Beware the British Backlash
4By The Spotter
With the kind of form England’s Eoin Morgan is in at the moment, he might well be bowled for a blob if he joined in for a bit of a bash in the backyard. But boy, Blackcaps bowlers-beware of a blistering Brit blitzkrieg from the blazing bat of England’s best batsman in contemporary one-day cricket.
Morgan surely can’t be too far away from unshackling himself from this form slump of his and leading his team to a 300+ total. (That old chestnut we all know could apply here for Morgan-the one that goes: ‘Form is temporary, class is permanent’). From a Kiwi point of view, let’s hope like heck that he and his mates don’t pick this Saturday to do it, never mind the fact it would make for a great game.
Aside from the ever-present threat of the captain, if Jos Buttler is in the line-up he may just fancy his own chances against some of our medium-fast bowlers if they aren’t on their game. Buttler has at times in the past treated our attack with a degree of contempt. There should still be some fairly vivid memories for NZ cricket fans of Buttler launching a scary attack in a one-dayer against the Caps in 2013 at Trent Bridge. 47 not out off just 16 balls by the time things were done, with six fours and three sixes, which means 42 of those smites came in boundaries (thank you, Sir Wiki-p for that particular stats breakdown). The man can be destructive, with a strike rate of 108 and average of 31 from 43 innings in ODI internationals. That strike rate is highly impressive for the amount of innings he has played. It will be interesting to see happens to that rate over the next stanza of his career.
The key for the NZ bowlers would surely be to limit the chances for Morgan and Buttler and their brethren to play their inventive or at times, murderous shots square of the wicket. A bit of width is like pennies from heaven for those guys. Our attack should be looking to ‘bottle them up in the blockhole’. Easier said than done though, with a fine line between that and some ripe half-volleys looking for a place in the stand over long-on.
After all said and done I fancy the Blackcaps to deal another blow to the Three Lions, but anyway it should be a cracker.
I suppose anything can happen in a one-off pool match, NZ certainly won’t be underestimating the Poms, but we’re playing with a lot of confidence, going really well as an unit, expect us to win this one.
Yes, things are looking ok at the moment for NZ…Eng 36-2. Those short side boundaries seem to look a lot shorter on a sunny day somehow, or am I just being paranoid? If Morgan gets a start tho’ we’d better get his scalp quick-smart. And another thing…can’t be too many more unlucky than B McCullum at losing the coin toss, blimin’ heck.
Holy plethora of boundaries Batman. What an annihilation. And there was me worried about the short boundaries…when England were batting! Funnily enough, in the NZ Herald paper this morn McCullum very much undersold himself…by saying that Morgan and Buttler were the dangermen for us to be wary of…and well, just look how it went!! Odds on the British press will eat that beleagured English rabble for breakfast (and morning tea and lunch and…).
All over the poms now, have them110 for 7… superb swing bowling by Southee & brilliant fielding as usual.
Yeah, gets really annoying with McCullum losing the toss on most occasions.