Well you answer your own question - England don't have a plan, they don't have a clue how to play one day cricket.

In an important match like this, they scored 5 runs in first 5 overs, and I don't think all off the bat.

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Ern

We saw! Hall: 10-2-18-5. Yes, he really is a part time bolwer .

Thank **** for that ! All out for a massive 154 in 48 overs. I know the saffers can be chokers but they wont blow this. As many have said on here, I hope we get hammered in double quick time.

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

Well, it was a poor performance by the English Batsman today. Credit to South Africa, they bowled well and set this up, but myself and the millions of others watching the match will be disapointed. It was not just below par like we have been for most of the performance, the only game we looked comfortable was the Canada match and that says a lot. I think we have made our expectations go to high with the VB series victory. I believe that the performances we have given against Sri Lanka, Australia and Bangladesh were par performances for us.

Very disappointing, I have spent a few days waiting anxiously for this match and they let us down. To be honest, when I heard we were batting first a said to myself, This is a mistake, no way are we going to get any more than 230 which South Africa can get without to much fuss.

Again, very disappointing...

Oh Nostromo, what are you saying?

"Anyone can have a bad day"?

How many games have England played in this tournament? That's a lot more than "A bad day."

That's a whole bunch of bad days. A week of bad days if you will.

For one day cricket. I have always said that Strauss, Bell and Vaughan should not play it.
If Strauss is to be captain, then perhaps he should... at least in this eleven (along with Nixon) he offers the variation of the occasional left-hander.

Bell is class, but not for one-dayers, and like Cook should not be deployed in this form of cricket.
Five is too high for Collingwood, and six at the moment is WAY TOO HIGH for Flintoff.
It will be interesting to see whether Michael Vaughan resigns the one-day captaincy before or after the West Indian match. If he retains it, I bet he scores a ton in the last game. I won't applaud.

Bopara has come to the party, as much as you can batting at seven after the entire top order has disappeared. As a last minute pick for the world cup, this, to me, does not represent a well thought out squad. I personally thought Mal Loye did OK in Australia, and he should have been here too.

SO MANY failures, and yet, there are other players quite like Bopara, who were surely worth a punt last summer? Or before? Is Shah so bad? Perhaps for a culture where one day cricket is so important, perhaps England have looked in the wrong places for their one day players. How about Shafayat? Is he so poor?

I don't believe that there are no players in England who could have performed better than the current squad.

Granted the bowling will be interesting... but it won't be incisive. I imagine South Africa will knock of this paltry total for the loss of two or three wickets.

Fortunately I'm busy tonight... so my interest ends here.

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Red-it, Red-it, Read it and wept

Can we all lobby the ECB for an open-top parade when they get home ?

The entire performance in this world cup has been nothing short of a disgrace........sooner or later these players have to be held accountable. Heads HAVE to roll.

Unfortunately, this sort of performance (slow, low scoring top end follwed by middle order collapse) IS par now.

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

I don't think they'd risk an open top bus. Too many high rise buildings, grassy knolls and theatres for that sort of thing.

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Red-it, Red-it, Read it and wept

I wonder what you guys will be saying in this same thread if Anderson goes berserk and has South Africa all out for 131 in a few hours time? Nominating Fletcher to sainthood perhaps or thinking of the most suitable place to display the World Cup? It is only a game!

Well so much for the "quater final" showdown....

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- VVVRulz..