Fletcher beats Lara by 1 wicket in swan song match

Yesterday saw the last international cricket match for Brian Lara, and the last match as England coach by Duncan Fletcher. Neither of the two departing men was at the center of yesterday's result, really. Lara was run out for 18, leaving Chris Gayle's blazing 79 off 58 balls as the dominant knock for the Windies. Lara doesn't have to prove anything to anyone, though. He retires as a batting superstar. In contrast, Michael Vaughan did have to prove himself. This match could have been Vaughan's swan song as well, at least in ODI cricket, but he showed that he can add real value to the team. England looked to be in real trouble, but Vaughan came through at the right moments.

I didn't even know Michael Vaughan could bowl at all, but his figures of 3 for 39 in 10 overs were easily the best of the lot and he kept the target from getting completely out of reach. Vaughan also came through with the bat, needing just 10 more balls to match Gayle's 79. Vaughan's contribution alone was not enough, though. It also took a fast 100 by the frequently impressive Pietersen, plus a fighting 38 by keeper Nixon, plus some brief pressure-packed batting for Stuart Broad and even 11th man James Anderson to overhaul the Windies' 300.

So what can we make of this result? England deserves their 5th-place spot. That's not really good enough for their critics, but it's actually a big improvement over their performance in the last World Cup. They one every match they played against teams which were not among the semifinalists, and they came very close to beating Sri Lanka. It was not always pretty, and there's plenty of room for improvement with both bat and ball but if they hadn't managed to rally and win the CB series in Australia this winter, I think the press might consider this 5th-place finish a step in the right direction.

It's been suggested elsewhere that the Aussies are #1 because their fans will accept nothing less. Maybe it's the other way around. It's good to complain about problems that can be addressed (and which are worth addressing), and no one with a competitive attitude will be happy with 5th place, but it's also important to appreciate what you have. Yesterday, Fletcher's England team were able to show that there is something there worth appreciating.