England will WIN the ICC World Cup

Cricket ACT XI v England XIII (gggrrrr)

Manuka Oval

Monday 12 January 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

England WILL win the ICC World Cup if they stick with the team they fielded today. Mark my words.

They bat deep. Woakes at 8. Stuart Broad after him. And they squeeze 4 frontline bowlers in as well. Great balance.

Hang on. Hang on. That doesn't add up.

I hate this Shit. First game of England's ICC World Cup campaign. First game since Cook was removed as Captain. First game under Eoin Morgan's tenure. Let's set the scene & crack on with the new era dawning.

Oh. And let's play a 13 a side bunfight. Because, you know, we might need to use 10 specialist batsmen in a game somewhere down the track.

But. Bowlers need to get some overs under their belt. Batsmen need time in the middle. I hear you say in a whiney voice. Bowlers need to practice bowling. Batsmen need to practice batting. You're beginning to grate now.

The team of 11, & just 11 on the day, need to PRACTICE WINNING.

I'm not even sure they had a Toss .... "England will Bat".

Moeen, Bell, Root & Taylor all got to 50 & then got out more or less straightaway. I'm predicting that during the World Cup, someone will have to get to 50 and stay there and kick on. And they won't. Because they ain't practiced it (is what I'll say in I told you so mode).

Even Cricket ACT used 8 bowlers. It's contagious.

Right. I'll wind my neck in. The standard of the opposition can sometimes dictate what you have to do. They did win by over 200 runs. So "you got your way Phil, they practiced winning".

So. Moeen with some great power hitting. He looks very compact & in sync at the crease. Very wristy stuff from James Taylor. Late bully boy hitting from Woakes & Ravi.

Still No Toss Toss for me though. Hate it.

70/174