The English Team was at cross roads in Pakistan. I had written on the same nearly 3 months ago which can be read here. I titled it facing adveristy. In the period which has followed since then, England has enountered a lot of adversity. A menacing Shoaib Akhtar in Pakistan and a series of unfortunate events leading 4 of their first XI to withdraw from the tour of India being unquestionably the biggest external adversities. The internal weaknesses they have shown shouldn’t be forgotten.

With the collapse in Pakistan and throwing away a match England should have probably drawn in India in the second test of the series in Mohali, it has probably let slip the opportunity to challenge Australia for now. From being the unquestionable number 2 side, it has gone down a step in the close battle of the number 2.

In fact, it also finds itself at a position inferior to Pakistan. Pakistan appear to have lost Shoaib Akhtar for the immediate future. However there is some time to go for Pakistan’s tour of England. If Pakistan can manage even a draw in that series, it would mean that Pakistan has set itself above the current English side.

And what about South Africa? South Africa played superbly in Australia. It is now involved in the home series versus Australia. If South Africa can manage a victory or even a draw, it can be accepted as a strong team despite Glenn McGrath not playing in the current series and despite what Chris Fogarty has to say regarding only the Ashes mattering, test cricket is about more than just The Ashes. John Stern analyses the current situation and the mouth watering prospect which lies ahead of us much more judiciously.

India may be finding bowlers (Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla) who might show some potency in times to come. However, with it playing just 2 test series in the run up to World Cup 2007 and having lost the series to Pakistan (despite it being like a 1 test series), India finds itself behind the pack in this chase. Did New Zealand not go behind a huge distance in one session in their home series versus Pakistan where Shoaib Akhtar wrecked them? It did India no favours that for them that the home series versus England was always going to be The Nothing Series. India in fact loosened their noose in the tussle they failed to win their last series in the West Indies. That they lost the home series versus Australia did them no favours. They have been chasing as a back runner since then and will have to keep persisting. They do not find themselves in the picture before the pyajama cricket - World Cup 2007 is done and dusted with.

Climbing up the ladder is difficult. It requires consistent brilliant performances. New Zealand is finding it out the hard way. It is doomed in mid table for the time being. Has England let it’s opportnity slip by two collapses, one in Pakistan and one in India? The importance is not in that England lost. England would be respectable losers after drawing their first test match in India. The importance was in the manner in which a match which should have been drawn was lost. A win in Mumbai is now needed for England to remain in the race. Very difficult but it is the only way England can stop the opportunity from slipping. No one said the battle was ever going to be easy!

Pakistan does have a small lead ahead of the rest of the pack - England, South Africa and India. South Africa has the best chance to contend with Pakistan. While all this is going on, Australia cannot work out who the right players are for their international side. A side which boasted of depth finds itself bringing back older warriors who were discarded after the Ashes war was lost. The batsmen are not showing consistency. There is no sign of a future Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne. Most importantly, Australia has set such high standards for themselves that they will themselves find it difficult to maintain these levels. Even if McGrath and Warne do manage to play for a few more years, it will be very difficult for Australia to not slip from it’s high intensity performances is now characterized with. Some would argue that the slipping has already started.

Very interesting times to be a test cricket fan.

South Africa chase 434 to win the 5 match one day series. Is this the greatest one day match of all time? I have been a strong backer of the first one dayer between India and Pakistan in 2003. A lot of people will still feel the South Africa-Australia World Cup 1999 semi-final was better than this. I would not give this game the best one day game tag because it wasn’t a contest between the bat and the ball - some thing which is essential to me when I judge the greatest games.

If a team was dismissed for 65 and another team dismissed team 1 for a total below 65, would you call it the greatest one dayer? Not really. So why even consider this conclusion here.

However, no team had even made 400 before this match, let alone chase such a score. Crap bowling from both teams? Most definitely. But it takes more than crap bowling to score 400. It takes even more to chase such such a 434. Has one day cricket taken another step forward with further insignificance of bowlers? It appears so. The bowling standards and the batting adapatability has been increasing with every year. A total of 230 was par score in the early 90s and a total of more than 250 a winning one.

I can rejoice for the moment and savour the victory regardless of the future.

The 4th LOI between RSA and Australia was superb. I watched the last 30 overs or so. Cricket was the real winner in it. Thank god RSA didn’t lose because of the rain but because of persistent Aussie tail batting. As a South African fan, feelings of deja vu and horror were very much there when the rain looked like becoming stronger. Also, I thought the umpiring was superb in tight conditions, and it was excellent cricket all the way despite not being extra ordinary. A superb contest tilting from one end to the other.

Sets up the decider perfectly for Jo’burg.

I wrote on how it is back to the drawing board for Australia a few weeks back. They are performing very poorly in the current series and the latest misery has been the 196 run loss to South Africa, folding up for mere 93.

Back to the drawing board indeed despite some players missing.

Not since Ray Bright has a specialist left arm orthodox spinner represented Australia at the senior level. Some recent non-specialists to do it include former Australian captain Allan Border and Michael Clarke. Jack McNamara is latest of a rare Australian breed. He has already toured India and Sri Lanka as part of the Australian under-19 team. He speaks about his experiences so far, on playing for Australia and many other aspects in an interview I had with him.

How did you take to cricket? Tell us a bit about your progress to an Australia under-19 cricketer.

My father, like a lot of people who grew up in rural Australia, suscribed to the stereotypically Australian ‘Football in winter, cricket in Summer’ theory, so I guess a bit of that caught onto me. I was always a bit better at cricket, and since we live so close to a park, I ended up heading to train with the Under 12s when I was 7. I bowled medium pace (well, I thought it was quick) until I was 12, when the coach of the U/14 local representative team saw my left arm spinners and told me I’d be a better chance of making the side bowling spin. Since then it’s been a pretty good ride - Victorian U/17s and U/19s, and was fortunate enough to be selected for the Australian side on my performances at the most recent U/19 National Carnival, in combination with my results for the Camberwell Magpies in Melbourne’s Premier Cricket.

Who are your heroes/idols?

Daniel Vettori is probably the guy who I most enjoy watching. I guess being left arm, and having played a number of times - and bowled extremely well - in Australia, means that he’s someone I can watch and learn off, more than a right arm off-spinner. His lines are always pretty good, but its his length that I most enjoy, and his willingness to get hit to take a wicket. That’s something that I think he’s more prepared to do than any other spinner in the world.

Also, Ray Bright - the ex-Australian and Victorian spinner, has been a mentor, of sorts, since I was about 14. He’s involved heavily in Victorian cricket as a selector, but is often there at the youth programs working with us young spinners, taken his own time to conduct a few one-on-one sessions, and has been a great sounding board to bounce ideas off, having so much experience himself.

How does it feel to be representing your country at such a young age?

Lucky. Not many people ever get to represent their country, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to do so before I’m out of my teens.

What did you learn from the under-19 world cup experience?

I don’t think I learnt anything from the U/19 WC about my bowling that I didn’t already know. I need to ensure that my stock ball becomes more potent and threatening, something that’s more prevalent in Australian conditions where there isn’t the turn that you see in Sri Lanka. But directly from the WC, I guess I learnt that as I play higher levels of cricket - especially one day cricket - that I probably have to accept that 4 an over is more “par for the course”, whereas in cricket back home, that means I’ve bowled poorly. Also, in combination with my experiences from an earlier U/19 tour, that against the subcontinent sides, its generally harder to bowl the 10 overs straight, because they get so used to you towards the end of your spell. Often I had 5 overs for less than 18 or so, but ended up going for more than 40.

You just got 3 wickets from 5 matches but you did finish with a satisfactory economy rate of around 4 an over. How is bowling in the subcontinent different from bowling in Australia? What changes did you have to make?

I guess the main adjustment I had to make - and didn’t really do it all that well in the end - was that I had to be more of a strike bowler for the side on pitches that aren’t going to give much help to the pace bowlers. As you said, 3 wickets in 5 games shows that it wasn’t a role I performed that successfully. Bowling in the subcontinent is different simply because you get rewarded a lot more for the amount of revolutions you put on the ball - in Australia, if you try to spin one hard, it’s pot luck as to whether it will spin or not, but in the subcontinent it seemed to spin, and bounce, a lot more when you put in that extra effort. The only real change I made was that I had to bowl a little bit “straighter” as such, pitching more around leg rather than off stump like I usually do. This was due to a combination of the extra turn as well as the team’s focus of bowling really tight lines and restricting the width that the other sides take toll of very well. In the end, this resulted in me bowling a lot more wides down leg side than what I usually would, which was a bit disappointing.

Having said all of that, I was pretty conscious of not trying to change too much and stick to what I do well. You hear about spinners heading over to your Indias and Sri Lankas and bowling a lot flatter, just trying to get the ball to turn. I know that’s not my strength - more my flight and control - so I tried to stick to what I do well, without altering too much of the make-up of my spinners that got me picked in the first place.

What’s the intensity and standard like at the under 19 level?

The intensity and standard at U/19 level is really hard to gauge. Being in a tough group, it was as though we were playing finals all the time, and I’d probably compare both the standard and the intensity to what I found the Melbourne Grade Cricket finals to be last year, or maybe the Cricket Australia Cup game I played (2nd XI State Competition). The hardest thing about the games were that the opposition were so confident - and executed their cricket a lot better after that - once they got on top, but we always felt that if we gained control of the game, that the other sides didn’t have the fight that you’d expect. What makes the standard hard to gauge is the different conditions, playing on different pitches, weather, outfields. But nonetheless, it was high class competition, and a privilege to take part in.

Which players impressed you during the tournament?

Piyush Chawla is a real classy act, as indicated by the fact that he was chosen in the test squad for India to play against England. He bowls leg spinners, with a really high action, and almost ends past the perpendicular. But he has a fantastic wrong’un, flights the ball really well, and is supremely accurate. Is also very handy with the bat, a guy who could be a real pest with the bat for oppositions, and make 100s from number 7 or 8.

Chris Alexander from South Africa, was probably the quickest bowler that we faced. Bowled outswing mainly, but because of his height didn’t really extract that much bounce. He took a couple of early poles against us, and seems to have watched a lot of Andre Nel’s antics. Ended up with 4/40, and if not for him getting frustrated over a few good shots, could have ended up with a much better end result.

Sri Lanka’s captain, Angelo Mathews, also showed a fair bit of talent. He injured himself in the game prior to playing us - and in the time honoured tradition of Sri Lankan captains, still managed to get a runner - but bowled at good nippy pace, as well as hitting a very clean ball. Seemed to be a much better batsman than a number 6, where he batted throughout the tournament. A batting all-rounder with a lot of ability.

India’s Rohit Sharma, who was technically the best batsmen I have ever seen. He had the most all-round game of any of the Indians - as well as eating up width and balls on the pads, he played a lot straighter than most, and had back foot strokes to die for. He looked to me to be the sub-continent batsman who is most likely to succeed in any conditions. Having seen him play a lot of games now, the only hurdle he needs to overcome in my opinion, is making really good scores. He’s made some of the best 30s a man could hope to see; once he starts making 100s in a similar vein, he’ll go a long way.

It might have been Anwar Ali who took all the wickets in the final, but considering that his action means he’ll probably be in a wheelchair at the age of 25, his opening partner Jamshed (can’t remember his second name, can you find it for me Pratyush?) bowled beautifully in both the semi and final. Bowling left arm inswingers, at a fantastic length, once he starts to move it both ways he’ll become a real problem for the best of batsmen. He even looks like Wasim Akram!

In your short career you have played in quite a few grounds. Which hold special place in your heart?

I guess my home ground in Melbourne, the Camberwell Sports Ground, simply because you get to know it so well. I really loved playing in Mohali in India, and Sinhalese Sports Club’s ground was very successful for us during the World Cup - prompting us to joke between ourselves if we could play our day/night semi final there, even though there weren’t any lights at the ground.

Finally, are you Australia’s answer to Ashley Giles?

Haha. Nah, I bowl around the wicket! Seriously, if I achieved a half of what Giles has managed to do, it’d be an honour. But I certainly won’t be basing my game on his - what I need to do is take more wickets to progress as a cricket player, and adopting Giles’ mentality - which, mind you, perfectly suits the needs of the English side - won’t help me.

When a Danish newspaper published a cartoon of David Boon without a moustache, Tasmanians from around the world started rioting.

Courtesy - David Boon Facts

Justin Langer took on World Flyweight Champion Vic Darchinyan in a two round exhibition bout. Langer is a a black belt in martial art Zen Du Kai and said:

Inside the boxing ring, it’s the same as when you’re playing Test cricket: nowhere to hide. You’ve got to face a lot of your own fears. If you punch someone properly, it’s like hitting the ball in the middle of the cricket bat – it’s a really nice feeling.

Darchinyan was impressed by Langer but declined an invitation to face Brett Lee in the nets. Hmm.

Langer missed a few tests versus South Africa due to a heart problem. He wanted to play despite the problem and was forced by doctors to take a rest. When you see Langer play, you notice one thing more than any thing else. He is not afraid to take on the bowlers. This despite his short structure. From a grafter he has developed into a batsman who will attack deliveries whenever he gets a chance to do the same. There is definitely lots of attitute and courage in Langer, some thing which makes him such a good test player.

Australia have won the VB series in some style after the initial hiccup. Many weaknesses of the Australian one day team, once invincible, are there for all to see now though.

The biggest problem has been the bowling. A look at the VB series stats is enough. Apart from Lee and Bracken, NO one impressed. With Warne (who I believed would be back for the world cup) not looking in that direction (at least for now) and McGrath is future uncertain with his personal crisis the bowling cupboard is extremely bare. Can we really expect Brad Hogg to perform better than ordinary? He is no great force. And even if we consider him to pass the cut, who play the roles of the 4th and 5th bowlers? Watson, perenially injured, may solve a bit of the problem. But guys like Watson, Symonds can play support roles. If some player doesn’t step up, the Aussie team can look to chase big totals against the other strong one day teams.

Regarding the batting - the team has had collapses. With Katich and Martyn not performing at a level required, there have been situations of trouble. It is an area which needs to be strengthened to ensure not losing matches because of collapses. It is an area which Australia can rectify hopefully in the future (with Jacques or some one else stepping up).

But I do not know how Australia can counter the first problem it is encountering.

The VB series showed there are plently of problems for South Africa (specially since the world cup will be played in the slow, low pitches of the Windies) and a lot of positives for Sri Lanka. Without going into those details, the marathon series, often sluggish, has shown a lot regarding the three participating teams.

UPDATE - Peter Roebuck holds similar views to mine here.

David Boon facts is amusing to say the least.

South Africa win their opening match despite missing Ntini, Nel and Langeveldt. A low scoring tight match which furthered the credentials of Lee’s batting and Hussey’s God status (a remarkable catch along with the superb inning).

South Africa continue the upward trend as a cricket team. Dippenaar, Boucher and Kemp were upto the task after a superb opening spell by Pollock.

I do prefer low scoring limited overs matches much more than run scoring feasts. A good contest between the bat and the ball is always more pleasing.