Farewell to England's Ashes mastermind

Michael Vaughan has retired from all forms of cricket, taking with him one of the most eye-catching and beautiful cover drives ever seen in the game. Having missed out on England's Ashes team, his one last objective in cricket, he decided the time was right to call it quits and it's hard to blame him.

England will certainly miss his unflappable leadership and exquisite stroke play, though having said that, they've had to cope without him for a while now. Injuries beset him directly after that famous Ashes triumph in 2005 as he missed the best part of 18 months. And when he did come back into the side, he lasted only another year before poor form led him to resigning the captaincy after the Third Test against South Africa - it was to be his last appearance in an England shirt.

Still, as sad as it is to bid farewell to one of England's finest, it's best to fondly reminisce at times like this. Vaughan's batting was wonderful to watch; very few players could time the ball like he did.

Several innings spring to mind. The 166 against Australia at Old Trafford in '05 came at a time when people were casting doubts over his form and it smacked of him stamping his considerable authority all over the series. Then that comeback hundred in 2007 on his home ground of Headingley against the West Indies. Having missed so much cricket due to injury, it was a relief just to get him back in the side. The over-zealous bear hug that Kevin Pietersen gave him upon reaching three figures was an indication of what his return meant to the team.

For me, two innings stand out. The first came in South Africa in early 2005 in the Fourth Test at Johannesburg. With the series level at 1-1 and England into their tail in the first innings, Vaughan dug in for his team and added 133 with the help of Ashley Giles and Steve Harmison, taking England from 278-7 to the riches of 411-8. He was on 82 not out when persistent bad weather ended the second day's play. Rather than waste time trying to reach a hundred, Vaughan declared, putting the team ahead of his own personal glory. England went on to win the game late on the last day, further vindicating Vaughan's choice and the timing of it.

The second was at Trent Bridge in 2007 against a rampant Indian side. Zaheer Khan and RP Singh had decimated England in the first innings before India built a size-able lead with the bat. England batted in the second innings knowing they'd need a gargantuan total to even have a chance in the match and against a dangerously swinging ball and some fine Indian bowling, batting was seriously tough. Vaughan produced another superb captain's innings, making 124 and taking England just into the lead. He was out in painfully unlucky circumstances, the ball clipping his upper thigh and rolling gently down onto the base of leg stump, just forcing the bail off. England subsequently collapsed and lost the game but Vaughan, as always, had done his utmost to lead from the front.

England have had to do without Vaughan for sometime now so any talk of a fresh start is redundant. He'll certainly be watching this forthcoming Ashes contest with great interest but purely as a spectator and fan, not a worried player. A career in coaching or possibly even commentary must surely await now for him - one can only hope that the game of cricket has more in store for this fine, fine player.

I'll end with a quote from the man himself, given in the immediate aftermath of probably his finest moment as England captain - the two run win over Australia at Edgbaston.

“I'm thrilled. I'm proud of this
team. If we'd gone 2-0 down in the series, against a team like Australia, we
couldn't have come back from there.”

Cook and Flintoff light up the summer sky

This needs mentioning. The English Twenty20 cup was played tonight, with two particular innings not just catching my attention but grabbing me by the neck and forcing me to watch.

Firstly, to Derbyshire vs Lancashire and a certain Andrew Flintoff. Those who say he's out of form with the bat are justified and it's been years since a really significant innings from the big man. He scored a decent fifty last week against Hampshire but tonight he really lit up the stage. Coming in at 70-3, Flintoff blazed an incredible 93 off of just 41 deliveries. He whacked a total of 9 fours and 6 sixes as he completely dominated, looking very much like the all-conquering, big-hitting Flintoff of old. He was just denied an outstanding century by a staggering catch in the last over, predictably going for another gargantuan six.

Down at The Oval, England team mate Alastair Cook went one better. Not really considered as a Twenty20 player due to his patient batting style, Cook fired a blistering, unbeaten hundred off just 57 balls (hitting 4 sixes!) in an opening stand of 167. The innings comes as yet another unbelievable score in domestic T20 from Cook this season as he warmed up for the coming Ashes series is considerable style.

Both innings considerably defied belief. Flintoff's purely because you can just never be certain of a big performance from him with the bat. Watching those sixes sail into the crowd time and again was the most thrilling sight for English cricket fans. Cook has been confounding critics who say he can't play T20 this year with a collection of quite stunning innings. It's a marvellous achievement when any batsman scores a hundred in this format of the game - for the conservative Cook to do it is quite remarkable.

Hugely ironic that they should choose to do it now that the World Twenty20 has ended. Anyone watching these men bat would have been massively geed up for the Ashes. It's important no-one gets carried away, though. T20 is hardly the best indication of Test form and hopefully there will be none of the usual media hyperbole. You certainly won't be reading any here.

To hell with it. We're going to win the Ashes 5-0.

Should Adil Rashid play at Cardiff?

The leg spinners union is out in full force at present. Shane Warne has tipped Adil Rashid to partner Graeme Swann in the first Ashes Test in Cardiff instead of Monty Panesar, should England go with two spinners as expected. After Rashid's impressive showing in the World Twenty20, many others are also clamouring for the young Yorkshire leggie's Test debut to be sooner rather than later.

Admittedly, unleashing Rashid on the Australian's spin frailties is a much more appealing prospect than Panesar churning out 34 identical and non-threatening overs. The boy has unique potential, this much is obvious. However, after Warne's authoritative calls, there are several things that strike me:

1) Are we rushing him? England have done incredibly well in allowing Rashid to develop with his county and to learn every aspect of his game before rushing him into the harsh and unforgiving grounds of international cricket. Stuart Broad was given time to grow before he played for England and the results have been largely positive. However, is this just a little too soon for Rashid? He was in the England squad for both winter tours this year so the experience gained there will have been crucial. But one gets the feeling that a chastening experience at the hands of Australia could scar him for life.

2) Is Warne just playing mind games? He doesn't even play anymore and you still feel he has a psychological edge over every English player and selector. Warne last week spoke of how he didn't rate Ravi Bopara and thought England were making a mistake in putting their faith in him. The great man was surely trying to knock Bopara over, confidence-wise. The trouble is his name is so well respected in the game, especially in the precocious art of spin bowling. So if he says England should play Rashid, the selectors are likely to take heed of his words. Could he be tricking England into playing Rashid even though he knows he's not ready? You wouldn't put it past him, even if he is working for Sky as a 'neutral' commentator.

3) Is the Ashes the right place to make a Test debut? Rashid is 21 and could have a monstrously good career ahead of him. But what would happen if he plays at Cardiff and gets absolutely collared all day long? He gets dropped, his confidence goes - in short, he becomes the new Chris Schofield. It's not a slight on his talent; good players can have bad days and Rashid could very well just turn up at the wrong time and get belted all around the park. But the effects of such a mauling would be devastating and the pressure-cooker atmosphere of an Ashes Test could possibly be too much for such a young player. Having said that, Kevin Pietersen made his debut in an Ashes series and look what happened there. And Warne was a similar age when he made his debut.

One thing's for certain: Panesar, if selected, has done nothing to justify his place. I'm not necessarily a Monty critic but his early season form for Northants has been awful and he's done precious little in an England shirt for a long time now. Rashid represents England's future more than Panesar. But does that justify playing him now?

After all, this Ashes series is about the present, not the future. It's a tough one to call and my instinct is to go with Rashid. But, thankfully, I'm not a selector.

South Africa once again fail to finish the job

As bizarre as Pakistan winning the World Twenty20 was, having seen them get mauled in their first game by England of all teams, South Africa not winning the trophy was even more unfathomable.

Throughout the competition, they had been the team to beat. Strong in what seemed like every single department, they had been on the money right from the first ball. That they successfully defended scores of 130 and 128 was astounding, especially for Twenty20 cricket. When their batsman fired, they weren't so much finding the middle of the bat but locating the precise epicentre of their instruments and pummelling the ball to corners off of it.

Their bowling was irrepressibly strong, led by the menacing Dale Steyn and the frighteningly promising left armer Wayne Parnell. Time and again, they took early wickets to halt the momentum of opposition teams. Parnell picked up an incredible 4-13 against the West Indies and was one of the tournaments leading bowlers.

The brute force with the new ball was reinforced by solid, dependable pace bowling from Jacques Kallis and Albie Morkel. These two were utilised extremely intelligently by captain Graeme Smith - Morkel came on to bowl early against England, who were already two wickets down. He promptly bowled a wicket maiden, removing Kevin Pietersen, and retreated back to the field. He didn't bowl at all again in the innings, such was the strength of the other bowlers and Smith's desire to use him as a 'shock' bowler.

When teams needed slowing down, Smith turned to his spinners. Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe bowled quite exceptionally at times, placing a stranglehold on the batsman and taking crucial wickets. If ever they weren't working, and it was extremely rare that they weren't, JP Duminy could even bowl a tidy over or two.

The batsmen were led from the front by Smith himself and the arch accumulator Kallis. And with Hershelle Gibbs, Duminy, Mark Boucher, Morkel and the simply phenomenal AB de Villiers in the ranks, there were plenty of potential fireworks and, more importantly, strength in depth.

So why the hell did they not blitz this thing? Alas, it's a tired old story for South African cricket. No team is more worthy of the term 'chokers', not even the perennially disappointing England. Pundits and analysts have time and again tipped the Proteas for victory and nine times out of ten, they've looked like solid bets.

But, when it really matters, South Africa invariably fail in these tournaments. They can be brilliant in the run in, poleaxing teams into submission and dazzling everyone with their unquestionable ability. When the time comes to actually win something, they are incapable. They fail to do justice to their talent and billing and end up pointlessly wondering what in the world went wrong.

The list of near misses is endless and quite depressing; World Cups in 1999, 2003, 2007 - all should have delivered more. They even choked in the last World Twenty20, which they hosted. Having stormed past everyone, they were looking good to deliver the trophy in front of their own fans before losing what should have been a regulation game against India and bowing out.

Sometimes there's even a cruel comedy essence to their demise. 1999 and Allan Donald's needless run out handing Australia a semi final victory from the jaws of defeat. 2003 and the Duckworth/Lewis miscalculation - cue Mark Boucher calmly blocking the last ball of a Murali over, believing that they had reached the par score already (they were one run short).

Whilst they remain a fine team at present and surely a contender for the best in the world, there's a worrying trend in their tournament failures. Sure it's mighty impressive going to Australia and winning like they did in December. They're pretty much on top of the world and, frankly, deserve to be there. But for all the Test match supremacy they may be in line for, a trophy or two would be extremely welcome, especially for South Africa's limited overs-loving population.

Think of the supreme talents they've had in the last decade or so: Donald, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock, Smith, Gibbs, Makhaya Ntini. And now, the likes of de Villiers, Steyn and Parnell. Are they all to be tainted by the same tournament jinx? From a South African point of view, one hopes that, sooner rather than later, the Proteas can overcome this mental stumbling block.

LVCC - Hampshire v Nottinghamshire 12th June - Day 2

Afternoon session

Hampshire began the afternoon session looking to build on their strong start. They initially found runs hard to come by against the veteran all-rounder Mark Ealham, fresh from his own batting heroics, though Jimmy Adams did reach his 22nd First Class fifty with a flick down to fine leg for his eleventh 4. Adams and Lumb took Hampshire past the 100 mark, with Adams continuing to impress, stroking a 4 through the covers off Fletcher. Lumb offered a tough chance off Ealham but Jefferson was unable to hold a one handed catch at second slip. In the next over Lumb finally got his innings going with a firmly struck cover drive for 4.

With Nottinghamshire striving for a breakthrough, Pattinson was brought on to bowl. However the boundaries only became more frequent with Lumb picking up two in one over from sweetly struck cover drives. Adams continued to move towards his century, square cutting Patel for 4, and the pair rotated the strike intelligently, frustrating the visiting bowlers.

Shortly before the tea break Lumb dented Patel’s tidy figures, drilling him for 4 before launching him over square leg for 6. However Patel got his revenge in his next over – Lumb charged down the pitch only to miss the ball and was smartly stumped by opposition captain Chris Read, having made 43. The dismissal ended a 109 run partnership and brought in James Vince for his first LVCC game.

After taking a good look at the bowlers Vince came impressively off the mark with a late cut through point for 4 before pulling Shreck through midwicket for two more boundaries. Patel continued to trouble at the Northern End, with an enthusiastic lbw appeal against Adams turned down.

Hampshire were 184 for 2 at tea.

Evening session

... Chris Benham (13) then perished, fencing at a rising delivery from Luke Fletcher and being caught by Jefferson at slip. Sean Ervine arrived at the crease with Vince as a runner, following his hamstring pull yesterday. Pothas drove Hampshire past the 250 with a boundary through the covers but Ervine (1) departed quickly after that, edging to Chris Read behind the stumps. New batsman Dominic Cork survived a strong lbw appeal early in his innings before getting off the mark with a well-timed drive for 4.

Hampshire’s hopes of passing Nottinghamshire’s total began to diminish when Patel had Pothas (36) caught at short leg by Shafayat then Imran Tahir (0) tried to hit the spinner over the top but succeeded only in finding the safe hands of Mark Ealham at mid on. Patel secured his maiden First Class five wicket haul, inducing an edge from David Griffiths which was well taken by Ali Brown at first slip.

Cork and James Tomlinson saw Hampshire through to the close of play, ending the day on 287 for 9, 39 behind Nottinghamshire’s total.

(rosebowlplc.com, June 2009)

Written in conjunction with Steven Woodgate. The above content was my personal contribution. See here for full day's report.

Update

Am in Boston. The weather is god awful. The food is, as always, plentiful.

In other news, I'm hopefully writing a review of a local musician soon, in my next journalistic outing for Chessington Chat. His name's Aaron Norton (Apparently, he lives just down the road from me. Who knew?) and, from what I've heard of him thus far, the boy is pretty damn good. According to the biography on his website, he's even performed live on Capital FM twice - smart man. He appears to be on the cusp of big things.

Have a gander at his website where you'll find said biography and be able to download some of his songs. My favourite? A Youtube video of him covering 'Fall At Your Feet' by Crowded House. Classic record, classing performance. What can I say? I'm a slave for powerful guitar driven melodies.

As I said, I should be doing that sometime in the next month, whenever his next gig I can attend is. Should be a 'right laugh'.

Back in the UK on Tuesday night (sniff sniff).

My 15 minutes (seconds)

Thought I'd share something vaguely media related. I managed an absolutely tiny, (some would say) insignificant moment of fame the other day. Anyone who was following the BBC's live web text commentary of the Australia vs Sri Lanka game at the World Twenty20 may have seen this e-mail, around about the start of the Sri Lankan innings.

From Mark, Chessington, TMS inbox: "Murali bowls four good overs, gets
nothing. And this young upstart Mendis gets Ponting, Watson and Hussey! Are
we witnessing the changing of the guard? How annoyed must Murali be?"

I'm sure Murali will forgive him if Sri Lanka win!

Yes, 'Mark, Chessington, TMS Inbox' is none other than myself. It appears e-mailing into these things does work sometimes, even if it is a sad indictment of how very little I had to do that evening. Thank you very much, Mark Mitchener.

Read my dazzling input in it's full context here. Warning: May require some scrolling.

Mendis setting new standards for spinners

This time last year, a Sri Lankan spinner delivered a magical performance to win the final of the Asia Cup with 6-13 against an incredibly strong Indian team. But, for the first time in years, it was not mercurial spinning legend Muttiah Muralitharan who had performed minor miracles with a cricket ball for his country. It was a new spinning sensation in the form of Ajantha Mendis.

In just his eighth one day international, Mendis bamboozled the experienced Indians with his countless variations, making a mockery of his tender age. Called up to the Test side shortly after, he took 26 wickets in the three matches, earning a record for the best wicket return in a three match debut series.

But, it was yesterday, perhaps, when the entire world became aware of his pedigree. Playing against Australia in the ICC World Twenty20, in what was a must win game for the Aussies, Mendis bowled Ricky Ponting through the gate in his first over and subsequently removed Shane Watson and Mike Hussey lbw, to shackle the Australian innings to the tune of just 159-9 from their twenty overs.

Murali did get a bowl - his four overs went for just 29 but he was wicket-less. Mendis was accurate, economical and deadly. It was the first time the Australians had faced the young spinner and boy how it showed. Murali used to elicit a unique sense fear and trepidation from opposing batsman. Now, players are so wary of playing Mendis, they're taking singles to get off strike, even if it means facing the aging magician, who, let's be honest, is still quite brilliant.

So, as if we didn't know already, who is this Ajantha Mendis bloke and where is he going? There's a great deal of mystery regarding him, perhaps an indication of just how difficult it is to predict what he is bowling. Even cricket encylopedia Cricinfo isn't sure what to class him as, stating his bowling style as 'right arm off-break, leg-break'.

His action is almost as confusing as his deliveries; rather than the customary slow walk for a spinner, he runs up to the crease, almost as if he is bowling at medium pace. The second the ball comes out of the hand, it's a guessing game for the poor batsmen.

Indeed, it seems he is capable of bowling absolutely everything. He extracts serious spin whichever direction it goes. He bowls off-spinners, leg-spinners, googlies, top-spinners, flippers and even a unique mystery ball known as the 'Carrom ball', which comes off his middle finger, would you believe. He's got more deliveries in his locker than that Shane Warne fella. It all adds up to some serious arthritis when he's older.

And, it appears he is capable of bringing his magic to any format of the game. He gets his one day international wickets at an insane average of just 13.14. He has 34 wickets from just six test matches. He even finds the time to play Twenty20 for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. He is set for a staggeringly good future, there can be no doubting that.

The plaudits are raining in. Murali has had his say, stating after Mendis' incredible test debut, "When I started playing Test cricket, I was not as good as Mendis. He is exceptional. He is the future of Sri Lankan cricket."

Veteran cricket writer Tony Becca said of Mendis in the Jamaica Gleaner, "With a smile on his face as he caresses the ball before delivering it, he bowls the off-break, he bowls the leg-break, he bowls the googly, he bowls the flipper, he bowls a straight delivery, he bowls them with different grips and different actions, he bowls them with a different trajectory and at a different pace, and he disguises them brilliantly. The result is that he mesmerises, or bamboozles, batsmen."

Has he already replaced Murali in the Sri Lanka set up? Not quite yet. Mendis has some way to go before he can match or better the world's all time leading wicket taker. Murali has the benefit of years and years of experience allied with his freakish talent. But the signs are there for the changing of the guard. Mendis has been coming on to bowl before Murali of late, not necessarily an indictment of who Sri Lanka think is better, but a sign that they believe Mendis to have what it takes.

Mendis will eventually assume Murali's mantle as Sri Lanka's premier spinner. And with the career statistics he has already accrued combined with his outrageous and unique skill, whose to say he won't become the world's best ever spinner? Have a look for yourself.

England ticking along okay, thanks

I'm about to do something I generally loathe doing in this day and age. I'm going to defend the England football team - I can hear the courtroom drama style gasps already. Last night's 4-0 win in the Eastern reaches of Kazakhstan was perfect, result-wise, and not so perfect performance-wise. And it seems that certain people have chosen to leap upon the latter point.

For much of the first half, England resembled the kind of slipshod, uncoordinated unit they were under Steve McClaren and struggled to get it going against what can only be described as amateur opposition. So much so that the plucky Kazakhs almost scored after 30 seconds after a mistake from Glen Johnson and then had the temerity to have a goal ruled out.

For 45 minutes, coach Fabio Capello cut an increasingly infuriated figure on the sideline, bellowing at his side in his angry Italian twang and imploring them to stick to what he told them to do. Thank heavens, in the end, that Gareth Barry and Emile Heskey were able to grab a goal each just before half time to pretty much ensure England the victory and give them peace of mind going into the break. As a sidenote, that Steven Gerrard was heavily instrumental in both goals speaks volumes for the class display the Liverpool man put in (about bloody time).

Yes, the performance was a bit nervous and, yes, letting them score in 30 seconds would have been a bit of an discomfiture. But surely a 4-0 scoreline renders all that pretty much insignificant. I mean, they didn't score that goal. So what's the problem?

Phil McNulty, in his match report on the BBC Sport website, said that England had a 'brief encounter with embarrassment' in Almaty. McNulty is generally an excellent writer; his blogs coming from the Kazakh capital thus far have been superb. But I cannot, for the life of me, see how England were embarrassed, even only briefly.

Let's be frank, had the home side scored, England would have likely come back to win the game. Conceding to minnow teams is nothing to be ashamed of - losing to them is. Lest we all forget Kazakhstan grabbed a goal at Wembley in the reverse fixture. Besides, it was made common knowledge that Kazakhstan start their games with pace, energy and vigour before dying out as the match wears on. I'm not at all saying that England used this as their game plan and let the Kazakhs on to them early but it does explain the fast-out-of-the-blocks start from the home side, to an extent.

England didn't play at their best, that much is obvious. But they got the three points, which is exactly what they came for. Was 4-0 a flattering score? Perhaps, but it does reflect the vast gap between the two sides and it's entirely for good teams to play poorly and still score goals.

There, I said it.

England are a good team.

The Three Lions have taken a hell of a beating from fans and the media since that nightmare night against Croatia at Wembley in 2007. Maybe, after all this progress, it's time we get off their backs a little.

Cool Hand Luke

With the World Twenty20 literally hours round the corner, much of the professional analysis and punditry is focusing on predicting the winner of the tournament. The familiar names have been thrown into the hat; India, South Africa and Australia - the three best teams in the world (think the Premier League's top four but with more actual competition).

T20 is a format of the game where genuinely any team can win - so even underdog nations like New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka are also being tipped to have a dart for the final. Hell, even Pakistan aren't being totally written off, despite two big defeats in warm up games. So we're left with one question: what chance does England have?

T20, much like all limited overs cricket, is hardly England's forté. In fact, one could go so far as to say that England have a miserable record in this, the shortest format of the game. However, as with all German national football teams and Take That comeback albums, write them off completely at you peril. England are the hosts and will benefit greatly from the home soil advantage. And, for once, the selectors seem to have picked the best players, going with a mix of England's established test stars and promising, young, county players with good T20 credentials.*

A player of such example is Sussex's Luke Wright. Wright made his England debut in 2007 at the Oval against India, scoring a blistering, counter-attacking fifty. He has since struggled to make any kind of meaningful impact (one innings last summer against New Zealand, aside) being shuffled around England's order to as low as eight and as high as being asked to open last summer. Unfortunately, his lack of technique was exposed by some canny new ball bowling and many were left believing his abilities were more suited as a lower order hitter.

Wright has, once again, been promoted to open the batting alongside Ravi Bopara for this years tournament and in the first warm-up game with Scotland, one feared that the same mistake had been made. Wright scratched around uncertainly, slogged at a few balls and was caught out trying to impose himself. Wright's head dropped, his critics' knives sharpened.

How it all changed in England's next practice. Set just under 150 to win by a poor West Indies effort, Wright went ballistic, mixing controlled aggression with sensible shot selection. He whacked an unbeaten 75 off just 48 balls, slamming five incredible sixes and eight fours.

If ever an innings defined a cricketer, then here was a prime example. Wright is known for his attacking nature - if batting purist Geoffrey Boycott ever tried to coach him, he's pull what's left of his hair out in frustration at the Sussex man's incessant desire to hit out. This may have led to his nagging inconsistency in 50 over cricket but, in this shortened version of the game, it could work wonders for him and his team.

With his partner Bopara very much a more classical, shot playing opener, England need a cold-blooded aggressor at the other end, someone willing to take risks. It works for Sri Lanka with Sanath Jayasuriya. It works for India with Virender Sehwag. Even the Aussies are trying it, with big hitting David Warner at the top of their innings.

Slogging out may not work for the all-rounder all the time but if Wednesday's innings was any evidence, when Wright gets it right (cliché-tastic), the results are explosive and highly profitable for England.

The hosts start this tournament as anything but favourites. But if Wright is able to fire on all cylinders like we know and hope he can, they could surprise a team or two and writing them off is a mistake. That being said, though, my money (if I had any) is on South Africa.

* - Many apologies. Rob Key is anything but young.