England jump-start World Cup campaign with dramatic draw
Tuesday, March 01, 2011 : ODI
Andrew Strauss led the way for his side as England secured a dramatic draw against host nation India. The home side were clear betting favourites with big free bet, but England fought back after a sub-standard bowling performance to secure a morale-boosting draw.
Set a colossal 338 after a combination of excellent batting and below-par England bowling, Strauss embodied the true definition of a captain’s knock as he led the charge for his side.
The match still had further twists to take after Strauss (158) and Ian Bell (69) put on a partnership of 170 to leave England needing roughly a run a ball going into the final ten overs. But Bell skied a catch, before Strauss was caught in front of his stumps in successive balls, leaving Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior the task of leading England home.
A quick succession of wickets left Graeme Swann and Ajmal Shahzad needing 29 runs from the final two overs. A huge Swann six was replicated by Shahzad as England rallied late, and looked in with a chance of securing the victory they looked to be cruising towards. With two runs needed off the final ball in a tense finish, Swann managed to find a fielder and settled for a single to bring the sides level.
Doubts remained over England’s one-day form after their 6-1 series defeat at the hands of Australia and the cumbersome manner of their victory over the Netherlands in their opening match, but an impressive batting performance which included an immaculate century from Strauss, means England can now look to get their tournament under in earnest.
If they are to compete they must address their bowling problems. The 297 they conceded against the Netherlands and the large score India managed to accumulate show their struggles on the sub-continent pitches. Jimmy Anderson, so often the danger man in the test series against Australia, and the spear-head of England’s attack struggled badly and conceded 91 runs for a single wicket – although it was the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, who batted immaculately to secure hi 98th international century in all forms of the game – meaning he us currently the most expensive bowler in the tournament following his similar struggles against the Netherlands.
Their line-up also raised a few doubts which must be addressed. The inclusion of Matt Prior shows no signs of paying off, while the call-up of Michael Yardy at the expense of Ravi Bopara left England with a rather long looking tail. The inclusion of Yardy was a horses-for-courses pick, but when England lost a quick succession of wickets after the Strauss/Bell partnership, the problems with a five man bowling attack became apparent as wickets continued to tumble.
But, considering the partisan nature of the crowd and the quality of the opposition, Strauss and coach Andy Flower will look back on a successful day at the office. Kevin Pietersen opening the batting looks close to bearing fruit, while both will be pleased with the character shown to battle back once they had looked to have blown their chance to take the game. England, far from favourites with bigfreebet, are beginning to shift into gear. What they are capable of in this tournament, even they will be incapable of telling.
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