Unsure of England

It seems I am at risk of turning this into a cricket-blog but as it is a huge part of my life and I am English I guess it would seem strange not to write about England's antics in the Caribbean.

Today Ireland were the opposition and an English win simply a formality. Somehow though our boys managed to let this game be taken somewhat closer than it should have been on paper. Our lacklustre displays from 1 to 3 were a disappointment and have been throughout the tournament so far. I listened to a debate between David Lloyd (or Bumble as his colleagues affectionately refer to him) and Nick Knight on the merits of the current top order and the team strategy and must admit that I agree with Bumble. Whilst the 3 players selected are indeed the right choices for me I think that they are underperforming and this is down to confidence. The great players are able to play their way out of bad form, take Matthew Hayden for example. His form slumped but he grafted and so far has scored 2 centuries on this tour, a trip that many suggested he shouldn't be making! Here's hoping that one of are top 3 can take force the issue in the coming games and start producing like we all know they can.
Meanwhile my favourite English player, Paul Collingwood, has produced yet another stellar performance. He is such an underrated player and deserves more plaudits. It was recently suggested that the England side rely on Kevin Pietersen for their batting. I would argue that whilst Pietersen is indeed an awesome player it is Collingwood that we seem to rely upon most for our successes. His worth to the team is enormous, his batting displays have often outshone the big names like KP and Freddie both in terms of runs and style. He can build an innings and then step on the accelerator when the time is right. He can hit big when he needs to but has the patience to turn over the strike when they aren't there to be played. His 90 today turned an average card into a strong total no matter who we were playing against and the fact that he is one of world's best fielders just adds to his value. His takes a useful turn as a bowler too, doing a job for the side in both the 1 day and Test arenas.
With a strong total posted against a side of Ireland's calibre I was hoping to see England pick up regular wickets and win the game by a large number of runs. We shouldn't be letting sides like Ireland and Canada score in excess of 200 runs against us but winning ugly is better than not winning. It was encouraging though to see Flintoff take 4 wickets and score some runs, a performance that will hopefully give him some confidence ahead of the tougher fixtures in this stage of the competition.