OwZat!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
One game in..
All international tournaments really need the home side to do well in order for the event and more importantly the atmosphere surrounding it to be special. Remember England in 1999 and what a damp squid the tournament was, largely owing to England's awful form.
So it's great to see the West Indies off to a winning start.
Their batting initially struggled and at 83-3 off of 27 overs I thought that they were in real trouble of being blasted away by the much feared Pakistan batting. However, some calm play from Lara and some great hitting from Samuals and Smith blasted the WI to a respectable score. And a score Pakistan just couldn't get to, thanks in part to some pretty slow scoring by the middle order.
The much dicussed state of pitches with many commentators stating that they would be low and uneven wasn't accurate as the wicket was similar to that found in England.
As for lessosn learn't, wickets in hand are absolutely vital, in order that the last 15 overs can really be attacked. If chasing, the run rate has to be kept up so as not to apply to much pressure to the late middle order and tail enders. But this is nothing new. The only perhaps surprising element given the power plays is the slow scoring at the start of each innings. It could just be that maybe, just maybe, England have read the script by picking fairly conservative players to start the innings, leaving Pietersen, Flintoff and co to hit out late.
So it's great to see the West Indies off to a winning start.
Their batting initially struggled and at 83-3 off of 27 overs I thought that they were in real trouble of being blasted away by the much feared Pakistan batting. However, some calm play from Lara and some great hitting from Samuals and Smith blasted the WI to a respectable score. And a score Pakistan just couldn't get to, thanks in part to some pretty slow scoring by the middle order.
The much dicussed state of pitches with many commentators stating that they would be low and uneven wasn't accurate as the wicket was similar to that found in England.
As for lessosn learn't, wickets in hand are absolutely vital, in order that the last 15 overs can really be attacked. If chasing, the run rate has to be kept up so as not to apply to much pressure to the late middle order and tail enders. But this is nothing new. The only perhaps surprising element given the power plays is the slow scoring at the start of each innings. It could just be that maybe, just maybe, England have read the script by picking fairly conservative players to start the innings, leaving Pietersen, Flintoff and co to hit out late.
Labels: Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff, Cricket, England, Pakistan, Pietersen, Samuals, Smith, World Cup
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