England v West Indies: 1st Test - Lord's, Broads and IPL Flaws

England can smile again after taking their first home victory of the summer against the West Indies at Lord's.  Batting the side home, Cook and Bell provided England with the partnership required to chaise down 191 runs on day five, but not before the Windies demanded Jonny Bairstow's presence at the crease with England on 189 after Alistair Cook opened the bat looking for glory, but instead finding the hands of Kirk Edwards.  Despite the score sheet now reading 1-0 to England, the West Indies can take away a wealth of positives from their performance at Lord's.  Shiv Chanderpaul showed off his class, forcing the game to extend to five days, and should have been rewarded with his name on the Lord's honors board.  His trademark anti-reflective strips, worn on his cheek bones, appeared like facial war-paint, as he ground England's bowling attack to a halt.  "The war will be over by Christmas" they cried in 1914, that phrase coming to mind late on day three when Surrey announced their free entry policy for Lord's ticket holders the following day.  Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?  

The West Indies would have felt they could have done better than their 243-all out in the first innings, allowing England to take early domination of the game.  The atmosphere in the ground on day one was electric as the crowd rose from their seats to congratulate Broad's five-fore.  What a bowler Broad is, nearly left out of the side this time last year, he has well and truly silenced all critics.  Now his name is eternalised on all three honors boards, a test match 100, 5-wicket haul and a 10-wicket haul.  Broady is England's all rounder, no question.  England's first innings finally put an end to the run drought which has plagued the side over the winter.  Strauss smashed 100, whilst Ian Bell batted back into form with 61 off 105 balls.  Through the innings raised yet another question about Strauss' batting, he is still unable to convert an overnight 100 into a double hundred, the runs have silenced his critics...at least for now.  

This test match also threw up questions to cricket's future and its morals.  Where were key West Indian's like Chris Gayle?  Knocking hundreds for IPL teams rather than representing their country at the home of the cricket.  Why do we now live in a generation where domestic league cricket becomes bigger than representing your country at a test match? Everyone knows that, if they too were in Gayle's position they would take the money and the IPL season, but players should not be put into a situation where they have too choose money over playing international cricket.  The ICC should not be allowing the IPL to get bigger than playing test cricket with the national team.  The IPL teams are engineered each year, dictated to by dollar signs, and should not make players compromise their international duties.  These types of competitions are doing nothing for the future of test cricket or the development of young players and their dominance and importance should be culled and controlled by the ICC, before a situation like the English Premier League develops, where individual clubs are bigger than the national team.  I sincerely hope that the ECB take a different approach to improving domestic cricket and don't follow the advertising, money monster that is the Indian Premier League.    

Stuart Broad who took an 11-wicket haul in the match

Shiv Chanderpaul, number one batsman in the world with his trademark anti-reflective strips 

Pride & Prejudice - story of English Cricket & Great Romance: Broad, Bairstow & Hamilton-Brown

Do people really describe international cricket as "sexy"?  I understand the idea that cricket seduces spectators and that once you fall in love with cricket you never leave it and rarely cheat on it.  Under the summer sun and panama hats the game captures you, not able to look away, you watch every swing, every sweep, every turn and every spin.  It is a passionate love affair with a sport so deeply English that you're proud to be a countryman (or woman!).  So why, in a country so in love with cricket, have very few of us been seduced by the domestic game?

To be seduced by the county game one has to go looking for it.  County sides are playing hard-to-get and they're getting even harder.  Domestic cricket isn't the 'big hitter' for online reporting and county sides don't sell newspapers, so naturally their achievements are slowly becoming less and less significant with many games in empty grounds with no atmosphere.  How hard must that be for young English players, who dream of one day playing for their country to the roar of the Barmy-Army.  The economic troubles of county sides contribute to this, making the situation appear worse, clubs can't pour money into advertising and media and must instead rely on die-hard cricket fan's passing their love for a domestic club down to the next generation.  This isn't working.  

International cricket has drawn in so many new lovers over the past few years, me being one of them.  Individual brilliance and team effort has seduced me and so many others into a love affair with cricket.  It's now part of my summer and a part I look forward too.  How has the England team succeeded in romance where the domestic clubs have failed?  Exposure.  International cricket sells, particularly the development and achievement of young players, given the chance to be followed, to seduce and to enthrall.  The greatest example is the rise of Stuart Broad.  Entering the scene in 2006 at the age of 20, the youngster never left and  has risen to become one of the finest cricketers of his generation.  Stuart Broad being exposed at 20 and becoming a semi-regular appearance in the England T20, ODI and test squads allowed spectators and media to follow and fall in love with this player.  This is what domestic cricket lacks, the opportunity for us to fall in love with players whilst they develop and expand, whilst they seduce us.  

There are so many 'Stuart Broad's' out there, every county team has one, but with such a strong England squad there's no opportunity to captivate.  A player like Jonny Bairstow, wowed in his 'out-of-the-park' style innings during the first ODI against India last summer, could be the next great romantic, but a space in the England side so hard to come by, players must now rely on love at first sight.  This is difficult and though so memorable to watch, Bairstow hasn't made me fall in love, hasn't seduced me to his playing, hasn't made me turn to Yorkshire to watch more.  Cricket writers, both amateur and professional, need to identify the 'Stuart Broads' and give them a platform to make us fall in love with the game all over again.  

For me it's Surrey.  A side with young players, it's a perfect place to go looking for cricket romance.  Rory Hamilton-Brown, the youngest Surrey captain for 138 years, is just one of their 'Stuart Broads's'.  The astonishing thing is that Hamilton-Brown has never had a first class England cap, no opportunity to seduce the widest audience of International cricket.  It is up to the media, the journalists and the bloggers to bring the domestic teams out of their hard-to-get days, to put them out there to allow the cricket and the cricketers to sell their game.  Money isn't needed for advertising, a subtle injection of romance is all that's required to allow Hamilton-Brown and his peers to begin their romance, a romance that would bring in more spectators, sell more seats and provide more income.  This is the England of the future, lets allow ourselves to fall in love now and we all know, once a player and their team have seduced us - we never leave.

Surrey's ground the Kia Oval during England v India 2011 test series.  All five days of this test match were sold out.  

Surrey's ground, the Kia Oval showing large numbers of empty seats for a domestic match.  

  

PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, 1st Test, Day 2 - The England fight back begins

The England dressing room were all too aware that they have not made this easy for themselves.  On the second day in Dubai, Pakistan were confident, taking to the crease with an intact batting line up.  It was a day like today where England had to show how and why they are world number one.

Play began with two wickets being taken in the morning session.  Hafeez fell to LBW by Swann, having contributed a very useful 88 runs & Stuart Broad led the fight back, by taking the wicket of the second top order batsman, Umar.  Broad delivered with venom to bowl Umar out for 58 - one of the key wickets of the day.  Broady may look baby-faced but when England needs someone to push that little bit harder & dig that little bit deeper, Broad is usually the man for the job.  His second wicket came in the form of, Azhar Ali and Pakistan's number 3 was another important batsman to remove from the crease. 

Strauss' captaincy is also worth a mention.  He showed good vision by bringing on Johnathon Trott to bowl from the Emirates Road end, and Trotty took Pakistan's number 4 by LBW, a brilliant confidence booster for the part-timer.  Trott also has reason to be disappointed; Strauss had removed the slip cordon which, if in place, would have provided his second wicket of the day.  Anderson opened his account in the session before tea, gaining his first wicket from a wonderful Prior catch, after Shafiq came feeling for the ball, guiding it low to the right-hand side of the keeper. 

The real England fight back came in the evening session.  Throughout the day the English bowlers were able to keep Pakistan's lead low.  Strauss' use of Tremlett & Trott to bowl the remaining overs before the new ball was an inspired move, it reduced Pakistan's run-rate to just over two, but the most significant breakthrough came from Anderson & Swann striking late.  Together, the off field partners in crime, took the fight to Pakistan - all guns blazing.  In the penultimate over of the day Swann sent a ball down the off-side to Misbah-ul-Haq, which turned and hit the pad.  Umpire Billy Bowden gave 'not out' & from initial viewing the ball appeared to be just missing leg-stump.  England reviewed, and low and behold the ball was hitting the top of the stumps - Swann had his second wicket & highlighted the importance of the DRS review system in the modern game.  Anderson was handed the ball for the final over of the day, and struck with the very last ball - hitting Rehman's off-stump.       

England played with determination, keeping Pakistan grounded.  Still Tremlett did not look aggressive enough & with 0-48 he is looking like a wasteful bowler, which in England's position, they cannot afford.  At the end of play Pakistan lead by 96 with 3 wickets remaining, suggesting that today the tide turned more in England's favour.  Tomorrow, Stauss must look to his bowlers for fast wickets & be prepared to once again face Ajmal.  

Statistics of Note, Day 2: 

Pakistan 288-7 (104.3 overs) lead by 96  

Trott 1-16

Anderson 2-57

Broad 2-72

Swann 2-89 

Hafeez 88 

Umar 58

Misbah-ul-Haq 52

The Mystery of the Desert Sands

8th January 2012

I'm writing this as I should be watching the BBC's new series of 'Sherlock', a program that has pulled Arthur Conan Doyle's Victorian mastermind into the modern day - a process that, until now, the England Cricket team appeared to have also undergone.  However, today in the UAE there were signs that the England team could be stuck somewhere in the middle.  A batting collapse occurring after Alastair Cook did well to set the boys up, a declaration made by Straussy as England fall short of the required total and a number of batting superstars failing to do what was needed, and to make matters worse, the opposition are the ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate.  With a lack of coverage of the game (no TMS or Sky yet) I can only report on what the score card tells me, but the first half does not make happy reading.  These past few days have uncovered major cracks in England's batting ability on the flat, dry wickets of the Middle East and these must be addressed before facing Pakistan.

If one was looking for an explanation, maybe we should go back to the summer, particularly the ODIs against India.  England were playing on home wickets that the RHS Chelsea Flower Show would be happy to exhibit as an example of pristine lawn cultivation, rather than making any attempt to mimic a wicket of the sub continent.  Like the 'hounds of the baskervilles', this summer's wicket choices are coming back to haunt the team.  In the batting department, England are showing worrying signs of the team of old, a lonely Alastair Cook at the crease as each great name comes-and-goes without making an impact.

But, once England have put the bat down and Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Graeme Swann pick up the ball, England reflect the sharp, slick, savvy Sherlock.  It appears that Stuart Broad  is taking on Benedict Cumberbatch's role as the game-maker, a step-ahead of the rest.  With an economy rate of 1.67 and statistics reading 2-15 in 9.0 overs, for a second day running Broady is impressing.  Dr Watson, in this case Jimmy Anderson, is supporting Broad's sharpness by keeping hot on his heels, racking up 2-15 in 12.0 overs.  So together these two are settling the fan's nerves and reassuring us that we can support our world number 1 status.

Our boys are half way between a globally successful formidable fighting force and a domestic goddess, a team of two halves.  However, the mentality of this team makes me think that Sherlock will prevail, like he always does on TV, because we have a trump card - unity.  Cricket is a team sport, every member must pull their weight and make their contribution for the good of the team, and through Swanny's Ashes Video Diary's the fans know that what this team have, above anything, is unity.  The relationship between them and their mentality makes even the most cynical of supporter breathe a little easier when the going gets tough.  I believe that the success of the bowling unit, of Sherlock and Dr. Watson, will be enough to inspire and encourage those currently below par.  Oh and let's not forget, Alastair Cook.  Beneath that chiseled jaw line, piercing dark eyes and  sportsman's physique is a tyrant, who will simply remain at the crease, minding his own business,  for hours.

Until next time, the Seam-Mistress.