ONE THOUSAND NOT OUT!!

After eleven years or so, I have finally reached one thousand MikesSpinOnCricket blogs. I started out contributing to a friend’s far more professional and detailed cricket blog, before he helped set up my own. Thanks, Dipesh! In an era when the sport has become increasingly fragmented, I have found it harder to maintain my interest. 

More than ever, cricket is a global, year-round game, which is no bad thing. However, when much of it is seems to be a grotesque imitation of the game I loved as a child, where advertising seems to occupy more airplay than actual play, my enthusiasm has waned. I don’t post as much as I would like. Other personal priorities have played their part but at least my blog has motivated me to stay in touch, especially via the much-maligned county game. 

For this millennium milestone, I have trawled back through my back catalogue.

My previous 999 posts have been mixture of factual, opinion and nostalgia.  I have loved following up on issues, doing my own background research to complement my own memory, rather than merely repeat what other media have produced. What would be the point in that? For example, I studied record run chases in 2019 and in 2018, inspired by Tom Latham’s record-breaking 264 not out, ‘carrying the bat’. That same year, I ruminated over whether a cricketer could ever again win the BBC’s prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award:

“It is surely time for cricket to take centre stage once again on BBC Sport’s gala night of glory”.

I was thinking about Virat Kohli but, of course, after England’s 2019 successes, it was Ben Stokes who deservedly scooped the prize. 

In July 2015, I harked back to the inaugural World Cup in 1975, a tournament which crystallised in this then 15-year-old everything that was great about cricket: different nations coming together, familiar faces and new kids on the block. I wrote: 

“I doubt whether 2015 will create another watershed in world cricket but hopefully there’ll be plenty of drama and excitement for me and all those teenagers out there looking for new sporting heroes, whatever the nationality.” 

Sadly there are no longer West Indians who spark such hero worship around the world, not since Chris Gayle’s retirement, but I daresay millions can be enthused by the likes of Kohli, Bumrah, Babar Azam, Root, Stokes, Williamson and the latest sensational teenage T20 merchants emerging from India. 

There have been my own obituaries, focussing on players from various eras who meant something to me, even if their heyday was before I was born, such as Everton Weekes or Frank Tyson. I was particularly affected by the passing of Martin Crowe (2016), Bob Willis (2019), Clive Rice (2015) and the Aussie pair Rod Marsh and Shane Warne (2022). There have also been notable retirements to remind me of my own inevitable ageing process, featuring stars such as Mitch Johnson (2015), James Taylor (2016), Younis Khan (2017), Alastair Cook (from Tests, 2018) and David Warner (2024). 

Memorable matches or series have occasionally inspired me to start typing, from the extraordinary 2019 World Cup Final and the First Ashes Test of 2023 (“Test cricket is back, folks!”) to England’s disastrous 5^th Test in Australia (2018), the fabulous five-day contests with India last summer and England’s record-breaking ODO total against Pakistan in 2016: 

“There have now been 18 scores of 400 or more, eight of them in the past two years. Can 500 be far away….?”

 Well, as things have panned out so far, not yet, although England have since beaten that record twice, including another Jos Buttler six-athon against Holland, in an innings total of 498-4. 500 really will happen at some point, won’t it?! 

I rarely get to a live match these days. Since moving to Cardiff, I have been fortunate enough to secure a ticket for Sophia Gardens matches at major tournaments such as the 2013 and 2017 Champions Trophy and World Cup. In 2015, I attended a T20 double-header, with the women’s Ashes finale opening for a men’s clash. It prompted me to wax lyrical about the women’s game. Not only was it exciting, but the players, from both sides (such as Charlotte Edwards, Sarah Taylor, Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy), delighted in mingling with spectators for autographs (not many selfies in those days):- 

“Those who couldn’t be bothered to turn up in the morning at the SSE Swalec missed a real treat”. 

I have also added my thoughts on some other key issues of the day, from the perturbing launch of the T10 League, predating The Hundred (ugh!), Brexit’s likely impact on Kolpak players in county cricket and Azeem Rafiq’s action on racism. In 2018, I also relished commenting upon what I called the ‘Fun Factor’ in sport, namely the importance (to me) of players looking as if they are actually enjoying the game and engaging with fans, showing they have a personality as well as a professional persona:- 

 “Even if the Indian skipper responds to fans singing “Kohli, Kohli, give us a wave” with a simple raise of the hand, it means more than a million press conference interviews. That’s the fun factor - and heaven help cricket if it disappears”. 

Readers will know I am a big Somerset fan, so I make no excuses for chronicling Somerset’s trials and tribulations, including the 2025 T20 triumph, and the 2019 One-Day Cup Final at Lords (I was there), Craig Kieswetter’s premature retirement (Jun15), and a 2017 retrospective on the controversial, and damaging rift involving Peter Roebuck and Viv Richards. 

Nonetheless, the mainstay of the blog has been my weekly county cricket reports throughout each summer, featuring my Teams of the Week and Year, giving recognition to those without central contracts or international commitments, including England stars no longer seen to fit the Bazball criteria. The likes of Lewis Gregory, Darren Stevens, Simon Harmer, Steve Magoffin, Tim Murtagh, Michael Hogan and Daryl Mitchell can thank me for keeping the faith, and Ben Duckett owes me an orange juice for mentioning him constantly during his wilderness years! 

Finally, I should state that the Covid era of 2020 allowed me the luxury of compiling my list of 100 Favourite Cricketers. I wallowed in the past (mainly) to celebrate not only my old heroes like Viv, Clive Lloyd, Dennis Lillee, Mike Procter and Zaheer Abbas, but also the likes of Peter Trego, Ray East, Tony Cottee and Ole Mortensen, county stalwarts without whom there would be no cricket worth following, and certainly no blog from me. 

I shall continue as long as such ‘journeymen’ appear on scorecards and websites. Thank you.

Ashes 2nd Test: A Starc reminder for England

Living in the UK, during the weeks leading up to the Ashes, I could have been forgiven for believing that England’s 5-0 whitewash was in the bag. The Aussies were no-hopers, their pace attack either crocked or simply past it. Just hand over the urn now, knighthoods and bonuses all round. Cheers! 

Who needs practice? Just turn up, let the batters whack it around the boundary and the bowlers reduce Steve Smith et al to nervous wrecks. It doesn’t matter whether the ball is white, red or pink; Bazball rules, ok? 

Then came the Perth debacle. In truth, both sides struggled with the pitch. After the first day, the ‘papers and websites lauded the pace of Carse, Archer and Stokes. Crawley, Root and Smith would come good on day two and the tourists would be celebrating three days early. 

Oops! Crawley bagged a pair, Brook lasted only three deliveries and his Yorkshire brother-in-arm played on to Mitchell Starc for eight. Top score was Gus Atkinson’s 37. Never mind. Unleash the speedsters! Khawaja’s injury brought more optimism, but the promoted Travis Head was having none of it. Ably supported by Marnus Labuschagne, he made a mockery of this relentless marketing maelstrom by slamming an 83-ball 123. No bowlers were spared the Head treatment. Inside two days, it was 1-0 to Australia. 

On to Brisbane, where history isn’t kind to England. But – hey! – we have the fastest pace attack in Ashes history! Well, at least the Second Test lasted four days but the result was the same: an eight-wicket triumph for the hosts. Despite a plethora of runs, there was only one century and, Ironically, it flowed from the bat of Joe Root whose lack of a ton Down Under had been an over-stressed stain on his fantastic Test record. He was left unbeaten on 138, proving that class is permanent. 

When Australia batted, nobody could get close to three figures but, in a Test rarity, everyone reached double-figures. Five passed fifty, and on day two they compiled runs at a rate which would have had Brendon McCullum purring were it his own batters at work. The bowlers wilted, simple catches were spilled all over the place. The England second innings saw Michael Neser grabbing the headlines with two caught-and-bowleds, and a succession of poor strokes edging behind to Carey and Smith. 

England’s woes were epitomised yesterday by the chirping of Archer toward Steve Smith. Even that pathetic sledging failed, as the stand-in skipper was motivated to hook another bouncer for six and clinch victory with a controlled pull from Atkinson for another. 

So what next? I am no fan of England’s cricket but even I am surprised by their embarrassing performances so far. As for the coach’s suggestion that his squad practised too much, it’s laughable. Of course, England could fire on all cylinders at Adelaide. Root, Brook, Pope, Smith and Duggett have made big scores before, and Aussie pitches can aid our bowlers. However, the Bazball strategy can only take you so far. Selecting batters based on their Hundred strike rates and bowlers purely based on their speed gun stats is, in my opinion, ridiculous. 

I know I’m old-fashioned, and fume at the proliferation of T20 and the shortening of boundaries, but you need a Plan B, C or even D, depending on the players available, the conditions and the opposition. For too long, England have relied on sledging, bouncers, Root’s runs and Stokes’ big-stage heroics. Skills can still be honed, but there are many other sub-90mph bowlers and experienced spinners available on the county circuit ready and willing. 

As for Australia, they have performed admirably, uniting the nation against the Barmy Army. Aged 31, Weatherald has enjoyed a solid start to his Test career, Alex Carey has been as brilliant behind the stumps as Smith has been poor, while Boland, Doggett and Neser have compensated for the absence of Cummins and Hazelwood. Then there is ‘past-it’ Mitchell Starc. A six-fer in three successive Tests, a trio of Player of the Match awards and a top score of 77 at Brisbane. His career wicket tally has eclipsed Wasim Akram’s to make him the most prolific left-arm seamer in history. Smith collects records for runs and catches but the tall Sydney man deserves more credit than he receives. Tests, ODIs, T20, he excels in all formats. A glut of Aussie retirements cannot be far away but it is Starc who will be missed the most.

Stunning start to the 2023 Ashes!

I must confess that all Bazball hype had left this Test cricket fan rather subdues and less than enthusiastic about the home Ashes series. For starters, I cringe at the way so many so-called England fans believe that cricket revolves solely around the occasional battles with Australia and possibly a World Cup so long as the nation is winning. I cling desperately to the association of TV cricket with the ‘Soul Limbo’ tune and am old-fashioned enough to detest the shift to drunken football-style crowds. 

And yet if Test cricket is to survive the flood of Twenty20 and Hundred, who am I to complain about any connection felt between young English blokes and the traditional summer sport (at least, while the footie season is in abeyance)? Whether it’s the cider bar at Taunton or the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston, if people are enjoying themselves and perhaps enjoying some cricket then it must be a good thing. I only hope that that those who attended the First Test, especially on the final day, appreciated what was happening on the pitch because it was quite extraordinary. 

I confess I rarely watch the game on TV these days, with little inclination to sacrifice whole weeks to Sky’s coverage. Thanks, BBC, for your website coverage and evening highlights show. There were certainly plenty of highlights on offer this week. 

It was billed as the clash between Bazball and the old-fashioned Aussies. How things have changed! The tourists were crowned world Test champions only the other week so Ben Stokes was unlikely to have everything his own way. 

On Friday morning, he did. From Zak Crawley’s courageous crunching cover drive from Pat Cummins’ opening half-volley to the bravado of Brooks and Bairstow and another imperious century from Joe Root, England were stroking their way to a total well into the 400s. Then the skipper declared on 393-8 to leave Broad and Robinson a few overs hopefully to dismiss Usman Khawaja and perennial cartoon villain David Warner. 

Tipping convention on its head has been a hallmark in England’s astonishing transformation last year. This decision, along with some novel field placings, were well to the fore at Edgbaston but the declaration was unsuccessful in its prime aim. Nonetheless, it served as an appetiser for some superb Test cricket over the next four days. Broad got Warner (of course he did!) and Labuschagne, then Stokes pinned the other hate figure, Steve Smith, for 16 but Khawaja played an excellent restrained innings lasting eight hours. Head and Carey were bolder, and Cummins joined in with the six-hits off poor Moeen Ali, whose raw spinning finger must have been awfully painful. 

With a slender lead of seven, England sallied forth to set the Aussies a tough target and unleash a pumped-up Broad, Anderson and Robinson. This time, Cummins and Nathan Lyon never allowed the batsmen the same freedom and nobody passed fifty. Alex Carey took another three catches and added a third stumping, illustrating England’s penchant for taking risks to the spinner. They scored at ‘only’ four an over but were all out for 273. So to a dramatic climax full of twists and turns. 

The raucous crowd must have helped England’s bowlers and put the fear of God into the Aussies. At 143-5 and four dismissals to Bairstow’s name, all looked rosy for Stokes and co. But that man Khawaja was still there. When Green played on, Robinson looked set to explode, and even Stokes looked quite calm when his ultra-slow delivery fooled the Aussie opener. 209-7, 82 short. A fabulous caught-and-bowled by Joe Root ended Carey’s resistance and surely the tailenders wouldn’t survive the pressure and score the required 54 to win? 

Statistics were against them. During the morning rain delay, commentators were keen to remind us that Australia always lose tight matches. Not since a young debutant Cummins struck the winning runs to beat South Africa by two wickets in 2011 had they edges such a close finish, but against all odds he repeated the feat. Khawaja also played in that match in Johannesburg, and his second innings score of 65 was identical to his corresponding total at Edgbaston. Statistics, eh? 

I wouldn’t begrudge the Aussies their victory. Stokes seemed to take the defeat stoically but in good heart. England came oh-so-close, four Tests to come, blah-blah-blah. I think another England victory could have killed the series as a sporting spectacle. Now we have something really special to look forward to. Test cricket is back, folks!

Ashes 2021-22 Disaster – What Next for England?

Oh, dear. In the aftermath of a 4-0 mauling at the hands of Australia – and let’s not forget it was just one wicket from being a 5-0 whitewash – everyone connected to England seems to be in agreement: Something Must Be Done. Never mind that the Aussies were able to field some of the best seam bowlers in the world, and that Boland and Khawaja showed how to channel home advantage and pitch knowledge to devastating effect. One poor month and we have to Rip It Up and Start Again.

Sack the captain? Restructure the management and coaching team? Shift then focus from ODIs to Tests? Abolish the County Championship? Restrict England’s opponents to Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Ireland? Yeah, the last one should boost the confidence of the ECB by improving the win:loss ratio but perhaps the cracks in quality require a little more than a layer of crepe paper. 

So, should Joe Root go? If we learn anything from the past twelve months it is that Root is by a million miles England’s best batter. In fifteen matches during 2021 he accumulated over 1,700 runs, more than three times the second highest. Only one other player, Rory Burns, made a century, to which we can now add Jonny Bairstow. So the batting line-up has to be constructed around him. He may not be the most astute captain in history but even the likes of Steve Waugh, Clive Lloyd, MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming would struggle to turn the current England squad into contenders for the ICC World Test title. 

Tinker with the backroom set-up? I confess I can’t keep up with the intricacies of coaching different formats and skills, let alone all the physios, analysis and managers. Cricket is a different sport from England. Strategies and selection for matches scheduled to last five days are necessarily different for those taking barely five minutes, so I appreciate the need to expand the resources accordingly if the budget allows. England can claim considerable success. They are world 50-over champions and stand top of the ICC T20 rankings, after all. It wasn’t that long ago that they were the cream of the Test format, too, but I feel that it is no coincidence that the rise in white-ball performance has come at the expense of red-ball results. 

I know I’m an old fogey but I do despair that most of our best cricketers are pigeon-holed into the two formats. Joe Root could be our best run-scorer on all three fronts; he is that good. Fellow Yorkshireman Bairstow and, potentially, Joe Clarke, are similar all-rounders, albeit not in the same league. Ben Stokes has also demonstrated how to successfully take a one-day mindset and strokeplay into the five-day game, but he is not always in the right mental state. Archer, Robinson, Woakes, Craig Overton and Wood each have the skills to take wickets and keep the scoring rate down as required by the respective formats, and James Anderson is proving remarkably resilient to the ravages of time, wrapped up on cotton wool for the Tests. Did Stuart Broad need the same treatment Down Under, rested (or dropped?) for the Brisbane opener? Probably not, but it’s easy to be wise after the event. After all, his 2021 bowling average was only just below 40, and 12 wickets in 13 innings isn’t a world-class return. 

Jonathan Agnew is also leading the movement to abolish the County Championship, cut the number of teams and slash the amount of red-ball domestic cricket in order to arrest the decline in Tests, and in Ashes series, in particular. I have considerable respect for Agnew but I do wonder how reducing the available gene pool and re-introducing three-day matches is the best way of preparing for five-day fixtures. You may as well load the batting with Twenty20 specialists like Billings, Buttler, Livingstone, Crane, the Currans et al. At least, you’ll get a Test result, but I wouldn’t book a ticket for days 3, 4 or 5! 

Pundits have been quick to excuse The Hundred as a factor in England’s poor 2021 Test record. Er, why? I know one summer tournament cannot be held entirely responsible. However, if the ECB is determined to push ahead with a format nobody else in the world is doing, relegating first-class and 50-over cricket to the margins of the summer season, how on earth can they expect young fans to embrace the more traditional formats and become the Ashes series performers of the future? It’s ludicrous! Then there is the myopic obsession with the Ashes. Yes, it’s the most enduring rivalry in the sport, which should be celebrated. However, if we had beaten NZ, India and Pakistan but lost 2-3 in Australia the critics would have been almost as vociferous. 

Ultimately, countries go through peaks and troughs. In the past few decades, when the same county structure was producing or developing the likes of Cook, Root, Pietersen, Flintoff, Anderson, Buttler, Swann, Bell and Taylor, everything in the garden was rosy. In the domestic summer, all three formats were respected, however much I slag off T20. We also had a quality line-up in all three, challenging for global silverware and the Ashes, at least on home turf. No fast bowler would tremble at the sight of Burns, Hameed, Malan, Crawley, Billings and Pope taking guard, but is the answer really to deprive them of competitive red-ball practice sacrificed at the altar of Friday night hit-and-hope stuff? 

I don’t have the answers. However, if the ECB insists on putting finances ahead of developing true cricketing skills, then go ahead. Just please stop moaning when results in matches requiring such skills don’t go their way.

2019 – England’s Rollercoaster Year

For ages we had been bludgeoned by articles and interviews detailing how England were focussing on the World Cup and how we would convert number one ranking status into silverware. Even while we were being thumped by the West Indies Test team last winter, it was written off as an aberration, a mere blip en route for the inevitable 50-over success in July.

Remarkably, it proved correct. That amazing evening of July 19^th, it wasn’t just Jofra Archer’s pace, Eoin Morgan’s captaincy, Jos Buttler’s cool head or Ben Stokes’ hot head which overcame Kane Williamson’s Black Caps after a tied match and tied Super Over; it was slice after slice of astonishing good fortune.

That luck kept on coming during the Ashes series. OK, so Jimmy Anderson’s injury ruled him out and the Aussies depended heavily on runs from the brilliant Steve Smith. But the entire series swung on that glaring run-out failure by Nathan Lyon at Headingley and Jack Leach’s glasses, the assiduous wiping of which wasted so much time that England survived for a draw.  The Ashes could not be prised from the Aussies’ grasp but the victory at The Oval in September did at least tie the series 2-2.

Across the year, England won 14 out of 20 completed ODIs and 6 out of 9 T20 internationals, along with yet another tied contest with New Zealand. However, it was in Tests that we struggled. Excluding the inaugural one-off against Ireland, which England so nearly contrived to lose, we failed to win a single series, defeated in the Caribbean, New Zealand and, this week in the First Test, South Africa.  

Almost inevitably the focus on the World Cup was to the detriment of the Test squad, of whom only Joe Root, Stuart Broad and, arguably, because of his advancing years, Jimmy Anderson are world class. The fast-tracked Bajan Jeffrey – sorry - Jofra Archer proved to be first among equals not only in the five-day arena but also at the global 50-over tourney, where judicious use of the fast bouncer proved decisive in a host of fixtures. 

Ben Stokes’ bowling remains fierce if expensive, but when the spotlight shins brightest he’s a match-winner (or saver) with the bat. Jos Buttler has tried to tone down his T20-style strokeplay with limited success and Jonny Bairstow also has his moments. Elsewhere, consistency is somewhat lacking. Chris Woakes is under-used, Mark Wood is injury-prone, the Curran brothers too up themselves and Moeen Ali desperately short of form. At least his T20 Blast heroics for Worcestershire must have restored some self-confidence.

Popular as he is down in Somerset, Jack Leach isn’t quite the finished article while colleague Dom Bess can’t even hold down a county place. Surrey’s Rory Burns is doing his darnedest to replace Alastair Cook, but Joe Denly still looks like a so-so stopgap until either Crawley, Pope, Sibley or even Malan consistently step up to the plate. Nevertheless this set of players gave Australia a good run for their money last summer and may yet turn the tables on South Africa in the New Year.

However, 2020 sees the return of the Men’s Twenty 20 World Cup and launch of the accursed Hundred so I fear the ECB will be encouraging hoiks over cow corner and hordes of young leggies. Great in the biff-bang formats but a rapid 30 and bowling figures of 4-0-29-0 don’t hold much sway in Test cricket. India may be well ahead in the ICC rankings and favourites for the World Test Championship yet England could advance to second place by defeating Pakistan and West Indies, ranked seven and eight, respectively next summer. Pakistan’s strength is in the T20s and the Windies are currently dreadful in any format. Whoever England field I wouldn’t risk booking an advance ticket for days four or five…

I sincerely hope there is a World Cup ‘bounce’ to entice more youngsters into the sport but I fear that once the Ashes were over, the big-money inducements of Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea were always going to send the pendulum swinging back to football. Ben Stokes may have won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award but how many boys today know that previous winner Andrew Flintoff was a cricketer, rather than a bloke who prats around with cars or on comedy quiz shows? England need to get off the rollercoaster, dispense with the lows and reach consistently.

Next on the agenda is my review of the best players of 2019 but for now I wish you all a very happy New Year and a happy, healthy and exciting 2020!

Bob Willis – The Man who Won in ‘81

I was startled when I read of Bob Willis’ death at just 70. Along with characters such as Geoff Boycott, John Snow, Clive Lloyd and Greg Chappell, the England fast bowler was a mainstay of the period when I first developed my love of cricket. 

I was also surprised to learn that, even 35 years since his retirement, RGD’s 325 Test wickets have been surpassed by only three England players: Botham, Broad and Anderson. That’s quite an achievement for a man with very dodgy knees in an era of a gruelling county schedule and limited Tests.

I don’t really remember him as a giant of the Seventies and Eighties. His career tally 899 first-class victims sounds mighty impressive in the current world of central contracts but back then that was par for the course. Fellow quickie Snow took 1,174, Ken Higgs 1,536 and John Lever an astonishing 1,722. Yet when he was fit he was rarely out of the England attack. 

After surgery on both knees in 1975, he wasn’t particularly prolific for Warwickshire but he courageously bowled himself back into the national limelight, along with a promising all-rounder called Ian Botham, at a time when several top stars defected to World Series Cricket. Speaking of Botham, Bob Willis is also strongly associated with the ’81 Ashes triumph but by then he was no longer certain of his place, even in a struggling team. 

Graeme Dilley, Chris Old, Mike Hendrick were competing with Willis for three specialist pace slots and, with England 1-0 down after the opening Tests, missing the previous county fixture through illness put his selection in jeopardy. At 32, with his crude, lengthy run-up, described at the time as resembling a goose gathering speed to take off, he wasn’t a favourite of mine but credit where credit’s due. At Headingley, a wicketless first innings was followed by one of the most unlikely but destructive spell of fast bowling ever produced by an Englishman. Botham may have given his side hope after his hit-and-hope slog the previous afternoon but it was the Willis 8-43 which won that match, providing the foundation for the memorable series success which bears Botham’s name.

I’d also forgotten that Willis skippered England in 18 Tests and 29 ODIs in the wake of Brearley’s temporary stint and Botham’s failure to lead but he finally called it a day in ’84 just before the West Indies whitewashed us 5-0. As well as his formidable tally of wickets he achieved them at fewer than three runs per over and a Test average of barely 25, superior to any of our top seamers then or any time since, including Botham, Broad and Anderson. His bouncers, too, were just as lethal as anything sent down by Lillee or Roberts. True his batting was rubbish and he may not have succeeded in today’s T20 tournaments, but in retrospect the obituaries are spot-on; he was a cricketing legend.

I didn’t hear him very often as a commentator but had a sneaking regard for his acerbic comments in the Sky studio. He played the role as cricket’s grumpy equivalent of Craig Revel Horwood to perfection, the pantomime villain who tells it as it is. He was there doing his miserable monotone thing during the summer which is why as an ignorant viewer I was taken aback by news of his demise. His mass of curls may have been tamed decades ago but I will always remember him 38 years ago ripping out Ray Bright’s stump, then with both arms raised continuing his rip-snorting all the way to the Leeds pavilion. RIP Goose.

Ashes 2019 – England’s luck finally runs out

Last week I wrote that England looked set to build on that incredible Stokes-led fightback  at Headingley and surely seize the Ashes as they did in 2005. Well, how wrong I was. Yet England’s new-found back-to-the-wall resilience produced a second Test classic in succession even if they had evidently exhausted their huge reserves of good fortune in the previous match.

As in the 3^rd Test, Australia bossed much of the game. Or should I say Steve Smith did. Apart from Marnus Labuschagne and Tim Paine, the visitors’ batting has been abysmal. At Old Trafford, Stuart Broad’s opening spells twice accounted for openers Harris and Warner for the total of just 19 runs, the latter bagging a pair. 

Twice, Smith has strode onto the pitch with the innings under eighth overs old and twice he has flummoxed England’s attack with his mix of quirky mannerisms, mutterings and manic walkabouts, interspersed with coruscating cricket shots, piercing the field brilliantly. In the first innings he punctured Stokes’ puffed-up chest superbly, and Jofra Archer went wicketless for 97 as the former Aussie captain executed his third Ashes double-century.

On Friday, I watched incredulously as Rory Burns somehow avoided not only getting an edge to the pacemen but also dislocating every joint in his body as part of his peculiar batting stance, but he and Joe Root put on a stubborn 141 for the third wicket to keep the match very much alive. When Josh Hazlewood’s seamers did for both men in successive overs, England’s white-ball specialists couldn’t keep it going and only a belligerent extra-cover drive by Buttler prevented the follow-on.

Broad and Archer did give the Lancashire crowd something to roar about on Saturday afternoon but that man Smith steadied the ship, reaching 82 – his lowest score so far! – before skying Leach into the hands of Stokes. The declaration wasn’t long in coming, and Paine set the home nation the challenge of scoring 383 or surviving three-and-a-bit sessions for a draw.

England did neither, but it was mighty close. It didn’t look that way at stumps, Pat Cummins’ third ball inducing a Burns leading edge followed by the perfect delivery to bowl Root. And so the fifth day was all about the Dunkirk spirit. Wickets fell regularly and, apart from Joe Denly, nobody got anywhere near 50. That didn’t matter. It was all about eating up the overs and, once Somerset heroes Overton and Leach found themselves together in the middle, wasting as much time as possible. They must have used every spare pair of gloves in Manchester and Leach’s lenses were wiped so often that the glass would have been wafer thin. The boozed-up spectators cheered each defensive stroke, every lengthy pause, but the frustrating tactics proved insufficient in the face of superb bowling by Cummins and Hazlewood especially. When the latter finally trapped Overton lbw to end his near-three-hour resistance for 21, the review was purely cosmetic. It was plumb, and Australia had not only won the match but also ensured England could not wrest the Ashes back from their clutches. 

You have to say the Aussies have deserved it. England have shown faith in their World Cup-winning stars but, apart from Stokes and Archer, they haven’t really demonstrated their red-ball credentials. The winners also clearly have their own problems. Sooner or later, Smith will be out cheaply, leaving the weight on someone else’s shoulders. He only lost his wicket in this match to an audacious reverse sweep off Root and a mistimed slog when well set. David Warner finds himself in an uncharacteristic slump and neither Bancroft, Harris or Khawaja have fared much better. 

Will The Oval witness wholesale changes? In the week when the cricket world bade farewell to the Pakistani pioneer of 1990s leg-spin, Abdul Qadir, perhaps Joe Denly will open the bowling. As the home side, England could call up a whole raft of young replacements. I just hope they leave Somerset players alone and draft half of the Essex team so we have a chance of success in the County Championship! Whatever. Another exciting Test match  finish would do very nicely.

Ben Stokes creates Ashes history

Well, who needs Twenty20? England and Australia dished up one of the greatest sporting dramas since, oh, last month’s World Cup Final, demonstrating yet again why Test cricket must be savoured and protested for future generations of fans.

As a turnabout in fortunes it didn’t quite match the Headingley Test of 1981 – Botham, Willis and all that – but for overcoming home supporters’ low expectations in adversity, Headingley 2019 was just as remarkable. 38 years ago, it was a revitalised Ian Botham who, after a terrible start to his Ashes summer, rediscovered his mojo to drag England back from the brink. This time it’s Ben Stokes, although his rehabilitation from drunken thug to cricketing hero began in spectacular style at Lord’s when his innings and Super Over striking did so much to end the nation’s long wait for World Cup success.

I’m no fan of Stokes the person but there’s no denying his bravura talent on the biggest stages, at least with a bat in his hand. And yet, that unbeaten 135 notwithstanding, the Durham all-rounder was not the only man responsible for England’s victory. In the post-match euphoria amid the Stokes-centric headlines, it is easy to forget Jofra Archer’s first innings 6-45 and Saturday afternoon’s heroic resistance of the two Joes, Root and Denly.

On Friday, England were swatted away inside 28 overs for a paltry 67. Hazlewood and Cummins had bowled intelligently but the home team seemed to be batting in T20 self-destruct mode, nicking everything to Warner or Paine behind the stumps. They’d come close to winning the previous week at a rain-affected Lord’s but this dismal performance brought back the usual comments about the lost art of grinding out a score, knowing when to leave alone, when to defend and when to launch an offensive. 

Australia weren’t a whole heap better. Steve Smith’s injury replacement, Marnus Labuschagne, was the only one in a green helmet looking comfortable against the opposition attack. But when he and Lyon were last men out, England’s target of 359 looked challenging enough.

Normally such a fourth innings total would be beyond any side, but England had two and a half days in which to make them. Easy, huh? The portents were not good, especially when Roy and Burns succumbed meekly to the new ball. Root and Denly sensibly saw the side to stumps on Saturday evening but there was still plenty to do. A draw was out of the question; this was all about eight more wickets versus an additional 203 runs.

At 245-4, England looked to be cruising in the Bank Holiday heat but five wickets for 41 run left Australia in the driving seat. Ben Stokes and Jack Leach were on the rack. The Somerset spinner is no mug with the bat, as his 92 against Ireland demonstrated, but Stokes knew he’d have to play to his strength, and that’s to whack the ball as hard as he could. With 73 still required, he had nothing to lose.

Up to that point, he’d played with impressive restraint. Now was the time to display the Stokes of old. The sixes flew, but it was every dot ball faced by Leach which received cheers just as hearty from the Leeds crowd. Stokes was obviously pumped up, unable to even watch as his partner faced the fifth or sixth deliveries of overs by Cummins or Lyon. There was no intention of running quick singles; he merely squatted on his haunches, bat in both hands like a war-weary medieval knight clutching his sword, eyes focussed on his boots.

When on strike, my, how Stokes rode his luck. Aiming for the stands, three times he narrowly avoided outstretched hands, with a few very difficult diving catches spilled. The desperate LBW review for a ball clearly pitching and striking  outside leg stump cost the Aussies the match when a few overs later the umpire failed to spot a blatant leg-before; the ball would have hit middle. Justin Langer’s expression told the story. My thoughts strayed to Edgbaston, 2005 when the Aussies, featuring Langer, had been in a similar position yet were robbed just three runs from victory. With it, went that amazing series.

Nevertheless, in August 2019, all Stokes’ heroic hitting looked in vain when, with 2 needed, Stokes reverse swept to backward point then turned his back on Leach. His windmilling arms indicated that his partner had to run back to the crease. It wasn’t the greatest throw but all Nathan Lyon needed to do was catch the ball and calmly whip off the bails. With Leach stranded metres from safety, the bowler had plenty of time. He fumbled it, the chance had gone and with it the match and, in all likelihood, the Ashes.

The coup-de-grace followed shortly and one of the greatest of all Ashes Test matches was over. Just a few days after registering their lowest home Ashes total, England had achieved their highest ever fourth innings run chase. The series score reads 1-1 but I have no doubt that England will now proceed to build on their amazing good fortune and Stokes’ inspirational innings and regain the Ashes which, as the ball was lobbed to Lyon, looked certain to be Australia’s. I don’t think even the return of Steve Smith will prevent England’s sensational summer script becoming fact.

Ashes 2019 – Smith back on song as Aussies win a rollercoaster

Well, I didn’t see that coming! On the eve of the 2019 Ashes series, or indeed by lunch on the first day, none of the probable scripts would have told the story of what actually prevailed at Edgbaston. This was supposed to be the summer of England, buoyed by an historic World Cup success, carrying their confidence through to smash an Australia side only just welcoming back their banned trio of batsmen. Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft would surely wilt under the pressure and Joe Root would follow Eoin Morgan to Buckingham Palace for his knighthood. On the basis of the First Test I suggest PM Johnson and the Queen had better hold fire for the moment.

The final day collapse and consequent drubbing should not come as a complete surprise. At Headingley thirty years ago, the Aussies arrived without a strong reputation, yet bowled out David Gower’s men on the last day for a 211-run victory which laid the foundation not only for a series win but also a whole decade of world domination. Two years ago in Brisbane, the then-captain Steve Smith scored 141 not out in the first innings en route to a ten-wicket victory. Six months later he was cast into the wilderness for his role in the sandpaper controversy in Cape Town, the last time he played first-class cricket until this week.

At 112-8 last Thursday, Australia looked dead and buried. However, despite the chorus of boos and predictable beer-fuelled taunts with sandpaper and Smith-in-tears masks, the restored Smith was resolute. Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon kept him company through the afternoon as their side more than doubled their score. Until he was bowled by Broad, Smith had demonstrated the art of a Test batsman to perfection. And yet 284 all out was hardly a match-winning score. 

At stumps on day two, it was Rory Burns soaking up the adulation and some well-meaning handshakes from the opposition after his battling maiden Test century. Even on Saturday evening, England were still on top but Sunday was no day of rest for England’s fielders. They were run ragged by Steve Smith (again), fellow centurion Matthew Wade and then James Pattinson’s six-hit salvo. The final day saw England echo Australia’s woes on the first but this time there was no Steve Smith to salvage the situation. Roy, Denly, Buttler and Bairstow are hardly the types to knuckle down, and Nathan Lyon was extracting formidable turn from the pitch. Cummins’ short-pitched deliveries did the rest. Game over.

Love him or loathe him, you have to admire Steve Smith. His batting style looked more unorthodox than ever but he played superbly, punching cover drives to pile on the runs or shuffle outside off stump to frustrate Ben Stokes with a nudge behind square. In one of those freaky statistics I love about cricket, Smith became the first man in Test history to be dismissed twice in the 140s. Yes, England were a bowler light after Jimmy Anderson’s early breakdown but even with a fully-fit Anderson or Jofra Archer firing them in, I’m not sure the outcome would have been any different. 

It was an extraordinary Test match. I doubt that Tim Paine’s side will emulate Allan Border’s Class of ‘89 nor that England will resort to picking four different captains as they did that year. However, as with Steve Waugh three decades ago, the home nation has to work out how to dismiss Steve Smith, and hope that Warner, Khawaja and co don’t also find their form. Otherwise it could be a long hot summer and the World Cup fever will feel like a distant memory.

Ashes 2017-18: Cook and Smith share New Year’s Test Honours

Congratulations to those English cricketers who were rightly represented on the New Year’s Honours List. However, Joe Root, James Anderson and Alastair Cook will have to wait a bit longer for their knighthoods. Heather Knight’s OBE and the ‘M’s for Amy Shrubsole and Tammy Beaumont were dished out for their contributions to England’s World Cup triumph last summer but after Cook’s innings at the MCG this week you’d think the British media were celebrating an even greater success.

Well, the former skipper undoubtedly demonstrated why he has been retained as Test opener. I don’t know when an English batsman last batted not only through a whole day’s play but an entire innings without being dismissed, but this is precisely what the side has been missing. Cook himself admitted his effort was several weeks too late. Nevertheless his 244 not out was just what the doctor ordered following the three successive defeats, not just for England but also his own cricketing health. Since his 241 at Edgbaston in August, he scratched around for just 261 runs in 14 innings before accumulating almost as many in just the one outing at Melbourne. Talk about peaks and troughs!

Root declared himself proud of his team’s response to losing the Ashes and it was certainly a revelation to see Stuart Broad and Anderson turn a poor first day position into a promising one by lunch on day two. Broad’s batting broadside also boosted England’s first innings total to almost 500, sharing a century stand for the ninth wicket and putting severe pressure on Steve Smith.

However, the Aussie captain hasn’t amassed a world-beating Test average of 63 without showing grit and determination on a consistent basis. Despite having 80,000 spectators watching your every twitch, and knowing he had already dropped Cook in the slips, Smith stepped up to the plate and, by the close of the final day’s play, had delivered yet another century, the sixth of 2017, to steer his side to a draw. Even David Warner reined in his natural aggressive instincts, sticking around for a five-hour 86.

Honours even? Maybe, but it was England’s fightback which caught the eye. Like Craig Overton, his replacement Tom Curran made Smith his first ever Test wicket, but nobody else seems able to get him out. Anderson’s handiwork on a dirty ball may have been proved to have been entirely legal and with the blessing of both umpires, but it was Broad’s five wickets which pleased selectors and fans the most. 

So what will change for the Sydney climax? Moeen Ali may well be stood down to give Mason Crane an opportunity, although that would weaken England’s batting. It may also weaken the bowling as for much of last summer, he wasn’t even deemed good enough to play for Hampshire.

Deputising for Starc, Jackson Bird proved to be a turkey for the Aussies, going wicketless for 108 runs, even worse than Moeen. Apparently, Ashton Agar has been called up to the home team’s squad for Sydney, but he certainly won’t be scaring the England’s batsmen. Perhaps this is a ruse to lull them into a false sense of security before another short ball battering. We’ll see. Alastair Cook will presumably return to single-figure scores so maybe this is the stage for Vince and Woakes to show what they’re made of. I sincerely hope so. There may be a few spare MBEs going come the Queen's Birthday....

Ashes 2017-18: Smith Three, Root Nil

When Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow were stroking the ball to all corners on Thursday afternoon, it genuinely looked like an England reversal of fortunes. 305-4 at stumps became 368, with the Yorkshireman joining his team-mate on three figures. However, once Malan was brilliantly caught by the sub fielder Handscomb, the walls came tumblin’ down. Moeen Ali went three balls later and the next four wickets fell within another eight overs.

Still, it’s not often England make 400 overseas these days, and the Malan-Bairstow partnership of 237 had somewhat incredibly broken the national record for the WACA. Good news, yes? Then you realise that this is Perth. In a recent Sheffield Shield contest, Western Australia had amassed more than five hundred and still lost! There was still a lot of hard work to do. Getting Steve Smith out would be a good start.

Oh, dear. Overton’s early strikes produced a smidgen of optimism but once Steve Smith put down his roots, normal service was resumed. Day three saw the Aussies pile on 346 runs with Shaun Marsh’s wicket the only loss. His brother Mitchell proceeded to hit his first Test century at long last, while the skipper cut, pulled, flicked and drove impeccably to a career-best 239. Even when Smith was adjudged LBW to Anderson after a review, the eighth and ninth wickets added more than 100 before a declaration at 662-9. From such early promise, England now faced a day and a half to bat and save not only the match but the entire series.

That was never going to happen, especially when the out-of-sorts Alastair Cook gave Josh Hazlewood a leading edge caught-and-bowled for just 14. Vince and Malan managed to make fifties but nobody else passed 22 as the procession duly unfolded. A mysterious wet patch on the wicket almost succeeded in wiping out the final day’s play (which member of the England squad sneaked out to the middle with a hose under cover of night?) but Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon managed to finish things off with minimum fuss.

I confess I hadn’t foreseen such a one-sided set of results, although there could yet be compensatory victories at Melbourne or Sydney. It would seem that, given no obvious superiority on paper, the planets were perfectly aligned for the Aussies. The Aussie bowling quartet have performed admirably, the quicks knowing when to bowl short, especially to the England tail, and Nathan Lyon’s spin option making Moeen look the part-time county twirler he was only a few years ago.

Pre-series, much was made of the battle between the world’s best Test batsmen, and opposing captains, Smith and Root. Well, there has been only one winner in that contest. Oddly, it has been the Ashes new boys who have been largely free from criticism. Stoneman, Malan, Vince and Overton have all contributed with a measure of consistency. However, Root, Cook, Broad and Moeen have so far failed to find any kind of form when it mattered. Mind you, take out Steve Smith’s 426 runs and the home team’s batting hasn’t been electric either.

While he and the squad can now celebrate Christmas with the urn already in the bag, what can Strauss and the coaching team do to prevent a whitewash? Well, you can’t expect the England fast bowlers to suddenly fire in 90mph bouncers with any regularity. The only Englishmen capable of doing so are either injured, too raw, too focussed on T20 riches or have had such strengths eliminated by coaches placing more emphasis on swing and control. It is also a bit much to expect things to improve as a result of the tail practising more against the short ball; the top order need to produce most of the runs. Cook and Root will surely come good before the series ends next month. There are no better openers waiting in the wings, either at home or in the Lions. It's also nothing to do with Ben Stokes' absence, Bairstow's butting or Duckett's water throwing. They are minor distractions, surely more in the minds of the media than the players.

The Ashes have been lost, so perhaps a little experimentation might be attempted. On the other hand, a more productive option might be to focus on existing strengths, hope for a bit more luck and prepare to win the trophy back on familiar slow pitches. I don’t have the answers. However, congratulations to the Aussies and we should sit back and admire Steve Smith’s superb batting and three fast bowlers close to the top of their game.

Second Ashes Test Sledging result

I was watching the news this evening, observing wintry scenes in North Wales and Scotland featuring children pulling sledges. Ah, sledging! Such an innocent pastime. If only the same could be said of the other meaning of the term, which seems to be applied only to the noble sport of cricket.

In the aftermath of England’s second successive defeat, Johnny Bairstow has said that if Aussie sledging “crosses the line” again, he would “take matters further”.  This statement bothers me for various reasons. I love the idea of opposing players exchanging jokes on the field but verbal abuse designed specifically to unsettle or upset batsmen is totally out of order.

When mentioning ‘crossing the line’, what does he mean? It seems to me that when it comes to sledging, there are no limits, no line. Secondly, for Bairstow and the English squad, they are hardly angels when it comes to the verbals. James Anderson is probably the worst of the current crop, but the likes of Hussain, Prior et al always gave as good as they got. And then there’s the barely veiled threat of reprisals. What does England’s current ‘keeper have in mind? Racing around the pitch swearing and head-butting everyone in a green baggie?

I’ve written before that if you don’t want things to get nasty, it would be very easy for umpires to stamp it out. Three bouts of abuse and you’re off the field with no substitute allowed. The issue of stump microphones is totally irrelevant; it’s what the abuse victim hears which matters, whether Bairstow, Smith or whoever. Some players, as in the wider population, will be better able to withstand abuse, but that doesn’t mean that those less able to do so are weaker individuals and consequently ‘fair game’. Bairstow’s dad committed suicide and so he must be painfully aware of the dangers of mental illness. Perhaps this is why he has made the comments; I don’t know. What would a bowler think if, as a result of persistent offensive ‘banter’, the batsman subsequently retired or did himself harm? I think this is a more dangerous activity than bowling deliveries meant to cause physical harm, and should be banned before something very serious takes place.

Rant over! As for the cricket in Adelaide, Australia opened up a 2-0 Ashes lead to give England palpitations. Joe Root was right to insist there wasn’t a great deal between the sides. Anderson and Woakes bowled well enough with the pink ball to bowl Australia out for 138 in the second innings but, despite Craig Overton’s debutant delight at dismissing Steve Smith first time out, the damage was done on the first two days. The decision to recall Shaun Marsh had been widely derided, yet his unbeaten 126 was by far the highest individual score in the match. The fact that Overton, batting at nine and after a sequence of ducks, top-scored in England’s first innings, must be a concern.

In the series so far, the four-man Aussie attack of Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyons is looking more formidable than it ought. And now England move to Perth, where they haven’t won for forty years. The notoriously pacey WACA pitch will surely benefit the home pacemen rather than the cannier swing and seam merchants like Anderson, Broad, Woakes and Overton. Root’s poor record at converting fifties to centuries is an issue but at least he scores fifty more frequently than his colleagues. Cook and the supporting cast now need to step up a notch before the series is lost before Father Christmas arrives on his sleigh. That’s sleigh, not sledge. Sadly, cricket proves that you don’t need a snowy slope to participate in that particular pursuit.

Ashes First Test - Smith and Bancroft keep their heads down

After all the fuss about Ben Stokes and now Johnny Bairstow’s peculiar mode of greeting friends and rivals, Australia can point to a statistic which simply reads Played 1, Won 1.

Their undefeated Gabba sequence now extends back a remarkable 29 years to 1988 when Viv Richards’ all-conquering West Indies made mincemeat of Allan Border’s side. England’s last win at Brisbane was two years previously, featuring a century by Ian Botham, a name so redolent of a bygone age that he now resorts to advertising a circulation-boosting device.

Much of the 2017 version was played in an Eighties vein, too; all short-ball strategies and scoring rates below three runs an over. For the first three days, there wasn’t a great deal between the sides. After England decided to bat, relative Test newcomers Stoneman, Vince and Malan each passed fifty and at 246-4 seemed fairly comfortable on day two. However, three wickets promptly  fell in three overs and Joe Root’s team could barely reach the 300 mark.

Australia endured a worse start but the mighty Steve Smith held the innings together with an excellent unbeaten 141, with vital support from the recalled Shaun Marsh and Pat Cummins. The skipper’s Test average has crept to a stunning 61 and has converted half his 50s into hundreds. For all Root’s undoubted world class, the Yorkshireman’s stat is only just above one in four. When England batted again, he succumbed in typical style, advancing to 51 before falling leg-before to Hazlewood. Nevertheless, he was still the top scorer, and the four-man Aussie attack this time restricted the batsmen to a mere 195.

When David Warner and debutant Cameron Bancroft, sensibly wearing his helmet while Bairstow kept wicket, safely saw their side to stumps on day four, any hope of an England revival was dashed. To rub it in, the openers then took their partnership to 173 and inflict a ten-wicket drubbing. 

So can we learn anything from this result? While Jake Ball is not certain of keeping his place, basically it boils down to England dismissing Steve Smith early on and relying on Anderson and Broad to bowl diligently and cannily. No shit, Sherlock! Could be worse; they could be bowling to Virat Kohli’s Indian centurions. Seeing that Anya Shrubsole is the only cricketer to make the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist, maybe we should give the Somerset medium-pacer a chance in the Adelaide game instead of Ball and another Taunton favourite, Craig Overton? Perhaps not, but great to see her World Cup-winning performance rewarded in this way.

2017-18 Ashes Preview

There always seems to be a great deal of aggressive talk before an Ashes series. Some of the press conferences or solo interviews sound more like heavyweight boxing weigh-ins than anything related to cricket. Of course, the media like to focus on a single throwaway comment more than a balanced preview. If the question of a whitewash is not laughed off, it’ll be printed as xxxxxx predicts 5-0 massacre.

In the end, it’s all about who wins on the pitch but in the past the Aussies have benefited from some early pre-series sledging instead of relying on childish baiting in the middle. That might have worked when the side led by Border or Waugh were clearly miles ahead of England. In 2017, any talk of a crushing series victory won’t seem such a mental sledgehammer. England should have no inferiority complex this time. However, nor should they be overly optimistic about their own chances.

In the ICC Test rankings, England currently sit in third place, two ahead of Australia. Neither have any kind of recent consistency. Last winter, England were thumped by India and held 1-1 by Bangladesh but, with Joe Root at the helm, turned things around in last summer’s home rubbers against South Africa and West Indies. The Aussies have also suffered an historic defeat by Bangladesh and been beaten by India so, if anything, are looking shakier than their visitors.

On the face of it, the Ashes could be decided by the home team’s apparently superior bowling attack. The batting on each side looks rather shaky. The two skippers Steve Smith and Joe Root are one and two in the player rankings, while Alastair Cook and David Warner also occupy places in the top dozen or so. It’s in the rest of the top six that both nations look creaky. For England, Mark Stoneman looks in good nick and Jonny Bairstow deserves credit than he is often given. Dawid Malan has at last made a hundred in England whites. Gary Ballance and James Vince promise much but can both deliver? With the charmless thug Ben Stokes sidelined, more responsibility weighs on Moeen Ali’s shoulders, and Chris Woakes will be expected to hang around with the bat as well as prove he is not just a useful one-day death bowler.

In the green baggies, Peter Handscomb has a decent recent record in Tests and Cameron Bancroft will look to build on last week’s Sheffield Shield double-century. Thirty-somethings Khawaja and Shaun Marsh certainly won’t put the fear of God into England’s bowlers, and Tim Paine has been recalled as wicketkeeper despite not even wearing the gloves for Tasmania. Hmm.

So what about those bowlers? Four years ago, it was Mitchell Johnson who devastated the tourists. That feels so long ago it may well have been broadcast in black and white. Mitchell Starc is probably the best all-format bowler in world cricket and achieved the rare feat of claiming two hat-tricks in the same match for New South Wales last month. He’s a leftie, called Mitchell, but that’s no guarantee of repeating Johnson’s Ashes heroics. Hazelwood, Bird and Cummins are all mighty quick but also mighty injury-prone. The focus on pace could unravel if any of them break down.

Nathan Lyon has just joined the 30-something club and boasts twice as many Test wickets as Moeen, with a notably superior average. I’m not convinced England’s 20 year-old leggie Mason Crane will do much damage either. Of course, Root will be turning to the guile and experience of James Anderson and Stuart Broad to upset the Aussie batsmen. However, it’ll be interesting to see which of Jake Ball and Craig Overton – or both? – get to play. As a Somerset fan I’ve followed the progress of the latter for several years. He has earned his opportunity with England. Trouble is, should he succeed Down Under, I’m worried he’ll nab a central contract and consign our county to Division Two next season.

If this series was to be played in England I reckon Root and co may just edge it. A few weeks ago, I was predicting something similar for the series in Australia.  However, having given much thought I have changed my mind. I’m going for another narrow Aussie win but should it be 2-1 or 3-2 the other way I won’t be at all surprised. Yes, it’s down to the difference between the pace attacks but if Root offers Starc a tasty-looking burger and the bowler is subsequently ruled out by a mysterious illness, things will look a lot more even.

5th Ashes Test: Clarke’s final victory but Cook’s Ashes

It has certainly been an extraordinary Ashes series. Not for the final result, but for the sequence of five one-sided encounters. Also, surely there has never been so few days of cricket played in a five-Test rubber, especially given the favourable weather most of the summer. Mind you, England fans were praying for a bit more rain on this Sunday afternoon with just two wickets remaining and well short of the follow-on target. However, the clouds parted long enough for Peter Siddle to mop up the tail-enders and give Michael Clarke a modicum of comfort after an awkward few months.

4-1 would have been a travesty, and even 3-2 was perhaps slightly flattering to England. Joe Root remains a beacon of talent for the home side but both Chris Rogers and Steve Smith outscored him across the series. Stuart Broad was the only Englishman to take more than 12 wickets while no fewer than four Aussies did so, led by Mitchell Starc with 18

The real difference between the sides was the pathetic performances by Australia’s middle -order. Michael Clark has been a magnificent run machine and adventurous captain, but he aggregated a paltry 132 from nine innings. Shane Watson was dropped after the Cardiff defeat, neither Marsh brother produced any score of note, Adam Voges managed a couple of 50s and little else, and there were no Brad Haddin heroics this time around.

Then there were the big match-winning bowling dramatics by England’s pacemen. Sometimes it takes just one big performance by one man to swing a game, and Jimmy Anderson, Steve Finn and Ben Stokes each delivered. And then there was Stuart Broad. Every year he seems so ordinary then produces one devastating spell. In 2015 it was that amazing 8-15 on the first morning at Trent Bridge. Matt Wood showed promise, Ian Bell saved his bacon at Edgbaston and Alastair Cook occasionally showed his charges how to bat in a Test match.

However, it was not the greatest summer for Gary Ballance (discarded after the Lord’s defeat), Jos Buttler and Adam Lyth. Following the New Zealand encounters, the Yorkshireman deserved his chance to last the Ashes series but he didn’t really convince as Cook’s long-term opening partner. Perhaps he should stay for the Pakistan series, if only because there are no other credible alternatives.

As for Australia, Clarke will be bitterly disappointed to lose the Ashes. Again! Nevertheless he will be missed. Smith’s arrival as the middle-order saviour must come as a relief, but who should occupy berths four to six? Chris Rogers has been a rock at the top since his rebirth for the Test team two years ago and now he has also called it a day, aged 37. He and David Warner looked an excellent partnership, their contrasting styles not harming their facility to get an innings off to a good start. Trent Bridge excepted, of course! Perhaps Michael Klinger could become the latest thirty-something to earn a green baggy?!

Mitchells Starc and Johnson still demonstrated the value of left-arm pace and swing, and the latter passed the landmark of 300 Test wickets. Josh Hazelwood took 16 wickets at 26, Nathan Lyon was a constant thorn in the side and Peter Siddle was almost impossible to score off at The Oval. I still don’t know why he wasn’t selected for the fourth Test but hindsight is a wonderful thing. He wouldn’t have made a difference in that crazy first innings at Nottingham, though.

Despite all these plus points, Australia contrived to lose overall and English cricket is enjoying the feelgood factor once more. Can they regain the number one position again? Well, South Africa may have something to say about that, and before that there is the small matter of the UAE, where Pakistan humbled England a few years ago.

Anyway, for a few months more, Cook and co can bask in the warm glow of Ashes success. ODI defeats probably won’t matter too much although given the ferocious criticism at the start of the summer, perhaps they should! Farewell, Clarke and Rogers. You’ll be hard to replace.

Willey’s Brilliant Broadside

A rich variety of cricket entertained British cricket fans this week. England’s demolition of hapless Australia at Trent Bridge rightly stole most of the headlines, with Stuart Broad’s incredible first innings 8-15 unlikely to be bettered by anyone all season.

Fortunes were reversed in the Women’s Ashes Test. Jess Jonassen enjoyed an impressive debut with two half-centuries, beginning with a 99, before Ellysse Perry made up for a poor game with the bat by taking 6-32 to clinch the match. England now need to win all three T20 fixtures to retain this version of the Ashes.

Earlier in the week, Yorkshire took another step closer to retaining the Championship by dismantling Durham. Wickets tumbled on the first day, then a double-century stand involving Glenn Maxwell and Adil Rashid piled the pressure onto Mark Stoneman’s men. Plunkett and Rashid completed the job with the ball.

Joe Root may be shining for England but his county ex-colleagues are doing just fine without him, 38 points clear with a game in hand. Middlesex moved back to second place with an exciting victory over Sussex. They came from behind to snatch it by 20 runs, thanks largely to more than 200 runs from Dawid Malan and fine seam bowling by James Harris et al, Steve Magoffin did his usual stuff for Sussex but Malan defied him to set a target that proved just too much.

The London side overtook Warwickshire who came a cropper at the Rose Bowl against Hampshire. James Vince struck a rare century and Fidel Edwards nabbed nine wickets to give the bottom side hope of escaping the drop. Worcestershire remain in trouble after a defeat to Nottinghamshire. Captain Chris Read top-scored for the victors and saw them home by five wickets.

In Division Two, Glamorgan’s loss to Gloucestershire and Surrey’s triumph at Colchester leaves Lancashire and Surrey scorching favourites to be promoted with four matches remaining. Rory Burns scored more runs than anybody else this week, while spin duo Batty and Ansari twirled away industriously for fifteen wickets between them. Monty Panesar made a more modest return for Essex, for whom Nick Browne and Mark Pettini contributed centuries.

There were no hundreds at Swansea, but David Payne was probably the star perfomer, taking eight Glamorgan scalps. Leicestershire enjoyed their first home victory for three years, beating Derbyshire by three wickets. Sadly for them, their sixteen points awarded for the win were later docked because of their persistently poor disciplinary record. It’s normally their on-pitch performance which leaves them bottom of the League but in 2015 it may owe more to whingeing at the umpires.

Finally, the Nat West Blast entered its quarter-final phase. There have been some encouragingly big crowds this summer, particularly at the larger grounds like Edgbaston. The Birmingham Bears were roaring again against Essex, while Hampshire needed James Vince and bad light at New Road to beat Worcestershire, en route for a sixth consecutive Finals Day appearance. David Willey’s 40-ball century and 3-27 took Northants into the semi-finals, while Lancashire join them following a dramatic tie today at Canterbury. Kent went out on wickets lost!

Team of the Week: Burns (Sur), Willey (Nor), Vince (Ham *), Madsen (Der), Malan (Mid), Perry (Aus Women), N O’Brien (Lei +), Woakes (War), Broad (Eng), Edwards (Ham), Magoffin (Sus).

3rd Ashes Test: Aussies Tamed and Test Cricket Shamed

A great result for England at Edgbaston but I don’t know which was worse: Australia’s capitulation or the longer-term impact on five-day Test cricket.

In terms of the competition between the Ashes adversaries, I’m not sure what this match means. So far this year, England have been on a recent rollercoaster ride in Tests: four wins but none back-to-back. All three in the current series have been one-sided affairs and none have lasted until the fifth day. Australia may have been seriously damaged by the Birmingham defeat but if the sequence continues, they could perk up at Trent Bridge. Unfortunately for them, that would mean England winning at The Oval and taking the urn 3-2!

Jimmy Anderson was supreme on the first day, nabbing 6-47, then the returning Steve Finn ripped the heart out of Australia’s batting on the second. A great achievement for England’s seamers, but the contribution of Ian Bell cannot be forgotten. His selection was derided by many but, like me, the selectors hoped the home pitch would bring out the old Belly. It did. And he did it not by careful consideration but by counter-attacking.

First time out he struck ten boundaries to make 53 from 56 balls, then on day three he scored an unbeaten 65 from 90. In such a low-scoring contest, two half-centuries must be admired. Ian Bell must also have rescued his Test career, at least for this summer.

Adam Lyth failed twice but, without any obvious replacement, could be given another chance. Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes (second ball) were despatched by snorters from Mitchell Johnson so Jonny at least can’t be written off just yet, especially after his prolific season for Yorkshire. The Durham all-rounder might be more vulnerable but, with Trent Bridge likely to be prepared for another three-day seam-fest, he may be safe.

But what about Australia? Michael Clarke was honest when admitting his batting woes had left his team playing ten against eleven. However, he is unlikely to be jettisoned mid-series. Adam Voges looked poor once more while Chris Rogers (first innings) and David Warner (second) provided more backbone. Steve Smith had an off-week, but Clarke should be thanking his wicketkeeper Peter Nevill and Mitchell Starc for at least taking the fight to the third day.

It wasn’t just England’s bowlers outplaying the opposing batsmen; it was the way the Aussies got out. It looked as if they were playing one-day cricket, not five-day stuff. Mind you, that was what England did at Lord’s! In summary, I would be seriously worried had I bought a ticket for a fourth or fifth day in either of the next Tests. It’s a shame because in the past year the world has witnessed some excellent Test matches, including those played between England and New Zealand a few months ago.

I gather that Ricky Ponting has advocated doing away with the toss and allowing the away side to choose whether to bat or field. I think that could be a good way forward without compromising the integrity of Test matches. I don’t want to see a game of two 600-4 declareds but neither do I want two-and-a-half-day affairs. Batsmen also need to remember how to bat, not merely throw the bat. They could do worse than watch and learn from Joe Root! Taking a T20 approach to the fifty-over format is one thing; applying the same attacking ethos to Tests is frankly ridiculous. David Warner, like the Sehwags and Gayles, can get away with it, but he needs Smith, Clarke and co to provide solid support. That didn’t happen at Edgbaston but it needs to happen at Trent Bridge, or the Ashes are lost.

First Ashes Test: Bayliss 1 Boof 0

After all the hullaballoo, the latest of an increasingly frequent Ashes contests finally got under way with a straightforward England victory. Given that it’s very rare for a side leading 1-0 to lose an Ashes series, New England are already looking a good bet to regain the urn.

It does seem odd to hear an Antipodean accent playing up England’s chances but, even though Jason Gillespie ruled himself out, fellow Aussie Trevor Bayliss has made a best possible start to his reign. I’ve no doubt that the confidence developed during the recent series against New Zealand under the fledgling Strauss/Farbrace regime played its part. There will be strategies, grand and individual, but batsmen will enjoy having the opportunity to go for their shots without fear. The return of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad on home pitches is also vital not only to a harmonious England dressing room and fanbase, but also to upsetting the opposition.

England pretty much led from start to finish, or at least from the time Joe Root came in at 43-3 to accompany Yorkshire colleague Gary Ballance. Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon were clearly targets for the strokemakers, and Joe Root led with finesse. I said it four years ago and will say it again: Joe Root is the real deal at Test level. His proven ability in ODIs and T20 is a bonus. In 28 Tests, he has aggregated well over 2,000 runs at 56. Ballance’s averages also stands above 50 but I suspect that will decrease in time, just as Ian Bell’s has. I fancy Root to advance to three in the order, nudging Bell and Ballance down a slot.

There were breezy half-centuries from Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, surely the best number eight in recent memory, as England advanced to 430 at more than four an over. Only Mitchell Starc’s five-for gave Australia much to shout about, but at least they didn’t let England get out of sight. Chris Rogers responded in the right manner, and was unfortunate not to reach a deserved hundred. He fell to a Buttler catch from a Mark Wood delivery that moved and bounced.

Aussie coach Darren Lehmann cannot have been pleased with the rest of his batsmen. No other man managed 40 in the first innings. Needing 412 to win, and Sunday heading for a likely washout, all Michael Clarke and co needed to do was bat out the fourth day to ensure a draw and re-group for round two. Given all the reports of a ridiculously placid Cardiff pitch, this shouldn’t be too difficult for a classy, experienced team. Yet they failed. Badly.

England bowled and fielded with admirable discipline, while the batsmen generously threw away their wickets at regular intervals. David Warner did at least get to 52 before Ali trapped him just before lunch. Johnson had suffered a miserable match with the ball but he could now open his shoulders and counter-attack. That’s fine, but he needed the top order to provide the ballast at the other end to ensure they had wicket in hand come close of play. They didn’t. Clarke, new old boy Adam Voges and 2013 hero Brad Haddin fell in single figures and Shane Watson’s LBW trials persisted. Game over.
I’d be surprised if Mitchell Marsh didn’t replace Watson at Lord’s but there’s no real need for England to tinker very much. Leave Cook and Bell alone but I’d promote Ali to six ahead of Stokes and Buttler. The bowlers stuck to their task although there may be a case for introducing Steve Finn on his home ground. Having a ‘Dad’s Army’ isn’t necessarily a weakness for Australia but the old heads and hearts need to be more in evidence if they are to salvage the Ashes in the next few months.

The Ashes 1975

The first Ashes series I remember with any clarity took place forty years ago. The early part of the 1975 summer was memorable for the inaugural World Cup, about which I have waxed lyrical more than once. The previous winter had introduced England to the twin pace threat of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. Now they were bringing their brand of cricket to these shores to thrill teenagers like me, just developing my enthusiasm for cricket.

Australia defeated England in the World Cup semi-finals (through the unfamiliar swing of Gary Gilmour) and gave the West Indies a cracking contest in the final. There followed a four-Test series for the little red urn which would give the home nation a chance for revenge.

England were thumped 4-1 Down Under but at last did end the series on a high, thanks to an innings victory at Melbourne. Even without a sulking Geoff Boycott and John Snow, the tourists turned the tables thanks to a captain’s innings by Mike Denness and Peter Lever’s 6-38. Nevertheless, the Aussie squad staying on from the one-day showpiece was pretty formidable.

Rick McCosker was a very useful opener, Ian Chappell a combative skipper and brother Greg one of the best batsmen in the world. Doug Walters was an old-school, smoker, drinker and gambler yet he ended with a Test average of 48, extremely high back in the Seventies. Rod Marsh was another character, whose wicketkeeping was just as strong. And then there was the bowling. Apart from ‘Lilian Thomson’, Max Walker was a fine exponent of swing and Ashley Mallett offered skilful off-spin.

That’s not to say England were weak. We had world-class players such as Alan Knott, Derek Underwood, Snow, opener Dennis Amiss and all-rounder Tony Greig, so a useful series was in the offing. However. from their standpoint, it didn’t get off to a promising start.

At Edgbaston, Denness won the toss and fielded. Australia notched 359, then on day two, Lillee and Walker ripped England apart. Following on, it was Thomson’s turn to claim a five-for and it was all over by the fourth morning. The match was also memorable for Graham Gooch’s debut. After some great performances for Essex, the 21 year-old was thrust into the Test side – and bagged a pair!

Gooch was retained at Lord’s but there were changes elsewhere. Barry Wood opened, Amiss dropped down to four, while debuts were handed to the grey-haired bespectacled David Steele and Kent all-rounder (as he was then) Bob Woolmer. More significantly, Mike Denness made way for new captain Tony Greig. The result was an honourable draw. Edrich, Greig and Knott nullified the threat of Chappell’s seam attack, and even Gooch scored 6 and 37.

At Headingley, left-arm spinner Phil Edmonds played his first Test, and there were recalls for Yorkshire pair John Hampshire (for Gooch) and Chris Old. England were on top at stumps on day four but were denied the chance to level the series by the infamous pitch vandalism by supporters of imprisoned East End villain George Davis. He may have been, as the ubiquitous graffiti proclaimed ‘innocent, OK’ but cricket fans were horrified that someone could ruin an excellent Test match by digging holes on a length making the pitch unplayable.

I’m not sure whether it was the result of the lost day at Leeds but the fourth Test at The Oval was allocated six days. As such it became the longest first-class game in England. A second-wicket partnership of 277 between McCosker and Ian Chappell took the visitors beyond 500, then the pacemen left Greig’s men to follow on 341 behind. Things looked as grim as the late August weather. However, second time around, England took control. Woolmer, promoted to five, responded with 149, four others passed fifty, and they left the Aussies no time to reach their target.

The series ended 1-0 to Australia, but England had regained some confidence. Gooch’s time would come again and David Steele’s quiet determination and resilience struck a chord with the British public, earning him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award! Australia would destroy the West Indies the following winter, a result which in turn would lead to Clive Lloyd’s all-pace strategy and a new world order in the sport for years to come.
I doubt whether 2015 will create another watershed in world cricket but hopefully there’ll be plenty of drama and excitement for me and all those teenagers out there looking for new sporting heroes, whatever the nationality.