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Happy Christmas!
My family and I decorated Christmas biscuits today, and these were some of my designs:
I forgot that the 2011 kits didn't have the piping down the side, just on the arm. I'm pretty pleased with the way the Red Rose turned out though. 
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Another stupid proposal
There is a story in the Yorkshire Post today (to which I followed a link, I don’t read it habitually) claiming that Yorkshire want a three division County Championship structure with fourteen games a season. (Presumably they think it will be easier to avoid relegation that way.) The proposal that their chairman will advocate at the ECB meeting on 12 January is one to have three divisions of eight teams with the addition of minor counties and university sides.
It’s a poor idea for a multitude of reasons. The original proposal in the Morgan review to reduce the number of Championship matches was met with widespread scepticism, both from fans and from those in the media, and this idea is actually worse. And like the Morgan review, this would not effectively ease fixture congestion, but simply make more of the congestion due to limited overs matches. Furthermore, increasing the number of sides playing in the Championship would spread the ECB’s money even tighter and it would decrease the amount of revenue sides can raise from matches. It is an absolutely terrible idea with no redeeming features that are readily apparent. That isn’t too surprising though; it’s from the same club who earlier advocated dropping two sides from the Championship. The irksome thing is that the ECB may well take the proposal seriously as they will the Morgan review.
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The other Boxing Day Test
I’m not sure anyone outside South Africa or Sri Lanka really cares, but there is a Boxing Day Test in Durban too. It’s not exactly a mouth watering contest; Sri Lanka’s only skill recently has the ability to cling on for draws slightly more often than they collapse to massive defeats. They didn’t manage that in the first Test though and I don’t see them getting back into the series. South Africa have a very good seam attack with Dale Steyn looking as good as he ever has and Vernon Philander has had an incredible start to his Test career. Sri Lanka meanwhile rely almost entirely on their senior batsmen, particularly Kumar Sangakkara. The senior batsmen are very good on paper, but they have not been performing reliably and without any bowling of note they cannot hope to play better than they have recently. Not all contests can be exciting of course, and perhaps I’m a bit spoilt after the last few Tests, but come Christmas Day (in my time zone) I’ll be watching Australia v India.
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Congratulations England!
The England cricket team won the BBC award for Team of the Year and Andy Flower won coach of the year. I was rather hoping that Lancs would get the first award, given how no one expected us to win the title this year, but England are hardly undeserving. Although there were only eight Tests this year England won six of them and drew the other two. Whitewashing India was one of the highlights of the season. It is also only right that Andy Flower won Coach of the Year. So much of England’s success can be traced back to his leadership. England have lost only one series since he took over, the 0-1 defeat in the West Indies at the start of his reign. Since then England have won seven of out of eight series and drawn the other. Unfortunately neither Strauss nor Cook won Personality of the Year, but Mark Cavendish was hardly undeserving of the award.
My congratulations then to Andy Flower and the England cricket team. Hopefully next year will be even better.
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Some friendly advice for Australia
This is a point upon which I touched last night, but now that Australia have announced their squad for the Boxing Day Test I want to go into more detail on it. Specifically I have this bit of advice for John Inverarity and Mickey Arthur: Do not attempt to shore up the bowling by playing one fewer batsman. I know I’m on record as wanting you to fail, but I’m being serious this time. England have been the most successful side in the world over the past two years which is roughly since we started playing just four bowlers. It may not be because we are playing four bowlers (correlation does not imply causation), but it certainly hasn’t been a hindrance. Admittedly, I would actually like Andy Flower to be a bit more flexible about this (since Matt Prior tends to score a shedload of runs and Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan are perfectly good all-rounders we could easily play one fewer batsman; it’s not like we really need all of 710-7 declared), but I think four bowlers will suit you well on Boxing Day.
True, your quicks aren’t as good as Anderson and co, but really only Dale Steyn is that good right now so that’s hardly a criticism of your bowlers. James Pattinson certainly looks very good and the sooner Pat Cummins returns the better, for you. They look like they will form a formidable new ball pairing and Nathan Lyon is a proper world class spinner. Admittedly Siddle, Starc and Hilfenhaus aren’t as good, but they probably don’t need to be. If you watched India over here last summer you will have noticed that their batting occasionally looked a bit suspect. And by ‘occasionally’ I mean ‘anytime the ball was doing more than it does in the subcontinent’. Yes it would be nice if Cummins was fit and if you had a third seamer to match his skill, but you’ve already had Glenn McGrath. Don’t be greedy. Your bowling has not been your problem recently, at least not since the Ashes. Your problem has been your batting, which is why you don’t want to weaken that further to improve your bowling.
Since the start of the previous Ashes series your top seven average a bit over 34. The only countries worse are Bangladesh, the West Indies and New Zealand. England’s top seven average almost sixty in that time, so you are some way off the pace. You’ve certainly made improvements recently; Warner looks good and most of Oz seem willing to canonise you for finally dropping Hughes for Cowan. (Which seems more like a decision that ought to have been a given, but well.) Your middle order does not inspire confidence, however, and the last thing you need is to make it weaker. There is a rumour that you might play Daniel Christian as an all-rounder, but the easiest player for him to replace would be Marsh. Marsh who admittedly has been injured, but who may be the best batsman in the middle order. (It’s either him or Clarke.) Do not do that. If he must play it’s imperative that he replace Ponting or Hussey (where he could not possibly make the batting any weaker), but the wisdom of effectively ending one of their careers for the sake of what is basically an experiment is suspect. I don’t really see that happening anyway, given the support you have given that pair recently.
Ultimately, of course, I won’t mind if you just ignore my advice. You’re being paid to do your job and I’m not, unless you count the revenue I make from ads on this site. Mostly though you’re Australian (or at least working for Australia) and if you lose it doesn’t really bother me. Quite the reverse, actually.
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Betancourt returns to KC
The Royals have signed Yuniesky Betancourt to a one year deal as a reserve infielder. It’s pretty confusing on the face of it, I had rather assumed we made the Brewers take him as part of our compensation for Greinke. I’ve never seen any convincing evidence that when he goes out to play shortstop he actually knows what the big leather thing on his left hand is or what to do with it. Theoretically his strength is his batting, but he only hit .253 in a year and a half with us. In comparison Alcides Escobar hit .254 last year and saved countless baserunners with his glovework. I know Alcides can’t, or at least shouldn’t, play every game, but I can’t imagine that there aren’t better reserves than Betancourt. Betancourt is an ordinary hitter and a very much sub-ordinary fieldsman. Hopefully he won’t get more than a handful of games in 2012.
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Australia v India preview
I have been reliably informed that the Boxing Day Test at the MCG is the most eagerly anticipated day on the Australian cricket calendar and this year should be particularly good. (For the Aussies, anyway. As far as I’m concerned there is no way it could top last year’s Boxing Day Test.) Last time India came to Australia the hosts were starting to fade and it was only a year before India replaced them at the top of the Test rankings. That series featured one of the most contentious Test matches since the bodyline series and the tour almost ended early. I don’t see this series being quite so heated, though, as both Australia and India are some way from their peaks now. Of the seven Tests they have each played against England and South Africa in the previous 13 months Australia have two wins and four losses and India one win and five losses. Neither records could be seen as flukes either as both have looked distinctly ordinary, especially against England.
Australia have had more selection difficulties than India, though their bowling looks reasonably settled. Ryan Harris is unlikely to have proven his fitness before the start of the Test, so Mitchell Starc looks likely get the nod despite not particularly impressing against the Kiwis. Shane Watson is also struggling with his fitness, and if he cannot bowl it looks like Daniel Christian could replace him in the side. That said, England did very well against India with a four man attack, so it can be done. Given Australia’s batting woes I think it would be wise to lean toward more batting than more bowling, even at the risk of not having enough firepower to bowl out India’s batsmen twice. The big selection choice, however, is that of the batsmen. Phil Hughes has not done anything to encourage selection whilst Ed Cowan has scored a century against some of the Indian squad in the second tour match. This should make the selectors job pretty easy and I don’t see how they could possibly select Hughes over Cowan at this point. It is possible, of course, that Watson will be fit and return to open as he has done recently, but not only is his fitness a major doubt he will probably fit in better down the order. Shaun Marsh may also return to the middle order, and if Daniel Christian does make his debut it will be at the expense of a batsman. Any of them returning would mean that one of Khawaja, Ponting or Hussey will be dropped. The rumours have been that Khawaja will make way for Marsh, with Watson unlikely to be fit.
(Edited to add: Cricket Australia named a thirteen man squad for the first test and omitted Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja in favour of Ed Cowan and Shaun Marsh. Ben Hilfenhaus has also been added, slightly oddly. The balance of the side is still in question, but it looks very likely that Ed Cowan will open.)
India also have injury worries, with Ishant Sharma having bowled only 5.3 overs in the first warmup match and taking no part in the second. Zaheer Khan is always a worry and he missed the first warmup match, though with no specific scare. India seem to be trying to reprise their preparations for the tour of England last summer and I think they’ll continue to get the same results if they do not take the tour matches seriously. Yadav did bowl well in the first warmup match, but that was not against a testing batting order. India are helped by the fact that their top seven select themselves; barring injury, Gambhir through Dhoni are all a guarantee. Ashwin will certainly be the first choice spinner and if fit Khan, Sharma and Yadav will be the three seamers. The ‘if fit’ is a major caveat though and there doesn’t appear to be a clear replacement if one of the first choice bowlers goes down. Although their first XI is much more settled than Australia’s they are also a lot more mercurial. Their batsmen are ageing and cannot be relied upon to make the scores they once did (as we saw in England) and the fitness of their bowling is very suspect. If all their players fire they are a side worthy of challenging for number one in the world. If not we get the 0-4 that we saw in England.
The two sides complement each other well; India are strongest batting and Australia are strongest bowling. I think the series will be decided by India’s batsmen. If they can dominate Australia’s young bowlers they stand a good chance of winning, but if they fail as they did in England they will find the going very difficult. I don’t see either side dominating the other and I think the Australian’s home field advantage will allow them to shade it 2-1.
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Suarez verdict
Luis Suarez has been given an eight match ban and a fine today in the racism case with Patrice Evra. Not being privy to all the details I don’t know if that is a reasonable result or not, though the Liverpool statement suggests that it was harsh. If it is true that the only evidence against Suarez was the word of Evra then it certainly is, but I am not certain that is the case. I do think that Suarez is often treated harshly by the media, fans and sometimes by referees but it is worth remembering that he did blatantly cheat during the last World Cup. I would be very surprised if the Independent Regulatory Commission found the charge proven on the basis only of Evra’s statement. It is a travesty if they did, but I suspect there is some other hard evidence. The eight match ban does seem reasonable if he is guilty though. There should not be any tolerance for racist remarks.
I would not be surprised to see Suarez appeal the decision, but even if he doesn’t do so it isn’t clear how much time he will miss. For one thing, the ban will not take effect until after the 14 days given for Suarez to appeal expires and I do not know if that includes the match against City in exactly a fortnight or not. either way, however, the ban includes no fewer than three cup ties and will include a fourth if Liverpool beat Oldham. Even if Suarez does not appeal he should be available to face United in February.
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Ten best sporting moments of 2011
I know the sporting year isn’t over yet. I actually had a conversation on Twitter about whether I ought to write a ‘year end’ style post or save it for after the Test. I decided to save my full year in review post for later, but at the same time I would be very surprised if anything happened that warranted an inclusion on this list. If I’m wrong I can always write a revision as well, so with that in mind here are my top ten sporting moments of 2011:
10 – New Zealand winning the Hobart Test
I know my Aussie readers won’t like this, but it was a pretty important moment. New Zealanders probably care more about winning the Rugby World Cup, but they had not won a Test in Australia for 26 years before this. Doug Bracewell may be a great find for the Kiwis and the conclusion of the match was one of the most thrilling you will see.9 – Tigers winning Game 5 of the ALDS
I love watching the Yankees lose. I love watching the Yankees lose deciding games in the playoffs even more. But most of all I love watching Alex Rodriguez strike out to lose a deciding game in the playoffs in front of a very put out Yankee Stadium crowd.8 – Royals winning a three game series in New York
The Royals spent most of the month of April this year in or near first place. (It’s true, look it up.) Whilst losing six in a row to the Rangers and Indians at the end of April basically put an end to any notion of contending, there were still bright spots after that. In the second week of May the Royals travelled to New York and won two out of three against the Yankees. The deciding game of the series saw the Royals score six runs in the second inning, including Eric Hosmer’s second major league home run and some terrible defensive mistakes by the Yankees. It was the Royals first series win in New York since 1999.7 – Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City
It was the match that that caused the media to accept City as genuine title contenders. More importantly it was the match that made United supporters very cross and thus made Liverpool supporters like myself very happy.6 – Australia reduced to 21-9 at Cape Town
With apologies to my Australian readers. Though as much as I enjoyed this I was more astonished to watch the innings unfold. On no fewer than three occasions I thought there must surely be a recovery, surely they couldn’t lose another wicket. I was wrong on all three occasions, as by the time the recovery did come I had stopped expecting it. Almost as amazing as the innings itself was the shot selection of Brad Haddin and the fact that he wasn’t immediately dropped because of it. Both defy belief.5 – England winning the Cardiff Test
I already used this in my best moments in English cricket this year, so there isn’t a lot more to say. Nonetheless, it was incredible watching England go from just wanting a few wickets to Sri Lanka not even coming close to saving the Test and certainly belongs on this list as well.4 – Virender Sehwag making a king pair at Edgbaton/Stuart Broad’s Trent Bridge hat trick
I’ve included these together for their similarity, not only because they both involve Indian wickets falling cheaply. Broad’s hat trick marked the end of the last time India would have an advantage in the series, but I think Sehwag’s king pair marked the last time India had any real hope. It was also a moment of personal pleasure, because Sehwag is massively overrated. He has a good record on the flat pitches of the subcontinent and that is it; his aggression is not suited for English conditions or anywhere the ball does a bit. After the second Test I read about and saw Indians claiming that he would save the series for them and I rather enjoyed being vindicated.3 – Cardinals winning Game 6 of the World Series
I’m a Royals fan, but years of living amongst Cardinals fans in Kirksville made me rather sympathetic to them. (Though I always hated when they would gripe about ‘barely being .500’ or some such.) Add that to the fact that I hate the Texas Rangers and I was definitely cheering for the Cardinals in the last World Series. Even if I hadn’t, however, I think their multiple comebacks in Game 6 would have had to rank high on a list of best sporting moments, as it was absolutely astonishing.2 & 1 – Lancashire winning the County Championship and England winning the Ashes
How could I not copy these from my first list? England winning the Ashes in Australia is the only thing that could possibly trump Lancashire winning the title outright. Neither had ever happened before in my lifetime and for them both to happen this year is almost an embarrassment of riches. I have little doubt they will be on a list of best moments in the decade should I make one in 2020.Edited to add: The Guardian have produced their list of cricketing moments, but there is a lot of World Cup stuff at the expense of Lancs.
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Saturday review – 17 Dec
After the thrilling start to the week with New Zealand winning in Hobart, it’s been pretty dull. I haven’t watched the start of the Big Bash; it starts at 02.00 here and in any case last time I watched Shane Warne bowl I had nightmares for about four years. (They stopped just over a year ago.) India played a warmup match against players of whom I have never heard and probably encouraged Australia with their performance. Outside Oz England announced their tour match opponents and Sri Lanka, still missing Murali (who has the third highest wickets per match ratio in history), lost the first Test against South Africa by an innings and 81 runs.
My favourite two articles this week were about Lancashire legend Roy Tattersall, who died late last week. Andrew Hignell in the Cricketer wrote primarily about Tatt’s role in helping Lancs share the 1950 title and Paul Edwards in Cricinfo wrote more broadly about Tatt’s life and career, both during and after his time at Lancashire. Both are fantastic articles.
There is an excellent ‘letter’ posted at King Cricket this week. The writers make some very good points and I’ll certainly try to bring my blog in line with their recommendations.
In Cricinfo, Harsha Bhogle has a good look at Australia’s recent captains and the differing tasks facing Dhoni and Clarke for Boxing Day. I found the historic look the most interesting of almost anything I read this week.
Also in Cricinfo (I spend a lot of my time there) Andy Zaltzman looks in his own almost indescribable way at Australia’s recent batting woes and at the form of dolphins hunting in the Tasman Sea.
Defensive Indifference 