New Zealand vs England- The Tour so far.
At about the midway stage of the New Zealand tour, it seems like a good time to provide a bit of analysis on how the England team are progressing, and to look forward to the upcoming three match test series.
The Twenty20 matches should probably be glossed over with a pretty light brush. The format is great fun, and a big draw for people not into the intricacies of test match cricket, but at International level, it isn’t taken too seriously, and rightly so. The Indian Cricket League may change all that, however. But England’s thrashings of New Zealand aren’t of much importance and certainly weren’t an indicator of form going into the 50 over matches.
The 3-1 one day series defeat was very frustrating after the good wins against India and Sri Lanka. England’s batsmen’s running in the early games was surprisingly poor, the bowling attack looked wooden and inflexible, and we were outplayed by a New Zealand side who knew their limits, and stuck to them.
Ryan Sidebottom apart, England’s seam attack bowled too short, and the back-up bowlers such as Luke Wright, Dimi Mascarenhas and Owais Shah were used at strange times and not often enough. By the final game, England’s style of play almost exactly resembled that of the team that went out of last years World Cup without a whimper. Do you think progress has been made since Duncan Fletcher gave the reigns to Peter Moores?
Maybe it’s too early to tell. But when you have Alistair Cook and Ian Bell marooned together in power-play cricket, the England engine loses any momentum that Phil Mustard may have given them. Luke Wright should be opening, or at 3. England need to read the pitches better, and not be afraid to use a spinner (even a back up spinner such as Shah or Pieterson). Jimmy Anderson should be under more pressure for his place after a very luke warm series.
I’m certainly willing to give Moores plenty more time, he comes across as a positive man, forward thinking, and it will take time to build a successful side with a winning mentality. Having Paul Collingwood at the helm can do no harm either. But patience is needed to achieve a consistent side that can cultivate a winning ethos.
So to the test series. 3 matches, here’s the itinerary-
4th March New Zealand- England, Hamilton 21.30 (GMT) Sky Sports
12th March New Zealand- England, Wellington 21.30, Sky Sports.
21st March New Zealand- England, Napier 21.30 Sky Sports.
This is series we should win, and Moores and his team know this. New Zealand have lost a lot of their best players (Bond, Styris etc) and are without Jesse Ryder, who has injured himself in a drinking incident (!).
On England’s side, I’m a little concerned by the ‘treading on egg shells’ treatment of Harmison by the media and the team. He seems emotionally vulnerable, and a good, more brutal side like Australia could destroy him just by playing mind games. Sidebottom’s consistency should alleviate some of the pressure, and I expect him to continue to thrive in this series. Shah will be more suited to his role in the test game too, and it’s a big series for Andrew Strauss, a class act, who is going through a real rough time. If he gets his game together, it will be a huge boost. I will be watching much of the action and giving you my thoughts, let me know what you think as we look forward to a good series this March.
