Ben Stokes: It’s All About You….

So, Ben Stokes has called time on a thrilling international career at the age of 35. It had been coming, although maybe not in the manner and timing. But then Mr Stokes has never been conventional, one of the reasons why British blokes love him. And yet I could never really warm to him. 

It should not have been that way. Like me, he’s a ginger, and perhaps I could empathise with a degree of volatility, a trait we redheads often tend to share. I remember in his early days with Durham, I spotted in the newspaper scorecards the runs and wickets against the name of B A Stokes and quickly added this cheap all-rounder to my Fantasy Cricket team. Points galore! 

As a teenager, he picked up a couple of wickets and eleven runs on his one-day debut against Surrey in 2009 but his first-class initiation came the following Spring in the pre-season Abu Dhabi warm-up against the MCC, notching a half-century. International white-ball recognition came towards the end of the 2011 season. In a gentle 50-over affair against Ireland, he scored three and didn’t bowl, then in a T20 demolition of the West Indies, his only contribution was a role in a run-out. It was another two years before he was burdened with the epithet of “the new Ian Botham” and thrust into Alastair Cook’s side in Adelaide. He made one on his first innings in the heavy defeat but could at least claim Michael Clarke as his first wicket. 

So many all-rounders in the footsteps of Sir Ian have floundered, especially in the Test arena. One-dayers were made for decent all-rounders, making the careers of players such as Mark Alleyne, Adam Hollioake, Tim Bresnan and many more. Botham is revered, but he flourished before Twenty20 and the proliferation of ODIs. His powers began to wane by the late ‘80s, selected by England more in hope than expectation. He could be rather controversial, not afraid to cock two fingers at the establishment and often getting away with misdemeanours by the memory of one amazing Ashes series. Hmm. Remind you of anyone else?! 

I have watched Stokes a couple of times at Cardiff. The first was an ODI against Australia in September 2013. He looked really fiery in the sunshine, regularly reaching 90mph with the ball as did his opponent Mitchell Johnson. He kept Jos Buttler company in the final run chase before playing all round a McKay delivery and losing his leg stump. Two years later, it wasT20 time playing his part in a nail-biting victory with some death bowling and an outstanding boundary catch to dismiss Glenn Maxwell. 

Unlike, say, Joe Root, Jimmy Anderson, Ian Bell or Alastair Cook, I struggled to elevate Ben Stokes to the pantheon of genuine England greats. And yet on the biggest occasions he came to the fore, imposing himself on opponents and the match by sheer force of personality. There seemed to be a switch he’d flick and he’d flay top-class bowlers to all corners or crunch an unplayable yorker into the stumps. For Botham’s summer of ’81, Stokes will always be associated with 2019, starring in both the decisive Ashes Test and that extraordinary World Cup Final against his home nation, New Zealand but that might never have come to pass given events in Bristol two years earlier. 

Arrested after a ‘nightclub incident’ (sound familiar) in Bristol, things looked grim. CCTV showed a clearly inebriated Stokes going absolutely berserk on the street, hurling punches with a abandon at two men while Alex Hales tried to hold him back. He was found not guilty of affray on grounds of self-defence. In my August 2018 blog, written in outrage after the court case, I pondered what an unprovoked assault would look like! He was very lucky not to serve time in prison. If there is any film of the latest curfew-breaking episode, it has been neatly suppressed. It may well be that he and Gus Atkinson were innocent parties but he really should know better. 

When Joe Root quit the captaincy, and the Brendpn McCullum era was launched, Ben Stokes was the obvious candidate for representing ‘Bazball’ on the pitch. Yes, his character is prickly and explosive, but that fitted the way England were to perform. For a while, it worked. Employ T20-style aggression with the bat, select untested 90mph speed merchants with the ball, wrap up the win inside three days and spend the next two days on the bar. Result! It was great when it worked – until it didn’t. You always need a Plan B. 

Never was this more evident than in his very last Test against the Kiwis. Sidelined for the Oval defeat for being a naughty boy, Ben Stokes was brought back as captain for the Trent Bridge decider. Without Williamson (retired) or Henry, this New Zealand side should have been easy, and England had not lost a home Test series in yonks, not even recent contests against India or the Aussies. 

The Latham-and-Conway show had threatened a disaster but somehow England fought back with Stokes taking four wickets and Duckett smashing an old-fashioned Bazball century. An 84-run deficit wasn’t too bad, particularly when, second time around, the top three went cheaply. However, Rachin Ravindra eased into his elegant stride for 94 and Daryl Mitchell - the same age as Stokes - stood up strong for six hours against a fusillade of short-pitched bowling by Archer, Tongue and co to reach three figures. 

Then came The Announcement. This would be Ben Stokes’ swansong. The skipper’s next ball took a wicket. The script was written. He’s polish off the NZ innings and score a match-winning 150 by the following lunchtime. He demanded a glorious Hollywood musical finale. The target was a more challenging 373 but, with more than a day remaining, the weather dry, not impossible in these adventurous times. But New Zealand had not read the script. Stokes opened with Duckett and struck a 50-run ‘powerplay’ before Ben swiped Foulkes to Mitchell at mid-on. Bethell went for a duck. Time for Root and Brook to settle things down and show why they are world-class batsmen. No. They were clearly under orders to continue the mayhem, slogging, ramping, reverse sweeping. At stumps, after fifteen bizarre overs, England were 103-4, the game as good as gone. By the next afternoon, it was over. From one-up, England had lost 2-1, chucking the series away on the altar of Stokes’ ego. 

Nobody’s England career should end like that. But this was Ben Stokes. Unconventional to the bitter end. His cricket statistics are impressive. They are there for future generations to see and admire. Yet they don’t convey fully the mark he made on English cricket in the Noughties and 2020s, as swashbuckling batter, snarling pace bowler, supreme fielder or the epitome of the Bazball strategy. In recent years, he suffered many injuries and endured the mental strain, too, of sacrificing the lucrative treadmill of franchise cricket for international white-ball tournaments and England Test series. Ashes defeats should never define a captain, but they do. Frequently, Ben Stokes was a winner, which should not be forgotten. Like I say, he was definitely not a personal favourite but English cricket will be a lot quieter without him.

My World Cricket Team of 2024

It has been a strange year for men’s cricket. No side truly dominated, although that has to be considered a plus. India began the year by demolishing England 4-1 at home, yet were unexpectedly turned over 3-0 by New Zealand’s spinners. The Black Caps also dismissed South Africa yet were themselves turned over by spin against Sri Lanka and, last month, by England’s pace attack, although they had the last laugh at Hamilton. 

In the summer, England predictably cruised to a whitewash of West Indies but again showed vulnerability in the final Test against Sri Lanka. This continued in Pakistan where, following the record-breaking scoring by Joe Root and Harry Brook at Multan, the home nation recalled veteran left-arm spinner Noman Ali, who responded by taking twenty wickets in the two remaining games! 

Australia are looking set to face South Africa in next summer’s World Test Championship Final after series victories against Pakistan, New Zealand and, while still incomplete, India. Their only Test hiccup came in last January’s day-nighter at Brisbane where Shamar Joseph’s pace saw the Aussies capitulate on the final afternoon and hand the West Indies a rare victory by just eight runs. 

In limited-overs formats, India eased to the T20 World Cup final, having pricked England’s balloon of bragging in the semis. Afghanistan were amazing, reaching the same stage thanks to shock wins against the Aussies and NZ. Despite his side being blown away by South Africa, Rahmanullah Gurbaz ended the tournament as top scorer, but it was India who lifted the trophy courtesy of fine bowling and a man-of-the-match-winning 76 by Virat Kohli. 

However, the Indian legend was less successful in Tests. Astonishingly, he ended the year averaging less than 25, although this was superior to that of Pakistan star Babar Azam. At least the latter had his T20 performances to redeem his year. Kane Williamson looked back to his best after injury but Australia’s batting looked lacklustre in the wake of David Warner’s retirement. Their Test successes were achieved on the shoulders of veteran bowlers like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon. 

South Africa played few Tests, but David Bedingham top-scored for them, building upon his prolific season for Durham in the County Championship. Nobody notched more first-class runs than Joe Root, who overtook Alastair Cook as England’s top Test run-scorer, yet even he was eclipsed by fellow Yorkshireman Harry Brook. Fully embracing the principles pf Bazball, he has raced past 2,000 runs at an average of 58 and strike rate of a phenomenal 88.

In that first Test in Pakistan, he amassed 317 at almost a run a ball, sharing a new England record partnership with Root of 454. Brook is now 25, but England seem keen to blood a raft of players with no real track record in the domestic game. Shoaib Bashir must have bowled more balls for England than Somerset, with mixed results and now Jacob Bethell has been encouraged to take his one-day county form into the Test arena with not a single first-class century to his name. James Anderson may have been dragged kicking and screaming into retirement at 41 but Gus Atkinson looked a useful replacement, taking 52 wickets in 11 Tests. 

Travis Head was the outstanding Aussie across all formats, especially with the white ball, and West Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Nic Pooran accumulated more than 2,300 Twenty20 runs around the globe. Participating in just about every franchise competition in existence, the 29-year-old must have racked up the highest hotel bills, too. Wanindu Hasaranga also has little Test pedigree but, of the top-ranked nations, proved one of the most consistent spinners in the 50- and 20-over game, surpassing the likes of Rashid Khan and Adam Zampa. 

Fellow Sri Lankan Kamindu Mendis bounced back onto the Test scene with some splendid batting, topping 1,000 runs in a mere nine appearances, while the ropey form of Sharma and Kohli was eased by the assured top-order strokeplay of Yashavsi Jaiswal. He was absolutely rampant against England at the start of the year, thumping not one but two double-centuries. 

However, star ma of the year must be Jasprit Bumrah. He is just irrepressible and, whilst not bewildering batsmen with his pace, movement and unique action, actually makes playing cricket look fun. It’s not just his 71 Test wickets at a ludicrously low average of under 15. He has also brilliant in defeat to Australia and weas a commanding presence for India in the T20 World Cup. In the final, Kohli may have scooped the MOTM prize but it was Bumrah’s 2-18 from four overs in the face of South Africa’s run chase which probably deserved the award. He is 31 now, so won’t take as many career wickets as his retiring team-mate Ashwin but I hope he is around for many seasons to come. 

So here is my 2024 Team of the Year:

Jaiswal (Ind), Head (Aus), Root (Eng), Brook (Eng), K Mendis (SL), Poonan (WI +), Jadeja (Ind), Atkinson (Eng), Hasaranga (SL), Cummins (Aus), Bumrah (Ind)

Australia win India's World Cup!

In 2019, the ICC World Cup Final delivered as close a contest as you could possibly imagine, and it was the home nation, England, which managed to come out on top. Four years on, and it was the hosts who again were hot favourites. However, the Bollywood scriptwriters were absent and, instead of the predicted coronation of Rohit Sharma’s men as champions, the 120,000-odd spectators at Ahmedabad were stunned by a determined Australia, and the outstanding performance of Travis Head. 

On paper, this tournament was the property of the ICC but in practice it felt like it was owned by Narendra Modi, the autocratic Prime Minister of India, after whom the final’s magnificent stadium is named. As India cruised through the group stages unbeaten, he must have been convinced that the trophy was in his hands, too. 

India undoubtedly looked the most complete team. From skipper Rohit Sharma’s blistering starts down to Jasprit Bumrah’s ideosyncratic pace bowling, they had all bases covered. And they had Virat Kohli. 2023 hasn’t been a vintage year for the former captain but he retains the faith of a billion cricket fans, and with good reason. He was by far the leading scorer and when he was dismissed in the final for a mere 54, the silence was deafening. The ovation for his record-breaking fiftieth career ODI century, against New Zealand in the Mumbai semi-final reverberated around the globe, as befits such an imperious batter. 

Looking back, New Zealand were quickest out of the traps. They achieved some sort of revenge for the 2019 defeat by destroying England emphatically. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra each made tons and shared what was to prove the highest partnership of the tournament, an unbeaten 273. For the losers, it created an unwanted foundation for a disastrous defence of the trophy. However, Jos Buttler tried to spin it, there were no positives whatsoever, but more on that another time. 

The Black Caps eased to four successive wins against relatively unfancied opposition, while Australia fell to both India and South Africa. However, when the Aussies withstood a late Neesham onslaught to beat their neighbours thrillingly by five runs at Dharamsala, the tables were turning. Meanwhile, South Africa were also looking ominous. In his final World Cup, Quinton de Kock was scoring centuries for fun, and their 428-5 against Sri Lanka, featuring a trio of tons, was awe-inspiring. 

However, as the weeks passed, the top four seemed to be separating themselves from the rest. Going into the final few rounds, Kane Williamson’s side started to look vulnerable to a possible late charge from Pakistan and even Afghanistan, who won a lot of friends in this competition. Had it not been for Glenn Maxwell’s phenomenal one-legged slogfest, they would have finished the group with five victories and a slender chance of breaking into the knockouts. 

It didn’t happen, of course, and the perennial bridesmaids NZ and SA almost inevitably fell victims to India and Australia, respectively. They are not – repeat NOT – chokers. It’s just that they are never quite the best in the business. History has nowt to do with it. If it did, the West Indies would still be whupping everyone’s arses at the World Cup instead of sitting on their own arses in the Caribbean. 

Fans of T20 and the horrible Hundred have criticised the 50-over format for producing too few close contests in this World Cup. Yes, there have been some one-sided affairs but that happens in all tournaments in all sports. It’s just that many people have attention spans too short to appreciate a proper game of cricket. If I have a beef with the World Cup, it is the ten-team, all-plays-all group format, leaving only two knockout fixtures plus the final. Why not have twelve teams, two groups of six and a quarter-final stage? I know the answer, of course: money. Had this been adopted in 2023, India would have played a minimum of six games, not ten (assuming they qualified from their group), with the resulting reduction in revenue. Furthermore, the uncertainty of knockout cricket has the potential of an early upset. 

For fans like me, it would have the advantage of springing surprises, disrupting the status quo, which is anathema to the bodies who effectively run world cricket. Past tourneys have been memorable for the triumphs of Kenya, Ireland and the Netherlands. I love it when the likes of Bas de Leede and Ibrahim Zadran can demonstrate their talents on the highest stage. 

I have no idea what the ICC will do next time. However, I suspect that the 2027 affair will see a new batch of stars. Will the current cabal of mid-thirty-somethings still be around? Surely, the Aussies will need a new group of quicks to replace Pat Cummins and co. David Warner was leaping around the field like a spring chicken but he will be pushing forty. So will, for heaven’s sake, Virat Kohli! Somehow, I fancy that he will postpone his retirement, as did Tendulkar, for one last hurrah and a chance to hold this still significant trophy. I hope so. 

Mike’s Team of the Tournament:  De Kock (SA, +), Sharma (Ind), Ravindra (NZ), Kohli (Ind), Mitchell (NZ), Maxwell (Aus), Jadeja (Ind), Zampa (Aus), Shami (Ind), Bumrah (Ind), Coetzee (SA).

 

Honourable mentions: Warner (Aus), Ibrahim Zadran (Afg), Iyer (ind), Madushanka (SL) 

England Invincible!

When Zak Crawley nudged Jansen to the cover boundary, he did more than secure the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy. Apart from a satisfying return to personal form, he emphasised a new-found invincibility for England’s Test side, an incredible turnaround after a dreadful eighteen months. 

The clean sweep of people in new roles must have had an influence. I don’t know how much of the reversal of fortunes is down to current skipper Ben Stokes but I’m sure Brendon McCullum’s forceful personality and matching cricketing strategy is the key factor. Bizarrely, England’s ODI and T20 results have been poor while the transition to ‘Baz Ball’ in the Test arena has yielded incredible results. And the opposition nwas hardly weak and feeble, either. Since the defeats in Australia and the West Indies last winter, England polished off the strong New Zealand side, won the postponed decider against India then this month took the series against South Africa. 

Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope have thrived with the bat and whoever has been fit to bowl, from Matthew Potts to Ollie Robinson, has also done a great job. The Yorkshire batter just needs to stay off the golf course and focus instead on less dangerous leisure sports like tomb-stoning or helicopter skiing. 

Yes, Stokes’ insistence on trying to hit every ball for six has not always worked. His retirement from the 50-over game just means he adopts his ODI approach in first-class cricket. Why waste it?! Even without the captaincy, Joe Root is still Joe Root and then there are the timeless oldies, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad continually taking wickets and breaking records. 

In the past, viewers have become used to England throwing away opportunities or caving in under pressure. If the summer of 2022 is anything to go by, that’s all in the past. 

Concede 553 in the first innings? No problem: win by five wickets (vs NZ)

Bowled out for 141? No problem: win by five wickets (NZ)

First-innings deficit of 132? No problem: achieve highest ever run chase to win by seven wickets (India)

Lose first match of series by an innings? No problem: win the second by an innings

Lose two days to rain and royal death? No problem: polish off series-clinching triumph in two and a bit days and still have time for a few rounds of golf (not Bairstow, of course).

All quite extraordinary. But how will the switch to Twenty20 in Pakistan and Australia go? With mostly different players and captain, the Test side’s performances probably won’t affect things much too much, although a shared air of confidence may pervade the whole squad. If so, the rest of the world should again fear England at this winter’s World Cup.

2021 Cricket Eleven of the Year

Like many sports and other areas of life, cricket made a bold attempt to bounce back from the Covid cancellations of 2020, only to find that the deadly pandemic was far from finished. The delayed T20 World Cup was won by Australia, the suspended IPL was completed in October and the blasted Hundred competition launched in England to a mixed reaction. The franchise-based format left me cold, I couldn’t tell you who was on it but the one compensation was the enforced parity of the women’s version, with double-headers and live TV coverage on the BBC. 

India won four Test series, home and away, although officially the fifth match in England was merely deferred until next summer. Nevertheless, India lost the one that really mattered, the inaugural World Test Championship Final. Hosted by the Southampton Rose Bowl, it was New Zealand who romped home by eight wickets to claim their first global trophy. Revenge was duly taken in Mumbai where Agarwal, Ashwin et al destroyed the Kiwis by 372 runs. West Indies are a shadow of their former selves but edged a couple of very close encounters, notably a one-wicket nailbiter against Pakistan at Kingston. 

While Test cricket was less prevalent than in pre-coronavirus days, England still contrived to compete in fifteen, losing most of them. Their 2021 began with success in Sri Lanka but ended in Ashes humiliation at the MCG. The Aussies didn’t see a great deal of international action, while the likes of Ireland, Bangladesh and Pakistan had busy ODI schedules. 

2021 was also the year when AB De Villiers called time on his extraordinary professional career and South African team-mates De Kock and Du Plessis each bade farewell to red ball cricket. Mohammad Hafeez, Dwayne Bravo, Mahmudullah and Ross Taylor also announced their retirements from internationals while true greats such as Steyn and Malinga hung up their boots for good. Meanwhile in England, county stalwarts Peter Trego, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Rikki Clarke, Gareth Batty and Daryl Mitchell were amongst those quitting the treadmill, yet the venerable Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens continued to whack centuries and lead his county’s seam attack with aplomb at the age of 45! 

Now for my eleven male stars of the past twelve months. As ever, the selection is based on performances across all three formats and doesn’t represent an all-conquering side in any particular one. Thanks largely to Covid-related schedule vagaries, Asian nations are more dominant than usual and just for a change there is no room for the likes of Kohli, Starc or Smith. Amongst others missing out, I should give special mentions to Marnus Labuschagne, Ollie Robinson, Fakhar Zaman, Tim Southee, Hasan Ali and, for his incredible 10-wicket innings in a lost match, NZ spinner Ajaz Patel. 

At the top I’ve gone for Rohit Sharma and Devon Conway. There were other major contenders at the white-ball end of the spectrum (notably Ireland’s Paul Stirling) but what swung it for the New Zealander was his sensational 200 on his Test debut at Lord’s. Babar Azam has cemented his position as the most lethal limited-overs batter in the world as well as a top-class Test run-maker for Pakistan. Aussie Travis Head has also successfully transferred his stroke-making skills from white to red ball cricket, as illustrated by his devastating 152 at more than a run a ball against England to set up victory at The Gabba. 

Then there’s Joe Root. To top the Test match run aggregate by a mile and accumulate 1,999 first-class runs in the year while skippering a struggling national side is some achievement. Like Lara in the Noughties, he seemed to carry his team’s batting every game and is an obvious choice. His occasional off-spin is also a handy accompaniment and his Test bowling average for 2021 was superior to that of specialists such as Nathan Lyon. 

My wicketkeeper is Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan. Besides claiming almost eighty victims behind the stumps, nobody scored more T20 runs than his 2,036 at a decent strike rate of 132. With Ben Stokes opting out with injury and mental health issues, there was no stand-out all-rounder last year. West Indian Jason Holder just edges out Shakib for his Test match efforts. 

Rashid Khan managed only one Test match and, given the Taliban’s Afghan takeover, it may well be his last. However, he was again the most prolific T20 bowler, which propels him into my XI. He is joined by Ravichandran Ashwin, who enjoyed one of his most productive years in Indian ‘whites’ at the age of 35. His 106 against England at Chennai demonstrates his value as a late-order batsman as well as off-spinner. 

My seam attack is one I could never have envisaged twelve months ago. Giant left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi may have proved that 2020 was no fluke and I could have picked South African Anrich Nortje, but my final choice is Sri Lankan Dushmatha Chameera whose 20 ODI wickets topped the end-of-year table with his speed and bounce. 

To re-cap, here is my 2021 Team of the Year:- 

R Sharma (Ind), Conway (NZ), Babar Azam (Pak), Root (Eng), Head (Aus), Mohammad Rizwan (Pak +), Holder (WI), Ashwin (Ind), Rashid Khan (Afg), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pak), Chameera (SL). 

My ‘squad replacements’ would be Labuschagne (Aus), Fakhar Zaman (Pak), De Kock (SA +), Mustafizur Rahman (Ban), Shakib al-Hasan (Ban)

Azeem Rafiq, Race, Root and Roses

Like most sports, cricket needs to make its headlines on the pitch. While England threatened to win the World T20 in Dubai, the UK media seemed happy to oblige. As long as Jos Buttler was racking up the runs, and Chris Woakes and Mark Wood taking wickets, all seemed well. Then came Jimmy Neesham and Tim Southee and it all fell apart. 

By the time Australia were crowned champions and New Zealand came to terms with another defeat in a final, the Press had moved on to more serious matters away from the wicket. And they don’t come much more serious than Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of racism against Yorkshire. 

His county cricket career over, he has been brave to stick his head above the parapet and tell it as it is. Yorkshire’s attempted cover-up, Gary Ballance’s unacceptable ‘banter’ and Joe Root’s ‘hear no evil, see no evil, let’s talk about the Ashes instead’ attitude have done cricket no favours whatsoever and now former players at other counties have also felt emboldened to blow the whistle on racist comments made by county executives. It’s no longer just a White Rose problem. 

The ECB and Yorkshire’s sponsors have hit the county where it hurts but where will it end? Azeem Rafiq’s comments about “institutionalised racism” seem increasingly justified, which makes me angry given we’re in the 2020s, not the 1970s. In the Nineties, black cricketers seemed to be consigning ancient attitudes towards race to history, with the likes of Small, Lewis, Butcher, Cowans, Malcolm , Lawrence et al breaking into the elite. English Asians took a bit longer but Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Monty Panesar, Samit Patel, Ravi Bopara and others have since made their mark. And yet they have been sometimes badly treated, too. 

Azeem Rafiq’s appearance before the Parliamentary committee yesterday promoted the issue of racism in cricket to the main story on the Six o’Clock News and things are now getting brutally ugly and personal. Ballance, Michael Vaughan and Tim Bresnan have all been forced to deny making derogatory comments to players of Asian descent. Someone is lying. Does Rafiq have an alternative agenda, aiming lethal barbs at former Yorkshire colleagues out of sheer spite? It seems unlikely. Which means those colleagues are lying to save their skins, reputations and lucrative contracts. Ouch! Nasty business. 

I daresay many people will just get on the anti-Woke bandwagon and lump Rafiq’s allegations in with statue-toppling and knee-taking but they need to be heard, and acted upon, if casual racism is to be eradicated and treated as wrong instead of normal practice. Let the guilty be punished before the ex-spinner is forgotten. If the ECB wants the headlines to concern the Ashes, the momentum must not be lost.

New Zealand Top of the Test World

When New Zealand completed a rout of Pakistan this week, they did more than win a series; they displaced Australia at the top of the ICC Test rankings, the first time they’ve ever reached the pinnacle. The World Test Championship may be in a bit of Covid-caused disarray but the Black Caps’ achievement is a momentous one. 

They’ve been knocking at the door for ages but an invincible home record in Tests for almost four years is mighty impressive. A World Cup triumph would be exceedingly welcome but no longer will New Zealand cricket fans be forced to boast about near-misses in limited-overs tournaments. 

There have been excellent Test sides before, of course. I remember the Eighties stars like Crowe, Hadlee and Bracewell helping NZ to ten Test series wins and only six defeats in the decade, beating all the major nations including the West Indies, India and Australia. The 1996-2006 period was quite successful, too, albeit against softer opposition, when Stephen Fleming skippered the likes of Nathan Astle, Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum. 

Now entering a new decade, New Zealand are back in the forefront of world cricket. Overcoming the disappointment of losing a World Cup final by the smallest margin possible they have steered their way through a virus-infested 2020 to stand on top of the Test cricketing world. Their easy win over Kohli’s India ten months ago was the last first-class international match played until the Windies bubble came to England in July but a welter of three-match home series triumphs has propelled them to the top of the table. 

Kane Williamson has been amongst the batting elite for several years but his 238 this week ensured he started 2021 as number one in the batting rankings. Ross Taylor is still a useful man to have around, wicketkeeper BJ Watling can make runs while Henry Nicholls is becoming a top-class batsman across all formats. 

However, much of the success has been built on the consistency of the bowling attack. Tim Southee is 32 now but looks as good as ever, passing the milestone of 300 wickets and his slightly younger seam-and-swing partner Trent Boult is close behind him. Another thirty-something left-armer Neil Wagner sits with Southee in the world’s top four but perhaps the future lies with Kyle Jamieson. At 26, the 6 foot 8 giant from Auckland is no spring chicken but he made an outstanding introduction to Test cricket last year, taking 4-39 against India on his debut and captured 11 scalps in the latest game. He’s not notably quick but a record of 36 wickets at just 13.27 in six appearances suggests a major talent. A 6-7 haul in 2019 also makes him a dangerous T20 exponent. 

I’ve no particular personal allegiance to New Zealand but I think it’s great to see a country other than the dominant moneybags, India, England and Australia making a mark on world cricket. If only someone would dare offer them more than a three-match rubber. In the past they have been written off as being poor box-office. Now perhaps the wealthiest sides are running scared. They should be!

2019 Review - My Team of the Year

As most years, 2019 experienced a range of cricket-related emotions. David Warner and Steve Smith returned from their bans to mixed reviews. Warner enjoyed some success in the IPLwhile his former Test captain swapped tears for a deaf ear to barracking England fans and almost single-handedly retained the Ashes for Australia. However, possibly the world’s only genuine world-class all-rounder, Shakib al-Hasan, ended this year in disgrace, suspended for at least a year for ‘failing to report corrupt approaches’. He really ought to have known better. 

Ben Stokes escaped a jail sentence and the dial on his luck-ometer remained fixed at eleven throughout the summer. His diving deflection and strokeplay carried England to an extraordinary World Cup Final triumph at Lord’s against a desperately unfortunate New Zealand, followed by a heroic unbeaten century of eight sixes and strike-farming to save the Headingley Test. India consolidated their number one Test ranking by winning all four Test series, including rubbers in Australia and the West Indies. After losing their inaugural Test in 2018, Afghanistan claimed their first wins, against Ireland and, more significantly, Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka struggled again and, despite retaining their T20 top-rank status, Pakistan had a nightmare year in all formats. Their only series success came against Sri Lanka in 50-over cricket in their long-awaited return to home-territory internationals. Let’s hope bringing internationals home after a decade will be the springboard to a change in fortunes.

South Africa were another side in transition. The Test team was slaughtered in India, but whitewashed Sri Lanka in ODIs before a lacklustre World Cup. They also suffered a whole host of international retirements, including Amla, Steyn, Duminy and Imran Tahir. At least they ended the calendar year with a first-class victory over England. Veterans Lasith Malinga and Shoaib Malik also bade farewell to ODIs this year, and Yuvraj Singh won’t be playing at the top level again. I wouldn’t mind betting, though, that they will continue to rake in the dollars and rupees in Twenty 20.

So who makes my team of the year? 

David Warner’s return to the fold reaped immediate rewards. Whilst not playing much 50-over cricket, he nonetheless accumulated more than 2,500 runs in all formats. KL Rahul was in superb white-ball form, nobody scored more List A runs than Aaron Finch and Mayank Agarwal struck some huge scores for India, but my other opener is Rohit Sharma. Outscoring even Virat Kohli in ODIs, he also scored three centuries in six Test innings, including two in the First Test against South Africa. 

His captain Virat Kohli’s place in my end-of-year Eleven is almost guaranteed. Will he ever suffer a loss of form? Skippering the world’s undisputed top Test nation hasn’t hurt him as a batsman, averaging 68 in eight Tests and achieving strike rates of 96 and 145 in ODI and T20 cricket, respectively. However, someone scored more than four times as many first-class runs as the Indian master in 2019. Not Smith, not Root, not Williamson. No, I’m talking about Marnus Labuschagne. I confess to being ignorant of him prior to his string of hundreds for Glamorgan in the early summer, but he proved to be no mere bully of Second Division county attacks. At first deputising for Steve Smith, he went on to out-score him, ending the year with three big Test hundreds in succession against Pakistan and New Zealand advancing him to four in the ICC rankings. Including his performances for Queensland he amassed 2,703 first-class runs in 2019, way ahead of anyone else, and his leg-spin gives him an extra dimension, too.

Faf du Plessis, Ross Taylor and even Dawid Malan had a commendable twelve-month period but for my final middle-order slot I’ve leaned towards Pakistan. Last year I narrowly plumped for Babar Azam in my XI. This time there can be no doubt he deserves his spot. In an under-performing Pakistan outfit he shone strong and bright. Not only was Azam the world’s top scorer in senior T20 cricket (1,607 runs) but he also completed 2019 in a red-ball purple patch, striking three tons and a 97 in four consecutive Tests. Aged just 25, he is young enough to develop into a truly world-class all-round batsman.

My wicketkeeper-batsman is an absolute shoo-in: Quinton de Kock. Carey, Paine, Hope and Buttler each had their moments but the South African left-hander was imperious in all forms of the game. He compiled more than 2,400 runs and 80 dismissals, boasting a three-figure strike rate in ODIs. AB De Villiers may have been missed in the World Cup but De Kock  maturing nicely into a formidable member of the Proteas and T20 gun for hire.

With Shakib al-Hasan in disgrace, genuine all-rounders were in short supply. Jason Holder is a big fish in a desperately diminished Caribbean pond where he contributes a few wickets and the occasional astonishing innings; more than half his 2019 Test runs were scored in that 202 not out against England at Bridgetown. With better team-mates around him, he would be in my team of the year but for sheer personality and big-match temperament I’ve plumped for Ben Stokes. His seam bowling may not have been world-class, and he didn’t really earn his millions for the Rajasthan Royals, but for promoting cricket to the UK front pages for the first time in yonks (probably since Stokes was up in court!) the Durham man gets the nod.

No bowlers were truly outstanding. Even in his mid-thirties, Peter Siddle remained one of the world’s most skilled seamers in the four-day game, Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer led the England attack with brio, India’s Mohammed Shami was a deceptively swift and prolific swing bowler in ODIs and Kabiso Rabada was a consistent paceman for South Africa. The New Zealand seam attack of Boult, Southee, Wagner, Ferguson and Henry were always impressive as a unit, though not necessarily as individuals.

In their place I have selected the Aussie pair of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. At 26, the former is finally fit enough to fire on all cylinders on a regular basis, combining sheer pace with control. He’s not yet Glenn McGrath but he took 59 Test wickets at just over 20 apiece, which is world-class. The left-armer Starc is supposedly weaker in the Test arena but statistically he wasn’t far behind Cummins.

Spin bowling made less impact in 2019 so there were relatively few names in contention. Simon Harmer’s 99 first-class wickets, helping Essex to another County Championship, make him impossible to ignore. Naturally Rashid Khan entered my thinking, bowling Afghanistan to an historic Test victory over Bangladesh and doing his usual thing with the white ball. However, even he took fewer T20 wickets than Imran Tahir. The South African may be almost twice the age of Rashid but his 79 victims, allied to 30 in List A fixtures, established his place at cricket’s top table. And his joyful wheeling sprint celebrations after taking wickets at the World Cup always lifted the spirits. If sport can’t do that, what’s the point?!

In conclusion, here is my 2019 Team of the Year:-

Warner (Aus), R Sharma (Ind), Babar Azam (Pak), Kohli (Ind), Labuschagne (Aus), De Kock (SA +), Stokes (Eng), Starc (Aus), Harmer (SA), Imran Tahir (SA), Cummins (Aus)

My ‘squad replacements’ would be Rahul (Ind), Buttler (Eng), Rabada (SA), Mohammed Shami (Ind)

No Super Over Rescue this time for England

It’s been almost two months since my last cricket blog. Following the crushing conclusion to the English county season and the high drama of the Ashes, there hasn’t been an awful lot to write about. Yes, a handful of Twenty20s and The Hundred’s draft – something nobody understands for something nobody wants – but little to get the heart pounding. Until now.

India have become the first nation to win four successive Tests by an innings. OK, so the final two were against Bangladesh lacking their best player, but the first two in the sequence were against South Africa, even if the Proteas are not as strong as they were a few years ago. Virat Kohli continues to break records of his own and the last victory was clinched with all wickets taken by seamers (India?!). In Brisbane, Australia handed Pakistan their thirteenth consecutive defeat on their shores, and just for a change their runs weren’t primarily provided by Steve Smith.

Which brings us back to England. Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes may well be practising their bowing and scraping in advance of their likely New Year knighthoods but Joe Root’s may have to wait awhile after falling victim  to another of the week’s innings outcomes at The Bay Oval.

New Zealand may have suffered two excruciatingly tight limited-overs losses to England in recent months but in proper cricket they were undone by poor batting and an inability to dismiss the Black Caps’ seventh-wicket pairing for more than eighty overs. A first innings of 353 didn’t look too shabby but that was ery nearly matched by the combined scores of BJ Watling (a career-best 205) and spinner Mitchell Santner (a maiden Test century) who shared a stand of 261. England bowlers toiled for only two wickets on day three before Watling and Santner cranked it up on the fourth, the latter rounding off a superb six hours by dismissing both openers and nightwatchman Leach with the ball.

England desperately dug in for the draw, with Santner bowling nineteen maidens, but Neil Wagner’s lively 5-44 was the decisive factor.  It’s only a two-Test series which won’t count for the World Test Championship, in which NZ currently occupy second place, but it was a humbling experience for new coach Chris Silverwood. It was nice to see Dominic Sibley win his first cap after such a commanding season with Warwickshire, and he did outscore his captain, but that was all. He should get another chance, as might Ollie Pope.

Jofra Archer got no support from the pitch, nor from the crowd. Racist abuse should not be tolerated in any situation but it seems a bit rich to complain when bowlers are constantly spitting vile abuse at the opposition and getting away with it. Sledging = abuse, isn’t it? I hope they throw the book at the small-minded bozo who yelled at Archer across the boundary but it shouldn’t distract from the fact that England were well beaten. Next week Trent Boult will probably be absent through injury but with Matt Henry or Lockie Ferguson waiting in the wings, England will face further disciplined seam and swing bowling, and they will do well to win the series. They don’t have Super Overs in Tests….

World Cup delivers a Super climax for England

Over the years, exciting competitions haven’t always delivered a Final that the preceding weeks’ performances have deserved. The very first cricket World Cup holds a special place in my heart, a Lord’s spectacle featuring the best players on the planet producing thrills and spills from start to finish. But even the 1975 Aussie-Windies showdown couldn’t contrive a conclusion as astonishing as that of 2019 on the same ground.

Most people - me included – were anticipating a battle between Archer and Sharma, Rashid and Kohli, Bumrah and Bairstow,  Shami and Root. Not for the first time, New Zealand upset the applecart with their bowling-led brand of white-ball cricket, calmly marshalled by batsman-supreme Kane Williamson.

England have been smashing scores of 300+ at will but the Black Caps’ highest score at this tournament was a mere 291, sufficient to beat the West Indies by 5 runs at Old Trafford. However, Williamson’s side have shown a great ability to defend such targets thanks to the seam and swing of Trent Boult, Matt Henry, the pacy Lockie Ferguson and their supporting cast of Neesham, de Grandhomme and Santner. The semi-final was a case in point. If India couldn’t chase 240, perhaps England might struggle.

Nevertheless when Archer, Plunkett et al restricted them to an almost identical 241-8, I felt that lightning couldn’t possibly strike twice. It’s a well-worn cliché that matches can turn on an isolated moment. When Trent Boult failed to flick the ball back to his captain before stepping on the boundary rope, it seemed that NZ had blown it. And yet they were in the driving seat when Boult again prepared to bowl the fiftieth over.

An even more shattering blow came when Ben Stokes’ despairing dive for the crease inadvertently deflected the ball for four overthrows. Nine from three became three from two. It was a shattering blow. When the scores finished level and the commentators announced a Super Over I could barely believe what I was seeing. I’d been flicking back and forth with BBC1’s Wimbledon coverage all afternoon and the double-whammy of final set tie-break and Super Over was more than my frazzled nerves could take. I could only guess at the electricity crackling around the crowd at Lord’s.

I won’t repeat the words of a million match reports but needless to say the Super Over scores were also tied but both teams knew that England had the edge in terms of the decisive boundary count and the World Cup was finally won by the home team, ending those 44 years of hurt. And still there was controversy. Apparently, by the laws of the game, that second run prior to the four overthrows should not have been allowed. What? Would Stokes have completed two runs from the final delivery? Knowing two was not enough to win, would he instead have attempted to launch the leg-stump full-toss into the crowd? We’ll never know. They’re hardly going to replay the game now!

Like Djokovic and Federer, both teams had served up a fabulous finale. It wasn’t about slogging sixes all over St John’s Wood. Instead it was a good old-fashioned even contest between bat and ball which both nations deserved to win and neither should have lost. The Swiss tennis superstar was suitably stoic and generous in defeat, as was Kane Williamson, but losing in such a desperately tight finish must be tough to take.

Every one of England's players had contributed to the triumph, and this is still quite a young squad. What about The Legacy?  Let’s hope that England’s victory won’t be instantly forgotten and trampled over by the Ashes and next year’s IPL. Young boys and girls need to start playing the game, or stop dropping out in their teens. I only hope they will have sufficient areas of grass, enough equipment and the coaching required to develop talent beyond the posh private school fields and create the conditions required to build a CWC-winning team in 2031.

What have the ECB done for 2020? Completely abandon 50-over cricket at which England are now world-beaters and put all their efforts into a city franchise 100-ball thrash. Unbelievable. At least it will be shown on the Beeb thus guaranteeing much larger TV audiences than Sky Sports Ashes coverage but what will they be watching? It won’t be cricket as she is played anywhere else. Give me a game of 100 overs, not two lots of blink-and-miss it 100 balls.

For now, let’s enjoy England’s success, commiserate with New Zealand’s unlucky defeat and relive some glorious memories from the past six weeks. In the three games I attended in Cardiff there were memorable performances by Roy, Shakib, Henry, Ferguson, Imran Tahir, not to mention the joyous fans of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. On TV there was fabulous strokeplay from Rohit Sharma, David Warner, that six-hit mayhem instigated by Eoin Morgan and Malinga’s slingshots to push England close to an early exit. Mitchell Starc and Jesprit Bumrah proved again why they are the best bowlers in the world, and Jofra Archer demonstrated that he may overtake them in the next four years. A great tournament and a final which will never be forgotten.

Mike’s Team of the Tournament:  Roy (Eng), Warner (Aus), Shakib al-Hasan (Ban), Rohit Sharma (Ind), Williamson (NZ), Stokes (Eng), Carey (Aus +), Starc (Aus), Archer (Eng), Bumrah (Ind), Ferguson (NZ).

(Honourable mentions to Imran Tahir, Babar Azam, Joe Root, Mohammed Amir and Jimmy Neesham).

Six slide out, now it's Top Four Time!

Thank goodness the World Cup did come alive in the end, but the organisers pretty much have the semi-finalists the format was designed to deliver. I appreciate the efforts of England to keep us on tenterhooks by contriving those defeats to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia only to blaze back into the competition with comfortable victories over India and New Zealand, but on home soil they were never not going to qualify.

It will be said to bid farewell to the other nations. Like many neutrals, I was willing Afghanistan to register their first World Cup victory but they were well beaten by all except Pakistan and, improbably, India who for much of their match at Southampton looked in danger of losing. South Africa delivered too little too late and I was at Cardiff to see them make heavy weather of overcoming Rashid Khan and co despite all their star names. Imran Tahir’s joyful wicket celebrations were amusing but AB was sorely missed!

West Indies may have bounced and bludgeoned their way to beating Pakistan but the short ball was something of a one-trick pony. For all the Cottrell salutes and enormous six-hitting, they demonstrated why they needed to qualify for a place in the tournament itself. Improved fielding would be a start. Gibson and Gayle were a joke and when The Boss knelt in instalments to catch Rahmat Shah we all laughed out of surprise. Pakistan never really recovered from that early reverse at Trent Bridge but it was a pleasure to watch Babar Azam and Mohammad Amir at their best. Sri Lanka gave us a few smiles along the way and Bangladesh had the excellent Shakib al Hasan to thank for keeping them in the hunt for a top-four position with just a few matches to play.

Generally speaking most of the global superstars have fulfilled expectations. Bumrah, Sharma, Warner, Starc, Shakib, Williamson, Archer and Root have all done well while Roy, Morgan, Finch and du Plessis have produced a few big innings. However, only some of the above are still participating in the competition. Who will make it all the way to the final?

Watching the Aussies desperately chasing the challenging South African total of 325, they were clearly concerned at the prospect of facing England again, this time in the semi-final. A few weeks ago, Aaron Finch struck 100 and the strike partnership of Starc and Behrendorff blunted the substantial threat of the English engine room (Ben Stokes excepted), but Eoin Morgan’s men are unlikely to roll over as easily this week. For starters, Jason Roy will be back in the side and there surely there won’t be as many silly shots played by those further down the order.

Nevertheless, Australia possess potential matchwinners themselves in the form of Finch, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell, with Steve Smith in the Joe Root role of steady accumulator, but will this be enough? I still feel that England have greater strength all the way from one to eleven which should take them to next weekend’s showdown.

Despite winning seven of their nine, India still don’t look like world-beaters. Jasprit Bumrah may be a shoo-in for a place in any fantasy XI, Rohit Sharma has struck five centuries and, well, Kohli is Kohli, but that’s where the list of world-class performers ends.  Their semi-final opponents New Zealand probably have only one: Kane Williamson. However, their team of canny swing bowlers, seasoned batsmen and competent all-rounders always looks dangerous and took them to the final last time of asking. They just look even  more in need of runs than India at the moment and that could be their undoing at Old Trafford. So for me it has to be that dream final of England v India.

World Cup woes for South Africa

The 2019 Cricket World Cup has been an inevitable slow-burner. With all ten nations playing each other, it has taken three weeks to reach the stage where big names are facing the certainty of an early plane home, or even possibly an unexpected short-term contract with a county.

It hasn’t helped that so many fixtures have been so one-sided. My three live experiences at Cardiff have been enjoyable but really could have been enhanced by much closer encounters of a cricketing kind. New Zealand made short work of Sri Lanka, Roy, Buttler et al plastered the Bangladesh spinners for an array of sixes then Afghanistan predictably succumbed to South Africa.

Thank goodness for some surprises elsewhere. The West Indians’ pace dealt Pakistan an early blow, Bangladesh creamed an unassailable 330-6 off South Africa then even England’s cruise towards the semis hit a rock as Pakistan bounced back but still an exciting finale was lacking.

Rain caused some disappointing washouts and abandonments, particularly at Bristol, and robbed us of the intriguing India v New Zealand contest. The much-anticipated India-Pakistan fixture was also affected by the wet stuff, as well as the latter’s inability to shackle Rohit Sharma. However, when the British weather improved, so did the tournament, even if the big four threatened to run away with it. In just two days we had some crackers.

On the longest day at Headingley, England’s seemingly infallibility when batting second was severely dented by Sri Lanka. Nice to see Lasith Malinga finding some of his old magic as they triumphed by 20 runs. At Southampton the following day, Afghanistan’s spinners choked India so hard that their target was a distinctly manageable 225. They didn’t quite manage it, of course, thanks largely to the nous of Bumrah and Shami’s final over hat-trick, but we neutrals revelled in the excitement of a near-shock. Meanwhile, some lusty blows by Chris Gayle and an extraordinary century by Carlos Brathwaite so nearly rescued the Windies against the Black Caps, for whom Kane Williamson batted so beautifully.

With teams having just two or three matches left to play, the top four placings are not yet decided. As in the last World Cup, New Zealand have demonstrated their undoubted class slightly beneath the radar. At the time of writing they are unbeaten, as are Virat Kohli’s India and each muct surely reach the semi-finals. I wasn’t sure how Australia would fare in the aftermath of the Warner-Smith bans. However, they have been almost England-esque in their run accumulations, with David Warner and Aaron Finch striking some stunning scores, and are almost home and dry.

So what about England? With the exception of the Sri Lanka debacle, they have been passing 300 with impressive regularity. Sixes have come right down the order, and Eoin Morgan’s blitz against Afghanistan was particularly brutal. Intriguingly their final three games come against their three closest rivals, beginning with the Aussies, followed by India at Edgbaston and then NZ. I reckon they’ll win at least two of them but even so I can’t see the planets aligning so perfectly that one of the other pretenders such as Pakistan or even Bangladesh could disturb the status quo.

What have I learnt so far? Well, batsmen were always likely to be on top, but who would have predicted Shakib al-Hasan would have been top of the run charts? Jofra Archer and Mark Wood have been the most devastating bowling partnership as the short ball has proved the most effective bowling weapon of the tournament. Imran Tahir, Rashid Khan and co may yet have a say in proceedings but for certain neither SA nor Afghanistan will be raising the trophy this year. Faf du Plessis’ men have been out of sorts in most areas. Their batting line-up was already weaker than it’s been for a long time and their one true global star Hashim Amla, has scratched around for runs, even against the Afghans.

I’m sure there’ll be more twists and turns in the coming weeks but it looks likely that the ICC will get the top four it wanted, and that India-England final remains a distinct possibility.

Tourist TIme

I’m not sure why my flirtation with live Sunday League matches fizzled out. Perhaps it was A-Level pressure, ill-health or the growing problem of finding a parking space close to the County Ground. Yes, it’s not a twenty-first century phenomenon! Once my university years had passed and I plunged into the world of work in the early Eighties, priorities changed. Nor do I recall Dad ever badgering me to accompany him to Chelmsford, not even if Hampshire were the visitors.

Instead, thoughts turned to satisfying my cricket craving by means of the touring side’s annual fixture with Essex. Even in the Eighties, a tour lasted most of the summer incorporating three-dayers against the majority of counties, and Essex always seemed to be on the itinerary. A decade earlier, in 1976, the West Indies played all seventeen counties, the MCC, Minor Counties and Combined Universities, interweaved with five Tests and three ODIs. And current national management teams have the temerity to whine about their arduous schedules, poor dears. 

My first experience of a tour match occurred in 1984 when my favourites, the Windies, were over here. It was deep into June when I took annual leave to watch the final day’s play at Chelmsford, taking the train from Billericay and carrying my sandwiches, camera and diluted squash over the river, before shelling out £2.50 for my ticket (left). Well, I was earning £6K a year, so why not splash out?!

Essex’s successful period had generated enough income to fund ground improvements. Small sections of plastic seating had thankfully replaced the old planks, and I took my place in the non-members’ section at the River End. I was disappointed at the absence of the all-conquering Windies pace attack, with the exception of Joel Garner who, my diary records, bowled a three-over ‘”fiery spell” which did for Gooch and Hardie. Two unfamiliar fast bowlers were in action: Milton Small and a raw, gangly 21 year-old Courtney Walsh. Viv Richards had contributed a pleasing 60 but Fletcher and Pringle batted out for a draw.

In the ensuing seasons I beat the same path to see Australia (twice), New Zealand (twice), West Indies (twice more) and Pakistan. While inevitably many leading tourists were rested in between Test duties, I consider myself privileged to observe some of the world’s greatest cricketers just up the road in Chelmsford. There was an out-of-sorts Jeff Thomson struggling with no-balls, Imran Khan bowling Gooch for a duck, Wasim Akram in awesome all-rounder mode, Ian Bishop taking 5-49, Curtly Ambrose delivering a succession of wince-inducing rib-ticklers at Nasser Hussain, Matthew Hayden making a superb diving catch in front of me and Sir Richard Hadlee making a brief substitute appearance on the outfield the day after his knighthood was announced. He didn’t bowl but in other years I did observe side-on the legendary Malcolm Marshall and Waqar Younis (below). 

In August 1991 Dad was with me when, at the end of a predictable draw, I joined others on the pitch to look up to the players’ balcony where, after bowling regulation, time-filling off-breaks, stood King Viv leaning on the railings, full spirit glass in one hand, surveying his realm. It was the last time he played in a West Indian tour match against a county and a matter of days before his emotional farewell to Test cricket.

Despite my policy of aiming to attend, weather permitting, the middle day, I usually seemed to be denied the best of the visiting batsmen. Twice Gordon Greenidge chose to flay the Essex bowlers on the days I missed, and I didn’t see a lot of Martin Crowe, David Boon or Desmond Haynes other than in a slip cordon. Funnily enough, the only centuries I witnessed were by home players like Brian Hardie, Graham Gooch and John Stephenson before, one warm sunny afternoon in 1996, Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar broke the duck with an exhilarating 102, full of crisp boundaries. My final trip to Chelmsford came two years later but I very nearly saw no cricket at all. The fire brigade was needed to help drain the flooded outfield before play was declared possible and I could see South Africa’s Shaun Pollock take three wickets and Jonty Rhodes demonstrate his fielding prowess in the covers.

The only leading nation missing from my list was India. Fortunately I was able to rectify this omission many years later in 2011. By now a resident of Bridgwater, I nipped down to Taunton to watch a full-strength Indian side, weary from the IPL, desperately seeking first-class match practice. The England skipper Andrew Strauss was similarly out of touch and, in extraordinary circumstances, given special dispensation by the ECB, his Middlesex club and Somerset to bat in this game. He actually went on to score a century but, like most of those in the County Ground, I was more interested in seeing the likes of Gambhir, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh in the flesh. Above all, I grasped the opportunity of seeing Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in partnership, albeit not for very long. An ambition realised (left).

                            

But what about joining a touring party myself? I’ve certainly never craved being a member of the Barmy Army. I couldn’t imagine anything worse! However, my bucket list dream of watching the West Indies play – against anybody, I’m not fussy – at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium on Antigua will almost certainly remain unfulfilled. Instead I retain my fond memories of hours spent under Essex skies watching the best in the world just eight miles from home, a privilege now rarely permitted in this age of concertina-ed schedules where money-spinning internationals inevitably take precedence.  Kids today don’t know what they’re missing…

Tom Latham - Carrying his bat

When the statisticians flung out the figures following Tom Latham’s record-breaking 264 not out, I was amazed that he was only the 56^th man to bat throughout a completed Test innings without being dismissed. In a year when  only Mushfiqur Rahim had reached 200 in Tests, it was also remarkable that the New Zealander’s score was the highest ever by a player ‘carrying his bat’.

He eclipsed the previous best, achieved by Alastair Cook only a year ago in Melbourne. However, remarkably, one man has carried his bat twice this year: Dean Elgar. At Jo’burg in January he ran out of partners in a losing chase against India then, two months later, his unbeaten 141 laid the foundation for a thumping victory over Australia, a game unfortunately remembered more for Steve Smith Cameron Bancroft and David Warner coming a cropper for cheating.

Latham is typical of a traditional bat-carrier: an old-school blocker, the guy you need in a Test side to anchor an innings while others make the strokes. He spent more than eleven hours at the crease, facing 489 balls, representing a strike rate not too shabby, even by modern standards. Mind you, he didn’t start to push on until joined by the Black Cap tail, and only 90 of his runs came in boundaries. But of course that doesn’t matter when you have colleagues like Williamson, Taylor and de Grandhomme at the other end upsetting the Sri Lankan attack.

Two players have carried their bat in Tests three times: Elgar and the great West Indian from the '80s and '90s, Desmond Haynes. The latter was no slouch but, when compared with his long-time opening partner Gordon Greenidge and the likes of Viv Richards, Carl Hooper and Brian Lara, he was a stonewaller. These three occasions were in a mixed trio of circumstances, the matches resulting in a draw defeat and victory.

There are some familiar obdurate openers on the list, from Atherton to Lawry, Gavaskar to Dravid, Kirsten to Turner, but also some of the most flamboyant cricketers of modern times. In 2009, Chris Gayle struck 165 out of a second innings 317 at Adelaide which effectively prevented defeat against the Aussies.

One of the most memorable displays of bat-carrying came at Hobart seven years ago. In a very low-scoring game against New Zealand, Australia needed 244 to win. Up to then, only two players had passed 40 and the Aussie batsmen were maintaining that grim record – all except David Warner. While Bracewell was causing carnage at the other end, he produced a brilliant innings of 123 which took his side to within seven of the target before Lyon was bowled.

However, perhaps the greatest effort happened in 2008 at Galle. As all around him lost their wickets at an alarming rate, Virender Sehwag just stuck to his normal game and flayed 201in 231 balls out of a first innings total of 329. He added 50 on his second outing and India went on to win decisively.

I wouldn’t mind betting that Geoff Boycott would have relished carrying his bat. Even if he scored only one not out. But if there was one thing the Yorkshire legend loved even more, it was scoring centuries. Therefore, he must have been fuming when, in Perth almost four decades ago, whilst endeavouring to stave off almost certain defeat, he was left high and dry on 99 not out. Coincidentally, the Aussie Kim Hughes had earlier been dismissed on 99 while Boycott’s 20-ball first innings facing Lillee and Dymock had yielded precisely nothing.

In the end, carrying the bat is a feat nobody aims for. It may boost your average but, more often than not, it’s indicative of a poor team performance overly reliant on one batsman. Tom Latham’s case is an exception: he just kept on going and showed why old-fashioned values of knowing when to play and when to leave can reap dividends in what is likely to be a winning cause.

New Zealand hang on for memorable series win

After the embarrassment of Auckland, England bounced back impressively in the Second Test. However it wasn’t quite enough to level the series. The grassy slopes of Christchurch always look so beautiful and bucolic, even - dare I say it – English. It was a great place for the Barmy Army to witness a winning finale to a five-month tour Down Under, and for four days everyone seemed to be following the script. The Black Caps had narrowly missed out last time and a repeat performance looked likely when Joe Root declared with almost four sessions remaining. 

The first skirmishes were fairly even-stevens. Trent Boult and Tim Southee continued where they left off, grabbing all ten first innings wickets. However, Jonny Bairstow’s 101 and Mark Wood’s unexpectedly classy 52 kept the home side at bay for an extra hour or so. I’d doubted the wisdom of replacing Craig Overton with Wood as much for the former’s useful late-order batting as the latter’s faster bowling. Shows how little I know!

NZ made a terrible start to their response. For Boult and Southee, read Anderson and Broad. The England new-ball veterans ripped out the top five for just 36 runs and a massacre looked a distinct possibility. Enter BJ Watling and Colin de Grandhomme, who rescued matters with a 142-run stand. Southee then emulated Wood with a run-a-ball fifty to reduce the deficit to just 29.

Alastair Cook’s terrible run continued, edging Boult to the ‘keeper for 14, but this time the next four batsmen each notched half-centuries, even if Joe Root was perhaps disappointed that, yet again, he failed to convert a promising half-century into three figures. Stoneman, Vince and Malan desperately needed good scores to prolong their Test careers into the English summer. This they achieved, but it remains to be seen who is in form after the first five County Championship fixtures. Root indicated that Cook will be opening regardless, which could be a tad premature, although back at Chelmsford, the former skipper is normally prolific.

As for England’s failure to bowl out the home team, that was largely down to, not Williamson or Taylor, but a gritty 83 from opener Tom Latham and a dogged 56 from Ish Sodhi. He defied short stuff from Wood and claustrophobic field settings for spinners Leach and Root for more than three hours. Just as valuable were the seven runs amassed by Neil Wagner. He defended and defied for 103 balls, knowing that the last man, Southee, was unwell and available only in an emergency. In the event he wasn’t needed and somehow the rearguard action was successful. New Zealand had occupied the crease for 124 overs losing only eight wickets. They had drawn the match but achieved their first series victory over England since 1999 and the first at home since the days of Hadlee and Crowe in 1983-4. 

It’s a shame that New Zealand don’t get more opportunities in Test matches. Like England, they are a match for anybody on home soil even though, again like England, they struggle overseas. In Williamson, Boult and Southee, they have three world-class operators who deserve more exposure to Test cricket.

As for England, they still need to find a way of winning Tests abroad. They edged the limited overs contests but seemed to lack the nous to score enough runs or take twenty wickets when it matters. Anderson and Broad are currently irreplaceable and any injuries to either could be disastrous to the country’s chances later this year. Root apart, the middle-order remains patchy, as is the bowling support. Much as it pains me as a Somerset supporter to lose our best bowler in the Championship, I predict Jack Leach keeping his place as specialist spinner It’s up to Moeen Ali to rediscover his mojo, not only in Tests but also in ODIs and T20s. Malan will stay, if only because he plays for Middlesex, and Stoneman’s Surrey connection may yet save him, too. I look forward to the return of county cricket to see who shines brightest.