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21st
The second IPL is underway and what a spectacle it will be. All the worlds most exciting cricketers have arrived in South Africa and in the next few weeks there will be some great entertainment for the locals to enjoy. Each fixture offers some intriguing individual match ups, players who are usually teammates will be battling against each other in search of victory . Our own Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pieterson square up today in a battle of the English heavyweights. As the two most expensive players in the auctions, much will be expected of them and lets hope they produce some fireworks.
The first weekend of games has produced a couple of one-sided affairs but I am sure things will hot up over the coming days and on the small grounds of South Africa expect to see lots of runs and high scoring games with some spectacular individual skills on display.
Bring on the entertainment!
1st
After much debate and discussion the England cricket team have a great chance to achieve some much needed success in the 5th One Day International on Friday. It has been a tough few months for, not only, the team as a whole but for several individuals as well. Our own Andrew Flintoff has suffered from a couple of injury setbacks which has left a gaping hole on occasions. Kevin Pieterson is clearly struggling for a number of reasons and has recently spoke out on how he has been feeling homesick and at the end of his tether. It is a difficult situation because time away from family is one of the hardest things to deal with as a professional cricketer but people don’t want to hear how ‘tough’ or ‘frustrating’ life is when you are playing cricket in the Caribbean for 12 weeks. There are times when, no matter what players are feeling, silence is golden.
Having said all this i wouldn’t be surprised if England are celebrating a series win come friday night with a Pieterson hundred and Flintoff with 4 wickets the difference! Good luck to Straussy and the boys.
8th
Andrew Strauss has a huge job on his hands after Englands dismal 1st Test performance in Jamaica. There is no doubt things are a little disjointed and distracted by some of the off field events. The Pieterson/Moores saga followed by the IPL auctions have been less than ideal preparation for a tough Test Series in the Caribbean.
Strauss has to try and unite his players, who in my view are the right players, and instill some belief and unity to compete for the rest of this series. They are a talented group of players and can hopefully bounce back from this disappointment. Depsite the lack of head coach the players have enough experience and need to take the responsibility to perform out on the field. Team spirit will be crucial, they need to fight for each other and this is where the Captains job becomes so crucial. Whatever differences there are or have been they need to be aired and spoken about to help the players understand each others views and thoughts. Players don’t need to be best mates with each other but that respect for each others abilities, roles and efforts is crucial and something that all great teams have.
It is now time to tighten up as a group and have belief in each other. They can bounce back strongly from this disappointment and sometimes when faced with adversity sides come out fighting and i expect this reaction from Andrew Strauss and his men.
18th
It has been a while since writing and much has happened. The Pieterson/Moores affair has finally been dealt with but not without consequences. I wanted to get some opinion on how influential a Captain should be, especially at the international level. Should the ECB have given Kevin Pieterson what he wanted or are they the ones that put everything in place and then people learn to work together for the best of the country/team.
Personally i think the Captain’s opinion clearly needs to be sought but too much power can be a dangerous thing and it is crucial when making appointments that these people are happy to work together. Clearly Pieterson had his problems with Moores from an early stage so why was he appointed as Captain? Surely to the people closely involved, the final outcome wasn’t overly surprising.
It is sad that it all happened the way it did and is clearly not ideal preparation for the upcoming tour of the West Indies. Andrew Strauss has a tough job on his hands harmonising, what could be, a difficult changing room. I am sure his aim will be to get the team to be open and honest and try to rebuild some team spirit.
I am backing Kevin Pieterson to score runs in the Caribbean but whether the team will gel together well enough to force some positive results remains to be seen.