The Reverse Sweep

Do you want to help save Test cricket? @TestingTimesXI

Of course you do.

With a bonanza of Test cricket being played this month one might think the premium format of the game was in good health. India and West Indies are playing out a thrilling Test in Delhi, Pakistan have just beaten Sri Lanka and Australia play South Africa tomorrow.

But as we wrote recently, Test cricket is under serious threat even in its strongest base where the ECB have only provisioned a three Test series with South Africa next summer. With the increse of two match series (how can just two Tests constitute a 'series'?), and the ICC's much trumpeted World Test Championship facing postponement these are challenging times for the ultimate format of the game.

Which leads us to Testing Times, a well-organised campaign that has the long-term goal of persuading the ICC to ensure the protection of Test cricket by granting it greater emphasis in global schedules.

That's some manifesto, but what can we all do to help? Well, the short-term aim is to persuade the ECB to add an extra Test to next summer’s key aformentioned clash between the world’s top two nations, England and South Africa.

It's easy to help - just sign the Petition: the target is to get 28,000 people – the number of people who would fill Lord’s Cricket Ground (clever eh?) – to sign the petition to show that people care about Test match cricket.

Testing Times also has Facebook and Twitter accounts, and are always grateful for a retweet to spread the word.

We cannot think of many better causes, can you?

Where next?

The slow death of Test cricket?

England are playing THIRTEEN ODI next summer. Oh joy...

The Top 20 Cricket Blogs

Andy Flower and the curse of autobiographies

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

England are playing THIRTEEN ODI next summer. Oh joy...

 
Perusing King Cricket earlier we were amused by Alex's suggestion for rebranding the THIRTEEN one day internationals that England will play at home next summer.

THIRTEEN? Yes, believe it or not, England really are playing THIRTEEN ODI next summer with a completely unnecessary five match series with Australia being sandwiched by three matches against the West Indies and another five against South Africa.

The consequences of all this and the fact that the minor distraction of the London Olympics is taking place means that the Test series with South Africa will only comprise three matches, which as far as The Reverse Sweep is concerned is (in the words of Yorkshire Chairman Colin Graves) a bloody disgrace.

Instead of looking forward to a four or even better five match Test series between the two best teams in the world, we have to make do with a measly three matches. Australia are touring England in 2013 and 2015, so why on earth do we need another five match ODI series next summer?

England-South Africa Test series have a habit of being nailbitingly memorable affairs. Who can forget Marcus Trescothick's double hundred propelling England to a series levelling draw at The Oval in 2003? Or Matthew Hoggard's 12 wicket haul to give England the series in Johannesburg in 2004/05?

Then there was South Africa's triumph in England in 2008, which saw the end of Michael Vaughan's reign as England captain. Finally, there were the backs-to-the-wall performances at Centurion and Cape Town in 2009/10, which did so much to shape the character of this England side.

But do the administrators care? Do they heck. So the cricket loving public will be subjected to THIRTEEN one day internationals next summer. That's not just unlucky for some, that's unlucky for all.

Where next?

Our Top 20 Cricket Blogs (featuring King Cricket)

Heroes of Newlands

England's 10 best Test wins of the noughties

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

South Africa choke in the World Cup - Part V

 
Whilst credit should go to New Zealand for ruthlessly exposing the mental fragility and brittleness of the opposition, this had to be the worst choke of all in a World Cup history littered with chokes for South Africa.

To put it bluntly, South Africa couldn’t have self-asphyxiated any better if they had all been wearing suspenders, put oranges in their mouths and tied a belt around their throats.

South Africa has still to win a knockout match in the World Cup.

In 1992, they were plain unlucky.

In 1996 they won their group and were then stunned by the fourth placed team from the other group in the quarter final (sounds familiar?). But in their defence, it took a hundred by Brian Lara at the peak of his powers to defeat them.

Three years later they had two chances to extinguish Australia. Herschelle Gibb’s infamous drop and a superlative hundred from Steve Waugh in the first game and keystone cops running between the wickets by Allan Donald and Lance Klusener in the semi-final saw the Proteas splutter once again.

When they hosted the tournament in 2003, South Africa exited at the group stages after fatally misunderstanding Duckworth Lewis.

And then in 2007, it was old nemesis Australia again in the semi-final and a right royal thrashing.

But even with that chequered history, Friday was something special.

South Africa were on easy street at 108/2 with only 114 needed from 26 overs.

They faced a New Zealand attack of Nathan McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram and Tim Southee; which with all deference to Vettori is hardly the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Even when Jacques Kallis was out, South Africa should have eased to victory.

But they didn’t.

What unfurled can only be described as mental disintegration. How else can you explain the run out of AB De Villiers?

And that is why the South African cricket team will continue to be tagged as chokers.

Sounds fair enough to us.

Where next?

Lay off England after World Cup proves a bridge too far

Check out our Reverse Sweep XIs

Read all our 2011 World Cup posts here

World Cup Zeroes: Herschelle Gibbs

South Africa: Don't mention the 'C' word...

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

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

What have we learned so far from the Cricket World Cup?

 
Finally, it is over. The Hundred Years War lasted for less time than the group stages of the World Cup; or so it seemed anyway.

But what have we learned so far?

• No-one seems to want to win the tournament – there is no outstanding side and several mediocre ones
• South Africa look the best balanced team and appear to be marginal favourites – but can they win their first knockout match ever in a World Cup? Or will the ‘c’ word raise its ugly head again?
• England are the most exciting, entertaining and unpredictable side in the tournament – eat your heart out, Pakistan.
• Shahid Afridi has proved to be a much better captain and galvanising force than anyone could ever have predicted.
• Given the batting collapses against England, South Africa and West Indies, India seem to be feeling the pressure of winning on home turf.
• Love him or loathe him, but Ricky Ponting is probably only one defeat away from retirement.
• Two groups of seven was a very bad idea. Keep the minnows and have four groups of four instead.
• England are the only side left in the competition who are unbeaten against the other quarter-finalists – just don’t mention Ireland and Bangladesh.
• Being the coach driver of the victorious opposition is an extremely hazardous vocation in Bangladesh.
• Don’t bowl filth to Ross Taylor and expect to get away with it.
• Ryan ten Doeschate is the next South African on Andy Flower’s wish list.
• George Dockrell is the next Irishman on Andy Flower’s wish list.
• You wouldn’t want a wounded Kevin Pietersen next to you in the trenches.
• Matt Prior is not a good choice to open the batting.
• James Anderson is knackered.
• Bob Willis and Jonathan Trott are not on each others Christmas Card list
• Asking Graeme Swann to bowl with a wet ball is worse than telling him that his cat is stuck under the floorboards.
• Kamran Akmal really is the worst wicketkeeper in the history of cricket.
• This World Cup is very difficult to predict, but here goes. Pakistan, India, South Africa and England (it would be folly to bet against them at the moment and yes, we know we predicted Sri Lanka would win the World Cup at the outset) to make the semi-finals.

Where next?

Check out our Reverse Sweep XIs

Read all our 2011 World Cup posts here

Heroes: Bob Willis

Zeroes: Kamran Akmal

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

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

World Cup Zeroes: Herschelle Gibbs

 
Herschelle Gibbs was reputedly a good enough footballer as a boy to have a trial with Manchester United before pursuing a career in cricket.

Let’s face it when it comes to brains, Gibbs is more Ashley Cole than Michael Atherton, so perhaps should have stuck to kicking rather than hitting a ball for a living.

He has certainly got into a few scrapes throughout a gaffe ridden career.

Getting sucked in by Hansie Cronje was probably his worst move, but several episodes of drunkenness, indiscipline and his no-holds barred autobiography also come to mind.

But when it comes to the World Cup, Gibbs will forever be remembered for one hubristic error.

South Africa should have won the 1999 World Cup. They were probably the best team in it and could and should have had the immense pleasure of knocking Australia out not once but twice (if indeed that is possible).

If Gibbs had caught Steve Waugh in the Super Six match at Headingley, then the Australians would have been eliminated.

Up to that point, Gibbs had had a good day. A scintillating century in South Africa’s score of 271 seemed to have put the game in his side’s favour.

And when Australia slipped to 48/3, Gibbs could have been forgiven for thinking about the man of the match champagne.

Then came his moment. Waugh on 56 offered Gibbs a simple catch at mid-wicket.

If he had misjudged it and spilled the chance, fair enough – these things happen.

But in a typically over-arrogant moment Gibbs started celebrating before he had the ball fully under control. What a plank. That is unforgiveable.

As Waugh (who went on to make an unbeaten 120) supposedly opined, Gibbs had indeed dropped the World Cup.

If Gibbs had caught the ball before celebrating like a namby-pamby footballer, South Africa would have won the match and probably the tournament – and then the chokers tag would never have been hung around their necks.

If that doesn’t make Gibbs a zero, we don’t know what does.

Where next?

Read about our other cricket heroes and zeroes

Check out our Reverse Sweep XIs

Read all our 2011 World Cup posts here

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

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

 
To choke, or not to choke? That is the question for perennial underachievers South Africa. Their World Cup history is littered with tales of campaigns that peaked too early, defeats snatched from the jaws of victory and of course a failure to understand Duckworth Lewis. Will it be different this time?

Strengths

Hashim Amla is arguably the world’s top ODI batsman at present and loves batting on the sub-continent. When you add Smith, Kallis, De Villiers and Duminy to the mix, the Proteas have a formidable batting line-up. Dale Steyn is likely to rival Zaheer Khan as the outstanding quick on show and Morne Morkel and Tsotsobe are pretty good back-up. On paper at least, South Africa look one of the favourites.

Weaknesses

Other than the 'C' word, South Africa are seriously lacking in the spin department unless the recently qualified Imran Tahir (if England can adopt players, why can’t South Africa) can hit the ground running.

Main man

As well as plundering runs like a modern day ODI version of Bradman in the last 12 months, Hashim Amla is simply a joy to behold at the crease. Our tip to be the tournament’s leading run scorer.

Look out for…

The next incredible episode in South Africa’s World Cup tale of woe, or will it be different this time?

Prediction

2^ndin the group and then toppled in the quarter-final by Shahid Afridi’s cornered tigers.

Where next?

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

Our XI to shine at the World Cup

Get your money on Hashim Amla now...

What has happened to JP Duminy?

Jacques Kallis: Cricket's Thomas More - 'A man for all seasons'

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes featuring amongst others Hashim Amla and Paul Harris

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

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

 
24 years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming 

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

High noon

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

Jimmy floors 'em like Tyson

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

A bright future

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

Player of the day

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

Zero of the day

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

Where next?

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

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

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

Day 1 @ Sydney: Rain interrupts war of attrition

Read all the excerpts from KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes 

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Watching three masters at work in Cape Town

 
We've not seen as much of the South Africa-India series as we would have liked - the small matter of the Ashes has put paid to that for this success-starved England fan.

But what we have seen has been utterly engrossing, even if the battle for supremacy between the top two sides in the world really should be a five rather than three test series.

India's fightback from the walloping they took at Centurion has been mightily impressive and saved the BCCI from some embarrassment. How they believed that the side could turn up for their first venture outside the subcontinent for 18 months to play the second best side in the world with their previous poor record in South Africa was beyond belief.

But there is resilience as well as quality in this Indian side, helped in no small part by some of itstop-class players. On a minefield in Durban, VVS Laxman once again showed he is the master of the second innings with a brilliant 96 and Zaheer Khan returned to add canninessto the bowling attack and coaxed much improved performances from Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma.

However, the best aspect of this series has been watching three absolute masters of their craft go about their business. No more so than in the current series decider at Cape Town. Sachin Tendulkarenjoyed an Annus Mirabilis in 2010 and it looks like extending into 2011 if his magnificent 146 here is anything to go by.

India faced a real challenge in replying to South Africa's 362, but Tendulkar played an absolute gem of an innings especially because he had to contend with more out-of-this-world bowling from Dale Steyn.

In his last Test at Newlands, Steyn bowled an outstanding spell of bowling to Paul Collingwood with the new ball, but somehow failed to get the wicket that probably would have led to victory for South Africa. He has been similarly brilliant against India with new and old ball and showed just why he is far and away the best fast bowler in the world. Indeed, Steyn is so good that he has the best strike rate of any bowler in history to have taken more than 100 test wickets - withthe exception of George Lohmann, who played at a time when bowlers held sway just as much as batsmen do today.

But Tendulkar's mastery in handling Steyn helped India eke out a two-run first-innings lead and when South Africa slipped to 130/6, India looked like they would record a series win in South Africa for the first time. Step forward Jacques Kallis. Not content with scoring his first double hundred in Tests at Centurion, or 161 in the 1st innings here, Kallis played an innings equally as brilliant as Tendulkar in marshalling a rearguard from the tail and in the process recording his 40th Test hundred. 

South Africa now look the side most likely to win a pulsating match and the series, although the draw is most likely as Steyn has not been well supported by his bowling colleagues. But whateverthe outcome, watching Kallis, Steyn and Tendulkar at work in this test match has been like having Beethoven, Mozart and Bach all gathered in your living room for a one-off exclusive concert. Let the music play.

Where next?

The best Test XI of 2010

The worst Test XI of 2010

Heroes: VVS Laxman

Dale Steyn: irrefutably the best bowler in the world

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Get your money on Hashim Amla now

 
Back in May we asked if Hashim Amla was the best batsman in the world. That was after he followed up his stunning performances in India with an encore in the ODI series with the West Indies in the Caribbean.

Since then Sachin Tendulkar has put that one to bed at least where Test cricket is concerned (see Sachin Tendulkar’s Annus Mirabilis) with his annus mirabilis proving even more impressive than Amla’s.

But the South African continued his extraordinary performances in ODI in 2010 with another stellar performance in South Africa’s narrow two run win over Pakistan this week, batting through the innings for an unbeaten 119 off 126 in a low scoring encounter.

After belatedly cementing a place in the ODI side in the home series last autumn with England, Amla hasn’t looked back and in 2010 his record is staggering. In 13 matches he has scored 986 runs at 82 with five hundreds and three fifties and all this at a strike rate of 103.

His overall ODI record is unsurprisingly hugely impressive too with 1834 runs in 35 matches at 61 and six hundreds and nine fifties at  a still superlative strike rate of 92.5. Amla's test record in 2010 is none too shabby either with an average of 80 in seven matches with three hundreds and two fifties. 

Given Amla’s love of playing on the sub-continent – in the two test series in India at the start of this year Amla batted for 23 hours and 22 minutes, scored 494 runs and was only out once - he is a good bet to be the leading run scorer in next year’s World Cup. Perhaps even more so than the Little Master himself.

Where next?

Amla the magnificent: Much more than a beard 

World Cup 2011: How are the protagonists shaping up?

Pakistan tear up the script to dismay Hollywood

Cricket World Cup 2011: How are the protagonists shaping up?

One World Cup has just concluded with Spain rightfully crowned champions for the first time, so thoughts can now turn to cricket's World Cup, which begins on 19 February 2011 when India take on Bangladesh in Dhaka.

There has been a slew of one day international cricket recently and as such this seems an apt time to look at each of the contenders for the crown. Can anyone wrest the World Cup trophy from Ricky Ponting? Or will Australia lift the trophy for an incredible fourth successive time?

As we've already pointed out (see What cricket can learn from football in how to stage a World Cup here), the competition itself will run for an excessive six weeks and is comprised of two groups of seven, from which the eight quarter finalists will emerge. Thankfully, the dreadful Super Six/Eight stage has been consigned to the history books. The two groups are as follows:

Group A: Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the minnows Canada and Kenya.

Having won a series 4-2 in India last autumn soon after retaining the Champions Trophy, Australia are still the team to beat despite the recent Nat West Series reverse to England. A powerful batting line-up (what a luxury to have Michael Hussey coming in at six or seven) will be augmented by Brad Haddin (injured for the games with England). And if they can get their best bowlers fit then it is difficult to see Ponting's side not at least reaching the semi-finals. No one will fancy facing a quartet of Bollinger, Johnson, Tait and Harris even on the slower pitches of the subcontinent. But could the lack of a top class spinner cost the Aussies in the end?

Sri Lanka will also be strong given that they could play at home right up to and including the semi-final. They may have lost the recent Asia Cup final at home to India, but their recent form has been good. Kumar Sangakkara has an excellent and varied line-up of bowlers including Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews and Muttiah Muralitharan who will be determined for a one day swansong as happy as his test exit. Add to that a strong batting line-up including the skipper, Tillakaratne Dilshan, the imperious Mahela Jaywardene and the consistent Thilan Samaraweera, then most observers would back the Lankans to also make the semi-finals.

Although Pakistan were knocked out in the preliminary stage of the Asia Cup, their performances under new (and now only limited overs) captain Shahid Afridi were much improved with the losses to Sri Lanka and India both going to the wire. The top order is a bit shaky and invariably relies on the Akmal brothers and the skipper to get it out of trouble, so a recall for Younis Khan and/or Mohamamd Yousuf must be on the cards. Any side that can name Umar Gul, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Aamer in its XI will be confident of restricting the opposition to gettable targets and then there is the joker in the pack of Shoaib Akhtar. As ever, Pakistan will be dangerous floaters.

New Zealand will be tough to beat as usual, but with Shane Bond retired and some of their more established names past their best, heavy reliance will be placed on (Super)Dan Vettori and Ross Taylor. The Black Caps would seem to be most at risk from coming a cropper against a Zimbabwe side fresh from beating India twice and Sri Lanka once in the recent triangular competition they hosted. When you add in the mix, Zimbabwe's useful complement of spinners, it wouldn't be a massive surprise if they made the quarter finals ahead of Vettori's men. The two minnows in the group, Canada and Kenya can be discounted with the latter a shadow of the side that shocked everyone by reaching the semi-finals in 2003.

Group B: India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and The Netherlands.

Just like the England football team, India will have to cope with ridiculously high expectations from its media and supporters, which will be compounded by the fact that they are playing at home. Will they be able to cope with the pressure? At least MS Dhoni is an excellent captain who has won a major trophy (this year's IPL) on Indian soil (as well as the 2007 World T20). And when you add the skipper to a batting line-up that includes Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, then you begin to understand why most Indian supporters hopes are high; more so if Yuvraj Singh can regain form and fitness. But it is the bowling department where India look short outside of the excellent Harbhajan - even Zaheer Khan has looked out of sorts recently. The recent triumph at the Asia Cup came after a shadow side had been embarrassed in Zimbabwe. Semi-finals at least, but winners?

A lack of quality spin options could cost South Africa dear on the subcontinent, although any team containing the batting prowess of Amla (especially on subcontinent pitches), Smith, De Villers and Kallis plus the pace and brilliance of Steyn will be tough to overcome, even if the proteas have no spinner of note. But then comes the typical South African problem of underperforming (some would say choking) at pretty much every World Cup. They have recently easily beaten West Indies in the Caribbean, but can they overcome the Asian giants, Australia or even England? We doubt it.

England's one day fortunes have taken a sudden rise in the last nine months and their supporters will be dreaming that Andrew Strauss' men can repeat their World T20 success and win the World Cup for the first time. Most of the side is settled and with Ravi Bopara announcing himself in the final game of the series with Bangladesh as the answer to the number six conundrum, only one or two doubts remain. Does Andy Flower stick with Michael Yardy as Graeme Swann's spin twin or does he twist with the precocious Adil Rashid? The only other doubt concerns the new ball opening pair. James Anderson has been out of sorts, but probably has enough credit in the bank. Tim Bresnan however, is clearly not an international bowler of sufficient class so Ajmal Shahzad who impressed against Bangladesh, the great survivor Ryan Sidebottom or Steve Finn could join Anderson in the XI. Whether England can actually win is debatable especially given their poor recent record on the subcontinent, but they have their best chance since 1992.

With Bangladesh playing at home and the West Indies increasingly in turmoil, Chris Gayle's men could suffer the ignominy of failing to get out of the group. Bangladesh have some talented players and if they can have more days in the sun like they did at Bristol against England (rather then the subsequent defeats to Ireland and Netherlands), then more familiarity with the winning habit could make them dark horses on home pitches next year. West Indies were humiliated by South Africa 5-0 at home recently and a huge improvement is required before the main event starts in just over seven months. Don't discount the most dangerous of the minnows Ireland either, who will be spirited opposition for anyone. The Netherlands though can expect to be the whipping boys of this group and certainly won't repeat the success of their footballers by reaching the final.

For now, we predict that the winner will come from one of Australia, Sri Lanka, India and England, with Pakistan being the dark horses.

If cricket was at the football World Cup...

Earlier this week we wrote a post comparing certain cricketers to some of the footballers on show at the World Cup. For example Kevin Pietersen's ability to divide opinion as a love and hate figure whilst being vain and a bit of a mincer we judged as a deadringer for Cristiano Ronaldo.

So, to coincide with the start of the World Cup quarter finals today, we turn our attention to the teams. If cricket's nine test sides were at the World Cup, which footballing nation would they be?

Pakistan are France - Bit of an obvious one this one. The football world was amazed by the dysfunctional, disloyal and mutinous French, but thanks to Pakistan and the PCB, cricket is familiar with having a crazy team and an even crazier administrative board within its ranks. L'equipe de France is only an apprentice in controversy compared to the old hands of Pakistan.

India are England - Both full of richly talented performers but who continually fail to deliver on the big stage that is the World Cup to deflate the huge media expectation at home. 44 years of hurt for the England football team is nearly equalled by India's 27 year gap since they won the cricket World Cup in 1983. However, at least India are the number one ranked test side; the England football team have done nothing as good.

England are Spain - Until recently, both sides had failed to deliver on the big stage for a very long time. England had a false start with winning the 2005 Ashes, but since the introduction of Andy Flower as coach have regained the Ashes and now won the World T20. Spain finally broke their quarter final hoodoo in the 2008 European Championships and now both teams dream of the ultimate success of a football World Cup and an Ashes win in Australia. Both have a really good chance.

Australia are Germany - England's biggest foe in cricket and football respectively, both are now rebuilding after long periods of success. Whilst both are not quite the side they were in days of yore, both tend to raise their game for England and like nothing more than rubbing the nose of St George in the mud. It is a fool that would ever rule out the Australian cricket side and the German football team.

South Africa are Portugal- Consistently strong teams that never seem to win anything and have a tendency to choke. South Africa have stumbled with the victory line in sight in so many competitions, but the 1999 World Cup particularly sticks out with the two games against Australia and Herschelle Gibbs dropping the World Cup. Portugal too had the ultimate opportunity for a trophy when they played obdurate Greece at home in the European Championship Final of 2004, but contrived to lose 1-0 with Ronaldo finishing the game in tears (ha ha).

Sri Lanka are Holland - Continually punch above their weight, limited resources and a small population, and do so with a huge degree of style whilst even managing to win things. For Sri Lanka, it was the 1996 World Cup and strong subsequent performances plus colourful players such as Jayasuriya, Da Silva, Sangakkara, Vaas and Murali. Whilst for Holland, read the 1988 European Championship victory, two World Cup finals and some of the greatest footballers ever in Cruyff, Gullit and Van Basten.

West Indies are Italy - Fallen champions. Italy unbelievably finished bottom of a weak group containing Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia just four years after winning the World Cup. West Indies have been on a downward spiral ever since Australia won their elusive series in the Caribbean in 1995. Italy will rise again though, but will the demoralised West Indies?

New Zealand are Paraguay - Always seem to qualify for the second stage, but are then found wanting due to a lack of stardust and strength in depth. Dependable, tough to beat but ultimately boring. Finally, with South America having a history of dictators, Daniel Vettori would be right at home.

Bangladesh are Cameroon/Nigeria - Despite continuous stories saying Bangladesh are getting better they continue to lose and rank at the bottom of the pile. Whilst African football is reasonably strong and has a number of the best players in the world, the predictions of many (including Pele) that an African country would win the World Cup has failed to materialise and only Ghana made it past the group stage in South Africa. So it may be a bit of an unfair comparison to Cameroon and Nigeria, but for failing to even win a match in this year's World Cup, for now they are Bangladesh.  

Giving test cricket a bad name

Pitched against the football World Cup, the US golf open and in cricket, the Asia Cup and Nat West Series between England and Australia, the 2nd test between West Indies and South Africa was never going to capture the imagination of the sporting world.

And a good thing too. In what was perhaps one of the most turgid test matches of recent times, the match petered into one of the most dreary draws that you could hope not to see. For those that missed it, South Africa won the toss and ground out 546 for 6 declared in 147 overs. Insomniacs in the crowd would have been cured by typically efficient and drab hundreds from Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.

West Indies at least showed they had rediscovered some semblance of backbone by responding with 546 all out from an excruciating 181.1 overs. This included 53 from 215 balls from the normally attacking Dwayne Bravo and a typically dour hundred from Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

We shouldn't be surprised at the apparent utter tedium of this test match. Five day cricket in the Caribbean has become irrevocably linked with dreadful and lifeless pitches and sub-standard test cricket. In the last year or so, we've seen the remarkably boring series with England, which but for the visitors inexplicable collapse in Jamaica would have been a 0-0 stalemate. Then we had the series between the West Indian 3rd XI and Bangladesh.

Now we have the South African series. Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn apart, the Proteas lack flair and are notoriously conservative, but even Smith has been complaining about the dead pitches and painfully slow cricket on show.

Test cricket in the Caribbean used to be one of the most exciting in the world. Now West Indian cricket followers not only have to contend with a sub-standard and disinterested side not fit to wear the famous maroon cap, but they also have to put up with insipidly boring cricket.

Chris Gayle got a lot of stick in England last summer for his negative comments about test cricket. But having seen the pitches he has to play on at home, one can hardly blame him for yearning for the 50 or 20 over formats. The shambolic West Indian Cricket Board needs to do something about it now before test cricket in the Caribbean becomes even more marginalised. 

World T20 Super Eights: Group E Predictions

As we wrote earlier this week, the World T20 has left us a little bit cold so far. A combination of rain, ridiculous Duckworth Lewis results, an overkill of T20 after the IPL and the pointless preliminary group stage (why not just have two groups of six?) have all contributed to our state of disappointment. The only bright spot to date has been Afghanistan, and they deserved five not two matches in our opinion.

Anyway the business end of the tournament starts today with two Group E matches. First, England take on reigning champs Pakistan and then New Zealand face South Africa, with both matches taking place in Barbados. Indeed, the first two round of matches of each group takes place in Barbados, which if yesterday is anything to go on will see low scores and extreme pace to the fore.

So, who will make the semis? For what it's worth, here is our preview of Group E. Group F comprising of Australia, India, West Indies and Sri Lanka will be previewed later.

Pakistan

With Shahid Afridi captaining literally anything can happen. Will be pleased that they cannot face their bogey side Australia again until the semi-finals at least. Whether they implode or emulate their victory last year is anyone's guess.

Player to watch: Who else but Mr Afridi, sixes and controversy are never far away

Who else? Mohammed Aamer and Saeed Ajmal

Weaknesses  Where do you start? Inconsistency, infighting and not exactly the shrewdest skipper in the World.

Prediction 4th in the group

 

England

In T20 England are nearly as inconsistent and unpredictable as Pakistan. We haven't really seen the bowling yet because of the rain, but the batting fired against West Indies and then limped against Ireland. Our prediction to win the tournament before it started, we don't feel so confident now.

Player to watch Eoin Morgan was brilliant against West Indies and Ireland, and his strength and unorthodoxy is perfect for T20.

Who else? Ryan Sidebottom - more for the tantrums then the wickets, and Kevin Pietersen who could leave at any minute to fly home to be at the birth of his first child. Also if Frank Duckworth makes an appearance, look out for Paul Collingwood and his 5lb bat.

Weaknesses Ryan Sidebottom again. How he gets into the side ahead of James Anderson, we will never know. The fledgling opening partnership is unproven and Tim Bresnan opens the bowling.

Prediction Group winners - we have to stick with our original prediction even if it is likely to mean a visit from the men with white coats.

 

South Africa

The move to pace friendly Barbados is likely to favour South Africa's Plan A; though the absence of a Plan B could still get them into trouble in the latter part of the tournament. A strong batting line-up also makes the Proteas favourites to progress.

Player to watch Dale Steyn, the world's best bowler

Who else? Steyn's partner in crime Morne Morkel plus Jacques Kallis who won't excite but can be counted on for runs.

Weaknesses  No Plan B. Kallis may score runs but tends to get bogged down meaning hitters like Albie Morkel, AB De Villiers and JP Duminy are sometimes left in the hutch until too late.

Prediction 2nd in the group

 

New Zealand

The perennial dark horses have looked good so far. Super Dan is flying and his team of mostly journeymen generally rise to the occasion in these sort of events and normally punch above their weight.

Player to watch Scott Styris - runs, wickets but don't expect a smile from probably the ugliest man in cricket

Who else? Shane Bond should enjoy the Bridgetown pitches, Ross Taylor is one of the best T20 batsmen around and Super Dan seems to have an endless supply of krypton.

Weaknesses A heavy reliance on Super Dan and a lack of real quality means that if their opponents perform well then they usually lose. They also have a dreadful record against South Africa.

Prediction It's close, but 3rd in the group

 

Pace sends brave Afghanistan up the Khyber

If the best bowler you had faced before was Boyd Rankin then how would you feel faced with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel running in at full steam on a bouncy track in Barbados? Petrified is probably the answer. At the very least you would quickly understand how a deserter feels when faced with a firing squad.

This was Afghanistan's fate yesterday as Steyn and Morkel ripped through their top order like a pair of knives slicing through butter as the Afghan's hopes of successfully chasing down 140 to secure a place in the Super Eight stage went up in smoke. Pluck was not in short supply though, as the Afghans recovered from 14 for six and 32 for eight to reach an at least respectable 80 all out.

Given Afghanistan's rapid rise and the fact that unlike Ireland for example they had not played at this level before, they emerge with bats held high from their two defeats to India and South Africa. They certainly justified their belief that they should have the opportunity to play regular T20 and ODI against the top teams. Their fielding has been sharp, the bowlers have done well and even the batsmen performed reasonably against India despite being blown away by Steyn and Morkel yesterday.

Of course, if the ICC had done what it should have done and just had two groups of six teams at this competition, then the Afghans would have got five matches against top-class opposition; it was a long journey for two matches. It certainly would have been interesting to see how they would have fared against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. If the former's match against Australia was anything to go by, where the pace of Nannes and Tait undid Bangladesh after their bowlers had put them within range of a shock victory, then a match-up with Afghanistan could have been too close to call.

So as the Afghan's prepare for an arduous journey back to Kabul, they leave safe in the knowledge that the fact that they even reached the competition was one of the best stories in sport of recent times. Moreover, they depart having not embarrassed themselves and with the hope that this is just the end of the second chapter of what will become an ever more enthralling ride. 

World T20 preview and predictions

Just five days after the end of the IPL season, international cricket resumes with the World T20 in the Caribbean. Although, it will be a less frenzied affair with no DLF maximums, no timeouts and praise be to God, no Danny Morrison, it is not exactly an example of good scheduling by the ICC. And coming under a year after the last World T20 in England, no-one could argue that cricket in general is adopting a less is more approach to the youngest form of the game.

The competition itself is structured in the same way as a year ago with four initial groups of three being whittled down to two groups of four in the Super Eight stage, before the semi-finals and final. Group A sees holders Pakistan up against Bangladesh and Australia, and with Shahid Afridi captaining pretty much anything could happen. Shorn of Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan through the mismanagement of Ijaz Butt and one of the best T20 bowlers in the world in Umar Gul through injury, Pakistan may even struggle to get past unpredictable Bangladesh.

Despite losing a warm-up match to Zimbabwe and Brett Lee to injury, Australia has to rank amongst the favourites for the trophy; though the decision to leave Doug Bollinger at home could come back to haunt them. We'll take the Aussies to top the group and Bangladesh to get past Pakistan and cause more match-fixing allegations from their oh so wonderful politicians.

Group B sees last year's runners up Sri Lanka take on New Zealand and Zimbabwe. King Kumar's boys should do well on the expected slow pitches of the Caribbean and New Zealand don't generally get beaten by the minnows, so despite the boon of beating Australia, the ever-improving Zimbabwe are likely to miss out here.

The wonderful story that is Afghanistan qualifying for the competition is likely to end abruptly with India and South Africa the opposition in Group C, and the hosts West Indies and England will have too much firepower for Ireland in Group D.

Then the real business will start with the Super Eight stage although the bizarre way in which those groups will be constituted is confusing to say the least. By our reckoning, assuming Australia, Sri Lanka, India and England win the preliminary groups, the two Super Eight groups will be Bangladesh, New Zealand, South Africa and England in Group E, and Australia, Sri Lanka, India and West Indies in a much tougher looking Group F. But we could be wrong and we're already on the phone to Professor Stephen Hawking in order to get a better understanding of how this works.

Anyway, taking for granted that we are correct; and for England's sake we hope we are, then the Reverse Sweep's belief that 2010 is going to follow 1966 and 2003 in the annals of English sporting glory looks a distinct possibility. With T20 being a great leveller, the selectors finally picking the right squad and England having a good balance between bat and ball, Paul Collingwood's men should be right up there in contention for the trophy. We take them to go through to the semi-finals with South Africa from this supposed Group E.

If Group F looked like this then it would rightly be called the group of death. All four teams look strong with India led by the excellent MS Dhoni and Australia the two favourites for the competition. But don't rule out the hosts who will be looking to make up for their disappointing performance when hosting the World Cup in 2007. With Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, West Indies have the impact players that win a T20 match in a five over spell. And with T20 having that element of unpredictability we go for the hosts to join India in the last four.

With South Africa likely to choke in the semi-final and the West Indies probably running out of steam, we at the Reverse Sweep are predicting an India-England final with the absence of Sachin Tendulkar meaning that England will finally break its duck of having never won a limited overs ICC world trophy. But we won't be massively surprised if we get it wrong.

In terms of the cricketers to look out for, here are our tips (one per country) as the likely stars: England - Kevin Pietersen, India - MS Dhoni, South Africa - Dale Steyn, West Indies - Kieron Pollard, Australia - Cameron White, Sri Lanka - Angelo Mathews, Bangladesh - Tamim Iqbal, New Zealand - Ross Taylor, Pakistan - Shahid Afridi, Zimbabwe - Elton Chigumbura, Ireland - Niall O'Brien, Afghanistan - Mohammad Shahzad.

Let the festivities begin, and then roll-on quickly so we can get some test cricket...    

Michael Vaughan's master race

No I am not talking about a team comprised of Manchester born Yorkshire players with dodgy knees and a wonderful cover drive, but headlines in the Daily Telegraph saying "Michael Vaughan calls for all-English England"seem to suggest that Vaughan has been wearing out his copy of Mein Kampf.

Vaughan makes a differentiation between Kevin Pietersen and the most recent South African born players to play for England; namely Jonathan Trott and Craig Kieswetter. He argues that "someone like Kevin Pietersen made the decision very early to come over to England and he learnt a lot of his cricket here" whilst Trott and Kieswetter both represented the South African under-19 side. I get the impression that Vaughan is not keen on Trott; who in his ghost-written autobiography claims he saw celebrating with the South Africans at Edgbaston after they had beaten England in what proved to be Vaughan's last game as skipper.

I wonder if the distinction he makes with KP is convenient given that Vaughan lavishes praise on Pietersen in the same book; admitting that he couldn't wait to get him in the side for the Ashes in 2005 following his spectacular introduction in the one-dayers in South Africa. Kieswetter too came to England early, even spending time at Millfield and has been at Somerset since he was 19, so I am not sure that Vaughan's argument washes here.

Where would Vaughan stop? Well his preference that he would like to see "in an ideal world, 11 complete Englishmen in the team" suggests that Andrew Strauss, Matt Prior and certainly Eoin Morgan would not make the cut either.

Vaughan is right to suggest that some of the South Africans coming to England do so to make money. But one can hardly blame them for that. Globalisation and the ensuing removal of restrictions to allow freer movement of labour means that this trend is set to continue. The ECB couldn't legislate against it even if they wanted to, because the UK is part of Europe and has to adhere to the labour laws of the EU.

I don't know the forum in which Vaughan made these comments and whether they have been taken out of context by the Daily Telegraph, who let's face it are probably keen to see an all English population in England, but I am surprised that someone as erudite as Vaughan has put himself in danger of being misconstrued. Nick Griffin will be lapping it up.

 

 

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Michael Vaughan's master race

No I am not talking about a team comprised of Manchester born Yorkshire players with dodgy knees and a wonderful cover drive, but headlines in the Daily Telegraph saying "Michael Vaughan calls for all-English England"seem to suggest that Vaughan has been wearing out his copy of Mein Kampf.

Vaughan makes a differentiation between Kevin Pietersen and the most recent South African born players to play for England; namely Jonathan Trott and Craig Kieswetter. He argues that "someone like Kevin Pietersen made the decision very early to come over to England and he learnt a lot of his cricket here" whilst Trott and Kieswetter both represented the South African under-19 side. I get the impression that Vaughan is not keen on Trott; who in his ghost-written autobiography claims he saw celebrating with the South Africans at Edgbaston after they had beaten England in what proved to be Vaughan's last game as skipper.

I wonder if the distinction he makes with KP is convenient given that Vaughan lavishes praise on Pietersen in the same book; admitting that he couldn't wait to get him in the side for the Ashes in 2005 following his spectacular introduction in the one-dayers in South Africa. Kieswetter too came to England early, even spending time at Millfield and has been at Somerset since he was 19, so I am not sure that Vaughan's argument washes here.

Where would Vaughan stop? Well his preference that he would like to see "in an ideal world, 11 complete Englishmen in the team" suggests that Andrew Strauss, Matt Prior and certainly Eoin Morgan would not make the cut either.

Vaughan is right to suggest that some of the South Africans coming to England do so to make money. But one can hardly blame them for that. Globalisation and the ensuing removal of restrictions to allow freer movement of labour means that this trend is set to continue. The ECB couldn't legislate against it even if they wanted to, because the UK is part of Europe and has to adhere to the labour laws of the EU.

I don't know the forum in which Vaughan made these comments and whether they have been taken out of context by the Daily Telegraph, who let's face it are probably keen to see an all English population in England, but I am surprised that someone as erudite as Vaughan has put himself in danger of being misconstrued. Nick Griffin will be lapping it up.

 

 

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Amla provides compelling evidence as to why Mike Procter was sacked

When Mike Procter and his fellow selectors were sacked much ire was directed at the South African Cricket Board. Yes, they had just drawn the home test series with England, but it hadn't been long before that the side had won a test series in Australia. With Mickey Arthur also exiting, it seemed that the SACB had been ruthless to say the least especially with the tour of India only days away.

However, I am currently watching compelling evidence as to why Procter et al were dismissed. Who in their right mind could leave Hashim Amla out of the original ODI squad?

We've all seen over the last few weeks that Amla has turned into a formidable test batsman. Following his good performance against England, he turned into Bradman with a beard in the two tests against India with 490 runs, three centuries and only one dismissal.

But he is also an extremely good ODI batsman. Prior to his knock in the third ODI, where he just failed to produce yet another hundred, he averaged over 46 from 23 ODIs with a strike rate of 84. That is good by anyone's standards.

  

It seems that Procter, like many others, has underestimated the sheer quality of Amla. The tests and ODIs between India and South Africa have produced a feast of batting, and perhaps the biggest compliment to Amla is that he has looked worthy to stand alongside those Indian princes of batting - Sehwag, Laxman and of course the incomparable Tendulkar.

Hashim Amla has certainly laid down a 'drop me if you dare' message to the new South African selectors and management team. 

Amla the magnificent - much more than a beard

What a fantastic test match and what a shame that there were only two tests in the 'series'. It is a travesty. But even with two tons each from Sehwag and Tendulkar, fantastic knocks from Laxman and Kallis and great bowling from Steyn and Harbhajan, the undoubted star of the series was Hashim Amla.

Here are the stats: Amla batted for 23 hours and 22 minutes in the series, scored 494 runs and was only out once. That is truly remarkable. It means that he has now scored 678 runs already in 2010 at an average of 168.5. Eat your heart out Don Bradman.

And this is no flash in the pan. After initially struggling in his first 15 tests (1 century), Amla has played 28 tests since the start of November 2007 and scored over 2500 runs at an average a tick over 62 with nine centuries. 

Like the best batsmen, Amla can bat in different gears depending on the match situation. In his partnership with Kallis in the 1st test, he played very much the support role initially, turning the strike over to his much more fluent partner. Then when Kallis reverted to type, Amla took the initiative and upped his strike rate significantly. And then in this test, we saw a fluent 114 in the 1st innings followed by his near 400 ball unbeaten valiant knock in the 2nd.

When he first came into test cricket against England in 2004/05 after making his debut against India, Michael Vaughan's side identified a weakness against short-pitched bowling and Amla stuttered. England mistakingly believe that Amla has not rectified this weakness and persisted with the same strategy in England in the summer of 2008 and again recently in South Africa. Amla's 586 runs in those two series at over 45 with two centuries seems to suggest who won that battle.

Although Amla is yet to cement a permanent place in the ODI side (he was only called up to the squad for the matches with India today - funny that!), he has done well when he has played as an average of 47 and strike rate of 83 in 22 ODIs testifies.

At 26, Amla's best years are probably still to come and recent evidence suggests that it is he and not JP Duminy (Whatever happened to him?) (only one year younger at 25) who is the next South African batting star to join the ranks of Nourse, Pollock, Richards, Kallis and Smith in the Protea's pantheon.

Some have dismissed him as 'The Beard', but no more. Arise Sir Amla of Hashim.

What has happened to JP Duminy?

On October 11th last year, Ian Chappell wrote on Cricinfothat JP Duminy had "shown he has the right stuff to take over from Ponting when the time comes." and in further comparing him to Ponting added that "Lately, the word "champion" has been in vogue, but it's not overstating the case to say we're privileged to be watching two batsmen of that ilk, one current and the other future"- heady praise indeed.

To be fair to Chappell once we've scraped the egg off of his face, this was only one of many rave reviews for Duminy who had burst onto the scene with a nerveless unbeaten fifty on debut in Perth last year as South Africa chased down a mammoth 414. Not content with this he then made a game-changing 166 in the next test as the Proteas clinched the series at the MCG.

After that he continued to impress in all forms of the game and was one of the stars of the inaugural Champions League tournament in India.

My how things have changed. Since then Duminy's scores in six tests against England and India have been 56, 11, 4, 0, 0, 36, 7, 9, 0 and 6. That is 129 runs at 12.9, and his career test average has fallen from a lofty 49 to a paltry 29. He even suffered the ignominy of being known as 'Swann's bunny' during the recent home series against England.

The South African selectors now have an intriguing decision to make. Do they keep faith in Duminy's immense promise in what appears to be a straight decision between him and Prince now that Alviro Petersen has made a century on debut? Funnily enough it will probably be his bowling that keeps him in the side. He turns the ball more than Paul Harris (who doesn't) and has developed a knack of being a partnership breaker.

Even if he manages to hold onto his place many questions remain. Has he been found out by international bowlers now that they have had time to study his technique and identify his weaknesses? Or is it just an understandable blip (albeit a large one) following a phenomenally successful first year in the limelight? Only time will tell.