County Championship team of the year

Following on from BBC TMS's blog article on the County Championship team of the year, here's my selections:

1. Trescothick
2. Moore
3. Goodwin
4. Ramps
5. Samit Patel
6. Bresnan
7. Read (wkt, cpt)
8. Kabir Ali
9. Rashid
10. Simon Jones
11. Steve Harmison

Squad members: Rudolph, Bopara, Pattinson, G. Swann, Foster.

One overseas in 1st XI, bats down to number 11, with 4 seamers and 2 spinners.

The majority of them are in by sheer weight of runs/wickets, Read hopefully will be a championship winning captain (at his first attempt) by the end of the week.

Rashid is slowly blossoming as a spinner who bats, and Simon Jones was looking in fine form before another injury.

3rd Test, day one: England struggle against SA

Responding to the TMS report on England's poor first innings total at Edgbaston, I'm guessing Vaughan won't be dropped before the end of the series, that would be a big change, also remembering South Africa are probably the strongest side in the world at the moment. but if England aren't winning, then he needs runs to keep his place.

But Colly is surely sunk if he doesn't fire in the second innings. I just hope, Freddy can get stuck into the tourists early on day two and we can dig in for the second innings, so show some proper fight and give ourselves a chance of bowling them out to win the game, maybe Monty will be the man on days four and five?

Ambrose needs to hold all his catches and keep getting some half decent runs and maybe he'll get another series, we've chopped and changed so much since Stewart's retirement, we need to give someone a proper run, remembering Chris Read's treatment as a prime example. But Foster and Prior are ready and waiting for the call I'm sure, and clearly at least one will tour.

Sidebottom is Hoggard's successor, a solid, hard-working seamer, Anderson's still has to get important wickets under his belt to convince me.

Sidebtttom's role is not dissimilar to one-Test wonder Mr Pattinson whose inclusion ahead of Tremlett in the selected squad (let alone anyone else) was illogical and very much a hunch-based gamble.

Broad will be around for years to come, he's still young and needs to work on his bowling like anyone his age, his winter tour berth must be assured, as is Simon Jones's if he stays fit (fingers crossed), I think it's only right he proves himself for a full season.

I like Bopara, in theory a like-for-like replacement for Colly, but is he really strong enough to bat at 5 at Test level? And isn't Rob Key just another good county-level bully?

We have Cook, Strauss, KP and Bell all seemingly set, maybe it's time to find a younger proper batting prospect at 5 and let the keeper (?), Flintoff and Broad stiffen the early tail as part of a five-man attack?

English cricket shake-up: more Twenty20 anyone?

It's madness, if this report Cricinfo on a planned shake-up of the cricket in England is true.

Based on this article from The Daily Telegraph:

English cricket is poised for its most radical overhaul in more than a century, according to proposals being presented to the counties this week by England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke.

Three randomly chosen divisions with no promotion/relegation for first class cricket in England?

Cannot surely be true, where's the sense. How would that benefit Test cricket or the traditional game, which cannot be lost at all costs.

If splitting the divisions is the only way to reduce the quantity but and heighten the quality of county champs, then 3 regional divisions, (keeping local derby's) with top 8 (top 2 in each plus best two 3rd places teams) playing off at end of season for champion etc.

Twenty20 - although a great spectacle, and financially brining a financial boom for the game - is still fairly new, and no one knows whether interest will plateau/tail-off as currently every country is flogging this short form of the game for all its worth.

If everyone sets up IPL style competitions, some are going to end up embarrassingly weak?

There's a sensible balance somewhere, but the over-riding problem that the counties won't vote themselves out of existence means a only smaller pool of teams in England would have the most benefit for everyone.

Cricket: behind closed doors

I've just read Peter Roebucks' stunning attack (Cricinfo.com, 16 April 2008) on the ICC and their recent meeting and general pitiful attempts to steer the game.

Once choice excerpt - there are many sharp shards of prose aimed at those presiding over the game at one of it's most important crossroads - discusses the issue of Zimbabwe's cricket hierarchy:

Cunning to the core, [Peter] Chingoka has done deals with the BCCI, and votes for it at every opportunity. India owes him "big time". Like his mentor and master Robert Mugabe, he knows how to play his cards, talking about colonialism and intransigent whites, spreading rumours when it suits him. He is a pitiful figure who will not survive the return of democracy and the rule of law to his country, should that happy day ever dawn...

After years of sickening misrule in Zimbabwean cricket, the ICC finally asked KPMG to undertake a proper forensic audit. Not even Chingoka's supporters could prevent it...

But it did uncover serious financial irregularities. Part of any board's duty is to ensure that money is properly used. ZCU has been given tens of millions of dollars. Why are the grounds in poor shape? Why are the players paid a pittance? Why have tournaments been cancelled? Where has the money gone?

So why is the ICC not holding Zimbabwe to account? Why are the members letting these financial irregularities go unpunished? It's their duty to the game and the players who give yet suffer the most.

Steven Price wrote (Cricinfo.com, 19 March 2008), following the ICC's statement on the KPMG report into the finances of Zimbabwe Cricket:

One former Test played laughed loudly when he read the decision. "So, there are 'serious financial irregularities' but nobody is to blame and, in effect, the ICC are saying that they don't really matter. These guys just don't want to know the truth and don't care what's happening out here. It suits them to pretend all's well and that's just what they do."

The ICC have always been known for their non-committal fence-sitting approach to many issues on and off the pitch, but currently those in charge are overseeing a financially bountiful but morally questionable period in the games history.

Read Roebuck's article and the reader comments that follow to see one viewpoint on the impact of the current cricketing superpowers hold on the game.

The state of county cricket

Following on from Cricinfo's report: England ponders six-region option, everyone knows in their head (if not their heart) the current county set up is too weak to really squeeze the level of quality, whether its 4-day or the basis of a Twenty20 content.

It's not going to be an easy change, years of tradition and memories, tears will be shed, but surely common and financial sense say it is the way to go?

No offence to all the pros currently performing, but 10 regional sides would force our current first-class set-up to work harder and the viewing audiences along with the England team should reap the rewards.

Who's in yourTest XI

England's squad for the New Zealand tour this year has caused plenty of discussion over at Aggers Beeb blog.

If only there were 11 obvious strong selections for the Test team, but that's half the fun isn't it?

Where would we be without feeling aggrieved at the promising youngster/in-form veteran being left out for some personal favourite of the captain or coach.

But realistically, for one reason or another (some of which not really explained or seemingly fair) we'll probably have to get used to not seeing any more of Geraint and Simon Jones, Paul Nixon, Chris Read (maybe he should move to Sussex), Mark Ramprakash and maybe even Andrew Flintoff (but I hope not)?! Discuss...

England's Ashes pain ends, but what now?

Fifth Ashes Test: Australia win by 10 wickets and the series 5-0, yes 5-0, no draws, no scraps for England.

And so an end to my nights of listening to an session of Test Match Special before dropping off to sleep assuming there is some hope of a decent days work by our boys abroad, only to be woken by the morning news that we had blown another opportunity and that the game was all but up.

We all know what went wrong, with errors of judgement and poor performances along the way, but what for the future of the team:

Andrew Strauss: Obviously good enough, but needs to knuckle down more often and stop getting ropey umpiring decisions!

Ally Cook: Shows great promise, his mid-series Test century showed that, but needs to progress as he matures.

Ian Bell: Great improvements since the last Ashes, showed some guts on and off, could be a winner at number 3 if Vaughan doesn't return.

Kevin 'All or nothing' Pietersen: As the name suggests, it's a big impressive whackathon or not a lot from the shot-playing king.

Paul Collingwood: One monumental effort and some failures don't cement his place, but the lads got stamina and ability.

Freddie Flintoff: Never fully fit, too much responsibility, not enough support. By the end of the series he showed signs of his former self with bat and ball. He will be back, but as an all-rounder/captain, I'm still not convinced.

Gerry Jones: Can't be preferred to Read any more, unless he smacks a couple of tons early in the 2007 summer.

Chris Read: A fine keeper, but his batting has been shown up by the best. Surely his stop start career deserves another series to let him improve?

Matthew Hoggard: Dependable as ever, our bowling rock, get fit soon. Probably the only player to hold his head high at series end.

Jimmy Anderson: Personally I think he has shown enough promise to persevere with, some hanging around with the bat won't do him any harm!

Saj Mahmood: Personally he looks to ragged with bat and ball, and as for the schoolboy run out error of Warne in the final Test...

Harmy Harmison: Thankfully he ended the series in far better form than he began, unfortunately he began it in appalling form. Question marks still linger, but he isn't the worst tail ender.

Ashley Giles: An Tourus Horribilus for Gilo. As Warne put down the Ashes in 2005, an abiding moment for England will be his drop of Ponting in the Third Test. Hope he can put it behind him, but who knows how many opportunities he'll get now?...

Monty Panesar: He didn't set the world alight, but once he was rightfully given a chance he showed enough skill with the ball and courage with the bat to see him cemented as our first choice spinner.

Putting it in perspective, we were beaten by a very good, determined and experienced side, but now we need to address the shortcomings and power on this summer. By 2009, we may well have a more rounded side to challenge the new-look Aussies who should be without Hayden and Gilchrist by then.

Lets just forget the one-day series and World Cup, for I fear more of the current form will prevail!