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).

County Cricket Team of 2018

2018 will long be remembered for its long, hot, dry summer across much of Britain. I suspect this may have been a factor in the dramatic reduction in the number of drawn matches in the Championship from 45 to 25. Perhaps pitch preparation also came into the equation as first inning batting bonus points were as rare as a downpour in July. Across both divisions, there was little to choose between all counties with regard to bowling points but Surrey and Warwickshire really made their batting strength count in their respective campaigns.

There were stark contrasts between white and red ball formats. For all Surrey’s dominance in the four-day game, they were mediocre in limited-overs cricket. Worcestershire wasted little time in being relegated back to Division Two but were able to celebrate success in the T20 Blast that same week. Their 20 year-old medium-pacer Pat Brown proved to be a revelation in the 20-over stuff but barely featured in the Championship. Meanwhile, Glamorgan endued a year to forget but  Somerset confounded my worst fears with another runners-up finish and surge to the Blast semi-finals. So near, yet so far, yet again. Will Marcus Trescothick finally give up on waiting and give his creaking body a well-earned retirement? 

Sadly he didn’t feature in any of my County Teams of the Week but who were the men (or women) who contributed most to domestic cricket across all three formats?

Openers:

Last year it was Mark Stoneman but in 2018 his Surrey colleague and captain Rory Burns dominated the Championship run table, accumulating 1,359 at 64.71. Lancashire’s Alex Davies was promoted to specialist opener with considerable success, especially in T20, Daryl Mitchell was predictably consistent in four-dayers but I’ve gone for Kent’s Joe Denly. The only survivor from my 2017 XI, he usually batted at three in the Championship but was probably the best all-rounder in domestic cricket, adding 57 wickets to a notable haul of 1,729 runs. Could he get back in England’s ODI set-up after a nine-year absence?

Middle-order:

Champions Surrey didn’t miss the retired Sangakkara and there were no truly dominant middle-order strokemakers this summer. Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes were prolific early on, before the former was granted a Test debut against India in July. At 36, Ian Bell who truly rolled back the years for Warwickshire. Several years ago he was criticised by England for slow scoring but now he is reborn as a heavy-scoring T20 Blaster. Only two men surpassed his 580 runs, at a decent rate of 139, to accompany his 1,027 in the Championship. James Vince may not have nailed down an England spot but he can still do the business for Hampshire, as does James Hildreth for Somerset. His hopes of international recognition are long gone but Hildy was brilliant for us in all competitions this year. Indeed, he was the all-round top scorer in domestic cricket. 

With Denly available as a spinner, I am also including his Kent team-mate Heino Kuhn. I confess I’d never previously heard of him but the 34 year-old South African racked up the hundreds in the Royal London One-Day Cup and took the gloves when Sam Billings was absent.

All-Rounder:

As ever, Darren Stevens is in contention but he was never going to replicate his 2017 achievements. Ed Barnard enjoyed another fine season despite Worcestershire’s relegation and Somerset’s Lewis Gregory had probably his best year yet, assuming the onerous roles of opening bowler and late-order six-hitter. Messrs Raine, Higgins and Harris had their moments but my primary all-rounder slot goes to another veteran Surrey man, Rikki Clarke. Aged 36, he snaffled 47 Championship wickets at 21.53 and scored 500 valuable runs. Never write him off!

Wicket-keeper:

Ben Cox’s batting has come on leaps and bounds for Worcestershire, Tom Moores looked a reasonable replacement for the retired Chris Read at Notts and Ben Foakes made excellent contributions to Surrey’s title chase. I’ve already mentioned Alex Davies but for most matches he ceded the Lancashire gloves to South African import Dane Vilas. He proceeded to take more Championship dismissals than anyone else and struck Division One’s highest individual score, 235 not out.

Bowlers:-

The evergreen Jimmy Anderson may have continued breaking records for England but the county game was the stage for some lesser-known bowlers. Essex duo James Porter and Simon Harmer were again quite prolific in first-class cricket; ditto for Tom Bailey and Graham Onions of Lancashire. Tim Murtagh seamed away in his usual mean style for Middlesex and Ollie Robinson’s 74 wickets took Sussex very close to Division Two promotion. However, Kent beat their neighbours to it, thanks in no small way to their New Zealand paceman Matt Henry. He was superb in the first half of the season and came back to give the county vital impetus. Another import, Morne Morkel was also superb, grabbing 59 wickets at 14.32 in only ten Division One fixtures. Finally, another thirty-something, Chris Rushworth was a rare jewel in a drab Durham season, accumulating 80 wickets across all three formats.

In summary, based on stats and my Teams of the Week, my County Team of 2018 is:-

Burns (Sur *), Denly (Ken), Bell (War), Vince (Ham), Hildreth (Som), Kuhn (Ken), Vilas (Lan +), Clarke (Sur), Henry (Ken), Morkel (Sur), Rushworth (Dur); 12^th Man: A Davies (Lan)

Surrey County Champions!

If last week was a haven for spinners, this one was definitely one for the pacemen. The outcome was the same: wickets tumbled and you were lucky indeed for games to stretch into a fourth day. Only seven centuries were scored from the nine Championship fixtures but it was significant that the highest aggregate by an individual player was the 188 attained by Rory Burns, whose Surrey side win yet again to clinch the Championship pennant for the first time since 2002.

They had to survive a spirited challenge from Worcestershire, notably by opener Tom Fell, but it was fitting that Morne Morkel and Rikki Clarke were at the crease to wrap up the three-wicket triumph which propelled them to an unassailable 62-point lead at the top. In a dismal week for county wicketkeeper-batsmen, Ollie Pope picked up a couple of near-50s but Burns’ first-outing 122 and Morkel’s second innings 5-24 were the crucial contributions. Surrey may have enormous resources but they had by far the best blend of youth and experience, sufficient to withstand various international call-ups for the Curran brothers and Pope and, like Essex in 2017, had a trouble-free cruise to the title. Strange that they were so useless in the one-dayers!

Surrey’s only obvious rivals in Division One were – amazingly – Somerset. However, having escaped censure for last week’s spinners’ wicket at Taunton, we were hammered inside two days at the Rose Bowl, where South African seamers Kyle Abbott (5-31 and 6-40) and Dale Steyn ran riot through the Somerset batting, for whom only Marcus Trescothick reached double-figures twice. With his county destined to be runners-up yet again, I wonder if Tres will now relinquish any smidgeon of hope of winning the elusive crown and call it a day.

Essex leap-frogged Nottinghamshire into third place, defeating their rivals by eight wickets at Trent Bridge. An opening stand of 204 by Tom Westley and India’s reject Murali Vijay finished things off. It seems odd that the Headingley Roses clash should be such a 32-pointer, as it were. Had Lancashire won, they would have left Yorkshire in deep do-do. However, it was the White Rose blooming proudly as Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s runs then Ben Coad’s wickets helped secure a 95-run victory. Jack Brooks’ Leeds farewell resulted in nine more wickets. The ‘Headband Warrior’ may be 34 but hopefully he can do a great job for Somerset, too, next season.

If Yorkshire beat Hampshire next week, Lancashire and possibly Worcestershire will be doomed. If Somerset can end Surrey’s spectacular sequence of successes, they’ll be confirmed as runners-up: an unwanted consolation prize.

The Division Two promotion race saw Sussex stumble on as they approached the finishing straight. They were well-beaten at Chester-le-Street by Durham, for whom Cameron Steel struck the county week’s highest score (160) and Chris Rushworth claimed the best wicket haul (12-100). Skipper Paul Collingwood subsequently announced his retirement at the end of the month. He has bowled infrequently this year although still capable of some decent innings.

Elsewhere, Warwickshire beat Leicestershire by an innings, Keith Barker starring with the ball, and Kent recorded their ninth victory of the summer, ending Middlesex’s hopes of a sift return to the top flight. Darren Stevens showed he’s not yet ready to slip over the horizon, taking seven cheap wickets and striking a 64. They now sit 21 ahead of Sussex with two games to go.

Derbyshire had a gutsy Harvey Hosein half-century to thank for their exciting one-wicket triumph at Northampton, while at Cardiff Glamorgan sank to another innings defeat, Gloucestershire this week’s beneficiaries. The Welsh side’s batting woes show no sign of ending, as it was their tail-enders doing most of the scoring. Robert Croft has a real job on his hands to get Sophia Gardens singing again in four-day cricket. They will struggle next week to beat Kent, for whom victory will ensure a long-awaited return to Division One.

Team of the Week: 

Steel (Dur), Burns (Sur), Fell (Wor), Kohler-Cadmore (Yor), Taylor (Glo), Stevens (Ken), Hosein (Der +), Barker (War), Abbott (Ham), Brooks (Yor), Rushworth (Dur)

Morkel and Leach keep it a two-horse race

A busy week and a bit ended with the T20 quarter-finals throwing up few shocks. Unless, that is, you count Somerset reaching their first Finals Day for several years. Lewis Gregory maintained his recent white-ball form, thrashing five sixes in a 24-ball 60 not out before Jamie Overton claimed five wickets (three caught by Max Waller) to strangle the Outlaws’ run chase. The previous three ties were unusually short on runs but the Rapids must be delighted to make the semis for the first time ever after defeating Gloucestershire at New Road.

It was an impressive week for Worcestershire. They also moved off the bottom of the Championship Division One with an innings thrashing of Yorkshire at Scarborough, where for some reason the home side always seem to struggle. Moeen Ali struck 219 and Daryl Mitchell 178, comfortably the highest individual scores of the week. Moeen also weighed in with eight wickets.

On the fourth afternoon, my eyes rarely strayed from the online score updates as Somerset and Surrey battled to bowl out their respective opposition. At Taunton, the home team clinched victory against Essex in mid-afternoon. Jack Leach twirled unchanged for 32 overs and finished on 8-85, easily out-bowling his England spin colleague Dom Bess. Sadly for me and the Westcountrymen, Lancashire couldn’t quite hold on against a rampant Morne Morkel. Surrey edged it by a paltry six runs and must be odds-on to win, consigning Somerset to another bloody runners-up spot. Lancs’ loss leaves them bottom.

In the other game Hampshire attained a vital victory over third-placed Nottinghamshire. James Vince timed his 74 and 147 to perfection given the England Test squad announcement, while overseas pacemen Kyle Abbott and Fidel Edwards did most of the bowling damage.

In Division Two, it’s a much tighter situation at the top. Warwickshire despatched Gloucestershire inside two days. Rhodes and Sibley shared a 165-run stand while the visitors’ batsmen struggled horribly, not the first time this summer. Meanwhile at Hove, Sussex stayed within four points of the leaders with a 243-run success against Derbyshire, while Kent achieved their sixth win of the season at Leicester with major contributions by Sean Dickson and paceman Ivan Thomas.

Glamorgan’s dismal disarray continued, suffering another humbling innings defeat, this time at the hands of Durham. Had it not been for rain, the misery would have been complete inside two days. Captain Hogan and coach Croft can’t take all the blame; the batting has been awful recently. The Welsh side are now 14 points adrift at the foot of the table, behind Northamptonshire, who lost to Middlesex despite a maiden century by young ‘keeper Ricardo Vasconcelos.

It’s back to first-class cricket later this week. Surrey will surely notch victory number eight at home to Notts, while Somerset head to Headingley to keep in touch. Lancashire’s fixture against Worcestershire has a relegation battle writ large over the Southport sands. Warwickshire also travel to the seaside, facing a despondent Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay while close rivals Sussex nip up the M23 to Lord’s for some late-August fun in the sun.

Team of the Week: 

Mitchell (Wor), Dickson (Ken), Moeen Ali (Wor), Vince (Ham), Vasconselos (Nor +), Gregory (Som), Harris (Mid), Abbott (Ham), Leach (Som), Morkel (Sur), Rushworth (Dur)

Morkel and Archer on Target

Although bookended by some Vitality Blasts, most county players had to dust off their red-ball skills. It was an especially successful week for Surrey and Sussex.

The former continued their expensive cruise towards the Championship title by trashing Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge by an innings and 183 runs. Skipper Rory Burns took his season’s run tally to 875 with another century, aided by fellow opener Mark Stoneman’s run-a-ball 86 and Ricky Clarke’s 111, as Surrey racked up almost 600. Notts had no response as the quality attack ripped through them twice. Morne Morkel was the star performer, taking 4-60 and 5-60.

Somerset leapfrogged Notts into second place by beating Worcestershire at New Road, where it was a tale of two Alis. There was little to split them after two days, but Somerset took control in their second innings. Moeen did little with the bat but claimed eight wickets in the match. However, the visitors’ new signing Azhar Ali had the better of the two, top-scoring with 125. Seamers Jamie Overton and Davey nabbed fifteen wickets between them to end any remaining resistance. 

At Old Trafford, Yorkshire upset their neighbours by a 118-run victory. Lancashire’s Jordan Clark upset the rhythm by achieving a rare Roses hat-trick. Not a bad trio of victims, either: Root, Bairstow and Williamson, all in the world’s top twelve! However, the Red Roses capitulated and who was the star bowler? None other than Joe Root, who ended up with 4-5. Who needs Adil Rashid when your captain and top batsman can spin sides out like that?

Warwickshire’s progress towards promotion from Division Two suffered a blow when they suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Middlesex at a baking Lord’s. The ever-reliable Tim Murtagh ended with an aggregate of 7-97. Sussex narrowed the gap to seven points, bowling Glamorgan out twice for under 100. Jofra Archer’s 2018 domestic season is at last taking off, demonstrated by his return of 4-15 and 4-31, abetted by Chris Jordan.

Kent would have been right in the mix had they beaten Leicestershire at Canterbury. But they didn’t. They were taken apart by ten wickets, with Ned Eckersley catching eight behind the stumps.

In mid-table, Derbyshire dealt Northamptonshire a 39-run blow at Chesterfield. Spinner Matt Critchley finished with ten wickets, to go with 88 valuable runs. Wayne Madsen weighed in with a second-innings hundred. It was tough on Northants’ Alex Wakeley who made a century of his own, albeit in a losing cause.

In the other fixture, Gloucestershire all-rounder Ryan Higgins proved he’s not just a white-ball player by scoring 147 runs and taking six cheap wickets in a close-fought win over Durham. The latter’s New Zealand opener Tom Latham maintained his form with 192 runs, but the rest of his side were unable to build on his good starts.

Higgins also landed three wickets in Gloucester’s T20 triumph over Glamorgan. Assisted by Michael Klinger’s unbeaten 77, Gloucestershire moved to the top of the South Division, just ahead of Kent and Sussex who were thwarted by summer storms around Canterbury.

Still awaiting a first win of the campaign, Northamptonshire suffered yet another defeat, this time by Worcestershire, whose openers Martin Guptill and Joe Clarke whipped 162 in 10 overs en route for a nine-wicket victory. Lancashire just about held on to the lead in the North despite losing their second Roses clash in a few days. This time it was the six-hitting of Tom Kohler-Cadmore which inflicted the most damage.

The coming week sees a return to T20 supremacy in Britain. Some counties face three games, including Yorkshire, who must squeeze them into four days. The most interesting could be Lancashire’s trip to Worcestershire and Sussex hosting Gloucestershire as all four vie for their respective divisions’ number one spot.

Team of the Week: 

Latham (Dur), Burns (Sur), Guptill (Wor), Azhr Ali (Som), Wakely (Nor), Higgins (Glo), Clarke (Sur), Milton (Wor +), Critchley (Der), Archer (Sus), Morkel (Sur)

India's CT win - a view from the stands

The Champions Trophy has to me been another example of a superfluous tournament, draining the cricketing calendar of spare dates and domestic cricket of the big names. However, with my new home town of Cardiff hosting five of the 2013 tournament's fixtures, I made sure I secured a couple of tickets. As a result I was privileged to have been present at today's opener. Block 29, Row E didn't offer the greatest view ever but good enough to appreciate batting, fielding and bowling of the highest order.

With at least 95% of the spectators supporting India, the atmosphere was amazing, with some dazzling costumes and dodgy drunken dancing and chanting. Once the sun broke through and the cool breeze died down in the afternoon, the weather played its part, too, and the SWALEC-cum-Cardif Wales Stadium looked a picture. The opening ceremony was hardly up to Olympic standards but the local schoolchildren did a grand job with the giant flags, Only Men Aloud did their Welsh vocal heritage proud and the drummers provided rhythm, as they did throughout the match, even if the pseudo Guardsman uniform didn't seem appropriate somehow!

Once South Africa won the toss and Morne Morkel took the ball it became apparent that Dale Steyn had not recovered from injury. Already lacking Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, India must have been favourites. However, Morkel's short-pitched deliveries were troubling openers Dhawan and Sharma and it was a slow start. However, once the big man gave way to Ryan McLaren, the Indian duo began to play their shots and the run rate built steadily. Before we knew it, the century stand was achieved and first Rohit, then Shikhar reached their 50s.

McLaren made the breakthrough in the 22nd over, but the left-right patrnership of Dhawan and Virat Kohli, so revered by the spectators, continued to make life difficult for seamers and spinners alike. The former stroked some delightful boundaries while Kohli picked up the ones and twos with practised ease. However, 210-1 became 260-5, and Jadeja was accompanying skipper MS Dhoni at the crease. There were more strokes to admire, the orthodox and the more creative, and Tsotsobe and Kleinveldt were carted all over the ground. AB De Villiers was as athletic as ever, but the outfielding was looking particularly tired in the latter stages as India closed the innings on 331-7.

The crowd were rejoicing, already satisfied that the game was theirs. That feeling was reinforced as first Ingram, then the dangerous Amla fell cheaply with the score on 31. However, in contrast to the Indian innings, they set off like a train before it later came off the rails. The stadium atmosphere started to fade and the exuberant optimism waned once De Villiers and Robin Petersen stabilised things and really punished Yadav, Kumar and Ishant Sharma. With the likes of Kohli, Raina and Jadeja patrolling the covers, the Indian fielding was always going to be top-notch but when Petersen was run out for 68, it owed more to farcical running than an expert pick-iup and throw from Jadeja.

Indeed, although AB seemed to be cruising for his 70, the mid-innings collapse smacked of irresponsibility. South Africa were ahead of the required run rate so why did they throw their wickets away. One fan behind me found the dismissals so suspicious he spent the rest of the game telling anyone who'd listen that the match was rigged: "You have not been watching a genuine game of cricket, my friend... the ICC must investigate it for irregular betting...." Well, I sincerely hope this allegation was borne of a little too much beer and brandy rather than clear insight into the twilight world of Asian bookies. De Villiers was out to a mistimed hook, Miller's run out for a duck was a terrible shambles, Duminy was trapped LBW to Jadeja's spin while Du Plessis was caught in the deep. The spin trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and Raina had slowed the run rate significantly and, while McLaren whirled the bat defiantly, the tail was unable to wag. Poor Morkel came out at eleven but, having retired mid-over earlier in the day, he could barely run. Almost all singles were declined, but even McLaren had no chance of scoring 70-odd in boundaries. He was entirely responsible for getting the Saffers past 300 but the game had long passed them by.

So, apart from the handful of SA supporters and the over-suspicious chap in Row F, it turned out to be a highly entertaining start to the Champions Trophy. Maybe it has finally won me over. I have a semi-fnal ticket so I look forward to enjoying more of the same, whoever qualifies to play at Cardiff in two weeks' time. India v England has a certain ring to it, perhaps...

Daredevils defy defeat

In many ways, there have been few surprise so far in the IPL. Admittedly it is not my favourite competition but I can't deny the passion (as well as the income) it generates for cricket, particularly in India itself. The Delhi Daredevils have lost only two matches so far, when they were overpowered first by AB De Villiers (RCB) and then Jesse Ryder (Pune Warriors), and in recent weeks have boasted what looks like a 'fantasy' batting line-up. Jayawardene, Sehwag, Pietersen, Taylor and Pathan make for a fearsome top five. Captain Sehwag has now thrashed five successive half-centuries, which may be unprecedented, and KP has also made match-winning runs. Mahela and Ross have struggled but it doesn't matter when the other two are firing on all cylinders, and Morne Morkel is taking wickets. Today's opponents, KKR, have won five on the trot without having outstanding individual performances. Like Sehwag, skipper Gambhir has led from the front but the usually relaible pair of McCullum and Kallis have so far failed to shine with the bat. It is hardly a shock to me that the young West Indian spinner Sunil Narine is their top wicket-taker and is one of the most economical bowlers in the whole competition, conceding an average of just 5.25 runs per over. His 5-19 against the Kings XI last month remains amongst the best match figures, too. The Mumbai Indians will surely again reach the knockout stage, although they needed three boundaries from the last three balls from Dwayne Smith to beat the Super Kings yesterday, after Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma had seen their splendid foundation to the chase eroded by a crazy spell of ten balls, in which four wickets went for four runs. The fourth place is up for grabs although at the moment RCB look favourites to progress. Any side with Chris Gayle, AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli in their side has to be in with a very good shout. However, the Jamaican must be disappointed. He has slammed 'only' 31 sixes and failed to convert five fifties into three figures. What a failure! AB's 172 is the highest strike rate of any leading batsman in the tournament to date, but top of the run aggregate is Ajinkya Rahane. While a Mumbai star in the Ranji Trophy, he opens alongside Rahul Dravid for the Rajasthan Royals who still harbour hopes of reching the top four. The bowling table has a familiar look to it, too. Lasith Malinga lords it at the top, with more wickets and a superior economy rate to anybody. Twenty20 often throws up new stars and the giants can easily be thrashed for sixes, but the Sri Lanka magician has in 2012 maintained his reputation as a death bowler par excellence. It remains a mystery to me why he couldn't do it consistently in Test cricket. As for today's clash of the top two teams, it could go either way. KP has gone back to England to prepare for the Windies but KKR can breathe no more easily because he will be replaced in the Daredevils team by none other than David Warner, another superstar of the format. Gambhir needs more support from his batsmen and for Narine and co to make early inroads into that formidable Delhi top five if their recent round of victories can be extended. My guess is that they won't do it and that the home team wil extend their lead in the table.