The captain doth protest too much. Here’s the inimitable Vic Marks, on Morgan and the fact that is most certainly not a hum-drum, just-another-game for England.
Eoin Morgan is entitled not to over-hype the occasion and to keep his players cool. But the protestation that this is just a routine World Cup match was not entirely convincing. In fact, if England had beaten Sri Lanka at Headingley his view of Tuesday’s mouthwatering meeting with Australia would have more credence.
It is true that England can lose at Lord’s and still control their own destiny in this tournament as they strive to satisfy the bare minimum of expectations: reaching the semi-finals. But if Australia prevail then the nerves really start jangling, however icy-calm Morgan may like to appear. Then England might have to win both their remaining matches, against India and New Zealand, neither of whom have been beaten so far.
More on the weather. The importance of the weather radar to everyone’s enjoyment today cannot be underestimated. There’s cloud cover hanging over Lord’s, but importantly no rain and we’re set to get underway with no delay.
Team news. Confirmed XIs obviously won’t be in until a bit later, but Jofra Archer has been suffering from a side problem and underwent a late fitness test at Lord’s. He’s passed it, according to OBOer Adam Collins.
And Michael Vaughan has just said on the telly that Nathan Lyon may make an appearance for Australia.
“Regaining trust takes a lot of time”. For anyone fearing the Lord’s crowd may delight in getting on the backs of the two players at the centre of the aforementioned scandal, thank goodness then for England captain Eoin Morgan, who took the opportunity on the eve of the match to pour cold water on any hot heads wanting to have a pop at poor old Dave Warner and Steve Smith. No, not really, they’re fair game apparently.
Preamble
Hello and welcome. Sydney calling first up to set the scene ahead of today’s hugely-anticipated meeting at Lord’s, before handing over to London for the start of play (10:30am local, 7:30pm AEST). It hardly needs hyping, such is the, um, special relationship between these two countries, but the fact that this gives England fans a chance to remind their antipodean cousins of the time Australian cricket imploded in Cape Town 15 months ago is sure to only add even more heat to an already five-chilli occasion.
But it’s not just about two very naughty boys seeking a kind of redemption and some inevitably cheap jokes emanating from the stands today. There’s a Cricket World Cup on, and with just two points separating the sides heading into this fixture, there’s table position to play for. Australia sit in second on 10 points, with England fourth on eight, both having played six games. An Australian win will see them leapfrog New Zealand into top spot and put a huge dent in England’s hopes of reaching the semis; defeat will see England draw level on points. First place plays fourth and second plays third in the semis.
Anyway, please do feel free to get in touch with any thoughts on today’s match. I’ll try to field any emails before handing over to Geoff for the first ball. It’s mike.hytner@theguardian.com on email or @mike_hytner on Twitter. Go!
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