The Reverse Sweep

Alastair Cook keeps proving them wrong

Let's go back in time to two summers ago. Pakistan were visiting English shores for what would prove to be an eventful and never to be forgotten tour - and not for the right reasons sadly.

Alastair Cook couldn't buy a run. His game looked completely awry and Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer toyed with their new victim like an excitable pair of kittens with a cornered mouse.

Drop him was a familiar cry from pundits and spectators alike. But then from the depths of despair, Cook came out firing at The Oval with a courageous 2nd innings hundred that silenced the doubters and confirmed his place in the Ashes squad that winter. Not that it was ever really in question thanks to England's wise trigger shy selectors.

We all know what happened next. Cook morphed into a left-handed Jack Hobbs and plundered three hundreds and 766 remorseless runs as Australia were ground into the dust. Cook hasn't looked back and since the start of that Ashes tour has amassed over 2,000 runs at 72.75 with his hundred against South Africa yesterday making it seven hundreds in 21 Tests. These are phenomenal figures.

But Cook has not been content in merely becoming the best opener in Test cricket today. When he was handed the one day captaincy after Andrew Strauss retired from the 50 over format after yet another disappointing World Cup, even supposedly informed observers like Michael Atherton likened Cook to a donkey that did not have the game for 50 over cricket. Others felt Cook was not captaincy material not least because his supposed limitations as a batsman meant he wasn't worth a place in the side.

The critics were wrong again on both counts. His batting in a format that many thought was alien to him has been nothing short of a revelation. In 25 matches since assuming the captaincy, Cook has plundered 1180 runs at 51.30 with four hundreds and seven fifties. More telling is that he has done that at a strike rate of 88.65. Not bad for a donkey.

And what about his captaincy? Whilst his skills as a leader are still clearly developing, he has won five out of his six series at the helm - the aberration of course being the 5-0 whitewash in India - as England have climbed to number three in the ODI rankings.

In two years, Cook has gone from chump to being spoken of as the only challenger to Sachin Tendulkar's haul of 100 international hundreds. That is ridiculous of course as Cook is some 75 hundreds off achieving that, but it does show how far this unassuming character has come. Long may it continue.

Where next?

England vs South Africa - too close to call again?

Sachin Tendulkar & Jack Hobbs: Masters with much in common

How England won the Ashes: Part 4 - Runs, runs, runs...

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

England vs South Africa - too close to call again?

We were fortunate enough to attend the inaugural lunch of the Wisden 150 Club at the Kennington Oval earlier this week where Michael Atherton and Allan Donald relived their memorable contretemps at Trent Bridge in 1998 as well as other notable encounters between the two.

Whilst the Chatham House Rule prevents us from divulging what Messrs Atherton and Donald actually said whilst we enjoyed a glass or two of a rather fine Bordeaux, we were reminded that clashes between South Africa and England tend to be extremely close.

Think back to 1994 where Devon Malcolm’s nine for 57 squared the series at The Oval, or 1995 where after four drawn Tests including Atherton’s famous 185 not out at the Wanderers South Africa prevailed in the final Test at Cape Town. Three years later in England, the home side came back from one-nil down to take the last two Tests and the series. Then in 2003, having ended Nasser Hussain’s reign as skipper and scoring double hundreds in each of the first two Tests, Graeme Smith saw his side pegged back at The Oval to see the series end two Tests apiece.

England then won another close series in South Africa in 2004/05 as they toned up for a titanic Ashes series six months later. The two-one score-line was reversed in the summer of 2008 when Smith finally led his side to a series win in England and saw the back of another home skipper in the shape of Michael Vaughan. Finally, in 2009/10, England somehow escaped with a drawn series having secured thrilling nine-wicket down draws at Centurion and Newlands.

By now you probably get the picture – England and South Africa Test series are always close and if anything this upcoming series could be the closest yet as there does not appear to be a hair’s breadth between the sides. Whilst the series is scandalously being played over just three Tests – especially as it pits the best two teams in the world against each other (forget the updated ICC rankings published at the weekend, which surely erroneously placed Australia at number two), a thrilling contest awaits.

As the home side, England probably just have the edge, but an opposition containing batsmen such as Smith, the classy Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and the underrated AB De Villiers plus a bowling attack of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir will provide Andrew Strauss’ team with an almighty Test.

After a seemingly never-ending diet of Twenty 20 and fifty over cricket, the series cannot come soon enough even if the biblically bad weather will no doubt rear its ugly head. We’re so excited, we’ve even started updating this blog again!

Where next?

Who gets in an England-South Africa composite XI?

The pursuit of greatness & the England cricket team

The Plan by Steve James | Book review

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Gideon Haigh speaks about Peter Roebuck

The excellent One Hand One Bounce weekly cricket podcast on the equally superb World Cricket Watch is always worth a listen and this week’s edition is even more so given that it stars the distinguished cricket writer Gideon Haigh.

As we wrote in our eulogy to Peter Roebuck yesterday, Roebuck and Haigh are in our opinion two of the three best cricket writers in the world today along with former England skipper Mike Atherton. In his tribute to Roebuck in the Times yesterday (which can also be read in The Australian), Atherton wrote how Haigh credited Roebuck as a pioneer in how cricket is written about today compared to previous generations:

"I don't think anyone in cricket writing had a voice like Peter's when he arrived on the scene in the early 1980s. You only have to contrast the way we wrote about cricket in the 1970s to the way we write about it now - Peter has been responsible for a lot of those developments."

So World Cricket Watch have pulled off quite a coup in getting Haigh on as a guest this week. He speaks very candidly about the life of Roebuck and his impact as one of the finest writers in the game. It’s truly fascinating and insightful stuff and definitely mandatory listening for any cricket fan.

Click on the link here to hear what Haigh had to say about Roebuck.

Where next?

Gideon Haigh eulogises Test cricket and compares it to The Pixies

The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck

Douglas Jardine, Gideon Haigh and The Daily Telegraph

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

An XI of Cricket Tragics who were also Rugger Buggers

 
CB Fry

The ultimate multi-sports genius. Fry captained England at cricket, played 26 Tests and scored nearly 31,000 first-class runs. He also set the world long jump record, played football for England and rugby for Oxford University, Blackheath and the Barbarians. He even nearly reputedly became King of Albania. Hardly surprising then that even in his seventies he was still able to perform his party piece: jumping backwards onto a mantelpiece from a standing position

Martin Donnelly

Widely recognised as one of New Zealand’s greatest ever batsmen even if War and his country’s fledgling status restricted him to just seven Tests. His one appearance at fly half for England though resulted in a resounding and then record win for Ireland at Lansdowne Road.

Monkey Hornby

The incongruously named Hornby, who was known as Monkey because of his small stature and energetic persona, was one of only two men to captain England at both cricket and rugby as well as being Lancashire’s skipper for 20 years. He led England to defeat at the Oval in 1882, about which the famous Sporting Life obituary was penned and the Ashes born.

Andrew Stoddart

The other man to captain England at both sports was the leading centre of his era and led England on two Ashes expeditions Down Under despite not taking up cricket seriously until he was 22. Beset with health and financial problems, he took his own life at the age of 52.

Tuppy Owen-Smith

Over 75 years before South African born Kevin Pietersen made his Test debut for England, Owen-Smith arguably went one better when having already scored a hundred for his country against England at Headingley in 1929, he turned out for and eventually captained England’s rugby side as an attacking full-back just one year later. A leg-spinner, his maiden first-class wicket was none other than the great Wally Hammond.

Sammy Woods

Representing South Africa at cricket and England at rugby is one thing, but playing Test cricket for BOTH Australia and England as Sydney born Woods did is quite another. A tremendously fast and strong wing-forward, he was also capped 13 times for England at rugby.  

Rob Andrew

The hero of England’s last-gasp win over Australia in the 1995 World Cup Quarter Final was also a very good cricketer, captaining Cambridge University and scoring a first-class ton against Notts. He also snared a young Mike Atherton with his off-spin whilst turning out for Yorkshire seconds.

Rudi van Vuuren

The only man to represent his country at the cricket AND rugby world cups and he did it in the same year too – 2003, starring in the former with five for 43 for Namibia against England and making a late cameo in the rugby world cup against Romania. It wasn’t all good for van Vuuren though with Darren Lehmann taking 28 runs off one of his overs.

Jeff Wilson

The legendary full back scored 44 tries in his 60 Tests, but this Double All Black’s international rugby career was also sandwiched by four one day internationals for the Kiwis as a precocious 19 year old and two more 12 years later.

Maurice Turnbull

Long-serving Glamorgan captain Turnbull, not only played Test cricket for England and rugby for Wales, he also represented Wales at hockey too. Sadly, his youthful vigour was snuffed out by a German sniper in Normandy in 1944.

Dusty Hare

The Leicester full back was an unlikely hero of the young Reverse Sweep, with Hare’s trusty boot helping England to the Grand Slam in 1980. His cricket career was less successful however, with only a modest 171 runs at 12.21 from his ten games for Notts.

Where next?

An XI of Cricket Heroes

Cricket XIs: Cricketing Criminals

An XI of cricketers that died young

An XI of unlikely World Cup heroes and a not so heroic 12th man

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

Check out all our other Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif & some MCC members with a bow and arrow

 
Cricket and Archery have a connection going back hundreds of years to the height of  the Reformation in 1536 when Henry VIII actually criminalised the game of cricket in order that the youth of the realm practice archery instead of “frivolous” activities “such as cricket-a-wicket”.

Even so, it seems likely that the start yesterday of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif’s spot-fixing trial at Southwark Crown Court on exactly the same day that the world’s leading archers were firing their arrows at Lord’s in the London 2012 test event was entirely coincidental.

According to a wonderful piece by Michael Atherton in today’s Times, a handful of MCC members turned up to see what all the fuss was about and weren’t overly impressed with what they witnessed – “like watching paint dry” grumbled one without the merest hint of irony.

However, this did get The Reverse Sweep thinking (well it was an ungodly hour on the 06.00 train from Surrey), that having seen how to handle a bow, the MCC members that were present could be employed to hand out some Henry VIII style justice to Butt and Asif should the jury find them guilty.

Now that really would be shooting for gold and in turn would make the MCC members more popular than they have ever been with other cricket followers.

Where next?

Cricket Zeroes: Salman Butt

An XI of Cricketing Criminals

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

World Cup Zeroes: Neil Smith

 
Yesterday, we described how the 1996 World Cup was ODI cricket’s punk rock moment with Sanath Jayasuriya playing the Johnny Rotten role of sweeping away all that had gone before in a sea of blistering strokes.

Some of the other teams tried to immediately replicate this new ferocious template.

England on the other hand, chose unheralded Warwickshire spinner Neil Smith as the opening partner for the obdurate captain Michael Atherton.

It would be unfair to pin all the blame on Smith for England’s disastrous campaign, where they stumbled through the group with unimpressive victories over the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands, before running into a Sri Lankan ambush led by Jayasuriya in the quarter-finals.

However, it was Smith’s ill-advised promotion to the top of the order which best epitomised England’s prehistoric approach.

In the end, the experiment was abandoned after three matches in which Smith had scored 27 off 31 balls against UAE, 31 off 33 against the Netherlands and 11 off 24 versus South Africa.

It was in the game with UAE that Smith summed up England’s sickly campaign by vomiting on the pitch and retiring ill. No further words are necessary.

Where next?

Read about our other cricket heroes and zeroes

Check out our Reverse Sweep XIs

Read all our 2011 World Cup posts here

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

How England won the Ashes: Part 4 - Runs, runs, runs...

 
Despite England finally managing to win on Australia Day of all days, we are still not bothered too much by the never ending story that is the one-day series. Time to look back again, then…

With the notable exception of Jonathan Trott, England’s top six came into the Ashes series with doubts hanging over them after a collective poor return against Pakistan over the summer. Ian Bell, who had been injured for the Pakistan tests, was deemed a concern too given his previously poor record against Australia.

The man considered the biggest concern was Alastair Cook, with some pundits, including as shrewd a judge as Michael Atherton, calling for the opener to be dropped in favour of Eoin Morgan with Trott promoted to open. Thankfully, England’s selectors stuck with their man and Cook repaid them by transforming himself into a left-handed Herbert Sutcliffe to score more runs in a test series than any Englishman ever except Wally Hammond in 1928/29.

And it wasn’t just Cook. For those that grew up in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, you will doubtless be familiar with Roy Castle singing “dedication is what you need…if you want to be a record breaker”.

Perhaps this tune was played alongside KP's favourite Carly Simon song on the dressing room stereo, as this is exactly the mantra that England’s batsmen followed during the series. Having all got into nick in the crucial warm-up matches prior to the 1^st Test, England’s batsmen showed exemplary patience and good judgment throughout the series – except in the aberration that was Perth. But even though they left the ball much better than the Australians, England still managed to post a higher run-rate per over for the series – 3.5 to 3.1.

In seven innings, England reached 500 four times. They hit their highest totals ever in Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney, with the latter being England’s highest ever test total in Australia.

In those seven innings, England’s batsmen hit nine hundreds (Cook (3), Trott (2), Strauss, Pietersen, Bell and Prior) – with six being at least 135 or over, compiled 11 hundred partnerships and all of the top seven – with the exception of Paul Collingwood – comfortably averaged above 40 for the series.

The comparison with the Australians was stark. The home side only once passed 400 in ten innings, hit just three hundreds (Hussey (2) and Haddin), only had four century partnerships and three batsmen averaging over 40 for the series (Hussey, Haddin and Watson). And unlike Cook, Australia’s premier opener Watson was unable to even convert one of his several good starts into three figures. That meant that with Australia’s supposed best batsmen Ponting and Clarke having dreadful series', none of Australia’s top four registered even one hundred.

If that wasn’t enough proof of how much Australia were outgunned with the bat, how about the fact that their average runs per wicket lost in the series was 28.9 to England’s 51.1? Or even that England had Bell coming in at six instead of North or Smith. Now that is perhaps the most damning point of all!

Where next?

Read all the excerpts from KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

How England won the Ashes: Part 1 - Preparation

How England won the Ashes: Part 2 - Inspired selections

How England won the Ashes: Part 3 - Hunting as a pack

Ashes 2010/11: Australia series marks out of 10

Ashes 2010/11: England series marks out of 10

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including amongst others James Anderson, Graeme Swann, Graham Gooch, Dennis Lillee and Mitchell Johnson

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

How England won the Ashes: Part 2 - Inspired selections

 
Let’s be honest, England have made a number of selection blunders in the make-up of their Ashes squads to tour Australia over the last 20 years.

Who can forget that Martin McCague - with catastrophic results - was preferred to Angus Fraser in 1994/95? Or that Andrew Caddick was left out for the 1998/99 trip, despite taking 105 wickets in the summer of 1998. And then in the ill-fated 2006-07 series, that a rusty Ashley Giles got the nod over Monty Panesar for the first two tests.

But there were no guffaws this time. On the contrary, the borderline selections of Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan proved to be positively inspired.

They also stuck with Alastair Cook despite before the series the likes of Mike Atherton calling for him to be dropped in place of Eoin Morgan. Of course, Cook then repaid the selectors’ faith by becoming a left-handed reincarnation of Herbert Sutcliffe. The selectors also resisted the temptation to move Jonathan Trott down the order and retained the six batsmen-four bowler policy.

All of these decisions paid off spectacularly. As did the one to keep Ian Bell at six when Paul Collingwood’s form faltered. Moving Bell up the order would just have undermined Collingwood and perhaps even given the Aussies a bit of a fillip – the sight of an in-form Bell coming in at four wickets down must have been soul-destroying for the Australians at times.

The two changes that England made during the series also paid off in spades. Tremlett was a revelation with 17 wickets after replacing the injured Stuart Broad. And what must have been a tough decision to replace Steven Finn with Bresnan for the last two tests also proved correct. Finn may have been the leading wicket-taker in the series at that point, but his economy rate of 4.3 runs per over threatened England’s plan of containment. So out he went, and in came Bresnan, who probably even surprised himself with how well he performed.

Whilst the England selectors deserve a tick in every box, Australia’s were hopeless and clueless despite what that ridiculous excuse for a Chairman Andrew Hilditch thinks. Forced into naming a confused and elongated initial 17 man squad 10 days before the 1st Test by Cricket Australia’s Marketing Department, they then compounded their error by jettisoning incumbent spinner Nathan Hauritz before a ball had even been bowled.

They then panicked after Brisbane by dropping Mitchell Johnson for the clearly unfit Doug Bollinger. Whilst for Perth they concluded that despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Steve Smith was a number six Test batsman and that the out-of-form and technically deficient Phil Hughes should replace the injured Simon Katich. Admittedly they did get it right by sticking with Mike Hussey and the selection (albeit belatedly) of Usman Khawaja, but the overall picture they portrayed was one of poorly thought out plans, risky and ill-advised punts and a general sense of making it up as they went along.

Not only did England end nearly a quarter of a century of hurt down under by winning the series (yes, we're still gloating), but their selectors transformed from a bunch of bumbling incompetents into Gandalfesque shrewd soothsayars whilst somehow transferring their discarded 'attributes' to their Australian counterparts. That makes it even more satisfying.

Where next?

How England won the Ashes: Part 1 - Preparation

The curious case of Nathan Hauritz

Doug Bollinger as you've never seen him before

Ashes 2010/11: Australia series marks out of 10

Ashes 2010/11: England series marks out of 10

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes 

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

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

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

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

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

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

Likely line-ups

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

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

Look out for...

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

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

Previously at Sydney

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

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

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

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

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

Prediction

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

Where next?

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

The best and worst Test XIs of 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The Boundary View: Cook serves up a dish of deja vu for hapless Australia - Adelaide, Day Two

 
Cook serves up another helping of humble pie

Until now there was only one choice as to who was the most famous Cook to land on Australian shores - and here's a clue it wasn't Gordon Ramsey. But Alastair Cook seems to be on a one man mission to change this. He picked up where he left on in Brisbane as he continued to plunder runs from a feeble Australian bowling attack. His 15th Test century never looked in doubt and the technical faults that plagued him in the English summer seemed to have vanished into thin air. We apologised to James Anderson yesterdayfor doubting that he could succeed in Australia and we owe one to Cook too for having the temerity to question his place in the side. But for once (or is it twice?) we are happy to be proved emphatically wrong. And on Cook we weren't the only ones - were we Michael Atherton?

Deja vu for Ponting

Ricky Ponting must have thought he was caught in a nightmarish time warp during Cook and Jonathan Trott's 2nd wicket partnership of 173 - which extended their unbroken stint at the crease from The Gabba to 502 runs and nearly 10 hours before the latter was eventually out. Some of the names in his bowling attack were different, but the results were the same for Ponting as catches were dropped, the bowling was ineffectual, his left-armer quick (Bollinger this time) was expensive and had poor body language - and Cook, Trott and then KP continued on their merry way. The lowpoint must have been when a decision to give Cook caught behind off Siddle was overturned by the third umpire. As Atherton remarked, that must have been enormously dispiriting for the hapless Aussies. With England effectively 834/3 since the start of their 2nd innings in Brisbane, Jeff Thomson's assertion that the current Australian attack is the worst for 30 years is looking truer by the day.

King Trott V

Trott continued to lord it over his favourite opponents - he averages over 100 against Australia - and made a lightning start to his innings today with a flurry of flicked and driven boundaries through the off-side.  Trott has developed a regal presence at the crease and now has the 5th highest average ever for those with more than 1000 test runs - see list of best Test averages here. And there were those that doubted he should bat at three.

Strauss's brain fade

What is it with Andrew Strauss and the third ball of the day? After his misjudgement in the 1st innings at Brisbane, he repeated the trick with a cherry on top to Doug Bollinger's third delivery this morning. Choosing to leave a ball that hits the top of the stumps was a massive error for a man who otherwise hasn't put a foot wrong since he landed on Australian soil. But at least it enabled him to put his feet up in the pavilion and enjoy a feast of batting.

Come back Nathan all is forgiven

It takes a lot to make Nathan Hauritz look good, but Xavier Doherty has managed to achieve that. The pitches at Brisbane and now Adelaide may have been good, but one gets the impression that the only way hewill take wickets is if the batsmen give it away. As Shane Warne has observed the Australian selectors are now in a bit of a pickle. Having made the decision to replace Hauritz before the series, should they now go back to him? Or should they opt for the rookie Steves - Smith or O'Keefe? Whatever they do, their selection policy has been irrefutably flawed and has smacked of panic - as evidenced by dispensing with Johnson and Hilfenhaus after Brisbane. Shades of England in the 1990's? 

Player of the day

For the third time in the series it is the relentless run machine Alastair Cook. The way he is going Wally Hammond's record for an Englishman of 905 runs in an Ashes series (see Adelaide Hero - Wally Hammond) is looking within reach. He is almost halfway there  with 438 runs after only three innings - and he can make further inroads tomorrow.

Zero of the day

After only three balls it looked like Strauss had this one sown up, but as the day unfolded the out of depth Xavier Doherty claimed an unassailable grip on this dubious honour. A spinner is supposed to give you control on a good pitch when the mercury is rising and going at over four runs an over is almost a dereliction of duty. The hapless Australian Selectors share the award for their ridiculous gamble on a bowler with a first-class average of 50.

What happens next?

We predicted before the match that Kevin Pietersen looked set for a big score and having waited for what must seem a week to bat his first test hundred in 17 long months looks within reach. He certainly looked back to his fluent best today. Cook could reach another milestone if he can replicate Hammond's back to back hundreds at Sydney (251) and Melbourne (200) in the aforementioned 1928/29 series. Another day of pain awaits Australia barring rain.

Where next?

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Day 1 at Adelaide disected: Australia capsizes to Jimmy  and Dear Jimmy...

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The Boundary View: The Hussey & Haddin Show - Brisbane, Day Three

 
Hussey rubs it in

Having batted with real positive intent yesterday, Michael Hussey had to dig in deep for the first hour this morning with James Anderson in particularly producing several unplayable deliveries. The luck that Hussey had on Day Two when his edge off his first ball fell just short of slip continued. First, he was reprieved by the review system when adjudged leg before on 82 to Anderson and then the same bowler had another leg before appeal wrongly turned down when Hussey had added only another three runs to his score. Hussey deservedly cashed in on his good fortune, hitting his 12th and highest test score before just falling short of a double hundred. Mr Cricket is back.  

Watchful Haddin gets his reward

Hussey will take most of the plaudits, but Haddin's innings was just as good. He was unusually restrained yesterday and had to hold firm during the first hour today when England did everything but take a wicket. If he had gone then England would likely have mopped up the tail and the match situation could be very different. Haddin, who played  some wonderful shots down the ground, reached his hundred in more characteristic style with a straight six off Swann. He may have iron gloves behind the stumps, but he proved his worth as batsman beyond doubt and now averages just under 60 in five Tests against England with two hundreds. Adam who?

If only...

England hadn't been so profligate with their two reviews on day two. Their misjudegment cost them dearly when in the midst of an inspired new ball spell from Anderson, Aleem Dar incorrectly refused a stone dead leg before appeal against Hussey on 85. Dar heard two noises but replays showed the ball hit both pads. A wicket then could have changed everything. A rueful Anderson deserved better, but at least he has shown that he is completely different proposition from the hapless figure of the 2006/07 series.

Make mine a triple

In England's last Test, Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad compiled that wonderful 332 run partnership against Pakistan - you know the one before all the spot-fixing furore broke. Hussey and Haddin's 307 run union here meant the shoe was on the other foot for England. It is the 11th highest partnership in Ashes history and the highest partnership for any wicket at The Gabba. The last 300+ run Ashes partnership was the one between Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen at Adelaide in 2006 and we all know what happened after that...  

Dismal Starters

England's notoriously bad record at starting Ashes series looks set to continue after a day of toil in Brisbane. Since winning at the same venue in the 1st Test of the 1986/87 series, England have only won the opening test of an Ashes series once - the false dawn of Edgbaston in 1997. Australia have won eight of the remaining ten with only two draws - the Great Escape of Cardiff, 2009 and Brisbane 1998, where a spectacular thunderstorm saved England from certain defeat. Strauss is probably already perfecting his rain dance after today.

Joint Players of the day

Finn persevered well for his six wickets, but it's Hussey and Haddin all the way here. Hussey saved his career with his test best and Haddin showed the worth of having a keeper who can hit hundreds.

Zero of the day

England weren't great but they weren't awful other than some negative tactics from Strauss and a couple of missed catches from Anderson and Alastair Cook. The real zero was the normally excellent Dar, who as an elite umpire should have seen that Anderson's ball hit both pads rather than pad and bat. But this is probably just a tired and frustrated England supporter clutching at straws.

What happens next?

Having just survived the first ball of the innings from Ben Hilfenhaus and Australia well on top, Strauss will know that he needs to play a resolute captain's knock a la Mike Atherton at Johannesburg in 1995. But Australia must be firm favourites to go 1-0 up.

Where next?

The Boundary View: Mr Cricket Thwarts England - Brisbane, Day Two

The Boundary View: Siddle's Joy of Six - Brisbane, Day One

Brisbane Heroes: Tony Greig, Eddie Paynter

Brisbane Zero: Martin McCague

Brisbane Zero: Martin McCague

 
As Steve Harmison and now Andrew Strauss will testify, England have a habit of starting Brisbane Tests of recent vintage very badly. But Strauss's third ball dismissal yesterday and Harmison's wayward opening delivery of the 2006/07 series are small fry compared to the unmitigated disaster that was Martin McCague in the Brisbane Test of the 1994/95 series.

Dubbed “the rat who joined the sinking ship” by the Australian press on account of his upbringing down under, his selection for the tour ahead of Angus Fraser was already controversial as part of Raymond Illingworth's ill-conceived strategy of fighting fire with fire. 

As it transpired McCague may well have been a double agent judging by his shocking performance and captain Michael Atherton would have been better off opening the bowling himself when he lost the toss on the flattest of tracks.

McCague wasn't the only culprit but after a new ball spell that lasted just two overs, he returned in the afternoon for a monstrously bad spell of 6-0-55-0 as Michael Slater flayed the England attack all over the Woolloongabba. He ended up with 2/96 off 19.2 overs but as his victims were Craig McDermott and Glenn McGrath, who were both out to attempted slogs it's safe to assume that his grandchildren will not hear about the time he had McGrath caught at mid-off.

McCague could have been excused his opening day nerves if he hadn't then cried off the second innings claiming that an errant oyster had caused an upset stomach. Most people including Darren Gough concluded that he had bottled it. Crap and cowardly - a rat indeed.

Where next?

Brisbane hero - Eddie Paynter

Siddle's joy of six

Check out all our other Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

Ashes 100-1: 25 - 10 things NOT to look forward to in the Ashes

 
With the England team en route to Perth and the 1st Test at Brisbane now less than four weeks away, the Ashes suddenly seems so much closer. The excitement is certainly starting to build and like all cricket fans we at the Reverse Sweep cannot wait for the action to begin.

But there are many aspects of the Ashes not to look forward to. Here are ten:

1. The Channel 9 Commentary team

Australia may have provided some of the best cricketers in history, but it has also produced some of the worst commentators. Richie Benaud apart and let's face it he should stick to the Sanatogen at his age, the team consists of the token Pom - Mark Nicholas and then the Australian cheerleading squad of Healy, Taylor, Lawry and Slater. One can only hope that the likes of Atherton and Hussain will be employed to provide some more articulate words. If not there is always Test Match Sofa.

2. Michael Clarke's Press Conferences

Let's be honest, the vast majority of modern day cricketers spout utter banalities at the plethora of press conferences they have to attend. Graeme Swann and the old guffaw from Kevin Pietersen apart, listening to the others is like sticking pins in your eyes. But the worst culprit has to be Michael 'I only speak in the third person' Clarke. The reason why there will never be a big screen at Beachy Head is because anyone watching and listening to Clarke would consider suicide a better option.

3. Blanket advertising

Australian television is not quite as bad the US for mindless advertising, but it isn't far off. If it wasn't bad enough having to listen to the Channel 9 idiots, the regular plugs for the KFC Classic Catch, the Cricket Australia Travel Agency and worst of all the Gatorade Heart Monitor will have you pressing for the mute button and the pins for your Michael Slater doll.

4. Zombies

For those of us watching the action in the UK (or France, in our case) through the night, the Ashes will lead to an increase in the number of sleep deprived zombies on the streets, which can't be a good thing as far as road traffic accidents and work productivity in a (near) recession are concerned.

5. John Buchanan

For some inexplicable reason, England have hired the former Australian coach as a 'consultant' for the series. So far he seems more akin to a double-agent with his unhelpful comments about Kevin Pietersen. Indeed, we're with KP on this - Buchanan is a 'nobody' and anyone (even Peter Moores) could have coached the Australian side during his era at the helm. Faced with a choice of listening to Michael Clarke or Buchanan spouting crap, we'd opt for Clarke every time.

6. Adelaide

The Adelaide Oval is one of the best and most picturesque cricket grounds in the World. However, for any England supporter who witnessed the events of the final day at Adelaide in the 2006/07 series, even the merest mention is likely to bring on heart palpitations and three-month long nightmares.

7. Mitchell's Mother

Some cricketers have to cope with publicity hungry girlfriends and wives - just ask Michael Clarke. But poor old Mitchell has to cope with his mother, who makes that complete waste of space Jordan seem mild in comparison. Expect to see Mrs Johnson with her rolling pin and apron waiting at the boundary edge throughout the series to give the wayward Mitchell a piece of her mind.

8. History

Those of us that follow England are probably more confident about this Ashes series down under than any since 1986/87 - and even then England were labelled as the team that 'can't bat, can't bowl and can't field' early on that tour. But a quick look at the history books will quickly tell us that England have only won four series in Australia since World War II and one of those in 1978/79 was against an Australian side weakened by several defections to World Series Cricket. History is clearly not on England's side.

9. Shane Watson

Even most of the Australian fans don't like the preening excuse for a man that is Watson. However, he seems to have transformed from an all-rounder made of glass into an opening batsman who keeps inexplicably scoring buckets of runs. If James Anderson proves to be as ineffectual with the kookaburra as feared, expect Watson to fill his boots. Losing would be hard enough, but seeing Watson do well would probably be too much.

10. 5-0 references

If Australians were understandably amused by the English media conveniently forgetting about the 2006/07 series when the Ashes were at stake in England last summer, expect the reverse this time. Don't be surprised if 2009 becomes Australia's Afghanistan - the 'forgotten war' as the heat rises before Brisbane. And if Australia win there...

Where next?

REVEALED: New Pakistan Player Code of Conduct

Zeroes: Shane Watson, John Buchanan

EXCLUSIVE: Kevin Pietersen's Ashes Diary

Ashes 100-1: 98 Deano's match

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ashes 100-1: 99 One run short

As we wrote yesterday, we are now within 100 days of the start of the first Ashes test at Brisbane on 25th November. As the anticipation continues to mount our new Ashes 100-1 feature will see a daily post that provides an Ashes related statistic, observation, memory or maybe even a witticism on the greatest contest in cricket.

Today with 99 days to go we look at the unfortunate batsmen in Ashes history who have fallen one run short of what must be the ultimate for an English or Australian batsmen - an Ashes hundred.

Of the 11 99's, most have been made by notable cricketers such as Clem Hill, Keith Miller and Ted Dexter rather than relative unknowns. English supporters will be gratified to see not one but two Waugh brothers in the list. Indeed, Steve was left stranded on 99 not out at Perth in 1995 when his brother, acting as runner for the injured number 11 Craig McDermott, was run out attempting a suicidal single. 

Whilst that brings a smile to our faces at the Reverse Sweep, we have less good memories of Mike Atherton being run out at Lord's attempting a third run that was never there to try and reach his hundred. Will anyone join this list in the forthcoming series? If so, we hope that it is Shane Watson.

Player	Runs	Mins	BF	SR	Ground	Start date
SR Waugh (Aus)	99*	288	183	54.09	Perth	03-Feb-95
C Hill (Aus)	99	191	-	-	Melbourne	01-Jan-02
CG Macartney (Aus)	99	135	-	-	Lord's	24-Jun-12
AG Chipperfield (Aus)	99	200	208	47.59	Nottingham	08-Jun-34
E Paynter (Eng)	99	182	188	52.65	Lord's	24-Jun-38
KR Miller (Aus)	99	207	-	-	Adelaide	02-Feb-51
ER Dexter (Eng)	99	169	-	-	Brisbane	30-Nov-62
RM Cowper (Aus)	99	203	183	54.09	Melbourne	30-Dec-65
R Edwards (Aus)	99	201	132	75	Lord's	31-Jul-75
ME Waugh (Aus)	99	224	162	61.11	Lord's	17-Jun-93
MA Atherton (Eng)	99	240	215	46.04	Lord's	17-Jun-93

Shahid Afridi, the Captain's innings & the Charge of the Boom Boom Brigade

There have been many brave captain's innings in the history of test cricket, which have been made in the face of adversity and/or likely defeat.

Who can forget Michael Atherton's monumental rearguard of 185 not out as England miraculously escaped defeat in Johannesburg in 1995? Those with slightly longer memories will remember Graham Gooch batting through the innings for an undefeated 154 to set up an unlikely win against West Indies at Headingley in 1991. 

Or how about Ricky Ponting's 156 to help save the Old Trafford test in the infamous 2005 Ashes series? Even Chris Gayle has an uncharacteristic gem on his CV after he carried his bat at Adelaide last year for 165. Naturally, the great Donald Bradman has to trump the lot, scoring hundreds in each of the last three tests (270 at Melbourne in the third test, 212 at Adelaide in the fourth and 169 at Melbourne in the fifth) of the 1936/37 Ashes series as Australia came back from two-nil down to win the series against Gubby Allen's England.

So Shahid Afridi had plenty of inspiration when he walked to the wicket yesterday with his side in disarray at 83 for five. Perhaps unsurprisingly he went for a different approach - death or glory. In what was more akin to a Japanese World War II squadron leader showing his kamikaze boys how to do it, Afridi came out with all guns blazing as he ripped into Shane Watson's trundlers. This was the Charge of the Boom Boom Brigade.

Unfortunately for Afridi, his side and the stunned but appreciative Lord's crowd, the Pakistan captain used up all his ammunition in 13 fiery minutes and went for one big hit too many. Even worse was that this gave the childish Watson the opportunity to give Afridi a verbal send off. 31 off 15 balls was all Afridi had to take back to his boys in the changing room.

Many will criticise Afridi for his approach, but at least no one can accuse him of captaincy changing his game. It wasn't a responsible innings. It clearly didn't set his young wards watching on the Lord's balcony the right example. But for a (very) short time, Pakistan and its supporters believed, and just like Andy Dufresne believed in the Shawshank Redemption, what are we without hope?