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Plays of the day
Dolly drops and snapping bats
Will Luke at Lord's
June 28, 2008
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In and out: butterfingered Tim Ambrose makes a meal of a Jamie How top-edge
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Drop of the day
Jamie How tried to pull James Anderson on 4, the ball looping and
skying to where a short fine leg would have positioned himself.
England's diminutive little wicketkeeper, Tim Ambrose, jogged
backwards quickly and made excellent ground, steadying himself all the
while. The ball plopped into his gloves, panged off the middle finger
of his right hand, and plopped out again. England's body language
huffed disappointment and anger, as Ambrose plodded and moped,
doubtless realising there were 46 more overs left in New Zealand's
innings. Fortunately for him, How only lasted another four overs.
Bat-snapping of the day
Several years ago Michael Atherton, the former England captain,
wondered why someone couldn't do the honourable, justifiable thing and
break Glenn McGrath's arm. It was a perfectly reasonable request,
never more so when considering McGrath had dismissed him a record 19
times. A similar tactic was employed today by Anderson, though
choosing to snap Brendon McCullum's bat, not his arm. McCullum had
only nudged the ball to midwicket yet the blade almost split in two,
hanging on by the bat's thin outer covering. Perhaps the replacement
didn't feel right for McCullum, as he fell in Anderson's next over,
edging to first slip. "That's the sign of a bat that has been kept for
too long in a dry place," Atherton noted. Perhaps he should have
locked McGrath in a greenhouse.
Rookie mistake of the day
Welcome to captaincy, Kevin. Jacob Oram had calmly, almost anonymously
moved onto 36 from 34 balls, and together with Scott Styris helped New
Zealand recover from 124 for 4. Pietersen's decision to stick with
Owais Shah's only occasional offbreaks, rather than the greater
ability of Ravi Bopara's nagging seamers, raised a few eyebrows, not
to mention the spirits of the outnumbered New Zealand fans. Oram
heaved him into the Mound Stand over midwicket before opening his
shoulders and depositing another six into the Edrich Stand to bring up
a brutal fifty from 37 balls. Pietersen's said yesterday that he would
"be smoking a cigar at mid-off" if they achieved all their goals, but
there wasn't hope of him even enjoying a spivvy little roll-up with
Oram (and later Stryis) threatening as they were.
Completely in, emphatically out
It is nothing short of perplexing watching Ian Bell attempt to assert
himself. He began England's chase in silky, oozy fashion, flicking
Kyle Mills for two beautifully timed fours through midwicket.
Immediately, he showed his intent, class and authority at the crease,
and he continued in the same vain against Mills later in his innings
when he stood tall to drive him crisply off the back foot. The more
settled he looks, the more complacent he becomes, the greater the
infuriation for his fans. Rather predictably, on 27 he walked across
his stumps to Mark Gillespie and that was that; a soupcon of an
innings, once again leaving England impatiently hungry for more.
Will Luke is a staff writer at Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
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