David EdwardsEngland Have Finally Won, But At What Cost?
January 17th 2007 12:30
Well, as much as many of the Australia fans would have liked to see them sent home without a single win, England were able to snatch a victory despite their best chances to lose against New Zealand in the final over of the match.
Whilst the game itself was not one that many people would call memorable (or for that matter…interesting), England will at least be able to head back home and claim that despite they lost the Ashes and as it looks, demolished by Australia in the one day tournament, they were at least able to leave with a victory in the record books.
This is essentially the knockout blow for England. Any thoughts of being able to make a stance in the Commonwealth Bank Series was thrown out the window the minute that Vaughn’s hamstring appeared to be strained on Tuesday. With the results claiming that he has suffered a grade 1 hamstring tear, it means that there is a good chance that he will not play on Australian soil again in ’07.
Whilst Vaughn exit is definitely disappointing for England, and truth be told most cricket fans, it just adds to the woes of England. Trescothick, Simon Jones, and Pietersen have all been omitted due to various injury problems, and now with Vaughn leaving after only three matches back (he has not played for 14 months due to knee surgery), we could be looking at England not winning another game whilst on tour.
But this is not the hardest blow for the England squad. With the World Cup cricket tournament only months away, it was now that they needed all their best players in fighting fit condition. Now that four of their key one day players will either miss out due to injury, or be unprepared due to their injury, it seems that England will not change any bit of the one day tournament.
But that is just one problem that they must add to the list of worries (which must be halfway between the Gabba and the SCG by now). Their first issue they must deal with is now who to promote to captain of the one day squad. Whilst Flintoff was the last nominated captain for the Ashes, his performance might dismiss him from consideration. This leaves Andrew Strauss as the next best alternative, but if you consider his batting performances of late, it might be best to not to add to his issues.
This problem England must solve, and solve fast. With their next game against Australia only two days away, they have to show to their opponents that they are a fully focused squad with a competent and admirable captain at the helm. However, after their performances since November in Australia, we are fully aware that this is not the case.
Until next time, sports minds.
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