The Googly

Thunder Downunder: West Indies tour squad announced

In their infinite collective wisdom the Australian selection committee recently announced the touring squad to tour the West Indies beginning in May.

There were few surprises in the squad with Simon Katich and Stuart MacGill returning to the Test squad and David Hussey and Shaun Marsh earning their first tour with the ODI squad.

Most interest has centred on 25 year old left-arm wrist spinner Beau Casson. Like MacGill, Casson left his home state of Western Australia to try his luck on the big turning Sydney pitch and after only one complete season it has paid a handsome dividend.

Capable of prodigious turn and with a well disguised wrong'un Casson is also a more than handy bat as his 88 in the Pura Cup final showed.

It is a grand chance for the young man to race ahead of young spinning rivals Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey and if MacGill, only two matches back from surgery, aggravates his tender wrist then Beau Casson may get a red carpet ride into the Baggygreen brigade.  Full squads over the jump...

TEST SQUAD
Ricky Ponting (c) TAS 33yrs
Michael Clarke (vc) NSW 26yrs
Beau Casson NSW 25 yrs
Stuart Clark NSW 32 yrs
Brad Haddin (wk) NSW 30yrs
Matthew Hayden QLD 36yrs
Ben Hilfenhaus TAS 25yrs
Michael Hussey WA 32yrs
Phil Jaques NSW 28yrs
Michell Johnson QLD 26yrs
Simon Katich NSW 32yrs
Brett Lee NSW 31yrs
Stuart MacGill NSW 37yrs
Ashley Noffke QLD 30yrs
Andrew Symonds QLD 32yrs

LIMITED OVERS SQUAD
Ricky Ponting (c) TAS 33yrs
Michael Clarke (vc) NSW 26yrs
Nathan Bracken NSW 30yrs
Stuart Clark NSW 32 yrs
Brad Haddin (wk) NSW 30yrs
Matthew Hayden QLD 36yrs
James Hopes QLD 29yrs
David Hussey VIC 30yrs
Michael Hussey WA 32yrs
Michell Johnson QLD 26yrs
Brett Lee NSW 31yrs
Shaun Marsh WA 24yrs
Andrew Symonds QLD 32yrs
Cameron White VIC 24yrs

[Nesta Quin] [Image:Getty]

The ICC Under-19 World Cup Update Five

I'm sure that Mssrs Duckworth and Lewis are very decent chaps, but you don't want them turning up at your party do you? Such was the fate of the latter stages of the Under-19 World Cup, with Malaysian rain ending the tournament unsatisfactorily. India will be pleased with their win and deserve congratulation, as does the ICC for taking the showcase to an emerging cricket nation.

Our beautiful picture shows Jason Gillespie leaving the field one last time after a dazzling career throughout which he never lost sight of the fact that cricket was a game, despite injuries that must have tested even his resolve. He deserves a longer tribute than this and a happy retirement.

The Trumpet too steps off the field of play having enjoyed every minute of his time at The Googly. It's been my great pleasure to have written many posts, mostly under the Performance of the Day banner, recently under the Key Moment header and as the Betting Coach. My great thanks to the Editor, Lee Calvert, fellow writers Mimitig, Carrie Dunn, the one and only Nestaquin and for the many comments I have read with great interest from the likes of The Doc, Third Umpire, Miriam and even Pepp! I'll still be here, but mainly below the line - I hope to see you all there very soon.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

The ICC Under-19 World Cup Update Four

That rather nervous young man, who looks just a little like Glenn McGrath, is New Zealand's Tim Southee. Just turned 19, he is a precocious talent whom New Zealand must be tempted to throw into the Test arena after his successful international bow in the T20 games vs England.

Even he wasn't able to carry New Zealand into the Final of the Under-19 World Cup, as India Duckworth-Lewised their way past the boys from the Land of the Long White Cloud to book their place for Sunday. They'll wait for the winners of the semi-final between The Trumpet's favourites, Pakistan and the Parnell-led Saffers. We'll keep you in the loop at The Googly over the weekend.

Elsewhere in Malaysia, England's boys play-off for fifth place on Saturday. That wouldn't usually matter, except that the opponents are, you've guessed it, Australia.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

England vs New Zealand Fifth ODI - The Key Moment

At some point, an England think-tank must have been convened to discuss powerplay cricket. Knowing that the only overs guaranteed to be powerplay overs are the first ten, no doubt the top order and the opening bowlers were subjects of some import.

So how do England end up so frequently with Cook and Bell at the crease looking like Dads at a rave, so ill-suited are they to the strokes powerplay cricket rewards? Then, come England's turn to bowl, Jimmy's inability to deliver any kind of consistent line and length and Broad's inability to react to batsmen looking to hit boundaries are exposed over and over again by high class players and Jesse Ryder (right).

The key moment of the Fifth ODI was the planning meeting which led to England's powerplay strategy - it's hard to over-emphasise just how big a contrast there was last night between England's batting and bowling in the powerplays compared to that outside the powerplays. Much food for thought for Colly and his two wicketkeeper coaches.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

England vs New Zealand Fourth ODI - The Key Moment

680 runs in a day, strokes aplenty, even cricket's rarest result (the tie) bundled together in what David Lloyd would describe as "all the fun of the fair" - what's not to like? Not much to be honest, but dig a little deeper and an awkward truth emerges once more.

When Brendon McCullum dropped the dolliest of catches off Alastair Cook, everyone knew that it was a key moment - unfortunately, it was the key moment from New Zealand's perspective. On a splendid pitch (why can't they all be like that - it's 2008 FFS) with short boundaries, batsmen had everything in their favour. Of the eleven batsmen who faced ten balls or more, eight had a strike rate over 100, with just a limping McCullum at 89 and Vettori at 93 not managing a run a ball. Oh, and Alastair Cook, who made a decent score (69) but at a pedestrian rate (78).

Okay it's not his role to blast away, but I am unconvinced that Cook has any role in ODI cricket as played in the age of T20. Had McCullum held on to the sitter, one presumes Dimi would have had a go towards the end and I suspect he would have scored at a bit over 78 - and thus secured the win.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

The ICC Under-19 World Cup Update One

Whilst the cricket world's attention is taken by the three best Limited Overs teams slugging it out as the CB Series chugs around Australia, the Under-19 World Cup is underway in Malaysia. The Googly will bring you regular updates over the next fortnight as the Bright Young Things clash.

England's campaign is already off to a winning start. Their first group match saw the bowlers (led by potential Man of the Tournament, James Harris) dismiss the Irish lads for 109 in just 31 overs. Abetted by too many wides, English openers Billy Godleman and "Sweet Baby James" Taylor (right) got England over the line at a run a ball. A good, if predictable start for the England Cubs (well, if the ECB insist on calling the A squad the England Lions...)

Elsewhere India brushed aside Papua New Guinea, Australia did the same to Nambia and the home side were annihilated by the Trumpet's tip for the trophy, Pakistan.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

England Lions whimper

The England Lions completed their Duleep Trophy schedule with a nine wickets drubbing at the hands of West Zone's fringe international players.

England won the toss and batted, compiling a handy 355 based on captain Michael Yardy's 169. This knock revealed a flaw in the concept of the Lions, as even Michael Yardy's Valentine sweetheart wouldn't expect him to play Test cricket, so, frankly, what's the point? West Zone replied with big hundreds for Wasim "Thank God I don't have to face Brett Lee again" Jaffer and the teenage Rahane. Monty and Rashid (right) shared six pricey wickets. England's second dig was dismal - all out for 165 with only Ed Joyce's 66 and Rashid's 39 worthy of mention. Irfan Pathan's elder brother Yusuf did the damage with five wickets. West Zone then occupied 14.2 overs accumulating their 28 runs for the easy win - I'll bet that went down well.

So England's up and comers have a feel for an overseas tour, but they also know what it's like to lose. Adil Rashid looks the most likely to graduate to the Test XI and Monty lacks penetration. One wonders if it's all worthwhile.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

England vs New Zealand Second ODI - The Key Moment

The key moment in the Second ODI was obviously when, as forecasted, the shower turned up in Hamilton.

They proceeded to win the toss, engineer a strong position before the rain break then fell apart (again). England are not as good as we thought they were after the T20 victories - and the boys pictured on the right are much, much better.

England need to win the last three ODIs to secure the series - more realistically, they need to make 200 to secure credibility.

[The Tooting Trumpet] {Image: Getty]

England vs New Zealand First ODI - The Key Moment

So you're a member of the England team management and you sit down to decide what team to play at Wellington's Westpac Stadium in the First ODI. You're feeling jaunty because you've just seen England win two T20 matches, one by 50 runs, the other by 32 runs. You look at recent matches at the Westpac and you see opposition scores of 148 (Australia 2007), 207 (West Indies 2006), and 203 (Sri Lanka 2006). You surmise that it won't be easy to score runs and that the batsmen will have to seize the initiative early on and make New Zealand believe the T20 hammerings never stopped.

So what do you do? You drop England's two fastest scoring charging power-hitters (Luke Wright and Dimi Mascarenhas) and pack the side with nudgers and nurdlers who like to stand in the crease and score square of the wicket (Mustard, Cook, Bell, Shah, Bopara). With no pace to work with, England's top order are emasculated, England are 34-1 after 10 overs and 60-3 after 20 overs, the powerplays are gone and New Zealand had assumed a control they would never relinquish.

So, even in the short form of the game, the key moment happened off the field. England decided on the wrong team and the game was lost. Unlike some cricket nations, England do not possess the wit nor the talent to correct such errors on the field and paid a full price.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]   

England under-19s fail to impress, again

On the 27th Jan, Pakistan's juniors took on Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo and won by an impressive nine wickets. A couple of days before that England had failed to capitalize on their previous good form and lost to Sri Lanka.

So what hope today was there for the so highly rated England boys as they played Sri Lanka again? Well bloody nothing really. Sri Lanka won the toss and batted first. James Harris struck early and removed multi-initialled EMGDY Munaweera for just 6, but his companion Chandimal hit 10 fours and one six on his way to an unbeaten 112. Sri Lanka posted a total of 312 - the highest I think in this Tri-Nation's series and England had a lot to do.

They didn't do much. Wakely out for a duck, Ben Brown (to my utter disappointment) only made 12 and Sam Northeast (who does sound like part of the Shipping Forecast) was top scorer with 32. England lost by 158 runs and my only comfort is that Billy Godleman was not playing. So many hopes for the future lie on that young man's shoulders that we can imagine that he would have won the game for us single-battedly.

A pretty miserable preparation for the World Cup - I can only hope that it will all go better for the boys there.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

The ICC Under-19 World Cup Update Four

That rather nervous young man, who looks just a little like Glenn McGrath, is New Zealand's Tim Southee. Just turned 19, he is a precocious talent whom New Zealand must be tempted to throw into the Test arena after his successful international bow in the T20 games vs England.

Even he wasn't able to carry New Zealand into the Final of the Under-19 World Cup, as India Duckworth-Lewised their way past the boys from the Land of the Long White Cloud to book their place for Sunday. They'll wait for the winners of the semi-final between The Trumpet's favourites, Pakistan and the Parnell-led Saffers. We'll keep you in the loop at The Googly over the weekend.

Elsewhere in Malaysia, England's boys play-off for fifth place on Saturday. That wouldn't usually matter, except that the opponents are, you've guessed it, Australia.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

England vs New Zealand Fifth ODI - The Key Moment

At some point, an England think-tank must have been convened to discuss powerplay cricket. Knowing that the only overs guaranteed to be powerplay overs are the first ten, no doubt the top order and the opening bowlers were subjects of some import.

So how do England end up so frequently with Cook and Bell at the crease looking like Dads at a rave, so ill-suited are they to the strokes powerplay cricket rewards? Then, come England's turn to bowl, Jimmy's inability to deliver any kind of consistent line and length and Broad's inability to react to batsmen looking to hit boundaries are exposed over and over again by high class players and Jesse Ryder (right).

The key moment of the Fifth ODI was the planning meeting which led to England's powerplay strategy - it's hard to over-emphasise just how big a contrast there was last night between England's batting and bowling in the powerplays compared to that outside the powerplays. Much food for thought for Colly and his two wicketkeeper coaches.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

England vs New Zealand Fourth ODI - The Key Moment

680 runs in a day, strokes aplenty, even cricket's rarest result (the tie) bundled together in what David Lloyd would describe as "all the fun of the fair" - what's not to like? Not much to be honest, but dig a little deeper and an awkward truth emerges once more.

When Brendon McCullum dropped the dolliest of catches off Alastair Cook, everyone knew that it was a key moment - unfortunately, it was the key moment from New Zealand's perspective. On a splendid pitch (why can't they all be like that - it's 2008 FFS) with short boundaries, batsmen had everything in their favour. Of the eleven batsmen who faced ten balls or more, eight had a strike rate over 100, with just a limping McCullum at 89 and Vettori at 93 not managing a run a ball. Oh, and Alastair Cook, who made a decent score (69) but at a pedestrian rate (78).

Okay it's not his role to blast away, but I am unconvinced that Cook has any role in ODI cricket as played in the age of T20. Had McCullum held on to the sitter, one presumes Dimi would have had a go towards the end and I suspect he would have scored at a bit over 78 - and thus secured the win.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

The ICC Under-19 World Cup Update One

Whilst the cricket world's attention is taken by the three best Limited Overs teams slugging it out as the CB Series chugs around Australia, the Under-19 World Cup is underway in Malaysia. The Googly will bring you regular updates over the next fortnight as the Bright Young Things clash.

England's campaign is already off to a winning start. Their first group match saw the bowlers (led by potential Man of the Tournament, James Harris) dismiss the Irish lads for 109 in just 31 overs. Abetted by too many wides, English openers Billy Godleman and "Sweet Baby James" Taylor (right) got England over the line at a run a ball. A good, if predictable start for the England Cubs (well, if the ECB insist on calling the A squad the England Lions...)

Elsewhere India brushed aside Papua New Guinea, Australia did the same to Nambia and the home side were annihilated by the Trumpet's tip for the trophy, Pakistan.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

England Lions whimper

The England Lions completed their Duleep Trophy schedule with a nine wickets drubbing at the hands of West Zone's fringe international players.

England won the toss and batted, compiling a handy 355 based on captain Michael Yardy's 169. This knock revealed a flaw in the concept of the Lions, as even Michael Yardy's Valentine sweetheart wouldn't expect him to play Test cricket, so, frankly, what's the point? West Zone replied with big hundreds for Wasim "Thank God I don't have to face Brett Lee again" Jaffer and the teenage Rahane. Monty and Rashid (right) shared six pricey wickets. England's second dig was dismal - all out for 165 with only Ed Joyce's 66 and Rashid's 39 worthy of mention. Irfan Pathan's elder brother Yusuf did the damage with five wickets. West Zone then occupied 14.2 overs accumulating their 28 runs for the easy win - I'll bet that went down well.

So England's up and comers have a feel for an overseas tour, but they also know what it's like to lose. Adil Rashid looks the most likely to graduate to the Test XI and Monty lacks penetration. One wonders if it's all worthwhile.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

England vs New Zealand Second ODI - The Key Moment

The key moment in the Second ODI was obviously when, as forecasted, the shower turned up in Hamilton.

They proceeded to win the toss, engineer a strong position before the rain break then fell apart (again). England are not as good as we thought they were after the T20 victories - and the boys pictured on the right are much, much better.

England need to win the last three ODIs to secure the series - more realistically, they need to make 200 to secure credibility.

[The Tooting Trumpet] {Image: Getty]

England vs New Zealand First ODI - The Key Moment

So you're a member of the England team management and you sit down to decide what team to play at Wellington's Westpac Stadium in the First ODI. You're feeling jaunty because you've just seen England win two T20 matches, one by 50 runs, the other by 32 runs. You look at recent matches at the Westpac and you see opposition scores of 148 (Australia 2007), 207 (West Indies 2006), and 203 (Sri Lanka 2006). You surmise that it won't be easy to score runs and that the batsmen will have to seize the initiative early on and make New Zealand believe the T20 hammerings never stopped.

So what do you do? You drop England's two fastest scoring charging power-hitters (Luke Wright and Dimi Mascarenhas) and pack the side with nudgers and nurdlers who like to stand in the crease and score square of the wicket (Mustard, Cook, Bell, Shah, Bopara). With no pace to work with, England's top order are emasculated, England are 34-1 after 10 overs and 60-3 after 20 overs, the powerplays are gone and New Zealand had assumed a control they would never relinquish.

So, even in the short form of the game, the key moment happened off the field. England decided on the wrong team and the game was lost. Unlike some cricket nations, England do not possess the wit nor the talent to correct such errors on the field and paid a full price.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]   

England under-19s fail to impress, again

On the 27th Jan, Pakistan's juniors took on Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo and won by an impressive nine wickets. A couple of days before that England had failed to capitalize on their previous good form and lost to Sri Lanka.

So what hope today was there for the so highly rated England boys as they played Sri Lanka again? Well bloody nothing really. Sri Lanka won the toss and batted first. James Harris struck early and removed multi-initialled EMGDY Munaweera for just 6, but his companion Chandimal hit 10 fours and one six on his way to an unbeaten 112. Sri Lanka posted a total of 312 - the highest I think in this Tri-Nation's series and England had a lot to do.

They didn't do much. Wakely out for a duck, Ben Brown (to my utter disappointment) only made 12 and Sam Northeast (who does sound like part of the Shipping Forecast) was top scorer with 32. England lost by 158 runs and my only comfort is that Billy Godleman was not playing. So many hopes for the future lie on that young man's shoulders that we can imagine that he would have won the game for us single-battedly.

A pretty miserable preparation for the World Cup - I can only hope that it will all go better for the boys there.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

The start of the Commonwealth Bank Series

For anyone of English or Welsh heritage, the thought of the Commonwealth Bank Series will bring back heady memories of last winter. After the humiliating, though predictable, 5-0 Ashes whitewash, and the very poor start for England in the CB series, very few of us would have predicted seeing Paul Collingwood leading the troops to victory. A very important victory no less. This was a trophy England had not set paws on for 20 years. It shocked us fans, shocked Australia and probably shocked the cricketing world.

England are not supposed to win anything, specially overseas, so it really was something a bit special.

This year the CB Series is to be contested by Australia, India and Sri Lanka, and a very interesting series it could turn out to be. Presumably there will be no Adam Gilchrist in the Australian side and with tensions still high between Australia and India - well fireworks could be the order of the day.

The Sri Lankan squad have just arrived on Australian shores and will be keen to both disassociate themselves from the race row that has somewhat sullied the Indian tour, and the 2-0 Test defeat they suffered at Australia's hands a scant three months ago.

Of course, since then Sri Lanka have bounced back from that defeat and the One-day series defeat they incurred at England's hands to win the Test series against England. They face their first challenge on Wednesday when they play a warm-up game against the Prime Minister's XI due to be captained by Victoria's Cameron White.

Selfishly, I don't give a toss what happens in that match. I'm just hoping that by the time they get to the MCG on 22nd Feb, it'll be all to play for because that's when I'll be there!

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Close call for England Under-19s

Two days ago, this Googly correspondent was singing the praises of young Billy Godleman after his match-winning performance against Sri Lanka in England Under-19s warm-up match for the pre-World Cup Triangular competition. I was fairly sure that Billy would be the stand-out player when the tournament proper got underway, but not to be today.

England's juniors scraped a win over Pakistan (who yesterday beat Sri Lanka fairly comprehensively by 83 runs) by a narrow margin of just 16 runs.

And the bulk of these came courtesy of the bat of Sussex's 19-year-old Ben Brown. Ben is mostly categorised as a wicketkeeper and has only one First-class match to his name: last summer when he scored 46 against Sri Lanka A. Today he came to the rescue as the top order failed to fire and only Dan Redfern and Chris Woakes made double figures. Ben hit a stonking 93 not out off 105 balls, with nine fours and a six.

Far too early in his career to claim him as the next keeper/batsman, but not a bad start. England's total was 213 and after Pakistan's performance yesterday, one might have given them the edge but Tom Westley's (pictured) removal of top order bat Umair Mir was vital and 17-year-old Liam Dawson's three for 47 along with James Harris's removals of opener Ahmed Shehzad and tail-ender Adil Raza secured the victory for England.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

The England ODI squad - Ticking over nicely

Lest we forget, it's less than 12 months since England beat Australia in an ODI tournament (and here's a photo to prove it - yes, that is Jamie Dalrymple on the right). Since then England have endured yet another hideous World Cup campaign, lost to the Windies during the World Cup hangover, then revived to beat India 4-3 at home and Sri Lanka 3-2 away in two very hard fought series. Overall, that's not bad, so we weren't expecting radical surgery to the ODI set-up and the selectors haven't let us down.

Over the jump, you'll find the squad for New Zealand and the Trumpet's view.

P Collingwood (Captain) - Dazzling fielder who can bat as the situation demands. His canny bowling is improving. He can expect a lot of work (perhaps too much). 

T Ambrose - Hits it hard and must, just must, be a better keeper than Prior, but probably won't play.

J Anderson - His pace is not too quick nor too bouncy to hit, but is just right to flash to the boundary off the heavy bats. Needs to take wickets and plenty of them.

I Bell - England's best batsmen vs India, but still inconsistent.

R Bopara - Showed he had what it takes when partnering Stuart Broad in an unforgettable chase vs India, but needs more runs after a disappointing start to his Test career.

S Broad - See R Bopara above and replace runs with wickets.

A Cook (Essex) - Can be one paced in the ODI game so needs to play the game situation better. Class undoubted, so should soon work it out.

D Mascarenhas - Five sixes off Yuvraj shows what he can do, but there's a nagging doubt that he's not quite good enough in either discipline

P Mustard - The Colonel will take the gloves and will need to show that he's at least 75% Gilly. So far we've seen 50% Gilly and that's not quite enough.

K Pietersen - Will be targetted and with good reason. He is still England's best bat, but needs to rediscover the hunger for runs.

O Shah - As ever, playing for his place, but his beautifully constructed ton at the Oval rescued England from 83-4 and set India 317 and showed what's there.

R Sidebottom - England's find of the season will need to use plenty of nous to keep McCullum, Oram and co quiet, but has the craft and the fire required.

G Swann - Proved his legion of ill-wishers wrong in Sri Lanka where he averaged 28 with the bat at 87 and 22 with the ball at 3.9: batting and bowling when he did, they are outstanding figures. Needs to back that up with another good series to be a fixture in the ODI team and press for a Test spot.

J Tredwell - Wild card. Good season for Kent, but perhaps too much like Swann in style and too much like Mascarenhas in class.

C Tremlett - Still somewhat diffident, but his bounce will trouble batsmen. Dire fielding may go against him.

L Wright - When he comes off with the bat, he can be spectacular, though English cricket seldom appreciates the value of 40 off 25 balls. Good fielder and very sharp, if erratic, in his underused bowling. Will go head-to-head with McCullum as sluggers (if selected).

No Monty, no Strauss and no Vaughan, of course - ODI cricket is different and England are slowly learning that lesson (again).

The Trumpet's verdict - a good squad, possibly a little heavy on pace (dibbly-dobblers go for fewer) and a bit short of outstanding fielders. Might be another tight series.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

Performance of the Day - Andre Nel

Andre Nel isn't everyone's cup of tea, but like his forebear in the comedy sledging and gurning, Merv Hughes, he hides a very big heart behind the antics.

Never was that more clear than today when his South African team-mates were 9/10s of the way towards yet another choke against Vettori's Kiwis. Nel faced up to his first ball with 11 needed off the last over. After a swing and a miss, a dropped catch for one run and a single taken by Mark Boucher, nine were needed off three balls. Away went the left leg, down came the bat and two deliveries were despatched to the extra cover boundary. With one to win off the final ball, Nel made the necessary connection and scampered a single to win the match for his country.

Much more talented players than Nel would have blown their chances (as South Africa know better than most) but today was his. A win and a PotD for the pantomime villain.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

Performance of the Day: Murali Kartik

There is always a problem with dead rubber games - in any sport. Actually in some sports they don't even bother to play them. But today India took on Australia again, despite Saturday's series winning performance from the Downunder boys, and not only made a match of it, but won. By two wickets. Murali Kartik took six Australian wickets for just 27, helping to peg the Aussies to 193 all out.

It all looked very bad for India as the top order collapsed. Ganguly and Karthick went for ducks, Yuvraj (who has not found form at all) for only 15, and my hope was Robin Uthappa - but he fell to Pup for 47 (10 shy of Punter's hit).

It seemed all over, but Kartik and Zaheer combined well, and Murali's 21 eased India to victory. In, maybe, a match that does not matter, but for pride, India needed to win this.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

The Thunder Downunder: Australia's Most Wanted

In Australia we love a villian. A few summers back most of the continent became infatuated with the antics of South African hard-man Andre Nel. He loved the contest and generously dished up his aggressive and abrasive brand of cricket to both the Australian team and crowds. He naturally received plenty in return but always saw the humour of the situation and knew that the theatrics were just that, a bit of fun. Many a hot confrontation was defused with a devlish grin.

At a packed partying MCG under a hot holiday sun Brett Lee repeatedly bounced big Andre. It was great entertainment as Lee exaggerated his follow-through after each delivery that Andre had to duck, fend and swerve. Every time their eyes locked, the combatants, although in a tense battle, would exchange a few well chosen words followed by a smile. 

It was wonderful and extraordinarily competitive cricket and the crowd and the players enjoyed it immensely. It never detracted from the contest because there was respect on both sides. Respect for themselves, their opponents and most importantly, for wearing their nation’s cap on one of cricket’s grandest stages.

Keith Miller, Australia’s finest allrounder, when asked by English chat-show host and unabashed fan Michael Parkinson to describe the secret to his success not only on the cricket field but during fierce mortal air battles during World War II, leaned forward and replied in a soft self-assured tone, “Respect yourself and your efforts for self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both of these qualities then you have real power at your fingertips”. This is a lesson that Indian opening bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth seems destined to learn the hard way.

Sreesanth’s behaviour against the Australians during the last three encounters has been, to put it mildly, bizarre. He cannot fathom that there is a difference between hard aggressive cricket and immature petulance. It’s understandable that he wants to take the game to the Australians but the young man seems confused at what this exactly entails.

His exaggerated send-off of Hayden and Gilchrist in South Africa earned him a monetary fine and left Hayden seething and Gilchrist bemused. His crazed send off at Kochi, his home ground, and childish unsporting attempt to run out Symonds left the Queenslander indignant and feral.

Sreesanth is a hero to millions of kids and their parents in his home province and the example he set during the second ODI was perhaps the most appalling behaviour I have ever seen on a cricket field. Despite assurances from a clearly frustrated Indian captain MS Dhoni that all was well Sreesanth was deservedly dropped for the next encounter, a match India won by eight runs, their first ODI win against Australia in three years. 

Making Sreesanth twelfth man however, did not stop his over the top attempts to sledge the World Champions. After Andrew Symonds dismissal, Sreesanth waited for Symonds in the players race and abused him while clapping his hands just centimetres from the Queenslander’s face. This baffling unsporting behaviour is something I’ve never seen in even club or grade cricket and there is no place for abuse and sledging outside the boundary. No exceptions. All it displays is a complete lack of class and incredible immaturity. If Sreesanth is allowed without penalty to continue this sordid behaviour then it is only a matter of time before a batsman, in the heat of the moment, violently assaults him with the willow.

The Indians complained about sledging on their recent tour of England and again against Australia but the evidence on this tour is that the Indians are the instigators and most blatant offenders. They cry foul that their opponents have spoken ‘harsh words’ on the field but when they trangress themselves they are full of excuses and empty platitudes.

Australians do play hard on the field but without exception they shake hands, congratulate or commiserate with their opponents at match end and extend an invitation for a shared and well-earned cold beer. This pattern of behaviour is evident at all levels of Australian sport and it is a proven, healthy and respectful way to treat your opponents. Never would behaviour like Sressanth’s be accepted or excused. 

Sreesanth through his petulance is now Australia’s most wanted and I predict that his time Downunder later this year will not be a pleasant one. He has earnt the ire of Ponting and the nation and there is little doubt that if he plays in Test matches then he will be targeted by Tait, Lee, Clark and Johnson. Perhaps they’ll knock some sense into him. Time will tell.

[Nesta Quin] [Image: Getty]   

Six out - all out?

It has long been The Trumpet's contention that Number 8 is a key batting position for all teams in all forms of cricket, but especially England whose top order is more fragile than most. Today's win against the Lankans was a perfect example of an innings being rescued, then scoreboard pressure, disciplined bowling and good fielding getting the job done. No wonder Colly is high-fiving Swanny (right).

So how important is the contribution from the last four wickets? In England's 12 ODIs since the World Cup, they have won six and lost six (typical). In the matches won, the last four wickets have contributed 64 runs per innings (excluding two matches in which England did not lose their sixth wicket). In the matches lost, England's last four wickets contributed 58 runs. Now six runs isn't much, but isn't 14 the average of a bowler who can hold a bat and 20 the average of a bowler who bats? Six is also the difference between Liam Plunkett's first class average and Graeme Swann's. Those six runs matter.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

Performance of the Day: Owais Shah

On the days when England and Sri Lanka are battling it out, PotD is focussing on those matches, so it will probably come as no surprise to find that today's award goes to Man of the Match Owais Shah. England's top order continued their less-than-inspiring performances, and we were looking decidedly shaky at 61-4 when Shah came to the crease in the 19th over. However, ably supported by Paul Collingwood and Graeme Swann, Shah made 82 off 92 balls (including five boundaries) and did most of the work to set up a total of 234 which certainly gave the bowlers a decent platform to work from.

Somewhat to my surprise, and thanks perhaps should go to Ottis Gibson, they were up to the task and Sideshow, Colly, Stuart Broad (bless him) and Swann each came away with a brace. The final wicket fell, fittingly perhaps, to a quality run-out by Collingwood, who displayed fine captaincy skills throughout.

The only other possible contender for today's prize was Graeme Swann who not only contributed with the bat but his bowling accounted for the big wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan and was a model of control exemplified by the 31st over. Five dot balls and just a single off the sixth.

So far an excellent return to international cricket.

TMS commentator Dougie Brown reminded us that this was England's first win on Sri Lankan soil for 25 years. Let's hope we don't have to wait as long for the next.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

The Thunder Downunder: Almost Home

The boys and I have now concluded our hugely successful tour of South East Asia and after a few days surfing at Kuta later this week we will be returning back to the Shed bronzed, fit and in form ready for the beginning of the Australian season. And what a season! Tasmania will be attempting to defend their inaugural title, a T20 Champions League is promised in addition to Test matches against Sri Lanka and India followed by a triangular ODI series containing the same teams. That’s a lot of quality cricket to digest.

Australia are continuing on their merry way despite the belated monsoon lashing southern India. In their first match - there were no practice matches scheduled - after their T20 semi-final exit, the Gilchrist-led Aussies put on a solid performance after a scratchy start. The top order all struggled primarily because of Sreesanth’s erratic bowling. The Indian new ball bowler was pumped and quick and his overs were all over the shop. Hodge’s wicket was illustrative of this Tait-like pattern. Sreesanth bowled two wides, one on the off and the other on the leg, before trapping Hodge in front with an almost unplayable late inswinger. Symond’s dismissal was similar. 

It was a blessing in disguise. Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and James Hopes all spent time in the centre and the Australian middle order comeback displayed the depth and grit within the Australian system. Missing from last year’s triumphant Champions Trophy and World Cup winning team was McGrath, Ponting, Bracken, Hussey, Tait and Watson. For the mathematically challenged that’s more than half the team. No matter. There are dozens of cricketers of international class playing domestic cricket and when one falls or fails there are others with the ability, enthusiasm and temperament to impress on cricket’s biggest stages.

Michael Clarke’s innings was the most impressive. Coming in with the score at 18/2 he was dismissed run out off the last ball for a stunning and beautifully crafted limited-overs knock of 130 from 132 balls. His driving through the covers was exquisite and anything loose was quickly dispatched to the ropes. Haddin joined him with Australia precariously poised at 90/4 in the 17th over and they both played intelligently and courageously throughout what the less educated cricket followers call the boring middle overs. Their 144 run partnership was cricket of the highest calibre and it was finally broken in the 42nd over when Haddin was stumped trying to hit Yuvraj into the packed and cacophonic terraces of Bangalore’s 60,000 capacity Chinnaswamy Stadium. Hopes joined Clarke and the pair added a further 73 in a controlled and chanceless last eight overs and when the innings ended Australia had recovered quite brilliantly to post a score of 307.

Unfortunately, the match was washed out soon after the Indian innings began but not before Mitchell Johnson, in his first crack for his nation with the new ball, dismissed Tendulkar with a perfect left-armer’s delivery after a very fine over. He bowled Sachin four away swingers in succession before getting one to go the other way.  It was reminiscent of his mentor Dennis Lillee and his tremendously successful approach of out-foxing the opposition’s opening bats during the new ball assault.

I must apologise but that’s the Thunder for this week folks as I must make tracks. Our wonderfully hospitable Singaporean hosts have a luncheon organised at the luxurious Raffles Hotel where we’ll be grazing on fresh seafood and enjoying a cold ale while we watch Australia’s second ODI fixture against India live on the big screen from the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. I’ve just heard that India won the toss and have sent the Aussies in on a very damp track. I was also informed that the outfield was dried by pouring kerosene on it and setting it alight. Not expecting too much from Gilly and the boys in those conditions but I am expecting a fantastic function that should continue well into the warm tropical evening. Make sure to check back next Tuesday as I report on all the shenanigans that have occurred at the Shed in my absence. Until then, watch the ball and keep on swinging.

[Nesta Quin]

Performance of the Day: Farveez Maharoof

It may be that two weeks of hectically-paced international Twenty20 has skewed my cricket thinking but I found the match today less than enthralling and not just because of what used to be called "the invetitable" England collapse. I mustered no great keeness for the Sri Lanka innings either. It seemed to limp into life with remarkably (ie dull) safe batting and remarkably uninspired bowling. Though Ryan Sidebottom did fairly well and nice for Graeme Swann to take a wicket. Mahela Jayawardene came close to PotD, not just for his 50 off 61 balls but also for canny captaincy.

However, I have awarded the accolade to Farveez Maharoof for his four for 31 (Cook, Mustard, Bell and Pietersen all gonski) and for his 22 off 12 balls which helped set the stage for England's abject defeat.

Oh well, we reconvene on Thursday to see if England can bounce back. Hum.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

One-day rule changes send shockwaves through cricket world

Or not so much, in fact.  These rules came into effect last week, and we saw them in action today.

Front-foot no-balls will incur free hits.

There will be a mandatory change of match ball at the start of the 35th over of each innings.

An additional fielder is permitted outside the fielding inner circle during the second or third PowerPlays.

If the number of overs in an innings has been reduced, the number of overs making up each of the three PowerPlays will also be proportionately reduced, which is just common sense.

Boundaries square of the wicket must be a minimum of 150 yards (137.16m) (previously 140 yards) with the minimum on one side of 65 yards (59.44m) and straight boundaries must be a minimum of 70 yards (64m) (previously 60 yards). Got that?  Good.

The match referee has the final say in awarding a match to a side in the event of the other side refusing to play. So not the umpires, then, Mr Hair.

Umpires can, however, impose time-wasting penalties if a new batsman is not ready to face his first delivery within two minutes of the fall of the previous wicket. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Video: Michael Clarke's century vs India

Lovely bit of work here from the PotD winning Aussie.

Performance of the Day - Michael Clarke

Whilst The Trumpet has had cause to highlight Andrew Symonds' somewhat supercilious view of Twenty20, perhaps the Aussie with most to carp about is Michael Clarke, who faced just four balls in the tournament and spent most of his fielding time in the shooting gallery at backward point. But, as befits a man being groomed for captaincy, he kept his own counsel waiting his chance to declare his hand by seizing the moment.

At 18-2, less than a week after all India had celebrated T20 cricket success, another wicket could have made India's momentum in the match (and maybe the series) unstoppable. Clarke ran his singles, found a partner in the equally T20 anonymous Haddin and rebuilt the Australian innings to yet another 300+ score, with his own innings curtailed by a last ball run out at a PotD winning 130.

This time last year, Michael Clarke's career was stalled after a golden start. Like so many Aussies, he used a cricketing crisis to improve as a player. He already reminds The Trumpet of Mark Waugh at the crease and in the field: it remains to be seen if he will remind me of Steve Waugh once Punter retires to the Track.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

Performance of the Day: Ian Bell

There are many who think that Ian Bell can only turn it on when it doesn't really matter. I have never been one of those who doubt the Boy. A rough trot earlier this summer saw him not only not selected for England's ICC Twenty20 Tournament campaign (a triumph,not) but also left out of his own Warwickshire side.

Picked to join England's tour of Sri Lanka, Ian answered his critics with his bat. 131 not out in the first match with 12 fours and four sixes, he was in commanding form. He will never be the imposing physical presence at the crease of such as the muscular Australian Matthew Hayden and as long as he peppers his post-match interviews with "I'm sorry", I doubt the world's best bowlers will fear him.

However, for all his meekness, I do think his performances tell a different story. Ian is coming of age, and stuff the lot of you, Ian is a force to be reckoned with.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig}

Phil is keen as Mustard

I know, I know. That's the cheesiest headline I've written since "Snape's on a plane" but at least I didn't fall for the cutting it joke (it has been done elsewhere, believe me). But there are some serious points to be made about Phil Mustard's selection for the current England One-day side touring Sri Lanka. It's a well-known fact that England have struggled to find a wicket-keeper over the past few years, let alone a keeper/batsman and while Mustard's first showing for his country today did not set the world alight (17 with the bat and two catches), it was by no means a disaster. Until the tour is played out, we won't know whether a certain Australian has called it correctly in naming Phil as "a class act, the best wicket-keeper/batsman in England".

Mustard is a north-easterner - born in Sunderland, cut from the same cloth as his captain Paul Collingwood. Nearly 25 years-old, this is the first time he has had the opportunity of representing his country at senior international level although he did play for England Under-19s. His first-class career has been with Durham and this season he scored nearly 1000 runs. Why he zoomed so quickly into the picture was a lot to do with his performances in the Pro40 (409 runs at an average of 58.42) and the Friends Provident Trophy where he averaged 43.50. And this is where my favourite Australian comes into the picture. Durham went to Lord's to play Hampshire. Warne had earlier said that Phil was a pretty good player and compared him to Adam Gilchrist, and his exact words were:

"He has the same high grip, hits the ball from backward point to widish mid-off, plays the short ball pretty well and has that effective shot to cow corner."

Phil said: " I've got my own style and if people want to call me the next Adam Gilchrist then that's fine. But me, personally, I just go out there and do my own thing."

I don't think Mustard will be overwhelmed by this first call-up to the England side. I think he knows what he's getting into, and England could be the huge winners here, finding a skilled and non-gobby man with the gloves.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Ian Bell leads the way in Sri Lanka

In the early hours of this morning (a 4.30am GMT start), England began their tour of Sri Lanka with a warm-up match agains the Sri Lanka Board XI. They won the match comfortably by 80 runs, and the man who, according to some, is not very good at One-day cricket, ended his innings on 131 not out. Ian Bell, batting at 3 and coming in when new boy Phil Mustard was caught by Ganegama off the bowling of de Silva, combined well with Ali Cook (who made the second highest score of the England innings with 66). Bell is obviously comfortable at that position and after Ali holed out after facing 88 balls, kept the momentum going with Kevin Pietersen who knocked up his half-century in just 29 balls.

KP was caught by Viraj Perera immediately after reaching his 50, but Ian played on well with first Ravi Bopara and then Owais Shah to ensure England went safely over 300.

This was always going to be a tough target for the Sri Lankans, and they found it hard to get going. Ryan Sidebottom was given the new ball and struck in the second over. Perera's dismissal brought the exciting young Test batsman Chamara Kapugedera to the crease and he settled in well and did his best while wickets fell all around. He ended with an attractively struck 75 but the England bowlers had the edge, and the fielding was also sharp. Stuart Broad (bless him) took two wickets, as did Sidebottom and captain Paul Collingwood. Jimmy Anderson was the pick of the bowlers with three for 43, and Monty tidied up at the end taking the final wicket of Fernando.

This match really gives very little indication of how England will perform against the full Sri Lanka side but as a confidence builder after the shocking performances we saw in the recent Twenty20 tournament, they couldn't have made a better start.

Makes you wonder if Bell's presence in South Africa might have made a difference.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Twenty20 World Cup - The Team of the Tournament

At the end of an exhilarating fortnight of Twenty20 cricket that was everything the moribund ICC World Cup wasn't, The Googly picks its team of the tournament. Before you go over the jump, here's a little secret - no England players made the cut.

1. Matthew Hayden - Written off as a Test player only to return; written off as a Limited Overs player only to return. The man is a marvel and we should salute an All-Time Great in all forms of the game.

2. Chris Gayle - Will anyone ever again play an innings like the one that set the tone for the tournament?

3. Shoaib Malik (Captain) - Handled the Shoaib Akhtar crisis firmly, played beautifully and led his team to within five runs of the Title.

4. Justin Kemp - Defines the bullying South African style as much as his captain: but dominates bowlers, not team-mates.

5. Yuvraj Singh - All that potential at last being realised. Could be the springboard to greatness and the end of Ganguly.

6. MS Dhoni - Delivered every element of his brief. Silenced the doubters (including this one).

7. Misbah-ul-Haq - Who? Geoff Lawson knew who, and was bold enough to say so. Pakistan's Hussey.

8. Shahid Afridi - "Boom Boom" boomed more with the ball than with the bat, but if you were in the playground and playing T20, he'd be first pick.

9. Umar Gul - Most wickets in the fortnight at less than a run a ball, showing that T20 bowling is about discipline and imagination.

10. Stuart Clark - Hit the deck hard and bowled with (wait for it) McGrath-like accuracy.

11. RP Singh - At times swingingly unplayable, the young man bowled as his captain bats and was rewarded for it.

What do Googlyers think?

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

ICC World Twenty20 - Hero of the Final: Everyone

Let me start by saying that seldom have I enjoyed a cricket match that I have not been physically present at as much as today's ICC Twenty20 Final. Then I must say that not choosing one individual as today's Hero is not a cop-out: it's a genuine reflection on both the match and the tournament. There were just so many contenders that it has proved impossible to pick a singe individual.

I toyed with going for the ICC - and there's a first - but they, and especially Steve Ellworthy the organiser in South Africa - have put on a top-notch show. Everyone has praised this competition: sensible ticket-pricing and allocations ensured full crowds at most matches, and the spectators were allowed to be vocal, wave flags and basically have fun. They provided great atmosphere, so maybe the fans at the grounds should be the heroes? Then there's the players. Almost without exception they entered into the spirit of the event and played with gusto and enjoyment.

Three more sets of multiples deserve mention: the commentators and guests on ball-by-ball coverage on the radio (I found myself actually enjoying Geoff Boycott who laughed with real humour a lot, rather than laughing sardonically), the writers of Over-by-over coverage on the internet - in various places - who brought wit and insight, and OBO contributors from all over the world who dedicated hours of their time to follow and send emails in to all the broadcast matches. All this added enormously to the enjoyment of following the tournament.

However, today a few players must be mentioned as Heroes. Umar Gul - the bowler of the competition and the main reason why Pakistan made the final. He ended as the leading wicket taker with 13 (ahead of Stuart Clark and Shahid Afridi both with 12).

Imran Nazir absolutely blazed the second over, attacking Sree Santh and setting up the match for nail-biting. That over went for 21!

Gautam Gambhir made 75 off 54 balls in the Indian innings - did that win the match?

R P Singh gave an outstandingly controlled show of bowling, got Gul out at the death - did he win the match?

Tanvir Sohail and Misbah put Pakistan back in the match and while 15 minutes before the end, it looked like India's game as given, we got down to the final over with India needing one wicket and Pakistan 13 to win. A Harmisonesque wide from Joginder Singh was not a good start, but then a dot ball. 12 off six balls. Misbah hit the next - a low full toss - way out of the ground. Six off four. Indian captain, the peerless Mahendra Singh Dhoni put his arm around Joginder's shoulder, whispered sweet nothings in his ear, and with the next ball, Misbah was caught by Sree Santh and it was all over.

India won by five balls and celebrations started everywhere. A cliff-hanger of a match. Cricket is the winner and the last word has to go to an Australian:

"Mate, it's been so much fun to be involved with."

Michael Slater on Test Match Special sums up these past two weeks for most of us.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

ICC World Twenty20 - Hero of the day: Mahendra Dhoni

The first semi-final today, between Pakistan and New Zealand left me somewhat cold. It was neither thrilling nor fine cricket and my heart sank as I anticipated the second. The signs were that this could also be a stroll in the park - for Australia. But fortunately this was not the case. We were treated to an exciting contest, and one worthy of a world-class semi-final.

Although Yuvraj Singh - recovered from injury - returned the best figures of the day (70 off 30 balls, making that a total in two innings of 128 off just 46 balls), my hero is India's captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He led his team brilliantly, never losing control and leading by example. He is called a "no-fear" cricketer, and certainly showed that this evening.

Sree Santh particularly was in belligerent mode, and might pay for that after over-appealing when hoping to get Matthew Hayden out, but in general, the team played the mood appropriately and were fierce but fair.

A mention goes to Umar Gul for his three for 15 earlier in the day, helping Pakistan to their win and ensuring a Sub-Continent Final on Monday.

And in a note for Test Match Special - please don't try to compare old Australian cricketers to classic British actors again. Ian Chappelli as the new Leslie Phillips? That just doesn't work.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

ICC World Twenty20 - Villain of the day: Graeme Smith: Alpha Male

At the fall of an Indian wicket, television showed Graeme Smith barking at his team as they gathered on the outer. His team-mates looked like schoolboys being berated by a bad-tempered games teacher. It wasn't good to see men of the experience of Boucher and Pollock so meek in demeanour, nor big men with big talents like the Morkel brothers, crouching to hear the skipper's ire. When catches went down later (as they will do under lights in the T20 format) the senior players didn't bother to conceal their contempt for Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander.

Under pressure, batting against some wonderfully aggressive deliveries between the dross and against a suddenly dynamic Indian fielding unit, the Saffers choked yet again, failing even to get the 126 they needed to progress to the semi-finals. Smith will be angry with his team, but he should consider why his charges consistently react so poorly to pressure and whether constantly projecting his alpha male personality (like Hansie before him) is in the best interest of the team.

[The Tooting Trumpet] [Image: Getty]

ICC World Twenty20 - Hero of the day: Jonathan Agnew

Maybe it's just me, but I found it hard to be set on fire by the tournament today. Fortunately other engagements prevented me following the first match of the day - a dreadful mis-match between Australia and Sri Lanka. A fine report of that match can be found a bit below here on this site. For figures alone, Stuart Clark (four for 20) gets a mention here tonight, but he wasn't really tested.

Pakistan tops the group after their win against Bangladesh, but I found little to tickle my fancy there either. Afridi, naturally, was fun for his 39 off 15 balls (five fours and two sixes), but he wasn't in long enough to really charm this viewer today. Bangladesh's Junaid Siddique was top-scorer in the match - 71 including six fours and three sixes, but his colleagues were not up to the job.

This left us with the final match of the day: India versus South Africa, and a match full of meaning. A result that would determine not only the progression of these teams but also that of New Zealand. India losing meant SA and NZ through, India winning, and all down to net run-rate.

At one point with Harbhajan Singh claiming three for 11, it looked as though India were cruising to a victory. But then the Saffers stabilised the innings and we had a tense last five overs. South Africa needing 126 to go through, India needing the last five wickets. The scoreboard gave up - not for the first time in this or any tournament.

Tension was high but India got over the line and South Africa were out.

So why, you may well wonder, after this sterling performance from the Indian bowlers and Karthick behind the wicket (an emergency takeover as Mahendra Dhoni suffered some injury to his back in the first couple of overs), have I not picked one of the Indians as my Hero?

It's simple - I needed a laugh and Jonathan Agnew gave me several today, but his best was:

"I've just congratulated ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed for organising a brilliant tournament here, and he nearly fell off his chair." This on Test Match Special.

Anyone who can discombobulate a lawyer is a hero in my book, and to come close to causing injury to M. Speed ain't bad neither.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Flintoff goes home because he is injured. Shocker.

Here's the statement from the ECB, with my comments interspersed:

"Andrew Flintoff will return home to the UK today to receive specialist assessment on his left ankle. As a result he will not take part in England’s forthcoming one-day series in Sri Lanka."  I'm sorry, all, and I appreciate the effort on everyone's parts and I don't dispute that he's been better on one leg than some of the bowlers have on two, but he should never have been in the Twenty20 squad.

"Following the recent NatWest series in England, Andrew experienced a reaction in his left ankle but subsequent scans determined no new injury had been sustained and after consultations with specialists it was felt that the ICC World Twenty20 tournament would provide a safe platform to assess how Andrew’s ankle would respond to bowling in match conditions, without the risk of further damage to the ankle."  How is any platform safer than any other?  A bowler can lose his footing or tear a ligament at any time if he's bowling full out, so I think the use of the word "safe" here is a little disingenous.  I assume they just mean that he wouldn't have to bowl for a prolonged spell.

"Andrew has experienced some discomfort as the World Twenty20 tournament has progressed, but has been determined to provide a contribution to the team’s performance. At no time was further damage to the ankle sustained, but unfortunately it was clear that his ability to increase the intensity of his rehab and participation could not be progressed."  Don't believe you, I'm afraid; I'm simply sceptical that anyone can say definitively at this point that the injury hasn't been exacerbated through playing.

"Accordingly, after ongoing review and discussion with specialists, it is felt that the appropriate course of action is to allow time for the ankle joint to settle and recover before the process of further strengthening and assessment of the ankle is intensified.  Therefore, Andrew will return to the UK to receive further specialist investigation and rehabilitation."  Now there's a good idea.

"At this stage Andrew has not been ruled out of the Sri Lanka Test tour commencing in November."  Except by me, because I really don't think he's going to be fully fit ever again.  Chris Tremlett takes his place in the squad. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]