Tag Archives: England

The sun finally set for Pakistan.

18 Sunday Oct 2015

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Imagine a Test match where the first two innings racked up a grand total of 1121 runs and the third innings has not even begun by the morning of the fifth and final day. Now imagine that test falling just 25 runs short of a result due to poor lighting. Only such a Test could involve possibly one of the most interesting teams in cricket, Pakistan.

It was the first of three Tests between England and Pakistan and Abu Dhabi had produced possibly one of the most limp and lifeless pitches in recent times. Pakistan had not only failed the game, they had failed themselves. They had failed to back their bowlers. Failed to back the likes of Wahab Riaz who put on one of the most incredible pace bowling performances in recent history. The first four days of the Test came and went with two batsmen scoring 200+ runs each (with Cook scoring 250+) but nothing else happened. Once again Test cricket was clearly doing everything in its power to drive away the few fans it has left. Each wicket came at almost 70 runs apiece in the first four days and a result looked about as likely as dogs playing poker.

The fifth day had finally come and with a lead of 74 England finally declared. It was easy to assume Pakistan would play out the day and give their bowlers an hour max to have a whack at England when they had 150 on the board. However, this was not how the day played out.

The Gods had finally taken it into their own hands to produce a wicket for some exciting cricket. The almighty had come to reward England for their hard work and in particular, a debutante leg-spinner who had bowled his heart out in the first innings to no effect. Adil Rashid became the hero of the hour as he picked up five wickets in Pakistan’s second innings. Within 14 runs, Pakistan’s tail had fizzled out. Rashid had opened up the gates to the possibility of a victory as England only needed 99 runs to win the game.

The Test had finally come to life. The visitors had more than enough overs to make the total. It was the sun they were chasing. In a full-blown T20 style attack from the batsmen, England came within inches of the finishing line. Moeen Ali was joined by Jos Buttler to open the batting. They were going full steam ahead with boundaries right from the word ‘go’. Runs came and wickets fell. Joe Root, with some assistance from Ali and a smashing six from Jonny Bairstow off Wahab Riaz, took England as far as they could. England ended on 74-4 as the day came to close. A score which would look extremely poor from the outside, but not from inside the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. The score showed hope and belief. Something Pakistan will need for the coming Tests.

England’s buildup to the Ashes

04 Thursday Jun 2015

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The last 18 months have been an extremely tough ride for England. Ever since the pummeling they received from Australia in the last Ashes it has been a series of problems for England. From a loss to the Netherlands in the 2014 T20 World Cup to their early and unseemly departure from the 2015 World Cup.

However it was time for a fresh start. Time to put their one day woes behind them and look ahead to the 2015 Ashes series at home. England began their journey with a 3 Test series against the West Indies. A series that was supposed to be a breeze for England according to ECB Chairman Colin Graves who labelled the West Indies as ‘mediocre’. It was far from that as the series ended 1-1. England had pursued with an older and more experienced side and it had backfired. It was time for change, time for new blood as England’s next adversary was possibly the most aggressive cricketer and his ten men.

It was only a two test series but it was expected to be thrilling. Regardless of the format being played, Brendon McCullum had only one gear, attack. A gear that generally eluded Alastair Cook.

The first test began poorly for England, their top four batsmen fell for just 30 runs. Was this just a taster for what was to come in the Ashes? If England could not face up to New Zealand, how did they expect to deal with Australia and their Mitchell’s? England were saved from an embarrassing collapse as their younger players came through.  Joe Root and Ben Stokes scored 98 and 92 respectively with Stokes going at almost a run a ball. Half centuries from Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali saw England to a respectable first innings score of 389.

New Zealand however, made scoring look all too easy. Unlike England, their top four batsmen all scored half centuries with Kane Williamson scoring a fantastic 132. New Zealand scored 523 and left England trailing by 134 runs.

What came from there though was not expected. Cook found form and scored 162, Stokes scored a century at a strike rate of 110 and England set New Zealand a target of 344 to score in less than a day. England still had their work cut out for them but their bowlers shone through. New Zealand were 0-2 in two overs and 12-3 in six. Whilst Williamson was at the crease there was always a chance, but that soon changed. Ben Stokes came on to bowl the 24th over and within two balls the game had swung drastically in England’s favour. Stokes removed Williamson and McCullum in consecutive balls. Corey Anderson and BJ Watling put on a stand but New Zealand fell 124 runs short.

It was a fantastic test for England. Not only did they perform well but they looked to play aggressively. Even their field settings were uncharacteristically threatening. The series was shaping up to be an interesting one.

Alastair Cook shows real aggression against New Zealand

The second game of the two test series was just as intriguing. At the end of the second innings, scores were equal. Both teams had scored 350 runs. It was as though the test was starting again from scratch as a very long ODI. Or so it seemed from the way New Zealand batted. Eight of their batsmen smashed sixes. They all played as though they were channeling their captain Brendon McCullum. Oddly, the only man who played a real test innings was Brendon McCullum himself. New Zealand went on to score 454 runs at almost five runs an over.

The rain cut down England’s time to make the runs by almost two sessions, their day five target was near impossible. Had the roles been reversed there might have been some hope that New Zealand could pull off a stunner but this was England. They played the only way they knew how and fell 199 runs short.

The series ended 1-1 with fans wanting more. It was a fantastic series and a real challenge for England. Alastair Cook and his men will need to learn to be much more aggressive against Michael Clarke.

The 2015 World Cup: Review

12 Sunday Apr 2015

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Though the 2015 World Cup has come to a close, it will be remembered for a long time. It was a tournament of hope and belief. Ireland almost reached the knock-outs, South Africa broke their World Cup jinx and India burst through their summer slump with flying colours. It was also a tournament of tumbling records and unimaginable performances, from Kumar Sangakkara’s four consecutive tonnes to Martin Guptill’s incredible 237 against the West Indies.

Had the ICC removed the associate nations this year it would have been a very different tournament. Some of the most thrilling games were between the smaller nations. Turnout might not have been what it was at India v South Africa but for true cricketing fanatics they were some of the most exhilarating matches. Ireland and the UAE fought tooth and nail until the very end and Afghanistan’s Samiullah Shenwari rallied the lower order to beat Scotland by one wicket. Not only did the associates test each other, they challenged the top nations. Afghanistan gave Sri Lanka a run for their money and only a classy century from Mahela Jayawardena helped Sri Lanka pull through. Scotland gave New Zealand a big scare as they picked off seven wickets defending 142 and Ireland chased down a massive 304 against the West Indies. It was a huge step towards breaking down barriers between the test playing nations and the associate members.

The pinnacle of the group stage matches however was between the two host nations Australia and New Zealand. It was not about the chase. It was not about the batsmen. It was the bowlers that stole the show. Something all too rare in modern one day cricket. The entire match lasted the length of one innings. 80-1 was a great start for Australia but it was a collapse from there as the next eight wickets fell for 26 runs. Australia reached a mere total of 151 with Trent Boult picking off five wickets. However an astounding bowling performance from Mitchell Starc brought the game down to the last wicket.

This World Cup will be remembered for more than just nail-biting games. It will be remembered as the year of triumph for many teams. For Bangladesh it was beating England to make it to their first quarter-final. For South Africa it was winning their first knock-out game and for New Zealand it was making it to their first World Cup final. Bangladesh.

Though England had lost to Australia New Zealand and Sri Lanka, it was never expected that they would not qualify for the knock-outs. They had been going through a rough phase in all forms of cricket but in particular, ODI cricket. Eoin Morgan was only handed the captaincy just before the start of the tournament. However unlike Jason Holder who led the West Indies from the front, Morgan was unable to marshal his troops. Nevertheless Bangladesh deserve full credit for the win. They were a young a passionate team and they showed that heart and belief can breed dreams.

The quarter-finals brought out some phenomenal cricket. It was almost clear which teams would pull through the games but that didn’t make it in any way dull. Martin Guptill scored the highest individual score as he racked up 200+ runs alone within 50 overs. Wahab Riaz put on one of the most phenomenal bowling spells in history. It was possibly the most captivating 10 minutes of the World Cup until Rahat Ali dropped that pivotal catch.

The game of the tournament was not the final. The final was in fact it was a fairly anti-climactic end to the spectacular tournament as Australia bowled out New Zealand for 183 and chased it down with seven wickets to spare. It was the first semi-final that upstaged both the other semi-final the final itself. The game between New Zealand and South Africa reminded the world exactly why it loves cricket. It was an unbelievable performance with both teams pouring their hearts into the game. It was one of the most captivating games of cricket where the game went down to the second last ball of the final over. For cricket lovers there was a small hope for a Hunger Games finish where both teams could pull through together. However it was New Zealand with the help of Grant Elliot that made it through to their first final. It was a beautiful end to the game as Elliot gave a hand to help a broken Dale Steyn up off the ground.

Australia won the 2015 World Cup to make it their fifth ever title. They initially had a choppy start as their team changed on one too many occasions. However they pulled together as a unit just at the right time to beat Pakistan, thrash India and swoop in to claim the cup.

The biggest cricketing upset of the tournament.

15 Sunday Mar 2015

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With Pakistan and West Indies missing key players and with Ireland becoming a stronger team, group B was always going to be an interesting one. The final four that would qualify was always in question. Group A however seemed pretty set. Australia and New Zealand had been on top form in the lead up to the tournament and any team involving the pure class of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena was sure to qualify. England had done well in the tri-series, they had beaten India and looked well set to qualify. Once again there looked like there was no room for Bangladesh. They were still the team that reached the finish line just too late.

However this year was different. As a side, they had improved vastly over the past few years and were ready to challenge the world order. They finally had some fierce bowlers and skilled batsmen who could win them matches.

Their campaign began with a game against Afghanistan in which Bangladesh’s super stars Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim built up a solid platform for Bangladesh. They put on 267 runs and went on to smash through Afghanistan’s batting order, winning by a margin of 105 runs. Bangladesh had just told the other full member nations that they were ready to challenge them for a spot in the knockouts. It was a gret start for them. Had their first game been against Australia and they were crushed, it could have been very demoralising for them.

It was as though there was a higher power that wanted Bangladesh to qualify too. Cyclone Marcia did not allow a ball to be bowled in Bangladesh’s second game against Australia. Had they played (considering Australia’s track record in recent times and in World Cups), Bangladesh could well have been looking at their first loss of the tournament. Instead the points were split and Bangladesh were sitting high up in the tables early on.

Bangladesh went on to lose their next game against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka put on a target of 333 for Bangladesh with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara building a partnership of 210. The fielding performance of Bangladesh resembled that of the old team. They dropped catches and missed run out chances and did not look like a team ready for qualify. Their batting performance was also poor, only Soumya Sarkar looked like he was up for the chase. Most of the top order collapsed and they left too much work for their dynamic duo. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim tried to close the gap and with the help of Sabbir Rahman they reached 240. 92 runs short of their target.

The next two games were extremely important for Bangladesh. With the extra point from the washed out game against Australia, they had a chance to push past England in the tables and qualify. Mashrafe Mortaza’s men chased down Scotland’s 318 with two overs to spare. The fact that they Scotland were firstly able to score over 300 was not a great start for Bangladesh but it gave their batsmen time at the crease which is exactly what they needed. It was particularly useful for Bangladesh’s top order who had not performed well so far.

Match 33. The 9th of March was possibly the most important day of any Bangladeshi cricket fan’s life. It was the day Bangladesh were playing England. It was the day Bangladesh could prove themselves to the world and repay every Bangladeshi supporter that had stuck by them through the years. England had already faced three crushing losses and were looking ragged going into the game. Bangladesh were coming off a high and were hungry for the challenge. Batting first they got off to a poor start with two wickets falling for eight runs. Soumya Sarkar who had played very positively throughout the tournament rebuilt the innings with Mohammad Mahmudullah. Once again though in the 90s, two wickets fell in quick succession. However Mahmudullah was unfazed, he went on to score a century and along with Rahim they put on a partnership of 141 runs. Bangladesh ended on a very respectable total of 275 runs.

It was an unfocused and half-hearted performance from England. Almost each batting pair made a start and each time they looked settled, the partnership was broken. Five of the English batsmen got out knicking the ball behind with four of them scoring a minimum of 27. England looked unsure of themselves. From 121-3, they moved to 132-5. Jos Buttler looked like the man to finish the job for England. He played some wonderful strokes and with a helping hand from Joe Root and Chris Woakes he got England so close to the finish line. Once again though, the partnership was broken and Buttler was removed. Woakes however still looked motivated and a dropped catch in the deep made it look as though England might squeeze through to the quarter finals. However it was Rubel Hossain who had the last say, he bowled magnificently and knocked over the final two wickets to win the game.

Bangladesh had made it through to the quarter finals for the first time ever. Their efforts had paid off and they truly deserved a spot in the final eight. They had one final game left to play against New Zealand and they gave them a run for their money. It was a new team, a team not to be taken lightly.

T20 cricket is going to give me grey hair…

10 Wednesday Sep 2014

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After Alastair Cook had silenced his critics in the Test series, the questions started again during England’s poor performance of the ODIs. Even Cook’s close friend Graeme Swann began questioning his ODI captaincy. Though England regained some confidence after winning the final ODI, questions still remain regarding the 2015 World Cup and England’s ability to play the shorter format.

Fortunately for Cook he got a rest from the spotlight as Eoin Morgan led England to a nail-biting win against India in the only T20 at Edgbaston.

It was a beautiful day for cricket but England set up a relatively ugly start batting first. Jason Roy and Alex Hales got off to a blinder hitting Ravi Ashwin for 17 runs in the first over but England soon lost two quick wickets with Moeen Ali getting out for a duck. The runs dried up and wickets fell just as the batsmen settled in. The ball appeared to have a homing device set to the Indian fielders with Ajinkya Rahane taking four fantastic catches and Amabati Rayudu taking another two.

The run rate was only 6.60 at the end of the 15th over with no boundaries in the previous four. With such nice weather, batting friendly conditions and short boundaries, it appeared as though England were heading for a below-par total.

However, after the 15th over, something switched on in Eoin Morgan. He hit a minimum of two boundaries an over until he got out in the 20th. Morgan struck 71 off 31 balls hitting seven sixes at an incredible strike rate of 229.03. England took 81 runs off the last five overs leaving India a mountain to climb. Ravi Bopara also played a part for England scoring 21 off nine balls to push England up to 180 and show the selectors they may have made a mistake leaving him out of the ODI squad.

India appeared to get off to an even worse start as Rahane was bowled around his legs after hitting a beautiful six behind square. Virat Kohli came in next having not reached a half century through the entire tour. Despite his lack of runs, Kohli played as though he was in the form of his life. He was moving his feet well getting to the pitch of the ball and hit Chris Woakes for three boundaries in the fourth over. Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli put on the highest partnership of the match scoring 79 runs at a rate of 8.94. They appeared to be cruising to the total even after Dhawan fell. Suresh Raina came in and alongside Kohli, they pushed the run rate over 10. Kohli got out on 66 to a short ball from Steven Finn that should have been put away but India were already at 131-4 from 14 overs even after whereas England were 130 at 17 overs.

Dhoni’s men only needed 50 from 34 balls, something they should have easily done considering England had scored 81 from the final 30 balls but everything seemed to go wrong after Kohli’s wicket fell. Suresh Raina was bowled out and Ravindra Jadeja was run out trying to take a non-existent second run. MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu had trouble timing the ball and ended up needing 17 from the final over.

Once again as he has done so often for India, Dhoni appeared to be finishing off the game as he hit a six off the first ball and a four off the fourth having rejected a single on the third. He brought it down to five off two balls but refused a single off the penultimate ball backing himself to hit a six off the last ball as he had done so often. It was a nerve wrecking over but Woakes who was bowling the final over pulled through for England bowling a magnificent slower ball that Dhoni could only get away for a single leaving India three runs short.

What test series?

03 Wednesday Sep 2014

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Thanks partly to Elton Chigumbura’s hat-trick against Australia, India have once again become the no.1 ranked team in ODIs. However that wasn’t the only reason, they have shown their class as a one day team easing to their third, and most convincing win to take the series.

India won the toss and elected to bowl first. Though this may have given them a slight upper hand considering the conditions, it was no excuse for England’s top three batsmen to fall for single figure scores leaving the team 23-3 from eight overs. Joe Root and Eoin Morgan did well to rebuild together but both got out to very poor shots roughly halfway through the innings exposing England’s lower order with 20 overs to go. Moeen Ali was the star of England’s innings and this time he worked his magic with the bat scoring 67 runs hitting three sixes but it was not enough and England were bowled out for 206.

India began very slowly, scoring only four runs in total off the first four overs. However they were in no rush to get moving as they were chasing a fairly low target. The openers, unlike England’s, allowed themselves time to settle in and then, let loose. Ajinkya Rahane hit four fours off Jimmy Anderson’s third over and from then on, looked like he was in it for the long haul.

At 25 overs, England were 87-3 and and India had reached 150 with Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan still at the crease. Rahane went on to score his maiden ODI century and India finished the game with Shikhar Dhawan still at the crease, nine wickets in hand and 117 balls remaining.

India’s fantastic ODI antics have once again left their frivolous test performance feeling like a distant memory. However, they have a test series coming up against West Indies and Australia soon, and with the Australia series also being played away they have a lot of work to do.

On another note, Mitchell Marsh’s phenomenal innings of 86 against South Africa sealed them a place in the Zimbabwe Tri-series final. They bowled much better in this match to restrict South Africa to 220 in 44 overs, only Faf du Plessis appeared to resist the South African collapse scoring his second consecutive ODI century.

The final will be an extremely interesting re-match between the two.

Middlesex vs. Indians: The warm-up game.

23 Saturday Aug 2014

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It was a beautiful day at Lords on Friday 22nd August and after a traumatic Test match series, India would have been looking forward to playing some one day cricket. A warm up match against Middlesex was just what they needed to rebuild their confidence. India decided to play their whole 17 man squad to give everyone some practice.

India were only able to muster 230 runs and were all out under 45 overs. A surprisingly poor total considering India had jam packed their XI with batters. The first few wickets fell rather quickly with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane scoring under 15 each. It seemed they were in a rush to get some runs and ended up being caught out at third man, mid-off and mid-on.

Virat Kohli, the man who’d had an awful test series came in alongside Ambati Rayudu and both went on to score 71 and 72 respectively. Kohli seemed to have some problems he’d had in the Test series with Steven Finn’s bowling, he followed the ball without much intent like he had done against Jimmy Anderson. However after surviving Finn’s spell, Kohli found his groove and played some beautiful drives down the ground and from then on, seemed to be back to his usual self. Unfortunately, Kohli got out to spinner Ravi Patel after having settled in.

In total, six of the Indian batsmen got out to spinners in this game. India’s reputation for playing spin had gotten them into trouble before, they lost a number of wickets in the Test series against spinner Moeen Ali due to poor shots.

It also seems extremely unfair that if Kohli performs very well with the bat in the ODIs as he is expected to, his spot in the Test team is likely to remain unquestioned when there are other batsman who have as good a chance as Kohli of guiding India to a Test series win.

Rayudu retired on 72 when India were 211-5 which was a very odd number to retire on and it sparked a collapse in the batting with India ending up 211-8 within one over. Ollie Rayner took the three successive wickets which included two ‘caught and bowled’ to halt the Indian innings. It was clear all the batsmen were being given a chance to prove themselves as MS Dhoni himself did not even bat but as the top order batsmen had, the lower order batsmen got out to soft dismissals. Suresh Raina was brought in at no.11 in an attempt to play out the last 5 overs however Raina appeared almost angry about being brought in at no.11. He played a few loose shots and ended up running down the pitch missing the ball and getting stumped.

Though India bowled out Middlesex for 135, it didn’t seem as though the batsmen were testing the bowlers at all. Two of the first three wickets fell to strangles down the leg side and a fair few others fell to poor shots rather than great bowling. Middlesex have only won 3 of their 8 domestic ODIs this year and some of the team playing were not first choice players. Ryan Higgins and James Harris top scored with 20 each and even though India won fairly convincingly, it might not be very telling of how the ODI series may go.

Is it still 2011?

21 Thursday Aug 2014

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Though the face of Indian cricket has changed since 2011, it appears not much else has.

What should have been a fantastic series with India’s ‘new to Test match’ team and England coming in from a slump with Alastair Cook under tremendous pressure regarding his captaincy and tactics especially after the series against Sri Lanka, turned out to be nothing more than a replay of the 2011 whitewash.

The series started well, both teams appeared evenly matched with the first test ending in a draw and India taking the second by 95 runs.

However from then on it was England’s series. Cook found form and England took complete control of the next three Tests. India lost the final Test by an innings and 244 runs, their third biggest margin ever. Joe Root and Gary Ballance scored more than 500 runs each, a feat last achieved by England in 2011 against India where Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen pummeled India.

Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir scored a combined total of 147 in 10 innings and India’s star ‘chaser’ Virat Kohli averaged a measly 13.40, the third lowest average for a top four Indian Batsman. Kohli’s reputation was the only thing that kept him in the team for all five tests. It was very clear from the beginning he was out of nick and yet his presence appeared unquestioned. Bringing players like Rohit Sharma and Naman Ojha – who played superbly in Australia – to sit on the sidelines whilst India’s ‘wonderboy’ is caught behind by either the keeper or slips seven out of ten times seems completely unfair. Kohli needs to earn his place, especially in the Test team.

However the most perplexing outcome of the series was India’s number 3 batsman who averaged only 22.20 runs, the lowest of any Indian no.3 batsman. Bearing in mind this man had been primed for Test match cricket and kept out of some one day cricket. He had been aptly described as ‘The Wall 2.0’ yet Cheteshwar Pujara was often dismissed softly after a solid start.

Bar Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma’s performance in the first two tests, India’s bowling appeared to be no threat to then England batsmen. Unfortunately for Pankaj Singh – whose figures did not justly reflect his performance – it is unlikely he will be picked again anytime soon after he gained his new title of ‘most expensive debutant without a wicket.’ England on the other hand performed phenomenally well with the ball with Jimmy Anderson picking up 25 (Just as Stuart Broad had done in 2011). However some of the wickets, especially those taken by England’s new spinner Moeen Ali, were from poor batting.

Has the IPL and India’s record for the most number of ODI’s played in a single year by any team ruined India’s chances at ever becoming a top Test match cricket team? do India need to lose some ODIs to finally realise they are in real trouble?