After being utterly devoid of any cricket to speak of in the last 18 months, thank the Lord that the cricket is well and truly back.
The jamboree of ̶E̶u̶r̶o̶ ̶2̶0̶2̶0̶ , ̶T̶2̶0̶ ̶W̶o̶r̶l̶d̶ ̶C̶u̶p̶ ̶2̶0̶2̶0̶, T20 World Cup 2021 gets going this Sunday with the mouthwatering clash of Oman vs Papua New Guinea. I’ll be struggling to muster up enthusiasm until the point where England are doing well and/or Australia are getting knocked out.
Eventual winner will be:
England
Australia
South Africa
West Indies
India
Pakistan
New Zealand
Afghanistan
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
CBA to type out the rest, no offence Scotland
0voters
Then it’s over to Australia for what must surely be the least eagerly anticipated Ashes series in recent memory, as Rooty’s brave boys bubble up and cross state-wide quarantine lines to face Painey’s hermits.
Both sides have one outstanding batter & assorted others to run up the scoreboard, while on the bowling front Australia’s long-standing bowling attack surely shows up England’s, which looks like one decidedly suited to English conditions. A cracking plan, with one obvious problem…
The whole skating over Covid, player welfare, mental health from bubbles etc. Issues thing would be more understandable if it was going to be a close series but who genuinely believes we have a chance of even getting a draw in a test without the aid of a monsoon rocking up?
If Archer was fit, and we could rely on Wood staying in one piece, plus Robinson and maybe a fit Pope, and we had a captain who knew how to use strike bowlers without clapping them out, plus we knew who our best wicket taking spinner at test level was and actually picked them rather than an all rounder who might get you the odd 30 then… .
The batting still isn’t going to get us the runs to make it competitive.
Michael Vaughan was on my phone this morning saying that he thinks Stokes might play in some of the series since his surgery appears to have been successful, and Michael Vaughan would never say something just for attention, would he?
The classic English player who has become the best in the world whilst hit playing, and will probably be back in the team as soon as his cast is off, regardless of any consequences for the mid to long term.
I didn’t get the last one (Cricket 19), but have and still play the one before (Ashes Cricket). Batting can get quite easy, but there is a real satisfaction about getting a wicket. Looking forward to this new one.
