England Best The Best

England celebrate victory

England completed a near perfect performance at Lords, winning the first Test against India by the length of the long paddock. The only shortfall in their work was catching behind the wicket, where the skipper was the worst offender, adding to his first innings with an attack of dropsy in the second. The key element of the English game is something we used to see from Australia during their inordinately long run at the top of cricket's supremacy tree and its a truth which can put to death all of those dreadful management seminars we attended in the 1990's. It may sound very David Brent but there is no "i" in team.

Time and again in the five years it has taken England to rebuild since they were mauled 5-0 by one of cricket's best collection of bullies, they have learned the lessons those five floggings afforded them. Most especially, their captain has learned those lessons. England have become a side that is never beaten. Its the Chumbawamba Effect, for as often as they get knocked down, they get up again and in doing so, they don't rely on one or two. Every man in this English outfit can hurt you and if one fails, the next man is likely stand taller for his knocked down mate. In this way, they have improved on the Australian philosophy, which relied too heavily on the miracles that Messiahs like Warne and McGrath could deliver with the ball and Ponting, Waugh and Gilchrist could provide with the bat.

Suresh Raina made 78

At Lords, England lead from the front, surviving on a first day where five or six wickets could easily have been lost. Pietersen typified the approach, swinging like a rusty, broken gate on the first afternoon but surviving to open and close the match on India like a well oiled, precise piece of engineering. Even in the second innings when the top order was gone for less than a hundred and the last of them, Morgan, soon after, Prior and Broad could take 162 from the Indians to set the match on only one course. Sure, India was short staffed but the single most important factor in any game, in any sport, is to take advantage of your opponent's weakness. They bowled in partnerships - another lesson from Australia - and twice removed this quality Indian side on a pitch that was still overly fair for the batsman on the last day. 20 wickets is the mantra Strauss repeats at press conferences, team meetings, down the street shopping, in his quiet moments ... 20 wickets, he says, is the essence of his job.

Jimmy Anderson holds up
the ball to celebrate his 5-65

The last nine of those wickets were found on a final day which had its frustrations for both sides. Gambhir was batting injured, Tendulkar batting sick, Strauss dropped catches and twice wickets would have fallen if the batting pad rap could have been hummed to the third umpire. England still won with more than twenty overs to spare. Jimmy Anderson got the statistical honours but all of the bowlers contributed. Chris Tremlett and Stuart Broad pushed the Indians onto the back foot and once there, Anderson chiefly picked them off. Dravid lasted only  half an hour before playing a poor shot to an Anderson outswinger. Laxman was impressive in his three hour stay but inexplicably pulled a short ball from Anderson straight into Bell's hands at mid wicket as the dinner bell was being hung. Gambhir was done by a Swann arm ball from around the wicket and a really outstanding piece of umpiring from Asad Rauf who picked the pad being hit milliseconds before the bat. Tendulkar left after lunch, levelled by both the great game and great bowling. Raina was batting well, following his first innings duck and any questions whether he belonged ahead oh Yuvraj Singh were answered here. At tea, India were still a chance of holding on as Raina and Dhoni had added 60.

After tea, the new ball ended it. Tremlett made the breakthrough with great assistance from the Indian captain. Dhoni wandered across and played at a ball most Ranchi 4th graders would have left and feathered it to Matt Prior. From there, it was downhill racing with five wickets falling for 35 and India out again for well less than 300.

Chris Tremlett removes MS Dhoni

It would be easy to make excuses for India. Injuries - particularly Zaheer's first day hamstring - made their job much harder but good sides recover from such things. Perhaps, though, they don't recover when they are playing a better side. In the last two years, England have beaten Australia at home and away, West Indies at home and away, Bangladesh at home and away, Pakistan at home and away (sort of), Sri Lanka at home and drawn with South Africa away. They haven't played New Zealand (so what) or India. Leading 1-0 and clearly in the mood for more victories, in just four weeks, England will be the best team in world cricket.  Its been a journey since Stuart Clark hit his pads at the SCG and sent him packing in January 2007 with a series average of 24 but he's a strong man Andrew Strauss and a damned smart one too. Oddly, the legacy of another English captain from long ago, also born elsewhere, will echo deeply in the achievement. Completely opposed in values and temperament, there is never the less much of the steel and cunning of Douglas Jardine in his work and certainly the same dedication to a plan.

Every step since that late afternoon walk in January 2007 has taught him something. In four weeks, he'll know the value of perseverance. 

Ave Test Cricket - Gideon Haigh

"Cricket owes the Test match everything. The one-day international was born into the global estate Test cricket created, like an heir with all the advantages; Twenty20 has come along in the last five years like the proverbial third-generation thickhead with a silver-spoon sense of entitlement, good for nothing but money"

Read more in Haigh's article "Ave Test Cricket"

England Holding The Aces

Pietersen edges Sharma

Outplayed on every day of this Test match, it will take something special for India to survive the last day, still massively behind and with less than nine wickets to spend at Lords and remain on even terms in the series.

For the morning session, the promise of fairy tales hung in the air, after Ishant Sharma cut one of those embarrassing holes in the English batting with four of the five pre lunch wickets to fall. He was still playing the bully boy, especially to Kevin Pietersen, who in the first innings had mauled him in a way only a British bulldog could ... even one born in Natal Province. Unlike that first innings which has caused India so much trouble in this Test match, Sharma remembered that the outswinger is the best follow up to a searing bouncer as her cut three of the top six in this golden batting line up down to size - among them Pietersen and Bell in the one over. He was still aggressive and rankled his opponents but he applied brains to the task as well. England sat down for their pasta and chips at 5-72.

Prior drives past cover point

After lunch, it was Sharma again causing trouble but running out of steam. He removed Morgan with a short ball which he only pulled as far as Gambhir at midwicket, who fairly admitted that he wasn't sure if it carried. The lonely man in white up in the stands raised his finger and England, although 290 in front, were six down. The Indian attack, without its fourth man Zaheer to bustle in with his left arm pace looked tired and after half an hour of Broad and particularly Matt Prior, they were exhausted. Dhoni, out of tricks, bowled for a second time in the match but in the end did his best to hasten the declaration. When it came, Prior had raised his third century in six Test innings, following his hundreds in Sydney in January and Lords against Sri Lanka in June. Of his six Test centuries, its his third at Lords - the same number as Compton, Hutton and Boycott. Prior would laugh at the comparison but he earned his accolades, batting aggressively to get England to safety by tea and then adding 95 off twelve overs after the break with Broad. His hundred came off 120 deliveries despite tight fields which yielded only five boundaries and a six. His lanky mate Broad matched his keeper's endeavour and a weary India had long run out of options by the time the paired took the game well away from them.

Rahul Dravid leg glances

Batting last, India have three sessions left under fair skies. The 378 they need are of no consequence, as both sides argue over the possession of those nine wickets. Gambhir didn't open, after a blow from Prior had him accompany his elbow to hospital for scans to allow him bruises and bragging rights. In his place, Rahul Dravid, the team man among team men stepped up a place to open with Mukund. The partnership was broken in the ninth over by Broad - already looming as the danger to KP for the end of match honours. Again it was the first over of a spell and like the first innings, he bowled Mukund via his inside edge. This time the youngster sent an exploratory blade, well away from his pads, out to meet a swinging ball and lost the battle of the gap.

VVS Laxman punches past point

VVS Laxman, batting at three presumably so Tendulkar could stay settled at four, added 61 with Dravid until stumps, but it wasn't pretty. The pitch is beginning to change its mind on the subject of bounce and the ball is still swinging from the hands of the full strength Englishmen. Dravid was as superb as any of the great scrappers ... think Steve Waugh at Manchester or John Edrich just about anywhere and you'll have the picture. He and Laxman were beaten badly but Dravid's steel seemed infectious and two of the three old men of Indian cricket refused to wilt to the irresistible force of the English attack. For England to be denied, the pair of them and Tendulkar, must bat between them until tea tomorrow and then the remaining seven have to sort the rest.

Last chance for a Lords redemption comes for Tendulkar at the next successful appeal.

Delicious, isn't it?

All The World's A Stage ...

On a stage set for Shakespeare, Chekhov was the star.

India avoided the follow-on and have probably saved this Test match with only two days left to play but given the summer form of the English bowlers anything is still possible. However, it was Rahul Dravid who was the star of their disappointing innings, with a typically upright, steady innings, full of his usual dedication to defence but on a better pitch than any thrown up in the West Indies, he was also happy to play shots. On a day when Broad finally decided to bowl in the batsmen's half, he drove superbly, mostly through cover and cover point but also one glorious bullet past mid on from Tremlett. The battle with Swann, an important challenge in any series against England, was met with a bat and pad wall but the slightest sign of shortness unleashed laser-guided cuts. Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. 

It was a day of Test cricket which reminded us again that no one player is bigger than the game. That disease of wrong thinking was bought to the game eighty years ago and has plagued it in the modern era. The subject of the cricket world's desire to succeed on this given moment was Sachin Tendulkar, who above all else he has achieved with the blade, has always been a team man first to last. History, it seems, will leave him with a shallow grave at Lords, his sublime 34 being three short of his best at the ground. Irony, thy name is cricket. Still, whilst at the wicket, the run getting with Dravid was how it should be, written or performed ... a rose by any other name should smell as sweet. Their partnership was the only time India were in complete control.

Stuart Broad, so often feeling the need to impose his height to counter his looks, instead bowled at his best today, with controlled outswing and a cool head. The Australians have seen him bowl with brains and paid the price and his first three wickets were the most important deposits for the Bank of England. After Jimmy Anderson and Chris Tremlett made little impression on the openers, Broad came on and had rattled the castles of both openers in a few overs: Gambhir through a nice gap between bat and pad and Mukund through a lack of discipline outside off stump. 81 delicious runs later and after delving into the bumper bag for one more boring time, he got Tendulkar with a full ball, moving away late and Swann took a good catch low and in front of him at second slip. Man is what he believes.

Still perfection is hard to obtain, even on a day when the wind blows in your hair. Laxman and Dravid were both dropped in the one Broad over. The offenders, Strauss and Swann, are normally their two most reliable. Broad would have had the first five wickets. Its the game which is great, not her players. A long farewell to all my greatness; it is a ripening, nips the root and then he falls as I do.

Tremlett, ah, every inch a king, then returned to cut a swathe through the Indian middle order and there in lies the secret of English success in the past two years. They now have a bowling attack which works in partnerships and has no weaknesses. That Yorkshireman Bresnan, left out for Lords, is no less a member. It's only when Finn plays that chinks appear. Laxman gave his wicket away, flicking a ball off his leg stump which he should have controlled through any gap on the leg side but instead put done Trott's throat behind square leg and Swann pushed one through at the left handed Raina, who played back into lbw peril. Dhoni batted until the new ball, adding 57 with Dravid but the English pace attack finished it off with the last five wickets falling in 15 overs. Had it not been for Praveen Kumar's brief but effective buckling of the swash, India would have faced an awkward follow on with England having bowled less than 100 overs in comfortable conditions.

Strauss and Cook did nothing but survive the five overs until stumps. These English Lions continue to raise their roar.

KP Magic

The much maligned Kevin Pietersen, considered by many of Ian Botham's "pink gin set" to be little more than a show pony and shunned for the erratic nature of his batting, has in two days both confirmed and yet denied those who would have seen him off at the start of the English summer.

After spending the first day moving about the crease and missing far more than he hit - there were 65 dots in his first 80 deliveries - he applied the same tactics on the second day at Lords but put the middle of the bat on a chagrined Indian attack. Jack Fingleton described Bradman's unorthodox tactics to combat Larwood and Co in much the same terms in "Cricket Crisis" and the unfavourable critique it received among the players and press. Pietersen isn't that good but his innings today was never the less impressive and will receive none of the Don's misapprehension. With Zaheer in the pavilion and Inshant Sharma playing the bully boy with short rubbish bowled aimlessly over leg stump, Pietersen reaped a rich harvest. MS Dhoni even twice came out from behind the stumps in a swap with Dravid, to bowl eight overs ... so short handed did things seem. It was remarkable that he didn't use Suresh Raina more on a day when England dominated.

Of course, no man is an island and the game of cricket is designed around the company you keep and how you choose to keep it and Pietersen's double century had mates. After Trott left to a perfect Praveen inswinger and ended a partnership of 98, Bell provided his usual mix of sweet cover drives and perfect cut strokes in adding 110, almost unseen. Not withstanding the heroics all around him, Bell is simply the best timer of a cricket shot England have. The other players in England's top seven are men to appreciate but Bell is the man you turn up to see. He feathered a Praveen outswinger to Dhoni and Eion Morgan went a few balls later, apparently off the inside edge. He walked without a DRS complaint but replays showed it hit his pad. Prior followed and was his usual robust self at the crease, scoring his runs quickly and the majority of a 120 partnership which took England beyond danger. Praveen made another double strike, booming the swinging ball into Broad's pads first ball but India were feeling the effects of a shattered bowling attack and Swann hit three 4's at close to run a ball with Pietersen by that stage smashing everything as the pair added 61 in nine overs.

Strauss declared to have a crack at the Indian openers, which was a positive move. Many international captains would have feasted with a batsmen just raising his double and a beaten attack but in reality, your bowlers should be good enough to win a game when the batsmen have made well over four hundred in the first dig.

Kevin Pietersen is erratic - as a batsman, as a player and as a person. He's a passionate man and often very vulnerable but thank goodness we can still find room in the game for such as he. Modern coaching, with its emphasis on stats, computer modelling, repetitive physical training, nutrition and metronomic insistence on following a plan to the letter has often threatened to create a bland diet of players who have much in common with the uniform sea of red roofs you float over on an approach to Kingsford Smith in Sydney. Men like Michael Clarke are all just little boxes made out of ticky tacky. The game needs its individuals because it is these men who turn the monster leg break, who smash the fabulous century, who hold the soaring catch. Do we really want a game with no Nuggets, no Dougies, no Warnies, no KPs? Do we really want to shut out of the game players whose passion and drive can lift them to such heights of performance but who at the end of the day can still retain their humanity. This shot of Praveen Kumar and Kevin Pietersen is surely what we want our game to be.

Today was an interesting contest where one such player took on and thrashed another: Pietersen made Sharma stumble and fall. The delicious anticipation of what Sharma can do about that is what takes us back to the boundary each time.

Wet Start - England On The Trott

Those of us with grey, longish hair and a wild look in our eye are old enough to remember Supertramp's lyrics "Oh no, it's raining again and you know its hard to pretend" but the sharper tools in the shed will remember the song ends with "C'mon you little fighter, no need to get uptighter. C'mon you little fighter and get back up again. Oh get back up again. Fill your heart again."

Late English summer rain hung around Lords all day, finally closing the day in stalemate as England limped along at two and half runs an over and India claimed both openers. Standing tall on a day when India's pacemen swung it both ways, like the Chelsea nightlife of the 1960's, was Jonathon Trott. Its hard to think of another international batsmen who plays the ball as late as Trott, which gives him that extra fraction of a second to account for the swinging ball, even if that swing is as late as Dhoni's three experts can muster. Trott escaped an early chance to Dravid at first slip and a late one which will also go against Dravid but was, in reality, Dhoni's responsibility. In between, he worked the ball with authority of his pads, using the swing to take the ball from middle stump on many occasions. When Dhoni closed him down, he hit the ball past point. For a large part of the day, he looked to be playing a different game to the rest.

He has raised 65 unbeaten with the erratic Kevin Pietersen. A highlight package of the day, which will be all English bats flailing away outside off stump, would be dominated by KP. He buzzed about the crease and flashed like a beginner, so completely undone by the skill of Praveen, Ishant and Zaheer that he was probably never a chance to edge one because he couldn't get close. He made one excursion down the track to whack Harbhajan over mid on but Dhoni quickly closed that avenue down on the basis that singles frustrate the big man. Never the less, without the partnership, England may well have been five down at the close.

Zaheer was very impressive before he left the field late in proceedings with a possible hamstring strain. Not time to panic yet, as Zaheer often has these episodes of twinges to legs and arms. Sometimes these finely tuned quick bowlers are a little on the prima donna side. Cook was deceived by a ball that was angled in but didn't swing and found himself well back on his sticks with only his pads as a line of defence. It was a clever deception. Strauss was pressurised through the shortened first session by the ball being full and moving both ways so when Zaheer bounced him after lunch, Strauss launched into the pull shot, succeeding only in top edging to Ishant at fine leg. Its a shot which has bought the England captain undone often in his career but as he scores many, many runs from the shot, like Ian Chappell, it stays in his armoury. Ricky Ponting adopts the same reasonable strategy but alas for Ricky, his eyes and reflexes are no longer up to the task.

Praveen was superb and used the conditions wonderfully well. Should they stay fit, the Indian pace men could well dominate the opposition three because their control in great conditions was remarkable. Trott's performance becomes even more impressive, in the light of the quality of the Indians. India must hold their catches, a possible small chink which England must take advantage of.

Intriguing.

This Is The Moment

As moments in sport go, it doesn't come more portentous than this. For cricket, in particular, the occasion of the great game's 2000th Test match couldn't possibly hold greater significance.

For the next five days, flannelled fools the world over will be focused on the home of cricket. Lords, where one of the two oldest cricket nations, England, will play against the modern game's greatest power house, India. The English bought the game to the sub continent in the days of Empire and how it has spread.

For added spice, it will also be the 100th game between the two and almost as a side issue, this will be the first of four games that will settle No 1 status in the long game. England, currently No 3 on the ICC world rankings, are only one point behind South Africa but within reaching distance of the India but only if they win the series well. On form and given the closeness in the quality of the teams, this looks unlikely.

Both sides are at tip top full strength, with choices available for England in their bowling between Broad and Bresnan and for the Indians among their outstanding pace attack and how to use the incredibly talented Yuraj Singh.

England have had a frustrating summer. They dismissed the dangerous Sri Lankans easily enough but rain robbed them of an even more convincing series win. Their batting looks strong, with Cook, Trott, Bell and Morgan all producing consistent scores and Pietersen batting his way back to near his best by the time Sri Lanka was seen off. Only Strauss was worried about where his next score was coming from until Somerset adopted him for a game to find form in the one tour match the Indians were playing before the first Test. His batting was more than convincing. With Bresnan fit again, they will have to chose between the work horse Yorkshireman or the still baby faced assassin, Stuart Broad. Broad offers the better batting at 8 but has a big frame which is injury prone. Jimmy Anderson may have immortality on his mind. If he claims Tendulkar four times, he will be the most successful bowler against him in Tests.

The Indians won comfortably in the Caribbean, experiencing their own frustrations with rain. Gambhir and Tendulkar return to the top six but Singh may find it hard to find a spot, as Suresh Raina has dropped anchor at the No 6 spot he once held with a good tour to the West Indies and a century against Somerset. Singh would be a handy variation with the ball, as India will take Harbhajan Singh into the match as its only real spinner. There is some suggestion that Abinav Mukund might make way at the top of the order but with James Anderson needing to be seen off, a specialist opener would surely be a safer bet. With the seam up, there is a real choice among riches where the Indians must choose between Sreesanth and Praveen Kumar as the third pace man behind Caribbean Man of the Series Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan. Praveen is the man with current form and looks the more likely.

The Lords pitch is a typical batting beauty and with two batting line ups which are bristling with confidence, a result looks difficult to bet on. Both sides bristle from one to eleven. Swann may statistically be the best spinner in the world but his wily, tall opposite number Harbhajan is just as good. He may not rip the ball as Swann can but he uses drift and bounce to far better effect. Whichever takes the more wickets in the series will probably dictate whose side wins.

Both captains are smart operators and sharp to latch onto mistakes. Both have given the appearance of wanting to include gambles in their work of late and both are masters of the mind game whilst looking from the outside to be cool, smooth characters.

This is a very even contest ...

... but then there is Tendulkar. Of all the players on either side, only Laxman comes near to the Little Master's penchant for playing the innings which wins a series. Laxman hasn't done it enough to be seriously considered but Tendulkar has done it time and again: 165 v England at Madras 1993; 155x v Australia at Madras 1998; 193 v England at Headingley 2002; 214 v Australia at Bangalore 2010 ... among many others. His first twenty innings were against Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Richard Hadlee, Craig McDermott and Bruce Reid but it was the twentieth innings, in Sydney, where he flayed a fat blond kid and made 148x, when everyone recognised the genius.

His longevity is one thing (most Tests, most innings) but his sustained quality is at another level entirely. Pakistan and South Africa have kept him to 42 an innings and New Zealand a touch under fifty but the rest are blowouts in a career average of 56.95. This guy has played everywhere, scored runs while he was there, been loved by his team mates and his opponents and is still fit and happy and scoring heavily at thirty seven years of age.

No bowler has dominated him and in 290 Test innings, no single bowler has taken his wicket ten times or more. Warne, the best bowler of his generation, never bested him, only got him three times and despite playing during the entire careers of the likes of McGrath, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock none got him ten times. Muralitharan, the most prolific wicket taker the game has known, was the most successful with eight scalps in eight Tests.

Shout Bradman from the rooftops if you must, but whilst you do, this guy is up on Everest.

Like the man he is most compared to, Tendulkar has a wonderful sense for the occasion ... 

.... he has 99 international hundreds ... 

... and he's never scored a hundred at Lords ... 

Apropos of Nothing ...

I found this on my computer as I cleaned out files. It was written to James Sutherland after the great ticketing fiasco before a ball had been bowled in the 2006-07 summer, after I had just received another newsletter as a member of the Australia Cricket Family. The strange thing is, I never received a reply and five years later, Australian Cricket is in an even bigger mess.

An open letter to Dad – James Sutherland, CEO of Cricket Australia – from one of the children of the Australian Cricket Family.

Thanks Dad for your newsletter.

"Some things have not worked so well" you say. Pardon me? Is this tendency toward major understatement part of your job description? But it's not understatement is it Dad. No, sorry, it's a lie. Who writes your press releases? George Bush's speechwriter?

The ticketing is a fiasco – you know that, right? Of course Cricket Australia achieved its aim of selling out venues and setting records. This was achieved through a marketing frenzy that even included the Captain, at the death. In the end, real punters, guys like me, are expendable. You just don't care who missed out.

I registered pretty early in the process because of my love of our team but mostly my love of the game. My eagerness was a waste of time. All I have to show for it are your continuing patronising newsletters. They at least confirm my opinion of how much you really care about average Aussies who you have disenfranchised. Of course, I will have the solace of "exclusive news about the Australian team". Wow! That's going to mean a lot as I sit in front of the box this January.

My son won’t cancel his first leave in three years. We’ll sit and listen to Richie together in my lounge room. We’ll miss the last few overs when the news comes on and the excitement amongst the spectators and the thrill of the players warm-up before play and the kanga cricket at lunch. We’ll even miss the traffic and the dopey competitions held at the tea break. Yes, we’ll miss the buzz, the crowd, the atmosphere but we’ll have Bill Lawry as our consolation.

I’ll tell you how stupid I am: as I have done for many seasons, I scored, ball-by-ball, the last Ashes series from England, using radio when TV was unavailable and Internet feed when the radio went for news. I learned to score at the SCG watching Doug Walters rack up the first double/single in 1969 against the West Indies. I watched Chappelli's mob win back the Ashes when the most feared woman in Australian cricket - Lillian Thomson - blasted the Poms away. I have on paper, Steve Waugh's heroic Sydney ton against the Poms the last time they were here. I even have Shane Warne's 300th wicket against South Africa after the big storm in 1998. That was the first Test I took my son to.

Whatever the heroics in Sydney next January, I won't be there to record it ... despite registering early, despite hanging on the phone and Internet for three hours, despite getting through twice and being timed out ... despite my love of the game.

Thanks Dad.

PS  I wasn’t adopted, was I? It’s just that, right now I could do with some good news.

Kid & Pensioner Save Test

Test cricket is still the best form of cricket, because unlike its short form offspring, it can still throw up surprises. At Windsor Park, Roseau over the last two days, the West Indies resisted a rampant India and forced them to leave the Caribbean with at least one result they had to fight for. For a change, West Indies batsmen were able to reach a total beyond 300, thanks to a rookie and an old timer.

At 2-10 and then 3-40, there was no reason to think anything except a standard response was coming from a West Indian batting line up which has been battered by bouncers and an India victory was likely. Kirk Edwards, a man who has waited until his chance came to grow beyond his appearances for Barbados, had only three first class centuries to provide him with the fore knowledge of what was needed. Batting at three in his first Test, despite his 26 years, he had looked out of his depth against the short stuff in the first innings and failed but on the 4th day, he joined with Shiv Chanderpaul to add 161 in a very classy five hour display. A late clatter of wickets, instigated by that boisterous portrayer of bowling bravado, Harbhajan Singh again had the West Indies were in trouble as 3-201 became 6-224, Samuels and Baugh again lazy in their shot selection.

On the last day, the stage was handed over to the little lefthander who has spent his Test career as the ugly duckling of batsmenship but has never the less succeeded so well to have only Brian Lara ahead of him on the ranks of run scorers from this loose collection of islands. He batted and batted and batted - eight hours in all - to see his side safe. Fidel Edwards was his most surprising comrade, making 30 in two and a half hours which finally put victory beyond India. It is remarkable that Chanderpaul was dropped at the start of the summer and only returned just before this series with India, after high level consultations with the West Indies Board. Perhaps the difference lies in his zeal to still play for the West Indies where as the likes of Chris Gayle and that other Bravo seem more interested in playing for themselves.

With the game safe, Ravi Rampaul gave an insight as to a possible different outcome when he finally made an appearance at the bowling crease after being ill for the first four days of the match. After Fidel Edwards surprised Munkind with a fullish first ball and sent him off lbw, it was Rampaul who took the late wickets of Vijay and Raina before the game was called off at the last drinks break. Vijay's 45 nearly tripled his series aggregate.

Dravid, with his 1st Test hundred, had the highest aggregate for the series (251) but Raina and Laxman were close behind. Chanderpaul and DJ Bravo were the only West Indians beyond 200 runs. Ishant Sharma (22) was the leading wicket taker, with Fidel Edwards (19) running a close second. Praveen, Bishoo, Harbhajan and Rampaul were all back around the twelve wicket mark. The stats show again what was obvious during the series: India's batting, though weakened, was a class above the West Indian top six whilst the bowling attacks were relatively even.

India win the series 1-0 with two drawn and head off to England, bolstered by returning players for the four Test series to be played out in the second half of the English summer. This should be a stunner.

Sun (India) Shine

In a day of uncharacteristic sunshine, with no interruptions, India batted the world champions after a wobbly start and eventually took advantage of a West Indian attack thrown completely out of balance by the medically induced absence of Ravi Rampaul. Unable to share the new ball with Fidel Edwards last night, Rampaul has been laid low by a virus and is likely to take no further part in the game. Meanwhile, Kemar Roach looks on from the stands.

The are good signs starting to come from these West Indians and another example was the bowling of Edwards and Captain Darren Sammy. Sammy elevated himself to the new ball in place of Rampaul and toiled throughout the day, constantly keeping the Indians honest at less than two an over when they wanted to accelerate. As it was, India was 2-18 after Vijay edged again with a tentative bat in the manner he has all series and Baugh gleefully accepted the wicket on Edwards behalf and then Sammy pushed a ball through a large gap between Dravid's front pad and bat.

From there, with no third seamer, Sammy was always going to have to make it up. Bishoo bowled a lot of overs but the Indian middle order looked to have no trouble with the young leg spinner after he had troubled them on earlier, friendly wickets. It was the experience of Laxman and Dhoni who anchored the rest of the day: Laxman (56) in productive partnerships with Munkind (62) and Kohli (30) put India beyond trouble and within reach of a first innings lead and then Dhoni (65x) added 103 with Raina (50) to bat India to a substantial lead. It was a day of what might now be considered graft but a neat 300 were added in losing six wickets at more than three an over.

Sammy's brave makeshift bowlers included Chanderpaul, who captured his first Test wicket in ten years when Carlton Baugh pulled of the smartest of stumpings to remove VVS Laxman. To that point, none of the bowlers had worried Laxman and he was in the process of letting Chanderpaul's long hops and rubbish go when he got out. Leaving yet another harmless ball pass outside off stump, he raised his back foot slightly, offered the slightest of slight opportunities to Baugh, who had the bails off instantly. Its nice to still see these sort of skills are still on view. Asked once by a colleague once if I thought I could have bowled at Test level, I replied a conditional yes on the basis of having Bert Oldfield behind the batsman.

Despite the bravery of the West Indian bowlers, main stream and makeshift and the close attention of their fielders, India still batted their way to strong position by stumps, an effort which has closed the match options considerably in their favour. As for the forecast rain ...

The Karma's All With Sharma

It was another day which typified this series: India dominated with the ball, with Ishant Sharma again the chief destroyer; West Indies toiled long and hard for very little and then had a flog; it rained.

It was a late summer Caribbean series which offered so much, with India under strength and the West Indies having the chance to put some new faces on show as disputes and continued poor batting form gave them little choice. Persistent heavy rain and batting which has lost its way against fast bowling have robbed it of delivery. 

Faced with a full session for a change, the West Indies stagnated, scoring just 53 runs in 24 overs. The bowling was good but was aided greatly by batting which was terrified of losing its which with no regard for losing its way. Chanderpaul and Samuels were victims before lunch, both playing lazy shots outside the off stump: Chanderpaul on the outside to Dhoni and Samuels on the inside to his off stumps.

The arrival of Carlton Baugh at the crease lived things up. He was the first batsman to take on Sharma in the series in an over which harvested 15 runs. Baugh top scored, adding in good partnerships with the Darrens (Bravo and Sammy). Bravo's slow early progress blossomed near the end of his innings but just like a late teen at the school dance, he was again long on promise.

Sharma and Harbhajan finished off the tail quickly, taking the last four wickets as 5 runs were added. No matter how they got there, the West Indies still only scored their usual first innings total around the two hundred mark. Until they can package batsmen into one who can defend like Chanderpaul and attack like Sammy and all at the appropriate time, they are unlikely to do any better.

India safely negotiated four overs which strangely didn't include Ravi Rampaul but then the rain came and washed away the afternoon.

There was a funny incident near the end of the West Indian innings. Sammy had put a fairly obvious snick onto his thigh pad and then into the hands of Munkund at forward short leg which sent Harbhajan skywards in appeal, running backwards down the wicket and sustaining his appeal to umpire Asad Rauf who gave no sign of giving the batsman out. As Harbhajan became exasperated in disbelief, Rauf just calmly suggested Harbhajan look to the batsman, who by this stage was already twenty or more metres away on his journey to the pavilion. Asad Rauf is a man who does his job with clarity and a sense of humour, just the thing to counter the tall Indian spinner's intensity.

No play likely tomorrow.

"Hey Tim ..."

"Hey Tim. Don Argus wants a quiet word."

A little captioning competition. Add your suggestions for what Michael Clarke is saying to Tim Neilsen.

India Reigns In The Rain

Dominica's first Test match contained two West Indian debutantes, Kieran Powell and Kirk Edwards, both into action early as they took their place in the top order after India won the toss and invited them to bat. The weather forecast looks even worse than the Bridgetown Test and it was that and the dominance of his fast men and not the pitch which coaxed Dhoni into bowling first, as the chance of a side batting twice and winning looks remote.
The day only last 31 overs - just after lunch - but it was enough time for the Indian pace men to have again cut a nasty gash through their opponents top order. The two newbies couldn't make 10 between them and the other opener Adrian Barath continued his downward fall against a bouncer prevalent attack. Sharma was dominant in setting the tone as he has been all series and yet again Praveen bowled an impeccable line.
It was left to Darren Bravo and Shiv Chanderpaul to right the capsized dingy and their 40 run partnership was only broken by rain which made its way in heavier sheets across the ground as the afternoon wore on. When the Aussies were here in 1973, it would have been a happy afternoon for Doug Walters and his card playing mate Terry Jenner. Its hard to know if this rain does the West Indies any favours, although given the pummelling they have had as Sharma and Co have thrown their spears from the bowlers end in this late Caribbean summer, at least they are safe in the sheds.
For Chanderpaul, the toss marked his 133rd Test match, making him the most capped of all West Indians, fittingly outlasting a fast bowler, Courtney Walsh, who held the mark at 132. He has been remarkably durable, if increasingly deprived of scoring shots but its a wonderful achievement in a loose federation of countries where longevity in the Test team is harder to achieve than in parts of the ICC world like Australia, where getting out of the team is harder than getting in.
Rain is forecast on each of the next four days, with Saturday unlikely to see any play and heavy and prolonged showers bracketing that third day, so a positive result is unlikely.

Drawn To The Light

The 2nd Test ended as a tense draw at Bridgetown, Barbados, with a clatter of late wickets before umpires Asad Rauf and Ian Gould offered the light and effectively ended the match. The West Indies had lost any chance of a win with a half hour rain break half way through the last session but India blew a late storm surge through the Windies to almost claim victory.

Earlier, MS Dhoni, the Indian captain, bought some of his one day leadership audacity to the Test arena with a declaration that was bolder than his previous attempts to set up results in the third innings. After experiencing first hand how difficult the pitch had become on the third day and how hard it was to score, he closed after India could add only 40 runs in 13 overs, despite being in search of quick runs.

Fidel Edwards had the new ball in his hands from the get go and for once he didn't waste it in intimidation and low trajectory fly overs. Keeping the ball on a length, he earned three more wickets to bag five for the innings. The West Indies need him bowling these lines and lengths more often than the erratic, white-line fever stuff which is his other suite. Kohli, dropped for the plumb England tour overnight, left immediately, playing a poor shot outside his off stump and edging to Darren Sammy at second slip. VVS Laxman, the worst waster of century opportunities in Test cricket history gave his second innings the Britney Spears treatment and oops, he did it again, also edging to Sammy and gone for his second eighty of the Test. He was not a happy camper as he left the ground. Dhoni completed a good morning for Edwards when he tried to drive a delivery that wasn't designed for such things and lobbed the ball to mid off. Soon after, he called them in, setting the West Indies 281 in 83 overs but with the state of the pitch and the likelihood of rain, it was a safer bet than it will appear on paper later. 

The Caribbean lads started badly. Inside seven overs, Lendl Simmons had played loosely outside his off stump, edging Sharma to that man Dravid, who added it to his already substantial bag of Test catches. No sign of him slowing down in the field. Sarwan played what should be his last Test innings of the summer, when Praveen cramped him for room and caused another bad shot selection where he backed his talent and not the situation. Raina pouched the ball at third slip. Barath was worked over in his uncomfortable 18 over stay and Sharma got his man at the height of yet another impressive spell. Barath, as good as he is, couldn't tell if the ball was swinging in or out and was spellbound over the length, eventually push a half open bat face to Raina, again at third.


Chanderpaul's intention was to save the match, taking 29 overs to add 54 with Darren Bravo before Harbhajan deceived Ian Gould with a ball which not only hit Chanderpaul outside the line of off stump but was carrying on to well outside it. Chanderpaul played late but did play. These are the howlers that have administrators hoping they can solve the DRS implementation problems. It could have robbed the West Indies of a Test. Regardless of replays, Chanderpaul was on his way after a two hour 12.

Perhaps all of this spurred Darren Bravo to play like the batsmen he has often promised he is and maybe Carlton Baugh sensed the spectre of, if not a last chance, then one of the handful near the end. Whatever it was, after Sharma nailed Marlon Samuels to his woodwork with a ball which came in at him from the bowler's position wide of the crease, Bravo and Baugh set about saving the game. Bravo's near five hour innings was among his best for the West Indies and put some substance to the claims from the Caribbean of his worth. His defence was resolute when the pitch was at its worst and Baugh showed selective shot making for the first time in many a Test innings.

In the final two overs before gloom far brighter than the end of the World Cup Final played on this same ground five years ago, Bravo finally made a mistake or perhaps couldn't see the ball. Either way, he feathered it to Dhoni. The West Indies skipper, Darren Sammy, was out in Sharma's next over, again lbw to the long  haired quick and the game was in its last, violent death throws which allowed only one more delivery before the umpires call a halt.

Ishant Sharma took Man of the Match honours for his ten wickets but special mention must go to VVS Laxman's batting and the long battle which Bravo mounted on the last day to deny the Indians.

All Too Predictable

The rain and the collapse that happened around it were according to the script. Less than half the day was possible as rain and bad light dogged the 2nd Test at Bridgetown.

Shiv Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels provided the only stiffening agent in a flaccid West Indies batting line up but once their 77 run partnership was broken, the end came quickly. The total of 190 came at a crawl, just over two and a half an over. Inshant Sharma took six wickets but Praveen Kumar will have days when he bowls a lot worse than this and takes great bags of wickets. In the end, the pace and bounce of the Indians has continued to be too much for the West Indians but its not their courage that is in question, its their technique.

Chanderpaul played on, bottom edging a ball which wasn't short enough to pull. Harbhajan exposed Carlton Baugh again. Unsure of what length to play at, he flashed at a full ball outside off and Dravid held a sharp catch to his left at first slip, showing why he should still be playing and other's of his age and record shouldn't. Its one thing to be seeing them well but Dravid still has the reflexes of a cat where others pouch the ball like elephants. Samuels did his best with the tail, adding 43 with a for once resolute Darren Sammy, who was lbw to Sharma as he tried to whip a ball past square leg. The rain came again but after the resumption, Sharma finished it having Rampaul caught in the gully and Edwards down the legside. Samuels batting continues to be encouraging, with this his second half century in the three innings since he returned to the side after a three years absence.

India extended their first innings lead in the brief five overs before rain and light took out the rest of the day but not before Fidel Edwards, fast but erratic as usual - can one be consistently erratic? - bowled his third lot of five wides for the match over Baugh's head and followed it with four byes.

It all depends on the rain now.