2017 Cricket Team of the Year

2017 ended with all three cricketing formats intact following some memorable competitions and team performances. There was even some favourable headlines when Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Harry was to marry Morne Morkel – or didn’t I hear that correctly?!

Despite chucking out coach and national legend Anil Kumble, India remain the most consistent nation, ranked in the top three across all red- and whiteball format. However, their domination of Test cricket was the most notable, even if it was predicated on home series. Home advantage in the five-day game seems more evident than ever, and India’s only victory abroad came in neighbouring Sri Lanka back in the summer. In six matches between the two countries, India racked up at least 600 in their first innings, as skipper Virat Kohli, Dhawan, Pujara et al filled their boots. The forthcoming three-match rubber in South Africa will prove a more formidable challenge.

England advanced to third in the list, also on the back of summer wins on their swing-friendly pitches. The thumping they are currently receiving in Australia his winter proves that there is work to do before any consideration of regaining the ICC mace. Keeping Ben Stokes away from drinking establishments would be a start.

In ODIs, I enjoyed watching Pakistan and Bangladesh playing well in the Champions Trophy in Cardiff, before the former overcame India to win the final and a rare piece of silverware. However, South Africa displaced the Aussies at the top of the rankings despite losing again in England. New Zealand topped and tailed the year with satisfying series wins against the Aussies and West Indies. The highlights of Sri Lanka’s 2017 were probably their T20 successes in South Africa and Australia although Pakistan top the rankings.

In county cricket, newly-promoted Essex romped home to claim the Championship thanks largely to a shedload of wickets from Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter. Nottinghamshire, Perth Scorchers and the Mumbai Indians triumphed in the T20 Blast, Big Bash and IPL, respectively.

But who were the individuals who shone most brightly throughout the year? First: the batsmen. Nobody scored more first-class runs than South African Dean Elgar, who contributed valuable runs to Somerset’s early campaign as well as his country’s. Cheteshwar Pujara was the only other man to accumulate more than 2,000 runs with the red ball and averaged 67 in Tests. Kumar Sangakkara may have retired from Tests but he proved that age is just a number by stroking eight centuries for Surrey, ending his summer with a stupendous average of 106.50. 

In T20, the usual suspects Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch and Kieron Pollard outscored the rest but in List A games, that man Kohli ruled the roost once more, adding 1,460 runs to his already formidable tally. He and his team-mate Rohit Sharma each notched six one-day hundreds with strike rates a smidgeon under 100. Pakistan’s Babar Azam scored four, but his strike rate was a relatively mediocre 79. Dhawan, Bairstow, Warner and, in a relatively leisurely year, AB De Villiers were the only high scorers taking more than a run a ball across the whole year.

After accepting the England Test captaincy, Joe Root wasn’t his usual self with the bat but, in addition to Kohli, the proven class of Hashim Amla, David Warner and Steve Smith was again demonstrated in spades across all cricket. The Aussie skipper has now averaged more than 70 in four consecutive calendar years and is no slouch in the fifty-over stuff, although he didn’t play an awful lot of it this year. He makes my Eleven for the third year in succession. Amla aggregated more than 3,000 runs in all cricket, which I don’t think anyone else could approach.

It wasn’t a vintage year for all-rounders. The evergreen spinner Jeetan Patel took more than 100 wickets in total but his batting was weaker than in previous years. T20 specialist Sunil Narine improved with the willow, adding 760 runs to his 62 wickets in 64 games. India’s Hardik Pandya is perhaps one for the future but, when it comes to the international stage, I have to select Shakib al-Hasan for my Team of the Year.

In 2016, England’s Bairstow took more catches behind the stumps than any other Test ‘keeper. Last year, he was a distant second behind South Africa’s Quintin de Kock, who also dismissed 25 in ODIs. MS Dhoni may have greyer hairs these days but he was still more than useful as a keeper-batsman in limited-overs cricket. His India Test successor Saha made 61 first-class dismissals and young West Indian Shai Hope had a breakthrough twelve months. Unlike most of his countrymen, he looks to be better suited to the longer formats and may well be one to watch in the coming years. De Villiers may still have the edge in T20 but De Kock has been the star stumpie of 2017.

Now for the bowlers:

It seems to me that bowlers, even more than the batsmen, are becoming increasingly specialised. For example, Malinda Pushpakumara has long been a prolific wicket-taker in Sri Lankan domestic cricket and in 2017 claimed a barely credible 115 first-class victims at only 15.50 apiece. However, he made little impact with the white ball. Similarly for Essex’s top bowlers Harmer and Porter, Australian Test spinner Nathan Lyon, Ravi Ashwin and England’s number one-ranked swing king James Anderson.

Meanwhile, Alzarri Joseph, the 21 year-old Antiguan seamer, played several Tests with little distinction, no T20s whatsoever, yet had a decent ODI return of 19 at 30.63. Hasan Ali enjoyed a storming Champions Trophy for Pakistan and ended the year with 91 wickets in ODIs and Twenty20. He was the top wicket-taker in 50-over internationals but Indian medium-pacer Jasprit Bumrah boasted a superior total in all List A games, with 52.

One of last year’s picks, Kagiso Rabada, proved that 2016 was no flash in the pan. Last year he collected a round hundred wickets, including 57 in Tests for South Africa. He is making Steyn’s absence as attack leader less problematic. Another paceman, Marchant de Lange, hasn’t played for the Proteas for five years but was in excellent form for his various teams around the world. Mitchell Starc had injury problems so made little impact. However, that presented Josh Hazlewood with an opportunity to make a mark in Tests and ODIs. He certainly played his part in the Ashes clincher at Perth the other week.

My last pick for the 2017 XI is only 19 years old and, because he’s from Afghanistan, doesn’t play Test cricket – yet. Nonetheless he had a storming twelve months with the white ball. Rashid Khan was by some margin the supreme wicket-taker in T20, with 80, and his economy rate of 5.53 was just as extraordinary. While most of his 43 ODI victims were representing Associate nations he is a great talent and I hope he is allowed the chance to do his stuff against the leading teams in five-day cricket. Afghanistan have finally had Test status bestowed upon them but the likes of India and South Africa have yet to schedule matches against them, even over four days. Perhaps they’re too scared of Rashid!

In summary, here is my 2017 Team of the Year:-

Elgar (SA), Dhawan (Ind), Amla (SA), Kohli (Ind), Smith (Aus), De Kock (SA, +), Shakib al-Hasan (Ban), Hasan Ali (Pak), Rabada (SA), Bumrah (Ind), Rashid Khan (Afg).

My ‘squad replacements’ would be Warner (Aus), Sangakkara (SL), Jeetan Patel (NZ) and Anderson (Eng).

Dramatic Semis, now it's the Aussies' Cup to lose

Well, the second semi-final couldn't possibly match the thrilling drama of the first, but the joyous Indian crowds at the SCG must have left even battle-hardened wearers of the Green Baggie with a smidgeon of respect. Steve Smith's century, and a late onslaught from Johnson and Faulkner, left India with a huge mountain to climb.

MS Dhoni reckoned that 328 was a par score but few sides have ever chased down such a target at Sydney, let alone India, whose record in Australia is famously poor. However, this is the World Cup, India the reigning champions and they were unbeaten throughout the competition. With their supporters thronging the ground, could Australia's home advantage be nullified?

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan gave India a solid start but the latter's rash drive to the hands of Maxwell signalled the beginning of the end. The Aussie pacemen brilliantly strangled Virat Kohli, who could manage only a single in eleven balls, Suresh Raina and Sharma, and the required rate rapidly reached double figures. Enter MS Dhoni. The fans believed, maybe even the captain himself believed. However, even MSD is mortal and by the time he was run out in the 45th over, India needed a miracle. Instead they got the return of Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner who brushed aside the Indian tail and booked a place at the MCG at the weekend.

It was hardly a close encounter, unlike the fabulous game between New Zealand and South Africa. With neither side having made even a World Cup final before, it was hard to pick a winner in advance. SA boasted some global megastars, NZ a few match-winners and some great competitors. Much like many previous Black Cap teams from the days of Crowe, Hadlee, Fleming, Cairns and Greatbatch!

However, despite predictable contributions from AB De Villiers, David Miller and Morne Morkel, it was an opening salvo from Brendon McCullum off Dale Steyn, slogs from Corey Anderson and a wonderful innings of apparently calm, calculated aggression (is that possible?) by new recruit Grant Elliott to deliver victory off the penultimate ball in front of a frenzied Auckland crowd.

Having followed the climax online via CricInfo I was desperate to see highlights on Tuesday evening. However, watching such a contest reduced to a tedious succession of fours, sixes, missed catches and wickets did the sport and broadcasters a disservice. Surely it would have been the dot balls, the stretching muscles of a weary Steyn, and the shots of nail-chewing Kiwis which would have made for a more enjoyable TV experience.

Obviously I feel for the desperately sad South African losers who most certainly did NOT choke. They were beaten by an excellent team and it' a team I'd love to see repeat their last wicket heroics in the group stage against Australia in the final. That's what my heart says, but my head goes with the flow and sees Michael Clarke lifting the trophy on home territory in a few days' time.

Melbourne belongs to India

When I sat amongst 10,000+ India fans at Sophia Gardens for the 2013 Champions Trophy opener against South Africa, I realised what a joyous occasion an international cricket match can be. Watching highlights of the World Cup encounter between the same nations at the MCG I can barely imagine what it must have felt like amongst an exuberant and victorious crowd of 84,000.

As in that game in Cardiff, India batted first, Shikhar Dhawan struck a wonderful hundred and SA's run chase fell short. However, this time, the result was rarely in doubt. While Sharma fell early, the Delhi left-hander contributed two century partnerships, with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, with Wayne Parnell suffering a real pounding. Even Dale Steyn could only scratch his head and offer a rueful smile as his best efforts were met by some outrageous shot-making all around the wicket.

A target of 300 is invariably too much for any side batting second at the MCG but with the likes of AB De Villiers, Hashim Amla, David Miller and Faf Du Plessis anything is possible, especially against an Indian attack associated with ordinariness. Nevertheless MS Dhoni and his masters have forged a new-found togetherness and for once the bowlers delivered. Shami and Mohit Sharma never let the frontline batsmen get going, then the spinners ensured that there was to be no mid-innings acceleration.

The bowlers were supported by some magnificent fielding, with De Villiers and Miller beaten to the crease by two superb throws. The long tail failed to wag and India wrapped things up almost ten overs early. Now not only India but the rest of the cricket world can begin to believe that Dhoni's men can defend their crown.

Meanwhile, England gained their first win of the campaign but an easy victory over the might of Scotland merely papers over the cracks. Moeen Ali's 128 showed what the Worcestershire star can do but Ian Bell's fifty was too slow against such an attack. Much as I have been an admirer of Bell for the decade, he needs to up the strike rate when England meet the big boys. Still, at least he did score more than Root, Balance, Buttler and Taylor put together. Morgan produced six much-needed boundaries but the big winners were England's seamers. Finn's economy rate was under 3, a vast improvement on the 24.5 in the NZ humiliation.

So while England and India now look set to reach the knockout stage, what will this defeat do for South Africa. It doesn't mean they can't chase a good total, but it will give Pakistan, the West Indies and even Ireland extra hope, particularly if they win the toss.

Five Cricketers of the Year 2014

It's always interesting to find out who Wisden decides worthy to be one of their prestigious Five Cricketers of the Year. By tradition, players cannot be picked more than once, so some years it must be frustrating. What about Dale Steyn? No, he was picked last year. Michael Clarke? No, 2010. Stuart Broad? Same. Graham Onions? Ditto. Ho-hum.

Actually, there were some deserving candidates fulfilling the criteria. Moeen Ali would have walked it in a less busy year, while Ben Stokes, Michael Hogan, Brad Haddin and Jim Allenby must have been considered. Ashes participants occupied four of the places, two from England, two Aussies. Joe Root's name owes more to that 180 at Lord's than anything else. At that point, I was hailing him as the genuine article, an England Test player with the talent and temperament to be a star for a decade or more. Once he puts the winter debacle behind him, I'm sure he'll bounce back.

England skipper Alastair Cook was selected in 2012 but his female counterpart Charlotte Edwards finally makes the list. Aged 34, she has led the England Women to success in all formats, and claimed the multi-format Ashes trophy last summer. Claire Taylor beat her to the title of first female to be one of the famous Five, but Edwards is as worthy as any male cricketer in the 2014 edition.

Chris Rogers was plucked from Middlesex to fill one of the problemmatic Australian opener slots for the tour here. Playing the anchor to the more ebullient Warner or Watson, the then 35 year-old justified the decision with three centuries between August and January. Just two years his junior, Ryan Harris also enjoyed a superb year, bustling in on his dodgy legs to take plenty of wickets while conceding few runs. Injury has restricted him to only 24 Tests, yet he has amassed 103 victims at under 23 apiece. That's world class. His current absence from the game may yet become permanent but Harris is surely guaranteed legend status!

The quintet is completed by Shikhar Dhawan. The bejewelled Delhi opener made a sensational debut with his 187 in 174 balls against Australia last March, and proceeded to be one of the stars of the Champions Trophy in the summer. I won't forget being at Cardiff to witness his exquisite hundred against South Africa. It's great to see an Indian who hasn't made the big time on the back of IPL success, and I hope he continues to delight audiences with his strokeplay for years to come.

2013 was also the year of Kevin Pietersen (one of the Five in 2006), Michael Clarke (2010) and the retiring Sachin Tendulkar (1997, but could have been almost any of the past 25 years!). Jacques Kallis had to wait until 2012 before his recognition and of course he has also now departed the arena.

As for 2014, who will make the grade? Virat Kohli is in the box seat, and the likes of Kane Williamson, Angelo Mathews and Sunil Narine are in the frame. IN the end, success in Test cricket should be the prime driver for inclusion so that's an open competition....

India's train runs off the rails

Until the very last week, 2013 was a good year for Indian cricket. Six successive Test victories, albeit at home, and that epic draw at Jo'burg, around that success in the Champions Trophy in England & Wales, gave the squad plenty of confidence. Tendulkar departed the scene but with Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jadeja et al firing more often than not, the future was beginning to look rosy for MS Dhoni's side.

However, a heavy defeat in the Centurion Test and seven winless ODIs in succession has, to borrow an analogy from the local weather news in Somerset, left the Dhoni express running into South African and now New Zealand floodwaters and drifting off the rails across the Levels and into the trees. Losing a few 50-over contests overseas isn't a disaster but failure in the Auckland five-dayer is a real setback for a side bristling with global superstars. This is form reminiscent of Moyles-era Man United. As with the Fulham encounter, this was ultimately an exciting game in which the underdogs were in control from the start before almost throwing it away and nicking it at the death.

For New Zealand, Kane Williamson is in tremendous form. Five consecutive half-centuries in the ODI series, then a first-innings 113, has made him a young batsman to be reckoned with. Skipper Brendon McCullum has a great reputation in the shorter formats but his 224, one short of his career-best (also achieved against India) showed his more patient side. His seamers have impressed in recent months, too, and here Boult, Wagner and Southee made life tough for India's stars, leaving them floundering at 10-3 until Sharma steered them towards 200. McCullum didn't enforce the follow-on and may have been ruing that decision when NZ were dismissed for just 105.

India had a stiff but not impossible target of 407. That they had two days in which to get the runs was not part of the equation. They needed a strong foundation, and this was duly delivered by Dhawan and Kohli. Then, having reached 222-2, things turned against them. Wickets began to fall regularly and Dhoni, Jadeja and Zaheer Khan slipped into one-day strokeplay mode. However, the NZ seam attack combined with BJ Watling's gloves to end the opposition's resistance and made it three Test wins in a row. That hasn't happened for six years and that sequence included two against Bangladesh instead of the West Indies and India.

Great stuff for New Zealand but, with the Asia Cup, World T20s and IPL on the horizon, India needs to get the train back on the rails in the next Test to keep the fans and sponsors happy. As they showed second time around this weekend, they don't need to improve too much. Nevertheless more incisive bowling is desperately needed along with a Plan B when Kohli and Dhawan get out. Throwing the bat is fine in an ODI when the game is slipping away but the likes of Jadeja, Sharma, Dhoni and Khan surely have the ability to do better in Tests. I don't think this reverse will have any bearing on the T20 tourney but England must be licking their lips in anticipation of a post-KP win-fest come the summer!

2013 One-day Players of the Year

With just a few days to go in 2013, here's the first of my reviews of the past calendar year. South Africa are firmly esconced as the leading Test nation in the ICC rankings, while India's dominance in the Champions Trophy helped them to top spot in the ODI table, albeit closely followed by Australia, England and the Proteas. The West Indies have looked sadly meek and Sri Lanka have a tired reliance on Sangakkara, Dilshan and Jayawardene, even if it were Chandimal and Malinga who helped them to a consolation victory over Pakistan today. But who would make my ODI Team of 2013?

This was the year which brought two very different opening batsmen to global attention. Shikhar Dhawan announced himself on the Test scene with a blistering 187 on debut, very different from the two-ball duck he suffered on his first ODI appearance three years earlier. In 2013, he built on that record-breaking innnigs against the Aussies by outscoring every other batsman in the 50-over format and all bar four in ODIs, notching five centuries in the process. I watched his silky hundred in that Champions Trophy opener at Cardiff with particular pleasure. Accompanying him at the crease should be South Africa's new kid on the block, Quinton de Kock. As well as relieving AB of some of the 'keeping pressure, he has produced some superb innings, highlighted by three successive three-figure scores in the recent series against India. He keeps out Dhawan's usual partner Rohit Sharma from the team, but only just.

Virat Kohli and Misbah-ul-Haq each represented their contries 34 times during 2013. The Pakistani captain may be, at 39, nearing the end of his career but nobody in world cricket was more consistent at scoring valuable half-centuries. Incredibly, he has never reached three figures in ODIs but this year alone he reached 50 fifteen times! Not a big hitter he has carefully kept the scoreboard ticking over while others have gone for their strokes. At 1,373 runs, nobody scored more in ODIs. Not even Kohli who, aged 25, may not yet be in his prime, an ominous thought for opposing bowlers. Scoring at almost a run a ball, and also a brilliant fielder, Kohli is an obvious choice for my middle-order.

So is AB De Villiers, who edges out Sangakkara from my team this year. Topping both Test and ODI rankings, he is simply the best batsman in world cricket right now, despite his wicketkeeping duties in most games. Mohammad Hafeez's late burst of runs for Pakistan and Shahid Afridi's occasional all-round fireworks have pushed for selection but I've gone for Australia's promoted captain George Bailey as another specialist batsman. In 22 matches, he produced more than a thousand runs at exactly a run a ball, including some impressive scores in India a few months ago. Somehow I can't find room for MS Dhoni. Maybe next year....

Hafeez and Sharma offer the option of fill-in spin bowling but India's Ravindra Jadeja was the outstanding ODI all-rounder of 2013. 52 wickets at 25 and almost 500 runs at a respectable lick bring him in to my side as left-armer. Topping the ICC ODI rankings as well as the wicket table for 2013 is Saeed Ajmal, once again the most successful off-spinner in world cricket.

Junaid Khan of Pakistan has developed in to a very useful one-day swing and seam merchant and his 52 victims and average of 21 propel him into my XI of the year, if not yet the ICC top ten. Aged 24, he has the young legs which Umar Gul no longer possesses, and hopefully he has a long future ahead of him. England's Finn and Anderson both sit in the official top ten but that relies on past glories. Two Mitchells, McClenaghan and Johnson each enjoyed great years but the sheer brilliance of Dale Steyn makes him a definite new-ball man. He played only 13 ODIs yet took 27 wickets at just 16 apiece, conceding fewer than four an over. End of argument. My final choice is another Pakistani late developer, Mohammad Irfan. Not just a giant fast bowler, he took cheap wickets all around the world throughout 2013.

Therefore, at risk of being a batsman short (make Rohit Sharma or Afridi the twelfth man), my ODI XI is as follows:-

Shikhar Dhawan (Ind), Quinton de Kock (SA), Virat Kohli (Ind), George Bailey (Aust), AB De Villiers (SA +), Misbah-ul-Haq (Pak*), Ravi Jadeja (Ind), Dale Steyn (SA), Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammed Irfan (all Pak).

So what about Twenty20 in 2013? Best summarised thus: Brisbane Heat, Mumbai Indians, Northamptonshire and Chris Gayle. Special mentions to veterans Azhar Mahmood (top wicket-taker), Brad Hodge and Alfonso Thomas, Sunil Narine (whose 54 wickets came while conceding barely five an over) and Aaron Finch, who plundered that world record 156, including 14 sixes, for Australia against England last summer.

India champs but are England chokers?!

Congratulations, India! Boy, did they cut it fine! After all that waiting for the Edgbaston rain to subside, I was disappointed at India's progress as Bopara and Tredwell invited mishit or mistimed thumps to fielders. Some late strokes from Ravi Jadeja advanced the score to 129-7 but that looked such an easy target I grudgingly handed over the remote to my cricket widow certain of the result. How wrong was I, and how miffed that I hadn't clung to the gadget so as to witness the thrilling climax of the Champions Trophy final.

The spin of Jadeja and Ashwin throttled the top order then Ishant Sharma, while expensive, claimed the wickets of Bopara and Morgan. Cue the collapse and India had triumphed by a mere five runs. Brilliant that we had experienced any play at all, so perhaps the groundstaff and umpires deserve some thanks, too. With Edgbaston turned into another home game for Dhoni et al, I don't think anyone could really begrudge India this success. Following their World Cup triumph, they can now call themselves the one-day kings. In the past fortnight they won games over 20, 40 and 50 overs, twice chasing down targets in only 35!

The Champions Trophy threw up great performances by numerous players, but a team of the tournament would surely consist largely of Indians. Shikhar Dharwan compiled 363 runs, over 50% more than the next man, Jonathan Trott. And he scored them at more than a run a ball. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were alos amongst the runs, so much so that the rest of the line-up barely had a look-in. Ravi Jadeja's double in the final earned him the Golden Ball, or whatever is awarded to the highest wicket-taker of the competition. An economy rate of under four an over was equally impressive. Indeed, there were no real weak links in the side ove rthe past few weeks. Even the much-maligned Ishant Sharma played his part, and all fielded brilliantly. I know Test cricket poses a different challenge but suddenly life without Tendulkar, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Harbajhan and Zaheer Khan doesn't look so bleak.

But what about England? Their run of failures in proper ODI tourneys continues. Poor South Africa have been lumbered with the 'choker' tag but surely England are more deserving of the unwanted label. They've lost far more finals than the Proteas! Actually, I think that description is just lazy. Sometimes you have to concede defeat to a better team on the day. I don't think England weren't trying; it's just moments of bad luck or a fine line between a superb boundary and an outfield catch which decide a finale. With KP predictably smashing a big century for Surrey in his comeback match, would he have made a difference to England's side? Possibly, but he would probably have taken Bopara's place, and he had a pretty good tournament. No, just hand it to India. Played five, won five. Simply the best in June 2013, and young enough hopefully to thrill spectators in limited over cricket for years to come.

India Cruise through

And so it came to pass: England will face England at Edgbaston for the ICC Champions Trophy. Each enjoyed an easy ride through the semis as first South Africa then Sri Lanka batted slowly and feebly, leaving their opponents straightforward run chases.

At a warm, sunny Oval, Jonathan Trott steered the ship home to port with an impressive 82 not out, but it was the bowling of James Tredwell and the ever-dependable Jimmy Anderson who strangled then carved open the South African batting. When Ingram, Amla, De Villiers and Duminy scrape together a mere four runs between them, the Proteas have no chance, and so it proved. They have missed Smith and Kallis although the absence in most games through injury of Steyn and Morne Morkel was probably the more harmful.

I was at Cardiff yesterday for the much-anticipated clash between neighbours and frequent rivals India and Sri Lanka. Fearing the worst, I turned up with brolly, book and newspaper but somehow the dull blanket of cloud never produced any rain once the overnight soaking had cleared this part of South Wales. The game started half an hour late to enable groundstaff to mop up the outfield but, with the floodlights providing welcome brightness and warmth, the weather failed to dampen the occasion.

As at the tournament opener at the same stadium, Indian fans thronged the stands, their cheerful but always polite exuberance creating a memorable atmosphere. It didn't quite match the colour and spectacle of that high-scoring win over South Africa. However, once it became obvious that the Indian seamers had complete mastery over the competition, the crowd settled down to cheer their young team to victory. In the main stand I took pleasure in watching Dharwan, the adored Kohli and new hero Ravi Jadeja respond to the crowd, milking then leading the applause. They felt at home, and their bowler were to respond, too.

To the neutral, it was a mediocre contest. Somehow I expected more of a side boasting Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Kulasekera and Malinga, each of whom had illuminated the competition with superb performances in the previous week or so. OK, so the retirement with a torn calf muscle of Dilshan soon after crashing two consecutive boundaries was a blow. Nevertheless, Sanga was clearly frustrated with his inability to make his strokes against 'Bhuvy' Kumar, Yadav and Ishant Sharma, each of whom frequently beat the bat, caught an edge or made the batsman duck sharply. Even Mahela wasn't his usual twinkle-toed self. The pitch seemed so conducive to seam that MS Dhoni even bowled four overs himself and had appeared to take a wicket with only his second ball, only for the decsion to be overturned on review. Is there anything that man cannot do?! Suresh Raina, meanwhile, helped himself to three successive catches at second slip.

After 20 overs, Sri Lanka were only 47-3 and, while skipper Angelo Mathews finally struck a defiant six on his way to 51, the total of 181 was hardly a strong one. Unless the high-scoring duo of Shikhar Dharwan and Rohit Sharma cold finally slip up, that is. They didn't. Where the Indian seamers had prospered in the heavy conditions, the Sri Lankans failed to dent the confidence of the prolific pair until Rohit charged at Mathews and missed in the 17th over. At that stage they had twice the runs as SL had at the same point in their innings. Dharwan rode his luck at times, with a few dropped catches, but he expressed annoyance with himself for being stumped by centimetres off Mendis for 68. However, there wasn't enough time to secure a third hundred of the tournament. Kohli and Raina stepped up the attack and suddenly it was all over with ninety balls to spare.

The Cardiff/Glamorgan organisers did themselves proud this fortnight. The volunteers, including stewards who earned their keep coping with two pitch invasions in the semi, were magnificent, entering into the spirit while retaining an air of professionalism. And the venue played host to a real mix of matches. All that is left is a final between the two most powerful sides in the competition. India have looked excellent right through the side, but then, apart from that reverse to Sri Lanka, the same could be said of England. Perhaps India have the edge with the bat although in Anderson, the hosts have the best bowler in these oonditions. My prediction: England to take their first 50-over title.

Dhawan dominates again

Well, it's all looking so good for India again. World Cup holders and now they seem to be the team to beat in the Champions Trophy. I enjoyed being in Cardiff to watch their opening triumph against South Africa and, unless Pakistan beat them in what would normally be called a 'dead rubber', I should be seeing them in semi-final action at the same venue next Thursday.

Shikhar Dhawan collected another century today, Rohit Sharma another fifty and Ravi Jadeja more plaudits for his bowling as the West Indies crumbled. Half-centuries from opener Johnson Charles, in for banned cheat Ramdin, and Darren Sammy were nowhere near enough to set Dhoni's men a testing target at The Oval. It was all over with more than ten overs remaining. England's easy victory over Australia at the weekend sets them up for the clash with Sri Lanka who came close to denying New Zealand in that memorable match in Wales a few days ago. In my mind, it's all set for an India v England final but of course this is one-day cricket and anything could happen. A Malinga blitz can change a game in minutes so Cook, Trott, Buttler and co need to practise digging out yorkers.

Pakistan have been very disappointing. Dark horses for the tournament, their batsmen - other than skipper Misbah-ul-Haq - simply haven't turned up. Ryan McLaren's 4-19 finished them off yesterday after Hashim Amla looked back to his fluid best. Misbah's men were so bad that even Lonwano Tsotsobe conceded only 23 from his nine overs! South Africa now meet West Indies to decide who advances to the semis. The former badly missed Dale Steyn in the India match and if he fails to recover for the final group fixture, the supporting cast of seamers will need to be at their best. However, the Windies are so unpredictable and if Chris Gayle finally comes good, no bowler can contain him.

The Aussie-NZ contest could be an interesting one. The green-and-yellows looked a shadow of their former selves against England. The big hitters at the top flopped and the experienced England line-up stood up well to the young Aussie quicks. The Black Caps only just scraped the two points in the Cardiff nailbiter so it's difficult to assess their chances. If the side which gave England a bloody nose a few weeks ago turn up at Edgbaston, they could spring a surprise and send their neighbours home early. Martin Guptill and Shane Watson are potential matchwinners but wickets for Daniel Vettori would make a nice story. His comeback from injury looked premature the other day, while his team-mates were in competitive mode. It's Michael Clarke's current back injury making more of the headlines at the moment and his middle-order stability and leadership which the Aussies miss most. Pup's absence must give New Zealand real confidence of winning the game and proceeding to another tournament semi-final.

Dhawan's Dream Debut

Last week I was extolling the virtues of Hamish Rutherford's impressive 171 on his Test debut, making England's attack look fairly ordinary.
That innings was the highest for a first-timer in ten years. Now it has taken Shikhar Dhawan a mere eight days to surpass the New Zealand opener's knock. His 187 ranks sixth in the all-time list and was all the more remarkable in that it came at more than a run a ball against one of cricket's top nations, Australia.

Dhawan is no spring chicken but has broken into the Test XI with Murali Vijay in the place of 30-something veterans Gambhir and Sehwag. However, their near-triple-century opening partnership indicates that the selections were spot on, albeit on home territory against an Aussie attack perhaps weakened by 'Homework-gate'! The latest new boy, 27, first represented India at top level in an ODI in October 2010. It was with the same partner against the same opposition but then his innings lasted just two balls for a duck. He did manage a half-century not long afterwards but, with 69 runs in five matches, he was jettisoned after a defeat to the West Indies nearly two years ago. Perhaps he had a real point to prove.

So will he go on to immortal status? Well, he gave Sachin Tendulkar eleven years' headstart in international cricket so he has a lot of catching-up to do. There had been talk of him becoming the highest-scoring debutant in history, but Tip Foster's record from 1903 looks safe for a long time yet; Dhawan fell a full hundred runs short. Foster's 287 proved to be his only Test century in the era of Grace, Gunn, Trump et al.

What about the other memorable debut innings in history? Jacques Rudolph made 222 not out almost ten years ago, but that came against lowly Bangladesh. Lawrence Rowe also scored a double on his debut, in Jamaica 41 years ago, followed immediately by 100 not out in the second innings! Although he also has what was then a rare 'triple' to his name, Rowe never quite held down a place at the top of the Windies' batting order, competing against Fredericks and Greenidge, amongst others. New Zealander Mathew Sinclair has experienced a similar career trajectory after his initial 214 at Wellington, while Brendon Kuruppu's 201 not out against NZ in 1987 sustained him for only four Tests. That innings also stands in the record books as the slowest double-hundred in first-class history, lasting almost thirteen hours!

Others to have made their mark with three figures on their first Test appearance include some names with a more familiar ring to them. WG Grace, Ranjitsinjhi and George Headley managed it in the sepia and monochrome eras while Javed Miandad, Mark Waugh and a certain Michael Clarke achieved a similar feat in more modern times. Current England regulars, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior opened their accounts with 119 and 126 not out, respectively. Intriguingly, Shikhar Dhawan's is one batting record which Sir Don Bradman cannot claim. The Aussie all-time great mustered a mere 18 and 1 against England at Brisbane, 1927 when his side were slaughtered by - wait for it! - 675 runs. Good job he wasn't dropped! That won't be a fate likely to face Dhawan, unless perhaps he fails to write an essay to the selectors explaining why he got out so quickly on the second day.....