The Reverse Sweep

Resurrection: A drastic cure to England's spin woes in Asia

England have seven more Test matches in Asia in 2012 and based on their abject batting performances in Dubai and Abu Dhabi over the last two weeks they may have to resort to a little bit of black magic in order to conquer their spin demons.

So that's what we've done in our regular column for All Out Cricket this week where we've revised, renewed, reformed and in one case resurrected an England top six capable of mastering spin in Asia.

To see if you agree with our selection, read We Are The Resurrection (yes, Stone Roses fans you have correctly spotted the slight rephrasing of the greatest of album closing tracks) and dream of English success in Asia.

Where next?

Cricket heroes: David Gower

An XI of Cricket Heroes

10 reasons why Ian Botham may have worn sunglasses at the premiere of 'From the Ashes'

England's tale of woe against spin in Asia

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

England's tale of woe against spin in Asia

During the Dubai Test last week, Sky threw up one of its ridiculous stats, which illustrated how contrary to popular opinion the averages of England’s top seven batsmen against spin are all actually higher than their career averages.

However, Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t be fooled by this and nor were we. Taking the candy on offer from the likes of Xavier Doherty in Australia, Amit Mishra last summer and Paul Harris on frankly any pitch is one thing, but doing it against Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan and now Saeed Ajmal in their own backyards is quite another.

A quick scan of the averages of England’s current top seven away to Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka is far more revealing – no we are not including Tests in Bangladesh as facing what is effectively a County 2^nd XI attack tends to inflate the averages of even the worse batsmen. Yes, even Chris Martin.

Surprisingly, it is Matt Prior that leads the way with an average of 46.71 from 6 Tests, followed by Alastair Cook (39.33, 8 Tests, 2 hundreds), Andrew Strauss (37.20, 8 Tests, 3 hundreds), Ian Bell (32.95, 12 Tests, 1 hundred) and bottom of the pile Kevin Pietersen with an average of just 31.54 from 12 Tests with two hundreds. (NB: the Test in Dubai was Trott’s and Morgan’s first away to Pakistan, India or Sri Lanka)

The causes of this serial failure are many with some or all of the following applying to each of England’s batsmen: hard hands, a general lack of foot movement, an inability to take singles and rotate the strike, too much deference and not enough decisiveness, tentativeness and a failure to pick Ajmal.

England’s recent record away to Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka is woeful with the defeat in Dubai making it just one win in 18 Tests stretching back to the twin triumphs in Pakistan and Sri Lanka of 2000/01.  It was perhaps hardly surprising therefore that Pakistan’s bowlers took 14 wickets for 184 runs in Dubai on a pretty flat wicket with inconsequential turn and little bounce. This doesn’t bode well for the remainder of this series, nor the ones to Sri Lanka and India later this year.

If any inspiration is required, England should look to four of the leading English batsmen in the subcontinent over the last 30 years. Geoff Boycott leads the way with an average of 58.83 from 8 Tests in India and Pakistan (he never faced Sri Lanka) and is closely followed by David Gower (56.90, 16 Tests), Graeme Thorpe (48.29, 10 Tests) and Paul Collingwood (42.15, 12 Tests).

Three of the four were defined by their grit, bravery and obdurateness, which should be attributes most of England’s batsmen can relate to and hopefully display when they get to the crease later today. Pietersen will hopefully realise that genius as exhibited by Gower can thrive in Asia too. England’s number one ranking depends upon it.

Where next?

Misbah-ul-Haq second only to Bradman

How good are this England cricket team?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

An XI of Cricket Heroes

 
This week saw the publication of our 1000th post since we started The Reverse Sweep in 2009, which we suppose is cause for some mild celebration.

Cricket Heroes & Zeroes is perhaps the most prominent feature of this blog, so here is a team of our cricket heroes to muse over whilst we sip our celebratory glass of Bollinger (and no Doug, we don't mean you).

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Jack Hobbs

The Master. We were in awe of his staggering accomplishments as a youngster and we still are.

See Cricket heroes: Jack Hobbs

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Victor Trumper

The thinking man's Bradman. Stylish, effervescent and with all the strokes. The first batsman to hit a Test hundred before lunch.

See All-time Australian Ashes XI: The Openers

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Viv Richards

Sachin acolytes will doubtless disagree, but King Viv is the not only the most destructive but the best batsman we've seen in 30 plus years of watching cricket.  And what about that swagger?

See Cricket heroes: Viv Richards

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David Gower

Our first cricket memory that really resonates was our boyhood hero Gower nonchalantly dispatching his first ball in Test cricket to the boundary.

See cricket heroes: David Gower

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Douglas Jardine (Captain)

England's greatest captain and the foe of Bradman in the notorious (and ultimately successful) Ashes expedition of 1932/33.

See cricket heroes: Douglas Jardine

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Keith Miller

Flamboyant cricketer? Check. War hero? Check. Alleged dalliances with Princesses? Check. What's not to like?

See Keith Miller: Champion all-rounder, war hero & raconteur

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Ian Botham

He may divide opinion as a commentator, but for any English born, cricket loving child of the late seventies and early eighties, Beefy was the original comic book hero.

See All-time England Ashes XI - All-rounder, plus Botham's Ashes and 10 reasons why Ian Botham may have worn sunglasses at the premiere of 'From the Ashes'

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Henry Blofeld

Don't laugh. Until he lost an argument with a bus, Blofeld was a promising enough schoolboy wicketkeeper to be talked about as a future Test player. But it is Blofeld's eccentric, irreverent and unmissable commentary on Test Match Special that gets him in here.

See cricket heroes: Henry Blofeld

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Hedley Verity

England's greatest ever spinner died a hero leading his men into battle in the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943.  1956 first-class wickets at an incredible 14.90 is the ultimate evidence of Verity's genius.

See cricket heroes: Hedley Verity

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Malcolm Marshall

If Richards is the best batsman we've ever seen, then Marshall is the best bowler. Marshall had everything. Express pace, a nasty bouncer (just ask Mike Gatting and Andy Lloyd) and the ability to swing the ball both ways.

See cricket heroes: Malcolm Marshall

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Harold Larwood

Bodyline's scapegoat is reputed to have been the fastest bowler ever and he certainly executed Jardine's cunning plan to the letter. His dignified response to being ostracised by the establishment proved he was as brilliant a man as he had been the most fearsome of fast bowlers.

See All-time Ashes XI and also Bodyline and nine other Ashes controversies

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Where next?

Cricket Heroes: Graham Dilley R.I.P

Check out all our other Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

When Gower and Gavaskar were kings

With the long-awaited England-India series finally starting this week, we decided to get all nostalgic in our latest column for All Out Cricket in reminiscing about the first Test series we watched - the 1979 contest between the same two sides.

Despite the man of the series going to Ian Botham, it was two contrasting batsmen that caught the imagination of this then seven year old - read When Gower and Gavaskar were kings to find out more.

Where next?

Cricket heroes: David Gower

The best 30 batsmen ever (featuring Sunil Gavaskar): Part 1 (30-21), Part 2 (20-11), Part 3 (10-1)

10 reasons why Ian Botham may have worn sunglasses at the premiere of 'From the Ashes'

Zaheer Khan: He came, he saw, he conquered....he got injured

Cricket heroes: Henry Blofeld

Don't miss a thing - Subscribe to and read about all of the Top 20 Cricket Blogs here

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

10 reasons why Ian Botham may have worn sunglasses at the premiere of 'From the Ashes'

 

It's certainly been quite a week for cricket film premieres. Following swiftly on the heels of 'Fire in Babylon', the shindig for 'From the Ashes' - a documentary about the infamous 1981 Ashes series - saw the likes of Ian Botham, David Gower and Bob Willis swanning along the red carpet and posing for the cameras.

But in every picture we've seen of the event - such as the one above - Botham is wearing shades despite the premiere being in the evening and sunglasses plainly not being the most suitable attire for a trip to the cinema.

Here are ten possible reasons why Beefy chose to don the shades: 

1. His old nemesis Ian Chappell caught Botham by surprise in the car park as he was arriving and landed a couple on him
2. Beefy's just a shy retiring sort of chap, who doesn't like the limelight. No really!
3. Shh! He's on an undercover mission from MI5 to assassinate Charles Colville. Don't blow his cover!
4. Botham's eyes still haven't been put back in place after popping out of their sockets on seeing Pippa Middleton at the recent Royal Wedding
5. He's doubling up as Bob Willis's bodyguard after unsubstantiated rumours that the merciless Jonathan Trott was going to take his revenge for the verbal attacks Willis made during the World Cup
6. They're his special Knight of the Realm shades given to Botham personally by the Queen
7. The real Botham wasn't available, so his Madame Tussauds waxwork was used as a last minute replacement
8. He'd been out on the tiles with Gower and a couple of quiet ones turned into a marathon binge session
9. He's auditioning for the title role in the next Terminator film, or and perhaps most plausibly;
10. Despite having been a magnificent cricketer, at the end of day he's a bit of a nob

Where next?

Botham's Ashes

See Ian Botham stink the place out in Sky's new Ashes advert

All-time England Ashes XI - All-rounder

First Andy Gray, and now is Ian Botham getting the boot from Sky?

Cricket Heroes: Bob Willis, David Gower and Cricket Zeroes: Charles Colville

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The Boundary View: Rain the winner in war of attrition - Sydney, Day One

 
Old school

It may have been Sydney in January but it could just as easily have been Old Trafford in May as the 5th Test started under grey skies and increasingly frequent showers. Michael Clarke's first move as captain was a bold one after opting to bat despite the overhead conditions and a damp and green pitch. After that it was old school attritional test cricket as Australia's batsmen endeavoured to perform better than they had in similar bowler friendly conditions on Boxing Day in Melbourne. On that score, they succeeded but wickets at crucial times ensured that the honours just about went to England by the time rain brought a premature end to proceedings.

Out for lunch

Phillip Hughes has looked a batsman at war with his technical deficiencies since he came into the side at Perth. Today he battled hard in the difficult conditions and having seen off tricky opening spells from James Anderson and Chris Tremlett, he celebrated with consecutive boundaries off Tim Bresnan. But with lunch just three balls away, Hughes wafted at one outside off-stump from Tremlett and was caught by Paul Collingwood at third slip. Hughes still doesn't look like a test match opener to us, but at least his scores in the series are going in the right direction: 2,12, 16, 23 and now 31. 

Sparkling debut

David Gower famously pulled his first ball in Test cricket to the boundary and his fellow left-hander Usman Khawaja was similarly nerveless and composed in his first Test innings. He clipped two through the leg-side first ball before pulling his second to the boundary as he raced to 15 from his first eight balls. Things became less frenetic after that and Khawaja looked settled and well organised at the crease. He deserved better fortune than top-edging a sweep off Swann (striking again in the first over of a spell) to square leg the ball before rain stopped play for the day. Rotten luck but Khawaja confirmed that he has a bright future at the highest level. 

Watson's losing hand

Shane Watson may have been a team-mate of his at Rajasthan Royals and Hampshire, but we doubt whether he will follow Shane Warne to the poker table where an ability to stay expressionless is paramount. Watson isn't one to hide his disappointment behind a poker face when he is out and today we got the full repertoire. First, there was the cry of "oh no!" as he got an edge to one that shaped away slightly from Bresnan. Then there was a gesture with the right arm as the realisation that he had been dismissed sunk in, before finally the slow slouch off the ground. Watson had been particularly watchful in a morning session that saw him reach just 19 off 85 balls, but for the sixth time in the series he fell between 34 and 62 (and the 11th time in 14 innings against England) - another losing hand in terms of what is required from a test opener.

Player of the day

Chris Tremlett, who just takes the honours ahead of Khawaja, has been a revelation since coming in at Perth for his first Test in over three years. Once again, he was the pick of England's bowlers and had all the Australian batsman in trouble with his accuracy, bounce and movement. He may have only had the wicket of Hughes to show for it, but it was the 6'8" paceman that once again stood head and shoulders above the rest on day one.

Zero of the day

Michael Clarke's first move as Australia's 43rd Test captain was a brave one in opting to bat and a positive drive for three from his first ball suggested that this positivity was going to be transferred to his batting. But after that he went back into the shell in which he has habitually resided in the series, until he hit an erroneous cut to Anderson in the gully to depart for just 4. It certainly wasn't the example to set young Khawaja at the other end on debut. That's just 152 runs at 19 now in the series for the out of sorts Clarke.

What happens next?

The pitch will probably flatten out on day 2, so the partnership between Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin will be crucial for Australia in setting a decent 1st innings total. England will be hoping for more overcast conditions and a similarly miserly approach from their bowlers to bowl Australia out for less than 250. Weather permitting, it should be fascinating.

Where next?

The Curious Case of Nathan Hauritz

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

Read all the excerpts from KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

The best and worst Test XIs of 2010

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep 

3rd Test: Perth - Preview: Can England wrap up the urn by Christmas?

 
Australia has confirmed its overwhelming cricketing superiority over its former colonial masters in the last two Ashes Tests at Perth, winning at a canter in 2002 and 2006 to gain an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.

But this time is different, and having survived the Gabbatoir and then extinguished the horrors of Adelaide in 2006, England know a win at the WACA - where they have only won once - would see them retain the Ashes before Christmas.

They may never get a better chance. Australia would appear to be in complete disarray with the selectors doing a passable impersonation of England in the 1990's. Simon Katich's injury means that Phil Hughes comes in to open the innings and Steve Smith replaces the discarded Marcus North in the lower middle order. The seamers may be juggled again, but the biggest surprise of all is the pick of left arm spinner Michael Beer - a man with just six first-class matches to his name.

England have no such problems and James Anderson will hope to make a similarly impressive contribution as Kevin Pietersen when he popped back to England for the birth of his son in the World T20 - even if Bob Willis may not be amused. England have dominated the last seven days of the series and if they can repeat the trick at the WACA then the urn will be theirs and Australia may just capitulate completely.

Likely line-ups

The only selection debate for England is whether to go with Tremlett, Bresnan or Shahzad to replace the injured Broad. Otherwise they will be unchanged.

Australia are pondering over a three or four man seam attack, with Beer making his debut if it is the latter and either Siddle or Hilfenhaus missing out if it is the former. 

Look out for…

Chris Tremlett has not been confirmed as Broad’s replacement yet, but if he plays his fourth test and his first since 2007, he should enjoy the bouncy WACA wicket and a man of the match performance is not out of the question.

It will be a surprise if Mitchell Johnson doesn’t come back into the Australian line-up, with Ponting and his selectors fully aware that the misfiring Johnson is their most likely match-winner on his home ground. He took 8 for 61 on this ground against South Africa in 2008-09, so England’s batsmen may finally be about to find what all the fuss is about.

The Pitch – It would seem that the WACA pitch could return to the lively track of old if curator Cameron Sutherland is to be believed: "We're going to aim for a fair bit of grass on top this year. Certainly, we want a result and we're confident that we'll have a pitch that will produce a result." Could this play into England’s hands given they would appear to have the most settled and potent attack?

Previously at Perth

A look back at the record books shows that England have an abysmal record at Perth, winning only one out of 11 Tests. Australia have won seven and England have been on the receiving end of some fearsome beatings in the last five WACA contests.

2006 – Australia won by 206 runs – Monty Panesar made a belated entry into the series and took five for 92 on day one as Australia were bowled out for 244. England were unable to take advantage though and folded for 215 before Australia racked up the runs second time around with Hussey, Clarke and Gilchrist all making hundreds – the latter off only 57 balls. Cook made a hundred, but England could only reach 350 and the Ashes were gone.

2002 – Australia won by an innings and 48 - England and in particular Alex Tudor were terrorised on a quick Perth wicket by Brett Lee. England could only make 185 and 223 as the game finished on the 3^rd day, which meant that Australia had secured the Ashes again on just the 11^th day of the series

1998 – Australia won by 7 wickets – Another dreadful Perth experience for England as they were shot out for just 112 on the opening day in just 39 overs. Tudor had a better WACA experience than he would have four years later and took four for 89 on debut. Again, England were only able to take the game into the third day.

1978 – England won by 166 runs - England’s only Test win at the WACA came against an Australian team ravaged by World Series Cricket defections. David Gower scored 102 and Rodney Hogg took 10 wickets as Australia fell well short of their victory target of 328.    

Prediction

Despite the curator's promise of a green and bouncy wicket, the WACA has lost much of its hostile reputation in recent years, so England's top six could be set to cash in again. This Englishman may regret his bravado, but we go for England to break their Perth hoodoo to give Strauss the best of early Christmas presents.

Where next?

Michael Beer's shock selection for the WACA explained

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Shane Warne's Ashes nightmare

This is brilliant. The new Sky Sports advert to publicise their coverage of the Ashes series features Shane Warne having a nightmare and David Lloyd surfing...

Where next?

Zeroes: Charles Colville 

See Ian Botham stink the place out in Sky's new Ashes advert

Luke Wright breaks his cricket bat

Ashes 100-1: 33 - Bodyline and nine other Ashes controversies

 
Throughout the history of the oldest and longest running international sporting contest, the Ashes have not been without their moments of controversy, most famously of course in the ‘Bodyline’ series of 1932-33 when Douglas Jardine’s leg theory strategy to nullify Bradman and his general animosity to all things Australian nearly led to a diplomatic incident between the two countries.

So to mark us reaching number 33 in our Ashes countdown, here are ten of the best Ashes controversies we’ve managed to dig out from the history books:

1. “Bodyline”

The most rancorous cricket series of them all. It slid from crisis to crisis and having at one time reached governmental level looked set to be called off. An unrepentant Jardine spoke openly of his dislike of all things Australian and there were near-riots at Adelaide. Despite overwhelming pressure the immovable Jardine refused to change his strategy and England won 4-1. The controversy ran on though and prompted rule changes, which effectively outlawed Bodyline tactics. Larwood never played for England again and Jardine’s captaincy ended before the teams next met in England in 1934.

2. Fisticuffs and withdrawals

Today’s PCB may be bad but 100 years ago the Australian Board of Control (BOC) was even worse. A meeting to confirm the touring party to England in 1912 resulted in a fight between Australia’s captain Clem Hill and BOC representative Peter McAllister. As part of the fallout Hill and five other leading players - Warwick Armstrong, Victor Trumper, Tibby Cotter, Hanson Carter and Vernon Ransford - refused to tour and Australia were soundly beaten.

3. Vandals stopped play

The last day of the third Test of the 1975 series at Headingley was evenly poised with Australia 225 for 3 chasing 420 to win the series and so retain the Ashes. However, the pitch was vandalised overnight by protesters campaigning for the release of convicted robber George Davis. Captains Tony Grieg and Ian Chappell both reluctantly agreed the game could not continue, although rain would have meant a draw in any case. Davis was freed the following year but was soon behind bars again after being caught red-handed.

4. Captain Pratt

Ricky Ponting’s frustration at England’s bowlers continually taking breaks from the field of play during the 2005 series boiled over at Nottingham when he was run out by substitute fielder Gary Pratt. As the video shows as he left the field, Ponting visibly swore and gesticulated at the England dressing room. England won a tight match by three wickets after collapsing when chasing a small target.

 

5. The Packer Affair

The 1977 series in England was completely overshadowed by the furore surrounding World Series Cricket, news of which broke as the Australian side arrived. Mike Brearley, who replaced the sacked WSC player recruiter and ringleader Tony Grieg, led England to a 3-0 win against a divided Australian side full of soon-to-be Packer players. International cricket would never be the same again.

6. The Aluminium Bat

Although not strictly an Ashes controversy due to the Ashes not being at stake in the three match 1979-80 series, the episode of Dennis Lillee’s aluminium bat is still worthy of inclusion. England captain Brearley, sporting a beard that made him look an Ayatollah, strongly objected and two proud men went toe to toe. The umpires sided with Brearley and in frustration, Lillee flung the bat across the WACA pitch. Priceless.

7. Bottles and walk-offs

After a long and drawn out series, the 1970-71 encounter went down to a decider at Melbourne. In a tight match, England’s John Snow was warned for short-pitched bowling after striking Terry Jenner on the head. The crowd didn’t like it either and Snow was grabbed by a spectator and bottles and cans were thrown at him. England captain Ray Illingworth responded by leading his side from the field. They returned after warnings from officials, and with their resolve emboldened won by 62 runs to regain the Ashes.

8. Chuckers and draggers

England were thrashed 4-0 in 1958-59, but much of their ire was reserved for what they considered the illegality of some of the bowlers they faced – throwing in the case of Ian Meckiff and dragging by the ‘Blond Giant’ Gordon Rorke. Later events would suggest that England were right where Meckiff was concerned when he was called for throwing four times in his only over in the first test of the 1963/64 home series with South Africa.

9. Gower goes to the theatre

The 1989 series was a disaster for England and captain David Gower regularly felt the heat of some pretty hostile press conferences. After a dismal third day at Lord’s in the second test, Gower answered a few questions before deciding it was all too much and stood up to announce that he had tickets for the theatre to see Anything Goes, that the taxi was waiting, and then proceeded to walk out stage left leaving a bemused press lost for words. Even though Gower returned after the rest day and scored a hundred, his reign was doomed. As were England.

10. 500-1

Our last controversy would have caused headlines across the World today, but in a more innocent 1981 rarely raised a whimper. With England crashing to seeming defeat at Headingley in 1981,Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh couldn’t resist the odds of 500/1 for the England win. Then came the heroics of Botham and Willis, which led England to the most unlikeliest of victories. Rightfully, no-one questioned the efforts of Lillee and Marsh though who both battled to the end in an attempt to lose their stake.

Where next?

Heroes: Douglas Jardine

Heroes: Dennis Lillee

Heroes: David Gower

Ashes 100-1: 47 - All-time England Ashes XI: 4 and 5

The identity of the two batsmen we will select at four and five in an all-time England Ashes XI is a case of Wally Hammond plus one.

We may have decided to shorehorn Len Hutton into our side at three in preference to Hammond, but we believe that there were good reasons for this. First, having chosen not to break up the tried and tested opening pair of Hobbs and Sutcliffe, space had to be found for someone who is indisputably one of England's five best Ashes batsmen ever. Second, we needed a captain and who better than the man who led England to success in 1953 - after the urn had been in Australian possession for 19 years and who then subsequently retained the Ashes down under in 1954/55?

But there was no way we were going to leave Hammond out of our XI. He is arguably England's greatest batsmen ever - in our opinion it is either him or Hobbs. Hammond scored 2852 runs in 33 Ashes tests at 51.85 and hit nine hundreds (four of them doubles). In the 1928/29 series, at the age of 25, he scored a record 905 runs at 113.12 and became the first batsman to score two double hundreds in a series with 251 at Sydney and 200 at Melbourne. England won the series 4-1 and Hammond was acclaimed as the best batsman in the world. And then along came Don Bradman...

So who joins Hammond? David Gower, Ken Barrington and Ted Dexter were all considered for the number three spot and all come into contention again here. Joining them on the longlist are Denis Compton, Maurice Leyland, Peter May, Eddie Paynter, FS Jackson, Kumar Ranjitsinhji and Colin Cowdrey.

We felt that Cricinfo were premature at the time when they selected Kevin Pietersen in their all-time England test XI in 2009. Events since have reinforced this view and despite his excellent record against Australia (1116 runs in 12 tests at 50.72), we prefer to wait until KP has competed in more of these encounters.

From the longlist, we can immediately disregard Cowdrey and Dexter, who both had average overall records against Australia despite being two of England's greats. We've also reluctantly discounted Paynter, who averaged 99.60 in his six Ashes test on account of so few matches meaning it is difficult to make a fair judgement. Finally, Ranjitsinhji (989 runs in 15 Ashes tests at 44.95) and Jackson (1415 in 20 at 48.79) have also been ruled out because in our view they fall slightly short of the others.

That leaves us with five. Gower, Barrington, May and Compton would all be considered amongst England's greatest middle order batsmen ever and all have fine records against the Australians. Leyland may not be as vaunted as the other four, but he had an excellent record against Australia with seven hundreds in 20 tests and an average of 56.83 - only Barrington and Sutcliffe of those who have played 10 Ashes tests or more can better that average.

Yet again it is a borderline choice. Fine batsman as he was, we decided not to opt for May as three centuries in 21 Ashes tests is not deserving of a place in an all-time England Ashes XI especially when Gower has nine, Leyland seven and Barrington and Compton five. Next to go is Leyland, who despite his fine record we would find hard to select above the other three.

It is difficult to rule out the exuberance of Compton, but his average against Australia (42.83) was nearly eight runs less than his career average, which suggests he wasn't at his best against Australia. That leaves two players who certainly were. Gower is our boyhood hero, which means that sentiment is in danger of coming into the equation. But he is the only England player - Hobbs apart - to score 3000 Ashes runs, and nine hundreds is a mighty impressive performance.

However, Barrington's record against Australia is magnificent - 23 tests, five hundreds and 2111 runs at 63.96. He clearly relished playing against England's deadliest foe. Ian Chappell perhaps summed it up best when he wrote "every so often you encounter a player whose bat seem about a yard wide. It's not, of course. It just seems that way. England's Ken Barrington was one." So although the heart says Gower, the head says Barrington and it is the latter who wins this closest of calls.

Where next?

Hammond and Bradman: Two batting phenomenons

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3

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

Ashes 100-1: 54 - All-time England Ashes XI: Number 3

Unlike Australia (see All-time Australian XI - Number 3), picking a number three batsman in an all-time England Ashes XI is not such a straightforward task.

Indeed, looking back through the history of the battle for the little urn, one could argue that England have not had an outstanding specialist number three. A few batsman have flourished in this role, but can any of them be considered specialist number threes?

The most successful performance for England in this pivotal position is by Wally Hammond, who in 19 Ashes tests at first drop hit 1695 runs at 70.62 with eight hundreds. That is a phenomenal record, but Hammond moved up and down the order and played 14 other tests against Australia. His record at number three is significantly better than anywhere else, but that is arguably because he played there when at his peak and would have been just as devastating at four and five..

Similarly, David Gower has an outstanding record at number three in Ashes encounters with 1262 runs in 14 tests at 60.09 with four hundreds, but like Hammond, Gower played a significant number of Ashes tests (24) elsewhere in the batting order. Clearly however, both should be on the shortlist.

Others who were considered but rejected from our shortlist include George Gunn (777 runs at 51.80 at number three), Andrew Stoddart (478 runs at 59.75) and Arthur Shrewsbury (430 at 53.75). All these Edwardian or Victorian cricketers have excellent records at number three, but their overall test statistics are not in the realms of a Gower or a Hammond. Mark Butcher (who can forget that wonderful hundred at Headingley in 2001) and John Edrich, both of whom have good records against Australia at number three, also miss out for the same reason.

Joining Gower and Hammond on the shortlist are Ted Dexter (1077 runs at 48.95 in 13 Ashes tests at first drop) and two great England batsmen with none or few innings at number three in Ashes battles. The first is Len Hutton, who just missed out on selection for one of the opening positions (see All-time England XI - Openers). The other is Ken Barrington, whose obdurate style and fantastic overall Ashes record (2111 runs at 63.96 in 23 Ashes tests) would seem to make him well suited to the number three role.

Hammond is the best of the five and arguably England's greatest ever batsman along with Jack Hobbs. However, if Hutton doesn't get in at three, having missed out on one of the opening slots then he won't make the team. Can an all-time England Ashes XI really omit Hutton given his record (2428 runs in 27 Ashes tests at 56.46) and the fact that he captained England to two Ashes series wins? What about Dexter and Gower, who are probably the most stylish English batsmen of the last 50 years?

It is certainly a tough choice, but after first narrowing the final choice down to Hammond, Hutton or Gower, we've opted for Hutton. Why? Firstly, Hammond, Gower and Barrington can all come into contention for the number four and five positions, plus if it comes down to a choice between Hutton or Dexter, then the Yorkshireman has to win.

Finally, with England's great other Ashes captains like Douglas Jardine, Mike Brearley and Ray Illingworth all likely to miss out on selection, England need a shrewd and experienced skipper to combat Bradman and who better than the man who led England to victory in the 1953 and 1954/55 series? So, it is Hutton who fills an unaccustomed position for him.

Where next?

Heroes: David Gower

10 reasons why Bradman is the greatest Ashes cricketer of them all

The best England Test XI of the noughties

 

 

Ashes 100-1: 85 - David Gower slays the Australians

For number 85 in our Ashes 100-1 countdown, Blaise Murphet of World Cricket Watch takes a look back at 1985 when an England team led from the front by David Gower, who struck 732 runs in the series, easily beat an Australian team led by rookie skipper Allan Border.

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In the English summer of 1985 an Australian team ripped apart by rebel squads, lost to England 3-1. Although the teams will obviously be more settled this time around, like anything in cricket, it always pays to look to the past to understand the present.

As we look on in horror at the betting turmoil that is engulfing our great game, it is not so unbelievable to think that cricket could have suffered from great turmoil before. This was certainly the case with the rebel tour’s of South Africa led by former Australian captain Kim Hughes. Taking a team that included the likes of Terry Alderman, Rodney Hogg and Carl Rackerman, Hughes’ un-sanctioned team was always going to destabilise the official Australian team that travelled to England to try and recover the Ashes under Allan Border.

Led by the eternally divine David Gower, England were packed full of batting prowess including Graham Gootch, Mike Gatting and Allan Lamb. Throw in Sir Ian Botham for good measure, and that is a formidable side. Australia on the other hand was obviously affected by the rebel tour, but did still include the likes of Jeff Thomson, Geoff Lawson and Kepler Wessels. At the same time young players such as David Boon and Simon O’Donnell were trying to prove their worth.

The series lasted six tests, and after England and Australia had fairly narrow wins in the first two matches, the next two were drawn. The last two tests at Edgbaston and The Oval were another matter with England inflicting heavy innings defeats on a tiring Australian side. At Edgbaston David Gower made an imperious 215, to help his side post 595 before Australia were skittled in their second innings for 142. Again at The Oval Gower made a century, along with Graham Gooch’s magnificent 196. Australia was again made to look silly with totals of 241 and 129, with only their captain making a stand.

 

England was in the middle of a powerful era and certainly showed their prowess in this series. However, it is Australia that is of most interest in the current context. Like Pakistan today, Australia was almost ripped apart by an internal crisis that threatened to destroy the Australian test side. History tells us that they managed to rebuild into one of the greatest sides in the modern era, who knows whether Pakistan can do the same.

Ashes 100-1: 100 Most hundreds

Believe it or not but today marks the 100 day countdown to the start of the first Ashes test at Brisbane on 25th November. We're quite excited by that at the Reverse Sweep, so today also sees the launch of our new Ashes 100-1 feature.

Every day between now and the eve of the Gabba test, there will be an Ashes related post that provides a statistic, observation, memory or maybe even a witticism on the greatest contest in cricket.

As today is day number 100, it seems appropriate that this post is dedicated to the list of batsmen who have scored the most hundreds in Ashes contests. 31 batsmen have scored at least five centuries in tests between Australia and England and not surprisingly, several illustrious cricketers are included within their number. The list is headed of course, by one D.G.Bradman:

Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50
DG Bradman (Aus)	37	63	7	5028	334	89.78	19	12
JB Hobbs (Eng)	41	71	4	3636	187	54.26	12	15
SR Waugh (Aus)	45	72	18	3173	177*	58.75	10	14
DI Gower (Eng)	38	69	3	3037	215	46.01	9	11
WR Hammond (Eng)	33	58	3	2852	251	51.85	9	7
GS Chappell (Aus)	30	55	6	2154	144	43.95	8	10
AR Morris (Aus)	24	43	2	2080	206	50.73	8	8
RT Ponting (Aus)	31	50	1	2363	196	48.22	8	8
H Sutcliffe (Eng)	27	46	5	2741	194	66.85	8	16
AR Border (Aus)	42	73	15	3222	200*	55.55	7	19
JH Edrich (Eng)	32	57	3	2644	175	48.96	7	13
WM Lawry (Aus)	29	51	5	2233	166	48.54	7	13
M Leyland (Eng)	20	34	4	1705	187	56.83	7	3
MJ Slater (Aus)	20	37	0	1669	176	45.10	7	4
DC Boon (Aus)	30	55	7	2041	164*	42.52	6	8
G Boycott (Eng)	34	63	7	2579	191	46.05	6	12
RN Harvey (Aus)	37	68	5	2416	167	38.34	6	12
MA Taylor (Aus)	33	61	2	2496	219	42.30	6	15
VT Trumper (Aus)	40	74	5	2263	185*	32.79	6	9
ME Waugh (Aus)	29	51	7	2204	140	50.09	6	11
WM Woodfull (Aus)	25	41	3	1675	155	44.07	6	8
KF Barrington (Eng)	23	39	6	2111	256	63.96	5	13
DCS Compton (Eng)	28	51	8	1842	184	42.83	5	9
MC Cowdrey (Eng)	43	75	4	2433	113	34.26	5	11
ML Hayden (Aus)	20	35	3	1461	197	45.65	5	2
L Hutton (Eng)	27	49	6	2428	364	56.46	5	14
Hon.FS Jackson (Eng)	20	33	4	1415	144*	48.79	5	6
JL Langer (Aus)	21	38	5	1658	250	50.24	5	5
CG Macartney (Aus)	26	42	4	1640	170	43.15	5	7
AC MacLaren (Eng)	35	61	4	1931	140	33.87	5	8
WH Ponsford (Aus)	20	35	2	1558	266	47.21	5	5

If Ricky Ponting scores at least one hundred in the series, he will join a truly historic group of six players who have scored nine or more Ashes centuries: the greatest batsmen ever, England's two best batsmen of all-time and arguably their most stylish plus one of the most competitive cricketers there has ever been. That's quite a group - a bit like Lennon, Strummer, Hendrix, Moon and Morrison taking to the main stage at Heaven's equivalent of Glastonbury. 

Heroes: David Gower

This weekend sees the birth of a new feature on The Reverse Sweep. Our Cricket Heroes & Zeroes. Each week a new hero (hooray!) will be added on a Saturday, whilst a devilish zero (boo, hiss!) will follow on the Sunday; well that is the intention anyway. The aim is not to provide a long diatribe as to why a cricketer (or occasionally something else cricket related) is good or bad in our eyes, but to provide no more than five reasons why they are a Hero or a Zero.

So, to our first hero, which appropriately enough is our actual first ever cricket hero - David Gower.

Hero 1: David Gower (117 tests, 8231 runs at 44.25, 18 100s, 39 50s, HS 215)

Our first cricketing memory was the sight of David Gower creaming a glorious and effortless cover drive against India at Edgbaston in 1979. Gower scored 200 not out that day and we have been smitten ever since. Despite being a right hander, I used to stand with bat in front of the mirror, so I could try and replicate the shots I had seen my hero play. Funnily enough on the few occasions I tried it at the crease, I turned from a dour right handed opener into a exuberant left hander with a natural bon viveur!

Here are five reasons, why David Gower is a Reverse Sweep cricket hero:

1. Grace and elegance - Has there ever been a more graceful and elegant England batsman to watch than Gower? We certainly haven't seen one in over 30 years. We lost count of the number of brilliant innings he made and it all seemed to be so effortless.
2. He scored heavily against Australia-  Gower scored half of his 18 test match hundreds against Australia, which certainly endeared him further to an impressionable young Reverse Sweep. We particularly enjoyed the summer of 1985, when as captain Gower struck 732 runs at 81.33 with three glorious hundreds as England won the series 3-1.
3. Joie de vivre - Whether it is batting, partaking in his love of drinking fine wine and vintage champagne, and now commentating, Gower applies natural bonhomie and joie de vivre to everything he does. This love of life probably led to one of our favourite incidents involving Gower, where he buzzed the ground where England were playing a warm-up game against Queensland in 1991 in a Tiger Moth.
4. A hark back to a bygone era - Gower's approach to batting and life in general would have been more at home at the time of the British Empire and cricket's golden age between the wars - an era we certainly would have preferred to live in ourselves. This is summed up by an assessment Scyld Berry made on Gower in 1984 "Gower might have been more at home in the 1920s or 1930s, cracking a dashing hundred for MCC, the darling of the crowds, before speeding away in a Bugatti and cravat for a night on the town" - Would there be a better way to live a life?
5. He had flaws - We like our heroes to have some flaws and Gower certainly had a few of those. Has there ever been a batsman who can look so good and so in command who could get out so often to a poor shot? It could certainly be frustrating to watch at times - just ask Graham Gooch! And Gower wasn't the greatest England captain ever either as the 1989 Ashes painfully showed. But these minor flaws do not diminish him in our eyes. 

My cricketing heroes

I've already posted this as part of my latest 'Reverse Sweep' column for Pongo Cricket and World Cricket Watch, but wanted to include it on my own blog too. I had planned it to be my 100th post since I started this blog just before Christmas, but I managed to cock that one up. So therefore, I am now celebrating my 102nd post. Hooray!

A list of my cricketing heroes

As some of you will know, the brain behind Cricket With Balls has recently embarked on Cricket Sadist, which is described as “the cricket magazine for sadists and masochists, not tragics”. Anyway, the first issue is due out on 1 April and I contributed a piece on Douglas Jardine, my all-time cricketing hero. So in order to promote the magazine and subsequently therefore ensure (I hope) that my Jardine piece makes the cut, here is a list of my all-time cricketing heroes.

Douglas Jardine – You’ll have to read Cricket Sadist to find out why Jardine (below) is at number one, if my article makes the cut that is…. 

 

Hedley Verity – England’s greatest ever spinner who tragically died prematurely as a hero in World War II. He took 7 wickets for 9 runs in what proved to be his last match for Yorkshire.

Donald Bradman – He may have been the scourge of England, but 99.94 mean no other words are necessary.

David Gower – My favourite player as a schoolboy. I even tried but failed to change my natural right handed style to be a left hander like him. And like me, also a David G.

Keith Miller – Not only a brilliant cricketer, but also a raconteur and notorious cad. What’s not to like?

Harold Larwood – Jardine’s main weapon in Australia in 1932/33 refused to apologise for Bodyline and never played for England again. I like people with strong principles.

Ian Botham – Great cricketer, crap commentator. But always a hero of mine simply because of 1981 when as a wide eyed nine year old I watched his historic feats at Headingley, Edgbaston and Old Trafford.

Viv Richards – The coolest cricketer ever? He even makes Chris Gayle look positively uncool in comparison. 

W.G.Grace  – Of all the many reasons to like Grace this is my favourite. When he was bowled once, first ball, he promptly picked up the bails and replaced them, repositioning himself to take the next ball. The umpire, not unnaturally, objected. "Don't be silly," said WG, and pointed to the crowd. "They've come to see me bat, not you umpire." Magical.

Paul Collingwood – I know. But here I’ve picked the cricketer that reminds me most of my own batting ‘style’. Well the Brigadier Block version anyway.

And I still haven't written about Victor Trumper, Imran Khan, Gary Sobers, SF Barnes... The list goes on. More cricketing heroes on the 202nd, 302nd and so on posts!