Author: LordCanisLupus

Horticulture

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Well good day all.

Feeling a little better, with a bit more energy today. Absolutely zonked for the last 36 hours, but I’m made of resilient stock. I think.

I’m more certain of my resilience when I have to listen to numerous hours of the Moores-Cook In House TV Channel and embedded media as I did yesterday. It’s quite rare for me to watch a whole day’s play of a tour test match, and yesterday offerered me the opportunity (although I did doze throughout the day). Good grief, what’s happened to them?

The early part of the day was dominated by the Joe Root love-in. Now, fair enough, Joe made an excellent hundred befitting his talent and ability, and more importantly, his temperament. He’s a great player in the making, and is doing what a good batsman should do against bowling attacks like the one is he up against. He should be giving the impression when he walks out that “I’m in form, and the only way you get me out is I make a mistake. You ain’t good enough to get me out.” He is giving off that impression. At this point, of course there were two things really missing from the love-fest from all the team (alongside the love-fest for Bell for his 143 and Ballance for his 122 in the last test):

  • The wicket was a slow one, and you needed to be a decent player to make a ton at a decent rate on it; and
  • If this wicket was such a belter, how come our great line-up had just one ton to its name on it. Most notably, the captain (there, I said it).

The tone had switched by the evening session when players who have made runs in test cricket, like Kraigg Brathwaite (a hundred in South Africa last winter – I’ll bet Botham, for one, never had a clue prior to being told this fact by his scorer/analyst), Darren Bravo (big hundred in India to his name, for one) and Marlon Samuels (100 in difficult conditions early on in this test) made batting look easy, and getting them out hard. Now this wasn’t anyone else’s fault other than the groundsman / cricket authorities for laying on this wicket.

Now don’t confuse this pitch with a great test wicket. But I’d guess the commentators know about as much about pitch preparation as many of them do about the home team’s international playing records. This isn’t St. John’s Rec we are playing on, with 700 playing 700. The home team’s batsmen are allowed to play well. It isn’t against the laws of cricket. As Vian keeps saying, we blew this test in the 1st innings, not this one. This isn’t the allowed narrative, as we found out….

So what we had was Alastair Cook doing what all competent captains should do, and he did it competently. No more. This wasn’t “excellent” captaincy. It was decent. He tried things, but the excellent ones have them come off, whereas the competent ones are those that have tried. I’m not having a pop at Cook here, because it’s not his fault his bowling attack is limited, and especially that he’s been thrown a spinner who has had a side injury and is expected to be better than he’s been. You can only use what is at your disposal. Broad was guff, Anderson has been a disappointment, and Jordan is the bowler us Surrey fans saw a few years ago. Stokes is always going to be inconsistent.

So we had an issue. Clearly we can’t have the TV saying a major reason a tired performance from our bowlers was due to the insanity of back-to-back tests on hard graft wickets. That’s absolutely not on, because it’s like this due to TV schedulers in the main, and this series is being ludicrously shoe-horned as part of our “11 out of 17 wins year of cricket”. So we have the TV and press tripping over themselves to absolve the team of blame, pouring scorn on the “mediocre” jibe by Graves, and telling us time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time….again that this pitch is “flat”.

A regular tweeter in opposite view to many of those expressed in this parish said that Nasser had said Cook had captained excellently, so that will do for him. But even Nas has been at the Kool-Aid on this one. While he pointed out, very astutely in my view, that Moeen Ali’s over-hyping last summer may have been a little premature, he then said Cook had done nothing wrong, and had been excellent. The fact that they need to keep telling us this is a sign indeed, as another poster here or on Twitter has been saying here. Cook’s need, whether explicit or implicit, for positive reinforcement betrays the problem. No-one thinks his captaincy is going to create something out of nothing if has little to work with.

The other clear implication is that this has to be a dead wicket because Kraigg Brathwaite (who has copped some good ones, and got sorted out by a short ball) has made a hundred. Anyone following West Indian test cricket in the recent past knows this guy is made of the right stuff. His technique is quite individual (yet to be convinced of the Dravid comparison, fellow author) but he has temperament and ability, and he showed it. So once we had the rather perfunctory mentions of Brathwaite batting well (Gower’s line of questioning of how proud was he of scoring a century against England in particular struck me as borderline arrogant – he’s got one against a far better attack) it was back to the wicket.

Test cricket is hard. It’s meant to be tough to get wickets. We got 291 runs in the day, which isn’t bad, especially when one side its trying to save the match. Our attack has never been as good as the media portrayed (it is the reason that our two top pace men average 30-ish) and it’s main spinner is having a major off day. This pitch only became a terrible one, responsible for the match situation once Brathwaite had made the ton that, frankly, Alastair Cook failed to complete when he had the chance. Because, to say this pitch is a road, in which you can’t get anyone out on, let’s the real cat out of the bag. The Alastair Cook who made the likes of 294 or 235 on pitches like this, didn’t this time. I have the whole of that Brisbane test in my archives, for one, and you don’t hear about how bad that wicket was anywhere near as much as you did yesterday. There’s the rub. A test wicket only appears terrible when we can’t take wickets on it.

West Indies v England – 2nd Test Day 4

LordCanisLupus101 Comments

Comments below.

UPDATE – Apologies for the brevity of the post but had a shocking evening and morning. Seems I’ve caught some virus or other which has absolutely wiped me out. I am writing this with the shivers and a duvet over me with arms poking either side. Have the media been using their pins on the voodoo doll?

It would not be appropriate, nor do I have the stamina, to write my proposed post on Alastair Cook. This can wait until the weekend when I hope to feel better.

This test is nicely poised, England need to get this lead to 150 minimum and then think about pulling out. They need to take 10 wickets, and back themselves to chase what they need to in a session or two. Let’s hope Cook’s judgement is there like it was in Antigua.

 

West Indies v England – 2nd Test 1st Day

LordCanisLupus75 Comments

My sincere thanks to Vian for his preview. Glad it went down well.

I am not about today so this is my one contribution for now so as usual,  comments on the day’s action and anything else below.

I’m cooking at the moment over a comment yesterday. Still not simmered down. Will revert in due course but could people please be awfully nice to everyone. Just like they’ve been to us the last 15 months!

2015 Test Century Watch #12 – Jason Holder

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Jason Holder

Jason Holder – 103 not out v England at North Sound, Antigua

A lot of man-love going on for Jason Holder who made his first first-class hundred in saving a test match for his team against England. His 103 not out was impressive, composed and just class in all he did. I’m a fan.

103 isn’t a great statistical number. This is the 120th score of 103 in tests, making it one of the most common numbers over the century mark (which is obvious given it would probably trigger declarations etc.). It was the 37th not out 103 in test matches. The last man dismissed for 103 was Faf du Plessis in a test match against the Windies at Port Elizabeth in the last knockings of 2014. Shiv Chanderpaul’s was the last 103 for the Windies at Bridgetown against Australia in 2012. AB DeVilliers and Rahul Dravid have three scores of 103. Michael Vaughan has been dismissed twice on that score.

This was the 78th test ton made from the number 8 position in the batting order. JP Duminy was the last to do it, against Sri Lanka, in July last year, but to be absolutely fair, he’s a recognised batsman. The last West Indian to do it was Darren Sammy against England at Nottingham, while the last to do it at home was Clive Lloyd (another you ask what he was doing down there) against India in 1983. Holder is the third player to make a ton from number 8 in the West Indies (Clairmonte Depeiza being the other) and the 7th at any ground (Gerry Alexander, Bernard Julien and Jerome Taylor being the others). The last Englishman to make a ton from number 8? Matt Prior’s match-saving knock in Auckland (we sent in a nightwatchman on the 4th evening). Last genuine number 8 (Matt Prior has another, v Australia in Sydney) for England was probably Ray Illingworth in June 1969.

Of those 78 test tons from number 8, 38 have been since 1 January 2000. Dan Vettori has the most, with four, while Kamran Akmal has three. The highest score made from the number 8 slot in the batting line-up is Wasim Akram’s 257 not out at Sheikhapura, while Pakistanis fill out the top three (Imtiaz Ahmed (209) and Kamran Akmal (154 v England) both at Lahore.

Jason Holder’s century came up off 146 balls and contained 15×4.

2015 Test Century Watch #11 – Gary Ballance

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Whitaker
GARY BALLANCE!

Gary Ballance – 122 v West Indies at North Sound, Antigua

Gary Ballance completed his fourth test century as he worked his way through a sticky start to flourish later on. 122 is his second highest score in tests, trailing his 156 at the Ageas Bowl in the 95 Test.

This was the 46th century made from the number 3 position since 1 January 1990 for England (without using Statsguru, try to guess the four different players to have made 200s from the number 3 slot for England). Three more will take him level with Trott who has made the most from that position. Michael Vaughan, Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain have six each in that time.

This was the 14th score of 122 made by an England player. Three scores of 122 were since 2000, all by openers – Trescothick in Galle, Strauss in Nottingham (v West Indies) and Alastair Cook’s largely overlooked innings in Mumbai in 2012. The first 122 for England was made by Tom Hayward (who finished his test career with 1999 runs – probably in a good space) in Johannesburg back in 1896. Four of all of our 122s were made at Lord’s, and three made in Johannesburg. This was the first in the West Indies. Ernest Tyldesley scored two 122s, and, suitably enough, one was at Lord’s and one was at Jo’burg. These were made in the 1920s.

This is the 61st time 122 has been made in tests. The last was in 2013 when Shiv Chanderpaul made the score against New Zealand in Hamilton. The last one in the West Indies was by Shahid Afridi in Bridgetown in May 2005. Sachin Tendulkar has made 122 on three occasions, one not out, while Hansie Cronje and Brian Lara have two apiece.

This was the 66th score of 100 made in tests in Antigua, and the 5th highest made at North Sound. Of course, after Ian Bell, he’s the second Englishman to make a ton at North Sound, and after Boycott, Willey, Atherton, Smith, Flintoff, Vaughan, Strauss and Bell, the ninth to make a ton for England on the island of 365 beaches.

Gary Ballance brought up his century in 233 balls with 11 x 4 and a six. He hit one more six in his final score.

West Indies v England – 1st Test – “The Verdict”

LordCanisLupus83 Comments

Your comments on the test below. I’ll have a few views tomorrow, but been at a funeral today, and had to get in early this morning, so will be retiring for the evening.

I am aware I have two Centuries to update as well. A busy weekend.

Oh, Starter for 10:

And if you feel brave, read Michael Henderson in the Cricketer.

I like accuracy:

Holder’s unbeaten 103, sealed with two majestic straight boundaries off James Tredwell, could have ended on 66 when Billy Bowden gave him out caught down the legside even though Anderson barely appealed.

Technology rightly reinstated Holder who then, agonisingly for England, could have been caught in bizarre fashion when he drove Tredwell into Gary Ballance’s boot at silly mid-off only to see the ball balloon up just out of the reach of the diving bowler.

Pay attention that man…

113.1

Anderson to Roach, no run, full down the leg side, there’s a cry for a strangle and given out! Bowden raises the finger but West Indies want a review There is no Hot Spot or Snicko for this series so it’s all on the replay and the noises and this first replay looks like Roach has missed it by a long way. We need conclusive evidence to overturn the call but this is conclusive enough and the decision is overturned.

More to follow later, but this amused.

For what I saw of the test I saw two teams searching for a bit of an identity. The West Indies have had a terrible time of it, they have seen most of their most famous players off lording it up in the IPL, and had a chastening World Cup to follow up their withdrawl from the Indian series last year.

There are still major frailties in the top order, with the reversion to Devon Smith as an opener evidence of many of the problems that the WIndies face. But in Jason Holder they have a real star in the making, It remains to be seen if he’s a flash in the pan, but lord, he looked good in saving the game yesterday. His composure was immense, and even his seeming carefree attitude to Kemar Roach facing deliveries seemed fine to me. He’s a good looking player. If his bowling goes up by 10%, then there’s a real all rounder in the mix, and West Indies need heroes.

Jerome Taylor, and to a lesser extent Kemar Roach, bowled well with the new ball and caused our openers trouble. Now a lot of balls appears to have been spoken about balls, but the Caribbean boys certainly looked more threatening up front than we did. The back-up bowling looks limited, and there must be a better man than Benn out there. I think we might see Bishoo in Grenada.

So to England. A quick player-by-player focus:

Alastair Cook – Same report for the past year. Excuses, excuses. Reasons. I’m no technical guru, I just look at results. You can get technical about 95 not being hundred, but that’s his only score over 80 for nearly two seasons too. Pretend all you want. This is wretched stuff. But, on the flip side, the declaration was fine, and he captained quite well in the 4th innings from what I saw.

Jonathan Trott – A chastening return to the test team. Already his place is under threat, not that sticking a number three in the opener slot was going to go well. If England go to form he’ll be given these three tests, and if no good, Lyth might come in for New Zealand.

Gary Ballance – A superb second innings hundred banished some of the demons from the World Cup and the rest of this winter. His fourth hundred in his ninth test is welcome as he has nailed the number 3 slot for the time being. People talking about him being dropped really need to see some sense. However, I’m going to be watching him behind the sofa with that technique against Australia and New Zealand’s top bowlers. I wish him well.

Ian Bell – Another top innings from our form senior pro, and all the praise in the world is due. At the time it was easy to take the 143 for granted, but its worth was shown with the game panning out as it did. A dozy second innings run out gave us reminders why he makes us tear our hair out, but he’s our man and he is going to be vital this summer. Dare one say his 143 was a captain’s innings?

Joe Root – Really, really impressive. Both innings were perfect in their context. He was busy, positive and pressured the opposition. This attitude has to be infectious for this team to reach its potential. His bowling is also a more than useful outlet that he has to keep going with for as long as possible. A livewire, who did much to hurry us along.

Ben Stokes – Bowling was useful if not that potent, and his batting seemed to hark back to the man who burst onto the scene in Australia. Of course, he offers the opportunities to the knockers to keep reminding us of his locker-punching exploits when we should be looking at how to bring this talent on.

Jos Buttler – I missed his putrid first innings, and didn’t see his impressive second dig. Keeping, from what I saw, was a bit scruffy but he’s not the first to suffer there if that was the tale throughout. Jack Russell regularly had horrors in the WIndies.

Chris Jordan – Decent, but I get the feeling he’s akin to a Phil DeFreitas of the 90s. A worthy cricketer, does lots of things well, but maybe a touch short of test class. His tools seem to promise a lot, but there’s not enough for me. Yes, his fielding is amazing. I’d prefer more wickets.

Stuart Broad – Didn’t see a lot of his bowling until the end, where he tried gamely if a bit down on pace (but we are playing on slow surfaces). His batting appears a major concern because we’ll need lower order runs in any series we play and we hope to get some from him. Loved the bit where he bit his tongue when Anderson misfielded off his bowling, and then next ball screamed out loud when Trott saw a pull shot fall short of him….

James Tredwell – Bowled well in the first innings, but not a threat in the second. A real game cricketer who won’t let you down, but he is in the team because this is his role – a replacement squad player if one of your main spinners is injured. However, many would say this was a safe choice given the more exotic Adil Rashid’s leg spinners were available. Many will say Rashid has been bowling nonsense in the warm-ups (well, the press did). Doubt he’ll play on Tuesday.

James Anderson – the record breaker took the four wickets needed to pass Sir Hindsight, but he looked off the ball when it came to the new nut, and I’m petrified we are working him to exhaustion. While many are arguing over his legacy, I see a player I’ve never really taken to, but who has never really let us down. What is noticeable is his batting is improving again, and his last wicket partnership with Jordan was useful to stop a really demoralising second day going into the books.

On to Grenada for the second test. Have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the match and bring on the next one.

2015 Test Century Watch #10 – Jermaine Blackwood

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jermaineblackwood20141120C

Jermaine Blackwood – 112 not out v England at North Sound, Antigua

Jermaine Blackwood’s first century in test cricket enabled the home side to remain in the game somewhat, and then had me thinking how many players with a colour in their name have made big test scores. Gordon Greenidge has three double centuries to his name, and it looks like his 226 v Australia in Bridgetown is the highest score with a colour in his surname.

So to Jermaine’s 112. This is the 5th score of 100 by a West Indian at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. His is the fourth highest behind Gayle, Powell and Sarwan. This is the 79th score of 112 in test cricket, with his being just the seventh unbeaten effort. The first 112 was made by Charlie McLeod in 1898 for Australia against England in Melbourne. The last one was made by Sarfraz Ahmed in the series v Australia in November. A good number of players have made two scores of 112 including Steve Waugh, Doug Walters, JT Tyldesley, Mohammed Yousuf….

Possibly the most famous 112 was made by this man.

Jeff Stollmeyer later wrote: “Andy’s innings in its later stages was not in keeping with the state of the game and his captain [Gerry Gomez] was forced to send a message out to him to ‘get on with it’.” Stollmeyer did concede that Ganteaume was unlucky to miss out on selection for the tour of India the following year.

According to Statsguru this was the 466th century by a West Indian, the 232nd by a West Indian at home, and the 36th by a West Indian in Antigua.

Jermaine Blackwood’s century came up in 205 balls with 14 fours and 2 sixes.