The Reverse Sweep

Irrefutably the best bowler in the world

If we were detectives, we would spend our time collecting evidence in order to ultimately provide the proof for the cases we were working on. Even Inspector Clouseau would be able to provide irrefutable proof that Dale Steyn is the best bowler in the world at the moment.

Exhibit one comes from the Newlands test at the start of the year. Despite just coming back from injury, Steyn fired himself up for the last day, which England needed to bat through for yet another great escape. With Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood set, Steyn took the second new ball and proceeded to beat Collingwood time and time again. On this occasion Collingwood survived and so did England, but Steyn had served notice that he was almost back to his best.

 

In the very next test at The Wanderers, Steyn's five for 51 in the first innings meant that there would be no reprieve for England this time as South Africa squared the series. Although England's batsmen contributed to their own downfalls to some extent, their recklessness appeared to be caused by the fear that they may as well attack because Steyn would get them in the end. Exhibit 2.

Exhibit 3 is perhaps the most compelling of them all. After South Africa's batsmen had racked up 558 for six declared at Nagpur, the game looked to be heading for a draw as India eased to 192 for three with Virender Sehwag in full flow. Then after tea on the third day, Steyn unleashed a lethal spell of venomous pace and devilish swing in a spell of 3.4-2-3-5 to enforce the follow on. Steyn then took three more in the second innings to see his side home. Any fast bowler who takes ten wickets in a match in India on what was a good batting track is a seriously good cricketer.

Yesterday, Steyn produced Exhibit 4 against the West Indies in Port of Spain. Yet again, fearsome pace and exaggerated reverse swing saw Steyn rip out the middle and lower order in quick time to record figures of five for 29. A game that West Indies had seemed on top of when they had South Africa five down for just over 100, has now completely swung round.

There is not a better fast bowler in world cricket than Steyn and to provide the final compelling proof, yesterday's haul took Steyn past 200 test wickets in only his 39th test, making him the fourth quickest bowler to do so. When you consider the other three were Dennis Lillee, Clarrie Grimmett and Waqar Younis, that tells you all you need to know.   

Pace sends brave Afghanistan up the Khyber

If the best bowler you had faced before was Boyd Rankin then how would you feel faced with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel running in at full steam on a bouncy track in Barbados? Petrified is probably the answer. At the very least you would quickly understand how a deserter feels when faced with a firing squad.

This was Afghanistan's fate yesterday as Steyn and Morkel ripped through their top order like a pair of knives slicing through butter as the Afghan's hopes of successfully chasing down 140 to secure a place in the Super Eight stage went up in smoke. Pluck was not in short supply though, as the Afghans recovered from 14 for six and 32 for eight to reach an at least respectable 80 all out.

Given Afghanistan's rapid rise and the fact that unlike Ireland for example they had not played at this level before, they emerge with bats held high from their two defeats to India and South Africa. They certainly justified their belief that they should have the opportunity to play regular T20 and ODI against the top teams. Their fielding has been sharp, the bowlers have done well and even the batsmen performed reasonably against India despite being blown away by Steyn and Morkel yesterday.

Of course, if the ICC had done what it should have done and just had two groups of six teams at this competition, then the Afghans would have got five matches against top-class opposition; it was a long journey for two matches. It certainly would have been interesting to see how they would have fared against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. If the former's match against Australia was anything to go by, where the pace of Nannes and Tait undid Bangladesh after their bowlers had put them within range of a shock victory, then a match-up with Afghanistan could have been too close to call.

So as the Afghan's prepare for an arduous journey back to Kabul, they leave safe in the knowledge that the fact that they even reached the competition was one of the best stories in sport of recent times. Moreover, they depart having not embarrassed themselves and with the hope that this is just the end of the second chapter of what will become an ever more enthralling ride. 

World T20 preview and predictions

Just five days after the end of the IPL season, international cricket resumes with the World T20 in the Caribbean. Although, it will be a less frenzied affair with no DLF maximums, no timeouts and praise be to God, no Danny Morrison, it is not exactly an example of good scheduling by the ICC. And coming under a year after the last World T20 in England, no-one could argue that cricket in general is adopting a less is more approach to the youngest form of the game.

The competition itself is structured in the same way as a year ago with four initial groups of three being whittled down to two groups of four in the Super Eight stage, before the semi-finals and final. Group A sees holders Pakistan up against Bangladesh and Australia, and with Shahid Afridi captaining pretty much anything could happen. Shorn of Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan through the mismanagement of Ijaz Butt and one of the best T20 bowlers in the world in Umar Gul through injury, Pakistan may even struggle to get past unpredictable Bangladesh.

Despite losing a warm-up match to Zimbabwe and Brett Lee to injury, Australia has to rank amongst the favourites for the trophy; though the decision to leave Doug Bollinger at home could come back to haunt them. We'll take the Aussies to top the group and Bangladesh to get past Pakistan and cause more match-fixing allegations from their oh so wonderful politicians.

Group B sees last year's runners up Sri Lanka take on New Zealand and Zimbabwe. King Kumar's boys should do well on the expected slow pitches of the Caribbean and New Zealand don't generally get beaten by the minnows, so despite the boon of beating Australia, the ever-improving Zimbabwe are likely to miss out here.

The wonderful story that is Afghanistan qualifying for the competition is likely to end abruptly with India and South Africa the opposition in Group C, and the hosts West Indies and England will have too much firepower for Ireland in Group D.

Then the real business will start with the Super Eight stage although the bizarre way in which those groups will be constituted is confusing to say the least. By our reckoning, assuming Australia, Sri Lanka, India and England win the preliminary groups, the two Super Eight groups will be Bangladesh, New Zealand, South Africa and England in Group E, and Australia, Sri Lanka, India and West Indies in a much tougher looking Group F. But we could be wrong and we're already on the phone to Professor Stephen Hawking in order to get a better understanding of how this works.

Anyway, taking for granted that we are correct; and for England's sake we hope we are, then the Reverse Sweep's belief that 2010 is going to follow 1966 and 2003 in the annals of English sporting glory looks a distinct possibility. With T20 being a great leveller, the selectors finally picking the right squad and England having a good balance between bat and ball, Paul Collingwood's men should be right up there in contention for the trophy. We take them to go through to the semi-finals with South Africa from this supposed Group E.

If Group F looked like this then it would rightly be called the group of death. All four teams look strong with India led by the excellent MS Dhoni and Australia the two favourites for the competition. But don't rule out the hosts who will be looking to make up for their disappointing performance when hosting the World Cup in 2007. With Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, West Indies have the impact players that win a T20 match in a five over spell. And with T20 having that element of unpredictability we go for the hosts to join India in the last four.

With South Africa likely to choke in the semi-final and the West Indies probably running out of steam, we at the Reverse Sweep are predicting an India-England final with the absence of Sachin Tendulkar meaning that England will finally break its duck of having never won a limited overs ICC world trophy. But we won't be massively surprised if we get it wrong.

In terms of the cricketers to look out for, here are our tips (one per country) as the likely stars: England - Kevin Pietersen, India - MS Dhoni, South Africa - Dale Steyn, West Indies - Kieron Pollard, Australia - Cameron White, Sri Lanka - Angelo Mathews, Bangladesh - Tamim Iqbal, New Zealand - Ross Taylor, Pakistan - Shahid Afridi, Zimbabwe - Elton Chigumbura, Ireland - Niall O'Brien, Afghanistan - Mohammad Shahzad.

Let the festivities begin, and then roll-on quickly so we can get some test cricket...    

Steyn's in obviously, but who else makes a current World Test XI?

Having declared our allegiance to Dale Steyn as the best bowler in the World (for once the rankings do not lie), how would the rest of a current World Test XI shape up?

 

Here is my team based on form over the last year or so... 

 

1. Graeme Smith (South Africa) – The heart says Dilshan or Gayle, but the head goes for the Proteas captain, who may not be the best batsman to watch but who always seems to score runs when his country most needs them - especially against England. Grrrr!  

2. Virender Sehwag (India) – Sehwag is not merely a man, he is a God.

3. Gautam Gambhir (India) – You cannot argue with his record over the last 12 months even though doubts remain whether he can do it against the very best (as shown against South Africa over the last few days) or away from the sub-continent. Would be a good number 3.

4. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka, Captain) – Gets in ahead of Ponting as the Australian captain has not been in the best form over the last year or so. Sangakkara has scored runs both on and away from the sub-continent and is a class player. Gets the captain's role for being the most intelligent and articulate cricketer playing the game today.

5. Sachin Tendulkar (India) – I’d like to go to India one day, so the Little Master has to be in the XI! Seriously, though his record over the last three years is second to none as his ton today against South Africa ably demonstrated.

6. Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – Three centuries in his last five tests with the most recent in Nagpur being one of his best. Like his countryman Smith, not the best player to watch but the proof in the pudding is the fact that he just keeps on scoring runs. And he can bowl too.

7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India), The Indian captain has been in excellent form with both bat and gloves over the last year and just pips Boucher and Haddin.

8. Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) – With Warne and Kumble gone, Murali fading and Harbhajan too inconsistent, it is New Zealand’s one man team who pips Swann for the spin role in the XI.   

9. Mitchell Johnson (Australia) – In the battle of the inconsistent quicks, it is MJ who beats Morne Morkel (and Zaheer Khan) to a place in the XI. Johnson has an uncanny knack of taking wickets when he is bowling pies a la Ian Botham, which gets him a place in my side.

10. Dale Steyn (South Africa) – The best bowler in the World. Any fast bowler who can take ten wickets in a match in India deserves to be worshipped. Thank God he was only match fit for the last two tests against England.

11. Mohammad Amir (Pakistan) – If he can steer clear of illicit and performance enhancing drugs, Amir’s nagging accuracy would be a good foil to the pace of Steyn and Johnson in this XI.

12^th Man. Graeme Swann (England) – Would come in for Johnson if two spinners were required. His first year in test cricket has been sensational.

Steyn the destroyer of India

To coin an oft used word by South Africans, awesome seems an apt word to describe Dale Steyn's performance at Nagpur against India.

Before Steyn stepped up to the plate after tea yesterday, the match had seen over 750 runs and only eight wickets. Although the South Africans were shading it, the draw looked the favourite.

Then Steyn took over and India's first innings saw their last 6 wickets fall for 12 runs - 5 of these to Steyn. India then succumbed to an innings defeat today despite some resistance in the second innings including another century for Sachin.

Steyn had match figures of 10 for 108. In India. Half of these were clean bowled. He bowled fast, swung it both ways; coventionally and reverse, and was simply unplayable. He has to be the undisputed best bowler in the World - for once the rankings are accurate.

At the end of the game, Dhoni gave this tribute: "And then there was Steyn's performance. I think it was one of the best performances of pace bowling I've seen in the recent past".

Obviously the man of the match adjudicators weren't listening as Hashim Amla was given the MOM award. Amla's 253 not out was a great innings, as was Kallis' 173, but any fast bowler who takes 10 for 108 in India simply has to get the award.

Maybe it will make Steyn mad for the 2nd Test at Eden Gardens. Watch out India!

Parity restored: South Africa's series marks out of ten

Graeme Smith and his men were cock-a-hoop after squaring the series at The Wanderers, although this will be tainted somewhat by the fact that they weren't able to take one more wicket at Centurion or Cape Town.

Here are my marks out of ten for the series for the Proteas:

Graeme Smith - 8: Centuries in the last two tests made him the leading runscorer in the series even if luck was on his side in both innings. Not the most attacking captain in the World, which certainly contributed to his side not getting over the line in Pretoria and Cape Town and loses him a point in the final analysis.

Ashwell Prince - 3: A shockingly poor return of 97 runs at an average of 13.85 suggests that South Africa will be looking for a new opener for the Indian tour. A decent player but not suited to opening.

Hashim Amla - 8: A solid series built around two big partnerships with Smith at Cape Town and Johannesburg. Given he was at the crease early most times he batted and did well, Amla could find himself opening in India.

Jacques Kallis - 8: Another good series for Mr Consistent with tons at Centurion and Cape Town and is still the wicket most prized by South Africa's opponents. Unsurprisingly after a rib injury, his bowling lacked the usual punch.

AB De Villiers - 7: Three fifties but only a highest score of 64 suggests that De Villiers needs to quell his impetuosity at times and take a leaf out of Kallis' book. The best fielder on either side.

JP Duminy - 6: Had a shocker as a batsman with a highest score of 56 and an average just over 16, which suggests he may not be the next great batsman that some have suggested. But as a bowler he outshone the lacklustre Harris and claimed eight wickets during the series including a spell at Cape Town that nearly won his side the match.

Mark Boucher - 9: Excellent with the gloves and even better with the bat scoring 341 runs at an average of 57 during the series. His 95 at Johannesburg took the game away from England after they had got back into the match on the third morning.

Morne Morkel - 8: When he was good he was absolutely devastating as 19 wickets in the series at 21 suggests, but is still at times frustratingly inconsistent as proved by his spell with the new ball on the final afternoon at Newlands.

Dale Steyn - 9: For once the ICC rankings are accurate as Steyn bowled like the best bowler in the World in the final two tests once back to full fitness. If he had played at Centurion, would England have survived?

Paul Harris - 4: A very poor series from a spinner who seems to get little spin and non-existent turn. The main reason why his side failed to finish off England at Cape Town. Outshone by the part-timer Duminy and may struggle to return to the side after being left at Johannesburg.

Friedal De Wet - 6: Devastating spell with the new ball in the final session at Centurion nearly won his side the test match. Was then overlooked for Durban and injured for most of the Newlands test. Will come again.

Makhaya Ntini - 3: Seemed to be way past his best at Centurion and Durban and that may be the last we see of him in test cricket. At least won his 100th cap at Centurion - a deserved reward for a fantastic career and a man who has transcended sport in his home country.

Wayne Parnell - 6: Made his debut at Johannesburg and took the scalps of Strauss and Pietersen as his first two test wickets. Extremely promising bowler who can expect to become a feature in the test side.

Ryan McLaren - 6: Also made his debut in the final test and took the important wicket of Collingwood in the first innings. Useful contribution with the bat as well.   

Heroes of Newlands

Anyone who says that test cricket is boring should be forced to watch a re-run of the final day's play of the 3rd Test yesterday at Newlands (and indeed the final day of the Sydney test between Pakistan and Australia for that matter).

It was absolutely riveting stuff and like many others I was glued to the commentary on Test Match Sofa (or Sky or TMS) and as per cricket tradition did not move from my seat for the whole day's play.

Unbelievably England performed their version of The Great Escape for the second time in this series and the third time in their last eight tests. Cape Town now joins its counterparts of Centurion and Cardiff in the Great Escape trilogy and in the annuls of England's most memorable test matches.

Four heroes and two further unlikely ones emerged from the final day. Without further ado here is the roll of honour:

The Heroes

Paul Collingwood- Collingwood has been the central figure and inspiration of all three rearguards and never mind the MBE, he should arguably be knighted for his heroism. Once again Collingwood arrived at the crease with England in a desperate position and once again he coolly set about his work. The doomsayers who were calling for his head after Headingley look rather stupid now. In the Great Escape trilogy his stats are 140 runs, 532 balls (88.4 overs) and 779 minutes (1 minute short of 13 hours) at the crease for twice out (like Cardiff he even got out near the end yesterday to make it interesting!). Incredible.

Ian Bell- If Collingwood was the undoubted foundation of yesterday's heroics, England wouldn't have escaped if others hadn't also stood steadfast. Step forward the unlikely figure of Ian Bell. Despite having all the talent in the World, Bell does not have the reputation of someone you can rely on in a crisis. Indeed, all of his test centuries have come when at least one other colleague has also made a ton. But he was magnificent yesterday and hopefully this will be the inspiration he needs to go on and justify his talent. Arguably, he is the most talented of all of England's batsmen but before yesterday also the mentally weakest.

Graham Onions- Lightning does strike twice. And just as at Centurion, Onions played out the final over with aplomb despite unbelievable pressure and tension. Once again Onions reduced the South Africans to tears with his bravery. Never in the history of cricket conflict has so much been achieved by such small knocks as Onions' 1 not out and 0 not out at Centurion and Cape Town respectively. Graeme Swann also deserves plaudits but on this occasion his achievements rank below those of Colly, Bell and Onions.

Dale Steyn - There was a South African hero too yesterday. Steyn bowled his heart out all day and his new ball battle with Collingwood evoked memories of the famous tussle between Allan Donald and Mike Atherton at Trent Bridge in 1998. I'm not a big fan of the ICC rankings system, but Steyn really did show why he is ranked as the top test bowler in the World even if he was unlucky and unrewarded on this occasion.

The unlikely heroes

Umpire Decision Review System - Now those that read my post yesterday will know that like many I am not a supporter of the UDRS. And I am not the only one. As I exclusively revealed the ICC had unfurled a desperate scheme to justify the UDRS in this test match in the shape of Daryl Harper. But the UDRS saved England when Collingwood facing his first ball was given out to a catch at slip by Kallis off Harris. Collingwood immediately called for the review, which showed that the deflection had come off his hip. Without UDRS, Collingwood would have gone and with it England's chances of saving the test. Maybe, just maybe, I am beginning to see the merits of the system now!

Paul Harris & the SA selectors - Maybe I am being a bit unfair, but never have I seen a test spinner who turns and spins the ball less (even Nathan Hauritz looks good in comparison). For the most part Bell and Collingwood were able to play him with consummate ease and Harris was even overshadowed by J.P Duminy, who is supposedly a part-time bowler. Maybe the South Africans will learn from this and Centurion that having a good spinner in your ranks is crucial to bowling out sides in the fourth innings of a match.

The Reverse Sweep is an irreverent take on the wonderful game of cricket. Follow posts from the Reverse Sweep here.