The English Cricket Team

2015: A dismal World Cup, stalemate against New Zealand, an Ashes victory against Australia and defeat to Pakistan in the UAE.

In short, a horrid World Cup campaign meant a more positive approach was adopted in One Day Cricket, and this positivity carried through to the Test team, who played out an entertaining two match series against New Zealand, before reclaiming the Ashes after the humiliation down under 18 months earlier. This all preceded an interesting series against Pakistan, which many predicted to be dull due to the poor attendances and batting-friendly conditions in the UAE, but was actually rather good. Although the series was lost, it was good to see such an entertaining series, where the outcome could have been very different if the first test in Abu Dhabi had gone England's way. 

However, what does the past twelve months tell us about England's prospects going forward into the upcoming series against South Africa and 2016, which includes a T20 World Cup in Asia, and home series' against Sri Lanka and then Pakistan? 

Firstly, the Test series in South Africa is sure to be an intriguing one. Although England lost in the UAE, this is no disgrace, since Pakistan have played their home fixtures in the UAE, they are yet to lose a home series and have become very competent at using the unique conditions to their advantage. South Africa, although rated as the best team in the world, have shown recently in India that they are not the team they used to be, with their fragile batting line-up highlighting their woes. AB De Villiers and Hashim Amla will be crucial in the series, and if England can keep these two world class players at bay there is no reason why the series cannot be won. 

England's batting line-up is too sure to be tested, with South Africa's bowling threat coming overwhelmingly from their pace attack. Alex Hales, who is likely to deputise, along with Nick Compton, James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow are all sure to be tested against arguably the best pace attack in the world, and how they compete is sure to shape the series. If England are to win the series, they need these players to step up to the mark, and support the likes of Cook and Root, who are sure to score big runs at some point during the series. 

This series will be a very interesting one, but if England take the same intensity that they displayed against all their Test opponents in 2015, this series is sure to keep us all glued to the latest score updates, with South Africa wanting to prove that they are still the best team in the world on home soil following their, at times, poor display against India recently. 

In terms of the T20 World Cup, it is very difficult to predict how England will fare. Although India are likely to be favourites, with home advantage being critical, the explosiveness of this format of the game means that the tournament is up for grabs to anybody. 12 months ago, I would have said England did not have a chance of winning the tournament, but after the one day series against New Zealand and victory against Pakistan in ODI's and T20's, this has changed my opinion. Jason Roy and Alex Hales have proved to be a good opening partnership, with Reece Topley, David Willey among others proving that they have what it takes with the ball. It has been refreshing to see these types of players, of which some could be classed as one day specialists, given a chance in the England team with free reign to play their natural game, and this has translated into wins on the pitch. Whatever the outcome, the World Cup will be a good watch, and how far England can go could depend on very small margins which cannot be foreseen.

Lastly, the home series against Sri Lanka and then Pakistan should (if England perform how they did this summer) result in home series wins. In home conditions, against opposition which are good, but not world-class, many of England's Test team will want to mark their territory in the team, and ensure that they are regarded as key players in the team. This is a good opportunity for players such as Hales to finally stamp down the position of a  reliable opener that England have been searching for since the retirement of Strauss, and bowlers such as Finn and Footitt (who may be seen as a possible replacement for Anderson in the long term) to prove their credentials on the Test arena. 

In summary, the next twelve months should be positive ones as far as the English cricket team is concerned. The team is in a process of change, and looks to be finally plugging the holes left by Pietersen, Swann and Prior. Personally, I predict a series draw in South Africa, followed by reaching the Semi-Finals of the T20 cup before two home victories in the series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. However, even if the team is not that successful, as long as positive, aggressive cricket is pursued by the team, then fans like me will feel that the team is heading in the right direction after a period of uncertainty following the Ashes whitewash down under two years ago.

Lastly, I look forward to seeing how Eoin Morgan and the One Day teams fare after their change in approach following the World Cup disaster. The team look to be really enjoying their cricket, and in beating Pakistan they showed that this positive attitude is translating into results. It will be interesting to see how the One Day matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan pan out, and I expect to see games which could be somewhat closer than the Test Matches between the sides.  

My England Team

Earlier today I saw the BBC Cricket page. On it was a post about who four different people thought should be the England XI come the summer tests against Sri Lanka. These four were Phil Tuffnell, Steve Harmison, Michael Vaughan and Simon Hughes. It goes without saying that these four clearly know their stuff, but I didn't agree completely with any of the teams that they had picked. So I thought I would have a go at creating my own team. So here goes.

1 - Captain Cook.

England captain. World class opening batsman. He is the only man that I have put into this team without even hesitating. Although there have been some calls (mainly by people who know little about cricket) for his head after the 5-0 defeat down under, Cook is a quality batsman and an ever learning captain. Because of this he is, for my money, going to be facing the first ball of an England innings come June.

2 - Joe Root

He showed his massive potential in the summer against the Aussies, and was labelled as a future opening batsman. With the ageing  Michael Carberry failing to capitalise on his chance to shine and cement a spot as opener, Root is the obvious choice for me. He may not hit the ground running, he will take time to mould into an international opener,  but with a busy summer ahead, I believe Root should be the given the chance to play every test against Sri Lanka and India and solidify most peoples belief that he is a star in the making.

3 - Ian Bell

Every BBC writer had Ian Bell as their number 3, and I'm no different. A genuine stroke player, we all know what Bell is capable of. Of course this could all change if Jonathan Trott makes a drastic recovery and regains some form, but unfortunatly I can't see this happening.

4 - Kevin Pietersen

Like Cook, there have been some calls for KP to be for the chop, but I can't see why. Yes he got out playing some "interesting" shots during the series, but he still scored more runs than anyone else in the England camp. Could definitely do with a few games with Surrey rather than the IPL to regain his mojo, but he's in my team every day of the week.

5 - Gary Ballance

I rate Ballance highly as a player, and that is the reason why he is in my team. He steadied the sinking ship in the first innings at Sydney, showing his credentials as an England player. His full potential has yet to be seen, so I would like to see him be given his chance for the three tests against Sri Lanka, and then review the number 5 position against India.

6 - Ben Stokes

Before the winter I thought Stokes wasn't good enough. I thought his bowling would get hit to all parts and he would be score poorly with the bat. I was wrong. He has been excellent. A battling hundred in Perth, and six wickets in Sydney. This lad can play. After Captain Cook he was the second name on my teamsheet. Looking forward to seeing what he can offer in home conditions. Hopefully it will be even better than what we all saw in Oz.

7 - Matt Prior

Jonny Bairstow has had his fair share of chances in the England team. His batting is okay, but I just can't see him hitting big centuries on the international stage. As for his keeping, he looked like a man who hasn't spent enough time with the gloves on. That's why Matt Prior is in my team. An experienced gloveman, who I think will return all guns blazing with the bat in the summer, he is a top class player. Like Pietersen, could definitely do with a couple of games for his county.

8 - Scott Borthwick

This spinners position was a bit of a toss up between Borthwick and Panesar. Panesar is a good player, not world class, but he will take wickets. But Borthwick can offer a lot more with the bat than Monty, which is part of the reason I have chosen him. Like Ballance, I would give him the three tests against Sri Lanka and bring in Monty if he's poor.

9 - Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad is a very good bowler. He can devastate a batting lineup in a spell of bowling when he's on song. For this reason he is in my team. Simple.

10 - James Anderson

Jimmy is a brilliant swing bowler. He didn't have the best series in Australia, but back in home conditions I'll be backing him to pick up 30 wickets if not more wickets in the 8 tests England have this summer. He is no spring chicken, but for this summer at least, he offers a hell of a lot to this England bowling attack.

11 - Graham Onions

I think Graham Onions is a fantastic bowler. I can't see why he hasn't been in the test side more. Finn goes for too many runs, and should spend the summer playing for Middlesex. Bresnan is a handy bowler to have but I think Onions is better. Mills is only 21, give him another couple of years to develop and become a better bowler. I think Onions has the ability to take bagfuls of wickets this summer, and he has done everything on the county circuit to merit being picked.

Only time will tell if my 11 is accurate or complete rubbish, but I think, with this 11 playing, we can blow away Sri Lanka and then India this summer...

County Championship Attendances

The new county championship gets underway is just a matter of weeks now, and instead of writing about who I think will be successful in the upcoming season or who would struggle. I thought it would be much more productive, and interesting  to write about the more underlying problem in the domestic long format of the game. Attendances.

553,000 people watched county championship cricket LIVE last year, and on the surface, that seems like quite a big number.

But if you bi-sect it and work out the average amount of people who watch every County Championship game, you quickly realise that actually, it isn't that many people at all.



A Bare County Championship Stand

Attendances on average were 800 people per day at any given County Championship game.

Possible reasons for these attendances?

1. The Rise of T20 cricket. It's no coincidence that since the arrival of T20 cricket, interest in County Championship cricket has gone down considerably. This may have had some effect on the attendances at CC games.
2. People can't afford to go to games, an adult could probably get into most County games for under £15 for the whole days play. The food can be expensive but homemade food can be taken, so overall a day at the cricket for two could cost little over £30, which is dirt cheap compared to other sports. Because of the cheapness I think this reason is invalid, but I've chucked it in the list just to even things out.
3. People just aren't available to go to games. County Championship games start midweek when people are at work, and so they aren't physically able to get to games. But this reason is slightly flawed, the games finale is on a Sunday or Saturday depending on what day it started on, most people are not at work at the weekend.

I think the reason for the low attendances is simply that interest in County Championship cricket is just not high enough, this is partly due to the rise of T20 cricket but partly due to the lack of media coverage in my opinion. For example I support Leicestershire, I live in Norfolk. No games are ever on TV, with the exception of maybe one or two at the end of the season, and I can't get any coverage on the radio. This means I have to browse the Internet just to find a scoreboard, and if I get a text commentary I'll be damn lucky.

It's a lot of effort to go through with not a lot of reward, a dull scoreboard which is usually slow updating is not a lot of reward for searching for a decent website to look on, and I can see why a lot of fans just wouldn't bother.

A solution?

Well - I think a weekly TV show dedicated to just County Championship would be perfect, cricket's version of Match of the Day.

Every Sunday night, sit down, relax, and watch your team in action. A summary of all the games that took place that week, with debates taking place regarding whatever matter had arisen in that week.

Cricket fans would get to see how their team have been getting on, and interest would start to rise. This would result in people getting more and more gripped by how their team are doing, and this could influence people getting to games.

I personally think it's a pretty damn good idea, although I am quite bias because I am the fool who created the idea in the first place!

Feel free to add your opinion on the matter in the comments box on this page, or on our Twitter page @TheSillyPoint_

England Fight Back

The first day in Dunedin was a complete wash out. I was looking forward to seeing England in Test cricket action for the first time in a long time, I'd missed a lot of the matches in India due to the time difference so I was definitely getting withdrawal symptoms.

When I switched on to watch I was dissapointed when I heard monotone Bob announce that the rain was pouring down in Dunedin and play was unlikely.

The whole days play was later abandoned.

Day two was a day to forget for England, but I'm not going to talk about that for too long, because much of my last post concentrated on the first three days in NZ.

To summarise it, England were very poor, skittled out for little over 150 with Trott being the only batsmen to score a respectable total.

Bruce Martin - Relatively Unknown

New Zealand had Rutherford and Martin on debut. One was a promising young cricketer who showed what we could be in store for in the next few years. The other was a veteran left arm spinner clearly brought in to the squad because England knew jack about him.

This curveball from New Zealand paid off. Martin picked up four wickets. While Rutherford hit a magnificent    ton 50.

This along with quick runs from McCullum meant England were deep in it.

Forty five minutes in to day 4 Alaister Cook and Nick Compton walked out in to the middle, knowing they were probably going to have to bat for the duration of the match just to scrape a draw.

Finn - Defended Excellently

They certainly redeemed themselves from the humiliation of the first innings display, if you can even call it a display. Cook and Compton hit centuries in a formidable first wicket stand. When Cook fell Steven Finn, sent in as nightwatchman, defended admirably.

His magnificent 56 sent England on their way to a first test draw against the Kiwi's.

Trott, coming in at four because of the nightwatchmen, also hit a half century to prevent NZ from a test victory to remember.

After 170 overs England finished day five on 421 for 6. The draw felt like a win, and the English comeback was complete...

But what will happen in the next two test matches over 10000 miles away in New Zealand?

Well, personally, I expect England to win comprehensibly in Wellington and Auckland. The first innings in Dunedin was a big blip, and New Zealand could not capitalize. I can't see England faltering again in this series, they will be even more determined to win after nearly being embarrassed by the underdogs.

My prediction: A 2-0 win for England providing no more days play are prevented because of mother nature. I also think Compton and Root will be hungry for runs to try and push for a Ashes selection this summer, and therefore I think they will both get handfuls of runs.

Alaister Cook, KP, Trott and Bell are simply better than any bowler NZ have on offer. Although KP in particular did have a very poor test, it is nice to not hear his name in the headlines mind! Anderson is just a class above, Paneser is no Swann but he does a job.

New Zealand's Martin won't be a surprise package, England will have done more homework before Wellington. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if NZ picked another relative unknown.

Cheers

New Zealand - Not to be Underestimated

Three days into the first test match over 10000 miles away in New Zealand England are starting to get a bit homesick...

After being skittled out for just over 150 England's bowlers struggled to stop debutant Hamish Rutherford, who I keep foolishly calling Greg Rutherford (British Olympic medallist last summer) from scoring a absolutely magnificent buck fifty in spectacular style in his first test innings. The young kiwi hit three sixes on his way to 171, more than all eleven English batsmen could muster up between them!

New Zealand scored over 400 with a magnificent late flurry from Brendon McCullum with help from debutant Martin. England are now 50 odd without loss in  reply.

But why have New Zealand had so much success in the first three and a half days (first day wash out) at Dunedin?

Well, the main reason is that they do have some quality players when you look at them individually.



Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson is a good player - playing at number three in the first innings he got a solid 24 while Rutherford done the work at the other end. For a man of 22 he's played quite a lot of test cricket, 20 matches to be exact, and he's definitely got good potential. I don't think he's going to be world class, but I think he could be a solid batsmen for New Zealand for many years to come.



Ross Taylor
 

Sticking with batsmen next, Ross Taylor. A man with more experience than that of six years younger Kane Williamson, Taylor brings some quality to the New Zealand middle order. Taylor is a very impressive ODI and T20 player, but he can do it on the Test circuit too, he's scored over 3000 runs for his country, notching up sixteen fifties and continuing on to a century seven times. I'd rather have him in my T20 team, but he's still a important cog in the NZ Test machine.


Brendon McCullum
 

Brendon McCullum is another man in the NZ team who is a big hitter in the one day and T20 games. He can hit the ball a long, long way, as he demonstrated in his quickfire 50 at Dunedin. He's hit two international T20 centuries, a feat which no other mortal has reached. For this reason he can score quick runs coming in late middle order, which can always be key in certain circumstances! He's a good wicket keeper as well, reliable. Nothing's worse than a liability behind the stumps!

Tim Southee

Tim Southee is a player I like. A tall right armer who can move the ball is always a risk towards the opposition batsmen. Although he only picked up one of the wickets in the England first innings I think we could be seeing him get 2/3 important wickets reguarly in this series. He's not quite as good as Steve Finn but he's still a good player - for that reason he could cause all kinds of problems for Compton and Root in particular. (The rookie English players in this team)

Those four New Zealand players are the ones with the most quality, (in my opinion) but one other could cause England problems for different reasons.

Bruce Martin is playing his first test match game, and is relatively unknown. He's been playing his trade in New Zealand and I don't think England will know too much about the left armer spinner. For this reason he could cause a lot of short term problems for England, he already has taken four wickets in England's first innings!

So New Zealand have got some good quality players in their armoury, and along with the hunger to win they could not only win this test match, but one of the next two as well, which would result in a series win for the Black Caps.

England definitely need to buck up their ideas, put in the hard work inbetween now and the next test match (this game has probably been lost already) to try and turn things around.

Two things are key for England; Cutting out any complacency, and do their homework.

So get down to work Cook and co.

Cheers

Joe Root - Destined for Greatness?

Joe Root has been in the limelight a lot recently for England - and he's made a big impact on the international scene as well as for his county Yorkshire last summer.

At just 22 years old he's got the best years of his career ahead of him; if he keeps on the straight and narrow unlike some other hot prospects in the English game. Ben Stokes *Cough* Matt Coles *Cough*

But what has Joe Root achieved so far in his relatively short career?

What brought him in to the English squad in the first place?

Well - he showed promise right from the word go. On his second team debut for Yorkshire he scored a half century. More impressive scores followed, and it was only a matter of time before  he got his chance in the first team.

His chance came against Essex; in the final CB40 match of the 2009 season. His first XI debut was just as fine as his entrance to the second XI, hitting a half century opening the batting. His 63 turned accounted for over a third of his sides runs and after the game he described his impressive debut knock as "dream come true."

Joe Root playing for Yorkshire in the CC

The England's under 19's squad is where a lot of young England stars start to shine on the international level. Michael Vaughan and Freddie Flintoff captained this side when they were both teenagers, showing that the under 19 stage is a vital stepping stone in the career of an aspiring international cricketer.

Root wasn't picked as captain for the team but in 2010 in the under 19 world cup. He was picked to open the batting. In two games he scored nearly a century in total, although these scores were against minor teams. His first two games were his big successes of the tournament from his personal playing point of view, as he made no major contribution to his teams totals in games against a strong India and then West Indies.

He'd done decent at the world cup but hadn't made a massive impact.

At this point few could predict that in two years time he would be a Yorkshire regular, holding several ODI caps and a single test cap.

In 3 of his one day games he hit half centuries and he has also hit a half century in his single test cap.

He can turn his arm over too; his gentle off break could claim a wicket or two once in a blue moon. Primarily, he can hold up and end for a couple of overs before the new ball is available.

The boy can field too - he's pretty much got the potential to have the full package. The video --->  is a brilliant piece of fielding by the young man, and a brilliant example of the ever changing game of cricket. You wouldn't have seen a batsman playing a shot like this never mind the fieldsman producing a piece of magic 30 years ago.

So is Joe Root destined for great things? Will he become a key player in this years ashes and beyond? Or will he become a flop? Will he drift away from the national team set up and never be heard of again?

Well, I think Root is destined to play a massive part against the Aussies this year. Against a relatively weak bowling line up he could deliver a lot of damage.

Against India in December he showed his potential in very tough conditions.He batted slowly, with patience, and although he scored only four boundaries he kept the scoreboard ticking over. For this reason I think he is more suited to opening the batting rather than coming in at number five/six. He and Cook could give the Aussie's a lot to think about early on in the innings.

If he puts in the hard work on the training ground and stays out of the media for the wrong reasons then I can't see a reason why he can't replace Andrew Strauss at the top of the English batting order.

Only time will tell if I'm right, but I'm rarely wrong! However, I would still love to hear the views of you, any comments at the bottom of the page are always appreciated!

Cheers.

Strauss Has Hung Up His Boots

Yesterday, at roughly 12-00, Andrew Strauss publicly retired from all forms of professional cricket, and the opening segment of this post is a kind of tribute to a fantastic player who's career has had ups and downs.

Strauss first class career started back in the last millennium in the year of 1998 where he made his Middlesex debut and scored 83 in his maiden innings. But having stuttered slightly after this sparkling debut he didn't break on to the international scene until 2003.

His international debut was hardly the way he wanted to introduce him self though, England lost by 10 wickets and Strauss struggled.

He would have to wait till the start of the next English season for his next chance, courtesy of a Michael Vaughan knee injury. And my lord didn't he shine in his first test in England. At Lords, the home of cricket, he opened the batting for the three lions and a hit a century. But he wasn't finished there, in the second innings he hit a half century to take his average after just one test match at nearly 100. Not bad.

The rest is history, he helped England win the Ashes in 2005 and after being appointed as captain a couple of years back, he won the ashes in England and then again in Aussie territory for the first time since donkeys years back.

Andrew Strauss Beaming After Winning The Ashes
 

But then in 2011 another honour was added to his long list of achievements, when he captained the three lions to victory against India to take Blighty to number one in the test rankings.

It's been tough since then, nobody can deny that.

A tough winter in the UAE against Pakistan was followed by a mickey mouse series against West Indies and more recently a series loss against South Africa meant that SA won the number one ranking.

That was just a few days ago now, and Strauss has decided to call curtains on his career. Whether that was anything to do with the KP affair, we may never know. (KP has clearly been a massive knob, and has a lot of bridges to rebuild)

Personally, I think it did, but that's just my opinion and I can't prove it. But the main reason is obviously the fact that he has been awfully out of nick for the past year or so, and at the age of 35 you can't help but think that he might never get that golden touch back.

But regardless of the reason for his retirement at this current time, his career has been magnificent, and that was just one of hundreds of tributes that have been given to Straussy today.

The second part of this post is going to be about the future, and what is going to happen next for the English cricket team...

Alaister Cook has been appointed as Strauss' replacement, and while I do not doubt his batting ability, I am still a tad unsure about if his captain skills match those of his batting. He seems to know what he is doing. But I wonder if he will be able to cope with situations such as the KP affair.

Only time will tell.

The other matter is who will come in and open the batting for England?

There isn't a clear choice for the vacant role, I've heard Trott's name thrown about but I think he is 100% suited to the number 3 role in the side. The same goes for Bell and the number 4 spot.

Alex Hales is one possible player who could come in and open the batting, and he seems to be the best option along with Michael Carberry available to the selectors. Its a tough one, there is no obvious choice waiting in the wings to replace Strauss and we will have to wait and see who replace's Strauss...

Cheers

Good Luck James Taylor

For Gregory

It's the eve of the 2nd Investec test between test giants England and South Africa.


South Africa are currently leading the series which will decide which of the two teams are number 1 in the world, 1-0. And they went 1-0 up in style. Hashim Amla was just a different class...

Posting his best ever total of 311 not out he, with the help of Smith and co they marched on to victory at the Oval with ease. Now England are looking to bounce back at Headingley in order to level the three match series so they can retain their number one ranking. And with the absence of Ravi Bopara (which I'm ecstatic about) James Taylor is looking to stamp his authority on Test cricket in style.

Of course, it's going to be a tough challenge. From playing county championship cricket for Notts to facing Dale Steyn and the rest of the SA attack, which is arguably the strongest attack in the world. But I think he can do it, he's fresh to the international scene and will be full of confidence and enthusiasm - and with the guidance of senior players he can really stamp his authority on this game. A fantastic opportunity for such a young cricketer to showpiece himself to the world in what is, make no mistake about it, a huge spectacle.

With a first class average of just under 50 and several England lions games under his belt he was definitely the right choice of player to come in for Bopara in my opinion. Bairstow had his chance against a poor West Indian bowling attack and didn't impress. And Taylor was simply next in the pecking order. I hope he does well, I think he will do well.

James Taylor may not be the only change to the England side for the second test though, and with the English bowling attack failing in the first test changes may be made. Question marks have been raised over whether Swann may be dropped for an all seam bowling attack. But I think this would be a ridiculous move that would end up with England going down 2-0 in the series. Swann is the best spin bowler in the world in my opinion and would surely get in to every test team on the planet. Why would we drop him?

Steve Finn's name has also been brought forward, if he does come in he is likely to replace Bresnan. But if I was Flower and Strauss (Sadly, I'm not) I would stick with Tim. I think they are of a similar standard, but Bresnan is a good bat. He is head and shoulders above Finn with a piece of wood in his hands and he has got valuable runs before for England. For this reason, along with the fact that Leeds is Tim's home ground, I would definitely stick with him for the Headingly dule.

But Steve has still got a chance of breaking in to the side tomorrow. A few questions marks have been raised regarding Stuart Broad's fitness, and it really isn't a game in which England can afford to carry a player with a knock, which Broad looked throughout the oval test. If Strauss and Flower deem Broad unfit to play, they should and i believe would not hesitate in replacing Broad with the lively Finn. It really is a test which could define the path in which Andrew Strauss' career as England captain could take, lose and more serious questions will be posed regarding Strauss' future, win and he buys himself more valuable time in his quest to dispel the doubts over his place and captaincy of the side.
So here is the side I think will play tomorrow.

1. Strauss
2. Cook
3. Trott
4. Bell
5. Pietersen
6. Taylor
7. Prior
8. Bresnan/Finn
9. Broad
10. Swann
11. Anderson

Lets hope that team will be the one to level the series and help the mighty England go in to the 3rd test with a chance of retaining their number one ranking.

Come on England!

England or South Africa?

Firstly, an apology.

I've been on holiday (yay) and since I haven't had a good opportunity to watch some cricket I thought I would disgrace my self and you the reader by blogging without having a clue what was going on.

But I'm back now so I can enlighten you all with my fantastic cricket views. (That was a joke by the way) 

Anyway, before I went on holiday I set a poll. England or South Africa...

The poll has now come to a conclusion and England have just nicked it. But considering only a few people have viewed this blog from South Africa it isn't surprising that Blighty won.

So it got me thinking, with the West Indies test series wrapped up, Andy Flower and his merry men must have started to set their sights on the big test in the summer.

And with them thinking about it, I thought I should as well. What do I, the most prestigious cricket Journo in the northern hemisphere think. By the way I think Jarrod Kimber is the best in the southern Hemisphere. His book, "When Freddie Became Jesus" is a pretty damn good read... I just love his take on things, and overall. He's got pretty good bant as well.

Anyway, I think that England's fait in the summer depends on the following factor...

Individual battles.

So many of these mini-wars are going to be taking place in the summer, and if Blighty's stars can shine brighter than their individual opponents then it could be all smiles for England.


But what are the battles, and what does each individual involved bring to the table?

The first battle is between two demons.

Two demons with a shiny red cricket ball in their right hand.

Dale Steyn and James Anderson.


Steyn or Anderson?



James Anderson is England's strike bowler, and his wicked swing at the start of an innings has gifted him 258 test wickets at an average of 30.  He strikes fear into most opening batsman and probably Matt Prior behind the twigs as well!

And his opponent, in the green corner...

Dale Steyn. South Africa's hit man. Like Jimmy he is in his prime at the ripe age of 28. (Jimmy is 29) With an average of just over 23 looking at the stats one could assume that Steyn is a much better player. But personally I think they are of a similar quality. Steyn is quicker than Jimmy but Anderson can swing the ball very well at the start of an innings.

The two skippers next. Graeme Smith and Andrew Strauss.

These two guys are both opening batsmen, both left handed opening batsmen both captains and look very very similar... (to me)

My theory is that they are lost twins, divided at birth on to different planes. One going to England and the other to South Africa. And now they are going to meet to settle there differences in a cricketing battle for the throne. The number one test team in the world.

Both are equal captains in my book (I don't actually have a book, and if I did, nobody would read it) and in terms of caps, Smith has more even though he is four years younger than the England captain. Batting wise Strauss has just hit a bit of form after hitting a couple of centuries against West Indies. But I wouldn't get carried away, Windies bowling is pretty shabby and the likes of Steyn will provide a much greater threat to Blighty's opening batsman than Edwards of WI ever will...

Never the less two centuries is two centuries and he hopefully has got himself in to some sort of nick.

Smith is also a very good opening batsman, with a impressive average of just under 50 he will surely relish the challenge of leading his South Africa side against England to try and gain the number one spot that both teams crave so much.

The last battle I'm going to touch on between these nations is the battle of the high order batsman. And in particular Amla and KP.

KP or Amla?

KP first, recently retired from limited overs cricket (I don't know why either) is the flamboyant number four in England's batting line up. Born in South Africa he is bound to get some stick from the South Africans but if he can shrug that off and play how the whole of England knows he can he could hit many match changing innings for Blighty.

Amla next, and this guy is pretty damn good. With experience of playing in England before and hitting a century at Lords and gaining him a place on the honours board, this guy is certainly no mug. And I expect him to hit at least 3 or 4 half centuries with 1 of these half centuries being converted in to another ton to add to his 14 test centuries. This battle is sure to provide us fans a lot of entertainment. May the best batsman win.

It's these three battles that I expect to win one of the sides the series. The tactics battle will be decided by the captains. The batting battle by KP and Amla. And the bowling battle between Steyn and Anderson.

England also have the home advantage. And this is sure to be quite a strong advantagen with most of the South African squad not playing regular cricket in England.

** My Prediction **

I'm going to go for a England win, had the series been in South Africa I might have gone for a draw or a South Africa win. But with both teams being very simular strength wise in my view I think the home advantage is just going to edge it.

Cheers

The Story of an Awful Cricket Player

At this moment, I am a very happy man indeed.

Why?

Simple, Ravi Bopara is not fit enough to be included in the Blighty squad that are playing West Indies in just a few days time.

He has suffered a muscle injury in his right thigh which will keep him out of the matches.

Now, I don't hate Bopara as a person, he's probably a top lad, he's probably got brilliant banter. But he isn't a very good cricket player. Sure he's better than me (which isn't hard - I'm awful) but no way is he worthy of another chance in the international spotlight.

I really don't understand all the disappointed faces of people who wanted to see him playing for England again. He had his chance, remember?

2007. The England selectors decided to take Ravi on a little holiday to Sri Lanka to play in a test series.

Bopara Bowled in England Colours...

3 ducks. In five innings Ravi managed to get 3 ducks. In the other two innings that he managed to get of the mark in he mustered up 42 atogether. For a guy in his first test series trying to stamp his mark on the game, this was definitely not the way to go about it. It wasn't as if he was really up against an amazing bowling line up either. Sri Lanka had Malinga and Murali but apart from that they didn't have any stand out bowlers. But still Bopara couldn't get any runs...

England lost the test series 1-0 and Bopara looked way out of his depth.

But don't worry, as the England selectors were on hand to give Ravi another shot at glory in the Blighty test side... (Nobody knows why)

It came in 2009, against a very ordinary West Indies side. In his first innings he scored his first ever test century. And then when England played Windies at home he played again... And in the first and second test he scored test centuries.

At this point a lot of people thought Ravi was the next best thing. He was the next Tendulkar. England's new star!

But no, we were playing West Indies who's bowling attack is terrible to say the least.

These centuries set him up to play in the Ashes. The test series between two brilliant nations with fantastic histories. Players such as Don Bradman, Shane Warne, Ian Botham and Graham Gooch have played in this series where the winner is congratulated with the urn. And now... Ravi Bopara...

Oh dear, in six innings Ravi didn't put on a total of anymore than 35. Including a duck and a one, it's fair to say he didn't frighten the Aussie bowlers in to submission. He was dropped for Trott who got a century on his debut.

Trott... More Impressive Than Ravi

England went on to win the Ashes that year, no thanks to Ravi. Trott saved it for us in the last test with his fantastic century on his debut. Note to self Ravi, that's the way to introduce your self for your country.

Because Trott has been so succesful since, Ravi has been out of the spotlight, until he was meant to be in the Blighty squad that were going in to a very feeble battle against The Windies. But now he is injured, and he's out.

If you're reading Ravi, I don't dis-like you. I just think your utterly awful and you definitely don't deserve to pull on an England shirt ever again. Unless your in the crowd watching that is. That would be ok.

Because of these chances Ravi has had, I don't think he deserves another throw of the dice. There are a lot of good players waiting in the England Lions side who I think deserve there shot now. And I'm glad Bairstow has got his shot. It's just unfortunate that his chance has come along because of a injury to Bopara...

So come on Bairstow, score several ton's and keep Ravi out of the test side.

Cheers

How Times Have Changed

In just under two weeks Blighty (England) take on West Indies. Blighty are top in the world rankings for now, in tests. And West Indies are 8th.

Every pundit, fan and player expects England to defeat them without too much trouble. And I also expect England to trounce the guys all the way back to the sunny Caribbean. But only a handful of years ago it was so different...

In 1984 a West Indies team led by Clive Lloyd visited England to play five test matches and three ODI's.



The Windies won 2-1 in the ODI series, victories at Old Trafford and Lords were enough to see WI through.



Don't Mess With These Guys



And then along came the tests. Andy Lloyd made his test debut for England. It didn't last long. Half an hour in, Marshall stormed in and bowled a bouncer which hit him on the ol' noggin. He spent several days in hospital and never played another test.



This set the tone for the series and West Indies white-washed Blighty on their own turf. 5-0. Viv Richards was outstanding. Every Windies player was outstanding. Blighty were humiliated.



How times have changed.





The glory days of the 70's and 80's and to some degree, 90's are over for the guys from the Caribbean. The lad that is Brian Lara came in the 90's and early 00's has now been and gone like our dreams of playing some cricket at the start of the cricket season in England. And they have now slipped to 7th in the ICC test rankings (8th if you count Zimbabwe)



They now rely on Chanderpaul to score their runs. And he does most of the time.  He is a brilliant batsman and West Indies only major threat. Kiemar Roach is also a good bowler. But I don't expect him to drill through the England batting line up because simply, he isn't that good.

Darren Sammy is their skipper. He's no Clive Lloyd. He is a good captain in an average team. Lloyd was a great captain in a great team.





The Current WI Skipper

Chris Gayle is also a brilliant player. He fell out with the WI cricket board and he hasn't played for a long time in international cricket. However, in the last week, he has made himself available for selection . But because of IPL 'commitments' he can't play in the test series. Which is a great shame because he could have made the Windies batting line up more competitive. I really do hope he plays in the short ODI series though. I can't think of anyone (apart from knobs) who wouldn't want to see the big huggable bear playing cricket on English soil.

Barath, Brathwaite and Powell are their three opening batsman. There nothing to shout about. In the recent series against the Aussies there only achievement was making sure the middle order got a bat.

I like Fiedel Edwards, he's one of their strike force bowlers and he seems to have a pretty cool personality from what you can see on your TV screen. Shame he isn't actually that good. His bowling average of just over 37 tells you that he isnt Glenn McgGrath.

The rest of the side are under-achievers, plenty of talent, not enough to show for it.  But they don't appear to have the stomach for the fight that is needed to cut it at the top of international cricket if they are to step up the world rankings.





Prediction - England win without doubt. Don't stick a bet on it though. I havn't checked but I'm pretty sure the odds would be absolutely terrible.

This series is a bit of a warm up for South Africa. So watch it, think about it and enjoy your prawn sandwiches, stereotypical English cricket fans.

Cheers





Victory for Blighty

Victory for Strauss.

Victory for England.

Victory for me.

That's right, I'm victorious. A few days ago I put my grand reputation on the line and said that Strauss and his boys would turn it around in the Colombo test. And that we needed to get behind them. I'm pretty sure after I tweeted the post to alot of the England team they not only just read the blog, but they were inspired by it, and it spurred them on. They thought, "We can't let this lad down, he will look like a mug if we don't perform."

I made a post about the first 3 days of play so I won't blab on about them. Lets just get to the tasty bit of the game, the juicy bit, the bit where all cricket fans sit down, lean forward, and watch fat English men with their tops off drinking beer and singing in the crowd. Days 4 and 5.

This is the bit everyone loves, this is the bit where the game is decided. Well, that's what normally happens...

The game had really already been decided by the English batsmen on day 3, as we all know, that the Sri Lankan batting line up (apart from M. Jayawardene, Samaraweera, Matthews and Sangakkarra) are pretty shocking and that they were never going to pose any really threat as long as these 4 players didn't post massive scores.

None of them did.

Thirimanne was the first to bite the dust. Caught by Strauss at slip of an Anderson ball. What an awful series this lad has had, 3, 6, 8 and 11. One double figure score in 4 innings is terrible. At least he has made some improvement as the series went on, so hats of to him!

After Prasad, the nightwatchman, fell for 34. A decent score for a guy who usually bats low down in the order.

Dilshan and Sangakkarra were left in the middle, two men out of form, out of touch, and after putting on a partnership of 40 odd, Dilshan was out after Swann started his six wicket haul with a ball which struck the edge of Dilshan's bat and the skipper Strauss took a simple catch at first slip. Then Sangakkarra went, to another edge that this time went to Prior from Swann's bowling.

This left Sri Lanka 125-4 and their main man in form was in, Mahela Jayawardene. What a cricket player this man has been in this series.

In the first test he showed the English batsmen how to score runs in Sri Lanka. He never really looked in danger of getting out, and I think I ended up drooling over my TV after some of his heavenly strokes.

I wish I could play cricket like this man has done in this test, Pietersen's innings was also world class. But it was more of a ODI innings, Mahela showed us all how test cricket should be played, where as KP showed us how we could bat in a test match like it was an ODI.

However, both were equally as good as eachother, but for different reasons...

Also, Samaraweera was in the middle with him, and they put on a good partnership. Slowly plodding away with singles and two's, only a handful of boundaries were scored.

But then Swann struck, with Sri Lanka on 215, in the same over he got Samaraweera in a twist when the ball bit of the turf and spun into him, and then just two balls later Randiv fell, another brillaint ball.

Suddenly from an average position of 215-4 Sri Lanka found themselves 215-6. And things weren't looking so rosy.

Swann was on fire, spinning the ball for the sheer joy of it. He bowled unchanged for a long while, the poor guy must have had blisters on his fingers. But I'm sure he wouldn't have minded as he was bowling excellently. And he didn't have to wait long to get his next victim, and it was the guy I had been drooling over, Jayawardene. Edging it onto his pads and to Cook at short leg.

He was gone, and England were now firmly in the driving seat.

Matthews was in, I love this guy. He is a fantastic player, and I adore watching him play. He can play in all 3 forms of the game, and at just the age of 24 he has the potential to be a top star for his national side.

He was the last wicket to go after his 3 team members below him in the batting order could only gather 8 runs between them. Well done. Matthews was out for 46, and I would have liked him to get to his 50 because I think he is a good player.

Swann celebrates one of his wickets.

278 was Sri Lanka's final score, with Swann by far the pick of the bowlers, with six wickets. He deserved it,  he had worked hard and had put everything into bowling in the boiling heat. Congratulations Mr.Swann.

Strauss and Cook walked out needing only 90 odd to win. The barmy army were in fantastic spirits, and why shouldn't they be. After a poor winter tour of Dubai they deserved to enjoy a test victory. We buggered up what should have been an easy run chase in Dubai and this England side took a different approach this time around...

Although Strauss fell early for a duck (Quack) it was clear that this England side wanted to wrap this game up quickly and they got straight to it. Trott also got out cheap for 5 which made the score 32-2.

At this time Cook and Pietersen were in, it was a joy to watch. I only wish Blighty had an even bigger score to chase so we could have seen more of this beautiful attacking cricket. KP and Cooky were scoring easily and got to the total in the 20th over. Victory. Sweet sweet victory. This winter. At last.

Blighty had retained their title as number one test side in the world, for now anyway. The real test comes in the summer, even if they lost this test and dropped to number two in the world the number one spot would be contested against South Africa in England. This would be the real test. The best v the best. England v South Africa. Strauss v Smith. KP v De Villiers. Anderson v Steyn. Swann v Tahir and Broad v Kallis.

All these individual battles would decide the outcome.

May the best team win.

Cheers

First 3 Days At Colombo

Were one down in the series, Sri Lanka win the toss, and choose to bat, sensible choice, it's hot, and momentum is on their side after winning the first test in this Just Retirement series. God knows why it is called the Just Retirement series, maybe the ICC are trying to send Strauss a message, who knows...

Day one, time for Sri Lanka's top three to redeem themselves after collapsing in the two innings' in the first test, they get to 21-0, it's not an awful start, the two openers don't look great, but at least they haven't lost two wickets in two balls like they did in the first test.

Oh wait, Dilshan and Sangakkara are both caught by Prior and Strauss respectively, Sangakkara goes for his second golden duck in this series, which lets face it, is terrible, but credit to Jimmy, he is the one that got them out, so if your reading Jimmy, take a bow.

But then Jayawardene strolled into the middle, cool, calm and collected. His team needed him to steady the ship, and my god didn't he did it fantastically well, a couple of people got out at the other end, but nobody cares about that, it was the Jayawardene show, good defence, hit the bad balls, and he played a lot of elegant strokes. He rolled past the 100 mark to hit his 31st century in tests with ease, before eventually getting out for 105. He walked off to a booming standing ovation from the crowd. Angelo Matthews and Samaraweera also deserve a mention, with tidy knocks of 57and 54. Sri Lanka finished all out for 275 after the tail didn’t wag at the start of day two.

Swann and Anderson were the pick of the bowlers, taken 7 wickets between them.

Then, a few minutes later, Strauss and Cook wander out into the middle, a lot of English fans are thinking all the hard work done by the bowlers could be undone by our useless batsmen because most of them are out of touch, but not me, in my last post I mentioned how everyone should get behind Strauss and the boys because the media had been on their backs constantly over if Strauss should be removed as captain because of his batting.

Strauss had obviously read my post and thought that he didn’t want to make me look like a fool, and so he pulled his finger out.

It started average, Strauss got a lucky break, but he soldiered on, and so did Cook and the 50 opening partnership was up. What a relief, England fans everywhere breathed a huge sigh of relief that we hadn’t cocked it up again!

And then a 100 partnership!!! It was marvellous, it hadn’t been as pretty as Strauss and Cook can be when they are in top nick, but it was scrappy, and they slowly grew in confidence.

But then Dilshan strikes, well he doesn’t really strike as in he bowled a unplayable ball, he bowls a short ball outside wide of off-stump for Strauss to pound away through point, but no, Strauss edges it behind to Jayawardene who thankfully takes the simple catch.

122-1.

And then Trott and Cook plod along for a bit, but when Cook got out at the start of day 3 and Pietersen came in is when an innings of pure class came on show in Colombo.

KP had a close shave when the ball flew over short leg, a missed opportunity for Sri Lanka, KP carried on regardless, a slower ball from Prasad which KP hits back over Prasad flies through his hands, a tough chance, a very tough chance, chin up Prasad.

He never looked back, Dilshan made a drama over KP changing his hands before he had bowled the ball (What a knob Dilshan) Dilshan was clearly in the wrong in my view, Pietersen has played the switch shot for many years and the ICC approve it, he only knows why he made a massive drama about it.

And the ball after KP was given a informal warning after the affair, he played a reserve sweep to bring up his 100, a slap in the face to Dilshan! A pretty decent celebration aswell! Pumping his fist in the air as he removes his helmet and laps up the applause, and I bet there was a bit of cursing under his breath to Dilshan aswell...



KP Celebrates his 21st Test Century

 He went on to make 151, of just 162 balls! His sweep looked second to none, hit 6 sixes! A remarkable amount in the test format of the game. So well done KP, you’ve done your self proud, he has been in dodgy form in test cricket in the winter and he has overcome this bad form to put England into a very commanding position in the match.

Samit Patel hit a slow 29 to plod England along, and the tail didn’t have much resistance to the likes of Herath, who got six wickets, it wasn’t an amazing bowling performance by Herath, but he was still the pick of the bowlers (Which wasn’t hard) and he got the job of getting wickets, if it wasn’t for him England could have gone on to get at least 500.

England were all out for 460. A lead of 185 runs.

If we don’t go on to level this two match series I will personally fly over to Sri Lanka and slap each England player round the face.

Cheers

Andrew Strauss Captain Dispute

Captain Strauss


The debate about if Strauss should continue as England captain has been raging recently with the series loss against Pakistan.

Our batsmen were terrible, lets not hide that, but we were playing in Dubai, and Abu Dabai, two places where we had never played cricket before, the ground at Dubai was either empty or full of smurf's, and Abu Dubai was in the middle of a desert, the locations to play a game of test cricket were appauling... So lets just try and forget about this test series, and count is as an anomaly.

Moving on, and without trying to sound too much like Jeremy Clarkson on The One Show, anyone who thinks he should be removed as captain should be taken outside and shot, yes, his batting form has been dodgy recently, with an average of just 25 since The Ashes, (and he hasen't really looked like changing that) I can't put my finger on why he keeps getting out, he just looks out of touch against spin. But in the words of Joey Barton (An arrogant English football playing knob who I dislike a great deal) "Form is temporary, class is permanent."

And for once I couldn't agree more with Joey, Strauss may have been on bad run without scoring many runs, but he will turn it around, trust me, he has got so much grit and determination, he looks as if he wants to turn it around, he looks frustrated with his form and I can guarantee if you were to go to England's training HQ Strauss would be working away in the nets trying to improve and get his brilliant touch back, and one day, he will get it back...

But Strauss, batting aside,  is still different from the likes of Bell or Cook, or 62 other million people who make up the population of England, Strauss is the captain, and this has been over looked, he has more than one string to his bow, he led England to victory in two consecutive ashes series for the first time in bloody ages!

He has out-mastered Ricky Ponting (Not hard I suppose) in both these series, and is without doubt one of the best captains in the world, with Graeme Smith being the best...

He is an all-rounder, not a batsman and a bowler, but a batsman and a captain, so even in this bad patch of batting form, his consistant captaincy rolls on....

His captaining skills are vastly superior to that of Cook's and Broad's, in the future these two may be decent candidate's to take over Strauss, but at this moment they are inexprienced, and in my view would not do anywhere the job that Strauss has done.

So even if Strauss was to step down or be removed as captain, there would be no experienced captain to come in and take over.

Broad is still learning and improving his game, and Cook is trying to master his one day captaincy.

These fans are eating away at their prawn sandwiches (as most stereotypical cricket fans do), dishing out utter bullshit, after Strauss has led England to glory against the Aussies to victory twice in as many ashes series. This was such a massive achievement, he got us to the number one test poistion in the world, in my view, the best England captain for a few years. He will turn it around, just you bloody watch.

And finally, to make this blog seem professional and complete, I thought I better include a conclusion, so here goes.

To conclude, doubters, do one. And get behind Strauss.

Cheers