Following the embarrassing 2nd test defeat at Lords yesterday, it seems it cannot get any lower for the England cricket team. Having now gone 10 test matches without a victory, there seems to be more and more questions without any hint of an answer coming from within the England Cricket Board.
Yet how has it got this bad? Following the 5-0 whitewash in Australia, the decision was made to keep Alastair Cook and remove the combustible Kevin Pietersen. Rest was the order of the day for many senior players who missed the Caribbean one day series before the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Yet the results have not improved. A test defeat to Sri Lanka has been followed by inept cricket in two tests thus far versus an equally inept Indian side.
What is the solution? Do England make wholesale changes? Do they remove the senior players for a new zest of youth and form players. In this test series only four players can be picked on form; Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Liam Plunkett. Tellingly there is only one bowler in my list, and he was nowhere near the Ashes squad in November. It seems that Jimmy Anderson has got slower, Stuart Broad is again injured and Ben Stokes' poor batting form is affecting his batting. Plunkett, meanwhile, has transferred his early season county form for Yorkshire to the test arena.
Therein is an answer. Plunkett played domestic first class cricket and his batting has been useful also. However, Anderson and Broad had torrid winters and Stokes lost to a locker room door in a straight fight. Dropping Chris Jordan sent out the wrong message, he has youth and pace on his side as well as a desire to succeed and achieve.
Perhaps too many of these senior players have achieved too much and now want to gain riches of the IPL, where is there short term and long term targets now. Matt Prior has removed himself from selection for the remainder of the summer and probably played his last game for England, his fitness issues were too much to overcome. Yet the decision to play him despite being less than 100% fit was indicative of Cook wanting seniority instead of form, when Jos Buttler's one day form was screaming for selection for first test versus Sri Lanka.
Yet the in house hegemony of the England cricket team which is very cliquey and looking after their own is doing a disservice to the players who are and are not picked. Look at how James Taylor was treated after he played two tests and did nothing wrong, supposedly dropped at the behest of Pietersen who did not rate him. Even the call back of Simon Kerrigan of Lancashire, who was coached by Peter Moores last season is a fair form of nepotism or naivety in not knowing who else is available.
England need to pick players in form. Players like Daryl Mitchell of Worcestershire, Ravi Bopara of Essex, Adam Lyth of Yorkshire and his team-mate Jack Brooks, the bowler. This is unlikely however as England do not pick players or from winning counties. They ignored Mark Alleyne when Gloucestershire was winning every one day competition; have any Lancashire player been selected after they won the domestic title, Glen Chapple remains the best county bowler not to earn an England test cap.
Yet I feel they need to change the order and ask Moeen Ali to open the batting as he does for Worcestershire with Mitchell. Then have Ballance at three, Root at four with Bell at five or six. England need to have a long look for themselves and if players are not fit then they need to do the honourable thing and stand aside as Prior has done.
It seems England have been more worries about selecting eleven players who will fit the ethos and mindset of a supposed identity, yet when the results are not happening you go back to picking players who will create results and from there a new ethos can be ushered in.
There are many dilemmas to be addressed but only the coach, Moores and the captain, Cook, who should both remain can supply them.
Showing posts with label cricket blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cricket blog. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Thursday, 22 May 2014
England's ODI Batting Dilemma
Another English cricketing summer has begun again with Sri Lanka being the first of two renowned cricketing titans to tour our country this summer.
However, England despite the new regime change with new performance director, Paul Downton; the return of Peter Moores as Head Coach and a new group of selectors, England are still making the same mistakes in 50 over team selection. With less than a year to go before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, England are showing their hand to be feeble and weak.
For years, England have refused to join the party of having big hitters at the top of the order as is the want of every other Test side. Whilst there is a credit in maintaining consistency of selection across all formats and familiarity of roles for players, is that not ego massaging of the order by not putting pressure on players to succeed and garner a better quality of performance.
In Alex Hales, England finally have a player who is both bombastic and exciting at the top of the order. One of the best T20 players in the world, he requires the opportunity to be promoted to the fifty over game and yet England are seemingly content with the opening partnership of captain Alastair Cook and Ian Bell. Whilst Bell is scoring runs solidly, if there is someone disposable it is the Warwickshire batsmen whose removal from the limited overs team(s) will prolong his Test career of which he is the most solid of anchors following the dismal Ashes series over the winter.
Cook has shown himself quite adept at adapting to the shorter format of the game, however, do we have to select the Test captain due to his position of seniority or is he being selected on merit? The selection of Cook with Hales would give the left and right hand combination, and allow Cook to bat his way and Hales the freedom to swing his arms much like Sanath Jayasuriya was nearly 20 years ago.
Yet is this a matter of accommodation or a matter of bad management, because the formation of a competitive batting line-up is being ignored for the sake of posterity. Ravi Bopara is possibly the most talented individual all-round cricketer in England, and yet he is mis-managed by England seemingly. This writer has seen Bopara score centuries for Essex at the number 3 position; his experience and now veteran status should not be undermined and utilised.
Bopara at 3 followed by Eoin Morgan at 4 then the developing Gary Ballance at number 5 will allow some solidity to the order as Ben Stokes (in a perfect world) will enter at 6 followed by the wild card of Jos Buttler at number 7, where his inventiveness and unorthodox approach at the death of a first innings can garner bonus runs or be successful in a chase.
This would mean the removal of Joe Root from the team, this is required as Root a good member of the Test side and an important component of the side going forward is being accommodated in this respect of the limited overs side. Whilst he scored a century in the Caribbean, he nonetheless scored at close or less than a run a ball. Until Root shows he can play and score consistently for his county, only then can we add him to the discussion.
Currently England are not sitting pretty in the ODI rankings as a team and individuals, there is still time to make a statement. How about picking the ones making the loudest noises?
However, England despite the new regime change with new performance director, Paul Downton; the return of Peter Moores as Head Coach and a new group of selectors, England are still making the same mistakes in 50 over team selection. With less than a year to go before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, England are showing their hand to be feeble and weak.
For years, England have refused to join the party of having big hitters at the top of the order as is the want of every other Test side. Whilst there is a credit in maintaining consistency of selection across all formats and familiarity of roles for players, is that not ego massaging of the order by not putting pressure on players to succeed and garner a better quality of performance.
In Alex Hales, England finally have a player who is both bombastic and exciting at the top of the order. One of the best T20 players in the world, he requires the opportunity to be promoted to the fifty over game and yet England are seemingly content with the opening partnership of captain Alastair Cook and Ian Bell. Whilst Bell is scoring runs solidly, if there is someone disposable it is the Warwickshire batsmen whose removal from the limited overs team(s) will prolong his Test career of which he is the most solid of anchors following the dismal Ashes series over the winter.
Cook has shown himself quite adept at adapting to the shorter format of the game, however, do we have to select the Test captain due to his position of seniority or is he being selected on merit? The selection of Cook with Hales would give the left and right hand combination, and allow Cook to bat his way and Hales the freedom to swing his arms much like Sanath Jayasuriya was nearly 20 years ago.
Yet is this a matter of accommodation or a matter of bad management, because the formation of a competitive batting line-up is being ignored for the sake of posterity. Ravi Bopara is possibly the most talented individual all-round cricketer in England, and yet he is mis-managed by England seemingly. This writer has seen Bopara score centuries for Essex at the number 3 position; his experience and now veteran status should not be undermined and utilised.
Bopara at 3 followed by Eoin Morgan at 4 then the developing Gary Ballance at number 5 will allow some solidity to the order as Ben Stokes (in a perfect world) will enter at 6 followed by the wild card of Jos Buttler at number 7, where his inventiveness and unorthodox approach at the death of a first innings can garner bonus runs or be successful in a chase.
This would mean the removal of Joe Root from the team, this is required as Root a good member of the Test side and an important component of the side going forward is being accommodated in this respect of the limited overs side. Whilst he scored a century in the Caribbean, he nonetheless scored at close or less than a run a ball. Until Root shows he can play and score consistently for his county, only then can we add him to the discussion.
Currently England are not sitting pretty in the ODI rankings as a team and individuals, there is still time to make a statement. How about picking the ones making the loudest noises?
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
Loss of Root a problem
The unfortunate news that Joe Root will miss the World Twenty20 Cup in Bangladesh for England, is another blow in a cruel winter for England following the debacle of the Ashes tour in Australia.
Root sustained the injury batting during his maiden ODI century in Antigua last week. The character Root showed in completing the milestone was in stark contrast to the boyish image of innocence we have become accustomed to. Root was one of the few English batsmen to not show timidity to the Australian bowlers, however like all his colleagues he had no answer to the onslaught.
Yet the loss of Root does not deny England a settled batsmen in a line-up and the alternative to the absent Jonathan Trott, the loss of Root's ability to bowl vital overs of off-spin in the sub-continent in unison with James Tredwell and Stephen Parry.
England utilised Root in the 50 over matches versus the West Indies opening the bowling giving him four overs to stem the flow of runs at the start of the opponents innings, and by and large it worked with Root taking a wicket in each match.
Now the option of Root opening the bowling also helped to hide Stuart Broad's bothersome knee injury by not having the captain bowl his full quota. Now England need to find an alternative.
Luckily, there is one in the squad in Moeen Ali who bats at the top of the order and also offers leg spin. Ali will probably bat at 3 with the Nottinghamshire pair of Alex Hales and Michael Lumb established atop the order. Ail is a left-hander who can rotate the strike.
A criticism of England's innings is that they too often look for a big shot and face off too many dot balls. The unexciting Samuel Badree bowled 16 dot balls yet gained three wickets. 16 dot balls out of 24 balls bowled, quite astounding.
England seem to rely too much on their seam attack, yet they need to establish a criteria and gameplan here in the Caribbean for the sub-continent. Pick two seamers, now Dernbach and Bresnan following Broad's injury and supplement with Tredwell (who bowled tidily), Parry, Ali as well as the slower medium pace of Ravi Bopara who was most impressive with his wicket to wicket bowling that frustrated the Windiest batsmen.
Expect an XI of Hales, Lumb, Ali, Stokes (who can bowl but looks worn-out) Morgan, Buttler, Bopara, Bresnan, Parry, Tredwell and Dernbach.
England have called up Ian Bell as Root's replacement as a man of experience, however, it is unlikely Bell will play as he does not have the power required and offers no bowling option.
Joe Root has been mocked in some quarters for his boyish glee and impishness, yet like most players of quality and talent, when they are absent you miss them all that much more
Root sustained the injury batting during his maiden ODI century in Antigua last week. The character Root showed in completing the milestone was in stark contrast to the boyish image of innocence we have become accustomed to. Root was one of the few English batsmen to not show timidity to the Australian bowlers, however like all his colleagues he had no answer to the onslaught.
Yet the loss of Root does not deny England a settled batsmen in a line-up and the alternative to the absent Jonathan Trott, the loss of Root's ability to bowl vital overs of off-spin in the sub-continent in unison with James Tredwell and Stephen Parry.
England utilised Root in the 50 over matches versus the West Indies opening the bowling giving him four overs to stem the flow of runs at the start of the opponents innings, and by and large it worked with Root taking a wicket in each match.
Now the option of Root opening the bowling also helped to hide Stuart Broad's bothersome knee injury by not having the captain bowl his full quota. Now England need to find an alternative.
Luckily, there is one in the squad in Moeen Ali who bats at the top of the order and also offers leg spin. Ali will probably bat at 3 with the Nottinghamshire pair of Alex Hales and Michael Lumb established atop the order. Ail is a left-hander who can rotate the strike.
A criticism of England's innings is that they too often look for a big shot and face off too many dot balls. The unexciting Samuel Badree bowled 16 dot balls yet gained three wickets. 16 dot balls out of 24 balls bowled, quite astounding.
England seem to rely too much on their seam attack, yet they need to establish a criteria and gameplan here in the Caribbean for the sub-continent. Pick two seamers, now Dernbach and Bresnan following Broad's injury and supplement with Tredwell (who bowled tidily), Parry, Ali as well as the slower medium pace of Ravi Bopara who was most impressive with his wicket to wicket bowling that frustrated the Windiest batsmen.
Expect an XI of Hales, Lumb, Ali, Stokes (who can bowl but looks worn-out) Morgan, Buttler, Bopara, Bresnan, Parry, Tredwell and Dernbach.
England have called up Ian Bell as Root's replacement as a man of experience, however, it is unlikely Bell will play as he does not have the power required and offers no bowling option.
Joe Root has been mocked in some quarters for his boyish glee and impishness, yet like most players of quality and talent, when they are absent you miss them all that much more
Friday, 12 July 2013
In praise of...Ricky Ponting
Ten years ago, I would not have been able to write this column. Ponting was the archetypal Australian cricketer - pugnacious, tenacious and a pain. His natural talent and combative leadership were sometimes blinded to me by the fact of his nationality, and his ability to score run after run and ton after ton.
However, as he retires from first class cricket today he does so on his terms. Embattled and crucially undefeated as he walked off the Kia Oval on Thursday 11th July for the last time in his whites with a score of 169 not out as the Nottinghamshire bowlers could not make inroads to the Surrey second innings to bring about a low total to chase.
Ponting found himself with his back against the wall, and he responded with the sort of commitment to the cause you would expect from someone who has scored over 13,000 Test runs. The stage was set at the close of the previous day's play when Ponting was fed a leg side long hop that he dispatched with his trademark pull to end on 41 not out. He then progressed to complete his 82nd first class century in his last innings.
The change of opinion in my eyes came through not a masterful innings, but more so the character he showed in defeat when Australia lost the Ashes to England in 2005. A series full of moments and lore for more than one book, the tone was set on the first morning at Lords when Steve Harmison gave Ponting and Justin Langer some chin music; both required on field treatment.
In the third test at a sold out Old Trafford, England were primed to take a 2-1 series lead with Australia wilting under a seam bombardment from Harmison and Andrew Flintoff. Yet Ponting, captain of the team stood firm and resolute with an astounding 156 that helped save the match as Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath saw out the vital draw. England would ultimately regain the Ashes, and Ponting slowly morphed from pantomine villain to plucky loser; in spite of him mouthing off to Duncan Fletcher for utilising specialist fielders like Gary Pratt during the series, an episode that led to Ponting's second innings dismissal for 48 at Trent Bridge. Ponting was booed, Pratt adored yet Ricky endured. He scored 8 Ashes centuries.
He recovered from knockbacks with his dogged determination, none more so than during a home test series versus Pakistan in January 2010. Ponting had not scored a test century since the Cardiff test of the 2009 Ashes series in July, with more single digit scores than half centuries. The Pakistani pace attack by the then reputable Mohammed Amir had seemed to figure him out, with a golden duck in the previous test at Sydney. Ponting needed a knock, and he found it at his home ground of Hobart for the third test. Ponting was helped by a mis-timed pull being dropped in the deep when on nought. Ponting made Pakistan pay by scoring 209 and then 89 in the second innings. Ponting had his doubters and he proved them wrong time and time again.
Ponting retires with a test average of 51.85 and 41 test centuries, a mark only surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar a player who is most likely the equal of him. Yet in One Day Internationals, Ponting was just as adept scoring 13704 runs in 375 games with 30 hundreds, none were better than his knock of 140* in the 2003 World Cup Final in Johannesburg versus India, a knock of power, precision and poise that made it too much for India too chase and started Australia's nine year dominance of the format with three World Cup victories.
Ponting was that mixture of a leader who fittingly led, yet bounced back from knockdowns earlier in his career when his wayward drinking could have cost him his career. He became the model professional something Andrew Symonds refused to adhere to and which cost him.
Ricky Ponting can enjoy his farewell tour now, ending in the West Indies 20/20 tournament as an overseas and marquee player. A player of our time - in your face but who could back it up, he deserves his retirement as he can happily rest on his laurels.
Thanks to ESPNcricinfo whose Statsguru was indispensable for this article.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
England v New Zealand Series review
England have beaten New Zealand in the 2nd test at Headingley by 247 runs which gave them a 2-0 series victory, more than making up for the three drawn test matches on the tour of New Zealand in February/March.
Whilst the margin of victory is huge, and came at just after 3.30pm on the fifth day with more than a session to spare - there does however remain an element of fortune in this England victory as they beat the rain, that started falling during the post-match ceremonies.
England's decision on the 3rd day to bat again rather than enforce the following on having gained a 180 run lead left many pundits and ex-internationals somewhat perplexed. This was not helped by the play of Jonathan Trott who scored a measly 11 runs off 69 balls that stymied the initial effort of captain Alastair Cook who raced to 80 odd by the close of play.
On the fourth morning, Cook completed his 25th Test century before being out for 130. Trott succumb for 76 before the young Yorkshire pair of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow both hit at more than a run a ball for 28 and 26 not out respectively, to set New Zealand an unrealistic target of 468 to win and England to get 10 wickets in over a day and a half.
Cook's reluctance to enforce the follow-on was mirrored by his safety first field positions for his bowlers who had a huge score to defend but a weak batting line up to attack. Graeme Swann aiming for the footmarks left by the Kiwi left arm seamers, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, had not a lot of men round the bat especially versus the right handers who would struggle in spin from that particular rough.
Swann ended up with 10 wickets in the match, the first English spinner to take 10 in a match at Headingley (traditionally a seamer's wicket) since Derek Underwood in 1975. Swann like Underwood though is a special talent that England must hope is fully fit after his elbow operation, unlike most other departments Swann is indispensable to the team as a specialist spinner and genuine match winner if the conditions suit him.
Cook's lack of ruthlessness could be interpreted as a weakness, would England have batted again if they were facing Australia and they had them on the rack as they so obviously had New Zealand. Many Kiwis were laughing at the situation on the fifth morning as the game should have been completed.
England under Andy Flower have form in this over recent years when Andrew Strauss captained, England would be in the ascendancy but then bat again to apply 'scoreboard pressure' as Flower loves to entone and then dismiss the chasing side in the fourth innings.
Luckily England are in the position to field four bowlers who can take 20 wickets between them at this moment in time - Anderson's swing is threatening with the new ball, but wanes after that; Stuart Broad looks resurgent; Swann can do so much with his varying flight and speed yet one question must remain over Steven Finn who although taking wickets is still struggling with his run-up and his length of delivery, on the last day he bowled far too short to Tim Southee who dismissed him for two huge 6's.
Finn was bowling to a field of a deep backward square leg and deep mid-wicket, instead of doing what he did to Doug Brownlie on Monday by bowling an unplayable ball that Brownlie attempted to duck out of the way, yet could only glove a looping catch to Bell running in from gully. Finn was bowling with fire on Monday, on Tuesday he was like the weather a bit damp and not impressive - Finn must work on his consistency.
Another possible reason for England batting again was that it gave Nick Compton a chance to gain some valuable time and runs at the top of the order to cement his place at the top of the line-up before the Ashes start in July.
However, Compton's second single digit score of the match, 7 off 45 was quite a grind to watch and instead of giving England an answer, there are now more questions for England to ponder. Joe Root's continued impressive start to his Test career including his maiden Test century on Saturday at his home ground, means England have to give serious consideration to promoting Root to open the innings especially with the returning Kevin Pietersen likely to go straight back to his position of 4 in the order.
This is a shame for Compton who had endured a baptism of fire in India but scored some useful runs with Cook, then he answered the critics again in New Zealand by scoring two centuries, now he must return to Somerset and play some four day cricket and get some time at the crease and get his confidence back.
Compton was a victim of joining the inner circle of Team England, having gone on two tours he was not allowed to bat as much with Somerset as he would have liked, although he did score 105* at home to Warwickshire on 25th-28th April - yet he also had two ducks.
Whereas Root played week in, week out for Yorkshire and made some huge scores (182, 236, 179 for England Lions v New Zealand). Root's confidence was sky high resulting in scoring 243 runs, averaging 60.75; Compton in contrast scored 39 runs averaging 9.75 runs.
Compton may be a better batsmen to replace Ian Bell in the middle of the order, as he is used to doing for the Taunton side. Whereas, Root who has a great technique for someone so young and plays the ball so late, would be better suited to open the batting as he has done for his county side.
However, lets remain buoyant England have won the series convincingly and head for the Champions Trophy in good spirits, another good showing in that competition will bode well for the A-word series in July. England will start favourites, more so because their order can score heavy runs against an Australian bowling line-up that has to prove it can take 20 wickets in a match, a fact that England's four pronged attack can.
Monday, 20 August 2012
England v South Africa Test review
South Africa completed the series victory on English soil at Lords today in quite convincing fashion. The 2-0 test series win lifts the Proteas above England in the ICC Test rankings and England's one year hold of the title Best side in the world has been relinquished.
Whilst England lost, credit should be given to a South African side who have dominated England in all facets of the game across three games starting at the Oval when we marvelled at Hashim Amla's incredible triple century - the first by a South African; the drawn test match at Headingley which was overshadowed by the Olympics and the backroom politics involving Kevin Pietersen and whether he did or did not text tactical banter to the South Africans regarding his teammates.
At Lords, England had to win the test match to not only level the series, but to salvage the No.1 ranking. Having had S.Africa on the ropes at lunch on the first day at 66-4, South Africa managed to get to a score of 309 thanks to Vernon Philander's 61 runs. The total should have been 50-60 runs less than that. England could only sustain a six run lead thanks to the wonderful maiden half century from Jonny Bairstow eventually dismissed for 95.
A facet of South Africa this year has been the ability to take wickets at vital moments. In the first innings at Lords, captain Strauss looked like he was playing himself into form and then one from Morkel got through two balls before lunch. Prior having done most of the hard work with Bairstow then succumbed to the first ball of the second new ball, when they needed solidarity. Oddly enough, he was caught by Kallis when bowled to by Philander, an identical dismissal occured in the 2nd innings. The wicket that ended England's valiant run chase of the required 346.
Over the three tests; England had few moments of sunshine, and South Africa have done to England what they have done to many teams in recent years.
At the first test England were undone by scoreboard pressure as they did against Australia when down under. England were in first on a flat Oval pitch and despite 115 from Alastair Cook and 60 from Matt Prior could only score 385. South Africa mustered 637-2; Graeme Smith 131, Amla's magnificient 311 and Jacques Kallis' 182. England had to reach 252 to make S.Africa bat again, yet only Bell offered resistance with 55 as we lost by an innings and 12 runs. Dale Steyn took 5-56 to complete the destruction.
Changes were made for Headingley as a personally conflicted Ravi Bopara made way for debutant James Taylor who has been earmarked for test cricket for some time. England also though dropped Graeme Swann for an all seam attack, which in hindsight was a knee-jerk reaction, considering it did spin for Tahir, and Kevin Pietersen took 3 wickets himself. This sort of selection decision is unlike England in the past, they stick with a formula and consistency of selection putting faith in the players selected to put it right; England were worried by Swann's dodgy right elbow, which did not flare up in the Lords test.
During Headingley, England dropped numerous chances dolly ones by their own standards which reached a pinnacle down under led by Paul Collingwood. Unfortunately, in this series safe hands such as Alastair Cook at short leg, Strauss in the slips and Anderson have all been guilty of bad glaring chances. If you take all the runs those South African batsmen accumulated after being dropped, it amounts to 500 runs in the series. South Africa amassed 1,974 runs in the series, that is nearly 25% of their runs given to them.
Never did it count more than at Lords when Amla was dropped by Prior on 2, he scored 121.
England will feel that they should have won the Lords test but due to the refusal to take opportunities, the silly run out involving Jonathan Trott and James Taylor on the last day, and the lack of bowling firepower in contrast to the unit bowling of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and new discovery, Vernon Philander (who can also bat), England can think of themselves as a team that lost the test and series because they did not meet their own formidably high standards they set themselves in recent years.
Credit should not be withdrawn from South Africa though, all men have played their part in this series triumph at one point or another. Alvaro Petersen's 182 at Headingley was a daddy hundred that frustrated England, helped by JP Duminy's invaluable unbeaten 48 at number 8 in the same innings. Perhaps Jacques Rudolph did not do as well, but no matter in a team when someone picks up the baton.
Congratulation to South Africa on a deserved triumph, next for them is a test series in Australia who seem resurgent at the moment under Michael Clarke, should be a brilliant series for bowling. As for England, after nursing their wounds is a four test tour to India; with some decisions to be made. Whilst Bairstow and Taylor have shown glimpses, the question remains about Kevin Pietersen's involvement. Decisions need to be made and changes attempted now as the Ashes return next summer.
Whilst England lost, credit should be given to a South African side who have dominated England in all facets of the game across three games starting at the Oval when we marvelled at Hashim Amla's incredible triple century - the first by a South African; the drawn test match at Headingley which was overshadowed by the Olympics and the backroom politics involving Kevin Pietersen and whether he did or did not text tactical banter to the South Africans regarding his teammates.
At Lords, England had to win the test match to not only level the series, but to salvage the No.1 ranking. Having had S.Africa on the ropes at lunch on the first day at 66-4, South Africa managed to get to a score of 309 thanks to Vernon Philander's 61 runs. The total should have been 50-60 runs less than that. England could only sustain a six run lead thanks to the wonderful maiden half century from Jonny Bairstow eventually dismissed for 95.
A facet of South Africa this year has been the ability to take wickets at vital moments. In the first innings at Lords, captain Strauss looked like he was playing himself into form and then one from Morkel got through two balls before lunch. Prior having done most of the hard work with Bairstow then succumbed to the first ball of the second new ball, when they needed solidarity. Oddly enough, he was caught by Kallis when bowled to by Philander, an identical dismissal occured in the 2nd innings. The wicket that ended England's valiant run chase of the required 346.
Over the three tests; England had few moments of sunshine, and South Africa have done to England what they have done to many teams in recent years.
At the first test England were undone by scoreboard pressure as they did against Australia when down under. England were in first on a flat Oval pitch and despite 115 from Alastair Cook and 60 from Matt Prior could only score 385. South Africa mustered 637-2; Graeme Smith 131, Amla's magnificient 311 and Jacques Kallis' 182. England had to reach 252 to make S.Africa bat again, yet only Bell offered resistance with 55 as we lost by an innings and 12 runs. Dale Steyn took 5-56 to complete the destruction.
Changes were made for Headingley as a personally conflicted Ravi Bopara made way for debutant James Taylor who has been earmarked for test cricket for some time. England also though dropped Graeme Swann for an all seam attack, which in hindsight was a knee-jerk reaction, considering it did spin for Tahir, and Kevin Pietersen took 3 wickets himself. This sort of selection decision is unlike England in the past, they stick with a formula and consistency of selection putting faith in the players selected to put it right; England were worried by Swann's dodgy right elbow, which did not flare up in the Lords test.
During Headingley, England dropped numerous chances dolly ones by their own standards which reached a pinnacle down under led by Paul Collingwood. Unfortunately, in this series safe hands such as Alastair Cook at short leg, Strauss in the slips and Anderson have all been guilty of bad glaring chances. If you take all the runs those South African batsmen accumulated after being dropped, it amounts to 500 runs in the series. South Africa amassed 1,974 runs in the series, that is nearly 25% of their runs given to them.
Never did it count more than at Lords when Amla was dropped by Prior on 2, he scored 121.
England will feel that they should have won the Lords test but due to the refusal to take opportunities, the silly run out involving Jonathan Trott and James Taylor on the last day, and the lack of bowling firepower in contrast to the unit bowling of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and new discovery, Vernon Philander (who can also bat), England can think of themselves as a team that lost the test and series because they did not meet their own formidably high standards they set themselves in recent years.
Credit should not be withdrawn from South Africa though, all men have played their part in this series triumph at one point or another. Alvaro Petersen's 182 at Headingley was a daddy hundred that frustrated England, helped by JP Duminy's invaluable unbeaten 48 at number 8 in the same innings. Perhaps Jacques Rudolph did not do as well, but no matter in a team when someone picks up the baton.
Congratulation to South Africa on a deserved triumph, next for them is a test series in Australia who seem resurgent at the moment under Michael Clarke, should be a brilliant series for bowling. As for England, after nursing their wounds is a four test tour to India; with some decisions to be made. Whilst Bairstow and Taylor have shown glimpses, the question remains about Kevin Pietersen's involvement. Decisions need to be made and changes attempted now as the Ashes return next summer.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Rikki Clarke - Blast from the Past
Rikki Clarke is enjoying what can only be described as a renaissance season, into his 4th season with the Warwickshire Bears he is enjoying a great start to the season as we near the end of May. Warwickshire stand atop the first Division after four wins from 6 games, and Clarke has been integral to this run of form - he along with Tim Ambrose saw the side home on Saturday morning as they defeated Surrey by 5 wkts at the Oval. Clarke finished on 40 not out, continuing his impressive form with the bat. After 9 innings he is averaging 81, compared to last season where he finished the season with an average of 26.57 from a total of 558 runs, already he has amassed 486 runs in less than half the time.
Taking a rare day off from his gruelling summer of playing and travelling, I ask him why has there been such a good start to the season by both the Bears and himself, 'I feel after coming so close at the Rose Bowl last season, we sat there and were committed to take that disappoint and go one better this time. We all work hard on our game, there is a great team spirit and enjoy our success with each other. In terms of batting, I have worked on my balance more because I am a tall guy, so I've worked on getting to face the bowler which allows me to get better positions and see the ball more.'
Is it tough being an all-rounder in terms of work-load, 'I dont want to say its not difficult, but it is nice to do a bit of this and that, yeah the runs have come a bit easier this year, but the wickets may have dried up but I still am bowling a 2.5 economy and taking catches, yet we do work very hard on all parts of the game.'
Last year, Clarke took a world-record equalling 7 catches against Liverpool which garnered some special press attention, so does catching come naturally or is it hard work? 'In the team we all work very hard, myself, Chops [opener Varun Chopra], Madds [veteran Darren Maddy] and Wills [William Porterfield] all work very hard as a group so even when the runs might not be there we can take an important catch for the team. In the pre-season I sat down with Ashley Giles [director of cricket at Warwickshire and England selector] about doing better with my time management so I do enough bowling and batting in the nets without neglecting any of the other three main components of the game and I have definitely benefited from that talk.'
Following on from the criticism aimed at Jonny Bairstow's poor showing against fast bowling in the 2nd Test match at Trent Bridge, Sir Ian Botham stated that Bairstow would not have seen bowling like Kemar Roach at county level, Clarke took issue with this statement, 'There are definitely, quick bowlers out there, okay not loads like we want but there are enough and the overseas stars who come over also help. Yet county cricket is still a decent platform for test cricket, look at Jonathan Trott who scored runs straight away and has fitted in, but he made a name for himself in the county game. You cannot win county games without hard work, so it is still a good springboard for the Test arena.'
When talking about test cricket, I sense Clarke yearning for something else this season, is there an ambition to play in that arena yourself? 'I am getting on now, I am the other side of 30 but I would like to play again for England and to do that I just have to be consistent and hopefully people will recognise the work I put in.' I asked tentatively, if he thinks he let himself down when he did play for England, judging by the averages, 'I think in the two tests I played in Bangladesh, I did do myself justice. I averaged 32 with the bat and 15 with the ball (traditional indicators of all-rounder status is your batting average should be higher than your bowling average) and in the 21 one-dayers I played I only batted 13 times and in some instances I batted in four or five different positions so due to that I was not afforded the time to get a mental base, yet I remain hopeful and optimistic about a call-up.' Has he thought about asking the aforementioned Giles about that possibility? 'I should do [he sniggers] but all I can do is make sure my name stays out there, I am sure there are plenty of others out there doing the same thing hoping for that call but all I can do is foucs on my own performance.'
Being a team player is there anyone in the Warwickshire line-up he feels is due a look at Test or one day level, if he is bypassed for the call-up? 'Varun Chopra is the best county batsmen in the game at the moment. He had a good year last year, and is backing it up with more runs this season, he gives himself a lot of time at the crease, has all the shots and is a good lad to.'
So the ambition for the season remains the title? 'It is but we are aware of taking each day as it comes, one day at a time, we are aware of the hype that is around us in the press and media but we came close yet are wary that there is a lot of cricket left to play. I still love playing in the county game.'
It can be a grind though can't it? 'When you are in a winning team, it is different, we have a great camaraderie in the dressing room, we enjoy each others company and want to take that next step towards getting the title, and we know we can only do that together'.
Clarke who is enjoying the benefits of stability, and like he said himself balance in play and life, is now a model of consistency and someone who would not let the team down, either by taking a vital catch or run out or grabbing a cameo 30-40 runs to help set or chase a target. When he last played for England, Clarke was a victim of selectorial circumstance, you get the sense he would relish the challenge, England could do a lot worse than picking this blast from the past.
Monday, 28 May 2012
England v West Indies 2nd Test review
Coming into the 2nd test following the convincing finish to the 1st test on the Monday before, both sides had three days rest before the 2nd test began at Trent Bridge on Friday morning.
There was a change in temperature and climate in England following the somewhat cloudy and grey skies, Nottingham's county ground was in glorious sunshine and this prompted captain Darren Sammy to elect to bat when he won the toss.
West Indies had some changes in line-up, Ravi Rampaul was recalled after recovering from a neck injury to replace the injured Shannon Gabriel with a suspected fractured back. And spinner Shane Shillingford replaced Fidel Edwards. England remain unchanged, in spite of the possibility of dropping lucky charm Tim Bresnan for Steven Finn.
The election to bat did not look a good one however, when the combination of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad put the suspect top of the order to the sword as they dropped to 63-4, Anderson doing for the woeful Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo, Anderson had a hand in both of Broad's wickets catching both Powell and Barath off of Broad. The catch to remove Barath was a particularly lightning reflex one at 3rd slip as he snapped it out of the air.
A recovery appeared in order with Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels doing the work again, in a solid partnership that took them to 125 before Graeme Swann gained his first Test wicket at his home county ground trapping Shivnarine lbw, which the West Indian reviewed.
Danesh Ramdin followed soon after and England must have had plans to be batting by the evening's end with the weak tail. Yet captain Darren Sammy showed the best form of defense is attack as he and Samuels put on 204 for the 7th wicket - ending the 1st day on 304-6 a marvellous recovery. Samuels reached his century off of 219 balls. The next morning after a flabby start, England went to work after Sammy gained his first Test century 106 and the 7th West Indian to score one when batting at No. 8.
From 340-7, West Indies were all out for 370 with Bresnan and Swann swept up the tail. England went to work on chipping away at the larger than wanted total.
Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, again led from the front whilst the West Indies were hoping for an early wicket before lunch. They thought they had it, yet when Roach had Cook out caught behind, a replay showed that Roach's front foot was fully in front of the line. Sammy's reaction of hands atop of his head said it all.
Cook did eventually depart when he nibbled at Rampaul to be caught behind, and Trott was his usual beligerent self before falling lbw to Rampaul, leaving England 123-2. Kevin Pietersen came to the crease, and much like Samuels and Sammy the night before Strauss and his incumbent captain went about smashing the attack. Pietersen as ever saving pride of place for blasting Shillingford to all corners.
Andrew Strauss went to his second century in as many tests before the close of play - where England were 259/2 at the end of another glorious day of summer sunshine.
The next morning (Day 3), the West Indies went for broke bowling Roach and Rampaul to make inroads and they did so getting Pietersen lbw (which KP reviewed) and then Roach got Bell playing across the line. The two R's are a nice combination - Roach is raw aggression, whilst Rampaul is slowly but bowls wicket to wicket and is difficult to get away hence the success with lbw appeals.
Jonny Bairstow had the chance to impress with the captain, yet he looked ill at ease against the short bowling served up eventually a leading edge attempting to play to off went up in the air to mid-on for a poor looking 4.
Prior was bowled again from one that nipped back from Sammy, yet Tim Bresnan was looking solid ending with a 39* (third highest in innings) in a total of 428, invaluable runs which gave England a lead of just 58 runs, yet still a lead nonetheless. West Indies shared the wickets around - Roach 2, Rampaul 3, Sammy 2, Shilingford 1 and Samuels 2.
England had the lead and with tea taken, England had the evening session to take some wickets before West Indies could overtake the lead - the hope being that England have a small total to chase on a pitch that is a difficult pitch to chase on. Remember how England nearly fluffed the chase in the 2005 Ashes when a score of 130 was only overtaken by Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard.
England could smell blood and with the weak line-up and top 3 facing them, Anderson felt the moment was his. And in his second over, his swing did for Powell who played away from his body, arms too far away and so he played on to his leg stump which went flying. Anderson's next hour his swing did for Barath, a plumb LBW leaving the tourists 14-2 and bringing Chanderpaul to the crease early. Here was England's chance to attack one of the great batsmen. Throughout the series he arrives at the crease after the new ball burst, here he is in the fifth over of the innings facing the music.
Chanderpaul looked good, neatly playing shots off his legs as he stepped across the line effortlessly, yet Stuart Broad used his height to tuck up Chanderpaul and a well aimed short ball was met by Shiv attempting to pull to long leg, but a top edge went in the air. The ball seemed to be skyward for an eternity not wanting to come down, yet Jonathan Trott composed himself and took the catch safely to dismiss Chanderpaul for just 11, leaving them 31-3.
Darren Bravo, who has not been able to impress on this tour, followed soon after when Bresnan traps him from around the wicket. Bravo reviewed a ball that looked pretty plumb, 45-4. Ramdin came, went which led to the arrival of Kirk Edwards who had been reportedly laid up in bed at the hotel with flu and would bat if only necessary. Now, is asking a man with flu to come to the ground in the evening really necessary. Let him rest up, get better and try again tomorrow, and why did Darren Sammy (the Captain) not come out to face the last few balls before stumps. It was tempting fate, to ask an ill man to face a fiery Bresnan, Edwards lasted two balls before also being trapped leg before. Edwards walking off the field was a sight of melancholy.
Bresnan's spell of 6-2-10-3 was just what the doctor ordered as Darren Bravo looked to be digging in for the evening; yet he bowled with pace, accuracy and benefited from some poor footwork by the static West Indian batsmen who could neither get their foot forward to play defensively, nor back and play off their hips. A no mans land for futile batsmen, with Bresnan benefiting.
England's day all round, with the tourists finishing 61-6 a lead of just 3 runs. The stage was set for a quick resolution to the game on the Monday morning.
England bowled with pace on that final morning, but could not get the breakthrough for some time, until Bresnan traps the captain on his back foot in his crease for 25, 110-7. More determined resistance from Roach is undone by Anderson upon review as he moves miles across his crease and replays show the ball hitting leg stump. Yet England had to eat lunch with the knowledge of two more wickets to bat again, 83 runs behind with two wickets remaining.
Stubborn resistance remained in the form of Marlon Samuels who after blasting Graeme Swann for 16 in one over could only watch as Shillingford and Rampaul offered nothing, Samuels ended on 76 not out (a series avg of 103.33 at the moment). England required a target of 108 to gain an unassailable lead in the Wisden Trophy series.
West Indies were hoping that their opening pair of Roach and Rampaul could make early inroads. Alas the formidable opening partnership of Strauss and Cook saw out the new ball and England got home and hosed by the dominating margin of 9 wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the series at 4.34pm on the fourth day.
The story of this test is that it pits two teams against each other; one is utterly professional and can smell blood going in for the kill to render themselves dominant. And the other is on the way back, attempting to make up lost ground, but with still much to learn.
For England, it must be pleasing that someone always steps up to take the credit. At Lords, Broad bowled superbly taking 11 in the match, here he took 3 yet got the key one of Chanderpaul in the 2nd innings. This time Tim Bresnan the lucky charm - 12 matches, 12 wins - took 8 wickets and scored an invaluable 39 whilst wickets fell around him.
My hope for the third test at Edgbaston which starts in 10 days time is that England take the opportunity to rest both Anderson and Broad for that test and give them a rest with a 5 game ODI series versus Australia and the crucial 3 test series versus South Africa still to come. The chance to rest is here and should be taken, and give Jonny Bairstow another test, although it would be surprising to see him face the brunt of the South African attack of Steyn, Morkel, Philander in July/August.
England v West Indies, 2nd Test, Trent Bridge, Nottingham; 25th-28th May
West Indies 1st Inns 370 (Samuels 117, Sammy 106) and 2nd Inns 165 (Samuels 76*, Bresnan 4-37, Anderson 4-43)
lost to
England 1st Inns 428 (Strauss 141, Pietersen 80) and 2nd Inns 111-1 (Strauss 45, Cook 43*)
by
Nine wickets.
There was a change in temperature and climate in England following the somewhat cloudy and grey skies, Nottingham's county ground was in glorious sunshine and this prompted captain Darren Sammy to elect to bat when he won the toss.
West Indies had some changes in line-up, Ravi Rampaul was recalled after recovering from a neck injury to replace the injured Shannon Gabriel with a suspected fractured back. And spinner Shane Shillingford replaced Fidel Edwards. England remain unchanged, in spite of the possibility of dropping lucky charm Tim Bresnan for Steven Finn.
The election to bat did not look a good one however, when the combination of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad put the suspect top of the order to the sword as they dropped to 63-4, Anderson doing for the woeful Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo, Anderson had a hand in both of Broad's wickets catching both Powell and Barath off of Broad. The catch to remove Barath was a particularly lightning reflex one at 3rd slip as he snapped it out of the air.
A recovery appeared in order with Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels doing the work again, in a solid partnership that took them to 125 before Graeme Swann gained his first Test wicket at his home county ground trapping Shivnarine lbw, which the West Indian reviewed.
Danesh Ramdin followed soon after and England must have had plans to be batting by the evening's end with the weak tail. Yet captain Darren Sammy showed the best form of defense is attack as he and Samuels put on 204 for the 7th wicket - ending the 1st day on 304-6 a marvellous recovery. Samuels reached his century off of 219 balls. The next morning after a flabby start, England went to work after Sammy gained his first Test century 106 and the 7th West Indian to score one when batting at No. 8.
From 340-7, West Indies were all out for 370 with Bresnan and Swann swept up the tail. England went to work on chipping away at the larger than wanted total.
Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, again led from the front whilst the West Indies were hoping for an early wicket before lunch. They thought they had it, yet when Roach had Cook out caught behind, a replay showed that Roach's front foot was fully in front of the line. Sammy's reaction of hands atop of his head said it all.
Cook did eventually depart when he nibbled at Rampaul to be caught behind, and Trott was his usual beligerent self before falling lbw to Rampaul, leaving England 123-2. Kevin Pietersen came to the crease, and much like Samuels and Sammy the night before Strauss and his incumbent captain went about smashing the attack. Pietersen as ever saving pride of place for blasting Shillingford to all corners.
Andrew Strauss went to his second century in as many tests before the close of play - where England were 259/2 at the end of another glorious day of summer sunshine.
The next morning (Day 3), the West Indies went for broke bowling Roach and Rampaul to make inroads and they did so getting Pietersen lbw (which KP reviewed) and then Roach got Bell playing across the line. The two R's are a nice combination - Roach is raw aggression, whilst Rampaul is slowly but bowls wicket to wicket and is difficult to get away hence the success with lbw appeals.
Jonny Bairstow had the chance to impress with the captain, yet he looked ill at ease against the short bowling served up eventually a leading edge attempting to play to off went up in the air to mid-on for a poor looking 4.
Prior was bowled again from one that nipped back from Sammy, yet Tim Bresnan was looking solid ending with a 39* (third highest in innings) in a total of 428, invaluable runs which gave England a lead of just 58 runs, yet still a lead nonetheless. West Indies shared the wickets around - Roach 2, Rampaul 3, Sammy 2, Shilingford 1 and Samuels 2.
England had the lead and with tea taken, England had the evening session to take some wickets before West Indies could overtake the lead - the hope being that England have a small total to chase on a pitch that is a difficult pitch to chase on. Remember how England nearly fluffed the chase in the 2005 Ashes when a score of 130 was only overtaken by Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard.
England could smell blood and with the weak line-up and top 3 facing them, Anderson felt the moment was his. And in his second over, his swing did for Powell who played away from his body, arms too far away and so he played on to his leg stump which went flying. Anderson's next hour his swing did for Barath, a plumb LBW leaving the tourists 14-2 and bringing Chanderpaul to the crease early. Here was England's chance to attack one of the great batsmen. Throughout the series he arrives at the crease after the new ball burst, here he is in the fifth over of the innings facing the music.
Chanderpaul looked good, neatly playing shots off his legs as he stepped across the line effortlessly, yet Stuart Broad used his height to tuck up Chanderpaul and a well aimed short ball was met by Shiv attempting to pull to long leg, but a top edge went in the air. The ball seemed to be skyward for an eternity not wanting to come down, yet Jonathan Trott composed himself and took the catch safely to dismiss Chanderpaul for just 11, leaving them 31-3.
Darren Bravo, who has not been able to impress on this tour, followed soon after when Bresnan traps him from around the wicket. Bravo reviewed a ball that looked pretty plumb, 45-4. Ramdin came, went which led to the arrival of Kirk Edwards who had been reportedly laid up in bed at the hotel with flu and would bat if only necessary. Now, is asking a man with flu to come to the ground in the evening really necessary. Let him rest up, get better and try again tomorrow, and why did Darren Sammy (the Captain) not come out to face the last few balls before stumps. It was tempting fate, to ask an ill man to face a fiery Bresnan, Edwards lasted two balls before also being trapped leg before. Edwards walking off the field was a sight of melancholy.
Bresnan's spell of 6-2-10-3 was just what the doctor ordered as Darren Bravo looked to be digging in for the evening; yet he bowled with pace, accuracy and benefited from some poor footwork by the static West Indian batsmen who could neither get their foot forward to play defensively, nor back and play off their hips. A no mans land for futile batsmen, with Bresnan benefiting.
England's day all round, with the tourists finishing 61-6 a lead of just 3 runs. The stage was set for a quick resolution to the game on the Monday morning.
England bowled with pace on that final morning, but could not get the breakthrough for some time, until Bresnan traps the captain on his back foot in his crease for 25, 110-7. More determined resistance from Roach is undone by Anderson upon review as he moves miles across his crease and replays show the ball hitting leg stump. Yet England had to eat lunch with the knowledge of two more wickets to bat again, 83 runs behind with two wickets remaining.
Stubborn resistance remained in the form of Marlon Samuels who after blasting Graeme Swann for 16 in one over could only watch as Shillingford and Rampaul offered nothing, Samuels ended on 76 not out (a series avg of 103.33 at the moment). England required a target of 108 to gain an unassailable lead in the Wisden Trophy series.
West Indies were hoping that their opening pair of Roach and Rampaul could make early inroads. Alas the formidable opening partnership of Strauss and Cook saw out the new ball and England got home and hosed by the dominating margin of 9 wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the series at 4.34pm on the fourth day.
The story of this test is that it pits two teams against each other; one is utterly professional and can smell blood going in for the kill to render themselves dominant. And the other is on the way back, attempting to make up lost ground, but with still much to learn.
For England, it must be pleasing that someone always steps up to take the credit. At Lords, Broad bowled superbly taking 11 in the match, here he took 3 yet got the key one of Chanderpaul in the 2nd innings. This time Tim Bresnan the lucky charm - 12 matches, 12 wins - took 8 wickets and scored an invaluable 39 whilst wickets fell around him.
My hope for the third test at Edgbaston which starts in 10 days time is that England take the opportunity to rest both Anderson and Broad for that test and give them a rest with a 5 game ODI series versus Australia and the crucial 3 test series versus South Africa still to come. The chance to rest is here and should be taken, and give Jonny Bairstow another test, although it would be surprising to see him face the brunt of the South African attack of Steyn, Morkel, Philander in July/August.
England v West Indies, 2nd Test, Trent Bridge, Nottingham; 25th-28th May
West Indies 1st Inns 370 (Samuels 117, Sammy 106) and 2nd Inns 165 (Samuels 76*, Bresnan 4-37, Anderson 4-43)
lost to
England 1st Inns 428 (Strauss 141, Pietersen 80) and 2nd Inns 111-1 (Strauss 45, Cook 43*)
by
Nine wickets.
Monday, 21 May 2012
An Interview with Steve James
In anticipation of Steve James' forthcoming book The Plan: How Fletcher and Flower Transformed English Cricket, available from all good bookshops on Monday 24th May, I was granted the opportunity to ask him some questions about the book and his analysis.
As we know from the book's outline you discuss at length the transformation of England from the worst test team to the Number 1 team in the world. You base the transformation on the work of two individuals - Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower; what have these two men done to change the English game?
It's not just about them but they obviously played huge roles. Both of them brought clarity when there was darkness.
It's not just about them but they obviously played huge roles. Both of them brought clarity when there was darkness.
Yet these two men have different traits how can they both take credit?
They're different but very similar if that makes sense! Fletcher is the technical expert, Flower the man manager.
So how did someone like Peter Moores become a failure?
In fairness to Peter, a lot of what he put in place is still there. He employed Flower firstly. It was the way he conveyed his messages that was wrong, and he is quite honest about this in the book.
Why was the change necessary, what was wrong with England when they lost at home to New Zealand in that fateful summer of 1999 at the Oval?
Everything! No coach, no direction, poor selection. The introduction of central contracts coming in was huge in terms of consistent selection, and the most influential change resulting in England's success. Fletcher couldn't have done what he did without them. Nor Flower.
Everything! No coach, no direction, poor selection. The introduction of central contracts coming in was huge in terms of consistent selection, and the most influential change resulting in England's success. Fletcher couldn't have done what he did without them. Nor Flower.
Does the influence of Captains deserve to be acknowleged?
[Nasser] Hussain was the most important, his determination helped to toughen England up. [Michael] Vaughan and [Andrew] Strauss have obviously been very good in different ways.
It seems the most pivotal point of this transformation was the Ashes success of 2005, itself a formulation of a plan to implement certain bowlers?
Yes it had been coming together for a while. The tragedy was that that attack - Steve Harmison, Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles - never played together again in a test match.
What are your memories of that 2005 Ashes summer?
My favourite memory is arriving at Old Trafford on the last day and being convinced there had been a bomb scare with so many people without tickets streaming away from the ground. On the field it was the reverse swing of Flintoff and Jones- the Australians simply had no answer to that bowling with Flintoff always taking wickets on vital occasions.
My favourite memory is arriving at Old Trafford on the last day and being convinced there had been a bomb scare with so many people without tickets streaming away from the ground. On the field it was the reverse swing of Flintoff and Jones- the Australians simply had no answer to that bowling with Flintoff always taking wickets on vital occasions.
What has greater significance, the 2005 Ashes or winning the Ashes in Australia in 2010?
2005. It was against one of the greatest sides ever...
2005. It was against one of the greatest sides ever...
What does the future hold for the English test side? A big test awaits this year at home and abroad.
They'll still be No 1 by the end of the summer I reckon in a 3 test series against South Africa. India will be very tricky, just like last winter [in a four test series]
They'll still be No 1 by the end of the summer I reckon in a 3 test series against South Africa. India will be very tricky, just like last winter [in a four test series]
Is there anything you would change with the current England set-up?
Not particularly, however there are lots I would change in the County game though.
Can 'The Plan' continue to reap rewards beyond the next two Ashes series in 2013/14?
I hope so but a lot of course will depend on how Australia change themselves. It looks like they have started to copy our plans which is what we did to them. Nothing lasts forever though.
Many thanks to Steve James for giving me the chance to interview him before the release of his fourth book, The Plan:How Fletcher and Flower Transformed English Cricket, published by Bantam Press on Thursday 24th May for £20.00RRP
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Steve James is cricket columnist for the Sunday Telegraph and a sports writer for the Daily Telegraph. He won two caps for England.
Follow him on twitter @sjamesjourno
England v West Indies 1st Test review
When reviewing the First Test between England and the touring West Indies, the most surprising element may be that I am writing it after the fifth day of play had been completed. Many anticipated the tourists to not put up much of a fight, like their predecessors did in 2009 when led by (now absent) Chris Gayle they put up little or no battle.
This side now led by former England bowling coach, Otis Gibson, showed a little more tenacity and desire to hold up an England side who wanted to do away with this series and regain form before the visit of South Africa in July when it is a straight battle for the No. 1 side in the world.
Yet the thing to take away from Lords, is that this Windies side is starting to get better, a collective force that is a sum of its parts. They arrive unfortunate to lose to the Australians at home, yet the defeats were all close and victory could have been gotten if luck fell their way. Yet they will admit, when you are down and out - like a club fighting relegation - luck does tend to desert you.
On Thursday morning, day one, Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bowl - typical English conditions, cloud cover with his bowling line up of Anderson, Broad, Swann and Bresnan who was selected ahead of Graeme Onions and home boy Steven Finn.
The West Indies selected a side that had a surprise due to injury; Ravi Rampaul did not recover from an ankle injury picked up in the England Lions encounter last week, so a debut was handed to Shannon Gabriel, a 24 year old fast bowler, whose action reminds us of famous bowlers of yore.
In the first hour, England make inroads as with Anderson swinging it both ways removing Kieron Powell (or is it Pollard as the scoreboard suggested) and Kirk Edwards with his swing movement. This brings Darren Bravo, the highly thought of batsmen whose motion reminds many of Brian Charles Lara in partnership with Adrian Barath - before Barath is undone by Stuart Broad an hour after tea. Then Broad begins to takeover proceedings but not before we enjoy another batting masterclass by Shivnarine Chanderpaul who scores a selfless 87* as runs out of partners.
Broad who finishes with 7-72, bowled with a bit of venom inducing bounce out of a pitch to remove Marlon Samuels. England are helped by a comical runout involving Shiv and Bravo, that ends Bravo's innings at 29. England take the new ball, and Broad cleans up the tail. One wicket was remaining at the end of play 243-9, he removes debutant Gabriel with the first ball of the second morning. Swann taking the catch at 2nd slip quite easily. Broad would be on a hat-trick with his first ball of West Indies second innings.
England's first innings is one of hard work intitially as Strauss attempts to see out the first hour as the live wire pair of Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards offer zip and fire. Having put on 47 for the first wicket, Cook tries to cut a ball too close to his body and plays on, gone for 26. Jonathan Trott arrives and puts on a fine 147 partnership with the captain before he feathers one behind off of the slower medium pace of Darren Sammy, for another half-century. Trott is an accumulator and helps Strauss with his pace of the innings.
Andrew Strauss is desperate to score his first century in Tests since November 2010 on the last Ashes tour in Brisbane, and he does so as he finishes the day on 121. The ovation when he does reach three figures is prolonged showing how much in favour the captain is with the masses in terms of popularity. The next morning Strauss adds just one to his total departing for 122.
The West Indies bowl much better on the third morning, collectively as a unit. The last 7 wickets fell for 132, helped by Ian Bell going to 61 marshalling the tail. Debutant Jonny Bairstow showed some flashes with some wonderful drives before falling for a plumb lbw. Shannon Gabriel got his first Test wicket cleaning up Matt Prior who played all round a ball that seamed off the pitch. England finished on 398 a lead of 155.
The Windies batted much better in the second innings, as the pitch got flatter although a mini-collapse left them at 36-3 after being 36-0 topped off by Bairstow running out Kirk Edwards with a direct throw. Panic sets in when Bravo fails again shouldering arms to Graeme Swann leaving them 65-4. Yet Chanderpaul (again) and Marlon Samuels bat diligently and with intelligence putting on 157 for the fifth wicket, before Samuels who looked very good on both sides of the wicket nips at one outside off with Swann snaring the catch at slip, for 86. Chanderpaul then falls lbw to Swann, to one that straightens and is confirmed on review.
Some swishing from Ramdin and Sammy extend West Indies lead and eventually Gabriel is last man out again as Swann bowls him. West Indies all out for 345, setting England a victory total of 191, Broad takes 4-93 giving him 11 in the match.
Due to the resistance of the lower order England have to sustain a tricky 4 over spell on Sunday evening and with fire in Babylon in their loins, Kemar Roach removes Strauss (4th slip) and nightwatchmen Anderson caught behind leaving England 11-2 overnight.
After a good night's sleep Roach and Edwards come firing in and the plan to get rid of Trott early works as he fends at one to second slip to Roach; and Kevin Pietersen's attempt to hit Gabriel out of the attack fails as after hitting the previous ball for four, he then attempts the same shot from a slower ball with less bounce and lower edges it to Ramdin, leaving England 57-4. With still over 100 runs required, England have work to do against a new ball attack which is getting seam movement off a slow pitch.
The coming together of Ian Bell with the anchored Alastair Cook, however, leads England to victory. This is not helped by the bowling options diminishing for the Windies; without Rampaul or a spin option in Shane Shillingford - they have to fall on Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels to bowl overs; neither bowl balls that are intimidating and Samuels does not spin the ball. Cook and Bell pick off the runs easily, scoring 121 in the morning session, leaving just 60 required for victory after lunch.
Cook is caught out at gully with two runs still required on 79, Jonny Bairstow joined Ian Bell yet if falls to Bell to hit the winning runs as he finishes unbeaten on 63* his second fifty of the match.
For England, it was a job well done and get the victory that many expected. As for West Indies there are a lot of positives to take from this test - a better disciplined and patient batting display second time around, good bowling all round from the three seamers. They will be hopeful that Rampaul can return to the line up and having that spin option may prove vital at Trent Bridge, where a spinner can be rewarded with some good fortune.
There were low expectations of this test series, yet the West Indies have shown a better side of themselves on this occasion and they can be proud of their efforts. Onwards to Nottingham now, which starts on Friday 25th May at Trent Bridge.
England v West Indies, 1st Test, Lords, 17th-21st May
West Indies 1st Inns 243 (Chanderpaul 87, Broad 7-72) and 2nd Inns 345 (Chanderpaul 91, Samuels 86)
lost to
England 1st Inns 398 (Strauss 122, Bell 61) and 2nd Inns 193-5 (Cook 79, Bell 63*)
by 5 wickets.
England lead the 3 match series 1-0
Man of the Match: Stuart Broad, 11-165 in the match
This side now led by former England bowling coach, Otis Gibson, showed a little more tenacity and desire to hold up an England side who wanted to do away with this series and regain form before the visit of South Africa in July when it is a straight battle for the No. 1 side in the world.
Yet the thing to take away from Lords, is that this Windies side is starting to get better, a collective force that is a sum of its parts. They arrive unfortunate to lose to the Australians at home, yet the defeats were all close and victory could have been gotten if luck fell their way. Yet they will admit, when you are down and out - like a club fighting relegation - luck does tend to desert you.
On Thursday morning, day one, Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bowl - typical English conditions, cloud cover with his bowling line up of Anderson, Broad, Swann and Bresnan who was selected ahead of Graeme Onions and home boy Steven Finn.
The West Indies selected a side that had a surprise due to injury; Ravi Rampaul did not recover from an ankle injury picked up in the England Lions encounter last week, so a debut was handed to Shannon Gabriel, a 24 year old fast bowler, whose action reminds us of famous bowlers of yore.
In the first hour, England make inroads as with Anderson swinging it both ways removing Kieron Powell (or is it Pollard as the scoreboard suggested) and Kirk Edwards with his swing movement. This brings Darren Bravo, the highly thought of batsmen whose motion reminds many of Brian Charles Lara in partnership with Adrian Barath - before Barath is undone by Stuart Broad an hour after tea. Then Broad begins to takeover proceedings but not before we enjoy another batting masterclass by Shivnarine Chanderpaul who scores a selfless 87* as runs out of partners.
Broad who finishes with 7-72, bowled with a bit of venom inducing bounce out of a pitch to remove Marlon Samuels. England are helped by a comical runout involving Shiv and Bravo, that ends Bravo's innings at 29. England take the new ball, and Broad cleans up the tail. One wicket was remaining at the end of play 243-9, he removes debutant Gabriel with the first ball of the second morning. Swann taking the catch at 2nd slip quite easily. Broad would be on a hat-trick with his first ball of West Indies second innings.
England's first innings is one of hard work intitially as Strauss attempts to see out the first hour as the live wire pair of Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards offer zip and fire. Having put on 47 for the first wicket, Cook tries to cut a ball too close to his body and plays on, gone for 26. Jonathan Trott arrives and puts on a fine 147 partnership with the captain before he feathers one behind off of the slower medium pace of Darren Sammy, for another half-century. Trott is an accumulator and helps Strauss with his pace of the innings.
Andrew Strauss is desperate to score his first century in Tests since November 2010 on the last Ashes tour in Brisbane, and he does so as he finishes the day on 121. The ovation when he does reach three figures is prolonged showing how much in favour the captain is with the masses in terms of popularity. The next morning Strauss adds just one to his total departing for 122.
The West Indies bowl much better on the third morning, collectively as a unit. The last 7 wickets fell for 132, helped by Ian Bell going to 61 marshalling the tail. Debutant Jonny Bairstow showed some flashes with some wonderful drives before falling for a plumb lbw. Shannon Gabriel got his first Test wicket cleaning up Matt Prior who played all round a ball that seamed off the pitch. England finished on 398 a lead of 155.
The Windies batted much better in the second innings, as the pitch got flatter although a mini-collapse left them at 36-3 after being 36-0 topped off by Bairstow running out Kirk Edwards with a direct throw. Panic sets in when Bravo fails again shouldering arms to Graeme Swann leaving them 65-4. Yet Chanderpaul (again) and Marlon Samuels bat diligently and with intelligence putting on 157 for the fifth wicket, before Samuels who looked very good on both sides of the wicket nips at one outside off with Swann snaring the catch at slip, for 86. Chanderpaul then falls lbw to Swann, to one that straightens and is confirmed on review.
Some swishing from Ramdin and Sammy extend West Indies lead and eventually Gabriel is last man out again as Swann bowls him. West Indies all out for 345, setting England a victory total of 191, Broad takes 4-93 giving him 11 in the match.
Due to the resistance of the lower order England have to sustain a tricky 4 over spell on Sunday evening and with fire in Babylon in their loins, Kemar Roach removes Strauss (4th slip) and nightwatchmen Anderson caught behind leaving England 11-2 overnight.
After a good night's sleep Roach and Edwards come firing in and the plan to get rid of Trott early works as he fends at one to second slip to Roach; and Kevin Pietersen's attempt to hit Gabriel out of the attack fails as after hitting the previous ball for four, he then attempts the same shot from a slower ball with less bounce and lower edges it to Ramdin, leaving England 57-4. With still over 100 runs required, England have work to do against a new ball attack which is getting seam movement off a slow pitch.
The coming together of Ian Bell with the anchored Alastair Cook, however, leads England to victory. This is not helped by the bowling options diminishing for the Windies; without Rampaul or a spin option in Shane Shillingford - they have to fall on Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels to bowl overs; neither bowl balls that are intimidating and Samuels does not spin the ball. Cook and Bell pick off the runs easily, scoring 121 in the morning session, leaving just 60 required for victory after lunch.
Cook is caught out at gully with two runs still required on 79, Jonny Bairstow joined Ian Bell yet if falls to Bell to hit the winning runs as he finishes unbeaten on 63* his second fifty of the match.
For England, it was a job well done and get the victory that many expected. As for West Indies there are a lot of positives to take from this test - a better disciplined and patient batting display second time around, good bowling all round from the three seamers. They will be hopeful that Rampaul can return to the line up and having that spin option may prove vital at Trent Bridge, where a spinner can be rewarded with some good fortune.
There were low expectations of this test series, yet the West Indies have shown a better side of themselves on this occasion and they can be proud of their efforts. Onwards to Nottingham now, which starts on Friday 25th May at Trent Bridge.
England v West Indies, 1st Test, Lords, 17th-21st May
West Indies 1st Inns 243 (Chanderpaul 87, Broad 7-72) and 2nd Inns 345 (Chanderpaul 91, Samuels 86)
lost to
England 1st Inns 398 (Strauss 122, Bell 61) and 2nd Inns 193-5 (Cook 79, Bell 63*)
by 5 wickets.
England lead the 3 match series 1-0
Man of the Match: Stuart Broad, 11-165 in the match
Thursday, 12 January 2012
England's Line up issues
England are currently ranked the Number 1 side in the Test cricket arena, and they have not played since early September and so are touring the United Arab Emirates to play Pakistan on a neutral site.
Whilst Pakistan have been depleted by the suspensions and convictions handed out to three good players, and the constant infighting of the Pakistan Cricket Board, they nevertheless remain an enigmatic side - able to please and frustrate in equal measure. They themselves are trying to rebuild their test status from its current lower ebb.
Yet due to the unified front being portrayed by them, Pakistan are settled on the side that will go against England in the first test which starts on Tuesday.
England have played their two warm up games and tellingly they are having to shuffle their pack owing to injuries and lack of form. Alastair Cook continues his fine form of late as he scored a faultless century of 133, yet his seventh wicket partnership of 90 with Matt Prior (46) saved some blushes for England as they were 121-6, with only Pietersen (38) troubling the scorers. Both Jonathon Trott and Ian Bell were dismissed for ducks off of three and two bells each, neither man is entering the Tests with significant scores nor time at the crease. Andrew Strauss remains solid, and Pietersen will score runs on any pitch. Yet the worry over England may well be the bowling line up and strategy.
Graeme Swann is carrying an injury carried over from the first warm up match, yet he still bowled in the PCB XI's first innings and got one wicket off of 18 overs, whereas Monty Panesar had figures of 29-12-57-5, good figures for Monty yet they do not tell the whole story. Panesar bowled on a pitch that had been previously used, so it was deteoriating yet Swann had some joy on the first few days of the same pitch in the first warm up match.
The answer is that England on the sub-continent have two spinners; a spinner in Swann who can attack on a flat pitch, then they have Panesar who can take wickets as it becomes harder to bat. Yet it remains England's policy to play six batsmen, one wicketkeeper and four bowlers (Swann, Anderson, Bresnan and Broad). However, Tim Bresnan is out of the tour with a reoccurence of his elbow injury so there is room for Panesar to slot in, however Panesar remains not the best fielder nor can he hold a bat as long as Bresnan clearly can (two Test scores of 90 plus).
England have some questions yet they have faith in their batting line-up to come good and apply the scoreboard pressure of huge runs. Andy Flower will more than likely pick the tried and tested line-up of one spinner in the line-up with Steve Finn filling in for Bresnan, consigning Panesar to the drinks duty. Should the task fail, expect Panesar to come in at the expense of Eoin Morgan for the second test with Matt Prior batting sixth - a place where he looks ill suited but can do the job. Obviously this makes the tail a lot longer than normal, yet you expect now one England batsmen to score a century in every innings.
The Power of Pollard
Kieron Pollard is an absolute beast in the T20 and ODI arena, his innings for Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday night 211-3 in the Caribbean T20 tournament. Pollard hit 56 off 15 balls included one over of 5 sixes, 30 runs (4 consecutively to open the over) as he laid seige to the paltry bowling offered by the Leeward Islands (the fourth went so high it delayed the game as they searched for the ball). Pollard like Pakistan is one of those enigmatic figures, so talented and unbelievably skilled with hand eye coordination yet he fails to cement a place in the West Indian test side as it seems his mind is elsewhere.
Whilst Pakistan have been depleted by the suspensions and convictions handed out to three good players, and the constant infighting of the Pakistan Cricket Board, they nevertheless remain an enigmatic side - able to please and frustrate in equal measure. They themselves are trying to rebuild their test status from its current lower ebb.
Yet due to the unified front being portrayed by them, Pakistan are settled on the side that will go against England in the first test which starts on Tuesday.
England have played their two warm up games and tellingly they are having to shuffle their pack owing to injuries and lack of form. Alastair Cook continues his fine form of late as he scored a faultless century of 133, yet his seventh wicket partnership of 90 with Matt Prior (46) saved some blushes for England as they were 121-6, with only Pietersen (38) troubling the scorers. Both Jonathon Trott and Ian Bell were dismissed for ducks off of three and two bells each, neither man is entering the Tests with significant scores nor time at the crease. Andrew Strauss remains solid, and Pietersen will score runs on any pitch. Yet the worry over England may well be the bowling line up and strategy.
Graeme Swann is carrying an injury carried over from the first warm up match, yet he still bowled in the PCB XI's first innings and got one wicket off of 18 overs, whereas Monty Panesar had figures of 29-12-57-5, good figures for Monty yet they do not tell the whole story. Panesar bowled on a pitch that had been previously used, so it was deteoriating yet Swann had some joy on the first few days of the same pitch in the first warm up match.
The answer is that England on the sub-continent have two spinners; a spinner in Swann who can attack on a flat pitch, then they have Panesar who can take wickets as it becomes harder to bat. Yet it remains England's policy to play six batsmen, one wicketkeeper and four bowlers (Swann, Anderson, Bresnan and Broad). However, Tim Bresnan is out of the tour with a reoccurence of his elbow injury so there is room for Panesar to slot in, however Panesar remains not the best fielder nor can he hold a bat as long as Bresnan clearly can (two Test scores of 90 plus).
England have some questions yet they have faith in their batting line-up to come good and apply the scoreboard pressure of huge runs. Andy Flower will more than likely pick the tried and tested line-up of one spinner in the line-up with Steve Finn filling in for Bresnan, consigning Panesar to the drinks duty. Should the task fail, expect Panesar to come in at the expense of Eoin Morgan for the second test with Matt Prior batting sixth - a place where he looks ill suited but can do the job. Obviously this makes the tail a lot longer than normal, yet you expect now one England batsmen to score a century in every innings.
The Power of Pollard
Kieron Pollard is an absolute beast in the T20 and ODI arena, his innings for Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday night 211-3 in the Caribbean T20 tournament. Pollard hit 56 off 15 balls included one over of 5 sixes, 30 runs (4 consecutively to open the over) as he laid seige to the paltry bowling offered by the Leeward Islands (the fourth went so high it delayed the game as they searched for the ball). Pollard like Pakistan is one of those enigmatic figures, so talented and unbelievably skilled with hand eye coordination yet he fails to cement a place in the West Indian test side as it seems his mind is elsewhere.
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