England made to bite the dust again

When England won the Ashes and followed it with a whitewash against India, the British media went over board and claimed that this team is well poised to dominated the world cricket over the next decade. However as expected the things started to fall apart when they started playing in the sub-continent tracks. They were white washed in the ODIs against India in India followed by trashing in the 3 test matches against Pakistan.

The only excuse for the English team was Saeed Ajmal (as all of them kept complaining about his bowling). The fact is it is not just Ajmal who troubled them, but every decent spinner they played against in sub-continent has troubled them. The slow left arm bowling of Abdur Rehman was equally effective and he got couple of 5 wicket hauls. So the fact is, England team is vulnerable not just against world class spin bowling but also against a decent spin attack.

The first match of the series against Sri Lanka proved the point again. Rangana Herath is a good bowler, but not a wizard like Murali or a Warne. However the English team made Herath look like the best bowler in the world (he ended up claiming 12 wickets in the match) and even Randiv whose bowling average is well over 40 before this match ended up looking a terrific bowler. England lost all its 10 wickets to spin on the final day. Thanks to the batting talent of England, who are still struggling to post a good total against a sub continent team in sub-continent conditions. Eventually Sri Lanka won its first home match after the Murali’s retirement.

The only positive for England is the way Trott played, he is a terrific test player and has proved himself in various conditions. To score a fourth innings hundred (that too on the last day of the match) in Sri Lanka is a great feat. If England want to dominate the world cricket then they should learn to play spin and learn to play on slow and spinning tracks without whining about the conditions. This will go a long way in gaining the lost confidence for the demoralized test team of Sri Lanka. It is time for introspection for England.

Tags: England, featured, herath, sri lanka, trashed

Category: Ajith's Straight Drive