2010 County Preview: Surrey

2009 in a nutshell

Surrey, seemingly drifting from one ignominious low to the next in recent seasons, managed to hit a new nadir. They won just one Championship game all season - and indeed over the last two campaigns. Mark Butcher’s sad mid-season retirement led to Stewart Walters, who had a first-class batting average of under 20, being awarded the captaincy, and he responded with two centuries. But the batting remained far too dependent upon Usman Afzaal and the imperious Mark Ramprakash, though Michael Brown and Chris Schofield averaged in the mid-30s in the Championship. The less said about the bowling, utterly toothless once Andre Nel was injured, the better. In limited-overs, Surrey were equally dire, winning just seven of their 26 games. As Chris Adams recognised, things had to change.

Standout stats

90.00 - Mark Ramprakash’s average in 2009

22.92 - The average cost of Chris Schofield’s 25 one-day wickets in 2009

1 - Number of times Surrey’s bowling attack has taken twenty wickets in a game in the last 31

Winter wonderland?

No county has been busier than Surrey as Chris Adams sought to rebuild his squad after the wreckage of the last campaign. Incredibly, he identified Rory Hamilton-Brown, 22 and with just experience of just eight first-class games, to be the new permanent skipper. Hamilton-Brown is a brilliantly clean striker of the ball and useful off-spinner who has spent the winter on tour with the England Lions, and impressed Adams sufficiently when both were at Sussex for him to label Hamilton-Brown a future England captain. He was joined from Sussex by Piyush Chawla, who will be the overseas player, providing the BCCI do not rescind their No Objection Certificate. Given the autocratic manner in which they are prone to behave, who knows?

Highly-regarded wicket-keeper Steven Davies replaced outgoing club stalwart Jon Batty, while namesake Gareth returned to Surrey, somewhat bafflingly. James Benning, after years of failing to live up to his biling as Ali Brown’s heir, departed to try and fulfill his promise at Leicestershire, one of nine players to depart in an overdue mass-clearout.

Perhaps the best signing was the most recent, Chris Tremlett, whose height and bounce are well-suited to The Oval. Like so many of his team-mates, he has a big point to prove.

Key man

Runs from Ramps are rather taken as a given, and the key to getting promoted will be to take twenty wickets. Much will therefore be expected of Indian all-rounder Piyush Chawla. Just 21, the leg-spinner has already taken 247 first-class wickets. When he was 17, he famously snared Sachin Tendulkar with his devilish googly - one which helped to account for 36 batsmen in just six games for Sussex last season. If Surrey get promoted, fans will have a lot to thank the Chawla googly for.

Rising star

The star may have been stalling more than rising last campaign, but Chris Jordan remains an immensely exciting prospect. Boasting a correct batting technique and hitting the high 80s with his bowling, the 21-year-old Jordan has all the attributes to play international cricket, if he can only find consistency.

Foreign legion

Chawla will occupy the overseas duties after he has finished playing for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, with Pakistan quick Rao Iftikhar Anjum looking to exploit the early-season pitches beforehand. As yet, no second overseas man has been signed for the Twenty20 Cup.

Captain and coach

Chris Adams’ official title is manager, rather than coach. His first season was disastrous, but he always said he needed time, so time he must be given. In local boy Hamilton-Brown, who returned to the county he left in 2007, Adams identified the man he believes will make Surrey the “team of the decade”. Hamilton-Brown faces extraordinary responsibility - not since the days of the amateur-player divide has a man with so little experience led the county. And he wasn’t even born when his best player, Ramprakash, made his first-class debut.

2010 prospects

Surrey undoubtedly begin this season in much better strength than they ended the last. In Ramprakash, Afzaal, Davies, Chawla, Tremlett and Nel, they have a series of proven performers who must feel they belong in the first division. A worry is the opening batting, where it is unclear who will partner Brown, but the real question marks concern the bowling attack.

If Chawla can reproduce the form he showed for Sussex and Nel and Tremlett remain fully fit, then promotion appears eminently attainable. With Davies a formidable limited-overs opener at county level, their performances in the short versions of the game should also see improvement, though real progress looks unlikely. Most fundamentally of all, Hamilton-Brown must justify the enormous faith shown in him by taking care of his own performances. If he does so, 2010 could mark the beginning of a Surrey resurgence.

2008 Season Review: Hampshire

Final Placings:
County Championship Division One – 3rd;
FP Trophy - 4th, South-Eastern Conference;
Twenty20 Cup – 4th, South Division;
Pro40 Division One – 2nd.

Hampshire enjoyed a respectable season in 2008 and the final results look quite promising for the future. Indeed it was a season of two halves and it could have been a whole lot worse! In the initial few weeks of the season things looked grim. Dimitri Mascarenhas was away in India or with England more often than not and Chris Tremlett was enduring a frustrating time with injuries yet again, a trend which continued throughout the year. Greg Lamb looked woefully short of being a threatening four day spin bowler, much less a replacement for Shane Warne (8 wickets at 71.37), and he has in fact now been released by the county. The batting was experiencing it’s usual woes, with even the normally reliable John Crawley and Nic Pothas both out of form. Then, Shane Bond (19 at 19.21) got injured and Hampshire were without an overseas player and were missing their entire bowling attack from the previous season, James Bruce and Warne having of course retired, whilst Shaun Udal had switched allegiances.

The Friends Provident Trophy campaign never really got going and Hampshire soon found themselves bottom of the County Championship. Paul Terry parted company with the county and the search for a replacement is ongoing, with Chris Adams high on the list of wanted candidates. The Twenty20 Cup campaign, the finals day of which was held at the Rose Bowl, was less disappointing than usual, with the county only one victory from making the knockout stage. Shane Watson’s failure to show up was a blow, although Ian Harvey did a good job in his absence, with both Michael Lumb and Michael Carberry continuing to show that they are excellent limited overs performers. Nante Hayward was briefly impressive before succumbing to injury and it will be interesting to see if Hawks fans see any more of the South African Kolpak signing next season. In a competition as strong as the South Division though, it was always going to be hard to emerge from the group which contained three of the four semi-finalists and furthermore, the two finalists.

Into the backend of the season and Hampshire were occupying one of the two relegation places in the Championship and it was questionable as to how they could turn it around. Imran Tahir’s arrival as overseas player marked the beginning of the recovery, as did the emergence of spinning allrounder Liam Dawson, who scored his maiden century in the final day victory over Nottinghamshire. The two spinners dominated opposition batting line-ups in the Pro40 competition, sweeping Hampshire to second, Dawson finishing with 11 at 13.72 and Tahir with 12 at 20.33, whilst Billy Taylor also chipped in with an impressive 13 at 15.38. In fact, were it not for the rain, Hampshire would in all likelihood have won the competition, with Sean Ervine finding some late form. Meanwhile, in the four day game, Tahir especially was proving to be a real trump card, as opposition batsmen the land over were bamboozled by his vast array of mysterious deliveries. The Pakistani A leg spinner was definitely key to the revival in Hampshire’s fortunes. Meanwhile, sides continued to struggle with the impressive James Tomlinson, the young left arm seamer, who was consistent throughout the entire season and ended as the divisions top wicket taker, most impressive.

As per usual the main problem with Hampshire was the batting, although at the start of the season the bowling had looked to be the more pressing concern. In the Championship only Nic Pothas (53.5) and Michael Brown (40.86) managed to finish with respectable averages, whilst Michaels’ Lumb (32.72) and Carberry (28.60) continue to fail to transfer their fine limited overs returns into the Championship. John Crawley meanwhile appears to have seen his best days (27.73 from only 9 matches). Only Pothas (3) scored more than one hundred and he also registered the best score (137). Hampshire’s deep batting was once again their saving grace and it is clear where the Hawks need to improve in the future, especially as they mustered only 33 batting points (7th in the division), yet managed 47 bowling points (1st in the division).

The bowling figures do look a lot better for Hampshire, with Tahir (44 at 16.68), Tomlinson (67 at 24.76) and Mascarenhas (41 at 23.82) the stand out performers, though it is worth noting that Tremlett had a disappointing year (27 at 37.0), due to both injury and knock backs from Team England. Between them, Tahir (44) and Bond (19), compensated well for the absence of former captain Shane Warne, whilst Mascarenhas tried to continue the Warne tradition of attacking and playing to win. He was however overly cautious until the end of the season, the game against Lancashire at Old Trafford a prime example of how a crisis of confidence and a mentality of safety first had set in at the club after the poor first half of the season.

Player of the season:
It would be easy to point to Imran Tahir, as his arrival had such a massive impact, but without the ever dependable Nic Pothas, the county’s highest run scorer, and the consistent wicket taking ability of James Tomlinson, Hampshire would probably have been sunk before his arrival. Those two rightly share the award from this commentator.

Most disappointing player:
Greg Lamb. 8 wickets at 71.37 is awful for a spinner, a batting average of 20.92 is a poor average for an allrounder and it is no surprise that the club finally released him early, after he managed just 1 wicket at 102, from 17 overs, in the Pro40 and a 0 from his one innings. He was never going to be a replacement for Warne or Udal as a specialist bowler, but he can not even be called an allrounder unfortunately after this season.

Highlight: The dramatic low scoring victory over Durham which proved to be a key moment in the season following the victory over Yorkshire, with Sean Ervine crucially hitting 94 not out, as Hampshire recovered from being bowled out for 96 in the first innings and from having slumped to 77 for 5 in their second, to score a winning total of 240-8, beating eventual Championship winners Durham in the process by two wickets. Nail biting stuff.

Lowlight: Having to wait until mid-June for the first County Championship win, interestingly enough, it was also against Durham. It was probably the result of a loss of leadership, with Warne throwing in the towel just weeks before the start of the season and Mascarenhas gallivanting off to India to join him for a few weeks.

IX of the Season:

Carberry
Brown
Lumb
Benham
Ervine
Pothas (wk)
Dawson
Mascarenhas (c)
Tremlett
Tahir
Tomlinson

Team England; Consistently Confused

In what can only be described as a bizarre twenty-four hours, Darren Pattinson somehow found himself in the England Test starting XI on Friday of last week. From being consistently stupid to just plain stupid could be one way of describing the situation. Consistency had been the word of the moment whilst England were just about beating New Zealand in two series. Unfortunately consistency had nothing to do with those victories, the limited skill of the opposition played the major role. Whilst players like Paul Collingwood and Tim Ambrose were contributing nothing, they were nevertheless assured of their places and were it not for the return of Andrew Flintoff, Collingwood would undoubtedly still be playing today despite series averages of 32.83 (India (h)), 33.00(Sri Lanka (a)), 40.66 (New Zealand (a)), 10.66 (New Zealand (h)) and 7.00 (South Africa (h)) which is plainly not good enough (cumulative 30.71, HS 66). Michael Vaughan though tells us that the whole squad are disappointed that Collingwood is not in the XI, perhaps because they now fear for their own places given their own dwindling averages. Consistency must be applied, but needs to take into account form.

Nevertheless, the message of consistency indeed vanished for this particular test match, well for the bowlers anyway, but then that always seems to have been the case with the England side of late. Batsmen have all the time in the world, bowlers do not. Darren Pattinson was on Thursday afternoon called up as a replacement for James Anderson should he not be fit for the game. Chris Tremlett, who has been following both the Test and ODI squad around all summer, was already on standby in case Ryan Sidebottom came up short on Friday morning. Friday morning came and Anderson was fit, but Sidebottom was not, in you step… Darren! Utter madness! Whilst the Australian roof tiler, albeit raised for six years in England, has had a good county season with Nottinghamshire so far, he has played just 13 first class games and only 6 of them this season in England. He doesn’t even play his cricket at Headingley, the location of the second test.

I have no problem with the fact that he is a self-confessed Aussie through and through, but the usual pattern is that you are born abroad, move to England, confess your love for the motherland and qualify, rather than move away for two decades, immerse yourself in the culture of another country, then come back for a summer and strike lucky. That may sound harsh, but strike lucky is exactly what Pattinson has done. A quick glance at the first class bowling averages for this season will reveal that Matthew Hoggard (22 at 24.31), Simon Jones (32 at 16.03), Steve Harmison (40 at 23.10) and Jon Lewis (20 at 24.85) are right up there with England’s newest addition who has taken 29 at 20.86. These are proven international and domestic performers who for various reasons were sent back to county cricket to prove their fitness and their form. Not one of those can be accused of not having done that. All of the above, bar Harmison, are swing bowlers. Surely one of them should have been given the chance instead of Pattinson if swing was what England were truly after, rather than shock and awe. Even the likes of Sajid Mahmood, Liam Plunkett, Kabir Ali, and Tim Bresnan must be wondering what the hell is going on.

As for poor old Chris Tremlett, what can you say. If Anderson had been injured Pattinson would have played, if Sidebottom had been injured (which he was) Pattinson would have played. They were the two injury doubts from the end of the first test, so what was the point in dragging Tremlett around the country if he was never going to get a look in? I know that Moores as a Sussex man doesn’t like Hampshire but come on, the guy is missing out on form boosting cricket and is being consistently dealt mental setbacks! To make matters worse it was Morne Morkel, exactly the Tremlett type of bowler, who did best in this test match.

The batting woes were the most apparent problem however. Michael Vaughan has averaged 29.52 since the tour to Sri Lanka. His series averages are 35.83 (Sri Lanka (a)), 20.50 (New Zealand (a)), 50.00 (New Zealand (h)) and 11.00 (South Africa (h)). He is forever searching for form it seems and for every good series he has had recently he seems to have had two bad, which can not be sustained forever. His captaincy may be a major positive of his presence, but he needs to score the runs consistently as well. Alistair Cook seems to have forgotten what a hundred is meanwhile. The last four times that he has passed fifty he has been out before reaching 61. Given that he offered very little against the Australians last time round, England must be getting twitchy about how he will fair against them come this time next year. The current top three looks very samey and pretty weak. Tim Ambrose meanwhile is surely on the brink. It is quite comical to think that if you are out of form you should be stuck higher up the order, in a more pressurised position, against a newer ball. He has averaged just 18.78 in 9 test innings since making his maiden test hundred in his second test in New Zealand. His career average is 27.16 and falling after eleven test innings. Even worse, in ODI’s he has averaged 2.50 in five innings and one of those was a not out! Add in the fumbles and is this really the man to take England forward? You would have to say that England in attempting to find a balance between batting ability and keeping ability have found neither and indeed now have the worst of both worlds.

England’s problems are back to the fore it would seem and they need to act fast. If they are going to persist with a five man attack then quite simply Matt Prior has to play at number six. Otherwise the team looks unbalanced and bottom heavy. Only by playing four bowlers can England afford to play the best wicket keeper at number eight, which means either of Chris Read or James Foster. However, given Read’s little trip to the ICL over the close season I doubt India would welcome his inclusion come this winter’s tour. Foster seems to tick more of the boxes in terms of what England are looking for in their keeper, a batsman who can bat low down the order in limited overs cricket and a glove man who can snaffle all of the chances which come his way in test matches and who can offer a score with the bat. Prior on the other hand is not going to take all of those catches, but he will offer the chance to play five bowlers without embarrassment. What England need to decide is if they want less chances, but more takes, or more chances and less takes, I’m glad I don’t have to make that call.

Let’s end on a positive note however and the continued improvement of James Anderson in test match cricket. It will be Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom who will be jittery about the next England team selection, with support growing for Jones and Harmison, but given recent events anything could happen.

Time for Jones and Harmison?

As many had feared they would be in the first Test, England were comprehensively outplayed here. Once again, England avoided picking their strongest side. For those frustrated with the innate caution in their recent selection, the decision to select Darren Pattinson, out of nowhere, was utterly incongruous.

Pattinson did certainly not disgrace himself, and outbowled Stuart Broad. However, this will probably prove to be his sole Test, for he lacks pace, does too little with the ball and, while accurate, is not metronomic. England would have been better off selecting the in-form Simon Jones or Steve Harmison, both of whom have proved they possess the ability to get out the best batsmen, whilst Chris Tremlett, who performed so admirably against India last summer, must be bewildered as to why England seem so willing to pick him in squads, but so reluctant to pick him in the starting XI.

So the pressing question is: how can England take 20 South African wickets?
Andrew Flintoff should certainly help, and his parsimony with the ball allied to a good second- innings knock, were a reasonably satisfactory return. But, while he is probably amongst England's best four bowlers, the problem of where he should bat persists. Michael Vaughan says seven, with good reason: but Tim Ambrose is emphatically not a Test number six. The problem is compounded by Stuart Broad - while he soon could be, his bowling average after eight Tests is 49. For all his all-round promise, can England afford a man whose bowling is neither overly threatening nor consistently economical?

So the call must go out to Messrs Jones and Harmison. Jones has been back to near his best this campaign: his combination of speed and prodigious reverse swing cannot be ignored now he has gone a considerable way to allaying those inevitable fitness doubts. With Harmison, the problem has always perceived to be mental rather than physical. However, this may just be a case of journalistic over-simplification.

The disappointments of Harmison's performances over the last four years for England, with the odd exception, are well-known. Yet his failures have so often been characterised by a lack of preparation time - think of the South Africa tour in 2004/05; the '06/07 Ashes tour; and even his last Test match in New Zealand. He is a rhythmical bowler, and he has emphatically found that this season. He is the leading wicket-taker in the Championship, with 40 wickets, and has even proved frugal in limited-overs games and Twenty20. He appears confident in himself, having bowled impressively for several months. England cannot afford to ignore his pace, bounce and hostility any longer - especially in light of Morne Morkel's impressive showings - for all the fears over his waywardness.

There is also Ryan Sidebottom, England's best bowler in the last 12 months but seemingly a little jaded. Given his performances have been less impressive of late and he had to sit out the current Test through injury, England should not recall him before he produces some impressive displays for Notts.

The issue is further clouded by the fact none of Jones, Harmison, Anderson and Sidebottom are Test number eights - and are probably not even good nines - which is a major problem given the hopelessness of Monty Panesar's batting. Panesar has been disappointing this series, but England would be loathe to ditch the one clear superiority they enjoy over South Africa.

So there is much for England's selectors to consider in the bowling department. The picture is equally grim elsewhere, with the top three all provoking question marks - Strauss has scored two Test centuries in two years, both against New Zealand; Cook has scored one century in 27 innings and there are increasing doubts over his leaden-footed technique; whilst Vaughan has struggled against Dale Steyn and seems increasingly - and worryingly - vulnerable early on. Tim Ambrose, meanwhile, should be ditched now, especially if England wish to continue with five bowlers, as they probably should. Matt Prior, with reluctance given his keeping displays when in an England shirt, should be granted an extended run at number six.

All is not yet lost for England in this series. But the problems that have been apparent for some time have now come to a head. For six days solid, England have won barely a session - and it will take something special to stem the flow.

The England Diagnosis: Bowling and Fielding

What can England do from here? (Click here for the batting diagnosis)

Wicket-keeping
Matt Prior batted with gumption and no little skill in the series, making two excellent half-centuries. However, his keeping looks like it may never be good enough: he has now missed nine chances in 10 Tests, a success ratio of just 72%, around 10% worse than Geraint Jones. Add to this the problems caused by his positioning behind the stumps, leading the slips astray, and his failure to convince keeping to Monty Panesar and England have much to consider. They would have hoped for a 'keeper who could average close to 40 with the bat and keep to a competent level. Prior looks like he may be able to do the former but should probably be dropped for his keeping, as Simon Hughes has suggested. Who should replace him, if indeed he should be replaced? How long have have you got?

Fielding
England's fielding in this series was worse than for some time, with two of the side's best fielders, in Bell and Collingwood, disappointing in the slips, and few bright spots elsewhere. The importance of a reliable cordon is easy to forget; but England have lost Messrs Trescothick, Flintoff, Strauss and Giles, four excellent close fielders, without replacing them. The solution is not easy to find but, clearly, must work must be done on the close fielding before the New Zealand tour.

Bowling
England only bowled Sri Lanka out once in the series although, considering the shoddy catching and unhelpful conditions, there were mitigating circumstances. The biggest concern was Monty Panesar, who was a huge disappointment for the second consecutive series and may not be an automatic selection for much longer if Graeme Swann continues to excel in the limited-overs game.

Of the seamers, it may now be time to dispense with the perennially frustrating Test version of Jimmy Anderson, while Stuart Broad may is not quite be ready yet. Ryan Sidebottom should be dropped based on his series average of 63, but he was supremely unfortunate yet again and should be effective in New Zealand. Meanwhile, Matthew Hoggard confirmed he is England's most resourceful seamer with his supreme spell on the series' opening day, while Steve Harmison cut out the extras, proved his desire, and will almost certainly start the next Test. The man who deserves a recall is surely Chris Tremlett; though unimpressive with the white ball, he claimed 13 wickets at 29 against India and possesses tremendous bounce and good consistency.

What should England do from here?

Hampshire Player Ratings

Hampshire fan Mikey Strale continues our review of the county season by giving the side marks out of ten.

Final placings:
Championship Division One - 5th;
FP Trophy - Losing finalists
Twenty20Cup - 6th, South Division;
Pro40 Division One - 4th

Michael Carberry (9/10): Been one of the few positives this season in an opening partnership with Brown, Most hundreds in a season in his career and has performed well in OD Cricket as well, fine fielder and one of the most athletic players on the circuit, Looks to be at home at The Rose Bowl. (1067 FC runs, ave-50.80, 5 hundreds 3 fifities from 13 games. 345 LA runs with a S/R of 70.68)

Michael Brown (8):Been Solid in opening with Carbs, also passed a thousand runs with a match saving hundred as well as a fifty keeping the rampaging Otis Gibson at bat against Durham. Scored some crucial runs at the top order throughout the season. (1086 runs, ave-43.12, 3 100s, 5 50s.)

John Crawley (7):It's been a comparative down year for Creepy although he does finish as Hants' third highest run scorer, played some good OD Cricket however and was excellent in the field. Dropped down to 4 late in the season which seemed to help in the Championship, will be interesting to see where he bats next season. (866 FC runs, ave-39.36, 1 hundred, 5 fifities. OD-512 runs at 42.66)

Michael Lumb (6.5): An interesting season for Lumb, has done ok in the middle order but failed to score a FC hundred on the season despite multiple opportunities, was outstanding in Pro40 and OD Cricket in general. (775 FC runs, ave-31.00. 654 LA runs at av average of 38.47 with a S/R of 97.03) 6.5 out of 10

James Adams (7):After a poor start came back after a spell in the seconds in at number 3, i think he's shown he could be a long term successor to Crawley (As well as being groomed for captaincy) He's scored some good runs and shown more agressive flair since he came back in, featured sporadically in OD games but he was only filling in for Int'l players. (773 FC runs, ave-40.68. 3 wickets. 110 LA runs with 1 wickets)

Chris Benham (4): Hasn't performed at his best this season in the longer form but hit a great hundred in the Pro40, Hants will be looking for him to take the next step and get a Championship hundred next season as he's hugely talented. (312 FC runs, ave-22.18. 319 LA runs ave-26.58)

Nic Pothas (8): Solid as ever behind the stumps and some crucial runs with some good Not outs, poor run towards the climax as he was asked to take both gloves and captaincy with an injury to Warnie. (750 FC runs, ave-46.87, 42 dismissals. 374 LA runs. ave-37.30, 23 dismissals.)

Sean Ervine (7): Another interesting season that's been neither here or there, has done ok in both disciplines despite being expensive in the OD game, got some crucial runs in the P40 and scored a Championship hundred for the first time in 2 years as well, has had to fill in with a lot of bowling with key squad members away. (276 FC Runs, ave-34.50. 8 Wickets. 480 LA runs, 14 wickets)

Dimitri Mascarenhas (7.5):Did well with bat and ball before going off to play for England, fantastic to see him get a chance at last. Bowled well with Clark in the FP game against Surrey. (489 FC runs, ave-34.86. 15 Wickets. 227 LA runs, 9 wickets)

Liam Dawson (N/A):Young lad just starting out, won't analyse him but he's done well in both U19 international, 2nd XI and Local league cricket. Will get the chances next season, up to him to take them.

Shane Warne (8): Solid and has pulled out great performances, has had a few injury problems which has curtailed his season. Will be annoyed he's failed to win the Championship again and for the poor FP Final performance, has captained as well as he usually does, always looking for the win. (50 FC Wickets @ 29.58 and 364 runs. 21 LA wickets @ 26.38, e/r of 4.61)

James Bruce (7.5):Has worked endlessly all season, keeps on running it and has done well, Hasn't had a regular opening bowling partner but has picked up wickets and hasn't really gone for runs in FC of List A cricket... if he can just have someone to bowl with next season i can see him doing very well (39 FC Wickets @ 30.74. 11 LA Wickets)

Stuart Clark (8):Was outstanding in his short stint, hope we can find a way of him returning for a full season next year, great 6fa against Surrey in the FP first round. (24 FC wickets @ 25.08. 21 LA wickets @ 11.38, e/r of 3.65)

Daren Powell (7):Small locum role, was ok, disappointing in the FP final but did well overall, bowled quick... Good effort (15 FC wickets @ 22.68 and 13 LA Wickets @ 21.61)

Shaun Udal (7.5):In his retirement season he didwell when called upon but mainly nurtured Dawson in the 2nds, he will leave a great legacy in the young players and I'm sure he'll still be around the club next season in some role, Mr Hampshire Cricket, best of luck. (14 FC wickets @ 33.50, 13 LA wickets @ 34.68, e/r of 4.85)

Chris Tremlett (7):Didn't play much because of England duty but did well with ball as well as bat when he did, Looks a big 12 months for the big man as he will maybe become an England regular, first Hampshire born Hampshire player to play for England, fine effort. (15 FC wickets, 150 runs, 10 LA Wickets)

Others:
James Tomlinson (5):Struggled with injury, good to see him back.
Greg Lamb (4):Didn't see much of him, should get a new contract nonetheless.
David Balcombe (4):Young man making his way, performed well in the 2nds and been given a chance, good prospect.
David Griffiths (5):Promising bowler and handy lower order batsman, look for more from him next season.
Adam Voges (4):Did ok as a Twenty20 locum, One good innings and one good bowling performance.
Tom Burrows (5):Back up wickie, did well when called up at Kent, Pothas' long term successor
Billy Taylor (N/A):Only played in P40, reliable as ever, can see him moving on this winter.

If you're interested in writing a season review, or player ratings, for your county (we already have Glamorgan and Yorkshire ones in the pipeline), or writing on anything cricket-related please email cricketingworld@hotmail.com. Many thanks.

A job well done

England’s selectors are so often lambasted that it is only fair to give them credit after picking a Twenty20 World Cup squad bursting to the rim with specialists. Darren Maddy, Jeremy Snape and James Kirtley are each highly unlikely to play any more one-day internationals for England, but they are shrewd Twenty20 players, and will offer England much more than James Anderson, Ian Bell, Alastair Cook and Monty Panesar would in this form of the game. Chris Schofield and Luke Wright, meanwhile, will hope selection proves the springboard for other national honours.

The winning skipper on Twenty20 finals day, Rob Key, made an astute point when asking whether good Twenty20 Cup players had the necessary class to excel against the world’s best. However, the trio of Maddy, Snape and Kirtley have proved they are excellent players in this form of the game who, one would think, have the skills to do well internationally. The great gambles are Wright and the rejuvenated Schofield, two players selected solely on their performances in this season’s competition. Schofield, with 17 wickets at 8.82 (and an economy rate of just 6) is a worthy selection, especially given his ability to improvise with the bat in the final overs; Wright is perhaps a little luckier considering that, during his innings of 103 and 98 in this season’s competition, the highest calibre bowler he faced was Yasser Arafat.

Of those who did not make it, the unluckiest is surely Mal Loye, who has an outstanding Twenty20 record and played some exhilarating cameos in the CB Series; he would have been a fine replacement for Trescothick. Key and Mark Ramprakash have mixed big shots with nous, to great effect, in this form of the game and had merit over Wright and possibly Vkram Solanki, though he is a marvellous fielder, attractive batsman and worthy selection.

With the ball, England look to have got it just right. Their two spinners are better suited to this format than Monty Panesar, and are also very useful batsmen; the all-too-hittable James Anderson has surprisingly been omitted; and it is very hard to argue with the four seamers, with the inclusion of Chris Tremlett’s bounce and consistency a clear indicator he is part of Peter Moores’ long-term plans. Kirtley has bowled expertly at the death for Sussex this campaign, although forgotten man Jon Lewis, so impressive on finals day and with an exemplary ODI record, is hugely unfortunate to have been overlooked for both the Twenty20 and one-day squads.

Put simply, this is a very good squad which gives England the best possible chance of taking advantage of having played more domestic Twenty20 than anyone else, although the management’s lack of coherent thinking is impossible to ignore: the games against the West Indies would have been most useful for gauging the specialists' international suitability. The only real gripe, in fact, is that there is the faintest whiff of home bias on Moores’ part. Wright and Kirtley were borderline selections; but Matt Prior is undeserving of the wicket-keeping job ahead of Paul Nixon and Tim Ambrose.

My line-up (from the 15):
Maddy, Prior, Pietersen, Shah, Collingwood, Flintoff, Bopara, Schofield, Broad, Sidebottom and Tremlett with Solanki, Wright, Snape and Kirtley in reserve

Broad the best of England's young quicks

With Steve Harmison rated as "extremely doubtful" for the first Test by David Graveney, and Messrs Jones and Flintoff still far from consideration, England's pace-bowling resources, yet again, appear stretched, with only Matthew Hoggard a certainty for the next few Tests.

Ryan Sidebottom, who took 16 wickets at under 20 against the West Indies, should also be considered a definite pick - for now at least. Though some worry about his lack of pace – and, subsequently, lack of penetration on docile tracks – Sidebottom offers genuine variety, in that he is a left-armer, and, crucially, control. The Notts bowler surely deserves at least two Tests to prove he can be a threat against good batsmen on flat tracks.

James Anderson has been bowling a lot better in recent weeks (though he did go for 78 in the 2nd ODI against the West Indies) and was today named in the 13-man match squad. In the long-term, he should aim to be a Hoggard with extra pace – but he remains far too erratic. Although he has a strong case for selection, which will be boosted by his terrific bowling (6/79 in the match) during England’s win in India last year, Anderson does not offer anything greatly different to Hoggard and, equally significantly, would probably bat at 11.

The other man in the squad, Stuart Broad is just 21, but he has already impressed with his big-match temperament and penetrating bowling, as when taking 3/20 in the recent ODIs, even being compared, a little prematurely, to Glenn McGrath. He is a 6ft7 beanpole – so his enormous bounce offers a completely different threat – and bowled very well to take 5/76 against India for England Lions. Crucially, Broad has sufficient batting aptitude to bat at number eight, and has scored 50s against the last two English tourists. But, like so many young English bowlers, Broad can prove extremely expensive, and has an economy rate of 3.94 in the Championship this campaign.

Another huge bowler, Chris Tremlett, also played for England Lions against India, and had Sachin Tendulkar twice dropped. Tremlett has all the attributes to be an excellent quick, and a very good first-class record to boot, but he is perceived to have a lackadaisical attitude, and was poor in the CB Series. At 25, his time should be now, but he has only averaged 37 for Hampshire in the Championship this campaign and, though he averages almost 20 with the bat in his career, does not merit a Test debut.

Liam Plunkett played three Tests against the West Indies earlier in the summer and, though occasionally lethal when he gets it right (which he did in the CB Series), Plunkett is very erratic, often causing extras to be amongst the top scorers. At 22, the Durham quick should have a long international career ahead of him, but there are problems with his action (a victim of excess biomechanics) and England, thankfully, look to have realised he would be best served with a run in county cricket.

His Durham colleague Graham Onions has been talked of all season as a potential England bowler, but can prove horribly expensive and was dropped for the game at Surrey recently. However the pacey seamer is regarded as a wicket-taker and has a very aggressive approach, as he proved in taking three wickets against the Indian tourists.

A wildcard who could be considered is Sidebottom’s Nottinghamshire team-mate Charlie Shreck. A late developer, Shreck only made his county debut at 25 and is now 29, but, on form, deserves to be selected, having taken 40 Championship wickets at just 23 this season. He is no innocuous seamer, either; Shreck is 6ft7 and has an outstanding career strike-rate of 47. But, though he is experienced and in fantastic form, his status as the ultimate rabbit will probably preclude his selection

Verdict
It is not hard to notice the pattern here: there are a lot of young and promising bowlers who generate a good pace and are renowned as “wicket-takers”, but there is one central problem: they are all very expensive. Indeed, of those under 29, Anderson has the best economy rate this season, a not-so-miserly 3.32 in the Championship. England would probably be best served with someone who can both reduce the size of their tail and go some way to replacing Harmison’s pace, bounce and hostility to supplement Hoggard and Sidebottom in the attack. The best option, hence, appears Stuart Broad: young, aggressive and with a fearless temperament, he should make his Test debut on Thursday.

2007 Season Preview: Hampshire

2006 in a Nutshell:

While the 2006 season at the Rose Bowl can not be described as a failure, the dream which all at the club share, winning the County Championship, was not realised. However, a top three finish and an immediate return to the top division of domestic one day cricket were achievements which the club’s faifthful could be rightly proud of. There was though disappointment in the Twenty20 Cup for the second year running, with Hampshire seemingly failing to take the competition seriously, omitting key players from the side. Meanwhile, partly due to the questionable restructuring of the C&G Trophy and murky skies, Hampshire failed to defend their 2005 C&G title. The main failing at Hampshire in 2006 was the batting, as in 2005 and the club have again sort to improve the batting line-up for 2007. Without Chris Tremlett, who has been hampered by injury for the past two seasons, the bowling also lacked fire power, but the addition of Stuart Clark will undoubtedly have county batsman throughout the land quaking in their boots.

2007 Prospects:

Batting:

An area which has drastically improved over the past few seasons, Hampshire now have one of the finest batting line ups in England. The addition of Michael Lumb (who averaged 41.9 last season in the LVCC1) from Yorkshire has improved the middle order no end and he will come in for the outgoing Dominic Thornely, who failed to impress in the County Championship in 2006, with a meagre average of just 34.5. Last year saw the emergence of Jimmy Adams as a good first class opener and his opening partner, Michael Carberry, recently scored a hundred for England A in Bangladesh. John Crawley was the clubs’ stand-out player in 2006 and continues to be dependable at number three. With Kevin Pietersen a rare sight at the Rose Bowl these days, there is a real opportunity for Chris Benham to cement a place in the side. The youngster improved as 2006 progressed, coming to prominence during the club’s 20Twenty campaign and he was particuarly instrumental in the club’s promotion to Division One of the Pro40 competition.

Nic Pothas is always a man for a crisis and along with Crawley he is a key run-getter in the Hampshire side. He will though be looking to improve his one day form and his keeping consistancy in 2007. Sean Ervine was a huge disappointment in 2006, failing to live up to the huge promise that we had witnessed the previous year. A serious knee reconstruction in the close season did not help him, but his failure to score a century in either form all season was a real let down. Hawks’ fans will be hoping that he can rediscover his best form in the coming year. Dimi Mascarenhas was also somewhat of a disappointment in 2006 with the bat in first class cricket, though he picked up his form in the shorter format of the game. Other players who may get a look in this season include the enterprising young Mitchell Stokes and the very promising England U19 youngster, Kevin Latouf.

Bowling:

Hampshire finished last season with the highest number of bowling bonus points out of the 18 first class county sides. However, they did sometimes struggle to finish sides off and missing James Bruce and particularly Chris Tremlett for large chunks of the season, the seam attack often looked gentle and there was a heavy reliance placed upon the allrounders and spinners. The capture of Stuart Clark is a major coup for the club and prospect of Australia’s two finest bowlers during the Ashes bowling in tandom for the Hawks is a mouthwatering one to say the least. Clark impressed in 2005 during a short stint at Middlesex and the club will be hoping that with both he and Warne available for the whole season, the club will be able to capture the County Championship crown, which it so badly yearns for. When the bounce of Chris Tremlett, movement of James Bruce and wiley canniness of Shaun Udal is added in, the bowling looks well equipped to deal with most challenges in all forms of the game. Mascarenhas and Ervine will also play key roles, especially at the Rose Bowl and there will no doubt be a handful of appearances for local tree surgeon Billy Taylor and the emerging left armer, James Tomlinson.

Probable County Championship Team:

JHK Adams
M Carberry
J Crawley
M Lumb
C Benham
N Pothas (wk)
S Ervine
D Mascarenhas
S Warne (c)
C Tremlett
S Clark

Hampshire have a great shot at winning the County Championship and do have the squad power to challenge on all fronts. The focus is clearly on the longer version of the game though.

Key Man:

So many to choose from! It has to be Stuart Clark though. The bowling star of the Ashes will be relied upon by former team mate Shane Warne to lead this Hawks side to the County Championship title and I can not see any other result.

Rising star:

Chris Benham. He exploded on to the scene with a fine series of displays during the clubs traditionally brief 20Twenty Cup challenge. After that he broke into both the one day and first class sides and looked right at home. A naturally aggressive player, Benham is also capable of playing situations and has a solid technique. He has a superb pair of hands in the field and has already drawn high praise from his club captain after a winning knock against Glamorgan at the end of last season, which secured promotion back to Pro40 League One. He has the potential to go far.

Captain & Coach:

What more is there to say about the legend that is Shane Warne. His contract with Hampshire runs for a further two years and he intends to honour it, which is fantastic news for Hawks fans everywhere and the county game in general. Warne has a superb tactical nous and really lifts the other players’ performances through his mere presence. Now retired from the international game, Warne will be able to focus solely on Hampshire and his main ambition, which is to win the County Championship.

Coach Paul Terry shares a good camaraderie with the lads and he likes his side to go out and play aggressive and enterprising cricket, as displayed during the fabulous run chase at Headingly, when over four hundred runs were chased down on the final day to beat Yorkshire.

An exciting season lays ahead.

Chris Pallett

Foundation Building

Season Review: Hampshire

Hopes were high at the beginning of the season that Hampshire were about to mount their most serious title challenge in years. While the 2006 season can not be described as a failure, the dream which all at the club share, winning the County Championship, was not realised.

However, a top three finish and an immediate return to the top division of domestic one day cricket are achievements which the club can rightfully be proud of. One only has to look to Nottinghamshire to appreciate the achievement of finishing second and third in successive seasons. There was though disappointment in the Twenty20 Cup for the second year running, with Hampshire seemingly failing to take the competition seriously, omitting John Crawley and Sean Ervine entirely from the competition and resting Chris Tremlett at times, absences which were compounded by the imposed loss of Shane Warne. Meanwhile, partly due to the questionable restructuring of the C&G Trophy and murky skies, Hampshire failed to defend their 2005 C&G title.

The main failings at Hampshire this season were again to be found in the batting department in both forms of the game, with dramatic collapses at home to Sussex and Durham costing vital Championship points and diabolical batting performances against the likes of Somerset threatening to curtail the clubs promotion ambitions. Overseas import Dominic Thornely failed to perform to the required standard in the County Championship, averaging a mere 34.5 and only picking up form during the Pro40 campaign. Meanwhile, injuries to the talented Tremlett and emerging James Bruce contributed to the bowling attacks inability to finish teams off often enough during the second innings, most notably away to Nottinghamshire. Hampshire did though garnish the most bowling bonus points of all the teams in both divisions.

Warne bowled over after over, but was seemingly not always at his brilliant best, a busy International career perhaps beginning to catch up on Australia’s finest. Still, his sheer presence and commitment are invaluable to the Hawks’ cause and it is great news that the talismanic magician will be returning to the Rose Bowl next season. Meanwhile Shaun Udal appears now to be a one day specialist, playing a wholesome part in the team’s promotion back to Pro40 Division One, but contributing little else.

If looking for a star of the Hampshire season, one can look no further than the evergreen Crawley, who contributed a wonderful 1,737 runs to the County Championship cause at an average of 66.8. The statistics will tell you that Tremlett was the most effective Hampshire bowler, the fact that he was injured for half of the season will tell you why Hampshire failed to secure the crown they yearn for. Dimitri Mascarenhas deserves special praise for his performance with the ball, but his batting in the longer version of the game still continues to frustrate. It was Warne who topped the wicket taking charts and he was surely Hampshire’s bowler of the season, but the fact that he took only half of the wickets that Mushtaq Ahmed did is an indication of the decline of the Warne Googly.

During the course of the season Hawks fans were fortunate enough to witness the emergence of three extremely talented and promising youngsters in James Adams, Chris Benham and Bruce. Adams’ career best 168no in the brilliant run chase against Yorkshire at Headingley was the making of the opening batsman and his subsequent 262no against Nottinghamshire was a joy to behold. Meanwhile Benham came to prominence with some exciting stroke play in the Twenty20 Cup in the middle of the season, those performances earning him places in both the four day and one day sides. He gradually grew into the first class side with some confident innings and brilliant slip fielding. His 158 against Glamorgan in the Pro40 playoff earned high praise from the captain, who excitingly believes that the best is yet to come from his young sage. Bruce was a revelation with the ball early on in the season in the absence of Tremlett and although himself hampered by injury, he returned in the latter stages of the season with some promising one day performances.

Michael Carberry proved to be a solid signing for the Hawks securing the second opening batting slot alongside Adams and bringing energy to the sides fielding. There is unlikely to ever be a faster fielder than he. Carberry also brought much to the one day side with some aggressively powerful shot making. Nic Pothas was his dependable self with the bat in the longer format, often rescuing the side from a perilous position, but he was strangely out of sorts with the gloves on occasions. Meanwhile he lost his position high up the order in the one day side and was forced to settle for lower order cameos in the limited overs format. Mascarenhas was his lively self in the one day game but was solid rather than spectacular which helps to explain why the England selectors continue to overlook him. Unfortunately, Ervine failed to rediscover his late 2005 form with both the bat and the ball, failing to score a single century all season. One can only assume that a serious knee reconstruction in the close season impeded on a still very promising career.

The starting eleven at the Rose Bowl is now more than good enough to match any other in the country. The problem is keeping all the players fit and in form and this is a challenge which the management must overcome if the club is to finally capture the trophy it craves most. Seen as a season of building, the foundations are now in place for a serious challenge next year in all formats of the game. With the Rose Bowl beginning to settle down into a more trusted wicket, Hampshire have a great chance of winning the County Championship next season. With the addition of a quality overseas player in Stuart Clark and the developing Michael Lumb, the Hawks will put right the title hurt of 2005 and deliver more silverware to the Rod Bransgrove Trophy cabinet in 2007.

Player of the season: John Crawley - “Creep” was the foundation of the sides title push, providing ever-dependable cover at number three, gritting out crucial innings game after game and putting his body on the line at short leg. He is the lynchpin around which the side bats and he rarely lets his team mates down. He liked batting against Nottinghamshire, as his consecutive run of centuries showed. Overall, a class act.

High: Successfully chasing over 400 in 113 overs to win on the final day at Headingley against Yorkshire in the County Championship. James Adams’ brilliant 168no was the backbone of the innings and the making of him as a solid county opener. The re-promotion to Pro40 Division One was also an important triumph.

Low: Succumbing to Sussex and Durham at home in the County Championship, both inside three days, to lose touch with the Division’s front runners.

Chris Pallett

Plunkett proves his worth

England somehow managed to revive a seemingly doomed tour by winning four consecutive ODIs and, in the process, winning their first major foreign tournament for almost a decade. Here are ratings for all bowlers (and Jamie Dalrymple!) who took part in the CB Series.

James Anderson 8/10
Anderson only played in four games and one victory, but he bowled with sufficient vigour to guarantee a starting place in the World Cup. His fielding was also a bright spot throughout.

Jamie Dalrymple 4
Dalrymple left the series in a highly precarious position: as the sixth bowler and seventh batsman. He chipped in with a couple of useful contributions down the order, especially an 18-ball 30 against Australia in the group stages, but his bowling, previously so consistent, regressed alarmingly and he bowled an average of only 3.4 overs an innings – if he’s not a reliable fifth bowler, what is he? While his brilliant catch in the second final will long be remembered and he remains a combative cricketer, England look a much stronger side with another batsman in his place.

Jon Lewis 7
Lewis played four games and did a reasonable job throughout, scaring Australia in taking 4/35 on one occasion. His accuracy and skilled new-ball bowling will win him a place in the World Cup squad, but he will have to hope England opt for four seamers if he is to play.

Liam Plunkett 8
Went for five and a half an over; but he bowled a fantastic number of near-unplayable deliveries, twice ripping the heart out of the Australian top order with a three-wicket burst. He also batted with great effect at number nine, fielded well and is clearly resilient character and has overtaken Lewis is in the bowling pecking order.

Sajid Mahmood 5
Well, it could have been worse. Mahmood improved as the series progressed and developed a fine slower ball, but fundamentally lacks the necessary control and will be very lucky to go to the World Cup.

Monty Panesar 7
His stats didn’t quite do him justice, but Panesar bowled – and fielded - well throughout to make him an automatic one-day selection.

Chris Tremlett 2
Many were pleased at his call-up – but Tremlett showed too little aggression and spirit with the ball, while he fielded cumbersomely. Now goes right to the back of the fast-bowling queue.

Can Broad catapult himself into England’s World Cup squad?

Watching Sajid Mahmood’s haphazard bowling in Australia has been particularly galling because of the sense that England have better options they were stubbornly ignoring out of misplaced faith in Mahmood’s enigmatic qualities. Chief amongst these was Stuart Broad, the beanpole who has convinced so many sagacious observers of his qualities.

Broad is only 20; he has played 25 first-class games and taken 80 wickets at 30, yet already he is talked about as some sort of fast-bowling saviour. Reasons for this extend far beyond nostalgic reminiscing of his father’s heroics down under 20 years ago – when Stuart had just been born.

Broad junior boasts an easy, rhythmical action and has the ability to bowl in the high 80s. This, aided by his 6ft7in frame and increasing accuracy makes him a lethal prospect at his best – he has already been compared, albeit rather unfairly, with Glenn McGrath.

If the notion of a gigantic quick revitalising England’s fortunes has an air of déjà vu about it, it is because, a month ago, fans were hoping that Hampshire’s Chris Tremlett could transform his undoubted talent onto the international stage. But Tremlett, who at 25 should be nearing his peak, has a worrying tendency to lose his rhythm under pressure.

His body language is disconcerting: Tremlett too often lacks aggression while his lumbering fielding exerts all the wrong vibes. In short, he seems devoid of the necessary mental toughness and single-mindedness to transform his highly encouraging county form into the international game. With figures of 1-152 in the CB Series, Tremlett will have been shifted well done the pecking order; will Shane Warne’s presence at Hampshire help to ensure his qualities are not put to waste?

Broad, in stark contrast, is clearly so enthusiastic about the prospect of playing international cricket. Against Pakistan in September he played five ODIs and, though he appeared a little raw, was never overawed. Broad took five wickets and impressed with his attitude and character – only to be left out of the ICC Champions Trophy squad in favour of Sajid Mahmood.

So many players seem to treat international games with ambivalence. Broad, however, relishes the contest; upon being selected, he spoke of being “fully prepared and excited”. He also fits Duncan Fletcher’s idea of being a multi-dimensional cricketer: he possesses a solid technique and many shots, as he showed in scoring a classy 54* for England A against Pakistan last summer. Already, he has publicly talked of targeting the problematic number eight position in the Test team.

That’s the good news. The bad news is he is, it likely to be overlooked for Mahmood in the first final. This would be another disappointing selectorial decision: Broad has all the makings of an international player – a repeatable action, controlled aggression and enthusiasm – and he is patently a better option than both Mahmood and Tremlett for the Caribbean.

Can Vaughan help England avoid total humiliation?

England notoriously fare far worse in one-day cricket than in the Test arena. So, after their ignominious whitewash, what can we expect in the VB Series? England play eight games, plus a Twenty20 encounter with Australia. Their most pressing task is to avoid becoming the first English touring side in history not to win a single game. While they should certainly win at least one of their four matches with New Zealand, there is a palpable chance that they will not win even once against Australian opposition.

Michael Vaughan has been reappointed the skipper. While some have criticised the decision for bearing resemblance to the loyalty so prevalent in England’s negative team selection for the Ashes, Vaughan is an excellent skipper who England will need in the VB Series and World Cup. His record in ODI cricket is admittedly mediocre, but, with Marcus Trescothick absent, England are in need of an experienced opener. As with Andrew Flintoff, we are far from certain about his fitness but, from afar, it is hard to argue with the reinstatement of Vaughan to the role of captaincy.

England’s top six will remain the same as in the Ashes, apart from Vaughan replacing Alastair Cook, but their bottom five will be very different. Jamie Dalrymple, a feisty cricketer who has done well to date in ODIs, should offer some lower-order stability at number seven.

Chris Read kept superbly in the last two Tests but, given that he has only once passed four in his last eight international innings, I would advocate the selection of 36-year-old Paul Nixon. Nixon is an idiosyncratic and highly effective lower order batsman in ODIs, particularly adept at playing the reverse sweep, and appears a good interim option.

The departures of Messrs Harmison and Hoggard mean England’s seam bowling will have a completely different look to it. They will surely not risk Sajid Mahmood, whose lack of control is even more significant in the shorter format, while Liam Plunkett, whose one-day economy rate is almost 6, is not yet good enough. The selectors must regret selecting both ahead of Stuart Broad.

James Anderson, who is a better bowler in ODIs, deserves to keep his place in the side as the opening bowler. Jon Lewis has hardly put a foot wrong in recent months and can now prove his effectiveness on foreign shores. The uncharacteristic slow tracks expected in the Caribbean should also suit him.

The final spot, then, looks to be between Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett. Panesar could be very effective in the West Indies, while Tremlett is an exciting prospect who generates copious amounts of bounce with his height and pace.

The expectations of England’s performances have seldom been lower. If Vaughan is indeed fully fit, they may just cause the odd surprise, though reaching the VB Series final is probably beyond them, unless Pietersen and Flintoff hit top form simultaneously.

Time for a re-think

After yet another abject performance from the England One Day International team it is time for the England management to totally rethink their one day line-up and game plan before the 2007 World Cup.

England have looked absolutely clueless in eighty percent of their one day games over the last few years, clueless about their starting eleven, their batting order and the way in which to go about batting fifty overs and scoring a competitive total. They have then consistently failed to defend totals or confine the opposition to a gettable total when fielding.

First things first, the choice of Andrew Flintoff as captain over Andrew Strauss was the wrong one. Flintoff, having just returned from injury, should be searching for form and fitness and then focusing on batting, bowling and slip-catching. He should not also be thinking about captaining his side. Strauss meanwhile proved himself to be a very able captain during the summer, who was growing into the job and seamed to have more ideas than Flintoff.

As captain Flintoff creditably hauled his side to a draw in India, but his England side were also held at home by Sri Lanka, whilst Strauss managed a 3-0 quashing of Pakistan at home. In the one day arena Strauss got off to an uncomfortable start against a top one day outfit in Sri Lanka but then masterminded a resurgence against Pakistan without a number of key players including the talismanic Flintoff.

Strauss rose to the captaincy with his performances on the pitch and he has looked the most dependable in India so far, while Flintoff has failed to live up to his hefty reputation, which has perhaps become over-inflated since the latest Ashes series. In the last 21 ODIs, going back to the start of the NatWest Series against Bangladesh and Australia last year, Flintoff has averaged just 27.41 with the bat, scoring only two fifties in those 17 innings.

This is not the average of a number three batsman and certainly does not warrant his current reputation as a destructive one-day player in the vein of Mahendra Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist, or Kevin Pietersen. With his bowling, he is still of course a world class all rounder, but he should not be batting higher than five, whilst also doing three jobs, let alone four.

Andrew Strauss should be the captain in Michael Vaughan’s absence as he leads from the front with his performances and history shows that he raises his game when captain of both England and Middlesex.

Now to the composition of the team. Ian Bell has had a good year in the side and deserves to open alongside the destructive Marcus Trescothick who is England’s only destructive opener outside of Matt Prior and Mal Loye, one of whom should perhaps have been in India in Tresco’s absence. This opening partnership would provide England with a balanced left-hand, right-hand combination capable of taking on the world’s best bowling attacks.

At three would come Andrew Strauss, the captain, anchoring the team, looking to consolidate any early loss, or in the case of a good start to work the bowlers around outside the power plays. At four would come Kevin Pietersen, to work the spinners around and maybe hit some lusty blows in the middle overs.

Strauss and Pietersen would though be interchangeable so that if the run rate needed to be lifted Pietersen could be promoted. Fluid line-ups are a key component in one day cricket as India have notably shown with the successful fluid movement of their entire batting order over the last year.

At number five would come the second half man Paul Collingwood to ensure that England bat out their overs and also to manoeuvre the field to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Good middle over players who can rotate the strike are key in one day games and Strauss and Collingwood with the power of Pietersen are surely the men for the job, all good manoeuvres of the ball and players of spin.

At number six would come Andrew Flintoff, who again could be interchangeable with Collingwood if the situation demanded. With this ordering of the front six, the power players, Trescothick, Pietersen and Flintoff, would be dispersed throughout the order so that the touch players, Bell, Strauss and Collingwood, could build innings and tick over the middle overs ensuring that England are not bowled out cheaply by going too hard too early.

With this order Flintoff would hopefully be at the crease for the final fifteen overs which is where he is needed to attack. In the Australia match in the Champion’s Trophy the perils of bringing in all the power players too early and going too hard too early were plain for all to see.

Following Flintoff would come Jamie Dalrymple who has demonstrated that he is capable of unleashing in the latter stages. Proceeding Dalrymple would be the wicket keeper, a subject of keen scrutiny for all. The contenders for this position are Geraint Jones, Chris Read, Matt Prior and the long-term option, Steven Davies.

My personal choice would be Matt Prior who can be a destructive force in one day cricket. His wicket keeping is acceptable and he is still young; his averages are higher than those of his rivals. He has also not really had that much of a chance in an England shirt, having only played ODIs for England in Pakistan and India, where few England players performed.

This batting line-up and order would give England a solid platform with the ability to both consolidate and attack as required. Furthermore, Flintoff, Dalrymple and Prior could prove to be an effective lower order striking trio if used in the correct positions and game situations.

Next we have the remaining bowlers, none of whom you would want to see batting before the final five overs at worst. In the majority of cases where bowlers come in much earlier than the forty-fifth over in one day cricket the game is already lost. Therefore I do not subscribe to the theory of picking Michael Yardy over Monty Panesar.

Panesar has proven himself to be the best spinner in the country, capable of match-winning spells of spin bowling. Whilst Yardy was economical against Australia what was needed was an attacking spin bowler to compliment Dalrymple and take wickets. Monty is this man and would be my number eleven and I feel that he has probably lost out to Yardy on this occasion because of Flintoff’s current inability to bowl.

James Anderson has proven himself to be a very effective one day bowler throughout his career and covers most bases with his ability to swing the ball at the start of the innings negating the need to play Jon Lewis simply for his new-ball skills.

Andrew Flintoff is possibly the best fast bowler in the world and comfortably covers the hit the deck fast bowler base. That leaves Stephen Harmison, Simon Jones, Sajid Mahmood, Stuart Broad, Liam Plunkett, Chris Tremlett and Jon Lewis fighting for the final seam bowling spot, if fit.

My long-term pick would be Stuart Broad for his line and length bowling and ability to bat. At present though he is not ready and Chris Tremlett would be my man for the hard bouncy West Indian wickets. Mahmood unfortunately proves to be expensive far too often, although he is showing glimpses of potential once again.

Stephen Harmison is a real worry and has never taken to the white cricket ball, whilst he has also suffered a worrying loss of form in the longer format of the game as well. Meanwhile it is doubtful as to whether or not Jones and Plunkett will be fit for the World Cup.

In the event of a seamers’ wicket being served up Dalrymple could be sacrificed for either Jones or Mahmood. My ideal one day attack would therefore be Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Monty Panesar and Jamie Dalrymple / Simon Jones.

I have overlooked Ashley Giles as I believe that he should focus on being the second spinner in the test arena in order to prolong his career and also because at one day level Dalrymple can effectively do the same job as Gilo, in terms of being economical and scoring more runs. Dalrymple also offers a contrasting bowling style to Monty.

It is of course also doubtful as to whether Michael Vaughan should continue his uninspiring one day career to the detriment of his wonderful test career and hence he has also been overlooked.

Therefore when all are fit and available I would like to see England line up for the 2007 World Cup as so:

Marcus Trescothick
Ian Bell
Andrew Strauss (c)
Kevin Pietersen
Paul Collingwood
Andrew Flintoff
Jamie Dalrymple
Matthew Prior (wk)
Chris Tremlett
Monty Panesar
James Anderson

12th Man: Simon Jones

In the wings: Sajid Mahmood, Stuart Broad, Ed Joyce, Steven Davies.


Chris Pallett

Remember me?

With England currently experiencing an injury crisis like no other in recent years can the seemingly forgotten Chris Tremlett of Hampshire County Cricket Club shake off a string of injuries and stake a claim for a regular place in the England team?

Standing at 6foot 7inches tall, Tremlett has the ideal natural attributes for a fast bowler. Although not of the pace of Stephen Harmison, the son of Hampshire director and former county seamer Tim Tremlett and grandson of Somerset and England player Maurice Tremlett, shares much in common with the Durham pace bowler.

Like Harmison, Tremlett has the height and action to trouble the world’s best, but also like Harmison, his aggression levels are not always there, something which held Tremlett back until his breakthrough season in 2005 when he was thrust into the England One Day International side for the Natwest Series against both Australia and Bangladesh. In his three limited overs appearances thus far Tremlett has averaged 22.20 with the ball and has struck every 29.20 deliveries with an economy rate of 4.56. Such figures are incidentally almost identical to his figures in List A cricket.

Having joined a select few players in taking a wicket with his first ball on first class debut against New Zealand A in 2000, Tremlett ended with match figures of 4 for 16, most impressive indeed. He went on to gradually progress in Hampshire’s team and also through the England U19 ranks. Then in 2004, after a fruitful start to the season, Tremlett was named in the preliminary England squad for the ICC Champions Trophy on home soil.

Although he failed to make an appearance during England’s most successful One Day International campaign in recent years, he was at the beginning of 2005 named in the 25 man England development squad.

Given his chance against Bangladesh later that summer in the Natwest Series, Tremlett impressed and was famously denied a hat trick when bowling to Mohammad Ashraful. The perfect ball to an incoming batsman caught an inside edge and landed plum centre on the top of the bails above middle stump. The ball ricocheted off with the bails failing to be removed though. However Tremlett had done enough to suggest that he could go on to be an international bowler of some class and he was to play two more One Day Internationals against Australia and Bangladesh respectively until Simon Jones returned from injury to rightfully take his place in the Ashes winning side.

Having been named as 12th man for the first four Ashes encounters, when Jones was struck down by injury during the fourth Test at Trent Bridge it was somewhat ironic that James Anderson, a veteran of many a Test match as 12th man, to the detriment of his promising career, was called up in place of Tremlett to be considered along with Paul Collingwood for the deciding rubber.

Tremlett went on to finish the season with Hampshire playing a role in the C&G Trophy winning campaign and helping his county to second spot in the County Championship Division One, after a dubious arranged declaration from David Fulton’s Kent. Plagued by a slight discomfort throughout the backend of the season Tremlett did not enjoy the same kind of form as he had done at the start of the year though. Nevertheless his performances over the season were deemed promising enough by England’s selectors to merit a place in the squad to tour Pakistan during the winter.

Unfortunately for Tremlett though, the discomfort in his hamstring, which he had been taking cortisone injections to negate, turned out to be more serious than initially believed and he was ruled out of that tour to Pakistan as well as the later tour of India. Then at the start of the current domestic season Tremlett was again ruled out by yet further set backs in his recovery from surgery, crucially breaking down in the County Championship game against Sussex.

Only recently returned to full fitness, Tremlett is still finding his rhythm and form, having had some inconsistent spells of bowling since his comeback. He has still managed to average 25.53 with the ball though in the County Championship, taking 15 wickets with best figures of 4 for 43. Such figures compare with his career average of 26.40 and strike rate of 47.68. On his one appearance in the C&G Trophy against Ireland he returned figures of 1 for 39 from ten overs.

The Hampshire bowler has gradually been improving and now that the most un-fast bowler friendly game in cricket is over for Hampshire for another year, he can focus on his County Championship and Pro 40 performances over the coming weeks and months. If he can once again show his early season form of 2004 and 2005 then Chris Tremlett must surely travel to Australia in November to provide able cover for England’s injury prone bowling unit. If he is to break into the England team and sustain his place however, he will have to demonstrate more aggression when facing the opposition.

Whilst England’s bowlers continue to go round on the injury merry-go-round though, the latest victim being Liam Plunkett, it is encouraging to know that there are players out there of the ability of Chris Tremlett who are eagerly awaiting their next appearance for England. With the latest injury to the talismanic Freddie Flintoff set to rule him out of the current Test match series against Pakistan as well as the upcoming One Day Internationals and the experiments with Sajid Mahmood and Kabir Ali seemingly failed for the time being, Tremlett may yet get the chance to impress upon us all his undoubted ability to be a quality international bowler sooner rather than later, along with the returning James Anderson.

Chris Pallett

Is that the best you've got?

It is a sporting truism that it is the reserves that really define a side’s strength. With a depleted batting line-up, England passed with flying colours in India. And now, with Steve Harmison and Simon Jones, who both missed the last test in India, joined by automatic first reserve James Anderson on the sidelines, England are about to find out how good their bowling reserves are.

All the signs point to England fielding a bowling line-up of Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff, Liam Plunkett and either Sajod Mahmood or Jon Lewis for the first test against Sri Lanka. If the first two names are now established as England two most consistent bowlers (given Harmison’s post-2004 fall from grace and Jones’s constant injuries), then the latter three are a cause for desperate concern.

It is not exaggerating to suggest Mahmood is England’s eighth-choice seamer, with not only Hoggard, Harmison, Jones and Flintoff rated more highly, but also Anderson, Plunkett and quite possibly Chris Tremlett too. In case you are wondering why Tremlett is not in contention, you need not: he is currently injured with an ankle problem.

Yet what is so intriguing about England’s selection is that there is no doubt this is a side picked with the Ashes in mind. Jon Lewis is currently the most in-form seamer in the country, and his traditional ‘English-style’ swing may well cause Sri Lanka real problems in the ‘A’ game this week. But, his performances against Australia in the ODIs last year, combined with his age – 30 - make selection for the winter tour an impossibility.

As recently as 2003, England opted for a bowler similar in style to Lewis, in Surrey’s Martin Bicknell. Bicknell, 34 when selected, proved decisive as England gloriously leveled the series against South Africa at The Oval. So, what seems clear is the England selectors do not regard this series with the same degree of respect as against South Africa. After all, it’s Sri Lanka in May, so any old combination will do. Why not give youth a chance?

Yet, although two of the mainstays of Sri Lanka’s batting – Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Attapatu – are both out for reasons of retirement and recuperation, England’s task is not an easy one, given the paucity of their fast-bowling resources. The nightmare scenario for England, and certainly a conceivable one, is that Sri Lanka’s innings turn into a case of ‘Flintoff & Hoggard v Sri Lanka.’

However, for the optimists amongst you all, this series represents a great chance for Plunkett and Mahmood to vie for, possibly, a place on the Ashes tour.

Plunkett’s winter offerings certainly brought hope for the future, even if his bowling was at times a little wayward. The 21-year-old has clearly been identified by Duncan Fletcher as something special, and provides awkward pace and bounce, allied to a seemingly mature temperament. And, though he has played two tests, he remains a largely unknown quantity, which will make it all the more fascinating to see how he responds to the challenge of being third, rather than fourth, seamer.

The selection of Sajid Mahmood is so typical of Duncan Fletcher, in that he is someone who, statistically speaking, would never find himself into an England side. He is decidedly pacy, favours a full length and is also tall; equally, he is something of a loose cannon who went for 6.4 an over in the ODIs against India and was trusted with only six county championship games for Lancashire last season, in which he took a mere 11 wickets. Mahmood has long been touted as a future star – by Dennis Lillee amongst others – but, at 24, he is yet to even take 100 first-class wickets. If he is to become the player so many expect him too, now would be a good time to start.

The man who would surely be making his test debut, were it not for his ankle injury is Chris Tremlett. If the other two men could be classed as ‘tall’, Tremlett is close to ‘giant’ status, towering over his team-mates at 6ft 7in. Like Mahmood, he is 24, though his track-record sets him apart, Tremlett having taken 98 more wickets at an average of 26 as opposed to 31.

Given the bounce he generates, as well as his pace and penchant for explosive spells – such as taking a hat-trick to inspire Hampshire to a brilliant 14-run victory over Notts in the championship last year – Tremlett has every chance of going to Australia, where the fast-paced tracks would appear to be so much to his liking. But his injury-record is almost reminiscent of Simon Jones’s.

Another area Plunkett, Mahmood and Tremlett have in common – and this is surely no coincidence – is their competence with a bat in hand. All could already be considered better practitioners of the art of the art of batsmanship than Steve Harmison, Simon Jones, and Matthew Hoggard, for whom the skill should be named the art of blockmanship. Plunkett has already proved he has some batting aptitude at international level, striking 56 against Pakistan in a ODI, though his batting in India suggested such a knock may prove the exception. Tremlett, again, has the best average, although Mahmood has come within six runs of a century. If any were able to take their batting onto the next level, which may prove beyond them all, and elevate themselves to the status of potential test number 8s, their path into the side would certainly be eased.

All of which leaves James Anderson’s future in the melting pot. His batting has improved too, but Hoggard land is probably the best he can hope for with a bat in his hand, though his offside driving is occasionally very sweet. Despite performing superbly on his test return in India, displaying a new-found maturity and swinging the ball viciously at 85mph, Anderson’s lack of height compared to the others may ultimately count against him. But what is surprising is that Mahmood and Tremlett are still largely talked of as ‘prospects’, while the rejuvenated Anderson is still just 23.

There are others lurching in the selectors’ thoughts too, perhaps none more so than Stuart Broad, still 19, himself with aspirations of being a bowling all-rounder. Yet the four men in contention for the status of ‘first reserve’ know at least one of them is virtually guaranteed to play a significant part in the 2006/07 Ashes series: the odds against the ‘fab four’ each surviving the entire series free of injuries or collapses in form must be extremely high.

The Ashes will certainly dominate the selectors’ thoughts, though there is the small matter of revenge with Pakistan – and a meeting with Sri Lanka seemingly so disregarded it may as well be Bangladesh – before then, with England certain of not receiving anything like a gentle ride pre-Ashes.

The selectors’ have also pledged a policy of ‘rotation’ to keep players on their toes and prevent the burn out endured by Marcus Trescothick. This will surely be especially noticeable when it comes to the fast-bowlers. All four have their merits, though Plunkett and especially Mahmood should perhaps wait until 2007 for contention, at least in tests, when everyone is fit. Which is a pretty big ‘if.’ In the meantime, Anderson would seem the best candidate on purely bowling credentials, but it may not prove enough if Tremlett, seemingly the most-suited to Australian conditions, rediscovers form and fitness. England’s fast-bowling reserve cupboard is not exactly bear, but it is thin on experience and still has much maturing to do.