Less for More

With a lot of sorting out to do after my holiday, I'm a bit late posting about Chris Gayle's comments about the future of Test cricket.

Despite some of the predictable howls of outrage and the fact that I love Test cricket, I didn't see a great deal to get upset about. He's entitled to his opinions and there are always going to be professional sportsmen who don't share the views of those who watch them (by no means all of whom can disagree or Test grounds all over the world would be full).

To Gayle, it would appear, the fact that you can earn more by doing less is all that matters, and why shouldn't it? Those of us in more mundane jobs wouldn't hesitate if we were given the chance to work less and earn more, so why should a jobbing cricketer be any different?

Of course, if you were the West Indies board you'd have more than the odd doubt about whether Gayle's the right man to captain your Test side, and the team's performances in the last two games won't have done much to dispel those.

As a Test captain Gayle must be living on borrowed time, but I don't think he deserves castigation for holding what is a perfectly defensible view.

There's plenty of evidence that Gayle's in a minority among his fellow internationals, so there isn't too much to lose sleep over.

For the time being.

Selection Issues

The England selectors' decision to recall Ian Bell and Ryan Sidebottom to the squad for the Durham Test seemed a bit odd, and it doesn't seem likely that either will play.

Bell's made one ton in the Championship and one in the Friends Provident, but, as ever, has mixed in a few abortive starts. Sidebottom has bowled a fair number of overs and taken a few wickets.

Both, though, need more than they've produced so far. Bell requires more and more runs, Sidebottom needs to remain fully fit well into July and be taking consistent wickets to come back into consideration, although, with the suspicion being that a little more experience may be wanted against Australia, he may just be back sooner rather than later.

A player who's already been selected in the England squad for the World Twenty20 and who may start to show his hand elsewhere before too long is Middlesex's young Irishman Eoin Morgan. When I got back from Scotland on Monday morning I slumped on my sofa and watched him destroy Kent with a tremendous display of ingenuity and power and it didn't surprise me at all. I first saw him play at Bath in 2006 and he immediately looked like a classy operator.

While another Middlesex Irishman, Ed Joyce, seemed to me to be poorly treated and prematurely discarded by England, one's feeling - and hope - is that Morgan may be around a lot longer.

Fair Bet

I spent most of last week in a wind and rainswept Isle of Skye, returning home via the highlands and Edinburgh, where the weather was slightly better. With all this said, it was still a very enjoyable trip but one which didn't really lend itself to keeping in close touch with what was going on in the cricket world.

While taking refuge from a storm of biblical proportions on Wednesday afternoon I did manage to hear some of the TMS coverage of Ravi Bopara's hundred and catch a few brief highlights on TV. I was pleased; as regular readers will know I've always had a good feeling about Bopara, not just because of his obvious talent but also because he's generally seemed to have the gumption and confidence which Ian Bell (probably his superior in terms of ability and technique) so obviously seems to lack.

Bopara had a very tough baptism in Test cricket in Sri Lanka towards the end of 2007 but, ever since I saw him make a well-judged, patient 85 in an Essex defeat at Worcester last June I thought he had the makings of a good upper-order Test batsman. With Vaughan struggling for form and fitness, Shah discarded (and chronically out of form) and Bell still biding his time, he looks a fair bet to start the Ashes series at number three.

Test Squad Thoughts

In general I'm happy to go along with what most people have said about the England squad for the first Test. It certainly carries Andy Flower's stamp, and I'm pleased to see Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions given a go. Onions certainly looked the part while bowling out Somerset yesterday.

Ravi Bopara also deserves his start at No.3 - Bell and Vaughan need to do more (in Vaughan's case much more) and Shah, sadly, didn't look the part in the West Indies.

I'm not sure how much I'm going to hear about the game as I'm heading off to Scotland on holiday tomorrow morning and should be somewhere on the Isle of Skye by the time it starts next Wednesday, but I'll try to stay in touch.

I'll be blogging again in mid-May.

Too Good

When the mild 'controversy' blew up a while ago about counties signing Australians in advance of this summer's Ashes series, I didn't make any comment, mainly because I wasn't really sure what I thought. On the one hand it certainly wasn't going to work in England's favour, but on the other it's hard to castigate the counties too much as they have trophies to win and no absolute necessity to consider the Test team when they decide who to employ, even if many would argue that there's a strong moral obligation to do so.

As many people said, it highlighted the differences between English and Australian cricketing culture. The idea of states employing overseas players has never really caught on in Oz, and there wouldn't be a cat in hell's chance of anyone doing what Middlesex and Kent have done in advance of an Ashes series, even if there was a surfeit of players with the required ability. But England is different, and there are many people involved with counties (especially, in my experience, supporters) who appear to care very little about the England team so long as their own county is doing well.

What I'm trying to say here is that Middlesex's employment of Phil Hughes didn't tell us anything we didn't know before.

Of course, the main argument against it was that Hughes' exposure to early-season English conditions for the first time would help him to settle and improve his technique before the Ashes, but the evidence provided by his performances in South Africa and for Middlesex so far are that it doesn't matter. He's simply too good.

With a first-class average well above sixty, two centuries in his second Test and now a couple of tons in his first two games for his new county, it looks increasingly as though Australia have uncovered another 'once-in-a-generation player', and one who could haunt England for the next decade.

By the time he's finished with us the fact that he once played for Middlesex may be long-forgotten.

Making a Ton

I've just enjoyably wasted half an hour looking at 'Tom Redfern's' blog Get a Hundred, which Patrick Kidd mentioned on Line and Length a week or two ago.

'Tom' (the name is apparently a very well-chosen alias*) has been blogging and 'vlogging' (posting videos) about his efforts to score a century for a couple of seasons now.

It's something I can identify with although I've never even scored a fifty and have largely given up hope of doing so now. From the videos 'Tom' looks pretty handy and if he was playing at my level the hundred would be his for the taking.

* Tom Redfern was the non-striker (and last man out) when AEJ Collins completed his innings of 628 not out in a house match at Clifton College in Bristol in 1899, the highest recorded innings in an organised cricket match anywhere in the history of the sport.

Art for Art's Sake

Another player whose international career seems firmly in the twilight zone now is Michael Vaughan, and it was very interesting to read here about his first forays into the world of modern art.

My impression of the finished works is that they're quite original, if somewhat stereotyped, and sadly too expensive for me.

What was even more interesting to me, though, were Vaughan's words, quoted at the end of the Cricinfo piece:

'So far all I've done is chronicle my own career, but this summer I'm hoping Straussy lifts the Ashes in August, and I can ring him and say 'Come on, let's do a five piece collection of your great moments from the series.'

These plainly reveal that Vaughan doesn't expect to be there himself. Given the fact that he hardly ever makes any runs these days, perhaps he's only being realistic, but it's one of the oldest truisms in sport (and often in life) that if you don't really believe you're going to do something, you aren't going to do it.

The King is Dead...?

Twenty20 Hindsight

The news that Andrew Flintoff had sustained yet another injury, while disappointing, didn't really come as a surprise. With Flintoff we passed that point some time ago, and the strong suspicion is that his body has also gone well past the point where he - or we - can rely on it holding itself together when it's most needed.

Of course, in hindsight, perhaps he shouldn't have been playing in the IPL at all, and, as we know, the mainstream media in this country specialises in pillorying people with the advantage of unvarnished 20:20 hindsight, so the fact that he's in South Africa at all has been receiving plenty of negative coverage.

Strangely I didn't notice many people complaining beforehand, and, as somebody said, if he wasn't playing for the Chennai Super Kings he'd probably have been playing for Lancashire and bowling more than four overs an innings. The only advantage he might have had is that weather in England would have been drier and warmer (why didn't they bring the IPL here, despite what idiots like me had to say?).

Fact is that England are all too used to doing without Andrew Flintoff, so another short May series without him won't hurt too much, providing he's fit to return for the World Twenty20 and the Ashes.

Only time will tell, though, and it's difficult to shake the feeling that it's going to be hard ever watching Flintoff bowl again without half expecting him to pull up injured at any time.

And Ashes series (if 2005 is anything to go by, and it probably isn't) are tense enough without that.

Afghanistan

I meant to write something yesterday about the achievement of Afghanistan, who, although they failed to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, have attained official ODI status for the next four years, and a lot more besides.

Clearly, for a range of cricketing and political reasons, they're not going to be able to play at home, but I look forqward to seeing the country's cricketers on a tour of the UK soon.

It's no more than they deserve.

The Relative Importance of Cricket Events

I seem to have heard somewhere that the IPL is starting today, although I've just had a look at Cricinfo and discovered that the start of the first game has been delayed by drizzle.

It wouldn't have happened in England, you know.

Like my fellow blogger Rob, I don't subscribe to Setanta so the tournament will largely pass me by.

Indeed, who needs it when you've got the superb James Hildreth racking up a double ton at Taunton?

The Fat End of the Wedge

One of the players whom Flower may have to deal with - or not - is Samit Patel, who, after being dropped from the England ODI squad because he failed to maintain what were deemed to be the required fitness levels, is now trying to make up lost ground, something which was covered in the Daily Mail during the week.

Personally I rate Patel and wonder, from the vantage point of someone who could do to shed a few pounds but whose skills are strictly village, whether the insistence on optimum levels of fitness isn't just a little overdone.

In the last year I and other Somerset followers have seen one of our best and most popular players, Ian Blackwell, forced out of our one-day side and then the club itself as a result of his captain's slavish insistence on particular levels of fitness, and a certain Jesse Ryder hasn't been doing too badly recently, despite the type of figure barely seen in the international game since Colin Milburn's Test career was prematurely ended in the late sixties.

Okay, I'll accept that in the interests of team harmony (and to keep the fitness trainers in a job) players like Patel need to put the same type of work in as anyone else, but my feeling would be that if they're still clocking in a few pounds over they might need to be cut a bit of slack.

Because, in the end, in cricket, it's the numbers that matter, and, at the moment, those of Ryder don't look too shabby.

Conservatism

The appointment this week of Andy Flower as the England team's new 'Director' (what most of us know as a coach) was, on most levels, a further triumph for the potent forces of English conservatism.

I've got no idea whether Flower will prove to be a success or not. Some in the media, such as Mike Atherton, are guarded, others, like Mike Selvey, seem to think he's the best thing since sliced bread.

It's undeniable that Flower was a great cricketer, courageous both on the field and off it, but the main reason behind his appointment seems to have been the fact that he was already doing the job and he gets on well with Andrew Strauss. Precious few of the high profile candidates who were supposed to have been 'headhunted' by the ECB's chosen firm made it anywhere near the final cut, the only exception being John Wright, who was apparently telephoned by the selection panel as a way of making it look less like an open and shut decision.

Personally, given his background and experience, I'd have thought Wright was worth a closer look, but I suppose, after a period of turmoil, you can't really blame the board for choosing what appears to be the safe option, even if his basic credentials (and his performance so far, if judged on results) aren't the strongest.

The last time they made a risky decision - the appointment of Pietersen as captain last summer - it went sour within months.

One can only hope that this appointment lasts a little longer.

Pragmatism

Since last week I've been meaning to throw in my ten pence worth on the media debate which was generated by the rather dopey interview which KP gave towards the end of the West Indian tour. I know I'm a bit late, but here goes.

Depending on who you read, Pietersen is either a disruptive individualist detested by many of his team-mates and should be jettisoned quick smart, or simply a man of strong opinions with a profoundly un-English capacity for telling it how he thinks it is and the one man who can save us once Ricky Ponting's band of resurgent cobbers hit town.

Well, much as I'd like to have a contact in the England dressing room, I haven't, so I can't comment on his popularity or otherwise, and I think the impression given by some that Australia, after one Test series win, are now back to their invincible best and are sure to stuff England, who've only got one real batsman, is exaggerated and pessimistic. We've got, oh, two batsmen at least.

Given Pietersen's background and character it's hardly surprising that he polarizes opinion in a country which often seems to reflexively mistrust people who are too successful, take the pursuit of success too seriously, or, worst of all, are too obviously aware of how good they are. Unfortunately for him, Pietersen puts a big tick in all three boxes.

With all this said, he quickly achieved a high degree of popularity with ordinary cricket followers in this country, most of whom know a good player when they see one, and have perhaps been more willing to forgive Pietersen's personal failings because he's so damn good. I've been fortunate enough to see several of his hundreds live, beginning with the Oval 158, and he's never been less than warmly embraced (even if he did have a bloody silly hairstyle then).

Whether that warmth is quite as strong after his unguarded comments remains to be seen. Many (including me) will have found his remarks about being desperate to get home when he'll just as soon be off to South Africa (which, after all, is another sort of home) to play in the IPL a bit rich, while his views about Shiv Chanderpaul, one of the few players in the world good enough to be compared with him, came across as insecure and slightly jealous.

However, while we're not a one-man team, he's the best we've got, and, as soon as he starts making runs in his usual dominant and innovative fashion, especially if Australia are on the receiving end, I suspect that all this will be forgiven and forgotten.

In modern sport pragmatism is everything. But, if the runs ever seriously dry up and the misplaced words don't, it could be a very different matter.

Presence

While England's win late last night in the final ODI in St.Lucia didn't transform what has been an uneasy and largely unsuccessful winter for the team, it did at least offer a reminder of what Andrew Flintoff can do when he has the ball in his hand in a limited-over game.

Whatever the extent of his popularity in England, history will judge Flintoff as a very good cricketer who had one really great Test series. However, as a one-day bowler - especially at the 'death' - he is a truly exceptional operator.

The yorker which hit the base of Sulieman Benn's middle stump to complete his hat-trick last night was just about the perfect delivery. Much better batsmen than Benn would have been defeated by it, particularly if they were backing away towards square leg.

With his threadbare fitness record and wildly fluctuating form with the bat, it's perhaps asking too much of Flintoff to have the same type of pivotal effect on this summer's Ashes series as he had in 2005.

But, if he can keep his body together, his presence sure won't do England any harm.

Received Wisdom

One of the oldest pieces of received wisdom about Andrew Strauss is that while he's a fine Test batsman, he isn't much of a one-day player. But this ignores the fact that, like a number of other players, he first cut his international teeth in the limited-over game and has played more than one outstanding innings in that form of the game at county level.

Yes, that's county cricket, and it's probably true to say that while an out-of-form Strauss (of the type seen throughout 2007) could muddle through in Tests (not least because he was allowed to) he could never have hoped to do so in the one-day arena.

But at the moment he's in the best form of his life, and the superb display of flair and judgement with which he piloted England's victory in Bridgetown last night was the best innings of its type I've seen from an England player for quite a while.

Over the past two years Strauss has shown his mettle in a range of ways. Firstly by stripping his game back to its basics in order to counter the run of poor form which led to him losing his place in the side in late 2007, and then, with his defence sorted, going back to his strokes and playing with as much style as he's ever done in an England shirt. What's more he's done this at the same time as he's captained a side that's far from at ease with itself.

Under the placid, conventional, exterior this is a man who's very skilled, very tough and, right now, pretty bloody outstanding.

We're lucky to have him.

Useless

Nearly two years ago, after England were humiliated by South Africa in the World Cup, I wrote this:

'Let's face it, with a few notable exceptions (Sharjah 1997, Champions Trophy 2004, CB Series 2007), England have been useless at one-day cricket for years and years and years.'

Nothing's changed and I'm starting to wonder if it ever will.

Final Thoughts

A couple of final thoughts on this winter's Australia-South Africa Tests.

1. Paul Harris has been given a hard time by many people since he came into the South African side. In particular I remember Geoff Boycott droning on about him like a broken record last summer.

But, as the wickets he's taken show, he has something. I'm not completely sure what, as he tends to look quite innocuous, but not everybody who succumbs to him does so in an ego-fuelled attempt to hit him out of the park (a la Kevin Pietersen). I think it's reasonable to assume that there are a few subtleties of flight and pace variation that aren't evident from the sidelines, and, at times, he turns it (just ask Michael Clarke). Since the end of isolation South Africa has failed to produce much in the way of decent spin bowling, and it's no coincidence that the rise of the side in the world rankings has accompanied the advances made by Harris.

He might just be one of those players who you keep expecting to get found out but who never quite does.

2. Mitchell Johnson currently looks like a cricketer of extraordinary ability and potential, and one who's sure to have a key influence on the Ashes series this summer. If his bowling - excellent though it clearly is - has an element of the mechanical about it, the same certainly can't be said of his magnificent batting, which has rare power, timing, style and, when the occasion demands, subtlety. His defence and shot selection both look quite sound as well, and while he has the look of the classic Australian hard wicket player who might struggle against the moving ball in England, if it's a dry, warm summer, he'll add a lot of potency to the Australian lower-middle order.

The question of where he'll bat in the longer term is an interesting one. With 35 and an unbeaten 123 from number eight at Newlands it's clear that that's far from too high. If he wants to - and this may depend on how his body copes with what's sure to remain a heavy workload with the ball - I see no obvious reason why he can't bat at seven, taking the place occupied in this series by Andrew McDonald and leaving room for the return of either Clark or Lee further down.

IPL? In England? In April?

The other thing some people seem to be getting excited about this morning is the idea that the IPL, which is apparently unable to be played in India this year because of security concerns and the elections which are scheduled to take place at around the same time, might come to England.

Regardless of the fact that the sun's been shining in most of the country for the last week or so and it's often felt quite warm, the fact remains that England in April is often a deeply inhospitable place weatherwise (and it often isn't much better during the summer), with conditions usually more conducive to pulled hamstrings than pull shots. And if it's not freezing then it's usually raining so much that ark building seems a more likely activity than cricket.

Maybe I'm being too negative, so we'll just have to see how it pans out. I assume that Giles Clarke is on the case (which is another thing to be concerned about).

Flighting the Ball

I've never actually seen a live game of women's cricket, although I have played with and against some very useful female players.

It was great to see that England had won the Women's World Cup in Sydney overnight, and, catching a few highlights this morning, what stood out was how much the spinners of both sides flighted the ball.

Apart from the odd Jeremy Snape 'moon-ball' nothing similar's been seen in major men's cricket since Bishen Bedi retired.

I wonder what Monty thought of it?

Prince of the Cape

I was out and about in Somerset and Devon yesterday, but I got back in time to see Ashwell Prince come off with 150 under his belt and the cheers of the Newlands crowd ringing in his ears.

As he showed in England last summer, Prince is a classy operator, but to return with such a score, out of position, after losing his place in the side through a combination of injury and Duminy's brilliance, showed a special type of resilience.

With the South African selectors' experiment with Neil McKenzie at the top of the order apparently over, it may be that Prince has a future as Graeme Smith's opening partner. Prince is no more a specialist than McKenzie but he is a much better batsman.

I'd like to see it.

Theatre of the Absurd

With a rare day off work and the spring sun shining gloriously, I didn't see a huge amount of the action in either Cape Town or Guyana yesterday, but I was ready for a good finish when the first England-West Indies ODI was curtailed in another farcical denouement of the type cricket seems to specialise in.

Okay, John Dyson made a mistake in his interpretation of the Duckworth-Lewis tables. He's not the first person to do that and he won't be the last. But what really grated was the alacrity with which the West Indies batsmen fled the field, when what they should have been doing was giving a huge crowd what it had paid to see, namely an exciting finish to a fairly mundane game. To a certain extent it could be argued that the Windies got what they deserved, but you just know that England would have done exactly the same if the teams' roles had been reversed.

And all this on a ground with floodlights which couldn't be switched on because of some inviolable advance agreement.

Simon Hughes had it about right this morning when I heard him on the radio describing the whole sorry mess as the latest production from cricket's 'theatre of the absurd'.

It needs sorting out, but can anybody really imagine the ICC doing anything meaningful about anything?

Fighting the Flab

As at least one person a bit better qualified than me (they were there) and a bit quicker off the mark (they didn't have to go to work in a job that doesn't involve writing about cricket before getting to watch the highlights) has said already, the first day in Hamilton was good for the soul. You can have all the batting fests you want, but really, virtually anybody who appreciates the five-day game prefers a more even contest between bat and ball. This we almost got, although, outside the Ryder-Vettori partnership, the ball dominated.

As I've said before, in a strictly New Zealand context, Daniel Vettori is a great cricketer, while the fantastically flabby Jesse Ryder, all power and timing, is going to be around for a long time if he keeps his head together.

From yesterday, though, I'd like to mention two things. Firstly, the hugely impressive way that James Franklin took a poor decision, suffered in the worst imaginable circumstances.

And, secondly, Munaf Patel, a bowler I really liked when he played his first Tests against England three years ago but who's spent the intervening period going nowhere in particular. Now he looks fit, his pace has been stripped back but his action and rhythm have more than a little bit of McGrath about them. Knowing him he may not be able to maintain it but right now he looks like a great foil for Zaheer and Ishant.

The second day's play starts in less than half an hour. India will be looking to bat all day and beyond.

Same Old, Same Old

So, again, England came, saw and were thrashed in a Twenty20 international. As more than one person pointed out this morning, they're still waiting for their first international win of the winter and any resemblance to a unit with a coherent one-day strategy is purely coincidental and probably illusory.

As Mark Tilley said on The Corridor last night, what on earth is Strauss even doing in a Twenty20 team?

Australia must be quaking in their boots...

Walking Wisden

It took England from 1969 to 2000 to win back the Wisden Trophy, a prize which, for much of that time, seemed to have passed permanently into the hands of the West Indies. It's taken just a further eight and a half years and four series for it to be lost again, a result which would barely have been foreseen a year ago but which points accurately to where the two sides find themselves in the early months of 2009.

Despite the subsequent conservatism of their approach, West Indies just about deserved to win, if only because, in Jamaica, they were the only side to strike a conclusive blow against the pattern of batting domination which defined the series. What is more, there are clear signs that they're finally achieving levels of fitness, discipline and steel which have eluded them ever since their great years ended in the mid-nineties. For this there's little doubting the influence of the two Australians, John Dyson and especially Brendan Nash, whose gritty ballast in the lower middle-order has been an utterly vital element in their improvement. Then, of course, you have the fact that the players so obviously want to play for their captain, you have Sarwan achieving sustained excellence for the first time, you have Shiv just doing what he always does and you have Denesh Ramdin growing into his international shoes in a way no young West Indian keeper has done in living memory.

England continue to look like a side failing to add up to the sum of its parts. The bowling acked penetration, some of the decision making (especially around the Antigua second innings) was clumsy and destructive, the number three position, with Shah conspicuously failing to take his overdue opportunity, remains unfilled. Strauss, with the bat, was brilliant, Pietersen was Pietersen and Graeme Swann showed the type of wit and competitiveness which will stand him in good stead as he goes forward, for the time being, as his country's number one spinner.

England will have an excellent opportunity to regain the Wisden Trophy again within a few months, but, with Australia rediscovering their poise in South Africa, a much sterner battle is sure to follow.

Bleak

While the information coming out of Pakistan is still sketchy, the vivid contributions of Trevor Bayliss on Cricinfo and Dominic Cork on Radio Five Live here in the UK this morning have served to build the impression of a really serious terrorist incident in which, in all probability, the Sri Lankan team were specifically targetted. While the events were obviously utterly tragic for those who died, there's no overlooking the fact that, for cricket, things could have been much, much worse.

According to Bayliss, Thilan Samaraweera, who was in the form of his life, is the worst-affected player but it is thought likely that he'll play again.

For cricket in Pakistan, though, the long-term effects are likely to be dreadful. It's impossible to envisage any other international side agreeing to play there in any form of the game in the foreseeable future, and, while they'll probably be able to pick up some of the slack by arranging series in the Middle East, it won't do anything for the health of the game at home. Pakistan, a young country which has produced some of the most naturally brilliant cricketers in the game's history, has started to seem an increasingly marginal presence at the game's top table over recent years, and the future for it now looks bleak.

There are precedents. South Africa spent twenty-two years in the cold and came back stronger and better. For Pakistan the barren years surely won't last that long, but, while they do, it's important for the ICC to support its cricket community in any way it can.

At the very top level, cricket is a small game. Zimbabwe has been lost to Test cricket; the world game can't afford its field to shrink any further.

Charlie Chatfield

As my Sky box died last week and wasn't put right (sort of) until late in the day yesterday, it's hard for me to say much about any of the Tests going on around the world at the moment, except to state that Mitchell Johnson's going to be a scarily good cricketer when he reaches his peak.

However, I have come across this today, which will strike a chord with anyone who remembers the years when New Zealand could, thanks to Richard Hadlee and a handy supporting cast, mix it with the best.

Really enjoyed it.

Alive and Well?

With four run-saturated days gone in Karachi I was ready to post something along the lines of it hardly being the way to attract people back to Test cricket, especially given the fact that Pakistan rarely seem to play much these days anyway.

However, I notice that there was almost an interesting finish to the game today, with Sri Lanka somehow managing to lose five wickets for 144, which just goes to prove that you can't take anything for granted.

Except, perhaps, that players of the quality of Mahela Jayawardene and Younis Khan (not forgetting the largely unsung but hugely consistent Thilan Samaraweera) will, when they find themselves on a pitch like that, invariably make big runs.

I wonder, though, if anyone was watching?

Making the Running

In the end, having made the running throughout the game, England will have been very disappointed not to have completed their first victory in Antigua since Tests there began in 1981.

However, while Sarwan, Chanderpaul and their lower-order associates deserve a lot of credit for batting out for the draw in a manner which their side would never have done a few years ago, England didn't help themselves. Not necessarily in failing to enforce the follow-on - although they would probably have won if they had - but in failing to bat with enough urgency, the mad decision to use a nightwatchman at the end of the third day, and an over-cautious declaration, which owed much to what happened in Chennai before Christmas.

Not that you'd want to criticize Strauss too harshly just yet. The signs, both from 2006 and now, are that captaincy brings out the best in his batting, and he didn't half play well on the first day in St.John's.

Sportsman with Personality

On the field, it was great to see Graeme Swann take five wickets in an innings for the first time in just his third Test.

Of course he's a fine bowler and all that, but, for me, what makes it a particular pleasure is that Swann always appears to be such an obviously good bloke.

Unlike most of his team-mates he answers interview questions in a genuinely open, interesting and often witty manner and is clearly relishing the whole experience of being involved in the international game.

Which, after years of slogging round the county circuit, is hardly a surprise.

Bewildered

Watching the distracted, slightly bewildered visage of Giles Clarke as he blustered his way through his media interviews in Antigua last night, one got the distinct impression that here was a man who doesn't really do self-analysis or contrition. Even when he - and the ECB - have got everything in relation to Stanford so manifestly wrong you wouldn't bet on Clarke admitting as much to himself, let alone the wider world, anytime soon.

As Johnny Rotten once said:

'Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?'

A Touch of Irony

As England set themselves up for what should develop into a huge total today, comfortably the most enjoyable part for me was watching Owais Shah. Denied a proper opportunity to display his qualities at Test level under successive coaches, Shah batted with the spiky assertiveness of someone who was keen to make up for lost time. However, someone could have done to have told him that he didn't necessarily have to try to reach his century by the close of play; if they had he might not have run himself out in such a clumsy manner and could still be there today with power to add.

That said, he's surely assured now of a place in the side for the rest of the series, and, with a bit of luck and a following sea breeze, some really big runs could follow.

Meanwhile, at the other end, his captain was playing what was probably his best attacking innings for England, and, in the manner of the usual tone of English media discourse, it only falls for me to declare that the slide to 51 all out can be safely forgotten and all in the garden is rosy once more.

In fact, bring on the Australians...

You Couldn't Make It Up

I'm still at work but I gather that over in Antigua the proverbial is hitting the fan - and will be for a long time to come. And there I was looking forward to an evening's cricket on the telly...

Someone who'll probably be even more disappointed than me is Owais Shah. Finally selected to make a return to Test cricket, and the game doesn't even go ahead.

It'll be interesting to see how this one develops, especially the suggestion (genuine or complete fantasy, who knows?) that Sir Allen Stanford may be asked for the loan of his ground.

All in All...

Unusual things have a tendency to happen at Sabina Park during England-West Indies Tests; Patrick Patterson producing some of the fastest bowling in history in 1986, the match abandoned on the first morning in 1998, Steve Harmison, at his short-lived peak (anyone remember that?) ripping through the West Indies in 2004, and now, in 2009, England dismissed for 51 by a combination of pace and spin on the Kingston killing ground and fortunate to get that.

England currently look a rudderless and unhappy side and one that, crucially, has come to depend far too much on Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff. When, as happened on Saturday, Pietersen's off-stump is uprooted by a brilliant delivery when he's barely off the mark, a collapse of house-of-cards proportions, is, well, on the cards.

Absolutely nothing, however, should be taken away from the West Indies, who finally seem to be recovering some consistent competitiveness under the unifying leadership of Chris Gayle and the coaching of John Dyson, and for whom Jerome Taylor produced a spell fit to compare with anything seen from any of his illustrious predecessors.

Taylor's abrupt termination of Matt Prior's innings with a fast off-cutter wasn't just a classic display of fast-bowling technique, it was an event which, just for a moment, seemed to recapture and exemplify the lost essence of Caribbean cricket: Taylor bowls, Prior's off-stump disappears towards fine leg, Taylor leaps in the air and the Kingston crowd goes wild in the type of distinctively West Indian way some people probably wondered if they'd ever see again. As more than one person has said over recent years, international cricket needs a decent West Indies side for all kinds of reasons, and Saturday was, if not quite the foundation for world domination, at least another brick in the wall.

For England the only way forward is a shuffle of the cards and a redoubling of effort before Antigua, although, with the priceless confidence they'll have derived from Kingston, the West Indies won't come any easier.

At least, at last, Bell will go. If not, Shah will be entitled to simply pack up and go home while sticking two fingers up at the whole bloody lot of them.

Third Umpire, Second Thoughts

Things have been a tad busy this week - with much of it spent travelling to and from work in the worst winter weather seen in this neck of the woods since David Gower was still flying Tiger Moths - so the first two days of the Sabina Park Test have largely passed me by. As for the IPL auction, well, it's hardly big news round my way and I was asleep when it took place, so I can't say much about that either. Lastly, when I did try to sit down and watch some of the post-tea action from Kingston last night the picture kept breaking up because there was a snowstorm going on outside.

So, what to say? Many a player (and follower) brought up in harsher times would have cracked a wry smile at the sight of Gayle and the impressive Benn bowling so well in tandem on the first day. A sign of changing times if ever there was one, as, of course, is the first use of referrals in a Test match involving England, something which seems to be causing plenty of comment. While there are clearly imperfections in the embryonic system - the lack of a time limit on the wait for a decision being the most obvious - I think it's a step in the right direction which is surely justifiable on the grounds that having more demonstrably correct decisions rather than fewer has to be good for the game, however those decisons are arrived at.

Of course, people with biased viewpoints (that is, of course, all players and most spectators) will still find plenty to complain about, whatever the outcome. I thought, as did Mike Atherton, that there was sufficient height-related doubt about Sarwan's lbw for it to be reasonably disallowed, but it came as no surprise to find that plenty of people, including the England wicket-keeper, didn't agree with that.

In the end, though, only one person's opinion counts, although, when that person is the dreaded Daryl Harper, you can't help but have second thoughts...

Never the Same

The ICC's belated but completely correct decision to finally award the 2006 Oval Test to England is one that Bill Frindall would have approved of.

The death of the 'Bearded Wonder' came as quite a shock. I'd last heard him on Test Match Special from Mohali before Christmas, and he was just one of those people who you expected to go on and on and on. Although he'd missed a few overseas tours in recent years and had given up scoring ODIs, I think I'm right in saying that nobody else has scored an England Test in this country on BBC radio since 1965, while one of the tributes I read stated that he'd scored 377 Test matches, which, when you think about it, is a hell of a lot of cricket.

Like any English cricket follower of my generation I grew up listening to TMS, and the laconic, perfectionist, occasionally waspish but hugely knowledgeable Frindall was simply part of the furniture. I never met him but have clear memories of seeing him coming in and out of many a ground - Lord's and the MCG to name but two - weighed down by what always looked like several suitcases of reference books, many of which he'd compiled himself.

It's the cliche of cliches, but it's true to say that TMS, which resumes from Kingston this week, will never quite be the same again

The Traditional English Art of Crap Selection

According to Stephen Brenkley in The Independent, it seems as though there's still not much chance of Owais Shah getting an opportunity to replace Ian Bell anytime soon.

Well, I've always been a strong admirer of Bell, but there comes a time when things have to stop - and that time was passed a while back.

'But this really cannot go on'.

Wanna bet?

Afghan Warriors

Thanks to Will Luke at The Corridor for pointing me in the direction of this:

The Times

An inspiring story which will make a great film.

Forever Young

It seems a little simplistic (not to mention repetitive) to say it but watching Australia taken to the cleaners at the Adelaide Oval yesterday felt a lot like watching the changing of the international guard.

South Africa had Hashim Amla, now one of the classiest batsmen on the international circuit, and AB de Villiers, punchily consistent and able to resume wearing the keeper's gloves after several years' hiatus without missing a beat; Australia, in the field, had Shaun Tait, Ben Hilfenhaus and James Hopes, three bowlers who, with the best will in the world, are never going to strike fear into any international batting line-up worth the name. Tait has plenty of raw pace but little else going for him; Hilfenhaus looks as though he might be capable of doing a bit with the ball in more helpful conditions. But conditions and circumstances weren't helping yesterday, and they they were blown out of the water by a much better side.

South Africa also had Herschelle Gibbs, who went relatively early in their reply but not before he had issued a rich reminder of the talent which has sustained the South African top order for more than a decade. Gibbs is one of those players who seems destined, stylistically and temperamentally, to remain young forever, but a glance at the facts reveals that he's almost 35 and, with his lengthy record of off-field baggage, might almost be older.

Yesterday, though, the problems were all on the field and all those of the Australian bowling attack, as he repeatedly used his feet to plunder the bowling (Hilfenhaus suffered particularly badly) both through and over the off-side with timing and power that spoke of genius. In the end he fell to a shot that was poor and over-ambitious, but that, of course, is what geniuses do.

As Alan Ross once wrote of Curtly Ambrose, for Gibbs there will not be many more such days.

Fiery Views

Some typically forthright stuff from Geoff Boycott:

Typical Boycott Rant

It's typical but that's not to say it's without merit. In particular, I agree that England could probably get by without a head coach. With everybody else in the world having a coach it would be an innovative step for the ECB to commit England to doing without one - which is precisely why they probably won't even consider it.

When Boycott says that Morris and Collier should have backed Pietersen '100 per cent', I assume he means that they should have just sacked Moores on KP's say-so.

This would, indirectly, have probably led to the team having to go without a coach as no sane person (except Graham Ford, who appears bomb-proof in this context) would then have taken the job in the knowledge that they could be summarily sacked as soon as KP decided he didn't like them.

And I think it was sensible - and reasonable - to take the views of the other players into account before taking any sort of decision, especially as it appeared that support for Pietersen's views was very far from unanimous.

Still, I like Boycs. He says what he thinks and he gets you thinking too. Which can't be bad.

No Tears Shed

Just for once, with another famous player having retired, I'm not going to write a heartfelt valediction. I just can't bring myself to do it, because, while his statistics and performances undeniably speak of a very, very good, and possibly great, player, I never had much time for Matthew Hayden.

As a batsman he was just a bit too muscular, stereotyped and unemotional for my liking, and, if you throw in the grating contrast between his widely trumpeted Catholic piety and the way in which he apparently abused Graeme Smith relentlessly on his debut (I say 'apparently' because Smith might have been lying, but I don't think his account of events has ever been convincingly refuted), there always seemed to me to be plenty there not to like.

On the face of it, his retirement in advance of this summer's Ashes series does England a favour, but does it really? Although he might have recovered his form - good players always think they will - his career had entered a marked decline which may well have been age-related and unrecoverable. Australia now have a choice of several candidates for his opening spot, the majority of whom (Jaques, Rogers and Hussey, anyway) know all about scoring shedloads of runs in England.

Personally I have a hunch that the Australian selectors might go for the young New South Walian Phil Hughes for the South African tour, but, for England, Jaques looks a better bet. Or, if they're happy to rejig their order, they could do much worse than move Hussey up to form another left-handed combo with the revitalised Simon Katich.

Another interesting imponderable ahead of a series which is building up to be very interesting indeed...

A Certain Age

English cricket followers of a certain age still talk about the time, at Lord's in 1963, when Colin Cowdrey came out to face the West Indies with a plaster cast on his arm. In years to come, South Africans (and a few others) of a certain age will talk in similar tones about Graeme Smith at Sydney, 2009.

I've been thinking a bit recently about the fact that I've never written very much about Smith. In some way he's an easy cricketer to take for granted, but, when you stop to think about some of the things he's done, it's obvious that he's an exceptional man of cricket and, all in all, a great batsman.

Captain of his country at 22; 75 Tests, 6000 runs and counting at more than fifty, with 18 centuries and his country's highest Test score; the priceless ability, seen at Edgbaston and Perth over the last six months, to play his very best when the stakes are highest.

Rising 28 now, he stands in unchallenged charge of a team which will surely soon be at the top of the world rankings, his only concern being the task of restoring his shattered fitness by the time Australia and South Africa resume hostilities at the Wanderers in seven weeks' time.

I think he'll be there.

Strengths and Weaknesses

As always, these are busy times. No sooner have I seen Graeme Smith come out to bat with a broken hand and a chronic elbow injury in an ultimately vain attempt to save the third Test (and more on that later), than I find out that Kevin Pietersen's resigned as England captain, presumably before the powers that be could push him, but not before he'd dragged Peter Moores down with him.

When I wrote about the ongoing situation last week I hadn't thought about the possibility of both men going, but, in retrospect (well, it's hardly that, but you know what I mean), KP overplayed his hand in demanding the removal of Moores without, it must be surmised, much support from elsewhere in the dressing room. Also, reading between various people's lines, it seems as though the subject which brought things to a head for him was the omission of Michael Vaughan from the West Indies party, and it seems to me to have been deeply unwise for him to have made such an issue out of something which could hardly be called controversial. What on earth had Vaughan done to justify a recall?

Where this leaves him, and England, is currently anybody's guess. With little more than a couple of weeks to go before they embark on their next overseas tour, England need to find themselves another captain (Andrew Strauss) and, presumably, a temporary coach.

Pietersen has to deal with the fact that he's lost a rare opportunity - and one which may never come again - and get used to a place back in the ranks. But what's he going to do if the next captain and coach don't meet his approval? Get out altogether (not forgetting to help himself to plenty of IPL rupees on the way home)?

More than one person has pointed out in the last few days that Pietersen's got previous where this type of thing is concerned, as anybody who was around the Notts dressing room a few years ago will testify. And two of the aspects of his personality which go to make him the player he is are the strength of his ego and the toughness of his mentality.

Sometimes, though, as anyone who's watched a lot of cricket will tell you, your strengths can also be your weaknesses.

Almost Over

After what seems like years (probably because it is) of sometimes tedious stability and domination, one of the most interesting things about Australia's current situation is seeing their new players and wondering how they'll do in the long run.

It's hard to comment on at least one of the debutants in the current game, Doug Bollinger, as I've seen little of him and he's only taken one wicket so far, while the kneejerk impresson of the other, Andrew McDonald, is that he looks a decent operator but is highly unlikely to pull up any trees at the highest level.

I do feel, though, as if I ought to apologize to Peter Siddle, who I wrote off after he and the now-departed Jason Krejza were taken apart in the second innings in Perth, even though he impressed me during the Indian tour. The same qualities I noticed then - chiefly the ability to just keep on coming, whatever sort of hammering he's getting - together with plenty of raw pace, were in evidence during his first innings five in the current match, and I get the impression that he might just develop into a useful international bowler, especially if he can enhance his ability to move the ball. At the moment I'm not sure how well he'll do on slower pitches, but, as he now seems very likely to come to England later in the year, we'll find out soon enough.

Right, that should ensure that Bollinger and McDonald conquer the world while Siddle disappears into obscurity, but I will make one final, much more obvious, prediction.

Matthew Hayden's Test career is almost over.

What You See is What You Get

It's a bit sad but I think the first image that's always likely to come into my head when I think of Michael Clarke will remain that of him having his stumps wasted by Steve Harmison at Edgbaston in 2005.

But, as the weekend in Sydney showed again, he can't half bat.

Indeed, he reminds me more than a little of his captain. Right-handed, with the same fundamental orthodoxy, the same precise awareness of what to leave, what to defend and what to attack, and a similar range of strokes.

In true Australian fashion you usually get what you see from both Ponting and Clarke. And with Ponting's position at the head of the team bound to come under greater scrutiny if things go wrong in South Africa, Clarke seems to me to be moving himself into a position from which the selectors might not want to bother looking past him when it comes to finding a successor to Tasmania's finest.

Whether he would want the job before the Ashes is, though, another question. I'm not sure I would.

No Smoke Without Fire

Happy New Year.

While passing the time in freezing and gloomy Derbyshire over Christmas I managed to see much of the action from Melbourne, where Australia were ultimately despatched in some style by South Africa. And the third Test, starting tonight at the SCG, will still be very watchable, if only to see if the Proteas can make it 3-0. While the relative decline of Australia was inevitable, I'm sure it won't prove terminal, but it is an experience full of the most relishable Schadenfreude imaginable, especially when you look at Cricinfo to see Punter flanked by the latest couple of debutants dredged up by the selectors. A few eyebrows may be raised around Worcester when local cricket fans realise that Doug Bollinger, who didn't exactly cover himself in glory during a stint at New Road in 2007, is one of them.

Closer to home, everyone's wondering what's going on with Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores. I'm inclined to think that there's no smoke without fire, especially since the two were reported to have had talks to clear the air between them just after Pietersen was appointed captain last summer. If, as has been reported, KP is making an issue out of the fact that Vaughan wasn't selected for the West Indies then I think he's wrong, as there seemed to me to be no way that Vaughan could be selectd without opening up those responsible to charges of the most ludicrous favouritism imaginable, but it would be interesting to see who the last man standing would be if it came down to a choice between the captain and his coach.

On the one hand you have a batsman of genius (and a promising captain) who, unencumbered by traditional English modesty, is clearly prepared to speak his mind and rock the boat if he thinks a cause is worth defending. On the other you have a coach who embodies the modern technocratic approach to player preparation but who hasn't covered himself in glory since he took on the England job. Up to now Moores has avoided too much criticism, mainly, I suspect, because he isn't Duncan Fletcher and has a bit more charm and politeness about him (which isn't hard), but, personable though he is, it's probable that he may not be as good as a coach as Fletcher.

If it comes down to a choice between the two, I know who I'd back.

Dead Game

When I left the house this morning, just after Dhoni had failed to declare at lunch for no obvious reason apart from allowing his two batsmen to chase hundreds, I had a feeling that the second Test was heading down the pan.

It clearly did exactly that, and, as so often, Andrew Miller sums things up very well here.

Regardless of Dhoni's tactics, which will (or should) have put his previously unquestioned reputation as an innovative captain at risk for a few days at least, the fact is that two Test 'series' stink, and I hope to God they don't catch on.

I'm going away for Christmas tomorrow, and I'll be keeping a close eye on events in the southern hemisphere. See you in 2009.

As Far As You Can Get

When I last posted, at lunchtime on Friday, it looked, as I wrote, as though all the problems in Perth were South Africa's. Three days on and it's Australia who have a bit more to think about.

I'm unconvinced that there's anything terminal about Australia's relative decline, but, with Lee struggling and Siddle and Krejza about as far from what's required as you can get, they're certainly 'coming back to the pack' at a rate of knots. The batting looks stronger, but Hayden will need runs soon if he's going to make it to England, and, if he doesn't, a further foundation stone of the great era will have gone.

At the moment next summer's Ashes rubber is looking a more enticing prospect by the day. With Australia weakening and England plodding along as they do (but with the prospect of two confidence-boosting series against the West Indies to come), it could be the most closely-fought series between the two sides since 1972.

As for South Africa, well, in the end, they did it at a canter. The signs are that de Villiers is now fulfilling his immense promise and it was great to see him partnered by the debutant JP Duminy, who played a cool and confident role in the chase.

Incidentally, I once saw Duminy acting as twelfth man for Devon at Bovey Tracey.

Which is about as far from the WACA as you can get.

Mitchell Johnson, I Presume?

With India grinding their way through a truncated, gloomy, opening day in Mohali, one's attention has tended to wander in the direction of Perth, where Australia hold the upper hand after three days, largely thanks to Mitchell Johnson's 8-61.

Until quite recently I was dubious about Johnson. A lot of people have dredged up Dennis Lillee's comment about him being a 'once-in-a-generation bowler', and, when I first saw him, I came to the conclusion that Lillee must have been talking about a pretty short generation. However, despite an action which has a slightly staccato, mechanical, look to it, he's starting to get good players out on decent tracks, and that surely, must be a sign that he has something.

It's easy to see why too; he bowls a tight line at high pace, gets good seam movement and has apparently been working on his aggression. With Lee's form waxing and waning and his inability to take really big-wicket hauls (he's never taken more than five wickets in a Test innings and is playing in his 75th Test) it's looking more and more as though Johnson's going to be leading his country's attack come the Ashes.

While the average English track won't offer him the type of pace he thrives on at home, he's shown that he can get plenty of movement with minimal assistance. If he gets England on a seaming track somewhere he could cause some distinct problems.

For the moment, though, 322 behind, the problems are all South Africa's.

One for the Annals

With the relationship between Indian and British time and the fact that I have to work for a living (and haven't found a way of watching cricket while I do so), I didn't manage to see what happened in Chennai until last night.

Of course it was utterly brilliant, even though I knew the result, and like Samir here, I thought one of the nicest and really most touching moments of the whole epic came at the end when Tendulkar stopped to shake the hands of the groundstaff. No triumphalism, just celebration, thoughts of the Mumbai victims and an innings for the annals.

But in many ways I thought Yuvraj's contribution was the most interesting, if not the most significant. Okay, Viru laid the foundations like only he can (and left me wondering just what the hell standing in the gully to him is like) and Sachin steered the ship home, but Yuvraj, with a relatively ordinary Test record and plenty to prove, appeared immune to England's attempts to disrupt his focus and produced plenty of his signature shots, played with a style, grace and verve which few can match. It remains to be seen whether he can kick on - and even I, an unashamed devotee, have my doubts - but, if he doesn't, he'll always be able to say he played a vital role in one of the great Test run-chases.

This was a game which could very easily not have happened. That it did, that it turned out to be a great match, and that England played such an important part in it, is something to be truly thankful for.

One final thought: When I was growing up, 18 or 20 Test centuries was regarded as outstanding. Now we have someone with 41, from 19 years at the crease.

Not bad.

Off the Rocks

Of course, the other thing that unequivocally went right for England was the return to form of Paul Collingwood, who seems to be making a habit of rescuing his career just at the point when it seems to have hit the rocks. We should, of course, no longer be surprised. The tougher the situation, the better he tends to play.

Which is far more than can be said for Ian Bell, a batsman whom I've had a lot of faith in (perhaps too much ), but who's stretched it to breaking point. Owais Shah deserves an opportunity in Mohali, but, somehow, I'll be surprised if he gets it.

Strauss

Despite their defeat - and the questions which will have to be asked of certain members of the attack, Monty very much included - England can take at least one very big consolation out of the first Test - the return of Andrew Strauss to something approaching prime form.

Strauss's form has been affected by various issues over the last couple of years. He was disappointed not to be chosen to lead the side to Australia in 2006 and I've always felt that the loss of his original opening partner, Marcus Trescothick, led to some confusion in Strauss's mind about the type of role that he was required to play without the scoreboard-ticking assurance of a really attacking player at the other end. And then there's the fact that the analysts of the international circuit - and their bowlers - got to work on his technique, identifying and exploiting a weakness around the off-stump, especially when driving.

Despite his centuries at Napier and Old Trafford earlier this year, this was the first time in a long time that I've felt as though he was back to something like his best. He's changed, though - the spinners are almost exclusively played off the back foot and the loose drive is eschewed in favour of the type of judicious leave which can break bowlers' hearts - and his batting looks all the better for it.

His twin centuries in Chennai were the work of an experienced, skilful and mentally resourceful international opener, and, at 31, he hopefully has several more years in the side ahead of him. starting in Mohali later in the week.

Loud and Long

It's a little worrying that we're now twelve days into December and this is my first post of the month. Time was I'd be into double figures by now, but there are reasons. For one, I haven't had internet access at home for several weeks (which I'm actually quite enjoying and which may be why I haven't got round to getting the problem fixed) and so have had to do all my blogging at work, and just recently I haven't been at work all that much, having spent a very enjoyable few days in Paris, taking in the sights and the titanic Heineken Cup game between Stade Francais and Harlequins last Saturday.

Before I went away I was very doubtful about England's Tests in India even taking place, and I certainly didn't expect to be writing after the second day of the first of them about England being in a very strong position. But I am, and they are.

There are reasons for that too, including a cool century by Andrew Strauss, some equally well-judged lower-order batting from Matt Prior and an eventful maiden Test over from Graeme Swann, who I, for one, am pleased to see in the side.

At 29, time is against his chances of developing a long career in the five-day game. His bowling style (slightly old-fashioned orthodox off-spin) doesn't help either, but he's always impressed me as a confident, humourous, open and articulate character who bowls in a more attacking vein than many a similar English bowler.

He also appeals loud and long, as Daryl Harper will testify. The two lbw decisions which Adelaide's finest gave were far from being stone dead (especially Dravid's) but my initial impression was that both were well worth a shout and the vehemence of Swann's representations may just have done the trick.

This was highlighted by Nasser Hussain on Sky, who said something along the lines of 'you've got to work your umpires', which was a bit less controversial than what he may have been thinking, which may not have been dissimilar to 'Darryl Harper's an inconsistent, occasionally weak and often downright poor umpire who's only stayed on the Elite Panel as a result of some typically mad ICC decison-making'. Well, to be fair to Nasser, that's just what I think, and those two decisions were far from being among Harper's worst, but if you can make sure he knows what you think you've always got a chance.

Going into day three, England have a decent chance too.

Blogs

I've slipped a couple of additional blogs into my roll over the last week or so. The first, Stumped, is the work of Venkat Ramnarayan, a former Indian first-class player of the 1970s, and contains some rich and enjoyable descriptions of games and players from India's past. Well I, as someone with a bit of a fetish for the Indian game since 1979, like it, and look forward to seeing more of Ram's writing.

The other is the new blog by Iain O'Brien, the Wellington seamer who's become an unexpectedly important member of the Kiwi attack over the past year. O'Brien's been known to me for a while because of his range of wry and amusing contributions to a message board about club cricket in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire (where he spends every summer), and his blog has opened in the same vein. It remains to be seen how long NZ cricket's media managers allow him to get away with publishing such an unsanitized account, but as a revelation of what actually goes through a Test player's head during a game, it is brilliant.

Enjoy it while you can.

Shah's Time

After what happened in Mumbai yesterday, which is bound to cast a shadow - and very possibly curtail - England's tour, it seems a bit passe to bang on about the inadequacies of English selection, but it's an easy target, so why not? With England posting a decent total but still losing at a canter yesterday, you were left wondering what on earth Alastair Cook was doing there, but, more specifically, what has Owais Shah done to deserve such consistently inconsistent treatment?

Having made 72 at number three in Bangalore (to add to his 58 in Indore earlier in the series), Shah was again shunted down to six, from which position he made a coruscating 66* in support of Pietersen's century. With everyone rightly adamant that England need more ODI centuries, and Collingwood once more in awful form, it seems illogical that Shah hasn't been trusted with a higher position in the order throughout the series.

Shah has been an international since 2001 but his career at the top level has taken a long time to mature. His fielding was initially a real weakness and is often ponderous still, while his right-hand dominated technique is hardly a thing of beauty and can tend to detract from his very real qualities of class, confidence and aggression.

All the evidence was that Duncan Fletcher didn't trust him, but Moores and his selectors have at least seemed happy to give him a run in the side, and Pietersen, as an attacking batsman of genius, recognizes him as a kindred spirit.

With just two Tests behind him (an impressive Mumbai debut in 2006 and a nerve-ridden one-off against the West Indies at Lord's in 2007), now increasingly appears to be the time to look again at Shah's credentials in the longer game, and I fervently hope he gets the opportunity to show what he can do.

Whether that opportunity comes in India before Christmas remains to be seen.

Compensation Culture

As the fourth ODI finally came to a conclusion last night (with England, hardly surprisingly, losing again) it was amusing but just a tad annoying to listen to Jonathan Agnew getting more and more frustrated at the lateness of the finish. Apparently it was nearly midnight in India, and, as Agnew had mentioned earlier in the day, he and his media colleagues (and the players, presumably) would have to get up at six to catch the plane to Orissa for the next game. Oh, and Gus Fraser didn't like the hotel in Kanpur and hopes the city won't get an IPL franchise until it improves (not that he needs to worry unless Middlesex join the IPL).

It could be worse, lads. You might not have someone willing to pay you a large amount of money to travel round the world watching cricket. And the six a.m. starts are even more taxing when you've got a crap job and it's winter in England.

I think the BBC Cricket Correspondent's job has more than enough compensations, even if you've seen enough ODIs to last three lifetimes and England still keep losing.

Extraordinary

While I was getting ready for work this morning, I was aware that, in the background, Yuvraj was doing what Yuvraj does best: destroying an England bowling attack with the headiest mixture of elegance and power you will ever see. I saw a few of the best shots but couldn't really follow the innings as I had other things to do.

At the same time I was aware that the TMS team - Agnew, Simon Mann, Gus Fraser and Steve James - were raving about the innings, although Agnew did spend a long time banging on about the fact that Yuvraj had a runner (which did seem ridiculous).

The strokes I saw were sumptuous but such displays by him seem so commonplace now, especially against England (Durban, his sublime century in the ODI at Goa in 2006) that I almost wondered what all the fuss was about.

Yuvraj is a batsman who makes the extraordinary look ordinary. That is what he does.

As I've mentioned before I regard him as one of the very best attacking batsmen I have ever seen, and, unlike the England bowlers, I'll be happy to see as much more as he can produce in the rest of the series.

Bring it on.

Batting with Attitude

With Australia out of the way and England yet to offer themselves up for humiliation (although they got most of the way there yesterday), the obvious thing might be to write a valedictory piece about Sourav Ganguly. I'm not going to do that, although, like everybody, I recognize the contribution which he made to Indian cricket over more than a decade. I saw his debut century at Lord's in 1996 and always enjoyed watching him, with a representative memory being the sight of him in one-day mode, taking a couple of steps down the pitch and one back before thrashing a seamer high over the offside. That was the essence of Ganguly; aggression, attitude, and plenty of style.

No, I'll write about Dhoni. The Dhoni who, when he came to England with India for the first time last year, had acquired a reputation as an unsophisticated if dangerous hitter but who showed straight away that he could do more, much more, and has shown since, most recently in Nagpur last weekend, that he can play with patience and selectivity when necessary while never losing touch with the fact that bad balls are there to be dispatched. Throw in serviceable keeping, which will improve, and his astute captaincy, and you have a really impressive figure who looks at the moment like just the man to guide his team through the choppy waters which are bound to accompany its inevitable reshaping. Indeed, Dhoni's apparently effortless ability to hit the right tone was encapsulated in his decision to allow Ganguly to captain the side for the last few overs of his final game. He didn't have to do it, but he did, and it looked and felt absolutely right.

India's future is firmly based around Dhoni as batsman, as wicket-keeper and as captain.

And it's bright.

Done and Dusted

With a decent Test series done and dusted and Australia, ultimately, well beaten, India appear well-placed to challenge for the world number one spot.

However, any assessment of where they stand now has to be coloured by the fact that they're on the verge of having to rebuild. Kumble and Ganguly are no more, and, while the early signs from Amit Mishra have been good, I'm less than convinced about his future in the side, with Chawla probably a better bet in the long run. Dravid's future must be uncertain, with runs needed against England to prolong his career, and Tendulkar and VVS clearly can't go on for ever. For India, over the next 3-5 years, everything depends on how their replacements shape up, but, with the brilliant Ishant Sharma there and the hugely impressive Dhoni pulling the strings, the future looks relatively bright.

For Australia, on the other hand, the future looks rocky. While the batting still appears strong, too many of the major players are the wrong side of thirty, Haddin is no Gilchrist (who is?) and the attack, for all the individual merits of Lee, Clark, Johnson and, well, Krejza, isn't what it was (how could it be?). Seeing them slide to defeat this morning one had the first inkling for a very, very long time that this was just another side, with strengths, sure, but a number of clear weaknesses which better teams, like India, will exploit.

At this stage England will fancy their chances for next summer too, and, while there's a lot of water left to flow under a number of bridges before then, at the present moment I'd probably back them.

Generational Shift

The now retired Anil Kumble was, in an Indian (and probably a world) context, a great bowler and, just as importantly, perhaps the most mentally-tough Indian player of his generation (although Dravid in his pomp and of course SRT would have something to say about that).

He never seemed to have too much in his armoury at first glance (just ask Keith Fletcher), but to watch him bowl a long spell, especially in Indian conditions with smog and spices in the air and the sun on his back, was to be educated in the art of the spin bowler as water-torturer. Accuracy, repetition, variation, aggression and intensity combined with enough spin as was necessary to ensure that few batsmen were ever completely comfortable against him, whatever they thought. Which was part of his greatness, because, if anyone ever started to think they had him, he would have them.

And now, with Kumble gone, Ganguly on the verge of going, and the bell tolling for Dravid (if not Tendulkar), India are suddenly in the midst of the generational shift which they've been on the verge of for what seems like years. And all at a time when they're looking like the type of united, determined side which can put away an Australian team that still has plenty to offer.

They'll come again. But the catching does need some work.

(How To) Get Rich Quick (or Not)

Like virtually everybody else in the known cricketing universe (it seems) I was watching as things started to go wrong for England on Saturday evening. I couldn't however, manage to summon the energy or interest to watch until the end, as it was pretty obvious what the outcome was going to be. And, without trying to come across as too much of a purist, I was more interested in the Test match in Delhi, even if it subsided into a tame draw, than I was in anything which happened in Antigua.

I can't add anything original to what's been written by innumerable other people already, but I think that Rob at Cricket Forever and Patrick at Line and Length summed things up very well.

As Patrick says, it'll be great if what Stanford's team have achieved (and how they've done it) has a lasting influence on the game in the islands. While I can't agree with Stanford's pronouncement that the victory meant that West Indian cricket was back, it does at least look like a vague step in the right direction, something they've taken very few of in recent times.

And, as Rob says, England choked. Partly, I suspect because they wanted the money too much but at the same time weren't really sure what they were doing there. They were only too well aware that their week in the Windies constitituted a poor preparation for the imminent Indian tour, but they were only doing as they were told (and, as a by-product, hoping to get rich).

I think it's about time we moved on to something which really matters.

Fraught with Difficulties

A superb piece by Athers on the whole Stanford debacle here.

Flirting

So many people are putting in their oar in about the Stanford series that it's difficult to keep up with it all and all too easy to become confused about what you really think.

For the record, I have nothing against T20 cricket (I'm basically a fan, as many of my past postings show) and I also don't mind sportsmen earning huge amounts of money (wouldn't we all love the opportunity to do the same?), but I can't muster much enthusiasm for what is, essentially, an artificial and empty series of contests designed only to publicize Stanford and swell the players' bank balances. I'll probably be watching on Saturday night but I wouldn't bet on my making it to the end, because, basically, I couldn't care less who wins.

All this aside, the story that Stanford had been forced to apologize for his 'on-camera flirting' with various England 'WAGs' was designed to raise a laugh, although it would have been even better if Matt Prior's other half had given him a bloody good slap.

Dan the Man

With all eyes turning towards India at the moment (and, for some people, Antigua from tomorrow onwards), the ongoing series of ODIs and Tests between Bangladesh and New Zealand has been largely forgotten. Which is a pity, because it looks as though some decent cricket has been played, if the going has been a bit slow at times, and New Zealand haven't had things all their own way.

I couldn't let the Chittagong Test fade from memory (well, there must be someone who'll remember it) without paying tribute to Daniel Vettori's contribution to the Kiwis' victory in the first Test. 5-59, 4-74, 55 not out a vital 76 in a successful 300-plus run-chase.

Captain's contributions don't come much better, and nor, frankly, do New Zealand cricketers.

They resume in Mirpur early tomorrow morning.

Beaten For Pace

During the summer I heard Devon Malcolm talking on the radio about the time he ran through South Africa at The Oval. If there's one dismissal from that spell which lingers in the memory, it's the way in which Cronje shaped up with what could easily have been mistaken for a perfect forward defensive, the only problem being that the ball had already gone past him and laid waste to his stumps before he could get his bat anywhere near it. If you ever want to see something that embodies the old chestnut about a batsman being 'beaten for pace', that is it.

It came to mind again yesterday when I watched Ishant Sharma - lower in pace than Malcolm but infintely more promising - do something very similar to Ricky Ponting.

For Ishant the future looks impossibly bright; for Australia, and perhaps even for Ponting himself, the clouds are gathering.

All You Can Ask

After Friday's Tendulkar-fest, yesterday was the day when Australia came face-to-face with what life's increasingly going to be like in the post-McGrath/Warne era.

Just after tea, with Ganguly and Dhoni going well, and Shane Watson and Cameron White bowling, you had the feeling that, for the first time in a long time, an Australian side in the field were toothless. Watson and White are players with many strengths, mostly with the bat (and they're probably nice guys too) but integral parts of a good quality Test attack they're not and never will be.

Okay, Australia subsequently wrapped the Indian first innings up relatively quickly, but today the game went away from them again, to the point where India must be strong favourites to go one-up in the series.

The Indian bowling attack has impressed on a bland Mohali pitch; Zaheer got his rabbit Hayden again with a neat piece of variety, Ishant Sharma oozes promise every time you see him and the new leggie, Amit Mishra, has been cool and threatening, finishing this morning with a debut five-for.

As I said, the Australian attack has looked more limited, but a word for the game's other debutant, Peter Siddle, whose powerful, consistent action, sharp pace and muscular aggression has stamped him as a bowler who'll hurry a few people up on faster tracks.

And there have been people there to watch it. Not huge numbers but enough to give the impression that it matters.

And that, these days, is all you can ask.

The Henry Blofeld (Non) Appreciation Society

Before he was dropped late last season I always enjoyed Mike Selvey's appearances on Test Match Special; I thought he was mature, droll and perceptive, with a great line in anecdotes from his playing days. I think it's regrettable that he's no longer going to be heard while an outright buffoon such as Henry Blofeld, who regularly struggles to remember who he's watching and what the score is as he rambles along in his archaic and cliche-ridden way, has been retained.

Selvey writes well too, and his piece about Monty Panesar in yesterday's Guardian chimes very well with what I've been thinking about him for months now.

This ought to be an important winter for Monty, and it would be nice if we started to get some clear indications of whether he can take the next step from what he is now - a very good bowler - to what he could be - a great one (certainly by contemporary English standards). However, there are only two Tests in India, and, assuming he plays a part, he may find the West Indies batting line-up insufficiently strong to really push him. Couple this with the fact that he's unlikely to be really challenged for his place in the side (much as I'd like to see Graeme Swann do so), and things could still be as inconclusive when next summer starts as they are now.

Still, you've got to laugh at what Selvey says about the curmudgeonly Bishen Bedi and his need for a Tardis. Perhaps some previous there...

Borrowed Time

With the sun shining in the south-west of England and places to be (at work and doing what I do most in the English winter, watching rugby), I didn't catch a huge amount of the first Test. However, my impression, based on the odd snatched session, was of an old-fashioned draw from which honours emerged basically even but from which Australia will take a little more. In particular, Ponting's century, full of characteristic class and discipline, consigned his past failures in India to the history books, while no single member of what now seems to be customarily described as the Indian 'big five' stood out, and Kumble really struggled.

On the day before the Test I said that I felt that India looked the more settled side. At the time, in my own mind, I was equating that with them being slightly stronger, but I now think I was wrong to do so. Being settled isn't necessarily a good thing. When you watch the two sides you have a nagging feeling that while Australia have been forced to start to adjust to life after the greats - and are perhaps better off for it - India still haven't had to do so, and, perhaps, are just living a little on borrowed time.

They'll resume borrowing in Mohali on Friday.

Crisis Mentality

I haven't been posting much since the English international season ended in August. It's partly been a product of the desire to do other things after more than two years of crazed writing, partly because there didn't seem to be that much happening, and partly as a result of the type of existential crisis which any blogger can face if he (or indeed she) isn't getting many comments.

However, I'm back, and so too is Test cricket, with Australia and India, both of whom seem as though they might be on the edge of their very own existentialist crisis, gearing up for what promises to be an excellent four Test series.

Australia's issues in the spin department are well-known: with Warne and MacGill firmly consigned to the past, one wouldn't much like to be in the shoes of Jason Krejza or Cameron White over the next few weeks, although, as any Somerset fan will tell you, White could well biff some good runs to make up for any wickets he fails to take. And the lack of either of the two leggies in turn puts additional pressure on the occupants of the seam-bowling berths - sure, Lee, Clark and (possibly) Johnson are big enough to cope, but in India? Well, it'll be a good deal tougher than at home, that's for sure.

With the bat the onus will be on Hayden, Ponting, Clarke and Hussey. Their stats are great (as is the power of understatement), but you just never know; Hayden is getting old, Ponting's never made a run in India, Clarke's been ill and Hussey surely has to have a run of failures sometime. Which could mean that it'll be down to Brad Haddin to chip away further down and prove that he's just a little bit worthy of Gilchrist's mantle.

India, despite defeat in their last series, look slightly more settled and, with home advantage, should be narrow favourites. Although, with Ganguly becoming the first of the middle order to jump ship, it remains to be seen whether his decision is an inspiration or a hindrance, both to him and his colleagues. With the ball I reckon that Kumble and Bhajji will fancy their chances, as will Ishant and Zaheer.

So, for the first time this winter, it'll be a worryingly early start with Charlie Colvile, Ian Ward or whoever else Sky put up. And even if the dreaded Colvile is there,the cricket promises to be great.

But one thing worries the hell out of me. Will anybody be watching at the ground?

Autumn Questions

Travelling back from London on the train late yesterday afternoon, with the sky darkening and the wind getting up after a truly sublime weekend's weather, it was hard to avoid the feeling that autumn was setting in. Of course, another sign that time's moving on is the fact that the English first-class season's over (and congratulations to Durham, by the way) and tour parties are being announced.

There were few surprises in the England squads; I was pleased to see Shah selected ahead of Bopara (and Swann of Rashid), and it had already been leaked to the media that Vaughan, despite his renewed central contract, was set to be 'rested'. James Foster was, of course, completely ignored. This was predictable, but still hugely disappointing. While, on balance, it looks fair enough to give Matt Prior (much the best batsman of the available keepers) another chance, should we not be looking beyond Ambrose for an alternative?

A few years ago Chris Read was in a similar position, but he at least got another chance (even if it was against the coach's better judgement) before being jettisoned for good. It seems very much as though Foster, not seen in England colours since 2002 and an immeasurably better keeper than he was then, isn't even going to get that. Foster's made the standard noises about going back to his county and working hard, and I'm sure he will, but the signs are that none of it will ever do any good.

By contrast, the news that Vaughan isn't going looks like a brief triumph for common sense, although it still seems as though the likes of Geoff Miller (whose opinion matters) and Darren Gough (whose doesn't, frankly) feel that it's only a matter of time before normal service is resumed.

But why? Might there not at least be a chance - which nobody seems prepared to admit - that Vaughan, rising 34 and with a chronic injury history, is past it as a batsman and isn't coming back?

Life in the Old Dog

I'm going away for the weekend tomorrow to London and Hertfordshire - beer will be drunk and rugby will be watched - so I made sure I got along to the County Ground in Taunton for the first day of the match against Lancashire yesterday.

Two things stood out - one a mature piece of defiance from the previously peripatetic home-grown all-rounder Peter Trego, and the other a virile spell of new-ball bowling from Andy Caddick which turned the clock back to his greatest days like nothing else he's produced in the last few seasons.

Caddick will be 40 in November but intends to play next season. For a seamer he's old, but all the indications are that he wants it as much as ever. With it looking likely that Somerset will fail to secure the title, Caddick will be pawing the ground when next season starts.

If Wednesday's anything to go by, he'll be worth watching.

Hard Frost

Whatever people think about it, English county cricket continues to throw up good stories.

For me, comfortably the best of this season has to be that of Tony Frost.

Tony Frost, of Warwickshire, was a journeyman wicket-keeper who quit the game at the end of 2006 and went to work on the Edgbaston groundstaff, leaving his county's gloves to Tim Ambrose. With Ambrose gaining a place in the England side this season, Frost came back and has had an astonishing time, culminating in the innings of 242 not out which helped his side towards the victory over Essex at Chelmsford which took them back into the First Division of the Championship.

In that First Division things still look quite tight, although Notts, having thrashed a hapless Surrey side, are clear favourites to secure the title. I'll be going along to Taunton on Wednesday in the hope that Somerset can beat a Lancashire side that's belatedly given itself something to play for.

I hope that Somerset can pull something out of the bag, but, with the seemingly incessant rain and gloom of August and early September having finally given way to sunshine just seeing some cricket will be enough for me.

It's a long winter.

Going Quietly

It was a pity - certainly for all those people who'd chosen to travel in search of the end of an era - to find Graeme Hick invalided out of his final game in first-class cricket with a recurrence of the elbow problem which has punctuated his last season.

Some photos on Cricinfo this morning showed that he was present on the familiar territory of his old home ground at Kidderminster, with nothing more ferocious to contend with than a queue largely composed of the type of slightly oddball middle-aged autograph hunter who proliferate at county grounds.

But it was perhaps fitting, with the benefit of hindsight, that his career came to an end at Worcester on 8th August, with a final century against Derbyshire under his belt.

He was saying in one of his recent interviews that he'd rather have gone out quietly.

It now looks as though he did.

In the Swing

A nice post by Mark over at The Reverse Swing Manifesto.

I agree with Mark's views on Vaughan. I should think that the decision to renew his England contract probably went through on the nod as those responsible wouldn't have been able to get their heads round the idea of cutting Vaughan out of the charmed circle and would have been concerned that to do so would have been seen to have sent a message that his career at the highest level was finished.

Yet that need not have been the case. If he made a shedload of runs for Yorkshire he'd have been worthy of a recall to the side, although probably not until next season, as he's running out of time to do anything this year. His big problem is that he's never made a shedload of runs for Yorkshire; he didn't do so when he was young and fresh, so he's going to find it even harder at 34 and with a dodgy knee.

As it is, the selectors are probably dead set on taking him to India, regardless of whether he's made any runs or not. Which I'm not sure is right, as it adds further weight to the justifiable allegations of cosiness which have been directed at the side this year. I'd rather see Joe Denly there.

I also agree with Mark that it might not be a bad thing if Samit Patel started to put some pressure on Monty next season; in all but very helpful conditions you might not lose too much in the bowling stakes and you'd gain a huge amount in fielding and batting terms. Not very likely, though.

As for the Stanford squad (and the game), well, I couldn't care less.

Crash Hot

With the international season over and much of the country under water, now seems like a good time to take stock of where England stand.

As most of us have observed over the last few weeks, things are obviously looking a lot better than they were, but you only have to go back to the conclusion of the Edgbaston Test on 2nd August for a time when the future looked a good deal more bleak. And the present wasn't all that crash hot either.

Allowing for what's happened since, I think a little caution is in order, as Pietersen's England are, and will remain for some time, a work in progress, but, as a few people seem to have noticed, Pietersen suddenly looks right for the team and they look right for him. Why?

I think that team success depends a lot on finding the right captain for the stage a team's reached in its development. When Nasser Hussain took over in 1999 England had been one of the poorest sides in the world for years; in partnership with Duncan Fletcher he restored the team's respectability and left it ripe to be taken over and brought to fruition by Michael Vaughan in the years following 2003. Where Hussain was confrontational, Vaughan - at least on the surface - was consensual. With Hussain having dragged the team kicking and screaming to the surface, it required a fresh - and more tactically adept - approach to bring them fully into the light.

Now, with England having stagnated and declined since the Ashes were won in 2005, a fresh approach was required again, and Pietersen's exuberance and confidence, much of which appears to have infected his players, has appeared to be just what they need. Throw in his un-English ability to defy convention and accentuate the positive over the negative, and you have a recipe for success, at least in the short term.

The challenge now is to keep the momentum going. For what it's worth, we'll find out if they can in Antigua in late October.

A Worcester Institution

Graeme Hick plays forward during his 100th century for his county. Worcestershire v Northamptonshire, Worcester, June 2006.

The impending retirement of Graeme Hick is more significant to me than most, as, in the very dim and distant past (it must have been 1984), I latched on to Hick's name. He kept making huge scores for Worcestershire seconds and I thought he might turn out to be a useful player. From then on I kept an unusually close eye on his career, getting in touch with his parents about his early cricket and following his progress innings by innings.

Like someone who's genuinely mad I can still dash off the highlights of those years without going near a Wisden: 230 and 192 in successive innings for Zimbabwe in England in '85, the double centuries for Worcestershire in '86, a thousand before the end of May (including the 405) in '88, a largely unbroken upward curve all the way to the England debut in 1991. From there, of course, things were never quite the same, but, for me, there were always plenty of highlights, some of which I even managed to see in person. The most memorable of these was probably his hundredth century for Worcestershire in 2006; a freezing June day at Worcester, a moderate Northants attack and utter domination, with one stroke living especially keenly in the memory. I'm not sure of the bowler, but I'll take a punt on Ben Phillips. He dropped a fraction short and Hick, as he'd done a million times before, simply stood tall and hit the ball back past him for four with a stroke of rare dismissiveness and command.

This though, was the problem with Hick; at his best (say late eighties, at Worcester) he could achieve a level of dominance and intimidation which few batsmen from anywhere in the world have managed in the last thirty years, but it was all underwritten by a current of personal diffidence which undermined him fatally when it came to the pressure-cooker of Test cricket.

For all the coruscating innings there were technical weaknesses too; a certain stiffness of movement, often an inability to respond to the moving ball, especially at the highest level. I think it was John Bracewell who originally coined the term 'flat-track bully' to describe Hick and, in retrospect, he had something.

This said, I've always tended towards the view that if Hick had been able to play Test cricket when he was at his youngest and most fearless (between 1984 and 1990), he would have achieved much more. A lot of people have pointed to the time Atherton declared on him at Sydney, but, in truth, his early veneer of impregnability had gone by then; the likes of Ambrose, Waqar and Hughes had shown the way to see him off and he was always playing catch-up from then on. He did better in the one-day game, but his overall international statistics must always be regarded as disappointing for a player with his level of ability and potential.

At Worcester, though, he was an institution. Visits there will never quite be the same again.

If you get the chance to see him play between now and the end of the season, take it.