London, 5th March 2011

England are staring down the barrell of an embarassing exit in the first round after the stunning loss to Ireland. Skipper Andrew Strauss summed up the loss as shocking. They have only 3 matches left to make up ground on their nearest rivals in Group B - West Indies, Bangladesh and Ireland, as these 4 teams will probably end of fighting out for the remaining 2 spots for the quarter final, assuming that South Africa and India continue with their form.

 

London, 28th Feb 2011

England missed out on a vital point when they fumbled their run chase to end up with a tie against India. In their opening match against minnows, Netherlands, England again conceded an embarrasing total and only the good work of their top order secured a hard fought win.

 

Preview of England

London, 13 Feb 2011:

Predicted win odds: 55%

After being finalist in 1979, 1987 and 1992, England finally won a cricket world cup – the ICC T20 Trophy in 2010. Main World Cup glory has eluded them so far, but 2011 may be the time to correct their record. They have a World Cup win-loss record of 36-22, with 1 No Result.

Captain Andrew Strauss is leading the side with renewed confidence and they are well drilled by coach Andy Flower of Zimbabwe. The batting is built around the powerful presence of Kevin Pietersen with Graeme Swann the key bowling attack option.

Strengths: Pietersen is a man for the big occasion and is due for a good extended run with the bat. Swann will be a thorn on the slow, turning pitches; The return of the allround capabilities of Stuart Broad is welcome.

Weaknesses: England’s ODI record in the subcontinent is poor. They also have not reached the knockout rounds at the World Cup since 1996 and was smashed 6-1 by Australia in its most recent ODI series. Free scoring Eoin Morgan has been sidelined with injury. They also have an unproven opening batting combination in Strauss and Prior.

England World Cup squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Prior, Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy

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