The Champions Trophy trophy lies in wait at Edgbaston

South Africa scraped through in dramatic fashion as Dale Steyn caught Kieron Pollard at third man off what turned out to be the last ball of their game against West Indies. The heavens opened, the covers came on and Duckworth Lewis declared the game tied; The Proteas’s superior net run rate saw them in the semis.

Sri Lanka similarly pulled off something of an escape following a narrow one wicket defeat to New Zealand in their opening fixture. They then majestically chased down 294 to beat the hosts England at the Oval and then saw off Australia to qualify at the expense of the Kiwis.

England have been a mixed bag. There was a solid opening game win at Edgbaston against Australia followed by a surprisingly poor bowling display as they let Sri Lanka home with room to spare. They then batted aggressively and bowled superbly in Cardiff against New Zealand to book their spot in the semis.

India, however, have experienced no such trials and tribulations. A total of 331 in Cardiff in the tournament opener was too stiff a target for South Africa and they easily hunted down West Indies’ 233 at the Oval. The eagerly anticipated clash with Pakistan was something of a wash out, India controlling a rain affected fixture.

There has been some really entertaining cricket so far, even if the weather, notably in Wales, has been somewhat determined to spoil the party. The semi-finals commence at the Oval tomorrow and in Cardiff on Thursday to decide who will contest Sunday’s final in Birmingham.

Previews and Predictions

South Africa Vs England – the Oval

England bounced back from a Test series defeat last year to beat South Africa in the subsequent ODIs and will be optimistic of repeating the trick here. The only snag is the weakness of their bowling at the Oval only last week. A much better performance will be required here.

Likewise South Africa will be hoping that their own much vaunted seam attack can fire here with Steyn’s rehabilitation having had a little longer to take effect. They will also be looking for a little more from the bats of JP Duminy, David Miller and Faf du Plessis.

England’s batting line up has, thus far, been rather impressive, even if there is a perception that they have been a bit conservative atop the order, a point captain Alastair Cook alluded to after the Sri Lanka game. Eoin Morgan hasn’t really fired yet, nor has Jos Buttler.

Key Men – South Africa will not want to meet James Anderson, who is part of Strongbow’s Earn It campaign where you can win the chance to face an over from the England bowler and who bowled superbly in Cardiff on Sunday to blow New Zealand’s top order away. Unless he bowls like he did last week against Sri Lanka, of course…

Ryan McLaren has impressed with the bat for South Africa and has bowled more maidens (three) and taken more wickets (eight) than any of his colleagues in the tournament thus far.

I’m backing England to win this one. They look to have a very clear game plan and South Africa have looked a little short on confidence and quality at this tournament, which has surprised me. They also love a choke…

India Vs Sri Lanka – Cardiff

India have been the form team at this tournament and will be confident of overcoming a side that they are very familiar with. That said, Lasith Malinga nearly inspired Sri Lanka to the most unlikely of victories against New Zealand and Kumar Sangakkara hit a superb century in defeating England.

Key Men – Shikhar Dhawan has been in inspired form opening the innings for India, with two centuries from three games. He tops the run scoring charts across the board and his solid platforms have been crucial to India thus far and will continue to be so in the knock out stages.

Sri Lanka are reliant upon a few key performers and none is more key than Malinga. If he fires, then anything is possible. He’s an incredibly popular figure in India thanks to his IPL exploits with Mumbai Indians and will be keen to show who the main man is.

India have been metronomic in this tournament so far but Sri Lanka are coming in on the back of good wins against England and Australia. There hasn’t been a real surprise so far but I fancy that this may be it and am backing Sri Lanka to win! That said, if it’s another wash out in Wales, India advance as a result of winning Group A…

Join us later in the week for our preview of the final between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston!

By Miles Reucroft

The Blind and Visually Impaired Cricket Club, Sierra Leone

The Blind and Visually Impaired Cricket Club gathers twice a month to play out keenly fought matches in Freetown, the capital of the small West African country of Sierra Leone. Each side has six overs to work the rattling ball for as many runs as possible. On the wicketkeeper’s call (“bowler bowl”) the bowler sends the ball rolling towards the other wicket (wides are harshly judged!) and the batsman, listening as closely as possible to the noise, tries to put bat to ball.

Most of the shots were a kind of brushing, paddle sweep (with shades of Eoin Morgan reverse sweeping?) although the odd partially sighted player does have a go at a drive-come-slog.

When there is contact the most manic and – in the nicest possible way – most fun part of the proceedings start. Fielders have to listen for the ball, spread their hands out as though they were polishing the floor, trying to locate the bloody thing. And the batsmen have to judge which direction the other wicket is as they try and get some runs.

But for all the smiles and laughs, the players are serious and determined. Ismael, for example, went blind only in the last few years and the club is now an important part of his life, showing that he can keep going with his life.

The team captain, Henry, is demanding and eager to win (he does win the game we watch). And for all the players there is a palpable excitement and sense of pride; they are ecstatic that some travellers from England, “cricket’s homeland”, have come to see them.

The coach, Mohamed, himself a “handy allrounder” has grand plans to extend the game out into the country’s provinces and create a mini league. He may yet be held back by a desperate shortage of kit and equipment, but his ambition and drive remain undimmed.

As we stood watching the game, joined by a small group of local kids who looked absorbed but also slightly bemused, it was easy to forget that we were watching some people who face some of the biggest challenges of anyone in the world. Not only are they blind (with many going blind only later in life, as a result of prevetanable diseases like measles), but they live in one of the poorest countries on earth.

It was just 13 years ago that Sierra Leone finally escaped a vicious civil war. After the British army intervened, a group of rebels, the Revolutionary United Front, renowned for amputating hands and arms, were beaten back and the country started to rebuild itself. This recovery and reconstruction has been difficult enough for ordinary Sierra Leonians, but imagine if you were blind as well.

I have been lucky enough to watch some of the greatest cricketers of our times. I’ve been to some of the best grounds and even watched the 2010/11 Melbourne and Sydney Ashes Tests. But in its own way watching this wonderful, if slightly peculiar, game of cricket on the West African coast was a match for all of this. It spoke to the role that sport, and cricket in particular, can play in bringing joy to some of the most forgotten and most hard done by people in the world.

By Will Paxton

England celebrate the 3-1 victory Down Under that means that they defend the tiny little urn in 2013

It was, until very recently, a cause for nervous anticipation for England fans. You looked forward to clashes against Australia in the same way you looked forward to trips to the dentist. Or to an exam. It might rain, was the best the Poms could hope for, in which case everything would be all right.

The boot is on the other foot now, though. Expectant of success against submissive Englishmen, the Aussies are now possessed of the weakest of the two sides, unquestionably. That, of course, will do nothing to dampen their cautious optimism. You won’t find many Australians willing to accept defeat too readily.

Michael Clarke’s side have arrived in England on the back of a 4-0 whitewashing at the hands of India. Conditions on the subcontinent didn’t play into the hands of their strong seam attack and highlighted the impotence of their spin options, a problem that could potentially be resolved by the fast tracking of a passport for Fawad Ahmed.

Australia isn’t a country typically associated with an open door policy when it comes to immigration, but when it comes to sport, exceptions can be made. Such is the desire to have Ahmed available to face England that new rules are being implemented in parliament.

A great vote of confidence for Nathan Lyon, currently the squad’s only spinner, there… Even the politicians are in the act of desperately searching for options to improve a squad that look ill-equipped for the challenge of regaining the famous little urn.

The pace attack, on the other hand, could cause anyone problems (in the right conditions). In James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Jackson Bird and James Faulkner, Australia has the tools to compete with England’s vaunted seam attack of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, Tim Bresnan and the recovering Chris Tremlett.

In Graeme Swann, however, England has by far and away the most dangerous spin option. At any rate, it’s unlikely Ahmed will turn up and leave as big an impression on the Ashes series in England as Shane Warne did in 2005.

That sinking feeling of watching the ball travel right into the hands of a grateful slip fielder...

Two of the defeats that we’ve suffered were heavy, by 202 and 201 runs against vastly superior opposition. Such is your lot at times, but we’ve also had three competitive fixtures thrown in. In the two spankings I registered scores of zero and zero, so the average has been hampered somewhat!

In the other two fixtures that I’ve played, I’ve managed scores of 19 and three. The 19 came opening the batting in a low scoring game against West Byfleet. I wasn’t expecting to play any part in the game since I was going to see Jack Dee that evening in Hammersmith and was only meant to be running the scorebook down for our stand in skipper.

Availability being somewhat limited, however, meant that it was a good call to throw the whites and the new bat into the boot of the car as well. Upon arrival I was forced into a rapid change of attire to head out and open the batting in damp conditions. We headed off once for rain, but it was good to find some sort of rhythm and spend some time out in the middle having failed the week before.

It was also good to play some shots with the new Slazenger V100. The wet conditions meant that the ground strokes weren’t running away to the boundary, but the gaps were found and there were one or two lustier blows that brought the power of the blade into play. It was a case of one lusty blow too many, however, as in the end a huge top edge brought about a close to my cameo appearance after 44 deliveries.

The team was eventually bowled out for 56, but our bowlers found some form and we only lost by four wickets.

The following week we were on the end of another hiding, I registered another zero but the world keeps turning… Annoying, but thems the breaks. The following week the team mustered our first win of the season in the return fixture against West Byfleet.  Unfortunately, from my point of view, I was away, off to the O2 to see Carl Froch do battle with Mikkel Kessler.

I was back on duty this Saturday, however, and we had a cracking game at home to Bec Old Boys A. I won the toss (for the first time ever) and decided that we’d have a bat. I was soon dismissed for three. I never got settled and was struggling to pick the ball up, the runs coming from ugly nurdles into the on side.

I had been dropped once by first slip, hanging my bat out to dry outside off stump, before deciding attack was the only way forward and perishing to my second offering to first slip. The team went on to slump to 16/4 before our middle and lower order managed to create a few partnerships to drag us to a total of 105.

We set about defending the small total but looked out of proceedings as they marched imperiously from 5/2 to 63/2. A spate of wickets, however, and they were 69/7. We were, suddenly, on top.

Unfortunately they managed to find a ninth partnership that took them to 98/9 and, in the end, managed to drag themselves over the line for a tense and exciting one wicket victory.

Those are the sort of games that you play cricket for, though. We may have lost but it was a terrific game and was far more satisfying than a one sided annihilation.

There are promising signs for the rest of the season, though, and everyone seems to be enjoying their cricket. That, at the end of the day, is what it’s all about. We’re not doing it for the money and women after all…

I’m off for another week this week, but will be back with another update in a couple of weeks.

By Miles Reucroft

The Promise of Endless Summer features obituaries of some of the game's greats, like Don Bradman

The book takes a selection of over 80 obituaries from the newspaper, each chose because of the colourfulness of the writing and the character beyond. Some giants of the game such as Sir Don Bradman, Harold Larwood and Malcolm Marshall sit alongside those who brought their inimitable style and character to the game we all love such as David Bairstow, Norman Mitchell-Innes and Charles Palmer.

The writing featured comes from such luminaries of cricket as E.W Swanton, Michael Parkinson and Scyld Berry, who has the distinction of having his tribute to E.W Swanton featured.

It’s a lovely, staccato book that brings to life an array of cricketers that gave the sport the deep cultural history that it carries today. The book is perhaps best summed up by a quote that Smith uses in his introduction, from Garrison Keillor: “They say such nice things about people at their funeral that it makes me sad that I’m going to miss mine by just a few days.”

We’ve got three copies of this charming book to give away. To be in with a chance of winning one, just answer the following question:

Which county won the 2012 County Championship?

Include your answer in the subject line of an e-mail to competitions@thecricketblog.co.uk and please include your full name and preferred postal address in the event that you are selected.

Please note that we are only able to distribute copies to UK addresses. The competition will close on Midday, Friday May 31. Winners will be notified shortly after.

Good luck!

Sreesanth, once a tearaway darling of Indian cricket, has sold his career to the dogs.

Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians face off on Tuesday in Qualifier 1, the winner will advance to Sunday’s final at Eden Gardens. The loser will take on the winner of the Eliminator, to be played between third and fourth placed sides the Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad for the other final berth.

Our predictions have been proved to be very, very wrong; not the best cricket bet in town! Of our suggested top four, only Mumbai have made it in. Our prediction that this would be the year for Royal Challengers Bangalore has fallen well short of the mark, even if Chris Gayle, top scorer this year with 708 runs, did provide the most explosive moments of this year’s tournament. So far…

The less said about Kolkata Knight Rider’s defence of the crown they won in 2012, the better, too.

Given the strength of the two sides it is easy to suggest that Chennai and Mumbai will be facing off once more on Sunday. It would be hasty to rule out Rajasthan and Hyderabad though, since neither would seriously have expected to be involved at this stage. Indeed, for Rajasthan, this is the franchise’s first appearance in the knock out stages since that unexpected win in the IPL’s inaugural tournament.

The Royals are also beset by off field problems with three of their players – Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – spending time in prison having been arrested on suspicion of spot-fixing. It’s hardly a surprise that a tournament such as this has fallen victim to the bookmakers greed, but the show drags on.

The problems may well have a galvanising effect on the Royals players, since they will have spent the last week largely out of the media spotlight as press coverage of the aforementioned trio reached fever pitch. It will certainly add to the element of nothing to lose which could free the players to deliver an almighty shock at this tournament. In James Faulkner they have the top wicket taker at IPL 6 and in Shane Watson they have a man fast rediscovering his mojo after a woeful visit to India in Australia’s colours.

Whatever the outcome of the Hyderabad Vs Rajasthan fixture, both sides have done themselves proud and highlighted the unpredictability of this tournament.

From here, though, I think this could now, finally, be Mumbai’s year. I fancy that they will face Chennai in Sunday’s final and I fancy that they will win.

A lot of the magic of this marathon of a tournament has been taken away by corruption. What’s real here? There are insane amounts of money flying around and there is little romance left, if there was any in the first place. The sight of young players being given their chance in the spotlight was encouraging, but it appears some have been too keen to cash in their chips.

It is difficult to escape the feeling that the IPL is at a crossroads. The commercial ransacking of cricket is almost unbearable, born out by the miserable looking spectators sat in those odd cricket ball-shaped domes pitch side at the behest of one of the sponsors.

And it just drags on and on. It has become an interminable string of record breaking exploits that seem to stretch back to the start of time. Where did this tournament begin and the last one end? The only thing gluing players like Gayle to this jamboree is money. And that’s a shame.

It could – and indeed should – be a whole lot more than that. The game, once again, has been made unpalatable by the act of fixing. It’s time for the BCCI to make a stand and take some decisive action. This will be to the benefit of not just cricket in India, but globally.

What price them actually taking any serious action, though? I’ll happily take this back if proved wrong, but the incompetence in Indian cricket flows from the top of the game. And by virtue of the standing of Indian cricket in the world game, there is a real danger of this incompetence over flowing and contaminating the rest of the world.

I’m not suggesting that India is the only place affected by the cancer of fixing – far from it. But cricket in India is in the rare position where it can make a very public statement of intent. I sincerely hope that it does. The demonstrable cleansing of the IPL would be a huge victory for cricket, for everyone.

By Miles Reucroft

England will meet Australia in five one day internationals after the Tests, with games also being held in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth before going to Adelaide for the final match which happens to fall on Australia day, 26^th January.

England will then play three Twenty20s against Australia after the Ashes series at the end of the year; they will be played in Hobart, Melbourne and at Sydney’s Stadium Australia.

CA chief executive James Sutherland said: “We are pleased to confirm the full 2013-14 international schedule, which includes 33 days of international cricket and five tour matches. Dates and venues for the five-match Carlton Mid ODI Series and the three KFC T20 Internationals have now been added to the previously-confirmed five-match Commonwealth Bank Ashes Test Series fixture.”

After the last Ashes series which England won 3-1, they took part in a disappointing seven-game ODI series in Australia in January and February 2011. England also played triangular series in 2007 that involved Australia and New Zealand. It was England that were triumphant, lifting the trophy after winning the final series by two games to nil. It was England’s first major one-day tournament win since 1997 and their first Australian tri-series win in 20 years. However, this coming one-day programme is much shorter than England’s last two visits to Australia.

Australia and New Zealand will co-host the next 50-over World Cup in February and March 2015 so the one-day internationals will offer important preparation for the England side. With the Ashes now looming England must stay focused. England are strong favourites in the bookmakers eyes, with some giving odds of 2/5. Updated odds can be found at www.freebets.com, and we look forward to cricket’s oldest and most renowned rivalry, one that has covered more than 300 matches and dates back 136 years. The long tour will begin on the 31^st of October and it will surely be a massive test for the whole squad and backroom staff.

England’s limited-overs fixtures in Australia 2013-14:

12 January: 1st One Day International, Melbourne

14 January: 50-over tour match v Prime Minister’s XI, Canberra

17 January: 2nd One Day International, Brisbane

19 January: 3rd One Day International, Sydney (SCG)

24 January: 4th One Day International, Perth

26 January: 5th One Day International, Adelaide

29 January: 1st Twenty20 international, Hobart

31 January: 2nd Twenty20 international, Melbourne

2 February: 3rd Twenty20 international, Sydney (Stadium Australia)

England had to rely on Monty Panesar to survive a few balls in the final innings of the series in New Zealand to come away with a draw

That England were forced to cling on grimly, yet heroically, to force the series draw in Auckland spoke volumes for both sides. This New Zealand outfit, under the leadership of Brendan McCullum, is not to be taken lightly and England, too, still have the air of defiance about them that played no small part in their previous march to the top of the ICC Test rankings before being dethroned by South Africa 12 months ago.

On home soil, however, it is difficult to see England being caused too many problems by New Zealand. The two Tests in the series are at Lord’s and Headingley, before a three match ODI series ahead of the Champions Trophy.

The weather in England has been a mixed bag of late and it is likely that the Lord’s Test will be affected. This shouldn’t derail England, though, and I fully expect them to assert their superiority over the Kiwis, even without the injured Kevin Pietersen.

The ODIs are far more difficult to call, but England will be very keen to lay down a marker ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. There then follow two T20s at the Oval at the end of June, before the Aussies arrive. It’s hard to see this as anything but an hors d’oeuvres, but as we saw only a few weeks ago, underestimate this New Zealand side at your peril…

Watch out for…

In the absence of Kevin Pietersen, Jonny Bairstow has another opportunity to impress in the England Test side. He was devoid of First Class cricket throughout the winter, something that didn’t help him as he was thrust into the side in Auckland. He has started the season in decent form for Yorkshire and England Lions and there is also a wicket keeping spot up for grabs in the limited overs sides if Jos Buttler slips up at that level.

Bairstow has be a regular with the gloves for Yorkshire and kept for the Lions against the New Zealanders, whilst Somerset have stuck two fingers up at England’s selection panel and kept faith with axed England keeper Craig Kieswetter at the expense of Buttler.

Graeme Swann has never played a Test against New Zealand and his recovery from elbow surgery appears complete as he will play in the series. Tim Bresnan also returns to the squad, but is most likely to feature on the field with a tray of drinks and the odd pair of gloves.

For New Zealand, Hamish Rutherford will be keen to kick on after so impressing in the return leg. He scored a composed century in the first Test that made a big impact in New Zealand. It would be great to see him find success away from home, too.

On the bowling front the Kiwis have an array of hard working seamers of which I anticipate Neil Wagner being the pick. Expect it to be definitively confirmed that Bruce Martin is not of sufficient quality to be a front line Test spinner.

Predictions

England to win the Test series 2-0, weather permitting. It’s just impossible to see New Zealand having enough quality to keep England at bay. The Kiwis have, however, made a habit of making the impossible a reality by performing at levels seemingly beyond them. Surely not this time, though. Surely not.

I also expect England to win the ODI series. I won’t be so bold as to put a score line on that, though, and I certainly don’t make that prediction with the same conviction with which I predict the outcome of the Tests. Limited overs cricket is a great leveller and New Zealand are never to be written off.

By Miles Reucroft

Chris Gayle has created the biggest storm by far in 2013, hitting 175* Vs Pune Warriors

Perhaps the biggest surprise so far has been the performances of defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and last year’s final four qualifiers Delhi Daredevils. Delhi are cast adrift with Pune Warriors at the foot of the nine team table with only four points from nine games, whilst Kolkata are only two points better off. They have slumped a long way from the side that lifted the trophy in Chennai 12 months ago.

Last year’s defeated finalists and the IPL’s most decorated franchise, Chennai Super Kings, continue to set the pace with 14 points from their nine fixtures. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals are hot on their heels with 12 points each.

Add to that group Sunrisers Hyderabad on 10 points and it looks very much as though those will be the five franchises in contention for the four knock-out spots. Kings XI Punjab lurk just behind them on eight, but it would a huge surprise were they to make the top four.

On the player front there are some familiar faces topping the run scoring and wicket taking charts. The biggest story of IPL 6, so far at least, has without doubt been one Christopher Henry Gayle. If you missed it, he hit a rather brisk 175* for RCB against Pune the other week…

Of all the centuries that have been scored in senior men’s cricket, none has been quicker than Gayle’s 30 ball effort. After 66 balls he had closed on 175* comprising 17 sixes and only 13 fours, RCB were closed on 263/5, the biggest team score in T20 history.

It was quite the afternoon and has powered Gayle to the top of the scoring charts with 484 runs at a scarcely credible strike rate of 166.89 – not bad for an opener.

Old hand Michael Hussey is offer Gayle the most competition for ownership of the orange cap (awarded to the top run scorer in the IPL) with 445 runs for CSK. Virat Kohli lies in third, some way behind on 366 runs.

Of the fellas charged with supplying the deliveries that are to be tonked several rows back, young Australian all-rounder James Faulkner is currently topping the charts with 16 wickets from seven appearances for Rajasthan. His form has caught the eye of the Australian selectors and the Tasmanian has been given the nod to tour England this summer.

The Australian First Class system clearly isn’t producing players of Test match quality, so why not rely on the IPL?

Faulkner is closely followed by last season’s top bowler, Sunil Narine, on 15 wickets. Dwayne Bravo and Vinay Kumar join him.

Moments like Chris Gayle’s innings are what make the IPL worth watching and his pyrotechnics were a huge fillip to the tournament. There has been some outstanding fielding, too, and Dwayne Bravo leads the way with 10 catches.

Hopefully Hyderabad can stick in there and challenge for a top four spot to keep the intrigue alive before the knock out stages commence. It seems shocking, but the defending champions are highly unlikely to feature in the final reckoning.

The IPL title will change hands once again. We predicted RCB ( http://www.thecricketblog.com/ipl-6-preview-and-prediction-part-two/) to claim their first title and with Gayle in the ranks, who wants to rule that out?

By Miles Reucroft

all stats correct as of close of play, April 29