Fazzinchi

Funny old games

Yesterday successfully managed to highlight one of the oddities that comes with that most fickle of past-times, being an England sporting supporter.  First there was the cricket team… since riding high on their glories of last summer when the Ashes were regained for the first time in 18 years, most would have been forgiven for thinking that a golden age of cricketing accomplishment was dawning for this England team.  However, while the five-day version of the game remains fairly healthy despite the below par tours of the subcontinent in the winter and a string of injuries, the one-day version is atrocious.  England have lost 8 of their 9 ODI’s this summer, and the one, non-defeat was the abandoned match on Saturday.  Ashes heroes Trescothic, Strauss and Pietersen studiously (and incomprehensibly) fail to deliver in the limited over format.

Meanwhile, at Old Trafford (the footballing version), their national footballing counterparts have been going through something of a resurgence in fortune.  The Ericsson/Beckham era is almost forgotten as McClaren’s men have an enviable “Played 2, Won 2, Goals For 9, Goals Against 0” record.  Perhaps the most striking sign of the changing times is the number 7 shirt, which has been passed from Beckham to the previously derided Owen Hargreaves, who has excelled with one Man-Of-The-Match performance after another.  But the cricket has tought us one thing, don’t let short term success lull you to a false sense of security.  With further European qualifiers coming and Ashes round the corner it’s going to be an interesting time for the fans.

“Time waits for nobody”

So, the First Test against Pakistan ended in a draw and another game of “what if…” for England. These two teams have seemed remarkably well matched since the winter tour and so it proved again with both squads, admittedly somewhat injury hit, effectively cancelling one another out. On the plus side there were four century makers for the home side but Mohammed Yousef’s double ton stole the show for the visitors along with Inzamum’s 9th consecutive score of 50+ against the English. Sky’s coverage continues to be slick with some great commentators (and also Bob Willis) providing the analysis. This uninterupted and comprehensive style is something that the terrestial stations could only ever dream of, in this day and age and even the quick advert breaks between every other over don’t really annoy me too much. Three tests to go in this long hot summer of ours…. can’t wait.

This is how to talk football.

You’ve gotta hand it to Sky Sports. Unlike their domestic monopoly, they have no rights at all to show to show any World Cup football and yet, if you need a sensible update on what’s been happening out in Germany, there’s not much better than tuning in to one of their 6 or 7 daily World Cup Reports. Nick Collins has based himself with the England squad in Baden-Baden (so good they named it twice) and manages to talk very sensibly about the state of the team. It is something that the BBC and ITV should start to take notes on. It is at times like these when the BBC’s advert-free style should be paying dividends, but the cliche-ridden commentaries and cringe-worthy panels are almost too much to bear. Gary Lineker seems to want to be a stand up comic rather than a sports pundit and his persisent interrupting almost came to a head with Martin O’Neill yesterday afternoon…. “Theo Walcott couldn’t come on in the 2nd half because he was having his afternoon nap” [cue self-congratulatory laughter]. Ha-Bloody-Ha… the look of disdain from Martin was priceless. Over on ITV, the scene is not much better: the sporting equivalents of c-list celebs litter the studio as the amiable Gaby Logan presides. Sam Allardyce, Stuart Pearce and El Tel are watchable enough, but the rest detract rather add to the event.

This is not!

On the pitch, we thankfully find much more palatable viewing. The big teams are all doing well (so far) with Germany, England, Argentina and Holland all having secured victories in their opening games. 16 of the 32 teams have made their World Cup bow, but none have really stood out from the crowd. It bodes well for some unpredictability and close matches as the tournament progresses. Currently we’ve had 8 games, 18 goals, 1 red card, 30 yellow cards, and no penalties (!), who’d have thunk it.