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England v Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI, The Oval
By Will 4 years ago, mid-June, 7 Comments »
Another one-dayer, let’s hope England can give Sri Lanka a run for their money. Doubt anyone will even bother coming here, but if you do, chat away! I’ll be at the ground, but will post thoughts on the game on Wednesday (alt. just read Cricinfo…)
7 Comments »England v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI, Lord’s
By Will 4 years ago, mid-June, 4 Comments »
The first ODI at Lord’s between England and Sri Lanka. Ought to be a scorcher. Get a’chattin’
4 Comments »The return of Steve Harmison
By Will 5 years ago, at the start of July, 16 Comments »
This Natwest Series was touted as a potential whitewash for Australia. Ponting reckoned the schedule worked in his side’s favour but, as we now know, this hasn’t been the case. The “warm up” games of the summer have given every cricket fan every reason to expect that this will be one of the greatest summers of cricket in years.
And from an English perspective, the return of Steve Harmison has been revelatory. I was confused & concerned about his performances in South Africa, and critical not only of him but of the media’s reaction. I even have a £50 bet with a mate that he wouldn’t “come good” for The Ashes. I’m already scraping the coppers to find that 50 quid – Harmison is edging his way back to his best, and I hope (not just for Englishmen) everyone will witness why he has been so highly regarded in the past 2 years.
Indeed, Him (for that is Glenn’s new name, and is deliberately gramatically incorrect!) has praised Harmison this morning:
“Harmy is a class bowler and I think he’s one of the main reasons why England have improved over the last 18 months,” said McGrath.
“To have a bowler bowling at that pace with that lift has got to give the rest of the team confidence.”
McGrath is well known for his (successful) targetting of opposition batsmen, but perhaps less renowned for his generous praise of a fellow bowler. Harmison comfortably topped the series with 15 wickets in 6 games (at 15 a piece) and with a devastating strike-rate of just 22. Flintoff was second with 12 wickets and, surprisingly, Bradley Hogg third with 10.
His control & lines have been immaculate and, encouragingly, he keeps getting the best opposition batsmen out. Yesterday was a perfect example. He was arguably lucky to have Ponting caught behind (down the leg-side), but it simply demonstrated how quickly he has forced his authority over Ponting. I said recently that he’ll pick up Ponting a few times in The Ashes, and I stand by it. Time for England to attack an opposition captain, and despite Ponting’s class he is showing clear technical failings.
Martyn fell next to a stunning delivery – angling in, but cutting away…a 90mph leg-break. Then Brad Hogg – who tops my list for Most Irritating Player in the series) – “fended” a lethal ball which threated to decapitate him. This was “the old” Harmison, of not too long ago. But for Englishmen, and fast-bowling fans, the wait has been concerning. He was so poor in South Africa that many, me included, wondered HOW he could ever come back. But he’s on his way now, and if he continues to improve it could be fun to watch.
He and Flintoff have leap-frogged Jason Gillespie into the top 10 of the LG Bowler rankings (8 and 9 respectively).
Stu rounds up yesterday and reckons the Aussies are in for a scrap this summer
Scott questions Ponting’s cricketing brain
Isaac got a bit excited about the final
AKR can’t beleive he missed it
Darryl echoes many of our thoughts about the battles which lie ahead.
I’ll do a newspaper roundup after the Wimbledon final
16 Comments »England 196 – Australia 196 (Final)
By Will 5 years ago, at the start of July, No Comments; be the first!
England 196 – Australia 196 (Final)
Photo taken by markdemeny @ Flickr.com.
Saw this at Flickr – just a few hours after the game, and already someone’s got photos from it.
No Comments »What a final. What a start.
By Will 5 years ago, at the start of July, 5 Comments »
It was the final of the Natwest Series, the end of a batch of One Day matches – but for most Englishmen and Australians, it was the start of the summer; and what a start it was!
That old cliché “no one could have predicted the outcome” is perfectly suited to what was one of the most thrilling one-day matches in recent times. The game see-sawed between both sides so dramatically, so often, that each country’s supporters kept convincing themselves their side were on top. It was a great day for cricket; on a day where Live 8 and God knows what else was going on in London and around the world, no better advertisement for the game could have been made. The number one and two teams in the world battling for supremacy at a picturesque (if cloudy) Lord’s was a sight to see – both sides desperate for a win to take forward any psychological point-scoring into The Ashes.
Almost 100 overs later, minus 7 balls of Australia’s innings, neither side won. A tie. A draw. Such is the game’s perculiar nature, fans and opponents can be proud of a tie. Avinash (many thanks) and I were doing updates in this post, and before long there was near-constant chatter going on between several Aussies…and one lone Englishman! After England had bowled Australia out for 196, many – me included, to a certain extent – thought the game was theirs for the taking. The weather wasn’t crash-hot – muggy, cloudy and very Glenn McGrathy – and Lee and Him ripped through the English. They were helped by batting of the calibre of a 1990s England side – a collapse so dramatic that I was instantly whisked back to the dark, heinous days when English batting collapses were the norm. 33-5 they were – 33-5…”might not even need the kettle if they keep falling at this rate” said Harry…
“Goodnight, England” I reckoned at that point, as did nearly everyone apart from the redoubtable Paul Collingwood. He and Geraint Jones staged a recovery more akin to the 2005 English vintage – although this one was particularly special. The clouds had lingered all day, and although McGrath and Lee were being held back until the end, runs weren’t easily made. Their 116 gave England a sniff of victory – but wickets kept falling and run-rates kept increasing until the final ball, where England needed 3 for victory. They’d been helped in these latter overs by Australia’s initial destroyers, Lee & McGrath. Lee had stupidly assumed a bouncer might be a good ploy against a tail-ender – Giles spooned him, somehow, over Gilchrist’s head for four. If you combined McGrath’s brain with Lee’s pace, you’d probably have an unplayable bowler.
Then, in the final over, McGrath no-balled. McGrath no-balled. McGrath no-balled. It’s worth repeating (McGrath no-balled). When does he ever no-ball?! It was a tasty morsel for us English – everyone loves to see a champion opponent dethroned & humbled, even if it is only for one ball. Giles, facing the final ball of the match with 3 needed, squirted it to 3rd man who was deep – and suddenly he and Harmison were scampering through for a second and the scores were level! Ponting stood there, motionless and speechless. On the radio, some were even suggesting he didn’t realise it could have been a tie (why was 3rd man so deep?). Crazy stuff.
Jonathan Agnew thinks Vaughan should/could be replaced (agreed)
An Aussie blogger is confused (and is making me confused). At least she’s excited about The Ashes
An English blogger remains calm
Jenny Thompson rounds things up at Cricinfo and thinks we’re in for a scorcher (oh yes we are)
5 Comments »Australia and England TIE in ODI Final
By Will 5 years ago, at the start of July, 1 Comment »
Extraordinary game – what a comeback by both Australia, then England. One of the best One Day matches I’ve seen for a year or more. And then a TIE at the end! Simply incredible.
Write it up later when I’ve absorbed the shock
1 Comment »Australia v England – Final, Natwest series
By Avinash 5 years ago, at the start of July, 74 Comments »
Session updates provided by Avinash. Updated at overs 15, 40 and 50.
[First innings - Australia]
Overs 1-15: (Avinash)
It has been a marvellous 15 overs, worthy of a Lord’s final between the two best teams in the world. Glichrist got Australia off to a ripping start and yet again, a buffet of Simon Jones was much too tempting for the Australian openers to pass up on. Fifty came up in short order and Jones was lashed for 29 off his opening three overs, including 16 in four balls from Gilly. Panic Stations, England? An English side might have crumbled in the face of such typically aggressive batting some years earlier but this lot is a bit more resilient. Flintoff has been their most accurate bowler all series so Vaughan turned to him to peg things back a little. And peg them back he did, with beautifully controlled & short of a length fast bowling. Gough prised out Hayden, his first wicket with the new ball all series, and Flintoff bowled one of the best overs anyone has ever bowled to Gilchrist, beating him time and again outside the off stump and forcing him into an injudicious pull that simply went straight up in the air. That was a well-earned wicket, if anything was. Ponting then went on to tickle Harmison’s first delivery down the legside to Geraint Jones and suddenly, Australia were three down in 12 overs. Parity had been restored. Symonds is proving why he doesn’t get to play Test cricket more often, struggling to put bat to ball against Harmison and Flintoff, and Martyn is searching for an aggressive partner he can feed the strike to.
15 overs. 76 runs. 3 wickets. The perfect start, as the first session has been a well fought draw!
Australia will want these two to bat another 15 overs while England will want to get Symonds out while the ball is still a bit new. They know well what can happen otherwise. Once again, Andrew Symonds seems to have the key to the game.
Overs 15-40: (Will)
As befits the middling overs, things have quietened down significantly. England continued to apply pressure via Harmison – who bowled quite beautifully. He dismissed Martyn with a classic delivery, angling in but cutting away – Jones took an easy catch, but one which he might well have dropped a year ago. His ‘keeping standards have certainly improved since working with Jack Russell.
Jones was brought back into the attack; after Gilchrist’s initial onslought, smashing him for 16 in an over, he showed admirable control to keep things quiet, and was too good for Clarke trapping him leg-before. That wicket was the last ball in the 24th, and the 3rd consecutive maiden. The 25th was the 4th maiden in a row, before Symonds and Hussey started to knock it around – but, in the 35th over, Symonds was still demonstrating un-character-like restraint. Even Giles is going at under 4 per over – both he and Collingwood justifying Vaughan’s decision to keep Harmison and Flintoff back for a couple of overs each at the end of the innings.
And Vaughan’s decision is further vindicated. Symonds crashed Collingwood, on the bounce, straight to extra cover, only to repeat the shot next ball into Strauss’ hands. Now is definately the time to bring Harmison back, although I think Collingwood and Giles have done an excellent, containing job (especially considering the awesome form Symonds has been in). Giles though is still bowling in the 39th – come on Vaughan, don’t miss a trick here. Harmison, Flintoff, Gough – 2 of those must be bowling now. Australia will be loving this.
And into the 40th over, it’s Paul Collingwood to continue! Don’t understand this whatsoever…over to you, Avinash.
Overs 40-50: (Avinash)
Australia went into the turn at 153/6. Hogg had just come in, Hussey was still biding his time, Flintoff, Gough and Harmison had 10 overs between them and England could not have hoped for a more perfect situation. Naturally therefore, Vaughan bowled Collingwood in the 41st over and Giles in the 42nd. Harmison was finally given the ball (about 10 overs delayed, by my reckoning) and, immediately, run making got more difficult & dangerous. Staying true to form, Vaughan persisted with Giles from the other end before finally turning, almost reluctantly you’d think were it not such a ludicrous thought, to Flintoff.
6 balls later, Lee had gone, Gillespie had followed his mate first ball and Andrew Flintoff was on a hattrick. As demonstrably QED as you could ever get. A couple of lucky edges, a few scrambles and some fine batting from Hussey coaxed Australia to 196. The obvious question now: is 196 enough? I think they are about 25 short, but with this pitch and the generally overcast conditions, the bowlers will always have a chance. Whether Vaughan will rue not turning to his strike bowlers earlier in the innings only time will tell. Regardless, it is great to have a one day pitch that is doing just enough to make it an even contest between bat and ball.
It is going to be a tremendous spectacle – Ponting does not have the runs to defend for long periods so he will attack constantly. Lee, McGrath and Gillespie will be hard to score consistently off in these conditions but yet again, one senses that the first 10 overs or so of the England response might go a long way towards deciding the fate of this final. After
three gripping sessions of play, it is England 2 and Australia 0. My money is on England the rest of the way, but the two men who can ruin it for the hosts are the men who will share the new ball in just about 40 minutes – Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee.
[Second innings - England]
Overs 1-10:
England have batted twice in this series against Australia and both times, their openers have looked shaky against the new ball, all those hundreds against Bangladesh notwithstanding. Lee and McGrath would have liked their chances therefore, of picking up an early wicket or two. As things turned out, they picked up 4 between themselves in 40 balls and England’s
fraility at the top suddenly threatened to lose them the game.
It was good bowling without a doubt but you would have expected no less from Australia. I grow ever more skeptical though, of Trescothick’s place at the top of the order against Brett Lee, Glen McGrath and a new ball. He can be a punishing batsman on his day, but when the ball is doing a bit England might be better served opening with Vaughan. Not that that would have prevented Strauss from getting comprehensively bowled by Lee.
Back to matters at hand however, and England have Flintoff along with Collingwood at the crease. Flintoff has looked assured at the crease, and is playing well, two sweetly timed fours of Lee proving that danger still lurks for Australia.
Ah, I speak too soon! Flintoff perishes as well, and McGrath has himself another wicket!
Number 7 walks out into the middle in the 10th over and England are now threatening to implode in much the same way that Australia did some weeks ago. That collapse was greeted by much disbelief and so will this one. So there we have it. Lee and McGrath were always the dangermen, and in 40 minutes of work they have hauled Australia into a position of utter dominance. No question whatsoever of who has won this session.
Interesting as the match is, I have a cricket game of my own to play so further commentary and reaction from the venerable Will.
Overs 15-40:
Overs 40-50:
[Result]
74 Comments »