England look to keep their eye on the ball in bid to reach final

Mutterings about the legality of England’s reverse-swing methods have followed them from Cardiff back to the Oval – where the gossip first started – as opposing captain AB de Villiers yesterday publicly placed his faith in International Cricket Council officials to ensure nothing untoward takes place.

England coach Ashley Giles issued a strong denial of claims made by former Test captain Bob Willis, in his guise as a broadcast pundit, that unfair means were being used to alter the condition of the ball.

After the umpires changed the ball in Sri Lanka’s successful run chase against England at the Oval last week, the ICC and England and Wales Cricket Board also both made it clear there is no reason to suspect any wrongdoing.

De Villiers yesterday confirmed he is happy to rely on the ICC to maintain a level playing field.

“It’s something that the umpires and ICC will probably look into – why England, and some of the other teams, might get it to ‘reverse’ quicker or later,” he said.

“If they are doing something with the ball then it is definitely a concern, yes. But we’ve got no proof of that.

“They seem to get it to ‘reverse’ a bit quicker than the rest of the teams. So maybe they’ve just got really good skill in the bowlers.”

That is the contention of Giles and doubtless also captain Alastair Cook.

When the subject was obliquely broached at his press conference yesterday, Cook chose to concentrate instead on criticism of his tactics in the recent Test victory over New Zealand at Headingley.

“When you’re sitting behind the ropes and you’re not responsible for making that decision, it’s quite an easy thing to say I would have done something differently – or when the pressure is not on you,” he said.

“To have that situation, I think, is very common for most professional sports teams and especially here in England.”

If those are Cook’s occupational hazards, the rewards are opportunities like today’s and the prospect of putting his team within one more win of the first one-day international global trophy in England’s history.

He is encouraged by their success in rainy Cardiff on Sunday, when they held their nerve to book a place in the last four with a 10-run win over the Kiwis.

“I felt Cardiff was a good test to see where we were as a side in terms of having to deliver under pressure, having to win the game to go through pretty much,” he said.

“We knew that was the case and when it’s such a shortened game, you can get taken away from what your principles are, what you’re meant to be doing.

“You can get distracted from it in terms of thinking ‘Well, I just need to whack it straightaway’... but how calm we were with both bat and ball was very key.

“What impressed me most about that was the way the lads delivered under pressure, and if we’re going to go far in this tournament and obviously further down the line, we’re going to have to do that.

“That was a good step for us.”

Cook felt the pressure, but dealt with it. He said: “I won’t lie to you – I didn’t really enjoy Cardiff, the last 10 overs of that.

“That was quite a stressful or tense time, (the most) I think I’ve had since I’ve been captain.

“In terms of a must-win game, I’m sure that’ll be heightened again tomorrow. You have to be on your mettle straightaway ... I hope we can go again.”

England will probably have to do so without first-choice bowlers Graeme Swann and Yorkshire’s Tim Bresnan. Swann missed the match in Wales because of a sore calf, but was ably replaced by fellow off-spinner James Tredwell, who is likely to be in attendance again.

Bresnan was yesterday with his pregnant wife in Halifax and, although he was said to still be available for selection today, the seamer’s plan to drive back to London through the night hardly appears ideal preparation.

Cook said of Swann: “It’s clearly a concern for us. We haven’t ruled him out totally yet for this game. We’re going to have to see how he pulls up tomorrow.

“There’s one thing for certain, he won’t be risked. There is no point in doing that. We’ve got Tredders, who is an exceptional bowler as well.”

Tredwell let no one down in Wales, and also fared well in Swann’s absence when England beat South Africa here in their last ODI meeting last summer.

“We’re very lucky in that department,” said Cook. “We might be very cautious with him [Swann], because it seems very sensible.”

South Africa are sweating over the fitness of pace spearhead Dale Steyn. The world’s number one fast bowler returned from a side strain to help the Proteas qualify in a tied match against West Indies five days ago, but took little part in yesterday’s practice session.

“He’s got a few niggles around, which is very worrying, but we’re going to do all we can to get him on the park tomorrow,” said skipper de Villiers.

“He’s close to 100 per cent...we didn’t want to run him too much today, because we know he’s one of the best in the world and he’s got the skill to just rock up and do the business. We’re confident we can beat England without Dale.”