Tag Archives: cricket

The Ashes: 3rd Test, Day 4 Preview

August 4, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

It is day 4 at Old Trafford and my English sources tell me that rain is forecast in Manchester from about 1pm today and then all day tomorrow. With that weather around a draw is looking likely it would seem.

That said, weather permitting, these are the keys to victory for Australia on Day 4:

1. The Captain MUST bowl Nathan Lyon for a long spells today and if he cops some tap stick with him. He is a quality spin bowler for mine but needs to be given enough rope to get plans working for each batsman.
2. Ryan Harris is the ace in the pack of Australia’s bowling. Giving him some rest today will be vital. Early wickets this morning should see Australia batting again by the first hour. Australia must then bat for till just after tea to allow their main man some time to recover.
3. A target of 350 is a must for Australia. Obviously the sooner that Australia gets England out the better.

The other thing that we can expect today is that the booing of the Myth will continue. Many have an objection to sports crowds booing players and officials but I don’t have a particular problem with given the vitriol often directed at opponents by Australian crowds.

This will be another intriguing day of cricket.

The Ashes: 3rd Test Day 3 … KP, Ryno and DRS again

August 4, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , 6 Comments

England were always going to fight back in this test match: it was a question of when and not if and for a little over a session on Day 3 at Old Trafford they did just that. By close of play however the Australians had rested back the ascendancy and we now move into day 4 with 33 runs standing between England and the following on.

Here are my 5 keys to day 3 at Old Trafford:

1. Love him or hate KP is one of the best in the world: I know there are many who dislike Kevin Pietersen for what they perceive to be his personality foibles or his, perceived again, lack of commitment to the game. Say what you like about him, I will defy anyone who suggests he is not in the best 5 batters in the world at present. His innings was simply breathtaking with shot making all around Old Trafford and his attack on Nathan Lyon threatened to derail Australia’s day.

2. The “Shermanator” continues his rise: There remain a significant pocket of fans in Australia who continue to not rate Ian Bell. I am not one of them. He has been the best batter in the series to date and showed that again over night with a comfortable knock in which he looked largely untroubled right up to the point where he got out.

3. Where would we be without “Ryno”?: I know Starc has taken more wickets and Siddle has similar figures but yet again in this game Ryan Harris has shown just what Australia has been missing with the limitations injury have placed on this fine fast bowlers career. Two big wickets again over night in Trott and Bell admist spells of quality superior to any bowler in this test match so far show why, when fit, he is one of the best in the world. You will go a long way to see a better ball than the won that extracted Bell, particularly given the position of the game and form of the batsman. When Ryan Harris is bowling, Australia always look like they are on top: there can be no higher compliment for a fast bowler.

4. Starc … erratic, frustrating, wicket taker: I had caused to lament midway through the second session last night that I wondered if the NSP was regretting selecting Starc over Bird given the innocuous manner with which he had bowled up to that point. Yes he had eked out Cook but there was hardly any brilliance in that. I have to concede though that for all of the erraticism that sometimes gets into his bowling he has the X factor about him that means at times he is just unplayable. His efforts to dispatch Pietersen and Bairstow were two such deliveries.

5. More DRS follies: I am getting sick of writing about DRS and, indeed, had placed a self imposed on myself after the Myth’s terrible referral. That ban has only lasted a day however after Australia again showed they simply are not good at using the technology. Pietersen, on 62, fell across his wicket and was, in the eyes of many including Watson (who I am sure has watched a ton of videos last week of himself getting out in the same way), out LBW. Tony Hill declined and the now customer mid wicket conference between bowler, captain and ‘keeper decided not to refer it. Of course the ball was going to hit the stumps and a referral would have seen Hill reversed and Pietersen out 50 runs sooner. Has there been a more poignant moment surrounding DRS this series than Boof Lehmann on the balcony at Old Trafford raising his finger to indicate to Clarke that it would have been out? Australia MUST get better at this!

So there it is: day 3 is in the book and day 4 is only 10 and half hours away. Given the state of the game I do not expect Australia to do anything other than bat again regardless of the follow on and if that happens expect the Myth to elevated in the order. England’s second innings will be one of those moments that N Lyon fans and detractors alike have been waiting for: wearing pitch, large total and opportunity to win the game. It will be fascinating to see what happens next!

The Ashes, 3rd Test, Day 1: Bucky, the Pup and DRS again

August 2, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Cricket fans in Australia awake this morning, some more bleary eyed than others, to the news that Australia posted a more than respectable 3/303 overnight on the first day of the 3rd test at Old Trafford. Having watched the first 3 and a bit hours of play, I bunkered down in bed with dulcet tones of the TMS team and was able to push through until the last hour of play on what was another quality day of test match cricket.

Here are my 5 keys to the first day's play:

  1. Well played Bucky: If my timeline in the preamble to the game means anything a number of fringe and former NSW players were appalled at the failure by the selectors to keep Phil Hughes in the team and were questioning the position of Rogers in the line up. Not that he would have been aware of them, but this was an innings that will take the pressure from the pundits off in droves but will also have not been a surprise to many. Indeed, anyone who has watched Victoria in the Shield competition will have seen many of those shots he played last night over and over again before and will know that that is the form he is consistently capable of. 20,000 first class runs at an average of 50 do not lie and that is why this bloke is in the team.
  2. Oh Captain my Captain: Has there been a captain of any Australian cricket team who has been forced to perform under pressure more, and succeeded, than the current captain? Allan Border in the mid to late 80s comes to mind in comparison to Michael Clarke in this context and he did it again last night. In at 2 for not many with the beast that is the English bowling attack stirring he came to the wicket and then batted out the day. This was another quality innings from a bloke who does not get enough plaudits, from me included, for his toughness.
  3. DRS … again: Can we all agree that the 3rd umpire made a mistake in the Khawaja decision and get on with it? That seems to be what happened doesn't it: human error despite the technology caused a wrong decision to remain in place. Umpires are human and no matter the quality of the technology mistakes will happen. It is an interesting side bar that without DRS all three decisions reviewed and upheld last night would have remained the same. What would we have had to discuss then? Well, human error wouldn't we?
  4. Come in spinner: This pitch is already taking considerable spin and it is only going to take more as the game goes on. Enter N Lyon: many have been looking for that moment when Lyon will have the opportunity to bowl Australia to victory and whilst it might be looking the metaphorical gift horse in the mouth at this early stage at does look like that opportunity may be upon us here.
  5. Wake up fans: Why is it that in seemingly every ground in the world “fans” of the game do not have the cricket savvy to know when not to move? Obviously if the bowler is bowling from the end you are sitting at and you are sitting anywhere upto 50 metres either side and above the sightscreen you plant your ass and don't move till the end of the over. How hard can that be? The members at Old Trafford got it wrong last night and probably cost Australia a wicket.

All in all it was Australia's day and it was a day that Australia and its fans desperately needed after the debacle at Lords. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves though: it is only the first day of five and Australia will need to be just as good tomorrow to keep this momentum going. Par score for Australia is now looking like 500 and with the Myth lurking in a situation seemingly taylor made for his cavalier approach and poor technique that target certainly looks obtainable.

Day two kicks off at 8pm Australian time, or in roughly 12 and a half hours for those not on the eastern seaboard of Australia.

Cricket: Australia A … are these guys really the next in line?

August 2, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

I have already written once before about my views on the Australia A squad presently touring Africa and it would be fair to say that that blog lead to a number of responses most of which were focus on my thoughts about the bowling attack OR about the fact that people do not consider the Australia A team to be an Australian “Second XI” but rather a development squad.

I remain unconvinced by arguments that the Australia A team is merely a development squad or, more to the point, that there is a difference between it being a “second XI” or a “development squad”. The fact is that by its very nature a “development squad” should represent a squad of the next in line for Australian selection. If that is what this squad is meant to represent then I fear that the development phase that cricket in this country is going through has a very long way to go.

The reasons for this fear can be easily found by looking squarely at the captain for this tour: Aaron Finch. I am sure he is a lovely bloke but is he really a future captain of Australia? For that matter: is he really a future opening batsman or top order batsman for Australia? Before you answer that question consider these facts:

  1. Last first class season he played in four Sheffield Shield games for Victoria and opened in none of them.
  2. He has played in 32 first class games and has an average of 30.52 from those games.
  3. In 56 first class innings he has 2 hundreds.
  4. Some will suggest that his first class record is supplemented well by his ODI record and on that basis he ought be selected in all forms. Seven ODIs for Australia so far for Finch with a batter average of 15 would suggest otherwise.

Based on those numbers can anyone convince me he is in the frame right now to be the next top order batsman in a baggy green? Does the absurdity of that suggestion give a true indicia that this team presently getting belted in Africa is NOT a development squad for the test team but rather the first class games on this tour are merely a side show along the path to the 50 over games to come?

Consider the current top order for this FIRST CLASS fixture against South Africa A: Finch, Marsh S, Doolan, Maddinson and Maxwell. I have already commented on the inclusion of Finch. Of that top order:

  • Shaun Marsh has had his turn playing for Australia and is injury prone to say the least. He did not open the batting for Australia nor does he regularly for Western Australia yet he finds himself at the top of the order for Australia A: a position that he has batted for Australia in one day cricket and his position in the Western Australia order in the Ryobi Cup.
  • Alex Doolan is a player of the future but how long is that future given that he is already a rising 28 year old? If we have learned nothing else from the late inclusion of Mike Hussey to the test team we know that players who start that late have a very limited time at the top.
  • Nic Maddinson is also a player of the future and at 21 has time to develop. Equally he is another player who is averaging below 40 in first class cricket which must improve.
  • Glenn Maxwell has been slotted in at number 5 in the batting order after a season of first class cricket in Australia where he played 3 games for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and averaged 22.50 in his 4 innings. In those games he batted at number 5 once and at number 7 the remainder and when selected for Australia A he batted at number 8. Compellingly he was slotted in at number 8 for Australia when he debuted in the test team in India.

Based on the foregoing, it seems to me that only 2 of the top 5 batsmen in the Australia A team presently playing in Africa are in the frame to be the next players to step into the test team in the top 5 of the batting order. They are Doolan and Maddinson. Maxwell is an lower order batsman at the top level yet bizarrely he is in the top order for Australia A. Shaun Marsh has had his time in the test team but is obviously still in the frame for the ODI team: why else would he be opening here?

People wonder where the “pipeline” of batsmen coming through for the Australian team is: it seems to me that the bulk of them are having the winter off in their homes in Australia or are playing county cricket. They have not been rewarded with selection to the Australian A team.

I can only conclude given the foregoing that this squad in Africa is not designed to represent a group of players who are all striving for test match selection rather it is a squad that is more focused on preparing players for one day and T20 cricket. Why else would they be captained by a specialist one day and T20 cricketer who gets very limited playing time for his first class team? Why else would a batsman who bats at 7 and 8 in test arena but higher in ODI / T20 cricket be batting at number 5 in this team?

If I am wrong and this team represents the players the Inverarity and his merry band of selectors really think are the next in line for the test team then heaven help Australian fans who are just starting to get used to the reality of the current state of cricket in this country because we are going to have a long wait to return to where we once were!

 

The Ashes: Australian Team named

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

The Australian team for the first test has now even named. It is:

Watson, Rogers, Khawaja, Clarke, Smith, Warner, Haddin, Starc, Harris, Siddle, Lyon

Agree with only one change: Lyon for Agar. The return of Davey “the Myth” Warner is a disgrace. If we wanted a left armer why not Faulkner?

In fact why are Bird and Faulkner over there if they are not going to play them?

Rant had: time to get behind the boys and fire up!

The Ashes: Katich is not coming back … next topic please!

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

I have been reading a lot recently about a possible return of Simon Katich to the Australian set up, particularly given the issues that Australia have been having at the top of the order. I have exclaimed on this blog before and I will say it again here now: Katich is NOT coming back and it is time to get over it!

I remain firmly of the view that Michael Clarke has marked Katich's card “never to be selected again” and whilst Clarke is not a selector it would be idiocy to suggest that the selectors would put a player into the team that the captain did not wish to play with.

That really should be the end of the argument: regardless of form Katich is not going to be selected because Clarke does not want him there. I don't understand campaigns on social media and in print to bring Katich back for that reason alone. So lets consider a hypothetical scenario where Clarke decides that he wants Katich back in the team. The fact is that even in that scenario he could not come back to the Australian team for a very simple reason: on 12 June 2012 he retired from first class cricket in Australia.

Read that date again: 13 months ago the man some believe to be a saviour to the Australian cricket team ceased to be a first class cricketer in the Australian system. Yes he played in the BBL in season 2012/13 but he did not play any other top level cricket. I concede that he has been in excellent form in the county cricket competition but the question must be asked: Has Australian cricket fallen so far that a soon to be 38 year old who is a part time cricketer at best and who does not play in the first class competition in Australia is the only answer?

More to the point: do we really want someone who has clearly shown he has no interest in being involved in the Australian set up (why else would he be playing in England first class cricket but not in the Australian version) back in the team?

Don't get me wrong: I rate Simon Katich as a cricket and I firmly believe he should never have been dropped from the Australian team. I would go so far as to say that I would love to have him in the team right now. However, these are the facts:

  1. The captain of the Australian cricket team does not want him in the team; AND
  2. The man himself has shown, overtly, that he does not want to be a part of the Australian set up.

Given those facts, surely it is time for pundits and fans alike to cease beating the dead horse that is the ongoing campaign for Katich's return and focus on supporting the players that actually do want to be involved in the Australian setup?

The only thing worse than this focus on a return from Katich is the yearly campaign for a return from Shane Warne but it is becoming a close run thing … and that is really saying something is it not?