Group B Discussion

Spin , Few inputs about this guy Andre Russell. What I gather is he has got good pace and bounce pitches the ball at ackward lenght. Just 22 year old , he has not played much FC matches, but whatever he has played it looks like he is a very good bowler and might be a decent bat too.

Unlike you guys, I've gone down on my ratings on Bopara.  To me, he's just another one of those guys that looks like he can bat but is actually another story.  Not exactly in the Devon Smith mold but something like that.  Devon Smith does hit some of the prettiest cover drives that leaves you in awe and can crack some pull shots yet you wonder how he can fail so miserably.  For England sake, they better hope Ravi is not in that same category.

Raj, there we go, Russell goes for 42 off 4 overs today against Sri Lanka and got a wicket!

SA beat Australia without breaking sweat yesterday. Australia collapsed again after a 122 stand between Ponting and Clarke and were all gone for just 216. SA knocked those off for the loss of only one wicket and that was a run out !   Both Smith and Amla made unbeaten 60's before retiring because they were bored silly.  Duminy and de Villiers saw them home will almost 6 overs left.  Steyn and Peterson took three wickets apiece and looked good.
                 That'll boost confidence but Australia can take heart in that Ponting's now made successive half centuries , but that middle order looks flaky - they're missing Mike Hussey and White just doesn't convince me that he's good enough at this level.

Really can't read much into the practice games sledge, I think teams are taking this as just an opportunity to have batting, bowling and fielding practice, result is not on their minds.  

With Bopara not getting a bat, it looks as though they intend to use Wright rather than him in the tournament, which remains a strange choice when you consider their relative abilities.

Yes Sam, Look out for Cheema and Davo once again in this tournament folks.

Originally posted by Clobber With Bopara not getting a bat, it looks as though they intend to use Wright rather than him in the tournament, which remains a strange choice when you consider their relative abilities.

 There's still Pakistan on Friday Clobs and I expect that starting XI to be that favoured by Flower and Strauss. 
          When comparing Bopara to Wright I think it's only in the fielding department where Wright might just have the advantage , Bopara's batting and wicket taking ability far exceeds Wright's.   What might swing it in Wright's favour is loyalty - he's been around the group since Flower arrived on the scene and we've seen with the test set up that once you're in it takes injury or something special to have someone replaced.
           The game tomorrow is a biggie , as far as warm ups go. Pakistan are showing signs or being a major player in the tournament and England need a solid match to show that they've got over their Australian nightmare.    I think the bowling isn't a concern , it's the batting that's been so inconsistent of late - they need to buck up!

Barath is definitely a loss, not so sure about Baugh but he's a good powerful cameo player.  Hasn't been any more than that really.  Thomas, his replacement, can play spin quite well so would be handy to have in the sub continent.  Haven't seen too much of his keeping though.

Acid attacks are very common in subcontinent Flipper.

So England up against the Nederlands in today's only match.  Revenge in the air after England lost to them in the World T20 and I expect them to win comfortably.  That's not to say that the Dutch can't play , they're probably the best of the minnows with some more than decent players.   

It's a close call , both sides have a few full time professionals and some experienced part-timers.

Also, Jimmy Anderson just bowled two no balls, being over waist high on the full. Why is he not removed from the attack by the umpire. Isn't it one warning, then you are out ???

Well done the Dutch, good work out for England, just what we needed.

it wasn't "only just" at all, the result was never in doubt for a second - the batting was a good professional performance, easing their way to a big target with minimal risk.