Well done to England for finally conjuring up a victory against Australia, and it wasn't all luck, they were easily the better side on the day. Joyce, Bell & Plunkett were the stand-outs for the men in blue, and Joyce & Plunkett may well've booked their tickets on the plane to the West Indies in March.
From Australia's point of view, whilst Hodge is continually churning the runs out for Victoria, one must wonder if he's ever going to crack it at ODI level. He's got the ability, but questions must be asked about his mental toughness if he continues to fail when he's given an oppurtunity. You'd have to think that if Jaques really finds some OD form for NSW he'd be oh so very close to a World Cup birth thanks to Hodge's failures at the top level.
Shaun Tait looked a little out of his league as well today. Whilst he bowled some good deliveries, there were far to many poor ones, wether we can put taht down to nerves, or just the unpredictability of Tait i guess we don't know, but based on that performance alone, Hilfenhaus SHOULD be ahead of him in terms of World Cup chances.
Can anyone elighten me on the extent of Symonds' injury? All i heard (only got Aust. innings on the radio) was that he retired hurt with an arm injury. I'm hoping it's nothing to serious like a bicep tear, as losing Symonds would put a dent in World Cup preparations.