Middling The Ball

England had an unlikely hero in their captain Michael Vaughan in the first semi-final against Australia that rekindled the longest running pitch-battle in cricket history. With due respect to the other contestants, this is the one battle England were hoping for. They fancied their chances against Australia on English soil following a solid couple of years of international cricket. And for once England’s ambition didn’t exceed their ability.

It would have needed a super all-round performance from a team to beat Australia on the form they showed at the Oval last week as they decimated a hopeful New Zealand. On paper England didn’t quite measure up. They have improved tremendously in recent times but they tend to rely too heavily on their bowlers and their blossoming superstar Andrew Flintoff. However, against Australia, it was their batsmen who rewrote the script.

And Vaughan, not really a conventional one-day batsman, led by example with a rare all-round show that reduced the four-pronged Aussie pace attack to chasing their shadows on the pitch. It was a rude jolt for Ponting’s men who are yet to add this particular piece of silverware to their impressive collection.

What we have learned in the two weeks of this tournament is that England and Pakistan are the teams on the rise. Pakistan, in particular, looked a serious threat to all comers for some time and it seemed Bob Woolmer’s charge had brought some direction to the talented but wayward outfit. But the fragile batting, on show against the Indians too, came back to haunt them again.

Meanwhile, India will be wondering what it must do to stop the worrying trend of shooting themselves in the foot in important games. Since their convincing victories against Pakistan earlier this year, there has been a worrying trend in the bigger games. Anxiety and uncertainty has become a staple for some of the senior batsmen in the Indian line-up and it was evident again in the early part of their innings on Sunday. Sometimes the harder one tries, the worse one plays as tension impedes the natural flow of movement. The mind must be focused and the body relaxed to allow natural talent its full reign.

The toss was important but losing it was not going to be terminal. Saurav Ganguly, in fact, commented at the interview following the toss that he’d have batted had he had the choice. Even if that was said to ease the nerves in the dressing room, it could well have been true for there was nothing in the early dismissals that could have been blamed on the wicket.

Shoaib Akhtar may not be completely in sync with his captain and his coach but he’s looking much more potent now. Against India, having him come on behind Mohammed Sami and Naved ul-Hasan also allowed Pakistan to keep up some concerted pressure on the opposition. Unfortunately, in the semis they had little on the board though Shoaib was at his menacing best.

India were handicapped by the absence of Zaheer Khan and Sachin Tendulkar but it was their much-vaunted batting that was found wanting under the pressure applied by the Pakistan bowlers and fielders. It was only Rahul Dravid’s mind and technique that stood up to the onslaught from the pace duo and the precision of Naved. Everyone else succumbed to the frailty of the mind in the face of the extra pace and pressure.

South Africa and the West Indies fought out another low-scoring affair at the Oval that was finally won by the latter on the second day of proceedings.Herschelle Gibbs defied his recent wretched form to post another classy century that was largely responsible for South Africa making a halfway decent total. Brian Lara looked like playing the decisive innings for the West Indies before a rush of blood saw him lose his wicket to Nicky Boje. In the end it was left to the cool and class of Ramnaresh Sarwan with assistance from Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and the mercurial Ricardo Powell to get them home.

With the talent evident in this Windies squad it is hard to see how they slipped to the depths they have. It is essential for world cricket that they rediscover what it takes to apply their talents more consistently. When they do, as they surely will, cricket around the world will be as healthy as it has been for some time.

Sri Lanka mainly has their fielding to blame for not being able to stop England in their clash at the Rose Bowl. Catches may, or may not, win matches, but dropped catches will be costly as surely as night follows day.

I had expected Pakistan to go through to the final. But another batting collapse and some inspired Windies bowling put paid to any dreams Woolmer and his boys had on the ICC Cup. For the Caribbeans, there’s finally light at the end of a very dismal season. Beating England and lifting the Cup may just be the boost needed to revive cricket in the islands.