It seems only yesterday that Glen Chapple’s Lancashire completed a dramatic run chase to beat Somerset by eight wickets, win the 2011 County Championship and end a 77 year title drought. After a cold, dark but thankfully short winter watching England’s travails in Asia, county cricket returns this Thursday with a tough task on its hands to live up to the excitement of last season. In the first part of this preview I will look at the prospects of the nine teams who will play their Championship cricket in Division Two.
DERBYSHIRE
2011: Championship Division Two - 5th, CB40 Group A - 3rd, FL t20 North Group - 8th
Captain: Wayne Madsen
Overseas Players: Martin Guptill, Usman Khawaja, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (T20)
Players In: David Wainwright (Yorkshire)
Players Out: Greg Smith (Essex), Steffan Jones, Luke Sutton (both retired)
Derbyshire have climbed off the foot of the Division Two table in recent years. However, a small squad lacking the experience of some of their rivals should again prevent a sustained promotion push. As such the club’s overseas recruits - Martin Guptill until June and Usman Khawaja thereafter - will be crucial. In new captain Wayne Madsen, the Anguillan born 21 year-old Chesney Hughes and the aggressive Wes Durston, Derbyshire have an often under-rated top order which are more effective than many in this division. But the bowling looks thin and over-reliant on injury hit players such as Jonathan Clare and Mark Footitt. They have a capable one-day side but it is hard to see them reaching the knockout stages of either the Clydesdale Bank 40 or Friends Life t20.
Key Man: Guptill. New Zealand’s star man against Zimbabwe this winter before his performances tailed off against the South African pace attack. He’s now an established international cricketer and so will be expected to dominate against Division Two bowling attacks until he leaves for the Caribbean in June.
Championship Prediction: 6th
ESSEX
2011: Championship Division Two - 7th, CB40 Group C - 3rd, FL t20 South Group - 6th
Captain: James Foster
Overseas Players: Alviro Petersen, Peter Siddle (T20)
Players In: Greg Smith (Derbyshire), Charl Willoughby (Somerset)
Players Out: Chris Wright (Warwickshire), Max Osborne (released)
After a winter dogged by the controversy surrounding the conviction of seamer Mervyn Westfield and subsequent suggestions that people at the club might have known more than they were letting on, Essex will be glad to get back on the cricket field. Their task will be to avenge a disastrous 2011 in which they drastically under-achieved in the Championship and couldn’t even provide the Chelmsford faithful with their usual place in the knock-out stages of the Twenty20. Though their squad continues to be better suited to the shorter forms of the game, the presence of Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, James Foster, Ryan ten Doeschate and David Masters in their Championship side means that they ought to be more than competitive in Division Two. Alviro Petersen (until June) and Charl Willoughby look like good additions, and should ensure that Essex are in the mix come September. Masters lived up to his name last year and will hope to continue his deadly new-ball form in the coming months.
Key Man: Shah. His first season at Chelmsford was not his finest but he is a class player and is unlikely to have his season interrupted by international call-ups, although he will again arrive late after IPL commitments. Provides stability to a batting line-up dominated by dashers, though he is no slouch himself when quick runs need to be scored.
Championship Prediction: 4th
GLAMORGAN
2011: Championship Division Two - 6th, CB40 Group C - 7th, FL t20 South Group - 7th
Captain: Mark Wallace
Overseas Players: Moises Henriques, Marcus North
Players In: Simon Jones (Hampshire), Michael Hogan (UK Passport)
Players Out: Michael Powell (Kent), Adam Shanty, David Brown (both retired)
Against the backdrop of a glorious winter for the Welsh rugby team, it has been another winter of discontent for Glamorgan County Cricket Club. The departure of captain Alviro Petersen, who had reportedly agreed to return as a kolpak player before being recalled by South Africa and signing for Essex, proved controversial whilst the club announced £1.7 million losses for 2011. Robert Croft remains a pivotal part of team at almost 42, though Michael Hogan and Marcus North could prove useful signings. The return of Simon Jones will be welcomed but it is unlikely that he will feature much in the longer form of the game due to his continuing fitness issues. The batting looks weak and un-dynamic but in young James Harris, Glamorgan potentially have a future international in the bowling ranks. Any success will probably come in the Championship; they have been woeful in one-day cricket for a number of years and a glance at the squad offers little hope that that will change this year.
Key Man: Harris. Talented youngster who missed out on a trip with England Lions this winter due to injury. Will probably need to lead the Glamorgan attack at just 21. Pitches in Division Two should again favour the seamers and so, given Glamorgan’s weak batting line-up, he will have a massive role to play.
Championship Prediction: 9th
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
2011: Championship Division Two - 4th, CB40 Group C - 6th, FLt20 South Group - 6th
Captain: Alex Gidman
Overseas Player: Muttiah Muralitharan (T20)
Players In: Dan Housego (Middlesex)
Players Out: Jon Lewis (Surrey), Vikram Banerjee, Chris Taylor (both released)
After being refused planning permission to redevelop their ground at Bristol, Gloucestershire were forced to release Vikram Banerjee and the experienced Chris Taylor. They will also have to do without an overseas player in the Championship. Last season they maintained a promotion push thanks to the quiet achievements of Will Gidman, who was their best player in his first season for the club. This season they will need his brother Alex - the captain - and the former New Zealand international Hamish Marshall to step up to the plate if they are not to slide down the table with Taylor and Jon Lewis unreplaced. Kevin O’Brien and the great Murali will add an ‘x-factor’ to the one-day side which definitely looks missing in the longer form of the game, but John Bracewell will have his work cut out to repeat the limited-overs success he achieved with Gloucestershire at the turn of the century.
Key Man: Will Gidman. 2011’s surprise package will now be expected to repeat his heroics in 2012. No part of his game is spectacular but he topped Gloucestershire’s batting and bowling averages last season, and in doing so became the first player from any county to complete the double of 1000 runs and 50 wickets in a Championship season for 15 years.
Championship Prediction: 7th
HAMPSHIRE
2011: Championship Division One - 9th, CB40 Group B - 4th, FL t20 - Semi-finalists
Captain: Jimmy Adams
Overseas Players: Simon Katich, Shahid Afridi (T20)
Players In: None
Players Out: Michael Lumb (Nottinghamshire), Simon Jones (Glamorgan), Friedel de Wet, Johann Myburgh, Jamie Miller, Benny Howell, Tim Ravenscroft (all released), Nic Pothas, Dominic Cork (both retired)
A disappointing campaign last year was followed by a clear out of unwanted players but Hampshire have surprisingly made only one new addition - the ‘gritty’ Australian Simon Katich - to their squad during the off season. Nevertheless, they should be strong enough to believe they will return to the top flight at the first attempt. New captain Jimmy Adams, Michael Carberry, Neil McKenzie, Katich and young James Vince form perhaps the strongest batting line-up in Division Two, whilst Kabir Ali is back to full fitness to lead the bowling attack. Hampshire have enjoyed most success in Twenty20 in recent years and they again look set to be title challengers in that format, though they might miss the experience of the now retired Dominic Cork.
Key Man: Kabir Ali. Did well in his one and only Test for England in 2003, but injury problems have prevented him from having any impact since joining Hampshire in 2010. A strong showing at the Bangladesh Premier League suggests he is now ready to remind cricket fans that he is one of the top seamers in the county game.
Championship Prediction: 3rd
KENT
2011: Championship Division Two - 8th, CB40 Group A - 4th, FLt20 - Quarter-Finalists
Captain: Robert Key
Overseas Player: Brendan Nash
Players In: Charlie Shreck (Nottinghamshire), Michael Powell (Glamorgan), Ben Harmison (Durham), Scott Newman (loan, Middlesex), Mark Davies (Durham)
Players Out: Joe Denly (Middlesex), Robbie Joseph (Leicestershire), James Goodman (retired), Martin van Jaarsveld (retired from county cricket)
Despite financial issues and a poor 2011 campaign, Kent find themselves with a decent looking squad going in to season where little is expected of them. Under the stewardship of captain Robert Key and new coach, the former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams, the signings of Scott Newman, Charlie Shreck, Ben Harmison, Mark Davies and Brendan Nash have gone some way to filling the gaps left by Joe Denly and Martin van Jaarsveld. Meanwhile, a strong core of experienced players including Key, Darren Stevens, Azhar Mahmood, Geraint Jones and James Tredwell remains intact. Questions might still be asked about the seam attack, but the squad would appear to have the capability to challenge for a return to Division One. They are also well-suited one-day cricket and will hope to at least repeat last year’s appearance in the quarter-finals of the Twenty20.
Key Man: Key. 14 years of first-class cricket and an average above 40 make county cricket’s longest serving captain key to Kent’s chances in more than just name. He is a highly regarded tactician and signs are already promising that he is forming a fine leadership team with Jimmy Adams. His cautious batting style makes him an important part of a line-up packed with attacking players.
Championship Prediction: 2nd
LEICESTERSHIRE
2011: Championship Division Two - 9th, CB40 Group B - 8th, FL t20 - Winners
Captain: Matthew Hoggard
Overseas Players: Ramnaresh Sarwan, Abdul Razzaq (T20)
Players In: Robbie Joseph (Kent)
Players Out: James Taylor, Harry Gurney (both Nottinghamshire), Tom New (released), Paul Nixon (retired)
2011 was a bizarre year for Leicestershire; winners of the Twenty20 but woeful in the other two competitions. The departure of James Taylor and Harry Gurney to Trent Bridge will not help to turn things around, though Ramnaresh Sarwan - now discarded by the West Indies selectors - will hope to get at least the number of runs that Taylor was scoring. Otherwise the squad will be relying on a mix of old heads such as captain Matthew Hoggard and young guns including Nathan Buck and Josh Cobb. The members will grumble that promising cricketers are constantly snatched away from the club by Nottinghamshire, but in reality an improvement in on-field results is the only way that that will change. However, expectations will again have to be extremely low in the Championship. Last season’s Twenty20 success was something of a surprise but if that spirit can be re-kindled they stand a decent chance of making it two in a row.
Key Man: Buck. The tall 20 year-old paceman opened the bowling for England Lions this winter with some success. That experience may give him the know-how to improve his first-class record and surprise some established batting line-ups. If he can do that he will place himself firmly on the radar of the England selectors.
Championship Prediction: 8th
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
2011: Championship Division Two - 3rd, CB40 Group B - 3rd, FL t20 North Group - 9th
Captain: Andrew Hall
Overseas Players: Chaminda Vaas, Cameron White (T20)
Players In: Kyle Coetzer (Durham), Con de Lange (UK Passport)
Players Out: David Lucas (Worcestershire), Mal Loye, Tom Brett, Gavin Baker (all released)
So near but yet so far was the story of Northamptonshire’s 2011 campaign. And it may be that they missed a massive chance of promotion which will not come along again in a hurry. If they are to challenge this year Chaminda Vaas is likely to be critical, with Niall O’Brien, Andrew Hall and Jack Brooks also required to play important roles. However, it was a lack of depth which cost them last year, and this again looks an issue this time round. One-day efforts have been dismal of late and are likely to be so again.
Key Man: Vaas. Even at 38, the Sri Lankan Test side would love to still have Vaas around. Bowling left-arm seamers at a relatively slow pace, he has mastered the art of swing and is thus ideally suited to the county game. He has also become a genuine all-rounder and, unlike most overseas players, will be available all season.
Championship Prediction: 5th
YORKSHIRE
2011: Championship Division One - 8th, CB40 Group A - 6th, FL t20 North Group - 6th
Captain: Andrew Gale
Overseas Players: None
Players In: Phil Jaques (UK Passport)
Players Out: David Wainwright (Derbyshire), Jacques Rudolph (Surrey), Ben Sanderson, Lee Hodgson (both released)
A long stay in Division Two is surely impossible for a squad packed with so much talent. Captain Andrew Gale, and youngsters Adam Lyth, Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance and Joe Root form an exciting batting line-up which will now be completed by the former Australia opener Phil Jaques. Meanwhile, Ryan Sidebottom, Ajmal Shahzad and Adil Rashid form part of an equally impressive looking bowling unit. But cricket is not played on paper, and the players know that, after being branded a “disgrace” by chairman Colin Graves following last year’s relegation, they now need to put in big performances. The ability in the club’s ranks suggests that they should be in the mix for one-day trophies, but that too failed to materialise last season. Expect the unexpected, but the White Rose county are likely to be motivated by the success of their great rivals Lancashire, and seal a hasty return to the top flight.
Key Man: Sidebottom. Despite his perhaps premature international retirement he remains a class act at domestic level, and was a shining light amongst the gloom last year, during his first season back at his home county. Will expect to blow away many of his opponents in Division Two.
Championship Prediction: 1st
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Rahul Dravid - India's great fortress and cricket's modern statesman
Rahul Dravid’s mold of cricketer – somebody with unrelenting patience, a fine defensive technique and a gentlemanly manner portending respect for his opponents, the laws and the history of the game – was supposed to have become obsolete in the 1980s. When the cavalier approach taken by Ian Botham, Viv Richards and his namesake Barry delighted crowds around the world, purists feared that a Gavaskar-like defensive technique would not be seen again; nor somebody with the patience of Boycott or the outlook of Brian Statham. But Dravid encompassed all three of these, whilst at the same time surpassing many of the records that were in place when his international career began in 1996. Perhaps fittingly, statistically as well as in the minds of many cricket-lovers, he remains in the shadow of his long-time friend and fellow middle-order run machine Sachin Tendulkar. But he is, at least until Ricky Ponting scores another 89 runs, the second most prolific run scorer in the 2,035-match history of the ultimate form of the game.
In years to come it is likely that commentators will see Dravid’s run-tally as flattering him – his name will not roll off the tongue, as those of some of his contemporaries will. Yet his services to the Indian team over a 164 match career are arguably unrivalled even by the two Little Masters (Gavaskar and Tendulkar) and the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev. This commitment to the greater cause was evident at opposing ends of his career. On debut, batting in an unfamiliar position at number seven and within the imposing surrounds of Lord’s – cricket’s greatest pilgrimage site – mere mortals would have folded under pressure and looked on as their side slipped to defeat. However, Dravid produced a typically fighting innings of 95 from 363 deliveries, to steer his team into a position which eventually resulted in a drawn game and, were it not for the weather, could have contributed to a series-defining win. Friday’s press conference confirming his retirement again re-affirmed that in Dravid’s mind the team comes before personal glory. He told the media how now, rather than a year or two down the line when he could still conceivably be scoring Test hundreds, was the right time to retire because “it is time for a new generation of young players to make their own history and take the Indian cricket team even further”. This attitude could be a key factor in ensuring that the slump endured by India on their last two tours does not become an extended one.
Dravid the batsman has long been nicknamed ‘The Wall’. But a fortress is perhaps more appropriate to fully illustrate the task opposition bowlers had to break through. Yes, in a bizarre statistical quirk he was bowled more times than any other Test cricketer but there were many occasions when he blunted even the sharpest bowling attacks. VVS Laxman will forever be associated with India’s miraculous comeback following-on against McGrath, Warne, Gillespie and Kasprowicz at Calcutta in 2001, but Dravid’s chanceless 180 was every bit as important in shaping the game in the home team’s favour. And he again united with Laxman at Adelaide three years later as he scored 305 runs in the match and his team secured a rare win in Australia’s backyard. Dravid also stood tall on a number of occasions when his teammates did not – a true sign of greatness. He was head and shoulders above everybody else in making twin fifties on a pitch described as a minefield at Sabina Park in 2006, and was simply magnificent in England last summer. His three hundreds were the only centuries scored by the tourists in the Test series and came against a bowling attack regarded as one of the best, if not the very best, around. He also had to cope with being shuffled up to open the batting at various times but didn’t let this have any effect on his game as he accumulated runs in the same manner he had for the previous fifteen years and added a further 965 deliveries to a world record number of balls faced in Tests.
Dravid’s other entry into Wisden’s record pages is as the player with the most Test outfield catches, many of them at slip. Although he began to shell a few chances in England and Australia recently, for most of his career there was inevitability about the dismissal being completed when the ball was edged into Dravid’s vicinity. A further indication of his fielding ability is that, for a period in the early 2000s, he kept wicket for India in One-day Internationals and, although he could never claim to master the role, he always gave 100% effort and was rarely a liability.
Dravid’s brilliance as a cricketer has, by all reports, been more than matched by his brilliance as a person. Christopher Martin-Jenkins commented that “He has never done a graceless thing on a cricket field” and, from the accounts of those that know him, that assessment extends beyond the boundary edge. Dravid is one of a select group of cricketers, Kumar Sangakkara also among them, who play an active role in debating the future of the sport which has made them household names. He sits, along with great names from yesteryear, on the MCC’s Cricket Committee that has been instrumental in suggesting improvements to the international game in recent years. He also delivered the Bradman Oration in Canberra at the end of 2011. That opportunity was taken to discuss empty stadiums in India, the need for one-day and Twenty20 matches to be scheduled more carefully and how the possibility of day-night Test cricket should not be ruled out in attempting to to maintain the primacy of the longest format. The speech was described as “meticulous, wide-ranging and fascinating” and, although these issues were already being discussed by some sections of the media, the gravity with which Dravid spoke gave his opinions a much greater weight.
If such a great cricketer can have one regret it may be that his period as national captain was so short – less than two years between November 2005 and September 2007. His Test record was good but, in the eyes of the Indian public, his captaincy was marred by the disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign and Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni will thus be remembered far more fondly as leaders of the great Indian side that Dravid was such a fundamental part of. However, this is the only minor blot on an otherwise superb career. Dravid scored runs in all corners of the world and in a number of different, and often difficult, situations. Over the years he became India’s great fortress at number three and established himself as a true statesman of the modern game. And with the rise of Twenty20 – something he is himself concerned about – it may be that international cricket is never again graced by a player or person of his kind.
Test career: 164 Tests, 13288 runs @ 52.31, 36 100s & 63 50s, 210 catches
ODI career: 344 ODIs, 10889 runs @ 39.16, 12 100s & 83 50s, 196 catches and 14 stumpings
In years to come it is likely that commentators will see Dravid’s run-tally as flattering him – his name will not roll off the tongue, as those of some of his contemporaries will. Yet his services to the Indian team over a 164 match career are arguably unrivalled even by the two Little Masters (Gavaskar and Tendulkar) and the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev. This commitment to the greater cause was evident at opposing ends of his career. On debut, batting in an unfamiliar position at number seven and within the imposing surrounds of Lord’s – cricket’s greatest pilgrimage site – mere mortals would have folded under pressure and looked on as their side slipped to defeat. However, Dravid produced a typically fighting innings of 95 from 363 deliveries, to steer his team into a position which eventually resulted in a drawn game and, were it not for the weather, could have contributed to a series-defining win. Friday’s press conference confirming his retirement again re-affirmed that in Dravid’s mind the team comes before personal glory. He told the media how now, rather than a year or two down the line when he could still conceivably be scoring Test hundreds, was the right time to retire because “it is time for a new generation of young players to make their own history and take the Indian cricket team even further”. This attitude could be a key factor in ensuring that the slump endured by India on their last two tours does not become an extended one.
Dravid the batsman has long been nicknamed ‘The Wall’. But a fortress is perhaps more appropriate to fully illustrate the task opposition bowlers had to break through. Yes, in a bizarre statistical quirk he was bowled more times than any other Test cricketer but there were many occasions when he blunted even the sharpest bowling attacks. VVS Laxman will forever be associated with India’s miraculous comeback following-on against McGrath, Warne, Gillespie and Kasprowicz at Calcutta in 2001, but Dravid’s chanceless 180 was every bit as important in shaping the game in the home team’s favour. And he again united with Laxman at Adelaide three years later as he scored 305 runs in the match and his team secured a rare win in Australia’s backyard. Dravid also stood tall on a number of occasions when his teammates did not – a true sign of greatness. He was head and shoulders above everybody else in making twin fifties on a pitch described as a minefield at Sabina Park in 2006, and was simply magnificent in England last summer. His three hundreds were the only centuries scored by the tourists in the Test series and came against a bowling attack regarded as one of the best, if not the very best, around. He also had to cope with being shuffled up to open the batting at various times but didn’t let this have any effect on his game as he accumulated runs in the same manner he had for the previous fifteen years and added a further 965 deliveries to a world record number of balls faced in Tests.
Dravid’s other entry into Wisden’s record pages is as the player with the most Test outfield catches, many of them at slip. Although he began to shell a few chances in England and Australia recently, for most of his career there was inevitability about the dismissal being completed when the ball was edged into Dravid’s vicinity. A further indication of his fielding ability is that, for a period in the early 2000s, he kept wicket for India in One-day Internationals and, although he could never claim to master the role, he always gave 100% effort and was rarely a liability.
Dravid’s brilliance as a cricketer has, by all reports, been more than matched by his brilliance as a person. Christopher Martin-Jenkins commented that “He has never done a graceless thing on a cricket field” and, from the accounts of those that know him, that assessment extends beyond the boundary edge. Dravid is one of a select group of cricketers, Kumar Sangakkara also among them, who play an active role in debating the future of the sport which has made them household names. He sits, along with great names from yesteryear, on the MCC’s Cricket Committee that has been instrumental in suggesting improvements to the international game in recent years. He also delivered the Bradman Oration in Canberra at the end of 2011. That opportunity was taken to discuss empty stadiums in India, the need for one-day and Twenty20 matches to be scheduled more carefully and how the possibility of day-night Test cricket should not be ruled out in attempting to to maintain the primacy of the longest format. The speech was described as “meticulous, wide-ranging and fascinating” and, although these issues were already being discussed by some sections of the media, the gravity with which Dravid spoke gave his opinions a much greater weight.
If such a great cricketer can have one regret it may be that his period as national captain was so short – less than two years between November 2005 and September 2007. His Test record was good but, in the eyes of the Indian public, his captaincy was marred by the disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign and Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni will thus be remembered far more fondly as leaders of the great Indian side that Dravid was such a fundamental part of. However, this is the only minor blot on an otherwise superb career. Dravid scored runs in all corners of the world and in a number of different, and often difficult, situations. Over the years he became India’s great fortress at number three and established himself as a true statesman of the modern game. And with the rise of Twenty20 – something he is himself concerned about – it may be that international cricket is never again graced by a player or person of his kind.
Test career: 164 Tests, 13288 runs @ 52.31, 36 100s & 63 50s, 210 catches
ODI career: 344 ODIs, 10889 runs @ 39.16, 12 100s & 83 50s, 196 catches and 14 stumpings
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Sweet and salty desert initiation for England's cricketers
The most eagerly anticipated prize handed out at the post-match presentation after each match during England’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates was the inventive ‘Sweet and Salty Performance Cash Award’. The tour was England’s first full visit to Pakistan’s adopted home in the Arabian Desert and, when looking back on the events which unfolded over the past six weeks, they will feel that their performance fitted the criteria for this bitter-sweet prize – a pick ‘n’ mix of the good, the bad and the ugly.
The England team and their supporters rightly place Test cricket on a pedestal above the younger forms of the game, and so the 3-0 whitewash inflicted on them during that leg of the tour will hurt badly. Ahead of the series expectations were that this would be a tough challenge – perhaps more demanding than the defeats of Australia and India in more familiar surroundings over the previous twelve months. However, the scale of the task England faced was severely under-estimated. Most observers, myself included, felt that a one of two-nil series victory for the number one ranked side in the Test Match game was likely. The eventual score line was completely unconsidered.
The way in which the batsmen adapted, or failed to adapt to be more precise, to conditions during the Test series will be a particular disappointment. Some commentators, endorsed by England’s Team Director Andy Flower, have pointed the finger of blame at the schedule which gave England only two warm-up matches before the 1st Test. But any more than two practice games is now highly unusual on any tour, and one of the disadvantages of playing in the UAE is that opposition is not readily available as it would be in Pakistan, so in some respects England were lucky to have even those matches that they did. Perhaps preparations were not focused strongly enough on the task of facing Saeed Ajmal, and starting an innings against spin. But, in Flower and Graham Gooch, England had two brilliant players of the turning ball amongst the backroom team and so, given the generally meticulous nature of the pair’s regime, it would be a major surprise if this was where England fell short. Therefore, the players can only really blame themselves for a series of abject batting displays, the ugliest of the lot being shot out for 72 in pursuit of double that in the 2nd Test at Abu Dhabi. Eoin Morgan, who has since lost his Test place for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, was all-at-sea from the moment he got off the plane for his first overseas appearances in the longer format. Despite featuring in all of the matches, including the one-dayers and Twenty20s, he never managed more than 31. Meanwhile, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen – evidently the two most naturally talented batsmen in the England team – also battled fruitlessly against Ajmal and Rehman during the three Tests. Whilst Pietersen certainly suffered from technical difficulties at this stage of the tour, I would argue that confidence was just as important a factor in the struggles endured by both players. Ajmal removed the pair for a combined total of two runs on the first morning of the series and the off-spinner was dominating the contest from that moment forth.
It would be easy to view the Test series as a complete mess for England. However, in reality they often found themselves in good positions and surpassed themselves in the bowling department. Fears that Stuart Broad would, presented with less-helpful pitches, regress to the ‘Enforcer’ he tried and failed to be in previous parts of his Test career were proved completely unfounded as he regularly found something in the surfaces which the Pakistan seamers failed to. He also mucked in well with the bat, and, were England not such an admirably tight-knit unit, would be well within his rights to be annoyed that the woeful batting displays meant that he was never on the winning side. James Anderson was as good as ever, if a little unlucky at times, whilst England surprised everybody, perhaps themselves included, by appearing comfortable playing two seamers and two spinners. That this was possible was in no small part down to Monty Panesar’s strong return – the result of hard work with Sussex, and the treatment he received from the England management during his time out of the team which ensured that, whilst knowing he had to improve, he never felt alienated from the squad.
If the Test series was the salty part of England’s trip then the one-day and Twenty20 series were emphatically the sweet segment. Off the back of the 5-0 drubbing inflicted in the One-day International series played in India before Christmas, nothing much was expected in the 50-over game. But, as in the Test series, expectations were confounded and England reversed that embarrassment to win 4-0. A critical aspect in this was that the openers produced four hundreds in four matches. One-day International hundreds are a rarity, particularly for English players, and so this was a huge achievement which, against a less talented batting line-up than India’s, went a long way to securing the wins. Gooch’s Test emphasis on the batsmen going on to score so-called ‘daddy-hundreds’ when they make a start would appear to be bearing fruit in the one-day format as well. A great deal of personal pride can be taken from their achievements by Pietersen and Alastair Cook. At the start of the series neither were a unanimous selection amongst pundits – by the end they were, along with Broad and Steven Finn, amongst the first names on everybody’s team sheet. Pietersen’s revival in form can be seen as, in part, the result of more defensive field settings from Pakistan opening up his scoring options, but batting at the top of the order is important too. He is very comfortable against the hard ball and he was often already on 25 by the time Ajmal and Shahid Afridi came into the attack.
The English bowlers rarely disappoint these days and, as in the Test series, they carried out their plans beautifully in the 50-over game. Steven Finn showed signs of improvement in India but, for me, this was the series which served notice that not only does he swing the ball at speeds often above 90 mph but he also means business about becoming one of the leading pace bowlers in the world in all forms of the game within the next couple of years. Pakistan didn’t take a liking to his bowling in any way and found themselves knicking off and being trapped lbw with regularity. The rest all bowled solidly enough for this Pakistani batting line-up and ensured that the margins of victory for England were always sizable.
Twenty20 International cricket started as a hit and a giggle but with the defence of the World Twenty20 crown in Sri Lanka this autumn fast approaching the matches in the United Arab Emirates were played with high intensity by Stuart Broad’s men. The gremlins from the Test series re-emerged in the first match but some big positives emerged from the later games as England won the series 2-1. Jonny Bairstow looked every bit the international cricketer as he played a crucial aggressive hand in the second match whilst Jade Dernbach demonstrated that he had come close to mastering his death-bowling talent in third match. Bairstow’s name perhaps comes after those of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales and James Taylor when listing the young batting talent in county cricket but, thus far, he is the only one of the five to play a match-winning innings for England – and has now done it twice. The others will surely produce in the very near future but Bairstow could well have pushed his name to the front of the pack in the selectors minds. Dernbach’s internationals up to this tour had been schizophrenic – occasional flashes of brilliance mixed in with being hit round the park at more than six an over on a regular occurrence. But his spell at the death on Monday displayed wonderful control of variation and foxed all of the Pakistan batsman he bowled at. England will hope that they have found their own answer to Lasith Malinga and Umar Gul in him. The sustained success enjoyed in this format means that England should, along with the sub-continent teams, start as favourites to win back-to-back World Twenty20s in six months time.
Before that trip to Sri Lanka, England will head over there shortly for a two-match Test series. Although the hosts have struggled of late, following the retirement of Murali and political upheaval, the visitors are sure to be tested against the slower bowlers once again. It is perhaps no coincidence that the venues to be used during the series – Galle and Colombo’s P Sara Oval – both have a reputation for favouring the spinners. Although Sri Lanka no longer have a master like Murali in their ranks the pitches will turn more than they did in the UAE and England will thus have to ensure that a return to whites does not mean a return to batting collapses against a bowling line-up which posed them only a very minimal threat at home last season.
The overriding memory of England’s visit to the Gulf in years to come will not be a sweet one. Test series tend to live longer on the mind than one-day competitions, and this was England’s worst Test series defeat since the 2006/07 Ashes. But despite these salty headlines, there were numerous occasions where England bossed the opposition in alien conditions. Results should pick up on upcoming trips to the sub-continent and, if that is the case, England might look back on this tour in a more positive light and see it as one which set in motion the conquering of the final frontier.
The England team and their supporters rightly place Test cricket on a pedestal above the younger forms of the game, and so the 3-0 whitewash inflicted on them during that leg of the tour will hurt badly. Ahead of the series expectations were that this would be a tough challenge – perhaps more demanding than the defeats of Australia and India in more familiar surroundings over the previous twelve months. However, the scale of the task England faced was severely under-estimated. Most observers, myself included, felt that a one of two-nil series victory for the number one ranked side in the Test Match game was likely. The eventual score line was completely unconsidered.
The way in which the batsmen adapted, or failed to adapt to be more precise, to conditions during the Test series will be a particular disappointment. Some commentators, endorsed by England’s Team Director Andy Flower, have pointed the finger of blame at the schedule which gave England only two warm-up matches before the 1st Test. But any more than two practice games is now highly unusual on any tour, and one of the disadvantages of playing in the UAE is that opposition is not readily available as it would be in Pakistan, so in some respects England were lucky to have even those matches that they did. Perhaps preparations were not focused strongly enough on the task of facing Saeed Ajmal, and starting an innings against spin. But, in Flower and Graham Gooch, England had two brilliant players of the turning ball amongst the backroom team and so, given the generally meticulous nature of the pair’s regime, it would be a major surprise if this was where England fell short. Therefore, the players can only really blame themselves for a series of abject batting displays, the ugliest of the lot being shot out for 72 in pursuit of double that in the 2nd Test at Abu Dhabi. Eoin Morgan, who has since lost his Test place for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, was all-at-sea from the moment he got off the plane for his first overseas appearances in the longer format. Despite featuring in all of the matches, including the one-dayers and Twenty20s, he never managed more than 31. Meanwhile, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen – evidently the two most naturally talented batsmen in the England team – also battled fruitlessly against Ajmal and Rehman during the three Tests. Whilst Pietersen certainly suffered from technical difficulties at this stage of the tour, I would argue that confidence was just as important a factor in the struggles endured by both players. Ajmal removed the pair for a combined total of two runs on the first morning of the series and the off-spinner was dominating the contest from that moment forth.
It would be easy to view the Test series as a complete mess for England. However, in reality they often found themselves in good positions and surpassed themselves in the bowling department. Fears that Stuart Broad would, presented with less-helpful pitches, regress to the ‘Enforcer’ he tried and failed to be in previous parts of his Test career were proved completely unfounded as he regularly found something in the surfaces which the Pakistan seamers failed to. He also mucked in well with the bat, and, were England not such an admirably tight-knit unit, would be well within his rights to be annoyed that the woeful batting displays meant that he was never on the winning side. James Anderson was as good as ever, if a little unlucky at times, whilst England surprised everybody, perhaps themselves included, by appearing comfortable playing two seamers and two spinners. That this was possible was in no small part down to Monty Panesar’s strong return – the result of hard work with Sussex, and the treatment he received from the England management during his time out of the team which ensured that, whilst knowing he had to improve, he never felt alienated from the squad.
If the Test series was the salty part of England’s trip then the one-day and Twenty20 series were emphatically the sweet segment. Off the back of the 5-0 drubbing inflicted in the One-day International series played in India before Christmas, nothing much was expected in the 50-over game. But, as in the Test series, expectations were confounded and England reversed that embarrassment to win 4-0. A critical aspect in this was that the openers produced four hundreds in four matches. One-day International hundreds are a rarity, particularly for English players, and so this was a huge achievement which, against a less talented batting line-up than India’s, went a long way to securing the wins. Gooch’s Test emphasis on the batsmen going on to score so-called ‘daddy-hundreds’ when they make a start would appear to be bearing fruit in the one-day format as well. A great deal of personal pride can be taken from their achievements by Pietersen and Alastair Cook. At the start of the series neither were a unanimous selection amongst pundits – by the end they were, along with Broad and Steven Finn, amongst the first names on everybody’s team sheet. Pietersen’s revival in form can be seen as, in part, the result of more defensive field settings from Pakistan opening up his scoring options, but batting at the top of the order is important too. He is very comfortable against the hard ball and he was often already on 25 by the time Ajmal and Shahid Afridi came into the attack.
The English bowlers rarely disappoint these days and, as in the Test series, they carried out their plans beautifully in the 50-over game. Steven Finn showed signs of improvement in India but, for me, this was the series which served notice that not only does he swing the ball at speeds often above 90 mph but he also means business about becoming one of the leading pace bowlers in the world in all forms of the game within the next couple of years. Pakistan didn’t take a liking to his bowling in any way and found themselves knicking off and being trapped lbw with regularity. The rest all bowled solidly enough for this Pakistani batting line-up and ensured that the margins of victory for England were always sizable.
Twenty20 International cricket started as a hit and a giggle but with the defence of the World Twenty20 crown in Sri Lanka this autumn fast approaching the matches in the United Arab Emirates were played with high intensity by Stuart Broad’s men. The gremlins from the Test series re-emerged in the first match but some big positives emerged from the later games as England won the series 2-1. Jonny Bairstow looked every bit the international cricketer as he played a crucial aggressive hand in the second match whilst Jade Dernbach demonstrated that he had come close to mastering his death-bowling talent in third match. Bairstow’s name perhaps comes after those of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales and James Taylor when listing the young batting talent in county cricket but, thus far, he is the only one of the five to play a match-winning innings for England – and has now done it twice. The others will surely produce in the very near future but Bairstow could well have pushed his name to the front of the pack in the selectors minds. Dernbach’s internationals up to this tour had been schizophrenic – occasional flashes of brilliance mixed in with being hit round the park at more than six an over on a regular occurrence. But his spell at the death on Monday displayed wonderful control of variation and foxed all of the Pakistan batsman he bowled at. England will hope that they have found their own answer to Lasith Malinga and Umar Gul in him. The sustained success enjoyed in this format means that England should, along with the sub-continent teams, start as favourites to win back-to-back World Twenty20s in six months time.
Before that trip to Sri Lanka, England will head over there shortly for a two-match Test series. Although the hosts have struggled of late, following the retirement of Murali and political upheaval, the visitors are sure to be tested against the slower bowlers once again. It is perhaps no coincidence that the venues to be used during the series – Galle and Colombo’s P Sara Oval – both have a reputation for favouring the spinners. Although Sri Lanka no longer have a master like Murali in their ranks the pitches will turn more than they did in the UAE and England will thus have to ensure that a return to whites does not mean a return to batting collapses against a bowling line-up which posed them only a very minimal threat at home last season.
The overriding memory of England’s visit to the Gulf in years to come will not be a sweet one. Test series tend to live longer on the mind than one-day competitions, and this was England’s worst Test series defeat since the 2006/07 Ashes. But despite these salty headlines, there were numerous occasions where England bossed the opposition in alien conditions. Results should pick up on upcoming trips to the sub-continent and, if that is the case, England might look back on this tour in a more positive light and see it as one which set in motion the conquering of the final frontier.
Thursday, 16 February 2012
'Puppy' Bopara threatens to bite
Ravi Bopara is now in his sixth year of international cricket. Having made his debut in One-day Internationals as a 21 year-old, in the aftermath of England’s 5-0 Ashes embarrassment in 2006/07, he soon came within two runs of guiding England to a victory over eventual finalists Sri Lanka in the World Cup which followed. But his place in the team in still not secure in any format. Indeed many observers, including myself, would not have picked him for the ongoing series against Pakistan were it not for Jos Buttler’s hand injury. Yet convincing back-to-back fifties in the first two matches have been a crucial element in England’s success and it appears the player nicknamed ‘Puppy’ might just, finally, be starting to bite.
Parallels can be drawn between Bopara’s career to date and the early stages of that of England teammate James Anderson, now regarded as one of the foremost seam bowlers in world cricket. Anderson, too, started off with limited-overs success after the seniors had struggled down under and then performed well at a World Cup. However, a permanent place in the England team did not become his until 2008 – five years after his promising international initiation. Bopara will feel that that he needs to replicate that sort of upturn in fortunes if he is not to find himself on the scrapheap soon.
A particularly impressive element of the twin innings he played on Monday and Wednesday was the Zen-like coolness he displayed throughout. Allied on both occasions with his Essex colleague Alastair Cook he calmly picked off the bowling, playing more daring strokes only as the end of the innings approached and when given a loose delivery. This sobriety is not an attribute usually associated with Bopara. His disastrous maiden Test series in Sri Lanka and home Ashes campaign in 2009 both led to him being dropped from the team after showing signs of a poor temperament and lack of composure – something pointed out at the time by none other than Shane Warne, the master of mental warfare.
Bopara’s turn around began to become evident during an excellent home One-day International campaign against India at the back-end of last summer. In that series Bopara averaged a smidgen under 63 and his return to form, combined with his refined attitude to the game, could herald a further opportunity at Test level too. Eoin Morgan’s poor returns in the UAE where, despite being picked partly for his attacking ability against spin he struggled to play Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, suggests that he is unlikely to start ahead of Bopara in Sri Lanka next month. Bopara’s one-day displays, admittedly with the pressure of close fielders removed, have demonstrated a good technique against spin and one which should serve him well on the turning pitches expected in Galle and at Colombo’s P Sara Oval. And if he is left out Morgan will have little chance to push his claims for a return to the starting eleven – Indian Premier League bench warming commitments mean he is unlikely to play a first-class match for Middlesex until June, and Bopara could find himself with an extended run in the side.
If Bopara is to become an England regular consistency is the big issue he still has to sort out. Against the West Indies in 2009 he scored three consecutive Test hundreds – a feat rarely matched by any England batsman, let alone one playing in only their fourth, fifth and sixth Test matches – but ruined his good work in the Ashes which followed. After that home one-day series against India last year he did the same thing again. Scores of 8, 36, 24, 8 and 4 in October’s return leg meant that the credit he gained was swiftly wiped out and it seemed he was making a fresh start again in this week’s matches. This is a trait which needs to be cut out – top international players cannot let form come and go so easily and it suggests that he stops doing the things he did to find form too quickly when the runs start to flow. To solve this he could do well to learn from two of his Essex compatriots. Alastair Cook has shown on more than one occasion in the last couple of years how to make a run of form count, and there have been few more hungry batsmen in the last 30 years than Bopara’s country and county batting coach Graham Gooch.
So 2012 would appear to be a make or break year for Ravi Bopara. At the end of the year he may well have established himself as England’s Test number six and as a key part of the limited-overs teams. On the other hand he might be preparing himself for a decade or more of county cricket. Current form would suggest the former is the more likely and that the ‘Puppy’ is fast becoming fully grown.
Parallels can be drawn between Bopara’s career to date and the early stages of that of England teammate James Anderson, now regarded as one of the foremost seam bowlers in world cricket. Anderson, too, started off with limited-overs success after the seniors had struggled down under and then performed well at a World Cup. However, a permanent place in the England team did not become his until 2008 – five years after his promising international initiation. Bopara will feel that that he needs to replicate that sort of upturn in fortunes if he is not to find himself on the scrapheap soon.
A particularly impressive element of the twin innings he played on Monday and Wednesday was the Zen-like coolness he displayed throughout. Allied on both occasions with his Essex colleague Alastair Cook he calmly picked off the bowling, playing more daring strokes only as the end of the innings approached and when given a loose delivery. This sobriety is not an attribute usually associated with Bopara. His disastrous maiden Test series in Sri Lanka and home Ashes campaign in 2009 both led to him being dropped from the team after showing signs of a poor temperament and lack of composure – something pointed out at the time by none other than Shane Warne, the master of mental warfare.
Bopara’s turn around began to become evident during an excellent home One-day International campaign against India at the back-end of last summer. In that series Bopara averaged a smidgen under 63 and his return to form, combined with his refined attitude to the game, could herald a further opportunity at Test level too. Eoin Morgan’s poor returns in the UAE where, despite being picked partly for his attacking ability against spin he struggled to play Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, suggests that he is unlikely to start ahead of Bopara in Sri Lanka next month. Bopara’s one-day displays, admittedly with the pressure of close fielders removed, have demonstrated a good technique against spin and one which should serve him well on the turning pitches expected in Galle and at Colombo’s P Sara Oval. And if he is left out Morgan will have little chance to push his claims for a return to the starting eleven – Indian Premier League bench warming commitments mean he is unlikely to play a first-class match for Middlesex until June, and Bopara could find himself with an extended run in the side.
If Bopara is to become an England regular consistency is the big issue he still has to sort out. Against the West Indies in 2009 he scored three consecutive Test hundreds – a feat rarely matched by any England batsman, let alone one playing in only their fourth, fifth and sixth Test matches – but ruined his good work in the Ashes which followed. After that home one-day series against India last year he did the same thing again. Scores of 8, 36, 24, 8 and 4 in October’s return leg meant that the credit he gained was swiftly wiped out and it seemed he was making a fresh start again in this week’s matches. This is a trait which needs to be cut out – top international players cannot let form come and go so easily and it suggests that he stops doing the things he did to find form too quickly when the runs start to flow. To solve this he could do well to learn from two of his Essex compatriots. Alastair Cook has shown on more than one occasion in the last couple of years how to make a run of form count, and there have been few more hungry batsmen in the last 30 years than Bopara’s country and county batting coach Graham Gooch.
So 2012 would appear to be a make or break year for Ravi Bopara. At the end of the year he may well have established himself as England’s Test number six and as a key part of the limited-overs teams. On the other hand he might be preparing himself for a decade or more of county cricket. Current form would suggest the former is the more likely and that the ‘Puppy’ is fast becoming fully grown.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Pakistan rise from the dead in home away from home
29th August 2010, Lord’s. Pakistan capsize to a total of under 200 for the fifth time in eight innings in the four match Test series against England and fall to a 3-1 series defeat. It is hard to feel any sympathy for the tourists. Although conditions have been against them they have batted with little application all summer, the fielding has been dreadful and for reasons known only to themselves two of the most experienced batsmen – Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq – have been left out completely and a third – Mohammad Yousuf – only brought back when the series had gone. Meanwhile, Team Manager Yawar Saeed is pictured reading the News of the World to find out that three of his players have been involved in spot-fixing. Two of these, the fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, have offered rare positives for Pakistan all summer in regularly troubling the England top order whilst the third, Salman Butt, has appeared to be a diligent leader. The three players are later banned from international cricket and given jail sentences. All is not rosy at board level either with PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt ridiculously making unfounded claims that England are themselves involved in spot-fixing. To most observers Pakistan cricket is in the mire and unlikely to emerge any time soon. Some pundits even call for the team to be banned until a radical overhaul takes place.
Less than eighteen months ago it would have been inconceivable to imagine the about turn which has taken place since as a possibility. Almost all of the wounds which engulfed cricket in a country where it is so passionately followed have been healed. And now, rather than having their batting line-up labeled by leading commentators as “worse than Bangladesh”, they can look towards to the top of the ladder in all forms of the game having been unbeaten in all series since the start of 2011. So, how has this come about?
Leadership has been a massive factor. Nine wins in fifteen Tests since Misbah succeeded Butt as captain in October 2010 make him Pakistan’s most successful captain ever in terms of win percentage and the record is even better in the shorter formats. This is not a result of Brearley-like tactical genius or Waugh-like inspirational qualities. However, Misbah is a man who, after more than a decade of intermittent international cricket, has understood the Pakistani system, reacted calmly to the challenges he has faced and not divided the team as so many previous Pakistan skippers have. If Misbah is the Andrew Strauss of the management group then Mohsin Khan is the Andy Flower. Mohsin, a moderately successful Test batsman in the ‘70s and ‘80s, only took over as Interim Coach late last year, but has already made a huge impression. In interview he sounds every bit the paternal figure guiding the side who has been missing since the tragic death of Bob Woolmer at the 2007 World Cup, whilst not being afraid to remind everybody that it was he who backed the talent of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq during a period as Chief Selector after the England debacle. I would hazard that it is no coincidence that these two players and the young seamer Junaid Khan (although he was ineffective in one Test against England) have kicked on since Mohsin took over.
A change has also been apparent in the mental approach of the batsmen. Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar, Shafiq and even Misbah himself may not be world beaters. But unlike previous Pakistani top orders they have learnt to play within their limits – they are happy to go along at 2.5 runs an over if necessary and wait for the right moment, or delivery, to play the big shots. Frailties are still exposed at times but scores between 250 and 350 are now more frequent than those below 200. Credit must also be given to the selectors here – they have finally seen that a successful team is usually built around a stable unit and selected the same top six for the last eight Test matches the team has played. They have also recognised that Younus Khan is a genuinely world class batsman and treated him in the way he deserves to be treated rather than, as happened after an unsuccessful tour of Australia, taking it upon themselves to ban him ‘for life’ for no apparent reason.
Pakistan have also quickly emerged as having the best spin attack in the world game. Saeed Ajmal had to wait until after his 30th birthday to play international cricket but even English pundits have now anointed him with the crown of being the best spinner in the world game, ahead of Graeme Swann. The doosra may be criticised for its questionable legality – an issue I am not looking to discuss in this article and am not qualified to make a judgment on – but the fact that he is currently the only international bowler to use one suggests that it is a fiendishly difficult delivery to master. He has torn through all those he has been put up against in recent times and has taken 74 wickets in his last eleven Tests. Abdur Rehman, whose return to the side seemed almost accidental, has proved more than an effective accomplice and himself taken 55 wickets in the same period. Meanwhile, Mohammad Hafeez, whose off-spin was previously little more than a part-time option, has shown himself to be a good enough bowler to regularly take the new ball and perhaps get into many international teams as a bowler alone. These three have tormented not only England but also Sri Lanka, renowned as one of the best sides against spin, and have hardly played on dust-bowls in the UAE. These three are joined in the one-day side by maverick talisman Shahid Afridi whose bowling has re-invented itself in the last year or so to become a major force in any limited-overs match he plays in rather than just when he feels like it, as often used to be the case.
Such a battery of spinners was not available during that sorry tour of England. But the seam bowlers were effective, as they had been ever since Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis joined Imran Khan in a side which won the 1992 World Cup and, for a while, threatened West Indian dominance. The fear was that with Asif and Amir unavailable Pakistan would be left with a toothless pace attack. But, against all odds, Pakistan have quickly found a group of quicks able to perform successfully in Asian conditions. Umar Gul has relished his promotion to leader of the attack and looked comfortable in whites for the first time, Aizaz Cheema has emerged from domestic cricket with some success and the left-armers – Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz – have had an immediate impact and gone some way to filling the gap left by the supremely talented Amir. The series against England was a spin dominated one but the signs are promising that the bowling attack will be equally incisive in Australia, South Africa and England.
The story of Pakistan’s return from oblivion is made all the more remarkable by them not having played a single match in their homeland since 2009. Whilst some may argue that conditions in the UAE are similar to those in Pakistan and that they have the supporters on their side, it does mean that the team are always on tour and that they often have to play in empty stadiums, particularly in Test cricket. In many ways it might be the case that playing outside of Pakistan has been to their advantage – in Lahore and Karachi the team are hounded by fans and the local media at every moment but in the deserts of Dubai and Abu Dhabi they are given space to grow as a unit and arguably face less pressure to succeed. Bringing joy to the Pakistani people, whose country is so often blighted by continuing terrorism and political turmoil, must also serve as an inspiration to many of the Pakistan players.
It would be wrong to say that the current set-up is perfect. Pakistan are not the best team in the world yet and some leopards just don’t change their spots – the PCB have been interviewing candidates with a view to replacing Mohsin despite the great job that he has done. They have also seemingly traded a nomination for the Bangladeshi candidate for the ICC presidency with a Bangladeshi tour of Pakistan going ahead, despite the fact that terrorist attacks continue to be reported on a regular basis, and to the outsider the country would appear little safer than when the Sri Lanka team were gunned down on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. However, the turnaround that has taken place since 2010 is more than remarkable and sees the team enjoying consistency and stability not seen since the days of Imran Khan. Continued success could see them complete the journey from News of the World to top of the world.
Less than eighteen months ago it would have been inconceivable to imagine the about turn which has taken place since as a possibility. Almost all of the wounds which engulfed cricket in a country where it is so passionately followed have been healed. And now, rather than having their batting line-up labeled by leading commentators as “worse than Bangladesh”, they can look towards to the top of the ladder in all forms of the game having been unbeaten in all series since the start of 2011. So, how has this come about?
Leadership has been a massive factor. Nine wins in fifteen Tests since Misbah succeeded Butt as captain in October 2010 make him Pakistan’s most successful captain ever in terms of win percentage and the record is even better in the shorter formats. This is not a result of Brearley-like tactical genius or Waugh-like inspirational qualities. However, Misbah is a man who, after more than a decade of intermittent international cricket, has understood the Pakistani system, reacted calmly to the challenges he has faced and not divided the team as so many previous Pakistan skippers have. If Misbah is the Andrew Strauss of the management group then Mohsin Khan is the Andy Flower. Mohsin, a moderately successful Test batsman in the ‘70s and ‘80s, only took over as Interim Coach late last year, but has already made a huge impression. In interview he sounds every bit the paternal figure guiding the side who has been missing since the tragic death of Bob Woolmer at the 2007 World Cup, whilst not being afraid to remind everybody that it was he who backed the talent of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq during a period as Chief Selector after the England debacle. I would hazard that it is no coincidence that these two players and the young seamer Junaid Khan (although he was ineffective in one Test against England) have kicked on since Mohsin took over.
A change has also been apparent in the mental approach of the batsmen. Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar, Shafiq and even Misbah himself may not be world beaters. But unlike previous Pakistani top orders they have learnt to play within their limits – they are happy to go along at 2.5 runs an over if necessary and wait for the right moment, or delivery, to play the big shots. Frailties are still exposed at times but scores between 250 and 350 are now more frequent than those below 200. Credit must also be given to the selectors here – they have finally seen that a successful team is usually built around a stable unit and selected the same top six for the last eight Test matches the team has played. They have also recognised that Younus Khan is a genuinely world class batsman and treated him in the way he deserves to be treated rather than, as happened after an unsuccessful tour of Australia, taking it upon themselves to ban him ‘for life’ for no apparent reason.
Pakistan have also quickly emerged as having the best spin attack in the world game. Saeed Ajmal had to wait until after his 30th birthday to play international cricket but even English pundits have now anointed him with the crown of being the best spinner in the world game, ahead of Graeme Swann. The doosra may be criticised for its questionable legality – an issue I am not looking to discuss in this article and am not qualified to make a judgment on – but the fact that he is currently the only international bowler to use one suggests that it is a fiendishly difficult delivery to master. He has torn through all those he has been put up against in recent times and has taken 74 wickets in his last eleven Tests. Abdur Rehman, whose return to the side seemed almost accidental, has proved more than an effective accomplice and himself taken 55 wickets in the same period. Meanwhile, Mohammad Hafeez, whose off-spin was previously little more than a part-time option, has shown himself to be a good enough bowler to regularly take the new ball and perhaps get into many international teams as a bowler alone. These three have tormented not only England but also Sri Lanka, renowned as one of the best sides against spin, and have hardly played on dust-bowls in the UAE. These three are joined in the one-day side by maverick talisman Shahid Afridi whose bowling has re-invented itself in the last year or so to become a major force in any limited-overs match he plays in rather than just when he feels like it, as often used to be the case.
Such a battery of spinners was not available during that sorry tour of England. But the seam bowlers were effective, as they had been ever since Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis joined Imran Khan in a side which won the 1992 World Cup and, for a while, threatened West Indian dominance. The fear was that with Asif and Amir unavailable Pakistan would be left with a toothless pace attack. But, against all odds, Pakistan have quickly found a group of quicks able to perform successfully in Asian conditions. Umar Gul has relished his promotion to leader of the attack and looked comfortable in whites for the first time, Aizaz Cheema has emerged from domestic cricket with some success and the left-armers – Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz – have had an immediate impact and gone some way to filling the gap left by the supremely talented Amir. The series against England was a spin dominated one but the signs are promising that the bowling attack will be equally incisive in Australia, South Africa and England.
The story of Pakistan’s return from oblivion is made all the more remarkable by them not having played a single match in their homeland since 2009. Whilst some may argue that conditions in the UAE are similar to those in Pakistan and that they have the supporters on their side, it does mean that the team are always on tour and that they often have to play in empty stadiums, particularly in Test cricket. In many ways it might be the case that playing outside of Pakistan has been to their advantage – in Lahore and Karachi the team are hounded by fans and the local media at every moment but in the deserts of Dubai and Abu Dhabi they are given space to grow as a unit and arguably face less pressure to succeed. Bringing joy to the Pakistani people, whose country is so often blighted by continuing terrorism and political turmoil, must also serve as an inspiration to many of the Pakistan players.
It would be wrong to say that the current set-up is perfect. Pakistan are not the best team in the world yet and some leopards just don’t change their spots – the PCB have been interviewing candidates with a view to replacing Mohsin despite the great job that he has done. They have also seemingly traded a nomination for the Bangladeshi candidate for the ICC presidency with a Bangladeshi tour of Pakistan going ahead, despite the fact that terrorist attacks continue to be reported on a regular basis, and to the outsider the country would appear little safer than when the Sri Lanka team were gunned down on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. However, the turnaround that has taken place since 2010 is more than remarkable and sees the team enjoying consistency and stability not seen since the days of Imran Khan. Continued success could see them complete the journey from News of the World to top of the world.
Saturday, 4 February 2012
International cricket's 'glass ceiling' - a backward remnant of a colonial past?
An independent review into the workings of the International Cricket Council led by Lord Woolf this week observed that “The ICC acts as if it is a member’s club… its interest in enhancing the global development of the game is secondary”. A quick look at the ten Full Members of the ICC – those with Test status, a seat on the executive board, exponentially greater levels of funding and automatic qualification for global events – would reveal that the stated aim held by cricket’s governing body to develop the game globally has not been achieved. All of the Full Members remain former British colonies while in rugby union, another sport which spread through the Empire, France, Italy and Argentina all compete on the global stage. Woolf believes that the number of Full Members needs to be expanded to remedy this but the ICC are sure to be reluctant to implement such drastic changes and stifle the power of the existing oligarchy.
The metaphor of the aspirations of ambitious Associate nations such as Ireland and Afghanistan being blocked by a ‘glass ceiling’ is apt. Despite being positioned only narrowly behind Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the ICC’s One-Day International Rankings, and having secured the scalps of Pakistan, England and Bangladesh (twice) at global events, Ireland are forced to look in at sides of seemingly equal ability to them fighting it out with the best teams in the world in all forms of the game. This situation is made ever more farcical as the respective cricket boards of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are reluctant to play leading Associates in potentially hard-fought series of ODIs and first-class matches for fear of their own Full Member status being undermined were they to be defeated. Meanwhile, above this ‘glass ceiling’ Zimbabwe were allowed to retain their vote at the ICC’s top table – a vote used by Peter Chingoka, an associate of Robert Mugabe refused entry to Britain and Australia – during a period in which they did not play a single Test for six years for a whole variety of reasons.
Ireland and their determined Chief Executive Warren Deutrom are leading the charge in campaigning for well-performing Associates such as themselves to be awarded Test status. He has already succeeded in reversing an “outrageous” ICC decision to restrict the 2015 World Cup to just the Full Members and, by setting out a roadmap, has now outlined how he feels that Ireland can play Test cricket by 2020. A full say in the governance of world cricket, and Test status in particular, could revolutionise cricket for the Associate members. The possibility of playing at the highest level would surely act as an incentive for facilities, playing standards and domestic competitions to be improved and would provide supporters a much stronger context in which to follow their team. And in Afghanistan, where the country itself is very rarely represented on the world stage in a positive light, an international side competing against established opponents, would surely achieve a passionate following and demonstrate that there is more to the country than war and corruption. As it stands no set requirements are in place for how Full Member status can be achieved. However, it would surely be fair to instigate a system where any country able to develop a semi-professional first-class structure and compete at a reasonable level against the likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe should be able to play Test cricket.
Some have in fact suggested that the ICC should go even further than this and abolish any distinction between Full Member and Associate status. Commentators such as the late Peter Roebuck believe that this is an artificial idea maintained to protect the governing “tight little cartel of colonial and ex-colonial countries” and that cricket should follow football’s lead in affording teams as divergent in ability as Spain and the Faroe Islands the opportunity to participate in full international matches. They therefore suggest that if there were demand for a Test Match between, say, France and Germany, then it should be allowed to take place and hold the same statistical validity as one between England and South Africa.
However, this idea is fraught with danger. Test Matches are called Test Matches for a reason – as the name suggests, they are supposed to be the toughest test of a team’s ability available. Were Test cricket opened up to a world of lesser teams it can be argued that the special status of what we know as Tests would be diluted and that 135 years of history would immediately become irrelevant – how would we take to Sir Don Bradman’s average being surpassed by somebody who never played against any side in the world’s top 10 or an average seamer taking 500 wickets against weak teams and on dodgy surfaces.
A lot of people would retort in response that the protection of statistics is in no way an appropriate reason to deny the world’s cricketers equal opportunity. But for me this is the crux of the reason why teams are separated in status in the first place – if we recognise that the standard is considerably higher in a match between England and Australia that one between Kenya and Canada then surely the official status of such matches should be different. This leads me to conclude that the current listing of four day Intercontinental Cup matches as first-class fixtures is correct.
Besides, it is also true that cricket’s fan base is located largely within the ten Full Members – only a small minority of the Associates can really claim that cricket has a national following and so, even were Test status provided, it is unlikely that large crowds would be attracted or the sport’s influence extended far beyond ex-pat communities. The level of support which the game receives in to some extent Zimbabwe and particularly Bangladesh would discredit any idea that teams should be relegated from Test-playing status for poor performance – after millions of Taka have been spent on regularly full all-seater stadiums in impoverished Dhaka and Chittagong how would the fans react to potentially having to play only against the likes of Canada and Scotland?
Facilities and infrastructure for continued success are also an important consideration when deciding whether a team should have access to the top level. In my opinion a first-class structure, however big or small, should remain a requirement for any teams wishing to play Test cricket as otherwise a gulf will emerge between the standards of those exposed at the highest level and the standards of the following generation. At the moment a first-class structure would only seem a realistic aspiration in Ireland and potentially Scotland, however, where more money, facilities and players are available. I would say that this is a direct result of the ICC’s pot of funding being spread too thinly – 75% of all funds are distributed to just ten of the 105 member nations. With such a small proportion of funding in comparison to arguably less needy nations, how can Afghanistan be expected to build international grounds and set up a more competitive domestic structure?
So, what do I propose is the solution to the problem? I subscribe to Woolf and Roebuck’s assertions that the ICC is currently a “member’s club” and a “cartel” but recognise that in order to preserve existing distinctions in standards in the game some form of status division is a necessary evil – football may afford equal status to all teams but Australia’s 31-0 victory over American Samoa suggests that this is flawed. I would, however, have no hesitation in immediately awarding Full Member status to the likes of Ireland and allowing them access to equal funding and voting rights as the established elite and would hope that this funding would enable them to ensure that acceptable structures and facilities are in place for at least four new nations to play Test cricket by 2020 and another four in the eight years after that. Those unable to make use of their opportunities by the prescribed date could be replaced as Full Members entirely on merit, removing the ‘glass ceiling’ that exists between Test-playing and non-Test playing sides. Of course, these new Test sides would not be obliged to take on potential opponents at the very top of the tree immediately but all would be able to aspire to such a position in a way they currently cannot.
It is certainly clear that the ICC’s current chasm between the privileges afforded to the top ten nations and those provided to the overwhelming majority is backward, unacceptable and flies in the face of globalising the game. An expansion beyond cricket’s colonial past would hopefully ensure the future of a game which, when limited to so few centres, could soon become endangered whilst providing millions more with a game which is so much more than just a sport.
The metaphor of the aspirations of ambitious Associate nations such as Ireland and Afghanistan being blocked by a ‘glass ceiling’ is apt. Despite being positioned only narrowly behind Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the ICC’s One-Day International Rankings, and having secured the scalps of Pakistan, England and Bangladesh (twice) at global events, Ireland are forced to look in at sides of seemingly equal ability to them fighting it out with the best teams in the world in all forms of the game. This situation is made ever more farcical as the respective cricket boards of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are reluctant to play leading Associates in potentially hard-fought series of ODIs and first-class matches for fear of their own Full Member status being undermined were they to be defeated. Meanwhile, above this ‘glass ceiling’ Zimbabwe were allowed to retain their vote at the ICC’s top table – a vote used by Peter Chingoka, an associate of Robert Mugabe refused entry to Britain and Australia – during a period in which they did not play a single Test for six years for a whole variety of reasons.
Ireland and their determined Chief Executive Warren Deutrom are leading the charge in campaigning for well-performing Associates such as themselves to be awarded Test status. He has already succeeded in reversing an “outrageous” ICC decision to restrict the 2015 World Cup to just the Full Members and, by setting out a roadmap, has now outlined how he feels that Ireland can play Test cricket by 2020. A full say in the governance of world cricket, and Test status in particular, could revolutionise cricket for the Associate members. The possibility of playing at the highest level would surely act as an incentive for facilities, playing standards and domestic competitions to be improved and would provide supporters a much stronger context in which to follow their team. And in Afghanistan, where the country itself is very rarely represented on the world stage in a positive light, an international side competing against established opponents, would surely achieve a passionate following and demonstrate that there is more to the country than war and corruption. As it stands no set requirements are in place for how Full Member status can be achieved. However, it would surely be fair to instigate a system where any country able to develop a semi-professional first-class structure and compete at a reasonable level against the likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe should be able to play Test cricket.
Some have in fact suggested that the ICC should go even further than this and abolish any distinction between Full Member and Associate status. Commentators such as the late Peter Roebuck believe that this is an artificial idea maintained to protect the governing “tight little cartel of colonial and ex-colonial countries” and that cricket should follow football’s lead in affording teams as divergent in ability as Spain and the Faroe Islands the opportunity to participate in full international matches. They therefore suggest that if there were demand for a Test Match between, say, France and Germany, then it should be allowed to take place and hold the same statistical validity as one between England and South Africa.
However, this idea is fraught with danger. Test Matches are called Test Matches for a reason – as the name suggests, they are supposed to be the toughest test of a team’s ability available. Were Test cricket opened up to a world of lesser teams it can be argued that the special status of what we know as Tests would be diluted and that 135 years of history would immediately become irrelevant – how would we take to Sir Don Bradman’s average being surpassed by somebody who never played against any side in the world’s top 10 or an average seamer taking 500 wickets against weak teams and on dodgy surfaces.
A lot of people would retort in response that the protection of statistics is in no way an appropriate reason to deny the world’s cricketers equal opportunity. But for me this is the crux of the reason why teams are separated in status in the first place – if we recognise that the standard is considerably higher in a match between England and Australia that one between Kenya and Canada then surely the official status of such matches should be different. This leads me to conclude that the current listing of four day Intercontinental Cup matches as first-class fixtures is correct.
Besides, it is also true that cricket’s fan base is located largely within the ten Full Members – only a small minority of the Associates can really claim that cricket has a national following and so, even were Test status provided, it is unlikely that large crowds would be attracted or the sport’s influence extended far beyond ex-pat communities. The level of support which the game receives in to some extent Zimbabwe and particularly Bangladesh would discredit any idea that teams should be relegated from Test-playing status for poor performance – after millions of Taka have been spent on regularly full all-seater stadiums in impoverished Dhaka and Chittagong how would the fans react to potentially having to play only against the likes of Canada and Scotland?
Facilities and infrastructure for continued success are also an important consideration when deciding whether a team should have access to the top level. In my opinion a first-class structure, however big or small, should remain a requirement for any teams wishing to play Test cricket as otherwise a gulf will emerge between the standards of those exposed at the highest level and the standards of the following generation. At the moment a first-class structure would only seem a realistic aspiration in Ireland and potentially Scotland, however, where more money, facilities and players are available. I would say that this is a direct result of the ICC’s pot of funding being spread too thinly – 75% of all funds are distributed to just ten of the 105 member nations. With such a small proportion of funding in comparison to arguably less needy nations, how can Afghanistan be expected to build international grounds and set up a more competitive domestic structure?
So, what do I propose is the solution to the problem? I subscribe to Woolf and Roebuck’s assertions that the ICC is currently a “member’s club” and a “cartel” but recognise that in order to preserve existing distinctions in standards in the game some form of status division is a necessary evil – football may afford equal status to all teams but Australia’s 31-0 victory over American Samoa suggests that this is flawed. I would, however, have no hesitation in immediately awarding Full Member status to the likes of Ireland and allowing them access to equal funding and voting rights as the established elite and would hope that this funding would enable them to ensure that acceptable structures and facilities are in place for at least four new nations to play Test cricket by 2020 and another four in the eight years after that. Those unable to make use of their opportunities by the prescribed date could be replaced as Full Members entirely on merit, removing the ‘glass ceiling’ that exists between Test-playing and non-Test playing sides. Of course, these new Test sides would not be obliged to take on potential opponents at the very top of the tree immediately but all would be able to aspire to such a position in a way they currently cannot.
It is certainly clear that the ICC’s current chasm between the privileges afforded to the top ten nations and those provided to the overwhelming majority is backward, unacceptable and flies in the face of globalising the game. An expansion beyond cricket’s colonial past would hopefully ensure the future of a game which, when limited to so few centres, could soon become endangered whilst providing millions more with a game which is so much more than just a sport.
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