Interesting Duel On The Cards

image courtesy cricinfo.com

A match that had little consequence literally might have allowed England to harbour some false hopes. They did everything conceivable to hand over the match to Bangladesh who would have thoroughly rued the fact of not adding another 30 runs to their tally.

Bangladesh defended the small target with the heart of an oak tree, but having got caught in seaming conditions earlier, they were not be blamed. Their opponents had the better of the conditions after their luck with the toss.

The Bangladesh spin attack seems to have understood the nuances of over-specific cricket better than most. They bowl the right trajectory to keep the scoring to the bare minimum. They would have been better served if their top order had held on to their nerves and played out the new ball rather than go for runs.

The English continue to play drab cricket and are just not cut out for one-dayers. The over-dependence on Kevin Pietersen is growing with each passing day and the Flintoff's patchy form with the bat has hit their balance hard. With South Africa to contend with in the next game, they have their task cut out and if they are to put it past the Proteas, it would only ridicule the system.

The New Zealand-Sri Lanka game presents these two sides an ideal opportunity for both think-tanks to check where they actually stand. With semi-final spots almost assured, both the sides can afford to play some aggressive cricket. Lasith Malinga's absence will help the Kiwis no end, as he has a good track record against them.

It will be a question of who bats better. Given the strength of their attacks, the side batting first will run up a definite advantage and the spinners are certain to play a major part on a wicket that is expected to play slow and low as the game progresses.

And in Mahela Jayawardene and Stephen Fleming, the sides are led by two astute captains who have had a great part to play in their team's progress. One more encounter that would enliven a World Cup that is dragging itself along at the moment.