The Reverse Sweep

David Warner blasts a 69-ball hundred as euthanasia becomes a serious option for India

Four of the seven quickest hundreds in Test history have come at the WACA (or should it now be renamed the Whacker?) – three of these have been scored by opening batsmen and indeed are the three quickest hundreds ever scored by openers in Test history.

We were too young to have seen the first of the three scored by Roy Fredericks against a fearsome Australian attack including Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, but would recommend reading this wonderful recollection by The Guardian’s Andy Bull of a remarkably courageous innings from the batsman they called Kid Cement.

Fredericks reached his hundred in 71 balls, a feat bettered by one ball by Chris Gayle (see number six) in 2009 (in the days before he became a full-time T20 mercenary) in an innings that Nathan Hauritz in particular still probably hasn’t recovered from the spanking administered to him.

So onto today. India must have been feeling pretty dispirited having been blasted out for just 161 in a series that they are already 2-0 down in. But nothing could have prepared them for the slaughter that David Warner had in store for them.

Whilst all the Indian bowlers are probably organising one-way tickets (are there any other?) to Switzerland for an appointment with Dignitas after a shocking performance, nothing should be taken away from Warner’s gun-slinging performance.

He didn’t give a chance, carted all of the four-man Indian pace attack around the park, smashed Vinay Kumar’s fourth ball in Test cricket back over his head for six and reached his hundred in the most appropriate fashion by hitting another monstrous six off the same unfortunate debutant, whose retirement from Test cricket probably cannot come soon enough.

As a result Warner beat Gayle’s mark by one ball to join Shivnarine Chanderpaul (who must have left his pet crab at home on that particular day) as the joint fourth fastest century maker in Test history.

In his first five Tests Warner has now become only the sixth batsmen ever to carry his bat in the fourth innings of a Test as well as scoring the quickest hundred ever by an opener in Test history, which makes our initial assessment that Warner wouldn’t cut the mustard in the long form of the game look pretty foolish.

But not as foolish as an Indian side who have now let Australia rack up 771/1 since reducing them to 37/3 in Sydney with partnerships of 288, 334* and now 149*. Duncan Fletcher who has lost his last 11 overseas Tests as coach of England and now India is staring down the barrel once again.

Where next?

India: Tigers at home; pussies away

It's surreal: Kieron Pollard fires a first ODI hundred; David Warner cracks a maiden Test ton

The David Warner Experiment

Read our Cricket Review of 2011

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Why the Australia-England ODI series is as bloody as the Battle of Stalingrad

 
The Battle of Stalingrad may have seen perhaps the highest number of casualties of any battle in warfare, but the current ODI series between Australia and England can’t be far behind – and it feels like it has lasted nearly as long as that bloody battle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union too.

Certainly, the wisdom of having a seven match series straight after the Ashes, and so soon before the World Cup, has been exposed as the sheer folly most of us knew it was. Players on both sides have been dropping like flies throughout the series.

Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann have already flown home early and Ajmal Shahzad and Chris Tremlett are about to join them.

For Australia, it is not much better with Nathan Hauritz, Xavier Doherty, Shaun Marsh all being felled to join Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey on the sidelines.

The sixth match of the series today was particularly bloody. Jonathan Trott and Steve Smith both required runners and Paul Collingwood was unable to bowl after jarring his back whilst batting. And if Shaun Tait's glass body managed to get through without a crack it will have been a miracle. At this rate, the final match of the series in Perth will be seven-a-side.

Indeed, things have got so bad for England that Liam Plunkett has been called up. Any additional injuries could see the unthinkable happen – the return of Sajid Mahmood.

If that happens, England’s hopes for the World Cup will be as buggered as the Wehrmacht’s Sixth Army was at Stalingrad.

Where next?

Back to back Ashes Series? Doomsday is here...

100 stories about the Ashes

An England under-23 XI featuring Chris Woakes

Reaction to England's World Cup Squad

Full coverage of the Ashes 2010/11 series

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Once upon a time in the court of King Ricky...

 
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, Prince Ricky ascended to the throne upon the death of King Stephen. The King is dead, long live the King.

It was akin to Camelot, King Ricky had at his disposal a quorom of fearsome Knights, the like of whom had not been seen since the time of the Round Table. Chief amongst them was Sir Shane – a Knight that was able to conjure up victory from the jaws of defeat such as in the famous skirmish with the English at the Battle of Adelaide in 2006.

Many foes tried to storm the citadel, but all were easily beaten. King Ricky’s Green and Gold expedition force was also all-conquering overseas apart from a surprise defeat to the English in 2005 where Sir Glenn was felled by an arrow in the ankle, Sir Adam was rendered ineffective and the English found a new hero in Freddie of Preston.

But after being newly installed as Prince Regent of England due to the madness of King Vaughan, Freddie’s attempt to storm King Ricky’s castle a year later was met with ignominious defeat and ultimately the pedalo scandal.

King Ricky was now at the peak of his powers as the most dominant ruler in the world – no arrow could pierce his armour and no sword could breach his shield.

Then at the point of his greatest triumph, Sir Shane succumbed to his gambling habit, absconded from the castle and was last seen consorting with a failed actress. Sir Justin and Sir Glenn departed at the same time and shortly afterwards, Sir Matthew left to become a full-time cook and Sir Adam hung up his helmet to become a well-paid mercenary.

With his best Knights deserting him at the same time, a bereft King Ricky was suddenly vulnerable. Overseas raiding parties now met with regular defeat on the battlefield and the nototiously brittle Proteas army even managed to breach the walls of King Ricky’s castle, before his forces launched a successful counterattack.

But with the newly powerful English landing on his shore in the autumn of 2010 under the astute leadership of Lord Strauss of Radley and his Chief Adviser – a mysterious wizard only known as Flower, King Ricky knew the game was up. His new Knights were not up to the task. Sir Doug wears a toupee for Christ's sake, Sir Twatto has no staying power and is prone to tears, Sir Mitch is just as likely to slice himself open with his own sword then kill any of the enemy, and as for his heir Prince Michael the less said the better.

King Ricky took a gamble. Sir Nathan had proved a steady if uninspiring successor to Sir Shane. But King Ricky didn’t need steady, he needed the X-Factor. So, he knighted his unimpressive steward as Sir Xavier, and Sir Nathan was sent to the haberdashery to sell his old armour.

But, Sir Xavier had no pedigree and failed to impress in the battles at Brisbane and Adelaide. In the aftermath of the latter tussle, his fool Hilditch suggested that King Ricky have a Beer instead and lo and behold that is exactly what happened.

Things got better temporarily at the Battle of Perth, where Sir Mitch and Sir Cricket excelled but the English decimated his army at the Battle of Melbourne and King Ricky himself was wounded as his castle was ransacked by the rampant English sprinkled with some Proteas insurgents.

Too little, too late it was decided to exile the disgraced Sir Xavier and Sir Nathan was handed a new suit of armour for the forthcoming battle for the Holy Grail. King Ricky and his predecessor have successfully held onto the precious Grail for 12 years, but either King Strauss, King Muppet or King Mahendra all look set to wrest it from his grip over the coming weeks.

All seems lost for King Ricky. He has even taken to humming a tune from the famous English songsmith Sir Christopher of Martin:

“I used to rule the world / Seas would rise when I gave the word / Now in the morning I sleep alone / Sweep the streets I used to own ...”    

The inevitability of final defeat awaits and King Ricky knows that his folly of placing his kingdom in the hands of the untried Sir Xavier has proved to be a mistake of the most deadly proportions.

Prince Michael, it would seem, is already practicing his apologies and planning a new tattoo for his coronation - not that he is going to be King of much.

Where next?

Is this Ponting's cataclysmic epitaph?

Michael Clarke joins Linkin Park

Ashes 2010/11: Australia series marks out of 10

Ashes 2010/11: England series marks out of 10

Shane Watson: Finally the bride 

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including amongst others Nathan Hauritz, Justin Langer, Matt Hayden, Brett Lee, Sachin Tendulkar, Andy Flower, Andrew Hilditch and Hedley Verity

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

How England won the Ashes: Part 1 - Preparation

 
Like many English cricket fans we are still basking in the joy of Ashes triumph and fully intend to gloat and glorify about it for some time to come. We make no apologies for this as having been starved of success down under for 24 long years and having copped plenty of flak from our Antipodean cousins, the shoe is now most definitely on the other foot.

As such over the next few days, the Reverse Sweep will look at some of the reasons why we believe that England triumphed and Australia choked. Preparation seems a good place to start.  

It was Thomas Edison who coined the phrase “genius is only 1% inspiration, but 99% perspiration” and in terms of having done all their homework prior to the big event, Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss would get a large tick in the box from Thomas.

In 2006 England arrived beset by injuries, had the untried axis of Fletcher and Flintoff at the helm and played a couple of jolly warm-up matches before taking the field for the 1^st Test at Brisbane thoroughly under-prepared. Unsurprisingly, they were royally rogered by an Australian side intent on revenge from 2005. The whole thing stunk of complacency, hubris, ineptitude and eventually farce.

Messrs Flower and Strauss however left no stone unturned. Following a team-building boot-camp in Bavaria, England played three proper first-class matches upon arriving in Australia, which they played to win. They sent their first-choice bowling line-up to Brisbane early to acclimatise whilst the likes of Tremlett, Bresnan and Shahzad blasted England to a 10 wicket win over Australia A.

Australia on the other hand, played a one day series with Sri Lanka just prior to the first Test, named a 17 man squad and then jettisoned their first-choice spinner Nathan Hauritz for a punt on the untried Xavier Doherty. The whole thing smacked of uncertainty and a lack of planning.

Consequently, when England were blown off course first by Peter Siddle and then Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin in the 1^st innings at Brisbane, they were able to come back in the second with the infamous 517/1. In part this was down to the ineptitude of the Australian bowling, but it was also because the England players had been well-prepared, well-drilled and knew exactly what they were doing.

The best-prepared side won at a canter in 2006, exaggerating the already large gap between the sides. But with the two sides supposedly so evenly matched before the series started, it was England’s preparation and their ability to hone and execute well-defined plans that was one of the keys to their triumph.

Flower and Strauss - Edison would be proud of you.

Where next?

The curious case of Nathan Hauritz

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

The Boundary View: England crush Australia to end 24 years of hurt - Sydney, Day Five

 
24 years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming 

Like many we wrote before the series that this Australian team was there for the taking, but despite this our natural English pessimism led us to predict that the series would end 2-2. How wrong we were. All 13 players used by England during the series performed well - even Paul Collingwood who led the way in the field, whilst only four Australian players turned up - five if you include Mitchell Johnson at Perth. England prepared thoroughly, were well led and performed brilliantly, and after 24 years of woe down under, it feels good to give the Australians a dose of their own medicine. Long may it continue.

High noon

Just before noon it was Chris Tremlett who fired the final bullet by bowling Michael Beer and so consigning Australia to a third crushing innings defeat of the series - the first time that they have suffered this ignominy even against the mighty West Indian sides of the 1980s. Tremlett has been a revelation since coming back into the side at Perth, but this is the moment that will be retold again and again to the grandchildren.

Jimmy floors 'em like Tyson

Alastair Cook deserves all the plaudits coming his way as Man of the Series, but James Anderson deserves equal mention. The wicket of Ben Hilfenhaus gave Anderson an impressive 24 wickets at 26 for the series - the most wickets by an England seamer in a five-Test series in Australia since Frank Tyson took 28 in the 1954/55 series. The 'Typhoon' has gone down in Ashes folklore for his contribution on that tour and that is exactly what Anderson deserves for proving all the doubters before the series incontestably wrong - including us (see Dear Jimmy...).

A bright future

Collingwood may be retiring but the rest of the squad should be around for some time yet. England's current ICC ranking of 3 is about right as there is still some way to go before this side can be mentioned in the same breath as India and South Africa. But with the Proteas being perennial bridesmaids and with the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman probably nearing retirement,England's goal of becoming the number one side in the world seems more than realistic. A downer like the one suffered by the Ashes winning side of 2005 doesn't seem likely for this team with Messrs Strauss and Flower at the helm. 

Player of the day

Paul Collingwood led England out on his final day as a Test cricketer and as such he is our sentimental player of the day - farewell to England's working class hero.

Zero of the day

This one has to go to the Australian selectors. Their confused selection of a 17 man squad before the series set the tone and plenty of strange selections followed - Australia's best spinner Nathan Hauritz didn't play a single Test with the selectors preferring a man with a first-class average of over 50 (Xavier Doherty) and then Michael Beer - a bowler with only a handful of first-class matches under his belt. Phil Hughes was picked with a first-class season average of 15 and Steve Smith was picked for... well despite his plucky 50 today we are still trying to work that one out.

Where next?

Day 4 @ Sydney: England on the brink of joining Ashes immortals

Day 3 @ Sydney: Cook & Bell in the pink as England take command

Day 2 @ Sydney: England progress after Johnson's sting in the tail

Day 1 @ Sydney: Rain interrupts war of attrition

Read all the excerpts from KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes 

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The curious case of Nathan Hauritz's banishment from Australia's Ashes side

 
We've never been Nathan Hauritz's biggest fans at the Reverse Sweep (see the link at the end of this post for evidence), but even we would admit that he had done a reasonable job as Australia's spinner and indeed was (and still is) incontestably the best twirler to wear the Baggy Green post-Warne.

Sure, he struggled in India just prior to the Ashes but a) he was just coming back from injury, b) Ricky Ponting's lack of faith in his spinner was ably demonstrated by the atrocious fields he set, and; c) it's not as if he was the first spinner to struggle in India - just ask Warne and Murali.

Butother than India, Hauritz had done a steady if unspectacular job and actually took 29 wickets in six home tests against Pakistan and West Indies last year at a decent 26.82. Those two sides may not exactly be the strongest in the world, but we can't imagine that Xavier Doherty or Michael Beer would have done as well.

Hauritz also did quite well in the 2009 Ashes, taking 10 wickets in 3 Tests at 32.10. Indeed, the decision to leave him out of the XI in the decider at The Oval probably ensured that Australia's grip on the Ashes was relinquished.

Despite his culling from the national side, Hauritz has also picked up 19 wickets in six first-class matches this season at 26.78 (as well as hitting his first two first-class hundreds). Hardly spectacular, but as we hinted before pretty reasonable. Again, it is significantly better than Beer's 16 wickets at 43, Doherty's almost identical 15 at 43 -or even Steve Smith's 12 at 42.

So, Hauritz really would seem to be the best spinner Australia has and their failure to call on him during the series appears to be inexplicable. We're not saying that Hauritz would have made the difference between Australia winning and losing the Ashes, but we bet he would have done better than those that replaced him.

Where next?

5th Test preview: England aim to give Clarke a baptism of fire

Michael Beer's selection explained

Zeroes: Nathan Hauritz

Zeroes: Andrew Hilditch

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

The best and worst Test XIs of 2010

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

KP's Ashes Diary: 2nd January - It was KP that won it...

 
Wow, I am an Ashes winner again and as I explained the other day, my team-mates and England supporters all have me to thank for it.

Back in 2008 when I was captain, I devised a grand plan to get rid of that imbecile Peter Moores even though it meant sacrificing my position as skipper. Well, everyone loves a martyr don't they?

Part 2 of the plan was to develop a supposed weakness against left-arm spin, thus tricking the evil Australians into dropping their star spinner Nathan Hauritz. I had to do something after Hauritz's brilliant bowling got me out at Cardiff in 2009. 

I didn't realise how well this would work as first Xavier Doherty and then Michael Beer have been called up by the foolish Australian selectors - it would be like us picking me as a specialist spinner instead of Swanny or maybe even making me captain again - ha ha!

I can now reveal that I should also be given the credit for the rebirth of Chris Tremlett as a world-class bowler after I did all that work with him on my frequent trips to the Rose Bowl, before we both ended up at Surrey. I was also the one that persuaded the selectors to pick Jonathan Trott at the Oval in 2009 and my refusal to bat at three led to Trotty becoming the best batsman since Bradman. You see, I am a batting, coaching and selectorial genius!

I wasalso responsible for the safe evacuation of the Chilean miners, the creation of the coalition government in the United Kingdom and the end of Apartheid in South Africa - even though I was only a small boy at the time, I was Mandela's Chief Advisor.

Next on the agenda is world peace, democracy in North Korea and the renaissance of my good friend Lalit Modi. Now, where did I put those pills...

Where next?

Read all the excerpts from KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

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

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

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

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

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

Likely line-ups

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

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

Look out for…

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

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

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

Previously at Melbourne

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prediction

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

Where next?

Dear Santa...

Read KP's Ashes Diary exclusively at the Reverse Sweep

Dean Headley's 15 minutes of fame

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

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

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Dear Santa...

 
With Christmas only two days away, we’d been wondering what some of cricket’s big names have asked Santa for.

Thanks to a renegade Elf in Santa's inner sanctum, all can now be revealed:

Shane Watson – the man who Carly Simon once wrote a song about has asked for his bedroom to be covered wall to wall and floor to ceiling with mirrors. He has also asked for a year’s supply of Kleenex. No, not for that! But in anticipation of more tears when he next gets out in the nervous nineties

Michael Clarke– a lifelike Lara Bingle rubber doll and a backbone

Jonathan Trott and Doug Bollinger – appointments with Jacques Kallis’ new hair consultant

Ricky Ponting – the hottest curry sauce of all – anything that means he can get amongst the runs again, but on no account does he want any Beer to go with it

Andrew Strauss- an exclusive membership of the club of Middlesex captains that have won an Ashes series down under. To date, Mike Gatting, Mike Brearley and Pelham Warner are the only members

Steve Smith– Being young he wants to learn, so he has asked Santa for  ‘The Marcus North Tutorial of Batting at Six’ and ‘The Idiots Guide to Leg-Spin by Chris Schofield'

Steve Finn– he had wanted clothes, but after being so expensive at the WACA he managed to bag a sponsorship deal with Prada, so the tall paceman now wants the same radar that Mitchell Johnson used in Perth

Matt Prior & Peter Siddle and Ian Botham & Ian Chappell – a pair of boxing gloves each so that they can take their respective war of words into the ring

Michael Hussey– some more kryptonite to ensure that he can reprise his Superman heroics at Melbourne and Sydney

Kamran Akmal  - A new set of wicketkeeper gloves made entirely out of velcro

Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif  - A damn good lawyer

Nathan Hauritz – Having got rid of his Australian kit at a recent garage sale, the discarded spinner now wants a fresh new kit from Santa in time to make a comeback in Sydney

MS Dhoni– some cotton wool in which to wrap up Zaheer Khan prior to every test match and particularly for the upcoming tours of England and Australia

Tim Bresnan and Jesse Ryder - a KFC Bargain Bucket per day for life

Ijaz Butt  - World War III

Harbhajan Singh– a set of Matthew Hayden’s cook books so that he can prepare a meal for his good friends Hayden and Andrew Symonds when he tours Australia later this year

Daniel Vettori - the Prime Ministership of New Zealand - well he does everything else. Either that or to wake up on Christmas Day as an Australian - there seems to be a vacancy for a spinner

Ian Bell – a DVD of the Famous Five, so he can prepare for his promotion up the batting order

Paul Collingwood – a guide to the best retirement homes in the North East of England

Mitchell Johnson – Kevin Pietersen’s phone number

Kevin Pietersen - A romantic dinner for two with Mitch

Where next?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes featuring Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Hauritz amongst others

Historic India-Pakistan peace summit flounders on cricket diplomacy

Read KP's Ashes Diary exclusively at the Reverse Sweep

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The Boundary View: Harris burst speeds England's demise - Perth, Day Four

 
England's Achilles Heel?

So Perth 2010 joins Johannesburg 2010 and Headingley 2009 as stains on the record of the otherwise excellent Strauss-Flower axis at the helm of the England cricket side. Worryingly, all three pitches offered the bowlers pace and bounce, and England’s batsmen succumbed each time. Has England’s Achilles Heel been found? Ricky Ponting thought so before the match and his hopes were emphatically confirmed here. Hardly a surprise then that rumours abound of a late change to the pitch that will be used for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. One thing’s for sure – it won’t be a raging turner.

Happy Birthday

His broken digit may have kept him off the field, but Ponting got the perfect 36^th birthday present as his bowlers mopped up the rest of the English wickets with lightning speed. Ponting said afterwards that he got the XI he wanted here with four quicks, but if he is fit for Melbourne will he and the selectors make the same mistake they did at The Oval last summer – or will Australia’s best spinner Nathan Hauritz (who hit another hundred for New South Wales today) finally get a call? If so and facing what would seem to be a well-balanced and newly confident attack, England may find Australia’s momentum difficult to stop.

Time for a promotion for Bell

He may have only made 16 today, but yet again Ian Bell looked in prime form. Despite the top four all having scored at least one hundred in the series, none of them have looked in better touch than England’s number six. Paul Collingwood on the other hand has a top score of 42 in the series and is in the midst of a poor run. As David Lloyd commented on Sky, it’s not a sign of panic to promote Bell to five and drop Colly to six. Indeed, it is just common sense.

Player of the day

Ryan Harris – He bowled well with little reward or support at Adelaide, but his four wickets today gave him six in the innings and nine in the match. Talk about a late bloomer.

Zero of the day

Matt Prior – There wasn’t much time for a definitive zero as things were over in just a flash, but Prior confirmed the impression from his first innings knock that he is struggling with the bat at the moment. Brad Haddin is winning the battle of the keeper-batsmen hands down so far.

Prospects for Melbourne

It’s all set up nicely at 1-1 with two tests to go. England’s supporters were kidding themselves if they thought this series was going to be a cakewalk – and we’ve been as guilty of that as anyone. Australia now have the momentum, but Ponting and Clarke are still out of touch so this series threatens to go right down to the wire. Our pre-series prediction of 2-2 is suddenly looking good again.

Where next?

Perth: Day 1 - Tremlett's Sinatraesque Comeback

Perth: Day 2 - Johnson's rendition of I Am the Resurrection reduces England to rubble

Perth: Day 3 - Hussey & bowlers put England to the sword

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

Perth Heroes & Zeroes: Adam Gilchrist,  Alex Tudor and Chris Broad

Exclusive: Read KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Where do demoralised Australia go from here?

 
In the end Australia left Adelaide with barely a whimper and long before the arrival of the thunderstorm that must have being praying on English minds overnight. 
 
In truth the only storm that counts is the one that is now engulfing Ricky Ponting and the Australian selectors as they try to find an XI that can compete with England and somehow win two and draw one of the three remaining tests in the series. Otherwise, Ponting is in danger of having his legacy as the best Australian batsman since Bradman besmirched. Instead, he will forever be known as the captain that lost three Ashes series.
 
As an honest Ponting admitted, Australia were “out-batted, out-bowled and out-fielded” by a rampant England team. And as he and the selectors pick through the wreckage, the temptation will be to make wholesale changes to the side that takes the field at the WACA next week.
 
There will be at least one change, with Simon Katich’s achilles problem ruling him out of the rest of the series and given his years will perhaps curtail his test career for good. Phil Hughes is likely to return at the top of the order. Elsewhere, Marcus North’s position at number six will come under scrutiny and then there are the bowlers. Of the four who played in Adelaide, only Ryan Harris comes out with any credit with the other three all in danger of losing their place.
 
Aside form Andrew Strauss’ injudicious leave, Doug Bollinger looked was simply dreadful - he wasn't quick enough, leaked too many runs and his body language was terrible. He certainly lacked the fizz that his name would otherwise imply. As such Mitchell Johnson’s exile may only last for one match.
 
Peter Siddle has experienced the highs and lows of test cricket in just a week - six wickets and a birthday hat-trick on day one of the series and 54 wicketless overs since. Whilst he continued to run in and give it everything, Siddle looked like what he is – a bowler returning from a long-time injury. It is likely to come down to a borderline decision between him and Ben Hilfenhaus – who was inexplicably left out at Adelaide.
 
Both may play if the selectors opt for four seamers – as Xavier Doherty’s brief sojourn in test cricket will surely be put out of its misery. The gamble simply hasn’t worked – hardly surprising given his first-class record. However, having dispensed with Nathan Hauritz before the series, are the Australian selectors prepared to look a bit foolish by going back to him cap in hand now? Or do they turn instead to the rookie Steve Smith, who could take North’s place and provide support to a four-seam attack? If so, Mark Cameron of New South Wales is a good outside bet to join Harris, Johnson, Siddle and Hilfenhaus in the squad.
 
If Hauritz gets the nod and Australia retain the four bowler policy with Shane Watson as back-up seamer, North could survive for his home test. Cameron White - a possible alternative to Clarke as next captain, Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson are all contenders for North's spot if the selectors press the eject button.
 
For what it’s worth our squad would be as follows, with the XI highlighted in bold: Watson, Hughes, Clarke, Hussey, Ponting, White, Haddin, Johnson, Hauritz, Harris, Hilfenhaus, Siddle and Smith. We've been calling for Ponting to drop down the order for a while. It will allow him to compartmentalise the captaincy and give him a better chance of getting back to his imperious best with the bat.

Where next?

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

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

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

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Zeroes: Andrew Hilditch

 
As the pain for their side continues in Adelaide, we're sure that most Australians would concur with us that their Chairman of Selectors Andrew Hilditch has a lot to answer for. 

Whilst his fellow selectors Greg Chappell and David Boon are also complicit, as Chairman the buck should stop with Hilditch for what has to date been a confused and borderline schizophrenic selection policy.

Nathan Hauritz isn't the greatest spinner in the world, but he isn't the worst either and he'd taken a bag of wickets in the home series against Pakistan and West Indies last summer. So the decision to drop him before the series was strange. As Shane Warne rightly observed, by dropping the incumbent, Hilditch and co put themselves in a difficult position should they need to go back to him.

That they selected a replacement with a first-class bowling average touching 50 only compels the error and surprise, surprise Xavier Doherty has looked out of his depth and has failed to take wickets or tie up an end - indeed he has gone at five an over in Adelaide.

Ever since a 17 man squad was named ten days prior to the 1st Test, Australia's selection policy has looked panickyand confused. True, they got the decision to stick with Mike Hussey right, but the continued retention of North plusthe jettisoning of Hilfenhaus and even Johnson after one only Test smacks of England's selection merry-go-round of the 1980s and 90s. Ricky Ponting certainly didn't seem too impressed with the cards Hilditch had handed him when he spoke immediately before Adelaide.

If one looks for a clue as to why Hilditch's decision making has a tendency to go wonky under any sort of pressure, we only need to look at what he did at the crease during his mostly unsuccessful spell as a Test opener.

Hilditch was rather fond of playing the hook - even if he didn't execute the shot very well. So opposition captains - like David Gower in the 1985 Ashes series - set the trap and like a punch-drunk boxer, Hilditch fell for it every time. His idiocy at falling for the same trick each time was exemplified by the fact that fielders could be seen laughing as he Hilditch departed in the all-too familiar fashion. His last test was against New Zealand - yes, you've guessed it he was out both times to hook shots.

So, Mr Hilditch, if you are thinking about dropping anyone for Perth, perhaps you should hook your own name from the office door before even Doherty's and North's. 

Where next?

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Australia pick Kylie and Dame Edna for the Ashes

Check out all our other Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

Follow the Reverse Sweep on Twitter 

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

Ashes 100-1: 1 - Ten tips for the Ashes

 
It's been a real labour of love, but today sees the last post of our 100 day Ashes countdown collaboration with our good friends at World Cricket Watch. 100 posts in 100 days - it's been tough at times but on the whole its been enjoyable.

So with less than one day to go until Messrs Strauss and Ponting toss the coin and proceedings get underway at The Gabba, here are our ten tips for the series:

1. Despite England bowling out Australia for 80 at The Gabba to win the 1st Test, the Channel 9 commentary team are scathing in their criticism of Andrew Strauss' supposed negative captaincy

2. In an effort to cure his dodgy back, Michael Clarke gets back together with Lara Bingle. 

3. After scoring his first hundred for 20 months at Adelaide, KP decides that facial hair brings him good luck and by the time of the Sydney Test, he has a beard that would make Hashim Amla and Mohammad Yousuf proud.

4. Mitchell Johnson's first ball of the series goes straight to third slip and back in the Sky studio in London,  a certain Steve Harmison cannot contain his glee. Meanwhile, Mitchell's Mum - never one to shy away from publicity - does a centrefold spread in Playboy Australia.

5. Leading runscorer in the series? Ian Bell. Leading wicket-taker? Ben Hilfenhaus. Most grumpyplayer? Ricky Ponting. Most boring press conference? Michael Clarke every time.

6. At the Christmas Party proceeding the Melbourne Test, the karaoke choices if the players prove pretty telling. Shane Watson opts for 'Mr Vain', Stuart Broad 'You're So Vain', Ricky Ponting 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now', Jonathan Trott and Michael Clarke duet on 'Being Boring'before Kevin Pietersen rounds off proceedings with 'I Am The One and Only'.

7. Michael Hussey and/or Marcus North will be dropped before the end of the series for Usman Khawaja and/or Callum Ferguson.

8. The Australian selectors announce a collaboration with Simon Cowell called Spin Factor so that the public can pick the long-term successor to Shane Warne. After Doherty plays at The Gabba, Smith gets a turn at Adelaide, O'Keefe at Perth and Hauritz at Melbourne before the public pick the wildcard Bryce McGain in a special New Year's Day programme on Channel 9. McGain plays at Sydney and takes eight wickets.

9. Starved of action on the field, Tim Bresnan's weight balloons to 20 stone by the end of the series. Desperate to lose the pounds before the one dayers, he employs Jesse Ryder's fitness instructor. 

10. And the most important tip of all? We go for England to retain the Ashes in an extremely tight series either by virtue of drawing the series 2-2 or by sneaking a 2-1 or 3-2 win.

Let the action begin.

Where next?

Read all the articles of our Ashes 100 day countdown

10 reasons why Australia / England will win the Ashes

Ashes Squad Player Profiles: Australia and England

All-time Australian Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin Kings

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin King

Ashes 100-1: 6 - Channel 9's Ashes Memorabilia for 2010/11

As we've mentioned before, the cricket comes second to the advertising on Channel 9's cricket commentary. Daniel Gray of World Cricket watch obviously agrees and has taken a stab at what memorabilia the accursed Channel will be flogging this year.

With the sea of voices discussing everything in Australian cricket even remotely Ashes related, there has been one key area where the critics have remained strangely silent. For the good folk at Channel 9, the action on the field may be important, but as anyone who’s watched a Test or two in their life will know, the network sees the matches primarily as a great opportunity to sell overpriced cricket memorabilia.

With the golden age of Australian cricket now behind us, and few momentous accomplishments among the current line-up, I am a bit concerned that Tony and co will have to plumb the depths in order to provide limited edition prints and prop up the network revenue stream for another summer. With that in mind, I have put together a list of quality items for the commentary team to flog this summer.

Ricky's Steak

Before Punter was appointed to the highest office in the country, he was another rough and tumble lad out on the tiles when he wasn’t among the runs. In January 1999, our fearless leader chased the wrong bird and ended up on the tiles, literally. Fronting the media with a black eye the next day was the low point in Ricky’s career at that time, which has of course been surpassed by the 2005 and 2009 Ashes losses to England.

To commemorate the first of many failures in Ricky’s career, Channel Nine is offering 50 lucky viewers a piece of history. The original porterhouse used by Ricky to ice his shiner has been carved up, with each chunk individually numbered and signed by Australia’s captain. This meaty piece of history won’t last long, and at just $750 per chunk it’s sure to sell out fast.

Pup's Chesty

The only thing the public love more than the Australian captain is the vice captain. Right? So opinion polls may show Pup is on the nose, but for one lucky viewer (probably female) we have the chesty Bonds singlet worn by Pup on his return flight from New Zealand earlier this year when he left the tour briefly to deal with some excess baggage.

With original fake tan marks and no damage to the fabric from body hair, this is a collector’s item that will frame the wall in your pool room for years to come. This once in a lifetime item comes in a hot pink frame personally signed by the VC himself. At just $2593 plus postage this is sure to snapped up quickly, so call now.

Mitch's hankies

With the 2010/11 Ashes just days away, what better way to celebrate the spirit of this great series than to commemorate our 2009 loss by purchasing Mitch’s tear stained hankies. Used frequently throughout that memorable series, these hankies are double stitched, softer than silk and wider than necessary, just the way Mitch likes it.

Buy today while Mitch is still in the national team, and celebrate the brief career of our champion fast bowler. Just $450 plus postage, with a payment plan available for those lower income earners out there.

Little Nathan's photo collection

While the English may have a clear advantage in the spin department, the Aussie incumbent has a collection of compromising photographs of the Australian selectors to put Graeme Swann to shame. For the first time, Channel Nine is proud to present gold-framed shots from this rare collection, each personally chosen by Nathan Hauritz himself. No detail has been spared, with a plaque attached to each frame listing which Test match Nathan held his place for after bribing the selector in the shot, and Nathan’s bowling figures in that match.

The first five callers will also receive a copy of the new DVD, ‘From Rags to Rags’, in which Nathan outlines his rise from mediocrity at state level to mediocrity at international level. A great gift for Dad this Christmas! Price varies depends on cricket ability. If you are a future star, pricing starts at $2000 per photo. For members of the general public, the whole collection can be yours for just $9732, with express courier delivery included in the price. You will also receive a personal phone call from Andrew Hilditch, and a place in the next extended Australian Test squad announced later this summer.

So as you can see, despite the cloud currently hanging over our national side, the good folks at Channel Nine will be offering quality merchandise to the general public this summer. Call now to avoid disappointment!

Where next?

Zeroes: Bill Lawry

10 things about the Ashes NOT to look forward to

After Zulqarnain's bunk, we predict the next 11 crazy moments in Pakistan cricket

Ashes 100-1: 17 - Could Xavier Doherty force me to eat my Wisden collection?

 
Today in our Ashes countdown, David Siddall of World Cricket Watch takes me to task on my withering assessment last week on Xavier Doherty's chances of playing in the upcoming Ashes series. With the paucity of spin options on offer to Ricky Ponting, I am prepared to concede that Mr Siddall may have a point and that I may be eating humble pie (or to be more accurate Wisden Pie) at some point over the next few weeks.

A few days back David Green delivered the verdict on the Australian squad (visit his Ashes 2010 Australian Squad Profiles). One notable profile was that of Xavier Doherty.

“Xavier Doherty – A first-class average of 50 with the ball suggests his mention in dispatches is perhaps a ploy to wind up that habitual victim of slow-left armers – Kevin Pietersen. If he plays in the series, we will eat our collection of Wisdens.”

Not one to mince his words, The Reverse Sweep, would eat his collection of Wisdens if he plays. As he rightly points out a first class average of 50 does not hold up to much and the figures don’t lie. But what Mr. Green does ignore is the fragility of the spin selection for the Australian starting lineup.

If we learned anything from the two tests in India, it was that Ricky Ponting has no faith in Nathan Hauritz. When the going got tough in Mohali and India, courtesy of VVS Laxman, chased down the most unlikely of targets it wasn’t Hauritz who Ponting turned to. He seemingly had more faith in the part time off spin of Marcus North. Faith that evidently wasn’t rewarded.

Amongst the World Cricket Watch team present at the MCG last Wednesday night, witnessing the wonderful “little” Sri Lankans beat Australia, there was a consensus that the Australian spin position is the spot that is the most up-for-grabs of them all. A sentiment exists that if any spinner does something spectacular in the Sheffield Shield, then they have every chance of featuring during the upcoming Ashes series. And that is exactly what Xavier Doherty did by claiming 5-83 in the first innings of Tasmania’s match against Victoria. Then having been called up to the Australian one day side he produced a bowling masterclass taking 4-46. And at one point had figures of 3 for 3.

A berth in the first test squad announced later tonight is extremely unlikely granted. But if Xavier produces the goods in one more Sheffield Shield game who’s to say whether he might not feature later in the series with the Reverse Sweep being forced to devour his cherished Wisdens.

Where next?

Is Australia's spin cupboard bare?

Zeroes: Michael Hussey

Let's play the Australian cricket captain lottery

KP's Ashes Diary: 4th November - Doug Boddingtons

 
After a couple of days break – well you know how much time KP spends in the nets, here is the latest instalment in Kevin Pietersen’s Ashes diary, which is being brought to you exclusively this winter on The Reverse Sweep.

On Doug Bollinger

I’d never heard of this Doug Boddingtons character until a few days ago. Apparently he’s heard of me though. Last time he was going on about Nathan Hauritz’s new mystery ball getting me out – apparently it is called an ego or something. Now he has said that he’d like to "have Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in his pocket." What? It sounds like some strange English Public School ritual – I’ll have to ask Straussy what this fool is going on about. I hope it isn’t as painful as the toastrack.

On Glenn McGrath

I bumped into Glenn McGrath the other day. He didn’t fall for the cricket ball under the shoe trick that I pulled at Edgbaston in 2005 – shit, don’t print that! Swanny and I gave him a bit of a ribbing about Australia’s serial losing habit and asked him what his prediction for the series was. It was 5-0, of course. He may be right too, if Australia continue to play like they are.

On Sri Lanka’s amazing win at Melbourne

It looks like I was right to be worried about this Xavier Doherty dude - oh man, another slow left armer to haunt my dreams and wreck my average. I left the ground after his fourth wicket to go and have a lie down. Do you know the result?

Where next?

Read all the excerpts from KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

Separated at birth: Doug Bollinger and CBeebies Justin Fletcher

Separated at birth: Alastair Cook and Kaka

Please note that Kevin Pietersen may or may not have said or written the things this article said he did. Just in case

Ashes 100-1: 21 - Australia Ashes Squad Profiles

 
Yesterday we profiled the sixteen hungry men tasked with retaining the Ashes for England on Australian soil. Today, we look at their hosts who will be aiming to win their sixth successive home Ashes series:

Ricky Ponting – A fading force with the bat and a captain on the verge of becoming the first Australian skipper to lose three Ashes series. The next two months are likely to embellish or potentially curtail a fine career.

Michael Clarke – Was arguably the best batsman on either side in the 2009 series, but has looked out of sorts since his much publicised split with Lara Bingle. His press conferences are an unbeatable cure for insomniacs.

Shane Watson– Has proved an unlikely success as an opener - and as such is after Ponting, Australia’s key batsman - but is a walking LBW early on. Innocuous medium pace is more dangerous than it looks – just ask Pakistan’s batsmen.

Simon Katich – As difficult to dislodge as the most plucky of barnacles - until he reaches 80 or 90 that is. Not the prettiest to watch at the crease, which even the man himself acknowledged recently when he said that "I think more people get enjoyment out of watching me bowl than bat".

Michael Hussey – Only averages 34 in his last 28 tests and may be lucky to survive the series especially as Kamran Akmal will not be behind the stumps.

Marcus North – Just when you thought he was out for the count, North sprung back off the canvas (and not for the first time either) with a career saving hundred at Bangalore. That revival does not hide the fact though that North is another unlikely to last the series if Australia make a poor start.

Callum Ferguson – Has a “big chance” of making his test bow at Brisbane according to Tim Nielsen. But a first-class average in the mid-thirties will not have England quaking in their size nines.

Usman Khawaja – Immensely talented New South Wales batsman with a first-class average of 54 who could become the first Muslim to play cricket for Australia.

Phil Hughes – Tagged as the “new Bradman” when he exploded onto the test scene against South Africa in 2009 before being rapidly dispensed with. A first-class average of 60 suggests Hughes is better than his brief appearance in the 2009 series suggested.

Cameron White – Test career has been harmed by the fact that White is a blond Victorian who bowls a bit of leg-spin. An Australian middle-order with White at five would look a much tougher proposition for Strauss and co.

Brad Haddin – An exceptionally good number seven – albeit with a propensity for being over-reckless at times. Not so good with the gloves and his place must be under pressure from the impressive Paine.

Tim Paine – Impressed with bat and gloves in India and is clearly the long-term bet to cement a place in the test side. Will probably be Haddin’s understudy this time, however.

Nathan Hauritz – The nation that brought us Warne, O’Reilly and Grimmett now gives us the impotent Hauritz. In a contest between two evenly matched sides, the disparity between him and Swann could prove crucial in the final reckoning.

Steve Smith – If Australia choose to be adventurous, the young leggie could bat at seven ahead of four pacemen. But they won’t and Smith will start the series on the sidelines. A promising batsman, but significant work would appear to be needed on his bowling.

Xavier Doherty – A first-class average of 50 with the ball suggests his mention in dispatches is perhaps a ploy to wind up that habitual victim of slow-left armers – Kevin Pietersen. If he plays in the series, despite his impressive ODI bow yesterday, we will eat our collection of Wisdens.

Mitchell Johnson – His waywardness may make Harmison look metronomic in comparison, but he has an uncanny ability to take wickets with bad balls and is a different proposition on home pitches. England will underestimate Mummy’s Boy at their peril.

Ben Hilfenhaus – The best bowler on show on either side in the 2009 series is to some extent unproven on Australian wickets at the highest level having only played one of his 13 tests at home. That said, is a good bet to be the leading wicket taker in the series.

Doug Bollinger – The children’s TV lookalike (see Doug Bollinger's moonlighting again) is not as brave as Australian quicks of previous vintageif his absence from the final stages of the Mohali Test is anything to go by. Will test Strauss’ perceived weakness against left-arm new ball bowlers.

Peter Siddle – The man with the white lipstick is a solid if unspectacular performer and his recent injury problems mean he is likely to start the series on the sidelines.

Ryan Harris – A rag to riches tale has seen the late-blooming Harris emerge as an international bowler in the last 12 months. Another with recent injury worries.

Peter George – Innocuous on debut at Bangalore, but his height and natural bounce will be clearly more suited to home wickets should injuries give him an opportunity.

Tim Nielsen (Coach): The man who drew the short straw when taking over from Buchanan. His task of returning his charges to former glories looks a tougher one each day.

Where next?

Check out our full Ashes 100-1 countdown

England fly down under with hopes high

What can England learn from Australia's Indian woes?

 

KP's Ashes Diary: 31st October - My Ego and Xavier Doherty

 
The Reverse Sweep will be exclusively posting Kevin Pietersen's Ashes diary throughout the winter. Today a jetlagged KP gives us his thoughts on Doug Bollinger's comments about his ego getting him out...

On Perth

Just a quick diary entry today as I am absolutely whacked after that plane journey and we're starting training straight away - you know how long I like spending in the nets. Two observations on Perth. First, it's a long way from Chelsea and secondly there seem to be a lot of Saffers here. I could soon feel quite at home.

On Doug Bollinger and My Ego

I hear that Aussie bowler with the lager surname who looks like that camp bloke off CBeebies has said that he reckons my ego will get him my wicket during the Ashes. Gee, he's pretty dumb even for an Australian. Everyone knows that it is slow left armers that get me out. What's an ego anyway - is it Hauritz's new mystery ball?

On Xavier Doherty

Talking about slow left armers - gee, I hate those tricky buggers - I'm pretty worried about this Xavier Doherty dude that the Aussies have called up. Apparently, he has a first-class average of 50, which given the other slow left armers that have got me out suggests I could be in trouble. Shit, I can feel another crisis in confidence approaching...

Where next?

Read all the excerpts from KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

Zeroes: John Buchanan

Doug Bollinger as you've never seen him before

Eight reasons to love Kevin Pietersen

Please note that Kevin Pietersen may or may not have said or written the things this article said he did. Just in case