More injury anguish for Fred
| 10:55 UK time, Thursday, 20 September 2007
It is the announcement we have been expecting: in order to go home and strengthen his troublesome ankle, which is inflamed and causing him discomfort.
Questions about his fitness have dominated the post-match press conferences throughout the World Twenty20 and it has been clear for any observer to see that he has been in pain whilst bowling just 4 overs per match (whenever Collingwood has counted correctly).
Flintoff has bowled economically during the tournament but he has not been showing the aggression we are used to seeing from the talismanic all-rounder. England cannot carry a half-fit Flintoff, despite his insatiable desire to play, and for the sake of his long term future he has accepted he needs to go back to the drawing board and work out how he can bowl pain-free.
It is the right decision, but judging by how he has struggled here, you cannot help but wonder how he will get through the in December, which is England鈥檚 plan. More worrying is what will happen in the months and years after that.
It was ironic though, that England saved their best T20 batting display for .
If it wasn鈥檛 for Yuvraj Singh鈥檚 incredible six sixes, they might even have beaten India as they were left needing 36 off the final over. If you were among the 16,000 at Kingsmead though, you will never forget the sight of Yuvraj striking poor old Stuart Broad cleanly out of the ground six times in a row. Broad was left staring hopelessly up into the sky as , off just 12 deliveries.
As a bowler himself, Yuvraj was sympathetic to Broad鈥檚 plight and didn鈥檛 want to rave about his achievement when I spoke to him post-match. After being on the receiving end of 5 consecutive sixes from Dimitri Mascerenhas at the Oval this Summer, he knows how much it hurts to be crashed out of sight. 鈥淎s a batsman it鈥檚 a great feeling,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut as a bowler it鈥檚 not a good day obviously. You鈥檙e trying your best and it鈥檚 just not your day. Everyone has a bad day and I鈥檓 sure he (Broad) will have good days too.鈥
Paul Collingwood knows that it will be up to the team to get behind Broad, let him know they have absolute faith in him and hope his confidence hasn鈥檛 taken too much of a knock as they now head off to Sri Lanka. 鈥淗e鈥檚 absolutely gutted,鈥 said Collingwood. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a proud man, he鈥檚 got pride in his bowling and to be hit for 36 he鈥檒l be absolutely devastated.鈥
So England will now slink off to Johannesburg and try to get the earliest possible flight out to Colombo. Those who aren鈥檛 in the one-day squad head back to the UK, leaving David Graveney et al to ponder over the selection of the so-called Twenty20 specialists.
Coach Peter Moores defended the selection of players called up on the basis of their T20 domestic performances, and let鈥檚 face it, there was a clamour for the selectors to recognise and reward those players who had shone in that form of the game. I鈥檓 sure that if England had gone out of the tournament without the likes of Maddy, Snape, Schofield and Kirtley, the selectors would have been hammered for leaving them at home.
It was disappointing for Kirtley and Snape that they barely got a chance, bowling just one over each in the competition, but this tournament has shown that the best ODI players will adapt to any form of the game. , who have stuck with their tried and tested one-day team.
Unfortunately for England, even their best players failed when it mattered, with too many games being thrown away from winning positions with the bat.
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The England team was a joke. Fancy playing players like Snape, etc - jack of no trades and masters of nothing. Even Prior never really looked like doing any damage at the top. He was able to strike the ball with nay power or authority so it was better to keep him in for the other sides. Don't really know why Nixon was discarded so readily, at least he had some go in him and usually delivered when it counted. England must learn to nurture good proven players at international level, not chop and change as they do trying to over theorize and bring in marginal try harders.
The old buggers on the commentary team go on about it, but good clean hitting down the ground seems to be the go. Rather than over finessing, moving around in the crease and trying to dolly it over the keeper鈥檚 head. Low percentage game I reckon.
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very good piece and i totally agree...the selectors were in a no win situation if they played the specialists or not...however...we should've sticked with the tried and tested (ish) formula! Ian Bell certainly deserved his place in the team and while players were getting out needlessly at the top order (wright the main culprit) Bell with his run a ball, play it around and then smash it when it's a bad ball, because let's face it there has been a lot of bad balls, or smash it when he's seeing it like a beach ball, would've been better!
Hopefully they'll learn for next time! Not a fan of Tremlett going to SL though either!
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As far as I am concerned we are well rid of Flintoff until he can regain fitness and show some consistency with the bat.
Even his bowling in the T20 has not been great if you look at the stats:
22nd in number of wickets
18th for average runs per wicket
7th for economy
27th in strike rate.
He has come in to bat at crucial times and let us down badly, ending up ranked only 32nd.
If he can't even bowl 4 decent overs in a T20 match what use is he to England?
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Please tell me something why did England not send Dimitri to bat earlier on in the innings?. This is the second time they did this in the tournment and lost both times. If you cannot be innovative you will ruin your chances of winning. I feel bad for Broad but was a little surprised that senior English palyers not coming to his aid or advising when he was was balling.
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very good piece and i totally agree...the selectors were in a no win situation if they played the specialists or not...however...we should've sticked with the tried and tested (ish) formula! Ian Bell certainly deserved his place in the team and while players were getting out needlessly at the top order (wright the main culprit) Bell with his run a ball, play it around and then smash it when it's a bad ball, because let's face it there has been a lot of bad balls, or smash it when he's seeing it like a beach ball, would've been better!
Hopefully they'll learn for next time! Not a fan of Tremlett going to SL though either!
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very good piece and i totally agree...the selectors were in a no win situation if they played the specialists or not...however...we should've sticked with the tried and tested (ish) formula! Ian Bell certainly deserved his place in the team and while players were getting out needlessly at the top order (wright the main culprit) Bell with his run a ball, play it around and then smash it when it's a bad ball, because let's face it there has been a lot of bad balls, or smash it when he's seeing it like a beach ball, would've been better!
Hopefully they'll learn for next time! Not a fan of Tremlett going to SL though either!
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I am amazed how writers on 91热爆 say that England would have won this match or some other matches with some luck etc..common you lost to 4 good cricket teams. I like the England team but you have to learn to be gracious losers. When India lost the 7th one-day match against England you guys said that England were a vastly superior side. C'mon..you lost the test series, lost T20 and won the one-day series due to some umpiring goof ups. In the one-day series you played well but in T20 you had no luck?!! You are not learning from your mistakes if you blame it on luck for 4 losses in T20. Good luck for the Sri Lankan tour....
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Shame the England cricket team's performances did not match the excellent coverage provided by Alison, Jonathan, Arlo & Phil and the rest of the TMS team. You guys are a godsend during my erm working day.
Are we ever going to play to our potential at tournaments. I continue to remain optimistic, even thou my faith is dwindling.
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I am amazed how writers on 91热爆 say that England would have won this match or some other matches with some luck etc..common you lost to 4 good cricket teams. I like the England team but you have to learn to be gracious losers. When India lost the 7th one-day match against England you guys said that England were a vastly superior side. C'mon..you lost the test series, lost T20 and won the one-day series due to some umpiring goof ups. In the one-day series you played well but in T20 you had no luck?!! You are not learning from your mistakes if you blame it on luck for 4 losses in T20. Good luck for the Sri Lankan tour....
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Snape had one over with 2 catches dropped. he would have had impressive figures if they had been taken. Also, some decisions on order of batting were a little bewidering. Wright succeeded lower down so why send him in early? this was not a County situation. i do believe that we have the beginnings of a fine side. i feel that panic set in and had players been allowed to gel more they would have run better between the wickets for example. too much chopping and changing. I hope Donald takes the England job. he is much needed.
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I think the England is good except for a couple of players. But the descison making ablities of the management is very questionable. Why was Dimitri sent a little earlier in the batting order when we needed runs qucikly? ( After all we were playing for pride). The same thing happended earlier in the tournament. Also, Flintoff and Collie should have given a little more support and advise to Broad during his turbulent over
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freddy-boy, totally agree with you, england need to give players a hance and stop chainging it around, if the lsot a game but play weell dont chaneg the team let them gel
good shout!
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I feel for Stuart Broad and applaud Yuvraj's undoubtedly great achievement but Broad played into his hands by putting 5 of the 6 deliveries "in the slot" at exactly the same pace. Where was the bouncer/slower ball/any sort of variation?
Still, it was great hitting and a fantastic specatcle (bowler excluded) and I'm sure Broad will be a much stronger person for it and will have many great days in what will hopefully be a long and successful career.
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England had boasted of t20 experts who could not do any thing and the media reports of people like Matt Prior that the england team need not worry about anybody in the tournament and jermy snape's advise on how to play 20/20 shows that people should keep their mouth shut and concentrate on playing.
However england is the only team today which does not depend up on individuals to carry through but performs as a whole team like what they did against india in the one day series.
so instead of crying over spilt milk they should concentrate on srilanka leg of the series and end up on the winning side.
all the best england team
V.Chandrasekharan
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Once again England lose in a one day tournament because of basic errors, i.e. not catching well and missing key opportunities to take a stranglehold on the game.
Add to this the top three of Prior, Wright and Maddy really struggling and the pressure all shifts (all too familiarly) to Pietersen and Collingwood. With the Captain struggling for form and the show pony not living up to his potential we never had a chance.
Sympathy to Stuart Broad! I thought he bowled ok in that over and i hope this doesn't scar him too much. Come back stronger Broady!!!
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Previously, you could atleast count on the English to be good losers, now they are just losers with poor excuses. I guess thats what happens when you have nothing going for you..
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I really wish England wouldn't persist with playing injured players, doesn't do anyone any favours. As much as Freddie is an iconic England figure and potential match winner, he has really let us down with the bat of late and has obviously suffered terrible pain when bowling. Lets have some faith with other players in the squad and not cling on to the past.
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I am an england team supporter for long time. But sorry to say that after the ashes in 2005 England are on the down hill. Its very frustrating that ECB is not taking any fundermental changes or any actions towards the failures.
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I'm astonished anyone writing to this post takes Twenty20 seriously.
It's a knock-about, fast and furious game with no subtlety whatsoever and was designed to make some money for the England counties - and I don't knock it for that - it's been useful. Sometimes you need your blockbusters to support the back list as I know from working in publishing.
The ICC saw it as an opportunity to make more money as did the BCCI from television rights.
This so-called World Cup should be consigned to the dustbin along with the Champions' Trophy which was another wretched waste of time last year and dragged the England players along to yet another tournament which lest people forget played to empty stadia.
Time the ECB stood up against this nonsense, recognised this crash bang wallop for what it is and didn't dignify it with any trophy other than a domestic bit of silverware.
Someone in this posting called Twenty20 a one-dayer - I wasn't aware it lasted all day.
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Nixon should have been brought back, Prior dropped and Kirtley left back home. Schofield, Snape, Maddy, Solanki and Shah should all be retained for the ODI in Sri Lanka, imho. I think they still have much to offer, particularly Maddy and Solanki. What England need to realise is that experimentation is the way: the regular squad simply aren't good enough to cut it. Personally, I would also drop Broad, but include Tremlett, who strikes me as a better bowler. To conclude this personal selection, Anderson must be dropped. He is too expensive and too erratic and needs more time in the county circuit.
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Interesting to see all these people coming out of the woodwork now, critisising the decision to take specialists. When this idea was being touted there was no resistence.
I agree with the people who said that the selectors were in a no win situation, and I actually feel sorry for Snape who had 3 catches go down in his one and only over!
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Interesting to see all these people coming out of the woodwork now, critisising the decision to take specialists. When this idea was being touted there was no resistence.
I agree with the people who said that the selectors were in a no win situation, and I actually feel sorry for Snape who had 3 catches go down in his one and only over!
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england in twenty20 world championship
- I seriously doubt england batting order used which caused below par batting performance by england. Also thier batting strategy was wrong by not making full use of powerplay overs.
- why Mascarenhas was not used properly? england lost winnable matches against NZ, SA, IND. He was sent way down the oreder and not used even when england had to score more than 10 runs an over. It is a surprise how rigid the management was with the batting order.
- England seemed lacking the desire of winning such tournament and always came short. This is not good for english cricket...they seemed to have made this their habit.
- Prior was unimpressive. everytime he tried to pull the ball it would barly rach mid-on and this gave england bad start.
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Fred need to take time out of frontline international cricket for 5-6 months, work with Alan Donald and others to change his leg foot crease position, to strenghten his ankle and this is a good time to work on this batting footwork to make himself more nibble, fluent and balanced front and back on the popping crease.
It is also a good opportunity get some steel in his batting defence, shot selection and downward control in his attacking shots, perhaps work with others who are either taking a break from the Autumn/ Winter tour (Vaughan, Harmison, Jones, Trescothwich, Mahmood)
International cricket is proving very intense on those good enough to play all forms. Injuries, Stress, Overplay must be taken into account and a squad / specialism mentality must come to the front of thinking. 2005 proved via injuries that you cannot keep going on a squad of 11 man squad, and strong replacement blood is healthy. but also balanced with team stability.
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I fear Fred's career as a bowler is finished. He is too old to develop a new action at Test level and the stress he puts on his ankle would injure anybody. One could ask why he was allowed to continue with such a dreadful action. Surely a trainer for Lancashire or England should have noticed and said something? The tragedy is it's such a simple thing and could have been corrected in his youth without diminishing his bowling in any way. I guess England will have to lose their most accurate and quickest bowler and persuade Fred to develop his batting beyond being a big-hitter. That could benefit him in more ways than one. England need a captain in both Tests and short-formats, and Fred the batsman could concentrate on that better than Fred the all-rounder. Whatever happens, England can't afford to lose Fred the talisman.
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Well, I did predict in various places that Snape, Maddy, Kirtley, Wright would fail. Correct.
I also said we would lose every game except Zimbabwe. Right again.:(
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I was very unhappy to hear David Lloyd saying on Sky Sports that the England team were 'not up' for this tournament. The suggestion that the England team were not taking the competition seriously was exascerbated by Collingwood's bewildering decision to have a late night drink in a strip club! His 'I knew I had to get out of there' excuses were insulting to the intelligence.
The most experienced 20/20 players in the world are English; how could our team go into the international 20/20 half-cocked? We might have won.
The specialists simply weren't good enough; faith should have been kept in Cook and Bell.
I'm really disappointed.
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England showed lot of character, guts and spirit in their performances, particularly, chasing India's total - in all adversity. Loosing few matches in 20-20 should neither be gauged as failure nor warrant rejection of any player.
I'm sure, your selectors and think-tank have a plan for future by selecting this team. They should stick to the plan and not rush any harsh decision based on this result. I'm sure - bright days are just ahead...
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At 10:06 PM on 20 Sep 2007, Glynne Williams wrote: I'm astonished anyone writing to this post takes Twenty20 seriously.
It's a knock-about, fast and furious game with no subtlety whatsoever and was designed to make some money for the England counties - and I don't knock it for that - it's been useful. Sometimes you need your blockbusters to support the back list as I know from working in publishing.
The ICC saw it as an opportunity to make more money as did the BCCI from television rights.
This so-called World Cup should be consigned to the dustbin along with the Champions' Trophy which was another wretched waste of time last year and dragged the England players along to yet another tournament which lest people forget played to empty stadia.
Time the ECB stood up against this nonsense, recognised this crash bang wallop for what it is and didn't dignify it with any trophy other than a domestic bit of silverware.
Someone in this posting called Twenty20 a one-dayer - I wasn't aware it lasted all day.
Sorry Glynne - But India did not want to play this form of the game at all. It is the Wise men at ECB and the old foggies at ICC who pushed this event down the World's collective throats. May be ECB thought that this is the only form of cricket that England could win
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I just can't believe such a great talent has not had the right coaching during his development to irradiate the pressure put on his ankles when bowling. It is quite obvious that the twisting in his bowling action would have put great strain on the ankle and force him out of action later in life!
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Why oh why do the English national teams look to injured stars to provide success? Wilkinson in Rugby, Owen, Beckham and Rooney in football and Flintoff in cricket. Undue pressure is placed on these athletes to return before they are fully healed and then they just go ahead and hurt themselves again or perform poorly and no matter what are blamed for the short fall of the team as a whole at worst and at best used as an excuse for yet another sub par performance. The rest of the team fails to perform because no one expects them to able to compete with out the help of "star".
Stop worrying about Flintoff and start developing players that can play in his stead, not just one or two. All I hope is that the team starts figuring out how to go forward and improve rather than looking back to 2005 and whining about the good old days when the English team was once successful. It would be so nice as a fan of English sport to have more than 1966, 2003 and 2005 to celebrate.
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We still seem obsessed with
individuals rather than the team & it must be depressing
to hear about what Pietersen & Flintoff can & should achieve
if you are a member of that team. I have no doubt of the talent of these two players but at the end of the day they are just two of eleven players.
I think the trouble is that they start to believe all the crap that is written about them & when they fail reality strikes home & it undermines their game
Wishing them well along with the rest of the team
Robert
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We still seem obsessed with
individuals rather than the team & it must be depressing
to hear about what Pietersen & Flintoff can & should achieve
if you are a member of that team. I have no doubt of the talent of these two players but at the end of the day they are just two of eleven players.
I think the trouble is that they start to believe all the crap that is written about them & when they fail reality strikes home & it undermines their game
Wishing them well along with the rest of the team
Robert
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please get your facts right!..Yuvraj Singh is not a bowler.
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