The England cricket team have strung a few wins together since arriving in South Africa. But, after commendably drawing the T20 series 1-1, the bigger challenges now lie in wait.
The batters continue to prosper, led by captain Andrew Strauss. Jonathan Trott is in the runs and Kevin Pietersen, having finally shrugged off a niggling injury, gives the middle order a more dangerous look.
But the bowling looks seriously suspect, especially with Graeme Swann's injury. With no Andrew Flintoff or Steve Harmison, much rests on Jimmy Anderson, Graham Onions and Stuart Broad, once he recovers fully from his shoulder problem. Swann and Broad, though, will miss the first two ODIs, throwing the team's plans into disarray.
If England do not get things spot on with the ball from the get go, they will find themselves chasing huge totals and spending long, long days in the field. Graeme Smith and AB De Villiers are just two of the South Africans' prolific run-scorers and how England contain the hosts' top six will ultimately decide both the ODI and Test series.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment