England Ready For Tough South Africa Challenge
Strauss' Men Prepare for Life After Flintoff, as Pietersen Returns
Nov 9, 2009
Captain Andrew Strauss’ side face the hosts in the first of two twenty 20 internationals in Johannesburg this Friday, and began the tour with convincing warm up wins over the Warriors and the Eagles over the weekend.
The tourists will be boosted by the return of star batsmen Kevin Pietersen, who missed over half of the Ashes and the Champions Trophy with an Achilles tendon injury, although he remains a doubt for the two twenty-20 games.
A New Era For English Cricket
The tour represents a new era for England who must now look forward to life without talisman Andrew Flintoff, who announced his retirement from test cricket following the Ashes success. Flintoff’s decision was made to help prolong his one day international career following a string of injuries in recent times. However his latest round of surgery on his knee, will mean he misses this tour altogether.
With Flintoff’s retirement and Steve Harmison’s omission from the squad, the bowling attack which famously put the great Australian side to the sword during the 2005 Ashes series, is now not represented at all in the present side. With cult hero spinner Monty Panesar also overlooked, it will be up to the likes of Stuart Broad, Graham Onions and James Anderson to build on a promising summer and form an equally potent attack going forward.
The South Africa tour provides an opportunity for several new faces to establish themselves in the side. Jonathan Trott will be looking to take momentum from his debut century in the final Ashes test, while young leg spinner Adil Rashid may get his long awaited test match debut following a string of eye-catching performances in international twenty 20 and one day cricket over the summer.
Durham’s Liam Plunkett, fresh from a second consecutive county championship winning campaign, has been given a test squad recall. Fellow fast bowler Sajid Mahmood is also back in the one day international frame, while all rounder Luke Wright has also been included in the test squad for the first time.
England Out For Revenge
Strauss’ men will be out to avenge the 2-1 test series defeat suffered against South Africa in England last summer, a series which signalled the end to Michael Vaughan’s international career, and started a run of three successive test series defeats for England, the first time that had happened since 1999.
Following the much publicized fall-out between former captain Pietersen and coach Peter Moores, the appointment of Strauss and former Zimbabwe international Andy Flower as coach has given England some much needed stability since the last time the sides met, which culminated in them regaining the Ashes at the first time of asking.
Following the two Twenty 20 matches is the one day international series, and England will be buoyed following an encouraging Champions Trophy campaign which saw them reach the semi finals, knocking out hosts South Africa along the way. The South Africans will also be aware that they were thrashed 4-0 in the one day series in England last summer.
Momentum is the key word in the England camp this winter. Having failed to build on the 2005 Ashes success, Flower and Strauss will be keen to see the tourists not make the same mistake twice.
