England were second best in just about every department during yesterday’s loss to the Prime Minister’s XI by 166 runs. The local batsmen were largely untroubled by England’s bowling attack, which looked very, very ordinary. Flintoff is looking pretty good, but Sajid Mahmood’s tour got off to a terrible start with figures of 1-97 from just 9 overs. In that time he was called for 6 no balls, and bowled a dozen more that the umpire missed. It’s all looking a bit like Kasprowicz in the 2005 series – plenty of no balls, a wayward line, and an ultimately terrible series. Perhaps the Englishman should have a chat with the big Queenslander when they get into Brisbane.
We only caught a glimpse of Monty Panesar, as he was given just 3 overs. For a guy who has never played here before, and who could be a key factor in England’s Test side, this seemed very strange to me. Perhaps he’s a quick learner. And why give Paul Collingwood an extended run? It was all a bit crazy out there.
At the change of innings I started thinking that perhaps England is still a good chance at winning this one. Perhaps Manuka Oval is a batting paradise. Perhaps the conditions are so unfriendly to the bowlers that any old bloke could score runs on this ground.
Shaun Tait changed all of that, and probably booked himself a spot in the Test side. His pace bowling into the breeze was awesome, and although the England side got a glimpse of Tait during the 2005 series, he looks to be back to his best and could be quite a frightening bowling partner for Brett Lee.
So what can we get from all of this?
A loss in a game like this isn’t really a big deal, so I don’t think we can condemn England just yet. Back in 2002 England lost their opening game to the ACB Chairman’s XI by 58 runs. On the 1998-99 tour England had a 1 run win over the Chairman’s side, and in 1994 England again defeated the Chairman’s XI, but lost to the Prime Minister’s XI by 2 wickets.
They’ll bounce back, although their next game against New South Wales will be a tough one. They’re practically playing against an Australian Test side with a few extra blokes flown in to make up the numbers: Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Simon Katich, Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, and Phil Jaques (again). MacGill suggested that NSW might just go out and bat for 3 days to deny the English some batting practice. Based on yesterday’s effort from England’s bowlers that might be a fairly easy thing to do.
