Vaughan's Heroes

'Bout Time Freddie Fired ?

2007-03-28T20:25:00.000Z

Freddie Flintoff has long been regarded as England's talisman and certainly if the boys are to progress past the Super Eights, then they will need Freddie firing on all cylinders.

My thoughts for a while have been though, that Freddie has underperformed with the bat in the major one-day competitions for England. So, let's take a look shall we ?

In all ODIs Flintoff has played 117 matches and scored 2984 at a rate of 33.15. He's also taken 124 wickets at an average of 26.41. His bowling compares favourably with the likes of Jacques Kallis, Andrew Symonds and others. In fact, it even stands up against the great Ian Botham, Freddie averaging 26 with the ball in ODIs verses Botham's 28. However in the batting stakes, Jacques Kallis averages 45.05, Andrew Symonds 38.61, Chris Gayle 38.37, whilst Flintoff manages just 33.15. His bowling possibly makes up for the batting but what about in World Cups ? In 12 World Cup matches for England, Flintoff has scored just 171 runs, at an average of 21.37, whilst his bowling in World Cups has been fractionally better than his bowling overall.

Flintoff had a reasonable Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia, registering two 40's and a 70, but he's yet to make a contribution in this World Cup, missing out in the warm-up matches, making a duck against New Zealand before missing the Canadian match and not being required to bat against Kenya.

When Flintoff has fired with the bat it has tended to be in sporadic periods. England will have to hope that there is one of those periods just around the corner otherwise England's tail is going to need to wag to make up for their mis-firing all-rounder.

One Horse Race ?

2007-03-28T20:22:00.000Z

Matthew Hayden's brutal 158 against West Indies means that he has now scored 348 runs in this World Cup already, they have come off just 318 balls and include no less than 10 sixes.

It's an extraordinary achievement for a man who might have thought his One-Day career was finished less than 6 months ago when Australia preferred Shane Watson at the top of the order. Hayden currently ranks at 19 in the ICC One-Day Batting stats. Having seemingly reached his peak early in 2003, when he was the no. 1 rated One-Day batsman, Hayden's ranking has fallen steadily until mid 2006.

This Aussie "old-guard" was supposed to over-the-hill when England visited them down-under at the end of last-year, but right now they look as focussed and hungry as a bunch of 20-somethings with a point to prove.

The confidence and the intensity is what sets Australia apart and this is evident in none more so than Matthew Hayden right now. Hayden's confidence in himself has always been high, asking before his maiden first-class innings whether anyone had ever scored 200 on debut... and then going out and hitting 149. He's had his fair share of critics, mainly concerning his limited repatoire of shots for the one-day arena. This is very true....
right and the moment he just bashes it back over the bowlers head for six !!

Mental strength has won through and allowed physical strength to have it's dazzling moment in the spotlight.

This has been the story of all the Aussie mainstays, mental strength.
Their belief in themselves and their team-mates is unshakable. I was one of those who wondered if this World Cup was one too many, especially after losing so disappointingly in New Zealand...... no you have to wonder whether this World Cup is yet ENOUGH !!

Freddie vs Skip

2007-03-26T20:48:00.001Z

All the pre-match talk from the England team was how a tough week had brought the team together and how they were more up for the matches than they had ever been. The talk from outside commentators was somewhat different. Michael Atherton described a "Spicy" net session where Andrew Flintoff had repeatedly peppered Michael Vaughan with short balls and there was speculation about whether it was Vaughan or Fletcher who took the decision to strip Flintoff of the vice-captaincy.

On the pitch the performance was work-man like, with the exception of Pietersen, who looked as focussed and intent as I have seen him. Freddie performed, he always will, however, his body language didn't suggest a man that was fully motivated and he almost forgot to appeal for one LBW, such was the malais that seems to hang over him still.

Michael Vaughan has a history of personality clashes. Stating that "It would be a long time before he plays for England again" after Chris Read was dropped from the side having done little wrong in his first few performances. There are those who feel that Andrew Caddick's early departure from the side was at least partly due to Michael Vaughan and the failure of England to recall Robert Key after he set the world alight with his first stint in the side, suggested a captain (then batting at No. 4 because of a strong top 3) who didn't want to risk his place. At the weekend the decision to only bowl Ravi Bopara for 1 over was strange in the extreme. I saw no sign of an injury and barr a no-ball which went four, it was a pretty decent over.

If it is the case that Vaughan instigated the stripping of the vice-captaincy from Freddie then the England management face an uphill battle to get the team spirit back. Andrew Flintoff earnt deep respect from his fellow players during his tortuous stint as captain and Vaughan has seemingly struggled to get his big guns passionate about playing for him. Realistically there can be no change of captain before the end of the World Cup, so if England are to progress further in this tournament then Duncan Fletcher and co. need to doing some relationship building between Freddie and his skipper pretty quickly..... otherwise one more net session could decide it !!

Awesome Australia

2007-03-26T20:47:00.000Z

Matthew Hayden recorded the fastest ever World Cup hundred, off just 66 balls, including 14 fours and 4 sixes, as Australia raced out of the blocks against South Africa. In fact, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist were the joint SLOWEST scorers for the Australians, at a strike rate of 100 !

Shaun Pollock's pre-match preparation for South Africas first Super-Eights match on Wednesday may include counselling for reocurring nightmares, as he took the brunt of the brutal assault.

More worrying for the rest of the cricketing world was Ricky Ponting's post match comment that this was just another game. What happens when they get really fired up then ??!!

For me this performance makes Australia very strong favourites to retain the World Cup, though Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa all remain weel in the hunt. What of England ? Though I would dearly love to see the boys lifting that trophy, I saw nothing in the win against Kenya to suggest that we are ready to compete with the big boys.

A Lack of Leadership ?

2007-03-23T21:06:00.000Z

Paul Collingwood has said that he would be happy to step up to the mantleas the England vice-captain. When you think about it, it would probablyhave to be Collingwood, despite his lack of any captaincy experience.

Paul Nixon has quite a bit of experience at county level (far more than he hashair!) but is a newbie to the International scene and it would beshort-sighted even for England to name a vice-captain who won't be playingpast the World Cup. Other than that the England team is one of youth and inexperience. Michael Vaughan is undoubtedly a good captain, but the cracks were showing against New Zealand. The bowling changes were uninspirational, the field settings suggested no form of organised gameplan and Vaughan just didn't get that fire-in-the-belly passion from his big guns. With a lack-luster performance against Canada following that, are England in need of a few new ideas ?

If so, the obvious place for them to come from is Andrew Strauss. Strauss has been vaunghted as future England captain for some time now and certainly seems to have the character and attitude to take the job on.....but he's not even on the field !! Ed Joyce is preferred (though on paper and even on recent performances I cannot see how Ed Joyce keeps out a world-class batsman and possible future England captain). So, on the field it has be Flintoff that Vaughan turns to at those crucial moments.

Worringly the England management have just slapped Flintoff across the wrists and made him stand in the corner like a naughty child. His position of authority among the players must have been severley dented and having punished him for his "lack of professionalism", can Vaughan be seen to turn to him for advice at the weekend ?

England's potential saviour, unsurprisingly, is KP. Should KP stride out to the middle and batter Kenya to all corners, then the bouyant spirit inthe England dressing room will likely return, the late-night drinking antics will be forgotten and England can move forwards into the Super-Eights a rejuvenated side. Should we just scrape through, though, there are an awful lot of cracks tobe papered over in the England set-up and the likes of Australia, South Africa and West Indies will be lining up to open them up.

Woolmer's Death is Murder

2007-03-23T20:57:00.000Z

It has been revealed today that the Jamaican police are now treating Bob Woolmer's death as murder. This event is tragedic in the extreme and issure to rock the world of cricket to its roots. Sorting through the conspiracy theories and misinformation is a major task, so I am not going to even attempt it.

Cricinfo have the full Police Statement.

Should the World Cup go on ?
It is a question which has been raised by players, fans and commentators.In my opinion it MUST go on. To shelve cricket's showpiece would be an insult to Bob Woolmer's memory. Bob Woolmer was passionate about the sport and sure as hellfire wouldn't want to see the World Cup stopped for ANYTHING. I feel now that it would be appropriate if South Africa ended up winning the tournament and whoever the final victors are, it is sure to bean emotionally charged journey from here on in. Cricinfo have, as always, done a marvellous job of putting together an obituary to Bob Woolmer, so rather than post my own, pale immitation,please take a moment to honour the memory of a great man who will be sadlymissed by cricket lovers everywhere.

Bob Woolmer Obituary.

Who Will Win The World Cup ?

2007-03-23T05:38:00.000Z

Who do YOU think will win the Cricket World Cup ?

Obvioudly it IS going to be Michael Vaughan's mighty blue army, with Pietersen and Flintoff combining for a 200-run stand in less than 20 overs in the final.

However, excluding the mighty England, I'm leaning more and more strongly towards South Africa. They've an aging side, but players like Smith and Gibbs just seem to play better and better and with Pollock and other you always know you'll get a solid performance.

Add your comment to this post and let us know who you think will win the World Cup.

Mett The Mighty Minnows

2007-03-22T21:27:00.000Z

Ireland alerted people to their upset potential in their warm-up match withSouth Africa. Although they ultimately lost the match, by bowling South Africa out for under 200 and making over 150 in response they serve notice of their intentions.

It prompted me to look a little closer at the minnowsin green (and what a ghastly green it is, looks much better on shamrocksthan cricket flannels) and even to back them to beat Zimbabwe and Pakistanin our office World Cup prediction competition (sadly I had Pakistan tobeat West Indies and India to beat Bangladesh in that same competition,undoing my good work). So I thought we'd take a look at the team more used to being bashed by ourcounty sides than gunning down the International elite.

What do the Irish say about themselves ?
"Our fielding is excellent, we have a long batting line-up and the bowling's very good when we get it right. But if you ask me what our greatest strength is, it's the team spirit." - Adrian Birrell talks about his side, and no, he wasn't referring to Guinness or Bushmills. At least, we think not.
(Quote from www.cricinfo.com)

Irish cricket has developed through the increased amount of cricket beingput on for the Associate nations to compete in. Last year they won theIntercontinental Trophy, the ICCs first-class competition for non-testplaying nations. The competition was first staged in 2004/5. Ireland wonthe competition in 2005/6, defeating Kenya in the final, and face Canada inthe final of the 2006/7 competition (date tba). In the run-up to the WorldCup the Irish honed their skills at the World Cricket League (a competitionbetween the six leading Associate nations in Nairobi.

In qualifying for the World Cup, Ed Joyce was their top scorer with 399runs in 5 games. Yes, that's the Ed Joyce who now opens for England(flippin' shame he didn't stay playing for Ireland !!). How he could playfor one nation in qualifying and another in the finals only the ICC canknow. The ICC's qualification criteria for players has come under furtherscruntiny with the numbers of Australian and South Africans pros in theIrish ranks. Ireland are lead by Trent Johnson, born in New South Wales, Australia andlearnt his cricket playing for New South Wales. Johnson's passion inplaying for "his country" cannot, though, be questioned. His dogged beliefthat Ireland are more than just cannon-fodder for the big boys and hisnever-say-die attitude on the pitch have been a major factor in forging aside full of self-belief and cast-iron determination.

Trent Johnson's Cricinfo player profile

One of their real heroes in their win over Pakistan IS a home-grown lad.From Dublin, Niall O'Brien was previously understudy to Geraint Jones atKent, but stepped out of any shadows with a back to the wall, dogged,determined 72 to keep out the Pakistan seamers and take Ireland to withinsight of the finishing line before an uncharacteristic rush of blood meantthat his brother, Kevin O'Brien, Irelan's bustling all-rounder who remindsme of a young Freddie Flintoff (though I have no reports on his pedaloeabilities) was left to finish the job.

Niall O'Brien's Player Profile
Kevin O'Brien's Player Profile

Ireland's team spirit is really the stand-out factor in why the fulltest-playing nations should be weary of this Guiness swilling bull-dog witha quiet growl but a nasty bite. They play for each other and will fightdown to the last ball.

Ultimately they have already achieved all that they will at this World Cupas qualification past the super eights is one fairy-tale too far. However,there are 6 super eight games before the tournament ends for them. Timefor one more major upset and another chance for Irish eyes to smile ?

England Consider Cryogenic Storage

2007-03-21T20:05:00.000Z

Following the "Fredaloe Affair" and Michael Vaughan's latest injury scare, the England management are turning to space-age technology in a bid to stave off further problems. Following Saturday's match against Kenya, instead of returning to their hotel rooms, Freddie Flintoff and Michael Vaughan will be frozen in CryoGenic storage until needed again. Duncan Fletcher commented, "It removes a big headache for the England management, we will have a fit team for the next game and the players will be fully rested...... it does make pre-match planning a little difficult, though."

A transcript of a conversation between two Caribbean groundsmen shortly before Michael Vaughan's latest injury scare has come to light :

Groundsman A : "Ya know, maybe we shuld do someting about da 'ole in da ground, man, somebody gonna get hurt."
Groundsman B : "No worries, man, I got it covered. I got dis sign"
Groundsman A (Reading Sign) : "NO RUNNING ON PITCH", "Ya man, dat will do it"

Freddie Solves FEC Riddle

2007-03-21T05:50:00.000Z

Well, well, I'm away from it for a couple of days and it all kicks off.

It really rocked me when I heard the news of the passing of Bob Woolmer. I've always seen him as a man of great integrity as well as complete commitment to the game. I will post a separate comment as a small tribute to a "Fine human being" as Inzi described him.

Well done to the Irish, especially to Niall O'Brien, fantastically gutsy cricket. Our boys could learn a thing or two about playing with that "never say die" attitude. Let's hope that Vaughan had them watching tapes of it because I thought the Irish performance proved that a team can achieve anything if they put their minds to it, their hearts and souls into it and they really believe in it. So, 6 more games for the Irish in the Super Eights (assuming that Pakistan beat Zimbabwe, but with the events of the weekend Pakistan certainly are not short of motivation to come out and play at their very best), though I doubt they will chalk up another win, they can earn the respect of the cricketing world and really raise the profile of the game in Ireland.

Freddie was out on the beers again.... nothing new. It rather upset Mr Fletcher but Mr Vaughan must be feeling somewhat relieved that he's been given a way out of the "Freddie's England vice-captain, but we really want Strauss to be FEC (future England captain) but the public are backing Freddie" dilema.

There is a real issue about safety when players go out drinking. Freddie insists he was never in danger, but a drunken dip in the sea cannot be the best physical preparation for a game of cricket. Lads will be lads, but Fletcher needs to assign a senior member of the party (therein lies the problem, Vaughan can't be out drinking with the lads, even as a chaperone and Nixon was one of the culprits !) to watch over the lads when they feel the need to let off some steam.

Sadly it appears that Jamie Dalrymple is NOT a big drinker, so he did not fall over and sprain his bowling wrist. Instead he played against Canada, bowling 3 overs for 21. If even the minnows are going to batter him to all parts, surely England will see sense and pick Ravi Bopara, who scored 29 off 30 balls and picked up two wickets. Bopara is an exciting prospect and a young cricketer who is improving with every game (I'm sure that Dalrymple is getting WORSE !).

Michael Vaughan has again rung the injury alert bells by tripping over a pot hole at the ground in practice. It raises two questions :
1) How come there are great pot holes in the cricket pitch ?!!
2) When are England going to invest in Cryogenic freezing. Vaughan and Freddie could go into "storage" between games, meaning no injury or drinking episodes to worry about !

Played Off The Park

2007-03-19T06:36:00.000Z

I wish I could write "We waz robbed !" or how the boys were just plain unlucky, but Friday was, sadly, very painful to watch.

We simply didn't get enough runs with the bat, but all round New Zealand were the far better team. Their running between the wickets was particularly good and our boys simply had no answer to it.

Freddie didn't look himself, very tame with the ball and the nody language was dour. Perhaps Freddie's impromptue dip in the sea and rescue by sea helicopter on Saturday might end up being a blessing in disguise if it puts some of that fire and passion back in his belly.

Ed Joyce failed miserably once again and you get the idea that the reason he'd playing for England is that he couldn't get in the Ireland squad ! With Andrew Strauss sitting on the bench Duncan Fletcher seems determined to throw away our World Cup chances in vain attempt to prove that the England management WERE righ to select him originally.

Jamie Dalrymple is the other notable failure. Though he has produced some useful cameos down the order for England, he is simply not world class. With no-one truely world class lining up to fill that spot, Ravi Bopara would be an exciting choice. Bopara's bowling would certainly bolster our flagging attack more than Dalrymple's and his lower order hitting would add an exciting edge to the side.

Losng to New Zealand means little here or there as a win against Canada should be straight forward and providing one or two of our big guns fire, Kenya should be little more than a competitive run-out.

Anderson By A Short Head ??

2007-03-16T10:28:00.000Z

Will England gamble ?

It seems that James Anderson's finger is not as bad as first feared, but reports from Cricinfo.com suggest that he was still showing clear signs of discomfort in training yesterday.

The England management, though, are waiting until the last minute to name the final 11 in the hope that Anderson will be fit. Anderson is undoubtably a match-winner on his day as he proved during the 2003 World Cup (sadly, he also proved to be a match-loser when things didn't go so well for him !), but with 4 front-line seamers, all young and seemingly in good form, is it a risk England need to take ?

Certainly England want to be winning today. Canada were never going to be tough competition even for Kenya, but Kenya looked very organised and Tikolo's knock especially must make the loser of today's clash a little weary. Just about ANYTHING can happen in the World Cup, come on boys, get the win today and make sure it doesn't happen to US !

Anderson OUT !

2007-03-15T11:44:00.000Z

Michael's Vaughan's dilemma over which two of four seamers take the field against NewZealand tomorrow has just been reduced to which two from three as a broken finger means that Jimmy Anderson will be unlikely to play any part in the World Cup.

My guess is that England will go with Sajid Mahmood and Liam Plunkett tomorrow. Both players impressed in the later stages in Australia and both have the capability to wield a handy blade at the tail of the innings.

Trivia question :

Yesterday, Anderson Cummins became the 2nd ever player to play World Cup matches for 2 different countries when he appeared for Canada (having previously palyed for the West Indies). Who was the first ?...................... answer in my tomorrow's blogg.

England Vs New Zealand - "Stats N' Bats"

2007-03-12T09:53:00.000Z

Both sides have been in tremdous form of late and with Oram powering the ball over the ropes for the Black Caps and Pietersen making bowlers weep for our boys in blue, Friday shapes up to be a mouth-watering contest..... but WHO will emerge victorious ?

Today I'm looking at the batting stats.

The good news ? England are victorious !!

If New Zealand win the toss, they would be expected to make 234 for 8 from their 50 overs. In response, England win the game by 4 wickets, with 7 balls to spare.

HOWZAT ?!! I here you cry. ;-)

I've simply taken the average and strike rate of each batsman (thank you, www.cricinfo.com), assumed that they score their average and worked out how many balls in would take them. Pietersen is obviously a big, big difference between the sides, with an ODI average of 56.50 at a strike rate of 94.90. Jamie Dalrymple's strike rate of 105.26 also gives impetous down the order.

For the stats on all the England players visit :
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/player/22182.html

For the stats on New Zealand check out :
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/player/37000.html

Back In Charge..... Back To Form

2007-03-09T16:10:00.000Z

Normal service was finally resumed as Michael Vaughan made a breezy 62 against Australia at Arnos Vale.

It has been a long road back for the England captain and many critics quite rightly questioned his form coming into the World Cup. 18 against Bermuda did little to quiet Michael Vaughan's critics but today's glorious knock against a full Australian attack will not only silence those critics but lift the singing voices of the Barmy Army.

Vaughan added a century stand with Ian Bell after Ed "I must be sleeping with a selectors daughter" Joyce again failed dismally. Vaughan's 62 came off just 73 balls and included 7 fours as England made a brisk start to their innings. Vaughan finally fell to Hogg as Hogg and Clark strangled England's aggression.

This warm-up match means little in the grand scheme of the World Cup, but Vaughan's return to form could not be more timely. If Michael Vaughan can lead from the front and set up bases for his big guns, Pieterson and Flintoff to fire from, England have a real chance to make 2007 the year England finally lift the World Cup.

Full Scorecard : http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wc2007/engine/current/match/247454.html

Come on the ENGLAND !!

2007-03-09T15:21:00.000Z

Like a pheonix from the Ashes (pun intended) Michael Vaughan's England cricket team ended the tour of Australia on a high, slapping the smirk off the Aussie faces with a hat-trick of one-day international cricket victories.

With Michael Vaughan back at the helm and his chief destroyer (Pieterson) with blade in hand once more, the mighty England march onto the World Cup battlefield with a presence and determination which will make a few of the tops sides more than a little weary.

Follow the exploits of Michael Vaughan and the England team on this blogg, where you can join in debates, post your comments and enjoy entertaining anecdotes, little known stats, as well as all the reults, news and previews as Vaughan's heroes do battle with the best of the rest.

Michael Vaughan, Kevin Pieterson, England Cricket, World Cup, Cricket, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Duncan Flethcher, Monty Panesar.