England captain Andrew Strauss insists his team can still win the World Cup despite a roller-coaster ride that has left them facing elimination.
England’s loss to Bangladesh on Friday was symbolic of their tournament so far. The inconsistent England have lost to non-Test nation Ireland and now Bangladesh, secured a thrilling tie against India and won against the Netherlands and mighty South Africa.
England, with five points from as many matches, must beat the West Indies in their last league match in Chennai on Thursday to maintain their hopes of making the quarter-finals. Strauss, when asked after the heart-breaking loss to Bangladesh if England could still win the tournament, said all was not lost yet.
“World Cups are funny things,” he said.
“You can gain confidence just at the right moment, and get in a real run of form just when you need it.
“Clearly we need consistency from now on if we want to progress in the tournament.”
Strauss defends raging Swann
After star off-spinner Graeme Swann flew into a rage over the wet ball, the England captain questioned the decision to hold a World Cup match under lights at the venue.
“It seems slightly strange to have the first ever day-nighter at a certain ground in a World Cup,” he said.
“There was a 20-over period when the dew was very bad. Swann could not grip the ball and I think there’s something not quite right if a spinner can’t grip the ball.
Strauss defended Swann’s on-field swearing, which forced one TV commentator to apologise for the language used.
Ponting refuses to gloat
Australia captain Ricky Ponting refused to gloat over England’s World Cup misfortunes despite their Ashes conquerors facing elimination from the tournament. Ponting is not ready to put the boot in just yet.
“If you are talking about the tournament being exciting, every game they’ve played has been pretty much one that could have gone either way,” said the Australia captain.
“No doubt they will be disappointed to lose last night given the position they were in.
“They’ve had their ups and downs so far.”
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Bangladeshis partied through the night after their team pulled off a famous win over England that keeps their World Cup quarter-final dreams alive. Thousands of despondent fans streamed out of the stadium in Chittagong as Bangladesh looked to be heading towards the World Cup exit but they staged a remarkable recovery to snatch an improbable victory.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2011.
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