Pakistan vs. England - 3rd ODI

[Victor Frankenstein]

Originally Posted by greg

So the press gave the excuse of getting up in the middle of the night for the defeat in game two.What excuse will they come up with for this debacle?

Faulty trouser press at the hotel, the sight of less than perfect seams in their kit drove the players to distraction and that's why they bowled and batted like schoolboys.

I think Tresco was right to bowl first, he can't help it if his bowlers failed miserably to take advantage of the early potential swing conditions, instead choosing to bowl several wides and half volleys. Bringing in Bell at number 8 is a waste of time too, what's he supposed to do from there? he's not a big six hitter, he's a strike rotator, so why put him in with the tail when the only choice he has then is just to slog for it and get out, Fletcher's clueless when it comes to odi's.

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by Victor Frankenstein

Faulty trouser press at the hotel, the sight of less than perfect seams in their kit drove the players to distraction and that's why they bowled and batted like schoolboys

But they are all wearing pyjamas!

[flanflinger]

RBLC,

Quite right I a very worried that we seem to be making the same mistakes!!

Bowling - we seem to be too short too often. We are not getting in enough yorkers and enough changes of pace. We need to loo at the way Akhtar bowls, even on pitches that give him nothing he makes things happen. It is not just about speed, but variations in length and pace

Batting - currently we are 8 down!! How? We don't seem to build an innings, we seem to panic too quickly. You need to play shots, but the right shots. Trescothick and Strauss should have been looking for hundreds. Starting of slowly and then building up the pace as they got their eyes in. This would have given a platform for Flintoff, Jones and Blackwell to to hit out in the later overs. In the second ODI when they lost early wickets they had no plan B to consolodate and re-build...

At the moment this is just awful to watch, they seem to have no direction or plan, I wouldn't mind but they have been this way in ODI's for years.

[Mike]

Well, England just equalled their heaviest defeat set in 1996 when defeated by the West Indies -165 runs. All out in 42 overs.

[Occasional Fan]

Originally Posted by Occasional Fan

Well, there is a good chance of England setting a record here - their heaviest defeat in ODIs is still well on the cards. Still, at least we don't have to follow on.

And that's the joint record. Pakistan win by 165 runs, equalling the West Indies margin when they beat England at St Vincent in 1994. Congratulations to Pakistan, who never even let England get close. Fletcher will go bananas in the dressing room (though of course not in public), and I just hope someone is listening.

[Victor Frankenstein]

Brilliant win by Pakistan, outplayed us in all areas and thoroughly deserved it, especially when you consider that they lost the toss and bowling conditions were described as "helpful" at the start of the day. I guess what they actually meant was that Englands bowling was "helpful", or more "help yourself"

Still, it's all a learning experience for the England team, I don't think we've gone from one series to the next with the same team so it would be nice if they just picked a team and let them play together for a while before dropping them, they've all got the talent it's just the experience, continuity and tactics they lack, something Fletcher should be instilling in them.

I've never really felt that Harmison is a ODI bowler, he needs a certain amount of overs before he gets his rythym and you just don't have that luxury in odi's, i'm not sure who you would replace him with though as there aren't many others that can match even his slightly reduced ability.

This super-sub business, we really need to sort it out, Bell was 37* with an 88 strike rate, now if he'd come in at number 4 or 5 then he could easily have been out first ball too, but i'd be more willing to put money on him being able to rebuild the innings than gojones or blackwell. If you're going to use the super-sub at least use it properly.

Pakistan had the double disadvantage of losing the toss and England having an extra batsman, and yet they still beat us by a record score.. truely embarrassing.

[Collyisamackem]

I really don't know what to say....this is nothing short of a disgraceful performance. I really can't find the words to express myself here, so I'll leave it there.

[Occasional Fan]

Marcus Trescothick won applause from the fans in Karachi when he said after the match:

Originally Posted by Marcus Trescothick

The crowd have been fantastic. I hope they've enjoyed the game. They've really been good to play for.

Good for him. It's more than five years since Karachi saw cricketers from outside the sub-continent, and hopefully it will be nothing like that long before more long-distance visitors are there. On the radio, the crowd sounded in good voice all day, which is marvellous stuff. I'm glad to hear the England captain acknowledging that in public.

On another issue, Trescothick has "promised a better effort" in the remaining two ODIs. Now, what does this mean? If he's promising a better result, well, I should jolly well hope so: England equalled a record today in terms of their heaviest ODI defeats and clearly no-one wants to see that again (except perhaps Inzamam-ul-Haq and the entire population of Pakistan). If he's really promising a better effort, well, why, Marcus? Where was the effort on Monday and today? The Christmas holidays start for all of us at the end of next week, mate, not last week. Please mention it to the boys and give us something to cheer about next week!

BBC report here.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Occasional Fan

Is that a World Cup issue, Mike, or ICCCT?

My mistake - just ICCCT. I'm not sure whether ICCCT results will effect the seedings at the World Cup?

[flanflinger]

Mike,

No, they have already published the groups

http://www.cricketworldcup.com/TeamGroupings.html