Yesterday was not a good day. We don’t mind when England lose (let’s face it, England defeats have hardly been a rare occurrence over the last decade) but off-field matters and the manner of the defeat have got right under my skin. Indeed, I think I could be the grumpiest man in the history of cricket. I’m even grumpier than Ian Botham when he signed for Worcestershire in 1987 without realising that the best cakes at New Road rarely leave the ladies pavilion. Someone has definitely stolen the jam from the Full Toss doughnut this morning – and here are the reasons why …
Ijaz Butt – his allegations definitely unsettled the England team yesterday. His ill advised rant was motivated by the fact that no concrete evidence has been presented to support the allegations made against Pakistan players. In that case, why does he think it’s appropriate to claim that the England team is corrupt – especially as he doesn’t even have a grainy image with a man holding wads of cash to support his argument? Furthermore, since when has it been fitting for a man in authority to resort to the playground logic that two wrongs makes a right? As a voice of the England cricket follower, we’d also like to remind Butt that England were kind enough to offer Pakistan a home from home this summer, and that without England, Pakistan might not have been able to play any games in recent months. All things considered, perhaps it’s a good thing that his tenure as chairman of the PCB is set to expire in a few weeks time.
Losing the toss (again) – which bright spark thought it would be a good idea to play day/night matches in early autumn? England’s pursuit of Pakistan’s total of 265 started brilliantly. Strauss and Davies put on 113 for the first wicket, but then the light started to fade. The result? Batting became extremely difficult and wickets started to tumble. Once a partnership gets broken under the floodlights at this time of year, it’s almost impossible for a new batsman to survive against 90mph swinging yorkers (let alone hit boundaries against them). It makes the match a bit of a lottery, since the team that wins the toss invariably wins the match. Ian Bell managed to execute a successful run chase for Warwickshire the other night, but Peter Trego and Alfonso Thomas, likeable though they are, are hardly Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul.
James Anderson and Tim Bresnan – if England want to win the world cup next year, our death bowlers are going to have to pull their socks up. Anderson and Bresnan simply fell apart in the last two overs and provided Abdul Razzaq with a feast (or buffet!) of low full tosses and longhops. As a result, a whopping 42 runs were scored in the last 12 balls. Anderson has generally bowled very well this summer, but doubts must remain about his temperament. He also bowls at a pace that batsmen enjoy, which is one of the reasons why he didn’t play a single game at the T20 world cup. Meanwhile, Bresnan needs to do more with the ball. He may bowl a relatively heavy ball at times, and appears to be reliable, but he is not the kind of bowler who will thrive on subcontinent wickets. Like Anderson, Bresnan bowls at approximately 85mph – and seamers of this ilk have very little margin for error on flat dry decks. This assessment may seem a little harsh, especially as England have won more games than they’ve lost this year, but a fans’ website wouldn’t be a fans’ website with a bit of exaggeration and over-analysis, right?!
Saeed Ajmal – Yes, nobody complained about his action when England were winning, but a fans’ ‘level of tolerance’ is often determined by how his team his faring. In this current series, Ajmal’s contributions in the middle of the innings have been crucial. Therefore some fans have started to question whether the rules that prevent Johan Botha from bowling his doosra should be applied to Ajmal. As it stands, the Pakistani spinner is allowed to bowl whatever he likes; he was recently cleared by the ICC’s biomechanical experts so the matter is closed. However, this hasn’t silenced the cynics. It’s hard to tell with the naked eye whether he is exceeding the 15 degrees of straightening permitted, but many experts believe that his doosra is close. In the meantime, Ajmal is busy winning matches for his team while a significant proportion of the paying public are shaking their heads in disbelief. This kind of controversy doesn’t do cricket any good at all – and it’s not improving our mood. The ICC needs to sort out the chucking issue as soon as it has purged any spot-fixers from the game.
James Morgan
