My blog has moved

I have decided to move my blog to a new location - http://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacksheldon93. The hope is that this will be more accessible in its own right (i.e. will not need to rely on retweets for people to see my posts). It also enables me to store an archive and, in my opinion, looks more professional.

Middlesex batsmen face uncertain future

This article was written for deepextracover.com. Published here due to ongoing server issues limiting access to the site.

Middlesex remain firmly in the hunt for a first County Championship title since the days of Mike Gatting and Phil Tufnell, even after this week’s disappointing defeat at Derby. However, the table obscures the fact that the county’s batsmen have, on the whole, endured a nightmare season. With four games to go a number of them face something of an uncertain future.

A quick gaze at the Middlesex batting averages shows how reliant they have been on Chris Rogers and Sam Robson, the preferred opening pair. The ‘two Rs’ have scored five of the seven centuries and racked up over 1,800 runs between them. In addition they are the only two players to average over 40 from a reasonable number of innings and have a double-hundred apiece. One of the other three figure scores has come from Adam Voges, who has made a decent fist of deputising for the absent Rogers, but will return to Australia before the visit of Somerset next week.

The two men most in need of a good look at themselves are Joe Denly and David Malan. Both were once tipped as future Test cricketers, and neither have a poor First-Class record all told. But this year they average 28 and 15 respectively in competitive cricket against the red ball. Malan has rightly been dropped and, after a poor showing in the East Midlands, Denly ought to be next. The former Kent-man, Denly, has tended to get himself out after making a start. A couple of Second XI fixtures should hopefully snap him out of the habit and he can come back strong next season.

With Malan it is more complicated. Whilst he scores mountains of runs in one-day cricket, where catchers are often not in place, he is suspect outside his off stump in the longer format of the game. Division One bowling attacks appear to have sussed this and so it might be that some technical alterations are required if he is to get his game back on track. Whether he does that with Middlesex or elsewhere remains to be seen. It is believed that he is not best pleased to find himself out of favour and, despite his one-day returns, the club might allow him to seek a new start elsewhere at the end of the season.

Another underperformer is Eoin Morgan. The England international has been available for just two Championship matches but his performances in all formats have been well below par. He has looked far removed from the free-flowing batsman he is best known as, scratching around for 20s and 30s before finding new ways to get out.

Given Morgan’s involvement with the Indian Premier League, a broken finger and international call-ups it is perhaps easy to understand why the Irishman has contributed little of note in a short stint which will now end with the start of the limited-overs leg of Australia’s tour. However, it is a pattern that is all too familiar to a county membership that he has rarely endeared himself to. He is, perhaps unfairly, often accused of disinterest and has done nothing to dispel that over the last month or so. Should he not find form soon he could find his England one-day spot in jeopardy.

The curiosity of the situation is that Middlesex are not exactly short of batsman. Indeed, after Andrew Balbirnie and Ryan Higgins were recently granted full contracts for the first time, there is something of an excess. Adam Rossington, a key performer in white ball cricket and for the Second XI, has not featured this season. Paul Stirling, the 13th best one-day international batsman according to the ICC rankings, has played just once. Adam London and Nick Gubbins are also on the staff.

Such an embarrassment of riches ought to be a good thing but it could cause problems down the line. London, a technically correct opener who has been prolific in Second XI cricket, recently trialled for Hampshire against Bangladesh A and might well depart at the end of the season. Others like Rossington and Stirling are important to the county’s one-day plans but will surely be well aware that their best hope of regular four-day cricket probably lies elsewhere.

With four important matches remaining, three against struggling opponents before a potential title showdown with Yorkshire in Leeds, some changes to the make-up of the top six are surely needed. Indeed, at least one will be forced with Rogers returning to the top of the order and Voges vacating the number three position. John Simpson, who has opened in the past and had a steady season at six, could well move up to first drop. With Neil Dexter at four that would make room for Rossington to come into the side and perhaps for Balbirnie, in good form for the Second XI, to debut at number six. Alternatively Malan could get a stay of execution and return to the team down the order, where his technique is less likely to come under the scanner.

It should not all be doom and gloom. Middlesex are currently ranked the second best team in the country and played enough good cricket this season to show that they are not their by luck. However, if the table remains unchanged it will be easy to see why they have not quite been able to pull off a first title since 1995: the ‘two Rs’ aside, the batting has not nearly been good enough.

LVCC: Warwickshire v Somerset Preview

WARWICKSHIRE v SOMERSET

County Championship, Division One

Warwickshire will realistically need to beat struggling Somerset to keep their hopes of a fairytale title defence alive. A disappointing start to the season saw the Bears slip into the relegation zone at one point but, following a three match unbeaten run, still have an outside chance of retaining the pennant.

Despite the winter change of coach - Dougie Brown replacing Ashley Giles - Warwickshire’s return to form has been driven by similar strengths to those which saw them clinch the title last year. In particular, a clutch of all-rounders - Chris Woakes, Rikki Clarke and Keith Barker - have scored valuable lower order runs as well as taking their share of wickets. That will be diminished slightly in this match, as Woakes is in the England Test squad, but Clarke and Barker will both play.

Somerset too will feel the effect of international call-ups, with two players selected for England Lions’ three one-day matches against Bangladesh A. Jos Buttler will be missed but perhaps not as much as Jamie Overton, the 19 year-old quick. Overton has been sensational this season, giving batsmen the hurry up as well as bowling consistently enough to build pressure. Marcus Trescothick does have other high quality seam bowlers to call on, but nobody with the pace and aggression of Overton.

In the absence of Overton significant responsibility is sure to be burdened by Piyush Chawla, the Indian leg-spinner who has been signed for the final part of the season. Chawla hasn’t quite lived up to the potential he showed as a teenager but, against English batsmen who are unaccustomed to facing spin, is likely to be a threat as the match goes on.

These two sides last met in late April when Warwickshire held on for an unlikely draw thanks to the efforts of last man Oliver Hannon-Dalby. The failure to win that match will be of major regret for relegation threatened Somerset and that could well act as an incentive over the next four days.

Team News

Warwickshire are without their front-line seam attack due to the international call-ups of Chris Woakes and Boyd Rankin, though Woakes may return on day two if he is excluded by England. Jim Troughton returns as captain after an extended absence and will have to decide which of youngsters Tom Milnes, Recordo Gordon and Ateeq Javid to omit. Were Gordon to play he would make his Championship debut.

Warwickshire Squad: Jim Troughton (c), Tim Ambrose (wk), Keith Barker, Varun Chopra, Rikki Clarke, Laurie Evans, Recordo Gordon, Ateeq Javid, Tom Milnes, Jeetan Patel, William Porterfield, Ian Westwood

Somerset are without Jamie Overton and Jos Buttler. However, Piyush Chawla will make his county debut and there are no significant injury worries. With George Dockrell in the squad two spinners might be risked but it is perhaps more likely that seamer Adam Dibble will get the nod with the Irishman unluckily missing out.

Somerset squad: Marcus Trescothick (c), Alex Barrow, Piyush Chawla, Nick Compton, Adam Dibble, George Dockrell, James Hildreth, Chris Jones, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Steve Kirby, Alfonso Thomas, Peter Trego, Max Waller

Key Men

With the other senior seamers absent left-armer Keith Barker will have a major role to play. Fresh from an outing for England Lions against the Australians he is sure to bowl a lot of overs with support coming only from Rikki Clarke, Jeetan Patel and the youngsters. The former footballer hasn’t quite matched the season he had in 2012 but has returned to form lately, putting in a particularly impressive display during the match against Middlesex at Uxbridge in early July.

Given their current plight it is high time that Marcus Trescothick, enduring an unusually lean season, stepped up for Somerset. The captain is without a first-class hundred in 2013 but that will be forgotten if now, with his side thick in a relegation fight, he finds the form which has long seen him viewed as one of the most devastating batsmen in the county game.

Prediction

Warwickshire look good at the moment and, despite the absence of Woakes and Rankin, should have enough to see off Somerset. Bet365 agree, making the home side 8/11 favourites for this fixture. Somerset are priced at 11/10.

Date: 20^th – 23^rd August

Umpires: Rob Bailey and Steven Gale

Weather: A mild week with no real threat of rain

YB40: Middlesex v Gloucestershire Preview

Yorkshire Bank 40, Group C

The glory days of Russell, Harvey and Snape are now but a distant memory for Gloucestershire fans more familiar with tales of financial woe, ground redevelopment and wooden spoons. However, a new generation of one-day Gladiators have quietly given themselves the opportunity to bring back the good times. They have won six of their nine Yorkshire Bank 40 matches an, should they win at Lord’s tonight, will be in pole position to emerge from the congested Group C.

The shrewdest decision made by Director of Cricket John Bracewell, the common demoninator between today and the treble winning season of 2000, has been the appointment of Michael Klinger as captain. The South Australian has no international experience, and only a moderate record at domestic level, but has been a revelation for the Bristol-based outfit. In nine List A games he has scored 529 runs at the remarkable average of 105.80, often marshalling run chases. Since the Twenty20 break he has been unbeaten for 220 runs, most recently guiding his side to a seven wicket victory over Leicestershire.

But it is not only with the bat that Gloucestershire have been well drilled in this competition. James Fuller, previously a bowler of pace but limited accuracy, has really kicked on this season whilst Craig Miles, at just 19, looks immensely talented. They have also performed well in the field, just like the teams of old did, with Fuller among the most athletic.

Middlesex’s YB40 campaign finally came to a juddering halt last night in Cardiff after threatening to recover from two early defeats. The batting line-up, strong on paper, has chased extremely well at times but crumbled under pressure at others. Last night was an example of the latter and, not for the first time this season, will leave supporters hopeful of reaching the knock-out stages of a one-day competition for the first time since 2008 disappointed.

Team News

Despite their elimination Middlesex’s Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser, has named an unchanged group from that which travelled to Wales yesterday. That means Steven Finn is again likely to feature, along with Toby Roland-Jones and James Harris. Ollie Rayner could find himself rested with the coaching staff keen to get Ravi Patel involved.

Middlesex squad: Neil Dexter (c), Gareth Berg, Joe Denly, Steven Finn, James Harris, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Patel, Ollie Rayner, Toby Roland-Jones, John Simpson (wk), Paul Stirling, Adam Voges

Gloucestershire are without Tom Smith, whose loan from Middlesex has ended. Ed Young therefore returns to the squad. Will Gidman, usually used mainly in four day cricket, could join brother Alex in the team today.

Gloucestershire squad: Michael Klinger (c), Hamish Marshall, Chris Dent, Iain Cockbain, Alex Gidman, Benny Howell, Gareth Roderick (wk), James Fuller, Ed Young, David Payne, Craig Miles, Matt Taylor, Will Gidman

Key Men

It could be a big few weeks for Eoin Morgan. Since bursting into England’s one-day side in 2009 he has been regarded as a world class player, particularly in the final 15 overs of the innings. But 2013 has been an annus horibillis for the Irishman. He has failed to score even a half-century on English soil all season and, following a hand injury, has found all manner of ways to get out since returning to the Middlesex side. With Alastair Cook likely to be rested he might well captain England in the upcoming limited-overs matches but, if he doesn’t start scoring runs soon, his international place might be in jeopardy. Tonight would be a good time to find his touch.

Opening batsman Michael Klinger has been simply sensational for Gloucestershire since joining them at the start of the season. He averages over 100 in this competition and, on a usually placid Lord’s pitch, will be looking to add even more runs. Many of the Gladiators victories this season have come when the Australian has led a successful run chase.  Therefore, if he falls early a lot of pressure will be placed on a middle order not accustomed to setting up victories.

Prediction

Gloucestershire are the team that still have a realistic hope of reaching the semi-finals and so ought to be favourites for this one against a Middlesex side that will be starting to think about the County Championship run-in. Nonetheless, the Gladiators (11/10) are still seen as the outsiders by bet365. Middlesex are priced at 8/11.

Dates: 15^th August (3. 40 pm)

Umpires: Mark Benson and Nick Cook

Weather: A dry and increasingly bright evening

Stuttering England have some thinking to do

Whatever happens on England’s final two days in New Zealand the tour will be filed in the ‘should have done better’ draw. Ahead of the Test series most observers happily predicted a 3-0 whitewash for England; those that didn’t invariable went for 2-0, accounting for the rain. It is easy to understand why the Kiwis were written off: they looked totally inept against high quality bowling in South Africa, had recently been embarrassed by the acrimonious divorce between coach Mike Hesson and former captain Ross Taylor, and, of course, England were supposed to be the second best team in the world and New Zealand the eighth. The truth is that, whilst some credit must go to New Zealand for performing well above expectations, England have rarely played like one of the world’s two best teams since August 2011. Indeed, since completing the 4-0 home thrashing of India they have won just five of eighteen completed matches. Defeats have regularly been swept under the carpet as freak occurrences, brought on by alien conditions, lack of preparation or both. However, batting collapses such as that yesterday, and ineffective bowling displays such as that on the opening day of the ongoing Test have happened far too regularly in the past eighteen months to fall into the freak occurrence category. Even in victory, as at home against West Indies early last summer and at times in India, performances have been some distance from their 2010-11 peak. It is time that we recognised that England have some thinking to do before being nailed-on as double Ashes winners. I’ll now present a handful of theories for this decline.

The Collingwood factor

Paul Collingwood is perhaps the most underrated England cricketer of the past thirty years. His departure, following a poor run of form in Australia, seemed to have little immediate impact and in many ways was quickly forgotten. But with others struggling at the moment his value to the team has become clearer. He was a reliable performer with the bat, both on good days and, particularly, on bad days, contributed something with the ball and was the best fielder. There is no cricketer like that in the side now. In the course of just five years or so of Test cricket he managed ten Test hundreds. That between him his replacements – Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Ravi Bopara, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root – have managed just two three-figure score between them since 2011 reflects the fact that he still hasn’t been replaced effectively. There is no quick fix solution to this problem. Root has looked the likeliest to succeed, and should be given an extended run. However, it must be of some concern that the much lauded batch of young cricketers that have come through the England Performance Programme in recent years are yet to really step up.

Fatigue

In spite of an extensive rest policy and a number of injuries England’s fast bowlers look worn out at the moment. Jimmy Anderson has been excellent, but hasn’t hit the heights as frequently as he did in Australia or at home the following summer. Meanwhile, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn are yet to win their battles with consistency and the temptation to bowl too short. The fatigue is somewhat difficult to explain, given that a rest policy is in place and that this generation almost certainly bowl less competitive overs than any previous cohort. Sir Ian Botham would, paradoxically, argue that the remedy is to bowl more. Others would suggest that the schedule is crazy and that we have to stand by, even extend, the rest policy. Realistically, there is no silver bullet that can solve the problem. They haven’t bowled so badly that they should be axed, but perhaps we need to return to the old policy of bringing in fresh legs in the middle of important series. To do that we need in-form reserves, which could bring top county bowlers such as Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones into the equation come the Ashes.

The coach

It is a truism that coaches tend to have their greatest impact within their first couple of years in a new job. Andy Flower has been England coach since 2009 and by now there will be nothing new about his philosophy and coaching methods for most of the squad. That is not to say that he should be replaced. Far from it. He has been our most successful coach, but does need to ensure that he doesn’t become too stuck in his ways like Duncan Fletcher did. Some subtle changes, not in style but in method, might produce a positive response from the players.

Complacency?

England’s batsman were regularly accused of complacency before the upturn in fortunes. Some would now say that this has returned. I’m not sure I agree with that. However, it is undoubtedly true that England’s top six need to keep working hard. It may well have been a freak occurrence for Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell to all produce their very best at the same time. Nonetheless, if they put the effort in there is nothing to say that they can’t get back to that form. There have been a few poor shots of late, particularly from Bell. But I’d argue that he’s rarely more than a knock away from a big score and that, having previously been dropped, he is far too experienced a player to have become complacent.

Conclusions

The paragraphs above propose some preliminary theories which might go some way to explaining England’s current form dip. None require dramatic remedial action, and there are surely other factors too. It is hard to argue that any significant changes of personnel are needed. Eight of England’s XI are proven international cricketers, and the other three are not far off. Thus, England remain a strong team, if one which has not really performed of late. Given Australia’s troubles a double Ashes win in still well within Cook’s grasp, and if completed could yet make this a sensational year for the England cricket team. But predictions of 5-0 whitewashes are surely premature on current form. The team are not performing well, and need to arrest the slide quickly before it becomes a major slump. 

Originally published on The Armchair Selector