THE ENGLAND CRICKET TEAM

England cricket team is one of the strongest cricket teams around the world. Passionate about the sports, each player of the England cricket team sets an example of its own. England is, and always has been the home of cricket. It was the nation that introduced the sport to the world and even now continues with its innovations. This can be substantiated by the fact that all forms of cricket- Test, One Day Internationals and Twenty-Twenty- originated in England. The England Cricket Team has been one of the better teams in world cricket for the majority of the cricket they have played.

History
England played the first ever Test in history in 1887 against Australia. Australia and England were at the time the two leading cricket playing nations in the world and England played the bulk of their cricket with them. England were a strong opponent to beat always and maintained their stronghold over cricket for many years. However in the recent past, the England Cricket Team showed signs of decline and their performances were less than satisfactory. This was in the1990s when they failed to register wins against the West Indies and lost the Ashes series to Australia consecutively from 1989 to 2003. However the team has now begun to perform well again and the bad phase seems to be over.

Players

England have always boasted of having the best players in the world right from WG Grace to Fred Truman to Andrew Flintoff. In the current teams, there are a few cricketers who are not only world class, but have also been consistent match winners for England. Led by captain Michael Vaughn, a wonderful batsman himself, to the Ashes hero Kevin Pietersen and bowling sensation Steve Harmison, the team is filled with a talented bunch of players. Under the watchful eyes of coach Duncan Fletcher, the players would surely hope to better their performances in the quest for World Cup 2007.
Performance

England dominated world cricket for many years and it was in 1882 that England lost its first Test to Australia. In the days after that, the Australia and England remained arch rivals and were severe competition to each other on the cricket field. The early 1900s saw England so particularly well, and the majority of the credit for this went to WG Grace. The Bodyline Series of 1932 was a shameful incident that cast a black spot on England’s cricketing history. England won it the use of unsporting tactics that shocked everyone.

The 1990s were probably the worst decade for English cricket. They went on a complete downslide and also finished at the bottom of the ICC Test Rankings in 1999. However the team have pulled themselves up and since 2000 have once again started to perform well. Though the England have never won the World Cup, they have finished as runners up thrice. The England Cricket Team, with talent and heritage in their kitty, are one of the best and most respected cricket teams in the world.
Chances in the 2007 World Cup
England cricket team is the talk of the cricketing world these days. The budding talent and co-ordination in the team should make them the top contenders for 2007 world cup. If England concentrates to fill up the gaps in batting inconsistencies, it should be the English cricket regime for quite some time. England should easily play all the matches in the 2007 world cup.