GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 96
December 2010
Agony Matters
From Mitch of Perth
Dear Arthur,
I am having a terrible time. I can’t get any wickets. I go for loads of runs and I got one of the longest ever noughts at the Gabba ultimately being bowled by a schoolboy. I even dropped a dolly at mid off. To make matters worse I was actually International Cricketer of the Year in 2009. Now they are saying that I am going to be dropped. I am at my wits end. What am I to do?
Mitchell
Dear Mitchell,
Hang on in there son. You have a rare talent. As a wild round arm slinger you are every batsman’s worse nightmare. You have the rare knack of getting good players to play at bad balls because they have no idea where the next one is going. If you can deliver slingers at 90mph you will always get good wickets. Don’t forget everyone thought Malinga was a joke when he started and now he is among the most feared bowlers on the circuit. Its the English who are hoping that you will be dropped and if you do get dropped Bell, Collingwood and co will let out a huge sigh of relief. Your time will come again.
Arthur
Out and About with the Professor
Our man is sunning himself whilst we shiver
It was the sound that was different - something between a roar and a scream - a visceral, ear-shattering cacophony of the sort I've never heard at a football match let alone a cricket ground. Broad would not have been able to hear anything; he wouldn't have heard Siddle's footsteps, nor even his appeal, since the best part of 40,000 spectators were appealing at the same time. Why he chose to try to clip the ball for runs rather than push down the line only he will know. The outcome, we all know. The cause of the noise was, of course, the 40,000, but it was amplified by the construction of the Queensland ground. Most cricket grounds are, in effect, collections of separate buildings: pavilion, stands, etc. The Gabba is not like that. It is a single circular concrete construction - an arena. (Think of a model you might have seen of the Coliseum) It even has a 360 degree awning on top. The result is that the sound is trapped, reverberates ...and deafens. A truly unique experience.
This was my first trip to Brisbane. I had been warned to expect a modern, rather soulless city, and indeed there is scarcely a building worth looking at - even the Cathedral looks to be from the B&Q school of architecture. But it has lots of grass and gardens and any city that has a river running through it has charm to exploit which it does very well. Our morning walk from hotel to ground crossed the river, went along the delightful south bank and was very pleasant. The charm stopped, however, at the turnstiles.
I watched most of the match, including Siddle's first innings exploits, with Geoff Cope. He reminded me that he had taken a Test hat-trick.
"Really Geoff? I didn't know that"
"Aye, well you'll not find it in Wisden. We were in Lahore an' me third victim were 'alf way up pavilion steps when skipper calls 'im back. "
'Alf way up steps 'e were an' Michael Bloody Brearley says: "I don't think that carried Geoff""
"Um...I imagine you were not well pleased."
"Well let's say it did nowt for north/south relationships."
The feeling at the ground was that a draw was a reasonable result. Siddle, Hussey and Haddin being (more than) matched by Finn, Cook, Strauss and Trott. But England finished so very strongly that they must carry optimism for the next match - and at least didn't go one down as so often in the past. But as always a draw says so little about the game. If you never watch Test cricket as it happens you never, in a sense, get the point. The "Highlights" (which I suppose is a tabloid-readers version of the game) would have missed the tension in the way that Cook nudged and prodded the side back to a respectable score after possibly the worst ever start to an Ashes series. Hussey did the same when Australia could have easily collapsed and somehow survived the first hour with the new ball when we lost count of the number of times he and Haddin played and missed against Anderson, who bowled like a dream. But that is what makes Test cricket worth watching, he survived (just) and went on to bat beautifully. Cook, of course, having got us back into the game, then chose his favourite way of getting out (a poke outside the off stump) and set Siddle up for his stunning (and deafening) moment of test match history.
My copy of Wisden says that this was only the third Ashes hat-trick since the War and, James, your correspondent was there.
I can't see England making any changes for Adelaide - although Swann's lack of form is a worry - but Australia must drop Johnson (who had a dreadful match) and may replace North with one of these young batsmen we hear so much about.
Whatever they decide, I shall report back.
Central Contracts and Test Selection Matters
The Great Jack Morgan joins my beef about automatic selection
More or less everyone in the first XI has shown some sort of form, so they are free to pick the pre-ordained eleven for the Test in Brisbane. However, I am not happy (of course): if you keep selecting the same blokes who are all reasonable players, they are bound to pick up a few runs and/ or wickets, but it does not mean that they are the best choices. For example, the conditions in Adelaide were surprisingly "English", being quite cloudy and damp, conditions that are unlikely to be repeated during the Test series. Surely this also destroys the spirit of the squad (something I thought they were trying to develop) because we now have two camps: the First XI and the Stiffs! Furthermore, I believe in competition for places and that blokes on the fringes should also be given the chance to gain selection: why shouldn't Eoin get the chance to put pressure on KP? Why shouldn't Tremmers challenge for Finny's place? Why can't Steve Davies pressurise Priory? How do we know that we have got the best team out there if we do not have a look at the other guys? The strong rumour is that Tremlett, Bresnan and Shahzad will play in Hobart, but they have already selected the Test team, so where will that get them? They have no chance of playing in Brisbane.
Glamorgan Matters
The Great Jack Morgan has been taking an unexpected interest in Welsh Matters recently
I note that Alviro Petersen is the new captain of Glamorgan. I was not surprised that Dalrymple got the sack as captain after his blunders at the end of last season, but I was a bit surprised that they got rid of Fatty Cosgrove, who always seems to get plenty of runs when I see him (though he has been offered a T20 contract). Later, it emerged that M Maynard has resigned because (ex-Middx man) C Metson has been put in charge of coaching: so who was it that decided upon the Petersen/ Dalrymple/ Cosgrove changes?
And then
Blimey! President P Walker and captain J Dalrymple have both resigned at Glamorgan; Jamie specifically blaming the chairman (who he?) ... so now we know who made those decisions! Or actually, we do not know who made those decisions! I checked the Glamorgan website and (guess what).... they do not have a chairman! They have (or had) a president and a deputy chairman (Hugh D Davies)! A few years ago when Jamie was bowling fairly well (well enough to play for England in ODIs and well enough for Middlesex to boot out Dutchy and Weekesy), I might have said bring him back, but now I do not think his bowling is up to it. The Guardian tells us that the Glamorgan chairman is Paul Russell... so why wasn't he mentioned on the website?
A pre Ashes Perspective
Jonathan Watts spends a lot of his time in Australia and he sent me this report
My last six weeks have been spent in Sydney and it was a perfect time to assess how the land lies for the upcoming Ashes series.
Some things don’t change. The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Uluru (Ayres Rock to the politically incorrect) and Barrier Reef are still there and the whole country stopped on the first Tuesday of November, as always, to watch and wager large amounts of the now valuable dollar on the Melbourne Cup.
Others things do, however. Having suffered ten years of drought it now cannot stop raining and there are floods in North and South New South Wales and Queensland. October was the coldest for twenty five years along the whole of the Eastern seaboard.
The economy is going gangbusters with, it seems, China and India taking anything Australia can dig up. At the risk of digressing we have all heard about the massive economic growth in these countries but it is difficult to get a feel of the actual scale of this. Newcastle lies on the coast at the mouth of the Hunter River 120 miles north of Sydney where everyday there will between 40 and 50 enormous bulk carriers moored offshore waiting to berth at the quay to take on coal for India and China. The queues are getting longer and the same is happening at all the major Australian ports. All of this has helped Australia avoid most of the impact of the global financial crisis and the Australian Dollar has strengthened by a third against sterling in the past 18 months which will make following The Ashes a pricy occupation for The Barmy Army.
In keeping with their macho nature the Australians are enjoying the rise of their currency but elsewhere their confidence is waning. They can rationalise a loss to England at Twickenham but losing to New Zealand in the final of the recent Rugby League Four Nations competition for the second time in a row and the recent form of their cricket side is something else.
Their hallmark ruthlessness let them down last year in Cardiff when they did not finish off England and the same happened again in the first test in India last month. Sri Lanka won their first series on Australian soil in November (2-1 in ODI’s) and looked easy winners. Not only have Australia not succeeded in replacing the old guard but the current kernel of experienced players, Hussey and Ponting, are struggling. They have no spinner worth mentioning and the notion that theirs is a young side is a myth.
All is also not well within the “rooms”. Two players, through contractual commitments, missed the build up to the recent test series with Indian much to the frustration of the Captain and rest of the team and two separate camps have evolved. The traditionalist nuggety types containing the likes of Katich and Hussey and the new, media friendly socialites personified by Michael Clarke and containing the new blood. As a result Clarke’s elevation to the Captaincy, long held to be a shoe in, is now being openly questioned with Marcus North being proffered as a replacement (if he can get any runs).
Beneath all this there is grave concern as to the state of the “system”. The close relationship with India and their obsession with the shorter versions of the game together with the consequential rewards for the players is having a marked effect. Australia is producing plenty of talent but most of it becomes focussed very quickly on the shorter form. Understandable from the players point of view not only because of the financial attractions but also less time “on the park” and a quicker route to International cricket – a virtuous circle? It is not good for test cricket; however, for the theory doing the rounds within Australia is that the young talent of today misses out on a proper grounding against seasoned pros in Shield cricket which has always been the bedrock. This is not likely to improve with the recent announcement of the introduction of private finance into the domestic T20 competition.
To add to their woes the administrators in Australia have to contend with a fiercely competitive market and with a side that is seen as not be up to scratch they are losing out. The recent ODI’s against Sri Lanka saw the smallest attendance on record………………..and most of them were Sri Lankans. They are even worried about the Ashes Tour which is not helped by the currency issue mentioned earlier and the economic conditions in UK. To try to underpin interest locally they held a media event in front of the Opera House this week to announce their team for the first test. This backfired spectacularly - it was meaningless because they didn’t announce their team but a squad (with more players in it than England has in its touring party) and the event was poorly attended anyway.
The announcement of a squad shows how undecided their selectors are and not just because they have asked Merv Hughes to stand down. The side no longer picks itself and there are only a few definites. Looking for some help most of the possibles were sent back to play Shield cricket this week but on the basis of the first digs this hasn’t worked with all those competing for places being a collective 41 for 8 (or 8 for 41 to get you acclimatised).
Meanwhile England arrived early, have played well so far and had the foresight to send the test bowling attack to hot and humid Brisbane to practice rather than get frozen to death in Tasmania. All looks good and we might start by bowling our first ball somewhere near the stumps, well to first slip at least.
I have felt my own optimism rising as I have penned this piece but now comes the health warning. Pies might be under threat from Dim Sum, VB from Voigner and the Holden Ute from Chelsea Tractors but the fundamental Aussie characteristics remain unaltered.
Let us not forget this is Australia in Australia we are talking about. It is different playing there not only because of the light, bounce and heat but because it is hostile in everyway imaginable. Whilst pleasant enough generally, and I have many good friends who are Australian, they do not like us Poms. In fact they hate us and it goes back along way. Given they appear to be in disarray makes them more dangerous so expect them to come out fighting.
Early Sixties matters
In the early sixties people got two weeks holiday and the choice as to how to spend it was easy. The first week was taken to coincide with the club’s cricket week and the second was taken to go on the club’s tour. At least this was the case as long as the individual remained single. Fiancés and wives would have an impact on this long before league cricket changed the traditional club arrangements for ever.
Both cricket weeks and the club tour were excellent opportunities for players from all levels of skill to mix and play alongside each other. At this time South Hampstead organised an annual tour to Sussex. The following photo was taken on the 1962 tour. The photographer was certainly Tony Hawdon.
Standing: Peter Wright, Bob Peach, Colin Ezer, Malcolm Young, Colin Newcombe, Bob Cleaver, Jim Pearcey, Peter Godley, Roy Dodson, Audrey Hawdon.
Kneeling: Brian Shadwell, Alvin Nienow, Len Stubbs, Basil Wright, Maurice Applegate.
This group is an excellent example of a side drawn from players of first, second and third team abilities. It also features the big officials in the club when I joined the following year. Bob Peach was club captain, Colin Newcombe was the treasurer and Roy Dodson was the secretary.
County Championship team of the year
Stephan Shemilt and Steve Marshall pick their team of the year
Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) - England's loss continues to be Somerset's gain. The burly left-handed scored 1440 runs at an average of over 65 and captained Somerset to within an inch of the title. How Andrew Strauss would love to have him on the plane to Australia.
Adam Lyth (Yorkshire) - A breakthrough year for the left-hander, in which he became the first man to pass 1,000 runs this season. His form tailed off slightly in the second half of the summer, but his runs had already propelled Yorkshire into the title race.
Jimmy Adams (Hampshire) - Quietly went about his business to eventually amass 1351 runs. Tasted success in all three competitions, with the breadth of his talent demonstrated by a 65-ball ton in the FP t20 in June and a 10-and-a-half-hour 194 against Lancashire in the Championship.
Mark Ramprakash (Surrey) - There are no superlatives that have not already been lavished on the veteran, but the statistics continue to demonstrate his prowess. His 1595 runs is more than anyone in either division, a tally made all the more remarkable when you consider Surrey's struggles.
James Hildreth (Somerset) - Hildreth finally realised his enormous potential in 2010, scoring seven Championship hundreds. Despite seemingly being part of the Somerset side for an age, he is still only 26 and the 1440 runs he racked up this season could be a sign that he is ready for international honours.
Chris Read, Capt & Wkt, (Notts) - With the possible exception of James Foster, there is no better gloveman on the county circuit. This, coupled with the amount of runs he scores, especially when Notts are in trouble, means he more than merits his place in the side. That's without mentioning the fact that he captained the county champions...
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) - After a long spell of carrying the drinks for England, Rashid has benefited from a full season with Yorkshire. The leg-spinner picked up 57 wickets and scored 732 runs, a lot of which came when Yorkshire were in trouble. Must feel he is in with a shout of being on the plane down under.
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) - The young all-rounder went a long way to securing Warwickshire's Division One status in a season where he claimed his 54 wickets and his second first-class hundred. He is only an extra yard of pace short of making the England side.
Neil Carter (Warwickshire) - Enjoyed arguably his best season in English cricket to make a mockery of his ripe age of 35. At times, he and Woakes were left to win games on their own. In the crucial game against Kent earlier in September, the pair took 19 wickets between them to earn a win that all but confirmed the Bears' survival.
Andre Adams (Notts) - Picked up 68 scalps to end as the leading wicket-taker in the top flight, despite missing two games. In a Notts attack that was rarely settled, Adams was the one constant, and it was he who had the honour of taking the wicket that sealed the title.
Murali Kartik (Somerset) - For Somerset to mount a title challenge, they needed to find a way to take regular wickets on a flat Taunton pitch. Kartik's 45 scalps, in just 11 games, sparked a challenge that was still alive in the final hour of the season.
With the weight of runs in the top five, we thought that we could afford to pick five bowlers. Also, a six, seven, eight and nine of Read, Rashid, Woakes and Carter would weigh-in with more than their fair share.
Honourable mentions also go to Jacques Rudolph, Michael Carberry, Glen Chapple, Steven Davies, Moeen Ali, James Harris, Monty Panesar and Robin Martin-Jenkins, who was in stellar form before his retirement.
Match Report
When a group of South Hampstead alumni met for lunch in Oxfordshire in October Bill Hart regaled us with recollections of two matches. He subsequently sent me these match reports
On Sunday,19th July 1970, South Hampstead travelled to East Acton Lane to play Shepherds Bush in an all-day game.
As many of you will know, the South Hampstead Sunday XI by this date was only a shadow of its former self. Robin Ager, Alvin Nienow & both Tuttons had left, and to make matters worse neither Bob Peach nor Len Stubbs were available for this game.
Don Wallis must have won the toss because SHCC batted first, with play starting at 11.36am. Unknown to most of the SHCC batsmen, the Bush, in addition to the formidable Roy Cutler, had a new Australian bowler, called Ron Reed, to open the attack.
After 10 mins, Terry Cordaroy was caught at the wicket off Reed, for 2. Jim Sharp (12) followed after a further half hour, and Ray Cook (22) seven minutes later. Peter Dickson (3) made his usual brief appearance, but then things began to improve. At this stage Reed had bowled nine overs for thirteen runs, and taken two of the three wickets that had fallen. However, despite Reed & Cutler’s fine bowling, John Bowerman & Allan Bruton dug in, seeing SHCC through to lunch, and into the afternoon.
John Bowerman (17) was out at 2.20pm, by which time the score had crept up to 76 for 5. Allan Bruton (18) and Peter Huntley (11) then quietly put on a further twelve runs, before Allan was caught at the wicket, off the bowling of Steve Wright.
So at 3.05pm with the score at 88 for 6, Bill Hart walked out to join Peter Huntley. Although he should have known better, Bill made the stupid mistake of hitting Wright for four, which caused the immediate recall of Ron Reed. At that stage, Reed’s figures were 3 for 23 off 18 overs. His first over brought a single to Peter Huntley, and much playing and missing.
Having watched this “loosening-up” over from the non-strikers end, and realizing that this fellow was pretty rapid, Bill decided that the pavilion was the safest place to be. That meant it was time to hit and hope. The result was that Reed’s next three overs cost 14, 14 & 7 respectively, with six fours and a six. By now Roy Cutler had also been recalled, and at 3.36pm Bill returned to the pavilion (naturally bowled Reed) for 43, scored in 31 minutes, off 25 balls. The remaining three wickets put on only two runs, and SHCC were all out at 3.49pm for 145. This left Shepherds Bush two hours (minus the tea interval) and 20 overs to get the runs.
Surprisingly, despite there being no interruptions for rain, the match was drawn. Shepherds Bush scored 87 for 7, in approx 170 mins, during which time 52 overs were bowled.
Bill Hart conceded 8 runs off his first two overs and then bowled a further 21 overs (including eight maidens) for 22 runs and two wickets. Allan Cox bowled 15 overs for 23 runs and 4 wickets, and Don Wallis bowled 13 overs, taking one wicket for 30 runs.
For Shepherds Bush, the unbroken 8th wicket partnership between Graham Cant and David Jukes, lasted for about forty-five minutes. During this time Graham Cant played five consecutive maidens, scoring 3 runs off 39 balls. In his remarkable match-saving innings, David Jukes (a renowned hitter) scored 18 not out, off 71 balls. You could not make up a story like that!
And then there was a game at Hornsey on June 3rd 1972 which neither Bill nor I played in and so we have to rely on the scorecard for the bare facts
The Hornsey innings, 194 for 7 declared, lasted from 11.45 am to 3.37pm. Allowing for 40mins lunch, they batted for 192 minutes scoring at almost exactly one run per minute. South Hampstead bowled 62 overs @19.3 overs/hr.
Price & Cordaroy started at 3.49pm and put on 34 in 46 minutes. Cordaroy and Bruton then added 45 runs in 70 mins. Bruton & Ross then added 15 in 26 mins. So after 122 minutes of somewhat pedestrian batting we were 94 for 2, requiring 101 runs in about 75 minutes. A difficult, but not impossible task. Our remaining 8 wickets fell in 24 minutes for 5 runs. Unbelievable!!
When questioned, those who did play in the match, claimed to have absolutely no recollection of it
Irritating trends in Modern Cricket
It could be argued that the critical point in the Gabba test from England’s point of view was when Brad Haddin slogged the ball up in the air towards mid off. The England fielder should have made the necessary ground comfortably and swallowed the catch, but why didn’t he. Well to start with it was Alistair Cook not the best man for this situation. He groped his way towards the descending ball like a drunk groping for a bag of crisps that had been thrown across the bar to him. As his grasping hands missed the ball by a mere six inches England’s chances of keeping the Australian first innings to a containable lead departed. As the hapless Cook rolled around on the turf it became apparent that his effort had been seriously impeded by the presence of pads under his trousers. I have a feeling that I may have been obliged to refer to this lamentable trend previously but inexplicably Cook and Flower have not heeded my observations.
Cook is the designated short leg when Swann bowls and in the modern game it is customary to don substantial pads under one’s trousers for protection. I didn’t see them come to his aid during this test. In fact as Hussey continually slapped Swann’s long hops past his right ear a more appropriate form of defence might have been a steel fire door. It seems extraordinary in an age when so much stock is placed on mobility in the field that the coaches tolerate avoidable immobility that can prove so costly.
Editorial Matters
I mentioned to The Great Jack Morgan that I might be short of copy for this edition. He made the following helpful suggestions
Ideas for filling up Googlies: i) publish several of Bill Hart’s contemporary match reports from the sixties and seventies; ii) publish a quantity of complaints from xenophobes (real or imagined) complaining about Johnny Foreigner playing for England; iii) publish vast quantities of photographs of naked ladies (that was quite a nice one last month, I thought); and iv) if you are really desperate, you could always let us have your insightful observations on the First Test.
Football Matters
I asked Andrew Baker recently what modern training techniques he had adopted for his Ladies football team. He said that after extensive consultation with Kelvin West he had decided to give Aquatic Jousting a try but with the added twist of operating without lances. If you think that this is unlikely or cannot be done Kelvin sent me a photo of the exercise in action.
Googlies and Chinamen
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 96
December 2010
Agony Matters
From Mitch of Perth
Dear Arthur,
I am having a terrible time. I can’t get any wickets. I go for loads of runs and I got one of the longest ever noughts at the Gabba ultimately being bowled by a schoolboy. I even dropped a dolly at mid off. To make matters worse I was actually International Cricketer of the Year in 2009. Now they are saying that I am going to be dropped. I am at my wits end. What am I to do?
Mitchell
Dear Mitchell,
Hang on in there son. You have a rare talent. As a wild round arm slinger you are every batsman’s worse nightmare. You have the rare knack of getting good players to play at bad balls because they have no idea where the next one is going. If you can deliver slingers at 90mph you will always get good wickets. Don’t forget everyone thought Malinga was a joke when he started and now he is among the most feared bowlers on the circuit. Its the English who are hoping that you will be dropped and if you do get dropped Bell, Collingwood and co will let out a huge sigh of relief. Your time will come again.
Arthur
Out and About with the Professor
Our man is sunning himself whilst we shiver
It was the sound that was different - something between a roar and a scream - a visceral, ear-shattering cacophony of the sort I've never heard at a football match let alone a cricket ground. Broad would not have been able to hear anything; he wouldn't have heard Siddle's footsteps, nor even his appeal, since the best part of 40,000 spectators were appealing at the same time. Why he chose to try to clip the ball for runs rather than push down the line only he will know. The outcome, we all know. The cause of the noise was, of course, the 40,000, but it was amplified by the construction of the Queensland ground. Most cricket grounds are, in effect, collections of separate buildings: pavilion, stands, etc. The Gabba is not like that. It is a single circular concrete construction - an arena. (Think of a model you might have seen of the Coliseum) It even has a 360 degree awning on top. The result is that the sound is trapped, reverberates ...and deafens. A truly unique experience.
This was my first trip to Brisbane. I had been warned to expect a modern, rather soulless city, and indeed there is scarcely a building worth looking at - even the Cathedral looks to be from the B&Q school of architecture. But it has lots of grass and gardens and any city that has a river running through it has charm to exploit which it does very well. Our morning walk from hotel to ground crossed the river, went along the delightful south bank and was very pleasant. The charm stopped, however, at the turnstiles.
I watched most of the match, including Siddle's first innings exploits, with Geoff Cope. He reminded me that he had taken a Test hat-trick.
"Really Geoff? I didn't know that"
"Aye, well you'll not find it in Wisden. We were in Lahore an' me third victim were 'alf way up pavilion steps when skipper calls 'im back. "
'Alf way up steps 'e were an' Michael Bloody Brearley says: "I don't think that carried Geoff""
"Um...I imagine you were not well pleased."
"Well let's say it did nowt for north/south relationships."
The feeling at the ground was that a draw was a reasonable result. Siddle, Hussey and Haddin being (more than) matched by Finn, Cook, Strauss and Trott. But England finished so very strongly that they must carry optimism for the next match - and at least didn't go one down as so often in the past. But as always a draw says so little about the game. If you never watch Test cricket as it happens you never, in a sense, get the point. The "Highlights" (which I suppose is a tabloid-readers version of the game) would have missed the tension in the way that Cook nudged and prodded the side back to a respectable score after possibly the worst ever start to an Ashes series. Hussey did the same when Australia could have easily collapsed and somehow survived the first hour with the new ball when we lost count of the number of times he and Haddin played and missed against Anderson, who bowled like a dream. But that is what makes Test cricket worth watching, he survived (just) and went on to bat beautifully. Cook, of course, having got us back into the game, then chose his favourite way of getting out (a poke outside the off stump) and set Siddle up for his stunning (and deafening) moment of test match history.
My copy of Wisden says that this was only the third Ashes hat-trick since the War and, James, your correspondent was there.
I can't see England making any changes for Adelaide - although Swann's lack of form is a worry - but Australia must drop Johnson (who had a dreadful match) and may replace North with one of these young batsmen we hear so much about.
Whatever they decide, I shall report back.
Central Contracts and Test Selection Matters
The Great Jack Morgan joins my beef about automatic selection
More or less everyone in the first XI has shown some sort of form, so they are free to pick the pre-ordained eleven for the Test in Brisbane. However, I am not happy (of course): if you keep selecting the same blokes who are all reasonable players, they are bound to pick up a few runs and/ or wickets, but it does not mean that they are the best choices. For example, the conditions in Adelaide were surprisingly "English", being quite cloudy and damp, conditions that are unlikely to be repeated during the Test series. Surely this also destroys the spirit of the squad (something I thought they were trying to develop) because we now have two camps: the First XI and the Stiffs! Furthermore, I believe in competition for places and that blokes on the fringes should also be given the chance to gain selection: why shouldn't Eoin get the chance to put pressure on KP? Why shouldn't Tremmers challenge for Finny's place? Why can't Steve Davies pressurise Priory? How do we know that we have got the best team out there if we do not have a look at the other guys? The strong rumour is that Tremlett, Bresnan and Shahzad will play in Hobart, but they have already selected the Test team, so where will that get them? They have no chance of playing in Brisbane.
Glamorgan Matters
The Great Jack Morgan has been taking an unexpected interest in Welsh Matters recently
I note that Alviro Petersen is the new captain of Glamorgan. I was not surprised that Dalrymple got the sack as captain after his blunders at the end of last season, but I was a bit surprised that they got rid of Fatty Cosgrove, who always seems to get plenty of runs when I see him (though he has been offered a T20 contract). Later, it emerged that M Maynard has resigned because (ex-Middx man) C Metson has been put in charge of coaching: so who was it that decided upon the Petersen/ Dalrymple/ Cosgrove changes?
And then
Blimey! President P Walker and captain J Dalrymple have both resigned at Glamorgan; Jamie specifically blaming the chairman (who he?) ... so now we know who made those decisions! Or actually, we do not know who made those decisions! I checked the Glamorgan website and (guess what).... they do not have a chairman! They have (or had) a president and a deputy chairman (Hugh D Davies)! A few years ago when Jamie was bowling fairly well (well enough to play for England in ODIs and well enough for Middlesex to boot out Dutchy and Weekesy), I might have said bring him back, but now I do not think his bowling is up to it. The Guardian tells us that the Glamorgan chairman is Paul Russell... so why wasn't he mentioned on the website?
A pre Ashes Perspective
Jonathan Watts spends a lot of his time in Australia and he sent me this report
My last six weeks have been spent in Sydney and it was a perfect time to assess how the land lies for the upcoming Ashes series.
Some things don’t change. The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Uluru (Ayres Rock to the politically incorrect) and Barrier Reef are still there and the whole country stopped on the first Tuesday of November, as always, to watch and wager large amounts of the now valuable dollar on the Melbourne Cup.
Others things do, however. Having suffered ten years of drought it now cannot stop raining and there are floods in North and South New South Wales and Queensland. October was the coldest for twenty five years along the whole of the Eastern seaboard.
The economy is going gangbusters with, it seems, China and India taking anything Australia can dig up. At the risk of digressing we have all heard about the massive economic growth in these countries but it is difficult to get a feel of the actual scale of this. Newcastle lies on the coast at the mouth of the Hunter River 120 miles north of Sydney where everyday there will between 40 and 50 enormous bulk carriers moored offshore waiting to berth at the quay to take on coal for India and China. The queues are getting longer and the same is happening at all the major Australian ports. All of this has helped Australia avoid most of the impact of the global financial crisis and the Australian Dollar has strengthened by a third against sterling in the past 18 months which will make following The Ashes a pricy occupation for The Barmy Army.
In keeping with their macho nature the Australians are enjoying the rise of their currency but elsewhere their confidence is waning. They can rationalise a loss to England at Twickenham but losing to New Zealand in the final of the recent Rugby League Four Nations competition for the second time in a row and the recent form of their cricket side is something else.
Their hallmark ruthlessness let them down last year in Cardiff when they did not finish off England and the same happened again in the first test in India last month. Sri Lanka won their first series on Australian soil in November (2-1 in ODI’s) and looked easy winners. Not only have Australia not succeeded in replacing the old guard but the current kernel of experienced players, Hussey and Ponting, are struggling. They have no spinner worth mentioning and the notion that theirs is a young side is a myth.
All is also not well within the “rooms”. Two players, through contractual commitments, missed the build up to the recent test series with Indian much to the frustration of the Captain and rest of the team and two separate camps have evolved. The traditionalist nuggety types containing the likes of Katich and Hussey and the new, media friendly socialites personified by Michael Clarke and containing the new blood. As a result Clarke’s elevation to the Captaincy, long held to be a shoe in, is now being openly questioned with Marcus North being proffered as a replacement (if he can get any runs).
Beneath all this there is grave concern as to the state of the “system”. The close relationship with India and their obsession with the shorter versions of the game together with the consequential rewards for the players is having a marked effect. Australia is producing plenty of talent but most of it becomes focussed very quickly on the shorter form. Understandable from the players point of view not only because of the financial attractions but also less time “on the park” and a quicker route to International cricket – a virtuous circle? It is not good for test cricket; however, for the theory doing the rounds within Australia is that the young talent of today misses out on a proper grounding against seasoned pros in Shield cricket which has always been the bedrock. This is not likely to improve with the recent announcement of the introduction of private finance into the domestic T20 competition.
To add to their woes the administrators in Australia have to contend with a fiercely competitive market and with a side that is seen as not be up to scratch they are losing out. The recent ODI’s against Sri Lanka saw the smallest attendance on record………………..and most of them were Sri Lankans. They are even worried about the Ashes Tour which is not helped by the currency issue mentioned earlier and the economic conditions in UK. To try to underpin interest locally they held a media event in front of the Opera House this week to announce their team for the first test. This backfired spectacularly - it was meaningless because they didn’t announce their team but a squad (with more players in it than England has in its touring party) and the event was poorly attended anyway.
The announcement of a squad shows how undecided their selectors are and not just because they have asked Merv Hughes to stand down. The side no longer picks itself and there are only a few definites. Looking for some help most of the possibles were sent back to play Shield cricket this week but on the basis of the first digs this hasn’t worked with all those competing for places being a collective 41 for 8 (or 8 for 41 to get you acclimatised).
Meanwhile England arrived early, have played well so far and had the foresight to send the test bowling attack to hot and humid Brisbane to practice rather than get frozen to death in Tasmania. All looks good and we might start by bowling our first ball somewhere near the stumps, well to first slip at least.
I have felt my own optimism rising as I have penned this piece but now comes the health warning. Pies might be under threat from Dim Sum, VB from Voigner and the Holden Ute from Chelsea Tractors but the fundamental Aussie characteristics remain unaltered.
Let us not forget this is Australia in Australia we are talking about. It is different playing there not only because of the light, bounce and heat but because it is hostile in everyway imaginable. Whilst pleasant enough generally, and I have many good friends who are Australian, they do not like us Poms. In fact they hate us and it goes back along way. Given they appear to be in disarray makes them more dangerous so expect them to come out fighting.
Early Sixties matters
In the early sixties people got two weeks holiday and the choice as to how to spend it was easy. The first week was taken to coincide with the club’s cricket week and the second was taken to go on the club’s tour. At least this was the case as long as the individual remained single. Fiancés and wives would have an impact on this long before league cricket changed the traditional club arrangements for ever.
Both cricket weeks and the club tour were excellent opportunities for players from all levels of skill to mix and play alongside each other. At this time South Hampstead organised an annual tour to Sussex. The following photo was taken on the 1962 tour. The photographer was certainly Tony Hawdon.
Standing: Peter Wright, Bob Peach, Colin Ezer, Malcolm Young, Colin Newcombe, Bob Cleaver, Jim Pearcey, Peter Godley, Roy Dodson, Audrey Hawdon.
Kneeling: Brian Shadwell, Alvin Nienow, Len Stubbs, Basil Wright, Maurice Applegate.
This group is an excellent example of a side drawn from players of first, second and third team abilities. It also features the big officials in the club when I joined the following year. Bob Peach was club captain, Colin Newcombe was the treasurer and Roy Dodson was the secretary.
County Championship team of the year
Stephan Shemilt and Steve Marshall pick their team of the year
Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) - England's loss continues to be Somerset's gain. The burly left-handed scored 1440 runs at an average of over 65 and captained Somerset to within an inch of the title. How Andrew Strauss would love to have him on the plane to Australia.
Adam Lyth (Yorkshire) - A breakthrough year for the left-hander, in which he became the first man to pass 1,000 runs this season. His form tailed off slightly in the second half of the summer, but his runs had already propelled Yorkshire into the title race.
Jimmy Adams (Hampshire) - Quietly went about his business to eventually amass 1351 runs. Tasted success in all three competitions, with the breadth of his talent demonstrated by a 65-ball ton in the FP t20 in June and a 10-and-a-half-hour 194 against Lancashire in the Championship.
Mark Ramprakash (Surrey) - There are no superlatives that have not already been lavished on the veteran, but the statistics continue to demonstrate his prowess. His 1595 runs is more than anyone in either division, a tally made all the more remarkable when you consider Surrey's struggles.
James Hildreth (Somerset) - Hildreth finally realised his enormous potential in 2010, scoring seven Championship hundreds. Despite seemingly being part of the Somerset side for an age, he is still only 26 and the 1440 runs he racked up this season could be a sign that he is ready for international honours.
Chris Read, Capt & Wkt, (Notts) - With the possible exception of James Foster, there is no better gloveman on the county circuit. This, coupled with the amount of runs he scores, especially when Notts are in trouble, means he more than merits his place in the side. That's without mentioning the fact that he captained the county champions...
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) - After a long spell of carrying the drinks for England, Rashid has benefited from a full season with Yorkshire. The leg-spinner picked up 57 wickets and scored 732 runs, a lot of which came when Yorkshire were in trouble. Must feel he is in with a shout of being on the plane down under.
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) - The young all-rounder went a long way to securing Warwickshire's Division One status in a season where he claimed his 54 wickets and his second first-class hundred. He is only an extra yard of pace short of making the England side.
Neil Carter (Warwickshire) - Enjoyed arguably his best season in English cricket to make a mockery of his ripe age of 35. At times, he and Woakes were left to win games on their own. In the crucial game against Kent earlier in September, the pair took 19 wickets between them to earn a win that all but confirmed the Bears' survival.
Andre Adams (Notts) - Picked up 68 scalps to end as the leading wicket-taker in the top flight, despite missing two games. In a Notts attack that was rarely settled, Adams was the one constant, and it was he who had the honour of taking the wicket that sealed the title.
Murali Kartik (Somerset) - For Somerset to mount a title challenge, they needed to find a way to take regular wickets on a flat Taunton pitch. Kartik's 45 scalps, in just 11 games, sparked a challenge that was still alive in the final hour of the season.
With the weight of runs in the top five, we thought that we could afford to pick five bowlers. Also, a six, seven, eight and nine of Read, Rashid, Woakes and Carter would weigh-in with more than their fair share.
Honourable mentions also go to Jacques Rudolph, Michael Carberry, Glen Chapple, Steven Davies, Moeen Ali, James Harris, Monty Panesar and Robin Martin-Jenkins, who was in stellar form before his retirement.
Match Report
When a group of South Hampstead alumni met for lunch in Oxfordshire in October Bill Hart regaled us with recollections of two matches. He subsequently sent me these match reports
On Sunday,19th July 1970, South Hampstead travelled to East Acton Lane to play Shepherds Bush in an all-day game.
As many of you will know, the South Hampstead Sunday XI by this date was only a shadow of its former self. Robin Ager, Alvin Nienow & both Tuttons had left, and to make matters worse neither Bob Peach nor Len Stubbs were available for this game.
Don Wallis must have won the toss because SHCC batted first, with play starting at 11.36am. Unknown to most of the SHCC batsmen, the Bush, in addition to the formidable Roy Cutler, had a new Australian bowler, called Ron Reed, to open the attack.
After 10 mins, Terry Cordaroy was caught at the wicket off Reed, for 2. Jim Sharp (12) followed after a further half hour, and Ray Cook (22) seven minutes later. Peter Dickson (3) made his usual brief appearance, but then things began to improve. At this stage Reed had bowled nine overs for thirteen runs, and taken two of the three wickets that had fallen. However, despite Reed & Cutler’s fine bowling, John Bowerman & Allan Bruton dug in, seeing SHCC through to lunch, and into the afternoon.
John Bowerman (17) was out at 2.20pm, by which time the score had crept up to 76 for 5. Allan Bruton (18) and Peter Huntley (11) then quietly put on a further twelve runs, before Allan was caught at the wicket, off the bowling of Steve Wright.
So at 3.05pm with the score at 88 for 6, Bill Hart walked out to join Peter Huntley. Although he should have known better, Bill made the stupid mistake of hitting Wright for four, which caused the immediate recall of Ron Reed. At that stage, Reed’s figures were 3 for 23 off 18 overs. His first over brought a single to Peter Huntley, and much playing and missing.
Having watched this “loosening-up” over from the non-strikers end, and realizing that this fellow was pretty rapid, Bill decided that the pavilion was the safest place to be. That meant it was time to hit and hope. The result was that Reed’s next three overs cost 14, 14 & 7 respectively, with six fours and a six. By now Roy Cutler had also been recalled, and at 3.36pm Bill returned to the pavilion (naturally bowled Reed) for 43, scored in 31 minutes, off 25 balls. The remaining three wickets put on only two runs, and SHCC were all out at 3.49pm for 145. This left Shepherds Bush two hours (minus the tea interval) and 20 overs to get the runs.
Surprisingly, despite there being no interruptions for rain, the match was drawn. Shepherds Bush scored 87 for 7, in approx 170 mins, during which time 52 overs were bowled.
Bill Hart conceded 8 runs off his first two overs and then bowled a further 21 overs (including eight maidens) for 22 runs and two wickets. Allan Cox bowled 15 overs for 23 runs and 4 wickets, and Don Wallis bowled 13 overs, taking one wicket for 30 runs.
For Shepherds Bush, the unbroken 8th wicket partnership between Graham Cant and David Jukes, lasted for about forty-five minutes. During this time Graham Cant played five consecutive maidens, scoring 3 runs off 39 balls. In his remarkable match-saving innings, David Jukes (a renowned hitter) scored 18 not out, off 71 balls. You could not make up a story like that!
And then there was a game at Hornsey on June 3rd 1972 which neither Bill nor I played in and so we have to rely on the scorecard for the bare facts
The Hornsey innings, 194 for 7 declared, lasted from 11.45 am to 3.37pm. Allowing for 40mins lunch, they batted for 192 minutes scoring at almost exactly one run per minute. South Hampstead bowled 62 overs @19.3 overs/hr.
Price & Cordaroy started at 3.49pm and put on 34 in 46 minutes. Cordaroy and Bruton then added 45 runs in 70 mins. Bruton & Ross then added 15 in 26 mins. So after 122 minutes of somewhat pedestrian batting we were 94 for 2, requiring 101 runs in about 75 minutes. A difficult, but not impossible task. Our remaining 8 wickets fell in 24 minutes for 5 runs. Unbelievable!!
When questioned, those who did play in the match, claimed to have absolutely no recollection of it
Irritating trends in Modern Cricket
It could be argued that the critical point in the Gabba test from England’s point of view was when Brad Haddin slogged the ball up in the air towards mid off. The England fielder should have made the necessary ground comfortably and swallowed the catch, but why didn’t he. Well to start with it was Alistair Cook not the best man for this situation. He groped his way towards the descending ball like a drunk groping for a bag of crisps that had been thrown across the bar to him. As his grasping hands missed the ball by a mere six inches England’s chances of keeping the Australian first innings to a containable lead departed. As the hapless Cook rolled around on the turf it became apparent that his effort had been seriously impeded by the presence of pads under his trousers. I have a feeling that I may have been obliged to refer to this lamentable trend previously but inexplicably Cook and Flower have not heeded my observations.
Cook is the designated short leg when Swann bowls and in the modern game it is customary to don substantial pads under one’s trousers for protection. I didn’t see them come to his aid during this test. In fact as Hussey continually slapped Swann’s long hops past his right ear a more appropriate form of defence might have been a steel fire door. It seems extraordinary in an age when so much stock is placed on mobility in the field that the coaches tolerate avoidable immobility that can prove so costly.
Editorial Matters
I mentioned to The Great Jack Morgan that I might be short of copy for this edition. He made the following helpful suggestions
Ideas for filling up Googlies: i) publish several of Bill Hart’s contemporary match reports from the sixties and seventies; ii) publish a quantity of complaints from xenophobes (real or imagined) complaining about Johnny Foreigner playing for England; iii) publish vast quantities of photographs of naked ladies (that was quite a nice one last month, I thought); and iv) if you are really desperate, you could always let us have your insightful observations on the First Test.
Football Matters
I asked Andrew Baker recently what modern training techniques he had adopted for his Ladies football team. He said that after extensive consultation with Kelvin West he had decided to give Aquatic Jousting a try but with the added twist of operating without lances. If you think that this is unlikely or cannot be done Kelvin sent me a photo of the exercise in action.
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