Emburey on the Attack

Well, he has a point:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6363049.stm

But if we are going to go down that route let's not stop too short of the mark; let's not let them into the country next time they turn up to play the Ashes here. That way we'll get a walk over!

World Cup Squad

Here we are then. 15 of England's finest ready to pick up where they left off (hopefully).

So, Virgil is back at the helm but Mal Loye has gone. Once again the selectors have picked 3 unfit players (Vaughan, Lewis & Anderson). That old gambling streak is still present. Right, here's who we're taking:

Michael Vaughan (captain, age 32, Yorkshire) 77 matches scoring 1773 runs @27.70
Ed Joyce (28, Middlesex) 12 matches scoring 319 runs @ 26.58
Ian Bell (24, Warwickshire) 36 matches scoring 1172 runs @37.80
Kevin Pietersen (26, Hampshire) 42 matches scoring 1582 runs @56.50
Andrew Strauss (29, Middlesex) 74 matches scoring 2156 runs @32.66
Paul Collingwood (30, Durham) 112 matches scoring 2690 runs @34.05
Andrew Flintoff (29, Lancashire) 115 matches scoring 2984 runs @33.52
Ravi Bopara (21, Essex) 1 match scoring 7 runs @ -
Paul Nixon (36, Leicestershire) 10 matches scoring 104 runs @11.55
Jamie Dalrymple (26, Middlesex) 24 matches scoring 481 runs @21.86
Liam Plunkett (21, Durham) 22 matches scoring 258 runs @23.45
James Anderson (24, Lancashire) 57 matches scoring 89 runs @7.41
Sajid Mahmood (25, Lancashire) 19 matches scoring 83 runs @9.22
Jon Lewis (31, Gloucestershire) 12 matches scoring 33 runs @6.60
Monty Panesar (24, Northants) 9 matches scoring 6 runs @6.00

Average Age: 25.13
Total ODI Appearances: 622
Total Runs Scored: 13,737

These stats are meaningless and only included because I am at work with very little to do. However, some of them make interesting reading especially Plunkett's. Now Discuss.

Australia v England 2nd Final - No need for a 3rd!

Well, what can I say? When Freddie does the press call he really ought to suggest that Oz put up some effective opposition. And if he could be looking at John Buchanan at the same time it would be sweet.

Ponting: You loser! You have slagged us off all winter and now you have been bitten on the arse by your own self assurance. Back to my earlier post on why we lost the Ashes....10 reasons? We didn't need 10; Oz peaked too soon and under-estimated the English spirit. Off you go to NZ with tails between your legs.

It's been a long time since we won such an important series. And, as Athers said earlier, if we can beat Oz 3 times on the bounce then we can [and should] win the World Cup.

Once again the baggy greens looked ordinary; over-trained and lack-lustre. And all this against a half-baked England made up of hasbeens and newlyborns. Hat's off to Colly again and to the whole team for sheer bloody determination to destroy that ego that has long kept Team Australia afloat.

Australia v England 2nd Final

Typical. Spend all winter praying for rain in Australia and we get it today. The good thing is that if we can get through to 20 overs, Duckworth-Lewis will come in. We need to take wickets and keep taking wickets. For those of you who wish to know how the incredibly complicated system works there is a site title "Duckworth Lewis made easy" (a contradiction in terms if you ask me):
http://www.jritson.demon.co.uk/dl.htm

Ok, a fair performance though. BTW the D/L asking rate right now is 5.37 runs per over, according to Gower - but what did he ever know about anything?

The key for us is to build Plunkett's and Mahmood's confidence so that they bowl to their full potential. Mahmood has got a really good mixed bag of slow balls and bouncers and Plunkett can swing the ball really well. Freddie must step up and bully Gilchrest into going over the top. Come on lads!

Australia V England - 1st Final Match

Oooh...that's gonna hurt!

Paul Collingwood has risen to hero status and should have his MBE upgraded to OBE (at least). Mind you Shane Warne might have a word or two to say about that!

Good lads. Held their nerve. The game was won in the field. 170 for 1 and all out for 252. Good fightback. And then batting...well at 15 for 3 I was thinking "Bugger me! What is the matter with these fools!" But Belly & PC did well and Freddie looked good. 1-0 up. Boy, I need to sit down. Can't believe it. The Aussies looked pretty ordinary and it is not often they get bowled out in an ODI. It's not often we bowl them out in Test matches.

Ricky Ponting: You smug idiot. Pride always comes before a fall (or is it a fool?).

England v New Zealand - Knockout Punch

Right, I'm back! And, like England; bristling with confidence. For a while back there it got dark and I couldn't see the point. I was about to put my house on the market and move down under. But Uncle Tom Cobbley stopped me. Who is Uncle Tom? I haven't a clue but he has worked magic for England in these past two games.

Beating Oz by 92 runs was great. A good all round team effort. Joyce finally showed what he is made of and even Plunkett managed to bowl with confidence. Now usually moving into a must-win situation like we did against the Kiwi's England would flop. 270 was a good score. Defendable but not great. I'm surprised that NZ failed especially after skipper Fleming played so well. Virgil is a good captain who encourages intelligent cricket. He is the one man who can get the best from Flintoff - the run out on Taylor; Virgil throws the ball to Freddie who would normally hurl it as hard as possible at the stumps...instead he sprints against the batsman (who is already moving some) and knocks the bails off with ball still in hand. Intelligent cricket. And did you notice Freddie bowling late on. He bowled well back in the popping crease to prevent no-balls when the match was still balanced precariously. Only MV could get that type of cricket out of Freddie. Well done lads.

And now Stuart Broad is on the plane from India. About bloody time too!!!

Australia v England Tri-Series ODI Preview

Right then. Another chance to get humiliated beckons. With Anderson on his way home and no Virgil it looks like it's up to Freddie to perform. But has he got anything left in the tank?

The thing is, this current England side, have got to the point of relying on single players.

Truth is we will get stuffed tonight. No one can save us. Not even Uncle Tom Cobley

How England can break their losing streak

Ask any gambler about a run of bad luck and their will provide you with a whole host of reasons for it. Ask them what they do to change their luck and not many have a sensible answer.

Now, I am not saying that England are having a run of bad luck. They're not. Quite simply they are under-performing. However, the reason why I start with a gambling analogy is this:

From the very beginning of this tour the Selectors have gambled. They gambled on Freddie and lost (in respect of winning matches - the gamble on his fitness has paid off to some degree); they gambled on Trescothick and lost; they gambled on Giles and lost. In fact, when you look at wickets taken and run scored over the whole tour they placed very few safe bets.

So, how do they turn it round? Well, in OZ they can't. They have players that are good but the squad lacks depth. What they can do is use this as an opportunity to expose some of the under-used players to tough cricket in an attempt to ready themselves for the World Cup. They is now no point in trying to compete with Australia. Use the remaining games as practice matches.

Then go home and regroup. The 15 men that they take to the West Indies MUST be fit and up to the task. There is no point in taking them if they do not fulfil both criteria. Here's the 30 men picked so far:

England 30-man ICC Cricket World Cup squad:

1. James Anderson (Lancashire)2. Ian Bell (Warwickshire)3. Ravi Bopara (Essex)4. Stuart Broad (Leicestershire)5. Glen Chapple (Lancashire)6. Rikki Clarke (Surrey)7. Paul Collingwood (Durham)8. Alastair Cook (Essex)9. Jamie Dalrymple (Middlesex)10. Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire)11. Ashley Giles (Warwickshire)12. Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire)13. Ed Joyce (Middlesex)14. Amjad Khan (Kent)15. Jon Lewis (Gloucestershire)16. Mal Loye (Lancashire)17. Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire)18. Paul Nixon (Leicestershire)19. Graham Onions (Durham)20. Monty Panesar (Northamtonshire)21. Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)22. Liam Plunkett (Durham)23. Matt Prior (Sussex)24. Chris Read (Nottinghamshire)25. Owais Shah (Middlesex)26. Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire)27. Andrew Strauss (Middlesex)28. Chris Tremlett (Hampshire)29. Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire)30. Michael Yardy (Sussex)

Half will fall soon. Here's my selection:

Anderson
Bell
Broad
Collingwood
Cook
Darylmple
Flintoff
Hoggard
Loye
Panesar
Pietersen
Read
Solanki
Strauss
Vaughan

Enough is Enough

That's it. I'm am going to sell up today and move to Oz...at least they know how to play cricket there.

Australia v England Tri-Series ODI Preview

Rollercoaster time again. Looks like we won't and Anderson and Lewis. That might be a good thing. Especially when we have others in the squad looking to make a mark. Perfect opportunity!

But the bowling will look bare without those two. It's a shame Stuart Broad isn't with them. Tremlett will get a game I guess and will need to show what he is capable of. Time to shake off butterflies and hit the deck hard!