Twenty20 World Cup. 8th Match, Group D: West Indies v England at Providence – May 3, 2010
Paul Collingwood may have been disappointed and rightly so, to lose a nail biter against the West Indies yesterday, but there can be satisfaction with an intent and level of batting skills rarely seen by an English cricket team in the short formats of cricket, whether it be limited overs or 20 20.
Duckworth Lewis came into play and the West Indies played the system and the situation better.
More of that in a moment though, what stands out is the bold approach, which is fine in theory but needs to be backed up by skill, and it was, in abundance.
In Eoin Morgan, English cricket have a batter of quite brilliant temperament and skill for the short forms of the game.What is special about Morgan is that he has the range of skills to match his ambition.
His reverse flicks yesterday in Providence were something to behold, executed with incredible precision, he has the game to manipulate the space on the field quite brilliantly.
I often say to young batters, the goal is to set their field as a batter, to manipulate space on the field, to keep their strategy and run scoring ahead of the opposition and its Captain.
Eoin’s eye for space and ability to work it, is backed up by an ability to hit the long ball when he needs to, which makes life even more difficult for the opposition Captain.
His range gives him options up the ground as well as square, a bowlers nightmare.
Getting back to the West Indies playing the situation better, all cricket is situational, whether it is on field strategy or with the time and context of the game.
Sometimes these lessons are learnt the hard way though, with a little pain …
Several years ago whilst coaching the Titans in South Africa, we were playing the Cobra’s in the semi final of the 2020 (Pro20 in SA), it rained for two days and eventually we ended up playing a six over game.
We had topped the 20 20 log, earned a home semi and were playing scintillating cricket.
What we were doing on the field I am not sure, but the umpires decided amidst the drizzle, with a little persuasion from the broadcasters perhaps, that there was an audience on TV waiting for some entertainment.
Without any time to warm up and within one hour we were bundled out of the competition.
Lessons learnt: Cricket is an attitude, want the game with positive intent at every given moment.
Single Focus: We had split focus that day, if the game was called off we were through due to superior log position. Double minded as my Pakistani players used to say.
For cricket and in particular 20 20 cricket, simulate and practice every possible permutation will present. If there is weather around and the possibility of a D/L game then batting second is the way to go, you know what your goal is.
Viva Eoin Morgan !
About Richard Pybus
I'm Richard Pybus, I've coached Pakistan, Bangladesh, Middlesex, Titans and the Cape Cobras in South Africa and the goal of this site is to help you to play winning cricket.