Another ICC Event

Posted: Friday, September 25, 2009 by jimmymycrushie in Labels: ,
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With every ICC event, comes a chance to make history, for England. They are the underdogs. If they play the way they did in the first 6 ODIs in the recent Natwest Series against Australia, they will lose all three matches but if they play to win, like they did in the 7th, they are bound to win. In the 7th one-dayer, they looked good from the first ball, with a wicket in the first over. They looked like a winning team. In the ICC World Twenty-20, after losing to Netherlands, the Pakistan game was a must win and they did it! Then after losing to South Africa, they had to beat India and West Indies. They ousted the defending champions but lost to West Indies. The West Indies, who lost one day series to England in their own backyard, the West Indies, who were whitewashed in Tests as well as ODIs in England earlier this year. Before the match, I thought England are through to semis unless it rains and it did. The fate of England in an ICC event decided in 9 overs. In the CB series 2007, after having lost 5 of their 6 matches, they needed an ideal outcome in 5 matches. They had to defeat both Australia and New Zealand, they wanted Australia to beat New Zealand and they had to win 2 of the 3 finals. All of it happened, like a fairytale story. James Anderson took 5 wickets in the only match England won in their first 5 matches. In England's 3rd match of the series, Jonathan Lewis grabbed 4, Jimmy 2. In England's 4th match, Lewis's figures were impressive, 1-31 in 10 overs, so were James Anderson's figures, 2-47 in 10 overs. But England couldn't chase 211, being bowled out for 120. After that, both of them were sent home to get fit for the World Cup. In the next game, England were bowled out for 110. Then they lost to New Zealand, won against Oz with Freddie as captain. Colly and Plunkett were the stars in their next match, in their win against New Zealand. In the first final, the bowlers shared the wickets to bowl Australia out for 252 and Belly and Colly finished the job with the bat. Kevin Pietersen had said he would play in the third final but the third final wasn't needed. In the 2nd final, England scored 246 and Oz were 152/8 when it started pouring heavily. Game over. England were declared winners. Champagnes popped out.

If they could do it then, why not now? True, the challenge is tough and this is not a tri-series, this is just another ICC event. And West Indies isn't even in their group this time. Freddie isn't fit either. But they know, they have the potential. If they are gonna reach the semis, I expect them to defeat New Zealand and either Sri Lanka or South Africa. They must drop Bopara and Bresnan and bring in Broad/Sidebottom and Luke Wright. The contests between England and New Zealand are very interesting, both are evenly matched teams. On their day, none can beat England but their day doesn't come often in ODIs and especially in ICC events since 1992. The last time they reached the final in an ICC event was in ICC Champions Trophy 2004. Perhaps a humiliating defeat to Sri Lanka would be ideal so that games against South Africa and New Zealand are must win games and England plays their best. I don't know why they are not picking Cooky, he is batting so well in County Cricket. He is not just a Test batsman now. And why are they playing in red jerseys? England's color is blue. But hey Jimmy looks very hot in red. Hope they do well today. Come on England!

England vs Australia One Day Series

Posted: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 by Sanya Michelangelo in Labels: ,
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Both teams are playing quite badly in this series. Both are not playing with their best team. While England's star cricketers Pietersen and Flintoff are injured, Australia's Ricky Ponting returned home after Ashes and didn't play the first 3 one dayers. His comeback has revived interest in the series but only a bit. England rested Paul Collingwood and James Anderson for the 4th match of the series. The 6th match will see England's third star making a comeback. England cricketers are not too keen to play in this series. I wonder how many of them care that they havn't won a single match in the series. The ECB will never schedule the Natwest One Day Series between England and Australia after the Ashes in the future, at least they shouldn't. England's players were not too happy that the ECB had scheduled a match against Ireland  less than a week after Ashes. Strauss, Broad, Jimmy didn't play in it and the ones who played were delighted to avoid a humiliating defeat. England won the match only by 3 runs (D/L method). This year has seen England lose a Test series against the islanders, lose a Twenty-20 to Netherlands. They were criticized a lot for both defeats but they played well in both of them. They are not playing well in this series though. Do I mind? Na. Who cares about a one day series? Not an English Cricket Fan at least. I'm quite used to seeing England lose one dayers. Though I will have a beer if they avoid a whitewash. Jimmy didn't take any wicket in the 4th, 5th Test, 1st, 2nd Twenty-20, 1st ODI. That's more than a month! Though you can't blame him for not taking any wicket in the 2nd Twenty-20 because not even a ball was bowled in that match. Seems like the Sweetypie is more busy in twittering, spending time with his girls than bowling...lol. By the way his twitter username is jimmyanderson9 and ECB has confirmed it. I'll watch how Australia defeats England today. It will be interesting to see if England bats first and scores so low that bowlers don't have a chance of winning the game or if England bowls first and keep the spectators interested until the batsmen throw their wicket away. Until next time, take care. Cheers!

Ashes 2009 Facts

Posted: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 by Sanya Michelangelo in Labels: , ,
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Highest Wicket Takers
Hilfenhaus- 22 wickets, average 27.45
Siddle- 20 wickets, average 30.80
Johnson- 20 wickets, average 32.55
Broad- 18 wickets, average 30.22
Swann- 14 wickets, average 40.50
Anderson- 12 wickets, average 45.16
Highest Run Scorers
Strauss-474 Runs, 5 matches
Clarke- 448 Runs, 5 matches
Ponting- 385 Runs, 5 matches
North- 367 Runs, 5 matches
Katich- 341 Runs, 5 matches
Haddin- 278 Runs, 4 matches
4 Or More Wickets In The Innings
Graeme Swann- Thrice
Ben Hilfenhaus- Thrice
Stuart Broad- Twice
Peter Siddle- Twice
James Anderson- Twice
Mitchell Johnson- Once
Graham Onions- Once
Andrew Flintoff- Once
Marcus North- Once
Best Batting Averages
Jonathan Trott - 80
Michael Clarke - 64
Andrew Strauss - 52.66
Marcus North - 52.42
Ricky Ponting - 48.12
Shane Watson - 48
Best Bowling Averages
Ben Hilfenhaus - 27.45
Stuart Broad - 30.22
Graham Onions - 30.30
Peter Siddle - 30.80
Nathan Hauritz - 32.10
Mitchell Johnson - 32.55
Best Batting Averages Among Bowlers
Graeme Swann- 35.57
Andrew Flintoff- 33.33
Stephen Harmison- 31
Stuart Broad- 29.25
Nathan Hauritz- 22.50
Ben Hilfenhaus- 20