Showing posts with label Graeme Swann. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Graeme Swann. Show all posts
England narrowly avoided embarrassment against the unfancied Netherlands in their opening World Cup game in Nagpur with a six-wicket win.
A bowling and fielding performance which descended into farce coupled with a superb century from Ryan ten Doeschate left England chasing a difficult target of 293 runs to secure victory.
Opening pair Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen put on a century partnership as they set about the total, and though wickets fell at inopportune times, England eked out a victory in the penultimate over.
The batsmen were given a task far bigger than they would have expected on a lifeless pitch after the Dutch had won the toss and elected to bowl.
A confident opening from Dutch duo Alexei Kervezee and Wesley Barresi got the Dutch off to a bright start, with Barresi crashing six boundaries in a 25-ball 29.
When the duo fell - Kervezee to a looped catch to wicketkeeper Matt Prior and Barresi to a sharp stumping as England introduced the spin of Graeme Swann - Tom Cooper and Ten Doeschate set about forming an excellent partnership.
Cooper anchored as England took pace off the ball, with none of their pacemen proving particularly effective.
Ten Doeschate, meanwhile, settled into excellent rhythm, bringing up his half-century after a getting a life when an extraordinary mix-up between Pietersen and James Anderson saw neither fielder try to catch an eminently reachable shot off Swann's bowling.
Cooper fell just short of his fifty, but Ten Doeschate persevered and plundered runs as the quicks bowled too short.
Inventive cameos from Tom de Grooth and Peter Borren gave the Netherlands innings renewed momentum as Ten Doeschate blazed his way to an impressive ton.
England's fielding meanwhile, fell apart, with the worst display for some months including simple chances dropped by the likes of Swann, and a farcical no-ball denying Stuart Broad the wicket of Borren as it transpired that England did not have three fielders in the infield, as the laws of the game required.
A total of 292 for the loss of six wickets was by some way the Netherlands' best display against an established cricketing nation at the 50-over World Cup, and made for a tricky chase.
Pietersen and Strauss made a bright reply, but Pietersen, who was tackling the role of opener in one-day internationals for the first time, found himself bogged down all of a sudden against the medium-pace attack and eventually pushed a simple catch to Borren off the bowling of left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar.
Jonathan Trott batted patiently with Strauss, and again with Ian Bell as the captain fell to a pull for an 83-ball 88.
But Trott and then Bell succumbed in the last 10 overs to Ten Doeschate - who backed up his innings with two wickets for 47 runs with the ball - to set up a tense finale.
Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara started slowly, but their class told as the game entered its final stages, and Bopara punished Bernard Loots in the penultimate over with 16 runs from four balls to take England to victory.
There was relief all-round to have avoided another upset at the hands of the side who defeated them at Lord's in the 2009 World Twenty20 at Lord's, but plenty to address after a performance which leaves them ill-prepared for facing tournament favourites India on Sunday.
Move aside the Glenn McGraths and Muttiah Muralitharans, the only bowler who has tested Sachin Tendulkar to an extent that the Indian batting icon "didn't know what to do" while facing him was stunningly the late Hansie Cronje!
The ex-South African captain, who died in a plane crash after being banned for match-fixing, was the one man Tendulkar found hard to deal with and bowling technique had nothing to do with it.
"Honestly. I got out to Hansie more than anyone. When we played South Africa he always got me out more than Allan Donald or Shaun Pollock. It wasn't that I couldn't pick him - it's just that the ball seemed to go straight to a fielder," Tendulkar told 'The Guardian'.
Cronje, primarily a middle-order batsman, was efficient with his medium pace fetching 43 wickets in 68 Tests and 114 ODI wickets in 188 matches before his spectacular fall from grace owing to the 2000 match-fixing scandal in which he was the prime accused. He died in a plane crash in 2002.
Tendulkar said facing Cronje was always a tricky proposition for him.
"I was going great guns in Durban one year and played some big shots against Donald and Pollock. Hansie came on and I flicked his first ball straight to leg-slip. I never knew what to do with him," he said.
Tendulkar once again named McGrath as the best fast bowler he ever faced and despite dominating Shane Warne, the Indian icon considered the Aussie to be the best spinner he came across.
"I did OK against him (McGrath). But, among the spinners, Warne at his best was still something special," he said.
The 37-year-old batsman, who has spent over 20 years in international cricket, is often compared to Sir Don Bradman and Tendulkar recalled some special moments he spent with the late Australian legend.
"We went to see him on his 90th birthday. It was very special. We were talking about averages and I said, 'Sir Don, if you were playing today, what would you have averaged?' And he said, '70 - probably.' I asked, 'Why 70 and not your actual average of 99?' Bradman said, 'Come on, an average of 70 is not bad for a 90-year-old man.'
"This is what I tell my son. Whether you're an 11-year-old boy or Don Bradman we should never forget it's just a game we can all enjoy."
His passion for the sport is well-documented and Tendulkar said even after spending over two decades in the international arena, he tries to re-invent himself.
"I'm really focusing now on how I can get to the next level as a batsman. How can I get even more competitive? How can I get even more consistent? How can I get better?, Tendulkar pointed out.
The diminutive batsman said going past the 14,000 runs mark earlier this year was one of the big moments of his career but he never lets the thoughts of achieving milestones overshadow what is actually required of him in a match situation.
"It was a big moment...But I was most aware of the match situation," said the right-hander who had arrived at the wicket with India 38 for two in reply to Australia's first innings of 478.
"And then it flashed on the big screen that I needed eight runs to reach 14,000. Every run I scored was cheered. But when I needed two I hit a boundary. I was happy but I thought, 'right, now we can get back to focusing on cricket', because everyone had become too worried about those eight runs. It had taken away my focus."
"Yes. Obviously, going past Brian Lara was something special. But I'm even happier now and hopefully it continues."
Talking about the changing face of the game, Tendulkar said Australia are in decline after retirements of their heavyweights.
"To not have (Matthew) Hayden, (Justin) Langer, ( Adam) Gilchrist, (Glenn) McGrath, (Shane) Warne - it's a big loss. They still have some world-class players but their batting revolves around (Ricky) Ponting. When you want to create a vacuum in their batting you need to get Ponting," he said.
Tendulkar feels given Australia's loss of aura, England are serious contenders to lift the Ashes this time.
"I think England have a better chance. I favour them slightly. I would say (Eoin) Morgan could be the key performer in the Ashes. Morgan and (Graeme) Swann," he said.
"He (Morgan) is a very solid player who can control the pace of his innings. He can become a really good Test batsman even though he has only played a few Tests so far. After Morgan you've got the experience of (Andrew) Strauss, (Paul) Collingwood and Pietersen. They're a really well-balanced side and this is a great opportunity for England," he added.
India is one of the co-hosts of next year's World Cup and Tendulkar said the pressure would be of an altogether different level.
"It's going to be massive. Everyone in India is looking forward to a mega tournament and although people haven't started talking yet about 1983 (the last time India won the World Cup) it will happen soon. But, given our recent form, people have a right to be excited and have extremely high hopes," he said.
