Deep Fine Leg

We are getting seriously close to the start of the 2009 Ashes, meaning that millions of cricket fans around the world will be getting excited about watching one of the oldest rivalries in sport – England v Australia.

There is no doubt that the last series in England between these two sides, back in 2005, was an extraordinary battle. So much so, it is hard to convince anyone that the same excitement, interest and passion can be generated again this time around.

One thing that can be recreated though is the closeness of the series. Even more so than in 2005, England and Australia are very evenly matched. The Aussies are obviously higher in the rankings, but their form has been inconsistent of late and many believe they are not the force they were.

England on the other hand have home advantage and a bit more momentum. Convincing performances against the West Indies earlier this summer have created a feel good factor about the test team and a number of players, like Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad, are coming of age at just the right time.

All things considered, it is going to be a close series. So much so that the preparation for each team is crucial. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the positive and negative things to take from the respective warm-up games ahead of the first test.

AUSTRALIA v England Lions

Positive – Mike Hussey is in the runs after a very patchy run of form. He scored 150 against the Lions and this will do his confidence no end of good.

Negative – Phil Hughes’ two innings against the Lions will go down as a waste. He scored 7 and 8, both times dismissed by Steve Harmison.

Positive – Brett Lee hasn’t played too much cricket recently, so to see him get 6-76 against the Lions will be very positive indeed for Ponting and co.

Negative – Mitchell Johnson only managed one wicket in the Lions innings and this was only the one of Tim Bresnan. Perhaps he isn’t as dangerous as England once thought?

ENGLAND v Warwickshire

Positive – Alistair Cook seems in fine form. The opener followed up his century for Essex in the Twenty20 cup with another one against Warwickshire.

Negative – Kevin Pietersen hasn’t been able to make the most out of this game with scores of 1 and 6. He hasn’t played much cricket recently, so it will be interesting to see if he can turn it on when it matters.

Positive – James Anderson’s swing bowling could be key to England’s Ashes hopes. Therefore, it is pleasing to see him take 5-34 in this match. If he gets it right, he is such a huge threat.

Negative – The third and final day looks set to be very restricted because of the weather and this reduces practice time for England.

In all fairness, the way these two warm-up games have gone could offer no indication to what is to come in the next couple of months.

However, if a decent innings (Hussey, Cook) or a positive bowling display (Lee, Anderson) boosts a player’s confidence by even the smallest amount, it could be the difference between the two sides in what will be a very tough series for both sides.

Make sure you’re keeping up to date with the Lords Test odds for your 2009 ashes betting! If you need to get in the betting mood, check out Betfair’s new fanvfan site.

Day 1

Worryingly for Australia, a trend is beginning to form at a crucial point of the tour. The top order batsmen are anything but consistent and with less than a week before the first Test in Cardiff, Ricky Ponting, Phillip Hughes and Marcus North are severely lacking time in the middle. Match Scorecard

Ponting and Hughes who were both back in the safety of the sheds with the score on 24 had a baptism of fire with Steve Harmison keen to prove a point in a fiery opening spell. Ponting was hit on the shoulder and Hughes allowed Harmison’s first ball through to hit his helmet. Hughes never recovered and could not cope with Harmison’s aggression falling soon after for just seven runs.

Katich and Hussey steadied the ship with an impressive partnership of 141, a partnership that was ended by Katich’s hook to fine leg, onions happy to take the catch. Michael Clarke was the next to go falling to Rashid at point. Marcus North who no doubt will be keen to erase his last three innings lasted just five balls before he played on for one run, onions the bowler.

At tea Australia were sitting precariously on 6 for 215 with Hussey (82) still at the crease. Mitchell Johnson has, for the last year, been pushing for a genuine all rounder slot and following another fine effort with the bat (47) he has all but made it his own. Johnson who was rested for the first game against Sussex shared a 109 run partnership with Hussey before he gloved a Bresnan delivery behind.

Lee was the final wicket to fall on day one, clean bowled by Harmison who ended the first day with impressive figures of 3 for 67 off 22 overs. Australia were 8 for 337 at the close.

The ECB today announced that the former England captain Michael Vaughan is to retire from all forms of professional cricket with immediate effect.

The 34-year-old Yorkshire batsman departs the international scene as England’s most successful Test captain of all time – with 26 wins from his 51 matches in charge.

His achievements also include leading England to their first Ashes victory against Australia for 18 years in 2005; a first Test series win in South Africa for forty years – also in 2005 – and  presiding over eight consecutive Test wins in 2004.

As a batsman, he scored 18 Test hundreds for England following his debut in 1999 and was ranked the number one batsman in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes Series in Australia in which he made 633 runs including three centuries.

Michael Vaughan said: “After a great deal of consideration, I’ve decided that now is the right time to retire from cricket. It has been an enormous privilege to have played for and captained my country and this is one of the hardest decisions I have had to make.

“Having played almost non-stop for sixteen seasons, I feel that the time is right for the focus to shift to the next generation.  We have some fantastic talent coming through the English counties and, with the next Ashes series upon us, now is the time for the younger players to rise to the challenge of building on the success achieved in English cricket in the last few years.

“I’d like to record my sincere thanks to the England fans and the ECB and the members and supporters of Yorkshire County Cricket Club for their unstinting backing throughout my career as well as my wife Nicola and the rest of my family who have been equally supportive.”

“I’m also extremely grateful to all of the players, managers, coaches, media and administrators I’ve worked with, who have all contributed to making my career so enjoyable and fulfilling.

“I’d also like to wish Andrew Strauss and the current England team success in this Ashes series.  I know they have the drive, ambition and abilities to repeat the success from 2005.  Winning that series was most definitely the highpoint of my career”.

Commenting on his decision, ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: “Everyone associated with cricket in England and Wales will be forever grateful to Michael Vaughan for his immense contribution to the England team’s success. His achievement in leading England to victory against the number one ranked team in the world, Australia in 2005, was arguably the finest by any England captain in the modern era.”

ECB Managing Director, England Cricket, Hugh Morris said: “As an international captain Michael ranks among the very best and the way in which he and Duncan Fletcher forged a team capable of winning six consecutive Test series stands as testament to his ability to inspire and motivate those around him.

“He was also a marvellous ambassador for England cricket off-the-field as well as on it and someone who genuinely appreciated the generous support he received from the thousands of England supporters who follow the team at home and abroad.  No-one who saw his magnificent hundreds in Australia in 2002/3 will forget the contribution he made to the team as a batsman either – he will be rightly remembered as a player of the highest class.”

England captain Andrew Strauss said: “I count Michael as a good friend as well as a team-mate and I know what a tough decision this will have been for him as he took so much pleasure and pride in representing his country.

“I learned a great deal from watching him captain the side for five years at close hand and his ability to identify a new strategy for outwitting the opposition or bring the best out of his own players was a priceless asset.

“But more than anything we as players will miss the enormous sense of fun and enjoyment that Michael brought to the dressing room. He will be missed by everyone connected with the team and we wish him every success in his future career.”

Yorkshire CCC CEO Stewart Regan said: “Michael Vaughan is a class act and will be remembered by Yorkshire members and supporters around the world for his beautiful stroke play and of course his success in leading England to Ashes glory in 2005.

“It has been a pleasure and a privilege for me to get to know Michael over the past three years and his presence around the club has been hugely motivational, particularly the younger players.

“I wish him every success in the future and hope that he continues to take more than a passing interest in the fortunes of Yorkshire CCC. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to personally thank him for his magnificent contribution not only to Yorkshire but to the game of cricket as a whole.”

England to host Pakistan v Australia matches in 2010

The ECB today announced that it had reached agreement with PCB to stage two Test Matches and two T20 Internationals between Pakistan and Australia in England next July.

ECB Chairman Giles Clarke said: “The Pakistan team performed outstandingly well in the World T20 tournament in England and were worthy world champions. The passion of the support for their team in England demonstrated why this country is an ideal venue for these matches against Australia .

“The warm relations between our two Boards has developed further under the leadership of the current PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt, with whom I enjoy an excellent working relationship, and ECB is delighted to support Pakistan in staging these matches.”

ECB and PCB also confirmed that England will host Pakistan for four Test Matches, five One-Day Internationals and two T20 Internationals in August and September of next year.

The ECB also announced Giles Clarke its Chairman has accepted the role of Chairman of the ICC Pakistan Task Team. This body, set up by the ICC, has been charged with providing strategies and solutions to assist the Pakistan Cricket Board in protecting its position in international cricket.

ECB Chairman Giles Clarke said: “The Pakistan Cricket Board is faced with a very challenging situation at present and ECB in its role as a member of the global cricket community is keen to offer PCB all possible assistance at such a difficult time. I am delighted to take on this role and will be liaising closely with my colleagues at PCB in the coming weeks and months.”

Everyone knows that Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are two of England’s most important players. With this in mind, there have been two fantastic pieces of news for England fans as the first Ashes test draws closer.

The first piece of news is about Pietersen’s fitness. In the last few weeks, KP has been struggling with an Achilles injury which forced him out of the World Twenty20 opener against the Netherlands. There has been increasing concern that the injury could get worse at any time, putting his Ashes fitness in doubt.

However, Pietersen has revealed that he has made encouraging progress with the injury in the last few days. He says that he is ‘waking up every morning absolutely fine’ and is able to do training routines ‘pain-free’. Overall, he says that the improvement has been ‘huge’.

As England’s best batsman, Pietersen is set to play a key role in next month’s Ashes series. This makes the news about his fitness all the more encouraging. Hopefully he can have a couple of months to remember.

Now for the other news – Andrew Flintoff’s form. We all know that he can turn it on with the ball for England when called upon. He has often been an inspiration for the rest of the team as he steams into the crease.

However, his batting has left a lot to be desired of late. He hasn’t been able to recapture the form of 2005 with the bat in his hand. Therefore, it was extremely encouraging to see him smash 93 from 41 balls for Lancashire in the Twenty20 cup against Derbyshire.

By no means does this mean that he is back to his absolute best with the bat, but it is an innings that will do his confidence no end of good. Flintoff has lacked belief out in the middle in the last couple of years, so hopefully this innings will be the start of a more positive mindset from England’s premium all-rounder.

To have Freddie scoring runs as well as being his normal self with the ball would be a huge bonus for Andrew Strauss and England. In fact, with regards to Ashes betting, it would probably swing the Ashes series in England’s favour.

Make sure you keep up-to-date with the Ashes odds and check out Betfair’s fan v fan site to get you in the betting mood.

By Thomas Rooney

Day 1

Australia’s tour of England kicked off earlier today against Sussex at Hove and in front of a sun baked crowd of 6,000,returned a mixed performance and it was left to Lee and Hauritz to post a respectable total . Match Scorecard

Australia struggled early on losing captain Ricky Ponting (8) and Phil Hughes (15) to South African debutant Pepler Sandri. With Ponting’s dismissal came a rebuilding partnership between Katich and Hussey taking the score to 2 for 113. The flood gates opened shortly after with the visitors losing three quick wickets for one run.

Katich fell one run short of his 50 and when Hussey and North followed the opener back to the sheds, Sandri and Kirtley the jubilant bowlers, Australia were in danger of failing to reach 150.

Earlier, Hughes who had experienced a successful term at Middlesex failed to capitalise on his experience when his middle stump was uprooted by by Sandri after scoring just 15 off 26 deliveries.

However thanks to keeper Haddin’s (69) that included seven fours and three sixes, ad an unbroken partnership of 117 between Lee(47*) and Hauritz (65*) Australia closed the first day on 7 for 349.

Brett Lee makes his long awaited return to action later today when he takes part in the 12 a side practice match against Sussex at Hove.

Lee, who has played for Australia in 76 Test matches, last represented his country in December before undergoing foot and ankle surgery. Now 32, this is likely to be Lee’s final tour of England during an Ashes campaign and is keen to go out with a bang.

“Lee’s jumping out his skin to get back out there on Wednesday,” said Australia captain Ricky Ponting, ahead of the four-day game.

“He’s looking good at the moment. He’s trained harder than I’ve ever seen him train before.”

Ponting also admitted he felt the game at Hove would be perfect preparation for English wickets: “We believe that the conditions here are more like the Cardiff wicket than anywhere else in the country so it will be good to get used to the pace and the bounce.”

Mitchell Johnson, who is a certainty choice for the first Test, sits out today’s game against Sussex. Lee, who has taken 310 Test wickets is no longer an automatic choice to lead the bowling attack. Times are changing in Australia with a number of pacemen challenging for the limited spaces. With spin expected to play a big part in the first Test one of Hilfenhaus, Siddle, Clark or Lee will miss out.

Spinner Nathan Hauritz is expected to play against Sussex.

“It’s important for him and all our bowlers to take what opportunities come their way in the next couple of weeks,” said Ponting.

“We’ve got some big selections to be made there as far as the make-up goes for the first Test. All the guys know that.”

The 2009 Ashes tour of England begins in less than 12 hours and perhaps predictably, Australia have injury concerns with Shane Watson’s fitness.

Injury prone Watson has suffered a knee injury ahead of tomorrow’s opening match against Sussex at Hove.

Watson has had a scan on his knee, the injury has prevented him from training in Hove with the rest of the squad. Results of the scan are expected on Wednesday.

Australia is expected to call up a replacement for Watson if Wednesday’s results prove to be worse than first expected. Watson, despite his tag as an all rounder was selected primarily as a batsman who could bowl when required. The injury will be a huge blow for Australia as it looks to retain the Ashes in a little over two weeks.

“We might have to do that,” said Australian captain Ricky Ponting.

“That’s what some of the discussion this afternoon’s about, particularly if we happen to have, for an unknown reason, a batter happen to hurt themselves in this game then we could be a little bit short.”

Hopefully within a couple of days he’s right to start back up and work up on his bowling again.”

“For him it’s obviously a setback. He’s disappointed that he wasn’t available for selection in this game.”

By missing the games against Sussex, Watson’s chances of playing in the first Test now seem remote at best.

Vaughan and out

Breaking news today is that both Steve Harmison and Michael Vaughan have been left out of the Ashes training party. This surely indicates that they will not be selected for the Ashes this summer and also points to a possible career ending omission.

With the first Test a matter of weeks away this is a significant smack in the face for the former England captain. Vaughan was in charge four years ago when England beat Australia for the first time since 1989 and the news will come as a huge blow to the top order batsman.

Panesar, Swann and Rashid all have a chance of impressing the selectors for the spinner slot but Harmison, who was dropped ahead of the West Indies Test series fails to do enough and is out of contention.

Graham Onions, Tim Bresnan and Ryan Sidebottom have been preferred to Harmison as back-up to first-choice seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

National selector Geoff Miller said: “Michael Vaughan will, of course, be disappointed not to have been included. But I met with Michael recently and he understands that he needs to make runs consistently in County cricket if he is to force his way back into the squad.

“The door has not been closed on any player at this stage.”

Despite not making the first choice squad, Harmison has been included to play for the England Lions against Australia on the 1^st of July – a tough warm up game for both sides with the Test a week away.

Miller added: “We are keen to make the match at Worcester a tough one for Australia and plan to give all the players in the Lions team the maximum opportunity to press their case for selection.

“As a consequence, we will now be announcing our squad for the first Ashes Test on Sunday, 5 July – 24 hours later than originally planned.”

England Test squad for the pre-Ashes camp:

Andrew Strauss (captain) (Middlesex), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravinder Bopara (Essex), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Alastair Cook (Essex), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), Graham Onions (Durham), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Matt Prior (Sussex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire).

England team v Warwickshire at Edgbaston (July 1-3):

Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ravi Bopara, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann.

England Lions v Australia at Worcester (July 1-4):

Ian Bell (captain) (Warwickshire), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Joe Denly (Kent), Steven Davies (Worcestershire), Stephen Harmison (Durham), Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire), Stephen Moore (Worcestershire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Graham Onions (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire).

I have always been an admirer of Alec Stewart. I never held it against him because he played for England, there was always something about him as a cricketer that caught my imagination. Was it his great work ethos, competitiveness or his cricketing ability? Whatever the answer, they are just some of his traits many people, myself included, admired about the Chelsea loving cricketer. Buy Now

Alec Stewart’s cricket companion is an interesting and eclectic look at cricket and sport in general. The book isn’t structured and Alec, in his introduction, makes no apology for this! The book isn’t an autobiography as such, it’s a chance for Alec to share his thoughts on what’s happening in the cricket world today including the way twenty/20 has captured the public’s imagination. It also includes numerous stats, trivia and a generous helping of history through the ages.

Statistics feature heavily throughout and include amongst other the World Cup, the Ashes, Twenty/20 and a ground by ground breakdown (England & Wales). We learn that Sheffield hosted a Test match at Brammall Lane in 1902. The ground’s only Test match ended in a 143 run victory for Australia) nothing new there then). It is better known today as home of Sheffield United FC.

For me, my greatest memory of Alec came during the 1993/4 season when England toured the Caribbean. Against all the odds he pummelled the West Indian bowling in Barbados and scored back to back centuries with a great deal of panache and determination.

Stewart’s Test debut was at Sabina Park, a game he remembers with pride after helping England (with 13 runs!) secure an unlikely victory. He was fortunate to be out in the middle when Wayne Larkins struck the winning runs; it allowed him to collect a stump as a treasured momento. Despite his two great centuries at Bridgetown a little shine was taken off the performance because the series was already lost. It may have for him but for thousands of admirers and growing fans watching, it was a remarkable feat.

Stewart recalls the battle between Atherton and Donald in 1998. Atherton gloved a delivery from Donald and when Atherton refused to walk, Donald increased his pace and stared at Atherton after every delivery. Atherton squared up to him and the competition accepted!

Whether a player should walk or not is open, and shall forever be, to debate. Many purists believe a batsman should walk and there are many who feel the opposite. It’s what makes the world go round! Stewart made the decision to stay put early in his career and has never looked back.

“Early in my career I made the decision not to walk. There is no rule that says you have to, so why do it when you are effectively surrendering your wicket? How many times does a wicket keeper catch the ball knowing that the batsman hasn’t hit it and yet he is still given out? Or more importantly, when it happens, how many times do you see a fielding side call a batsman back? The umpires are out there to make the decisions so leave it to them.”

On a related note, I remember Adam Gilchrist walking after being given not out against Sri Lanka in the semi final of the 2003 World Cup. His decision then was against the grain for the majority of players and placed Australia in a precarious position of 1/34 – this was the semi-final remember. It takes a huge man to walk in that situation. Australia went on to win the match and his actions won him a legion of fans for his actions.

I have always enjoyed reading a player’s accounts once he has hung up his boots. They rarely get the opportunity to express themselves during their playing career and it is, more often than not, interesting to learn what they really thought about opposing players, good or bad.

Like many, Stewart selects his first XI since retiring from the game, at least on paper! He only chose those players at the peak of their game (when he was playing) and for this reason he had to leave players such as Viv Richards. It’s an interesting XI and includes Lara, Warne and McGrath – my only criticism would be a more in-depth look and his reasons for selecting the XI (and 12^th man!).

So there you have it. Alec Stewart’s “my cricket companion” is published by Corinthian books and is available at all good book stores. The companion is a very enjoyable and easy read. Full of fascinating stats, history and trivia this is a recommended title and worth reading this summer. Buy Now