I'm afraid it starts at the top,Peter Moores should not be in charge.His whole way of thinking is akin to Redknapp's,outdated playing methods and tactics.There is simply no plan,either in our batting or our bowling.Some of the selections are laughable,bringing Balance in to bat at three,when he bats at five for Yorkshire!He might turn into a decent one-day player but he shouldn't be in the side at the moment.KP is still our best and most destructive player,but for the future of the side,i believe it the right decision not to recall him.The most glaring omission in my book is that of Ben Stokes.He has been in awesome form with the bat,and is also a fine bowler,probably our quickest.How Broad is in the team,when he isn't fully match fit smacks of old school tie.I still expect us to qualify,but it's going to take a lot of mental strength after that mauling.The Black Caps are full of confidence,and in my view marching full speed towards the final!
Couldn't believe it when woke & saw what went on, absulolute thrashing. Why talylor doesn't bat at 3 is beyond me, thought wozkex was going to open bowling, he came in too late, Finn 2 overs for 49 pathetic.
England's gameplan is so out of date. The top sides score 300 regularly on all surfaces - 350 on the type they're playing on in Aus & NZ. That means having players who can find the boundary from the first ball. England don't have enough explosive hitters. Those capable of clearing the boundary ropes can't do it consistently enough because they come in down the order and either have to rebuild - thus limiting their options - or only face a handful of deliveries. And we don't have enough wicket taking bowlers. The only way to stop the top sides posting huge totals is to regularly take wickets. They know that if they have wickets in hand, they can take risks, so no bowler can contain them unless he gets them out.
The new breed of batsman that T20 cricket has produced is changing the 50 over game beyond recognition. You can't afford to 'bed in' even one batsman these days, it has to be high-tempo and explosive from the first over. That means risk-taking and innovative stroke-players are the key and above all powerful hitters, McCullen is an unbelievable striker of the ball as is the Aussie Finch and SA's AB de Villiers Chris Gayle led the way even taking his power into test matches and now all the other major nations are way ahead of us. Two of our best new breed of one-day batsmen were left behind for this tournament, Surrey's Jason Roy and Hampshire's James Vince would have been ideal picks but the management would rather stick with Bell who is a great test player but not really ideal one-day material. Alex Hales who is a match-winner hasn't played. The management haven't a clue and Moores, who failed first-time, is failing again...
It was a strange move to get Moores back in charge as he was far from impressive 1st time around.......plus having decided that Cook was longer suitable as captain or batsman only a couple of months before the WC started we have Morgan who is having as worse time. 4 years to build up for this yet we are still stuck in the dark ages.......
Oh well, the third instalment of England's adventures down under in the World Cup begins against Scotland who have put us in to bat. England name an unchanged side from that which surrendered to NZ on the basis of 'You got us into this f*cking mess now get us out of it'. Defeat is not an option...
Scotland actually play in the County 40 Over League and the other One-day competition and very rarely win a game so England should be heading for 350+ at this level. 82-0 after 14 overs so they should put the Jocks to the sword now...
Ali looks in good touch but I wouldn't exactly say he is scoring quickly. It still seems like that old school mindset to me where they're still a little scared to go after the bowlers. Agree should be targeting around 350
Right I'm off to bed as England are beginning to stall a little. I won't be surprised if we don't get to 300. Ffs go for it!
