Time to gamble on Hughes

As the selectors, in their infinite wisdom, gather this week to decide upon the touring team to South Africa, the vital decision they have to make is who will replace Matthew Hayden as opener.

And my nomination has to be that of Phillip Hughes.

The New South Welshman, only 20 years of age, has set the domestic scene alight in his two seasons at the top level. In season 2008/2009, he has 891 runs from 13 innings at an average of 74.25. And many have been scored spectacularly.

His double of 93 and 108 on a nightmarish track in Hobart was the sign of a player who has the potential to be an all-time great. To put that into perspective, no other NSW players passed 50, the next highest being 42 by Steve Smith.

His career thus far reads 30 innings, 1570 runs at an average of 60.38, with a high score of 198, five centuries, and ten half-centuries. If Hughes was playing for any other country (Possibly apart from India), he would be considered one of the finds of the decade, and would probably already be playing international cricket.

While it can be argued that Phil Jaques is the incumbent and has test cricket already under his belt, it would be a mistake to rush the batsman back into the side when he is still recovering from back surgery.

Michael Klinger is a red hot candidate for the tour, being at the time of writing the only batsman to score over 1000 runs this season. But this is the first season he has been able to apply himself. At 28, he can be considered a gamble if he goes.

The other choices would be for the bowling attack. Johnson is first choice, followed by Peter Siddle. Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus should round out the squad. Nathan Hauritz will remain number one spinner, even though he isn’t a particularly strong wicket-taking option, and Jason Krejza will be the back-up, as Australia struggles to look for a permanent Warne replacement.

I do reckon it is time for Australia to dump the foolish notion of fielding an all-rounder. They have fine bowlers and decent part-time options (Clarke, Katich), so they should probably boost their batting a bit by playing a straight batsman, which could open the way for either Dave Hussey or Kilnger at six.

And I am willing to say goodbye to Andrew Symonds. A class player, and one I’ve vastly enjoyed since he started his career. Australia just doesn’t need him anymore.

2009, a punter's view

What are the predictions so far for 09? Will Australia be still number one by the end of the year? Will South Africa or India have overtaken them? Who will be the top batsmen? The top bowlers? The new heroes?

I’m happy to pick up the slack and make my brave predictions for the new year, and I hope we can get some discussion going.

Firstly, Australia will no longer be number one (This is of course referring to the ICC ranking system). We’ll probably get beaten in South Africa, although if Stuart Clark plays the result will be much closer than first thought. However, Australia should retain the Ashes.

England is a real mess at the moment. KP has resigned from the captaincy and there will be no Peter Moores. England is a shadow of the team that won the 2005 Ashes, although some of the heroes are still lingering around.

Flintoff is still a force to be reckoned with, and KP is a genuine superstar batsman who can by dynamite against any opposition. However, their bowling attack is pretty flimsy, as is their choice of Bell at number three. Bell has never made a test century unless another batsman has passed the mark before him, and while stylish, he just doesn’t have any steel in his spine.

India and South Africa will define excellence in 2009, and while India are looking as good as ever, South Africa have the advantage due to their finely balanced bowling attack and the coming of age of several of their players (Namely De Villiers and Amla).

India has a classy team, led by two fine fast bowlers in Zaheer and Ishant. Ishant has the mark of an all time great, and will continue to improve as long as he doesn’t break down due to his somewhat frail physique. Their problem is their aging veterans, who are approaching their use by date (Namely Dravid, Laxman, and Tendulkar, although the latter two players have a year or two left in them).

Dhoni has a lot of charisma, and leads the team well, but India will not be able to challenge South Africa unless they win important series away from home. If they can beat the South African team outside of their comfort zone, then they will be the top side.

In the meanwhile, they are probably one of the better limited overs sides around. And there is plenty of good young players coming through that could have a great affect on Indian cricket for the next few years. Look out for them at the 20/20 World Championship.

Sri Lanka have looked terrific since introducing Ajantha Mendis into their attack. While they will have to worry about how to replace Chaminda Vaas in the near future, they have a good team that can give any team a real shake on their day. They do tend to rely on Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakarra too much, but when they go strong, they will surprise. They could well provide India with some anxious moments if they tour there, especially if any turners make an appearance.

Pakistan, thankfully, are making some tours this year, including one to Australia. I’m glad they are getting some international cricket this year after a 2008 they’d rather forget. There will be no Mohammad Asif because of his idiotic drug taking, but Nasir Jamshed is a talented young opener, and they still have the services of Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat, not to mention the Britney Spears of cricket, Shoaib Ahktar.

New Zealand may bloom this year with their youthful team, but India is their first obstacle and their relatively pedestrian attack will struggle. Iain O’Brien bowled well last year but he is 232. A lot will fall onto Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, and the ever-reliable Daniel Vettori. Hopes will ride on the crop of young batsmen coming through (Jesse Ryder, Daniel Flynn and Ross Taylor) to find their feet this year. Keep your eyes on Flynn. He is a player who loves a scrap.

The West Indies had a long year, but the talent is there. Their fast bowling is a problem, but Jerome Taylor is still a damn good bowler. And Gayle, Sarwan, and the Shiv form a formidable batting trio. It is the rest of the team that needs to lift to match their depended-upon heroes. Another frustrating year looms.

Ah Bangladesh. The more things changed, the more things stayed the same. Any improvements were blown open by irresponsible batting, inadequate bowling, and a generally undisciplined approach, although they gave Sri Lanka a serious scare in their recent test series by reaching a 4th innings total in excess of 400. Sakib Al Hasan looks to be an allrounder of immense promise, let’s hope they nurture him well. Don’t be surprised if they pull off a shock in the World 20/20.

Alrighty, looking at the schedule, I’ll now make my predictions.

The top test run scorer of the year will be Virender Sehwag, although I reckon Michael Clarke will run him close this year. Both India and Australia have quite a few test series this year. Sehwag always scores heavily, but Clarke is a batsman that is on the improve every year and his maturity has been evident this summer via several fighting knocks.

The top wicket-taker will be Mitchell Johnson. Johnno had a good year in 2008 to finish equal second highest wicket taker, and I reckon he will enjoy the responsibility of being the number one. England will be facing an immensely improved and dangerous Johnson in England this year.

The top ODI run scorer will be, on a limb, either Gautum Gambhir or perhaps Kumar Sangakarra. Both are accomplished, and will face a glut of one dayers this year.

The top ODI bowler is harder, but I’ll go with Ajantha Mendis to elude second year syndrome and be a real force.

Give us your opinions and let’s get some lively discussion going!!!

Christmas wishes and wraps

Firstly, may I wish a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to everyone.

It’s been an eventful few weeks in the world of cricket. India has secured the series against England, South Africa has claimed a monumental win in Perth, and New Zealand and West Indies were forced into a stalemate.

Test cricket has been revitalised by some thrilling wins in the previous few weeks, only to be taken back a peg by some selfishness in the Mohali test. The epic win in Chennai was a victory of will, winning a test when they had been decisively outplayed in all the previous innings.

It featured a truly masterful Tendulkar century, sheltering his lesser partner Yuvraj from some determined England bowling, and featured strong showings from Virender Sehwag. India then followed up with the wrong way to finish the series.

India has a bad recent history of trying to draw remaining tests of a series when they reach the lead. In England in 2007, they seemed completely uninterested in going for the win once they took the lead in the second test.

Against Australia, they won at Mohali and then never looked like attempting to win another game on the highway-like pitches, leaving it to an Australian collapse to secure a 2-0 series win. It was not attractive test cricket in the same way as Australian over aggression is not attractive test cricket.

Don’t get me wrong. India was the better team in every occasion and deserved a series win. My qualm is that they do not treat the fans to entertaining cricket. Australia lost in South Africa but neither team can hardly be blamed for any poor cricket, it was absolutely riveting. As was the Chennai test.

Effectively India’s captain MS Dhoni summed it up by saying he wanted Yuvraj and Gambhir to score second innings centuries, which shows how India’s attitude to winning the game was completely out of whack. With conditions also limiting the amount of time played, this selfish attitude does not bode well for a team striving to be number one (And not far off from that tag).

South Africa proved their worth and new steel with a crushing victory in Perth. India completed a great chase in Chennai only prior to this, but without dampening India’s achievement, this was probably the more monumental considering the state of the series, the opposition, and the journey it took to get there.

South Africa has always been a classy team. Since readmission, they have had top quality players throughout the 90’s and naughties. However, their readmission came also during the period of Australia reaching its zenith in cricketing power. They have never beaten Australia in a test series and have folded easily at times when they had the personnel to give Australia a real shake.

This time now, is a different South Africa. Young players such as AB De Villiers and Dale Steyn have reached their prime after years of struggle, Graeme Smith has reached the emotional maturity needed for the captaincy, and has discovered the warrior within himself. Old veterans such as Ashwell Prince, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher are contributing well, and there is a unity and confidence that reminds me of the Australian team of 2001/2002.

The win at Perth was vital for the Cricketboks, they have a series lead against a demoralised Australian team and now have the chance to prove they are the premier team in the game. Australia is not a team that will surrender their long held number one spot lightly, but this team looks like it can do it.

2008 has been an important year, at year’s end Australia is no longer the top team in the world, with India showing its strength (And cash) and South Africa reaching their long-awaited peak.
2009 promises to bring more riches and woes as 2008 did. Let’s hope that when next year ends, test cricket is still the number one form of cricket.

Bittersweet and disappointing

The hotly anticipated India v Australia test series is now over, and strangely the future of test cricket is now under more scrutiny than ever following a series featuring bland pitches, heated confrontations, and numerous on and off field problems.

To be realistic, India should have won this series 4-0, no questions asked. They had a superior team on paper, in their own conditions, and were facing an Australian lineup with no recognised spinner and three quicks without experience bowling to test level on the subcontinent.

Australia did incredibly well to hold it to 2-0, and India’s second win only came when Australia made a game chase in the fourth innings that was eventually undone my India’s spin attack. India lost the plot at times during this series, particularly in the field, and undid the hard work their bowlers put in.

Ishant Sharma was a worthy man of the series as he was yards ahead of the rest. He bowled manfully and was a constant threat, unlike Zaheer who floundered on the increasingly highway-like pitches, and has now established himself as a world class opening bowler.

India’s big problem this series was their inconsistency. They dropped off when they could have had the foot on the throat, and they only barely escaped from threatening situations due to the Australian team’s ineptitude, case points being Bangalore and the final test at Nagpur.

Gautum Gambhir and Virender Sehwag batted well on tracks that allowed the ball to scream hit me. As did the middle order at times, although Laxman was clearly the standout. Dhoni had his moments and the tail provided some spunk. Everything clicked at least once during the series.

As for Australia, well, only Mike Hussey came away with his reputation enhanced, with Simon Katich probably not far behind him. All the other batsmen had a touch and go series. Ponting himself made a century at Bangalore and then seemed to struggle as Ishant and Harbajan continued to expose his weakness against the ball that moves back in.

Clarke had a woeful tour. He fell at critical times and was a shadow of the player that made his presence known here four years ago. His century at Delhi secured the draw but he never really asserted himself. Neither did the dominating Hayden, who struggled for form following a long injury lay off. His 77 was a grand gesture however and gave India a fright on the final day.
The remaining players had brief moments that provided little in the end to write home about. Brad Haddin struggled. He had four starts during the series and failed to convert every single one of them into a fifty or century. His glove work was at times rusty and he comes across unexperienced in unfamiliar conditions.

Watson was a real conundrum. A player of genuine talent, he was thrust into this tour following the ridiculous dropping of Andrew Symonds and was real hit and miss. He managed a defiant 78 in Mohali as his team crumbled around him, but he achieved better results with the ball, being by a long way the best of the Australian pace men with 10 wickets at 32.10, with a best of 4/42 that gave Australia the slightest of hopes in the final test.

Australia’s biggest problem was their bowling, which never really looked like taking 20 wickets. Their biggest mistake was picking Cameron White, who himself rarely bowls at first class level in deference to Bryce McGain.

White never looked threatening and his value with the bat was miniscule at best to compensate for the lack of penetration.
The pace attack also floundered. Lee should never have gone on tour. He was never in the right frame of mind and lacked rhythm. Stuart Clark was the only one of the bowlers to keep the batsmen in check, but at the same he wasn’t able to penetrate.

Don’t get me started on Johnson. I am firmly convinced he should not be playing test cricket. He was erratic and never looked threatening with a new ball, due to the fact he couldn’t swing it to save his life. How he continues to play at the expense of Bollinger or Siddle bemuse me, as they are both far superior bowlers to Johnson.

Siddle did little in his test debut but it was a tough ask bowling to strong batting lineup on a pitch so flat my grandmother could have scored a century on it. His time will come, he has the talent. Krejza is yet to discover his worth, despite an epic 12 wickets in his debut test. He needs to lower his economy rates and keep getting picked. He may be the player we were searching for.

Australia has some deep soul searching ahead of a tough 12 months on their cricket calendar. India too must address some problems within their makeup, such as their inconsistency, the loss of several old hands (Dravid is on borrowed time, but luckily they have the impressive Vijay to take his spot if needed) and a tendency to get defensive when they have a series lead.

India are still a strong side and the better side during this series, but a lot more work is needed if they are to overtake Australia as the number one nation.

You said what Gilly?

Adam Gilchrist has opened up multiple cans of worms since he released his autobiography, and in retrospect has done immense damage to a reputation forged out of his good guy demeanour off field.

In a matter of weeks, he slammed Indian great Sachin Tendulkar for his role in the acquittal of Harbajan Singh from accusations of racism, he dug into Harbajan and Sourav Ganguly for their ‘disappearing act’ in the 2004 series that led to Australia beating India in India for the first time since 1969, and now he has opened more old wounds by taking aim at the ICC over Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action.

It is hard to see what Gilly aims to achieve my doing this. Murali has been cleared to bowl by the ICC and is free to bowl, no matter what people may feel about it. Harbajan was cleared, with great controversy, but that matter is in the past.

There is nothing to gain from these attacks other than to end up with the reputation as a whinger. Gilly is no saint, we all know there are no saints on the cricket field, but these words have done more damage than anything his opponents could have said.

A man apart

Anil Kumble has retired and another of the warriors that triggered the golden age of spin bowling during the 90’s has retired.

Kumble was vastly different from most spinners due to his modus operandi. In comparison to Warne, a fellow legspinner, Jumbo relied less on venomous turn and more on his topspinner and wrong ‘un.

One thing Kumble, Warne and Murali share in common is their relentlessness. Once Jumbo got into a bowling grove, he relentlessly bowled until he had a wicket. His performances have won India more matches than any other player India has produced. In terms of match winning effectiveness, Kumble was worth more than even Sachin Tendulkar.

In the Australian tour of 2003/2004, Kumble, who has returned from injury to replace Harbajan Singh and turned out to be India’s defining influence. He took 5/154 in Adelaide, 6/176 in Melbourne, and 8/141 in Sydney on his way to a 12 wicket haul. He highlighted his great heart and stamina through the uncounted arduous spells he bowled.

He was only the second person to take 10 wickets in an innings, taking 10/74 against Pakistan in 98/99, and he crowned his latter career with a test century in India’s triumphant tour of England, scoring India’s only century of the series.

Jumbo is arguably India’s finest spinner during a time when India rose to prominence as a real force in World Cricket. He became India’s captain and achieved all his greatest achievements with a quiet dignity that belied his inner toughness.

If India win this current series, there can be no greater tribute to two of their retiring heroes than defeating their greatest foe, Australia.

Flirtation gone wrong

20/20. Considered in the majority of cricket circles as cricket for those with ADD (Apologies to those who do have that disorder though).

Now with the advent of the IPL, ICL, Champion’s League and Stanford 20/20 for 20, the newest form of the game is beginning to dominate the game, slowly eliminating 50 over cricket from the landscape and now encroaching on the popularity of test cricket as the number one form of the game.

To compare the two, one way to look at it is when rock music came into circulation. Test cricket can be considered the classical music where all forms of music branched off from and still to this day give inspiration.

50 over cricket is the Blues of the forms. It was raw and new and exciting when it first came out, but after many years and too much exposure to pop music, R’n’B formed from what was originally a great product, something tarnished by increasing commercialisation.

20/20 is Rock’n’Roll. The new, dangerous, raucous cricket formed from Blues that becomes what the Blues used to be, raw, different and energetic. Rock became the centrepiece of music and in some ways still is. And that is the possibility that 20/20 may head towards.

Strictly on marketing terms, 20/20 is a brilliant concept. It is short, furious, and full of spectacular stroke play that spectators love to see. It is the perfect format for countries across the world to be introduced to the game, and therefore make it more international.

However, this may come at the cost of test cricket, viewed by the majority of diehard fans as the most important version of the game.

Test cricket got its name due to it being the true test of one’s cricketing abilities. The truly great players of this age, the Tendulkars, Pontings, Warnes, and Laras of this world forged their names in the longest form of the game.

But 20/20’s popularity with the marketing gurus and media may lead to its role being downgraded. By all that is good about cricket, I hope this doesn’t happen. Long may test cricket remain.