Making The Same Mistakes

England has made great strides in selecting squads for the one day and twenty20 formats. However, where test cricket is concerned the same mistakes are being made. If five bowlers were selected instead of four against the South Africans during the winter, they would have probably won that series instead of narrowly scraping a draw.

The worrying thing is, England has gone into a test match against Bangladesh with the same set-up. If we have not got the courage to use five bowlers against Bangladesh, then it is unlikely that will change for the Ashes series later this year. It is doubtful that England could win a series in Australia playing four bowlers.

It is a defensive selection policy and sends all the wrong messages to the opposition. A four pronged attack, suggests the objective is to merely avoid defeat rather than to aggressively pursue victory. England should not be short of runs and there should be no need for an extra batsman. After all, bowlers like Swann and Broad can both score runs down the order.

It is time the emphasis was once again placed on bowling sides out. That means taking 20 wickets to win a test match. You are not going to achieve that by constantly playing four bowlers.

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Getting The Hang Of Twenty20 Cricket

The twenty20 world cup has seen some polished performances by England. If it were not for the unfair Duckworth/Lewis inspired loss to the West Indies, they would have a 100% record. The players have performed to a high standard and deserve much praise. However, the coach Andy Flower is arguably the one individual responsible for engineering such a change in England’s fortunes in 20 over cricket.

In the past, England would just send out a side that was more suited to test cricket. Thankfully, those days are gone and we no longer have to watch Ian Bell and endless forward defensive shots while the run rate is soaring. Now we have batsmen like Eoin Morgan and Craig Kieswetter who know how to clear the boundary rope. Throw in a canny bowling unit and the side has twenty20 written all over it.

Because everyone makes a contribution, Paul Collingwood probably finds it easier to captain this team than he did previously. England and Australia are the 2 outstanding sides in this tournament. It would not be a surprise to see the teams contesting the final. If that were to occur, then it will surely be a game worthy of the occasion.

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Some Meaningful Test Cricket

It seems ages since there were some meaningful test cricket to enjoy. The winter tour of Bangladesh was never going to be a serious test. That was followed by a glut of twenty20 cricket courtesy of the Indian Premier League. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy the IPL but it drags on and on and on. Surely the tournament would benefit from a shorter duration. Unfortunately, the money men might not agree with that suggestion.

This summer’s fixture list is unusual to say the least. After the world twenty20 competition is out of the way. Things begin with two tests against Bangladesh. This is followed by a series of one-dayers against Australia and Bangladesh which spans a month. Pakistan is the opposition for a four test series during August followed by yet more one day international matches.

It is fair to say the Pakistan national team is going through a transitional phase so how much resistance they will provide is anyone’s guess. However, at least the visit of Australia provides some top class opposition although it is in the 50 over format. If nothing else, the summer will be a confidence building exercise prior to the Ashes defence later this year.

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England Lucky To Draw Series

The Springboks made no secret of the fact they felt they had been the better of the two sides throughout the test series. After the 4th test where England was comprehensively demolished, it is hard to disagree with that opinion. Apart from their one below par display in the 2nd test, South Africa played positive, aggressive cricket. England on the other hand seemed more interested in avoiding defeat as opposed to pursuing victory.

Overall, it was a decent series for England but you can’t help wondering what might have happened if they had been more positive. Now that Flintoff is no longer around the side continues to lack balance. Selecting an extra batsman is not the answer if you want to win test matches. Indeed, right throughout the series England have not scored enough runs even with the additional batsman. England bat down the order with Swann and Broad so runs should not be too much of a problem.

Taking 20 wickets must surely be the priority but in the final test England once again selected only four bowlers. Unfairly ditching Onions in favour of Sidebottom with his novelty left-arm bowling merely compounded the error. We keep hearing about our world class attack but if you take Swann and his wickets out of the equation we would have struggled. They have potential to be a world class attack but are certainly not the finished article. England still requires a long term replacement for Harmison as the current attack would benefit from the addition of genuine pace.

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