2009 county preview: Nottinghamshire

It's April - which means it must be Third Umpire season preview time. Here is an assessment of Nottinghamshire's chances in 2009. And to get involved in the season previews just post if you already have an account or email cricketingworld@hotmail.com

2008 in a Nutshell:
The new regime under Chris Read got off to an impressive start, with Nottinghamshire in contention for the Pro40 and the County Championship come September. Although they ultimately failed to claim either title, the Nottinghamshire team looked strong, especially with a bowling attack that was one of the most penetrating in the country.

2009 Prospects:
Nottinghamshire will continue in their endeavours to claim a first one-day trophy since 1989 this year, and the addition of the experienced and aggressive Alistair Brown may help to fill the void left by Jason Gallian when he departed a few years ago. Much of Nottinghamshire’s hopes may rest on how many of their side are away on international duty, with Graeme Swann, Samit Patel, Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad all likely to feature in English sides this year.

Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell and Captain Chris Read are overall very confident that the team can challenge for honours in the coming season.

Batting:
Nottinghamshire’s batting was undoubtedly the weakest part of the team last year, with many miserable performances from the batsmen being rescued only by the sterling efforts of the bowlers. Nottinghamshire will be looking for big seasons from middle order stalwarts Samit Patel and Mark Wagh, although the former may once again be lost to the England side, a scenario which looks especially likely given his recent inclusion in the 30 man provisional squad for the World Twenty20 in June. Overseas player Adam Voges will be looking to turn last year’s promise into this year’s runs, although Nottinghamshire will be worried that too many good performances may push him into the Australian one-day side. The opening spots and the number 6 position are still effectively vacant; however Bilal Shafayat is likely to feature in some shape or form after some impressive performances last year. Will Jefferson will also be key; the ex-Essex giant is quite formidable once he gets going. Unfortunately for Jefferson, his performances last year were a lot short of what he would have been hoping for. Mathew Wood still needs to convince that he can cope at the top of the county game, and Alistair Brown needs to carry forward some impressive form from the recent warm up games. Youngster Alex Hales still needs to convert the potential into performance, but the promising start to pre-season practice suggests that his personality has matured sufficiently to turn his undoubted promise into consistent runs. Nottinghamshire also have a richness of all-rounders, with Paul Franks, Mark Ealham, Andre Adams and Luke Fletcher more than capable with the Bat.

Bowling:
Nottinghamshire’s bowling was their strongest suit last year, with Charlie Shreck, Darren Pattinson and Andre Adams all turning in a number of excellent performances with some penetrating pace bowling. Shreck was the only seamer to pass 50 wickets last year, but Pattinson almost certainly would, as he finshed on 47, despite missing a game for his unexpected (but not unmerited) England call-up. Andre Adams, despite being a latecomer as he was introduced as cover for Stuart Broad, put in such a stream of impressive performances that he finished with 31 wickets at a phenomenal average of 19.16. Nottinghamshire’s spinners also performed well in all forms; Graeme Swann was dependable, if not sensational in the 4 day game, but both he and Samit Patel were excellent in one-day cricket, putting in excellent performances throughout and almost propelling Nottinghamshire to the Pro40 title until Murray Goodwin and Mo Sami ruined that particular dream. Young bowlers and new recruits like Luke Fletcher and trialist Kyle Hodnett will be looking for first team action in the next year, as will Ryan Sidebottom, who will want to use good county cricket to regain fitness and form, and reacquire his England place. Experienced spinner Jason Brown has also joined, from Northants, and he will be likely to play a similar role to that which Robert Ferley has done for the last few seasons, providing cover for Graeme Swann.

Probable side:
Championship
Jefferson (Wood)
Shafayat (Hales)
Wagh
Patel
Voges
A. Brown
Read (wk/c)
Swann (J. Brown)
Adams (Broad)
Pattinson
Shreck (Sidebottom)

One-day
A. Brown
Jefferson
Wagh
Patel
Voges
Shafayat (Hales)
Read (wk/c)
Swann
Adams/Ealham
Pattinson/Fletcher
Shreck (Sidebottom)

Twenty20
A. Brown
Voges (If Swann unavailable)
Wagh
Patel
Shafayat/Voges
Read (wk)
Jefferson
Ealham
Adams
Sidebottom/Pattinson
Shreck/Pattinson

The pace trio of Sidebottom, Shreck and Pattinson will likely interchange throughout the season as Mick Newell looks to rest his key men. In most games, two of these three will play, as well as one of either Adams or Ealham

Key Man:
Batsman Mark Wagh was the only Nottinghamshire batsman to pass 1000 championship runs last season, and his top-order runs will be vital once again if Notts are going to mount a serious challenge for trophies.

Rising Star:
Young Batsman Alex Hales is being touted for big things, but he has to turn promising starts for the Second XI into big hundreds to secure a place in the First XI. His pre-season has been good, and he recorded an excellent 141 in a warm up game

Captain and Coach:
Chris Read will be looking to build on last season’s foundations by pushing for a trophy, although he will be hoping that the burden of captaincy has less effect on his batting and wicketkeeping than it did last year. The Nottinghamshire coaching team have a good mix of experience and new ideas, and Steve Pick, the new bowling coach, has experience with the England under-19s

2008 Season Review: Nottinghamshire

Continuing our season reviews, 'OBR and the Nottinghamshire 606ers' offers an assesment of Nottinghamshire's season.

Final placings:
Championship Division One – 2nd;
FP Trophy – 2nd, Midlands Division (Beaten Quarter Finalists to Durham); Twenty20 Cup – 4th, North Division; Pro40 Division One - 4th
All stats are CC (unless otherwise stated)

Following on from promotion from Division two last season, once again Nottinghamshire’s season was a rollercoaster of joy, to despair, back to joy and more often then not ending up in despair. Thoughts at the start of the season were ones of how to avoid a struggle at the bottom of the County Championship and hopefully sneak some silverware in the one day competitions. In the end thoughts were one of ‘If only’ with Championship and Pro40 titles slipping away on the last day of each competition.

There were many changes towards the start with captain fantastic, Fleming moving on and David Hussey not sure how much cricket he would play for Notts, if any at all. The batting was strengthened with Matthew Wood coming in after being released from Somerset. The bowling department was also strengthened with the Stuart Broad coming in from Leicestershire, Darren Pattinson (more about him later) coming in after a recommendation from David Hussey and after a few games. Ex-Overseas player Andre Adams also came in, on a Kolpak agreement, as cover for Broad and Sidebottom, who were to be regulars in the England team. Once Hussey had made it clear that he would not play any cricket for Notts till at least July, Notts quickly moved to bring in Adam Voges and then when he made it even clearer that he would play no part at all, Ashwell Prince, came in as a replacement from Voges, who had to return to Oz in July. Chris Read took the captain’s armband with Fleming moving on.

So Notts went to Kent for the first game of the County Championship season without Broad and Sidebottom, who had been told to rest after a long hard winter (Cough!). With this in mind, many fans were just willing Notts to get up to the magical total of 155 points to avoid relegation and kick on in 2009. OK maybe that was just me but one or two other people agreed with me (I think!). But after 53.4 overs Kent were dismissed for 162 and fans everywhere were punching ‘Darren Pattinson’ in various search engines on the web to find out exactly who he was. He ended the game with figures of 36-15-85-8 and Mick Newell had unearthed a new bowling genius to add to the already cupboard stocked full of bowling geniuses. Notts finished the game with 22 points and but for rear guard actions from Key and Mahmood in each innings, Notts would have finished the game well inside 2 days.

After this game things stuttered along a little with a draw at The Parks, a win in Dublin in the FPT, an abandonment at Egbaston in the FPT, a draw at Headingley (when Notts were well on top). A D/L win against Northants was followed up by revenge for Kent at Trent Bridge. Whoever let Broad and Sidebottom play wants a stern talking to!

The first month provided an accurate pre-cursor as to how the season would pan out. A great start but a disappointing end, with the bowling being great but the batting was sadly not up to scratch.

As the season progressed the Notts fans were soon questioning the ability of openers Jefferson and Wood to provide a stable base from which to score big runs. The running joke being that Notts were starting their innings a wicket or two down, before they crossed to rope. Jefferson finished the CC season with 442 runs @ 22.10 and Wood 539 @ 26.95. Both players didn’t managed a century and both obtained a top score of 98. It was only when Shafayat (541 runs @ 41.61) came in for Wood at the top of the order did Notts get a substantial opening partnership, 157 against Sussex at Hove and that was late August!

Behind the top, two Mark Wagh proved to be Mr Consistency by eight fifties and getting past the one hundred mark twice. He ended the season with 1033 runs @ 46.95. Samit Patel didn’t quite make the 1000 run mark but ended strongly with scores of 135, 70 and 77 to end the season with 977 runs @ 51.42. Then came the Swann, Read, Ealham middle order that was either saving an innings or throwing it away. They ended up with 525 runs @ 37.50, 726 runs @ 45.37 and 329 runs @ 20.56 respectively. The two interesting things from these three is Ealham started the season with a 130* at Kent and then amassed 199 runs in the CC after that and Read’s ave was boosted by 5 NotOuts but his batting was sadly affected by the captaincy. The only two other notable contributors to the scorebook in the CC were our two Overseas players who managed 627 runs @ 36.88 and Prince 123 runs @ 30.75. This disappointing return from Voges and Prince along with Jefferson and Wood’s ‘contribution’ of 5 fifties and zero centuries, lead, in no small part, to Notts finishing second in the County Championship. As opposed to top where at one point they looked like finish.

The theme of starting well and finishing up poorly continued in the Friends Provident Trophy, Twenty20 and especially the Pro40. In the FPT we managed to finish second behind Leicestershire and then went out in a nail-biter to Durham at the Riverside, where the batting, Samit’s run a ball 114 apart, failed but Durham struggled to a win by one wicket, with Samit also picking up three wickets and the MOM award. The Twenty20 record after 6 games was W,W,L,D,W,W the next four had a consistent look about it L,L,L,L. Notts were then thrown a lifeline when Yorks fielded an ineligible player at Trent Bridge, in the decider and Notts were given the points to take them through to the Knockout stage.

That lifeline was rapidly taken away by the ECB as it somehow transpired that Notts shouldn’t be given the game points but Yorkshire should have their points taken away. This meant Glamorgan would go through to the Knockout stages after crying like babies. Strange that Glamorgan profited from this decision after the other remarkable decision of being granted the first Ashes test on an untried ground. Anyone would think that the ex-head of the ECB was Welsh or something. As for the Pro40 outings Notts won 3 from the first four games and one of the next 4, we all know what happened in the decider at Trent Bridge on Sunday the 14th September. I blame my brother who with Sussex needed loads off not many proclaimed that Notts had won and we could all go home. Murray Goodwin must have heard his big mouth and tried to ram the last ball down his throat on the middle deck of the Radcliffe Road.

In the end, as we all know, Notts threw away a great chance of sealing the CC total to make up for the Pro40 by collapsing in their first innings against Hants when they had them for the taking and the title went to Durham with their mix of imports and local stars.

I always like to end on a positive note so here it is; the bowling, Sussex game apart the seam attack of Shreck, Pattinson, Adams and Ealham was superb throughout the whole season. In the CC they ended up with 58, 47, 31 and 30 wickets each. Averages were 28.67, 24.65, 19.16 and a poor by Ealham’s high standards 29.56. They were backed up by the spin twins of Swann and Patel 32 wickets @ 27.03 and 12 wickets @ 37.91. Samit did manage to take 26 wickets @ 15.73 in List A games which catapulted him into the England ODI side and potentially on the biggest pay day of his career in the WI in November.

The 'Roof Tiler from Grimsby' as he was dubbed by the red tops was also selected to play for England in the Test at Headingley, leap-frogging the likes of Tremlett and Hoggard much to the dislike of 99.9% of the cricketing fraternity. He didn’t bowl too badly against SA, they just completely outplayed England but it would appear that Pattinson was made scapegoat for the defeat and would never darken the England dressing room door again. As I type he is on Cricinfo as saying he wouldn’t have picked himself. The point being that he didn’t pick himself the England selectors did and he was hardly going to turn them down was he now! It was only in the last game of the season did Pattinson and his seam/spin colleagues look weary. As much as our batting was fragile the bowling sextet always seem to pick up wickets early on and at the right times.

Overall 8/10

Player of the season:
Notts say it is Charlie Shreck and they are about right but not far behind him are Samit Patel and Mark Wagh from the batsmen and Pattinson, Adams and Swann from the bowlers. All the other players are far far behind and I include Read in this due to his poor batting and keeping at times. Hopefully the captaincy doesn’t affect him as much next season.

Most disappointing player:
Lots to choose from here Jefferson, Wood, Voges, Prince, Franks (a CC bowling ave of 50+!), Ealham’s batting post Kent,

Highlight:
The start at Kent, the last ball win against Leics in the FPT, the stuffing of Surrey, Samit’s innings in the same game, Samit’s allround play against Durham in the FPT Quarter Final. All things considered 2nd in the CC when we were playing Div2 cricket last season is a great achievement. Fletcher, Saleby and Hales all playing for England U19 in the same game.

Lowlight:
Oh where to start. Obviously Sussex in the Pro40 and Hants in the final CC game, Yorks, Lancs and Durham all at home and all on Sky. Four home Sky games and four defeats. Jefferson and Wood’s batting. The Overseas contribution, we expect them to score big and they didn’t. Newell’s inability to bring youth into the equation. The ECB T20 debacle, I know we didn’t deserve to go through but don’t tell us we are through and then listen to whinging Welsh people who claim to be sooooo hard done to.

If you're interested in writing a season review for your county, please email it cricketingworld@hotmail.com

Ambrose and Collingwood: why they have to go

It sounds more than a little callous, but for England's long-term development it is excellent news that the 'right men' failed today. Lavish praise is merited for Kevin Pietersen's exhilarating 152; Ian Bell's 199 - the innings that showed him as the classy, technically proficient and aesthetically-pleasing batsman we all know exists, but, unlike on so many other occasions, able to dominate an innings; and Stuart Broad's wonderfully mature 76, indicative of a man who may soon be a viable option at number seven. However, the twin failures for the two most vulnerable members of the side helped to clarify England's selection issues if, as expected, Andrew Flintoff returns for the second Test.

Paul Collingwood has looked desperately out-of-form in the Test side for some time, for all his scrapping qualities: he has averaged 33, 33, 41 and 11 and in his last four series. Whatever the evidence of a double-hundred against Australia, ultimately Collingwood may lack the technique to be a long-term success at Test level. Recently, he has not just failed but - in stark contrast to Bell's typically classy, but too often brief, knocks - appeared out of his depth, lacking the confidence to attack or even defend with authority, his innings characterised by a certain timidity. Even in CC cricket, he has been desperately short of runs. At 32, and with a pressing need for a shoulder operation, this could conceivably be his final Test. That would be a great shame for such a tenacious player, but his shortcomings have been painfully exposed of late.

Tim Ambrose barely had time to celebrate his superb, counter-attacking hundred in his second Test before the murmurings over his place began to appear. An inevitability of being any English keeper in the post-Stewart era? Perhaps. But, though this is only his seventh Test, the time is right to dispense with him: not only is he low on confidence but his batting technique seems fundamentally not up to the challenges of international cricket. His technique is fragile when denied the opportunity to feed his cut shot, as international bowlers have realised since his Test century: repeatedly, he has been dismissed playing half-heartedly, often with a closed face, to balls outside off-stump. In 12 international innings since that century, he has passed 11 only twice and 31 once - and even that when New Zealand's bowling was extremely loose. Add in the cracks that emerged in his keeping in the ODIs and it seems that Ambrose is the worst of both worlds. If you want someone who can score heavily for England, pick Matt Prior; if you want someone who can snaffle virtually every chance pick Chris Read or James Foster.


So a balanced side England could look to develop prior to first Ashes Test next summer is:
Strauss
Cook
Vaughan
Pietersen
Bell
Prior
Flintoff
Broad
Sidebottom
Jones
Panesar

How do you solve a problem like Matt Prior?

Regular readers will be aware of my interest in wicket keeping and my preference for “real” wicket keepers. However, with the effect that Alec Stewart and particularly Adam Gilchrist had on the position, being just a wicket-keeper is no longer good enough. Righly or wrongly, a keeper needs to be selected on the basis of his batting skills more than his keeping skills, otherwise Chris Read would have been the England keeper for the past 5-6 years.

The current group of wicket-keepers vying for places in the England test team range from the pure wicket-keeping, unorthodox batting of Chris Read to the poor wicket keeping but fine batting of Matt Prior with current incumbent Tim Ambrose and James Foster in between (Phil Mustard has been deliberately omitted as neither his matting nor his keeping are adequate for test cricket). This situation is reminiscent of the early 1990s, and the start of the career of England’s archetypal batsman-wicket keeper: Alec Stewart.

Stewart started out as a batsman in 1990 before replacing the specialist wicket keeper, Jack Russell, during the Ashes series of 1991 as England looked for a better balance to the team. This was in the days of Phil Defreitas and Chris Lewis as the England all rounder, who were essentially bowlers who could bat, so the need for an extra bowler or batsman was critical. The next few series then took a familiar pattern. Russell would start as the wicket keeper, with Stewart opening the batting. However, as the results became disappointing, Stewart would be moved to keep wicket to draft in an extra batsman or bowler. As Stewart’s wicket keeping improved, he spent more time as keeper, playing 82 of his 133 tests behind the stumps. This was also to the detriment of his batting average, which was 46.7 as a batsman, but only 35 when keeping wicket.

Despite these movements in his position, Stewart’s position in the team was never in doubt. He was one of England’s premier batsmen and the wicket keeping was good enough (and improving) while never in the same class as Russell. Indeed, he finished the 1990s as the top scorer in test cricket for the decade, taking over as captain of the side in 1998 with a series victory over South Africa, up to the disappointing World Cup in 1999.

So how does this help us with the England wicket keeping position? The closest that England have to Stewart is Matt Prior. Prior averages over 40 in test cricket and during his last series, away to Sri Lanka finished third in the England batting averages, behind Ian Bell and Ali Cook. The series saw a maturity in his batting, which had been previously reliant on scoring quickly. He scored 19 off 100 balls in saving the 3rd test, while he scored half-centuries during the first two tests, the second being a fine example of marshalling the tail. Despite Tim Ambrose’s fine century in the second test in New Zealand, it is difficult to imagine him playing such an innings for England in such circumstances.

Prior has started the season in blistering form. He is averaging 67 in the championship, in a Sussex team where Murray Goodwin is the only other player to average above 40 and has failed to reach fifty just once. With a test average above 40 (and 5 runs better than Stewart’s as a wicket keeper), he is clearly good enough to play for England as a specialist batsman. As with Stewart, once he is ensconced into the team, his presence will give the selectors the option of using his wicket keeping skills, and he will have the confidence to know that he is being judged mainly on his batting, with the keeping allowing other options in the team selection. He would need to improve his keeping, but the knowledge that this is not the be all and end all of his game should allow him to relax into his role

Alec Stewart was not a great wicket keeper, particularly standing up. He was however, a more than adequate keeper and one of the best batsmen in world cricket. Matt Prior could be the heir to Stewart in more ways than one.

Championship - Week 3

More damp weather meant just the one positive result this week. However, it was a good week for England wicket-keepers past and present.

Div 1
Starting at Headingley where despite the overcast conditions, Darren Gough decided that Yorkshire should bat first against Nottinghamshire. Scoring was slow and Ryan Sidebottom started with a run of seven maidens, although no wickets. A century from Jacques Rudolph helped to rescue the Yorkshire innings from 111 for 5 to 299 all out. The Notts innings followed a similar path and they looked to be in trouble at 115 for 5. However, a stands of 136 between Chris Read (142) and Graeme Swann (68) and 113 between Read and Stuart Broad (53) took Notts past 400 and meant that Yorkshire had to bat out 69 overs for a draw, which they managed with 2 wickets to spare, making 187 for 8. Notts take all of the credit though.

Rain meant that the game at Hove turned into a battle for bonus points, with Sussex making 475. Carl Hopkinson fell 3 runs short of his century, with Murray Goodwin going one run better with 98. In reply Surrey declared on 400 for 5 (century 99 for Mark Ramprakash). Sussex made 13 in 13 overs in their second innings against the testing bowling of Usman Afzaal and Ali Brown as the game petered out.

Div 2
Glamorgan batted first against Gloucestershire, scoring 277. Gloucester then declared on 141 for 4 in an effort to set up a positive result. Some declaration bowling took Glamorgan to 178 for 1 leaving Gloucester a challenging 315 to win. Gloucester lost their first 5 wickets for just 76 runs. A stand of 114 between Hamish Marshall (105) and Stephen Snell (53) gave some hope of securing a draw. However, the veterans of the Glamorgan team, Robert Croft and Jason Gillespie broke through and took the last five wickets for just ten runs and Glamorgan have as many victories in this season’s championship as they managed last time round.

Warwickshire were indebted to two stands of over 150 in their total of 433 for 8 with Tim Ambrose (156*) and Jonathan Trott (82) putting on 152 for the 5th wicket and Ambrose and Neil Carter (84) putting on 157 for the 8th wicket. In reply Leicestershire had a large stand of their own, with Matthew Boyce (106) and HD Ackerman (104) putting on 182 for the second wicket. However, from that promising position, Leicester fell away to 357 all out, with Ian Salisbury taking five wickets. Unfortunately the weather meant that the second innings wasn’t started.

Finally to Northampton, where Northamptonshire capitulated to just 168 all out having decided to bat first. The pitch then seemed to even out somewhat as Worcestershire declared on 400 for 8, with Stephen Moore continuing his fine start to the season with 109. Needing 233 to make Worcester bat again, Nicky Boje set about trying to get the runs on his own, scoring an unbeaten 226. he had plenty of support though, and the game closed with Northants on 514 for 5.

England Player watch
Michael Vaughan wouldn’t have enjoyed Darren Gough’s decision to bat first on a damp Headingley pitch, but his battling 42 and 34 show that he’s in reasonable nick, particularly as the Notts bowling attack is substantially more threatening than the Kiwi attack. Ian Bell scored 45 for Warwickshire, while Matt Prior scored 51, which is his lowest first class score of the season. Prior was outshone by his successor, as Tim Ambrose scored an unbeaten 156, and one of his predecessors as Chris Read hit 142.

For Notts, in the first innings Ryan Sidebottom was very tight, starting with seven consecutive maidens but wicketless, while Stuart Broad was more expensive, but took three wickets, including Vaughan. Both took wickets in the second innings, while their likely partner in the England team, Matthew Hoggard took two wickets in the Notts innings, but also started with four consecutive maidens. Monty Panesar went wicketless for Northants.

Player of the Week
Nicky Boje has had a good couple of weeks for Northants. However, the stars of the show this week were both wicketkeepers. Tim Ambrose is almost certain to be in the test team next week and in good form. However, for taking Notts from a position of potential defeat to a position of strength and almost forcing an unlikely victory, the player of the week is the man who should have been the England wicketkeeper since Alec Stewart retired, Chris Read

2008 Season Preview: Nottinghamshire

Continuing our series of county previews, here is an assessment of Nottinghamshire's chances in 2008.

2007 in a Nutshell:
A more than satisfactory season given a lengthy spell where 6 seamers were injured, leaving Notts scraping around other counties for stand ins. Without all the injuries, a title might have been possible, but promotion was more than acceptable. Key performances were from David Hussey and Stephen Fleming (second half of the season), with Samit Patel finally forcing a regular place in the side after some consistently high scores in the seconds. In the bowling department, Ryan Sidebottom proved what Notts fans already knew, that he would do a sterling job for England and he was ably backed by Charlie Shreck. Perhaps one of the more unexpected successes was Mark Wagh, who was expected by many to simply be a filler, but turned out to be a consistently high performer.

2008 Prospects:
Whilst Notts knew that they would be without Ryan Sidebottom for most of the season, few expected Stuart Broad, our new signing, to be selected as a regular too at such short notice prior to the start of the new season. This left Notts with only really Charlie Shreck as a key wicket taker, putting them in a precarious position. The signing of Darren Pattinson just a few weeks before the start of the season has given fans hope that we may survive in the top division, though he is a bit of an unknown quantity. As a swing bowler he may well have some success in our cloudy country. With David Hussey joining the controversial IPL and being selected by the Aussies, it looks at though Notts overseas player for the year will be Adam Voges, who looks a useful signing. Whilst new Notts Captain Chris Read has stated that they will be chasing a title, I think Notts fans would be satisfied with a mid table position this year.

Batting:
For a few seasons now, one of Notts problems has been the lack of consistency of the opening batsman, often leaving the likes of Pietersen and Hussey to bail us out lower down the order. After the popular Darren Bicknell finally hung up his boots (and often picked up his pint at Trent Bridge), it was only a matter of time before we said farewell to Jason Gallian too, as he departs to Essex. Bicknell’s replacement, Will Jefferson, performed well last season, though he suffered a few injuries, he still looks a good signing. It remains to be seen whether Gallian’s replacement, Matthew Wood, can do the same. It’s hoped that Mark Wagh can carry last seasons form through and that Samit Patel continues to improve. If he does it can’t be too long before he also strengthens England whilst further depleting Notts! Of course the big ‘downer’ this year is the loss of David Hussey to the IPL. With him now being called up by the Aussies too, it looks unlikely we will see him this season, but hopefully his replacement, Adam Voges, will fill the role of the Huss.

This season is probably also important for Bilal Shafayat, who only a few years ago was being feted as an England player but now struggles to break into the first team. Whilst undoubtedly talented, this could be his make or break year.


Bowling:
As mentioned earlier, this is the key area for Notts this season. With the batting line up looking reasonably strong, most Notts fans last year probably felt that if we could get a good replacement for Sidebottom, we would be in with a shot of the title, so when Stuart Broad was signed that looked done and dusted. However, with his call up and the possibility of losing Graeme Swann for a few games too, it left the bowling with just Charlie Shreck to open, backed by the steady Mark Ealham, who must surely now be in his last season, Paul Franks who can take wickets but is so inconsistent, AJ Harris who must also be near the end of his career and Mark Footitt, who looks a promising youngster, but has suffered injuries and has yet to deliver. A couple of local youngsters have also been signed but it is probably too soon for them.

When Broad was called up late on, this left the management with little time to find a replacement and finally Grimsby born Aussie, Darren Pattinson, was signed. He is an unknown who plays in Victoria with David Hussey and is a swing bowler, which could work at Trent Bridge. He could be the difference between staying in the division and not.

Probable side:
Championship
Jefferson
Wood
Wagh
Voges
Patel
Read (wk) (c)
Broad (Franks when Broad not available)
Swann
Ealham
Sidebottom (Pattinson when Sid not available)
Shreck


Also looking to break into the side are Mark Footitt, Bilal Shafayat, AJ Harris, Rob Ferley and possible a couple of youngsters.

One-day and Twenty20
Swann
Jefferson
Shafayat
Wagh
Voges
Patel
Read (wk) (c)
Broad (Franks when Broad not available)
Ealham
Sidebottom (Pattinson when Sid not available)
Shreck

Without Hussey, Sidebottom and Broad, it’s unlikely that Notts will have a great deal of success in the 20/20 and they will probably be mid table in the one day game. As with the County Championship, I suspect most fans will be satisfied with some decent performances and a mid table position.

Key Man:
It has to be Darren Pattinson. Whilst our batting looks fairly solid, if Pattinson fails to perform, Notts will struggle to take the wickets needed to win games.

Rising Star:
Samit Patel . After a great first season last year, where he performed so consistently it felt like he’d always been in the side, he needs to continue his form and an England call up can’t be too far away, though probably not this year. Mark Footitt, a fast bowler, also has some potential, but injuries and inconsistency have blighted his career to date. He is a bit of an unknown for now.

Captain and Coach:
Although like all managers Mick Newell has come in for some stick, on the whole, the fans seem to be behind him. A shrewd manager rather than an outspoken one, Mick quietly seems to get on with building a winning side. The only doubt sometimes expressed is whether he has what it takes to turn things around when they aren’t going well.

Will you be staying long Colonel?!

The outright exclusion from England’s Test, One Day and Lions squads of Matt Prior was this weeks’ big news. Whilst Prior has shown an aptitude for scoring runs at the highest level, against the highest calibre of bowler, the bread and butter business of taking catches has let him down. Many people worried when Prior was first given the gloves that England had another Geraint Jones on their hands, neither good enough with the bat or the gloves to hold the position of England’s wicket keeper. I personally never doubted his ability to deliver the runs. His showings for the ODI side in Pakistan and India were never a true reflection of his ability. Unfortunately though, Prior is not the best wicket keeper in the country and further more he is not even currently in the top five when it comes to catching the ball.

To begin with though, it seemed as though exposure to International Cricket would bring the best from Prior and it served as a boost to his glove work. His performances in the crucial ODI series victory over India were faultless and a few mistakes in the preceding Test matches were seemingly forgotten and forgiven. However, then injury struck. Phil Mustard took over, but he simply proved the fact that brilliant county form means nothing at International level. Whilst he got starts with the bat against Sri Lanka he was far from the player he is for Durham and that was to be expected. So Prior soon returned for the Test match series in Sri Lanka and performed admirably, along with Ian Bell, in the first Test match, prompting the likes of Sam Lyon, Alec Stewart and Jack Russell, amongst others, to declare the arrival of England’s wicket keeper for the next decade.

Oh how the mighty fall though. Less than one month later and Prior has been jettisoned. Eight drops off of Ryan Sidebottom and crucial misses off of Mahela Jayawardene proved to be too much for England’s selectors. Yet his demotion need not be for good according to David Graveney, who has stated that if Prior can improve his glove work away from the media spotlight, then he can reclaim his place and fulfil his undoubted potential as England’s future wicket keeper batsman. It is unlikely that Prior’s replacement will average 40.14 from 17 Test Innings against West Indies, India and Sri Lanka away. However, they will hopefully hold on to more catches, which is the primary job of the wicket keeper. If they do not make runs though, you can guarantee that England will struggle because of their brittle tail and the wicket keeping debate will return to the discussions between cricket lovers up and down the Land once again.

So Colonel Mustard finds himself able to make the first move on Prior’s old job. He will keep wicket in the ODI’s in New Zealand and should he succeed he should in theory be given a chance in the Test series which follows. If not, then Tim Ambrose, once Prior’s deputy at Sussex, will step into the void and become England’s sixth wicket keeper in the space of a year. Whilst all this is ongoing and the likes of Geraint Jones, Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Prior, Mustard and Ambrose are mulling over their International careers, whether past, present or future, there is one player who goes quietly about his work at Essex, continuing to excel with the gloves and perform well with the bat. He is of course James Foster, once the man in possession, discarded because of injury and now seemingly forgotten about. With every passing wicket keeper, his stock grows. However, until he averages more with the bat on a home ground which is often one of the most conducive to batting in the country, he will it seems remain on the periphery of the England set-ups' radar. One further candidate exists, Steven Davies of Worcestershire. Demotion to Division Two will not help his cause, but the young man will be expected to come of age in the next year or so. Let the merry-go-round continue…

Championship Team of the Season

As regular readers will be aware, I have been awarding a Player of the Week during my Championship reviews during the season. With the exception of the wicket-keeper, these are the only players to be considered for my squad for the Team of the Season. Five batsmen, an all-rounder, my wicketkeeper of the year, three pace bowlers and a spinner make up the team.

Marcus Trescothick
Englands’ loss was Somerset’s gain. The only double winner of the Player of the Week, he scored 1300 runs at over 60 with four centuries, albeit on a helpful Taunton wicket. He also took an incredible 33 catches. If he’s still on duty for Somerset next season, then they will be in the mix for honours.

Mike Carberry
A thousand runs, 5 tons and the reason that Hampshire put in a late run to challenge for the title. Particularly in the second half of the season he ran into a rich vein of form which he’ll be looking to continue in to next season.

Mark Ramprakash
2000 runs, averaging over 100. The difference between Surrey finishing 4th and being relegated. No other Surrey player managed 1000 runs or averaged over 50. Another awesome season and many people’s player of the year

Younus Khan
Got very close to being a double winner as his leg spin bowling backed up his batting prowess. Indeed his bowling average was less than his batting average of nearly 50. A good club man for Yorkshire, he was missed at the end of the season as he went back to Pakistan.

David Hussey
Edges out his club captain Stephen Fleming for the number 5 spot, with 1200 runs and an average of over 90.

The other batsmen to miss out on the final selection were Ben Smith, Mark Stoneman, Travis Birt and Ronnie Irani.

Adil Rashid
The first player of the week, he scored nearly 800 runs at an average of 46, scoring his maiden ton in the process. With the ball, despite the unhelpful weather this summer, he took 40 wickets (with three 5-fers) at less than 40 to confirm his immense promise as a cricketer. It’s a measure of his ability that some still see this as a disappointing return. The England Lions tour (hopefully) beckons and full recognition won’t be far away.

Rashid beats Alex Gidman to the selection

Chris Read
The only wicketkeeper to average above 50 in either division, he is also the best gloveman in the country. He hit his maiden double hundred this season and was a major factor in Notts promotion this season. He beats off the challenges of Nic Pothas, Tim Ambrose and Paul Nixon.

Stuart Broad
Although he spent most of the season carrying the drinks for England, he took his frist 5-fer in county cricket and smashed an unbeaten 91 in the same match, taking him to the top of Leicester’s batting averages. As he showed for England, he’s a potential all-rounder with bags of promise and first division cricket with Notts next season should see him progress further.

Ottis Gibson
The only real competition for Mark Ramprakash as player of the season. Cricket365 use his success as a reason that the Championship is a weak competition. To me it shows how much younger bowlers are able to learn from experienced campaigners and the progress of Liam Plunkett and Graeme Onions at Durham will be interesting to see. 80 wickets at just 20 for the season including all ten in an innings, he also chipped in with over 500 runs.

Andrew Caddick
He probably still feels hard done by every time the England team is selected without him, but he is another reaon why Somerset will be a welcome addition to Div 1 next season. 70 wickets at 24 playing half of his matches at Taunton is a great return.

The pace bowlers to miss out were James Harris, Yasir Arafat and Mark Davies

Mushtaq Ahmed
The final winner of the award, he edges out the evergreen Robert Croft by spinning Sussex to the title again. Not as dominant this year as last, he still took 90 wickets at 25

The Campaign for Real Wicket-Keepers

I was lucky enough to spend a rather entertaining day at the Oval on Friday, with Dhoni scoring a wonderful 92 and Kumble getting a well deserved ton. However as the day went on, I became more interested in "what might have been" if two fairly regulation chances had been taken by Matt Prior to dismiss Tendulkar and Laxman.

I have written about my thoughts on wicket-keepers before. Chris Read, to my mind, has been shoddily treated by England despite probably being the best keeper in workld cricket today. A player with that amount of tatent in a single discipline should be viewed as a strength, in the same way that Monty Panesar has been embraced. And lets' get things into perspective. While Monty clearly works hard on his fielding and batting, he is still not a natural fielder and Read's batting is far superior to that of Monty.

However, this isn't about Chris Read. James Foster is another whose wicket-keeping skills have been conveniently forgotten about in the search for the new Alec Stewart. And it is this realistation that we are looking for a new Alec Stewart that worries me.

While we were in the pub after the game on Friday, I ended up at the toilet alongside Derek Pringle, which got me thinking. As worthy a county player as Pringle was, his career will always be associated with the search for the new Botham. And his isn't the only career to have suffered such high expectations. Chris Lewis, Phil DeFreitas, David Capel, Craig White, Dominic Cork, Ronnie Irani, Alex Tudor, Ben and Adam Hollioake and even Darren Gough all the way to Andrew Flintoff have to varying levels of success been touted as a new Botham.

Rather than concentrating on the basics and accepting the bonus when a genuine all-rounder came along, lesser players have been given an opportunity over specialists in the hope that bits and pieces will get the job done. Was Derek Pringle ever one of the best four bowlers in the country? I very much doubt it. Likewise, was David Capel ever worthy of his place in the England team as either a batsman or bowler? Absolutely not. Nowadays we seem to have jumped that hurdle with the batting bowling allrounder. Andrew Flintoff would make it into the England team purely on his bowling ability. Paul Collingwood is in for his batting - his bowling is a bonus.

We need to make the same jump with wicket-keepers. Is Matt Prior the best wicket-keeper in England? Of course he isn't. Was Geraint Jones ever an International standard wicket-keeper?These players should either have been in the team as a batsman or not at all. It's time England stopped looking for a "new Alec Stewart". We haven't got one at the moment (although Steve Davies looks promising for the future). Let's play the best we've got, and make sure our players do the job they are there to do. We now have real batsmen and real bowlers, rather than the bits and pieces players listed above. We need a real wicket-keeper.

Championship – Week 10

Back from the 20/20 break and controversy abounds in Division 1, while in Division 2 it’s the battle of the wicketkeepers

Div 1
Starting at New Road where Worcestershire didn’t take on Kent in the game that never was. While having every sympathy with the flood damage cause to New Road, I am amazed that they ever thought that the pitch would be ready for this match. If, as has been suggested, they just wanted to work on the pitch for the limited overs game on the Friday, then sever sanctions need to be taken against Worcester for failing to fulfil the fixture. The decision to replay the match also sets a dangerous precedent and I can understand Martyn Moxon’s frustrations after Yorks and Lancs played out a meaningless draw in less than half the time available on a difficult pitch. We haven’t heard the last of this one.

Meanwhile at the Oval, Surrey began their bid for safety against Durham, bowling the visitors out for just 191, before replying with 243 for a useful lead. Durham didn’t do much better second time round with 204 leaving Surrey 153 to win. Steve Harmison soon had them in trouble with a quick four wickets, but Rikki Clake’s quickfire 68 eventually saw them home and they have Kent in their sights.

The Roses match between Lancashire and Yorkshire was a washout for the first two days, and even when Yorkshire were put into bat, conditions were not conducive to flowing cricket. James Anderson enjoyed the run out though as he took 5 wickets in Yorkshire’s 320. Michael Vaughan top scored with a gritty 74. With things at the top so tight, this was only ever going to be a dash for bonus points, which led to some excitement at the end of the day. With the last ball of the day, Lancs needed 3 runs for an extra batting point, Yorks needed a wicket for an extra bowling point. Stuart Law charged down the wicket to Adil Rashid, missed and was stumped, to give Rashid a 5-fer and Yorkshire remain top.

Lots of time was lost at the Rose Bowl, where two innings were sacrificed in an attempt to secure a positive result. Warwickshire opened up with 353 for 5 before the rains came, Darren Maddy scoring a ton. Hampshire then scored a quick 23-1 (Mike Carberry being the unlucky batsman), Warwicks didn’t bother with their 2nd innings and Hants needed 331 to win, which they got for the loss of 5 wickets, largely thanks to an unbeaten 192 from Carberry. Hampshire stay 6th, but only 2 points behind Lancs in 2nd.

Div 2
With Somerset not playing, Essex and Nottinghamshire had a chance to make some ground at the top of the table. However playing on a pitch that resembled the Taunton wicket from earlier in the season, a draw was inevitable. Batting first, Essex scored a mammoth 700-9 declared with England discard wicketkeeper James Foster scoring a double century and tons for Andy Bichel and Graham Napier. Not to be outdone, Notts replied with an even more mammoth 791 with England discard wicketkeeper Chris Read scoring a double century and tons for Mark Wagh and Samit Patel. The game finished with the rare sight of Chris Read having a bowl but it was enough to take Notts back to the top of the table.

Middlesex’s challenge took a huge step backwards as they were beaten by Derbyshire, who are now only half a point behind their opponents. Batting first Derby scored 340 which gave them a healthy first innings lead as they bowled Middlesex out for 258, with Tom Lungley getting 5-fer. Second time round the Derby batting struggled with Murali Kartik taking 5-fer as they were dismissed for 199, setting Middlesex 281 to win. At 208 for 4, a Middlesex win looked the most likely, but a late order collapse saw Derby home by 15 runs and promotion now looks beyond Middlesex.

Leicestershire took out their 20/20 frustrations on Glamorgan, dismissing the Welshmen for just 268, despite a maiden ton for 19 year old Ben Wright. Leicester took control in their innings, scoring 481 with HD Ackerman, Paul Nixon and Mansoor Amjad getting to three figures. James Harris was again the pick of the Glamorgan bowlers. Second time round, Glamorgan did just enough to make Leicester bat again with 236 despite 5 wickets for Garnett Kruger and Leicester won by 10 wickets – their first win of the season.

Finally to Northamptonshire, where the home side opened with 310; Steve Kirby taking 5-fer. This was enough for a lead of 60 as Gloucestershire scored 250, despite an unbeaten ton from Chris Taylor. Taylor then took 4 wickets as Northants were dismissed for 270 second time round. However, Gloucester never looked like getting close and 6 wickets for Monty Panesar saw Northants home.

England Player Watch
Only a few batsmen in action as the test series gets ready to go. Andrew Strauss got two starts but couldn’t build on them, taking his England form back to Middlesex. Michael Vaughan scored a gritty 74, which may well have been a ton on a drier pitch.

All of the expected bowlers played, although, Matthew Hoggard only had 6 tight overs as Adil Rashid ran the show for Yorkshire. Steve Harmison got a few more overs under his belt and took 7 of the 14 Surrey wickets to fall. Ryan Sidebottom is probably just glad to be away from Chelmsford, having bowled 30 wicketless overs, while Monty Panesar took 9 in total in Northants’ win. James Anderson kept himself in the selector's minds with a 5-fer in the Roses match

Player of the Week
This was nearly a joint award to the two ex-England wicket-keepers who scored double hundred at Chelmsford. However, because his innings forced a positive result and took Hampshire back into the title race, this week’s Player of the Week goes to Mike Carberry.

Keeping our Options Open

There is little at the moment that gets a cricket conversation going like the question “who would you have as England’s wicket-keeper?” For the last 2-3 years, the debate over Jones or Read (with Foster, Prior and Davies thrown in) has raged on message boards across the internet. And that’s without mentioning the current ODI keeper. Even after my first County Championship review, I was reminded not to forget about Phil Mustard. Therefore in the spirit of fairness, I will look at the eighteen possibilities, most of whom are supported by someone for the England job.

Derbyshire
29 year old James Pipe the man with the gloves. Formerly at Worcester, where he was the understudy to Steven Rhodes for many years, he was eased out in favour of Steven Davies and moved to Derby last season. Over 500 runs in a struggling Derbyshire team last season.

Durham
The aforementioned Phil Mustard is here. One of the younger wicket-keepers, aged 24, he scored over 800 runs last season with a healthy strike-rate. The Durham pace attack means that he rarely has to keep to spin, which may work against him in the future. However, he is clearly one for the future, particularly in the limited overs game.

Essex
James Foster made his England debut in 2001 and was the man to replace Alec Stewart, until he broke his arms in the nets and was overtaken by Chris Read, Geraint Jones and Matt Prior. Still only 27, he has a first class double-hundred to his name, which makes his continued exile the more puzzling as England looked for a wicket-keeper batsman.

Glamorgan
Mark Wallace made his county debut aged 17 was Glamorgan’s regular keeper at the age of 19 and is still only 25. One of Glamorgan’s few successes with the bat over the past couple of years, he is also highly rated with the gloves and has spent several winters in the England academy.

Gloucester
Steve Adshead was the man who replaced Jack Russell at Gloucester, having moved from Leicester. A first class average of over 30 with the bat and topped the Gloucester averages in the Pro 40 last season.

Hampshire
South African born Nic Pothas arrived as a Kolpak player, but is now England qualified. He played three ODIs for South Africa, but the continuing presence of Mark Boucher prevented him from building an international career. A vital part of the Hampshire team, he has the added difficulty of keeping to Shane Warne. Unlikely to figure in the England thinking because of his age (33) and background rather than his talent.

Kent
Geraint Jones was England’s last regular wicket-keeper, but a huge loss of form with the bat, and the replacement of Duncan Fletcher, makes it very unlikely that he will feature again in the near future. Brought into the team on the back of his batting prowess, he initially scored runs, with a ton against New Zealand. However, his wicket-keeping, although improving, was never test standard and some will claim that it could have cost us the Ashes. He was a part of the 2005 team though, even if he probably lost his place for good during the 2006-2007 return series.

Lancashire
Having started at Somerset, Luke Sutton moved from Derbyshire in 2005 having captained them for two years to replace the retiring Warren Hegg. Still only 30, he is described as a handy lower-middle order batsman. The presence of Murali in the Lancs team this season should give him plenty of opportunity to show what he can do with the gloves.

Leicester
Aged 36, Paul Nixon has been one of the best glovemen in the English game for a number of years. However, being not quite as good with the gloves as Jack Russell or quite as good with the bat as Alec Stewart meant that International honours nearly passed him by. However, his prowess in the 20 over form of the game got him an ODI call up and he was one of England’s few successes in the world cup. He should remain a fixture in the ODI team until at least the 20:20 world cup at the end of the summer. A test place may just be a step too far though.

Middlesex
David Nash was earmarked for greater things and has played 12 U19 tests. However, his batting and keeping never pushed on to the next level and instead he is looking over his shoulder at the challenge of Ben Scott.

Northants
Currently the man in possession here is Riki Wessels, son of former coach and Australian and South African player, Kepler. Wessels has signed on a Kolpak arrangement. However, Northants have also signed Irish wicket-keeper Niall O’Brien, who had a hugely successful World Cup. O’Brien will be England qualified at the end of the summer and the battle between the keepers could be an interesting one to watch.

Notts
Widely thought to be the best keeper in English cricket, Chris Read first played for England in 1999 aged just 21. Famously out while ducking a Chris Cairns slower ball, his batting reputation has never fully recovered from that, despite some high quality innings for Notts. He returned to the test team last summer, averaging a healthy 42, before being controversially dropped for the start of the Ashes series. He finally regained his place, but without being in any sort of form with the bat. He now looks to be behind Prior and Nixon in the battle for the England team. However, his prowess with the gloves means that the arguments will continue if he is not picked.

Somerset
Craig Kieswetter played for South Africa in the 2005-6 U19 World Cup then decided to try to qualify for England, initially as a Kolpak, having been educated at Milfield. Clearly highly thought of by the South Africans, he looks to have an international future for someone.

Surrey
Jon Batty got his chance with Surrey with the close proximity of Alec Stewart’s retirement and the tragic accident that befell Graham Kersey. Now 33, Batty opens the innings for Surrey to great effect, and is one of the better batsman of the wicket-keepers in the English game. It would be a surprise if he was now called up, but not un-merited.

Sussex
Currently the favourite to start the first test, Matt Prior averages nearly 40 in first class cricket, was a major contributor to the Sussex successes last season and with Mustaq in the team, has had to keep to high quality spin as well as seam. He has played ODI games for England and toured as understudy to Geraint Jones in 2005-6. However, he was unconvincing in the England games he has played to date. His first class record means that he deserves a chance at the higher level. However, should he fail, there are a number waiting to step in.

Warwicks
An interesting situation could develop here. Warwick have signed Kumar Sangakkara, who is arguably the best wicket-keeper batsman in the world. However, also on the books is Tim Ambrose, who has moved from Sussex where Matt Prior was limiting his chances. Ambrose has immediately made his mark (and is currently 197 not out against Worcester)

Worcester
According to most experts, it’s not if but when does Steven Davies take the England gloves. Still only 20, the selectors may look at the problems that Read and Foster had being thrust into the test team too early and allow him to settle in the first class game. His time will come, but probably not just yet.

Yorkshire
Gerard Brophy and Simon Guy are battling it out to be Yorkshire’s first choice keeper. Brophy, an ex-Kolpak but now England qualified is a hard hitting lower order batsman who has started this season much better than he played last. Guy is a promising youngster who is now 28. Neither will be holding their breath for England call ups and Yorkshire fans are watching the progress of the current U19 keeper, Greg Wood, with interest.

The verdict
I’d have Chris Read every time, as I believe that the batting should be a bonus. However, with the lack of a genuine all-rounder in the current England team (until Flintoff sorts out his batting), then James Foster or Matt Prior deserve their chance.

Championship Tails – Week 1

While England finally show some decent form in the World Cup, albeit a match too late, the domestic season has got off to a bang. In unusually warm weather for the start of the season, there were runs galore and some highly impressive performances.

Division 1
Parochial, I know, but I’m going to start with Yorkshire’s win over Surrey. Runs galore in the first three innings, with Rudolph, Bresnan, Gillespie, Newman, Ramprakash (of course!) and White all hitting tons. However, Yorkshire’s bowling was the difference, with Rashid, Gough and Hoggard proving too much for Surrey to handle and the Tykes ran out comfortable winners.

Sussex also took maximum points as Mushtaq started where he left off last season with ten wickets against Kent. The Sussex batting relied heavily on Richard Montgomerie’s 175, with Naved and Kirtley also chipping in with useful 50s.

The other winners were Durham, where Steve Harmison took eight wickets as Worcester were put to the sword. Hundreds for Di Venuto in the first innings and Blenkenstein in the second, whereas the Worcester batting was disappointing, with only Jacques showing much resistance.

The match between Warwickshire and Lancashire ended in a draw. Warwicks started on top, with Loudon and Troughton scoring hundreds, Sutton doing the same in reply as Lancs were 150 runs behind on first innings. Tight bowing in the Warwicks second inning meant that the didn’t leave enough time to worry Lance, for whom Mal Loye hit a hundred as the match petered out.

Division 2
Notts were the only winners, against Leicestershire, on the back of a great all round bowling performance and centuries for Gallian and Hussey. Only Ackerman offered much resistance as Notts got home by nine wickets.

Runs galore at Taunton, with Middlesex declaring on 600 for 4 (hundreds for Shah, Godleman and Nash). Somerset then made 850 for 7 (another triple hundred for Langer, with tons for Hildeth, White and Trego). Middlesex saw the game out with little fuss (and a hundred for Ed Smith). It could be a hard year for the Somerset bowlers at home, for whom Andy Caddick has signed a contract extension – he may be regretting that if they don’t get a bit more life into the pitch.

A high scoring draw at Chelmsford too, where Derbyshire were on top for most of the game. Hundreds for Harvey, Pipe and Cook, but the declaration didn’t leave enough time for a result and Essex secured a comfortable draw.

England Players
With the World Cup on, there are a few England contenders on show.

On the batting side, Ali Cook hit another century for Essex, while Owais Shah scored had two good innings, 193 and 72 not out on a batsman’s paradise at Taunton. Relatively speaking, Marcus Trescothick should be disappointed in “only” getting 70.


On the wicket-keeping side, Chris Read was run out in the 30s in his only innings, gaining ground on Matt Prior, who scored 14 and Steve Davies who got 14 and 6, but losing out to James Foster who scored 61. Geraint Jones (if he is still a contender) was out in single figures in both innings.

The bowling does look promising, with Hoggard and Harmison both bowling aggressively and getting wickets. Coming on the back off his performance in the Sussex-MCC match, stories about the demise of Steve Harmison may have been premature.

Player of the Week
Sorry, but it’s a Yorkie. Some great batting performances this week, but the award goes to an all-round performance. For scoring 86 (in a stand of 190 with Jacques Rudolph) and taking seven wickets, my first player of the week is Adil Rashid.

So what did that tell us then?

It’s always dangerous to read too much into a meaningless warm up game, but I’m not going to let that stop me. What does England’s 241 run win over Bermuda tell us about what is going to happen over the next few weeks?

Selection
Michael Vaughan and Ed Joyce is clearly the opening pair of preference, and it looks increasingly like Andrew Strauss is the spare man in the batting line-up. This is a remarkable downturn in fortunes for Strauss, who England were looking to take on Marcus Trescothick’s mantle as the senior man at the top of the innings.

Vaughan looks like he is going to take the responsibility to have a go in the first few overs in the Mal Loye style, allowing Joyce and then Ian Bell to play themselves in around him. It has to be remembered that Vaughan is a naturally aggressive batsman and this approach may allow him to protect his many injuries as the chance for a longer innings is reduced. He’s clearly not 100% fit, but seems to be being sensibly eased back into the matches.

With Jamie Dalrymple now assured his place at 7, England have a pretty long batting line up and three genuine all-rounders. However, it does seem ironic that Chris Read was dropped because he couldn’t be trusted to bat at 7, and Paul Nixon will end up batting at 8.

Jon Lewis and James Anderson are the opening bowling pair of preference, with Liam Plunkett and then Saj Mahmood as cover. Therefore, I would expect England’s first choice line up to be

Vaughan
Joyce
Bell
Pietersen
Collingwood
Flintoff
Dalrymple
Nixon
Lewis
Panesar
Anderson

The Pitches
If this is representative, and the Ireland – South Africa game was similar, then they are as slow as was promised. Therefore, the predictions of regular 400+ scores may be wide of the mark and scores of 220 may be closer to the norm. Dwayne Leverock was Bermuda’s best bowler taking the pace off the ball. England's most important bowlers may end up being Collingwood, Dalrymple and Panesar with Anderson or Lewis making way for Bopara.

The Minnows
Clearly Bermuda will be disappointed with their performance, which was not helped by an injury to Irvine Romaine, their captain and one of their leading batsmen. However, it must be remembered that Bermuda are one of the weaker minnows, and Ireland’s performance against South Africa gives more hope that there will be a few scares for the big boys.

The Ones Who Got Away

Consistent and planned are not two words that could ever be used to describe England’s One Day selection, which is strange considering the success that approach has had with the test team. Since England’s last trip to the West Indies just three winters ago, around 40 players have donned the blue pyjamas. This is the squad of fifteen that didn’t make it.

Marcus Trescothick – By far and away the biggest loss to the World Cup squad. A shoe-in for England’s best One Day team of all time. 12 hundreds and an average of nearly 40 at an astonishing strike rate of 85 per hundred balls. Without his stress related illness, the debate over Mal Loye would be superfluous. With his stress related illness, England’s task has become much harder.

Matt Prior – Included as a batsman, because that’s how he’s played most of his International cricket. A destructive batsman for Sussex, he couldn’t bring that form to the International arena failing to pass 50 in 12 attempts. Still in the frame when the wicket-keeping position is discussed and it would be a surprise if he isn’t given another chance.

Vikram Solanki – Here’s an odd one. Over fifty games for England without ever looking like a regular. Even his two centuries (only Pietersen, Flintoff and now Collingwood have more in the current squad) only ever hinted at what might be rather than looking like the catalyst for a real breakthrough. Admittedly he wasn’t helped by the ill-fated substitute rule, or batting at anywhere from 1 to 9 is a terrible batting line up, but a measure of how far his star has fallen is that no-one even considered him in contention for the World Cup.

Anthony McGrath – Also never in contention for the World Cup, and some would wonder why he played for England at all. Fourteen ODIs (and that’s 14 more than Mark Butcher) with an average of 16 and a strike rate of less than 50, his debut performance of 33 runs in 75 balls should have been a giveaway. As an “all-rounder” he bowled less than 3 overs per match.

Owais Shah – Made a promising ODI debut in 2001, and has played just 17 matches since. Badly used by England after his debut, his perceived lack of ability in the field may have counted against him during the Fletcher years. Still scoring healthily for Middlesex.

Michael Yardy – Genuine all-rounder as no-one really knew if he was a batsman or a bowler. The figures would suggest the latter, despite him batting at number 4. English conditions suited his bowling. However, subcontinent and the Champions trophy didn’t and off he went.

Rikki Clarke – A two ball duck in his debut, a golden duck in his last game, England have tried and tried to convince that Rikki Clarke is the answer to our one day problems. A bit like Yardy in that no-one really knows if he’s principally a batsman or a bowler, and with a batting average of 11 (strike rate just 62) and bowling average of 37 (economy over 5) he’s not good enough at either discipline.

Alex Loudon – Selected for the ODI squad in 2006 possibly because he can bowl a doosra, he played one game, was run out without scoring and bowled six overs going for a run a ball (reasonable in the context of the game, but crucially not as good as Jamie Dalrymple). By the end of the 2006 season, he was struggling to stay in the Warwickshire team.

Chris Read – The man who murdered Duncan Fletcher’s favourite dog. Surely that is the only explanation for his treatment at the hands of the England selectors over the past few years. A contender for best wicket-keeper in world cricket and an unorthodox batsman. His best series was in the WI last time England toured with two cameos of 20+ to see England home.

Geraint Jones – It all started so well. Brought in on the back of his superior batting, he started at 3 in the batting line up and was also used as a pinch hitting opener. However, he eventually found his place at 7 and when his Test match form became untenable even for Duncan Fletcher, he disappeared from the One Day scene as well.

Tim Bresnan – Injuries cost him his chance to come back from the debacle of the Sri Lanka series and at still only 21 (despite having been in the Yorkshire team for 5 years) he should get more chances. Currently scoring and conceding runs at over one a ball in International cricket.

Steve Harmison – England’s best ODI bowler for a number of years, he seems to have been more mentally scarred than most following the Sri Lankan demolition of last year. The three-fors in the first two matches were forgotten with the 0-97 in the final game. Confidence gone, Harmison retired from ODI cricket after the Champions trophy a pale shadow of the match winning bowler seen two years previously.

Kabir Ali – A promising start away to South Africa where he played in all seven matches of the 04/05 series taking 13 wickets, he was then dropped for a year. Always expensive, the latest nail in his international coffin came at the hands of the Sri Lankans. Six overs for 72 runs and back to Worcestershire.

Alex Wharf – Another wonderful example of England’s selection policy. A regular for 6 months two years ago, he played 13 matches in five months, taking 18 wickets at an economy of just over four…..and hasn’t been seen again since.

Darren Gough – No shortage of self-belief and England’s leading ODI wicket taker. Despite lobbying and the support of Graham Gooch, Dazzler’s dream of one more World Cup didn’t come true. Last seen playing beach cricket, a career in show business beckons.

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.

England's performance ratings

Having lost the series 5-0 at Sydney here are the marks out of ten for England's players:

Strauss - 4 Another two good starts, another two failures to progress. Again, he looked in form, but managed to get himself out when England needed big scores from him. It appears that throughout the series he has been unable to find the right balance between attack and defence, opting to play too many high risk shots and paying the price. The Australian bowlers expertly starved him of his favourite shot, the square cut/drive, and he has failed to find another way to score. Questions must also be asked of his attitude - did being deprived of the captaincy affect his game? Whatever the cause, Strauss, who batted and captained so well against Pakistan, and who has usually been Mr Dependable, failed once again at the SCG.

Cook - 3 Seemingly unable to judge what to leave outside his off stump, he was caught behind twice in this match. The Australian bowlers have had his number for most of the series and Cook has not been able to improve his technique. He will have to work on it if he is to score consistently against accurate bowlers. Though the Australian attack have been exceptional this series, particularly at Sydney, there are other Test bowlers who will have noted Cook's weakness and are ready to exploit it. A shame the young left-hander could not raise his game at the SCG, leaving England with weak foundations in both innings, as they have had all series.

Bell - 7 Batted well in the first innings, trying to give England a total that would put pressure on the Australians. It was a pity he fell short of the century his efforts deserved. In the second innings, with England under real pressure, he made an excellent start, fluently stroking boundaries. However, he played one shot too many and was unable to make the significant score that was needed. This left England in a perilous position, which they were never able to get out of. It would be unfair to criticise Bell too much for his second innings lapse, as he, unlike most of his fellow batsmen, made a score when it mattered in the first innings.

Pietersen - 5 An average performance by his own high standards, failing to convert two good starts. However, in the second innings he was left with the tail again and forced to dig in, a role which does not bring out his best. It is also clear that Pietersen played his best cricket when the series was still alive. Once the Ashes had gone he lost some of his focus and energy. In the last two matches he had the look of a man disappointed by those around him and by his own efforts to raise the team's performance. It is to be hoped that he can get over his disappointment quickly and find his old form in the one-day series.

Collingwood - 4 Showed his usual determination, but could not make a significant score in either innings. The Australians knew he would not hurt them with quick runs and were quite willing to wait for him to get out. As in the previous match there is a suspicion that his technique is not good enough against the best bowling on pitches that have a bit in them. In those circumstances a patient bowling attack knows it is only a matter of time before they get the player. Collingwood will need to either become more aggressive or improve his technique if he is to make more runs against better bowlers on faster and more difficult pitches.

Flintoff - 6 Saved his best batting performance for this match, striking his way to a wonderful 89 in the first innings. However, he threw it away when three figures beckoned and England could have got closer to 350, which would have made a massive difference to the outcome of the match. His dismissal in the second innings was a poor one, gifting Adam Gilchrist a stumping, with a lazy effort to get his foot back behind the line. It signalled the end for England and was a sad one for England's captain. His bowling was steady, without offering his usual wicket-taking threat, but his captaincy was below par, especially his field placings. Monty Panesar suffered particularly badly from this, as he was given fields which allowed Australia to milk singles, denying the spinner the chance to put pressure on them. Flintoff is an adequate captain, but should relinquish the job and go back to what he does best, being an inspirational allrounder.

Read - 4 Another fine display with the gloves, but he was brought in to bat at number seven, a task which is way beyond his ability. After showing some fight in the previous match, he reverted to type, his technique exposed by the accuracy of the Australian bowlers. Not knowing where his next run was coming from Read was a walking wicket in both innings and failed to do any better than his predecessor. The truth is that neither Read nor Geraint Jones are good enough to bat at number seven for England and a new keeper will need to be found for this summer's Test matches.

Mahmood - 3 Just eleven overs in the match and two woeful displays with the bat made me wonder why England had picked him. It was Perth all over again, except he did at least manage to take a wicket at the SCG. England's policy of playing five bowlers is just one of many errors in the series, blatantly shown up in this match. Whether Mahmood could have done better if some faith was shown in him and he had a newer ball in his hand is unknown, though he did much better at the MCG when he was given more overs. What is clear is that when the captain has no faith in his fifth bowler it would be better to strengthen the batting line-up. It is no coincidence that England performed much better against Pakistan with six batsmen and four bowlers, and that Mahmood did well as one of those four bowlers.

Harmison - 5 A decent spell from Harmison in Australia's first innings, but lacked the penetration necessary to rip through the batting line-up. Conditions should have been in his favour, but he struggled to find the right length and line consistently. Though it has been accepted that he has not been England's spearhead in this series, he should have been able to show more in what will be his last match for a while. His batting was very good - staying with Flintoff in the first innings and playing his shots in the second. Overall, though, he had the look of a player who was ready to go home, knowing he failed when he was really needed.

Panesar - 6 Bowled reasonably well considering the poor fields he was given by Flintoff. Two wickets was scant reward for his control and flight and his economy rate suffered badly, as Australia exploited the field placings, milking him for easy singles. Things could have been different for both Panesar and England if Shane Warne had been given out when he appeared to glove the ball to Read. However, it turned out to be just another example of Australia taking full advantage of a situation and England failing to create enough pressure on their opponents, as Warne blitzed 71. Panesar's improvement with the bat continued, so much so that he was given the job of nightwatchman. He applied himself well to the task, sticking around until he was run out by a superb throw from Andrew Symonds. It is clear that the young spinner has plenty of mental toughness, as well as boundless energy and a willingness to learn.

Anderson - 6.5 At last he showed glimpses of how well he can bowl, making good use of the new ball in Australia's first innings. Yet, he still served up too many poor deliveries, most of which were dispatched to the boundary, and inexplicably bowled back of a length, instead of full, which the conditions demanded and which he made his name doing. If he had been in better form and had more confidence, perhaps he would have pitched it up more and got more wickets. Either way he did a decent job of standing in for Hoggard, though I suspect the 'king of the swingers' would have enjoyed conditions immensely at Sydney. It was just another example of misfortune piling on the agony to an abject England team.

Time for a breather

Thursday was the day for cricketing news. The biggest news of course was that Shane Warne is retiring from international cricket following this Ashes series. Only four more times will us England fans sit there staring despairingly at our television sets as the chief magician bamboozles our batting line up.

My initial reaction was one of relief, relief that this will no longer happen and also that he plans to play on for Hampshire for a further two years. However, then I began to wonder, is international cricket about to become a whole lot more boring and the answer is undoubtedly yes. Those nail biting moments emanating from the pressure cooker environment which Warne creates are not going to be replicated again during my generation I fear. He has been the best and likely will be forever.

Thursday also brought the announcement that Stephen Harmison was retiring from One Day Internationals, just three months before the 2007 World Cup starts in the Caribbean, a region in which Harmison enjoyed his best form. This is a bold and justifiable decision by Harmison who undoubtedly recognises that he needs to play more first class cricket for his county if he is to maintain his place in England’s test side.

The Durham pace man has left England in a spot of bother though with such a major tournament so near. It is unlikely that he would have been selected for the World Cup squad anyway based on current form, but had he bowed out a few months earlier England could have conducted a more thorough search for a replacement. Now though, time is of the essence, which may have counted against Stuart Broad and his lack of experience. Whether this is the correct decision remains to be seen.

The third piece of news that broke on Thursday was of course the announcement of England’s ODI squad for the forthcoming series against Australia and New Zealand. The absence of Broad is a disappointment. However, much to my pleasant surprise I actually quite like the look of the bowling, if England select the correct five. Andrew Flintoff is a given. Jamie Dalrymple and James Anderson have probably also done enough to be in the side.

Following the dismal performance at the Champions Trophy I argued that a new approach was needed, that England needed to play two spinners in the Caribbean and that they had to play Monty Panesar. Michael Yardy looked troubled with the bat and average with the ball in his handful of appearances in an England shirt. If England are to play two spinners, one must be a wicket taker and Monty is certainly that. Four parts of the jigsaw are now in place.

Finally, I also argued that Chris Tremlett should be in the side. Surprisingly he now gets his chance following a year of troublesome injuries. However, he must play. Tremlett spent a lot of time working on the mental side of his game with Warne over the past two years and he has emerged a more threatening bowler. He will not let England down and has good control unlike Sajid Mahmood. He can also bat to a reasonable standard. Perhaps Broad could have had more success than Anderson in the Caribbean and on the current Australian pitches, but bringing in three new bowlers would have been a big change with the World Cup so near.

Ultimately, Anderson is a seasoned campaigner and knows the one day game well. Jon Lewis performed fantastically in England, but it remains to be seen whether he is up to standard abroad. Mahmood still needs more county cricket to develop, whilst Plunkett has not played for nearly two thirds of a year. In summary then I am happy with the bowling, but would have campaigned for Broad’s inclusion in the squad, along with Simon Jones when fit, for Plunkett and Mahmood.

To the batting now and I am also reasonably satisfied. Michael Vaughan will hopefully open and bring a lot to the game with his captaincy, though England must be certain of his fitness. He should though retire from ODI’s after the World Cup to prolong his Test career. I suspect that had Trescothick been fit Vaughan may have done so already. With Vaughan back there is hopefully a shot maker in the top three, with Strauss and Bell looking to build their innings more.

England will though miss the power of Trescothick and may regret not looking at players such as Owais Shah and Mal Loye. Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Flintoff are givens now, along with Jamie Dalrymple in England’s middle order, but they must be played in that order. That means no more experimenting with Flintoff at three. He is needed for the last ten to fifteen overs. Collingwood and Pietersen are the best players of spin, hence their positioning in the middle order, whilst Bell and Strauss are the most likely innings builders at the top.

Vaughan must though play some shots to get England off to a quick start. That is likely to be the key position. Ed Joyce is a quality player but offers little different to Alastair Cook, who has performed well when involved. England are probably a bowler heavy and a batsman light, which indicates their doubts concerning the bowling attack at the moment. They may well rue the omission of an aggressive top order player though. However, all in all I am sounding reasonably happy so far.

Now we turn to the wicket keeping situation. This completely baffles me. Why England have turned back to a thirty-six year old really is beyond me. Paul Nixon is a good one day player and especially proficient at Twenty20 cricket. However, having named Chris Read as the number one wicket keeper I fail to see the point in calling up a short term player as reserve.

This was the perfect opportunity for the England management to take a look at the two academy keepers, Matthew Prior and Steven Davies. They have not done so and this is my main criticism, unless of course they plan to usurpe Read once more and play Nixon at the World Cup, which would still be a backward step. Batting at number eight though, England can afford to select the best glove man, whoever that may be.

In conclusion, England have made a better fist of selecting a competitive one day squad on this occasion. Gone are the likes of Vikram Solanki, Rikki Clarke and Michael Yardy. However, it remains to be seen whether or not they select the right eleven to take to the field and then play them in the best order. By selecting the best spinner though England have finally sent a message. They are going to look to be more positive in their one day cricket and about time too.

Andrew Strauss (vc)
Michael Vaughan (c) (Marcus Trescothick/ Mal Loye/ Owais Shah)
Ian Bell
Kevin Pietersen
Paul Collingwood
Andrew Flintoff
Jamie Dalrymple
Chris Read/ Paul Nixon (wk) (Matthew Prior)
Chris Tremlett
Monty Panesar
James Anderson (Stuart Broad)


Chris Pallett

Normal service has been resumed!

Well ladies and gentleman, that as they say was that! Having held the Ashes for the shortest time in the history of the series England should rightly be dejected and disappointed with the manner of their defeat. On the other hand however, everybody must take their hats off to Australia after one of the most ruthless and focused performances in the history of cricket.

The debate about selection will no doubt rage on for a good while yet, but now is the time to be honest. Even with our best side it is doubtful if England had the ability to beat Australia on their own soil. Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Stuart Clark and of course Shane Warne have been absolutely marvellous. Whilst there have been weaknesses in this Australian team the performances of these men have made it very questionable as to whether or not England ever had a chance, even with their best eleven on the field.

Ponting has captained superbly, nobody knows how to get Hussey out, whilst Warne and Clark have known precisely how to get England’s batsman out. When the promising performances of Michael Clarke are thrown into the ring, along with the contributions of the untameable Adam Gilchrist, resilient Glenn McGrath, attritional Justin Langer and dominating Matthew Hayden, you really can see why this team are ranked as the number one side in the world and by some margin.

The sad truth of the matter is that of six Australian innings, during which some sixty wickets were up for grabs, England have only taken thirty-nine. When batting they have failed to pass two hundred and fifty on three occasions, twice in the first innings. That simply is not good enough to win Test matches and even with Monty Panesar in the side the consistent bowling threat has just not been available from both ends, as on the Australian side.

Of all the England players the only one who has performed on a consistently comparable scale is Kevin Pietersen. Still though the talismanic player has received criticism for getting out for seventy when batting with number ten at the crease. This attitude must stop now. This man has been playing test match cricket for just eighteen months. He is still a relative baby compared to the likes of Ponting, Warne and McGrath, yet he has done his best to carry England.

Pietersen is currently rated as the seventh highest England Test batsman of all time. He is still only 26 and averages 52.50 from forty Test innings, during which he has scored six hundreds and nine fifties. He has played with common sense and grace in Australia and has not tried to hit every ball out of the ground as many wrongly feared. This man is no “Boom Boom” Afiridi, he is pure and consistent class.

Injuries did indeed hamper England of course. Michael Vaughan’s captaincy, Simon Jones’ reverse swing and Andrew Flintoff’s all round displays were the key reasons behind England’s success just sixteen months ago. In the current series we have lost all three of those trump cards, with the former two out of the side through injury and Flintoff overburdened, possibly unfit and perhaps overrated. The current England Captain has suffered a collapse of batting form and even his bowling has appeared laboured, with little consistent pressure available at the opposite end.

As a selector, Flintoff appears to have had the overriding vote to start with and I remain certain that Fletcher selected him, rather than Strauss as Captain, as much for his appreciation of Geraint Jones than anything else. The England management will tell you that hindsight is a wonderful thing, yet for the majority of us the team selection was wrong from day one.

Ashley Giles, who, as one of the nicest guys in cricket, does not deserve the current illness which faces his wife at this supposedly joyous time of year, should never have been selected above Monty Panesar, who had performed so admirably to become the world’s “leading finger spinner.”

Geraint Jones’ selection was more expected and indeed slightly more justifiable given the assumed advantages of his batting on pitches upon which he grew up on. His glove work has been reasonable, not exceptional, but his batting has been atrocious. His England career is surely now all but over.

Chris Read can consider himself slightly unfortunate to be dropped, especially in favour of Jones, but it still remains doubtful as to whether the man who averaged just 27.41 in the LVCC1 could have scored the mega runs which England required, what with the horrendous form of their number six.

A dismal Champions Trophy performance, during which he was dismissed by an out of sorts McGrath, was poor with the gloves and racked up scores of 2, 0 and 4, helped to explain his axing. Whilst he scored runs against Pakistan it must be taken into account that that was against a Pakistani attack missing their three premier strike bowlers, Shoaib Aktar, Mohammed Asif and Shabbir Ahmed.

His performances in the ODI series against Pakistan also did little to help his cause as he ended with scores of 0, 30, 21no and 4. What I am saying here is not that Jones should have played, but that maybe it was not Read who should have taken his place and should do so now. For the last year I have wanted to see somebody else given a chance. There is no shortage of talent with Matthew Prior and Steven Davies currently working with the academy squad.

Prior averaged 46.70 in first class cricket last season as Sussex lifted the championship. Surely he is deserving of a chance. The young prodigy Davies, who has already been hyped up unfairly as the next Adam Gilchrist is a splendid glove man. Beyond these two James Foster and Phil Mustard continue to go dutifully about their business in county cricket. One can only imagine how depressing it must be to be continually discounted because of this nonsensical tug of war between Jones and Read, which has only served to detract attention from the splendid performances of some of England’s future wicket keeping talent. If none of the aforementioned are considered along with Read it will be a sad loss for English cricket.

Of England’s batsman Alastair Cook has proved himself, but Ian Bell is still working his way there and as such looks unsuited to such a crucial position as number three in the batting line up. When Vaughan returns I hope he comes back as an opener where he has played his best cricket for England. Cook dropping down to three provides England with such a calming and stabilising presence, whilst Bell could move down in to the middle order, where he played so brilliantly against Pakistan, racking up three consecutive hundreds.

The aggression of Vaughan and Trescothick has been missing from England’s opening three and with it back England will look a more dominating side. Pietersen has played fantastic cricket at five, but maybe if he came in at four once more we would see some bigger scores from the man who is equally adept at playing pace and spin bowling, with aggression. Bell has a fantastic temperament ala Graham Thorpe and looks very good against spin. I believe that he could anchor the side at five and dropping him down the order removes some of the pressure on the man and importantly gets him away from the new ball, against which he can look suspect.

If Flintoff is to continue to play as a number six, there must be a rapid improvement. His streaky innings on the final day at Perth seemed merely to confirm that he can no longer be considered worthy of a place on batting alone. With that being the case he should not be batting in the top six. His career Test average is equal to that of Shaun Pollock, standing at 32.00. Pollock is a fantastic bowling all rounder who bats at number eight, as is Flintoff. Flintoff is no Jaques Kallis with the bat and similarly Kallis is no Flintoff with the ball. England must recognise this fallibility at number six and rectify it.

Pushed down to seven Flintoff could afford to play his aggressive innings ala Gilchrist, without the pressure of knowing that big runs are expected of him every time he goes out to bat. The question of who bats at six now becomes tricky though. If England want to maintain a five man attack without Flintoff in the top six, then they must select Prior, who is capable of scoring major runs at six. He is the best batsman of all the wicket keeping options.

This may be something that England have to spend a lot of time thinking about given their inability to take twenty wickets in a match at present. This would still give England a very long tail though, with Hoggard, Harmison, Jones and Panesar to follow, but hopefully the top seven batsman would be up to scoring the required runs. Stephen Harmison’s position can not be safe though. Of his five wickets at Perth two were McGrath and Clark, numbers ten and eleven. He is still not the bowler he was in early 2004 and has no consistency whatsoever.

Stuart Broad must now come into serious consideration as a replacement. Hyped up yet again, as the next McGrath, the Leicestershire pace man has the potential to be a great bowler and what’s more he is a consistent line and length bowler, with bounce, a bowler England currently lack. The son of former England opener Chris Broad, he can also bat and would solve the current number eight problem, with his inclusion going some way to shortening England's tail. With Simon Jones an almost certain returnee because of his ability to swing the ball both ways, that may jeopardise Matthew Hoggard’s position in a four man attack, although it would be harsh to drop England’s best bowler on tour so far, currently ranked sixth by the ICC. If that were to happen though it would open the door for the best wicket keeper, perhaps Chris Read or Steven Davies to bat at eight, with another batsman coming in at six.

That man would surely have to be Paul Collingwood. His two hundred shows that he has class and concentration. His ninety-two showed us he has guts. Unfortunately these two innings also demonstrated that whilst he can score on a flat deck, he is troubled by seam bowling outside his off stump on result pitches and this has proved to be his undoing so far in his international career. For this reason I do not believe that he should bat at four and at best should come in at five. He is though a talented player and worthy of a slot if England want to bat down to six, although he must watch out for the flamboyant Irishman, Ed Joyce, coming over the horizon, along with Marcus Trescothick. The experiences of fellow double centurions Brad Hodge, Jason Gillespie and Rob Key demonstrate that a cricketer is never safe and rightly so.

England must consider the above issues carefully and adapt the make up of their side for the future. Ultimately, England must focus on ending the batting collapses and consistently taking twenty wickets, if they want to become the best side in the world. At present they can’t do either against the undisputed leader of world cricket. It has been a lesson in ruthlessness and class that the Australian’s have dealt out and unfortunately it looks set to continue for the next two months. In time for the next domestic season, England must make some changes to their strategy and start building for the future. They must select a side for the summer which can bring England success in the next Ashes series in just two and a half years time.

Andrew Strauss (vc)
Michael Vaughan (c)
Alastair Cook
Kevin Pietersen
Ian Bell
Matthew Prior (wk) (Paul Collingwood)
Andrew Flintoff
Stuart Broad
Matthew Hoggard (Steven Davies/ Chris Read)
Monty Panesar
Simon Jones


Chris Pallett