CB Trophy: England finally win something
Well one of the big questions was answered yesterday as England managed to scrape a win out of its contest with New Zealand, albeit only just. Neither side played with much conviction, as New Zealand posted a miserable 205 off their 50 overs, and England miserably managed to score the required runs, with just one ball left. There were some plus points to come out of this - Jimmy Anderson found some form with the ball with another 4fer, Flintoff showed some evidence of why he was once the most revered man in cricket with a match-winning 75 off 72 balls, and my prediction for Micheal Vaughan came true in just the first game since, that is, he’s now injured his hamstring (and it’s a new injury on a different leg.)
I’m not sure at what point I became so vociferously anti-Vaughan, as I don’t think there’s much justification for it, but I’ve yet to see anything that suggests to me he should be playing. But perhaps it’s his influence back in the side that enabled this win? Either way, it’ll be a moot point if he’s not fit for England’s encounter with Australia on Friday, since another decision will need to be made between Flintoff and Strauss for the captaincy. Perhaps this is why I’m so ambivalent towards Vaughan - I think he is probably the best captain in the country at the moment, and deserves the England captaincy, if, and it’s a big if, IF he were fully fit. But his presence, the talk of his injury and recovery, his lack of runs and the confusion concerning his role have only served to add more uncertainty to the state of the England team, and contributed, in part, to the loss of the Ashes in such ignominious circumstances. If England were prepared to play him half-fit as a specialist captain, then he should have been in the Test side from the start (even if he needed doping up on cortisone) OR he should still not be back in the side, Strauss should have retained the captaincy from the Pakistan tour and all the faffing about with Flintoff would have been avoided, leaving him to do what he does best.
Anyway, England have at last won something. It’s been 68 days coming, but it is a win, nonetheless. This “trophy” serves as nothing more than some repetitive practice for the World Cup, but it’s practice that England, and New Zealand, it seems, desperately need.
Tags: Commonwealth-Bank-Trophy, England, flintoff, new-zealand, One-Day-cricket, strauss, vaughan, winRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Cricket
1 opinion for CB Trophy: England finally win something
Tony.T
Jan 17, 2007 at 3:31 am
You know sopmething? I’d completely failed to notice this ODI series was now called the Commonwealth Bank Trophy and not the VB Trophy.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: