It was good to see Durham, the newest English first-class county, and one which brings through more than its fair share of good young players in this era of reliance on Kolpak players, win their first major trophy with a hammering of Hampshire in the final of the Friends Provident Trophy at Lord's.
You wouldn't want to single out anyone in particular, but Shiv Chanderpaul was his usual one-day self - taciturn, enterprising, fluent, often brilliant - and another West Indian veteran, Ottis Gibson, really set the victory up when he took wickets with the first two balls of the Hampshire innings in the Saturday afternoon gloom.
The local heroes included Paul Collingwood, Liam Plunkett, Neil Killeen and Graham Onions, all of whom have been around for a while and have received their share of recognition at one level or another. And then there was the young wicket-keeper batsman Phil Mustard, who set their innings on its way with a belligerent top-order 49 and then kept excellently as the screw was turned in the field.
It was also great to watch and listen to the interviews which Gibson gave to Sky and TMS before play this morning; full of personal reminiscences about growing up in Barbados, Malcolm Marshall, what happened to West Indies cricket and his feeling of needing to go on proving himself because he never made a go of international cricket.
Quite a guy, quite a club.
Showing posts with label Liam Plunkett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liam Plunkett. Show all posts
19.8.07
27.3.07
Attrition
An interesting article in The Times by Christopher Martin-Jenkins, arguing that no other country currently has as much young seam bowling talent as England.
I like Plunkett (but he's still got plenty to do); Anderson, when fit, looks to be getting back to where he was a few years ago; Mahmood continues to look unconvincing to me and I've hardly seen Onions. I have, however, seen plenty of Stuart Broad, who could be the best of the lot.
CMJ may be right, but, given the historic attrition rate among young English seamers, it'll be interesting to see where all these bowlers are in five years' time.
I like Plunkett (but he's still got plenty to do); Anderson, when fit, looks to be getting back to where he was a few years ago; Mahmood continues to look unconvincing to me and I've hardly seen Onions. I have, however, seen plenty of Stuart Broad, who could be the best of the lot.
CMJ may be right, but, given the historic attrition rate among young English seamers, it'll be interesting to see where all these bowlers are in five years' time.
7.2.07
Heartening and Impressive
It was difficult to decide what was most heartening and impressive about England's second ODI win in as many games. The partnership between Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood, which signalled their own return to form and stabilised the England innings at a vital time, the lower-order runs from Jamie Dalrymple and Liam Plunkett which took them to a winning score, Vaughan's customary coolness under pressure, or the simple fact that from a position of relative weakness with ten overs to go they managed to win the game at all.
Well, it was all pretty good, and a timely reminder that this might not be such a bad combination of players after all, and maybe, just maybe, they're capable of winning a few more one-day matches when it counts, starting with the finals against Australia later this week. Maybe so, maybe not, but at least the Canada and Kenya games in the World Cup don't loom quite so large now.
A key factor in the victory over New Zealand was that for the second game in a row one of England's top order converted a fifty into a century, and Collingwood deserves the highest possible praise for kicking against weeks of failure going all the way back to the Adelaide Test and making some serious runs at the time when they were most needed. Not that anything less should have been expected from a player whose coolness and toughness of mentality ought to be talked about with reverence long after he's moved on.
In the wider context of the series and the future, it's good to see Stuart Broad called up again, if much less so to see Chris Tremlett and Jon Lewis on the way home.
Broad is unquestionably the future, and Tremlett could be as well, although it's getting to the stage where you have to start wondering if his fragile body will ever be up to the rigours of international cricket.
Well, it was all pretty good, and a timely reminder that this might not be such a bad combination of players after all, and maybe, just maybe, they're capable of winning a few more one-day matches when it counts, starting with the finals against Australia later this week. Maybe so, maybe not, but at least the Canada and Kenya games in the World Cup don't loom quite so large now.
A key factor in the victory over New Zealand was that for the second game in a row one of England's top order converted a fifty into a century, and Collingwood deserves the highest possible praise for kicking against weeks of failure going all the way back to the Adelaide Test and making some serious runs at the time when they were most needed. Not that anything less should have been expected from a player whose coolness and toughness of mentality ought to be talked about with reverence long after he's moved on.
In the wider context of the series and the future, it's good to see Stuart Broad called up again, if much less so to see Chris Tremlett and Jon Lewis on the way home.
Broad is unquestionably the future, and Tremlett could be as well, although it's getting to the stage where you have to start wondering if his fragile body will ever be up to the rigours of international cricket.
2.2.07
An Unfamiliar Feeling
I saw a fair amount of England's first ODI win over Australia in Australia since January 1999 on either side of a brief trip into the gorgeous Exe Valley for a pre-arranged, work-related, meeting.
It looked as though they were good value for it, and it was especially pleasurable to see Ed Joyce confirm the improvement he'd shown in the last game against New Zealand and go on to get a hundred. I've seen him make good runs for Middlesex on a number of occasions and have a high regard for his abilities, but I was beginning to doubt him earlier in the series when he was repeatedly getting out for low scores in the middle-order and his body language seemed to betray his dwindling confidence.
Mal Loye assisted him well at the top of the order, Belly played his usual quality cameo (when will he really cash in?) and there was plenty of good bowling (chiefly from Liam Plunkett) and sharp fielding.
More of the same, please.
It looked as though they were good value for it, and it was especially pleasurable to see Ed Joyce confirm the improvement he'd shown in the last game against New Zealand and go on to get a hundred. I've seen him make good runs for Middlesex on a number of occasions and have a high regard for his abilities, but I was beginning to doubt him earlier in the series when he was repeatedly getting out for low scores in the middle-order and his body language seemed to betray his dwindling confidence.
Mal Loye assisted him well at the top of the order, Belly played his usual quality cameo (when will he really cash in?) and there was plenty of good bowling (chiefly from Liam Plunkett) and sharp fielding.
More of the same, please.
17.9.06
Ashes to Ashes
The announcement of the Ashes party last Tuesday was big news, but I can't say I got too excited about it. There was little about it that was unpredictable or annoying. I would have liked to see Stuart Broad go instead of Liam Plunkett, and I'm really not sure what Ashley Giles is doing there when he hasn't bowled properly for a very long time, except to confirm many people's uneasy feelings about Fletcher's devotion to him, possibly to the detriment of the blessed Monty. And while Tim de Lisle was right to raise the question of whether Trescothick, after being ruled out of the Champions Trophy by 'stress-related illness', should have been considered fit to go on what will be an infinitely more stressful tour of Australia, I always knew he would be there.
As for the captaincy, well, it's usually good to have consistency from selectors, and they've at least been consistent in picking Flintoff, having originally announced that he would skipper the side in Australia prior to the Pakistan series. I do, though, have my doubts. Although Flintoff captained the side well in India, he was guilty of drastically over-bowling himself in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's in May, and the only other serious contender, Andrew Strauss, did little wrong against Pakistan (apart from that delayed declaration at Lord's, which still annoys me). A difficult choice, but I would probably have gone for Strauss.
It'll all come out in the wash later in the winter. And it'll sure as hell be fun.
18.7.06
After Lord's
Walking back to my hotel through the sun-blasted back streets off the Edgware Road, I tried to work out what I thought about the First Test between England and Pakistan. It wasn't easy, but that was as much due to the savage, brain-addling heat as to the fact that the match ended as a draw in which neither side was obviously superior.
As Mike Atherton said during the presentations, 'the pitch was the winner', with Mick Hunt's strip proving too good for two depleted bowling attacks, but the batsmen of both sides were only too happy to fill their boots. The game also represented a missed opportunity for England, who, although victory without Flintoff was always unlikely, would have given themselves a better chance by pushing on and declaring before the close on Sunday. Their caution betrayed their lack of confidence without Flintoff and you have to hope that he remains fit well into the future, both for his obvious qualities with bat and ball and because he'll hopefully prove a less cautious captain than Strauss. Then again, you can only captain with what you have, and captaincy will always be made easier for Flintoff by the fact he'll have himself in his side.
There was much to enjoy throughout the five days, beginning with the partnership of contrasts between Paul Collingwood and Alastair Cook on the first afternoon. Cook the public schoolboy whose gilded progress to the national side has followed an apparently inevitable path since he was a young teenager, Collingwood the gritty and self-possessed man of Durham who's conquered the doubts of many to carve a niche for himself in the Test side to go with his indispensable slot in the one day team.
I just like Cook. Although his hundred was quite a scratchy affair, aided by a series of dropped catches, there's something reassuring and utterly classical about his presence at the crease. His best strokes - especially the on-drive - bear the mark of a very special player indeed. While it's certain that his career will hit the rocks at some point he seems likely to go to Australia as England's number three and I'll be happy to see him there.
Although a long-time admirer of Collingwood's durable temperament (never better illustrated than by his vital innings in support of Pietersen on the last day The Oval last year), I could never really see him as a Test batsman. I'm very happy to have been proved wrong (for the time being at least), and, although the Pakistan attack was never very menacing, his 186 was an innings full of well-selected and executed strokes until he got slightly bogged down prior to his dismissal after lunch on the second day.
Also, as Will Luke quite rightly says here
he must be the finest fielder England have ever had. I remember Derek Randall well, and, while he was quicker over the ground than Colly and perhaps a slightly more accurate thrower at the stumps, Collingwood's ability to stop virtually anything on the ground and consistently take catches which defy belief give him the edge.
Having spent most of Friday watching from in front of the pavilion I happened to choose the minutes prior to the first two wickets of the Pakistan first innings to walk round behind the Warner Stand to buy an ice cream. While eating said ice cream I watched the game from the back of the stand and had a more dramatic view of Collingwood's latest brilliant catch than I would have had in the pavilion. However, I was further away, and at first I wasn't sure who had taken it. I can't think why, though, as he seems to do things like that all the time.
I also enjoyed Ian Bell's hundred immensely. He's someone I've consistently supported, even when he was struggling against Australia last year, and while he often appears diffident and lacking in the inclination (but surely not the ability) to really dominate an attack (although he was just showing signs of opening up when Strauss ran him out in the second innings) he's worth having around the side for the beautiful purity and adroitness of his technique. Although he'll probably lose his place once Flintoff returns, he's put himself ahead of Key and Shah in the race for Australia.
As Mike Atherton said during the presentations, 'the pitch was the winner', with Mick Hunt's strip proving too good for two depleted bowling attacks, but the batsmen of both sides were only too happy to fill their boots. The game also represented a missed opportunity for England, who, although victory without Flintoff was always unlikely, would have given themselves a better chance by pushing on and declaring before the close on Sunday. Their caution betrayed their lack of confidence without Flintoff and you have to hope that he remains fit well into the future, both for his obvious qualities with bat and ball and because he'll hopefully prove a less cautious captain than Strauss. Then again, you can only captain with what you have, and captaincy will always be made easier for Flintoff by the fact he'll have himself in his side.
There was much to enjoy throughout the five days, beginning with the partnership of contrasts between Paul Collingwood and Alastair Cook on the first afternoon. Cook the public schoolboy whose gilded progress to the national side has followed an apparently inevitable path since he was a young teenager, Collingwood the gritty and self-possessed man of Durham who's conquered the doubts of many to carve a niche for himself in the Test side to go with his indispensable slot in the one day team.
I just like Cook. Although his hundred was quite a scratchy affair, aided by a series of dropped catches, there's something reassuring and utterly classical about his presence at the crease. His best strokes - especially the on-drive - bear the mark of a very special player indeed. While it's certain that his career will hit the rocks at some point he seems likely to go to Australia as England's number three and I'll be happy to see him there.
Although a long-time admirer of Collingwood's durable temperament (never better illustrated than by his vital innings in support of Pietersen on the last day The Oval last year), I could never really see him as a Test batsman. I'm very happy to have been proved wrong (for the time being at least), and, although the Pakistan attack was never very menacing, his 186 was an innings full of well-selected and executed strokes until he got slightly bogged down prior to his dismissal after lunch on the second day.
Also, as Will Luke quite rightly says here
he must be the finest fielder England have ever had. I remember Derek Randall well, and, while he was quicker over the ground than Colly and perhaps a slightly more accurate thrower at the stumps, Collingwood's ability to stop virtually anything on the ground and consistently take catches which defy belief give him the edge.
Having spent most of Friday watching from in front of the pavilion I happened to choose the minutes prior to the first two wickets of the Pakistan first innings to walk round behind the Warner Stand to buy an ice cream. While eating said ice cream I watched the game from the back of the stand and had a more dramatic view of Collingwood's latest brilliant catch than I would have had in the pavilion. However, I was further away, and at first I wasn't sure who had taken it. I can't think why, though, as he seems to do things like that all the time.
I also enjoyed Ian Bell's hundred immensely. He's someone I've consistently supported, even when he was struggling against Australia last year, and while he often appears diffident and lacking in the inclination (but surely not the ability) to really dominate an attack (although he was just showing signs of opening up when Strauss ran him out in the second innings) he's worth having around the side for the beautiful purity and adroitness of his technique. Although he'll probably lose his place once Flintoff returns, he's put himself ahead of Key and Shah in the race for Australia.
Strauss batted as well as we know Strauss can on Sunday, which is very well indeed. His captaincy was okay, although, as I've said, I would have liked to have seen a much earlier declaration and more confidence in his use of Panesar in both innings. I feel that England have a potentially world-class spinner in Panesar and both Strauss and Flintoff have occasionally appeared reluctant to give him the really long spells from which he would surely benefit. This is even more surprising given how insipid much of England's seam bowling was, especially on the last day. Harmison bowled well at times in the first innings (and is Harmison, after all), so he can be allowed some latitude, but Plunkett was disappointing. All that can be said about him is that the raw material in terms of physique, action and temperament appears to be there (as well as the odd excellent delivery), but he's probably suffering through having to 'grow up' as a bowler in Test rather than county cricket. Let's hope for better.
Finally, I'm happy to acknowledge that Geraint Jones kept very well. But he still didn't get any significant runs, and his understandable lack of confidence conspired with the Pakistan attack and Inzamam's field placings to reduce England's momentum on the fourth afternoon, just when they needed somebody to increase it. However, the longer he stays in the side the more certain it is that he won't be dropped. With the number of injuries that have afflicted England over the last year this feels increasingly like a period of transition, and, as Jones is now one of the more experienced members of the side, the selectors are less and less likely to want to replace him before (or in) Australia.
On the Pakistan side, Mohammad Yousuf, for so long someone you took for granted in their middle order, was neat, tidy and majestically classy. Amazing what a change of religion, name and shaving habits, as well as a huge stack of runs, can do for you.
Inzamam never changes. I first saw him bat live when he made a superb 148 on the first day at Lord's ten years ago, and he simply has more time to play than virtually anybody else I've ever seen. One day he might actually fail to reach fifty against England.
Also, although his figures show how difficult he found bowling at Lord's, I was quietly impressed by Umar Gul. There wasn't a huge amount going on at the business end of the pitch, but I love the smoothness and rhythm of his approach and have a feeling that more may be heard of him, providing he can retain his place in the Pakistan attack once Shoaib, Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif are fit.
All in all it was a game with a slightly old-fashioned tempo, but it was no less enjoyable for that. Mind you, I'm not sure whether the bloke who spent some (but not much) of his time sitting next to me on the first day would agree. Turned up at 11.30. Sat down. Watched the cricket for five minutes. Checked his Blackberry. Watched the cricket for ten minutes and applauded a few Andrew Strauss fours before quipping that 'They'll have 200 by lunch at this rate'. Checked his Blackberry. Disappeared for two hours. Came back, watched about twenty minutes' cricket and left.
There's no pleasing some people.
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