Those people who say Test cricket is dead don’t know what they are talking about. Some fantastic cricket is being played and cricket at that which is far more entertaining than the cricket which was being played 20 or 30 years ago. Crowds may be not but millions are watching online and on TV.

There is no doubt that Australia isn’t the same dominant side it once was. This makes for a much more even contest and in turn more entertaining viewing. They don’t have it their own way, especially without Shane Warne. They are finding it significantly harder to bowl out sides without Warne and their best replacement in Nathan Hauritz isn’t actually that good.

Likewise their batting isn’t at the same level when the likes of David Boon and the Waugh brothers were playing. Michael Clarke is playing well but Michael Hussey is shaky. Marcus North looks so-so and then just when you think he is finished, he scores a century. Cricket betting has no idea what to make of him.

Pakistan are really going to test them and it should be a fascinating series. First of all they will feel much happier about playing at the big grounds such as Sydney and Melbourne. They have played twice there in the last 20 years. This was after playing there four times between 1977 and 1983. Only Ricky Ponting and Clarke remain from that side.

England will be thankful for a draw against South Africa but it should have never been that close in the first place. They didn’t play good cricket and were made to pay for it with that scare at the end. The fact of the matter is they should have been more aggressive on the fifth day and tried to go for the win. That would have put South Africa on the back foot.

What were the other problems? Winning the toss and then not batting and making first use of the wicket. What about the selection of Ian Bell? Additionally Alistair Cook is clearly in a form slump. With Andrew Strauss not scoring runs either it puts enormous pressure on the trio of Pietersen, Trott and Collingwood.

The bowlers were ok but nothing special, but then again this is what they did against Australia in the Ashes. Be average one game and then take eight wickets in a session the next. All in all it sets it up for an exciting second Test in Durban.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. He also writes about the Australian Open.

It seems pretty hard to do but the ICC is making a hash of the video technology. You wouldn’t have though it impossible but that’s what happening. Umpires with the full use of hot-spot, hawkeye and all of the other gadgets and gizmos are making a complete mess of it.

Really it isn’t that hard. If a decision is referred to you, you have a look at it and if there is overwhelmingly evidence that the decision on the field is wrong you overturn it. If not, you allow the decision on the field to stand. The players don’t know what to make of it. Cricket betting is confused and so are others.

Regardless of where the umpire is located – whether it is in the middle or in the video booth, the same principles have to be applied and that is common sense. Sadly this seems to have been lost when it comes to the decision making process by the men in the middle.

It isn’t cricket but take the recent Ireland – France World Cup qualifier. The Irish players instantly protested the French goal. They all went up as one and it was a violent, aggrieved protest. It was arrogance by Swedish referee Martin Hansson not to think something was amiss. Players don’t react like this simply when a goal is scored or when things don’t go their way. They only act like this when they genuinely feel they have been aggrieved. That something horribly wrong has happened.

So Hansson should have spoken to his linesmen and then to Thierry Henry. That would have sorted out a lot of problems and Hansson would have universally been lauded as a referee who used and applied common sense. Instead he is a pariah and a laughing stock.

It isn’t easy to be a cricket umpire. Players go up for everything and believe its always out and by the same taken batsman don’t walk. If it was a gentleman’s game it would be far easier on the umpires.
One possible solution is to do away with appealing altogether. Why is it necessary?  The umpire should be able to adjudicate it is out regardless of someone from the feeling side asking the question. The elimination of all of the incessant appeals would make their job a lot easier.

The video-technology should assist umpires in moments they have made lapses but you would hope that this results in the correct decision being reached. For some reason, the video umpire often gets it wrong and most of the time it seems to be when Australia is playing.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. He also writes about harness betting.

India got to play only two test series in the whole of 2009. There are rumours doing the rounds that India might not get to play a test match before the 2011 World Cup and that will make it difficult for them to retain their recently acquired #1 test ranking.

However, a peek into the ICC FTP website and the Cricinfo website provides the following information:

India will play two test matches against Bangladesh in December 09-January 10. This tournament has been confirmed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. The tigers have been playing well under Shakib-al-Hasan and this series should test India more than ever before. This will be the right time to test Rohit Sharma/Virat Kohli and co in the middle order and give Sachin and Laxman some rest. But it is highly unlikely to happen.

South Africa are slated to play 3 test matches in India in February 2010. However, there has been no official confirmation from the ICC and the test series is yet to be scheduled. The 5 match ODI series is, however, certain to happen.

India are scheduled to tour Zimbabwe to play a two test match series in May 2010. This series in in doubt as no major international teams barring Sri Lanka have toured Zimbabwe in the recent past. Considering the lack of commercial interest for this series, there is a chance that this series might as well be scrapped.

India will host New Zealand in a 3 test series in November 2010, a series that is yet to be confirmed.

So at this moment, we can safely say that India’s tour to Bangladesh is the only test series that India will get to play in the near future.

India thrashed Sri Lanka by an innings and 24 runs to claim the series and the top spot in the ICC test cricket rankings. In the process, India have successfully continued to guard their fortress against Sri Lankan invasion in test match cricket. Sri Lanka will have to wait for atleast another couple of years to give themselves a chance of winning a test match on Indian soil.

Sri Lanka have themselves to blame for the loss. Though Sangakkara went a bit overboard in blaming the absence of the referral system (which in his opinion made a difference of 500 runs) for his team’s performance, he would have known from inside that they were outplayed by India in batting and bowling. Sri Lanka’s fielding, a department that they pride themselves to excel at, haven’t been any impressive in this tournament. Considering that Sri Lanka are yet to win a test match in Australia, South Africa and India (the three top-ranked sides), this defeat says something about their inability to beat better sides away from home. Though they have an exceptional record at home, they remain poor travellers which is exemplified by their defeat to West Indies last year. Murali’s magic has continued to wane and the ‘mystery’ of Mendis has been decoded after his stint at the IPL. When Indian bastmen went full throttle against the Lankan bowlers, Sangakkara had no weapon to unleash at them.

Let us discuss a bit on India’s road to the crown. Ever since the introduction of the ICC team ranking system, this is first time India has managed the top honours in the longer format of the game despite having occupied the top spot in limited overs internationals for a short period of time. The journey to the top has been achieved by playing consistent cricket over the past five years and there are numerous hands that have played a part in this journey to the pinnacle.

Numerous stand out contributions come to mind when we think of India’s major successes in this decade. Ajit Agarkar’s 6/43 in the second innings helped India win the test match at Adelaide in 2003/04. Rahul Dravid’s fighting innings with Kumble at Jamaica won India a test series in the Carribean long after Ajit Wadekar’s men triumphed at the Port of Spain in 1971. Sreesanth authored India’s first ever test match victory in South Africa as India dismissed SA for a paltry 84 in their first innings at the Wanderers. MS Dhoni defied England at Lords and Zaheer Khan’s efforts at Nottingham helped India win another test in England. Irfan Pathan and RP Singh bowled India to victory at Perth and Sehwag single handedly won us a test match in Galle. Gambhir, Tendulkar and Harbhajan singh scripted India’s win at Hamilton earlier this year. The contributions of Venkatesh Prasad, Robin Singh, John Wright and Gary Kirsten behind the scenes cannot be underestimated either.

India have yet to win a test series in Australia and South Africa which would make them the undisputable #1 in test cricket. But India has been more consistent when playing Australia and South Africa than most sub-continent teams have been. This #1 ranking can only be sustained by playing consistent, competitive cricket. But for the moment, India can savour this moment and bask on the glory of having achieved it. When the next test match starts, they’ll have to begin on a clean slate all over again.

In the recent past, it is the Indian fast bowlers that have been more successful in winning us test matches than the spinners. Even in the recent test triumphs at home and away, it has been the fast bowlers who have stepped in with their seam and reverse swing. Zaheer Khan has been the standout performer and he has played a major role in most of India’s recent test successes. Though he did not start well in this series, he capped it off with another 5 wicket haul at the CCI.

Ishant Sharma was brilliant in Australia before money and fame got to him. He is still a talent that needs to be carefully nurtured. He had a forgettable game at Motera and the pitch that the curator prepared has to share part of the blame for his ineffectiveness. Nevertheless, he deserves some rest and he needs to play a lot of domestic games to regain his confidence.

Coming from an underrepresented state of India, Sreesanth can inspire a whole new breed of cricketers if he can keep his on and off field antics at check. He has got the talent and he displayed it to us at Kanpur, where he extracted reverse swing out of a pitch that offered nothing for the fast bowlers.

The spinners Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra were disappointing. Though the pitches at Ahmedabad and Kanpur were not very conducive to spinners, Harbhajan should have managed a much better show having played so much international cricket. Pragyan Ojha was briefly impressive in his debut test match and deserves a lot more chances that will provide him ample learning opportunities.

It has been to India’s advantage that Gambhir and Sehwag continue to make runs at the top. Having been consistent throughout 2008 where he earned the ICC Test Player of the year award, Gambhir’s appetite for scoring runs has continued unabated. Sehwag continues to show us his penchant for scoring big centuries and it is a relief that Rahul Dravid is back to his sublime best. Sachin Tendukar continues to defy age and retirement and Laxman/Yuvraj have impressed whenever they have got their chances. MS Dhoni had a great series too with two centuries to his credit, one of which was scored at a crucial juncture in Ahmedabad.

India have done well to go on top. Now is the time to conquer hitherto unconquered frontiers.

Indibloggies have nominated this blog as one of the best sports blogs in India for this year.

If you are a frequent visitor here and you think this blog is any good, then go here and vote for me in the “Sports” section.

India have comprehensively beaten Sri Lanka in the test match at Kanpur in which all sorts of records tumbled. With the win, India register their hundredth International test win. It also makes MS Dhoni the most succesful Indian captain to date who has won a maximum number of test matches without losing any.

India’s first test match was played way back in 1932-33. It took them 20 years to register their first test match victory against England at Chennai. However, much of their success has come in the last decade where they have won 39 of their 102 matches. Statistically, they have won 1.44 matches for every match they lose in this decade which is almost double (up from a 0.73 Win-Lose ratio) of what we have achieved as a cricketing nation in our entire lifetime.

Everything went right for MS Dhoni at Kanpur. He won the toss and saved India from batting out Mendis, Murali and Herath in the last innings. Sehwag, who went quiet for a few test matches came up with a stroke-filled century in an epochal partnership with Gambhir. Gambhir went on to score his 7th century in 9 matches and Rahul Dravid seems to have returned to his merry days. Even Laxman and Yuvraj Singh helped themselves to fifties and took India to a massive first innings score of 642 which put pressure on the Sri Lankan batsmen straightaway.

To the surprise of everybody who expected a repeat of the Ahmedabad test going by the evidence of the pitch and overhead conditions, the pitch did assist some turn from day 3. However, India’s success came from the most unlikely and its most unpredictable player who had just resurfaced from a self-imposed wilderness. Sreesanth extracted some life out of a pitch that otherwise had nothing in it and swung the match in India’s favour with his 5 for 75.

Following on with a deficit of 416 runs and two and a half days to bat out was never going to be any easy. However, Sri Lanka showed no resistance and crumbled to 57 for 4 on the very day with all their top order and reputed batsmen back in the hut. Samaraweera held the fort and in the able assistance of the lower order took Sri Lanka to a respectable total before handling India their hundredth test victory.

This match in every sense reminds me of the first test played at the SSC in Colombo when India toured Sri Lanka the previous time. Sri Lanka batted first and scored 600 runs with three of their batsmen scoring centuries and the magic of Murali and Mendis handed India a humiliating innings defeat.

Kanpur did look like India’s way of avenging the humilation. India did come back to win the second test match at Galle then. But I am not so hopeful of Sri Lanka’s chances at Mumbai. Let us see if Sri Lanka can spring a surprise.

UPDATE: M Vijay looks more likely to replace Gautam Gambhir for the third test at Mumbai. Gambhir will be off to attend his sister’s marriage.

It’s a busy time in cricket with eight international sides being engaged in a series. It is a great time to be a fan of the sport.
In Australia the summer of cricket is about to get under way with the Australians hosting the West Indies. This should be an interesting series for a number of reasons. How will the Australians bounce back after the Ashes loss and last year’s series defeat to South Africa?  What kind of fight will the West Indies put up? It is only a three match series and the visitors will be hoping to avoid defeat first up at the Gabba. Cricket betting has the visitors as huge long shots.

It will also be interesting to see how various members of the Australian side do. There are still the question marks revolving Nathan Hauritz and his ability to be the successor to Shane Warne. How will Shane Watson fare as an all-rounder and how much cricket does Michael Hussey have left in him?

Across the Tasman, New Zealand will be hosting Pakistan for a three Test series of their own.  This will be an entertaining series and both sides will be keen to do well.

The India-Sri Lanka series is already into the Second Test. The First one was a draw but on the balance you would say that Sri Lanka took the honors. Maybe they batted too long in the second innings. They didn’t need to score 760. The concern was the ability to bowl India out in the second innings. Only 21 wickets fell in five days so both sides will be keen to have sharper bowling attacks.

In South Africa, the England-South Africa tour has just gotten under way. So far it has been a pretty even tour. England won the first Twenty20 match by one run and were then smashed by 84 in the second match. They first 50 over match was washed out and then England had a confident seven wicket win in the second match. After letting South Africa get to 9/250, England chased the runs in a very positive fashion. Jonathan Trott has continued on from where he left off in the Ashes and put on 87 runs from 119 balls. He combined with Paul Collingwood for a 162 run stand in 30 overs. When he was dismissed, Collingwood combined with Eoin Morgan to score 45 in 27 balls. It was quite emphatic and very un-England like. It sets up the tour nicely.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. He also write about harness betting.

Harbhajan Singh had another forgettable match with the ball at Motera in the first test against Sri Lanka. His performances over the last few years in test matches haven’t been so impressive when compared to the earlier half of his career. His performances have especially deteriorated on pitches that are loaded in favour of the batsmen.

We shall dedicate this post entirely to a number summary of Harbhajan Singh’s test career. We shall, in the process, highlight his growing ineffectiveness of placid wickets, his poor record away from home and why he is far from being the best spinner India have at the moment.

Harbhajan has 216 test wickets from 44 home test matches and only 116 test wickets from 35 test matches played outside India. If we have to count out the 23 wickets he has taken in 7 test matches in the spin-friendly Sri Lankan wickets, the record is even more abysmal outside the subcontinent. He is yet to take a test match wicket in Pakistan after playing two test matches there.

His bowling averages in Australia and South Africa are 73 and 56 respectively which are far from being impressive. His strike rates in these two countries are 126 and 108 which signify that he has been required to bowl atleast 20 overs to guarantee him a test wicket in Australia and South Africa. He also averages 52.65 in test matches in which India have bowled first.

In the recent past, he has bowled flatter and without any sting in test matches played on placid wickets. In the acrimonious Sydney test in early 2008, he bowled 60 overs for 200 runs and picked up just four wickets in the match. In the Adelaide test match that followed, he gave away 148 runs and picked up just one wicket from 48 overs. In Bangalore against Pakistan in early 2007, he bowled 38 overs, conceded 131 runs and picked up just two wickets. The list is quite an exhaustive one that culminates in his miserable performance at Motera last week.

We can see that these are not the figures of a top class spin bowler whom we hail as the spin spearhead. It is high time India looked for talent beyond him and gave some youngsters a longer run at the international level.

If there is any consolation, he seems to be batting a lot better now than ever before. That is still no reason to have him in your side as the leading spinner.

There is so much being written about the preparation of docile test match wickets that make the contest between bat and ball lopsided. It is annoying to read so many reports about this topic in the last few days. Tendulkar’s 20 years and the future of test cricket seem to be the hot topics of coverage everywhere. We shall intentionally stay away from all that hoopla and write about something that is becoming a global syndrome and not something that is specific to Indian wickets.

In the last five years, Lord’s, the home of cricket, has been no exception to tame draws. Since 2005, only two test matches played at Lord’s have produced results. England defeated West Indies in May 2009 and they defeated Australia in the Ashes earlier this year. Counting out the match against West Indies, that makes it 6 draws and a solitary victory.

Earlier this year, when India toured New Zealand, the test match at Napier petered out to a dull draw where India batted close to five sessions to see the match off. Only two out of 8 test matches played at this venue since 1979 have produced results.

The test matches played at Lahore’s Gadaffi stadium in the last two years have been high scoring draws. We need not remind you of the kind of surfaces England got in West Indies earlier this year when they failed to win a single test match after going down to Jerome Taylor in Jamaica.

In his column in the Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Roebuck doesn’t hide his disappointment about the slowing SCG surface:

With every passing year, the tracks seem to be slowing down. Take the mottled surfaces seen at the SCG this season. A more docile bunch of decks it’d be hard to imagine. Admittedly, the new ball had a bit of carry but it did not last long. Doug Bollinger had plenty of gas but before long was obliged to bowl stump to stump. Already Stuart Clark had adopted the same strategy. These blokes are top-class operators.

As we can see, the problem with batsmen-friendly pitches is becoming a global syndrome and is not specific to  the wickets of any nation as such. What is more worrying is Mr. Daljit Singh’s retort to the criticism about the Ahmedabad pitch. He says that the curator’s act was justified as they did not want India to go down in a session like they did in the game against South Africa two years ago. India  are better off preparing dust bowls and earning international censure as opposed to preparing such lifeless wickets where there is no turn even on the fifth day.

If there is any consolation, it is just that the wickets in South Africa continue to be sporting and produce results almost everytime. Maybe the curators there have a thing or two to teach their Indian counterparts.

]]> http://highyengar.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/docile-pitches-and-tame-draws-2/feed/ 2 12.971606 77.594376 12.971606 77.594376 12th Man http://highyengar.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/aussies-back-on-top/ http://highyengar.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/aussies-back-on-top/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:44:02 +0000 dwiseman http://highyengar.wordpress.com/?p=1247 ]]>

The Australians were depressed after their loss in the Ashes but will feel overjoyed after their series win in India. Yes while it may have been a victory in a meaningless series but from  it, there is the chance that Australia can reap long-term benefits.

Normally Australia finds that its opposition is ravaged by injury and has to call for replacement after replacement. Australia will be a bit more sympathetic after what it has been through on this tour. Tim Paine, James Hopes, Brett Lee and Peter Siddle all left the original touring party. Moises Henriques was called up as a replacement player and he himself had to be replaced.  This was combined with Callum Ferguson and Brad Haddin not being in the original squad.

Filling the breech were Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger and Burt Cockley. Bollinger really stood out. He took nine wickets from his first four games at the average of 19.33. He is definitely a find of the tour and one Australia can look forward to in the future.

With 313 from his first 6 matches, Michael Hussey has been the form batsman. He still will want to atone for his shaky test form but doing well in the one-day series is a good start. Hussey faces a crucial summer. At his age, one can’t be sure how much longer he has in the team, but by the same token it’s not the time to be blooding another middle-order batsman.

Even less so when one considers the injuries that Michael Clarke is suffering from. He hasn’t really lifted a bat since the Ashes and it’s hard to say what kind of form he’s in.

Brett Lee was in sparkling form before he left the team and hopefully he will be able to return for NSW in order to impress the Australian selectors. Cricket betting isn’t sure if he will win back his Test spot.

As for India, they played well but were always a step behind the Australians. In the sixth game, they only needed to score another 50 runs but folded badly. Too much relied on the old guard of Dhoni, Tendulkar and Gambhir. Apart from that, many of the batsmen let India down such as Sehwag and Yuvraj.

Apart from Australia, the real winner of this series was 50 over cricket. Everyone is in love with Twenty20 cricket and feel that the longer form of the shorter form of the game is in danger. This series proved there is a place for 50 over cricket.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. He also writes about greyhound betting.