GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 119
November 2012
Out and About with the Professor
I’ve always enjoyed cricket dinners. I suppose if you can’t play cricket and there’s none to watch, then the next best thing is talking about cricket, and so I went off enthusiastically to my Club’s annual dinner last week.
They have undoubtedly changed in style over the years. My memory of the first cricket dinners I attended is that they were often quite formal…although somewhat less so as the night wore on. Also the language has inevitably changed and the speeches. We have a review of the season and “prizes” (best batsman, bowler, etc) but increasingly the main speech is about the Club and its members rather than the cricket. Indeed a significant part of this year’s speech was about members’ members – a comparison of lengths, frequency of use and so on…you get the idea.
Personally I’m quite happy with the bawdy and lavatorial and indeed it was ever thus. I recall my first cricket dinner at Shepherds Bush when the guest speaker was the late Lord Ray. As many Googlies readers will know, he was a gifted after-dinner speaker but we boys (I was sitting next to Steve Caley) only saw an old man (he might have been 40) about to make a boring speech. Until he stood up, took a sip of his white wine, looked at the glass, looked at the bottle, declared that he was drinking “Entre deux Mers” but that it tasted more like “Entre deux Merdes”. A perfect scatological joke for us smart-arse little lads and he had our rapt attention for the rest of the evening.
However the big topic at Welwyn this year is our future participation in the Home Counties Premier League. Many Googlies readers will know that there are 26 ECB Premier Leagues which are intended to form (along with the two Lancashire Leagues) the best level of “amateur” cricket in the country. The original conception in 2003 – and thus the ECB’s support – was that these leagues would provide a “natural” route from club cricket into the first class game rather along the lines of the Australian model. Most of the leagues are ten or twelve strong and play long matches on Saturdays varying from 100 to 120 over games. Many clubs have former first-class players and indeed even test players and so the standard is high.
However, this being cricket, there have been criticisms. Mostly, regarding the HCPL, they relate to administration and organisation, the payment of players (again) and not least the huge distances that the HCPL covers (Oxford to Bishops Stortford, say, for a prompt 10.30 start). But the key criticism seems to relate to the view that the ECB leagues have not succeeded in their intended role as conduits into the first class game. This clearly needs a review. If the structure has failed to deliver we need to work out why. The prevailing view seems to be that there is indeed a natural route from some leagues into “their” counties: Middlesex, Derbyshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Yorkshire, etc have county leagues of the same name, and the link for say the Birmingham league is pretty obvious. But what of the others? Cheshire, Cornwall, North Staffs and, of course, the HCPL? It would seem that if they are to respond to the criticism they must have, or at least be thought to have, some hook-up to the first class game of a formal (ish) nature. Can this be too hard to devise? Can’t all those old buffers at the ECB pool their collective wits to find a solution or have the ravages of the gins and tonic gone too far?
Let us hope they can. Otherwise crackpot proposals like the suggestion that WGC voluntarily withdraw from a league we have strived for years to enter will not, sadly, go away.
Sofa Cricket
All of these games were in the T20 World Cup
Sri Lanka v New Zealand
New Zealand made a respectable 174 and significantly took 48 from Mendis’ four overs. In reply Jayawardene and Dilshan went off like a train adding 80 in double quick time but once Jayawardene had holed out their scoring rate slipped and when Dilshan ran himself out going for a second they were suddenly in trouble at 161 for 4 and only managed to scramble up to a tie. This brought the Super Over into play. Sri Lanka made 13 without scoring a boundary. Malinga is no fun to face at the best of times and he is definitely not the guy you want to face in these circumstances. Sangakkara conceded 2 byes when he mishandled one delivery and then conceded a single when he dropped a catch. In addition to these runs New Zealand only managed 5 others and so lost.
Australia v India
This game was humiliating for India. They assembled an inadequate 140 and then kept bowling short deliveries to Watson who obligingly punched them for six off the back foot. The score had reached 133 before Watson holed out having scored 72 from 42 balls in an innings that looked increasingly like a net work out. He clobbered seven sixes and India were beaten in under 15 overs.
Pakistan v South Africa
South Africa went from favourites to mugs in this competition. They never worked out how to score runs and their batting orders always looked upside down. In this match they only accumulated a pathetic 133. Ajmal, Hafeez and Afridi bowled their twelve overs for just 75. Pakistan got off to a good start but suddenly slumped to 76 for 7. They seemed to have blown it but Umar Gul slogged 32 from 17 deliveries and when he got out in the final over Ajmal took 4 off his first ball to win the match. The unlikely hero was the underperforming Umar Akmal who batted responsibly for 43 not out.
Sri Lanka v West Indies
When Gayle was out for 2 the West Indies didn’t seem to know what to do and they meandered their way up to 129. Sri Lanka laid into the seamers and won in the sixteenth over. So all they would have to do in the final would be to dismiss Gayle cheaply again, presumably?
England v New Zealand
Finn made his biggest statement to date taking 3 for 16 in his four overs which was largely responsible for restricting New Zealand to 148. Wright played his second major innings of the tournament scoring 76 from 43 balls including five sixes. Morgan added 89 with him but both were out before the target was comfortably reached in the nineteenth over. This was a must win match for England and they performed pretty well under the circumstances.
India v Pakistan
By now the excellent wickets of the earlier stages of the competition were a thing of the past and the squares were drying out. Most games from now on were won by the side with the best and/or most spinners. Pakistan had looked formidable up to this point but were rolled over for 128. Balaji, Ashwin and Yuvraj took 7 for 54 between them. In reply, not for the first time, Kohli looked as if he were batting on a different surface to the rest and had scored 78 by the time India had coasted home.
Australia v South Africa
Many would have said before the competition started that de Villiers was the most feared batsman. So it was a surprise that once again he came in as low as five (he had been six in some games). That is not to say he didn’t get in early in most games as the South African top order crumbled repeatedly. On this occasion it was left to Behardien (who?) and Peterson to make something of a recovery from 86 for 5 to 148 for 5.
This was never enough to trouble Watson and co. The former played another trademark 70 from 47 balls and Australia won in the eighteenth over.
Sri Lanka v England
England had to win this match to make the semi finals. They won the toss and fielded. They selected Dernbach in place of Bresnan and this pretty much sealed their fate as he, as usual, went for plenty. Finn and Swann were economical but Sri Lanka reached a healthy 169. Malinga then went through the English top order. At 18 for 3 England were in trouble and when Morgan went at 73 the game was pretty much up as no one with enough experience was left to do the business. The strange thing was that Patel had unexpectedly come in at number four and was scoring freely. Buttler, Bopara and Broad all came and went cheaply but then Swann played one of his little swashbuckling cameos. But Malinga reappeared to clean up Patel for an excellent 67 and the innings petered out with the side still 20 short of victory.
New Zealand v West Indies
New Zealand had to win this one to stay in the competition and they seemed to be in good shape when they bowled the West Indies out for 139. Only Gayle looked comfortable in making 30 from 14 deliveries. Southee bowled beautifully taking 3 for 21 from his four overs. He consistently bowled the right line into the blockhole. At one stage New Zealand looked as if they would run away with it with Taylor batting up to his potential. But Narine bowled his funny stuff and with a run out off the last ball we had another tie. Southee managed a no ball first delivery and when Gayle deposited the free hit into the stands it was all over bar the shouting.
India v South Africa
This was probably South Africa’s best performance in the competition as they lost by just one run as they chased India’s 152. But none of their big guns got runs as they left it to Faf (what kind of name is that?) du Plessis who made a powerful 65 from 38 deliveries.
Australia v Pakistan
Pakistan made a modest 149 which Australia never bothered to chase. They needed to get to 113 to make the semi finals and almost screwed that up at 65 for 5 and ended up with 117 for 7. So they threw the match but qualified for the semi finals. Badminton players were thrown out of their sport for doing this.
Sri Lanka v Pakistan - semi final
Dilshan decided to bat through the innings but didn’t and consequently his 35 from 43 balls put Sri Lanka in some difficulties and they struggled to 139. Hafeez and Imran Nazir got the Pakistan innings off to a breezy start, but once Nazir went the going got tough as Mendis and Herath bowled economically and Pakistan ended well short.
Australia v West Indies - semi final
Maybe Australia got what they deserved after the Pakistan game. The West Indies meandered along for the first ten overs with Gayle getting hardly any of the strike. Dwayne Bravo got things moving and Gayle started hitting sixes. Most sides would be pleased to dismiss Bravo in this mood but it just brought Pollard to the crease in a situation tailor made for him. He and Gayle dealt almost exclusively in sixes adding 65 in the final four overs. George Bailey shrewdly saved Xavier Doherty for the final over which concede four sixes. The innings included 14 sixes.
Australia knew they would never get 206 and lost wickets steadily before being all out in the seventeenth over to lose by a staggering 74 runs.
Sri Lanka v West Indies – final
Sri Lanka bowled beautifully and the West Indies seemed to be terrified of getting after them. That is except for Samuels who strolled to 78 from 56 balls with six sixes. Sammy rallied at the end and West Indies gave themselves a chance with what looked like a below par 137. Sri Lanka knew that they had to do little more than survive the twenty overs to win but they slipped behind the rate. Then there was the threat of Duckworth Lewis as the rain started in the dark and even Jayawardene panicked. Once he holed out on the reverse sweep no one was likely to see them home and Narine kept picking up wickets. In the end the West Indies extraordinarily won by a huge 36 run margin.
There was some strange statistics in this match. The competitions best slow bowlers, Mendis and Narine, took 4 for 12 and 3 for 9 respectively whilst the best quick, Malinga, went for 54 without taking a wicket. Mathews, who is generally at best only considered OK as a seamer, conceded only 11 runs from his four overs.
Narine is a very modern bowler but an old fashioned fielder. He bowls off spinners with a strange grip which can also deliver a doosra. And as often as not the ball doesn’t turn at all, which is just as threatening since the batsmen can’t tell any of the deliveries apart. Narine spends a lot of time on his hairstyle and obviously doesn’t want this disturbed in the field. Whilst all around him are diving, sliding and sacrificing themselves he just doesn’t bother and allows the ball to evade him in quite unique ways. He is Googlies’ Man of the World Cup for defying the daft modern fielding practices.
More T20 Matters
The Professor makes a few observations
I thought that after a slow start it was a good competition. I didn't expect England to do much better than they did, especially without the much reviled KP, but I was pleased to see West Indies succeeding once again in international cricket.
The competition proved, once again, what most Googlies readers already know, namely that for all the tabloid gush about sixes and big bashes...not to mention the Bumble's puerile "wallop"... it is really bowling that is crucial. Most of the batters at this sort of level can murder average bowling it is the real stars who can stop the runs - often because the batsmen had no idea which way the ball was going to spin. It also means, I think, that the days of the off-break bowler who doesn't have a doosra are numbered.
The final also relieved the world of another myth - that 20/20 is so short that it is impossible to recover from a bad start. The Windies were 14-2 after six overs and didn't get to 50 until the 13th, but recover they did. By the same token Sri Lanka were 30 after their first six and seemed to have the game almost won (just a touch more than seven an over from there). What on earth possessed Sangakkara of all people to hole out to Pollard? It was all downhill thereafter.
Still, good fun to watch.
Dream Teams
Alec Stewart picks his team of the World Cup
It's never easy to pick a team of the tournament, but I've based my selections purely on what I've seen over the last three weeks where players whose games are most suited to Sri Lankan conditions have often been the most successful. I don't expect you all to agree with my choices, so please use the comments section to weigh in with opinions and team selections of your own.
1) Chris Gayle (West Indies) - Runs: 222, Strike Rate: 150
Quite simply the best Twenty20 player in the world. With his brute force and 3lb bat he can destroy all types of bowling, but he has also shown that he can play in a very responsible manner too. His 75 not out in the semi-final victory over Australia was a perfect example. When starved of the strike, he still backed himself to post a match-winning total. He can also bowl a few handy overs of spin.
2) Shane Watson (Australia) - Runs: 249, SR: 150, Wickets: 11, Economy rate: 7.33
He was quite rightly voted player of the tournament after finishing as the highest run-scorer and second highest wicket-taker. As well as being a top-class opening batsman, he has the ability and variety to bowl at any stage of an innings. Watson was a key part of an Australia side that exceeded my pre-tournament expectations by reaching the semi-finals.
3) Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka, captain) - Runs: 243, SR: 116
The Sri Lanka skipper is a very cool customer who doesn't feel pressure and performs when it matters. He grew up on Sri Lankan surfaces and whether he's playing an attacking or supporting role he is always in total control of his shot selection. He is fantastic to watch and proves that orthodox cricket shots can be just as effective as innovation and big-hitting if you have as much talent as he has.
4) Marlon Samuels (West Indies) - Runs: 230, SR: 133, Wickets: 3, ER: 9
Samuels is another genuine all-rounder who has lit up the international game with his displays this year. In the World Twenty20 he produced his best cricket when the Windies needed him to and was an easy pick for his man-of-the match display in the final, when he single-handedly hauled his team up to a competitive total.
5) Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka, wk) - Runs: 170, SR: 127
I thought long and hard about the choice of wicketkeeper, with Brendon McCullum of New Zealand just missing out despite posting the highest score of the tournament. Sangakkara is used to the conditions, handles all types of pitches well and, from a keeping point of view, picks mystery spin very well. He is used to standing up to the stumps and is another genuine all-rounder in this form of the game.
6) Virat Kohli (India) - Runs: 185, SR: 123
The India batsman just gets the nod ahead of England's Eoin Morgan as the middle-order finisher. He's brilliant under pressure and was a remarkably consistent performer in an inconsistent India side. He is fast becoming a superstar in all forms of the game and is bound to have a big role to play this winter against England.
7) Yuvraj Singh (India) - Runs: 66, SR: 108, Wickets: 8, ER: 5.92
Another highly effective performer with bat and ball who showed flashes of his batting brilliance on his return to the game after a successful fight against cancer. He makes my team as much for his attacking left-arm spin bowling as for his ability with the bat in hand. I also considered Dwayne Bravo and Luke Wright, but Yuvraj's ability to take vital wickets - in evidence in India's one-run win over South Africa - got him the nod.
8) Sunil Narine (Windies) - Wickets: 9, ER: 5.63
He may have looked ordinary in England this summer, but he comes into his own on surfaces that spin and was one of the main reasons why the Windies were successful in Sri Lanka. I like mystery, I like wicket-takers and I like people who play with flair in this form of the game, so he fits the bill. He took the crucial wickets of Jayawadene and Nuwan Kulasekara on his way to figures of 3-9 in the final - showcasing that priceless ability to get good batsmen out when they are well set.
9) Mitchell Starc (Australia): Wickets: 10, ER: 6.83
I like the variety of a left-armer in this form of the game and the statistics show they are among the most successful bowlers. Starc bowled exceptionally both with the new ball and at the end of the innings, and with his 10 wickets he helped his side reach the semi-finals. The fact he gives the attack a different weapon by bowling left-arm just got him the nod ahead of Steve Finn and Ravi Rampaul.
10) Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka): Wickets 15, ER: 6.12
The Sri Lankan mystery spinner posed problems against all batsmen and took wickets at an unbelievable strike-rate of 9.6. He started the tournament with 6-8 against Zimbabwe and finished it with 4-12 in the final. Like Narine, he can struggle when the ball doesn't go off the straight, but in helpful conditions he is as good as it gets.
11) Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) - Wickets 8, ER: 8.44
He is the bowling equivalent of Chris Gayle and, although neither produced the goods in the final, their match-winning abilities make them automatic picks in any World T20 XI. Malinga has a knack of knowing the right ball to bowl to each batsman at any time and his five-wicket haul against England was one of the best bowling performances of the tournament. Like Gayle, it is worth the admission fee just to watch him do his thing.
England and the T20
King Cricket gives us the skinny on England’s shortcomings
Articles about Kevin Pietersen are very boring and entirely overlook all England’s other mistakes and problems:
1. Dropping the captain who won the tournament
Paul Collingwood is a bit of a forgotten man, but we do wonder why there was such haste to ‘build for the future’. We’re not saying that dropping him was necessarily the wrong decision, but it did have a faint aroma of trying to be too clever by half – particularly when Stuart Broad’s the beneficiary.
2. Everyone in the team is eight years’ old
At least Collingwood’s a grown-up. Youth is good, but there’s no point picking an under-21s team when you don’t have to. Twenty20 cricket is not a young man’s game. Pietersen, Gayle, Tendulkar, Dilshan, Jayawardene, Watson, Kallis, Hussey – these are the batsmen who score runs in the shortest format.
You’ve got Virat Kohli? Fine, pick Virat Kohli. You’ve got Craig Kieswetter, Alex Hales, Luke Wright, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler? Choose two. At most.
3. Variations
Ooh look, here comes Jade Dernbach with his eye-catching variations. Oh dear, he appears to have conceded 1-45, 1-38 and 0-42 in successive matches. Not much variation there.
4. Captaincy
Stuart Broad says the team has learnt a lot from the experience. Hopefully they’ll make the most of their knowledge the next time there’s a World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka featuring the exact same players.
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan keeps us up to date on Middlesex developments in the close season
I am probably sorrier than most about Tom Scollay leaving Middlesex. Overall, his statistics were probably just not good enough, but whenever I saw him, he always did well. I saw him play several outstanding innings including a brilliant 179 against Gloucs 2s at Radlett in 2010 and he also had some success with his fiercely spun off-breaks e.g. 6 for 34 against Essex 2s also at Radlett in 2010.
I was telling Jim Revier only the other day that I was not happy about the strength in depth of the pace bowling department with Corey losing form, Finny being regularly absent and the release of Ireland and Williams, so it is great that we have snapped up England Lions man James Harris from Glamorgan. I have taken an interest in Harris's career since I saw him make top score of 56* from no 11 v Surrey 2s at Cheam when he was only just 16. Many see him as mainly a bowler, but his batting is far from negligible. The Middlesex website exaggerates when they describe him as a "fast" bowler, but he is accurate and moves it around and, at 22, he can only get better. Last season (2011), Neil Dexter made the horrific decision to bat first against Glamorgan on the greenest wicket ever seen at Lord's and James (or "Bones") soon had us back in the pavilion for 150 with 5 for 41, then contributed a handy 41 with the bat and picked up three more wickets in the second innings as Glamorgan strolled to victory by 9 wickets. The news of this signing was slow to catch up with me as it has not been in the press and is not on either the BBC or Cricinfo websites. Outside of the season, there is not usually much new on the Middlesex website, so I was ignorant of this encouraging development. I had previously read that Harris was going to Notts.
Some surprising news is that Crooky has been released from the final year of his contract because of his desire to return to Northants on a 2 year deal. His reasons for leaving are that i) he is not getting enough chances to play in the County Championship; ii) he believes he will get more first team matches with Northants; and iii) he still lives in the area; three good reasons really, I suppose.
Corey has signed a new one year contract. He had a dismal season this year, but we know he was suffering family problems, so let's hope that he is back to his best next season. Toby Rolling Stones has signed a new five year contract, which can only be good news. ARCF thinks it would be "magnificent" if Finny, TSRJ and Harris comprised England's pace bowling attack in a couple of years' time. Personally, I think it would be quite disastrous unless the likes of Tom Helm and Harry Podmore make a surprising amount of progress.
Adam London and Josh Davey have signed on for one more year with Middlesex while Ollie Wilkin, having given up his course at Loughborough, has signed for two years. Eoin has signed a new "long term" contract with Middlesex, but they have not actually said how long the deal is. It makes little difference anyway because he never plays for us.
Inexplicable Matters
One of the mysteries of the modern game is why Steve Smith was selected for so many games for Australia in the different formats available. With the bat he seemed to lack any discernible technique and rarely made contact with the ball using whatever gifts he has. With the ball he bowled a sort of rolling leg break which could have been OK if he had pitched it as, say, Schofield did in T20 matches. But in the event he opted for long hops and full tosses which made him almost unusable for his captain.
But he is not alone to fall into this category. If the West Indies had not won the World T20 it may have gone by unnoticed that a regular selection to that side, Andre Russell, made no contribution to that success. It is extremely difficult to determine whether he is a bowler who bats a bit or a batsman who bowls a bit. It seems that the commentators are equally flummoxed as whenever Russell came into action they would describe him the following terms: “This chap is a magnificent specimen. He runs nearly as fast as Bolt.” Since when did this qualify you for international cricket?
Bush Matters
Rocker Robinson gave me a tour of the Bush pavilion when the Danes gathered there in July. The walls had been stripped of the old wooden honours boards and replaced with a range of photos and replacements behind plexiglass. These are far more in keeping with the architecture of the building and it felt as if the club had created an ambience for the future. Rocker was concerned at the cost of this exercise but I thought that it was money well spent.
Sky Matters
King Cricket notes
There is a very different feel to Sky’s coverage of the World Twenty20. It’s not the usual Test match team of presenters and pundits and we’re quite thankful for that. It’s not that Sky’s coverage is normally bad. It’s just very familiar. That David Gower and Ian Botham world can get a bit wearing.
“Just saw Gatt. He’s fat, isn’t he?”
“You like to stay up late drinking, don’t you Sir Ian?”
When these guys talk cricket, that’s fine, but the bonhomie can seem rather tired. Gower and Botham in particular have been doing virtually the same things together for the last 30 years. Sometimes they even seem aware of that themselves.
In contrast, the guys in the studio for the World Twenty20 appear to be genuinely enjoying themselves. It was Ian Ward, Paul Collingwood, Marcus Trescothick and Jimmy Adams yesterday. They seemed to spend about half the time laughing, which was quite endearing. That isn’t to say they’re just dossing about though. They joke, but they make serious points. It’s striking how they have very specific things to say about Twenty20 cricket and you realise that the sometimes faintly sneering or dismissive tone that accompanies the summer coverage of the format is perhaps borne of the ignorance of the older presenters.
We wonder how much of this is down to Ian Ward. He is very good nowadays. Genial and easygoing, but unmistakeably in charge. He’s like a cool teacher who jokes with the kids and somehow cajoles them into doing work at the same time. We would never marry Bob Willis, so we don’t see why we have to spend quite so many hours looking into his cold, dead eyes, wondering whether he’s plotting to kill us. We haven’t seen Nick Knight doing that thing where he asks himself questions before refusing to commit to an answer either, so maybe he’s not involved. It’s good to have a change.
Old Danes Matters
A number of senior and very respected Old Danes have suggested that I give the annual gathering at Shepherds Bush a rest in 2013, which is fine by me. However, if anyone thinks that this will give them terminal withdrawal symptoms I will be happy to provide them with the email lists and let them have a go at rustling up enthusiasm.
Molloy Matters
Ken Molloy sent me this and explained that the guy must be reading Wisden.
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 119
November 2012
Out and About with the Professor
I’ve always enjoyed cricket dinners. I suppose if you can’t play cricket and there’s none to watch, then the next best thing is talking about cricket, and so I went off enthusiastically to my Club’s annual dinner last week.
They have undoubtedly changed in style over the years. My memory of the first cricket dinners I attended is that they were often quite formal…although somewhat less so as the night wore on. Also the language has inevitably changed and the speeches. We have a review of the season and “prizes” (best batsman, bowler, etc) but increasingly the main speech is about the Club and its members rather than the cricket. Indeed a significant part of this year’s speech was about members’ members – a comparison of lengths, frequency of use and so on…you get the idea.
Personally I’m quite happy with the bawdy and lavatorial and indeed it was ever thus. I recall my first cricket dinner at Shepherds Bush when the guest speaker was the late Lord Ray. As many Googlies readers will know, he was a gifted after-dinner speaker but we boys (I was sitting next to Steve Caley) only saw an old man (he might have been 40) about to make a boring speech. Until he stood up, took a sip of his white wine, looked at the glass, looked at the bottle, declared that he was drinking “Entre deux Mers” but that it tasted more like “Entre deux Merdes”. A perfect scatological joke for us smart-arse little lads and he had our rapt attention for the rest of the evening.
However the big topic at Welwyn this year is our future participation in the Home Counties Premier League. Many Googlies readers will know that there are 26 ECB Premier Leagues which are intended to form (along with the two Lancashire Leagues) the best level of “amateur” cricket in the country. The original conception in 2003 – and thus the ECB’s support – was that these leagues would provide a “natural” route from club cricket into the first class game rather along the lines of the Australian model. Most of the leagues are ten or twelve strong and play long matches on Saturdays varying from 100 to 120 over games. Many clubs have former first-class players and indeed even test players and so the standard is high.
However, this being cricket, there have been criticisms. Mostly, regarding the HCPL, they relate to administration and organisation, the payment of players (again) and not least the huge distances that the HCPL covers (Oxford to Bishops Stortford, say, for a prompt 10.30 start). But the key criticism seems to relate to the view that the ECB leagues have not succeeded in their intended role as conduits into the first class game. This clearly needs a review. If the structure has failed to deliver we need to work out why. The prevailing view seems to be that there is indeed a natural route from some leagues into “their” counties: Middlesex, Derbyshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Yorkshire, etc have county leagues of the same name, and the link for say the Birmingham league is pretty obvious. But what of the others? Cheshire, Cornwall, North Staffs and, of course, the HCPL? It would seem that if they are to respond to the criticism they must have, or at least be thought to have, some hook-up to the first class game of a formal (ish) nature. Can this be too hard to devise? Can’t all those old buffers at the ECB pool their collective wits to find a solution or have the ravages of the gins and tonic gone too far?
Let us hope they can. Otherwise crackpot proposals like the suggestion that WGC voluntarily withdraw from a league we have strived for years to enter will not, sadly, go away.
Sofa Cricket
All of these games were in the T20 World Cup
Sri Lanka v New Zealand
New Zealand made a respectable 174 and significantly took 48 from Mendis’ four overs. In reply Jayawardene and Dilshan went off like a train adding 80 in double quick time but once Jayawardene had holed out their scoring rate slipped and when Dilshan ran himself out going for a second they were suddenly in trouble at 161 for 4 and only managed to scramble up to a tie. This brought the Super Over into play. Sri Lanka made 13 without scoring a boundary. Malinga is no fun to face at the best of times and he is definitely not the guy you want to face in these circumstances. Sangakkara conceded 2 byes when he mishandled one delivery and then conceded a single when he dropped a catch. In addition to these runs New Zealand only managed 5 others and so lost.
Australia v India
This game was humiliating for India. They assembled an inadequate 140 and then kept bowling short deliveries to Watson who obligingly punched them for six off the back foot. The score had reached 133 before Watson holed out having scored 72 from 42 balls in an innings that looked increasingly like a net work out. He clobbered seven sixes and India were beaten in under 15 overs.
Pakistan v South Africa
South Africa went from favourites to mugs in this competition. They never worked out how to score runs and their batting orders always looked upside down. In this match they only accumulated a pathetic 133. Ajmal, Hafeez and Afridi bowled their twelve overs for just 75. Pakistan got off to a good start but suddenly slumped to 76 for 7. They seemed to have blown it but Umar Gul slogged 32 from 17 deliveries and when he got out in the final over Ajmal took 4 off his first ball to win the match. The unlikely hero was the underperforming Umar Akmal who batted responsibly for 43 not out.
Sri Lanka v West Indies
When Gayle was out for 2 the West Indies didn’t seem to know what to do and they meandered their way up to 129. Sri Lanka laid into the seamers and won in the sixteenth over. So all they would have to do in the final would be to dismiss Gayle cheaply again, presumably?
England v New Zealand
Finn made his biggest statement to date taking 3 for 16 in his four overs which was largely responsible for restricting New Zealand to 148. Wright played his second major innings of the tournament scoring 76 from 43 balls including five sixes. Morgan added 89 with him but both were out before the target was comfortably reached in the nineteenth over. This was a must win match for England and they performed pretty well under the circumstances.
India v Pakistan
By now the excellent wickets of the earlier stages of the competition were a thing of the past and the squares were drying out. Most games from now on were won by the side with the best and/or most spinners. Pakistan had looked formidable up to this point but were rolled over for 128. Balaji, Ashwin and Yuvraj took 7 for 54 between them. In reply, not for the first time, Kohli looked as if he were batting on a different surface to the rest and had scored 78 by the time India had coasted home.
Australia v South Africa
Many would have said before the competition started that de Villiers was the most feared batsman. So it was a surprise that once again he came in as low as five (he had been six in some games). That is not to say he didn’t get in early in most games as the South African top order crumbled repeatedly. On this occasion it was left to Behardien (who?) and Peterson to make something of a recovery from 86 for 5 to 148 for 5.
This was never enough to trouble Watson and co. The former played another trademark 70 from 47 balls and Australia won in the eighteenth over.
Sri Lanka v England
England had to win this match to make the semi finals. They won the toss and fielded. They selected Dernbach in place of Bresnan and this pretty much sealed their fate as he, as usual, went for plenty. Finn and Swann were economical but Sri Lanka reached a healthy 169. Malinga then went through the English top order. At 18 for 3 England were in trouble and when Morgan went at 73 the game was pretty much up as no one with enough experience was left to do the business. The strange thing was that Patel had unexpectedly come in at number four and was scoring freely. Buttler, Bopara and Broad all came and went cheaply but then Swann played one of his little swashbuckling cameos. But Malinga reappeared to clean up Patel for an excellent 67 and the innings petered out with the side still 20 short of victory.
New Zealand v West Indies
New Zealand had to win this one to stay in the competition and they seemed to be in good shape when they bowled the West Indies out for 139. Only Gayle looked comfortable in making 30 from 14 deliveries. Southee bowled beautifully taking 3 for 21 from his four overs. He consistently bowled the right line into the blockhole. At one stage New Zealand looked as if they would run away with it with Taylor batting up to his potential. But Narine bowled his funny stuff and with a run out off the last ball we had another tie. Southee managed a no ball first delivery and when Gayle deposited the free hit into the stands it was all over bar the shouting.
India v South Africa
This was probably South Africa’s best performance in the competition as they lost by just one run as they chased India’s 152. But none of their big guns got runs as they left it to Faf (what kind of name is that?) du Plessis who made a powerful 65 from 38 deliveries.
Australia v Pakistan
Pakistan made a modest 149 which Australia never bothered to chase. They needed to get to 113 to make the semi finals and almost screwed that up at 65 for 5 and ended up with 117 for 7. So they threw the match but qualified for the semi finals. Badminton players were thrown out of their sport for doing this.
Sri Lanka v Pakistan - semi final
Dilshan decided to bat through the innings but didn’t and consequently his 35 from 43 balls put Sri Lanka in some difficulties and they struggled to 139. Hafeez and Imran Nazir got the Pakistan innings off to a breezy start, but once Nazir went the going got tough as Mendis and Herath bowled economically and Pakistan ended well short.
Australia v West Indies - semi final
Maybe Australia got what they deserved after the Pakistan game. The West Indies meandered along for the first ten overs with Gayle getting hardly any of the strike. Dwayne Bravo got things moving and Gayle started hitting sixes. Most sides would be pleased to dismiss Bravo in this mood but it just brought Pollard to the crease in a situation tailor made for him. He and Gayle dealt almost exclusively in sixes adding 65 in the final four overs. George Bailey shrewdly saved Xavier Doherty for the final over which concede four sixes. The innings included 14 sixes.
Australia knew they would never get 206 and lost wickets steadily before being all out in the seventeenth over to lose by a staggering 74 runs.
Sri Lanka v West Indies – final
Sri Lanka bowled beautifully and the West Indies seemed to be terrified of getting after them. That is except for Samuels who strolled to 78 from 56 balls with six sixes. Sammy rallied at the end and West Indies gave themselves a chance with what looked like a below par 137. Sri Lanka knew that they had to do little more than survive the twenty overs to win but they slipped behind the rate. Then there was the threat of Duckworth Lewis as the rain started in the dark and even Jayawardene panicked. Once he holed out on the reverse sweep no one was likely to see them home and Narine kept picking up wickets. In the end the West Indies extraordinarily won by a huge 36 run margin.
There was some strange statistics in this match. The competitions best slow bowlers, Mendis and Narine, took 4 for 12 and 3 for 9 respectively whilst the best quick, Malinga, went for 54 without taking a wicket. Mathews, who is generally at best only considered OK as a seamer, conceded only 11 runs from his four overs.
Narine is a very modern bowler but an old fashioned fielder. He bowls off spinners with a strange grip which can also deliver a doosra. And as often as not the ball doesn’t turn at all, which is just as threatening since the batsmen can’t tell any of the deliveries apart. Narine spends a lot of time on his hairstyle and obviously doesn’t want this disturbed in the field. Whilst all around him are diving, sliding and sacrificing themselves he just doesn’t bother and allows the ball to evade him in quite unique ways. He is Googlies’ Man of the World Cup for defying the daft modern fielding practices.
More T20 Matters
The Professor makes a few observations
I thought that after a slow start it was a good competition. I didn't expect England to do much better than they did, especially without the much reviled KP, but I was pleased to see West Indies succeeding once again in international cricket.
The competition proved, once again, what most Googlies readers already know, namely that for all the tabloid gush about sixes and big bashes...not to mention the Bumble's puerile "wallop"... it is really bowling that is crucial. Most of the batters at this sort of level can murder average bowling it is the real stars who can stop the runs - often because the batsmen had no idea which way the ball was going to spin. It also means, I think, that the days of the off-break bowler who doesn't have a doosra are numbered.
The final also relieved the world of another myth - that 20/20 is so short that it is impossible to recover from a bad start. The Windies were 14-2 after six overs and didn't get to 50 until the 13th, but recover they did. By the same token Sri Lanka were 30 after their first six and seemed to have the game almost won (just a touch more than seven an over from there). What on earth possessed Sangakkara of all people to hole out to Pollard? It was all downhill thereafter.
Still, good fun to watch.
Dream Teams
Alec Stewart picks his team of the World Cup
It's never easy to pick a team of the tournament, but I've based my selections purely on what I've seen over the last three weeks where players whose games are most suited to Sri Lankan conditions have often been the most successful. I don't expect you all to agree with my choices, so please use the comments section to weigh in with opinions and team selections of your own.
1) Chris Gayle (West Indies) - Runs: 222, Strike Rate: 150
Quite simply the best Twenty20 player in the world. With his brute force and 3lb bat he can destroy all types of bowling, but he has also shown that he can play in a very responsible manner too. His 75 not out in the semi-final victory over Australia was a perfect example. When starved of the strike, he still backed himself to post a match-winning total. He can also bowl a few handy overs of spin.
2) Shane Watson (Australia) - Runs: 249, SR: 150, Wickets: 11, Economy rate: 7.33
He was quite rightly voted player of the tournament after finishing as the highest run-scorer and second highest wicket-taker. As well as being a top-class opening batsman, he has the ability and variety to bowl at any stage of an innings. Watson was a key part of an Australia side that exceeded my pre-tournament expectations by reaching the semi-finals.
3) Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka, captain) - Runs: 243, SR: 116
The Sri Lanka skipper is a very cool customer who doesn't feel pressure and performs when it matters. He grew up on Sri Lankan surfaces and whether he's playing an attacking or supporting role he is always in total control of his shot selection. He is fantastic to watch and proves that orthodox cricket shots can be just as effective as innovation and big-hitting if you have as much talent as he has.
4) Marlon Samuels (West Indies) - Runs: 230, SR: 133, Wickets: 3, ER: 9
Samuels is another genuine all-rounder who has lit up the international game with his displays this year. In the World Twenty20 he produced his best cricket when the Windies needed him to and was an easy pick for his man-of-the match display in the final, when he single-handedly hauled his team up to a competitive total.
5) Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka, wk) - Runs: 170, SR: 127
I thought long and hard about the choice of wicketkeeper, with Brendon McCullum of New Zealand just missing out despite posting the highest score of the tournament. Sangakkara is used to the conditions, handles all types of pitches well and, from a keeping point of view, picks mystery spin very well. He is used to standing up to the stumps and is another genuine all-rounder in this form of the game.
6) Virat Kohli (India) - Runs: 185, SR: 123
The India batsman just gets the nod ahead of England's Eoin Morgan as the middle-order finisher. He's brilliant under pressure and was a remarkably consistent performer in an inconsistent India side. He is fast becoming a superstar in all forms of the game and is bound to have a big role to play this winter against England.
7) Yuvraj Singh (India) - Runs: 66, SR: 108, Wickets: 8, ER: 5.92
Another highly effective performer with bat and ball who showed flashes of his batting brilliance on his return to the game after a successful fight against cancer. He makes my team as much for his attacking left-arm spin bowling as for his ability with the bat in hand. I also considered Dwayne Bravo and Luke Wright, but Yuvraj's ability to take vital wickets - in evidence in India's one-run win over South Africa - got him the nod.
8) Sunil Narine (Windies) - Wickets: 9, ER: 5.63
He may have looked ordinary in England this summer, but he comes into his own on surfaces that spin and was one of the main reasons why the Windies were successful in Sri Lanka. I like mystery, I like wicket-takers and I like people who play with flair in this form of the game, so he fits the bill. He took the crucial wickets of Jayawadene and Nuwan Kulasekara on his way to figures of 3-9 in the final - showcasing that priceless ability to get good batsmen out when they are well set.
9) Mitchell Starc (Australia): Wickets: 10, ER: 6.83
I like the variety of a left-armer in this form of the game and the statistics show they are among the most successful bowlers. Starc bowled exceptionally both with the new ball and at the end of the innings, and with his 10 wickets he helped his side reach the semi-finals. The fact he gives the attack a different weapon by bowling left-arm just got him the nod ahead of Steve Finn and Ravi Rampaul.
10) Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka): Wickets 15, ER: 6.12
The Sri Lankan mystery spinner posed problems against all batsmen and took wickets at an unbelievable strike-rate of 9.6. He started the tournament with 6-8 against Zimbabwe and finished it with 4-12 in the final. Like Narine, he can struggle when the ball doesn't go off the straight, but in helpful conditions he is as good as it gets.
11) Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) - Wickets 8, ER: 8.44
He is the bowling equivalent of Chris Gayle and, although neither produced the goods in the final, their match-winning abilities make them automatic picks in any World T20 XI. Malinga has a knack of knowing the right ball to bowl to each batsman at any time and his five-wicket haul against England was one of the best bowling performances of the tournament. Like Gayle, it is worth the admission fee just to watch him do his thing.
England and the T20
King Cricket gives us the skinny on England’s shortcomings
Articles about Kevin Pietersen are very boring and entirely overlook all England’s other mistakes and problems:
1. Dropping the captain who won the tournament
Paul Collingwood is a bit of a forgotten man, but we do wonder why there was such haste to ‘build for the future’. We’re not saying that dropping him was necessarily the wrong decision, but it did have a faint aroma of trying to be too clever by half – particularly when Stuart Broad’s the beneficiary.
2. Everyone in the team is eight years’ old
At least Collingwood’s a grown-up. Youth is good, but there’s no point picking an under-21s team when you don’t have to. Twenty20 cricket is not a young man’s game. Pietersen, Gayle, Tendulkar, Dilshan, Jayawardene, Watson, Kallis, Hussey – these are the batsmen who score runs in the shortest format.
You’ve got Virat Kohli? Fine, pick Virat Kohli. You’ve got Craig Kieswetter, Alex Hales, Luke Wright, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler? Choose two. At most.
3. Variations
Ooh look, here comes Jade Dernbach with his eye-catching variations. Oh dear, he appears to have conceded 1-45, 1-38 and 0-42 in successive matches. Not much variation there.
4. Captaincy
Stuart Broad says the team has learnt a lot from the experience. Hopefully they’ll make the most of their knowledge the next time there’s a World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka featuring the exact same players.
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan keeps us up to date on Middlesex developments in the close season
I am probably sorrier than most about Tom Scollay leaving Middlesex. Overall, his statistics were probably just not good enough, but whenever I saw him, he always did well. I saw him play several outstanding innings including a brilliant 179 against Gloucs 2s at Radlett in 2010 and he also had some success with his fiercely spun off-breaks e.g. 6 for 34 against Essex 2s also at Radlett in 2010.
I was telling Jim Revier only the other day that I was not happy about the strength in depth of the pace bowling department with Corey losing form, Finny being regularly absent and the release of Ireland and Williams, so it is great that we have snapped up England Lions man James Harris from Glamorgan. I have taken an interest in Harris's career since I saw him make top score of 56* from no 11 v Surrey 2s at Cheam when he was only just 16. Many see him as mainly a bowler, but his batting is far from negligible. The Middlesex website exaggerates when they describe him as a "fast" bowler, but he is accurate and moves it around and, at 22, he can only get better. Last season (2011), Neil Dexter made the horrific decision to bat first against Glamorgan on the greenest wicket ever seen at Lord's and James (or "Bones") soon had us back in the pavilion for 150 with 5 for 41, then contributed a handy 41 with the bat and picked up three more wickets in the second innings as Glamorgan strolled to victory by 9 wickets. The news of this signing was slow to catch up with me as it has not been in the press and is not on either the BBC or Cricinfo websites. Outside of the season, there is not usually much new on the Middlesex website, so I was ignorant of this encouraging development. I had previously read that Harris was going to Notts.
Some surprising news is that Crooky has been released from the final year of his contract because of his desire to return to Northants on a 2 year deal. His reasons for leaving are that i) he is not getting enough chances to play in the County Championship; ii) he believes he will get more first team matches with Northants; and iii) he still lives in the area; three good reasons really, I suppose.
Corey has signed a new one year contract. He had a dismal season this year, but we know he was suffering family problems, so let's hope that he is back to his best next season. Toby Rolling Stones has signed a new five year contract, which can only be good news. ARCF thinks it would be "magnificent" if Finny, TSRJ and Harris comprised England's pace bowling attack in a couple of years' time. Personally, I think it would be quite disastrous unless the likes of Tom Helm and Harry Podmore make a surprising amount of progress.
Adam London and Josh Davey have signed on for one more year with Middlesex while Ollie Wilkin, having given up his course at Loughborough, has signed for two years. Eoin has signed a new "long term" contract with Middlesex, but they have not actually said how long the deal is. It makes little difference anyway because he never plays for us.
Inexplicable Matters
One of the mysteries of the modern game is why Steve Smith was selected for so many games for Australia in the different formats available. With the bat he seemed to lack any discernible technique and rarely made contact with the ball using whatever gifts he has. With the ball he bowled a sort of rolling leg break which could have been OK if he had pitched it as, say, Schofield did in T20 matches. But in the event he opted for long hops and full tosses which made him almost unusable for his captain.
But he is not alone to fall into this category. If the West Indies had not won the World T20 it may have gone by unnoticed that a regular selection to that side, Andre Russell, made no contribution to that success. It is extremely difficult to determine whether he is a bowler who bats a bit or a batsman who bowls a bit. It seems that the commentators are equally flummoxed as whenever Russell came into action they would describe him the following terms: “This chap is a magnificent specimen. He runs nearly as fast as Bolt.” Since when did this qualify you for international cricket?
Bush Matters
Rocker Robinson gave me a tour of the Bush pavilion when the Danes gathered there in July. The walls had been stripped of the old wooden honours boards and replaced with a range of photos and replacements behind plexiglass. These are far more in keeping with the architecture of the building and it felt as if the club had created an ambience for the future. Rocker was concerned at the cost of this exercise but I thought that it was money well spent.
Sky Matters
King Cricket notes
There is a very different feel to Sky’s coverage of the World Twenty20. It’s not the usual Test match team of presenters and pundits and we’re quite thankful for that. It’s not that Sky’s coverage is normally bad. It’s just very familiar. That David Gower and Ian Botham world can get a bit wearing.
“Just saw Gatt. He’s fat, isn’t he?”
“You like to stay up late drinking, don’t you Sir Ian?”
When these guys talk cricket, that’s fine, but the bonhomie can seem rather tired. Gower and Botham in particular have been doing virtually the same things together for the last 30 years. Sometimes they even seem aware of that themselves.
In contrast, the guys in the studio for the World Twenty20 appear to be genuinely enjoying themselves. It was Ian Ward, Paul Collingwood, Marcus Trescothick and Jimmy Adams yesterday. They seemed to spend about half the time laughing, which was quite endearing. That isn’t to say they’re just dossing about though. They joke, but they make serious points. It’s striking how they have very specific things to say about Twenty20 cricket and you realise that the sometimes faintly sneering or dismissive tone that accompanies the summer coverage of the format is perhaps borne of the ignorance of the older presenters.
We wonder how much of this is down to Ian Ward. He is very good nowadays. Genial and easygoing, but unmistakeably in charge. He’s like a cool teacher who jokes with the kids and somehow cajoles them into doing work at the same time. We would never marry Bob Willis, so we don’t see why we have to spend quite so many hours looking into his cold, dead eyes, wondering whether he’s plotting to kill us. We haven’t seen Nick Knight doing that thing where he asks himself questions before refusing to commit to an answer either, so maybe he’s not involved. It’s good to have a change.
Old Danes Matters
A number of senior and very respected Old Danes have suggested that I give the annual gathering at Shepherds Bush a rest in 2013, which is fine by me. However, if anyone thinks that this will give them terminal withdrawal symptoms I will be happy to provide them with the email lists and let them have a go at rustling up enthusiasm.
Molloy Matters
Ken Molloy sent me this and explained that the guy must be reading Wisden.
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