Geez we are tossing away this cricket

Swann has proven a good choice for my Dream Team but he is certainly spoiling this second test match for the Proteas…

I can’t say the same for Ashwell Prince!

I see he has just removed Prince and Hashim Amla and there is still plenty of cricket to be played. Are England going to pull one over the Proteas?!

One must hope that the local boys keep their nerve! Looks like it could be another great finish but at the moment England look like they have the upper hand.

Changes to my cricket dream team

As mentioned I had expected Eoin Morgan and Wayne Parnell to play in the first test match and picked them in my "Dream Team". With two 0's against their names I finished the first round of the competition with a global ranking of 1530.

I have made two changes to my side with Graeme Swann replacing Parnell and Ashwell Prince replacing Morgan. Hopefully they can come to the party in the second test match.

Swallow my words

I thought I had posted a blog entry after the last day of the first test between SA and England but for some reason I can't see it here so let me just make sure that I am on the record in saying I was wrong.

After the first day of test cricket I described the performance as "uninspired" complaining that the game was going nowhere fast. I won't lie I had even switched off while Jonathan Trott and KP were chugging along.

I even said some rather derogatory things about the quality of our bowling line-up and not being able to take 20 wickets.

Won't lie I was absolutely stunned to suddenly see how close we came to winning the match.

The second match is likely to be a goodie... Looking forward to it now that the appetite has been wet.

Some good junior cricket on

For those who enjoy their cricket and looking for something to do during their holidays there is some good junior cricket on the go at the moment at KES and St Johns in Johannesburg.

U19 touring teams from India and Sri Lanka are playing against the cream of the crop from South Africa U17, U19 and university sides.

Yesterday the Sri Lankan side looked liked they were cruising to victory against one of the South African teams and then promptly lost 8 wickets for 40 runs to be wiped out in spectacular fashion. The grounds at KES look amazing at the moment and perfect place to pull up a chair and come and cheer for SA.

Unbelievable

I have just read that Wayne Parnell has been dropped from the Proteas test side for the next two test matches against England with the selectors reducing the squad from 15 to 14.

Pardon my ignorance but we are battling to take 20 test wickets on a pitch which has been relatively helpful to seamers and we are choosing to exclude probably the best left-arm quick in the country at the moment?

That's bizarre.

Getting interesting

The first test match between England and South Africa at Centurion is suddenly getting interesting. If it hadn't been for a 109 run stand between Graeme Swann and James Anderson for the 9th wicket then the Proteas would have had a very comfortable lead.

Fortunately this English team has come to fight and sure enough they hung in there and then Anderson knocked Ashwell Prince over for a duck.

Match summary - we're going into day 4 of the test match with the Proteas 71 runs ahead and 9 wickets in hand.

Both Swann and Paul Harris (who picked up a fifer and gave a nice boost to my "Dream Team") have bowled really well.

Its unusual to see the Centurion Park being this spinner friendly but it proves my argument earlier about having variety in the attack.

Gonna be an interesting day of cricket that's for sure.

Uninspired first test

The first test match between England and South Africa at Centurion Park has been an uninspirational affair.

The home team has set a first innings score of 418 thanks to a Jacques Kallis century and some nice contributions from Prince, Duminy, Boucher and some stubborn contributions from Paul Harris and Friedel De Wet at the bottom of the order.

De Wet then managed to get Alastair Cook out to leave the poms at 88/1 at the end of the second day.

The things that stood out for me:

• A scoring rate of 2.73 per over is really slow for the Proteas and while it might be enough runs to put pressure on the English its not exactly setting the world alight... especially considering that Centurion Park is supposed to be a good batting strip
• The English bowled aggressively - no shortage of bouncers from their quicks
• I like this scrapping spirit - maybe it could be an interesting test match series after all
  
• De Wet hasn't exactly looked on song on his debut - why didn't Morkel take the new ball?
• I still think we are going to regret that we didn't play Parnell
• Graeme Swann bowled well - will be interesting to see how Harris does on this track

Anyway we will keep on watching to see how it all plays out

Parnell travesty

Wayne Parnell not playing in the first test against England at Centurion Park is an absolute travesty of justice and in my opinion a really short-sighted decision that the SA management will regret.

We are going into this test match with three right arm seamers (Steyn, Ntini and presumably Morne Morkel) and we have Paul Harris holding up one end as a spinner.

South Africa are almost certainly going to be without Jacques Kallis from a bowling perspective and we have battled to take 20 wickets in a test match for a while.

Despite this we choose not to include the left-arm seamer who has been a brilliant addition to our ODI setup over the last 12 months? Bizarre...

For sure Steyn is still the premier fast bowler in the side and Ntini has 99 caps to his name but if you have to toss-up Morkel vs Parnell on current form and what they bring to the side, you'd be hard pushed to say that Parnell deserves to draw the short-straw.

There are plenty of reasons not to rush a young fast bowler and not put too much pressure on him, but Parnell has proven he has what it takes to play at international level and by not including him we have robbed ourselves of some much needed variety in our attack.

In Paul Harris you have a great spinner who can plug up one end so you won't have a case where a young fast bowler is going to be toiling for hours on end in the sun and taking its toll on his body. But you lose some of your effectiveness if you are going to tie up one end and then charge in with three right-arm quicks for two and a half days.

Don't get me wrong, I am a big Morne Morkel fan and think he has plenty to offer SA cricket, I am just concerned that the balance of the side is not exactly there if he is given preference over Parnell.

England vs South Africa - Dream Team first test match

So I've picked my Dream Team side for the first Proteas vs England test match side and I won't lie, I am surprised at the number of English players who made my lineup...

So here goes:

Graeme Smith (Captain)
Andrew Strauss
Eoin Morgan
Jonathan Trott
Jacques Kallis (Allrounder)
JP Duminy (Allrounder)
Matt Prior (keeper)
Wayne Parnell (assuming he will get a test cap)
Paul Harris
Stuart Broad
James Anderson

Will be an interesting start to this series - Pick your team here.

Cricket Dream Teams

Forget The Ashes, it's time for two of cricket's oldest rivals to clash as the Proteas prepare to defend their honour in a home Test
series against England. This Test series is sure to have an extra edge to it with the return of home-grown stars Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss and Jonathon Trott for England.

Now you can follow the action by selecting your own Dream Team forthe upcoming Test series. You can select up to 8 players per country with a maximum of 8 transfers per round. Each of the 4 Test matches counts as an individual round.

We have a new login process in place that gives you the benefit of easy access to all upcoming Dream Teams games and to some fantastic
SuperSport services. Dream Team Managers must first register and login at SuperSport.com

Then enter your team at http://dreamteams.supersport.com/cricket

The Proteas Test Series Dream Teams starts on Wednesday 16 December at 10:30 SA time (08:30 GMT) with the first Test of the 4 match series taking place at Centurion.

Never live it down

The English crowing for many years to come about how they beat South Africa in their own back yard in an ODI series...

Bloody rain.

It was a weird series with both sides blowing hot and cold. Now I guess all attention swings to the Test series and there are going to be a lot of questions asked about the composition of the SA team.

Fortunately Jacques Kallis should be back and firing so it should bring some experience to our lineup.

Herschelle

I had to laugh today - I saw a brilliant Tweet on Twitter.

The first person asked: "How can Herschelle Gibbs be carrying the drinks for the South African team today?"

A couple of people responded: "Set a thief to catch a thief?"

Sharp reply - very funny!

SA vs England - 4th ODI

England have blown very hot and cold in this series so far - as to I guess have the Proteas.

We were dominant at Newlands (which is becoming something of a fortress for us) but when we played at Centurion (which should have suited our attack) we found ourselves short of runs.

On Sunday we take on the English in the fourth ODI and I expect South Africa to hit their straps now that they have had a couple of games to start building up their momentum and form.

I'd expect us to win it quite comfortably.

The bets I have taken:

• AB De Villiers - top SA batsman
• Morgan - top English batsman
• SA to win

2nd ODI - Centurion Park - South Africa vs. England

It has been a bit of a disjointed from South Africa in their first ODI match-up against England at Centurion Park.

A couple of guys have gotten starts - Amla, Duminy and Pietersen - but you have to wonder whether or not they should have gone on to make a few more. Personal opinion is you need 270+ to be competitive at Centurion - all it takes is one batter to get going and you can chase down most totals.

Some Boucher heroics at the end as usual helped us along.

Interesting selections from the South African side as well. I don't totally understand how Bosman can get 90-odd and then be dropped while we substitute Alviro Pietersen as a middle-order batter.

Thought maybe we could have gone with another specialist batter but let's see how the bowlers fare.

English bowlers again didn't look like any great shakes.

And then the rain came!

I was so excited - I had box tickets to the Wanderers yesterday to watch South Africa take on England... and then it pissed with rain all week! Grrrrr....

I was going to blame the poms for bringing the bad weather here but then I realised the team is made up of South Africans and an Irishman whose sole purpose in life is to get into the pub as quickly as possible so I can't even blame them for the weather!

Selections - second T20 - SA vs England

After the rain in the first T20 game, it looks like the English have come here to play good, hard cricket this summer which is quite encouraging.

They take on South Africa today in the second of the T20 games and I expect the South Africans to put on a more convincing bowling performance this time around. Credit must be given to Morgan for his destruction of the bowlers at the Wanderers - there were some massive sixes hit there.

I have backed:

- South Africa to win today
- Graeme Smith to be the top SA batsman
- Either Jonathan Trott or Morgan to top score for the English

Pity the rain came

So the first real competition of the summer ended in a wet and miserable wash out... do you think it is co-incidence that it is because we were playing the Poms?

So what can we take out of last night and the couple of warm-up hit 'em ups against Zimbabwe?

• Our bowlers are rusty - don't read too much into the performances in the first few games
  
• Morgan, Trott, Collingwood and even Pietersen are going to be a handful this summer. It's probably the first time I'd say that the English have had a batting lineup that I would be wary of.
  
• I don't think it is out and out talent (although there is some there) but I think it is the attitude which is there. Good gritty English (or more specifically South African and Irish) determination and balls
• I still don't think the Poms have a bowling attack to write home about.
  
• Loots Bosman - not a clue what to make of THAT selection - there is no question he can slog a ball but it all seems a little hit and miss
• Ryan Mclaren looks capable enough - let's see what he can do
• Nice to see Charl Langeveldt back in the mix

All in all - I wouldn't read too much into losing a T20 game via Duckworth-Lewis but I definately think that England have come out here to play hard cricket and if we don't get on top of their batters it could be a hot summer.

Trinidad and Tobago - A positive boost

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while - things have been a little hectic on the home-front!

As a Cape Cobras fan I was a bit disappointed to see them get knocked out at the semi-final stage but I was pretty impressed that they made it that far and had a good run in the tournament while entertaining fans.

T20 cricket by its nature is a bit of a lottery but it does capture the imagination of fans and players.

For that reason I thought it was quite encouraging to see Trinidad and Tobago making it to the finals of the competition. I have blogged on the subject before - West Indian cricket is in absolute turmoil at the moment and administrators and players will probably be pleased to have found a format of the game that suits their style of cricket -it would be nice to see them go on from here.

T20 Champions League - Saturday Picks

Another day in the T20 Champions League competition today and now that a couple of teams have had a chance to stretch their legs punters will be able to make some more informed decisions.

Deccan vs. Somerset
It is hard to look beyond the Deccan Chargers for this fixture - too many big guns for the Somerset side and I would expect them to romp home.

Preditions

• Deccan to win
• Top Deccan batsman - Adam Gilchrist
• Top Somerset batsman - Justin Langer

Cape Cobras vs Otago
The Cobras were good in their last fixture and even minus Charl Langeveldt I'd expect them to win here.

Money on Andrew Puttick to top score for the Cape Cobras with Brendan McCullum top scoring for Otago.

Franchise cricket making big strides

I know I have blogged on the subject before but I think it is significant to see how the franchise brands are beginning to become an out and out competitor against the international teams. For those who don't know I had said that I expect franchise cricket to overtake the importance of the international fixtures by around 2012.

This won't be limited to T20 cricket either but will see the franchises playing full length One Day fixtures and most probably test matches.

This T20 Champions Trophy event is already providing a competitor for sponsors money, supporters at the ground, television revenue and even the importance in the players careers.

Players who could be resting are driven to play by the money that is attached to it - at some point this is going to come at the detriment of the national teams as fatigue starts to kick in.

Personally I think we are reaching an intriguing stage in world cricket and I guess if I have to attach my flag to the franchises it will probably be the Deccan Chargers and the Cape Cobras.

Champions League Twenty20 kicks off

JP Duminy has kicked off the Champions League Twenty20 with a stirring 99 off 52 balls to help the Cape Cobras beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore - a good result but its a pity he couldn't do that for the Proteas in recent weeks!!

I have to say that I am a little disappointed in the low-key build-up to the tournament at least in South Africa. Conceptually I think that it is a great idea and a brilliant way to reinforce the franchise brands and yet a lot of people didn't even know the event kicked off yesterday.

Anyway I'm a supporter of the Cape Cobras domestically and I won some nice money supporting the Deccan Chargers last year so I guess I will spread some money around these two teams to go all the way. Thoughts on which teams are looking interesting this year?

ICC Champions Trophy predictions

So the ICC Champions Trophy is coming to an end with conditions looking a little overcast - hopefully we get a full game of cricket in.

I put some money down on New Zealand to win after they qualified for the semis (at the expense of my pre-tournament picks of Sri Lanka and South Africa!).

Ok my money is down on New Zealand with Ponting to top score for the Aussies and Elliot to deliver the goods for the Black Caps!

Damn - I have just heard that Vettori is out for this final - that's a huge blow!

Yay for the Black Caps!

So it is the Black Caps vs. Australia in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy and I think it is fair to say that the two best teams have come through a busy two weeks.

I was at the Wanderers last night and I had to admire how well the New Zealand team performed considering how little support they had! I kid you not - 90% of the support was for the Pakistani team - great atmosphere considering the home team wasn't playing.

Big kudos to the New Zealand side - they came through a tough tournament and a tricky total to chase down and they did it to perfection. Some of you will remember that I backed Grant Elliot (pictured) to score runs in the last game and he promptly delivered a duck but he came good last night in spectacular style.

One performance which I thought didn't get enough credit was that of Daniel Vettori - batting at six for New Zealand shows there are some shortcomings in that batting line-up but boy oh boy did he deliver the goods last night! It needed somebody to take the responsibility of sticking with Elliot to the end.

On current form - Vettori must be one of the best one-day international players in the game at the moment.

Considering the love-hate relationship South Africans have with Australia, I have to wonder how partizan the crowd are going to be when the two teams clash in the final!

Justice!

I have been following a couple of the big international cricket blogs and a number of people have come out bluntly saying that England intentionally lost that game against New Zealand.

The motivation being that if you lost to New Zealand, you don't have to playoff against the Sri Lankans who on paper can be a really difficult ODI side.

Have to be honest and say that the idea doesn't seem that far fetched considering how they were able to set a score of 300+ two days before against South Africa and then get skittled a few days later. Anyway the sheep shaggers give the Poms absolute carrots on Friday and then the poor boys from New Zealand win the Champions Trophy final as some JUSTICE!

Madness!

An absolutely bizarre game of cricket going on between England and New Zealand...

A few days ago England comfortably beat a star-studded South African side and bumped them out of the Champions Trophy and now suddenly they have been bundled out for 146.

New Zealand looked like they were easily going to overhaul the target and suddenly Stuart Broad has ripped through their batting lineup and they've slipped from needing 35 runs with 8 wickets in hand to suddenly needing 6 runs with 4 wickets in hand.

Crazy stuff!

ICC Champions Trophy - Sunday betting

Two big clashes for Sunday and two fixtures that should ultimately decide one of the groups.

New Zealand vs. Sri Lanka
After losing to England earlier in the week, Sri Lanka will be looking to wrap up their semi-final spot with a victory over the Black Caps.

I can't see Sri Lanka losing this one and neither can the bookies.

Bets taken:

Dilshan to top score for Sri Lanka
Grant Elliot to top score for New Zealand

South Africa vs. England
A critical fixture for both teams with the winner pretty much assured of going into the semis having each picked up a win.

The pressure itself is piled on the South African team as both the home team and pre-tournament favourites. After stumbling in their first game against Sri Lanka they are left in a "must-win" situation.

In contrast England have very little to lose - they've come off a drubbing from Australia and then surprised Sri Lanka the other day. If they beat the local team the English press will have an absolute field day....

My picks:

South Africa to win
Graeme Smith to top score for South Africa
Paul Collingwood to top score for England

C'mon SA!

ICC Champions Trophy - Saturday betting

Two more games in the ICC Champions Trophy are here and after England blew Sri Lanka out of the water, Group A is looking for interesting - especially if you are a South African supporter!

Australia vs West Indies
In the first game of the day Australia and the West Indies clash at 9:30.

With all due respect to the West Indies (which isn't very much) I don't see how Australia could lose this game and the bookies don't either. I don't even think they have the firepower for an upset.

I've gone with:

• Ricky Ponting as the top Aussie batsman
• Devon Smith as the top West Indian batsman

India vs. Pakistan
Boy oh boy does this game have the potential to be a cracker...

The two old rivals are at it again and there is a lot riding on this fixture in terms of who goes through to the knockout rounds. There is nothing to choose between the two sides and I anticipate a tight game.

Bets I've placed:

• Rahul Dravid - top Indian batsman
• Shahid Afridi and Mohamad Youssuf - top Pakistan batsman

Helluva interesting tournament so far although I have to say I've been surprised by some very stilted batting performances.

Mixed feelings on the West Indies

I had some serious mixed feelings on the West Indies side after their match-up against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy last night.

On one hand - the fact that they had been bowled out for 133 at the Wanderers and fielded what was effectively a "B" or more likely a "C" side I felt was unfair to international cricket fans as well as the tournament organisers.

Personally I think the tournament would have been better off inviting Bangladesh to participate in their place.

On the other hand - Maybe this player revolt and whinge about money is just the thing to bring some new blood into West Indies cricket at senior level and maybe help them rebuild a more committed core of cricketers.

It is not my place to criticise the West Indian players for deciding not to play when it is not commercially viable for them, but the reality is that their cricket has been in the doldrums for many years now and something has to give. Either new players need to come through that can turn their cricket around and make it a competitive side which can be backed by commercial sponsors or the West Indies cricket board needs to draw a line in the sand and say it is not their intention to in the long run try and develop their talent beyond a certain level - i.e. you get what you get.

Pakistan vs. West Indies last night
I personally thought the West Indies gave a pretty good account of themselves last night.

Yes Gavin Tonge (pictured) bowled particularly well, but go and have a look at how little "spray and pray" bowling was dished up by their guys last night. They consistently bowled a good line outside off-stump and they kept the Pakistani batsman working for every run.

That's important because the one thing that the West Indian bowlers have not been able to do in recent years is deliver a consistent and disciplined bowling performance. A BIG positive for the side.

As well as the bowlers bowled, the batters batted badly. You cannot win a cricket match with 133 runs on the board and even THAT was helped by some big-hitting from Miller at the end. Interesting statistic is that Mohammad Yousuf on his own has nearly six times as many career ODI runs as the entire West Indian side put together.

Like I said - mixed feelings.

I have said it before and I will say it again - the world needs a strong West Indian cricket base.

As a parting shot
Just my own humble response to the West Indian players who are on "strike" at the moment. I appreciate that this remuneration issue with the West Indies Cricket Board is a long standing one, but economic reality is that you need to be in front of cricket fans all the time if you want to make the most of your short careers.

Somebody like Gavin Tonge has emerged from last night as a name to be considered for things like the IPL when contract time rolls around. If you are not out playing in front of people you are unlikely to be picked.

The real money for these guys is in the likes of the IPL and the other big money domestic tournaments and that is where you want to be playing.

Sri Lanka get the ICC Champions Trophy off to a colourful start

Say what you like about Sri Lanka, they are pound for pound one of the toughest One Day International sides you'll ever come up against and they showed what they are capable of in the opening match-up of the ICC Champions Trophy.

At the time I am making this post the game has been delayed due to rain, but the performance they put on in the batting front will certainly have caught the eye of the other teams in the pool.

I think South Africa was quite lucky to restrict them to 319 - it could have been a lot worse. Maybe the Proteas were a little ring rusty having not had any top-level cricket for the last three months, but the team looked a little out of sorts in their first big match of the season.

Hopefully the South African boys are simply going to need to shake off the cob-webs and will be out all guns firing in the next fixture.

Clouds hover over England

By: Tom Mallows

England travel to South Africa with great heart……………..oops sorry wrong sport.

While Fabio Capello’s England football squad will arrive in South Africa next summer confident of making an impact, the same cannot be said of the England cricket team ahead of the Champions trophy in the same country.

The long home summer, stretching from the start of May till end of September, came to a close in the Durham sunshine on Sunday, where England took a crumb of comfort from what was a miserable one-day series. Though even after skittling out the tourists for 176 they nearly contrived to throw it away as once again a middle order collapse gave the Australians the scent of victory. Thankfully Prior and Bresnan finished the job to seal a four wicket win.

With little time to draw breath the squad are on their way to Africa themselves for the Champions Trophy which begins this week.

With issues in the upper order and problems in the bowling attack even the most optimistic of England attack would foresee any other than early elimination. But we also carry with us a foolish optimism that things maybe different, perhaps the win in the North East can inspire the side to a Lazarus style comeback – I’m not holding my breath though.

Elsewhere the hosts South Africa will once again look to shake off their chokers tag, though Graeme Smith’s men clearly have the talent, they maybe hampered by a lack of competitive action since the Twenty/20 World Cup (in June. They begin against Kumar Sangakkara's talented Sri Lankan side. I consider them the two favourites alongside the old enemy Australia, who regained the number one spot during their series with England.

I can’t help but feeling an exciting tournament is needed to breathe new life into the 50 over format. The growth of Twenty/20, the arduous 2007 World Cup and the planned scrapping of the English domestic 50 over game has left many people scratching their heads as to the future of this form of cricket. A few swashbuckling batting performances and some spectacular bowling could inspire new interest in the game.

Sadly, if the past few weeks are anything to go by, that inspiration is not going to come from England.

Good for a laugh

I am not sure where this comes from but I got e-mailed this and I thought it was good for a laugh:

JOHANNESBURG. Minister of Sport Makhenkesi Stofile has called on South Africans of all races to be at Johannesburg International Airport on Tuesday to welcome home the country`s Ashes-winning cricket team. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Sport, Tighthead Mabandla, said it would be great to have as many people as possible at the airport to cheer on the arrival of Andrew Strauss and his all conquering Ashes heroes, who recently defeated Australia 2-1 to reclaim cricket`s most coveted prize.

"Last time a South African side won the Ashes was during the height of Apartheid," said Mabandla, referring to the powerful South African eleven of 1972 that included the likes of Basil D`Oliveira and Tony Greig.

"The 2009 winners are truly a team of the people." Mabandla said it would be a shame to see the emotional return of the Ashes winning heroes turned into a political points-scoring exercise.
"We have learned lessons from the airport welcomes afforded to Caster Semenya and the Tri-Nations winning rugby side," admitted Mabandla, who said everybody would be welcome at Johannesburg International Airport provided they acknowledged the role that the Ministry of Sport had played in helping to build one of the greatest sports team on earth.

"The team that beat Australia was a truly representative side," said Mabandla, who said their success illustrated that even when quotas were in place, South African teams could still challenge the world`s best. "Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior were the only white South African`s in the side," he said, adding, "The rest were all previously disadvantaged."

Mabandla said he would write to rugby coach Peter De Villiers, or maybe summon him to appear before parliament, and urge him to follow the example set by Andrew Strauss` side. "A couple of non-white wingers and some reserves were all that De Villiers could manage," said Mabandla. "I doubt he will ever win The Ashes with that team." Meanwhile a spokesperson for the England team, Crusty Horse-Whisperer denied there had been a foul up with the team`s travel arrangements.

"We purposefully didn`t book a hotel for our trip here," he said. "The lads are all going to be staying with their parents."

Freddie Flintoff

As an aside - what do you guys make of Andrew Flintoffs career decision to become a hired mercenary and basically become a full-time free-lancer?

Freddie has never been the fittest guy around and injuries have weighed on him - suddenly he is running around the globe trying to fit in as many ODI and T20 games as possible. Wonder how many other quality international players are going to follow this kind of career path?

It could definately change the way world cricket is played and fit in with the scenario I presented a while back about franchise cricket overtaking international fixtures in terms of importance for both players and fans.

Champions Trophy Picks

Right - the ICC Champions Trophy is around the corner and if you read the media reports it is nothing but a two horse race between the usual suspects South Africa and Australia.

South Africa has the homeground advantage and a pretty settled side, while Australia is in the process of thrashing the English side left, right and centre.

Before I continue I must tell you a joke I heard on the radio - it's a bit lame but I'm going to tell it anyway. (Bearing in mind that half the English side are South Africans by birth):

- Where is the English side going to stay when they are here for the Champions Trophy? At their moms' houses!

Ok it was lame but I told it anyway.

Anyway the teams I have backed to win the ICC Champions Trophy are South Africa (15/10), India (3/1) and Sri Lanka (6/1).

Personally I think the Aussies may regret the long series against the English and may wish they'd had a chance to recharge some of their batteries. India are good in these kind of tournaments and Sri Lanka also tend to fire when it counts so I think it is a nice mix of bets.

Nobody else really seems to feature for me - anyone else got thoughts on the tournament?

Calling all cricket fans,

The ICC Champions Trophy Dream Teams is now open! Follow the action by picking your own fantasy cricket team from the top 8 countries challenging for the honour to be crowned ICC champions.

The tournament kicks off on Tuesday 22 September at 14:30 SA time (12:30 GMT). Enter your team now at http://dreamteams.supersport.co.za/championstrophy

Hosts South Africa are the odds on favourites after the tournament was moved from Pakistan. But current holders Australia will not relinquish their crown that easily and will be buoyed by their recent triumph over England in the ODI series. Pakistan have a point to prove after losing the hosting rights and will want to build on their recent success at the World Twenty20 tournament. India are always a force to be reckoned with and have the players to make an impact while Sri Lanka and New Zealand can't be counted out either. Only the West Indies look weaker than the rest after fielding a second string side due to an unresolved player strike. With so much choice in quality players, remember to look out for players who can perform with both bat and ball when selecting your team. Good fielders pick up extra points for catches and run outs, while your captain scores double points and should be one of your top players.

Our top 3 performing managers at the end of the tournament will each walk off with a cool LG KP500 cellphone worth R2400. With great prizes and bragging rights up for grabs you can’t afford not to show off your cricket knowledge. Enter your team now at http://dreamteams.supersport.co.za/championstrophy

Good luck!

Super Dream Teams

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Is Test Cricket In Danger?

By Keith Barret

There has been a lot of talk recently that suggests that there are real problems ahead for Test Match cricket. These dangers appear to be caused by a combination of the increased popularity of Twenty-20 cricket and falling crowds at Test Matches in some parts of the world.

So let's take a look at some of these issues and see what's going on. One point to note is that more and more money is being pumped into the game in India, increasing the importance of this country massively in cricketing terms. It's also the country that has the greatest number of cricket fans in the world.

This is having a big impact on the game as a whole. The great success of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought vibrant matches to a large, worldwide audience. It's also clear that crowd levels at Test Matches in India appear to be much lower than those for IPL and other limited overs forms of the game. But does this necessarily indicate problems ahead?

The situation here in England is somewhat different. There's no doubt that Twenty-20 has made a big impact on the domestic game. Crowds have been much larger for these matches than they have in the 4-day County Championship matches. So this might indicate that the longer form of the game is certainly at risk.

Yet nothing is as simple as it may seem. Although county sides may indeed be struggling to attract large attendances to their County Championship contests, it seems that the national team are having no such problems. Attendances at Test cricket here in the UK tend to be impressive and tickets are in high demand.

So what is going? It seems clear that there are different approaches to the game in different parts of the world. Limited overs cricket is really capturing the attention in some parts of the world but Test Match cricket remains the primary form of the game for some viewers, especially in England and Australia.

Is this to be the end for Test Match cricket? It seems hard to believe that it possibly could be, although different countries may place more emphasis on particular forms of the game. There could be associated risks with this, but it may be best that we all simply accept that the newest form of the game provides new opportunities and helps to bring more people into the game.

Anything that makes cricket more popular has to be a good thing. One important set of people in all of this will be the players themselves. As long as they still see Test cricket as being important, it seems certain that this form of the game will continue.

Keith Barrett has written about cricket for a number of publications.

It's a funny old game

I thought these stats made for interesting reading:

• Aussies scored 2890 runs - England scored 2630
• Aussies took 82 wickets - England took 69
• Aussies scored 8 centuries - England scored 2

And yet Australia lost the series - no question about it - its a funny old game is cricket!

Hooray for the Ashes

By Tom Mallows

The last time I wrote for this blog it was in the wake of a morale sapping defeat at Headingley and I have to admit I feared the worst when the Ashes bandwagon moved to the Oval for the final hurrah.

I have never claimed to be an expert in England team selection and a good job I didn’t as my predictions for the final test were completely wrong! I thought Bell would be out with Key in at number three. As it was Bell was promoted to three (a case of no one else around?) with Jonathan Trott coming in for his debut instead of the struggling Bopara.

Trott is, of course, South African but we were kindly informed before the test that he wouldn’t be good enough for the South African batting line up so they obviously aren’t missing out!

A test debut in a deciding Ashes clash is a big ask for any player so for Trott to do as well as he did is credit to his temperament and ability. With Pietersen on his way back England’s batting line up suddenly looks more robust. However Collingwood and Bell must be looking over their shoulder, I expect Bopara to return to the fold at some point making it a safe England cricket bet that one, or both of them, will have to make way.

The Aussies, ever graceful in defeat, seemed to think the pitch had been doctored to force a result. Well ‘doctored’ is a strong word, after all no one knew the outcome of the toss so it wouldn’t be in the groundman’s interest to create a dodgy wicket that would deteriorate after day one. Plus all the doctored claims on Friday night, after the Aussies were skittled out for 160, were made to look a little silly when England comfortably massed a lead of more than 550 the following day.

The deciding factor in this test, indeed this series, was that England won the crucial sessions and took full advantage when they were on top. Yes Australia had more century makers and more wicket takers but what’s the use of amassing over 600 runs, like at Cardiff, if they can’t bowl the other side out?

The Saturday afternoon at Lord’s and the Friday at the Oval proved decisive in swinging those tests in England’s direction. But given a draw would have been good enough to retain the Ashes for Australia the contribution of Anderson and Panesar on that dramatic afternoon in Cardiff should not be overstated.

Overall it was a contest between two average sides – this wasn’t the Aussie side of McGrath/Warne/Langer fame.

But considering the mess England found themselves in, with the West Indies at the start of the year, the turn around is remarkable. They do not, of course, want to lose focus like in 2005 - we don’t want another 5-0 whitewash down under.

But that’s for the future, for now I’m going to savour the moment as we once more have that famous little urn back in our possession.

Ashes Day 4

At the time of writing South Africa B has the Australians on the back foot with Mike Hussey (107*) and Brad Haddin (33*) chasing another 226 runs for victory with only Mitchell Johnson to come after them.

I thought the South Africans put together a pretty accomplished performance with:

• Andrew Strauss contributing 133 runs in the match
• Jonathan Trott contributing 160 runs

Excluding Matt Priors contributions (giving the Poms the benefit of the doubt) - these two contributed 41% of all the runs scored by the English team and Strauss ran out Michael Clarke at a critical time. With due respect, the English cannot claim they "retained" the Ashes.

Bugger I see that the South African Strauss has just caught Haddin pushing the English one step closer to winning the Ashes...

Ashes Day 2 notes

Well England appear to have come back from the death to put Australia on the rack courtesy of some top quality bowling from Stuart Broad.

I'll partially take back my comment yesterday about the Poms not looking like they wanted to win it - Broad seems to have lit a bit of a fire underneath them and his first spell of 5-16 simply wrecked the Aussie lineup and it was some top quality fast bowling.

Yeah the English cause was helped a bit with some tight decisions but when the ball is in your court you run with it.

I was a little surprised that more wasn't made of the 37 and 18 contributed by Broad and Swann at the end of the English innings. I think those two scores could prove vital on a pitch which is going down fast.

Having said that, the Aussies don't look they have given up either and they've knocked over three quick wickets leaving the South African batters the job of securing an Ashes winning total.

It could be a humdinger of a weekend for these two sides - let's see who comes out on top!

Ashes Day 1 musings...

A solid enough performance from the South African B side (AKA England) today against the Aussies but I get the sense that they are batting for / will be content with a draw?

I thought Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus were the pick of the bowlers which is quite ironic considering that 8 months ago I was slating Siddle and not exactly complimentary of Hilfenhaus. This Ashes tour seems to have been a really important stepping stone for Hilfy in that he now knows what is expected of him.

As much as I would like to see the South Africans trump the Aussies to win the Ashes I don't think that they have the desire to win it which is disappointing considering the spirit they showed in the second test match.

Other thoughts

• I was obviously being a bit tongue-in-cheek around the "South African B" side nickname for England but surely it is a sign when Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, Matt Prior and now Jonathan Trott are likely to make-up the England batting line-up for the forseeable future - where exactly is the ENGLISH talent coming through?
• I wasn't joking when I said that in 10 years time Bangladesh cricket would have surpassed the English in test rankings.
• On the subject of Bangladesh, I see that they have thumped Zimbabwe comfortably in an ODI series and I say good for them. Beating the current Zimbabwe and the West Indian sides isn't going to set the world alight but they must be given opportunities to play against the top sides and maybe host a few international matches as well to make sure that Bangladesh cricket thrives
• The West Indies and their ICC Champions Trophy antics I just shake my head at.... not sure what there is to be made from this anymore
  

Calm needed in wake of crushing defeat

By Tom Mallows

The fact this test match was over in three days should at least give Strauss and his England side 48 extra hours to take stock and re-organise after such a heavy and bruising defeat.

Australia looked like the imperious side of old as they ruthlessly ripped through the England batting line-up and then mercilessly took the game away from them with the bat.

After having the better of the last two tests England were second best by a distance in this game, just as they were at Cardiff. But while we did not get too carried away with Lord’s, there should be no over reaction now.

Talk of wholesale changes in the line-up is, I feel, unnecessary. I don’t feel the gap between the two sides is as great as the past few days suggest - though credit has to go to the Aussies for outplaying England in every department. The now infamous ‘momentum’ is definitely with them.

If Flintoff is fit enough even to bowl in short bursts I think he should play. He inspires those around him and adds a bit of steel to what is looking like a fragile batting line-up. Harmison, who again failed to live up to the hype, should make way.

Ravi Bopara’s place is also under threat after successive failures in this series. But while it would be easy to put say, Rob Key, in his place, would that benefit long term?

The ECB has put faith in Bopara and I believe they need to keep faith with him for longer than a few tests. Playing with the spectre of being dropped will hinder rather than help - though he is running out of chances.

What is needed now is a return to basics. Australia pitched the ball up on day one, not a complicated tactic, yet England fell for it every time, with nearly every wicket coming from catches behind the wicket.

But instead of imitating their opponents England persisted with their short wayward line, allowing Watson and Ponting to blast the ball to all four corners of the stadium.

England have enough talent to beat Australia at the Oval and re-claim the Ashes if they return to the disciplined batting and bowling seen earlier in the series. However my fear is that the psychological damage inflicted during the Headingley horror show may prove terminal.

Make sure you keep on top of the Fifth Test odds before making your Fifth Test bet .

Ashes update.

My favourite thing about English cricket? The way that their press crucify them when they get drubbed...

... I can't wait to read the headlines after the thumping they took today. Aussies have set up a real humdinger of a final test match and without question have to be going in as the favourites into the last test match. I just hope that the weather doesn't intervene.

Mixed feelings

Is there any way that the England "leg" of the Ashes could be moved to somewhere that rain doesn't always cock up a good series?

Surely there is a case for it being moved to a more civilised cricket destination like India, Bangladesh or South Africa??!?!?!?!?! I wonder if there has been any research done into whether or not the mediocre standard of English cricket is directly related to the poor weather they experience?

Anyway enough about the Ashes - it (the weather aspect) has been disappointing to say the least.

What I actually wanted to blog about was this whole West Indies vs. Bangladesh series which has left me with some real mixed feelings about world cricket - even though it fits in with my expectations of the change in the global game. For those who don't know I expect world cricket to be dominated by the likes of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka with the likes of South Africa, Australia, Kenya and Zimbabwe fitting in amongst the top nations as the world becomes more focused on Asia and Africa.

Whether it goes the whole franchise route over international "country" route still remains to be seen.

I have previously blogged about how badly the world needs a strong West Indian cricket offering so watching this disaster of a series against Bangladesh has irritated me immensely.

On the flip side of that, I think some big pluses for the Bangladesh team. They've needed a decent international tour to build some momentum and irrespective of the quality of the West Indian side, the tourists got the job done.

Don't underestimate the value of that providing some incentive for the rest of their cricket population. The money that will keep flowing into Bangladesh cricket is likely to keep rising the more they start beating the bigger "name" sides and as the side matures and they develop a pipeline of quality players you will in turn find them becoming more and more competitive.

But still... it would be nice to see the West Indies not rolling over and becoming a drag on world cricket.

Pressure on Bell to fill Pietersen’s shoes

By: Tom Mallows

From the moment we saw Kevin Pietersen limping across the field and grimace after every batting stroke it became clear we would not see much more of him for the rest of this summer.

The arguments over his rehabilitation and whether he should have gone to the IPL and played in the Twenty/20 World Cup while carrying the injury will no doubt rumble on, especially if England go on and lose the series with Australia.

It was apparent he was struggling right from the first day in Cardiff and scores of 69, 8, 32 and 44 since have showed that. But despite the lack of runs it is Pietersen’s sheer presence and his destructive ability to rapidly take the game from his opponent that makes him such a big loss.

But Pietersen’s loss is Ian Bell’s gain. Not a straight swap by any means. England doesn’t have anyone quite like KP. But Edgbaston represents a massive opportunity for the Warwickshire batsman to show he is good enough at International level.

Bell last played for England in February but was dropped after England’s defeat to the West Indies in Jamaica. Since then he has amassed 640 runs in seven County Championship games this season.

Bell’s talent and ability has never been in question, many people in the game say he is one of the country’s technically gifted players. But it is transferring that talent onto the Test Match stage that has proved the problem - especially against Australia.

Despite averaging just over 40 in tests in his 10 Ashes appearances he has scored just 502 runs, at an average of just 25.10.The Australians, it appears, can get under Bell’s skin and they will no doubt be boosted by his presence instead of Pietersen.

However, as we have seen this is a very different Australian side than the one Bell has faced in the past. Even their famed ‘sledging’ tactics out in the middle has been toned down at the request of Cricket Australia.

But they still have talented players, despite what the British press are saying. England would be foolish to underestimate them and believe the series is any way in the bag – they came from behind to beat South Africa remember.

Is this finally Bell’s chance to flourish without the likes of Warne and McGrath? Or will the wounded Aussies bounce back from Lord’s and once again target Bell and intimidate him enough to give his wicket away?

SA cricket gearing up

It is a quiet weekend cricket wise and I thought I would use some of this time to take a look at the South African cricket diary and highlight why the Ashes is important for local cricket viewers.

We kick off with the Champions Trophy and that includes round-robin matches against Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand in September. It's probably a good way to kick off our international calendar playing some top-class ODI cricket in our back yard.

After that November rolls around and we play two T20 games, five ODIs and four Test matches against the Poms.

Looking at our side I don't see too many problems as things stand.

• Test spinner - Harris - CHECK
• ODI spinners (Two) - Botha and VD Merwe - CHECK!
• Decent seam attack - yes - going to be interesting to see what role Parnell plays this year. Would be nice to see him pushing for a spot in the test side from a variation perspective.
  

Things I think we could improve on:

• Backup keeper plan - Boucher still has plenty to offer us but who is coming through next?
  
• A lower order allrounder could be nice to identify. Albie is there but the competition with his brother makes it tricky

Otherwise I think we can look forward to this English tour. Flintoff has been the differentiator between the two teams and he's going into retirement. The poms have a decent top-order but I cant think that their bowling attack holds any great shakes for us on the hard South African pitches.

Could be an interesting match up if the English come into the tour with some momentum from a successful Ashes campaign... but I won't be holding my breath.

Aaaahhh England takes the second Ashes test at Lords

I haven't had so much fun cheering for an Australian side pretty much well... ever!

Geez I enjoyed this Test match. A bit of drama with the English (through their prolific SOUTH AFRICAN run-scoring connections), a bit of class - Freddie Flintoff showing what a loss he is going to be when he goes and the Australians making a game of it when everything looked to be lost.

Eventually it was a step too far and Australia will rue some average umpiring and the fact that they didn't get the runs in the first innings.

As an English cricket fan you have to proud. It is quite obvious that the guts shown by Collingwood in the first test match has worn off on the others who have suddenly realised that they can be competitive. Flintoff impressed me - as did Prior. I still think they are a batter / allrounder short and their lineup is going to be seriously exposed when Flintoff retires but
in all these guys put their hands up to be counter.

I don't rate Graeme Swann particularly highly but he deserves some mention as he seems to have come on a long way in the English setup. Personal opinion, I think he has done well because he knows what is expected of him. In a similar vein I think Paul Harris knows what is expected of him in the South African side and he has settled.

In comparison the expectation around Nathan Hauritz doesn't seem to have been settled.

Which brings me to the Australian side. There is not a lot wrong with this side when they click. Would Australia be 1-0 down after 2 games if Brett Lee had been in the side? I don't think so but he could have dished up a dogs breakfast and maybe they would have so there is no point theorising.

As an armchair fan personally think there are only two things that need to be done from an Australian side.

Number 1 - they need to decide if their strategy includes or excludes Nathan Hauritz. If it includes him then they need to tell them what they expect of him and back him on and off the field.

Number 2 - Ponting needs to remind them that they have come back from a loss at home to beat a far more formidable South African side not so long ago they can win this.

Still think the Aussies are good to take the series but hats off to the Poms for showing some grit and determination!

Any takers?

I want to back the Australian cricket side to win this second test..... Who will give me odds - anything under 600 is gettable if Punter gets his men to knuckle down - the Poms will wilt if the pressure is applied.

Ashes - 2nd test - Day 2

The second day of the second test match is rapidly turning into one way traffic - the Poms are all over the Australians courtesy of some very handy bowling from James Anderson.

Prior to this test match starting I was actually going to post on The Baggy Green that Anderson was going to have to do something special to remain at the head of the English attack.... guess he unknowingly answered my criticism.

I am a little surprised that the English elected to open with Flintoff... maybe he just knows the conditions better - would like to see them give the new ball to Onions but it is still early days in his career.

C'mon Aussie c'mon!

Test cricket is a result oriented discipline!

Sorry I meant to blog about this earlier and Ian's post on The Baggy Green blog reminded me....

While I appreciate that the last two English batters had to bat out the overs and find any excuse to waste time, I wonder a bit of the umpires and match referee erred by not giving Australia every opportunity to force a result from the game.

It rained on the second day of the test matc hand about two hours were lost... In hindsight could have made the difference between a win and a draw....

Surely the match referee could have pushed for an earlier start on the final day? We mustn't lose sight of the fact that Test cricket must remain a result driven discipline. It cannot allow games to drift off into mediocrity because while the English performance was brave and exciting to watch, a draw in the test records is uneventful....

England snatch draw from the jaws of defeat

By Tom Mallows:

I suspect many England fans woke up on Monday morning thinking the events of the previous evening were some sort of perverse dream. The sight of Monty Panesar fending off the Australian pace attack is certainly something you only envisage in a deep slumber. But the reality will start to kick in when we get ready to do it all over again at Lord’s on Thursday still, crucially, on level terms.

However, whatever celebrations there were in the Cardiff sunshine should be forgotten quickly, make no mistake England got away with it at the Swalec Stadium. A whole session was lost on Saturday to rain, more than enough time for the Aussies to skittle through the England order, that they came so close even with the lost overs illustrates how poor England were in their second innings. As Strauss said after the game, tail-enders Jimmy Anderson and Panesar, magnificent as they were, should never have been put in that position after the rest of the line up, bar Graeme Swann and the superb Paul Collingwood, crumbled in the face of Aussie aggression.

With the ball, despite a flat and lifeless pitch, Strauss’ men appeared to capitulate as Brad Haddin and Marcus North piled on the runs. Too many wandering eyes looked to the heavens waiting for the gathering clouds to force them off the field and put them out of their misery. But as one frustrated fan wrote on a banner: ‘only cowards wait for rain’.

A contributing factor to the success of 2005 was the vociferous backing from the public. Early on Sunday afternoon much of that public were threatening to turn on their side, angry at their apparent lack of fight. But as the overs ticked by and the England tail end dug in the crowd became more and more involved in the game, holding their breath as each ball was bowled and breathing huge sighs of relief as each delivery was blocked. When Ricky Ponting shook hands with Anderson to signal the end of the game the huge cheer that erupted was reminiscent of Edgbaston or Trent Bridge during that famous series five years ago.

I think it was crucial that England avoided defeat going to the Lord’s test, especially given their poor record against the old enemy at the home of cricket. But while there is plenty of scope for improvement the manner of their great escape should give them some crucial momentum and help to re-capture the spirit of 2005.

Bear this in mind when you're checking the Lord's Test odds ahead of making a Lord's Test bet . If you want to get in the mood for a bit more rivalry, check out Betfair's fan v fan site.

Tip my hat...

I may not like or even respect this English side but I will tip my hat to them - they held on like men possessed today and maybe there is a backbone to this side hidden deep inside.

Despite my negativity on his suitability as a test number 5 Collingwood dug deep today scoring 74 off 245 balls. Broad, Swann, Anderson and Panesar also deserve some credit - they saw it through to the end and cricket fans will breathe a sigh of relief....

... HOWEVER...

There remains a very big difference between looking like you are going to win a game and hanging on for dear life and I think Australia remain comfortable favourites.

English batting lineup

I am looking at this English batting lineup which is trying to save the first test match and you can see that they are a batter short.

With all due respect to Matt Prior, he should be at seven and Freddie Flintoff should be following him at eight. Collingwood is a number 6 at a stretch but personally I think if you want a bit of a tail then he should follow Prior at eight and Flintoff at nine... as much as he might not be a traditional number nine.

The question is - what does that do to the English attack - somebody has to fall away. Have to give this some thought...

Hhhhmmm

Trying to work out if Nathan Hauritz is bowling well or whether the Poms are just tossing away their wickets as the pressure is mounting.

So far he has picked up decent wickets in this match getting out the likes of Strauss and Pietersen....

Thoughts?

Big day ahead for England

Well well well.... Brad Haddin and Marcus North (pictured) did what needed to be done and then Ben Hilenfhaus and Mitchell Johnson piled on the pressure with two late wickets to put the English on the back foot in the first Ashes test.

With Cook and Bopara gone, the English need another 219 runs with Pietersen and Strauss at the crease and eight wickets in hand.

It is hard to see a Test match in Wales as being a critical juncture in this old rivalry but I honestly believe that if the English capitulate today, it could be a hint that their summer is over. If they come out fighting then fans on both side of the fence will take a bit more interest.

An interesting day of cricket ahead - for all sorts of different reasons...

Ashes comments and a local story

South African cricket at the moment is a little slow but I see there is a nice spat developing between the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) and Cricket South Africa. The GCB have been quite vocal in their criticism of Gerald Majola and the handling of the IPL in South Africa.

The full story can be found here but I think the general impression was that the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament held in South Africa was an unequivocal success. Will have to try and drill down into the specifics around the GCB's complaints.

I see that Cricket SA has taken a tough stance as well - no more games at the Wanderers until the GCB withdraws their threats and accusations. Good to see strong leadership at the helm of SA cricket.

The big story of the moment is of course the first Ashes test which looks like it is leaning toward a draw unless the pitch offers something to the Australian bowlers in the last two days. At this moment in time the Aussies are 53 runs ahead with 5 second innings wickets in hand with North and Haddin in and Mitchell Johnson to come in.

I suppose cricket purists can take a bit of solace from the fact that the Poms showed a bit of backbone in their first innings to post a respectable enough target. Good to see that they didn't just depend on Strauss and Pietersen to get them somewhere. Unfortunately I think that Ponting and Katich have showed that it is imperative to actually go on and make big scores if you get a start.

Hilfenhaus with the new ball surprised me a bit - I would have gone with the more bustling Peter Siddle and given Hilfenhaus a slightly older and softer ball and see what he could get it to do. Will be interesting to see what the Australians do in the second innings.

If the Aussies put their foot down in this session I might not like to be the English management in the next few days...

Ashes betting

One of the greatest cricketing rivalries is finally here - The Ashes sees a very average English side up against an Australian side in transition.

It is obviously early days at the moment and a lot of people are pointing to the last time the Australians toured England but I have a feeling that this time will be different for a whole lot of reasons.

• This English side (Pietersen and Strauss) aside are not the same quality of that previous English team
• The last time England had Steve Harmison firing on all cylinders and his ability to move the ball wrecked the Aussies - I don't see an English bowler offering the same time this around
• The Aussies are here on a mission and have had a hard series against the South Africans to harden up their bowlers and find out what they have
• Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee and Peter Siddle are in a different calibre to the English attack

Which bring us to the betting offered on this series.

Value bets that I picked up are:

1. Australia to win by 3-0, 4-0 and 5-0. World Sports Betting are offering 8/1, 10/1 and 16/1 respectively and not the worst bets around. I particularly like the first two
2. Top Aussie batter - Ponting tops the odds at 2/1 but I think Katich and Mike Hussey at 4/1 are better value
3. Top English batter - I don't see how you can look beyond Kevin Pietersen at 2.2/1 but Freddie Flintoff at 10/1 might not be a bad punt...

Would be great to see the Aussies make mincemeat of the Poms on this tour....

Tiered cricket system

What are the thoughts on a multi-tiered cricket system that would effectively pit teams of roughly equal strength against one another?

I know there have been quite a lot of thoughts put forward on addressing the divide between the strong and the weak sides. The problem is that if "weak" sides end up playing against strong sides the game loses its appeal for both both spectators and ultimately TV audiences.

The second problem is that if you have a two-tiered system the teams that get stuck in the lower pool may find their standard of cricket going down... Mediocrity breeds mediocrity...

The next tricky part is how would you split the sides up. If you look at ODI cricket you would have a different top 5 compared to the top 5 in Test cricket.

Of course the other option is to go down the international franchise route and make the IPL more of a mainstream competition replacing the international tours.... It would be a good way to revitalise international cricket but I wonder whether world cricket is ready for more mainstreaming of the franchise offering.

Bloody Pakistan ;-)

I can't believe it! After storming through our early matches South Africa got tripped up by the Pakistani's in the semi-finals of 2009 T20 World Cup.

Honestly I thought we had this tournament in the bag and personally I still believe that we are the best T20 side in the world.... Unfortunately the record book are going to say something very different when the world looks back on this tournament.

I have to tip my hat to Pakistan - they have once again come out of nowhere and are suddenly competing for a handy piece of silverware. Been an intriguing tournament without question.

Umar Gul and those last two overs he bowled were brilliant and I think he has given many international quick bowlers and answer to the question - "How the hell do you bowl in T20 cricket?!"

Great performance from Pakistan!

Hhhhmmmm

No Australia, No England and No India in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.... That's a bit of a surprise there....

England I didn't expect to get there but India have surprised me - thought they were going to put in a more consistent showing....

As I posted a couple of weeks back I put money down on SA, New Zealand, the West Indies and Bangladesh to win the tournament.... Three out of the four semi-finalists is not too bad.

Again good quality spinners have shone in the tournament.... Not quite the IPL but it's great when you're winning!

Talisman personalities

I was just reading an article on SuperSport where Ian Chappell was talking up the role that Dwayne Bravo plays in West Indian cricket.

"It is his attitude and enthusiasm, noted by Chappell, which suggest he can fulfil his considerable potential and play a substantial role in West Indies cricket" read the article and I dunno - the line just jumped out at me.

Every side has players with big personalities who do spark a bit of "fire in the belly" and the role of personality over form / ability is something that I suspect many teams grapple with when it comes to selection.

Basically the player that the side rallies around and is allowed to flourish.

For Australia, a hard bastard like Matty Hayden, Ricky Ponting or Andrew Symonds bring so much to a side.

West Indies have Bravo, Chris Gayle and Shiv Chanderpaul. It's early days for Bravo but Chanderpaul has often been such a stand-out for the West Indies, one almost thinks he was born in the wrong era.

South Africa had the likes of Lance Klusener and Fanie Devilliers a few years back - big hearted players. More recently we've had Graeme Smith - tough as nails - and as much as I hate to say it Roelof VD Merwe brings some spark to our T20 team.

England - Kevin Pietersen and Freddie Flintoff. But this side has regularly rewarded mediocrity (excluding these two players) and in my humble opinion is in serious decline

New Zealand - Scott Styris and Jacob Oram - watch this New Zealand side over the next 12 months - particularly in ODI cricket - I think there is something building here on the batting front.

India - Dhoni I think is a bit of a poster-boy for Indian cricket so I guess their talisman would be somebody like Sehwag. But the lack of big-hearted personalities (and I could be wrong here so feel free to argue) - has probably been the problem with Indian cricket over the last three or four years?

Sri Lanka - They've got Murali but I get the sense he is perhaps a little tired of the game and preferring the money and smash and bash of the IPL? It shows in the consistency of their performances.

Dunno - what do you think of the assessment? Players you think are likely to become hugely influential in the above setups?

The victorious Dutch side

Here's a pic of the Dutch side - they don't have the most up to date website (and it's all in Dutch) in the cricketing world but considering they just beat the English in the T20 World Cup maybe they're going to have a whole lot of new sponsors!

Check out their website here.

T20 Day 2

So Holland came through for me and beat the Poms at Lords! Hahahahhaha what a great start to the T20 World Cup - nothing better than watching the English side self destruct and keep letting the underdogs back into the side.

Lots of cricket on today and here are the bets I have placed. Teams haven't been confirmed so check the betting

New Zealand vs Scotland

• Coetzer - Top Scottish batter
  
• Ross Taylor or Jacob Oram to top the New Zealand batting - although Oram would assume that the Scots take a few wickets
  

Australia vs West Indies

• West Indies to win the game
• Dwayne Bravo - West Indies top batter
• David Hussey - Top Aussie batter

India vs. Bangladesh

• Ashraful - Top Bangladesh batter
  
• Top indian batter I spread three bets across Sehwag, Pathan and Jadeja (if he plays)
  

Happy punting

T20 World Cup opener

The T20 World Cup kicks off today and the opening game is England vs. Holland.

A mate and I have taken an 8-1 punt on the Dutch side to beat the English..... Yeah yeah crazy I know but T20 cricket is an even stranger game than cricket itself!

Let's see....

In terms of a "real" bet I've backed Kevin Pietersen to top the scoring for the Poms....

Are we heading for 20/20 overkill?

By Tom Mallows

It may seem a strange time to raise this subject - on the eve of the ICC World Twenty20, where the world’s finest players will compete once more in the newest and most frantic form of the game. But are we fast heading for saturation point?

After all the IPL has only just finished, the English domestic Twenty/20 has just begun, the Champions League awaits in October and the EPL set to start next year.

It is bit like when TV producers hit on a successful idea they assume that viewers want to see more of the same and flood the market with a million variations along the same theme. For example Big Brother was a highly original and successful idea but instead of TV Execs striving to find the next one, they have simply re-hashed the same format which has spawned a million and one different reality TV shows that now clog up our TV schedules.

The same seems to be the case with Twenty/20. The game’s administrators have hit upon a successful, innovative money making idea. It has brought the game to a whole new audience and revolutionised the way many people watch cricket. But like a kid let loose in a sweet shop you can have too much of a good thing, however much you disagree at the time.

Take the English summer for example. It is, of course, dominated by the Ashes series against Australia (and 2009 ashes betting is set to be intense), but the season has begun under a backdrop of empty grounds and poor ticket sales. The West Indies test series began earlier then any other test series in England and it showed when we saw the unusual and uncomfortable sight of a half empty chilly Lord’s on the opening day of a test series. The English counties have also reported a fall in Twenty/20 ticket sales for the opening round of games. You can’t blame the punters though, the early English summer is notoriously unreliable and with bigger matches and warmer weather to come, why fork out now?

It also has an impact from a playing point of view. Chris Gayle’s recent comments about not being bothered about the future of test cricket could spark a worrying trend - indeed the West Indies played like a side not interested in the longer form of the game.

If the game's administrators continue to flood the market with Twenty/20 tournaments the players are going to have to choose what tournaments they want to play in. Now it doesn’t take a genius to work out that they will choose the most lucrative. We could see a situation where players give up playing for their country in order to earn millions in the IPL or EPL.

I hope that the powers that be have noticed this problem brewing and will do enough to preserve the more traditional forms of the game while keeping 20/20 fresh and interesting. If not we could soon see fans walk away from cricket, whatever format it is played in.

T20 World Cup Picks

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while - I think after the IPL final I needed a bit of a break from cricket!

The T20 World Cup kicks off on the 5th of June in England and I guess I have to make some predictions here.

In terms of favourite to win the tournament I was a little surprised to see that the South African bookmakers have priced in India as the favourites followed by SA and then Australia.

Anyway I have placed a couple of bets here for outright winner. On current form I don't see how you can look beyond South Africa and with odds of 4-1 I think they're not a bad bet.

My next favourite was New Zealand - who I genuinely believe are going to be a handful in this tournament - and I got 8-1 on them.

The West Indies are one of those sides that blow hot and cold and bearing in mind that they've had some time in England, putting a few bucks down on them at 14-1 is a fair call I think.

Finally I got offered odds of 80-1 on Bangladesh so I put 5 bucks down on them. I don't have a huge amount of faith on them coming home but T20 is a lottery and might be a bit of fun to follow them and see what comes of it!

Sigh - the West Indies again...

Hahahahha the West Indies make me laugh - masters of self-destruction!

I put some bucks on them for the ODI against England this afternoon and I see that after a promising start from Chris Gayle, they are limping along at 150/7 after 35 overs....

Oh well - at least I got IPL final tickets.... Can't wait - got money on the Deccan Chargers - can't wait!

Adam Gilchrist

Heck it as to suck to be as talented as Adam Gilchrist! At 37 years old the guy is still blasting some of the best one-day international talent in the world to all corners of the park!

Tonight he bashed 85 off 37 balls and he has put the Deccan Chargers in the IPL final at Wanderers on Sunday. You have no idea how happy I am considering the series of close losses that the Deccan Chargers have taken in the last 3 games.

Even better than all of that - my wife and I have got VIP tickets to watch the final - it's gonna be a cracker and I'm gonna be cheering my lungs out as Gilly and Gibbs smash all comers!

Yes please!

Has the IPL been a success?

So has the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) been a success in South Africa? I think this is the big question everybody is asking as the tournament winds down into its final week.

Personal opinion is - HELL YES...

I think the tournament has captured the imagination of both the traditional cricketing public as well as those who were not regular supporters of the game. I think the carnival atmosphere and the "franchise" system (as opposed to SA versus X) has also been a bit of fun as it as appealed to a wider local cricketing audience.

That says nothing about the quality of the social initiatives that the IPL has introduced in terms of their education grants that they dish out nice and liberally.

I have to take my hat off to the organisers, I think they've done a great service to South African sport.

Bugger!

So far my punt on the West Indies is not looking that great. It didn't help that Day 2 was rained out but now if they can show a bit of back-bone they can at least bat out for the draw.... They've just gotta get a few runs on the board.

Locally we're going into the last week of the IPL and what a great tournament it has been for South Africa.

A couple of nice games on the board today:

• Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils
• Deccan Chargers vs Kings Punjab
  

Lots of fun and games and well done to everybody who brought this competition to South Africa!

West Indies to beat England in 2nd test...

Ok so I've been battling to sleep following the ill advised decision to partake in some Jager Bombs.

Anyway I was surfing around looking for some interesting bets and I realised that the West Indies take on England in the second test match starting today.

So knowing how the West Indies blow hot and cold, I've decided to back them to win the second test and put some money on the table having had some luck back guys in the IPL.

So my bets are here for some transparency:

Outright win - West Indies
Top batter 1st innings - West Indies - Shiv Chanderpaul
Top batter 1st innings - England - Andrew Strauss

Wish me luck!

Bloody hell - how was that Deccan Chargers collapse yesterday?!

Saturday mumblings

Ashes thoughts
I see Shane Warne has been quite critical of the English decision not to play the first Ashes test at Lords... Have to agree with him - this is supposed to be the greatest (traditional) cricket rivalry and you've got two sides playing in Wales?

I think the IPL - and to a lesser degree the SA vs. Aussie series - has shown just how important marketing is for cricket. As much as the purists would love things like the "Ashes brand" to try and carry on as is, the reality is that cricket needs to place marketing ahead of all else at the moment...

... I reead somewhere that the English didn't want to play the first match at Lords because the atmosphere was basically so hyped-up that it benefitted the touring sides.

To me that is really negative marketing for the game - If that were in South Africa or Australia the home marketing teams would be urging fans to come down in their droves to make sure that the home side "defied history"... and the fans would get into it and they would cheer every single wicket and run.

To me it doesn't make any sense and pushes cricket backward rather than forward.

West Indies
I see the West Indies once again collapsed in spectacular fashion yesterday to give a big win to the English.

Don't think you can read too much into this performance, simply because that is what the West Indies do - they simply switch-off when the tide is against them and decide to come back to the next test match and try again.

It would be nice to see them give the Poms a bit of a working over before the Ashes though!

Onions and Sidebottom

I don't mean to be completely facetious - ok yeah I do - can you really take a side seriously when their bowling attack comprises guys named Sidebottom and Onions...??

I mean what are you going to have:

C Cook B Onions....?!

On a more serious note though the English have got the West Indies against the ropes at Lords in the first test match. Have to give credit where credit is due - the English showed a bit of innovation opening their bowling with Swann.

Cricket is a funny old game!

Sports - changing world order

I believe quite strongly that a combination of the IPL and the economic (financial) crisis will fundamentally change sport across the globe. I'm probably going to say a few things that are going to be considered a little controversial but it's something I've been intrigued by for quite a while now.

Broadly speaking up until a few years ago the financial power of world sport remained in two major power centres - the US and Europe (Specifically the UK).

Even now the big money in rugby, soccer, motorsport and golf still emanates from these parts... but I don't expect that to last.

Some predictions:

• I expect in five years time that Bangladeshi cricket will have overtaken English cricket in the test and One Day International rankings
• Argentina rugby will be stronger than the European nations within seven years
• In less than a decade I don't believe that the English premiership will be regarded as the leading football league in the world
• Clubs like Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea will be competing with clubs from places like South America, the US and Asia in a global league in the not too distant future as opposed to the UEFA tournaments.
• Bit of a wild one but I believe that South Africa will have one competitive football team in this tournament in ten years
• I believe that the premier rugby competition - which will usurp the Super 14 - will be played out of either South Africa or Japan inside the next seven years and will work along the same lines as the IPL cricket system with either a bid or draft offering to pick sides.
• Motorsport will be dominated by Chinese and Indian manufacturers and representatives and the Middle East and mainstream Asia will host most of the glamour races
• Support for international brands such as the Springboks, All Blacks, Proteas, Wallabies etc will decline over the next ten years with cross-border franchises attracting greater support.

Obviously there are a lot of people who don't want to hear about the changing global world order but at the end of the day it is a numbers game - China, India, the rest of Asia and Brazil to some extent are growing rapidly at all levels...

1. Look at what China achieved at the last world Olympics
2. Look at the support the IPL has attracted - it's HUGE money and prestige that far outweighs what the international cricket boards can afford to pay their players.
3. F1 used to be the domain of the European manufacturers... suddenly the likes of Toyota are coming in and the Middle East is pouring money into development of tracks and teams - things are going to look very different in a few years time...

Does it sound like lunatic fringe stuff or do you think there is some merit to it all? Would love your input?

IPL observation

I have an observation on this years IPL... T20 isn't a young mans game and experience has counted for a helluva lot this year.




Have a look at the top batters after 6 games - age in brackets:

• Matthew Hayden (37)
• Suresh Raida (23)
• Adam Gilchrist (37)
• Sachin Tendulkar (36)
• Herschelle Gibbs (35)

Obviously runs are pretty closely contested in this format of the game but I think its interesting that apart from Raida, the top batters are 35 and older - so much for smash and bash one day cricket.

Rahul Dravid (36) is also in the mix just below the top 5.

The bowlers were a very mixed bag with Yusuf Abdullah topping the ranks followed by "Slinger" Malinga.... Indian legspin master Anil Kumble was there or there abouts but no clear trend seemed to come through on the bowling front.

In terms of the batters though - I wonder if it is a case that they're not batting with a weight of expectation on their shoulders and are just going out to have a bit of fun or maybe administrators and fans get so wrapped up in "the next big thing" that we forget how much value and experience thes guys bring to the party?

Ashes prediction

Oh as an aside - I meant to briefly make an Ashes prediction...

I was on The Baggy Green reading Ian's thoughts on the Aussie preparation for the upcoming Ashes series. Ian was pointing out how Phil Hughes is walking all over the English county sides scoring runs left, right and centre...

... personal opinion was that Hughes would probably have gotten a better working over playing against the Aussie womens A side or one of the local under 13 teams rather than in county cricket but that's my own thoughts...

Anyway my prediction is that - provided rain doesn't play a role - Australia wins all of the test matches without really raising a sweat.

The only thing that might way on the Aussies is the lack of a decent spinner just to plug up an end. Having said that, maybe Krezja will be handier in pommie conditions rather than on harder SA and Australian pitches...

... if he doesn't work they could probably give Bryce Mcgain and Mick Lewis another callup just to try and balance things out a bit!

Anyway - here are the dates for the five test matches for those who are interested:

Ashes 2009 Test Series
1st Test: Wednesday 8 July – Sunday 12 July (Cardiff)
2nd Test: Thursday 16 July – Monday 20 July (Lords)
3rd Test: Thursday 30 July – Monday 3 August (Edgbaston)
4th Test: Friday 7 August – Tuesday 11 August (Headingley)
5th Test: Thursday 20 August – Monday 24 August (The Oval)

Aaaaahhhh man...

The Delhi Daredevils finally got one over the Deccan Chargers and we had to give up our undefeated record in the IPL...

Pity - we were going like a house on fire!

Unfortunately it would appear that if neither Gibbs nor Gilchrist gets going then there is some frailty in the Deccan Chargers batting line-up and if it hadn't been for some decent hitting from Dwayne Smith it would have been even worse.

A little disappointed that Scott Styris didn't get a run but I guess the obvious question - why tamper with a winning formula.

The IPL is definately capturing people's imaginations at the moment here in South Africa and it's amazing to skim through Facebook to see how many people have planned their long weekend around the IPL games.

Yeah yeah yeah!

Can you say Deccan Chargers baby!!!!

Gibbs and Gilchrist are loving this format of the game and they're just on top of their game -it's great to watch....

We racked up another hard fought win over the Chennai Super Kings today.... A good weekend of cricket for us.

How cool has it been to watch Shane Warne playing!? The standing (if a little uncultured) joke in South Africa is that Warney likes this T20 lark because the two guys who knew how to play him - Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes - one is dead and one has retired...

Moving swiftly along...

Have to put the boot in again as well here... Freddie Flintoff and KP are the two most expensive players in this years IPL if my stats are correct... and they've contributed how much in runs and wickets?!

Not sure either of these guys classify as the top cricketers in the ODI format of the game... but that's just personal opinion and I appreciate that there is more a "celeb" factor when one looks at KP as opposed to cricketing skills.