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After a nail-biting first two tests we are in for some contest for the last three tests. England’s nervous start to the campaign let the Aussies dominate in the first test, and their was big talk on how after that Australia will sail through 4-0 to win the Ashes, most notably from Glen McGrath who did say he found laughable England’s claims that they were the better and more complete side of the two before the contest. But now England have shown they are big contenders and maybe favourites we are in for a mouth watering 3 tests.
Team News
England have just received the shocking blow that the KP will miss the rest of the Ashes, Ian Bell is set to replace him in the team. This is quite bad news as he is one of very few players in the team who is a match winner. As proved in the last test Freddie Flintoff is the other. In other news Andrew Strauss has confirmed England won’t be using Monty Panesar for this test and he has been sent home to do his First Class cricket duties.
Apart from that one replacement it looks as though England will be unchanged from their win at Lords, Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad will be under the spotlight for not performing so well in the previous tests, but to be fair their really is no great replacement for them at this time, so the pressure will be off for now and hopefully this will give them freedom to perform better.
Australia will most likely keep the same team, in the first innings of the 2nd test their whole team collapsed so no individual can be blamed, this happens to every team once in a while. Mitchell Johnson has been in the spot light since the first test and their recent game against Worcestershire still causing problems for the Australian pace man, there are talks about Stuart Clark replacing him, so we will have to wait near to the end who will be Australia’s bowling line up. Brett Lee has been ruled out for the third test officially which is a shame as when it comes to pace he matches right up their with Flintoff. With Lee you can’t always guarantee wickets but you can guarantee pressure and a hitting the rib cage of the batsman at 95mph, lets hope to see him on the fourth.
Predictions
It is easy to get excited over England’s win in the last test, but people seem to forget the first test when Australia looked their usual dominating selves. This is a mistake England make all the time, they get hyped up over a win, the media go crazy and the fans start rejoicing in the view that they will be the best team in the world. Australia have a completely different view on winning, its normal to them, and this is why they do better.
England do look strong as a team, but this match will be the biggest test from them, because Australia will bounce back, they don’t like to lose, and people like Mitchell Johnson will be looking for revenge so this is key for him.
As a prediction to the way the pitch looks like its defiantly going to be a lot for batters and not much for the bowlers to work on, the pitch has dried over the last few weeks and their won’t be much for both spinners to work on.
Its hard to say overall but I say Australia should win this if not then the rain will take the game to a draw.
Pietersen's First ODI in charge of England
I wrote a previous article questioning the decesion to make KP England’s new captain for both Test Matches and ODI’s. All I can say now is: so far, so good! He’s really bought energy and life to the team and seems to have re-lit the spark that blew out after losing the Ashes 5-0 down under.
Their previous victory was most convincing as they won by 10 wickets against an average looking South African side. I may be jumping the gun a little by saying he’s an excellent captain as some questions still need to be answered by KP (e.g. tactics), but he has seemed to keep his game where it was.
We see a lot of captains fail in their area of expertise after being appointed and the biggest fear by putting Pietersen as capitano was a possible dip in batting form. But now we see better bowling figures from him as well as maintaining good form whilst batting.
It may just be that Pietersen knows how to play against South Africa, or that they were just playing well below par when England were at their best. But as an England fan I hope it’s just that KP knows how to lift his team and with his figure can intimidate other nations. Let’s hope he can carry this form no matter what team he plays and regains the Ashes.
Come on England!!!!
Over the past few years, cricket itself has taken the country by storm (mainly because of England’s Ashes victory). However, during that time, more and more people have been getting into the limited overs version of the game, mainly Twenty20. This form of cricket is both entertaining and quick so the crowds love it. Due to this increase interest in Twenty20, the reputation and audience for test cricket has declined.
A lot of people would agree that test cricket is the best form of the game as it’s a true examination of players abilities both with pure talent, skill and endurance. It can also be fun to watch with certain players like KP and Flintoff’s aggresive attitude. However, not everyone has five days to watch a game of cricket which a lot of the time ends in a draw. That being said, only the best of the best play test cricket whereas everyone plays the limited overs.
But test cricket seems to be dying. You can even see this from the cricketers themselves. Great names like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne coming out of retirement to play in the IPL (Indian Premier League). Even all of the English players would of played if they didn’t have some random thing in their contract that says they couldn’t.
The end of test cricket won’t be taken lightly and players such as Rahul Dravid (test match specialists) will be effected the most. And it would be a sad end because it can be very enjoyable to watch. If the players don’t want the game to end, they have to do something about it themselves and not play Twenty20.
There’s no doubt that Kevin Pietersen is one of the best batsmen in the world. He took Flintoff’s place as the “Beckham of the cricket world” but does he have all the makings of a good captain. Michael Vaughan was an amazing tactician and one of the best I’ve ever seen. As well as filling his shoes, KP must bring something new to the England setup. So does he have the makings of a good captain?
All the players will respect KP from the off-set as he has the presence and command that a captain needs. This is vital as if the players don’t follow him then he will never be successful. In addition to this, he has the other key factor of ‘inspirational’. When England look down, Pietersen can change a game and lift the teams spirits. We also know that he won’t be afraid to take risks and try new things. Although this could work against him and the team, it could pay dividends.
So Pietersen has respect, authority, inspiration and risk taking. Is this enough? Well tactics are a major part in all three forms of cricket but in test matches it is pivotal. As KP hasn’t got much captaincy experience, we don’t know if he has this. If he does, then England have a perfect captain. If he doesn’t, England will either get away with it or shoot themselves in the foot.
As The Doc mentioned in a previous post, KP may be a ‘David Beckham’ style captain in that he’ll be all about presence and leading by example. One thing is for sure. Kevin Pietersen is not Michael Vaughan. He will bring fresh ideas with his decent cricketing brain as well as enthusiasm and energy. Maybe he can spark some life into the England squad.
Thursday will be an interesting encounter between England and South Africa in the fourth test of the series. KP will want to get off to a winning start and South Africa will probably stop at nothing to prevent that. England have nothing to lose in this match so you may see some new ideas thrown in already.
News is just breaking through that the England Test Captain Michael Vaughan has stepped down and will not play in the final test match against South Africa. Test match cricket unlike T20 or the traditional one day games is all about tactics and setting traps.
I personally believe Vaughan is the master tactician, his ability with the bat has been question over the last couple of months. However his batting is technically very, very good. I remember when he first started his England career he always shown great potential, the way he conducted himself and spoke to other players. The press and (obv) selectors begin to see this guy good be a great leader. Undoubtably his best achievement was when he won back the Ashes and what a a tournament that was!
I hope the press do not dismiss his contribution over the years to English Cricket, has been an inspiration figure who has always been a great leader for England.
Briefly thinking about replacements…
- Flintoff: Needs to prove his fitness, however it was great seeing the Freddy of old scaring the life out of the SA batsmen
- Collingwood: Has not performed well enough with the Bat, nor has he really impressed at leading in one day Version.
- Strauss: Currently the Vice-caption, If I was a batting man (and I am) I would put money on Strauss. However, I’m not sure the 31 year-old would be a long term appointment. Surely the selectors would be looking for a younger caption.
- Pietersen: Would be a Beckham style leader, however I am not convinced with his level of tactical knowledge.
- Cook & Bell: Two wild cards, both have played very well at both forms cricket.
I strongly believe the selectors should look at youngish captain who can build a team to take on the world. Appointing someone like Strauss would be an conservative decision. Back to Vaughan, good batsman, great tactician and awesome leader!
Here is what someone else thinks: Yahoo! Eurosport
