In baseball parlance, pinch hitting is when a fresh batter (also known as the hitter) replaces another, always from the reserves on the bench, for the purpose of increasing offense.

I have been pinch hitting with one huge difference: I decrease “cricket offense” by doing so. But pinch hit I must; and perhaps I have brought the UK “a little bit of luck”.

England surprised everyone (but yours truly) by defeating the West Indies.

Destiny is not altogether in the England’s (I formerly had written “U.K.”: Apologies to my Scottish relatives!) hands. A few bricks need to fall into place to reach the Quarter Finals. But if I keep pinch hitting, this seems a shoe-in. (Readers of my earlier piece on New York City street games, and the relative complexities of cricket to baseball, will recognize the shoe pun. [What pun?])

Goin' all the way!