All posts by h716a5.icu

The beauty of James Vince’s batting masks a consistent failure to convert starts into finishes, a flaw that would not be tolerated in a less attractive player

Jarrod Kimber at Sydney04-Jan-2018’He looks so good’, ‘look how much time he has’, “he’s pretty’, ‘he looks the part’, “he has the game for this level’, ‘that shot is gorgeous’, ‘just sublime”. They don’t just say this about James Vince; they coo orgasmically. Nothing makes cricket fans happier than a pretty batsman with time. Vince has all the time in the world and is more beautiful than a summer field.What Vince doesn’t have is Test Match runs. Not many of them anyway, he’s produced more middle-aged groans than runs. It took Vince 12 Test innings to pass fifty. In 19 innings, he’s only passed that mark twice. He’s never reached 100.He’s averaging 22 in his career and 28 in this Ashes, despite scoring his two fifties. Dan Weston, owner of Sports Analytics Advantage, had him down for a predicted average of 24. Weston also said on Twitter: “Is there a better example of biased ‘eye tests’ from selectors -> horror selection decision in any sport around the world than James Vince?”The reason for Weston’s tweet is that there is almost nothing in Vince’s numbers that suggest he deserves another go in Tests, especially on a tour, especially on a hard tour, especially on a hard tour batting at No.3.Last season, playing for Hampshire, he averaged 35 with the bat. The only two seasons in his career in which he averaged over 40 (2013 & 2014) were in Division Two. He’s also never made more than two hundreds in a Championship season in Division One. Vince averages 31 in the top flight, where he makes a hundred once every 16 innings, and 50 in the second tier.If he crabbed across the crease like Simon Katich or had a homespun technique like James Taylor, he wouldn’t have been picked for his country on these numbers. He’d be a grizzled pro hiking out a few runs before moving into another career. But factor in Vince’s grace, and you somehow end up with a Test player.Vince is in his ninth year as a professional; he’s 26, this is his second spell in the Test team, he’s played ODIs and T20Is for his country, and also been an overseas pro in the BBL and PSL. He’s not some ingenue who’s drifted into Tests too soon. He’s a professional athlete who is still picked on aesthetics not statistics.This morning he was discussed on almost every commentary service available. At first, it was his poor record this series, then it was how good he had looked. As Mike Selvey said on Twitter: “Truly, I’ve heard enough about Vince’s pretty cover drive. It’s a Test match not effing Canterbury week.”James Vince walks off after edging Pat Cummins behind•Getty Images***A few years back David Gower gave an interview to ESPNcricinfo. Few batsmen have ever looked better when they were in than he, and yet that meant he was cursed every time he got out. “When people came to me and said, “You are not trying”, I said, “Honestly, I am”.” He also went on to point out, “The first man who is disappointed when you get out for none is you. The man just after that, who is equally disappointed, is the bloke who has paid to come and watch.”There’s no doubt that batsmen who look pretty and get out receive a higher level of criticism than a battling batsman. We believe that a batsman who looks like he is struggling must be, and one who isn’t rushed, isn’t. But VVS Laxman didn’t average more than Steve Waugh.When judging batsmen, we often go to how pretty they are. Victor Trumper wouldn’t be remembered if he batted like Andrew Jones – his skill for changing the game and batting on sticky wickets was important, but the thing that really stood for people with his grace. We are human; we like pretty things.The job of a batsman is not to be pretty; it’s to score runs. While having the ability to have more time (which has been scientifically tested) and the skill to play pretty shots is important, it’s not all about batting. They are just the two most obvious traits. Concentration, hand-eye co-ordination, reflexes, footwork, patience, bravery, fitness, technique, composure, training habits, desire, discipline and game awareness. No one batsmen is great at all of them, they all rely on different skills to get their job done. Some play ugly like they aren’t in, and end up with high averages. Others walk in like they own the pitch, ground and everyone in it, and never make a run.It would be irresponsible to judge a player purely on numbers; those numbers need context, history and research to ensure you get to the right answer. But you win Tests with runs, so to pick a player almost entirely on appearances, while choosing to ignore years of evidence that he doesn’t make many runs, is an incredible gamble. And England have made it twice with Vince.None of this is Vince’s fault; he’s trying hard, figuring it out, trying to survive. When he nicks off to second slip over and over again, it is Vince who first feels frustrated. The game isn’t as easy for him as he makes it look. If it were, he’d make more runs.***He’s upright, stylish, loves to drive, seems to enjoy faster bowling more than dibbly dobbers, and doesn’t at all look out of place in Test Cricket. That’s how Michael Vaughan was described at the start of his career. And when he was picked to play for England he was averaging 33.91 in first-class cricket.When people talk about James Vince, they often compare him to Vaughan.In US sports this is known as anchoring, it’s a behavioural heuristic that allows our brains to make a quick comparison. In cricket, you see it all the time, the tall skinny white bowlers who are compared to Glenn McGrath even when their skill set is entirely different. Our brain makes all those shortcuts, and that makes it easier for us to explain them. The problem comes from how often we are wrong, because as with most short cuts, they tend to end up in a hedge. There are no new McGraths.James Vince is not the new Michael Vaughan.Vaughan was picked with a dire record because England were trying to find batsmen to help them while they were in arguably their worst ever period. In the end, for all his success in Tests, Vaughan only averaged five more in that format than in all first-class cricket. Like many players, Vaughan’s best period with the bat came between the ages of 27 and 33, a period of time in which his overall first-class average was 44.7. When he was older and younger it was 33.To think that because Vince is also upright, graceful and has a bad first-class average, he will also come good in Tests is optimistic. Batsmen don’t usually make more runs in Tests than in first-class cricket; some young batsmen do, as they are picked on potential, some older players do, as they are picked when they are in career-best form. But on average, your first-class career gives a pretty good indication of what you will do in Tests.Vince’s career consists of him not making a lot of runs and struggling when he steps up in class. Seeing as he has not yet hit the golden part of his batting age just yet, it is possible that he will come good. Instead of elegant failures, we’ll see a pro run-scorer come to the fore. It’s also possible that, if he keeps getting chances, he’ll make a breathless hundred. But based on what he has done in his career so far, the chances of him being a consistent run-scorer in Tests is kinda low. For now there will be more pretty starts and brainfarts.James Vince plays one of his trademark drives•Getty Images***Wherever you stand on the Mitchell Starc “ball of the century” debate, it’s an unplayable ball, and Vince’s role was never going to be more than slain victim. But that is not the kind of ball that Vince has struggled with at Test level. The kind of ball that gets Vince out is the kind of ball that most players smash for four.”Vince was right to attack the ball which dismissed him. Against seamer deliveries within 10cm of the one which got Vince, batsmen in our database average 72.40, scoring at 5.43rpo.” This is what CricViz tweeted about the ball that dismissed Vince today. It was short and wide, a Test player would expect to smash it away for four. Many other times, Vince has been dismissed from full and wide balls; again, the kind Test players feast on.Perhaps Vince chases the four balls more viciously than other players, since his debut no one has scored more than 350 runs in Tests with a higher percentage of boundaries. In all, a third of his runs are from boundaries. Vince isn’t even a quick scorer, so he’s either not scoring, or trying to hit a boundary. That gives Test bowlers a long time to look at you. And makes it a riskier shot when you do go for broke.There is also a thought that Vince gets himself out. Perhaps today he did, perhaps he did in the first Test at the Gabba, when he looked set for his first Test ton only to run himself out for 83. But mostly, it seems teams have good plans for him.Vince is only in his third series, but to judge by the data available so far, it is clear that bowling attacks during his debut home summer in 2016 hung the ball out wide and waited for him to nick off. Here in Australia, the bowlers have kept the ball just outside off stump, back of a length, and waited for him to nick off. The real problem for Vince is the conscience; teams work him out, then they get him out. Teams have worked out he doesn’t have patience or concentration, and over time they can work on those flaws, knowing that he’ll eventually make a mistake.All of this makes him pretty, but dull, if you’re an English fan. An unfortunate pretty hate machine.***At The Oval this year, Vince made his way out to the middle when Hampshire lost their first two wickets for 71. It was a flat wicket, and Surrey had both Currans and Mark Footitt bowling. From the start, Vince looked as if he was batting on rails. As if each boundary was part of a movie script, with a storyboard, special effects, choreographer, and make-up team to make it look perfect.Vince had time, he looked pretty, and runs gushed from his bat all day. The Oval crowd made all the sorts of noises you hear when Vince is making runs. As he does in this mood, he had the illusion of permanence, like watching a Jaguar at 100 miles an hour and forgetting about all the times you’ve seen it broken down. He cruised towards a century in a shade over two hours.Just after his hundred, Tom Curran bowled one outside off stump and Vince nicked off*. It was only Vince’s seventh hundred in Division One cricket, it should have been a moment of success, but instead it looked like a continuation of his habitual flaw; he doesn’t fail to start, he fails to go on. Three other players would score more runs in the match, and you could argue he was more naturally talented than all of them.But that would be a useless argument, based on perception and subjective theories. The aim of the game is not to be the most naturally talented, to be the most effortless, or have the most time; the aim of the game is to make the most runs. Vince hasn’t done that in first-class cricket. He isn’t doing it in Tests.***Today James Vince hit, even for him, one of the most beautiful cover drives you’ll see in cricket. The shot made everyone who saw it make weird uncomfortable sounds; it stayed with you for overs, like a kiss from a lover, you automatically sigh when it enters your memory, which it does a lot. It was one of those shots you want tattooed on your arm, to play just once, one that you can’t even master in that surreal over-the-top dream. Oh, it was quite a shot.Today James Vince made 25.*2300 GMT – This paragraph was updated to correct Vince’s mode of dismissal

This week’s round-up of the most interesting social media posts about the IPL centres on a couple of early finishes

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2017Dan Christian was lucky to spend his birthday in someone else’s shirt. The face, unfortunately, was all his.

One of the pitfalls of your birthday falling during the IPL… Another great win tonight, Tripathi is a superstar in the making!! Also, put my shirt out to dry with @stokesy after the bowling innings, and grabbed the wrong one before I went out to bat, much to the ire of the match referee

A post shared by Dan Christian (@danchristian54) on May 3, 2017 at 12:44pm PDT

Rohit Sharma had his birthday recently too and was surprised Ravi Shastri wished him over Twitter.

Thanks Ravi Bhai! You didn't need to tweet me Ravi Bhai if you screamed I'd hear you from wherever you are @RaviShastriOfc https://t.co/zRhy6YOgwN

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) April 30, 2017

Mumbai Indians finished their match against Delhi Daredevils six overs early, possibly because they wanted to get away from the Delhi smog as soon as possible. If anyone is preparing a presentation on signs that the earth is in danger, this photo of Harbhajan Singh’s bright Mumbai Indians jersey shining amid a haze may make a good opening slide.

Top win @mumbaiindians last night..Delhi Pollution,smog it was almost impossible to breath last night in the ground…all players were suffering with bad throat after the game #almost choked

A post shared by Harbhajan Turbanator Singh (@harbhajan3) on May 6, 2017 at 10:11pm PDT

Another game that finished inside 36 overs was Kolkata Knight Riders’ match in Bengaluru, in which, with Knight Riders chasing 159, Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine smashed 105 in the Powerplay. David Warner was keen to let everyone know he has been studying to be a travel agent in India.

I think @KKRiders want the 22:45pm flight out of Bangalore tonight

— David Warner (@davidwarner31) May 7, 2017

The last commercial flight from Bengaluru to Kolkata is indeed at 22:45 every day. And Kolkata, who finished the game before 19:30 despite a rain delay, may well have made it. Team owner Shah Rukh Khan was chuffed. Lynn and Narine’s partnership reminded him of a film he was in that had characters named Chris and Sunil who fall out because they are both in love with the same girl but then reconcile.

After Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa in '94, Sunil n Chris come together to make 105… well played boys! Ami KKR… pic.twitter.com/30JSbFaqVE

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 7, 2017

Speaking of early departures, we were under the impression Eoin Morgan had left Kings XI Punjab to play an England-Ireland series, but apparently he was training to become a pirate.

@Eoin16 Look who's on board… #CaptainCaptain pic.twitter.com/YU4GcUA2g1

— Captain Morgan (@CaptainMorganEU) May 8, 2017

Finally, we have some disappointing news. That Sourav Ganguly fantasy team we’ve all been beating comfortably is not actually his.

Hi all ..just saw an ipl fantasy team on my name ..it's not my twitter account nor my team ..it's fake ..I dnt participate in fantsy leagues

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) April 27, 2017

‘To be honest, I believe in [the yo-yo test]. I was disappointed in a way as to why I could not clear the test, so I worked towards it and cleared it’

Shashank Kishore in Bengaluru23-Aug-2018In July, when India were playing an ODI series in England, Ambati Rayudu was enjoying his time in the Yorkshire sun. Only a month prior to that, he had been withdrawn from the ODI squad because of “fitness concerns”, which he later confirmed was a failed yo-yo test.Rayudu, though, wasn’t sulking at the axe, even if an international comeback after two years had just been put on hold. He enjoyed a week-long trip to England, mentoring a bunch of age-group cricketers, handpicked by his IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, on an exchange programme. Incidentally, it was in England that Rayudu had first stormed his way into the national reckoning in 2002, with a 177 in a one-dayer against England’s Under-19s.Now he finds himself back in the fray again, after passing the yo-yo test. Less than 24 hours after being drafted into the India A side, Rayudu weathered a probing burst of fast bowling from Billy Stanlake and Jhye Richardson to make a fighting unbeaten half-century. In the bigger scheme of things, it gives the national selectors another option as they search for a consistent middle order batsman with the 2019 World Cup just 10 months away.”I was disappointed with myself that I could not clear the test [before the England tour],” he said on Thursday. “[I have] nothing against the test at all as everybody has to be there at a certain fitness level, to play for India. To be honest, I believe in it. I was disappointed in a way as to why I could not clear the test, so I worked towards it and cleared it.”After he returned from the coaching stint in the UK, it was business as usual at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. At a time when many of the fringe players were locked up in a tussle against South Africa A, Rayudu was immersed in his own routines.Every morning, barring the one weekly day off, he was at the gym for cardio, followed by strength and conditioning sessions. Those were followed by two hour-long batting stints with a small lunch break in between. The evenings were spent in recovery. This routine helped him regain “lost fitness” and set himself up for the yo-yo test again.When the teams for the quadrangular series were announced, Rayudu wasn’t included among the 30 players across the two Indian squads, because he hadn’t yet taken the yo-yo test. Earlier this week, Rayudu completed his test, met the parameters prescribed by the team management, and made the India A squad.The IPL, where he was the highest run-getter in a victorious campaign for CSK (602 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 149.75), seemed a distant memory, but Rayudu showed no traces of rust or a dip in form when he returned to action on Thursday.He was his calm self, absorbing pressure, trying to play on the patience of the bowling unit, before cashing in once the spinners were introduced. The end result – a carefully crafted half-century in a winning chase – pleased him, even though he showed no outward elation afterwards.Rayudu has been unlucky in the past too with fitness issues. In 2015 he had to return from Zimbabwe, where he was part of a second-string India ODI side, because of a quadriceps injury. In the two innings on the tour, he had made 42 not out and an unbeaten century. He lost a year after that in recovery, and when he was eventually declared match-fit he couldn’t quite regain his place.These episodes, Rayudu said, taught him valuable lessons in channeling his frustration. He also underlined how important it was to be in a good headspace and accept injuries to deal with them better. Asked about the frustration of not being termed “yo-yo fit” despite being “match fit in the IPL”, Rayudu was forthright.”Fitness is definitely important for cricket. Obviously one has to be absolutely fit to play,” he said. I am happy that there is a certain kind of a benchmark and a bar. It is just that everybody has to respect it and move forward. For me, it is just keeping things simple. I missed a year due to an injury. This year, I could not clear the test for the last series, so I am actually happy to be back to play for India A.”Rayudu is a man of few words. The anger he can sometimes show on the field can, at times, come as a shock if you’re used to his polite off-field persona. He smiles more than he talks.From being touted as one for the future in 2002 to playing in an Under-19 World Cup in 2004 to disappearing into the rebel ICL and then returning to the mainstream, Rayudu’s career has been one of promise not entirely fulfilled. He has seen many of his Under-19 contemporaries – Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik to name a few – bypass him for the India cap. After his return from the ICL, he switched from Hyderabad to Baroda and Vidarbha before returning home again.As he readies himself for another audition ahead of next year’s World Cup, there are bound to be sterner tests. But Rayudu isn’t perturbed. “In a country of billion people, if you are able to represent your country, you will be happy, it is always a matter of pride. I am happy that I am now in the scheme of things. I am just waiting for another opportunity.”

It was not always easy, but a worthy role model and the belated discovery of a cricket club helped keep a childhood passion alive and kicking

Amod Sugiyama01-Jul-2017I never thought a day would come when I would shed a tear while reading a cricket book. Especially when the book was a gloriously funny memoir, Emma John’s .Was it because the protagonist of the memoir was Mike Atherton, her idol growing up, and my favourite person in the cricket world? But while I admire Atherton and eagerly wait for his column every Thursday, I don’t love him the way many Indian fans love Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli.I cried because the book reminded me of my childhood.I was ten years old in August 2005, visiting my relatives in India, when I caught a glimpse of the most memorable Test series ever played. I don’t know if it was Andrew Flintoff’s heroic performances or Kevin Pietersen’s ridiculous hairstyle that made me fall in love with the game, but I became interested right away. Disney villains like Jafar and Maleficent were quickly replaced by Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden in my head. It took almost ten more years for me to learn to respect these two modern cricketing greats.I do not remember much about my previous visits to India before 2005 but my dad tells me now that during a train journey, I was struck by the sight of kids playing cricket everywhere – even on the railway tracks. All I remember from that journey is seeing people throw used paper cups from the train windows. Had I joined them, I might have been a better ball thrower now.My friends say cricket is in my blood. Sure, having an Indian father made it easier to get into the game, but the same didn’t happen to my younger brother. I wanted to know why a blond, slightly overweight Australian man who was apparently bowling much slower than his team-mates was troubling the English batsmen. My brother did not. No, cricket didn’t choose me, I chose cricket.The author learning the game in India as a kid•Sarang UrdhwaresheMy dad bought me a DVD boxset of the 2005 Ashes for my birthday that year and I watched it again and again. Browsing through old cricket scorecards on Cricinfo became a daily activity. I learnt that Test cricket could be both wonderfully exciting (Edgbaston 2005) and incredibly boring (Colombo 1997). I loved listening to my dad’s old cricket anecdotes too, stories of the West Indian greats and Sunil Gavaskar, who was his idol.The epic series of 2005 had made me an England fan and I spent many Saturday afternoons revisiting their previous tours in the last two decades on Cricinfo. It turned out they were not exactly world-beaters in the ’90s. Going through all the scorecards, one man caught my attention. He was the captain of the team for five years in that period and it seemed like he was anchoring many innings, only to find out he lacked partners who could stick it out with him. “Dad, why did Atherton only average 38? Tendulkar averages 57, right?” I asked him one day. “Well, he was an opener. And it was a bloody tough job in the ’90s,” was his answer.I came across the scorecard of the 1995 Johannesburg Test, which Atherton saved by batting for more than ten hours. “How can a man bat for that long knowing his team cannot win,” I wondered. Atherton had been part of the commentary team for the Ashes that year. I could not believe the man with a kind, gentle voice was capable of such a heroic performance. I was also obsessed with Tolkien and at that time and my favourite character was Faramir. Thinking back now, maybe I found some similarities between the young captain of Gondor and Atherton: both were students of history and loved literature. And both could be incredibly brave when they needed to be.Next gen: Kosuke (left) and Naoki Okamoto•Alan MargerisonBut even though I was growing up a cricket fan, my engagement with the game was limited to following professional games on the internet and playing the occasional game in the park while visiting relatives in India until I turned 18. Born and raised in the small town of Takamatsu in Kagawa, Japan, I had no access to playing the game. (This is the excuse I use when I have to explain why I am such a bad cricketer!)Luckily my college prefecture had a club, so I was finally able to play the sport. Shiga Cricket Club (we rebranded the club as Shiga Kyoto Cricket Club this year) was a beacon for cricket-loving expats living in Japan for work or education. When I joined the club five years ago, I was the only Japanese in the team, and all we did was get together on Sundays and have a hit among ourselves in various parks in the area.Now we are playing matches regularly with other teams in this area. There are four university cricket teams and one high school team in our area, though we are still the only adult team around here. Despite all the difficulties – there is no cricket ground in Kyoto, so we play most of the games on a rock-hard baseball ground with matting wicket – cricket is growing here.Our club boasts the best wicketkeeper in the region in Ashley Canning. I owe him for all the stumpings he has got me with my rubbish left-arm spin. But it’s best to leave him alone when he gets out since he will be looking for ways to smash his bat or gloves on something. He’ll be okay five minutes later.Alan Margerison, a Yorkshireman who pretends to be an Aussie, has a good defensive technique, so it’s a shame that we only play 20-over games. He bowls handy offspin too.Indranil Mukherjee (Indi) is not only a good batsman and a true team player but also our team’s fashion guru. Unfortunately, he is pretty busy with his postdoc these days and cannot join us every time. We need you more, Indi!A Shiga match on a baseball pitch•Ashley CanningRemesh Palakkad joined us at the end of the last season and is quickly becoming a central figure in the team. He is a genuine allrounder and our quickest bowler at the moment. I ask him every time whether he wants to take the new ball and he always says no and bowls the second over. We cricketers are superstitious people, aren’t we?Our newest Japanese player, Ikuo Ogita, watched a little cricket footage on CNN years ago and that was how he got interested in the game. He finally started playing this year after finding us on Facebook.However, the two biggest shining lights of our club are a pair of Japanese brothers, Naoki (11) and Kosuke (14) Okamoto, Alan’s family friends. The first time they watched cricket was a Big Bash game on TV during a holiday in Australia. The game looked familiar to them. What form of baseball was this? After a few games in the park while on holiday, they started to practise with a rubber ball. Soon, the temptation of hitting the hard ball became too strong for them and they started to come with Alan to our games. A Japanese version of the Chappell brothers in the making!Emma’s book is a coming-of-age story of a slightly awkward teenager. In chapters three and four, she writes how she tried to be an “evangelist” and introduce cricket to her friends only to find out they “tolerated [her love for cricket] and gently ignored” it. I know how you felt, Emma! I tried too, here in the land ruled by baseball. Some friends and teachers were nice enough to ask me the latest India scores. “How did India go last night, Amod?” “Not good. Lost to Australia again,” was my usual reply while I thought, “Bloody hell, I don’t even support India.”It was tough being the only cricket fan in school. I tried to explain cricket to my school friends many times but to no avail. I now think that the only similarity between cricket and baseball is that you use a bat to hit the ball. They are completely different sports. My friends all thought cricket is a much easier sport to play because there is no foul ball and you can hit the ball to 360 degrees. That is probably true but in cricket, you are judged by your whole innings rather than “one hit”.I sometimes wonder if I’ll get the chance to meet Atherton. “Hi, Athers! Pleasure meeting you. I know you have no idea but you had a big influence on one Japanese teenager growing up. By the way, why on earth did you declare when Graeme Hick was 98 not out in Sydney?”Want to be featured on Inbox? Send your articles to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

England captain concedes “challenge of playing on slower wickets” is still an area for batsmen to address

George Dobell in Barbados19-Feb-2019England must learn to win ugly if they are to win the World Cup. That is their challenge with just one more ODI series before the start of a potentially momentous home summer.While England have earned a reputation for explosive batting on true surfaces – they have recorded the two highest totals made in the history of ODI cricket since the last World Cup, both times at Trent Bridge – they have not always proved so dominant in conditions where bowlers have more in their favour. Think of the performance against South Africa at Lord’s in 2017, when they were bowled out for 153, or the match against Australia at Old Trafford in 2015 (they made just 138).But nowhere was this struggle to adapt more painfully exploited that in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy against Pakistan. In that game, on a used surface that provided a bit of assistance to spinners and reverse-swing bowlers, England were dismissed for 211. Pakistan cruised to an eight-wicket win.So, as England start their lead-up to their World Cup campaign – they now play nothing by white-ball cricket until mid-July – they know it is an area they must improve. And, with a possibility that some surfaces in this series against West Indies may prove tough for batsmen, it is a weakness that may confront them several times in the coming days.”Everybody expects us to win,” Eoin Morgan said ahead of Wednesday’s ODI in Barbados. “But the manner it will play out will be different from what people expect.”There is the challenge of playing on slower wickets that don’t necessarily allow us to play an expansive game. We have improved on it, but to produce a level of consistency in performing and winning is something we haven’t nailed down.”I played here last year for Barbados and the pitch was quite uneven and steep bouncing. It offered some turn, too, and the wind plays a big part. So it will be a tough challenge and everybody in our changing room knows that. It’s not an easy place to come and win particularly when they have a lot of match winners.”England misread the conditions ahead of the Test here, however, and it is possible they have done so again. While surfaces on the England Lions tour and in the CPL were not especially good for batting, the pitches prepared for the first two ODIs in Barbados look full of runs.Morgan’s logic is sound, though. England failed to adapt to that surface in Cardiff and, while most pitches for the World Cup are expected to promote big-hitting and high scores, there is always the possibility they will be confronted by a more demanding surface along the way. If so, their batsmen will quickly have to work out what a challenging score might be and play accordingly. It has not been a strength in recent times.England must also grow accustomed to being talked about as favourites and people expecting them to win. This is not entirely new for them – it has been the case for the last 12 months, at least – and they have encouraged such talk in the hope it will”We don’t mind the tag of favourites,” Morgan said. “We’ve spoken about it and we’ve learned to be at ease with it in the last few series. It doesn’t really mean anything: you still have to produce to be rewarded.”But, while England do start this series as favourites – they are No. 1 in the world rankings, after all, and West Indies No. 9 – Morgan made the point that Scotland beat them less than a year ago. There can be no room for complacency.Chris Woakes bowls during England practice•Getty ImagesIn terms of individual selections, the batting and spin bowling looks reasonably secure. But there is at least one seam-bowling position to be finalised, with the likes of Mark Wood, Tom Curran and Liam Plunkett hoping to do enough to see off the challenge from Jofra Archer, who qualifies in about a month.But while Morgan played down any threat to Plunkett’s position, in particular, he did accept that pace – one of Archer’s primary weapons – was an important part of his bowling armoury. And he might have provided a little hint that the loss of Olly Stone, who played in Sri Lanka but has subsequently been diagnosed with a stress fracture, could offer Archer an opportunity.”I’m not concerned about Plunkett,” Morgan replied to a question about the bowler’s apparently diminishing pace. “The trajectory and variations he brings are valuable, too. When you’re facing him, it’s not easy. Particularly here where a bit of extra height does count.”We are very lucky because we probably have only one injury to a guy who might have been involved and that’s Stone. He is capable of bowling 90mph along with Plunkett and Mark Wood. The difference of having those guys is quite significant. You only had to watch the Test matches to see how valuable they are.”One of the best attributes I have is to compartmentalise things. Until Jofra qualifies, he’s not really in our thoughts at the moment.”If Wood is unable to replicate the pace he generated in St Lucia, however, and Plunkett is unable to offer the mid-innings control that he has provided so often in recent times, it is likely Archer will feature very prominently in Morgan’s thoughts before this series is over.

Such was the draw of WG Grace that after a public spat with Gloucestershire, who he had captained since its formation in 1870, he was able to move to London and help establish a side that within a year had been given first-class status

Martin Williamson27-Jan-200682 pp, hb

Much has been written about WG Grace – perhaps more than any other cricketer with the exception of Don Bradman. But while his 19th-century exploits are well documented, less is known about the twilight of his career, and in some ways that is one of the most interesting periods. Such was the draw of the man that after a public spat with Gloucestershire, who he had captained since its formation in 1870, he was able to move to London and help establish a side that within a year had been given first-class status.Brian Pearce’s Cricket At The Crystal Palace helps to fill in the gaps about the brief history of the London County Cricket Club (by 1905 it had lost its first-class status, a victim of financial troubles and poor attendances). But in those five seasons, it was jazz-hat cricket at its best. Led by Grace (he only missed one of their first-class matches), LCCC attracted some of the best players of the era and also took on a quasi-MCC role of nurturing and encouraging the best young cricketers. The club was dominated by the Old Man, and Pearce manages to convey the sense of what it must have been like to play with and under him.This book is not just about WG. It gives the story of the Crystal Palace, which dominated the whole enterprise and ultimately led to its demise, and of the LCCC. Pearce injects colour and life into the narrative, and the illustrations are copious and interesting.This is clearly a labour of love but Pearce has managed to produce a book well worth buying. It’s not long – 82 pages in all – and if there is a criticism it is the rather slapdash and poorly formatted statistics. But that is one minor gripe which does not really tarnish the overall product.

Cricket in Meghalaya faces a multitude of hurdles. but hope for the future is embodied in the motley crew that makes up the state’s first-ever Ranji Trophy squad

Saurabh Somani20-Nov-2018If a Meghalaya player has a particularly bad outing during this Ranji Trophy 2018-19 season, you might find him teetering nervously on the edge of a cliff, about to jump off. No, literally, you might.This will not be a “leave this world behind” leap, though. It’ll be a bungee jump. Sponsored by captain Jason Lamare. Because Lamare runs an adventure-sports business in Shillong, and bungee jumping is next on the expansion agenda. And when asked if he’d let any players do it, he laughs and tells ESPNcricinfo, “Definitely. It will be a punishment – if you don’t bowl well or bat well, you’re going to jump!”This propensity to laugh is infectious and heart-warming, and it runs across the team. It’s in evidence during their training sessions, when they are on the field, when they are attending an official dinner, or when they are engaging in an impromptu game of foot-volleyball because Cyclone Gaja has stopped play in Puducherry, the venue of Meghalaya’s second Ranji Trophy match.Before the Vijay Hazare Trophy that marked Meghalaya’s entry into senior-level cricket, the team bonded by trekking up Shillong Peak in the rain. During the tournament, whose Plate Group was played across three cities in Gujarat, they watched “all the movies that released that month together” – according to Puneet Bisht, the senior-most professional.The north-east has for long been looked at as football country in cricket-crazy India. It might have stayed that way had the Lodha Committee recommendations not mandated the BCCI to include all of its states in the cricket fold. Nearly all of the cricket in Meghalaya is concentrated in the capital city of Shillong, which has a grand total of ground. But in this cricketing outpost, there might still be hope for a cricketing future.There’s the captain himself, who at 35 is one of the oldest members in the team. He played for Assam before the Meghalaya Cricket Association was formed, and this, he thought, had ended his cricket career prematurely. So did his cousin Mark Ingty, who is 42. Ingty made his first-class debut in January 2002, when fellow fast bowlers Lakhan Singh and Dippu Sangma were in kindergarten. Fun fact: the combined ages of Lakhan and Dippu fall short of Ingty’s.The BCCI has provided support staff for the team, which is a boon because it’s brought them an experienced hand as head coach, in Sanath Kumar. Like each of the other eight new teams, Meghalaya have signed up professionals too, the trio of Bisht, Yogesh Nagar and Gurinder Singh bringing skill, nous and years of experience on the domestic treadmill with them.But while necessary when the team is in its toddler phase, the professional coaches and players are peripheral to the cricketing story of the team. Sure, it’s the professionals who have done the heavy lifting for Meghalaya so far – as they have for every team in the Plate Group. But for those teams right now, the journey is far more significant than the results.Fast bowlers Chengkam Sangma (left) and Dippu Sangma travelled hundreds of kilometres to make it to the Meghalaya team•Saurabh Somani/ESPNcricinfoDippu and Chengkam Sangma’s journey to the senior team was an arduous trek, literally. Chengkam stays in Tura, home to the Garo indigenous group. It’s 323 kilometres of mountainous terrain from Shillong. For Dippu, Tura is the closest “big town” – he lives a further 100-plus kilometres away, in Baghmara.”There’s not much scope for jobs,” Chengkam says, and Dippu nods his assent. An advertisement in local papers for trials for the state team brought them together. There was one initial round of trial in Tura. Both attended, both were selected to go further, and they arrived in Shillong. Both did well once again, and found themselves part of the state team.Chengkam is one of seven siblings, Dippu counts himself among six. Both grew up on tennis-ball cricket, and neither had bowled with a leather ball until three years ago. “I found it heavy,” Dippu says of his first experience with a proper cricket ball. “I couldn’t control the swing also, and while batting, I couldn’t play the swinging ball well.”Chengkam had a similar experience, and neither had access to any coaching that would guide them. They’re now bowling at one level below international cricket, having made an unimaginable journey not just in miles but in learning the game too.”Our village is a bit backward, so there isn’t any big business. I would have done some small business if it wasn’t for cricket,” Chengkam says. His family wasn’t supportive of his foray into the game until recently. Now that he’s representing the state, they’ve relented. Other players might see dollar signs when the IPL comes calling, or in glitzy ad shoots once they make it as international cricketers. Here, the earnings as a journeyman domestic cricketer are gold dust, and a more lucrative career option than any other available.”I was studying before this, I just did my graduation. My college is not very good,” Dippu offers with disarming honesty. “If it wasn’t for cricket, I would have looked for a job, maybe in the police.”They speak Hindi with a lilting twang, but despite an obvious communication gap, there is little difficulty in making themselves understood, especially when they are asked if cricket was the best option for them. “Yes,” comes one emphatic answer. “Definitely,” comes the other.Wanlambok Nongkhlaw will go back to being a traffic policeman after the cricket season•Wanlambok NongkhlawIf any of the Meghalaya team were to break traffic rules while zipping around Shillong, they might cop a fine from Wanlambok Nongkhlaw, a traffic policeman who also happens to be the only left-arm seamer in the Ranji squad.Nongkhlaw was stationed in Shillong, and was active in the local leagues for the Meghalaya Police (MLP) team. Four MLP players were called for trials, and only Nongkhlaw made it to the state team. Once the season is done, though, Nongkhlaw will return to his job – though he might perhaps let a minor infraction or two pass if he spots a team-mate riding down the street without a helmet. “A little bit you can let go,” he says, eyes twinkling.”I have not turned from a policemen to a cricketer, I’ve turned from a cricketer into a policeman,” Nongkhlaw says. “I’ve been playing cricket since childhood, and then in 2008 I got a job with the police and I was posted with the traffic police.”There are signs that a cricketing culture could take root in Meghalaya, but plenty of work remains to be done.”The first challenge is getting enough players,” coach Sanath says. “The other thing is enough place to practice. All cricket used to take place in just one ground in Shillong. Now suddenly you have the men’s team, Under-23, Under-19, women’s team, women’s age-group teams… and with just three or four pitches, everybody has to practice. They are used to unexpected rains too. So for their weather, they definitely need a very good indoor practice facility, which they don’t have yet.”Funding is an aspect Sanath stresses on. It’s needed to build more practice facilities, to send the team for matches outside the state to accelerate their learning, and to maintain and spread the game in Meghalaya.”I feel people in the north-east love sports,” Sanath says. “And they are naturally very agile and athletic. It’s just that they haven’t been given an opportunity to get into the game yet.”Lamare concurs. “We have kids who play and we have youth interested. There is a cricket academy which has 300 students now. It might take a few years, but it is going to pick up,” he says. “Once the youth in all the north-eastern states realise there is potential in cricket, there is a career. You don’t have to work now, you can actually play cricket and earn – so interest will develop.”Meghalaya captain Jason Lamare is leading them on the field, but his first love is adventure sports•Saurabh Somani/ESPNcricinfoDespite that, Lamare almost didn’t want to come back to cricket, preferring to mess about with scuba diving, ziplining, rock climbing and the like. Father Peter, a coach at the Shillong Academy, and Ingty – who has missed the first two rounds through injury – brought him around. “My dad and Mark Ingty convinced me to play,” Lamare says. “His (Ingty’s) mother and my father are brother and sister, so we’ve literally grown up playing cricket. We are very close. He’s feeling really lousy he’s not here. We miss him.”Adventure sports is, in a way, Lamare’s first love. His company, Pioneer Adventure Tours, has been in operation from 2012 and has had visits fro Shikhar Dhawan, Unmukt Chand and the actor Kalki Koechlin, among others.When Meghalaya became an Affiliate member of the BCCI in 2008, Lamare could not play for Assam any more. And at 25, he couldn’t play for Meghalaya either, since they didn’t have a senior team.”That winter I went to Goa to become a certified scuba-diving instructor,” he says. “I worked there for two seasons till 2011. Then in 2012 I started my adventure business. Adventure has always been a part of me, so that move was always going to happen. It just happened a bit earlier because my cricket career halted in 2008. I thought that since my business is stable now, I can keep it aside for two months. January 2 is the last game, and on 4th it’s back to work!”Standing around on a cricket field for 90 overs must be dull for Lamare after that. “Definitely,” he laughs. “When things don’t go your way in the game, though, you think, ‘Man I wish I was back home diving or cliff-jumping or something.'”Meghalaya are one of the few north-east teams for whom “home” games are actually at home – and not in a borrowed stadium in a different state. For Lamare, one thing is certain as soon as they have a stretch of games at home. “As soon as we’re in Shillong, the team is immediately going,” he says. Going, that is, for adventure sports with him.When they do go, whether they’re ziplining or rappelling or camping by the riverside – it will merely be an extension of life as they’ve known it these past few months. It’s been an adventure.

With a 48-point deficit against their name, Durham have their work cut out in Division Two this year. Their captain knows it’s going to be a slog

Jon Culley11-Apr-2017It was the smell of the grass that made up his mind, Paul Collingwood said, looking out over the expanse of it that he knows best.We are taking in the lush spring green of Emirates Riverside, as Durham prepare for the start of their season and reflect on the price they have been forced to pay for overstretching themselves in their lofty ambitions to become a major international centre.It is the same expanse that Collingwood contemplated six years ago, in the wake of being told that his own international status had effectively been terminated, and wondered if he had the will to carry on. He had already retired from Test cricket, but having led England to their first global silverware in the World T20 title the year before, the decision by the selectors to hand the T20 captaincy to Stuart Broad hit him “like a juggernaut.”He thought seriously about quitting altogether. “But then I thought about things and realised there was so much I would miss massively, even the negative things like having to pick yourself up mentally when you are making low scores,” he said.”I played my first competitive cricket match when I was seven. It’s in my blood. And I know it sounds ridiculous but I thought about the smell of the grass and how much I’d miss that and I realised that I didn’t want to stop.” He still hasn’t, even on the eve, virtually, of his 41st birthday, as he prepares for his sixth season as Durham captain.”I think I’ve probably surprised a few people that I’m still here, but I still believe I have something to give. I’m still learning new things, and honestly, I’ve worked hard in the gym and I don’t think I’ve ever felt fitter.”There is the matter of motivation, too, which, despite the high probability of being marooned in Division Two of the Championship for at least two seasons, thanks to the draconian penalties imposed by the ECB in return for keeping the club alive, is still strong, if not stronger. If anything, he says, the pain of forced relegation and the challenge of starting 48 points behind everyone else, has fuelled it.

“I know it sounds ridiculous but I thought about the smell of the grass and how much I’d miss that and I realised that I didn’t want to stop”

“You can sense a real determination among everyone to get the most out of the season,” he said. “There is a real motivation. You know what it’s like when you have adversity, it brings everyone together. The response from the players has been fantastic.”Like the chairman and chief executive and everybody else grateful that the club still has a future, Collingwood has been obliged to take the punishment on the chin. He admits that the dressing room has not found it easy.”There was a lot of anger when we learned what was happening,” he said. “The thing that hurts more than anything is that we go out there year in year out and perform as well as we can and we have carried on doing that despite all the cutbacks.”From the players’ point of view, we felt like we are the ones being penalised when we didn’t really have anything to do with it. That doesn’t seem fair.”Is it too harsh? It depends which way you look at it.”From the club’s point of view, they have done everything they were asked to do [in terms of developing an international venue]. From the ECB’s point of view, they might say that a county should never get into such a financial position where they are unable to pay the players for two months, and that’s got to stop.”But it has happened. It is not the end of the world, we are still playing first-class cricket. At some point you have got to put it on the back-burner and get on with the job.”That job begins with the visit of Nottinghamshire to Chester-le-Street on Good Friday, bringing an immediate chance to measure Durham against a side expected to be among the front runners in Division Two, and already with a win under their belt.”A good start would be very useful, especially against a good team like Notts,” Collingwood said. “On paper you are looking at pretty much an international side, so to get off to a good start against them would give us some momentum and be great for confidence.”But if we are being honest we are going to need everything to go our way if we are to overcome the 48 points.”I heard what the chairman [Ian Botham] said about us being the best side and I love Beefy’s optimism, but I know county cricket and we’re not going to roll teams over. There is a lot of talent in Division Two and we have to respect that.Graham Onions and Chris Rushworth spearhead Durham’s attack•PA Photos”And losing Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick – that’s pretty much 3000 runs out of the dressing room.”We’ve got the addition of an overseas player this year, which we haven’t had too many times in the past. Hopefully he will bring a lot of runs at the top of the order.”I am confident that we will take 20 wickets. Our bowling attack is very strong. We have a great blend, seasoned professionals such as Graham Onions and Chris Rushworth and some fantastic up-and-coming bowlers as well. In addition, we will have Woody [Mark Wood] at the start.”Although 48 points is a lot of points you can’t write us off completely. It will need two or three players to have the season of their lives but something special could happen.”It could be an 18-year-old having that exceptional season, it could be a 40-year-old like me.”Which brings the conversation back to Collingwood’s future. The body remains willing, the appetite sharp. But for how much longer? Will the grass still smell sweet this time next year?”I’m just taking it year by year, and at the end of each season we review where we are. I’ve got things to consider. I don’t want to be a player who outstays his welcome. I have to look at the fact that I’m on a decent wage and as the wages bill comes under pressure I will have to look at whether I’m blocking the way for a couple of younger players joining the squad.”I’d like to think I have something to give in international cricket in terms of coaching, and I’m ridiculously lucky in that I have been able to spend 55 days last year and 60 days this winter with England, while still playing county cricket in the summer.”I think I’ll know when it’s time to go and I’ll be honest about it.”But if I still feel I am pushing this team forward, still contributing in the dressing room, still scoring runs, taking wickets and taking catches – if I’m doing all those things, I want to continue.”

The 21-year-old quick has been fast-tracked into the national set-up, vindicating his decision to let go of AFL ambitions and pursue his cricketing dreams instead

Shashank Kishore in Bengaluru24-Aug-2018In 2012, a 15-year old Jhye Richardson fancied a career in the Australian Football League (AFL). Growing up in Perth, he wanted to play for the Fremantle Dockers. He took steps towards his first goal when he was picked for East Fremantle, a development squad of the Dockers that plays in the Western Australia competition, below the national level. But cricket caught his attention before he could take the next step.He didn’t live too far from the WACA, and the generous dose of cricket stories he listened to helped him make his mind up to trade football boots for cricket spikes. It wasn’t surprising that he chose to become a fast bowler. Six years on, it’s a decision he’s thankful for, having already played four ODIs and seven T20Is for the national team. Now, he’s on Australia A’s tour of India, trying to strengthen his case for becoming an all-format regular.”I didn’t watch a lot of cricket when I was younger, but the things that stood out were stories of Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee bowling bouncers at WACA,” Richardson says. “As a fast bowler, when you hear stories of how those guys hit sightscreens one-bounce, that’s just ridiculous. It’s awesome; I wish I could have been there to see that.”The one bowler he did see from close quarters was Mitchell Johnson, whose ‘Summer of 2013’ was as close as it got to what Richardson missed watching. Johnson, who was with the Perth Scorchers, took a special interest in Richardson after watching him bowl in a couple of net sessions. He took time out to chat with the rookie and even had good words to write in a newspaper column.”He played so much international cricket and had such a good name behind himself, so to hear good things from someone like him automatically gives you the confidence,” Richardson says. “I’d like to think I have a relatively good relationship with him now, just being able to learn off him at Scorchers, he’s been amazing. Just having him around the group, he’s a jokester, always good to have. He’s an awesome guy. Reading his thoughts on me then did make me feel good inside.”Johnson’s praise was particularly encouraging because all Richardson kept hearing when he switched to cricket was why he wasn’t cut out to be a fast bowler. At 178 cm and 72 kg, many said he didn’t have a typical “fast bowler’s frame”. Richardson didn’t let the naysayers dissuade him, but is honest enough to admit he is “a little surprised” at his fast-tracking.

“I know one thing that Justin Langer has brought in already is ensuring that you need to do what the team needs for this ball, this situation. He often says, ‘Your next ball is the most important thing in your life.’ That’s what me and the other guys are concentrating on.”Jhye Richardson

Richardson is a product of the Fremantle Club in Perth, which has produced a number of Australia players, most recently the Marsh brothers, Shaun and Mitchell. It’s a club he is emotionally attached to.”That’s a great club, I mean we have so many Australian representatives go through that club,” he says. “We’ve got the Marsh brothers, guys like Ashton Turner, and every time I get to play club cricket, it’s awesome. Often those guys have played there. The environment is obviously a little more relaxed than national cricket, so you can take a step back, take a breath and have casual conversations that you may not normally get to do in the national squad.”I think that’s probably the main factor, of why I guess why I’ve probably exceeded people’s expectations and my expectations coming up, because I think it has been so fast-tracked. So just being able to learn off those guys from such an early age has helped.”Richardson’s maiden international tour to South Africa earlier this year was overshadowed by the ball-tampering fiasco. Then, in England, Australia were whitewashed in the ODIs – experiences that could scar even seasoned cricketers. For Richardson, though, these were life lessons he accepted and dealt with calmly.”I played football when I was much younger and before cricket,” he says. “The thing I learnt from football from an early age is being around the team environment, learning not to be selfish around the team, learning to put the team first, and what the team needs. Learning that from a young age has definitely helped me to really engage within the team.”This is Richardson’s first tour of India, and in the first one-dayer that his team got to play in, he singed India A’s top order with three wickets in a searing new-ball burst. He says it was all down to the lessons he’s picked up by chatting with senior players and watching his own team-mates prepare.”For me, it’s about being adaptable,” he says. “I know I’ve fallen into the trap in the last few years of trying to blow the batsmen into the water. You can’t just bowl fast and get away with it, you’ve to be really on the spot. For me moving forward, especially over the last few years, especially after getting the national call-up, that has been a major learning experience for me. If the wickets are going to be slow and low, that’s the way to get the pressure on.”A lot of the other guys I speak to to often say patience is the key in India. Wickets aren’t probably good for pace bowlers, so I think it’s about just not getting over-greedy and then staying patient with the bowling, hitting the top of off as much as you can and putting pressure on the batsmen.”Richardson knows how important this tour is if he wants to earn a national call-up for the tour of the UAE against Pakistan in October, but he’s determined to not get ahead of himself. “There’s a lot of hype on this tour about how important it is. If guys get carried away thinking about the future, then we’re not going to perform in the present,” he says.”For now in this group, we’ve talked about trying to stay as level-headed as possible and not thinking to the future. I know one thing that Justin Langer has brought in already [as the Australia coach] is ensuring that you need to do what the team needs for this ball, this situation. He often says, ‘Your next ball is the most important thing in your life.’ That’s what me and the other guys are concentrating on.”

Of course, England fans will feel good – they had not won a knock-out game in 27 years, but what exactly is this New England all about?

George Dobell at Edgbaston11-Jul-2019Watching England hasn’t always been like this.For many years, watching them in World Cups has been an experience typified by pain and disappointment. Think of The Oval in 1999, when England made just 103 in pursuit of South Africa’s 225. Or Bridgetown in 2007, when England’s paltry 154 was overhauled for the loss of just one wicket. Or Wellington in 2015, when New Zealand galloped to victory in just 74 balls before the floodlights required turning on. Before this game, England hadn’t won a World Cup knock-out match for 27 years. And they hadn’t won one at home in 40 years. It felt, until this year, as if they had lost almost every big game or crucial passage of play in the tournament this century. Jeez, England supporters have earned this moment.But this England side is different. This England side – New England, as they should probably be known – would appear to relish those key moments and crucial passages of play. Instead of shrinking on the biggest stage like so many of their predecessors, this team has the skill and the confidence to seize the day.Take the start of England’s reply here. There was a time, not so long ago, when confronted by a modest target like this, Old England’s openers would have poked and prodded their way through the first few overs. The tension would have built in the face of their timidity. The bowling team’s confidence would have grown, with men around the bat and scoreboard pressure mounting. In time – and it often wasn’t that much time – Old England would have buckled.ALSO READ: The importance of Bairstow and RoyNot anymore. A sensibly measured start – New England scored six from their first three overs – gave way to an increasingly assured chase. And that, in turn, gave way to a massacre. At one stage, New England plundered 56 runs in four overs with the cream of Australia’s bowling bearing the brunt of the punishment. Twice Mitchell Starc, one of the great white-ball bowlers in the history of the format, was hit out of the attack and, after five overs, he had conceded 50 runs. Nathan Lyon, who tortured and mocked England in Australia, saw his first ball thumped back over his head for six despite the presence of a long-on and, after four overs, had conceded 36. England weren’t treating the dangermen with respect; they were hunting them down and inflicting revenge attacks.It goes without saying that the Jonny Bairstow-Jason Roy partnership has been at the heart of England’s progress in this campaign. They have now recorded four century-stands in succession – no partnership has ever previously made more than three in a single tournament – and 11 in 32 ODIs together. These are extraordinary figures even before we recognise they have the highest strike-rates of opening batsmen with more than 1,000 ODI runs in history.But bald statistics don’t fully reflect their influence. For the manner in which Bairstow and Roy play – the way they dominate against even the best bowlers – spreads confidence through the England dressing room, drains confidence from the opposition’s and puts them well ahead of any projected target. Against both India and New Zealand, they made pitches on which every other player struggled for their timing look perfect for batting. Long before their partnership was broken here Australia looked beaten and England had a foot in the final.

It is asking a great deal of a team to inspire a new generation of supporters on the back of just one game. But if any side could do it, it is, perhaps, this New England

But while this team may be defined by its aggressive batting, this was a match defined by the bowling in the first half-hour. So well did Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer harness the conditions that, within 37 deliveries, Australia were three down and England had a grip on the match they were never to relent.Maybe this was a sign of New England, too. Old England, all too often, would have started cautiously. They would have eased into the game, bowled just back of a length to avoid being driven and looked to keep the score below 40 or so in those opening overs. That is, by and large, the story of England’s bowling in the 2015 World Cup.Again, not anymore. New England seized the moment. Despite losing the toss, they recognised that if this surface was to offer anything, it would be in the first few overs before the last of the overnight dew disappeared. So instead of easing their way into the day, instead of playing it safe and looking for an economical start, they went for the throat.Woakes is something of an antihero in this England side. He doesn’t bowl at 90 mph – well not often, anyway – he doesn’t smack the ball into the stands – well not often, anyway – and he doesn’t show any interest in living out his life on social media. But he is a fine cricketer who, given any help from the surface, can trouble the best. Here he had David Warner fencing at one that rose on him off the seam, before bowling Peter Handscomb with a delivery that nipped back through a gate so large you could nickname it Brandenburg. It was a spell that would have pleased James Anderson with a red ball. And that’s high praise.Archer, meanwhile, is well on his way to stardom. He has played only 13 ODIs but has already taken more wickets (19) in a World Cup campaign than any England bowler has previously managed. Like Glenn McGrath, he bowls so straight and from so close to the stumps that he needs to only gain a fraction of movement to trouble batsmen. And unlike McGrath, he has a change of pace – and extremes of pace – without an obvious change of action. The delivery he produced to dismiss Aaron Finch – quick, accurate and nipping in – was perfect to exploit the weakness of a man who is prone, early in his innings, to falling over a little. The delivery he produced later to dismiss Glenn Maxwell, a knuckle ball that bamboozled the batsmen and left him looking accusingly at the blameless pitch, was a thing of great skill and beauty. In between, Alex Carey was struck a fearsome blow on the helmet. It has been a long, long time since England had a bowler with the range of options – the pace, hostility, skills and intelligence – of Archer.”They’ve bowlers who hit the seam,” Finch said afterwards. “If there’s anything in the wicket, they will get it out of it. Woakes puts it in the right area time and time again. Archer is getting better and better as he plays more international cricket. In this game, the damage was done with the ball. The game was definitely lost in that first 10 overs.”This early movement shouldn’t be a total surprise. For many years the domestic knock-out tournament – the NatWest Trophy or Gillette Cup – was dominated by its early (10.30am) starts: teams winning the toss would inevitably insert the opposition and invariably take several wickets in the first few overs when there was still a little moisture in the pitch from overnight dew. Starting at 10.30am – albeit slightly later in the season – was seen a risking the integrity of the competition. There is a reason – and a very good one – that ODIs in England generally do not start before 11am.But you still have to exploit that help. At Lord’s England – and Archer and Mark Wood, in particular – failed to use more helpful conditions by bowling too short. Here they showed they had learned from those errors and produced spells that defined the game. Even without eye-catching contributions from Ben Stokes or Jos Buttler, this was as complete a performance as England have produced in the tournament. To have played so well against the old enemy in a high-profile knock-out match bodes well for their prospects in the final.How significant is it that the game will be shown free-to-air in the UK? Well, there’s much to like in this England side. The audacity, the skill, the bravado and the smiles. It is asking a great deal of a team to inspire a new generation of supporters on the back of just one game. But if any side could do it, it is, perhaps, this New England.