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Analysis of current English fortunes
Dave Henderson
Well we have all had a good look at the current crop of
England's cricking elite by now. And if it is the best they have,
this series will resemble a group of bouncers kicking an old
drunk lying in the gutter. England have lost all the momentum
they must have built up with their crushing Test Series wins over
Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They look like shattered units,
and the thought of the upcoming 5 Test Matches must make them
more scared than a Boy Scout at a poofter's picnic.
England's problem seems to be that there is no depth. Granted,
Thorpe is out and Nasser Hussain is injured, but there just
nobody to take their place. Paul Collingwood just does not have
the goods. Trescothick looks like he would be better off selling
pies from a stand outside the ground (sure looks like he has
eaten a few over the years), and Robert Croft's problem seems to
be that somebody once told him that he can bowl spin. Vaughan
only averages 7 in ODI's, sure hope he gets picked in the Tests!
Further, Ben Hollioake averages 141.5 with the ball, figures that
would make Andy Bichel green with envy. It can only be a matter
of time before the 'bring back Tufnell and Hick' bandwagon takes
off.
Moving onto a real cricket side now. Ponting is looking
superb, great to see him bounce back after India. McGrath is his
usual perfect self, and how good is Dizzy Gillespie looking. JL
would be getting nervous about Marto's form, I think he will have
to peel off a big one in the first 2 Tests to keep his spot.
This summer promise nothing more but another crushing victory
for the Australians. Surely it is time for England's place as a
Test-Playing nation to be reconsidered. Send them back to the ICC
conference and promote Kenya; at least that way Australia may
have to get out of 2nd gear.