It may be perceived common knowledge that Graham Thorpe never captained England, and that Andrew Strauss made his international debut at Lord's in 2004, marking it with a century. Both statements are incorrect. but there is a link. Thorpe did captain his country, in the ODIs in Sri Lanka in 2000 after Nasser Hussain was invalided home; Strauss' first innings in England colours was not his century against New Zealand, but a slightly less auspicious 3 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla in late 2003. Thorpe's England lost all three matches; Strauss' international bow was as part of an England team which crashed to 88 all out, a total Thorpe's team failed to double in three games. Both events have been buried fairly deep in the consciousness, but nevertheless rank amongst some of the most ignominious of England's myriad one-day disasters away from home. The relevance is that England haven't had much success playing one-day cricket in Sri Lanka; in fact they have just one win, and that back in Sri Lanka's minnow days in 1982. And with hardly a moment's rest following 7 50 over matches against India, and a dismal campaign at the World Twenty20, Sri Lanka is where England find themselves facing their biggest challenge as a team under the command of Moores and Collingwood.
As last summer's "bluewash" showed, England have enough problems with the Sri Lankan ODI team at home, let alone in the country itself, one of the hardest places to tour. However, this is a very different side, and after two unexpected results over the summer - a series loss against West Indies countered by an unlikely victory in the marathon against India - it is in the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka that their true stock as a team will emerge.
It will be largely the same side which defeated India to take on arguably the second-best one-day team in the world, although Andrew Flintoff is a notable absentee. Alistair Cook will have another chance to stake his claim for the opener's berth long-term, after starting well against India and tailing off dramatically. England will need his adhesion if they are to avoid such meagre totals as on their last two visits. He will have a new partner after Matt Prior fractured his thumb in South Africa and the call has gone out to Durham man Phil "colonel" Mustard, who impressed with his rapid scoring in late summer, although replicating Chester-le-Street form in Kandy may prove troublesome. The middle order sorts itself, with Ian Bell now established at first drop, preceding Pietersen, who will want a big series to dispel some recent doubts about his one-day form., and captain Paul Collingwood, whose contribution across the board will be critical. The Asian wristiness of Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara in the lower-middle order completes a batting unit which appears more spin-savvy than previous outfits.
With the absence of Flintoff resulting in a slight imbalance, they then have to decide whether to play both spinners, which would also give the comfort of Graeme Swann's useful batting at 8, or to ask Stuart Broad to take the responsibility of coming in at 6 wickets down. The need for at least three front-line seamers and the desire to get the left-arm seam of Ryan Sidebottom into the team will probably mean that Swann misses out to begin with, as should Dimitri Mascarenhas, whose bowling will be no more useful than Collingwood's, although that would mean the England captain having to take the responsibility of a full bowling shift, something he has not always been comfortable with when it is a necessity rather than a bonus.
Their opposition will be the usual mixture of thunder, subtlety, intrigue and spin. The English bowlers can comfort themselves with the thought that this is surely the last time they will have to contend with the unique talents of Sanath Jayasuriya, although his protege Upul Tharanga is turning into a fairly fearful proposition himself. The two princes of Sri Lankan batting populate the middle order, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who are both hard to dislodge as well as rein in. The lower order ballast is provided by the assured Dilshan and the more excitable and dangerous Chamara Silva, while Chaminda Vaas lurks with intent at 8. Even with Muralitharan absent for at least the first three games, the bowling will provide a stiff challenge, a seam trio of Vaas, Malinga and Fernando supplemented by leg-spin all-rounder Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Jaysuriya's omnipresent slow left-arm.
5 games and a scheduled 500 overs may seem a lot squeezed into less than a fortnight, but if England struggle as have their predecessors, then the time will pass very slowly, and their unity and collective skill as a team will be plunged into the furnace- they will have to more than double their number of ODI wins in the country if they are to emerge with credit.
Sunday 30 September 2007
Saturday 29 September 2007
A recent heavy workload has made posting difficult. so here goes with a potted review of the last month...
Smells like 1983 spirit: Taking a three week break would have given scope for reviewing just the group stages of last spring's World Cup, but the World Championship of cricket's shortest format was mercifully, and fittingly, brief. Still not short enough for England to fail to depart with what seemed indecent haste, but it seems that some traditions have transferred to Twenty20, not least the South African's departing early from an event in their own country; they only lost one game, pitifully at that, but then it seems every tournament brings with it a new and more circuitous route to the exit door for them. But just as 24 years previously, it was unfancied India who swept the board, an irony considering their previously ambivalent stance to the shortened format. Yuvraj Singh was the star, his runs coming at a painful strike rate of 194.73, although it was Gambhir's three half-centuries which provided the consistency. Pakistan were twice agonisingly close to beating them, but a bowl out was never going to be in their favour in the group, while the final was evidence that nothing short of a miracle will help them beat their neighbours in a World Cup. It is, there seems that there is life after Dravid, Dada and Tendu, and, although 20-20 may be dubious evidence of this, try telling that to the 1 billion.
Misbah Ul Yousuf: There were some strange selections by a few countries for the World Twenty20. South Africa ignored Jacques Kallis, their best batsman and reliable back-up seamer, as well as Andrew Hall, their best death bowler in a game which consists of little else. England also chose to overlook Ian Bell's excellent form in the India one-day series when injury gave them license to tinker with the squad. But it was the failure to pick Mohammed Yousuf which caused the most consternation. Not a massive aberration, one might think - Yousuf might be one of the best Test batsmen in the world, but Twenty20 is a different bag. What got the goat of many Pakistan fans and pundits was his replacement - not a 19 year old trailblazer, no Pathan warrior whistled down from the Khyber Pass. Instead, the honour went to Misbah Ul Haq, 91 days Yousuf's senior and out of the international game for three years. What was to be gained, went up the outcry. Potentially the loss of their best batsman, it seemed, as Yousuf upped sticks for the ICL, which under PCB rules would have barred him form playing for Pakistan again. As it happened, Misbah was Pakistan's leading run scorer in the tournament, and the third best overall. He is now back in the Test squad, as is Yousuf, who will "do anything" for Pakistan. Never say the world of Pakistani cricket is not a strange one...
Achilles Heel: Andrew Flintoff has often seemed like a mythic figure in the second half of his England career, but the comparison to the greatest of the Greek heroes, Achilles, can never have seemed more prescient. For Flintoff is England's greatest weapon, yet is continually felled by the smallest of body-parts. Were he to have been a character in Homeric poetry, surely his epithet would be Flintoff of the unstable ankle. Briefly, at the end of the summer, England fans glimpsed his best with the ball, as he released the frustration of another season without a Test on the Indians. The purpose was there in the run-up, the accuracy, as ever, was nagging, and, most importantly, the pace and bounce were lethal. But it seems that the great talents of the man are hostage to his ankle, which duly gave out again during the World 20-20. He clearly struggled, was reduced to medium-pace against New Zealand, then played, ridiculously, in the dead-rubber. And as predictable as that decision was stupid, the announcement shortly followed that he would be unfit to play the one-day series in Sri Lanka. If there is to be any chance of England fans witnessing Flintoff on the field of play for any significant period in the future, surely the best thing now is the last resort of a total break from cricket. Should they choose to rest him from the entire winter programme, he will have 6 months of rest before the English season comes around in April. Whereas before he has either been playing, or doing heavy-duty rehabilitation on the ankle, it has never had an extended period of rest, which seems the only thing left for the medics to suggest. He is now at the second watershed moment in his career, the first having been when some sharp words from those close to him incited him to lose the weight and realise his potential; the sadness is that, this time, there is only so much that he can do.
God bestowed the greatest of batting talents on Mark Ramprakash (or genetics, if that is your perspective) and after so many years of flattering to deceive on the international stage, he has started to bat like him. With the England players limited to just a handful of games, phenomenal achievements tend to be the preserve of the overseas professional. And one of their legion, Mike Hussey, is the only man other than Ramprakash who has achieved the batting high water-mark of 2000 Championship runs in the English season since the two-divisional structure was introduced. And that achievement was a phenomenal one done once, against the inferior Divison 2 opposition. To do it a second time, against the cream of county bowling, including the likes of Clark, Hoggard, Warne, Mushtaq, Naved and Muralitharan, is a triumph beyond words. The fact that he needed over 300 runs in the final game to get over the line just augments the legend. Indeed his form merits an England recall, although that will not happen for the right reasons, and the man himself has shown little hunger for such an eventuality. With hindsight, he probably should have gone to Australia last winter, where he has had success in the past, for the one-off, esepcially bearing in mind the inexperience of the English batting unit. But Ramprakash it at a stage in his career where the "if-onlys" can be relegated to the back of his mind, something which has probably helped free him up and facilitate such success. He is contracted for two more seasons, his 10 centuries this term have made the career mark of 100 a formality, barring injury. And while some English supporters might reflect on what might have been for him on the international stage, Ramprakash and his large fan-base can look forward to more seasons, more runs, and some of the finest batsmanship you might ever see.
Singing in the rain: County cricket is dying. Attendances are low, as are standards; it is failing the national team as a producer of talent fit for international cricket. That is a precied paraphrase of any report, review or Bob Willis speech you could hope to get your hands on (or cover your ears from) when the national team is failing. But not only did the title race go into the last game a four-horse race, of which only one had seriously fallen out of contention by the last day, it went down to the last few overs at The Oval, as Lancashire made a valiant effort to secure the prize that has eluded them since the inter-war years, falling just 25 short of what seemed an impossible target of 489. It was a second successive title for the Martlets, a third in five seasons - an astonishing glut after more than a century without success. It had seemed improbable back in April when they suffered a brace of shattering defeats, but slowly things came together - hardy perennials Goodwin and Adams ground out the runs, wickets tumbled as Mushtaq rolled to the wicket. Richard Montgomerie also finished on exactly 1000 CC runs, a nice way to end a distinguished career as he leaves the changing room for the classroom and his new career in teaching. There has not been too much missing from the domestic scene this season - runs aplenty from Ramprakash, Di Venuto, Law, Trescothick and Rudolph, to mention a few; the old guard of seamers - Gibson, Gough, Caddick and Chapple - enjoying late flourishes before surrendering the ball to the battalion of world-class spinners which graced the first-class game. All the best spinners in the world were on show in England this summer- Warne, Muralitharan, Mushtaq, Harbhajan, Kaneira and Kumble for India - not to mention a few English hopefuls, notably Adil Rashid, whose bowling fell away in the second half of the season, but who still managed over 40 wicket, as well as 790 runs. His fellow leg-spinner from Somerset, Michael Munday, whom Terry Jenner reckons has the best leg-break of all the young English spinners, also caused a stir with 8-55 in his final outing of the season. And all of this despite the massive amount of rain which would have wrecked a lesser season. So there is much for the county game to cheer, and, for once, little for its detractors to carp about.
Indian Captains do not tend to do winning away. Nor do they usually depart without some sort of controversy, providing the fire for the smoke of the burning effigies. But Rahul Dravid has never fulfilled the traditional stereotypes of the superstar Indian cricketer, and the manner of his departure reflected his modest and self-effacing nature. Indeed so quiet was his announcement, deliberately timed to coincide with the much louder events of the World Twenty20, that you might easily have missed it; when his predecessor departed the captaincy, you might have been mistaken for thinking that there was anything more important happening the world over. The timing of his resignation seems strange, on the back of the massive Test series win in England, but the more one thinks, the more sensible his decisions seems. Despite their relative success in Test cricket, the one-day side has been going backwards, evidenced by the World Cup display and defeat to a still emerging England side. Dravid knows that he will almost certainly not last until the 2011 World Cup, and saw the need for the one-day side to move on from the stalwarts who have sustained it for so long, but of late have begun to stultify it. In Tests, although a successful leader, he was always something of a hesitant and flawed tactician, steady rather than inspired. His batting also, relatively, suffered - when captain, his career mark of just under 57 was reduced to 44.51. Dravid realises that if India are to have a chance of trumping Australia away from home early next year, they will need every single run he can provide; evidently, he feels that he is better able to fulfil his primary role as No.3 batsman without the weight of the captaincy, that much heavier when it is the Indian job in question. Such selflessness is rare in sport, and even more so in the ego-driven world of sub-continental cricket. Dravid would have been under no pressure to resign - he did it for the good of his team, and what is sad is that, once again, he will be deprived of the plaudits he deserves.
Smells like 1983 spirit: Taking a three week break would have given scope for reviewing just the group stages of last spring's World Cup, but the World Championship of cricket's shortest format was mercifully, and fittingly, brief. Still not short enough for England to fail to depart with what seemed indecent haste, but it seems that some traditions have transferred to Twenty20, not least the South African's departing early from an event in their own country; they only lost one game, pitifully at that, but then it seems every tournament brings with it a new and more circuitous route to the exit door for them. But just as 24 years previously, it was unfancied India who swept the board, an irony considering their previously ambivalent stance to the shortened format. Yuvraj Singh was the star, his runs coming at a painful strike rate of 194.73, although it was Gambhir's three half-centuries which provided the consistency. Pakistan were twice agonisingly close to beating them, but a bowl out was never going to be in their favour in the group, while the final was evidence that nothing short of a miracle will help them beat their neighbours in a World Cup. It is, there seems that there is life after Dravid, Dada and Tendu, and, although 20-20 may be dubious evidence of this, try telling that to the 1 billion.
Misbah Ul Yousuf: There were some strange selections by a few countries for the World Twenty20. South Africa ignored Jacques Kallis, their best batsman and reliable back-up seamer, as well as Andrew Hall, their best death bowler in a game which consists of little else. England also chose to overlook Ian Bell's excellent form in the India one-day series when injury gave them license to tinker with the squad. But it was the failure to pick Mohammed Yousuf which caused the most consternation. Not a massive aberration, one might think - Yousuf might be one of the best Test batsmen in the world, but Twenty20 is a different bag. What got the goat of many Pakistan fans and pundits was his replacement - not a 19 year old trailblazer, no Pathan warrior whistled down from the Khyber Pass. Instead, the honour went to Misbah Ul Haq, 91 days Yousuf's senior and out of the international game for three years. What was to be gained, went up the outcry. Potentially the loss of their best batsman, it seemed, as Yousuf upped sticks for the ICL, which under PCB rules would have barred him form playing for Pakistan again. As it happened, Misbah was Pakistan's leading run scorer in the tournament, and the third best overall. He is now back in the Test squad, as is Yousuf, who will "do anything" for Pakistan. Never say the world of Pakistani cricket is not a strange one...
Achilles Heel: Andrew Flintoff has often seemed like a mythic figure in the second half of his England career, but the comparison to the greatest of the Greek heroes, Achilles, can never have seemed more prescient. For Flintoff is England's greatest weapon, yet is continually felled by the smallest of body-parts. Were he to have been a character in Homeric poetry, surely his epithet would be Flintoff of the unstable ankle. Briefly, at the end of the summer, England fans glimpsed his best with the ball, as he released the frustration of another season without a Test on the Indians. The purpose was there in the run-up, the accuracy, as ever, was nagging, and, most importantly, the pace and bounce were lethal. But it seems that the great talents of the man are hostage to his ankle, which duly gave out again during the World 20-20. He clearly struggled, was reduced to medium-pace against New Zealand, then played, ridiculously, in the dead-rubber. And as predictable as that decision was stupid, the announcement shortly followed that he would be unfit to play the one-day series in Sri Lanka. If there is to be any chance of England fans witnessing Flintoff on the field of play for any significant period in the future, surely the best thing now is the last resort of a total break from cricket. Should they choose to rest him from the entire winter programme, he will have 6 months of rest before the English season comes around in April. Whereas before he has either been playing, or doing heavy-duty rehabilitation on the ankle, it has never had an extended period of rest, which seems the only thing left for the medics to suggest. He is now at the second watershed moment in his career, the first having been when some sharp words from those close to him incited him to lose the weight and realise his potential; the sadness is that, this time, there is only so much that he can do.
God bestowed the greatest of batting talents on Mark Ramprakash (or genetics, if that is your perspective) and after so many years of flattering to deceive on the international stage, he has started to bat like him. With the England players limited to just a handful of games, phenomenal achievements tend to be the preserve of the overseas professional. And one of their legion, Mike Hussey, is the only man other than Ramprakash who has achieved the batting high water-mark of 2000 Championship runs in the English season since the two-divisional structure was introduced. And that achievement was a phenomenal one done once, against the inferior Divison 2 opposition. To do it a second time, against the cream of county bowling, including the likes of Clark, Hoggard, Warne, Mushtaq, Naved and Muralitharan, is a triumph beyond words. The fact that he needed over 300 runs in the final game to get over the line just augments the legend. Indeed his form merits an England recall, although that will not happen for the right reasons, and the man himself has shown little hunger for such an eventuality. With hindsight, he probably should have gone to Australia last winter, where he has had success in the past, for the one-off, esepcially bearing in mind the inexperience of the English batting unit. But Ramprakash it at a stage in his career where the "if-onlys" can be relegated to the back of his mind, something which has probably helped free him up and facilitate such success. He is contracted for two more seasons, his 10 centuries this term have made the career mark of 100 a formality, barring injury. And while some English supporters might reflect on what might have been for him on the international stage, Ramprakash and his large fan-base can look forward to more seasons, more runs, and some of the finest batsmanship you might ever see.
Singing in the rain: County cricket is dying. Attendances are low, as are standards; it is failing the national team as a producer of talent fit for international cricket. That is a precied paraphrase of any report, review or Bob Willis speech you could hope to get your hands on (or cover your ears from) when the national team is failing. But not only did the title race go into the last game a four-horse race, of which only one had seriously fallen out of contention by the last day, it went down to the last few overs at The Oval, as Lancashire made a valiant effort to secure the prize that has eluded them since the inter-war years, falling just 25 short of what seemed an impossible target of 489. It was a second successive title for the Martlets, a third in five seasons - an astonishing glut after more than a century without success. It had seemed improbable back in April when they suffered a brace of shattering defeats, but slowly things came together - hardy perennials Goodwin and Adams ground out the runs, wickets tumbled as Mushtaq rolled to the wicket. Richard Montgomerie also finished on exactly 1000 CC runs, a nice way to end a distinguished career as he leaves the changing room for the classroom and his new career in teaching. There has not been too much missing from the domestic scene this season - runs aplenty from Ramprakash, Di Venuto, Law, Trescothick and Rudolph, to mention a few; the old guard of seamers - Gibson, Gough, Caddick and Chapple - enjoying late flourishes before surrendering the ball to the battalion of world-class spinners which graced the first-class game. All the best spinners in the world were on show in England this summer- Warne, Muralitharan, Mushtaq, Harbhajan, Kaneira and Kumble for India - not to mention a few English hopefuls, notably Adil Rashid, whose bowling fell away in the second half of the season, but who still managed over 40 wicket, as well as 790 runs. His fellow leg-spinner from Somerset, Michael Munday, whom Terry Jenner reckons has the best leg-break of all the young English spinners, also caused a stir with 8-55 in his final outing of the season. And all of this despite the massive amount of rain which would have wrecked a lesser season. So there is much for the county game to cheer, and, for once, little for its detractors to carp about.
Indian Captains do not tend to do winning away. Nor do they usually depart without some sort of controversy, providing the fire for the smoke of the burning effigies. But Rahul Dravid has never fulfilled the traditional stereotypes of the superstar Indian cricketer, and the manner of his departure reflected his modest and self-effacing nature. Indeed so quiet was his announcement, deliberately timed to coincide with the much louder events of the World Twenty20, that you might easily have missed it; when his predecessor departed the captaincy, you might have been mistaken for thinking that there was anything more important happening the world over. The timing of his resignation seems strange, on the back of the massive Test series win in England, but the more one thinks, the more sensible his decisions seems. Despite their relative success in Test cricket, the one-day side has been going backwards, evidenced by the World Cup display and defeat to a still emerging England side. Dravid knows that he will almost certainly not last until the 2011 World Cup, and saw the need for the one-day side to move on from the stalwarts who have sustained it for so long, but of late have begun to stultify it. In Tests, although a successful leader, he was always something of a hesitant and flawed tactician, steady rather than inspired. His batting also, relatively, suffered - when captain, his career mark of just under 57 was reduced to 44.51. Dravid realises that if India are to have a chance of trumping Australia away from home early next year, they will need every single run he can provide; evidently, he feels that he is better able to fulfil his primary role as No.3 batsman without the weight of the captaincy, that much heavier when it is the Indian job in question. Such selflessness is rare in sport, and even more so in the ego-driven world of sub-continental cricket. Dravid would have been under no pressure to resign - he did it for the good of his team, and what is sad is that, once again, he will be deprived of the plaudits he deserves.
Friday 7 September 2007
Battling opposites seek to tip balance
Today's one-day international between England was never destined to have much importance - the 7th in what was sure to be an interminably long and tedious series, the outcome of which was largely expected to have been decided, it was scheduled on the same day as high profile matches for both the rugby and football teams and seemingly destined for graveyard levels of interest and publicity. Yet after 6 matches of absorbing and high-quality cricket, the outcome of the series will be decided in an effective final, at Lord' s, no less.
No-one, with cricket rather than coin running through their heart, wanted this series to run seven matches, your correspondent utterly unexcepted. Yet no-one could have expected some of the highlights of the 600 or so overs of cricket these two sides have contested thus far. A list of three different English century makers, the names Pietersen and Collingwood conspicuously absent; elegantly ponderous Test batsmen Ian Bell and Rahul Dravid blazing a trail with innovative, scintillating strokeplay; the still breathtaking sight of Flintoff steaming in at full tilt; the whiles and guile of the maverick, tubby Powar; Bopara and Broad manufacturing a partnership to somehow salvage a win from a cause most had long since abandoned; Mascarenhas clubbing the last five balls of an innings over the boundary rope; Uthappa's late audacious sally to snatch victory at The Oval and ensure the series outcome would remain undecided until the last.
No, turgid and unsuccessful cricket is what England fans have come to expect from their team in coloured clothing, and a one-sided series was generally forecasted. For the first four matches, this prediction largely held sway, although not quite in the way expected. England, keen in the field, effective with the bat and lent a cutting edge with the ball by the return of Flintoff, clambered all over India, who were geriatric in the field, lacked balance in the absence of a genuine all-rounder and suffered when the spinners were not bowling.
But India had too much quality to stay down for the count, and two batting efforts in excess of 300; setting a winning score at Headingley and chasing in the following game, have dragged them back to parity. And while the fielding has perked up after plumbing levels which would shame an over-40s pub team, it has indeed been with the bat in hand where India have won the games. And while the game of cricket, especially in its shorter form, has been changing all around him for the 17 year span of his international career, one thing remains constant - Sachin Tendulkar still wins games for India.
During the Test series, it was clear to see that he was a long way off his dominant best; he still had some success, notably with crucial 90s at Trent Bridge and The Oval, but it was achieved in a different manner from conquests past, and possibly with a different motive at heart. Whereas in years past, Tendulkar has been a destroyer of the best bowling attacks, here he had to work for his runs, accumulating and compiling innings. And while he had once been criticised as an insular character, now he appeared more outgoing - a team man - fielding in the slips where he had once prowled the outer reaches, ever willing to turn his arm over. And at the beginning of the one-day series, this ponderous style looked to be getting the better of him - he struggled to pierce the inner fielding ring, and twice offered easy catches to men in the middle of nowhere on the leg-side. But the latter part of the rubber has seen the return of the old Tendulkar, the dominant Tendulkar, Tendulkar the batting god. Once more the ball rockets off the bat, fielders with no more than a handful of paces to make up on the boundary are left floundering as the white missile pelts past them. The body has begun to fail him, which is why where the Tendulkar of 1996 or 2002 might have celebrated three centuries this series, he is still yet to pass three figures. But this is Lord's, this is a final, and this is the last time he will represent India on English soil. 27,000 at the Home of Cricket will be hoping, 1,000,000,000 back at home will be expecting one last flourish of genius from the man who has provided so many over the best part of two decades, and has shown in his last two appearances that he still has it in him.
And while the physically small Tendulkar is his country talisman, England will be looking for their own totemic figure, Andrew Flintoff, to return . It is a romantic vision, the injured Flintoff rising up to inspire his team to victory, and the sort of which cricket, as a sport, has the power on occasion to indulge. But likely as it is he will play, England, despite their coach's expostulations, are indeed taking a risk with his health, although it seems these days Flintoff cannot take the cricket field without risking some part of the lower body which provides the power-base for his herculean bowling. England will hope to get the ten cheap overs they need out of Flintoff and pray that this does not lead to any further deterioration. But the long term situation regarding his fitness is a more complicated one, and, although it is a matter for another day, that day must be soon, even if the answers are not those anyone wants to hear.
England have begun to turn a corner in this series; for the first time in years, the structure for what could prove an excellent one-day side appears to be coming together. And while 3-4 would have been an acceptable result at the outset, it would be a black mark to let the series slide having needed just one win from the last three games to seal it. For India, the same process is one which looms large; over the last week, there have been rumblings that Tendulkar will retire from the shorter form of the game after India's next two home ODI series; Dravid and Ganguly cannot be too far behind, and their young 20-20 squad, with MS Dhoni as captain, shows that they have already begun to consider the future without the reassuring names which have been the present for so long. England need the win to confirm their improvement as a one-day side, India so that they avoid what would be an embarrassing defeat overall and to leave England with not only the series victory they might not have expected, but the one everyone thought was theirs for the taking. What was originally ordained to be decided over the course of seven matches can now be settled in just one. The best of both worlds then, although it will be an uncomfortable place for the team who comes second.
No-one, with cricket rather than coin running through their heart, wanted this series to run seven matches, your correspondent utterly unexcepted. Yet no-one could have expected some of the highlights of the 600 or so overs of cricket these two sides have contested thus far. A list of three different English century makers, the names Pietersen and Collingwood conspicuously absent; elegantly ponderous Test batsmen Ian Bell and Rahul Dravid blazing a trail with innovative, scintillating strokeplay; the still breathtaking sight of Flintoff steaming in at full tilt; the whiles and guile of the maverick, tubby Powar; Bopara and Broad manufacturing a partnership to somehow salvage a win from a cause most had long since abandoned; Mascarenhas clubbing the last five balls of an innings over the boundary rope; Uthappa's late audacious sally to snatch victory at The Oval and ensure the series outcome would remain undecided until the last.
No, turgid and unsuccessful cricket is what England fans have come to expect from their team in coloured clothing, and a one-sided series was generally forecasted. For the first four matches, this prediction largely held sway, although not quite in the way expected. England, keen in the field, effective with the bat and lent a cutting edge with the ball by the return of Flintoff, clambered all over India, who were geriatric in the field, lacked balance in the absence of a genuine all-rounder and suffered when the spinners were not bowling.
But India had too much quality to stay down for the count, and two batting efforts in excess of 300; setting a winning score at Headingley and chasing in the following game, have dragged them back to parity. And while the fielding has perked up after plumbing levels which would shame an over-40s pub team, it has indeed been with the bat in hand where India have won the games. And while the game of cricket, especially in its shorter form, has been changing all around him for the 17 year span of his international career, one thing remains constant - Sachin Tendulkar still wins games for India.
During the Test series, it was clear to see that he was a long way off his dominant best; he still had some success, notably with crucial 90s at Trent Bridge and The Oval, but it was achieved in a different manner from conquests past, and possibly with a different motive at heart. Whereas in years past, Tendulkar has been a destroyer of the best bowling attacks, here he had to work for his runs, accumulating and compiling innings. And while he had once been criticised as an insular character, now he appeared more outgoing - a team man - fielding in the slips where he had once prowled the outer reaches, ever willing to turn his arm over. And at the beginning of the one-day series, this ponderous style looked to be getting the better of him - he struggled to pierce the inner fielding ring, and twice offered easy catches to men in the middle of nowhere on the leg-side. But the latter part of the rubber has seen the return of the old Tendulkar, the dominant Tendulkar, Tendulkar the batting god. Once more the ball rockets off the bat, fielders with no more than a handful of paces to make up on the boundary are left floundering as the white missile pelts past them. The body has begun to fail him, which is why where the Tendulkar of 1996 or 2002 might have celebrated three centuries this series, he is still yet to pass three figures. But this is Lord's, this is a final, and this is the last time he will represent India on English soil. 27,000 at the Home of Cricket will be hoping, 1,000,000,000 back at home will be expecting one last flourish of genius from the man who has provided so many over the best part of two decades, and has shown in his last two appearances that he still has it in him.
And while the physically small Tendulkar is his country talisman, England will be looking for their own totemic figure, Andrew Flintoff, to return . It is a romantic vision, the injured Flintoff rising up to inspire his team to victory, and the sort of which cricket, as a sport, has the power on occasion to indulge. But likely as it is he will play, England, despite their coach's expostulations, are indeed taking a risk with his health, although it seems these days Flintoff cannot take the cricket field without risking some part of the lower body which provides the power-base for his herculean bowling. England will hope to get the ten cheap overs they need out of Flintoff and pray that this does not lead to any further deterioration. But the long term situation regarding his fitness is a more complicated one, and, although it is a matter for another day, that day must be soon, even if the answers are not those anyone wants to hear.
England have begun to turn a corner in this series; for the first time in years, the structure for what could prove an excellent one-day side appears to be coming together. And while 3-4 would have been an acceptable result at the outset, it would be a black mark to let the series slide having needed just one win from the last three games to seal it. For India, the same process is one which looms large; over the last week, there have been rumblings that Tendulkar will retire from the shorter form of the game after India's next two home ODI series; Dravid and Ganguly cannot be too far behind, and their young 20-20 squad, with MS Dhoni as captain, shows that they have already begun to consider the future without the reassuring names which have been the present for so long. England need the win to confirm their improvement as a one-day side, India so that they avoid what would be an embarrassing defeat overall and to leave England with not only the series victory they might not have expected, but the one everyone thought was theirs for the taking. What was originally ordained to be decided over the course of seven matches can now be settled in just one. The best of both worlds then, although it will be an uncomfortable place for the team who comes second.
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