Tag Archives: Ashes 2013

The Ashes: England squad for the 5th Test

August 18, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , 3 Comments

England have today named a 14 player squad for the 5th and final test of the Ashes series at the Oval.

The squad is: A Cook (c), J Anderson, J Bairstow, I Bell, S Broad, S Finn, S Kerrigan, K Pietersen, M Prior, G Swann, C Tremlett, J Trott and C Woakes

Tim Bresnan and Graeme Onions are out of the squad from the 4th test with injury. Steve Finn returns having been dropped after the second test.

Simon Kerrigan, for those who don’t know of him, is a 24 year old left arm orthodox spinner who has played 48 first class matches and boasts an impressive record with 164 wickets at an average of 26.52. He has not appeared in the top English team at any level.

Chris Woakes, having already represented England at ODI and T20 level, is another 24 year old (does England have some depth at the moment or am I missing something?) this time an all rounder, again with an impressive first class record, having played 82 first class fixtures during which he has scored over 3000 runs at an average of 38 and taken 284 wickets at an average of 25.48.

The Ashes: 5th Test … A dead rubber or an opportunity?

August 18, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

I have been a staunch advocate for the Cricket Australia National Selection Panel to not make changes for the sake of making changes to the Australia test match lineup and I remain so. There could be nothing worse for building consistency in a team than consistently changing said team as is clearly evidenced by the current predicament the Australian team finds itself in.

Nonetheless, after much reflection I can only conclude that there is no better opportunity to blood a player with a view to the future than in this fixture. The series is gone and this is a dead rubber so all eyes must be focused on winning back the Ashes in Australia, a series that commences only 3 months almost to the day from the end of this test match.

To that end I believe that James Faulkner MUST be awarded his first baggy green in this game for the, hopefully, betterment of Australian cricket and the strengthening of both our batting and bowling lineups.

With Pattinson injured, Starc proven erratic and Bird innocuous under pressure the time is right to grant a debut for the young left arm swing bowling allrounder from the apple isle to see what he is made of. He possesses an excellent first class record albeit on a helpful home grand and has been shown in the past to have the fire in the belly that at times has been lacking, either actually or perceived, in Australian teams of late.

That change aside I see limited benefit in making any other changes. If Usman Khawaja is to be Australia’s long term number 3 then he must be supported by the NSP and selected. Nathan Lyon has done enough in the eyes of everyone but for John Inverarity to secure his spot. Talk of Ashton Agar being selected to bat at number 6 is surely hyperbole from a desperate press core. Finally, say what you like Brad Haddin: he is still the far superior gloveman to Matthew Wade and given that the wicket keeping is still the primary focus of his role he must be selected as well.

This final test is both the dead rubber and the opportunity I mention in the title to this post. One wonders whether the NSP has the courage to take the opportunity or whether it will revert to type and make knee jerk changes that see the same faces leaving or returning depending on whose turn it is. Only time will tell.

The Ashes Tour: Tour Game Travesty Day 2

August 18, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Bad light stopped play on day 2 of the Australians’ tour match against the English Lions at Northampton and after a 68 over centre wicket practice for the Australians the match was declared a draw. Of the three batters seemingly fighting for two spots in the Australian team, Hughes, Smith and Khawaja, only Hughes spent a long time at the crease taking 92 balls to scratch out 30.

As I said yesterday: this was a terrible act of scheduling by the ECB and Cricket Australia playing a glorified net session or centre wicket practice for 2 days heading into the last test of the Ashes series. I guess though it is important to look for positives in every situation and I can see two here: Shane Watson did not get hurt and the final test is a dead rubber so at this net session didn’t make things worse for Australia.

Being on the last test!

The Ashes: 4th Test Australian Player Ratings

August 13, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

In the shadows of Australia’s devastating loss at Chester-le-Street here are my ratings of each Australian player’s performance:

Chris Rogers: 9 out of 10

Scored a career defining hundred in the first innings that will long be remembered for its determination and grit more so than its batting craft. 49 in the second when Australia needed more but by then he had done his bit! Has made the opening spot his own.

David Warner: 6.5 out of 10

Batted as well as I have seen him bat in the second innings to press Australia’s hopes for victory. Got a jaffa in the first innings. As always a live spark in the field.

Usman Khawaja: 3.5 out of 10

Frankly: a passenger for the bulk of the game. Gave hope of something good in the second innings but then missed a straight one from Swann. Must find a way to combat spin bowling.

Michael Clarke: 5 out of 10

Out captained by Cook: stagnant when needed a plan B. Woeful shot in the first innings. Snorter in the second.

Steve Smith: 3 out of 10

Has gone from Australia’s next big thing the second time around to bereft of form in a blink of an eye. A nothing performance when more was needed punctuated by a bad missed catch in England’s second innings.

Shane Watson: 6.5 out of 10

Was having the perfect match right up until he was injured AGAIN. Second innings dismissal returned to form of past dismissals playing around the front pad.

Brad Haddin: 6 out of 10

Glove work was again excellent from Haddin. Out LBW both innings playing back to, respectively, Swann and Broad. Reflexes slowing?

Peter Siddle: 4 out of 10

On a pitch that should have suited his style of seam up bowling was innocuous at best. Did not really threaten or hold up an end when Harris needed support. Massively out of sorts with the bat.

Ryan Harris: 9 out of 10

9 wickets for Harris with some valuable 1st innings runs that put Australia in front. I shudder to think who Australia would have gone without him. Our best in this test!

Nathan Lyon: 8 out of 10

An excellent test match for Lyon; indeed probably one of his best in the baggy green. His dismantling of Pietersen in this game a joy to watch.

Jackson Bird: 4 out of 10

An Ashes debut that he will probably prefer to forget particularly his bowling effort on day 4. Again was served up a wicket that should have suited his style but under pressure could not get it right.

The Ashes: 4th Test, Day 4 Talking Points

August 13, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Day 4 of the 4th test of this Ashes series dawned with much hope for Australia fans but by the end of the day Australian fans, and I hope cricketers too, have been left numb by England’s charge to victory by 74 runs.

With a heavy heart, here are my day 4 talking points:

1. R Harris = just brilliant

It can be said simply this way: without Ryan Harris in this test match Australia would have lost by a lot more! In the first session of the day Harris kept Australia in the game with 3 wickets in short order to make it 7 for the innings and 9 for the match. An epic effort by someone not deigned good enough to be in the top team at the start of the series.

2. T Bresnan = quality player

Bresnan’s innings here took the game away from Australia after Bell had done all the hard work on Day 3. Best described as a “bustling” cricketer Bresnan repaid the faith of the selectors with the willow has he attacked Australia’s bowling and went a long way to setting up England’s victory here. 2 big wickets in Australia’s chase in Warner and Watson only enhance the importance of his role in this victory.

3. S Broad = one of the best Ashes performances of our time

If you thought Broad’s 5 wicket burst in the first innings was good, his effort here in reducing the Australian chase to rubble and at the same collecting 6 wickets was nothing short of exceptional. 11 wickets in any test is a special effort but this effort stands out because Broad stood up when England’s main striker in Jimmy Anderson was down on form and given the stakes. Broad is much maligned by Australian fans but boy if he was playing in a baggy green cap he would probably be our most loved player and that is saying a lot!

4. When the acid was on Australia again lacked fight

That is a harsh statement but listening to the coverage throughout the night and early hours of the morning left me with the impression, unfortunately again, that Australia, in particular the middle order, lacked the fight or will to win this game when things got a bit difficult. I concede the bowling was excellent but to go from 0-109 chasing 299 to all out 224 in the space of 40 overs in the biggest series many of these players will ever play just smacks of a line up lacking conviction in their purpose. In the aftermath of that performance one can only conclude either that the middle order is woefully inept or lacking fight and I do not think they are inept!

5. Battle of the Captains: Cook by a knockout

Michael Clarke was out captained today again as he has been for much of this series. The contrast between Clarke and Cook is at its starkest when one considers how each respond to their bowlers taking patches (2 or mode in the space of 5 overs) of wickets. Cook’s approach seems to be to take advantage of a new batter at the crease and set attacking fields whilst Clarke seems to maintain the status quo and stands stagnant at second slip. I am not saying that this difference would have made a difference to the ultimate result but is shows that the Australian captain has little confidence in his team.

So England have now not only retained the Urn but have won the series. I could say that this was another day of fascinating cricket (and it was) but as an Australian fan I am sick to death of losing these fascinating days.

Congratulations to England: it kills me to say it but the better team won.

Look out for my player scorecard for Australia later in the morning.

The Ashes: 4th Test, Day 4 … Some thoughts on the morning session

August 12, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

In my preview I commented that Australia needed early wickets and England needed to bat as long as possible. Whilst Australia got the 5 wickets in the session they needed they came at a cost of nearly 100 runs. England are now in the box seat in this match.

The obvious highlight from the first session was the bowling of Ryan Harris. 7 for carrying this otherwise ordinary, in this game, pace attack was an effort of Herculean stature.

The other fast bowlers seemed innocuous and bereft of a plan to stop the runs scoring. Australia missed the bowling of S Watson desperately and Captain Clarke seemed to just let the game get away from him by being stagnant in the field when either attack or defence was called for.

Tim Bresnan’s cameo has turned the game to England’s favour. He is a quality cricketer Bresnan who runs in hard all day with the ball and is “sneaky” sharp whilst he has developed into a quality batter at number 8 in the order.

At lunch Australia is 0 for 11 and now need 288 runs in the five remaining sessions of the game.