January 5th 2012, Sydney, Australia. Michael Clarke, the Australian captain, joined an illustrious list of men as he completed the 25th score of 300+ in Australia's first innings score of 659-4, as he declared on 329*, the 14th highest individual score in Test cricket and only the 6th Australian to achieve the feat - joining countryman, Sir Donald Bradman (twice), Bob Simpson, Bob Cowper, Mark Taylor and Matthew Hayden.
Although many thought the declaration come at an odd time with many observers believing he would obviously have overtaken Mark Taylor and Donald Bradman's score of 334 and with many thinking he would have had a chance to attack Brian Lara's record of 400* on such a benign and flat SCG pitch. Tellingly, post-innings Clarke gave the impression that the need to win the match was more important than personal milestones, he also declared when Michael Hussey had just reached 150*. Clarke can rest with the knowledge that he has scored the highest Test score at the SCG as it celebrates its centenary this year.
However, much is made of the landmark as a mythical figure that is rarely attained, it should be remembered that many of the scores come in boring draws where some teams do not even reach their second innings.
Clarke himself was at pains to say that he had scored a better century in South Africa when his team were 37-3 and he faced down the onslaught of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel to give Australia a competitive first innings total. Clarke himself is finding runs easier to come by now he has the captaincy, as when England toured last winter his form all but deserted him.
Clarke said the innings was a better knock, whilst this was harder only on a mental and physical scale. And even though he has joined such an illustrious list, he would rather be remembered for that South African innings.
The same can be said of many on the list who even though they have the milestone for their career achievements all have greater moments in their lifetime.
Graham Gooch's 333 the first one I can remember witnessing in my lifetime, had a far more memorable innings of 154* at Headingley were he carried his bat against a fine West Indian bowling line-up that included Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh in their pomp.
Brian Lara has done the feat twice - 375 and 400* (both at Antigua; both I saw live) - yet his career should be remembered for the 277 he scored against Australia in Perth in 1993, an innings that set him apart from other batsmen of his era.
Virender Sehwag has also done it twice (309, 319), yet his explosive 83 off 68balls laid the foundation for India to chase down a target of 387 set by England in Chennai, 2008.
Even if Alastair Cook had achieved the milestone when he was out for 294 at Edgbaston, he would more than likely be remembered for his immense 227* at Brisbane, or the century he scored against Pakistan at the Oval which saved his Test position and led to him breaking all manner of records on the subsequent Ashes tour.
Odd also when you look at the list, how many of the players who have the accolade can be deemed one-day specialists - Sehwag (twice), Chris Gayle (twice, 317 & 333) and Sanath Jayasuriya (340). And you add Matthew Hayden (380) the sheer finesse of those men is formidable.
Yet Clarke can be deemed one of the more elegant players to hold the special 300 club distinction along with Mahela Jayawardene (374) and Younis Khan (313).
It is a fuss to be made over, yet like Clarke is able to admit. He would rather be remembered for winning a test series against a competitive opponent than a personal achievement.
Showing posts with label India cricket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India cricket. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
In Praise of ...West Indies cricket
It has been a forlorn time of late for the West Indies Cricket Board. How far the mighty can fall? For so long the team were the most dominant teams in there and any sport, the envy the world over for the way they played and how they played it - always with a smile on their face.
Now when you think of the WICB you think of an organisation who struggle to pay their players, who cannot manage to come sort of arrangement with their most prolific player so he can play at the highest level and elevate a struggling team.
And yet it seems, very slowly and very surely, The West Indies cricket team are turning the corner. They are currently in Mohali playing the first of three tests against a formidable Indian batting line-up, newly bouyed by their demolition of England in a recent one-day series.
Tellingly, the West Indies for all their talent remain a team that have forgotten how to win. Since the legends Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose retired they have won just one test match away from home (nevermind a series) when they surprised South Africa in 2007. Now lets not get ahead of ourselves, the West Indies do not look like winning this test match or series of India with a fresh Sehwag, Tendulkar and Dravid returning to the line-up.
And yet for the first six sessions of this match, the West Indies were leading this test convincingly helped by another Shivnarine Chanderpaul century which allowed them to post a first innings 304, although they were 269-6 the adding of only 35 more runs would have been a disappointment considering Shiv was set.
Yet in the Indian's first response is when West Indies deciding to wake up dismissing India at that prolific line up for 209. Fears in the Indian camp would have returned to the same worries when in England this summer, unable to match first innings and giving in to scoreboard pressure, although 304 is not usually a fright.
The congratulations should be extended because India had put on 89 for the first wicket before the fortuitous run-out of Gambhir when Darren Sammy deflected a straight drive from Sehwag onto the non-striker's stumps, leaving Gambhir stranded and out on 41. Sehwag would go onto score 55, and Dravid also scored a half century of 54 yet only two other batsmen (Yuvraj 23, Sharma 17) reached double figures owing to some disciplined bowling by Devandra Bishoo (2-55), Ravi Rampaul (2-44) and Darren Sammy (3-35). All bowlers took at least one wicket to give the Windies a 95 run lead.
Yet the West Indies are like that average NFL side who cannot seemingly play a full four quarters of the game. Entering the third quarter of the game, the Windies had the opportunity to cement a dominance of Indisa and score a 300 plus lead, alas they ended up being bowled out for 180 with only Shiv 47 and Sammy 42 contributing to the scorecard, with Ashwin on debut gaining 6-47.
India require 275 and ended Day 3 on 152-2 with both Dravid and Tendulkar set with 148 more required, the pitch is not getting worse in fact these two mammoths of batting are going to pick off the runs easily, unless a miracle arises and a spinner can make magic happen. Unfortunately, you feel the Indian batsmen have the discipline to see out these difficult conditions.
The second innings dismissals were more about their inability to play spin rather than a pitch gettting worse on the third day, also nobody was willing to play the anchored innings, even Shiv's 47 came off a brisk 58 balls. This could be an indictment of the influence of Twenty20 forcing players to play more shots, even when the situation does not demand the expansiveness of shots. The Twenty20 has been played a lot in the Caribbean, and the West Indies gained a morale boosting victory over England at the Oval when fielding a second string XI, but at least it showed youngsters coming to the fore and stepping up.
Too often in the past the integrity of the West Indies has rested on senior professionals like Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo - now you have youngsters like Adrian Barath, Kraigg Braithwaite, Kirk Edwards and Kemar Roach; and when combined with the experienced yet mercurial captain Darren Sammy (at times inspirational, at times infuriating - why is he coming in at 9?) along with the x-factor Chris Gayle when he does finally resolve his issues with the WICB.
The West Indies will never reach the heights of the late 1970s and mid 1980s but Test cricket and cricket in general needs a solid West Indies team that competes and ultimately entertains, lets hope that half the work they did in Mohali does not go to waste in the remainder of the tour.
Now when you think of the WICB you think of an organisation who struggle to pay their players, who cannot manage to come sort of arrangement with their most prolific player so he can play at the highest level and elevate a struggling team.
And yet it seems, very slowly and very surely, The West Indies cricket team are turning the corner. They are currently in Mohali playing the first of three tests against a formidable Indian batting line-up, newly bouyed by their demolition of England in a recent one-day series.
Tellingly, the West Indies for all their talent remain a team that have forgotten how to win. Since the legends Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose retired they have won just one test match away from home (nevermind a series) when they surprised South Africa in 2007. Now lets not get ahead of ourselves, the West Indies do not look like winning this test match or series of India with a fresh Sehwag, Tendulkar and Dravid returning to the line-up.
And yet for the first six sessions of this match, the West Indies were leading this test convincingly helped by another Shivnarine Chanderpaul century which allowed them to post a first innings 304, although they were 269-6 the adding of only 35 more runs would have been a disappointment considering Shiv was set.
Yet in the Indian's first response is when West Indies deciding to wake up dismissing India at that prolific line up for 209. Fears in the Indian camp would have returned to the same worries when in England this summer, unable to match first innings and giving in to scoreboard pressure, although 304 is not usually a fright.
The congratulations should be extended because India had put on 89 for the first wicket before the fortuitous run-out of Gambhir when Darren Sammy deflected a straight drive from Sehwag onto the non-striker's stumps, leaving Gambhir stranded and out on 41. Sehwag would go onto score 55, and Dravid also scored a half century of 54 yet only two other batsmen (Yuvraj 23, Sharma 17) reached double figures owing to some disciplined bowling by Devandra Bishoo (2-55), Ravi Rampaul (2-44) and Darren Sammy (3-35). All bowlers took at least one wicket to give the Windies a 95 run lead.
Yet the West Indies are like that average NFL side who cannot seemingly play a full four quarters of the game. Entering the third quarter of the game, the Windies had the opportunity to cement a dominance of Indisa and score a 300 plus lead, alas they ended up being bowled out for 180 with only Shiv 47 and Sammy 42 contributing to the scorecard, with Ashwin on debut gaining 6-47.
India require 275 and ended Day 3 on 152-2 with both Dravid and Tendulkar set with 148 more required, the pitch is not getting worse in fact these two mammoths of batting are going to pick off the runs easily, unless a miracle arises and a spinner can make magic happen. Unfortunately, you feel the Indian batsmen have the discipline to see out these difficult conditions.
The second innings dismissals were more about their inability to play spin rather than a pitch gettting worse on the third day, also nobody was willing to play the anchored innings, even Shiv's 47 came off a brisk 58 balls. This could be an indictment of the influence of Twenty20 forcing players to play more shots, even when the situation does not demand the expansiveness of shots. The Twenty20 has been played a lot in the Caribbean, and the West Indies gained a morale boosting victory over England at the Oval when fielding a second string XI, but at least it showed youngsters coming to the fore and stepping up.
Too often in the past the integrity of the West Indies has rested on senior professionals like Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo - now you have youngsters like Adrian Barath, Kraigg Braithwaite, Kirk Edwards and Kemar Roach; and when combined with the experienced yet mercurial captain Darren Sammy (at times inspirational, at times infuriating - why is he coming in at 9?) along with the x-factor Chris Gayle when he does finally resolve his issues with the WICB.
The West Indies will never reach the heights of the late 1970s and mid 1980s but Test cricket and cricket in general needs a solid West Indies team that competes and ultimately entertains, lets hope that half the work they did in Mohali does not go to waste in the remainder of the tour.
Monday, 17 October 2011
England Struggling in Sub-Continent
It can be called that old adage, what goes around comes around. Swings and roundabouts. Good guys finish last. Unfortunately, you can put each of these labels to the England Cricket team at the moment. After a glorious undefeated summer of cricket against India, where India supplanted them from the top spot of test cricket with a 4-0 whitewash followed by a 3-0 victory in the One day series. It seems that England have come unstuck on the sub-continent.
Following Friday's old friend collapse against some very run of the mill spin, England again where given a right good spanking this time by 8 wkts with a good number of the alloted overs remaining.
Admittedly, the ODI game has altered with a new ball available from both ends meaning one ball gets 25 overs of action This is interesting in that it limits the amount of reverse-swing available but the ball the batsmen faces is relatively new for the entirety of the innings - the ICC have made the 50 over format a slog-a-thon. Unfortunately, England cannot get to grips with the pitches they are playing on.
On Friday, in attempting to chase down a formidable target of 301 (a target that was probably 30 more than it should have been) thanks to MS Dhoni's rallying call; England lost four wickets in the middle of the innings in just the space of four overs. And the tail could not wag as the run rate escalated.
This time, Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to bat hoping to himself set a formidable target he and Kieswetter went against the grain and both lost their wickets meaning after two overs England were 0-2. Cook was caught at backward point off an off-balance drive, whilst Kieswetter wafted outside his off stump when he did not need to.
Jonathan Trott seemed to be getting to grips and looked in touch but he was caught off the last ball of the mandatory powerplay meaning initiative suddenly went to India with Pietersen and Bopara. The two most explosive hitters were together and set about building a respectful total, but both went in quick succession and the wind was suddenly out of the England sails.
Jonny Bairstow and Samit Patel accumulated runs rotated the strike, but again both were out quickly together meaning all of a sudden the tail was exposed without a batsmen. Without a Stuart Broad in the side offering a left-hander down the order, England look poor with the bat for wickets 7-10 and resistance was not forthcoming as they reached only a paltry 237.
That total was simply not good enough against a strong India line-up even without Tendulkar and Sehwag; here Virat Kohli scored 112 (off 98) and Gautam Gambhir 84 (off 90) as the bowling attack were torn apart, only Tim Bresnan having any joy as he got two wickets in his first three overs.
So why are England failing?
- For once, there fielding and catching are letting them down. Trott's drop in the first over of the first ODI set a poor tone. Ground fielding has gone lax with a lot of singles becoming boundaries after mistimed dives. And India have been making crucial run outs when it counts.
- The timing of a chase, is built on the accumulation of runs and rotating the strike. You sometimes get the impression that England would rather smash the ball as far as possible, this is alright if done properly as Bairstow showed in the warm-up match. The absence of Eoin Morgan who can time a chase is vital here.
- They miss Jimmy Anderson's ability to bowl where necessary and restrict the scoring at the start of the innings; too often India's batsmen get easy balls to dispatch and get set. Jade Dernbach is no Anderson, and his slower balls are easy to spot on these pitches.
- The batsmen need to make big scores; today KP got 46 and Patel 42, but nobody took the innings along to the higher total.
- England are also not used to playing in these conditions, in these temperatures and humidity; yet England have a whole winter in these conditions to muster with tours in UAE (v Pakistan) and away to Sri Lanka coming in the new year.
However, to blame the weather is a poor excuse. Unfortunately, England still remain a limited team when it comes to one day resources with too much reliance on Kevin Pietersen and strangely too much emphasis on brawn - hence the elevation of Bairstow, when the finesse of Morgan was getting results. England needed a like for like replacement for Morgan, Jos Buttler of Somerset has shown he has the ability to change a game with his batting as he did at Lords albeit in vain as Somerset lost that final. Buttler may well get a chancenow on this tour, as I hope does Chris Woakes an all-rounder eager to learn.
This is far from England's best ODI team, but at the moment due to injury and rotation it is the best. Blame should not be put at Cook's door who admits that his team are well below par at this moment, but three games to go and already the thought of a whitewash is on Indian minds.
Following Friday's old friend collapse against some very run of the mill spin, England again where given a right good spanking this time by 8 wkts with a good number of the alloted overs remaining.
Admittedly, the ODI game has altered with a new ball available from both ends meaning one ball gets 25 overs of action This is interesting in that it limits the amount of reverse-swing available but the ball the batsmen faces is relatively new for the entirety of the innings - the ICC have made the 50 over format a slog-a-thon. Unfortunately, England cannot get to grips with the pitches they are playing on.
On Friday, in attempting to chase down a formidable target of 301 (a target that was probably 30 more than it should have been) thanks to MS Dhoni's rallying call; England lost four wickets in the middle of the innings in just the space of four overs. And the tail could not wag as the run rate escalated.
This time, Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to bat hoping to himself set a formidable target he and Kieswetter went against the grain and both lost their wickets meaning after two overs England were 0-2. Cook was caught at backward point off an off-balance drive, whilst Kieswetter wafted outside his off stump when he did not need to.
Jonathan Trott seemed to be getting to grips and looked in touch but he was caught off the last ball of the mandatory powerplay meaning initiative suddenly went to India with Pietersen and Bopara. The two most explosive hitters were together and set about building a respectful total, but both went in quick succession and the wind was suddenly out of the England sails.
Jonny Bairstow and Samit Patel accumulated runs rotated the strike, but again both were out quickly together meaning all of a sudden the tail was exposed without a batsmen. Without a Stuart Broad in the side offering a left-hander down the order, England look poor with the bat for wickets 7-10 and resistance was not forthcoming as they reached only a paltry 237.
That total was simply not good enough against a strong India line-up even without Tendulkar and Sehwag; here Virat Kohli scored 112 (off 98) and Gautam Gambhir 84 (off 90) as the bowling attack were torn apart, only Tim Bresnan having any joy as he got two wickets in his first three overs.
So why are England failing?
- For once, there fielding and catching are letting them down. Trott's drop in the first over of the first ODI set a poor tone. Ground fielding has gone lax with a lot of singles becoming boundaries after mistimed dives. And India have been making crucial run outs when it counts.
- The timing of a chase, is built on the accumulation of runs and rotating the strike. You sometimes get the impression that England would rather smash the ball as far as possible, this is alright if done properly as Bairstow showed in the warm-up match. The absence of Eoin Morgan who can time a chase is vital here.
- They miss Jimmy Anderson's ability to bowl where necessary and restrict the scoring at the start of the innings; too often India's batsmen get easy balls to dispatch and get set. Jade Dernbach is no Anderson, and his slower balls are easy to spot on these pitches.
- The batsmen need to make big scores; today KP got 46 and Patel 42, but nobody took the innings along to the higher total.
- England are also not used to playing in these conditions, in these temperatures and humidity; yet England have a whole winter in these conditions to muster with tours in UAE (v Pakistan) and away to Sri Lanka coming in the new year.
However, to blame the weather is a poor excuse. Unfortunately, England still remain a limited team when it comes to one day resources with too much reliance on Kevin Pietersen and strangely too much emphasis on brawn - hence the elevation of Bairstow, when the finesse of Morgan was getting results. England needed a like for like replacement for Morgan, Jos Buttler of Somerset has shown he has the ability to change a game with his batting as he did at Lords albeit in vain as Somerset lost that final. Buttler may well get a chancenow on this tour, as I hope does Chris Woakes an all-rounder eager to learn.
This is far from England's best ODI team, but at the moment due to injury and rotation it is the best. Blame should not be put at Cook's door who admits that his team are well below par at this moment, but three games to go and already the thought of a whitewash is on Indian minds.
Monday, 1 August 2011
England's Cricket Selection Dilemma
England are 2-0 up against the top cricketing side in the world - and one more win will give England the place at the summit. And yet so dominant have England been in the two tests in London and Nottingham thus far, they have a dilemma. But it is a dilemma of the nice persuasion.
Do England maintain this period of dominance and go for the jugular and the possibility of a 4-0 whitewash over the soon to be displaced world number one side. The two remaining tests are at Edgbaston and the Oval, two pitches that again may provide England with the basis again to attack with their rip-roaring seam attack.
The question of course is where do they find space for that extra bowler, as it can be seen that no bowler really deserves to be dropped on the basis of the last four days at Trent Bridge. Swann took no wickets for the first time in a test match for ages, but that was based more on the lack of potency of spin on a swinging pitch and an injury he suffered when dismissed in the first innings. But it was the vital partnership of Swann and Broad that helped England recover from 120-8 to a respectable total of 221 to not end in total dismay.
Broad's hypnotic spell of 5-0 off 16 balls that dismissed India for 288, gave India only a slender lead of 67 instead of 150. Broad is another example of the England selection policy which puts faith ahead of form. Much was made of Broad being dropped before the first test, he responded with 7 wickets and an unbeaten 74 in the second innings which set the platform for the first England victory.
James Anderson, is in a veritable purple patch, and he has the mark of the acclaimed Sachin Tendulkar. The Lancashire paceman dismissed him for the seventh time today with a similar lbw shout as he did at Lords, an inswinger that was too quick for the 38 year old legend. Anderson's ability to take wickets with the new ball and potency with the reverse swing after Alastair Cook has done his handy work is proving vital on these English surfaces.
Tim Bresnan, like in Australia when he was called upon, has done a job with both bat and ball, 7 wickets for the match including 5-48 in the second innings and a bombastic 90 (off 118). Bresnan is the power amongst the bowling attack, like Flintoff he pounds it in on the turf and provides something different to the grace and swing of Broad and Anderson.
So who to go? Well England need to make room, and perhaps Trott's shoulder injury may provide the perfect excuse. Trott has had a long two years in test cricket since his debut at the Oval in 2009, he has played admirably in the World Cup on the sub-continent; so maybe his body is in need of a rest after wear and tear. He is averaging only 24.50, less than Broad and Prior. Trott is that pivotal figure at No.3, a rock like Dravid, who will not be moved yet he has been removed four times already. Ian Bell's exquisite knock of 159 showed he can bat at first wicket down, he has the temperament and game for it.
This allows Kevin Pietersen to remain at No.4 and then Eoin Morgan at No.5. The only problem being that Morgan is averaging 22.25, and has two ducks. Many felt he was batting for his position in the second innings, and his 70 did answer many critics (me included); the problem remains that there is no-one making big noises in the county game with big scores (unless you count Marcus Trescothick), admittedly Bopara did score 178 for Essex this week, but his average is above 40 in spite of some numerous single digit scores this season.
Other players like James Hildreth and James Taylor could be thrown in at the deep end. The selection team have done this before with Trott most notably, who came in and delivered. Maybe if England win the 3rd test and take an unassailable lead, perhaps that might be the opportune time to inject a debutant but when a Test match still needs to be won England should stay with what they know.
So who comes in as England have an embarassment of riches in the bowling department. Chris Tremlett seems the most likely as he only missed one test owing to injury and did a valiant job when nursing a hamstring strain, or Steve Finn who has a long career of him but has not let England down when called upon. There is even Graham Onions who is doing good work with Durham following his back operation which cost him a year of his career.
In spite of that, if I was to pick a 5 man bowling attack for the 3rd test in Warwickshire it would read like so:
Strauss (c), Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Morgan, Prior (w), Broad, Bresnan, Swann, Anderson, Tremlett.
The reason being that Matt Prior has elevated his game in the last year, and in this series he has shown himself more than adept to lead a counter attack and if it is for two games only he can bat at 6. And then with Broad, Bresnan and Swann coming in later, the security and solidity is there to provide valuable runs if need be.
All in all, it is a pleasure though to see an England cricket team playing as a team. With everyone making valuable contributions up and down the order, answering the call for their country. And they are interchangeable with players come in and out when need be. Also they have not had to suffer a long-term injury to somebody which has allowed people to cement positions, this has been helped by the faith shown by a solid and itself stable selection committee.
We are number 1, but we could be dominant which 5-7 years would have been unheard of.
Do England maintain this period of dominance and go for the jugular and the possibility of a 4-0 whitewash over the soon to be displaced world number one side. The two remaining tests are at Edgbaston and the Oval, two pitches that again may provide England with the basis again to attack with their rip-roaring seam attack.
The question of course is where do they find space for that extra bowler, as it can be seen that no bowler really deserves to be dropped on the basis of the last four days at Trent Bridge. Swann took no wickets for the first time in a test match for ages, but that was based more on the lack of potency of spin on a swinging pitch and an injury he suffered when dismissed in the first innings. But it was the vital partnership of Swann and Broad that helped England recover from 120-8 to a respectable total of 221 to not end in total dismay.
Broad's hypnotic spell of 5-0 off 16 balls that dismissed India for 288, gave India only a slender lead of 67 instead of 150. Broad is another example of the England selection policy which puts faith ahead of form. Much was made of Broad being dropped before the first test, he responded with 7 wickets and an unbeaten 74 in the second innings which set the platform for the first England victory.
James Anderson, is in a veritable purple patch, and he has the mark of the acclaimed Sachin Tendulkar. The Lancashire paceman dismissed him for the seventh time today with a similar lbw shout as he did at Lords, an inswinger that was too quick for the 38 year old legend. Anderson's ability to take wickets with the new ball and potency with the reverse swing after Alastair Cook has done his handy work is proving vital on these English surfaces.
Tim Bresnan, like in Australia when he was called upon, has done a job with both bat and ball, 7 wickets for the match including 5-48 in the second innings and a bombastic 90 (off 118). Bresnan is the power amongst the bowling attack, like Flintoff he pounds it in on the turf and provides something different to the grace and swing of Broad and Anderson.
So who to go? Well England need to make room, and perhaps Trott's shoulder injury may provide the perfect excuse. Trott has had a long two years in test cricket since his debut at the Oval in 2009, he has played admirably in the World Cup on the sub-continent; so maybe his body is in need of a rest after wear and tear. He is averaging only 24.50, less than Broad and Prior. Trott is that pivotal figure at No.3, a rock like Dravid, who will not be moved yet he has been removed four times already. Ian Bell's exquisite knock of 159 showed he can bat at first wicket down, he has the temperament and game for it.
This allows Kevin Pietersen to remain at No.4 and then Eoin Morgan at No.5. The only problem being that Morgan is averaging 22.25, and has two ducks. Many felt he was batting for his position in the second innings, and his 70 did answer many critics (me included); the problem remains that there is no-one making big noises in the county game with big scores (unless you count Marcus Trescothick), admittedly Bopara did score 178 for Essex this week, but his average is above 40 in spite of some numerous single digit scores this season.
Other players like James Hildreth and James Taylor could be thrown in at the deep end. The selection team have done this before with Trott most notably, who came in and delivered. Maybe if England win the 3rd test and take an unassailable lead, perhaps that might be the opportune time to inject a debutant but when a Test match still needs to be won England should stay with what they know.
So who comes in as England have an embarassment of riches in the bowling department. Chris Tremlett seems the most likely as he only missed one test owing to injury and did a valiant job when nursing a hamstring strain, or Steve Finn who has a long career of him but has not let England down when called upon. There is even Graham Onions who is doing good work with Durham following his back operation which cost him a year of his career.
In spite of that, if I was to pick a 5 man bowling attack for the 3rd test in Warwickshire it would read like so:
Strauss (c), Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Morgan, Prior (w), Broad, Bresnan, Swann, Anderson, Tremlett.
The reason being that Matt Prior has elevated his game in the last year, and in this series he has shown himself more than adept to lead a counter attack and if it is for two games only he can bat at 6. And then with Broad, Bresnan and Swann coming in later, the security and solidity is there to provide valuable runs if need be.
All in all, it is a pleasure though to see an England cricket team playing as a team. With everyone making valuable contributions up and down the order, answering the call for their country. And they are interchangeable with players come in and out when need be. Also they have not had to suffer a long-term injury to somebody which has allowed people to cement positions, this has been helped by the faith shown by a solid and itself stable selection committee.
We are number 1, but we could be dominant which 5-7 years would have been unheard of.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)