England vs http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 - Preconceived notions and the Headingley Pitch - Opinion
The captain of the English cricket team, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013-Australia or England-India contests, where the likes
of Anderson, Broad, Bresnan and Finn had come to the fore. Yet with an innings defeat in their bank and survival at stake against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, Strauss needs to just be a touch more prudent with regard to his assumptions which border on the preposterous.
England was not only ordinary in the First Test of the Investec Series but they were shallow and ragged to the very core. 637 for 2 with a triple centurion was what South Africa managed to muster on the batting front, and the bowling card notched up centuries
of their own. It was a sad state of affairs as most of the Englishmen bowled in decent channels. Yet they were less then convincing and lacked the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Neil-Killeen-c79132 instinct to really push South Africa on the back foot. It can be safely said that bad days do tend to
come around for some of the very best in the business. Yet for the English side, being completely outplayed is inexcusable, given that they have had the ability to win games from scratch.
What will compound England’s woes and make the players’ gulp would be the nature of the Headingley pitch that they would confront in the second Test of the series, which starts on the second of August. The pitch has generally supported quality seam bowling
where the ball is bound to move off the seam and make the batsmen play and miss. When the sun is out, this fact becomes redundant as the pitch becomes great for batting. Yet for South Africa, taking wickets on the placid surface of the Oval will not only make
them start off as favourites but also help in rocking the English once again. England are bound to do much better, given that the inclusion of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Harold-William-Stephenson-c61707 Finn would boost an otherwise one dimensional attack, but unlike South Africa, they will still be second in
line. The South African batsmen had literally played out of their skins to win the Test match at the Oval and the script might not change in the second Test.
England’s problems also stems from the hype created by most of the erudite commentators and coaching staff. Hopes still remain high for the team and it is expected that they will bounce back. Yet what will pinch http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Flower-c44362 and English supporters is that
this is the country’s first defeat at the Oval since 2010, against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755. So continuing to shun away talks about the limitation of the team’s bowling repertoire and batting prowess points out at insecurities that the team does not want to reveal.
What irks the impartial observer is that comments had been spewed way before the Test match started. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DW-Steyn-c1409 might be fast but can be tackled, only for the latter to pick up five wickets on a dust bowl on the fifth
day of the Test match. If that comment proved to be sickly prophetic for the English, then worse can be expected on the green pitch at Headingley with a South African attack rearing to go. Preconceived notions on part of a side that suffered an innings defeat
should not be the call of the day.
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