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."

T20 Squad Reaction

The selectors have drawn the following conclusions from the World T20 in June; they've dropped Mascarenhas, Key, Foster and Napier, and called up Trott, Prior, Denly and Bresnan for the upcoming games against Australia. Flintoff returns from injury, whilst KP has succumbed to it.

I think they've got all four of the form-related changes right. Mascarenhas has never done much wrong for England, but it could be argued he hasn't quite done enough right since his debut two summers ago.

It would be unfair to judge Key on his sole World T20 appearance - the ill-fated tournament opener against the Netherlands - and with a career T20 average just shy of 30 and captaincy credentials he deserves his place on the selectors radar. But in a way, despite being capped just once in the format, he is synonymous with England - good, but not quite good enough.

Foster was a success at the World T20 in keeping terms, but was one of a band of middle order hitters who came up short. At the time I felt there was a case for including him and Prior (as a batsman), but the latter's glovework in the two months since suggests England can dispense with Foster.

England's unwillingness to use Napier probably says it all. Certainly one to monitor - as anyone capable of scoring a 20 over 150 should be - but so far he's failed to convince that that innings wasn't a one-off.

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.

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. 

Match Scorecard   

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.

Read Jonathan Agnew's reaction

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. 

Pietersen Story

Flintoff Story 

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.

Scorecard 

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.

BBC reaction

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.

Scorecard

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.

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.