heroes.
Funny how England cricket team can stop sucking donkey balls and win a one day international when the pressure is off because the 3 match series has been lost.
The king of the dead rubber heroes is of course Ian Bell. Oh wasn’t he marvellous, all those great shots. Oh isn’t he great when it doesn’t count. Then he runs out Joe Root and follows that up four runs on the board later with yet another pathetically lazy dismissal in the exact same manner he got out in the previous game. Leaving two new batsmen at the crease.
Even in a dead rubber he can’t lead from the front. Oh yes he can make a flashy few runs but does he see it out? No. And does he come in for the right criticism? No. While Trott was castigated in the previous game he say it through to the end with a not out. Which he did at better than a run a ball, while Bell was less.
Without the world’s greatest bowler
(© British media), Anderson, funny that they finally managed to bowl New Zealand out though it was so much better not having the laughable bowling pair of Woakes and Dernbach working in tandem to see who be hit the furthest and for the most runs.
Which brings you to Tredwell and his trundly little offspin. It’s almost as if he lulls the batsmen into giving their wicket away. Well whatever it is, it works as shown by the fact he was the only one to dismiss Guptill in the series. And after the game as pointed out on Twitter…
James Tredwell has the best bowling average of any England bowler in the last 25 years! http://t.co/RajgpIWZR9 #EngvNZ
— Daniel Stone (@DanStone08) June 5, 2013
But not only has he the best average* of any England bowler in ODIs over the last 25 years he has the best strike rate of any front line England bowler in the same time period.
Who knows if they pick the right England side they could win this Champions Trophy, but can you see it really happening. There’s something about Ashley Giles that brings to mind Svennis. I know the cricket coaches job is different but I just can’t see him inspiring a side to victory and I don’t think he has the guile, wit and wisdom to coach ’em to the title.
(*More bizarre than the Tredwell stats is that Devon Malcolm has the fourth best average.)