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« Previous Entries Next Entries »Andrew Strauss’s autobiography: Coming into Play
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of September, 3 Comments »
I’ve just finished reading Andrew Strauss’s book (review is at Cricinfo on Saturday) and it highlighted a worrying trend: the premature autobiography. It’s one which is seemingly unstoppable, too, and not just in sport - although sportsmen offer publishers a tantalising combination of fame and talent which the public will mop up all day long.
It’s just not on, though. The book was fine - it passed a few hours, and I’d have enjoyed it at an airport or on the bus. But I was left with a feeling of “…and?” Of all the recently released autobiographies, at least Strauss’s is nicely written. He received some help from Angus Fraser but, by and large, it is his own work - a tremendous achievement, then. The fact remains that he has only been in the game five minutes. His excitement in arriving in Test cricket is glib, and no different from any other cricketer. Descriptions of the Ashes are neatly written and fondly recalled…but again, it’s nothing we haven’t heard a dozen times before. Worse still, this lets the author down more than us.
I’m sure once he’s finished his career and has progressed into a fulltime journalist, if he chooses, then his final book really will be worth reading. Right now though, it felt unfinished; much like his career, it is only the first chapter.
It’s a shame though. I think I’m right in saying Charlotte Church, who my boss absolutely adores and respects with unrivalled passion, has already published two! She’s about 23 for God’s sake. Yet we can’t blame her or other people for writing them. Books are big money these days. Monty Panesar has accepted a £250,000 deal to write his - he’d be very daft, or perhaps a shrewd businessman, if he turned that down. I guess it’s just a shame for us who have to review them as, essentially, it’s the same old thing over and over again.
3 Comments »Who should be in England’s Ashes squad?
By Will 2 years ago, mid-September, 22 Comments »
It’s very simple: who should be in England’s squad to tour Australia in November? It’s the most important squad announcement since, well, whatever. It’s huge. You get it, we all get it.
Should Jon Lewis get a chance? Has Stuart Broad shown enough? And who will you have as captain; Strauss or Flintoff?
All that kind of thing. I’m not around much today so leave your opinions and let’s work out the squad.
22 Comments »One last look
By Emma 2 years ago, mid-September, 3 Comments »
For the first time this one-day series, or any in recent memory, we can expect an unchanged line-up from England. Something to be celebrated!
As well as providing Collingwood with his 100th ODI cap, tomorrow will also be the last England game before their Ashes squad, and Ashes captain, are announced next week. Strauss will certainly want a win to push his credentials. Test and one-day captaincy are certainly very different, but if Strauss responds with another captain’s innings tomorrow, it will help prove his ability to lead in a form where he had not until recently been a certain selection. But, of course, I wouldn’t like to tempt fate.
3 Comments »England finally compete
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of September, 6 Comments »
At last. After seven one-day thrashings this summer, England finally evaded another whipping with a far improved performance against Pakistan.
They still lost, though.
But nevermind. Crack open the champagne and celebrate for England managed to take Pakistan close. Andrew Strauss batted with great intent - it was a relief to see him leading from the front, in particular skipping down the pitch to disrupt Mohammad Asif’s length. And ol’ Asif really does hate batsmen doing that! Strauss won that particular battle. A pretty good innings, then, helped by some Pakistani fielding at its most hilarious.
I don’t know if they took their eye off the ball, figuratively speaking (considering their series lead, and England’s general uselessness), or if The Rose Bowl is a particularly difficult ground on which to field…but they were hapless. The stand-out performer, and I use that word sparingly and, in this case cautiously, was Inzamam! His elephantine tumbles sent shockwaves…sorry, couldn’t resist. He was really good, Inzy, and batted quite brilliantly to close the game out at the end.
Good things:
- Younis Khan’s batting. He is a terrific cricketer, and character
- Younis smashing a four and immediately marching towards the point fielder, shouting and waving
- Shahid Afridi’s misfield which made him look like a real wally
- Andrew Strauss’s batting and intent in the field. His relaxed demeanour and wry smile have gone. Mind you, losing that many one-day games is enough to break even the most fierce Cherie Blair grin
- Watching Ian Bell get hit in the family jewels, via Strauss’s flat-batted pull shot. Corrrrr.
- Watching Billy Doctrove nearly get hit in the family jewels, star-jumping out of the way like a ballet dancer on acid
Bad things:
- Rikki Clarke. A first-ball duck, and a very poor and at times clueless spell of bowling. Young and inexperienced, but this was a very special effort
- Sajid Mahmood. Clearly a gifted bowler, he desperately needs Flintoff or Harmison at mid-off to advise him. He’s going from wayward to waywarder in each match
- Pakistan’s fielding. It will cost them the World Cup.
The bandwagon continues at Nottingham. Rock on.
6 Comments »Andrew Strauss’s autobiography: Coming into Play
By Will 2 years ago, mid-August, 5 Comments »
I should probably also mention that Andrew Strauss’s autobiography, Coming into Play, is released on the same day as Kevin Pietersen’s. Strauss writes an excellent column for the Daily Telegraph and, while he’ll have used a ghost for much of this book, he is an intelligent, hard-working cricketer and it too should make for interesting reading. Like Pietersen’s, it can be pre-ordered from Amazon.
Hugo Boss to sponsor English cricket
By Will 2 years ago, mid-August, 17 Comments »
We get all sorts of press releases at Cricinfo. Some are breaking news of a player’s injury; others are more PR-related (”Gloucestershire announce new chef - stop the press!”) and most are plain banal. This, however, takes the biscuit:
Hugo Boss are to sponsor English cricket. According to the sickly email we received, Andrew Strauss said “The photo-shoot was a great experience and good fun, with all the boys really getting into it,” a statement bordering on the hilarious yet with a hint of the disturbing, too.
I suppose it’s a good thing. Could you ever have imagined England cricketers being sponsored by anyone other than a tractor company, or Mrs Brabbleflop’s pork pies in Shrewsbury, in the 1990s? Although perhaps that’s just the point: with success (or at least an increase in popularity) comes commercialism, and hungry marketers desperate for a slice of your fame.
I’ll leave the opinions of those pictured up to you. One final thought: is it significant that Strauss is pictured in the middle of the photo…?
17 Comments »74% think Strauss should captain England for the Ashes
By Will 2 years ago, mid-August, No Comments; be the first!
Sorry for the tabloid-like headline, but that’s what a hundred or so of you think. The poll continues and I’ll keep it open - and might run it again after The Oval, just to gauge public opinion.
No Comments »Who should captain England for the Ashes?
By Will 2 years ago, mid-August, 9 Comments »
Yesterday’s resounding win for England over Pakistan was a triumph for Andrew Strauss. A superb hundred in England’s only innings set them up for a huge total and he captained the side with aggression and spirit, not to mention a great deal of skill. The victory was as much a feather in his cap as England’s. Pleasingly, England have won a series without Andrew Flintoff, without many of their apparent 1st XI, or choice eleven, available. But who should captain England for the Ashes?
Vote below, and leave comments below below (visit the site to vote if you’re reading this via a feed)
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9 Comments »England v Pakistan, 3rd Test, Headingley, 5th day
By Will 2 years ago, mid-August, 8 Comments »
Morning all. We have a Test match on our hands today, a bit of a thriller too. Pakistan need 323 to win; England need 10 wickets. All eyes point to Monty Panesar who, one gets the feeling, Andrew Strauss is banking on to deliver the goods again.
Considering Danish Kaneria actually gained some turn for once yesterday - he has hardly spun it all series - and bearing in mind Monty has outbowled him thus far in the series, Strauss’s logic is sound enough.
I’ll be on ball-by-ball at Cricinfo again, but in the meantime leave your thoughts below and get chatting!
8 Comments »McGrath names his batting bunnies already
By Scott 2 years ago, at the start of August, 17 Comments »
It wouldn’t be cricket if Glenn McGrath wasn’t mouthing off, and he’s already doing it for the Ashes, naming Strauss and Cook as his ‘batting bunnies’.
I don’t mind him doing it so much, it’s not really taken entirely seriously by anyone now, I would have thought. It has become a tradition. However, it is only the start of August. I wonder what else he is going to say between now and November 23?
17 Comments »Musings on individual records in a team game
By Scott 2 years ago, at the start of August, 6 Comments »
I read an interesting article by former England captain Mike Brealey that was published on the weekend. He was mostly talking about Andrew Strauss’ philosophy on declarations, but he had some remarks about Mahela Jayawadene’s attempt to get the world batting record as well.
Meanwhile, 6,000 miles to the south east we have the spectacle of Sri Lanka batting on to a lead of 587 in the hope of a world record individual Test score for Mahela Jayawardene against South Africa at Colombo. Fortunately, he did not get it.
What has happened to the team game when several pointless hours are pressed into the service of individual glory and local prestige? I think a narcissistic attitude is fed by pressures from the social network. Jayawardene’s quest for personal glory at the possible expense of the team must have been amplified by nationalistic excitement. He was carrying the projections of a nation. Not only had Sri Lanka just seen their heroes compile a world record partnership (624, overtaking the previous best by their compatriots Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama’s 576, also in Colombo, in 1997), they had the chance of this other record.
I hope I am not being too puritanical, or too carping, here. Certainly personal landmarks are important. Strauss would have been foolish and heartless to have declared before Bell got to a hundred, especially when he was furthering England’s cause so admirably. And if England had had wickets in hand, perhaps there would have been more of a case for batting on into Saturday.
I think there is a fair case for having an extra world-record holder in your side. I have to say that I think Brealey IS being a tad too puritanical on this score. For a country like Sri Lanka, which doesn’t have life so easy in its day to day business, what with tsunamis and civil wars, a bit of nationalistic excitement about the cricket is a positive, not a negative.
6 Comments »Desperately seeking authority
By Will 2 years ago, mid-July, 3 Comments »
Andrew Strauss was given the unenviable privilege of captaining England in the first Test against Pakistan at Lord’s. He is not only a stand-in, but a stand-in for a stand-in (a double stand-in?). He failed to summon or convey any sense of authority in the first three days of this Test yet today struck a hundred to silence those who, perhaps, felt he was weak of character and lacking in authority. However his quality and authority as a batsman has never been in doubt, and the first three days remain a slight concern.
He joined unique company, too, today; only Allan Lamb and Archie MacLaren have made hundreds on their captaincy debut. To do it at Lord’s, his home ground and where two years ago he made a hundred on his Test match debut, gave the occasion added posterity and wistfulness. His celebration on reaching three figures was noteworthy too; gone were the youthful arm-swinging and bat-waving of 2004. In its place, both arms were calmly raised in a gesture which perhaps signalled his relief in leading from the front as he intended. Although he had just run out Ian Bell…
He is no Flintoff. There is a diffidence and reverancey to his character; he is a potentially fine writer on the game, an erudite reader of match situations and ever since his debut has been earmarked as a Future England Captain. Unlike Flintoff’s “follow me into battle, guys”, his calm air might serve him and England well in the forthcoming months.
The first three days are nevertheless a real concern though. Nothing much happened. And when nothing happened, he did little to affect a change. A resigned smile, hunched shoulders and much chewing of nails did little to stop Mohammad Yousuf, much as it will do nothing to stop Ricky Ponting and co. in the winter. Without the tongue-lashing of Michael Vaughan England rather drifted along. Well done, Strauss, but Flintoff’s my man for the Ashes.Desper
3 Comments »England’s Ashes situation
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of July, 2 Comments »
Michael’s out, but remains favourite. Fred is out too, but he is the second favourite. Andrew’s no one’s favourite, really, but stays in. This all sounds like something from the interminable Big Brother but in fact this is England’s captaincy nightmare.
It’s hard to make head or tail of what has happened. Even yesterday, when Michael Vaughan was officially, finally ruled out of this winter’s Ashes series, there were rumblings from the ECB machine that “it’s really not that serious; we expect him back for the World Cup” and similar. And Flintoff? He is the stand-in captain and remains the favourite to replace Vaughan - when fit. When’s that? Who knows?
You have to feel a bit for Andrew Strauss, the stand-in stand-in. The ship’s engine is broken, there are bloody great big holes letting in gallons of water; steer us towards safety if you would! The calamity England find themselves in is, conversely, quite a relief. At least now they (we) can start from scratch and build from here, without constant, confusing, ambiguous medical reports from every doctor and his dog.
On similar lines, Kathy left a very interesting comment yesterday, making mention of Matthew Hoggard who, via Vaughan, was allowed to play in England A’s match against Pakistan (scorecard):
Interesting comments for two reasons: Vaughan still ably managing the team from the sidelines, and Hoggard’s belief that current form has got nothing to do with temporary captainship.
Perceptive thoughts, but I disagree that a team can be captained from the sidelines. It simply can’t. However, Hoggard’s belief that the temporary captaincy conundrum isn’t affecting England is perhaps indicitive of the confidence England still have within themselves. At least, I hope so.
Worst of all, and I can’t explain why I say this, the recent events with Vaughan and all the other injuries have really put a dampener on what England achieved last summer. It has been made futile - at least, that’s the impression I get. All that hard work - for what? Half the team are broken; the replacements are mostly still in nappies and are understandably flapping. England won the Ashes in 2005; why do I get the distinct feeling that we’re back to square one again?
2 Comments »Tomorrow’s one-dayer
By Will 2 years ago, mid-June, 2 Comments »
England take on Sri Lanka tomorrow in the first of five one-dayers. In doing some little research for the series preview, I worked out (bollocks I did, sorry, I’m lying - Robin did. Thanks Robin. But he knew it off the top of his head, as well I assumed he might) England have a minimum of 19 matches until the World Cup. Oh dear.
Glen Chapple (32) is injured; so is Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones, Ed Joyce and probably more that I’ve forgotten. So the significance of this series, and tomorrow’s match, should not be underestimated for both sides. Every one-day match henceforth is a potential “sighter” for next year’s World Cup. And for all Andrew Strauss’ remarkable confidence in the quotes that came out today, even he would admit that England are in dire one-day form.
I’m making my debut too, tomorrow; it’s my first international for Cricinfo, a little under 12 months since I joined. Couple of friends (bonjour, C&N) who I met with the other night asked “Did you ever imagine you’d be doing this?” I don’t think I ever did seriously contemplate it, although aged twelve we did a roleplay exercise during a French lesson where we had to pretend we were speaking to the TV camera as “something”. One bloke was a horseracing commentator (even at that age, his knowledge of the horses was phenomenal; he’s now either stinking rich or bankrupt, I imagine), another at Twickenham, Wembley, Wimbledon and so on. I was at Lord’s! And I distinctly remember thinking “well yeah - it’d be nice, but it’s so not possible.”
My ambitions of becoming a doctor were also dealt a blow aged 13 when I nearly blew the school up. Chemistry and Physics weren’t my strong point, although I enjoyed disecting a pig’s eye and liver in biology. Sadly that’s not a requirement, or even a benefit, to become a quack over here.
Anyway. Enough ramblings. I’ll post thoughts of Saturday’s game on Sunday, and there will be a post up tomorrow for you to leave your comments etc. Until then, then.
2 Comments »Andrew Strauss in line for captaincy
By Will 2 years ago, mid-June, 1 Comment »
As soon as he hit a hundred on his debut in 2004, Andrew Strauss was talked of as a future England captain. Since then, despite a recent minor-blip in form, many have spoken that he should have taken over from Michael Vaughan when he missed England’s tour of India and not Andrew Flintoff.
Following England’s defeat in the final Test against Sri Lanka, Flintoff’s “follow me, lads” style of captaincy has received criticism from Mike Atherton, among others, and it’s noteworthy that Strauss has been chosen. This surely represents the first signal that it is he, rather than Flintoff, that Duncan Fletcher and co. want to lead England in the post-Vaughan era (which could come sooner than we think).
England face Ireland tomorrow for the first time, at Stormont, before a Twenty20 against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl on Thursday ahead of the first one-dayer at Lord’s on Saturday.
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