England Cricket - Beyond Hope

England lost the 4th ODI in Sri Lanka today with England posting a meager 265 from their 50 overs and the hosts comfortably reaching their target, although gave the crowd value for money by leaving it until the final over.

With a World Cup on the horizon in Australia and New Zealand this series is supposed to gearing Peter Moores' side up for that tournament. The problem is that England have absolutely no chance of winning it. I like Moores as a coach and a he comes across well as a person through the media, but his insistence at keeping Alastair Cook as captain and therefore in the side is pigheaded at best. Cook is a poor captain in all forms of the game but is a great Test match batsman, so why not just concentrate on Test cricket? He can even captain the Test match side if he likes, I don't care, but limited overs cricket is not his thing.

England under Moores are turning back to the the doldrum years of Ian Austin, Adam Hollioake and Matthew Fleming where being reasonable at both batting and bowling in county cricket seemed to guarantee a player an England cap. And yet James Taylor, the one bright spot of today's game with an eye-catching 90 before his lack of match fitness got the better of him, has onlt just got into the side.

England's bowling is also pretty ordinary and lacks discipline; if you aren't express pace or turn it 90 degrees then you need to land the thing exactly where you want it to give your captain a chance when setting a field. Moeen Ali is a decent cricketer but kept dragging the ball halfway down and Ben Stokes ought to be on the next plane home in the woeful form that he finds himself in (worth his place when playing well).

Post-match interviews seem to run along the lines of:

• We've let ourselves down.
• We'll work hard in practise/nets.
• We have some great players in the squad.
• We can still win the World Cup.

To be fair as these performances seem to happen in most games all of the above are delusional.

England Test Cricket

The Ashes in Australia has been a disaster, yet Alastair Cook remains captain when the series quite clearly showed how little he knows about the game (and that's coming from one of the worst captains in the memory of man). Andy Flower remains Head Coach despite his "plans", that have been the same/similar since he took over, being found out and destroyed by the Aussies. England's fielding has been abysmal with dropped catches left, right and centre. Yet Richard Halsall still maintains his central role. Kevin Pietersen, in his mid-30s, still commands a place despite not having scored many runs of note in the series. Same with Cook in all honesty.

The positives from the series are:
Michael Carberry has shown that he has some fight, which is more than can be said for most. Not entirely convinced by him as an international cricketer, but he got stuck in.
Ben Stokes has shown some fire and talent - a rarity.
Stuart Broad has been the best bowler by a mile, but his arse fell out with bat in hand and Mitchell Johnson had the ball in his hand. Future number 11 despite the fact that the commentators remind us that "he can bat" every time, before he disappoints.

The negatives/those who should never grace the field again in an England shirt (unless it's from the club shop and lunchtime):
Pietersen needs to go - he's not the future and he's South African; England is not his country.
Anderson - totally ineffective outside the UK and over 30 as a quick bowler. Put him down.
Tremlett - I bowl quicker than him now. Utter rubbish, pick me.
Swann - good riddance; jumped before pushed.
Panesar - poo when he first got in the side, and worse now for numerous reasons - should never have been on the tour in the first place.
Bresnan - he is clearly not good enough with bat or ball, yet England persist with him; baffling.
Rankin - rubbish and Irish - should never have been on the tour in the first place.
Trott - hopefully won't pull on the Lions again because he's South African and not English.

The "not sure what to do" crew:
Prior - over 30 and in a really bad run of form. He can play though!
Bairstow - clearly talented but has technical flaws.
There's an opportunity for Buttler methinks!
Bell - ought to stay in because he's our best bat.
Root - appalling tour but has age on his side. That's about the only positive I can muster.
Ballance - Zimbabwean for crying out loud. Why do we keep doing this? Looks a decent player but he should be playing for Zimbabwe!
Finn - never had a chance, although bowled pies in nets; so would I if was carrying drinks for 3 months. Young, tall and quick, but more importantly, English!
Cook - I'd bin him as captain but still open with him.

I don't get why they don't pick James Taylor; maybe it's because he's English...

Anyway, rant over. If I've forgotten anyone on the tour then they clearly struggled!