C.R.I.C.K.E.T

Oh. My. Giddy. Aunt.

All those who condemned ODI cricket as boring, shame on you! You clearly hadn't realised England's selfless (reckless, ridiculous, heart-stopping) bid to convince you otherwise. I cannot tell you about it right now... but dear God, what a thriller.

I can barely breathe. Must keep it together. At work.

I'll keep you blogged...

Sporting Woes

Woe woe woe. The world of (my) sport is full of woe. I have not been inclined to talk/think about it all week but I suppose I have to.

FOOTBALL: From such promising heady heights to such lows. Arsenal have gone from competing for four trophies to just one in two short (but endlessly long) weeks: lost in the Carling Cup final to Blackburn thanks to a ridiculous mix up between goalkeeper and defender; dumped out of the Champions League by a rampant Barcelona; unceremoniously ousted from the FA Cup last night by Man United 2-0. So many hopes and dreams once again dashed by a side who just cannot hold on when it really matters. Could Arsene Wenger's tunnel vision obsession with the quality of his team's play ultimately be damaging their chances of trophies and glory and realising their potential? A lot of people seem to think so.

CRICKET: England lost to Bangladesh by two wickets. This is no good. For those of you who don't know, losing to Ireland and Bangladesh in one competition (in one year!) is not okay. It was a poor batting and bowling display by England and they paid for it. Beating Bangladesh would have all but confirmed a place in the quarter-finals, as it stands now they have to beat the Windies - on paper much much harder than Bangladesh - and even then it's not certain they'll go through. They have made things very difficult for themselves but have been beset with injuries to countless key players due to a very heavy winter schedule. News in today is that England an Australia have agreed to play fewer ODIs - from 7 to 5 - and that the World Cup and the Ashes won't be played in the same year in order to free up the season a little and try and prevent these injuries and player's fatiguing.

TENNIS: Ray-ray lost to American qualifier and world number 143 Donald Young in the second round of the Masters 1000 Indian Wells event in California, 6-7 (4-7) 3-6. Not good. He didn't play well at all and Young took all the chances Ray-ray gave him to complete the biggest win of his career. This defeat means Ray-ray hasn't won a singles match since his semi-final four setter over David Ferrer in the Australian Open. This is frighteningly similar to what happened last year after Murray's final loss to Federer in the Aussie Open, where he suffered a dramatic slump in form and didn't pick it up again until after the slams and into the final competitions of the season, ending in that fantastic semi final against GoNads at the World Tour Finals. Lets hope it doesn't happen again. Ray-ray has done well in Indian Wells previously, reaching finals, semis and quarters.

I'll keep you blogged...

'Like I said'

Just watched an interview with Ian Bell and he said 'like I said' approximately 10,000 times in a minute and a half. It was ridiculous. Truly.

I'll keep you blogged...

Cricket Magic

Oh my giddy aunt, what a match! England beat South Africa by six runs. SO close. England won the toss and decided to bat, with the creases having been generous so far throughout the competition. It was evident soon into the innings, however, that this was not an easy pitch to bat on. Far more turn than anyone thought (any Englishman anyway). Good news for the spinners, hence why SA started with two of them, and with great result - Strassy bowled for a duck and Pieterson gone for 2. If it wasn't for Bopara's great knock of 60 from 98 balls, England would have been dead and buried. As it was, England's total of 171 was not good enough. Things weren't looking good when SA's openers came out to bat, especially as they raced away to 63-0 before Broad made the break through. South Africa looked good for the win right up until the very end but England were champing at the bit and you could tell they were up for the fight.

They ended up bowling SA out for 164 in 47.4 overs. Amazing stuff from the bowlers - Broad and Swann especially stand out. What was really encouraging to see was England back to their bowling and fielding best, or something like it. They were timing their catches, runs, and slides perfectly. They were working together and communicating again. All of the bowlers posted good figures and Jimmy took two vital wickets for 16 runs, second only to Broad's 4-15.

It was a great performance, a great come-back, and a very exciting match. Yet another England game that went to the wire with twists and turns along the way. Strauss even joked about it in his post-match interview, saying 'we like to keep people interested.'

Bring on Bangladesh! Phew, I need a lie down.

I'll keep you blogged...

Headline expansion

Six years an still counting...

Oh, the Arse; why art thou so frustrating? It was a pretty good game, the Carling Cup final. Birmingham looked in the mood to attack and Arsenal were all sharp passes and flowing play. At 1-1 the match was pretty even, but Arsenal were beginning to edge in front and I was hopeful for a victory and (finally!!) some silverware. However, five minutes from time, a complete monstrosity of a mix-up between goalie Szczesny and defender Koscielny gifted Birmingham the winning goal. Never mind that Foster, at the other end, had a brilliant match and saved a great many Arsenal shot; never mind the difference just one of them could have made; you cannot afford to make a mistake like that. Complete communication failure. Complete gift. Arsenal were, once again, undone by too much intricacy and delicacy and lacked the final finish. They could have been three or four goals up by the time of the mix-up and then even if it had happened, it wouldn't have mattered. I love the way Arsenal play, it's why I became a fan in the first place all those years ago, but it gets to a point where they have to admit to themselves that it's not working any more. It's not getting them the results they need, nay, deserve. Play the beautiful game as it should be but grind a little too.

On a brighter note they beat Leyton Orient 5-0 tonight to progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. They now have to play Man U... but still, a 5-0 victory is a 5-0 victory.

Amazing England/India cricket match...

India won the toss and chose to bat first on a promising crease. They reached a massive 338 (thanks largely to a beautifully crafted 120 from 115 balls by Sachin Tendulkar) and looked set to keep their 100% record in tact and take another step to what many people think will be their tournament. England, however, had other ideas. They completed the highest ever run-chase in ODI history and fought their way to a dramatic tie, needing one off the last ball (which Swann gave a fair old whack and had it not been for some excellent fielding could well have won the match for England). Oh, the drama. It was the best ODI game I've ever seen. Strauss was, as is so often the case, the hero for me. His 158 from 145 balls was simply divine. He came out all guns blazing (which is not the Straussy we usually see but is definitely in there somewhere, hovering underneath the calm, level-headed, patient exterior; the Strauss who wants to whack the ball and be the glory man) and kept a remarkable pace throughout his innings of almost a run a ball, with a strike rate of 108.96 runs per 100 balls. He was assured and confident and never looked like going out (pretty much until the ball that actually got him out). Stunning. I highly recommend the highlights.

Today, however, was not such a good day for Ol' Blighty. We lost to Ireland. Kevin O'Brien smashed his way to the fastest century in ODI history (from 50 balls) and eventually gave Ireland 113 from 63 balls to help them surpass their (very respectable) target of 328 with five balls to spare and three wickets to hand. Not what we expected after such an amazing come-back on Sunday. Still, that's the beauty of the group stages; you can lose and still win. Onwards and Upwards gentlemen!

Grand Slam still on...

In the Six Nations England's all-important match against France was deliciously victorious as we defeated them 17-9. An impressive and comprehensive win keeps the hopes of every Englander very much alive. If we can beat France, and so convincingly, surely we can beat anyone? Surely we can beat everyone? Surely, then, the trophy will be ours and the glory of a grand slam will be achieved? If France can't stop us, no one can, right?

I'll keep you blogged...