Things Start To Get Umpleasant

 

 

Cricket 2014

 

The Series Turns Nasty

 

July 17^th 2014

 

Things have taken a whole new nasty turn in England’s often fractious relationship with Asian cricket and India in particular. Ravi Jadeja has laid a charge of what amounts to common assault (i.e. a criminal offense) aggravated by racial(?) abuse, against Jimmy Anderson. If the charges are proven, Anderson can expect a minimum two match ban but, in the prevailing atmosphere, would be unlikely to get off so lightly.

What is odd is that the offense allegedly happened at lunchtime on Thursday – the 2^nd day of the Test – and was so serious that MS Dhoni has refused all attempts at mediation, yet the media knew nothing about the incident until shortly before the charges emerged on Tuesday. Even Alistair Cook knew nothing was untoward until receiving a text message on Monday afternoon. Both sides claim to have neutral witnesses but, off the record, the Indians have stated that, in their opinion, “Anderson is a goner”, which suggests that they feel confident that an assault did occur. If such a serious incident took place though, it is astonishing that there was no comment to the media, no hint in any match report, no sign on the pitch that something was seriously amiss.

England have replied with a counter-charge, which looks alarmingly like tit-for-tat and the whole atmosphere has soured suddenly. No player has been on a Level 3 charge since Harbajhan Singh was alleged to have called Andrew Symonds a monkey – the BCCI threatened to call off the tour if Harbajhan was banned. Given the BCCI’s increasingly aggressive stance when their interests are threatened, Jimmy Anderson’s chances of escaping a heavy ban must be very small.

As no camera captured the incident and no press witnessed it, the facts are almost impossible to establish, but the suggestion is that some on-field sledging went on too long and too far. The hearing will not take place until after the Test and, until it does, there is little hope of having a clear view of what happened and why it was allowed to escalate so badly. There is no point in speculating as to exactly what happened. The ever-reasonable George Dobell, writing on CricInfo, suggests that the problem is that England are becoming increasingly unpopular and that sides are being goaded into action by dubious on-field behaviour, if so, the time has come to do something about it. Play hard by all means, but play fair.

What effect this will have on the Test match starting at Lords is anyone’s guess. The pitch appeared to be emerald green when revealed. Both captains have asked for pitches with more life in them, but it is hard to believe that the surface will not look a lot different at the start of play, after the final cut and preparation. Some pundits expected Liam Plunkett to be rested for this game and Chris Jordan to come back into the side but, now, there are increasing suggestions that the team may be unchanged.

Whatever happens, England urgently need to start winning some friends, both on the field and off it.

Lots Of Questions. Now For Some Answers.

 

 

Cricket 2014

 

Question Time

 

July 9^th 2014

 

There are a lot of questions to be answered during the England v India Test series: will both sides be too conservative and toothless to win? Will both captains survive the series? Will either? Will this series be the swansong for the remaining England old hands, in particular Broad and Prior who are both struggling increasingly with injuries? Certainly it seems likely that this will be Matt Prior’s last series.

Dhoni says that his side, which has not won away for 14 Tests and not beaten a top six side away for far longer, is progressing. They nearly won Tests in South Africa and New Zealand, but then England nearly beat Sri Lanka… but didn’t. Hammered 4-0 in England and then 4-0 in Australia (both 4-Test series), the results in South Africa and New Zealand were certainly an improvement, but then Alistair Cook could claim that after the winter nightmare, competing strongly in their next two Tests, even in a series defeat, was progress too.  You can spin anything, if you try hard enough.

The hints are that India will play five bowlers and that England will swap Ben Stokes for Chris Jordan. It is tough on Jordan who has been such a success story for England since he joined the side in Australia. He has scored runs, taken wickets and added threat to the attack. In a way it is sad because one poor game will have seen him dropped and that is back to the bad old days when the revolving door policy saw the players knowing that just one poor performance could see them sent back into exile. For Jordan it is doubly unfortunate because, barring injury, it is hard to see how he would win his place back. Stokes, Broad and Anderson are the basic bowling unit. Plunkett adds raw pace and is likely to be the fourth component all season. Jordan may have to wait for Stuart Broad or Jimmy Anderson to call it a day in Tests to become a permanent member of the attack. For England the prospect of having Jordan batting at #8 and scoring regular runs and leading the attack is a tempting one.

For Alistair Cook the equation is simple: make runs. Back in 2008, Andrew Strauss saved his England career with a scratchy 177 in the 3^rd Test v New Zealand. With the series in the balance and England 4-3 six and a half overs into the first morning of the 3^rd Test, on the back of scores of 43, 2, 8, 44 and 2, Strauss’s career looked to be over. His battling 177 on Days 2 & 3 turned the match and the series. The rest, as they say, is history. Alistair Cook does not need an elegant 40: he needs a big score and it does not matter how it is made; a fighting 100, in which he is struggling but battles through, will show his fight far more than a classically made 80.

For MS Dhoni the problem is a different one. He has only had 14 Test innings since his double century against Australia in Chennai in February 2013. Runs are not his problem, but results are. The average Indian fan bestows mythical powers on even the most journeyman of players in the side when India are winning, but is brutal in his criticisms when India lose. MS Dhoni knows that he can survive a lack of runs because his last Test innings was an excellent 50, but another series defeat, particularly to the hated former colonial master, especially if it is a bad defeat, would heap pressure on him to step aside.

Let battle be joined!