by bigfluffylemon » Thu May 30, 2019 11:17 pm
Good win, in the end. Have to say I am more relieved than anything else, but it is great to get off to a win against a strong side. England have a habit of losing their opener (2015 and 2007), or otherwise starting badly vs an associate (Netherlands gave us an almighty scare in 2011, then we tied with India and lost to Ireland), so just by beating a top 4 side we've arguably already exceeded the previous 3 world cups...
England are often accused of having no plan B, but I think they disproved that here. Against this bowling attack, this wasn't a 350 wicket - they batted smartly, Stokes especially, to put on a defendable total, and then bowled and fielded pretty well. Much has been said of how England's bowling attack is the weak link, but they are not terrible - while they often go for runs, they do take wickets. As I pointed out a week or so ago, England still have a 2-1 win ratio batting first in the last couple of years, which goes up to more than 3-1 if they get a total of 280+ on the board. Yes, their bowlers aren't great at defending lower totals, but that's going to be true for every side - if you're out for a sub-par score, you're going to struggle defending it.
I think it would be a big mistake to think that every match is going to be defined by 350 plays 350. Yes, there will be some, but pitches and conditions will vary. While totals have gone up in the last few years, 300 is still a competitive score most of the time.
South Africa have a strong bowling line-up, and for England to post and defend 300 is pretty good. Add in Archer's bowling, Stokes' all-round performance (especially given he's a form player and has had a bit of a lean trot recently), time in the middle for several bats, and decent bowling from Plunkett and Rashid, and there's a lot to be satisfied about. Bairstow's duck is a bit of a concern as he fell for a particular trap - let's see how many sides copy South Africa and open with the spinner to try and break up England's opening partnership.