Dermot: Cricket

Farewell Michael Vaughan. Pietersen is Folly. Where is Owais Shah?

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:35:00 GMT

I spent the duration of the last Test in Ireland, and having decided to just rely on close of play texts from Birmingham I hoped for a stress free break from the game that if truth be known, I love the most despite being saddled with Yorkshire and England as my teams for life.

Not a chance, especially as Flintoff’s first innings blast with both bat and ball, put England in with a decent chance of levelling the series.

When I heard late on Friday night that Collingwood had come good with the bat, and in a situation where it really mattered I was absolutely delighted, a sentiment that was elevated to manic joy and fist punching “come on!”s whilst watching the Proteas collapse to 90/4 at Donagh’s house in Ballina courtesy of Sky Sports.

I had absolute confidence we would win. Monty was making the thing talk and at the other end Anderson was steaming in at 90MPH, and then there was Freddie…

Thus news of defeat, delivered to my Limerick hotel room confounded me and led me to reflect on my calls after the Lords Test that Vaughan’s time was up.

Michael Vaughan was the best batsman in the World in 2002, bar none. He then went on to be England’s greatest Skipper since Brearley, making the dreams of the nation come true during that incredible Ashes summer of 2005 and allied with his supreme dignity Vaughan became the ultimate role model as a pro, and as a man.

I watched his resignation on YouTube and Hemmingway’s definition of Grace Under Pressure sprung to mind. He loves the game, he loves England and he loves his wife and kids. Perfect.

As for what happens now, I fear we are into the pantomime season four months prematurely.

Pietersen plays for himself and it works, by and large, but his dismissal in the last match when he was in a position to put the tourists away epitomised why he should not be Captain as the whole reason that he got himself to 94 not out came about because he was un encumbered by the Captaincy.

Swings and roundabouts, and I refer to previous stints by Botham and Flintoff as to what happens when your talismanic figure is elevated to odious responsibility.

Strauss, Strauss and if in doubt Strauss regarding the Test Captaincy, but I fear being passed over again will be the nail in the Middlesex man’s long term international career.

But one thing is for sure. With KP at the helm boring is not a word that will ever be associated with English cricket.

Tantrums, but hopefully some tiaras to follow….

One last moan at the selectors for the road…

Ravi Bopara. No one is denying the bloke is a talented larker. But he is a one-day specialist, as his figures show and it is unlikely that he will make a top order batsman in the Test arena.

But he can bowl a bit. And I mean a bit. 85 wickets at 43 ain’t gonna scare Test class batters so once again this obsession with so called multi dimensional cricketers sees the talent of Owais Shah pushed shamefully into the shadows.

Twenty/20 Quarter Final. Durham (163/8) Beat Glamorgan 119) by 44 Runs

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:52:51 GMT

This fixture was meant to involve Yorkshire, but in true ECB style it was called off with five minutes to go over a row involving the Tykes fielding Aseem Raffiq in the crucial group victory over Notts, who it turned out was ineligible.

I have no problem with Yorkshire being chucked out of the Competition as this farce sums up the Mickey mouse organisation abroad in the County scene, and if it makes things more professional in the long run, then fair enough.

What does irk me, and it shouldn’t as what do you expect, is the woefully buffoonish way by which matters progressed.

To know about the issue for a number of days and allow the fixture to get to within a whisker of starting is unforgivable, and if had been at the Riverside I would have been incandescent that the ECB showed such contempt for the fans. It is far from cheap to travel to away fixtures these days.

Then Notts were re instated, then they weren’t, then Durham were given a bye, but finally some sense was restored when Glamorgan as best third place side were invited to contest this Quarter Final.

It was just a fiver to get in, and free for kids with the gate money going to local charity, so well done to Durham for restoring some faith amongst the fans that the Clubs are not simply motivated by money and can do the right thing un prompted.

The ground was full and developed a good atmosphere, although the Geordies are absolutely silent when the bowler runs up, then exploding when a run is scored, or a dot ball is bowled depending on what Durham are doing.

Unlike us at Yorkshire, no credit at all is given to the opposition but there is no imaginative sledging either, and when I greeted Harmison’s introduction with a cry of “Wide!” there was no reaction at all. Not even when I cheered on the Glam with abandon did anyone raise a riposte. Most disappointing. They seem to take it all a bit seriously in the North East.

Glamorgan, for a variety of pointless reasons are my second County team and I have seen a good deal of them over the years. One thing I have always admired is that the core of the team is Welsh and the spirit in the dressing room is brilliant.

But they are in the doldrums big time at the moment, and with Hershelle Gibbs no longer at the Club they have no big time player to look to for a match winning performance.

There is no doubting the heart of the team, but when push came to shove the Glam just couldn’t deal with pressure situations, as despite pegging the hosts back fro the first 17 overs to just 117, three terrible overs from Wharf and the talented but raw Harris saw Durham smash 46 runs, Breese, Pollock and Liam Plunkett doing the damage.

There is no doubt that if Glamorgan sacked their whole staff en masse that only Harris, Powell and at a push Wallace would get contracts at any other Club. Too many mediocre players plus lack of cash for overseas stars at the top of their game mean that the Welsh County will be perennial strugglers.

The Glamorgan innings began with Grant being bowled of the very first ball, and once the promising partnership of Dalrymple and Wallace was broken, there was only one winner.

As for England…. Harmison looks quick and hungry, plus Plunkett is maturing into a fine young all rounder.

How disheartened these two must have been by the selection of Pattinson, a view shared if the papers are to be believed by Michael Vaughan.

S.Africa (522 and 9/0) Beat England (203 and 327) by Ten Wickets. Thrashed.

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:26:02 GMT

What narks me most about this heavy defeat is it’s depressing inevitability, and the fact that even a two pence so called pundit like me could have called it this way.

The inertia within the batting line up resulting from a thumb sucking comfort zone mentality, results in the afflictions of the ‘Nineties being repeated here where a guy comes under pressure, produces a score and then phew, place secured for a few more games.

I exempt KP and Cook from this list, but Strauss and Bell are prime examples of people who only seem to do the business exceedingly sporadically.

The problems with the batting are exacerbated when Broad’s place seems to be determined by his ability to get runs at eight. This subconsciously releases a bit of pressure from the top and middle order who think that it is less important for them not to get out as there are guys below who will bale the side out.

I’m feeling miffed at the moment so my message to the selectors regarding the tail getting runs is this; bollocks. If you are relying on your number eight to get runs, you might as well pack up and go home.

Five batters, five bowlers and a wicket keeper. Capish?

If one of your bowlers, in this case Flintoff, and your keeper (Foster for me) can get big runs, then that’s a bonus. You should NOT be letting ability with the willow affect selection unless it’s too close to call between two candidates.

We have to take twenty wickets, that’s how it works in Test cricket so to heck with fiddling about, pick the best bowlers and keeper, batters in form and let’s see what happens…

We have the small matter of the Ashes this time next year so what I suggest must be taken with this in mind.

Michael Vaughan has been the best English Test skipper since Mike Brearley and the way he steered us to glory in 2005 ensures his place in cricket is secure, but there is no room for sentiment. If we are honest his batting has been horribly out of touch and he seems incapable of producing a big knock at a crucial time, and some of his dismissals have been frankly embarrassing, as if his eyes have failed to pick the line of the ball.

Therefore it time for him to go. His replacement should be Andrew Strauss who I feel would come alive again given the responsibility, which he coped with brilliantly in 2006 against Pakistan.

Starting Eleven v S. Africa Third Test.

Denley, Cook, Strauss©, Pietersen, Shah, Flintoff, Foster (WK), Sidebottom, Anderson, Tremlett, Panesar.

The urge to promote Adil Rashid MUST be resisted and whoever served the wine when Miller and Giles selected Pattinson should be traced and if need be, eliminated.

Darren Pattinson. What This Tells Us About Domestic English Cricket

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:07:32 GMT

A 28-year-old roofer from Melbourne is plucked from Grade cricket to make his Pura Cup debut for Victoria, and just eleven First Class games later he finds himself lining up for the country he left behind at the age of five in the 2008 Headingley Test against South Africa.

Grimsby born Darren Pattinson’s story can be seen as the epitome of the romance of sport, and don’t get me wrong, I will be rooting for the guy to do the decent thing and continue the story with a match winning haul, but this selection raises a lot of awkward questions about how international and domestic English is run.

Thousands of pounds of investment have been ploughed into the development of Sajid Mahmood, Tim Bresnan, Graham Onions and most pertinently here Chris Tremlett, through the Academy Programme. Is the selection of Pattinson proof positive that this process has been a monumental waste of everyone’s time?

What does this pick tell us about the views of the selectors regarding the strength of the County Championship?

It tells this correspondent that Ashley Giles, Geoff Miller et al consider that a guy with six Pura Cup appearances obviously must be more worthy than players that have progressed via the domestic system because there is the belief that County cricket isn’t intense or competitive enough, ergo Aussie Shield cricket must be inherently better.

Pattinson is cited as a swing bowler. So if you take the Mallender horses for courses template, then there is a certain M.J. Hoggard who has been known to bowl the odd deviating delivery, especially to hefty, ponderous opening left handers having dismissed Graeme Smith four times in the last series. Then there is Mahmood who took six wickets in his only Leeds Test, Tim Bresnan, Onions or Jon Lewis from Gloucester.

And the leading wicket taker in the Championship? Stephen Harmison. He has taken being dropped on the chin, knuckled down and done the business for his Club.

If the selectors wanted an off the wall pick, how about Notts all rounder Samit Patel?

But, in common with all the others he has cut his teeth in the County Championship, which the selectors seem to view with contempt and disdain.

Graham Napier Stakes his Stamford Twenty/20 Claim

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:46:37 GMT

Graham Napier has just this minute written himself into cricket history with the most incredible, staggering and amazing innings.

I am sitting here tinkering with an essay on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy versus Person Centred and Psychodynamics, with Essex v Sussex on the box due to Yorkshire v Durham radio commentary being interrupted by rain.

Essex are 35/1 off 6 overs. Nowt special by Twenty/20 standards.

Enter Graham Napier.

66 minutes later and the 28 year old perennial unachiever has belted an incredible 152 runs off 55 balls, including a world record 15 sixes.

Simply the most destructive innings I have ever witnessed.

November and $5 million will be available for the England players who line up against a Sir Alan Stamford All Stars eleven in a winner takes all match.

I would want this bloke in the team if I were Paul Collingwood……

Yorkshire 159/7 Tied With Durham 159/7 .Twenty/20 Cup at Headingley

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:57:44 GMT

This was a brilliant match which showcased Twenty/20 at it’s scintillating best, a great advert for the game of cricket as modern and relevant for the 21^st Century…. And this is coming from someone who values Test and Championship cricket as the pinnacle of the sport.

But the 50 over game, which has been ailing for some time, had another nail smashed into it’s coffin by the tedious and badly organised 2007 World Cup. The success of the IPL and the projected Champions League must mean that cricket has two wonderful and successful brands in First Class and Twenty/20.

Yorkshire were cruising to victory, and top spot in the group as Durham required 28 runs in just two overs. And nearly got them as Tim Bresnan capped a disappointing afternoon by being carved over extra cover for six by Gareth Breese off the last ball of the game to level the scored.

The game ebbed and flowed and despite the howling gale that swept across the venue and necessitated layers of clothing reminiscent of autumnal football attendance, the players participated with a very high level of commitment, hardly surprising given that both Clubs are in with a shout of qualifying from the group which offers a window of opportunity for Champions League riches. Both Harmison and Vaughan, ODI retirees the pair, took part with gusto and performed well, although the Durham paceman’s four victims came at nine an over.

The England captain, initially be calmed, opened his shoulders for a 24 ball 34 (5 fours) which helped Yorkshire enter the second half of the innings eyeing 170.

But once McGrath (65) and Rudolph (33) were dismissed, matters subsided somewhat and when Mustard and De Venuto teed off at ten an over to start Durham’s knock, the home teams 159/7 looked eminently gettable.

Cue 4/20 from Pyrah and Yorkshire were clear favourites until the unlikely combination of Plunkett and Breese secured the tie for Durham.

The Western Terrace was three quarters full, and in grand good humour and voice. A great way to spend ten quid for an afternoon of entertainment.

England Beat New Zealand by an Innings and 9. The Bowlers Save the Day

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:47:05 GMT

England won this Test, and the series at a canter against a very poor Kiwi outfit who, despite showing guts and fight a plenty until the Sunday at Old Trafford, folded like a pack of cards, despite having us at 85/5 mid afternoon on day one. Only a marvellous rearguard action from KP and Ambrose saved England blushes.

The selectors named an unchanged eleven for the fifth consecutive Test, the first time that has occurred in over a century, and you would imagine that this signals stability and that all is well.

You would be wrong.

Three of the top six batters are in absolutely wretched form and we haven’t posted 400+ in the first innings, which was the bedrock of the Ashes triumph in 2005, for over a year and this includes six Tests against New Zealand.

Bell, and especially Collingwood can’t buy a run at the moment and yet there is no hint from above that they will be axed for the more formidable series against South Africa, which begins next month.

No one wants to go back to the ‘Eighties nadir when the revolving door policy saw England fail to win a single home Test match, let alone series between 1985 and 1990, but the persistence with this top six produces inertia in the squad and burning frustration for Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara and County pros across the Nation as it seems that the selectors in no way rate the First Class game in any way, shape, or form despite recent scintillating form from these two.

But, if you are a bowler it seems there is no mercy. On bad game and you are out, witness the axing of Hoggard and back in the Winter Trent Bridge hero Jimmy Anderson.

Cook has got starts and looks likely to get runs, but the axe must fall on Bell and Collingwood in order for them to get some cricket, and form back in time for next Summer and the Ashes.

Bowling wise we are in rude health as the effectively second string pace attack have been the ones to deliver the victories, thus I would start with Anderson, Sidebottom and Broad for South Africa with the rejuvenated Harmison (four wickets in three overs yesterday) Simon Jones, hopefully Flintoff and Hoggard to come.

Starting Eleven v South Africa.

Cook, Strauss, Vaughan*, Pietersen, Shah, Bopara, Ambrose+, Broad, Sidebottom, Andersen, Panesar.

Reserves: Simon Jones, Ramprakash.

England Win In New Zealand. Cracks Papered Over?

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:23:48 GMT

When Ian Bell offered the softest of soft caught and bowleds to leave England reeling at 36/4, it appeared that once again a supine batting performance would see the tourist succumb to defeat in Napier against one of the weakest Kiwi sides of the modern era.

And yet throughout this yearlong bad trot the selectors have laid the blame for England’s series defeats to India and Sri Lanka firmly at the feet of the bowlers.

Why?

It was only when Strauss, Bell and to a certain extent KP found themselves drinking at last chance saloon that we put together a decent total (467/7 dec) and gave the bowlers something to get stuck into, and Monty stepped up to the plate to record his best test haul of 6/126.

But the left armer only found himself in the position of being able to toss it up, vary his pace and flight due to having runs on the board.

The dropping of Harmison came one Test too soon as I felt that he was getting his act together and the pitch, hard and with decent carry, would have suited him, as indeed Stuart Broad showed with his similar style by bagging five wickets in the game.

Over the last eighteen months or so Harmison has been on the one hand encouraged to exist in a thumb sucking comfort zone one minute, and the next he is axed just when he started to show some form.

He has been handled poorly, and whilst you expect players to take personal responsibility Harmison’s supreme ability determines that a one size fits all approach is counterproductive.

If Strauss had been the Ashes Captain then Harmison would have been required to do the business and be on the money from ball one, whereas Best Mate Fred was loath to take him off, or to suggest that he pull his finger out or face being dropped.

Harmison should have not played in the first Test on this tour and instead have replaced Jimmy Anderson in Auckland’s side to get match fit.

The Burnley Express got into the groove in State cricket, coming back with a Michelle as the hosts subsided and despite two more under par totals we had enough to win in Wellington.

Runs win matches. Whatever cliché you choose relating to cricket it boils down to the simple fact that unless you have runs on the board it’s fairly irrelevant what the bowlers do.

Day One of the epic 2005 Ashes Series saw Harmison blow the Aussies away with 5/43, bloody Ponting’s face and put England in by Tea chasing just 190 to take the lead.

It was all for nothing (at the time) as the batting folded ignominiously to hand the tourists a crushing 239 victory.

Move on to Birmingham and the series initiative was wrested by England as we smashed 400 in a day and at last the bowlers had runs to play with.

My main points are these.

+ Vaughan, Bell, and Strauss seem bombproof selection wise. It’s great to show loyalty and no one wants to go back to the chopping and changing that went on in the ‘Eighties nadir when we failed to win a single home test match between 1985 and 1990. But there is a fine line between loyalty and inertia.

I exempt Cook (young), KP (supreme talent and the best batter I have seen in an England jumper) and Collingwood (graft, graft and more graft to regain form) from criticism at the current time and I would continue to back them for the time being.

+ What do Key, Joyce, Denley, Ramprakash and especially Owais Shah have to do to earn the nod? The message has always been that if you do the business in the Championship then you will get the call. It’s another admission that the ECB don’t rate County Cricket. Sidebottom was evidence that Moores would take more notice of domestic cricket, but now he is a year away from it matters seem to have reverted back to type.

+ Hoggard has been treated abysmally. One poor game and the best swing bowler since Statham is out. Bloody stupid, in our Yorkshire vernacular. BUT Anderson, Broad and Sidebottom are the men in possession, and it means he can play for Yorkshire tee, hee.

+ Matt Prior scored a ton on debut, had a few wobbles behind the stumps and a bad trot with the bat. He works his proverbials off and has a grand series with the gloves in broiling Sri Lanka, acknowledged as torture for ‘keepers due to the extreme humidity and then makes 79 at Colombo to bump up a potentially losing first innings total and finishes off with a match saving 100 ball rearguard action to save the final match.

Reward. You are dropped matey.

Solutions?

+ Strauss, Bell and KP came good at Napier but the first tow should remain on probation with Shah as first choice replacement.

+ Vaughan has gone on too long as Skipper. His knee problems mean that crease occupation would be a problem assuming he could remain intact for long enough. He has been our best Captain since Brearley. Acknowledge this and give it to Collingwood and move on. 2005 must be a spur, not a reason to stick with what we know. The Aussies wouldn’t think twice. Dean Jones. I rest my case. Yes I know he wasn’t Captain but you get the gist.

+ Read is the best gloveman we have. And his batting is coming on well. If not then at least stick with Ambrose.

+ Send Harmison back to Durham by all means, and let him win his place back from either Broad or Tremlett. The Hampshire man now knows how Anderson must feel and talking of which, the selectors should show the same confidence in the Lancashire quick as they have to Harmison in the past.

This would be my starting eleven v New Zealand in May.

Stand by; Denley, Ramprakash, Ambrose, Hoggard, Tremlett.

Yorkshire 561/7 Beat Warks 139 and 222 by an Innings and 210 runs. North Marine Road, Scarborough

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 21:24:38 GMT

One of the strangest days of First Class cricket I have ever witnessed, saw Yorkshire storm to the top of the Championship and effectively wrest control of the Title Race with two games left, both against our immediate rivals, Sussex and Hampshire.
The Tykes had a big job on their hands, coming into this game on the back of two morale sapping defeats firstly to bitter Northern foes Lancashire, and more damagingly to a poor Worcester team who chased down 330 as if it were a stroll in the park.
For once in this wretched Summer the weather has been kind to Yorkshire, and North Marine Road in Scarborough was an absolute picture, three quarters full and bathed in warm summer sunshine in contrast to the Brit Oval where Sussex, in desperate need of bonus points, were totally washed out.
Warwickshire won Wednesday’s toss and inexplicably chose to bat in a late summer sea fret. Meat and drink to Hoggard and the Yorkshire seamers, who took full toll.
Warks 129 with Hoggard bagging 4/33 and Shazzad, Bresnan and McGrath snaffling two scalps each.
When McGrath was dismissed to leave matters at 133 for five, the visitors must have felt they were not out of it.
But out came the sun and Brophy stayed with Rudolph in a effort to eke out a lead. Run begat run, begat partnerships, begat another half century for Rashid and incredibly a massive total of 561/7 dec. Rudolph falling agonisingly short of the record by a Yorkshire player on this ground when he went for 220. Tim Bresnan added a second ton of the season and the scene was set for a Yorkshire win.
Then came an amazing session during which the ebullient Gough and the frankly ferocious Hoggard, blew away the top order to 31/7. The faithful were in full voice and we fully expected victory within the half hour.
Tim Ambrose has been getting rave reviews for his keeping, but if he can bat like this on a regular basis, then Matt Prior, whom I find to be frankly a bore without the talent to back it up, should be looking over his shoulder.
Aided by the tail he somehow prolonged the game for a further two and a half hours, hauling the Bears to 222 and accruing 89* in the process.
Eventually at 4.20 Darren Gough held a steepler and we went home happy, and the bars sold plenty of unexpected beer in the late afternoon sun.

My treatment secured, a wonderful family behind me and an idyllic setting with great mates, summer sun and Yorkshire top of the Championship. Not a bad old life is it?

Yorks 144 and 44/1 Lancs 517. Adil Rashid for England (but not yet)

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 09:37:18 GMT

This may prove to be a pivotal day in this season’s Title Race, as an impotent Yorkshire attack had no answers to Law (206) and Horton (149) who ran rampant on a track that had seen the hosts skittled for 144 on day one. At one stage the Tykes were 1 for 3 and then 22 for 5 and only unexpected runs from Bresnan (39) and Adil Rashid (24) prevented a total rout.
Flintoff provided some succour for a depleted England who spent two days chasing leather at the Oval (India 664) by bagging 3 wickets in ten balls on day one, and then taking another scalp late last night.
Luck plays a huge part in sport and Yorkshire had non yesterday. Two leading edges fell agonisingly short of the fielders which would have broken Law and Horton’s record Red Rose partnership, the two Aussies compiling 258 for the third wicket and the former is imperious and dismissing, the ultimate County run machine being up there with Hick, Ramprakash and Lehmann when it comes to flailing domestic attacks to all parts.
It just goes to show how much mental attitude matters at International level as, if you put Trescothick next the above batters and judged it blind, the Somerset man would come no where near, yet his record at Test and ODI level is something the others would kill for.
I have written at length previously about 19 year old Yorkshire leg spinner Adil Rashid, and it is still my contention that he will have a long, and fruitful Test career as a quicksilver fielder, doughty batter and of course wicket taking bowler.
But not yet. There is a clamour in the Press for him to be named in the Winter Squads for Sri Lanka and New Zealand, but yesterday proved in part why it would be premature.
Flight? Check. Control? Check. Enthusiasm? Check. Work Ethic? Check? Variation? This is a leg spinners main weapon and Rashid, naturally does not yet posses and wrong ’un or flipper. From what I could glean from third man he has got a top spinner which goes straight on. But that’s about it.
His control means there are few four balls, admirable at 19, but top order batters can milk him fairly comfortably and in the Test arena he would be cannon fodder.
Thus he should be allowed to develop his game in the Championship and tour with the A side whilst he learns what is after all, the hardest trade in cricket and the selectors must bear in mind how Salisbury and Schofield‘s top level careers were left in tatters by premature elevation.
Lancashire batted wonderfully yesterday and Law's knock is up there with the best I’ve seen in the flesh but it beggars belief how we got ourselves in such a mess yesterday as there appeared to be precious little help for the bowlers until it started to go up and down a bit after tea.
Gillespie was toothless and reminiscent of the his disastrous 2005 Test showing. 0/54 yesterday but he is having a decent season overall.
Gough was his usual gregarious and enthusiastic self but never put the batters under any sustained pressure, and for me Shazad when bowling in tandem with a hostile Bresnan looked the most likely to make things happen.

I was heartened that the noise level and sharpness in the field were still present during that enormous partnership, and this resulted in the last seven wickets going down for under a hundred. We will need to bat for four and a half sessions whilst hoping for someone to really catch fire with the ball on the last day.

Yorkshire v Kent at North Marine Road, Scarborough

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:56:45 GMT

Yet another rain sodden day from this apocalyptic seeming Summer saw me and the Old Man leave North Marine Road, Scarborough at 2pm some 90 minutes into a weather delay and with thick, black clouds promising more of the same. Even with the grounds legendary drainage capacity I felt sure it was in for the day… Until crossing up into the foothills of the Moors showed this wonderful part of God’s Own County bathed in bright sunlight…
Play didn’t resume until 4.40, so I wasn’t too upset as it was a filthy day to be sitting around in the cold and drizzle. Nevertheless 41 overs were possible with Kent chugging along to 135/2 by stumps.
Young Joe Denly impressed as he left the ball well and refused to be drawn into any Dazza histrionics, the Yorkshire Skipper doing the old hand-on-hips-how’d-you-miss-that routine. He is still there on 60, his 15 match First Class Career has so far garnered 1136 at 54.09, definitely one for the future.
We saw eight overs which saw the men from Kent reach 21/0, Gough bowling fast and straight allied to Gillespie swinging the ball away, beating the edge of Key’s bat on a couple of occasions.
Given the dire weather that has denied Yorkshire the opportunity of victory points in the last four matches, Gough was understandably so desperate to stay on when the light closed in, that we had the privilege of seeing the leg spin of Adil Rashid in the seventh over.
The youngster is a delight to behold. I’ve seen him bowl in the flesh four times now, and he has control, flight and bounce. He rarely bowls a four ball which is some achievement for a leg spinner, and a minor miracle when you consider he is only 19 years of age.
In addition to 56 wickets in just 17 games, with three five fers and a best of 6/67, he has recorded 5 50’s and remained marooned on 91* in the last game, at home to Surrey.
I was relieved in a way that his England Lions debut a couple of weeks ago saw a return of 0/90 off just 12 overs, and a duck with the bat, as it dampens down the wild talk in the press of an England Cap. He isn’t ready and we’ve been down this road before with Chris Schofield, and to an extent Jimmy Anderson, although the Burnley man produced some sublime swing bowling in the last Test.

Rashid, along with Rudolph and Huddersfield seamer Ajmal Shahzad came out when the rain eased a bit to knock up with a gang of kids. Brilliant. They didn’t have to do it and when a young fella “caught” Adil Rashid his celebrations should have been enough to blow the rain clean away.

When Rashid makes his England debut, there’ll be tall stories told in some Yorkshire schools, homes or Pubs.

The Curse of the Kolpak

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:36:33 GMT

Sussex, fielding four overseas Test players defeated Yorkshire (three overseas Test stars) in an epic Twenty/20 encounter at a packed floodlit Hove ground in front of the Sky cameras last night.
The shortest format of the pro game has been a rip roaring success since it’s introduction in 2003, and anything that sparks interest in the game, especially amongst kids has to be applauded.
However, I would like to see this particular competition open to sides that compromise solely of players qualified to play for England, as a means of giving opportunity to local talent.
Ideally the Championship should comprise of English players with the addition of one overseas player, as without doubt good foreign Test stars such as Mushtaq at Sussex, and Hampshire skipper Shane Warne help drive up standards and provide role models for younger players.
Mercenaries such as Ganguly, Jimmy Maher and the like contribute nothing and Clubs should be prevented from signings that last less than two months.
The Kolpak ruling which allows EU citizens to play whilst not counting as overseas has been roundly abused by most Counties, Glamorgan being the honourable exception but a look at their season’s results tells it’s own story and I am ashamed that Yorkshire have gone down this road with the Rudolph signing. Yet there we sit at the summit of the Championship table at the half way stage.
It’s a results business and until the ECB can persuade the Clubs to accept a voluntary moratorium on Kolpaks, or those not qualified to play Tests for England, then the Counties will continue to block places for the development of England players, and the knock on effect will be felt in the near future.
Lets hope for some improvement in the International Summer after the one sided nature of the W. Indies series.
England steamrollered a piss poor Windies outfit and Chandrapaul apart, these undoubtedly talented outfit should hang their heads in shame. Nevertheless England should be commended for a professional and Aussie like relentless attitude to winning.
Chris Gayle epitomised what ailed the Tourists. A few entertaining cameos with the bat but mainly standing at slip looking bored, disinterested and unmotivated and looking as if he would rather be anywhere else.
Mind you it’s not surprising given the foul, cold weather which the players had to endure. Leeds now holds the record (7 Celsius) for the coldest ever Test conditions.
The recall of Sidebottom was a masterstroke by the selectors, and as he gains experience he will adapt his game to suit the environment maybe experimenting with cutters and variations of pace on the Sub Continent as Hoggard did to confound his critics who voiced the opinion that he becomes cannon fodder if the ball doesn’t swing.

Jones, Hoggard, Harmison and Flintoff, the quartet that bowled England to the Ashes in 2005 are all unavailable for the First Test against India which starts today and my point regarding the state of the County scene becomes pertinent as the we have a very thin seam of quick bowlers. The attack comprises of Tremlett (debut), Sidebottom (5 Tests) and Anderson who really hasn’t cut it at this level despite plenty of opportunity. Panesar is now the senior bowler. Worrying.

LVV County Championship: Yorkshire Set the Pace. Harmison On Song

Sat, 12 May 2007 17:01:43 GMT

Yorkshire’s blistering start to the season continues apace as an admittedly poor Worcester outfit were put to the sword in some style at Headingley, the White Rose county prevailing by a monumental innings and 260 runs making it 3 wins and a draw in the Championship.
Momentum is everything in sport, and I am absolutely convinced that we will regain our rightful position as Champion County for only the second occasion in my lifetime. A shameful statistic for the true home of the soul of cricket in England.
Finally we have a Coach and a Captain in Moxon and Gough who truly know what it means to the fans, and we are the best supporters in the World. You only have to spend a day at Scarborough amongst the faithful to experience how much we love and understand our cricket in these parts.
Those who say that County cricket is dying know nowt. You talk to the fans. It means the world to us, and it doesn’t necessarily mean going to every game as cricket is just as easily followed through the print media, the internet, and now the superb ball by ball commentary provided on BBC local radio via the Website.
We discuss it knowledgably and yet I know most have never seen teenage Leg Spinning all rounder sensation Adil Rashid in the flesh, but they recognise he is going to be a big star of the future. Two half centuries and 21 wickets, and it’s only the second week of May, make him the toast of Yorkshire sport at the moment.
This season looked like it was going to be an unmitigated disaster as back in February we had no Captain, no Coach, it looked like McGrath was finished here due to a dispute with the Committee, and we had no second Overseas signing. And that’s on top of Chris Adams signing back in October, only to bottle it when he realised the passion which abounds in this Club.
Enter the Dream Team at the helm plus the acquisition of Younis Khan and the inspirational, if dodgy signing of Rudolph on a Kolpak provide the ingredients, but the players have done the business and take the credit. I don’t like the Kolpak thing much, but everyone else is doing it and the middle order was always going to be problem once Lehman returned Down Under.
Ten tonnes from the batters, plus Hoggard and Rashid sharing 38 wickets mean we must be favourites having only been held up by a classic Warne inspired rearguard action at the Rose Bowl last week. Otherwise it would four out of four.
The only glitch is Hoggard going to England, but that’s only for the Tests giving us a couple of Four Day games in mid season, plus all of September when the silverware will be decided.

Elsewhere Harmison has warmed up nicely by actually doing some bowling, notching up 50% of what he bowled ALL last summer. 24 wickets including 3 Michelles, proving the pundits right over last years misfiring being borne of not enough time at the crease.

The Duncan Fletcher Years. Yorks Beat Surrey by 346 Runs

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 13:59:59 GMT

August 1999, the Oval London. English cricket reaches it’s nadir as a very ordinary New Zealand outfit put the tin lid on a dreadful Summer, beating the hosts who capitulated for 162 in their second knock to hand the Tourists a 2-1 Series win.
This came hot on the heels of a disastrous World Cup campaign, where England fell in the Group Stages resulting in the sacking of David “we flippin’ murdered ‘em” Lloyd as Coach.
Rookie Skipper Nasser Hussain is forced to stand on the balcony and take the shame, the masses boo and the Red Tops savage the structure, and even the purpose of our Summer Game.
The tape rolls on…. March 2001. Graham Thorpe steers England home in Colombo to a fourth successive Test Series victory, including back to back Sub Continental triumphs to herald a massive turnaround in English Test fortunes.
England followed all this up by winning in the West Indies and South Africa, completing a seven match clean sweep at home in 2004 and of course the culmination was the regaining of the Ashes, and the mass hysteria (now it seems all so misplaced) of 2005.
Duncan Fletcher is a master facilitator, a man who knows the individual needs of his players and how to bring out the best of them in a team situation.
In the dark days of the late Nineties England continued to produce gifted individuals, but collective underachievement borne of slip shod organisation became the order of the day.
Fletcher demanded, and was given a change in the way the England team was run, central contracts and the like, and in tandem with the steely Hussain ensured that the England Test side achieved it’s full potential.
When Hussain decided enough was enough and quit as Skipper during the 2003 home series with South Africa, an equally formidable character in Michael Vaughan stepped up to the plate.
Things began to unravel when the Yorkshireman was forced to take a year off through injury, as Strauss and Flintoff proved far too laid back and left the Coach seemingly in sole charge.
During the Ashes Tour Fletcher became the only selector and this fatally changed the relationship between the Coach and the team as the Zimbabwean became almost like the England Manager, soccer style.
These changed dynamics are the reason why English fortunes have plummeted. The Captain MUST be the guy in charge and the Coach the man who gets the best, performance wise from the team.
If the Coach is a selector then a player will never admit to doubts about his technique or state of mind, less it be held against him in then future. The Coach/player relationship should be based on absolute honesty and trust.
The One Day situation was never mastered by Fletcher, but as long as the Test team is winning in the Public mind at least, it is a side issue…. Until it comes to the World Cup.
The criticism of Fletcher has been over board, and when the Schofield Report into recent debacles is published, I hope the finger points higher up, to David Graveney and David Morgan who are responsible for the bonkers lack of preparation for the Ashes and then this Tournament.
In Other Cricket News….
Yorkshire look promising this season with Moxon as a proven Coach, the ellubient Gough as Captain and the shrewd signings of Jacques Rudolph and Younis Khan to complement the emergence of leg spinning all rounder Adil Rashid and the experience of the likes of Whit, McGrath and Gillespie.
This side blew Surrey away at the Oval to win by 346 runs.

Star turns were Rashid with a knock of 86 in the first innings and seven wickets in the match, a record ninth wicket stand for Yorkshire of 270 from Tim Bresnan and Jason Gillespie, plus a 6 wicket match haul for Hoggard, Rudolph and Craig White also recording vital tons.

Momentum is all in sport, so here we go!

ICC World Cup. England's Post Mortem

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:57:08 GMT

Where does English Cricket go from here?
There is a school of thought which says we should separate the ODI stuff from the Test scene but I disagree as the skills are basically the same, especially regarding batting where 4 an over is not uncommon in the longer form of the game.
Take KP as an example. He has developed a style of controlled aggression and refuses to let the bowlers dominate which has been pivotal in our Test successes, skills honed in the One Day Game.
Similarly Trescothick stepped up to the International stage via confident displays against the West Indies in the 2000 NatWest Series, and Collingwood’s doughty style was considered surplus to Test requirements for the first six years of his International Career, but this experience is integral to his success in recent Series.
There are very few Test players who are simply not One Day material, Hoggard possibly but Alistair Cook’s omission is baffling and Bell wasn’t given enough time to adapt. Incidentally, Butcher never played an ODI. Madness when you see some of those who have been capped and his free flowing style surely had a place in the side.
Thus the nucleus of the ODI side should be the same as the Test line up for the sake of cohesion and continuity.
What Went Wrong?
Batting.
We entered 2007 with no idea of the order, or how we were going to play. Loye came in as a pinch hitter but only lasted seven games, when all received wisdom suggests you can’t make a judgement about a player until at least twenty caps have been accrued.
Unprofessional, and bad planning by the Coach.
Thus we ended up with a total dog’s breakfast arrangement, and whilst others teams were piling into this Tournament’s poor attacks during the Power Plays, we stumbled to 9/0 off seven, putting me in mind of the 1979 World Cup Final where Boycott and Brearley crawled to 125/0 and it became impossible to up the momentum. The Proteas were 55/0 at the same stage in this game.
Fletcher preached caution and then launching in the last ten. By then the ball is soft, the pitch has become low and the field is out. Good call. Not.
The Joyce Question. See Loye. The boy didn’t have a cat in hells chance and possibly this has destroyed his self belief, but the fact that we didn’t have a settled side AT LEAST a year before the Tournament began beggars belief.
They need to play game after game after game together, so that all possible match time scenarios have been covered which gives the players confidence that they can cope in any given situation.
KP needs to bat at first drop. You need your best player to have maximum planned time at the crease. Common sense is not so common, it seems.
Bopara and Colly do the same job, but I believe that the Essex man has what it takes as an International batsman, the coaches can work on his medium stifling cutters, so therefore lets put the Durham man up the order and put Strauss in as a specialist finisher.
Bell…. A lot of talent, a good fielder and a fine team man. But not quite there in the ODI arena it would seem
Bowling.
Harmison and Hoggy have ruled themselves out, a pity but that’s life.
Both need to be bowling in the Championship and have a couple of hundred overs in the bank before the arrival of the Tourists, and the first Test next month.
As for the ODI side. Jones is a gimme, fitness provided, and should open with Broad, Fred and Plunkett at first change, with Panesar doing the spinning.
Any runs are a Brucie Bonus. They are there to take wickets, and if you need your number eight to score big runs, you may as well pack up and go home.
I would keep Nixon in the side for his leadership qualities and big hitting at seven.
Captaincy.
Collingwood. Experience and a cool head, allied to quite confidence and the total respect of his peers. And I would like him to lead in both forms of the game as this splitting lark doesn’t work, never has and never will.
Coach.
First choice is no longer available, and I said this in the Summer so it ain’t sentimentality for Bob Woolmer.
Now I would go for John Wright, former Coach of India. Anyone who has done THAT job for as long as he did and lived to tell the tale, is battle hardened and experienced in every sense. Knows the English scene through his time at Derby.
Second choice. John Bracewell, the former Gloucester Coach who revolutionised the way One Day Cricket is played in this country and knows the County game inside out. He had a long International career to boot.
Thus;
Collingwood©, Cook, KP, Bopara, Flintoff, Strauss, Nixon+, S.P. Jones, Broad, Plunkett, Panesar.
You have Bell, Shah, Benning and Joyce as batting cover, plus Tremlett, Mahmood and Anderson for the bowling. The later two spray it about far too much and are too risky in tandem.
Stick with this line up and only make changes due to injury and exceptional form of others.
We have good players in this country, but inertia and hubris at the top have seen stagnation in both forms of the game.

Example. The persistence with Ashley Giles. I rest my case.

ICC World Cup.SA Beat England By Nine Wickets With Thirty Overs To Spare

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 20:42:17 GMT

England crashed out of the World Cup in the most disgraceful of manners, for which there can be no excuses.
It was lame, supine and a kick in the teeth for the Barmy Army who spend thousands to follow an outfit that just simply gave up ten overs into the South African reply.
Hubris has been the legacy of 2005. The Management and the team are never at fault or accept they haven’t performed. The talk in the build up to this game was breath taking in it’s complacency that it was “just a matter of time until this team clicks.”
The only sound of clicking at the Kensington Oval was the whirring of the scoreboard as Graeme Smith belted 89 of 59 balls to see the Proteas romp home with an embarrassing 30 overs to spare.
But as with the ashes debacle, it was all so depressingly predictable and in fact the CWB win was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened, only re enforcing Fletcher’s misplaced iron self belief and trust in his own now fatally flawed judgement.

He and Vaughan are damaged goods and must go. No room for sentiment, that’s just the way it is.

The ICC World Cup, Sponsored By Mogadon... England Scrape Past Bangladesh By 4 Wickets

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:34:09 GMT

England made a dreadful hash of this game, and if the Bangladeshis had put another forty odd runs on the board, we could have been staring down the barrel.
There is no way I want to detract from a fine Tiger’s performance, and it infuriates me the way commentators write them off before each game. They beat a full strength Aussie outfit at Sofia Gardens in 2005, and put India on the plane home in this Tournament as well as doing England a favour by defeating South Africa here.
The Competition is doing it’s best to destroy any lingering interest in the International One Day scene thanks to sluggish pitches and half empty, sterile stadia.
There are far too many pointless fixtures spread out over far too long a time frame, and for the players it must be the worst tour on the calendar with massive gaps between competitive activity.
Fletcher is quite clearly losing the plot as his said; “Vaughan is in great touch in the nets”. IN THE BLEEDIN NETS!
I used to be a combination of Gower and Bradman in practice, but made Monty and Tuffnell look like a certain IVA Richards once in the middle. What a stupid statement from a Coach who must be living in a bubble of non reality.
We bowled well and did the job, but the batters are all over the place, and to me Flintoff just looks so out of form with the bat against spin that it’s like watching a golfer with the yips.
When Bopara departed it left us reeling at 110/6, but thankfully the irrepressible Nixon and a phlegmatic Collingwood saw England home. But one more wicket would have really opened an end up and seen real, and stupidly unnecessary pressure come to bear on an inexperienced tail….
On Another Note…
The Summer Game is by far my favourite sport, and there are many to choose from as my long suffering wife would tell anyone. Only horse related stuff and motor sports have me reaching for the off switch, or turning the page in the paper.
Hull City apart I have found myself falling out of love with football and at the risk of sounding like a cross between Frank Keating and John Giles, the modern game is a lucre soaked charade, masquerading as our National Game.
There are many factors at work but money is the root of it all, alienating the Clubs and players from the fans whom they just treat with nothing but contempt.
Allied to this you have the sterility of the Premiership where there hasn’t been a true three way Title Race in a generation. Even as a (now pseudo) Arsenal fan I can’t get excited about a race for fourth place. It seems the only “excitement” is at the wrong end, punctuated with nervy, error strewn games which are only of real consequence to followers of the protagonists.
The Championship is far more honest, and a better reflection of the game in this country as the players are mainly British/Irish, and whilst I’m under no illusions regarding “loyalty”, it is at least in some evidence in this League.
SuperLeague, likewise has that unpredictability that sport thrives on, as you have four teams genuinely disputing the Championship with Hull FC showing what can be done by getting to the 2006 Grand Final, which will spur on the likes of Warrington to push for the final stages and Old Trafford Glory.
This season has seen KR winning at Wigan, plus Les Catalans returning from Odsal and Craven Park with the points, whilst securing a draw at Walton Street against a flabbergasted Hull FC.
You simply can’t take your eyes off this Competition and I feel soccer could learn from the Salary cap which has opened up matters after a decade of Dave Whelan financed Wigan dominance.
But, as ever the Soccer Chairmen can’t see beyond their own interests, but the empty seats and lack of general football related conversation, plus the abysmal performances of England mean that the bubble will surely burst. But then again, this prediction has been made year on year without coming true. More’s the pity.
But… back to the ICC World Cup Sponsored By Mogadon.
In 1992 both Pakistan and England stumbled in the early phases but came good when it mattered, as indeed England did at the CWB Series this winter, so hopefully we can catch S. Africa on an off day and finish off a poor West Indies outfit. Then it’s the semis and anything can happen.

But the fact that Stuart Clark can’t make the Aussie side tells you all you need to know about the probable winners.

ICC World Cup Super Eights: Sri Lanka Beat England By 2 Runs.

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:43:02 GMT

In the build up to this vital must win game for England at the World Cup, conjecture surrounded the personnel and order of England’s batting line up.
Just a utterly ridiculous situation. Blatantly un professional, and just one of the myriad of reasons why Fletcher’s time is up as Coach.
“Fail to prepare and prepare to fail”, is a fair summary of matters since the reclamation of the Ashes in 2005, and for this the Coach and bloated staff must take ultimate responsibility.

Fletcher did all the hard work, making unpopular decisions along the way to make us for a time, the best Test team in World Cricket therefore the inertia and lack of vim around the squad seems even more baffling.
So it was the ultimate irony that the pair that nearly snatched an undeserved victory for England only have the grand total of 20 caps between them, but Nixon and Bopara showed grit, determination and above all concentration as they turned matters around with a partnership of 77 but when Nixon fell with 16 still needed the game was up.
Excellent bowling from Lancashire’s finest Mahmood (4/50) and Flintoff (3/35), backed up by fellow Clubman Anderson with a stingy 10 overs for just 39 put England in control at the break but the reason I feel that Sri Lanka may prevail in the overall context of this World Cup was proved by a superbly varied bowling attack.
Malinga and Murali’s eccentric brilliance is well supported by the wily and experienced Vaas and the reliable and newly nerveless Fernando. Add in Jayasuriya who rattles through his overs of deceptively penetrative left arm spin, plus Dilshan and you have the best attack in the Cup.
If the Sri Lankan’s batting can click, then they are better than Australia as the Champs batting prowess is not matched in the bowling stakes.
But when you can score 320 and above without breaking sweat it puts the opposition under such pressure that even the likes of Tait can defend such totals, but if the batting has an off day you can get at the Aussies, as was proved in the CWB Tournament.
Where now for England?
Nixon to open with Vaughan to get some much needed impetus early on. If he fails no big deal, but it shows intent.
Batting order thus; Vaughan©, Nixon+, KP, Colly, Fred, Strauss, Bopara, Saj, Plunkett, Anderson, Monty.
Bell just isn’t cut out for this lark, and Joyce is low on confidence, the result of just simply not having enough games under his belt. Plus his fielding isn’t what it should be.
This team also has plenty of bowling options as Plunkett, Mahmood and Anderson can be unpredictable.

But why, oh why are we having to mess about and change things in the middle part of the World Cup?

The ICC World Cup. English Prospects for the Super Eights.

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 10:15:58 GMT

“And so to the cricket….” seems a heartless and shallow sentiment given the circumstances, but I think as a sport we have no alternative.
This isn’t like Hillsborough, when given hindsight it now appears so unbelievable that we all got back on the horse with such haste. Life has to go on in this case, and crass as this may seem I think it’s what Bob would have wanted (cringe).
What of England? Predictable defeat to the Kiwis followed by satisfactory performances against the minnows saw qualification secured although inability to bowl out Canada doesn’t bode well.
Only Collingwood, Nixon, Monty and KP look anything like being near top form and Joyce is simply too inexperienced at this level, not his fault but I just can’t see how we left it till the absolute last minute to cement the top order sequence.
Did someone at the EWCB forget to write “World Cup” in the Office diary? That’s the only explanation I can come up with.
They should have selected a settled 13 for the last two years and stuck with them over a period of say 30 games, so that most match time scenarios have been experienced at some point.
Joyce, Bopara, Nixon and Panesar have 43 Caps between them. Michael Clarke is just 25 and has played 104 games. Not hard to work out why we are always playing catch up on the One Day stage is it?
Flintoff has unwittingly solved a major headache for the selectors with his late night antics as he can now be ruled out of the Captaincy race when (not if) Vaughan admits defeat and retires.
There’s only two rules to getting pissed on Tour 1) Win and 2) Win. If we had beaten the Kiwis and Fred had blasted 50 and taken wickets then it would have been “England Hero’s Deserved High Jinks”.
In this Tournament Collingwood seems the obvious man to turn to when the Skipper breaks down again, as it seems Strauss is surplus to requirements in the wake of a bad trot (his first) during the Winter.
This team is so undercooked and lacking in experience that ANYTHING could happen in the next phase, but I suspect a thin bowling line up (Monty and Fred excepted) and a brittle batting order will result in an exit before the semis. But then again….
The fact we have to play both Ireland and Bangladesh is a major advantage, plus avoiding a good looking Black Caps side. So it comes down to winning two out of South Africa, West Indies and Australia which is doable IF we play to our potential.
I was absolutely over the moon (Brian) when Ireland tied with Zimbabwe and then went onto to beat Pakistan. Mairin was here, and we were both on the edge of our seats cheering the lads on. Or was it the combination of the drink and the fact it was Paddy’s Night?

And whilst my Tri Colour will be to the fore during Ireland’s other games I’m afraid split loyalty is out the window come Friday. Sorry our kid, but the England cricket team (after Yorkshire of course) are my number one priority sports wise, and we MUST win for sure. And then there is the run rate issue…..