The Reverse Sweep

The Quest for the Holy Gilchrist

 
With all due reference to Romesh Kaluwitharana, Adam Gilchrist is to blame.

Ever since Gilchrist combined keeping wicket and opening the batting with quite devastating effect in ODI, pretty much very other country has tried to replicate the formula. However for the most part, the selectorial alchemists have only managed to make fool's gold.

The missing ingredient is that they all conveniently forgot that Gilchrist was brilliant enough to be picked for his batting alone. Instead. all manner of wholly unsuitable glovemen have been elevated above their station in a mostly forlorn quest to find a new Holy Gilchrist (see full list here).

Not many have been a success. Brendon McCullum has done reasonably well and the regal Kumar Sangakkara managed to score four hundreds in 19 ODI before returning to the middle order. Alec did it in 76 ODI and managed to average 35 - albeit at a pretty sedate run rate of 69.50.

But that is pretty much it. Australia have tried to shoehorn Brad Haddin and Tim Paine into the role since Gilchrist departed with limited success - surely Haddin in particular would be better suited to coming in at six and blasting some boundaries in the latter overs (especially when Australia has Shaun Marsh in reserve).

That serial underachiever Kamran Akmal has opened in 57 ODI and averages under 27 (as well as no doubt dropping numerous chances behind the stumps). Even Ridley Jacobs did it 26 times and three Kenyan keepers have combined to open in over a century of ODI.

Indeed only South Africa - never ones to follow the latest trend – have not joined in, perhaps sensibly concluding that Mark Boucher offered much more down the order than he would atop it.

But England are perhaps the worst offenders. Matt Prior, Stephen Davies, Phil Mustard, Craig Kieswetter and Geraint Jones have all been tried and none has convinced. They have 51 ODIs between them at the top of the order and the grand total of zero hundreds – Kieswetter’s hundred against Bangladesh came when Prior was wearing the gloves.

Yet, England seem rooted to the belief that their keeper – whichever misfortunate has been handed the task – should open the batting.

Prior is an excellent strokemaker down the order. But he isn’t an opening batsman and England should stop trying to make him one.

In the absence of a Marcus Trescothick type – a proper opener who could hit the ball over the top in the powerplay overs (Alex Hales is a long-term prospect here), one of the other batsmen (probably Ian Bell) or a pinch-hitter (Graeme Swann could be a good bet for the sub-continent) should be given the job.

Whatever, England’s quest for the Holy Gilchrist seems doomed to failure like that of pretty much every other team heading to the World Cup.  

Where next?

Reaction to England’s World Cup Squad – Prior the victor

Heroes: Adam Gilchrist

Zeroes: Kamran Akmal

What Cricket can learn from Football in staging a World Cup

All-time Australian Ashes XI - Wicketkeeper

All-time England Ashes XI - Wicketkeeper

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including amongst others Graeme Swann, David Lloyd, Channel 9, Charles Colville, Bob Willis and David Gower

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

5th Test: Sydney - Preview: England look to give Clarke baptism of fire

 
Mission Australia is almost accomplished. The Ashes have been retained, but the series is not yet won and England will be intent on securing the victory that will earn the 3-1 scoreline that their dominance throughout the series both deserves and demands.

England's stated intention is to become the number one side in the world. There is still someway to go until they are even close to achieving that - winning in India for example - but a series win in Australia would be a good start. Extra incentive could be provided by last year's series in South Africa when England went into the final match of the series in Johannesburg 1-0 up. They were then blown away by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and returned home with a creditable share of the spoils rather than a glorious scalp. 

The pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground traditionally favours spin and swing, so Graeme Swann will look to reprise the leading role he played in the second innings of the crushing win in Adelaide. Swing King James Anderson too will be licking his lips - as will Mitchell Johnson if the radar has returned - at the prospect of embellishing his position as the leading wicket-taker in the series.

For Australia, the match has the appearance of a new chapter with Michael Clarke taking over from the injured Ricky Ponting to become Australia's 43rd Test captain - a position that has the same profile and pressure down under as the manager of the nation's football team does in England. There will be debuts too for Usman Khawaja - the first muslim to play for Australia - and Michael Beer, who will play his 8th first-class match and his first at the SCG.

Likely line-ups

England are likely to be unchanged with Tim Bresnan retaining his place ahead of the rested Steven Finn and Paul Collingwood playing what could prove to be his final test unless he can rediscover his mojo with the bat.

Khawaja will likely replace Ponting at number three - although it would be a real statement of intent for Clarke to take this pivotal role, whilst Beer will replace the injured Ryan Harris. Doug Bollinger will likely be 12th man, giving Ben Hilfenhaus another opportunity to get amongst the wickets. 

Look out for...

Michael Clarke has had just as a poor series with the bat as his erstwhile captain with just 148 runs at 21.14, and his previous silky technique seems to have deserted him. Indeed, his stats in his last 8 Tests are 322 runs at 21.46. So will the extra pressure of the captaincy provide renewal or further pain?  

Graeme Swann has had a solid rather than spectacular series. Poor in Brisbane and Perth, but impressive in Adelaide and Melbourne. The SCG pitch should suit him, so a match-winning performance here would be no real surprise.  

Previously at Sydney

They've been playing test cricket at the SCG since 1882 and England have a good record at the ground with 21 wins to Australia's 25 with 7 draws.

2007 - Australia won by 10 wickets- Warne, McGrath and Langer's grand finale as Australia walloped a shellshocked England to confirm the first Ashes whitewash since 1920/21.

2003 - England won by 225 runs- In a match perhaps best remembered for Steve Waugh's emotional hundred, England prevented a series whitewash with Mark Butcher's hundred in the first innings and Michael Vaughan's sparkling 183 - his third ton of the series - in the second, helping set Australia a stiff target of 452. Andy Caddick then took seven wickets - ten in the match - in his final test to let England bow out of a tough series on a high.

1999 - Australia won by 98 runs- England went into the final test of the series knowing that a win would enable them to square the series. But despite a hat-trick from Darren Gough on day 1, the luck deserted England when the third umpire controversially adjudged that Michael Slater had not been run out for 35 in Australia's second innings. Slater went on to make a brilliant 123 out of 184 and the target of 287 proved too much for Alec Stewart's side.

1995 - Match drawn - A potentially famous victory for England was ruined by the weather. Michael Atherton, John Crawley and Gough all hit half-centuries as England hit 309 batting first, before they shot out Australia for just 116 - they were 65/8 at one point. Atherton then declared with Graeme Hick two runs short of a hundred, but the weather, hundreds from Mark Taylor and Slater and stern resistance down the order enabled Australia to escape with the draw.

Prediction

In Australia's favour is their imposing recent record at the SCG - 14 wins in their last 16 matches including the remarkable turnaround against Pakistan last year. Indeed, England (in 2003 - see above) are the only opponents to win at the venue during this time.  However, as we've seen during the series, this Australian team is a shadow of its immediate predecessors and if England retain their focus, they should secure a comfortable win to take the series 3-1.

Where next?

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

The best and worst Test XIs of 2010

Watch Darren Gough's hat-trick at Sydney in 1999

The 25 Greatest Ashes Tests of them all: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

1st Test: England marks out of 10, 1st Test: Australia marks out of 10

2nd Test: England marks out of 10, Australia marks out of 10

3rd Test: England marks out of 10, Australia marks out of 10

4th Test: England marks out of 10, Australia marks out of 10

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

4th Test: Melbourne - Preview: Can England reprise glory of 1986?

 
The last time England retained the Ashes down under was in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne in 1986 when they crushed Australia by an innings and 14 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. With the debacle at Perth now behind them, Andrew Strauss' side has a second opportunity to retain the urn at the same Melbourne Cricket Ground over the coming days.

In the lead-up to the 4th test there has been much speculation about the late switch to a much greener looking pitch, which has given hope to Australians that Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris will find a similarly helpful, fast and bouncy wicket to the one that suited them so much at Perth. This is probably wishful thinking on behalf of the home side and the usual slow Melbourne pitch is a much more likely proposition.

This means that Australia will have to think hard about the make-up of their side. Do they risk going in again with four specialist quicks and the part-time spin of Steve Smith? Or do they hand Michael Beer a test debut in place of either Peter Siddle or Ben Hilfenhaus? Dropping the former would mean that Australia would lose its chief snarler in what appeared to be a new 'in your face' approach in Perth.

England also have decisions to make as to the make-up of the bowling attack, although Andy Flower confirmed earlier this week that they will stick to their four-man bowler approach in the absence of a world-class all-rounder. This is no surprise especially as Matt Prior isn't in the form to justify an elevation to number six.

Likely line-ups

England are likely to be unchanged although Tim Bresnan or Ajmal Shahzad may come in for Steve Finn if the latter is deemed to need a rest by the England management. other than that the only change could be Ian Bell being promoted to five ahead of Paul Collingwood.

For Australia, Ricky Ponting is almost certain to play despite a broken little finger and surely they won't repeat their error of The Oval 2009 by going in without a specialist spinner? If Beer does get the nod, expect Siddle to be the one carrying the drinks. Australia also has the option of bolstering the batting by playing Ponting's stand-by Usman Khawaja instead of Smith at number six.

Look out for…

We tipped Kevin Pietersen to end his long quest for a century in our preview of the Adelaide Test and despite crashing back down to earth in Perth, we fully expect him to reach three figures here again in Melbourne.

Ricky Ponting is too great a batsman not to stamp his influence on this series and despite his broken digit and poor run of scores, we would be very surprised if he doesn't make a significant score on the biggest of stages.

Finally, Graeme Swann had a quiet game in Perth after his seven wickets in Adelaide, but the surface at the MCG is likely to suit him better and we wouldn't be surprised to see him star in the 2nd innings. Australia may come to regret not picking their best spinner - the in-form Nathan Hauritz instead of the untried Beer.

Previously at Melbourne

Scene of the first ever Test match in 1877, there have been 53 encounters between England and Australia at the cavernous Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia has the advantage with 27 wins to England’s 19 and perhaps a clue to the outcome of the 2010 edition is that there have only been 7 draws.

2006 – Australia won by an innings and 99 – England suffered a Boxing Day hangover as they were bundled out for just 159 with Warne taking his 700^th Test wicket. England struck back by reducing Australia to 84/5 before Hayden and Symonds both reached 150. England then capitulated for a second time for 161 for yet another woeful defeat on the most dispiriting of tours.

2002 – Australia won by five wickets – Justin Langer hit 250 as Australia amassed a powerful 551/6 and then England only managed 20 more runs than Langer made on his own. They did better after following on with Michael Vaughan scoring a sparkling 145 as England at least set Australia a target. They then restored further pride by taking five wickets as Australia stumbled over the winning line.

1998 – England won by 12 runs – A pulsating test match with a dramatic climax. Rain ruined day one but Alec Stewart scored a captain’s hundred as England made 270. Steve Waugh (122) then masterminded runs from the tail as Australia led by 70. And when England could only make 244 in their second innings and Australia reached 130/3 in pursuit of 162 all seemed lost. Step forward Dean Headley – who engineered a spectacular collapse and a famous England win.

1986 – England won by an innings and 14 – Mike Gatting’s side secured the retention of the urn with a crushing victory in the Boxing Day Test. Gladstone Small and Ian Botham took five apiece as Australia could only muster 141. Then Chris Broad’s third successive hundred provided the bedrock of England’s 208 1^st innings lead. Phil Edmonds and John Emburey then spun England to victory.

1982 – England won by 3 runs – The forerunner to Edgbaston 2005. An extremely tight match saw all four innings total between 284 and 294. When Australia were 218 for nine chasing 292 all looked lost for the home side. But Border and Thomson took them to within sight of the finishing line before that man Botham struck inducing an edge from Thomson that Tavare parried into the hands of a grateful Miller.

Prediction

If the weather holds true then the MCG is a result wicket and we fully expect England to win a tight encounter and therefore retain the Ashes with the final test in Sydney still to come.

Where next?

Dear Santa...

Read KP's Ashes Diary exclusively at the Reverse Sweep

Dean Headley's 15 minutes of fame

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

The 25 Greatest Ashes Tests of them all: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Ashes 100-1: 39 - All-time England Ashes XI: Wicketkeeper

 
England has had many fine wicketkeepers so selecting just one for an all-time England Ashes XI is not one of the easier choices we have had to make in this series.

We've narrowed the shortlist down to four, which means that we've had to leave several good wicketkeepers out. Men like Godfrey Evans, Bob Taylor, George Duckworth and Jim Parks, who all deserve a mention but on this occasion were adjudged to be just short of our top four.

First we considered Alec Stewart, partly because he is the England keeper we have seen most of, but also due to him being the closest England have to Adam Gilchrist. Or so we thought. However, Stewart's record with the bat against Australia when wearing the gloves was nothing to write home about with no hundreds in 26 tests and an average below 30. Given he is the worst keeper of our four that means the former Surrey man misses out.

Next up is Jack Russell, who eventually lost his place in the England side due to his supposed weakness with the bat. But Russell actually had a decent record against Australia with an average of 32.58 from his nine Ashes test and a highest score of 128 not out. He was also a brilliant and eccentric keeper who deserved better treatment from the England selectors.

Les Ames, England's pre-World War II keeper is the only gloveman to ever score 100 hundreds, with one of them coming at Lord's in 1934 in England's last Ashes win at HQ before their 2009 triumph. But for one with such a batting pedigree his overall Ashes average of 27 in 17 tests is disappointing. So Ames misses out to another Kent and England keeper.

Our choice as England's best ever Ashes keeper is Alan Knott. As a batsman he could attack or defend as the situation demanded and along with Tony Grieg was steadfast in the face of the Lillee and Thompson barrage of the 1974/75 series. Knott scored more Ashes runs (1675 at 33) than any other keeper and in his 33 tests against Australia, hit two hundreds and 11 fifties. From what we've seen and read about Knott's keeping, it was more or less faultless particularly when standing up to Derek Underwood.

Where next?

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder

Heroes: Bob Willis

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, if Lillee don't get you, Thommo must

Ashes 100-1: 98 Deano's match

Today we reach number 98 in our Ashes 100-1 countdown and appropriately we go back to Melbourne in 1998 and a former England fast bowler's one day in the sun and an alcoholic infused haze for the Reverse Sweep.

1998 was the year that I spent a memorable time travelling across Australia. I had been in Cairns when a thunderstorm saved England in the 1st test at Brisbane. I then suffered being mercifully ribbed by our Aussie ranger in Kakadu National Park as England were thrashed at the WACA before passing through Coober Pedy as Australia retained the Ashes with another win in Adelaide.

So it was by Christmas that my brother and I reached Melbourne and tickets were purchased for the Boxing Day test at the MCG. We weren't confident, but as English cricket fans we were used to being thrashed by the Aussies and at least we would get to enjoy cricket at one of the best sporting theatres in the world.

And we expected to get a tan into the bargain. Christmas Day had been spent on St Kilda's beach in glorious sunshine and 37 degree heat. So when we made our way to the MCG the morning after we expected more of the same. Big mistake. The temperature had dropped 20 degrees and it rained for most of the day. No cricket and no sun meant the only thing we left with were goose pimples.

Fortunately, the rest of the test match was a classic (see scorecard). England batted first and Alec Stewart hit a captain's knock of 107 as his side compiled a first innings of 270. In reply, Australia struggled to 252 for eight before that snake in the grass Steve Waugh batted with the tail for the umpteenth time against England to hit an unbeaten 122 and carry the Aussies to 340.

When Mike Atherton duly bagged a pair, the game looked up for England, but half centuries from Stewart, Nasser Hussain and Graeme Hick saw England set the Aussies 175 to win. Knowing Australia's poor record at chasing smallish totals and also their propensity for losing a match once they had secured the series, optimism was rife amongst the Barmy Army supporters we were sitting with. No doubt the regular flow of cold but tasteless Australian beer was fuelling our confidence.

However, optimism had dimmed somewhat when Australia reached 103 for two before Mark Ramprakash pulled off a remarkable catch to get rid of Justin Langer. That seemed to put some doubt into Australian minds and soon after Mark Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Ian Healy and Damien Fleming all fell in quick succession - all to Dean Headley who for one day at least played the part of a world-class fast bowler.

But the thorn in England's side Steve Waugh was still there and shepherding number nine (and debutant) Matt Nicholson to the winning target. With only 14 runs to get and three wickets still remaining, most of our hopes had gone. Then Headley (six for 60) struck again to have Nicholson caught behind by Warren Hegg before Darren Gough cleaned up Stuart McGill and Glenn McGrath in the blink of an eye.

England had incredibly won by 12 runs and we had witnessed a great test match with a pulsating conclusion. When we left we ground we were knackered, pretty drunk but elated - the game had finished after 7.30. The night stretched on long into the early hours as we drank numerous toasts to Stewart, Gough and Ramps, but most of all Headley. What a shame that injury and form consigned him to be one of cricket's one hit wonders.