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Loading ...Mushtaq to work with England spinners
By Mark Tilley yesterday, in the late afternoon, 1 Comment »
Mushtaq Ahmed has been given clearance to coach England’s spinners this summer. After six years playing for Sussex and plenty of domestic success, Mushtaq will bring a wealth of experience to the table and England fans will be desperately hoping he can coax out that missing magic from Monty Panesar.
Certainly, his expertise could and should be massively felt by England’s array of slow bowlers. Adil Rashid, the Yorkshire leg-spinning prodigy, could benefit greatly from the wily Pakistani. Rashid has been included in England’s Test squad for the tour of the West Indies, although it isn’t expected that he’ll be pushing for a starting place. Pundits and former players are desperate for Rashid not to be rushed and, although the experience with the squad shouldn’t do him any harm, surely the arrival of Mushtaq as spin coach will do Rashid the greater benefit.
Rashid is third in line for the premier England spinners role. Panesar currently holds that role and he will most definately be collaring Mushtaq for all the advice he can possibly give. Panesar’s lack of development in the recent year or so is an ongoing concern for the England management and with Graeme Swann impressing in India combined with Rashid’s continual development, Panesar must be nervously looking over his shoulder, fearing for his place.
Let’s hope the Mushy magic will rub off on Monty and the rest of England’s spinning hopefuls.
1 Comment »Mitchell Johnson: Lehmann or Klusener?
By Will 3 days ago, just before lunchtime, 4 Comments »
Thoroughly enjoyed watching Mitchell Johnson bat. For someone of slight build, he gives the ball a mother of a whacking.
There’s absolutely no feet movement though, and I’ve not seen him play against quality spin. But he has a great eye, and his concrete feet reminded me a little of Lance Klusener, slashing through extra cover, and also Darren Lehmann. And someone else, too, that I can’t think of.
He’s suddenly become a crucial cricketer for Australia; God help them if he breaks down in the next six months. It will be intriguing to match-up him and Stuart Broad in the Ashes. Both fine batsmen (I’d wager Broad will be more accomplished with the bat than Johnson), both still learning their trade (though Johnson’s edging it with the ball at the moment).
Right. I best get my train.
4 Comments »Warne again
By Will 3 days ago, just before lunchtime, 8 Comments »
Today isn’t the day to lament Shane Warne’s absence, but tomorrow might be. South Africa lost an early wicket before Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis - the yawning dream team - steadied South Africa once again. Australia’s dearth of spin, and of pulling rabbits out of impossibly tiny hats like Warne did for fun, will begin to hurt them.
Will Warne return? It seems implausible, not least because it would signal defeat for Australia; that their future lies with the past. That notion isn’t far from the truth given their historic defeat in this series, but all teams must move on, a notion that Australia hasn’t had to ponder for years. Unfortunately, like Maradona, David Campese, Martin Johnson and other towers of sport, the specter of a truly great sportsmen like Warne can linger for years.
Warne himself has scoffed at a possible return, but he is no ordinary character. Of all Australia’s retired and not-forgotten, he has the charisma and chutzpah to break with tradition and make a memorable (if fleeting) reappearance for the Ashes - his and Australia’s most cherished battle.
So I’m going to put myself on the line here: if Australia lose the return series in South Africa, Warne will be back at Ponting’s insistence.
There’s a poll at the site, on the right, where you can vote - and have your say below.
8 Comments »Town isn’t big enough for KP and Mooresy
By Mark Tilley 4 days ago, about 9ish, 13 Comments »
It appears obvious to English fans that Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores just aren’t a winning formula ala Vaughan/Fletcher. Events have been spiced up by KP’s apparent anger over the failure to recall Vaughan for the tour to the West Indies and many feel that the coach and the captain are unable to work together.
If this is so, and Pietersen has demanded face to face talks with the ECB as reported, then which man goes? English cricket desperately needs KP as captain at the moment. That ugly Stanford business and results in India aside, Pietersen has handled himself and his position excellently since his appointment. And there’s his incredible batting form, too.
Moores’ record is less flattering. He has overseen four series defeats out of the seven that England have played under his leadership, lost the once proud unbeaten home record and generally been in charge whilst the side has gone backwards.
Indeed Michael Vaughan found it tougher to work with Moores than the Fletcher days. See the Darren Pattinson debacle for evidence.
If KP is to issue an ultimatum then it is hard to see the ECB siding with the coach over the captain. However, what would that say about Pietersen’s strength and influence as a mere team captain? Having the captain decide who is and who isn’t good enough to be coach would not sit well with cricketing purists and ECB bigwigs.
Rest assured, the fireworks are still to go off on this one.
Mark Tilley is new here. Don’t bite his head off yet
13 Comments »Australia crack open the bolly
By Will 5 days ago, about 9ish, 5 Comments »
Not that bolly. Doug Bollinger, the left-arm swing bowler, who will make his debut alongside the flame-haired Andrew McDonald (a batsman who bowls), as Australia attempt to avoid a 0-3 whitewash in their backyard. Can you believe it?
Bollinger, 27, seems to be an interesting character.
“I’m just going to go out there and just do what I’ve been doing for New South Wales and try swinging the ball,” he said. “Just try to intimidate batsmen and just try and be competitive. I’d just like to compete and do well, I’m not out there to make friends.”Graeme Smith and the South Africans do not know much about Bollinger, but they are learning quickly about his quirks.
“Any guy who is going to try 150,000% in this game is someone we’re going to have to respect,” Smith said teasingly. The tourists have traded jokes about Bollinger’s hair on the team bus, but say they won’t use them on the field.
It’s all setup beautifully if you’re not an Australian fan. Us Poms, well, we haven’t had much cause to peer down our noses with disparaging sympathy at our favourite cousins for years and years. Roll on the third Test (live scorecard).
5 Comments »Wishlist for 2009
By Will 5 days ago, about 9ish, 2 Comments »
Happy new year to all, and thanks for everyone’s comments over the last twelve months. Looking ahead, here’s what I’d most like to happen in 2009.
1) England to win the Ashes. If they don’t, then let the series be close. It’s the first Ashes contest held in England not to be televised live on terrestrial TV (since it became de rigour). What impact will this have on the public’s interest in the game and consequently on the summer? Significant, I imagine, though hopefully it will mean more people visit Cricinfo as a by-product!
2) A young up-and-comer to assert his authority on the entire summer. I’m voting for Stuart Broad; vital lower-order runs and key wickets please.
3) Ian Bell to score runs and stop looking hard-done-by whenever he falls cheaply. Easy runs against West Indies don’t count.
4) Steyn to replace Muralitharan at the top of the rankings. It’s plain wrong having a spinner there.
5) Test cricket to flourish again. Please let’s not see any more sides turning down series due to IPL commitments, or slim-lining them due to apparent tiredness.
6) Graeme Smith to crack more jokes.
7) Glenn McGrath to predict 5-0 to Australia, regardless of their predicament. In fact, regardless of anything.
Zimbabwe excluded from international cricket.
9) West Indies to find two outstanding fast bowlers. Xavier Marshall to prove he’s as good as we think he is.
10) Middlesex to respond positively to Gus Fraser’s passionate management style and to challenge in the four-day game as well as Twenty20s.
And you?
2 Comments »Teams of the year
By Will last year, at the end of December, 8 Comments »
Each year we’re asked to list our top Test and ODI sides. They’re polled, and we release the results in early January. Here’s my offering:
Tests: Graeme Smith (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ricky Ponting, Kevin Pietersen, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, MS Dhoni (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Zaheer Khan, Dale Steyn, Muttiah Muralitharan
One-dayers: Brendon McCullum (wk), Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Andrew Flintoff, Daniel Vettori (capt), Stuart Broad, Ajantha Mendis, Zaheer Khan
The Test side is a bit light on bowling. But given Steyn’s current form, Flintoff’s accuracy, Khan’s skill and Murali’s hunger for wickets, I think it would challenge most batting lineups.
The one-day side is a total killer. B Mac, Windy and Sehwag would be plenty enough frankly. But then we have Sangakkara, Yuvraj and Dhoni for some heavy middle-overs. And if any of those fail, Flintoff’s there for the final 10 overs of mayhem.
Agree? Disagree? What would your sides of 2008 be?
8 Comments »RSS at Cricinfo
By Will last year, at the end of December, 4 Comments »
Further to my post last week, there’s now a page up at Cricinfo detailing our new feeds.
4 Comments »It’s not funny? Or is it…
By Will last year, at the end of December, 7 Comments »
“It’s not funny anymore” by Peter English. Oh yea, this is VERY funny, especially to the rest of the cricket world. Aussies, welcome to what the rest of the world had to endure the last 15+ years. It is payback time.
A comment left at Cricinfo to my colleague’s piece on Australia’s defeat. It’s hard not to agree, certainly as an Englishman. Most of all, I just have an overwhelming feeling of relief that the baton has at last been passed on. Australians may not agree (do you?), but it’s by far the best thing for the world game - as long as Australia is replaced. There needs to be a leader of the pack if Tests are to survive the onslaught of Twenty20 cricket, I think.
7 Comments »Watson out of the Ashes
By Will last year, at the end of December, 11 Comments »
They’re going down like flies in Australia. Shane Watson, who has spent most of his life on crutches, has a stress fracture of the back and is almost certainly out of contention for the Ashes.
The 2009 Ashes promises to be a bare-knuckle fight to the death, by two average teams who think they’re better than they really are. I’m impossibly up for it.
11 Comments »And the walls came tumbling down
By Will last year, at the end of December, 9 Comments »
Amid all the anticipation that Australia are about to lose their first home series in 16 years, there are some intriguing stats to come out following Dale Steyn’s individual excellence:
- Steyn is also the 22nd allrounder - and the second South African, after Fanie de Villiers - to score a half-century and take ten wickets in the same match. He is only the second to do this since 2000.
- Dale Steyn’s match figures of 10 for 154 took his career tally to 150 from 29 Tests at an average of 22.66 and a strike rate of 37.6 balls per wicket. Among bowlers who’ve bowled 2000 balls in Tests, Steyn’s strike rate is second to George Lohmann’s.
(Cricinfo)
Steyn has shone, but it’s been South Africa’s allround dominance which has most stood out. That, and Australia’s many cracks. A batting lineup with one or two ageing hasbeens; the over-reliance on Ponting; some seriously un-Australian loose strokes (Katich, of all people, chasing wide ones) and a bowling attack lacking penetration. That too is over-reliant on Brett Lee, who is injured, and although Mitchell Johnson is progressing nicely, I still don’t see him as a pack-leader.
So, if South Africa knock off these runs, they’ll condemn Australia to their first home-series defeat since West Indies in 1992-93. That’s a monstrously long time ago. I was 10 and my cricketing education had only just begun. Ever since, Australia have ruled the roost.
I’m sure nearly every Englishmen staying up late tonight will automatically (and patriotically?) pledge allegiance to South Africa. But even Australians, I like to think, might be quite excited at the change in world order. Don’t underestimate how significant this is; how Australia responds over the coming years is deliciously exciting.
Fellow losers staying up late (or early) to watch the match, leave a comment or three.
9 Comments »No Vaughan, but another new keeper
By Will last year, at the end of December, 2 Comments »
It wasn’t expected that Michael Vaughan would return, but there was almost a feeling of hope that the selectors would relent and call him back for the West Indies. Possibly at the expense of the constantly-underperforming Ian Bell.
It wasn’t to be. The Mumbai attacks prevented Vaughan from having any match practice with England’s performance squad and, as such, it now seems increasingly unlikely that he’ll be able to force his way back into the side for the Ashes. The pressure, then, is firmly back on Bell to actually score some ugly runs when the team most needs it. When the backs aren’t so much against the wall, as holding up the ceiling entirely. All these pretty little 40s are kidding no-one.
So, no Vaughan. But at least we have a new wicketkeeper - another one! - in Steven Davies who will be Matt Prior’s backup for the one-dayers. Tim Ambrose is Prior’s wingman for the Tests so, in all, England have three keepers available for one tour. It’s a trifle over the top.
Then again, given the state of West Indies cricket (Gayle and Chanderpaul aside), England ought not to break sweat.
2 Comments »Sun v Hussey. Sun wins
By Will last year, at the end of December, 2 Comments »
Michael Hussey’s brilliantly village attempt at taking a skier (one, admittedly, that was coming out of the sun). It’s made all the more enjoyable in HD.
It’s here if you can’t see it above.
2 Comments »Wake up to the video revolution
By Will last year, at the end of December, 2 Comments »
I’m seeing this more and more on Youtube:
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Cricket Australia
I don’t blame Cricket Australia. They’re only doing what they have to, but TV companies in general need to become more open about how they use/offer video, as the BBC have shown with iPlayer. Be as open as possible.
2 Comments »Duminy! Steyn! South Africa!
By Will last year, at the end of December, 23 Comments »
Whisper it, but I might be turning into a bok fan. This is deeply embarrassing for a multitude of reasons and excuses, most obviously the fact that I abhor most of their sporting sides for being either really good, or thinking their better than they actually are.
But the situation in Melbourne gives me little choice. I’m just going to have to sing South Africa’s praises. JP Duminy cracked 166, in only his second Test, and Dale Steyn made 76 batting at No.10. They began the day 196 runs behind but Duminy and Steyn put on 180 - the third-highest ninth-wicket stand in history. This is truly monstrous.
This all but condemns Australia to second-place in this series, and possibly in the world rankings too. What a day. Can’t wait for the highlights.
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