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Time to take a bow

England have nobody to fear, says Bumble

David Lloyd Posted 20th May 2010 view comments

So England have finally broken their duck in world championships and, as everybody has said, it was a fantastic performance.

To win the semi-final against Sri Lanka in 16 overs and the final against Australia in 17 overs was massive. They were drubbings really.

People have been Tweeting me from all over the world to congratulate England and what has pleased me most is that they're all saying how good they were to watch.

England: worthy winners

England: worthy winners

This was no fluke. This was no back-door win. This was a terrific side playing good cricket.

You can't fault the whole squad or the management team. They were brilliant in approach, attitude and performance. Kevin Pietersen was back to form, Eoin Morgan was a massive influence on the team and the opening pair gave us a massive lead every time. England were the tournament's highest scorers in the restricted first six overs, which is very impressive.

This was no fluke. This was no back-door win. This was a terrific side playing good cricket.

Bumble
Quotes of the week

Andy Flower and his back-room staff ensured the players wholeheartedly bought into a no-fear attitude to playing. Also, there is no selfishness whatsoever in that dressing room.

It's good news for England in all forms of the game. Some of this squad will be challenging for positions in the longer formats (Craig Kieswetter for example), and that will keep everybody on their toes.

We hold the Ashes, we were very resolute in South Africa and this victory has shown we have an excellent cricket team in all forms.

In terms of fitness and fielding we're as good as anybody in the world and I'd say the same about our attack. Teams will now worry more about facing England than the other way around.

Rotation

I was interested to hear Andy Flower saying we might start a rotation system against Bangladesh.

He might rest two or three major players and I think that's a great idea. Not only will it keep everybody fresh, but it will also give us a chance to look at some of the emerging players.

With all due respect to Bangladesh, we should be beating them in three or four days and we should be able to treat these games as preparation matches.

So why not bring in some likely lads and find out what they can do? We need to take a look at their temperament, their attitude and whether or not they can cope.

How many times do you see Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger resting a big-name player for no apparent reason in football? I think this is a forward-thinking idea for cricket.

Passing the test

I've been busy on my return from the Caribbean. I'm thrilled to report that I passed my motorbike test and now I'm excited about choosing a bike. You can probably expect to see me turning up to cricket grounds on a BMW800ST all summer.

I've been in London this week for a Red Bull promotion and also to do some interviews for my new book. I saw an actual copy of the book for the first time on Thursday morning, which was nice. More on that below.

I'm not just an author though. I'll be treading the boards in the theatre next week... well, sort of.

James Quinn (Phil the policeman from Early Doors) is in a play called 'Twenty20' in Scarborough and they've asked me to record a commentary voiceover for the performances.

I'm reading the script at the moment and I feel a bit like Ray Winstone. I'm not sure if I'll get an Equity card, but I reckon a Bafta could be coming my way.

So I'm a Thespian; just don't ask me which part of Thespia I come from.

Bumble answers your questions...

Send your questions to Bumble by filling in the feedback form below. Or you can mail them in by e-mailing skysportsclub@bskyb.com

STANDARD BEARERS
I think everyone is missing the point with regards to the foreign players. No problem if people qualify to play for any country by taking citizenship. The question is: What does it say about the standard of cricket in England if so many "foreign" players are the stars in the team? Bill Maclean

BUMBLE SAYS: Don't worry Bill, the standard in England is terrific. For evidence of that just look at the performances of Ben Stokes, Alex Hales and Robert Key this week. Plus Steve Harmison's bowling figures were absolutely incredible on a slow pitch against a team that scored 500. I have no concerns about the standard of English cricket; in fact I'm thrilled by it.

Start the Car!

Finally, a reminder that my new book called Start the Car: The World According to Bumble - is available in hardback on May 27.

If you've got a couple of minutes you can listen to an exclusive extract from the audiobook version.

Before the dawn of professionalism there were plenty of escapades and frolics to be had as a first-class umpire - but, as Allan Lamb will tell you, we didn't always have the last word!

Feel free to give me your verdict on this week's extract and don't forget there are five signed copies of my book up for grabs in skysports.com's competition. Click here for details...

Comments (5)

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Jeff Williams says...

Hi bumble, I wholeheartedly agree with u about England, it has been a while sjnce i have seen them looking so comfortable on the pitch . But most of all u can see the aggresion and self belief, which we haven't had for a while, also resting players and introducing new faces injects a whole new look and scope of the team. Well done Straussy and the boys, I think we will smash the aussies and retain the Ashes.

Posted 09:02 15th July 2010

Daniel Townend says...

Hi Bumble Received your book through the post on Saturday morning after ordering it through amazon. Was surprised to receive it before the actual release date but delighted none the less. Just coming up to half way through it now and i have had many a chuckle over the stories you have to tell. I was also pleasantly surprised to see England rip up all the opposition in the Twenty20. It has been a very long time since we have had an England cricket team that now looks confident in all forms of the game. On top of that they have an abundance of ability and flair which i am confident will see us as a top player in all forms of cricket for years to come. Long may it continue! All the best

Posted 01:20 26th May 2010

Adam Whiteley says...

yes Conway Cummings, england were lucky to win the 20/20 world cup, i mean australia pushed it right down to the last over, i mean england struggled badly didnt they to cope with the awesome aussie attack and batting. oh hang on a min, im kidding myself, we HAMMERD THEM!!!!

Posted 08:19 25th May 2010

Ellie Reynolds says...

The top comment, you are kidding right? Did you see how awsomely they played during their time in the west indies, they were at the top of their game, very well done boys :), Bumble, you've been going away with the sky sports team through the winter i was just wondering do the cricket team spend alot of their time ( on tour's, excluding practice sessions) all together, or do they all have their own little groups who they are normally with, for example i follow anderson, bressy and swanny on twitter and it looks like they all have a banter when they are all together

Posted 23:32 23rd May 2010

Conway Cummings says...

Personally i think england were lucky 2 win the 2020, it was a farce, england have no class

Posted 23:30 22nd May 2010

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