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james-anderson
The Ashes are ablaze once more
By Will last year, mid-July, 2 Comments »
Of all the results. Of all the venues. I still can’t quite grasp how England’s Nos. 10 and 11 managed to seal a draw, but seal it they did in one of the tensest, most gripping matches I’ve had the great fortune of commentating on. Once Paul Collingwood fell, I and the rest of England had given up all hope. Monty Panesar does not instill great hope in anyone. He averages under 6 in Test cricket for a very good reason, yet somehow produced the innings of his life – and bar one or two understandably nervy strokes, for the most part played incredibly straight. James Anderson, well, we almost expect it from him nowadays.
So here are the final few overs that I cobbled – apologies for any errors, but in the heat of the moment and with fingers rapidly cramping, they are almost inevitable. There’s a shed load of class from our three at the ground, too – this, explaining Ponting’s anger at England’s use of the 12th man; and this on Collingwood, the tenacious ginger.
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England need to survive until 6.41pm because that’ll be too late for Australia to come back on and chase |
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100.1 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, tossed up on leg, back and defending |
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100.2 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, padded away |
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100.3 |
Hauritz to Anderson, 1 run, comes forward and smothers it, opening the face and guiding down to third man. They’ll take a single |
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Around the wicket |
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100.4 |
Hauritz to Panesar, no run, flighted on the off stump. Monty defends. Good ball though. Thousands and thousands cheer him as though he’s won the game for England |
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100.5 |
Hauritz to Panesar, no run, wonderful ball but well played. On the off stump and defended |
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100.6 |
Hauritz to Panesar, no run, wide of the off stump, prodigious turn and bounce |
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End of over 101 (1 run) England 246/9
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Right here comes North. Change of bowling. My fingers are cramping massively so bear with me, might be slightly slow 12th man runs out for England and absolutely legs it out into the middle with a word for Anderson and Panesar. A reminder: it’s now a time issue. Four overs must be bowled, but Australia have 11 minutes to bowl England out. That’s the situation. Keep 6.41pm in your mind. It’s in exactly ten minutes. |
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101.1 |
North to Anderson, 1 run, cracked in the air square of the wicket – where’s this gone? It lands safe! It’s safe, but the pair crash into eachother mid-pitch while staring at the ball |
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101.2 |
North to Panesar, FOUR, four! Panesar’s crashed him square of the wicket for four! Ponting can’t believe it. Monty can’t believe it. I certainly can’t believe it |
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101.3 |
North to Panesar, no run, defended on the front foot |
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101.4 |
North to Panesar, no run, flighted on middle, and he’s forward, defending |
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He is around the wicket by the way. Has been all over |
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101.5 |
North to Panesar, no run, solidly defended – very firm |
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101.6 |
North to Panesar, no run, perhaps the biggest cheer of the Test as Panesar smothers it on the front foot |
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End of over 102 (5 runs) England 251/9
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Shafayat is on the field with some gloves and questions. Ponting’s told him where to go in true Aussie style, and you can’t blame him. The physio’s on, too. Oh come on England, just suck it up and get on with it. Embarrassing. Right, they’ve bogged off so here we go. The noise is just amazing, incredible |
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102.1 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, blocked off the back foot. The roof’s off again! The noise is just wonderful |
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102.2 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, blocked once more. Cardiff erupts. Then silence. |
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102.3 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, blocked again on the front foot. Cardiff explodes. Cardiff goes quiet. Silent. |
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102.4 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, that’s well bowled but Hauritz is tensing up. Not really spinning it any more. Cardiff explodes with delight then a hushed whisper as Hauritz comes in once more |
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102.5 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, full toss, pushed out to the off side |
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102.6 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, quicker ball! Well bowled! Blocked. Cardiff explodes once more and this time it’s not followed by silence. The noisehere! |
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End of over 103 (maiden) England 251/9
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The crowd think England have done it, but they haven’t yet. It’s one more over. Possibly two. |
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103.1 |
North to Panesar, no run, comes forward and gets a bit of backspin on it as he defends. Cardiff erupts. Cardiff goes silent |
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103.2 |
North to Panesar, no run, forward onto the front foot and defends. Capital of Wales goes mad. Capital of Wales goes silent |
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103.3 |
North to Panesar, no run, left alone outside off |
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103.4 |
North to Panesar, no run, tense from North. Left alone. Too wide. Way, way too wide. Cardiff explodes |
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103.5 |
North to Panesar, no run, edged, short of slip. Soft hands from Panesar. Slowish turn |
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103.6 |
North to Panesar, no run, flighted on the off stump and Panesar survives. Cardiff is alight. The crowd are alive. Ponting is talking to the umpires and trying to work out the times |
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End of over 104 (maiden) England 251/9
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It’s 6.39pm. 6.40pm is the cut-off. We’ll have one more over. This could be the last over of the match. This is so, so, so tense. Hauritz around the wicket |
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104.1 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, quicker ball on leg stump, nudged to leg. Cardiff explodes, then a hushed silence |
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You can hear a pin drop |
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104.2 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, flighted on middle and defended |
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104.3 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, tosses this up on the middle stump and he’s forward. It prompts more emphatic, cacophonous cheer from the crowd. And then silence |
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104.4 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, huge turn for once but it’s too wide. It’s too wide from Hauritz |
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104.5 |
Hauritz to Anderson, no run, drifts in, darts in on middle. Blocked. Blocked. |
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This could be it. This is the last ball of the match in theory. |
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104.6 |
Hauritz to Anderson, 1 bye, wide of the off stump, off the pads and balloons over the slips. They run a bye. They run a bye. Ponting scratches his chin, he looks distraught. Anderson talks to the umpires. No one knows what’s going on! But they shake hands and England have drawn! It’s all over! |
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Anderson, Broad take on the questioners
By Will last year, mid-June, No Comments; be the first!
When we came into this tournament, a lot of people were saying we lacked the basic interviewing skills to answer a few simple questions without becoming bogged down and making the same old errors of saying: “Er, well, obviously we’ve got to be disappointed with that, er, Nas, er, I mean Wardy.” And it’s true that, in the past, some of our lads have frozen under the lights in these short-format interviews. But I think we can all be very proud of the way we’ve dealt with some often highly-skilled questioners over the last couple of weeks.
Every one of those lads in that dressing room has done a great job, but I’d like to single out Jimmy Anderson. A few years ago, Jimmy would have just stared back at the interviewer with his mouth open, looking like he might cry. But these days, he listens to the question, nods a bit and then he’s straight into the right areas by saying: “Look, I just try to get it into the right areas.”
More chuckles from Alan “Alany” Tyers.
No Comments »Flintoff proves his bowling worth
By Mark Tilley last year, mid-April, 1 Comment »
Just how good is Andrew Flintoff ? At 140-6, needing 33 runs to win off just 16 balls, the West Indies were knocking down the door at England. Denesh Ramdin was thick edging for four, there were singles everywhere and the game looked to be headed right down to the thinnest of wires. Step forward, Freddie. Probably one of the best death bowlers in the world right now, Flintoff fired out Ramdin with a fast leg stump yorker. That alone may have ended the host’s pursuit but it wasn’t enough for Flintoff. He then trapped LBW new man Ravi Rampaul with a quick, full delivery before achieving both his hat-trick and a five-wicket haul with another yorker to Sulieman Benn.
Flintoff, tired, battle hardened and at the end of a long, long tour, had won the game and, more importantly, the series for England in the space of three balls. His nonchalant celebration upon bowling Benn did a fine job of hiding the jubilation he was likely feeling inside. Injuries and defeat had ravaged Flintoff’s tour to the point where Kevin Pietersen was probably not alone in wanting to head home as soon as possible. His batting has come in for more criticism after, one innings aside, a painfully lean period. But his bowling is an impossibly vital component in England’s one day planning. He is frighteningly accurate, has the ability to mix up his pace to confuse the batsman and take crucial wickets when needed. The man really is worth his weight in gold.
He becomes the third Englishman to take a hat trick in one day cricket. The other two? You’d hardly believe it. James Anderson and Steve Harmison. The next time England are getting carted to all corners of the ground in a one day match, will you honestly believe that three of the bowlers on display have one day hat tricks to their names?
1 Comment »England’s bowling attack
By Mark Tilley last year, mid-February, 3 Comments »
Is it just me or do England have a seriously good looking attack on display in the current Test match? Speed-wise, even the most skeptical of cricket fans would have to admit it’s impressive. Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson and, to a slightly lesser extent, Stuart Broad are all genuinely capable of the odd delivery in excess of 90 mph and they give the captain a wealth of options.
Harmison is painfully erratic and may well be a spent force but he is still capable of rattling his opponents, even if his days are becoming increasingly numbered. Flintoff is as reliable and dangerous as ever and Broad is a developing into a threatening force, fresh from his maiden five wicket haul in Jamaica last week. Jimmy Anderson, like Harmison, can be inconsistent but his pace is an asset and he can be a genuine strike bowler, especially when the ball is swinging (anyone remember 7-43 against New Zealand in Nottingham?).
But the decision to replace Monty Panesar with Graeme Swann could also be the most important one. Panesar’s recent struggles are heavily documented and he was out-bowled by Swann during England’s toiling in India. Swann’s ability with the willow also means England can potentially bat down to 9, so if he can turn it on with the ball in the way that Panesar hasn’t been able to for a while, then England will surely be forced to give him a run in the side.
Far be it from me to play the role of England selector, but the current bowling attack would probably be my first choice to play when the Aussies come to town in July. I would allow a bit of room for change over the spinner, as Panesar, for all his troubles, is capable of being dangerous but if you pinned me down and asked me for a set of names, then I’d be happy to give you this lot. It’s harsh on Ryan Sidebottom but he’d always be in contention to play, dependant on the conditions. The same goes for Simon Jones, although he may or may not ever be fit again.
Thoughts - would anyone rather see Monty back? Is there still life in Harmison? Answers on a postcard please.
3 Comments »Bouncebackability
By Mark Tilley last year, mid-February, 1 Comment »
It was football manager Iain Dowie who first coined this term, way back when his Crystal Palace side were struggling in the English Premier League. The phrase refers to a teams ability to bounce back from a defeat or any kind of adversity. Well, this England cricket side have suffered said adversity and then some. How do they respond to the humiliation of last week’s 51 all out?
The expected change has come. Owais Shah replaces Ian Bell at number three in the order and Steve Harmison has also been left out, in favour of James Anderson. Will it make the difference that England need? Shah’s inclusion has been long championed by England fans and pundits alike. It is perhaps a tad harsh on Harmison who didn’t bowl terribly badly in Jamaica but perhaps the feeling was that a change was needed.
The outfield is a concern in Antigua. Heavy rainfall has left area’s of the ground covered in sand and the bowlers run up, in particular, is an point of worry. However, England shouldn’t use the conditions as an excuse. They have a lot of making up to do and they had better start it soon. Alistair Cook could do with a big score to settle the doubters about him and if Kevin Pietersen should find himself in the late 90’s again, surely he will be looking for singles this time.
All in all, it looks like a fascinating Test. A nerve-wracking one too, if you’re an England follower.
1 Comment »England dominate; South Africa fold; Prince reigns
By Will 2 years ago, mid-July, 1 Comment »
It’s late and I’m beery. Briefly, England were disconcertingly excellent today. And even more briefly:
- James Anderson’s catch at mid-on to dismiss AB de Villiers was a bit special, proving (were any proof needed) that fast bowlers these days are as vital assets in the field as any other member of the side. They have to be.
- Hashim Amla’s beard continues to amaze and enthrall. Fortunate not to be bowled when his helmet fell off, evading a bouncer.
- Neil McKenzie has buckets of class and similar quantities of oddities. His obsessive compulsive habits were fascinating to watch, and metronomically repetitive. A scrape of the crease with his bat is followed by a scrub with his foot (right). He glances behind to fine leg, then to square leg, and then composes himself in his stance. Right before the bowler reaches his delivery stride, he mouths “watch the ball”. And when he does finally connect, it’s often pleasingly elegant. A nice sideshow to the series, watching McKenzie.
- Stuart Broad is enjoying his best Test match by a distance. Runs in the first innings, and today bowled his heart out, rarely straying from an immaculate line. Knows when to dig it in short or fire in a yorker. He will be a world force in 12 months.
- Monty Panesar is so hard to play in England. Favourite moment of the day came when he did Morkel like a kipper, eventually bowling him through the gate (with the final ball of the over, I think). Looks like he’s beginning to really know his game now.
- Billy Bowden’s mum died a couple of weeks ago, poor sod.
- Ashwell Prince showed the benefits of patience. Good, old-fashioned Test innings by a very underrated player rediscovering his touch. His celebration bordered on angry; a kiss of the badge was followed by him pointing at it to the dressing room, evidence that for all South Africa’s aggressive wordplay, they continue to be haunted by political turbulance.
- Andrew Strauss’s fine catch at first slip to dismiss Jacques Kallis (off the top of my head) confirmed how important slippers are to England. Alastair Cook has done well, but we could do with another safe pair of hands. Flintoff would do.
- The moment of the day? Kevin Pietersen taking the new ball to bowl at Graeme Smith owing to the poor light. The pair of them murmuring to eachother, staring one another down, was a fitting end to a near-perfect day’s Test cricket by England.
Hoggard returns; no cover for Collingwood
By Will 2 years ago, mid-May, 8 Comments »
So, Matthew Hoggard has been included in England’s 12-man squad for the first Test, alongside Paul Collingwood. Interestingly, Collingwood – who has an injured shoulder – wasn’t given any cover. No Ravi Bopara or Luke Wright to be seen. Andrew Strauss retains his place.
Batting looks strong, and the bowling ought to be too…but I’m never comfortable with Jimmy Anderson in the side. Who knows what he’ll do?
England squad
Michael Vaughan (capt), Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Tim Ambrose (wk), Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Matthew Hoggard.
New Zealand v England, 2nd Test, Wellington
By Will 2 years ago, mid-March, 8 Comments »
To windy Wellington we go for the second Test, with England lacking two of their most experienced fast bowlers, Matthew Hoggard (err – what?) and Steve Harmison. I’d have agreed with dropping Hoggard – if only to send shockwaves through the team that anything other than an excellent performance simply won’t suffice. But this is meant to be a green, seam-friendly swinger in Wellington – and as “talented” as Michael Vaughan thinks James Anderson is, reliable he is not. It’s all or nothing.
On that merry note, join us at Cricinfo for a full package of joyous fun and analysis and occasionally laughter. And, in between drinking yourself into a depressed stupor, leave a comment or three below.
8 Comments »England’s beauty tips
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of February, 2 Comments »
What key attributes do England need in order to succeed in New Zealand? Moisturiser and paper pants. The full horror show can be watched at The Times.
2 Comments »England name squad for Sri Lanka tour
By Jonathan Liew 3 years ago, mid-October, 1 Comment »
England have named their squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, and it’s pretty much as predicted:
Vaughan, Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Shah, Bopara, Mustard, Prior, Broad, Hoggard, Anderson, Sidebottom, Swann, Panesar.
Some initial thoughts:
1) It’s pretty harsh on Chris Tremlett, who hasn’t really put a foot wrong yet for England. Unless – gasp! – they’re punishing him unfairly for his indifferent one-day form.
2) If the selectors were going to drop Strauss they should have replaced him with another opener, rather than naming three number sixes and promoting Vaughan, who doesn’t even want to open.
3) If both of Harmison’s practice games get rained off, where does that leave him?
4) Either Broad or Swann has to bat at number eight. Which means that, cruelly, one of Anderson or Sidebottom has to sit out. Or both, if Harmison waltzes back into the team. In other words, all three pacemen from the India series could be left out in favour of someone who wasn’t even good enough to make the side at the time. Hmmm.
5) The fact that Mustard has been named in the full squad, rather than placed on standby in Chennai, is hardly a resounding vote of confidence in Prior. Is Mustard, in fact, the reserve opening batsman?
What are everyone else’s thoughts?
1 Comment »Live: England v India, 1st Test, Lord’s
By Will 3 years ago, mid-July, 3 Comments »
So, England are batting first and they’ve chosen Chris Tremlett over Stuart Broad. I’d have opted for Broad and Tremlett, not James Anderson – but that’s just me. Here’s Ceefax, just for laughs, and offer your thoughts below.
Summer’s nearly here
By Will 3 years ago, mid-May, 1 Comment »
I’ve got the BBC’s old bink-bink-bink theme tune tinkering in my head. Again. I don’t care what state the world is in, or indeed how England are faring. The start of the season is something to celebrate, and it’s with great pleasure that I tell you the rain is thundering down in London as I write. Ah, marvellous. Summer’s here.
The first Test is just 12 hours away, or thereabouts, but earlier today I was a bit puzzled by Peter Moores’ decision to call up James Anderson. He was to play the first session of Lancashire’s latest Championship match before driving down to London, acting as cover for the bowlers. That’s fine – but what exactly does Lancashire (or anyone else for that matter) gain by paying for Anderson’s services for one measly session? As it was, Old Trafford was deluged in rain (what’s new?), but presumably Jimmy A is down in London waiting to hear if he’ll be needed (which he won’t; if Andrew Flintoff isn’t fit, England say Owais Shah will be picked).
And if he’s not? He’s sent back up to Old Trafford to continue playing. I understand England’s predicament in a) having cover for their bowlers while b) pacifying the counties, but this current method doesn’t appear to help anyone. Least of all the bowler.
Anyhow. Moving on.
1 Comment »Is this really the best England can do?
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of March, 17 Comments »
It never fails to amaze me reading the contrasting opinions from our feedbackers at Cricinfo while covering these one-dayers, especially with England in such limp form. Of the 1000 or so emails, a fair chunk criticised us for our anti-England stance, accusing us of racism, bias toward Ireland and whatever else. What game were they watching? The one we were watching was between a feisty, energetic team full of lively promise and intent. The other was England at their timid best.
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A grotesque mismatch masked as an ODI
By Scott 3 years ago, at the start of February, 25 Comments »
Coming into Friday’s game between Australia and England, for what surely must be the final time this summer, the contrast between the two squads could hardly be greater.
The Australians are happy, confident, and feel that everything is on track going towards the winning of the series and into the World Cup. England look patently miserable, tired, out of ideas, and with no appetitite for the battle. The contrast between this side and the one that won the Ashes eighteen months ago is so stark it can barely be believed.
England fans have every right to be furious with their team and especially their administration for allowing such a state of affairs.
They go into Friday’s game against Australia without Michael Vaughan, and also without James Anderson, who is flying home after a back strain. All of England’s bowling hopes will therefore rest with Flintoff and the redoubtable Monty Panesar, who looks like he’s the only Englishman with both the ability and the desire to play at this level at this point in time.
Meanwhile, Australia are feeling confident enough to introduce Shaun Tait to their one-day side, who is replacing Brett Lee. It is very much a ‘like for like’ substitution. Tait is perhaps even faster then Lee these days, and similarly erratic in performance. England faced him in the last two Tests of 2005, and also in the first game of this tour where he played in the Prime Minister’s XI. He did so well in that game that there was speculation that he would be the third seamer in the Test lineup, but Stuart Clark got the nod, and did so well that Tait’s hopes subsided.
Ricky Ponting has a slight hip strain and is in some doubt, but if he fails a fitness test, he’ll be replaced by the in-form Brad Hodge, who scored 115 off 100 balls for Victoria against South Australa on Wednesday.
A quick check of the bookies has some amazing prices. Not many betting houses are offering better then 10 to 1 on for Australia, whereas you can get odds of 13/2 on England. Remarkable, in a two horse race.
25 Comments »A nice night out at Adelaide Oval
By Scott 3 years ago, at the end of January, 1 Comment »
So I wandered along to the Adelaide Oval yesterday after all, and took up my seat in the Chappell Stands with New Zealand struggling at 3 for 60 after about 20 overs. England were right on top, and as I’d found myself next to a rather chatty fellow, we discussed the match, and also the possibility that we’d be going home early. As it was, we DID end up going home early, but that was because New Zealand had won the game.
How did they escape? Well, Jacob Oram batted well. England made it easy though for him, because he came out to bat and was facing the fire and brimstone of Paul Collingwood. My own view that Flintoff should have brought Anderson back into the attack eventually filtered through to the England captain four overs after I had said it, by which time Oram had settled in.
He’s a big lad, is Oram. After a spell from the game, his footwork was understandably rusty but once he found his range, he was able to power the New Zealand innings onwards. He found an ally in Brendon McCullum, who looked totally out of form, but was still able to contribute by running like a whippet.
A late flurry by Franklin took New Zealand to 210. I wandered off for chips, a hot-dog, and a chocolate ice-cream, all the ingredients needed for a balanced diet. I think the Black Caps might have had something a little more healthy because they came out on all cylinders.
Franklin took the first over from the Cathederal End because of the considerable breeze coming from the south. He took three wickets in his opening spell, though he was helped by a withering blast from the River End by Shane Bond.
Bond bowls with the pace of a Brett Lee and the accuracy of.. well he’s not quite in the McGrath mould, but he’s certainly pretty accurate. He pinned down the English upper order, and Mal Loye was in no mood to try his sweep shot this time around.
Franklin and Bond bowled the first fourteen overs, before being relieved. It was the introduction of Daniel Vettori that proved England’s undoing. He bowled a lovely spell; with the breeze to bowl into, he obtained drift and flight, and England’s batsmen did not have the footwork to cope with him. What particularly struck me was the way that England’s batsmen were stuck in two minds about whether or not to come forward, or to play back. Quite often they were caught in no-man’s land.
This certainly didn’t help England’s scoring rate. Ed Joyce was the only batsman to get past twenty. New Zealand fielded much better then they did in Sydney with Gillespie’s catch the highlight. Bond came back to finish the game, taking his 100th wicket in just his 55th match, and New Zealand’s large contingent of fans in the outer celebrated in style.
Speaking as a spectator, it was a nice evening out. I rather enjoy going to these ‘neutral’ games because since my team is not playing, I’m not that emotionally invested in the outcome, and therefore I can enjoy the cricket as it happens. But I have to say it- England were indeed woeful.
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