My 2011 wishlist for International Cricket

I had a terrible year...how about you guys?

 

Its the end of a fascinating year in cricket  – a year which included among many others, a maiden World T20 title for England, a thrilling end to Murali’s career, Laxman’s numerous houdini acts, the spot-fixing saga in England, Bangladesh whitewashing New Zealand in ODIs, Modi’s crash and burn, Sachin breaking barriers in ODIs and Tests, the declining fortunes of the Aussies, and of course, the Ashes retained by England. I can only hope for another year like that in 2011:

• Khawaja scores a breath-taking ton in a losing cause against England at Sydney, as Collingwood scores a gritty double century to prolong his career.
• Zaheer grabs a 10 wicket haul and Sehwag scores a double century to seal a historic series victory in South Africa, despite the best efforts of Amla and  Steyn.
• Pakistan and New Zealand take part in a thrilling ODI series, at the end of which, Ijaz Butt starts off on a rant, as to how it is all a big conspiracy to defraud Pakistan cricket, when someone reminds him that Pakistan have won.
• The World Cup final is contested between India and England, which ends in a dramatic tie, after valiant performances by the unlikely duo of Strauss and Jadeja.
• IPL 4 is won by Ganguly-led Kochi, after a whirlwind knock by Clarke (yes, Michael!) just pushes them over the line against Lara’s Pune (Clarke vs Lara, get it?).
• England and India take part in a run-filled Test series featuring marathon batting knocks by Cook, Trott, Dravid and Harbhajan.
• West Indies and Pakistan take part in a Test series, which is filled with countless mentions of how Darren Bravo’s stroke-play reminds one of Brian Lara, and how Amir’s return to international cricket is a disgrace to the beautiful game (cricket, in this instance!)
• New Zealand skipper, chief selector, part-time cricket board chief – Dan Vettori, blasts the media, after taking umbrage to the remark that he was a poor man’s Shakib Al Hasan, at the end of another whitewash against Bangladesh even as coach Wright longs for another stint with India.
• Zimbabwe invite Sri Lanka to take part in their domestic competition, after Sangakarra is left fuming at the lack of games for his team. Sri Lanka accept the invitation and travel to Zimbabwe, upon which the entire season is washed out due to rain, leading to the skipper’s remarks that it was the “worst first class season of my life”.
• Things move fast in South Africa where Hashim Amla takes over the reins after De Villiers decides to take a break, to spend more time developing his music career. Paul Harris is the leading wicket taker of the year, after batsmen throw their wickets away attempting to slog him, after bearing the brunt of Steyn and Morkel.
• India’s tour of Australia is mired in controversy, after new Aussie skipper Watson accuses India of deliberately destroying Johnson’s career by smashing him all around the park with scant respect. It completely overshadows career defining performances by Pujara, Unadkat, Ferguson and Beer.
• Finally, the leading run scorer and wicket taker of the year are, Ian Bell and some fast bowler Pakistan unearthed at the beginning of 2011.

Have a good 2011, everybody!

Lessons from Adelaide

• Shane Watson doesn’t like to score centuries. He is satisfied with 50s.
• Simon Katich might have just played his last Test innings, and the innings itself was typical of the man: stubborn and workman-like.
• The last time, Ponting struggled so much to score runs in a series, was way back in 2001 against India. That didn’t end well.
• The last time Clarke got out in the last over of the 4th day in an Ashes match, was back in Edgbaston 2005. In both matches, Australia lost. Just shows how crucial, Clarke’s role is going to be in the coming years; especially in the absence of battle hardened veterans like Ponting and Hussey.
• Michael Hussey continues to be the man in form for Australia. It is hard to imagine, how they would have fared if they had dropped him before the Gabba test.
• If North is retained for the next test, Australia deserve to lose the Ashes. If the likes of Johnson, Hauritz and Hilfenhaus can be dropped after unconvincing performances, I wonder, based on what criteria, is North still surviving?
• Haddin put up a decent performance in front of the stumps, but his work behind it, still needs improvement.
• Harris would not like to remember this match for his batting, or for the lack of it; but he was the best bowler in England’s only innings. That is not saying much about the Aussie bowling.
• Doherty was picked purely in the hope, that Pietersen would gift his wicket to him, considering the fact that he is a left arm spinner; but now that he helped KP regain his form, and put up a terrible performance in the field, it is hard to imagine, that he will play the next test; given the whimsical state of the selections so far, that cannot be ruled out either.
• Siddle has come back to earth with a thud, after THAT hat-trick. He is still searching for a wicket, since he got the scalp of Broad on Day 1 of the Gabba test.
• Much was expected of Bollinger, after many felt that he had been unfairly dropped at the Gabba. Once selected for the 2nd test, though, he proceeded to demonstrate, how much worse  Johnson could have bowled.
• Strauss played all of three balls in the match, and then sat back to enjoy a masterclass from the rest of the batting line-up.
• Once the least threatening batsman in the line-up, Cook has firmly established himself as the prize scalp. If Australia don’t get a measure of him soon, he might end up breaking Bradman’s record for most runs in an Ashes series.
• Trott is turning out to be the rock of England’s batting. He brings a sense of calm and stability to the batting order, and looks in great touch. Also, his run-out of Katich in the first over, well and truly set the cat among the pigeons.
• The ego has returned to the building. KP is back with a bang, after a typically belligerent innings. As much as his return to form will please the English fans, the intact penchant to keep going, even after reaching a ton, will be more pleasing.
• Collingwood has not been required too much so far, but his presence in the field, cannot be understated.
• When Bell is scoring so consistently at each opportunity that presents itself, you know all is well with the England team.
• Prior went un-noticed throughout the match; just the way a keeper likes it.
• Broad’s series has come to an end; his contribution being two wickets in two matches and being the third victim of Siddle’s hat-trick at the Gabba; I’m sure that it will hurt him not to be part of an historic Ashes triumph, after his performances over the last year.
• Swann has come to the party, and showed why he is considered to be the best spinner in international cricket right now. After a rough test at the Gabba, the  team joker learned quickly, and going by his performance in the recent test, will prove to be a thorn in the flesh of the Aussie batsmen for the rest of the summer.
• KP might have walked away with the MoM, but no player made an impact on the match in the manner Jimmy Anderson did. Bowling with pace, swing and an aggression, which is at odds with the persona in Swann’s video diaries, Anderson was responsible for putting Australia under pressure immediately after they won the toss and chose to bat. Once and for all, he has put to rest, all the talk over his indifferent performances in the last tour. He has also risen to the 3rd position in the rankings, just behind Steyn and Swann.
• Finn continued to enhance his knack of taking wickets of crucial batsmen at crucial junctures. In the absence of Broad for the rest of the series, his performaces will become more important in the coming weeks.
• It is hard to see Australia coming back in this series, considering the shambles, in which the batting, bowling and fielding is in; but then again, this is Australia we’re talking about. It isn’t over till its over.
• England have prepared meticulously for this series, for a long time now, and the rewards are paying off. Despite Broad’s absence for the rest of the series, they have the players to fill the vacancy, and march forward to one of their most important Ashes victories in recent memory.