Sunday, June 25, 2006

NEEDED A NEW SPIN

The English cricket team lost the one-day series in Pakistan and they lost the seven match series in India as well. I believe the English won only one match in India. The English media went hoarse with the calls saying that the English team does not take the limited overs version of the game seriously. But the same people were over the moon when England did better in the one-dayers before the last Ashes.

Now England have been beaten in a one-day series by Sri Lanka. Wonder, if the home team took the matches seriously. The fact is otherwise. If analysed carefully, there are very few players in the England team who fit the one-day game. Flintoff is good for both the tests and the one-dayers. So is the case with Kevin Pietersen. Speaking about Pietersen, he is the best English batsmen since the Ashes. But very often, after a good start, he throws his wicket away in the one-dayers. Collingwood is another player who is a very good one-day player. He can bat, bowl and field excellently.

Apart from these players, there are not many who have match winning abilities in the one dayers. Michael Vaughan was never a good one day player. Trescothick and Strauss do not have the ability to take on the opposition bowlers that is so important in the early stages of the limited overs game.

In the bowling department, there are no such English bowlers who can mix the pace and create problems for the batsmen of the opposing teams. There is no spinner to bring down the opposition run rate.

So it is time that the English team gets its act together in the one-dayers. Or, they have to accept the fact that they are not a good one day side.

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