England get out of jail in the cricket world cup again!

Another stuttering Cricket World Cup performance from a completely over-cooked England team leading to another nail-biting and highly unlikely win snatched from the jaws of defeat.

Oh I never felt more like singing the blues...

...when Everton win and Waterloo too

and England as well.

Can't complain about that. Top sporting weekend for once. Waterloo out of the relegation and Everton back in the top half.

Plus England beating our Belle Enemmi meant I won £10 off a Welshman (thus shrinking their economy by a quarter of the percent).

wow, England V Algeria weather forecast

Apparently there is snow forecast for the England Algeria game on Wednesday.

Can't ever remember snow at a world cup (I suppose this is by far the most southerly one ever). Wonder if they'll have an orange Jabulani ball to use.

Incidentally, very sneaky and clever of the Germans to get their hands on the world cup ball a full season ahead of everyone else. Bit naughty of Adidas that it has to be said.

Wow, It's just not cricket...actually it is

I'm sure there was a fair few MCC members scowling yesterday but ultimately yesterday was just a cricket carnival.

Even the most cynical of England fans would doff their caps to the Indian fans, fanatical doesn't even begin to cover it. As the Australian will attest our "Barmy Army" are no slouches either so it made for an amazingly vibrant evening. If they fail the old Tory "cricket test" then who cares.

With 153 runs under our belt I thought England were at least 20 short but in the end it was an absolutely enthralling finish.

So chuffed England won, this tournament is really catching fire now, England have an extremely difficult job on their hands later today but after yesterday anything is possible. Hope some of those Indian cricket fans will revert to plan b and support us now.

Belarus 1-3 England

Belarus 1-3 England.



So far so good. Another impressive performance by England. Great result away from home that.

The team seems to have a confidence now even if the balance isn't really there yet.

Same old, same old

England 2-2 Czech Republic

***INSERT LAZY NONSENSICAL COMPARISON WITH BRITISH OLYMPICS TEAM HERE***

It's too easy isn't it but...



List of Great British Olympic Medalists

Slams

Had a nice day on Saturday watching three matches of rugby. The fact that I've given up beer for lent dampened things somewhat but not really that muxh. Was in Bangor, North Wales for my brother-in-law's stags do and the Welsh grand-slam was top of the menu.

Italy v Scotland intrigued, it's great to see Italy doing well. They are slowly maturing and are becoming a real asset to the tournament. In the coming years you can see them challenging for the championship.



England came next, a few muted cheers from the locals greeted the Irish probing but England were impressive, there is no way to get round it. Everything clicked. Ireland were woeful, a revitalised England got quick ball from backs to forwards, it all flowed. Virtuouso performances from Cipriani and awesome tackling by Noon in particular shone. Where did performances like that and the one in Paris come from when you look at the abject capitulation against Wales and Scotland? Would the real England please stand up!





And so onto Wales, I never really thought it was in doubt...France effectively started the game 25 points down. The Welsh started so well and the French didn't really react. The Welsh's none-commiting rucking meant there was never any space for the French to get going. The locals all lauded the grand slam and well done to them...you just wonder what would have happened if England hadn't have had a mad 40 minutes in the opening game. Still what-ifs don't cut it. Hats off to the champions.

Gutted

I am not one of these people who gets cynical as soon as things go wrong for the England team, some people seem delighted when our boys screw up...it allows them to fire up their smugness afterburners. Bollocks to that, I am gutted about last night. You know that weary head shake thing you do when you can feel it's all going wrong? Very much in evidence last night.

That first half was just unforgivable. Carson's howler was truly, truly shocking...my mum would have saved that.



Bridge ballsed up for the second and it had turned into a nightmare. The rain was constant and the pitch was heavy (half a billion for a ploughed field!!!!!!!) it was always going to be awkward chasing a game.



The formation was terrible though. 4-5-1 in those conditions meant Crouch, how played well, was totally isolated, the middle three didn't look like they really knew their roles. Why is that England's midfield has to be fitted round Lampard whenever he's fit. Gerrard & Barry happened purely out of serendipety but we had balance for the first time in ages...as soon as Lampard is fit everything is changed to accomadate him and we are left with a bloated awkward system with only one player in front of them. That McClaren left it 'til half-time to change it round was little short of dereliction of duty.

Anyway a determined comeback was capped with Beckham playing an utterly perfect ball over to Crouch who's technique was excellent for a chest then volley. We'd been gifted a stupid penalty minutes before. Even then though we didn't look secure and sure enough they scored a 25 yarder after no-one had closed down. Thank you & good night. Desperately, desperately depressing.



I really do think McClaren has to go....Barwick too.

:( :( :( :(

Next summer just got that little bit more empty.

Hava Nigalla

Phew!

Thank God for Israel...they went at Russia hammer and tongs on Saturday and appeared to have ran themselves into the ground by half-time...the second half was all Russia but they held out. At the very end Russia hit the post and the Israelis went up the other end and scored. English fans all over the country rejoiced as the final whistle went! It means England have their fate in their own hands on Wednesday, by no means a foregone conclusion...remember England/Greece a few years back when David Beckham single handedly dragged us to the world cup.



Anyway, in honour of the Israeli national team :

Hava nagila, hava nagila
Hava nagila venis'mecha

Hava nagila, hava nagila
Hava nagila venis'mecha

Hava neranena, hava neranena
Hava neranena venis'mecha

Uru, uru achim
Uru achim belev same'ach



Up in Scotland is was all different as they came painfully close to taking the lead in their make or break game against Italy (after going behind inside two minutes)....to be so well placed for so many months and still not qualify must be sickening but given their position going into the qualifying they have made so much progress that the positives really do need to be focussed on. They will be second out of the hat next time round whereas for this group they were the 4th team drawn.

Winning from the back foot

Watched two games of rugby on Saturday and it has to be said that both results were a bit of a travesty. Waterloo just couldn't get to grips with Redruth but were gifted two tries and in the end won 25 - 19. A win is a win but again they looked scrappy. Great to see O'Donnell and Ruwers back for us. Both superb players. Commiserated with a Redruth coach after them game...they were anice bunch and they deserved better from their long trek up north. Hopefully their lowly league position will just be a temporary false position.

Fame at last! Here is me, Mike Summers and my mother and father in law in the background of this picture taken by Katherine Pitt and lifted from the Redruth website.



The France/England game later on was even more crazy...I had been telling people all day I wasn't bothered about the result, the beating Australia was enough for me. It was still stupidly tense to watch that game though. England were on the back foot all game but the French just couldn't make the break through...it was frantic, nail-biting stuff. I could barely watch as Wilkinson lined up that last penalty and I was bouncing round the room when he slotted the drop goal. Borthwick's slap on a French foot when he looked certain to score and the smashes on Chabal showed how desperate England are to hold onto the world cup. South Africa are favourites but they are beatable. Gutted for the French...they too deserved better especially after hosting such a fantastic world cup. Anyway roll on next Saturday. The Derby and then a world cup final....big, big day.















Anyway the world waits for the Web Ellis Trophy to handed over and the competitions for the Guinness Premiership, Magners League & Heineken Cup trophies are getting underway...I think any true rugby fan will agree that those are mere gaudy trinkets compared to Percy the Pike who was brought proudly back to Waterloo's clubhouse recently after a long absense. Waterloo and Dublin Wanderers play-off for what certainly must be considered the ultimate prize in rugby and here he is pictured gazing down fondly on the clubhouse bar

11-a-side

Amongst the day's rugby shenanegans it was great to see England put in another business like 3-0 win against Estonia. A slip-up there would have put us in an awkward position going into the game in Moscow.



Great to see Lescott get a cap and it sounded like the James McFadden show up in Scotland. He set up two and scored another to keep their qualification campaign on track.

England in one-day shock

Ie. we won another series...fantastic work. Great to see the new boys coming to the fore. A bit of optimism? We'll know when the tests roll round. Bring it on.

England secure series win against Sri Lanka





Love it that Sri Lanka are sponsored by Dilmah...it's our favourite tea in the world!

England's chariot arrives right on time

England 21 - 10 Australia

Unbelievable. Stunning result. To everyone who's spent the last 4 years reveling in taking the piss out of England...Hope you enjoyed it 'cause believe me it didn't feel 0.000001% as good as today did. Not crowing, not gloating, just letting everyone know how good we are feeling.







Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home

I looked over Jordan, and I what did I see
Coming for to carry me home?
A band of angels coming after me
Coming for to carry me home

If you get there before I do
Coming for to carry me home
Tell all my friends I coming too
Coming for to carry me home

I'm sometimes up, I'm sometimes down
Coming for to carry me home
But still my soul feels heavenly bound
Coming for to carry me home

Or to put it another way "Paul Hogan, Dame Edna, Skippy, Mrs Mangel....Mrs Mangel can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of beating" ;)

*sigh*

God that was a pitiful start to the weekend's sport :

Australia 136-2 (14.5 overs) bt England 135 (20 overs) by eight wickets

Not good at all....they basically made mincemeat of us. You almost expected that Australia were going to put us out. If anyone could have done it (136 from 9 overs required to destroy our run rate) it's them. These Twenty20 specialists really need to up their game otherwise the wilderness awaits. Our only compensation is that Australia's guernsey style attire is more embarressing than our team's performances...



and so to the rugby :

England 0 - 36 South Africa

It's difficult to know where to begin...ultimately England are so far behind the rest of the field it's untrue. We truly worth our current world ranking of 7th. The performance on Friday was that of a minnow desperately trying to live with vastly superior opposition and should be judged as such.



The picture above is of the only two people who can hold their heads up. Robinson was the only player who put in a world class performance and basically he ran himself into retirement. Lewsey was his usual self but him and Billy Whizz couldn't do it on their own. The rest of them played right into South Africa's hands all game. This world cup is proving to be a depressing one but to be honest I didn't really expect much else.

Midweek aceness

Another great night to be a sports fan...more entertaining matches in the rugby world cup which really is shaping up well. The less established nations are giving great accounts of themselves and the crowds seem to be having the time of their lives. Highlights are available here.

It seems that England are going to take to the field on Friday with *drum roll* Andy Farrell at fly-half. The man is more than capable of putting in a performance but surely if this was was our fall-back position for what is one of the most key postions on the pitch (a position seemingly cursed with injury) then we should have blooded him before now. Personally I think he's capable of doing it...never forget his record in rugby league. It's just you need to be a natural in that position rather than a stop-gap. Sometimes with Farrell you can almost see him going through the decision process in his mind (This is to be expected with his amount of experience playing at this level). At stand-off you need to be instinctive. We'll see anyway...The South Africans fill me with trepidation. Rightly or wrongly this will be a grudge match for them after 2003 and they look bang on form.

Down in the cricket Twenty20 world cup Zimbabwe gave us all a checkle by beating Australia in the thriller.

BBC Report




I know it sounds petty but I will always love to see the Australians getting beat...we'll see if England go a similar way today when we play the Zimbabweans.

At 8pm turned over for England V Russia...great performance from England. Russia were very lively in attack but England looked really well balanced for once and it was just basically an impressive job-done type performance. No fireworks just beating the opposition all ends up. McClaren has GOT to stick with those players now. Lampard simply cannot come back into the midfield now that Barry & Gerrard are looking such a good combination, same goes for Heskey and Owen. We just looked really well set-up...it's something that looked a million miles away againt Andorra a few months ago.

BBC Report



Whilst that was going on news was coming through that the Scots were winning against France in Paris and so I spent the last 20 minutes of the England match anxiously checking teletext. That was a monumental result for them...McFadden scored an absolute pearler...what with that and the goal he scored at the weekend (and his two goal of the season awards for Everton) he seems to be turning into the classic scorer of good goals (as opposed to the good goal scorer).

BBC Report

0-1 McFadden
Uploaded by danyab

Great days

Ah does it get better than this :

Important games in footy, rugby and cricket on the one day. Our apetite had been well and truly whetted by Argentina's fantastic performance against France the night before...they really worked themselves into the ground for that. It was so good to see a nation that's basically been cast adrift by the powers that be come good. Again as at Twickenham last year they did it with quiet dignity...the epitome of being a good winner. So onto Saturday

England V India

England V USA

England V Israel

Who could ask for me...I resisted the temptation to put a treble on the three of them seeing as the odds would be so rubbish. Had some some my bro and some friends round and watched the footy with the rugby on a portable tv with the volume turned down (we also had the cricket updating on teletext 'cause we've got no Sky).

Thoroughly enjoyable although the rugby seemed a wee bit tortuous...they'll be lucky to get out of the group playing like that I'm afraid. Barkley and Ress impressed, Lewsey and Farrell did okay....not a lot else to be happy about. South Africa look scarilly good and on the evidence showed so far in the tournament Samoa could give us big problems. As a footnote it was great to see ex-Waterloo scrum-half Chad Erskine playing for the USA in the world cup.

In the footy it was just a good day at the office. Richards looks the business, chuffed he got a goal. Wright-Phillips took his well and Owen's was something really special....job done. If we can get a result against Russia on Wednesday we are back on an even keel.

Just what is the matter with our sports stars :

Beckham
Lampard
Gerrard
Rooney
and now Hargreaves!

In the rugby Wilkinson has managed to do his ankle ligaments just days before the World cup starts and over in the cricket Flintoff's ankle still isn't right.

There are numerous others missing...what is going on? How can this many people be getting injuries especially with the footy season barely having started. I hope Gerrard is is fit (injection or not) 'cause we really need 6 points from these two qualifiers. I've pretty much given up on the rugby as a lost cause anyway.

Over on XFM Jason Manford has exclusive commentary rights on the current Biscuit Dunking World Championships. This morning the championship was thrown wide open by a fig role somehow outlasting a ginger nut. Tremendous listening.

If in doubt put it out

That is the golden rule of defending. Simple stuff.

I have no idea what Paul Robinson was thinking of tonight...England where one up and bossing the game against an under-strength German team. The first real thing Germany had produced lead to him spilling a shot, fair enough it happens...he then chased back to Shorey who had swept up the danger and hoofed it out to the left back position from where Germany could restart their attack...he then completely misread a cross and ended up scambling back towards his own goal to collect it, instead of tipping it over the bar he plopped it down into his own 6 yards area for a German striker to tap into the net...appalling.

BBC Report

What is it with penalties?

You've got to feel sorry for the under-21s. Scoring 12 penalties in a shoot-out and still going out of the tournament.

Young 1-0 Babel 1-1
Milner 2-1 Drenthe (hit post) 2-1
Noble 3-1 Janssen 3-2
Hoyte (saved) 3-2 Beerens 3-3
Derbyshire 4-3 Maduro 4-4
Ferdinand 5-4 De Ridder 5-5
Carson 6-5 Zuiverloon 6-6
Rosenior 7-6 Rigters 7-7
Reo-Coker (saved) 7-7 Kruiswijk (miss) 7-7
Taylor 8-7 Waterman 8-8
Young 9-8 Beerens 9-9
Milner (10-9) Drenthe 10-10
Noble 11-10 Maduro 11-11
Hoyte 12-11 Janssen 12-12
Derbyshire (saved) 12-12 De Ridder (saved) 12-12
Ferdinand (hit bar) 12-12 Zuiverloon 12-13

Truly gripping stuff stuff last night. Me and Anne were supposed to be going to the shops, by the time it had all ended it was closed. Still the team can be very proud, if anyone knows the ups and downs it'll be Stuart Pearce, he'll focus them on the positives.

It works out not-too-terribly for us as we are hoping to stay with a Dutch friend whilst we are away on holidays. After nipping down to Portsmouth we are doing a quick tour of Belguim, Luxembourg and The Netherlands....after last year's lung bursting trip up the Andes we decided that somewhere nice and flat was the only answer!

Before we go I am depserately trying to get the garden into order...After a positive warm-up match with a laurel (now thoroughly tidied and topiaried) I came off second best with the hopelessly leggy and overgrown leylandii....my arms look live I've been wrestling with a cete of pissed off badgers, I think my shears are knackered and even my anvil loppers are looking a bit flimsy for the job. This does not bode well for my forthcoming lumber jack session with cherry tree!

Ah the joys of gardening...The people who owned the house before us seemed loathed to cut a single leaf on their little back garden forest, it's lovely but really does need a lot of TLC. Anyway, once more unto the (copper) beech (arf!). I wonder how The New Forest and The Ardennes will compare.

It reminds me of : Pat and Mick are sitting in the job centre...the guy asks them "Do you have any lumberjack experience, the local park is overgrown and the council are looking fro tree fellers". Mick replies *Irish accent* "Sure there's only two of us but we'll get the job done"

England v West Indies

England beat West Indies to clinch the series

Kudos to the Windies for making England srap all the way for that win...what an odd, odd run of form Steve Harmison is having.