World Cup 2003 - England Preview

By Bongs - Jan 21, '03
January 22 2003

It’s that time again, and England fans will be looking to the 2003 World Cup in South Africa with the usual combination of confusion and dread.

Strange selections allied to injuries to premier bowler Darren Gough, best ‘finisher’ Graham Thorpe, all rounder Andy Flintoff and first choice spinner Ashley Giles have disrupted preparations. However, bar Gough and Thorpe, both long term problems, England have more or less a full hand to play with. This includes a top opening partnership in Trescothick and Knight, followed by one of the world’s best test batsmen Michael Vaughan at 3.

There the problems begin. It would take a brave man to predict the middle order at this stage, with Nasser Hussain, Alec Stewart, Paul Collingwood, Ian Blackwell, Flintoff, Ronnie Irani, Craig White and maybe even Adam Hollioake all competing for spots. The best we can say is ‘wait and see’, your guess is as good as anyone’s.

In terms of bowling, the opening partnership of Andy Caddick and 20 year old revelation Jimmy Anderson is now settled and has been effective this winter. Steve Harmison, although possessing raw pace will most likely miss out due to his wides problem. Ian Botham has identified the minor technical flaw that causes it, the good news for England is that it should not be too hard to correct. The seam backup will be made of Flintoff and a combination of either of White, Irani, Hoggard and Collingwood, with Hollioake called upon in the event of injuries. The spin position looks to be occupied by all rounder Ian Blackwell, his potentially match winning batting nudging him ahead of Giles. Michael Vaughan offers more than adequate backup.

So, England have selection headaches. They are lucky however, that the first 3 games are against Zimbabwe, Holland and Namibia, which ought to give plenty of impetus before the crucial game against Pakistan. If Pakistan have one of their famed off-days, England can expect to qualify for the Super Six. There will be less confidence against India and Australia, but none too recent history has showed England can certainly compete with the Indians. A win over Australia would be a huge upset.

England’s dilemma is that they must beat one of Pakistan, India and Australia. If they can do that, a place in the Super Six would be attained which will be seen as a success. Beyond that, who knows…