GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 128
August 2013
Root Mania Matters
Joe Root has been hailed as the saviour of English cricket, although no one is quite sure that it needed saving or from what. Much crap has been written about his performances to date. Can you select which of these have actually been reported in the media?
1. “Joe Root’s mother can bat better with a stick of rhubarb than Geoff Boycott’s mother can.”
2. “Root should be made captain of England for the next fifteen years.”
3. “Root is also an accomplished off spinner. Pietersen will never get another bowl at test level and Swann better look out too.”
4. “Root has every shot in the book. He just doesn’t play them all very well.”
5. “Nick Compton should be honoured to give way to this genius.”
6. “If Cameron wants to make Andy Murray a knight then it should be Lord Root at the same time.”
7. “It’s just a matter of time before Root outscores Cook and Trott added together.”
8. “This guy can out bat Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara put together.”
9. “Root should have been around thirty years ago. If he can make the Aussies grovel he, no doubt, would have sent the West Indies quicks packing too.”
10. “Joe has done more for Yorkshire in one season than Fred Trueman and Geoff Boycott did in their whole careers.”
Out and About with the Professor
I have never understood people who leave early. You know, people who go to a sporting event and then leave ten minutes or so before the end, "to beat the rush". What do they do with those ten minutes? Some years' ago I went with a colleague to a Premiership match. He insisted we leave early. Predictably, as we walked out of the ground the stadium erupted as the home side equalised: West Ham 1 Man U 1.
No one would do this at the opera or at a play would they? There are no habitual playgoers walking around who don't know how Romeo and Juliet ends.
"Is it sad at the end?"
"Dunno, we always leave ten minutes early, to beat the rush."
I was musing on this at Headquarters last Sunday. With about half an hour to go people started to drift away. With ten minutes left the Mound Stand was half empty. Come the last over several thousand had gone ...and they missed one of the great moments of Test cricket.
Will they say that they were there? That they saw it? Of course they will. But was not avoiding any "rush" worth staying to the end? Of course it was. It was exactly the sort of moment that a Test match, a four-day drama, can deliver. Why watch the joust and not the coup de grace?
I suppose they might have been suffering from heat stroke. My two days at the Lord's Test were the hottest I have ever been watching cricket. Given that I have been to one or two places overseas that are generally regarded as being somewhat warmer than north Yorkshire that might seem a bit odd, but if you go overseas with a tour group (indeed a principal selling point of theirs) is a guarantee of seats in the shade. Anyone can rock up at Eden Gardens and get into the ground, but the probability will be a seat in the sun and Calcutta has a not unearned reputation for being a touch on the warm side now and again. There is, however, no shade of any sort on the Compton Upper and it was bloody hot and no amount of slip/slap/slopping could change that.
Still the reward was watching England thrash Australia. Let me type that again: watching England thrash Australia. Isn’t that nice? How often in the lifetime of anyone reading this has anyone been able to write such a sentence? For once we not only won, but won easy. And the result of that? Amazingly an outpouring in the Press about poor old Australia. What are they to do? Draft Katich in, or Jaques? Get Ponting out of retirement? Get Warne and McGrath out of the commentary box? Get Symonds out of whatever bar he is in? Who cares? I don't recall the Aussie Press agonising about how England might restore their pride during the years and years of abject defeat. On the contrary, they loved it. "Can't bat, can't bowl, can't field" was one headline the first time I went to Oz. Is this a time to be magnanimous? Frankly, I'd rather not. They can choose whoever they like as long as they keep on losing.
Actually, I don't think the teams are as far apart as is suggested by the pundits. We seem to have forgotten that in the first Test we were a hair's breadth (almost literally) and a half-hearted "review" from defeat. Had we gone to Lord's one down I doubt we would be discussing how Australia might be able to "make a series of it". I assume they will drop Hughes for The Pugilist and possibly Agar for...Lyons? Or perhaps the nascent Australian? Agar's heroics at Trent Bridge should not mask the fact that he did not take a wicket at Lord's...although I'm told he bowled tidily against Welwyn Garden City in May. Starc back for Pattinson? Wade for Rogers? But...I don't care! Just keep on losing Aussies...you know you want to.
Sofa Cricket
Cambridge University v Oxford University at Fenners 2 July
Sam Agarwal, playing for Oxford, made 313 not out in the University Match beating the previous highest score in these contests of 247. He scored at a run a ball and made his runs out of 481 whilst he was at the wicket. Cambridge had put Oxford in and watched them rack up 550 for 7. They were then rolled over for 119 and 245. When will they ever learn?
Kent v Essex T20 at Canterbury 5 July
Owais Shah got dropped from international cricket for the somewhat confusing reason that his running, or maybe calling, was suspect. He now languishes on the world T20 circuit where boundaries count for more than quick singles and continues to hit the ball prodigious distances. Essex batted first in this encounter and Owais made 59 from 38 balls in an innings which included six sixes and just one four. Essex finished on 164 which was more than enough to beat Kent who reached just 117 all out in 17 overs. Ravi Bopara continues to impress with the ball and it seems odd that he seems to have slipped out of the test side reckoning. His batting can be devastating, like a more powerful version of Prior, and his bowling could be critical in a four man line up in which at least one of them is likely to break down at any time.
Sri Lanka v India ODI at Kingston 2 July
India put Sri Lanka in and took their only wicket with the score at 213 when Jayawardene was dismissed for 107. Tharanga went on to 174 not out as Sri Lanka accumulated 348 for 1. This is what the top order has to aim for on a good wicket in this form of the game. New Zealand showed England this at the Rose Bowl. Patting the ball around for thirty overs and hoping Buttler and Morgan will perform miracles isn’t the way to big scores and, more importantly, victories. In this match India were overwhelmed and Herath, a sort of rounder version of Samit Patel, led the wicket taking in Sri Lanka’s victory.
West Indies v India ODI at Port of Spain 5 July
Virat Kholi bats at number three for India in this form of the game and shows our man Trott how to pace an innings rather than having a net. He made 102 out of 188 added whilst he was at the crease and scored his runs from 83 deliveries. India scored 311 and then bowled the home side out for 171. The West Indies had won the toss and invited India to bat first.
Durham v Nottinghamshire T20 at Chester le Street 6 July
Put in, Durham made 154 and Notts knocked them off to win by eight wickets. Nothing very special about this but Notts won with five overs to spare and reached their target as a result of another explosive innings from Michael Lumb who made 96 from 52 balls. Lumb is at his third county and has made no great impression in the longer formats of the game but in T20 there is no better performer on the world stage. He must be the first name on the sheet for any side he is qualified to play for in this format.
Middlesex v Kent T20 at Uxbridge 7 July
Kent are the Patsies in this competition this year and even the rather strange Middlesex bowling line up constrained them to 140. Extreme pace (viz Shaun Tait and his likes) is no longer the rage and pace off, quick bowling is in vogue. Sometimes you don’t even have to pretend to have any quicker balls at all. Neil Dexter bowls what used to be called “wobblers” or “a bit of this and a bit of that”. He always looks calm and collected and never breaks a sweat when bowling. Nevertheless, he consistently returns respectable figures. On this occasion he took 1 for 20 from his four overs.
Middlesex can now call on two serious young hitters to kill off these short format games. Paul Stirling didn’t play in this one but that just left an opening berth for Adam Rossington who scored 74 out of 103 whilst he was at the crease and he faced just 37 balls. Some side is really going to cop it when Stirling and Rossington open together. Dawid Malan adopts the Trott role for Middlesex and he ended on 31 not out. He is the country’s leading scorer in T20. It’s OK as long as your side wins.
Sussex v Middlesex T20 at Hove 16 July
Sussex had got off to something of a flyer in this contest but Rayner, Patel and Dexter applied the brakes and Sussex finished with a below par 148. The Sky commentators try to make out that low scores will be difficult to knock off but we all know that anything less than 175 on a good wicket should be chased down. Paul Stirling was back in the Middlesex line up and he took first strike in the Middlesex reply. The first delivery from Hatchett glanced his hip and went for four leg byes. Stirling found the middle of the bat with the remaining five deliveries which were dispatched for four fours and a six. Middlesex were 26 for 0 starting the second over and the game was effectively over as they now needed 123 from the remaining nineteen overs. Stirling found the boundary again but was then dismissed. Denly hit four sixes in a stop start affair but at least compensated for the pedestrian Malan. Indeed Malan failed to get Middlesex home and it was left to Voges and Dexter to secure victory with just two balls to spare.
Sussex v Middlesex CCDiv 1 at Hove 17 July
Some players have favourite oppositions. Charlie Shreck barely troubled most opposition batsmen but would regularly turn over Middlesex. Luke Wright is a fixture in the England T20 side but in Championship cricket he is rarely noticed, except by Middlesex. He made a big hundred at Uxbridge in 2010, an even bigger one at Lord’s this year and then made 161 in Sussex’ second innings in this match. A not very potent looking Middlesex attack had unexpectedly bowled Sussex out for 229 on the first day. Middlesex made 496 in reply with Sam Robson top scoring with 166. Robson isn’t selected for the one day formats and so tends to be forgotten at this time of the year but he has scored the third most runs by an Englishman this season. His 986 is only behind Varun Chopra 1011 and Lord Root 1264. Thanks to Wright’s effort Sussex reached 310 the second time round but this meant that Middlesex needed just 44 which Robson and Malan scored without mishap.
Sri Lanka v South Africa ODI at Colombo 20 July
Sri Lanka reached 320 for 5 from their 50 overs thanks to an exemplary lesson from their number three, Sangakkara, who made 169 from 137 balls and his runs came from 280 scored whilst he was at the crease. Were you watching Jonathan? It’s up to the top order batsmen to ensure that substantial scores are posted in this form of the game. Nobody reached thirty for South Africa in reply and Herath was again the leading bowler for Sri Lanka.
Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire T20 at Trent Bridge 23 July
A cloudburst reduced this match to a nine over a side contest which begun at the unlikely time of 8.30pm. Notts who are top of the northern group won the toss and invited Derbyshire to bat. Chesney Hughes opened with Wes Durston for Derbyshire. Hughes scored big in the championship at Headingley but hasn’t troubled many other bowlers this season at least until he took a liking to the Notts attack and scored 46 from 25 deliveries out of 98 when he holed out. Durston started slower but was soon clearing the mid wicket boundary with a series of sweep/pulls. He was 50 not out when the innings closed at 108. The scoring rate had been 200 as just 54 balls constituted the full allocation.
The Notts batting line up looked formidable but to score at the required rate required something exceptional. Michael Lumb hit the second ball of the innings down Billy Godleman’s throat on the mid wicket boundary but the fielder incredibly failed to lay a hand on the ball which he had to retrieve from the wrong side of the boundary. In an amazing display of hitting Lumb went on to make 43 from 15 deliveries and was third out with the score on 44. Turner, who had taken some terrible stick in his first over, made a wonderful diving catch at long off to dismiss Lumb and then caught two more as the Notts innings fell apart and they were well beaten by 16 runs. Derbyshire’s most impressive bowling performance came from Peter Burgoyne a twenty year old off spinner. The Sky commentators suggested that Samit might be the replacement for KP. They obviously had forgotten that the England camp don’t like big boys and Samit is enormous this season.
Lancashire v Yorkshire T20 at Old Trafford 24 July
Yorkshire won the toss and chose to bat but totally failed to get to grips with the exercise. They stumbled their way to a pathetic 124 for 8. Smith and McClenaghan returned the most impressive bowling figures but none of the Lancashire bowlers was expensive. Stephen Moore teed off for Lancashire with a series of controlled hits over cover and wide mid wicket. Tom Smith then joined in taking Rashid apart with reverse sweeps and then straight hits. It was hard to see what Yorkshire had found so difficult about batting. Smith fell for 42 from just 22 balls but Moore was still there at the end with 66 not out from 35 balls. Lancashire needed just eleven overs to secure victory. Perhaps they should have been playing Derbyshire the night before?
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan reports
I went to Sunbury yesterday (2/7) for the 2nd XI Trophy game between Surrey and Middlesex and although I played there as a youngster, I can now claim it as the 91st "first or second class" ground I have visited! The weather was miserable (and is miserable again today, so I have not gone to Guildford), but Middlesex enjoyed a comfortable win: Middlesex 254-7 (S Eskinazi 53*, A London 52, S Robson 49; G Keedy 3-38); Surrey 177-9 (A Harinath 40, A Patel (brother of Samit) 33; R Higgins 3-14, A London 3-43). Of those I had not seen before, Steve Eskinazi (from Perth WA, but England qualified) was very impressive, he also keeps, but did not do so on this occasion because skipper J Simpson was in charge of the gloves (and because he did not actually take the field for the Surrey innings); Ollie Wilkin (from Ealing and Loughborough U) looked a very powerful hitter and took two good catches in the outfield, but mysteriously did not get a bowl; Ryan Higgins (from Zimbabwe and Bradfield College, Berks) batted well for 27 and looked a serviceable medium pacer, but might have been a bit flattered by his figures; while Nick Gubbins (from Richmond, Radley and L/BU) looked a good cricketer and will surely have better days. First team bowlers Jim Harris, Toby R-J and Tom Helm enjoyed little success on this occasion.
For the Championship match against Warwickshire at Uxbridge, Middlesex brought in Adam Voges (from Perth, WA) for Chris Rogers (who grew up in Perth, WA) as the overseas player, Dawid Malan replaced the injured Adam London, Toby Roland-Jones came in for the injured James Harris, Ravi Patel deputised for Tim Murtagh (playing for Ireland) and Neil Dexter resumed the captaincy in the absence of Rogers (playing for Australia). Varun Chopra (skipper of Warwicks in the absence of Jim Troughton) won the toss for the visitors and chose to bat first in glorious weather on the reliable Uxbridge track, despite a strong hint of green in the wicket. Former captain Ian Westwood played well for 65 off 104 balls with 11 fours, but only 68 runs came from 33 overs in the afternoon session as ex-Surrey man Laurie Evans needed 123 balls for his 37. England Lions opener Chopra was the Warwicks rock as he helped to put on 113 for both the first and second wickets and 55 more for the third with Ateeq Javid (batting at 4 despite being listed at 11 on the scorecard). Ex-Sussex and England keeper Tim Ambrose (60 off 78 balls with 9 fours) improved the entertainment while adding 100 for the fourth wicket and two more England internationals, Chris Woakes (who added 66 with Chopra) and Ricky (sorry, Rikki) Clarke, improved the run rate further before Chopra finally declared at 486 for 6 with his own contribution standing at an excellent 228* off 428 balls with 20 fours. When Middx batted, ex-Middx man Chris Wright and ex-professional footballer Keith Barker soon had the home team in deep trouble at 28 for 4 (before Wright disappeared from the match after bowling 7 overs and taking two wickets, with no explanation offered), but Voges (who made 105 for Notts against Middx on this same piece of turf, exactly a year ago) found an able partner in keeper John Simpson and the pair added a brilliant 180 for the fifth wicket before Simpson fell for 63 from 144 balls with 10 fours. A second collapse saw the home team plummet to 227 for 8, but then Patel (making a personal best 28*) batted soundly to help Voges (pronounced to rhyme with Stoke Poges according to the Uxbridge announcer) added 72 for the ninth wicket before the Aussie ODI international fell for a magnificent 150 off 217 balls with 17 fours and a six.
A total of 309 was not enough to avoid the follow on and the credit for this went to Barker (4 for 47) and Kiwi Test Match off-spinner Jeetan Patel (4 for 119), but the Middlesex second innings, if anything, was even more disappointing. Sam Robson made 29; Joe Denly (37) and Dexter (a nice cameo of 36 off 43 balls with 8 fours) added 68 for the third wicket and several of the lower order hung around while Voges, batting well again for 51, tried to rescue the desperate situation. There was to be no reprieve, however, and a total of 286 all out left Warwicks to make only 110 for victory. Woakes had the best bowling figures (3 for 27) and Patel deserves more praise for another marathon effort (63.4 overs in the match) of 3 for 111. "Curtly" Ambrose took four catches behind the stumps, giving him 6 in the match.
Middlesex did well to reduce Warwicks to 5 for 2 and 55 for 4, but Ambrose (47 off 75 balls with 6 fours) batted well for the second time in the match and restored the visitors' supremacy before Woakes and Clarke finished things off with a little flourish to win by 5 wickets. Ollie Rayner (4 for 129 in the match) was the most successful Middlesex bowler, but this was a very ordinary performance by Middlesex and although they remain fourth in division one, they are looking nothing like Championship contenders and must improve dramatically at Hove next week to get their campaign back on track. At least, the weather was great. Middlesex 4 points, Warwicks 22. Post script: Chris Wright was later found to have a stress fracture of the back and will miss the rest of the season.
Price Hart Matters
Colin Price, Bill Hart and Allen Bruton have been exchanging emails. First this is Bill’s response to an earlier one from Colin
Having watched quite a lot of the play, I agreed in general with most of your comments.
1. You have been absolutely fair, not to say generous, in your overall assessment of England deserving a victory. As you say the Australian dependence on last wicket partnerships cannot be allowed to continue.
2. Again there was no doubt that Anderson was head and shoulders above the rest of the home attack, which was probably due to the particularly slow wicket (Lords will almost certainly be quicker). Broad always looks such a lumbering trundler, and then he suddenly has a brilliant spell.
3. I feel that Ashton was a remarkably brave selection, and looks like that rarest of finds, an Australian quality “slow left-armer” with a nice action and flight. I don’t think we will see much of your other two slow bowlers. He also looked a useful lower-order batsman, although he may not be able to ride his luck again to such a degree. I have seen Starc bat well before, and Pattinson looked very solid. The problem seems to be in the middle order.
4. On the subject of DRS, I agree completely with you. I hate “non-walking” but there can be no doubt that Australian Test cricketers brought it on themselves. The Broad incident was a disgrace, but the “not-out” of Agar’s stumping was far more damaging, and just as wrong from the umpire’s point-of-view. That was a real shock, because I too have long felt that Aleem Dar is the best.
5. Turning to the Australian batting, for me Cowan, Smith & Hughes just can’t cut it. Clarke is an enigma, a man of class, who fails too often, a bit like Bell. Yet Bell’s innings turned the match.
6. I would like our selectors to return Root to number six, but I am not convinced that Compton is the answer.
Allen Bruton’s email to Colin
Bad news the Pattinson injury, Australia cannot afford to lose one of their better batsmen. More seriously it seems that all fears about the Aussie top order have been realised. The fairytale batting of Agar and two tenth wicket stands papered over the cracks in the first test and produced a fantastic game. However reality will have hit home in the second especially when most will recognise that several of the England team are not at their best- Cook, Trott, Prior, Pieterson and even Swann in the first test. Gloating is dangerous and I really believe this Aussie team can only go one way and improve and whilst this series must surely be lost, come the series in Australia I expect a close contest.
Amongst the debris it should be noted that most of the Aussie batters have played an innings where they have gone past 50 and the bowlers have at times bowled well as individuals but have failed to perform as a unit, which England bowlers seem to do pretty well. Rogers has probably been unlucky a couple of times, Clarke must get runs at some stage and Smith looks the most improved. I think I would give Cowans another go as being more likely than Hughes to play a long innings. Despite his batting heroics Agar was picked to take wickets and probably should give way to the very unfortunate Lyon.
Longer term I suspect Lehmann will sort the dressing room out, suspicion is that there is still a good deal of ‘baggage’ left over from the Micky Arthur days, although a win or two is the best remedy. I am a great believer in the quote attributed to Steve Archibald (ex Spurs, Barcelona and Scotland) ‘Team spirit is something discovered in the celebration of victory’.
Colin
Well, this matter (the Australian cricket team or more particularly, the top six) has been bisected, dissected, chopped up and put through the mincer of the Australian media – none of which is kind, and added to by comments from closer mates in the Mosman cricket fraternity. Reference has been made to ‘too much short form cricket,’ the structure of the Australian domestic season (the Big Bash cuts in about mid-December and we don’t see Sheffield Shield again till February), the administration, the selectors, the coach/manager (already got rid of one). Briefly, no one knows – and I to use the vernacular, it may be a case of suck it and see!
Anyway, I’ll respond to Bill and then pick up on Allen’s comments.
1. In cricket terms (i.e. fundamental talent), I tend to agree though I think we’re at the bottom of a cycle (as we were when Border took over in the 80’s) with only one class player (Clarke) in the side. Some may develop (Smith) but I’m still to be convinced by Hughes and Khawaja at test level and Rogers (for all his county runs) is 35 and has played only 3 tests. I am a Cowan fan in so much as (till the last Test), he had been in the Test side for 18 months and has scored consistent runs, if not huge scores. But he occupies the crease and also has a good brain – not a statement I’d apply to Hughes in particular. Watson is the enigma – talented player but LBW 3 out of 4 innings – falling across to off all the time. Border in the press here has been scathing of him and says either sort it out or get out.
2. The loss of Pattinson is a blow as he has genuine pace but his direction was wayward and in England, with the back up available, I don’t see his loss as dramatic. However, he can bat and it’s one less bowler we can call on. Jackson Bird is the bowler I would like to see get a run – only fast medium but very wicket to wicket moving it off the seam. I think Allen’s comment that Agar’s batting in the first test papered over the cracks is spot on. I would bring back Lyon even though he is a genuine No 11 (probably competing with Bird) which gives us a bit of a tail. However, he is a genuinely good off-spinner whose recent test performances have produced results – in addition, like Cowan, he is a sane man to have in the dressing room and a courageous one at that.
3. I am not a Khawaja fan and it’s a toss of the coin between him and Hughes as I see it.
4. I bow to Bill’s comment and agree that Clarke should bat at 4.
5. Wade has just got a duck at Hove, so count him out. I wouldn’t have him anyway as, notwithstanding Aussies aren’t walkers, his cricketing ethics don’t pass muster. Faulkner is a good player, left arm fast medium and can bat – but he’s not a No 6 and Watson fills the role of the fourth seamer.
6. To be honest, we’re too concerned with our own problems to be able to comment on England. As said before, Anderson is a standout with Swann not too far behind. I enjoy Swann’s smiling approach to the game and found his comments at a press conference re the dismissal of Rogers in the first innings at Lord’s hugely amusing. Our great concern is that Cook, who we genuinely rate, hasn’t really got a score yet and his time must come – maybe in the future against South Africa?? I am still to be convinced by Root, notwithstanding Lords – however Bell has also been a standout and we’ll take him for less than 20 any day of the week. Trott is also a worry from our perspective as he can score big hundreds. Pieterson is not such a worry -too inconsistent.
7. Re the DRS, though I know it’s frowned upon in England, we have no issue with Broad standing his ground at Trent Bridge. I gather he learnt that in Melbourne. However, the intent of the DRS is to prevent absolute howlers and there should be some mechanism whereby if the on-field umpire gets it wrong, the video ump can advise him (notwithstanding the fielding team may have exhausted their referrals) – an on-going issue.
8. So, it’s Old Trafford on Thursday – didn’t Laker take 19 wickets there once – maybe we should play Lyon and Agar! If I was picking for Thursday, I’d put Cowan back in at the top of the order, bat Rogers at 3, Clarke at 4, Khawaja at 5 and Smith at 6 with Bird replacing Pattinson – but I doubt the selectors will do this.
9. As regards Allen’s comments re the longer term, the problems may sort themselves as Lehmann’s presence becomes the norm. I still think Clarke’s personality is part of the problem – there is a history there which suggests such – but you can’t drop him and I’m not sure who would captain in his place.
Burke Matters
Peter Burke sent me this
Dear Jim, I only wrote once to your esteemed publication and it seems I turned into the devil incarnate! Firstly, The Great Jack Morgan refuses to write anymore Middlesex 2nd team reports because I mentioned, in jest, their sleep inducing qualities and now John Williams takes umbrage at my throwaway line about Harrow Town's ground! As it was over forty years ago and as I can now hardly remember where I was yesterday, I unreservedly withdraw my comment about the ground of which I have little recollection except it was somewhere near the Rayners Lane Odeon cinema. Anyway it wasn't my 100th wicket but Ron Reid's and I agree we were stuffed! The Harrow Town archives must be voluminous for them to mention Jukes and Cutler as drinking the night away in his company!
Carlin Matters
Paddy Carlin sends me long hand contributions and so we are usually a month in arrears with his stuff. In response to his inclusion as a possible double centurion in 2013 he pointed out that he did actually score 200 in 1976 although it did take about twelve innings. He gives us insights to his visits to Lord’s.
Whilst at Lord’s for the Sussex match I noticed that batsmen have developed more and more elaborate strokes when they are leaving the ball. Sussex’s Mike Yardy is currently my champion in this as from a most peculiar stance his leaving bat flourish must use up twice the energy of a normal stroke. As an umpire I am witnessing this too in club league cricket. The flourish quite often results in contact with the ball and a single or four to third man.
From my position ideally placed at an angle one hundred yards from the wicket I could see that umpire Martin Saggers was having a controversial game. He must have given not out to at least a dozen very plausible LBW shouts and then gave poor Adam London out LBW when he clearly edged the ball and then, amid scenes of dissent, gave Prior out caught when the ball may not have carried, the ball at some point touched the catcher’s helmet and he couldn’t possibly have been sure. I don’t think that an international call up beckons.
The highlight of the cricket for witnesses of the absurd surrounded the plummy voiced public address system announcer. First he called Martin Saggers “Mike” but then failed to turn off his equipment before engaging in a conversation with, hopefully, his wife which mentioned several darlings and a general air of boredom about his being at work when he longed to be going home to her. More of this please, Vinny.
There were crowds of Yorkshire supporters in the pavilion to see their county’s thrashing of Middlesex. The northerners batted, bowled, fielded and caught better than our team. Sayers who cannot buy a run took two great catches, Rashid fielded, batted and bowled well, Patterson ran into a gale force wind just about all innings and picked up a four for and, admittedly with this gale behind him, Plunkett bowled really quickly.
The game did feature one aspect of play which club cricketers will hope does not catch on. We have seen the widespread adoption in club cricket of the mid wicket glove touch and many teams now “huddle” before play begins. Yorkshire have their own new idiosyncrasy. Every time there was an outstanding or merely very good piece of fielding by cover, extra cover, mid on, mid off etc at least two of the slip cordon rushed out to touch the the fielder in acclamation. They then ran back in time for the next ball. I also noted that Yorkshire do not adopt the habit of hurling the ball back to the keeper after every delivery. If it went to mid on or mid off it stayed there to be returned to the bowler.
This practice of the slip run would have horrified the WGCCC third XI of my memory. This slip cordon comprised four very large gentlemen and was known as the wall of flesh. Indeed very little could or did get through. Should a couple of them have run out to the covers it would have slowed the over rate dramatically and I don’t think that they would have made it back to the slips. Fat blokes, old blokes and lazy blokes in the slips everywhere are watching anxiously.
Ignominy Matters
George resurrected painful memories of his early cricketing days
“Essex were bowled out for just 20, the lowest total by any side in the County Championship for 30 years, in 68 incredible minutes on a day of humiliation for the once proud county at their Chelmsford home.” This is from the Telegraph on 14th June and it caused me to dig deep into memories of ignominy over 50 years ago.
I don’t recall much about my final year’s cricket at Furness Road Junior School, but I do remember having the honour of captaining Willesden Schools. Being a captain at 11 years old probably only really meant tossing up, as the master in charge decided on the batting order, the field placings and who would bowl next. However I guess I led the team out into the field. The first game was away against Wembley Schools. By the time I led the team out into the field we had batted first. I can’t remember whether Wembley had slipped us in on a dodgy wicket which would dry out later. However, we had been bowled out for 11. I did top score with a cultured 2 and Wembley duly knocked of the required target of 12 with 8 wickets and about 3 hours to spare. I vowed this would never happen again and it didn’t.
About a year later I was captain of the Under 12s at St. Clement Danes, under the memorable tutelage of Ralph Pooley. Our first game was against Battersea Grammar. We batted first and despite my future best man Royce Abrahams being on our side (instead of playing for Wembley Schools) we were all out for 12. I think I again top scored with 3. So progress on both fronts there. It’s just possible Battersea lost a wicket or so knocking of the runs, but I’m not sure. I do remember though that Ralph was apoplectic. Was the score read out in assembly? I can’t remember that either. There would be more memorable matches against Battersea in the years to come though.
Long Ago Matters
The WC prompts a recollection by the Great Jack Morgan
This month’s Cricketer has a feature on the Aussies' game against Yorkshire at Bramall Lane in 1968 and (guess what?) I was there... though only for the one day, I believe, because I had two finals papers right at the end of year two at Sheffield (which prevented my joining the University cricket tour of Devon, the only year I missed). Yorkshire won easily by an innings and (digging out my scorecard (6d)), I find that all the names are still very familiar except possibly Pete Stringer (Yorkshire pace bowler), Brian Taber (great Oz keeper, but not much of a bat) and Dave Renneberg (Oz paceman now largely forgotten). What you will find hard to believe is that I had arranged to meet up with the Prof at the game (after my exam); he was (I think) on his way home from Hull having just completed his university career. At the end of term, things were fairly dull, but we had a few beers in the union bar if I recall correctly, where he severely criticised one of my (attractive) female friends called Pip (I didn't realise he was so picky) and I organised him a free meal (for which, to his disgust, he had to wear a gown) and a room for the night in Earnshaw Hall (because most chaps without exams had pissed off home)... I am not sure how much he enjoyed himself.
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 128
August 2013
Root Mania Matters
Joe Root has been hailed as the saviour of English cricket, although no one is quite sure that it needed saving or from what. Much crap has been written about his performances to date. Can you select which of these have actually been reported in the media?
1. “Joe Root’s mother can bat better with a stick of rhubarb than Geoff Boycott’s mother can.”
2. “Root should be made captain of England for the next fifteen years.”
3. “Root is also an accomplished off spinner. Pietersen will never get another bowl at test level and Swann better look out too.”
4. “Root has every shot in the book. He just doesn’t play them all very well.”
5. “Nick Compton should be honoured to give way to this genius.”
6. “If Cameron wants to make Andy Murray a knight then it should be Lord Root at the same time.”
7. “It’s just a matter of time before Root outscores Cook and Trott added together.”
8. “This guy can out bat Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara put together.”
9. “Root should have been around thirty years ago. If he can make the Aussies grovel he, no doubt, would have sent the West Indies quicks packing too.”
10. “Joe has done more for Yorkshire in one season than Fred Trueman and Geoff Boycott did in their whole careers.”
Out and About with the Professor
I have never understood people who leave early. You know, people who go to a sporting event and then leave ten minutes or so before the end, "to beat the rush". What do they do with those ten minutes? Some years' ago I went with a colleague to a Premiership match. He insisted we leave early. Predictably, as we walked out of the ground the stadium erupted as the home side equalised: West Ham 1 Man U 1.
No one would do this at the opera or at a play would they? There are no habitual playgoers walking around who don't know how Romeo and Juliet ends.
"Is it sad at the end?"
"Dunno, we always leave ten minutes early, to beat the rush."
I was musing on this at Headquarters last Sunday. With about half an hour to go people started to drift away. With ten minutes left the Mound Stand was half empty. Come the last over several thousand had gone ...and they missed one of the great moments of Test cricket.
Will they say that they were there? That they saw it? Of course they will. But was not avoiding any "rush" worth staying to the end? Of course it was. It was exactly the sort of moment that a Test match, a four-day drama, can deliver. Why watch the joust and not the coup de grace?
I suppose they might have been suffering from heat stroke. My two days at the Lord's Test were the hottest I have ever been watching cricket. Given that I have been to one or two places overseas that are generally regarded as being somewhat warmer than north Yorkshire that might seem a bit odd, but if you go overseas with a tour group (indeed a principal selling point of theirs) is a guarantee of seats in the shade. Anyone can rock up at Eden Gardens and get into the ground, but the probability will be a seat in the sun and Calcutta has a not unearned reputation for being a touch on the warm side now and again. There is, however, no shade of any sort on the Compton Upper and it was bloody hot and no amount of slip/slap/slopping could change that.
Still the reward was watching England thrash Australia. Let me type that again: watching England thrash Australia. Isn’t that nice? How often in the lifetime of anyone reading this has anyone been able to write such a sentence? For once we not only won, but won easy. And the result of that? Amazingly an outpouring in the Press about poor old Australia. What are they to do? Draft Katich in, or Jaques? Get Ponting out of retirement? Get Warne and McGrath out of the commentary box? Get Symonds out of whatever bar he is in? Who cares? I don't recall the Aussie Press agonising about how England might restore their pride during the years and years of abject defeat. On the contrary, they loved it. "Can't bat, can't bowl, can't field" was one headline the first time I went to Oz. Is this a time to be magnanimous? Frankly, I'd rather not. They can choose whoever they like as long as they keep on losing.
Actually, I don't think the teams are as far apart as is suggested by the pundits. We seem to have forgotten that in the first Test we were a hair's breadth (almost literally) and a half-hearted "review" from defeat. Had we gone to Lord's one down I doubt we would be discussing how Australia might be able to "make a series of it". I assume they will drop Hughes for The Pugilist and possibly Agar for...Lyons? Or perhaps the nascent Australian? Agar's heroics at Trent Bridge should not mask the fact that he did not take a wicket at Lord's...although I'm told he bowled tidily against Welwyn Garden City in May. Starc back for Pattinson? Wade for Rogers? But...I don't care! Just keep on losing Aussies...you know you want to.
Sofa Cricket
Cambridge University v Oxford University at Fenners 2 July
Sam Agarwal, playing for Oxford, made 313 not out in the University Match beating the previous highest score in these contests of 247. He scored at a run a ball and made his runs out of 481 whilst he was at the wicket. Cambridge had put Oxford in and watched them rack up 550 for 7. They were then rolled over for 119 and 245. When will they ever learn?
Kent v Essex T20 at Canterbury 5 July
Owais Shah got dropped from international cricket for the somewhat confusing reason that his running, or maybe calling, was suspect. He now languishes on the world T20 circuit where boundaries count for more than quick singles and continues to hit the ball prodigious distances. Essex batted first in this encounter and Owais made 59 from 38 balls in an innings which included six sixes and just one four. Essex finished on 164 which was more than enough to beat Kent who reached just 117 all out in 17 overs. Ravi Bopara continues to impress with the ball and it seems odd that he seems to have slipped out of the test side reckoning. His batting can be devastating, like a more powerful version of Prior, and his bowling could be critical in a four man line up in which at least one of them is likely to break down at any time.
Sri Lanka v India ODI at Kingston 2 July
India put Sri Lanka in and took their only wicket with the score at 213 when Jayawardene was dismissed for 107. Tharanga went on to 174 not out as Sri Lanka accumulated 348 for 1. This is what the top order has to aim for on a good wicket in this form of the game. New Zealand showed England this at the Rose Bowl. Patting the ball around for thirty overs and hoping Buttler and Morgan will perform miracles isn’t the way to big scores and, more importantly, victories. In this match India were overwhelmed and Herath, a sort of rounder version of Samit Patel, led the wicket taking in Sri Lanka’s victory.
West Indies v India ODI at Port of Spain 5 July
Virat Kholi bats at number three for India in this form of the game and shows our man Trott how to pace an innings rather than having a net. He made 102 out of 188 added whilst he was at the crease and scored his runs from 83 deliveries. India scored 311 and then bowled the home side out for 171. The West Indies had won the toss and invited India to bat first.
Durham v Nottinghamshire T20 at Chester le Street 6 July
Put in, Durham made 154 and Notts knocked them off to win by eight wickets. Nothing very special about this but Notts won with five overs to spare and reached their target as a result of another explosive innings from Michael Lumb who made 96 from 52 balls. Lumb is at his third county and has made no great impression in the longer formats of the game but in T20 there is no better performer on the world stage. He must be the first name on the sheet for any side he is qualified to play for in this format.
Middlesex v Kent T20 at Uxbridge 7 July
Kent are the Patsies in this competition this year and even the rather strange Middlesex bowling line up constrained them to 140. Extreme pace (viz Shaun Tait and his likes) is no longer the rage and pace off, quick bowling is in vogue. Sometimes you don’t even have to pretend to have any quicker balls at all. Neil Dexter bowls what used to be called “wobblers” or “a bit of this and a bit of that”. He always looks calm and collected and never breaks a sweat when bowling. Nevertheless, he consistently returns respectable figures. On this occasion he took 1 for 20 from his four overs.
Middlesex can now call on two serious young hitters to kill off these short format games. Paul Stirling didn’t play in this one but that just left an opening berth for Adam Rossington who scored 74 out of 103 whilst he was at the crease and he faced just 37 balls. Some side is really going to cop it when Stirling and Rossington open together. Dawid Malan adopts the Trott role for Middlesex and he ended on 31 not out. He is the country’s leading scorer in T20. It’s OK as long as your side wins.
Sussex v Middlesex T20 at Hove 16 July
Sussex had got off to something of a flyer in this contest but Rayner, Patel and Dexter applied the brakes and Sussex finished with a below par 148. The Sky commentators try to make out that low scores will be difficult to knock off but we all know that anything less than 175 on a good wicket should be chased down. Paul Stirling was back in the Middlesex line up and he took first strike in the Middlesex reply. The first delivery from Hatchett glanced his hip and went for four leg byes. Stirling found the middle of the bat with the remaining five deliveries which were dispatched for four fours and a six. Middlesex were 26 for 0 starting the second over and the game was effectively over as they now needed 123 from the remaining nineteen overs. Stirling found the boundary again but was then dismissed. Denly hit four sixes in a stop start affair but at least compensated for the pedestrian Malan. Indeed Malan failed to get Middlesex home and it was left to Voges and Dexter to secure victory with just two balls to spare.
Sussex v Middlesex CCDiv 1 at Hove 17 July
Some players have favourite oppositions. Charlie Shreck barely troubled most opposition batsmen but would regularly turn over Middlesex. Luke Wright is a fixture in the England T20 side but in Championship cricket he is rarely noticed, except by Middlesex. He made a big hundred at Uxbridge in 2010, an even bigger one at Lord’s this year and then made 161 in Sussex’ second innings in this match. A not very potent looking Middlesex attack had unexpectedly bowled Sussex out for 229 on the first day. Middlesex made 496 in reply with Sam Robson top scoring with 166. Robson isn’t selected for the one day formats and so tends to be forgotten at this time of the year but he has scored the third most runs by an Englishman this season. His 986 is only behind Varun Chopra 1011 and Lord Root 1264. Thanks to Wright’s effort Sussex reached 310 the second time round but this meant that Middlesex needed just 44 which Robson and Malan scored without mishap.
Sri Lanka v South Africa ODI at Colombo 20 July
Sri Lanka reached 320 for 5 from their 50 overs thanks to an exemplary lesson from their number three, Sangakkara, who made 169 from 137 balls and his runs came from 280 scored whilst he was at the crease. Were you watching Jonathan? It’s up to the top order batsmen to ensure that substantial scores are posted in this form of the game. Nobody reached thirty for South Africa in reply and Herath was again the leading bowler for Sri Lanka.
Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire T20 at Trent Bridge 23 July
A cloudburst reduced this match to a nine over a side contest which begun at the unlikely time of 8.30pm. Notts who are top of the northern group won the toss and invited Derbyshire to bat. Chesney Hughes opened with Wes Durston for Derbyshire. Hughes scored big in the championship at Headingley but hasn’t troubled many other bowlers this season at least until he took a liking to the Notts attack and scored 46 from 25 deliveries out of 98 when he holed out. Durston started slower but was soon clearing the mid wicket boundary with a series of sweep/pulls. He was 50 not out when the innings closed at 108. The scoring rate had been 200 as just 54 balls constituted the full allocation.
The Notts batting line up looked formidable but to score at the required rate required something exceptional. Michael Lumb hit the second ball of the innings down Billy Godleman’s throat on the mid wicket boundary but the fielder incredibly failed to lay a hand on the ball which he had to retrieve from the wrong side of the boundary. In an amazing display of hitting Lumb went on to make 43 from 15 deliveries and was third out with the score on 44. Turner, who had taken some terrible stick in his first over, made a wonderful diving catch at long off to dismiss Lumb and then caught two more as the Notts innings fell apart and they were well beaten by 16 runs. Derbyshire’s most impressive bowling performance came from Peter Burgoyne a twenty year old off spinner. The Sky commentators suggested that Samit might be the replacement for KP. They obviously had forgotten that the England camp don’t like big boys and Samit is enormous this season.
Lancashire v Yorkshire T20 at Old Trafford 24 July
Yorkshire won the toss and chose to bat but totally failed to get to grips with the exercise. They stumbled their way to a pathetic 124 for 8. Smith and McClenaghan returned the most impressive bowling figures but none of the Lancashire bowlers was expensive. Stephen Moore teed off for Lancashire with a series of controlled hits over cover and wide mid wicket. Tom Smith then joined in taking Rashid apart with reverse sweeps and then straight hits. It was hard to see what Yorkshire had found so difficult about batting. Smith fell for 42 from just 22 balls but Moore was still there at the end with 66 not out from 35 balls. Lancashire needed just eleven overs to secure victory. Perhaps they should have been playing Derbyshire the night before?
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan reports
I went to Sunbury yesterday (2/7) for the 2nd XI Trophy game between Surrey and Middlesex and although I played there as a youngster, I can now claim it as the 91st "first or second class" ground I have visited! The weather was miserable (and is miserable again today, so I have not gone to Guildford), but Middlesex enjoyed a comfortable win: Middlesex 254-7 (S Eskinazi 53*, A London 52, S Robson 49; G Keedy 3-38); Surrey 177-9 (A Harinath 40, A Patel (brother of Samit) 33; R Higgins 3-14, A London 3-43). Of those I had not seen before, Steve Eskinazi (from Perth WA, but England qualified) was very impressive, he also keeps, but did not do so on this occasion because skipper J Simpson was in charge of the gloves (and because he did not actually take the field for the Surrey innings); Ollie Wilkin (from Ealing and Loughborough U) looked a very powerful hitter and took two good catches in the outfield, but mysteriously did not get a bowl; Ryan Higgins (from Zimbabwe and Bradfield College, Berks) batted well for 27 and looked a serviceable medium pacer, but might have been a bit flattered by his figures; while Nick Gubbins (from Richmond, Radley and L/BU) looked a good cricketer and will surely have better days. First team bowlers Jim Harris, Toby R-J and Tom Helm enjoyed little success on this occasion.
For the Championship match against Warwickshire at Uxbridge, Middlesex brought in Adam Voges (from Perth, WA) for Chris Rogers (who grew up in Perth, WA) as the overseas player, Dawid Malan replaced the injured Adam London, Toby Roland-Jones came in for the injured James Harris, Ravi Patel deputised for Tim Murtagh (playing for Ireland) and Neil Dexter resumed the captaincy in the absence of Rogers (playing for Australia). Varun Chopra (skipper of Warwicks in the absence of Jim Troughton) won the toss for the visitors and chose to bat first in glorious weather on the reliable Uxbridge track, despite a strong hint of green in the wicket. Former captain Ian Westwood played well for 65 off 104 balls with 11 fours, but only 68 runs came from 33 overs in the afternoon session as ex-Surrey man Laurie Evans needed 123 balls for his 37. England Lions opener Chopra was the Warwicks rock as he helped to put on 113 for both the first and second wickets and 55 more for the third with Ateeq Javid (batting at 4 despite being listed at 11 on the scorecard). Ex-Sussex and England keeper Tim Ambrose (60 off 78 balls with 9 fours) improved the entertainment while adding 100 for the fourth wicket and two more England internationals, Chris Woakes (who added 66 with Chopra) and Ricky (sorry, Rikki) Clarke, improved the run rate further before Chopra finally declared at 486 for 6 with his own contribution standing at an excellent 228* off 428 balls with 20 fours. When Middx batted, ex-Middx man Chris Wright and ex-professional footballer Keith Barker soon had the home team in deep trouble at 28 for 4 (before Wright disappeared from the match after bowling 7 overs and taking two wickets, with no explanation offered), but Voges (who made 105 for Notts against Middx on this same piece of turf, exactly a year ago) found an able partner in keeper John Simpson and the pair added a brilliant 180 for the fifth wicket before Simpson fell for 63 from 144 balls with 10 fours. A second collapse saw the home team plummet to 227 for 8, but then Patel (making a personal best 28*) batted soundly to help Voges (pronounced to rhyme with Stoke Poges according to the Uxbridge announcer) added 72 for the ninth wicket before the Aussie ODI international fell for a magnificent 150 off 217 balls with 17 fours and a six.
A total of 309 was not enough to avoid the follow on and the credit for this went to Barker (4 for 47) and Kiwi Test Match off-spinner Jeetan Patel (4 for 119), but the Middlesex second innings, if anything, was even more disappointing. Sam Robson made 29; Joe Denly (37) and Dexter (a nice cameo of 36 off 43 balls with 8 fours) added 68 for the third wicket and several of the lower order hung around while Voges, batting well again for 51, tried to rescue the desperate situation. There was to be no reprieve, however, and a total of 286 all out left Warwicks to make only 110 for victory. Woakes had the best bowling figures (3 for 27) and Patel deserves more praise for another marathon effort (63.4 overs in the match) of 3 for 111. "Curtly" Ambrose took four catches behind the stumps, giving him 6 in the match.
Middlesex did well to reduce Warwicks to 5 for 2 and 55 for 4, but Ambrose (47 off 75 balls with 6 fours) batted well for the second time in the match and restored the visitors' supremacy before Woakes and Clarke finished things off with a little flourish to win by 5 wickets. Ollie Rayner (4 for 129 in the match) was the most successful Middlesex bowler, but this was a very ordinary performance by Middlesex and although they remain fourth in division one, they are looking nothing like Championship contenders and must improve dramatically at Hove next week to get their campaign back on track. At least, the weather was great. Middlesex 4 points, Warwicks 22. Post script: Chris Wright was later found to have a stress fracture of the back and will miss the rest of the season.
Price Hart Matters
Colin Price, Bill Hart and Allen Bruton have been exchanging emails. First this is Bill’s response to an earlier one from Colin
Having watched quite a lot of the play, I agreed in general with most of your comments.
1. You have been absolutely fair, not to say generous, in your overall assessment of England deserving a victory. As you say the Australian dependence on last wicket partnerships cannot be allowed to continue.
2. Again there was no doubt that Anderson was head and shoulders above the rest of the home attack, which was probably due to the particularly slow wicket (Lords will almost certainly be quicker). Broad always looks such a lumbering trundler, and then he suddenly has a brilliant spell.
3. I feel that Ashton was a remarkably brave selection, and looks like that rarest of finds, an Australian quality “slow left-armer” with a nice action and flight. I don’t think we will see much of your other two slow bowlers. He also looked a useful lower-order batsman, although he may not be able to ride his luck again to such a degree. I have seen Starc bat well before, and Pattinson looked very solid. The problem seems to be in the middle order.
4. On the subject of DRS, I agree completely with you. I hate “non-walking” but there can be no doubt that Australian Test cricketers brought it on themselves. The Broad incident was a disgrace, but the “not-out” of Agar’s stumping was far more damaging, and just as wrong from the umpire’s point-of-view. That was a real shock, because I too have long felt that Aleem Dar is the best.
5. Turning to the Australian batting, for me Cowan, Smith & Hughes just can’t cut it. Clarke is an enigma, a man of class, who fails too often, a bit like Bell. Yet Bell’s innings turned the match.
6. I would like our selectors to return Root to number six, but I am not convinced that Compton is the answer.
Allen Bruton’s email to Colin
Bad news the Pattinson injury, Australia cannot afford to lose one of their better batsmen. More seriously it seems that all fears about the Aussie top order have been realised. The fairytale batting of Agar and two tenth wicket stands papered over the cracks in the first test and produced a fantastic game. However reality will have hit home in the second especially when most will recognise that several of the England team are not at their best- Cook, Trott, Prior, Pieterson and even Swann in the first test. Gloating is dangerous and I really believe this Aussie team can only go one way and improve and whilst this series must surely be lost, come the series in Australia I expect a close contest.
Amongst the debris it should be noted that most of the Aussie batters have played an innings where they have gone past 50 and the bowlers have at times bowled well as individuals but have failed to perform as a unit, which England bowlers seem to do pretty well. Rogers has probably been unlucky a couple of times, Clarke must get runs at some stage and Smith looks the most improved. I think I would give Cowans another go as being more likely than Hughes to play a long innings. Despite his batting heroics Agar was picked to take wickets and probably should give way to the very unfortunate Lyon.
Longer term I suspect Lehmann will sort the dressing room out, suspicion is that there is still a good deal of ‘baggage’ left over from the Micky Arthur days, although a win or two is the best remedy. I am a great believer in the quote attributed to Steve Archibald (ex Spurs, Barcelona and Scotland) ‘Team spirit is something discovered in the celebration of victory’.
Colin
Well, this matter (the Australian cricket team or more particularly, the top six) has been bisected, dissected, chopped up and put through the mincer of the Australian media – none of which is kind, and added to by comments from closer mates in the Mosman cricket fraternity. Reference has been made to ‘too much short form cricket,’ the structure of the Australian domestic season (the Big Bash cuts in about mid-December and we don’t see Sheffield Shield again till February), the administration, the selectors, the coach/manager (already got rid of one). Briefly, no one knows – and I to use the vernacular, it may be a case of suck it and see!
Anyway, I’ll respond to Bill and then pick up on Allen’s comments.
1. In cricket terms (i.e. fundamental talent), I tend to agree though I think we’re at the bottom of a cycle (as we were when Border took over in the 80’s) with only one class player (Clarke) in the side. Some may develop (Smith) but I’m still to be convinced by Hughes and Khawaja at test level and Rogers (for all his county runs) is 35 and has played only 3 tests. I am a Cowan fan in so much as (till the last Test), he had been in the Test side for 18 months and has scored consistent runs, if not huge scores. But he occupies the crease and also has a good brain – not a statement I’d apply to Hughes in particular. Watson is the enigma – talented player but LBW 3 out of 4 innings – falling across to off all the time. Border in the press here has been scathing of him and says either sort it out or get out.
2. The loss of Pattinson is a blow as he has genuine pace but his direction was wayward and in England, with the back up available, I don’t see his loss as dramatic. However, he can bat and it’s one less bowler we can call on. Jackson Bird is the bowler I would like to see get a run – only fast medium but very wicket to wicket moving it off the seam. I think Allen’s comment that Agar’s batting in the first test papered over the cracks is spot on. I would bring back Lyon even though he is a genuine No 11 (probably competing with Bird) which gives us a bit of a tail. However, he is a genuinely good off-spinner whose recent test performances have produced results – in addition, like Cowan, he is a sane man to have in the dressing room and a courageous one at that.
3. I am not a Khawaja fan and it’s a toss of the coin between him and Hughes as I see it.
4. I bow to Bill’s comment and agree that Clarke should bat at 4.
5. Wade has just got a duck at Hove, so count him out. I wouldn’t have him anyway as, notwithstanding Aussies aren’t walkers, his cricketing ethics don’t pass muster. Faulkner is a good player, left arm fast medium and can bat – but he’s not a No 6 and Watson fills the role of the fourth seamer.
6. To be honest, we’re too concerned with our own problems to be able to comment on England. As said before, Anderson is a standout with Swann not too far behind. I enjoy Swann’s smiling approach to the game and found his comments at a press conference re the dismissal of Rogers in the first innings at Lord’s hugely amusing. Our great concern is that Cook, who we genuinely rate, hasn’t really got a score yet and his time must come – maybe in the future against South Africa?? I am still to be convinced by Root, notwithstanding Lords – however Bell has also been a standout and we’ll take him for less than 20 any day of the week. Trott is also a worry from our perspective as he can score big hundreds. Pieterson is not such a worry -too inconsistent.
7. Re the DRS, though I know it’s frowned upon in England, we have no issue with Broad standing his ground at Trent Bridge. I gather he learnt that in Melbourne. However, the intent of the DRS is to prevent absolute howlers and there should be some mechanism whereby if the on-field umpire gets it wrong, the video ump can advise him (notwithstanding the fielding team may have exhausted their referrals) – an on-going issue.
8. So, it’s Old Trafford on Thursday – didn’t Laker take 19 wickets there once – maybe we should play Lyon and Agar! If I was picking for Thursday, I’d put Cowan back in at the top of the order, bat Rogers at 3, Clarke at 4, Khawaja at 5 and Smith at 6 with Bird replacing Pattinson – but I doubt the selectors will do this.
9. As regards Allen’s comments re the longer term, the problems may sort themselves as Lehmann’s presence becomes the norm. I still think Clarke’s personality is part of the problem – there is a history there which suggests such – but you can’t drop him and I’m not sure who would captain in his place.
Burke Matters
Peter Burke sent me this
Dear Jim, I only wrote once to your esteemed publication and it seems I turned into the devil incarnate! Firstly, The Great Jack Morgan refuses to write anymore Middlesex 2nd team reports because I mentioned, in jest, their sleep inducing qualities and now John Williams takes umbrage at my throwaway line about Harrow Town's ground! As it was over forty years ago and as I can now hardly remember where I was yesterday, I unreservedly withdraw my comment about the ground of which I have little recollection except it was somewhere near the Rayners Lane Odeon cinema. Anyway it wasn't my 100th wicket but Ron Reid's and I agree we were stuffed! The Harrow Town archives must be voluminous for them to mention Jukes and Cutler as drinking the night away in his company!
Carlin Matters
Paddy Carlin sends me long hand contributions and so we are usually a month in arrears with his stuff. In response to his inclusion as a possible double centurion in 2013 he pointed out that he did actually score 200 in 1976 although it did take about twelve innings. He gives us insights to his visits to Lord’s.
Whilst at Lord’s for the Sussex match I noticed that batsmen have developed more and more elaborate strokes when they are leaving the ball. Sussex’s Mike Yardy is currently my champion in this as from a most peculiar stance his leaving bat flourish must use up twice the energy of a normal stroke. As an umpire I am witnessing this too in club league cricket. The flourish quite often results in contact with the ball and a single or four to third man.
From my position ideally placed at an angle one hundred yards from the wicket I could see that umpire Martin Saggers was having a controversial game. He must have given not out to at least a dozen very plausible LBW shouts and then gave poor Adam London out LBW when he clearly edged the ball and then, amid scenes of dissent, gave Prior out caught when the ball may not have carried, the ball at some point touched the catcher’s helmet and he couldn’t possibly have been sure. I don’t think that an international call up beckons.
The highlight of the cricket for witnesses of the absurd surrounded the plummy voiced public address system announcer. First he called Martin Saggers “Mike” but then failed to turn off his equipment before engaging in a conversation with, hopefully, his wife which mentioned several darlings and a general air of boredom about his being at work when he longed to be going home to her. More of this please, Vinny.
There were crowds of Yorkshire supporters in the pavilion to see their county’s thrashing of Middlesex. The northerners batted, bowled, fielded and caught better than our team. Sayers who cannot buy a run took two great catches, Rashid fielded, batted and bowled well, Patterson ran into a gale force wind just about all innings and picked up a four for and, admittedly with this gale behind him, Plunkett bowled really quickly.
The game did feature one aspect of play which club cricketers will hope does not catch on. We have seen the widespread adoption in club cricket of the mid wicket glove touch and many teams now “huddle” before play begins. Yorkshire have their own new idiosyncrasy. Every time there was an outstanding or merely very good piece of fielding by cover, extra cover, mid on, mid off etc at least two of the slip cordon rushed out to touch the the fielder in acclamation. They then ran back in time for the next ball. I also noted that Yorkshire do not adopt the habit of hurling the ball back to the keeper after every delivery. If it went to mid on or mid off it stayed there to be returned to the bowler.
This practice of the slip run would have horrified the WGCCC third XI of my memory. This slip cordon comprised four very large gentlemen and was known as the wall of flesh. Indeed very little could or did get through. Should a couple of them have run out to the covers it would have slowed the over rate dramatically and I don’t think that they would have made it back to the slips. Fat blokes, old blokes and lazy blokes in the slips everywhere are watching anxiously.
Ignominy Matters
George resurrected painful memories of his early cricketing days
“Essex were bowled out for just 20, the lowest total by any side in the County Championship for 30 years, in 68 incredible minutes on a day of humiliation for the once proud county at their Chelmsford home.” This is from the Telegraph on 14th June and it caused me to dig deep into memories of ignominy over 50 years ago.
I don’t recall much about my final year’s cricket at Furness Road Junior School, but I do remember having the honour of captaining Willesden Schools. Being a captain at 11 years old probably only really meant tossing up, as the master in charge decided on the batting order, the field placings and who would bowl next. However I guess I led the team out into the field. The first game was away against Wembley Schools. By the time I led the team out into the field we had batted first. I can’t remember whether Wembley had slipped us in on a dodgy wicket which would dry out later. However, we had been bowled out for 11. I did top score with a cultured 2 and Wembley duly knocked of the required target of 12 with 8 wickets and about 3 hours to spare. I vowed this would never happen again and it didn’t.
About a year later I was captain of the Under 12s at St. Clement Danes, under the memorable tutelage of Ralph Pooley. Our first game was against Battersea Grammar. We batted first and despite my future best man Royce Abrahams being on our side (instead of playing for Wembley Schools) we were all out for 12. I think I again top scored with 3. So progress on both fronts there. It’s just possible Battersea lost a wicket or so knocking of the runs, but I’m not sure. I do remember though that Ralph was apoplectic. Was the score read out in assembly? I can’t remember that either. There would be more memorable matches against Battersea in the years to come though.
Long Ago Matters
The WC prompts a recollection by the Great Jack Morgan
This month’s Cricketer has a feature on the Aussies' game against Yorkshire at Bramall Lane in 1968 and (guess what?) I was there... though only for the one day, I believe, because I had two finals papers right at the end of year two at Sheffield (which prevented my joining the University cricket tour of Devon, the only year I missed). Yorkshire won easily by an innings and (digging out my scorecard (6d)), I find that all the names are still very familiar except possibly Pete Stringer (Yorkshire pace bowler), Brian Taber (great Oz keeper, but not much of a bat) and Dave Renneberg (Oz paceman now largely forgotten). What you will find hard to believe is that I had arranged to meet up with the Prof at the game (after my exam); he was (I think) on his way home from Hull having just completed his university career. At the end of term, things were fairly dull, but we had a few beers in the union bar if I recall correctly, where he severely criticised one of my (attractive) female friends called Pip (I didn't realise he was so picky) and I organised him a free meal (for which, to his disgust, he had to wear a gown) and a room for the night in Earnshaw Hall (because most chaps without exams had pissed off home)... I am not sure how much he enjoyed himself.
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