Filed under: Cricket, England Cricket, World Cup, ODIs, India Cricket
England may not have won but it will feel like it - and it certainly should have been a win with the cricket World Cup's rules and points-scoring system surely due a review.Chasing down India's impressive 338, England fell a run short of overhauling the target and tied, a result which should still set them up nicely for the rest of the tournament.
After their bowling and fielding shambles against Holland, the fear was that England were a weary team incapable of peaking again after the Ashes and demoralised by a one-day thrashing in Australia.
It would have been all too easy, as with England teams of yore, to have caved in after Sachin Tendulkar's magnificent 120. Back came Andrew Strauss with 158 to trump the little master, however, and lead England to a morale-boosting point.
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Since good performances give teams energy, just as bad ones drain it, now England should be energised anew, at least to do themselves justice in the tournament as one of the top four 50-over sides in the world.
The display in Bangalore even had this old traditionalist, who prefers the rhythms of Test cricket, purring with admiration and acknowledging the virtues of the one-day game when it does yield a good finish rather than a one-sided procession towards an inevitable result.
It was certainly a highlight of a remarkable sporting weekend. Dear old football brought us Wayne Rooney's elbow and the story of Ashley Cole ludicrously waving a loaded air rifle around the Chelsea dressing room.
It also gave us Birmingham City's unlikely but uplifting triumph in the Carling Cup final as fillip to the Premier League's lower orders taking on the big clubs. Then there was England's powerhouse win over France in the rugby union.
The cricket, though, provided the tensest finish and drama - with just one flaw.
England bowled out India and then matched their score for the loss of eight wickets. How is it, then, that both finish with a point each?
Naturally the Indians deserved something from the game but surely England's performance, viewed through the only objective yardstick of the scores, was the more deserving?
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/02/28/england-india-cricket-world-cup/
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