David Warner - the Cricketer with Rizz

At the end of 2023, Oxford University Press announced the winner of the public ballot on the Word of the Year, and it was ‘rizz’. Obviously, I had never heard of it. I am 62 and apparently it is short for ‘charisma’ which is too long for anyone under 25 to type on their mobiles. 

So who has rizz? Well, David Warner, for starters. I would suggest that few modern-day sportsmen and women possess an abundance of rizz. Most footballers, tennis players, cricketers and so on seem to be schooled in being as boring as possible. Anything else is deemed ‘unprofessional’. Well, I love seeing a sports professional with a smile on his or her face; it proves they are human with a personality, perhaps human frailties, just like the rest of us.

Maybe that’s why I quite like David Warner. He may be a pantomime villain in the eyes of the English fans and media but he is always watchable. Don’t get me wrong; his cheating at Newlands was disgraceful. However, England can hardly sit comfortably on the moral high ground given the past behaviour of Hussain, Atherton, Pietersen, Stokes et al, although I admit the latter two did also have plenty of rizz! 

This week saw Warner’s retirement from Test cricket, bowing out at his Sydney home ground with a half-century and an Australian 3-0 series victory against Pakistan. Only Cook, Gavaskar and Graeme Smith scored more runs as openers, while 8,786 runs at almost 45 is world-class in anyone’s book. 

It is strange to recall that first-class cricket wasn’t to his liking at all. I first saw him play at Lord’s in June 2010, thanks to my friend Dipesh, then a Middlesex Member, acquiring a ticket to see the county’s T20 clash with Essex. The great Adam Gilchrist was then Middlesex captain for the Blast but I had heard of this exciting young gun from New South Wales, if only because he was renowned for representing Australia in ODIs and T20 internationals without playing a single first-class match. Not one! 

By 2010, he had played a handful in the Sheffield Shield, his debut coming the previous year, batting at six. He made a 48-ball 42 while at the other end, a certain Usman Khawaja compiled a steadier 172 not out. A teenage Mitchell Starc also featured in that drawn fixture, and the two also accompanied Warner in his final Test, and presumably first-class fixture. As for that Friends Provident tie at Lord’s. the pink-clad future legend biffed 25 in 15 balls, although the innings was overshadowed by the opposition’s Ryan Ten Doeschate’s superlative century. 

It was to be another eighteen months before he accepted the call to wear the ‘baggy green’ against New Zealand. He stroked three boundaries in four deliveries to clinch victory, again batting with Khawaja. It was a match boasting a phenomenal line-up of Noughties cricket stars on both sides, including Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Vettori, Taylor and Brendan McCullum. I think it’s fair to say that David Warner brought ‘Bazball’ to the Test scene long before McCullum the coach did so with England. His cavalier approach to batting didn’t always pay off. Stuart Broad, for one, seemed to have his measure, goading him into rash hooks or pulls. 

In the recent World Cup, Warner again contributed to a triumphant Aussie campaign. He top-scored for his country, yet was eclipsed by two awesome innings by Glen Maxwell and Travis Head. In addition to his runs, there was no ignoring Dave’s energetic scampering around the outfield with an enthusiasm belying his 37 years. He hasn’t quit all cricket, of course. I daresay in future T20 franchises we’ll witness plenty more belligerent batting, attempted run-outs, rueful smiles – washed down with lashings of rizz. 

Stunning start to the 2023 Ashes!

I must confess that all Bazball hype had left this Test cricket fan rather subdues and less than enthusiastic about the home Ashes series. For starters, I cringe at the way so many so-called England fans believe that cricket revolves solely around the occasional battles with Australia and possibly a World Cup so long as the nation is winning. I cling desperately to the association of TV cricket with the ‘Soul Limbo’ tune and am old-fashioned enough to detest the shift to drunken football-style crowds. 

And yet if Test cricket is to survive the flood of Twenty20 and Hundred, who am I to complain about any connection felt between young English blokes and the traditional summer sport (at least, while the footie season is in abeyance)? Whether it’s the cider bar at Taunton or the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston, if people are enjoying themselves and perhaps enjoying some cricket then it must be a good thing. I only hope that that those who attended the First Test, especially on the final day, appreciated what was happening on the pitch because it was quite extraordinary. 

I confess I rarely watch the game on TV these days, with little inclination to sacrifice whole weeks to Sky’s coverage. Thanks, BBC, for your website coverage and evening highlights show. There were certainly plenty of highlights on offer this week. 

It was billed as the clash between Bazball and the old-fashioned Aussies. How things have changed! The tourists were crowned world Test champions only the other week so Ben Stokes was unlikely to have everything his own way. 

On Friday morning, he did. From Zak Crawley’s courageous crunching cover drive from Pat Cummins’ opening half-volley to the bravado of Brooks and Bairstow and another imperious century from Joe Root, England were stroking their way to a total well into the 400s. Then the skipper declared on 393-8 to leave Broad and Robinson a few overs hopefully to dismiss Usman Khawaja and perennial cartoon villain David Warner. 

Tipping convention on its head has been a hallmark in England’s astonishing transformation last year. This decision, along with some novel field placings, were well to the fore at Edgbaston but the declaration was unsuccessful in its prime aim. Nonetheless, it served as an appetiser for some superb Test cricket over the next four days. Broad got Warner (of course he did!) and Labuschagne, then Stokes pinned the other hate figure, Steve Smith, for 16 but Khawaja played an excellent restrained innings lasting eight hours. Head and Carey were bolder, and Cummins joined in with the six-hits off poor Moeen Ali, whose raw spinning finger must have been awfully painful. 

With a slender lead of seven, England sallied forth to set the Aussies a tough target and unleash a pumped-up Broad, Anderson and Robinson. This time, Cummins and Nathan Lyon never allowed the batsmen the same freedom and nobody passed fifty. Alex Carey took another three catches and added a third stumping, illustrating England’s penchant for taking risks to the spinner. They scored at ‘only’ four an over but were all out for 273. So to a dramatic climax full of twists and turns. 

The raucous crowd must have helped England’s bowlers and put the fear of God into the Aussies. At 143-5 and four dismissals to Bairstow’s name, all looked rosy for Stokes and co. But that man Khawaja was still there. When Green played on, Robinson looked set to explode, and even Stokes looked quite calm when his ultra-slow delivery fooled the Aussie opener. 209-7, 82 short. A fabulous caught-and-bowled by Joe Root ended Carey’s resistance and surely the tailenders wouldn’t survive the pressure and score the required 54 to win? 

Statistics were against them. During the morning rain delay, commentators were keen to remind us that Australia always lose tight matches. Not since a young debutant Cummins struck the winning runs to beat South Africa by two wickets in 2011 had they edges such a close finish, but against all odds he repeated the feat. Khawaja also played in that match in Johannesburg, and his second innings score of 65 was identical to his corresponding total at Edgbaston. Statistics, eh? 

I wouldn’t begrudge the Aussies their victory. Stokes seemed to take the defeat stoically but in good heart. England came oh-so-close, four Tests to come, blah-blah-blah. I think another England victory could have killed the series as a sporting spectacle. Now we have something really special to look forward to. Test cricket is back, folks!

2020 World Cricket Team of the Year

Well, what a crap year! An unprecedented global epidemic wreaked havoc with all our lives and of course cricket suffered as much as any professional leisure activity, from village clubs to Test nations. When New Zealand beat India on 2^nd March, we could not have known it would be the last Test match for more than four months. There was a similar hiatus for ODIs and of course domestic competitions and the IPL were either cancelled or postponed until infection rates dipped by the autumn. 

It was a minor miracle that England managed to play a couple of Covid-secure series against an accommodating West Indies and Pakistan, and congratulations also to the counties who challenged not for a full County Championship but an abbreviated version climaxed by a five-day final. Just my luck that Somerset’s peerless group performance wasn’t rewarded with the Bob Willis Trophy. At least the dreaded Hundred nonsense was shelved for a year. 

At international level, major tournaments were ditched for several months but the remaining bilateral competitions did India few favours. Their first Test victory in 2020 came just days before the year ended, and New Zealand’s success has advanced them to the top of the Test rankings with Australia. England head the lists in white-ball cricket. 

As for individuals, the curtain fell on the year with Kane Williamson atop the Test table, displacing new dad Kohli and Smith who, while others tucked into turkey, experienced his first duck in the baggy green for years. Pat Cummins reached the top in bowling but in ODIs it was the turn of Trent Boult. But will they make my Team of the Year? 

As ever I have looked at first-class, List A and T20 to select a cross-format Eleven. They may not be brilliant at any one of the above but are who I consider to have been the best performers in world cricket across the whole year. 

With Tests in short supply, only Dom Sibley stands out as an opener so I’ve focussed on ODIs and T20. For me, Aaron Finch just edges out Aussie team-mate David Warner while one of my 2019 reserves, KH Rahul, is also promoted to the first XI. He may usually drop a few places in ODIs but with more than 1000 T20 runs and an ODI strike rate of over 100 he made the most of his limited opportunities. And he can also don the ‘keeper’s gloves if needed! 

In the middle-order, Virat Kohli is a rare absentee from my team of the year, but another Indian Shreyas Iyer made a considerable impact in white-ball cricket. Dawid Malan was named number one T20 batsman at the end of the year, West Indian Jermaine Blackwood was a rare beacon of light in what was another lacklustre twelve months for his side, while Dean Elgar, Henry Nicholls and Zak Crawley were also in contention. Then there’s Mumbai’s young Sarfaraz Khan who averaged an amazing 154, thanks to an unbeaten triple-century. However, Pakistan’s Babar Azam cemented his position as one of the very best all-round batsmen in the business, scoring more T20 runs than anyone. Steve Smith also makes it, but not for his Test performances. His strike rates were superior to Warner’s in ODIs and Maxwell’s in T20s. However Marnus Labuschagne, who deputised for the Aussie red-ball captain during his 2019 ban, maintained his form throughout 2020. 

For all the claims of Watling, Paine and Hope, my wicket-keeper’s spot again comes down to a straight race between Jos Buttler and Quinton de Kock. As in the previous year the South African is my pick. The England man had a decent Test summer but De Kock’s superior striking elsewhere had the edge. 

Ben Stokes may top the ICC all-rounder rankings but for a change I’m selecting his colleague Chris Woakes. He may not have the brutal batting ability of the Ginger One but took more wickets whilst scoring more limited-overs runs at a reasonable rate. 

There are so many excellent bowlers to choose from. Jimmy Anderson reached 600 Test wickets whilst his long-time England partner Stuart Broad topped 500. Nobody could match his 2020 haul of 38 at barely 14 apiece. Craig Overton was devastating for Somerset but couldn’t break back into the England set-up. All the New Zealand seamers excelled. Tim Southee achieved a career tally of 300 Test scalps, Boult and Wagner shared in the wickets but new boy Kyle Jamieson was even better in his debut Test season, definitely one to watch. Cummins, Hazlewood, Nortje and Haris Rauf are right up there and only Jofra Archer’s mediocre Test performances let him down. Jasprit Bumrah’s T20 economy rate of 6.62 is outstanding for a seamer but he’s edged out by a 6 foot 6 left-armer. No, not Mitchell Starc. Pakistan’s 20 year-old left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi has become a giant of the game in more ways than one. Few surpassed his 2020 T20 tally of 52 wickets and his four in four balls for Hampshire was pretty special. 

I’ve space for two spinners in my Eleven and, thanks to his continued magnificence in T20, Rashid Khan of Afghanistan is one of them. Meanwhile Adam Zampa has successfully spread his wings away from the safety of mere four-over stints in T20 to the 50-over game and I wonder if he could eventually replace Nathan Lyon in the Test squad. Anything’s possible. Here’s to a safe, less socially-distanced new year. 

So to summarise, here is my 2020 Team of the Year:- 

Rahul (Ind), Finch (Aus), Babar Azam (Pak), Smith (Aus), Labuschagne (Aus), De Kock (SA +), Woakes (Eng), Broad (Eng), Rashid Khan (Afg), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pak), Zampa (Aus). 

My ‘squad replacements’ would be Elgar (SA), Buttler (Eng), Bumrah (Ind), Archer (Eng), Jamieson (NZ)

Cricket Lifts the Lockdown Spirits

 Eighteen months ago I commended the West Indies for making a decent fist of their home Test series against England. The same goes for this summer’s hastily-rearranged Wisden Trophy, squeezed into a few weeks. 

Back in the Caribbean Jason Holder’s team had in the opener walloped the tourists, for whom Stuart Broad had been left out, albeit for tactical reasons. At Southampton the Windies again triumphed and Broad moaned publicly. Maybe he needed taking down a peg or two so he was really fired up and ready for the Old Trafford double-header. If that was the strategy it worked brilliantly. 

The Second Test had been Ben Stokes’ triumph but the decider was undoubtedly Broad’s  It was also inspiring to watch Chris Woakes at his most accurate but his 34 year-old team-mate took the honours as well as that landmark 500th Test wicket. 

So in cricket terms it was success for Joe Root and England, Ben Stokes’ batting and Stuart Broad’s bowling. For West Indies, Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach looked world-class at times but the batting was terribly brittle in Manchester, a frequent refrain in recent years. Dowrich’s ‘keeping looked extremely ragged, too. 

But the last few weeks haven’t really been about what happened on the pitch. It was about reviving the whole sport after months of inactivity courtesy of the Coronavirus pandemic. Massive credit must go to the tourists who had to endure weeks of isolation before any play was possible. The idiotic Jofra Archer nearly messed the whole thing up by his selfish diversion home after leaving Southampton but luckily he didn’t spread any infection. 

The secure Covid-proof bubble may have wobbled a bit but it held firm to permit three full Test matches. All that was missing, of course, were the crowds but thank goodness the broadcaster stopped short of providing a fake soundtrack. Or maybe it was there but, given the reserved nature of Test cricket  spectators, I just didn’t spot the difference! 

This week a few county matches are taking place with limited attendance to facilitate social distancing. Much as I love the county game, I do wonder how on earth they are going to attract as many as a thousand into The Oval for anything other than a hot summer evening’s T20. Despite what the buffoon Boris Johnson says, if there are to be no cricket-related infection spikes, social distancing is here to stay, certainly for the remainder of the summer. The crowd-less Premier League contests proved successful in re-energising fans but only those elite clubs could afford to complete the season without paying customers and the ancillary income generated by bars and takeaway food stands. 

Sadly events in the USA, Asia, Anfield, Elland Road and some parts of Europe have demonstrated that many young people are too selfish to consider wider society in their rush to get back into the traditional summer pastimes of boozing and partying. Holidays to Spain have been curtailed almost as soon as they restarted and the only arenas to fill up have been hospital ICU wards. None of us want a return to the dark days of April but if interest in cricket can continue to be generated by England’s games with the Windies and Pakistan, along with truncated domestic competitions and even village cricket I’m all for it. It’s been a tough year so far so let’s embrace cricket in this ‘new normal’ world.

Ashes 2019 – England’s luck finally runs out

Last week I wrote that England looked set to build on that incredible Stokes-led fightback  at Headingley and surely seize the Ashes as they did in 2005. Well, how wrong I was. Yet England’s new-found back-to-the-wall resilience produced a second Test classic in succession even if they had evidently exhausted their huge reserves of good fortune in the previous match.

As in the 3^rd Test, Australia bossed much of the game. Or should I say Steve Smith did. Apart from Marnus Labuschagne and Tim Paine, the visitors’ batting has been abysmal. At Old Trafford, Stuart Broad’s opening spells twice accounted for openers Harris and Warner for the total of just 19 runs, the latter bagging a pair. 

Twice, Smith has strode onto the pitch with the innings under eighth overs old and twice he has flummoxed England’s attack with his mix of quirky mannerisms, mutterings and manic walkabouts, interspersed with coruscating cricket shots, piercing the field brilliantly. In the first innings he punctured Stokes’ puffed-up chest superbly, and Jofra Archer went wicketless for 97 as the former Aussie captain executed his third Ashes double-century.

On Friday, I watched incredulously as Rory Burns somehow avoided not only getting an edge to the pacemen but also dislocating every joint in his body as part of his peculiar batting stance, but he and Joe Root put on a stubborn 141 for the third wicket to keep the match very much alive. When Josh Hazlewood’s seamers did for both men in successive overs, England’s white-ball specialists couldn’t keep it going and only a belligerent extra-cover drive by Buttler prevented the follow-on.

Broad and Archer did give the Lancashire crowd something to roar about on Saturday afternoon but that man Smith steadied the ship, reaching 82 – his lowest score so far! – before skying Leach into the hands of Stokes. The declaration wasn’t long in coming, and Paine set the home nation the challenge of scoring 383 or surviving three-and-a-bit sessions for a draw.

England did neither, but it was mighty close. It didn’t look that way at stumps, Pat Cummins’ third ball inducing a Burns leading edge followed by the perfect delivery to bowl Root. And so the fifth day was all about the Dunkirk spirit. Wickets fell regularly and, apart from Joe Denly, nobody got anywhere near 50. That didn’t matter. It was all about eating up the overs and, once Somerset heroes Overton and Leach found themselves together in the middle, wasting as much time as possible. They must have used every spare pair of gloves in Manchester and Leach’s lenses were wiped so often that the glass would have been wafer thin. The boozed-up spectators cheered each defensive stroke, every lengthy pause, but the frustrating tactics proved insufficient in the face of superb bowling by Cummins and Hazlewood especially. When the latter finally trapped Overton lbw to end his near-three-hour resistance for 21, the review was purely cosmetic. It was plumb, and Australia had not only won the match but also ensured England could not wrest the Ashes back from their clutches. 

You have to say the Aussies have deserved it. England have shown faith in their World Cup-winning stars but, apart from Stokes and Archer, they haven’t really demonstrated their red-ball credentials. The winners also clearly have their own problems. Sooner or later, Smith will be out cheaply, leaving the weight on someone else’s shoulders. He only lost his wicket in this match to an audacious reverse sweep off Root and a mistimed slog when well set. David Warner finds himself in an uncharacteristic slump and neither Bancroft, Harris or Khawaja have fared much better. 

Will The Oval witness wholesale changes? In the week when the cricket world bade farewell to the Pakistani pioneer of 1990s leg-spin, Abdul Qadir, perhaps Joe Denly will open the bowling. As the home side, England could call up a whole raft of young replacements. I just hope they leave Somerset players alone and draft half of the Essex team so we have a chance of success in the County Championship! Whatever. Another exciting Test match  finish would do very nicely.

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.

Ashes 2017-18: Cook and Smith share New Year’s Test Honours

Congratulations to those English cricketers who were rightly represented on the New Year’s Honours List. However, Joe Root, James Anderson and Alastair Cook will have to wait a bit longer for their knighthoods. Heather Knight’s OBE and the ‘M’s for Amy Shrubsole and Tammy Beaumont were dished out for their contributions to England’s World Cup triumph last summer but after Cook’s innings at the MCG this week you’d think the British media were celebrating an even greater success.

Well, the former skipper undoubtedly demonstrated why he has been retained as Test opener. I don’t know when an English batsman last batted not only through a whole day’s play but an entire innings without being dismissed, but this is precisely what the side has been missing. Cook himself admitted his effort was several weeks too late. Nevertheless his 244 not out was just what the doctor ordered following the three successive defeats, not just for England but also his own cricketing health. Since his 241 at Edgbaston in August, he scratched around for just 261 runs in 14 innings before accumulating almost as many in just the one outing at Melbourne. Talk about peaks and troughs!

Root declared himself proud of his team’s response to losing the Ashes and it was certainly a revelation to see Stuart Broad and Anderson turn a poor first day position into a promising one by lunch on day two. Broad’s batting broadside also boosted England’s first innings total to almost 500, sharing a century stand for the ninth wicket and putting severe pressure on Steve Smith.

However, the Aussie captain hasn’t amassed a world-beating Test average of 63 without showing grit and determination on a consistent basis. Despite having 80,000 spectators watching your every twitch, and knowing he had already dropped Cook in the slips, Smith stepped up to the plate and, by the close of the final day’s play, had delivered yet another century, the sixth of 2017, to steer his side to a draw. Even David Warner reined in his natural aggressive instincts, sticking around for a five-hour 86.

Honours even? Maybe, but it was England’s fightback which caught the eye. Like Craig Overton, his replacement Tom Curran made Smith his first ever Test wicket, but nobody else seems able to get him out. Anderson’s handiwork on a dirty ball may have been proved to have been entirely legal and with the blessing of both umpires, but it was Broad’s five wickets which pleased selectors and fans the most. 

So what will change for the Sydney climax? Moeen Ali may well be stood down to give Mason Crane an opportunity, although that would weaken England’s batting. It may also weaken the bowling as for much of last summer, he wasn’t even deemed good enough to play for Hampshire.

Deputising for Starc, Jackson Bird proved to be a turkey for the Aussies, going wicketless for 108 runs, even worse than Moeen. Apparently, Ashton Agar has been called up to the home team’s squad for Sydney, but he certainly won’t be scaring the England’s batsmen. Perhaps this is a ruse to lull them into a false sense of security before another short ball battering. We’ll see. Alastair Cook will presumably return to single-figure scores so maybe this is the stage for Vince and Woakes to show what they’re made of. I sincerely hope so. There may be a few spare MBEs going come the Queen's Birthday....

Ballance saves Yorkshire, Livingstone Lifts Lancs

Yorkshire fans travelling to the Rose Bowl must have been drooling at a rare opportunity to see their England stars Root and Bairstow appearing with the white rose badge. However, the internationals managed a mere 18 runs between them as Hampshire made them follow on. Instead, it was the Test reject Gary Ballance who shone with the bat. The new captain followed his first innings 108 with a match-saving 203 not out in a game where his opposite number James Vince (147) also reminded us what he is capable of.

The only First Division county to win was Lancashire. For the second successive week, their opponents Somerset threw away an early lead, as Alex Davies and captain Liam Livingstone set up a 164-run victory. Unfortunately, the good form enjoyed by team leaders did not extend to Somerset’s young Tom Abell. His first four Championship innings in charge have yielded a pathetic two runs, and I don’t know how many more chances he can be afforded by Mathew Maynard.

Surrey remain top of the table despite failing to beat struggling Warwickshire at Edgbaston. The home team had Ian Westwood largely to thank for grinding out a draw, after his 205 run aggregate, after first innings centuries by Mark Stoneman and Kumar Sangakkara.

There were plenty of runs from Middlesex’s top three, too. Stewart Robson, Ed Gubbins and Stevie Eskinazi each scored hundreds in the first innings and fifties in the second. However, helped by bad light, Essex kept Finn, Roland-Jones et al at bay throughout the fourth day as the champions failed to capture the final two wickets.

In Division Two, Nottinghamshire and Kent made it three wins out of three. The former side lead the way courtesy of their maximum points at Trent Bridge, where they crushed Sussex by an innings inside two days. The home side must have had a prior engagement on Sunday because they blazed to 447 before day one was completed. Unsurprisingly, it was Riki Wessels who led the assault, slamming seven sixes and 22 fours in a maiden double-century. James Pattinson and Stuart Broad did much of the damage with the ball on the Saturday.

At Canterbury it was that man Darren Stevens who stole the honours yet again, with a peerless all-round performance, featuring 107 runs and nine wickets. It was a good, too, for stand-in ‘keeper Adam Rouse who narrowly missed out on his first Championship hundred and took five catches. It was another very short match at Worcester, too, in which the home team eked out a tight 20-run winning margin against Derbyshire. Moeen Ali’s first-day 50 proved to be the highest score of the game, while captain Joe Leach picked up a couple of five-fors.

There was little to choose between the counties at Grace Road, either, but runs flowed fluently on all four days. Both Leicestershire and Glamorgan reached 420 in their first innings, then a Mark Pettini century set up a pointless declaration on the last afternoon. After an early scare, Aneurin Donald’s 66 not out ensured there was to be no repeat of last week’s batting collapses for the Welsh.

In the other fixture, Paul Collingwood contributed 101 runs, two wickets and five catches for Durham at Bristol. However, Gloucestershire opener Chris Dent’s patient six-hour 101 meant there was insufficient time for the visitors to ram home their advantage, and a draw ensued.

We now have a four-week break in the Championship to allow the sadly-unloved Royal London Cup a run in what I hope will be the late Spring sunshine.

Team of the Week:
Robson (Mid), Westwood (War), Vince (Ham), Ballance (Yor), Wessels (Not), Livingstone (Lan), Stevens (Ken), Leach (Wor), Rouse (Ken +), Broad (Not), Pattinson (Not)

2015 Cricket Team of the Year

The cricketing year produced its usual share of successes and disappointments, retirements and blossoming new talent. Australia won the World Cup but lost the Ashes. India and Sri Lanka lost momentum, New Zealand won a lot of new friends and respect, while Pakistan and England experienced maddening inconsistency. Bangladesh finally showed they are more than Shakib plus fillers, but the West Indies have many mountains to climb if they are to be once again competitive in the Test arena. Gayle, Pollard, Bravo and Russell may be amongst the principal T20 globetrotters but sadly their success seems to be diminishing their prospects at proper cricket.

So who have been the stars of 2015? Steve Smith, Martin Guptill and Chris Gayle were the leading scorers in each of the three international formats. Ravi Ashwin and Mitchell Starc topped the wickets tables in Tess and ODIs. AB De Villiers proved yet again how important he is to South Africa in all types of the sport, and now on top of all his batting and captaincy responsibilities he has taken the gloves in the Test series against England. No wonder he is looking for some time off in 2016. Yet, as his appearances were relatively few, he doesn’t even make my team of the year as it is intended to reflect performances across all forms, domestic and international.

For example, Steven Smith may be righty feted for his form in Tests, but his Aussie team-mate Adam Voges comfortably outscored him (and everybody else) when it came to all first-class cricket. He aggregated 2,547 in the twelve months, but yet even HE doesn’t make my team, as he wasn’t very active in limited overs cricket.

With the ball, Stuart Broad produced one incredible session for England, backed by other useful contributions alongside Jimmy Anderson. Jeetan Patel, Abdur Razzak and Nathan Lyon all added plenty to their career wicket tallies, but time out taken to remodel illegal actions has diminished the effectiveness of traditional spin stars such as Narine and Saeed Ajmal. Instead, there seems to have been a renaissance in left-arm seam and swing bowling.

So to my Eleven of 2015: Chris Gayle may be a T20 specialist (apart from a few World Cup 50-over outings) but his dominance can’t be ignored. His opening partner is Michael Klinger. Arriving at Gloucestershire from a successful domestic season Down Under, the Aussie clumped three T20 centuries in quick succession, before helping them to an unexpected 50-over cup triumph against Surrey. He also amassed 1,666 first-class runs in only 17 matches, making an all-format aggregate of 3,383!

Kumar Sangakkara bowed out of international cricket in 2015 but his form and class were maintained to the end, not only for Sri Lanka but Surrey, too. His overall run total was also comfortably above 3,000 and his glovework did enough to make him my wicketkeeper, too. A modern legend.

Steve Smith’s rise and rise from so-so leg-spinner to Aussie captaincy and leading Test scorer in 2015 is remarkable. His consistency eased the transition from the Michael Clarke era, although it was painful to watch ‘Pup’ struggle for runs in England, which eventually led him to call time on a wonderful career. Yet perhaps the most enjoyable growth in talent belonged to New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. Brendon McCullum’s aggressive yet sporting approach reaped benefits in all forms, but Williamson’s runs were just as important. It is to his great credit that I can find no room for the admirable Joe Root.

My number six is perhaps a little surprising. With a full season with Glamorgan as well as in South Africa, Colin Ingram was free to amass runs in all form of cricket. He could play carefully in the County Championship, yet explode into strokeplay in List A and T20. His strike rate in the latter was 146, right up there with Pollard and Pietersen. I appreciated his willingness to sign autographs for children at the Swalec Stadium boundary, too.

Genuine all-rounders seem to be in short supply at the moment. Dwayne Bravo came into my reckoning but as a T20 one-trick pony, I’ve passed him over in favour of Aussie James Faulkner. Still only 25, his left-arm seam bowling may be his greatest asset, yet in his batting career he averages more than 30 in first-class and List A cricket, and he boasts impressive strike rates. His 2015 performances nudge him into my XI of the year.

Ravi Ashwin was head and shoulders above not only his fellow Indian slow bowlers in height but also every other bowler in Test cricket. He scooped 62 wickets at a mere 17.0 apiece. With 35 ODI victims, too, he’s the first bowler on my team sheet.

Another bowler who can add useful late-order runs is John Hastings. Like Faulkner, a current one-Test wonder, yet a vital cog in the wheels of Durham and Victoria. He took 115 wickets across the year, but even that was eclipsed by the statistics of another Aussie quick. Mitchell Johnson may be the most recognisable of the Mitches, but Starc was the outstanding bowler of 2015. 63 first-class victims at 21, a world-leading 67 List A at a mere 14 apiece, and 21 T20 wickets at an admirable sub-7 economy rate speak for themselves. 100 mph deliveries, too! I just hope he can stay fit for 2016.

My final bowling position is a tough one. Tharindu Kaushal has made little impact on the international scene. However, the 22 year-old off-spinner from Galle amassed a remarkable 111 first-class wickets last year, primarily for the Nondescripts club. Trent Boult has blossomed for New Zealand, yet can I afford to include another left-arm seamer? Perhaps Broad’s right-arm status makes him a contender after all.

Anyway, it’s been an interesting year for cricket in lots of ways. For the record, here is my 2015 Team of the Year:-

Gayle (WI), Klinger (Aus), Sangakkara (SL +), Williamson (NZ), Smith (Aus *), Ingram (SA), Faulkner (Aus), Ashwin (Ind), Hastings (Aus), Starc (Aus), Kaushal (SL). My ‘squad’ also contains Alastair Cook (opener), Root (batsman), Broad and Boult.

Pakistan's Superior Spin Proves too much for England

After two tense, close contests, Pakistan ran away with the third to clinch the series 2-0. As predicted in my last blog, the Test match was decided by the superiority of the ‘home’ side’s spin attack against England’s.

With Buttler dropped, James Taylor beefed up the batting and Samit Patel offered a third spin option. However, while slow bowlers totally dominated the India v South Africa encounter at Mohali, they didn’t have it all their own way at Sharjah. On the first day, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad conceded just 30 runs in 28 overs, while Patel, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid went for almost four an over. Only Misbah-ul-Haq and Sarfraz Ahmed took charge and helped Pakistan past 200.

In reply, five England players reached 40 but Taylor was alone in passing 50, taking the team to a first innings lead of 72. It would have been more had it not been for Shoaib Malik’s three late wickets, including that of the injured Ben Stokes. However, they could not ram home their advantage.

Mohammad Hafeez survived an early scare and went on to an impressive 151. Stokes was out of action but England’s two seamers were once more in superb form. Nevertheless they can’t bowl continuously in the UAE heat, and the spinners again looked the weakest link.

Pakistan raced away to a lead of 283, a not impossible target in normal circumstances. However, in Sharjah, Yasir Shah, Malik and Zulfiqur Babar made few mistakes, maintain the pressure and grinding England down. Alastair Cook did his best, outlasting eight of his team-mates in an innings of 63 runs and four hours. England were destroyed in five overs, when the middle-order were sent packing for only 11 runs. Three of them fell LBW, bamboozled by the spin of Babar and Shah, and the series was lost on the final afternoon.

Only Cook, England’s only centurion, Anderson and Broad emerged with much credit from the series. The captain’s massive 263 at Abu Dhabi was almost as many as the second highest scorer, Joe Root, managed in all six attempts. Anderson’s 13 victims came at just 15 apiece and at a phenomenal economy rate of 1.87. Normally you might expect spinners to frustrate batsmen, but the England seamers did their best. Unfortunately, Ali and Rashid showed that, despite the coaching of Shane Warne, they aren’t yet the real deal.

Yasir Shah definitely is and across the series he was the prime difference between the two well-matched teams. Five Pakistan batsmen struck hundreds and averaged 48 or more, demonstrating how to cope with slow bowling at this level. Younis and Misbah surely can’t have many more Tests in them, and Shoaib has already announced his retirement. As with Sri Lanka, Pakistan need to find young batting talent if they are to threaten the other top nations in five-day cricket.

As for England, all is not lost for their forthcoming trip to South Africa. Nevertheless, much rests on the fitness of Broad and Anderson. I’m not sure whether Moeen Ali is the right opening partner for Cook in Tests. However, neither is Alex Hales. Both are excellent one-day openers and England’s squad is looking like a converted ODI outfit; too many all-rounders, not enough specialists. Most other countries are similar; it’s the new era of cricket.

I think that with some work Bairstow could become a top ‘keeper-batsman, much as Alec Stewart was a few decades ago. Buttler has never done much in first-class cricket, not even for Somerset. I like Taylor, Root and, for all his recent travails, Ian Bell. Graeme Swann is badly missed, but world-class spinners are a rarity. Anywhere in the world. Wood and Jordan are OK but unlikely to scare the likes of Amla or De Villiers. On the other hand, South Africa are short of good spinners, too, so we could be in for another competitive series.

5th Ashes Test: Clarke’s final victory but Cook’s Ashes

It has certainly been an extraordinary Ashes series. Not for the final result, but for the sequence of five one-sided encounters. Also, surely there has never been so few days of cricket played in a five-Test rubber, especially given the favourable weather most of the summer. Mind you, England fans were praying for a bit more rain on this Sunday afternoon with just two wickets remaining and well short of the follow-on target. However, the clouds parted long enough for Peter Siddle to mop up the tail-enders and give Michael Clarke a modicum of comfort after an awkward few months.

4-1 would have been a travesty, and even 3-2 was perhaps slightly flattering to England. Joe Root remains a beacon of talent for the home side but both Chris Rogers and Steve Smith outscored him across the series. Stuart Broad was the only Englishman to take more than 12 wickets while no fewer than four Aussies did so, led by Mitchell Starc with 18

The real difference between the sides was the pathetic performances by Australia’s middle -order. Michael Clark has been a magnificent run machine and adventurous captain, but he aggregated a paltry 132 from nine innings. Shane Watson was dropped after the Cardiff defeat, neither Marsh brother produced any score of note, Adam Voges managed a couple of 50s and little else, and there were no Brad Haddin heroics this time around.

Then there were the big match-winning bowling dramatics by England’s pacemen. Sometimes it takes just one big performance by one man to swing a game, and Jimmy Anderson, Steve Finn and Ben Stokes each delivered. And then there was Stuart Broad. Every year he seems so ordinary then produces one devastating spell. In 2015 it was that amazing 8-15 on the first morning at Trent Bridge. Matt Wood showed promise, Ian Bell saved his bacon at Edgbaston and Alastair Cook occasionally showed his charges how to bat in a Test match.

However, it was not the greatest summer for Gary Ballance (discarded after the Lord’s defeat), Jos Buttler and Adam Lyth. Following the New Zealand encounters, the Yorkshireman deserved his chance to last the Ashes series but he didn’t really convince as Cook’s long-term opening partner. Perhaps he should stay for the Pakistan series, if only because there are no other credible alternatives.

As for Australia, Clarke will be bitterly disappointed to lose the Ashes. Again! Nevertheless he will be missed. Smith’s arrival as the middle-order saviour must come as a relief, but who should occupy berths four to six? Chris Rogers has been a rock at the top since his rebirth for the Test team two years ago and now he has also called it a day, aged 37. He and David Warner looked an excellent partnership, their contrasting styles not harming their facility to get an innings off to a good start. Trent Bridge excepted, of course! Perhaps Michael Klinger could become the latest thirty-something to earn a green baggy?!

Mitchells Starc and Johnson still demonstrated the value of left-arm pace and swing, and the latter passed the landmark of 300 Test wickets. Josh Hazelwood took 16 wickets at 26, Nathan Lyon was a constant thorn in the side and Peter Siddle was almost impossible to score off at The Oval. I still don’t know why he wasn’t selected for the fourth Test but hindsight is a wonderful thing. He wouldn’t have made a difference in that crazy first innings at Nottingham, though.

Despite all these plus points, Australia contrived to lose overall and English cricket is enjoying the feelgood factor once more. Can they regain the number one position again? Well, South Africa may have something to say about that, and before that there is the small matter of the UAE, where Pakistan humbled England a few years ago.

Anyway, for a few months more, Cook and co can bask in the warm glow of Ashes success. ODI defeats probably won’t matter too much although given the ferocious criticism at the start of the summer, perhaps they should! Farewell, Clarke and Rogers. You’ll be hard to replace.

Willey’s Brilliant Broadside

A rich variety of cricket entertained British cricket fans this week. England’s demolition of hapless Australia at Trent Bridge rightly stole most of the headlines, with Stuart Broad’s incredible first innings 8-15 unlikely to be bettered by anyone all season.

Fortunes were reversed in the Women’s Ashes Test. Jess Jonassen enjoyed an impressive debut with two half-centuries, beginning with a 99, before Ellysse Perry made up for a poor game with the bat by taking 6-32 to clinch the match. England now need to win all three T20 fixtures to retain this version of the Ashes.

Earlier in the week, Yorkshire took another step closer to retaining the Championship by dismantling Durham. Wickets tumbled on the first day, then a double-century stand involving Glenn Maxwell and Adil Rashid piled the pressure onto Mark Stoneman’s men. Plunkett and Rashid completed the job with the ball.

Joe Root may be shining for England but his county ex-colleagues are doing just fine without him, 38 points clear with a game in hand. Middlesex moved back to second place with an exciting victory over Sussex. They came from behind to snatch it by 20 runs, thanks largely to more than 200 runs from Dawid Malan and fine seam bowling by James Harris et al, Steve Magoffin did his usual stuff for Sussex but Malan defied him to set a target that proved just too much.

The London side overtook Warwickshire who came a cropper at the Rose Bowl against Hampshire. James Vince struck a rare century and Fidel Edwards nabbed nine wickets to give the bottom side hope of escaping the drop. Worcestershire remain in trouble after a defeat to Nottinghamshire. Captain Chris Read top-scored for the victors and saw them home by five wickets.

In Division Two, Glamorgan’s loss to Gloucestershire and Surrey’s triumph at Colchester leaves Lancashire and Surrey scorching favourites to be promoted with four matches remaining. Rory Burns scored more runs than anybody else this week, while spin duo Batty and Ansari twirled away industriously for fifteen wickets between them. Monty Panesar made a more modest return for Essex, for whom Nick Browne and Mark Pettini contributed centuries.

There were no hundreds at Swansea, but David Payne was probably the star perfomer, taking eight Glamorgan scalps. Leicestershire enjoyed their first home victory for three years, beating Derbyshire by three wickets. Sadly for them, their sixteen points awarded for the win were later docked because of their persistently poor disciplinary record. It’s normally their on-pitch performance which leaves them bottom of the League but in 2015 it may owe more to whingeing at the umpires.

Finally, the Nat West Blast entered its quarter-final phase. There have been some encouragingly big crowds this summer, particularly at the larger grounds like Edgbaston. The Birmingham Bears were roaring again against Essex, while Hampshire needed James Vince and bad light at New Road to beat Worcestershire, en route for a sixth consecutive Finals Day appearance. David Willey’s 40-ball century and 3-27 took Northants into the semi-finals, while Lancashire join them following a dramatic tie today at Canterbury. Kent went out on wickets lost!

Team of the Week: Burns (Sur), Willey (Nor), Vince (Ham *), Madsen (Der), Malan (Mid), Perry (Aus Women), N O’Brien (Lei +), Woakes (War), Broad (Eng), Edwards (Ham), Magoffin (Sus).

Yorkshire’s Veterans maintain the Pressure

While Durham rested, Yorkshire claimed maximum points at Headingley, moving to within nine points of the leaders with a game in hand. Next week’s meeting of the top two is looking rather tasty! Skipper Andrew Gale and Jack Leaning each scored centuries, while Brooks, Bresnan and Sidebottom led the all-30-something attack to hand Nottinghamshire an innings defeat. The sorry losers featured a rare Championship appearance by Stuart Broad – only his 16th in eight seasons – but his 7-84 and 84 runs showed what they have been missing.

Hampshire are keeping Notts company at the bottom after suffering a nine-wicket home drubbing by Somerset, who also beat Notts last week. Suddenly, the Cidermen are in mid-table safety, just a good win adrift of third place. With sixteen points for a win and only five for a draw, the table can change so swiftly in county cricket. Anyway, not for the first time this season, Craig Overton shone with the ball (8-81 for the match) and young opener Tom Abell made another half-century. While Hants’ all-rounder Gareth Berg did his best to prolong proceedings, as at Notts, the top five batsmen are woefully out of form.

The other Division One fixture was a tame draw between Worcestershire and Middlesex, but at least they scored some runs. Tom Fell made a welcome hundred but James Franklin was the week’s star batsman, contributing 135 and 91 not out for Middlesex as the game petered out on day four.

In the lower tier, Surrey and Glamorgan both won to remind top dogs Lancashire that promotion isn’t yet a done deal. Gareth Batty’s side made short work of Derbyshire inside three days. There were few stand-out performances, with James Burke top-scoring with just 73 and the skipper’s 4-32 finishing off the Derby tail in the second innings.

Neither side reached 300, nor were there any individual three-figure scores at Cardiff, either, but Glamorgan’s bowlers all chipped in with wickets as Leicestershire succumbed on the last afternoon. Graeme Wagg followed his astonishing 200 last week with another 126 runs and three wickets while for the opponents, Ben Raine achieved a decent five-for while Jacques Rudolph dug in for over five hours to make 74 and hold his side’s second innings together and set a sufficiently tough target.

Essex continued their revival by beating Gloucestershire at Bristol. Napier and Porter bowled well enough to make the home team follow on then, despite another century from Michael Klinger, Essex managed to knock off the 114 needed for victory. At 26-4 they wobbled but Tom Westley steadied the ship with an unbeaten 65.

Meanwhile, at Northampton, rain washed out the first day but by the third, Northants had already demolished bottom-placed Kent! Azharullah, Rory Kleinveldt and Olly Stone each clamed five-fors as Kent slumped to 140 and 151 all out. Playing the Australian tourists must seem like light relief and at least they are top of the NatWest Blast South group!

Team of the Week: Abell (Som), Ali (Wor), Gale (Yor, *), Leaning (Yor), Franklin (Mid), Bairstow (Yor/Eng, +), Berg (Ham), Broad (Not), Napier (Ess), C Overton (Som), Kleinveldt (Nor)

One-one, but New Zealand deserve the plaudits

Another Test match, another intriguing contest! After capitulating on the final day at Lord’s, New Zealand must feel gloriously vindicated after turning the tables at Headingley, playing the sort of cricket which served England so well last week.

One of the many things I’ve taken from this short but very sweet series is that one-day batting has had a huge impact. Not so long ago, once the seventh wicket fell in an innings the tailenders would be thinking more about their run-up and new ball strategy than getting a few runs of their own. Now, everyone can be a hero with the willow!

Tino Best, Ashton Agar and even our very own Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson have written their names into record books in the past few years. In the past few days we’ve experienced still more fearless fireworks from numbers nine to eleven. Amongst the general glut of boundaries, the last two wickets in the four innings at Headingley have produced more than 300 runs. OK, I know that the second NZ innings was declared during the ninth wicket partnership but that’s still an impressive aggregate for a bunch of bowlers.

At Lord’s, it was mostly Ben Stokes but in Leeds, Luke Ronchi and Matt Henry (each twice), Stuart Broad, Tim Southee and Trent Boult had three-figure strike rates against their names. The Black Caps’ second outing, after another dodgy start, was played out in the image of their brilliant captain Brendon McCullum. Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and BJ Watling may have ridden their luck on occasions but their aggressive approach pressurised fielders into dropping catches and bowlers like Broad resembling nervous teenagers serving up short-pitched tripe.

The Sunday spectators were presented with a feast of runs, then the NZ tail really rubbed it in on Monday morning, declaring on 454-8. Apart from Latham and Williamson, every player struck at least one six! Watling’s excellent century was the single most important contribution, earning him the Man of the Match award. However, Mark Craig’s 99 unbeaten runs and tight bowling earning five wickets should not be underestimated. Trent Boult and Tim Southee occasionally gave even Anderson a lesson in new ball swing bowling, and Luke Ronchi’s belated Test debut at the age of 34 resulted in 119 runs and some tidy displays behind the stumps. Even Williamson made up for his unusually poor display with the bat by clinching the game with 3-15, his vital victims being the dogged Cook, pegged Stokes and ragged Broad.

England weren’t completely outplayed. After all, it was a Test match in which Alastair Cook and Jimmy Anderson became the first Englishmen to pass 9,000 runs and 400 wickets, respectively. Adam Lyth achieved his debut century on his second appearance, Jos Buttler stuck around admirably for 73 on the final evening and Matt Wood did enough to keep his place for the Ashes.

More worrying must be the form of Ballance, Bell and Moeen Ali. Broad’s clueless bowling may have yielded seven wickets at Headingley but he went for six an over! Acceptable in an ODI but not a Test match. Joe Root fared even worse with the bat but even the finest batsmen have an off-day following his excellent display in the first fixture.

For now, let’s celebrate a wonderful brace of Test matches and in particular the attitude of McCullum and co in levelling the series in such style. The appalling negativity and time-wasting we saw from Cook’s men two years ago should be consigned to history. If the new brooms at England’s helm follow suit, the Aussies may yet face a real challenge later this summer.

Now it's Indian Cricket in crisis

What a difference three weeks make. At the end of July, it was Alastair Cook's Test place and captaincy on the line, with all the ex-captains in the media demanding his head. Well, that head has always been level and, with the support of Peter Moores, his family and the majority of spectators, Cook stood his ground, scored 95 and 70 not out at Southampton, and laid the foundations for a superb turnaround from 0-1 strugglers to commanding 3-1 winners of the Pataudi Trophy.

It's not all down to Cook, though. Senior bowlers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad led the attack with vim and vigour, Jos Buttler came into the side and has probably ensured Matt Prior's international retirement, Kevin Pietersen's successors Joe Root and Gary Ballance topped the runs table with more than 500 apiece, Moeen Ali's steady spin became feared more than his beard and The Oval offered Chrises Woakes and Jordan a share of the limelight, too.

Has there ever been a series which followed such a steady trend of performances? The Trent Bridge opener was a pitch-induced stalemate, but from the Ishant-Bhuvi-inspired Lord's triumph, it has been downhill all the way for India. The obvious question is why? Nothing boosts a side's confidence more than success. So what on earth prompted the dismal reversal of fortunes? India should have put the 2011 debacle behind them, recognised that England were after all beatable in their own backyard on helpful pitches, and built on the HQ result. Instead, previously promising batsmen like Vijay, Pujara, Dhawan and, in the last two matches, Rahane and the recalled Gambhir seemed to forget how to bat. They even made Moeen Ali look like a world-class spinner instead of the defensive 'filler' bowler he was until July 2014. MS Dhoni pretty much admitted it: all he had to was plonk it in the same place and wait for the mistakes.

Then there's Virat Kohli. Still only 25 but with almost 200 internationals under his belt, the successor to the Tendulkar mantle (no pressure!) proved a comlete flop from start to finish. 134 runs from ten innings and a highest score of 39 simply aren't good enough for such a key batsman. He has also become Anderson's 'bunny', a status which needs addressing. Even if he never faces the Burnley swinger again, there will be other pacemen like Steyn able to exploit Kohli's weaknesses in Test cricket.

The Anderson-Jadeja 'handbags' incident and pathetic trading of allegations and insults by the England and India authorities left a sour taste in the mouth but were in the event a mere sideshow to the cricket. The shenanigans seemed only to reinvigorate Anderson and his fellow bowlers, while India retreated into their shells. I don't approve of arrogant, foul-mouthed sportsmen but he bowled superbly and is now on the verge of becoming England's highest ever Test wicket taker.

England's only weak point was Sam Robson. The Australian's Middlesex form in 2013 and centuries for the Lions promoted him to the status of Cook's partner but he made just one half-century in the series. Actually, there were two. Ben Stokes, now with both wrists intact, was given two opportunities as an all-rounder. He took a few wickets but zero runs in three innings is a terrible total for such a promising batsman.

And so to India. Cook weathered his personal storm but now the pressure is on MS Dhoni. Having his pay docked for a slow over rate is a minor inconvenience compared to the criticism he and his side have received for their capitulation in the final three games, culminating in defeat by an innings and 244 in London. Had he not produced such doughty half-centuries himself, India's losing margins would have been even greater, but if he should fall on his sword, who on earth could replace him? At least he has the ODIs in which to re-establish his reputation.

As for England, they can at least hold their heads up high. Anderson's return of 25 wickets at 20 apiece was brilliant, while Root averaged over 100 for the series. Robson apart, all the squad did well, and poor Steve Finn and Simon Kerrigan will have to wait until next Spring at least for their Test returns. I feel for Yorkshire, too; they need to bolster their batting as from this summer's showing, Messrs Root and Ballance will both be on central contracts and become unfamiliar faces back at Headingley. Also, Essex will have Cook's appearances rationed just as much as before; don't be surprised if England zoom back up the ICC charts in 2015.

Team of the Week: Steyn and Sangakkara steam ahead

Some difficult choices this week after a relatively weak pool from which to select last time. Test matches, 'A' internationals, the CPL and the last of an intensive few weeks of Royal London county fixtures were all vying for attention.

For some reason, 111 was a popular score. The late umpire David Shepherd would have been hopping around like a demented flamingo but only one of these batsmen make my team of the week ending 15th August 2014. That's Essex opener Tom Westley, who shared a double-century partnership with Ryan Ten Doeschate in a run chase against Yorkshire, before weighing in with 74 versus Hampshire. Jacques Rudolph, Lendl Simmons and Wes Durston were all in the frame, but Alex Hales' 141 in Nottinghamshire's thumping of Middlesex earns him the other opener spot.

He put on 217 with Michael Lumb yet his colleague and skipper James Taylor produced an even better 100 not out in 55 balls in that match to accompany another unbeaten hundred for the Lions against Sri Lanka 'A'. Worcestershire's 20 year-old Tom Fell delivered three innings each of at least 70 in the past week, although his side struggled a bit. He edges my decision ahead of Pakistan's Younis Khan but I simply can't ignore Kumar Sangakkara. His prolific year continued with 221 in Sri Lanka's victory over Pakistan. Majestic! However, his score was eclipsed by the South African 'A' man Rilee Roussouw, whose 231 helped deflate an Aussie attack in the triangular tournament.

Messrs Dhoni, Buttler and De Kock all made some runs but Hampshire's Adam Wheater steals the wicketkeeper gloves with a 97-ball 135. A shame that it was in vain as his side's run chase fell five runs short of the Essex total.

Paul Collingwood and Notts transfer target Will Gidman each produced a notable all-rund county performance but my remaining four places all go to specialist bowlers. Yasir Arafat claimed 5-36 and 4-49 against Somerset and Kent, respectively, and who can forget Stuart Broad's India-shattering 6-25 in the Fourth Test? A pity his nose took a shattering soon afterwards....

Rangana Herath didn't need to bowl as many overs this week as last but he added another nine wickets to his tally for Sri Lanka. His first-class aggregate now stands at 870, which surely few if any current players can match. His Test average has also dropped below 30, a sign of a top-class bowler. Finally, that man Dale Steyn was at it again, taking 5-46 and 3-38, although his latest eight victims were Zimbabweans. Herath's record is improving but he has a long way to go before emulating the South Afican maestro's 383 Test wickets at 22.56.

Summing up: Hales (Lions/Not), Westley (Ess), Sangakkara (SL), Fell (Wor), Taylor (Lions/Not *), Rossouw (SA 'A'), Wheater (Ham +), Yasir Arafat (Sus), Broad (Eng), Steyn (SA), Herath (SL).

Anderson and Broad, a great double act

James Anderson and Stuart Broad have experienced many ups and downs as international cricketers. Show me a player who hasn't! However, this summer they have passed the 500 mark for wickets taken in partnership, and few players have done that for England throughout history. On today's opener at Old Trafford, it was one of those crazy Broad performances when everything either beats the bat or gets that crucial edge to the slips. However, Anderson's two wickets were the results of perfectly flighted deliveries and showed why he remains one of the top swing bowlers in the world.

After stumps, Broad likened the pair to Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough, in that they offered contrasting styles. One was tall, one relatively short. One extracted bounce and seam, the other swung the ball and was more 'skiddy'. Caddick was considered freakily tall back in the '90s but at 6 feet 5 he wouldn't raise an eyebrow these days. The Yorkshire favourite, two years younger, measured under six feet, freakily short in the modern game for a fast bowler.

It surprised me that they played only 25 Tests in tandem, well short of the 68 featuring both Anderson and Broad. All bar four of Broad's Tests have been shared with Anderson and, while Broad has produced some eye-catching match statistics in the past few years, the Burnley-born bowler has delivered two more five-fors (13 to 11) and an extra 20 wickets (267 to 247). Jimmy burst on the scene in 2003 and claimed five in his first innings, albeit against Zimbabwe. However, injuries and loss of form pushed him down the pecking order and by the 2005 Ashes series, Lancashire colleague Andrew Flintoff and Glamorgan's Simon Jones had joined Hoggard and Harmison to comprise England's most feared foursome for decades.

However, Anderson has been reborn in the past three or four years, and is about to join the 100 Test club and overhaul Ian Botham's national record wicket tally of 383. At 32 he may not have too many years ahead and perhaps Broad could eventually catch him. Broad has a better reputation in one-day cricket and has been T20 captain. Yet it is Anderson who stands at number three in the ODI ICC rankings, behind Narine and Ajmal but above Steyn and Johnson.

Neither endear themselves to me. Feisty characters, often resorting to disgusting verbal onslaughts against the opposition, and no strangers to controversy. Thus the England reactions to the Michael Clarke arm-break sledge and the Jadeja allegation smacked of extreme hypocrisy! Nevertheless, when on song and in favourable conditions they are possibly the best new ball partnership in the world. I'd like Chris Woakes to bag a few wickets but perhaps his role is just to lull batsmen into a false sense of security before A and B again get tossed the ball by Cook.

India would certainly love to have two such seam and swing merchants in their ranks, able to withstand the odd dodgy game and bounce back into the consistent groove which has brought them so much success. England's rankings have slipped since 2012 but with a series win against Dhoni's men looking likely, Broad and Anderson, with a little help from Ballance, Bell and Root, could well be on their way to challenging Australia and South Africa once more.

Dutch defend 100% record against England

While most eyes will presumably be focussing on the teams still competing for the trophy, I'll be interested in how a dispirited England will fare against near-neighbours the Netherlands in their dead rubber. The Dutch may never play Test matches but they have had a few memorable moments in limited-overs cricket, including a couple against England.

In the 50-over format, England enjoy a 3-0 record. Their first meeting took place at Peshawar in the 1996 World Cup. On that occasion, Mike Atherton's side suffered early jitters before Graeme Hick (104 not out) and Graeme Thorpe (89) powered England to 279-4. The opposition - featuring county players Roly Lefebvre, Bas Zuiderent and Pul-Jon Bakker - managed a respectable 230-6 in reply. They went on to lose all their group matches, including a hammering by the UAE, while England were knocked out in the quarters by eventual champions Sri Lanka.

Seven years later, in South Africa, England triumphed easily. A 20 year-old Jimmy Anderson took 4-25, then half-centuries by Nick Knight and Michael Vaughan steered the favourites to a six-wicket victory. Andrew Flintoff suffered the embarrassment of falling second ball to van Bunge for nought, but by then the game was practically over.

The most memorable ODI encounter between the nations came at Nagpur three years ago. Zuiderent was still there for the Dutch, fifteen years after the first, but it was Ryan Ten Doeschate who really shook England to the core. His 110-ball innings of 119 scared the hell out of Andrew Strauss' team and Anderson and Broad conceded 137 runs between them. All six England batsmen made decent contributions but it was Kevin Pietersen. of all people, whose slow scoring threatened to cost England the match. In the end, Ravi Bopara and Paul Collingwood had to thrash some boundaries to close the run chase with only eight balls to spare. Ireland went even further a few weeks later by actually beating England, but it was the latter who qualified for the knockout stage. Just as in 1996, Sri Lanka proved far too good on the day. The Dutch? That gallant effort against England was balanced by some humbling defeats at the hands of South Africa and the West Indies and once more they finished winless.

But let's get back to Twenty20 cricket. Here, the Netherlands have a 100% record against England! OK, it's based on just one fixture but it's a statistic the Dutch will be keen to maintain tomorrow. They have deserved their spot in the global limelight, achieved partly as a result of that tremendous onslaught on the Irish bowlers a few weeks ago. Of course, 20-over cricket is much more likely to yield a surprise; one six blitz and a few tight overs can decide a game. Alternatively, two sides can struggle to impose themselves and it goes down to nerve and luck in the final over. It was the latter situation on 5th June 2009 when T20 World Cup hosts England opened the tournament at Lord's expecting an easy ride against the Netherlands.

Jeroen Smits won the toss and put England in to bat. It all looked straightforward as Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright shared a first-wicket century partnership against an attack featuring Aussie-born debutant Dirk Nannes. Already in his 30s, Nannes was just starting his international career which was soon jettisoned in favour of one of the most successful T20 specialist spells of any fast bowler. However, he managed no wickets and leaked 30 runs in his four overs.

England racked up 162-5, awkward but by no means impossible to overcome. Alex Kervezee skied a catch to Broad in the first over but, slowly but surely, the Dutch advanced. Wickets fell at intervals, three to Anderson, and Ryan Sidebottom was just as economical. Nevertheless, when Tim de Grooth was dismissed for 49 in 30 balls, his side needed just 47 in seven overs. That brought in Ten Doeschate and he and Peter Borren kept the scoreboard ticking over for more overs. However, the Netherlands still needed seven from the last six balls. By then Tendo had been joined by bowler Edgar Schiferli. Stuart Broad was the bowler and, while he succeded in preventing any match-winning boundaries, he contrived to mess up a run-out chance and drop a difficult caugt-and-bowled. Schiferli faced the last delivery needing two to win. He got bat to ball and ran. Broad picked up in his follow-through and shied at the stumps and missed. The ball whizzed past 'keeper James Foster and the batsmen ran an overthrow to win in the most dramatic of fashions.

England certainly won't want a repeat, but if the future does prove to be orange, Ashley Giles, Broad and co will have faces of scarlet. The turbulent trials in Australia were bad enough but humiliation in Bangladesh will cap a forgettable winter for England.

2013 Test Cricket Players of the Year

For many, 2013 was about two all-time greats: Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis. Both took their bows from Test cricket, albeit in very different circumstances. The Little Master's departure was choreographed along the lines of a British royal wedding while, typically, the South African all-rounder signed off with much less fuss, a sedate century, his 200th catch and plaudits of cricket fans worldwide. But because neither really took the eye on the pitch, neither make my Test XI of the year. Indeed, it's not necessarily the best eleven players, either, and doesn't follow the ICC rankings. After all, Sri Lanka played virtually no Test matches at all. But for me the team are those who produced the most consistent run-scoring, wicket-taking, etc at the top level during 2013.

It wasn't a great year for openers. David Warner and Alastair Cook probably scored more runs than anybody else in this position but both had very mixed years. I have therefore plumped for two men currently in opposition and who played relatively few matches. Graeme Smith continues to be a successful skipper and run maker for the world's number one ranked team, South Africa, while Murali Vijay has made some decent scores against boh Australia and South Africa. He can also bowl a few overs to keep the attack leaders fresh.

Candidates for the middle-order are much thicker on the ground. Dhawan and Rutherford made sensational debuts last winter, Ian Bell had a superb home Ashes series, Virat Kohli finally demonstrated the maturity to excel at the most demanding form of cricket and Hashim Amla also averaged more than 50. However, none manage to squeeze into my team of the year. Instead, I have included India's number three, Cheteshwar Pujara. Besides amassing huge innings in domestic cricket, he contributed more than 800 runs and, at the time of writing, three hundreds for the national cause. First defeated, then victorious Ashes captain Michael Clarke was one of only two batsmen to compile more than 1000 Test runs in the calendar year (Bell being the other) whilst coping with the considerable mental pressures of leading his side in the most gruelling of series. New Zealand's Ross Taylor marked his return to the fold with centuries in three successive Tests against the West Indies. Then there's the incomparable AB De Villiers. Officially the best Test and ODI batsman in the world, AB has delivered almost a thousand runs at an average of 90+, whilst taking the gloves. He's hardly ever off the field of play!

Nevertheless, I want a specialist wicketkeeper in my team and Brad Haddin's combination of glovework and vital lower-order runs throughout the year, at the age of 36, fit the bill superbly.

The retirement of Kallis hits home the dearth of international all-rounders in the modern game. I can think of nobody in Tests capable of delivering match-winnng batting and bowling on any consistent scale. Vernon Philander may have the potential and Ravi Ashwin hit 124 against the Windies at Kolkata a few months ago. However, Ashwin earns his place for his spin demolition of Australia and the Windies. Will he be able to reproduce such form on away pitches, I wonder?

Watching him and his hapless team-mates struggling in Australia in the past few weeks, it is har to remember the impact Stuart Broad made earlier in 2013. He has by far the most Test wickets in the year (62), including five five-fors, and all atr an average of 25.80. When he's poor, he looks very average but when the modd and fancy takes him, he is almost unplayable. Even Jimmy Anderson was knocked from his pedestal as England's best bowler. The contrast with Mitchell Johnson is stark. His career having hit the doldrums after previous Ashes horrors, he stormed back with a vengeance to destroy English hopes and batting with a twirl of a new moustache and a renewed line in aggression. He claimed 34 wickets in only six Tests at under 18 apiece. His colleague Ryan Harris would have joined him but for a certain Mr Dale Steyn. He may have been displaced at the top of the ICC tree by Philander but he continued to exude skill and venom on the friendliest of batting pitches, amassing 48 wickets (with a day to go). Like Johnson, his average sits below 18 and his economy rate of 2.49 is one of the best around of the major wicket-takers.

If my Team of the Year has to play on a pitch requiring five front-line bowlers, then I'd drop Haddin for New Zealand's left-arm seamer Trent Boult, who took 46 wickets at 25 against a range of opposition, home and away. No Pakistanis make the XI but I hope their dominance of my ODI side of the year is adequate compensation!

To summarise, here is the Test Team of 2013: Smith (SA), Vijay (Ind), Pujara (Ind), Clarke (* Aus), Taylor (NZ), De Villiers (SA), Haddin (+ Aus), Ashwin (Ind), Broad (Eng), Johnson (Aus), Steyn (SA).

My overall players of the year, taking in all senior cricket, will be revealed shortly....

Mitch sends Aussie confidence sky high

After yesterday's blog about the curse of Brisbane, Mitch Johnson's 5-42 was instrumental in maintaining the Gabba hoodoo for visiting countries. After ten winless Tests, Australia badly needed this victory and as a launchpad for Ashes revenge, a 381-run drubbing was almost as good as it gets. I say almost because back in 2002, the margin was 384 in favour of Steve Waugh's men.

That remains the tenth greatest winning margin in runs terms in Test cricket. Interestingly, four of the fifteen highest have come in Brisbane and eight in Ashes clashes. In 1928, an England side boasting Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Tate, Hendren and Larwood smashed the Aussies by an incredible 675 runs in the Queensland capital. A young Aussie batting at seven made his debut in that game but he was to be a thorn in the side of England, and everbody else over the next two decades. He was, of course, Don Bradman. At The Oval in 1934, he struck 244 and 77 to set up the second highest win of all time, by 562 runs.

Forward almost eighty years, and cricket is a very different game. Sledging, social media and hysterical hype have given the Ashes the feel of warfare, and the frontline trops have been happy to fire their share of verbal bullets. It's all a bit tame compared with the days of Merv Hughes, Rod Marsh and even Nasser Hussain's infamous welcome to Muttiah Muralitharan; "Here comes the f*!*ing cheat". Indeed, Michael Clarke was being perfectly hones by admitting there was "mutual respect" off the field, but he refrained from saying the same was true on it, too.

Of course, these are two experienced cricketing sides now very familiar to each other. Clarke v Cook, Pietersen v Watson, Broad v Johnson, Swann v Lyon, etc, etc. They may not share beers with each other any more, perhaps the odd punch. However, once the cricket started it was England who made the strongest start. Stuart Broad may be the world's most reluctant walker (apart from a few students I could mention!) but his 6-81 put the hosts in trouble before Brad Haddin and Mitch Johnson batted the side to respectability.

Broad himself said the pitch was actually great for batting, only for his team-mates to prove his words were just propagandist blather, sinking to 136 all out in the face of Johnson, Harris, Siddle and Lyon. Second time out, the restored David Warner continued his recent first-class form with an excellent 124 and Clarke put his back problems behind him with a brisk 113. Haddin made another half-century to set England 561 to win in two days. They didn't make it, and bogeyman Mitch was the pick of the bowlers combining consistent 90mph pace, aggression and not a little hostility towards Jonathan Trott.

No fairytale 100th Test for KP, nor a great personal debut for George Bailey but at least the latter could share in the post-match celebrations. Johnson was the rightful match award winner but all the bowlers could hold their heads up high. A stonking victory, and yet Rogers, Watson, Bailey and Smith could afford to misfire. England must hope that their own attack ups their game at Adelaide. However, recent games at the new-look stadium suggest the drop-in pitch tends to favour batsmen. Trott, Root, Carberry, Prior and co can therefore play themselves back into form. Cook is right to remind journos that there is time to fight back and retain the Ashes. However, the Aussies have the upper hand physically and mentally, so Adelaide will be a big test for England in the mind as much as on the field. It's one they can win and if so, they will take a lot of beating thereafter.