This year has been one to forget for Norwich City. In fact, it’s been the club’s worst year since… well, last year. David Wagner was appointed as head coach in the first week of January, and I had a good deal of optimism about him, although I would have been optimistic about anyone after the horrors of Dean Smith. He started well, too, with a fitter squad banging in the goals – most notably in a 4-2 win at Coventry where they were 3-0 up after 18 minutes. Looking a good bet for the play-offs, the Canaries faded away badly, failing to win any of their last six games. The talisman that was Teemu Pukki played his final game for the club on the last day of the season at home to Blackpool; when he was substituted in the second half most of the crowd left well before the conclusion of the 1-0 defeat.
A decent start to 2023-24 saw Norwich get three wins and a draw from their first four games (the draw being an incredible 4-4 at Southampton) but defeat at Rotherham and a serious injury to striker Josh Sargent set things on a negative course. Now, the club’s fans are divided, with occasional boos accompanying the frustrated sighs in the stands. Many want Wagner to be sacked, but the sporting director Stuart Webber has been the one to depart instead. Having announced that he would be leaving the club in June, there was a potential for him to remain in his post until March next year, but he left in November.
Away from Norwich, Manchester City became only the second English club to win the treble of Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League in the same season – although the other team to do it were their cross-city rivals United, back in 1999. Erling Haaland had been brought in to push City to the next level and boy, did he deliver. The Norwegian scored an incredible 36 league goals in his debut season. The celebrations after the 1-0 win against Inter Milan in the Champions League final were so raucous that Jack Grealish is probably still nursing his hangover.
England’s women made it all the way to the final of the World Cup, just a year after so memorably winning the Euros on home soil. They were narrowly beaten by Spain in Sydney, but their victory was overshadowed somewhat by the controversy over the non-consensual kiss from the chief of the Spanish FA, Luis Rubiales, on the lips of captain Jenni Hermoso. So, after a month of showcasing the very best of the women’s game, all anybody could talk about was a creepy white bloke in a suit. Sigh.
England’s cricketers, fresh off the back of a 3-0 victory in Pakistan, started the year on the other side of the world, where they drew 1-1 with New Zealand. The “series” was the best advert yet for two-Test tours being banned – an epic finish in Wellington saw the hosts prevail by just one run. It was only the second time a Test match had been won by such a tight margin.
By mid-June, the long-awaited Ashes were underway. England could have won both of the opening games, but Australia took a 2-0 lead to Headingley. Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins stood tall to see Australia to their target at Edgbaston, then the tourists embarrassed themselves by throwing the stumps down to remove Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s, when everyone knew the ball was dead. Still, Ben Stokes almost pulled off a miracle. After that, Bazball well and truly came to the party. Only a day and a half of rain at Old Trafford prevented there being a decider at The Oval, but England made it 2-2 there anyway and saw Stuart Broad off into retirement on a high note. The Ashes are still with Australia, but having thrown away a 2-0 lead and still not won a Test series in England since 2001, we came out of it the better.
The less said about the World Cup the better. England’s defence of their 2019 title was as unexpected as it was feeble – they lost to New Zealand, Afghanistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, India and Australia and finished 7th in the group stage. Their only victories came against Bangladesh, the Netherlands and a consolation win against Pakistan when both sides were already out. The hosts India won all nine of their group games and then the semi-final against New Zealand, only to lose to Australia in the final. The Aussies took home the World Cup for the 6th time. No one else has won it more than twice.
I have never been much of a rugby union fan, but I did enjoy watching the World Cup during September and October. The respect for the referee’s decisions from the players, and the clarity of the Touchline Match Official system, made a refreshing break from the vitriol and incompetence of football. England were unlucky to lose to the eventual champions South Africa in the semi-finals, though the quarter final between the Springboks and hosts France was the best game of rugby I have ever seen. Have a look at the highlights of that one below.
Again, tennis isn’t one of my favourite sports but I do enjoy watching it now and again. Highlights from this year were Andy Murray, 36 years old and with a metal hip, battling through a number of five-set epics at the Australian Open in January and Carlos Alcaraz beating Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
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.
LEE PAYNE 