The Reverse Sweep

Shane Watson and batting at three

A quick look at the best current and recent Test number three batsmen provides a number of clues as to why Shane Watson is a peculiar choice to come in at first drop in Australia's Test side.

Jonathan Trott, Kumar Sangakkara, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Younis Khan and Hashim Amla all share a number of common attributes: selflessness, stability, reliability, a sound technique and the ability to score big runs.

Mr Vain does not possess any of these characteristics. Watson is far too absorbed with his own game to care a jot for others. He is neither stable nor reliable as evidenced by the fact that he has been involved (normally as the guilty party) in eight run outs in his 33 Tests. 

Whilst undoubtedly talented, Watson does not possess an especially sound technique being particularly susceptible to being caught in front on his crease. If Rahul Dravid's wall was made of bricks, Watson's is made of tracing paper.

Finally, in perhaps the most important category, Watson falls woefully short of what is required. He has passed fifty 18 times in Tests, but only twice has he gone to reach three figures. That is the performance of a number six or seven, not someone who bats in the top three.

All of his failings were on show in Bridgetown in his first attempt to prove he can flourish in this most pivotal of roles. He was lucky not to be given out when padding up to Darren Sammy, comically ran out a furious Ponting and then gave his wicket away once he had got to 39.

It's hard to get away from the feeling that Watson being higher up the order than Ponting, Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey is both incongruous and doomed to failure.

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week #1

David Warner doesn't do things by halves

Cricket Zeroes: Shane Watson

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Runs Forrest, Runs

Selection is a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get.

For Australia's first one day international post-Ponting, the sinisterly named (for Brad Haddin at least) NSP opted to replace the 375 cap veteran in the pivotal number three position with a man with just three caps to his name.

That the game with Sri Lanka happened to be in Hobart in front of Ponting's adoring home crowd that had been denied the opportunity to bid adieu to their fallen hero meant that the pressure on Peter Forrest was ratcheted up even higher. This went past boiling point when Australia lost both openers cheaply.

So for Forrest to go out and hit a hundred speaks volumes. It wasn't the best or most fluent ODI hundred we've ever seen but it was runs Forrest, it was runs.

Another famous Forrest once concluded that "my Mama always said you've got to put the past behind you before you can move on," and that's exactly what Australia and Forrest seem to have done.

As chocolates go, Forrest's selection has so far turned out to be one of those with the delicious strawberry cream.

Brad Haddin is nougat. It seems that John Inverarity is none too keen on nougat.

Where next?

Ricky Ponting proves the doubters (and gladly us) wrong

Check out our Cricket XIs

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Beware Brad Haddin; John Inverarity & the NSP are coming to get you

Brad Haddin should be a worried man. If the incongruously named National Selection Panel can be as ruthless as it has with Ricky Ponting, what do they have in store for the iron-gloved keeper?

A man with 375 one day caps to his name, the best Australian batsman since Bradman and someone who despite failing in the CB Series is just coming off a double hundred in his last Test innings has been cast aside. Haddin would do well to nervously watch his back.

Rather ironically for a man for who the sound of quacking has frequently accompanied his return to the pavilion after another brief and fruitless visit to the crease in recent times, Haddin is being lined up as a dead duck by the NSP (which without pressing the point is a preposterous name for the selectors – one on a par with Andre Villas-Boas annoying misuse and overuse of the word ‘project’ in relation to his crumbling reign at Chelsea).

First, Haddin was being ‘rested’ for the T20 matches with India, then his ‘break’ was extended to the first three one dayers amidst talk of how the selectors were keen for him to go on until the back-to-back Ashes series next year.

Now though and partially hidden at the back-end of the announcement of Ponting’s culling, was sinister news for Haddin. Not only did the NSP nail their colours firmly to the mast of Matthew Wade as their first choice limited overs keeper, they also confirmed that Wade would be part of the Test squad for the forthcoming tour of the Caribbean.

Haddin, whose hold on his place was already tenuous thanks to some erratic performance behind the stumps and in front of them given his Test average of just 23 since the beginning of 2011, must know that the game is up if he is being honest with himself. Perhaps that accounts for his pair in New South Wales’s crushing defeat against Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield at the weekend.

He may have famously described India as fragile in the recent series but it is Haddin who has been dressed up in suspenders, had an orange plonked in his mouth and a belt tightened around his neck by the NSP. He is clearly a dead duck waddling, but will Inverarity pull the trigger before Haddin tastes peel? 

Where next?

It's time to get uplifted and inspired...

Ricky Ponting proves the doubters (and gladly us) wrong

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4th Test: Australia vs India - Australia marks out of 10

Ed Cowan - 5: Got a start in both innings but was unable to go on and fell to spin each time. Took the catch that saw Tendulkar leave the crease for probably the last time in a Test in Australia.

David Warner - 4: There was no repeat of his explosive heroics at Perth as the early introduction of spin troubled him and bogged him down.

Shaun Marsh - 1: More Quicksand than Marsh. Just 17 runs in the series at a hideous average of 2.83 - even Chris Martin (the cricketer or the Coldplay frontman) would be embarrassed with that.

Ricky Ponting - 10: If his hundred at Sydney was redemptive, the double ton here saw Ponting almost back to his brilliant and dismissive best. Many thought he was finished after Cape Town, but 705 runs at 70.5 since then suggests the contrary.

Michael Clarke - 10: A dream end to a dream series for the captain with a double hundred to set alongside his triple hundred at Sydney adding up to 626 runs at 125 for the series where his side have completely steamrollered and whitewashed a feeble opposition.

Mike Hussey - 5: Looked in good touch before being brilliantly run out by Gambhir in the 1st innings and was the victim of a borderline leg before to Sharma second time around.

Brad Haddin - 6: Got some cheap runs off a bruised and battered attack but it can only be a matter of time before iron gloves waves adieu to international cricket.

Peter Siddle - 9: Seems to have benefitted the most from the McDermott effect. Found life on a pitch where there was none, which makes his 1st innings five for all the more impressive. Ended up with 23 wickets at 19 in the series, but his strike rate of a wicket every 32 balls is even more impressive.

Ryan Harris - 8: The best tribute you can pay him is that Australia didn't really miss the bowler he replaced - James Pattinson. The more difficult task is how to keep him fit.

Ben Hilfenhaus - 8: Woefully impotent in last year's Ashes but as dangerous as a rabid dog in this series. Picked up another four wickets to take his series tally to 27 at an average of just 17.

Nathan Lyon - 7: The ultimate rags to riches story. A groundsman for the last Adelaide Test here he bagged an enviable list of victims including Laxman (twice), Sehwag and Tendulkar - all of whom were probably playing their last Test innings in Australia.

Where next?

4th Test: Australia vs India - India marks out of 10

Ricky Ponting proves the doubters (and gladly us) wrong

3rd Test marks out of 10: Australia and India

2nd Test marks out of 10: Australia and India

1st Test marks out of 10: Australia and India

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Ricky Ponting proves the doubters (and gladly us) wrong

When we asked a few months ago if Ricky Ponting had lost his punch, despite being English we did so with a heavy heart given that we always had a strange and inexplicable affection for him.

At the time of writing, Ponting had performed poorly at Cape Town in the Test that Australia were infamously dismissed for just 47.

The axe was hovering as Ponting's dismal run reached what appeared to be its climatic moment. He had scored only one hundred in his previous 23 Tests. His average during this run was just 33.78. That slipped further to 26.50 in the 13 matches since that solitary hundred in Hobart against Pakistan and to a dismal 18.84 since the start of the 2010/11 Ashes. In short he looked finished.

When he registered a duck in his next Test innings in Johannesburg, the game looked up. Australia's best batsman since Bradman was surely playing his last Test. His form and technique seemed to have completely eluded him.

But Ponting is nothing if not determined and a resilient 62 in the 2nd innings at The Wanderers helped carry Australia to an improbable victory to draw the series. He had survived the selectors guillotine. Just.

And with India's bowlers proving the most willing of accomplices, Ponting has shoved the words of the critics back down their throats with his 40th and 41st Test hundreds. He has also scored another three fifties since his partial redemption in Johannesburg.

From the depths of despair after that duck at The Wanderers, Ponting now has 561 runs at a tick over 70 and looked something close to his best today in Adelaide.

Never has the old adage of form being temporary and class being permanent held more true than in the case of Ponting, who lest it not be forgotten now has over 13,000 Test runs to his name.

Ponting may have proved our words false, but for once we are glad as such a batting champion deserved an epitaph better than the ones hastily written after the debacle in Cape Town.

Where next?

3rd Test: Australia vs India - Australia marks out of 10

3rd Test: Australia vs India - India marks out of 10

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

India: Tigers at home; pussies away

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3rd Test: Australia vs India - Australia marks out of 10

Ed Cowan - 8: In years to come how many will remember his part in Warner's story? But the way he rotated the strike whilst scoring runs himself was crucial. Looks the perfect foil to Warner and will allow the selectors the luxury of playing Watson down the order when he returns from injury.

David Warner - 10: The joint-fourth fastest Test ton ever and the quickest ever by an opener. What more can you say? Has taken to Test cricket like a duck to water with two contrasting hundreds and an average of 64 after his first five Tests.

Shaun Marsh - 2: Another tentative dismissal and just 14 runs in the series will leave him looking anxiously over his shoulder for the return of Watson. Still looks undercooked after the back injury he suffered in Cape Town.

Ricky Ponting - 3: After two fifties in Melbourne and finally hitting his 40th Test ton in Sydney it was perhaps not a surprise to see him depart for a single figure score here - albeit to a terrific delivery by Yadav. Took three smart catches in the slips.

Michael Clarke - 5: His last dozen Test scores: 112, 151, 2, 11, 2, 139, 22, 0, 31, 1, 329* and 18 here show that the Australian skipper makes the opposition pay if they don't get him early. Will be concerned about being part of another batting collapse but that will pale into insignificance compared to sealing the series already. 

Mike Hussey - 3: When Mr Cricket finally retires he may reflect that becoming Vinay Kumar's first (and probably last) Test victim was his lowest and most embarrassing moment.

Brad Haddin - 1: Comprehensively failed to walk the walk with a three ball duck, which means he only averages 19 with the bat since the start of 2011. With his shoddy work behind the stumps, the end days of Haddin's Test career appear to be nigh.

Peter Siddle - 8: Seems to chip in with three wickets every innings and did do on both occasions here as well as once again contributing useful runs. Has the best strike rate in the series of 33.5 and seems to have finally found his role in the side and in this menacing bowling attack.

Ryan Harris - 8: Bowled much better than his solitary wicket in each innings suggest with others getting the reward for the burly bowler's accuracy and miserly 67 runs scored from his 34 overs. Splayed Dravid's stumps with a beauty in the second innings. 

Mitchell Starc - 7: Another Australian left-arm quick called Mitchell who seems to like bowling at Perth and like his namesake produced some unplayable deliveries such as those that took out Gambhir and Tendulkar second time around. Looked a completely different proposition from the erratic bowler who played his first two Tests late last year against New Zealand. 

Ben Hilfenhaus - 9: Another dominant display from a bowler utterly transformed from the impotent figure of last year's Ashes. Then he took 7 wickets at 59 in the series, now he has 23 wickets at 16 and a strike rate of 35. Phenomenal.

Where next?

3rd Test: Australia vs India - India marks out of 10

2nd Test marks out of 10: Australia and India

1st Test marks out of 10: Australia and India

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

India: Tigers at home; pussies away

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2nd Test: Australia vs India - Australia marks out of 10

David Warner - 3: Fell in the first over of the Australian innings to a delivery outside his off-stump that he could have left, but produced a stunning catch to snare Sehwag when India batted a second time. 

Ed Cowan - 3: Beaten for pace by Zaheer to get caught in front to leave his side in trouble at 37/3. Will get at least one more opportunity before Shane Watson returns. Picked up three catches at short-leg.

Shaun Marsh - 1: Another duck - this one of the golden variety - to leave Marsh with just three runs from three innings in the series. Suckered by Zaheer at one he didn't need to play at.

Ricky Ponting - 9: Finally after 720 days and 34 innings, Ponting finally hit his 40th Test hundred and it was a good one too with a theatrical climax and a desperate dive for the precious final run before the smiling hero emerged with bat aloft and shirt dirtied. 

Michael Clarke - 10: It won't get any better than this for Pup. A triple hundred, the highest Test score at the SCG on the occasion of its 1ooth Test, the wicket of Tendulkar, a crushing innings victory for his side and Kyly looking radiant to complete Clarke's journey from zero to hero after the boos of 12 months ago.

Mike Hussey - 9: It must have been a long time since Hussey walked to the crease with 325 runs already on the board and he duly cashed in. Opened up with four commanding boundaries and went on to a chanceless hundred.  

Brad Haddin - 2: At another time his dreadful drop to reprieve Gambhir just before stumps on day 3 could have cost his side dearly. As unreliable behind the stumps in this Test as he has been in front of them over the past year. This may prove to be his last Test series. 

Peter Siddle - 8: Picked up five victims in the match and passed 100 Test wickets. Clearly enjoys his enforcer role and now has 28 wickets at 27 since coming back into the side.

James Pattinson - 8: Bowled wonderfully well on day one to take out four of India's top five and set up the Test for his side. His loss to a foot injury for the series is a big blow, but with 25 wickets at 18 from his first four Tests this hugely promising bowler will be back.  

Ben Hilfenhaus - 9: We were told that we would see a different bowler from the one that floundered so badly in the Ashes and a second successive five-for was proof of that. The ball to remove Laxman's off-stump was particularly memorable.

Nathan Lyon - 5: Provided decent enough control when called upon and picked up Sharma to register his first wicket of the match and second of the series. Will be looking forward to the Adelaide Test and a pitch that aids spin.

Where next?

2nd Test: Australia vs India - India marks out of 10

The best Test XI of 2011

The redemption of Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting hundreds just a sideshow for Channel 9

India's batting line-up and Goebbels's big lie

Read our Cricket Review of 2011

1st Test: Australia vs India - Australia marks out of 10

1st Test: Australia vs India - India marks out of 10

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting hundreds just a sideshow for Channel 9

We're pleased we set our Sky+ box to record day two of the Sydney Test between Australia and India.

Well, kind of. Whilst like most people watching we enjoyed seeing Ricky Ponting finally make his 40th Test hundred - a saga even longer than Sachin Tendulkar's quest for that 100th hundred. We also enjoyed a real gem of an innings from Michael Clarke.

Sadly for some of the Channel 9 cheerleaders, Ponting and Clarke's momentous knocks were merely a sideshow as they salivated over Rianna Ponting and Clarke's new girlfriend Kyly Boldy.

As Ponting entered the nervous nineties, the cameras spent as much time on a nervous Rianna as it did on the action in the field. We were worried they were going to miss Ponting reaching his hundred. Luckily they didn't as the desperate dive for that priceless final run as Zaheer just missed the stumps was pure theatre.

Then Channel 9 did an interview with Rianna. I am sure she's a lovely lady but please save interviews with cricketers WAGS for the Australian equivalent of This Morning.

Once Ponting departed the focus turned to the admittedly stunning Kyly. Tony Grieg could barely contain himself, informing us that "she looks like she's enjoying herself" leaving us wondering whether Grieg was merely making an observation or falling victim to over-excited wishful thinking. 

As Clarke passed 200, one would have thought that the discussion would be about his highly impressive first six months or so as captain and how the added responsibility has improved his batting. Not a bit of it. It was all Kyly by now. We didn't get an interview with her, but we're sure we see Slats sneak over to see if there was any chance of a threesome after play.

Australia are starting to look like a good side in the making and India are in danger of a second successive whitewash in a four Test series overseas. But Grieg, Slats and Healy don't care about that when they can drool over Kyly instead. Sad old men.

Where next?

India's batting line-up and Goebbels's big lie

Read our Cricket Review of 2011

Cricket zeroes: Channel 9's Commentary Team and Bill Lawry

Cricket heroes: Tony Greig

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1st Test: Australia vs India - Australia marks out of 10

David Warner - 5: Caught hooking after a breezy Sehwag-esque 1st innings 37 and played on to a very loose shot early in the Australian 2nd innings. Partnership with Cowan looks a promising contrast of styles. Great catch to seal the win.

Ed Cowan - 7: Looked instantly at home on Test debut and was undaunted by the 70,000 crowd and bowler friendly conditions to produce a retro-style Test innings from an opener that would have had Geoff Boycott licking his lips. The main feature of his 68 was his sound judgement and when and when not to leave - something that deserted him second time around.

Shaun Marsh - 2: Looked rustier than the rustiest nail on the rustiest old wreck at the bottom of the ocean, which was hardly surprising given he was more undercooked after his recent back injury than a raw piece of meat. The obduracy he displayed in his Test career previous to this will be needed for the rest of the series.

Ricky Ponting - 8: Crucial fifties in both innings on a tricky pitch when Australia had been teetering on the brink of further collapses showed that still has the appetite. But his long famine without a hundred now streches to a biblical 33 innings. His once formidable conversion percentage too now completely eludes him with only two of his last 20 fifties having been converted into tons. Will the famine end in Sydney? 

Michael Clarke - 5: Outfoxed by Zaheer on Boxing Day and beaten by a beauty from Ishant second time around. Captaincy continues to be enterprising, skilful and bold, which was epitomised when opting to bat after winning the toss in swinging and seaming conditions similar to those that Australia had been shot out for 98 on Boxing Day last year.

Michael Hussey - 7: As at Brisbane in the 1st Ashes Test last year, Hussey rose from his death bed just when the last rites were being read. His 2nd innings 89 probably saved his Test career and perhaps his side from emulating the dreaded 47 all out of just a few weeks ago. The rumour that Hussey is actually a particularly resilient cockroach in a cunning disguise is still so far unproven - see also Michael Hussey is not dead.

Brad Haddin - 4: For once showed some responsibility during his partnership with Siddle on the first evening before reverting to type the next morning and then being dismissed to the latest in a long line of woeful dismissals in the 2nd innings. Jarrod Kimber says that he'd prefer Tim Paine instead of Haddin even though he doesn't have any hands and he may well be right.

Peter Siddle - 8: A good Test for the Victorian with six wickets and Tendulkar's scalp in both innings including a pearler in the first that helped inspire Australia's fightback with the ball. Another useful cameo with the bat - his 1st innings 41 was the seventh time in his last 17 Test innings that he has hit a score of 20 or more. They'll be calling him an all-rounder next.

James Pattinson - 9: A second man of match award in only his third Test - as many as Jason Gillespie managed in his entire career - and it was richly deserved too. He sustained hostility, pace and a testing length throughout and combined six wickets with 55 unconquered runs - with his second innings 37 being a career best that ultimately put the game out of India's reach.

Ben Hilfenhaus - 9: The shadow of the bowler that featured in last year's Ashes series was well and truly gone as the big Tasmanian took his first Test five-for and seven wickets in all with a wonderful display of accurate fast-medium bowling. Like Pattinson, also added useful runs in both innings too.

Nathan Lyon - 6: Not a great wicket for a spinner and he only bowled 22.5 overs in the match. But he was tidy enough against the best players of spin in world cricket and even had the honour of taking the final wicket to fall.

Where next?

1st Test: India marks out of 10

Read our Cricket Review of 2011

Michael Hussey is not dead

Ed Cowan makes Geoffrey Boycott happy (probably)

Australia v India - Who will win?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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Australia v India - Who will win?

Twelve months ago it was the Ashes and now this year the schedule has thrown up another fascinating battle down under with India this time the visitors. 

Much of the talk leading up to the 1st Test in Melbourne has been the woes of Australia's batting line-up, which saw them skittled for 47 in Cape Town and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against New Zealand in Hobart.

But another way of looking at it is but for these inexplicable collapses, Australia would have registered 2-0 series wins in South Africa and at home to the Black Caps, which would have been mighty impressive results and would have followed on from the series win in Sri Lanka.

Those three contests have been the first under Michael Clarke and we have been mightily impressed with his skilful, thoughtful and adventurous captaincy. He certainly looks an improvement on Ricky Ponting as skipper.

What about India? Their batting line-up with a man as talented as Virat Kohli at six and Rohit Sharma not even able to get into the XI looks immense, but so it did in England when Rahul Dravid apart they struggled in seaming and swinging conditions against a strong England attack.

Australia's bowling attack is not as good as England's but James Pattinson and Nathan Lyon have made promising starts to their international careers, Peter Siddle seems to relish being the senior member of the attack and Ben Hilfenhaus is reportedly back to his best after disappointing in the Ashes last winter. Then there is the teenage sensation pat Cummins to come back in once he is fit.

India's hopes with the ball rely heavily on the fitness of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. Both are struggling with ankle problems and it is hard to see an attack shorn of either or both being able to take 20 wickets. Umesh Yadav looks a good prospect as does Varun Aaron, but asking them to lead the attack at this stage of their careers would be risky to say the least.

So Australia's brittle batting line-up could be set to get some respite and with the selectors picking an opener in Ed Cowan who can actually bat against the moving ball, also recalling the resolute Shaun Marsh and with Shane Watson in reserve from the 2nd Test onwards, it looks set to be a fascinating contest.

So who will win? On paper it looks too close to call. India have drawn their two previous series in Australia and the easiest option here would be to predict another spare of the spoils. But we've got an inkling that Australia will prove the fittest and hungriest side and with Adelaide likely to see a draw, we go for the home side to win the series 2-1. But we've been wrong before...

Where next?

Ed Cowan's selection for the Boxing Day Test is a victory for intellect and common sense

Chasing Sachin by Adam Carroll-Smith | Book Review

Australia - The Great Entertainers

Sachin Tendulkar or Donald Bradman - Who is the greatest?

The 30 Greatest Batsmen Ever: Part 1 (30-21), Part 2 (20-11), Part 3 (10-1)

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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2nd Test: Australia vs New Zealand - Australia marks out of 10

David Warner  - 9: One swallow may not make a summer but Warner’s valiant, unbowed if ultimately futile maiden Test hundred suggested that those (including us – see The David Warner experiment) who said he would be found out at the top level were premature in their assessment.

Phillip Hughes – 2: Four innings, four failures and four c Guptill b Martin’s on the scorecard. Cut a sad and disconsolate figure as he departed in full knowledge that the axe is about to fall. Averages just 24 since returning against England at the WACA one year ago.

Usman Khawaja – 4: Got starts in both innings but was unable to go on; being found out outside off stump on both occasions. It seems the new generation of Australian batsmen are just as susceptible in swinging and seaming conditions as the old.

Ricky Ponting – 3: Not a happy homecoming to the scene of his last Test hundred - now 31 innings ago - and the mode of dismissal in both innings suggested that as the Rolling Stones once sang the best batsman Australia has produced since Bradman is ‘Out of Time’.

Michael Clarke – 5: As at Johannesburg, the skipper followed up a century in the first of a two Test series with two low scores – including a misjudged shouldering of arms that was reminiscent of his dismissal to Simon Jones at Old Trafford in 2005. Continues to impress with his attacking captaincy and skilful handling of a young, inexperienced attack.

Mike Hussey – 3: Two more failures, which means that since his starring role in Sri Lanka, Mr Cricket has only totalled 83 runs in seven innings. Did take his now customary wicket with the ball.

Brad Haddin – 2: Smart piece of quick-thinking to stump Ryder, but reckless, irresponsible and to be frank brainless dismissals in both innings could yet prove to be his Test epitaph.

Peter Siddle – 7: Enjoyed leading the attack and impressed with three wickets in each innings. Once again added vital runs when his team were in trouble in the first innings, but couldn’t repeat the trick second time around.

James Pattinson – 9: This Test cricket lark - easy isn’t it? Pattinson would be forgiven for thinking so after adding eight wickets here to six on debut in Brisbane. India’s batsmen are likely to prove a much tougher proposition, but with the parallel emergence of Cummins, Australia have found a pair of likely lads to spearhead its bowling attack for years to come.

Mitchell Starc – 2: Was flattered with two fortuitous wickets in the 1st innings and his poor performance may have had some Australians pining for Mitchell Johnson. He really was that bad.

Nathan Lyon – 7: Continues to impress both in terms of his talent and temperament. Nearly succeeded in carrying his side over the line in partnership with Warner and his disappointment was palpable as he sunk to his knees in despair when dismissed with just seven more runs required.

Where next?

2nd Test: Australia vs New Zealand - New Zealand marks out of 10

James Pattinson and Big Brother

1st Test: Australia vs New Zealand - Australia marks out of 10

1st Test: Australia vs New Zealand - New Zealand marks out of 10

Cricket zeroes: Channel 9's Commentary Team

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1st Test: Australia vs New Zealand - Australia marks out of 10

David Warner - 3: First foray to the crease in Tests wasn't a success and one wonders whether asking the T20 specialist to step up to this level is like expecting a good sevens player to make an instant impression in the 15 man code.

Phil Hughes - 3: The second member of Australia's most unlikely opening partnership since the days of Packer was caught in the gully off Martin in both innings. Ed Cowan must be scratching his head as to how Hughes and Warner get selected ahead of him.

Usman Khawaja - 6: Looked comfortable at the highest level once again before Ponting called him for a sharp single from the first ball after Tea. More caffeine required next time Usman.

Ricky Ponting - 7: We asked a few weeks ago if Ponting had lost his punch, but like any great former champion, if you put a sub-standard journeyman (like the Black Caps attack) in front of them they are still able to demonstrate their class. Still without a ton in 29 Test innings though and Ponting will rue the chance he let slip here.

Michael Clarke - 9: Captaincy certainly seems to sit well with Pup. He handled his inexperienced bowling attack well and with imagination and struck his third hundred in six Tests as skipper to demonstrate how he is thriving on the added responsibility. The cowed figure of the last Ashes series is now completely transformed.

Mike Hussey - 5: Almost 12 months to the day since Hussey saved his career on this ground. But he couldn't repeat the trick this time scratching around for 15 before being outfoxed by Vettori. It was small revenge for the bowler after Hussey's direct hit had left him four short of a hundred.

Brad Haddin - 7: With many observers questioning his place in the side, Haddin couldn't have asked for a better early Christmas present than this New Zealand attack and he responded with a typically brusque 80.

Peter Siddle - 6: Led the attack well on a pitch he enjoys, but part of him must be concerned that the strong performance of the young guns may put his place at risk when the likes of Harris and Cummins return. Not a number eight on this showing.

James Pattinson - 9: Recovered from a chastening first over in Test cricket to decimate the Kiwis 2nd innings and show that the future of the Australian bowling attack is not just about Pat Cummins. It would seem that just like Labour party did in choosing Ed over David, England picked the wrong brother.

Mitchell Starc - 6: Was expensive and a bit wayward - well what do you expect from a left arm bowler called Mitchell? But did enough on debut to suggest there could be more to come. Useful runs too. 

Nathan Lyon - 9: Hugely impressive again. Got flight, turn and bounce throughout and troubled all of the New Zealand batsmen. After having had more spin doctors than Tony Blair had in his 10 years as Prime Minister, Australia finally seemed to have found a suitable (if purely mortal) replacement for that bloke called Shane.

Where next?

1st Test: Australia vs New Zealand - New Zealand marks out of 10

The David Warner Experiment

Has Ricky Ponting lost his punch?

2nd Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

Ashes 2010/11: Australia series marks out of 10

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India have found some bowlers

As India stumbled from heavy defeat to even heavier defeat during a traumatic summer in England one thing seemed very clear: the bowling cupboard was emptier than the contents of Wayne Rooney's head.

With Zaheer Khan injured, Harbhajan way past his best and Ishant Sharma even more inconsistent than usual, it was left to the wholehearted but lacking in pace Praveen Kumar to lead the attack. 

But after three Tests against an improving but brittle West Indies despair has turned into optimism as suddenly the cupboard is filling up faster than the supermarket shelves at Waitrose ahead of Christmas.

Harbhajan has finally been put out to pasture and Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha collected 42 wickets at 23 between them in the three Tests against the boys from the Caribbean.

They've also discovered that rariry of rarities in a country of over a billion souls - not one but two promising fast bowlers. The emergence of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron means that the likes of Sreesanth and Munaf Patel will be able to concentrate on the IPL and that RP Singh can return to the beach from whence he was summoned during the English expedition.

With Praveen returning from a well-earned rest, Zaheer (hopefully) from injury and Ishant fired up by the prospect of finishing Ricky Ponting's Test career, India suddenly look a different proposition.

The series against a transitional Australia under its new regime looks a thrilling prospect.

Where next?

Mumbai's thrilling final ball draw shows the true value of Test cricket

Sachin Tendulkar's 99.94

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

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Who are cricket's likely future greats?

In a piece on Cricinfo just five months before his death, Peter Roebuck asked Who are cricket's future greats? 

Roebuck concurs that cricket has seen its fair share of great players since the emergence of the formidable West Indies side of the late seventies. He goes on to name  half a dozen current batsmen deserving of the great tag: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting, before adding the caveat that all are within a few years of retirement.

When it comes to bowlers, Roebuck argues that only Dale Steyn is worthy of a place in the pantheon of bowling greats. This is hard to contradict as those closest to Steyn like James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Zaheer Khan would seem to fall into the ‘very good’ rather than ‘great’ category.

We’d concur with Roebuck that of the current crop of batsmen, Hashim Amla seems the most likely candidate to attain greatness in the coming years. His Test career took a while to get into top gear, but his sublime style and appetite for runs has grown and he averages over 70 since the start of 2010. Judging by his recent hundreds against Australia in Cape Town and Johannesburg the best is yet to come.

The past week has thrown up two more fledgling candidates, albeit two at the outset of their careers but whose promise seems unlimited.

A lot of people are getting very excited about Australia’s new fast bowling discovery Patrick Cummins. Even as thoughtful, respected and usually restrained observer like Christopher Martin-Jenkins writes in today’s Times that Cummins is a gem in the mould of Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath.

New Australian coach Mickey Arthur also sees comparisons with Steyn and it has to be said that it is hard to recall a more impressive entry into Test cricket than the one made by Cummins in Johannesburg. His six-wicket haul almost single-handedly brought Australia back into the game and more than that it was the manner in which he bowled that marked him as something special. The fact he is only 18, and with just a handful of first-class matches under his belt is mind-boggling. Australia would appear to have found the basis from which to rebuild.

Another to provoke comparison with a recent great is the 22 year old West Indian batsman Darren Bravo, who with back to back centuries in the current series with India has the same batting average and just one run less than Brian Lara at the same stage of his career.

Bravo has reputedly based his batting on Lara and there is no mistaking the panache, style and manner of his fellow Trinidadian at the crease. Of the many promising players that have emerged in the Caribbean such as fellow batsman Kirk Edwards, speedster Kemar Roach and spinner Devendra Bishoo, Bravo stands at the head of the pack. A West Indian resurgence could be in the offing at last.

There are other promising young players – Virat Kohli to name but one, but the positive impression left by Cummins and Bravo in the last week means that they will be the ones to watch most closely over the next few years.

Where next?

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

Cricket Heroes: Hashim Amla

The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck

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2nd Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

Shane Watson - 7: His body let him down just as he was looking impressive with the ball on day one. Batted well for his 88, but once again failed to get to three figures - it was the 18th time he has passed 50 in Test cricket, but has only gone on to reach 100 twice. His future lies down the order. 

Phil Hughes - 7: Batted entertainingly during his big partnership with Watson on day two and deserved a hundred. Will now get the opportunity to plunder some runs off New Zealand's weak attack.

Usman Khawaja - 7:  The replacement for the injured Marsh showed once again that he has the technique and temperament for Test cricket even if his failure to pick Tahir's googly led to his downfall after his crucial 65.

Ricky Ponting - 6: Things looked bleak after his 1st innings duck, but if nothing Ponting is a fighter and responded to his predicament by displaying better footwork and a straighter bat than he has for a long time. It was a shame he couldn't go on to make a hundred but this knock and injuries should keep him in the XI for the New Zealand series at least.

Michael Clarke - 4: After his wonderful hundred at Newlands, the skipper failed in both innings here, but he won't mind given the manner of his side's stunning victory and the way they bounced back from that humiliating 47 all out. Is starting to look like a decent leader.

Mike Hussey - 5: A quiet series after scoring heavily in Sri Lanka recently. Got starts in both innings, but was unable to go on and has a tendancy to get stuck in his crease.

Brad Haddin - 6: Picked an opportune time to score his first fifty of the year as he and Johnson compiled the partnership that won the game. Will need to kick on if he is to see off the challenge of Tim Paine and Matthew Wade.

Mitchell Johnson - 5:  Another stop-start performance, but looked good in the morning session on day four where he found some movement and batted intelligently (not a word you'd usually associate with him) to see his side over the winning line. May get a couple more opportunities in the last chance saloon.

Peter Siddle - 5: Helped put the brakes on South Africa's 1st innings with the wickets of Kallis, De Villiers and Boucher, but whilst his heart can not be questioned doubts still remain over how good a Test bowler he actually is.

Patrick Cummins - 9: Does it get any better than this? The 18 year old debutant's first Test wicket was Amla, then he led the attack magnificently to take a six wicket haul in the 2nd innings, hit the winning runs and was given the man of the match award. The future's bright, the future's Cummins.

Nathan Lyon - 6: He's no Warne, but he did bowl tidily throughout to pick up four wickets and continue to give the impression that Andrew Hilditch's last punt as head of the Australian selectors may well have been a decent one.

Where next?

2nd Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

What Jacques Kallis had for breakfast this morning

Has Ricky Ponting lost his punch?

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The final day of the South Africa-Australia Test 'series'

It is over before it has even began. It has been cut off in its prime.

It is almost if the South African and Australian players have jointly resolved to make their respective boards look as cretinous as possible for the terribly flawed decision to agree that this 'series' should comprise just two Test matches.

There have been more thrills and sprills, more twists and turns than the first series of 24, and the penultimate dayof the series yesterday was no different.

Hashim Amla paid fitting tribute to Basil D'Oliveira by completing his hundred - all non-white South African sportsmen particularly cricketers owe Dolly a debt of gratitude. Since the beginning of last year, Amla has scored 1549 Test runs at a tick over 70 and has claim to be the best batsman in the world today.

Australia has produced some tremendous fast bowlers over the years and 18 year old debutant Patrick Cummins looks the latest in a long line after his performance in this game. Taking a six wicket haul on your first appearance is something special especially the way he led the Australian attack, to do so at this tender age marks out Cummins as one to keep your eye on.

Then there is the drama within the drama that is Ricky Ponting's attempt to save his illustrious Test career. His partnership with Usman Khawaja has brought Australia back into the game and the prospect of Ponting saving his career with a match-saving hundred is an enticing one to say the least.

Whilst as much opprobrium as possible needs to be flung at the South African and Australian cricket boards for their senseless decision to agree such a short series, much credit must go to their players for what has been an enthralling seven days cricket to date.

A drawn series seems the fairest result and the one that makes the boards look even more ridiculous, so we will be willing Ponting on this morning in what we hope will be a one wicket win for Australia.

Where next?

Basil D'Oliveira R.I.P

Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

What Jacques Kallis had for breakfast this morning

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

Has Ricky Ponting lost his punch?

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

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Has Ricky Ponting lost his punch?

Amidst the wreckage of Australia's 47 all out in the 1st Test at Newlands last week was the sorry figure of Ricky Ponting.

Not only had he failed with the bat in both innings, but the manner and similarity of his dismissals were not becoming of Australia's best batsman since Bradman.

So is Ponting a busted flush? Or like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid - two other great batsmen of similar vintage, is Ponting just going through a trough and is it only a matter of time before he displays his consummate class once again?

This is the subject of our column this week on All Out Cricket. Read Has Ponting Lost His Punch? and then watch him go and score a ton in the 2nd Test at The Wanderers, which starts today.

Where next?

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

Michael Clarke, Lara Bingle and Australia's 47 all out

Can Ricky Ponting do a Dravid?

The real reason why Ricky Ponting smashed that TV

Gideon Haigh speaks about Peter Roebuck

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1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

Shane Watson - 6: A real mixed bag: failed twice with the bat, bowled full and straight to wreak havoc after lunch on day two and then dropped Amla early on the final morning. If Australia see him as an all-rounder then he must drop down the order.

Phil Hughes - 4: A pair of nine's, which in the context of this Test wasn't too bad but how he can picked ahead of Simon Katich beggars belief.

Shaun Marsh - 6: Showed real doggedness first time around in his key partnership with Clarke and then got just what you wouldn't want with a bad back in the second innings - one that kept low. None of the blame for this fiasco should be laid at the feet of Marsh.

Ricky Ponting - 2: Forget the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, Ponting's fall from grace seems to be even more dramatic. He missed two straight ones to be leg before in both innings and John Inverarity has his first really big decision to make.

Michael Clarke - 8: The skipper didn't deserve to be presiding over this disaster after hitting the best hundred of his career on day one. Fronted up with bravery and honesty in the post-match conferences.

Mike Hussey - 1: Just one run and his loose shot to be dismissed in the second innings was not becoming of such an experienced player. Dropping Amla off the final ball of the second day capped off a poor match for Mr Cricket.

Brad Haddin - 0: If prison sentences were handed out for reckless and wanton batting then Haddin would surely be incarcerated for his diabolical dismissal in the second innings. Matthew Wade or Tim Paine can expect to be handed the gloves very soon.

Mitchell Johnson - 2: So the nine wickets in the warm-up match proved a false dawn as in a match dominated by bowlers, Johnson only had the consolation wicket of Amla in 16 overs that cost 87 runs. How long can Australia afford to persevere with him?

Ryan Harris - 6: Bowled wonderfully well in the first innings in conditions and a pitch that suited him, but was disappointing second time around when he offered plenty of opportunities to Amla and Smith to reach the boundary.

Peter Siddle - 5: There's no doubting Siddle's competitiveness as ably demonstrated by his batting in both innings, but question marks over his quality as a Test match bowler still exist and were not answered here. 

Nathan Lyon - 4: Only got three overs with the ball, but his contribution in saving Australia from total ignominy and the lowest ever Test score will never be forgotten. Will hope that this is the first and last time he top scores in a Test innings.

Where next?

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

Michael Clarke, Lara Bingle and Australia's 47 all out

Dale Steyn's place in the cricketing pantheon alongside Sachin Tendulkar

Dale Steyn's duel with Michael Clarke

Cricket Zeroes: Mitchell Johnson

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Michael Clarke, Lara Bingle and Australia's 47 all out

If Michael Clarke thought life had been too unpredictable during his time with Lara Bingle, then he may wish to reconsider after an extraordinary second day in the 1st Test at Newlands yesterday.

It was the day that Crowded House could have reformed and conceivably reprised one of their biggest hits with a slight twist – forget four seasons, this was four innings in one day.

It should have been so different. After Clarke’s brilliant 151 (an innings that has now acquired the value of Italy’s national debt after what followed) had steered his side to 284 and Shane Watson had dismantled the hosts for 96, Australia’s advantage should have been impregnable.

But just as against Pakistan at Headingley in 2010 and England in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG five days later, Australia were found wanting in seam and swing friendly conditions.

This was the third time that Australia had been bowled out for less than 100 in 12 Tests. Prior to that they had only failed to make three figures once in 277 Tests stretching back 26 years. This batting is more brittle than the most severe case of osteoporosis.

Let’s make it clear this was nothing to do with the pitch. Sure Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn put the ball in the right place, and yes it nibbled around a bit, but the fault lies squarely with the batsmen.

Watson and Ricky Ponting (whose decline has now reached epic proportions) missed straight deliveries to be leg before, Mike Hussey played a loose shot and as for Brad Haddin, well the wicketkeeper could conceivably be charged with dereliction of duty after a brainless charge down the wicket to Philander when his side were already 18/5.

A clearly stunned Clarke fronted up bravely at the close of play and said that the batting had been “disgraceful” – he couldn’t really have said anything else.

47 all out after being 21/9, a Test thrown away and severe question marks over the future of certain players like Haddin – the pile in John Inverarity’s in-tray has just got a whole heap bigger.

Where next?

Dale Steyn's place in the cricketing pantheon alongside Sachin Tendulkar

Australian cricket's Royal Wedding

Shane Warne comes out 

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Australia's bizarre retention policy

As their side has been knocked off their perch, the Australian selectors have become famous for their increasingly bizarre selections - Xavier Doherty, Michael Beer and Peter George to name but three.

But it is their retention policy - especially when it comes to one-day cricket - that perhaps warrants more scrutiny.

One would think that with Australia co-hosting the next World Cup in 2015, their strategy would be focussed on picking a team that can grow over the next four years and reclaim the trophy that they won three times in succession until 2007.

So we were surprised to say the least that Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey (both 36) as well as Brad Haddin, who will be 34 by the end of the year, were in the XI that beat South Africa at Centurion yesterday.

All three are fine players, but none of them will still be around in 2015 so should have been thanked for their service and relieved of their yellow pyjamas at the end of this year's World Cup.

It's not as if the Australian selectors don't discriminate against age given their ruthless sacking of Simon Katich from the Test side for that very reason, which makes their retention of Ponting et al all the more difficult to fathom.

England may be getting royally hammered in India at the moment, but at least they are doing so with a squad of players who will all be available for selection in 2015 and not collecting their pension from the post office.

Where next?

Can Ricky Ponting do a Dravid?

Ricky Ponting falls on his sword, but leaves with his head held high

The real reason why Ricky Ponting smashed that TV

Cricket Zeroes: Andrew Hilditch

Shane Watson wins lots of awards for nearly being good

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

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