fell apart. Veteran Lasith Malinga took 4 wickets, the hosts were bowled out for 212, and suddenly the semi-final places were blown wide open.
Saturday 22nd June provided us with two thrillers. India were held to 224-8 by Afghanistan, but managed to save their blushes by bowling the Afghans out for 213. Afghanistan had fallen 12 short of pulling off the biggest shock in Cricket World Cup history. At Old Trafford, New Zealand set the West Indies 292 to win thanks to another Williamson hundred. It looked comfortable for the Black Caps at 164-7, but an extraordinary rearguard effort from Carlos Brathwaite got the West Indies within touching distance of victory. Needing 6 to win, Brathwaite tried to get it done in one hit but was caught on the boundary by Trent Boult. Brathwaite, who had made 101, sank to his knees and New Zealand had won by 5 runs.
Carlos Brathwaite came agonisingly close to pulling off a stunning victory for the West Indies against New Zealand
Lord’s joined the party on the Sunday and Pakistan took advantage of England’s defeat to Sri Lanka by overcoming South Africa. At the same venue a couple of days later, England were all out for 221 chasing 286 against the old enemy Australia and the prospect of England being knocked out of their own World Cup before the semis became very real. Pakistan dealt New Zealand their first defeat of the tournament the next day to rub salt into English wounds.
Semi-finals take shape
A week on from coming so close to beating India, Afghanistan came agonisingly short once again – this time against Pakistan. Needing 228 to win, Pakistan got there with just 2 balls and 3 wickets to spare. The result put Pakistan into 4th place, above England. Australia skittled New Zealand for 157 to complete an 86 run victory, making it clear that they are the team to beat.
England knew they had to beat India to stay in the race, and credit to them, they did just that. Batting first for a change, they powered their way to 337-7, the returning Jason Roy making 66. Jonny Bairstow made 111 and Ben Stokes finished the innings off with 79. In front of an Edgbaston crowd which was more than 80% India fans, a partnership between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli looked ominous but when Kohli was out for 66 the Indians never managed to get the chase back on track and ran out of overs with 32 runs still required. England had a confidence-boosting win, and had set up a huge game against New Zealand in Durham.
Pressure is not usually something that England teams deal with well. In any sport, English sides have a reputation for failing when it matters. So it was to their cricket team’s credit that, faced with having to beat India and New Zealand in succession to resurrect their World Cup campaign and make the semi-finals, they did just that. Winning the toss and batting first again, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow showed no nerves as they got off to a fast start. By the time Roy was out for 60, England had 123 on the board inside 19 overs and a platform had been set. They didn’t really capitalise on it, ending up with 305-8, but Bairstow did reach back-to-back hundreds.
New Zealand never really looked like chasing 306. Things were clearly going England’s way when Ross Taylor played the ball straight back from where it had come from, brushing the tip of Mark Wood’s finger on the way to hitting the stumps at the non-striker’s end, where New Zealand’s captain and most dangerous batsman was well short of his ground and therefore run out for 27. The Black Caps were all out for 186. England were through.
A century from Jonny Bairstow helped England qualify for the semi-finals
Another close one for Afghanistan, but another defeat as they finished their World Cup with a 23 run defeat by the West Indies in Leeds. All out for 288 chasing 312, the Afghans will only get better and better but leave the tournament with nine defeats from nine matches.
Pakistan were left bemoaning the use of Net Run Rate to decide league positions after their victory over Bangladesh at Lord’s wasn’t enough for them to take a semi-finals spot. They have a point, it seems odd that in a format in which everyone plays each other head-to-head results are not given greater importance than run rate. But there was nothing they could do about it, so New Zealand claimed the last place in the semis.
The final day of pool stage matches on Saturday 6th July was all about who would finish top of the table. India played in the early match and emphatically saw off Sri Lanka, both of their openers scoring centuries – Rohit Sharma with his fifth of the tournament – as they made light work of chasing 265.
The day/night match was between Australia and South Africa. The South African captain Faf du Plessis made a hundred as they posted a challenging 325-6 from their 50 overs. Despite a century from David Warner and 85 from wicketkeeper Alex Carey, the Aussies were all out on the penultimate ball of the innings ten runs short of their target. The Proteas had finished a disappointing World Cup on a high.
South Africa beat Australia in the last pool stage match
The semi-finals
After 45 matches, we now know the semi-final fixtures:
Tuesday 9th July: India v New Zealand, Old Trafford Thursday 11th July: Australia v England, Edgbaston
Of course, the winners of these two matches will play each other in the final at Lord’s next Sunday, 14th July. There is no third place play-off.
My awards
With the pool stage complete, here are my ‘bests’ of the tournament.
Best match
New Zealand v West Indies at Old Trafford was a great example of the best of ODI cricket. Superb individual performances, a good contest between bat and ball and one side almost pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. Watch the highlights below.
Best catch
This World Cup has been littered with fantastic catches. Martin Guptill plucked one out of the air for New Zealand against Australia. Sheldon Cottrell of the West Indies juggled the ball on the boundary to dismiss Steve Smith. But, for me, the award has to go to Ben Stokes, who took a catch which genuinely took my breath away way back in the first match of the tournament. I play village cricket, and catches like this are an example of how the professionals are superhuman compared to us. Watch the catch below.
Best innings
For the most part, the world’s best players came to the party. From the ‘big four’ – regarded as the best international batsmen in the world – of Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith, all performed well. But it was the innings of New Zealand captain Williamson against South Africa at Edgbaston, guiding his team home from 137-5 chasing 242 with an unbeaten 106, that personified the notion of a captain’s innings. Watch highlights of the match below.
Most disappointing team
South Africa should have put on a much better show than they did. They looked to have one of the stronger squads, but never really got going. The great fast bowler Dale Steyn was sadly ruled out without bowling a ball, then factors such as muddled team selection and Hashim Amla’s old fashioned batting contributed to their downfall. They laboured to a win against Afghanistan to put their first victory on the board, and it was only when it was too late that they showed what might have been with a thrashing of Sri Lanka and a victory over Australia.
Worst part of the tournament
I thought about giving this award to the concept of someone playing a guitar made out of a cricket bat over the PA system at regular intervals during matches. It sounded horrendous. But the worst part of the World Cup for me has been the weather. Two particularly bad weeks in early June saw four matches called off and really put a halt to the party atmosphere. Thankfully, it has improved significantly since then.
Before the tournament began, I thought Australia, England and India would sail into the semi-finals leaving one place up for grabs. England made rather more hard work of it than I had anticipated, but they are there, and it was New Zealand who join them for what promises to be an exciting final week. It’s almost time to say goodbye to the 2019 Cricket World Cup – will its enduring image be the Aussies being crowned world champions for the sixth time?
For a mad keen cricket fan like me, 2019 is like a birthday and Christmas present rolled into one. The World Cup is being held in England and Wales, with England the favourites to win it, and in August the Ashes start with England and Australia renewing their famous rivalry.
I have friends who may not quite understand much about cricket and why I’m so excited about this year – so I’ve written this for you.
Hosts England are favourites to win the cricket World Cup
When does the World Cup start?
The World Cup is just one week away. It starts on Thursday 30th May when England play South Africa at The Oval in London. The final is on Sunday 14th July at Lord’s.
How does the World Cup work?
There are ten countries playing in the World Cup. That’s not many compared to other sports. Compare it to the last football World Cup – where 32 teams were involved – or the rugby World Cup later this year, which will feature 20 teams.
Those 10 teams are:
Afghanistan Australia Bangladesh England India New Zealand Pakistan South Africa Sri Lanka West Indies
The teams all play each other once, with the top four going through to the semi-finals. There, 1st place will play 4th place and 2nd will play 3rd. Then, of course, the winners of those matches will play in the final.
There will be one match a day (two on Saturdays) between the start of the tournament on 30th May and the conclusion of the group stage on 6th July.
Where are the matches being played?
Ten grounds will host matches in the World Cup, stretching as far north as County Durham and as far south as Hampshire. They are:
The Riverside (Durham) Headingley (Leeds) Old Trafford (Manchester) Trent Bridge (Nottingham) Edgbaston (Birmingham) Lord’s (London) The Oval (London) County Ground (Bristol) Sophia Gardens (Cardiff) County Ground (Taunton) Rose Bowl (Southampton)
The iconic Lord’s will host the cricket World Cup final on 14th July
How can I follow it?
Every single match of the World Cup is live on Sky Sports, so you’ll need to pay to watch it on TV. Now TV is the best way in my opinion – you can buy one of their devices and buy a Sky Sports month pass for £25. Two of those will see you through the World Cup.
Highlights of every match will be on Channel 4.
If you prefer listening to the radio, commentary will be available on the BBC’s famous Test Match Special on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.
Why are you so excited about it?
This is the first time England have hosted the cricket World Cup since 1999. Back then, I was a nearly-7-year-old who didn’t know what cricket was. England are also the favourites for it, going into the tournament as the number one ranked One Day International (ODI) team in the world.
Australia won the last cricket World Cup in 2015
It’s going to a close run thing, too – out of the ten teams playing, I reckon seven have a genuine chance of winning it. I think Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will struggle but the other seven will be fighting for the four places in the semi-finals. Even those three I’ve mentioned are capable of causing a few upsets.
I hope you’ve found this guide useful and you might indulge in a bit of cricket over the next eight weeks or so. I’ll be writing about the games you should watch as we go along.
I know I shouldn’t rise to it. I know they are on the wind up. Looking for a reaction. Reeling me in.
But I just can’t help it.
I’m referring to people on Twitter who reply to any – and I mean any – post about women’s sport with the words ‘no one cares’.
A blokey bloke claiming to speak for every man in Britain
It’s incredibly irritating. It’s so fundamentally incorrect, so infuriatingly dismissive and so annoyingly pompous. Who are they to speak for everyone? They might not care themselves, fine, but they don’t speak for me.
Personally, if I don’t care about something I don’t spend my time commenting on tweets about it making it clear to everyone that I am not interested. I like most sports but golf and Formula 1 leave me cold. I am well aware that millions of people love them, though, so I leave them to it. It’s the way these blokes – and it is always blokes – desperately need to tell everyone that they don’t care about women’s sport that gets to me.
Another bloke
It is most often ‘no one cares’. That’s the textbook blokey casually sexist reply. Sometimes it’s a snide comment on the size of the crowds at a women’s sporting event. Sometimes it’s more explicit, with suggestions that the players ‘should be in the kitchen’ or that there would be more interest if the players were in bikinis.
Joking or not, comments like these are wrong. It’s 2019 now. Shouldn’t we have moved on from these tired cliches? Jokes require an element of humour, and there’s nothing funny about them.
Women’s sport is in a fantastic place right now, and getting better all the time. As I write this, the England football team are on the verge of winning the SheBelieves Cup. The England cricket team are world champions, having beaten India in front of a crowd of around 25,000 at Lord’s in 2017. And who could forget the Great Britain hockey team’s thrilling gold medal at Rio 2016?
England’s women’s cricket team won the World Cup in 2017
When England’s women played the Netherlands in the semi-finals of Euro 2017, 4 million people watched it on Channel 4. This was the biggest UK audience for a women’s football match to date, and the match got double the average audience of that day’s episode of Celebrity Big Brother. This is solid proof that ‘no one cares’ is plainly wrong.
This is not about wanting to fight a battle on behalf of women. This just really irritates me. When I’ve engaged with the people who make these comments, I’m usually met with denial. Nobody cares mate. These facts you’re telling me are made up. Sometimes I’m told that I’m in the ‘PC (politically correct) brigade’. I’m not. It’s not PC to not hate, or be frightened of, women. Because that’s what these men are. They will deny it until they are red in the face but they’re are afraid that these women playing sport threatens their masculinity.
Once, I was given the bizarre response that I am only defending women’s sport because I think it would make women want to sleep with me. I mean, really? How shallow can you be? That one wasn’t even worthy of a reaction.
This bloke can only imagine caring about women’s sport if it was in the pursuit of sex
I felt like writing this because I am sick of calling out the ‘no one cares’ blokes on Twitter. I thought I’d write very clearly why they are wrong and link them to it in future.
Women’s sport is on the rise and that should be celebrated. It doesn’t need some bloke on social media dismissing it. Let’s not let them.
England have become only the third team ever to go to Sri Lanka and whitewash them in a Test series. They may not have their great players any more, such as Mahela Jayawardene or Kumar Sangakkara, but Sri Lanka remain a very difficult opponent in their own conditions. They beat South Africa 2-0 in a Test series back in July, thrashing the Proteas in both matches, so it is without a doubt a fine effort from Joe Root’s team. Here I have picked out five key things for England to take away from the tour.
Openers
Rory Burns was the popular choice to succeed Alastair Cook at the top of the order, but he leaves Sri Lanka with only one half century to his name. Burns is probably best suited to facing pace bowling, which there was precious little of in this series. He needs to be given the chance to show what he can do in the Caribbean, and I can see him opening the batting in next summer’s Ashes.
Keaton Jennings might have considered himself fortunate to be on the tour but there was a logic to his selection. He is actually a very competent player of spin, and he showed that in his century in the second innings in Galle. Jennings is much maligned and clearly has a weakness against seam bowling, so it’s hard to tell whether he’ll be lining up against Australia next year. What is not in doubt, though, is his fielding ability – some of the catches he took at short leg over the three Tests were nothing short of ridiculous.
Number 3
Jonny Bairstow made a statement with his century in Colombo
England have not had a settled number 3 in the batting order since the retirement of Jonathan Trott, and it remains a problem position for them. I suppose this links in with how fragile the openers have been, as the next man in has had to do a lot of the early work. They used three different batsmen in the role in the three Tests – Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow. Moeen just doesn’t seem to be up to it, Stokes was only given the one chance, but Bairstow made the most of his opportunity with a hundred in Colombo.
He might not even have been picked for the match if Sam Curran had been fit, but the Yorkshireman was clearly determined to make a point after slipping out of the side following his ankle injury. The injury, picked up during a game of football, prompted a lot of moaning about cricketers warming up in such a way. The fact is, Bairstow could have turned his ankle over anywhere – walking down the stairs in the team hotel, for example. Football is a good way of loosening up the muscles and getting the blood flowing, and the players love it. Personally, I think a lot of the complaints had a snobbish air to them. A lot of people don’t want the gentleman cricketers playing such a common game. There has also been the frankly ridiculous argument that ‘you never see footballers warming up with a game of cricket’. Well, if cricket was a proven way to prepare the body for exercise, you may well have done.
Whether Bairstow is England’s number 3 going forward is not clear. He may just have been so set on scoring big runs in the third Test that he would have made them wherever he batted in the order. I do think he will be in the position in the West Indies, and this may have to be his new role in the team now it looks like he won’t be getting the wicketkeeping gloves back.
Wicketkeeper
Ben Foakes was the best thing about the tour for England. He had been on the fringes of the team for a while, without ever breaking into it. Having not even been in the squad when it was initially announced, few would have expected him to end up the leading run scorer in the series. But he started off superbly in Galle with a debut century, showing the top order how to bat, and has made wicketkeeping a thing of beauty with his flawless glovework. Sorry Jonny, but England have found their wicketkeeper. Foakes has been widely regarded as the best gloveman in the country for a while now, and in the year he was a county champion with Surrey things are certainly going well for him.
Adil Rashid
Adil Rashid took career best figures in Colombo but is a luxury bowler
England played three spinners in every Test in the series, and it is hard to imagine them doing that anywhere other than the subcontinent. Moeen Ali, Jack Leach and Adil Rashid all had major roles to play, bowling the vast majority of the overs and taking nearly all the wickets. Moeen found a happy knack of getting regular wickets, and was vital in the second innings in Galle to seal the win for England when it looked like Sri Lanka had a chance. Leach is a very tidy bowler, and took his maiden five wicket haul in the second Test. He also seems to love every second of playing for England, pretty much to the point of not being able to stop smiling, which is great to see. Rashid bowled the fewest overs of the three spinners, and goes for a lot more runs than the other two, but he showed his worth with a five-for in Colombo which enabled England to take control of the match.
Rashid looks the most likely to miss out when conditions necessitate more seamers in the side. He is something of a luxury spinner, who will bowl the occasional unplayable delivery but will leak runs in the meantime. Moeen will probably be in the side more often than not, as he will nearly always take wickets and England like players who can do a bit of everything. Leach looks like he could well be the long term spinner in the side, the kind of go-to bowler that Graeme Swann was. His ability to keep it tight and hold up an end will be very useful.
Anderson and Broad
While the Sri Lanka tour has been very successful, it has taught us nothing about how England will deal with life after Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. Anderson played in the first two Tests and took just the one wicket – not unexpected in a country with conditions that so favour spin bowling. Broad came in for the last match and bowled only 14 wicketless overs. Many saw the Colombo Test as the opportunity to give Ollie Stone a go, with the series already won and the pressure off. There was an argument for this, but it’s hard to see what knowledge of Stone we would have gained from playing him in such difficult conditions. Decisions will have to be made sooner rather than later as Anderson and Broad head towards retirement but I am really not sure Sri Lanka was ever going to be the place to find solutions.
England’s impressive young team made the international break more bearable
I’m never pleased when the international break comes around. They force an irritating halt to domestic football. In September, October and November they make the beginning of the season a stop-start affair; at times like this they make us all pause when our clubs have important matters to attend to.
That this one should be at the Easter weekend, traditionally a packed four days in the league calendar, made it even less welcome. Norwich City’s back-to-back clean sheets, first win since early January and slice of fortune with the result of the Tyne-Wear derby would have to be put to one side for a fortnight, until the huge game against Newcastle.
In the meantime, England would play friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands as part of their preparations for Euro 2016. Like many, I wasn’t expecting much. Germany are the world champions and, in Berlin, you’d expect them to sweep England aside.
This is the reason why what actually happened last night was such a pleasant surprise. From the start, there was an energy about the England team. They were closing the Germans down very well. We are so used to seeing us sit back and watch the opposition pass the ball around in these prestige friendlies, but last night the hosts were not given any time on the ball before a red shirt was trying to hound it off them.
Germany had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside, but hey, it’s about time England had some luck (Frank Lampard anyone?). The Germans did go ahead when Toni Kroos took advantage of goalkeeper Jack Butland’s hindered mobility to fire one in at his near post. I am certain that, had he not done damage to himself seconds earlier, the Stoke keeper would have made a routine save.
In the second half, England were continuing to impress, finding each other well with passes and causing their rivals problems with some clever moves. It seemed unjust when Mario Gomez jumped between Gary Cahill and Nathaniel Clyne to put Germany 2-0 up. It was a scoreline that would have given the ‘same old England’ brigade ammunition but did not tell the story of the match.
What England were doing was making chances but wasting them. In the end, they had 19 shots on goal – 9 more than Germany – and 6 of them were on target. The Germans only hit the target twice in the whole game, and with stereotypical efficiency, scored two goals.
Harry Kane provided the spark for an England comeback by reigning in an untidy Jordan Henderson corner and fooled two defenders with a Cruyff turn – so apt in this week of all weeks – before striking it into the corner of the net with pinpoint accuracy.
Harry Kane sends a German defender for ice cream as he scores England’s first goal in Berlin
With less than twenty minutes to go, Roy Hodgson introduced Jamie Vardy in place of Danny Welbeck. He had been on the pitch for 198 seconds when his audacious backheel from Clyne’s cross wrong-footed Manuel Neuer and brought the scores level. Vardy became the first Leicester City player since Gary Lineker in 1985 to score a goal for England.
All but the harshest of England supporters would have gladly taken a draw away from the Olympiastadion having been two goals behind with 25 minutes to play. However, in stoppage time, Jordan Henderson finally got one of his corners right and Eric Dier thumped it in with his head to stun the world champions and give England a quite brilliant victory.
Eric Dier completed the comeback to stun the world champions Germany
I will not get carried away. You can tell me that it was a friendly, that it was an ‘experimental’ German side, that it was a fluke, whatever – it was still a performance to get a little bit excited about. We are not going to win the Euros this summer. We might, however, do ourselves proud while we are there and build towards future tournaments with genuine promise.
The reason for this optimism is from the players involved in Berlin. We knew Joe Hart would be missing after getting injured in last weekend’s Manchester derby, but no one was particularly worried because we knew that Jack Butland was a more than able deputy. Butland was injured himself in the first half of the match, but Southampton’s Fraser Forster was perfectly capable of filling in. Goalkeeper wise, England have rarely had three as strong as those at the same time.
In defence, England look to have sorted out the full back positions. Nathaniel Clyne and Danny Rose appeared right at home in the back four, Rose in particular with some excellent tackles, and both were willing to race forward and mount an attack. Gary Cahill is clearly the odd one out, and you would expect John Stones to replace him at some point in the near future and form a partnership with Chris Smalling.
Eric Dier did an excellent job of protecting the defence and demonstrated his ability to pick out a forward pass. I personally have questions over the Liverpool pair of Henderson and Adam Lallana. Lallana hasn’t had a great season but has the ability, Henderson I wonder if he’s actually just rather ordinary and is mostly ‘a great man to have in the dressing room’. He missed a glorious chance, having his shot blocked by a defender when the keeper had been taken out of the equation, and I wonder if Ross Barkley has more of a place in this team than him.
The outstanding player for England on a night of very good performances was Dele Alli. It was easy to forget that the Tottenham midfielder is a few weeks away from his 20th birthday. Rarely has an Englishman looked so comfortable on the international stage so early on in their career. His dribbling, his passing and his sheer will to be involved and get on the ball made him more than fit to share a stage with the world champions on the night. He will need careful management but we look to have a real star on our hands here.
Dele Alli was magnificent on a great night for England
Danny Welbeck often gets a raw deal from the fans but he worked hard for his country, getting into good positions and never allowing the defenders to rest, always niggling away at them. His finishing ability is undoubted, and he has a definite role to play in the squad. Talk of finishing ability – Harry Kane is one of the best we’ve had in that respect for a long time, and Jamie Vardy continues to ride on the crest of a wave. Four years ago, Vardy was playing for Fleetwood Town.
Then consider what England have in reserve. Leicester’s Danny Drinkwater was in the squad for the first time, rewarded for a sublime campaign for the Premier League leaders, and, in the end, was untried. He will surely get some time on the pitch against the Netherlands on Tuesday. Daniel Sturridge didn’t make it off the bench. There is still Wayne Rooney to come back from injury too.
This is a very young team too. Take a look at the ages of the starting eleven in this game:
Jack Butland – 23
Nathaniel Clyne – 24
Gary Cahill – 30
Chris Smalling – 26
Danny Rose – 25
Eric Dier – 22
Jordan Henderson – 25
Adam Lallana – 27
Dele Alli – 19
Danny Welbeck – 25
Harry Kane – 22
If Cahill is indeed replaced by 21-year-old Stones, this brings the average age down even further. This is a squad of players who will be around for a while. 30-year-old Rooney would be something of an old man amongst that lot, but might not be the worst player to have as a vastly experienced captain to guide them.
Four of the starters last night were Tottenham players. I think it showed too, they were linking up with each other superbly. It can only help the national team if the core of the side all play for the same club. Three were Liverpool players, and just one was a Manchester United man. How times change.
I can honestly say that last night was the best I’d seen England play in a very long time and it felt slightly strange to actually be enjoying watching an international friendly. The future looks bright and if they can play like that more often, maybe I won’t be quite so annoyed when the international break rolls around. Maybe.
The World Twenty20 is the product of the modern era in cricket. T20 was launched in 2003 to boost attendances and interest levels in the English county game, but few could have expected the format to take over quite as much as it has. The first international match took place in 2005 – between Australia and New Zealand – and there are various domestic leagues that have been set up all over the world, most notably the Indian Premier League, which is as much about the money as it is about the cricket.
In 2007, the first World Twenty20 was held, and was a breath of fresh air. The 50-over World Cup earlier in the year had been a disaster, with dead games, crowds muted by overzealous officials, farcical administration and a ridiculous six-week format. The World T20 in South Africa was completed in 13 days and won by India, a country that had previously been skeptical of this new idea. There were shocks. Bangladesh knocked out the West Indies in the group stage and the hosts fell in the Super Eight stage. We were treated to a showpiece final featuring old rivals India and Pakistan, and India won the trophy in the last over. There was no doubt that the World T20 would be a regular event from then on.
The International Cricket Council decided that the World T20 should take place every two years, instead of the four years we often see between international tournaments. Twenty20 came home in 2009 with England playing host. There was plenty of drama here too. Ireland edged out Bangladesh to make it to the second round. England were beaten in the opening game by the Netherlands but recovered to make it through. Australia were dumped out at the first hurdle having lost both of their group games – the beginning of what was to be a miserable summer with the Ashes to be taken off them later on. The holders, India, lost all three of their Super Eight games. England lost to the West Indies in a rain-affected match to crash out at the Super Eights again. The final once again featured two Asian sides – this time it was Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Pakistan made up for their failure two years before by winning the final by eight wickets.
Cricket is not the most organised of sports, and just ten months after Pakistan had won the World Twenty20 at Lord’s, the top cricketing nations were gathered in the Caribbean to do battle once more. This was a result of the need to correct the cricket calendar. The ICC Champions Trophy – “the mini World Cup” – had been postponed in 2008 because of security concerns in the host country of Pakistan and it was decided to make the 2010 event into the World T20, in order to create a two year gap between the 20 over and 50 over tournaments. This one will live long in the memory of supporters over here as it was won, perhaps surprisingly, by England. There were no particular shocks in the group stages, but the tournament was given a boost by the introduction to top level cricket of Afghanistan. Once again, India were defeated in all three of their Super Eight matches to be sent home, but there was a familiar line up in the final with old enemies England and Australia taking to the Barbados pitch. England won by seven wickets, to take their first ever ICC event.
So, more than two years after England’s triumph in the Caribbean, the team are about to defend their title in the 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. The format matches the 2010 edition. Who can we expect to flourish in this one?
England will be looking to defend the title they won in the West Indies two years ago.
Group A
England: the champions, but not the favourites going in. It’s been a difficult summer for the England cricket team with the Kevin Pietersen saga, who was not selected in the squad on the back of the drama. That will be a loss but they do often seem to just get it right when it comes to Twenty20, and could pull off a surprise. I think semi-finals.
India: need to get back on track in this tournament after poor showings in the last two. They will feel more at home in the Sri Lankan conditions, but I don’t think they’ve got enough to win the whole thing. For me, semi-finals.
Afghanistan: much will be made of the remarkable achievement in just getting an Afghanistan team to the tournament with all the troubles the country has faced in the past decade, but they won’t be looking for sympathy. They will be aiming for an upset. I can’t see them getting one though, and so it has to be the group stages for them.
Group B
Australia: when they crashed out of the 2009 tournament having lost all their group games, captain Ricky Ponting made it sound as if the format was not at the forefront of Australia’s priorities. That changed in the West Indies, though, when they made the final. They’ve got plenty of power players and they could well go far. I think they might just make the final.
West Indies: you never know what to expect from the West Indies. They are capable of brilliance but at the same time able to play some utterly dire cricket. To pull anything off here they’ll have to be on top form. Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard are capable of huge sixes, but the conditions might not favour them. Let’s see them make the Super Eights.
Ireland: the Irish are the dominant force in associate level cricket, and have impressed in the last two 50-over World Cups, also making the Super Eights of the last World T20. Sadly I can’t see them getting out of this group, so it might just be group stages for the Blarney Army.
Group C
Sri Lanka: the hosts are pretty good at this form of the game and have that added advantage of playing in familiar conditions in familiar surrounding. The 2009 finalists will, in my opinion, join Australia in the final.
South Africa: the new no.1 side in Test cricket, but have never quite excelled in Twenty20. They’ve got some great players but I don’t think they can be consistent enough to win here. It’s the Super Eights for the Proteas.
Zimbabwe: after international exile Zimbabwe are slowly making their way towards a return to Test cricket, but they are in such a tough group here it is hard to see them doing anything. They’ll be gone in the group stages.
Group D
Pakistan: the winners in 2009 will enjoy the conditions in Sri Lanka. They do, however, always seem one game away from an embarrassment and I fear that could happen here. So it’s a Super Eights exit for me.
New Zealand: a very good side, but always the bridesmaid never the bride in big tournaments. I think they’ll struggle with the Asian conditions and end up crashing out in the Super Eights.
Bangladesh: the Bangladeshis might well fancy an upset against New Zealand, but I can’t see them getting out of this group. Group stages.
According to my predictions, we’ll be seeing Sri Lanka play in a home final against Australia. It’s a real tough one to call. Home advantage can only count for so much and Australia have looked increasingly good in Twenty20 over the last year or so. I think I might just give Australia the nod to add the World Twenty20 to their collection of ICC trophies.
As with the European football championships earlier this year, sport has a tournament that will hold interest and a format short enough to keep spectators wanting more. So what does the governing body do? Announce their intention to expand the tournament next time around to increase the number of dead group games and add to the number of thrashings handed out to inexperienced associate sides by Test playing giants. That’s right, the 2014 World Twenty20 in Bangladesh will feature 16 teams.
The 2012 World Twenty20 starts on Tuesday 18th September.
LEE PAYNE 