Captain Cook to the fore!

So England were Southampton bound for their second ODI of the series against India. The expectation was high due to the no-result at Durham on Saturday, but things decided to go wrong from the off. Firstly the highlight of every England ticket holder this summer was to see Sachin Tendulkar bat, unfortunately for him, his fans, and every other cricket spectator the ‘Little Master’ is now out of the remainder of the series with a toe injury. To On top of all this misery was further extended due to the on-going downpours that in the end prevented play commencing until 7 o’clock, five hours after the scheduled start of play!

So it was kick-off time and after much deliberation it was decided that the match would entail just 23 overs per side. Now I’ll hand over to the boys themselves – electing to field first England took one early wicket that of Patel before India’s star batsmen Rahane and Dravid built a steady and productive partnership. As Swann dismissed Dravid India were 109-2, and it wasn’t long until wickets began to fall. Kohli departed after only scoring nine leaving Rahane to obtain his second 50 of the tour, he too was then Swann’s third victim parrying the ball back to Swann’s safe hands. Another decent contribution from Raina of 40 from 30 balls put India in a comfortable position, but once his captain Dhoni sent one down to long on from Bresnan to give Bell an easy catch, it wasn’t long before he himself sent up a skier. Raina didn’t get full contact with Bresnan’s delivery and sent the ball soaring into the sky; in come Stokes staring into floodlights and dives forward after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting to pull off an incredible catch. I was absolutely stunned and I think it made up for young Stokes’ miss-field earlier in the game. But if I was stunned at this catch, let me tell you Bresnan’s third wicket would not have been without the magic of Ian Bell. So at speed Tiwary lofts the ball down the ground, but Bell at long-on races to his left reaches out just one arm and dives full length to take a superb catch… I was speechless thoroughly speechless. This doesn’t happen often but it was so unbelievable, it’s like I was seeing things. Bell really is a magnificent fielder anywhere you place him, and is one of England’s important assets! But just to finish off India’s innings, Ashwin was run-out by Kieswetter in the final delivery… leaving England a very sizeable target of 188 to win!

England really did get off to an amazing start, especially compared to the innings in Durham when two wickets fell early. From the start England managed to score at just over 10 runs per over, and realistically I don’t think I have ever seen England do this as of yet. It wasn’t until after glorious boundaries from both batsmen, yes even Cooky, and some rather more inventive shots from the captain himself, that the first wicket fell. Kieswetter had been playing a beautiful innings and had returned to the form we all knew he was capable of, but Vinay Kumar had him LBW for 46 and you could tell by the disappointment in Kiesy’s face that he was well and truly devastated that he couldn’t grab hold of that 50. I love watching him play due to his array of shots and it wasn’t until now that he was displaying them once again like he did in the T20 World Cup last year, it is brilliant to see a batsmen if full flow and hit the ball with such ease. But anyway onwards and upwards; at 67-1 Bell was England’s number three as Trott was out of the team presumable as the format was more T20 style.

The next wicket was not to fall until England were on 105 and this time it was Bell who was caught on 25 after playing a cameo style innings with 25 from 16 balls; with Bell gone Cook continued on his rampage to prove his worth in the shorter format of the game! Prepare yourself for what you are about to read as I can honestly not believe that as Ashwin the off-spinner was bowling, Cook took it upon himself to smash the ball over deep midwicket all the way for a massive 6!! For me Cook’s innings was complete, he went on to get 50 but he had everything… the scoops, the sweeps, the hard-hitting shots, an amazing 6, I could go on and on. Back to the game, once Cook registered his 50 and a few close run-outs on Bopara’s behalf, it was soon time for the latter to return to the pavilion. Bopara tried to match Cook’s boundary hitting but could not pick the ‘carram ball’ and sent it straight down to Kohli who didn’t miss his chance, but 24 off 20 was his score and a respectable one at that. With just over 5 overs left in the game it was hard for England not to seize the win, but once again leaving it to the final over it was Patel who hit the winning runs and led England to victory!

We actually beat the World Champions in a 50 over game, okay it was more of a T20 game and we know who the Champions are in that format of the game but all the same. So it’s on towards The Oval for the third ODI and England will go into that game 1-0 up and with bags of confidence, particularly Alastair Cook who’s undefeated score of 80 from 63 balls in an unfamiliar format to won him the MOTM award and too right. Maybe he is pushing for a place in the T20 side now? We will just have to wait and see…

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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England remain undefeated

So what has been happening recently in International cricket? Well firstly in brief, Stuart Broad had his first win as T20 captain. India registered 165 from just 19.4 overs as it was England’s death bowling, and Dernbach’s in particular that just bowled India away. Walking away with figures of 4-22 it later earned Jade the MOTM, and kept India’s score down a manageable level. It wasn’t without its glitches let me tell you, no being England we like to make it just that little bit harder. With Hales on his debut he really wanted to impress, and after earlier juggling – literally – a catch to dismiss India’s captain, it was his time to amaze. Or so the case may be as he was dismissed for a duck, LBW to Kumar, his face said it all. I really wanted to see him play as well, it always happens to me as I wanted to see debutant Jos Buttler play too, and once again he didn’t get a chance. Typical. So wickets tumbled at regular intervals, but Morgan and Bopara provided resistance, with Morgan on 49 he looked to set to carry on until the end of the innings. Patel however dashed my hopes leaving Bopara and Patel to continue, they just happened to leave 10 runs to the last over… ooh I’m telling you they don’t half make me nervous. But luckily Patel was the man to finish the day sublimely smashing three successive 4’s to conclude the game. So it was 5 out of 5 for England, a win for Stuart Broad as captain, and a great start to their limited overs campaign… bring on Saturday and the ODI’s.

So the day finally came, and we were in for a treat as we were to see the World Champions on English turf. England won the toss and chose to field, I’m surprised it even went ahead as apparently Alastair Cook had to run to the middle as he forgot he was captain! Anyway on with the game, India registered runs at a pace and with two wickets going quickly it looked to be in England’s favour. But the second wicket (Dravid) only came via review, even then the commentators could not believe it was given out after a change in decision – but what can you say it’s just the way of the DRS. But once Kohli came to the crease with P. Patel things went into acceleration and took the score from 87 to 190, Patel had been scoring quickly and was soon approaching his century. 95 was his score, Anderson was the bowler who was to win this battle? It could only be one person surely? Next up was Sharma but he didn’t hang around too long after he suffered the negative side of a Stuart Broad bouncer and had to retire hurt with a dislocated finger – ouch! So India were now 191-3 (technically four down so to speak) still with Kohli and now the captain Dhoni at the crease. Off these two went as well smashing the ball into every available space, enabling Kohli to bring up his half century. Now at 206-3 India were looking dangerous but Patel soon removed Kohli to bring Raina in who also went on a boundary spree taking India to 266. To be honest I was getting a little worried, but death bowler Dernbach was able to remove Raina after having a difficult spell of bowling and this being his only wicket. The wickets of Dhoni and Ashwin fell in successive balls to Bresnan and India finished on 274 from their 50 overs.

This was a rather tough ask but I remained confident, so out come the openers. The perfect start was not achieved when in the second over the captain Cook had his stumps removed from the ground and departed for a mere four. Only four overs later fellow opener Kieswetter fell plumb to a Kumar LBW leaving England on 21-2, and a daunting run chase is what faced the two Bears at the crease Trott and Bell. Three balls were all that were bowled however when a rain shower caused the players to return to the safety of the pavilion, but as the rain shower turned into torrential rain play looked unlikely to resume. Unfortunately my thoughts were turned into reality as the umpires decided that enough was enough and play was abandoned. So the first ODI has left England undefeated against the Indians and please let it continue, so Tuesday watch out at The Rosebowl as I’m hoping to witness another England win.

Don’t forget it’s the semi-finals of the CB40 tomorrow meaning the final is drawing nearer, and once all is complete expect a write up from me. Also the Championship is getting rather exciting to say the least, with the Bears standing a chance of being crowned the Champs. I really don’t know what I’m going to do without County Cricket over the winter; I really must find myself another hobby… or just wait until next summer. So that’s it for now, hope you enjoyed and don’t forget to check back for all the latest in the cricketing world, it can only get better.

Photo Credit: bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket

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