ICC World Cup 2011
England begin their quest for their first World Cup with a match against an unfancied but tricky opposition in Netherlands. England come into the tournament following a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Aussies but it was the first series that the Poms lost since September 2009.
The talk surrounding the English camp going into the mega event is Kevin Pietersen’s new role as an opener. Although he has never opened the innings in an international ODI, he once smashed 131 off 122 balls as a part of the England A squad that toured India in 2004. Graeme Swann returns to the fold following a dramatic month where he injured himself and missed the Commonwealth Bank series against Australia and then got into a legal tangle back at home. England will be banking on Jonathan Trott, who is in the form of his life, to play the anchor throughout the 50 overs. Though the inclusion of Bopara and Prior will bolster the middle order, England will miss the services of Eoin Morgan, their best ODI player in the last few years. Anderson will lead the bowling attack while Stuart Broad, who picked up 10 wickets in the two warm-up games will be raring to have a go at the Netherlands’ batsmen. Michael Yardy, who impressed in the Commonwealth Bank series, might miss out due to Swann’s return.
Netherlands come into the tournament as rank outsiders tyring to prove they can play amongst the big boys. They suffered a 156 run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka but did well to chase down Kenya’s score of 263 in the second warm-up. Ryan Ten Doeschate, who scored an unbeaten 98 in that successful chase, averages an astounding 67 with the bat and 21 with the ball and his form will be crucial if the Dutch nurture any hopes of beating the English giants. Middle order batsman Bas Zuiderant, who scored 54 on debut against England in Peshawar in the 1996 World Cup, along with Tom Cooper will be the other players to watch out for. Skipper Peter Borren is expected to play despite suffering an abdominal strain.
The two teams have faced off each other only twice in ODI’s with England coming out on top on both the occasions. However England know better than taking the Dutch lightly as it was the Dutch that triumphed in their most recent encounter where Ten Doeschate and Co. pulled of a thrilling victory in the opening match of the 2009 World T20 Championships. Can the Oranje pull of another upset in the City of Oranges?
Probable Teams:
England: Andrew Strauss (Capt), Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Matthew Prior (Wicketkeeper), Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Stuart Broad.
Netherlands: Alex Kervezee, Wesley Barresi (Wicketkeeper), Eric Szwarczynski, Tom Cooper, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Bas Zuiderant, Peter Borren (Captain), Tom de Grooth, Mudassar Bukhari, Adeel Raja, Bradley Kruger.
Live Telecast: Star Cricket (14:30 Local Time, 9:00 GMT)
Tags: Cricket, England, Graeme Swann, ICC World Cup 2011, Kevin Pietersen, Live Telecast, Nagpur, Netherlands, Star Cricket
