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July 27, 2007
Posted on 07/27/2007 in Pakistan in England
While one leggie occupies England's thoughts, another, very different one has been rampaging around the county circuit over the last two years. Mushtaq Ahmed hasn't taken as many Test wickets as a Warne or Kumble, but his career has been just as intriguing, if not more, than either. Brian Viner, in The Independent, chats to the little 'un.
And what guidance has he in turn given Warne? He grins. Under the severe, grey-streaked beard, the 37-year-old still has an appealingly cherubic face. "He doesn't need my tips, although in 1993 when he was touring for the first time in England and I was playing for Somerset, [the Australian wicketkeeper] Ian Healy asked me to have a chat with Warney, to advise him how to bowl in English conditions. I said to him that in the early summer in England the wickets are slow, so you have to bowl quicker, with less spin but more pace, getting people out with pace not variation." A chuckle.
November 27, 2006
Posted on 11/27/2006 in Television
Sky Sports is generally reckoned to have done a decent job replacing Channel 4 in covering the cricket in England in 2006. But, writes Peter Wilby in The Observer, when the occasion demanded expertise, their commentary team was found wanting.
The incident in question came at The Oval in August when Pakistan were accused of ball tampering and then refused to resume after tea, eventually forfeiting the match. Wilby was unimpressed with Sky’s main men:
They proved themselves utterly inadequate. They lacked even one person, a Benaud, an Arlott, even a Christopher Martin-Jenkins, who could bring journalistic qualities - an inquiring mind, a hunger for information, a desire to explain - to the occasion. They could tell us next to nothing about what was happening behind the closed dressing-room doors. More seriously, they failed to give the events any wider context.
Continue reading "The day the sky fell in"
October 2, 2006
Posted on 10/02/2006 in ICC
The ICC has come under fire at the weekend for its handling of the row that followed the Oval Test.
The weekend newspapers were almost universally critical of the way the whole episode was dealt with, and while there was not much sympathy for Darrell Hair’s on-field actions, there was concern about the way the ICC has treated him.
Leading the assault was Michael Atherton in The Sunday Telegraph. he wrote that the affair:
Showed the ICC at their worst: prevaricating, in that a judgment which should have been handed out on the fourth evening of the game was allowed to fester for a month; callous, when it revealed confidential e-mails from an employee; and ultimately fudging a verdict so as not to upset the key players in this very political game – the Asian bloc.
When the big issue arose, the ICC official froze. Woe-betide anyone who walks out to bat with a logo half an inch too big, mind you. Moreover, shortly after the ICC announced that Hair had been withdrawn from the Champions Trophy because of security concerns, India, the host country, flatly contradicted the game's chiefs. Who is being open and honest?
Continue reading " ICC ... the real villains"
September 29, 2006
Posted on 09/29/2006 in Pakistan cricket
In the aftermath of the Code of Conduct hearing at The Oval, the media has gone into overdrive. While the decision came too late for the Australian papers, and most in Asia took agency reports, in the UK, there was no shortage of comment.
In The Independent, Angus Fraser reveals that he has actually seen the ball at the heart of the whole row:
The state of the ball surprised me. It was protected in bubble wrap and treated as though it was part of a murder investigation. My first impression was that there was not a great deal wrong with it. I expected there to be more. This was not a ball that was about to reverse swing - the phenomenon created by the type of ball-tampering the Pakistan side had been accused of - extravagantly. The seam and quarter seam were in as good a condition as you would expect from a ball that was 56 overs old. They had definitely not been tampered with. There was a contrast between the two sides of the ball, as there always is. This is because one side has sweat and spit put on to it and is polished, while the other is left alone. The darker side is the one that has been polished and it generally looks tidier, while the other side always appears rougher.
Continue reading "'The state of the ball surprised me'"
September 28, 2006
Posted on 09/28/2006 in Pakistan cricket
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Ranjan Madugalle and David Pannick QC prepare for the hearing yesterday
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| Although the ICC Code of Conduct hearing was conducted behind locked doors at The Oval, that has not stopped a couple of reports appearing offering insights into what happened.
In The Daily Telegraph, Simon Briggs claims that the Pakistan Cricket Board’s legal team are ahead on points:
In the course of the hearing, it became clear that Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove — the umpires at the centre of last month's ball-tampering storm — had not fully followed protocol during the emotional and chaotic afternoon of Aug 20. Insiders say this has weakened their case substantially.
Continue reading " Lawyers put umpires to the test"
September 27, 2006
Posted on 09/27/2006 in Pakistan in England
As the cricket world’s attention heads back to The Oval – and not even with the badly-scheduled 2004 Champions Trophy was the old ground in the headlines so late in the year – the speculation and rumour surrounding events five weeks ago continues to keep the media busy.
Today, a report by Christopher Martin-Jenkins in The Times claims that Inzamam did not act on his own in refusing to resume play after tea but was persuaded by others.
The refusal to take the field may not have been his idea but that of Waqar Younis, the touring team’s bowling coach, or one of the other senior figures in or around the Pakistan dressing-room at the time, The source said that Waqar, who was suspended and fined in 2000 when found guilty of changing the condition of the ball by a referee in Colombo, took Inzamam into the lavatory for a secret discussion at the start of the tea interval, from which point the situation spiralled out of control.
Continue reading "ICC facing recipe for anarchy"
September 24, 2006
Posted on 09/24/2006 in Pakistan in England
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It's verdict time for Darrell Hair on September 27
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| Michael Atherton, the former England captain, wonders if anyone really cares 'whether a cricket ball was tampered with and whether one man brought the game into disrepute'. Looking ahead to the hearing on the Oval controversy, he reckons that all the parties involved will be pleased with the verdict.
Given the lack of television evidence, and the absence of any absolute condemnation from the expert witnesses, Inzamam will not be charged with ball tampering. In order for the ICC to save face, however, he will be charged with bringing the game into disrepute and so the blame for the cancellation will be laid firmly at his door. A small rap on the knuckles, maybe a fine and a small suspension, will ensue.
Read the full piece in The Telegraph.
September 12, 2006
Posted on 09/12/2006 in Pakistan in England
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Inzamam-ul-Haq: an awesome presence at the crease
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Inzamam-ul-Haq didn’t have a happy time on Pakistan’s tour to England, but Guardian’s Frank Keating insists that Inzamam provided him with the “most rewarding purr of content all summer”.
Watching with intense pleasure his two cameo masterclasses at Lord's in July I was smitten by a rare and cherished eureka moment which has not gone away. As the burly, noble fellow toyed with England's perspiring bowlers in the sun, I half closed my eyes and, of a sudden, the revelation overwhelmed me - in form, style, bearing and ingrained majesty, Inzy must be the nearest thing I'd ever seen to witnessing WG Grace at the wicket. The massiveness was all, and the control. In my reverie, it really could have been "the Champion" down there.
September 11, 2006
Posted on 09/11/2006 in Pakistan in England
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'I think the selectors have a fair idea what sort of captain I am, and likewise with Fred [Flintoff]' - Strauss chooses his words before the big day
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With England's Ashes squad and Champions Trophy squad to be announced on September 12, Andrew Strauss can only hope that the selectors consider England's recent Test victories over Pakistan and not the forgettable one against Sri Lanka. Read the Guardian for more
Two months ago, assuming his return to full fitness, a Flintoff-led England in Australia looked inevitable. But Strauss' candidature has gained momentum as his calm and authoritative leadership has guided England to a victory against Pakistan in the Test series and a drawn NatWest Series that had seemed beyond them. The decision, to be announced tomorrow, remains too close to call.
September 7, 2006
Posted on 09/07/2006 in Pakistan in England
Mike Selvey applauds Darren Gough's determination to win back his England place, if not his performances once there.
Not long after the selectors had announced their provisional squad for the current one-day internationals, a message was passed to me, apparently from The Dazzler. "Tell Selvey," it went "that he can stick it up his arse."
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'Trescothick deserves our compassion' - Ian Botham
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The England selectors have to decide whether to trust medical advice claiming Marcus Trescothick will recover sufficiently to withstand the Ashes, says Christopher Martin-Jenkins in The Times.
His wife Hayley’s post-natal depression after the birth of their daughter, Ellie, in April 2005 is thought to have contributed to his sudden inability to cope with the strain of being away from home last winter, after a constant succession of high-profile appearances for England at home and away.
Richard Hobson feels that the accident to Trescothick's father-in-law could have been the turning point.
Last November he considered leaving the Pakistan tour when his father-in-law, John, suffered serious head injuries after falling off a ladder at home. Trescothick was put through the distressing experience of watching CCTV footage of the accident via his mobile phone. It is easy now to imagine that as a turning point.
Instead of pouring scorn on Trescothick's request to skip next month's Champions Trophy in India, he deserves our compassion, says Ian Botham in the Daily Mirror.
Let's face it: nobody will care about Trescothick skipping a superfluous one-day competition if England come home with the Ashes in the New Year. Surely that's what we all want - and if it takes a bit of leeway from the compassionate society for Tresco to join the party, let's give him the breathing space he needs and leave the cynicism for later.
September 6, 2006
Posted on 09/06/2006 in Pakistan in England
While the spectre of ball-tampering briefly resurfaced at The Rose Bowl, it was Sky Sports’ coverage which came in for criticism in the media.
The BBC’s veteran Pat Murphy accused Sky of having “power without responsibility" for the way they presented and commented on the footage of Shoaib Akhtar working on the ball.
And Derek Pringle in The Daily Telegraph was equally critical:
“In a mischievous piece of commentary, Sky failed to draw their own conclusions, leaving it for viewers to email in their thoughts. Nasser Hussain's trenchant thoughts after England's innings — that Shoaib, was "very silly to do it in the current climate" as it would be "all over the morning paper" — was ironic given Sky's instigative role.”
Continue reading "Shoaib and Sky under the spotlight"
August 30, 2006
Posted on 08/30/2006 in Pakistan in England
Derek Pringle, writing in the Daily Telegraph, believes that the first innings may point to ball suspicions.
One answer that has come to light, via the usual information creep, is that the ball Pakistan used in England's first innings displayed such obvious signs of tampering (much more than the ball the umpires eventually changed) that Hair, at least in his own mind, needed only slender evidence in the second innings to pounce.
... Asif's methods of polishing the ball, which he does with both hands on both thighs, though not at the same time. The mystery though is that a red stripe (the usual sign that a ball is being polished) appears only on his left thigh and not his right.
Hair’s career options seem to be widening, even if he is removed from the ICC’s elite panel. Alex Brown writes in the Sydney Morning Herald Hair could be appointed on the international panel, which is one step down, while Ivo Tennant says in The Times there is a chance of him being an assessor of first-class umpires in England.
August 27, 2006
Posted on 08/27/2006 in Pakistan in England
The current fuss is just another in a long line of controversies that had no lasting ill-effects on the game of cricket, writes Jon Henderson in the Observer.
One of the main reasons cricket is so wonderful is its crowded cast of crackpot characters and rich history of skulduggery, the latter being an inevitable consequence of the dopey old game's beautifully intricate construction.
The Dawn's Kamran Abbasi minces no words in his column:
Hair has completely crippled his case. Not just the trumped up ball-tampering charge against Pakistan which only seemed to rest on Hair's ‘honourable’ interpretation of the condition of the ball — his honour is now dust — but also Inzamam's disrepute charge which any reasonable lawyer should be able to argue was a consequence of Hair's unwillingness to communicate fairly with the Pakistan captain.
Mike Atherton is surprised at how a small drama has turned into such a big crisis. In time, people will look back in amazement at how one little pimple was allowed to grow and fester into a boil that finally burst at Friday's press conference, spreading puss all over the game.
Vic Marks wonders how Darrell Hair can possibly continue to officiate at the highest level of the game following his request for a secret pay-off.
The current laws governing action over suspected ball-tampering need to be redrawn to avoid the shambles that was the end of The Oval test match, argues Will Buckley.
"Whatever happens it is unlikely that Hair, 53, will stand in another international match. His relationships with Pakistan and Sri Lanka were already shot, and now he has shot himself in the foot," says an editorial in The Age.
Graham Halbish, the former Australian cricket chief, believes Hair's emails should not deter the ICC from thoroughly investigating the ball-tampering claims against Pakistan.
There's an Indian view as well. Writing in the Hindustan Times, Pradeep Magazine says Hair, who most in the sub-continent believe is prejudiced, has given them reasons to smile.
And, according to Chloe Saltau, Inzamam-ul-Haq was never a big hit among Australians.
One of his old adversaries, bowler Damien Fleming, believes there is hardly an Australian player who could say he knows Inzamam. He remembers dismissing him in a World Cup game at Headingley. "He was sort of looking for a bit of love. I yorked him, hit him on the toe, he ran, and then when he was about to get run out, he started limping. It was almost like, 'You guys shouldn't get me out because I'm hurt'," Fleming recalled. "Inzy is one of the better batsmen I ever bowled to, but as for his personality and emotions, I wouldn't have a clue."
Nirupama Subramanian, of The Hindu, tracks the Pakistani newspapers' strong reactions to Darrell Hair.
August 25, 2006
Posted on 08/25/2006 in Pakistan in England
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Harsha Bhogle: Inzamam is one of the game’s nice guys. He looks relaxed, at peace with the world, and is respected. Some of those are fine qualities for a leader but there are others too
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The Pakistan Cricket Board has much to answer for writes Asif Iqbal in The News.
In this entire controversy, the relationship that Darrell Hair enjoys with other functionaries of the ICC has been a revelation. The match referee Mike Proctor wanted to restart the match but could not prevail upon Hair to do so; the ICC chief executive, who plays a rather bigger role than his position as a paid executive of the ICC would perhaps merit, is also reported to have spoken to Hair, but to no avail. One would have thought that in terms of the hierarchy of the ICC, both the match referee and certainly the chief executive are above the umpire but Hair could flout both.
When the dust settles on this one, Pakistan will have to find another leader and leave Inzamam alone to charm the world with the quality of his batting, writes Harsha Bhogle in The Indian Express.
There can be no more resounding victory than honour questioned and vindicated. But Pakistan chose to sit out and I’m afraid that was a huge failure of management. They needed a calm, shrewd mind in the dressing room and they were let down. The captain has to bear the brunt for that, but so must the manager.
Continue reading "Pakistan will now need a new leader"
August 24, 2006
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Pakistan in England
Mihir Bose, writing in the Daily Telegraph, reports that Bob Woolmer is on the verge of resigning as Pakistan coach. He reveals further schisms in the Pakistan camp.
To add to the farce, 20,000 spectators at the Oval were looking on in bewilderment when the Pakistani dressing room door opened and out emerged Kamran Akmal, the wicketkeeper, without pads but with a copy of a newspaper, which he sat down and read on the balcony. Commentators have taken that as the Pakistan side showing disrespect to Hair, but I am told that is not the case. Inzamam did not even know Akmal was doing that. It was just a young player, who knew he had no part to play in Inzi's decision, deciding to leave an overheated dressing room and seek some peace on the balcony.
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Pakistan in England
With a bit of statesmanship, it should be possible to make it plain to Inzamam-ul-Haq that he acted foolishly and that standing on national dignity is no excuse for a cavalier disregard for cricket’s laws and rules, without exacerbating the crisis unnecessarily and without any loss of dignity or appearance of weakness on the ICC’s behalf, writes Christopher Martin Jenkins in The Times.
Mike Selvey, in The Guardian, shares Bob Woolmer's opinion on Law 42.3. That it's an ass.
Allow bowlers and fielders to scratch, rub, scuff and pick the ball to their hearts content but to do so mindful that this is the only ball they will get inside 80 overs until they get another new one to desecrate.
Read Andrew Miller's piece on the same subject on Cricinfo.
Posted on 08/24/2006 in Pakistan in England
Darrell Hair may not score a goodwill ambassador job in Pakistan anytime soon, but the Australian umpire has achieved something rare for cricket - front page news in the US.
August 23, 2006
Posted on 08/23/2006 in Pakistan in England
In The Daily Telegraph, Andrew Baker states that the reaction had the ball-tampering accusations been made against an English player would have been far less dramatic.
“Let us imagine that Sunday's alleged offence had been committed by an England player. This is not beyond the realms of possibility, as any Australian player from last summer's Ashes series might attest, and as the chortling former bowlers in the BBC's commentary box would confirm. Andrew Strauss would most likely have accepted the five-run penalty with a shrug and told his fielders to get on with it. Tony Blair would not have been contacted by mobile phone on his Caribbean holiday, images of Darrell Hair would not have burned on the streets of Stockwell, and ambassadors would have slept untroubled. Nobody, frankly, would have cared very much.”
Baker adds that the Pakistanis’ reaction is, nevertheless, understandable.
“It follows that for a Pakistani player to be accused of cheating, or condoning cheating, is not just a serious slur but a wearisomely familiar one. The response is passionate because it rejects the lazy lumping together of one people under one characteristic.”
In his article, Baker also refers to an editorial earlier this year in the Karachi-based News newspaper which is sure to ruffle many feathers. In it, broadcaster and foreign correspondent I Hassan, talking about a local festival, offers the following opinion:
"Regrettably, one has to say that our people cheat at every step in every walk of life. The concept of fair sport does not exist - be it getting a big contract or just a licence. Our people, unless vigilantly checked, will cheat. Even the fear of God does not prevent them from doing so."
Fazeer Mohammed believes that if the Pakistanis were really serious with all of the post-match comments about their country's honour being at stake, then they should not have returned to the field.
What is it about us former colonials that we feel compelled to measure ourselves by our one-time masters' yardstick of what constitutes civility and fair play? Giving up a Test match is as legitimate a protest as any other, especially if the degree of the perceived offence goes beyond issues of umpiring incompetence, or even bias. Those strident defenders of Victorian values, who will tut-tut and mutter disapprovingly about such behaviour being just not cricket, need to come to terms with the reality that this is only a game, and if it means being disrespected and insulted - as the Pakistanis claim - then it isn't a game worth playing.
For an outsider's account of the crisis, read Aakash Chopra's England diary in The Hindustan Times.
Even as I write, I am idly surfing the internet and hearing of mini-rallies and demonstrations around Pakistan in support of their beleaguered captain and team. I can see an outpouring of emotion on the British websites.
Posted on 08/23/2006 in Pakistan in England
To blame Hair for not having the perfect response to an unprecedented event or to play down the seriousness of Inzamam’s behaviour is fatuous, says Martin Samuel in The Times.
As one of the ten best umpires in the world, we presume that he knows the difference between balls weathered by play and one that has been altered artificially. Ian Botham, Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton and the many others queueing up to argue that something is only true if it is captured for action replay have lost sight of the primary issue. No incontrovertible proof is required beyond the belief of the umpire that cheating has taken place. Everything else is chatter .
Andrew Baker, writing in the Daily Telegraph, sees it as a clash of cultures.
Continue reading "Why Hair's actions may just be enough to save his sport"
August 22, 2006
Posted on 08/22/2006 in Pakistan in England
A lead editorial in The Age has slammed the conduct of Pakistan’s players in refusing to take to the field at The Oval on Sunday.
“No one is bigger than the game. Cricket if nothing else is a game built on rules, pages and pages of them. A player if feeling aggrieved about a ruling can sound off about it, but the game must go on. To withdraw from the contest is to abandon the principles of the game. It also achieves nothing in winning the contest against your opponent.”
The article goes on to slam remarks attributed to senior Pakistan officials that they would not play were Darrell Hair to be appointed to matches involving them in the future.
“Pakistan, in a burst of petulant indignation, said they would not play any more matches if Darrell Hair was the umpire. First, no team has the right, nor should it be able, to dictate who the ICC appoints to officiate a match. Pakistan say they have had "problems with Darrell Hair before". Last year Pakistan took umbrage at several Hair decisions, yet in 2003 Pakistan were the beneficiaries when decisions by the same man upset South Africa in a series against them. Pakistan are guilty of playing the man. Darrell Hair did not make up the rules, he just applied them as he saw right and proper to do (and we would argue this whatever his nationality).”
Posted on 08/22/2006 in Pakistan in England
Derek Pringle, the former England medium-pacer who's currently the chief cricket correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, says England could well have triggered the ball-tampering row. He writes that Duncan Fletcher, England's coach, had visited match referee Mike Procter before the start of Sunday's climactic play at The Oval. A spokesman for the England and Wales Cricket Board, James Avery, admitted Fletcher spoke with Procter before play but denied he had made a 'specific complaint about the state of the ball'. Yet sources close to the team have revealed that Fletcher did play agent provocateur, a role that probably influenced Darrell Hair's decision to pull Pakistan up for ball-tampering in the 56th over of England's second innings.
Continue reading "Did England trigger the ball row?"
August 21, 2006
Posted on 08/21/2006 in Pakistan in England
The decision of Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove to award England victory at The Oval has created a massive reaction.
Ted Corbett, writing in The Hindu, tries to track where it all began:
The whole affair began, according to tales sweeping the Oval ground, when an England and Wales Cricket Board official went to the umpires' dressing room in the morning and asked them to watch out for ball tampering by the Pakistan players.
Geoffrey Boycott, writing in The Daily Telegraph describes the events as “farcical and reflected little credit on the England and Wales Cricket Board or the International Cricket Council”.
The ICC must be blind or stupid not to have realised that there is history between Darrell Hair, the umpire who accused them of changing the nature of the ball, and Pakistan. There were mutterings after the Headingley Test that Pakistan didn't like Hair's attitude.
Continue reading "The Oval debacle"
August 20, 2006
Posted on 08/20/2006 in Pakistan in England
Mike Atherton, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, feels that there is only one consolation England can take from their insipid performance at The Oval. The fact that they've succumbed to the death-rubber syndrome.
August 19, 2006
Posted on 08/19/2006 in Pakistan in England
Even when they've been on the field in this match, England have remained mentally out to lunch. Quite what this means when it comes to choosing a captain for Australia remains to be seen, but England have been so flat here that it can't have done much to advance the case for Andrew Strauss, writes Martin Johnson in The Daily Telegraph.
Much more of this and the Australians will be downgrading their Ashes alert from critical to something a good deal less than severe. The commando camp they've set up in Queensland will have to be replaced by more traditional methods of preparing for the Poms. "Now then lads, we'll all meet up in the pub the day before the first Test, and drinking is strictly limited to 12 large tinnies per player."
Read Simon Barnes in The Times who says that England yesterday reminded him of the saddest, bravest, most pathetic sight in sport: that of the plucky British female figure skater who finishes a promising 23rd.
August 18, 2006
Posted on 08/18/2006 in Pakistan in England
Simon Barnes finds sporting values to the fore despite supposed tensions at The Oval:
It was Pakistan’s day and if the England supporters were disappointed, they didn’t seek to assault the opposition in revenge. And across the country, as people watched on television or listened to the radio, the match was enjoyed in a way that was - almost certainly - cheerful, enthusiastic, appreciative and utterly without fanaticism.
Posted on 08/18/2006 in Pakistan in England
The Daily Telegraph's Martin Johnson writes on Kevin Pietersen's dismissal at The Oval and casts a funny look at the rest of the happenings on the first day:
On a day when it was announced that Marston's Pedigree were the team's "official" beer, Pietersen's decision to dispense with any kind of initial reconnaisance made you wonder whether he'd also been appointed as the beer's official taster.
August 11, 2006
Posted on 08/11/2006 in Pakistan in England
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The genius of Monty
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Fletcher is a fellow who by habit will look on a glass as half-empty rather than half-full and, since Panesar's elevation to the England side, it is the spinner's shortcomings with bat and in the field, rather than potential with the ball, that have occupied the coach's attention.
A brilliant performance...in the past week appears to have swayed the hangdog coach towards the view that he might just have a genius on his hands.
But can Panesar play Warne's role in England's four-man attack for the Ashes? Read Mike Selvey's piece in The Guardian for more.
August 9, 2006
Posted on 08/09/2006 in Pakistan in England
There were many aspects to admire about England's victory over Pakistan at Headingley, but one of the most notable changes since earlier in the summer - especially the Lord's Test against Sri Lanka when they shelled nine catches - was the quality of the fielding. There were four run-outs (three from direct hits) and some fine catching. Steve James, in the Guardian, pinpoints this improvement as the key to England's series win.
England always want three wickets per Test courtesy of their fielding unit, so that group is in credit by one here; maybe two if you include Collingwood's stunning low catch at third slip to get rid of Umar Gul yesterday.
Simon Hughes takes a similar theme in The Daily Telegraph and says it helped to make up for the loss of Andrew Flintoff.
With England's attack being understrength, possessing a collection of fast, agile fielders with a deadly aim is the equivalent of having an extra bowler. Don't forget the catching either. Marcus Trescothick put in extra slip-catching practice yesterday morning, as usual wearing weightlifter mitts, and it was he who snaffled the first chance just before midday, a low catch off Matthew Hoggard which had taken an irritating time to materialise.
August 8, 2006
Posted on 08/08/2006 in Pakistan in England
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The Full Monty
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Following another superb performance from Monty Panesar, William Hill, the bookmarkers, have slashed his odds to win the BBC's annual Sports Personality of the Year Award:
Monty Panesar has been slashed from 5/1 to 7/2 favourite with William Hill to win the BBC TV Sports Personality of the Year Award after his latest three wicket haul as England dismissed Pakistan to win the Test Match. Hills also make comic/swimmer David Walliams 7/2 joint favourite and then offer Steven Gerrard at 9/2 third favourite for the Award, and also offer 8/1 Jenson Button; 10/1 Ricky Hatton; 12/1 Joe Calzaghe; Dean Macey; 16/1 Andy Murray; 20/1 Kevin Pietersen; Colin Montgomerie.
Andrew Flintoff won it in 2005 following his heroics in the Ashes. Never before have two cricketers won the award in successive years.
Posted on 08/08/2006 in Pakistan in England
It was inevitable that the rather comical dismissal of Inzamam, in which he tumbled over his stumps flicking off the bails with his arm, would appear as a video on the internet somewhere. And it has. Worth a look.
August 7, 2006
Posted on 08/07/2006 in Pakistan in England
Pakistan have to bat last and could yet be beaten themselves, but their resilience and skill, aided by badly mistaken England tactics, have set up an intriguing last two days, writes Christopher Martin-Jenkins in The Times.
Superbly though both [Younis and Yousuf] of them played, they were helped immeasurably by the dressing-room decision to abandon far too soon the old Headingley principle of bowling on a length around the line of off stump in sure and certain hope of eventual edges to normally positioned slips and gullies. The pitch, it is true, lost pace much more quickly than had seemed likely on Saturday, rather vindicating Inzamam’s judgment that the first day was the best for the fast bowlers. England, however, simply played into their opponents’ hands, first by trying to bounce them into submission, as to some extent they had on the bonier Old Trafford pitch, then by losing patience and attempting instead to bore them out.
Inzy is cricket's guilty pleasure; the ultimate schaudenfraude cricketer, says David Hopps in The Guardian.
Panesar beat an attempted sweep with a ball that not only spun back but seemed to give Inzy an electric shock. Then began the Inzy heptathlon. His first event was the shot putt as he lumbered round, virtually bent double, only for it to metamorphosise into the high jump as he tried to clear the stumps - a leap of 27 inches, nearly six feet below the world record - flicked off the bail with his glove and finished straddled and confused, as if looking for the landing mat.
August 6, 2006
Posted on 08/06/2006 in Pakistan in England
Are you a traditionalist or a moderniser?, asks Mike Atherton in The Sunday Telegraph. Do you believe a wicketkeeper is there to catch the ball, tidily and unobtrusively, or do you believe that he also has to score Test match centuries? Were you a Jack Russell or an Alec Stewart supporter? Your answers to these questions will depend on whether you believe Geraint Jones or Chris Read should walk out at the Gabba in three months' time.
While Read's selection was surprising to me in its timing - a Test match had just been won but the series not yet secured - it demonstrated absolutely where the selectors' priorities lie. By dropping Jones at a time when his keeping had improved immeasurably, the message is as clear to Read this time around as it was when he last felt the selectors' axe in the West Indies three years ago: runs are essential.
Marcus Trescothick had to abandon England's winter tour and is still looking for top form. But the man with the unlikely nickname tells Kevin Mitchell that it is just a question of time before he is back to his very best.
'You're never far away. You can just be one innings away from clicking back into form. That could be 30, then you're away. You might start with a hundred, who knows. It's a feeling, very much so with my game. I can feel when it's about to go. You start picking the ball up easily and early, your feet get in the right place, your head's still to watch it nicely, then you click. The concentration kicks in after that.'
August 5, 2006
Posted on 08/05/2006 in Pakistan in England
The general assumption after Monty Panesar's demolition job in the second Test at Old Trafford was that Headingley would be filled to the brim with local Asians eager to catch a glimpse of England's new hero. But, as Owen Slot reports in The Times, the influx has been nothing of the sort.
Like a certain village in Gaul with an Asterix against its name, the stands at Headingley Carnegie seem immune to any invasion. We may have had Pakistan in the field and a Monty and a Sajid in the England dressing-room, but out there in the crowd, multi-culturalism has yet to catch on
Posted on 08/05/2006 in Pakistan in England
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Chris Read made 38 in his first innings back in Test cricket
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Although Kevin Pietersen took the headlines on the opening day at Headingley, one of more interesting passages of play came during the final session after he had retired hurt with cramp. It brought in Chris Read for his first Test inning since 2004. He played a few handsome shots, but also showed his nerves and Simon Hughes, in the Daily Telegraph, says his 38 raised as many questions as it answered.
His attempts to convert himself into a serious runmaker have been admirable, but, on yesterday's evidence, Read is still a jaunty short story rather than a more substantial tome. It is seven years since he made his Test debut, and the memory of him being bowled bobbing under a Chris Cairns slower ball, which prompted the newspaper headline, 'You Silly Ducker' hangs around like a dark cloud and refuses to budge.
However, in the Guardian, Lawrence Booth says that Read's 38 suggests he has the ability to succeed in Test cricket.
If the tension was getting to him, he did not let it show too much after his account-opening Chinese cut. There was a nervy cut at Nazir but shortly afterwards Read went on tiptoes to time the same bowler through the covers. It was mischievously tempting to see something of Jones in the stroke. Then, when Danish Kaneria dropped short he rocked back and cut him for four more. He was on his way.
Read was helped in his innings by Pakistan's use of their opening batsmen - Salman Butt and Taufeeq Umar - for six overs of part-time spin and Geoff Boycott, also in the Daily Telegraph, says it was one of the worst periods of bowling he has watched.
Shortly after Pietersen went off, having done all the hard work, Pakistan lost the plot altogether.
It was almost as if they said, 'We've been unlucky with the umpiring, we can't get these guys out, so we will just sit back and wait for the new ball'. Their two opening batsmen bowled absolute rubbish. It wouldn't have been decent bowling at me in the back garden when I was nine.
August 3, 2006
Posted on 08/03/2006 in Pakistan in England
In selecting Chris Read ahead of Geraint Jones for tomorrow's third Test against Pakistan, England have given him his third, and probably final, chance to prove that he can become an international cricketer, writes Angus Fraser in The Independent.
The omission of Jones does not signify that his time with England has come to an end. Far from it. Jones is not the first England player to be given a timely kick up the backside by the selectors and he will not be the last.
Also read David Hopps's piece in The Guardian where he says Jones has not only handed over the wicketkeeping gloves to Read, but also the pressure.
Posted on 08/03/2006 in Pakistan in England
The tactic to practise batting against short-pitched bowling on a slab of marble is still a sound one and we shall continue to do so, writes Bob Woolmer in The Times.
It is a misconception that the best way to combat steep bounce is to get behind the line. One alternative method is to leave more balls outside off stump, and another, when attacking Harmison and others, is to play more “high shots” such as cutting over the slips, as John Edrich, Alan Knott and Tony Greig did on fast, bouncy surfaces in the 1970s, and hooking.
July 31, 2006
Posted on 07/31/2006 in Ashes
Martin Johnson, writing in The Daily Telegraph, says that England's win at Old Trafford was just what was needed to remind the Australians that, injuries permitting, this winter's Ashes might not be entirely one-sided:
"The Australians, in that endearingly smug way of theirs, have been so busy airbrushing history since last summer that half the population still think they hold the Ashes. Their opening batsman, Justin Langer, was recently floating the suggestion that his team had become so bored and complacent with constantly sticking it up the Poms that getting beaten was actually a brilliant idea."
Not content with only upsetting one country, Johnson then turns on Pakistan's batsmen, whose bravery he questions:
"Their coach's plan to get them ready for Harmison by pinging a cricket ball at a marble slab would have been better served by cutting a hole in the practice net in the general area of square leg in order to provide them with an escape route ...
"This is a team who congregate for five prayer meetings a day, and Harmison at full throttle on a bouncy pitch is certainly no impediment to acquiring religion."
July 30, 2006
Posted on 07/30/2006 in Pakistan in England
England’s quick-time win at Old Trafford has reignited interest in the game among the general public – well, those who pay to receive Sky TV – and also pushed cricket onto many back pages ahead of football for the first time in 2006.
Even though Steve Harmison grabbed 11 wickets and the Man-of-the-Match award, it was Monty Panesar who grabbed the media attention.
Vic Marks, in The Observer, wrote that at last Panesar had cast off the label of being something of a comedy figure:
“Panesar has dominated in a manner that has embarrassed some pundits. One or two had advocated an all-seam attack for England. In the first innings Panesar was Harmison's ally and patently the second most important member of Andrew Strauss's attack. Yesterday he was the main man.”
Huw Turberville in The Sunday Telegraph said that Panesar was now assured of Ashes selection:
“England coach Duncan Fletcher has never appeared to be fully convinced of Panesar's abilities, expressing concern at his lack of batting and fielding skills. But surely this performance will have persuaded him the 24-year-old warrants a place in England's starting line-up for their Ashes defence this winter, even if Ashley Giles regains fitness.”
David Gower in The Sunday Times agreed, but added that it would not be easy going Down Under:
“His big challenge will come in Australia this winter where the pressure on the entire England team will rise to new levels and where the home crowds will be quick to seize on any signs of weakness. By the look of it, he has the capacity to cope with them but he will have to be wary of an Australian batting force that will be intent on making life as hard as possible for him.”
Jon Culley in The Independent noted that if BBC Sport were scratching their heads for a nominee for the Sports Personality of the Year after a fairly bleak year elsewhere, they now have a clear contender. He added:
”As a display of attacking spin bowling, yesterday's performance by the 24-year-old Northamptonshire player was as good as has been witnessed from anyone in an England shirt in decades.”
July 28, 2006
Posted on 07/28/2006 in Pakistan in England
It was 50 years ago yesterday that a Test match started at Old Trafford that went down in history for the exploits of Jim Laker. What is forgotten these days is that but for Laker’s feat of taking 19 wickets, the match would be remembered for controversy over the pitch which the Australians bitterly complained was not fit for Test cricket. Half a century on, and little changes.
Yesterday, however, Steve Harmison blasted out Pakistan. While the pitch was poor, it was the fast bowling that grabbed the headlines.
Derek Pringle in The Daily Telegraph was blunt, arguing that “it was a gutless display by the visitors, with many of the later order backing away”.
But he also pointed out that while the pitch may not have been perfect, Harmison’s performance was, nevertheless, a great one.
“With his height and pace, Harmison can be a handful on most surfaces, but when given conditions that amplify his gifts he brings a fear factor that make batsmen do foolish things. Of his victims only Inzamam-ul-Haq was dismissed by a ball that did anything unexpected, in his case climbing sharply from a good length after hitting one of the many cracks pitting the surface of the pitch.”
In The Guardian, Mike Selvey was in no doubt that groundsman Peter Marron’s work was not good enough.
“The pitch did not quite play to order. It had promised pace, which it delivered, and ditto good carry. What should not have been evident yet was a nasty, if occasional, variation in bounce as the ball struck either side of the cracks, which, if the sun continues to bake the surface, will only get wider and more influential.”
Selvey was also critical of the Pakistan batsmen who, he wrote, “batted with questionable commitment and a negative mindset”.
In The Independent, Angus Fraser followed the same line:
“Harmison and England were aided by a fast, bouncy and slightly unpredictable pitch, and a woeful batting display from Pakistan. The venom of Harmison and the steep bounce he extracted from the helpful surface unsettled the tourists who showed minimal resistance.”
In Dawn, Kamran Abbasi pondered Inzamam’s decision to bat:
“Winning the toss turned into a nightmare for Inzamam-ul Haq. He is unlikely to see a quick end to the public debate about his decision to bat first on a hard, greenish track, under gloomy skies and a humid day. Forgive my meteorology but weren't those once known as ideal bowling conditions?”
He also had little time for the Pakistan batsmen:
“Most of these fair-weather youths have grown fat on the plunder of lifeless pitches. They have indeed pulled Pakistan out of some desperate situations but those rescue missions have been in conditions that have offered little for bowlers. Yesterday, a more testing examination questioned the quality of their defence. The same examination that is failed each time we tour Australia, and particularly at Perth. On this evidence we are no more ready.”
Posted on 07/28/2006 in Pakistan in England
Once upon a time, Shahid Mahmood might have cursed a scoreboard that showed Pakistan all out for 119, writes Richard Hobson in The Times . Yesterday, from high in the members’ area, he looked down with paternal approval. His allegiance is now firmly with England and Sajid, his son, had helped to dismiss one of the best batting teams in the world in less than two sessions.
The moment Panesar was tossed the ball yesterday, then, saw him under some pressure, says Jon Culley in The Independent. At 90 for 2, Pakistan had recovered from the latest failure of their top order. What is more, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, two parts of arguably the finest middle order in world cricket today, each looked well set. Yet Panesar was nerveless,
July 22, 2006
Posted on 07/22/2006 in Pakistan in England
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Flintoff might be spending a lot more time on the sidelines
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England are dreading the catastrophic news that Andrew Flintoff might be unfit for the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, or worse. Here's what the papers had to say.
Far from playing again this week, Flintoff must be fearing the possibility that an arthroscopy on the left ankle will now be advised to deal with the tiny fragments of bone or crystal shown by a scan on June 5, writes Christopher Martin-Jenkins in The Times. Any operation would mean a further six weeks of rehabilitation, leaving the possibility of only two four-day games in September before final decisions are taken about his fitness to captain England in the Ashes series.
Angus Fraser says, in The Independent that the Ashes should be Flintoff's priority. "The first Test against Australia in Brisbane is now only four months away and it is this series that should dominate the thoughts of Flintoff's medical team when they meet today. If Flintoff's misses the second Test he has no chance of playing in the third at Headingley, which starts three days later. It would then appear pointless to rush him back for the fourth so it is the Ashes that should take centre stage."
"If Flintoff is out, England will almost certainly revert to the side that emerged from the first Test at Lord's with a tame draw," writes Andy Wilson in The Guardian. "There is one possibility of a change, however, and that would be to replace the underperforming all-rounder Liam Plunkett with the Lancashire fast bowler Sajid Mahmood."
According to Derek Pringle "Flintoff's absence, should the selectors decide to leave him out when they name the England squad tomorrow, would mean a reprieve not just for Andrew Strauss, as the stand-in captain for a stand-in, but also for Ian Bell, the man earmarked to be jettisoned despite making a hundred in the first Test."
July 19, 2006
Posted on 07/19/2006 in Pakistan in England
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Under fire: Hoggard and his colleagues
© Martin Williamson
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| Pakistan’s bowling coach Waqar Younis has criticised England’s bowlers after their performance on the last day at Lord’s. In his column for The Daily Telegraph Younis said:
“The situation on the final day was crying out for the ball to be pitched up but instead our batsmen were given plenty of wayward, short-pitched bowling (by Liam Plunkett as well as Harmison). It was too easy for us to pick off the bad balls and Harmison has to think about his bowling a little bit more.”
Just for good measure, Younis went on to say:
“It is wickets that you have to take as a fast bowler - that is how you earn your living - but sometimes simply banging it in short is not enough. You have to use your brain as well as your brawn.”
Given that Pakistan conceded 824 runs in the match and failed to bowl England out either time, some on the England side might argue that Younis should be concentrating on sorting out his own problems before attacking the opposition.
July 18, 2006
Posted on 07/18/2006 in Pakistan in England
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Panesar's foibles have endeared him to all in rapid times. But can he deliver?
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| 'Steve Harmison is the key' was the word around Lord's and other homes of cricket when Pakistan came out to bat on the final morning of the first Test. But with 15-3-43-0 Harmison was not so much keyed in as he was clueless.
Steve James writes in The Guardian that the quickie was expected to exploit any variable bounce, but he simply did not deliver. All the great bowlers have always attacked from the Pavilion end here. Qualms about his action meant Harmison spent much of this match operating from the Nursery end..
All eyes were then on Monty Panesar.
Continue reading "The plight of Panesar"
July 17, 2006
Posted on 07/17/2006 in Pakistan in England
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'A moment of madness' - Ian Bell is run out trying to get Andrew Strauss to his century
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Lord's saw the beauty and the beast as Andrew Strauss' rush of blood proved his undoing, says David Hopps in the Guardian. Mark Nicholas calls it as a moment of madness. Read Martin Johnson's take on the subject here.
You could say that Bell was unlucky to be run out by a direct hit from Inzamam, which is cricket's equivalent to being killed by a falling meteor while out walking the dog on Dartmoor. If International Cricket Council regulations permitted, the Pakistani captain would employ a butler to do his fielding for him.
From supercharged leg-break to swish of the bat Afridi ensures there is never a dull moment, writes Lawrence Booth.
Continue reading "Strauss - From victim to villain in run-out drama"
July 16, 2006
Posted on 07/16/2006 in Pakistan in England
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John Stern 'So the paradox is that Jones, picked for his batting, is becoming a sounder keeper and a less effective batsman. How far will the tables turn?'
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Mike Atherton tries hard to find the problem area of Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq.
To get an insider's view on the weaknesses of Inzamam and Yousuf I |
