- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
If the ECB runs true to form, England cricket coach Peter Moores will be looking for a new job sooner than later.
He’ll be made the scapegoat for England failing to qualify for the World Cup quarters, with a game against Afghanistan still to go.
The 16-run loss at Adelaide yesterday was England’s humiliation, but also Bangladesh’s history-making finest hour, celebrated long into the night by their army of fans.
But Moores mustn’t be the only casualty – heads must roll.
For starters England’s opening batsmen Ian Bell and Moeen Ali were going well with 43 on the board chasing 275, before both were guilty of ‘ball watching’ and not calling. The resultant mix-up saw Ali run out – just dumb, dumb cricket.
Kids at six years of age are taught the on-strike batsman calls in the front of the wicket, the non-striker when the ball is behind the wicket. The calls are simple and precise – yes, no or wait. That internationals should be reminded of that elementary fact of cricket life is beyond belief.
But Chris Jordan made the same mistake later in the innings at a time when push turned to shove. Jordan went ball-watching instead of calling and was run out off the first ball he received.
The Ali and Jordan run outs cost England the game that would have kept their quarter final hopes alive. New Zealand will beat Bangladesh in their last pool game, and England would have beaten Afghanistan to make the quarters.
Double stupidity ended England’s last chance. But Ali and Jordan weren’t the only Englismen to blame, not by a long shot.
Skipper Eoin Morgan never got out of first gear with the bat, and he’s a tried and tested international. Scores of 0, 17, 46, 27, and 0 at an average of 18 never cut the mustard as an inspirational leader.
In the 44 England dismissals in this tournament there have been only two tons – Ali 128 and Joe Root’s 121 – and just four half-centuries – two to Bell, and one each to Josh Buttler and Jimmy Taylor.
Then the ball deficiencies; the England attack has been in the pop-gun basket.
Jimmy Anderson’s four wickets at 56.75, Stuart Broad’s three at 78.66, Chris Woakes’ five at 46.80, and while Ali is no Graeme Swann as an offie, he was still expensive with four wickets at 58.25.
That attack frightened no-one, and the reason why England won only one of their five games, beating neighbours Scotland, ranked 13 in the world.
Hardly a riveting result.
So exit England, and Bangladesh fight on to meet India in the quarters, where their history-making campaign will come to a shuddering halt.
But for the moment, let Bangladesh bask in the glory of their finest hour. They deserve it.