Friday 22 June 2007

The long and winding road.

Rebuilding; restructuring; building for the future; working towards the next World Cup; evolution without revolution; finding a new direction. Is that all? Probably not, but then you can't really blame the likes of David Graveney for having a lot of ways of saying the same thing after three consecutive world cups where England have bombed out. Put simply, England have a crap one-day side, and haven't has a good one since 1992 when they contested the World Cup final. The approach of the team is like a student who has four years to prepare for an important exam and crams in all the revision with a week to go. When your two best players made their debuts months before the tournament and even during it, a high-water mark of incompetence has been reached.

But just as fans are ever hopeful of success despite a damning record, so the wind of change brings with it renewed expectations. The presence of a new coach in Peter Moores would have been enough to whet the appetite, but the resignation of Vaughan, who had become something of a lame-duck captain in the one-day game, heightened anticipation. Kevin Pietersen rather spoiled the fun by pulling out of the captaincy running the day before, although in reality Paul Collingwood was elected unopposed. It will be interesting to see how the Durham man, popularly portrayed as the most trenchant of foot-soldiers, reacts to his elevation. He has limited captaincy experience and will have to learn on what is a rather unforgiving job of leading a side in the 50-over game. With Vaughan to remain as test captain, Collingwood is a safe option in that he will not rock the boat and will be happy to slip back into the ranks when England revert to tests in July. The danger is that the addition of a fourth duty to the man who is already fulcrum of the batting; important back-up bowler; and outstanding fielder will impair his contribution as a player, something England cannot afford to let happen.

While Collingwood's appointment as captain was one of the more predictable parts of today's squad announcement, there were a few diversions from the well-worn path. The least sign-posted move was the selection of Wawrickshire's Jonathan Trott, a blood on carpet merchant who possesses an exceptional List A average of over 41. The fact that he is South African born and eligible only on a British passport will have cricket's blue-rinse brigade up in arms, but he has clearly been brought in to spice up the top 3, hopefully at one wicket down rather than opener.

One of those positions will be filled by Alistair Cook, thus far restricted to just a brace of ODI appearances, but given the chance to prove he has the shots he hides under a bushel in test cricket. His partner will be the cause of some debate; Matt Prior, whose ideal position would probably be rabble-rouser at 7, might be employed in the position he has now vacated for Sussex. However Prior may not be so willing, which would leave a choice between Bell, Shah and Trott, for different reasons all unsuited to opening. It may not be the long term route, but, for this series at least, Prior should open in lieu of Marcus Trescothick who could well return for the longer series against India in late summer. At least in trialling Prior, England would be exploring what could be a long-term option, whereas the deployment of Shah, Bell or Trott would be an open admission that England have no better course than to twiddle their thumbs and wait for Trescothick to declare himself ready.

A top 3 of Cook, Prior and Trott is about the right mixture of tap and tonk, with the test opener acting as anchor for the others to tee off. Pietersen and Collingwood, about the only two to pick themselves in position, would follow to make a quintet which has potential lacking in similar edifices of past XIs. The loss of Ravi Bopara to compound the absence of Andrew Flintoff rather knocks the stuffing out of the lower-middle order, leaving Bell and Shah to fight over the slot at 6. If they were, as they would no doubt prefer, the shirt at first drop, Bell's greater ability to deal against the moving ball would probably rule in his favour. However, in the rather more rowdy ambiance of the lower order, Shah's more streetwise and maverick approach will probably win him selection.

Flintoff's injury and the necessity for Prior to play up the order mean that England are short of regulars to balance the lower order effectively. Defnitely a tardy selection and hopefully one which has not come too late is that of Hampshire's Dimitri Mascarenhas, a solid medium-pacer with an interesting selection of slower-balls and capable of hitting a long-ball down the order. He should be perfect to fill the void at 8 and England will hope that his approach, reminiscent of successful one-day players of the last decade such as Ian Harvey, does not prove dated.

Two bowlers who can swing a bat, Liam Plunkett and Stuart Broad, have been included, but to expect one of them, almost certainly Plunkett, to bat at 8, with Mascerenhas one place higher is over ambitious and would be a long tail. That paves the way for the return of Michael Yardy, given another chance to change the lasting impression he made, which was one of fans and press alike querying why Philip Tufnell had been sent in to bat at 4 for England in the Champions Trophy way back in October. It was an unrealistic expectation for him to succeed in that position, and he should be more comfortable slotting in at 7 in this team and rattling through his overs, something he showed real promise in, with an impressive economy rate of 2.98 from his five matches.

Sidebottom and Anderson are certs to open the bowling, and the accurate swing bowling of England's new test star should prove an asset with the white ball, while Anderson, despite a middling World Cup, still has the ability, and has just begun to find his feet with Lancashire after a slow start to the county season. The final decision is whether to include Monty Panesar or another seamer in view of the likely presence of Yardy. In Panesar's favour is that he had an excellent test series and England need to give him plenty of practice at the one-day game, with the next World Cup a subcontinental affair. Then again, he has not been all too special in his one-day performances to date and the veracity of a second spinner is doubtful, even though he would be the primary slow bowler. If he didn't play, one of Liam Plunkett or Stuart Broad would have to, and surely the selection of Plunkett, despite an excellent showing with bat and ball for Durham in the semi-final, would be a risk in view of his patchy ODI record and poor form. Likewise, Broad has played little cricket, with the figures from his recent county games suggesting someone who is slowly finding their feet after injury and who should probably be protected from the international stage. A rock and a hard place for Moores and Collingwood to choose between then; but there will be plenty more of those to negotiate if they are to succeed where many others have failed and mould a successful English one-day team.

Thursday 21 June 2007

England player ratings

For the 4 Test series against West Indies:

Andrew Strauss 3: The double-whammy of the captaincy and the Lord's setting, conditions in which his batting tends to thrive, meant that the first test was a good chance to re-establish himself after a thin winter. However, having got to 30, he got himself out and things went swiftly downhill from there, with universal failure apart from the first innings at Durham, where he endeavoured to hit himself out of trouble for a bright 77. Still, his demise in the second innings showed that the technical problems, mainly consisting of a flaw against the full, swinging ball remain. After a year of almost uninterrupted cricket, he seems jaded, and England have enough batting depth to give someone else a chance in the India series and give Strauss the break from international cricket which he is in desperate need of.

Alistair Cook 8: He had already alleviated his Ashes blues with a run-drunk spell in county cricket while others toiled in the Caribbean, and his headstart showed with instant success at Lord's followed up consistently while the series was still alive. The bowling was not of a standard to really trouble him, so he might be disappointed that he was unable to extend his two centuries into something a bit more meaningful than his current Test best of 127. Still, with Graham Gooch in his ear, it should only be a matter of time.

Owais Shah 2: Given just enough rope to hang himself with, being made to bat at 3 when given a chance at Lord's, 14 months after his last test. By batting him in the preferred position of the soon to return captain, the selectors made clear that Shah was first in line to go and unfortunately he could not do anything to force their hand. The one-day side now presents the best chance of a return and he might just sneak back to the test team if the selectors see fit to discard Andrew Strauss.

Michael Vaughan 7: This time last year, retirement was as likely a prospect as a return to the colours, which in itself was a major achievement, made that much sweeter by the century in his first test innings for 18 months with a good number of hacks who had railed against his inclusion watching on. West Indies were no great opponent, but England showed some of the purpose which had been lacking in his absence, while his batting, an asset forgotten amongst all the celebration of his captaincy, is as fluent as ever and adds class and experience to what had become a fragile top order. Could do with his old helmet back though.

Kevin Pietersen 8: West Indies were rightly beside themselves with glee when he succumbed to their trap at Lord's, but might later have regretted pulling the tiger's tail, as he racked up the highest number of runs on either side, helping himself along the way to the double century which English batsmen seem to find so hard to come by. There were still moments of idiocy, notably falling twice to the hook shot in the last two tests, especially off the last ball of the day at Durham, when England needed him to scrap. Nevertheless, there are some things which are better left unchanged.

Paul Collingwood 7: Two centuries, and, despite a lack of stellar batsmanship, there were displays of vintage Collingwood. Dug in when the team needed him most, specifically when he rescued them from a self-inflicted crisis in the final test. A century in his first test on home soil was a moment to treasure in an ever expanding scrapbook, and he continues to give the selectors every reason not to drop him, also chipping in with his customary excellent fielding, predominantly at slip in the absence of Flintoff and Trescothick, and some tight bowling when England were a man down at Lord's.

Ian Bell 7: The overall impression was good, the figures slightly less so, just 227 runs at 45.4, including a century at Lord's which was one of the less taxing roads to the honours board. Still, there was one vital knock, the 97 at Old Trafford which rescued England from a precarious first innings position and set up the winning position; that certainly deserved three figures, a mark denied him by a capricious pitch. Andrew Flintoff may not play a test this summer, giving Bell three more to make an impression, but it must be frustrating for Bell to be languishing at 6, a position which suggests, in broad terms, he would be the first for the chop, especially now Vaughan is firmly entrenched back in Bell's preferred role at first drop. The difficult roles have seemed to fall his way; #3 against the best bowling in the world last winter, he has had to wait in line behind five others against the much more friendly offerings purveyed by the tourists. Still, having proved himself able both at 150 and 300-4, there is not much more he can do than continue to churn out the runs and wait for the dice to fall his way for a change

Matt Prior 8: Sentiment and early season form counted against him in the latest round of the great English wicket-keeping debate as the selectors prepared to pick the first squad of the Peter Moores era. Fortunately, Moores was able to see past the lack of runs for Sussex and put his foot down in selecting one of his own. How well he was repaid. While all of the English centuries at Lord's had a slightly ersatz feeling to them, in view of both bowling and pitch, Prior's effort stood out. A bullying driver on the front foot, he is proficient both throwing his arms through the line of the ball and rocking back to dismiss the short ball on both sides of the wicket. Having made the impression at Lord's, he backed it up with more significant knocks at Old Trafford and Durham when the situation demanded application and he responded by making the necessary runs while never losing the belligerent approach. His keeping was by no means perfect, but his athleticism in the wake of bipolar bowling from Plunkett and Harmison was impressive.

Liam Plunkett 3: Not much more to add on what has already been said. Problem: can't land two balls in a row on the same spot. Solution: county cricket. See you in two years.

Steve Harmison 5: Finished back in the groove from which he had erred so disastrously at Lord's and in the first innings at Old Trafford in particular. A highly successful spell with Durham did not cure his ills, and it was clear that only bowling on the international stage would help him back to full potency. Painful for the rehabilitation to happen under the public eye and we will see against India whether a lasting equilibrium has been reached or not.

Ryan Sidebottom 8: A month ago, he was just the answer to an intricate quiz question involving fathers and sons, one test wonders and a sum total of 0 wickets. When England's straight man Hoggard went lame at Lord's and the Durham wide-boys went wild, Peter Moores decided to recall the man with a silly hairstyle and a serious line in inswing. Back on home turf and in England colours for the first time in 6 years, he produced an exemplary display of swing and seam bowling on a track at Headingley which offers assistance to those who know how to use it. His success at Leeds was not unexpected, but with the encouragement of Allan Donald he added a slightly feral dimension to his demeanour, something which combined well with his neolithic brown curls and was all too much for the timid West Indians. Now a shoo-in for the one-day side, he has earned the right to expect selection against India and his future is in his own hands.

Matthew Hoggard 6: Injury after just 10 overs at Lord's ended a streak of 40 consecutive tests, and England's prospects of victory in that game effectively went with him. Sidebottom's successful return, along with West Indies' mostly clueless batting meant that his injury could have come at a worse time, and he slipped back into the groove seamlessly in the 4th tests, knocking over the top 3 in the 2nd innings to open up the middle order to Panesar. Now that England are in coloured clothing and the counties in 20:20 mode, he could find himself with his feet up again though.

Monty Panesar 9: Finishing top of the averages and bagging the highest number of wickets is no mean feat for a spinner in the early-season tests and Panesar was more than worthy of the achievement. Played a lone hand at Lord's when his three seam bowling colleagues went missing for one reason or another, and toiled away valiantly to take 4 first innings wicket on the now habitual Lord's road. He was England's trump-card on what must be his favourite ground at Old Trafford, a potent mixture of bounce, turn and nagging accuracy all that was needed to do the job which other England spinners have not done in recent years. We knew he was good, and, although the quality of the opposition means his returns here must be digested with some caution, he has now proved himself as England's matchwinner when the pitch helps him, as well as the man who can choke off the runs when it doesn't. Only Chanderpaul could resist him, and the duel between the two provided some of the quality generally lacking. The Indian batsmen, surer against slow bowling, will be a sterner test, but such is Panesar's enthusiasm that he will enjoy the prospect of bowling against them. The contest with Rahul Dravid, in particular, should be one of the highlights of the summer.

Wednesday 20 June 2007

Achievement without fulfillment

West Indies' loss of status in the eyes of the cricket world can be tracked in a broad way by the scheduling of their last three tours to England. Once, not so long ago, West Indies played five tests and so, as Glenn McGrath was fond of saying, they expected to win five Tests. They have not participated in such a series since 2000, when an emerging England team wrested the Wisden Trophy from them after 31 years of waiting. West Indies won the first test of that series, at Edgbaston, but lost three more that series and are still waiting for another win against England and an away victory against serious opposition. Three years ago, their share of the seven tests, all of which England won that summer, was cut to 4, while in the series just gone they retained the majority share (although almost by default due to India's wish to fit in more one-day cricket) but toured in early summer, the preserve of the weaker of the two touring sides. A second-division side, it seems, in perception as well as reality.

Test cricket may be the long-haul version of the game, played out over five days and, supposedly, 450 overs, but in reality the direction of any particular game tends to rest on the outcome of just a handful of the scheduled 15 sessions. Australia, top dog for 12 years, have made a habit of flattening opposition, but even they cannot dominate every team through 5 days (or in their case usually 3 or 4) of cricket. The great value of Gilchrist is not his ability to come in at 400-5 and blaze away, but his knack to rescue his team when, on occasion, they are slipping. Warne was the same; with the bat he seemed to succeed when all others failed, while with ball in hand he had the ability to transcend even the most insipid team bowling performance and nip out a few quick wickets to change the appearance of a game.

The rather tired line which has been trotted out at every post-match interview this series since Headingley has been that losing has become a habit for this West Indies team. And just as the hallmark of a champion team is to seize the initiative in moments of crisis, that of a struggling unit is to lose composure when somehow the chips fall their way. West Indies found themselves in such a position on Monday, having removed both Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell early to leave England 165-6 and one wicket away from exposing a tail which began with Steve Harmison. Far from being buoyed by their first position of real dominance in the series, West Indies chose that moment to produce their worst. Fidel Edwards, the only bowler in the side with any real fire, was left kicking his heels as ultimate trundler Collymore and Daren Powell at half-pace allowed Collingwood and Prior to bring England back to parity and beyond. The absurdity of the situation was crystallised by the spectacle of Marlon Samuels, heavily swathed in his entire collection of sweaters, lobbing up the cricket ball (we shan't call them off-breaks) for the English batsmen to do as they pleased. The new ball at least brought an end to that, but the sight of Matt Prior advancing down the pitch to lift Corey Collymore, a dobber from the islands said never to have produced a medium-pacer, for an effortless six, said more about the state of West Indies cricket than any of the great fast bowlers in the various commentary boxes could.

Having relinquished the initiative, the roadmap for the second innings was a predictable one: the top order disintegrated to the swing of Hoggard, Devon Smith by no means the first to be palpably leg-before preceding the demise of an enfeebled Ganga, who, if the selectors have any sense, will have played and captained his last Test. Chris Gayle entertained for a bit longer than he has tended to this series, making it past 50 for the first time before falling in customary fashion. Brim-full of talent and with an eye few in the game can match, Gayle, on his third tour of England, should be leading from the front. But with every fatal swish and swipe, the credibility of his laid-back beyond the perpendicular approach to the game, especially in the field, declines. He has been made captain of the one-day series, and it will be interesting to see how this alters his approach; as we stand, he could hardly give less to his team's cause. Then came the one partnership that West Indies have been able to rely on this series, the strong attraction between polar opposites Chanderpaul and Bravo. The latter is almost a throwback, flamboyant but with the application to match. He has seldom looked in much trouble with the England bowling and most of his dismissals were self-inflicted, a disappointment, as was his inability to go far beyond his customary 40. An electric fielder to boot, his bowling was nevertheless a let-down, 6 wickets at just under 70 was 10 fewer than he collected in 2004, although he didn't really bowl at Durham having sustained an injury. West Indies might have missed a trick in not making him captain for the one-day series; unlike Gayle, he has shown desire and will on the field of play. In the long-term, especially if Darren Sammy can continue his rise, he might consider a move up the batting order and a shift to concentrate on that side of his game; sadly for his team, there is only one other batsman on whom they can rely.

But in terms of reliability, they do not come much more sturdily built than Chanderpaul. His statistics for this series are extraordinary, yet in some way do him no justice at all. Just twenty less runs than England's most successful plunderer Pietersen were achieved in two fewer innings, while he passed 50 five times (each visit to the crease) , once more than Cook, who also had two more attempts. His two centuries were unmatched by his colleagues, who could only manage a highest score of 60 between them, while his average of 148.66 was more than 100 greater than next man Bravo. On the way, he became the first man to occupy 1000 minutes undefeated at the crease in a series for an astonishing third time in his career. With Lara retired and Sarwan quickly injured, responsibility for the batting fell uniquely upon his diminutive shoulders. Had his knee injury kept him out of more than one Test, one dreads to think how West Indies would have fared. Classical is not a word that could be ascribed to his technique, but neither is ugly. Indeed there is a peculiar aesthetic quality to his largely front-on stance, the shuffle, and the idiosyncrasies - piratical eye-patches; marking his guard with the bail; kissing the pitch upon reaching three figures in a way which, unlike Mohammed Yousuf last summer, seemed wholly unpretentious. In the face of good, occasionally excellent bowling, on pitches which varied from a bouncy, cracked turner at Old Trafford to a slow seamer at Durham and with the rest of the batting crumbling around him, he did all he could do and set himself to bat, like the greats with an unquenchable thirst for runs and unbreakable powers of concentration. Several pundits have lamented the quality of cricket in this series, and it will be remembered as another chapter in a sorry period for West Indies cricket. It should however go down in history for one man, his bat, and a 16 hour protest which shamed every other player to don maroon in the series.

West Indies can take precious little from this series: perhaps only 5 or 6 in the team have what it takes to succeed at test level, while a few looked little more than club standard. An obdurate opener is needed, while the middle-order should be alleviated somewhat by the return of Sarwan and the promotion of Bravo. Ramdin improved, and his derided keeping was not so bad considering it was his first tour of England, a notoriously difficult place to keep wicket, and where young wicket-keepers, as Kamran Akmal will attest, can hit the rocks. Fidel Edwards looks the man to lead the pace attack, especially if someone works with him over sorting out his no-ball problem. His back-up was disappointing, especially Jerome Taylor, who promised the most and delivered just 4 wickets at 90 in three tests. Daren Powell was alright to begin with, but did not take to being discarded and his batting, twice skying from horrible attempted hooks, was a prelude to some insipid bowling. Corey Collymore, alas, gave his all, but lacks so much pace and did not make up for it with accuracy, which was sporadic or lateral movement, a rarity. Bowling like a man who had been already put out to pasture, surely that is the only place for him now. But the gaping chasm in the West Indian attack was that highlighted by the stellar performances of Monty Panesar. They can probably not hope for a bowler as canny as the Englishman, but to tour England without a spinner in the party of 16, or rather to consider Chris Gayle a frontline test spinner, was folly.

But as much as West Indies could take little from the series, the same could be said of England. Despite the expected easy series victory, the lack of genuine opposition was such that there is little to celebrate. There were many landmarks; Steve Harmison's 200th Test wicket (and yes Bearders, not including that "other" test); Matthew Hoggard usurping Alec Bedser on the all-time list of English test wicket takers; Michael Vaughan rising to the top of the list of most successful captains; Monty Panesar's first 10 wicket haul, 50th test wicket and ascension into the top ten of the test bowling rankings. Not to mention Kevin Pietersen with a maiden double-century in Tests and Alistair Cook, a record number of test centuries for a man his age.

But despite all of these achievements, there was a hollow ring to the victory. Other than Andrew Strauss, who could do with a break and the rest of the summer in county cricket, all of the batsmen made runs without being much tested. Still, a few innings, notably Bell's 97 at Old Trafford and Collingwood's century on home turf were in pressure situations, albeit against bowling which rarely ranked in the threatening class. Furthermore, the lack of quality spin bowling to face meant that any flaws against slow bowling were left unexplored, with a diet of unrelenting, mediocre seam to feast on.

Still, it was good to see Michael Vaughan returning to captain, and he proved that England have missed both his purposeful leadership and elegant batting. Now freed from one-day cricket, it should only be injury which could prevent him from leading England into the next Ashes series. Further, Matt Prior temporarily put and end to the wicket-keeping debate which had tiresomely rumbled since Alec Stewart's retirement, although more taxing examinations of his ability remain, which will prove one way or another whether he is the man who can finally nail down the position. After a century on debut in fairly untesting circumstances, two innings in particular: a 40 at Old Trafford and a 60 at Durham both in support of a rearguard action proved his mettle.

On the bowling front, the series started with the seam attack in crisis, Hoggard limping off at Lord's leaving just Plunkett and Harmison, erratic to understate the case in support of the excellent Panesar. Plunkett got worse and is rightly now back in county cricket, where he needs to remain for a good season or two. Harmison, mercifully, improved, and bowled what was universally recognised as an excellent spell, reminiscent of his best, in West Indies' second dig at Chester-Le-Street. Still, the true test will be when India tour, to see if he can retain his rhythm built up over four tests or whether it is back to square one again. Depending on the operational status of his "non-serious" hernia, he may not have any more first class cricket behind him before he plays tests again, and that will prove whether he and Allan Donald have finally cracked his mental block, or whether it was another temporary resurrection. Ryan Sidebottom, a necessary antidote to Harmison and Plunkett blossomed on recall, doing what none of the left-arm seamers tried over the last 15 years or so (think Mark Illot, Mike Smith, Simon Brown) ever did by swinging the ball back into the right-hander. He also persevered in less favourable climes, and earned himself the chance to prove whether he is a long-term option. Matthew Hoggard, returning for the last test, once again proved that he is far too good for top order players wet behind the ears in seaming conditions.

But, unusually for an early-season series, it was not the seamers who dominated the bowling stakes. Before the Lord's test it had been mooted that Monty Panesar should make way for an extra seamer; but in the wake of Hoggard's injury, Harmison and Plunkett's total lack of direction and a flat pitch, Panesar shone, using what little the surface offered to lure four into his web in the first innings, with the help of bowler-friendly umpire Rauf, before rain denied him a chance to try and win the game on the last day. Not really needed at Headingley, it was on a hard, cracked pitch in Manchester where he really came into his own. Extracting turn and bounce, the chief allies of a good spinner, he was too good for a whole succession of West Indian batsmen, with the notable exception of Chanderpaul. 10 wickets in a test was the first by an English spinner since Tufnell a decade ago, while Panesar's attitude and sense of permanence suggests that the wait for the next will not be so long. On a much slower, less helpful Durham pitch, it was same again, as he swept through the middle-order to pick up another 5 wicket haul and complete the series with a bag 0f 23 at 18.69. This was his first really significant series as a test bowler, but we should probably stop short of proclaiming him as the messiah just yet. Remember that three years ago, Ashley Giles achieved a similar feat in four tests against the same opposition. Panesar has become an extremely skilful bowler, now a given in almost all conditions. A series against the Indians will prove a better barometer for his progress, while he should look forward to touring Sri Lanka in the winter.

After a winter without a test win, resuming where they left off was the most important thing for England, who looked galvanised by the return of Vaughan. Of course West Indies were weak opposition, but England still made sure they never got a sniff, taking charge of games in crucial periods of flux. The India series will be a surer test of where the team stands, but as far as Peter Moores and Michael Vaughan can be concerned, the rebuilding process after the Ashes debacle has begun and the foundations are solid.

Friday 15 June 2007

Lions by name...

A washed-out first day of the 4th Test between England and West Indies and only the 3rd to be held at Durham shifted the spotlight onto the forthcoming one-day series, with the England A team for a one-day game with the West Indies next week being announced while the selectors held talks with captain and coach regarding England's future direction in the one-day game. I say England A, although the collective heart sank on the revelation that England's second string has now become an "exciting new brand" in the form of the so-called England Lions.

Vikram Solanki will captain the side, deprived of players from the four counties (Durham, Hampshire, Essex and Wawrickshire) who will contest the semi-finals of the FP Trophy and is joined by two Worcestershire colleagues in Gareth Batty and Kabir Ali. That just about sums up the rest, with familiar and not so favoured names such as Yardy, Bresnan and Joyce all featuring. Curiously Will Jefferson, seemingly a forgotten man who has played only once for his new county Nottinghamshire this season, was included in the 12-man squad. James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Owais Shah are three who will hope to use the game as a platform for recognition when the senior squad is announced, while Alex Gidman is the wild card, a seam-bowling all-rounder which England lack in the absence of Andrew Flintoff.

While England's Test team has, and will continue to cope in the absence of Flintoff, his injured ankle exposes a deep flaw in a one-day side riddled with problems. With Ravi Bopara likely to bat either at 6 or 3, and Matt Prior at 7 or as an opener, England will have trouble filling the No.8 position without seriously comprimising either batting or bowling depth. A spin-bowling all-rounder, such as Blackwell or Yardy could fill the void, but that would probably mean the exclusion of Monty Panesar, while England are not exactly flush with pace-bowling resources as we stand. Steve Harmison is retired from ODIs, Matthew Hoggard might as well, while Mahmood is injured and Plunkett consigned to county cricket. Stuart Broad has just started to play again after injury and long-term absentee Simon Jones is no closer to full-recovery than at the start of the season. James Anderson, despite meagre returns for Lancashire, will have to lead the attack, and he should be partnered by Ryan Sidebottom, blessed unlike any other England bowler who plays ODIs with the gift of accuracy and who could fulfill a similar role for England as does Nathan Bracken, very successfully, for Australia. If Panesar is to be sacrificed for a slow bowler who can bat, England's options for the third seamer are sparse. Broad could get the call, but would be better off easing back in with his county, while past him the selectors will have to look at someone like Graham Onions or Kabir Ali, who has been in good form for Worcestershire but has a long way to go before he can erase the memories of his last game in an England shirt and whose international career was thought to be, like that game, best forgotten.

And the composition of the top-half of the team will be no less problematic. During the World Cup the plight of England's top 3 became an issue as much chewed over by the cognoscenti as was Tony Blair's dodgy dossier back in 2003, although the team management seemed to be the only people in ignorance of its need to be "sexed up". While Jayasuriya flashed and Hayden flattened, England's trusty plodders ground, ground and then got out, leaving a heavy burden too great even for an excellent middle-order to manage. Marcus Trescothick, whose ample frame has covered the void for a good while, is the obvious choice to return, but his situation is a delicate one which the decent runs he has scored this season for Somerset may not have fully alleviated. England would dearly love Trescothick to return to the one-day side at least, but one senses that this series has come a bit too early, and that the sprawling 7 match series against India in August and September may be a more realistic target. In his likely absence, Matt Prior is likely to get the opportunity alongside Alistair Cook, despite the fact that Prior did not prosper as an opener when previously given the chance, and he now bats in the middle-order for Sussex in one-day cricket. Nevertheless, the impressive start to his Test career along with the presence of his old coach at Sussex should be enough to get him the gig, and it is not stretching a point to say that England are getting desperate. Cook, meanwhile, made an efficient, unnoticed appearence in a sinking ship of a team last year, and could surprise a few people with a wider range of shot than he risks in Tests, but which the Essex faithful will be familiar with from the evidence of a few scintillating innings at county level, including a maiden century on his last appearence between Tests.

One would expect Ian Bell to follow them at 3, although do not discount the possibility that Owais Shah, excellent this season in the one-day competition for Middlesex, could get a chance, adding some flair and impudence which Bell, in no way short of talent, somehow lacks. Ravi Bopara might even continue where he left off in the last World Cup game and where he has produced excellent returns for Essex in both forms of the game. The next two positions can consider themselves filled, with Collingwood and Pietersen, the ying and yang of a yo-yo team, about the only two indelibly inked in on the team-sheet. Unless Moores is adventurous , expect the bright if not so wide-eyed Bopara to fill the Flintoff chasm. Then comes the snag: ideally Prior would come in next to add some ballast to the lower-order and balance things out. However, with a high chance of him opening, England will have to compensate either with an all-rounder or specialist batsman. They do not need the first, while in terms of options there is only a half-empty quart with which to fill the pint-pot. Needless to say, no batsman will be overjoyed by the prospect of going in 5 down, although it would not be a novel experience for someone like Vikram Solanki. It would need to be someone of his ilk, with the power both to accelerate and consolidate, and Shah may find himself deployed out of position. That said, there is a fair chance that Bopara will be the one to drop down, which would be a pity. At 8, England are back to the familiar problem of having no bolwers who really bat, and will proably have to press one of their spinning-all rounders into service. Jamie Dalrymple has probably shot his bolt, while Michael Yardy has only just started his season after having his finger broken playing for MCC in the curtain-raiser. Ian Blackwell, crocked last season with a shoulder-injury that ended his World Cuo hopes, was ecenomical as a bowler when he last played and, if he could somehow get his batting to function at international level, would be useful as a stop-gap at least.

All this deliberation disregards one man, namely Michael Vaughan and specifically, because he should not be in the team. Captain he may be, but his one-day batting record is as poor as his Test captaincy one is good. He has himself freely admitted that he will not be around for the next World Cup in 2011 and, in an interesting comment swamped by the larger ramifications of his interview with the Guardian, he said that he would stand down in Moores expressed a preference not to consider players who have no chance of playing in 2011. David Graveney today expressed the need to be cautious in breaking up the World Cup team, but that must not come at the cost of hampering Peter Moores, who, along with Andy Flower, must be given as free a rein a possible in building England towards respectability in the shorter form of the game. Four years may be "a long time" as Graveney said today, but when it comes to England's one-day teams it is a period which seems to elapse with some haste and the structure required for future success must be laid down as quickly as possible. Over to you then Peter.

Friday 8 June 2007

Carelessness has been a hallmark of this Test Match, something reflected in the fact that three innings have been completed in as many days on a pitch which has pace and offers some lateral movement, but is by no means unplayable, and a significantly diluted version of last year's trampoline.

Michael Vaughan got the ball rolling in the build up, making a hole for himself by criticising Andrew Flintoff in the national press (although he was partly justified, and this formed only part of an honest and engaging interview) and kept on digging over the issue of whether he had used the name "Fredalo" in vain. As a did he didn't he saga, it was not quite of Bill Clinton stature, but it was a rare misjudgement from Vaughan, usually impeccable in his dealings with the media.

His next error of judgement proved a little more fatal, as he aimed a wafty drive a a ball from Corey Collymore which was nowhere near full enough to be driving at, and nipped back through a gate four fathoms wide. Similar laziness pervaded the rest of the England innings, Kevin Pietersen and even the normally inscrutible Alistair Cook failing to play the bowling on its merits and paying with their wickets. It was only a partnership between the flourishing Bell and the less ethereal Prior, who combined to steer England through a troubled period, before Prior fell into the same not-so well concealed idiot-trap as Pietersen had before him.

The next day it was West Indies who were hampered by sloppy cricket. Although Bell's hope of securing yet another century from No.6 was snuffed out by one from Collymore which spat off the surface, it was not before Steve Harmison had helped him to take England past 300, laying the platform for England's two tail-end left-handers, hair and patka tails trailing from their respective helmets, to slap a merry 30 and get England to 370, about 100 more than West Indies would have hoped at one point.

With the Test being played at Old Trafford, scene of Steve Harmison's 11 wicket haul against Pakistan last year, and it also being the first for England's new bowling coach, Allan Donald, there was much interest in the performance of Harmison and co. Anticipation was heightened by the sight of Harmison being struck twice on the helmet, evoking memories of Devon Malcolm, Fanie De Villiers and 9 terrified South Africans on a fast Oval deck in 1994. Harmison, as usual, succeeded in evoking memories of Malcolm at his mercurial worst. Matt Prior may be glad to have finally got a chance as England's stumper, but he will be thanking no-one for being made to keep wicket to fast bowling which is probably some of the most erratic ever seen from a front-line England bowler. Harmison did get a few right, the element of surprise at receiving a good ball being enough to get rid of Ganga and Morton, but while his ratio of on-target deliveries remains equivalent to Glenn McGrath's percentage of bad ones, he is of limited use to England, despite his ability, shared with precious few, to put the wind up even top batsmen with pace and bounce.

Liam Plunkett, bowling like a man with "needs to bowl more overs in order to learn how to bowl properly on a consistent basis" tatooed across his forehead, was similarly frustrating, and even Ryan Sidebottom bowled too short in his opening spell. At 219-4, the West Indies threatened a contest for the first time in a long time as far as Test Matches against England are concerned. Then Sidebottom, upon return, found his line and produced a corker to dislodge Dwayne Bravo, as, for the second time in a day, West Indies collapsed in a heap to the oddest of odd couples: the snarling, neolithic-looking Sidebottom and the graceful, leaping Panesar. A collapse of 6 for 13 effectively ended the game as a contest and epitomised the general slide of West Indies cricket.

It has not been a series for the stand-in captain: Andrew Strauss, who led England at Lord's, is now in such a bad trot that his performance in the next Test could have serious implications on his Test career. He and fellow second-choice leader Daren Ganga both suffered the same fate both times, trapped plumb lbw, feet immobilised by indecision and pace. The statistics show that Strauss, whose lack of form has been particularly obvious in light of the poor bowling feasted on by every England batsmen except him, has actually been in decline for some time. In his last 25 Test matches he averages 34.80, with half of his ten centuries, the other five having been brought up in just 13 games. It is becoming increasingly difficult to refute the suggestion that Strauss is a player whose Test record has been inflated by an excellent start, and that he has never been the same since England won the Ashes. The assumption has been that Strauss, as a perceived class operator, would come through in the end. Now 30, time is not on his side, and if he fails again at the Riverside, he could find himself an early casulaty of the new regime when the India series comes around.

Strauss' struggles have been highlighted by his blooming opening partner, Alistair Cook, who yesterday became the youngest Englishman to bring up 6 Test centuries, with 7 more Tests before his 23rd birthday to emulate Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar who had achieved 8 before that age. There will be far sterner tests for Cook than the anodyne West Indies bowlers can provide, but his lowest score this series is 42, the first of two times he has been snared lbw, slightly unfortunately by Chris Gayle. The one thing to have eluded Cook is a really significant score: for someone with such deep reserves of concentration, a highest of 127 is surprisingly low. Nevertheless, he will have one more chance this series at Durham, and in view of his maiden List A century for Essex last week, a berth at the troubled top of England's one-day side awaits him. Ironically it will probably be to replace Strauss, for whom Cook's excellent start to international cricket, not too disimilar to his own, must be fairly galling.

After Cook departed adjudged leg-before to Gayle, it was England who were guilty of a calypso-collapso, with debutant Darren Sammy enjoying West Indies' highlight of the series, bagging a 7 wicket haul with some jarring bounce from a large frame and useful movement away from the right-hander. The West Indies fielders will be grateful to Sammy for stealing the headlines, as they produced by far the worst cricket of what has been a match low on quality. Three regulation catches were spilled; fumbles were all-too frequent and Jerome Taylor suffered the ultimate ignomy for an international cricketer of having a not-so well hit Pietersen drive go straight through his legs and trickle away to the boundary. They need a fielding coach, some more bowlers like Edwards and Sammy and, more relevant to the game in hand, a gutsy batting performance. It's time for Chris Gayle, in particular, to front up: laconically easy on the eye, he has not made a score in this series, and has not reached three figures in Tests since his triple-century against South Africa, 25 months ago. If West Indies are to reach the 455 needed for vicotry, it would require something similar, although in view of England's bowling and with over 100 extras having already been leaked, two days of Harmison and Plunkett might be enough to win it for them.