shame really, the Irish will feel robbed, they could have easily chased 200 in 50 overs.
The shame should be on the organisers, yet again they do little and we end up with a 50 overs vs 20 overs mismatch come mishmash of contests. Did they not see the rain coming? Could they not have agreed to play say 30-36 overs each? It's hard to gauge a full innings and set a 20 over target, especially now 20 overs is a form of cricket of its own and we know what kind of chases are possible with 10 wickets to do it with.
In the last 20 overs of a ODI, as the Ireland chase should have been attempting to mimick, you could score as much as 140 on a good pitch with wickets in hand. But trying to set a target with such a difference in overs available, and most importantly with one side batting it as a 50 overs match it is unfair because they know there may be rain, but you can't bat a 50 overs innings any other way than as if it is 50 overs. There opponents gain an unfair advantage in the respect.
Really angry this was not broadcast on TV or at least radio. Even on the cricinfo switch hit show the Brit pundits were saying this is a waste of time and a disgrace. WTF? how do you expect cricket to grow in assosiate countries if you label matches against them a waste of time and fight the schedules.
Sadly matches not in the World Cup and not involving two Test playing nations are regarded as one off public relations exercises and deemed no more important than say tour matches. You're right regarding the publicity and profile of developing teams, it was a reasonably tight and interesting match and I wonder how many of the ODIs against the aussies will be that tight and interesting. That said, how many of the T20 matches in the last World Cup were tight and/or interesting? (allowing for there being a lot less overs) Isn't part of the sales pitch of T20 that it goes down to the last ball, over or last couple of overs? Quite a lot DIDN'T, give me 50 overs any time and every time.
As for the game itself, England went with a second string and got off to a poor start. I thought Bopara batted 3 for Essex and Trott a bit lower for Warks, but that might have changed as I haven't taken much noticed of one day games in the counties this season. A very much "bits n pieces" look to England's middle and lower order, ironically the main bowler got hit and the rest did ok. Does it say something that Shah took 3/16 while Swann took 1/21 and Rashid 1/16? The England side to face the aussies will be much stronger, quite probably something like
Strauss (c)
Denly
Shah
Trott
Collingwood
Prior
Wright
Broad
Swann
Sidebottom
Anderson
That's the side I'd go with, if Flintoff isn't available nor Pietersen. I suspect England will go with one of Anderson and Sidebottom and fill the side with more batting still, personally I'd go with two main bowlers and they could make the early breakthroughs and late(r) breakthroughs that you need in ODIs. Denly, Shah, Trott and Collingwood can all bowl, but I wouldn't want to
have to bowl 10 overs of any of them, I guess with Broad in the side you could play an extra all-rounder but since that side bats down to nine and has three main quicks, a spinner and an all-rounder in Wright then isn't that enough batting and bowling? Put in Flintoff for Wright, Pietersen for Shah or Trott and you'd have as strong an England side as we've had in a while.
I hope we dispense with the pinch-hitting theory, turn decent batsmen into ordinary ones with averages of 20-21. It's a shame Mustard couldn't turn county form into ODI form, I don't like seeing Prior wasted opening and reckon we're better off sticking with openers who do that job in both forms of the game (for their counties) It's not as if our Test openers can't get on with it when it suits them, difference being they know how to battle through a good new ball spell or one in difficult conditions. And one criticism of England batting in general is shot selection, too often going for the wrong ball. Strauss has shown to be the pick in that regard, most of the rest look dodgy in that regard.
Oh well as long as he plays against the Aussies he'll do it when it matters.
