Monthly Archives: July 2009

Humor of the Day

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The West Indian Player’s Association makes an “apology“:

On behalf of all our members, we wish to apologise to the West Indies Cricket Board for our “unreasonable” behaviour in respect of the following:

  • For demanding that our members play with a contract clearly outlining the terms and conditions prior to a series or series of matches. [...]
  • For asking the WICB to deposit funds it had deducted from the players’ salaries and which it failed to pay to the Players Provident Fund Account (Pension Plan) for almost a year.

Read the whole thing.

The Sri Lankan Victory

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Not much to say about it. Pakistan looked like it would win, then collapsed and the Sri Lankans won in a canter. I guess you cannot complain much since the Sri Lankans looked like winning on Day One before Pakistan pulled it back a bit. I now understand why the Pakistani bloggers didn’t get too over-excited about the first Test loss.

This victory will do wonders for Sri Lanka that they can win games even when their fortunes are looking hopeless. In both the Tests, I had written off Sri Lanka, but they came roaring back. I said that Herath would not repeat his feat and then suddenly he pulls another one out of his hat. Once again, the under-rated players of the Sri Lankan team perform when they need them.

This is a good opportunity for Sri Lanka to build upon its victories and try to sneak up on the Big Three (Australia, South Africa and India). The Sri Lankans have been playing well overseas, not losing any series to the other Test teams, but they have not yet been able to break out and score series victories. They are somewhat in the same situation as India in the 90′s, very strong at home, but weaker abroad. But in defense of Sri Lanka, they are doing well against the other Test teams, just not against the Big Three.

But the series victory should not make Sri Lanka complacent. They could have easily been 0-2 down. They have several non-performing members of their team. In 2 Tests, only one SL batsman’s average has crossed 40. Of course, it has been a bad time for batsmen of both teams, but still. Also, the fact that Mendis has only 5 wickets from two Tests at 43.40 (where Pakistan collapsed) raises a big question mark about Mendis. When Murali comes back, will the Lankans go with more spinners or will they drop Mendis in favor of Herath?

Back to Pakistan. They will be disappointed that they are not leading the series now. But they have given the Lankans a run for their money and hopefully, they will have some good things coming out of this tour.

What About Unpredictable Sri Lanka?

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The general storyline seems to be always, “Pakistan is unpredictable“. And that is true to a large extent. But it misses the fact that there are two teams in every match and it is not always about one team winning or losing solely on their performance. In simple terms, it is not only about Pakistan’s performance, but also about what Sri Lanka is doing out there.

The Sri Lankan bowlers bowled out Pakistan for 90 in the first innings. In the second, they have taken 1 for 178. What happened to their form? Did they forget to get batsmen out? How did the Sri Lankan batsmen who were in control yesterday slump so badly the next day, collapsing in a heap?

The truth is that the Sri Lankan team hides a lot of mediocrity behind good teamwork. They have a couple of great batsmen and one great bowler. But anytime they fail, the mediocre members chip in with big performances and win matches. A good example is Herath (average: 36.21 in 15 Tests) in the first Test. It is unlikely he will ever repeat his best Test figures, but he won a match for Sri Lanka when everything looked hopeless.

Or Dilshan. He was their mainstay in the World Twenty20 scoring four fifties, but before that, his highest score in 10 innings was 38. Or Angelo Mathews. He took 2 wickets in 4 matches before he took three wickets in the first over of the West Indian innings. Or Kulasekara who took 4/21 in the first innings – His bowling average before this Test was 59.55.

The point is that when you play against the Sri Lankans, you not only have to worry about Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Murali (the greats), but also each of the weaker Sri Lankan batsmen and bowlers who, for whatever strange reason, start producing the best innings or spell of their lives when Sri Lanka is in trouble.

While this has mostly worked for Sri Lanka for sometime now, it is also dangerous in the long run. It allows players who produce random good performance to remain in the team while blocking those who could be more consistent. It prevents Sri Lanka from mounting a serious challenge against Australia or the top tier teams while touring.

Another problem I keep pointing about for Sri Lanka is some of their players are in the team with inflated averages from a few series. For example, note how the averages of the batting order drops when you remove Bangladesh and Zimbabwe from the equation. Samaraweera and Dilshan don’t look so good.

sri lankan averages

You can also find a similar pattern with Mendis, whose reasonable-looking average is purely because of his debut Test against Bangladesh and the series against India at home. Not counting the current Test, he has an average of 59.50 since then. We will see how long he lasts.

Bangladesh Win Historic With An Asterisk

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After being 5/100 in their first innings, seeing West Indies at 4/227 in theirs and then suffering a batting collapse this morning, Bangladesh wrapped up  the West Indies to gain their first overseas win. It is a historic win, but in context, it is without much meaning as the West Indies were fielding a team with second-stringers third/fourth-stringers because of a contract dispute with the players in the primary Test team.

Bangladesh, of course, cannot be blamed for the troubles of the West Indies board. And this win provides a good start for the new captain Mashrafe Mortaza. But Bangladesh would do well not to celebrate too much. Even against an inexperienced team, they looked lost at times, though each time they were able to make a comeback.

Bangladesh’s biggest problem has been its lack of incremental progress. Once in a while, they win against a big team and the big headlines are out. But they fail to build upon it and soon are losing worse than ever to the regular teams and also losing against Associate Nations. Their batsmen have been terrible, always choosing glory over team. The best example is Ashraful who once in every ten innings makes an amazing score and then fails to reach double figures for the rest. He failed in this Test too and it is time he finds himself removed if he cannot produce consistent performance.

To be fair to Bangladesh, their bowling has shown improvement. But without the consistent batting to back it up, they will go nowhere. As far as the West Indies are concerned, I don’t think they will mind this loss much. A match against Bangladesh was never going to be important. And this loss can always be explained away.

Collingwood Buries Adelaide Memories

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The most memorable (and heart-wrenching) moment of the last day of this Ashes Test for me was Paul Collingwood’s walk back to the pavilion after he was dismissed. As the crowd cheered him for the most fighting knock of the innings, he raised his bat a few times, but he kept his head down, knowing that his day-long effort had been in vain. Just like in the Adelaide Test of the previous Ashes where he made a double-century and then watched from the other side as England lost a match they never should have.

But Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar ensured that there was no repeat of that match by surviving for an incredible 69 balls. And the effort by Collingwood would not go wasted. Australia did almost everything right after they bowled out England in the first innings, but, incredibly for an Australian team, they could not press their advantage to win the match.

Like all of you who watched the final moments of the match, it was one of the most nerve-wracking Tests I have experienced. The recent Sydney Test between India and Australia was much more intense, but that was a match that was more likely to end in a draw until Michael Clarke happened. This one was supposed to be an innings loss much earlier in the day, but England proved to be tougher than anyone expected.

The score stays 0-0 with four more to play. England were outplayed, but they now have the luxury of re-booting without having to come from behind. It is likely that Broad and Panesar will make way for Harmison and Onions. Of the batsmen, Bopara is the one with the biggest question mark, but he is sure to be there for the next Test. I wonder if the selectors may use the result to keep the same team – that would be one strong statement of intent, if unlikely to happen.

In general, I thought England’s problems arose not from any strategy problems, but from execution. It was a good idea to pack two spinners and bat first. Hauritz’s success showed that Panesar and Swann could have posed problems if Australia had been batting last. But the English bowling’s inability to break the Australian defences in the middle days coupled with a less-than-great first innings score lead to their downfall.

On the Australian side, it was a case of “close, but no cigar”. The Australian bowling was good, but they let the English tail wag twice in the match. They have to come up with a game plan to handle that. Mike Hussey is the only weakness in a strong batting lineup.

Next up, the Lord’s Test where Australia have not lost for a few decades now apparently. Australia remain the overwhelming favorites. Can Strauss and Flower turn the England team around in time to create a stunning upset? England, by saving the Test in a show of determination, should build upon it instead of celebrating an escape.

Only Rain Can Save England

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For England fans, they can feel consoled by the three-and-a-half sessions that England batted and for a brief period with the second new ball. Now, they can start doing the rain dances, because if Australia gets more than 50 overs or so of bowling time, the match will be theirs.

And so the Great Australian Comeback is complete. A few months ago, after losses to India and South Africa, everyone had written them off. With a return victory against the South Africans and now a powerful statement against England, we have a newer, better Australia that is as dangerous as ever.

When you have four of seven batsmen making centuries and the only person who failed is the one of the older members of the team, Australia are well placed for the future. Their bowling still seems inexperienced and they don’t have a Warne yet. But I suppose we could even see that remedied by the end of tomorrow.

Where does that leave England? There will be significant changes to the bowling attack. Broad is definitely out, most likely to be replaced by Harmison. Panesar will probably go, as Swann has more promise, even if Panesar took one wicket.

If Australia continues in the same vein, a few careers will end with this Ashes.

Cardiff Test and the Weather for Saturday and Sunday

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It doesn’t look good:

cardiff weather

If the match gets washed out tomorrow, Australia’s hope of winning would be to declare immediately, bowl out England cheaply and try to hit the winning runs, considering that rain is also expected on Sunday. This avoids the innings break and perhaps makes use of the conditions in the morning. If England is out for less than 150, that is around 100 runs to chase. License to throw the bat around. Even if the match ends in a draw, it sets up the momentum for the next Test.

England, at this point, only has the hope of a draw, unless the match goes completely against what we have seen so far.

Ashes Predictions

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Following Q’s lead on the contest by Commentary Position, here are my predictions for the Ashes. (I know I am cheating a bit since it is the 3rd day of the first Test, but better late than never). By the way, most of the following is HOPE, *not* really analysis or predictions.

Most Runs Overall: Phillip Hughes – He had the most to prove and he is extremely talented. Plus, he has the greatest opportunity being an opener.

Most Runs England: Kevin Pietersen – Probably will try to make amends for his stupid shot in the rest of the series.

Most Runs Australia: Phillip Hughes

Most Wickets Overall: Jimmy Anderson – Maybe this is a bit surprising, but I think he has a greater chance to gain more wickets among the weak England attack than somebody from the Australian side. It is an indication of how poor the English bowling is than how better Anderson is.

Most Wickets England: Jimmy Anderson

Most Wickets Australia: Mitchell Johnson – seems to be the universal choice, but I think Siddle is a strong second.

Best Tosser (captain who wins the most tosses):  Ricky Ponting – Your guess is as good as mine.

Man of the Series:  Phillip Hughes – This could be Mitchell Johnson if he does some stuff with the bat, but the South African tour was definitely inconsistent with Johnson’s previous record, so I doubt how much he can replicate his success there. And if the English bowling continues to be trash, he may not get to do much with the bat.

1st Test Result: Draw (at this stage, Australia will probably run out of time with rain unless England collapse in a heap)

2nd Test Result:  Australia (it is a Lord’s Test)

3rd Test Result: Draw

4th Test Result: Australia

5th Test Result: England

Overall series result:  2-1

THE TRIVIALITIES

Number of Tests that lose overs to rain (note, not bad light): 3 (Definitely cheating here since there is one confirmed so far, so 2 more seems to be the safe bet)

Number of Tests that Flintoff will be able to manage: 5 (Injuries are unpredictable, but let’s go with 5)

Number of Tests won by an innings: Zero (though the current Test is definitely a candidate if rain doesn’t kill the Test)

Number of Tests played by McDonald: 1 (if the last Test is a dead rubber, he will definitely play)

Number of Tests played by Lee: 1 (If Australia win the 2nd Test, there will not be any changes to the lineup unless one of the three fast bowlers is really having a bad time. Depends on Ponting though.)

Australia Hold All the Chips

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The first hour of the morning session was exhilarating. Swann and Anderson made the Australians look silly. I didn’t expect England to cross 400, but they did in stunning fashion. Too bad Swann missed his half-century and Panesar missed double-digits.

The rest of the day was a grind. Australia moving ever surely towards an imposing lead. I suppose if Australia is still there by the end of Day 3, England is down and out. There is a lot of batting to come yet.

I am a little disappointed. It would have been nice to see a tighter contest between bat and ball, like what we did in the England innings. But so far, the England bowlers have shown many glimpses of that.

Homer and others have suggested a defensive strategy by England: pack one side and bowl to it, or bowl fewer overs throughout the day. I am not so sure. I don’t think England can execute it well, nor do I think that the England mangement would think of doing it. They may be forced into it if things don’t improve during the day, but I cannot see them use it to nail the Australians.

The good news is that England can hold their own against the Australian bowlers. So if things don’t turn out well, they can always try to bat out a draw. We will know if England have a hope by lunch tomorrow.

Great Start to the Ashes

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There was a lot of hype before this year’s Ashes. I am glad that at least the first day has lived up to it. Most of the day was Test cricket at its best. Every time one team gained an advantage, the opposition pressed harder to regain it. And so the see-saw went all day.

I am cheering on England and so I hope this won’t sound biased. I think 336/7 for England is a pretty good score considering that they were able to play as equals against Australia. Of course, Australia may go on to make 600 and win by an innings, but so far, England have not surrendered in the fashion that they are used to.

I suppose England could have made more and many will point to Pietersen’s moment of madness as a turning point, but they generally did well. Most of the English batsmen made runs and there were good partnerships. During the Flintoff-Prior partnership, Australia were on the backfoot. Pity it didn’t last.

Now, the lower order has to press for a score around 400 and strike early. Broad, Swann and, to a lesser extent, Anderson can hang in there. Australia will want to get them out cheaply. If England are still there by lunch, Australia will have to bat well to avoid a fourth innings chase. The Test is taking place at a new venue (Cardiff) for the first time and England have two spinners which could make things very tricky.