Can We Do It?

That is the question on everybody’s lips.  English cricketers must be in good heart as they look towards the start of the competition next week.  What is intriguing is the make up of our first 11.  In the first warm up game, we saw Andrew Strauss not even in the 13 so we probably have an inkling that if everybody is fit he will be not be playing in St Lucia next Friday along with Ravi Bopara.  So the likes of Messrs Plunkett, Anderson, Mahmood and Lewis to fight out amongst themselves for two spots.   Jon Lewis had very good figures in the first warm up game, albeit against Bermuda, while the other three bowled fairly steadily.

On these very slow, low wickets, the less wide’s and no balls we bowl, the more chance we have of winning these games.  For that reason, I will be plumping for Anderson, our best out and out first bowler and Lewis, our most experienced pace bowler.  I think the wickets we have seen in the warm up games will suit Lewis’ wicket to wicket bowling, they look just like the wickets he is so used to bowling at down in Bristol.

If we can get our top order firing, leaving Messrs Pietersen, Collingwood and Flintoff to be able to play with freedom to the middle to late stages of the innings, I can see England being quite a handful with their new found confidence.  The way the competition is set, a good win next week against New Zealand could see us not just get through to the Super Eights, but with also half a foot to the semi-finals.  Let’s hope everybody stays fit and we play well.