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England v New Zealand, 2nd ODI, Edgbaston
Belly-flops and daft decisions
Will Luke at Edgbaston
June 18, 2008
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Luke Wright slog-swept with the sort of power that would make Steve Waugh green with envy
© Getty Images
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Daft decision of the day
Play didn't begin until 3pm, reducing the match to 24 overs. With
heavy rain forecast at 6pm, it would seem only sensible to reduce the
interval between innings as much as possible, in order to give the
hardy Edgbaston crowd the chance of seeing a full match. Instead, they
took 30 minutes while the rain petered down, and the race against the
weather continued.
Shots of the day
It was only a reduced game, but Luke Wright took full advantage to
prove his worth which, in six ODIs prior today, had yielded only one
fifty. He looked out of sorts at Chester-le-Street, yet today appeared
to resemble the fearless striker members of Hove have enjoyed for the
past two seasons. His target? Michael Mason. The first rocketed over
cover, going inside out, which was followed by the cleanest of sixes
over the top. He saved the best for last, however, with a slog-sweep
over midwicket so emphatic as to make Steve Waugh, the shot's pioneer, green
with envy. Now, England just need Ian Bell and Wright to fire in the
same innings and they might have found a useful, potentially
destructive, opening partnership.
Unwise marketing of the day
Britons are renowned boozers, and never more so than at the cricket.
And while international grounds have, for the most part, banned people
from bringing in their own, one Australian wine company exploited
Britain's thirst with unlimited quantities available to all, albeit in
a tea-cup sized plastic container. With each rain break, the crowds
came eargerly flocking for a top-up, but such was their increasing
stupor that they remained beside the bar, ready for another. A traffic
island of sozzled fans, none of whom were capable of remembering what
they had enjoyed, blocked the entrance to the hospitality suites,
prompting a naïve policeman to call for order. He failed.
Belly-flop of the day
Dimitri Mascarenhas is many things, but any aspirations he had of
emulating Paul Collingwood's salmon-leaping catches came tumbling down
to earth today. With a bump. Stationed expectantly at short fine-leg,
Brendon McCullum flicked one aerially just to his left. He sprang
forward, almost getting both feet off the ground, before collapsing
flat on his stomach rather indignantly. It was a moment to make all
aspiring league cricketers proud.
Will Luke is a staff writer at Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
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