Playing With Spin

While one pair of heavyweights do battle in Australia over the crown of Test Crickets best team, another pair of contenders for the crown begin their battle from Thursday.  While South Africa and Australia slug it out to be number one, India and England are attempting to get back on track after being deposed as number one.  In India’s case there is the additional incentive of revenge after England’s 4-0 series win last year ended India’s time at the top of the tree.

Gatting cuts during England's sucessful 1984/5 test series win in India

The strange thing is that both sides are at a transitional phase.  India has seen the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman since that crushing series defeat.  Dravid’s replacement is Cheteshwar Pujara, who has already scored a test hundred in his 5 tests, with Virat Kholi in place as Laxman’s replacement.  Kholi has already scored two test hundreds in his ten tests.  Still there though to guide these promising players is the little master Sachin Tendulkar, only on 15,533 test runs (at an average of 55.08) with 51 test hundreds to his name.  Virender Shewag will be opening once more, while the dangerous all rounder Yuvraj Singh returns to the squad after successfully fighting a rare form of cancer.

Also returning to the India squad is Harbhajan Singh, who will be key in spearheading India’s spin attack.  Yadav & the old warhorse Zaheer Khan will be the new ball bowlers, however it will be the spin bowling of Singh, Ashwin and the left arm spin of Ojha who will be key against opponents with a perceived weakness for spin bowling.

England also have team building issues of their own.  The retirement of Andrew Strauss opens up a vacancy at the top of the England order, with Nick Compton the likely favourite for that position.  There is still a position in the middle order up for grabs, with Johnny Bairstow favourite to retain the position he occupied in the latter part of the South Africa series, while they have injury problems with their fast bowlers.  Steven Finn is a doubt for the first test while Stuart Broad is returning from injury.  On the upside, Pieterson is back though one wonders how long he will stay in the right frame of mind for the test series.

It has been said before, but key to England’s chances of pulling off an unlikely win in India will be how their batsmen handle the conditions, particularly the spin friendly conditions.  One of the reasons that England lost top spot in the test rankings was their poor record against Pakistan and Sri Lanka last winter, yet here we are in a country where England’s record is not good.  Since the war, England have come away from India with series wins twice (3-1 in 1976/7 and 2-1 in 1984/5).  In that last series win, England posted first innings scores in excess of 400 three times.

Of course England could surprise us all and show a degree of adaptability which was hidden in Sri Lanka and in Abu Dhabi earlier on this year – as they did when they surprisingly drew in India in 2005/6.  I suspect however that this will not be the case, which is why India remain favourites to win this series

The South African's Are Coming...

One of the big problems with having a huge sporting summer is that it cam be easy to miss certain significant events.  The Tour de France, The Open and this summer’s international Cricket schedule already look to be part of a background dominated by Euro 2012, Andy Murray’s exploits at Wimbledon and the impending Olympics - not to mention the black hole that is Scottish football caused by the collapsing star that was Rangers.  Which is a shame as England take on South Africa in their biggest test series since…  well last years test series against India.  Quite why this crucial series is only a three test series is beyond anyone.  Why the series starts at The Oval (rather than being reserved for it's traditional series closer) can be put squarely at the Olympic Archery being held at Lords.

Graeme Smith on his way to his series clinching 154* at Edgebaston in 2008

England are aiming to hold on to their number one test status which they gained with that 4-0 series whitewash over India. South Africa as always are perennial challengers to the number one ranking, and are now in prime position to take over that spot with a repeat of their 2-1 series win four years ago.  Unlike India though, South Africa do have a potent pace attack and will be a better all round side than India.

Like India, South Africa have a very strong Batting line up.  Leading from the front will be Graeme Smith, on his third tour of England and looking to keep his unbeaten record after the series win four years ago and a 2-2 draw 9 years ago in his first tour here both as a player and as a captain.  He scored two double ton’s here 9 years ago and his 154* at Edgebaston four years ago clinched South Africa’s first test series win in England since 1965.  Opening with Smith should be Alviro Pieterson.  Batting at three will be Hashim Amla who currently averages 46.98 with the bat, while coming in at four should be the highly experienced Jacques Kallis.

Kallis is on his fourth, and probably final, tour of England.  He averages 56.78 with the bat.  Yet he has a poor average in England and only has one hundred to his name in England (132 in the Old Trafford Test of 1998).  Also part of the South African line up will be AB De Villiers, who after the untimely retirement of Mark Boucher will be taking over wicketkeeping duties.  The fact that Smith, Amla, Kallis and De Villiers are currently ranked in the top ten batsmen list tells you of the task awaiting England.  However, it is South Africa’s pace attack which England should be wary of as the tourists have brought their best attack since their 1998 tour.

Dale Steyn is currently rated the best bowler according to those Test rankings, while first change bowler Morne Morkel is at number ten.  Yet the most dangerous of South Africa’s bowlers could be Vernon Philander.  In seven tests, he has taken 51 test wickets (the second fastest to the 50 wicket mark).  Rather than pace, his forte is more very accurate line and length bowling with a knack of sharp seam movement either way.

You would think that South Africa start as firm favorites to win this series.  In truth, it will be very nip and tuck between the two sides.  South Africa start as marginal favorites, only because England have not hit the heights of 2011 just yet.  They will have to as this is a series that may well be decided by one session in one of the three tests, starting at The Oval tomorrow, a ground where South Africa have never won.  It could be that close.

Staying Ahead

It used to be that Australia and the West Indies were the toughest places to go and win a series.  That Sri Lanka is currently being talked up probably has everything to do with England’s desire to get back on track after the disaster that was the test series against Pakistan.  Tomorrow sees them begin that fight-back to hold on to their cherished number one spot in test cricket with the first test against Sri Lanka at Galle.

As has been commented before, Sri Lanka are in a post Muralitharan rebuilding phase – none of their spin attack has exactly stepped into the large shoes of the great man.  Yet should England feel any of the complacency they might have had pre the Pakistan test series (which the shouldn’t have anyway in no small thanks to Pakistan’s unerring capacity to be England’s party poopers) they should remember that the great spinners have a tendency to announce themselves against England as Warne (in 1993) and Muralitharan himself did (in 1998).  Having said that, Sri Lanka’s spin bowling options look to be built around the 34 year old Herath and the 27 year old Randiv, who should be able to exploit the spin friendly conditions in Sri Lanka.

It will be interesting to see though the effect of the test series loss to Pakistan on England.  Any team with ambitions to retain their position at the top of their game would be aiming to beat Sri Lanka.  Yet there is now this doubt about this England line up.  The bowling attack functioned well enough, with the addition of Panesar outshining the “number one spinner” Swann.  The problems came with the form of the batsmen, with the wicketkeeper Prior the only batsman having a decent series.  To this end, Morgan appears to have been jettisoned with a re-call for Ravi Bhopara looking to take his place at 6.  Bhopara last played in the Headingley Ashes test, having had a nightmare in that Ashes series.  He was however playing at number 3, when a lot of the Australian observers thought that he might be better off lower down the order.  That chance has come, if he can nail this position he would solve the problem England have had there since Collingwood retired.

That doesn’t mean that others are secure, Ian Bell and the skipper Andrew Strauss need to pick up their form in particular – Strauss hasn’t scored a century since the Brisbane Ashes test, but got a half century in the Sydney Ashes test.  Bell’s drought is not so deep – three tests since his 235 against India at the Oval – but looked alarmingly out of form.

England need a result in this series, a repeat of their 2-1 series win here in March 2001 would go down nicely.  Especially as South Africa are now right behind England in the test rankings.  With an expected series win in New Zealand (depending on what happens in the last 3 days of the third test there), South Africa will be looking to take over top spot when they come to play England in the second half of the summer.  It’s a true that getting to the top is one thing, staying there is another.  England are about to find out just how true that is.

Sporting Picks of 2011, Part 4 - August 1st

2nd Test; Trent Bridge; England (221 & 544) beat India (288 & 158) by 319 Runs

In the end, England were so ruthless in their dismantling of the No. 1 Test side that it was hard to believe India had been in match-winning positions twice in the first two days. Before the fourth day was over in Nottingham, England had secured the two-match lead they need to win the series by to move to the top of the ICC rankings. Their lower-order batsmen ransacked a hapless bowling and fielding outfit, before their fast bowlers demolished India with venom the Nottingham crowd hadn't witnessed since Stuart Broad's hat-trick (above) on the second evening. England had broken India and the upshot was victory by 319 runs, the largest margin in Tests after conceding a first-innings lead.

England were set on their way to test cricket’s number one spot with this win that looked unlikely at points of the first and second days.  Having won the first test by 196 runs at Lords, England went into this test days later as favourites for this test.  However India fought back on the first day, reducing England to 124/8.  Broad then counterattacked, his 64 helped England to reach 221 all out.

On the second day, India were setting themselves up for a large first innings lead, despite having Laxman and Tendulkar out early on in the innings.  Dravid was building a big partnership with Yuvraj Singh, when in the sixth over after the new ball was taken Broad picked up the wicket of Singh.  Broad’s next over saw him take a hat-trick – with the victims being the skipper M S Dhoni, Harbejhan Singh and Kumar.  Soon India had stumbled from being 267 for 4 to being all out for 288 – Dravid top scoring with 117.  Broad did most of the damage with 6/46 – his spell that included the hat trick was 5 for 5.  Day three saw England plunder 400 runs in a day for the first time in a test since day one of that Edgebaston Ashes test in 2005. 

Pieterson (63) & Bell (159) added 162 runs for the third wicket, Bell & Morgan (70) added 104 runs for the fourth wicket while Prior (73) and Bresnan (90) smashed 119 for the seventh wicket.  If India were not a broken side after that, they would be on the fourth day.  Not content with sharing a stand of 119 with Prior, Bresnan shared a stand of 82 with Stuart Broad (44) – before with half an hour to go before lunch England were bowled out for 544, setting India 478 runs to win.  It would be a target that India would crumble trying to reach.

M S Dhoni falls to Bresnan

Both Dravid and Laxman fell either side of lunch, before India subsided in a battery of short aggressive pitched deliveries from Bresnan.  Mukund, Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni fell to Bresnan as he picked up four wickets in the afternoon session.  An hour into the final session, it was all over as India fell for 158, Bresnan picked up 5/48.  England were 2-0 up in the series, but crucially they now had the psychological edge over India.  In the third test, India were put in and bundled all out for under 250 before England piled on the runs – with Alistair Cook surpassing his 235* made at the Gabba the previous winter by making 294 – making 710/7 declared.  For much of this test India had the look of a beaten side.

England were now the best test team in the world, and were playing like it (of course this is before they came up against their old bête noir’s Pakistan).  Judging by India’s performances in Australia in the recent test series, this victory is the one that broke India in more ways than one.

"Gentlemen" And "Players" - Cricket At The Crossroads

In amongst the tributes to the England All-rounder Basil D’Olivera, there was the re-telling of one of the most shameful chapters in English cricket.  The behind the scenes campaign (by the South African authorities) for the MCC (as the England touring party were called at that time) to tour South Africa was bad enough, without the MCC’s own version of twisting in the wind.  That D’Olivera came out of that episode and played a further 5 years for England is a testament to his fortitude.

As a sort of coincidence, there is a book out at the moment which deals with English Cricket from 1967 to 1977 and looks into the huge controversies that rocked English Cricket during this period.  Yes, English Cricket in crisis.  There was me thinking that English Cricket was (at least until relatively recently) in perpetual crisis.  “Cricket At The Crossroads” by Guy Fraser Sampson tells the story of this period.  As well as detailing how England played during this period – a time when between January 1970 and February 1973, England would (it has been retrospectively calculated) be the worlds best test team.  The book focuses on the three big crises to hit English Cricket during this period, the (it is alleged) class motivated sacking of Brian Close as England captain, the afore mentioned D’Olivera affair and the rise of World Series Cricket – or as some other wag put it Kerry Packer’s Flying Circus.

The book starts off by explaining the world of 1960’s English cricket, where there were the players and there were the gentlemen.  And more often than not, the gentlemen more often than not were from an English Public School background.  As Fred Trueman put it, quoted in the book from his own biography “As It Was” -  “Those charged with running the game and selecting England teams…  were former schoolboys who went to Oxford or Cambridge…  They looked down on the pros and considered an amateur with a cricket blue from Oxford or Cambridge a much superior choice when it came to selecting the England teams”.

It was in this atmosphere that the “pro” Brian Close was appointed England captain, succeeding the “gentleman” Colin Cowdrey at the end of the West Indies 1966 tour.  Fraser-Sampson makes the case that the appointment was a temporary one making the point that “the England selectors found themselves in the position of having selected as captain someone whom they had already discarded as a player, and finding that he had the knack of winning matches”.  One of the hallmarks of this book is the logical and almost clinical manner that Fraser-Sampson makes his arguments and dispenses the revelations.

A case in point is with the sacking of Close.  Close had been involved in a couple of incidents during a County Championship match at Edgbaston, just before the selection meeting to decide the touring party for the 1967/68 series in the West Indies.  The incidents, alleged time wasting and a bit of a heated debate with a spectator, were small beer compared to the events in the lives of today’s sportsmen.  Yet as Fraser-Sampson points out, Close was picked as captain for the tour before the Edgbaston incident was brought up.  At this point, the selection committee backed away from Close, and backed an alternative candidate… one Colin Cowdry.  Of course the conflicts of interest at play in this decision never made the light of day at the time.  However Sampson does an excellent job in exposing them and the humbug surrounding English Cricket at that time.  The past, as is pointed out in this book, is another country.

If there are a few people who emerge from this episode with their reputations intact, then Sampson ensures that save the late D’Olivera, no one emerges with their reputation intact from the next episode.  Sampson not only details the vested interests at play, but also the foul play indulged by BOSS – the South African Security Police – at the behest of the South African government. All of whom had different motives for ensuring that D’Olivera was not picked to tour South Africa for the 1968/69 test series.  When D’Olivera was picked for the tour, not as a first pick but as a reserve and then making the tour party following the injury to Tom Cartwright, the tour was called off by South Africa.  The picture painted by Sampson is one of ineptitude mixed with vested interests, all cocooned within the old boy’s network.

England beat Australia at the Oval thanks to Basil D'Oliveira's 158 (top right)

This air of, what an England captain of another sport would describe as “57 old farts”, permeates this book.  It was the past, it leads to botched fudged decisions.  Like the fudged decision on D’Olivera – one which led indirectly to South Africa’s exclusion from Test Cricket.  Yet as the book details, there were people not prepared to put up with this attitude for much longer.  The surprise battleground was the 1970/1 Ashes tour.  Having replaced the injured Cowdrey at the start of the 1969 season, Illingworth had – with the same chagrin of the selectors as was displayed during Close’s tenor – obtained the knack of winning matches.  By the time of that Ashes tour, England were the best cricketing side in the world, so the MCC attempted to undermine that by appointing a team manager from the same school tie mould as Cowdrey, Smith and most of the selectors.

Sampson’s journal of how the Team Manager David Clark and Captain Ray Illingworth’s relationship deteriorated over the course of this tour again shows the clash between the old order and the new ways of doing things.  One of the key reasons that the tour was a success was the willingness of Illingworth to stand up for his players, D’Olivera would not have made the tour for Illingworth, while his man management skills did not go down well with people who thought of themselves as Illingworth’s superiors.  By the end of the tour, the “Gentlemen” were marginalised while the “Players” celebrated regaining the Ashes.  Ironically enough, Cowdrey had such a miserable tour, his dropped catches enabled several players – chiefly Ian Chappell – to make scores and keep their places.  Chappel would be particularly grateful as he would be installed as Australian captain by the end of the mammoth 7 test series.

If the first 2 thirds of the book is full of excellent articles and is well researched, then the last third is a slight disappointment.  Most of this third is taken up with narratives on England’s test matches from the end of the 1970/1 Ashes series up to the 1977 Ashes.  That’s not to take anything away from those narratives, but there does feel as if there is a lull – at least until the TCCB bungled again by sacking Illingworth and replacing him with another “Gentleman” in the shape of Mike Deness.

In fact the book does not really pick up again until the 1974/5 Ashes series comes into view.  With the TCCB making all the mistakes they made with Cowdrey again, and with the knowledge Samson has provided, the carnage inflicted by Australia is really like the sporting equivalent of “Lions lead by donkeys” – a critique of the British army from the First World War.  Yet unfortunately there is a slightly disapproving tone towards Chappell’s Australian side.  Most of this tone is directed towards the Australian pace pair of Lillee and Thompson – essentially because Sampson believes that the Australian pace-men to be the harbingers of the West Indies pace men (like Michael Holding and Andy Roberts who were already in the West Indies team, and latterly the likes of Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh & Curtley Ambrose – who were all “decedents” of the West Indies 1960’s attack of Charlie Griffiths and Wes Hall) that would dominate the next 20 years of Test Cricket.

Surprisingly enough, the last scandal to feature in this book I feel didn’t really receive the attention it should have.  The rise of World Series Cricket revolutionised the game.  Coloured clothing for limited over internationals, day/night games, drop in pitches (which was an additional aid to the rise of the fast bowlers) and protective clothing were all innovations that came from this period.  The biggest change was towards proper remuneration for cricket professionals.  The part World Series Cricket played here was the issue that eventually ended the Gentlemen & Players culture.  While Sampson was thorough about how World Series Cricket came about, that essentially it was an act of revenge by Kerry Packer for not getting the broadcast rights for Test Cricket, the ACB awarded them to the public broadcaster ABC, and also recommended to the TCCB that the rights to the 1977 Ashes series should be awarded to ABC as well.  Sampson was not so thorough about the innovations or about how compromise came about after such an acrimonious dispute, which came to court when players sued the TCCB for restraint of trade.

In 1979, when Cricket began to come to terms with the split and people were tentatively looking at ways to heal the split, the world was ready for the next paradigm shift in attitudes.  Yet despite being in the middle of the end-game of the left-wing post war consensus – a culture was ending within cricket.  The old order of Gentlemen and Players had been comprehensively routed at the player level.  However it would take another decade or so before this mindset would be gone from the highest level of the game in England.  What this book does well is that it tells the story of the end of the world of “Gentlemen” and “Players”, and the beginning of the professional era of English Cricket.  It does a very good job of showing how this old mindset contributed to the major crises that gripped English Cricket from 1967 to 1977. 

In spite of Sampson’s attempts to paint a picture of the mid 1960’s social and economic climate, which struck a clumsy and stridently Anglo-centric viewpoint, this book successfully tells the story of English Crickets painful transition from the time of “Gentlemen” and “Players” and explains in depth the myriad of vested interests and school tie links which would be on the run at the end of this book.  “Cricket at the Crossroads” is an interesting and well researched book that is detailed about this turbulent period in the history of English Cricket.

England: The Best In The World?

England took a 3-0 lead in the test series against India today, a lead that ensures that England replace India at the top of the ICC Test Rankings table.  India have been top since December 2009 when, ironically, South Africa’s failure to beat England at home allowed India to over take them with series wins in Sri Lanka & Bangladesh.

Sreesanth c Pietersen b Bresnan 5, England win.

In truth this has been a disappointing series so far, India’s batsmen have succumbed to England’s pace attack while their bowling attack has been stretched by injuries.  England’s batsmen have been happy to capitalise on India’s woes.  Dravid apart, India’s vaunted batting line up has struggled with England’s mastery of…  er…  English conditions and making the most of swing friendly conditions.

England’s next aim will be to consolidate their position at the top, a position they last held in the 1950’s from regaining the Ashes in 1951 to succumbing to Richie Bennaud’s Australia side in the 1958-59 Ashes series.  Any team wishing to follow in the footsteps of the West Indies teams of the 1980’s and the Australia sides from the mid 1990’s onwards has to do two things, they have to beat their immediate rivals and win in the sub-continent.

For England, the next 12 months give’s them an indication of how long their stay at the top will be.  They are scheduled to play Pakistan (in the UAE & Dubai) and Sri Lanka away during the winter.  While these will be tough challenges in dry, flat conditions conducive to spin, completely different from the humid, damp swing & seam friendly conditions here.  After that will be a much tougher challenge.  Should India lose at the Oval next week, they will slip to third, their place taken by South Africa who happen to be touring England next year.

Of course, by the time South Africa visit these shores next Summer England might have consolidated their place at the top no matter what happens as both India and South Africa have tricky series coming up.  Both Australia and Sri Lanka come to South Africa over the winter, while India also face Australia who will be desperate to rebuild under Michael Clarke.

England has reached the top of Test cricket’s rankings.  However we are a very long way from finding out if this side is a flash in the pan or the newest team to join the pantheon that includes the great West Indies, Australian and England sides of the past that dominated cricket in their time.

Shooting For The Top

England’s 1-0 series win last month saw them consolidate their 3rd place in the Test rankings.  Starting on Thursday England will be up against the current top dogs in Test cricket.  India, for their faults, have a formidable batting line up, and will be the most formidable line up England have faced on home soil since the 2001 Ashes series.

31 July 2007: Dravid & Ganguly celebrate winning the 2nd Test at Trent Bridge

While India will be without the force of nature that is Virender Sehwag (missing untill possibly the third test), the Indian batting line up will still only consist of honorary Scotsman Rahul Dravid (12,314 test runs at an average of 52.40), Sachin Tendulkar (14,692 runs @ 56.94) and VVS Laxman (8,146 runs @ 47.36).  Tendulkar holds the record for most career Test runs, while Dravid needs 49 runs to move into second place (Laxman sits at 19 in the all time list, between Geoffrey Boycott & David Gower).  Oh and for all three, this may well be their last hurrah on English soil, a last chance then for the threesome to get themselves on the Lords Honours board.

Unlike Sri Lanka, India do have pace bowlers who have experience of English conditions.  Zaheer Khan & Sreesanth both played 4 years ago, when India’s win at Trent Bridge (above) was enough to win them the series (Khan took 4/59 and 5/75 in that victory).  Providing the spin options for India will be Harbhajan Singh, the right handed off-spinner who has taken 404 test wickets (just outside the top 10 on the all time list of test bowlers).  With all of that talent, India really should be comfortably wearing the mantle taken from Australia in the winter of 2008.

Yet India are still vulnerable away from home.  Their series win in the West Indies was not as dominant as you would expect.  Perhaps their eye has been on this tour and this test series.  England though are at the heels of India.

A series win for England will see them overtake South Africa as number 2 in the world, however a series win by two clear tests will see England dethrone India and see them occupy a position they have not been in since 1959, the best Test team in the world.  With the number 1 position to play for, and on the occasion of the 2000th Test match, this test series looks like being the most eagerly awaited test series since last winter’s Ashes series.

After The Ashes

While England have had a very tough winter with a glorious Ashes series followed quickly by a less than glorious World Cup, this summer though not so glamorous will be as tough, if not tougher.  Later on in the Summer England take on the World Cup winners, and currently Test Cricket’s number one team India.  Before that, and starting on Thursday, is the team England deposed from the number 3 spot, Sri Lanka.  This summer will go a long way to showing how good this England team really is.

Flintoff & Muralitharan walk off after Englands win at Edgebaston in 2006

Sri Lanka arrive on the back of that World Cup loss in Mumbai.  They have not won a series in England since Muralitharan spun them to glory in a one off test in August 1998.  Since then, England won a series in 2002 & tied the 2006 series, both of these were at home while they won in Sri Lanka in 2000/1.

Key to any Sri Lankan success will be how their bowlers perform.  Since the Wold Cup, Muralitharan has retired while Malinga has gone from the test arena.  Long touted as the heir to Muralitharan, this might be Ajanthan Mendis opportunity to step up.  More likely given the conditions, is the prospect that one of the Sri Lankan pace bowler will have to step up and fill the shows of Malinga, and of an earlier vintage Vaas.  Looking to be the leader of the pack will be Dilhara Fernando, he has the most experience and has at least played tests outside of Sri Lanka. Marahoof has also played test cricket outside of Sri Lanka.  However, overall the Sri lankan attack looks lightweight and inexperienced in English conditions.

If the Sri Lankans should be worried about their bowling attack, their batting line up is in good health.  Their batsman/wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara is currently rated the third best batsman in the world, just ahead of both Jonathan Trott (4) and Alistair Cook (5).  Mahela Jayawardena (8) & Thilan Samaraweera (10) are also rated in the top ten.  The only other country with three batsmen in the top ten is India.

Not that Sri Lanka are the only team with places to fill.  Paul Collingwood’s retirement leaves a space in the lower middle order.  First up to audition for that role is Eoin Morgan.  Morgan got his place by scoring 194 in the Lions tour mach against the Sri Lankans. He has so far played 6 tests (playing in all of the tests played last summer), averaging 30.00.  He surprisingly edged out Ravi Bopara – who has a slightly better record in test cricket despite a nightmare 2009 Ashes series.

The bowling berths are also still to be decided, with maybe 3 out of James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn making the team.  Finn might be the favourite to drop out despite being the top wicket taker in the Ashes series when he dropped out of the England team.

England start as favourites for this series, and must win to consolidate their credentials as the best test team in the world.  However Sri Lanka’s win in their warm up match against the Lions at the weekend has shown that despite looking like having a lightweight attack, Sri Lanka have got teeth.  However, if England’s batting line-up continues the form shown in Australia during the winter, there will be only one winner.

Some Summer Games…

The World Cup has been and gone, Wimbledon went like a flash and the 150th Anniversary Open Championship went past with no last day pyrotechnics.  All of which leaves us with two sporting events (bearing in mind the Commonwealth Games will be held in October) left before we can contemplate the beginning of the domestic Football season (and after that winter).  Firstly, there’s Athletics version of the European Championship’s, which is held this year in Barcelona and started yesterday.  After that though will be the four test series between England & Pakistan, which begins tomorrow.

Normally I'd be excited about the prospect of another test series coming around.  However an element of excitement has been sucked out by the Test’s only appearing on terrestrial television via highlights on Channel 5.  The majority of the laziz faire attitude to this series though comes from the fact that, like the West Indies, the current Pakistan team is not really the same as the great  Pakistan side’s of yesteryear.  The all conquering side of 1992, who arrived as World Cup winners the previous winter, who contained the twin spearheads of Waquar Younis and Wasim Akram, coupled to the leg-spin of Mushtaq Ahmed. In 1996 this was supplemented by the stellar batting talents of Aamer Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam Ul-Haq, as Pakistan won convincingly 2-0.

Four years ago, Pakistan subsided to a crushing 3-0 series loss (could have been 4-0 but for their no-show on the fourth afternoon).  Since then they have lost Inzamam and Afridi to retirement and Youssuf to fights with the Pakistani Cricket board.  Pakistan could easily resemble a car crash waiting to happen.  Except they inexplicably won the second test last week at Headingly against Australia, in Salman Butt’s first match as Pakistan captain.  Alongside Butt, the players to watch are Kamran Akmal, their explosive batsman/wicketkeeper and paceman Umar Gul (above, celebrating scoring the winning runs at Headingley against Australia on Saturday).  Their new ball pairing of Asif & Aamer have been much hyped, especially after their display’s against Australia.  Pakistan still posess the guile and spin of Danish Kaneria, who still resides in the second division of test spinners, behind contemporaries Warne, Muralitharan & Kumble.  Despite this, Kaneria is this squad’s leading wicket taker, and most prolific wicket taker among Pakistan’s spinners.

England though will start as favourites.  They have home advantage, and have had two notable test results in the past year, they regained the Ashes a year ago and also drew the away series in South Africa.  However they were so so against Bangladesh with two series wins which have been comfortable rather than crushing.  There is a vacancy in the England middle order, with Bell being injured.  Pieterson is still to find his form, while England are still auditioning for pacemen to supplement James Anderson.  With Pakistan having drawn a test series against Australia, and England due to tour Australia just before the World Cup, this will be an intriguing series.

Into The Lions Den

With some considerable irony, England jetted off to tour South Africa at the weekend. England might have won the Ashes, but as Australia fell off the top of Test Crickets ranking’s it was those South African’s who displaced them. This will not guarantee then a warm welcome though as England participate in the itinerary of 2 Twenty20 internationals and 5 one-dayers before the test series starts on 16th December at Centurion.

The contrast from 5 years ago could not be more stark, as England start as clear second favourites. When England last toured South Africa 5 years ago, they had won series against the West Indies (home and away) and New Zealand at home winning 10 tests out of 11. After winning 2-1, with wins in Port Elizabeth and Johanasburg, England would go on to beat Bangladesh and Australia in that series.

This time around, South Africa start as favourites, having won the Basil D’Olivera Trophy in England 18 months ago. They went on to beat Australia in Australia before being undone slightly by Australia at home. They have 2 batsmen in the shape of captain Graeme Smith (above - saluting his 154 not out which clinched the 2008 series at Edgebaston) and Jacques Kallis in the top 10 rankings. Crucially they have 3 bowlers in the top 10 rankings, the slow bowler Paul Harris and the paceman Makhaya Ntini are behind the current number 1 bowler in the world Dale Steyn.

England go into this series with an Andrew Flintoff sized hole in their team, with Stuart Broad looking the likely person to fill those Freddie sized boots. Kevin Pieterson should be back from injury just in time to play in his home country in a test series for the first time. Bizarrely both Andrew Strauss (who was player of the series 5 years ago - 656 runs @ 72.88) and James Anderson (who played in the win at the Wanderers) are the only survivors from that test win (Pieterson, Collingwood and Bell were in the squad and played in the one-day internationals). More worryingly perhaps is the lack of experience of hard wickets throughout the bowling. Anderson was in South Africa 5 years ago, and I think Plunkett might have toured Australia in 2006/7. Apart from that, the bowlers look too reliant on trying to find swing, which is difficult in dry hard conditions.

To sum up, South Africa will win this series, probably by 2-1.

Starting As The Last One Ended...

First Test, Sophia Gardens: England 435 & 252-9 drew with Australia 674-6 declared
So England escaped with a draw in the first test of the 2009 Ashes Series, despite only winning at best 4 out of the 15 sessions. In fact from day one England were in varying degrees of trouble. And it all stems from the poor batting display on day one.

Apart from Collingwood in the second innings, and Prior and Flintoff, who were dismissed by good deliveries by Siddle late on in the first day, none of the recognised batsmen did themselves any justice. Its more annoying that most of the batsmen got themselves in, and promptly got themselves out. The worst culprit here was Kevin Pieterson.

The guy is a talented batsman, but there are times where his concentration is not really test standard. Thursday was one of those moments where had he kept his head, then England would have been in a much better position and KP would have had another Ashes hundred. Instead he went at a wide delivery from Hauritz, and holed out to Katich. The form of the recognised batsmen, who could only muster 435 first time around on a flat slow pitch, is clearly the most worrying aspect fro the England camp. They were given a showing up by the tail-enders, who added 106 runs first time around and took England from 70 for 5 in the second innings. The form of the bowlers could be slightly excused by the slow flat nature of the pitch, but not that much. England’s bowlers need to sharpen up before Thursdays Second Test as well.

Not that England have all the problems. Despite the efforts of Clarke, North and Haddin in making the Australian middle order look at its most stable since the retirement of Steve Waugh, there must be real concern at their inability to kill a game off from 70 for 5. The sign’s were there on the second morning, when England went from 336/7 to 435. Australia missed Brett Lee, and possibly made a blunder in not picking Stuart Clarke, Metronome 2 as the BBC website text commentators took to calling him during the 2006/07 Ashes series. Ponting struggled at times to juggle his misfiring bowlers. Mitchell Johnson looked wayward, not what we were expecting from the man who took an 8 for 61 (in Perth) against South Africa and 33 wickets in the return series in the past year. Then again the last bowler to be singularly unimpressive on his Ashes bow in England would have been Glen McGrath, who went on to take 8 wickets after his thrashing at Edgbaston.

So its still game on as we head to Lords for the second test, starting on Thursday. England have recalled Harmison, possibly to cover an injured Flintoff. Should Harmison play, it would be a return to the stage where he arguably last performed in an England shirt – when he took 5 wickets on the first day of the 2005 Ashes series. It would also be a huge blow to a side who have not won against Australia at Lords for 75 years. History is against England on Thursday.

The Ausies Are Coming!

"There's one thing on my cricketing resume that hasn't been achieved yet and that's being captain of a winning Ashes series in England. That's something very dear to my heart."

With those words Ricky Ponting announced his intent to lead Australia to victory in this summers Ashes series. The ruthless efficiency which was the hallmark of their 5-0 whitewash 30 months ago looks to be in evidence as the Australian’s squad to defend the ashes was announced in the week.

The squad that was picked includes several form players, instrumental in the series win in South Africa. Chief among these, among the batsmen were Marcus North (Centurion in the 1st Test) and Phillip Hughes (A century in each innings of the 2nd Test). Hughes likely opening partner is Simon Katich. Four years ago Katich, like the rest of the Australian middle order, struggled under a barrage of reverse swing. His comeback after the retirement of Justin Langer, and the injury problems of Phil Jaques, is all the more remarkable in that light.

The Australian middle order is likely to be made up of the tried and trusted, starting with the skipper, looking for the 40 runs to take him past 11000 career test runs, followed by Mike Hussey and Michael Clarke. They need to be. Australia have left out Andrew Symons from the squad, while wicket keeper Brad Haddin is no Adam Gilchrist. Whether Haddin is even in the Ian Healy mould remains to be seen. For so long the Australian middle order was the powerhouse of their batting display, with Pointing, the Waugh twins, Allan Border, David Boon and the Chappell brothers all attaining legendary status occupying those berths in the past. Yet this was the biggest failure for Australia 4 years ago, with only one century coming from that area of the batting line up (Ponting’s 162 at Old Trafford, though Clarke made 93 in the victory at Lords). This area Australia needs to get right.

Symon’s exclusion from the squad has seen the door open for 2 relatively unknown all-rounder’s. Shane Watson was much hyped before the last Ashes series as Australia’s version of Flintoff. In 8 tests, 257 runs at 19.76 and 14 wickets at 36 runs is not good form. His “back-up” Andrew McDonald’s figures are not that much better.

There is strong competition for the bowling bearths. Brett Lee and Stuart Clark are back, but are not certainties to get back into the test team. The performance of both Peter Siddle and particularly Mitchell Johnson on South African soil puts the experienced pair under pressure, with Andrew Hilfenhaus also in contention for a test place. It is likely that Australia will start the majority of the 5 tests with 4 seamers.

The largest hole to be filled from the 5-0 ashes team is in the spinners department. Having said that Shane Warne was more than just a leg spinner, the majority of wickets that he picked up in the last years of his career were earned by his nous, and his experience and ability to deliver the perfect delivery. This time around, Australia have picked just off spinner Nathan Hauritz, though if required both Michael Clarke and Simon Katich could provide slow bowling options. Either option is likely to take the 20+ wickets Warne normally hovered up in an Ashes series. This puts pressure straight away on the quick’s to get the wickets.

This is not the legendary Australian side of 1993 or 2001. But it is not unlike the side which toured England twenty years ago with a mix of experience and hungry inexperience. Ponting’s quote is a statement of intent, the question is though. Is England ready?

Sporting Pick's of 2008: Part 5 - December 21st – South Africa (281 & 414/4) beat Australia (375 & 319) by 6 wickets

South Africa completed the second-highest successful run chase in Test history as they made 414-4 to beat Australia in the first Test in Perth.

The tourists began the final day on 227-3, with Jacques Kallis (57) and AB de Villiers at the crease. Mitchell Johnson removed Kallis - his 11th wicket of the match - at 303-4. But de Villiers made a sparkling 106 not out, adding 111 for the fifth wicket with debutant JP Duminy (50 not out) as the Proteas cruised home.
The all-time record Test run chase was West Indies' 418-7 against Australia in Antigua in 2003.

& December 30th – South Africa (459 & 183/1) beat Australia (394 & 247) by 9 wickets.
South Africa won a first Test series in Australia with a nine-wicket triumph at the MCG, becoming the first team in 16 years to beat the Aussies on home soil. Resuming on 30-0 in search of 183, they needed 42 more overs, Graeme Smith firing 10 fours in a commanding 75.
Neil McKenzie made an unbeaten 59 and Hashim Amla (30) hit the winning runs.
South Africa can inflict a first home whitewash on Australia and move top of the world rankings by winning the final Test in Sydney, starting on Saturday (3rd January).

Far be it for this to turn into some sort of obituary for the great Australia Test cricket team (one Australian newspaper has already mocked up a thomestone for Australian cricket already, see below), but South Africa’s series win in Australia has been the sporting result of the year. Yet when the Saffer’s pitched up at Lords for the start of their test series in England, they looked out of sorts. England racked up 500+ and enforced the follow-on. South Africa then ground out a draw, and then won at Headingley and Edgbaston to take the series. However their achievement in winning in Australia is on another level entirely. The last side to do that was the West Indies side of 1992/3 who scraped a win 2 and a half years before being dethroned as test cricket’s finest by Australia themselves.

For Australia however, this represents the end of an era. The aura of invincibility has gone. While there are mitigating circumstances, the loss of Jaques, Watson, Lee, Symonds and Stuart Clarke through injury have been crucial. What this has shown is that the conveyor belt of talent which Australia had in the 1990’s is somewhat dry at the moment. Australia have had almost 3 years to try and fix the problems with their middle order, when Martyn, Michael Clarke and Katich were blown away by England’s mastery of reverse swing in 2005. The Australian middle order was always the core of the Australian batting line up, with the Waugh twins, Border and even Ricky Ponting (before his ‘promotion’ to No#3 at the start of the 2001 Ashes) being its key performers. What has proved irreplaceable though has been the utter genius of Shane Warne, both with the ball and his ability to read a game.

Overall, Australia’s inability to fill the shoes of Warne & McGrath has been their downfall. In the first test Australia had dominated for 3 days, manoeuvring themselves into setting the Saffers an imposing target of 414 to win, with 5 full sessions to spare. While South Africa deserve the plaudits for winning with 6 wickets to spare, it must have come as a blow to Australia to find themselves unable to successfully defend 414 runs. Its not that the Australians had any warning, South Africa’s win at Edgebaston was the highest successful run chase on that ground (278). Smith, unlike that day in Edgebaston, only set down foundations with his fourth day 108, with De Villiers 106 not out closing out the game.

For the Second Test, Australia only dominated for a day and a half, collapsing once Ponting made his century on day 1, and building key lower order partnerships through part of day 2, before reducing South Africa to 198/7 by the end of day 2. Day 3 brought the unlikely partnership which put Australia behind the 8 ball. Australia’s inability to knock over South Africa’s number 9, Dale Steyn, saw them concede 180 runs for the 9th wicket. When Australia were skittled out for 247 about half an hour before the close of day four, the Australians must have realised the game was up, even if the target was a defendable 183.

While this signifies the end of an era, with the return rubber due next month. This doesn’t necessary follow that South Africa are the king’s of Test Cricket, Australia are still clinging on, while India have a good argument for that accolade. This era of the 5 day game will be a more uncertain one.