Call me immature, but I had to laugh at this BBC post:

Your boys might as well go home, give it up!
Remember this: No matter how hard you try, you cannot polish a turd!

Ahem...



Is there anyway we can withdraw from the World Cup? Or do we absolutely have to play?
Can't we just miss the plane or something?

Whilst on the subject of the BBC, there's a good little article on keepers talking the talk but not performing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A19165043

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Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi

Thats the sort of phrase that makes my blood boil. Not turn up ? Of course we should ! I know you were joking moss (yet sadly many arent when they say it) but can you actually imagine if big dunc held a press conference and said "we've decided as we cant win for buttons and we've always been rubbish at ODIs so we arent even going to turn up. Sorry."We'll go out, beat the minnows, matybe win a day/night match if we win the toss then just miss out on the super 6s. Or we might actually get into the super6s. Unlikely but you never know. Its the premier ODI event and we have to at least show up. Other teams wont make the cut either so we wont be on our own, and lets face it the aussies will walk it anyway so why should ANYONE turn up ?!?!?

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Nothing says "Obey Me" like a bloody head on a fence post!

If the side is losing wickets the runs WILL dry up... but England are building a side based around capacity to get to the 40th over with wickets in hand.... and in Strauss, Bell, Vaughan, Joyce and Pietersen they have five players who, between them, should produce two large innings in most matches.

It's not quite clicked yet... but the talent's there and the strategy is sound enough: all that seems missing is the experience to cope with the sudden disappearance of Tresco (123 caps) and Vaughan (76 ODIs), and the confidence to cope with the sudden disappearance of Pietersen (average 56.50, SR 94.9) and the (until recently) absence / lack of form of their talismanic all-rounder (absent for most of 2006, waste of space when he first came back in the ICC-CT, but now seemingly back to his best).

Ps. Take a look at the players England had HOPED to take to the World Cup whose services have either been interrupted or rather unexpectedly terminated:

1. Tresco,
2. Solanki,
3. Vaughan,
4. Pietersen,
5. Flintoff,
6. Geraint Jones,
7. Blackwell,
8. Giles,
9. Gough,
10. Simon Jones
11. Harmison

Rightly or wrongly, these players were looking (as recently as the notable ODI successes of 2005) like a core group who'd ALL have stacks of experience and massive amounts of time together as a unit in the build up to the World Cup: the planning was all in place... but the luck has NOT been there.

Michael Vaughn ODI career stat's - unfiltered.

Strauss ODI career stat's unfiltered.

Ian Bell when playing against a team like Australia.

You have been cherry picking Rachael - the above stats show that Vaughan's average in ALL one day cricket is in the 20's, in fact is bowling average is better than his batting average.

With respect to Pakistan I don't think Shoaib was at his best, and Team Pakistan was troubled.

Bell has shown in his short one day career that when it comes to playing Australia in any form of cricket - he fails.
Just for interest Flintoff's unfiltered one day stat's, he is not a specialist bat like Srauss (in fact a bowling all-rounder) yet his batting compares well with Strauss, and he has taked 112 wickets @26.75 also.
Flintoff has played to his all-round potential, pity the specialist batsmen had not done so as well.

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Ern

Actually, I wasn't!

Well, yes, but you do start to think, what is the point after defeat upon defeat with no signs of any hope.
You never know, we could do something good. Look at the Champions Trophy 2005.

<clutching at straws>

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Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi

I think there will be a few dark horses. Windies are suddenly looking quite good again, and certainly competitive. When Gayle's on form, he can throw the bat around very well, plus Sri Lanka do look convincing at times.

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Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi

And both will do OK, and maybe push the aussies a bit. But as mcgrath is about to retire and very likely haydne and gilchrist (based on no other reason than I just want them too), they're in form with few if any weak links. Everyone else will rely on one or two players fireing while the aussies have 11 to choose from. They might even loose a group match but I doubt it.

I agree it will be pointless and further demoralising experience, and maybe a useful one just to see if certain players are just pants or just have problems with the aussies. And NZ.......

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Nothing says "Obey Me" like a bloody head on a fence post!

With all due respect Ern, so are you! I can appreciate your points about Vaughan and Strauss, indeed I have never considered Vaughan a ODI batsman. But you've "cherry picked" (so to speak) Bell's figures to make him look worse than he maybe is. He's only played three times against Australia in ODI's! Give him at least 10 before you can reasonably judge him!

As for the "in any form of cricket" phrase - I disagree again. You have obviously forgotten the last two months (I don't blame you) in which Bell had innings of 50, 60, 87, 71 amongst others. He was one of our most consistant batsman in the tour, which must show that he can succeed against Australia.

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"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose."
- Ayrton Senna

Ian Bell is still just 24 years old. He's a full 12 months younger than Michael Clarke... and whilst he's racked up 23 caps to Clarke's 27... he's got no-where near the same international experience (Clarke is set to break the 100 ODI barrier in the finals of the current series, Bell just reached 30 ODIs with today's game). Clarke is the great rising star of Aussie cricket... but Bell (younger, less experienced) has already racked up more Test runs at a better average. Both should go on to be lynchpins of their national sides for a decade or more.

In seven years time... Bell will be Hussey's age.. and maybe then will be a sensible time to see how he measures up with the seasoned senior pro that has been taking to Test cricket as if it's just a walk in the park. In seven years, Clarke will be the age Ponting is now.. and maybe then will be a sensible time to see how he measures up with the other alleged "heir to Bradman" of modern cricket.

In the mean time... how about accepting clear evidence that both players have the talent and class to make even accomplished Test batsmen look pretty ordinary, and to handle the best bowling with a class that holds quite remarkable promise - at least on a par with that of Asif, who does indeed look like the brightest bowling prospect of his generation.

Yes Bell has racked up for test and centuries plainly because the standard of Australain cricket is so much higher which causes players like Clarke who would be straight into any other side in the world miss out. Look at players like Hodge, MacGill, Love, Bevan and players that have just been given a go when they are 30+ Hussey & Clark. Clarke is very lucky to be given a chance to play for Australia. Lehmann was another one as well where test cricket missed the best of him.

Unlucky first class players.
Brad Hodge - 189 mat, 333 inn, 14527 runs at 48.26, Hs 302*, 44 tons, 54 fifties. five test caps
Martin Love - 201 mat, 351 inn, 16015 runs at 50.22, Hs 300*, 42 tons, 73 fifties, five test caps
Michael Bevan - 237 mat, 400 inn, 19147 runs at 57.32, Hs 216, 68 tons, 81 fifties, eighteen test caps
Darren Lehmann - 279 mat, 470 inn, 25342 runs at 57.99, Hs 339, 81 tons, 109 fifties, 27 test caps
All these batsman would have had a long test career in any other national side. Bell is a good batsman, he and Cook are the future of England test cricket. Clarke is one of the batsman that will be the future of Australian cricket. We will see if Clarke gets a long test career then we can judge them.

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Bill Ponsford - The only one who could play in Bradman’s company and make it a duet.