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May 31, 2007
Posted on 05/31/2007 in English cricket
Warwickshire were on a high in 1994, winning an unprecedented three domestic trophies. The captaincy of Dermott Reeve, and a team which had a certain Brain Charles Lara in its ranks meant that they were unstoppable. In a while, sordid happenings were a cue to a disintegrating team.
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The front cover of Paul Smith's book
© Know The Score
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| A drug addiction cost allrounder Paul Smith his cricketing career and a lot more. Paul Weaver of The Guardian met the cricketer who has just come out with an autobiographical account of his plunge titled Wasted? The Incredible True Story of Cricket's First Rock 'n' Roll Star
He resembles the rock star, one senses, he always wanted to be - and at 43 he is almost old enough to be one. The only ordinary thing about Smith is his name and he has just written an outrageous autobiography, Wasted?, which is
at once badly written and compelling reading. It is shocking, maddening, scatological and - no pun intended - disjointed. It is not so much kiss and tell as kiss, have casual sex, get stoned, drunk, divorced, unemployed, homeless, and tell; and it would make Dorian Gray blush .
Also read Will Luke's review of Wasted?
Meanwhile, far far away in New Zealand, his former captain Dermot Reeve is on his way to recovery from a cocaine addiction. Tony Francis of The Daily Telegraph tracked down the once-popular Reeve, and the signs are good.
Whisper it softly around Birmingham; button your lip in the corridors of Channel 4 - Dermot Reeve is rebuilding his life. Thus far, the most successful captain Warwickshire ever had and, some would say, the most irritating commentator C4 ever engaged is keeping to the shady side of the street for fear of recognition. By the end of this summer the former England all-rounder may be ready to declare his complete recovery from cocaine addiction and his desire to get back into the professional game. He has already taken his first steps by agreeing to write a monthly column in Spin magazine.
Posted on 05/31/2007 in
Mohammad Kaif has been out of the Indian team for exactly six months. While he is hard at work at work improving his game, trying his best to earn a recall, he believes that fate has played a part in his cricketing career. Kadambari Murali of The Hindustan Times met the batsman in his posh Noida house, where Kaif was philosophical about his present situation.Kaif was also nostalgic about his selection into the India under-15 squad
In fact, as he says, his getting his first big break itself (making the eventually, World Cup-winning u-15 India squad), was by chance. “When you go for these age-group trials, luck plays a huge part. You have 700 (now about 2000) boys each facing about four balls each before someone decides if they move to the next round. One unplayable ball somewhere and you could be facing life as a lower division clerk somewhere instead of a cricketer.”
And then, almost inaudibly, he murmurs. “I sometimes wonder about that”. The dreamy look is gone and he looks up. “I didn't make the probables camp of 40 but was called back by Sarkar Talwar, a selector and the u-15 coach. God knows what he liked about me but whatever it was, I had had my first brush with fate. I did well in the camp and practice games and later, being part of that squad gave me a slight edge when I played grade cricket for UP. My journey began there. But I still had to work really hard, there's no substitute for that.”
Posted on 05/31/2007 in Indian Cricket
The Hindu's Vijay Lokapally believes that contracts to Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh, India's respective bowling and fielding coaches for the recent tour to Bangladesh, would help them concentrate on their jobs better.
May 30, 2007
Posted on 05/30/2007 in France
The Crusaders, an Australian team comprising former Test, first-class and league players, will travel to France to play a match just outside Paris on June 27 in their 42-day tour of Europe.
The highlights of their tour will be matches against a President's Italian cricket X1, Switzerland, Duke of Norfolk's X1 and the MCC at the Lord's Nursery Ground.
The Australian's will spend a whole week in France visiting the Burgundy vinyards of the Cote d'Or, explore Paris and the Palace of Versailles and admire the beauty of Monet's gardens at Giverny.
The Crusaders will play a match against Standard Athletic Club 24th June (2pm) at Meudon. From Paris they will travel to the Somme battlefields of northern France and the adopted Australian village of Villers Bretonneux. Then south to the Loire Valley and Chateau Chenonceau and Chateau Villandry and the highlight of the tour - the match against l'Equipe de France de Cricket.
Full story at This French Life.
Posted on 05/30/2007 in West Indies cricket
The Guardian's Tanya Aldred reminisces about the 1984 West Indies tour of England, when she and her similarly agog brothers queued for the autograph of the mighty Joel Garner. How times have changed. Twenty-three years later, and there's no such interest in the sorry bunch of representatives from the Caribbean.
We collected cards of the players, as our dad dutifully visited every Texaco garage in Surrey to ensure four sets of dark green paper folders were filled. Desmond Haynes was particularly rare. It is hard to imagine the same fights going on today for a dog-eared card of Daren Ganga or Jerome Taylor.
Posted on 05/30/2007 in Bangladesh cricket
Dav Whatmore has been Bangladesh's most successful coach and the The Daily Star terms his departure from the post as a peaceful one, unlike the "sorry and painful departures of Indian Mohinder Amarnath, West Indies great Gordon Greenidge, South African Eddie Barlow, Australian Trevor Chappell and Pakistani Mohsin Kamal." The Dhaka daily's Bishwajit Roy interviews Whatmore on plans, hopes and frustrations while coaching the Bangladesh side.
DSS: We have seen some talented cricketers fade away from the spotlight during your tenure like Alok Kapali, Al Shahriar, Tushar Imran. It's true that they have failed sometime but don't you think that you have not motivated them enough to comeback. It seemed that you just let them go.
DW: (laughs) I am not happy with anybody who has talent and doesn't make it. But I do take some responsibility. But you're being harsh as you're saying that it's my fault. I never take credit when players do well. Therefore if a player doesn't do well, I don't think its fair to say that the coach is at fault. I take responsibility but at the end of the day, the player should take some of the responsibilities. Alok is still rated highly and potentially extremely good. If you see him bat in the nets, you'd pick him first but unfortunately that didn't translate into runs. Even though he has so much ability, he must understand what batting is all about.
DSS: Do you think not finding a permanent opening combination is a big failure?
DW: Yeah, it is the same now. We have another boy (Shahriar Nafees) out of form as well. Opening hasn't been the best part of our batting line-up. It would have been nice to have a good opening pair as it is important to have a good start if you're batting first or second.
May 29, 2007
Posted on 05/29/2007 in ICC
In The Australian, Malcolm Conn complains about the "parlous" state of world cricket, with West Indies not having won a Test since May 2005.
There are only 10 official Test-playing nations and three of them now range from hopeless to utterly hopeless. What other major international sport has 30 per cent of its teams which are so uncompetitive they cannot win a single match between them in 24 months? The plight is so bad that while Zimbabwe remains on the gravy train of the International Cricket Council's board of Test countries which control the game, it is so weak it is not even playing Test cricket. Unfortunately the ICC is so utterly gutless and politically compromised that it fails to impose any minimum standards on its teams.
The ICC's own player rankings, which are constantly emailed as part of a sponsorship deal, highlights just how little regard the fundamentally flawed organisation has for standards. There is not a single Zimbabwe player ranked in the top 100 batsmen or bowlers. It's not that hard if you're any good. Stuart MacGill, who has not played for more than a year, is still ranked 20 and Michael Kasprowicz 34. It's time for the ICC to step up where it counts.
Posted on 05/29/2007 in English cricket
As Ryan Sidebottom was handed an unlikely call, the case for Mark Ramprakash to return to the Test arena has been made yet again. This time, it’s David Fulton in The Times who notes, that among other things:
The angst and desperate desire to succeed has been replaced by the relaxed confidence of a man at one with his work.
Posted on 05/29/2007 in English cricket
Allan Donald, who is going to be England's bowling consultant for the next five weeks, speaks to Donald McRae in The Guardian.
"When something is in your blood, like international cricket is to me, it can never be limited to five weeks or even five years. Working at cricket's very highest level is a lifetime passion for me and so this is a wonderful opportunity to get back where I belong. At this level of coaching you need to know how to manage your bowlers and, most of all, how to motivate and inspire them. I can do this with England."
Posted on 05/29/2007 in West Indies cricket
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Ryan Sidebottom swung the ball with accuracy against West Indies at Headingley
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Brian Lara may have retired from international cricket but you can bet his name will come under consideration this week as the West Indies decide what to do about Ramnaresh Sarwan's shoulder injury, writes Simon Briggs in The Telegraph.
Also in The Telegraph, Martin Johnson says "No wonder England selected Ryan Sidebottom for this Test. When the chairman of selectors talked about the need to "add variety" to the attack, he wasn't so much talking about Sidebottom being a left-armer, as the fact that he was liable to confuse the West Indian batsmen by aiming the ball at the stumps."
"West Indies can cavil about their lack of preparation and the absence of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, they can carp about the wintry conditions and they can even reason that some of these tyros are being exposed too early to Test cricket but what cannot be excused is the poor attitude, which was slapdash to the point of carelessness," says Steve James in The Guardian.
Posted on 05/29/2007 in ICC
The unexpected death of Percy Sonn leaves the ICC in an awkward position, trying to agree on a replacement just months after extending Sonn’s term, writes Malcolm Conn in The Australian.
The world governing body is in such turmoil that those in charge around the board table could not even decide who should run the organisation. It doesn't bode well for an organisation that can't run a decent showpiece event, the World Cup, or set acceptable standards for international cricket following the continuing freefall of Zimbabwe, when it can't even find a leader.
Posted on 05/29/2007 in English cricket
Kevin Pietersens run glut has meant that comparisons to another Africa-born Englishman, Graeme Hick, have been made for quite some time. Although Pietersen has forged ahead of Hick by making it in the international scene, The Guardian's Micheal Henderson dwells on the differing personalities of the run machines, making it pretty clear who he admires.
One man values restraint; the other is a show pony, with the rosettes to prove it. It is hard to imagine Hick leaping on a batting partner as Pietersen leapt upon Michael Vaughan when the England captain completed his century last Friday. But then Pietersen clearly imagines he is "the skipper's mate" (he isn't, actually) just as he was "Goughy's mate" when his English papers came through, and he is "Warney's mate" at Southampton.
May 28, 2007
Posted on 05/28/2007 in Obituaries
Bill Johnston, the left-arm fast and finger-spin bowler who was Australia's equal leading Test wicket-taker on the 1948 Invincibles tour, died on Friday aged 85. In The Australian, Mike Coward describes Johnston's path to the big time.
Although passionate about the game as a schoolboy at Ondit and Colac High Schools, his early cricket was played on the family dairy farm and for the Beeac town team - especially during country week - and he did not see a Sheffield Shield match before he made his debut against Queensland at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 1945. And he had seen just one Test match before being chosen for the inaugural series with India in 1947-48 when he took 16 wickets at 11.37 to assure himself of a trip to England in 1948. Ace slow bowler Bill "Tiger" O'Reilly once quipped: "As a bowler he has one failing - he hasn't a temper."
May 27, 2007
Posted on 05/27/2007 in English cricket
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Contrasting players: Vaughan and Pietersen
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England's batsmen have enjoyed themselves against a weak West Indies attack, with seven centuries already in the series. In The Observer Mike Brearley looks at the power of the modern player and the differing styles of Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen.
England's Test team look - against all but Australia - to be full of modern batsmen, in this sense, and their two centurions at Leeds are great exemplars. Michael Vaughan's trademark shots are the swivel-pull and the off-drive, and each feeds off the other. When a bowler finds that a slightly short ball is pulled wide of mid-on for four, he tends to pitch the next one further up, thus risking the drive. And vice versa.
In The Sunday Times, Lawrence Booth suggests that the county system could be doing more to nurture the next England captain.
Stalwarts among the current breed of captains are rare. Chris Adams is in his 10th season in charge of Sussex, yet even he almost joined Yorkshire in the close season. Ronnie Irani has been at the helm for Essex since 2000. Among other England-qualified captains, only David Sales of Northamptonshire, in charge since 2004, has hinted at longevity.
Posted on 05/27/2007 in Commentary
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Where have all the fast bowlers gone?
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One of the alarming features in world cricket is the lack of cutting-edge bowlers. The current Test at Headingley is a prime example with West Indies' pacemen hovering around the 80-mph mark and being thrashed at four-an-over. England have had to trawl the county scene for fit bowlers while most of the world's best fast bowlers are suffering injuries due to the amount they play. In The Sunday Telegraph, Scyld Berry delves into the problem and says ICC must take note otherwise the game is in major trouble.
Bowlers around the world - and not just in the West Indies and Bangladesh - are endangered, and the feebleness of the West Indian batting yesterday did not invalidate the point. One look at the ICC Test rankings should have been sufficient to tell the CEO as much.
However, England's plucking of Ryan Sidebottom out of county cricket for his second Test has proved a wise move. Steve James says it was an outstanding performance six years after his debut.
Yes, he has been consistent in county cricket, with an exceptional economy rate, but the worry was that he still could not swing the ball into the right-hander, as the most dangerous left-arm seamers and swingers always do.
May 26, 2007
Posted on 05/26/2007 in Irish cricket
Ireland aren't having much luck with coaches - the four-wheeled, not two-legged variety. Their vehicle to take them to Grace Road for their Intercontinental Cup final against Canada was delayed...and yesterday, en route to London, their team bus broke down. Fortunately, the local constabulary were nearby.
The Ireland squad arrived in London yesterday afternoon on a police bus, after their coach from Leicester was impounded at a service station just north of the capital.
Instead, they were guided into the London Gateway service station where the police told us they were carrying out a vehicle inspection check. This took place while the squad had an impromptu lunch. However, on their return, they were told the driver was "over his hours" and would not be allowed to drive for another 24 hours and the two rear wheels on the coach were found to be defective.
So much for a day off. Ireland play Surrey in a Friends Provident Cup match at The Oval on Sunday.
May 25, 2007
Posted on 05/25/2007 in English cricket
Writing in The Independent, the former England seamer turned journalist Angus Fraser explains why he accepted an invitation to join the Schofield Committee that investigated the failings of England's cricket team in the Ashes and World Cup, despite disapproval of his decision from some quarters.
"I agreed because I wanted to help. It would have been easy to say no, but I felt that it would be wrong for me to sit back in the safety of the press box and pour scorn on what was taking place when I had been given the chance to do something to improve the situation."
Posted on 05/25/2007 in Australian cricket
In The Australian, the ICC enjoys its right of reply to Malcolm Conn’s article that questioned whether ESPN Star Sports could afford the gigantic sum it offered for broadcasting rights.
"Both parties have met all obligations agreed when they signed the agreement in December and it is full steam ahead for both ESS and the ICC and any suggestion to the contrary is a lie, plain and simple," an ICC spokesman said.
Meanwhile, in the Herald Sun, Grant McArthur asks Simon O’Donnell how his battle with cancer 20 years ago affected him.
In November 1987, O'Donnell was still celebrating being part of Australia's first cricket World Cup win when he suffered severe aches and pains that were diagnosed as cancer. While he overcame it, O'Donnell said he still lives with knowledge and fear of it. "Cancer no longer is a death sentence, but it is a life sentence," he said. "Once you have experienced the trauma of being diagnosed, gone through the battles of treatment and come out the other end, it is firmly entrenched as a part of your life."
May 24, 2007
Posted on 05/24/2007 in ICC
In The Times, Christopher Martin-Jenkins interviews Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, about the problems facing cricket’s governing body.
The two main issues seem to be the format of the World Cup and Zimbabwe. On the World Cup, Speed admits that things need looking at:
“We will thoroughly review the 2007 tournament, learn from any mistakes and do our best to ensure they are not repeated. I think 16 teams is a good number, but there is scope to knock at least a week off the duration by playing through Easter and scheduling more than one game a day. The popularity of day/night matches in the four host countries could enable us to have day games and day/night games running on the same dates.”
And as for Zimbabwe, it is very much the same message as has been trotted out for several years:
“We have said consistently that governments should make political decisions rather than cricket boards and if a government refuses its team permission to tour another country, we respect that. If sporting sanctions are to apply, they must apply to all sports. I do not believe that they would solve any of the problems that the people of Zimbabwe face.”
May 23, 2007
Posted on 05/23/2007 in Indian Cricket
Malcolm Conn writes in The Australian that there is some doubt over whether ESPN Star Sports has signed a contract with the ICC yet, with regulatory changes in India muddying the waters.
This would be a crushing blow for the game's governing body and its ten Test-playing countries, including Australia, which could expect tens of millions of dollars over the life of the agreement.
Conn also speaks to one of ESPN Star Sports’s competitors about the situation in India.
Harish Thawani, head of rival company, Nimbus Communications, which paid an amazing $US612 million for the rights to cricket in India, said there had been dramatic changes in the country, where broadcast rights were now worth substantially less. "There has been a lot of talk on the streets that there has been some alarm in the minds of rights holders," Thawani said. “I can confirm on our own behalf, given the fairly dramatic regulatory changes that have taken place in India of late, I think it's a matter of concern for all sports broadcasters and agencies as to what cricket rights are going to be worth."
May 22, 2007
Posted on 05/22/2007 in New Zealand cricket
The possibility that John Wright could be the next head coach at Australia's academy does not please Geoff Longley. In The Press, Longley writes that it seems wrong for Wright to help Australia's cricketing elite.
It is unfortunate that a position could not be found in New Zealand that would enable Wright to pass on his expertise to both budding Black Caps and those already in the top team. At the highest level, New Zealand appears to lack batting nous as shown by poor performances at test level and some inconsistent displays in the one-day game.
In recent seasons New Zealand has shown a disturbing trend to fall over after getting ahead in a tests. Wright, given his experience coaching India from 2001-2005 and the reluctance with which he yielded his wicket as a New Zealand opening bat, seemed the ideal person to add some steel to the Black Caps' batting mindset.
Posted on 05/22/2007 in English cricket
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'He can work sporting miracles, but, like Bruce Banner, he is not happy about what the process does to himself'
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Simon Barnes in today’s Times thinks he knows the reason behind Steve Harmison inability to perform at the highest level. It’s all about comic book heroes you see.
Sometimes he seems to resent his power, like a tormented superhero in a Marvel comic. He has been given great powers – the power to hurry the greatest and terrify the rest, the power to force an error from any batsman who ever took guard, the power to blast out an entire team with the force of his nature.
He can work sporting miracles, but, like Bruce Banner, he is not happy about what the process does to himself. It is not always comfortable to turn into the Incredible Hulk: “Hulk is sick of words! Hulk will smash!” Sometimes it would be nicer to be the nice guy.
Meanwhile, in the same paper, Giles Smith dismisses Sky’s latest technological gimmick: Hot Spot.
In the absence of big controversies, Hot Spot was used mostly to demonstrate that Kevin Pietersen had again found “the meat of the bat” – a conclusion that most of us were able to reach in advance using nothing more high-tech than the evidence of our eyes as the ball once more headed for the boundary.
More significantly, though, Pietersen also appeared to become involved in an extended and highly colourful conversation – about cricket and other related matters, we feel sure – with Chris Gayle at slip.
And here again, the technology let us down. The microphones in the middle were turned down and we were left with the frustratingly incomplete account of the exchanges supplied by our lip-reading.
Posted on 05/22/2007 in West Indies cricket
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Fun in the Compton Stand
© caribbeancricket.com
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| On caribbeancricket.com, Michelle McDonald leaves the confines of the media centre – “cocooned in that uninspiring press box high above the ground, far removed from any noise except the hushed tones of voices. It took me back to my post-graduate UK university days spent in the Library. Dull and dreary” – to join some of the West Indies supporters in the Compton Stand during the Lord’s Test.
Those seated around … included Nevisians, Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Barbadians, Haitians, and Guyanese. Allegiance to the West Indies team had to be pledged by anyone wanting to sit in that area, who did not appear to be West Indian. There were two England supporters of Asian descent seated in the front row. They were "allowed" to stay because they said they were enjoying the banter. They were also "allowed" to cheer, without harassment, when wicket after wicket fell for Monty Panesar.
Then enters the 'Big Man' himself, Ambassador Courtney Walsh. It was Bobby's chance to show off that one so great had come especially to see his group. Turning to the England supporters, Bobby quipped "You see? Michael Vaughan not coming up here to talk to you guys you know!" Of course, Walsh was bombarded by autograph seekers from neighbouring sections. Bobby facilitated the process until he felt that Walsh had signed enough. "I'm his agent. Sign off," then acquiesced to allow only females to get autographs.
Posted on 05/22/2007 in English cricket
Giles Smith, writing in The Times, on the Pietersen - Gayle exchange in the first Test at Lord's and how technology, including the newly launched Hot Spot, has let us down.
In the absence of big controversies, Hot Spot was used mostly to demonstrate that Kevin Pietersen had again found “the meat of the bat” – a conclusion that most of us were able to reach in advance using nothing more high-tech than the evidence of our eyes as the ball once more headed for the boundary.
More significantly, though, Pietersen also appeared to become involved in an extended and highly colourful conversation – about cricket and other related matters, we feel sure – with Chris Gayle at slip.
And here again, the technology let us down. The microphones in the middle were turned down and we were left with the frustratingly incomplete account of the exchanges supplied by our lip-reading
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May 21, 2007
Posted on 05/21/2007 in Indian Cricket
Sandeep Patil was one of the first names television channels put out as the one who could take over after Greg Chappell resigned as India's coach. However, his name has not been talked about among the candidates since. Clayton Murzello spoke to him in the Mid-Day.
Patil became India's coach in 1996. His term lasted six months. A few weeks ago, a board official said Patil was replaced by Madan Lal because of a player revolt. “I am in touch with many players in the Indian team," said Patil. "They call me and I call them. I don’t make calls to congratulate them on their centuries and five-wicket hauls. I call them when they are down.
Posted on 05/21/2007 in English cricket
Martin Johnson in The Daily Telegraph has a few words to say about the habit of wicketkeepers, especially those from England, who seem to enthuse about every delivery sent down, however dreadful.
There was an occasion on Saturday when Harmison bowled two consecutive deliveries, one down the offside, and one down leg, that were fully three cricket pitches apart. The only bonus in all this being that Matt Prior, England's new wicketkeeper, was unable to shout "bowled Harmy!" while hurling himself sideways with the same velocity of a man being shot from a circus cannon
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There is something about England wicketkeepers which apparently compels them to shout: "well bowled!" to six deliveries in every over, even if the ball is flying back over the bowler's head en route to the 12th row of the Compton Stand.
It is less irritating watching at the ground than it is on television, where the stump microphones pick up every syllable. It's passed off as a noble vehicle for keeping the fielding side on its toes, but it's actually rather puerile. Had Prior been keeping wicket when Harmison's first ball in Australia last winter flew straight to Andrew Flintoff at second slip, we'd have been treated to a cry of "well caught Freddie!".
May 20, 2007
Posted on 05/20/2007 in English cricket
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Steve Harmison: still off the pace
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Graham Gooch used to say that he'd bat for an hour against a West Indian pace attack, think he'd done jolly well, and then look up at the scoreboard to see that he was five not out, writes Martin Johnson in The Age.
Against the current crop of West Indian fast bowlers, however, England's batsmen are able to wander down for a mid-pitch conference, and discuss, with reasonable confidence, their evening dinner plans. It was never something Gooch and Gatting would have talked about, on the basis that there was more than a decent chance that their dining arrangements would have been confined to sipping soup through a straw from adjoining hospital beds.
It's not just the West Indian fast bowlers who are struggling, though. Mike Atherton writes in The Sunday Telegraph that Steve Harmison is still off the pace.
There was never any faulting the effort, but as the shadows lengthened over Lord's, and Harmison's second new ball spell became increasingly ragged (4-0-29-0 with two big wides), it was clear that the problems from the winter had not gone away. It was painful to watch because Harmison was clearly trying his guts out.
In the same paper, Atherton also says that the injured Michael Vaughan seems intrusive and will have a lot to prove if he is fit to play the second Test against West Indies at Headingley.
"Matt Prior's hundred on debut had implications beyond Test cricket," says Scyld Berry in The Sunday Telegraph. "It was such a wonderful example of controlled aggression that he has to be given an extended run as England's opening batsman and wicketkeeper in the one-day team, spelling the end for Michael Vaughan and Paul Nixon."
"The fightback by the batsmen was a commendable effort given the constraints that faced the West Indies, the first even before the tour began, says Tony Cozier in The Trindad Express. "The reasons for accepting an itinerary that featured a solitary match before the first Test, reduced from three days to less than one by the weather, and one other between the second and third Tests are unknown. But they created a blatant disadvantage."
Tony Becca, in the Jamaica Gleaner, says that West Indies are sorely missing a spinner in England and feels that the dearth of spin options in the West Indies is because they are not encouraged.
Posted on 05/20/2007 in English cricket
John Buchanan, the obsessively analytical coach who masterminded Australia's repossession of the Ashes last winter, believes too many substandard players in the county game and too much cricket are holding back England, writes Jon Henderson in The Observer.
May 19, 2007
Posted on 05/19/2007 in Australian cricket
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Jim Murphy, a 73-year-old cricketer
© Michael Clayton-Jones / The Age
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They breed them tough in Australia. The Age report on Jim Murphy, a 73-year-old still playing competitive cricket. Further still, he is the baby of his side: the Australian Over-70s.
The Australian Over 70s had an average age of 73 years 213 days, and the days mattered. The oldest was 83, the next oldest 79. The latter was Brendan Lyons, son of former prime minister Joe Lyons. All, mindful of ring-ins, had birth certificates with them.
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Murphy says the match was not competitive, but it was rugged, as only cricket in Australia can be. One senator — Murphy chose to forget his name — refused to walk when obviously out. Another reacted huffily when given out leg before wicket.
"He was acting more like a Roman senator than an Australian senator," Murphy says.
Over-70s cricket grew out of over-60s cricket and began with a single match in Melbourne four years ago, featuring one 81-year-old and the only registered over-60 woman player in Australia.
Now teams from Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and South Australia play an annual carnival, New Zealand is about to join and dates have been fixed for Melbourne and the Gold Coast.
Posted on 05/19/2007 in English cricket
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You never know who you might meet at Lord's
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There's a terrific piece from Brian Viner in The Independent all about Lord's and what makes it so unique: less about the cricket, more about the people:
Lord's on the opening day of a Test series; all human life is there. On Thursday I met a Biafran barman who knows nothing about cricket, and Michael Holding, who knows plenty. At various junctures I talked about pit closures with the MP for Barnsley East and Mexborough, about the delights of Bath with a merchant banker, about bad light with Dickie Bird ("it's these foreign umpires, y'see. If they come off for light like this they'll never play in England"), and about Jose Mourinho's dog with just about everyone. The joke in the Mound Stand was that Mourinho had sprung a surprise by having a Yorkshire terrier in the first place; we all agreed that he ought to have an expensive foreign import.
Amid all this, I actually found time to watch some cricket. But watching the cricket is a secondary pastime at a Lord's Test; nattering, quaffing and ambling is what it's mainly about. The quality of the nattering is, of course, directly influenced by the amount of quaffing.
Posted on 05/19/2007 in English cricket
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Prior the shin ravager
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With Matt Prior making a hundred on his Test debut, the headline writers in this morning’s papers have been enjoying themselves. “Prior appointment”, “England shine with no Prior warning” and “Put out the welcome Matt” were among the better ones. The Times went for a more sober “Uninhibited Prior proves pick of England’s four centurions”.
In The Daily Telegraph Simon Hughes talks of his previous with Prior.
Playing a charity match to launch a new ground a few years ago, I experienced Prior's power first hand. Still to cement a place in the Sussex first team, he hit an early exploratory delivery back over the bowler's head for a flat six and singed the cover fielder's hands with his driving. My best deliveries on a dodgy pitch were repelled hard and there was an imposing physicality about him at the wicket which was quite intimidating. He's not a batsman to offer throwdowns to in the nets. His drives would ravage your shins.
The one man who England are still desperate to replace is Alec Stewart, who retired in 2003, and it is he who has been helping Prior:
"Alec has been brilliant," Prior said. "The minute I got the phone call, Alec was the third person I called after my mum and dad.
"You get times when you feel a bit anxious, or need to ask a few questions, and it's been wonderful to have someone like him with all that experience at the other end of the phone. He would say 'It'll be alright, just worry about your own game.' Two weeks ago he came down and we had a two-hour batting session."
In The Times Simon Barnes laments the continued decline of West Indies cricket:
And now – like the impending extinction of a fierce and terrible carnivore – there is a complex suite of reasons for decline, no one more important than any other. We are faced with a fierce and terrible question: can anything be done to save it? Save the West Indian Tiger! Let us recreate the habitat in which it thrives, nurture West Indian fast bowlers in captivity before releasing them into the wild, build reserves and national parks where batsmen can reach full maturity unmolested by the dangers of the modern world. Let us have an international appeal: the West Indian Tiger must not go extinct!
Not everyone goes to Lord's to watch the cricket, however. Writing in The Independent, Brian Viner tells of the joys of ambling, quaffing and nattering at one of the great social occasions in British sport. "The quality of the nattering is, of course, directly influenced by the amount of quaffing ..."
The amble around the Lord's perimeter is one of life's sporting pleasures, the contemporary equivalent of the Regency promenade, when gentlefolk took the air principally to see and be seen. During my Beau Brummell-style perambulation on Thursday, I spotted the England coach, Peter Moores, looking determined, a bishop looking solemn, Trevor Francis looking anxious, and Richie Benaud looking more than ever like a fastidious retired hairdresser
May 18, 2007
Posted on 05/18/2007 in English cricket
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Easy life?
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Alastair Cook’s slick hundred yesterday has prompted another rant from that guardian of fast bowlers’ clubs, Simon Hughes:
Added to that, left-handers seem to have a divine right to play and miss without ever getting a touch, and to get one out lbw is like passing through US immigration. Your attempt must meet stringent entry requirements.
Namely, 1: that the ball has pitched between wicket and wicket (ie not outside leg stump), 2: yet has moved back enough not to go on to miss them or go over the top, and 3: was delivered from close enough to the stumps to satisfy measly umpires who invariably think, 'He'll never get a left-hander lbw bowling from there'. When you appeal for one they smirk sadistically while keeping their index fingers firmly sheathed. At least they don't ask you to remove your shoes.
And in a typically erudite rant in The Daily Telegraph, Martin Johnson grumbles about the changing world of modern sport – cricket in particular.
It's definitely becoming more boring being a professional sportsman. Tiger Woods is out of bed and doing his press-ups before the milkman has set off on his round, snooker players are going to the gym, and there has even been the occasional sighting of a darts player sipping mineral water and wearing a shirt with less material than your average family camping tent. Cricket used to be the most unhealthy game of the lot. A fried breakfast, pot of tea and biscuits before play, a four-course lunch, jam scones in the afternoon and several pints of ale and a curry at night.
May 17, 2007
Posted on 05/17/2007 in West Indies cricket
Despite hosting the World Cup, West Indies cricket is struggling to fight off a decline. No longer is it the first-choice sport in the Caribbean where football shirts are as common as cricket shirts. In The Independent Angus Fraser tries to work out what has gone wrong.
Nobody with a genuine love for cricket will take any satisfaction from the current plight of the West Indian cricket team. There were aspects of the cricket they played in the mid-Eighties, when an attack containing four frighteningly fast bowlers was at its most brutal and unforgiving, that were unappealing, but cricket needs a strong and competitive West Indian side because no other team on the planet has the ability to thrill and entertain like they do.
Posted on 05/17/2007 in English cricket
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Peter Moores: Sunny days are here again?
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New series, new views. Anyone who loves cricket has been put through the wringer over the winter and it's time for England team to give our sporting public a lift, feels Geoffrey Boycott. And he firmly believes that new coach Peter Moores should be the man to put the smile back on everyone's faces.
Read on in The Telegraph.
In the same publication, Michael Henderson agrees that the first Test at Lord's represents a fresh start for England and Moores, but also feels that West Indies are in state of disarray. Miserable form, the loss of a legend, poor reputation, disharmony in the ranks, curfews, all have added to hit a side whose players have acquired a reputation as the most feckless bunch to wear the famous maroon caps. And the sad fact is, for the first time since West Indies came here in 1928 on their inaugural tour of this country, they bring no great player with them.
Click here to read more.
And in The Guardian, Steve James talks to Durham coach Geoff Cook about how Steve Harmison has rediscovered his fire after a post-Ashes break.
May 16, 2007
Posted on 05/16/2007 in Bangladesh cricket
Akram Khan was the the first Bangladesh captain to taste victory in ODIs. He is set to take on the role of a national selector soon. In this interview with BanglaCricket editor Khondaker Mirazur Rahman, he talks about his vision about Bangladesh Cricket, selection policy and domestic cricket.
Posted on 05/16/2007 in Australian cricket
Greg Baum, writing in The Age, argues that leaving aside the political situation, Australia’s players will enjoy the extra rest they will receive now the Zimbabwe tour has been called off.
In fact, from September this year, the Australian team will have only three weeks' break until March 2009. Soon afterwards, it will begin another 12 months of continuous cricket. It will be the clockwork team, playing in perpetuity.
Few think that this more is better. It means Australia will have to rush preparations for some series, for which it paid a price in England in 2005, as England paid here last summer. Captain Ricky Ponting said then it was the modern professional's lot to have to acclimatise quickly, but it is easy for him to say. To a mortal batsman, Taunton in May is not Brisbane in January, and no number of endorsements can make it so.
In the same paper, Baum speaks to John Buchanan about some of the tactics he used in his time as Australia’s coach.
May 15, 2007
Posted on 05/15/2007 in English cricket
Former Kent captain David Fulton, writing in The Times, argues that the counties are failing the country when it comes to Kolpak players.
Kolpaks are signed because they are relatively cheap and counties know they will be able to do a job. They are plucked off the shelf without the need for years of investment. “So what if they come with a “made in South Africa or Australia” tag, they’re eligible to play and there’s nothing anyone can do about it,” seems to be the attitude, although county spokesmen will dress it up differently.
Posted on 05/15/2007 in Australian cricket
Two senior journalists at The Australian offer very different opinions on the cancellation of Australia’s tour to Zimbabwe. Malcolm Conn argues that the ban was right but should not be extended to games at a neutral venue.
The central issue is that cricket in Zimbabwe needs nurturing in the hope that when the ageing Mugabe is gone, the country and its cricket will begin to recover. International cricket is too small a pool to simply cut teams adrift.
Patrick Smith, however, suggests Australia should not play Zimbabwe anywhere.
It is transparent that neither Sutherland nor Speed could figure out that Australia was not touring Zimbabwe because the nation will not validate and give succour to a murderer. This is undeniable. Because if they had the slightest idea that's why Howard stepped in then Sutherland and Speed would not have suggested playing Zimbabwe on neutral territory. That is truly an ignorant and irresponsible proposal.
After Howard gave both Cricket Australia and the ICC a dignified exit plan, both men went and bounced him by suggesting the tour goes on somewhere, anywhere, but in Zimbabwe. How absurd. If we are going to boycott playing Zimbabwe in protest at Mugabe's regime then we boycott full stop. Harare, Johannesburg, Cape Town. Anywhere.
May 13, 2007
Posted on 05/13/2007 in English cricket
Andy Flower left some of his scouting notes behind at The Oval after he'd spent time watching Surrey take on Warwickshire. Charlierandallcricket.com reports that they were found by a cleaner although Surrey haven't confirmed the story. He was probably watching the performances of Tim Ambrose and Jon Batty, but with England naming Matt Prior as their wicketkeeper it's unlikely Flower's musings would have said too much of interest.
Posted on 05/13/2007 in English cricket
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The first Test against West Indies is the start of a hectic period for Peter Moores
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The build-up to the opening Test of the summer at Lord's is well under way with England's squad announced. The players meet up on Monday and it will mark Peter Moores' first Test match build-up as coach. In The Sunday Telegraph Scyld Berry says he has all the right qualities to be successful.
Moores wore a white ECB shirt and black shoes which had been polished, but blacking had not been applied to that front part of the sole which scrapes the ground. The unpretentiousness, if that's what it is, continues in his choice of location: he lives in a Leicestershire village and has no plan to move his wife and children to brighter lights near the capital.
In the same paper, Steve James takes a look at Andy Flower, who has joined Moores' back room staff.
We all know now about his impressive work with the National Academy over the past two winters and his passing of the ECB's much-vaunted level four qualification, but what has slipped under the radar is that Flower has actually been coaching for the best part of 20 years.
In a well-timed interview, given his call-up to the Test squad, The Guardian speak to Matt Prior about his ambitions as an international cricketer.
So how did Prior feel when he heard that his guru had been appointed England coach? 'I was very pleased, I've known Mooresy for a long time - I honestly believe that he's a fantastic coach and I think he'll get the best out of a bunch of very good England cricketers. He's a great motivator and one of his strengths is keeping it all very simple, which at times can be quite tricky in cricket.'
And in a fascinating article, Kevin Mitchell explores the chances of more and more overseas players coming into the England team.
The narrow, knee-jerk view is that these obviously good cricketers are using the system solely to earn a better living in this country than they can in their own. The more considered opinion might be that they are entitled to do so. The British spent centuries colonising the rest of the world; the rest of the world, liberated by prosperity and opportunity, sees little wrong in repaying the favour. Is this not the way capitalism was meant to work, supply following demand?
Posted on 05/13/2007 in Zimbabwe cricket
While the Australian government has already delivered its final verdict on the tour of Zimbabwe, Dean Jones argues against it, stating that Australia have a moral responsibility by touring and inspiring youngsters to take up the game, rather than go back to a life of crime.
When many of Australia's top cricketers took the blood money and went on the rebel tour of South Africa, Zimbabwe helped provide experience for our next generation to develop quickly. I was one of them.
It is worth remembering that Jones, who commentated on the previous Australia tour of Zimbabwe in 2004, said at the time: "I'm just there to watch the cricket and I don't give a rat's arse what he [Mugabe] does about his country."
Read the full piece in the Herald Sun.
May 12, 2007
Posted on 05/12/2007 in English cricket
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Pothas has a different sort of test next week
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Poor old Nic Pothas. He’s scored a barrel load of runs this season – 231 without being dismissed – prompting his Hampshire captain, Shane Warne, to demand that he make his England debut in the first Test at Lord’s on Thursday. He will have to wait a little while longer, as the Daily Telegraph finds out:
A Greek passport holder who was born in South Africa, Pothas has almost come to the end of his four-year qualification period.
Pothas is due to sit his British citizenship exam on Monday - a written test followed by an interview. If all goes well, he could get the green light that same day, which would then make him available for selection for the first Test. It could also take the Home Office up to five weeks to reach a decision.
[..]
Now it seems that somebody else - probably either Paul Nixon or Matt Prior - will get the opportunity. If that person does well, it could be a while before England come knocking again.
And on the same wicketkeeping line, Christopher Martin-Jenkins assesses England’s options in The Times. With Pothas now unavailable (“technically eligible…a South African who has played for South Africa A, so he should and will be discounted”) the two leading contenders are Paul Nixon – who showed great courage in the World Cup – and Matt Prior. It is Sussex’s Prior who Martin-Jenkins feels is most suited to Test cricket to his superior career average of 38.
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Impressive form so early in the season should not act as a get-out for Harmison, argues Angus Fraser
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In the same paper, Patrick Kidd hears Clive Lloyd cast a concerned view over West Indies’ poor fitness and fielding – two factors which made the sides of the 1970s and 80s such a dominant force.
Clive Lloyd said that the work ethic that made the teams of the 1970s and 1980s world-beaters was missing, in part because so few West Indians play regularly in England. “County cricket made us fitter,” Lloyd, who played for Lancashire from 1968-86, said. “We could bat several times a week in alien conditions. We enjoyed training. I’m not sure these players are brought up in the same tradition. You need to be fit to bowl four or five spells in a day. Compared with the likes of Joel Garner and Colin Croft, these guys are midgets.
Meanwhile in the Independent Angus Fraser believes Steve Harmison should not be picked for the first two Tests of England’s summer – in spite of the early season form he has shown.
Harmison should not be written off as an England bowler. Far from it - he has too much to offer. But he should not be picked for the first two Tests of the summer. Indiscipline, both on and off the field, has crept into the England side and, tomorrow, Vaughan and Moores have the chance to show that they are not prepared to tolerate such behaviour. But will they use Harmison as the vehicle to make such a statement? It is unlikely. An arm is more likely to be placed around his shoulder and a few sympathetic words whispered in his ear. Yet would a player of lesser ability be treated in the same way? Such actions will set a dangerous precedent.
May 11, 2007
Posted on 05/11/2007 in Zimbabwe cricket
The Zimbabwe Independent, an almost lone voice in a state-controlled media, has warned that Robert Mugabe would seize on the visit of the Australian side for propaganda purposes. It warned about the kind of story that would follow:
"Blair says Zimbabwe is a pariah state and everything has collapsed, but even the world cricket champions have enjoyed our hospitality. Go and tell Mr Howard back home that there is no war in Zimbabwe and the people are as happy and friendly as ever."
But it went on to say that a boycott would do nothing to harm Mugabe:
Anyone who believes Mugabe would shed a tear if Australia were to call off their scheduled tour of Zimbabwe might as well believe the veteran leader will spend the remainder of his old life in a monastery. If Mugabe has defied international pressure directed at his person for the past seven years, there is no reason to believe that cricket sanctions would make a dent on his conscience.
Whatever propaganda Mugabe will spin should Ricky Ponting and his men come, the word already knows the truth and the lies will only be as good as that — lies. We hope Australia will make a sporting decision instead of a political one. Zimbabwe’s young and inexperienced cricketers need Australia more than Mugabe does. The young players have a future and Mugabe doesn’t have.
Posted on 05/11/2007 in Australian cricket
The fact that Australia are even considering sending their cricketers to Zimbabwe is inconceivable, according to Peter Roebuck, writing in The Age.
A hundred statistics could be produced to confirm the horrors Mugabe has unleashed upon his people. One suffices. Life expectancy among males has fallen to 36. AIDS and starvation by Government decree have taken a terrible toll, and hospitals lacking bandages and medicines are powerless to help.
Sporting boycotts have but a small part to play in the face of knavery on this scale. Mugabe and his thugs don't care whether Australia plays cricket in their country in September. Mugabe is an adroit politician capable of turning anything to advantage, including hunger, bankruptcy, mass murder and assassination. Nor must sport allow itself to be used as a substitute for substantive action.
In The Courier-Mail, John Coomber examines the four possible outcomes of the current debate: the tour goes ahead; the Australian government bans the team from going; Cricket Australia gives in and cancels the trip; or the series is called off because the safety of the players cannot be guaranteed.
May 10, 2007
Posted on 05/10/2007 in English cricket
Yorkshire's promising legspinner, Adil Rashid has received praise from the master himself, Shane Warne, in The Times.
He’s only 19 [Rashid], but he’s got something about him. He possesses all the little tricks and toys a good wrist spinner needs – a wrong ’un, a top-spinner and a slider – and he can bat as well as field pretty well. It’s now a matter of everyone not getting too excited, of letting him experience more first-class cricket and developing.
Posted on 05/10/2007 in Australian cricket
Anthony Abrahams, the former Australian rugby union player who led a seven-player boycott of matches in southern Africa in 1971, has added his voice to the Zimbabwe debate. Abrahams told The Australian a precedent had been set when Don Bradman cancelled South Africa’s cricket tour in 1971.
"I spoke with three [of the six other players] and we all think this is a harder issue than South Africa because there's no blanket exclusion of players from the Zimbabwe cricket team because of race or colour or belief," Mr Abrahams said. "It opens a Pandora's box because of the question of who else don't you play against because of their political regimes."
Malcolm Conn, blogging for the same paper, argues that the Australian government should back up its rhetoric with a formal ban.
The Age reports that cricket is now the most popular sport in Australia, overtaking swimming for the first time since Sweeney sports surveys began 21 years ago.
May 9, 2007
Posted on 05/09/2007 in Offbeat
Stop press: an Australian has come up with an innovative way to help a batsman. No, it’s got nothing to do with Adam Gilchrist and his controversial squash ball and everything to do with sweet spots. Bigger is better, so they say, and the developers in question certainly believe this is the case, lovingly creating a huge sweet spot on their Smart Cricket Bat.
And there’s more to tickle your fancy – “Its innovative handle is equipped with electro-mechanical sensors and a vibration-absorbing synthetic material which converts shockwaves into heat and dampens vibration” - according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.
Posted on 05/09/2007 in Bangladesh cricket
"After his retirement from International cricket, Khaled Mahmud briefly worked as the Manager of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team. Currently, he is working as the Team Operations Manager of the Bangladesh National Cricket Academy in a bid to groom young players for future Bangladesh teams. In his interview with BanglaCricket editor Khondaker Mirazur Rahman, he expressed his vision about the Bangladesh National Cricket Academy, Bangladesh cricket and India’s tour of Bangladesh."
Posted on 05/09/2007 in New Zealand cricket
Chris Rattue profiles Justin Vaughan, the newly appointed chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, in The New Zealand Herald.
International cricketer. Successful double Shell Trophy winning Auckland captain. Well travelled academic and businessman. Why not NZC chief executive then, for Dr Vaughan?
Yet despite being a member of the NZC board, Vaughan didn't give the job a moment's thought after Snedden rang to say he was stepping down.
Posted on 05/09/2007 in World Cup 2007
The World Cup might be over but the controversy continues. Malcolm Conn, writing in The Australian, takes aim at Pakistan for not only reinstating Mohammad Asif but installing him as vice-captain, and Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan for questioning Adam Gilchrist’s use of a squash ball in his batting glove.
Little more than a week after a tragic and widely condemned World Cup ended in darkness, two countries from the Indian subcontinent have further diminished the game. As if the ICC hasn't enough to deal with given the Zimbabwe crisis, which is set to engulf Australia, and the fallout from the World Cup, Sri Lanka claims it may refer the squash ball to the game's governing body during its annual meeting next month. Of far greater concern is Pakistan's decision to once again ignore the drug cheating culture of its fast bowlers by appointing Asif to a leadership role.
May 8, 2007
Posted on 05/08/2007 in Australian cricket
The Australians played every other team off the park in the recently concluded World Cup but when it came to celebrating their third win in a row, they were apparently muscled off the ground by police officials. According to The Sydney Morning Herald , the celebrations turned sour when captain Ricky Ponting was allegedly 'shouldered' by a Barbados police officer for not leading his men off the Kensington Oval. It took an intervention by Andrew Symonds and |
