Game 3 Eng vs NZ (January 16th)

It was back to cricinfo's commentary for this game and boy did it feel like a futile exercise! It was the sort of game which you knew all along NZ wouldn't pull off (because they had too few runs on the board) but had to keep following anyway since it went down to the last over, and almost the last ball. Pretty frustrating in all, but at least we appeared in control on the field. Besides wasting a good opportunity for a win on a pitch that favoured NZ's gameplan, the kiwis only succeeded in awakening a sleeping giant in Andrew Flintoff.

Actually Flintoff was pretty much the difference between the two sides, the only player with enough class and charisma to rise above the mediocrity that characterised the match. The resurfacing of Shane Bond's back problem was the main factor in NZ not being able to close out things after Jeetan patel's magnificent spell. We knew Bond's duel at the end with Flintoff would be decisive - and so it was, since Bond wasn't able to bowl at full clip and didn't complete his quota of overs. His future in the tournament looks in doubt now, but it's been such a familiar theme that all us supporters can do is some teeth-gritting and hope the rest of the bowlers keep up the consistency. As for the game, it was predictably scrappy with neither team appearing to have any real confidence or self-belief. And of course, the kiwi batting can't do much right at the moment. Nath (astle) shouldn't be throwing away his wicket to part timers when he knows the rest of the lineup is short on form. And Flem looks weighed down by the circumstances. He knows he has to fire, but it's almost as if he's resigned to the fact that the rest of the batters cannot make a run at the moment and it's showing in his game. The lack of timing in his shots and the frustrated manner of his dismissals seem to convey all that, at any rate.

History says teams that are slow off the blocks in these tri-series are rarely able to recover enough to make it to the finals. By losing both these opening games, the pressure is enormous on the Black Caps now. Fleming likes to say his side plays best when they're pushed into a corner. I like to think so too. Well, we won't get a better opportunity to prove that.