England vs Bangladesh: 33rd match, Pool A, ICC World Cup 2015 held at Adelaide Oval, Australia

No doubt England is going to receive bashing and criticism for their ousting from the World Cup, but it didn't look like they played terrible cricket. Bangladesh played well. For once, they looked like a proper International side. We didn't even see the wild celebrations they usually have after each victory. Regardless of the outcome of their Quarter-final clash, I would appreciate them for today instead of blaming England.

In addition, England has never been among the top teams in One-day. They might have played well in the tri-series before the tournament, but that's what England does, playing well for a series or two as far as one-days are concerned. Often, they play one-day because they have to and sometimes they get fired up against teams like Pakistan, India and Australia.

It must not be forgotten that Alastair Cook led the side until the end of 2014 and it's only been a couple months since Eoin Morgan has been appointed captain. I've liked his captaincy so far, but a lot goes into making a team a winning one than just good players or good captaincy. English cricket has always been chaotic, with the board acting like a dictator, having players from all around the world and many other factors.

What we see again and again, the English team disappointing us, is the result of poor management and nothing else. It no longer remains surprising for me. Only a few players in the team such as Morgan, Broad and Anderson are settled. What Kevin Pietersen's autobiography pointed makes a lot of sense. A lot of the players, especially the batsmen feel uncomfortable in the team. No wonder the bowlers perform more, whether with the bat or with the bowl. I doubt if anyone except for a select few feel secure about their place in the side. If the best players can be dropped, they know anyone can.

Just like the last 3 Tests, the one-dayers are proving to be no contest. The 3rd Test was still exciting as it turned the series around after India's victory at Lord's. The win was needed for England to prove they are still one of the best in Tests. Only in Tests. Tests are important for the British, so much that they play with the same attitude in One-Day.

India tour of England has hardly been exciting this time around. There is no competition. You get no brownie points for guessing who will win. If the Indian cricket team was left bare for the world to see, the same is happening with the English team. This is nothing new for them though. They give so much adulation to their Test batsmen that they make up for an unquestionable part of the one day team as well. Since the ousting of the flamboyant Kevin Pietersen, England haven't found a replacement for him yet. Or to say it right, they didn't even think that they need someone to replace him. Alex Hales has just now been given a chance but what can one man do? We have still got captain Alastair Cook in the team, who scored 19 off 33 in the 2nd one day and 44 off 65 in the 3rd. He not only bats at a meagre strike rate for a batsman, he is also the opener and the captain. We must not forget that it's his coming back into form that changed the course of the Test series.

In One-Day, it matters a great deal how you start the innings and also, the captain leads from the front and Alastair Cook definitely doesn't set a good example for his team to follow. If you start out slow, you lose a few wickets and thus the rest of the batsmen naturally feel under pressure. I'm sure Alastair Cook never tells his batsmen to go bang bang. I don't think England can ever dream of being a good one-day team with their old style strategies.

Let's compare England to other teams. Australia's highest ever total in One-Day is 434 vs South Africa and all of their top 12 totals are 350 or over. England's highest total is 391 vs Bangladesh followed by 363 vs Pakistan and their 10th highest total is 327. Compare this to India, who have scored over 400 four times and whose 10th highest total is 373. South Africa too has all of their top 12 totals over 350 and has scored 400 twice. I'm sure England doesn't realise you need massive totals to win one-day games in this day and age. Instead of bringing in swashbuckling batsmen, which are available in their Counties, England has a policy to play all-rounders and have depth in batting. So they have depth, this should enable them to reach 350, shouldn't it? What was Woakes doing coming in at 149/6? Couldn't he take England to a competitive total at least? Hasn't Alastair Cook got batsmen that he relies on all-rounders who would do both jobs? Hasn't England got better bowlers than Jordan, who was also made to play the last 3 Tests?

England vs India 3rd Test: 27-31 July 2014 played at The Ageas Bowl, Sothampton

The teams may have us let down but the series is certainly living up to its hype. It's good that it's a 5 Tests series, rather than the usual 2-3 Tests series we have. 5 Tests are definitely enough to test the teams. While England looked to be all over the place after the Lord's Test, they have come out good in this one and have proved that they really are a good team in Tests. I would not say I was wrong in criticizing them. They were certainly worthy of all the criticism bestowed upon them by everybody. And sometimes, it's exactly what's needed. England must have realised that they need to get their act together and experienced batters like Cook and Bell need to take responsibility rather than depending on newbies and all-rounders for runs.

Cook and Bell responded well to the call. Cook, with a 95 in the 1st innings and 70* in the 2nd. And Bell with 167 in the 1st. England, after having declared at 569/7 and getting India all out for 330, leading by 239 runs, choose not to enforce a follow-on, presumably to give their fast bowlers some rest. In the 2nd innings, after Robson was caught out on 13, Ballance, Bell and Joe Root, all batted with a strike rate better than Cook, as England needed to score some quick runs to set up a total India could not achieve and also to have enough time to get India all out again. While Cook was holding one end nicely, other batsmen did their job well, particularly Joe Root, scoring 56 runs in 41 deliveries.

People are coming up with all sorts of reasons, but in my opinion, Cook's runs are what have changed the course of the series. The captain is more important than many might believe. It's the captain which leads the team and thus, the captain's intent, hunger for victory and form matters a lot. In the same way, I feel India's loss has a lot to do with their captain, MS Dhoni who looks like he might as well be an engineer in a software firm. That is how Dhoni looks to me - old and uninterested.

It should not come as a surprise that India lost. England were very disappointing at Lord's and as soon as they notched up their game, India lost theirs completely. India looked quite dispirited post their victory in the 2nd Test, like it hardly mattered that they won and I suppose that's the reason. If it hardly matters whether you win or lose, why would you put in so much effort as to defeat a team playing well? I do not know what the reason behind this is, but clearly their captain does not look passionate anymore and possibly it's because he has played too much cricket for his like. Or that his interest lies more in the IPL and he has lost interest in playing for India or at least Test cricket.

That will be all for now, dear friends. Tune in to catch the 4th Test match between England and India live from Old Trafford, Manchester, James Anderson's home ground on August 7 at 10 am GMT (15:30 if you are in India). I'd also like to mention that Jimmy celebrated his birthday by taking 5 wickets on July 31 and he has been found not to be guilty in the hearing held on August 1 so he will be playing in the remaining two Tests unless England decides to rest him for the 5th. They may not need to, as England won't be playing a Test match post this until next summer, that is May 21.

England vs India - 1st Test: 9-13 July 2014 played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham:
This proved to be an interesting Test match despite being played on a dull pitch and ending in a draw. It looked like a subcontinent pitch, not English at all. I haven't seen such a dull ground in England before. I look forward to Tests in England because of the lush green grass and the swinging conditions.

England's grounds are very interesting. They are not same at all. We have Lord's, which is the only ground in the world to have a slope. This ground also have a legacy attached to it, so much that players are most honored to have played here. Scoring a hundred or taking five-fors means so much more here than anywhere else. England is known to have conditions suitable for swing bowlers but there are also grounds which support spin on Day 4 and 5.

We have been told that this pitch was made so batting friendly so that the ground could make more money since they are at a loss if a game ends early. But if we have pitches like this in England, no difference would remain between playing in the Indian subcontinent and playing in England. Doing well overseas would no longer mean much. Also, in their bid to make money, the grounds and the ECB could eventually lose much more than they gain, because if all Test matches end up in draws and make bowlers toil, people will eventually lose interest in Tests, and perhaps some in cricket itself.

The highlight of the game though, was James Anderson's 81 at No.11. The partnership that he shared with Joe Root turned the game around. Until this point, it was tough to tell whether India are the touring team or if England is. Their partnership of 198 is now the highest partnership in the world for the 10th wicket. Prior to this, punters around the ground could be seen excitedly using their Android betting apps or betting apps for iPhone to put their money on what appeared to be a very likely Indian win. No one could really predict what was coming next.

Joe Root scored his 4th hundred finishing on 154*. He now averages 47.17 after having played 18 Tests. He is a good find for England. Early on in his career, he has big hundreds to his name. His maiden century was against New Zealand at Headingly, Leeds, the second one was 180 vs Australia at Lord's, the third was in England's previous Test series against Sri Lanka, a big one, 200* at Lord's.

Trent Bridge has been Jimmy Anderson's favourite venue, having taken 53 wickets here at the average of 19.24. This is his highest among all grounds he has played on. He is also the highest wicket taker at Trent Bridge. The next five behind him, Bedser, Trueman, Warne, Statham and Snow have all retired so he is in no danger of losing this title anytime soon. After these fellows, Stuart Broad follows with 25 wickets.

Catch the 2nd Investec Test match between England and India live from July 17-21 at 11 am local time (10 am GMT, 3:30 in the afternoon if you are in India), coming to you from Lord's.

Thanks for reading. This is Sanya, signing off.

Created by Sanya. © England Cricket Blog
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This wallpaper is my first one of Kevin Pietersen. I have often felt he deserved one, along side those of players like Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook and Steven Finn. This is a tribute to him as the ECB have ended his England career.

It came at a time when Kevin Pietersen had more runs than any other Englishman currently playing, in Test cricket. Only Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart and David Gower are ahead of him. Alastair Cook is close behind him with 8047 runs. Kevin has 8181 runs in Test cricket.

Kevin also has the highest runs by an Englishman in Test, One day and Twenty20 combined. In Twenty20 Internationals as well, he is the at the top among English players with 1176 runs with Eoin Morgan close behind at 1076 runs. In an all time list of career runs in the world in Twenty20 Internationals, KP is at 11.

ECB sure knows how to waste talent. I doubt if any English player will ever score 10,000 runs in Test cricket. Alastair Cook must be aware of the ECB.

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Everyone would agree the IPL has changed cricket. For better or for worse, remains a topic to be discussed. Surely, it is fast-paced and more suited to the younger generation and can help in increasing cricket's popularity. However, the people who take interest in IPL are not cricket fans and they will never be.

I'm not totally against IPL. It's not like I think it should be banned or would start a protest against it. It can't be banned of course. People wait for the IPL more than any other cricket tournament or series. If they enjoy it, who am I to complain?

But, I don't think it's a good thing to happen to cricket. It's a lot of things but it just isn't cricket. It has taken the focus of the players and the fans away from country matches, which is pathetic. It's not like Big Bash or the Twenty20 championship in county.

Both of them are domestic tournaments while IPL attracts more attention and disrupts the International calendar. The parties and high pay interest some players more than playing for their countries. You might say there is nothing wrong with it. If the players and fans prefer IPL, what's the harm?

But I say there is. Humans don't always know what's best for them. Like, people prefer reading novels over course books but that doesn't mean novels are better for them. I don't think the IPL is good for the world. And most importantly, it just isn't cricket.

Being an England cricket fan, I used to enjoy England's Test matches the most. Now, I have lost interest in cricket as the interest in International cricket has decreased. Also because the players themselves aren't as interested in it as they used to be. Playing for your country just doesn't mean as much as it used to. Since, cricket is going around all year, fans have lost interest as well.

There is much to be said about what makes teams successful. Do incredible players make a team successful, or is it the captain? The coach? The management?

While most would say all these factors matter, but I reckon what matters the most are the people behind the players. A lot goes into making a team. A lot goes into making a player as well. How does one become a player good enough for International standards? Surely, no one is born with it though some have better genes suited for sports.

I guess it's the conditions you grow up in, the type of cricket you play when you are young. What after it though? We see so many players playing well at the county level yet their potential isn't exploited when playing for the country.

I feel the selectors, coach and the dressing room environment plays a big role. While tough conditions while growing up makes incredible players, as we have often seen, like Don Bradman practicing batting with a wicket in his childhood, talented players need support to grow and do something for their country.

Common mistakes made by captain and selectors:
1. Picking/dropping players based on their personal preferences rather than performance.
2. Wasting time of players by keeping them on the bench for too long.
3. Not giving players any reason for dropping them. If you don't tell them where they are wrong, how would they know what they need to do to get back?
4. Dictating them like bad bosses instead of nurturing their talent and confidence.
5. Placing your ego above winning matches for your country.

Thank you for reading.

Although it doesn’t receive the same level of media coverage as the exploits of the England national cricket team in international test matches (at least outside of England), County cricket is a very big deal to fans of the sport. This is the cricket equivalent of Premier League football, and is what most fans of the sport watch – and put bets on – throughout the majority of the year. Things are gearing up for the new season now, with the fixture schedule having been released, and the bookies odds are also now available for those interested in betting on the winner.

Last season’s champions Durham are unsurprisingly listed amongst the favourites again for the 2014 title – but they are not the hot favourites ahead of the season. At the moment Warwickshire, at 5/1, have that status with bookmakers. They will have England batsman Jonathan Trott back in the fold, following his recent illness, and certainly have an impressive record in this competition. 2013 was a somewhat disappointing season for them, as they finished fourth in the Division One table, but with seven previous titles it is likely that they or Durham will attract a lot of the gambling – at least amongst those who don’t decide to play The Umpire Strikes Back instead.

The notion of cricket fans choosing to go to a site like GamingClub.com/au to play a slots game instead of the winners of the County Championship would have seemed ridiculous a few years ago, but games like this one are huge these days. This particular slot, complete with cartoon umpire and Star Wars pun, is a lot of fun for any cricket fan. It is also very cheap to game on, as you can bet with a deposit as small as $0.10 a time. This entitles you to play for a jackpot of $10,000, as well as the chance to play the various cricket themed game bonuses, all of which makes it at least as attractive as betting on county cricket – and less likely to be interrupted by rain!

Thanks for reading.

Being an England fan is not easy. Ask anyone who supports England. It could be the best, it has the potential everybody would tell you. They could be better. Why aren't they then?

We aren't talking about Bangladesh, who have reached a certain standard, give you glimpses of hope from time to time with incredible victories. We are talking about England, who are not short on talent, or cash, or management, or technology, or coaches. They aren't even limited to picking players from their own country.

Wherever you are from, you can play for England, as long as you are eligible. It doesn't matter where you come from. Your history, your heritage, your blood just do not matter.

Why then does England lose so badly so many times? Why did the team and the fans go from celebrating Ashes 2005, 2009, 2010-11, 2013 wildly to sobbing after Ashes 2006, 2013-14? That's one thing similar between Bangladesh and England. They celebrate their victories so wildly that they probably don't need more. England could easily win more, only if they cared more about winning.

Only if they cared more about winning than their inner differences.

I had felt this about BCCI first, that the board rules the cricketers, as if they are slaves. BCCI asks Indian cricketers to watch their words. ECB selects the team based on personal bias, rather than merit. We have had many many examples of board's perspective being more important than the team winning.

Be it Steven Davies, Owais Shah or Joe Root, ECB chooses players by their personal bias. And with the Kevin Pietersen scenario, they have gone over the top. Had it been India, the crowd would have eaten the selectors alive. Steven Davies has never been selected since he announced he is gay, Joe Root has been supported more than he should have and Kevin Pietersen, from time to time has faced trouble from the ECB. And only the ECB and the god know why Owais Shah was dropped.

England doesn't know how to handle its players. End of the story. Who cares if Kevin Pietersen has an ego? Or if he has no friend in the current English squad. You select the team which makes your country win games. Nobody cares if the players don't get along, with each other or with the board. It's up to the players and the board to solve their conflicts. Only the best shall play.

I don't think the current display of England should be surprising anyone. And the ones who cited England as favourites for the Ashes definitely forgot which team they were talking about. I feel the biggest reasons for England's losses, always, are selection and the lack of desire for winning.

Moving on, I really like Finn's recent interview, in which he appeared confident.

It's tough for me to leave the tour, I'm upset I'm leaving the tour because I want to be helping England win games of cricket... but I do feel that it's best if I go home now.

I am nowhere near as far away as some people have been suggesting in the press. In terms of the technical things, they are not massive things.

I definitely believe the media is inaccurate on this occasion. I have hardly seen any English bowler bowl as consistently as Steven Finn. In his last one-day, Finn ended up with figures 2/43 with only Tredwell taking more wickets than him-3. Finn did not feature in any game on this tour and it has been heard that there is something wrong with his bowling action.

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I feel England need to support their players more, what with Jonathan Trott returning and Graeme Swann retiring. This is not the first time such incidents have happened in English cricket. We have often heard the England dressing room is not a happy place to be.

I'm also against the opinion that Kevin Pietersen's best is behind him, because the man is 33, has scored more than 8000 runs, his Test average in 2013 is close to 52. We have seen KP mature as the years have gone by and he definitely lends psychological advantage to the England team and power to the English batting line-up.

I hope KP will not take premature retirement like Graeme Swann and many other cricketers and I hope to see Steven Finn back in the team soon. On that note, this is me, Sanya signing off. Take care.

England clinched the 1st Ashes Test in the most wonderful fashion. This was a perfect Test match. Interesting on all days. At the end of Day 1, Oz were at 75/4 after England were all out for 215. While Australia scored a bit more runs than England, Day 2 ended with England at a slightly better score of 80/2. Day 3 ended with England leading by 259 runs. At the end of Day 4, Australia looked behind at 174/6 chasing a target of 311. Mostly though, you couldn't tell which way the match was going. Right till the end. When England reviewed for the 10th wicket, I was thinking this would be a replay of what we see often, England managing to almost win so Haddin being given out was a huge pleasant surprise for me.

Jimmy Anderson got the Man of the Match award as expected. I think it's wrong to suggest England are relying on one man. Finn, Swann and Broad have all won matches for England. It's too early to say anything like that. Even in this Test, it's not like they didn't perform. Finn and Swann took 2 wickets each in the 1st innings while Broad and Swann took 2 each in the 2nd. By taking Cowan's wicket, Root also showed that he can be brought upon to shake things up like Kevin Pietersen. This wasn't a high scoring game. No team scored 400-500 so you can't blame any bowler. Jimmy didn't leave much to other bowlers.

Haddin and Pattinson deserve to be praised to have taken the game to an exciting finish.

Wickets
James Anderson 10
Siddle 8
Pattinson, Starc 5
Swann 4
Broad 3
Finn, Agar 2
Root 1
Scorecard
England go to Lord's with an advantageous 1-0 lead. The action begins at 11 am local time (10 am GMT) on Thursday, 18th. Exciting time for online cricket betting. See ya.

David Lloyd: Good news for Australian fans, sunny day at Trent Bridge. After 2 overs, Australia scored 34 runs in 6th over, coming to a halt with the wickets of Smith and Haddin in consecutive overs. Australia lost their 1st wicket on Day 2 after 40 minutes of play and after 23 minutes, they were 117/9. It feels worst when a No.11 scores runs against you, especially after surviving a controversial appeal in the beginning. With Ashton Agar at 6 and Australia at 131/9, the man upstairs gave Agar another life at an appeal for stumping off Swann. It clearly looked out to me. I don't if umpiring has always sucked or if it's only that way these days but the DRS isn't helping either. 3rd umpiring needs to be improved, if not the on-field umpiring. Earlier, commentators and experts would argue that umpires don't see the replays like we do. What about 3rd umpires then?

It wouldn't have made much of a difference to me if Agar would have scored a century rather than 98. If I had a choice, I'd have let the chap have his glorious moment. It would only cost England 2 runs though some would argue that centuries give you psychological advantage. I just don't see it that way personally.

James Anderson has taken more wickets at Trent Bridge than any other man and he is no danger of losing that spot anytime soon. The 9 men behind him have all retired. Jimmy has 44 wickets at the ground while the next man behind him who is still around is Stuart Broad, standing at 11 in the list with 19 wickets to his name. Betting is something most of us sports fans fancy. However, choosing which betting sites to try and if beginner bonuses really help can be tough. Here are some reviews of the top sports betting sites.

The scorecard would tell you that the match is evenly poised but as an English fan, I'm happy. England have played well. The wickets of Root (caught behind) and Trott (lbw) were also very controversial. Root should have reviewed in my opinion but Captain Cook probably suggested not to. Hot spot and Snicko didn't show anything. Though Snicko is not used in DRS so it wouldn't have saved Trott as Hot spot didn't show anything his time either.

Cook’s side face a tough test if they are going to triumph, coming up against Group A opponents Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka to reach the knockout stages. As well as looking to taste success for the first time in the Champions Trophy, Cook has also targeted victory the 2015 World Cup.

"We haven't won an ICC fifty-over event, so that's certainly a priority here. We have the ICC Champions Trophy this year under our home conditions, which we hope to make the most of,” admitted Cook.

"Then, in two years time, the World Cup - and we haven't won that either. They're two big tournaments coming up. If we keep developing like we have done, then we'll certainly have the team to have a chance of winning those tournaments."

While England’s one-day form has been inconsistent over the past few years, there is no doubt that they are still extremely capable of winning these tournaments. Having the Champions Trophy on home soil gives England a great chance to finally win a 50-over tournament.

Winning the 2010 World T20 showed that England have the ability to win a major tournament despite falling short so many times before, and having home advantage will give the hosts as good a chance as ever to add another trophy to their one-day collection.

Video featuring Ashes 2005 winning captain Michael Vaughan and the ageless, Paul Nixon, who should have played more for England but nevertheless, he couldn't have asked for a better ending to his career than helping Leicestershire win the 2011 championship.

AEG is continuing to promote grassroots cricket in the UK running their campaign for a second successive year. The contest offers 40 teams a chance to win kits 11 of which will be designed by the winning teams themselves plus a top of the range AEG washing machine. There are other great prizes to be won, including an all expense paid trip to the 5 star Forte Village Resort in Sardinia (island in the Mediterranean Sea and an autonomous region of Italy), a chance to train with England cricket legends and a once in a lifetime cricket session at the home of cricket, Lord's. To apply, go to AEG's facebook page and tell us in no more than 50 words why your team should win the Ultimate AEG Kit and Laundry Package.

This post was sponsored by AEG.

England made everyone happy today. They made Indian team and fans happy by preferring to lose, the Test squad by sending them home, the youngsters by giving them a chance. I doubt if anyone watching the match ever felt England would win or even try to win. This isn't anything new. I remember the one-day series during Sri Lanka tour of England 2006, in which England lost gladly. They simply don't care about winning sometimes. Tests have always been the pinnacle. The series which was just concluded was said to be right up there with the Ashes by England captain Alastair Cook, but I doubt if that would be said when England wins the one-day World Cup.

Am I against them on this? Well, not really. I'm myself a fan of Tests and got annoyed by the Twenty20 today. I didn't like that a Twenty20 was held 2 days after the final Test in a 4 Test series. It takes time to get out of the Test mode. The England players didn't really have to switch their mindset though. The only player who played both the Tests and the Twenty20 is Tim Bresnan. Steven Finn and Stuart Broad are still recovering from injuries and the rest and rested. Even Andy Flower is rested. I'm not against their rotation policy but the war between BCCI and the ECB is doing cricket much damage.

The ECB clearly prefers Tests and the BCCI prefers Twenty20s. Where does this leave one-day though? ICC needs to intervene and try to reduce the number of meaningless matches.

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I'm personally with Tests. India focuses far less on Tests than England. One or two years ago, India were playing much were Tests than other teams and the comments from players, both current and former forced the BCCI to increase them. The great players that India speaks of, they aren't going to have more of them. You don't hear of great players smashing boundaries, you hear of great players who bat all day. Even their captain, M S Dhoni captains in Tests just like he does in the shorter formats. He gave all-rounders a chance in Tests, the result of which we have all seen. Tests are a game of pure batsmen and bowlers rather than handy bowlers and batsmen.

Let me talk a little about today's clash before I go. Eoin Morgan looked like a better captain than Stuart Broad. Debutant Meaker was impressive. I don't want to see Dernbach ever playing again for England. Dernbach's behaviour is as disgraceful as his bowling.

India have made a joke of themselves by losing the 'revenge' Test series by 2-1 and celebrating a Twenty20 win against England 2nd XI wildly. For more mockery, tune in on 22 December, Saturday at 19:00 local (13:30 GMT).