Ashes 2017-18: England save the worst for last

Congratulations, Australia. One more, they made home advantage count and duly wiped the floor with Joe Root’s tourists, extending the winning margin to 4-0 courtesy of an innings victory at a scorching Sydney. It seemed somehow fitting that poor Root was too ill not only to complete his final innings but also to attend the end-of-series presentations.  It also seemed appropriate that Root retired ill having outscored all his colleagues in the final game. One of the other two Englishman to leave with reputation reasonably intact, Jimmy Anderson, was left with the thankless task of trotting out the pleasantries and excuses.

When the Aussies amass 649-7 and then dismiss the opposition for 180, it’s a pretty conclusive result. I commented a few weeks ago that there wasn’t a huge difference between the teams but those words look woefully misjudged today! Steve Smith’s run glut obviously caught the eye but his four-man attack of Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and indefatigable spinner Nathan Lyon each captured more than 20 wickets. England managed to take only 58 in the whole series.

Both Marsh brothers reached three figures at the SCG while Cook, Bairstow and Malan were England’s only centurions of the series amidst generally pitifully low scoring. Anderson was the only English bowler to average under 35 and also led the wicket table on 17. Moeen Ali, Jake Ball and young Mason Crane each ended with bowling averages in three figures, and the Hampshire leggie was considered to have bowled well! Never mind; 25 years ago, Shane Warne was tonked on his debut, too, and I believe he went on to have quite a useful Test career.

So, in terms of Test cricket, what can Bayliss, Strauss and Root do to stop the rot? First of all – and this might seem perverse - they should forget the Ashes debacle Down Under. 4-0 looks – and was – humiliating but I don’t think any country would have beaten the Aussies this winter. England won at home last time and will probably do the same in 2019, with the likes of Anderson (if fit), Broad, Overton, Roland-Jones and Porter leading the attack.

Short-term, there are Tests to play in New Zealand. Conditions there will be more conducive to Root’s less pacey but perhaps more skilful seam and swing merchants, and the Black Caps don’t have Steve Smith in their line-up. I suggest that England don’t make wholesale changes. Give Ball, Crane and Overton another go but not sure about Tom Curran. He was only picked because of his Surrey connections anyway; certainly not on 2017 county form.

In addition to Moeen, James Vince was perhaps the most disappointing. His one-day batting seems to have matured as his first-class performances have declined. He wasn’t a complete disaster. After all, had Alastair Cook not produced that Melbourne masterclass, his series average would also have loitered in the low 20s at best. Malan and Stoneman must stay, but perhaps Ballance could have another chance to walk to the middle holding a bat instead of drinks tray.

At least England can say they pushed the Aussies into a fifth day every time, a modern rarity. The same can’t be said for India in Cape Town. Kohli’s world leaders played their part but, in the event, they were undone by South Africa’s fast bowlers, led by Vernon Philander. Only 760 runs were scored, not many more than Smith et al compiled in their single Sydney innings. However, unless you held unused tickets for the fifth day, it made for a good contest. Kohli’s men must be strangers to defeat but, on foreign soil, South Africa will surely look to reduce the ranking points difference between the two nations. AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn are back, and that can only be good for cricket, too.

Was draw a win for Dhoni or Steyn?

After 4.99 days of blistering Test cricket, it's a shame that the Wanderers Test opener may be remembered by one of the most negative cricketing displays since Trevor Chappell's underarm daisy cutter thirty-odd years ago. Having switched on the TV after spotting the imminent world record online, I was bitterly disappointed to witness such a pathetic capitulation to 'safety-first'. From the expressions of the home fans in the stands, I was clearly not alone. With South Africa needing about a run a ball from three overs with three wickets remaining and a decent batsman in Vernon Philander still at the crease, history was theirs for the taking. Perhaps more important for the hard-nosed management, it was a victory that would have maintained SA's margin ahead of India in the ICC rankings. Yet it didn't happen.

So whose fault was it? I can't criticise MS Dhoni's tactics at all. Once Faf du Plessis had taken his side to the verge of the highest fourth innings winning total in Test cricket before being run out by a direct hit, it was reasonable to expect Dale Steyn to be less comfortable against Zaheer Khan and Shami than Vernon Philander. Therefore to keep him on strike and deliver some unplayable balls was a good move. What was astonishing was Steyn's refusal to contemplate any risk at all, and Philander's lack of adventure in either taking the offered singles or taking the attack to the bowlers.

I can understand the negativity from Alastair Cook and it was argued that fear of defeat outweighed the temptation of going for the win. But they were eight runs from a world record, for heaven's sake!! The last-ball six put the tin lid on it!! Calm down, Mike. Take a breather and reflect on the preceding 430-odd overs. It was a match which pitched the top two Test sides against one another, and it lived up to the billing. There were wickets for Philander and the returning Zaheer Khan, grown-up batting from Virat Kohli, a masterful century from Pujara and last-day heroics from AB de Villiers which so nearly turned the tide in the home side's favour. In response to my question in the title, I guess Dhoni can take the greater pleasure from the result as his side didn't really deserve to lose.

As for Dale Steyn, it wasn't his greatest hour with the ball, either. However, everything is relative. Having led the Test ICC rankings for more than four years he finally ceded the top spot to team-mate Philander. Don't forget the older man's versatility; he is also number two in the ODI rankings. Speaking of versatility, AB de Villiers tops the table for batting in both formats, just ahead of Amla and, in ODIs, Kohli. That just speaks volumes for SA's strength in depth. Maybe Jacques Kallis won't be so badly missed when he retires after all, and his first-ball LBW didn't help!

Now for the Durban re-match on Boxing Day. With interest in the MCG action diminished by England's early Ashes wipe-out, South Africa and India can be expected to serve up more exciting fare. After the incredibly tight opener, I'm sure Steyn will be keen to get at Dhawan, Vijay et al. With Morkel injured, more weight will fall on his shoulders (and those of Philander and Kallis) but it remains a mouth-watering contest. Such a shame there are so few fixtures in this series. How many times have we said that in the past few years. Cricket needs more showdowns between the top sides. It was great to see these two in the Champions Trophy in the summer and I, for one, would prefer to see SA v India with the trurkey leftovers than yet another over-hyped Ashes clash. Bring it on...

First Class Cricketers of 2012

Kevin Pietersen made a lot of headlines in 2012, not always for the right reasons. It surprised me to see that he ended the year having scored more first-class runs than anyone else in the world! The tally of 1,932 probably owed much to his international layoff in the summer which enabled him to score heavily for Surrey, followed by a productive Test series in India.

England played 15 Tests in the year so their other top batsmen appear high on the list, too. Alastair Cook was in great form with or without the captaincy, accumulating 1,880, of which 1,249 came in England colours. Nick Compton started 2012 as an England Lions player, enjoyed a prolific start to Somerset's Championship season, spent months out injured then came back to play all four Tests on England's tour of England as a stand-in opener. His 1,855 runs put him third in the first-class list, averaging a very impressive 77.29.

Australians occupy the next three places. Ed Cowan has yet to cement a place in the national side but he played a lot of cricket, domestic and international, to score 1,784 runs in total. Michael Clarke appeared in barely half the number of first-class matches as Cowan, yet gathered only 16 fewer runs across the year. His Test tally of 1,595 was comfortably ahead of nearest challengers Cook, Hashim Amla, Pietersen and Trott, the only others to reach four figures in 2012. Chris Rogers is the only non-Test playing man to top 1,700 runs in the calendar year. His 2012 included a mighty 49 innings for Middlesex and Victoria, yielding 1,737 runs.

Like Cowan, Phil Hughes put in a good shift in all formats last year but in Tests, special mention should go to Shiv Chanderpaul, whose nine appearances for the West Indies brought him 987 runs at an average of just under 100. Mike Hussey can hold his head high as he faces retirement as his last full year for Australia brought him 898 runs at a shade under 60.

The most eye-catching stats for a wicketkeeper were AB De Villiers' 815 Test runs at 58, although he only donned the gloves after Mark Boucher's sad career-ending eye injury at Taunton in the summer. Matt Prior showed again how useful a batsman he can be, even at six or seven, accmuulating 777 runs at 39 for England. In all first-class games, only Sarfraz Ahmed dismissed more batsmen than Prior: 65 from 16 games in Pakistan. Hampshire's young 'keeper Michael Bates enjoyed a great summer, but needs to work on his batting to threaten Prior's position as England's number one.

Rangana Herath pipped fellow spinner Graeme Swann to top the Test wicket-taking table of 2012, with 60 in only 10 games. A shame none of his Sri Lanka team-mates could follow his lead. Anderson and Broad also took at least 40 Test wickets each but when it comes to all first-class victims, one Englishman stands head and shoulders above the rest in world cricket: Monty Panesar. His 102 included 33 in England colours, where he often outshone the established Swann, whose annual tally was 81.

Ahead of Swann was another off-spinner, Jeetan Patel. He didn't have a great year for Wellington or New Zealand but played a big part in Warwickshire's County Championship triumph, as did Chris Wright and Keith Barker. It wasn't a year only for the slow bowlers. Vernon Philander may not have matched his sensational start to Test cricket in 2011, but his 85 wickets in all first-class cricket placed him second in the world. A fair proportion of them came for Somerset, even on the traditional batting track at Taunton.

Jackson Bird's 70+ wickets for Tasmania and Australia A at under 20 apiece finally earned him an international call-up and he looked a useful fast bowler in the defeat of Sri Lanka in the dying days of 2012. Graeme Onions was also in fine form in an otherwise mediocre Durham side last summer, averaging a mere 16.24 from his 16 matches.

I haven't actually mentioned any genuine all-rounders. That's because 2012 didn't appear to be a vintage year for those who excel at both batting and bowling in the first-class game. Is this because T20 has channelled those with dual talents into playing in a way that simply doesn't suit longer-form cricket? Maybe it's just a blip!

If I had to pick first-class teams of the year, here goes....

ALL 1st class cricket:-

Cook, Cowan, Compton, Pietersen, Clarke(*), Pujara, Prior(+), Philander, Bird, Onions, Panesar.

TESTS: Cook, G Smith, Amla, Kallis, Chanderpaul, Clarke (*), De Villers(+), Swann, Philander, Anderson, Herath

One-day cricket to follow....

Player of the Week: Vernon Philander

After such a long time without a Test series, South Africa have really hit the ground running. Well, their fast bowlers have. The Australia games were certainly entertaining contests but this week's First Test against Sri Lanka turned out to be disappointingly one-sided.

Star batsmen like Dilshan, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were left looking like rank amateurs when faced by sensible use of pace and seam variation. The latter, however, was run out going for a suicidal run that, had Kallis missed with his throw, would have been his 10,000th in Test cricket. Not for the first time, AB De Villiers was dismissed in the nineties but this time a rash stroke sent him back to the Centurion pavilion on 99.

However, yet again it was a game for fast bowlers. Dale Steyn demonstrated what a master of speed and economy he is, claiming 6-54 in the match, passing 250 Test wickets en route. Nevertheless he was outshone by his teammate Vernon Philander. In only his third Test, the 26 year-old all-rounder claimed his third and fourth five-wicket innings. With 5-53 and 5-49, he went for more than four runs an over, but his patience and ability to find the edge at regular intervals not only earned him the Man of the Match award but also my Player of the Week.

Elsewhere in the world of cricket, Danish Kaneria notched his 1000th first-class wicket of his career and in Ahmedabad two players scored double-centuries. One came from Abhinav Mukund but the other was scored for Gujarat by 21 year-old Manprit Juneja on his first-class debut! Quite an achievement! However, I have stuck with Philander for the performance of the week. He is looking an excellent signing for Somerset for the first part of the 2012 summer.