Cricket-Match-Special (CMS) Blog Site

Excitement about the new season and a cold have got me writing.

We’re entering another season of County Cricket and with county cricket these days comes the force feeding of Giles Clark’s beloved outlet that is 20/20 cricket. This year we have the subtle intorduction of a 20 overs a side x 2 innings 2nd XI knockout competition running side by side with the behemoth of a 16 game per side 20/20 cup which is going to take up all of June.

Now there definately is a place for 20/20 (it’s been proved) but i don’t think that the ECB and the counties can expect the same people to turn up 2/3 times a week to the same ground pretty much directly after work/school - depending on what time the start of play paying is - spending in the region of £30 for 2 adults and 2 kids to see 40 overs of cricket when they can get a 40 over a side game on sunday and probably for less money too.

The main point of this blog is to say, “does farmer Giles Clark think the 16 game 20/20 cup is really gonna be all that successful?”, in my personal opinion the answer is no … due to

1) the reasons i gave above and

2) It’s gonna feel less like an event - people had only a couple weeks to see it when it was 4/5 home games but now it’s up to 8 games, people have whole month to see it and with that comes an atitude of “we’ll just go a little later” which is a really by word for “your taking this for granted, assuming it’s always gonna be there and with that your gonna miss it becuase you can’t get the enthusiaism to get down there”. I know marketing departments say stuff like “it attracts a big crowd” which has a major flaw which is that a gate for a 20/20 game is roughly the same for a 40 over game on a Sunday afternoon and if you had 40 over day/night (yes i am a massive 40 over advocate get over it) games on a regular basis that don’t start until 4:45 I guess you would have similar gate numbers and revenue as you would from any competitive 20/20 game that starts at 6pm.

If i was incharge of county cricket i would have the 20/20 cup down at 12 games with a North and South group, 9 teams in each, 12 games played - where 1 county would play 4 of the other 8 counties in thier group twice (2 of them being the nearest geographically and the other 2 being picked at random) and the other 4 once (2 of them being at home and the other 2 away) with rounds being played on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for 3 weeks in June … that way the the traditionalists have just about 2 months to enjoy the CC and the 2 CC divisons have time to take shape before the 20/20 group stage kicks in. After the group stage i think you can guess what happens, the top 4 from each group go in to the quarter finals then onto a semi-finals day held at a neutral county venue before a big glitzy one off final at Lords on a Saturday afternoon in late july which has all the ingredients of a money spinner and massive viewing figures if Rupert Murdoch stops being so tight and lets a channel that doesn’t really do anything e.g. channel 5 show some 20/20 on the evenings and a few KO stage games including the final. Some 40 over games on a Sunday afternoon wouldn’t be bad either.

That was my first blog, please bear with it and feel free to comment or message about it

Cheers…………another one soon perhaps?

Thirty-three years before the first ever Test match was staged, which would commence the game’s most celebrated rivalry, international cricket was born in a part of the world that is not known for it’s love of our great game. In September 1844 at the St George’s Cricket Club, at Bloomingdale Park, New York City, the United States hosted Canada in the first ever international cricket fixture. The history books show that the Canadians triumphed by 23 runs. An estimated crowd of between 5,000-20,000 spectators are reported to have been in attendance, with vast amounts of money gambled on the result.

The first ever international cricket match - played between the United States and Canada in 1844 did not enjoy the technology associated with the game today!

At the time, cricket was reported to be the most popular sport in America, a sport which seem to slowly slide into the shadows of baseball, which had emerged as the premier sport by 1900. In Canada, a similar story unfolded with ice hockey becoming a national obsession, which remains the case to this day. The most celebrated cricketer from this period was John Barton King, from Philadelphia. King would be part of the American team who famously turned over a touring Australian side, returning home after the ashes tour of 1893. Sir Pelham Warner would describe King as “one of the finest bowlers of all time.” Sir Donald Bradman called him “America’s greatest cricketing son.”   

Fast forward to 1965 and the birth of the International Cricket Council, which had existed from 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. The United States came on board in the same year, with the Canadians joining the ranks in 1968. Both are currently Associate members, with Canada having earned ODI & T20I status. Both teams took part in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in 2004, and played a match against each other. The Canadians won, thanks largely to the efforts of John Davison, who recorded match bowling figures of 17 for 137, the best bowling figures in first-class cricket since Jim Laker’s effort against the Aussies in 1956! Canada finished runner’s-up to Scotland in that tournament, and have played in every Intercontinental Cup since, where-as the Americans made only the one appearance.   

In the 35 year history of the cricket World Cup, Canada has made three appearances, in 1975, 2003 and 2007; earning a famous victory against Bangladesh in 2003. In that same World Cup, John Davison registered a then World Cup record of fastest century, against the West Indies. The men in red will be competing in the next World Cup in 2011.

John Davison went on a rampage against the West Indies in the 2003 World Cup, and registered an unlikely record!

Top flight international competition for the Americans came in 2004, with an appearance in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, thanks to winning the ICC 6 Nations Challenge, a tournament that the Americans only came into when Kenya were unavailable, and one that hasn’t been staged since. The USA, led by Jamaican born Richard Staple, went on to be absolutely hammered by both New Zealand and Australia. The experience to such exposure counted for little, when the ICC invoked a short-lived suspension when the USCA seemed to implode from within. Under the watchful eye of the WICB, the United States appears to have ironed out its problems and have been moving forward ever since.  

With T20 taking the cricket world by storm, both Canada and the United States look to be further establishing their place at the table. Cricket Canada staged the Scotiabank National T20 Championship in 2008, with Ontario B claiming the only title to date. An ICL backed venture was reported to be happening in the US, only to go by the wayside when the wheels began to fall of the rebel Indian competition. The IPL and ICC have both since announced aspirations to get a T20 league off the ground in the coverted American market. It remains to be seen if this will happen any time soon.

So what does the future hold in the first, and last frontier of the game we love? In Canada, cricket is the fastest growing sport in the country, fuelled mostly by the large population of immigrants from Test match playing nations. The United States has the largest number of registered cricketers outside the Test world. Both countries have taken part in domestic competitions in the West Indies at different times. Both are currently competing in the World Youth Cup in New Zealand. Both countries will be taking part in the T20 World Championship qualifying tournament in the UAE. With T20 cricket apparently now the rage, will this new form of the game bring in teams who have traditionally been left out in the cold? Will the oldest frontier of international cricket become our newest? Only time will tell. 

As the game of cricket gets more professional, competitive and widely analysed and marketed the training process is still very much the same at grassroot levels. The few things that i think should change especially in Indian grasroot/club levels are as follows:

(1) I mean a net session of about 1.5- 2 hrs hours is broken into 15 minutes of warm up, 15 minutes of fielding practice and remaining session for batting and fielding training. Considering that this nets are the producers of finished goods more importance has to be given to this. Should not the clubs start doing more fielding practice every day. How about 30-45 minutes. It will really help Indian cricket gradually and the results could be seen in next 15 years as the kids start training from age of 8 years and they make international debut somewhere around 22.

(2) Also we have once coach for training, though the skills involved are many like batting,fielding,wicket keeping and bowling. This is the old method being continued in all clubs. Isn’t it better to have separate batting coach,bowling coach and fielding coach. Currently one man does all the jobs though he is only proficient in teaching one skill. Off course most of the Indian clubs are funded by individuals or few individuals, hence it would be difficult to hire separate coaches. But there are many company sponsored clubs who get enough sponsorship. Should not these clubs at least try to revamp the training methods.

(3) Only few clubs do tours to different cities and play series with a particular club of other cities. It would only help if many clubs start touring different cities once a year with their A side. Financing for unsponsored clubs could be an issue. How about the MCA or KCA or other such associations helping some clubs in their cities financially so that they can tour.

(4) The corruption in selection of young cricketers should be stopped. There have been occasions of money being demanded for getting a kid selected in under 19 city teams. I have few excellent players having to curb their quest for cricket because of such demands to get selected.

(5) In India most of the clubs practice on concrete wickets. As generally there is no point bowling short on such wickets youths at clubs bowl/are asked to bowl full length deliveries 95% of the time. Same is the situation on soil wickets and MAT’s. Due to this most of young players get naturally front footed and very able at it. However, the back foot technique does not comes as easily and are found wanting at higher levels in overseas tour. MCA has got D.Y.patil stadium built with soil imported from South Africa. Shouldn’t more such stadiums be built in all cities. That will encourage pacers at club levels as well as make our future abtsman as confident against any length of pace bowling.

With BCCI being the world’s richest cricketing body, it can always set correct strategies by helping the city associations financially so that India sees much better quality in all aspects of the game of cricket.

Perhaps the most pleasing on the eye for long time MCC members out of the recent crop of Sri Lankan players, Mahela Jayawardene represents a fast dying, much loved period in cricketing history. Amongst Jayasuriya’s onslaughts, Dilshan’s outrageous scoops, Mathews’ physics defying fielding and Mendis’ mystery balls (lets not even touch upon Murali and Malinga), we find a man for whom the cover drive and clean slip catches are king and queen. Bringing up the name Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene raises sceptical looks in some circles (and worried glances towards alcoholic drinks stocks in others). Debate will continue about the integrity of Jayawardene’s stats. Some claim he is a flat track bully, who feeds off of bowlers on the dead or dying wickets of the sub-continent, whilst others will suggest that he will be looked upon as a cricketing great after he retires.

Whatever the point of view, one undisputable fact is that the man from Colombo possesses one of the most thoughtful, precise and increasingly endangered techniques in the game. Inch perfect footwork, a solid forward defensive, patience, timing and above all elegance oozing from every stroke of the blade are what Jayawardene should hopefully be remembered for when he eventually calls time on his career. Jayawardene is perhaps one of the few remaining old guard, whose technique could adorn the pages of any coaching manual. Sadly in a world where powerplays and advertising deals are fast overtaking the straight drive in importance, Jayawardene’s kind will find it increasingly difficult to find a home. In this day and age, 8000 people will not turn up to watch a batting line up full of players such as Jayawardene, Misbah, Nash and Katich. Cricket has been introduced to the fast food generation, and it must learn to adapt or wallow in mediocrity.

The consequences of this? More emphasis on being able to score runs in unusual places, and to hit it out of the park at least once an over. A bigger demand for players with the power of Pollard or Yuvraj, with the daring-do of Dilshan, or with the all-round capabilities of Afridi. The marginalisation of technically correct accumulators such as Jayawardene and Kallis will soon follow. What use is it having a batsman who times the ball through the covers for 4 every other over if you can have two guys who can mow it over cow corner twice an over?

Jayawardene is not exactly a stranger to big hitting, though. In my opinion he played the perfect one day innings against New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final in 2007. Coming in at 67-2 in the 14th over, Jayawardene took ten balls to get off the mark with a single. What followed was a steady accumulation of singles and well judged twos. His first boundary came up in the 31st over, with his second following in the 38th. A third boundary and some more excellent running brought Jayawardene 50 in the 41st over off of 76 balls. What followed was a masterclass in innings acceleration, as first Patel, then Oram and Franklin were dispatched to all parts of the ground in a near faultless display of counter-attacking. His next 50 came off just 28 balls, including six fours and two sixes. The finale came with Jayawardene taking 11 runs from the four balls he faced of Bond’s 50th over to finish on 115 not out from 109 balls and ultimately carry Sri Lanka into the final.

Add to this he is a very fine, safe slip catcher, and his partnerships with Vaas and Muralitharan have played a huge part in Sri Lanka’s rise over the last 6 years. He also captained the side admirably to a 1-1 draw in England in 2006 (his first series as captain), follwed by a 5-0 whitewash of the same opponents in the One Day series. Traditional, almost ‘cliched’ batting has taken some major blows in recent times with the retirements of Fleming, Vaughan, Lara and Inzamam. Let’s hope that when Jayawardene bows out of test cricket, we are saying goodbye only to an excellent technician, and not to the last of his kind.

About a year ago england began there test tour against india in chennai, in this instance the test series had been the finale of the tour after what was set to be a seven match ODI series, after the 5th match and before the 6th on the 26th of november 2008 the Mumbai attacks began which claimed the lifes of over 100 people and affected thousands more the remainder of the tour was put in doubt. England began preparing to promptly fly home and it seemed at that point the remainder of the tour would be curtailed as the england players prepared to head home and not return.

However lalit Modi had other ideas, he was adamant that the test series would go ahead and that the 2nd test location would be just switched away from mumbai. So hugh morris brought the english team together in a team meeting and it was agreed that they would return for the test series, but the remainder of the ODI series would be lost.

So england returned and the test series was set to begin, england had just been on the end of a 5-0 drubbing in ODIs to india and where looking for some better performances from senior players in a hope that the relatively still new partnership of Moores and Pietersen would prosper. India where in truth hoping to continue the dominance they had shown in the ODIs and look to hammer home there seeming dominance of england on this tour.

The indian public though where just pleased that they had a chance to see cricket again and hoping to see there heros take stage and take the focus of the indian nation back to cricket.

So then came the toss, england won it and KP decided he was going to have a bat, out strode strauss and cook and thus in my mind started one of the greatest match in modern test history.

England started well negotiating the morning session in watchful fashion Andrew strauss and Alastair cook both remaining unbeaten heading into the afternoon session, it was a very good start for england indeed and something no doubt KP was very pleased about after winning the toss. Both of them went on to record there half centuries and by tea time england where in a dominant position 163/1 with only the loss of cook for a nice 53. However after tea things began to take a turn for the worse for the england team.

Two balls after the tea break Ian bell was out Khan getting him Lbw and a mini collapse followed KP, Collingwood and strauss all fell before the day was done, strauss however did record a fine century so he more then certainly played his part in leaving england after the first day 229/5. A score that at tea could have been so much better but it was a missed chance.

So it proved as england where dismissed for 316 and despite a dogged 50 from prior and a marathon stay by the nightwatch man jimmy anderson england where surely some runs short of where they wanted to be after tea on the first day.

Either way out strode the indian batsmen determined to make england pay and pass a first innings score that wasnt a massive total and get in control of the match. However england had other ideas, anderson quickly getting sehwag was only the prelude to a debut over no england fan will ever forget, up steps graeme swann. Swann had been impressive in the ODIs prior to the test series and had been placing massive pressure on monty panesar, and thus the faith he had gained in him he was thrown the ball at the end of the 13th over.

Swann started with a short and wide ball punished by gambhir and gone for four…Not a good start, but he roared back and after a strong appeal second ball swann got his man lbw 3rd time lucky, his first test wicket and he wouldnt have to wait long for his second he also removed “the wall” in Dravid and england where suddenly on top and india reeling on 37/3 at tea.

India then began to rebuild with tendulkar and laxman and both looked in good shape heading towards the end of the day when a quite magical moment happened, Monty panesar well known for his comedy fielding was bowling to laxman who chipped one straight back to monty, hardly a great catch but still monty clung on and england celebrated the breaking of the over 50 run partnership.

This started anothe mini collapse for india with both sachin tendulkar and yuvraj singh falling before the day was done, it was englands day and seemingly at that point with the score at 155/6 it was englands match.

Day 3 began and india had it all to do, they had to get close to englands target and at that point try and save the test, and for a time it seemed like they where in with a decent chance of doing both, dhoni and harbhajan singh batting well until singh fell to panesar, england then managed to get rid of dhoni after a excellent 53 and the tail soon followed with india all out for 241 and england with lead of 75 under there belts they where rightly pleased although with the indians 6 down for 160 odd early they maybe should have been more ruthless.

Never the less england where infront and where in control and out they came to bat on day 3 with a real chance of forcing a win, however cook soon fell as did bell and KP and suddenly england where on the ropes and the indians where straight back in the game the score was 43/3 and england where only just a 100 ahead with lots of work to do.

What followed though was some dogged batting by england and they reached the end of day 3 with only 3 wickets down and the score on 168/3 with both collingwood and strauss on half centuries and england back in control and over 200 ahead with two days to go. Day four began and it continued how day 3 ended with colly and strauss dominating the indian attack, dhoni at that point was looking for a breakthrough of any kind and it just didnt seem coming, strauss recorded his 2nd century of the match. Collingwood soon followed and england where in total control.

The ball after collys century though strauss departed harbhajan singh finally getting his man after toiling for 20 plus overs without a wicket, flintoff soon followed by the bowling of sharma and then collingwood fell to Khan Lbw, the same bowler got swann and harmison before sharma ended the innings and got the wicket of prior which immediatley lead to the decleration by KP. India had done well to stop england getting 400+ but england knew no team had ever scored more then 300 runs to win a test match in india in the fourth innings at that point englands lead of 386 seemed impregnable.

However the indians had other ideas, the chase began with sehwag and gambhir starting well and quickly taking a liking to englands bowling. Anderson and Harmison had no answers as sehwag took the game back to the english, infact the only bowler in the english game that had any semblence of control was andrew flintoff but even he could not stop the onslaught that found the indians in control and seemingly on the road to victory after 18 overs they where 100 without loss and sehwag had smashed 73 off 57 balls. England need to stop this juggernaut and quickly otherwise this game was done, and finally debutant swann made the breakthrough but that was to be englands only one of the day and as day four closed, india still needed another 256 for victory but sehwags onslaught seemed to make the draw a impossible result.

Day five begun and indias task was clear 256 runs and they would win the test, england needed 9 wickets and still must have felt confident that they can get the job done with the late breakthrough of swann removing sehwag.

So the day began with gambhir and dravid at the crease but flintoff soon dealt with dravid removing him from the run chase was seen as a key element to the run chase, the other one was the man who strode out next Sachin Tendulkar. With gambhir they started to chip into the required total and soon enough gambhir had reached a very work man like 50 but soon after anderson had him caught by collingwood and england where ticking again. India where now 183/3 and the game was constantly flowing between who was in control, india at some points looked on top but then england tried to wrestle the initative back, it was thrilling cricket.

With Laxman now at the crease with sachin india made there way to 212/3 at lunch with the game now seeming to sway indias way, however there was still two sessions left and india still needed 174 runs so england could still win the game they needed 7 wickets but this wasnt beyond them. It was all making for a brilliant test match.

And if england where beginning to lose faith they soon had a reason to believe with swann again breaking the partnership and removing laxman, england now had there tails up and there was a sense that if they can break the new partnership then they could run through them. With Yuvraj Singh and Sachin tendulkar at the crease india though still had a very good chance.

England then give everything they through the kitchen sink at the pair but as good as england was they where better, sachin soon past 50 and at tea england where now facing defeat, a couple of wickets and things would have soon changed but they didnt come and after tea yuvraj singh moved past his 50 and was not at his fluent best but got his team home with a fine knock of 85 not out.

However the stage was set for tendulkar who found himself 99* with 4 needed for victory and in typical sachin style he creamed swann for four to bring what was then his 41st test century and to win the match and the crowd at chennai went crazy.

Of all the men to stand up and be counted in this first historic test since the tragedy of mumbai it had to be the great sachin tendulkar who stood above all men and give the fans in chennai, the fans in india and the fans across the world a big reason why we as a public will not be bullied by terrorists. England more then played there part in a thrilling test match with fantastic performances by several players including andrew strauss who will probably never quiet understand how he was on the losing team after scoring a century in each innings.

It was a great test match, one of the greatest in the modern era in my mind and after all the goings on in the weeks prior it was great to see that there was no loser in this match as they where all champions for taking to the field and playing test cricket at its highest level.

I wrote this article on the CMS forum long time back but I would like to post it on the blog site as well.

So after successful regaining the Ashes England next play Saffers in SA. So, how would the pitches behave? can the bowlers succeed? would the pitches test the technique of the batsmen? are some of the questions that one can think of.

To start with SA wickets need not be as bouncy as they used to be, and the likes of Steyn, Franklin, Hoggy, Sree etc have been very successful by pitching it up, and swinging it as the wickets like at Durban can offer some movement with a bit of moisture in the pitch. It has more of a tennis ball bounce than the hard tracks one saw in the past. The best wicket probably is the one at Capetown as it has something in it for everyone. A bit of bounce, just a bit of movement, and as the match would progress one can see it helping the spinners. Actually Harris did get lots of wickets at Capetown against Aus in 09. The batsmen of course can trust the bounce unlike the double paced wicket one would likely get at Durban, or occasionally at Johannesburg.

Onions can be a bit of surprise package as the pitches have tended to suit bowlers like Siddle, Chris Martin etc, who are in some ways similar to Onions, and bowlers like Siddle just consistently did hit the seam, and the pitch, which usually has a bit of movement did the rest. If he bowls line and length, and doesn’t try to bowl short pitch stuff Broad should be ok on SA wickets, and if Anderson doesn’t get carried away, but looks to pitch it up and swing it then he too can get wickets.

One thing that can go against England would be South African management seeing the fact that England have some swing bowlers may look to have again tracks that are hard and bouncy, but looking at how the pitches have behaved in the last 3 to 4 years I am not sure one would see tracks that are really hard and bouncy.

As far as not selecting Harmison is concerned, I would say the last time around in SA Harmison got wickets at an average of about 73. Harmison was at his peak in 04/05, and everyone thought the wickets would suit him.

Add to it Harmison’s performance in India 09, NZ 09, and few other places in recent times has been poor as he has bowled more like a trundler.

As far as the batsmen are concerned it would be a stern test of their technique, and temperament. A batsman has to be in top form to counter the uneven bounce one may get in SA. It is all about playing late in SA, and any batsman, who would average even 40 in SA would be happy!

England also should look out for Steyn, as he has been deadly on SA pitches. He has constantly pitched it up and destroyed opponents, but the Aussies did take a gamble of going after him, and the plan did work, as Steyn started pitching it short, and the Aussie batsmen made merry. Among the support bowlers Morkel is inconsistent, Ntini is still good but he is not getting younger, Parnell is raw and Harris can be ok, but he is not a strike bowler. So, Steyn is the key to their success.

I won’t say the pitches won’t have bounce, as one would likely get to see a bit more bounce than the pitches in England, but the tracks aren’t that hard and bouncy, but can get uneven. It would test a batsman’s technique for sure!

Finally the former great South African bowler Shaun Pollock on Anderson.

“Anderson will get a lot of movement in the Highveld so the Jo’burg and Pretoria Tests will be where he could have the most impact.

“He’s got a great ability to swing the ball and up front he could be a handful with the new ball in South Africa”

Cricket has become a more professional sport . The competition is at its best than it was in the previous era. The performance of players is being monitored minutely. In such a scenario a wrong decision by umpire may ruin the career of a cricketer or the fate of a team. Imagine if the wrong decision was ruled in a World Cup final. Someone else makes mistake and some one else suffers. That cannot be eradicated but can be minimized. Technology is the best way to assist the umpires in an unbiased way to minimize human errors. Applying technology to all decisions will cause interruptions and take more time. However, if players expect better decision they they should help the cause by wasting less time between over and stop some silly time wasting techniques that we have seen recently in some test series. I think if players stop wasting time we can have more than 3 referrals per innings per side, maybe 5.

Scope of referrals: All types of decisions made by umpires.

Technology that can be used: Snicko , Ultra Slow motion replays, hot spot.

Why is it opposed?

(1)Accuracy: Hawk eye is the only debatable technology and it has been criticized by past players.

Solution: Instead of totally scrapping the hawk-eye technology, research can be done to make it more accurate.

(2)Time/Interruptions: Many cricketers have a view that it will cause interruptions and consume more time.

Solution:Number of referrals and time management: 5 per team per innings. So there will be maximum of 10 referrals per innings which if referred will take 30 minutes of play. I think this 30 minutes can be covered by wasting less time between over, reducing time wasted due to sight screen issues by improve sightscreen mechanism (sometimes it takes 3 minutes to adjust the sightscreen) and maybe even start the game 15 minutes early.it is surely not difficult to manage the time in an efficient way.The willingness has to be there.

We will have to consider that umpire errors are on rise and it has no positive effect on the game of cricket.. Further it effects cricketers, result of the games in a wrong way. Hence, the quality of the decisions have to be improved and the accuracy and unbiased nature of technology will be good assistant to the umpires.

England spinner Graeme Swann announced today his intention to start bowling through the medium of Twitter. The announcement, appropriately made through his Twitter feed, signals a potential further advance for technological assistance within cricket and could boost the appeal of Test cricket to today’s youngsters.

Swann, on his latest update, said “Looking at bowling through Twitter. Leave me more time to make fun of Broady! LOL”.

Swann takes a rest between overs during England's latest practice session

An ICC spokesperson was quoted as saying that “we are interested in looking at this further. Obviously we have no idea what this ‘Twitter’ thing is, but if there is the opportunity for us to make money off it then we will consider it”.

Former players, such as Geoffrey Boycott, have come out in opposition to this plan however. “It’s ludicrous” fumed Boycott, “how the lad Swann plans to describe his deliveries in just 140 characters beggars belief. He’ll not be able to describe any appreciable turn or bounce and even my grandmother would be able to read him”.

Other current players are more enthusiastic about taking up the option for themselves. New Zealand opener Jesse Ryder is openly a big fan saying “my favourite pub has internet access so this is like a dream come true for me”. However, there will be some issues to iron out – after Ryder had an internet practice session, ICC officials and umpires were unable to agree on an interpretation of Ryder’s last update of “you’re my besht friend you are”.

I thought of writing an article on the battle for Frank Worrell trophy in 1995. It was a great test series as Aussies played out of their skins to defeat the Westindies to get back the prized Frank Worrell trophy after so many years.

It all started with the the Westindies thrashing the Aussies in odi’s, and Aussies had more problems as both Dermott and Fleming got injured. Australia’s woes was compounded by Warne looking ineffective, as Lara and Hooper played him very well. So, let us see how the test series unfolded.

In the first test Julien was the surprise package, as he took four wickets. Australian fielders took some great catches, which helped the team, but there was a controversial one if I remember taken by S.Waugh of Lara? when the Aussies played they got a lead, as everyone chipped in with a good score. In the absence of McDermott, the young McGrath took the mantle of being the main bowler, and he bowled superbly to take 5for to help the the Aussies to win by 10 wickets. In the second test the Aussies did well again, as Reiffel with his accurate bowling got wickets, and even Warne chipped in with few wickets. For Westindies Walsh bowled superbly.In the end Mark Waugh and Boon rescued the sinking ship to take Australia to safety, as the match ended in a draw.

In the third test Ambrose bowled superbly, and it looked like the speed king had woken up from a deep slumber, as in the first two tests he wasn’t good. One also can remember some heated exchanges that happened between Steve Waugh and Ambrose, as the Aussies were crushed though, not before McGrath again showed why he is highly rated by taking another 5for. It was a sight to see McGrath not holding back against Ambrose, as he tested him with bouncers. So, it all came down to the final test, where the Aussie bowlers dismissed the Windies cheaply then the Waugh twins took over, and played magnificently with their trademark flicks and cuts, as S.Waugh scored a double hundred, and Mark chipped in with a fine hundred. Windies did show some resistance in the second innings, but soon it all ended with the Aussies winning.The celebrations began, and the Aussies celebrated long and hard!

To end it the Aussies played as a team and won a historic series.