Test Cricket: Wisden Test XI for 2008

If the world wasn't surprised by India making inroads into the test arena, The latest announcement of the Wisden test XI brings in more surprises. Five Indians make it to the list of 11 test cricketers in the WISDEN TEST XI FOR 2008. When i read the news story in the news papers this morning, I was happy to see the inclusion of five indians but had to raise a few eyebrows about the selection of few other players. Taking a look at the team for the second time makes me realize that the selection is based on the batting order in which they line up. Each one of them has been the best in the world throughout the year 2008 for their respective teams.. Read on as we discuss the team and the players..



THE WISDEN TEST XI OF 2008
Opening the batting for the Wisden Test XI will be the dashing Indian opener Virender Sehwag who with his batting skills overshadowed all the critics in 2008. The man has already scored two triple hundreds and 9 out of 10 test centuries over the score of 150. The aggresion that he brings into the team and the rate at which he scores his runs put team India in winning situations more often than not. No wonder he became the obvious choice for No.1 spot in the batting order.

At No. 2 is the South African captain Graeme Smith. He played some courageous knocks over the last year. Who can forget the scene of watching him walk on to the pitch on the last day of the Adelaide test bandaged all around his body. Smith walked into batting with a fractured rib and broken right hand to help his team save the last test. South Africa lost the test, but won the series 2-1. Smith won more accolades than ever for his effort with the bat thro the series. He led the South African team to the number one spot in both Test and one day rankings, therefore deserves his spot at no.2 in this team.

Most important position in any batting order is no.3. This one went to the Austrlian Captian Ricky Ponting. Not in the best of form with the bat through 2008, and with his captaincy over the year, Ricky took the suprise third spot in this team. Gautam Gambhir who scored over 1100 runs in the last year with an average of above 70 could have been an ideal choice for this spot, but like i said, the choices are depending on where these batsman and bowlers play in their respective teams.. Given that no other No.3 batsman around the world did better than Ricky Ponting in the test side, Ricky won this spot hands down.

At No.4 is the Little master, Sachin Tendulkar. He has played well through out the year and has been one of the success stories for India's run through the test arena over the last year. Known to trouble the opposition by his batting, Sachin Tendulkar spelled disaster for the kiwi side as he picked some quick wickets in the last inning of the last test match in the recently concluded test series in new Zealand which India won 1-0. The man does magic with both ball and bat, If there was a vacant spot for No.4 in this team, Sachin Tendulkar should be the obvious choice.

The costliest player os season 2 of the Indian premier League (IPL), Kevein Peitersen takes the surprise No.5 spot in the team. If i thought the team was picked based on the regular batting order, this proves me wrong. My personal choice for this spot would have been Austrlian batsman Micheal Hussey or South African new-born JP Duminy. Both these players have proved to be the success stories for their sides during the last year. Not to forget Jesse Ryder, he could have well made to this team had he played more games during the season.

Only west Indian to make it to the side this time is Shivanarain Chanderpaul at No.6. If West Indies has done well in the test series in 2008 it's because of this man and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Chanderpaul makes the cut for his witty style of batting and his ability to change gears at will.

No prizes for guessing who should be the captain of this team. Team India captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni has been named the captain of his side for his consistent performance with the bat and his ability as a captain. Ex-Cricketers from around the world are all accolades for Dhoni and his style of leading the team. If ever there was a reason for India's success in 2008, Dhoni is just one of them. Dhoni has been slated to bat at No.7 for the Wisden Test XI.


Fourth Indian on the list and at no.8 in this team is Harbhajan Singh. Having picked 16 wickets, most by a bowler in the recent test series against New Zealand Harbhajan becomes the lone spinner in this wisden XI. I can't think of any other spinner who has out done Harbhajan in the wickets department. He bats at No.8 in this side.

Mitchell Johnson leads the Australian pace bowling attack in the absence of Brett Lee. The Australian-Slinger as they call him has picked wickets consistently through 2008 and has been the only bowler to stand out with performances in the absence of the experienced bowlers. His ability with the bat puts him at No.9.

At. No.10 is the South African quickie Dale Steyn. A reason for South Africa's success in Australia. Dale Steyn picked up crucial wickets even on the flattest of batting tracks all through 2008. His recent 4 for in the second one day against Australia who were at one stage 20 for 5 finds the 10th spot in the Wisden XI.

The last spot in the team, and a well deserved one goes to Zaheer Khan of India. Zaheer has never looked back since his comeback to the team in 2006. Three years after his comeback Zaheer continues to bowl with the same pace and accuracy, only spilling more poison into every delivery. If Ishant Sharma has been a revelation for team India, Zaheer has been the man who's led him from the front. Zaheer takes the most deserving 11th spot in the team.

The 12th man was not announced, But my choice would simply have been Gautam Gambhir who has remained consistent through out the year and has continued to show his skills with both offensive and defensive style of batting.





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England In West Indies: 5th ODI Preview : Match on

With the series hanging in balance at 2-2, the decider one day between England and West Indies was still in doubt. The West Indies Cricket Board had been locked in crisis talks with the Players' Association, with the threat looming, not only of a boycott of Friday's fixture, but - going forward - a mass withdrawal from the tour of England which commences later this month, and clashes head-on with the lucrative Indian Premier League. Chris Gayle in a statement with the media cleared all doubts, "The Final ODI will be played at St.Lucia" said Gayle.


West Indies would have had to make 11 team changes if the controversy wouldn't have ended. Thanks to the decision by the players, it was down to only one. Tall, Left arm Orthodox bowler Suleman Benn has been named in the playing 11 in place of Nikita Miller who hurt his back trying to smash the ball out of the ground off a free hit during the last match. His omission was something of a surprise to England, given his starring role in the Jamaica Test victory, as well as two Twenty20 triumphs, starting with the Stanford Superstars in Antigua last year.

West Indies Playing 11: 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Lionel Baker, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Fidel Edwards.

As for england, there couldn't have been a possible change, their bowlers did well in the last match, the batsman have been doing well. Pietersen and Flintoff will play in the final ODI, after doubts were raised of whether they would be fit as both were nursing injuries on the hands. Pietersen was forced to leave the field after the injury while Flintoff require heavy strapping to continue in the match. Scans revealed no fractures or significant damages to the fingers allowing them to be a part of the series decider.

England 11 (Which hopefully will eb unchanged) 1 Ravi Bopara, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Owais Shah, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 James Anderson.


It's been an exciting series so far. WI could have led the England team in the sixes department with a score of 23-3, but thanks to complex logic of the Duckworth Lewis England managed a win in the second match after rain forced play to abandon the match. The series is tied at 2-2 and if the weather stays good, we should have a exciting finish with both teams playing for reputation over the other. Do join me for review later this week.

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England In West Indies: 4th ODI Review: England level the series 2-2

29 March 2009: England's captain, Andrew Strauss, seized on an unexpected opportunity to haul his side level in their ODI series against West Indies, with the decider still to come in St Lucia next week,as he defied his unglamorous reputation to crack 79 from just 61 balls in a rain-readjusted run-chase in Barbados. Strauss's scintillating display included nine fours, four of which came in consecutive deliveries from Lionel Baker, and their second six of the series off Darren Sammy, as England easily hunted down their 20-over target of 135, after West Indies had earlier posted a competitive 50-over total of 239 for 9.



For large tracts of the afternoon, it seemed as though the match was destined to finish as a soggy washout. Heavy clouds rolled over Bridgetown to delay England's run-chase and leave West Indies with an apparently unassailable 2-1 lead in the series. But then the sun broke through at 4.30pm - the last possible moment of the match - and Strauss emerged from the pavilion to take personal responsibility for this one-off shot at redemption. By the end of the fourth over, England were 41 for 0 and the captain had made 32 of them from 17 balls. It may not have been as emphatic as Chris Gayle's assault in Friday's third ODI, but the effect on the match was identical.

The game-changing moment came from the final ball of the second over, as Fidel Edwards offered too much width and was slapped violently past point. That shot gave Strauss all the confidence he required, and before the next over was complete Baker had been carved over the covers, past backward point, through midwicket and over the slips, all for four. Baker's five maidens in Friday's fixture had been instrumental in stifling England's ambitions, but this time he limped from the attack having conceded 24 runs in two overs.

Strauss survived one significant let-off when, on 39, he edged Kieron Pollard low to Denesh Ramdin behind the stumps but was reprieved, perhaps fortuitously, by the third umpire. Undeterred, he brought up his fifty from 41 balls, before climbing into Darren Sammy with a four over the covers and a flat driven six over wide long-on. Ravi Bopara, hitherto an unnoticed sidekick, then added England's third maximum of the series - a monstrous heave over midwicket that resulted in a lost ball - before holing out to Nikita Miller for 35 from 39 balls one delivery later.

Fittingly, it was left to Strauss to wrap up the match with a dab for four through third man with nine balls to spare. His effort was all the more impressive, as his team's two most potent 20-overs cricketers, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, were both nursing injuries after incidents in the field. Pietersen succumbed to a mysterious back spasm after bowling five deliveries at Shivnarine Chanderpaul and would not have been able to bat any higher than No. 7, while Flintoff required heavy strapping on his left thumb after spilling a low return chance from Dwayne Bravo, and would only have batted if required.

It was a stinging shot from Bravo that caused the damage, a full-blooded drive from a wholehearted cricketer who produced arguably his most authoritative innings since returning from ankle surgery. His spanking innings of 69 from 72 balls hoisted West Indies from an uneasy 145 for 6 in the 35th over, after Dimitri Mascarenhas had banished the memory of Friday's 24-run over with the superb figures of 3 for 26 from 10. Flinging the bat with abandon, quite literally on one occasion as he top-edged a Stuart Broad beamer for six and lost his grip in the process, Bravo cracked 50 runs in the final five-over Powerplay to lift his team back towards the ascendancy.

With Steve Harmison recalled (for the sixth time since September) in place of Gareth Batty, England relied on an all-seam attack, and found good pace and carry from another lively surface. For the first 12 overs of the innings, however, the only carry that mattered was the distance by which Gayle was clearing the boundary. On Friday he clubbed eight sixes in 43 balls, and today he carried on clearing the ropes with gusto, adding five more maximums in a 39-ball 46. After a relatively measured start, Gayle launched the second ball of Broad's second over into the stands at midwicket, and though he was desperately fortunate to survive a loud appeal for lbw next ball, the shackles had been broken.

Flintoff, England's go-to man in times of crisis, was flogged first-ball over long-on, just as he was in the Jamaica Test at the start of the tour, and Gayle repeated the dose in Flintoff's third over, this time over third man. Harmison also felt the full wrath of his blade, as Gayle dispatched another length ball over long-on, before Broad finally ended the fun, but not before he'd been belted for another six, this time over the covers. One ball later, Broad pulled his length back a fraction, and Matt Prior pouched a steepling top-edge as he jogged around to point.

Gayle's opening partner, Lendl Simmons, also got in on the act, in particular with a lofted pull off James Anderson, and by the end of the innings, West Indies' sixes tally for the series had clicked along to 23 in four games. But Simmons was badly run out for 29 when Ramnaresh Sarwan sold him a dummy while sizing up a second run to square leg, before Sarwan himself played on to Flintoff, who found extra bounce from a good length to dislodge the bails via an angled block into the crease.

Chanderpaul and Ramdin re-established West Indies' position in an unfussy partnership of 43 in 10.3 overs, a stand that was most notable for Pietersen's bizarre injury. Earlier in the week, he had made some uncomplimentary remarks about Chanderpaul's "selfish" play, in particular his regular absences from the field between batting stints. Chanderpaul had the last laugh in that regard, when Pietersen pulled up with a back twinge, and sloped ignominiously to the dressing room in search of treatment. It was his last sighting of the match.

ScoreCard and Post Courtesy: CRICINFO






Three balls after that incident, however, England climbed into the ascendancy, courtesy Mascarenhas. Ramdin ran out of patience and holed out to a back-pedalling Flintoff at mid-on; Chanderpaul, after a rain-break, feathered an attempted steer to third man into Prior's gloves, then it was back to Flintoff's bucket-like hands, as he reached spectacularly over the boundary's edge at deep midwicket to collect a top-edged pull from Pollard. There was some suspicion that Flintoff's left boot had brushed the rope as he completed the catch, but the replays were inconclusive, and Pollard departed for a seven-ball duck.

Though Bravo ensured against a total collapse, even his late-innings fireworks paled compared to the top-order heroics that Strauss conjured up for England. Somehow, England are not merely surviving in this series, on this evidence they are thriving. Gayle might want to think again about his planned boycott of the fifth ODI. All of a sudden there is a series at stake. Wonders never cease.

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PS: This post is courtesy CricInfo and nothing has been modified. I din't get to watch the match to review this. Hopefully, there will not be days when i'll have to post some more copies.
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England In West Indies: 3rd ODI Review : WI win after Humiliating innings from England

March 27,2009:Dwayne Bravo, A man whose return to the WestIndies team has already sparked the members of the team took 4 wickets to dismiss England for a humiliating 117 all out in 41.3 overs. Fidel Edwards took 3 While Pollard and baker chipped in with 2 and 1 wicket respectively. Mascarenhas scored 36 in what was a below par batting performance from the touring side. Earlier, West Indies won the toss and elected to filed after a delayed start due to rain.



The match was reduced to a 44 overs per side affair as England kept losing wickets at the start of play. First it was Strauss who handed a catch to Gayle in slips off Edwards, then it was Bopara who handed a catch to Sarwan off Edwards. England at 17-2 off 6.4 overs never really took off. They lost Pietersen soon to bravo who handed a catch to Pollard. Owais shah soon followed as he lost his wicket in the very next over to baked out caught by darren Sammy. Flintoff returned after a long time but was out for a duck and survived only 6 balls before he was out caught by Edwards off the bowling off Bravo.

Wickets kept tumbling as Collingwood was out lbw to bravo leaving England at 54 for 6 off 19 overs. Mascarenhas joined Prior who could only add 14 to the partnership after Prior went to Pollard scoring only 7. Broad followed Prior 2 balls later out caught behind to Pollard. Batty and Mascarehas restored some pride taking england past the respectable 100 run mark. But the Duo could only last as long as 116 when Batty was out caught by Sammy off Bravo. He scored 17 off 47 before he lost his wicket. Mascarenhas tried hard, but lost his wicket and England's 10th to edwards caught by Bravo in the deep. England all out for 117.

WestIndies started in blistering fashion as Chris Gayle scored some fantastic runs to take WI past 50 in the 6 over off the match. Gayle would have wanted to long till the end, but lost his wicket when he was on 88 bowled to a straight Anderson delivery. With WI at 98 for 1 and most of the job already done, Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Simmons did the mop p job and took Wi to victory in the 15th over. WI Lead the 5 match ODI series 2-1.

Score Card Courtesy: CRICINFO






Andrew Strauss , the England captain, has said his team's defeat in the third ODI against West Indies in Barbados was "pretty humiliating and fundamentally pretty embarrassing". West Indies dismissed England for 117 and then routed them by eight wickets after chasing down the target with 176 balls to spare."There are 11 guys in that dressing room right now feeling pretty down on themselves," Strauss said. "It wasn't a contest, we didn't play well. There wasn't enough thought in the way we batted, but we have to take it on the chin."We didn't react well to the wicket. We all made the same mistakes. The crucial thing is you learn from your mistakes but, if we're honest with ourselves, we have done that kind of thing batting wise too often."

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England In West Indies: 3rd ODI Preview: Flintoff to return

With the five match one day series tied at 1-1, England would be wanting to thrust their authority on West Indies in an effort to take lead in the series. Good news came their way, when Andrew Flintoff was declared fit for the third ODI to be played today in Barbados, West Indies. Flintoff returns after recovering from the hip injury that forced him to miss the final two Tests of last month's 1-0 series defeat.



With the series squared at 1-1, Flintoff's return will be a boost for England after they were comfortably outplayed during their 21-run loss in the second match in Guyana. He had been close to selection for that game, having undergone intensive treatment since flying home for a week after the third Test in Antigua.

"I've bowled as near to 100% as I probably can do in a net because playing in a match brings a bit more out of you," Flintoff told reporters in Barbados. "I've been bowling for the last week, bowled 10 overs over the previous two days and done my training and work. I was close to playing on Sunday but we erred on the side of caution and I'll definitely be fit for Friday."

Flintoff will probably return in place of either Steve Harmison or James Anderson, even though both men showed impressive form during the second match. Another alternative would be to rest Gareth Batty, the specialist spinner.

England Captain Andrew Strauss would want his team to put up a better bowling and batting performance in this match after they lost by 21 runs in the previous match. The top 6 need to score a lot of runs and given the flat batting tracks in West Indies, A score of 300 is a below par score. Flintoff's presence will affect the way the team plays on the ground, but the man may not be in full power as he is just returning from injury. Flintoff will be wanting to get some bat on the ball and score some runs as the rest of the team will have to take winning responsibilities.

Uncapped Barbados batsman Dale Richards and Trinidad fast bowler Ravi Rampaul have been included in the West Indies squad for the third and fourth one-day internationals against England. Richards, an opening batsman, replaced Devon Smith who did not play in either of the first two ODIs. He was also in the squad for the first Test against England but had to withdraw because of a foot injury. Rampaul replaced the Daren Powell who has been out of form during the contests against England. Powell took only six wickets in the five-Test series at nearly 70 apiece and took 1 for 27 in five overs in the first ODI. Rampaul, who had played 30 ODIs, last appeared for West Indies on the tour of South Africa in early 2008.

Expect a close finish this time around as the teams meet each other in Barbados tonight. Match starts 7.30PM IST. Do come back for more news, reviews and previews.





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