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Archive for February, 2009

Hoping for a contest in Lahore

Posted in pakistan, sri lanka, tagged , , , on February 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Following the unusual tribute to Shrove Tuesday that the curators of Karachi’s very own pancake produced for the First Test, it is to be hoped that the Second Test in Lahore will produce a more exciting contest.

The Test will be Mahela Jayawardene‘s last before he steps down as captain, and his last chance to lead his team to a hitherto elusive series win in Pakistan.

The hosts haven’t won a home series since 2006 (although they didn’t play any in 2008), so something looks set to give. Another bore draw would be an ill-fitting result for a Test which has the potential to become very significant for both captains, as Pakistan’s new leader looks for his first series win and Sri Lanka’s looks for his last.

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Ravi Bopara

Posted in england, tagged , , , , , , , on February 27, 2009| 2 Comments »

I’ve always quite liked young Ravi Bopara (exactly a fortnight older than me, actually), so I’m pleased he’s finally got a Test century. That should, at least, correct his aberrant Test average, which before the current Test stood at a mere 8.40.

Whether making a century on a decent track in Barbados qualifies him to face Australia’s newly potent pace attack in the summer is another matter. Indeed, the role Bopara is being asked to play at the moment may merely be a sort of job-share, a pro-rata part-time Flintoff substitute, with the bowling element of Freddie’s role allocated elsewhere. If that proves to be the case, then once Flintoff returns, Bopara’s may find himself in a difficult situation.

England’s middle order for the Ashes is still not entirely fixed, but on past evidence the selectors are likely to resist radical changes. Therefore, if Shah does well enough to keep his place at number three, and Collingwood continues to make decent scores, then future chances for England’s newest centurion may turn out to be somewhat more limited than he might hope.

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Marcus North’s Debut Ton

Posted in australia, tagged , , , , , , on February 27, 2009| 1 Comment »

Marcus North has made quite an impact in his first outing as a Baggy Green. Australia are in the market for new heroes at the moment, given their recent slip from the heights of invincibility, and North seems to fit the bill.

The last player to make a century on debut for Australia was Michael Clarke back in 2004, and in the years since, the side has been arguably at its least stable for some considerable time. A batsman of North’s ability lower down the order, combined with some promising batting from Mitchell Johnson, will help the Aussies cope without feeling the need to have Andrew Symonds in the side if his non-cricketing issues aren’t resolved in time for the Ashes.

Australia are evidently going to be tougher to beat for South Africa the second time around.

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IPL Fixtures Announced

Posted in india, tagged , , , , , , on February 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The IPL has announced the fixtures for its second season (or at least “the tentative Match Schedule”), with the main headline-grabber being the Chennai Super Kings vs Bangalore Royal Challengers match in Chennai, which may see the newest two marquee players, England lynchpins Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen making their IPL debuts on opposite sides, potentially with the latter captaining his new side.

Whether or not Flintoff will be fit (or allowed) to take part in that match, or any other in the IPL, is still open to question. The tone of the discussion around whether Flintoff should take part hasn’t been particularly balanced so far, but the amount of money involved (not just for the player himself – the IPL is struggling for sponsors and Flintoff is the sort of name that will draw in spectators) is likely to tilt things in favour of his participation.

UPDATE: The revised fixtures (now that the whole thing’s in South Africa) can be found here.

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South Africa vs Australia: Test Series Preview

Posted in australia, south africa, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The two best Test cricket teams in the world move on to the second leg of their epic clash (the first was, of course, the recent series in Australia) as the Aussies embark on their first Gilchrist-less and Warne-less (and, for that matter, Lee-less, Hayden-less…) tour of South Africa. The series will be the first for either team to make use of the referral system, and it will be interesting to see how Smith and Ponting choose to utilise it.

For the tourists, much of the focus will be on the less familiar faces – the likes of old Bryce McGain and young Philip Hughes. Marcus North, recently signed by Hampshire, is also in line for a debut, probably in the First Test.

For South Africa, the faces will be more familiar given the team’s performance in Australia- even to the extent that a fit-again Ashwell Prince can’t break back into the side. The pace attack (especially Steyn), so potent in December, will be crucial once again.

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England take desperate measures

Posted in england, tagged , , , , , , on February 23, 2009| 5 Comments »

Matt Prior has flown home to be with his wife after she gave birth to his son on Monday. All well and good, but lurking at the bottom of the Cricinfo report of this occurence, in a discussion of Tim Ambrose (Prior’s replacement as wicketkeeper) are four words that will strike terror into the hearts of England fans everywhere:

“[Ambrose] is likely to be joined in the middle-order by Ravi Bopara, who scored an attractive century in England’s warm-up in Barbados, or a recalled Ian Bell.”

I’d rather have Amjad Khan batting at three than let Bell back in after one mediocre performance in a tour match against the bowling of Barrington Bjorn Beckenbauer Yearwood. If Bell comes back in, it will arguably be more of a testament to the lack of quality available to England on their current tour than to any resurgence in his own lacklustre form.

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Sri Lanka pound Pakistan

Posted in pakistan, sri lanka, tagged , , , , on February 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Sri Lanka have ‘welcomed’ Pakistan back to Test cricket in the same way that Daily Mail readers might ‘welcome’ the invasion of their home by a burgular – by repeatedly (in Sri Lanka’s case metaphorically) bashing them over the head with a cricket bat.

Most of the bashing was done by Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera, who combined in a record-breaking 437-run partnership as Pakistan ended the second day of the First Test a massive 600 runs adrift and with one wicket of their own already taken by an onimously economical Muralitharan.

It already looks like Pakistan may have some catching up to do before they can fully return to where they were 15 months ago in the Test cricketing order of things.

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Flintoff out

Posted in england, tagged , , , , , , , on February 21, 2009| 1 Comment »

Andrew Flintoff is out of the Fourth Test against the West Indies, which could precipitate a considerable restructure in England’s middle order as they attempt to fight their way back into the series.

With Graeme Swann also a doubt through injury, England have already flown out cover in the form of Amjad Khan and Ravi Bopara. The two arrived this week from New Zealand, where they were touring with the England Lions. Adil Rashid, of course, is also out in the Caribbean, but his inexperience is likely to mitigate against his selection even if Swann joins Flintoff on the sidelines.

Whatever decision is made about the make-up of the side, Flintoff’s sheer presence and ‘heart‘ will be greatly missed by the tourists. There is certainly no ready-made replacement available to England in terms of his bowling, and even if there were, there is no-one in English cricket with the talismanic properties that Freddie occasionally displays.

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Pakistan vs Sri Lanka: Test Series Preview

Posted in pakistan, sri lanka, tagged , , , , , , on February 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

For Pakistan, heading into their first Test series since 2007 with a new captain, there has been much talk of fresh starts and new beginnings. A pre-series ‘isolation camp‘ spoke volumes about the perceived need for greater team spirit in the wake of Shoaib Malik’s removal/resignation as captain.

For Sri Lanka, heading into their last Test series with Mahela Jayawardene as captain, the talk has been more of regrouping for a final effort, one last heist. The side has struggled against Pakistan in the past, and Jayawardene will be keen to put that right before he rides off into the sunset as Sri Lanka’s most successful captain ever.

For the hosts, there are a number of changes since their last Test more than 14 months ago. Khurram Manzoor looks set to make his Test debut in the first match, and Mohammad Talha may also feature. Much, as ever, depends on Salman Butt getting the batting order off to a good start.

Sri Lanka fans may have been worried by the diminished impact that their twin spin bowling attack had in the recent ODIs against India. The Test arena, however, is very different to the One Day game in its treatment of spinners, and Muralitharan in particular may feel under less pressure now that he isn’t under the kind of intense scrutiny which he was subject to in the run up to his ODI world record.

You can follow the First Test here.

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Ricky Ponting’s decision not to play in the IPL

Posted in australia, tagged , , , on February 19, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Ricky Ponting has announced that he will give the IPL a miss this year. Amongst the reasons he has given is the fact that Australia “have something to prove to the South Africans and the world”. This has been lauded in some quarters as a rare example of a professional sportsman putting his ability to play for his country above his own personal financial gain.

Ponting himself certainly has something to prove. His performance as captain has been openly questioned of late, and he wasn’t exactly setting the IPL alight in any case. On the other hand, he has already had one ‘rest’ so far this year (albeit one which was rapidly curtailed when the team began to implode against New Zealand), so there may be more to this decision than meets the eye.

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Stanford a fraud (allegedly)

Posted in west indies, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2009| 3 Comments »

Allen Stanford has charged with fraud in the USA. The
Texan billionaire and incorrigible flirt has had his offices raided by US Marshalls (Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Downey Jr sadly not amongst them). This, unsurpisingly, has led the ECB to suspend talks with Stanford over future joint projects.

The alleged fraud is said to be related to “misrepresenting the safety and liquidity” of Certificates of Deposit sold by Stanford International Bank.

It has been rumoured for some time that Stanford was looking to scale back his involvement in cricket, but few can have forseen such a dramatic development. The WICB, mired as it already is in bad publicity, could certainly have done without this additional headache – Stanford in effect bankrolls their domestic Twenty20 competition.

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Things finally back to normal

Posted in england, west indies, tagged , , , , on February 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Few could accuse the Test series between the West Indies and England of being predictable – a second-innings total of 51 and less than two overs bowled before abandonment in the other were both rather unexpected developments. Yet the Third Test is (so far) panning out in exactly the way I would have expected the First Test to – England’s batsmen rebuilding damaged confidence (even more damaged, given recent developments); the West Indies’ pace attack firing sporadically, yet the home team struggling in the field otherwise.

It will be interesting to see how England’s bowlers perform when they have a big first-innings total to defend. The inclusion of Swann and the reprieve of Harmison following the move to the ARG are likely to increase the scrunity on the two of them, but it’s also a crunch match for Jimmy Anderson.

For the West Indies, the challenge is likely to be the fact that they are batting under pressure for the first time in the series. If wickets fall early, the lower order looks fairly exposed, so their top-class batsmen will shoulder a lot of responsibility.

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