England look the real deal
WELL, it’s terrific to watch isn’t it? I don’t think I can remember an England side playing with such confidence and guile as they are in this World Twenty20.
With specialists such as Michael Lumb, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan and Tim Bresnan, England have suddenly emerged as a major force in Twenty20 cricket and I really wouldn’t put it past Paul Collingwood’s men lifting a global one-day trophy for the first time in Barbados on Sunday.
Cast your minds back to November 2008 when England took on the West Indies in that ridiculous Sir Allen Stanford affair where we had the likes of Alastair Cook and Ian Bell in the top order and no specialists so to speak of. We’ve come on leaps and bounds since then.
Now, we have power in the batting, variation in the bowling and are ultra-sharp in the field. Everyone knows their role, and, more importantly, they are enjoying their cricket and playing with confidence.
As I write this, England’s semi-final opponents hinge on the day/night game between Australia and the West Indies, but the way England are playing right now, they will fear no-one.
England’s greatest strength is their batting power. Lumb and Kieswetter set a high tempo while Kevin Pietersen and Morgan have shared the duties in keeping that momentum going.
Morgan, in particular, is a tremendous talent. He’s cool, runs well between the wickets and picks his shots instinctively. He could get in any Twenty20 side in the world and will be surely be worth a packet when it comes to the next IPL auction.