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Cairns questions England middle-order
Veteran New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns believes England's middle-order batting could prove their undoing when they face the Kiwis.
Veteran New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns believes England's middle-order batting could prove their undoing when they face the Black Caps in their NatWest Series day/night One-Day International at the Riverside on Tuesday.
On Sunday, England suffered a seven-wicket thrashing against the West Indies at Trent Bridge after captain Michael Vaughan and fellow opener Marcus Trescothick managed just one run between them.
Although a stand of 82 between Andrew Strauss and one-day debutant Geraint Jones helped claw back some ground, England — who will be without injured free-scoring all-rounder Andrew Flintoff for the whole series — were still bowled out for 147.
Cairns, 34, watched England's collapse and said here Monday: "It just confirms how much Trescothick and Vaughan are keys to the England batting line-up.
"Both were dismissed very cheaply, and hence the low score. If you remove both of those it shows a little bit of a soft underbelly — guys with not a lot of experience — so it is a key thing to get those wickets at the top."
Cairns retired from Test cricket earlier on the tour after a 3-0 whitewashing by England.
But in his final Test match, at Trent Bridge where he starred for several seasons with Nottinghamshire, Cairns showed he had lost none of his guile with the ball that makes him such an effective pace bowler at the end of a one-day innings.
"Bowling at the death is a challenge, and I have always enjoyed any challenge in my career," said Cairns.
He is equally well-known for his aggressive batting which can turn any match in a matter of overs, a facet of his game the Kiwis will hope to utilise on Tuesday after both their opening series matches ended as rain-induced no-results.
Meanwhile Durham all-rounder Paul Collingwood, set to play on his home ground Tuesday, a member of England's middle-order, admitted the team's batting was a concern. "We didn't seem able to build any partnerships and we will be looking at what went wrong."
Following their tournament opening washout against New Zealand at Old Trafford on Thursday, the West Indies defeat has left England needing to claw their way off the bottom of the table if they are to reach the final of the triangular event at Lord's on July 10.
And Collingwood added: "We're playing against two good sides and there is a chance we might not make the final."
New Zealand are set to give an international debut to 27-year-old Wellington wicket-keeper Gareth Hopkins.
Hopkins replaces Brendon McCullum who returned home following Saturday's washout against the West Indies at Edgbaston to be with his pregnant wife.
In another change veteran seamer Chris Harris, New Zealand's most successful one-day bowler, replaces Daryl Tuffey who sustained a thigh strain at Edgbaston.
Harris, 34, needs just one more dismissal for his 200th one-day international wicket.
England (from): Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Geraint Jones (wkt), Andrew Strauss, Anthony McGrath, Paul Collingwood, Ian Blackwell, Rikki Clarke, Darren Gough, Stephen Harmison, James Anderson, Robert Key, Ashley Giles, Sajid Mahmood.
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Jacob Oram, Chris Harris, Daniel Vettori, Gareth Hopkins (wkt), James Franklin.
Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (RSA), Jeremy Lloyds (ENG).
TV umpire: Mark Benson (ENG).
Match referee: Gundappa Viswanath (IND).
