da betano casino： Will Luke presents the plays of the day from the fifth ODI at Lord’s
Will Luke at Lord's28-Jun-2008
In and out: butterfingered Tim Ambrose makes a meal of a Jamie How top-edge © Getty Images
Drop of the day
Jamie How tried to pull James Anderson on 4, the ball looping andskying to where a short fine leg would have positioned himself.England’s diminutive little wicketkeeper, Tim Ambrose, joggedbackwards quickly and made excellent ground, steadying himself all thewhile. The ball plopped into his gloves, panged off the middle fingerof his right hand, and plopped out again. England’s body languagehuffed disappointment and anger, as Ambrose plodded and moped,doubtless realising there were 46 more overs left in New Zealand’sinnings. Fortunately for him, How only lasted another four overs.Bat-snapping of the day
Several years ago Michael Atherton, the former England captain,wondered why someone couldn’t do the honourable, justifiable thing andbreak Glenn McGrath’s arm. It was a perfectly reasonable request,never more so when considering McGrath had dismissed him a record 19times. A similar tactic was employed today by Anderson, thoughchoosing to snap Brendon McCullum’s bat, not his arm. McCullum hadonly nudged the ball to midwicket yet the blade almost split in two,hanging on by the bat’s thin outer covering. Perhaps the replacementdidn’t feel right for McCullum, as he fell in Anderson’s next over,edging to first slip. “That’s the sign of a bat that has been kept fortoo long in a dry place,” Atherton noted. Perhaps he should havelocked McGrath in a greenhouse.Rookie mistake of the day
Welcome to captaincy, Kevin. Jacob Oram had calmly, almost anonymouslymoved onto 36 from 34 balls, and together with Scott Styris helped NewZealand recover from 124 for 4. Pietersen’s decision to stick withOwais Shah’s only occasional offbreaks, rather than the greaterability of Ravi Bopara’s nagging seamers, raised a few eyebrows, notto mention the spirits of the outnumbered New Zealand fans. Oramheaved him into the Mound Stand over midwicket before opening hisshoulders and depositing another six into the Edrich Stand to bring upa brutal fifty from 37 balls. Pietersen’s said yesterday that he would”be smoking a cigar at mid-off” if they achieved all their goals, butthere wasn’t hope of him even enjoying a spivvy little roll-up withOram (and later Stryis) threatening as they were.Completely in, emphatically out
It is nothing short of perplexing watching Ian Bell attempt to asserthimself. He began England’s chase in silky, oozy fashion, flickingKyle Mills for two beautifully timed fours through midwicket.Immediately, he showed his intent, class and authority at the crease,and he continued in the same vain against Mills later in his inningswhen he stood tall to drive him crisply off the back foot. The moresettled he looks, the more complacent he becomes, the greater theinfuriation for his fans. Rather predictably, on 27 he walked acrosshis stumps to Mark Gillespie and that was that; a soupcon of aninnings, once again leaving England impatiently hungry for more.