Don't neglect Cricket's grassroots

FA boss Greg Dyke this week spoke about the danger to English football if the grassroots game is neglected. The story of disappearing playing fields, the scourge of overzealous Health & Safety laws and the effect of winter weather is familiar, and all in the shadow of a Premier League where a handful of professionals earn enough to pay for hundreds of coaches, groundstaff and equipment which could keep hundreds of junior or youth clubs going for years.

Cricket is no different. In fact, the selling-off of school fields and concreting of parks is having more of an effect on cricket because cricket squares need more than just a bit of grass cutting and white lines. And this stuff still matters. It's nothing to do with the Test cricket vs Twenty20 argument. The Andersons, Buttlers and Cooks have to come from somewhere (Burnley, Glastonbury and Maldon CC, since you ask) - and we can't rely on South African schools and Millfield for ever! Remember, it also took the St. Anne's club to restore Freddie Flintoff to a level high enough to earn a T20 contract after 5 years away.

Beneath the international and county levels, we have the Second XIs, Minor Counties and club cricket with its range of abilities. Last year an ECB study revealed that 1.7 million people played cricket in some form or other, from beach and back gardens to semi-professional. Just short of a million play in teams, and over 1/4 million play for at least half the summer.

I recall spending the occasional summer Sunday hour in my old local parks watching Billericay Thirds or Bridgwater Seconds having a game. No idea who ever won, but it was reassuring that people of all ages still enjoy a friendly yet competitive game of cricket without dancing girls, constant commercials and foul language. Well, none that I could see or hear! The participants covered a wide age range, from callow teenagers to burly bald blokes who have probably kept wicket for decades and heaven help anyone who tries taking their gloves.

Higher up the pyramid you have the more formal leagues and clubs boasting professionals. Growing up in the 1970s, I remember the leagues in Yorkshire and Lancashire boasting some of the biggest names in world cricket. West Indians were only able to make a year-round living from cricket with the patronage of clubs such as Nelson, Haslingden or Bingley. The likes of Constantine, Headley, Lloyd, Holding and Weekes all graced the Lancashire League alone, as did Kapil Dev, Dennis Lillee and Allan Border. More recently, overseas stars such as 20 year-old Shane Warne (Accrington), Anil Kumble (Pudsey St Lawrence) and Mohammad Hafeez (the curiously named Idle) have plied their trade, usually as part of their cricketing education. Indeed, the young Aussie leg-spinner was released after one summer. Apparently, despite a shedload of wickets, his batting wasn't good enough. Two years later came the Ball of the Century and the rest is history!

These days, a cursory skip through the club cricket websites and pages of The Cricket Paper will reveal some familiar names, too. Retired county pros like Darren Maddy (Knowle and Dorridge), Jason Gallian (Saffron Walden) and Usman Afzaal (Earl Shilton) continue to shine and hopefully bring on the next generation. Relatively young county pros like Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent), Jamie Overton and Max Waller(Somerset) and Jigar Naik (Leicestershire) still garner experience with their clubs at the weekend in between county games. Even Graeme Onions has represented Sunderland, albeit as a batsman to stay fit and competitive while nursing the injury which has kept him out of Durham's bowling attack.

If a county is lucky, great talent is spotted at a very young age. The likes of Alastair Cook and Jos Buttler made tons of runs for their schools before even entering their teens. They represented Essex and Somerset's junior teams whilst learning more at their clubs. Steve Finn learnt his trade at West Herts before making his first-class Middlesex debut at 16. Two of Yorkshire's current crop of batting stars, Adam Lyth and Joe Root played for Scarborough and Sheffield Collegiate, respectively, opened for Yorkshire Seconds and may yet do the same together for England. Watch this space.

All in all, English cricket cannot do without the local foundations. Take them away and the glamorous towers of the national sides would crumble and tumble, leaving the ECB with the 'Jack Charlton' option in reverse; heck for grandmothers' passports and bring in more Irishmen (and Aussies, South Africans and West Indians)! The leagues and Minor Counties are essential shop windows for teenage talent, and offer invaluable opportunities for fringe players or those needing competitive cricket as part of recuperation. Neglect them at your peril, ECB!

Twenty20 Finals Day: Bears have a Blast

So, after a few months and 122 matches, an encouragingly big crowd at Edgbaston were treated to a dry (but cool) day and a home side victory in the inaugural NatWest T20 Blast tournament. Personally I think the more structured scheduling over a longer period has been a plus. If some of the big international names couldn't commit to the summer, that's a price worth paying to preserve the perfect mix of fun stuff and proper cricket in the form of the County Championship, which in turn breeds the England Test stars of the future.

As for the domestic T20 competition climax, my interest was somewhat diminished by the rare absence of Somerset and the qualification of Surrey. However I was glad to see the likes of Pietersen (13 runs in 16 balls), Dernbach (0-56!) and Batty knocked out by the Birmingham Bears (henceforth to be referred to as Warwickshire) in the first semi-final. Will Porterfield is not renowned as a big-hitting limited over specialist but his unbeaten 81, featuring five sixes, was the highest score of the day and, with the tight spin bowling of Ateeq Javid, was crucial to the Bears' progression. Jason Roy's brisk half-century for Surrey was ultimately in vain.

In the other semi, Lancashire fielded current England Test players Jimmy Anderson and Jos Buttler, along with other internationals past and present in Prince, Khawaja, Kabir Ali and Parry. Smith (Tom) fell to Smith (Will) first ball but Ashwell Prince and Karl Brown rescued the innings. Hampshire's response was a disaster. Jimmy Adams made 53 but Carberry's 10 was the next best as all Lancashire bowlers took wickets steadily throughout the afternoon. The perennial semi-finalists were not to win this year.

The final was to prove a much more exciting affair, heightened by the inclusion of celebrity Lancashire all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in place of the injured Ali. That he took Ian Bell's wicket with his first delivery and, after two consecutive sixes, threatened to complete the fairytale script and clinch an unlikely victory, merely added to the already heady atmosphere under the floodlights. However, the likes of Bears skipper Varun Chopra, Chris Woakes, Boyd Rankin and man of the match Laurie Evans saw Warwickshire home by four runs with Parry, not Flintoff, needing to hit the last-ball six needed to take the trophy in front of the home fans.

As for the tournament as a whole, Jason Roy and Luke Wright were the stand-out batsmen while a whole clutch of spinners and a few seamers caught the eye for bowling consistency across the summer. Wright's spell as an England T20 specialist seems to have ended but he is still under 30 and his 153 not out at Chelmsford Essex in July was the second of his Blast hundreds this season. Tim Westley of Essex also delivered two centuries but, while making no three-figures scores, Surrey's Roy did his future England credentials no harm by aggregating 677 runs from fifteen games, including nine 50s, at a strike rate of 157. That's way ahead of Hales, Carberry, Taylor, Morgan, Trego and Bopara, to name but six other contenders.

With the ball, Dirk Nannes was one of the few globe-trotting pros to deliver value for money, this year in the service of Somerset. His tally of 24 wickets led the table before Jeetan Patel pipped him by one on Finals Day. Over fifteen matches, the Warwickshire Kiwi conceded scarcely a run a ball. Michael Hogan (Glamorgan), Kabir Ali and Junaid Khan (both Lancashire) also led the fast bowler brigade but for a combination of wickets and economy, the stellar performers were Patel, Hampshire's Danny Briggs and relative bowling novice Will Smith plus Middlesex's new left-armer Ravi Patel. Watch out for his rise over the next few years. Briggs hasn't progressed from T20 promise to first-class finished product but maybe this 23 year-old will buck the trend of T20-only bowlers like Parry.

Well done, Warwickshire/Birmingham, and my T20 Blast team of the year is as follows:- Roy (Sur), Wright (Sus), Westley (Ess), Allenby (Glam), S Patel (Not), Stevens (Kent), Wilson (Sur +,*), J Patel (War), Briggs (Ham), Nannes (Som), R Patel (Mid).

Your name doesn't have to be Patel to be a successful T20 slow bowler, but it seems to help! Now for the England-India ODIs and the Championship finale...

Team of the Week: Browne Breaks Records

After missing the previous week while in Tenerife (not much interest in cricket in an international hotel during the football World Cup!), it was back to the usual mixture of the quick and quirky at home and abroad. While Yorkshire's L-men Lyth and Leez produced another big opening stand, they can't compete with young Nick Browne. He became the first Essex batsman to strike two unbeaten centuries in the same match, and they happened to be the first senior three-figure scores of his career! Meanwhile, the rather more experienced Hashim Amla was taking two consecutive hundreds off the Sri Lankans in SA's ODI series, no mean feat.

No room for Nick Compton in the England set-up but he twice passed 80 for Somerset in the Championship draw with Middlesex, followed by a brisk 46 in today's T20 win over local rivals Gloucestershire. Leicestershire skipper Josh Cobb was also in the runs in both competitions; a 137 versus Kent and 60 in the T20 against Lancashire. Luke Wright's 158 for Sussex was the highest score of the week, albeit against Northamptonshire, so he edges out other middle-order centurions Will Gidman and Dawid Malan. Paul Stirling's week consisted of three half-centuries for Middlesex, which should help him nail down a solid place in the side.

My wicketkeeper is not David Bairstow, despite his rapid T20 hundred today. His Championship duck cancelled it out! Jos Buttler also made some swift T20 runs for Lancashire but my gloves go to Surrey skipper Gary Wilson who scored an unbeaten 97 as well as captaining the county to another big Championship win which puts them right in the promotion mix.

I was tempted to add Andrew Flintoff to the team after his five wickets in the biff-bang stuff. However, he barely batted and was somewhat fortunate to get those wickets. Chris Tremlett, on the other hand, combined a five-four and late-order 56 for Surrey, while Mitch Claydon trumped that with 5-77 and 77 for Kent against Leicestershire. Anthony Ireland's 5-22 was the pick of the short-format bowling performances in England but Sunil Narine's stupendous return of 4-1-3-0 for Guyana in the CPL opener takes the biscuit for economy, and for a change also keeps Saeed Ajmal out of the XI.

Finally, in comes Steve Magoffin. Such a consistent wicket-taker in the first-class game for Sussex, he claimed 5-12 and 3-28 in the county's demolition of Northants. Sorry, Freddie, must try considerably harder!

He wasn't as good as: Amla (SA), Browne (Ess), Compton (Som), Cobb (Leic), Wright (Sus), Stirling (Mid), Wilson (Sur, + *), Claydon (Kent), Ireland (Leic), Magoffin (Sus), Narine (Guy)

England squads have a reassuringly similar look

In these days of horses-for-courses selection policies, it's interesting to see the England ODI and T20 squads for the Sri Lanka series looking so similar. Maybe the ECB wanted to save money by negotiating multiple-night stays with a hotel chain, or just maybe if a player is a fine limited overs cricketer it doesn't matter if it's over 50 or 20 overs. I'd like to think the latter.

There are no gimmicks, either. While Andrew Flintoff is rumoured to be close to a T20 comeback for Lancashire (what as? The clubhouse barman?), Peter Moores have gone for tried and tested performers along with Harry Gurney, who made his international debut against mighty Scotland and took 0-20 in his four overs. At least the Notts seamer offers a left-arm option, seemingly a necessity in T20 where anything which disrupts a batsman's rhythm - if only for a couple of balls - can be a match-winner.

The only differences between the ODI XIV and T20 XIII are that Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Gary Ballance are in the former unit at the expense of Alex Hales and Moeen Ali. Hales I can understand as he is a shadow of his former self in any game which spans more than a few hours. Moeen Ali, on the other hand, is surely a better player in the longer format. His career List A strike rate is a shade under a run a ball, but his spin bowling is a handier option in T20.

I guess the selectors went for Ballance (in more ways than one) for the ODIs as this is more the Yorkshire player's bag, although whether he gets to play is another matter. Michael Carberry may struggle to get his pads on, too, unless there are failures in the early games for Joe Root or Eoin Morgan. Ian Bell and Jos Buttler are certainties, as are Cook (well, he is the captain), Ravi Bopara, sole spinner James Tredwell, Anderson and probably Tim Bresnan. As surmised earlier, Gurney will be tested as a left-hander against Jayawardene, Sangakkara et al, while Chris Jordan may get the nod over Chris Woakes, who had better start practising carrying boxes of drink cartons.

It dosn't matter terribly who is selected for the T20 Eleven; there's only one match to play. Nevertheless, whoever wins will have bragging rights as the countries face the five-match ODI rubber and the Tests to follow. I'd expect Moeen Ali to play as a spinning all-rounder, so it's down to one of Woakes, Carberry and Jordan for the final place, with Gurney looking over his shoulder.

Ashes Superteams

With a new Ashes series about to launch, it must also be time to look back and select my England and Australia fantasy teams from the past forty years, based on performances in Tests between the two on these shores.

For the home team, Graham Gooch may have scored the most runs in Ashes series from 1975 onwards but that owes more to longevity (25 matches) than dominance with the bat. Terry Alderman left his mark in the '80s and so my openers are Geoff Boycott and Andrew Strauss. They belong to very different eras, which makes the Yorkshireman's average of 64 in ten matches even more remarkable.

The middle-order comprises David Gower, Kevin Pietersen and Tim Robinson. Gower's 1445 runs at 45 speak for themselves, while KP's impact in recent seasons also earns him a place. Robinson may be a surprise but he averaged just over 50 in the 1985 and 1989 series either opening with Gooch or at number three. He served Nottinghamshire well for two decades but his finest international moments came against the Aussies.

Unusually I've gone for two all-rounders but of course both have their careers defined by their achievements in two Ashes series in particular. Ian Botham went from zero to hero in 1981, especially with the bat but throughout his career it's the 79 wickets at under 27 apiece which stand out. Andrew Flintoff is another whose legendary status owes more to one summer than a decade's service to his country. Strangely, while 2005 saw him bowl superbly alongside Jones, Hoggard et al but across nine Ashes Tests, his batting record of 602 runs at 37.62 eclipses his bowling stats. My wicketkeeper is not Alec Stewart, whose Ashes record is modest, but Alan Knott. Back in the '70s and early '80s, Knotty combined supreme tidiness behind the stumps with an excellent average of 40.82, beefing up the late-order when it mattered.

Opening the bowling with Botham (1981 vintage) has to be Bob Willis, who also starred in that summer as well as others. His average in 11 games is a mighty 21.42, including four 'five-fours'. Simon Jones played only in the 2005 contest but his 18 wickets at 21 are too impressive to ignore, and so there's no room for Gough, Caddick, Dilley, Hoggard or Anderson, although I wouldn't mind betting the latter will come into the reckoning in 2013. My spin option is John Emburey. The Middlesex offie contributed 43 wickets back in the '80s.

I found selecting the Aussie XI much easier, although I had to leave out skippers past and present Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke. Not because they have been rubbish in England, but owing to superior performances from the embarrassment of batting riches Australia have enjoyed in the past thirty years or so.

Mark Taylor (1584 runs in 18 Tests) and 1970s star Rick McCosker open the innings, followed by another ex-captain Allan Border. His 2,082 runs at more than 65 apiece are spread across 25 Tests, bridging the last Aussie fallow period in the early '80s and the world-leading age which emerged a decade later. Dean Jones was in prolific form in 1989 but the Waugh twins were even sharper thorns in English sides for many years. Mark averaged almost 50 but Steve's record is second to none: seven centuries, an average approaching 75 and a deserved reputation for brilliant leadership. He is my captain just ahead of Border, and he and his brother can share 'filler' roles with the ball, too.

Ian Healy beats Adam Gilchrist and Rod Marsh to the gloves but thye four frontline bowlers are automatic choices. Shane Warne claimed an amazing 129 Ashes wickets in England alone and it is easy to forget how good he was for the losing side in 2005. His partner in crime Glenn McGrath stands second in terms of wickets (87 in 14 Tests) and also for his average. Anything under 20 at this level is incredible but Mac's 19.34 is narrowly outshone by Terry Alderman's 19.33. In 1981 and 1989, the Perth swing and seam merchant weaved magic on English pitches, taking at least 40 wickets in both series, still a record. The line-up would not be complete without Dennis Lillee. He may not have been as fast as in the 1972 series (outside the scope of this exercise) but in 1981 he was still a master of his craft and was unlucky to finish on the losing side, as Warney did in 2005.

If I had to pick a combined Ashes superteam, I reckon only Boycott, Knott and Botham would represent England but let's hope Boycs and Beefy wouldn't have to bat together....

England: Boycott, Strauss (*), Robinson, Gower, Pietersen, Botham, Flintoff, Knott (+), Emburey, Jones, Willis.
Australia: Taylor, McCosker, Border, M Waugh, Jones, S Waugh(*), Healy(+), Warne, Alderman, Lillee, McGrath

And after the forthcoming clash, might these sides need adjusting? Time will tell, but more likely to be Cook, Prior, Root or Anderson than Hughes, Watson, Starc or Lyon, methinks!

England v South Africa - England's Fantasy XI

The 2012 Test line-up probably picks itself, give or take the last seamer decision. However it's interesting to look back over the past twenty years since South Africa returned to international cricket and pick the England players who have excelled at home against the Proteas. How many are still around this week? I haven't necessarily gone for the highest scorers or meanest bowlers, although stats inevitably tell part of the story. There have been 17 Tests between the two nations: six victories apiece and five draws, so who have been the central protagonists?

For openers, I have selected two left-handers but neither is Alastair Cook. Back in 2003, Marcus Trescothick was in mixed form. In the early games, he struggled a bit and England were 2-1 down going into the Oval finale. There'd been a few double-hundreds from the opposition already but this time he turned the tables with a 219 and final day 69 not out to clinch the series-saving victory. His partner is someone I was never a real fan of: Mark Butcher. In eight games across 1998 and 2003, he scored 744 runs at 53 apiece, including two centuries. In the latter series, he batted at three but his exploits in 1998, especially when he held the first innings together in the Fifth Test on the way to a narrow triumph earns him the place.

Kevin Pietersen - if he decides the fantasy match fits in with his hectic schedule! - is my number three. He was prolific four years ago, scoring 152 in the first game and 100 in the last. Ian Bell was shunted around the order a bit that summer but he shared a partnership of 286 with KP in that Lord's Test and was unlucky to be caught and bowled for 199. Alec Stewart competed in 13 of the 17 clashes, aggregating 873 runs, more than any other Englishman. He was another man who moved easily up and down the order from opener to number six, taking the gloves and, in 1998, he additional responsibility as captain. His best against the Saffers was the 164 which saved his side from near certain innings defeat at Old Trafford in '98. Paul Collingwood completes my top six. He only played three matches last time out, but his 232 runs included an excellent battling century in the Edgbaston defeat.

Dominic Cork has claims to be the all-rounder but I've gone for Andrew Flintoff, even if his bowling proved very expensive: 20 wickets at more than 50 apiece! However, he notched more than 500 runs in 10 Tests spread over three series. The highlight was his 142 at almost a run a ball at Lord's nine summers ago. South Africa has secured a mammoth first innings lead so it was all about trying to prevent an innings defeat. He hadn't scored when England were reduced to 208-6, still 300 runs short. Freddie decided to go down fighting and took the attack to Pollock and Ntini. No fairytale, Bothamesque ending, but a great performance nonetheless.

The South African batsmen have often helped themselves to some big scores, and so most English bowlers' averages look rather poor. James Anderson has taken 30 wickets at almost 37 and Darren Gough 29 at 35, but both have been the best fast bowlers over a period, even if in the aforementioned thumping in 2003, they went for 217 runs between them. However, instead of Anderson I shall pick a man who played just one match against this opposition. Devon Malcolm was brought in for the final Test in 1994 and, in the second innings took a barely credible 9-57, missing out only on Cullinan's wicket. Game won, series saved.

Monty Panesar has proved to be the best spinner in contests where seam tends to have dominated on both sides. He took a steady 13 wickets in four matches last time out. Strange to think that Graeme Swann had yet to be introduced to Test cricket at that time. However the most successful bowler against South Africa is the often unsung hero, Angus Fraser. Not the quickest but he was a great stock bowler, a bit like Bresnan. Not only did Gus take 31 wickets in only 7 matches in the '90s but his average was an excellent 23.77. At Trent Bridge in 1998 he nabbed a 'five-for' in each innings, then made it three in a row in the Headingley victory a few weeks later.

So my Eleven reads: Trescothick, Butcher, Pietersen, Bell, Stewart(*+), Collingwood, Flintoff, Gough, Fraser, Panesar, Malcolm.

OK, so three rabbits at the end, but you can't have everything! I'll examine the South African stars next.

Flintoff v Atherton: A tale of two heroes

According to the London Standard newspaper, Andrew Flintoff has been slagging off another former England captain Mike Atherton. What's more, there were plenty of four-letter words punctuating the tirade made at a Sky Tv party, and just because he'd clearly 'had a few' doesn't excuse such boorish behaviour.

One of Fred's moans about Athers was that he had no right to criticise Alastair Cook because the current ODI skipper has a better record than him. What he chose to forget is that whilst Flintoff is more often to be found in front of cameras in the jungle for some obscure TV channel, Atherton continues to earn a living in cricket, as writer or broadcaster. Consequently he is in a far better position to talk about player strengths and weaknesses than someone who couldn't even lead his way on to a pedalo.

Maybe it's a bit of a class throwback. Both were born in what was Lancashire, Athers in Falsworth and Flintoff in Preston. Mike went to the prestigious Manchester Grammar School, Fred's education was Ribbleton Hall High. Atherton proceeded to Cambridge University where he famously had FEC scribbled on his door (or something), denoting his reputation as a Future England Captain, a prophecy which became true surprisingly quickly. Meanwhile, Flintoff headed straight for a professional career with Lancashire at the time when his fellow Lancastrian was already a red rose hero and established captain of his country.

Sounds like the makings of a classic clash of backgrounds and personalities. He was a posh grammar school boy, the other a rumbustuous jack-the-lad who loved his beer. If it were a film, they would have reached a mutual respect and, needing 600 to win the Ashes, come together to score 300 apiece on the final day. Cue tears and stirring soundtrack. The End.

Sadly this isn't a film, and there clearly has never been chemistry there. Atherton's autobiography singled out Flintoff for disrupting the Lancashire dressing room with his ego and seeming preference for an unhealthy diet which almost finished his career before it had begun. His ankles gave out under the strain when he was barely 21 and they needed careful nursing before he finally called it a day a decade later.

It's irrelevant to the issue of Freddie's rant, but who was the better player? Atherton's Test average of 38 was nothing special but he captained a moderate England side a record 54 times in 115 appearances. By the time he played his last match, a thumping defeat against Australia at The Oval, he had passed the captain's armband to Nasser Hussain. He chose to retire at only 33, with a journalistic career beckoning. However, he was no namby-pamby Oxbridge college boy. Glenn McGrath may have been his nemesis, but that was true of lots of great batsmen. He was a gutsy opener and, whilst his first Test innings had lasted only 2 balls (lbw Alderman 0), his high point was a 492-ball 185 not out to save the 2nd Test against South Africa in 1995, when Allan Donald threw everything at him to no avail, earning a mountain of respect from the great fast bowler.

Flintoff achieved legendary status largely through his heroics in the 2005 Ashes series and drunken celebrations afterwards. There is no doubt that his all-round performances contributed hugely to that series triumph, and the photo of his genuine commiserations to Brett Lee after that narrow win showed the kinder face of 'Sir Fred' as sportsman. On the other hand, Flintoff can hardly boast of Test averages of 32 with bat and 33 with ball. Hardly the stuff of Kallis, Imran Khan or even Ian Botham. Nevertheless, he helped repopularise cricket in an era of wall-to-wall Premiership football, and was an excellent one-day player who produced some match-winning innings and wickets.

I can't judge who was the better player. After all, Fred, I didn't even play for my school, let alone England. They were two very different cricketers who each achieved great things. It's a shame that Flintoff can't accept that and move on.