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
  

Why world cricket needs a strong West Indies

Watching the English batting order collapse is a bit like watching speedster Usain Bolt run the 100m... blink and you miss it...

Thought that it would be a good way to kick off this blog post, seeing as the West Indies cricket board has a picture (left) of Bolt partying it up after thumping the English...

It's good to see the Windies on form at the moment and it is helluva important for world cricket.

As for the Poms and their decline over the last decade, maybe they've just accepted the inevitable that their mud island is slowly slipping away into the sea and the empire will never return to its glory days.

It is so important for world cricket at this point to have a strong West Indian side. The Australians and South Africans have slogged it out over the last few months and India have been right in the mix with tough series against both these powerhouses.

But cricket cannot be about three sides at the moment... especially with the emergence of the big money IPL.

Pakistan can be explosive on their day but ill discipline continues to plague them and away from home tends to be one disaster after another.

Sri Lanka and the Black Caps are always there or there abouts without really threatening away from home conditions (current Aussie tour aside).

The English (AKA South Africa's B-side with KP and Strauss leading the charge) hold no real worries away from home.

Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Kenya simply lack a decent number of quality players to be of any real threat... but I do have high hopes for Bangladesh over the next 10 years or so.

Which leaves the West Indies as potentially the fourth quality touring side in the mix. These guys have no problem winning away from home - when it suits them - and they have quality fast bowlers and some serious firepower in the batting lineup... again when it suits them.

A quality West Indian side would be great for world cricket right now and a thumping of the English may just give them the confidence to step up their game.... In other words - Give the english CARROTS!