Having been robbed of an opening victory against the hosts a mere 24 hours beforehand, England fans would have been hoping that Paul Collingwood and his new-look Twenty20 outfit could shun the disappointment of the night before, and instead build upon what was an authoritative performance with the bat. Sadly it was not be, and in a deserved reversal of fortune it was the weather that this time came to rescue England and send them narrowly through to the Super Eights.
Be it the complacency that so often comes as favourites, or a knock in confidence over the last day, England were a mere shadow of the enterprising team that had outclassed a far more intimidating West Indies bowling unit only a game ago. Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb were unable to inject a similar impetus to the start of the innings - Lumb undone by a tame leg-side long-hop, an identical delivery to that which he had sent crashing to the boundary twice in the previous over, only to be caught out by Boyd Rankin at short backward square from the first ball of Kevin O Brien's spell. Moreover, Kieswetter in an effort to force the pace was rightfully sent back by Kevin Pietersen attempting a suicidal single, only to be given out by the third umpire.
Pietersen was made to endure another failure thanks to his perpetual nemesis - left-arm spin! 17-year-old tweaker George Dockrell, obviously having done his homework on the flamboyant No. 3, was able to practically replicate K.P's dismissal against the West Indies. England's innings at the halfway mark was floundering at 49 for 4, and it was up to Eoin Morgan, an Irishmen in English colours, to help his adopted nation post a worthy total against his motherland. The prospect of scoring runs against Ireland appeared to inspire Morgan and he went on to top score with a gritty 45 in England's decidedly mediocre 120 for 8. Unable to find willing partners, Morgan's own brand of inventive opportunism forced the Irish bowlers out of rhythm with cuts and sweeps aplenty.
Eoin Morgan found some much-needed inspiration against his former team-mates
Image courtesy of cricinfo.com
Amongst England's stuttering efforts with the bat Trent Johnston proved his worth as the spearhead in Ireland's wily attack. On a sluggish pitch in Providence Johnston bagged four scalps whilst only leaking a paltry 14 runs in his four over spell and a solitary boundary off the bat of Michael Lumb. His ability to hit a length on demand proved frustrating for England who notoriously prefer pace on the ball. Johnston's team mates backed him up ably, and as England closed in on 20 overs it was the Lions tail-end that were left desperately fighting to put precious runs on the board.
Ireland's miserliness with the cherry in hand meant England, who had witnessed the Irish bowling effort from the pavilion, would have to be right on the money from ball one. Tim Bresnan and Ryan Sidebottom steadied early nerves conceding only four runs from eight deliveries before the rain arrived and a 30-minute delay ensued. Four balls after the resumption Paul Stirling was removed for a duck, but Niall O'Brien then smashed two fours in a row to improve Ireland's chances of a favourable Duckworth-Lewis calculation.
As it was the players did not return to the field and England escaped humiliation, progressing to the Super Eights courtesy of their superior run-rate. Paul Collingwood will be hoping that this remains only a minor hiccup on their road to bagging a first trophy in their World Cup history. With his side obviously dripping with potential, Colly's men will certainly need to turn up the heat as they look to take on the reigning champions in Barbados in two days time.
No comments:
Post a Comment