The Reverse Sweep

Ravi Bopara's big opportunity

At first glance, Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara wouldn’t appear to have much in common as cricketers.

The first extracted the absolute maximum out of his abilities to have a long and successful international career, whilst the latter has yet to justify his obvious talent consistently on the biggest stage. Collingwood is one of the mentally toughest cricketers to have played for England whereas Bopara has a reputation for being a bit flaky and prone to serious lapses in form, confidence and concentration.

But Bopara was the man Andy Flower initially earmarked as Collingwood’s replacement in the Test side before Eoin Morgan stole the prize from the Essex man at the death prior to the home series with Sri Lanka last summer.

Since then Bopara had suffered misfortune after misfortune as first Samit Patel and then Jonathan Bairstow were handed opportunities to cement a role in England’s troublesome number six position.

But finally Bopara has got his turn again, and after an inauspicious duck in the 1^st innings at The Oval now has the chance to prove he is a worthy successor to Collingwood. The Ginger Ninja cemented his reputation as the iron-willed Brigadier Block with starring roles in the nine-wicket down rearguards at Cardiff, Centurion and Cape Town.

As Geoffrey Boycott forcibly stated on TMS yesterday evening, the mindset required to save a Test is markedly different to coming in and playing a few strokes. Does Bopara have the aptitude, concentration and sheer bloody-mindedness to tough it out on a day five pitch against a formidable attack spearheaded by the irrepressible Dale Steyn?

We are about to find out. If Bopara leads England to an unlikely escape, it could be the making of him.

Where next?

Cricket heroes: Paul Collingwood

Is Ravi Bopara the unluckiest cricketer in the world?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

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We Need To Talk About Durham - we really do

We were reminded last weekend by an amused Lancashire supporting friend that we predicted Durham would be County Champions prior to the start of the season.

Given that his tottering champions had just registered the first victory of their faltering campaign at Chester-le-Street of all places to leave my tip languishing at the bottom of Division 1 he was particularly sarcastic and downright irritating in his sanctimonious baiting.

But we grudgingly did concede that he had a point. Our prediction was up there with Neville Chamberlain's on his return from Berlin in 1938 when he confidently declared 'peace in our time' after supposedly securing guarantees from Adolf Hitler that he had no intention of invading any other territories in Eastern Europe.

So, the trials and tribulations of Durham's puzzlingly disastrous start to the season seemed as good a topic as any for our latest piece for All Out Cricket's sparklingly good website.

Of course since then Durham have had the better of a tight clash with the previously indestructible Warwickshire and given good weather and a strong final day could finally register their first win of the season. Durham's position has been created by two typically battling innings by Paul Collingwood - a player whose struggles we highlighted in our piece and a five wicket haul from Chris Rushworth - a bowler we failed to mention.

Irrespectively, we still believe that We Need To Talk About Durham.

Where next? 

The Plan by Steve James | Book review

Cricket heroes: Paul Collingwood

County Championship XI of the week

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It's not jealously KP, it's pure and simple indifference

"Engage brain before mouth" is a simple idiom, but one that time and time again Kevin Pietersen absolutely fails to comprehend, which in combination with his breathtaking and unorthodox strokeplay makes him compulsory viewing both on and off the field of play.

Pietersen's latest foot-in-mouth moment came when he suggested that negative attitudes in England towards the IPL can in the main be put down to "jealously".

Not for the first time, we believe that KP has got it completely and utterly wrong. We can only speak as one English cricket following enclave, but our feelings towards the IPL border on indifference rather than envy or anything more sinister, and we believe that the same is true for most.

First and foremost for all the glitz, glamour and money that is part and parcel of the IPL, it is after all to everyone bar one billion Indians (a not insignificant number, we grant) a foreign domestic league. As such, we care as little for the IPL as we do the Sheffield Shield or indeed Zimbabwe's domestic competitions.

Secondly, it's Twenty 20 cricket, a form of the game that leaves us cold. It has a place to widen the appeal of cricket beyond its traditional geographic, social and demographic groups and it undeniably has helped bolster the coffers of clubs and cricket boards everywhere, but to our tastes at least it is little more than two pumps and a squirt compared to the delights of four or five day cricket.

Finally and perhaps most relevantly, for the last two years, the IPL has started in exactly the same week as the first round of the County Championship - a competition dripping in tradition and history and which still holds a special place for the majority of English cricket followers. For most, a choice between the hit and giggle of a foreign Twenty 20 cricket league and the unique institution that is the domestic County Championship is a straightforward one.

If it wasn't for the fact that the money on offer to players for participating in the IPL was enticing the likes of Owais Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Luke Wright and England players such as Pietersen himself away from County Cricket, the IPL would be a complete irrelevance for most English cricket fans.

We did try the IPL once in 2010, but crucially in that year it started one month before the County season and immediately preceded the World T20 in the Caribbean. This meant that seeing how the likes of Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara got on with their respective IPL sides was of a modicum of interest. As soon as the County season started, our interest waned.

KP seems to love attention, celebrity and glamour, so is likely to be drawn to the sometimes crass and over the top spectacle of the IPL. Perhaps he has forgotten that it was County Cricket that first gave him the platform to exhibit the innate and untamed talent that ultimately led to an international career with England where he has delighted and astounded in equal degree.

He has worked tremendously hard to achieve all he has, but without the opportunity afforded him by Nottinghamshire, would he still be a spinner who bats a bit struggling for a game in South African domestic cricket? Only the Gods of cricket know the answer to that.

From what we've read, heard or seen there isn't much jealously out there towards the IPL. A touch of anger maybe for the loss of an important player to one's county (or country in the case of the West Indies), even some good old fashioned English snobbery towards the nouveau riche, but for the most part it is pure indifference. It's just another cricket competition being played in the world at the same time as the revered County Championship, nothing more, nothing less.

Where next?

Kevin Pietersen's 2010/11 Ashes Diary

Wayne Rooney, County Cricket, the IPL, Luke Wright and loyalty

It's time to end the farce of Two-Test series - Johnny Rotten agrees

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including David Gower, Shane Watson, Justin Langer and Hedley Verity

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Wayne Rooney, County Cricket, the IPL, Luke Wright and loyalty

We've managed to get all of the above-titled motely crew into our latest piece for All Out Cricket. It's essentially a piece about loyalty, or the lack of loyalty and how the preference for mammon over honour and loyalty is becoming increasingly prevalent in cricket.

It's not as profound as we've just described but it is timely as Sussex kick off the county season shorn of their top all-rounder in Luke Wright, who is instead enjoying the balmy conditions in India, a wad of cash for his contract with Pune Warriors and the attractions of IPL Nights and assorted Bollywood actresses, not that we're jealous you'll understand.

Anyway have a read of Is Home No Longer Where The Heart Is? and see what you think...

PS: Since we wrote the article we've discovered that Paul Collingwood isn't in India with Rajasthan Royals after all, but is effectively on stand-by in the event that they need him, but the sentiment of the point we are trying to make still holds.

Where next?

County Championship preview: Our XI to watch in 2012

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

Division 2 previews: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship 2012 Preview: Division 1 - Durham

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

Strengths

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

Weaknesses

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

Main man

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

Look out for

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

Prediction

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

Where next?

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

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

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

County Championship 2011 Preview  - Durham 

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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A case of déjà vu in the desert for England, but mon Dieu for Kevin Pietersen

A second consecutive ton for the skipper, two fifties in a row for the erstwhile drinks waiter as well as successive four-fors for his assistant and expert ice bucket carrier.

Pakistan may have scored more runs this time but one couldn't help having a distinct feeling of déjà vu about the second one day international in Abu Dhabi.

Despite being green-washed in the Test series, England can not now lose a one day series that is strangely comprised of four matches. I suppose we should thank our lucky stars it isn't seven.

England's recovery perhaps shouldn't come as a surprise as the last four times they have lost a preceding Test series they have bounced back to triumph in the one day series that followed. And they used to say that Pakistan were mercurial and unpredictable.

For the statisticians amongst you, England won 3-2 in the Caribbean in 2009 having lost the Test series 1-0. This followed on from 4-0 and 4-3 successes at home against South Africa and India in 2008 and 2007 respectively.

They also won the CB Series in Australia after being whitewashed in the Ashes series that never was in 2007. That was also the last time an England batsman (Paul Collingwood) struck two successive one day tons.

In other news, we identified that Kevin Pietersen's last one day ton in Cuttack in November 2008 came two weeks BEFORE Graeme Swann's Test debut - more a case of mon Dieu or sacré bleu than déjà vu.

Where next?

Alastair Cook takes a cue from Strauss as his ODI alma mater

Farewell to Paul Collingwood - England's Working Class Hero

Kevin Pietersen opening the batting in ODI is STILL a good idea

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

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England's tale of woe against spin in Asia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where next?

Misbah-ul-Haq second only to Bradman

How good are this England cricket team?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

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The secret of Paul Collingwood's success

 
Paul Collingwood is one tough cookie and his thirst for the battle was perhaps best exemplified by the starring role he played in the three great escapes at Cardiff in 2009, Centurion the same year and Cape Town at the start of 2010.

Collingwood’s refusal to lie down and accept defeat provided the shining example for other unlikely batting heroes like Graham Onions, Monty Panesar and James Anderson to draw inspiration from.

The Ginger Ninja’s appetite for a fight shines through in a frank and revealing interview with Spin Cricket where he speaks of his immense disappointment at losing the T20 captaincy and his target of a recall to the England limited overs squads.

Most 35 year olds who had just been dropped from a side rebuilding for a World Cup in four years time would bow down to the inevitable and admit defeat.

But not Collingwood who like Henry V at Agincourt just sees this as yet another overwhelming battle against the odds that he will win.

Cry God for Colly, England and St George – England’s ultimate cricket warrior is up for the fight again.

Where next?

Farewell to Paul Collingwood - England's Working Class Hero

Heroes: Paul Collingwood

Dirk Kuyt & Paul Collingwood - Separated at birth

Paul Collingwood talks like an Australian

Duckworth vs Collingwood

Should Alastair Cook be England's new ODI captain?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship XI of the week #12

 
The ECB seem to have played pin the tail on the donkey with the fixture list, so inexplicable was the sudden reappearance of the County Championship this week. Nevertheless, we are duty bound to select our XI of the week, so here goes:

Ian Westwood (Warwickshire) – With not even a 50 to his name in 2011, it didn’t need director of cricket Ashley Giles to warn that his former captain’s season had reached a “crossroads”. So by featuring in a 202 opening stand and going on to score his first Championship ton since 2009, Westwood will have hoped to have turned a very important corner.

Stephen Moore (Lancashire) – His first hundred since July 2009 and his maiden one for Lancashire couldn’t have come at a more critical time as his unbeaten 124 steered his side to a tricky victory target of 240 at Trent Bridge.

Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire) – Victories at New Road have proved to be like London buses for the home side and it was Solanki who set up their nine wicket win and second successive home triumph (and only their second in Division 1 since 2004) with a sparkling 173 against basement side Hampshire.

Paul Collingwood (Durham) – Whilst his omission from the England ODI and T20 squads confirmed the end of the international career of England’s working class hero, it was typical of the man to hit a defiant hundred in his first Championship outing of the season. Colly took a couple of wickets too for good measure.

Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire) – In the battle of the captains for the last batting slot in our XI, it is Andrew Gale who has to give way despite his unbeaten 101 steering Yorkshire to safety at the Riverside. Gidman followed up his 1st innings 43 with an unbeaten 76 to lead his side to their target of 161 at The Oval having slipped to a precarious 54/5.

Shakib Al Hasan (Worcestershire) – One of the driving forces behind Worcestershire’s promotion last season came back for a one-off Championship guest appearance. And what a cameo it was, with seven wickets and a quickfire 54 to help lift his side out of the relegation places.

Phil Mustard (Durham) – Made the most of a charmed innings against Yorkshire to crash 70 off just 67 balls to hand Durham the initiative. Now has 436 Championship runs in 2011 at an average of 109 and a strike rate just a touch under 80 as his side lead the way in Division 1.

David Lucas (Northamptonshire) – A stunning match for the left-arm seamer at Grace Road saw him follow up a haul of 4/55 with a career best 60 as nightwatchman, before taking 5/20 as Leicestershire were skittled second time around for 48.

Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire) – A feature of Lancashire’s season is the collective effort of the squad. Even the sometime malfunctioning and misfiring Mahmood stepped up at Trent Bridge with match figures of 10/186 – albeit at over five runs an over - and a handy knock of 46 to help defeat the reigning champs.

Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire) – Alan Richardson and Tim Murtagh may have bagged nine wicket hauls, but it is Rankin who gets into our XI for being acknowledged as the catalyst behind his side’s triumph over Somerset. Rankin’s pace, hostility, bounce and movement hauled his opponents back on a pristine batting wicket with his burst of three wickets for four runs being the decisive act of the game. "Rankin just blew us away," Marcus Trescothick admitted afterwards.

Ian Saxelby (Gloucestershire) – The 22 year old grabbed career best figures of 6/69 and the first ten wicket match haul of his career as Gloucestershire surprised Surrey sans walk-on girls at The Oval.

Where next?

Read all our County Cricket coverage

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

Strauss’s Somerset stint is a sad indictment of county cricket

Gideon Haigh eulogises Test cricket and compares it to The Pixies

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

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

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England are the new Australia

 

As England fans we remember too well at the Reverse Sweep how often the dominant Australian side would snatch Test match victory from the jaws of defeat.

We lost count of the number of times that when they had slipped to three or four down for not very many, Steve Waugh or Adam Gilchrist would put their side back into the ascendency by grinding or blasting a hundred respectively. McGrath, Warne and co would then do the rest.

Happily, England have now developed similar good habits.

At first under the Flower-Strauss axis, England learned how to save Test matches from seemingly impossible situations. The trio of glorious nine-wicket down draws at Cardiff 2009, Centurion 2009 and Newlands 2010 provide ample enough evidence of that.

Now when England have to save a Test they do it with a bit more panache. And you don’t do that more emphatically than England did at Brisbane last November. 517/1 indeed.

England have now moved to the next level. At Trent Bridge and Lord’s last summer, England were in real trouble against Pakistan’s excellent bowling attack.

But they recovered in style. At Trent Bridge, it was Morgan and Collingwood in the 1st innings, and Prior in the 2nd. Whilst at Lord’s, it was that massive stand between Trott and Broad that took the Test and a drawn series away from Pakistan.

Yesterday’s first day at Lord’s provided another example of England’s resolve. First Cook and Bell played the Waugh part  to repair from a precarious 22/3, before Morgan and Prior assumed the Gilchrist role and blasted England into the ascendency by the close of play. England’s bowlers will probably do the rest over the coming days.

A sign of an excellent cricket side is the ability to turn games around in a blink of an eye. England can do that now. As can India – the final Test of the tour to Sri Lanka last summer being just one example – so the forthcoming Test series promises to be a real clash of the titans.

Where next?

Jack Hobbs by Leo McKinstry | Book review

1st Test, Cardiff: England marks out of 10

County Championship XI of the week #9

2nd Test Preview: Lord's - Imperious England target series win

Cricket Heroes: Jack Hobbs

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

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1st Test: Cardiff - Preview: England reach for the feel good hit of summer

 
The first Test of the English summer has always been an historic event and this year is no different as England embark on their first Test action since that wonderful Ashes triumph down under.

We’ve already written why Sri Lanka should not be underestimated, but talk of England's quest to become the number one Test side in the world shows no sign of abating.

Even Sri Lankan coach Stuart Law has been at it saying that over the last eighteen months “I believe England are the best team in Test cricket”. Whether he truly means that or if it is simply a case of Law getting his excuses in early awaits to be seen.

Certainly, we will know a lot more about how close England are to achieving their goal by the end of the summer given that current top ranked side India visit English shores for a four test series after Sri Lanka have departed.

India are yet to lose a series in eleven under the leadership of MS Dhoni, but England also have a long unbeaten run stretching back to the Caribbean in 2009 where the first series of the Strauss-Flower axis was lost. Since then the pair have overseen home and away wins over Australia and Bangladesh, as well as home victories over Pakistan and West Indies and a creditable drawn series in South Africa.

But India can wait for now as the series with Sri Lanka promises to be a tasty and intriguing hors d’oeuvre.

Likely line-ups

Now that the Morgan vs Bopara contest has been settled in favour of England’s adopted Irishman, the only question mark over England’s final XI is between Chris Tremlett and Steve Finn. In our view, it is the Surrey giant who should get the nod to build on his pivotal role in the last three Ashes Tests.

Things are not so clear with the Sri Lankan line-up. Nuwan Pradeep has gone home with injury and there is a doubt over Dilhara Fernando. Farveez Maharoof, who has been called into the squad from Lancashire will probably play.

Look out for…

As usual a lot of the focus in the build-up to the Test has been on Kevin Pietersen, with some in the media suggesting that he could be dropped for India if he fails to shine. Pietersen has said that he has got the bug back, so the RS expects him to build on a successful Ashes series where he averaged over 60 and hit that magnificent double hundred at Adelaide.

It will be interesting to see how Tillakaratne Dilshan fares as Sri Lanka’s new captain. He has made a good start with two wins and a hundred in each of the warm-up games. He has the experience of former captains Sangakkara and Jayawardene to call upon should he need it, but even so it will be a real test to see how he works with what is an inexperienced and largely unproven bowling attack.

Previously at Cardiff

This is only the second Test to be held at Sophia Gardens, and this Test will have to go a long way to match the finish of the inaugural Test in 2009 where Paul Collingwood, Monty Panesar and James Anderson memorably led England’s Great Escape against Australia.

Sri Lanka’s record in England is two wins, three draws and four defeats from nine matches, with both wins (The Oval 1998 and Trent Bridge 2006) being engineered by Muralitharan. How they fare without their spin genius, is just one of the many posers of what promises to be a fascinating series.

Stat attack

Kumar Sangakkara is criminally underrated despite a Test average of over 57. His stats are even more impressive when he doesn’t have the added burden of keeping wicket - a Bradmanesque 76.52 from 46 Tests sans gloves.

Since being rested from the tour of Bangladesh in early 2010, James Anderson has taken 56 wickets at 20.78 in 11 Tests. With a strong battery of quicks to call upon, expect rest and rotation to become a feature of England’s selection over the summer.

Prediction

Earlier this week, we had a hunch that this could be Sri Lanka’s match, but with the pitch likely to favour the batsmen and rain forecast throughout the game, the draw seems the most likely result.

Where next?

Seven reasons why England should not underestimate Sri Lanka

Read all the excerpts of KP's Summer of Cricket Diary

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

Eoin Morgan has got "it"

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Eoin Morgan has got "it"

 

We're pretty sure that Roy Orbison didn't have England's adopted Irishman in mind when he penned "You've Got It", but Eoin Morgan definitely has "it".

Despite reportedly falling behind Ravi Bopara in the running to be the replacement for Paul Collingwood in England's Test XI, and having not played a first-class match in 2011 thanks to him prioritising the IPL, Morgan would have given the selectors a timely reminder of his qualities at Derby yesterday.

Whilst Bopara fell for just 17, Morgan racked up a big ton and will be intent on reaching 200 as the Lions resume their innings this morning.

Will Morgan's big hundred have done anything to have changed Andy Flower's mind? Probably not, but Morgan has once again showed that he has the appetite for the big stage and the perfect temperament required to be successful in international cricket - two of the biggest concerns with regards to Bopara.

A borderline decision made even tougher for the selectors and don't count out James Taylor either. He drew the short straw in being asked to open and then compiled a useful 76. As we've said before, the diminuitive Taylor will play 100 Tests - remember where you read it first!

Where next?

Who should get the vote to be England's new number six batsman?

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

So, Eoin Morgan is a test batsman after all

Lionel Messi & Eoin Morgan - Masters at Work

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Who should get the vote to be England's new number six batsman?

 
It’s just over a week until Test cricket resumes for England’s Ashes heroes with the 1st Test at Cardiff against Sri Lanka. With Paul Collingwood having retired from the long form of the game, at least one place in the XI is up for grabs.

Most of the likely contenders face what is shaping up to be a final audition in the Lions match against the tourists, which starts on Thursday at Derby.  

Here’s how the RS sees the runners and riders:

Eoin Morgan – next cab off the rank, long-term favourite

When Collingwood announced his Test retirement during the SCG Test, it was widely assumed that Morgan was first in line to replace him. The Irishman had filled in for Collingwood and then Ian Bell in six Tests against Bangladesh and Pakistan last summer and scored an impressive maiden Test hundred against the latter at Trent Bridge (even if he struggled in the three subsequent Tests). But whilst Morgan has been struggling for Kolkata in the IPL, his challengers have been coming up fast on the rails, meaning his outing this week for the Lions will be crucial to his chances.

Verdict – expect this early front-runner to be pipped at the post

Ravi Bopara – the show pony with more than one trick

Other than Morgan, is the only contender to have played at the highest level. Three hundreds in successive tests against the West Indies in 2009 had suggested a long and fruitful Test career, before the Ashes series that followed showed up Bopara’s shortcomings as a Test number three. After turning down the IPL dollars in favour of trying to impress in the County Championship, Bopara has scored a hundred in each of his last two games. He also has 119 overs of brisk medium pace under his belt giving Bopara a potential deciding second string to his bow.

Verdict – is neck and neck with the favourite coming up to the last and looks to be a fast finisher

James Hildreth – Chief Lion

The man once described by his former county captain Justin Langer as “an extraordinary talent” delivered in a big way last summer with 1440 Championship runs and seven centuries. He continued to impress over the winter for the Lions and took over the captaincy from Andrew Gale. Unfortunately, looks to have picked an inopportune time to have a dip in form - eight championship innings this summer have yielded only 195 runs.  

Verdict – Had been really challenging but is now fading fast

James Taylor – the long term prospect

The diminutive 21 year old Leicestershire batsman may prove to be the strongest contender of all in the long-run, but is likely to have to bide his time on this occasion. Has a sound technique, as well as real guts and heart too if his recent battling display against a fiery Surrey attack on a lively Oval pitch is anything to go by.

Verdict – a thoroughbred in the making, but will not make the winner’s enclosure this time  

Samit Patel – the top weight

A late entrant into the race after struggling with fitness issues over the winter, Patel has started the season well with 365 runs at 46 and 13 wickets at 32. Outbowled Graeme Swann at Hove last week and most importantly seems to have taken heed of what was probably his final warning from the England hierarchy. A strong showing for the Lions this week - on and off the pitch - could bode well for a recall to ODI colours at least.

Verdict – may lack the staying power required for the longer races

Ben Stokes – the rank outsider

Still a teenager (just), Stokes has continued to impress for Durham and already has two Championship hundreds to his name this season and averages 48. Like Bopara, he bowls brisk medium pace and took six for 68 in the first game of the season against Hampshire. But he is yet to add to that tally and has proved expensive at times. At the moment, Stokes is a batsman that bowls rather than a genuine all-rounder and like Patel, is probably a better bet for the ODI squad.

Verdict – don’t put your money on this long shot - especially as he is the only contender not in the Lions squad

Of course, England may decide not to go with six batsmen against what on paper at least looks an inexperienced and weak Sri Lankan bowling attack. In which case, Matt Prior would bat at six. But with India coming up afterwards, the selectors will probably want to bed in the new man, so it will be a huge surprise if one of our six contenders does not start in Cardiff.

Whilst we expect that man to be Bopara, the Reverse Sweep would actually opt for Taylor despite the former's usefulness as a fifth bowler. The RS has been impressed by Taylor every time we've seen him and in our view he will probably play 100 Tests.

Where next?

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

Farewell to Paul Collingwood - England's Working Class Hero

County Championship XI of the week #6

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

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

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

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

We’ve had a go at naming our XI:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week #5

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

An England under-23 XI - the future looks bright

2010 County XI of the season

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County Championship XI of the week #4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week #3

County Championship XI of the week #2

County Championship XI of the week #1

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

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

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

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The IPL? No thanks...

 
We haven’t really paid any attention to the IPL this season at The Reverse Sweep.

After a six week tournament of coloured clothing, blanket advertising and Mr Cliche himself Ravi Shastri, the last thing we wanted was more of the same.

And to tell the truth, we don’t care much for the Twenty 20 format of the game – two pumps and a squirt and it’s all over.

So watching a bunch of mercenaries play a bewildering number of matches for teams franchises we frankly couldn’t give a damn for is not high on our to do list.

We did take a passing interest in the IPL last year and even adopted a team - Delhi Daredevils – the intoxicating mix of Sehwag and Collingwood proving irresistible.

But that was mainly down to the fact that the World T20 immediately followed last season’s IPL. So it was worth tuning in to see how the England players were shaping up.

To tell the truth, most of the action passed us by and by week two of the tournament we had lost interest.

Don’t get us wrong, if we were Indian and in our teens or early twenties, we’d probably love the IPL especially if our home city was one of the franchises taking part.

And one cannot argue against the popularity of the IPL.

We’ve just got back from Kenya, where all the matches were shown live in the hotel bar. You'd think after their shambolic performance in the World Cup, the last thing that Kenyans would want to watch is cricket.

Against our better judgement we decided to tune in to the conclusion of the Kochi-Kolkata match.

Other than the garish outfits – Kochi’s orange and purple number really is something to behold – we’ve already forgotten what happened – Kochi may have won and they may have not.

So, whilst the IPL may be the biggest thing in world domestic cricket and more important to Chris Gayle than playing for the West Indies, we much prefer our pipe, slippers and a large dose of county cricket. 

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week (#2 2011)

What next for Lalit Modi?

Check out all our Cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship Preview - Division 1: Durham

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

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

Strengths

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

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

Weaknesses

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

Main man

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

Look out for…

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

Prediction

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

Where next?

2010 County XI of the season

Steve Finn wins the big prize of the season

151, English County Cricket and Pure Greed

Read all our 2011 World Cup posts here

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England obviously don't want to win the World Cup; so what are they trying to do?

 
Due to our recent sojourn back to the UK, we haven’t seen much World Cup action in the last ten days, but it is inexplicably clear that England are the most entertaining (if some distance from the best) side in the tournament.

Indeed, it would seem that unlike the other 13 teams battling it out on the sub-continent, England are the only side not trying to win the bloody World Cup.

England’s aims are much more noble:

1. Save ODI cricket

With Twenty 20 threatening to surpass and eventually replace its more sedate 50 over cousin, England seem to be on a one-team mission to save it from extinction. Whether it is squeezing past The Netherlands, sensationally tying with India, coming back from the dead against South Africa or snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against Ireland and Bangladesh, no cricket fan dare take their eyes off England in this World Cup. Who needs the IPL?

2. Save the Associate Nations from a World Cup cull

With Ricky Ponting stating his opposition to the presence of the Associates, Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower would appear to have not been able to resist yet another opportunity to wind up the hapless Australian skipper. In conceding 292 runs to The Netherlands and then allowing Ireland to reach a victory target of 329, England have shown up the ICC’s decision to cull the Associates from the next World Cup as an inept and foolhardy move. They even managed to make Canada look good in the warm-up before the tournament - and that takes some doing.

3. Make friends with David Attenborough  

It’s a little known fact that as well as being the world’s most foremost naturalist, David Attenborough is also a patron of the Optimum Population Trust (OPT) think-tank. The OPT believes that the population of the UK should be 20 million (rather than 60+ million) and argues that population growth represents a far bigger problem to the world than global warming (and they are not wrong there). Strauss and Flower obviously agree. The number of heart attack victims that must have resulted from the photo-finishes to each of England’s five matches thus far must now be touching 5 million. Another close finish against West Indies and Attenborough could be bringing out the bunting.

4. Be awarded the tag of the great entertainers

Let's face it before the tournament started no-one would have had England down as the most flamboyant and exciting side. A Pakistan side always prone to self-destruction? Yes. India's stellar batting line-up? Maybe. Australia's all-out pace attack? Possibly. But surely not a normally steady and efficient England side containing the likes of Strauss, Trott and Collingwood in its batting line-up? It just goes to show how wrong you can be. England are now like the French rugby team - brilliant one minute, woeful the next. And who'd have thought that?

Where next?

Read about our 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

XIs: An au revoir to ODI cricket after the World Cup XI

 
Come the end of the World Cup, a number of leading players are likely to announce their retirement from ODIs. The following names with one notable exception make quite an XI – good enough perhaps to win the tournament if they could participate as an Invitation XI:

Sachin Tendulkar

The greatest ODI batsman of all-time, along with Viv Richards. Having severely curtailed the number of ODIs he participated in during 2010, the Little Master is likely to bow out of the format after the World Cup. Will he retire having led India to glory in the final in Mumbai? And will he score the three centuries he needs to reach 100 international hundreds?

Andrew Strauss

The England captain is 34 and has never looked entirely at ease in this format despite the attacking approach he has adopted since returning to the side in the Caribbean in 2009. The end of the tournament could be a good time to bow out, handing the reins to Alastair Cook and enabling Strauss to concentrate on the task of making England the number one test side in the World.

Ricky Ponting

The Australian captain’s gradual decline with the bat gathered spun out of control during the Ashes and this World Cup could well prove to be his last appearance in the Australian canary yellow shirt. If he manages to lead his side to an unlikely fourth successive triumph (and the third for Ponting as skipper) then he will have repaired some of the damage to his reputation caused by his woeful performances in the Ashes.

Jacques Kallis

Kallis is a big unit and despite his new head of hair, the years are catching up with him and injuries are becoming more frequent. Like the three illustrious names above him in this XI, Kallis too may decide that giving up the 50 over format will help prolong his test career, whilst also helping him earn the IPL megabucks.

Paul Collingwood

His poor return with the bat during the Ashes precipitated a premature retirement from Test cricket and unless he can recapture his form during the World Cup, England’s Ginger Ninja may decide to hang up his ODI cap after the competition too. Durham may be seeing even more of its favourite son in the forthcoming season.

Shahid Afridi

With the unpredictable Afridi anything is possible. So don’t rule out Boom Boom dropping a bombshell after the tournament and announcing his retirement from all cricket to take up a slot on Strictly Come Dancing. He is fond of a pirouette after all.

Kamran Akmal

If the butter-fingered keeper continues to spill chances behind the stumps and disappoint with the bat, he is likely to be ‘retired’ by an irate Ijaz Butt. That would be one life ban that no Pakistani supporter would complain about.

Brett Lee

It would come as no great surprise if Lee’s body gave up the ghost at the end of the competition. One wonders if he is in India just to promote his fledgling singing career. Could yet become the new James Blunt – as if we needed another one.

Shoaib Akhtar

A bowler who looks knackered after bowling just two overs on the spin, can’t last much longer, surely? A career in Bollywood awaits providing that the genital warts don’t return of course.

Zaheer Khan

It is a miracle that Zaheer has managed to come into this tournament fit and surely he will choose to concentrate on Test cricket and IPL riches after the World Cup. India should wrap him up in cotton wool, because without him the Test attack looks threadbare to say the least.

Muttiah Muralitharan

We know for certain that this will be the last time we see Murali in international cricket. Can he inspire Sri Lanka to repeat the glory of 1996?

Where next?

Check out our other Reverse Sweep XIs

World Cup Team previews: Part 1 - India: Glory or effigies?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 2 - South Africa: Don't mention the 'C' word...

World Cup Team Previews: Part 3 - Bangladesh: Shock & Awe

World Cup Team Previews: Part 4 - West Indies: Calypso or Collapso?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 5 - England: How far can resilience take them?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 6 - Ireland/Canada/Kenya/Netherlands: Last chance for the minnows?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 7 - Zimbabwe - An army of spin

World Cup Team Previews: Part 8 - Australia: Four in a row?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 9 - Pakistan: Tigers or Pussies?

World Cup Team previews: Part 10 - Sri Lanka: Will lightning strike twice?

Our XI to shine at the World Cup

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including Brett Lee, Sachin Tendulkar, Paul Collingwood, Kamran Akmal and Muttiah Muralitharan

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ODI Series: England marks out of 10

 
Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss are probably as pleased as we are here at the Reverse Sweep that the ridiculously elongated one day series is over. Never again, must England agree to play a seven match ODI series especially straight after a long and tiring Ashes series.

Not only has morale been sapped by a 6-1 caning at the hands of Australia, but injuries to several key players means that their World Cup hopes potentially lie in tatters.

England used a mind-boggling 19 players over the course of the series. Here's how they rate out of ten:

Andrew Strauss (179 runs at 25.57, 2 fifties, SR 82.48) - 5: Reached 63 twice but other than that the captain had a poor series with his muddled thinking in the field indicative of England's malaise.

Stephen Davies (42 runs at 21, SR 102.43) - 4: Hit a streaky 42 in the first match and was promptly then dropped from the World Cup squad to make room for Prior. Must be wondering what he has done to offend the selectors.

Matt Prior (138 runs at 23.00, 1 fifty, SR 90.19) - 4: England's obsession that their wicketkeeper has to open is doing Prior a dis-service as he would be much better employed down the order. Fell cheaply to the pace of Lee three times. 

Jonathan Trott (375 runs at 62.50, 2 100s, 1 50, SR 81.69) - 9: The leading run-scorer in the series scored over twice as many runs as any other England batsman. His 137 at Sydney in the sixth match was a great one day innings and proved that he could change gears when required.

Kevin Pietersen (185 runs at 30.83, 1 50, SR 90.24) - 5: Started like a dream in the first match at Melbourne before being run out by Mitchell Johnson's passable imitation of Wayne Rooney. Thereafter, KP disappointed getting out to a hopeless shot on more than one occasion.

Ian Bell (154 runs at 22.00, SR 70.00) - 3: Looked a million dollars when scoring a hundred against the Prime Minister's XI in the warm-up as an opener, and was then promptly moved down the order for the entire series.  Should open in the World Cup.

Eoin Morgan (106 runs at 17.66, SR 80.30) - 2: Was understandably rusty at the start of the series after three months of twiddling his fingers and carrying drinks, but failed to get into nick before breaking a digit to put his World Cup spot in jeopardy. Another who found some truly horrible ways of getting out.

Paul Collingwood (53 runs at 17.66, SR 86.88; 4 wickets at 20.75, ER 3.32) - 6: Started the series on the sidelines, but the break didn't do his batting much good. His bowling though was a revelation, being the only man on either side to have an economy rate of less than four runs per over.

Luke Wright (56 runs at 28.00, SR 86.15; no wickets, ER 5.36) - 2: Not even a bits and pieces player and how he can be in the World Cup squad ahead of Bopara defies belief.

Tim Bresnan (4 wickets at 27.00, ER 5.68; 47 runs at 23.50, SR 87.03) - 5: Broke down after two matches to join England's walking wounded and may now have lost his spot to Collingwood for the World Cup.

Michael Yardy (5 wickets at 60.20, ER 5.57; 137 runs at 45.66, SR 84.04) - 3: A couple of useful knocks with the bat could not hide the Sussex captain's ineffectiveness with the ball. A weak link in England's World Cup armoury.

James Tredwell (1 match, 16 runs and 0/44) - 1: Has Samit Patel's love of chapatis to thank for even getting one match. England effectively have a 14 man squad for the World Cup given Tredwell's presence in the squad. Maybe it is better to have someone who eats pies rather than bowls them?

Graeme Swann (1 match, 1/42 and 4 runs): 4: Another to fall victim to the injury curse and how England missed Swann's potency and control with the ball. Hopefully, he will now be rested and raring to go for the World Cup where England's fortunes are likely to improve of Swann fires.

Chris Woakes (7 wickets at 21.28, ER 5.65; 20 runs at 10.00, SR 50.00) - 5: Experienced the highs and lows of international cricket with 6/45 at Brisbane before being walloped for 73 runs in 9.2 wicketless overs in the next match at Sydney. One for the future.

Liam Plunkett (1 match, 2/49 and 20 runs) - 5: Plunkett came from a galaxy far, far away (i.e. the Caribbean) for the final match in Perth and defied jet lag to put in a creditable performance.

Ajmal Shahzad (6 wickets at 40.50, ER 5.15) - 3: Bowled excellently in Hobart, before fading away and then becoming another to pick up an injury. Shows promise but is maybe not as good as many are saying.

Chris Tremlett (6 wickets at 33.50, ER 5.20) - 5: Left out of the World Cup squad and then promptly bowled brilliantly at Hobart to take 3/22. Yet another England bowler who picked up an injury.

James Anderson (7 wickets at 34.00, ER 5.95) - 4: Was given a break back home for the first three matches and must have wished he'd have stayed there after being smashed for 91 runs at Sydney, before bouncing back with 3/48 at Perth.

Steve Finn (3 wickets at 56.33, ER 5.63) - 4: Bowled better than his figures suggest and really enjoyed himself with the bat in Brisbane.

Where next?

Reaction to England's World Cup Squad

An XI of cricketers that died young

Zeroes: Salman Butt

The best Test XI of 2010

The worst Test XI of 2010

4-0 to Jonathan Trott 

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

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