My Hundred: The Final Five

5: Joel Garner

The West Indies record books will rightly laud the wicket-taking achievements of Marshall, Walsh and Ambrose but it could be argued that Joel Garner was the superior all-round bowler. Somerset scouted him from League cricket in 1977 when he was already 24 and pretty soon not only was he making a huge impression in county cricket but also as part of the West Indian pace battery.

At 6 feet 8, his name was rarely mentioned without being accompanied by ‘giant’. It might not seem so exceptional these days but forty years ago he seemed freakishly tall. I recall standing next to him in 1981 on the Bath outfield during a pre-match warm-up and, when he released the ball, feeling I was in the company of an alien being, such was his height. Of course ‘Big Bird’ used those formidable wings to great effect, generating unlikely bounce off a length and considerable pace from a short, loping run-up. Add in his unplayable yorkers and he had the perfect game for one-day cricket in particular. He was sensational for Somerset in their glory years but his career highlight was probably that explosive 5-39 in the ’79 World Cup Final.  Imagine what he would have been like as a ‘death’ bowler in Twenty20! 

4: Dennis Lillee

In a decade famed for its aggressive fast bowlers steaming in from a forty-metre run, Dennis Lillee was the original and best of the lot. With straggly locks and that moustache, his was the defining image from the 1972 Ashes series when I was just 11. A stress fracture of the back almost ended his career a year later but then, reining in the pace a touch, he was paired with a young tearaway Jeff Thomson on home territory against England with predictable results.

I remember anticipating the pair in the inaugural World Cup but neither really prospered in one-dayers where containment was just as important as taking wickets and scaring batsmen shitless. I never saw him in the flesh but he grew in my affections  during the ‘Botham’s Ashes’ summer of ’81. Notably slower and that hair somewhat thinner and controlled by coloured headbands, he was the epitome of control, seam and swing. With Terry Alderman at the other end, Lillee took 39 wickets yet still finished on the losing side. His total of 355 Test victims was a world record at the time, captured in only 70 matches. Yes, he could be a temperamental so-and-so but Dennis the menace was one of the most delightful bowlers to watch. 

3: Clive Lloyd

Watching him on the News in January 1984 sloping off the SCG pitch, bat raised in gratitude, having made 72 in his farewell Test innings I had tears in my eyes. The Windies lost that game but, as so often during his 12-year captaincy, they won the series. As with Dennis Lillee I had to enjoy Clivey’s performances on a 24-inch TV screen but he was often on show, not only during the West Indies’ four-year tour cycle but also in between batting for an excellent Lancashire side.

It’s hard to reconcile the big-shouldered brooding presence in the slips towards the end of his career with the slender panther-like covers fielder of the early-Seventies. His athletic pick-up and throw was a thing of beauty, just as his hooking and pulling of anything short was thrilling to witness. The 1975 World Cup Final was a defining moment in my cricket education, and  the indisputable Man of the Match was Windies captain Clive Lloyd. I was furious at having to attend Dad’s school fete that afternoon because it meant missing most of Lloyd’s outstanding 85-ball century. Then, with the Aussies needing to accelerate during their run chase his part-time bowling produced the most economical figures, 1-38, in the whole match. He was incredible. The twenty-first century era has given us some marvellous entertainers but, when on song, none could ever match Clive Lloyd. 

2: Marcus Trescothick

Back in the mid-Nineties, Dad and I began to notice a young Somerset batsman proving extremely good value in Fantasy Cricket. As the decade progressed so did his valuation. Prolific for England Unfer-19s he was 24 by the time the senior call came his way. From that moment on, Somerset didn’t get to see much of Tres as he scooped a central contract and made his mark as first-choice opener in both Tests and ODIs. Sadly, several years of intensive cricket a home and abroad were taking their toll.

I was unimpressed when Marcus suddenly pulled out of the 2006 India tour with no explanation. Back then, mental illness was simply swept under the carpet so it was only reading his heartfelt autobiography Coming Back to Me that I appreciated what he was really going through. International retirement wasn’t far away and he couldn’t even face flying overseas with Somerset. Fortunately, England's loss was Taunton's gain and he remained a stalwart batsman for the county for another ten years, breaking all sorts of records as run-maker and slip fielder, delaying retirement until we won that elusive first Championship crown. By 2019, aged 44, he finally gave up! He may have sported number 2 on his back but he will always be Somerset’s number one. 

1: Viv Richards

King Viv never matched Trescothick for longevity and consistency but for sheer excitement, panache and arrogance Somerset has never experienced anything like the Antiguan. He won the very first cricket match I ever attended with a six into the river at Chelmsford in May ’75 and I was at the same ground sixteen years later to witness his final day as West Indies county tourist. That month I watched him on TV walk out to a warm ovation in his farewell Test at The Oval, tears in my eyes and maybe a few in his, too, although he rarely showed any emotion on the pitch. 

In the 1975 World Cup Final it was his electric fielding which stood out but a year later he was astonishing for the West Indies with the bat. He was everything you’d want to see as a cricket fan: charismatic and a thrillingly inventive and brutal stroke maker. He won so many matches almost single-handed, including both domestic and World cup finals, I wonder what else he would have achieved in the T20 era. To be honest, he didn’t always appear to give 100% in run-of-the-mill county fixtures and I supported Somerset for dropping him in ’85.  Nevertheless Viv is not only my all-time favourite cricketer but also my personal icon of any sport.

The Hundred: 30 to 21

30: Anya Shrubsole

As a child, I was aware of Rachel Hayhoe-Flint and her fellow posh girls in skirts but it was only about ten years ago when women’s cricket broke through and turned pro. One of the biggest names to emerge from England’s youthful set-up was Anya Shrubsole, I suppose I was especially interested because she’s from Somerset but her medium-pace bowling was famed for its economy, especially in limited-overs, and she took 4-11 in the Ashes T20 finale  I watched in Cardiff five years ago. Her 6-46 effectively won England the World Cup in 2017.

29: Hashim Amla

There’s something almost supernatural watching a batsman oozing elegance, compiling runs by means of technical excellence, timing, finding the gaps, knowing when to play and when to leave. For several years, Hashim Amla seemed to epitomise such cricketing wizardry. He was close to international retirement when I saw him struggle for fluency against Afghanistan in last year’s World Cup at Cardiff but several years earlier he was probably the finest ODI and Test batsman in the world. I also found it immensely satisfying watching a devout Muslim succeeding in South Africa, a nation which for so long treated such people as 2nd-class citizens. 

28: John Snow

In the early 1970s, genuinely quick bowlers with attitude were usually associated with Australia or the West Indies. However, England had its own fiery fast man in John Snow. He was constantly in trouble with umpires and authorities and I remember in 1971 disliking him intensely for deliberately barging Gavaskar to the ground and slinging his bat towards him. However, in time I came to appreciate his bowling and in the back garden I would copy his bowling action more than anyone’s.

27: Craig Overton

Pace bowlers have traditionally struggled on the flat Taunton pitches but in the early Noughties along came not one but two extremely promising teenagers from North Devon: Craig and Jamie Overton. As twins they were pretty much indistinguishable and, based on the names printed on their shirts, I dubbed them ‘Coverton’ and ‘Joverton’. The former has proved himself the most consistent, in form and fitness, and so gets the nod over his twin, although both have been superb so far this year. Unlike Jamie, Craig has thankfully signed a new contract with Somerset. 

26: Malcolm Marshall

However, when it comes to high-class quicks, surely none can measure up to Malcolm Marshall. Like Snow, he was sub-six feet tall but could generate fearsome pace off even a short curving run-up, delivering perfect bouncers, yorkers, seam or swing apparently at will. His first-class career bowling average was an extraordinary 19.10 and barely 20 in Tests where he often bowled first-change for the West Indies. He also took over a thousand wickets for Hampshire and, 21 years after his tragic death from cancer, he is remembered as one of the greatest fast bowlers - ever. 

25: Zaheer Abbas

In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, the bespectacled Pakistani was probably the most prolific batsman in county cricket, and that includes the likes of Boycott, Richards and Lloyd. Glancing at the weekly averages in the newspaper, Zaheer Abbas would inevitably appear near the top, with few others able to beat his aggregate of runs and centuries. I saw him play for Gloucestershire only once, making just 8 in a 1981 Sunday League clash, but I’d love to have witnessed him in his Championship or Test pomp. With the red ball, I’d rate him above Miandad and Inzamam any day. 

24: Mike Procter

Coincidentally, Mike Procter also played in that 40-over game at Bath, top-scoring with 91, but he was a different kind of Gloucestershire legend. Robbed of international cricket throughout the ‘70s, the South African bestrode the county game like a colossus, definitely one of the best all-rounders of his generation. He struck 48 first-class hundreds and claimed well over 1,000 wickets, with a mix of off-spin and whirlwind pace delivered with a distinctive ‘wrong-foot’ chest-on action. I also loved his easy-going attitude at a time when the game was going through major changes. 

23: Geoff Boycott

When it comes to love-hate characters in cricket, Boycott was possibly the most Marmite of them all – and still is. He played up to the forthright, bloody-minded Yorkshire stereotype as player and commentator but on the pitch his prolific run-scoring simply had to be admired. His career aggregate of 48,426 first-class runs, most of them for his county, will surely never again be surpassed. I remember vividly when at Leeds in ’77 for England he struck that boundary through mid-on to register his 100^th ton, an emotional moment, and not just for Boycott himself. 

22: Saeed Anwar

One of the finest innings I remember witnessing live was the 102 completed by Saeed Anwar for the Pakistan tourists against Essex one warm August afternoon in 1996. The left-handed opener reeled off a series of crisp drives, cuts and pulls  to delight purists like me, and his strokeplay proved easy on the eye in countless Tests and ODIs during the Nineties, notably in his 146-ball 194 against India in ’97. He was also unusual in that his Test record is better outside Pakistan than at home. 

21: Aravinda de Silva

When Sri Lanka announced themselves as a major force on cricket’s global stage by winning the 1996 World Cup, Aravinda De Silva was the undisputed Man of the Match in the final, taking 3-42 and steering his side to victory with an unbeaten 107. I saw him score an unremarkable 42 at Lord’s in a one-off Test in 1991 but I always enjoyed watching him bat. I hadn’t realised he was shorter than me - after all, most of the Sri Lankan side back then were vertically-challenged – but it was Aravinda’s carefree approach to batting and ready smile which were his most endearing traits.

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.

Sir Everton Weekes RIP

As a child I would often peruse the delicate pages of Dad’s battered cloth-covered 1951 edition of the Wisden almanac. Obviously a statistical anorak before even leaving junior school I would be mesmerised by scorecards, tables of batting and bowling averages and contemporary cricket records of all kinds.

I wasn’t interested in the articles or even the brief reviews of the matches; it was all about the names, the runs, wickets and so on. No matter that it all related to an era more than a decade before I’d been born. Perhaps that was part of its appeal, an historical work of reference encapsulating a cricketing summer from the mists of time when even Dad was a mere undergraduate at Southampton University.

Besides the County Championship (no professional one-day cricket in those days) - which resulted in a tie between Surrey and Lancashire – there was an extensive series of games involving the touring West Indies side played against counties, in addition to four Test matches. As a big fan of Caribbean cricketers in my own time, I would wonder what it would be like to witness them play, to bring back to life the contests between the spinners Ramadhin and Valentine and England’s Hutton, Washbrook, Compton and co.

The name at the top of most batting tables that year was ED (Everton De Courcey) Weekes, who this week died at the age of 95. Apart from a few flashes of black-and-white newsreel, his performances will live only in the minds of spectators and contemporary newspaper reports which is a shame. Dad would tell me about the legendary Three ‘W’s, Walcott, Worrell and Weekes, who comprised a formidable Windies middle-order as devastating as anything before or since.

Back then, the West Indies were not a notable cricketing force. Constantine and Headley had made names for themselves pre-war but relied on contracts with Yorkshire and Lancashire leagues to earn a living for at least part of the year. It was also an era when black players were not allowed to captain the West Indies, nor could professionals lead England. Strictly for amateurs, dear boy, think of the old school tie. When the 1950 side recovered from an early reverse at Old Trafford to crush England 3-1, attitudes had to change and they did.

Weekes wasn’t a big bloke, but by all accounts a powerful right-handed stroke-maker. The 1951 Wisden noted his four double-hundreds and a triple in that single summer although he was less dominant in the Tests, despite averaging 56. Throughout the 1950 tour he racked up an incredible 2,310 runs at almost 80 plus a shedload of catches. If there could be a leading man in a reference book, ED Weekes was the undoubted star of that Wisden.

He set other records in his relatively short career. Nobody has bettered his run of seven successive Test 50s, nor has anyone matched his sequence of five consecutive centuries, which would have been extended had he not been controversially run out for 90 when in sight of the sixth! Playing for Bacup in Lancashire he ended the 1954 season with a batting average of 158 and more than fifty wickets to his name. He’d probably have made a great wicketkeeper, too.

The globalisation of professional cricket in recent years makes Weekes’ run aggregates look rather puny but to this day only seven men have retired with a superior Test average than his 58.61. Not Tendulkar, not Lara, not Ponting. As with Bradman, Sobers, Richards, Lloyd and Lara, I wonder what Sir Everton, belatedly knighted in 1995, would have achieved in the age of Twenty20.

His prowess in the sporting arena also enabled political and social change beyond the boundary rope, both in his native Barbados and in the wider Caribbean. He was also not afraid to speak out against the disgusting racist regimes of Rhodesia and South Africa in the ‘60s. Amazingly, his was a natural talent, self-taught in poverty-stricken Saint Michael, but after retirement he would be a successful coach, match referee and commentator, besides a resected public servant in Barbados.

I admit I hadn’t realised he was still alive but it’s reassuring to know that aft the time of his deathhis name still means something in these days of million-dollar auctions, and doesn’t simply reside in a crumbling seventy year-old Wisden volume in my attic.

2019 World Cup Preview

After twenty years, the Cricket World Cup is coming home to the UK. Hurrah! The trophy may have been over here on tour several times this decade but of course it has never been hoisted with pride by an England captain. In 1979, Mike Brearley’s chance collapsed in the final when his side lost their last eight wickets for just eleven runs, most of them to West Indian Joel Garner. In 1999, Alec Stewart’s squad failed to escape even the first group stage and Australia went on to claim the title.

Everyone seems convinced that 2019 is surely England’s time. They are top of the world rankings, playing on home soil and playing with great confidence. They are awash with potential batting match-winners, from Buttler to Bairstow, Roy to Root, plus the accelerated qualification and selection of Jofra Archer improves the bowling attack immeasurably. However, two words ring alarm bells: Champions Trophy. Two summers ago, the home team were equally hot favourites to win here and I watched with incredulity as Pakistan outplayed them in the semi at Cardiff. Could it happen again?

The round-robin format and the deliberate policy of shrinking the playing area to favour the six-hitters will ensure that the best nations will reach the last four, eliminating the danger of the least well-supported or sponsored teams springing upsets. So it’s bye-bye, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. They are each capable of notching a few victories but that’s all. Nobody doubts the probability of England and Kohli’s India coming out on top, and the ICC marketing department’s dream final would involve this pair. They will certainly be the best supported. But who will join them?

Australia usually seem to play above themselves in World Cups and tend to be the pundit’s shoo-in for the semis. I could say the same about Germany in the football equivalent – and look what happened to them last year! The Aussies may have Smith and Warner back in the fold but I’m not convinced they have a good enough line-up to go all the way.

I would love it if their opponents in the last tournament, New Zealand, could finally fulfil their potential. They had their best chance in 2015 when Brendon McCullum was still in the fray but with Williamson, Taylor, Boult, Southee et al firing on all cylinders, they must be considered contenders. I rate South Africa’s chances less than evens, largely because I don’t feel that Bavuma excepted, the new crop are capable of compensating for the lack of form or fitness of Amla and Steyn and the retirement of AB De Villiers.

My heart says that a West Indies outfit containing the ageing Chris Gayle and the exciting 25 year-old Shai Hope will blast sufficient attacks out of the water to qualify but my head says they will probably finish fifth or sixth out of the ten. A significant factor could be the scheduling of their fixtures away from cities with the greatest Caribbean heritage so those unforgettable images of can-clanging West Indian Londoners inspiring those supreme Seventies sides won’t be repeated four decades on.

Finally there is Pakistan. Sarfraz Ahmed et al were unexpected winners of the last Champions Trophy and, despite losing the recent ODI series to England, they could beat just about anyone. I’ve been mightily impressed by batters Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman, and a fit Mohammad Amir is a match for anyone, but in the past they have thrived as outsiders rather than amongst the favourites.

I’m not optimistic that this year’s competition will be a vintage one. As with the IPL, most fixtures will have no immediate bearing on the overall outcome, which reduces the excitement factor. With every team playing every other, it will be another month before we have a clear idea of the likely semi-finalists. As with most twenty-first century sporting events, it’s all about maximising revenue. Inevitably there are some hotly-anticipated encounters, led by India v Pakistan on 16^th June and England v Australia nine days later, but I reckon the competition will crystalise around Old Trafford and Edgbaston in early July.

So, twisting my arm, who will the participants be? I’ll plump for England, India, Australia and Pakistan, which should bring great comfort to South Africa and New Zealand! I just hope that the sun shines – especially on the two matches for which I have tickets! – and that the World Cup will motivate youngsters to think beyond betting apps and actually take up playing cricket. The game in England and Wales definitely needs this legacy, although this could depend on whether or not Eoin Morgan is the man lifting the trophy at Lord’s on 14^th July. Destiny is calling…..

World Cup Memory Lane

Domestic competition and bilateral series are all very well, but everyone loves a World Cup, don’t they? In the past six years I’ve become rather attached to the alternative Champions Trophy, if only because the use of Cardiff as a venue has enabled me to tag along several times in person. However, with only the top eight  ranked nations eligible to participate,  it lacks the cache of a genuine World Cup. 

The growth of Twenty 20 has inevitably led to the format’s own global tournament every two years. However, for me, the only cricket World Cup that matters is the one based on official one-day international rules. That now involves fifty overs a side but when the Prudential Cup launched in 1975 the poor things had to play sixty. Too long for twenty-first century viewers but great value for teenage fans like me.

The ODI as a concept was very much in its infancy; prior to this tournament the total number contested by the six Test-playing nations was fewer than twenty. With a straightforward format comprising two groups of four, semis and final, the World Cup was easily condensed into a fortnight in June. All the more reason to relish all fifteen matches. Given that all twelve group fixtures took place on just three days, the simultaneous scheduling and only two available BBC TV channels meant that few were televised live.

To be honest I have no recollection of watching England sail through Group A against India, East Africa and New Zealand. The other quartet was far more interesting and it was Pakistan who fell victim to the Group of Death, their fate determined by a thrilling finish at Edgbaston. Despite the efforts of Majid Khan, Sarfraz Nawaz et al, the West Indies scraped home by one wicket with just two balls to spare.

Infuriatingly, both semis were contested midweek, so pesky school commitments precluded a full day’s feast of TV cricket. I expected to get home to watch the England-Australia finale so was staggered to find it had already been wrapped up. Instead of Lillee and Thomson, it was the little-known left-arm swing bowler Gary Gilmour who dominated, taking a stunning 6-14.

And so it came to pass that the inaugural final involved the Aussies and Windies who were becoming bitter rivals. It turned out to be one of the most memorable matches I’ve ever watched. Annoyingly, we missed the middle section – including Clive Lloyd’s magnificent century – because Dad’s school fete took priority. However, from Roy Fredericks treading on his stumps in executing a hooked six of LIllee to some fabulous run-outs by Viv Richards and premature pitch invasions near the end, all the game lacked was a nail-biting last-ball climax. Just writing this 44 years later sets my skin all a-tingle.

The next two World Cups were also hosted by England who still couldn’t quite make home advantage count. In 1979, I glowed with pride and wonder as my idol Viv Richards flayed England’s finest to all corners of Lord’s. That audacious match-winning flicked six off Mike Hendrick will never leave me an image of an alien beamed down from a planet where cricket was played on an altogether higher plane.

Four years on and Viv was at it again, part of a Windies side that was if anything even firmer favourites. They cruised to the final where the fantasy fast bowling quartet of Roberts, Marshall, Garner and Holding dismissed India for under 200. And yet this time the script was ripped up. Once Kapil Dev had pulled off a terrific backpedalling over-the-shoulder catch to end Richards’ menacing innings, Amarnath and Madan Lal completed the job and we had new world champions.

England’s monopoly on hosting duty was over, and the Asian subcontinent assumed the role in the autumn of ’87 followed by Australia/New Zealand in ’92. The time difference and for us, out-of-season scheduling, meant I didn’t watch much of either tournament. The sport was becoming more open, with the Aussies and Pakistan respectively, holding the cup aloft. Imran Khan’s moment appeared destined, achieved at the age of 39 in his very last ODI. The crumbling of cricket’s barriers was further illustrated in 1996 when little Sri Lanka shocked the world by beating Australia with an innovative brand of limited-overs strategy, and the skill of Aravinda da Silva.

In the summer of ’99, cricket ‘came home’, sort of. In fact, England shared fixtures with Scotland, Wales and the Netherlands but at least the premier tournament was held in our summer and our time zone. That said, I don’t recall watching much of it on the box. One exception was the India v Sri Lanka group stage game at Taunton. I was working in London at the time but our office featured a little TV set high on the wall. Someone – not me - had the foresight to switch it on just as Sourav Ganguly and, more surprisingly, Rahul Dravid, piled on a terrific triple-century partnership. I doubt much work was done that afternoon. South Africa were looking likely winners only to lose their heads in a climactic semi-final scramble against eventual champs Australia. Thus the competition introduced not only the Super Six and the white ‘Duke’ ball but also the unwanted ‘chokers’ label around the Proteas’ necks. Twenty years later, rightly or wrongly, it’s still there.

Things took a political turn in 2003 and the combination of eye-catching results (e.g against Sri Lanka) and fortuitous boycotts in Africa propelled lowly Kenya and Bangladesh into the semi-final stratosphere. For all the giant-killings, Australia were unbeatable and duly thumped India in the final by 125 runs. I caught a few late-evening highlights on BBC2 of the 2007 event, which featured an early exit for India (which prompted a change of format to prevent any repeat of such a financially damaging scandal), Ireland’s defeat of Pakistan, the latter’s coach Bob Woolmer suffering a fatal heart attack and a farcical final completed in near-darkness.

By Spring 2011, I was seeing Angie, who had Sky Sports at home, so in between her precious football, I sneaked a few glimpses of cricket at weekends. England’s embarrassment at the hands of the green-haired Irish was joyous to behold but it was also a pleasure to witness the concluding hour or so of the final in Mumbai. The decision to stage the World Cup across the entire Asian subcontinent, with Dhaka hosting the opener, proved a resounding success. For all the caring and sharing, it has to be said that from Sehwag’s brilliant 175 in Match 1 to MS Dhoni’s characteristically piece of perfect pacing six weeks later, the trophy had India’s name on it throughout.

The most recent edition saw another Aussie triumph although co-hosts New Zealand pushed them hard with their aggressive play. Ireland won more games than England, whose chances of progression were ended by Bangladesh, but I was disappointed that for 2019 the ICC decided to raise the drawbridge to stop the Associate nations getting ideas above their station. 

On the plus side, the tournament is returning to these shores. Consequently, subject to politics, personal health and that perennial enemy of cricket, inclement weather, the coming weeks will allow me to watch my first ever World Cup matches live in Cardiff. This time, top-ranked hosts England will start hot favourites but above all I look forward to enjoying the multinational atmosphere and exciting performances. It may not match up to the nostalgic aura of 1975 – Viv, Clive, Lillee and all that – but here’s hoping for a summer to remember.

Tourist TIme

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                            

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

Windies v England - ODI Cricket is a Funny Old Game

Chewing the fat over the completed one-day international series in the Caribbean, it’s difficult to make any intelligent summary other than – er – “Cricket is a funny ol’ game!”

Before the start of the tour, England may be forgiven for expecting to win the Test series and the ODIs with their hosts liable to nick the ever-unpredictable T20. So far it’s not turning out that way. Joe Root’s men were dealt a heavy blow to their collective egos by crushing defeats at Bridgetown at North Sound before Wood and Root inspired a consolation victory at St Lucia.

Then, in the past fortnight, the ODIs have thrown up a right topsy-turvy quartet of games. The first-innings totals have been 360 (WI), 289(WI), 418 (Eng) and 113 (Eng) with two successful chases and two failures. All very ‘even-Stevens’ and the Grenada washout ensured a respectable 2-2 draw even if it deprive the West Indies a chance to gain their first series win since 2014.

The first and fourth were entertaining run-fests which suited this world-leading England squad down to the ground. On Barbados, Jason Roy and Root hunted down a grand Gayle-inspired target with style, then at St George’s it was a barnstorming 150 in 77 balls from Jos Buttler, supported by his captain Eoin Morgan, which took the visitors past 400, no longer a rare occurrence.

Then it all came undone in the final fixture, as England collapsed against the short ball, notably bowled by young Oshane Thomas. Player after player perished to mistimed hooks, pulls and slashes, allowing the Windies to cruise past the finishing line like Usain Bolt in a field of primary schoolchildren on Sports Day. Instead of Bolt it was his fellow Jamaican Chris Gayle who reminded us what cricket will be missing when he retires after the World Cup. 77 in 27 balls was sensational even by Gayle’s high standards. Add that to his previous scores of 135, 50 and 162 and you get an amazing series for the veteran opener. He resembles a maroon-clad statue these days but when he can slog 39 sixes in four innings, who cares?

As for that World Cup, I don’t think this weekend’s humiliation will have much of a bearing. England’s match pitches will be prepared nice and low to enable Roy, Hales, Stokes, Buttler and Bairstow to do their thing, and the hosts will surely progress to the semis at the very least. This series has also demonstrated that the West Indies have their best chance of success for many years. Gayle looks hungry to bow out with a bang and with Hope and Hetmyer showing promise with the bat and a useful pace attack, the West Indies look more than capable of mixing it with the likes of India, Australia, Pakistan and, of course, England.

Sri Lanka and England keep the Records Flowing

A few weeks ago I read with great interest Andy Zaltzman’s article for BBC Sport, analysing data proving that in Test cricket fast bowlers have been fighting back against the bat’s dominance. Innings of 500+ are becoming thankfully rarer and we’re seeing more sides bowled out. Kabiso Rabada has been a consistent performer in the past two years, averaging little more than 20, and Kemar Roach was irresistible against England.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that this comes alongside higher and higher ODI scores. When at Bridgetown yesterday the Windies fashioned an innings of 360-8, I bet nobody batted an eye nor wrote off England’s chances of hunting down such a huge target. After a lethargic start, Chris Gayle – now resembling more a genial Kingston tourist boat skipper than a sportsman - clubbed 12 sixes (out of a record 23 in the entire innings) in his 24^th ODI century, but Jason Roy and Joe Root each reached three figures in pulling, cutting, driving and slog-sweeping their way to victory with more than an over to spare.

There have been only two higher successful run chases in ODI history, both achieved by South Africa. In October 2016 at Durban, Australia won the toss and duly savaged the home attack. Dale Steyn’s ten overs went for a remarkable 96 runs as Warner and Smith made hay. However, David Miller’s unbeaten 118 ensured the 372 target was reached without too much hassle, albeit off a second-string bowling line-up. It’s now thirteen years since the grand-daddy of them all, when at Jo’burg, Herschelle Gibbs et al squeaked home with 438-9. It’s an extraordinary record but one which will surely be beaten in the next year or two. I wouldn’t bet against England doing it at the next World Cup.

However, the most intriguing record this month was Sri Lanka’s astonishing comeback, again at Durban but this time at the expense of their hosts. Bowlers had again been on top during the first three days and, when Steyn and friends had extended that dominance to have Sri Lanka on the ropes at 226-9, a South Africa victory looked assured. Kusal Perera, batting at number five, looked set to be stranded not far short of his hundred.

Most teams would probably have adopted T20 mode and gone for broke; if we’re gonna lose, might as well go out in a blaze of glory. Not Sri Lanka. New batsman Vishra Fernando played it sensibly while at the other end Perera marshalled the strike brilliantly. Not even a world-class seam attack could break the stand, and Perera steered his side to triumph by punishing the poor ball (five sixes) and keeping a calm head in a tenth-wicket partnership of 78. Such a stand was not only the highest ever in a successful chase in a Test, but in any first-class match. The previous best had come way back in 1936.

Perera’s innings of 153 not out must be one of the best performances of all time, especially in the context of current bowling pre-eminence. This is one record which could endure for many years to come.

‘Ordinary’ Windies Destroy England - Again!

Before this series started, Geoff Boycott described the West Indies side as ‘very ordinary, average cricketers’. In comparison with the Caribbean conquerors he faced in the Seventies, they probably are. The team languish a lowly eighth in the ICC Test rankings and ninth in the ODI list. Prior to Antigua, I had to scroll down to 33 before locating their highest ranked batsman, Jason Holder, and that followed his amazing double-century in the Barbados massacre.

After that humbling 381-run reverse, the consensus back home was that England had messed up by dropping Stuart Broad to fit in an extra spinner. For a side ranked in the top three, that hardly excuses such a dreadful batting display. Furthermore, since the tourists obviously learnt their lesson by reinstating Jimmy Anderson’s old partner for North Sound, how on earth did Joe Root’s team capitulate so meekly once more, this time inside three days?

Eighteen months ago, Holder’s men surprised everyone, myself included, by achieving a hefty run chase at Headingley. Hmm, maybe this lot aren’t so bad after all. And yet still the West Indies came into this home rubber without a series success against a top eight nation for seven years, and it’s only a matter of weeks since they lost to Bangladesh.

While the West Indies have resisted England at home for many years – and in 2009 they actually achieved a 1-0 victory – it’s not since 1988 that they inflicted a ten-wicket drubbing. That was the era of Viv Richards, Haynes, Hooper, Dujon, Marshall, Walsh and Ambrose, giants of the global game. With the best will in the world, the current crop don’t match up to the Eighties generation. However, with a series win already secured, Holder’s team should take a huge confidence boost. I feared that the T20 World Cup triumph would harm first-class cricket in the islands but the powers-that-be are gradually turning things around.

But what about England? They may well be licking their lips in anticipation of the ODI World Cup and Ashes, but they seem to have forgotten how to drop anchor when required. On most pitches, Root, Bairstow, Stokes and Buttler have managed to hit their way out of trouble and rely on Anderson and Broad to bowl out the opposition. Apart from Burns in the second innings at Bridgetown and Moeen Ali in the first at St John’s, nobody has lasted very long in the face of Kemar Roach and co. Compare and contrast with Kraigg Brathwaite, Shannon Gabriel and the recalled Darren Bravo, who toiled for almost six hours over his half-century last week. As Mr Punch would exclaim, that’s the way to do it! Respect, too, to Alzarri Joseph who persevered with the ball despite losing his mother the day before.

In the past few weeks England have been outplayed in every department and desperately need to grab a consolation victory in St Lucia to restore some pride. No doubt Australia at home will be a much easier prospect and for most cricket-aware people here, that’s the only contest which counts. However, all the best to the Windies: I really hope they can kick on and charge up the Test rankings. Roach is no Curtly Ambrose, Campbell no Gordon Greenidge and Holder no Richards, but if they inspire youngsters to follow in their footsteps, they can hold their heads high for the rest of their lives. Very ordinary and average? No longer.

West Indies and Bangladesh keep Test Cricket exciting

When the First Test was heading for a predictable massacre of the West Indies, I couldn’t bear to watch. Having been brought up on the exhilarating cricket of Lloyd, Richards, Holding and company, it was embarrassing to see their successors perform so lamely at Edgbaston. I didn’t have any higher expectations for the remaining contests. So I’d like to extend not only my congratulations to the Windies for winning at Headingley but also for restoring my faith in the Caribbean team’s ability to compete at the highest level and maybe even in Test cricket itself.

Despite Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach restricting England to 258 on day one, then Kraigg Brathwaite and Shay Hope each striking centuries to take a 169-run lead, my lack of faith in Jason Holder’s team was so ingrained that I felt they were merely delaying the inevitable defeat until the fifth day. England’s serene progress towards declaring on a second innings of almost 500 reinforced that prediction. Hardly anyone scores over 300 to win these days so how on earth could the Windies do it? And in England??

Blow me, they succeeded! Again relying heavily on Brathwaite and the younger Hope brother, they managed to withstand all that Anderson, Broad, Woakes, Stokes and Moeen Ali could throw at them. More catches were dropped but maybe these errors were creeping in not through bad luck but the pressures of impending home defeat to a side ranked five places below them.

When the opener fell on 95, the team were still 125 short. Would England’s ace seam and swing merchants wreak havoc and restore the natural order?

Credit to Shai Hope, he didn’t revert to West Indian type and take restless risks T20 style. However, they couldn’t shut up shop completely as they had to keep an eye on the clock. It would be disastrous to end on, say, 290-6! Hope dug in for his second century in the match but, on 246-4, Jermaine Blackwood reckoned he had enough wickets in hand to play an attacking role. He’d made 41 off 44 balls when, charging Ali for the match-winning boundary, he was stumped by Bairstow. Never mind, young Shai merely shrugged that off and finished the job.

What a fabulous finish! It wasn’t just the successful run chase, it was the way the Windies went about it. Remarkably, Shai Hope not only boosted his Test average from below 20 to nearly 30 but became the first person ever to slam two first-class centuries in the same game at Headingley. Not even Hutton, Boycott or Bradman ever achieved that, and here was an inexperienced 23 year-old doing something the world’s greatest never could – and in a winning cause. Brilliant!

Nobody should blame Joe Root for his declaration. Setting a weak team a target of 322 on the fifth day was a perfectly reasonable decision to make. It’s just that the opposition at last showed some commitment and courage to meet the challenge and ensure the Windies had their first Test victory in England since 2000.

And meanwhile, over in Dhaka, Bangladesh also turned the tables on one of the big boys, registering an historic maiden Test defeat of Australia. It was a close encounter in which the spinners were mainly on top. Neither side could manage more than 260 but in the end, despite David Warner’s defiant second-innings 112, Australia were undone by that man Shakib Al Hasan. He claimed five wickets for the second time in the game to go with his first innings 84. As the Aussies found to their cost, when the world’s best all-rounder is on form, anything is possible.

So what do this week’s results signify? Will the West Indies and Bangladesh repeat the feat next week? Despite their efforts in Leeds, I really can’t envisage Joe Root’s team succumbing again. It remains to be seen whether they persevere with the struggling Tom Westley but their second innings 50s probably extended the Test careers of Stoneman and Malan. On the other hand, it is by no means impossible for a resurgent Bangladesh to claim a second success over Steve Smith’s men. If saving the series isn’t enough, Australia have the added incentive of winning to avoid slipping to sixth in the ICC rankings for the first time.

I don’t believe this week’s results have any bearings on the Ashes but they have definitely demonstrated that Test cricket is thriving and deserves to keep its status as the number one format.  

Aussies Suffer, Windies Thrive

It’s been a refreshingly mixed week of Test cricket. First we had the West Indies gaining a consolation victory over Pakistan, and then the Aussies came a cropper at the WACA. After Bangladesh gave England a bloody nose last week, the sport is looking encouragingly open again.

In the UAE desert, Pakistan may have won the series, but Jason Holder’s visitors did at least show signs that they are not mere T20 biffers and bashers, but a team capable of competing with the world number ones over four or five days.

I can’t believe Devendra Bishoo is already 31 years old. The Guyanan leggie has had a topsy-turvy career, and this latest series was in the same vein. Abu Dhabi was a trial, but that second innings 8-49 in Dubai so early set up a brilliant victory. Two weeks later, another seven wickets did contribute to success in Sharjah.

Skipper Holder also played his part, but it was Kraigg Brathwaite who garnered the headlines. A Caribbean rarity, a batsman who has never played a single senior T20 match, he boosted his Test average considerably by carrying his bat for 142 then making an unbeaten 60 to help see his side home. I was amazed to discover that no other opener had ever finished both innings of a Test not out. How has that never happened before?!

When neither of your senior batsmen like Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels boast an average above 40, you know you have problems in the runs department. The pacemen aren’t exactly prolific in the wickets league either. Never mind, a win is a win. If only the Windies didn’t have the whole winter without a chance on building on the confidence this result should have given them.

Meanwhile, the tasty encounter between Australia and South Africa has served up a spicy first course in Perth, However, the home side must be feeling rather sick. After being stuffed 3-0 in India, now it’s the turn of a sub-par South Africa to extend the Aussies’ loss sequence to four.

There was nothing between them on first innings totals, yet neither reached 250. Faf du Plessis opted to bat, and SA slumped to 32-4. Only Bavuma and de Kock rescued them from a disaster. The Aussie reply was even more lop-sided. Openers Warner and Shaun Marsh put on 158, but the rest of the team collapsed for 86. The absent AB de Villiers wasn’t missed second time around as Elgar and Duminy shared a third-wicket partnership of 250 en route to a 500+ total. Even without the seriously injured Dale Steyn, South Africa couldn’t fail to dismiss Australia on the final day.

21 year-old quick Kagiso Rabada stepped up to the plate with a five-for, but the patient 40-over spin workload of Keshav Maharaj also kept up the pressure. Only Khawaja and Nevil passed 50 and South Africa’s third consecutive WACA win was duly achieved. Not since 1988 have the Aussies lost the first of their summer Tests and they have some work to do in Hobart.

Across the Tasman Sea, it will be interesting to see whether New Zealand can give Pakistan a challenge on pitches less conducive to spin. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka are enjoying a predictably easy game against Zimbabwe and then there’s a small matter of England’s visit to India. I don’t think it’s going to be as straightforward for Kohli and co as the British media are making out.

World T20 Finals - Windies Double Delight!

In the end, it didn’t really matter that Virat Kohli and India failed to make the World Twenty20 Final. The noise resounding around Eden Gardens as the West Indians produced an incredible finale indicated that a crowd loves entertainers; and for all their inconsistency, Darren Sammy’s team certainly foot the bill!

Yet the celebrations started before the West Indian men had even taken the field. It was some surprise when the women’s team upset the Aussies to claim the first trophy of the day. Meg Lanning played some typically cultured strokes and Elyse Villani matched her half-century en route for 148-5. That is often enough to win, but Stafanie Taylor’s team were not to be out-done. Hayley Matthews made a shaky start before unleashing three sixes, one of them 82 metres. She and Taylor shared a century opening stand but there was still work to do. Eventually, it fell to Britney Cooper to scramble the winning two runs in the last over, and the Windies had completed stage one of Finals Day.

I’d say it was impossible to call the winners of the men’s competition. West Indies had looked menacing throughout, while England sometimes did their usual thing of seemingly trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But this is T20 and any match can be decided by a single innings of brilliance, or even just one decisive over with bat or ball.

Sammy won the toss and probably had little hesitation in sending England into bat. When Hales, Roy and Morgan were back on the bench inside five overs, life looked good for the West Indians. However, Joe Root and Jos Buttler are no mugs, and never over-awed by the occasion. They lifted the score towards respectability before Dwayne Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite ripped out Root, Stokes and Ali inside four deliveries. The total of 155-9 looked distinctly moderate, but this proved to be a genuine contest right to the death.

David Willey kept both openers quiet in the first over, but it was part-time spinner Root who induced skied drives from Charles and Gayle to Ben Stokes on the long on/off boundary. Semi-final hero Simmons was lbw first ball, leaving the side struggling at 11-3. The experienced pair of Bravo and Marlon Samuels proceeded to do what Root and Buttler had done earlier in the evening, but Willey, Rashid and even Jordan managed to restrict the flow of boundaries until Ben Stokes was handed the ball for the final over.

Young Carlos Brathwaite was on strike, with 19 needed. Surely that would be beyond them. But Stokes’ first ball was poor, a leg-stumper allowing the batsman to hoist it into the stands. Then blow me, the second ball was almost identical; this time directed over long on. Stokes looked stunned, but a few yorkers and it still could have been England’s game. Ball three was straighter, but Brathwaite was in the zone; it sailed high and mighty over long off. Of course, Morgan had to bring his field in close but it wouldn’t have mattered had he been allowed to place all ten on the boundary because the match was completed with a fourth successive six!

Cue the now-familiar ‘Champion’ dance, not just by the men but by the women, who raced to the middle clutching their own W20 trophy. What an incredible way to end a competition!

Samuels claimed the Man of the Match award for his doughty 85 not out, but it was Brathwaite whose long arms applied the coup de grace to England’s attack. I reckon justice was done. Kohli may have been named Player of the Tournament for his three half-centuries but the West Indians had different match-winners each time and thoroughly deserved their success.

With the administration of Caribbean cricket in such disarray, I sincerely hope that the West Indies really do kick on from this momentous day, attracting not just the spectators and TV money (sadly vital in this day and age) but also youngsters keen to play the game. The men obviously lead the way in terms of earnings, prestige and marketing power, but I hope the performances of Taylor, Dottin et al also make a splash amongst the women, too.

As for the rest of the competitors in India these past few weeks, the IPL franchises might just be eyeing a few different faces for a change. In particular, New Zealand’s spin duo of Sodhi and Santner worked miracles but English batsmen Roy and Root must join Buttler in the ranks of world-class T20 strikers.

T20 is not known as a format for bowlers, but spinners Samuel Badree and Imran Tahir also enhanced their reputations, as did India’s left-arm seam veteran Ashish Nehra. It was a dismal competition for Pakistan and Shahid Afridi, although I note the skipper has refused to retire completely. Fair enough; there is more money and kudos to be earned in T20 but will he still be around for the next World T20 tourney?

For now, let’s simply enjoy the exuberance of the West Indian victory celebrations. It may be only T20 but such enthusiasm is so infectious!

New Zealand unbeaten in both World T20 tourneys

Apparently there are a couple of international cricket tournaments going on at present in India. An England are doing rather well in both! I haven’t seen much of either, bar the occasional 4-minute taster courtesy of CricInfo’s post-match online highlights packages which consist almost entirely of sixes and wickets. However, what’s interesting about the Men’s World T20 competition in particular is the performances of the leading contenders, good and bad.

Being the host nation, India would have been expected to emerge unscathed from the group stages. However, having lost the opener to New Zealand in somewhat embarrassing fashion, it took a special Virat Kohli innings to see dismiss the Australian challenge in the final Group 2 match at Mohali and see them through. Steve Smith’s side must have fancied their chances of making the semi-finals but, despite some useful all-round cameos from James Faulkner and the retiring Shane Watson, they managed to beat only Pakistan and Bangladesh.

In Group A, England have experienced a typical rolleroaster ride. Initially smashed by Chris Gayle and given an almighty scare by Afghanistan, they were rescued by Joe Root in an amazing run chase against South Africa, then Jos Buttler and fine death bowling by Willey, Jordan and Stokes to thwart Sri Lanka in Delhi.

West Indies had already wrapped up qualification by the time they fell short of Afghanistan’s meagre total of 123 at Nagpur, so this result, memorable as it was for the minnows, probably counts for nothing in the semi-finals.

For all the media coverage of Kohli’s match-winning 82 not out, Pakistan’s miserable campaign and Sri Lanka’s unhealthy reliance on Angelo Mathews and a few spinners, the real stars of the World Cup so far have been New Zealand. The only team with a 100% record, the Black Caps have looked typically ruthless in the group stage. And all their victories have come batting first!

Yet instead of the expected foundation built of Williamson, Taylor, Southee and Boult, their success so far has owed much to the reading of the pitches and the bold selection of spinners at the expense of the experienced seam and swing brigade. Will Sodhi, Milne and Santner strangle the England batsmen in the same way? Will the West Indian leggie Samuel Badree, along with Russell and the wily Dwayne Bravo pose a similar threat to India? The next few days will give us the answers. This is T20 so anything can happen, but I predict an England-India final.

In the Women’s tournament, New Zealand also won four out of four, even beating red-hot favourites Australia thanks to Leigh Kasparek’s three early wickets and Morna Nielsen’s impressive stats of 4-0-4-0! England skipper Charlotte Edwards has been leading from the front and now meet old rivals Australia in the semis. I enjoyed their Ashes contest at Cardiff last summer and so I’ll probably pay more attention to this fixture than either of the men’s knockouts. I reckon Meg Lanning’s team will gain revenge for that defeat in Wales and proceed to meet the West Indies in the climax.

England Fail and West Indies Rally

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

England win away at last

After the Ashes debacle and evens-Stevens series in New Zealand, yesterday's Test win in Grenada was England's first overseas since Kolkata in December 2012. No wonder Alastair Cook looked not just delighted but also a tad relieved. In that victory over India, it had been his own big innings which laid the foundations. This time the major runs flowed from the bat of Joe Root.

While it is undoubtedly true that the Windies are no longer the challenge they used to be, the England set-up should be pleased with their recovery from their World Cup woes. Root and Gary Ballance have passed 2,000 and 1,000 runs, respectively, in near record time, and now the skipper himself has notched a few welcome 50s.

Jimmy Anderson has rediscovered his mojo after breaking Ian Botham's national record and in the 2nd Test his 4-43, catch and run-out proved critical in halting the home team's progress onwards salvaging another draw. Jonathan Trott has returned to the side. Without much success but at least it will boost his confidence ahead of the summer Tests on home soil.

The West Indies have shown signs of competitiveness. Marlon Samuels defied the verbal abuse from Stokes and Anderson to produce a century and Kraigg Brathwaite also reached three figures in the second innings. However, the attack has lacked teeth once the ball loses it's shine, and the other batsmen, even the venerable Chanderpaul, have disappointed. Let's hope there's a more even contest in the Barbadoa decider.