Pleased to see Swanny get the call for the first test against India. It was a no-brainer playing two spinners in this match… but that’s not always meant a lot where the England selectors are confirmed.
What I don’t understand though is why we’re STILL not playing Owais Shah. He’s been arguably our best one day batsman for a good year now, and on current form he surely, surely has to be in the side ahead of Collingwood. His inventive, manipulative technique is also much more suited to the demands of Indian bowlers and pitch conditions than Collingwood’s bottom handed style.
Maybe Collys bowling option has given him the edge, but he’s going to cause next to no danger with his dobbers on flat, dry Indian wickets.
I’d be feeling very hard done by – once again – if I was Owais….
Wednesday 10 December 2008
A talent not to be sniffed at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/7772950.stm
Wow, Chris Lewis arrested for allegedly attempting to bring £200,000 of cocaine into the country – that’s a bolt from the blue, but at least it gives the opportunity to talk about something other than the politics in India.
I guess many of his critics – and there were certainly a few around Nottingham – would say he’s always been a big time Charlie, but I’m genuinely sadden by this news. In my formative years watching cricket at Trent Bridge, Lewis was one of my first heroes. Already an international all rounder, that bowled fast, batted aggressively and fielded sensationally – all with the real possibility that it could go wrong at any moment – what boy wouldn’t.
I’m not honestly sure I’ve seen a more talented all round English cricketer than Lewis in my time watching England – call him the Stan Collymore of Cricket – turned up in Nottingham as the next big thing with more ability than most players can dream of… but always being a little bit too unhinged to fulfil his promise. There have been plenty of better players, but while someone like Flintoff relies to a great extent on his supreme physicality, and a sensational eye, Lewis was able to bowl quickly, and the hit the ball vast distances without ever really looking like he was trying.
Put Lewis alongside that lost generation of England players in the 1990s – usually led by the enigmatic talents of Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash, that for one reason or another failed to deliver for their country. That’s quite a threesome we missed out on there for want of more enlightened coaching and captaincy.
At his best, batting down the order he made batting look ridiculously easy, scoring some brilliant hundreds for Notts, as well as one I remember distinctly away in India for England (did he bring it up with a straight six?), he was great down the ground, and square of the wicket. He bowled at a good pace – when he wanted to, could move the ball off the seam and in the air, and could be a brilliant one day bowler… added to that he was one of the best fielders I’ve seen, and so quick across the ground. A real athlete.
It was pretty sad to see reports of his return at the age for 40 as a Twenty/20 Specialist for Surrey, a distant memory of Lewis at his best.
Mentality – so often the difference for talented players was probably the problem. The incident when he went out to spend a day in the full intense glare of the West Indian sunshine with a glinting newly bic’d head and ended up with sunstroke (well der), and the time when he turned up 40 minutes late for an England game blaming a phantom puncture prove that he’s always been capable of doing something stupid. This time he appears to have surpassed himself.
Wow, Chris Lewis arrested for allegedly attempting to bring £200,000 of cocaine into the country – that’s a bolt from the blue, but at least it gives the opportunity to talk about something other than the politics in India.
I guess many of his critics – and there were certainly a few around Nottingham – would say he’s always been a big time Charlie, but I’m genuinely sadden by this news. In my formative years watching cricket at Trent Bridge, Lewis was one of my first heroes. Already an international all rounder, that bowled fast, batted aggressively and fielded sensationally – all with the real possibility that it could go wrong at any moment – what boy wouldn’t.
I’m not honestly sure I’ve seen a more talented all round English cricketer than Lewis in my time watching England – call him the Stan Collymore of Cricket – turned up in Nottingham as the next big thing with more ability than most players can dream of… but always being a little bit too unhinged to fulfil his promise. There have been plenty of better players, but while someone like Flintoff relies to a great extent on his supreme physicality, and a sensational eye, Lewis was able to bowl quickly, and the hit the ball vast distances without ever really looking like he was trying.
Put Lewis alongside that lost generation of England players in the 1990s – usually led by the enigmatic talents of Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash, that for one reason or another failed to deliver for their country. That’s quite a threesome we missed out on there for want of more enlightened coaching and captaincy.
At his best, batting down the order he made batting look ridiculously easy, scoring some brilliant hundreds for Notts, as well as one I remember distinctly away in India for England (did he bring it up with a straight six?), he was great down the ground, and square of the wicket. He bowled at a good pace – when he wanted to, could move the ball off the seam and in the air, and could be a brilliant one day bowler… added to that he was one of the best fielders I’ve seen, and so quick across the ground. A real athlete.
It was pretty sad to see reports of his return at the age for 40 as a Twenty/20 Specialist for Surrey, a distant memory of Lewis at his best.
Mentality – so often the difference for talented players was probably the problem. The incident when he went out to spend a day in the full intense glare of the West Indian sunshine with a glinting newly bic’d head and ended up with sunstroke (well der), and the time when he turned up 40 minutes late for an England game blaming a phantom puncture prove that he’s always been capable of doing something stupid. This time he appears to have surpassed himself.
Monday 1 December 2008
To stay or go?
To bastardise the words of the Joe Strummer, should I stay or should I go
While it would be very harsh to criticise any England player that takes the decision that they don’t want to return to India to complete the tour with the two test matches in December, but I would still be pretty disappointed were any to go ahead and drop out.
If as seems likely the security advisors say it’s safe to go back and play (or as safe as anywhere can be in ‘these times of heightened security’), then that’s what we should do. The nature of your modern 21st century terrorist seems to indicate that there’s as likely to strike in one place as almost any other – excepting perhaps St Albans where nothing exciting has happened since roughly 1878.
A large number of the current England squad have young families, which will quite rightly be their first concern in deciding whether they want to travel. But I’m not genuinely concerned that there will be a raised threat on the team’s safety. That the recent attack took place in the hotel they stayed in recently, and were due back to later in the schedule will have brought things home to the players, and only naturally, but if there terrorists had wanted to target the England cricket team – they surely would have done already... they’ll have had ample opportunity and wouldn’t have sent out a vast clanging advance warning bell. Forewarned is forearmed.
KP has said that he won’t force any player reluctant to travel to go. But purely on a selfish level, career –wise surely it’s a risk. Of KPs current foot soldiers, very few are so nailed on in the team as to voluntarily forgo their place in the side confident in the knowledge that they’ll be able to slot comfortably back in when we’re on more familiar ground next spring. With men waiting in the wings like Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Michael Vaughan, who’s to say someone like Paul Collingwood or Ian Bell would get back in the team if one of the others grabs a chance with both hands. And with the Australian juggernaut on the horizon that’s a huge risk.
Probably only Andrew Flintoff, and perhaps Alastair Cook would be able to return immediately to the set up. Even Monty Panesar – who as our number one spinner is earmarked for a huge role in the test series – surely wouldn’t want to see someone like Adil Rashid trotting in to bowl – a couple of big wickets against the calibre of batsman like Tendulkar or Dravid could catapult him straight into contention for the Ashes next year. Monty should know that’s pretty much how he got established himself on the previous tour of Indian (albeit in more conventional circumstances).
At the end of the day we employ experts for a reason, if we’re not prepared to follow their expert advice then there’s no point in asking them in the first place.
While it would be very harsh to criticise any England player that takes the decision that they don’t want to return to India to complete the tour with the two test matches in December, but I would still be pretty disappointed were any to go ahead and drop out.
If as seems likely the security advisors say it’s safe to go back and play (or as safe as anywhere can be in ‘these times of heightened security’), then that’s what we should do. The nature of your modern 21st century terrorist seems to indicate that there’s as likely to strike in one place as almost any other – excepting perhaps St Albans where nothing exciting has happened since roughly 1878.
A large number of the current England squad have young families, which will quite rightly be their first concern in deciding whether they want to travel. But I’m not genuinely concerned that there will be a raised threat on the team’s safety. That the recent attack took place in the hotel they stayed in recently, and were due back to later in the schedule will have brought things home to the players, and only naturally, but if there terrorists had wanted to target the England cricket team – they surely would have done already... they’ll have had ample opportunity and wouldn’t have sent out a vast clanging advance warning bell. Forewarned is forearmed.
KP has said that he won’t force any player reluctant to travel to go. But purely on a selfish level, career –wise surely it’s a risk. Of KPs current foot soldiers, very few are so nailed on in the team as to voluntarily forgo their place in the side confident in the knowledge that they’ll be able to slot comfortably back in when we’re on more familiar ground next spring. With men waiting in the wings like Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Michael Vaughan, who’s to say someone like Paul Collingwood or Ian Bell would get back in the team if one of the others grabs a chance with both hands. And with the Australian juggernaut on the horizon that’s a huge risk.
Probably only Andrew Flintoff, and perhaps Alastair Cook would be able to return immediately to the set up. Even Monty Panesar – who as our number one spinner is earmarked for a huge role in the test series – surely wouldn’t want to see someone like Adil Rashid trotting in to bowl – a couple of big wickets against the calibre of batsman like Tendulkar or Dravid could catapult him straight into contention for the Ashes next year. Monty should know that’s pretty much how he got established himself on the previous tour of Indian (albeit in more conventional circumstances).
At the end of the day we employ experts for a reason, if we’re not prepared to follow their expert advice then there’s no point in asking them in the first place.
Tuesday 25 November 2008
It's just not cricket - why no great cricket computer games?
As much as I’m enjoying the latest version of Pro Evolution Soccer at the moment – and believe me as an Arsenal fans it’s about the only way I’m getting pleasure from football at the moment, playing last night brought me back to wondering about an old personal chestnut. Why have there never been any cricket computer games to match up?
Now pro-Evo stands alone for me – and for all right thinking football connoisseurs head and shoulders above all other sports game ‘franchises’ but surely the powers at be at EA Sports, or Konomi could have come up with something better than the efforts so far.
The issue goes way back, I can clearly remember trying so hard to LOVE Graham Gooch’s Cricket (or whatever it was called) perched on a stool in my best friend Oliver’s bedroom back in the early nineties, without it ever quite delivering. Since then I’ve enthusiastically tried to embrace all manner of cricket games from various edition’s of Brian Lara, through to EA Cricket – throwing myself into them with relish – but deep down never really being satisfied with the end product.
Maybe the stop-start format of cricket just doesn’t quite transfer as well to a computer game as the more free-flowing, expressive football for example. But you know what, I don’t buy it – no game on earth is as slow or as staid as golf, but EA Sport’s Tiger Woods golf is a phenomenal game.
All the games seem to have had just a little flaw – simply too hard, too easy, not enough attention to detail. For me EA Sports got the closest, as a bit of a cricket geek, it even allowed you to get lost in the intricacies of the county championship batting averages – who amongst us hasn’t dreamed of pushing Jason Gallian’s season’s average up over 50? Oh, just me then… but the playability just wasn’t quite there – if I remember correctly it was rushed out just that little bit too quickly to take advantage of the 05 Ashes surge in cricketing interest. I must admit I’ve never given Cricket Management games a bash, I don’t really see with the lack of a proper transfer window how they’ll be able to compare to Championship Manager though.
Mostly the problem lies in that old word with cricket – patience. It’s great fun bashing the ball around for fours and sixes, but bowling is the real problem, typically the CPU is set up to bat ‘properly’ leaving balls outside the off stump, defending good length deliveries and waiting for the bad ball to attack. It takes a certain special kind of someone to enjoy bowling 90 overs of deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty waiting for Justin Langer to nick one.
Some of the best games are the simplest, I remember pretty a pretty compelling game on the BBC website, and this one’s worth a go http://www.foddy.net/Cricket.html – although I struggled to get a hang of it. But the best at the moment is the now legendary Stick Cricket www.stickcricket.com – the destroyer of many a lunchtime. Easy enough to play straight away, but with enough depth and enough challenges to keep you interested for weeks on end…. And with all the crash bang wallop of a Twenty20 cup final.
With the growing popularity of cricket, especially Twenty20 there must be the commercial opportunity for a really well produced game – I’m sure the IPL would accommodate any money making opportunity. Or what about the ultimate – can you see a game of Wii cricket taking place in your living room. Come on guys, make it happen.
Now pro-Evo stands alone for me – and for all right thinking football connoisseurs head and shoulders above all other sports game ‘franchises’ but surely the powers at be at EA Sports, or Konomi could have come up with something better than the efforts so far.
The issue goes way back, I can clearly remember trying so hard to LOVE Graham Gooch’s Cricket (or whatever it was called) perched on a stool in my best friend Oliver’s bedroom back in the early nineties, without it ever quite delivering. Since then I’ve enthusiastically tried to embrace all manner of cricket games from various edition’s of Brian Lara, through to EA Cricket – throwing myself into them with relish – but deep down never really being satisfied with the end product.
Maybe the stop-start format of cricket just doesn’t quite transfer as well to a computer game as the more free-flowing, expressive football for example. But you know what, I don’t buy it – no game on earth is as slow or as staid as golf, but EA Sport’s Tiger Woods golf is a phenomenal game.
All the games seem to have had just a little flaw – simply too hard, too easy, not enough attention to detail. For me EA Sports got the closest, as a bit of a cricket geek, it even allowed you to get lost in the intricacies of the county championship batting averages – who amongst us hasn’t dreamed of pushing Jason Gallian’s season’s average up over 50? Oh, just me then… but the playability just wasn’t quite there – if I remember correctly it was rushed out just that little bit too quickly to take advantage of the 05 Ashes surge in cricketing interest. I must admit I’ve never given Cricket Management games a bash, I don’t really see with the lack of a proper transfer window how they’ll be able to compare to Championship Manager though.
Mostly the problem lies in that old word with cricket – patience. It’s great fun bashing the ball around for fours and sixes, but bowling is the real problem, typically the CPU is set up to bat ‘properly’ leaving balls outside the off stump, defending good length deliveries and waiting for the bad ball to attack. It takes a certain special kind of someone to enjoy bowling 90 overs of deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty waiting for Justin Langer to nick one.
Some of the best games are the simplest, I remember pretty a pretty compelling game on the BBC website, and this one’s worth a go http://www.foddy.net/Cricket.html – although I struggled to get a hang of it. But the best at the moment is the now legendary Stick Cricket www.stickcricket.com – the destroyer of many a lunchtime. Easy enough to play straight away, but with enough depth and enough challenges to keep you interested for weeks on end…. And with all the crash bang wallop of a Twenty20 cup final.
With the growing popularity of cricket, especially Twenty20 there must be the commercial opportunity for a really well produced game – I’m sure the IPL would accommodate any money making opportunity. Or what about the ultimate – can you see a game of Wii cricket taking place in your living room. Come on guys, make it happen.
Thursday 20 November 2008
one day woes
Three down, four to go. I actually think we're finally moving towards the right one day line up for India following today's slightly improved performance.
The re-jigged batting line up seems to make more sense. I'm all for Ravi Bopara at the top of the order - he was being wasted down at eight, and I really hope he gets an extended spell as opener. Ravi's certainly got the power to succeed in the enforcer role during the powerplays - I just hope Moores / Pietersen can instill the necessary belief in him.
It also makes sense to have our best player, the captain, at three, and Shah seems more at home as a finisher from number six. As a personal preference I'd rather see Samit Patel get a bigger chance up the order than Paul Collingwood but the batting looks close.
...which leaves the thorny issue of the keeper. Frankly Prior doesn't seem to understand what his role is in the side. His run rate as a opener on the subcontinent has been shocking. Either Moores hasn't been explaining his role to score at a minimum of 90/100, or he's incapable of delivering it. With a such a deep batting order I'd rather see Prior hit 20 from 20, than 40 from 60.
Now he's down at eight in the order, I think Prior's place really comes into question. The number of all rounders in this current line up means we're batting to nine at the moment... which indicates we can afford the luxury of employing our best keeper. To me, naturally ,that's Chris Read, but that ship might have sailed. I can't imagine any of Foster, Davies from Worcester, or even Ben Scott at Middlesex doing any worse than scratching around for 5 from 13 balls as Prior did when we needed to put the foot down today... and they'd all be a better pair of hands behind the sticks.
Moving on, the bowling looks much more balanced, Swann made a mockery of his non-selection to date and the only real worry now is Anderson who was lacking form and confidence and seemed to be targeted by the Indians today. That said I'm not sure Harminson would have done much better. Fingers crossed Sideshow Bob gets back to fitness soon.
Overall I'm feeling a lot more positive after today. Given a fair wind I'll back England to win 2 out of the remaining four games.
One final word about the end of the game today. Pure farce. Turning the floodlights on just after the game's called off for bad light was mindboggling. Let's make the move to trusting umpires to get the most play out of games, making the most of the facilities available.
The re-jigged batting line up seems to make more sense. I'm all for Ravi Bopara at the top of the order - he was being wasted down at eight, and I really hope he gets an extended spell as opener. Ravi's certainly got the power to succeed in the enforcer role during the powerplays - I just hope Moores / Pietersen can instill the necessary belief in him.
It also makes sense to have our best player, the captain, at three, and Shah seems more at home as a finisher from number six. As a personal preference I'd rather see Samit Patel get a bigger chance up the order than Paul Collingwood but the batting looks close.
...which leaves the thorny issue of the keeper. Frankly Prior doesn't seem to understand what his role is in the side. His run rate as a opener on the subcontinent has been shocking. Either Moores hasn't been explaining his role to score at a minimum of 90/100, or he's incapable of delivering it. With a such a deep batting order I'd rather see Prior hit 20 from 20, than 40 from 60.
Now he's down at eight in the order, I think Prior's place really comes into question. The number of all rounders in this current line up means we're batting to nine at the moment... which indicates we can afford the luxury of employing our best keeper. To me, naturally ,that's Chris Read, but that ship might have sailed. I can't imagine any of Foster, Davies from Worcester, or even Ben Scott at Middlesex doing any worse than scratching around for 5 from 13 balls as Prior did when we needed to put the foot down today... and they'd all be a better pair of hands behind the sticks.
Moving on, the bowling looks much more balanced, Swann made a mockery of his non-selection to date and the only real worry now is Anderson who was lacking form and confidence and seemed to be targeted by the Indians today. That said I'm not sure Harminson would have done much better. Fingers crossed Sideshow Bob gets back to fitness soon.
Overall I'm feeling a lot more positive after today. Given a fair wind I'll back England to win 2 out of the remaining four games.
One final word about the end of the game today. Pure farce. Turning the floodlights on just after the game's called off for bad light was mindboggling. Let's make the move to trusting umpires to get the most play out of games, making the most of the facilities available.
Monday 17 November 2008
what's going wrong for England?
As i see it there are two main problems with this England line up. Top of the order, and specialist spin.
Prior doesn't seem to have a role in the team. If he's in as an opener he needs to have full licence to attack - which means scoring at a minimum of 85/90 runs per hundred balls... If he can't do that, then don't play him. With our depth in batting, I'd rather see him hit 20 off of 20 balls, than 40 off of 60.
Then at Bell can have a clear role as a steadying influence / accumilator.
Maybe Bopara's worth a go at the top of the order.
We've also got to be playing two spinners (not KP and Patel). I just don't understand why Swann's not in the starting line up somewhere.
Prior doesn't seem to have a role in the team. If he's in as an opener he needs to have full licence to attack - which means scoring at a minimum of 85/90 runs per hundred balls... If he can't do that, then don't play him. With our depth in batting, I'd rather see him hit 20 off of 20 balls, than 40 off of 60.
Then at Bell can have a clear role as a steadying influence / accumilator.
Maybe Bopara's worth a go at the top of the order.
We've also got to be playing two spinners (not KP and Patel). I just don't understand why Swann's not in the starting line up somewhere.
Sunday 9 November 2008
Ashes 2009
I've finally got genuine belief rather than just hope that we'll win next year's ashes series... Baring a final day miracle in Nagpur it looks like India are going to close out their home series against the Aussies and I've been quite encouraged by their performance.
It'll be interesting to see how England match up to India in comparison to Australia in this series - although only plying two tests is nothing short of a farce. I think we'll match up pretty well.
Australia still have the edge with that middle order of Ponting, Clarke & Hussey, with others such as David Hussey in the wings, but I think we can take advantage with our opening partnership, where (touch wood) Hayden looks to be on his last legs - Cookie please start converting those 60s into tonnes.
But the batting looks solid, with potentially Broad and Flintoff in the same lower order, for perhsp the first time in my memory we might bat deeper than Australia next year.
But it's the bowling where we look to have the best advantage. Krejza took 12 wickets in his debut test, which must surely be the most misleading of stats - 358 runs conceded at nealry five an over!! I'm backing Monty to rise to the occasion and outbowl his spin rival.
Then I'm actually really pleased with our 'squad' of seamers, depending on the conditions / fitness chosing from Sido, Flintoff, Harmison, Broad, Anderson... before we get to the likes Jones(fingers crossed), Saj and Tremlett. The nature of a touring squad just means Oz won't have the same depth in options... or indeed I would argue quality.
It will be interesting to see if KP can maintain the positive attitude and discipline over the next couple of months. If we come out with a narrow defeat in the one dayers, and a drawn test series I'll be checking the odds for a 3-1 series win next summer.
It'll be interesting to see how England match up to India in comparison to Australia in this series - although only plying two tests is nothing short of a farce. I think we'll match up pretty well.
Australia still have the edge with that middle order of Ponting, Clarke & Hussey, with others such as David Hussey in the wings, but I think we can take advantage with our opening partnership, where (touch wood) Hayden looks to be on his last legs - Cookie please start converting those 60s into tonnes.
But the batting looks solid, with potentially Broad and Flintoff in the same lower order, for perhsp the first time in my memory we might bat deeper than Australia next year.
But it's the bowling where we look to have the best advantage. Krejza took 12 wickets in his debut test, which must surely be the most misleading of stats - 358 runs conceded at nealry five an over!! I'm backing Monty to rise to the occasion and outbowl his spin rival.
Then I'm actually really pleased with our 'squad' of seamers, depending on the conditions / fitness chosing from Sido, Flintoff, Harmison, Broad, Anderson... before we get to the likes Jones(fingers crossed), Saj and Tremlett. The nature of a touring squad just means Oz won't have the same depth in options... or indeed I would argue quality.
It will be interesting to see if KP can maintain the positive attitude and discipline over the next couple of months. If we come out with a narrow defeat in the one dayers, and a drawn test series I'll be checking the odds for a 3-1 series win next summer.
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I've been thinking about starting a cricket blog for ages now without doing anything about it, so here goes. I'm going to be posting my thoughts on all things cricket here. Be fantastic to hear your opinions...
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