The scorecard may suggest that Australia beat England comprehensively. However, scratch the surface, and you will discover that the encounter wasn’t as one-sided as the figures indicate. England had several chances to put the game out of their opponents’ reach. They were 2-164 in the thirtieth over, with Pietersen and Bell going great guns. Given that sort of start, they ought to have reached a total of 280-300. But once the partnership snapped, the latter batsmen struggled to maintain the momentum. A score of 247 was at best ‘competitive’, and England needed to grab every single opportunity that came their way. They needed a bit of luck as well. But the umpires turned down a couple of leg-before shouts against Hayden and Gilchrist that could have easily gone the other way. Australia would have been two down for not much had the umpires ruled in the bowlers’ favor, and it would have been anybody’s game.
The injury to Shane Watson apart, Australia do not seem to have too many worries at the moment. They will be conscious of the fact that the likes of Hussey and Hodge still haven’t had a decent hit in the middle. Even Symonds hasn’t spent a great deal of time at the crease. So well has the top order batted that the subsequent batsmen haven’t been required to sweat it out. But it surely won’t stay the same way for the entire duration of the competition. There might well be a situation wherein the middle and lower-order might be required to score at around 7-8 an over. For the batsmen to do so, it is necessary that they get to spend some time in the middle. The bowling has been top-class, with Shaun Tait and Brad Hogg being the best of the lot.
Bracken has been impressive with Gilchrist standing up. This particular tactic, which the duo started in Australia last summer, has been picked up by teams like Sri Lanka, England and Bangladesh. It is a consequence of the amount of cricket that is played these days, wherein each team gets to observe its opponents’ strategies over a period of time. A tactic that works for one side is immediately picked up by the others. No batsman likes to be in a situation wherein he is forced to restrict the movement of his feet.
The proximity of a wicketkeeper can constrain a batsman, especially if the bowler keeps things tight. Bracken and Chaminda Vaas have been outstanding on this front.
In my view, England need to change their batting order. It is imperative that Pietersen, their premier batsman, comes in at No. 3. On the ‘slow and low’ wickets in the Caribbean, strokemakers are better off facing a new, hard ball, which they will only get in the first half of the innings. A batsman like Pietersen should get as many overs as possible on surfaces like these. England may well have got closer to 270 had he come in at No. 3 against Australia.
The Super 8 stage has now reached the halfway mark. The way they have been playing, it will be safe to assume that Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka will make it to the semifinals. South Africa have also looked good, but their performance against Bangladesh would not have pleased them and their fans. England are still in it, and the West Indies have an outside chance of sorts. The Bangladeshi players will also be very confident after beating South Africa.
The next few days will witness some frantic jostling for the fourth spot. It will be interesting to see which side pushes and prevails.
