In fact, KP has been about the only success story of England’s World Cup. He has shown a great increase in maturity and consistency. That he keeps getting out by chipping to mid on is worrying, but it’s nothing the new coach can’t sort out. He doesn’t deserve the best batsman title just yet, but he’s really starting to show that he’s worthy of it. His fifth one day hundred was the first in a winning cause, and it also saw him go past 2000 runs, achieving the feat in the joint-fastest time (shared with Zaheer Abbas), 444 of those runs in this World Cup alone.

The game eventually went to the wire, and despite England’s recognised batsmen getting to within the finishing straits, it required Paul Nixon, and then Stuart Broad to see them home. Paul Nixon might arguably be the other English success story, with the exception that his days are numbered in the team by virtue only of his age. It was a tense ending – moreso than the match against Sri Lanka – which makes it even more ridiculous that it was all in a lost and meaningless cause.

The irony continued even further – West Indies final loss of the tournament highlighted a position that moreorless mirrors England’s. Neither side have looked any good in this tournament and each camp requires some change, starting with the coach.

Ah yes, the new coach. Peter Moores. He’s in as Duncan Fletcher finally did the right thing and stepped down, no doubt feeling he had to do it before he was pushed. Many commentators and players, current and former, have come out in his defence, but only in as much as would be expected – ultimately, though, it was Fletcher’s time. Quite why he has felt the need to come out in support of Micheal Vaughan is beyond me – Fletcher had 8 years to look after his “mates” – now that he’s out, it’s time for him to let someone else get on with the job of rebuilding English cricket.

That’s not to sound ungrateful to Fletch, as he has had some success as coach. The Ashes in 2005 will no doubt be the highlight, but the string of consecutive test series victories which placed England as second test side in the World will be his legacy. But its impossible to escape the feeling that England never fully matured as a side, certainly never as a one day side, under his control. Although England could turn in good performances, they could never do it with any consistency. Ashes success in 2005 felt like a bit of fluke, a fact that was proven the following year when we were drubbed 5-0.

Thanks Fletch, but time for you to step down. So long and thanks for all the fish. I don’t know much about new-guy Peter Moores, except that he’s young (44), he’s got ‘an innovative style’ and he’s English. I think that’s important and one reason why I support his selection in spite of knowing so little – I want an Englishman leading our side. One thing is for sure – all eyes will be on him. I don’t envy his position, but there’s a huge opportunity for him to be a hero. He certainly has a talented pool of players to call on, but he will need to make some tough decisions. There are too many players in the side who are totally out of form and he needs to build an environment where the players know that they are representing their country and what that means.

Post from: EveryJoe

English cricket starts new future

Duncan Fletcher is the finest leader England have had but it is time for change. The current set-up, which Fletcher heads, is tired and stale, and there is no sense of fun about the England squad as they go about their work.

It is not his job to be pleasant to the media but I find it hard to believe that, with the flick of a switch, he becomes a vibrant and stimulating presence in the dressing-room. Coaching England is a demanding job and it seems to have taken its toll. It is why Fletcher’s regime has developed a sense that an era is coming to an end. The players need a fresh voice and ideas to stimulate them…

At the end of the Ashes I was looking for a response, a sign that what took place in Australia was a blip. But that, sadly, has not taken place. Injury has not helped the side’s cause but England have continued to plod along. Supporters enjoyed the Commonwealth Bank Series victory but the one-day team’s form over the past 18 months suggests it was something of a fluke.

Fletcher seems to have developed the attitude that he and his coaches have every corner covered, too, and there is nothing anybody from the outside can tell them. This is foolish because nobody knows everything about the game.

This is a most unexpected outburst. Ironically, most commentators are likely to be in agreement with his thoughts, but what unites everyone is an agreement that the timing of the tirade is entirely inappropriate. Despite Fraser being on the Schofield committee – the committee put together to evaluate English cricket following the Ashes – he has a right to his opinion. But as a member of the panel, to make such committed statements will do the integrity of the panel no good especially in the middle of a major tournament.

When asked, Fletcher was typically ambivalent about the piece, saying that he wasn’t interested in commenting, and that his job was to see England through to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Fair enough. Hopefully though, it’s because he didn’t want to impinge on his retirement speech, which presumably he wrote a long time ago.

Post from: EveryJoe

Fletcher sacked?

Post from: EveryJoe

Literary genius

Well, this is your opportunity to show the world that you know best by playing the Duncan Fletcher sweepstake. All you have to do is pick the date between 1st Feb and shortly after the end of the World Cup and tell me on which day you think his removal will be announced. (If you’re feeling really saucy, then tell me whether he resigns or gets the sack.) Have a look on the image below, if there’s no cross in the date then it’s all yours.

Prize for the winner: TBA. If no-one picks the exact date then it will go to whomever is closest. If it’s still undecided, I’ll figure something out. Leave your pick in the comments, and ensure you leave a valid email address if you want to be contacted. Good luck!

Click the image to see the full size.

Useful dates:

6th Feb, last England group game in CB Trophy (England going home)
11th Feb, 2nd final in CB Trophy (England didn’t win)
26 Mar, End of World Cup Group Stages (England going home?)
22 Apr, End of World Second Stage (England going home?)
26th Apr, End of Semi-Finals
29th Apr, End of World Cup (England win!?)

Post from: EveryJoe

Play the Duncan Fletcher sweepstake

First things first, Australia were skittled in 71 overs for 244. The damage was done by Monty Panesar (5-92) and Steve Harmison (4-48). England were then 51/2 by the close of play, with Strauss not out 24 and Paul Collingwood not out 10. Far be it from me to point how extraordinary this was, as I saw posted on one forum “the debate over Giles and Panesar was decided in 7 balls this morning”. All eyes were on Monty Panesar. Would he buckle? Or would he shine? He most certainly shone, becoming the first Englishman and only the fourth ever to take a 5fer at Perth.

After Australia had declared that they would look to take Monty apart, it seems their plan backfired after a series of reckless shots led to the demise of their first innings. And let’s not overlook Harmison’s performance. He was without doubt a different man than the one we’ve seen previously in this series. Sharp, fast and bouncy, he did what all fast bowlers should do. He put the top order batsmen under pressure and then ripped through the tail. It was quality fast-bowling, despite getting the sense that he’s still nowhere near his former best. But it certainly reminded us all why he has been the number 1 fast bowler in the world. And Fletcher’s continued confidence in him certainly paid off, when Steve could quite easily have been one of the names on the chopping block. Mahmood bolwed just 7 overs and intriguingly Flintoff just 9. Their 4 run economy rates indicate why they might have bowled so few overs, but when you’ve got the likes of Panesar bowling at the other end, at one point having bowled 18 overs on the trot (maybe more) it’s no real wonder. To see Harmison have an extended spell was also great news.

How must Ashley Giles be feeling right now? Sick to the back teeth I expect. But, do we care?

Australia for the mostpart really helped the cause with most of the top order getting themselves out to questionable shots. Mike Hussey was the only man to really settle himself and was left stranded at the end of the innings on 74.

England have made a great start to this match, but we must not get carried away. It’s only Day 1 of a 5 day match and in the context of the series there are a further 10 days to be played after these.) England must look to win every day. The warning signs are there though. The pitch certainly seems to favour the bowlers, and Shane Warne on Day 5 could be a lot to handle. Additionally, each of Australia’s batsmen (with the exception of Ponting and Gilchrist) got a start and whilst no-one went on to score big runs, there was certainly the intent and the possibility of it happening. England have done well to bowl them out cheaply, but now they must capitalise on it. We need big hundreds from Strauss and Collingwood tomorrow and for England’s bowlers to do what they did today all over again. Should that happen, England’s plight might not seem quite so bad after all.

Post from: EveryJoe

Perth : Day 1 : All hail King Monty

Jones drops an inside edge off Anderson. I’m not bothered, I don’t even like cricket. Hussey then swings Anderson away for four before pushing one into the covers to complete a crushing six-wicket victory.

That was the biggest load of rubbish I have ever seen. Lots of Aussies going berserk in Adelaide, lots of Englishmen looking like they’ve arrived home to find the French doors have been smashed and their new plasma TV’s been stolen. Thanks for staying with me for the last 10 days – it’s been a mix of emotions, but mainly depression and boredom, with a bit of anger and embarrassment thrown in. I’m off to Venice this weekend though, that should be nice, they don’t even know what cricket is there. Bye.

And the fans of Test Match special were no less ashamed of their teams performances. Fortunately, though, due to the profanity filter, the worst words repeatedly uttered were “atrocious”, “abysmal” and “abject”. I would make a joke about all the words beginning with “a”, but then “spineless” has cropped up on more than one occasion.

Predictably, though, those with an axe to grind and have started calling for the heads of a few key personel of the England set up. Far and away first on the chopping block is England coach Duncan Fletcher. He is being criticised for many things, notably his team selection, his apparent lack of any cricketing knowledge whatsoever and his defensive and negative tactics:

• This drivel from Fletcher about batting down to number 8.
• Fletcher is too conservative and now that has cost us the Ashes
• For the first time Fletcher has to take some of the blame
• Will Fletcher admit he got it wrong? I doubt it

I’ve seen calls for Fletcher to resign – or be sacked. Some people are also advocating sweeping changes to the side. The debate over Read/Jones and Giles/Panesar has rared up again, not to mention cutting any of Strauss, Cook and Anderson from the side. The irate pundits seem to be in favour of bringing in Mahmood, Panesar and Read convinced that had these players been picked from the start that things would have gone completely differently.

“My gramps just wanted to get this in: ‘Giles is the worst spinner in Tests ever. Gramps should know, he’s pushing 90…’”

According to some, a half-fit Vaughan and Simon Jones on crutches would be better than the current lineup. A lot of people are rueing Strauss’s early and incorrect second innings dismissal. Most are blaming the loss on Giles’s first innings drop of Ponting. King Freddie has had his captaincy questioned, but for the mostpart has come through relatively unscathed.

My verdict?

Without wishing to sound like I’m on the fence, but I think it’s impossible to pin this defeat on an individual. I believe a lot of mistakes have been made all over the place, each one culminating in this epic loss.

So here are my thoughts:

1. Fletcher has made errors in selection but he can’t be blamed for batsmen, such as Strauss and Cook, failing to score runs
2. The likes of Giles and Jones shouldn’t be expected to clean up the top order’s mistakes and relied on to score big runs
3. Fletcher’s plan to have Giles and Jones in on the strength of their batting was erroneous, since so far they’ve given no sign that they could have done any better than their replacements
4. It’s impossible to say whether Panesar and/or Read would have had a significant or sufficient impact on the game to alter the outcome
5. Neither Giles nor Jones have vindicated their inclusion in the side
6. Panesar is almost certainly not the answer to England’s problems. Despite showing some excellent form in the series he has played in, were he to be included in the side now, the amount of hype and buildup surrounding him, not to mention the not inconsiderable amount of barracking from the Australians will affect his performance
7. He probably couldn’t do a lot worse than Giles, though
8. Flintoff’s captaincy has been uninspired
9. Flintoff’s captaincy has been detrimented by the overall poor performances by and lack of support from his bowlers
10. Strauss wouldn’t necessarily have done any better as captain, but it perhaps would have eased the pressure on Fred to allow him to think more about his batting
11. One or two players have had moments of genius, but moments alone do not win 5 day test matches
12. Fletcher truly is in between a rock and a hard place – either make big changes and risk the team getting much worse, or not make the changes and see no improvement in England’s fortune. Either way he’s going to cop a lot of stick over the coming weeks
13. Fletcher will certainly not be England coach beyond this series
14. England as a unit have not significantly changed from the 90’s era where losing was par for the course, despite some successes in recent times

I could go on and on. There is no easy solution to the problem. Despite the impossible situation that England now find themselves in, I’m certainly no fair weather fan and I’m still behind England. I’m certainly not cancelling my subscription to Sky Sports or complaining about being let down having spent my hard earned money on a holiday to Australia like a lot of “fans” I’ve seen.

I’m still clutching on to that last glimmer of hope that England might feasibly snatch a draw from the series. As this test match has shown, anything is possible.

Post from: EveryJoe

Ashes backlash begins

“What are we going to do about winning the Ashes?”
“I have a cunning plan, m’Lord”
“Oh, do you?”
“Yes, and it’s so cunning you could brush your teeth with it.”
“OK, let’s hear it.”
“Well, m’Lord. We all know that Australia are a better side than us. The only way we’re going to win the Ashes is by getting knocked out of the Champions Trophy, so that we have lots and lots of rest, whereas they continue to tire and hopefully injure themselves by playing in a competition that no-one cares about.”

Well if that was the plan, then Australia certainly fell for it.

In their 6 wicket drubbing, England did a sterling job of pretending to commit the usual hari-kari by throwing away a brilliant start and collapsing quicker than that house built on the sand by the not-so-wise-man. England’s bowling then did a stand up job of looking completely ineffectual, Steve Harmison leading from the front (as first change bowler). So dismal was the performance that the media barely even roused themselves to comment on it, let alone the England upper management regurgitating the usual “we know were rubbish, we will get better” spiel.

In fact, about the only major fallout from the defeat seems to be from outspoken ex-England great turned pundit turned controversial looney turned wife beater Geoff Boycott, whom, completely sucked in by the cunningness of the whole charade immediately called for Duncan Fletcher to get the sack. And whilst there might be some small amount of sense behind the suggestion, after all, England’s one-day record under Fletcher’s rule speaks for itself, to suggest ditching the head coach less than a month before the Ashes is a ludicrous outcry. To be honest, I expect to see Fletcher leave after the Ashes one way or another – he’ll either get given his marching orders if England fail to retain the Ashes, or should the reverse happen, then surely there could be no more triumphant an end to a career for him.

So congratulations to England on pulling off the stunt, it worked like a charm. Put your feet up, get some rest and prepare yourself for next month. Australia, best of luck to you for the rest of the Trophy, we all hope you get all the way through to the finals and play lots more cricket.

Post from: EveryJoe

Australia fall for cunning plan