England v Ireland match Thread

Struck lucky day off coincides with the Irish Sea derby

 

100 -1 our South Africans at the wicket should get 350 plus which should win the game

 

Nice six from Bell. 175-2.

Hello. It looks like a fairly abysmal crowd. I'd always hoped that any World Cup match - no matter the teams - would be a bigger draw. Having said that, the lack of interest back here (in Ireland) is fairly depressing. In a straw poll of four lukewarm friends, not one of them was aware of the fact that Ireland were even playing today.

184-2.

I'd like to see England reach the target you suggest (350 or so), although I can't really see Ireland getting more than 220. Famous last words.....

 

I always thought Indian cricket fans where fickle. They only turn up for their games, and don't make any noise unless their team is winning. Anyone in all probability, England already have enough runs to win this match. With Broad back, our attack should be much more dangerous.

 

Marsupial, hello again.

Yes, the Indian fans are a strange bunch. Maybe it’s a cultural thing, I don’t know, but they seem to offer nothing in the way of support when their team is going through a tricky patch (in the course of a match). Like you say: silence.

Coupled with an eternally overweening arrogance about their team’s prospects, this makes them a rather unattractive lot (to me). It’s a toss up, right enough, settled by the finest of margins, but I still find Australian fans somewhat harder to bear.

I don’t mean the everyday fan, just the type who gloat ceaselessly and seem to lack class in victory. Or defeat.

(My objectivity may be slightly off-compass, fair to say, as a direct result of England being royally skewered by a rampaging Australia for so many, many years. I know not to gloat about England’s recent supremacy, however, because the memory of those abjectly barren forevers is still too real and painful. I don’t want to tempt fate.)

274-2. It’s going fine.

Broad to take four wickets; Bresnan three.

Ireland all out for 207.

 

Well, it's not just that, but in England if someone on the other team makes a decent century or what have it, you applaud them because you respect they've played well. When Strauss made 150 vs India; total silence.

Bell is gone, ironically if this was vs India that catch wouldn't of been taking, but Ireland are good fielders. Trott is scoring at a rate that many of his doubters wouldn't of believed possible. I only wonder is we have the big hitters to take advantage of the death overs.

Oh dear, Trott bowled short of 100...

 

Should add Trott was bowled when he was going for a massive loft presumably for six. Whatever people say about him, he is definatley trying to change gears!

Ahhh, Prior gone. In every game we played so far, both openers started ok before one goes for 30. Then we have a big partnership or two, before losing too many wickets late on.

Phew, Collingwood puts the ball onto the roof. And then is out... Collingwood and Prior have been passenger thus far. Just as well that Bell and Strauss have been phenomenal. So good to see Bell finally making use of his talent.

This is exactly what I was talking about. More terrible death over batting, not enough runs and too many wickets.

 

Yes, that was a bit of a disappointing end to proceedings. I would have liked to have seen Bell and Trott there at the death.

Goodness me, but I like Trott, though. I wonder if he even needs to attempt changing gears, Marsupial? I was absolutely gobsmacked when the commentators said that he had reached 1000 ODI runs in (I think) the third quickest time. How on earth did that happen? The man appears to move at a glacial speed - and yet there he is keeping company with Pietersen and Richards. A machine, I tell you, a machine.

Aye, that gets me riled, as well – opposition fans (and players, come to think of it) failing to acknowledge the achievements of their opponents. Very, very literally – it’s just not cricket.

Bell is very sweet on the eye. I had almost given up on him ever coming good. I’m not going to repeat the mistake of allowing myself to believe that England might win this tournament, okay, but deary me. This team could be brilliant. Bell, Strauss, Pietersen, Trott, Broad, Swann......

Right so, I need coffee before settling down to watch an Irish capitulation.

 

Looking it up, Trott, alongside Sir Viv Richards and another man in this team; Kevin Pietersen all jointly hold the record for fastest to 1000 ODI runs in 21 innings. The way Trott has done this is not by scoring at a fast rate, but by scoring lots and lots of runs without being dismissed cheaply. He's about 30 years old, and averaging 50 + (?) in both tests and ODIs including many games vs top sides. To think in the 2009 Ashes, his call-up in the last test was considered a risk.

Our bowling hasn't looked good this world cup, but our batting has. Ironic, but when we where drubbed 6 - 1 by Australia it was the other way round.

 

Well, Anderson is looking lucky for once in a sharp reversal of fortune from his last game.

 

Aha. Right, that’s a lot clearer, thanks.

I just wish he (Trott) was in his (very) early twenties. I could do with him being in this England team for the next decade or so.

Just trying to catch up with the game (using the x30 button on Sky), having missed the start of Ireland's innings. I'm just replaying Matt Prior's dropped catch at the moment. Bang. Straight into the middle of the gloves and then.....I really don't know what happened. Baffling. Excellent start by Anderson, though, you're right - okay, yes, a lucky start. But still. I thought Ireland might crumble away for less than a hundred following that, but they seem to be going reasonably well.

 

If we took our catches it would make winning games easier, get rid of Joyce and we should win fairly comfortably but you never know with England

 

Oh dear. It looks like another of those fielding displays.

 

Yes, Themaclad, I know what you mean. Swann's just taken a wicket, though, so things are looking up again. (I just have no idea why these catches are going down - although Anderson's effort on the boundary looked quite hard, from where I'm slouching.)

 

To be fair to them though it's not the easiest thing catching a white ball out of a dark background, but Joyce has now gone so perhaps shouldn't be too hard on them

 

Will it last til 4pm as Swann gets his third 111-5

 

Fair point, I suppose, and I know for a fact that I would be making an utter mess of things if I was trying to catch the ball under such circumstances, but I still sort of feel that professional sportsmen ought to be doing slightly better. If the same thing hadn’t happened against the Netherlands, I would be more inclined to write it off.

Another wicket for Swann, however – following a review – and things are looking very rosy indeed.

111-5. I’ll take that. Victory looms.....

 

What I want to know is since when where England such a strong batting side but an ordinary fielding side?!?

 

Once we get rid of Kevin OB this is over. And then we pretty much through to the next stage.

 

Getting rid of Kev O'Brien is looking a mite difficult at the moment as Jimmy goes for 17 in one over.