After exuberantly cherishing their 3-2 Ashes win, suffering a 1-6 One Day International (ODI) series drubbing, and maligning their hectic FTP (Future Tour Programme) and lengthy World Cup schedule, England’s cricket team are all set to kick off their ICC 2011 World Cup campaign.
The Poms will take on the Netherlands tomorrow at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha in Nagpur.
England will experiment their roaring gun, Kevin Pietersen, as an opener in what would be a mismatched World Cup game.
The South Africa-born attacking batsman is the best natural stroke player in England’s squad.The 30-year old Natal batsman is well capable of batting 50-overs on his day.
There isn't much to compare when it comes to the performance of both sides in the past as England is one of the World Cup favourites, while Peter Borren’s side stands among the tournament outsiders.
But England must have their 4-wicket mauling at the hands of Oranje brigade in the 2009 World Twenty20 Championship opener at Lord’s on their minds.
Strauss himself said that they would not take Holland as an easy opposition.
"It underlines the point that you can't under-estimate sides like Holland” said the England captain on Monday. "If we are 10 per cent off and they have a good day, we are in trouble", he added.
Six players, who played were part of that Twenty20 triumphant squad, including, Peter Borren, Bas Zuiderent, Pietar Seelaar, Alex Kerevezee, Ryan ten Doeschate and Tom de Grooth, are also part of this time’s World Cup squad and must be eager to emulate their World Twenty20 showing in the 50-overs mega event.
The focus of the World Twenty20 champions would, undoubtedly, be on their star batsman, KP (Kevin Pietersen), who would be seen in a new position, as opener with captain, Andrew Strauss.
The damage that the Natal-born batsman can cause to any bowling attack during restrictions could be nastiest nightmare a bowler could have. And he would obviously be hoping to exploit fielding restrictions in the power-plays.
While England will be missing the likes of Eion Morgan, who was ruled out of the World Cup squad with an injured finger just a week before the esteemed event, a lot would depend on how Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior and Ravi Bopara perform in the middle overs.
England are expected to field the same playing XI, which featured in the warm-up games except for off-spinner Graeme Swann, who is likely to replace Michael Yardy.
The Stuart Broad spearheaded pace brigade would include Tim Bresnan and James Anderson.
To Netherlands, the only injury concern is their regular skipper, Peter Borren, battling a side strain. If Borren fails to prove fitness on Tuesday morning, he would be replaced by Bas Zuiderent as stand-in captain.
In Borren’s absence much would depend on the all-round prowess of Ryan ten Doeschate. Tom de Grooth would also be a vital cog in Netherland’s batting line-up.
England seemed out of flair against Canada in their opening warm-up game as they survived a scare, winning by only 16 runs.
However, their 69-run win against Pakistan in their second and last preparatory game would give them a boost ahead of their Cup opener.
The Jamtha track seems to be a batting wicket as the World Cup practice match between the Black Caps and Ireland saw almost 600 runs being put on the board by both sides. Hence winning the toss and batting first would be best.
Under usual conditions, this game would have passed by without being noticed by anybody barring English fans. But given the side’s sudden plunging form, Tuesday’s game would be crucial for Strauss and his men to gain some much needed momentum before heading to Karnataka to take on a strong Indian outfit in their second Cup fixture on 27 February.
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