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August 31, 2008
Posted on 08/31/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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The emergence of Samit Patel has been a revelation
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Steve James, in the Sunday Telegraph, is awestruck by England's one-day renaissance, thanks in no small way to Kevin Pietersen's captaincy, Samit Patel and the rejuvenated Matt Prior.
Goodness, that is still hard to believe. This is one-day cricket after all. This is just not supposed to happen. England are wonderfully woeful at one-day cricket: that has long been written in the stars.
In the same paper, Scyld Berry identifies the key areas in which Pietersen has excelled as captain, such as keeping wickets intact in the Powerplays and not overloading his players with training sessions. The Sunday Times' Simon Wilde is impressed by England's run and ponders whether they have hit upon a XI that's likely to last.
Over in the Natal Witness, Peter Roebuck writes that South Africa's failings in the one-day series indicate a lack of ambition.
Rightly, the team celebrated (after winning the Test series) and its praises were sung. After a few days rest, though, it was important to get back to work. Instead, the players went walkabout. As much could be seen for the defeat at the Oval.
Suddenly, batsmen were swishing away outside off-stick or lifting catches to cover. Far from kicking their prostrate opponents, they assisted in their resurgence. Obviously the new captain also inspired England, but he must have expected stiffer resistance.
In his blog on the Times website, Archie Henderson raises a question: Was [Shaun] Pollock allowed to retire, or was he pushed, like Lance Klusener?
August 27, 2008
Posted on 08/27/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
The Trent Bridge mauling yesterday is a reflection of Kevin Pietersen's ability to transform his players, writes David Hopps in the Guardian.
England players must be queuing up to have breakfast with him, imagining that a few inspirational words over the muesli can transform their fortunes. Yesterday it was Matt Prior's turn - the Sussex wicketkeeper took a stupendous, springing catch in front of first slip to dismiss Herschelle Gibbs.
In dismissing South Africa for 83 yesterday and reaching their target with all wickets intact, England made a nonsense of the world rankings and of the less mathematically solid proposition that they are completely hopeless at limited overs cricket, writes Stephen Brenkley in the Independent. He also feels South Africa have gotten carried away with their Test series success.
It might seem perverse to suggest it, but perhaps South Africa's cause has not been helped by the postponement of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. While the International Cricket Council's decision was widely applauded, South Africa now know they are homeward bound. Instead of having to head for the sub-continent, as they would have done had the Trophy proceeded, it is as if they can smell brai and biltong again.
Neil Manthorp, in Supercricket, also agrees that South Africa have yet to get over the hangover from the Test series.
In the Daily Mail, Paul Newman writes that Matt Prior's wicketkeeping has brought energy back to England's fielding.
August 24, 2008
Posted on 08/24/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Belying widespread concerns, captaincy hasn't had a detrimental impact on Kevin Pietersen's batting
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After his captaincy tenure got off to a dream start in the one-day format as well, the England papers are singing Kevin Pietersen’s praises. Scyld Berry writes in the Sunday Telegraph that while Pietersen has taken his whole game to a new level, his biggest achievement since taking over has been bringing the best out of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison.
His captaincy will no doubt end in tears, for England captains always end in tears, because the job is unsustainable, and nothing is done to reduce the over-load. But with each week of his nascent captaincy, the promise grows that before the premature ending there will be some glorious moments.
In the Observer, Vic Marks says Pietersen’s captaincy is reminiscent of Nasser Hussain’s. He says that for both, when it came to selecting teams, what mattered was talent and not whether players were reliable or matey.
Lawrence Booth, writing in the Sunday Times, is impressed that immediately after the win at Headingley, instead of savouring the win, Pietersen was urging his team-mates to prepare for the next ODI at Nottingham.
August 23, 2008
Posted on 08/23/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
Neil Manthorp, in his column in SuperCricket, recalls a humorous anecdote involving Michael Atherton, the former England captain and the Times' chief cricket correspondent, during the South Africa Test series.
Forty-five minutes after a day's Test cricket is usually the most tense of the day in the press box. Match reporters are flat out and the 'quotes men' have just arrived back from the press conference, tense and anxious to meet deadlines. It is the quietest time of the day, the most prevalent sound being the hurried, two-fingered bashing of laptop keyboards. Suddenly, a disembodied woman's voice was echoing loudly around the box. "...And don't forget you promised to drop the kids off at Grandma's, and we've got dinner at John and Noreen's tomorrow night, and..."
"How do I turn the volume down?" whispered an anxious Athers. "The whole press box can hear you...shhhh!" There is a time to Skype your wife, and there is a time not to Skype your wife.
Posted on 08/23/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
In the Guardian, Rob Smyth looks at six memorable one-day matches between England and South Africa beginning with the infamous 21 off one ball equation during the semi-final of the 1992 World Cup.
For such a cerebral game, cricket can be hideously dunderheaded, happy to toss commonsense into a sea of bureaucracy and another word that begins with 'bu'. The denouements to the 2005 Ashes and the 2007 World Cup spring to mind, but surely nothing will ever match the tragifarce of the 1992 semi-final. The shambolic rain rule was one thing, but the fact that the game could not continue when the players returned to the field, or on the following day, because the host broadcaster Channel Nine wouldn't have liked it is beyond comprehension.
August 20, 2008
Posted on 08/20/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
England may have lost their last two one-day series, both against New Zealand, but I believe they have a serious opportunity to upset the higher-ranked South Africans in the next fortnight, writes Duncan Fletcher in the Guardian.
It will help Kevin Pietersen that one-day captaincy is nowhere near as complicated as the Test job. There is a decision to be made about when to take your Powerplays and there is the occasional question about which men to keep in the circle, but otherwise the job runs itself far more easily than in five-day cricket. I also think South Africa have got two huge holes to fill in their bowling attack. Shaun Pollock and Charl Langeveldt are no longer there, and they had this knack of landing the ball on a length in the one-day game.
Alex Parker doesn't share the same view in the Johannesburg-based Times.
Pietersen is likely to bring a little enthusiasm for the game and will no doubt put a rocket up those English players who can’t lift themselves for the series. I still don’t think it’ll be enough. South Africa, brimming with confidence and swagger, should take the series with ease. My only real concern is the form of Jacques Kallis.
August 13, 2008
Posted on 08/13/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
Ah, but isn't it just the cutest volte-face? Just a few years ago, the one who used to be decidedly slimmer was bellowing on about being unpatriotic, while the one with the skunk surgically attached to his head was gleefully labelling his new nemesis 'a complete muppet' in a hastily compiled biography, writes Dan Nicholl on iafrica.com.
Both men have good reason to be in high spirits. A series win in England has been an elusive grail for South Africa, and finally nailing it this time around is a hugely satisfying achievement for Smith — particularly given that the series was sealed by the skipper playing the best innings by a South African since Jacques Kallis in Melbourne in 1997. A firing top order, an exciting pace attack, and a team full of confidence — Smith has every reason to smile. Pietersen might not have won a series, but he did win his first Test in charge, with a first innings hundred for good measure.
August 12, 2008
Posted on 08/12/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
Outside the Eastern Cape where his talent first emerged, Makhaya Ntini is not a name that comes immediately to mind when great fast bowlers are discussed. Yet this lithe and predatory athlete has demanded a place at the top table by the one yardstick with which no one can argue, writes Christopher Martin-Jenkins in the Times.
Ntini links the Donald and Pollock era with the new one of Morkel and Steyn. The first black cricketer to play Test cricket for South Africa when he appeared against Sri Lanka in Cape Town in 1998, he has also greatly helped to ease the transition towards a multiracial team picked these days purely on merit. A little like the prolific Courtney Walsh, he is no one's idea of a thoroughbred - more a workhouse of extraordinary stamina - but he has more victims than the more highly rated Allan Donald.
Posted on 08/12/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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KP's best man? Andrew Strauss
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While Kevin Pietersen sets his sights on the Ashes, Lawrence Booth in his blog for the Guardian acknowledges the role of Andrew Strauss as the England captain's best man.
With an eye on the top job himself, Strauss may have offered only equivocal support to Pietersen's nomination. But in a team at times accused of lacking independent thinkers his common-sense advice in the months ahead could be crucial as Pietersen attempts to grow into the job.
Mike Atherton in the Times believes it's time to sit down and reassess after the initial euphoria has passed. He quotes Oscar Wilde on second marriages, calling the Test “a triumph of optimism over experience" and presents few pointers for Peter Moores and the captain to take note.
A top order that only once passed 350 in the first innings, and twice was rolled over for fewer than 250; an all-rounder, Flintoff, who is yet to show that his batting form has returned; a wicketkeeper (Ambrose) who, on present form, would not get into the team of any other leading Test-playing nation and a spinner (Panesar) who, if not exactly regressing, is certainly not progressing as quickly as a cricketer who has played 33 Tests should.
The overriding impression left by this series is one of England batting capitulations on flat pitches consigning their bowlers to hard labour, writes Simon Hughes in the Telegraph.
Pietersen, for all his extravagant gifts, got out three times with the bowlers at his mercy, Collingwood was a walking wicket for half the series, Bell's tally was distorted by his cultured 199 at Lord's (his other six innings produced only 130 runs), Cook continually failed to build on excellent starts and Broad at present has a tail-ender's licence, though that may change.
England's last-ditch win, not without merit of course, is rather like the 18th-hole birdie that masks an otherwise indifferent round of golf, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian.
August 11, 2008
Posted on 08/11/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
Monty Panesar's figures in this series bear comparison with any English bowler. His 13 wickets at 31.69 are commonplace but they are enough to maintain his career average, yet the Guardian's David Hopps feels Panesar is in need of a mentor.
England have lost a Test series against South Africa and Panesar is among those attracting most opprobrium, largely because of his failure to bowl England to victory in helpful conditions at Edgbaston, the Test that turned the series ... Panesar's development has slowed, with his lack of an arm ball particularly mystifying, while his batting and fielding have degenerated again, inviting the suspicion that his focus has wavered.
Christopher Martin-Jenkins writes in the Times that this improving South African side could beat Australia, when the two top Test teams play each other in three-Test series in Australia in December and January and then in South Africa early next year.
Their unyielding professionalism on this tour have opened up the possibility that they could be top dogs before long, whatever the computer might say. Like Australia they lack a top-class spinner - Harris is no more than a tidy one - but their batting goes deep and their fast bowling is strong.
Shaun Oakes, a blogger with the Johannesburg-based Mail & Guardian finds himself agreeing with CMJ.
Our top order, traditionally about as strong and dependable as a Baker’s Tennis Biscuit, is suddenly piling on the runs, our fielding is up to the standard last seen during the Jonty Rhodes era and we have arguably one of the strongest seam-bowling attacks in the world today.Watch out Australia, here we come? South African fans certainly have grounds to believe so.
Simon Hughes in the Telegraph applauds Abraham Benjamin (AB) de Villiers for his resilient 97 and the overall impact he has had on the Test series.
... the nickname AB has a powerful legacy. For most of the past two decades it was synonymous with the most prolific Test batsman of all time. Allan Border retired with 11,174 Test runs and a reputation as one of the grittiest sportsmen who ever lived. A batsman who forever valued substance over style, he never countenanced defeat from any position ...
August 10, 2008
Posted on 08/10/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Graeme Smith: "I know I'm not going to repeat what I did at Edgbaston every match but it would have been nice to end on a high"
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South Africa have prevailed partly because the unsung men in their line-up have blossomed - McKenzie, Amla, Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers, writes Vic Marks in the Observer .
Of their batsmen only Jacques Kallis has faltered - this could be his least productive series for 11 years, although he still has one innings left to change that. Once Dale Steyn has recovered from his thumb injury South Africa have a side that can seriously challenge Australia in Australia this winter, their only obvious weakness being the lack of a quality spin bowler.
Graeme Smith writes in the Sunday Telegraph that it was hard to pick himself up for the Oval Test after his epic hundred at Edgbaston.
Read Andrew Strauss' diary in the Sunday Telegraph. He talks about how he felt about Michael Vaughan's resignation, Kevin Pietersen's appointment, and a day at the Silverstone racing circuit.
Posted on 08/10/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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It's early days yet but Kevin Pietersen's style of captaincy has received widespread approval
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As England's new captain, Kevin Pietersen was too impatient to make up for the time lost, but overall it has been a superlative first attempt at Test captaincy, writes Scyld Berry in the Sunday Telegraph.
Pietersen has been decisive and unfussy (banning the huddle was a significant start). He has been himself, not striving for ostentation or effect (or at least no more than usual). He has been generous towards his men, enjoying their individual success, and paternal towards the youngest player most needing encouragement, Stuart Broad. He has inspired some players, notably Steve Harmison. He has been energy itself in the field since taking over, whereas white South Africans in general have not radiated total commitment while fielding for England.
Also the Observer, Jon Henderson charts Pietersen's progress before he made it big.
On his first assignment in England in 2000 he played for Cannock in the Birmingham League, did not come back and later revealed he had not much cared for the Staffordshire club; he then bolted from South Africa, having told the authorities there what he thought of their quota system; and he departed his first English county, Nottinghamshire, with the air heavy with acrimony. What we must now wait to find out is whether those departures were simply Pietersen hurrying towards the fulfilment he craved, the captaincy of a national side - or whether the door-banging will continue.
Simon Wilde also spoke to people associated with Pietersen during his formative cricket years in the Sunday Times.
If he did not know it before, Pietersen will be fully aware by now that England have receded since 2005. They are becoming as dependent on him as asickly child on its mother. In three of their last seven victories, he has scored hundreds. He may be about to make it four out of eight, writes Stephen Brenkley in the Independent on Sunday.
Also in the Independent on Sunday Stephen Fay is of the opinion that Pietersen’s problem is that England's future will not depend on him waking up in the morning with the intention of getting better. His colleagues will need to get better too.
In the Sunday Times, David Gower writes: A team that has already lost a series needs a dose of tender loving care, and that is what Pietersen delivered by the bucket, along with plenty of positive energy. He was in touch in a tactile fashion and mentally with every one of his players, and their response was excellent.
In the Independent on Sunday, Angus Fraser feels England’s bowlers appear to have responded positively to Pietersen as captain.
"He [Pietersen] also told us quite openly that because he had such limited experience, he was going to be relying on us for our help. It was impressive stuff, even to those of us who have been around the block. When he invited everyone there to have their say as well, it was clear he is going to be a captain who listens as well as he talks," writes Steve Harmison in the Mail on Sunday.
August 9, 2008
Posted on 08/09/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Kevin Pietersen celebrated his first innings as Test captain by scoring a century
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The England papers are hardly surprised that Kevin Pietersen made a century in his first innings after being appointed captain and are relieved that leadership doesn't seem to have affected his belligerent approach to batting. Lawrence Booth writes in the Guardian:
He scored three centuries in his first major one-day series against the South Africans in 2005. He made another one against Australia here three summers ago with the Ashes at stake. And he scored one more in his first Test against his former compatriots at Lord's last month. Death and taxes are less inevitable than his century was here.
The Telegraph's Martin Johnson is almost as impressed by Pietersen rendering the snarling Andre Nel speechless as he is by the new captain's hundred.
In the Independent, Stephen Brenkley wonders whether the intensity is lacking in the South African outfit as they have already clinched the series.
And Christopher Martin-Jenkins, in the Times, stresses the need for England to unearth a second match-winning batsman.
Jacques Kallis may be having a lean run with the bat but he has contributed with some important wickets. Simon Briggs writes in the Telegraph that Kallis has become the leading exponent of reverse-swing in either side.
"After a run of low scores, Andrew Strauss saved his skin with a meaty century in the second innings of the final Test in Napier, and Ian Bell, whose place was also then far from secure, did the same. It was Paul Collingwood's turn in the last Test to rescue his career with a doughty century. Sometime over the weekend Tim Ambrose will hope to imbibe from the same restorative fluid with which the others have found salvation," writes Simon Hughes in the Telegraph.
I am afraid that Ambrose simply does not have a presence at the crease and can only score runs from short balls. Anything pitched up is now dangerous because he simply won't get onto the front foot which means that he is particularly susceptible to being caught behind the wicket, writes Jonathan Agnew on BBC Sport.
August 8, 2008
Posted on 08/08/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Kevin Pietersen had a successful first day as England captain
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Kevin Pietersen’s first day as Test captain went splendidly with England dismissing South Africa for 194. Here’s what the papers had to say about how he went about his duties at The Oval.
It’s not much of an accolade being promoted on the grounds that there’s no one else – a bit like a lance corporal in the First World War finding himself leading the regiment because everyone else is dead. It may work out, but Geoff Boycott’s granny could probably have captained England yesterday, writes Martin Johnson in the Telegraph.
Steve Harmison bowling at the stumps is not the kind of luxury Vaughan always had, and there was also the suspicion that South Africa are a little demob happy after wrapping up the series. Furthermore, their post-lunch collapse to Pietersen’s chosen selection of Harmison and Jimmy Anderson could scarcely have been put down to Brearleyesque genius, as Flintoff was off the field having a toe attended to at the time, and Stuart Broad (pictured) was being pinged all over the park. Where Pietersen deserves credit is for encouraging Broad …
Christopher Martin-Jenkins, in the Times, writes that Pietersen had a near-perfect day in charge.
[He was] aggressive with his field placings without going over the top, calm when the early wickets his fast bowlers deserved took time to come, pleasingly orthodox about where he placed his men after the over-elaborations beloved of his predecessor in his second phase, sensible about the bowling changes and imposing without being dictatorial in his general approach. Everyone knew that he was in charge, but there was nothing ostentatious. The star with the leading part seemed quite happy to let the other actors shine.
Welcome to KP's feel-good era, where empathy is king, moods must always be buoyant, where touchy-feely is of show business proportions and where lines of communication are always open. Pietersen is a compulsive texter and England's players received good luck messages the night before the game. If the technology had been available in his day, you cannot imagine Ray Illingworth doing that, writes David Hopps in the Guardian
Also in the Guardian, Vic Marks says "England's cricketers responded well to Kevin Pietersen's first day in charge, but we shouldn't jump to rash decisions."
Hippy, Hippy, Shake, you probably don't need reminding, was a one hit wonder for a group called The Swinging Blue Jeans. Please, Please Me was the first number one for another Merseyside band and we all know about them. Was the cricket we witnessed at the Oval a one-hit wonder or the start of something really quite significant?
When England came out it was noticeable there was no huddle. Nor had there been one in the privacy of the dressing room. But Pietersen does not need huddles to show his team that he cares," writes Stephen Brenkley in the Independent.
Continue reading "Don't talk about a successor to Brearley just yet"
Posted on 08/08/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
Dale Steyn revealed that Graeme Smith wasn't his usual self both before and during his monumental, series-winning innings of 154 not out, writes Neil Manthorp on Supercricket.co.za.
"One thing you don't want to do with Graeme is forget the fresh chewing gum at the drinks break. Half way through the afternoon session I ran out with towels, drinks, anything I could think of. The first thing Graeme said to me was 'have you got chewing gum?' I had forgotten it. I couldn't believe it, I felt like dying. But Graeme just smiled and said 'ok, no problem. I'll get some later.' ... Later he called for fresh batting gloves so I sprinted out to make up for my earlier mistake. Graeme just smile at me again and said 'Steyntjie, these are my net gloves!' The man batted through that whole innings with one pair of gloves. Normally he has to change them every ten overs! He was incredible, an absolute inspiration to all of us," Steyn said.
August 7, 2008
Posted on 08/07/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
On the eve of his first Test as captain, Kevin Pietersen get some advice from his former coach Duncan Fletcher, who writes in the Guardian that Pietersen should "be himself" and not change his style of batting because of the added responsibility of being the team's leader.
It's the greatest challenge for any captain: how do you remain the same batsman you were before? The danger, of course, is that the responsibility of the new job will make Pietersen exaggerate whatever approach he wants to take. If he wants to be positive, that can easily spill over into excessive aggression. If he wants to bat with caution, he must not retreat too far into his shell. Captaincy plays with your mind in funny ways - you think you're not making allowances, but then you find yourself batting out of character because of the pressure.
In the same paper, Mike Selvey analyses the England team composition ahead of the final Test.
The Independent's Stephen Brenkley writes that among recent England captains, Kevin Pietersen is most likely to resemble Nasser Hussain.
Meanwhile, over in the Telegraph, Rod Gilmour uses Hawk-Eye to dissect Paul Collingwood's career-saving century in the previous Test and finds that Collingwood's cause was helped by the liberal servings of short and wide deliveries from the South African bowling.
August 6, 2008
Posted on 08/06/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
Nasser Hussain catches up with the man who not only got rid of him (in 2003), but also Michael Vaughan. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Graeme Smith shares his views on Vaughan, and his reaction to Kevin Pietersen's elevation as captain.
He was always a very calm guy, always in control, difficult to break down. I used to think, 'when is he going to snap?' But in this series he was a lot more combative, had a lot of one-on-ones with people and that seemed unusual for him. It was something I hadn't seen before. He always used to make me feel that he was one step ahead of me but in this series he was different.
He also talks of his love-hate relationship with Pietersen.
Look, we don't really know each other that well. It started with the comments he made about South Africa and naturally, as national captain, I would walk into a press conference and his comments would be thrown at me.
Matthew Hoggard pays his tribute to Vaughan and says he wasn't among those people who were shocked by the resignation. In his column, in Times he says Vaughan's 'greatest asset was having the ability to say the right thing at the right time'.
He told me that my role in the side was to stay on the shop floor doing the grafting while the others - Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff - were upstairs in the office taking the wickets. That clarified my role and made me feel content that I was doing a useful job without bowling at 90mph and knocking people's heads off
August 3, 2008
Posted on 08/03/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
In the Observer, Vic Marks salutes Graeme Smith after his majestic, series-clinching century at Edgbaston.
Smith had neutered the England attack with his massive resolve and composure. By the end he was toying with an undermanned and exhausted England attack to take South Africa another step towards their long-term goal. They had not won a series in England since their return to the international scene. Next stop Australia. And Smith will not be intimidated there either.
In the Sunday Telegraph, Steve James says the defeat merely exposed England's failings, something a weak New Zealand side had been unable to do earlier in the summer.
In the Observer, Mike Brearley salutes Paul Collingwood for putting England in a position of strength, despite the loss.
Collingwood had clearly decided that he wasn't going to die like a rat in a hole, he would fight his way out.
Stephen Brenkley writes in the Independent on Sunday that following the series loss, "There will have to be some blood on the selectors' carpet this morning (when the England team for the final Test is selected) otherwise the knives will be out for them."
Jacques Kallis was apoplectic after being dismissed when he failed right to to sight a full ball coming out of a dark area of seating above the sightscreen at the Pavilion End of the ground. Angus Fraser, writing in the Independent on Sunday, says Kallis was well within his rights to complain to the umpire and that the sightscreen problem should have been fixed.
Also read John Stern's take on the issue in the Sunday Times.
Whatever the merits of Arthur’s complaints about the sightscreen it was apparent that Kallis had allowed his concerns about it to play fatally on his mind. For a man of his vast experience who is usually so unflappable, it was an uncharacteristic lack of professionalism.
The South Africans had in fact, sent 12th man Robin Peterson, up to the Warwickshire committee room balcony with a white towel to counter the ‘blind spot’, writes Neil Manthorp in SuperSport
"He was verbally abused immediately and told to go away," confirmed team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee. "They called him an effing cheat."
August 2, 2008
Posted on 08/02/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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It hasn't been the most fruitful of summers for Michael Vaughan
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After Michael Vaughan’s poor run with the bat continued, Richard Hobson writes in the Times that Vaughan’s place is under scrutiny for the first time since he took over as captain.
The selectors have to judge whether Vaughan is merely suffering a blip in form or whether he is an ageing player whose best days are behind him, with a knee that is increasingly restrictive. A new man needs time to rebuild a side in his own image. Tours to the sub-continent are a good place for squads to bond and it just happens that England’s next Test trip takes them to India.
After the ebbs and flows of the first three days, Geoff Boycott says in the Telegraph that the match has been a fantastic advert for Tests and that Twenty20 can’t possibly be more thrilling than this.
In the Guardian, Lawrence Booth writes on Mark Boucher’s burning desire to win and lauds the wicketkeeper’s shepherding of the tail.
Posted on 08/02/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
With a timely century on the third day, Paul Collingwood revived his flagging Test career as well as England’s fortunes in the Test. The crowds, who had booed him earlier in the game, reserved the day’s biggest cheer for his hundred. The Guardian’s Vic Marks leads the praise for Collingwood.
This would be X-rated stuff. Recently, observing Collingwood at the crease has been akin to watching a horror movie, a B movie at that. Look on from behind the sofa if you dare. He pulled Makhaya Ntini for four. Somehow he had mustered 20. We dared to open our eyes. The leading edge pierced the cover field. Then he began playing as if his awful form had been a fleeting nightmare.
In the same paper, Paul Weaver writes that Collingwood looked as stiff as the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz but slowly, as the runs came, he visibly grew in confidence.
Martin Johnson writes in Telegraph that while Collingwood's knock wouldn't earn too many points for style, it was an innings that was all about character.
August 1, 2008
Posted on 08/01/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Andrew Flintoff was an irresistable force on the second day at Edgbaston
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"For much of the second day South Africa were blocking their way to victory with, appropriately enough for a side sponsored by a brewery, a laager mentality," writes Martin Johnson in the Telegraph. "But they now know they will only win this series over Andrew Flintoff’s dead body, which may well be the case if England continue to saddle him with the workload of a Skegness donkey."
England have tried many variations in an attempt to unsettle the visitors this summer – including selecting bowlers who no one has heard of — but yesterday their beleaguered captain was reduced to the two most familiar ploys of recent times. Plan A: throw the ball to Flintoff. Plan B: give him half an hour off, then throw him the ball again.
"It takes great players, or men at the top of their form, to turn Test series around. The last time England played South Africa they had a full set of trumps: Marcus Trescothick, Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison among them. But right now, Flintoff is carrying this whole team on his back. No wonder he was so anxious to make his fiery spell count," writes Simon Briggs, also in the Telegraph.
"The plan to bowl yorkers at Kallis was hatched during a tea-time chat with England's bowling coach, Ottis Gibson, and Michael Vaughan, and Flintoff admitted he was aided by the dark windows in the pavilion that caused both Kallis and Mark Boucher to lose sight of the ball. But that did not detract from the sustained brilliance of his 10-ball mini-spell to South Africa's very own Table Mountain," writes Lawrence Booth in the Guardian.
Continue reading "The danger of flogging Andrew Flintoff to death"
July 31, 2008
Posted on 07/31/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
In the Guardian, Paul Weaver writes that Andre Nel's, huffing, puffing chuntering and unathletic energy typified South Africa yesterday.
His bowling action should be reproduced in coaching manuals which should then be ceremonially burned at cricket academies throughout the planet. In his delivery stride he impersonates an exploding man. Legs, arms, head and shoulders fly in different directions. It is, one might say, a mixed action. This is a pantomime villain of a fast bowler. Remember Ole Mortensen, the Danish tax inspector?
Andrew Flintoff's batting was the only bright spot in an otherwise abject display by England, writes Simon Hughes in the Telegraph.
At a ground where the packed stands have roared England on to some famous victories, it tells you that Wednesday starts are unpopular with punters' traditional viewing routines, that five Twenty20 matches in quick succession at this venue may have dulled people's appetites for cricket, and that, as the credit crunch bites, ticket prices of £55 are exorbitant.
July 30, 2008
Posted on 07/30/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Michael Vaughan will be aiming for a change of luck at Edgbaston, both for the team and his batting
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Derek Pringle in the Daily Telegraph can't fathom England's selection for the third Test, leaving out Stuart Broad and bringing in Paul Collingwood, who has scored 92 runs at 13 in first-class games this season. Pringle writes:
With that kind of form it looks a cosy selection steeped in the nepotism of central contracts, especially when Ravi Bopara is in superlative touch and reeling off hundreds for Essex. But rather than figures, Michael Vaughan appears determined to place his faith in a familiar face, though not Steve Harmison’s, following the disruption to team morale caused by Collingwood’s omission at Headingley.
In the Guardian, Duncan Fletcher sees a bit of sense in Collingwood's return, but is puzzled that Stuart Broad is tired.
He's a young cricketer and he's had a decent break: eight days off should be enough. The problem comes when the guy who plays instead of him does well enough not to be left out the next time. Then the selectors need courage to bring Broad back again.
In the same paper, Paul Weaver says it's the wrong time for Michael Vaughan to pick a fight with the selectors at a time when his own performance is on the wane.
Read Michael Atherton's thoughts on England's selection in the Times.
Andre Nel is likely to be the only new face in South Africa's XI for Edgbaston. Jon Culley profiled the player in the Independent.
July 26, 2008
Posted on 07/26/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
While picking the side for the third Test, the Guardian's Mike Selvey thinks the selectors should include Steve Harmison and rest Stuart Broad, who has impressed more with the bat than with the ball in the Tests against South Africa.
Steve Harmison has done all that has been asked of him since he was omitted from the England side at Wellington back in March. He is bowling fast, into the ribs and is the country's leading wicket-taker. He should be brought back.
In the same paper, journalist Barney Ronay lists the attributes he shares with Darren Pattinson and wonders whether a national call-up is around the corner while David Mitchell has an interesting explanation for Pattinson's inclusion.
Meanwhile, over in the Times, Michael Atherton demands more accountability in the selection of the England squad. He also looks at the issue facing the selectors ahead of the third Test.
And the Independent's James Lawton thinks there has been a lack of professionalism in the England set-up since the 2005 Ashes and wants more responsibilty to lie with the team manager.
July 24, 2008
Posted on 07/24/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
In his column for the Telegraph, Alastair Cook feels people have rather conveniently made a scapegoat of Darren Pattinson after the Headingley defeat, forgetting that England were actually outplayed in all departments.
It must have been difficult for 'Patto' to come into the team when he didn't know anybody. And yes, there was a disruptive effect on Friday morning when the changes were made. It always takes that little bit longer to get into the game when you have a turnover of personnel. Even Andrew Flintoff probably had to get used to being back after all the time he has missed.
Staying with Pattinson, Michael Atherton in the Times says no such selection has provoked more comment, most of it adverse.
Jonathan Agnew, the BBC's Cricket Correspondent, was incandescent. Trying to gather some last-minute information on the internet about Pattinson, he was redirected to the Cricket Australia website. Then, interviewing Pattinson shortly after he received his cap, Agnew was taken aback when, in response to a question that asked of Pattinson whether this was a moment he had dreamt of all his life, he simply said, with disarming honesty: “No.”
He also feels the idea that an English upbringing makes for greater commitment in the middle has never struck him as having one grain of truth in it.
With his strong, repeatable action he did not look out of place and if he was trying any less hard than the others, it was not apparent to me. But for most this was irrelevant. Because he had not spent his formative years drinking warm beer in a village pub, somehow he was not as worthy.
July 23, 2008
Posted on 07/23/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Geoffrey Boycott is of the opinion that England need to temper their attacking approach by batting according to the situation
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“Just go out and play your natural game,” he [Michael Vaughan] likes to say. “Express yourself.” But Test cricket is not that simple. It is time England swallowed their egos and started playing the situation, writes Geoffrey Boycott in the Daily Telegraph.
Vaughan has to accept responsibility for the shambles at Headingley. Captaincy takes many forms: it includes setting the right fields, dealing with personalities, and leading from the front with bat or ball. But just as important is the guidance a captain gives his players in the dressing room, explaining how he expects them to play. Vaughan has to tell his batsmen to abandon this one-size-fits-all approach, and show a bit more brains.
Boycott also sees "a touch of Gary Sobers in [Stuart] Broad" and says it was wrong to play Darren Pattinson.
Also in the Daily Telegraph, Derek Pringle lists five ways England can turn the tables on South Africa at Edgbaston.
Find the right role for Flintoff: He has returned to a hero's welcome, but without a hero's role to play. In fact, Flintoff's function in the team appears confused. Is he seen as an all-rounder who can take the odd wicket and be depended on to make runs when needed, or as a strike bowler who can slog the odd fifty?
"I have to say I found the selection of Darren Pattinson very strange," writes Duncan Fletcher in the Guardian. "That is no disrespect to him, and he didn't actually bowl all that badly at Headingley, but as a captain it is vital you go out there with a team you feel comfortable with. It was surprising enough when he was brought into the squad after only 11 first-class games but even more incredible when they actually gave him a Test debut."
Also in the Guardian, Mike Selvey writes: "I'm not sure whether to feel sorrier for Darren Pattinson or Michael Vaughan. On the one hand we have a man - not a "lad" or a "promising youngster" - plucked bemused from obscurity with every chance of returning there, and on the other, the captain of England with an opening bowler on whom he had never clapped eyes until Pattinson rolled up at Headingley on Thursday."
Nasser Hussain, writing in The Daily Mail believes there has been too much passing the buck over the selection of Pattinson for the second Test.
The bottom line is that the selectors chose to bring Darren Pattinson into the squad but it was Michael Vaughan, as captain, and coach Peter Moores who decided he should be included in the side.
The whole point of having Miller as a full-time national selector is to be answerable for all selections so, instead of talking about the issue on Monday night, Vaughan should have referred all questions to the man with overall responsibility.
Should England replace Ambrose behind the stumps? Micky Stewart, a former England team manager, says yes while Richard Blakey, the former England and Yorkshire wicketkeeper, disagrees. Click here to read their debate.
July 22, 2008
Posted on 07/22/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Dale Steyn removes Tim Ambrose at Headingley
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It was a day of conflicting approaches to England's intractable problem - a deficit of 269. There was the Ian Botham Headingley '81 approach - attack, and attack some more; and the wearisome but also proven grind-them-into-the-ground method. Neither Kevin Pietersen's flamboyance nor Andrew Flintoff's patience had worked, writes Tanya Aldred in the Guardian.
Kevin Pietersen stood on the balcony in the morning session watching Jimmy Anderson and Alastair Cook. He twisted and turned his tall primed body for everyone to see. This was a warrior and you could smell his anticipation . . . and the crowd's . . . and the South Africans'.
In the Telegraph, Simon Hughes feels there is frequently a one-day impetuousness about England's batting in Test cricket.
England showed only flashes of such precise judgment. They couldn’t sustain it. The South Africans plugged away outside off stump knowing that 'leave’ is something that only applies to some English batsmen when their wife’s having a baby. They are drawn to widish balls like moths to the light.
In the same paper, Derek Pringle feels England should make note of the fact that South Africa have not gone on to win their last three Test series in the country despite taking the lead. He says England need to recharge quickly and reclaim the energy with which they rocked South Africa early into the Lord's Test.
Back-to-back Tests may be commercially seductive but they often punish the team making the running in the first instalment, in this case England, whose players were mentally jaded after three successive days in the field at Lord’s.
In the Independent, Chris McGrath praises James Anderson's gutsy display as a nightwatchman, something the rest failed to mirror.
What makes diamonds unique is not their lustre but their hardness, and there is no mistaking which of these sides is best equipped to resist abrasion. For this success was hewn from a stratum that often seems to lie far beyond the reach of an Englishman with a bat in his hand. In fairness, the bravest performance yesterday came from one such in James Anderson – and the frothiest, come to that, from a son of Natal in Kevin Pietersen.
July 20, 2008
Posted on 07/20/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
Morecambe were locked in a top-of-the-table clash with Barrow yesterday afternoon, but at least half an eye was kept on the progress of one of their own at Headingley, says Andrew Longmore in the Sunday Times. The reason:
For two seasons as a young man, Ashwell Prince was the professional at the Northern League club and it is a tribute to the allure of club cricket that he still keeps in touch nearly seven years after he forsook the northwest for wider horizons.
Posted on 07/20/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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David Gower thinks that was taken cleanly
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It is amazing there are not more off-field confrontations similar to that between the England captain, Michael Vaughan, and South Africa's AB de Villiers, Angus Fraser says in the Independent on Sunday, given the close proximity of the opposing dressing rooms at most venues. Fraser recollects one such rare flare-up.
There was an ugly incident in a one-day international I played in Barbados when Gladstone Small, one of the nicest men to play cricket for England, pointed to the dressing room when he dismissed Gordon Greenidge, the rather angry West Indian batsman. At the Kensington Oval the dressing rooms are divided by a narrow walkway, and at the end of the match an England player stuck his head in our room to inform us that an irate Greenidge had Small by the throat .
Both Vaughan and de Villiers were at the centre of controversial catches, both of which were given not-out after being referred to the third umpire. In the Sunday Times, David Gower says he thought Vaughan's catch off Hashim Amla was clean, and feels perhaps the player's word should be taken.
My view was that Vaughan had caught it. Sky tried before play yesterday to demonstrate how the ball can look to be on the ground to the long lens when in fact it is safely in a fielder’s hands. The method of Vaughan’s catch, with a dive involved, left it open to suspicion that the ball might have just touched the grass. In our commentary box there was little agreement. I can sympathise with the third umpire and understand there was enough doubt for him to deny the catch.
So here is the key question: should we return to the days when players were trusted to say if a catch was good or should we be heading for greater use of TV pictures to help in the decision making? The answer has to be a bit of both, including selective use of the latter, which could be extended from its current scope to include a second look to check on whether a batsman has hit the ball for a catch or inside-edged it when the arms are up for an lbw appeal.
Posted on 07/20/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Darren Pattinson: The most numb-skulled of choices?
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In a week full of decisions, the most numb-skulled of all was England's decision to select, from nowhere, the uncapped Darren Pattinson, says Steve James in the Sunday Telegraph.
Pattinson's inclusion proffers a depressing statement, the antithesis of the England and Wales Cricket Board's desired message. For they are desperate for their counties to rely more on talent reared in their own academies than ready-made hired hands from abroad. And now this from the national team. It is a dreadful example for the head boy to be setting. And Pattinson doesn't even look that ready-made.
Pattinson's was an extraordinary selection, writes Vic Marks in the Observer.
Our selectors have been boring us to tears for six matches. Same team, same team. Meanwhile, the hacks have been pining for change - just to have something to write about. Geoff Miller has smiled enigmatically when announcing yet another unchanged side; his function is not to make life easier for journalists. Miller, we had decided, was meticulous, logical and conservative in his selections: a policy that would breed trust among his players, boredom among the scribes.
Then, out of the blue, Miller - dear, dour old Dusty - has pretensions to be another Uri Geller: to pluck from his flat, Derbyshire cap some gobsmacking magic in the form of the former roof tiler. A fresh face, albeit a fresh old face.
The selectors have failed their first big test. That's Stephen Brenkley's verdict in the Independent on Sunday.
Read John Stern's take in the Sunday Times. He says:
Seven years ago on this ground, a man whom nobody recognised walked out to bat for England in an Ashes Test. It turned out to be the serial hoaxer Karl Power, whose other stunts included having his picture taken with the Manchester United team on the pitch in Germany against Bayern Munich and playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
In a way, history repeated itself on Friday, in that there was a man bowling for England whom almost nobody recognised. It quickly became apparent that the only remarkable thing about Darren Pattinson is his selection.
Pattinson did not appear to have the resources to deal with the leap into Test cricket, Mike Brearley says in his blog on the Guardian website.
July 19, 2008
Posted on 07/19/2008 in Miscellaneous
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Jacques Kallis, in the more traditional vanilla by Hummel, cleans up an Ian Bell sporting the bright Mr Whippy white by Adidas
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While England trot out at Headingley togged out in bright Mr Whippy white by Adidas, South Africa are in more traditional vanilla by Hummel, which is the subject of Rob Bagchi's article in the Guardian.
The latter, particularly, seems a strange marriage - the chevron merchants first gaining prominence with Alan Ball's white boots in the early 1970s and Denmark's "we are red, we are white, we are Danish dynamite" Euro 84 strip worn by Preben Elkjaer and Soren Lerby.
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They are not the first half-forgotten brand to latch on to cricket in a bid for renewed prominence. Admiral, manufacturers of iconic kits for England and Leeds United in the 1970s thanks to their close ties to Don Revie as well as that infamous "chocolate" Coventry City away strip, recently finished an eight-year contract with England that put them back on the radar after two relatively moribund decades.
If cricket works wonders for retro brand chic, this trend will surely continue. Give it five years and Bangladesh will be decked out by Patrick, Sri Lanka by Bukta and New Zealand by Stylo Matchmaker. Old labels never die, they just change sports.
Posted on 07/19/2008 in Technology
Billy Bowden and Daryl Harper had a moderate day, but their reputations could have been saved by use of television replays and a greater trust of the player's word, writes Simon Hughes in the Telegraph.
Unfortunately, the ICC, who rule on how technology should be used, display a total lack of comprehension of its benefits. Television can quickly evaluate whether a ball has brushed a pad or a glove, but cameras used to adjudicate whether a catch has been grassed present a flat image and usually cloud the issue. Yet the umpires are allowed to refer the latter and not the former. They are effectively umpiring cock-eyed.
Posted on 07/19/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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Ryan Sidebottom's injury has surely put the focus on his surprise replacement Darren Pattinson
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Darren Pattinson's surprise selection in England's XI for the Headingley Test against South Africa has not just bemused Englishmen, but also a few Australians. Pattinson, two weeks away from his 30th birthday, had spent the last 24 years of his life in Australia, is a roof tiler by trade and has played 11 first-class matches. (Read more in the piece by Cricinfo's Andrew McGlashan.)
Damien Fleming tells Chloe Saltau in the Age:
"It's unbelievable. I don't reckon he'll be doing any roof-tiling for a while."
Jonathan Agnew is surely not impressed. He writes in the Test Match Special blog:
What message does this send to English county cricketers who dream of playing for England - and, specifically in this case, to Chris Tremlett, who was actually called into the squad before Pattinson?
Graham Gooch terms it one of the most leftfield decisions he's seen.
Vic Marks has an interesting take on Pattinson's selection in his blog on the Guardian website.
Headingley can do odd things to selectors. It was here, for example, that David Graveney had a brainwave. He opted for Mike Smith, the little Gloucestershire swinger, rather than Andy Caddick against Australia. A catch went down; the ball refused to swing, England were thrashed and Smith never resurfaced again. Moreover Graveney's confidence and standing as a selector was dented.
As for Pattinson, it's too early to tell. CMJ had a Machiavellian theory: that Miller had picked him as a prelude to next year's Ashes encounter. Until yesterday it might have been possible for Pattinson to play for either country. Now he is English, despite what his father has said - "Darren, he's Australian"- when he was called into Champions Trophy 30. Having been selected Pattinson is committed to England; the Aussies can't have him. So when he takes seven against the Aussies at Headingley next year I shall be leading the calls for Miller's knighthood. Until then I remain confused.
Just the thought of Headingley makes fools of wise men, writes David Hopps in the Guardian.
Remember Martin Bicknell. Well, he too made his debut at Headingley like Pattinson. England selectors have often made interesting picks to exploit the conditions in Leeds, Cricinfo looks at how they fared.
Things like this are not supposed to happen any more. Not in this regimented era of central contracts, national academies, selectorial continuity and all the other trappings of Team England, says Alan Lee in the Times.
Chris McGrath writes in the Independent:
If we learned one thing here yesterday, it is that obscurity and celebrity are just different shades on the same spectrum. All it takes to bring them together is unreasonable expectation. We may think we know an awful lot more about Andrew Flintoff than Darren Pattinson, whose names stood out like neon when the team sheet was handed out on a dank, melancholy morning in Leeds. But just as the superhero exists in only two dimensions, the judgements that brought Pattinson here can hardly be deemed any less trite.
July 18, 2008
Posted on 07/18/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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The one that comes in
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Andrew Flintoff returns to the England Test side after more than a year. Alastair Cook, the team's opening batsman, reveals the new delivery that Flintoff has worked on during his time out. He writes in the Telegraph:
When I faced Freddie on Wednesday, I was expecting him to push the ball across me, as he has always done in the past. So I was leaving one that started out wide - and suddenly it came booming back in and hit me on the knee. I was about three hours late on the shot, and was left hopping about in pain.
Allan Donald has called for the inclusion of Andre Nel in place of the left-arm spinner Paul Harris in the South African team for the second Test. Click here to read his article in the same paper.
In the Guardian Mike Selvey wonders whether Flintoff's return will disturb the ecology of a side that has been put together for a record six successive matches.
In the same paper, John Ashdown chats with Ian Bell about pedalos, pork pies and pints of Carling.
The New Zealand Herald looks back at the good and bad sports news of the week.
A good week for ...
Cricketing acronyms
Stunning news from the ECB this week, which is to launch the EPL T20 in a bid to rival the ICL and IPL. An ECB release said the tournament would replace Pro40. It will involve all 18 counties and two sides from overseas, probably the winners of IPL plus a side assembled by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford (RBs or Rich Bastards). No word yet on the fate of the ICL rebels, but when we hear we'll let you know ASAP.
July 16, 2008
Posted on 07/16/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
Andrew Flintoff's return to Test cricket from injury should be handled with care and importantly, shouldn't be used as a strike bowler straightaway, writes Derek Pringle in the Telegraph.
Becoming a strike bowler is not something a player can just wake up one morning and decide to do. It requires a nose for wickets, a sharp mind with an even sharper bouncer, and a swagger that falls, usually, to those who take the new ball. Flintoff possesses most of these attributes except taking the new ball, which, apart from the odd desperate foray in the last Ashes series, he has tended to leave to others.
In the same paper, Geoff Boycott feels England may have missed the trick by not selecting Steve Harmison for Headingley.
I would have added Steve Harmison to the squad. I have been critical of his attitude and his bowling in the past but he has gone back to county cricket, is bowling better and getting wickets. It was obvious during the first Test that on a flat pitch England lacked pace. After three days of bowling, our three fast-medium guys are knackered. If England bowl first at Headingley, they could be bowling five days out of eight. That is a tall order, let me tell you.
July 15, 2008
Posted on 07/15/2008 in South Africa in England 2008
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