A perfect wake-up call
ENGLAND may not feel this way right now, but that was a great game of cricket and a wonderful occasion. And it may just be the wake-up call they needed. Eoin Morgan’s team recently went top of the rankings and this was a reminder — ahead of a big series against Australia — that cricket has a funny way of biting you on the backside. Yes, they would rather have won and that result will go down as the greatest in Scotland’s history. But it’s not the end of the world and it’s certainly not a defeat to put in the same category as losing to Ireland at the 2011 World Cup, or to Holland at a couple of World Twenty20s. Games where you get put under pressure are no bad thing, but to miss out and Alex Hales is the most vulnerable. Then there’s pace bowler Mark Wood, who worries me a bit. A couple of years ago, he was topping 90mph, which meant it didn’t matter that he was gun-barrel straight. But that becomes a problem if you drop into the high 80s, as Wood did here. There’s certainly no need for England to over-react to one defeat. Scotland were superb and deserve a day like that after the pain of missing out on World Cup qualification. But England should take stock and remember that they need to stay ahead of the curve with the World Cup now only a year away.