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England should easily clinch Champions Trophy
A Lara or a Sarwan can make things happen, but the home team is unlikely to let go this opportunity of lifting the mini-World Cup, writes Javagal Srinath.
The long-reigning supremacy of the Australians came to an end at last. For once at least, against England, they looked vulnerable. But even in defeat, the Australian batting continued to look good. Their bowling, however, seems to be losing its potency.
More than the good batting by the England batsmen, it was the innocuous Australian bowling that was responsible for the rather unexpected Aussie exit.
The Australians bowlers have failed to impress on the slow tracks. The gracefully ageing workhorse, Glenn McGrath is a shadow of what he was before the injury. Known for his highly disciplined line and length, he is naturally finding it hard to keep up with the pace at the international level.
Brett Lee, who believes in pace, is struggling to come back to form in time.
The law of averages has finally worked the world champions down. It is always good to see some fresh faces and new teams making progress in the international arena.
It appears that the Pakistani think-tank completely misread the conditions and gifted away the initiative of winning the toss. Shoaib Akthar bowled with zest and also floored Windies captain Lara with a bouncer. The way Lara ducked awkwardly into the bouncer looked very dangerous. But fortunately, not much damage was done to the team or to Brian Lara. Shoaib's bowling was powered by pace. But it remains to be seen how consistently he can do that.
Sarwan and Chanderpaul have been the chief architects of West Indies batting. Collin Collymore and Bravo are quite effective in English conditions. The big win against the South Africans has instilled new confidence in them and the much-needed belief in their beleaguered players.
