Posts filed under ‘australia’
ODI Team of 2009
It’s Christmas Eve and most of the cricket in 2009 has been played. About time, then, for a team of the year; starting with limited overs cricket…
1. Tilakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 2009 record: 980 runs @ 57.64, top score: 160, 4 hundreds
Dilshan has come of age this year. His astounding eye and aggressive approach has ensured Sri Lanka a flying start and he has looked almost invincible towards the end of the year, culminating with a preposterous 160 from just 124 balls as his side just failed to chase 415 against India last week.
2. Shane Watson (Australia) – 1013 runs @ 50.65, top score 136*, 3 hundreds and 29 wickets @ 21.41, best 3-29
The Aussie opener did a good job when called upon to open during the Ashes, but he has found some real form in the shorter version of the game. Showing signs of turning into a world-beating all-rounder.
3. Virender Sehwag (India) – 800 runs @ 47.05 best 146, 3 hundreds
I almost left Sehwag out of both the Test and one-day sides, but after his recent form that seems a little harsh. Sehwag has played a number of telling innings in both forms of the game this year and spearheaded an India side who have reached no 1 in the world in Tests and no 2 in ODI rankings.
4. Paul Collingwood (England) – 705 runs @ 50.35, top score 105*, 1 hundred and 17 wickets @ 32.47, best 3-16
Collingwood’s form has been at the heart of England’s turn around in form. In turmoil after the one-day series against Australia, the side hit back with strong performances at the Champion’s Trophy and an impressive victory in South Africa. Collingwood has been at the heart of it all; reliable with the bat, a partnership-breaker with the ball and stunning in the field.
5. Yuvraj Singh (India) – 783 @ 39.15, top score 131, 2 hundreds, 14 wickets @ 40.28, best 3-31
Another superb year for Yuvraj. Whilst his form has been patchy at times, he has been destructive at times, particularly towards the start of the year when he blasted centuries against West Indies and Sri Lanka. He has developed into India’s X-Factor and they missed him sorely at the Champion’s Trophy.
6. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 671 runs @ 51.61, top score 105*, 2 hundreds and 26 wickets @ 22.88, best 3-8
Shakib Al Hasan has single-handedly carried Bangladesh cricket for some time now. Another wonderful year by the all-rounder adds more weight to Bangladesh’s continued status as a Test-playing nation. It would be a tragedy for someone of Shakib’s quality to miss out on top level international competition.
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India) – 1198@70.47, best 124, 2 hundreds
Has led India with style and ruthlessness. Dhoni’s wicket-keeping has been solid, his batting explosive and he even took the gloves off to have a bowl against West Indies – and took a wicket. Dhoni has matured into a world –class captain and has shouldered the responsibility of batting in the middle order with ease.
8. Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) – 259 runs @ 28.77, top score 48 and 24 wickets @ 28.66, best 4-20
Often overlooked in such lists, the New Zealand skipper has stepped his game up a gear this year, especially in one-day cricket. Vettori’s miserly off-spin has made him one of the most valuable properties in world cricket and he has improved his batting in the lower order. Like Shakib, he is often left to carry a modest team.
9. Umar Gul (Pakistan) – 27 wickets @ 25.51, best 4-58
Had a wonderful World Twenty20 and has spearheaded the Pakistan bowling attack during a tough year, on and off the pitch. His sharp pace and spearing yorker make him the world’s premier limited-overs seam bowler.
10. Dale Steyn (Souh Africa) – 26 wickets @ 27.26, best 4-27
The Proteas paceman’s season has been hampered by injury lately, but his form early in the season, against Australia, was outstanding. He also enjoyed a good Champion’s Trophy, despite South Africa’s failings.
11. James Anderson (England) – 34 wickets @ 23.91, best 5-23
Over the last two years, Anderson has developed from a pacey chancer to leader of England’s bowling attack. Reliable in Test matches, he has been outstanding in the one-day game. When England need a wicket, they throw the ball to Anderson. Finished the year by destroying an experienced South Africa, claiming five for 23 to lead England to a historic series victory.
Referrals: Should They Stay Or Should They Go?
Mark Benson is preparing to retire from umpiring after he returned home from the Adelaide test because of the controversial referral system, according to Cricinfo.
It is now high time the ICC made a decision about the future of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS).
First pioneered a year ago, the system has come under constant criticism from players and umpires alike.
Ricky Ponting was the latest to vent his dismay at the UDRS during the current Test with the West Indies, when Shivnarine Chanderpaul was given not out, despite video evidence apparently supporting a dismissal. Ponting and bowler Doug Bollinger’s heated exchange with Benson is thought to be the chief reason for the English umpires walkout.
After a year of testing, the time has come to either integrate the UDRS permanently into all Test series or to scrap it and go back to the drawing board.
Not surprisingly, the notoriously idiotic big-wigs at the ICC are still dodging the issue.
If we have learnt one thing from the last year, it is that cricket has enough on its’ plate at the moment without having to worry about checking every decision with a bloke in the commentary box.
And where do 30-second breaks every couple of overs fit into the 100mph, rock-star slugfest that is Twenty20?
Replays have worked at international level for run-outs and, to a point, for catches. But the biggest problem with the UDRS is that it takes the professional game too far away from the grass-roots games being played on our parks every Saturday afternoon.
Football benefits dramatically from the fact that it is fundamentally the same game at Old Trafford as it is at the local recreation ground. Twenty-two players, two sets of goalposts, one referee, one ball.
The more changes you make, the wider the gap becomes between the pros and the amateurs.
Stop meddling ICC and lets get back to concentrating on bat vs ball.
Brad Hodge Announces He is to Retire
Aussie batsman Brad Hodge has decided to call time on his first-class cricket career after losing hope of a Test recall.
He told PA Sport today:
“I feel the time is right to step down from first-class cricket. It’s been a wonderful journey, which hopefully has more to go at limited-overs and Twenty20 level. I’ve loved every time I’ve pulled on the navy blue cap and it was a dream come true to swap it for a baggy green for the times I did. Playing Test cricket for Australia was an incredible experience and I feel proud and blessed to have had that opportunity. Hopefully this decision will allow me to continue playing good cricket and also spend more time with my young family.”
A wonderful batsman, if Hodge had been from any other country or been around at any time other than the past 10 years, when Australia were blessed with a plethora of world-class players, he could have been a real force in the Test game.
Hodge averages more than 55 from six Tests – including a double-hundred – but has found it difficult to hold down a place in the competitive Aussie middle-order.
Having plundered 17,000 first-class runs in Australia and England, Hodge, unfortunately, retires as the nearly man of Australian cricket.
Warne the Greatest Sporting Icon of the Noughties
Fellow sports blogger Josh Pettitt this week posed a debate for the greatest sporting icon of the noughties.
In cricket, we have been lucky enough to witness the greatest of cricket teams in action over the last decade and, for all the brilliance of Brian Lara, the outstanding cricketer of the era must be an Australian.
Of the Australians who spearheaded this great side, many have brushed greatness on more than one occasion.
Adam Gilchrist redefined the role of the wicketkeeper-batsman, Matthew Hayden has tormented bowling attacks the world over, Ricky Ponting has ruthlessly racked up the runs and Glenn MacGrath’s meticulous accuracy was too good for most.
Best of the bunch
But it is Shane Warne who stands shoulders above his peers as a man who rarely slipped below the tag of greatness. Warne would be the first pick in anyone’s all-time XI and single-handedly made spin bowling sexy again.
From the turn of the century to his retirement at the end of the 2006/07 Ashes, Warne took an unprecedented 357 wickets at an average a little above 25.
And all this after being named as one of Wisden’s cricketers of the twentieth century. To achieve true greatness across in two centuries is a truly remarkable feat.
Ball of the century
When Warne bowled that magical ball to Mike Gatting on his Ashes debut in 1992, the cricketing world knew they had a special talent on their hands.
People feared he would struggle to generate such devastating spin after shoulder surgery in 2000 and 2002 and some even feared his career may be over. But Warne came back stronger, adding excruciating accuracy to his devastating spin.
And he finished his career in the greatest possible way – as the star of the Australia side who whitewashed England in the 2006-07 Ashes.
The sheer consistency with which Warne not just brushed greatness, but maintained it over seven years of the past decade – and fifteen in all - make him the greatest sporting icon of the noughties.
Check out the other contenders here;
Will Gilgrass on David Beckham
Rob Goodman on Zinedene Zidane
