So Alastair Cook has fallen on his sword. Well, let’s hope the blade is blunt because his successor as England skipper will be sorely grateful for the opener’s runs and experience on and off the field.
After nearly five years and 59 Tests as captain of the national side, it remains hard to register that Cook is only 32. On quitting the England post, Andrew Strauss went the whole hog and retired from the sport but there are plenty of years left in Alastair’s cricketing locker. Good for Essex, great for England. Provided he stays injury-free and any dips in form don’t last, he could serve England for another five years at least. Maybe ten; just look at Misbah-ul-Haq! And then there is the issue of personal targets. Cook is already easily the highest Test run scorer in England’s history with more than 11,000 and 30 centuries.
His average of 46.45, though creditable, is the weakest of any of the other 11 men with at last 10,000 runs to their names. However, apart from Sunil Gavaskar, Cook is the only regular opening batsman on that short list of all-time greats, making his achievements even more impressive. His stats as captain ain’t bad either. The pressures of leadership haven’t had a notably negative effect on his scoring, although his removal from ODI duties may have helped.
Inevitably, scrutiny will be applied to his legacy as captain. He enjoyed a fabulous first few years including the memorable 2012-13 triumph in India and Ashes retention later that summer. The revenge at home to Australia in 2015 and subsequent success in South Africa last year were further highlights, but the demolition by Johnson, Harris and Warner Down Under and the recent woeful tour of Asia blotted his copybook. Nevertheless the best captain in the universe can't win matches on his own, and England's current transitional squad without a top-class spinner have brought Cook's win percentage down to a modest 40%.
However, I won’t criticise him for his resilience in the face of Pietersen-gate and KP’s powerful but misguided supporters three years ago. The ECB was right to drop and banish Pietersen to the modern day equivalent of Saint Helena, i.e. the Big Bash and IPL. However, I’m sure he earned more than Napoleon did in exile two centuries ago!
Now for the succession. How England must regret James Taylor’s early retirement, forced by ill health. He would have been the perfect candidate; an excellent all-round batsman with experience of leading the Lions and his county. Joe Root must surely be handed the reins. At 26, he is old enough and mature enough, one of the few automatic choices for the Test XI and genuine world-class. Yet that doesn’t make him a good captain.
Most national sides resort to making their best player – no, best batsman - captain at some point, from Lara to Ponting, Tendulkar to Mathews. Yet, for all the stardust emanating from such players, the tactical nous and dressing room leadership can sometimes be missing. For England, Botham, Flintoff and that man Pietersen spring to mind.
Stokes and Buttler are non-starters (on account of temperament and Test ability, respectively) while Keaton Jennings is too much of a newcomer, and he has yet to take charge at Durham, for us to have evidence on which to judge him. Stuart Broad has been touted on account of his short-lived captaincy of the T20 team but leading in a Test match requires more than being able to add up to 20 and bringing in sufficient fielders during a Powerplay.
There are few obvious contenders from within the county game. James Vince and Sam Northeast have yet to convince as batsmen when it comes to the step-up to international level while picking Surrey’s captain Gareth Batty would be frankly ridiculous, although as a Somerset fan I am naturally biased! Some may prefer a more positive, combative leader in the McCullum mould, such as Stokes, Bairstow or Anderson? Really?!
No it has to be Root. I’m sure the selectors will trust his ability to learn on the job, applying the unflappability and decision-making skills obvious in his batting to the captaincy. All England supporters must hope the extra responsibility doesn’t hamper his day job. This is where Alastair Cook can continue to lend a massive hand. He may have resigned as skipper but his value to the England Test team will remain immense for some time to come.
Showing posts with label Andrew Strauss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andrew Strauss. Show all posts
Tuesday, 7 February 2017
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Pietersen 355 not out - but Out!
No doubt about the English performance of the week… Andrew Strauss explaining the breakdown of trust with a certain Kevin Pietersen. On the pitch, KP’s perfect timing was again evident as he conjured up an amazing 355 not out for Surrey, including fifteen sixes. If he wanted to be considered for England Test selection, he was told to score runs. After two so-so matches, he plundered the Leicestershire bowlers, surviving six dropped catches en route for the Championship’s highest score since Brian Lara’s world record 21 years ago.
However, the incoming director of cricket, and KP’s former England captain, was in no mood to forgive the man who did his best to disrupt the national team then slag off all and sundry in his bitter book. The huge innings was in vain and Pietersen’s reaction was typical of the petty childish egotism we have come to expect: he abandoned Surrey before the match was over and buggered off to the IPL. And good riddance. I do see the point of Vaughan and others who would happily ignore every other player and pick KP regardless. He is indeed a ‘character’ and exciting batsman, and maybe there could be space for him in the T20 squad to generate fan excitement. But to forgive such behaviour would be too much. It’s just the way it ended that will add grist to the mill of the KP nuts.
At least his innings set up his county’s first Championship victory of the summer. However, his now ex-teammates had plenty to do on the last day. Ned Eckersley’s hundred and spirited resistance from the Leicester XI meant that Surrey needed a T20-style slogathon to take maximum points. With Jason Roy and Steven Davies opening, that’s exactly what they got, Their 145 partnership in 67 balls took them towards a surprise seven-wicket success, an heartbreak for poor Leicester.
Meanwhile, in Division One, Middlesex held on to the lead by defeating early front-runners Sussex by 79 runs. In a low-scoring contest, Mike Yardy scored the only half-century, and even that was eclipsed by the 62 extras conceded by the Sussex bowlers on day one!
Durham also won inside three days, overcoming Nottinghamshire by six wickets and advancing to second place in the table. Recent ODI debutant Mark Wood claimed seven victims and struck 66, but the losers’ Riki Wessels provided the game’s only century. Yorkshire could at last field their England fringe squad members for the visit of Hampshire to Headingley. Bairstow and Adil Rashid performed well and, with Pujara purring to a second innings 131 not out, Root and Ballance weren’t missed. Hampshire capitulated second time around but at least the match went into a fourth day.
In Division Two, Lancashire remain in pole position despite losing to unfancied Gloucestershire by 91 runs. Paul Horton’s first-innings 168 had kept the match evenly poised but bowlers Norwell, Payne and Miles held sway when it mattered.
The other two fixtures were drawn but provided some fabulously exciting finishes in which the sides batting last held on with just one wicket remaining. Aged 18, Matt Critchley made the headlines early on by striking his maiden first-class century in only his second game. However, Rob Keogh admirably guided Northants through an absorbing final day, He finished unbeaten on 163, not only saving the match but taking his side within only 37 runs of victory.
It was similarly tense at Canterbury where Glamorgan’s final pairing of David Lloyd and Michael Hogan held on for eight overs to deprive Kent of a first win of the season. This was the Welsh side’s fourth consecutive draw and the result leaves Kent stuck at the bottom.
Team of the Week (assuming the other ten are prepared to play with KP):
Horton (Lan), Davies (Sur), Eckersley (Lei), Pietersen (Sur), Keogh (Nth), Wood (Dur), Bairstow (Yor +), Critchley (Dur), Siddle (Lan), Brooks (Yor), Hogan (Gla)
However, the incoming director of cricket, and KP’s former England captain, was in no mood to forgive the man who did his best to disrupt the national team then slag off all and sundry in his bitter book. The huge innings was in vain and Pietersen’s reaction was typical of the petty childish egotism we have come to expect: he abandoned Surrey before the match was over and buggered off to the IPL. And good riddance. I do see the point of Vaughan and others who would happily ignore every other player and pick KP regardless. He is indeed a ‘character’ and exciting batsman, and maybe there could be space for him in the T20 squad to generate fan excitement. But to forgive such behaviour would be too much. It’s just the way it ended that will add grist to the mill of the KP nuts.
At least his innings set up his county’s first Championship victory of the summer. However, his now ex-teammates had plenty to do on the last day. Ned Eckersley’s hundred and spirited resistance from the Leicester XI meant that Surrey needed a T20-style slogathon to take maximum points. With Jason Roy and Steven Davies opening, that’s exactly what they got, Their 145 partnership in 67 balls took them towards a surprise seven-wicket success, an heartbreak for poor Leicester.
Meanwhile, in Division One, Middlesex held on to the lead by defeating early front-runners Sussex by 79 runs. In a low-scoring contest, Mike Yardy scored the only half-century, and even that was eclipsed by the 62 extras conceded by the Sussex bowlers on day one!
Durham also won inside three days, overcoming Nottinghamshire by six wickets and advancing to second place in the table. Recent ODI debutant Mark Wood claimed seven victims and struck 66, but the losers’ Riki Wessels provided the game’s only century. Yorkshire could at last field their England fringe squad members for the visit of Hampshire to Headingley. Bairstow and Adil Rashid performed well and, with Pujara purring to a second innings 131 not out, Root and Ballance weren’t missed. Hampshire capitulated second time around but at least the match went into a fourth day.
In Division Two, Lancashire remain in pole position despite losing to unfancied Gloucestershire by 91 runs. Paul Horton’s first-innings 168 had kept the match evenly poised but bowlers Norwell, Payne and Miles held sway when it mattered.
The other two fixtures were drawn but provided some fabulously exciting finishes in which the sides batting last held on with just one wicket remaining. Aged 18, Matt Critchley made the headlines early on by striking his maiden first-class century in only his second game. However, Rob Keogh admirably guided Northants through an absorbing final day, He finished unbeaten on 163, not only saving the match but taking his side within only 37 runs of victory.
It was similarly tense at Canterbury where Glamorgan’s final pairing of David Lloyd and Michael Hogan held on for eight overs to deprive Kent of a first win of the season. This was the Welsh side’s fourth consecutive draw and the result leaves Kent stuck at the bottom.
Team of the Week (assuming the other ten are prepared to play with KP):
Horton (Lan), Davies (Sur), Eckersley (Lei), Pietersen (Sur), Keogh (Nth), Wood (Dur), Bairstow (Yor +), Critchley (Dur), Siddle (Lan), Brooks (Yor), Hogan (Gla)
Sunday, 4 November 2012
England in India - England's Best XI
Last time I selected the best India Eleven in Test matches against India over the past forty years. Now it's England's turn, and there have been plenty of headaches because of all the candidates in almost every position.
Generally speaking, Graham Gooch has been England's most consistent opening batsman in this period, although Alastair Cook threatens to replace the moustachioed master. However, India was never his favourite hunting ground. Instead, there are three men who each played only five Tests in India and who each averaged more than 50. Two of them will be my openers with the other at number three. First up is former captain Andrew Strauss, who enjoyed two successful short series dating back six years. At Chennai in 2008 he even managed two hundred in the same match, only to finish on the losing side. His partner is Tim Robinson, the doughty Notts opener who earned 29 England caps before the West Indian quicks blew him away. In only his second Test, at Delhi in 1984, he compiled a match-winning 160.
Lancashire and Durham's Graeme Fowler was a dashing left-hander whose highest score was the 201 made in the victory at Madras (as was) in 1984. In the next game, he scored a patient 69 - and never played another Test! Nevertheless he is in my team, alongside the man who also scored a double-century in that Madras draw, Mike Gatting. Arguably England's least successful captain of all time, Gatts has scored more runs (862) in India than anybody in the past four decades, spread over 13 Tests. At number five is Paul Collingwood. He made hundreds in each of the 2006 and 2008 series, although neither was in the winning cause.
Two all-rounders make it into this fantasy team but each enjoyed considerable success in India with both bat and ball. Ian Botham's career zenith is often cited to be the Ashes 1981, but in the following winter, his batting was even better. He made 440 runs in eight innings, culminating in 142 at Kanpur. His other hundred came in the Golden Jubilee Test two years earlier. The most successful England touring captain was Tony Greig. Not only did he lead his side to a memorable series win in 1976-77 but he also contributed 724 runs and 21 fairly cheap wickets over ten Tests in the 1970s.
Few wicket-keepers made their mark in India but Alan Knott did at least provide some consistently useful late-order runs in the Greig era. That leaves three specialist bowling spaces. Derek Underwood took 54 wickets at 26.51, making him easily our best spinner in an era when India boasted several world-class slowies. Competition for the other seamer spots is particularly fierce. Jimmy Anderson has done quite well in recent times, and two Yorkshire stalwarts, Chris Old and Matthew Hoggard, each captured more than 20 Indian victims at under 24 apiece. Nevertheless, two ohers fared even better. Left-arm swing merchant John Lever took 10-70 on his debut at Delhi in 1976, as England won by an innings. He averaged under 14 in that triumphant series and finished with 32 wickets at under 20 in India. Sadly for him, his pace and swing were less successful elsewhere. He was brought back after a five-year international hiatus in 1986, versus India again, but this defeat was his final appearance in England colours. Bob Willis also enjoyed considerable success there, taking 32 at 22.37, taking most of the wickets left by Lever on that 1976-77 tour.
To summarise: Strauss, Robinson, Fowler, Gatting, Collingwood, Botham, Greig (*), Knott, Underwood, Willis, Lever.
But will this list change in a few months' time? Cook, Trott, Prior, Finn, Anderson et al could all be in with a chance. It should be a great series.
Generally speaking, Graham Gooch has been England's most consistent opening batsman in this period, although Alastair Cook threatens to replace the moustachioed master. However, India was never his favourite hunting ground. Instead, there are three men who each played only five Tests in India and who each averaged more than 50. Two of them will be my openers with the other at number three. First up is former captain Andrew Strauss, who enjoyed two successful short series dating back six years. At Chennai in 2008 he even managed two hundred in the same match, only to finish on the losing side. His partner is Tim Robinson, the doughty Notts opener who earned 29 England caps before the West Indian quicks blew him away. In only his second Test, at Delhi in 1984, he compiled a match-winning 160.
Lancashire and Durham's Graeme Fowler was a dashing left-hander whose highest score was the 201 made in the victory at Madras (as was) in 1984. In the next game, he scored a patient 69 - and never played another Test! Nevertheless he is in my team, alongside the man who also scored a double-century in that Madras draw, Mike Gatting. Arguably England's least successful captain of all time, Gatts has scored more runs (862) in India than anybody in the past four decades, spread over 13 Tests. At number five is Paul Collingwood. He made hundreds in each of the 2006 and 2008 series, although neither was in the winning cause.
Two all-rounders make it into this fantasy team but each enjoyed considerable success in India with both bat and ball. Ian Botham's career zenith is often cited to be the Ashes 1981, but in the following winter, his batting was even better. He made 440 runs in eight innings, culminating in 142 at Kanpur. His other hundred came in the Golden Jubilee Test two years earlier. The most successful England touring captain was Tony Greig. Not only did he lead his side to a memorable series win in 1976-77 but he also contributed 724 runs and 21 fairly cheap wickets over ten Tests in the 1970s.
Few wicket-keepers made their mark in India but Alan Knott did at least provide some consistently useful late-order runs in the Greig era. That leaves three specialist bowling spaces. Derek Underwood took 54 wickets at 26.51, making him easily our best spinner in an era when India boasted several world-class slowies. Competition for the other seamer spots is particularly fierce. Jimmy Anderson has done quite well in recent times, and two Yorkshire stalwarts, Chris Old and Matthew Hoggard, each captured more than 20 Indian victims at under 24 apiece. Nevertheless, two ohers fared even better. Left-arm swing merchant John Lever took 10-70 on his debut at Delhi in 1976, as England won by an innings. He averaged under 14 in that triumphant series and finished with 32 wickets at under 20 in India. Sadly for him, his pace and swing were less successful elsewhere. He was brought back after a five-year international hiatus in 1986, versus India again, but this defeat was his final appearance in England colours. Bob Willis also enjoyed considerable success there, taking 32 at 22.37, taking most of the wickets left by Lever on that 1976-77 tour.
To summarise: Strauss, Robinson, Fowler, Gatting, Collingwood, Botham, Greig (*), Knott, Underwood, Willis, Lever.
But will this list change in a few months' time? Cook, Trott, Prior, Finn, Anderson et al could all be in with a chance. It should be a great series.
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
England in India Part 2
I blogged previously about England's mixed fortunes in India between 1972 and 1985, the last time they won an away Test series between the two nations. Because of a row over Graham Gooch's participation in a shameful rebel tour of South Africa, the 1989 tour was cancelled so when Gooch (now forgiven) led England to Asia in 1993, there had been an eight-year gap.
In 1990, the skipper had helped himself to 456 runs in the Lord's Test alone, and in the three reverse fixtures the England batting line-up boasted the likes of Stewart, Robin Smith, Hick and one of the 1985 stars, Mike Gatting. However, it was hardly a vintage bowling attack, led by Devon Malcolm, Chris Lewis and Paul Jarvis. Their opponents fielded captain Mohammad Azharuddin, ageing legend Kapil Dev, the supremely talented youngsters Tendulkar and Kambli and one of the new breed of leg-spinners, Anil Kumble. As things turned out, it was no contest; England were totally outplayed in every department, on and off the pitch. There were two, and almost three, innings defeats with Kumble taking almost as many wickets as the entire English seam attack between them. Hick and Lewis were the only centurions during the series while the Indians helped themselves to hundreds apiece, topped by Kambli's 224 at Mumbai. Gooch's series aggregate fell well short of that Lord's
England had another eight years to regroup, although England nicked the 1996 home series by 1-0. By December 2001, Nasser Hussain and Saurav Ganguly were the rival leaders and at Mohali there were shades of 1993 as India triumphed by ten wickets. Kumble and Harbhajan Singh took fifteen and Dasgupta outscored the now legendary quartet of Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman with 100. By the time they moved on to Ahmedabad, Graeme Thorpe had gone home for personal reasons but Craig White (121) and Marcus Trescothick (99) gave England a first innings lead, but a draw ensued. Rain washed out half the Bangalore game, handing India the series.
In March 2006, England were ultra-confident after that Ashes summer. However, Michael Vaughan, Simon Jones, Marcus Trescothick and Ashley Giles were missing but, despite these key absences, Andrew Flintoff's team had the better of the First Test before India batted out a draw. A certain Alistair Cook made an impressive debut, scoring 60 and 104 not out. The following week at Mohali, Munaf Patel and Kumble spun India to a nine-wicket triumph but at Mumbai there was a famous England success. An Andrew Strauss century set the scene but an inspired Flintoff and Shaun Udal dismissed India on the final day to square the series.
At the end of 2008, the ODI series was curtailed by the horrific terror attacks on Mumbai, and England went home. However, they returned with honour to play two Tests.
Pietersen had controversially been named captain of the tourists but it was his successor Strauss who struck two centuries at Chennai. However, strokeplay from Sehwag, Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh pulled it out of the bag on day five to win by six wickets. Mohali enjoyed a triple-century stand between Sehwag and Dravid but a KP 144 kept his side in the contest, but not enough to win the game. India were on their way to the number one spot, only to throw it away in England in 2011.
The two nations are now also-rans in the ICC league table but India fancy revenge after that debacle just over a year ago. Much has been said about England's vulnerability to spin and their relative paucity of quality spinners themselves. However, Derek Underwood apart, much of their success in India has been down to seamers from Old and Willis to Hoggard and Anderson. The latter, plus Finn, Broad and Bresnan could well emulate their mid-70s predecessors. We shall see....
In 1990, the skipper had helped himself to 456 runs in the Lord's Test alone, and in the three reverse fixtures the England batting line-up boasted the likes of Stewart, Robin Smith, Hick and one of the 1985 stars, Mike Gatting. However, it was hardly a vintage bowling attack, led by Devon Malcolm, Chris Lewis and Paul Jarvis. Their opponents fielded captain Mohammad Azharuddin, ageing legend Kapil Dev, the supremely talented youngsters Tendulkar and Kambli and one of the new breed of leg-spinners, Anil Kumble. As things turned out, it was no contest; England were totally outplayed in every department, on and off the pitch. There were two, and almost three, innings defeats with Kumble taking almost as many wickets as the entire English seam attack between them. Hick and Lewis were the only centurions during the series while the Indians helped themselves to hundreds apiece, topped by Kambli's 224 at Mumbai. Gooch's series aggregate fell well short of that Lord's
England had another eight years to regroup, although England nicked the 1996 home series by 1-0. By December 2001, Nasser Hussain and Saurav Ganguly were the rival leaders and at Mohali there were shades of 1993 as India triumphed by ten wickets. Kumble and Harbhajan Singh took fifteen and Dasgupta outscored the now legendary quartet of Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman with 100. By the time they moved on to Ahmedabad, Graeme Thorpe had gone home for personal reasons but Craig White (121) and Marcus Trescothick (99) gave England a first innings lead, but a draw ensued. Rain washed out half the Bangalore game, handing India the series.
In March 2006, England were ultra-confident after that Ashes summer. However, Michael Vaughan, Simon Jones, Marcus Trescothick and Ashley Giles were missing but, despite these key absences, Andrew Flintoff's team had the better of the First Test before India batted out a draw. A certain Alistair Cook made an impressive debut, scoring 60 and 104 not out. The following week at Mohali, Munaf Patel and Kumble spun India to a nine-wicket triumph but at Mumbai there was a famous England success. An Andrew Strauss century set the scene but an inspired Flintoff and Shaun Udal dismissed India on the final day to square the series.
At the end of 2008, the ODI series was curtailed by the horrific terror attacks on Mumbai, and England went home. However, they returned with honour to play two Tests.
Pietersen had controversially been named captain of the tourists but it was his successor Strauss who struck two centuries at Chennai. However, strokeplay from Sehwag, Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh pulled it out of the bag on day five to win by six wickets. Mohali enjoyed a triple-century stand between Sehwag and Dravid but a KP 144 kept his side in the contest, but not enough to win the game. India were on their way to the number one spot, only to throw it away in England in 2011.
The two nations are now also-rans in the ICC league table but India fancy revenge after that debacle just over a year ago. Much has been said about England's vulnerability to spin and their relative paucity of quality spinners themselves. However, Derek Underwood apart, much of their success in India has been down to seamers from Old and Willis to Hoggard and Anderson. The latter, plus Finn, Broad and Bresnan could well emulate their mid-70s predecessors. We shall see....
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Andrew Strauss quits cricket!
When the ECB announced a press conference, it looked as if Andrew Strauss would probably be resigning as England captain, to hand on the reins to Alastair Cook. So far, so predictable. What I DIDN'T foresee was that Strauss would be retiring from ALL forms of cricket!
Maybe like politicians who have tasted life at the very top, Andrew Strauss felt he wouldn't be happy returning to life on the cricketing 'backbenches', opening for Middlesex in the domestic game for maybe a few more years and living off fond memories of the time he led England to the world summit in Test cricket, via back-to-back Ashes triumphs and a 4-0 drubbing of the former top dogs, India.
Modern cricket is undoubtedly a different world these days. Tests, ODIs and T20s are played all year round, with little respite for the best players. Strauss was already winding down by withdrawing from the national side in one-day competitions so perhaps this final drawing down the curtain on a 15-year career was not such a difficult decision.
I hope it wasn't the result of England's slipping from the very top of the ICC rankings in the past few weeks, nor from the Pietersen affair, which prompted the decision. He has fully justified the faith of Andy Flower and the ECB in being a successful choice of captain. His leadership on the pitch wasn't always as notable as in the dressing room or in front of the TV cameras but he leaves with dignity from a job well done for England: 100 Tests over ten years, half of them as captain since 2009 (after KP again screwed up the dressing room), more than 11,000 runs and 21 Test centuries, just behind the national record.
He didn't have a spectacular career for Middlesex before he got the nod to stand in for Michael Vaughan against New Zealand in May 2004. However, on his home ground of Lord's, the gods were clearly looking kindly on him because he scored a debut century, 112, followed for good measure with a second innings 83, winning the Man of the Match award. His first ODI outing, against Sri Lanka six months earlier, had been somewhat less memorable, contributing just three runs in a thumping defeat.
I recall being at Lord's two months after that NZ debut, this time in action against Lara's West Indies. He made three figures again, sharing a 291-run partnership with Robert Key, who top-scored with 221. Boundaries flowed like the mountain stream that day, twenty from the Middlesex man and it is interesting that Strauss has gone to bigger and better things whereas the Kent batsman has not.
There will be many cricketing obituaries written about Strauss and, while I'm never a fan of people being promoted because of their Middlesex connections or the size of their jaw - once seemingly a pre-requisite of the job of England captain in all sports! - I advocated his promotion after the KP/Moores fall-out, and reckon he was one of the most successful skippers in England history. I never expected England to do so well, mind you, and that may have more to do with Andy Flower and the availability of an excellent squad, especially bowlers, as in the Vaughan/Fletcher era. OK, so 2012 had more downs than ups but the standards set were very high.
Good luck to Cook and I hope the extra responsibilities don't affect his batting. I suspect they won't. Whatever England do in the coming years, Andrew Strauss can look on with pride and knowing he helped shape one of the best teams we have ever had.
Maybe like politicians who have tasted life at the very top, Andrew Strauss felt he wouldn't be happy returning to life on the cricketing 'backbenches', opening for Middlesex in the domestic game for maybe a few more years and living off fond memories of the time he led England to the world summit in Test cricket, via back-to-back Ashes triumphs and a 4-0 drubbing of the former top dogs, India.
Modern cricket is undoubtedly a different world these days. Tests, ODIs and T20s are played all year round, with little respite for the best players. Strauss was already winding down by withdrawing from the national side in one-day competitions so perhaps this final drawing down the curtain on a 15-year career was not such a difficult decision.
I hope it wasn't the result of England's slipping from the very top of the ICC rankings in the past few weeks, nor from the Pietersen affair, which prompted the decision. He has fully justified the faith of Andy Flower and the ECB in being a successful choice of captain. His leadership on the pitch wasn't always as notable as in the dressing room or in front of the TV cameras but he leaves with dignity from a job well done for England: 100 Tests over ten years, half of them as captain since 2009 (after KP again screwed up the dressing room), more than 11,000 runs and 21 Test centuries, just behind the national record.
He didn't have a spectacular career for Middlesex before he got the nod to stand in for Michael Vaughan against New Zealand in May 2004. However, on his home ground of Lord's, the gods were clearly looking kindly on him because he scored a debut century, 112, followed for good measure with a second innings 83, winning the Man of the Match award. His first ODI outing, against Sri Lanka six months earlier, had been somewhat less memorable, contributing just three runs in a thumping defeat.
I recall being at Lord's two months after that NZ debut, this time in action against Lara's West Indies. He made three figures again, sharing a 291-run partnership with Robert Key, who top-scored with 221. Boundaries flowed like the mountain stream that day, twenty from the Middlesex man and it is interesting that Strauss has gone to bigger and better things whereas the Kent batsman has not.
There will be many cricketing obituaries written about Strauss and, while I'm never a fan of people being promoted because of their Middlesex connections or the size of their jaw - once seemingly a pre-requisite of the job of England captain in all sports! - I advocated his promotion after the KP/Moores fall-out, and reckon he was one of the most successful skippers in England history. I never expected England to do so well, mind you, and that may have more to do with Andy Flower and the availability of an excellent squad, especially bowlers, as in the Vaughan/Fletcher era. OK, so 2012 had more downs than ups but the standards set were very high.
Good luck to Cook and I hope the extra responsibilities don't affect his batting. I suspect they won't. Whatever England do in the coming years, Andrew Strauss can look on with pride and knowing he helped shape one of the best teams we have ever had.
Monday, 20 August 2012
South Africa worthy winners
For most of the twenty years since they returned to the international cricketing fold, South Africa have been there or thereabouts but finally they have managed to get their hands on a trophy. From Donald and Pollock to Steyn and Philander, Kirsten to Smith, Cullinan to Amla, Rhodes to De Villiers and Kallis to, er, Kallis, the Proteas have been runners-up for so long they ought to base themselves at Taunton. At last they have reached the top of the pile which their consistency has merited.
Of course, it's not about history; it's about the current squad of players being better than anybody else's in the Test arena. I think they are superior to any other nation in the other formats, too, and maybe this decisive defeat of England will spur them on to success in the knockout competitions. Just like the Aussies of the nineties/early 2000s and Windies in the mid-eighties, they ooze talent in every position.
Graeme Smith's captaincy has never been in doubt since he took over at a tender age, and he thrives as an opener, especially in England. Hashim Amla blew everyone away with his triple hundred in the First Test, Jacques Kallis buried the England hoodoo and even Alviro Petersen, the possible weakest link, clumped 182 in the rain-affected draw at Headingley. AB De Villiers wasn't fazed at donning Mark Boucher's gloves (so to speak) at such short notice and, even if he didn't register a half-century, he didn't really need to. Indeed, he didn't get a chance to bat at all at The Oval. Neither did Rudolph and Duminy.
While England huffed and puffed to snare even two wickets in the First Test, the front line Saffer seamers Steyn, Morkel and Philander were consistently successful, supported by Kallis and Imran Tahir. Anderson, Finn and Broad had their moments but whenever Dale, Morne or Vernon took the shiny new ball, you know a wicket was always about to fall. Probably that of Andrew Strauss!
I do hope that South Africa get the opportunity to play more Test series. India seem to turn up everywhere to play, England also have an extended season and Australia's itinerary is constantly packed, but the top team for some reason have fewer chances to demonstrate their craft. I'm not saying that is WHY they are now number one, but the world would love to have more chances to watch them, including their home fans.
So what about England? They aren't suddenly a poor side; it's just that Smith and co played to their full potential and handled the Lord's pressure situation better. Chokers? No way! Once Philander dismissed the openers on Sunday evening, the home side's task looked extremely difficult. At 45-4, the match looked over but, with Trott dropping anchor, Bairstow again supplied the brisk half-century, followed by some rumbustuous strokeplay from Swann, Broad and the redoubtable Matt Prior. At least they went down fighting. I'm so glad Pietersen's replacement Bairstow had such a good game. It no doubt gave KP a chance to reflect in the Surrey dressing room after his first-ball duck.
Strauss clearly has no intention to resign just yet, so I hope Miller and Flower keep faith with the current squad, including Taylor, and only consider KP if he shows any remorse and genuine hunger to give his all for the national cause and not just his own. He came to England because he couldn't get into the South African international set-up, then became a superstar over here. Now he is exiled from England, too, he probably still wouldn't get into the Proteas' line-up on merit anyway...
Of course, it's not about history; it's about the current squad of players being better than anybody else's in the Test arena. I think they are superior to any other nation in the other formats, too, and maybe this decisive defeat of England will spur them on to success in the knockout competitions. Just like the Aussies of the nineties/early 2000s and Windies in the mid-eighties, they ooze talent in every position.
Graeme Smith's captaincy has never been in doubt since he took over at a tender age, and he thrives as an opener, especially in England. Hashim Amla blew everyone away with his triple hundred in the First Test, Jacques Kallis buried the England hoodoo and even Alviro Petersen, the possible weakest link, clumped 182 in the rain-affected draw at Headingley. AB De Villiers wasn't fazed at donning Mark Boucher's gloves (so to speak) at such short notice and, even if he didn't register a half-century, he didn't really need to. Indeed, he didn't get a chance to bat at all at The Oval. Neither did Rudolph and Duminy.
While England huffed and puffed to snare even two wickets in the First Test, the front line Saffer seamers Steyn, Morkel and Philander were consistently successful, supported by Kallis and Imran Tahir. Anderson, Finn and Broad had their moments but whenever Dale, Morne or Vernon took the shiny new ball, you know a wicket was always about to fall. Probably that of Andrew Strauss!
I do hope that South Africa get the opportunity to play more Test series. India seem to turn up everywhere to play, England also have an extended season and Australia's itinerary is constantly packed, but the top team for some reason have fewer chances to demonstrate their craft. I'm not saying that is WHY they are now number one, but the world would love to have more chances to watch them, including their home fans.
So what about England? They aren't suddenly a poor side; it's just that Smith and co played to their full potential and handled the Lord's pressure situation better. Chokers? No way! Once Philander dismissed the openers on Sunday evening, the home side's task looked extremely difficult. At 45-4, the match looked over but, with Trott dropping anchor, Bairstow again supplied the brisk half-century, followed by some rumbustuous strokeplay from Swann, Broad and the redoubtable Matt Prior. At least they went down fighting. I'm so glad Pietersen's replacement Bairstow had such a good game. It no doubt gave KP a chance to reflect in the Surrey dressing room after his first-ball duck.
Strauss clearly has no intention to resign just yet, so I hope Miller and Flower keep faith with the current squad, including Taylor, and only consider KP if he shows any remorse and genuine hunger to give his all for the national cause and not just his own. He came to England because he couldn't get into the South African international set-up, then became a superstar over here. Now he is exiled from England, too, he probably still wouldn't get into the Proteas' line-up on merit anyway...
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Clarke takes Warwickshire top
After the month's break for T20 and, here in the West, possibly the coolest, wettest summer period in living memory, the County Championship returned. And - guess what? - every match was ruined by the rain. No teams were able to complete two innings, so it was a matter of securing as many bonus points as possible in the inevitable draws.
Warwickshire were fortunate in that their game against Sussex started a day later than elsewhere and so had the luxury of a dry finale. This enabled them to press on to reach 400 before bowling their opponents out to take the maximum eleven points, taking them one ahead of rivals Nottinghamshire who had claimed two fewer against Middlesex the day before. Rikki Clarke's blistering 110 not out was followed by a 3-16 as Sussex declined to 191 all out. At Uxbridge, rain affected each day, with Saturday a complete washout. Andre Adams had set them on their way with 6-32 as Middlesex were skittled for 98, more than half scored by Andrew Strauss. An Adam Voges century gave the then leaders an impressive lead before Strauss compiled an unbeaten 127 and the weather did the rest to prevent a potential victory. Middlesex did garner six points, enough to overtake Somerset, who didn't play, into third place.
The bottom four played each other. Lancashire and Surrey swapped innings of 400+. Steven Croft's impressive 154 not out was soon forgotten when Kevin Pietersen's rare foray into Championship cricket yielded 234 runs in only 190 balls. Imran Tahir may need to worry most because spinner Simon Kerrigan was really given the KP treatment.
It was a lower-scoring affair at Worcester, with neither the home county nor Durham able to break the 250 barrier. Only Phil Hughes looked comfortable with bat in hand, scoring 87 and Durham's Scott Borthwick took 4-37, including the Aussie's wicket. Both sides therefore remain winless so far in the competition.
In Division Two, even less cricket was possible. Only 100 overs were played at Cheltenham, during which Gloucestershire's very short-term signing Ed Cowan scored 103. He will almost certainly have the best average for the season as it's his only scheduled first-class match! Essex could take only four wickets and remain third from bottom. At the Rose Bowl - or whatever it's now called - the overs tally wasn't much higher: 106. Yorkshire's Joe Root was probably the only man to enjoy the match, striking a career-best 222 not out, and reminding England selectors of his future opening credentials when Strauss calls it a day. The 21 year-old has the fourth highest aggregate in Division Two to date, and his county now stand second in the table behind Derbyshire who they now meet this week.
In Division One, Warwickshire travel to Taunton where rain will almost certainly intervene. Notts meet Surrey, while Worcestershire and Durham hope to break their Championship ducks at Lancashire and Sussex, respectively. KP and Strauss will not be reproducing their form for their counties, hoping instead to inflict it on Messrs Steyn, Morkel and co.
Warwickshire were fortunate in that their game against Sussex started a day later than elsewhere and so had the luxury of a dry finale. This enabled them to press on to reach 400 before bowling their opponents out to take the maximum eleven points, taking them one ahead of rivals Nottinghamshire who had claimed two fewer against Middlesex the day before. Rikki Clarke's blistering 110 not out was followed by a 3-16 as Sussex declined to 191 all out. At Uxbridge, rain affected each day, with Saturday a complete washout. Andre Adams had set them on their way with 6-32 as Middlesex were skittled for 98, more than half scored by Andrew Strauss. An Adam Voges century gave the then leaders an impressive lead before Strauss compiled an unbeaten 127 and the weather did the rest to prevent a potential victory. Middlesex did garner six points, enough to overtake Somerset, who didn't play, into third place.
The bottom four played each other. Lancashire and Surrey swapped innings of 400+. Steven Croft's impressive 154 not out was soon forgotten when Kevin Pietersen's rare foray into Championship cricket yielded 234 runs in only 190 balls. Imran Tahir may need to worry most because spinner Simon Kerrigan was really given the KP treatment.
It was a lower-scoring affair at Worcester, with neither the home county nor Durham able to break the 250 barrier. Only Phil Hughes looked comfortable with bat in hand, scoring 87 and Durham's Scott Borthwick took 4-37, including the Aussie's wicket. Both sides therefore remain winless so far in the competition.
In Division Two, even less cricket was possible. Only 100 overs were played at Cheltenham, during which Gloucestershire's very short-term signing Ed Cowan scored 103. He will almost certainly have the best average for the season as it's his only scheduled first-class match! Essex could take only four wickets and remain third from bottom. At the Rose Bowl - or whatever it's now called - the overs tally wasn't much higher: 106. Yorkshire's Joe Root was probably the only man to enjoy the match, striking a career-best 222 not out, and reminding England selectors of his future opening credentials when Strauss calls it a day. The 21 year-old has the fourth highest aggregate in Division Two to date, and his county now stand second in the table behind Derbyshire who they now meet this week.
In Division One, Warwickshire travel to Taunton where rain will almost certainly intervene. Notts meet Surrey, while Worcestershire and Durham hope to break their Championship ducks at Lancashire and Sussex, respectively. KP and Strauss will not be reproducing their form for their counties, hoping instead to inflict it on Messrs Steyn, Morkel and co.
Thursday, 12 July 2012
England's South African XI
This week, Jonathan Trott celebrated his Englishness to emphasise no mixed feelings as he prepared to face the team representing the nation of his birth. I wouldn't doubt his devotion to the cause for one moment, nor that of any of the other South African-born cricketers about to line up for England in the forthcoming Test series.
Many people, including myself, have often written about England's reliance on players who have left South Africa for various reasons to qualify for the team. Some migrated as children, others for the explicit opportunity to further their careers which had apparently stalled in the southern hemisphere. The current batch are by no means unique, and I reckon they and their predecessors would make quite a useful one-day - but maybe not a Test - fantasy team. See what you think...
To open, Andrew Strauss (home town: Jo'burg) is an automatic choice. Solid Test opener and, whilst no longer selected for ODIs, he has a reasonable record in the shorter format. That World Cup 158 against India will live long in the memory. A few years ago, Craig Kieswetter was catapulted into the England team after impressing as a teenage 'keeper-batsman for Somerset. His star may have waned since then but the 2010 vintage Craig should join his fellow Transvaal-er at the top of the order.
Next comes Jonathan Trott, from Cape Town. It seems strange to think he's only been an England international for three years yet according to the ICC and his statistics, Trott is one of the finest one-day batsmen in the world. Often derided for his slow scoring, he at least gets runs on a consistent basis, at an average close to 50! Pietermaritzburger Kevin Pietersen is more of a cricketing mercenary but he served his apprenticeship in the county game before exploding onto the Test scene in the 2005 Ashes series. He's been pretty hot in ODIs and T20, too, and is an obvious choice for my team.
The Eleven is a bit batsman-heavy but at least they will frustrate bowlers all the way down the order. Twenty-odd years ago, Robin Smith was ranked two in the world. He and brother Chris fro Durban scored plenty of runs for Hampshire before qualifying for England. Robin proved the more successful, playing 62 Tests and 71 ODIs. A pugnacious cutter of the ball, he passed 50 on 19 ODI occasions, including four centuries,led by a memorable 167 not out against the Aussies at Edgbaston in 1993. Another squat moustachioed Saffer, Allan Lamb, was a middle-order mainstay of England in the 1980s. Brought from Western Province by Northants at the height of the apartheid-fuelled boycott, he played for his adopted country by dint of his English parents. Lamby often shone in a mediocre team up against first the awesome West Indians and then the emerging Aussie greats, even if he wasn't quite as good as he liked to think!
I'm going back to the 1960s/ early '70s for my first all-rounder: the late Basil D'Oliveira. Leaving his homeland because the racist regime denied him the chance to pursue his profession, he later famously became the unwitting catalyst for the global boycott of South African sport. While 'Dolly' came too soon for a proper one-day international career, he did play in the first ever ODI in January 1971 at the age of 39. Primarily a batsman, his medium-pacers also claimed more than 550 first-class and almost 200 List A wickets.
Tony Greig has always enjoyed a spot of controversy, be it his infamous 'grovel' speech to wind up the 1976 West Indian tourists, his recruitment role for WSC a few years later whilst England captain, or excitable commentaries after retirement. As player, he was a very fine all-rounder who could bowl medium-pace seamers and spin. Just as well, because I can't find any Saffer-born pure spinners in my team!
It's back to the present day for the final three. Despite the presence of Kieswetter, I'll pick Matt Prior for wicketkeeper. He represented England at all junior and senior levels, played for Sussex and eventually established himself as first-choice man behind the stumps and sledger-in-chief. He contributes useful quick runs and in T20 there are few players with a superior strike rate of 146. I'm really struggling for qualifying bowlers but the current Surrey duo of Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker could provide some incisive pace. Their lack of batting skill is more than compensated by their ability with the ball and their fantasy team-mates' batting depth.
I may well have missed out somebody but I reckon this eleven each plucked from their international heydays could be more than a match for any ODI team England have fielded in the past thirty-odd years, born and bred at the other end of the globe!
Strauss (*), Kieswetter, Trott, Pietersen, R Smith, Lamb, D'Oliveira, Greig, Prior (+), Dernbach, Meaker. Give us a few more years and I could probably do the same with the Irish!
Many people, including myself, have often written about England's reliance on players who have left South Africa for various reasons to qualify for the team. Some migrated as children, others for the explicit opportunity to further their careers which had apparently stalled in the southern hemisphere. The current batch are by no means unique, and I reckon they and their predecessors would make quite a useful one-day - but maybe not a Test - fantasy team. See what you think...
To open, Andrew Strauss (home town: Jo'burg) is an automatic choice. Solid Test opener and, whilst no longer selected for ODIs, he has a reasonable record in the shorter format. That World Cup 158 against India will live long in the memory. A few years ago, Craig Kieswetter was catapulted into the England team after impressing as a teenage 'keeper-batsman for Somerset. His star may have waned since then but the 2010 vintage Craig should join his fellow Transvaal-er at the top of the order.
Next comes Jonathan Trott, from Cape Town. It seems strange to think he's only been an England international for three years yet according to the ICC and his statistics, Trott is one of the finest one-day batsmen in the world. Often derided for his slow scoring, he at least gets runs on a consistent basis, at an average close to 50! Pietermaritzburger Kevin Pietersen is more of a cricketing mercenary but he served his apprenticeship in the county game before exploding onto the Test scene in the 2005 Ashes series. He's been pretty hot in ODIs and T20, too, and is an obvious choice for my team.
The Eleven is a bit batsman-heavy but at least they will frustrate bowlers all the way down the order. Twenty-odd years ago, Robin Smith was ranked two in the world. He and brother Chris fro Durban scored plenty of runs for Hampshire before qualifying for England. Robin proved the more successful, playing 62 Tests and 71 ODIs. A pugnacious cutter of the ball, he passed 50 on 19 ODI occasions, including four centuries,led by a memorable 167 not out against the Aussies at Edgbaston in 1993. Another squat moustachioed Saffer, Allan Lamb, was a middle-order mainstay of England in the 1980s. Brought from Western Province by Northants at the height of the apartheid-fuelled boycott, he played for his adopted country by dint of his English parents. Lamby often shone in a mediocre team up against first the awesome West Indians and then the emerging Aussie greats, even if he wasn't quite as good as he liked to think!
I'm going back to the 1960s/ early '70s for my first all-rounder: the late Basil D'Oliveira. Leaving his homeland because the racist regime denied him the chance to pursue his profession, he later famously became the unwitting catalyst for the global boycott of South African sport. While 'Dolly' came too soon for a proper one-day international career, he did play in the first ever ODI in January 1971 at the age of 39. Primarily a batsman, his medium-pacers also claimed more than 550 first-class and almost 200 List A wickets.
Tony Greig has always enjoyed a spot of controversy, be it his infamous 'grovel' speech to wind up the 1976 West Indian tourists, his recruitment role for WSC a few years later whilst England captain, or excitable commentaries after retirement. As player, he was a very fine all-rounder who could bowl medium-pace seamers and spin. Just as well, because I can't find any Saffer-born pure spinners in my team!
It's back to the present day for the final three. Despite the presence of Kieswetter, I'll pick Matt Prior for wicketkeeper. He represented England at all junior and senior levels, played for Sussex and eventually established himself as first-choice man behind the stumps and sledger-in-chief. He contributes useful quick runs and in T20 there are few players with a superior strike rate of 146. I'm really struggling for qualifying bowlers but the current Surrey duo of Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker could provide some incisive pace. Their lack of batting skill is more than compensated by their ability with the ball and their fantasy team-mates' batting depth.
I may well have missed out somebody but I reckon this eleven each plucked from their international heydays could be more than a match for any ODI team England have fielded in the past thirty-odd years, born and bred at the other end of the globe!
Strauss (*), Kieswetter, Trott, Pietersen, R Smith, Lamb, D'Oliveira, Greig, Prior (+), Dernbach, Meaker. Give us a few more years and I could probably do the same with the Irish!
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
England's century sequence but Banger takes the biscuit
Alastair Cook's latest match-winning century made it five matches in a row when an England opener has reached three figures in an ODI. The captain, along with Ian Bell and the now-retired Pietersen have made a remarkable sequence, and one which can have been beaten rarely of at all.
In fact, only 21 England players have ever made hundreds as opening batsmen since one-day internationals began forty years ago. Cook has done it five times now, all bar one within the past twelve months, and two of them in successive games against Pakistan earlier this year. The Test skipper, Andrew Strauss has also struck five ODI centuries from the front. Of these, remarkably three were scores of 150+, two of them against Bangladesh. The best of the lot was that magnificent 158 in the World Cup tie against India in 2011.
Also on five is Nick Knight, a regular opener back in the late '90s. He never quite made it in Test cricket but the Essex and Warwickshire man was a great strokemaker who never seemed to rush. Averaging over 40 in his 100 games showed he was one of the best in the business for several years. Like Cook, he once scored hundreds not just in consecutive games but on successive days. In 1996, his 113 against Pakistan at Edgbaston was followed immediately by his carrying his bat for 125 when he ran out of partners in a run chase.
Throughout the 1980s, Graham Gooch always seemed to be there opening the batting with AN Other (Boycott, Stewart, Knight, Broad, etc, etc), white helmet gleaming and black moustache bristling. In 122 one-day innings, he accumulated 8 hundreds, six of them in a winning cause and four against Australia. At the start of his career, ODIs tended to be 55 overs aside before the innings were shortened. One of his best was an undefeated 129 in 118 balls in he West Indies 26 years ago. The run chase was timed perfectly, if nail-bitingly, to win off the last ball. What was even remarkable was that this was achieved against the mighty Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner, who collectively conceded 121 runs in 19 overs, profligacy almost unheard of in those days!
However, one England opener stands tall and proud ahead of all other English openers, just as he does now. Well, he would if his ankle was fully healed! Marcus Trescothick achieved three-figure scores no fewer than 12 times at a rate of almost one in ten innings. That's a ratio bettered by very few top players in the world (De Villiers, Tendulkar and Kohli) and it brings home how he has been greatly missed by England in the last six years. Curiously his four highest innings were each scored in a losing cause as nobody could stay with him. It wasn't a matter of slow scoring on his part, either, because his career strike rate was around 85, better than the likes of Ponting, Gibbs and even Chris Gayle!
Tres hit hundreds against all the top nations apart from New Zealand, with Ireland thrown in for good measure, Against South Africa in 2003, he was one of both openers to complete centuries in the same match (Vikram Solanki was the other) but his highest was 137 out of a total of 240 against Pakistan at Lord's in 2001, where his side lost tantalisingly by just two runs. He was out to a slog sweep going for the winning six, caught by a certain 21 year-old Shahid Afridi. Whatever happened to him?! We can only imagine how many more tons 'Banger' would have crashed in the England cause, but the current left-handed opener, Cook, will almost certainly overhaul the Somerset man in the next few years. He has played a mere 47 ODIs and, provided injury or sudden loss of form don't intervene, he will be up there with the world's best. Sachin is unassailable and Jayasuriya probably out of reach (28 hundreds as opener, but in more than 400 matches) but Saeed Anwar (20), Ganguly and Gayle (19 apiece) are there for the taking.
In fact, only 21 England players have ever made hundreds as opening batsmen since one-day internationals began forty years ago. Cook has done it five times now, all bar one within the past twelve months, and two of them in successive games against Pakistan earlier this year. The Test skipper, Andrew Strauss has also struck five ODI centuries from the front. Of these, remarkably three were scores of 150+, two of them against Bangladesh. The best of the lot was that magnificent 158 in the World Cup tie against India in 2011.
Also on five is Nick Knight, a regular opener back in the late '90s. He never quite made it in Test cricket but the Essex and Warwickshire man was a great strokemaker who never seemed to rush. Averaging over 40 in his 100 games showed he was one of the best in the business for several years. Like Cook, he once scored hundreds not just in consecutive games but on successive days. In 1996, his 113 against Pakistan at Edgbaston was followed immediately by his carrying his bat for 125 when he ran out of partners in a run chase.
Throughout the 1980s, Graham Gooch always seemed to be there opening the batting with AN Other (Boycott, Stewart, Knight, Broad, etc, etc), white helmet gleaming and black moustache bristling. In 122 one-day innings, he accumulated 8 hundreds, six of them in a winning cause and four against Australia. At the start of his career, ODIs tended to be 55 overs aside before the innings were shortened. One of his best was an undefeated 129 in 118 balls in he West Indies 26 years ago. The run chase was timed perfectly, if nail-bitingly, to win off the last ball. What was even remarkable was that this was achieved against the mighty Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner, who collectively conceded 121 runs in 19 overs, profligacy almost unheard of in those days!
However, one England opener stands tall and proud ahead of all other English openers, just as he does now. Well, he would if his ankle was fully healed! Marcus Trescothick achieved three-figure scores no fewer than 12 times at a rate of almost one in ten innings. That's a ratio bettered by very few top players in the world (De Villiers, Tendulkar and Kohli) and it brings home how he has been greatly missed by England in the last six years. Curiously his four highest innings were each scored in a losing cause as nobody could stay with him. It wasn't a matter of slow scoring on his part, either, because his career strike rate was around 85, better than the likes of Ponting, Gibbs and even Chris Gayle!
Tres hit hundreds against all the top nations apart from New Zealand, with Ireland thrown in for good measure, Against South Africa in 2003, he was one of both openers to complete centuries in the same match (Vikram Solanki was the other) but his highest was 137 out of a total of 240 against Pakistan at Lord's in 2001, where his side lost tantalisingly by just two runs. He was out to a slog sweep going for the winning six, caught by a certain 21 year-old Shahid Afridi. Whatever happened to him?! We can only imagine how many more tons 'Banger' would have crashed in the England cause, but the current left-handed opener, Cook, will almost certainly overhaul the Somerset man in the next few years. He has played a mere 47 ODIs and, provided injury or sudden loss of form don't intervene, he will be up there with the world's best. Sachin is unassailable and Jayasuriya probably out of reach (28 hundreds as opener, but in more than 400 matches) but Saeed Anwar (20), Ganguly and Gayle (19 apiece) are there for the taking.
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Strauss and England in charge again
While the West Indies, and neutral cricket fans generally, must have delighted in the team's competitiveness in the First Test, it was disappointing to see them fold so easily at Trent Bridge. Great for England, of course, and in particular for Andrew Strauss. Two matches, two centuries, two victories. Not a bad few weeks' work. I suspect that he may do a Cook in that a barren spell is followed by a purple patch. Maybe Messrs Steyn, Philander and Morkel will prove harder to get away when South Africa provide the opposition later this summer, but England have reasserted themselves as the top dogs in Test cricket after the awful displays against Pakistan.
With the captain scoring 141 and Pietersen 80, it did not matter that nobody else made big scores. Only Jonny Bairstow failed to reach double figures, which may lead to him being 'rested' for the Third Test, which is a dead rubber as far as the series is concerned. It was the bowling unit which was more impressive. At Lord's it was Broad, here it was Anderson and Bresnan sharing fourteen of the wickets between them. Inswing and low bounce led to six LBWs in the second innings, and there were many additional close shaves before the Windies were finally dismissed for 165.
What about the Windies? Kemar Roach and burly Ravi Rampaul had their moments but some of their bowling was woeful, with Roach conceding 11 no-balls in the second innings. The two bright spots came from Marlon Samuels and skipper Darren Sammy. More than eleven years since his Test debut, Samuels has become the new Chanderpaul, holding a whole innings together with good technique and a healthy dollop of patience. He and Sammy put on 204 for the seventh wicket, each reaching three figures - for the first time in Sammy's case - but that papered over the cracks in the top order. I know Kirk Edwards was unwell near the end, but he, Barath, Bravo and Powell looked mediocre against England's swingmeisters. Even Chanderpaul played into England's hands - literally - when Broad set a leg-side trap for the hook shot which was directed straight to Trott on the fine leg boundary. If his runs are staunched, I doubt whether Samuels can maintain that one-man defiance every time.
Poor Sammy admitted on TV that he was non-plussed as to why the batsmen were failing. Cloning Samuels and Chanders might be a solution, recalling Gayle and Sarwan slightly more realistic, but they are in danger of slipping to eighth in the ICC rankings. A win at Edgbaston would boost morale but if England do rest Broad and Anderson, Finn and Onions would be hungry to show what they can do. Quite frankly, Finn's pace could blow them away.
With the captain scoring 141 and Pietersen 80, it did not matter that nobody else made big scores. Only Jonny Bairstow failed to reach double figures, which may lead to him being 'rested' for the Third Test, which is a dead rubber as far as the series is concerned. It was the bowling unit which was more impressive. At Lord's it was Broad, here it was Anderson and Bresnan sharing fourteen of the wickets between them. Inswing and low bounce led to six LBWs in the second innings, and there were many additional close shaves before the Windies were finally dismissed for 165.
What about the Windies? Kemar Roach and burly Ravi Rampaul had their moments but some of their bowling was woeful, with Roach conceding 11 no-balls in the second innings. The two bright spots came from Marlon Samuels and skipper Darren Sammy. More than eleven years since his Test debut, Samuels has become the new Chanderpaul, holding a whole innings together with good technique and a healthy dollop of patience. He and Sammy put on 204 for the seventh wicket, each reaching three figures - for the first time in Sammy's case - but that papered over the cracks in the top order. I know Kirk Edwards was unwell near the end, but he, Barath, Bravo and Powell looked mediocre against England's swingmeisters. Even Chanderpaul played into England's hands - literally - when Broad set a leg-side trap for the hook shot which was directed straight to Trott on the fine leg boundary. If his runs are staunched, I doubt whether Samuels can maintain that one-man defiance every time.
Poor Sammy admitted on TV that he was non-plussed as to why the batsmen were failing. Cloning Samuels and Chanders might be a solution, recalling Gayle and Sarwan slightly more realistic, but they are in danger of slipping to eighth in the ICC rankings. A win at Edgbaston would boost morale but if England do rest Broad and Anderson, Finn and Onions would be hungry to show what they can do. Quite frankly, Finn's pace could blow them away.
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Player of the Week: Alex Hales
It's been a funny old week. There've been the end of a Test series in the Caribbean, a key warm-up tour game at Taunton, County Championship matches, the final T20 Cup group stage fixtures and today the return of the domestic 40-over competition. With ll the different formats, it's quite difficult to compare the different individual performances, and nobody seemed to master them all within just seven days.
In Dominica, Ishant Sharma and Shiv Chanderpaul caught the eye while the Indians' three-day game was controversial for Somerset's temporary signing of Andrew Strauss, presumably at the behest of the ECB, so the out-of-form England captain could get some batting practice against the forthcoming Test opposition. He certainly managed that, with fluent innings of 78 and 109 not out, although an excellent century from Arul Suppiah and last day fireworks from Suresh Raina and Peter Trego will have pleased the crowd.
In T20, there was a century for Sussex's Murray Goodwin, a hat-trick and figures of 5-6 for Durham's Paul Collingwood. Darren Stevens produced two match-winning all-round performances for Kent in two days, against Surrey and Essex, to reach the quarter-finals. No such success for Stevens in one of today's few CB40 games not destroyed by the weather. Instead, it was Dutch captain Peter Borren's 33-ball 71 not which created a shock defeat of Kent.
In the Championship, there were big scores made by Zander de Bruyn, Chesney Hughes and Craig Kieswetter, while at Derby, Jonathan Clare, betting at nine, struck a career-best 130 and took five wickets against Glamorgan. However, my Player of the Week, just edging the decision over Strauss, is Alex Hales of Nottinghamshire.
So often in the past season or two the Nottinghamshire number three has been scoring runs in the County Championship, but getting out short of three figures. In fact he has made more centuries in one-dayers than in first-class cricket. The tall 25 year-old from Hillingdon was, in one match, out twice in the 80s earlier this summer so it was great to see him go on to reach 184 this week, albeit against my county Somerset!
His runs were vital to the Notts triumph in last season's Championship and he now boasts a career average of a shade under 40. In List A matches, it's a very respectable 37, scoring at more than a run a ball, while in T20 he is remarkably consistent, striking more than 20 in six successive games in June/July, and getting them quickly, too. It may be premature to talk of him as an international player but if he maintains recent form, he must be a genuine candidate for an England ODI debut and perhaps a future number three in the Test team. He's only 22 so when Trott and KP move on, I shall be happy to hail Hales as a new star, so long as he doesn't make more hundreds against Somerset...
In Dominica, Ishant Sharma and Shiv Chanderpaul caught the eye while the Indians' three-day game was controversial for Somerset's temporary signing of Andrew Strauss, presumably at the behest of the ECB, so the out-of-form England captain could get some batting practice against the forthcoming Test opposition. He certainly managed that, with fluent innings of 78 and 109 not out, although an excellent century from Arul Suppiah and last day fireworks from Suresh Raina and Peter Trego will have pleased the crowd.
In T20, there was a century for Sussex's Murray Goodwin, a hat-trick and figures of 5-6 for Durham's Paul Collingwood. Darren Stevens produced two match-winning all-round performances for Kent in two days, against Surrey and Essex, to reach the quarter-finals. No such success for Stevens in one of today's few CB40 games not destroyed by the weather. Instead, it was Dutch captain Peter Borren's 33-ball 71 not which created a shock defeat of Kent.
In the Championship, there were big scores made by Zander de Bruyn, Chesney Hughes and Craig Kieswetter, while at Derby, Jonathan Clare, betting at nine, struck a career-best 130 and took five wickets against Glamorgan. However, my Player of the Week, just edging the decision over Strauss, is Alex Hales of Nottinghamshire.
So often in the past season or two the Nottinghamshire number three has been scoring runs in the County Championship, but getting out short of three figures. In fact he has made more centuries in one-dayers than in first-class cricket. The tall 25 year-old from Hillingdon was, in one match, out twice in the 80s earlier this summer so it was great to see him go on to reach 184 this week, albeit against my county Somerset!
His runs were vital to the Notts triumph in last season's Championship and he now boasts a career average of a shade under 40. In List A matches, it's a very respectable 37, scoring at more than a run a ball, while in T20 he is remarkably consistent, striking more than 20 in six successive games in June/July, and getting them quickly, too. It may be premature to talk of him as an international player but if he maintains recent form, he must be a genuine candidate for an England ODI debut and perhaps a future number three in the Test team. He's only 22 so when Trott and KP move on, I shall be happy to hail Hales as a new star, so long as he doesn't make more hundreds against Somerset...
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Somerset show India how it's done....
Having bought my ticket for Somerset vs Indians six months ago in eager anticipation, the weather forecast had dampened my mood somewhat this week. However, once the showers stopped by 2pm and the outfield dried in the long-awaited sunshine, Taunton sparkled and all was well with the world. It's 25 years since India last played at the ground and I'd never seen them play in the flesh anywhere. Of course, there was the added attraction of a world record holder, but more of Arul Suppiah later...!
Somerset had closed on 329-2 overnight and, after a circumspect start and the departure of Suppiah for a career-best 156, the scoring rate picked up. Young Chris Jones struck some lovely shots off Zaheer Khan and the hapless Yuvraj Singh, while James Hildreth dispatched one Mishra delivery way over the long-on boundary and into the staff car park. They declared on 425-3 once Jones made his half-century.
After the ten-minute break, skipper Gautam Gambhir looked like a man on a mission, after several months away from first-class cricket. He took Charl Willoughby apart in the first over but the veteran South African got his revenge in the fifth, inducing an edge to Joss Buttler who took a good catch. Fellow opener Mukund looked furious at being adjudged lbw with the score on 51, but that brought in the unmistakeable figure of Sachin Tendulkar. So for about six overs we all had the pleasure of watching the Little Master partnering Rahul Dravid, before the latter fell to an airy shot, prompting a frustrated swish of the bat before the long trudge back to the dressing room. Sachin played some crisp shots before becoming Craig Meschede's maiden first class victim. That's one to tell the grandchildren!
Wickets continued to tumble, and Yuvraj Singh, all smiles on arriving at the ground, followed his humiliation with the ball with a five-ball duck. Thomas and Trego weighed in with a wicket apiece from the River End, but it was Willoughby who starred. He ended the day at about 7.15 with 5-50, and India were wilting on 138-8, only Suresh Raina holding the innings together. The follow-on looks odds-on, although rain could guarantee the draw tomorrow. Andrew Strauss, an incongruous figure at first slip in a Somerset sweater, may have had his last batting practice before Lord's.
As for the fan's experience, putting the rain delay aside, it was an entertaining afternoon. Sitting in the sun-kissed Family Stand with some keen Indian supporters was great. There were frequent rumbles and dashes down to the stand near the players' entrance, mini-bats waving for autographs and cameras flashing ("over here, MS, MS, over here, here"...) but that was just the Dads! The kids were far more relaxed about it. It was also heartening to see top professionals willing to spend time signing programmes and bats, even nudging aside security staff to do so. For attention to their fans, special mention should go to Dhoni and Sreesanth. Willoughby also must have written his name dozens of times while fielding on the boundary. It wasn't the beery atmosphere of a T20 and maybe the crowds were reduced by the loss of the morning's play, but everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I for one will never forget the day when I finally got to watch Tendulkar and co in action.
Somerset had closed on 329-2 overnight and, after a circumspect start and the departure of Suppiah for a career-best 156, the scoring rate picked up. Young Chris Jones struck some lovely shots off Zaheer Khan and the hapless Yuvraj Singh, while James Hildreth dispatched one Mishra delivery way over the long-on boundary and into the staff car park. They declared on 425-3 once Jones made his half-century.
After the ten-minute break, skipper Gautam Gambhir looked like a man on a mission, after several months away from first-class cricket. He took Charl Willoughby apart in the first over but the veteran South African got his revenge in the fifth, inducing an edge to Joss Buttler who took a good catch. Fellow opener Mukund looked furious at being adjudged lbw with the score on 51, but that brought in the unmistakeable figure of Sachin Tendulkar. So for about six overs we all had the pleasure of watching the Little Master partnering Rahul Dravid, before the latter fell to an airy shot, prompting a frustrated swish of the bat before the long trudge back to the dressing room. Sachin played some crisp shots before becoming Craig Meschede's maiden first class victim. That's one to tell the grandchildren!
Wickets continued to tumble, and Yuvraj Singh, all smiles on arriving at the ground, followed his humiliation with the ball with a five-ball duck. Thomas and Trego weighed in with a wicket apiece from the River End, but it was Willoughby who starred. He ended the day at about 7.15 with 5-50, and India were wilting on 138-8, only Suresh Raina holding the innings together. The follow-on looks odds-on, although rain could guarantee the draw tomorrow. Andrew Strauss, an incongruous figure at first slip in a Somerset sweater, may have had his last batting practice before Lord's.
As for the fan's experience, putting the rain delay aside, it was an entertaining afternoon. Sitting in the sun-kissed Family Stand with some keen Indian supporters was great. There were frequent rumbles and dashes down to the stand near the players' entrance, mini-bats waving for autographs and cameras flashing ("over here, MS, MS, over here, here"...) but that was just the Dads! The kids were far more relaxed about it. It was also heartening to see top professionals willing to spend time signing programmes and bats, even nudging aside security staff to do so. For attention to their fans, special mention should go to Dhoni and Sreesanth. Willoughby also must have written his name dozens of times while fielding on the boundary. It wasn't the beery atmosphere of a T20 and maybe the crowds were reduced by the loss of the morning's play, but everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I for one will never forget the day when I finally got to watch Tendulkar and co in action.
Monday, 9 May 2011
England's Three Wise Men
So England have bitten the bullet and gone for three different captains for the three formats. Given the expansion of international cricket schedules, I think it is the way to go and most other countries will, if they haven't already done so, follow suit.
It feels as if Andrew Strauss has been in charge for aeons but it's only two years since he assumed the mantle which he has worn it distinction, not least in the recent Ashes series. However, it's no good having a sole leader who picks and chooses which series he participates in. He'll be 37 by the time of the next World Cup and Alastair Cook has clearly been groomed as Strauss's successor. He hasn't been used much for ODIs but his overall one-day cricket record is superior to the Middlesex man's, and I'm a strong believer in class cricketers being good in any format. The tour Down Under demonstrated how good Cook can be, and he has the level-headed approach needed to be a good national skipper.
The appointment of Stuart Broad to lead the Twenty20 side was perhaps more surprising. However, it was never going to be Strauss, and Cook's game is less well suited to the biff-bang stuff, although in all T20 matches, his stats are comparable with those of Kevin Pietersen, even if he is less experienced. Paul Collingwood has expressed his disappointment at being replaced without even being interviewed for the post. Nevertheless, he has become increasingly marginalised since leading England to T20 World Cup glory, partly through poor form and also because of knee injury. Approaching 35, time was also against him. I doubt he'll even play in T20 internationals again. His batting was never great in the short format but England may well miss his bowling contributions more.
So why Stuart Broad? Perhaps it is because he is one of the few players almost certain of his place as a bowling all-rounder, in all forms of the game, not just T20. He'll have to curb his temper, though, and maybe that's why he was picked now, so he can grow up and mature into the role, possibly marking the succession in future years. When Strauss retires in maybe a few years' time, Cook can move up to Test captain, with Broad filling his boots in turn. However, it is easy to forget that Cook is only two years older than Broad and they could be team-mates and captaincy rivals for the next decade. Results on the pitch will probably determine their respective career paths as much as internal politics, media relations and tactical nous. I reserve my judgment on the younger man but Mr Cook, born on Christmas Day in 1984, has the gift to become one of England's greatest captains and most prolific batsmen of all time and maybe Mr Broad could watch and learn.
It feels as if Andrew Strauss has been in charge for aeons but it's only two years since he assumed the mantle which he has worn it distinction, not least in the recent Ashes series. However, it's no good having a sole leader who picks and chooses which series he participates in. He'll be 37 by the time of the next World Cup and Alastair Cook has clearly been groomed as Strauss's successor. He hasn't been used much for ODIs but his overall one-day cricket record is superior to the Middlesex man's, and I'm a strong believer in class cricketers being good in any format. The tour Down Under demonstrated how good Cook can be, and he has the level-headed approach needed to be a good national skipper.
The appointment of Stuart Broad to lead the Twenty20 side was perhaps more surprising. However, it was never going to be Strauss, and Cook's game is less well suited to the biff-bang stuff, although in all T20 matches, his stats are comparable with those of Kevin Pietersen, even if he is less experienced. Paul Collingwood has expressed his disappointment at being replaced without even being interviewed for the post. Nevertheless, he has become increasingly marginalised since leading England to T20 World Cup glory, partly through poor form and also because of knee injury. Approaching 35, time was also against him. I doubt he'll even play in T20 internationals again. His batting was never great in the short format but England may well miss his bowling contributions more.
So why Stuart Broad? Perhaps it is because he is one of the few players almost certain of his place as a bowling all-rounder, in all forms of the game, not just T20. He'll have to curb his temper, though, and maybe that's why he was picked now, so he can grow up and mature into the role, possibly marking the succession in future years. When Strauss retires in maybe a few years' time, Cook can move up to Test captain, with Broad filling his boots in turn. However, it is easy to forget that Cook is only two years older than Broad and they could be team-mates and captaincy rivals for the next decade. Results on the pitch will probably determine their respective career paths as much as internal politics, media relations and tactical nous. I reserve my judgment on the younger man but Mr Cook, born on Christmas Day in 1984, has the gift to become one of England's greatest captains and most prolific batsmen of all time and maybe Mr Broad could watch and learn.
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