Three Lions Cricket 'End Of Summer Awards', Pt 1

Time - during this well-earned international break - to review the summer of 2009. Only one team in the world could lose to Holland then triumph over Australia in the space of a few months.

Man of the Summer - 1. Andrew Strauss

A stunning summer, in fact, a stunning past 18 months. Grew into captaincy - improvement between Cardiff and Oval Tests was highly significant. Top scored in the Ashes (ave: 52.66) and ensuing ODI series (ave: 38.14). Married great batting and brilliant captaincy in an Ashes series; even Michael Vaughan didn't manage that.

2. Matt Prior

Finally, a worthy successor to Alec Stewart. Only just behind Strauss in terms of consistency during the Ashes. Has become a genuinely world-class keeper in remarkably short space of time. England conceded 106 fewer extras than Australia during the Ashes. Only criticisms being a moderate high score of 63 from seven Tests this summer (Ashes high score: 61) and an inability to consistently transfer Test batting cameos to one-day arena.

3. Andy Flower

Just brilliant. Comfortable in underdog role - a product of his playing career - but aiming to guide England to a level where they can dispense with the tag. Promising early signs of a special working relationship with Strauss. Showed his humility by opting out of the Oval victory lap.

Moment of the Summer - 1. Flintoff running out Ponting at the Oval.

A script writer would dare not pen it: Ponting run-out? Flintoff heroics? Been done before. But this was how it was meant to end. With his body restricting his bowling, Freddie, at wide mid-on, defied it one last time. The purest form of theatre, no-one could have predicted it. Except it didn't really surprise us. Flintoff's last offering of utter perfection to the Test match scene.

2. Panesar and Anderson Holding On At Cardiff

A monumental passage of cricket in the context of the rest of the summer. Few figures inspire less confidence with the bat than Monty Panesar, but his contribution that day - along with those of Anderson and Collingwood - were the first glimpses of the steely character which was to prove the difference between the sides.

3. Swann's Ashes Winning Wicket

Always a sweet occurrence, but made even more sickly by the the fact England were denied an on-field winning moment in 2005. I'm sure Swann doesn't mention it. Much.

Team Performance of the Summer - 1. The Oval Test (Ashes)

Edges out the Lord's Test purely because it followed the Headingley debacle, which, though both were bad, was far worse than the performance at Cardiff. An outstanding team effort, with argument-ending contributions from Stuart Broad and Jonathan Trott.

2. v Pakistan, World T20

A win, under huge pressure, against the eventual winners. Highly commendable due to the unthinkable embarrassment defeat would have caused. Going out of your own tournament after three days, before some teams have even played a game, would have rivaled World Cup '99 - when we exited the tournament before the official team song was released.

3. v South Africa, Champions Trophy

So they can do it. And how. The hosts barely knew what had hit them as England compiled a Shah-and-Morgan-inspired 323. Strauss said it was the best he'd seen England bat in a 50-over game, and, backed-up by sound bowling, it can act as a model performance to aspire to.

Individual Test Performance of the Summer - 1. Strauss at Lord's (Ashes)

The innings which announced England's arrival in the series as a team with pretensions of winning it. Batted for a whole day, and put on 196 with Cook for the first wicket. Fell early on day two, for 161, but had made the decisive contribution of the match by then, despite Flintoff taking the man-of-the-match honours on day five.

2. Broad at the Oval

Kudos to the selectors for sticking with him, kudos to the man himself for the decisive spell of the series. Stuart Broad won the Ashes for England in 12 overs, on day two of the last Test, during a spell of 5-37 - which included four wickets in 21 balls. Stunning stuff, and a 2005-shaped dose of excitement.

3. Trott at the Oval

A scarcely believable debut. So many parallels with KP's 158 four years ago. Siddle looked for all the world to have him caught behind off the first ball of day three, just like McGrath seemed to have snaffled Pietersen first ball in '05, but two great umpiring decisions enabled two historic innings - Trott's every bit as good as his countryman's. Actually, better. As Scyld Berry put it, "one of the all-time best England debuts."

England Squads For South Africa Tour Announced

The squads for England's Test, ODI and T20I tour of South Africa were announced at midday today, ending weeks of speculation and signaling the side's post-Ashes direction. They are:

Test Squad: Strauss (c), Cook (vc), Anderson, Bell, Broad, Collingwood, Davies, Onions, Pietersen, Plunkett, Prior, Rashid, Sidebottom, Swann, Trott, Wright

One-day Squad: Strauss, Anderson, Bresnan, Broad, Collingwood, Cook, Denly, Mahmood, Morgan, Onions, Pietersen, Prior, Rashid, Swann, Trott, Wright

Two of the most notable omissions are Steve Harmison and Geraint Jones, for Plunkett and Davies respectively, leaving Andrew Strauss the only survivor from the previous Test tour of South Africa.

The consensus is that this move has ended the international career of these 2005 Ashes stalwarts. That's probably true in Jones's case - there are plenty of promising young wicketkeeper-batsmen on the England radar at present. Harmison though, rightly dropped for Plunkett, can still offer something different on his day. We all know the black marks against his name - the inconsistency, the bad travelling - but his uniqueness has the power to scrub them out once again in the future. If he really wants it. A very-nearly-31-year-old, father of four, two times Ashes winner, he's known for his talent, not his determination. I suspect we've seen the last of him, but if he marries the two, he could yet prove us wrong.

That said, there was an ODI recall for a man who can - on his day (a too frequently used phrase regarding England seamers) - match Harmison's hostility; Saj Mahmood. He and Plunkett have enjoyed brief success for England in the past, and it is hoped that, as with James Anderson, time away from the international scene will have enhanced their maturity, readying them for a renewed challenge.

Two men about to experience the international wilderness again, are Monty Panesar and Ravi Bopara. Ravi will surely benefit from the time off. He seems to struggle with the mental side of top international cricket, and should remember the start of the summer, when he was, along with KP, England's chief Test and one-day batting threat. He's sure to come again, Panesar less so; though he's recently spoken about his intentions to rectify the situation.

England's Contrary Test And ODI Form

It should come as no surprise that - at 3-0 down - England appear to be heading for defeat in the ODI series against Australia. After all, we won the Ashes.

When Test and ODI series have been paired together in recent years, England have an uncanny and near-impeccable record - at winning one and losing the other.

Rarely have England been able to buck this trend; they even triumphed in the Commonwealth Bank series that followed the Ashes mauling of 06-07 - an event no-one could have predicted with any conviction.

In the summer of 2006, a few months before that ill-fated Ashes tour, England had recovered from a comprehensive 5-0 ODI series defeat to Sri Lanka by beating Pakistan 3-0 in a now infamous four match Test series.

The following summer, fresh from a disappointing World Cup showing, England dispatched the West Indies 3-0 in another four match Test series, but couldn't translate that form to the 50-over game as they lost to the same opponents in the accompanying three match ODI series.

Gaining top marks for inconsistency during the second half of that summer, Vaughan's England then lost a Test series to the touring Indians, before Collingwood's 50-over side triumphed 4-3 in an outstanding ODI series - the limited-overs equivalent of the 2005 Ashes.

England's promising ODI form continued in Sri Lanka that winter with a 3-2 series win, which preceded - true to form - a 1-0 Test series defeat.

On to New Zealand, where the pattern continued, this time with defeat in the ODIs (3-1) and victory in the Tests - the last of which saw Panesar spin the side to victory and Andrew Strauss save his career with a Test high-score of 177. That innings has taken on extra significance given his form in the last year.

When England returned the favour and hosted New Zealand a couple of months later, the on-pitch results were almost identical - victory in the Tests (2-0), followed by defeat in the five match 50-over series (3-1).

The outcomes were reversed for the visit of South Africa later that summer, with Test series defeat prompting Michael Vaughan to relinquish captaincy duties and Kevin Pietersen making an excellent start with a win in the dead rubber Test and a resounding ODI series win.

Following defeat in all forms of the game in India in late 2008, a wounded England succumbed to dressing room chaos, misjudged declarations, flat pitches and Test series defeat in the West Indies in the new year. This was however followed up - in now familiar fashion - by ODI series victory, 3-2.

This record highlights that the reign of Peter Moores, though defined by home Test series defeat, did include a number of notable ODI series victories. It also reveals how different these two formats of the game are and how, in England's case, momentum in one counts for little in the other.

Credit England for the examples of recovery, dispair the meek squandering of the upper-hand. Andy Flower has overseen both ODI and Test series victories, his challenge is to combine the two.

Blackwell's Resurgance

Patrick Kidd's Line and Length blog today highlights one-time England all-rounder Ian Blackwell's impressive first season at Durham.

The stats look good - this season he's averaged 19 with the ball and 44 with the bat - but with Swann and Panesar playing a part in the Ashes, and Rashid tipped to have one foot on the plane to South Africa, he'd be forgiven for wondering whether he registers on the England radar these days.

Blackwell played the last of his 34 ODIs in 2006 - the same year in which he played his only Test. A consistent county performer, a black mark has always hung over his name surrounding his weight - an issue the England management clearly still value given the recent treatment of Samit Patel. Such a reputation can be as hard to shift as the actual weight itself, and to an extent, Blackwell has always been fighting a losing battle in terms of perception.

But, a move up north at the start of the season has taken him out of his comfort zone and reinvigorated him (though it has to be said that leaving Taunton would surely do that for any spinner). He spoke at the time of his international aspirations, telling SPIN Magazine in June, "I'm desperate to get back in the one-day side. It's the main reason I've come to Durham." He's since backed up his words with bat and ball.

Like Kidd, I'd place Swann and Rashid ahead of him, but Blackwell weighs in with a far superior case to Panesar for the role of third in line, especially in the one-day set-up. His on-pitch argument is convincing, but how damaging will those perceptions prove to be?

Bopara Out, Trott and Panesar In

So Jonathan Trott will make his Test debut in England's most important match for four years. Nothing like a baptism of fire.

Harmison and Sidebottom are also included, so the decisions left to be made now concern the composition of the bowling line-up.

The selectors are closer to the action than we are, and have presumably decided that Bopara is mentally shot. Assuming that's the case, he had to step aside, with Key, Trott and Ramprakash all touted as replacements.

All have been in good form. An extra argument for Ramps seemed to be his knowledge of the Oval pitch. Whilst I can see the merit in the odd horses-for-courses selection in the bowling department, it doesn't say much for the talent available to England if they're picking specific batsmen on a renowned flat track. All three should be capable of making runs at the Oval.

Key would have been my choice given his Test experience, favourable temperament and the crucial fact that he could slot in at three without any fuss. The main problem with Trott's inclusion is it will push Bell up to three, where he averages 31 with no hundreds. Still, there wasn't much in it, and Trott seems capable of making the mental step up. Good luck to him.

Now to the bowling. Surrey manager Chris Adams suggests playing two spinners, and there would be a nice symmetry to a summer beginning and ending with Panesar heroics. But I can't see it happening. It says it all that the Panesar heroics of Cardiff concerned his batting. He's in the team as a spin bowler, but he hasn't taken more than four wickets in a Test in his last ten appearances. He's had a flat season and lacks spark and invention. Cardiff aside, he fails to offer the all-round package of a Swann or Rashid.

I would have included Rashid and seriously considered playing him. Sure, he's unknown at this level, but Panesar being the opposite is his problem - he's become predictable and easy to play. Rashid at least has form with the bat against the Aussies this summer. Then again, so does Panesar. Crazy world.

Twenty20 Finals Day

Much like the game of cricket itself, we English invented Twenty20, only to sit back and watch a host of other nations surpass us. Since the first domestic Twenty20 Finals Day - in 2003 - two World Cups have been staged, and England have failed to make it as far as the semi-final on both occasions. More galling for the ECB has been the advent of the IPL, which, in terms of domestic competitions, has blown their own competition out of the water. A problem for the England team has been their limited participation in the event; a smattering of players in 2009, none at all in 2008. Other major nations have benefitted from their players' involvement in the IPL, which provides an atmosphere comparable to that of a World Cup.

So to the ECB's showpiece today; four teams, 120 overs, a packed Edgbaston and a television audience. A number of England players and hopefuls were on display, all knowing there's no better occasion to state an international claim. Here's how they got on:

Northamptonshire (lost first semi-final)

Panesar - Not really his format of the game, not really his season, but he did well today in bowling three overs for just 12 runs. However, Northants were flat and needed more. Has only ever played one international T20, and his form in this year's competition suggests he is no higher than third choice spinner, if that. No chance to repeat Cardiff batting heroics.

Kent (lost second semi-final)

Key - At home in this format of the game, making 34 from 38. Top scored for his team in last year's final.

Denly - Only lasted two balls before being clean bowled. Was top scorer in last years competition.

Khan, Amjad - His one over went for 16. His Test debut in March seems a long time ago.

Somerset (lost the final)

Hildreth - Run-a-ball 36 in the semi, but failed in the final. Has good figures, but the Taunton pitch will always count against him. Gradually improving consistency should ensure him a spot on the England radar.

Kieswetter - A future England international, but didn't get a chance to prove why with the bat in the semi, and failed in the final. 'Kept well and claimed the stumping of man-of-the-match Smith.

Trego - Says he has England aspirations and demonstrated his destructive qualities with the bat with 27 from 14 balls in the final. Bowled reasonably, but a career T20 economy rate in excess of eight means there are plenty above him in the queue for the Mascarenhas role.

Sussex (winners)

Wright - Decent, but not the fireworks we know he's capable of. Scored 18 and 20 and took a wicket in the final. Now needs to kick on as an limited-overs international, and should be given game time in which to do so.

Hamilton-Brown - Contributed well all day. Scored 29 and 25 batting at three, and claimed a wicket in his sole over of offspin in the final. At 21 there's no need to rush him in, but international cricket should be a question of when rather than if.

Yardy - Shouldn't be discounted by England in limited-overs cricket. Followed up his unbeaten 92 in the Friends Provident Trophy Final with a tidy bowling display. His four overs in the final went for 17.

Joyce - Quiet day, but, on this season's form, he seems to have improved since his last international appearance in 2007.

Bell It Is

As expected, Ian Bell will start the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Thursday in place of Kevin Pietersen, it was announced today. Other than KP's omission, the squad is unchanged, so Panesar and Harmison are again included - though destined to be discarded.

As ever, Bell has shown good county form this season - clocking up 640 runs in seven County Championship matches, prior to his double failure against Hampshire last week.

Ian Bell Test Record: Played - 46, Innings - 83, Average - 40.59, High Score - 199, Hundreds - 8, Fifties - 19, Catches 44.

England Confident

The Ashes begin tomorrow and England are confident of rekindling the spirit of 05, and avoiding the humiliation of 06-07. The team will be announced tomorrow, the only deliberation being whether to include Panesar or Onions at number 11. The team will be:

Strauss

Cook

Bopara

Pietersen

Collingwood

Prior

Flintoff

Broad

Swann

Anderson

Onions/Panesar

It will be fascinating to see who Strauss goes with for the final bowling spot. The common consensus is that the pitch will turn, though not as much as originally reported, and offer a little in terms of pace and bounce to the quicks. I think Strauss will go for two spinners - he and Flower have had that plan in mind for months and today Strauss told the press that an extra spinner "allows you more control and gives you more options". It would be a brave move, especially given Panesar's form, but I believe it's a gamble that could give England a major advantage. Australia are now likely to play one spinner, but before the injury to Lee were widely expected to field an all pace attack. 

It is currently raining in Cardiff, but the forecast for the next few days is good.

You can have any other tournament you want but to have the chance to play in the Ashes is everything

Andrew Flintoff

Warm-up Matches Analysis

Reasons to be cheerful and reasons to be fearful that arose from the England v Warickshire and England Lions v Australia matches.

Cheerful

• All batsmen (with the exception of Pietersen) made runs.
• The continued excellent form of Anderson.
• No shortage of bowling options with Flintoff looking fit, hungry and in-form, Panesar taking three wickets (admittedly all tailenders) and Harmison looking a real threat.
• Identifying Philip Hughes's weakness against the short ball.
• Mitchell Johnson looking below par and struggling to swing the ball until the final session of the match.

Fearful

• Mike Hussey and Marcus North feeling their way back into form whilst enjoying considerable time in the middle and making big hundreds.
• A rejuvenated Brett Lee causing havoc with an outstanding spell of reverse swing that had Troy Cooley's stamp all over it.
• Ian Bell only scoring 20 runs in the match. Injury or loss of form to any of the top six is likely to thrust him into the action, and a significant innings here would have done his confidence no harm.

Overall both teams will be satisfied with their work-outs. The two games merely confirmed that this is likely to be an extremely tight series. The talking points for England: what to do with Harmison, and how many spinners to play in Cardiff. A 13-man squad for the first Test will be announced at 10:00 am tomorrow.