Tag Archives: cricket

Ashes 2013/14 Countdown: Five Fearless Predictions

November 19, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , 1 Comment

We are now only 2 sleeps away from day 1 of the first test of the 2013/14 Ashes series at the Gabba. The press is replete with hypothesis and supposition as to how this series between England and Australia is going to be played out. My lack of excitement (as reported yesterday) notwithstanding, I have spent much time thinking about this series. So much so I have looked in my metaphorical crystal ball and come up with five fearless predictions for this series as follows:

Stuart Broad v Australian crowds: there will only be one winner

Stuart Broad has installed himself, with some assistance from Boof Lehmann, as public enemy number one for Australian fans this summer. The barmy army did a good job getting under the fragile skin of Mitchell Johnson and it played a big part in Australia’s loss in previous series. The Australian crowds will need to do a similar job on Broad here. Anderson gets a lot of kudos from the press as the leader of the English attack but one senses that when Broad is on his game England are a much better bowling line up. For Broad, a victory in this battle will be simply measured in wickets and runs. For the Australian crowds a victory could well lead to Michael Clarke lifting the Urn.

Michael Clarke: will average less than 35

The captain comes into this series with an unsettled mind and unsound body it would seem. His publicly run “feud” with Ricky Ponting has dominated the cricket press in this country and regardless of which camp you are in (I confess to being strongly in the Ponting camp) you have to concede that having to deal with this sideline drama can not be good for his mental make up going into the series. His back is obviously restricting him and he has had limited time at the crease in the lead up to iron out any flaws in his form. Add to that an English team which will see him as the key wicket in all 10 innings and I expect this to be a series of struggle for Clarke.

The Australian XI for the Sydney test will be very different to the one for the first test

Cricket in Australia is in a state of flux. That is abundantly and heartwrenchingly obvious. This current position of the game here has begat a selection panel that is quick with the trigger finger when it comes to the removal of players who are not performing. I expect the bowling ranks, in particular, to be a revolving door of changes either brought about by injuries or the return of other players to net form. The names Pattinson, Starc and Bird will be appearing at some point on an Australian team sheet. Also likely is the name Hazlewood. If any of the batters don’t fire then Doolan, Khawaja and Hughes will all figure.

Kevin Pietersen will score a hundred and will offend everyone

It is undeniable that Pietersen is an outrageously talented batsman. He will score a hundred at some point in this series and it will be both aesthetically pleasing and important in the context of the game. As an Australian fan that bothers me but as a fan of cricket I look forward to watching Pietersen in his pomp. Given his start to the tour on social media he also seems to be going out of his way to antagonise the public. Bating Brisbanites about the qualities of our proud city has set the tone for how Pietersen will deal with Australian fans and journalists. I expect he will not stop there with his banter which could see him irritate everyone.

No matter what happens, the Three Stooges will survive

This prediction is the one that galls me the most: James Sutherland, John Inverarity and Pat Howard will still be in a job regardless of whether Australia loses the series. The security of Sutherland’s job has already been locked in by the board of Cricket Australia. Simply put: Cricket Australia is making too much money and is too focused on cash over results to sack him. If Sutherland is secure then I posit then that both of Howard and Inverarity are too: they are clearly Sutherland’s men and if the results of the team so far have not been enough to see them sacked then they will survive this series as well.

I know I said that there were five fearless predictions. It would not be a prediction blog though without giving a prediction for the result of the series. I have to give two such predictions because my heart says something decidedly different to my head. My heart says Australia will win 2-1 but my head says England will win 2-1. I think Brisbane and Adelaide will be draws, one because of the weather discontent and the other because I expect the pitch to be a road. Perth will go to the Australians whilst England will win in Sydney. That just leaves Melbourne: Australia’s biggest test match stage. Unfortunately my head says that England’s class will come through against an Australian team over-confident after a win in Perth.

Bring on the cricket!

Ashes Countdown 2013/14: Australia “A” v England Day 1

November 6, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Not for the last time this series one suspects, England have completely dominated Australia on Day 1 at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. Finishing on 0/318 with Carberry 153* and Cook 154* there are, simply, no positives to come out of the day for Australia.

If Sutherland, Howard and Invers wanted to play England’s batsmen into form in this game then that goal has certainly been achieved in the case of England’s openers. A woefully inadequate bowling line up, Cutting and Copeland aside, has been shown up as just a terrible choice particularly in light of the pitch prepared by the groundsman in Hobart. The edict from Sutherland that pitches should be more batsman friendly this year has bitten the Australia “A” bowlers on the backside here, remembering that Bellerive once possessed the greenest wicket in the land, with Cook and Carberry never troubled today in what might have been a centre wicket practice but for the Australian crests on the shirts of the fielding team.

Henriques was selected, it would appear, to be the third seam bowler however he only gave himself (or, which is more likely the case, was told) only 9 overs of the 93 bowled today. The other fast bowlers were forced to shoulder heavy loads on, I repeat, a wicket providing no assistance to them. That just does not make sense to me, either from a captaincy or a bowling management stand point.

Cricket Australia have gotten it wrong again right from the beginning and, as I wrote this morning, the shambolic preparation for what might be Australia’s most important test series of the decade continues on unabated.

I hope tomorrow is a better day for the Australians in Hobart. If it is not then records could tumble and England’s spirits could only be lifted higher. Additionally, given past form of Inverarity, reputation of the Australian bowlers could be heavily impacted as well by another day like today. Indeed, the only people not at risk of a terrible result this game and this summer will continue to be Sutherland, Howard and Inverarity which continues to be a travesty.

Ashes 2013/14 Countdown: Watson injury confirmed and Australia’s terrible preparation continues!

November 6, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Alex Kountouris, the Australian physiotherapist, has confirmed that Shane Watson has a low grade strain to his left hamstring. The injury was sustained during the last ODI in India.

Cricket Australia, based on Kountouris’ comments, will be giving Watson all the time he needs to prove his fitness.

The preparation for Australia for the first Ashes test just gets worse doesn’t it with this news? That preparation has included:

1. The travesty of the ODI series in India being agreed to by Cricket Australia before one of the most important series of the decade (in my opinion).
2. The shocking schedule that has been put in place by Cricket Australia that sees the test team named after some players have had only one opportunity to play first class cricket before the side is named.
3. The ongoing injury concerns surrounding Michael Clarke and the fast bowling ranks.

Now we have one of Australia’s most important players (forget what the haters say about him: the fact is he is) in serious doubt to play in what will be a vital test match for Australia to win if it is get the Ashes Urn back.

I would like to hope things will improve from here but one senses, looking at the score presently at Bellerive Oval, that is may not.

Sheffield Shield Round 2 and Australia “A”: players to watch

November 6, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

6 November 2013 represents the start of four first class games which represent the last chance for Australian cricketers to press their case for national honours with the first test match team for the Gabba test set to be named on 12 November. I have been overt in my view that the first test team has already been names internally at Cricket Australia Towers however an injury to Shane Watson and question marks over the captain’s fitness mean that this round of fixtures take on a, possible, new meaning. Also, given that CA has played its hand around fast bowler management in its decision to rest Josh Hazlewood from all cricket this week it is also important to keep an eye on the fast bowling stocks around the country.

All that said: here are my players to watch for this round of first class cricket:

Alex Doolan:

Seemingly already coronated as the replacement for Shane Watson, certainly so if you read the News Limited press, Doolan is off to a flying start to the season with a hundred and fifty in round 1 of the Sheffield Shield. This time last year scored a big hundred against South Africa in the same game and will again need big runs in this game to: a. mask his first class average of less than 40 and b. prove to everyone he is worthy of the “next best” slot.

Usman Khawaja:

Was in the test team in England and failed to grasp his opportunity with both hands. Now is seemingly on the outer (again principally with the News Limited press) and did not do anything to impress the selectors in round 1 of the Sheffield Shield. Is behind Doolan in the pecking order on form but has the advantage of test match experience which could be useful at the selection table. Needs to bat for a long time in this game but, in doing so, needs to show that when he plays spinners he can rotate the strike which he failed to do in England.

Phil Hughes:

Can Hughes make another push for the number 3 slot in the test team that many believe to be rightfully his? His attempt to do so commences in Perth where he will, one expects, open for the Sandgropers. Coming off a nothing tour of India he will need big runs in this game to get his name to the front of the queue. It must be noted that this is precisely the situation he found himself in last season when, via weight of first class runs, he charged into the test frame. The big question mark is whether one game is enough.

Moises Henriques:

Captaining the Australia A team is the first taste of first class cricket Henriques will have this season given that he has been mixing the cordials in India and missed the 1st round of the Sheffield Shield. A tour to India under his belt that can only be described as a disaster means he has test match experience and if he can perform against the English in Hobart he may be the man to replace Shane Watson if the NSP decide to replace an allrounder with another allrounder.

Ben Cutting:

The man of the series in the Ryobi Cup in the eyes of everyone but for Channel 9’s biased commentators, Cutting struggled with illness in the first round of the Sheffield Shield. Has match turning power with the willow and is one of the swiftest bowlers in domestic cricket on his day. Missed out on selection two years ago at the Gabba when the NSP went for hair gel (Pattinson) over substance. The only way he will get in the test team is if he takes that many wickets even John Inverarity can not ignore him and this game against the English is the first step on that path.

John Holland:

Holland is in the frame for a possible test birth for one reason and only one reason: Kevin Pietersen has a problem with left arm orthodox spin. Massive question mark for me is the fact that he has not played first class cricket in 13 months. Second question mark for me is a bowling average of 39.18 at the top level also does not inspire confidence. That said: if he gets KP out twice in the two innings he bowls at him in Hobart watch for the push for him to selected for the Gabba (again particularly in the News Limited press which has a problem with Nathan Lyon).

I am sure there are other players in the frame however these are the players I think the selectors will be looking at closely, whether they should be or not!

All eyes also will be on the MCG for the Victoria v New South Wales game and whether the captain’s rickety back can stand back to back first class games.

Cricket: Johnson and the early leave pass

November 1, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

News overnight from Cricket Australia Towers that Mitchell Johnson is returning home early from India to prepare for the Ashes confirms what must be the worst kept secret in cricket, and something I commented on earlier this week, that the Australian team has already been selected for the first test of the Ashes.

If you don’t agree with that then consider this: the series in India is presently drawn at 2-2 with one game to play and Johnson has been Australia’s best bowler. Given the apparent importance placed on this series by Sutherland and Invers could there be any other reason for his return other than the fact that he is in the team already?

Removing him from India removes him from the prospect of another shocking run chase and the mental scarring that comes from that which will be vital if Johnson is to perform in the Ashes.

I salute CA for this move. I don’t agree with Johnson’s selection and think moving him back to Australia makes a mockery of a series that has been indicative of the shambolic state of the administration of the game in this country. However if he is to feature in the tests he has to be mentally right and the best place for him to get right is at home.

Bailey, Johnson and the Indian trial game fallacy

October 31, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

I wrote earlier in the week that Cricket Australia should just name the 1st test team now because, clearly, it has already been selected. Chairman Inverarity’s comments post that blog only confirmed that view. To recap: I posited that George Bailey and Mitchell Johnson will come into the team in place of Faulkner (team fit) and Starc (injured).

These inclusions, particularly that of Bailey, have their genesis in short form form. Let me be clear: George Bailey has put together as impressive back to back series in 50 over cricket as I can remember. I doff my metaphorical cap to him. However, I am massively worried about these selections in the absence of sustained first class form.

Forget for a moment that Bailey had his own year to forget in the Shield last season (was there any batsman other than Rogers who did not?) and consider this: is there any venue for the upcoming Ashes series likely to even be remotely like those on which Bailey and Johnson are playing at the moment?

Short boundaries, lightning fast outfields and wickets as true as a slab of concrete, not to diminish Bailey’s effort, have played their part in the way this series in India has played out: to the benefit of the batsmen in form and the detriment to the bowlers.

I maintain that Bailey needs to come back and play in Shield cricket but given the free pass he has received from the Chairman his run in to the 1st test at Gabba could be limited to playing in entirely foreign (no pun intended) conditions. Am I the only one worried about that?

The selection of Johnson is possibly more born of Chairman Inverarity’s slavish need to select a left arm fast bowler in all conditions (sidebar: when was the last time England relied on a left arm seamer for variation?). The conditions the Indian trials (as I see them) are being played under must be taking a toll on Johnson, and all the bowlers for that matter. And you can’t tell me that having scores of 350 plus chased down doesn’t have a deleterious effect on the psyche of a bowling attack.

With Johnson I worry that England have already broken him mentally twice: now he comes into an Ashes series (I maintain he is already in the team) in circumstances where his confidence must be shaken. That, of itself, can not be good!

I know the need for first class form prior to test selection has been a hobby horse of mine since the genesis of this blog. However, premised on the make up of the team I believe to already be locked down, I continue to be worried that the performance of those benefiting from short form form counting as much if not more than first class form does a disservice to those players who are likely to be left underdone or mentally scarred because of the conditions they are playing in.

Have said this before and will say it again: I hope I am wrong but reckon I am still a short price favourite to be right!