Tuesday 30 June 2009

Michael Vaughan Retires From Cricket

Today Michael Vaughan took himself out of the Ashes 2009 running completely by retiring from all forms of cricket, thus ending a potentially summer-long debate about an England recall.

He spoke movingly and revealingly about how he did all he could to get back in the frame, and how his efforts eventually convinced him it was time to call it a day. In many ways it is a selfless decision - he was certainly on the selector's radar, with an outside chance of playing this summer - but he's decided to allow the the next generation the chance to do what he did: gain the respect of the Australians by excelling against them.

Unsurprisingly, the tributes have been coming in thick and fast, with Paul Collingwood describing him as "the ultimate captain". No-one would argue with that.

The Michael Vaughan legacy: classiest batsman of his generation, most successful England captain of all-time.

Friday 26 June 2009

England Escape

England will embark on  a short foreign break tomorrow, in an attempt to escape the media spotlight ahead of the Ashes series. Their destination is unknown, and the move is very much in keeping with similar moves made by their new consultant, John Buchanan, when he was coach of Australia. 

Monday 22 June 2009

Vaughan and Harmison Omitted From Squad

The Ashes dream appears to be over for two of England's 2005 stalwarts. Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison were today left out of a 16-man Ashes training camp squad. 

Vaughan can have no complaints really. He is centrally contracted, but form isn't exactly an optional variable heading into a series with Australia, and he has none to speak of. Harmison on the other hand does, and can count himself unlucky. This season the Durham paceman has claimed 30 wickets in six matches, including 16 in the last two games. He could hardly have done more, and without the threat of homesickness this summer should have been included.

With the squad for the first Test due to be announced on July 5th, this is not a definite end of the road for these - and the other - unpicked players, but it's certainly an ominous sign.

Squad: Strauss
Anderson
Bell
Bopara
Bresnan
Broad
Collingwood
Cook 
Flintoff
Onions 
Panesar
Pietersen
Prior
Rashid
Sidebottom
Swann

Sunday 21 June 2009

England World T20 Report Card: Bowlers

England bowled well as a collective unit, with no stand-out performances.

Rashid - Economy: 7.30. Thrown in at the deep end and coped well. Grew in confidence and took three wickets in four matches. 7/10 

Sidebottom - 7.39. Not bad, but not outstanding. Took three wickets in three matches, and held his nerve for the last over against India. Just. Was given an impossible task in the last over of the West Indies match. 6.5/10

Swann - 6.92. Took five wickets in four games at a sub-20 average. Shouldn't have been left out of the first game. Bowled intelligently and wasn't afraid to take risks. Never lets England down. Is a better batsman than he showed. 7.5/10

Broad - 6.50. The best of the bunch. England's highest wicket taker with an average of 17.33. Has added much variety to his game, becoming Collingwood's go-to bowler. Bowls well at the death as he is hard to get away. 8/10

Anderson - 7.55. A bit disappointing because he has set himself the highest of standards recently. Still, a reliable performer who weighed in with five wickets. 7/10

Wright - 8.28. Only bowled seven overs, taking one wicket. A useful pace option. 6/10

Mascarenhas - 6.42. England's best economy rate. Bowls well in this format - would have had a great tournament if he'd matched it with the bat. 7/10

The People: Collingwood To Stay On As T20 Captain

Story in The People today claims that Paul Collingwood will ask to stay on as T20 captain. This is unlikely; it's not in any of the other papers, and I can't see Collingwood wanting to keep the captaincy - he didn't want it in the first place, and it affected his form with the bat.

Assuming the story is untrue, there is a dearth of alternatives. My pick would be Kevin Pietersen, but given the January fiasco that's not going to happen. They could do much worse than hand the responsibility to Stuart Broad.

Friday 19 June 2009

England World T20 Report Card: Batsmen

Bopara - Scores: 55, 37, 2, 5, 46. A couple of soft dismissals aside, showed why he'll be a focal point of England's batting in all three formats for the next decade or more. 8/10

Wright - 6, 1, 1, 34, 71. Will always be quite literally hit or miss, but makes a good opening partner for Bopara. If it works, England get off to a flyer, if it doesn't KP's in early - win/win. His warm-up match score against the West Indies and his 34 off 16 against Pakistan proved that he can score runs against quality attacks as well as the minnows. 7/10

Pietersen - 31, 46, 19, 58. Vital to his team's chances. Has finally worked out how to bat in T20. Match-winning 58 against Pakistan was made under intense pressure given the match and injury situation. Has by far the team's best boundary hitting ability. When he plays well, so do England. 8.5/10

Shah - 18, 12, 38, 33, 5. The jury is still out to an extent, but he warrants his place for now. Has six-hitting ability - a rare commodity in this England team. Useful contributions, but will be as frustrated as anybody at being unable to push on for a bigger score. 7/10

Collingwood - 11, 7, 19, 15, 11. The reluctant captain's scores were not good enough. Always scores at a run-a-ball, but comes in near the end when England need illusive boundaries. Captaincy-wise acted with dignity and honestly, rotated his bowlers well, but made a big mistake in opting to bat first against the West Indies. Well worth a place in the other forms of the game, but T20 future looks uncertain. 6/10

Key - 10*. Hopelessly out of form coming into the tournament. Needed more explosive finish than he could provide against the Dutch. Main argument for squad inclusion seemed to be previous captaincy success, but he wasn't captain. Including his Kent opening partner would have been more beneficial. 5/10

Morgan - 6. Can't judge on his solitary performance, but has done enough over the past few weeks to suggest an England future. Exciting and - crucially for T20 - innovative, though we didn't see it in this tournament.  5/10

Foster - 13, 6, 1, 14, 3*. As an experiment it worked and it didn't. Quality 'keeper - the best at England's disposal, but an inferior batsman to Matt Prior. How do you balance his crucial stumpings of Yuvraj and Bravo with the middle-order boundary hitting of Prior? Maybe include them both, Prior as a specialist batsman. 7/10

Mascarenhas - 1, 16, 25. Curious tournament - was unable to find the middle of the bat. He's there to hit maximums and cause clean-hitting chaos in the closing overs, but it never materialised. Scoring 25 off 27 when coming in at four against India cannot have been what was asked of him. 6/10

Napier - Did not play. The middle order was crying out for his big-hitting finishing. Can't have been impressing in the nets. n/a 

England World T20 Analysis

Two good wins, one disaster, one comprehensive defeat, and one rain-affected disappointment. England did their best to single-handedly prove the unpredictability of the T20 format.

Overall, it was a passable showing. They won two out of three must-win games in impressive fashion; the Pakistan game in particular was highly pressurised - the consequences of defeat unthinkable. 

The Holland and South Africa defeats are hardly worth dwelling on. Holland were clearly taken far too lightly - putting in an inspired performance on the day - and South Africa, who have a superior balance to their side, were a class apart in every department on that day.

Had the West Indies game been 20 overs a side, it would have been fascinating to see how England fared. However, had they prevailed, it would again largely have been a case of the bowlers getting the batsmen out of jail. 

England are still not entirely comfortable with batting in this format. Interestingly, this tournament has taught us that a solid 50 over player does not necessarily make a decent 20 over player - and England possess a number of those. The likes of Collingwood and Foster - and arguably Shah and Morgan - are consistent run-a-ball strike-rate players, a commendable skill, but one which falls short in T20. Without Mascarenhas firing, all of England's explosive players are up top, and once they're out the run-rate slows to a run a ball - and a once possible score of 180 becomes 150.

Ultimately, England depart the 2009 World T20 in much better shape than they did in 2007. Two years ago England had no idea about their best team, now they're 75% there. As individuals, the players are getting more T20 savvy - though are still relatively inexperienced in the format - and the team possess a nucleus of young players like Bopara and Broad to tweak the side around. Some promising signs and a fitting curtain raiser to this summer of high-class cricket.

Monday 15 June 2009

England Out After West Indies Defeat

England are out of the World T20 after losing to the West Indies for the first time this summer, in a rain-affected match. A win would have seen England into the semi-finals, but erratic form has been a feature of their efforts in the shortest form of the game.

After the match Collingwood said that he was proud of his players, praising the bowlers in particular. Two valid points: disappointing though their exit was, England have fared better than some of the other big guns, notably Australia and India, and have bowled consistently well. Overall they came up short, but were able to win two out of three must-win games under intense pressure.

Tonight England shot themselves in the foot before the first ball was bowled. When rain and D+L are likely to intervene, winning the toss and batting first is too risky. A side batting second in a D+L affected game has the advantage of a reduced target and ten wickets to play with. England may have beaten the reigning champions, but they will never beat the weather. And so it proved; West Indies were set 80 from nine overs, a total they reached with four balls remaining, despite another good bowling effort. 

In truth, on the strength of their batting, England did not deserve to progress. And, close as they came, for once their bowlers were unable to get them out of jail. 

England V India: Analysis

A thrilling game and a brilliant win. Here's what went well, and what needs attention:
  
  Where the game was won:
  • The bowling - Hard to score off, good pace and bounce.
  • Team selection - Sidebottom inclusion paid off.
  • Flexible batting order - In theory, the move to bring Mascarenhas in at four was a good one. He's struggling to find the middle of the bat at the moment and India bowled well to him - meaning he finished with a sub-100 strike-rate - but England needed the momentum then, and that time in the middle may prove beneficial next time.
  • Pietersen - Seems to have realised that he barely needs to alter his natural game in T20. When he plays well, so do England.
  • Foster's stumping of Yuvraj - Justified his inclusion in one match-turning moment. Doubtful any other England 'keeper would have managed it.
  • Fielding and catching - Flawless, save for one Stuart Broad missed stumping.
  • Bowling plans and field placings - Didn't allow the Indian batsmen to play their natural game. Driving was off the menu, instead they had to resort to easily miss-timed pulls and cuts.
  • Collingwood juggled his bowlers well - Maligned skipper got everything right in the field.
  Where the game was nearly lost:
  • Batting - Inability to push on when Bopara and Pietersen departed. Not enough maximums again. Tempering Foster's brilliant stumping is the fact that Matt Prior coming in at five or six would be a very welcome sight.
A fine display, though defeat today would render it meaningless.

Sunday 14 June 2009

England Defeat Defending Champions

England triumphed on Survival Sunday for the second week in a row, keeping alive their World T20 chances and dumping India, the defending champions, out of the competition.

England lost the toss and laboured to 153-7, a score which would require a fine bowling effort to defend. Fortunately that's exactly what it got. Sidebottom (2-31), Swann (2-28) and Broad (0-21) in particular were superb, sending down balls which the usually free-scoring Indians were unable to dispatch to the boundary. India finished three runs short of England's total, on 150-5.

England rarely look comfortable when batting first. The foundations for their innings were laid by Pietersen (46) and Bopara (37), who shared a 71 run partnership, but 154 always looked like an achievable target for the 2007 champions. However, England bowled and fielded with panache, utilising the pace and bounce of the pitch and limiting their opponents' scoring options. India required 19 off the last over, and despite a six and four, Sidebottom held his nerve and collected the Man of the Match award. 

Now all that stands between England and the semi-finals, is the West Indies.

Friday 12 June 2009

Broad Controversy

One of the fallouts of the South Africa defeat was some minor controversy surrounding Stuart Broad and a tactic he employed - a subtle point to the field as he ran in to bowl - to try and distract the batsman. It didn't, but he has been warned against its use by the ICC today.

He probably went a bit far with yesterday's experiment, but it's further proof that England have an outstanding, thinking bowler at their disposal. And its worth taking stock of just how good he is becoming.

Broad is third in England's all-time T20 appearance list, behind Pietersen and Collingwood. Incredibly, he recently became England's eighth highest wicket taker in ODI history. He has a Test batting average of 31.35 and has become one of the world's most potent bowlers in all forms of the game, now capable of exceeding 90 mph. And he's 22 years old. Not bad for a player who has endured lows that would end the international careers of lesser men. If Stuart Broad is anything to go by, England's future is bright. 

England Dispatched By South Africa

South Africa were dominant throughout in this one-sided affair. For the first time in the tournament, England lost both openers early. That, coupled with 10 dot balls from Wayne Parnell's first two overs, gave England a mountain to clime - one which they never got close to conquering. Graeme Smith's men won by seven wickets with 10 balls remaining, following a leisurely run-chase.

England were bad, but South Africa were exceptional in every discipline. Theirs is a team which transfers the perfect balance of it's team-sheet onto the pitch. Anyone with intentions of stopping them will require standout individual performances. England managed just one - Owais Shah, with 38 from 33 - and even that was hardly a headline-grabbing effort. That said, Shah deserves credit for backing himself in pushing a slow start up to an acceptable strike-rate. Unfortunately he received little support, which left the bowlers with an impossible task.  

Thursday 11 June 2009

Buchanan Defects

In an interesting development, it has been announced that former Australia coach John Buchanan will team-up with England this summer, taking on an informal consultancy role.

It is a bit unclear exactly what that entails, but it seems to be a growing trend - Hampshire aquired the services of Buchanan's old adversery, Duncan Fletcher, at the start of the season, prompting a few positive murmerings, and it is hoped that England can tap into the Australian's unquestionable experience in a similar way.

The fact remains though, that the Australian Test set-up has undergone a face-lift since Buchanan retired after the 2007 World Cup, and now contains players that he didn't work with. Still, pointers regarding Ponting's thought processes and team mentality can hardly harm England's chances of Ashes glory.

World T20 Enters Second Phase

Three tough games coming up in the next five days for England; India (Sunday), West Indies (Monday) and today's opponents, South Africa.

Captain Collingwood has called on his players to do something special. He also talked about the need, as a batting side, to capitalise on the fielding restrictions of the first six overs, which is something Wright and Bopara have done well. Stuart Broad also gets a mention, with Collingwood pointing out that he's one of our more experienced players in this format.

Today's game will be tough, with many pundits tipping South Africa for the title. Batting-wise there is no respite - dismiss their prolific top order and you still find yourself facing AB de Villiers followed by some of the game's best finishers. That said, they only managed 128 from their 20 overs against New Zealand.

But the bad news is they chased it down. With Parnell and Steyn (T20 average 13.18 at start of tournament) leading the line, the Proteas can even afford to leave out Morne Morkel. And they possess quality spin this time, in Roelof van der Merwe, who possesses the tournament's best economy rate at 3.87, and Johan Botha (though the latter has been banned from using his potent doosra).

This will be a real examination for England, but, providing the Sunday team turn up, and not the Monday one, the same could be said of South Africa.

Tuesday 9 June 2009

Just To Whet The Appetite...

This, by Vic Marks, is a very good read. Enjoyable as the World T20 is proving so far, here is a small reminder that the best is still around the corner.

Mixed News On Injury Front

Mixed injury news regarding England's two most high-profile players. Andrew Flintoff has bowled some practice overs off a full run-up, which is cause for cautious optimism. But, the more serious news regards Kevin Pietersen - with whom England cannot do without as they bid for T20 and Ashes glory. KP, it seems, will play the rest of the summer as he did Sunday's win over Pakistan - on painkillers. This clearly has worrying long-term implications.

England wont want to do without either of these influential figures this summer, but at least they have learnt to live without the big Lancastrian, and, bizarrely, even have a better record in his absence. Pietersen, on the other hand, is central to the England set-up over all three formats of the game for the best part of the next decade. Quite simply England need him fit. 

Sunday 7 June 2009

Outstanding England Crush Pakistan

England are almost certainly through to the Super-Eight stages of the World T20 after salvaging some of their severely dented pride. Having come in for much - and largely deserved - criticism following Friday's shock defeat, England showed immense character to dispense with the 2007 finalists, winning by 48 runs.

England lost to the Dutch because they never believed they'd be involved in a contest. They didn't for a minute envisage a pressure situation, and by the time it arrived, it was too late. As a result, they had 48 hours to prepare for the most intense of pressure situations, and the way they dealt with it made Friday, not today, look like the anomaly. 

England effectively led from the word go. Previous England teams would not have reacted so well. Luke Wright (34) again set the tone, Pietersen (58) set up the victory, and every bowler contributed. The consequences of defeat were unthinkable. Andy Flower and his side deserve enormous credit. They have a couple of days off now and can approach the next stage safe in the knowledge that they wont play in a more pressurised match for the rest of the tournament.

Saturday 6 June 2009

How The Holland Game Was Lost

Yes, Pietersen and Flintoff were missing, and yes, selection mistakes were made yesterday - Mascheranas and Swann should have played, not Key and Rashid - but that's not why England lost. Any combination of their 15-man squad should have been more than a match for the men in orange. And don't for a minute believe that Stuart Broad was responsible, with his failed last-ball shy at the stumps. He had to do it - his only mistake was not hitting. That Broad went for the stumps is a positive thing - England need that mindset. He bowled a fine last over too - his round-the-wicket wide of off-stump bowling has been inventive and effective. On another day, one of his last over efforts would have been successful. Here's where the game was really lost:
  • England failed to build on a solid start in their last nine overs, adding only 62 runs. They seemed to think the job was done, but in T20 a strike-rate of 100 is unacceptable for any period longer than the odd over.
  • England made six hitting look impossible. Holland hit four.
  • There are fielding restrictions in T20. Only two fielders allowed outside the circle in the first six overs - prime six-hitting time which no team can afford to ignore.
  • As the pressure intensified England's fielding was nervy. The wet conditions didn't help, but the situation required razor-sharp catching and run outs, neither materialised.
  • Holland timed their run chase expertly. D+L was pretty much always in their favour as they supplemented a steady flow of boundaries with single after single.
  • Holland played superbly and deserved to win. Bowled well in the second half of the England innings - restricting them to singles - and timed their own innings to perfection. Disastrous for England, great for the tournament and the sport.
  • T20 as a format lends itself to upsets. The heroics of one or two players can have more influence in a shorter space of time than in any other format. Tom de Grooth discovered this yesterday.
Reasons to be cheerful? A few. Namely, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Zimbabwe. The latter beat Australia in the 2007 World T20 and the Aussies went on to reach the semi-final. Things can turnaround in no time in T20. England will be praying they can prove this point.

Friday 5 June 2009

England Lose First Match To Holland

No need for an opening ceremony - all the excitement took place on the pitch. England were humbled by the Netherlands at Lords in the World T20 curtain-raiser. Holland stunned the hosts, winning a fantastic match by scoring two runs off the last ball, and sending a seismic shock around the cricket world in the process. Superb performance by the Dutch, but goes without saying that England should never have let it happen. They can still qualify if they beat Pakistan on Sunday, but even then it's complicated. Post-mortem to follow tomorrow - can't face it now.

T20 World Cup Begins Today...

England have made it clear that the Ashes is the main focus this summer - and rightly so. But the next 17 days, weather permitting, promise large crowds, excitement and drama. Not a bad way to kick start a competitive summer of cricket. And you know what? There's no reason why England shouldn't enjoy some success given their home advantage and a smattering of IPL experience. Add to that a bit of luck - a genuine element of T20 sucess, (in the last tournament, India's winning captain, Dhoni, won five coin tosses in a row) - and you have potential winners.

Thursday 4 June 2009

Collingwood Interview

Really good BBC interview with England's World T20 captain Paul Collingwood. He looks genuinely confident and excited, and is clearly loving the prospect of leading a buoyant team into a World Cup on home soil. The interview just shows how far England have come in six months. The wreckage of January's coach/captain debacle has been well and truly put behind them.   

Wednesday 3 June 2009

England Hammer Windies. Again.

That's more like it! The final warm-up before the fun starts on Friday saw England cruise to another win against the hapless West Indies. This nine wicket victory was notable for tidy bowling from Rashid (1-20) and stunning clean hitting from Bopara (60 off 35) and Wright (75* off 48).

Delighted for Wright, who hasn't enjoyed much time in the middle for England. He's had to wait a long time since those encouraging early displays two summers ago. Always imagined him in the middle order, but we could be onto something with him and Bopara up top. It wont work every game, maybe not even half the time, but it's great when it does because he is a genuine boundary hitter. And when he does get out, KP gets in - could be worse.

The main thing England must do now is stick with him. We've been striving for a settled opening partnership in one-day cricket for too long, and T20 selection in general has been anything but consistent - 14 players used in first 15 T20s, including 11 different opening partnerships. This one is worth giving an extended run.

Warm-Up Win Over Scotland

England began their T20 World Cup warm-up with victory over Scotland yesterday. It was unspectacular, but tidy enough and achieved with an over to spare. Not an awful lot we can read into such a game, other than we won, and Pietersen was fit and firing - which will be key for the next few weeks. KP looked in good touch, finishing unbeaten on 53 from 39 balls.

Tuesday 2 June 2009

High Praise for Broad

Stuart Broad has made tremendous progress over the past months - from young pup to fully-fledged International all-rounder. He has become a primary weapon in England's Ashes armory, and received quite an endorsement from his former England captain and Ashes hopeful Michael Vaughan in an interview in this weekend's Sunday Telegraph.

Vaughan told Scyld Berry that Broad was one of the best thinking bowlers I've ever had the chance to work with.

Seeing as Broad was at the center of England's defining moment of their last World T20 campaign, it would be fitting if he could make his mark his rapid improvement by playing a central role in this year's tournament.