Feed Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 More... England expected to start World Cup with several players only half fit • Coach Andy Flower blames length of Australian tour • Kevin Pietersen calls schedule 'ridiculous' Paul Weaver in Perth guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 February 2011 The England coach Andy Flower has blamed the length of the tour of Australia for the team's current injury crisis. England will go into the World Cup with their walking wounded rather than call up lesser replacements – even though they are likely to open the campaign with 12 fit players, two of them still recovering. England will arrive back at Heathrow on Tuesday, bloodied and exhausted as if returning from the Crusades, and will leave for the subcontinent next Saturday. But the clear message from Andy Flower here was that he would prefer to stick with his original squad of 15 and let his five injured players ease themselves into the seven-week tournament, rather than bring in replacements. The team director, though, wants a bigger input in the drawing up of future itineraries, citing the length of England's tour as responsible for their injury problems. Flower said: "Ideally, the coach's thoughts should be sought, but in most instances these fixture lists and itineraries are in place way before any information is sought from the coach. It would be quite sensible to look at how these tours are set up, especially this close to a World Cup." England have been in Australia for three and a half months and Flower said: "Without a doubt the length of the tour is a reason for the injuries. With the intensity at which the guys play their cricket, and with the intensity that we demand in training, it is no surprise that people will pick up injuries and break down at the end of a long, hard tour." Flower will make his feelings known in his tour report. "I don't really want to get into that discussion because I don't think it's helpful for us at the moment. That will be a communication between me and the people who decide on these itineraries." The sheer greed of cricket administrators has led to packed schedules with the result that the product has been diminished through injury, jaded performances and earlier retirements. The lead-up to this World Cup, though, is particularly nonsensical. Kevin Pietersen may be a maverick, on and off the pitch, but he spoke for the entire England party when he said recently: "Our schedule is ridiculous going into this World Cup. It has been so for England teams for a very long time and that's probably why England has not done well in World Cups." For now England intend to patch themselves up and get on with it. If they are to name replacements it must be before the first warm-up game, against Canada on 16 February. Another warm-up against Pakistan follows two days later before the World Cup campaign starts against Holland at Nagpur on 22 February. For the first warm-up match England are likely to be without Tim Bresnan, Ajmal Shahzad and Graeme Swann, leaving them with 12 fit players, two of whom, Paul Collingwood and Stuart Broad, will be returning from injury. Bresnan is expected to miss the two warm-up games as well as the match against Holland. Flower said: "Bresnan's calf is taking a little longer than expected but we anticipate him being ready for the second World Cup game, against India. "Shahzad had that grade one tear of the hamstring and we anticipate him being ready for the first World Cup game. Swann is recovering well but won't be there at the start of the tour anyway because of family commitments. "Broad [out since early in the Ashes series with a serious abdominal injury] should be ready for the first warm-up game. He will be bowling off a full run-up this weekend [in the nets]. Tremlett [who has a side strain] is obviously a strong case as a reserve fast bowler and he should be fine for the start of the World Cup." Flower will meet the other selectors shortly after his return when injuries and possible replacements will be discussed, as well as the balance of the side. The recent experiment of playing Collingwood as the fifth bowler, instead of his customary position as the back-up sixth, was exposed as high-risk when he was injured in the last ODI in Sydney. England want to play three frontline fast bowlers in the World Cup, because of the powerplays. The intention has also been to play two spinners in Swann and Michael Yardy. But if they do that, and with Jonathan Trott now looking a banker at three, they would have to drop one of Pietersen, Ian Bell or Eoin Morgan. "Fast bowling is a strength of ours, even out there in India that will be the case," Flower said. "If we pick five specialist bowlers we will have to leave out one of the batsmen. That is the tricky decision. "Strauss and I spoke about it this morning. I don't want to discuss selection two to three weeks before the first World Cup game, that wouldn't be right, but we are going to have to make a tough decision nearer the time."
flamy Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 I dreamt yesterday England won the World Cup. :/
flamy Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 Can't say. It seems I was asking peeps who won. Apparently India was not in the finals and I wasn't watching the finals. :|
daryl1985 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 If the Irishman misses out then England have no chance.
siddhu Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 hmmm... it seems they already have their excuse ready.
satyam1729 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Morgan ruled out of World cup Breaking news. http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/current/story/499951.html Cricket World Cup: Injured Morgan replaced by Bopara England have called Ravi Bopara into their World Cup squad after Eoin Morgan was ruled out with a broken finger. Morgan missed the seventh and final one-day international against Australia with the injury he first noticed during the fourth game in Adelaide. England coach Andy Flower said: "Eoin needs to be operated on. It's a serious loss but Ravi Bopara will join us." Morgan's injury is the latest in a series of problems that have affected England's limited-overs squad. The bowling division has been worst hit with Graeme Swann (knee/back), Tim Bresnan (calf), Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring), Chris Tremlett (side strain) and all-rounder Paul Collingwood (back) all having flown home early from the Australia tour. Paceman Stuart Broad was also been sidelined for the entire series due to the stomach injury he suffered during the Ashes series. Apart from Bresnan, all of those names are, however, expected to be fit for the tournament, which starts on 19 February and will be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. England will open their World Cup campaign against Holland on 22 February without Morgan, who did not feel that the injury to his middle finger on his left hand was anything to worry about at first. "He injured it in that Adelaide game and didn't think it was serious but it got worse the more he played and practised," added Flower. "The pain grew worse and therefore the medical team got onto it." The left-hander is generally regarded as one England's better limited-overs batsmen, however, he did not have the best one-day series in Australia, scoring only 106 runs in six innings, with a top score of 30 as England slumped to a 6-1 defeat. The 24-year-old has played 61 ODIs, scoring 1,904 runs at an average of 38.08, and at an impressive strike-rate of 81.19, including four centuries. But Flower insists England's World Cup chances have not been diminished by his withdrawal. "No-one is irreplaceable," said the 42-year-old. "Ravi Bopara is a very talented and exciting player. "He will also bring a bit of medium-pace bowling to help out the captain. We're confident the 15 players we've got out there will gel." Bopara has been in the West Indies with the England Lions but will fly home to join the squad before they travel to sub-continent on 12 February. The Essex all-rounder has made 54 ODI appearances for England, scoring 1,140 runs at 28.50 with a strike-rate of 73.45, although his top score is 60. With the ball, he has taken 10 wickets at a little over 33 apiece. "He is going to be a worthy addition to our squad," said England captain Andrew Strauss. "He hasn't had a chance to play for us recently and we like what he can bring to the game. His bowling and his batting, his ability to clear the ropes in the middle overs." Strauss went on to admit that the injuries suffered by England had not helped during the one-day series against Australia. "Having a settled bowling unit has been the basis of our ODI success over the last 18 months and we certainly missed having that in Australia," he stated. "We believe that when they are all fit our bowling unit is a match for anyone in the world." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/england/9388533.stm
Texy Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 2nd chance for Bopara Serves Eng well for playing so many unneeded ODIs ....Huge blow to their chances
Sir john Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 2nd chance for Bopara Serves Eng well for playing so many unneeded ODIs ....Huge blow to their chances :--D:--D:--D:--D:--D:--D:--D bopara my favourite, jiyo texi dada.:two_thumbs_up:
Sachin=GOD Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Make one thread for all players ruled out of the World Cup. Till now there's Praveen Kumar, Mike Hussay, Hauritz and Morgan.
Sid Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 lol,he was supposed to be Englands best odi batsman,thats a serious loss again
Sachin=GOD Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 thts a bigger blow than Hussey!! certainly. IMO he was England's best batsman for this World Cup.
Ram Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 This is a big blow for them since Morgan is vital part of their ODI plans. If anything, he helped transform the English team, which has had for long had a shockingly incompetent ODI/T20 unit, into a team that was good enough to go as far as winning the T20 WC, that too comprehensively. If anything, he was the X-factor that converted their otherwise average batting unit, into a competitive one. Plus, the position at which he bats in – lower middle order – makes him a first among equals in their batting order. England will find it extremely hard to compensate for this loss. It has to be said that, for once, England’s planning reg. matters of schedules/calendar has been surprisingly bad. ECB’s planning in the run-up to the Ashes was widely credited to helping them win their first urn-contest down under in a long time. But surely, they should have known that having their team in a tour that lasted a good part of 3 month just weeks before the WC was a recipe for disaster. Either they should have never played a 7 match ODI series this close to the WC, or they should have rested all their key players to avoid injuries.
vvvslaxman Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 He is one of my favorite player. Will miss him.
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