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England vs Bangladesh

paulmthomas — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:33:52 +0000

England finally wrapped up the first Test against Bangladesh midway through the fifth day. This is, in many ways, an excellent result for both sides, and for cricket as a whole. England had a lot to lose (see previous post) going into this match and little to gain, on a pitch which became increasingly lifeless as the game went on. Bangladesh showed glimpses of what they can become capable of as time progresses, with excellent batting contributions in the second innings (Siddique’s batting was right out of the Collingwood school of rear-guard actions!), and an improved bowling performance in England’s second attempt.

Graeme Swann became the first England off-spinner to take ten wickets in a match since Jim Laker took 19 over 50 years ago, although I still think England would have been better off picking two spinners for this match; poor Swanny had to toil through nearly 80 overs throughout the game, that’s nearly two days of solid bowling. Back in England in the summer though, where turning pitches are less common, he has to be the first choice spinner, and probably first name on the team-sheet. It’s been an amazing start to a test career.

The next match that begins on Saturday will hopefully be a good contest. It would be good to see Bangladesh bat first and to set England a challenging target. England still look as though they have the potential for a top-order collapse with inexperienced batsmen towards the top of the order, and a middle-order slowly working its way into some form.

Meanwhile in the IPL, still no sign of the “mongoose” from Matthew Hayden, but some excellent big-hitting from Dhoni today livened up proceedings somewhat!

Cricket is back!

paulmthomas — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:55:53 +0000

A good day for England in Bangladesh today, during a tour where they have little to gain, and potentially a lot to lose. Defeat to Bangladesh will be seen as disastrous, with a drawn test little better, whereas any excellent performances will forever be seen in the context of “it’s only Bangladesh”.

This does not sum up the reality of a series in which England’s bowling armoury looks rather fragile in terms of injuries, in which their top batsmen is woefully out of form, and in which Bangladesh should look to make big steps forward in terms of consistency.

Pietersen will not necessarily be relishing this series where the opposition have so many spin-bowling resources, including up to three of his current nemesis, the left arm spinner.

Bangladesh, who in recent months have shown that they can play well enough to compete with any team on their day, now need to put these good sessions and days into consistent performances over a test match, without being fazed by the reputation of the opposition.

The first day today went very much England’s way, and Captain Cook should look to making his maiden double hundred during the first session tomorrow. Pietersen seems to have overcome some of his demons with a flowing 99, but he will be disappointed not to have reached the landmark. England are well set for a total in excess of 550, and only an England win should be possible from here.

One surprise was the inclusion of only one spinner in the England lineup, with Tredwell missing out in place of the young fast bowler, Finn. If the pitch turns as much as many in the subcontinent, Pietersen may find himself doing a fair bit of bowling.

IPL

The IPL starts today, and now that this is a fixture in the cricketing world, much interest from all around the world will be focussed on it. It will be interesting to see how exciting the competition is this year, and how much it matters to the teams. The competition does give an excellent opportunity for the old guard of cricket to extend their careers, and for younger players to emerge into the spotlight, but can it ever match the excitement of a test match. As recent nailbiting results in South Africa have shown, the five-day form of the game is still the pinnacle in terms of skill and entertainment (at least so long as you have some patience!).

IPL excitement!

paulmthomas — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:45:55 +0000

Finally the Indian Premier League throws up a nail-biter with Kings XI Punjab conjuring up a 1-run win over Mumbai Indians. Mumbai had looked fairly comfortable with 3 overs and one ball left at 159-3, needing under 10 per over with plenty of wickets in hand and Sachin Tendulkar at the crease. Then came one of the biggest chokes ever seen by a team that wasn’t South Africa. A flurry of quick wickets, and the last over begins with Mumbai needing 19 to win.

VRV Singh bowls a waist hight full-toss no-ball which is dispatched for six runs first up, meaning the much more manageable 12 of 6 is the equation. A series of run outs throughout the over means that 4 are needed of 2, still doable. Then it’s 2 of 1 ball, and thus 1 to tie. A weak stroke to mid-off by the number 11, Yeligati, and they set off for the run anyway. The Punjab captain Yuvraj wisely decides not the shy at the stumps and risk overthrows, but to race the running batsmen to the stumps. He wins, the fifth run out of the innings occurs, and Mumbai’s six match winning streak is over.

We may never know why Shaun Pollock didn’t bowl the last over for Mumbai (it would likely have made a difference), and also why Yuvraj seemed so upset by the partisan nature of the crowd. There are many who might think that Pollock should take over the Mumbai captaincy from Tendulkar so he can concentrate on his batting, but only time will tell.

If only i really cared about the IPL. Even momentary excitement like this doesn’t ever compare to 5-day cricket for me, if only because in Test cricket there’s more time to buy a beer between the excitment!