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Journalism of Courage
Matt Carter’s friends and family have gone to Goa to shake off England’s loss against Afghanistan in Delhi; he flew to Lucknow and is wearing the Sri Lankan jersey, cheering for the Sri Lankans against Australia.
“It was an awful experience in New Delhi last night. The only way last night’s loss will hurt less is if Sri Lanka beats Australia,” laughs Matt, who hails from the seaside town of Portsmouth, England.
Next to him is Jim Costello, an Aussie from Brisbane, whose crew has gone to Varanasi as they don’t want to watch the un-Australian cricket anymore.
“Aah mate, It’s horrible. They have dropped five catches in the last match. The Australian team is known for picking the half chances. The group I am travelling with have gone to Varanasi. I will join them tomorrow. I want to go to Dharamsala. Matt was telling me it is probably one of the best cricketing venues in the world. So I will go there and then will fly home. I can’t see them winning the tournament,” says Jim, who says he is a friend of Australian bowling coach Daniel Vettori.
Matt says after watching England’s performance against New Zealand and Afghanistan, it felt like they had taken a U-turn and had gone back to the pre-2015 days. He also questions the selection of Ben Stokes in the team.
“They have gone back to Old England. Yesterday it felt like I was watching the 2015 World Cup all over again. It was the 2015 that caused the reset but it was sad to see this team taking a U-turn. They have gone back to the defensive mindset,” says Jim.
“I will fly back home after the India vs Bangladesh game and then will come back for the semis and finals. I have booked the tickets with the hope that Jos Buttler will be lifting the World Cup in Ahmedabad.
“On paper, they probably picked the right squad. There are few players who are massively underperforming though. They should have brought Jason Roy. Ben Stokes is not playing, If he doesn’t play in the next game against South Africa, I can’t see why he was picked at the first point. What is the point of him carrying the drinks?”
Meanwhile, Jim says the Australian squad are looking tired and fatigued as most of them are on the tour for a long time.
“They have been on tour for so long. They are looking tired. Against India in Chennai, their body language was abysmal. Pat’s captaincy has been disappointing. We don’t have a quality spinner, Adam Zampa has been tonked, Jason Sangha is in the reserves. Maxwell is our best bowler, can you believe that?”
Matt and Jim were on the same page about ODI cricket.
“It’s not really played that much. We couldn’t remember the last time a month prior to this tournament the ODI cricket was in focus. There hasn’t been much ODI cricket played in the World. No one is playing it. Lot of teams are underprepared. In England, the focus is on Test and T20. There is lots of support for the team, when they play at home, they turn up in big numbers. I suspect out of three this format will be the first one to go,” says Jim, who also feels that The Hundred tournament should be scrapped as well.
Jim agrees and says,”He is supporting Sri Lanka, but I must agree with him. ODI cricket has no charm left in it. In Australia as well, the focus is on Test and T20 cricket. There is no fun watching the ODIs anymore.”
