Strauss answers his critics
So it seems we are wrong. England can make a decent fist of ODIs after all. Whether we put this down to inbuilt inconsistency or the success of Strauss and coach Andy Flower’s policy of players taking responsibility for themselves, yesterdays victory in the 4th ODI represents quite a turnaround from the thrashing dished out by West Indies in the 3rd match.
It may be that the weather-induced reduction in their innings made life easier for England, at least mentally, as it decided their approach for them. With only 20 overs to bat, their target became a moderate Twenty20 score and England had no choice but to hit out. A target of 240 from 50 overs, whilst not hugely challenging these days, would have had the batsmen mindful of keeping wickets in tact and perhaps in two minds about how to approach their innings.
One thing that we can be sure of is that Andrew Strauss has answered those critical of his place in the short-format team in the best way possible. First a century, and now an innings of 79 in just 61 balls. This latter innings best demonstrates that there is versatility to Strauss’ game, the century having been played in more of an anchor role.
I do not feel we should be critical of Strauss, or indeed Andy Flower, on this tour; after all, both were appointed to their positions after the squad was selected and shortly before the team left for the West Indies. Indeed, we should remember that Strauss is only playing in these matches after being made captain, as he wasn’t even selected in the initial squad. That he has been the best batsman so far, in terms of runs scored, suggests that the selectors need to have a rethink for the future.
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