Roger Alton Roger Alton

The Cricket World Cup needs minnows

England should be grateful not to be facing Holland again – but we should all be thankful for Ireland, Scotland, Afghanistan and UAE

issue 21 February 2015

Graeme Swann arrived late for the last cricket World Cup. His wife had given birth before the tournament and he was given leave to miss the warm-ups and just arrive for the first match. No need to worry: it was only the Netherlands, the competition’s weakest side. Naturally England nearly lost it, but Swann took two wickets. At the press conference, Swann was asked about leaving his new baby son. ‘I’m sure he’ll give me shit in the future for missing the first two months of his life,’ he said, ‘and I’ll reply: sorry son, I had to go and help England beat the Dutch.’

England have made a habit of being embarrassed by the Dutch. They lost to them at the World Twenty20 in 2009 and 2014, bowled out the second time for 88 by a former assistant manager at the Schiphol airport Burger King. It’s just as well the Orangemen didn’t qualify for the latest global tournament, which started last week.

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