The Reverse Sweep

England v West Indies - England series marks out of 10

Andrew Strauss (326 runs at 65.20) 9: Redemption at Lord's followed by a second successive hundred at Trent Bridge (to prove that Test match centuries can be like London buses) set up his side's victories in the first two Tests. A touch negative in the field during Samuels' and Sammy's big stand at Nottingham and also when Best and Ramdin caused chaos at Edgbaston.

Alastair Cook (176 runs at 44.00) 6: Failed in the 1st innings of every Test and only made it to 24 at Trent Bridge after being reprieved twice by Roach no balls, but anchored a tricky run chase at Lord's with 79 vital runs and was there at the end at Nottingham whilst looking in decent enough nick.

Jonathan Trott (140 runs at 35.00) 5: Another to look in good touch but could only manage a top score of 58, which was unlike his usual ruthless self. Perhaps he is saving some big innings for his fellow South Africans?

Kevin Pietersen (203 runs at 50.75) 7: Looked in tremendous form at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston but was unable to turn scores of 80 and 78 into big three figure scores. Courted controversy once again by retiring from limited overs internationals but South Africa should beware as KP looks in the mood.

Ian Bell (222 runs at 111.00) 8: No doosra (or Saeed Ajmal), no cry for Bell who eased back into his 2011 vintage with three fifties from four innings with the most crucial coming in the 2nd innings at Lord's when England had stumbled to 57 for four chasing 191.

Jonathan Bairstow (38 runs at 12.66) 3: Started promisingly with a brief cameo of 16 at Lord's but was all at sea at Trent Bridge against the short ball. It is harsh to judge him on four brief innings, but an in-form Ravi Bopara is clearly a better bet against South Africa's daunting pace attack.

Matt Prior (35 runs at 17.50) 5: Whilst his work with the gloves was its usual high quality, he for once failed to cash in against his favourite opponents where in two innings he was bowled through the gate each time.

Tim Bresnan (12 wickets at 33.00; 39 runs at 39.00) 6: Disappointing at Lord's but back to his bustling best at Trent Bridge with eight wickets and an important 39 not out. if Edgbaston is anything to go by, he is far better as a third seamer than the leader of the attack. Winning run ended on 13 by the rain in Birmingham.

Stuart Broad (14 wickets at 21.71; 35 runs at 17.50) 8: Opened up with a career best eleven wicket match haul at Lord's and since the start of the India series last summer has 54 wickets at 18.88 and a batting average of 32.27. That is world-class in any language. Rested for Edgbaston but was still the leading wicket taker in the series.

Graeme Swann (6 wickets at 47.00; 31 runs at 15.50) 6: The pitches offered him scant assistance but took the vital wickets of Bravo and Chanderpaul as West Indies fought hard second time around at Lord's. Should come into his own against the South Africans in the summer's main event.

James Anderson (9 wickets at 26.88; 6 runs at 3.00) 8: Bowled better than his figures suggest, beat the bat countless times and is now the personification of consistency as he barely wastes a ball. Wasn't happy to be rested for Edgbaston where England missed his skill with the ball and nous as the attack leader. His forthcoming dual with Dale Steyn should be fascinating. 

Steve Finn (1 Test, three for 109; 0*) 5: The 'next cab off the rank' came in at Edgbaston as Anderson and Broad were rested and mixed up some unplayable deliveries with several balls - especially in the record last wicket partnership - that were lacking in line or length.

Graham Onions (1 Test, four for 88; DNB) 7: England's decision to rotate their seamers handed the Durham bowler his first Test cap for two and a half years after a serious back injury. He was the pick of the attack with four wickets and may have moved ahead of Finn now in the pecking order. 

Where next?

England v West Indies - West Indies series marks out of 10

2nd Test marks out of 10: England and West Indies

1st Test marks out of ten: England and West Indies

The Plan by Steve James | Book review

Kevin Pietersen's retirement from limited-overs cricket: the case for the defence

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep 

County Championship XI of the week #9

Paul Horton (Lancashire) - Whilst Joe Root's hundred at Northampton was a more classy knock, Horton carried his bat in a 225 minute rearguard for 49 not out, enabled others to play around him and secured his side a lead that finally led to the reigning champions breaking their duck for the season.

Michael Thornely (Leicestershire) - Overcame the disappointment of missing his maiden first-class ton by three runs in the 1st innings to secure it second time around to frustrate Glamorgan at Cardiff.

Nick Compton (Somerset) - The weather may have prevented him from reaching the Holy Grail of 1,000 first-class runs by the end of May, but achieving the milestone just one day late with his fourth ton of the season was still a mightily impressive feat for the grandson of the Brylcreem Boy.

Marcus North (Glamorgan) - Sublime hundred helped Glamorgan - the Australian's sixth county - top 550 at Cardiff even if it did provide an impressive template for Thornely and Eckersley to emulate shortly after.

Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire) - The captain stroked 129 as high-flying Derbyshire were surprisingly downed at Bristol.

Ben Stokes (Durham) - A first championship ton of the season set up a tremendous match at Chester-le-Street and demonstrated that the talented youngster's star is going in the other direction from that of his rapidly fading bottom of the table side.

Ned Eckersley (Leicestershire) - A career best 137 not out saw the keeper add 245 in 88 overs with Thornely and earn his side a draw at Cardiff.

Will Gidman (Gloucestershire) - Why settle for one Gidman brother in the XI when you can have two? Will took four for 29 to skittle Derbyshire for 95 and then after Alex's hundred followed up with four more in the 2nd innings at Bristol.

Luke Proctor (Lancashire) - A maiden first-class five for saw Durham shot out for just 102 in the basement battle at Chester-le-Street. Three more when the home side batted for the second time helped the champions finally record a first win of the campaign.

Kyle Hogg (Lancashire) - Grabbed four wickets as the support act to Proctor and as he did several times last season added vital runs with the bat - 33 in the 1st innings to earn a decent lead and a quickfire 13 not out to beat Onions and the clock in the nick of time as the match came to a tumultuous end.

Graham Onions (Durham) - A career best eleven for 95 was still not enough to foil Lancashire, but his season record of 34 wickets at 12.61 and a strike rate of 29.7 plus the fact he is a more like-for-like replacement for the rested Anderson means he could earn his first Test cap for two and a half years at Edgbaston later this week.

Where next?

The Holy Grail, Nick Compton, Indiana Jones and the dastardly Graeme Hick

Read our previous County Championship weekly XIs

Read our Division 1 previews: Durham, Lancashire, Middlesex, Notts, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Worcestershire

Division 2 previews: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northants and Yorkshire

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship XI of the week #3

Arul Suppiah (Somerset) – Stepped up in the absence of his skipper and usual opening partner to prove that a top order batsman can flourish at the bowling mecca of Trent Bridge.

Phil Jacques (Yorkshire) – Looked a class apart (along with our number four) as he eased to an effortless hundred at Headingley. How the Australian selectors saw fit to give him just 11 Test caps - despite an average over 47 - defies belief.

Nick Compton (Somerset) – Grandad Denis’ 1947 haul of 3816 first-class runs for the season is still some way off, but Compton is in the form of his life and took his tally to 685 (and we’re still in April) with his second double ton of the season against Notts. Alas, rain prevented Somerset recording a deserved win.

Ravi Bopara (Essex) – After a winter mostly serving drinks and twiddling his thumbs, the unluckiest batsman in the country gave the selectors something to think about with a brilliant unbeaten 117 out of an Essex total of 199 at Headingley.

Sean Ervine (Hampshire) – He may not have reached three figures like Ben Wright did in the same match, but the Zimbabwean’s 75 off 92 balls helped Hampshire chase down a tricky target in the nick of time at Cardiff.

Chris Read (Nottinghamshire) – Baled out his red-faced batsmen with a superb unbeaten 104 (out of a total of 162) against Somerset and now averages in the high forties since the start of 2009. Indeed, he has saved Nottinghamshire’s skin so many times, that Marvel Comics are reportedly developing a super hero in the diminutive Read’s image.

Darren Maddy (Warwickshire) – The veteran had a game to remember at Aigburth with four Lancashire wickets in the first innings followed by a courageous hundred made mostly in partnership with Rikki Clarke that saw Warwickshire turn likely defeat into victory against the team that pipped them for the title last season.

Rikki Clarke (Warwickshire) – Strode to the crease with his side in desperate trouble at 81/7 against the Champions but was unafraid to play his shots in a stand of 224 with Maddy, duly collected 140 runs and promptly turned the match on its head.

Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire) – There weren’t many pickings for spinners on a dismal weekend of weather, but a week after blasting his side to victory with the bat against Somerset, Patel took five Lancashire second innings wickets to help his side to a second win out of two.

Graham Onions (Durham) – Got the first ten-wicket match haul of his career, took the England captain’s scalp in both innings and was the best bowler on show from either side at Lord’s. That's not nudging the selectors that is giving them an almighty shove.

Alan Richardson (Worcestershire) – Some have questioned his inclusion as one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year – as if almost single-handedly keeping his county in Division 1 last season wasn’t enough. Ten wickets at The Oval should quieten the doubters for now.

Where next?

Naughty boy nets - 2012 style

County Championship XI of the week #2

County Championship XI of the week #1

County Championship preview: Our XI to watch in 2012

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County Championship 2012 Preview: Division 1 - Durham

Third last season and champions in 2008 and 2009, how are County Cricket's northern most side likely to fare in 2012?

Strengths

It's hard to know where to begin as Durham look stronger than a particularly pungent slice of Mont d'or cheese. The batting features the ever-dependable Dale Benkenstein as well as Michael Di Venuto and Paul Collingwood. Then there is young tyro Ben Stokes, all-round(er) Ian Blackwell and skipper Phil Mustard adding ballast and fluency to the late middle-order. If that wasn't enough then a blend of pace in the form of Steve Harmison, Graham Onions and Liam Plunkett, and spin in the shape of Blackwell and Scott Borthwick augers well for yet another concerted tilt at the title.

Weaknesses

These are harder to find although Harmison is past his best and increasingly troubled by injuries, which have also curtailed Onions' England career over the last two years. This means that the seam bowling is not as strong as it was in the triumphant 2008 and 2009 sides.

Main man

That has to be Dale Benkenstein - the heartbeat of the side and as reliable as Santa in that he always delivers.

Look out for

Stokes is returning from an operation on his finger, but if he can hit the ground running with bat and ball as he did in 2011, a regular spot in England's limited overs sides seems his for the taking.

Prediction

Champions - predicting the outcome of Division 1 is as difficult as choosing the winning lottery numbers, but Durham look the best balanced side. Given we've gone for them, they'll probably be relegated now.

Where next?

Read our Division 1 previews: Durham, Lancashire, Middlesex, Notts, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Worcestershire

Division 2 previews: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northants and Yorkshire

2011 County Cricket Review: including Heroes of the Season, Best and Worst XIs, and a whole host of other nonsense

County Championship 2011 Preview  - Durham 

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Who should England pick to face Pakistan?

It's been a long time since England played a Test match - 22nd August to be precise when they completed a resounding 4-0 victory over India at The Oval. 

Since then every other Test playing country - even regrettably Zimbabwe - have been in action whilst the likes of Andrew Strauss have taken to their sofas, inserted their pipes and caught up with the first series of Danish sensation Forbrydelsen (that's The Killing to you and us) on BBC 4. 

England's next assignment as they look to cement their position as the number one ranked side is in the unlikely surroundings of the United Arab Emirates where a three Test series with a rapidly improving Pakistan starts on January 17th in Dubai. 

Whilst there is a whole host of mince pies, mulled wine and other festive delights to negotiate before then, the encounter with Team Misbah will come closer into view with the announcement of the touring party this Friday. 

The selectors don't have any injuries of any significance to worry about but they will need to factor into their deliberations what make-up will be required for the slow turners that will likely be prepared for the 'home' side and their wily spinner Saeed Ajmal. 

England will have to make serious consideration to foregoing their usual six batsmen policy to play two spinners in each of the three Tests. Either that or they retain a four man attack of either three seamers and one spinner or two seamers and two spinners. The squad they name will need to cover each of these eventualities.

With the six frontline batsmen picking themselves, the discussions will centre on identifying the spare batsman, back-up keeper to Matt Prior, two spinners to accompany Graeme Swann and whether to pick four or five seamers.

The spare batsman will probably be Ravi Bopara, although we'd opt for James Taylor. The keeper will be one of Steven Davies (back-up Test keeper in the last touring party, but who hasn't been seen since), Craig Kieswetter or Jonathan Bairstow (who could double up as the spare batsman) with Davies getting our vote as he is the best keeper of the three. 

The choice of seamers will likely be in order of preference James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan and if a fifth quick is required Steve Finn with Graham Onions next to step in. 

The most interesting decision will be in the spin department. Monty Panesar is by some distance the second best spinner in the country and also has experience on his side, but the selectors seem to like Scott Borthwick and it cannot be a coincidence that Samit Patel announced only a few days ago that he was withdrawing from the IPL auction to concentrate on securing a Test spot.

Borthwick is a big spinner of the ball, can bat and has the added bonus of being a leg-spinner. If England play a second spinner instead of a sixth batsman than Patel could slot in at seven behind Prior. But both are probably not quite Test class yet, so Panesar plus Patel seems the best option to us. 

Of course this could have been the tour to blood Adil Rashid, but he has fallen out of favour with the selectors and had an erractic season with Yorkshire last summer, so once again he will have to sit on the sidelines.

Make no doubt, Pakistan will be a tough proposition for England - as they were in 2005 just a few weeks after that famous Ashes triumph - and the selectors will need to ensure that Strauss and Andy Flower have the requisite resources and flexibility in the squad to combat the steely Misbah and his rapidly improving Pakistan side. 

Our 17 man squad: Strauss, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Taylor, Prior, Davies, Swann, Panesar, Patel, Bresnan, Broad, Anderson, Tremlett and Finn.

Where next?

Andy Flower and the curse of autobiographies

Spot-fixing: What should the ICC do next?

Is this the greatest England XI of the last 30 years?

England v India: England series marks out of 10

The England cricket team's newest recruit from South Africa

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship XI of the week #13

 
The vagaries of the frankly bizarre fixture list means that our XI this week covers the round of matches that started with Northamptonshire’s trip to Essex on June 25th and concluded a week later with Warwickshire wrapping up victory against Sussex at Arundel.

Alviro Petersen (Glamorgan) – The captain was the only Glamorgan batsman to show any resistance in the 1st innings against Derbyshire, before eventually being ninth out for a battling 93.

Chris Rogers (Middlesex) - Shunted down to three to accommodate the misfiring Strauss, it was Rogers’s six hour 148 and the weather that ensured the game with Gloucestershire at Uxbridge was drawn.

Dale Benkenstein (Durham) – In the low-scoring top of the table clash at Aigburth it was Benkenstein that shone brightest, first with an unbeaten 83 to earn a crucial 1st innings lead and then 60 not out in a tense run chase to steer Durham over the line. Scored a shade under 20% of the game’s runs on his own.

Ian Cockbain (Gloucestershire) – Scored a patient 127 to give his side the initiative at Uxbridge to pip fellow centurion Wes Durston of Derbyshire to a spot in our XI.

Adam Wheater (Essex) – The 21 year old hit a career best 164 to help give his side a surprise win over Division 2 pacesetters Northamptonshire at Chelmsford. Now has a first-class average of just under 50.

James Foster (Essex) – Shared a 253 run 6th wicket partnership with Wheater to put Essex in command after the game looked to be swinging back in Northamptonshire’s favour.

Luke Wright (Sussex) – His side may have lost the festival match at Arundel, but Wright gets into the XI ahead of fellow all-rounder Rikki Clarke by virtue of his counterattacking 116 off 124 balls backed up by 3/54 with the ball.

Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire) – Monty Panesar may have shown impressive control to take 3/88 from 44 overs in Warwickshire’s 1st innings, but it was Patel who proved the match winner with his maiden five wicket Championship haul.

Graham Onions (Durham) – Took six wickets as first beat second in the crunch Division 1 clash at Liverpool and also added a vital 79 with Benkenstein for the ninth wicket in Durham’s 1st innings.

Callum Thorp (Durham) – Conditions may have suited him but even so Thorp’s first day 6/20 demolished Lancashire and gave Durham a crucial advantage. Grabbed another couple of wickets in the 2nd innings too.

Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire) – After proving too quick for Somerset’s batsmen the week before it was Sussex’s turn to suffer at Arundel as the Irish spearhead took a seven wicket haul to help his side to another Championship win.

Where next?

Read all our County Cricket coverage

See if you agree with our other County Championship XIs of the week

Dale Benkenstein is definitely not a mercenary

Brigitte Bardot is the support act to Lancashire in our debut column for All Out Cricket

The secret of Paul Collingwood's success

Ten to watch in 2011: Adam Lyth, Jade Dernbach,  Rory Hamilton-Brown, Samit Patel, Alex Hales, Danny Briggs, Ben Stokes, James Harris, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Experimental England? Our XIV man T20/ODI squad to face Sri Lanka

 
With a fairly underwhelming Test series now finished attention can turn to the limited overs chapter of the trip, which comprises one T20 and five ODI.

As Sri Lanka showed in the World Cup, they are a formidable limited overs unit and even with the distraction of the Sanath Jayasuriya Farewell Tour in the T20 and first ODI, they should give England a real run for their money.

To be frank, the series is an unwelcome sideshow for England with by far the most important date of the summer being the Test series with India that starts on July 21.

As such, we at the Reverse Sweep hope that England rest a number of key players from the series to ensure that they are fit and raring to go to face Duncan Fletcher’s new charges at Lord’s in four and a half weeks time. It won’t happen, but for the purposes of this post we have replaced Geoff Miller as Chief Selector.

So with Miller gagged and bound in the committee room, the likes of Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Prior, Anderson, Tremlett and Swann would all be omitted. They can combine putting their feet up with turning out for their counties, whilst England take the opportunity to look at a number of likely candidates as they build towards the World Cup in 2015.

That leaves ODI captain Cook, T20 captain Broad and Morgan from the XI that played at The Rose Bowl. We would augment this trio with 11 additional in a 14 man squad.

Batsmen

We’ve already declared our support for Nottinghamshire’s Alex Hales to open with Cook, and our number three would be Leicestershire’s James Taylor, followed by Morgan at four and Ravi Bopara at six. Slotting in between these two would be our wicket keeper Craig Kieswetter, who just shades it ahead of Steve Davies and the coming up fast on the rails Jonathan Bairstow. We’d liked to have seen how Ben Stokes would have fared at international level, but injury delays that for now, so our spare batsman would be James Hildreth.

Spinners

With Swann putting his feet up, Mike Yardy sadly unavailable and the James Tredwell experiment surely now at an end, Samit Patel and Adil Rashid would come in as our XI’s two spinners. Their contrasting slow left-arm and leg spin styles should dovetail perfectly and the fact that both can bat is a real bonus.

Seamers

Having declared Anderson and Tremlett unavailable and with Tim Bresnan still injured, we’d select Chris Woakes and Jade Dernbach to join Stuart Broad in the XI with Graham Onions and either James Harris (if fit) or Stuart Meaker joining them in the squad.

So our XIV with our first choice ODI XI in bold is as follows:

Cook, Hales, Taylor, Morgan, Kieswetter, Bopara, Patel, Woakes, Rashid, Broad, Dernbach, Hildreth, Onions and Harris/Meaker. Hildreth would replace Cook for the T20.

Where next?

Lay off England after World Cup proves a bridge too far

Ten to watch in 2011: Half-Term report - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

Ten to watch in 2011: Adam Lyth, Jade Dernbach,  Rory Hamilton-Brown, Samit Patel, Alex Hales, Danny Briggs, Ben Stokes, James Harris, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid

Jack Hobbs by Leo McKinstry | Book review

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Who should make the England Lions XI to play the Sri Lankans?

 
The England selectors will meet in the coming days to pick their Lions squad to face the Sri Lankan tourists in a game starting on 19th May at Derby.

They will have their work cut out as one of the features of what has been a fascinating start to the County Championship is the number of impressive performances by young English cricketers.

We’ve had a go at naming our XI:

Varun Chopra (Warwickshire) – The former England under-19 captain has started the season like a runaway train and deserves an opportunity to see whether he can flourish against an international bowling attack.

Adam Lyth (Yorkshire) – Whilst the young opener still needs to turn more of his fifties into big hundreds, he is still probably at the head of a queue that also includes Stephen Moore and Jimmy Adams. But for injury Alex Hales and Michael Carberry would also have come into the equation.

James Hildreth (Captain, Somerset) – Has had a bit of a slow start to the season after a phenomenal summer in 2010 and impressive performances for the Lions over the winter, but is still on the shortlist for the vacancy created in the Test side by the retirement of Paul Collingwood.

Ravi Bopara (Essex) – With Eoin Morgan opting for the riches of the IPL, Bopara is Collingwood’s probable replacement in the Test squad. He is running into form with the bat as an unbeaten match-winning ton in his last Championship match Glamorgan testifies. Underrated bowler.

James Taylor (Leicestershire) – Supremely talented and gutsy too, if his batting against a fiery Surrey attack on a lively Oval pitch last week is anything to go by. It is a case of when, not if, Taylor plays Test cricket. Other middle-order batsmen that could come into contention include Samit Patel, Andrew Gale and Ben Stokes.

Craig Kieswetter (Somerset) – It’s a borderline decision between the Somerset keeper and Stephen Davies, but Kieswetter has made the more impressive start to the season. Jonathan Bairstow may also get a mention in dispatches.

Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) – Presumably the selectors know all they need to about Monty Panesar, so the game against Sri Lanka offers another opportunity to take a look at the young Rashid - still the pick of an ever-growing list of young English spinners that also includes Danny Briggs, Scott Borthwick and Simon Kerrigan.

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) – Not many have started the season better than Warwickshire’s bowling all-rounder, who has 24 wickets in the Championship at 18.54 and 262 runs at 52.40. A real candidate for further England honours after demonstrating he had the temperament for international cricket in Australia over the winter.

Ajmal Shahzad (Yorkshire) – Has now been on the fringes of the England Test, ODI and T20 sides for a while now and deserves his chance to show what he can do against the tourists. Alex Hales’ jaw will vouch that Shahzad has fully recovered from the injury that saw his World Cup curtailed early.

Steve Finn (Middlesex) – With Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad likely to be in a three-way race for two spots in the Test XI, the selectors will probably want to take a look at next cab on the rank Finn in a Lions shirt.

Jade Dernbach (Surrey) – The surprise late call-up to the World Cup looked the real deal against Leicestershire last week and will probably pip the likes of Steve Kirby, Stuart Meaker, James Harris, the returning Graham Onions and 17 year old Reece Topley to the final spot in the XI.

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week #5

Our ten to watch in 2011: Adam Lyth, Jade Dernbach,  Rory Hamilton-Brown, Samit Patel, Alex Hales, Danny Briggs, Ben Stokes, James Harris, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid

An England under-23 XI - the future looks bright

2010 County XI of the season

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County Championship XI of the week #4

 
Having been accused on Twitter of being a liar by Alviro Petersen, it's time to get back to more mundane posts such as naming our County Championship XI of the week. Suffice, to say that Petersen is not amongst its number:

Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) - Looked to be captain of a sinking ship when his pre-season favourites were hammered by an innings in their first two matches, which makes his 227 at The Rose Bowl all the more impressive. The start of a Somerset resurgence?

Liam Dawson (Hampshire) - His side may have lost in the end to Somerset, but the makeshift opener sweated blood to prevent it from happening. A 1st innings 91 was followed up with a career best 169 as he battled alone to keep Somerset at bay on the final day. Alas, for Dawson his heroics proved in vain.

Ed Joyce(Sussex) - Sussex were deep in the mire after following on 300 runs behind Lancashire at Hove, but Joyce batted 98 overs for his 140 and painstakingly built the escape tunnel from which Naved Arif led an impressive Sussex breakout.

Ravi Bopara(Essex) - Whilst Eoin Morgan flops in the IPL, Ravi Bopara is making a concerted attempt to deprive him of the vacancy in the England Test XI caused by Paul Collingwood's retirement. A battling 1st innings knock of 61 and 39 tidy overs with the ball was good enough, before Bopara applied the coup de grace with an unbeaten 136 as Essex chased down 360 against Glamorgan.

Neil Dexter (Middlesex) - His 145 on day 1 against Surrey was a real captain's innings coming as it did when his side were in early trouble at Lord's. In the end his 254 run partnership with John Simpson saw his side trounce the opposition and win their third game on the trot.

Ian Blackwell(Durham) - Came to the crease with his side five wickets down and still over 200 runs behind Warwickshire's first innings total. By the time he departed for 125 carefully constructed runs, Durham had the narrow lead from which they turned the rest of the match into a rout. 

John Simpson(Middlesex) - In a good week for wicketkeeper-batsmen, it is Simpson who takes the honours over Lancashire's Gareth Cross for his magnificent and stylish 143 at Lord's against Surrey. England seem to have a very long list of talented young wicketkeeper-batsmen and Simpson would appear to be amongst their number.

Scott Borthwick (Durham) - the young leggie was one of our 12 to watch in 2010, and his quickfire three wicket burst on the third evening against Warwickshire turned a tight match irrefutably Durham's way. Borthwick then opened the batting and scored 48 not out to help his side to the win.

Andre Adams(Nottinghamshire) - Last year's leading wicket taker in Division 1 has started well again and took match figures of seven for 140 as the reigning champions won their third successive match in defence of their crown.

Alan Richardson (Worcestershire) - The grizzled old pro took nine wickets to help his side make a real game of it at Trent Bridge. Alas for Worcestershire fans, it wasn't quite enough. 

Graham Onions (Durham) - Onions' comeback from a serious back injury continues to be impressive, with his four second innings wickets against Warwickshire proving just as vital to Borthwick's four in turning likely draw into easy victory at Chester-le-Street.

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week #3

County Championship XI of the week #2

County Championship XI of the week #1

Ten to watch in 2011: Adam Lyth, Jade Dernbach,  Rory Hamilton-Brown, Samit Patel, Alex Hales, Danny Briggs, Ben Stokes, James Harris, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid

County Championship Previews - Division 2: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire,  Kent,  Leicestershire,  Middlesex,  Northamptonshire,  Surrey

County Championship Previews - Division 1:  Yorkshire,  Worcestershire,  Warwickshire, Sussex,  Somerset,  Nottinghamshire,  Lancashire,  Hampshire,  Durham

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship XI of the week (#2 2011)

 
The second round of the County Championship saw some surprise results none more so than at Taunton where pre-season favourites Somerset were humbled by Warwickshire.

We took in some of the first day of the Middlesex-Essex encounter on our pilgramage to Lord's and saw 17 year old Reece Topley take a second successive five-fer.

But does Topley make our County XI of the week? Find out below: 

Varun Chopra (Warwickshire) - The former England under-19 captain never really made the grade at Essex and had a disappointing first season at Warwickshire, but managed more than half his total for the entire 2010 season by hitting a dominant 210 against Somerset at Taunton.

Wayne Madsen (Derbyshire) - Ground out 106 in a five-hour vigil at the crease to put his side into the ascendancy against Leicestershire.

Dale Benkenstein (Durham) - Durham's stand-in captain makes it into our XI for the second successive week thanks to a commanding 150 against a strong Yorkshire attack at Headingley.

Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire) - One of our 10 to watch in 2011 demonstrated his class with a brilliant hundred for the reigning county champions just when Hampshire appeared to be on top at Trent Bridge. Not bad for a fat lad. 

Andrew Hall (Northamptonshire) - The game was in the balance when the captain strode to the crease against Kent at Northampton, but by the time he departed for a masterful 146 victory was almost assured.

Michael Richardson (Durham) - The son of former South African Test keeper Dave Richardson, had had to wait for his chance due to the form and fitness of regular keeper Phil Mustard, but a late injury gave the understudy his chance and he took it with both hands with 67 and 73 not out at Headingley. 

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) - Once again demonstrated his all-round abilities with a run-a-ball 129 and swung the ball both ways to record match figures of nine for 101 as Somerset were crushed at Taunton.

Rikki Clarke (Warwickshire) - Surprised a shellshocked Somerset with pace, bounce and control to grab seven wickets in just 11.4 overs at Taunton; that's a strike rate of a wicket every ten balls. Impressive. 

Tim Groenewald (Derbyshire) - Another of Derbyshire's Kolpak legion to star against Leicestershire, Groenewald took eight wickets in the match and added a useful late order 60 to get his team up and running. Who said Derbyshire were wooden spoon favourites? Oh yes, we did...

James Harris (Glamorgan) - One of our 10 to watch for 2011 bowled beautifully to produce impressive match figures of 45.5-11-101-8 as Glamorgan beat Gloucestershire.

Andre Adams (Nottinghamshire) - Last year's leading wicket-taker in the championship with 68 picked up where he left off with a career best match haul of 11 for 76 as Nottinghmashire crushed Hampshire at Trent Bridge.

12th man - Graham Onions (Durham) - We don't intend to always pick a 12th man, but it is hard to ignore Onions' claims after he returned from a 15 month lay-off with a serious back injury to take a first innings five wicket haul against Yorkshire. That's what we call a return.

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week #1

Ten to watch in 2011: Adam Lyth, Jade Dernbach,  Rory Hamilton-Brown, Samit Patel, Alex Hales, Danny Briggs, Ben Stokes, James Harris, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid

An England under-23 XI - the future looks bright

County Championship Previews - Division 2: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire,  Kent,  Leicestershire,  Middlesex,  Northamptonshire,  Surrey

County Championship Previews - Division 1:  Yorkshire,  Worcestershire,  Warwickshire, Sussex,  Somerset,  Nottinghamshire,  Lancashire,  Hampshire,  Durham

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship Preview - Division 1: Durham

 
With the new county season imminent we’ll be posting our previews of each of the 18 counties between now and the first round of County Championship matches next Friday.

We start with Division 1 and the northernmost county Durham, who will be looking to improve on last season’s finish of 5th and recapture the glory of the title winning seasons of 2008 and 2009.

Strengths

Durham’s main strength was its big weakness in 2010 when an almost biblical pestilence of injuries robbed them of Graham Onions, Mark Davies and Stephen Harmison for either the whole or significant parts of the summer. If Durham are to repeat their successes of 2008 and 2009, they will need this pace triumvirate fighting fit.

Other strengths include a powerful lower middle order of Ian Blackwell, Ben Stokes and Phil Mustard and the consistently high performing Michael Di Venuto and Dale Benkenstein.

Weaknesses

Once again there is no overseas batsman to provide support to Di Venuto and Benkenstein in what is an area of weakness for Durham, although fans can expect to see more of Paul Collingwood this season now that he is retired from Test duty.

Main man

Stokes looks to have a big future and a good season could see him accelerated into the England set-up, and Di Venuto can be relied upon for substantial runs. But our nod here goes to the returning Graham Onions, who will be champing at the bit to make up for missing the whole of last season and the Ashes tour.

Look out for…

The return of Will Smith, who hasn’t been seen on a cricket field since he abruptly resigned the captaincy early last season. Hopefully, his break from the game will enable him to deliver the goods with the bat once again.

Prediction

2nd – providing that they can keep Onions, Davies and Harmison fit. Add these three to Liam Plunkett and Durham has the best pace attack in the division.

Where next?

2010 County XI of the season

Steve Finn wins the big prize of the season

151, English County Cricket and Pure Greed

Read all our 2011 World Cup posts here

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Happy 1st Birthday

The Reverse Sweep is one year old today.

Some (ok no-one) likened the arrival of the Reverse Sweep as the Second Coming, but as you can see we were premature by two days - unlike Alastair Cook who was born on Christmas Day and had fooled us into thinking he was the Second Coming of Wally Hammond in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Like most one year olds, we are still learning to walk, talk and familiarise ourselves with the world, but unlike many other cricket blogs we have made it to our first birthday, which is pretty good considering the infant mortality rate of bloggers.

So whilst we blow out the candles on our cup cake and drink our tea on this chilly morn, here are an XI of our highlights (or maybe low-lights?) of an eventful first year out of the womb.

1. Finding that there are similar like minded cricket addicts with warped minds and acerbic tongues via several excellent cricket blogs, Test Match Sofa and Twitter (where we have incredibly amassed over 600 followers)
2. Being named one of the 50 leading cricket web sites in the world by The Times and getting over 120,000 hits in our first year
3. Getting a shout in Dawn for our piece on Pakistan's flirtation with Hollywood during the Headingley Test against the Aussies
4. Being paid to write about cricket - it was great whilst it lasted until said site suddenly stopped paying its contributors - you know who you are
5. Getting published in the first three editions of Cricket Sadist
6. Discovering Test Match Sofa - which has literally saved our lives when work and broadcasting restrictions have meant that Sky and Test Match Special were not available
7. Getting a reply from Graham Onions on Twitter when we suggested Gary Sobers, Keith Miller and Imran Khan as alternatives to his assertion that Jacques Kallis was the best all-rounder ever
8. Witnessing the continued resurgence of the England cricket team, which has taken in a World T20 win, vastly improved ODI performances and a near two year unbeaten record in Test series - a win at the MCG over the next few days will be the icing on the cake
9. Launching our most popular features including Heroes & Zeroes and the labour of love that was the Ashes 100 day countdown - the latter a collaberation with our good friends at World Cricket Watch
10. Reading the brilliant biography of Harold Larwood by Duncan Hamilton - the best cricket book we've ever read and the perfect appetiser for the Ashes
11. Finally, but most importantly, the birth of Miss Reverse Sweep Junior, which with Master Reverse Sweep coming just two years before completes the best (and only) double hundred we've ever scored

Happy birthday Sweep - with love from Sooty and Sue.

Where next?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

See our Ashes 100 day countdown

Heroes: Test Match Sofa

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Ashes 100-1: 9 - 10 reasons why England will retain the Ashes

 
This Ashes series is boiling up to be the closest one down under since 1986/87, when Mike Gatting's England team beat a dismal Australian side 2-1. Since then Australia have dominated, winning 3-0 in 1990/91, 3-1 in 1994/95 and 1998/99, 4-1 in 2002/03 and of course 5-0 in 2006/07.

But this time it is difficult to separate the sides and a strong case could be made for either an Australian or English triumph. Over the next two days we will provide ten reasons why each team will preveil - starting today with England.

1. Preparation

After the shambles of the last trip, England have been meticulous in their preparations this time. The much lambasted boot camp in Germany seems to have focused minds on the target and the two warm-up matches to date have seen England hit the ground running. There will be no excuses for being undercooked in Brisbane this time.

2. The Flower Effect

Since taking over from the hapless Peter Moores, Andy Flower has been a revelation as coach. Other than his first test series in the Caribbean, England are unbeaten  - winning five and drawing one series - in South Africa. He has already transformed the T20 side into World Champions and the ODI side into serious contenders for the World Cup. Who would bet against him removing the final monkey off the back of the England cricket team and piloting Ashes success this Australian summer?

3. No injuries

England probably never had much chance of success on their last two trips down under, but rotten luck with injuries made things even worse. Flintoff, Gough and Thorpe all missed out in 2002/03 and last time around it was the turn of Vaughan, Simon Jones and Trescothick. This time however, with the possible exception of Graham Onions, England have sent their strongest squad. There are no injury worries so far and with the four main bowlers being sent to Brisbane as an advance party, then this should still hold true come day one at the Gabba. 

4. Resilience

Over the last two years, England have grown a backbone and an Australian like attribute of never knowing when they are beaten. Witness the nine wicket down draws at Cardiff, Centurion and Cape Town and also the way they bounced back to win at The Oval in the 2009 series after being humiliated at Headingley. This England team won't go down without a fight and that lion of the trenches Paul Collingwood - who was the central figure in the first three rearguards, epitomises England's battling spirit.

5. Swanny

England currently have the best spinner operating in test cricket - and it is a long, long time since you could say that. These teams may be closely matched in all other departments, but in the spin department there is only one winner. Swann has grown visibly since the 2009 series and despite the poor record of off-spinners in Australia, none have given it as much rip as Swann. He did well on similar pitches in South Africa last winter and expect him to do the same here too. 

6. The Middlesex Factor

England captains who plied their county cricket with Middlesex have a pretty good record of winning Ashes series down under. Of the eight England captains to win a series in Australia since 1900, three of them played for Middlesex - Pelham Warner in 1903/04, Mike Brearley in 1978/79 and Mike Gatting in 1986/87. Could Andrew Strauss become the latest member of this exclusive club?

7. Like Father, like Son?

The two warm-up matches to date suggest that Stuart Broad looks set to have a big series. Conditions in Australia are ideal for him with both bat and ball and success down under is in the blood, after his father's three centuries provided the basis for England's victory in 1986/87. A case of like Father, like Son?

8. Australia are there for the taking

That this is the weakest Australia side since 1986/87 is without question. Only one all-time great in Ponting remains and even he seems past his best. Confidence is low and the confused selection of a 17 man squad for the Gabba suggests that the selectors are split on whether to stick with the current players or plump for new blood in the shape of Ferguson and Khawaja. It will be tough, as it always is to win in Australia, but England have a real chance.

9. Confidence

Whereas before England have gone more in hope than in real belief, this time it is different. Confidence is high in the camp after winning five and drawing one of their last six test series and the trepidation once felt about facing Australia has gone after winning the 2009 Ashes as well as the T20 World Cup Final and the Nat West Series against them in the summer.

10. England only need a draw

Given that England hold the Ashes, a drawn series will enable them to retain the urn. 

Where next?

Read all the articles of our Ashes 100 day countdown

Australia win the Ashes 17-16

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

Ashes 100-1: 55 - Will England miss Graham Onions?

David Siddall of World Cricket Watch returns today to ponder whether England will miss the injured Graham Onions in the forthcoming series, which starts in 55 days at The Gabba...

Not so only ago we wrote on article on our love for Graeme Swann (see 10 Reasons to Love Graeme Swann). One of the reasons to love him was the great cricketing name “Graeme” or “Graham”. That got me thinking. There’s one “Graham” out there – with an “h” in this instance – who not so long again ago rapidly became part of the England furniture only to disappear off the face of the planet because of a potentially career threatening back injury. I’m of course talking about Graham Onions.

Those people who have forgotten just how good Graham Onions is might be forgiven. After all, during his absence England have had a giddy time of it all – winning the T20 World Cup and defeating everything in its path to claim six straight series. But what cannot be reiterated enough is just how different a prospect it is beating a bloodthirsty and vengeful Australia in their backyard compared with defeating minnows Bangladesh and erratic Pakistan at home.

Any England fan who can remember beyond the summer just past will appreciate just how sorely missed Graham Onions will be in the upcoming Ashes series. He’s the kind of bowler that should prosper in Australian conditions. He bowls wicket to wicket, hits the deck hard, bowls a nagging length outside off stump, gets that little bit of movement and is arguably more accurate than anyone in the current bowling unit. The same cannot be said for England’s spearhead James Anderson. He is the only bowler in the current lineup to have war wounds from the Ashes in 2006-07 and question marks still remain as to whether he can be as devastating in non-swinging conditions. Jimmy Anderson is a much more complete bowler than then but nevertheless there is an air of doubt surrounding him.

Meanwhile Steven Finn  is the bowler that resembles Onions the most. His height and ability to bowl the heavy ball should stand him in good stead. He also appears to have a good temperament that might be hard for the Aussies to rattle. Aided by Onions’ injury he's grabbed his opportunity with both hands. But having said that, he is the most inexperienced of all the English bowlers.

So where would Onions feature in the current pecking order of English bowlers?

Without a doubt he’d be on the plane. England fans would be brimming with confidence to be able to turn to Onions if one of the original lineup misfired. Had he not got injured for my money he’d still be in the starting lineup. Despite unflattering figures in the drawn series in South Africa, Onions was the star performer with the ball for England. Not to mention his heroic efforts with the bat to salvage two unlikely draws.

Go a little further back to The Ashes in 2009 and you again see how much of an integral cog he was to the England unit. Who could forget the double strike from the first two deliveries of day 2 of the Edgbaston test?

England fans may have put Graham Onions to the back of their minds right now – maybe with the exception of Lily Allen – but when this Ashes series starts to bite he’ll be sorely missed. I miss Graham Onions!

Where next?

Re-live Darren Gough's hat-trick at Sydney 1999

Ricky Ponting at the crossroads

Botham's Ashes

 

A bridge too far: England's series marks out of 10

Even as a fairly one-eyed England fan I have to begrudgingly admit that South Africa probably deserved to square the series. England will look back on the Johannesburg test as a missed opportunity and some will doubtless refer to the shocking performance of 3rd umpire Daryl Harper as the pivotal reason. 

Certainly, Harper reached new levels of ineptitude with his shocking performance in the TV umpires chair and his biggest mistakes (the failure to reverse the Smith caught behind and his mistake in reversing the De Villiers caught behind) cost England a lot of runs. However, England have only themselves to blame for such a damp squib of a performance with only Paul Collingwood and Graeme Swann emerging with only credit. Finally, England were made to pay for having too many batsmen out of form and not contributing.

This leads nicely to my marks out of ten for each England player for the series:

Andrew Strauss - 5: Surprisingly poor return with the bat as it was not as if he didn't look in good nick. What a contrast with his phenomenal run scoring in the 2004/05 series. Steady captaincy with an extra pat on the back for the spirit he has engendered within the side, which ultimately led to the backs against the walls escapes at Centurion and Newlands.

Alastair Cook - 7: Battling century at Durban helped set up victory but failed to go on after good starts in both innings at Newlands. Certainly looked in better form than he did in the Ashes and his place is safe for the foreseeable future now.

Jonathan Trott - 5: Simply doesn't look like a test match number three, although his stoical resistance in the second innings at Centurion helped save the game. Looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights in Johannesburg and should be dropped down the order.

Kevin Pietersen - 4: Massively disappointing especially as he made a promising start at Centurion with 40 and 81. Looks shorn of confidence and must now be picked for the Bangladesh tour in hope that he will rediscover both form and zest. Still seems to be suffering from a hangover from the captaincy debacle.

Paul Collingwood - 9: Started and ended the series in good form and his epitaph should read that he was the architect of the three great escapes at Cardiff, Centurion and Cape Town. The only batsman that turned up at Johannesburg and the numerous 'experts' calling for his head after the Ashes look foolish now.

Ian Bell - 8: Wonderful career saving century at Durban was followed up by a contrasting 78 at Newlands that helped save the game. May find that he will be given another chance at number three and will hopefully take his new found confidence from this tour to finally deliver in what should be his best position.

Matt Prior - 6: Much improved with the gloves but still flatters to deceive with the bat when it really matters as shown by his quick exits in the second innings at Centurion and Cape Town plus both innings at Johannesburg. May find Craig Kieswetter breathing down his neck come the Ashes next November.

Stuart Broad - 6: An average of just over ten with the bat suggests that a test match number seven he is not. Did well enough with the ball especially at Durban where he and Swann sparked a dramatic collapse. Should be picked for the Bangladesh tour as there is still significant room for improvement.

Graeme Swann - 9: England's leading bowler with 21 wickets and an extremely useful return with the bat also, where he should now be elevated above Broad in the batting order. Has a talismanic like effect and his ability to take a wicket in the first over of a spell is amazing.

James Anderson - 6: Still too inconsistent to be the true leader of the attack. For a bowler of his quality to take no wickets on a friendly Johannesburg pitch is not good enough. Should be rested from the Bangladesh tour in order that he can get his knee sorted out.

Graham Onions - 6: Bowled well without much luck and his ill fortune continued when he was inexplicably left out in Johannesburg. His ball to remove Kallis at Cape Town was arguably the ball of the series and his fortitude with the bat at Centurion and Newlands helped save England from a series reverse.

Ryan Sidebottom - 5: Did reasonably well at Johannesburg considering he hadn't played for weeks and who knows what could have happened if Mr Harper had turned the sound up when Sidbottom induced that edge from Smith.  

England decide to be crap again

Ashes success, 1-0 up in the series, two nine wickets down draws and a great chance to emulate the Vaughan side of 2004/05. A lot of plaudits were flowing towards Andrew Strauss and his men.

But on the verge of an infamous series victory they decided that they wanted to be crap again.

Firstly, Onions was bizarrely ejected in favour of Sidebottom who hasn't played a test since an absolutely shocking performance in the West Indies and who had been twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines for weeks.

What a way to treat Onions after his heroics at Centurion and Cape Town. He's bowled well too without getting much luck.

That was step one. Step two was when Strauss chose to bat when he won the toss.

Remember that we only need to draw the test to win the series. Given the state of the pitch and the overhead conditions, surely it made more sense to bowl first?

At least we couldn't lose the match in less than two sessions that way.

But no, uncharacteristically Strauss took the attacking option and chose to bat. And then a diamond duck for him and chaos reigned despite Colly and Bell's best endeavours (again).

The whole miserable day smacks of Headingley. But this time there is no Oval afterwards to win the series.

And Smith is the luckiest batsman in the World, so will probably fluke his way to another ton. Whilst Kallis will grind us into the ground again.

So England supporters are now praying for a miracle or rain....

...for four days.

Bugger. 

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. 

Out of the blocks like Usain Bolt

Wow! Four wickets in seventeen balls for only twelve runs.

Kallis out to the second ball of the day to a beauty from Onions.

And then Anderson mops up the tail faster than an exocet.

England SHOULD now take full control of the match and potentially win the series.

And the Australians are being trounced by Pakistan.

Roll on the Ashes.