1. Do I not like that
The sight of England’s bestubbled head coach, Peter Moores, angrily remonstrating with the fourth umpire Ranmore Martinesz, after Chris Jordan was adjudged to have been run out during their World Cup-ending, 15-run defeat to Bangladesh, was something of a rarity in cricket. In the past, following such controversial calls, we would simply witness Andy Flower appearing on the pavilion balcony with murder in his eyes, before disappearing off to vent at the officials behind closed doors.
But in Adelaide we were treated to cricket’s answer to that most footballing of touchline pantomimes, with Moores invoking memories of Graham Taylor’s infamous “Tell your pal that he’s just cost me my job‚” cry to the linesman in Rotterdam during England’s doomed qualification campaign for the 1994 World Cup – a line that proved prescient. Taylor kept quiet on the data thing afterwards, mind you.
2. Mashed
In the rush to find the keys to the armoury of publishable expletives in the immediate aftermath of an England defeat, the exploits of the victors are often overlooked. But, to use modern cricketing parlance, all credit to Bangladesh, who qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time in their history by overcoming a tournament format that, in theory, should have been a gentle parade for the big beasts of world cricket. They outplayed England in every department, even sending down the fastest ball of the match courtesy of Rubel Hossain – a first, surely – and witnessing their first ever World Cup century from Mahmudullah.
Particularly heartwarming was the personal triumph of their seam-bowling captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, who, in one lift of his trouser leg, revealed the full extent of a career ravaged by injury. Mortaza was the man who gave the Tigers their coming-of-age moment when his four for 38 sent India home from the Caribbean at the first hurdle eight years ago. But he has also missed nearly half of his country’s international cricket since his debut 2001, having been under the knife more times than Jackie Stallone in a bid to resolve a string of knee problems. Fitness permitting – he continues to battle a calf issue and missed their final group game with New Zealand – Mortaza feels the right man to captain Bangladesh into previously uncharted waters.
3. Jimmy’s going nowhere
Will England’s selectors sweep out the old and usher in the new when they next consider the make-up of a one-day squad? The four-year cycle, we are told, should see those unlikely to feature next time around being dumped in favour of getting runs/wickets/defeats under the belts of the next generation. The likely discards, therefore, are those over 30 with Jimmy Anderson – a disappointment in Australia and New Zealand – and Ian Bell – the perennial frustration – the two obvious candidates.
But Jimmy, it would appear, is not budging. In his newspaper column for the Sun he stated categorically that he has no intention of stepping aside. Anderson has previously outlined his goal to make the 2019 edition, in what would be his fifth World Cup. Should we applaud a passionate patriot such as Anderson for wanting to remain in the selection mix? Or should we lament his stubbornness given that he will be 36 come the next tournament in England? While retirement from the format, rather than a simple dropping, could possibly impact the returns from his central contract, this writer is prepared to go with the former. It is over to those in charge to make the call.
4. A sinister plot
Left-handers eh? Everything they do looks, frankly, weird (this writer is married to one, so speaks from experience) and yet there has never been a better time to be one in cricket. Or more specifically, a left-arm fast bowler. They have already smashed through their previous World Cup wickets record – 77 in 2003 – and at the time of writing boast 89 at 20 runs apiece, with 11 games still to play. Factoring in spinners, the southpaws have 137 wickets and need a further 16 to make this their most bountiful tournament ever. England, of course, had no such change of angle in their squad.
5. Tread and buried
Last season we saw the Sussex batsman Luke Wright pick up the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket award after informing the umpires that, while safely holding a catch off Lancashire’s Steven Croft, his heel had touched the boundary rope and a six should be awarded. Should Ireland’s John Mooney have done the same when his crucial pouch in the deep removed Sean Williams on 96 to set up an epic five-run win over Zimbabwe in Hobart? Or did he not feel a touch? Replays proved inconclusive, with some seeing movement and others prepared to take the fielder’s word.
Zing, the company that make the flashing bails on display in this World Cup, have already declared an interest in making light-up boundary markers to assist in such circumstances. With their stump systems reportedly costing £27,000 a set, we’re not surprised.
6. Total Zimwit
Publicly criticising a rival newspaper is a big no-no for print journalists, particularly in these most uncertain of times for the industry. But in the case of the Zimbabwe Herald, a state-owned publication, we are prepared to make an exception. Under the headline “Alcoholic dumps Zim out of WC‚” the journalist Robson Sharuko dubbed Mooney a cheat while cruelly dragging up problems from his past to present a theory as to why he did not recall the batsman.
Cricket Ireland are considering legal action and have complained to the ICC over the matter, while the Zimbabwe captain, Brendan Taylor, has given a classy apology on behalf of his country. Given Sharuko is currently banned by the Zimbabwe Football Association for his role in a match-fixing scandal, you have to question how he got his press pass in the first place.
7. A Taylor woe
The Zimbabwe captain, Brendan Taylor, at the ripe old age of 29, has announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the current tournament to take up a three-year contract at Nottinghamshire as a Kolpak player. While the deal is yet to be signed off by the ECB, it looks a given that Taylor, a British passport holder, will be turning out at Trent Bridge this summer.
Nottinghamshire have got themselves a wicketkeeper-batsman with international pedigree and at the top of his game, as demonstrated by his 295 runs at 59 in this competition. The player himself gets financial security for his family. But what does it say about Zimbabwe, a full member of the ICC, when they are unable to remunerate their best player sufficiently to keep him in international cricket?
8. Haq’d off
The Scotland off-spinner Majid Haq was sent home in disgrace after taking to Twitter to vent his frustration at his axing from the side to face Sri Lanka, writing: ”Always tougher when your [sic] in the minority #colour #race.” Had he engaged his brain, Haq might have realised that Scotland’s management, with their campaign ended in week three by the defeat to Bangladesh in Nelson, were simply giving young spinner Michael Leask a game. He may get a few more now, too.
9. Dan’s the man
The slow men are taking their biggest pounding in this World Cup, going at over five runs an over for the first time in history. But it is worth noting that spinners are still marginally under the overall economy rate for the tournament, which stands at 5.5. King of their tribe is unquestionably Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, who had taken six ODI wickets in the 12 months prior to the tournament, but now has 13 from six matches while going at a miserly 3.2 runs an over.
10. Sanga clanger
The auction for Indian Premier League is a curious thing. Three weeks ago, during their annual tooling-up session, the eight cash-rich franchises decided that the Sri Lankan master Kumar Sangakkara was not worthy of a single bid. But were the world’s cricketers to go under the hammer today, the left-hander would surely be among the hottest property. Sangakkara’s 124 against Scotland saw him become the first man to score four consecutive hundreds in one-day cricket and the first to notch up four at a World Cup, before he followed up in the field by becoming the first wicketkeeper past 500 dismissals, 54 of which have been in World Cups – another record. As @TheKingsTweets asked on Twitter: “After 70 ODIs, Sangakkara averaged 25.87. If he’d been English, would he ever have been picked again?”
Now 37, Sangakkara averages 42 and has scored 14 of his 25 one-day centuries in the last quarter of his career. His last 100 matches have reaped 4,639 runs at 54.58. Hey-ho, the IPL’s loss is Surrey’s gain. We can’t wait to watch him at The Oval from the start of this summer.
