Magnificent Moeen Ali Shines for England and More from Cricket World Cup Day 10
England's faltering Cricket World Cup campaign stuttered into life with a win against Scotland on Monday thanks largely to the efforts of Moeen Ali.
The Worcestershire opening batsman scored his second ODI century as England coasted home by 119 runs in Christchurch.
Moeen was by far the pick of the batsmen on show, his 128 coming from just 107 balls and including five sixes and 12 fours.
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"Moeen Ali goes through to his second ODI hundred. #CWC15 #fireitup. Eng 168-0 after 29 overs. #EngvScot pic.twitter.com/8f0g3h7hyR
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) February 23, 2015"
After facing the pace of Mitchell Johnson and the precision of Tim Southee, England's batsmen enjoyed themselves against a Scottish attack that featured neither.
Skipper Eoin Morgan showed signs of life with a breezy 46 from 42 balls and Jos Buttler's improvisation gave England some impetus at the death.
That's not to say all is well in the England batting camp. Ian Bell passed 50 but at a pedestrian strike rate of 63.52.
The usual middle-order collapse was also evident with Gary Ballance, Joe Root and James Taylor failing to capitalise on the platform set by Moeen and Bell. England will have expected to score more than 303 after starting the 30th over with the score on 172 without loss.
The bowlers too found conditions to their liking. Steve Finn put his Brendon McCullum nightmare behind him and ended up with figures of three for 26 from his nine overs.
James Anderson and Chris Woakes also enjoyed a decent run out and Moeen capped a man-of-the-match performance by taking two for 47 from his 10 overs.
England received a much needed boost following the horror shows against Australia and New Zealand. The batting looks to be very much a work in progress and it would be no surprise if Alex Hales and Ravi Bopara come into the picture.
A confidence booster it may have been but a much tougher task lies ahead against Sri Lanka in Wellington on Saturday.
Here is the best of the rest from what was a low-key match in Christchurch.
Dismissal of the Day
Despite going into the match with high hopes of springing an upset, Scottish fans had little to cheer.
They were always chasing the game after Moeen and Bell's impressive opening stand.
One of the few bright moments was a superb piece of glove work from Matthew Cross to dismiss James Taylor.
"Taylor falls, stumped. #CWC15. England are 256-5 with five overs to go. #EngvScot #fireitup pic.twitter.com/ftkIe6ySYv
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) February 23, 2015"
Biggest Sigh of Relief – Dominic Cork
Of course captain Eoin Morgan and coach Peter Moores were delighted to have avoided slipping on this potential banana skin. The man most relieved that England won was in fact Dominic Cork.
Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on TalkSport, the former Derbyshire, Lancashire and Hampshire all-rounder promised to “run over Tower Bridge with no clothes on” if Scotland beat England.
Thousands of London commuters will no doubt be delighted that England finally got their World Cup campaign off the mark.
Biggest Exhibitionist
Londoners may have been spared the sight of Dominic Cork in the buff but spectators at the Hagley Oval were given an unwanted eyeful.
One foolhardy fan decided that his five minutes of fame would be spent carousing around the Christchurch outfield au naturel.
The mystery man's efforts did inspire an amusing tweet from Alan Brazil though.
"So England beat Scotland at #CWC15 & Dom Cork gets to keep his clothes on. Some people decided to get naked anyway... pic.twitter.com/pkcV1OcLws
— Alan Brazil (@SportsBreakfast) February 23, 2015"
Worst Bit of Timing
It's not just Eoin Morgan's batting that has been lacking in timing of late. It seems that his handshakes skills are a little skew-whiff too, much to the amusement of Ravi Bopara.
Reaction
The reaction on social media to England's win was pretty muted. Former captain Michael Vaughan summed up England's performance succinctly.
"A Win is a Win and that's all that was required today... #ICCWorldCup2015
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 23, 2015"
Pool A Table
| Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.22 | 3 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 3 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -0.861 | 2 |
| England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1.415 | 2 |
| Afghanistan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -1.175 | 0 |
| Scotland | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -2.74 | 0 |
Tuesday's Action
After their big win over Pakistan, the West Indies will be looking to keep the momentum going against Zimbabwe in Canberra.
Jason Holder's side were much improved in their last outing with Andre Russell and Jerome Taylor to the fore.
Zimbabwe gave South Africa a fright in their opener before going to beat the United Arab Emirates. They will go into Tuesday's game as underdogs but certainly have the capacity to spring a surprise.
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