A new Caribbean dawn? Pull the other one

After their latest cricket humiliation - the 10-wicket defeat to Pakistan at the World Cup - West Indies coach Otis Gibson has taken some pretty serious action. From the ODI squad for the upcoming series against the same opponents, he has dropped Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and, most eye-catchingly of all, Chris Gayle.

Given that Chanderpaul is nearing 37, his omission isn't very surprising: he has no chance of playing in the next World Cup. The death of ODIs may have been greatly exaggerated, but the death of bilateral ODI series has not been. Where they are interesting, it tends to be because they are played before the Test series, lending them context. Piggy-backed onto the end of the Tests, they are essentially meaningless. So it makes sense to ditch Chanderpaul, in this form of the game at least.

Sarwan and Gayle, however, are both 30, so clearly haven't been dropped for reasons of age. Sarwan has struggled for form for some time now, and was never fluent at the World Cup. Gayle was, but the view that he doesn't care much has always lingered, albeit unfairly at times. If you are trying to build a new team with spirit and work ethic, it probably makes sense to dump Gayle. Keeping him in, for all the brilliance of his batting, risks sending a symbol that it's fine to act in such a nonchalant way with so little apparent passion for the West Indies (with his decision to arrive back from an IPL stint only two days before a Lord's Test perhaps the best example of this). To a degree, Gayle is probably slightly unlucky - he strikes me as a man for whom, like David Gower, endless hours of training would be counter-productive. Nevertheless, dropping him is a powerful symbol.

Yet the most disheartening aspect of the selection news concerns two all-rounders who should be integral to a West Indian revival. Both Dwayne Bravo and Kieran Pollard will miss international fixtures to play in the IPL - and the West Indies board don't even bother threatening not to select them in future. Of Pollard, the statement even said, "It was mutually determined that Pollard would be best served by being allowed to hone his T20 skills in the Indian Premier League, which will bring future benefit to West Indies cricket". Who do they expect will believe that?

With commitment levels like that from their best players, it is no wonder the board have said they want to make it 'special' to represent the West Indies again. And it's why talk that the West Indies won't exist as a cricketing entity in 2020, but a series of nations, continues to linger.

2008 Season Preview: Durham

Continuing our series of county previews, Rob Dixon assesses Durham's chances in 2008.

2007 in a nutshell
What can you say…it was the year Durham came of age. An Ottis Gibson inspired team led them to both Friends Provident Trophy and Pro 40 Division Two success. They also finished second in County Championship Division One: a ‘Roy of the Rovers’ story for any Durham supporter.

2008 Prospects
It will be tough to repeat what happened in 2007, but they have kept the majority of the side that did so well last year. They have lost Otis Gibson to England management but have managed a major coup in re-signing Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Michael Di Venuto, the latter taking advantage of his Italian passport to qualify as a non-overseas player. Until Chanderpaul’s arrival in July, the club have signed Neil McKenzie to start the season and Albie Morkel will be at the club for the Twenty20 campaign in June.

Batting:
Despite being resigned to losing Collingwood for most of the season with England, the batting looks solid with Di Venuto likely to open the batting with McKenzie at the beginning of the season. Kyle Coetzer came on leaps and bounds last season and will hope to cement his place in the side. Hopefully this will take a bit of pressure of Dale Benkenstein whose runs have been invaluable over the last few years as well as his shrewd captaincy. Phil Mustard will hopefully translate his one-day form to the county game as he has the talent to reach 1000 championship runs

It will be a big year for a few of the other batsman attempting to get in the side. Gordon Muchall is getting to the time now where he has to deliver his undoubted promise. Will Smith and Garry Park are also young batsman hoping to take their chance and Mark Stoneman, who scored his maiden century against Sussex last season, will aim to be the next star of the flourishing Academy system at the Riverside.

Bowling:
Losing Gibson is a major blow but it has been softened by the fact that Durham might get a full season out of Steve Harmison, his wickets will be crucial for the club as he has quality back up with Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions, both of whom should be pushing for winter tour spots. Mark Davies and Callum Thorp have hopefully got over their injury worries of the past few years and add the ever reliable Neil Killeen and Mitchell Claydon to the mix and Durham have a rich seam of pace bowling options. One thing they do lack, as in recent years, is a quality spinner and should we get a hot summer then they may struggle with only the spin of Gareth Breese and Paul Wiseman

Probable sides:
Championship
Michael Di Venuto
Neil McKenzie / Mark Stoneman after July
Kyle Coetzer
Gordon Muchall / Shivnarine Chanderpaul after July
Dale Benkenstein (c)
Phil Mustard (wk)
Gareth Breese
Liam Plunkett
Graham Onions
Mark Davies
Steve Harmison

Pressing for places: Will Smith, Garry Park, Ben Harmison, Mitchell Claydon, Callum Thorp

One-day and Twenty20
Phil Mustard
Michael Di Venuto
Kyle Coetzer
Neil McKenzie / Chanderpaul
Dale Benkenstein
Gordon Muchall
Gareth Breese / Albie Morkel (Twenty20)
Liam Plunkett
Graham Onions
Neil Killeen
Steve Harmison

Key Man:
I’m going for Michael di Venuto. Good starts are invaluable if they are going to challenge for honours and the likeable Aussie (Italian!) will hopefully help that come to fruition. His county record is second to none and despite his advancing years, he will hopefully nurture the young batsmen at the club to better things, as well as continue his high standards.

Rising Star:
Kyle Coetzer showed last year that he is a quality young batsman. A former Scotland U19’s captain, he broke into the side in the middle of last season after a run of decent scores in the 2^nd XI. He also scored 61 in the Friends Provident Trophy Final looking accomplished against the spin of Shane Warne. He has the talent to score hundreds this season and maybe force himself into international reckoning.

Captain and Coach:
Geoff Cook had a fairytale first season as coach after taking the reins following Martyn Moxon’s move to Yorkshire at the start of last season. Dale Benkenstein continues as captain for his third season at the helm.

Outlook:
Surely it’s impossible to emulate the performances of last season…or is it? The Championship is the Holy Grail and I believe this team will go close; a lack of a quality spinner might just prove costly however.

One-day performances will hopefully continue to be strong, don’t rule out another Lords final and maybe just maybe we will get out of Twenty20 Cup north group after years of trying!

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

2007 County Awards

As an epic Championship race comes to an end, it's time to review the 2007 county season with Third Umpire's end-of-season awards.

Best player: His side didn't even come close to the honours, but it simply has to be Mark Ramprakash. Averaging 100 in consecutive seasons simply defies belief; an unprecedented achievement for the consummate professional and master technician. And finally, the first man to hit 10 first-class hundreds in a season since, well, himself.

Best batsman: Same again.

Best bowler:A toss up between two 38-year-olds (Andy Caddick and Otis Gibson) and the irrepressible Mushtaq Ahmed. Gibson's superhuman deeds in Divison One, and match-winning Friends Provident display, shade it.

Best performance: Otis Gibson's 10-47 against Hampshire was simply extraordinary.

Best hat-trick: Ryan McLaren's memorable effort in Kent's Twenty20Cup Final win.

Best match: Though ultimately it proved not to be close, for sheer quality and intensity Sussex's crucial victory over Lancashire at Liverpool.

Most valiant run chase: Lancashire's 464 on the final day against Surrey, just beating Surrey's very own 467 against Hampshire which, not coincidentally, were both at the Oval. Now, if only Lancs had showed similar application in the aforementioned Sussex clash.

Most ridiculous rant: Bob Willis, take a bow. His claim that former internationals like Hick, Crawley and Ramprakash were "clogging up" the system was totally nonsensical. On the contrary, they raise the standard - and are invaluable for youngsters to learn from.

Best decision (1): Chris Adams' 11th-hour u-turn when Yorkshire came calling. He was vindicated as, under his astute captaincy, Sussex won the Championship once more.

Best decision (2): Surrey effectively sacking Azhar Mahmood, seldom a first-class match-winner, and signing Harbhajan Singh in his place. Singh, with much to prove after being dropped by India, was the catalyst for their spectacular mid-season change of fortunes, claiming 37 wickets in just six games and providing the penetration his side had so lacked previously.

Worst decision (1): The ECB re-jigging the recruitment rules and banning the second overseas player from next season. They have helped immeasurably in improving the quality of cricket. Better, surely, to introduce serious preventive measures to ensure counties always field at least eight players eligible for England at that time.

Worst decision (2): The London-based dentist who paid for Jimmy Maher to be Glamorgan's overseas player. Maher suffered a sad crisis-in-confidence, averaging a paltry 17 in eight first-class games in a Glamorgan season that went from one nadir to the next. Meanwhile his early season stand-in, Matthew Elliot, was excellent.

Saddest tale: Staying with Glamorgan, Simon Jones' depressing transformation from reverse-swing king to a stuttering run-up - and one first-class wicket for 290. A move may just reinvigorate him but, though he is just 28, you would get long odds on him playing for England again.

Best emerging player: A rare bright spot for Glammy, 17-year-old James Harris took 12 wickets against Gloucestershire, and continued to impress therafter, finishing with 33 wickets at just 23. And, as shown by an 88*, he can bat too.

Biggest red-herring: Sussex suffering innings defeats in games two and three, only to bounce back to record consecutive Championship titles.

Most predictable match-winner: The irrepressible Mushtaq Ahmed was at it again, claiming 90 first-class wickets including 13 in their final Championship win. Whether he is Sussex's finest ever player is certainly up for debate; but he is, surely, their biggest ever match-winner.

Most hyped-up player: Adil Rashid was always in the spotlight after his heroics last season. His batting develop tremendously (average 46) but his leg-spin still lacks control, and he found things mighty tough towards the end. Still, well worth an A tour and near-certain to play for England one day.

Biggest proof of the quality of the county game: The plethora of superb spinners on the circuit, although this was fall next season. Shane Warne, Mushtaq, Muralitharan, Harbhajan, Danish Kaneria, Murali Kartik and Monty Panesar bring immense spinning quality to the game. Hopefully Adil Rashid, whose bowling stuttered somewhat after a fine start, and Mike Munday, who recorded match figures of 10-60 in the season's final game, can learn a thing or two.

Best captain: For a pair of promotions and stamping his authority over a talented but hitherto underachieving side, it has to be Justin Langer, who scored copious runs to boot. Elsewhere, Rob key was excellent in leading Kent's Twenty20 triumph, while Adams was as combative as ever.

Most heart-warming story: Worcestershire overcoming floods and Championship thrashings to win the Pro40 league was a tremendous show of character.

Easiest scapegoat: The Pro40. Derided primarily for being 40 overs (how much difference does the loss of 10 middle overs really make?) it provided some enthralling action during the summer holidays. As Worcestershire illustrated, a competition starting in mid-season can reinvigorate a county. With only eight games, it is short and sweet; and, above all, it proved a lot of fun.

Dream Championship XI (both divisions, based on first-class form only):
Justin Langer (captain)
Michael Di Venuto
Mark Ramprakash
Stuart Law
David Hussey
Cameron White
Tim Ambrose (wicket-keeper)
Andy Bichel
Otis Gibson
Mushtaq Ahmed
Andy Caddick

(With Murali replacing Bichel on turning tracks)

What are your thoughts on this campaign? Share your views by leaving a comment below.

If you're interested in writing a season review for your county, please email it cricketingworld@hotmail.com. If possible please follow the template of last season's Surrey review.

Championship – Week 12

Again better weather for those having the week off than those who played, although there were some brilliant personal performances.


Div 1
Worcestershire and Lancashire didn’t even get started as New Road is doubling as an outdoor swimming pool again. It will be interesting to see whether this game is deemed worthy of a replay following the dangerous precedent of earlier in the season.

Yorkshire had their third game lasting under two days in a row. Surrey started strongly as Yorks elected to bat, but an unbeaten 91 from Adil Rashid and good support from the tail got the home team up to 307 and three bonus points. Surrey also struggled for runs reaching 229, with Darren Gough getting his 2nd 6-fer of the season. However, this was enough to give Mark Ramprakash 1000 runs for the season. Yorks were then 2 for1 after an over of their 2nd innings before time was called.

A lop sided game at Canterbury where Kent opened up with 550-9 and centuries for Martin van Jaarsveld, Geraint Jones and Yasir Arafat. Warwickshire managed just 107 in reply, with Rory McLaren getting five wickets. The weather and Darren Maddy, though, held Kent up as the Bears reached 268 for 7, with Maddy unbeaten on 148.

The most exciting game came at Durham where the home side recovered from 19 for 5 to make 229, thanks largely to a ton from Dale Blenkenstein. Ottis Gibson then took all ten wickets as Hampshire made only 115, Michael Brown carrying his bat for 56. Durham declared on 221 for 5 second time round to set Hants over 300 to win. Gibson took the first two wickets, and despite five wickets for Paul Wiseman, Hants held on at 262 for 9 for the draw, Brown again carrying his bat for 126.

Div 2
There was a similar disappointment for Glamorgan albeit in slightly more contrived circumstances against Derbyshire. The Welshmen opened up with 298, David Hemp falling three short of a hundred. Derby then declared on 150 for 3 before skittling Glamorgan for 127 with Kevin Dean taking 5 wickets. Needing 275 to win, Derby were struggling on 195 for 9 at stumps. Six wickets for Robert Croft not quite being enough to get them over the line.

Barely a day’s play was possible at Leicestershire as the home team declared on 403 for 5, HD Ackerman getting a ton. Middlesex could only manage 34 for 1 in reply and that was that.

The weather also wrecked Essex’s chances of making up ground on opponents Somerset at Taunton. Batting first Essex scored 282 which was enough for a healthy first inning lead as the home team managed just 153, with Andy Bichel getting 6-fer. Essex had reached 294 for 6 when the match finished, Ravi Bopara continuing his fine form with another century.

England Player Watch
Stuart Broad took the one Middlesex wicket to fall, but despite England suffering the same fate as Glamorgan and Durham, the England team looks fairly settled for the rest of the summer.

Player of the Week
No positive results this week, but two magnificent individual performances at Durham. In any normal match Michael Brown carrying his bat twice for half of Hampshire’s runs would see him as the stand out player. However, taking all ten wickets in an innings happens so rarely, than this week’s Player of the Week has to be Ottis Gibson

Championship Week 6

A bad week for the leaders, although that’s not the reason for the late appearance of the blog - I've been on holiday - honest!.

Div 1
Starting with the leaders, Yorkshire batted first at Durham, but despite most of the team getting a start, only Jacques Rudolph was able to convert to a big score. Otis Gibson became the latest Durham player to take a stack of wickets, taking 7-fer. Replying to 393, Durham scored 481 despite no-one reaching three figures. Graham Onions and Gibson again then skittled Yorks for just 218 and Durham reached their target with 6 wickets in hand. Despite the result, Yorkshire remain top, but Durham have closed the gap considerably.

Sussex got back on track at Worcestershire scoring 512 first up, with Murray Goodwin scoring a ton. Worcester then collapsed to 100 all out, Mustaq Ahmed getting 5-fer. Worcester did better following on with Graeme Hick scoring a ton in the 303 all out, which was still not enough to make Sussex bat again.

An odd game at Kent, where the home side subsided to 199 batting first, Joe Denly carrying his bat for 115 of them. Hampshire replied with 272 with Yasir Arafat continuing his fine start to the season with 5-fer. Batting became easier second time round with Rob Key, Martin van Jaarsveld and Darren Stevens all getting tons as Kent declared on 533 for 8. However, Hants were able to bat out the game comfortably for a draw.

Division 2
Starting at the top of the table, Essex recovered to 317, having been 94 for 6. Mark Footit, coming in for new England hero Ryan Sidebottom, did most of the damage with a 5 fer. The Nottinghamshire reply was based around 275 from David Hussey (from just 227 balls) and an unbeaten 165 from Chris Read, putting on a stand of 359 between them. Declaring on 664 for 7, Notts them bowled out Essex for 235, with only Ryan ten Doeschate giving much resistance with 102. Notts are now well clear at the top of the table

Somerset remain second with a comprehensive victory over Gloucestershire. Cameron White scored the latest double hundred at Taunton in a first innings total of 496. Charl Willoughby then took five wickets as Gloucester were bowled out for 202. Following on, they did much better with 496 and tons for Marcus North, Grant Hodnett and Chris Taylor and Andrew Caddick taking 6-fer. Somerset had just enough time to knock off the 172 needed for the loss of just two wickets.

Poor batting all round at Glamorgan where Middlesex won by an innings despite only scoring 221 in their go. Glamorgan started with just 60 and although they scored 159 second time round, it wasn’t enough. Alan Richardson stared with the ball for Middlesex, with match figures of 8 for 30.

Finally to Northamptonshire, where the visitors Derbyshire scored 160. Steven Peters then got a ton as the home team scored 365, Wayne White taking 5-fer. Steve Stubbings got a ton second time round for Derby, but it was only enough to set a target of 80. Northants did stumble somewhat in their chase, but got home with 6 wickets in hand.

England Player Watch
Chris Read’s fine knock came a couple of weeks too late, although it will keep him in the mind of the selectors. Marcus Trescothick scored a disappointing 17 in the first Somerset innings and didn’t bat second time round. Ed Joyce scored a fine 59 in the low scoring game at Glamorgan.

Bowling wise, Graham Onions was out-bowled by Otis Gibson for Durham and Adil Rashid went wicket-less in the same game.

Player of the Week
Ottis Gibson gets a nod for carrying the Durham bowling in the absence of Liam Plunkett and Steve Harmison. However, for what seems to have been a brutal assault on the Essex bowling to set up a comprehensive victory, the player of the week is David Hussey.