The Reverse Sweep

County Championship 2012 Preview: Division 1 - Durham

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

Strengths

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

Weaknesses

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

Main man

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

Look out for

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

Prediction

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

Where next?

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

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

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

County Championship 2011 Preview  - Durham 

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship XI of the week #7

 
Chris Nash (Sussex) – First Championship ton of the season after six fifties, and it was a vital one too as Sussex chased down a tricky target of 275 at Hove. Is now the leading run scorer in Division 1 with 656 runs at 54.66. Second successive appearance in our XI.

Rory Hamilton-Brown (Surrey) – In a team bereft of openers, it was the skipper who took the responsibility of moving up the order to face down Essex’s total of 548. RHB’s 159 off 195 was therefore even more impressive than the score already suggests. One of our ten to watch in 2011.

Ian Bell (Warwickshire) – Warmed up for the Sri Lanka Tests and showed his immense class with 139 against a strong Notts attack featuring England colleagues Broad and Swann.

Gordon Muchall (Durham) – Struck his first ton of the season with his 175 being the base from which Durham dominated against Worcestershire at New Road.

Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire) – Pips Ian Blackwell and team mate Kane Williamson to the final batting spot for his fluent 168 (off 244 balls) at Grace Road – a week after his brother also made our weekly CC XI.

Graham Napier (Essex) – World Record equaling performance with 16 sixes in a first-class innings And 172 runs came in boundaries in his 130 ball 196. Phenomenal. Cricket’s Six Million Dollar Man?

Phil Mustard (Durham) – Put Durham out of sight at New Road with 101 and then marshalled his bowlers well to earn an innings victory.

James Harris (Glamorgan) – Eight wickets at Lord’s including that of Andrew Strauss to ease pain over Lions omission and send Glamorgan second in Division 2.

Naved-ul-Hasan (Sussex) – 10 for 161 in the match kept Sussex in the game – his potency proving the main difference between the sides as pre-season favourites Somerset were beaten at Hove.

Gary Keedy (Lancashire) – 10 wickets in the Roses match to put a buoyant Lancashire top of the table. Match figures of 77.3-14-177-10 make him the most deserving selection in this XI.

Steve Harmison (Durham) – Grabs the final spot in our XI ahead of Boyd Rankin and James Anyon for his seven wickets at Worcester. If he stays fit, Durham could challenge for the title they won in 2008 and 2009.

Where next?

Farewell and a tribute (of sorts) to Shane Warne

Cricket XIs: Cricketing Criminals 

County Championship XI of the week #6

County Championship XI of the week #5

County Championship XI of the week #4

County Championship XI of the week #3

County Championship XI of the week #2

County Championship XI of the week #1

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

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship Preview - Division 1: Durham

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

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

Strengths

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

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

Weaknesses

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

Main man

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

Look out for…

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

Prediction

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

Where next?

2010 County XI of the season

Steve Finn wins the big prize of the season

151, English County Cricket and Pure Greed

Read all our 2011 World Cup posts here

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

An XI of Asian Cricketers let down (for the most part) by England

 
The successors to Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji and the contemporaries of Nasser Hussain have for the most part not been dealt a good hand by the England selectors.

Monty Panesar was given plenty of opportunities before being usurped by Graeme Swann and Ajmal Shahzad may have made the cut for the World Cup.

Here is an XI of cricketers of Asian origin who have fallen by the wayside over the last decade or so. Some have been tried, found not to be good enough and discarded. Others have not helped themselves at times like the talented but unfit Samit Patel, but perhaps some could have been handled better by the selectors:

1. Vikram Solanki (Captain)– Indian born Solanki may have 51 ODI caps, but the selectors never seemed to fully trust this silky strokemaker and quite brilliant fielder. His 13 match streak in 2003, including a sparkling century against South Africa, was his longest consecutive stint in the side. Never got a Test opportunity, but perhaps should have.

2. Owais Shah – Finally nailed down a regular spot in the ODI side in 2007 after being jettisoned after 15 matches earlier in the decade. In his second coming, Shah averaged 35 in 53 matches and seemed set to be a fixture in the side for some time to come after a brilliant 98 against South Africa in the Champions Trophy of 2009. But question marks about his fielding, running between the wickets and propensity to be overwhelmed by nerves did for him in the end. All these failings were on show in his short six game Test career, which fell away after a promising 88 and 38 on debut against India.   

3. Mark Ramprakash – The most talented English batsman of his generation fell foul of his own failings, but also those of the selectors who dropped him more times than Kamran Akmal let Mike Hussey off the hook in the Sydney Test of 2010. Ramprakash played his last Test in 2002 at the age of 32, but despite his astonishing consistency and mountain of runs for Surrey since, the selectors have resisted the temptation to recall him one more time.

4. Aftab Habib– A surprise pick during the 1999 home series with New Zealand, which England lost to slide to the bottom of the test rankings, Habib was here today and gone tomorrow with just 26 runs in his three innings and falls into the category of those that weren't good enough.

5. Usman Afzaal– One that fell victim to the selectors aversion to those of a more portly nature, Afzaal admittedly didn’t set the world alight with just 83 runs in three tests during the 2001 Ashes series - although he did score a classy fifty at The Oval. He didn’t impress in other ways too. The Aussies were non-plussed by his cockiness and the flashy sponsored car that he rocked up in for his debut.

6. Ravi Bopara– To be frank, it is amazing that Luke Wright is ahead in the pecking order, but the immensely talented Bopara has become used to life on the fringes since bombing in the 2009 Ashes series. Three successive hundreds against the West Indies convinced the selectors that Bopara was the man to bat at three against Australia, when it was obvious that five or six were more suited to him. In one day cricket, he can fill a multitude of roles as an opener, late order hitter, useful bowler and electric fielder. May get a second coming in Tests, thanks to Paul Collingwood’s retirement.

7. Samit Patel – Patel did well in his 11 ODI in 2008 and in our view is a better bowler and batsman than both Tredwell and Yardy. However, Patel has fallen foul of England’s dislike of lardy cricketers and to be fair given that he reportedly failed a fitness test before the final XV for the World Cup was chosen, he only has himself to blame. That said, maybe it is better to have someone in the side that eats pies, rather than bowls them.

8. Adil Rashid– Nothing excites selectors and fans alike as a world-class leg-spinner, and Rashid has the potential to be just that. Selected for the 2009 World T20, Rashid did reasonably well. Since then though he has been messed about - most famously when withdrawn after one expensive over in Alastair Cook's farcical debut as captain in a T20 match against South Africa in 2009. Suddenly the England hierarchy lost faith and Tredwell leapfrogged Rashid for the tour of Bangladesh - surely the ideal place to blood the young leg spinner. Time is on Rashid’s side however, as he is still only 22.

9. Kabir Ali– It is perplexing that Kabir wasn’t given more than the solitary Test after taken five wickets on debut against South Africa at Headingley in 2003. He also performed reasonably well in his 14 ODI, taking 20 wickets at a shade over 34. However, his economy rate was over six runs per over and the final straw came when he was smashed for 72 off just six overs by Jayasuriya and Tharanga in 2006.

10. Sajid Mahmood– He may be quick, but despite being a cousin of boxer Amir Khan, Mahmood invariably lacks the killer punch and can make Harmison and Mitchell Johnson look accurate – such is his waywardness at times. Like many on this list however, Mahmood was mistreated by the selectors. After impressing against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the summer of 2006, he was promptly dropped for the Ashes series opener at Brisbane. When he was finally picked both form and confidence had gone and so was Mahmood just two tests later. He did make a brief limited overs comeback in South Africa in 2009, but his performances lacked the promise of his initial foray into international cricket.

11. Amjad Khan– Another of England’s one cap wonders, the Danish born Amjad played his only Test at Port-of-Spain in 2009 and took 1/122. A subsequent knee injury and loss of form means that others have leapfrogged him in the pecking order and barring a minor miracle, is unlikely to play for his adopted country again.

Where next?

How well are the England selectors handling Adil Rashid?

Mark Ramprakash: English cricket’s great lost talent

Reaction to England’s World Cup Squad – Prior the victor, but where is Bopara?

Ravi Bopara – England’s Michael Hussey

The Worst Test XI of 2010

The Best Test XI of 2010

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including amongst others Graeme Swann, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Shoaib Malik, Ijaz Butt, Imran Khan, VVS Laxman and Mushtaq Ahmed

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

England's Dirty Dozen

 
After all the talk of securing the Ashes before Christmas and going through the tour unbeaten, England certainly came crashing back down to earth in Perth. Indeed, the collapse from 78/0 to 187 all out in the first innings was so disappointing that Icarus himself could have been the pilot of England’s doom. And it got worse in the second innings too with the capitulation for 123 reminding us that being an England cricket fan can be tough.

In fact, with alarming regularity, England’s batting has a tendency to brittleness and being prone to collapse like a house of cards in a force nine gale. On far too many occasions in our 30 years of following England expectation and anticipation can quickly turn into crushing disappointment, misery and despair.

Here is a dirty dozen of England’s worst batting performances over this time. Unfortunately, it is not an exhaustive list but merely one compiled of those disasters that come most easily to mind.

1. 51 all out, 2^nd innings, vs West Indies, 1^st Test, Kingston, 2009

In an inauspicious start for Andy Flower in his  first match in charge, England started their 2^ndinnings 74 runs behind. Just 33.2 overs later England were all out for 51. Coincidentally, this was almost a role reversal of what had happened at the same ground five years before when Steve Harmison, with 7 for 12 had bowled the West Indies out for 47.

2. 46 all out, 2^nd innings, vs West Indies, 3^rd Test, Port of Spain, 1994

Having played well throughout the match, England had been set 194 to win and were confident even though they needed to get the better of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh to reach their target. Nineteen overs of hostile fast bowling later, England were dismissed for a paltry 46, Ambrose with 6 for 24 and Walsh 3 for 16.

3. 79 all out, 2^nd innings, vs Australia, 1^st Test, Brisbane, 2003

After Nasser Hussain’s bizarre decision to give Australia first use of a flat Gabba track, England were always chasing this game especially with Matthew Hayden scoring a century in each innings. Set an unlikely 463 to win, England were demolished for 79. And Mark Butcher scored 40 of this dismal total!

4. 175 all out, 2^nd innings, vs Pakistan, 1^st Test, Multan, 2005

After dominating this match, with Marcus Trescothick scoring 193 in England’s 1^stinnings and Andrew Flintoff taking match figures of 8 for 156, England were set 198 to win on the last day of the 1^stTest. However, they fell 22 runs short to the express pace of Shoaib Akhtar and the wily spin of Danish Kaneira. The balloon of optimism from the 2005 Ashes success had been burst after only one match.

5. 129 all out, 2^nd innings, vs Australia, 2^nd Test, Adelaide, 2006

On the flattest of flat pitches England had scored 551 for 6 in their 1^stinnings, with Paul Collingwood scoring a double century. Although Australia had responded with 513 all out, surely England couldn’t lose from here?  Even the Australians, Shane Warne apart, expected the game to meander to a draw. However, after a shocking and timid display England were bowled out for 129 in 73 overs. Australia won by six wickets, and England, with Flintoff crying as he bowled, never recovered and lost the series 5-0.

6. 82 all out, 1^st innings & 93 all out, 2^ndinnings, vs New Zealand, 2^nd Test, Christchurch, 1983

Not one but two dismal batting performances in the same match. The nadir of a shambolic tour to the land of the long white cloud in 1983 was the 2^ndTest at Christchurch, where after New Zealand made 307 in their 1^st innings, England were shot for 82 and 93, following on, to lose by an innings. Richard Hadlee had match figures of 8 for 44.

7. 162 all out, 2^ndinnings, vs New Zealand, 4^th Test, The Oval, 1999

In this fourth and deciding Test of the series, England suffered the ignominy of defeat against a New Zealand side that had previously been ranked the worst team in Test cricket. Chasing 245 to win, England slumped from 123 for 2 to 162 all out to replace the Kiwis at the bottom of the rankings. Fortunately, Nasser Hussain recovered from this inauspicious start to his captaincy to help forge a more resilient England side in tandem with Duncan Fletcher.

8. 203 all out, 1^st innings, vs South Africa, 2^ndTest, Headingley, 2008

England were shot out for 203 by a South African side that had just had to save the 1^stTest at Lords. England, who had brought the hitherto unknown Darren Pattinson in for Collingwood, were blown away in 52.3 overs. South Africa responded with 522 and England eventually lost by ten wickets. This defeat and another one in the following Test at Edgbaston led to the resignation of Ashes hero Michael Vaughan as skipper.

9. 222 all out, 2^nd innings, vs Pakistan, 3^rd Test, The Oval, 2010

Having recovered from 94/7 in the first innings thanks to Matt Prior’s 84, England started their second innings 75 behind Pakistan. However, with Alastair Cook hitting a career saving hundred, England were 81 ahead with only two wickets down. Then Cook’s demise led to a sorry procession and the last seven wickets fell for 28 and despite a late flurry of wickets, Pakistan won by 4 wickets.

10. 155 all out, 1^st innings, vs Australia, 1^st Test, Lords, 2005

After bowling the Aussies out for 190, with Harmison taking 5 for 43, England collapsed to 21 for 5 thanks to their nemesis Glenn McGrath. Although the Aussies went on to win this battle by 239 runs, England won the war, the adulation, the Trafalgar Square celebrations and their MBEs.

11. 180 all out, 1^st innings and 169 all out, 2^{nd innings} vs South Africa, 4^th Test, Johannesburg, 2010

Having escaped by the skin of their teeth in the previous test at Cape Town, England went into the final test at The Wanderers needing just a draw to win the series. Unfortunately as at the WACA, the pitch had pace and bounce, and when Andrew Strauss was out to the first ball of the match, England’s defeat seemed inevitable. They weren’t helped by Daryl Harper’s ineptitude in the video umpire’s chair enabling Graeme Smith to be reprieved on the way to a hundred, but it was their inability to face the pace barrage from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel - who snared 14 wickets between them - that hastened their doom.

12. 102 all out, 1^st innings, vs Australia, 4^thTest, Headingley, 2009

With all the talk before hand being about how a win would enable England to regain the Ashes (remind anyone of anything?), a confident Strauss elected to bat on a bowler friendly Headingley surface. But, fears that in the absence of Kevin Pietersen, the England batting was totally reliant on Strauss came to pass. With Stuart Broad batting too high at seven in the absence of Flintoff, and the selectors continuing to rely on an out of his depth Ravi Bopara, at number three, Australia roared back into the series. Happily for England, they bounced back to win the series and the Ashes in the next test at The Oval – can they repeat the trick in Melbourne?

Where next?

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

England's 10 best test wins of the noughties

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The Boundary View: Two out of Three Ain't bad for England - Adelaide, Day Four

 
Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

Meatloaf's signature tune proved prophetic for England as they snared two of Australia's big three by the close of Day 4. If rain doesn't save Australia, the home side needed one of their three big guns to score a massive hundred to escape to Perth with a 0-0 scoreline. But first Graeme Swann ensured that Ricky Ponting wouldn't repeat his brilliant 156 to save the Old Trafford Test of 2005, by inducing an edge to Paul Collingwood at slip. Then with the final ball of the day, Kevin Pietersen staked an unlikely claim as a golden arm with the wicket of Michael Clarke for a classy 80. Australia's hopes now rest on rain and the last of their big three Michael Hussey - who continued his renaissance with an unbeaten 44. 

Shades of Edgbaston 2005?

In that monumental Edgbaston Test of 2005, Steve Harmison looked to have secured victory for England with a majestic slower ball to get Clarke just before close on the fourth day. Pietersen isn't in Harmison's class as a bowler, but his ball to the Australian vice-captain was just as good turning sharply from outside off-stump to get an edge to Cook via Clarke's thigh pad. He hung around like a condemned man for the review but Clarke, whose 103 not out got Australia out of a hole at Edgbaston in 2009, knew he was a goner.

And then there were three

The risk of playing just four frontline bowlers was highlighted with the stomach strain suffered by Stuart Broad - who had looked the best of the England seamers today. This means that Swann will bowl even more overs in this innings, but luckily for England he looks to have recovered from his Brisbane blip. Elsewhere James Anderson couldn't repeat his inspirational new ball spell of day one and Steve Finn leaked too many boundaries in his first spell before bouncing back to get Watson and bowl much more impressively with the old ball.   

Fifty and out

He may be a prize galah, but in every way but one Shane Watson has done surprisingly well as a Test match opener and averages over 50since coming in to replace Philip Hughes at the top of the order at Edgbaston in 2009.  The one area where he has been found lacking though is in converting his frequent good starts into big scores - he has reached 50 14 times as an opener but only got to three figures twice. Maybe with Watson you can take the boy out of the lower middle order, but not the lower middle order out of the boy.

Records and more records for England

England added 69 quick runs in the morning and more records came: Kevin Pietersen's highest Test score of 227, four  hundred partnerships in an innings for the first time for England since The Oval in 1938 and England's second highest score ever in tests in Australia. Four players: Pietersen (135), Cook (225), Trott (121) and Bell - who looked sublime again - (144) now average over 100 in the series. But the only statistic that really counts is making it 1-0 in the series come tomorrow.

From elation to deflation

We're guessing that Peter Siddle is no great fan of the UDRS. After having had a caught behind decision for Cook overruled on appeal on Saturday, he was denied even the consolation prize of Prior, when a plumb looking leg before decision was again overturned. After the high of six wickets and a hat-trick in the 1st innings at Brisbane, the willing Siddle now has 0/211 from his last 54 overs. Talk about the highs and lows of Test cricket. 

Player of the day

Until the last ball of the day, it was going to be Michael Clarke. He was under immense pressure when he came to the crease after a dreadful run of low scores, but he played a positive knock and used his feet well to Swann. But his departure to KP means we have to go with the aforementioned Graeme Swann  - who got the breakthrough wicket of Katich and then the key prize of Ponting. It could be his day tomorrow too.   

Zero of the day

There was no obvious choice on day four, but with much expected of Ricky Ponting, it must have been demoralising for him and for the dressing room when he fell to Swann for only 9. 

What happens next? 

Putting the weather aside for one minute - and let's hope that someone in the England camp is on first name terms with the raingods - what happens with the new ball tomorrow morning holds the key to this Test match. If England get a couple of wickets early on, it could be all over by lunch. But if Hussey can marshall a rearguard with North and/or Brad Haddin, who knows?   

Where next?

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

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

Day 3 at Adelaide dissected: Double Trouble & The Able KP

Day 2 at Adelaide dissected: Cook serves up a dish of deja vu and That won't work either, Punter...

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

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Brisbane Zero: Martin McCague

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

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

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

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

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

Where next?

Brisbane hero - Eddie Paynter

Siddle's joy of six

Check out all our other Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

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

 

The joy of six for Siddle

As first days go, it wasn't quite akin to the new boy at school having his head shoved down the loo by the bigger kids - but it wasn't far off for England. And things had looked so promising just after tea with Alastair Cook and Ian Bell going well and Australia resorting to bowling outside off-stump in order to stem the flow of runs.  Enter Peter Siddle who celebrated his birthday and overwhelmingly justified his selection ahead of Doug Bollinger with only the eighth hat-trick in Ashes history. Siddle looked the most likely bowler all day and made England pay for the likes of Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Cook failing to push on to a big score after getting good starts - it was certainly nothing to do with the pitch, which makes Siddle's six wickets all the more impressive.

The opening shots of an all too familiar story

Steve Harmison's horror first ball of the 2006/07 series was memorable for all the wrong reasons, but with more focus than usual on the opening delivery of the match, Ben Hilfenhaus produced an instantly forgettable innocuous delivery that passed harmlessly past Andrew Strauss' off-stump. His third ball is the one that will be remembered though - not that it was a good one - with Strauss cutting a poor delivery straight to gully. By the end of the day, with Simon Katich hitting Graeme Swann's first two deliveries for four you could visibly see the confidence draining from England. What is it with England and starting Brisbane tests so badly?  

X-Factor or X-Rated?

Xavier Doherty's rapid rise from obscurity to Australia's test team has created a lot of interest - not least because of his first-class bowling average of 48. But he did well for someone on debut and bowled tidily getting turn, bounce and occasional drift as he went past the outside edge on more than one occasion. The battle with Pietersen was fascinating, with KP shading it this time. It's a shame for Australia that Doherty wasn't so steady in the field when failing to hold on at point when Cook was only 26. But in the end it didn't really matter and Doherty then did what a good spinner should by mopping up England's last two wickets. A promising start if not quite something for Simon Cowell to get excited about yet.

KP watch - a cure for dozing on the sofa

A Pietersen innings always borders on the frenetic rather than the calm and this one was no different as he looked to attack both seamers and Doherty alike. It certainly stopped us dozing off on the sofa and to our tired eyes KP looked in fine fettle. But with the ball going soft and the prospect of his first test hundred for an eon there for the taking, Pietersen drove lazily at a good one from Siddle. On this form however,  it can be only a matter of time before KP reaches three figures again.

Player of the day

Cook fought admirably for his 67 and Bell looked in imperious touch once again (maybe he should be moved up the order?), but there can be only one choice here. Siddle, playing his first test since January, was immense and made history. No doubt he will celebrate his six wickets and his 26th birthday with a glass or two of Bollinger (apologies to Dougie).

Zero of the day

It has to be Strauss. The captain who hadn't put a foot wrong all tour chose the most inopportune time to err. As his momentary delay on the crease showed, no-one will know more than Strauss that his dismissal handed the early initiative to the Australians.

What happens next?

For England and the match, hopefully a couple of early wickets - the bowlers could learn from Siddle who took all his wickets by bowling a full length. For Australia, they will be looking to consolidate, avoid the all-too familiar batting collapses that have haunted them of late and unlike England, the batsmen who get good starts will be looking to cash in. At the moment it is advantage Australia and England look up against it. 

Where next?

Other Ashes hat-tricks

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

Australia's formidable record at the Gabba

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let the action begin.

Where next?

Read all the articles of our Ashes 100 day countdown

10 reasons why Australia / England will win the Ashes

Ashes Squad Player Profiles: Australia and England

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

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

Ashes 100-1: 12 - The 25 Greatest Ashes Tests: Part 3 of 3

 
Today we conclude our mini-series of the 25 greatest Ashes tests of all time (see also Part 1 and Part 2 of the Greatest Ashes Tests ever) with the final nine starting in 1977 and ending in 2009.

Centenary Test, Melbourne, 12-17 March 1977 - Australia won by 45 runs: Not strictly an Ashes Test as the urn wasn't at stake, but this match staged to commemorate the first-ever Test exactly 100 years earlier was a classic. Australia were shot out for 138 before Lillee turned the table on England with six for 26 as England could only muster 95. Rod Marsh then struck 110 as Australia set England a mammoth 463 for victory. Amazingly they got close and at one point were 346 for four. But when Randall fell for a brilliant 174 the end was nigh and Australia scraped home by 45 runs - the same margin as in that first test 100 years before.

3rd Test, Headingley, 16-21 July 1981 - England won by 18 runs: For the first three days, England were completely outplayed and followed on. It seemed inevitable that Australia were about to go 2-0 up in the series. Then Botham with able support from Dilley and Old smashed 149 not out and Willis roared in with eight for 43 to enable England, who at one point had been 500/1 for the win, to score an amazing victory.

4th Test, Edgbaston, 30 July-2 August 1981 - England won by 29 runs: Lightning struck twice for Australia in the very next match when they looked like winning a low scoring encounter at Edgbaston. Set 151 to win, they eased to 87 for three before Botham produced his second miracle of the summer grabbing five for one in 28 balls to secure a 29-run victory.

4th Test, Melbourne, 26-30 December 1982 - England won by 3 runs: An extremely tight match saw all four innings total between 284 and 294. When Australia were 218 for nine chasing 292 all looked lost for the home side. But Border and Thomson took them to within sight of the finishing line before that man Botham struck inducing an edge from Thomson that Tavare parried into the hands of a grateful Miller.

4th Test, Melbourne, 26-30 December 1998 - England won by 12 runs: England were 2-0 down and the Ashes had already gone coming into the Boxing Day Test. But some unlikely seasonal cheer came their way when Australia collapsed chasing 175 - sliding from 130 for three to 162 all out. Dean Headley had his moment in the sun with six wickets whilst Steve Waugh scored 122 not out and 30 not out.

2nd Test, Edgbaston, 4-7 August 2005 - England won by 2 runs: The best test in history? McGrath and that cricket ball. Ponting wins the toss and inexplicably puts England in. England score over 400 on day one and lead by 99 on 1^stinnings. The Aussies fightback but a last wicket stand of 51 from Flintoff and Simon Jones enables England to set the Aussies 282 to win. A magical over by Flintoff accounts for Langer and Ponting. A magnificent slower ball from Harmison bamboozles Clarke. Lee with Warne and then Kasprowicz take Australia to the precipice of victory before Harmison and Geraint Jones combined to win the day for England. Flintoff consoles Lee. Breathtaking.

4th Test, Trent Bridge, 25-28 August 2005 - England won by 3 wickets: England dominated the match with a century from Flintoff and five wickets for Simon Jones. But in pursuit of only 129 for victory after Australia had followed on, panic set in against an inspired Warne and Lee. Giles and Hoggard were the unlikely heroes that steered England home.

2nd Test, Adelaide, 1-5 December 2006 - Australia won by six wickets: Disaster and ignominious defeat for England and glory for Australia. A double-hundred for Collingwood and 158 from Pietersen saw England declare on 551 for six. Hoggard took seven wickets as Australia conceded a 38 run lead - it should have been more but Giles dropped Ponting and the Australian captain cashed in with 142. With a draw the most likely result, England caved in on the last day to be all out for 129 with an inspirational Warne pulling the strings and Australia cantered to victory and ultimately a 5-0 series win.

5th Test, The Oval, 20-23 August - England won by 197 runs: With the series level at 1-1, the momentum was with Australia after a crushing win at Headingley in the 4th Test. But Strauss won a crucial toss and led from the front with 55 and Bell top-scored with 72 as England scored 332. Then with Australia cruising at 73 for o, Stuart Broad (five for 37) bowled an inspired spell as the tourists were reduced to 111 for seven and finally 160 all out. Jonathan Trott then struck a composed hundred on debut with Strauss hitting his second fifty of the match to help set Australia an unlikely 546 for victory. At 217 for two, England were nervous but Flintoff's run out of Ponting proved to be decisive and the Ashes had been regained.

Where next?

Read all the articles of our Ashes 100 day countdown

Botham's Ashes

10 reasons why Andrew Flintoff was a true Ashes great

Dean Headley's one day in the sun  

We want Harmison & Sidebottom to start at the Gabba

Well, that's what the Australians want anyway.

Every time an Ashes series approaches, several current and former Australian players starting talking up the players they would like to see in the England line-up.

Last summer it was Steve Harmison who featured in nearly every interview with one of Ricky Ponting's squad or former players with close links to the hierarchy like Shane Warne and Justin Langer. All were smilingly unanimous in their assertions that Harmison was the best bowler England had and that they would be delighted if he wasn't picked. What they actually meant of course was that given that the 2006/07 series had given them a huge psychological edge over the mentally weak fast bowler they would love to see him running in to bowl against them.

They've already been talking up Harmison again in the run-up to the forthcoming series Down Under, but it is unlikely that Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss will fall for it this time and the emergence of Steven Finn has probably put the final nail in the coffin of Harmison's England career.

So now the Australians have turned their attentions to the next England bowler they would love to see at the Gabba in November. Speaking after his Nottinghamshire side's FP T20 win over Worcestershire, David Hussey spent most of the time talking up Ryan Sidebottom and hinted that the Australians would not be keen to face him in the upcoming series.

Don't be fooled by this. This was not a case of a captain talking up one of his team for the sake of his county. This was Hussey saying we'd be delighted to face Sidebottom on Australian pitches where we think he would be as innocuous as a caterpillar at a convention of lions.

Next up, expect to see Ricky Ponting talking up Chris Tremlett as a fit and fiery fast bowler and James Tredwell as a mystery spinner in the category of Warne and Murali.  

An exciting future England cricketer

Sky Sports are really serving us up a treat with their live coverage of the county championship match between Kent and Durham. And no I am not talking about the commentary skills or otherwise of Charles Colville.

On the first day, we saw an excellent exhibition of fast bowling from Steve Harmison overshadowed by a fabulous 261 from Reverse Sweep favourite Rob Key. Yesterday's second day was just as good as we saw Ben Stokes hit a magnificent unbeaten 122 as county champions Durham fought back from 26 for two to close just 77 runs behind Kent's 424 all out.

We first caught sight of 18 year old Stokes during coverage of the under-19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year, where he was England's undoubted star of the show.

Stokes seems to have transferred his obvious talent to the first-class game with consummate ease  and yesterday's 100 was his second in six days following his maiden first-class century against Nottinghamshire last week.

His innings was a sumptuous one with 15 fours and two sixes against a strong Kent attack including Makhaya Ntini, Amjad Khan and Azhar Mahmood. Stokes drove and pulled particularly well and seems to have abundant confidence for one playing in only his sixth first-class game. He certainly dominated a stand of 143 with fellow centurion Dale Benkenstein.

It would appear that we erred somewhat when omitting Stokes (and Chris Woakes for that matter) from our dozen county cricketers to watch in the 2010 season (see Part 1 and Part 2), so we will remedy that now by declaring that we will eat a cricket ball (thanks Shahid Afridi) if Stokes does not go on to play for England. He also bowls decent right arm medium, so England may well have another all-rounder in the making here.

Our confidence that he will play for England is enhanced by the fact that Stokes was actually born in New Zealand, so as well as probably following in the footsteps of Caddick Pietersen, Morgan, Kieswetter, Prior, Strauss and Lumb et all, he will also upset the Little Englanders into the bargain too. Which is never a bad thing.

Let's hope he can keep going when the play resumes later today.

  

Robert Key fills up the telly

We've always rather admired Rob Key here at the Reverse Sweep.

The Kent skipper is a bit of a throwback to when cricket was full of larger-than-life characters like Ian Botham, Allan Lamb and Raymond Illingworth. Certainly Key seems to be a fairly jovial chap who doesn't take life too seriously and judging by his girth he enjoys the post-match camaraderie just as much as he enjoys the cricket.

But he is also a fabulous batsman who should have played more tests for England. I can understand why his athleticism; or to be more precise his lack of it, would preclude him from the Twenty 20 and one day sides, but he can count himself extremely unlucky that he hasn't played a test match since the tour of South Africa in 2004/05. Apparently the England hierarchy were displeased by the close bond he formed with Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison and resolved to split up the burgeoning Three Musketeers. As the other two were England's key (pardon the pun) players at the time, it was the other Key who inevitably took the fall.

In another life he would have kept his place for the infamous Ashes series of 2005 and would no doubt have done better than the man who replaced him - Ian Bell. Indeed, the Australians actually respected Key and had seen on the 2002/03 England tour to Australia that he had a bit of the bulldog about him. If that had happened life could have been very different for Robert Key MBE.

So we were delighted yesterday on a number of counts. One, we were still basking in the glow of England's World T20 victory. Two, Sky Sports were showing a live County Cricket match. And three, Key chose this moment to hit a gloriously commanding 261 against the reigning county champions Durham.

It was a quite spectacular innings, coming off just 270 balls and featuring 38 fours and three sixes. Key was at his bludgeoning best and with Steve Harmison in full flow and the next highest score being Azhar Mahmood's 43, the innings was all the more remarkable. Especially so, considering that Key's championship average this season coming into the match was a dismal 14.3.

Unfortunately, it is probably too late now for the 31 year old to get a recall from the England selectors, so fans of the curmudgeonly Key will have to make do with the sporadic coverage of county cricket from Sky. But yesterday we saw what might have been.