England Fail and West Indies Rally

One-nil up with just Barbados to come and a series clinching win looked the most likely outcome for England. Even when faced with a modest target of 192, I fancied Anderson, Broad et al to skittle the West Indies batting on that third afternoon. Strike! 2-0!

But the Windies are showing some fight, some resilience, qualities somewhat lacking in Test cricket in their recent past. Well down the ICC rankings and without a win over England in eleven attempts, they had some work to do. It all started so well in Antigua.

Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, Joe Root and James Tredwell had set things up nicely but it took a splendid rearguard maiden century by Jason Holder to salvage a draw. Then on Grenada, that magnificent 182 not out from Root, two fifties from Cook produced a nine wicket victory. Six more victims for James Anderson saw him accelerate smoothly ahead of Botham and the rest at the top of England’s Test wicket table.

The final fixture seemed to be going England’s way when Alastair Cook reached three figures for the first time in more than 30 attempts and two years. However, Jerome Taylor and colleagues stuck to their task and restricted the opposition to 257. Anderson’s 6-42 would have defeated most teams but another counterpunching innings from Jermaine Blackwood at six kept the deficit down to 68.

Buoyed by that, the home attack performed admirably again, and only Ballance, Buttler and Stokes made double figures. Nevertheless, with wickets falling so rapidly on the first two and a bit days, England must have felt confident. The situation might also have been made for Shiv Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels to knuckle down and plod their way to success. However, this has been a terrible month for the veteran of 164 Tests, and it was Darren Bravo and that man Blackwood again who shared a century stand to win the game and level the series.

So what went wrong for England? The fine performances from Root, Ballance, Anderson and Cook masked deficiencies elsewhere. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing but the recall of Jonathan Trott to the side, especially as opener, proved disastrous. An almost unprecedented three ducks in six innings not only knocked his confidence but has since prefaced his complete retirement fron international cricket. Adam Lyth must surely get his opportunity against New Zealand at the start of an arduous summer on home soil.

Bell’s ‘pair’ at Bridgetown must surely a blip but there was real inconsistency in the batting. And no, I do NOT see Pietersen as the answer. He has barely scored any runs for Surrey in the Championship yet, so I would want James Taylor at perhaps six, unless Moeen Ali is preferred for his extra spin option.

Nevertheless, the overall result isn’t just about England. This recovery spoke volumes for the spirit of the young Caribbean talent. Blackwood, Brathwaite and Holder showed promise, and 30 year-old Jerome Taylor claimed eleven wickets in the two games in which he played. Next month they host Australia, themselves warming up for their own little encounter with England later in the year. Could be interesting…..

Team of the week: Will Smith is the fresh prince of Hampshire

Often it's hard to find two outstanding performances by openi batsmen but this time there was an embarrassment of riches from which to pick. Thus I had to omit Chris Rogers (Middlesex, 203 not out), Jake Libby (Notts, 108 in only his third first-class match), Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent, 153) and Kane Williamson (two fine T20 innings for Northern Districts). In their place come Sussex's Chris Nash and Hampshire's Will Smith. Nash aggregated 263 runs in the victory over Nottinghamshire, including his first century of the summer. Smith's contributions were 11 and 142 not out, but that second innings score was the difference between draw and a defeat which would have left the county even more vulnerable to Essex in the promotion chase. In the context of Hampshire's whole season, that was superb.

Ed Joyce has enjoyed a great summer and in the penultimate round of Championship games, his second knock of 149, at almost a run a ball, set up what at the halfway stage had seemed an unlikely victory. James Hildreth has been a disappointment for Somerset in 2014 but he crafted a valuable 182 at Taunton against Middlesex. In the Test against Bangladesh, Shivnarine Chanderpaul boosted his career average even further with unbeaten scores of 84 and 101, but you can't accuse him of Boycott-esque greed this time; it was all in the cause of a routine win.

Ben Stokes contributed no weight of runs or clutch of wickets but he did OK in Durham's win against Northants and his 2-25 and 38 saw his side home to success in the Royal London Cup Final. My other all-rounder is the considerably less well-known Ben Raine. No, me neither! However, in the final of the Second Eleven competition at Chelmsford, the 23 year-old representing Leicestershire scored 208 and took 3-37 on the way to victory. The way the first XI have played this season and with their best players lured away by the big boys, watch out for him in the first-class arena in 2015.

In a week of excellent performances, Harvey Hosein's must be up there with the best, not only this week but the whole summer. At The Oval, the 18 year-old wicketkeeper claimed no fewer than eleven catches for Derbyshire - on his debut! Nobody has ever come near that, and only Bob Taylor has ever taken as much as seven in an innings for the county in their history. And he played for them for more than twenty years!

Derbyshire's Mark Footitt was the beneficiary of five of those dismissals, and he added nine wickets to his already impressive haul, more than anyone else in the Championship. However, my two remaining bowlers stand out; each took fifteen wickets in a single match. Chris Rushworth has plugged away all summer for Durham but nobody was expecting his 9-52 and 6-43 in the trouncing of Northants. He also contributed a useful 2-24 in today's cup final. Saqlain Sajib is another unsung hero, whose spin claimed 9-82 and 6-50 for Bangladesh versus Zimbabwe in an A international.

Congratulations, one and all:- Nash (Sus), Smith (Ham), Joyce (Sus, *), Hildreth (Som), Chanderpaul (WI), Stokes (Dur), Raine (Lei 2nds), Hosein (Der, +), Sajib (Ban A), Rushworth (Dur), Footitt (Der).

Old is the new Young

Happy Christmas, everybody! The old man in the beard has made his global sleigh ride and Rudolph and co are putting up their hooves and vowing never to touch another carrot again. It's not just Santa who strikes a blow for the more mature man. 2013 has been a great year for the thirty-somethings, including those with beards.

Hashim Amla remains one of the world's best batsmen, Moeen Ali had a wonderful county season and everybody wants a piece of Mushtaq Ahmed. So Matt Prior messed things up at the end, but Monty Panesar could yet rediscover some form in Melbourne. Less bushy beards, and younger owners but Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan enjoyed sparkling years, too.

Sachin Tendulkar finally called it a day aged 40, but Misbah-ul-Haq is not far behind and yet scored more ODI runs than anyone else in the year to date whilst skippering Pakistan with some merit. Shivnarine Chanderpaul is another in his 40th year but is still a valued accumulator of runs for the West Indies and Derbyshire. Brad Hodge and Azhar Mahmood are about to turn 39 yet at the time of writing, nobody has more T20 wickets than the Pakistani all-rounder and only three have more runs in the short format than the veteran Aussie.

Speaking of Australians, the Ashes have been reclaimed by a team boasting six thirty-somethings. Ponting and Mike Hussey may have quit Test cricket but age and experience have proved triumphant in recent weeks Down Under. While the new brigade of Aussie pace bowlers have wilted, it has been left to Ryan Harris (34), Mitchell Johnson (32), Shane Watson (32) and Peter Siddle (29) to blow England's batting to kingdom come. 36 year-old Chris Rogers earned a surprise recall to the opener slot, captain Michael Clarke seems in prime form, George Bailey's limited-over success has won promotion to the Test side at 31, and Brad Haddin (36) has finally made the Test wicketkeeper position his own, claiming 76 first-class victims across 2013 whilst scoring heavily against England throughout December. Michael Hogan may not be in the Test team but he claimed many more first-class wickets than anyone else in 2013, racking up 108 for Glamorgan and Western Australia. Yes, he's also 32.

Obviously it is unlikely that the same XI will be lined up againat South Africa and India in five years' time. A succession strategy is still required for Cricket Australia. Nevertheless, if you're good enough, you're young enough. Hughes, Khawaja and co may yet get a decent run in the side, but greater experience of Sheffield Shield or County Championship cricket will come in very handy. Bird, Cummins and co must be brought on and improve their fitness but in the mean time, Lehmann's charges can roll back the years and prove that passing 30 doesn't necessarily mean imminent retirement or brushing up the bon mots and wit for the commentary box. Facial hair is optional.

Double delight for Durham and Derbyshire

Durham went 14 1/2 points clear at the top of the Championship, twice bowling former title contenders Sussex out for under 120. Onions, Claydon and Urshad claimed all but one of the wickets between them. At the other end of the table, Derbyshire put 2012 runners-up Somerset in even graver danger of relegation while granting themselves a lifeline. Groenewald and Palladino made a mockery of Trescothick's decision to bat on a dewy first morning at Taunton but credit to the home side for at least making a game of it second time out. Another 23 byes past Craig Kieswetter and a defiant 74 not out from Shivnarine Chanderpaul were enough to take Derby to the finishing line by two wickets on a tense Thursday afternoon.

Ollie Rayner had a game to savour as Middlesex gave neighbours Surrey another thumping at The Oval. The tall spinner took 15 wickets in the match and had a hand in all ten first innings dismissals: 8 while bowling and catching the other two! Surrey's own offie, Gary Keedy also claimed nine wickets, but finished on the losing side. If he does so again to Somerset next week, it looks like curtains for them in the top tier. However, their opponents are also enduring a nightmare season, so anything could happen. In the other Division One fixture, Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire played out a draw. Samit Patel made a century and bemoaned his treatment by England selectors. Maybe he has a point but he's beginning to look like yesterday's man despite being only 28.

In Division Two, leaders Lancashire sat it out while Northants and Essex were out for crucial points behind them. The former made little impression on a batsman-friendly Southampton pitch. Jimmy Adams returned to form with 218 but the opposition's young Robert Keogh went three better, more than doubling his entire first-class aggregate in the process! Meanwhile, rising Essex star Reece Topley boosted his Lions credentials by taking 6-29 and 5-56 in his side's eight-wicket victory over Worcestershire. With a game in hand, they can yet spoil Northants' promotion bid in the final furlong.

Glamorgan's Aussie paceman Michael Hogan took 6-65 against Kent, but the lowly visitors to Cardiff were too strong overall in a low-scoring match. The best individual all-round performance of the week, if not the whole season, came from Gloucestershire's Will Gidman. First he demolished the Leicestershire batting with 6-15 in 14 overs. He then thumped 146 to give his county a lead of 399 before returning with the ball to take 4-28 and wrap up a 24-pointer before day three was complete.

They could yet finish in the top two, but need both Northants and Essex to slip up badly in the run-in. At least Gloucestershire have done better than I predicted, and more outstanding efforts from Klinger, Gidman et al could make it a special summer for them. However their next fixture is at home to Lancashire, which is a daunting prospect.

Ponting and Chanderpaul roll back the years

Two 38 year-old batsmen with 46,000 first-class runs between them have been facing each other this week, and not in international competition. Instead, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ricky Ponting are representing Derbyshire and Surrey, respectively, in a County Championship Division One relegation battle, and it's great to see them both strutting their stuff.

The little man from Guyana has always been a class act, with runs flowing wherever he goes. He did it with Durham last time and now Derbyshire are reaping the benefits of his experience. In this home match, Chanderpaul scored 125 in a 265-run partnership with Wayne Madsen against an attack missing Jade Dernbach but including Meaker and Tremlett. When Surrey replied, the Aussie legend plundered 192 on his debut (190 more than Graeme Smith managed on his last month!) and contributed to century stands with Arun Harinath and Stephen Davies. Many were surprised when Ponting hung up his 'baggy green' last year while continuing his career with Tasmania but I applauded him for doing so. His IPL season may have been a disaster but his Shield performances were superb and now his new employers in England must be licking their lips. With Smith out of action, it is down to Ponting to keep them in the top tier.

Sadly for me, it looks as if Somerset are heading down for the first time in several years. They avoided defeat against Yorkshire at Taunton but probably only because the first day was washed out. Adil Rashid collected a third consecutive century but at least James Hildreth registered his first ton of the summer in reply. The draw meant that Sussex will remain top no matter what happens in their game against Nottinghamshire, still in play as I type and delicately poised.

In Division Two, Northamptonshire are sitting pretty 25 points clear at the top, despite only drawing at home to Hampshire. There were no major position changes this week, largely because of poor weather at the start. However, Lancashire came agonisingly near to closing that gap. Only some stubborn late-order defence from Gloucestershire frustated Glenn Chapple's men at thebend of a match which featured 110 from Alex Gidman and a second consecutive 'six-for' from 18 year-old Gloucester seamer Craig Miles.

Daryl Mitchell's 156 and Jack Shantry's 7-69 were the performances of Worcetershire's curtailed game against Essex while Kent had the better of their clash with Leicestershire. Darren Stevens claimed 5-39 and just missed out on a century against his former county. The coming week features some intriguing fixtures, the pick of which must be Middlesex v Sussex and Northants v Worcestershire. Here's hoping for some June sunshine....

Windies beaten by Broad-side

This evening, I watched Will I. Am carrying the Olympic torch through the Taunton throng before entering the County Ground through the Garner Gates. How the current Windies (and indeed Somerset) side could do with the Big Bird in full flight! Kemar Roach fluttered his feathers briefly this morning but ultimately to no avail.

At least it wasn't the slaughter that we might have expected but, for all the West Indies' welcome display of grit and determination, England just had too much quality where it mattered. Alastair Cook and Ian Bell steadied a rocky ship and cruised to a five-wicket victory.

The First Test of the summer will be remembered for Andrew Strauss' first Test century since God knows when and Stuart Broad's eleven wickets, including that first innings 7-72 which is his best for England to date. Anderson, Bresnan and Swann played their part but young Broad busted in from the Nursery End and nabbed the wickets. This was the first 'ten-for' at Lord's by an Englishman since Ian Botham in the '70s, and by anyone at HQ since Courtney Walsh twelve years ago. And the West Indies lost that match as well!

Not only has Broad boosted his own stock at Test level but his performance has again proved how England's attack possesses such variety that anyone could be a matchwinner. Of course, at the moment Bresnan only has to step onto the field to guarantee victory, although that surely can't continue forever. It was a good game for Ian Bell, too. Like Strauss, the knives were being sharpened but, as with Cook just a few years ago, he produced the goods with his back against the wall, if you forgive the muddle of metaphors. Jonny Bairstow had a so-so debut, scoring only 16, taking a catch and running out Edwards for a duck, but deserves another chance, even if Bopara recovers from his injury.

So what about Darren Sammy's team? Marlon Samuels showed some guts in the second innings, Roach threatened to cause an upset towards the end but the rest of the cracks were papered over by the phenomenon that is Shivnarine Chanderpaul. He may not be pretty to watch but his attitude, focus and ability to build an innings should serve as a model for any aspiring young cricketer. Of course, most would prefer to follow not in his footsteps but of Chris Gayle's. However, Chanderpaul is the world's number one Test cricketer, better than Tendulkar, Sehwag, Ponting, Cook, Smith et al. He added 178 runs to his formidable career aggregate and it took a missed sweep off Swann to dismiss him with the 425th ball he faced in the match. Get him out early in the next Test and I bet the rest of the team will fold. I hope not, though, because we need some good entertaining cricket. Or, as Will I Am himself might put it, some Boom Boom Pow!

England v West Indies 2007

As the clash between England and the West Indies approaches, recent history offers little to support the notion of a series success for Darren Sammy's side. For all the classic memories of Richards, Holding, Garner et al, the fact remains that the Caribbean tourists have not won a series in England since 1988. Indeed, since 2000, home or away, the Test win record stands at 15-2 for the latter. Everything seems to be going wrong, what with injuries, IPL commitments and visa delays. With the tour scheduled yonks ago, why can't the WICB organise such routine admin just a little earlier?! On top of that, the warm-up match against Sussex lasted barely 34 overs, and the weather forecast suggests the Lions game will hardly provide the badly needed practice. I recall something similar back in 2007 when the West Indies came to these shores in grotty May weather, with just one three-day county fixture to ready them for a four-Test rubber. It was at Taunton and I was there. I'd booked my ticket weeks in advance, anticipating a keen contest between Trescothick and Gayle, and some good old Caribbean style. What we got was the early announcement that the game would forego first-class status, Somerset would offer virtually their 2nd XI, skippered by Keith Parsons, and then the first dayme was marred by frequent heavy showers which turned to rain throughout days two and three. The top four batsmen were blitzed by the might of Steffan Jones, but at least Chanderpaul and the late Runako Morton earned some time at the crease, even if the latter wasn't a first choice for the international side. As for the bowlers, they had to make do with the indoor nets. From that foundation, it was little surprise that in the first two Tests England racked up first innings scores of over 500. At Lord's debutant Matt Prior was one of five centurions for the home side on the way to a rain-hit draw. The Headingley follow-up was a dreadful mismatch. Michael Vaughan returned to skipper England and made 103. However, Kevin Pietersen thumped 226 and they declared on 570-7 at almost five an over. Sidebottom, Harmison and Plunkett proceeded to bowl the opposition out twice inside 80 overs. Darren Ganga took charge at Old Trafford where the margin of defeat was somewhat narrower, but it was still a defeat. Darren Sammy made his Test debut for the Windies and produced their best performance of the summer, claiming 7-66 in the second innings. England passed 300 twice and the Windies were set a target of 455 to win. To their credit they came close to reaching 400. That was largely down to Shiv Chanderpaul - who else? - whose unbeaten century defied the efforts of Harmison and Monty Panesar. Only Morton and Dwayne Bravo provided any real support, and the series was lost already. The weather wiped out the first day's play at Chester-le-Street and half of the second, too, England having put the opposition into bat. Ganga was out to the very first ball and once again the indefatigable Chanderpaul anchored the innings with an unbeaten 136, a figure his team-mates could barely scrape together between them. He also hit a six. Collingwood and Prior set up another lead before Panesar devastated the tourists second time out. No prizes for guessing who top-scored for the West Indies! England duly won by seven wickets and wrapped up a 3-0 series victory. That may have been pretty decisive but three years earlier England had whitewashed them 4-0, Brian Lara and all. I'll hark back to 2009 another time but Darren Sammy's side will need a miracle to register a first innings lead let alone a Test victory in 2012. And Mr Chanderpaul will be needed more than ever.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul - The last of the West Indian run machines?

He may have been dismissed for only 18 in today's Test match against Bangladesh but those runs were sufficient to take Shivnarine Chanderpaul past the milestone of 20,000 first-class runs. He joins quite an exclusive club of current players who have achieved such heavy scoring over a career, particularly amongst those playing regular Test cricket as international demands tend to reduce the amount of first-class cricket played.

OK, so he is miles behind Mark Ramprakash and also Caribbean legends like Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Clive Lloyd, who have well over 30,000 to their names. More recently, the only other truly world-class West Indian batsman has been Brian Lara, and he ended his career with 22,156 first-class runs from only five innings fewer than the number played by Chanderpaul so far. Lara scored more centuries and of course has a 400 and 501 to his name comapred with Shiv's best of 303 not out. However, the latter boasts a superior batting average of more than 54, even though at Test level it has slipped below 50 in the past year or two.

So how does Chanderpaul rate? Well, when you look at the current West Indian line-up, he stands out like a shining beacon amongst a pretty poor lot. One-day cricket has creamed off some of the best young talent from the islands, leaving only the 37 year-old from Guyana as a true Test batsman. He doesn't get the credit or the headlines that his runs deserve. It's the swashbucklers who sway and swish their boundaries who attract the attention, like Gayle and Pollard. He doesn't garner his runs in entertaining style like Richards, Lloyd, Lara et al but without him the West Indies would be in an even worse state of affairs.

Critics point to his 'crab' stance at the wicket, made for back foot nurdling rather than extravagant drives. Surely he is hopeless at the short-format stuff? Well, he has played a whopping 268 ODIs, averaging more than 41, again more than Lara who tended to make big scores or not much at all. Granted, Chanderpaul's style isn't ideal for the T20 thrash approach but in ODIs his strike rate is more than 70 which works out at around four an over. That makes him a useful man to play the anchor role, working the field, threading the gaps, while others aim to play over the fielders' heads.

As a sporting hero, he is not the first name or face to spring to mind. He likes to avoid the spotlight but that doesn't mean he should not be celebrated. At 37, he is nearing the end of his long career, of a similar age to Tendulkar, Ponting and Dravid. He made his Test debut at 19 at Georgetown, taking 62 off a poor England attack, in the shadow of centurions Lara and Jimmy Adams, and has since passed 50 a further 77 times in 134 matches. I hope he goes out with a bang and not a whimper. His runs at the end of the County Championship season almost clinched the title for Warwickshire but it must be dispiriting plying your trade for your country when the side is in turmoil, However, that has probably been the case for most of his Test career, although they had better results back in the 1990s! It would be nice if he could play another few Test series and reach 10,000 Test runs and then Shivnarine Chanderpaul would perhaps finally be recognised as one of cricket's modern batting superstars.