Tag Archives: West Indies

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.

143 run win gives New Zealand a spot in the Semi-finals

24 Tuesday Mar 2015

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The spectators at the Wellington Regional were given the show of a lifetime. It was the fourth quarter-final, New Zealand vs. West Indies. It was never going to be a dull match, not with the likes of Chris Gayle and Bredon McCullum playing.

It was however Martin Guptill who made the day so memorable. It was Martin Guptil who smashed the highest individual World Cup score to score an unbelievable 237 runs from 163 balls. He led New Zealand to a record breaking knock-out game score of 393-6 and got them a place in the semi-finals against South Africa. Guptill’s innings began steadily with some beautiful strokes, he was playing the perfect anchoring innings. That however changed once Guptil reached his 100 from 111 balls. He used 23 balls to reach his 150 and only 18 to reach his 200. He then smashed his final 37 from 11 balls. It was an unbelievable innings of incredible power. 24 fours and 11 sixes came from the man who was making the Wellington ground look smaller than a tennis court. It didn’t matter what the other batsmen were doing all eyes were on Guptill even when he was at the non-strikers end.

The West Indies came out to bat and to their credit they gave it everything. They came out all guns blazing and made New Zealand sweat. As always the West Indies team dealt in boundaries. Chris Gayle who had injured his back could barely run looked his normal self as he slammed eight sixes and two fours to score 61. Marlon Samuels, Jonathan Carter and all of the lower order joined in on the boundary action to keep the West Indies going at a run rate of 8.19 an over. The West Indies captain Jason Holder smashed 42 off 26 balls and it was 31 overs of pure entertainment for the Wellington crowd.

West Indies fell 143 runs short of their imposing target but they could hold their heads up they had given it a real shot. They had a lot to take away from the 2015 World Cup tournament, including the possibility of a new rule to not play against South Africa so long as AB de Villiers remains in the team.

West Indies make India sweat.

06 Friday Mar 2015

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India’s World Cup campaign still remains untarnished. Having beaten Pakistan, South Africa and the UAE with a certain ease, India were looking unstoppable. They hadn’t had a real challenge and they were heading down the mountain at full speed straight off a cliff. Confidence is one thing but without a challenge in the group stages, India would have been very unprepared to face a side like New Zealand when crunch time came, particularly the batsmen. During India’s fourth game though, the West Indies provided the team with possibly enough traction for them to find a safer route down the mountain.

On Friday the 6th of March, India were playing the West Indies in Perth. It was their second game at the WACA and they would have been feeling fairly comfortable with the ground. The West Indies had been having an rough World Cup from even before the tournament started. With two of their key one day players being stopped from playing by the WI Board and Sunil Narine being stopped by the ICC, they were already at a disadvantage. The team also had to face the challenge of being under new captaincy with a very young Jason Holder being given the reins only a series before the World Cup began.

West Indies had also been having a very patchy run through the tournament in the lead-up to the India game. Their 304 had been chased down by Ireland, then they went on to beat Pakistan and Zimbabwe by fairly large margins before losing by a massive 257 runs to South Africa. Their sketchy form meant that there could be no expectations for the game.

Holder won the toss and elected to bat first. This was their final chance to keep themselves in the running to qualify for the quarter finals without banking on net run rate. From the start, the West Indies looked uneasy. It took both openers a while to get moving. Chris Gayle did not score in the first five overs of the game and they had to sweat for every run. Dwayne Smith was removed early by Mohammed Shami and was followed very closely by Marlon Samuels who was run out when Gayle refused what looked like an easy single. West Indies were struggling to score as the Indian seamers bowled great lines and lengths. Though Gayle was dropped three times, the bowlers really exploited the bounce and pace of the WACA ground and finally removed him and Denesh Ramdin in the next ball. The West Indies stuttered to 38-4 from 10 overs and the game was looking as easy for India as the UAE game. Jonathan Carter stuck around and looked like he was playing himself in. Once again though, India struck at the right moment. With Darren Sammy the old captain and Jason Holder the new captain at the crease, there was still a chance for West Indies to pull it out of the bag. However Sammy played a very un-captain like innings. He tried too hard to score and swung at one too many balls before he was removed by Shami. At 124-8, the Indian fans were cheering every time Holder hit a boundary. The fans that had followed India around had not seen a really competitive match and this was looking as unchallenging as the rest. The captain was once again was the man to save the day for for West Indies. He gave the West Indies bowlers a chance as he top scored with 57 runs hitting four fours and three sixes.

Chasing 183 seemed like an easy enough total for India to reach but the West Indies played extremely well and put some real pressure on Dhoni’s men. None of the Indian batsmen looked in a rush to chase down the total but the West Indies bowlers appeared to be getting a lot out of the ground as both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were removed edging the ball. Virat Kohli looked like he was in for the long haul as he hit some beautiful shots and settled in. However in the 15th over, Kohli skied one straight into the hands of Samuels. Just as India had done, the West Indies continued to pick off wickets with Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina also edging the ball back to Ramdin. At 107-5 it was still India’s game to lose. Their middle order had not faced a challenge in the tournament so far so this was the perfect time for them to settle in without the weight of a required rate on their shoulders. West Indies however had not given up yet, they removed Ravindra Jadeja who looked as though he was itching to finish the game. This brought Ravi Ashwin to the crease. One more wicket and the West Indies would have been into the tail end of India. A tail end that could not bat like Australia’s. However MS Dhoni played a wonderfully calm innings and, with the assistance of a cool headed Ashwin they pulled India over the line.

The West Indies bowlers bowled very well, they were aggressive and looked to take wickets. Having just faced a pummelling from AB de Villiers, it was great to see them bounce back the way they did and really challenge the Indian team.

It wasn’t ‘pink day’ magic. It’s just AB.

01 Sunday Mar 2015

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The fastest ODI 50, the fastest 100 and NOW the fastest 150. There is no stopping AB de Villiers. The fast 200 will be en route soon. Keep your eyes peeled, there may be a cricket ball flying through your window any minute now.

On the 18th of January, AB de Villiers (in his pink uniform) pulled one of the most phenomenal batting performances against the West Indies. AB smashed the fastest ODI 50 and then fastest ODI century and went on to score an incredible 149 from only 44 balls at a strike rate of almost 340.

Once again against the same opponents, AB de Villiers put on another show for the world.

The fastest ODI 150. Facing only 66 balls he plundered 162* off 66 balls. AB belted 17 fours and eight sixes in his innings and pulled South Africa up to an unbelievable 408. It wasn’t as though South Africa were struggling, they had made a strong base with Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis both hitting 60s. Rilee Rossouw played a firey innings and took the pressure off AB, he gave the captain a chance to play freely.

It started slowly for AB (19 runs off 18 balls counts as slow when in comes to this man), he gave himself a chance to get in. Between the 30th and 40th over Rossouw and AB played it safe. There were a few boundaries here and there, mostly coming from Rossouw, but they kept moving. As soon as the 40th over came, AB decided that the SCG crowd could use some fielding practice. The gears changed and from then on it was the de Villiers show. Both Rossouw and Miller got out but that didn’t stop him. He was an avalanche and one that was picking up speed at an alarming rate. All the West Indies team could do was get out of the way.

At the 47th over, South Africa were on 330-3, an already incredibly strong total. Even if AB got out then it would have been a tough chase, but he continued.  He hit six boundaries off Holder’s eight ball over. 34 runs came off the over and South Africa were at their highest World cup total. The 49th over went for only 14 runs as Farhaan Berhardien starved AB of the strike (luckily for Andre Russell). Then it was back to AB for the final over and Holder had no answers for him. Four sixes and a four came from the last over as AB smashed boundaries over sqare leg, deep midwicket and long on. Holder who had initially only given away nine runs off five overs, ended with figures of 104 off 10 overs. It was a massacre.

South Africa have finally made their mark on the World Cup. Not a small one, they took a fat black sharpie pen and wrote ‘AB DE VILLIERS’ all over it.

The warm up warnings

13 Friday Feb 2015

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Over the past week the warm-up matches have shown exactly why this world cup is going to be an exciting one. Of the last 14 pre tournament games there have been some expected wins but more importantly there have been some surprising wins and some very close games! The World Cup title is very much still up for grabs.

The warm-up games began with Australia beating the 2011 World Cup champions. As expected, India’s bowling attack were not up to scratch. They conceded too many runs and did not seem to challenge the Australian batsmen at all. Both David Warner and Glen Maxwell (who performed incredibly with the bat in the 2014 IPL) scored centuries and led Australia to a score of 371 runs. In response India were only able to muster 265 all out. However it was a great start for Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu and especially for Shikhar Dhawan (who had been out of form) as they all scored half centuries. Luckily for India the only really troublesome pace attack they will face through the group stages is South Africa’s and so they have a chance to improve before facing the hosts.

The next match went down as expected with South Africa beating Sri Lanka, however they only won through D/L and were five wickets down for 188 chasing 279, it could have gone either way. Match four however was where the interesting things really began. England bowled out the West Indies team for 122 runs, and then went on to beat them with nine wickets and 163 balls to spare. Despite this crushing win, England then went on to lose their second warm-up game to Pakistan.

The biggest surprise of the warm-up though, came from Scotland. Not only did they crush Ireland by a margin of 179 runs, but they went on to score 310 runs chasing West Indies’ score of 313 in their second game, an incredible start from an associate nation. Though they have done extremely well in the warm up games, Scotland will find it extremely difficult to qualify. Being in pool A they will face both host nations who are in great nick along with England and Sri Lanka. Expectations of Ireland were not diminished fully even after their crushing loss to Scotland though. They went on to bowl Bangladesh out for less than 200 and chased down the runs in 47 overs. With the pools in favour of Ireland, we could still see them in the quarter finals.

Unfortunately once again South Africa’s World Cup antics continue as they lost their warm up game against New Zealand, they very much missed the pace and aggression of Dale Steyn and the stability of Hashim Amla. New Zealand who seem to have peaked at the perfect time piled on the runs scoring a total of 331 runs. South Africa then went on to score a total of 197 all out with only JP Duminy making a significant contribution to the batting. Regardless of two key players being rested, considering the quality of the rest of the team and their recent form it was extremely surprising they ended up 62-6 from 14 overs. If South Africa rely so heavily on these two players they will have a serious problem if one of them gets injured during the tournament.

Once again, Australia appear to be on top and ready to take the title but it could well end up being an epic clash of the hosts in the finals.

It’s been a long time coming.

20 Monday Oct 2014

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The story of the week, the one that required two days of recovery before this blog could be written; Virat Kohli finally scored his long awaited 20th century. He had faced more than just a slump in form during his time in England, he appeared to have lost his confidence and replaced it with a fear that kept him glued to his crease and reaching for the ball. The Kohli that played in the 4th ODI in Dharamsala was a new man, one who was calm and collected. He looked as though he had never been in a slump and appeared as though summer had never happened.

Kohli’s milestone put him at the top of the ODI rankings by percentage of centuries. He currently has the highest conversion rate of all players with 20+ centuries. 15% of Kohli’s 133 ODI innings have produced a century with a 39.2% conversion rate showing exactly how skilled he is.

What ended up being the final ODI of the series was a fantastic all round performance from India, they bowled well during the game and at the death but more importantly, their batting fell into place.

Darren Sammy was followed out to the toss by the WI team who were showing their support for the captain during the players stand-off against the WIPA. Sammy won the toss and made the right decision putting India in the bat first. Even with conditions favouring the bowlers, India started very well scoring 70 before the first wicket fell. Virat Kohli came in and even though he began slowly, he picked up singles and once he found his rhythm, there was no stopping him. He and Suresh Raina put on a 138 run partnership after a solid start from Shikhar Dhawan who scored 35 and Ajinkya Rahane who scored 68. India cruised to 330-6 with two players scoring half centuries and one scoring a hard earned century.

 

West Indies responded relatively poorly, being bowled out for 271 runs in 48.1 overs. Dwayne Smith got out for an 11 ball duck and Keiron Pollard scored a mere six runs from 31 balls. Marlon Samuels once again produced a phenomenal century, one that appeared even more brilliant considering the circumstances WI were facing but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to pull them over the line. He had very little assistance from the rest of the team except Darren Bravo and Andre Russell who both scored 40s.

It’s unfortunate that the WI series ended there just as India were finding their groove. With Rahane, Raina and now Kohli finding form, India have a real chance to defend their 2011 World Cup title.

However, it seems likely that Sri Lanka will be picking up the slack soon and India will be wanting practice against their 2011 World Cup final rivals.

India sort out death bowling but lack batting form

13 Monday Oct 2014

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India had everything going for them, they were playing at home and playing their favourite format of the game. However, during their first game, they almost looked like they were back abroad playing Test match cricket. The ODI series against West Indies should have been almost an easy win for India. Though West Indies are one of the most explosive limited-overs team, they were lacking in practice, low on morale, missing their star spinner and one of their most dangerous batsmen. They were also going up against a team who had just won an ODI series abroad.

A comprehensive 124 run win in the first ODI by WI was more than impressive considering their circumstances. They put on a fantastic all-round performance from start to finish. WI started well with Dwayne Smith scoring 46, but Marlon Samuels stole the show with his 126 not-out. With the help of Dinesh Ramdin, WI put on a huge total of 321. One that had never been chased down in Kochi before.

Though WI reached a formidable total, it wasn’t due to poor death bowling from India for once. India bowled very tightly during the final overs, something which they have always had trouble with. However most of the damage had already been done during the middle overs. Nevertheless, given the conditions and India’s reputation, there was still hope for the Indians. With Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina finding form in England during the ODIs, and MS Dhoni back in his element it was sure to be a close match.

India began strong with Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan settling well and playing some beautiful shots. A huge miscommunication during the ninth over led to both batsmen standing in the same crease and Rahane being run out leaving India 49-1. Apart from Dhawan’s 68 it was a very poor batting show from India from then on. Virat Kohli got out in an all too familiar way and no one else except the openers and Ravindra Jadeja scored above 20. India were all out for 197. It appeared that India had fixed one problem in their death bowling but found new problems in their batting.

The second ODI began in shambles again for India with Dhawan getting out for one. They recovered slowly with Rahane and Ambati Rayudu building a partnership but neither could last at the crease and India were left 74-3. Kohli and Raina added 105 for the fourth wicket and Dhoni scored a 50 to bring India to 263.

Though 263 was a decent total, India appeared to be on their way to a second loss as WI cruised to 162-2 in 35 overs. During the 36th over, something changed. Once Dwayne Smith was dismissed, the WI lineup collapsed with the next seven wickets falling for a mere 45 runs.

Even though India won, it was not convincing. The WI batsmen only required six an over when the third wicket fell and considering their lineup, it was their game to lose. India will need to pull their socks up in the eight ODIs leading up to the World Cup if they hope to defend their title as champions.