Posted:
Friday, March 09, 2007
Vaughan to pressurise Aussies
By Richard Hobson
England and Australia face a conflict of interest today in their final warm-up match before the ICC Cricket World Cup. Inherent determination to beat the oldest rivals has to be weighed against the importance of answering any questions about the make-up of the bowling attack.
It goes against the instincts of Michael Vaughan to be anything but ruthless should Australia lose early wickets. Bowling changes, though, will be made not simply to press for victory but to ensure that Liam Plunkett, Jon Lewis and Sajid Mahmood have one last opportunity to push for a place.
Duncan Fletcher, the coach, implied that an extra seam position may be available if England do not expect the St Lucia pitches to turn during the group phase. Monty Panesar is viewed as the second spinner behind the all-round ability of Jamie Dalrymple, but, regardless of conditions, Panesar always offers control.
The coach said that Vaughan will field for between 20 and 30 overs and bat for as long as ability allows. So far, the captain has lasted no more than 32 balls in an innings since returning to the team after his long-term knee injury. Hamstring trouble caused him to break down in two out of three one-day matches in Australia.
Despite this, England are reluctant to acknowledge the risk of going into the crucial group contest against New Zealand a week today with a captain who will not have played a complete match since the recurrence of the hamstring injury, brought on by a premature return, in Brisbane on February 6.
Fletcher said: "Vaughan will have contributed as a batsman as much as he can and as far as the fielding is concerned he does not really bowl, so it is not a major concern. He has done a lot of work on his legs off the field.
"These things can reoccur in anyone, but we are pretty confident with the way we have built him up. He is just a very, very good captain, there is nothing more to explain. He has played well in high-pressure games as a batsman. He has never made a big score, but is a hundred followed by ten ducks in a row better than consistent performances?"
By any definition, Vaughan's one-day record is moderate at best; his past ten innings stretching back to the NatWest Series in 2005 have been 0, 17, 26, 15, 1, 59 not out, 0, 0, 0 and 57.
Australia have been encouraged by the speed of Andrew Symonds's recovery from a bicep injury, but further evidence that their bowling attack has lost potency came at Arnos Vale on Tuesday, when Zimbabwe batted for their 50 overs. In contrast, England had skittled out Bermuda for 45 the day before.
Nathan Bracken and Glenn McGrath are certain to play, but Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark, the replacement for Brett Lee, need to impress today. So, too, does Brad Hogg. Despite going wicketless in his past six matches, he is the only proper spin option until Symonds is fit.
Fletcher believes that today's match is more important for Australia after their alarming dip at the end of the Commonwealth Bank Series, which preceded a 3-0 defeat in New Zealand. "We have beaten them three times in a row and it would be quite a big thing if they went 4-0 down to us," he said.
The coach confirmed that Ed Joyce will continue alongside Vaughan in the opening slots. This is the last of the warm-up matches in St Vincent. Crowds have been sparse, but that is expected to change today, a public holiday.
Teams
England (from): M P Vaughan (captain), E C Joyce, I R Bell, K P Pietersen, P D Collingwood, A Flintoff, J W M Dalrymple, P A Nixon, L E Plunkett, S I Mahmood, J Lewis, M S Panesar, J M Anderson.
Australia (from): R T Ponting (captain), A C Gilchrist, M J Clarke, B J Hodge, M E K Hussey, S R Watson, B J Haddin, G B Hogg, B Lee, N W Bracken, M G Johnson, G D McGrath, S W Tait.
Vaughan to pressurise Aussies
By Richard Hobson
England and Australia face a conflict of interest today in their final warm-up match before the ICC Cricket World Cup. Inherent determination to beat the oldest rivals has to be weighed against the importance of answering any questions about the make-up of the bowling attack.
It goes against the instincts of Michael Vaughan to be anything but ruthless should Australia lose early wickets. Bowling changes, though, will be made not simply to press for victory but to ensure that Liam Plunkett, Jon Lewis and Sajid Mahmood have one last opportunity to push for a place.
Duncan Fletcher, the coach, implied that an extra seam position may be available if England do not expect the St Lucia pitches to turn during the group phase. Monty Panesar is viewed as the second spinner behind the all-round ability of Jamie Dalrymple, but, regardless of conditions, Panesar always offers control.
The coach said that Vaughan will field for between 20 and 30 overs and bat for as long as ability allows. So far, the captain has lasted no more than 32 balls in an innings since returning to the team after his long-term knee injury. Hamstring trouble caused him to break down in two out of three one-day matches in Australia.
Despite this, England are reluctant to acknowledge the risk of going into the crucial group contest against New Zealand a week today with a captain who will not have played a complete match since the recurrence of the hamstring injury, brought on by a premature return, in Brisbane on February 6.
Fletcher said: "Vaughan will have contributed as a batsman as much as he can and as far as the fielding is concerned he does not really bowl, so it is not a major concern. He has done a lot of work on his legs off the field.
"These things can reoccur in anyone, but we are pretty confident with the way we have built him up. He is just a very, very good captain, there is nothing more to explain. He has played well in high-pressure games as a batsman. He has never made a big score, but is a hundred followed by ten ducks in a row better than consistent performances?"
By any definition, Vaughan's one-day record is moderate at best; his past ten innings stretching back to the NatWest Series in 2005 have been 0, 17, 26, 15, 1, 59 not out, 0, 0, 0 and 57.
Australia have been encouraged by the speed of Andrew Symonds's recovery from a bicep injury, but further evidence that their bowling attack has lost potency came at Arnos Vale on Tuesday, when Zimbabwe batted for their 50 overs. In contrast, England had skittled out Bermuda for 45 the day before.
Nathan Bracken and Glenn McGrath are certain to play, but Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark, the replacement for Brett Lee, need to impress today. So, too, does Brad Hogg. Despite going wicketless in his past six matches, he is the only proper spin option until Symonds is fit.
Fletcher believes that today's match is more important for Australia after their alarming dip at the end of the Commonwealth Bank Series, which preceded a 3-0 defeat in New Zealand. "We have beaten them three times in a row and it would be quite a big thing if they went 4-0 down to us," he said.
The coach confirmed that Ed Joyce will continue alongside Vaughan in the opening slots. This is the last of the warm-up matches in St Vincent. Crowds have been sparse, but that is expected to change today, a public holiday.
Teams
England (from): M P Vaughan (captain), E C Joyce, I R Bell, K P Pietersen, P D Collingwood, A Flintoff, J W M Dalrymple, P A Nixon, L E Plunkett, S I Mahmood, J Lewis, M S Panesar, J M Anderson.
Australia (from): R T Ponting (captain), A C Gilchrist, M J Clarke, B J Hodge, M E K Hussey, S R Watson, B J Haddin, G B Hogg, B Lee, N W Bracken, M G Johnson, G D McGrath, S W Tait.
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