You may remember that a while ago I criticized the uncompetitive nature of England’s warm-up matches in South Africa. How could a two-day, two-innings-a-side match be anything more than a glorified net?
Having read about the game against a Bangladesh Board XI that finished yesterday, I take it all back. This match actually lost its first-class status during play when Alistair Cook allowed some extra substitutions.
But that wasn’t the half of it. In an effort to give Kevin Pietersen some more time at the crease, Cook and Michael Carberry offered up some of the worst (or should that be best?) donkey drops ever seen on a cricket pitch.
Cook bowled five overs for 111 runs. Carberry in comparison was a model of line and length, conceding just 78 runs from 4 overs.
Michael Atherton in the Times called it ‘farcical’. I agree. Is this really the best way to prepare for tomorrow’s Test match?
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