Original and always best

It's easy to be swept away by the whirlwind that is Twenty20 cricket. The game is explosive, only takes a couple of hours and is, lets be honest, wall-to-wall entertainment. Spectators pay good money just to see players such as Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen, Brendan McCullum and David Warner bludgeon six after six while shattering the confidence of the medium pacer at the other end.

Cricket has been hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons in recent times, but three players in particular are trying their hardest to make sure that cricket is still being celebrated for it's genius on the field...in all its, dare I say, old-fashioned glory.

The trio I'm talking about are Hashim Amla, Michael Clarke and Alastair Cook.

These three are players that I would call "proper test match cricketers". They all play the game in its pure form and show that you don't have to slog a quick 60 to excite and enthuse fans.

Hashim Amla

It's an extremely difficult task to shine in a team that is the number one test team in the world, but Hashim Amla does, and beautifully so. When you consider that other batsman in the South African top order include Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith and AB De Villiers, it makes Amla's dominance even more impressive. His effortless technique and calm aura is something to behold when combined with his ruthless demolition of the best bowling attacks around the world. He has scored 5,088 runs in his 63 test matches to date, at an average of 50.37, including 17 hundreds and 23 fifties. The highlight being his 311* against England at the Oval this summer, making him the first South African in test history to score a treble-hundred. Even as an England fan, it was a joy to watch. But that is what Amla possesses, a certain likeability. If you like your cricket, you like watching Hashim Amla bat and you're in luck because he enjoys a long stay at the crease.

Michael Clarke

We've heard of the 'Captain's Curse' before, but Michael Clarke has taken that, turned it into a half-volley, and dispatched it all around the park. After the ego-shattering 3-1 Ashes loss at home in 2010/11, the Australian test team was left in disarray. Matters declined further when Ricky Ponting resigned as skipper and it looked like it would take this great cricket-loving nation a while to get back to where they're used to being. Enter Michael Clarke. I don't think his tactical game is anything out of the ordinary as captain, but the one thing he does better than anyone, is lead by example. His career stats measure up at 6,356 runs in 84 tests to date at 50.84, but it's his form as captain that is most impressive. He caressed his way into the record books in Adelaide by becoming the first player to score 4 double-hundreds in a calendar year, surpassing the great Don Bradman's record in the 1930 tour of England. If you ripped out the middle pages of the textbook, you'd find Michael Clarke.

Alastair Cook

Simple, determined and, above all, effective. Certain players in world cricket bring the x-factor to the game by playing flamboyant shots and wowing spectators in the process; Alastair Cook isn't pretty to watch, but he gets the job done. A proper test cricketer who digs in, knows his game and plays to his strengths to unerring perfection. He is in the mould of former England opening batsmen such as Michael Atherton and Geoffrey Boycott; perhaps not the most naturally gifted, but makes up for that with grit, concentration and bloody mindedness. England have a true team player at the helm now, who will go about his job in a workman-like manner; perhaps a few could learn from his approach to the game. 6,772 runs in 84 tests to date at 48.71. Holds the world record for the most time spent batting during a test series (36 hours, Ashes 2010/11, 766 runs), only English test player to score 1,000 runs in their début year, youngest English cricketer to reach 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 and 5,000 test runs, second in the list of total hundreds for England in test cricket (21)...and he's only 27 years-old. If he carries on in this vein (his recent rearguard 178 in India suggests he will) then he will break every batting record going for his country.

As a purist, these three players give me hope that the rise of the Twenty20 era is not changing the way players play the game and that test cricket is still regarded as the pinnacle of the sport.

England in a Spin...Part II

During the T20 World Cup in September, I expressed my worry (as a fan) regarding England's inability to play spin; but even the most dedicated supporter would have to agree that the last 18 overs of the second day of the first test in Ahmedabad was simply unacceptable.

Fans all over the UK set their alarms at 3.50am on Thursday morning, made a cup of tea and settled in front of the TV in anticipation of the start of a evenly-matched test series against India. By tea on the first day however, doubts would have been setting in as to whether this series would be as evenly-matched as expected; but by stumps on the second day, their fears were confirmed...this series has the potential to be extremely one-sided.

Why? To quote myself from a previous post; "England cannot play spin". But this isn't the only reason why England are struggling in the sub-continent, the other reason is poor selection choices.

From bad to worse
It started badly for England. The toss in India is key, and unfortunately, Alastair Cook called wrong and Mahendra Singh Dhoni had no hesitation in electing to bat on what can only be described as an absolute feather-bed.

Things got worse when the team sheet was announced. One specialist spinner and three-seamers. In India? I cannot hide my frustration here. Graham Gooch and Andrew Flower are experienced, skilled and intelligent batsmen, surely they know there is only one type bowling that is effective in the sub-continent. When you tour abroad, the first thing you do is look at how the opposition go about their cricket at home. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh all play a minimum of three spinners and, at most, two seamers. This is no coincidence. Wickets in this part of the world offer nothing to the seamer; no conventional swing, no reverse swing, no seam, no pace, no carry. Spinners prevail and there is no better example than India's first innings scorecard in this test:

7 of the 8 wickets fell to "spin". I put spin in inverted commas because Patel and Pietersen are part-timers at best. However, take  nothing away from Graeme Swann's efforts, he bowled beautifully and perhaps deserved more than his 5-fer.

My view: play Panesar. I think everyone is in agreement there. But Bresnan has to make way. He simply offers nothing in these conditions. Sehwag hitting him for six back over his head in the first morning of a test series just shouldn't happen. The fact that there were 68 overs between his spells is a clear message that Alastair Cook admits the wrong decision was made at selection. You need added extras as a seam bowler to be effective in India; namely height and pace or guile. Broad and Anderson have this, as does Finn, Bresnan does not.

Poor batting
There's poor batting, then there's the 18 overs that occurred on Friday evening. Nick Compton on début looked solid and untroubled until he got a jaffa from Ashwin. That would have bowled many a more experienced batsman. Trott shouldn't have been allowed to opt for a nightwatchman with 20 minutes left to bat, he sent James Anderson to certain death. But the reason for his decision became apparent when he strode out at number 4, then quickly back to the shed again; all at sea, England 40-3 after chasing leather for 160 overs and over 5 sessions. Stark contrast to the ease of accumulation showed by Pujara, Sehwag and Yuvraj. The English batsmen had the best view in the house when watching how to bat in India, there are no excuses.

In  my opinion, their mind-set was wrong. If you bat not to get out, only one thing will happen; you'll get out! As hard as it might be, you need to forget the situation and play each ball on its merit. We've all heard it before, it's basics of cricket. Sadly the England batsmen even failed at that, a desperate effort from the visitors.

The optimist in me would say that Cook looked untroubled and can grind out an innings better than anyone in the team; Pietersen's best innings' come when he has a point to prove; Bell is England's best player of spin and Patel and Prior are in fine form so England will turn this around and bat long tomorrow. However, reality and experience tells me that England are really up against it here and have a real battle on their hands to avoid an innings defeat, let alone asking India to bat again.

A welcome luxury

The two key warm-up matches against India A and Mumbai A were designed for two things: to let the batsmen bat and the bowlers bowl.

So we find ourselves at the point where the next time that England take the field in a competitive sense, it will be in the first test of the four-match series against India in Ahmedabad. The question everyone is asking is; who will be in the England XI? Flower and Cook would have been hoping that the first two warm-up matches would have given them a better idea of the team they'll pick, but in my opinion, it has given them more of a headache than when they started.

Samit Patel did wonders in the warm-up games, scoring 104 and 60 and taking 5 wickets. You simply cannot drop him in this form. A good option at number 8 and a genuine spinning option; he must play for me.

As I see it, there are two key decisions; Morgan or Bairstow and Root or Compton?

Morgan or Bairstow?
Both middle-order batsmen, both inexperienced, both only played against Mumbai A, only one of them can bat at 6. They joined each other at the crease last week at 66-4; when Morgan fell for 76, the score was 222. Bairstow went on to make a brilliant 118. Neither player made this decision an easy one for captain and coach, but I'd opt for Bairstow. He has the ability to adapt his game to the situation and is tighter than Morgan early on in his innings. A real talent for the future and has earned his call-up. Morgan can feel extremely hard-done-by, but he'll be waiting if Bairstow fails and will have plenty more opportunities. My prediction is that Jonny Bairstow will come of age this series.

Root or Compton?
I alluded to this in my last blog, and it still hasn't been resolved! The 21-year-old or the 29 year-old? Debutants at 21 you think of Trescothick, Vaughan and Cook and what they went on to achieve. Then at 29 you think of Mike Hussey and Jonathan Trott, can England find another already established cricketer that is finally ready to step-up to the test arena? I'm going to put my current view across here, but my opinion on this changes like the wind! In the first test I'd go for Compton. I really like Joe Root and he has a very bright future as an England opener. So why go for Compton? There are two main reasons; firstly, India is a tough place to play and Compton's added experience is vital, and secondly, Cook will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders during that first test as captain and the last thing he wants to be doing is worrying about the guy at the other end. Usually, the latter would be a weak excuse, but in this case, there is precious little difference between Root and Compton, so it's a win-win really. I just fear that Cook might have one eye on the welfare of Root, rather than doing what is most important for him and the team, which is scoring runs.

For what it's worth, my team for the first test would read: Cook (c), Compton, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Bairstow, Prior (wk), Patel, Broad, Swann, Anderson.

With Finn's injury, claims could be made for Onions or Bresnan, but I feel that Anderson and Broad as the seamers, Swann and Patel as the spinners, and Trott and Pietersen as the part-timers gives England enough balance.

Steven Finn's injury is a massive blow for England, I genuinely believe that he would open the bowling for any other test nation, including South Africa. The sooner he's back taking the new ball for England, the better.

Claims for Onions, Bresnan, Panesar, Morgan and Root are all valid, which is why Flower and Cook have a good selection headache before the first test in 9 days time.

Who would your XI be?