Cricket

[Busaholic]

World record 6th wicket stand in tests, beating by 10 runs the stand between Watling and B.McCullum against India last year at this same ground. If this was Sangakarra's home ground he'd go on til aged fifty!

 

[DownSouth]

World record 6th wicket stand in tests, beating by 10 runs the stand between Watling and B.McCullum against India last year at this same ground.

I bet they weren't expecting the need to replace the commemorative plaque there less than a year after putting it in! The same thing happened at Nottingham last year, the Hughes-Agar record for the 10th wicket at the same ground in 2013 got overtaken when Root and Anderson scored freely against the Indian bowlers.

Looking at the list for that record, it's interesting to note that before last year the record was held by the two Jayawardenes from 2009 (Prasanna Jayawardene is the current wicketkeeper) and before that it had stood for 72 years since the 1937 Timeless Test at the MCG. That match report makes for interesting reading - it was the first Test ever where both teams declared their first innings, England made the lowest declaration ever at the time with only 76 runs on the board, and in the second innings Australia batted the bowlers first to protect the better batsmen from a wet pitch (no covers back then). That record for the 6th wicket partnership was set by Jack Fingleton (normally an opener) and Sir Donald Bradman (normally batting at three) who would normally bat together after the first drop.

A common thread with recent records is the involvement of Indian bowlers playing outside India! The last Test here had some record to do with the number of bowlers conceding centuries in a series.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Second Test Match...Day 5

Sri Lanka (2nd innings)...196 all out

Craig 18-8-33-4

New Zealand win by 193 runs.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
*******************************************************************************************************


4th Test March...end of day 3

India 342-5
Kohli 140 not out (20 x 4)
Rahul 110 (1 x 6 / 13 x 4)

India still trail by 230 runs.

 

[Busaholic]

Second Test Match...Day 5

Sri Lanka (2nd innings)...196 all out

Craig 18-8-33-4

New Zealand win by 193 runs.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
*******************************************************************************************************


4th Test March...end of day 3

India 342-5
Kohli 140 not out (20 x 4)
Rahul 110 (1 x 6 / 13 x 4)

India still trail by 230 runs.

Kohli the first test captain to post centuries in his first three innings, as opposed to tests.

 

[DownSouth]

4th Test March...end of day 3

India 342-5
Kohli 140 not out (20 x 4)
Rahul 110 (1 x 6 / 13 x 4)

India still trail by 230 runs.

Australia made their job harder than it needed to be with some sub-standard fielding, including most uncharacteristically Steve Smith (usually one of the safest pairs of hands in international cricket) dropping two catches to give both Kohli and Rahul second chances.

Kohli the first test captain to post centuries in his first three innings, as opposed to tests.

He's in pretty hot form, isn't he?

If India can get some reliable support together for him and if he can sort out his issues with resuming after a break, they could have a solution to their batting woes when playing away. It won't help them win Tests (they don't have an attack capable of taking 20 wickets outside India, and they can't always rely on batting fourth and getting a Clarke-style attacking declaration) but it could have them making a start by drawing at least as many matches as they lose.

His captaincy could probably do with having selection taken out of his hands - word is that he forced Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara to be dropped for this match over personal disputes. Dhawan was in pretty poor form and deserved it, but Pujara was in excellent form and should not have been replaced by Suresh Raina.

----------------

Beyond the Test world, Scotland (237/8, 45 overs) went down to Afghanistan (240/2, 38 overs) in the first match of their World Cup warmup tri-series in Dubai yesterday. Ireland is the third team playing, but it seems a bit odd that it's not a quad-series with the United Arab Emirates (the fourth ICC Associate Member team in the World Cup) also playing - what with the matches being played on their home turf at Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have apparently been left out of the West Indies squad for the World Cup - despite the ICC honouring Bravo with a place in their 2014 ODI Team of the Year! Looks like the political issues in West Indian cricket are still far from over.

Michael Carberry had a big night out in the Big Bash League last night, scoring 77 not out from 37 balls to help Perth comfortably chase down their target of 135 with four overs to spare and knock Brisbane out of contention for the semi-finals. Brisbane not going through is good news for everyone watching on TV though - Andrew Flintoff is currently putting in far better performances in the commentary box than on the field, Sky Sports would be mad if they didn't fire Vaughan and hire Fred for the Ashes coverage this year.

The Wednesday night match had Ben Stokes getting MOTM for also scoring 77 off 37 - but getting out, unlike Carberry. Will he be leaving the Melbourne Renegades and joining the England squad in a couple of days, or has he been released to play the full BBL schedule?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

4th Test Match...end of day 4

India (1st innings) ... 475 all out
India's lower order batted quite well and took the score from 352-6 to 475 all out to frustrate the Australian hopes of taking an even bigger first innings lead.
Starc 32-7-106-3

Australia (2nd innings) ... 251-6
Australia scored at a good rate through their second innings and ended the fourth day with an overall lead of 348.

 

[DownSouth]

Joe Burns probably earned himself a big IPL payday with his innings of 66 from 39 balls, any batsman in the world would be happy with that under lights and hitting the white ball to a restricted field.

I expect that Smith will declare the innings closed 15 minutes before play starts tomorrow and have a crack at the win, having locked down the series with the drawn match in Melbourne. It looks perfectly set up for Nathan Lyon to have a big day, when Australia batted this afternoon Ashwin was getting a bit out of the pitch and was duly rewarded with four wickets in his 19 overs (one short of half the 40 over innings).

It's widely expected that tomorrow will be Chris Rogers' last day playing for Australia in Australia. Six consecutive fifties will get him a ticket to the West Indies* in June and then the Ashes, but the four short Test series next summer (2 Tests in Bangladesh, 3 home Tests v NZ, 3 home Tests v Windies, 3 Tests in NZ) will present a perfect opportunity to get a new younger opening bat into the side a year ahead of the next home Ashes.

 

[Busaholic]

----------------


Michael Carberry had a big night out in the Big Bash League last night, scoring 77 not out from 37 balls to help Perth comfortably chase down their target of 135 with four overs to spare and knock Brisbane out of contention for the semi-finals. Brisbane not going through is good news for everyone watching on TV though - Andrew Flintoff is currently putting in far better performances in the commentary box than on the field, Sky Sports would be mad if they didn't fire Vaughan and hire Fred for the Ashes coverage this year.

The Wednesday night match had Ben Stokes getting MOTM for also scoring 77 off 37 - but getting out, unlike Carberry. Will he be leaving the Melbourne Renegades and joining the England squad in a couple of days, or has he been released to play the full BBL schedule?

I hope Carberry continues to make runs. He is a player who needs confidence placed in him, and Pietersen did his utmost to undermine that confidence, by continually banging on about how Nick Compton should have been picked in his place on the last Ashes tour. Warne always rated Carberry and he's always been an excellent judge of a cricketer, except possibly Daryll Cullinan.

Stokes is an enigma but could be worth a punt in the World Cup squad.

 

[DownSouth]

India managed to hold on for a draw on a flat pitch at the end of the Sydney Test, giving Australia a 2-0 series win.

They had three wickets intact, so I don't think anyone involved with the Australian team will regret the overnight timing of the declaration - but maybe they will regret the decision to take the new ball after 80 overs instead of sticking with the old ball which was giving Hazlewood and Harris some dangerous reverse swing.

Stokes is an enigma but could be worth a punt in the World Cup squad.

Not according to the selectors - which KP is saying is a mistake. The final England squad has been officially named without him:

Eoin Morgan (Captain)
Moeen Ali
James Anderson
Gary Ballance
Ian Bell
Ravi Bopara
Stuart Broad
Jos Buttler
Steven Finn
Alex Hales
Chris Jordan
Joe Root
James Taylor
James Tredwell
Chris Woakes


With the exception of the United Arab Emirates (only released earlier today), the West Indies (yet to be announced) and Australia (announcement tomorrow) the finalised World Cup squads can all be found here. Once finalised, the squads can only be changed in the event of a player getting injured and the team applying to the ICC to replace them.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

India managed to hold on for a draw on a flat pitch at the end of the Sydney Test, giving Australia a 2-0 series win.

They had three wickets intact, so I don't think anyone involved with the Australian team will regret the overnight timing of the declaration - but maybe they will regret the decision to take the new ball after 80 overs instead of sticking with the old ball which was giving Hazlewood and Harris some dangerous reverse swing.

India had to be careful, as from being in a position of 201-3, it was not long before the score suddenly plummeted to 217-7. However, the number 9 Indian batsman B.Kumar steadied matters and batted for 49 minutes, scoring 20 not out from 30 balls and helped to see the matter through to the end.

 

[DownSouth]

Once the old ball with its reverse swing was out of the way, Kumar looked to be far more in control than the 'proper' batsman Rahane in the last few overs.

I wonder if this poor handling of reverse swing is part of the reason that India did so badly in their last series in England? The red Duke ball used only for England's home Test Matches goes reverse a lot earlier and moves around a lot more than the red SG ball (used in India) or the red Kookaburra (used for Tests everywhere else) or the white Kookaburra (used in all List A, ODI and T20I matches).

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Speaking from your perspective as one of the avowed enemy, how well do you think that Jimmy Anderson used reverse swing in Test Matches and against which countries did he use this better?

 

[DownSouth]

Speaking from your perspective as one of the avowed enemy, how well do you think that Jimmy Anderson used reverse swing in Test Matches and against which countries did he use this better?

It's simple - James Anderson gets a fair amount of it when playing Tests at home with the Duke ball, but not much overseas because only at his peak fitness (which he was not during the Ashes last summer, he was exhausted and risked a career-ending injury) is he fast enough to get even a tiny bit of reverse swing out of the Kookaburra. Reverse swing is essential if a team wants to be taking wickets with the old ball once it's stopped swinging conventionally.

What sets Anderson apart from lesser bowlers when playing in England is that he doesn't get the most swing out of the very lively Duke ball, but he has the ability to control it and use it well. This benefit in England turns into a deficit overseas with the more stable Kookaburra, and his strike rate blows out to one wicket every 11 overs.

Mitchell Starc would be the complete opposite if he played in England, he gets tons more swing than Anderson when playing with the Kookaburra (and he can make it go reverse, even the white version late in a T20 innings) so he'd easily have the Duke ball doing heaps. The problem for Starc is that even with the Kookaburra, at the young age of 24 he's still yet to work out how to control it, and in humid conditions he usually sprays a couple of his hooping yorkers sprayed down the leg side before getting them on target.

Anderson could probably get more success overseas if he (a) retired from ODI cricket after the World Cup so he's more fresh for the Tests, he was near enough to useless in the Ashes last summer because he was so exhausted; and (b) if the coaches made up their mind about Anderson's role - is he a defensive bowler or an attacking bowler - and tailored his workload appropriately.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Remember the question I asked about Surrey batsman Jason Roy filling a spot in the Sydney Thunder BBL team?

He let one through to hit 'middle stump' the other night.

 

[Busaholic]

I wouldn't take Ben Stokes's omission from the 'final 15' of the English World Cup team as definitive, simply because there is usually a change or two to the announced squad, either before or during the games, due to 'injury' which can encompass many things. In these cases, the requesting team always seems to get permission for the change : in England's case, the substitute then goes on to play in all the matches, leaving 1 or 2 players on the sidelines who never get a game! In other words, the team was not properly thought through in the first place.

If Hales doesn't fire straightaway, expect he'll be replaced by Ballance: if he does, I don't think Ballance will get a look-in.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Tour Match 50 overs O.D.I.

England 391-6 (50 overs)
Bell 187 (3 x 6 / 20 x 4)
Moeen 71 (13 x 4)
Taylor 71 (4 x 4)

Prime Minister's XI 331 all out (48.1 overs)
Maxwell 136 (2 x 6 / 20 x 4 )

Broad 8.1-0-40-4

The crowd certainly got their money's worth with over 700 runs in total scored. Two excellent centurion innings of note.

 

[Busaholic]

Bell and Mooen look increasingly likely to be the openers, Hales may not get a look in. Jordan's bowling in the last two matches has gone for plenty (the only English bowler of which this was true in the first match) and Woakes is superior as a batsman, so the team is beginning to select itself. I still think Morgan is the weakest link: hope I'm wrong.

 

[DownSouth]

I still think Morgan is the weakest link: hope I'm wrong.

As a batsman, as the captain, or in both roles?

If the captaincy is going well but the batting is not, it's still at least a minor improvement over Cook.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Jordan's bowling in the last two matches has gone for plenty (the only English bowler of which this was true in the first match) and Woakes is superior as a batsman, so the team is beginning to select itself.

Getting carted against the ACT Invitational XI must have been humiliating for Jordan - the ACT does not have a First Class team so it was not even Elite Domestic level (i.e. State or County teams playing First Class and List A cricket) but only club level players!

I agree with you about Woakes, his bowling alone really impressed me in the limited overs leg of the 2010-11 summer here. His batting was decent then (think of Shane Watson or Cameron White early in their careers when they were primarily bowlers) but I gather it's good enough now that he's knocking on the door of becoming England's first genuine all-rounder since Flintoff.

Cricket Australia will be very happy that the Manuka Oval curators turned on a big runfest for the two tour matches, given that they somewhat bizarrely scheduled the T20 final to be held in Canberra as a neutral ground instead of giving it to the highest-placed team in the final. They'll regret it after the semi-final in Adelaide where the BBL will get its first ever 50,000+ crowd.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I still think Morgan is the weakest link: hope I'm wrong.

He's the team's top scorer so far in today's One Day International against Australia.

Bell 0
Ali 22
Taylor 0
Root 5
Morgan 24*
Bopara 13
Buttler 6*

England 5/75 after 18 overs.



The silver lining for the ECB is that they'll be able to ridicule Kevin Pietersen for his poor judgement - he tweeted his enthusiasm for what he said was an exciting lineup earlier in the day.

 

[ainsworth74]

After being let off the hook by some lacklustre Australian bowing England limped along to 234 all out in 47 overs. Australia currently 88/2 in reply after 17 overs. You'd have to say that England will need to take some quick wickets at this stage if they're going to keep themselves in it.

 

[Johnuk123]

Australia beat England by three wickets, very easily.

 

[Busaholic]

Australia beat England by three wickets, very easily.

Without Morgan and Warner, neither side might have reached 150. I'm glad that Mooen is bowling in preference to Tredwell too.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I know that O D I matches can take some dramatic twists and turns, but having dismissed Scotland for an easily reachable score and then proceeded to 38-0 on a wicket that seemed not to have too many gremlins in it, what on earth did Afghanistan suddenly lose all semblance of their usual self and lose 10 wickets for the cost of only another 25 runs and be all out for only 63...hock:

 

[DownSouth]

I'm glad that Mooen is bowling in preference to Tredwell too.

Yeah, he did look reasonably good with the ball (9-0-45-1) last night. Not quite as good as Swann, but probably a bit more suitable than Swann for the middle overs defensive role which Xavier Doherty (10-0-38-1) did for Australia in the first innings.

I'd say that picking four bowlers plus Ali and Bopara (who can get at least 10 tidy overs between them) is the way to go for England, with Tredwell possibly as one of those four if the conditions are right. If it's four seamers, there needs to be at least one (e.g. Anderson) who offers something different to the others.

Woakes' first spell was better than his overs late in the match, but his figures were given a helpful boost by picking up three free wickets (one a gift from Dharamasena) when the batsmen started slogging their way to the bonus point instead of safely closing out the win.

What's gone wrong with Steven Finn? Last time we saw him he was an exciting tall fast bowler who lacked a little control at times but it didn't matter because he would hit the deck hard and take wickets - a bit like a moderate version of Shaun Tait with a more conventional action. Now he looks no different to Woakes, Broad and Jordan - has he been so over-coached by the England system that he's been neutered?

 

[Whistler40145]

IMHO Finn has become very wayward and lost control of his bowling, especially excessive no balls, not sure why he's kept his place!

 

[DownSouth]

I know that O D I matches can take some dramatic twists and turns, but having dismissed Scotland for an easily reachable score and then proceeded to 38-0 on a wicket that seemed not to have too many gremlins in it, what on earth did Afghanistan suddenly lose all semblance of their usual self and lose 10 wickets for the cost of only another 25 runs and be all out for only 63...hock:

There would surely have been at least a little bit of good bowling involved.

England will be concerned, they get to play Scotland in the World Cup and it's pretty well guaranteed they'll face a Scottish side that's got a little extra motivation that day.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

IMHO Finn has become very wayward and lost control of his bowling, especially excessive no balls, not sure why he's kept his place!

Didn't look like that last night.

No no balls, but also nothing remotely interesting either. He didn't swing the ball, bowl a slower one or add in a cutter for variety. The coaches have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

 

[Whistler40145]

It's a shame Jimmy Anderson wasn't playing.

 

[Busaholic]

IMO Finn's problems started with the announcement of the touring party to Australia in autumn 2013. The crass decision by the selectors to choose Tremlett, on the basis he'd taken a few wickets on the previous tour, and Rankin, presumably because he played for Ashley Giles's Warwickshire, as well as Finn, would have done nothing for his confidence. Back with Middlesex Finn did recover some of his old verve under the wise and watchful eyes of Gus Fraser, but, perhaps like Trott, he needs to be nurtured and kept for tests. The business with knocking the bails off didn't help him either, leading to enforced changes in his run-up.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Without Morgan and Warner, neither side might have reached 150.

Indeed, a viewing of the scorecards shows that besides the two centurions, the next highest scorers for each side were Smith (37) for Australia and Buttler (28) for England.

 

[Cletus]

Incredible performance by South Africa and De Villiers in particular this morning's ODI.

Amla not out 153 142 balls 14x4 0x6
Rossouw c Benn b Taylor 128 115 balls 11x4 2x6
de Villiers c Carter b Russell 149 44 balls 9x4 16x6

Total for 2 (50.0 ovs) 439

Fast ever 50 and 100 by De Villiers + most sixes.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Incredible performance by South Africa and De Villiers in particular this morning's ODI.
Fast ever 50 and 100 by De Villiers + most sixes.

South Africa 439-2 (50 overs)
Bowling figures to note:
Taylor ..... 10-0-95-1
Holder ...... 9-0-91-0

West Indies 291-7 (50 overs)

South Africa win by 148 runs

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

The former New Zealand batsman, Martin Crowe, has castigated David Warner for his thuggish behaviour on the pitch, basically stating that his attitude will one day potentially lead to something more serious. Although Crowe suggests that others also display 'childish and boorish' behaviour, he suggests that Warner is the worst of them. I wonder whether this element of gamesmanship has gone to far. Should the umpires step in more often and should they have other sanctions? Red cards, anyone?