Another thing I seem to have done quite a bit of since I started the blog is writing about England one-day victories. The CB Series, the home ODIs with India, and now an away win in Sri Lanka; if you ignore the World Cup and the Twenty20 you could convince yourself that England are quite a good one-day side.
They're not that yet, but, under Moores and Collingwood, they are improving and you get the feeling that, this time, the upward curve might just be maintained.
10.10.07
No More Weak Puns
Having expended several thousand words in the early days of this blog in the summer of 2006 on the whys and wherefores of the Darrell Hair saga, I deliberately decided not to comment on his tribunal until after it had concluded. Now it has - and, from a distance, it seemed to be a strange, anti-climactic and amusing affair - I still don't have a lot to add to what I said last year.
As one of the minority of people outside Australia who always had, at the very least, a lot of sympathy for Hair, I can only reiterate that it seems to me very silly that an official of the quality of Hair cannot get a game while the other Australian DH, Daryl Harper, a nice bloke but an utterly mediocre umpire, remains on the ICC's Elite Panel. However, despite what Malcolm Speed said, it's very hard to see Hair appearing in many more Tests. None of the Asian countries will touch him with a bargepole and he can't officiate when Australia are involved which just leaves games between England, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies, and there aren't that many of those.
So, I might not be writing about Darrell very much more, which, if nothing else, means that I won't be needing to rack my brain for shallow puns based on his surname.
I won't miss that, and nor, I suspect, will anyone else.
As one of the minority of people outside Australia who always had, at the very least, a lot of sympathy for Hair, I can only reiterate that it seems to me very silly that an official of the quality of Hair cannot get a game while the other Australian DH, Daryl Harper, a nice bloke but an utterly mediocre umpire, remains on the ICC's Elite Panel. However, despite what Malcolm Speed said, it's very hard to see Hair appearing in many more Tests. None of the Asian countries will touch him with a bargepole and he can't officiate when Australia are involved which just leaves games between England, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies, and there aren't that many of those.
So, I might not be writing about Darrell very much more, which, if nothing else, means that I won't be needing to rack my brain for shallow puns based on his surname.
I won't miss that, and nor, I suspect, will anyone else.
8.10.07
After Fletcher
It was both pleasing and interesting to see Ryan Sidebottom and Graeme Swann playing their parts in England's latest victory over Sri Lanka. Both are players who played a single game for England - Sidebottom a Test, Swann a one-day international - in the early years of Duncan Fletcher's stewardship of the England side. Neither impressed, both were forgotten. Swann said recently that he never spoke to Fletcher again after his tour to South Africa, but, in 2007, both have come back to the side to show how much they've developed in the intervening years and, perhaps, how much England were missing for all that time.
Leaving the intervening South African adventure to one side, there have been enough signs in the home series with India and this one that England, under Peter Moores, are at least putting themselves in a position from which they can improve the most dismal ODI record of the major nations. It seems highly likely that Sidebottom and Swann will be part of that, and Stuart Broad, of the neophyte's freshness and the veteran's mentality, is certain to do so.
Indeed, with Broad, whose straight bat and cool temperament should ensure he'll make plenty of runs at international level to go with the wickets which are a given, it's simply a matter of when he gets into the Test side. Once he's there he'll be there for ever (or it'll sure seem like it).
Leaving the intervening South African adventure to one side, there have been enough signs in the home series with India and this one that England, under Peter Moores, are at least putting themselves in a position from which they can improve the most dismal ODI record of the major nations. It seems highly likely that Sidebottom and Swann will be part of that, and Stuart Broad, of the neophyte's freshness and the veteran's mentality, is certain to do so.
Indeed, with Broad, whose straight bat and cool temperament should ensure he'll make plenty of runs at international level to go with the wickets which are a given, it's simply a matter of when he gets into the Test side. Once he's there he'll be there for ever (or it'll sure seem like it).
5.10.07
Further Exposure
ODIs, World Cups and international Twenty20 competitions may come and go with his participation questioned or absent, but, as soon as the ball's red, the kit's white and the game lasts a maximum of five days, Jacques Kallis clicks into gear. His twin centuries in South Africa's first Test win in Karachi took him to 26 in Test cricket, and, whatever the desultory nature of his strike-rate (around 43, Cricinfo tells me), his average and the sheer technical impregnability of his batting mark him down as one of the finest batsmen in the world today. I can understand the questions (and the fact that his highest Test score remains below 200 tells part of the story), but, for sheer weight of runs, where would South Africa be without him?
I've waxed lyrical about Kallis before, but I've had fewer opportunities to write about successful England one-day sides. Yesterday's victory in the second ODI at Dambulla was hugely impressive, even if it may have been predicated on some Sri Lankan complacency. But then, if you'd played England goodness knows how many times in limited-over cricket in the last twenty years or so and steamrollered them repeatedly, you'd probably be complacent too.
Ryan Sidebottom fired in his customary new-ball spell from left-arm over and Graeme Swann showed the type of technical ability, competitiveness and temperamental solidity which completely justified his selection (and raised questions about his extended absence under Fletcher) and should see him back on the island for the Tests before Christmas, while Owais Shah continued to cement his grip on the tricky number six position. When Shah was growing up in the Middlesex side his chief problem appeared, as with many young players, to be knowing which of his many shots to play and when to play them. Almost 29, he seems to have all that taped now, and, while his right-hand dominant technique will never be a thing of beauty, his deep well of innate talent should ensure that he stays around the side for a while. Tests are a different matter, but he sure ain't doing his chances of further exposure any harm.
I've waxed lyrical about Kallis before, but I've had fewer opportunities to write about successful England one-day sides. Yesterday's victory in the second ODI at Dambulla was hugely impressive, even if it may have been predicated on some Sri Lankan complacency. But then, if you'd played England goodness knows how many times in limited-over cricket in the last twenty years or so and steamrollered them repeatedly, you'd probably be complacent too.
Ryan Sidebottom fired in his customary new-ball spell from left-arm over and Graeme Swann showed the type of technical ability, competitiveness and temperamental solidity which completely justified his selection (and raised questions about his extended absence under Fletcher) and should see him back on the island for the Tests before Christmas, while Owais Shah continued to cement his grip on the tricky number six position. When Shah was growing up in the Middlesex side his chief problem appeared, as with many young players, to be knowing which of his many shots to play and when to play them. Almost 29, he seems to have all that taped now, and, while his right-hand dominant technique will never be a thing of beauty, his deep well of innate talent should ensure that he stays around the side for a while. Tests are a different matter, but he sure ain't doing his chances of further exposure any harm.
1.10.07
It's a Dirty Job...
So, just a few weeks after seeing off India at home, England are back to square one (did they ever leave it?). And a frustrated and annoyed Andrew Miller is shooting from the hip.
For what it's worth I agree with a lot of what you say, Andrew, but I'll be happy to get paid to travel to Sri Lanka and watch England lose if you don't want to do it.
For what it's worth I agree with a lot of what you say, Andrew, but I'll be happy to get paid to travel to Sri Lanka and watch England lose if you don't want to do it.
Staying the Same, Changing
With the 2007 English season finally out of the way and the first World Twenty20 also put to bed, the mind turns to everything else that's going on in the perpetually revolving, often crazily over-burdened, cricket world.
Australia in India, South Africa in Pakistan, England in Sri Lanka. There is, as always, a lot happening, but the more things change the more they remain the same. As I write Jacques Kallis is unbeaten on 118 at the end of the first day in Karachi and Mahela Jayawardena has top-scored for Sri Lanka against England in Dambulla.
Elsewhere, though, things have moved on. It was announced at the end of last week that Allan Donald would not be taking up a full-time appointment as England's bowling coach and would instead be joining his old team-mate Ashley Giles back in the brave new world of Edgbaston. This is a pity, as Donald clearly had a beneficial effect on the performances of England's wayward seamers last summer and it remains to be seen whether or not Ottis Gibson, for all his magnificence in Durham colours, can do the same.
In India, meanwhile, the national 'A' team and their South African counterparts finally managed to get on the pitch for their first (or third) ODI in Rajkot. India gained a narrow victory, largely thanks to Subramaniam Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu player who's been hovering around the side for the last couple of years or so and who's built up a nice portfolio of decent performances. I noticed last week that he's been given a 'Grade D' contract by the BCCI; it'll be interesting to see if he can kick on, as India, whatever their recent achievements in the longest and shortest forms of the international game, will soon be needing some high-quality reinforcements.
The same might be said of England's batting once this afternoon is out...
Australia in India, South Africa in Pakistan, England in Sri Lanka. There is, as always, a lot happening, but the more things change the more they remain the same. As I write Jacques Kallis is unbeaten on 118 at the end of the first day in Karachi and Mahela Jayawardena has top-scored for Sri Lanka against England in Dambulla.
Elsewhere, though, things have moved on. It was announced at the end of last week that Allan Donald would not be taking up a full-time appointment as England's bowling coach and would instead be joining his old team-mate Ashley Giles back in the brave new world of Edgbaston. This is a pity, as Donald clearly had a beneficial effect on the performances of England's wayward seamers last summer and it remains to be seen whether or not Ottis Gibson, for all his magnificence in Durham colours, can do the same.
In India, meanwhile, the national 'A' team and their South African counterparts finally managed to get on the pitch for their first (or third) ODI in Rajkot. India gained a narrow victory, largely thanks to Subramaniam Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu player who's been hovering around the side for the last couple of years or so and who's built up a nice portfolio of decent performances. I noticed last week that he's been given a 'Grade D' contract by the BCCI; it'll be interesting to see if he can kick on, as India, whatever their recent achievements in the longest and shortest forms of the international game, will soon be needing some high-quality reinforcements.
The same might be said of England's batting once this afternoon is out...
25.9.07
Final Analysis
So, India won the Twenty20. I didn't see enough to offer too many opinions, other than that I don't half like the look of RP Singh.
Sambit Bal sums it all up very well here.
Sambit Bal sums it all up very well here.
23.9.07
A Tale of Two Players
Watching the Pro 40 play-off between Middlesex and Northants at Southgate this afternoon on Sky, two players stood out.
The first, the 18 year-old Middlesex seam bowler Steven Finn, looks a very good bet to be an international bowler of the future, despite the fact that Bob Willis appears to have taken a particular liking to him.
He's tall and generates good pace, seam movement and occasionally disconcerting bounce from a straight, rhythmic run and a high delivery stride which is slightly, but not excessively, chest-on, in the modern vogue. He's slim but will surely develop further physically over the next few years. I saw him bowl equally well in the flesh last Saturday at Taunton and both three-wicket spells augured well for what he could do in the future on more helpful pitches and with more overs at his disposal.
When presenting Finn with the match award the normally gloomy Willis said something about him soon being in the England side. Premature and tempting fate, I thought, but equally, I wouldn't be surprised to see him there sooner rather than later. Finn himself, who only left school a couple of months ago, said that he'd be delaying going to university so that he can play full-time next season. I'll be surprised if he ever gets to university, unless it's after a long and successful career in the first-class game.
David Sales, the most polished batsman on show, is at a very different stage in his career. Although undoubtedly one of the most talented English batsmen of his generation and the youngest player from this country to make both first-class double and triple-centuries, he's never got very near to an England cap. It's hard to say why, other than some consistency issues earlier in his career, a dreadful knee injury which cost him a whole year's cricket and the fact that he's spent his entire career at Northampton, never an easy place from which to get noticed by selectors, especially these days.
Rising thirty now, Sales remains an uncomplicated and powerful striker of the ball with the type of assured temperament which I think would have stood him in good stead at international level. It's unlikely now that he'll ever get the opportunity and you can't help feeling that at the end of his career we'll be left to wonder how more than one player with a good deal less natural ability - Nasser Hussain, Paul Collingwood - knows what it is to make a Test match double-century when Sales doesn't even know what it is to wear an England cap.
The first, the 18 year-old Middlesex seam bowler Steven Finn, looks a very good bet to be an international bowler of the future, despite the fact that Bob Willis appears to have taken a particular liking to him.
He's tall and generates good pace, seam movement and occasionally disconcerting bounce from a straight, rhythmic run and a high delivery stride which is slightly, but not excessively, chest-on, in the modern vogue. He's slim but will surely develop further physically over the next few years. I saw him bowl equally well in the flesh last Saturday at Taunton and both three-wicket spells augured well for what he could do in the future on more helpful pitches and with more overs at his disposal.
When presenting Finn with the match award the normally gloomy Willis said something about him soon being in the England side. Premature and tempting fate, I thought, but equally, I wouldn't be surprised to see him there sooner rather than later. Finn himself, who only left school a couple of months ago, said that he'd be delaying going to university so that he can play full-time next season. I'll be surprised if he ever gets to university, unless it's after a long and successful career in the first-class game.
David Sales, the most polished batsman on show, is at a very different stage in his career. Although undoubtedly one of the most talented English batsmen of his generation and the youngest player from this country to make both first-class double and triple-centuries, he's never got very near to an England cap. It's hard to say why, other than some consistency issues earlier in his career, a dreadful knee injury which cost him a whole year's cricket and the fact that he's spent his entire career at Northampton, never an easy place from which to get noticed by selectors, especially these days.
Rising thirty now, Sales remains an uncomplicated and powerful striker of the ball with the type of assured temperament which I think would have stood him in good stead at international level. It's unlikely now that he'll ever get the opportunity and you can't help feeling that at the end of his career we'll be left to wonder how more than one player with a good deal less natural ability - Nasser Hussain, Paul Collingwood - knows what it is to make a Test match double-century when Sales doesn't even know what it is to wear an England cap.
Ones to Watch
As India, with Yuvraj to the fore once again, and Pakistan, taking advantage of a characteristically insipid semi-final performance from New Zealand, set up a sub-continental Twenty20 final in Johannesburg tomorrow, the English County Championship came to a thrilling climax yesterday.
I spent the afternoon watching on TV as Lancashire mounted a sustained assault on the score of 489 which they'd been set to beat Surrey at The Oval and win the title for the first time since 1934. That they failed to do so by just 25 runs is an indication of how well they batted in typically benign Kennington conditions, with VVS Laxman, who made a swift, elegant century, and Stuart Law, combining to give Surrey (and Lancashire's principal championship rivals, Sussex) a major scare. Ultimately you had to feel that if the two major players had managed to stay together for a further hour then the total would have been reduced to a level from which it could have been knocked off with comparative ease. However, they didn't, it wasn't, and Sussex claimed the first division title for the third time in four years.
Down here in the west the talk is all of Somerset, who won the second division with a record total of 266 points. The best aspect of their final victory over Nottinghamshire, secured on Friday lunchtime by an innings and 121 runs, was that Notts were bowled out by a young English leg-spinner.
Michael Munday is 22, comes from Cornwall, and has been involved with Somerset's academy since he was a teenager. He's found it hard to break into their prodigiously successful side this season, but, given a rare opportunity on a wearing track at Taunton, finished the Notts second innings with 8 for 55 and the match with ten wickets.
Although I get to Taunton as often as I can I can't offer any specific comment on Munday as I've never seen him turn his arm over, but you have to like the fact that, after years of drought, there are now a couple of decent young English leg-spinners coming through. With the fact that he's played more first-class cricket and his unquestioned batting ability, the younger Adil Rashid is the only one of the two who's likely to be furrowing the brows of the England selectors anytime soon, but Munday, who spent last winter in Australia and has impressed no less a judge than Terry Jenner, is clearly one to watch.
I'm planning to see plenty of Somerset in Division One next season and will report back on what I see (which will hopefully include plenty of Munday).
I spent the afternoon watching on TV as Lancashire mounted a sustained assault on the score of 489 which they'd been set to beat Surrey at The Oval and win the title for the first time since 1934. That they failed to do so by just 25 runs is an indication of how well they batted in typically benign Kennington conditions, with VVS Laxman, who made a swift, elegant century, and Stuart Law, combining to give Surrey (and Lancashire's principal championship rivals, Sussex) a major scare. Ultimately you had to feel that if the two major players had managed to stay together for a further hour then the total would have been reduced to a level from which it could have been knocked off with comparative ease. However, they didn't, it wasn't, and Sussex claimed the first division title for the third time in four years.
Down here in the west the talk is all of Somerset, who won the second division with a record total of 266 points. The best aspect of their final victory over Nottinghamshire, secured on Friday lunchtime by an innings and 121 runs, was that Notts were bowled out by a young English leg-spinner.
Michael Munday is 22, comes from Cornwall, and has been involved with Somerset's academy since he was a teenager. He's found it hard to break into their prodigiously successful side this season, but, given a rare opportunity on a wearing track at Taunton, finished the Notts second innings with 8 for 55 and the match with ten wickets.
Although I get to Taunton as often as I can I can't offer any specific comment on Munday as I've never seen him turn his arm over, but you have to like the fact that, after years of drought, there are now a couple of decent young English leg-spinners coming through. With the fact that he's played more first-class cricket and his unquestioned batting ability, the younger Adil Rashid is the only one of the two who's likely to be furrowing the brows of the England selectors anytime soon, but Munday, who spent last winter in Australia and has impressed no less a judge than Terry Jenner, is clearly one to watch.
I'm planning to see plenty of Somerset in Division One next season and will report back on what I see (which will hopefully include plenty of Munday).
20.9.07
Clean Hitting
I saw absolutely nothing of the England-India game last night and have still only managed see three of Yuvraj's shots - that's all BBC Breakfast showed when I staggered into life this morning. A look at YouTube will be in order over the weekend, I think.
I've written before about my admiration for Yuvraj and the cleanness of his hitting. I read today that he'd said that he didn't agree with comparisons between himself and Sobers, but I disagree. That's exactly who he's always reminded me of most.
One of my past pieces about Yuvraj is here.
Tonight, though, India didn't even need him as they laid South Africa's typically vulnerable challenge to rest, with young Rohit Sharma and RP Singh to the fore at a pulsating Kingsmead.
Semis to come on Saturday.
I've written before about my admiration for Yuvraj and the cleanness of his hitting. I read today that he'd said that he didn't agree with comparisons between himself and Sobers, but I disagree. That's exactly who he's always reminded me of most.
One of my past pieces about Yuvraj is here.
Tonight, though, India didn't even need him as they laid South Africa's typically vulnerable challenge to rest, with young Rohit Sharma and RP Singh to the fore at a pulsating Kingsmead.
Semis to come on Saturday.
18.9.07
Another Season, Another Continent, Another Failure
Well, Vikram Solanki, one of Worcester's favourite sons but no keeper, took the gloves, and England, in a welter of misjudgements and run-outs, lost to New Zealand, almost certainly ending their participation in the first Twenty20 world championship.
You used to know what you were going to get with England in one-day cricket: failure. These days, it seems, you get failure in major tournaments and some poorly-judged player behaviour interspersed with success when slightly fewer people are looking.
If this pattern counts for anything they ought to do okay in Sri Lanka. I won't, though, be laying any bets on it.
You used to know what you were going to get with England in one-day cricket: failure. These days, it seems, you get failure in major tournaments and some poorly-judged player behaviour interspersed with success when slightly fewer people are looking.
If this pattern counts for anything they ought to do okay in Sri Lanka. I won't, though, be laying any bets on it.
17.9.07
Questions, Questions
Meanwhile, in South Africa, England, with two poor defeats behind them in a tournament in which they were thought likely to be serious contenders, are left to do what they're best at, question themselves.
With Wright, Maddy, Kirtley, Schofield and Snape failing to move any mountains thus far, was the policy of selecting Twenty20 'specialists' right?
And with Matt Prior injured, who's going to keep against the Kiwis?
With Wright, Maddy, Kirtley, Schofield and Snape failing to move any mountains thus far, was the policy of selecting Twenty20 'specialists' right?
And with Matt Prior injured, who's going to keep against the Kiwis?
Contenders
Of course, with Dravid barely out of the door, the discussions start about the relative merits of his possible successors. Off the top of my head Tendulkar seems unlikely and Dhoni perhaps a little premature; there might just be some mileage in the selectors taking a proper look at Laxman or Kumble.
Anand Vasu sums the situation up well at Cricinfo.
Anand Vasu sums the situation up well at Cricinfo.
Indian Signs
With a trip to Taunton on Saturday to see Somerset fail to add the Pro 40 Second Division title to their promotion and Sunday spent trying to keep an eye what's been happening in France and South Africa, time to post has been sparse.
At the end of last week it was good to see one of this blog's favourite columnists, Aakash Chopra, make 239* in India A's crushing defeat of their South African rivals, ensuring that his name stays in the minds of the national selectors and bringing him closer to the recall which he craves.
And then there was Dravid. I didn't see it coming, but then, once I stopped to think about it, it made some sort of sense. In England he captained his side well - at least as well as any of the other contenders might have done - but his batting often seemed distracted and short of his customary poise and inevitability. With himself, Ganguly and Tendulkar growing old together, India's batting is poised on the edge of an era of enforced regeneration, and it must be hoped that Dravid's decision will enable him to recapture his previous form and ensure that his career with the bat at the top level is extended for as long as possible.
This, though, would only be a by-product. At Cricinfo Dravid himself merely states that he wasn't enjoying the job and he didn't feel that his batting had been adversely affected, whatever the figures indicate:
Cricinfo
At the end of last week it was good to see one of this blog's favourite columnists, Aakash Chopra, make 239* in India A's crushing defeat of their South African rivals, ensuring that his name stays in the minds of the national selectors and bringing him closer to the recall which he craves.
And then there was Dravid. I didn't see it coming, but then, once I stopped to think about it, it made some sort of sense. In England he captained his side well - at least as well as any of the other contenders might have done - but his batting often seemed distracted and short of his customary poise and inevitability. With himself, Ganguly and Tendulkar growing old together, India's batting is poised on the edge of an era of enforced regeneration, and it must be hoped that Dravid's decision will enable him to recapture his previous form and ensure that his career with the bat at the top level is extended for as long as possible.
This, though, would only be a by-product. At Cricinfo Dravid himself merely states that he wasn't enjoying the job and he didn't feel that his batting had been adversely affected, whatever the figures indicate:
Cricinfo
14.9.07
Exemplary
While the live issue of the week is the World Twenty20, I can't offer much in the way of comment as I've seen hardly any of it. The only exception was the conclusion of Zimbabwe's successful run-chase against Australia a few days ago and what came after it, when Brett Lee once more enhanced his reputation as the cricket world's greatest sportsman by smiling broadly and shaking the hands of each of the Zimbabwe players in turn with what looked, from my perspective, like genuine sincerity and warmth.
While it's easier to take defeat when your team gives the impression that it's yet to really embrace twenty over cricket, Lee's approach is exemplary and charismatic.
I'm looking forward to seeing him back on the cricket grounds of England in 2009 already.
While it's easier to take defeat when your team gives the impression that it's yet to really embrace twenty over cricket, Lee's approach is exemplary and charismatic.
I'm looking forward to seeing him back on the cricket grounds of England in 2009 already.
11.9.07
The Long Road Back
The omissions and inclusions in the latest list of centrally-contracted England players were predictable, but I was heartened and pleased by the return to the ODI side of Graeme Swann, who hasn't had so much as a sniff of a place in the squad since he went to South Africa around the turn of the millennium and was thought to have upset Duncan Fletcher with his insouciant attitude.
At age-group level in England Swann was one of the more talented players of his generation and a member, alongside Owais Shah and Robert Key (and a few other county journeymen like Stephen Peters) of the side which won the under-19 World Cup in early 1998. Later that year he made a sparkling start to his career with Northants -I particularly remember innings of 92 and 111 from number eight in a losing cause at Leicester - and, when he was called up to the England side at the end of the decade, his future looked assured. Somehow, though, it never really happened. The years since have seen him falter at Northampton, move to Nottingham, struggle to make a consistent impression in the first-class game but develop into a dangerous operator in limited-overs cricket with both bat and ball, and retain the enthusiasm and humour which made him stand out back then.
He's another example of the type of player - like Ryan Sidebottom - who would never have found a way back into 'Team England' under Fletcher's dogmatic stewardship, and the resurrection of players like this is as good a retrospective argument for Fletcher's replacement with Peter Moores as I've found. And it was instructive to hear Swann himself say last night that Sidebottom's recall and the success that followed it was one of the main things which gave him hope that he too could find a way back.
And now, with the England ODI side finally looking like it could be moving in the right direction, is a pretty good time to return. With Panesar's continuing inability to reproduce his Test form and Swann's batting and fielding potential, a longer-term place in the side could be well within reach of a player who seems to have been around for a very long time but is only 28.
I hope he makes it.
At age-group level in England Swann was one of the more talented players of his generation and a member, alongside Owais Shah and Robert Key (and a few other county journeymen like Stephen Peters) of the side which won the under-19 World Cup in early 1998. Later that year he made a sparkling start to his career with Northants -I particularly remember innings of 92 and 111 from number eight in a losing cause at Leicester - and, when he was called up to the England side at the end of the decade, his future looked assured. Somehow, though, it never really happened. The years since have seen him falter at Northampton, move to Nottingham, struggle to make a consistent impression in the first-class game but develop into a dangerous operator in limited-overs cricket with both bat and ball, and retain the enthusiasm and humour which made him stand out back then.
He's another example of the type of player - like Ryan Sidebottom - who would never have found a way back into 'Team England' under Fletcher's dogmatic stewardship, and the resurrection of players like this is as good a retrospective argument for Fletcher's replacement with Peter Moores as I've found. And it was instructive to hear Swann himself say last night that Sidebottom's recall and the success that followed it was one of the main things which gave him hope that he too could find a way back.
And now, with the England ODI side finally looking like it could be moving in the right direction, is a pretty good time to return. With Panesar's continuing inability to reproduce his Test form and Swann's batting and fielding potential, a longer-term place in the side could be well within reach of a player who seems to have been around for a very long time but is only 28.
I hope he makes it.
8.9.07
You Never Know
In the aftermath of the Oval game I briefly thought about going up to London for today's game. I'm glad I didn't. The Oval match climaxed the series three days early and today's match was a damp squib by comparison.
When Rahul Dravid was growing up in southern India I can't imagine that he was aware of the way in which, back in the old days, Gillette Cup and NatWest Trophy finals were often rendered impotent by the way in which the side that won the toss won the match. They usually elected to bowl early on a dewy September morning, and, more often than not, wrecked their opponents' hopes in the first half-hour. By way of contrast Dravid chose to bowl, and, with Tendulkar getting another poor decision, the game was falling away as a contest within the first couple of hours. It never recovered.
Once again, England bowled and fielded with more certainty than India and their batting, with Pietersen and Collingwood thriving in a less pressurised environment than India's batsmen had enjoyed, saw them home with some 14 overs to spare.
Overall, though, India will be pleased with the way their tour has gone; England happy with the way the one-day series has panned out.
The signs for the future appear good. India have an overseas Test series win under their belt, England an ODI series win over a side with the type of collective experience they can only dream about.
But, with these two teams, you never really know...
When Rahul Dravid was growing up in southern India I can't imagine that he was aware of the way in which, back in the old days, Gillette Cup and NatWest Trophy finals were often rendered impotent by the way in which the side that won the toss won the match. They usually elected to bowl early on a dewy September morning, and, more often than not, wrecked their opponents' hopes in the first half-hour. By way of contrast Dravid chose to bowl, and, with Tendulkar getting another poor decision, the game was falling away as a contest within the first couple of hours. It never recovered.
Once again, England bowled and fielded with more certainty than India and their batting, with Pietersen and Collingwood thriving in a less pressurised environment than India's batsmen had enjoyed, saw them home with some 14 overs to spare.
Overall, though, India will be pleased with the way their tour has gone; England happy with the way the one-day series has panned out.
The signs for the future appear good. India have an overseas Test series win under their belt, England an ODI series win over a side with the type of collective experience they can only dream about.
But, with these two teams, you never really know...
Volatility
With the players coming out at Lord's, one's thoughts switch back to the latest drama of the volatile, episodic, unfulfilled career of Shoaib Akhtar, sent home from South Africa before the Twenty20 World Cup has even started after a 'fight' in the dressing room with Mohammad Asif. Of course, it's hard to determine the truth at this stage, but it appears that Shoaib hit Asif with a bat, leaving him with a 'bruised thigh'.
It doesn't sound much, but, with Shoaib's record it might not take much to render the damage to his career terminal. It'll be interesting to see how Geoff Lawson tries to tackle a problem which many of his predecessors have failed to solve.
Meanwhile, at Lord's, India, toss won, are batting. Game on.
It doesn't sound much, but, with Shoaib's record it might not take much to render the damage to his career terminal. It'll be interesting to see how Geoff Lawson tries to tackle a problem which many of his predecessors have failed to solve.
Meanwhile, at Lord's, India, toss won, are batting. Game on.
5.9.07
3-3
The last week has seen the one-day series swing back in the direction of India, and today's epic game saw to it that they'll go into Saturday's concluding game at Lord's at 3-3.
I was working all day and so only got to see the last few overs live, but that was enough to make it clear that it had been an exceptional day in the September sunshine on a typically run-filled Oval track.
Notwithstanding Tendulkar's blistering 94, which rolled back the years like nothing else we've seen from him this summer, it was a day for the youngsters - or at least those still trying to make their way in the international game - Luke Wright, Owais Shah and Dimitri Mascarenhas for England, Robin Uthappa for India. The first three, with power and placement, took England to the type of total that would once have appeared unassailable, while the last, regaining his place in the side with Dravid's assistance, applied the coup de grace just as the odds seemed to be running inexorably in England's favour.
Like many people I had my doubts about the duration of the series before it started, but with six games down and Lord's to come (and how many times will the 2002 NatWest Series final be mentioned over the next few days?) seven matches suddenly seems about right.
Bring on Saturday.
I was working all day and so only got to see the last few overs live, but that was enough to make it clear that it had been an exceptional day in the September sunshine on a typically run-filled Oval track.
Notwithstanding Tendulkar's blistering 94, which rolled back the years like nothing else we've seen from him this summer, it was a day for the youngsters - or at least those still trying to make their way in the international game - Luke Wright, Owais Shah and Dimitri Mascarenhas for England, Robin Uthappa for India. The first three, with power and placement, took England to the type of total that would once have appeared unassailable, while the last, regaining his place in the side with Dravid's assistance, applied the coup de grace just as the odds seemed to be running inexorably in England's favour.
Like many people I had my doubts about the duration of the series before it started, but with six games down and Lord's to come (and how many times will the 2002 NatWest Series final be mentioned over the next few days?) seven matches suddenly seems about right.
Bring on Saturday.
2.9.07
Circling Vultures
A couple of afternoons at Taunton gave me the opportunity to see Somerset confirm their promotion to Division One of the County Championship and to take a first look at the seventeen year-old Glamorgan seamer James Harris, who's taken an impressive number of wickets in his first season in the county game.
The table before the game didn't lie and Glamorgan were comprehensively thrashed by a confident, unified and driven Somerset team, under the unobtrusively forceful and experienced guidance of Justin Langer. Just ten years ago to the month Glamorgan themselves secured the title at Taunton - and there was just one division then - but it's now hard to conceive of when the Welsh county will ever win anything again.
However, in this age of multiple overseas players they continue to rely on homegrown products, and, if they can hang on to Harris and produce a few more like him they might just be able to find a way back.
Harris clearly has a lot of physical filling out to do, but his opening spell on Friday afternoon, when he sent Neil Edwards and Marcus Trescothick back to the pavilion in quick succession, was distinctly impressive. He has a smooth, straight approach to the crease, a good, high, delivery stride and the ability to move the ball both ways off the pitch. It seems to me that he needs to inject a bit more pace and urgency into his run-up and this will encourage him to follow through more and give him extra pace. However, with what already appears to be good control of line and length you feel that the rest will come in time.
These days, though, when a county such as Glamorgan produces a player with the promise of Harris, the vultures start to circle almost immediately. While Glamorgan are already wealthier than some, and are going to join the select group of counties which stage Tests when Australia come to Cardiff in 2009, there is an increasing gap in playing standards, and, in many cases, salaries, between first and second division cricket. The traditionalist in me was very disappointed by the recent news that Stuart Broad, a cricketer of immense promise nurtured by Leicestershire, had signed for Nottinghamshire, a club which, although Broad's father played for them and they can doubtless offer him a far higher salary than Leicestershire can, haven't even assured themselves of a return to the first division yet. Leicestershire suffered similarly when Luke Wright joined Sussex, and, while I also think it would be a pity if a genuine transfer market developed in cricket, you can't help feeling that counties such as Leicestershire deserve some financial compensation when their players are picked off by rivals with greater financial power.
The table before the game didn't lie and Glamorgan were comprehensively thrashed by a confident, unified and driven Somerset team, under the unobtrusively forceful and experienced guidance of Justin Langer. Just ten years ago to the month Glamorgan themselves secured the title at Taunton - and there was just one division then - but it's now hard to conceive of when the Welsh county will ever win anything again.
However, in this age of multiple overseas players they continue to rely on homegrown products, and, if they can hang on to Harris and produce a few more like him they might just be able to find a way back.
Harris clearly has a lot of physical filling out to do, but his opening spell on Friday afternoon, when he sent Neil Edwards and Marcus Trescothick back to the pavilion in quick succession, was distinctly impressive. He has a smooth, straight approach to the crease, a good, high, delivery stride and the ability to move the ball both ways off the pitch. It seems to me that he needs to inject a bit more pace and urgency into his run-up and this will encourage him to follow through more and give him extra pace. However, with what already appears to be good control of line and length you feel that the rest will come in time.
These days, though, when a county such as Glamorgan produces a player with the promise of Harris, the vultures start to circle almost immediately. While Glamorgan are already wealthier than some, and are going to join the select group of counties which stage Tests when Australia come to Cardiff in 2009, there is an increasing gap in playing standards, and, in many cases, salaries, between first and second division cricket. The traditionalist in me was very disappointed by the recent news that Stuart Broad, a cricketer of immense promise nurtured by Leicestershire, had signed for Nottinghamshire, a club which, although Broad's father played for them and they can doubtless offer him a far higher salary than Leicestershire can, haven't even assured themselves of a return to the first division yet. Leicestershire suffered similarly when Luke Wright joined Sussex, and, while I also think it would be a pity if a genuine transfer market developed in cricket, you can't help feeling that counties such as Leicestershire deserve some financial compensation when their players are picked off by rivals with greater financial power.
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