Match Twenty Four

Isaac and I spent Tuesday morning fishing in the sunshine from a punt, we caught loads of silver fish while TMS kept us up to date with the cricket.  By the time we tuned in Vince had already fallen but Bairstow and Root were building a formidable lead.  It was a shock when the latter was out for 90 but this brought Morgan to the innings and he simply dismantled the Afghan bowling.  He hammered them all over for 148 off 71 balls which included a world record seventeen sixes.  England racked up 397-6. The morning was idyllic.

We were home in time for the Afghanistan innings and after a blistering start from archer it all got a bit boring, there was never any kind of contest.  I thought England were sloppy in the field which is understandable in a way but still unacceptable.  Afghanistan finished on 247-8 with wickets for Archer, Rashid and Wood.

Everything else is going to form; Australia comfortably beat Sri Lanka, India flattened Pakistan in a rain affected match, South Africa finally picked up a win against the Afghans and the woeful West Indians were well beaten by Bangladesh.  I hoped the Tigers would give Australia a run for their money but despite playing well the Aussies won and the Kiwis maintained their unbeaten record with a win over South Africa in a rare good match.

It had been hoped that the round robin format would mean less meaningless matches but with just about everything going to form that's not the way it's been.  The top four in the table has stayed the same almost from the very start of the tournament and doesn't look like changing now.  England look sure to make the semi finals but can we win the two important games that will see us crowned world champions?  It feels too good to be true...

Match Nineteen

West Indies are the only team to have held England in an ODI series since... India beat us in the sub continent?  Anyway they should be considered a threat.

An early start on a drying wicket, England won the toss and the only decision is field first.  Once again I couldn't follow the cricket live but I did manage to do so via Cricinfo.  From what I could gather England were in control from the start with our pace bowlers holding sway.  The pure pace of Archer and Wood took the headlines but everyone contributed including a bonus two wickets to Joe Root.  At a high point of 144/3 West Indies subsided to 212 all out, their tail couldn't cope with England's two 90mph bowlers.

The only downside was injuries to two of our star batsmen, Roy and Morgan limped off the filed meaning a rejigged batting line up, Root opened with Bairstow and the two put on 95 before Bairstow was first out.  Enter England's number three, er Chris Woakes?  Really?  The boy done good making 40 from 54 balls, falling with only a handful left.  Root completed his second century of the tournament and Stokes hit the winning runs with nearly seventeen overs to spare.

So another good win and the defeat against Pakistan is forgotten, England are looking good.  The injuries are scary though and we have to hope they are not too bad.  Unfortunately Alex Hales is not in the squad for, er off the field misdemeanors, if he was he'd just slot straight in.  James Vince now has his chance to be a hero.

Elsewhere in the tournament we've only had one result over the last few days with Australia beating Pakistan. The weather has been horrendous with monsoon conditions across the country causing three abandoned games meaning India, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies all picked up one point each.  The top four currently consists of New Zealand, England, Australia and India but there's plenty of time for change.

In 1992 India scored wins over Pakistan and Zimbabwe, South Africa thrashed West Indies which would have caused serious consternation in the Caribbean and best of all England thrashed Australia by eight wickets at the SCG in a match I attended.  None other than Ian Botham took 4-31 and hit a half century against the Aussies.  Maybe one day I'll write about this day which is one of the most memorable of my life but at the moment I don't have time to do it justice.  A few days later Australia did manage to win a game against Sri Lanka. At this stage of the tournament the top four consisted of  New Zealand, England, India and Sri Lanka.  It's worth noting that this four does not include two of the eventual semi finalists or the winner.

Match Twelve

I missed the England match.  The weather out here in the east was horrendous, a strong wind and sheets of rain, surely no cricket would be played today?  Also the curse of work got in the way and it was a busy day, so busy I actually forgot the match was on.  I remembered on the drive home when the weather was much improved and got home to find England had avoided a potential banana skin and thrashed Bangladesh.  Jason Roy top scored with 153 while there were also half centuries for Bairstow and Buttler.  In fact pretty much all the batsmen contributed to a big score of  386/6.  It would have taken something really special for Bangladesh to overhaul this, Shakib hit 122 but this was in vain as Stokes and Archer took three wickets each and bowled out the Tigers for 280.  Jofra Archer looks better every time I see him, he generates serious pace but seems to put hardly any effort into doing so.  He'll be playing test cricket before the end of the year, as should Jason Roy.

Previously the results had gone pretty much as you'd expect.  Sri Lanka won comfortably against Afghanistan, India beat the woeful Saffers, New Zealand beat Bangladesh, Australia won a tight game against West Indies in a match that included some controversial decisions and New Zealand kept up their 100% record with a win against Afghanistan.  The game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was abandoned due to rain (more about this later) and today India piled on the runs and won comfortably against the Aussies who crumbled amusingly.  So after fourteen matches in eleven days New Zealand top the table with England, India and Australia making up the top four.  At the bottom South Africa and Afghanistan have played three matches each but have failed to score a point.

Eleven days into the 1992 World cup New Zealand were unbeaten, England were going well and Australia were struggling.  The top four consisted of New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka and West Indies.  Interestingly Pakistan who went on to win the tournament had won one match, lost one match and had one abandoned, exactly the same record as they have now in 2019.

Match six

England's first game looked pretty one sided on the scorecard but it felt anything but for most of the day.  However the next three matches were totally one sided; Australia crushed Afghanistan, New Zealand mashed Sri Lanka and West Indies thrashed Pakistan.  Game five was a bit better, Bangladesh set a good target and South Africa couldn't chase it down to leave them 0/2.  Once upon a time Bangladesh beating a major team would have been a shock but no more, they do it too often...

So today and the sixth match against Pakistan who we've already beaten five times this summer, what could possibly go wrong?  Their bowling line up looks much stronger with the inclusion of Riaz and the cheat Amir.  England win the toss and elect to field, by the time I settled in front of the TV the match was well underway and Pakistan were cruising with Imam and Fakar going well.  Cue Moeen Ali who comes on to bowl with a tight and testing spell that accounts for both openers.

I had a busy morning so took TMS with me but I didn't like what I heard.  England were missing crucial chances, like Hafeez badly dropped before he'd got started who then went on to top score with 84.  Unlike the first match England's fielding was sloppy and we were leaking runs that we shouldn't.  By the time I got home the innings was wrapping up, Pakistan finished on 348-8, a very good score but not beyond this England team in normal circumstances but this is the World cup with extra pressure.  We're going to have to bat well.

Once again the opposition opens with a spinner and once again it works, this time it's Jason Roy who departs but not before crunching a couple of fours.  Root comes to the wicket and together with Bairstow a partnership forms and the scoreboard ticks over nicely, things start to look relaxed... Until Bairstow edges to the keeper with the score on 60.  Two down and things are not looking good.

After being dropped at Slip Root goes on and makes the batting look easy but at the other end part time spinners are making hay, both Morgan and Stokes fall to poor shots without causing Pakistan too much discomfort.  At 118-4 off 21.2 overs Pakistan are well on top.  I have a sinking feeling, it's hard to see England winning from here.

Then comes the partnership of the day between Root and Buttler who both make the game look easy and the feeling of despair starts to slip away.  There's some cracking shots, some great running and a bit of luck, the runs come quickly and crucially the wickets remain intact.  Both batsmen pass fifty and keep going.  Strangely instead of feeling more relaxed I can feel my nerves building again, bit by bit I'm becoming a gibbering wreck.  There's still a long way to go, still a lot that can go wrong and every ball seems to be taking me closer to the next disaster.  The partnership passes 100 and still I feel impending doom.  Not even Root reaching his century can ease the tension!  Then he gets out for 107 and it seems my premonition has come true, we still need 101 to win!  We need another partnership!

Mo comes in and he looks terrible, he should have been out twice and he can't get the ball off the square but somehow he sticks in with Buttler who looks sublime!  On 99 he hits his 76th ball for four!  The celebration is muted, he knows he still has a job to do.  But he's out next ball and any hope slips away.  I'm no longer nervous, it would take something very special for us to win from here now.

Woakes comes in and is hitting the ball well, somehow he and Ali put a partnership together but the required run rate is climbing...  Ali still looks shocking and it's almost a relief when he gets out but when Woakes falls to the following ball our last glimmer of hope has gone.  England finish the fifty overs 15 runs short at 334-9.

So what went wrong?  Firstly Pakistan batted well but England would feel that they should have kept them down to a lower total.  Secondly Pakistan's revamped attack was pretty good too but three of England's top five got out to piss poor shots.  Jason Roy had a crap day but he'll come good another time. It was definitely the best game of the tournament so far but that doesn't stop me from feeling gutted. That's ODI cricket for you, on their day, any team can come good and win against the odds as opposed to test cricket where over the course of a series the best team will win.

Back in 1992 the sixth game saw the hosts Australia lose for the second time, thrashed by nine wickets at the SCG by South Africa who were playing their first ever one day international.  I was at the match, high up in the Brewongle stand, discretely cheering for the Saffers.  Elsewhere New Zealand won their second game and West Indies thrashed Pakistan...  Oh and while I remember after twelve completed innings in the current tournament we've already had five scores in excess of 300 and I'm sure there will be a whole lot more.

Match One.

So here we are, it's taken four years to get here then it sneaks up in a rush, the first day and first match of the world cup, England vs South Africa from the Oval.  It's a 10:30 start but I remember ahead of time and what's more I have managed to conquer technology and get the TMS commentary to come out of my phone!  

South Africa won the toss and decided to field opening the bowling with Leggy Imran Tahir??  Jason Roy takes a single from the first ball of the tournament and Johnny Bairstow edges the second into the keepers gloves!!  Oh fuck it's 1-1  A nervous dread takes me over, my thinking has been all about England and I've forgotten that South Africa are a seriously good team, this will not be easy.  First game nerves and home team pressure, oh shit!!

But it's okay, Root and Roy calmly do what they do and the runs start to tick over.  Both batsmen pass fifty and the partnership is over a hundred.  This is easy now, back to normal England ODI procedure...  But then both set batsmen get out within a few balls and oh no, panic stations again 'We can't lose the opener, we can't!  But if we do it's only one game and South Africa are a good team...'

By now Morgan and Stokes are at the wicket and once again the runs are flowing and my nerves are slipping away again.  Morgan gets to fifty and they raise the century partnership from here we should kick on...  But Morgan gets out and Buttler doesn't hang around long either 247-5 and I actually feel sick!  South Africa have some control now but Stokes stays in and top scores with 89 and with our strong tail around him the score reaches 311-8.

My first thought is will 311 be enough?  What?  It's ridiculous to think this but I've become so used to England scoring 350+ and teams coming close.  At any other World cup this would be considered a brilliant score and likely to be a match winner but the game has changed.  As I mentioned the last time the World cup used this format was in 1992 in Australia and New Zealand.  This is interesting to me as I was in Australia at the time and watched a few matches.  In that tournament the score of 300 was passed only twice and these were in the same game.  In the third match of the competition Zimbabwe posted 312 with 115 from Andy Flower but Sri Lanka chased this down with seven wickets and four balls to spare.  But here and now in 2019 will 311 be enough?  And WHY DO I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT ODI ALL OF A SUDDEN?

South Africa bat, England open with Woakes and Archer but the Saffers look comfortable, that is until Archer hits Amla on the grill with a quick bouncer and he has to leave the field.  The same bowler strikes soon after taking two wickets to leave South Africa 44-2 with the captain gone and I'm breathing easier.  However while De Kock is at the crease there is still a chance and the nerves are beginning to build but when he hits Plunkett towards the boundary and is caught by Root then I can breathe once more.  A couple more wickets fall in quick succession; Duminy plays the kind of dumb shot he's well known for and Pretorious runs himself out (No not Oscar, you should go to hell for thinking that), at last I can enjoy watching a certain England win.

Amla returns to the crease and with Phehlukwayo swinging the bat I'm starting to think something extraordinary could happen.  I was right but it wasn't an Amla masterpiece it was a brilliant catch on the boundary by Stokes, taken one handed, running backwards, with both feet off the ground.  I was literally struck dumb, no words.  It is definitely the best outfield catch I've ever seen, the unlucky batsmen being Phehlukwayo, (thank you cut and paste Phehlukwayo, Phehlukwayo).  That left the score at 180-7 and now the game was as good as over.  Stokes came on to bowl and of course he took the last two wickets, South Africa bowled out for 207 in 39.5 overs.

So 311 was enough...  England bowled and fielded brilliantly and looked a really good team.  This was a clinical, brutal, crushing defeat of a good team.  England really could win this competition, on this form they will be unstoppable.

Back in 1992 the tournament started with the twin hosts playing each other in Auckland with the Kiwis coming out on top.  On the same day England scored 236/9 in Perth with 91 from Robin Smith.  In reply India made 227 and were bowled out in the last over, Dermot Reeve took 3/38 and Ian Botham was man of the match.  Somewhere I have a diary which will tell me where I watched this match but I'm buggered if I can remember where it is but I have a foggy memory of a rainy day in Sydney, listening to the radio in the flat...

Tomorrow and Today

The ICC cricket World cup starts Tomorrow.  This is the most interested I've been in fifty over cricket for a very long time and this is because the game has changed so much.  England have been at the forefront of this and have pushed the boundaries of what scores are achievable in ODI cricket.  We are deservedly number one in the world and have held this position for some time so rightly start the tournament as favourites. 
England should win this world cup but I just can't bring myself to believe it will happen, I've been disappointed too many times and I still have the scars.  In truth there are half a dozen teams who could win this tournament if they find their best form at the right time; other than England I think West Indies, New Zealand, India and Australia all have a shout,  Pakistan and South Africa aren't far away either.  This is a series of one off matches and with ODI cricket anyone can literally beat anyone in a one off game, that's the trouble with this type of competition.
The format has gone back to the round robin league thingy which is actually the best in many ways although it prevents the ICC associate members from playing.  The last time the tournament was structured like this was in 1992, the last time England reached the final.
My prediction?  I want to say England but...  If not then probably India but please anyone but Australia!

So Today we learnt that Boris Johnson will have to go to court to defend a charge of Misconduct in public office in relation to the infamous £350 Million.
Already social media is decrying this as an attempt to pervert democracy, the cry is "So what?  We expect politicians to lie!"  Fuck off!  Politicians should be role models.  Naive I know but I'm not wrong.
Johnson should be held to the same standards of behaviour as the rest of us.  He already has a long history of appalling behaviour in his political career and private life.  Any normal person who had behaved like Johnson in the work place would have been fired years ago but he gets away with it every time and I see no reason why this will be any different.

The News this week

My Facebook wall has been bombarded by petitions this week, or to be more accurate, the same petition over and over again.  My virtual friends are encouraging me to sign up persuade the BBC to sack Chris Packham of all people.  His crime is to support an initiative by Natural England which has changed the laws that decide what types of birds people can or cannot shoot.

Here in rural Suffolk the farming community in particular is up in arms and Mr Packham is public enemy number one, they will be burning his effigy come November 5th.  Apparently the gate of his home down south has been adorned with dead Rooks over night...

I haven't signed the petition and I don't intend to.  To be honest I'm conflicted about the situation.  On the one hand I think Pigeons and Corvidaes need control and there is certainly no shortage of them around these parts, despite farmers having had free reign to blast the shit out of them. (In fact one farmer I knew - now deceased - took great pride and pleasure in his Magpie trap...)  But on the other hand the world is going to shit and we need more people like Chris Packham to stand up and shout about environmental issues.  But surely true conservation doesn't just focus on one species, it looks at the environment as a whole?  Like I said, I'm conflicted.

One thing I do know is this law change is unenforceable and will not alter how country people go about their lives one little bit.  The people who have been shooting Crows and Pigeons will not stop, they will continue to do so, just as Fox hunting has never stopped.  Rural Police do not have the resources to enforce this law and it would be truly criminal if they diverted officers from more serious work.

I have to admit to liking Chris Packham even though I may disagree with some of his opinions.  He has overcome much adversity in his life and his autobiography is one of the most moving things I've read.

On a similar vein some keyboard warriors have been up in arms about the Extinction Rebellion protests that have been causing havoc in parts of London.  I think it's great, climate change is real  and there needs to be drastic changes to the way we live, these changes have to come from the top and must not be used as another excuse to tax poor people.  If governments were listening then there would be no need to protest. Obviously the disruption hasn't affected me one little bit so I have no reason to be pissed off, I like to think I would feel the same way if I lived in London?  There was a picture doing the rounds that allegedly showed the mess these 'hypocrites' had left behind.  There was no evidence produced to support the authenticity of this picture and I think had it been genuine it would have been much more widely displayed by the true rabble.

Coincidentally a sixteen year old schoolgirl activist from Sweden called Greta Thunberg has been in the country speaking to politicians about climate change.  Greta is the founder of the movement that lead to school children around the world going on strike.  Miss Thunberg spoke to most of our political party leaders although obviously Theresa May didn't turn up which is hardly surprising considering her attitude to our own school kids going on strike.  The rabid right has only one message on this subject; "bloody entitled millennials moaning, they should be in school..." 

Like Chris Packham young Greta has Aspergers syndrome and came over here speaking in her second language which is an incredibly brave thing to do, this is obvious to anyone with the slightest knowledge of Autistic Spectrum Disorders.  A family member has Aspergers so I am probably better informed than most and I have nothing but admiration for this young lady.  Of course the vile right wing press has attacked Greta Thunberg and Toby Young of the Spectator was particularly nasty.  This is nothing new, media all over Europe has attacked miss Thunberg and printed lies about her and her family.  Karma will sort these people out.

Meanwhile life goes on and all over the country people will be driving their kids to school in bloody great 4WD motors that drink fuel and spew smoke but it's fine because at least they'll be displaying their worth and success to the rest of the world.