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....