Some cricket happened… If I remember correctly the Champions Trophy went away for a while and then came back. Anyway a 50 over mini world cup is something all the international teams want to win and interests me enough to tune in the radio. England were crap and were well beaten in all their three matches with a batting line up that didn’t inspire too much confidence and a bowling attack that would have looked perfect anywhere but the sub continent. Joss never seemed a natural captain to me and for the ODI team the only way is up. We’ve been here before and the result was spectacular.
But even with England under performing my biggest gripe lies
elsewhere. This tournament was billed as
a triumphant return for Pakistan as an international venue but politics got in
the way and India ended up playing all their matches in UAE which effectively
gave them home advantage. To be fair
they would probably have been favourites anyway, like they were last year at
their own World cup last year where they famously choked. Redemption for the billionaire superstars but
it does seem like it was put on a plate.
I’ve enjoyed being an armchair rugby fan again lately, the
six nations have been excellent even though I mostly don’t really know why the
ref has blown his whistle. France have
been brilliant, at their best as good as any team I’ve seen yet somehow England
managed to beat them. I complained about
it a year ago but the amount of Saffers, Kiwis and Aussies masquerading as
Scots, Irish and Italians devalues things for me but this is just accepted
without a word, I shouldn’t get too smug just because England’s pacific
islanders haven’t been playing. England
finished runners up with a team full of home born players (except one who could
have chosen to play for Scotland) and when they look back they might think that
haven beaten France they should have completed the Grand Slam? The French deservedly topped the table in the
end, another team without dodgy imports, fair play.
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