The reality of being England's coach:
27 March 2009, Bridgetown, Barbados
Ten minutes before the 3rd ODI between West Indies and England. Sky Sports transmit a new interview with Ravi Bopara, conducted by Nasser Hussain.
Nasser Hussain: 'Fidel Edwards has bowled some terrific spells'.
Ravi Bopara: 'Yeah, his short ball is ten yards quicker than his normal ball'.
27 March, 2009, Bridgetown, Barbados
3rd ODI,West Indies versus England
Fourth ball of the sixth over. Cricinfo commentary: 'Edwards to Bopara OUT. That's awful from Bopara. Quick and aggressive. Bopara tried to hook and it got big on him. The ball made its limp and feeble way to mid-on'.
You see, you can tell them and tell them, but you can't do it for them... For Andy Flower and for England too, much now depends on Friday's final ODI.
Those who argue that reality can only be experienced as a personal interpretation of events will say that it all comes down to how you see it:
England win the match, and the series: They have come through a difficult winter with an ODI series win. They were narrowly defeated in the Tests following a fluke collapse that can be explained by the delayed shock of the Pietersen affair. They responded by coming within one and then two wickets of winning the next two matches. Andrew Strauss, the player of the winter, and Andy Flower have formed a strong bond and need time to develop their team.
England lose the match, and the series: They have been beaten in all formats by a team they should have defeated. They have won only two games, one of them because of a clerical error. Strauss and Flower have failed to convince Kevin Pietersen, the team's premier batsman, and morale remains suspect. They are, essentially, a second choice captain and a second choice coach.
Which way will it go? Depends how you look at it, really.
Even if England win the ODI series I think the main focus was to go to WI and win the test series.
ReplyDeleteWhich they have failed. Which to me means they have failed to the tour. Winning the ODIs is just to massage the egos and say we didnt loose everything.
England have their work cut out ahead of the Ashes.
How do you rate Strauss as a captain OB?
Except for one day, England outplayed the West Indies in the Test series and probably deserved to win or at least split. In the ODI series windies have been better, as England have been basically given half a game and are still in a struggle.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, last summer I think everyone thought they had turned it around and were heading to the top division of international cricket, but now the result of one game isn't going to change the fact that England are pretty mediocre. I suppose there's always the home advantage, but I don't give them much of a chance in a five-Test series against Australia.
I do like Strauss, and he is obviously one of those players whose game responds to the job. But realistically he can't do the T20 job, and it all still feels a bit impermanent until the coach is sorted and in place. That's why a lot of jockeying and interpretation will come into play once the appointment is made. If they do go for flower, there will be some massaging of the winter's events... So who will score more runs as a test captain, Damith, the King, or Strausser??
ReplyDeleteCA, have bunged you on the blogroll, sorry it took a while, forgot to update - cheers!
Its amazing how both interpretations seem logically acceptable. England supporters have to stick to the optimistic view of the series performance in West Indies. It is too late to tinker with the team now before the Ashes.
ReplyDelete