Let's Have Ya

Australia begins a three week, three Test series in Sri Lanka tomorrow and for the time being at least, the changes being forced upon Australian cricket as a result of getting fat and lazy during its period of dominance, are yet to kick in. Greg Chappell, reported by some to be an unwelcome guest in the rooms last summer, is in Sri Lanka to assist in the selection of the team as the duty selector. As has been the case for many years on tour, the skipper and coach are the other men charged with getting it right.

Ricky Ponting

Its at that point where the Ricky Ponting stumbling block already appears to be tripping the selectors. Injured and replaced in Australia's last Test - the series humbling 5th Test in Sydney against England last January - he returns with good and current one day form. The assumption was that he should return at his old spot at three but why? In fact, the whole approach to selecting a batting line up for this series seems to belie the generational change that the Argonauts have called for.

Starting at the top, Clarke, Neilsen and Chappell will pick Phil Hughes to open with Watson. Hughes, a likeable young man who has worked hard at his game should, never the less, not play Test cricket again. His technique outside off stump is worse possible left hander stuff and his talk in the last few weeks only underlines that he falls into that unlucky category of player who has scored plenty at first class level but never could make it in Tests. Therefore, the first argument isn't whether Shaun Marsh or Khawaja should bat at six, but that Marsh should be opening with Watson. Marsh has been a player for Australia in the pyjamas in that position and has played his best innings for West Australia in the Shield at one or two.

Usman Khawaja

Getting back to Ponting ... if Australia is future oriented, why would we continue with Ponting at three? His form for two years has been declining, so logic indicates that a lower spot in the order away from the swinging new ball and fresh quicks, might well be to his and Australia's advantage. Besides, he is unlikely to be back again next summer, so its time to put a new man at three whilst Ponting is still there to offer support. Khawaja, therefore, is the perfect fit. He looked good against the English, has batted at three for most of his career to date and his style and patience could be invaluable. The century he made at Colombo proves this point ... or are we selecting sides according to a man's ego now?

Clarke and Hussey could interchange at four and five. Clarke bats better in the middle order and those that say the skipper must bat in the first four have forgotten that Steve Waugh spent his entire successful captaincy career at five. The difference is, we don't have anyone at Shield level knocking down the door for the number four spot, where as there are many contenders for the middle of the batting innings. So Clarke at four, Hussey at five and then Ponting at six. Can you imagine a bowling attack taking four Australian wickets and Ponting walks out?

Its all about balance.

Nice postulation but I doubt whether any of it will be applied. We'll have to wait for the new head selector before common sense becomes common.

Of the bowling, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris will do the grunt work and Michael Beer will provide the spin options in what looks to be a boring and uninspiring attack. It should be remembered that off and on, it was this quartet which the English flogged from pillar to post last summer. Australia's biggest problem has been taking twenty wickets per match and on the low, slow decks in Sri Lanka which usually crumble from the fourth afternoon, its hard to see this foursome running through a very accomplished Sri Lankan top six. A lack of imagination will keep Lyon and Copeland out of the side and it will be Clarke's failure if that happens. Australia can play it safe and hope to draw all three Tests but that won't improve our world ranking. 

Nathan Lyon

There is no point playing two spinners as one ordinary bowler isn't improved when another joins him so Lyon should be the one chosen. Beer spears the ball in and tries to prevent runs. He's pretty good at it. Lyon floats the ball and tries to take wickets. Any one he gets is less for the others to find. Siddle and Harris are much the same but you don't need two of them on these decks. Copeland is a wind-up toy in the McGrath mould and against the flamboyant stroke makers in the Sri Lankan line up, he could be gold. He'll plug up one end and make life a lot easier for Clarke. For once, I'm prepared to be an advocate for Mitchell Johnson because he's the wild card which Australia needs in this series. He'll bleed runs with the ball in his hand but then he might just take three wickets in four overs to turn a Test match and his gun slinger action could do well on these dry, dead pitches.

Kumar Sangakkara

I'll go into no depth about the Sri Lankans, beyond noting the quality of their top six, their likely inclusion of three spinners from the four chosen in the pre-Test squad (Mendis, Herath and Randiv) and staying with Lakmal and Welegedara to do the quick stuff. They know that Australian batsmen don't like the ball delivered left arm over so that will be enough for Welegedara to win a spot ahead of the exciting new quick Eranga. Tillarkaratne Dilshan is an inspiring leader and was unlucky to be injured against England. His 193 at Lords was a brilliant innings, opening in the face of England's near 500 first innings and he has allowed the man with the movie star looks, Kumar Sangakkara, to relax and do what he does best. Back at home, both will be hunting for runs from the Aussies. Likewise, Mahela Jayawardene, who is nearing ten thousand Test runs is likely to be looking forward to scoring heavily against what is seen to be under performing Australian side.

Even without Murali, Sri Lanka have the better attack, given the experience and quality of the spinners they can call on. They miss new ball grunt but its unlikely that Tests will be decided by the comparison of the quality of the new ball attacks. At their best, the batting line ups look well matched so it will almost certainly be a high scoring series with most of the games heading to draws. At home and with the better recent record, Sri Lanka 1-0 looks about right.

The following Daniel Brettig interview with Ricky Ponting is most interesting and took place just a few days ago. Click to read ... Interview with Ponting

England - Cricket's Modern Powerhouse

Mishra & Tendulkar 100 partnership

For two hours of this last day of the series, Sachin Tendulkar and his night watchman mate Amit Mishra, batted in the manner Test cricket deserves. With backs to the wall and their side thrashed in the three previous outings, they defied this powerful English attack, kept their wickets intact and scored runs as they could. They were still there at lunch and soon after bought up their hundred partnership and with Raina, Dhoni and Gambhir still to bat the crowd started to sense India finally making a stand in this series.

Then in an hour, either side of drinks and using just fifteen overs, it was finished. Mishra played inside the line of a straight ball from Swann and lost his off stump, ending a stand of 144 with Tendulkar and with the door ajar slightly, England came bursting through to end things in a hurry. Tendulkar and Raina both went in the dying overs of the old cherry. Bresnan was the fairy tale killer, dipping the old ball back into Tendulkar and intercepting the pad in front of the top of leg stump. On another day with another umpire he might have survived, but Rod Tucker is seldom wrong. The elusive hundred will have to wait until yet another day, for even though this was a good 91, his form has been patchy this series. He has often looked good but has failed to produce the scores India needed to back up the heroic work of Dravid. Raina was another lefthander to fall victim to a Swann arm ball and he bagged a pair, although unluckily after a small inside edge.

Mishra bowled by Swann

Andrew Strauss took the new ball immediately it was due, swinging Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad into the attack. Broad cleaned up Dhoni and Singh with edges to Swann and Prior with fast, straight ones outside off stump. After only three overs from Anderson, Swann was back into the attack to finish it. Gambhir jumped down to drive and could only loft a soft catch to Morgan at point and Sreesanth had no skills or stomach for fight with the off spinner.

England won the series pretty much as they liked. After the game, the opposition coaches named their men of the series. Duncan Fletcher gave the gong to Stuart Broad for his 25 wickets @ 13.84 and although Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell must have been in the running, both scoring 500 plus @ plenty. Perhaps Broad's additional 182 runs @ 67 gave him allround appeal, because Jimmy Anderson was the best bowler on show from either side. Andy Flower didn't need to be a brain surgeon to pick out Rahul Dravid as India's best, his three centuries being more than any player on either side.

For England, they have the chance to hold their ranking for some time. They were due to play Pakistan on the sub continent in January but its a tour that is unlikely to go ahead. Their next Test encounters won't be until the next English summer when they take on the West Indies and then late in their summer, the tourists that will get pay TV into my household, South Africa. For India, their next encounter is a Boxing Day Test against the Aussies: the first of four in a series the Australians won't be as worried about as they might have been five weeks ago.

India Show Some Fight

Rahul Dravid cuts for four

Actually, let's not exaggerate.

India finally made 300 at bat in this lop-sided series against a rampant England because Rahul Dravid, the one of their number who has retained his class, carried his bat and made half the runs. He was walking over rare territory, as only Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag have done the feat before in more than 450 Tests. His unbeaten 146 was not just defiant, it was a magnificent obsession. Dravid's batting in this series, scoring three hundreds against the best bowling attack in world cricket and often batting away from his favoured No3 spot, proves one point Ricky Ponting has made in the last six months: age is no barrier to Test selection. His selfless batting in this series stands in contrast to Sachin Tendulkar, who has stayed at 4 come-what-may and average 26 before the second innings at the Oval. The search for a milestone has for once appeared more important than team matters.

Mishra lofts into the on side

Dravid's best support came from Amit Mishra, a leg spinner who can bat a bit and that bit added 87 for the seventh wicket. He's a player with some go forward and needs more time in the Test side. Gambhir, batting at 9 and clearly still unwell, showed grit to stay for an hour in adding 40 with Dravid and then Rudra Singh swung hard and often hitting fives fours in his half hour stay before Sreesanth came and went meekly. The last four wickets doubled the score under Dravid's  expert guidance. Tim Bresnan cleaned out the tail for the best figures and Swann was taken out of the game for much of the day by Dravid's dominance over him.

With plenty to play with, Andrew Strauss sent the Indians back in and for once India made a start through Dravid and Sehwag but after adding 49, the introduction of Swann caused a double breakthrough. After six hours in the first innings and another hour in the second, Dravid went to a bat pad catch to Cook. Sehwag went six overs later when he drove at a looping off spinner from Swann which bit and spun back sharply between bat and pad and knocked back middle stump. Laxman added 54 with Tendulkar before Anderson got him with another corker which angl in from outside off stump and bowled him. If their is an unlucky batsmen for India in this series its VVS Laxman, who has been done over by a series of high quality deliveries.

VVS Laxman bowled by another
Anderson corker

Tendulkar was far from convincing until stumps, joined by Mishra this time in the night watchman role. Still, with 35 on the board, he hasn't had a better chance for that 100th hundred in the series. More importantly, he'll need to achieve it if India are to salvage anything from this tour. Perhaps he could borrow a few vertebrae from the spine of Rahul Dravid?

On form, England should wrap this up after lunch tomorrow.

India Wearing Those Wobbly Boots Again

Ian Bell

It is a symptom of the Indian universe that on the same pitch where England's batsmen have scored a quintillion and their bowlers have been able to extract help, they have lost five wickets in a session and England's bowlers have taken what they wanted from the pitch. The inescapable conclusion isn't based on rocket science but recent history. England are just far too good and frankly, for those screaming for a sub continent rematch, it wouldn't matter if they played on Mars, both the daily procedures and the outcomes would be the same.

England added 134 in the morning session, losing Anderson, Bell and Morgan in the process. Bell add 54 to his overnight 181 to record his first double century. Unlike Pietersen's smash and grab effort after reaching three figures yesterday, Bell just continued with the same effortless grace that is his trademark before stepping well across the line to Raina in order to sweep England to a declaration and being lbw. Anderson had left early in the piece, edging a full ball from Sreesanth to Laxman at second slip, his slight delay in leaving causing angst in the big quick whose shadow of his former self stood glowering mid pitch. Morgan was the last to go, also to Sreesanth, a victim of watching from the sheds for too long but at least it gave Bopara an outing. Having replaced Trott for the last two Tests, he has had little to do except the short stints in the field India have offered. His handy red ink innings was dotted with mishaps and he should have been run out in a mix up with Prior but at least he has something to show for his brief inclusion.

Rain was again the lunch time entertainment and it took encores until tea, at which point Strauss made reasonable logic in declaring. In a series where India are yet to reach 300 in an innings, 591 and seven sessions should be more than enough margin for victory.

India used the 33 overs of the last session to confirm what has already been obvious and collapsed in a mix of self destruction and tales of woe. Dravid moved up from his favoured No 3 spot again to open with Sehwag, replacing Gambhir who was still suffering the effects of a concussion suffered whilst dropping a catch on the second day. Yet again, the rest of the order moved about Tendulkar at 4, whether by insistence or Dhoni's belief that was in the teams best interest but it seemed the right time to move the man who holds the alternate nomenclature of "Little Master" up to the spot most consider the place of the best batsmen. Instead, Laxman again plugged the hole after Sehwag failed to last beyond the first over again. After watching three Anderson deliveries and then smashing two drives, he was sent back to his stumps with a ball that moved in and was stuck on the knee roll for Simon Taufel to give a very good decision. Sehwag's three innings have lasted 8 balls for 8 runs. Laxman was gone three overs later, edging a shorter ball from Broad to Prior.

Tendulkar off the glove to Anderson

2-13 and enter Tendulkar: same tumult, same adulation, same fervent wish from the crowd that they might have the honour of saying they were there where he made the 100th hundred. Not only did it not happen, they didn't even see the real Tendulkar. This version was unsettled by the pace and later gambled against the spin and lost. There was nothing to recognise of the baby faced bowler killer on The Oval, in a ragged and frankly jaded performance. The enthusiasm with which he has maintained his career might have been in his locker but he didn't bring it to the middle. For once, it all looked too much for him and after sweeping Swann for fours in one over, he was popping one from the glove with the same shot in the next and Anderson moved from slip for the catch.

The life of Raina's duck had more balls than one killed by a shotgun, his 39 minute effort equalling the longest duck by an Indian in Tests. He over balanced to a big turner from Swann - how we love him, how we love him - and Prior grabbed a rare stumping with Raina on the line. Sharma failed in the nightwatchman role - protecting a skipper who normally bats at 7 - popping a catch to Cook at short leg off Swann, via the inside edge. Swann had three in ten overs and India were tottering again.

The enduring class of Rahul Dravid

At the far end, still standing after all these years, was Dravid. He gave another exhibition of Test match batting and enduring class. He's no longer pretty but he's pretty effective.

The redeeming feature of stumps was that India only have two days of this English torment left. When they return home, Dhoni might think to have a word with his Board about future tours, preparation and scheduling. Four Tests in five weeks and no preparation? I don't think so. England would still have won. There is nothing India could have done to stop that but they might have been able to provide Dravid with more support and may have ensured Zaheer fitness.

Slaughter

Strauss misses another
opportunity

England's Test team came back to London and any suggestion that they think their job already completed was put to rest with a superb display of batting by Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen.

The Run Bank, Alastair Cook, was dismissed with a loose shot to Ishant Sharma in the first over  which was held by the normally unsafe hands of Virenda Sehwag at slip and Andrew Strauss dithered and dallied for an hour adding only a pittance before flashing a loose, poorly directed delivery from Sreesanth off the edge to Dhoni. At 2-97, Bell and Pietersen faced a hostile, difficult hour until lunch in which they earned their runs against an Indian attack which for once bowled good lines consistently.

After lunch, India returned with full bellies into the sunshine, their resistance left at the table with the entrée and it was the hungry English batsmen who feasted. The remainder of the day was a series of sumptuous courses and Bell and Pietersen, like well trained school boys, ate everything on or near their plate and most of what was on the adjoining table. India became more dreadful as the day became long. Any country 4th grade attack from the back blocks of an Australia state would be justified in attempting to qualify for India for they could bowl no worse and their sons in the U12's would certainly do a better job in the field. Sharma, for so long an offender in the category of listless, misdirected bowling in this series was the exception but even he fell apart in the final hour as Pietersen went berserk after first proving he was a batmen. The rest were rubbish.

Pietersen in smack mode

All of this makes light of the batsmen's achievement, which would be a serious mistake. England are well aware of the towelling they have handed India in this series. They have proven beyond dispute they deserve their new and much sought after ranking. Apart from some mishaps in the slips, they have never so completely dominated another side in a series in modern times, even improving on the shellacking they gave Ricky Ponting and his collection of unknown spinners. Yet, still they go on ... as the very best sides always did, today adding 382 in 97 overs. After a testing start, Bell and Pietesen added 350, the third highest third wicket stand in English history, in just 72 overs. They didn't so much grind India into the turf under the imposing image of the gasometer, it was more a splatter pattern they left there. In the end, Pietersen's soft return catch to Raina was proof that the big fellow is human but then, he always will be.

Bell square cuts precisely

Bell was exquisite and whilst its been said before, there is no one playing Test cricket who times his shots with greater perfection. As much as Adam Gilchrist was a renowned power hitter, his real gift was perfect timing and Bell has dipped into the same well. Its said that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and Bell, stripped of his dignity by Shane Warne, had looked murdered in the same way as Darryl Cullinan. Time, patience and hard bloody work have raised him to resurrection proving Nitschke an astute judge, for Bell is now mentally stronger than any of the Englishmen. Yet, even though he has regained that which Warne stole from him, his hunger for runs is insatiable. A later started, he and Cook will fight for the honour of the all time England run aggregate over the next six or seven years.

Here, with Pietersen batting in the perfect mix of belligerence and control, a partnership of 350 remained surpassed only in stands against Australia by Hutton & Leyland (382) in 1938 and Gooch and Gower (351) in 1985.

They say you are judged by the company you keep.

The Big Changes To Start With

Don Argus

Jack Clarke of Cricket Australia has announced three big changes effectively immediately:

1. The appointment of a high performance general manager to oversee all Australian teams, male and female and all state cricket and answerable directly to the CEO of CA
2. The change to a new selection process where there will be one full time chairman of selectors, two part time selectors and the captain and national head coach. Andrew Hilditch is not available for the full time role.
3. A new head coach position which will be much expanded on the current role Tim Neilsen holds. The role will have responsibility beyond the national teams and will include state teams and women's cricket. Assistant coaches will be appointed to coach ODI and Twenty20 teams.

Greg Chappell is currently the National Talent Manager and the changes prohibit that role being part of the selection committee. Further, the role of National Talent Manager will close at the end of Chappell's contract.

It took a big business approach to do the dirty business and finally removed Andrew Hilditch but more importantly, these changes start to address the concerns of players. The public should also be well pleased with the job the Argonauts have done. The rest of the report should make interesting detail.

The following long term goals will be further considered by the Board of CA following consultation with key stake holders such as the state associations:

Get the message Andrew?

• Retaining a 10-round Sheffield Shield competition with multiple Shield rounds before the first Test each year.

• Reviewing the Futures League, recognise Grade cricket as a vital part of pathway, review the composition and structure of under-age competitions, ramp up Australia A and use it as a genuine 2nd XI.

• Reviewing Australian cricket’s first-class pitch strategy, with each pitch to offer a balance between bat and ball, and each pitch to be unique to local conditions, offering Test-equivalent conditions.

• Improving injury management.

• Improving national coaching systems.

• Aligning cricket’s incentive systems, including the MOU, to give greater emphasis to linking reward with performance and to ensure player payment incentives for Test cricket reflect its position as cricket’s premium format.

• Reviewing the number of CA contracts.

• Carefully assess Big Bash League private ownership implications to ensure private ownership does not incentivise BBL expansion in a manner compromising CA’s goal to be number one ranked Test nation.

Oh No, It's Raining Again

Cook and Strauss

Only one session was possible after Andrew Strauss won the toss under heavy skies beside the gasometer at The Oval. Not even the weather worried him, nor the opposition's use of it, as the team sheet MS Dhoni handed him at the toss held no terrors, so for once, discretion was the better part of valour and he made a conventional choice.

By lunch, any questions about this Test were answered. Strauss and Cook were unbeaten but worse, untroubled in reaching 75. India looked flatter than the Hay Plain and with some justification. Their best bowler of the series, Praveen Kumar failed to start, still troubled by an ankle injury quietly sustained in the 3rd Test. He's yet to learn the art of Zaheer's histrionics. To describe the bowling as lacklustre would be a massive overstatement as it was poor, dispirited and disinterested and for once Dhoni's captaincy looked the same. They didn't actually wave the white flag but they had it at the ready.

No more play after lunch

The left armed Rudra Singh opened in place of Kumar and the change in class and ability was apparent from the first ball which disappeared way down the leg side. In his defence, he hasn't pulled on a first class boot for eight months and his last go round at Test level was more than three years ago but his efforts were insipid against such batting. Inshant Sharma was the best of the rest, finally bowling with venom and control and hitting the English skipper on the bonce with what Bill O'Reilly would have called a "sconner".

It's anyone's guess why Raina bowled before Mishra. Perhaps Dhoni thought he might have more control in the circumstances but it seemed a strange call.

The English openers were in danger of being bored back to the pavilion but Cook, in particular, seems as much unboreable as unbreakable and Strauss is still owed a hundred.

This will be a very one sided Test match.

"I Know What You Did Last Summer"

The Cricket Australia Board meets in Melbourne for two days from tomorrow and there is no doubting what is the biggest item on the agenda, for at the meeting Don Argus will present the accumulated opinions of all of Australia's leading cricketers, officials, former players and anyone with a vested interest. The general public appear to have been left out in the process with no formal procedures put in place to collect their opinions. Still, with Waugh, Border and Taylor on the committee and the forceful Malcom Speed, there can be no claim that CA haven't put their best men on the case.

What will it all reveal and more to the point, how much of the report will CA make public? If they are going to be "fair dinkum" in asking the public to support their teams in the next few years, it would be best to put it all out. Anything held back will not go down well with a public which wants answers and given the huge investment punters make every summer, they have earned the right to be informed.

There seems to be some obvious dead wood which will need to be cut from the branches to stop the whole CA Family Tree from going rotten. Selection is the top of everyone's list, in terms of the personnel playing pin the tail on the donkey at selection meetings, the manner of communicating with players and the policy. Clearly, CA must initiate a policy from which the selection panel is to operate and must put men into the job who agree with that policy. Hilditch must go and not just because of the revolving door through which spinners have made surprise arrivals and ungainly exits. He must go because he is autocratic. He must go because the policies and the decision making he has overseen has been flawed and destructive. He must go because he no longer has the confidence of the players or the public.

The Rod Marsh option is a good one. He has spent his time wisely and productively recognising and fostering Australia's best young players who became the legends of the 16 years of dominance and he's not long finished doing the same in England. Hey, aren't they now No 1?

But wait, there has to be more. Upgrade the status and power of the Australian Captain by putting him on the selection panel, even if not a voting member. Change the coach ... promote Steve Rixon from fielding coach to the main man. His pedigree is outstanding. Make Test cricket the main game in town. Make the Sheffield Shield the second most important game. Remove all domestic one-day cricket and limit the Big Bash. Fix schedules so Test players can and will play in Shield games instead of being "rested" or playing for sacred cash cows in India. Award contracts solely on the basis of performance and not a group picked by the selectors and do it by considering Test/Shield performances first ... select twenty; ODI's second ... select extra players to have twenty; Twenty20 Internationals and Big Bash last ... select enough players to have twenty of them. So first draft gets you twenty; second draft may add another ten; final draft another ten ... the actual number should vary from year to year, rather than having a quota which has to be selected.

The Katich fiasco should never have happened and what's more, the decision should have been countermanded by CA. As the 11 Tests of this summer play out, Australia will miss Katich!

Of course, things rarely happen in the real world they way I planned them. By Friday night, Andrew Hilditch will probably by CA Chairman. Might be time to start brushing up on an English accent then!
"Nobody Pulled Any Punches" SMH 18/8/11

It's Men & Boys - Geoff Boycott's Analysis

"South Africa v England in 2012 should be a five Test series not three. Who the hell cares about one dayers?"

"I don't think a team can come and play in England without at least three matches preparation. Instead, the Boards are too busy raking in the money."

"Zaheer Khan was always going to break down. He always does in Test matches. He were never going to last four Test matches in five weeks."

England 3-0 & No.1

Gambhir steers a catch to Swann

Whilst the result was hardly unpredictable - since Lords really - India were thrashed by an innings and 242 runs at Edgbaston. Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan alone scored enough runs to better India's twenty two innings.

India were shot ducks after the first hour, with Jimmy Anderson surgically removing the three wickets to fall before drinks, after giving Sehwag a Test to remember and forget last night. Gambhir went to the first ball he faced, a cracker of ball from Anderson which pitched leg and middle, flicked the edge of a bemused bat and was a pea shelled at second slip by Graham Swann. Laxman wafted at outswinger and Prior took the catch. Dravid, remarkably in this day and age when no batsman thinks he is out, walked after Anderson beat his outside edge to big shouts. Replays, including Snicko and Hotspot, the technology alters at which we all worship, couldn't find an edge.

Swann removed the left handed Raina with an arm ball to the pads, which comically, the batsman tried to send to the DRS, obviously forgetting that India refused its use for lbw in this series. Soon after, Tendulkar fell foul to every batsman's nightmare when a Dhoni drive flicked Swann's finger tips on the way to the non striker's stumps and Tendulkar was run out backing up. The little man had looked so calm amongst the chaos.

Praveen Kumar launches Swann
into the stands

The partnership which was building between Dhoni and Mishra was cut off by a splendid big man's catch at mid on. Mishra had tried to smash a lofted drive from Swann, didn't get all of it and Broad took a diving, sprawling catch.

Enter Praveen Kumar added some light entertainment before the close. His 40 came of just 18 balls, as he smashed five 4's and three zacs, mostly off Swann but he also hunted Anderson. Dhoni joined in to have some fun at the fair and creamed several fabulous drives of the now tiring Anderson. They added 75 in 8 overs but Strauss simply switched in another pair of bowlers - Broad and Bresnan - and the game finished quickly enough, just past the halfway point of the 4th day.

Strauss: England are No.1

England have become more composed and more irresistible as each match in this series has gone on and at Edgbaston, they finally ascend to the number one ranking in world cricket. This writer predicted as much before the last Ashes series. It seemed obvious then that they had a solid opening combination, batsmen who had learned from their mistakes, the best No.3 in world cricket (always the most crucial role in the batting line up), a fair keeper with runs at 7 and bowling attack which would take twenty wickets on most surfaces.

This is the perfect cricket team: as good as anything Australia threw up during the the 16 years of dominance from the late eighties. Chappelli's team in 1974-75 was very similar but better and  no one would have beaten the Bradman's 1948 side.

Cricket tragics the world over wait now for a contest with South Africa.

Can This Boy Cook, Or What?

Cook finally out for 294

Cook by name, master chef by actions, Alastair Cook rolled on and on during the third day of another embarrassing day of Test cricket for India. In no hurry, as usual, he just kept adding to his score at his own pace until finally making a mistake with a loose slap to point.

There are times in Test cricket where accumulation works and today was such a day for England. It was a day for grinding India into the lush green grass and showing the world why they deserve that number one spot. The morning session was slow with England adding less than fifty but then two rain interruptions reduced play to only 18 overs and India bowled with more verve as Cook and Morgan had to reset themselves twice. The second interruption lasted until lunch. By the time bad light took the players from the field and the lights failed just after drinks in the second session, England were in a different mood with a run a minute off 19 overs. When play resumed, Cook and Morgan went on the rampage, adding 103 in fifty minutes and Morgan raising his second Test hundred in the process. His second fifty came from 109 balls and he took his chances to cement his place in the middle order adding 222 with Cook.

Morgan acknowledges his hundred

Bopara came and went on a day when caretakers were unimportant. Prior, unusually did the same. The Mo Mackie look alike has a great hunger to be at the table when the food is free. Mishra got them both on what was for him a better day. His turn and improved control led to curtailing England at stages. It was left to Bresnan to put far too many final nails in the Indian coffin as he blasted his way to another half century adding 97 in 22 overs with Cook, who was still present and still ploughing his field. Eventually, ironically, he was out six short of a triple century but with his highest Test score to date but not before another break fro light. For many, they would know this is a career best but not so Cook. He looks to have a lot more left in him.

England's 7 for 710 was their third highest and the biggest England total since Don Bradman broke his ankle Len Hutton got a few at The Oval in 1938.

The floodlights failed at Edgbaston

To mention the Indian bowling would largely be a waste of space. There performance was improved on yesterday but it was yesterday they needed to be improved. Yes they chased the bolted horse quite well, but they were never going to catch him after leaving the barn door open for the farm colt Cook. Mishra looked more like the bowler we have seen before and Raina bowled with more control but the pacemen were pedestrian. Even Kumar's big heart seemed broken.

India, inevitably, India lost a wicket before Gambhir and Dravid halted the pacemen at least until tomorrow but it was the massive and justified appeal by Swann for lbw which should concern them most. Gambhir would have lost leg or middle - probably both - but the umpire demured and Indian refusal to use the DRS for lbw's finally paid a dividend. With the ball turning and Swann well short of the notoriety he usually has by this stage of a series, its hard not to imagine he'll play a big part on the third day if the the three quicks let him have the ball..

Swann turned down against Gambhir

Sehwag was again the loser. Clearly not fit enough and well short of the metal toughness required for such a battle, he went first ball again, in the process collecting a king pair. This time he went to smash a drive through cover to a ball from Anderson that was short of what he needed and edged it to Strauss instead. He now has specs to go with his sore shoulder.

Not since the days of Bengal Tigers and subservient kaffers have India taken so much English stick and it ain't half hot mum.

A certain former Australia bowler, noted now for his fake tan, sacks of slack skin that fat once filled and generally out-celebed by Hugh Grant's old flame, was Twittering after play like old fools do who refuse to farewell their youth. He was describing the play as the worst day in the history of Test cricket.

Who cares?

England Dances Poles Apart

Cook pulls imperiously

Sometimes it can happen this way in cricket: two teams take the field in the morning, one spends the day being dreadful and the other sublime. The simplest of summaries of the second day at Edgbaston was thus, with India very much in the dreadful corner.

Alastair Cook was at his near best. He cut, drove and pulled the ball for his seventh Test hundred in the last twelve months. Can you believe there were some - almost all of them in the 4th Estate - who were calling for his head a year ago when he broke a run of bad form with a second innings hundred against Pakistan at Lords? Since then he's made nearly 1300 runs at 75, was the dominant feature of series win in Australia and made six more centuries. Still four months short of his 27th birthday, he now has 19th Test hundreds. Bradman at the same age had four less. "Off with his head" indeed ... so much for the French Revolutionaries among the media.

Near best? Well, he edged through the vacant slip area on 94, gave other chances just after raising his hundred and played his usual lob to the on side several times for lucky escapes but then, few can make big scores unblemished.

Strauss bowled off a no ball

The man he'll succeed in the English captaincy, Andrew Strauss, had played a delightful hand before over estimating the line of his leg stump and attempting to sweep Mishra from there and missing. The batting of Strauss is starting show wear and tear and its only when he plays with a view to domination that he produces his best these days. There is so much about him that is reminiscent of Mark Taylor, especially the manner in which he leads the side. He is in the modern parlance, a fine man manager, who handles the tension between being one of the boys and making it clear he is the man in charge. He has little of Taylor's tactical acumen - the 8 men on the boundary routine being just one example of the shortfalls - but he likes to play positive cricket and always has his eyes on result driven cricket. 

His partnership with Cook has produced strong starts for the English with another 187 here but is the affect he is having on the young turk who will lead England which is creating a lasting legacy for which English cricket will be well pleased over the next ten years.

Pietersen steers the new ball
to the backward point boundary

Of the rest, Bell was elegant but was dropped by Dravid before Kumar bowled him with a jaffer, the equal of Bresnan's yesterday; Pietersen was belligerent, especially against Mishra and Sharma whom he treated with complete contempt; and Morgan got to bat against an exhausted attack and reaped the benefit of being dropped twice when he should have been out. Pietersen could feel a little unlucky in that his lbw was so close that most umpires would have given him the benefit of what must have been doubt. Bopara, as I suggested, may not be needed.

Everyone else played their part in another day in which the Indian bowlers were deservedly flogged. Shreesanth is no longer up for this and Sharma's bully boy antics in the West Indies have proved to be more pop gun than cannon ball on good English pitches which have required seam and control that he hasn't presented. Mishra got some good turn but it was always a big ask to drop a leg spinner back into the side who has played so little cricket in the last five weeks. Such are the dilemmas of the visiting teams in the modern cricket tour where the only players getting any game time are the A Team. Mishra bowled almost two overs of no balls in the day, including according to replays, the ball which hit Strauss' stumps.

Kumar celebrates Bell's wicket

Praveen Kumar alone deserved respect and commendation for his efforts. This kid from Meerut in India's north has been a worthy graduate of the shortened forms of the game and he has done everything asked of him in this series. He bowls with great maturity and control for a 24 year old, especially one playing only his sixth Test. Its not his fault that his fellow work mates are rubbish nor that the butterfingered ten have forgotten how to catch. There were multiple spills on a day when Dravid, one of the safest slippers in world cricket, knocked on the simplest of chances from Eion Morgan late in the day. The disgust with which he threw his hat to the turf was as good a summation of Indian cricket on this tour as any.

England scored 3-372 on the second day and with three to go, Banjo Patterson might have said "they halted, cowered and beaten and he turned their heads for home.". India will certainly be thinking of home now.


A good read is the David Frith article, "A Snooze, A Smoke, A Roar", written to celebrate 2000 Test matches.

India's Batting Collapses ... Again

Sunil Gavaskar

(Apologies for lateness of today's report but the server was down this morning)
 In the dark days of Indian cricket before Kapil Dev revealed that bowlers from the land of Kipling's Gunga Din could bowl more than spin, fast bowlers used to terrify the wristy Indian strokemakers. So much so that Bishen Bedi once declared an innings closed against the West Indies rather than risk further injuries. Then came Gavaskar, a little man with a resolute defence and perfection in the cross bat shots that took the game back to rough uglies who grunt and growl and hurl their missiles from 20 metres. "The Colonel" Vengsarkar took a different approach, standing tall and smiting back foot drives and Vishwanath cut, hooked and pulled anything buoyed in his last days by the adventurous now batting around him. 

Where have all the hookers gone? Sounds like the opening line from a Frank Sinatra press conference but successful cross batted aggression is what India have needed on this tour as they have faced up to what is now a pace attack the equal of South Africa.

At Edgbaston, the pitch was green and spicy, the weather overcast and the air thick, so it was no surprise that Andrew Strauss sent India into bat. Its the third time in the three Tests of this series that the side batting first has been asked to but the first time its been done with aggressive intent. At Lords and Birmingham, Dhoni didn't want to expose his troupes to the English quicks when the pitch was fresh, so bowled in their defence ... fat lot of good it did them.

Gambhir plays one
on from Bresnan

By lunch, India were 4-75, with the courageous but damaged shoulders of Sehwag unable to hold the hopes heaped upon them as he left first ball, faintly gloving to Prior a shortish ball from Broad. On another day, he might have smashed it past point. Tendulkar did little better, lasting less than three overs before edging a regulation outswinger from Broad to Anderson at third slip. In between, Gambhir batted until he looked completely set again before putting an inside edge on a ball which had already beaten him from Bresnan and sending it to leg stump instead of off, where it was headed from the hand. How many times in his Test career has Gambhir been out when the worst was seen off? Dravid was wonderful again, full of stoic defence and shortened backlift as he refused to allow the English to have his wicket. It wasn't pretty but it was pretty effective and few finer men have still been playing the game aged 38. In the end, Bresnan bowled him the ball of the series to end his innings and the first session. Dravid played at the ball where he had every right to expect it to be, but like Gatting had at Manchester nearly twenty years ago, it was not there, having moved in then cut away and the off stump was disturbed.

Dhoni hits one of three
sixes

After lunch, India were 7-111 in forty minutes, with Raina and Mishra out to straight balls and Laxman half-pulling for the third time in the series, this time down the throat of Broad at fine leg. MS Dhoni then took the game up to England, batting securely for the first time in the series. He always looks so much the batsmen when he is playing aggressively. He added 84 with Praveen Kumar. Normally a four or out batsmen, Kumar managed enough defensive shots - not many of which were in any of the standard coaching manuals - to provide Dhoni with support. Again the crowd had to endure the boring, negative Test cricket norm of eight men on the boundary when Dhoni faced and once again, it had its effect on the bowlers, as they lost their line and zest. If you are on top, stay that way! The cricketing public can only hope that one of the international cricket coaches can convince his captain to keep his foot on an opponent's throat.

Cook takes a lookaway
fluke at silly point

When Kumar went hooking at Bresnan long after it was time to get into position - Sharma hung about for nearly three quarters of an hour while Dhoni added most of a further 29. The innings finished with Cook catching a backfoot drive from Sharma under his armpit. India's final total was nowhere near enough and they have again failed to post 300 in this series. There can be no comparison between the top sevens.

Broad and Bresnan took four each but Anderson was just as good.

The England openers had little trouble breezing to 84 at stumps, with Strauss in particular looking fluent. It was his first half century since Sydney, when he had the bowlers serving him up half volleys and half-pitchers and blew a hundred which Cook, Bell and Prior didn't. Bell will bat next and Bopara at six, it must be said, if needed!

It's such an easy game when you are at the top of yours!

India Flogged

Yuraj ducks a Bresnan short ball

You can dress it up however you wish but India have been blasted away on the fourth day of the second Test and have had only one competitive day from the nine in this series so far. Injury excuses are insufficient to counter India's performances, as England themselves have had to cover  problems across the two Tests, yet have emerged so far ahead of the world number 1 as to make a mockery of the ranking system.

In Nottingham, England lost Tremlett on the eve of the Test. His replacement Tim Bresnan, took five Indian second innings wickets to wrap up the Test and all of them from the quality end of the batting line up. England's batting order was re-arranged to cater for an injury to their pivotal number three man Trott but Bell just jumped up the order and peeled of an sparkling century and everyone else lent a hand.

England have all the answers before the questions are asked.

The English "tail" added a superfluous additional hundred runs in the morning session at five an over, with Bresnan the star and in the end, unlucky not to reach three figures. Had it not been for the whole hearted efforts of Praveen Kumar, he might well have but Kumar managed to lift one up onto the shoulder of Bresnan's bat when glory was in sight. Kumar's second innings bowling was outstanding for a young man. At a time when the senior men appear to lost interest - indeed Inshant Sharma has been more joke than threat - he bent his back and removed most of the men who flogged the rest. Broad, of course, made runs again at 9.

Tendulkar stood alone.

India had lost Dravid in the five overs before lunch and six were gone before tea. Tendulkar stood alone, making 56 while the rest of the top seven made 22. Anderson and Broad made early inroads but it was Bresnan who unsettled the Indians with short stuff which they did not handle at all well. Lessons have been well learned from Caribbean footage and applied against the Indians in this series. Whether fending or attempting cross bat shots, none of the Indians appeared competent and the wickets clattered down. Anderson came back to take Tendulkar after he had raised a fighting half century with a typical Jimmy Anderson special, ripping the ball back from outside the off stump in Glen McGrath fashion and trapping Tendulkar with bat in air as the ball cannoned into his pads. Something straight from the swing bowlers master class.

Harbhajan and Kumar took to Bresnan as he tired but that just mean Broad would come back and help Anderson finish it. The winning margin was as long as a politician's list of excuses.

Bresnan and Broad celebrate victory

Broad took the man of the match awards (64, 44, 6-46, 2-30) but Bresnan (90, 2-48, 5-48) must have threatened and Bell's sublime hundred would have been very high up in the calculations. Perhaps the little brain fade he had which led to MS Dhoni's sportsmanship saving his bacon, weighed too much on the judges minds.

Where to for India? Sehwag may return from injury for the 3rd Test but its hard to see it making much difference as Mukund will make way for him, still leaving India with the problem of batting an outstanding No 3 as an opener. Dravid opening upsets the remainder of the batting order as Laxman does not have the discipline to bat so high in the order. The real problem is that India have three middle order batsmen (Laxman, Raina and Yuvraj) competing for two spots. The more settled option would be to bat Yuvraj as an opener, allowing Dravid and Laxman to bat in their usual positions. None of this solves the problem of what to do with Gambhir if he is fit.

VVS Laxman bowled by Anderson

In the bowling, for India to square the series, Harbhajan must be dropped, Zaheer Kahn must be fit and Dhoni has to explode fire crackers up the backside of Ishant Sharma. Harbhajan is not worrying the English tail, let along the top order. There is no turn - not unusual for him - but flight and variation have been non-existent. He bolsters the batting at No 8 but if you are picking bowlers on their batting ability then the team is in dire straits anyway. Mishra would be the better option as leg spinners always are against England, even an England with so many left handers. Zaheer is world class and dangerous but his fitness has made him an increasing liability. If India can get him right, he could make a difference. As for Sharma, who knows. He's gone missing in action during the first two Tests and has all the threat of a jelly in a brick throwing contest. Let's hope Dhoni can align his stars or repair the Sharma Karma before Birmingham.

As well as he bowled against the West Indies, not many would have bet that the baby bowler, Praveen Kumar, would have stood up when it mattered. Now if only some of the seniors could show the same ticker.

Of course, none of the above is relevant. The only matter that remains to resolved in this current series isn't who the best team is but rather, just how bloody good are they. India, after all, like Australia before them, can only play as well as England let them. Now that's supremacy.