Ahead of the decisive fixture against New Zealand and in light of accusations of ball tampering, the England coach says they achieved reverse swing because of the rough square at Edgbaston and not because of tampering
I know it's a very important game to prepare for, but I know you're obviously aware of negative headlines around the England team about ball tampering and so on. It's been quite a talking point. What's your reaction to that?
My reaction is disappointed because we have got a huge game. We're basically into the quarter-final, a must win game, and yeah, there's a lot of headlines about the wrong stuff, really. You know, the situation the other day, the ball was changed as far as I'm aware because the ball had gone out of shape. So, we asked that question, the captain asked that question, which he has every right to do of the umpires, and the ball was changed, and that was --the rest is history. But from our point of view we want to focus on the right stuff and win this game tomorrow.
We play our cricket as hard as anyone else. All the headlines in the papers today are disappointing for us as a team. There's even mention of one of our players, specific roles, and that player is an extremely good cricketer, has had an extremely good series so far, and we'd like to let him concentrate on playing his cricket as best as he can.
The one big thing about this tournament so far that we've seen, particularly Edgbaston, where we did get reverse swing, was how dry the squares are, and I guess that's a mixture of the amount of watering you're allowed to do, the new drainage systems, which sap all the moisture out of the blocks, the squares, and the amount of wickets that have been cut on those squares because there's been practice games, there's a number of internationals being played on the same square, and that's the one ground where it went around.
Ashley, New Zealand had the better of England in the bilateral series, so how are you gearing up for this contest and will that have a bearing on this game?
Well, we've played a lot of cricket against New Zealand in this recent period. We played a series against them in New Zealand which we won 2 1, we lost the one here 2 1, so it's the decider, I suppose, and it is a quarter-final. If you're going to go on and do well in world tournaments, these are the sort of games you've got to win. I guess we're all hoping the weather stays at bay and we just get on with a full day's cricket, but they're a good side. We know the kiwis are a gritty side, well organized, well led, but so are we, and our focus has got to be on what we do well.
Disappointing to lose the game the other day to Sri Lanka, but it took an incredibly good innings from one of the best players in the world to do that. So, you know, that does happen. But we always prepare as well as we possibly can to limit those opportunities for sides to beat us.
Ashley, just on your approach, the defeat to Sri Lanka, do you reassess the way that you go about, you know, scoring? There's been a bit of talk obviously setting that platform and maybe a bit of pressure on those guys down the order. Is that something you can look at in the buildup to this game?
It seems, again, to be a regular discussion point, and for us I don't think it's rocket science. I don't think any other side really plays it particularly different. 50 overs is a long time. You want to set the innings up and give yourselves a platform to build from later on. So, we've been in good positions all the way through, so after 40 overs, we were 201/2, I think, so a perfect platform to really go from. You're not expecting any of your big guns just to be able to come in and smack it everywhere all the time, but if one of those guys comes off you're going to get a good score. And to be fair, we were happy we were happy with 293. Having lost the toss on that day on that wicket, it was quite tricky early on, and I thought Cooky and Bell played really well because it would have been easy to be 30/2, 30/3. There's different areas of that game, and we've got to improve our game, but I thought that was one of the variables that was important. But taking away from that, Sri Lanka batted very, very well, as well.
Most sides play the same way India don't play that much different. They look to set up from the top and then go hard at the back end. It's not a lot different, really.
Ticket Update
Following the final release of match tickets for Sunday there are 300 tickets available for sale located behind the bowler's arm priced £40 for Sunday's game as well as a few pairs in the Grandstand priced £30. Buy etickets online at www.icc-cricket.com or from the ground, the ticket office is open from 8.30am
Weather Update
Although some wet weather is forecast for Cardiff tomorrow, the Met Office Chief Forecaster's Comment "there is a lot of uncertainty with regard to the potential spread of rain from the south across England and Wales during Sunday"
Travel Update - TRAIN INFORMATION FOR SUNDAY
Trains from London - The 0830 train from London Paddington will arrive at Cardiff Central at 1053. Later trains will leave every hour from 0930.
An additional service has been laid on from Bristol Temple Meads leaving at 0849, arriving at Cardiff at 0954 (please note that later trains will arrive after the start of play).
Trains from Birmingham - Until 1440 service rail replacement road transport will run between Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa and Birmingham New Street and journey times may be extended.
Trains from the South West - The 0801 train from Exeter St David's will arrive at Cardiff Central at 1041. Later trains will leave every hour from 1023.
