It might not have caused a great shock to the system of a casual fan to learn that England succumbed rather feebly in today's final one-day game in Sri Lanka. But while the eye of the sporting world hovers over England's unbelievable run to the Rugby World Cup final, the cricket team have been almost imperceptibly staging their own act of defiance. Sri Lanka do not lose too often at home, nor England win away in one-day cricket. And, despite a rather disappointing codicil to a hard fought but low key series, there is a definite sense, for the first time in over a decade, that England are well on the road to becoming a successful one-day team.
There tends to come a point in all sport when a poor team finds out that even the seemingly bottomless pit has a limit. For England, surely that time was six months ago in the Caribbean when four years of chaotic preparation and moderate results produced a team which drowned in a mulch of turgid and ill-executed cricket. The Test team found itself in a similar position in 1999, when Nasser Hussain's first series in charge ended in defeat to unprepossessing New Zealand in a summer which had also included the now habitual World Cup failure. It was Hussain who, with sheer bloodymindedness and truculent man-management, dragged England from the pit of mediocrity which had been its resting place for a decade or more and pointed the way to future success. Michael Vaughan inherited Hussain's legacy, refining the rough edges which had been necessary in the first stage of recovery and guiding the team through a year of unmitigated success, culminating in a sweet Ashes victory in the summer of 2005. England are now seemingly entering that first phase of rebirth, and in Collingwood they have a man who is well equipped to exert the Hussain-like influence on the one-day team.
Since 1992, when England last produced the goods in one-day cricket, there have been four full time England captains who have doubled up in both forms of the game. Atherton, Stewart, Hussain and Vaughan were all fine Test players who all had some influence as leaders in the longer form. But none were especially comfortable in one-day cricket, as players and consequentially, captains. And prior to the CB series steal in February, England's last one-day triumph away from the green and pleasant land had been ten years previously, in Sharjah under the captaincy of one-day specialist Adam Hollioake. And you will still find many people who would contend that Hollioake should never have been stripped of the captaincy when he was, and that he should have played and captained over 100 ODIs. Some neat symmetry then, that it is under the stewardship of Collingwood, so long a resident in the one-day specialist pigeon-hole, that England have begun to look a competitive one-day team. And while team lacked direction under the likes of Hussain and Vaughan, this side glows with the Collingwood influence; busy, effective and bristling with controlled aggression.
It is the bowlers who have been the leading figures, and, slow and tricky pitches notwithstanding, they have done exceptionally well to restrict a Sri Lankan batting order of such pedigree. Ryan Sidebottom has shown why the management were so keen to get him into the team despite him missing most of the summer fixtures. One-day cricket brings out the dog in him, and his variation and accuracy are lethal when accompanied by the quicker pace he has shown himself capable of bowling this series. James Anderson was quieter, but he remains England's one-day spearhead, and he hung in well and was an excellent new-ball foil for Sidebottom. Stuart Broad, relegated to first change, nevertheless prospered and enjoyed a considerable amount of good fortune on the way to 11 wickets. Still, it was an impressive return after he was mauled by Yuvraj in the Twenty20, and every international for Broad is an investment by England in a bowler who fits in exactly with their template with his batting ability to boot.
However, despite the excellence of the seam trio, it was the performance of the resurgent Graeme Swann which captured headlines and bathed in what little limelight the media spared for the series. Eight years ago on his first, and what seemed for a long time sure to be his last, tour with England, Swann infamously scrawled his name in graffiti on the pages of Duncan Fletcher's bad book with his brash manner and disdain at the team bus as a method of transport. It is easy to look back now, but at the time Swann was exactly the sort of character Fletcher did not need in a new-look team for which discipline became an important theme. Times have changed, though, for both England and Swann, who was included in the squad seemingly as second spinner to Monty Panesar. Panesar had struggled in the one-day game, but it was still a surprise when he won selection for the first game. England lost that, but Swann gained his first international wicket, 8 years on from being outbowled by Graeme Hick, and the notice of the attending from his very first ball on return, which spun sharply out of the rough. He continued to prosper, notably in the third game at Dambulla, with 4 wickets, rare for an English spinner in ODIs, backed up by a matchwinning knock in the tense run-chase. A deep seated irony that his success should come in the manner so beloved of Fletcher, the primary function backed up by second-string talent.
The batting unit was less at ease, and had it been surer, England would have won by greater margin and with fewer nerves frayed. The opening partnership, a continual bugbear, was once again makeshift and temporary in form and substance; Alistair Cook proved his worth in the limited situation of the anchor in the chase which sealed the series at Colombo. Elsewhere he showed that he still lacks the adaptability and nous to be the complete opener in one-day cricket. Phil Mustard, who would not have wished for the jungly surrounds and pedestrian pitches of Dambulla for his international bow, showed his ability to score at a good rate but, like his predecessor in the role, Matt Prior, never looked like making a significant contribution. With his wicket-keeping also imperfect, it will be a delicate call as to whether he is retained for the next one-day series in New Zealand. Ian Bell is now settled as England's No.3, but an absence of luck and better judgement meant that the success he enjoyed against India in late summer eluded him. Kevin Pietersen, despite guiding England home in the fourth game, still seems in the mid-life crisis of his ODI career, while Paul Collingwood was patchy, likewise Owais Shah aside from one important contribution in the second game; his 82 was the highest total achieved by a batsman on either side, reflective of the bowler-friendly nature of the pitches. Ravi Bopara never really got going, which is not too surprising considering he was played almost as a specialist batsman at 7. There seems to be an essential imbalance in the team, not helped by the unavailability of Flintoff, who would fit in nicely in Bopara' s batting position. Bopara showed his bowling prowess with a tight spell today with Collingwood nursing a sore shoulder, but even with Flintoff's absence reducing bowling options, he was hardly given a chance to bowl, and his current role seems to benefit neither him nor the team.
As for Sri Lanka, who dazzled at the World Cup, there was a surprising lack of stomach and gumption in conditions familiar to them. Without Muralitharan, the bowling suffered, and the shackles imposed on the usually free-spirited openers Jayasuriya and Tharanga seemed to encompass the whole team, with the middle and lower order often having to bail out the wreck left by the top half. The fact that fringe players Maharoof and Silva were the stand-outs reflects the general underperformance of the team. Whether this is merely a blip or a precursor to leaner times in the aftermath of Tom Moody's successful tenure remains to be seen, but it was unexpected to see Sri Lanka get outlasted on their own pitches by a still vulnerable England team.
Maybe we should not be so surprised by England's success. There is youth and talent in this team, as well as the odd old-head with a few more in reserve. The victory against India was the establishment of a new regime after short-circuiting against West Indies, while this current triumph represents progress and a real feather in the cap of Collingwood and coach Peter Moores. It is still far too early to be getting complacent about the performance of the one-day side, but for once the attention can be turned to Tests with the issue of the one-dayers lain aside happily, rather than furtively swept under the carpet.
Saturday, 13 October 2007
Sunday, 30 September 2007
Nascent England must distance themselves from old failures
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, 30 August 2007
Student fund covers shortcomings
There had been enough decidedly un-English play in the first three matches of this sprawling one-day marathon to dictate that the bad old ways would soon return. And in the manner beloved of the British press, today's unlikely victory was achieved in extraordinary circumstances, with the odds heavily stacked against it - put another way, it was an excellent face-saving exercise on what was turning into a monumental cock-up. When Stuart Broad joined Ravi Bopara with England 99 adrift of victory, and just three wickets in hand, very much in the manner of Roosevelt at the D-Day landings, one assumed that captain Paul Collingwood had his defeat-speech ready in his pocket.
Despite a pitch on which the vaunted Indian batting line-up had limped to just over 200, and 7 front-line English batsmen had mustered just over 100, and even with Collingwood, anchoring the innings and the only man in dark blue to have given a sense of permanence, having got on the wrong end of a run-out, somehow England's two youngest players managed to forge the elusive partnership which the commentators declared was all England needed, and yet all the senior batsmen had failed to manufacture. Just 28 of the 99 runs they put on were in boundaries, and like another illustrious English late-order partnership of 105 years ago, Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst, they resolved to get the majority in singles. Glides, nudges and pokes were supplemented by wristy inventiveness on the part of Bopara and the odd dominant off-side stroke from Broad, more reminiscent of his father, former England opener Chris. Bopara, of course, has been here before - in the company of another left-hander, team-elder Paul Nixon, he made an even more thrilling last stand in the World Cup against Sri Lanka, although that effort was fated to end in defeat. Today's partnership was far lower-octane - there was barely a reverse sweep in sight, and the job was completed long before one of the Indian seamers had the chance to emulate Fernando's last ball chutzpah. But, more happily, the result was an England victory; while Bopara continued to build his reputation as ice-blood finisher, Broad made the first significant batting contribution of his international career to join his ODI best figures with the ball and confirm what his bowling has suggested throughout the series, that he has now settled into this England team and is starting to produce his best.
In the circumstances of such a triumph, it is hard to strike a balance between praise for the heroes of the hour and criticism of those who put them in a situation where heroes were needed at all. It would be wrong to suggest that today's batting shambles is illustrative of England's general one-day situation, for they have batted well for most of the series. Rather it was a result of the usual mixture of potent bowling and foolish shot-selection. They were not helped by the early loss of Cook, who ideally would have batted as in a Test match and anchored the innings, but the general support for Collingwood was below poor - Flintoff has regained no confidence with the bat, while Shah is probably suffering from an inner-turmoil brought about by the fact he is being made to prove himself the series after he had been the only English batsman worthy of the description.
But at the stage in the series where the selectors can opt to alter the squad, there is far more reason to be positive than otherwise, largely thanks to the excellent standard of bowling. Gone are the much peddled sequences of wides, no-balls and boundaries which the likes of Plunkett and Mahmood amongst others have frequently dished up over the last year. Instead, James Anderson now leads the attack with his bowling and confidence appearing to grow with every passing game. He is now on the verge of being the ideal one-day pace bowler: providing wickets with the new ball, he is the sort to which Collingwood can turn to when he needs a wicket mid-innings, and some embellishments to his repertoire have meant that bowling at the death is now increasingly less of a trial. Alongside him, Broad has been as reliable as one could have hoped for a bowler of his experience: before today's game, perhaps the wickets had not come as freely as they might have, but he has been resolute with the new ball, his accuracy, nip and bounce creating pressure from one end, which his colleagues, especially Anderson, have been gleefully capitalising on. Flintoff has bowled with pace and aggression seldom seen since he last regularly played ODI cricket at home, in the summer of 2005. Doubt remains over the abilities of Panesar in this form of the game, and he lacks the variation which has made his opposite numbers so troublesome, although to his credit he produced his best one-day performance today, conceding less than 40 runs from his complete allocation of overs and taking away the scalp of Dhoni, castled by a sharp-spinner.
Almost as pleasing as the much improved bowling performances has been the excellent showing in the two outwardly peripheral areas of one-day cricket which few teams prosper without successfully executing. Australia have long been the market leaders in ODI cricket, and while the stellar names at both ends of the teamsheet have much to do with this, the high quality of their fielding is the factor which swings tight contests their way. Their current team possesses an unrivalled trio of world-class fielders in the gully/cover ring, with Ponting, Symonds and Clarke all predatory in hunting down even the best hit missiles, and deadly with the returns. England can only boast one fielder of that repute, in their captain Paul Collingwood, who has a claim for the title of best gully-line fielder in the world. But what has been apparent in this series is the way England are starting to field as a unit; alongside the captain, Bell, Bopara and Pietersen are on the way to becoming the same intimidating presence in the 30-yard circle as Australia offer. Throw in the catching and athleticism of Flintoff and the supreme arm of Anderson and you can see the potential this nascent England side has as a team in the field. Further to that, they have run excellently between the wickets, stealing singles and rotating the strike even when the boundaries will not come. In contrast, India have been slack in their running and slovenly in the field: while the experience of their batsmen is beneficial for that part of the game, having to carry their ageing legs in the field is costing India - it was something Greg Chappell identified during his now notorious spell as coach and although most involved in Indian cricket are now doing their best to forget the Chappell years, his point is an enduring one, and India will continue to struggle in one-day cricket while nothing is done.
Most of the negatives surrounding England's performances centre around the batting, although, excepting today's performance, returns have been promising. Cook and Bell delivered the centuries in the first game which the team had been crying out for. Both have continued to prosper, and although they are not fully able to exploit the powerplays in the popular muscular style, it is not inconceivable that they could continue to be accommodated. However, Matt Prior is not the right man to fill that particular sandwich - he is not a bad pinch-hitter, but rarely threatens to really cut loose or indeed progress much beyond 30, too often the victim to an ugly swipe resulting in a towering catch. Now they have the opportunity to meddle with the squad, it seems that the form of Durham opener (and 'keeper) Phil Mustard is just a bit too good to ignore: following his quickfire 49 in the FP final, he has produced innings of 84 (74 balls), 78 (40 balls) and 66 (31 balls) in three consecutive Pro40 games. Continuity is what England may bleat should they choose to pass over Mustard, but bloodymindedness is a greater sin than contravening the former.
But in comparison to earlier in the summer, these are just quibbles, and the English team and fans can take a brief moment to bask in the glory of some one-day success, in recent years about as commonplace as Saharan rain. But not for too long; despite their considerable advantage, there is still a series to win. And if it is for his bowling rather than batting that Stuart Broad continues to make headlines, then his country will be well served.
Despite a pitch on which the vaunted Indian batting line-up had limped to just over 200, and 7 front-line English batsmen had mustered just over 100, and even with Collingwood, anchoring the innings and the only man in dark blue to have given a sense of permanence, having got on the wrong end of a run-out, somehow England's two youngest players managed to forge the elusive partnership which the commentators declared was all England needed, and yet all the senior batsmen had failed to manufacture. Just 28 of the 99 runs they put on were in boundaries, and like another illustrious English late-order partnership of 105 years ago, Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst, they resolved to get the majority in singles. Glides, nudges and pokes were supplemented by wristy inventiveness on the part of Bopara and the odd dominant off-side stroke from Broad, more reminiscent of his father, former England opener Chris. Bopara, of course, has been here before - in the company of another left-hander, team-elder Paul Nixon, he made an even more thrilling last stand in the World Cup against Sri Lanka, although that effort was fated to end in defeat. Today's partnership was far lower-octane - there was barely a reverse sweep in sight, and the job was completed long before one of the Indian seamers had the chance to emulate Fernando's last ball chutzpah. But, more happily, the result was an England victory; while Bopara continued to build his reputation as ice-blood finisher, Broad made the first significant batting contribution of his international career to join his ODI best figures with the ball and confirm what his bowling has suggested throughout the series, that he has now settled into this England team and is starting to produce his best.
In the circumstances of such a triumph, it is hard to strike a balance between praise for the heroes of the hour and criticism of those who put them in a situation where heroes were needed at all. It would be wrong to suggest that today's batting shambles is illustrative of England's general one-day situation, for they have batted well for most of the series. Rather it was a result of the usual mixture of potent bowling and foolish shot-selection. They were not helped by the early loss of Cook, who ideally would have batted as in a Test match and anchored the innings, but the general support for Collingwood was below poor - Flintoff has regained no confidence with the bat, while Shah is probably suffering from an inner-turmoil brought about by the fact he is being made to prove himself the series after he had been the only English batsman worthy of the description.
But at the stage in the series where the selectors can opt to alter the squad, there is far more reason to be positive than otherwise, largely thanks to the excellent standard of bowling. Gone are the much peddled sequences of wides, no-balls and boundaries which the likes of Plunkett and Mahmood amongst others have frequently dished up over the last year. Instead, James Anderson now leads the attack with his bowling and confidence appearing to grow with every passing game. He is now on the verge of being the ideal one-day pace bowler: providing wickets with the new ball, he is the sort to which Collingwood can turn to when he needs a wicket mid-innings, and some embellishments to his repertoire have meant that bowling at the death is now increasingly less of a trial. Alongside him, Broad has been as reliable as one could have hoped for a bowler of his experience: before today's game, perhaps the wickets had not come as freely as they might have, but he has been resolute with the new ball, his accuracy, nip and bounce creating pressure from one end, which his colleagues, especially Anderson, have been gleefully capitalising on. Flintoff has bowled with pace and aggression seldom seen since he last regularly played ODI cricket at home, in the summer of 2005. Doubt remains over the abilities of Panesar in this form of the game, and he lacks the variation which has made his opposite numbers so troublesome, although to his credit he produced his best one-day performance today, conceding less than 40 runs from his complete allocation of overs and taking away the scalp of Dhoni, castled by a sharp-spinner.
Almost as pleasing as the much improved bowling performances has been the excellent showing in the two outwardly peripheral areas of one-day cricket which few teams prosper without successfully executing. Australia have long been the market leaders in ODI cricket, and while the stellar names at both ends of the teamsheet have much to do with this, the high quality of their fielding is the factor which swings tight contests their way. Their current team possesses an unrivalled trio of world-class fielders in the gully/cover ring, with Ponting, Symonds and Clarke all predatory in hunting down even the best hit missiles, and deadly with the returns. England can only boast one fielder of that repute, in their captain Paul Collingwood, who has a claim for the title of best gully-line fielder in the world. But what has been apparent in this series is the way England are starting to field as a unit; alongside the captain, Bell, Bopara and Pietersen are on the way to becoming the same intimidating presence in the 30-yard circle as Australia offer. Throw in the catching and athleticism of Flintoff and the supreme arm of Anderson and you can see the potential this nascent England side has as a team in the field. Further to that, they have run excellently between the wickets, stealing singles and rotating the strike even when the boundaries will not come. In contrast, India have been slack in their running and slovenly in the field: while the experience of their batsmen is beneficial for that part of the game, having to carry their ageing legs in the field is costing India - it was something Greg Chappell identified during his now notorious spell as coach and although most involved in Indian cricket are now doing their best to forget the Chappell years, his point is an enduring one, and India will continue to struggle in one-day cricket while nothing is done.
Most of the negatives surrounding England's performances centre around the batting, although, excepting today's performance, returns have been promising. Cook and Bell delivered the centuries in the first game which the team had been crying out for. Both have continued to prosper, and although they are not fully able to exploit the powerplays in the popular muscular style, it is not inconceivable that they could continue to be accommodated. However, Matt Prior is not the right man to fill that particular sandwich - he is not a bad pinch-hitter, but rarely threatens to really cut loose or indeed progress much beyond 30, too often the victim to an ugly swipe resulting in a towering catch. Now they have the opportunity to meddle with the squad, it seems that the form of Durham opener (and 'keeper) Phil Mustard is just a bit too good to ignore: following his quickfire 49 in the FP final, he has produced innings of 84 (74 balls), 78 (40 balls) and 66 (31 balls) in three consecutive Pro40 games. Continuity is what England may bleat should they choose to pass over Mustard, but bloodymindedness is a greater sin than contravening the former.
But in comparison to earlier in the summer, these are just quibbles, and the English team and fans can take a brief moment to bask in the glory of some one-day success, in recent years about as commonplace as Saharan rain. But not for too long; despite their considerable advantage, there is still a series to win. And if it is for his bowling rather than batting that Stuart Broad continues to make headlines, then his country will be well served.
Sunday, 26 August 2007
Looking for a happy ending to hard times
County cricket can be a strange and capricious world, but the reality of a probable title-decider at Hove is remarkable even by such standards, considering the relative recent fortunes of the two counties. Sussex are the champions, and are seeking their third title in five season, so their presence would not be cause for any great surprise. However such an eventuality seemed unlikely back in April, as they crashed to successive innings defeats against Kent and Wawrickshire. Michael Yardy was unavailable, his finger broken in the curtain raiser against MCC; Matt Prior likewise, at the behest of the England selectors.
At that stage of the season, Yorkshire fans were in a state of delirium; Surrey, Durham and Worcestershire had all submitted to heavy defeats, while fancied Hampshire escaped with a draw. It had been a swift turnaround from the circumstances six months previously, when the club was in straits calamitous even when set against the frequent disasters which litter the club's history, ancient and modern. Darren Lehmann, who had literally preserved Yorkshire's Division 1 status off his own bat, scoring a triple century in the survive or die match against Durham, and a top-drawer overseas pro in every way, had lost the battle against ageing bones and was unable to commit to another full campaign. Joining him through the exit door was Michael Lumb, off to the greener grass of Hampshire's Rose Bowl, and, so it seemed Anthony McGrath. No-one had been more committed to the cause than McGrath, a loyal servant to the club for over a decade. But like so many Yorkshire greats of the past, the back-biting and inner machinations had tipped him over the edge and he resolved to cut his ties with the club. Craig White extended his contract, but terminated his leadership, so Yorkshire had no captain. David Byas, cause for some of the unrest, also departed, so they had no coach.
Where two had been, Yorkshire sought to fill the void with one man. Ironically enough, that was the then Sussex captain Chris Adams. Captaining the side, acting as head coach and shoring up a flimsy middle-order were the tasks assigned to him, the reciprocal being a four year contract and an enticing financial offer. Perhaps bearing in mind the job that faced him, one can understand while Adams took one look and fled back to homely Hove (stopping on the way to have his photo taken holding a Yorkshire shirt), which is why he is the still Sussex captain. But his departure left the club in a tricky situation; as ever, Geoffrey Boycott homed in on the nub of the issue - Yorkshire had spent the months where they could have found the players they now needed persuading Adams and that time had been wasted and Adams had not only left them up a creek but taken their paddle with him back to Sussex. The batting appeared to begin and end with Younus Khan; the bowling with Jason Gillespie - not an appealing prospect when his first season with the club was taken into account. Younus could not be captain, as he was going to be away the World Cup (as was the assumption), neither could McGrath as he was leaving.
But while the reaction of most Yorkshire fans to Chris Adams' U-turn ranged from anger to outright hostility, they might well now consider a pilgrimage to Hove to kiss his feet. Realising that the middle-order batting was set to resemble that of the previous year's Second XI, a mixture of hard-headed dealing from Chief Exec. Stuart Regan and Geoffrey Boycott's contacts in South Africa helped bring Jaques Rudolph to the club on a three year Kolpak deal. It was not popular, and fiercely contested by other counties, but at the end of it all, Yorkshire had secured the services of a Test-class batsman, who has proved over the course of the season to be their best. However, the captaincy options were still thin on the ground - the fact that Jason Gillespie was probably the second horse in the race is a fair illustration of the situation. Yet an amazing winter for the club had one more surprise left in it, and it concerned the nature of a two-year contract offered by Essex; it was unsigned, and the name on it was Darren Gough. With his old foe Byas out of the way, Gough did not need too much persuading to make the emotional return once the captaincy option was on the table. Gough alone would have been a significant capture, but when his signing reaped the immediate benefits of mollifying McGrath and provoking an extraordinary reconciliation as well as luring former coach Martyn Moxon back from Durham, no-one could quite believe the transformation that the club had undergone in a matter of months. And when Pakistan's dismal World Cup exit meant Younus would be available from the start of the season, optimism knew no bounds. It was cup runneth over stuff, especially when Surrey were knocked over on their own turf, leading to three wins in the first four championship games.
It couldn't last, could it? Well yes and no - despite having won just one more match since the initial spurt, Yorkshire find themselves at the top of the table, albeit having played a game more than nearest rivals Sussex and two more than Hampshire. After rain interrupted their mid-season, with none of their four matches after the 20-20 break going beyond a third innings, consecutive losses to Lancashire and Worcestershire looked to have scuppered their title chances. The latter result was a real body-blow - Worcestershire were (and still are) propping up the table, winless all season. However, enterprising captaincy from Vikram Solanki, declaring behind on first innings after the weather had taken time out of the game, gave his opposite number the chance to reciprocate, which he did a little too generously as Worcestershire chased down 337 with ease on the final afternoon.
However, just as Yorkshire looked to have played themselves out of contention, fate took a hand: as Sussex were sat in a dressing room at The Oval unable to get on the field for a single ball over four days, the Scarborough crowd were witnessing the utter destruction of Wawrickshire, who went down to a crushing innings defeat, twice bowled out cheaply and made to suffer in the field as Rudolph amassed a double-century and Bresnan his third ton of the season. Maximum points to Yorkshire; squat all to Sussex except the realisation that the title race was wide-open again.
The clash between the two teams in early September is the next Championship game for both sides, and should either one emerge as winner, the title is likely to go with them. Yorkshire have relied on their batsmen a lot this term, reflected by their mammoth amount of batting bonus points, the factor which is keeping them at the top of the table. And after the top order had begun to falter recently, they have been reinforced by the arrival of two Test captains - incumbent English leader Michael Vaughan and recently departed Pakistani skipper Inzamam-Ul-Haq, a replacement for compatriot Younus Khan. Anthony McGrath has returned to the form of last season after a shaky start, and Yorkshire will rely on him for solidity at the top, alongside Vaughan. Batsman of the season Rudolph is the fourth Test player in the top 5, and has combined well with a strong lower order, improved keeper-batsman Gerard Brophy and England future hopefuls Rashid and Bresnan, both in the runs of late. Sussex boast less international pedigree, but are nevertheless packed with experienced practitioners, Goodwin and Adams the best bets for heavy runs, backed up by Yardy and Montgomerie, enjoying his best season for years at the top of the order. The lower-order also shows up well, with Hodd deputising effectively for Prior, as well as all-rounders Martin-Jenkins and 20 over star Luke Wright.
Yorkshire's opening pair with the ball is an exciting mix of England past and present, captain Gough alongside Hoggard. Bresnan and Shahzad are the back-up seamers, while the trump card is spinning prodigy Adil Rashid. Although his season has tailed off with the ball after a turbo-charged start, he is still a serious threat. Should he be looking to learn, in his two opposite numbers there are no better examples as masters of their respective crafts. Mushtaq Ahmed has been top wicket-taker for Sussex in every season since he joined in 2003, and nothing has changed this term, 69 already having fallen victim. He is now joined by the other man who sustained Pakistani spin bowling in the 1990s, Saqlain Mushtaq: if Shane Warne saved the art of leg-spin, the same must be said of Saqlain as regards off-spin, with his invention of what is now known as the doosra, but to start off with was just Saqlain's mystery ball. The last three years have been a real struggle for him - dropped by Pakistan, he found himself abandoned by his home country, and has finally emerged with Sussex, alongside his old accomplice. With the Pakistani spin-twins, expect the Hove pitch to be conducive to turn (make that a raging bunsen), although Yorkshire can counter with not only Rashid but Imran Tahir, replacement for Jason Gillespie.
The two counties can find much in common over the last year, not least the man who could have been leading out either team. But for all that shared experience, only one team can lift the trophy, and the forthcoming match represents the best chance for one team to deliver a knockout blow. Yorkshire have the big-names, Sussex the men who know what it takes to win a Championship. Only after four days will Chris Adams know whether he made the right choice.
At that stage of the season, Yorkshire fans were in a state of delirium; Surrey, Durham and Worcestershire had all submitted to heavy defeats, while fancied Hampshire escaped with a draw. It had been a swift turnaround from the circumstances six months previously, when the club was in straits calamitous even when set against the frequent disasters which litter the club's history, ancient and modern. Darren Lehmann, who had literally preserved Yorkshire's Division 1 status off his own bat, scoring a triple century in the survive or die match against Durham, and a top-drawer overseas pro in every way, had lost the battle against ageing bones and was unable to commit to another full campaign. Joining him through the exit door was Michael Lumb, off to the greener grass of Hampshire's Rose Bowl, and, so it seemed Anthony McGrath. No-one had been more committed to the cause than McGrath, a loyal servant to the club for over a decade. But like so many Yorkshire greats of the past, the back-biting and inner machinations had tipped him over the edge and he resolved to cut his ties with the club. Craig White extended his contract, but terminated his leadership, so Yorkshire had no captain. David Byas, cause for some of the unrest, also departed, so they had no coach.
Where two had been, Yorkshire sought to fill the void with one man. Ironically enough, that was the then Sussex captain Chris Adams. Captaining the side, acting as head coach and shoring up a flimsy middle-order were the tasks assigned to him, the reciprocal being a four year contract and an enticing financial offer. Perhaps bearing in mind the job that faced him, one can understand while Adams took one look and fled back to homely Hove (stopping on the way to have his photo taken holding a Yorkshire shirt), which is why he is the still Sussex captain. But his departure left the club in a tricky situation; as ever, Geoffrey Boycott homed in on the nub of the issue - Yorkshire had spent the months where they could have found the players they now needed persuading Adams and that time had been wasted and Adams had not only left them up a creek but taken their paddle with him back to Sussex. The batting appeared to begin and end with Younus Khan; the bowling with Jason Gillespie - not an appealing prospect when his first season with the club was taken into account. Younus could not be captain, as he was going to be away the World Cup (as was the assumption), neither could McGrath as he was leaving.
But while the reaction of most Yorkshire fans to Chris Adams' U-turn ranged from anger to outright hostility, they might well now consider a pilgrimage to Hove to kiss his feet. Realising that the middle-order batting was set to resemble that of the previous year's Second XI, a mixture of hard-headed dealing from Chief Exec. Stuart Regan and Geoffrey Boycott's contacts in South Africa helped bring Jaques Rudolph to the club on a three year Kolpak deal. It was not popular, and fiercely contested by other counties, but at the end of it all, Yorkshire had secured the services of a Test-class batsman, who has proved over the course of the season to be their best. However, the captaincy options were still thin on the ground - the fact that Jason Gillespie was probably the second horse in the race is a fair illustration of the situation. Yet an amazing winter for the club had one more surprise left in it, and it concerned the nature of a two-year contract offered by Essex; it was unsigned, and the name on it was Darren Gough. With his old foe Byas out of the way, Gough did not need too much persuading to make the emotional return once the captaincy option was on the table. Gough alone would have been a significant capture, but when his signing reaped the immediate benefits of mollifying McGrath and provoking an extraordinary reconciliation as well as luring former coach Martyn Moxon back from Durham, no-one could quite believe the transformation that the club had undergone in a matter of months. And when Pakistan's dismal World Cup exit meant Younus would be available from the start of the season, optimism knew no bounds. It was cup runneth over stuff, especially when Surrey were knocked over on their own turf, leading to three wins in the first four championship games.
It couldn't last, could it? Well yes and no - despite having won just one more match since the initial spurt, Yorkshire find themselves at the top of the table, albeit having played a game more than nearest rivals Sussex and two more than Hampshire. After rain interrupted their mid-season, with none of their four matches after the 20-20 break going beyond a third innings, consecutive losses to Lancashire and Worcestershire looked to have scuppered their title chances. The latter result was a real body-blow - Worcestershire were (and still are) propping up the table, winless all season. However, enterprising captaincy from Vikram Solanki, declaring behind on first innings after the weather had taken time out of the game, gave his opposite number the chance to reciprocate, which he did a little too generously as Worcestershire chased down 337 with ease on the final afternoon.
However, just as Yorkshire looked to have played themselves out of contention, fate took a hand: as Sussex were sat in a dressing room at The Oval unable to get on the field for a single ball over four days, the Scarborough crowd were witnessing the utter destruction of Wawrickshire, who went down to a crushing innings defeat, twice bowled out cheaply and made to suffer in the field as Rudolph amassed a double-century and Bresnan his third ton of the season. Maximum points to Yorkshire; squat all to Sussex except the realisation that the title race was wide-open again.
The clash between the two teams in early September is the next Championship game for both sides, and should either one emerge as winner, the title is likely to go with them. Yorkshire have relied on their batsmen a lot this term, reflected by their mammoth amount of batting bonus points, the factor which is keeping them at the top of the table. And after the top order had begun to falter recently, they have been reinforced by the arrival of two Test captains - incumbent English leader Michael Vaughan and recently departed Pakistani skipper Inzamam-Ul-Haq, a replacement for compatriot Younus Khan. Anthony McGrath has returned to the form of last season after a shaky start, and Yorkshire will rely on him for solidity at the top, alongside Vaughan. Batsman of the season Rudolph is the fourth Test player in the top 5, and has combined well with a strong lower order, improved keeper-batsman Gerard Brophy and England future hopefuls Rashid and Bresnan, both in the runs of late. Sussex boast less international pedigree, but are nevertheless packed with experienced practitioners, Goodwin and Adams the best bets for heavy runs, backed up by Yardy and Montgomerie, enjoying his best season for years at the top of the order. The lower-order also shows up well, with Hodd deputising effectively for Prior, as well as all-rounders Martin-Jenkins and 20 over star Luke Wright.
Yorkshire's opening pair with the ball is an exciting mix of England past and present, captain Gough alongside Hoggard. Bresnan and Shahzad are the back-up seamers, while the trump card is spinning prodigy Adil Rashid. Although his season has tailed off with the ball after a turbo-charged start, he is still a serious threat. Should he be looking to learn, in his two opposite numbers there are no better examples as masters of their respective crafts. Mushtaq Ahmed has been top wicket-taker for Sussex in every season since he joined in 2003, and nothing has changed this term, 69 already having fallen victim. He is now joined by the other man who sustained Pakistani spin bowling in the 1990s, Saqlain Mushtaq: if Shane Warne saved the art of leg-spin, the same must be said of Saqlain as regards off-spin, with his invention of what is now known as the doosra, but to start off with was just Saqlain's mystery ball. The last three years have been a real struggle for him - dropped by Pakistan, he found himself abandoned by his home country, and has finally emerged with Sussex, alongside his old accomplice. With the Pakistani spin-twins, expect the Hove pitch to be conducive to turn (make that a raging bunsen), although Yorkshire can counter with not only Rashid but Imran Tahir, replacement for Jason Gillespie.
The two counties can find much in common over the last year, not least the man who could have been leading out either team. But for all that shared experience, only one team can lift the trophy, and the forthcoming match represents the best chance for one team to deliver a knockout blow. Yorkshire have the big-names, Sussex the men who know what it takes to win a Championship. Only after four days will Chris Adams know whether he made the right choice.
Sunday, 19 August 2007
Directionless England set to suffer
One pattern established during the Duncan Fletcher years, namely the refusal to submit to defeat in a home Test series, has already been disrupted in his successor's first summer in charge; it is now the duty of Peter Moores and his team to break another trend. Just three matches against West Indies were necessary for the ugly truth about England's one-day team to make itself painfully apparent to the new coach and captain. Not quite the dismal outfit they are in Test cricket, this West Indies team are still an ordinary outfit, albeit fast improving, in ODIs. Yet despite taking the lead in the series, once away from the heavily overcast conditions which assisted their victory at Lord's and briefly clouded harsh reality, they never looked like getting close to, let alone overcoming, the only team who at that stage were below them in the ICC rankings.
Following that defeat, England take their rightful place at the bottom of the pile and are faced with the inglorious prospect of 7 matches against an Indian side which still packs a significant punch, World Cup debacle notwithstanding, without even the habitual succour of success in the Test series to galvanise them against the expected thrashing. Moores can take some comfort from the return of some key players, including influential all-rounders Andrew Flintoff and Ravi Bopara who were absent in the West Indies series. Nevertheless, he is more likely to reflect on what he is missing, with Marcus Trescothick having ruled himself out of the winter tours and consequently drawing a line under a distinguished international career, something which Steve Harmison, who would be unavailable anyway, has already done as regards one-day cricket.
One-day cricket is all about strategy; well-thought out plans efficiently executed have ever been the basis of successful teams in the shorter form of the game. And, unsurprisingly, a 50-over innings can be broken down into beginning, middle and end, different phases which require different approaches both with bat and ball. Although the prevalence of hulking openers with equally large weapons (bats) and the extension of the fielding restrictions has persuaded most teams that all-out attack is the best way to start off an innings, it is by no means the only way, although as England found out at the World Cup, a contrary strategy can be tricky. The problem for England at the top of the order is a lack of continuity and clear-thinking. Back in the Caribbean last spring, the idea was to preserve wickets and to score the majority of runs at the end, rather than beginning of the innings; all well and good, but the problem was that theory did not convert into reality. While they should have been aiming for about 70 runs for the loss of no more than one wicket in the first 20 overs, in preference to over 100 for the loss of three, the reality was more like 80-3, too few runs scored and too many wickets surrendered. The current partnership is a classic example of England hamstringing themselves as they veer between sticking and twisting - Alistair Cook is yet to prove he can bat throughout a one-day innings, and was guilty in the last series of getting himself out after promising starts, while Matt Prior deserves a chance, but would probably be better suited to leading the charge at the other end of the innings. The squad selected is for the first four games only, and that is probably the time which Cook and Prior have to convince the selectors they should not opt for a wild-card at the top of the order, with Luke Wright and Phil Mustard having pressed their claims in the high-profile games over the weekend.
The identity of the man coming in at first drop is also a conundrum yet to be satisfactorily resolved; England are not helped by the fact that their Test match No.3, Michael Vaughan, has proved himself immiscible in the one-day melting pot, and, although not yet officially retired, is not in the primary thoughts of the selectors. The necessity for adaptability has generally pushed the hierarchy in the direction of Ian Bell is , although his one-day career is, if anything, even more frustrating than his Test one and his fortunes fluctuate from one game to another. On a given day he looks the perfect man for the job, with a well paced knock which balances the innings; the next he may scratch around listlessly, causing those watching to wonder why anyone ever let him near a coloured kit. One option yet to be assessed is Ravi Bopara filling the same position for country as he does he county; his wristy, intelligent batting makes him a more dangerous prospect than Bell in one-dayers, and deploying him at the top of the order lessens the congestion for places in the lower order.
The middle-order is at least one area where England can feel comfortable; now that the idea of batting Pietersen at 3 has finally run its course, he is settled as heart of the batting at 4, followed by Owais Shah, who earned himself the right for continued selection by being the standout batsman against West Indies, pushing captain Collingwood down a place. Unless the selectors surprise everyone by pushing Flintoff into the top 3, something which would probably be ill-advised given past experience, he should follow his captain in; his batting increasingly deteriorated over the course of the last year, and he was becoming an untenable option at 6, and it remains to be seen whether a demotion will allow him more freedom to express himself with the bat; much as they need his bowling, England could also do with Flintoff discovering the one-day batting form of 2004 and being ringleader in the dash for late-order runs.
Just as with batting strategy, bowling plans can also be divided into the three basic stages. And in the previous series, it was more in conception than execution where England's tactics erred. While the lack of ability to take wickets with the new ball is a concern, the way they approached the middle overs was the most worrying aspect of the bowling; the slower bowlers, Mascarenhas, Panesar and Collingwood, were all utilised with the intention of rattling quickly through overs quickly in the period between the power plays and the slog overs at the end. And while they succeeded in keeping the scoring rate down, they were made to pay at the death, where West Indies twice milked over 100 of the last 10 overs having kept wickets in hand. And while Mascarenhas can boast an excellent economy rate (3.5 rpo) from his three matches, he failed to take a wicket, while Panesar managed just one and a tailender at that. Hopefully the harsh lesson dealt out by West Indies will convince the English strategists that they must use bowlers who are genuine wicket-taking threats in the middle overs. The return of Flintoff gives them an extra option in that area, as well as at the end of the innings, where he is England's only proven "death bowler", having the skills which the scorecards from the last two games suggest Anderson, Broad et al are not endowed with. With regards to that, they would do well to jettison Mascarenhas's all round talents in favour of an extra front-line seamer, giving Collingwood options to exert pressure throughout the innings; if that pressure brings about wickets, it would also go some way to alleviating England's problem with bowling at the death, where damage sustained is always in direct correlation with the number of wickets preserved by the batting side. It would also allow England to see how Broad copes with batting at 8, something which could also influence future Test selection. To start off with, Sidebottom should get the nod to take the new ball with Anderson, with Tremlett to come into consideration at some point in the series.
The role of Monty Panesar is also something which bears scrutiny. Despite being an excellent attacking bowler in Test matches, his 19 ODIs have failed to bring that many wickets, with an economy rate of 4.48 which is not quite frugal enough to justify the lack of success. One obvious explanation is that he is grossly inexperienced in this form of the game, having played more times for England than Northants., whom he has represented just 11 times in pajamas. What is his strength in Tests, namely nagging accuracy and a flat, buzzing trajectory, count against him in ODIs, where batsman prosper when they know what to expect. To succeed in the one-day game, he will have to alter his approach slightly and flight the ball more, enticing batsman and, to an extent, try to buy wickets - in the increasingly batsman friendly game, the Illingworthian exhortation of "I can get him for less than six" sadly no longer holds water.
Batting in the first twenty overs; taking wickets with the new ball; taking wickets with the old ball; restricting scoring in the death overs. That doesn't leave out much, which goes a fair way to explaining why England have been such a poor one-day side, and gives an impression of the problems faced by Moores and Collingwood in what is becoming akin to a Holy Grail quest. Converesly India, despite their World Cup travails, are a one-day team bursting with all the right stuff; the collective number of caps achieved by England's putative top 6 (228) is dwarfed by Tendulkar's total, which the 7 matches will bring within 5 of 400. Not to mention Dravid and Ganguly, who boast 615 between them or Yuvraj Singh, who at the age of 25 is in sight of his 200th. The batting, possessing two of the one-day game's greatest talents in Tendulkar and Ganguly, and supplemented by the calm and eloquent strokeplay of Dravid, as well as the aggression of Yuvraj and Gambhir and outright brutality of Uthappa (ODI strike rate of 102.1) will give England's green attack nightmares; while the bowling, much of it the left-arm variety so hard to get away in one-day cricket will be a significant examination of a batting order whose future is very much in flux. Unlike in the Test series, defeat is anticipated by English supporters, and the realisation of that fear over the course of 7 matches and 700 overs would make this at least the second worst summer of the decade and be a further bitter pill in what has been an undoubted annus horribilis for the team.
Following that defeat, England take their rightful place at the bottom of the pile and are faced with the inglorious prospect of 7 matches against an Indian side which still packs a significant punch, World Cup debacle notwithstanding, without even the habitual succour of success in the Test series to galvanise them against the expected thrashing. Moores can take some comfort from the return of some key players, including influential all-rounders Andrew Flintoff and Ravi Bopara who were absent in the West Indies series. Nevertheless, he is more likely to reflect on what he is missing, with Marcus Trescothick having ruled himself out of the winter tours and consequently drawing a line under a distinguished international career, something which Steve Harmison, who would be unavailable anyway, has already done as regards one-day cricket.
One-day cricket is all about strategy; well-thought out plans efficiently executed have ever been the basis of successful teams in the shorter form of the game. And, unsurprisingly, a 50-over innings can be broken down into beginning, middle and end, different phases which require different approaches both with bat and ball. Although the prevalence of hulking openers with equally large weapons (bats) and the extension of the fielding restrictions has persuaded most teams that all-out attack is the best way to start off an innings, it is by no means the only way, although as England found out at the World Cup, a contrary strategy can be tricky. The problem for England at the top of the order is a lack of continuity and clear-thinking. Back in the Caribbean last spring, the idea was to preserve wickets and to score the majority of runs at the end, rather than beginning of the innings; all well and good, but the problem was that theory did not convert into reality. While they should have been aiming for about 70 runs for the loss of no more than one wicket in the first 20 overs, in preference to over 100 for the loss of three, the reality was more like 80-3, too few runs scored and too many wickets surrendered. The current partnership is a classic example of England hamstringing themselves as they veer between sticking and twisting - Alistair Cook is yet to prove he can bat throughout a one-day innings, and was guilty in the last series of getting himself out after promising starts, while Matt Prior deserves a chance, but would probably be better suited to leading the charge at the other end of the innings. The squad selected is for the first four games only, and that is probably the time which Cook and Prior have to convince the selectors they should not opt for a wild-card at the top of the order, with Luke Wright and Phil Mustard having pressed their claims in the high-profile games over the weekend.
The identity of the man coming in at first drop is also a conundrum yet to be satisfactorily resolved; England are not helped by the fact that their Test match No.3, Michael Vaughan, has proved himself immiscible in the one-day melting pot, and, although not yet officially retired, is not in the primary thoughts of the selectors. The necessity for adaptability has generally pushed the hierarchy in the direction of Ian Bell is , although his one-day career is, if anything, even more frustrating than his Test one and his fortunes fluctuate from one game to another. On a given day he looks the perfect man for the job, with a well paced knock which balances the innings; the next he may scratch around listlessly, causing those watching to wonder why anyone ever let him near a coloured kit. One option yet to be assessed is Ravi Bopara filling the same position for country as he does he county; his wristy, intelligent batting makes him a more dangerous prospect than Bell in one-dayers, and deploying him at the top of the order lessens the congestion for places in the lower order.
The middle-order is at least one area where England can feel comfortable; now that the idea of batting Pietersen at 3 has finally run its course, he is settled as heart of the batting at 4, followed by Owais Shah, who earned himself the right for continued selection by being the standout batsman against West Indies, pushing captain Collingwood down a place. Unless the selectors surprise everyone by pushing Flintoff into the top 3, something which would probably be ill-advised given past experience, he should follow his captain in; his batting increasingly deteriorated over the course of the last year, and he was becoming an untenable option at 6, and it remains to be seen whether a demotion will allow him more freedom to express himself with the bat; much as they need his bowling, England could also do with Flintoff discovering the one-day batting form of 2004 and being ringleader in the dash for late-order runs.
Just as with batting strategy, bowling plans can also be divided into the three basic stages. And in the previous series, it was more in conception than execution where England's tactics erred. While the lack of ability to take wickets with the new ball is a concern, the way they approached the middle overs was the most worrying aspect of the bowling; the slower bowlers, Mascarenhas, Panesar and Collingwood, were all utilised with the intention of rattling quickly through overs quickly in the period between the power plays and the slog overs at the end. And while they succeeded in keeping the scoring rate down, they were made to pay at the death, where West Indies twice milked over 100 of the last 10 overs having kept wickets in hand. And while Mascarenhas can boast an excellent economy rate (3.5 rpo) from his three matches, he failed to take a wicket, while Panesar managed just one and a tailender at that. Hopefully the harsh lesson dealt out by West Indies will convince the English strategists that they must use bowlers who are genuine wicket-taking threats in the middle overs. The return of Flintoff gives them an extra option in that area, as well as at the end of the innings, where he is England's only proven "death bowler", having the skills which the scorecards from the last two games suggest Anderson, Broad et al are not endowed with. With regards to that, they would do well to jettison Mascarenhas's all round talents in favour of an extra front-line seamer, giving Collingwood options to exert pressure throughout the innings; if that pressure brings about wickets, it would also go some way to alleviating England's problem with bowling at the death, where damage sustained is always in direct correlation with the number of wickets preserved by the batting side. It would also allow England to see how Broad copes with batting at 8, something which could also influence future Test selection. To start off with, Sidebottom should get the nod to take the new ball with Anderson, with Tremlett to come into consideration at some point in the series.
The role of Monty Panesar is also something which bears scrutiny. Despite being an excellent attacking bowler in Test matches, his 19 ODIs have failed to bring that many wickets, with an economy rate of 4.48 which is not quite frugal enough to justify the lack of success. One obvious explanation is that he is grossly inexperienced in this form of the game, having played more times for England than Northants., whom he has represented just 11 times in pajamas. What is his strength in Tests, namely nagging accuracy and a flat, buzzing trajectory, count against him in ODIs, where batsman prosper when they know what to expect. To succeed in the one-day game, he will have to alter his approach slightly and flight the ball more, enticing batsman and, to an extent, try to buy wickets - in the increasingly batsman friendly game, the Illingworthian exhortation of "I can get him for less than six" sadly no longer holds water.
Batting in the first twenty overs; taking wickets with the new ball; taking wickets with the old ball; restricting scoring in the death overs. That doesn't leave out much, which goes a fair way to explaining why England have been such a poor one-day side, and gives an impression of the problems faced by Moores and Collingwood in what is becoming akin to a Holy Grail quest. Converesly India, despite their World Cup travails, are a one-day team bursting with all the right stuff; the collective number of caps achieved by England's putative top 6 (228) is dwarfed by Tendulkar's total, which the 7 matches will bring within 5 of 400. Not to mention Dravid and Ganguly, who boast 615 between them or Yuvraj Singh, who at the age of 25 is in sight of his 200th. The batting, possessing two of the one-day game's greatest talents in Tendulkar and Ganguly, and supplemented by the calm and eloquent strokeplay of Dravid, as well as the aggression of Yuvraj and Gambhir and outright brutality of Uthappa (ODI strike rate of 102.1) will give England's green attack nightmares; while the bowling, much of it the left-arm variety so hard to get away in one-day cricket will be a significant examination of a batting order whose future is very much in flux. Unlike in the Test series, defeat is anticipated by English supporters, and the realisation of that fear over the course of 7 matches and 700 overs would make this at least the second worst summer of the decade and be a further bitter pill in what has been an undoubted annus horribilis for the team.
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