England v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Day 2: Déjà Vu from 2014?

 

England v Pakistan

2^nd Test

Day 2: Déjà Vu from 2014?

 July 23^rd  2016

The advantage of going on holiday for a week to a remote area of Northern Spain with no Internet was that the horribly inevitable spiral of England to defeat in the 1^st Test was limited to score updates on my smartphone. England were simply outplayed in every department and seemed to be carrying at least four passengers in their side and even then, briefly on the final day, suggested that they could win.

The response of the selectors has been to recall Stokes and Anderson, logically enough and, more unexpectedly, to call up Adil Rashid, but then disappoint by leaving him out on the morning when the adventurous option would have been to take in two seamers. Adil Rashid is no destroyer, but would add options to the attack and his form for England in the short forms of the game must have boosted his confidence enormously. It could be that the selectors are worried that they would be exposed if Anderson or Stokes were to break down, but the logical option was to play all four seamers as two are good batsmen too.

To no one’s great surprise, Jake Ball has been returned to Nottinghamshire and Toby Roland-Jones to England Lions duty. The rise of Chris Woakes has also meant that the selectors took the bull by the horns and released Steve Finn early (translation: he was never under serious consideration to play). Steve Finn’s travails since Graeme Smith decided, in 2012, that his occasional habit of knocking off the bails in his delivery constituted a grave distraction and thus managed to change the laws to eliminate this menace from the game, have been well documented. Steve Finn bowled like a demon in South Africa in the absence of Jimmy Anderson, but has since not looked like taking Test wickets. Of course, Finn responded with a display of real pace and menace in Middlesex’s T20 win against Hampshire after being released by England. Why he can look like a world-class pace bowler one night for Middlesex and like a county fourth seamer for England the week before, is one of those mysteries of cricket.

At Lord’s, Pakistan batted and made what, ultimately, was a match-winning total. The big difference between the sides was Misbah converting a start into a century – something that no England batsman could do – and the bowling of Yasir Shah, sticking to basics and making batsman after batsman commit suicide. This time though, it was Alistair Cook who won the Toss. And this time England made it count on a benign pitch against a friendly attack.

That England’s batting effort was not another disaster was down to Cook and Root getting stuck in and getting support from the lower middle order. Joe Root’s prodigious innings made up for another alarming failure from Alex Hales and another brief but pretty innings from James Vince, who has added yet another low score to his list of Test innings.

Vince’s sequence of scores – 9, 35, 10, 0, 16, 42, 18 – is starting to get seriously worrying. You can argue that Alex Hales had a similarly rocky start before coming good, but Hales at least had the consolation of a 50 against a much better attack than those that Vince has faced. The betting is that James Vince will get the 3^rd Test to make a score and then will make way for his replacement for the tour of India if he cannot. The beauty of Vince’s batting is making the pundit’s purr… as long as it lasts, which has generally been all too briefly before he gives it away. Alex Hales is a different problem. He made three important scores against Sri Lanka and has a string of ODI 50s and 100s since the South Africa Test series ended; Pakistan though are presenting him with a new problem that he is, at present, unable to solve. Hales though needs a score quickly to silence any premature chat about dropping him.

The England innings gave ammunition to those who have suggested that England’s batting is Root, Cook and nine honest triers. It ignores the fact that of Root’s six previous Test innings this summer, four have been not so commendably brief – dismissed in single figures – yet England have been winning, at least until the Lord’s Test. Even at Lord’s, after a Root failure that left the side 47-3 and sinking fast, there were times, particularly as Bairstow and Woakes crafted a careful 50 partnership, when Pakistan must have started to worry a little.

One of the problems at Lord’s was clusters of wickets falling, giving Pakistan momentum at critical moments. Here though, until the final slog that led to the declaration, there was no partnership smaller than the 25 that Hales and Cook put on together and no single-figure score. Even when a wicket fell, there was no great encouragement for the bowlers as the next man settled in. To score 589-8 at almost 4-an-over has made a major point, as have Yasir Shah’s figures of 54-6-231-1: the most expensive bowler apart from Wahab Riaz, unable to tie down an end or to take wickets. Pakistan’s Plan A was Yasir Shah. Their Plan B seemed to be abject surrender.

Sir Geoffrey talked about scoreboard pressure playing tricks on batsman, knowing that they were playing for a draw at best, but even then there was no excuse for what followed, particularly as the new ball attack was seen off comfortably. However, like Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s, who had the holy terrors every time that Ian Botham took the ball – only he could induce batsmen to give their wickets away to the most innocent deliveries – Chris Woakes seems to be having the same effect on Asians in general. He only took more than one wicket in a match once in his first six Tests but, against Pakistan and Sri Lanka this summer, has 22 in just over 3 Tests at 12.3. None of his wicket-taking deliveries was particularly lethal, but Pakistani eyes lit-up and offered themselves as willing victims.

Pakistan have done what England did at Lord’s. So far their partnerships are 27, 16, 5, 5 & 4*. When a wicket falls, another has fallen quickly, giving the bowlers even more encouragement. It makes fatigue disappear as the bowler’s spell extends. It convinces the batsmen to come that there are non-existent demons in the pitch. And, if you follow social media, it convinces fans of the opposition that the pitch was specially prepared to disintegrate as soon as England declared (a mind game that almost always backfires on their own side, by creating a bunker mindset where everything is conspiring against you)!

Day 3 offers cloud, possibly some rain and favourable bowling conditions. It will be an almighty effort to take 16 more Pakistan wickets on what remains a very good batting surface but were Misbah to fall early, Pakistan could just fold.

It all gives a sense of déjà vu from 2014. Then, Sri Lanka were the first visitors and India the main course that England were expected to digest with some ease. Yes, we talked about how skilful the Indians seamers were, but they were not expected to be good enough to overcome England. India sent shockwaves through the country when they won the 1^st Test at a canter before suddenly falling apart. Are we seeing Pakistan do the same?

England v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test: Day 5 and Aftermath - Rain Has The Last Word

 

England v Sri Lanka

3^rd Test: Day 5 and Aftermath

Rain Has The Last Word

 

June 17^th  2016

The rain that set up a potentially wonderful finish, finally condemned the match. Taunting and teasing, it seemed as if play could start at any moment only for drizzle and rain to return. Even though Jimmy Anderson added his twenty-first wicket of the series soon after the start and England played five slips, Sri Lanka batted competently and sensibly to avoid any hint of a scare.

On one level it was disappointing. On another it was just reward for a Sri Lankan side that had improved out of all recognition over the tour. In seven innings over five matches on the tour, Sri Lanka had taken just 46 wickets, bowling the opposition out just twice in seven attempts (once to set up an innings defeat, the other, for over 400). However, from Day 3 of the 2^nd Test, the series ceased to be a procession and became a real contest. With more luck and better ground-fielding Sri Lanka could have pushed England much harder. Their young team will have learnt a lot from the experience, although there are already suggestions that England may not enjoy their next tour to Sri Lanka much as they might, because the scheduling may not be as friendly as it has been on past tours.

England can be satisfied with several aspects of the series, apart from the result [Sri Lanka deservedly won the series in 2013]. Highlights are:

·        Jimmy Anderson’s return to form and fitness.

·        Alex Hales tying-down the opener spot for the rest of the summer (despite not quite getting over the line for that first century in Tests).

·        Jonny Bairstow’s wonderful batting.

·        Alistair Cook getting the 10 000 run monkey off his back and finishing the series with two good scores.

·        Chris Woakes’s development as a genuine all-rounder. He was the fastest bowler on either side, took 8 wickets at 18.8 and a strike rate of 40, was more economical than any bowler on either side save Jimmy Anderson and the lightly-bowled Angelo Matthews and had two valuable innings in his limited opportunities, including a maiden Test 50.

·        Moeen Ali’s spectacular innings at Chester-le-Street.

·        Stuart Broad’s generally good form with the new ball.

However, not all was rosy. Some things definitely did not go as hoped. In no particular order:

·        Nick Compton’s downward spiral of form.

·        Jonny Bairstow’s errors with the gloves.

·        James Vince failing to make a real case that he is the answer at #5.

·        Moeen Ali struggling to make an impact with the ball.

·        Steve Finn’s lack of form (although there were signs that he was on the mend by the end of the series).

·        Joe Root’s struggles (80 of his 87 runs came in a single innings).

·        A top order prone to collapsing like a pack of cards.

·        A sameness to the attack when there is nothing in the pitch or the atmosphere for the bowlers.

While Alex Hales’s star has most definitely shone – there were some frankly ludicrous calls from fans at the end of the series that he should be dropped because his inability to convert 80s and 90s into centuries showed “that he was just not good enough at this level”, but a more rational view is that England would have been in a lot of bother without his runs: exactly 100 more than Compton, Root and Vince combined. 86, 83, 11, 18 & 94 was a pretty powerful statement. He has played five First Class matches this season and has passed 50 in four of his eight innings, with no single-figure scores – Nick Compton’s 51 runs at 12.8 looked like the struggles of a man batting with Geoff Boycott’s stick of rhubarb.

Nick Compton has amazing ability, but last reached 40 eleven innings ago, in the first match of the new season. Since his match-winning contribution in the 1^st Test in South Africa, he has produced 45, 15, 26, 0, 19, 6, 0, 44, 38, 1, 14*, 3, 0, 9, 22*, 1, & 19 and his Test average has declined to 28.7 after 16 Tests. His last 10 Test innings have produced a top score of just 26 and 117 runs.

Sometimes a player has a bad trot and battles through it. Alistair Cook could not buy a run for over a year before suddenly coming good again, albeit initially with ugly runs when it was getting to the stage where almost no one believed that he could get it back. Nick Compton though was always a marginal call for this series and has little credit in the bank. He does have, potentially, two games for Middlesex before the Pakistan series, but it is doubtful that even two good matches can save him. At 34, England are more likely to go for a younger player than give Nick Compton a long, slow death. With Scott Borthwick a specialist #3, the third highest runs-scorer in Division 1 this season and a leg-spinner to boot in his spare time (10 wickets at 37 so far this season apart from 598 runs at 74.8), it is hard to avoid the conclusion that it is Borthwick who will line up against Pakistan.

More worrying for England is Moeen Ali’s struggle with the ball. He did not get many opportunities but, when he did, Sri Lanka attacked him without mercy. After boasting figure of 5-4-1-1 after his first two spells of the series, he ended with 2-180 at the worst economy rate of any of England’s front-line bowlers. Sides no longer fear him and that is unbalancing the side. Would Adil Rashid (321 runs at 40.1 and 18 wickets at 34.6 for Yorkshire) do so much worse? It is already taken as read that Adil Rashid will go to India. Simon Kerrigan is being mentioned again, but what about Somerset’s Jack Leach, who is having a fine season so far and taking his wickets at 24.1, far superior to any of his rivals?

For as long as I can remember people have been moaning about the choice of England wicket-keeper. Superior ‘keeper, or better batsman? Downton, French, Richards, Stewart, Read, Jones, Ambrose, Kieswetter, Buttler, Bairstow (Sr and Jr) among others, have all felt the opprobrium of the fans at different moments. Right now people agree that Jonny Bairstow is not the best ‘keeper and misses important chances, but cannot agree who should replace him. Bairstow is competent standing back but, in India, will be ‘keeping to at least two and possibly even three spinners, standing up a lot: will his runs compensate the chances that he misses? If not, who should take the gloves? The answer might just be “John Simpson” (John Who???) of Middlesex: an excellent gloveman and much improved bat (356 runs at 59.3, with a century and more sixes than any of Middlesex’s renowned hitters, although only 13 dismissals off the somewhat miss-firing Middlesex attack).

James Vince should expect to get the full summer to consolidate, but his position is being exposed by being time and again a wicket in a top-order collapse. He may need runs in the first two Tests to ensure that he sees out the series.

Steve Finn is short on pace and rhythm. His 90mph+ days seem to be a distant memory. Better form as the series wore on, helped, but Chris Woakes was faster and more threatening. If only one can play with the return of Ben Stokes, Steve Finn should check the Middlesex fixture list because he may be chasing the Middlesex squad after being released by England on match day. Finn’s ups and downs are surprising for such a talented bowler. His mind seems a little fragile and can be played around with too easily (remember how the South Africans managed to neutralise him completely with the fuss about knocking off the bails? It was pure gamesmanship and Steve Finn shrank to nothing instead of taking it as a provocation and an incentive to bowl even better.

Throughout the series there were moments when the ball did little and England’s attack looked all too similar: different faces, same bowling. Although Liam Plunkett’s bowling has been a little disappointing this season, his extra pace can shake-up batsmen at Test level. England need someone capable of firing the ball down consistently at 90+mph and have no one in that role right now. A burst of wickets might well see Liam Plunkett in the XIII for the 1^st Test v Pakistan.

However, all in all, it was a satisfying series after the win in South Africa and shows that the England side are progressing nicely. The second summer series will though be tougher and the winter series in India, tougher still. Win both and England will be closing in on the #1 position in the ICC Test table.

England v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test: Day 4 - England Made to Sweat to Seal the Series

 

England v Sri Lanka

2^nd Test: Day 4

England Made to Sweat to Seal the Series

 

June 1^st  2016

 

Belated comments on the end of the 2^nd Test.

After three and a half chastening matches when Essex, perennial whipping boys Leicestershire and then England exposed their inadequacies, Sri Lanka fought back to such an extent that, at 430-6 after Lunch, horrible imaginings must have been surfacing among the England players. Not only was heavy rain forecast for Day 5, which almost wiped-out play in the County Championship (although ironically, Durham saw not a drop of rain) but, on a pitch taking some turn, there was just a chance that a lead of 150 might have made things very interesting. . Sri Lanka’s resistance did, at least, offer Alistair Cook the opportunity to become the youngest player to 10000 Test runs and thus dot the “i”s and cross the “t”s so that he can concentrate on what is important: scoring runs and winning matches.

Optimistic thoughts when Siriwardne fell early, that England were into the tail, proved unfounded. In the 1^st Test Rangana Herath conveyed the image that he wanted to be anywhere in the world other than in the middle with a bat in his hand facing the music so, when he came in to partner Chandimal with Sri Lanka still 83 short of making England bat again you would have put a lot of money on another innings defeat. Not a bit of it! Herath played a fine innings as Sri Lanka scored at a good clip and, had he stayed another hour, Sri Lanka might just have pulled off an amazing heist against an increasingly dispirited opponent. As it was, 430-6 became 475ao and the damage was limited.

This was an excellent lesson in humility for England.

It was obvious that, at some point, the Sri Lankan batting was going to click and that England would no longer get easy wickets. It was back to hard grind and severe punishment for dropping chances. Had England taken the ones that were offered, quite likely Sri Lanka would have lost by an innings. Mind you, had Sri Lanka taken theirs, England would never have been in a position to win by an innings in the first place.

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind and Sri Lanka’s performance has highlighted various issues that remain open and that Trevor Bayliss needs to work on and resolve:

·         Steve Finn is struggling. No current England bowler seems to have so many ups and downs as Steve Finn. Fantastic in South Africa, he is totally out of sorts here. Averaging low 80s and at times no better than high 70s on the speed gun, his series figures (4-138) look respectable thanks to three cheap wickets at the death in the 1^st Test but he has not really looked any kind of threat. However, dropping him for his home Test at Lord’s would deny him the chance to click again on a ground that is far more suited to his style of bowling although, if he bowls at these speeds on a flat, Lord’s wicket he will have zero impact except from on his own side’s chances.

·        Moeen Ali is looking increasingly vulnerable as a front-line spinner. Asked to do a holding job on a pitch offering some help, he was attacked and carted around the field by the Sri Lankans, as batsmen have now become accustomed to him and play his bowling on its merits. On what metric do you judge Moeen Ali? Everyone, not least probably he, was taken by surprise by his immediate impact in Tests, rocking Sri Lanka and India in 2014 and becoming “The Beard that is Feared”. At times he looks totally out of his depth as a spinner at this level, but then you look at his overall figures: 66 wickets in 25 Tests (2.6 wickets per Test – which is highly respectable), with a strike rate of an impressive 65.6, although averaging now 40.7. These figures are inferior to Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, but comparable to or superior to just about any other England spinner of the last 30 years. Add in 1104 runs at 31.5 and 13 catches and you have a player who is certainly doing a job for the team: it is a far superior all-round record to, say, Ashley Giles. Should England look to playing a specialist spinner (but #11 bat) in the team alongside him at the cost of sacrificing a seamer?

·        Chris Woakes is beginning to justify the faith that the selectors have shown in him. The jury is still out, but this was, without a doubt, his most complete performance as a Test all-rounder. However, after 7 Tests he is still averaging only 24 with the bat and 47.8 with the ball. Can he demonstrate that he can take wickets consistently even when there is little help available?

·        The jury is still out on Nick Compton. When Alex Hales got a decent ball, Nick Compton probably had mixed feelings. On the one hand he had a chance, albeit brief, to score some runs. On the other, another failure would almost certainly have ended his Test career. In the end, 22* has done just enough to seal his place, especially as he batted with increasing confidence at the end, denying his captain the chance of a 50 by sealing the game with consecutive boundaries. He will need a good 3^rd Test to retain his place (Trevor Bayliss has mentioned Tom Westley, Scott Borthwick, Daniel Bell-Drummond and Mark Stoneman but, interestingly, only grudgingly acknowledged Sam Robson as an option to replace him), but is still hanging in there.

·        Jonny Bairstow is not the finished article. As a batsman he is really looking to have arrived although, after 26 Tests, his batting average is only 35.7, due mainly to a difficult start to his England career. As a wicket-keeper he is subject to the merciless scrutiny that wicket-keepers suffer when, of the 1031 balls that he faced behind the stumps, people focus on just three: a missed stumping, a dropped catch and a ball that scuttled through his legs for four byes. That said, the record for a 3-Test series is 17 dismissals (held by the much-maligned Geraint Jones) and Jonny Bairstow is on 16 after just two Tests – he must be doing something right. People often forget that Rod Marsh was called “Iron Gloves” when he started (and not affectionately either) and fans were often enraged that Alec Stewart took the gloves early in his career: both became very fine wicket-keepers; Jonny Bairstow will undoubtedly do the same, but he may need a hide like a rhinoceros to ignore the criticisms before it happens.

England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test: Day 3, England’s Flawed Win

 

England v Sri Lanka

1^st Test: Day 3

England’s Flawed Win

 

May 22^nd  2016

 

When people look at the scorecard in ten years’ time, they will think that this was a facile victory of a very good side against a very poor one on a difficult pitch. In doing so they will give England far too much credit.

The pitch was by no means difficult. In fact, the TMS commentators pointed out time and again that the pitch was an excellent Test surface. There was some lateral movement, but the damage was done by the atmospheric conditions and the murky light: ideal for swing bowling. Herath could turn the ball. Moeen Ali only got one over in the match and took the wicket of Chandimal – no rabbit with the bat. And England had an attack in the second innings missing the injured Ben Stokes and with Steve Finn looking totally ineffective.

England’s score of 298 depended on two players: Jonny Bairstow, the only player to bat with real liberty and the battling Alex Hales. The England collapse was made more alarming by the way that most of the batsmen got themselves out – there were very few who can say that a bowler genuinely took his wicket. However, Steve Finn – the Watford Wall – and a genuinely number 11, got in and was able bat comfortably for well over an hour, often taking 4 and even 5 balls in an over. If Steve Finn can get in and play some good shots, it was far from an impossible surface to bat on!

Nick Compton needed runs and did not get them. He was one of the few to get a really good ball. Vince did not convince: he looked quite comfortable, but got himself out in single figures. Ben Stokes played WHACK! WHACK! OUT! And Moeen Ali, who has been in delicious batting form for Worcestershire, never looked like scoring a run. Add a duck for Root and a failure for Alistair Cook and the batting has little to be proud of.

Some of the Sri Lankan batting looked overawed. England had no one bowling at close to 90mph, but the tail-enders were backing away to Square Leg and appeared plain scared. However, at one point it looked as if England would have to bat again and you wondered where the next wicket might come from: Jimmy Anderson had to rest some time, Stuart Broad could not reproduce his first innings magic, Ben Stokes has a knee problem that may need an operation and poor Steve Finn looked as if he were a Middlesex 2^nd XI player given a surprise call-up in an injury crisis.

Stokes must be an unlikely starter for his home Test with Chris Woakes favourite to replace him. Woakes for Stokes sounds as if it is like-for-like, but it is a bit like replacing Bruce Willis in an action movie with Leslie Nielson… it is not quite the same level of action. Meanwhile, Jake Ball will be telling his wife not to expect him home on Friday night: there are good reasons for playing him instead of Finn at Chester-le-Street. Finn had batted well and took two superb catches in the first innings, but his job is to bowl fast and take wickets. Until his late burst in the final collapse as Sri Lanka fell from 93-3 to 119ao, he looked unlikely to take a wicket. Finn’s self-confidence will have been done no harm by seeing Herath scared to face him after being hit and then by taking Thirimanne, who batted so well in the first innings and who will surely score some big runs by the end of the series, but unless Steve Finn is to bowl fast and threatening at Chester-le-Street, it is best to pick a specialist seam and swing merchant instead. Finn’s county form has not be great either, part of what has been a curiously off-colour Middlesex attack so far this season.

So, it was job done and job done big time, but the conspiracy theorists are already seeing evidence of foul play and suggesting that Sri Lanka were sacrificed on a pitch the same colour as the outfield. If they had asked instead why the first two Tests are going to the north of England in May, they might have been closer to the mark. England though, apart from Alex Hales showing that he is up to the job of grafting runs and Jimmy Anderson showing that he is so much better for playing some matches for his county before playing a Test, the result has been curiously unsatisfying.

South Africa v England, Day 5: South Africa’s Tame Surrender

 

South Africa v England, Day 5:

South Africa’s Tame Surrender

 

December 30^th 2015

 

 “Sometime tomorrow, barring something miraculous, South Africa will take their winless streak to seven matches since the West Indies were overwhelmed in the New Year’s Test. Only the wicket of AB de Villiers stands between South Africa and another big defeat.”

 

“Moeen simply isn’t good enough”

 

The former was this Blog’s take on the match situation after Day 4. The latter was one fan’s take.

Having had AB de Villiers missed, albeit off a tough stumping chance yesterday, it took Moeen Ali just three balls to put matters right. In nineteen balls from Steve Finn and Moeen Ali, South Africa lost Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and Bavuma and slid from a healthy 136-3 to a desperate 136-6 and Moeen had removed two of the three remaining recognised batsmen, including the one that all South Africans genuinely believed could bat through the last day and lead his side to a draw at worst, or even victory.

After AB de Villiers took a single off the fifth ball of Finn’s seventh over, between them Finn and Moeen produced 30 dot balls and three wickets – a total of 33 consecutive scoreless deliveries from the two bowlers seen as England’s most expensive; deliveries that ripped the heart out of South Africa. Four wickets fell for two runs in thirty-six balls. Any way you look at it, the South African capitulation was meek in the extreme.

Moeen’s spell was an astonishing 10-7-4-3, while Steve Finn at the other end was a willing and brutal henchman whose figures were only slightly less impressive.

It was all a far cry from the previous evening when South African fans were boasting that 280 to win on the last day was not going to be very many and that England would be sleeping nervously. As in the first innings, a single wicket led to the South African batting imploding in the most astonishing manner.

Since the New Year’s Test against West Indies, when South Africa made 421, their best completed innings has been 248 v Bangladesh. Seven times they have been dismissed for 185 or fewer and in the other two innings they reached the giddy heights of 214. There has not been a single century partnership and only two centuries: one of them against the hapless West Indians. Their average completed innings score in their last seven Tests has been 167.

In that sequence, South Africa have lost four and drawn three. It can at least be argued that rain saved South Africa from likely defeat in two of those draws (one against India and one against Bangladesh) and helped to massage some of the side’s deficiencies: the third match featured so little play that no conclusions whatsoever can be drawn about it.

Quite apart from the fact that there are rumours of open revolution around the South African team (there are suggestions that AB de Villiers has threatened to retire unless someone else keeps wicket, that Dale Steyn is close to retirement after a series of injury problems, that Hashim Amla may be sacked for the Third Test if he does not resign first), there is even a suggestion that Graeme Smith could be persuaded out of retirement, presumably as a replacement captain!

As many as six members of the side for the 1^st Test are likely to be either unavailable or are in danger of losing their place. And even the good news – for example, Dane Piedt’s admirable second innings bowling – comes with a substantial caveat, namely that he was by far the least economical bowler on either side (Ben Stokes, at 3.2 runs per over was the only other bowler with an economy of over 3 on either side) going at 4.2 an over, almost double Moeen’s 2.3. While Piedt had the consolation of six wickets, he conceded almost as many runs as Abbott and Morkel did combined in nearly twice the number of overs that he had bowled. In other words, his wickets have been bought at a price and he has not been able to seal up an end to help relieve the pressure on the weakened seam attack.

In contrast, Moeen, despite concerted attempts to hit him out of the attack, has 13 First Class wickets so far on the tour – one more than Steve Finn – at an average of 16.8 and an economy of 2.8. With the ground at Newlands expected to help spin, Moeen’s form looks set to give England a big advantage in the 2^nd Test.

Purists scratch their heads and wonder why he is playing, but Moeen has a Bothamesque ability to make things happen, even if he is bowling a consignment of liquorice allsorts.

While South Africa are wondering who to play, England seem likely to have to drop someone to make room for Jimmy Anderson. The betting is that it will be Chris Woakes who, although taking only a single wicket right at the end of the match, was tight, economical (only Stuart Broad on either side had better economy in the match) and bowled well. There could even be a case for saying “sorry Jimmy, there are no vacancies yet”, although a fully fit Jimmy Anderson would add potency to the new ball attack.

Whatever happens, England cannot afford an Ashes-like “one good match, one bad one”. South Africa are down right now and taking a count; they cannot be allowed back into the contest.

Day 5 to England

Key man of the day: Moeen Ali

South Africa v England, Day 4: South Africa’s Inexorable Slide Continues

 

South Africa v England, Day 4:

South Africa’s Inexorable Slide Continues

 

December 29^th 2015

 

Sometime tomorrow, barring something miraculous, South Africa will take their winless streak to seven matches since the West Indies were overwhelmed in the New Year’s Test. Only the wicket of AB de Villiers stands between South Africa and another big defeat.

For most of the morning it seemed that the only plan that South Africa had was, at various moments, to hurry or to delay the declaration. No attempt was made to win, or at least attack for wickets. The main South African tactic seemed to be to let the England batsmen commit suicide against Dane Piedt and occasional bowlers.

At the same time, Alistair Cook missed a trick: why he did not declare when Chris Woakes fell, at 315-8, with the lead past 400, one will never know. This would have sent the message to the South Africans “we set the agenda – you cannot bowl us out”.

At the same time, it is hard to criticise England, who have done just about everything right. Those who thought that Alistair Cook was playing Father Christmas by giving South Africa only 140 overs to survive.

Even in the great blockathlon in Delhi, South Africa only survived 143 overs. Eight times in the last three years South Africa have batted out 140 overs or more and seven of those innings have led to wins. If they bat out 140 overs this time, good luck to them – an extra five overs would make no difference to the result and they will have deserved to save the Test.

However, with Steve Finn striking in the last over of the day to end a stand of 48 between de Villiers and the almost scoreless Faf du Plessis that had threatened to give South Africa hope of a near-miraculous escape, England know that they are one strike away from breaking through.

Dale Steyn is a real doubt for the 2^nd Test and, some suggest maybe even the 3^rd, but was asked to come out to bat for the last three balls of the day. The most likely outcome is that England’s bowlers will gain a boost early in the morning and the loss of a competent tail-ender who could help to lead resistance if the remaining recognised batsmen can combine in a major stand. It was not exactly a vote of confidence in JP Duminy who should have come in next, but who has only reached 20 twice in his last 11 innings. The England bowlers will feel confident that they can remove Steyn and Duminy inside the first hour; if they do, South Africa will be in desperate straits.

England will want to strike early, but will also look to Moeen Ali to remove the tail although, in this Test, Steve Finn has been England’s wrecking ball, striking devastating blows when required.

England have dominated all four days so far, by differing margins: one more good day, possibly even just one more good session and they will go one up in the series and leave South Africa with a series of substantial headaches and just two days to resolve them.

Day 4 to England

Key man of the day: Steve Finn

Key man on Day 5: Moeen Ali.

 

 

 

 

 

Third Test, Day 2: Repent! The End Is Nigh!

 

 

Ashes 2015

 

Third Test: Day 2; The End is Nigh!

 

July 30^th 2015

 

 

Before the Test started I suggested the following revolutionary thought that, despite England’s miserable capitulation at Lord’s:

“Australia are still vulnerable”.

Two truncated days of cricket later – only 158.5 overs of a potential 188 have been bowled, equivalent to a fraction under 5 sessions – and the match would have been over already without a valiant rearguard action from a player who many of the Australian team reportedly did not want to see in the side and another who every Englishman loves to hate. Without it Australia would have lost in two days for the first time in over 120 years and, most likely by an innings.

It is not quite what you would have predicted when England staggered drunkenly to 190-7 about 40 minutes before Lunch, with Australia apparently right back in the game.

It all looked so easy before the start of play. Take advantage of excellent batting conditions. Grind Australia down. Score 400.

Enter Mitch…

Exit Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes in a single, supercharged over.

It was the sort of devastating response that Australia had required the previous afternoon instead of when England were already ahead.

Then, something unexpected happened. In came Stuart Broad. A fired-up Mitch Johnson with the ball. How long would it take him to deliver a straight one? Somehow Broad survived and runs started to flow more quickly. And then, after Lunch, a fully-fledged and brutal counter-attack: 37 runs from the first five overs.

Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad undid all Australia’s good work of the morning and showed that the talk about attack was not just talk. Australia looked very ordinary. Heads dropped. Australia looked defeated.

A lead of 145 was far fewer than it should have been but, even so, was a mountain to climb. Logic though has been out to lunch in this series.

Lose Chris Rogers early? No problem! David Warner smashed the ball to all parts. Australia were scoring at 5-an-over and looking at a substantial lead by the Close and setting England a challenging target on the third day.

Expect the unexpected. Most England fans thought that picking Steve Finn was a terrible risk, so he proceeded to wipe out what most consider to be the best batting line-up in the world: Smith, Clarke, Voges, Marsh. 5-45. Merci beaucoup.

Well as Finn and England bowled, you had to think that Australia’s batting showed all the strength and character of melting ice cream, as Neville and Mitch Johnson demonstrated by batting solidly for almost eighteen overs and putting Australia into the lead.

Effectively 23-7, Australia need at least one hundred more from the tail in the morning. All logic says that England will win before Lunch but, then, logic hasn’t had a great match so far, has it?

Mitch-watch: 3, 16-2-66-2 and 14.

It has been an odd match for Mitch. An amazing over early in the morning that got Australia back into the match. Sensible batting in the evening that saved them from a likely innings defeat. And not much in between.

Final England World Cup Thoughts And An Eye To The Future

 

 

Cricket World Cup 2015

 

Anatomy of Another Embarrassment II

And looking Forward

 

March 22^nd 2015

 

The sad part of England’s World Cup campaign is that so many of the criticisms are ultimately unfair. England took a good side, packed with talent to the World Cup. Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, James Taylor, Alex Hales and Jos Buttler are all batsmen who can dismantle an attack. They are not poor players, or defensive batsmen who are locked in the 1960s: they are world class players and have shown it. However, after a dreadful pounding in their first two games, the team went into its shell and could not find the way out. The campaign stumbled from bad to worse with players losing confidence even when faced with inferior opposition. The fact that the captain could not even buy a run did not help. In Sri Lanka in November England had been competitive, even though they lost. In the Tri-series, England had beaten India twice and ran Australia close in one of their three encounters: in the World Cup Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka annihilated England – the games were as one-sided as any in the tournament and players with shattered confidence just could not pull themselves together for the Bangladesh game.

The sense of crisis in the side has returned after briefly disappearing last summer. The selectors have three Tests in the West Indies to find a combination that works before first New Zealand and then Australia come baying for blood. A 7-0 overall result would not be unexpected unless rain saves England in one or more of the Tests.

The side for the Caribbean reflects the uncertainty. Sam Robson has joined Nick Compton, Joe Root and Michael Carberry as openers who England have tried and rejected. Root has the satisfaction of at least still being in the side, albeit in the middle order. For Robson, whose late summer nightmare continued on the Lions tour, the chances are that his opportunity has been and gone. Nick Compton has gone back to Lords in the hope of getting back in the frame and is evidently still somewhere in the thoughts because he is in the MCC side in Abu Dhabi, opening alongside Alistair Cook and as captain to boot (Nick Compton will be relieved that the headlines will be of Cook’s 6-ball 3, rather than his own first ball duck). The latest winner of the poisoned ticket of opening with Alistair Cook is Adam Lyth of Yorshire, although the selectors have recalled Jonathon Trott who could, potentially, open alongside Cook or even conceivably, instead of him if Cook’s travails continue.

Previously a tour of the Caribbean was where you experimented desperately, hoping to find someone capable of stopping the oncoming tide more effectively than King Canute had one thousand years previously. Now, it is where you play a few up-and-coming players to ease them gently into Test cricket.

The Caribbean Test squad is interesting for those who stay from the World Cup team and those who come back.

·         New: Adam Lyth, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood.

The inclusion of Lyth was widely predicted. Many pundits expected a straight shootout with Sam Robson for the opening spot – it is obvious that Robson’s struggles on the Lions tour have altered those plans.

The inclusion of Adil Rashid was not expected. Rashid has toured several times with England without ever being seriously in contention. Once appearing to be the brightest talent in English cricket, he appeared to have lost his way completely before a good all-round season in 2014.

Mark Wood is possibly an even bigger surprise: he is yet another of the seemingly inexhaustible Durham factory of fast-medium seamers. Ominously though, Martin Emerson, the resident BBC commentator for Durham, says that he will do well “if he can keep himself fit”.

 

·         Recalled: Jonathon Trott, Ben Stokes, Jonathon Bairstow, Liam Plunkett and Alistair Cook

The recall of Trott is a risk. There is no doubt that the Australians will not be gentle with him. Will his health stand up to the rigours of an Ashes series? If he is up to it there is no doubt that his return will strengthen the England team and add some steel.

Ben Stokes will be thinking how things change. After a dreadful run in 2014 with scores of 0, 0, 0, 23, 2, 33*, 16, DNB, 6 and 11 wickets @40.8 there really were no grounds to select him, but runs and wickets in the Big Bash and with the Lions and the failures of others have made him look, once again, like a great all-rounder of mythical powers. Was his relative success in the 2012/13 Ashes just a flash in the pan, or is he the real deal? He needs to deliver more regularly.

Jonathon Bairstow is almost the forgotten man. No longer a regular, he remains in the side as the reserve ‘keeper and batsman. He has not played since the Sydney Test, getting in and getting out time and again against New Zealand and Australia in 2013 and 2014 and never quite breaking through.

Liam Plunkett only played four Tests last summer, but 18 wickets, a maiden Test 50 and some high pace suggest that, after a decent tour with the Lions, he probably should have gone to the World Cup because he would have added something different to the attack. His fans will hope that, like Steve Harmison in 2005, he will break through in the Caribbean after a similar roller-coaster career.

Time is running out for Alistair Cook. Having resuscitated last summer, playing on in the ODIs has tightened the noose again and a failure on his return in Abu Dhabi will not ease the pressure. A poor series in the Caribbean and the pressure to change captain for the summer will become overwhelming.

·         Retained: Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Jordan & James Tredwell.

When your only specialist spinner played just 4 matches for his Division 2 county, taking 11 wickets @ 38.7 and finishing 9^th in his county bowling averages, you know that you have problems. He will not win you a Test, but he might tie up an end… you hope. Many fans will wonder why Simon Kerrigan was not given another chance.

After the World Cup almost all of the retained players have question marks against them. There are serious doubts about Broad and Anderson as a strike force. Ian Bell’s annus mirablis of 2012 looks far behind – his 3x50 in the World Cup have been heavily criticised as being runs when they did not matter while his returns against the big sides were poor. Gary Ballance burst on the scene last summer in the Tests, but struggled during the winter. Chris Jordan ranges from brilliant to mediocre according to the day and Joe Root was remarkably anonymous most of the time.

·         Miss out: Steve Finn, Sam Robson, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, …

Moeen and Chris Woakes were injured during the World Cup, although Moeen may yet play some part in the Test series.

It is hard to see Steve Finn playing for England again in the near future. The World Cup has shown that he was brought back far too soon and his confidence has taken another massive jolt. He needs possibly two seasons in county cricket to re-invent himself and decide whether he wants pace, or accuracy – in the World Cup he gave neither.

Similarly, Sam Robson knows that his chances of a return are slim at best. A strong Lions tour could have saved him. A century in a non-First Class match to start the tour was followed by 1, 41, 5 & 0. Thanks very much. Don’t call us, we’ll call you (but probably not).

England know that they have to win the series in the West Indies big. Anything less than 2-0 will leave England in crisis going into the toughest Test year that the side has had for many, many years. In contrast, convincing wins against the West Indies and New Zealand would put the side in much better heart to face Australia. For several of the side it may be a question of winning or seeing their England career end.