“Bangladesh won the toss, something regular captain Andrew Strauss would have never let happen” – reveal all his secrets he will not, young Jedi.
“England defeated Bangladesh by 45 runs in the third and final One-Day International to sweep the three-match series 3-0. Chasing 285 runs to win, Bangladesh managed 239-9 in 50 overs” – what a good way to start the weekend.
“Collingwood entered the fray with a grim countenance, and proceeded to turn an increasingly enthralling contest into a comfortable chase” – Cow Corner licks its pen for another coruscating match report after Paul Collingwood England beat Bangladesh in the first ODI.
“Fans cast further doubt over one-day cricket’s long-term future by voting with their feet, as only 25,463 spectators attended Sunday’s game between Australia and West Indies at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground)” – The glass is half-full for Australia’s The Age newspaper. Not.
“Having fought so hard to draw those two Tests it was disappointing the boys could not hold on in Johannesburg. It has still been a successful tour though, having won the one-day series and drawn the Tests. South Africa are a good side – they have won in Australia in the last 12 months – so a drawn series is very respectable. We have had to fight and scrap” – Mike Gatting reminds us of the positives.
What does Ian Bell gain at this point from being sent to play limited-overs cricket for the Lions? Is this simply the best way for him to brush up his one-day game having got himself together in the long form?
“I still believe I have a lot to offer England because I’m a six-hitter. I don’t believe there are enough guys in that line-up who can change the game. If you look at the best teams in the world, they’ve got players who score big, destructive runs and nail the opposition” – Owais Shah makes his pitch for continued one-day international selection.
“It is only a start, but if things go on like this, Andrew Strauss may yet be remembered as the captain who made a sought-after designer handbag out of the sow’s ear of England’s one-day team” – Mike Holman on Cricinfo’s Different Strokes Blog. And won’t Strauss look fetching then.
“It’s not really the way we’d like to win the series. But we’ll take it nonetheless” – Andrew Strauss after rain helped England to become only the second nation (after Australia) to beat South Africa at home in a ODI series.
“I think I’ve bowled better and got less [sic] rewards. It was just one of those days where catches went to hand. It was nice to get a wicket that was a little bit conducive to seam bowling – and thankfully, I made the most of it. I bowled a few wicket-taking balls. But it was more the pressure we built up as a unit” – James Anderson is modest about his maiden ODI five-wicket haul in Port Elizabeth.
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