Butler out! Sri Lanka giving it a good go at Headingley.
England, what complete cockwombles. It will sound ungracious but really Sri Lanka didn't have to do anything to earn that win. Seriously. Only England could concoct a situation that turned a cakewalk into a calamity. And it will sound disrespectful to the teams outside the top four but it is true; England haven't really played anyone of high calibre yet.
It’s not quite over yet...
Edit: It is now!
Yes, I posted that 15 minutes before it was officially all over. Mostly because it was obvious that it would end that way although Ben Stokes was fantastic. In the end though only one team deserved to win the game and today it wasn't England.
Neck on the line here: India look the most likely, followed by Australia.
I don't know why New Zealand aren't playing Southee as he knows English conditions and forms a formidable partnership with Boult.
Both India and Australia bat deep, but Bangladesh could've won more games if they had a bowling attack that genuinely frightened the opposition.
As for England, I know Broad and Anderson haven't played the one-day formats for years to prolong their Test careers, but no one else has really stepped up to replace them. And not every single delivery has to fly over the boundary, you can still build a match-winning innings running twos and threes.
Tremendous word, "cockwomble", though!data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
"Cockwomble" - that term I picked up on another forum somewhere. I use it a fair bit and it's a hoot with the Americans.
I think Rob Key had it spot on in the autopsy. So often a game will have a game-changing moment. Yesterday that moment was Moeen Ali. Having just hit a six and the team not even needing a run a ball, absolutely no need to try it again and hole out. Such stupidity and selfishness cost England dear. Compare that to how Stokes played and all he needed was someone to stick around with him. Same situ v Pakistan. Buttler only had to stay there one more over and it would have been job done. No way should England have lost that game.
So England crumbledunder the pressure they created for themselves. Sri Lanka were actually peripheral. And it did make me smile when their players post-match were believing they could make the top four. But there's nothing there of substance in all departments. Though, should England slip up, one of the chasing pack could find themselves in the semi's.
Brilliant by India but they were made to really work for the win. We all know what Rashid Khan can do with the wood and Nabi bats as high as four for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Afghanistan beating India would most certainly have been a bigger shock than Sri Lanka beating England.
Windies train hits wall.
The Afgh/Ind match was a brilliant watch with both teams very impressive with the ball. Nice to see Shami get a hat trick too! Question marks for me over Jadhav and Shankar in the team when Jadeja and Kartik are available.
I agree Jaddu should be in the team.
Okay, I've been away on holiday to glorious Newcastle, just come back late last night and caught up with two highlights programmes:
The Cockwomble Special: I agree that Ali's dismissal was stupid, but Root's was pivotal and completely unnecessary - why do batsmen follow a ball that's clearly going down leg and not swinging away? Tremendous bowling by Malinga in the match too.
India/Afghanistan: so India's batsmen do look vulnerable to spin on a slow pitch, it also negates their bowlers somewhat too, unless they actually bowl at the stumps (shock, horror!) like Shami.
New Zealand/West Indies: if ever one match completely encapsulated the simultaneous joy and despair of following my team, it's this one. Amazing start, fail to capitalise (though Williamson is pure class), look completely out of it, then back in again thanks to Brathwaite's incredible power leaving six to win off seven balls. Okay, you're with the number 11, but you can easily reach that target with twos every other ball, so what do you do? Try to hit a six and hole out, of course!//static.avforums.com/styles/avf/smilies/facepalm.gif WTF!!!
No idea what happened on Sunday or Monday, no spoilers please until I watch the highlights later on today!data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7