England Light Up The World Cup

image courtesy cricinfo.com

It was only along expected lines. The partnership could not have continued, with so many glaring differences. With Greg Chappell's resignation comes an end to a very eventful and, of late, unsavoury chapter in Indian cricket.

Till the very end, the Indian coach did not agree that he was a part of the bunch that failed at the World Cup and only continued to play the blame game. If the attitude of the players was not up to the mark, he should have made a point about that before the World Cup and not after the debacle in the West Indies.

The rift and the so-called divide between the seniors and juniors could have been averted (if at all there was one). Chappell should have addressed these problems, or reported it to the BCCI as and when it happened. Using things to his convenience after a bad result does not talk highly of a person who did almost everything as a player and captain right, except instruct his younger brother to bowl underarm to ensure victory at all costs.

It was a mixed bag as far results are concerned in the last 22 months, but the team at the moment is an insecure lot and for the boys to regroup might take some time. But the advantage is the next assignment is against Bangladesh, where the team has all the chance to get back to their best. The season that follows is one of the most grueling and it is not only going to test the skill of the players but also the mental tenacity of the lot.

There were other small matters that surrounded the world of cricket when England played Sri Lanka at St. Peter's. England, for once, played to potential and if they had won it would have really opened up this World Cup and made things a lot more interesting.

England's biggest Achilles’ heel has been its openers. Michael Vaughn is hardly the inspiring figure he used to be. Joyce is nervy. The duo's failure at the top is costing them dearly. Their body language is also not very positive and the bowling that looked good was only aiming to be restrictive, rather than look at wickets. This, to me, made the difference between the two sides.

England also left the task undone for too long. The middle overs ticked by without much scoring being done and if not for the heroic effort from Ravi Bopara, Sri Lanka would have won comfortably. England though can take a lot of positives from this show and approach the upcoming games with assurance. Ravi Bopara's success is a shot in the arm for the English who might well have envisaged a back door entry to the final four when he was at the crease.