Jaded England return home

At least the sun was shining, because there wasn’t much else to be cheerful about as England’s cricketers arrived back at Heathrow Airport, more than 100 days after their departure for Australia back in late October. In between their journeys through customs, the team found a perfect pitch around the 60-day mark of their tour, as the Ashes were sealed with a pair of thumping victories at Melbourne and Sydney, but thereafter it descended into tedium and acrimony, with Eoin Morgan‘s World Cup fate providing the perfect bum note on which to end a peculiar odyssey.

When Allan Border‘s men regained the Ashes after a four-year hiatus in 1989, they were treated to a tickertape parade through the streets of Sydney, and as for England’s own exploits, the events of 2005 remain engrained on the retinas of fans of a certain age, with open-top buses and packed receptions in Trafalgar Square marking the end of a remarkable summer’s contest.

Full story: ESPNcricinfo

 

Injured Graeme Swann to miss England ODIs in Australia

Graeme Swann is out of the one-day series with Australia with a back injury but is expected to be fit for the start of the World Cup next month.

Swann will fly home from the Australia tour on Wednesday because of a lower back strain.

England, who trail 3-0 in the series, had already been forced to cope without Swann for two matches after the 31-year-old suffered a bruised kneecap.

“It’s frustrating but the priority for me now is the World Cup,” said Swann.

Full story: BBC Sport

 

England were a seamer short against Australia, says Andrew Strauss

The England captain, Andrew Strauss, said his team were a seam bowler short as they slipped to a second one-day international defeat to Australia in Hobart.

Shaun Marsh kept Australia’s innings together after they threatened to fall apart at various points, hitting 110 in a total of 230, to which the tail-ender Doug Bollinger contributed an excellent run-a-ball 30. Bollinger then took the wickets of Strauss and Kevin Pietersen as part of a four-wicket haul as Australia sealed a 46-run victory, which leaves the hosts 2-0 up in the seven-match series heading into Sunday’s third match, in Sydney.

England lined up with the spinners Michael Yardy and James Tredwell in their attack with a view to giving them match practice ahead of the World Cup in the subcontinent, but Strauss accepted in hindsight that had probably been an error.

Full story: The Guardian

 

Dropped Collingwood forced to fight back

Andy Flower and the England selectors have not been afraid to make big calls. James Anderson didn’t play in the World Twenty20, Kevin Pietersen was dropped last summer and Steven Finn left out during the Ashes after taking 14 wickets. They made another in Melbourne on Sunday when Paul Collingwood, England’s most capped one-day player, was omitted for the first match against Australia.

Although Andrew Strauss said Collingwood remained firmly in their plans for the World Cup – the final 15-man squad will be named on Wednesday – he added that there would be no quick return. This omission wasn’t dressed up as rotation or resting, this was a clinical dropping because Collingwood isn’t currently part of England’s best one-day side.

Full story: ESPNcricinfo

 

Woakes slots straight in to England’s winning unit

Image by megara_rp via Flickr

Paul Collingwood, the England captain, had never seen Chris Woakes bat before his match-winning innings against Australia in the opening Twenty20 and went on the advice of coach Andy Flower as to which position the debutant should take. It proved another perfect decision from Flower as Woakes hit an unbeaten 19 from No. 9 to secure a one-wicket victory at Adelaide.

Woakes, 21, earned his chance in the Twenty20 and one-day squads after Stuart Broad‘s stomach injury picked up during the second Ashes Test ruled him out of action until at least the World Cup. It wasn’t expected that Woakes would play a major role but he was given an outing against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra then preferred to Chris Tremlett in the Twenty20 side. Now he could yet be making a late bid for World Cup selection.

Full story: ESPNcricinfo

 

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