England v India at Cardiff: A 99 on a hot day!

Earlier this year, an email newsletter from Glamorgan CCC notified me that Sophia Gardens had secured one of England’s summer ODIs against India. It had been seven years since my previous live cricket experience so, despite personal health concerns, I thought, what the hell, and bought a ticket. To be honest, I doubted I would be successful, but the response was immediate: I was in! 

My lengthy hiatus was nothing to do with a lack of enthusiasm or any beef with the venue, more a shift in priorities. Maybe a lack of inspiration with the cricketing fare on offer, too, regular readers will now, I am not a Glammy supporter. Another deterring factor is the vagaries of the Welsh weather but I certainly need not have worried on that score. The extensive July heatwave has turned Cardiff into the Costa del Taff; the sky was clear blue, the sun almost overhead and so hot that even I went jacket-free. 

I won’t record here an over-by-over account of the match itself. You can read that elsewhere. The atmosphere was fizzing, largely thanks to the generous contingent decked out in blue and orange. I love being surrounded by India fans; unlike many young Brits, they are there mainly to enjoy the sport. Yes, they will cheer their heroes to the rafters but it’s the cricket that counts, no booze, no post-match recriminations, no demands for the head coach’s sacking. I sat in the Family enclosure, the quaintly named Jellyfish Stand, situate at cow corner at the River End almost below the Indian dressing room balcony. Great surroundings, with the added benefit on such a scorcher of being in the shade for the second half of proceedings.   

However, any match experience is bound to be affected by what pans out on the pitch. As things transpired, it wasn’t an exciting contest. India’s dismissal for a mediocre 233 meant England could play it nice and easy, take singles and the occasional boundary to maintain a steady 4.7 an over. This they achieved with metronomic efficiency, for which they had, not for the first time, a certain Joe Root to thank. 

Since I last sat in the Sophia Gardens crowd watching these two nations, in a T20, so much has changed. I think the only players to have remained were Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Adil Rashid and Jos Buttler. Now aged 65, I was thrilled like a young boy admiring a vintage Kohli one-day innings and Root’s unshowy accumulation. There was a typical straight six out of the ground from Buttler, crisp drives from Shubman Gill and some glorious pulls from Sam Curran. Probably the noisiest cheers came when Bumrah clipped Mahmood’s last over for eighteen, including a delightful flick through midwicket to the boundary near me and a pull for six over fine leg. 

233 was never going to be enough but when Bumrah, his ludicrous stuttering walk-up and straight-armed delivery a wild wonder to behold, induced Duckett to edge the first ball to Kishan, we thought: “Oh, hello….” Bethell didn’t last long either, but when you have Root and captain Brook in harness, England fans needn’t fret. Brook’s clownish attempt to repeat an earlier ramped six cost him his wicket but his Yorkshire mentor nudged, cut, flicked and drove to see the game out. 

Root was on 97 with twenty still needed and Gus Atkinson at the other end. My neighbours and I jokingly mused on the unlikely scenario of the Surrey bowler’s boundaries or wides or yet another no-ball from Bumrah depriving the batting genius of his deserved ton. No illegal deliveries but – blow me! – the improbably duly happened, and his partner duly pulled Prasidh through a gaping leg-side gap to clinch the much-needed victory. I winder what Joe was saying to Gus as they shuffled together back to the pavilion where a jubilant Brook was waiting… 

So what are the abiding memories of the day? Two all-time greats in Kohli and Bumrah chatting behind me on their balcony? The queues for the water-refilling stations? The towering trees of Bute Park as a backdrop? Jofra Archer working Rohit over? One of the Indian sub fielders handing his (much-needed) shades to a boy in the crowd? The call-response cries of “Boom-Boom – Bumrah!” whenever the bowler started another brief spell? All of the above! Seven years away, and it felt as if it was yesterday.

Somerset and Bears Blast into the Knockouts

 It has been a busy week or so for the Twenty20 squads, with some counties shoehorning five matches into the diary. Remarkably, Kent Spitfires won all five, lifting them from oblivion to the very heart of the quarter-final qualifying places. For that, they ought to thank Daniel Bell-Drummond, who plundered more than 300 runs, including a 58-ball 111 against Middlesex. 

At least by this time Middlesex had broken their embarrassing tournament duck, and they did so in a style so at odds with the rest of their T20 season. In front of 20,000 fortunate fans at the Oval, Surrey amassed another huge score. Will Jacks smashed Luke Hollman for five sixes in an over but misdirected a full-toss when aiming for number six. Uncharacteristically, Middlesex paced their chase – a Blast record 254 – to perfection. Eskinazi and Holden, who already had a century to his name this week, led the charge but it was young Jack Davies whose last over boundaries sealed their solitary success. 

It was a mixed week for Surrey, who had temporarily deposed Somerset from the top spot by beating their rivals at Taunton. However, they were taken apart by Hampshire at home. The South Coasters also boosted their quarter-final credentials by edging past Essex in a tight finish. Meanwhile, Somerset got their title push back on track with victories against Essex, Glamorgan and, less easily, Gloucestershire in the local derby. 

In the North division, the Birmingham Bears ensured a top-four finish by defeating Derbyshire at Old Trafford. In a rain-restricted tie, Livingstone and Buttler peppered the roof of the ground’s new hotel and the ‘keeper’s 83 off 36 balls propelled him past 10,000 career runs in T20 cricket, only the ninth man to do so. With Damen D’Oliveira in fine form, Worcestershire need to beat Durham and Derbyshire to proceed, and the Roses encounter in Manchester takes on an extra edge with both counties vying for a place in the quarters. 

Nottinghamshire are still very much in the hunt, but their batting has been very inconsistent. Not so, Alex Hales. His last three scores of 0, 5 and a first-ball 0 have been the model of consistency. Am I wrong to snigger at his misfortune? 

Team of the Week:- D’Oliveira (Wor), Bell-Drummond (Ken), Jacks (Sur), Buttler (Lan +), Holden (Mid), S Curran (Sur), Jordan (Sur), Van der Gugten (Gla), Sams (Ess), T Taylor (Nor), Zaman Khan (Der)

My Hundred: from 60 to 51

 60: Chris Gayle

After Brian Lara retired, I hoped Chris Gayle would continue the tradition of Caribbean cavaliers and attract young West Indians to the sport. It didn’t quite happen that way. Instead, Gayle’s nonchalant brilliance in Twenty20 diverted his attention away from real cricket towards the lucrative franchise league circuit. Of course he was fabulous to watch, swinging sixes with apparent ease, and I’d have placed him much higher had he not treated his Somerset contract several years ago with such apparent arrogance. A twenty-first century sporting icon nonetheless. 

59: Jos Buttler

In my biased opinion, Jos blotted his copybook after being allowed to leave Somerset for Lancashire. Not his fault, I know. He came up through the county ranks as a blazing wicketkeeper-batsman and I had a lot of respect for the teenager’s attitude to the game and spectators when I saw him play at Taunton. I didn’t foresee Jos becoming one of the finest one-day improvisers in the world, though. A frequent match-winner for England in ODIs boasting a strike rate of 120, the third highest on record, leaving the West Country certainly didn’t hold back his limited-overs career. 

58: Glen Chapple

Surely one of the greatest redheads never to play Test cricket for England, Chapple was an extremely consistent seam bowler, late-order batsman and captain for Lancashire, leading them to the Championship crown aged 37. He was granted a consolation ODI against Ireland in 2006, during which he was injured, so that was that. I was at Lord’s in ’96 when he took 6-18 to destroy Essex in the Nat West Trophy Final. Nearly two decades later I was willing him to remain fit enough to reach the 1000-wicket milestone in first-class cricket but he retired, stranded on 985. 

57: Ricky Ponting

Not the most popular of characters in England but then Aussie captains are never at the top of the Barmy Army’s Christmas card list. A more attacking batsman than Steve Waugh or Allan Border, he accumulated runs for fun in a twenty-year career, leading his country to huge success in Tests and World Cups. Hardly a loveable character, ‘Punter’ nevertheless appealed to me on various levels, notably his reluctance to go down the Twenty 20 pre-retirement route. Instead his final fixtures were for Surrey in the Championship and it seemed to me a noble way to bow out. 

56: Mushtaq Ahmed

The roly-poly leg-spinner, only 5 foot 4, is arguably the most successful spinner in the county game since Derek Underwood. ‘Mushie’ was not the best of Pakistan’s world-class crop of spinners in the Nineties but he proved a giant of the County Championship over many years. I saw him twirl for Somerset back in the 1990s but it was at Sussex in 2006 and 2007 where he took a hundred wickets twice in succession, winning titles in the process. Few players are so popular wherever he plays or, as in recent years, coaches. 

55: John Lever

Google him and you’ll probably find an association with Vaseline, like Mike Atherton’s pocketfuls of dirt. However, John Lever spent 22 years at Essex, taking more than 2,000 wickets for the county. His fast-medium swing was rarely appreciated by England selectors but JK’s wickets, economy rates and boundary fielding were instrumental in Essex’s success in both Championship and one-day competitions in the late Seventies and Eighties. I saw him play many times in an era when left-arm pacemen were a novelty. 

54: Adam Gilchrist

Such was Australia’s strength in depth that Adam Gilchrist was almost 25 when he made his ODI debut and nearly 28 when his Test chance finally came along. He soon made up for lost time, becoming the most exhilarating batsman of the Noughties, AB De Villiers and Chris Gayle notwithstanding. Unfortunately for me, he didn’t make many runs when I saw him play a T20 for Middlesex in his latter years but, like Viv Richards, he seemed to save his best for the grandest occasions like a World Cup Final,. Oh, and he was a damn fine wicketkeeper, too. 

53: Andrew Caddick

Although often derided as an inconsistent loner at international level, Andy Caddick nonetheless took 234 Test wickets, at a rate per match almost comparable with Anderson and better than Broad. Having spent twenty years at Somerset he is a legend in the West Country. New Zealand-born, he shared Richard Hadlee’s sticky-out ears, giant feet and devastating short-of-a-length seamer, and took tons of wickets on the traditional Taunton featherbed. Since his 2009 retirement I have watched several matches from in front of the Andrew Caddick Pavilion. 

52: Harry Pilling

I’ve not picked Ashton-Under-Lyne’s Harry Pilling just because he was only 5 foot 3. However, it’s certainly one of the main reasons! He was a feature of Lancashire’s hugely successful side in the 1970s, especially in one-day tournaments, and as such was frequently on my TV screen in the summer. Compared with the Lloyds, Hayes or Wood, ‘Arry wasn’t the most exciting or prolific batsman but he was highly proficient at finding the gaps and holding a one-day innings together His stature made him look comical in the field but I remember always looking out for him. 

51: Martin Crowe

It’s not Martin Crowe’s fault that the Somerset board’s decision to choose him over Viv Richards ripped the county apart. Even a massive Viv fan like me realised that the young NZ superstar was in 1987 a better prospect, and he duly delivered until his country called him home. He never played for us again but Martin went on to be one of the finest Black Cap batsmen – and useful medium-pacer – of all time. His first-class batting average was an awesome 56 and he top-scored in the 1992 World Cup. His death from cancer at just 53 rightly prompted national mourning.

Windies v England - ODI Cricket is a Funny Old Game

Chewing the fat over the completed one-day international series in the Caribbean, it’s difficult to make any intelligent summary other than – er – “Cricket is a funny ol’ game!”

Before the start of the tour, England may be forgiven for expecting to win the Test series and the ODIs with their hosts liable to nick the ever-unpredictable T20. So far it’s not turning out that way. Joe Root’s men were dealt a heavy blow to their collective egos by crushing defeats at Bridgetown at North Sound before Wood and Root inspired a consolation victory at St Lucia.

Then, in the past fortnight, the ODIs have thrown up a right topsy-turvy quartet of games. The first-innings totals have been 360 (WI), 289(WI), 418 (Eng) and 113 (Eng) with two successful chases and two failures. All very ‘even-Stevens’ and the Grenada washout ensured a respectable 2-2 draw even if it deprive the West Indies a chance to gain their first series win since 2014.

The first and fourth were entertaining run-fests which suited this world-leading England squad down to the ground. On Barbados, Jason Roy and Root hunted down a grand Gayle-inspired target with style, then at St George’s it was a barnstorming 150 in 77 balls from Jos Buttler, supported by his captain Eoin Morgan, which took the visitors past 400, no longer a rare occurrence.

Then it all came undone in the final fixture, as England collapsed against the short ball, notably bowled by young Oshane Thomas. Player after player perished to mistimed hooks, pulls and slashes, allowing the Windies to cruise past the finishing line like Usain Bolt in a field of primary schoolchildren on Sports Day. Instead of Bolt it was his fellow Jamaican Chris Gayle who reminded us what cricket will be missing when he retires after the World Cup. 77 in 27 balls was sensational even by Gayle’s high standards. Add that to his previous scores of 135, 50 and 162 and you get an amazing series for the veteran opener. He resembles a maroon-clad statue these days but when he can slog 39 sixes in four innings, who cares?

As for that World Cup, I don’t think this weekend’s humiliation will have much of a bearing. England’s match pitches will be prepared nice and low to enable Roy, Hales, Stokes, Buttler and Bairstow to do their thing, and the hosts will surely progress to the semis at the very least. This series has also demonstrated that the West Indies have their best chance of success for many years. Gayle looks hungry to bow out with a bang and with Hope and Hetmyer showing promise with the bat and a useful pace attack, the West Indies look more than capable of mixing it with the likes of India, Australia, Pakistan and, of course, England.

2018 Cricket Team of the Year

2018 wasn’t a vintage year for cricket, and there were no major international tournaments in the men’s game. However, Meg Lanning’s Australia reigned supreme in the Women’s T20 World Cup while Suzie Bates, Smiriti Mandhana. Poonam Yadav and Leigh Kasparek were the most successful exponents of the women’s game.

India remained the leading nation, retaining Test cricket’s ceremonial mace despite coming a 4-1 cropper last summer in England. Their travel woes currently seem behind them, temporarily at least, thanks to a resounding victory at the MCG this week. The Aussies are in minor disarray after having their captain and vice-captain banned for a year for their disgraceful policy of getting young Cameron Bancroft to cheat in South Africa. It didn’t help them much. Despite having destroyed England last winter, Australia were thoroughly outplayed by De Kock’s team.

England also ended the year in the top three of all formats and must be favourites in the 2019 World Cup. Pakistan head the T20 rankings while Sri Lanka’s decline has dropped them below Afghanistan and in danger of not qualifying for the next T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, the Afghans played their first ever Test match in June, but India trounced them inside two days. Rashid Khan may be the greatest limited-overs spin bowler in the world but he was granted a rude awakening in the first-class game, taking 2-154 on his Test debut.

Alastair Cook, Morne Morkel and Rangana Herath were amongst those announcing international retirements although only the former received a knighthood! Dale Steyn was fit for long enough to finally eclipse Shaun Pollock’s Test wicket record but Jimmy Anderson – wrapped in cotton wool for much of the year - just kept on swinging to become the most prolific fast bowler in Test history.

So who makes my team of the year?

Bangladesh’s Mominul Haque scored more first-class runs than anybody else, compiling four centuries in his last six games of the year, but openers were conspicuously absent from those near the top of the list. Instead I’ve had to raid the white ball stars. Shikhar Dhawan again makes my XI and, while Colin Munro was the leading T20 scorer, Jos Buttler beats him, thanks to a surprisingly successful recall to England’s five-day line-up. Only Jonny Bairstow had a superior ODI strike rate than Buttler’s 113.53.

Virat Kohli was the first name on my team sheet. Despite shouldering the burden of India’s captaincy in all three formats, it was his runs which did more than anything to keep his country at the top of the pile. I think he was the only man to accumulate more than 3,000 runs in all cricket, and that’s without any domestic first-class or 50-over fixtures. The man was a machine. It’s such a shame that New Zealand play so few internationals because Kane Williamson remains a global star, adding a T20 strike rate of 137 to his already impressive CV. 

Hashim Amla endured an uncharacteristically mediocre run, Steve Smith was crying on a beach somewhere, and Joe Root still couldn’t quite turn enough fifties into tons. In their places, Rohit Sharma, Bairstow and Khawaja were all in the frame but I’ve gone for Babar Azam. Whilst not as rapid as other contenders in the shorter formats, the Pakistani batsman was almost as consistent as Williamson across all types of cricket.

Shakib al-Hasan is officially the number one all-rounder but in 2019 I’d say he was marginally overtaken by West Indian seamer Jason Holder. Perhaps if Shakib had played more matches for Bangladesh he would have done enough to hold on to his place in my Eleven.

Behind the stumps, I could have plumped for De Kock or Buttler. However, I think 21 year-old Rishabh Pant has developed sufficiently to enjoy a stellar year. He made his Test debut in England while his T20 strike rate during the year of 173 was superior even to De Villiers and Finch! If only MS Dhoni would relinquish the ODI gloves, young Pant could step up to superstardom because he’s also no fool as a ‘keeper.

My leading pace bowlers are the same as 2018’s. Indeed, Kagiso Rabada is there for the third consecutive year. His Test figures were the strongest including 52 wickets at barely 20 apiece. Morkel, Anderson, Pat Cummins, Matt Henry and Duanne Olivier each staked a claim but I’ve selected Mohammad Abbas, whose 104 first-class wickets were achieved at a superb average of 15.37. He was brilliant for Leicestershire last summer and devastating against Australia in October.

Jasprit Bumrah’s peculiar straight-armed action proved equally adept in Tests as in the shorter stuff this year. His ODI economy was excellent as ever but he also took 48 wickets at 21 in the five-day game, including 6-33 in the recent contest with Australia at Melbourne. My final selection could have gone to South African Simon Harmer but there’s no ignoring Rashid Khan. He was by far the leading wicket-taker in T20, with 96 in 61 appearances at barely a run a ball, and also rattled off 48 victims in ODIs, albeit mostly against weak nations. The World Cup could be his stage this coming summer, and he’s still only 20. I wish him well.

In summary, here is my 2018 Team of the Year:-

Buttler (Eng), Dhawan (Ind), Kohli (Ind), Williamson (NZ), Babar Azam (Pak), Pant (Ind, +), Holder (WI), Rabada (SA), Bumrah (Ind), Abbas (Pak), Rashid Khan (Afg).

My ‘squad replacements’ would be Khawaja (Aus), Bairstow (Eng), Hasan Ali (Pak) and Shakib (Ban).

Pakistan deal England another blow

Pakistan don’t get many opportunities to play Test cricket these days. However, they must wish they played England twice a year every year because they seem to have our measure, to put it mildly. Two years ago, Misbah’s team drew 2-2 but could be said to have won on points after the ten-wicket massacre in the Oval finale. Now at Lord’s they have dealt England a First Test defeat for the first time since a West Indies team boasting Walsh, Ambrose, Lara et al won by the same margin, again on the fourth day. 

On the plus side, England fought back to draw that particular six-match series and it is not unfeasible they can salvage something from this truncated rubber in 2018. However, this week the gulf was somewhat embarrassing. Even Joe Root had to confess his side had been second best in all three disciplines: with the bat, ball and in the field. If England could blame unfamiliar conditions prepared by Johnny Foreigner for their winter travails, they can hardly use the same excuse for the pitch at HQ in May, ideal for Anderson and Broad to exploit, and Root’s top six to show the visitors how to bat on a Bank Holiday weekend. Oops!

It went wrong right from the first session on Thursday. Stoneman, Root and Malan were back in the pavilion inside sixteen overs. All that criticism of Alastair Cook – too old, too slow, too out of form, should be at three – and yet the ex-captain was he only man to show any stickability, easily the top scorer in the first innings, with 70. I’m sure Jos Buttler wasn’t selected as a specialist batsman at seven to come in and shore up the lower order midway through the second session, and of course he failed.

Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali aren’t usually touted as frightening pacemen but they skilfully showed up England’s deficiencies and bowled them out for 184. In reply, no fewer than four Pakistani batsman passed 50, and who knows how many Babar Azam might have scored had he not had his forearm broken by a rising ball from Ben Stokes when well placed on 68. Nobody bowled particularly badly; they just weren’t effective enough and Pakistan established a healthy lead of 179.

The obvious team talk would have been to exhort all batsmen to knuckle down, play each ball on its merits, blah-blah-blah. However, when Cook was LBW to an Abbas beauty in the second over to stunned silence in St John’s Wood, the warnings were there one more. Poor Mark Stoneman failed again while Joe Root did at least produce another useful 60-odd. When he was sixth out at 110, a three-day rout looked probable. But from such barren ground, the recalled Buttler and debutant Dom Bess – in his first ever first-class match at Lord’s – bore fruit, developing a 125 partnership which lasted to stumps.

Could the pair – Somerset past and present – maintain the stand and help set Pakistan a challenging target? Whaddya think?! Jos had added just a single before Abbas trapped him leg-before. Seventeen balls later, England had collapsed to 242 all out. Pakistan can be jittery when faced with an apparently straightforward chase but, despite Azhar Ali succumbing to an Anderson gem for 4, there were no major alarms and the job was done with some glorious strokes, including a clubbed six by Haris Sohail off a Bess full-toss.

There’s less than a week to regroup, reconsider and revive England’s fortunes. As for changes, Stoneman’s axe was inevitable and his former Durham team-mate Keaton Jennings has been in sufficiently fine early season for Lancashire to warrant a recall as Cook’s partner. Dom Bess took no wickets but, with his West Country colleague Jack Leach still out of action, should be in the frame again, if only because of his useful batting. At just 20, we Somerset faithful were hoping he would get a few good seasons to learn his craft so I hope the experience doesn’t dent his confidence. Fortunately, it is hardly a Kerrigan-esque situation.

In a way I can see why Ed Smith and co opted to bring back the IPL sloggers to try something more exciting but to me it smacks of desperation. I cannot understand why some suggest Bairstow hands the gloves to Buttler and swap roles. It would mean no change in personnel and arguably weakening the ‘keeping. Crazy! Maybe it’s time for the new chief selector Smith to venture outside Middlesex for a change and see who else is out there in county cricket other than Malan, Morgan and Finn, languishing in the second division. He may be in for a pleasant surprise. Meanwhile, Pakistan will be licking their lips, a well-drilled outfit of excellent young bowlers, able batsmen and enthusiastic fielders hoping to seal a series victory at Headingley next week. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility.

India Take the Upper Hand

No sooner had I re-asserted my prediction of a drawn series that India re-assert their dominance over the rest of the Test cricket world by winning the second fixture in Visakhapatnam. The toss was always going to be crucial as neither side wanted to be batting come the fifth day. Alastair Cook lost on the coin, and so the mountain climb began.

Virat Kohli had no hesitation in batting first, yet when India lost both openers to Anderson and Broad inside five overs, he may have felt a slight twinge of regret. However, by the third session, the pitch was behaving itself and he and Pujara were making hay, putting on 226 for the third wicket. The restored James Anderson had both Pujara and Rahane caught behind before stumps.

England may well have been pleased to dismiss India for under 500 on day two, but they struggled at the crease. Apart from Root, Stokes and Bairstow, the batting looked poor, leaving Ravi Ashwin to claim another five-for and India to establish a 200-run lead.

To their credit, Stuart Broad (4-33) and Adil Rashid (4-82) bowled well second time around, and Kohli’s 81 was by far the highest score. Nevertheless, a target of 405 in four sessions was almost impossible to achieve. Based on the experience of Rajkot, if any pair looked capable of knuckling down and preserving their wickets, Cook and Hameed did. The first wicket didn’t fall until the 51st over. OK, s they had a mere 75 on the board , but that didn’t matter. It was all about survival.

On the final day, the crucial wicket was Joe Root’s, brilliantly set up and despatched by Shami. The spinners did the rest, and England did their impression of a cheap caravan in the teeth of Storm Angus. Eight wickets tumbled in 30-odd overs. The 246-run margin looks enormous, but battling for 97 overs was a creditable performance by the losing side.

However, the weakness of England’s batting was once more exposed. Hameed has shown he has the right stuff alongside Cook, Root, Bairstow and possibly Stokes. Moeen Ali and Ben Duckett accumulated a pathetic six runs between them. While Moeen will surely keep his place for Mohali, new boy Duckett has already been dropped (“withdrawn”).

The choice of his replacement was a horrible one: a hopelessly out-of-form Gary Ballance or a man who hasn’t played a first-class match in a year, Jos Buttler. The latter got the nod. Of course, if you can strike the ball well in T20s, you can strike the ball in Tests. Being aggressive to the spinners may work for a while. But Jos needs to remember that Ashwin et al know how to bowl tight, playing the waiting game. As Curtly Ambrose used to say, they should let the batsman get himself out. Ansari must surely be left out, too, presumably for Chris Woakes, unless Broad’s foot injury is too serious.

Even in the flush of success, India are also strengthening their squad. But not with Dhawan, deemed not to have proved his fitness in the Ranji Trophy this week. On the other hand, Bhuvi Kumar has, and he will surely beef up the seam and swing attack.

India will be favourites but even if England lose again, they can console themselves with one thought: they aren’t as bad as Australia!

An England World Record!

England. 50-overs. World record. Three words and phrases I never expected to appear in the same sentence! And yet this was just one of the many records which tumbled this week at Trent Bridge.

The match result states boldly but barely that England beats Pakistan by 169 runs, but that conceals a multitude of amazements. Just about everything Eoin Morgan’s side did worked a treat. Jason Roy may have gloved a catch behind in the sixth over but Alex Hales finally delivered on his promise. He not only reached three figures but also proceeded to whack the Pakistani attack all over the place to notch the highest ever ODI score by an England player. His 171 eclipsed Robin Smith’s 23 year-old 167 not out.

What surprised me was not Hales’ own performance, but that it had taken an England player so long to knock Smith off the top. In these days of short boundaries, high-tech bats and a more attacking mindset, 23 years is a long time to hold a batting record.

When Hales finally fell LBW, he and Joe Root had compiled the highest partnership scored against Pakistan. Root himself achieved his fifth successive score of 60 or more, itself no mean feat. And then the fun really began!

Jos Buttler, returning after a long layoff, came together with Morgan and together they plundered 161 from a mere 12 overs. Buttler struck the fastest ever England 50, in 22 balls, and the skipper would also have equalled the record had Jos not broken it minutes earlier! Sixes were flayed from Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz, whose 110 runs conceded was the second highest in ODI history.

Buttler’s last ball boundary then took England’s total past the best ODI innings total by any international side, ever! 444-3! There had been 16 sixes in all, in contrast to the way Sri Lanka had recorded the previous world best ten years previously against the Netherlands at Amstelveen. Then, despite rapid centuries from Jayasuriya and Dilshan, only three of the 59 boundaries actually cleared the ropes.

As for Pakistan’s reply, it was never going to come close to the target. Chris Woakes bowled well for his four wickets, but Sharjeel Khan did at least go for his shots, taking 54 of his 58 runs in boundaries. However, the last record of the day was a positive one for a Pakistani player. Mohammad Amir’s final ‘what the hell’ onslaught brought him 58 from 28 balls, he first ever ODI half-century for a number eleven!

So a sensational day for England, and it was almost incidental that they wrapped up a series win with just three matches gone. I expect some team changes on both sides now that there is no trophy to play for. However, the way teams are playing, more records are sure to follow in quick succession, not necessarily in England this summer. There have now been 18 scores of 400 or more, eight of them in the past two years. Can 500 be far away….?

New Zealand unbeaten in both World T20 tourneys

Apparently there are a couple of international cricket tournaments going on at present in India. An England are doing rather well in both! I haven’t seen much of either, bar the occasional 4-minute taster courtesy of CricInfo’s post-match online highlights packages which consist almost entirely of sixes and wickets. However, what’s interesting about the Men’s World T20 competition in particular is the performances of the leading contenders, good and bad.

Being the host nation, India would have been expected to emerge unscathed from the group stages. However, having lost the opener to New Zealand in somewhat embarrassing fashion, it took a special Virat Kohli innings to see dismiss the Australian challenge in the final Group 2 match at Mohali and see them through. Steve Smith’s side must have fancied their chances of making the semi-finals but, despite some useful all-round cameos from James Faulkner and the retiring Shane Watson, they managed to beat only Pakistan and Bangladesh.

In Group A, England have experienced a typical rolleroaster ride. Initially smashed by Chris Gayle and given an almighty scare by Afghanistan, they were rescued by Joe Root in an amazing run chase against South Africa, then Jos Buttler and fine death bowling by Willey, Jordan and Stokes to thwart Sri Lanka in Delhi.

West Indies had already wrapped up qualification by the time they fell short of Afghanistan’s meagre total of 123 at Nagpur, so this result, memorable as it was for the minnows, probably counts for nothing in the semi-finals.

For all the media coverage of Kohli’s match-winning 82 not out, Pakistan’s miserable campaign and Sri Lanka’s unhealthy reliance on Angelo Mathews and a few spinners, the real stars of the World Cup so far have been New Zealand. The only team with a 100% record, the Black Caps have looked typically ruthless in the group stage. And all their victories have come batting first!

Yet instead of the expected foundation built of Williamson, Taylor, Southee and Boult, their success so far has owed much to the reading of the pitches and the bold selection of spinners at the expense of the experienced seam and swing brigade. Will Sodhi, Milne and Santner strangle the England batsmen in the same way? Will the West Indian leggie Samuel Badree, along with Russell and the wily Dwayne Bravo pose a similar threat to India? The next few days will give us the answers. This is T20 so anything can happen, but I predict an England-India final.

In the Women’s tournament, New Zealand also won four out of four, even beating red-hot favourites Australia thanks to Leigh Kasparek’s three early wickets and Morna Nielsen’s impressive stats of 4-0-4-0! England skipper Charlotte Edwards has been leading from the front and now meet old rivals Australia in the semis. I enjoyed their Ashes contest at Cardiff last summer and so I’ll probably pay more attention to this fixture than either of the men’s knockouts. I reckon Meg Lanning’s team will gain revenge for that defeat in Wales and proceed to meet the West Indies in the climax.

AB vs JB: who is the greatest of them all?

Putting aside today’s rare blemish at the hands of Indian spinners, AB De Villiers seems unable to do little wrong these days. 100 Tests, nearly 8,000 runs and an average of 52 tells a formidable story. Yet much of his reputation rests on his even more amazing one-day record.

Again, the stats tell much of the story: 195 ODIs, 8,403 runs, an average of 54 and, even better, a strike rate of more than a run a ball. Extraordinary! And he seems to improve with age. The loss of Kallis and Smith has left the South African batting weaker but now everything seems to be relying on AB and his partner in class, Hashim Amla. In the current series with India, it’s AB whose wicket is the one they want. Following three successive one-day centuries, he battled to a couple of ‘halfs’ in the opening Tests while all around him collapsed to Ashwin, Jadeja et al so that reputation is well deserved.

Meanwhile, Jos Buttler’s woes were conveniently forgotten after his latest 50-over blast against Pakistan, the third time he has broken England’s fastest hundred record in recent years. Poor Jason Roy. Strikes a maiden international century and few seem to be interested! As a wicketkeeper, comparisons with De Villiers are inevitable, but utterly ridiculous. Unless you consider the Twenty20 format….

AB’s T20 international career is his Achilles heel but when you include all the IPL and other biff-bash stuff, his century count and strike rate look world class. But so do those of Buttler. A top score of 72 not out is hardly earth-shattering, but an SR of 144 is one of the best in cricket. As a finisher down the order, few are superior to Jos. I remember seeing him a few times at Taunton as a teenager or 20 year-old. While Kieswetter and Trescothick peppered the legside boundary up the order, young Jos could improvise with innovative shots like the ‘inside out’ over extra cover for a rapid 30 or 40 not out.

Trouble is, Buttler has yet to learn the ropes in first-class cricket. That’s why Kieswetter was preferred to him as Somerset’s regular ‘keeper and why Buttler consequently jumped ship to Lancashire, a so-called ‘bigger’ county. An average in the longer form of 34 is satisfactory but way short of AB’s. Yet AB doesn’t thrash the ball around in Test matches. He says he learned how not to get out several years ago, not taking unnecessary risks.

Renowned strokemakers like Sehwag and Gilchrist retired with Test match strike rates in the 80s, yet AB’s is a relatively sedate 55. Buttler is a creation of the modern era; a brilliant batsman capable of thinking on his feet and with supreme timing able to find the boundary almost at will. AB is, too, but has the added advantage of knowing not only his considerable strengths but also the requirements of the different formats, especially the number one: five-day cricket.

Jos Buttler is just 25, six years younger than the South African maestro, and there is still time to learn.his first-class trade in county cricket to become a Test superstar. The thing is: does she want to or need to, given that the rewards of the sport lie mainly in limited overs, where his talents are most obvious? Meanwhile, let’s relish the all-round brilliance of AB De Villiers while we can. One he learns how to negate spin on a turning wicket, no bowler will ever have a chance against him.

England v New Zealand – Memorable but for the wrong reasons?

Now that we’ve all caught our breath, it’s time to reflect on the truly memorable ODI series between England and New Zealand. I always felt it would be a competitive contest between a side in captain Brendon McCullum’s mould and one desperately seeking to copy it after that dismal World Cup just a few months earlier. And so it proved.

However, the astonishing turnaround in England’s fortunes must have surprised most onlookers. Of course, the pitches, boundary distances, bat technology and fielding restrictions have all been created to boost run rates and the six count. All that was needed for England to capitalise was introduce the ethos of ‘take a gamble; there’s somebody else padded up should you get out’. The bold policy of picking a bunch of T20 specialists signalled the new regime’s intention and all the players had to do is carry it out to the letter.

Easier said than done, of course, and the Black Caps, as England found out to their cost in the World Cup, are amongst the best in the business when it comes to the fifty-over format. Nevertheless, it has been an exhilarating series for the batsmen and spectators who drool over a succession of heaves over square leg, ragged top-edges over third man and flicks into the crowd just 50 metres from the crease. The records racked up rapidly;
- The most runs in a series of five or fewer matches (3,151);
- The highest ever run rate a five-match rubber (7.15 an over)
- England’s first ever score of 400 (408-9 at Edgbaston)
- England’s biggest winning margin (210 runs, in the same game)
- The fastest ever England century (by Jos Buttler – again!)

And yet New Zealand would have triumphed had Jonny Bairstow not stepped up to the plate in the rain-hit decider at Chester-le-Street! When Joe Root and Buttler smashed centuries in the first game, we knew something special was on the cards. 27 sixes featured in the second at The Oval, where England narrowly failed thanks to the Duckworth/Lewis intervention. At the Rose Bowl, it was the turn of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to plunder hundreds in a well-measured run chase, before the feat was repeated by Root and Eoin Morgan at Trent Bridge. Here, England made a target of 350 look ridiculously easy. The clincher in the North East included fewer runs and ‘only’ seven sixes but far more drama.

The statistics show that Williamson, Taylor, Morgan and Root each aggregated more than 250 runs, the former finishing on an amazing 396. Of the fifteen players who faced at least 50 balls, only three had strike rates of under 100 per 100 balls. Curiously these were Taylor, Martin Guptill and England’s supposedly big-hitting opener Jason Roy. Morgan’s six tally of 16 easily outnumbered anybody else’s but I have more respect for Willamson’s ability to find the gaps, collecting a mightily impressive 49 fours throughout the series.

So it was all brilliant, wasn’t it? Not if you’re a bowler, it wasn’t! Nobody took even ten wickets. Ben Stokes, Steve Finn and Adil Rashid led the way and, while Mark Wood claimed only two at 78.5 apiece, his economy rate was a very commendable 5.23. Chris Jordan and Neil McCullum went for at least nine an over. The balance between bat and ball has become hideously distorted, but one good thing has been the standard of fielding. Catches will always be dropped occasionally but the athleticism in the deep is better than it has ever been. Just think about the Southee-Boult boundary ‘relay catch’ in the second ODI. And in recent years, Southee seems to make this look routine.

I don’t know whether such a runfest is good for cricket but it will add to the already massive Ashes mania, and boost Sky TV ratings. Bums on seats are already assured, even at Cardiff, although sadly mine won’t be amongst them. Too expensive and not enough remaining holiday entitlement! In my view, from an England perspective, Hales, Roy and Billings have not justified their own hype. However, the series has demonstrated once again that, for all the country’s previously poor recent ODI performances, especially at home, Joe Root and Jos Buttler are world-class.

The other element to celebrate is the spirit in which the series was conducted. McCullum and Morgan are fierce competitors but good friends, and it showed. In this respect, Broad and Anderson were not missed at all. England fans should doff a cap to New Zealand for showing their side how 50-over cricket can be played. Now we just need to allow spectators to admire the skills of Southee, Boult, Henry, Finn et al as bowlers rather than as six-fodder!

Durham dominate, Buttler blasts

While England were rattling up a record ODI total against New Zealand, runs were distinctly hard to come by last weekend in the County Championship. On Day One, all batting sides were dismissed for under 300, although bowlers were less dominant a few days later.

Durham didn’t have it all their own way at Chester-le-Street. However, Somerset’s second innings batting frailties were again exposed, and Sunderland-born Paul Coughlin’s 4-10 finished things off with a day to spare, taking Durham to the top of Division One. Somerset, meanwhile, were consigned to bottom place, despite more effective bowling by Craig Overton (4-40 and 3-41).

Their cause was helped by Yorkshire’s four-wicket defeat of previous leaders Middlesex. Jonny Bairstow’s unbeaten 125 held the White Roses’ first innings together, and James Brooks bounced back with 5-44. Adam Lyth’s return after a successful Test match stint included a useful 67 which steered his side to victory, and within eleven points of Durham who have played a game more.

Hampshire recorded their first win of the season, easily beating Sussex at Hove. Gareth Berg enjoyed his best week of 2015, taking five wickets and sharing a 165-run partnership with Adam Wheater. He must have been gutted to be run out on 99, though. Fidel Edwards hastened Sussex’s defeat with his first five-for in two years, and his team escaped the relegation zone by three points. It’s already looking to be any two from Hampshire, Somerset and Worcestershire, as I thought at the start of the season.

Looking to replace them, Lancashire and Surrey both won again in Division Two. Despite another ten wickets for Craig Miles and a century from the in-form Michael Klinger, Gloucestershire went down by 91 runs. Lancashire’s veteran Glen Chapple made his first appearance of the summer and added another to his first-class wicket tally of 975, but Kyle Jarvis’ 4-67 and 5-39 proved more decisive. Meanwhile, Surrey made short work of Leicestershire in another low-scoring contest. James Burke took a wicket with his first ball in the Championship en route for match statistics of 6-54. Team-mate Tom Curran, son of the late Kevin who graced the county game a few decades ago, fared even better. He captured nine scalps and contributed an important 60 late-order runs on the first afternoon.

It was an even shorter match at Canterbury, where wickets tumbled early on. Mark Footitt (5-45), Wayne White (6-25) and Matt Cole (5-24) were the main beneficiaries. However, Derbyshire found batting somewhat easier second time around, and Billy Godleman and Chesney Hughes ensured they won by eight wickets.

Tom Westley struck the week’s highest individual score (179) as Essex played out a draw at Northampton. Jesse Ryder and the home county’s Richard Levi each contributed more than 200 runs, too, as the game petered out into a draw leaving Essex adrift of Kent by eight points at the foot of the table.

Next week, Lancashire ought to extend their lead by defeating Leicestershire, but Glamorgan should challenge Surrey in their Guildford encounter. Essex must beat Derbyshire to give themselves a positional boost. In the top tier, Durham can put daylight between themselves and Yorkshire if they overcome fourth placed Sussex. Meanwhile, Somerset can leapfrog Nottinghamshire and Hampshire by thumping Chris Read’s side at Taunton. Warwickshire could also be vulnerable to Worcestershire if Moeen Ali plays.

The England discard, Ali, along with Ian Bell, each scored rapid 90s for their counties in last weekend’s T20 fixtures, even outclassing another big innings for Chris Gayle. I’ve a ticket for what was to be his last appearance for Somerset at Cardiff on Saturday but, sadly, he's been allowed to head back to the Caribbean instead. Cheated, or what?! Oh, well. It'll probably be washed out anyway....

Team of the Week: Moeen Ali (Wor), Root (Eng/Yor), Westley (Ess), Klinger (Glo), Levi (Nor), Ryder (Ess), Buttler (Eng/Lan +), Curran (Sur), Jarvis (Lan), Brooks (Yor), Miles (Glo)

Cook's ban a blessing in disguise?

When I read of Alastair Cook's one-match ban for orchestrating his side's slow over rate - again - I laughed. With seemingly every England fan begging him to stand down before the World Cup, he has been the archetypal immovable object insisting that his form will return. Soon. Honest!

The fact that England actually beat Sri Lanka seems to have been completely overlooked. Shouldn't we have congratulated him for leading the team to a well-earned victory? Was the slow over rate a brilliant ploy to frustrate Sanga, Mathews et al? And let's not forget his assured 42-ball innigs of 34 either. Or did the bowlers get together, tieing their bootlaces between each delivery in the sure knowledge that Cook's enforced lay-off would allow the selectors to test the post-Cook line-up earlier than expected?

Woakes and Finn bowled well, but it was Moeen Ali, Joe Root and Jos Buttler whose stroke-making intelligently reached the target eight balls early. With Alex Hales, in for Bell, contributing 27 and Bopara a single six, much of the new batting brigade looked in good nick.

On the down side, Ben Stokes' bowling was once more not up to the required standard, and Eoin Morgan's latest failure hardly makes him the ideal successor to Cook as ODI captain. I've always considered him over-rated. A Test average of 30 is mediocre and an ODI average of 37 is not exactly world-class, and remarkably similar to both Root's and Cook's, even if his strike rate is a very respectable 85 (to Cook's 77).

While Cook sits out his suspension, I'd hope the selectors bring in James Taylor, probably at three while Hales is promoted to form a potentially lively left-handed opening strike force. While I like Ian Bell, this must surely be the time to give Taylor a go. Winning this series is hardly a priority; developing a competitive World Cup outfit for 2015 and beyond most certainly is.

I still worry more about the bowling, which looks distinctly toothless without Anderson and Broad, and their physical condition makes them unlikely to be sustainable for long. Finn and Woakes have hardly been injury-free in recent years either, and in my view have lost a good three years' international experience. Nevertheless, get the batting right and, as India and Sri Lanka have shown before, success is always possible.

England Lost in Transition?

Everyone seems to have been putting the boot into England in recent months, be they ex-players or representatives of other nations. Clearly they have ulterior motives, such as selling books, settling old scores and unsettling their World Cup rivals. Nevertheless, the ECB and the coaching chiefs must have realised that tactics and strategies can never remain static. You do need to look at the influence of Twenty20 on scoring rates, the use of spinners and ploys concerning Powerplays, etc.

Australia and South Africa have just indulged in a right ding-dong series which left the former fractionally ahead of India at the top of the ICC rankings. England should leapfrog Sri Lanka into fourth place with a series win in the coming weeks and we should remember that SL come into these matches on the back of a 5-0 drubbing by Kohli and co in a hastily-arranged competition. True, not all their superstars played, but England do have some world-class performers of their own. All England have to worry about is where they sit in the batting order, which of the lesser mortals join them, and how to pace an innings. Not much to ask, is it?!

Since the start of 2013, England have played 39 ODIs, losing 21 of them. They won only three out of nine home fixtures during the summer, half to their opponents this week. It's not all about bad starts. Watching their painful mid-innings agonies against India at Cardiff in August, the so-called future of England's batting looked anything but. Alex Hales, Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan struggled to score boundaries as much as Cook, Bell and Root, while the only sixes came from Woakes and Tredwell when the game was already lost.

Cook is clearly hanging on for the World Cup and it is not beyond the bounds of credibility that he can score some runs in Sri Lanka and indeed Down Under next year. Moeen Ali's elevation to his opening partner is, to me, a no-brainer. His blistering 50 in the warm-up proved he can be effective not only as a useful spinner but also an exciting strokeplayer.

Ian Bell will come in at number three but what is the preferred middle-order? Presumably Joe Root will start the first game, as will Eoin Morgan, probably my least favourite England batsman now KP has departed. Ravi Bopara has his critics but he is a decent all-rounder capable of rattling the advertising boards and frustrating batsmen with his nagging medium-pacers. Jos Buttler may have jumped ship from Somerset to join a relegated Lancashire (ha-ha!) but he is the undisputed 'keeper-batsman for his country and is capable of ferocious hitting towards the end of an innings and taking the attack to bowlers slow and quick.

I wouldn't play Chris Jordan or Harry Gurney, and James Tredwell deserves a place only where the wicket looks conducive to slow off-breaks. James Anderson is a shoo-in, and I reckon it's worth giving Steven Finn another opportunity to bowl to his potential. He has been going backwards since his initial breakthrough, and he needs a decent series to book his seat for the flight to Australia where the pitches will probably suit him better. The fact also remains that his is number eight in the world rankings, ahead of all Sri Lankans. I'd prefer Chris Woakes to Ben Stokes because of the latter's expensive bowling. The Warwickshire man is no mug with the bat in any form of cricket, either, despite the more aggressive demeanour of the Durham star.

Finally, I must mention James Taylor. Previously best known as a fine County Championship batsman for Leicesteshire then Nottinghamshire, he hugely enhanced his reputation in the one-day game in 2014 and I'd love to seem him get some ODIs uner his belt. England are right not to fill their batting berths with T20 specialists like Roy, Hales and Wright. Players like Taylor and Vince must get their chance soon, capable of keeping the score ticking over while the more explosive hitters like Hales and Buttler do their stuff.

Ideally I'd have Hales opening but with Cook esconced, this would be my favoured Eleven: Cook (*), Ali, Bell, Taylor, Root, Bopara, Buttler (+), Woakes, Tredwell (or Stokes, in which case he'd advance to eight), Anderson, Finn. Sri Lanka must start favourites although theirs is a worryingly ageing squad. At least Angelo Mathews is 'on fire' right now and, as ever, the veterans like Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Herath will shoulder most of the responsibility. Let the contest begin!

Don't neglect Cricket's grassroots

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buttler comes of age!

I had a very enjoyable day at the SWALEC to enjoy a game of fluctuating fortunes before England nicked it in the final over. The sunshine and temperatures were autumnal but at least the 4th ODI took place on the day in between two very wet ones and a near- full house enjoyed almost 100 hours of intriguing cricket which left the series poised at one-all with one to play.

Few of those I'd seen at Oval Test last month were playing in Cardiff, but it didn't matter, especially when England's three survivors were part of an uwanted piece of history. ANyway, back to the beginning when a wild opener from Steven Finn was followed by a full in-swinger which trapped Aarn Finch plumb LBW for 0. Shane Watson made only six before Michael Clarke and Shaun Marsh steadied the ship. It wasn't an easy ride because Finn and his almost equally tall partner Boyd Rankin were constantly beating the bat. So, too, was Ben Stokes, consistently bowling at 85mph+.

It was clear that Australia would need to target the spinner(s) when Eoin Morgan deigned to risk Tredwell and Root, and that's what happened. George Bailey had played himself in and, when joined by Matthew Wade, they took the opportunity to up the tempo somewhat. with a 250+ score now possible, Wade fell to a miscued hook, and the innings disintegrated. Bailey struck three towering straight sixes on his way to 87 when he feathered a catch to Buttler. From 209-5, Australia slumped to 227 all out and England looked the more likely winners.

When Pietersen flicked a leg-side boundary in the first over, it looked as if Morgan's side would take charge and I'd be home by 5 o'clock! Then came the third over. Clint McKay's first ball was missed by KP and the LBW decision was an easy one. In came Jonathan Trott who inexplicably followed a wide one and edged to Finch at second slip. On a hat-trick, McKay then induced another edge off a tentative drive by Joe Root. It just about carried to Watson at slip. Cue great jubilations from the men in yellow, and the crowd went silent.

Morgan came down the steps in his usual calm fashion but he and Carberry were given a real tough time by the five-strong seam attack, which looked a good decision by the selectors. McKay bowled another two maidens while Mitch Johnson delivered a number of very quick deliveries, one timed at 94.4mph. Even from square-on in the stands, I could pick the exceptional balls but when he bowled short, Carberry in particular looked extremely vulnerable. After 20 overs, England were floundering at just 51-3 yet in this T20 era, six an over to win is not as difficult as it once may have been. This batting line-up also packs a powerful punch down to eight and that made the difference at the end. Morgan and Carberry reached their 50s in quick succession, notchnig a century stand in the process before the skipper chopped on to his stumps on 53.

The Hampshire man followed three overs later. An unconvincing innings at times but he lasted to make a decent 63. Ravi Bopara never looked comfortable and Jos Buttler was fortunate to win his DRS appeal when the big screen showing the ball missig he off stump by a fraction. However, that reprieve, together with the arrival of Ben Stokes, changed England's fortunes dramatically. Needing more than 7 an over from the last 11 overs, some crunching shots were called for and these two were more than capable. Forty came from overs 40 to 43 as the Somerset 'keeper took control. Stokes' departure with nine still needed brought jitters to the crowd as Tredwell survived some dot-balls from McKay. Seven from the last over and Buttler on strike. The first ball from Johnson was despatched out of the ground and suddenly it was all over. A dispirited-looking Clarke brought his field shuffling in close but Buttler simply crashed it stight ov erthem for the winning boundary.

Not as many runs as his ODI best last week, but this time he took the responsibility for a run chase and it was successful. Rankin had an excellent game, but Jos took the Man of the Match award and his future possibly moving further away from his home county. That would be a severe blow to Somerset but he is looking the real deal as a number six or seven in England's 50-over squad.

Battle of the wicketkeepers

As with goalkeepers in football, England has often been synonymous with world-class wicketkeepers. For every Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton and David Seaman, cricket has been blessed with Godfrey Evans, Alan Knott, Matt Prior and maybe even Alec Stewart when his batting was added to the mix.

When Stewart started to focus on opening the batting and subsequently retured, there were several suitable candidates clamouring to take the gloves. Warren Hegg had a couple of opportunities on the 1998-9 Ashes tour Down Under. The following summer, 20 year-old Chris Read claimed six catches and a stumping in a Test victory over New Zealand, but he has managed only fourteen other appearances since then despite clearly being one of the best 'keeper-batsmen in county cricket, even skippering Nottinghamshire to domestic success. Like the others, Essex's finest, James Foster was discarded after an Ashes game, the last of seven caps between 2001 and 2002.

Geraint Jones may sound Welsh, was born in Papua New Guinea but was also the latest in a long line of distinguished Kent 'keepers. He was lucky (or good) enough to be the incumbent during England's purple patch between 2004 and 2006, including the famous Ashes triumph of 2005. He played 34 times in only 2 1/2 years but it was the Aussie backlash in 2006-7 which finished his Test career, even if the heavy defeat was hardly his fault. Tim Ambrose earned eleven Test appearances in 2008-9 after heavy scoring in the Championship and, unlike the aforementioned rivals, began and ended his spell with half-centuries. However, this wasn't enough to keep him as the number one gloveman. Sadly his domestic form with Warwickshire suffered and he eventually took time out of the sport before recovering last summer to help win the title.

Ambrose has been dogged by Matt Prior. The latter displaced him at Sussex and now he has done the same for England. However, this has proved to be a justified decision by selectors as the balding one has gone on to become the fourth highest in England history, in terms of both Test caps and dismissals. His Test average, batting mostly at seven, is an impressive 43, superior even to Alec Stewart's, and his skills behind the stumps has meant his place has not really come under fire - until now.

This week's news of Craig Kieswetter's dropping in favour of his Somerset team-mate and friend, Jos Buttler, in the ODI squad, demonstrates the wealth of 'keeper/batsmen in the county game again. Paul Nixon enjoyed international recognition in his twilight years, and both Phil Mustard and Stephen Davies were given a go for a year or two, along with Prior, of course. With the rise of T20, the ability to thrash bowling to all corners has become an essential part of the 'keeper's armoury. Kieswetter's famous leg-side hoiks eventually had him promoted to opening the batting but it's a while since he delivered a really good innings.

Buttler has earned a reputation for brutal 'finishing', developing his 'scoop' shot and 'inside out' thumps over extra cover. His extraordinary List A average of almost 60 owes much to the fact that a third of his innings have ended not out. However, I feel he needs to have some decent innings for England behid him, rather than just a number of lively cameos. Of course, if he bats at seven in T20, it's not often you get the chance to smash a half-century, especially when your team-mates at the top of the order are doing their jobs.

It's been a few years since the Wedmore lad scored a first-class century and I can't believe he's already 22. Therefore, he is well below Kieswetter and Prior in the Test pecking order. The main danger to the latter surely has to be Jonny Bairstow. While playing 5 Tests, 7 ODIs and 15 T20Is, the Yorkshireman has yet to stand behind the stumps. However, he has a first-class batting average of 46 and has not disgraced himself as a specialist batsman in Test cricket. He can be a highly destructive number three or four in limited overs but has yet to prove it at the highest level. Nevertheless, Jonny is a mere 23 and could become the England regular in a few years' time. However, Matt Prior will have something to say about that!

Young Player of the Year: Jonny Bairstow

Yorkshire's wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow has been voted the 2011 Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year, and my congratulations to him. While the leading run-scorers and wicket-takers in domestic cricket were no spring chickens (Trescothick, Masters, Adams, Richardson et al), there are plenty of talented youngsters in England, some of whom have this year broken through at international level.

In a way, it is a shame that there are no current vacancies in the Test squad, as they seem to be doing very nicely, thank you! However, the ODI and T20 fixtures have offered some of the newer faces a chance to shine on the international stage. The 2009 winner James Taylor has made it only to the Lions captaincy and must have come close to beating Ravi Bopara to the number six batting berth towards the end of the India series. However, England is awash with promising stars in all positions.

Alex Hales (aged 22) made his international debut in a T20 (with a duck!) but he averages over 40 in first-class cricket and, provided he doesn't get too wrapped up in the biff-bang stuff, is a potential Test opener or number three. Rory Hamilton-Brown is only just turned 24 and he showed great maturity in leading Surrey to the CB40 trophy, and his team-mate Jason Roy (21) is a very stroke-maker in limited-over cricket, too. Ben Stokes (20) had a terrific season in 2010 but only made his debut in ODIs this summer. However, I would argue that he is better suited to the first-class game where he averages 44 with five hundreds already. I suppose his medium pace bowling option gives him the edge for a place in one-dayers.

The current vogue for T20 has enabled a raft of young spinners to emerge in recent years. Last year it was Danny Briggs and Simon Kerrigan, although the latter made a vital contribution to Lancashire's late surge to this summer's County Championship. This year it was the turn of Durham's Scott Borthwick (21). As with Stokes and Hales, his elevation to England status came in a form to which he is arguably less well equipped, i.e. 50-over cricket. His statistics look notably better in first-class matches, with both bat and ball. Indeed, he scored a debut hundred earlier this season. Seamer Chris Woakes (still only 22) was another who burst upon the county scene last year with some impressive wicket-taking, allied to late-order hitting. He debuted against Australia last winter, taking the wicket of Michael Clarke, but injury spoiled his 2011 summer and prevented following in Steven Finn's footsteps to win the Young Cricketer award. I still think Woakes is a better prospect than Dernbach and Finn because of his all-round game. He already has more than 200 first-class wickets to his name, at an average under 25, and five centuries. That's arguably more impressive than Stuart Broad's figures, and I look forward to the Warwickshire player getting his chance in the Test team.

Where England seems to be awash with talent is in the wicketkeeper berth. There have been plenty of more senior players who have represented their country and, with Matt Prior the Test incumbent, are still doing sterling service for their counties. Foster, Read,Jones and Mustard spring to mind. However, Craig Kieswetter is fast becoming an ODI veteran at 23 while his Somerset colleague Jos Buttler (barely 21) followed an impressive 2010 with T20 performances which finally won him a T20I place against India. He has a phenomenal strike rate in limited-overs cricket and a deserved reputation as a ruthless 'finisher'. He has yet to show the same potential in the first-class game but his innings in the CB40 Final showed he possesses the maturity which could lend itself to developing him as a fine all-round batsman. As I've written before, he seems a level-headed nice guy off the pitch, too.

That brings me to Jonny Bairstow. He enjoyed a great run of scores for Yorkshire in the early part of the domestic season, including a brisk and brash 205. He is also one of several prominent redheads on the scene at the moment, about the only thing I share with him, Bell and Stokes! He has since made the big gloves his own, batting at number four or five, and seized his opportunity in last week's ODI debut by scoring 41 in 21 balls to steer England to victory. Kieswetter was behind the stumps for England on this occasion and I can see the international side boasting Bairstow and both Somerset 'keepers in the coming years. Only one can wear the gloves but at least there will be some useful men in the outfield, too. Like Ryan Sidebottom, Jonny is a son of a Yorkshire legend and another 'keeper. However, his batting looks more solid and already boasts a first-class average of 45. If he can maintain his 2011 form into the winter and beyond, he will be a formidable player indeed.

Buttler and Hales in England T20 call-up

As a Somerset fan, I'm no stranger to the limited-over cricket talents of wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler. Still only 20, he first got his opportunity to break into the first team when another very young player Craig Kieswetter earned his international call-up two years ago. Since then his lower-order striking has often meant Somerset simply couldn't ignore him and have played him as a specialist batsman alongside Kieswetter. Indeed the county has such an embarrassment of riches that it can switch the 'keeper's role between the two. Now, with Buttler named in England's T20 squad, Somerset will be without both of them, but hopefully not for this weekend's finals day at Edgbaston where they are looking for revenge over Hampshire!

A friend of mine first spotted Joseph Charles Buttler as a young teenager on the village green at Wedmore and reckoned he could be a genuine talent. How right he was. At first he excelled for Somerset in all three formats and, despite not maintaining that record in the Championship, his List A career batting average is an astonishing 68.9 from 22 innings. Nobody with more than 50 innings under their belt has ever achieved more than Michael Bevan's 57.86. Batting at around six or seven, Buttler's clean hitting and wonderful eye means that he rarely fails and is often still there at the end of the innings, hence the fact that half his innings have been not out. In T20, his average is a healthy 25 but of greater note is his strike rate of more than 145. That's better than Gilchrist, Jayasuriya and Ryder. In List A fixtures, his rate is, incredibly, even higher, at more than 147. That's way above what the likes of Sehwag or Pollard have done in ODIs, but of course it's early days for the Somerset youngster. Indeed, Buttler credits the West Indian with helping him when forging rapid partneships for Somerset in T20 last year. Jos also seems quite grounded and it was heartening to see him standing a few feet away from me during a rain break at Taunton a few weeks ago, chatting and signing autographs. I hope the international recognition doesn't go to his head!

As for Hales, he was my Player of the Week earlier this summer, finally converting good scores into centuries for Nottinghamshire. Unlike Buttler, 22 year-old Alex looks equally adept opening innings in any form of cricket, playing for the Lions in first-class cricket as well as 50-overs games. Unfortunately he had a disastrous sequence of scores in the latter against Sri Lanka and hasn't been as strong in CB40 this summer. However, in the Friends Life T20 competition, he has amassed 544 runs, the second highest aggregate so far, with a strike rate of 147.

I don't see why he couldn't open with Kieswetter, although I suppose England may opt for Bopara at the top of the innings. They've kept faith with Pietersen in the T20 squad but have 'rested' him from the ODIs. Definitely not 'dropped'. No, no, no. Yeah, right! Hales' Notts colleague Samit Patel will probably play because of the added dimension provided by his off-spin and it is possible that neither of the new boys will make the final XI against India, unless Ben Stokes and possibly Steve Finn are stood down. However, I hope both soon get the chance to demonstrate their talents to a wider audience, although the Somerset supporter in me hopes we don't lose him to a central contract just yet!