CT Eng v Aus Half Time: England Resurrected; But Is It Enough to Hurt Australia?

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Sreelata YellamrazuOct 2 2009

Tim Bresnan could well have had to look at an alternative career as many of the England cricketers had the former not changed the flow of the game. At 104 for six, one dreaded to write that the ICC Champions Trophy had had a disastrous first semi final at Centurion. But England found two gutsy performers who defied Australia's momentum to give them some fight to the men who humiliated them in the NatWest Series.

bresnan behind the camera

Just when the air in South Africa seemed to be having an invigorating effect on the England team, their dramatic collapse on what appeared to be a good batting pitch seemed contrastingly bizarre. Was it just the Australia voodoo on them?

It was hard to tell. But even as England's run rate was good, they were running out of wickets in a hurry. At 104 for six, after the fifty-five run partnership between Paul Collingwood and Joe Denly was broken, the match seemed to be going the Twenty20 way.

But England fought back their impetuosity, really that combined with good Australian bowling did them in, and found Luke Wright and Tim Bresnan, the two England all rounders who are yet to establish themselves on a more permanent basis, to bring back something to the dressing room at the half way mark.

Bresnan overcame his Twitter trouble and his hostile run ins with Shane Watson to put up an impressive eighty run innings from seventy-six balls that gave England the sum and substance. The duo scored with a free rein, almost negating the effect the Australians had on the England top order batsmen that have tended to depend on the likes of the England captain, Andrew Strauss, rather heavily.

Their fearsome approach as well as the positive approach to scoring runs had the England score board ticking again at a fair clip and giving the few England fans something to finally cheer about. Wright's forty-eight runs were a stellar effort given the situation and to think, he nearly missed the tournament through an injury that left stitches on his foot!

Their 107 run partnership for the seventh wicket formed the basis of England's 257. Once that partnership was broken, it was a bit of a wobble again as England were bowled out in the forty-eight over. But will their cardinal sin of not using the last fourteen balls come back to haunt them? Or can the England top order get away with their injudicious shot selection thanks to a late rear guard action?

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