Cricket Commentary Loses a Legend

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Goodbye to a Legend as the Teams Prepare

 

July 31^st

 
 

[08:30 CEST] Yesterday night a tweet from BBC London’s Kevin Hand caught my eye. Without saying so in so many words – 140 characters has its limitations – it suggested that a broadcasting legend had died. I looked around various sites for confirmation of the news, including the daddy of all cricket sites, and found nothing. Finally, a link to a brief Obituary found in a Google search confirmed that Norman de Mesquita had died on Monday 29^th.

When I moved to London to study in the late ‘70s, ball-by-ball commentary was limited to TMS and home Tests. There was no coverage of the county game. There was no coverage of away tours. Television showed the Sunday League and one-day cup matches and that was it. And then I discovered Radio London. On Sunday afternoons in summer you could sit down and enjoy Ralph Dellor and Norman de Mesquita broadcasting ball-by-ball on Surrey and Middlesex games. No need to sit glued to the TV to follow a game, you could get up, move around, make a cup of tea, do coursework and follow what was going on. When the commentator’s voice moved up an octave you snapped to attention: a wicket, a great shot, a six, something worth concentrating on had happened but, mainly, you just sat back and enjoyed the atmosphere, the description and the pleasure of an afternoon in the sun, watching cricket. That was what the best commentators such as Norman de Mesquita could do: you felt that you were there in the ground.

Norman’s voice filled many Sunday afternoons for me. He showed that it did not have to be international cricket to make good radio. Those Radio London commentaries showed that the county game could be good, compelling listening, even in the changed atmosphere of the times. His commentaries must have been a factor when the idea of broadcasting county cricket systematically on Radio London was raised years later by Mark Church: Norman de Mesquita had shown that it worked. Norman’s reward for his brilliant work with Radio London was to be promoted to the TMS team when, in 1979, an expanded World Cup came to England and the BBC embarked on the remarkable challenge for those days of having ball-by-ball on every game when, most days, there would be two matches played simultaneously in different parts of the country (the ICC could shorten the ridiculous length of the tournament by going back to this practice). While one match would be the main commentary, a line would always be open to the other game and, when something interesting happened, commentary would switch. I cannot recall if it was Norman who covered the Australia-Canada match at Birmingham as England beat Pakistan in a thriller at Headingly (Geoff Boycott bowled England to victory when the match seemed to be slipping away) but, after 4 overs, with Canada 36-0 and Rodney Hogg nursing 0-26 after two overs, clearly someone had to bring news of the unexpected mayhem and Norman helped the BBC to ensure that the listeners heard news of such happenings, live and knew what was going on in every match and it received top-class commentary. Then, as now, a seat in the TMS box was regarded as the pinnacle for a cricket broadcaster and coverage of that tournament was fair reward for him. The BBC TMS book of that summer pays generous tribute to Norman’s style and contribution to the success of the World Cup coverage.

When, in 2011, I got to do some ball-by-ball myself, thanks to the kindness of Martin Emerson at Chester-le-Street, but mainly thanks to Norman’s successor at Radio London, Kevin Hand at Lords, I was fortunate enough to meet Norman. He was always there and wandered into the TMS box (pssst! Don’t tell TMS that Kevin uses their box because it is bigger and much more comfortable than the Radio London box, which is just that… a small box) every day to chat. Norman was a real gentleman, avid about Middlesex cricket and a really nice fellow. It was always a shame to me that he was never brought onto the microphone after Middlesex ball-by-ball started up, but the voice impediment that an earlier illness had left him, would have made it difficult for him to broadcast, although it was not a serious issue when talking to him away from the microphone. He could often be heard in the background, sat in the back of the box, asking Kevin questions that Kevin relayed to the listeners.

Kevin Hand said that he would have loved to have shared a microphone with Norman de Mesquita, commentating on Middlesex. You can just imagine it. They would have been a latter-day  Brian Johnson and John Arlott: both consummate professionals who complemented each other and who brought cricket alive to listeners in their own style, making it fun to listen to, just the way that Hand and de Mesquita would have done together. What a Dream Team that would have been.

Thanks Norman, from a cricket fan, for so many happy memories.

  

Back to the business in hand. Word is – how reliable I do not know – that Steve Smith will be fit to play. The weather forecast is for five mainly dry days, although cloud cover is likely to be a factor and Friday could see some storms. Day one will be hot. Days two and three rather cooler, but still pleasantly warm. Win the toss and bat to win the match.

[12:00 CEST] Lots of little hints appearing that, surprise (and as I suggested yesterday), England will play an unchanged XI tomorrow. Methinks hat there is a lot of use of smoke and mirrors.

Mixed Messages

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Mixed Messages from Both Teams

 

July 30^th

 

[15:30 CEST] This Ashes series gets more surreal by the day. With Australia expected to make changes, possibly even fundamental changes in the balance of their side with suggestions that any or all of Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Mitchell Starc and David Warner could play, other voices are being heard suggesting that maybe Australia will make few, if any changes. Adam Gilchrist has suggested that maybe Australia will not change their top six at all and Darren Lehman has suggested that Warner is no certainty for Old Trafford (how quickly he adapts from the pitches and conditions in Southern Africa to Manchester will be fundamental to the decision as to whether or not to go with him or, at least, should be).

One option is for Australia to make a straight swap and play Nathan Lyon in place of the injured James Pattison. This would give them an attacking spin option to counter Graeme Swann and, if the pitch really is expected to be a big turner, three spinners with complementary styles: the off-breaks of Lyon, the slow left arm of Agar and the leg spin of Smith. It would only take one of the three to come off for Australia to get the win that would re-open the series. As Steve Smith has some back problems and will need to pass a fitness test before playing, it may be that the selectors feel their hand forced into playing Lyon if they do not have Smith’s bowling available. The danger of the three spinner strategy is that it could force Michael Clarke into making heavy use of Ryan Harris and risking his breakdown, or into treating Shane Watson as a front-line seamer. Both are risky strategies, but risks that may be felt worth taking to force a win.

An advantage of the Lyon for Pattinson swap is that it would give a vote of confidence to the top seven rather than destabilising them further with additional changes. It is an Australian trait that has worked well in the past to show faith in your players to come good and one that they have been losing recently.

An alternative option is to make major changes to a side that was badly beaten last time out. Options might include Warner replacing Hughes, Lyon replacing Agar, Bird replacing Pattison and, if the selectors are concerned about Harris’s ability to play consecutive Tests, Starc for Harris (the argument here might be to conserve Harris for a big effort in the last two Tests if the series is still live then).

Right now it appears that Lyon for Pattinson may be the preferred option, if Smith is fit.

England, in contrast, were confidently expected to play the same eleven as at Lords. However, the decision to add Chris Tremlett and Monty Panesar has sent a message of potential tactical changes. Old Trafford is expected to take a lot of turn so, England may want to have a second specialist spinner rather than depending on Joe Root. Similarly, Old Trafford tends to reward tall fast bowlers so, with Steve Finn not felt worth the risk, Tremlett has a real chance of playing. Who though would drop out? There’s the rub.

Old Trafford is expected to favour reverse swing over conventional, but it is also Jimmy Anderson’s home ground and where he learnt to bowl. So, ideally, England want both Bresnan and Anderson. It is helpful to tall bowlers, so both Broad and Tremlett are indicated. And it is expected to be a spinners’ paradise, so Swann and Panesar should play. Someone will be very unlucky to miss out on Thursday morning. Or, just possibly, the idea is to keep Australia off balance and try to push them into making a wrong decision on their final XI.

If I were a betting man, I would go with an attack of Anderson, Broad, Bresnan and Swann, unchanged from Lords, but the England selectors have shown that they are prepared to adapt, when necessary.

Australia Lack Clarity in Their Selection

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Do Australia Know What They Want?

 

July 29^th

 

[10:30 CEST] There is a sensation that Australia simply do not have a clear idea of what they want and where they plan to go. The latest idea is that maybe they will go into the 3^rd Test on Thursday with two front-line spinners – Agar and Lyon – presumably supported by Steve Smith. This may mean Lyon coming in for Pattinson rather than Jackson Bird, as had been expected. This could lead to Australia fielding Siddle and the injury-plagued Ryan Harris, backed-up by the more gentle pace of Shane Watson as the seam attack. Given Ryan Harris’s injury record it is a huge risk to take to make him the spearhead of a two-man pace attack and rely on the hope that he will not break down, especially as the 2^nd Test represented the largest number of deliveries that he has ever had to make in a single Test match. Nathan Lyon though has every right to feel hard done by. Even though not even Australians will claim that he is a great spinner, or even an especially good one, he is the best that they have fielded for several years and has a quite reasonable Test record. His performance at Hove reflected the confusion and lack of self-confidence that he must feel on being dropped for a promising 19 year old who has looked somewhat out of his depth bowling.

At the top of the order there are calls for Watson and/or Rogers to be dropped. While Watson’s limitations were well known, Rogers has been a major disappointment. In imperious form for Middlesex he was expected to use his knowledge of English conditions to good advantage. Instead, after three Tests he is averaging just 18 and scores of 16, 52, 15 and 6 in this series are far less than Australia hoped for. Despite one fifty, England seem to have his number. Some would like to see a return for Ed Cowan but, after 18 Tests, he averages just 31.3, well below what is expected for a specialist bat in Tests and may be lucky to have had as many opportunities as he has received. One option is for Phillip Hughes to move back up the order to try to get him away from Graeme Swann. After a thunderous start in Tests against South Africa, Phil Hughes now averages just 32.7: he is the sort of player who Australia would never have even considered for the squad in richer eras. Khawaja batted at 3 at Lords and did a decent job, but his attitude and appetite for work have often been regarded as suspect by the team management and he is not totally safe from being the man sacrificed to make room for David Warner.

Looking at the Test career averages for the top seven used by Australia in the first two Tests reminds you just how far the art of Australian batting has fallen: Rogers, 18.0; Watson, 34.9; Cowan, 31.3; Khawaja, 30.1; Hughes, 32.7; Clarke, 51.8; Smith, 29.0; and Haddin, 34.7. Apart from Clarke, no one averages over 40 and none of the rest even averages over 35 in Tests. In contrast, Cook, Root, Trott, Pietersen, Bell and Prior all average over 40 for England and Bairstow and Bresnan over 30. Even if David Warner plays, he averages 39.5 and so would still leave Australia with a top seven of which only one averages over 40 in Tests. It is a far cry from the sides that Australia fielded through most of the last fifteen years.

England though would be well advised to remember a guy called Steve Waugh. He came to England in 1989 averaging just 30.5 after 26 Tests. England had played him in Australia in 1986/87 and in 1988 and did not regard his batting as a major problem. By the end of the Ashes summer that year he averaged 40.1 and had made his point. There are still three Tests left in this series and any one of that Australian top six could suddenly become a hero with a couple of big centuries if England relax their guard.

However, the simple fact remains that to have any hope of re-gaining the Ashes Australia must win at Old Trafford and that may spur them to take some major gambles. If England win, the series is lost, but better to go down fighting. The problem is that the only positions that they seem to have clear right now are those of Clarke, Haddin and Siddle.

English Surprises. Australian Answers.

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

England Spring a Surprise

 

July 28^th

 

[10:15 CEST] Steve Smith completed his century. The expected wash-out of play did not happen. James Taylor looks set for a century today. And, after blasting through the top order, the Australian bowlers were unable to finish the job, leaving Sussex to recover to a position far healthier at the Close than ever seemed possible earlier in the day (this story sounds familiar from the last two Tests, where England were allowed to recover each time after the top order struggled).

The good news for Australia was that Steve Smith reached his century confidently in the morning, allowing a quick declaration. Jackson Bird then set about the Sussex top order with some gusto. At 33-3 the Follow-On mark of 217 seemed a long way away. However, from there things were not so good. Agar was expensive. Lyon was the only bowler not to take a wicket. Wade’s wicket-keeping was very poor and, at 228-5, Sussex will bat on this morning and deny the Australians any chance of a result and the Australian batsmen a second innings for as long as possible.

For Australia the questions that have been answered are multiple: Jackson Bird is the frontrunner to take James Pattinson’s spot; Steve Smith has done more than enough to keep his place; Lyon has not made any sort of clear case for a re-call; and, Wade has had a nightmare match that has ruled him out of contention for the rest of the series. Before this game Matt Wade had two chances to get back into the side, either as a batsman, with so many specialists struggling, or as wicket-keeper batsman, given that Brad Haddin has made little impact with the bat at 7. A duck, several missed chances and a general untidy performance have shut off both routes for Wade.

It all adds up to the likelihood that Australia will make just two changes: Bird for Pattinson and Warner for Hughes. Whether or not that will resolve their problems remains to be seen.

England’s selectors have come up with a number of surprises from a position of strength. As expected, in comes James Taylor as injury cover for Kevin Pietersen. Less expected is that Onions and Finn have been dropped – in Onion’s case, “released” would be kinder as he has been in as cover with no realistic chance of playing – and Chris Tremlett and Monty Panesar have come in. Old Trafford has a reputation for turn, so England are leaving the option of two spinners, while Tremlett is in as the tall, fast bowler who has a good record against Australia. This leaves England with all bases covered and a wealth of options, whatever the pitch. Most likely England will be unchanged but, if the pitch looks unsuitable for the winning XI at Lords, it can be tuned, as necessary.

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Phil Hughes on the Brink?

 

July 27^th

 

[11:30 CEST] It is of the nature of this tour that the player who tops the Australian averages on tour (apart from Faulkner, who has only one completed innings and is in danger of emulating Bill Johnson’s remarkable feat in 1953) is the one with most to fear from the return of David Warner. While Steve Smith is also under threat, his bowling allows him to add value even when he fails with the bat. For Hughes, runs are the only valid currency. So, with Hughes, Smith, Khawaja and Wade presumably all fighting for just two places in the side for the 3^rd Test, a day batting on a flat pitch against a friendly attack in good conditions was a heaven-sent opportunity to make a big score and make oneself undroppable.

On one level 354-5 in 92 overs was a wonderful return for a day playing a side with a weakened, but not entirely sacrificial attack, especially given that Chris Jordan and Monty Panesar have very good reasons to want to do well against Australia. On another, it looks a bit of a disappointment. Everyone, bar the luckless Wade got in. No one has made a century, leaving the Australians with just the two that Clarke and Watson scored against Worcestershire to show for their efforts in this, their fifth First Class match of the tour. Steve Smith will be hopeful though that he will add the two runs that he needs in the morning to get his hundred. As Hughes stroked his way to 84 one fan suggested that maybe England had an interest in keeping him in the side. He finally fell to the persistent Lewis Hatchett, whose return of 2-34 off 14.4 over in only his tenth First Class match far outshone Chris Jordan’s 0-80 off 14. Jordan has been showing the form that made him a real prospect as an all-rounder (he could play for either England or the West Indies), but this will have done nothing to advance his case for promotion.

Overall though, Hughes has missed the chance to nail down his spot and looks the most vulnerable of the top six and the most likely to pay the price for failure, although you can make a good case for dropping any and all of them.

However, in general terms, Australia will be satisfied. All the batsmen except Wade got plenty of middle time and made a score. Given that today’s weather forecast looks awful, with big storms crossing the South Coast from France, they may not get a second chance to bat in the match. Wade has thus, almost certainly, ruled himself out of the fight to play in the 3^rd Test by failing to cash in today.  Hughes will wonder if those extra sixteen runs that he missed could also see him watching the match from the balcony.

Australia's Strategy Looks Confused

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Looking for confidence, or looking to avoid a new disaster?

 

July 26^th

 

[12:00 CEST] The bookmakers tend to know a thing or two about where their money is safe. Their reaction to the 2-0 England lead in the Test series and Australia’s much-publicised problems has been interesting: the odds have barely changed. England are warm, but not hot favourites to win the 3^rd Test and the odds on Australia winning have increased slightly, but only slightly, to 5-1 and a draw seen as increasingly likely. In other words, the way that the bookies see the 3^rd Test is that nothing has really changed and there is no sense that Australia are nearing meltdown in the way that there was in the famous 2006/07 series, when a whitewash seemed inevitable as soon as England threw away a strong position in the 2^nd Test.

After several difficult weeks, David Warner’s 193 for Australia A against strong opposition has led to his immediate recall to the main squad, with the suggestion that he is almost certain to play at #6 in the 3^rd Test (the fact that South Africa A replied with 613-7 suggests that the pitch was not the most threatening). This is the position occupied by Steve Smith at Lords but, quite possibly, Phil Hughes is the batsman most at threat to accommodate him. Hughes is opening in the current match – going back to his old position when he first burst on the Test scene – with Ed Cowan. With Khawaja at 3, Smith and Wade at #5 and Faulkner at #6, it is certainly a highly unusual and experimental line-up. Just what the Australians expect to learn from it is highly uncertain. Certainly the side seems better designed to reveal the bowling options for the 3^rd Test, especially as there are suggestions that Smith, batting a 4 in this game, is at least one place too high in the order even at #6 in the Tests.

It is almost as if Australia have decided how they want to address the batting issues, but are totally unclear about the bowling options and have decided that, more than a confidence boost, the batsmen need some rest. The situation is so rarefied that were Sussex to have taken two or three quick wickets against the Test batting XI, it would increase the pressure, not decrease it, so the move to rest most of the batsmen is a defensive one. There is also a suggestion that Michael Clarke’s back may be troubling again badly.

By accident or design, Sussex have picked a fairly strong team, with several players who have a real interest in doing well against them such as Chris Jordan, Monty Panesar, James Taylor, all of whom will hold serious ambitions about playing Tests in the next year and, possibly even Rory Hamiliton-Brown, seen only a couple of years ago as a real England prospect, who is now trying to establish himself again and may hope that he can get the Lions interested. There are also though the usual hand of young and fringe players, one of the most interesting being Chris Liddle, seen as a one-day specialist, who would like to show that he can perform in the longer format too.
 

One thing that is striking though is the chronic lack of depth that Australia can count on. They have taken the advice of many fans and gone for some solid county pros who have made a reputation in the Championship such as Ed Cowan and Chris Rogers, without realising that county pros get studied and the weaknesses are well known. There are plenty of other players around English cricket who they could use, but their quality is very much in question. A case in point is Dan Christian, veteran of 17 ODIs and 11 T20s, playing for Gloucestershire: he has taken three, expensive wickets, gone for a lot of runs (including 0-57 off 4 overs against Somerset, giving him an economy rate of 9.2 and 3 wickets at 76) and scored just 88 runs in his eight innings. I am listening to the commentators wonder why Gloucestershire are paying a huge sum for Christian, while an honest county pro like Will Gidman, who would take more wickets and get more runs, is being kept out of the side.

 

Keeping Everyone Guessing

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Disconcerting Selections

 

July 25^th

 

 [10:00 CEST] Australia have done something extremely unexpected by resting six of the side defeated by England for the match against Sussex on Friday. While Ryan Harris has undoubtedly earned his break after bowling 44 overs at Lords, as has Peter Siddle, the others who are rested are all batsmen, none of whom have shone much so far. In contrast, Ashton Agar, hampered by injury, plays. With six rested, one player ruled out of the tour and David Warner in South Africa, Australia can only raise ten men, which means a First Class debut for a 19 year old who is gaining experience playing Hampshire league cricket and a side with three spinners.

After a run of scores of 0, 2, 0, 0, 9, 6, 11, David Warner has come good with 193 against South Africa A, leading to calls for him to be included in the side for the 3^rd Test. How easy it will be for him to fly back from South Africa and slot straight into a Test is not obvious. His three innings in England on the Australia tour brought him 0, 0 and 9 and the last of them was on June 8^th, so he is not exactly acclimatised to conditions It is an interesting conundrum for the Australian selectors.

Things may be clearer for the Australian selectors after the Sussex match but, as many of the players are fringe members of the squad, it is not obvious how much clearer they will be. It is almost as if the Australian management want to keep people guessing as much as possible what the side will be for the 3^rd Test.

Interesting Questions for Both Sides to Answer

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

What are the Options?

 

July 24^th

 

 [14:30 CEST] How can Australia strengthen their batting? Hughes, Watson, Clarke, Rogers, Haddin and Smith all average under 30 and Smith, under 20. If Matthew Wade is brought in, who gets dropped? Rogers and Watson are the opening pair and although you could make a case for dropping both, there is no realistic alternative. Clarke is the captain. Wade was dropped in favour of Haddin: you can hardly reverse that change so quickly. Which leaves Smith and Hughes. Smith has bowled remarkably effectively so far and has shown some reasonable form with the bat on this tour. Hughes scored 81* in the remarkable last wicket partnership with Agar in the 1^st Test and, since, has 0, 1 & 1. He is becoming a walking wicket, falling LBW twice to Graeme Swann and edging behind off Bresnan. Hughes badly needs runs against Sussex in the game starting on Friday, or he could become the fall guy, as Ed Cowan was after the 1^st Test.

This Test series is showing the value of having done your homework. Chris Rogers has made runs for fun for Middlesex, as Phil Hughes did in 2009. However, on the county circuit it was well known that he had a weakness outside off stump early in his innings and England have studied him and feel confident that they can control him: two LBWs and a bowled for low scores suggests that they know how to do it. Ed Cowan has been a big scorer for Derbyshire and is already out of the Australian team because he looked so vulnerable.

Some Australians are beginning to wonder, as many followers of County Cricket did, if Australia made the wrong choice of Middlesex opener. Sam Robson was snubbed by Australia and may play for England as a result. He is twelve years younger than Rogers and, last time out, against County Championship leaders, Sussex, he score 166 and 18* to take Middlesex to a huge win. Australian fans say that as he is unproven in the Sheffield Shield he has done nothing to demonstrate that he is good enough to play Test cricket. 986 runs at 70.4 (an average 16 better than Rogers) this season suggest that such a parochial attitude has been a big error.

Meanwhile, with Kevin Pietersen an injury doubt for the 3^rd Test, James Taylor has been drafted into the Sussex side for Friday’s match, suggesting that he is the likely replacement, should Pietersen not be fit. Here, the inconvenient gap in the fixture schedule is a real problem. Taylor had two innings last week against Warwickshire, scoring 80 and 2 in that massive defeat and scored 5 against Surrey in early July: all his other recent innings have been T20, which is not quite what you want as warm-up for a Test, hence the call-up to reinforce Sussex.

Australia Need to Re-Capture an Australian Virtue

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

What are the Options?

 

July 23^rd

 

 [23:30 CEST] It is certain that Australia will make changes for the 3^rd Test, but there is intense debate over what, if anything, the Australians can do to get back into the series. Only once has a side ever come back to win from 2-0 down and that was Don Bradman’s 1936/37 warriors: then England won the 1^st Test by 322 runs and the 2^nd Test by an innings and 22, before losing the last three Tests by 365 runs, 148 runs and an innings and 200 runs. The swing in fortunes in that series was violent in the extreme. In the first two Tests Australia were dismissed for 58 and for 80, before Bradman managed a sequence of 270 in the 3^rd Test, 212 in the 4^th Test and 169 in the 5^th Test. Michael Clarke is capable of such a sequence and Australia do need a similar one from him.

Australia must make one change: James Pattinson has to be replaced and rarely does Ryan Harris play consecutive Tests due to his fragile body, so a second may be required. After 44 overs in the Lords Test it would be taking a big risk to play him again at Old Trafford. There is also a strong case for saying that for all his heroics with the bat, Ashton Agar has been picked as a bowler and looks out of his depth in that role: even with very little recent bowling Nathan Lyon may be a better bet to take wickets. However, that is by the by because the biggest single problem is the batting. With David Warner right out of form with Australia A and Ed Cowan out of favour, Matthew Wade is being considered as a serious candidate for the 3^rd Test as a specialist bat.

However, there is an alternative way to look at things. Australia were, when in their pomp, known for rarely making changes to their side, even after defeats. This is a trait that England have inherited. There is a strong argument for Darren Lehman telling the side that he has faith in them and making just the single change to bring back Mitchell Starc as a replacement for James Pattinson, showing faith in the XI from Lords plus the bowler who was dropped to make room for Ryan Harris. Show faith in the players. Do not make wholesale changes and see if they respond.

Go Fawad Young Man!

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Time for Fawad Ahmed?

 

July 22^nd

 

 

[23:00 CEST] If you are Australian, this scheduled 5^th day of the Test is not a good day. It has been the sixth consecutive Australian Test defeat. The fourth consecutive Ashes defeat. In three of the four Tests the margin has been enormous: two by an innings and one by 347 runs. The Test did not make it into the fifth day. Just when you think that things cannot get worse, your leading fast bowler is ruled out of the rest of the tour and you wunderkind gets injured too. Up to now things have been explained away, but this is getting systematic and England are even claiming the luxury of playing quite poorly and know that they can play very much better than this.

It is hard to know what Australia can do to improve things much. They brought in their only batting reserve, Usman Khawaja and he was relatively successful. Unless Matthew Wade is played as a batsman, there is no one else. David Warner is struggling on tour with Australia A and making no case at all to play. The bowling has been insipid: the new ball attack has taken wickets but, as soon as the shine is off the ball, the threat has ended. Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris have done well, but after the new ball thrust, the support bowling is not seeing things through.

James Pattinson, expected to be the leader of a hostile pace attack, has disappointed and today he has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back and will play no further part in the tour. Australia still have three very good fast bowlers available on tour, but Ashton Agar is injured, Nathan Lyon is desperately short of bowling and Steve Smith is not really a front-line spinner, for all his unexpected success. The obvious option is to call up Fawad Ahmed who, after his disappointing A tour of England and Ireland, is playing well in Zimbabwe, albeit against modest opposition. The logical thing is to try to change direction and bring in Fawad Ahmed and at least attempt to match the English spin threat.

The Search for Respectability

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Australia’s Search for Respectability

 

July 21^st

 

[11:50 CEST] I simply cannot understand the nerves about England’s declaration. Cook, as is logical, has not declared and people are talking as if Alistair Cook has just presented Michael Clarke with a gift of a guaranteed draw today. If a side is capable of surviving six sessions to draw a Test having scored just 128 in the first innings, then hats off to them. In six sessions they should score around 600 maybe 650 so, by that reasoning, England are not going to be safe until an hour before lunch at best. So, if you expect England to need the full six sessions to win, you are arguing that England will be unable to bowl Australia out for under 600 on a pitch that has plenty of turn and increasingly variable bounce.

The whole point of today is to inflict mental disintegration on Australia. Their batsmen have been in the field for 110 overs now and know that the target that they will face is around double the one that they failed to make in the 1^st Test. A ruthless captain knows the value of toying with them and making them realise that they are subject to Alistair Cook’s whim.

Australia have learnt that that selection of Ashton Agar may well have been a sentimental mistake – not an accusation often levelled at the Australians in the past. He did a brilliant job with the bat in the 1^st Test and an adequate job with the ball, but in this Test with plenty of turn available, he is impeded by injury and is being taken apart. He has not threatened to take wickets and has conceded one hundred runs with the ball in what is his real job: to counter the threat of Graeme Swann’s spin and to bowl Australia to victory if the pitch takes spin.

Sadly, Jonny Bairstow has not been able to take the chance of a rehabilitating innings without pressure on him, falling early to the persevering Ryan Harris, but not before depositing Ashton Agar over Long On for a run-rate enhancing six. Matt Prior though is also in need of runs and is a quick scorer, so he has the chance to do himself some good with a run transfusion. Michael Clarke though has been setting run-saving fields with the old ball, keeping Root off the strike, trying to deny England runs and slow the two hundred for Root and the declaration: maybe it is something that he could have tried a few hours ago before the match situation got away from him.

[12:15 CEST] Root is out for 180 and the declaration comes. In the end it was all a bit pointless…

[00:15 CEST] All those nerves about the declaration. Australia almost took the match into the fifth day, but only thanks to another 10^th wicket partnership – this time of 43 – that got the margin below 350 runs. The decline from 134-3 to 162-8 after England had made batting look easy, was an indictment of how bad things have become. Whereas the two Australian spinners had not really threatened after Smith’s freak spell on the first evening, Graeme Swann looked very dangerous and even Joe Root nipped out a couple of cheap wickets: you start to think that next time he crosses the English Channel, it will be walking.

It was predictable that the last two wickets would hold England up. If they could all 73 between them, why were the rest so poor? Australia have a crisis of form and confidence in the batting, except for the tail-enders, who have nothing to lose.

Looking at the series statistics so far, four of the top five run scorers in the first two Tests are English: Bell and Root you might have predicted, but Bairstow and Broad, no. Likewise, the only Australian in the top 5 runscorers is Agar. Anderson and Swann are the top wicket-takers in the series. Pattinson, expected to be the scourge of England’s batting, averages 44, Watson 88 and Agar 124. Starc, who averages 27 must be wondering what he did wrong to be dropped. Amid the mayhem, Harris and Siddle have magnificent figures. The top four in England’s bowling averages all average 22 or less, with Root picking up his 3 wickets at 5 each, Tim Bresnan – sparingly used – has 4 at 14.5, Jimmy Anderson has 13 at 18 and Graeme Swann 13 at 22.

If Australia lose at Old Trafford, 5-0 will start to become an all too real possibility. Right now the Australian losing streak is at 6. Surely it will end soon.

Going for Mental Disintegration

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Massacre

 

July 20^th

 

[19:00 CEST] If anyone had any doubts about Joe Root or about the final destination of the Ashes, they can forget them now. Australia had given themselves a slim chance of getting back into the match by reducing England to 30-3 last night: if they could have rolled England this morning, they might just have fancied themselves for the chase. Instead, they are already facing a chase 150 greater than the highest ever successful chase in a Test.

Australia have looked as if they just wanted this match to end and to be able to go somewhere else. No spirit, no fight, no interest. From 30-3 the score has advanced to 333-3, a lead of 566, with just the nightwatchman, Tim Bresnan, falling after another useful score and Ian Bell, who hammered a long hop straight to Chris Rogers and must be furious for missing out on another century.

Australia cannot even claim the consolation of being able to say that they have been beaten by South Africans. The runs were scored by two Yorkshiremen and a lad from Coventry who was dubbed by them the Shermanator and not precisely as a compliment. And it is another Yorkshireman, Jonny Bairstow, who was at the crease with Joe Root at the Close as England scored happily at 5-an-over, including a horrific Steve Smith over that went for 18, including two sixes.

The undoubted king of the day though was Joe Root. Just as fans were beginning to worry that his amazing run of form at #6 was being killed-off as an opener he has responded with a huge innings. It was a day when things were in his favour: an insipid and demoralised attack, a friendly pitch (or, at least, it seemed that way) and perfect batting conditions. Joe Root made the bowlers pay for a ridiculous life last night when an edge went between Haddin and Clarke and neither moved. To his credit, Nick Compton was one of the first to congratulate Root, who has now sealed that opening spot for the rest of the summer. Joe Root has also done what Nick Compton failed to do in that he has turned a century into a big hundred and only an overnight declaration looks capable of stopping him going on to a double century in the morning.

To declare, or not to declare? That is the question! England already have more than enough runs to win with plenty to spare. However, when Australia were on top for so long they followed the West Indian tactic of grinding defeated opponents into the dirt and setting ridiculous targets to humiliate them completely. A lot of people expected England to declare tonight and give the Australians a few overs to face. Many more expect them to declare overnight, but the Australian mental disintegration technique consisted of making the opposition drag themselves around the outfield for hour after hour wondering when the torture would finally stop, until all resistance had been ground out of the opposition. England do not need to declare now. If the Australians can bat for 6 sessions, they will reach the current target comfortably anyway. Better to make them bowl on in the morning, tiring the players for the rest of the series. You can even argue that England could justify batting on for an over or two after lunch, until they are begging Alistair Cook to declare and challenging Australia to survive five sessions. Based on what we have seen so far, that looks most unlikely: in the 1^st Test, Australia’s two innings together lasted just short of 6 sessions and summed only a few more runs than England’s current lead..

Laurel and Hardy, but now it's Australia in a fine mess...

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Another Fine Mess You’ve Gotten Me Into

 

July 19^th

 

 

[09:00 CEST] Yesterday, Australia’s bowlers were taking wickets almost in spite of themselves. To be honest, they did not have a great day, although Ryan Harris added some real bite to the attack. Pattinson was expensive, Siddle steady by unthreatening and Agar had the sort of day where his 0-44 could easily have been 0-84 with a more decided batting side. England, having lost three wickets early after a quick start, had to re-build and did not have the luxury of taking liberties. However, having largely controlled the four Australian strike bowlers, they surrendered rather tamely to two bowlers who were expected to be bit players. Shane Watson has wanted to drop his bowling role due to injury and Steve Smith is reported to no longer consider himself to be a front-line spinner and it showed in the way that he was just brought on to hurry the new ball when Australia were desperate for a breakthrough in the final session.

Yesterday was striking for one thing: Michael Clarke’s captaincy. He saw the ball flying to the boundary in the morning and brought on Shane Watson for the fifth over – a major surprise – and Watson took Cook’s wicket first ball. He brought on Smith for a spell in the evening, a few overs before the new ball was due and he immediately found some sharp turn and took three precious wickets. What was turning into England’s day without question, finished as Australia’s day. You have to be impressed.

Despite the suggestions that this is a 500 wicket, I have my doubts. I suspect that there is much more for the bowlers in this pitch than people think. Australia did not use the pitch particularly well, but took wickets with some very good balls, although there were far too many bad balls in between that Trott, Bairstow and, especially, Bell could take advantage of.

Trott did what Trott does. There is a big hundred in there in this series and it is just a matter of when he finds it. Bairstow was incredibly lucky to get away with his clean bowled – yet again he missed a straight ball – and when you thought that he might make Australia pay with a century, he came up short. Bairstow still does not have a Test century and has been unable to convert any of his 50s. Can he convince the sceptics soon that his average of 32.9 is going to start to rise… fast? Were Nick Compton to make a comeback, the player most likely to miss out would be Bairstow: he can cut short the talk by making a century, but you wonder if he will come good in time. I suspect that the cut-off will be the 3^rd Test: then the selectors will re-assess the side.

And then, there was Ian Bell. Three centuries in his last three Ashes Tests. Quiet, understated, efficient. And yet, annoyingly, each time he has been out shortly after completing the century. Yesterday a 150 was there for the taking. It is churlish to criticise a man who is doing a brilliant job for his side, but it seems that he is just lacks that little bit of ruthlessness that turns a merely very good Test batsman into a truly great one. You cannot imagine Kevin Pietersen getting to 100 with the Australian attack wilting visibly and not going onto 140, 150, 160 at least. That said, without Bell’s runs, England would now really be in a hole and would have lost at Trent Bridge.

[18:20 CEST] Let's see if I have got this right. Since last week we have been told that England are a talentless team of pie-chuckers who depend totally on Jimmy Anderson to be competitive and Graeme Swann is the world's worst spinner, who will never give Australia problems.

Hmmm. Perhaps people were a little hasty in summing up this series?

Australia have the last wicket partnership to thank, yet again, for making the scorecard a little more respectable. The 24 that Pattinson and Harris put on was comfortably the second highest partnership of the innings. Jimmy Anderson took just a single wicket, that of Peter Siddle, as first Tim Bresnan – who Australian fans were asking England to pick – and then Graeme Swann (never rated by Australian fans) sliced through the Australian line-up. This time though it never looked like the last wicket pair would have a chance of saving the follow-on mark of 162. Swann ended up on the Honours Board with 5-44 and obtained huge turn at times even though he was spinning the ball less than at Trent Bridge.

To fall to 128 all out on a pitch that looked so good that people castigated England for not reaching 500, was pretty poor. At one point the camera focused on Darren Lehman on the Australian balcony. His expression of helplessness and misery almost made you feel sorry for him, Australian or not.

England, with a lead of 233, logically, declined to enforce the follow-on. No one wants to bat last on this pitch and Australia can look forward to being set 500+ with two days to bat to save the match. This is a critical innings for Joe Root. The match situation removes all pressure from him. England are, barring catastrophe, going to win; he can bat as long as he wants and needs a fifty, preferably a big fifty to avoid going into the 3^rd Test under real pressure to drop back down to #6. Right now you would have to say that Australia are the least of his problems. Intended attack leader James Pattinson was so poor in the first innings that Shane Watson was promoted to take the new ball, presumably on the grounds that he was more likely to make the quick breakthroughs that would offer Australia the only chance of getting back into this game.

Realistically Australia need to bowl England out for around 100. Once England pass the Australian 1^st innings total and Australia have to make the largest score of the match to win in the 4^th innings they know that the game will be up.

[21:30 CEST] Here we go again. England just needed to bat solidly to close out that match and ensure going 2-0 up in the series. The collapsed horribly again to Peter Siddle and, at 31-3, already probably have enough runs, but are certainly not trying to show that they are going to win in style.

England have, all too often, been mediocre in this series. That they should be winning it convincingly gives a strong indication of just how awful Australia have been. This time the tail could not bail out a top order that looks as solid as a blancmange, but less stable.

A week ago most people would have laughed if you had said 5-0. They still will. However, if England close out this match and get on top in the 3^rd Test, it will not sound so much like a joke. Australia have to find some spine from somewhere. England fans will not mind them having lost it in their luggage on the trip to the UK and will hope that the Lost Luggage Office at Heathrow fails to locate it. Before the series I thought that England could win 3-0, 4-0 if they got a lot of lucky breaks. After seeing Australia’s performances in the warm-ups I would happily have settled for 2-0 or 3-1. Right now it looks closer to a 4-0 final scoreline than to 2-0.

Australia Wield the Axe

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

Seconds Out! Round 2!

 

July 18^th

 

[09:00 CEST] Yesterday, Alistair Cook said that he would not shirk from taking tough decisions. Everyone understood this as being a reference to the composition of the bowling attack and, specifically, Steve Finn. Some people have understood though that what he means is that he will make the huge call to keep Finn in the side, rather than drop him as (almost) everyone expected.

Early word is that Australia have reached for the axe without sentiment to the 1^st Test defeat and will make two major changes: Mitchell Starc and Ed Cowan will pay the price for the insipid batting and bowling displays of Australia in the 1^st Test and will be replaced with Ryan Harris and Usman Khawaja. It would be a swift and summary response. Cowans’s 3, 46, 58, 34, 0 & 14 on tour has not been a disaster, but neither has it been royal progress. Starc’s recent form has not been poor, but he is perceived to have faded in the second innings at Trent Bridge as England put the match beyond Australia.

It could be that there are two changes to the sides when they take the field later this morning but, rather than one change each, both are from Australia, while England put out the same XI as eight days ago.

Once again the bookmakers make England strong favourites to win the Test. England are 6-5 on, Australia 3-1, with the draw second favourite, but at odds not much shorter than an Australian win.

[12:30 CEST] Good news for Steve Finn and for England. The chop administered, with Tim Bresnan, taking his place, he is straight off to Hove to play for Middlesex where he is guaranteed a long bowl, which is what he needs to get back on song. He will benefit, Middlesex will benefit, England will benefit.

England have won the toss, bat and have started confidently. 18-0 after 4 overs, with a lot of the Australian bowling very wild. And, as I write, Clarke brings on Shane Watson early and Cook falls to his first ball.

Not so good for David Warner in South Africa: out for 6 as Australia make somewhat heavy weather of the Zimbabwe Select XI’s bowling.

18-0 after 4 overs becomes 28-3 after 6. Mayhem again. And Harris has two wickets on his recall.

[23:15 CEST] What to make of another odd day? England started appallingly badly, recovered well and, an hour before the Close, it seemed that England were heading to a position of complete dominance and a huge total. The factor that changed everything was the entry into the attack of Steve Smith – not exactly the greatest of England’s worries before the series started. Interestingly Smith got Bell with a ball that turned sharply and that was on the first afternoon.

It was striking that Smith was giving the ball a huge rip. While Agar was only obtaining around 1500-1600 revolutions per minute on the ball and, at Trent Bridge, Graeme Swann was obtaining 2200-2300, Smith was regularly going over 2500.

After the remarkable events of the 1^st Test, Agar had a much quieter day. A return of 0-44 from 13 overs was generous because he had little threat and sent down at least one, score poor ball per over. In truth, much of the Australian bowling was insipid. James Pattinson came with a big reputation as a fiery fast bowler but, after starting in the high 80s he slowed progressively and was bowling in the low to mid-80s most of the day, the sort of pace that had Tim Bresnan dismissed as a trundler in India. To be honest, he never really looked like seriously inconveniencing the batsman and was rather expensive, not being especially quick and often being a little wild. Poor Peter Siddle bowled just one no ball all day and it had to be the delivery that bowled Jonny Bairstow neck and crop. Strangely, the fasted ball of the day was attributed, on the speed gun, to Shane Watson, which does rather make one doubt its reliability, although Watson, brought on in only the fifth over of the day to try to slow England’s rapid start, immediately dismissed Cook and looked far more threatening than Pattinson. Ryan Harris was always menacing: fortunately for England, he is unlikely to be risked in consecutive Tests because he is so prone to breakdown.

I have seen estimates that England’s total is around 200 short. I just wonder. At Trent Bridge we thought that England’s total was well short of par, yet Australia then collapsed to 117-9. Already today the pitch was turning and had some pace and carry. Twice in the day, one wicket became three very quickly. The pitch also dried out rapidly in the afternoon heat and could start to break up. My suspicion is that 350 – if England can get them – might look like a pretty good total by tomorrow evening. To get 350 though, someone else will need to make a score; a 30 from Bresnan, Broad or Swann would be greatly appreciated.

One thing that is becoming increasingly evident is that the Joe Root experiment is not proving to be a success. He has scored 30, 5 and 6 so far in this series. He was asked to move up to stop Australia getting momentum with early wickets, but the opening partnerships so far have been 27, 11 and 18: not exactly what England had hoped for. Varun Chopra and Nick Compton will be watching developments with interest. It will be one more Test before the cries for Root to return to #6 become deafening unless he makes a score, but there is already some disquiet that his regal progress in the middle order has been halted, hopefully just temporarily. One is tempted to ask: would England have done better with Compton opening and Root at #6?

Both Sides Looking for Convincing Solutions

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

A Change of Direction?

 

July 17^th

 

The news that Chris Tremlett was training with England yesterday in England kit will not have come as a massive surprise to anyone. However, if you are Steve Finn and your place is very much under threat, to see another tall fast bowler with Test experience around is not necessarily great news. After an awful couple of seasons with injury, word is that Tremlett is coming back to his best after a slow start to the season. With Steve Finn’s form in severe doubt, Tremlett could replace him, as he did in Australia in 2010. Tremlett has shown that he can shake-up the Australian batsmen (17 wickets @ 23.4 in 3 Tests, although the fact that he has played just 11 Tests in six years since debut is a testament to his fragility, which makes picking him a huge risk.

The fact that Monty Panesar is also training with England is also interesting. In his case it could be to help England combat their perceived weakness against left arm spin, or it could even indicate that England are thinking of playing two spinners at some point if the hot, dry weather continues. Neither Tremlett nor Monty is a member of the squad, but both know that an injury, a loss of form, or a change of tactics could have them in the side in a trice.

Most interesting though is that news that Ben Stokes has been training with the squad. As a highly talented young all-rounder he has already played 5 ODIs (all in 2011) and 4 T20s, albeit with minimal success (30 runs in 3 innings and not a single ball bowled in ODIs, 40 runs in 2 innings plus 3 expensive overs in T20s). Stokes is most unlikely to play in this series or even tour Australia this winter, but it is a further indication that England see him as an all-rounder of the future in the Botham/Flintoff mould and want t keep a close eye on his progress.

As none of the three were engaged in county matches, using them to provide quality opposition was useful and logical. It is also a great way of keeping an eye on the progress of players who could well enter plans. By his high standards Monty has had a poor season and was even dropped from the Sussex team for the Middlesex game recently. However, he remains a class act and, for all his success on the ODIs, the fact that James Tredwell has but a single First Class wicket this summer and that of a centurian involved in a declaration slog for runs, means that if a second spinner is used, Monty is the man the selectors will go to.

Going into tomorrow’s Test, both sides have major issues to face. For Australia the issue is not the affronted dignity of a sacked coach, but rather the fact that the top order batting failed horribly twice at Trent Bridge. Although Smith, Hughes, Rogers and Haddin all scored fifties, England obtained a far greater number of runs from the top order than Australia – 121 over the two innings – and that was ultimately decisive. Australia cannot go through the series depending on the tail to bail the batsmen out every time. Although much of the opprobrium is being aimed at Ed Cowan, who is in real danger of being dropped, Michael Clarke managed just 23 runs in his two innings, fewer than any of the England top seven. With Warner away and unavailable, it will be interesting to see if Australia keep faith with Cowan, or re-jig their order, bringing in Khawaja. It will also be interesting to see how far up the order Ashton Agar is pushed.

For England the question is the attack. They were effectively reduced to just three bowlers in both innings. Much has been made of Steve Finn’s fine record at Lords, but he was struggling so badly at Trent Bridge that it would take a brave man to risk him again. If England had a five-man attack it would be worth taking a punt on Finn to come good but, for all Joe Root’s success, including a vital wicket in the Test, he is not yet ready to play as a genuine fifth bowler. With Stuart Broad struggling at Trent Bridge and with previous injury issues in the same shoulder, there is an evident risk in over-bowling him because there is a bowler in the attack who the captain cannot rely on. Similarly, Jimmy Anderson was asked to bowl for far too long on the last day because there was no one else who generated the same threat. England have to have a third seamer capable of bowling long spells and giving the captain control to rest Broad and Anderson. This suggests strongly Tim Bresnan who, recovered from new surgery in the winter, once again looks like the bowler he was two years ago. However, if the pitch is likely to help seam and swing, or simply not help reverse swing, Graeme Onions may yet get the nod.

First indications of the Lords pitch is that it will not start as dry as the pitch at Trent Bridge because a lot of effort has gone into keep moisture in it, including allowing it to keep a generous covering of grass. However, the expectation is that what life the pitch has will be in the first hour and that the pitch will be “win toss and bat”.

The match will be decided by whether or not the Australian batsmen find some convincing answers to the questions that Jimmy Anderson is posing and how much help Jimmy Anderson can count on from the rest of the attack.