I see from today's Times that KP considers that his standing down as captain was a major contribution to the Ashes success. May I , in the same vein also say that the selection of Swann as off spunner ahead of me was also, on balance, a good thing.
I was amazed to read that Peter English believes that Ricky Ponting has played his last Test for Australia. Although it would not be the norm for an Australian ex-captain to continue as a player, if Ponting is sacked as skipper it would be in Australia's best interests to retain him as a player. The fact that Australia's next Test after Sydney isn't until August shouldn't impact that at all - Ponting will still be a few months off 37.
He hasn't scored runs in the Ashes and those wanting to force him out will point out that he's been struggling for a while. By his standards he has - rather than the lofty standards of his career average of 53.5, he averaged 45 I read over the 12 months leading up to the Ashes. If Australia have 6 batsmen who can average 45 in Test cricket and are equally good in the field, both at slip and diving around in the covers, then indeed they should drop him. They don't though!
It would be interesting to think about the Indian batsmen reaching the end of their careers when considering Ponting's position. Laxman is the closest to Ponting's age, although still older, and has just played the match-winning knock against South Africa. Tendulkar was ICC player of the year last year by some distance and has just scored his 50th Test hundred. Only Dravid, who is the oldest and like Tendulkar is closer to 38 than 37, could be described as a qualified success, having struggled a bit with the bat recently but taking a brilliant 200th Test catch in his last match.
The likes of Khawaja need to find their way in Test cricket with the likes of Hussey and Ponting around them - time will tell if the Australian selectors agree. With Ponting only about 3 months older than Hussey it would be a strange decision to have one rule for Ponting and another for Hussey.
While England have been retaining The Ashes a remarkable game was going on in South Africa where India came back from being thrashed in the 1st Test of the series, to take the second match and level the series between the top 2 sides in the world. Just one innings of over 40 from man-of-the-match VVS Laxman in the match tells the story of two supposedly strong batting sides struggling. The series is now on a knife-edge and will make brilliant viewing.
It's a pity that captain's only speak about the UDRS when they suffer poor decisions, but that's better than nothing I suppose, with Graeme Smith asking for it to be used in all series after one highly questionable and one terrible umpiring decision helped India wrap up the match.
Incidentally, the fourth of New Zealand's ducks at the top of the order was Ross Taylor who was given out LBW to a ball going over the top of the stumps....
Difficult for New Zealand to compete when the first four scores on their scorecard are 0,0,0 and 0. And only one score in double figures....
New Zealand still won the Twenty20 series v Pakistan 2-1 though.
It is possible Ponting has played his last test match after being left out of the squad for Sydney due to his broken finger. This means Clarke has been named captain. What worries me a little about this scenario, however is that Usman Khawaja is going to slot straight into the number three position. There is no doubt he is a talented player, he's leading this seasons Sheffield Shield runs tally, but I don't think you should be throwing a rookie sraight into the number three position. Some may argue that its a dead rubber (its not, we can still draw the series) lets see what the kids made of, but I would rather see him eased in at number 5. Throw Hussey up to number three. Not many players, no matter how talented, are expected to come into a test side in the pivotal number three slot.........even the great Ponting himself served his apprenticeship at number 6.
As always when a series is settled, analysts and journalists from both sides try to explain why the result has gone the way it did. In The Guardian Mike Selvey has given 10 reasons why England retained The Ashes. Here's a few thoughts for you from myself....some serious, some slightly less so.
The Aussie Press
Very helpful when their team is winning, very willing to stick the knife in and twist it when they aren't. Not so long ago on Cricket Burble whether there should be patriotism within journalism and we agreed (I think!) there shouldn't be. But some objectivity from the press could help Australia bounce back, rather than taking great joy in the national team's demise as seems to be the case at the moment where the Aussie press seem to advocate the "drop the lot of them" approach.
Shane Warne
When he wasn't being touted for a potential comeback as either leg-spinner or skipper, Warne was busy getting his leg-over with English rose Liz Hurley. The jealously from playboy wannabes Clarke, Watson and Johnson may have got too much....
Steve Smith
Smith may one day be a number 6 international batsman but I fear he may have to settle for number 7. And right now he's a number 8. Sadly he's no Test match bowler though so Australia picked a player on the basis that he was ultra-keen and he could make the other players laugh in the changing room. Not much of a rationale - better to have a Graeme Swann who is in the side on the strength of his playing ability and also likes to keep the side sniggering like school boys.
The Aussie selectors
And on that note....
No selectors can be blamed for injuries, but they can be blamed for inconsistent selection. Australia didn't play their best spinner throughout the series (Hauritz) and that's the selector's fault, as well as Ponting's for the terrible way he used him in India. Since Warne retired, the selectors are now into double figures of potential replacements tried - a truly awful reflection on their ability to do their job.
They did get one call correct though, sticking with Mike Hussey. It'll be interesting to see if Greg Chappell sticks with his "better to give an ageing champion one game too many than one game too few" philosophy when considering Ponting's future.
England's stability
With the level-headed Andy's at the helm, ably supported by a support staff and a number of senior players in the changing room, England went into the tour with a stable squad and a well defined game-plan. They're on the way up, were as Australia appear on the way down.
5 out of 7 England batsmen fired
With one match to play 5 England batsmen average over 40 and Trott and Cook average well over 100. For Australia, 3 out of 7 fired - Hussey, Haddin and Watson.
The wind direction
Fortunately there was only a gale blowing in the right direction to help Mitchell Johnson get some in-swing once in 4 matches.
But on another note...
Not everything is perfect just because you win. England also need to think about how they can improve, and I'm sure they will. Paul Collingwood is crucial if they are to play 4 bowlers and his batting form has slumped. Having their batting coach Graham Gooch leave the tour to see his family in the UK at Xmas just after the side were bowled out for less than 200 twice in Perth was an issue, and Strauss' lack of faith in Swann to get the better of batsmen looking to attack him could have been critical against a better Australian side. All sides have areas they can improve on though...
Well, after three disastrous days of the fourth test we can safely assume that for the first time in 14 years an ashes series in Australia will end with the urn in England's possession. Australia have been thoroughly outplayed for the majority of the series. Understandably, most people in and around the Australian team are under fire from the media and the cricket loving Australian people. Captain, vice-captain, senior players, rookie players, and selectors are all being questioned and criticised. Australians aren't used to losing at home, and particularly not to the old enemy so they want heads to roll. This is to be expected.
One person who strangely seems to be flying under the radar , however, is coach Tim Nielsen. Granted, Nielsen is not pushing at balls outside his off stump with hard hands, or bowling short of a length when clearly a full length is required, or getting into heated discussions with umpires. But just what is he doing? The simple fact that his players are making these kinds of errors reflects poorly on his performance. To be honest I can't remember exactly when he took over from Buchanan (perhaps I should check my facts before blogging), but it seems to be roughly around the time the Aussies started their slide.
Whenever he fronts the media, I never hear any pearls of wisdom, or anything particularly insightful. Most of what he has to say is particularly inane "we need to put the ball in the right areas consistently" sort of stuff. Maybe he is more expansive in the privacy of the dressing room and saves the cliches for the media. Its difficult to know what goes on behind the scenes, and how much of a role a cricket coach plays. I just hope that his performance is being reviewed and monitored by the powers that be.
England provided the perfect Xmas present for English supporters yesterday, but being English I still can't relax. What if we're bowled out for 280 and Ponting comes good in the second innings?
Come on England - be ruthless and deliver an even better present overnight tonight. I'd take still batting at the end of the day.
Interesting to see that when the England players are ranked on their performances in The Ashes on the PCA website, the stats don't appear to entirely back up the view that Finn and Collingwood are England's most at risk players. Finn is considered England's second most valuable player according to the table, and Collingwood is 10th out of 12, with Prior and Broad below him.
Interesting to see what a few pros have said about the FTI MVP stats. What I'd add to their comments is that when looking at England Test performances in The Ashes, it's a 5 Test series and we're only just over half way through the series, so the value of each player in the series still has enormous potential to change - the final standings will make interesting reading.
As a subscriber to Wisden Cricket Monthly I'm a big advocate of it - of course websites now offer up to the minute cricket information, but there's still definitely a valuable place for non time sensitive pieces about cricket and TWC does that nicely.
It's nice to know that the magazine is in the hands of real cricket lovers like Jonathan Agnew and CMJ though - it will be interesting to see how the new ownership impacts on the magazine and how content is incorporated (if it is at all) into their Test Match Special website.
It seems that ground developments may not be going smoothly in Manchester. I stayed in the Old Trafford Lodge and played in their indoor school in October and the ground definitely needs development if it's to remain an international venue. Fingers crossed the planning issues / arguments get resolved.
The Zimbabwe cricket team has made great strides lately and it's great for the players that they are making a comeback to Test cricket next year. I can't help having mixed feelings though, given that Mugabe is a cricket supporter and he and his dispicable regime are still in power.
No wonder Indian batsmen are good at batting on and on - their schoolboys seem to play rediculously long matches....sufficiently long for one school to amass 800-8 declared and 13 year-old Arman Jaffer (nephew of Wasim Jaffer) to score 498. Presumably a record in schoolboy cricket in India by some distance? Don't be silly - that's 515.
I remember losing an under-11 school match to a team who scored 22. Very different in India it seems! Check out the kids media skills too - he speaks like he's already a veteran Indian international!
I've got to say that I find it hard to disagree with Shane Warne's view that Strauss is using Graeme Swann poorly. It really could be the difference between the two sides if he doesn't get this right. I've Burbled before about the need for Strauss to attack with Swann and make Australia take risks - if he doesn't do this then the world's best spin bowler becomes a back-up bowler to give the faster bowlers a rest....and he didn't even play that role in Perth as he was given just 9 overs (even Collingwood got 6!).
Strauss is absolutely the right leader for England but just as players need to think about improving their batting, bowling and fielding, the captain needs to think about improving their captaincy. Captaincy includes many facets but the most visible is the on-field tactics and at the moment he's being too defensive. Strauss hasn't got much time to change this but I hope Andy Flower is atleast addressing this with him.
New Zealand Cricket Chief Exec Justin Vaughan seems to have made some sensible decisions to move New Zealand cricket forwards. Many will say it's a bit late, but perhaps better late than never! They have a proper coach now in John Wright, and Daniel Vettori's responsibilities have been reduced a little.
Interesting to see that Wright has talked about youngsters/surprises in his first squad. The Kiwis desperately need to stick with the young players they identify and allow them to grow into international cricket. Getting that right will be a huge step in the right direction.
I always read what Ian Chappell has to say, but generally with growing agitation as I get through his pieces as I disagree with 95% of what he has to say. He likes to say things that will get him exposure and with that as his objective, rather than worrying about whether his assertions are correct, he's always going to rub a few people up the wrong way.
In his piece on Cricinfo about Ricky Ponting - typically entitled provocatively "Ponting's captaincy is hurting Australia", I found a snippet I agree with entirely. To celebrate the rare occasion of agreeing with Chappelli, I thought I'd repeat the offending sentences:
"He's currently a batsman out of luck rather than out of form. In this series he's either got a good one early or he's edged to the keeper down the leg-side - a batsman's worst nightmare. Ponting's footwork is still intact and this generally means, for a player of his calibre, a big score is just around the corner."
Couldn't agree more Chappelli. More of the same please, rather than headline grabbing rubbish.
I couldn't let the amazing achievement of Tendulkar getting to 50 Test centuries to go unmarked on Cricket Burble....sadly I didn't see the innings though. Amazing for someone to stay at the top of the international game for so long - this gallery shows just how young he was (and looked) when he started scoring international hundreds. Although Graeme Smith appears to be surprised that he exposed the tail on the 5th morning, I think we can safely say that even the great Tendulkar wasn't going to be able to save the game from the overnight position.
Unlike England, Australia have already announced that they will go with the same 12 for Melbourne as in Perth. There will always be a debate about whether they are playing their best XI - and I would argue they aren't because Hauritz isn't in the squad - but it's an important show of continuity after several changes. Australia's best XI for the final two matches would be as in Perth but with Haddin batting ahead of Smith and Hauritz in for Siddle. But they aren't far off if Beer replaces Siddle at the MCG and the Boxing Day Test looks like being a real cracker of a Test.
