England brings interest back to ODIs

Yes, England has certainly brought back interest to the ODI format due to their extraordinary performances (or should I say, poor performances) in the Cricket World Cup 2011.

It all started with Ryan Neil ten Doeschate scoring a century and England had to hold their breath to win their first match. It followed with a brilliant batting performance from England to chase down a huge total against India, only to lose their way at the end; but still ended up with a tie. Then, they lost their way against Ireland when Kevin O Brien brought up the fastest century in world cups; Ireland managed to beat England in the last over.

England scored just 171 runs. But, they put up a good bowling display that managed to beat South Africa by just six runs. Against Bangladesh, they could not break the 9th wicket partnership of 58 runs which eventually clinched the win for Bangladesh with 6 balls and 2 wickets remaining.

Today, they came to Chennai in a do-or-die match. They have to win to stay in the tournament. Three nations might had been praying for an England loss; a West Indies win here could have confirmed quarter-final berths for West Indies, India and Bangladesh. It looked as if thats going to happen when West Indies'7th wicket pair put on 72 runs. But, England's bowling proved its worth by removing the last 4 WI wickets for just 3 runs. England managed to win by 18 runs and kept their hopes alive for a quarter-final slot.

This means that group B is still wide open, with only South Africa qualified to the next stage. Which of the 3 teams from India, England, West Indies and Bangladesh will qualify? The question might be answered if South Africa beat Bangladesh. If not, we need to wait until the West Indies-India match, which incidentally is the last match in the qualifying rounds.

Certainly, England had brought life to ODI matches. All the six games they played had created extraordinary interest in the match and all of them led to nail-biting finishes. Well done England!