2014 Overall Team of the Year

To complete my review of the year, I'll examine the performances across all three formats, and not restrict myself to international cricket.

have not been the most successful batsmen outside Twenty20 but David Warner has played himself into my good books. Having played for Australia in T20 before even playing a single first-class match, he has since become a vital cog in the Green Baggie wheel. With Chris Rogers playing the anchor role, Warner has been given free rein to play his strokes and in 2014 collated more than 2,000 runs, averaging over 63 in Tests and a T20 strike rate of 142. He has been paired with Hashim Amla of South Africa. He just oozes class and unflappability whatever the format, and made more than 2500 runs in total. He doesn't seem to have many weak points. Even in T20 his strike rate in 2014 was on a par with McCullum and Finch, superior even to that of Chris Gayle.

Kumar Sangakkara may now be 37 years old, but his batting just seems to improve with age. Top scorer in Tests and ODIs, who cares about T20? His Test average last year was 71, pushing his career figure to a mighty 58, ahead of Ponting, Lara and Tendulkar. A shoo-in at number three, and did I mention he keeps wicket better than Dhoni, too?

Virat Kohli is also starting to carry his 50-over talents across to proper cricket, even on the hard pitches of Australia. He was another of the 2,500-run select few, whose most noteworthy statistic was his ODI strike rate of 99.62! Somewhat less of a global phenomenon, Kane Williamson has shone in what was an excellent year for New Zealand. He averaged 62 in Tests and, with his county cricket exploits included, scored 1,558 first-class runs. Add his List A and T20 figures and the run tally extends towards 3,000. I really hope he shines at the World Cup.

Angelo Mathews also had a fantastic year, converting fifties into hundreds in Test matches, averaging 88 alongside 62 in ODIs. He has grown as a captain for Sri Lanka, too, a great example of a man who has not just fulfilled expectations but exceeded them. Steve Smith has perhaps enjoyed an even steeper rise to the top. With Michael Clarke sidelined by injury, Mike Hussey retired and the rest of the middle-order inconsistent, Smith has rescued Australia for much of the year. Five centuries and an average of 82 in Tests and a good record in ODIs, and by December he had also assumed the captaincy. A wonderful year for him!

While Warner, Williamson, Smith and Mathews have all bowled at international level, surely the best all-rounder in 2014 was Shakib-al-Hasan. Admittedly Bangladesh didn't always face the big boys but as a bowler who also averaged 47 with the bat in Tests he was again a class act. Narine (T20), Herath (Tests) and Mendis (ODIs) may have taken more wickets but in limited overs, few were consistently more economical than Shakib.

Mitch Johnson and Dale Steyn comprise my pace attack. The Aussie's main contribution was in Tests, the highlights coming in the 2013/14 Ashes series. He wasn't a prolific ODI wicket-taker but was surprisingly mean when it came to economy. Steyn is an amazingly consistent trouper over many years. 2014 may not have been his best year but his 39 Test scalps came at just 19.56 apiece and there were 22 ODI wickets at 26.54, too. A fearsome death bowler in T20, too, but not at the top of the tables. My last bowler is Jeetan Patel. The evergreen Kiwi has been a fantastic spinner for Warwickshire in recent years and his 2014 featured 133 wickets all told. His rare talent is to appear equally good in all three forms of cricket. Statistically maybe his best last year came in T20; in 28 games he took 35 wickets at a mere 15, and an economy rate of 5.86, better even than Saeed Ajmal and Malinga.

Just missing the cut were Joe Root, Brendon McCullum, Saeed Ajmal and AB de Villiers.

So my Eleven of 2014 stands as follows:-
Warner (Aust), Amla (SA), Sangakkara (SL, +), Kohli (Ind), Williamson (NZ), Smith (Aust), Mathews (SL *), Shakib al Hasan (Ban), Patel (War/NZ), Johnson (Aust), Steyn (SA).

Roll on 2015..!

2014 Cricket Review: Tests

In 2014, Test cricket has been a roller coaster ride. England went from Ashes meltdown to redemption of sorts at home to India, the only top Test nation not to win a single series all year. Australia also defeated India and South Africa but, even without Smith and Kallis, the latter remained number one in the ICC rankings. New Zealand have won a record five Tests but now need to prove their new-found winning formula against the top three. All credit, though to the Aussies for coming through the grieving period after Phil Hughes' tragic death.

So who were the individual stars of 2014? In all first-class cricket, Chris Rogers was the only batsman to aggregate more than 2,000 runs and the world's top wicket-takers were Bangladeshi spinner Taijul Islam (89) and ever-reliable Michael Hogan (88). However, at the highest level, my pick of the openers were David Warner and young West Indian Kraigg Brathwaite. The abrasive Aussie smashed six centuries and 1,136 runs while Brathwaite's average in five matches is an excellent 77.88.

The middle-order is typically competitive. Brendon McCullum, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson enjoyed great years but for consistency, my next batsmen are Kumar Sangakkara and Younus Khan. The Sri Lankan out scored all other Test players with 1,493 runs at more than 71. The Pakistan veteran finished with a similar average and produced a purple patch this autumn, grabbing more than 700 runs in four matches against Australia and New Zealand in the UAE.

Next up are Joe Root and Angelo Mathews. In a topsy-turvy year for England, the Yorkshireman demonstrated his value many times and the batting line-up will surely be built around him for many years to come. His average for 2014 was a stupendous 97. With the Sri Lanka big three looking shaky, Mathews has stepped up to the mark, not only as captain but also as someone who can deliver big scores, not just useful 50 not outs. Only team-mate Sanga scored more Test runs and Angelo's average of 87.80 is mighty impressive. He also gets the captaincy.

MS Dhoni retires from Tests with loads of plaudits but Pakistan's Sarfraz Ahmed edges him and Brad Haddin to the wicketkeeper berth. A better batsman than Akmal, he is also improving his glovework.

My team boasts four specialist bowlers alongside part-timers Mathews and Root. Rangana Herath's tally of 60 wickets was easily the most in 2014, claiming no fewer than six five-fors. Apart from his problems with the arm inspectors, Saeed Ajmal took only 17 at 44 apiece, so three pacemen complete my XI. Dale Steyn continued to take wickets (39) and with a sub-20 average. James Anderson boasted one more scalp, averaging an impressive 22 but star 'quick' has to be Mitch Johnson. His year ended in a bout of daft 'verbals' with Kohli but it began with such pace, bounce and venom that England didn't just suffer an Ashes whitewash but also lost two of their three finest players of recent times, Swann, Pietersen and Trott.

So, to sum up, here is my Test Eleven for 2014:-
Warner (Aust), Brathwaite (WI), Younis Khan (Pak), Sangakkara (SL), Root (Eng), Mathews (SL, *), Sarfraz Ahmed (Pak,+), Johnson (Aust), Steyn (SA), Anderson (Eng), Herath (SL).

ODIS and T20s to follow....

Smith and Steyn Supreme

Two Contrasting Test matches ended in victories for the current big two, Australia and South Africa, but the stars were a veteran fast bowler and a debut captain.

At Centurion, the West Indies were thoroughly outplayed in all departments. Their only success was winning the toss, but that merely formed the prelude to a big innings for the home side. Ramdin's men enjoyed some moments when three successive wicket-maidens must have lifted their spirits. Enter AB de Villiers, he and the magnificent Hasham Amla produced a triple-century partnership and that was that.

When AB fell for 152, debutant Stiaan van Zyl came to the crease and contributed a brisk unbeaten hundred of his own. Brathwaite and Smith made a solid start but then the wickets began to tumble at regular intervals. Vernon Philander pitched in with four wickets and no batsman reached 40 as the visitors were bowled out for 201.

Following on, West Indies fared little better and once Leon Johnson was caught behind, that great warrior Dale Steyn produced one of those spells which few can cope with. He claimed 6-34 and the Proteas cruised to an innings victory.

Meanwhile there was another successful debutant at Brisbane. India looked good value, with Murali Vijay (144) and Ajinkya Rahane (81) building a promising score. However, 23 year-old Josh Hazelwood took five wickets to keep the Aussies in the mix. With Clarke injured again, in-form Steve Smith was given the captaincy but the pressure didn't show. He stroked his sixth Test century then the tail wagged vigorously. Mitch Johnson and Mitch Starc scored half-centuries to enjoy a 97-run lead.

Johnson proceeded to rip out the Indian middle-order and only Shikhtar Dhawan - in two instalments either side of an injury break - showed any resilience. Needing only 128 to win in four sessions, Ishant Sharma silenced the Gabba crowd early on but Chris Rogers crunched ten boundaries for his second 55 of the match. There were a few more flutters but an extra cover drive from Mitch Marsh ended proceedings to win by four wickets.

The cracked pitch probably contributed to a preponderance of catches. All of India's first innings victims were caught, six by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. He added three more in the second keeping to the pacemen.

So another encouraging display by Australia, and young Steve Smith's conversion from dodgy all-rounder to world-class batsman looks complete. Let's also hope that Hazelwood is now free of the stress fracture hoodoo that has affected so many young Aussie fast bowlers in recent years.

World Cup First Week

Well, we've got through Week One of the 2011 World Cup and at last all the teams have seen some action. Already it feels like we, like Virender Sehwag at the wicket, are in for a long slog. Don't get me wrong, there have been some terrific performances and I'm sure there'll be plenty more, but the tournament hasn't really yet caught fire.

Mr Sehwag provided some opening match fireworks as India showed what they are capable of against Bangladesh, and we have seen some excellent innings from Kohli, AB De Villiers, Jayawardene, Sangakkara and even Andrew Strauss. Perhaps the batting performance that set the pulse racing the most was from the Flying Dutchman Ryan Ten Doeschate. While the other Associate nations were being flattened, his 119 in 110 balls raised expectations of a genuine upset which might have enlivened the first week. However, England managed to hold their nerve, if not their catches, and break the Netherlands' hearts at Nagpur.

All the pre-tournament favourites have looked in ominous form, although none have been truly tested. There have been only two fixtures involving the top 8 Test sides and even they proved to be sadly one-sided as South Africa beat the West Indies and today Australia made short work of neighbours New Zealand who in turn had crushed poor Kenya earlier in the week.

So who is my Player of the Week? For me, four players have been truly outstanding. Virender Sehwag is always an entertainer and anyone who can boast a strike rate of more than a run a ball over more than 200 ODIs is a bit special. To hit a career-best 175 in the pressure-cooker situation of a World Cup opener in Bangladesh shows he is a cool character, too. I've already written about Ryan Ten Doeschate and he, too, is a proven match-winner in one-day games, although with the Netherlands he is rarely on the winning side at World Cups.

Shane Watson has come into this competition on the back of some fine all-round performances for Australia against England. In the first two matches here, he has passed fifty on both occasions, bowled a few tidy overs with one wicket and been his usual busy self in the field. Forget Ponting, Clarke or Hussey; Watson could yet be Australia's biggest single weapon in their challenge for an amazing fourth successive World Cup triumph. However, my Player of the Week is a bowler: Mitch Johnson. He may not have faced the best batting line-ups but against Zimbabwe his two spells as first-change proved critical, netting him an analysis of 4-19 in 9.2 overs. He then captured another four wickets in the victory over New Zealand, getting Ryder and Franklin caught behind in the same over and finally ending McCullum's late-order resistance to give his side a relatively easy run chase. OK, so he has undoubtedly been assisted by Brett Lee and Shaun Tait softening up the openers but Johnson has focussed on line and bounce rather than the vagaries of swing, with excellent results. He has largely left the wayward wides to the Kenyans and helped the Aussies to a couple of wins and pole position in Group A.

This weekend will see perhaps the first big game of the World Cup, as India take on England at Bangalore. Let's hope we are in for a classic because there haven't been any edge-of-the-seat climaxes so far. Pakistan may also be feeling confident and that's something they seem to need to succeed. However, Sri Lanka must be favourites to retain their 100% record tomorrow in their game against Shahid Afridi's men. Later in the week, could the Netherlands upset the Windies, who struggled to make an impression against the South Africans? If Gayle survives the first over, he could compile a huge innings but Roach, Bravo et al need to keep Ten Doeschate quiet. Roll on Week Two!