Southampton 184-8 dec
Main 3-16, Withers 2-59
RUASCC 117-3
Main 34, Carpenter 32 not out
Match drawn.
All three of RUASCC’s proposed fixtures against Southampton were cancelled last season, but despite the novelty of the occasion we could only get 10 players to travel down the M3. Tranter won the toss and put Southampton in to bat on a decent track and our hosts were kind enough to lend us the extra fielder, a gesture which proved invaluable as it disproportionately improved the overall quality of our fielding. The sun shone intermittently through the clouds and it would have been a nice day were it not for the wind: a biting, chilling, relentlessly abusive onslaught that seemed to strip one’s flesh from the bones.
Withers toiled bravely into this wind without success, all the time loosening the jam jar for Main who greedily helped himself to the first three wickets. The first wicket came when a mis-timed pull sent a simple catch towards mid-wicket, who we only noticed happened to be our guest fielder when he didn’t drop it. The next two wickets fell quickly (one bowled, one LBW) but just as Main looked as if he might rip through the entire team he was forced to a halt by general wear and tear and had to make do with the impressive figures of 3-16 from seven overs. He had been denied a fourth wicket by a dropped slip catch (Carpenter), the start of a fascinating two-hour episode of “How Not to Catch” which included Dip and Tranter spilling chances off Withers, Tranter dropping one from his own bowling and Jagesh putting one down at mid-on from a batsman who only ever hit it straight to mid-on.
Withers did eventually get a wicket when a thin edge found its way to the keeper and Dip held on, whereupon the local villagers dug out the old bunting, grabbed some quiche and started up a spontaneous street party in our honour. With Southampton on 53-4 the home side’s hopes rested on Shibasis who was in full 20-20 mode swinging at pretty much everything and getting plenty of thick edges to the boundary. He reached his fifty out of a score of 75-4 and moved onto 68 before he pulled a short one from Dr Ashman (1-32) straight to Main at deep square leg and RUASCC’s most reliable fielder made no mistake.
That really should have been that for the Southampton innings but somehow it kept going. Walking fossil Ken Stewart came into the “attack” and bought himself a wicket thanks to another catch from another substitute fielder at mid-wicket before Withers returned to remove the Southampton captain - Main taking a tumbling catch in the covers. There was time for one more wicket as Jagesh refused a catch at mid-off but instead threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end as the same batsman struggled to pinch a single. After 36 overs Southampton declared on 184-8.
RUASCC need 185 runs to win
The reply began in cautious fashion as the opening bowler achieved what RUASCC hadn’t managed all afternoon: a maiden over. Several more followed as Ward and Eagle played themselves in but then in the tenth over, with score on 21, Ward attempted an expansive drive and dragged onto his stumps for nine. Dip came in at three, played a glorious drive through the covers for four but soon fell LBW for six.
The cause was further impeded by a sudden injury to Eagle who was rendered useless by leg cramp and had to leave the field. In a line-up of ten players featuring only four recognised batsmen we could barely afford to spare one, and the sight of Bruce Main coming in at number five did little to reassure the rest of us.
Having scored just 33 runs in the first 15 overs it seemed unlikely that RUASCC would find the other 152 in the final 20, but Main gave it a pretty good go. After he took 16 from one over with four punishing boundaries Carpenter began the next with two fours of his own and Main added another as the pair reached their fifty partnership and brought the required run rate to less than ten an over for the first time in what seemed like years.
When Main (34) was bowled by Shibasis, Eagle returned to the crease simply to annoy Stewart who was scheduled to be next in. However, hampered by an elbow injury he was unable to add to his score and retired hurt again with the score at 100-3. This possibly makes Eagle the first RUASCC batsman to retire hurt twice in an innings with two separate injuries but both times on the same score: 12 not out.
As the clock passed 7pm, the light remained good but the air grew cooler and the wind grew stronger. With the draw now certain, the RUASCC team, huddled up by the boundary rope freezing their knackers off, prayed for a drop of rain, an airstrike – anything to finish the game so we could all go home.
Carpenter (32 not out) and Stewart (3 not out) rattled along at one run per over for the last half hour until eventually another pointless single at the end of the 35th brought the desperate, mind-numbing misery to its inevitably tedious conclusion.
RUASCC Highlight: The moment Tranter spotted a fox on the far side of the pitch but it turned out to be small grey dog.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Bruce Main – took three wickets, two catches and top scored with a blistering 34. The only competition was from the substitute fielders.
RUASCC Team: Ward, Eagle, Dip (wkt), Carpenter, Main, Stewart, Withers, Jagesh, Tranter (capt) Ashman
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Englefield (A) – 2.5.11
RUASCC 226-9
Malde 62, Zia 45
Englefield 227-2
Carpenter 1-16, Zia 1-27
RUASCC lost by 8 wickets
RUASCC headed to the picture-perfect setting of Englefield Cricket Club for their second game of the weekend with seven of the same players who earned the draw against Blewbury the day before. It was a bright, sunny day and from inside the car everything looked wonderful – until you got out into the open and a force-eight gale took your breath away. We felt for poor pensioner Ken Stewart who is especially susceptible to draughts.
Thanks to some endearingly eccentric timekeeping from Withers, a handful of players arrived at the ground only just in time to see Eagle and Carpenter striding out to the middle to open the batting. Forty seconds later and we would have missed Eagle striding back again having been bowled by the second ball of the match.
From this inauspicious start some quick runs followed. Baker, making his first appearance of 2011, got off the mark with a boundary and both he and Carpenter tucked into anything short or wide. The fifty partnership came up in the ninth over and the pair were coasting when Carpenter chipped up to mid-on from a fairly weak delivery and was caught for 23.
Zia, bearing the bruises from his innings the day before, set off in his usual fashion but before long he lost his partner as Baker, on 43, cut straight to cover when looking set for a big score. RUASCC were 92-3 after 16 overs and another fine partnership followed with Zia and Malde at the crease. Englefield rotated their bowlers with several young kids getting involved so Chan did the only decent thing and dispatched them over the mid-wicket fence at regular intervals. But with two batsmen looking set and averaging ten runs per over, another wicket was given away: Zia this time directed a thick edge straight to gully on 45.
Greenhalf came in at number six on the back of a golden duck at Blewbury and he instantly banished the memory of that failure by doing exactly the same thing again. He was cleaned up first ball by Deacon who was then denied his hatrick by Adam Seymour edging two runs through the slips. Seymour went on to play an important part in a 55-run stand during which Chan reached a fifty including two sixes and seven fours. Eventually Seymour was bowled for 11 and his wicket prompted a collapse that saw RUASCC go from 196-5 to 213-9. Chan edged behind for 62 attempting the Dilscoop, Jagesh went lbw attempting something equally extravagant and Dr Ashman was bowled for 0 going for a big shot that was definitely there to be hit.
This brought together the rather desperate pairing of Pensioner Ken Stewart and specialist nightwatchman Keith Withers with three overs remaining. Predictably nothing much happened for a while but Withers clubbed two fours in the final over to drag the total up to 226-9 at tea.
Englefield need 227 runs to win
Fans of the cricket world cup will remember the quarter final when England posted 229 against Sri Lanka and thought they might have just done enough - then lost by ten wickets. Well, RUASCC lost this one by eight but it was equally convincing. The home side reached 105-0 after the first 20 overs then even after Zia did get a slightly dubious lbw decision the next pair added 65 largely due to opening batsman Samad who raced to a ton.
Carpenter brought himself on and took a wicket with his first ball – Eagle taking a good low catch at short mid-wicket – but by then Englefield only needed 37 to win with plenty of overs to spare. By the end Samad was seeing the ball like a hot air balloon, thumping it to every part of the boundary off every bowler, and finished unbeaten on 130. When only six runs were needed, Malde came on to bowl and four balls later it was all over.
So after three games that’s one win, one draw and one defeat for RUASCC in 2011, and despite the results this was an enjoyable weekend of cricket. Not a bad effort from a group of players who are barely fit enough to play one game a week, let alone two.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Split between Johnny Baker and Chan Malde – both batted and fielded well, Baker with the gloves and Chan at cover point.
RUASCC Team: Eagle, Carpenter (capt), Baker (wkt), Zia, Chan, Greenhalf, Seymour, Stewart, Jagesh, Ashman, Withers
RUASCC Worrying Bowling Stat: In two matches RUASCC bowled 74.4 overs and took only six wickets (including one run out) for 448 runs. That gives an “economy” rate of exactly a run a ball and hence both a bowling average and a strike rate of 74.67.
Malde 62, Zia 45
Englefield 227-2
Carpenter 1-16, Zia 1-27
RUASCC lost by 8 wickets
RUASCC headed to the picture-perfect setting of Englefield Cricket Club for their second game of the weekend with seven of the same players who earned the draw against Blewbury the day before. It was a bright, sunny day and from inside the car everything looked wonderful – until you got out into the open and a force-eight gale took your breath away. We felt for poor pensioner Ken Stewart who is especially susceptible to draughts.
Thanks to some endearingly eccentric timekeeping from Withers, a handful of players arrived at the ground only just in time to see Eagle and Carpenter striding out to the middle to open the batting. Forty seconds later and we would have missed Eagle striding back again having been bowled by the second ball of the match.
From this inauspicious start some quick runs followed. Baker, making his first appearance of 2011, got off the mark with a boundary and both he and Carpenter tucked into anything short or wide. The fifty partnership came up in the ninth over and the pair were coasting when Carpenter chipped up to mid-on from a fairly weak delivery and was caught for 23.
Zia, bearing the bruises from his innings the day before, set off in his usual fashion but before long he lost his partner as Baker, on 43, cut straight to cover when looking set for a big score. RUASCC were 92-3 after 16 overs and another fine partnership followed with Zia and Malde at the crease. Englefield rotated their bowlers with several young kids getting involved so Chan did the only decent thing and dispatched them over the mid-wicket fence at regular intervals. But with two batsmen looking set and averaging ten runs per over, another wicket was given away: Zia this time directed a thick edge straight to gully on 45.
Greenhalf came in at number six on the back of a golden duck at Blewbury and he instantly banished the memory of that failure by doing exactly the same thing again. He was cleaned up first ball by Deacon who was then denied his hatrick by Adam Seymour edging two runs through the slips. Seymour went on to play an important part in a 55-run stand during which Chan reached a fifty including two sixes and seven fours. Eventually Seymour was bowled for 11 and his wicket prompted a collapse that saw RUASCC go from 196-5 to 213-9. Chan edged behind for 62 attempting the Dilscoop, Jagesh went lbw attempting something equally extravagant and Dr Ashman was bowled for 0 going for a big shot that was definitely there to be hit.
This brought together the rather desperate pairing of Pensioner Ken Stewart and specialist nightwatchman Keith Withers with three overs remaining. Predictably nothing much happened for a while but Withers clubbed two fours in the final over to drag the total up to 226-9 at tea.
Englefield need 227 runs to win
Fans of the cricket world cup will remember the quarter final when England posted 229 against Sri Lanka and thought they might have just done enough - then lost by ten wickets. Well, RUASCC lost this one by eight but it was equally convincing. The home side reached 105-0 after the first 20 overs then even after Zia did get a slightly dubious lbw decision the next pair added 65 largely due to opening batsman Samad who raced to a ton.
Carpenter brought himself on and took a wicket with his first ball – Eagle taking a good low catch at short mid-wicket – but by then Englefield only needed 37 to win with plenty of overs to spare. By the end Samad was seeing the ball like a hot air balloon, thumping it to every part of the boundary off every bowler, and finished unbeaten on 130. When only six runs were needed, Malde came on to bowl and four balls later it was all over.
So after three games that’s one win, one draw and one defeat for RUASCC in 2011, and despite the results this was an enjoyable weekend of cricket. Not a bad effort from a group of players who are barely fit enough to play one game a week, let alone two.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Split between Johnny Baker and Chan Malde – both batted and fielded well, Baker with the gloves and Chan at cover point.
RUASCC Team: Eagle, Carpenter (capt), Baker (wkt), Zia, Chan, Greenhalf, Seymour, Stewart, Jagesh, Ashman, Withers
RUASCC Worrying Bowling Stat: In two matches RUASCC bowled 74.4 overs and took only six wickets (including one run out) for 448 runs. That gives an “economy” rate of exactly a run a ball and hence both a bowling average and a strike rate of 74.67.
Monday, 2 May 2011
Blewbury (A) – 1.5.11
Blewbury 221-4 dec
Zia 2-57, Main 1-41
RUASCC 191-7
Carpenter 65, Zia 48
Match drawn.
The annual trip to Blewbury is always an enjoyable one despite RUASCC’s dreadful record at the ground - it’s the sort of place where you can turn up at 2pm and the home skipper is enjoying his fourth can of Red Stripe before the coin is even tossed. Two years ago the whole team were in the middle of a weekend-long stag do and they still won by eight wickets despite most of them not having slept the night before.
We were told in advance that the match would be played on a brand new astroturf strip which didn’t seem like great news for the bowlers. The predictable bounce and lack of sideways movement off the carpet makes a batsman’s job a lot easier and as it turned out the artificial wicket produced 412 runs in 70 overs and, ultimately, a draw.
RUASCC’s hopes of not losing the match were boosted when Blewbury won the toss and opted to bat first. In a timed game the team batting second always has the option of shutting up shop and playing for the draw if the run chase doesn’t look on, and taking all ten wickets on an astroturf pitch takes some doing, even against RUASCC.
Withers and Main began tidily and Blewbury were 14-1 in the sixth over when Main trapped Fish lbw (yes, I know). That’s about when things stopped going well for RUASCC as the second wicket pair put on 105 in 20 overs, helped in part by some charitably inept fielding. First Main put down a chance off his own bowling then debutant Muhammed failed to cling on at mid-off, but worse was to come when a dreadful miscue came down just off the square without a single fielder making a positive move towards it.
Unlikely as it sounds, it was a brilliant piece of fielding that eventually ran out Grist for 49 as Main threw superbly from the long off boundary. In the next over Zia clean bowled the new batsman and RUASCC were suddenly threatening a comeback. Unfortunately Southwell was in full swing and in just eight overs Blewbury added another 80 runs for the fourth wicket. The dry, bumpy outfield provided a convenient excuse for some dreadful ground fielding and a lot of heads seemed to go down during this passage of play. It was a relief when Zia took a simple return catch to remove Ainsworth for 27.
Can I just say what a pleasure it is to be writing this report with the scorebook next to me – for once I don’t have to pluck the numbers from my own addled memory.
Pensioner Ken Stewart bowled the final over of the innings and Southwell, on 97, lofted the first delivery high in the air towards Withers on the mid-wicket boundary but he somehow managed to drop it because he’s a useless twat. Southwell reached his century two balls later, the over ended up costing 14 and Blewbury declared on 221-4 at tea.
RUASCC need 222 runs to win
With Ward missing due to injury, Eagle and Carpenter opened the batting and raced along to 28-0 after four overs thanks to nicely placed byes. However, two wickets in two balls threatened to derail the innings as Eagle (4) and Greenhalf (0) were bowled in near-identical fashion. Zia survived the hatrick ball and the fun began as 86 runs were added in the next ten overs. Clearly enjoying some short bowling on the flat wicket, Carpenter brutally cut and pulled and raced to fifty with his eleventh boundary. While the partnership lasted RUASCC were favourites to win the match, but on 65 Carpenter miscued a pull shot and the grateful wicketkeeper simply had to wait for the ball to drop into his gloves.
Zia continued to accumulate despite being hampered by an absence of stamina, and with Dip also suffering with the aches and pains of a wicketkeeper there was a distinct lack of urgency between the wickets as the pair added another 34 walks. Zia had one lucky escape when the Blewbury captain misjudged a high catch in a rather RUASCC-like manner and wore it on the sternum – you could hear the thud all around the ground. The tide turned again when Zia missed a straight one on 48 and Muhammed’s first ball as a RUASCC batsman saw him clean bowled. For the second time in the innings there was a hatrick ball to defend and this time it was Bruce Main who held firm. At 148-5 the win was looking less likely and when Dip (14) was bowled by a beauty from Southwell the run chase was formally off the table. Some of RUASCC’s batting was making the pristine artificial wicket look like the fourth day at Headingly after a rain break.
To Trant’s obvious dismay Main still had time for a bit of a swing and he hit three fours on his way to 19 before he tried to hook a short ball and mimicked Carpenter’s earlier dismissal. With 39 needed from three overs, Tranter and Stewart (combined age of 131) had little to do but seal the draw. In the final over, Trant even had a good bold swipe for four down the ground, an act of pure hypocrisy that many in the RUASCC ranks will take a long time to forget.
RUASCC Highlight: Bruce’s excellent throw for the run out that finally ended the second wicket stand.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Ian Carpenter for his exhilarating innings of 65.
RUASCC Team: Eagle, Carpenter, Greenhalf, Zia, Dip (wkt), Muhammed, Main, Stewart, Tranter (capt), Ashman, Withers
Keiwit Match Stats: Wickets 0; Runs 0; Catches 0
Zia 2-57, Main 1-41
RUASCC 191-7
Carpenter 65, Zia 48
Match drawn.
The annual trip to Blewbury is always an enjoyable one despite RUASCC’s dreadful record at the ground - it’s the sort of place where you can turn up at 2pm and the home skipper is enjoying his fourth can of Red Stripe before the coin is even tossed. Two years ago the whole team were in the middle of a weekend-long stag do and they still won by eight wickets despite most of them not having slept the night before.
We were told in advance that the match would be played on a brand new astroturf strip which didn’t seem like great news for the bowlers. The predictable bounce and lack of sideways movement off the carpet makes a batsman’s job a lot easier and as it turned out the artificial wicket produced 412 runs in 70 overs and, ultimately, a draw.
RUASCC’s hopes of not losing the match were boosted when Blewbury won the toss and opted to bat first. In a timed game the team batting second always has the option of shutting up shop and playing for the draw if the run chase doesn’t look on, and taking all ten wickets on an astroturf pitch takes some doing, even against RUASCC.
Withers and Main began tidily and Blewbury were 14-1 in the sixth over when Main trapped Fish lbw (yes, I know). That’s about when things stopped going well for RUASCC as the second wicket pair put on 105 in 20 overs, helped in part by some charitably inept fielding. First Main put down a chance off his own bowling then debutant Muhammed failed to cling on at mid-off, but worse was to come when a dreadful miscue came down just off the square without a single fielder making a positive move towards it.
Unlikely as it sounds, it was a brilliant piece of fielding that eventually ran out Grist for 49 as Main threw superbly from the long off boundary. In the next over Zia clean bowled the new batsman and RUASCC were suddenly threatening a comeback. Unfortunately Southwell was in full swing and in just eight overs Blewbury added another 80 runs for the fourth wicket. The dry, bumpy outfield provided a convenient excuse for some dreadful ground fielding and a lot of heads seemed to go down during this passage of play. It was a relief when Zia took a simple return catch to remove Ainsworth for 27.
Can I just say what a pleasure it is to be writing this report with the scorebook next to me – for once I don’t have to pluck the numbers from my own addled memory.
Pensioner Ken Stewart bowled the final over of the innings and Southwell, on 97, lofted the first delivery high in the air towards Withers on the mid-wicket boundary but he somehow managed to drop it because he’s a useless twat. Southwell reached his century two balls later, the over ended up costing 14 and Blewbury declared on 221-4 at tea.
RUASCC need 222 runs to win
With Ward missing due to injury, Eagle and Carpenter opened the batting and raced along to 28-0 after four overs thanks to nicely placed byes. However, two wickets in two balls threatened to derail the innings as Eagle (4) and Greenhalf (0) were bowled in near-identical fashion. Zia survived the hatrick ball and the fun began as 86 runs were added in the next ten overs. Clearly enjoying some short bowling on the flat wicket, Carpenter brutally cut and pulled and raced to fifty with his eleventh boundary. While the partnership lasted RUASCC were favourites to win the match, but on 65 Carpenter miscued a pull shot and the grateful wicketkeeper simply had to wait for the ball to drop into his gloves.
Zia continued to accumulate despite being hampered by an absence of stamina, and with Dip also suffering with the aches and pains of a wicketkeeper there was a distinct lack of urgency between the wickets as the pair added another 34 walks. Zia had one lucky escape when the Blewbury captain misjudged a high catch in a rather RUASCC-like manner and wore it on the sternum – you could hear the thud all around the ground. The tide turned again when Zia missed a straight one on 48 and Muhammed’s first ball as a RUASCC batsman saw him clean bowled. For the second time in the innings there was a hatrick ball to defend and this time it was Bruce Main who held firm. At 148-5 the win was looking less likely and when Dip (14) was bowled by a beauty from Southwell the run chase was formally off the table. Some of RUASCC’s batting was making the pristine artificial wicket look like the fourth day at Headingly after a rain break.
To Trant’s obvious dismay Main still had time for a bit of a swing and he hit three fours on his way to 19 before he tried to hook a short ball and mimicked Carpenter’s earlier dismissal. With 39 needed from three overs, Tranter and Stewart (combined age of 131) had little to do but seal the draw. In the final over, Trant even had a good bold swipe for four down the ground, an act of pure hypocrisy that many in the RUASCC ranks will take a long time to forget.
RUASCC Highlight: Bruce’s excellent throw for the run out that finally ended the second wicket stand.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Ian Carpenter for his exhilarating innings of 65.
RUASCC Team: Eagle, Carpenter, Greenhalf, Zia, Dip (wkt), Muhammed, Main, Stewart, Tranter (capt), Ashman, Withers
Keiwit Match Stats: Wickets 0; Runs 0; Catches 0
Friday, 29 April 2011
Middlesex v Surrey (Lords) – 29.4.11
It was decided several months ago that on the 29th of April a small group of us would get up early in the morning, pack a picnic and catch a train into London to celebrate the wedding of Kate and William by watching some cricket at Lord’s.
I’m not particularly anti-Royal but there are many things I would rather do than watch a wedding. Cleaning the fridge is one. That said, a lot of other people seem to think it’s all jolly wonderful and that’s great. Popular opinion suggests that most men would like to give one to a young lady named Pippa but that’s probably as much information as I need. Incidentally, I do find it odd when people say the wedding makes them proud to be British, but then I tend to agree with George Bernard Shaw: “patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.” So Prince William got married, should that make me proud to be a man with rapidly thinning hair?
So regardless of all that, I do believe that when circumstances give you a Friday off work it is important to spend the day doing something you enjoy, and watching the third day of a county cricket game with Dr Andy and the other Dr Andy seemed to fit the bill.
Unfortunately for us the match wasn’t set up very well. Having allowed Middlesex to amass 445 in the first innings, Surrey were bowled out for just 203 in 56 overs on Thursday afternoon. Following on, they had lost another two wickets (Brown and De Bruyn were the unlucky men dismissed twice in one day) and at the start of play they still needed 208 runs just to make Middlesex bat again.
Now, I must confess that the lovely Mrs Keiwit finds cricket rather boring, and after the two sessions I saw today it is difficult to argue otherwise. Surrey began the day in a dreadful position, reached lunch in a hopeless position and failed to survive until tea – losing by an innings and 42 runs. At no stage was it dramatic or exciting, there were no moments of individual brilliance and the power never shifted away from the bowling side. It was never more than pleasantly engaging - something to focus on while the two-litre bottle of “diet coke” slipped down all too easily.
Opening batsman Gary Wilson began the day on 11 not out, with occasional England wicketkeeper Steven Davies on 20. Both had been dismissed for ducks in the first innings and both seemed to be approaching the second dig with a fair degree of caution – as would I if I saw 6’8” Steven Finn steaming in towards me! At the other end West Indian fast bowler Corey Collymore caused all sorts of trouble, beating the bat on numerous occasions. Runs were hard to come by but neither bowler forced a breakthrough in that opening spell.
It was the second bowling change that brought the day’s first wicket: 23-year-old Toby Roland-Jones may have seemed like a less frightening prospect but he immediately found the edge of Wilson’s bat to end his 83-ball resistance. And 73-3 soon became 73-4 as Surrey skipper Hamilton-Brown went for a duck. Surrey’s second innings was heading the same way as the first.
Now, I don’t favour either of the two sides and I just wanted to see as much cricket as possible, so naturally I was supporting the Surrey batsmen, willing them to stick around and make a few runs. Davies passed fifty and looked solid, but all the way through he seemed to be the only one up for the fight - one after another his teammates reached double figures then gave their wicket away – Maynard 11, Batty 17, Jordan 22, Arafat 16 – all stayed in long enough to get a look at the bowling but none ever quite settled.
I was particularly disappointed when Chris Jordan got out. He’d faced 47 balls and hit four boundaries (including one superb straight drive) before chasing a wide one and edging to the keeper. Come on boy, you’ve got the talent, you’ve done the hard bit, now build an innings!
After Jordan went, Davies seemed to realise his chances of reaching a century were slipping away fast. He clipped one delightful six over mid-wicket off spinner Ollie Rayner and pulled Dexter for four in the next over, but having reached 94 he perhaps got carried away and played onto his stumps, the eighth wicket to fall.
It wasn’t long before Arafat edged to slip to give Roland-Jones his third wicket and leave Surrey 200-9. With four balls left before tea numbers ten and eleven met at the crease, Surrey still needed 42 to make Middlesex bat again and there was still the fourth day to think about. As the two men met in the middle, how do you think the conversation went?
A) Let’s just see out the over.
B) If we take this ten runs at a time we can make this annoying for them.
C) Just have a swing mate – we’ll be in the pub by five.
The next delivery was short and Dernbach tried to hook it, missing the ball completely. Next up he tried the same again, made contact but spooned it straight to gully and the match was over. So, option C it was then. I don’t suppose they really had a choice. What were they ever going to achieve? There was nothing left to fight for, so the young man had a swing. I was really hoping cricket would be the winner, but in the end, inevitably, it was Middlesex.
When I got home this evening I turned on the TV and was met with pictures of the Royal couple kissing on a balcony. I instantly turned over to the Indian Premier League because, frankly, even the worst kind of cricket is still better than a Royal Wedding.
I’m not particularly anti-Royal but there are many things I would rather do than watch a wedding. Cleaning the fridge is one. That said, a lot of other people seem to think it’s all jolly wonderful and that’s great. Popular opinion suggests that most men would like to give one to a young lady named Pippa but that’s probably as much information as I need. Incidentally, I do find it odd when people say the wedding makes them proud to be British, but then I tend to agree with George Bernard Shaw: “patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.” So Prince William got married, should that make me proud to be a man with rapidly thinning hair?
So regardless of all that, I do believe that when circumstances give you a Friday off work it is important to spend the day doing something you enjoy, and watching the third day of a county cricket game with Dr Andy and the other Dr Andy seemed to fit the bill.
Unfortunately for us the match wasn’t set up very well. Having allowed Middlesex to amass 445 in the first innings, Surrey were bowled out for just 203 in 56 overs on Thursday afternoon. Following on, they had lost another two wickets (Brown and De Bruyn were the unlucky men dismissed twice in one day) and at the start of play they still needed 208 runs just to make Middlesex bat again.
Now, I must confess that the lovely Mrs Keiwit finds cricket rather boring, and after the two sessions I saw today it is difficult to argue otherwise. Surrey began the day in a dreadful position, reached lunch in a hopeless position and failed to survive until tea – losing by an innings and 42 runs. At no stage was it dramatic or exciting, there were no moments of individual brilliance and the power never shifted away from the bowling side. It was never more than pleasantly engaging - something to focus on while the two-litre bottle of “diet coke” slipped down all too easily.
Opening batsman Gary Wilson began the day on 11 not out, with occasional England wicketkeeper Steven Davies on 20. Both had been dismissed for ducks in the first innings and both seemed to be approaching the second dig with a fair degree of caution – as would I if I saw 6’8” Steven Finn steaming in towards me! At the other end West Indian fast bowler Corey Collymore caused all sorts of trouble, beating the bat on numerous occasions. Runs were hard to come by but neither bowler forced a breakthrough in that opening spell.
It was the second bowling change that brought the day’s first wicket: 23-year-old Toby Roland-Jones may have seemed like a less frightening prospect but he immediately found the edge of Wilson’s bat to end his 83-ball resistance. And 73-3 soon became 73-4 as Surrey skipper Hamilton-Brown went for a duck. Surrey’s second innings was heading the same way as the first.
Now, I don’t favour either of the two sides and I just wanted to see as much cricket as possible, so naturally I was supporting the Surrey batsmen, willing them to stick around and make a few runs. Davies passed fifty and looked solid, but all the way through he seemed to be the only one up for the fight - one after another his teammates reached double figures then gave their wicket away – Maynard 11, Batty 17, Jordan 22, Arafat 16 – all stayed in long enough to get a look at the bowling but none ever quite settled.
I was particularly disappointed when Chris Jordan got out. He’d faced 47 balls and hit four boundaries (including one superb straight drive) before chasing a wide one and edging to the keeper. Come on boy, you’ve got the talent, you’ve done the hard bit, now build an innings!
After Jordan went, Davies seemed to realise his chances of reaching a century were slipping away fast. He clipped one delightful six over mid-wicket off spinner Ollie Rayner and pulled Dexter for four in the next over, but having reached 94 he perhaps got carried away and played onto his stumps, the eighth wicket to fall.
It wasn’t long before Arafat edged to slip to give Roland-Jones his third wicket and leave Surrey 200-9. With four balls left before tea numbers ten and eleven met at the crease, Surrey still needed 42 to make Middlesex bat again and there was still the fourth day to think about. As the two men met in the middle, how do you think the conversation went?
A) Let’s just see out the over.
B) If we take this ten runs at a time we can make this annoying for them.
C) Just have a swing mate – we’ll be in the pub by five.
The next delivery was short and Dernbach tried to hook it, missing the ball completely. Next up he tried the same again, made contact but spooned it straight to gully and the match was over. So, option C it was then. I don’t suppose they really had a choice. What were they ever going to achieve? There was nothing left to fight for, so the young man had a swing. I was really hoping cricket would be the winner, but in the end, inevitably, it was Middlesex.
When I got home this evening I turned on the TV and was met with pictures of the Royal couple kissing on a balcony. I instantly turned over to the Indian Premier League because, frankly, even the worst kind of cricket is still better than a Royal Wedding.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Farley Hill (A) - 24.4.11
Farley Hill 175-8
Carpenter 2-24, Withers 2-25, Stewart 2-29, Zia 2-54
RUASCC 177-5
Eagle 85 not out, Dersh 21
RUASCC won by 5 wickets.
A hot, sunny Sunday afternoon in Farley Hill provided the perfect setting for RUASCC’s first game of the 2011 season. And when Tranter, incredibly playing in his 700th game for the club, did the unthinkable and actually won the toss we knew it was going to be a good day.
In the end it was a comfortable win in which opening batsman Andy Eagle picked up where he left off last season. Zia bowled a typical 18-over spell, the wickets were shared between the bowlers, only three catches were put down and there were no major fights – all things that point to a good afternoon’s work for RUASCC.
Withers and Zia opened the bowling with good support from the fielders. Withers himself showed commendable early-season keenness making a full-length diving stop on the fine leg boundary before Dr Ashman did likewise in the gully, creating a tremor so massive it forced a butterfly to flap its wings on the other side of the world.
Withers picked up the first two wickets (one bowled, one caught by Dersh at cover) and would have skittled out the top three had Carpenter clung onto a sharp chance at first slip. The spill did not prove costly, however, as Zia trapped Blake lbw for 23 in the very next over. Farley Hill had ambled to 51-3 after 19 overs when Withers (2-25) was replaced by Carpenter.
Carpenter was driven for four and six in his second over but then managed to take a wicket with his worst ball of the day - a full toss on leg stump was somehow skewed high into the air towards Withers at mid-off who took the catch despite having ample time to reflect upon that chance that Carpenter spilled at slip. The home side upped the run rate to reach 100 in the 28th over but Zia bagged his second wicket, sneaking one through to hit leg stump, and Carpenter (2-24) earned a successful lbw appeal to reign things in a bit.
Pensioner Ken Stewart survived another long, cold winter and he came on to bowl his wily left arm things, occasionally dropping too short and getting heaved away to cow corner by Ditchburn. The Farley captain never fails to reach fifty in this fixture but in a shocking act of jug-avoidance he retired, seemingly unhurt, on 48. Success then came for Stewart (2-29) as he clean-bowled a dancing left-hander as the sloggers tried to hit out. The final wicket to fall came thanks to a comfortably taken catch at long on by Carpenter who by this time had washed the butter off.
Zia (2-54) bowled 18 overs almost unchanged from one end but there was still time for Tranter to bowl the final over and the skipper didn’t disappoint. He certainly didn’t disappoint the home side who got an extra ten runs out of it. 175-8 declared.
TEA - RUASCC need 176 to win
Farley Hill’s opening bowlers were tall and quick but not always accurate and RUASCC were 14-0 before the first run came off the bat, largely thanks to a novice wicketkeeper standing half a mile behind the stumps. Extras were so dominant that the opening partnership had put on 43 when Ward was bowled for just 6.
As Eagle settled in for the long haul, both Dip Patel and Chan Malde were dismissed without scoring. Dip’s first attacking stroke looped up to mid-off, and Chan saw two of his stumps uprooted by a ball that he insisted didn’t move in the air and definitely didn’t beat him for pace. In fact, we understand that the delivery had absolutely nothing whatsoever to recommend it.
At this point RUASCC were 60-3 and in need of a cool head and some solid technique to recover the situation. We had a jolly good look around but couldn’t seem to find either of those things so instead we sent Dersh Patel to join Eagle in the middle. Fortunately this seemed to do the trick and the pair set about building a partnership - with 20 overs remaining RUASCC were 72-3 needing 104 to win.
Eagle used his feet well and found the offside boundary on several occasions and it was another low full toss from Ali which gave him the chance to drive another four to bring up his fifty. Having put on 70 the partnership came to an end when Dersh (21) found the only man on the long off boundary. 130-4.
Carpenter added 13 runs in a fifth wicket stand of 28 (during which time Eagle swept a six into the trees) before trying to cut a delivery from the off-spinner Ali that just came back in and bowled him. Then, just to keep things interesting, with only 18 runs needed for victory Zia and Eagle’s running between the wickets took the form of two men auditioning for the lead roles in a new farcical comedy:
And There’s No Run
Scene 1 – Ext. Farley Hill Cricket Ground.
(Andy Eagle dabs the ball into the offside and sets off briskly for a single.)
AE: Yes, yes, yes!
Zia: (Motionless) No Andy, we can’t. I’m afraid it’s just too dangerous.
AE: But I want to!
Zia: I know Andy, I know. But, you see… well, it’s complicated.
AE: Forget the fielders, forget all about them. This is just about you and me, and I know we can make it work.
Zia: No Andy. The time just isn’t right for us. Go back home, you’ll be safe there.
AE: Shit.
(Andy, halfway down the track, turns with the grace of a two-day old giraffe and just about makes his ground).
With both batsmen having got that out of their system, Eagle hit the first two balls of the next over for four to bring RUASCC to within touching distance of the target and Zia, taking a guard three yards out his crease to avoid an lbw decision, spanked an on drive for four to seal the win by five wickets with two and a half overs to spare. Eagle ended just one run shy of his highest ever score with 85 not out. A great start to the season.
Quote of the Day: “I wouldn’t applaud an Eagle fifty half as much as I would applaud Eagle running himself out on 49” – Dr Ashman.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Andy Eagle for his match-winning 85 not out.
RUASCC Team: Ward, Eagle, Dip (wkt), Chan, Dersh, Carpenter, Zia, Tranter (capt), Stewart, Ashman, Withers
Keiwit Stat Fact: My distinctly average 2-25 from nine overs would have been my second-best figures of the whole 2010 season.
Carpenter 2-24, Withers 2-25, Stewart 2-29, Zia 2-54
RUASCC 177-5
Eagle 85 not out, Dersh 21
RUASCC won by 5 wickets.
A hot, sunny Sunday afternoon in Farley Hill provided the perfect setting for RUASCC’s first game of the 2011 season. And when Tranter, incredibly playing in his 700th game for the club, did the unthinkable and actually won the toss we knew it was going to be a good day.
In the end it was a comfortable win in which opening batsman Andy Eagle picked up where he left off last season. Zia bowled a typical 18-over spell, the wickets were shared between the bowlers, only three catches were put down and there were no major fights – all things that point to a good afternoon’s work for RUASCC.
Withers and Zia opened the bowling with good support from the fielders. Withers himself showed commendable early-season keenness making a full-length diving stop on the fine leg boundary before Dr Ashman did likewise in the gully, creating a tremor so massive it forced a butterfly to flap its wings on the other side of the world.
Withers picked up the first two wickets (one bowled, one caught by Dersh at cover) and would have skittled out the top three had Carpenter clung onto a sharp chance at first slip. The spill did not prove costly, however, as Zia trapped Blake lbw for 23 in the very next over. Farley Hill had ambled to 51-3 after 19 overs when Withers (2-25) was replaced by Carpenter.
Carpenter was driven for four and six in his second over but then managed to take a wicket with his worst ball of the day - a full toss on leg stump was somehow skewed high into the air towards Withers at mid-off who took the catch despite having ample time to reflect upon that chance that Carpenter spilled at slip. The home side upped the run rate to reach 100 in the 28th over but Zia bagged his second wicket, sneaking one through to hit leg stump, and Carpenter (2-24) earned a successful lbw appeal to reign things in a bit.
Pensioner Ken Stewart survived another long, cold winter and he came on to bowl his wily left arm things, occasionally dropping too short and getting heaved away to cow corner by Ditchburn. The Farley captain never fails to reach fifty in this fixture but in a shocking act of jug-avoidance he retired, seemingly unhurt, on 48. Success then came for Stewart (2-29) as he clean-bowled a dancing left-hander as the sloggers tried to hit out. The final wicket to fall came thanks to a comfortably taken catch at long on by Carpenter who by this time had washed the butter off.
Zia (2-54) bowled 18 overs almost unchanged from one end but there was still time for Tranter to bowl the final over and the skipper didn’t disappoint. He certainly didn’t disappoint the home side who got an extra ten runs out of it. 175-8 declared.
TEA - RUASCC need 176 to win
Farley Hill’s opening bowlers were tall and quick but not always accurate and RUASCC were 14-0 before the first run came off the bat, largely thanks to a novice wicketkeeper standing half a mile behind the stumps. Extras were so dominant that the opening partnership had put on 43 when Ward was bowled for just 6.
As Eagle settled in for the long haul, both Dip Patel and Chan Malde were dismissed without scoring. Dip’s first attacking stroke looped up to mid-off, and Chan saw two of his stumps uprooted by a ball that he insisted didn’t move in the air and definitely didn’t beat him for pace. In fact, we understand that the delivery had absolutely nothing whatsoever to recommend it.
At this point RUASCC were 60-3 and in need of a cool head and some solid technique to recover the situation. We had a jolly good look around but couldn’t seem to find either of those things so instead we sent Dersh Patel to join Eagle in the middle. Fortunately this seemed to do the trick and the pair set about building a partnership - with 20 overs remaining RUASCC were 72-3 needing 104 to win.
Eagle used his feet well and found the offside boundary on several occasions and it was another low full toss from Ali which gave him the chance to drive another four to bring up his fifty. Having put on 70 the partnership came to an end when Dersh (21) found the only man on the long off boundary. 130-4.
Carpenter added 13 runs in a fifth wicket stand of 28 (during which time Eagle swept a six into the trees) before trying to cut a delivery from the off-spinner Ali that just came back in and bowled him. Then, just to keep things interesting, with only 18 runs needed for victory Zia and Eagle’s running between the wickets took the form of two men auditioning for the lead roles in a new farcical comedy:
And There’s No Run
Scene 1 – Ext. Farley Hill Cricket Ground.
(Andy Eagle dabs the ball into the offside and sets off briskly for a single.)
AE: Yes, yes, yes!
Zia: (Motionless) No Andy, we can’t. I’m afraid it’s just too dangerous.
AE: But I want to!
Zia: I know Andy, I know. But, you see… well, it’s complicated.
AE: Forget the fielders, forget all about them. This is just about you and me, and I know we can make it work.
Zia: No Andy. The time just isn’t right for us. Go back home, you’ll be safe there.
AE: Shit.
(Andy, halfway down the track, turns with the grace of a two-day old giraffe and just about makes his ground).
With both batsmen having got that out of their system, Eagle hit the first two balls of the next over for four to bring RUASCC to within touching distance of the target and Zia, taking a guard three yards out his crease to avoid an lbw decision, spanked an on drive for four to seal the win by five wickets with two and a half overs to spare. Eagle ended just one run shy of his highest ever score with 85 not out. A great start to the season.
Quote of the Day: “I wouldn’t applaud an Eagle fifty half as much as I would applaud Eagle running himself out on 49” – Dr Ashman.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Andy Eagle for his match-winning 85 not out.
RUASCC Team: Ward, Eagle, Dip (wkt), Chan, Dersh, Carpenter, Zia, Tranter (capt), Stewart, Ashman, Withers
Keiwit Stat Fact: My distinctly average 2-25 from nine overs would have been my second-best figures of the whole 2010 season.
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Pre-Season 2011 - Nets
The 2011 cricket season is almost upon us and RUASCC, not well known for putting in too many hours of practice, had an almost unprecedented three weeks of net sessions booked in the run up to the first game at Farley Hill on Easter Sunday. Today was the final session and also the first one from which I seem to have emerged unscathed. After week one everything hurt – a group of muscles from my legs and torso felt moved to get together and write a letter of complaint to The Times. Then while batting last week I reacted too slowly to a bouncer from Andy Greenhalf and wore it on the chin, giving me a lovely deep, red seam print and discomfort while chewing for several days. Today, I feel great.
Regular readers of the Keiwit blog will know that 2010 was not a great season for me personally; I averaged less than one wicket per match and struggled to put any pressure on batsmen, bowling very few maidens and far too many four-balls. I ended up bowling more and more defensively, not expecting to take wickets but simply hoping to bowl dot-balls. Batsmen seemed to sense this and go on the attack. In a bid to put this right I did something I’ve never actually done before: I started reading a coaching manual. Specifically I started reading “The Art and Science of Cricket” by the late Bob Woolmer and immediately turned to the chapter on bowling to see what he had to say.
“No, no, no!” screams Woolmer from beyond the grave. “Your grip’s all wrong - you’re holding the ball too tightly.”
“Ah,” I say, not quite knowing where to direct my response. “I did wonder. But I hold it tightly because I can’t control the ball very well. I had problems last year bowling a consistent line, and I couldn’t seem to get any pace.”
Bob shakes his head and taps an area on page 251:
The point is that while a smooth run-up and bowling action are important to the delivery, if you don’t understand and fully utilise the wrists and fingers you lose out on the “subtler, more dangerous variations.” In short, you’re not going to take many wickets.
For example, I thought my stock ball was the pitched-up outswinger on or just outside off-stump – in the past I’ve had success with it, beating the bat regularly and seeing lots of mis-timed drives edged to slip or chipped to the covers. But last season I couldn’t find that consistent line and length outside off-stump and the ball was barely moving off a straight line. Woolmer quotes one of the greatest bowlers of all time, Dennis Lillee:
So immediately I can see where there are flaws in my technique, and I’ve set about trying to correct these in the nets. One thing I haven’t quite figured out yet is how I used to be able to bowl tight, economical overs, swing the ball and take wickets without knowing what I have recently learned.
In fact, when trying to bowl outswingers in 2010, just about the only thing I was doing right (according to Woolmer) was to hold the ball with the rough side facing the covers.
I mention this because, in the pub after one of our net sessions, we couldn’t even agree how to bowl an outswinger – some thought it should be the shiny side that faces towards the covers. Admittedly one of them was Dr Ashman who, it must be said, wobbles the ball about more than anyone at the club, so if The Good Doctor wants to take it up with Mr Woolmer I’ll stay out of it.
So, how did all this new-found knowledge fair in the nets? Actually, I think it’s gone pretty well. Several people remarked that the ball was coming on a lot quicker and I’ve found it much easier to put the ball on a good length (typically I err towards the half-volley). This means that when I have bowled people out (and I have!) the ball’s been clipping the top of off-stump – exactly where I’ve been aiming for.
One thing I haven’t really been able to test is the swing. Picking up a twelve-year-old ball indoors on a concrete pitch and getting it to deviate at all can be a hopeless task so I’ve been concentrating on line, length and pace (including a proper slower ball, also using the wrist) and eagerly anticipating the first game outdoors with a new ball and a good cloud cover. With a much better idea of what I should be doing and how I’m going to take wickets, I’m heading into this season full of optimism.
Regular readers of the Keiwit blog will know that 2010 was not a great season for me personally; I averaged less than one wicket per match and struggled to put any pressure on batsmen, bowling very few maidens and far too many four-balls. I ended up bowling more and more defensively, not expecting to take wickets but simply hoping to bowl dot-balls. Batsmen seemed to sense this and go on the attack. In a bid to put this right I did something I’ve never actually done before: I started reading a coaching manual. Specifically I started reading “The Art and Science of Cricket” by the late Bob Woolmer and immediately turned to the chapter on bowling to see what he had to say.
“No, no, no!” screams Woolmer from beyond the grave. “Your grip’s all wrong - you’re holding the ball too tightly.”
“Ah,” I say, not quite knowing where to direct my response. “I did wonder. But I hold it tightly because I can’t control the ball very well. I had problems last year bowling a consistent line, and I couldn’t seem to get any pace.”
Bob shakes his head and taps an area on page 251:
“The ball should rest on the last joints of the fingers with a small gap between it and the cupped palm of the hand. This space is very important – if you grip the ball too tightly, or wedge it too deep in your fingers, it will leave your hand too slowly, and you are also likely to lose a great deal of control over it.”“Oh. That would explain it,” I say, looking down at the floor.
The point is that while a smooth run-up and bowling action are important to the delivery, if you don’t understand and fully utilise the wrists and fingers you lose out on the “subtler, more dangerous variations.” In short, you’re not going to take many wickets.
For example, I thought my stock ball was the pitched-up outswinger on or just outside off-stump – in the past I’ve had success with it, beating the bat regularly and seeing lots of mis-timed drives edged to slip or chipped to the covers. But last season I couldn’t find that consistent line and length outside off-stump and the ball was barely moving off a straight line. Woolmer quotes one of the greatest bowlers of all time, Dennis Lillee:
“The most critical part of swing bowling is the way you let the ball go from the hand. If this is not done with a high degree of precision, the ball either will not swing at all or will swing only a little and too early in its flight to be of any great danger to the batsman… The ball is sent away with a natural under-spin, and I believe the more under-spin imparted on the ball the later it will swing.”
So immediately I can see where there are flaws in my technique, and I’ve set about trying to correct these in the nets. One thing I haven’t quite figured out yet is how I used to be able to bowl tight, economical overs, swing the ball and take wickets without knowing what I have recently learned.
In fact, when trying to bowl outswingers in 2010, just about the only thing I was doing right (according to Woolmer) was to hold the ball with the rough side facing the covers.
“The side that is smooth and shiny will present less resistance to the air than the rough side: the resulting low pressure on that side of the ball will pull it in that direction and away from the high pressure. This manifests itself as swing.”
I mention this because, in the pub after one of our net sessions, we couldn’t even agree how to bowl an outswinger – some thought it should be the shiny side that faces towards the covers. Admittedly one of them was Dr Ashman who, it must be said, wobbles the ball about more than anyone at the club, so if The Good Doctor wants to take it up with Mr Woolmer I’ll stay out of it.
So, how did all this new-found knowledge fair in the nets? Actually, I think it’s gone pretty well. Several people remarked that the ball was coming on a lot quicker and I’ve found it much easier to put the ball on a good length (typically I err towards the half-volley). This means that when I have bowled people out (and I have!) the ball’s been clipping the top of off-stump – exactly where I’ve been aiming for.
One thing I haven’t really been able to test is the swing. Picking up a twelve-year-old ball indoors on a concrete pitch and getting it to deviate at all can be a hopeless task so I’ve been concentrating on line, length and pace (including a proper slower ball, also using the wrist) and eagerly anticipating the first game outdoors with a new ball and a good cloud cover. With a much better idea of what I should be doing and how I’m going to take wickets, I’m heading into this season full of optimism.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Australia v England, 5th Test (Sydney) – 3rd-7th January
I’m sitting up at midnight listening to a rain break on the final day of the Ashes series, which is ridiculous because if I wanted to stay up all night NOT listening to cricket there were about 340 other days in the past year that I could have done that.
Obviously this is quite a special night, during which hopefully England will wrap up a 3-1 series win - exactly the score that people like Jonathan Agnew were predicting months before the series started. Yes, confidence was high and rightly so; England have dominated very large parts of the series and plenty of questions have now been answered.
Q: Will England start the series strongly after their thorough preparations?
A: Er, no. Not really. Day 1 of the first Test was nothing special by any means. Strauss was dismissed in the first over, Peter Siddle took a hatrick (and six wickets in total) and England were dismissed for a below-par 260. Australia finished the day 25-0 and went on to post a first innings lead of 221.
Q: So, will England crumble under a bit of pressure (as English cricket teams are wont to do)?
A: No again. England’s second innings was alarmingly different to what we have come to expect. Strauss followed up his duck with 110, Cook practically doubled his 2010 run tally with 235 not out and Jonathan Trott scored his second Ashes ton. 517-1 and Australia looked clueless.
Q: Will Kevin Pietersen rediscover his match-winning form?
A: After a promising 43 in Brisbane, KP came to the crease at 176-2 in Adelaide and was eventually dismissed with the score on 568, having notched a Test best 227. The majority of this innings happened to coincide with my one night of watching the live coverage and I can confirm he looked happy out there. His dismal failure at Perth (0 and 3) was followed by a fluent 51 in Adelaide that was very helpful at the time. Pietersen hasn’t proved to be the England match-winner but he really hasn’t needed to be.
Q: Will this be Swann’s Ashes?
A: Certainly not, but as with Pietersen it hasn’t mattered that England’s spinner hasn’t been at his devastating best. The form of Anderson, Bresnan and Tremlett has taken the pressure off him. Swann took 5-91 in the second innings at Adelaide to finish off the match but apart from that he’s only taken the odd wicket here and there. At one point in Melbourne he had figures of 22 overs for 23 runs, demonstrating his usefulness as a containing bowler. His 36 off 26 balls (mostly from Mitchell Johnson) in this Test match was wonderfully entertaining.
Q: Is Mitchell Johnson really that bad?
A: Not quite. His first-innings spell in Perth (6-38) was a superb show of fast, threatening swing bowling and even though he’s spent almost every other session trying to prove that it was a fluke it’s clear there is talent there, somewhere. The Barmy Army have got after him, his confidence looks shot, I still think his low, slingy action lends itself to wide half-volleys BUT I don’t think he can be written off yet.
Q: Will England win their first series in Australia since 1986/87?
A: A very convincing yes. Three Test match victories, each one by an innings; the highest score by an England team in Australia (644); four totals over 500 – the records tumbled like Australian top-order batsmen. A lovely statistic just revealed is that Ponting and Clarke had a lower combined series average than Peter Siddle. History is being made as I type and there’s a part of me that wishes some of the matches had been a bit closer, but the fact is England have batted, bowled and fielded better and fully deserve their crushing victory.
BANG! Played-on. Tremlett picks up his third wicket and it’s all over. It’s now 1am and time for me to get some sleep. Well done England.
Obviously this is quite a special night, during which hopefully England will wrap up a 3-1 series win - exactly the score that people like Jonathan Agnew were predicting months before the series started. Yes, confidence was high and rightly so; England have dominated very large parts of the series and plenty of questions have now been answered.
Q: Will England start the series strongly after their thorough preparations?
A: Er, no. Not really. Day 1 of the first Test was nothing special by any means. Strauss was dismissed in the first over, Peter Siddle took a hatrick (and six wickets in total) and England were dismissed for a below-par 260. Australia finished the day 25-0 and went on to post a first innings lead of 221.
Q: So, will England crumble under a bit of pressure (as English cricket teams are wont to do)?
A: No again. England’s second innings was alarmingly different to what we have come to expect. Strauss followed up his duck with 110, Cook practically doubled his 2010 run tally with 235 not out and Jonathan Trott scored his second Ashes ton. 517-1 and Australia looked clueless.
Q: Will Kevin Pietersen rediscover his match-winning form?
A: After a promising 43 in Brisbane, KP came to the crease at 176-2 in Adelaide and was eventually dismissed with the score on 568, having notched a Test best 227. The majority of this innings happened to coincide with my one night of watching the live coverage and I can confirm he looked happy out there. His dismal failure at Perth (0 and 3) was followed by a fluent 51 in Adelaide that was very helpful at the time. Pietersen hasn’t proved to be the England match-winner but he really hasn’t needed to be.
Q: Will this be Swann’s Ashes?
A: Certainly not, but as with Pietersen it hasn’t mattered that England’s spinner hasn’t been at his devastating best. The form of Anderson, Bresnan and Tremlett has taken the pressure off him. Swann took 5-91 in the second innings at Adelaide to finish off the match but apart from that he’s only taken the odd wicket here and there. At one point in Melbourne he had figures of 22 overs for 23 runs, demonstrating his usefulness as a containing bowler. His 36 off 26 balls (mostly from Mitchell Johnson) in this Test match was wonderfully entertaining.
Q: Is Mitchell Johnson really that bad?
A: Not quite. His first-innings spell in Perth (6-38) was a superb show of fast, threatening swing bowling and even though he’s spent almost every other session trying to prove that it was a fluke it’s clear there is talent there, somewhere. The Barmy Army have got after him, his confidence looks shot, I still think his low, slingy action lends itself to wide half-volleys BUT I don’t think he can be written off yet.
Q: Will England win their first series in Australia since 1986/87?
A: A very convincing yes. Three Test match victories, each one by an innings; the highest score by an England team in Australia (644); four totals over 500 – the records tumbled like Australian top-order batsmen. A lovely statistic just revealed is that Ponting and Clarke had a lower combined series average than Peter Siddle. History is being made as I type and there’s a part of me that wishes some of the matches had been a bit closer, but the fact is England have batted, bowled and fielded better and fully deserve their crushing victory.
BANG! Played-on. Tremlett picks up his third wicket and it’s all over. It’s now 1am and time for me to get some sleep. Well done England.
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