In the latest world rankings, released after the Joburg and Hobart Tests, England are without a single batsman in the top 20 for the first time, by my reckoning, since 2002.

Andrew Strauss has slipped seven places over the course of the series with South Africa to No 21 and Kevin Pietersen’s fall has been sharper: down from No 4 at the start of the year to No 26 now.

Pietersen has fallen behind Paul Collingwood (up to No 22 despite not scoring a hundred in his past 11 Tests) and he is only one bad innings away from falling to England’s fourth best batsman with Alastair Cook in 28th place.

Heck, by the end of the Bangladesh tour, Pietersen could even have slipped behind Ian Bell, who is at No 32 and rising.

Four, or even five, batsmen in the top 30 isn’t in itself a bad thing. We’ve had as few as three in recent memory - and no more than six. Sri Lanka and Australia have only four each at the moment. South Africa have five and India have six, but England have two more than New Zealand or Pakistan and one more than the Windies.

That reflects our overall world Test ranking of fifth. The problem is the lack of one or two superstars. Depth is one thing, class is another. There are six different nations represented in the present top ten and England’s finest is 11 places outside that list.

This may be only temporary - Strauss could slip back into the top 20 next week if VVS Laxman (No 17) pays for a poor match against Bangladesh - but it has been a long time since we were without any top 20 representative. Pietersen had been in the top 20 since 2006 and was as high as No 3; before him there was a Trescothick or a Vaughan to fly the flag and, apart from a slump in 2000 and a brief dip in 2002, Graham Thorpe was in the top 20 between 1995 and 2003.

Before him, Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart were regulars in the top ten - and briefly, in 1992, we even had the No 1 and 2 batsmen in the world, in Graham Gooch and Robin Smith. Read more…

Administrator Views Alastair Cook, Alec Stewart, Andrew Strauss, Bangladesh, England, Hobart, Ian Bell, Joburg, Mike Atherton, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paul Collingwood, Pietersen, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thorpe

England’s decision to allow “jaded” captain Andrew Strauss to miss next month’s tour to Bangladesh will leave many fans scratching their heads.

At a time when England are looking to lick the team into shape for their Ashes defence against Australia at the end of the year, it seems odd for the skipper not to be leading his troops from the front. Instead, it will be a “very excited” Alastair Cook who takes charge.

Strauss certainly does need to do something about his form. His team were fortunate to tie the four-match series 1-1 in South Africa after scraping two draws in Centurion and Cape Town by the skin of their teeth, and the captain himself was way below his best with the bat, scoring just 170 runs at an average of 24.28.

But rather than an extended rest, he could consider that the best way for a test batsman to regain his form is to play in a test. And given that Bangladesh’s bowlers are hardly the most fearsome in world cricket, shouldn’t an out-of-touch opener be relishing the opportunity?

Now the tour of South Africa is over, England have a four-week break before they leave for three Twenty20 matches in the Middle East ahead of the trip to Bangladesh.

Isn’t four weeks enough for Strauss to recharge his batteries before getting out there again to try to do what a batsman does best — and bat? Read more…

Administrator England Add new tag, Alastair Cook, Bangladesh, Blogs.CMDN.com, Cape Town, Centurion, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, England, South Africa, Twenty20

In the end, England were not able to produce a third great escape to win the Test series here in South Africa. But had they held on for a couple of extra hours at the Wanderers on Sunday they might have just managed to do it.

Johannesburg was hit by a huge thunderstorm in the afternoon which would have washed out any play after tea - and on Monday the city was hit by heavy rain and dark cloud which may have made conditions impossible on what would have been the scheduled final day.

Whether it would have been right for England to win the series is obviously highly debatable although this morning’s newspapers here in South Africa leave you in little doubt about what they think.

Stuart Hess, writing in the Johannesburg Star, states: “There are those who believe that England deserved to get something out of the Test series. They’d be wrong. The outcome was not a true reflection of the standard these two sides displayed, for South Africa were much the better team. England were resilient throughout, showed a lot of character, but even their own captain recognised they were the inferior team.”

Despite England’s rather disappointing capitulation yesterday morning it has overall been a gripping Test series. As England clung on to nail-biting draws at Centurion and Newlands we got a great picture through your e-mails and texts of how you were nervously listening to Test Match Special.

It was almost too much for TMS new boy Michael Vaughan at Newlands who turned to Jonathan Agnew during the final over to say “I’m sorry Aggers, I just can’t watch this”. Jonathan quickly replied: “I’m sorry you’ve got to. Remember how many times you put us through this sort of thing when you were captain.”

One of my favourite stories of people listening to the series came from Steve in Oxford who e-mailed us when England were taking important wickets one afternoon. He told us: “I am currently invigilating an exam and just jumped for joy at that wicket, disturbed everyone, but I Read more…

Administrator RSA vs ENG Adil Rashid, Alastair Cook, Blogs.CMDN.com, Cape Town, Centurion, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Duncan Fletcher, ECB, England, Geoff Boycott, ICC, Johannesburg, Michael Vaughan, South Africa, Stuart Hess, UAE, UDRS, Wanderers, Yorkshire

From a distance, it has looked like a dreary month in South Africa. Being confined to barracks by the rain in grim places such as East London, as the England players have lately, once reduced a cricket correspondent of my acquaintance to ripping his telephone out of the wall socket and hurling it into the swimming pool below.

When asked by the concerned local tourist board whether it could be of any help, he was heard to shout, “Yes, you can get me a one-way ticket out of here!”

Not much fun, then, for those following the jamboree, but, for England, at least the opening salvoes of this tour have given them a much-needed boost in one-day cricket.

The gloss of becoming only the second team to win a bilateral series in South Africa was diminished slightly by the unsatisfactory nature of it: the washed-out games in Johannesburg and Durban, which reduced the five-match series to the best of three, and the endless hours to kill between the rain and spaced-out games that, to have been productively spent, would have stretched the imagination of even the most enterprising management team.

With England and one-day cricket, though, any success is worth celebrating.

It is with the management team that we must start, because Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, captain and team manager respectively, have wrought, arguably, an even bigger improvement in England’s one-day fortunes since the drubbing by Australia than they did with the Test side after the debacle in Jamaica — a performance that led to a great deal of soul-searching and, thereafter, to greater honesty. An Ashes victory was the end game of that change in attitude; a World Cup showing better than any since 1992 now their aim in the limited-overs game.

After the meek post-Ashes surrender against Australia and the subsequent exit from the Champions Trophy, they made two key resolutions: that athleticism is non-negotiable Read more…

Administrator England Alastair Cook, Ashes, Blogs.CMDN.com, Champions Trophy, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, England, James Anderson, Kevin Pietersen, London, Paul Collingwood, Shah, South Africa, World Cup

…what posts would they take in the British government?

Prime Minister – Michael Vaughan
Sorry Strauss. Vaughan has a more Blairite public face with Yorkshire steel propping up his policies. Universally respected; peace envoy to the middle east already a certainty.

Deputy Prime Minister – Andrew Strauss
No Blair/Brown ego wars here. Strauss would never turn the job down if offered, but second in command suits his style.

Chancellor of the Exchequer – Matthew Hoggard
We need someone thrifty from Yorkshire to keep a tab on taxes and mortgage rates. Yearly budget speech guaranteed entertainment.

Secretary of State for Defence – Mike Atherton
Rock solid. Nothing’s getting past that. Get out of my sight, outswinging terrorists; this is Lancashire’s finest.

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, First Secretary and Lord President of the Council – Alastair Cook
Mandyesque smarminess required. Mandyesque smarminess found. God-like aspirations will fall on deaf ears, as will all his policies.

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – David Lloyd
Everyone would love him.

Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor – Bob Willis
All derelict houses to be turned into prisons. Anyone not capable of an upright seam sentenced to five years labour making cricket balls. All umpires to spend seven months in solitary confinement on evidence of a “truly shocking” decision being made.

Secretary of State for Health – Andrew Flintoff
Just one of his roles. Expected to offer cheerful assistance to PM on most matters, and Read more…

Administrator England Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Andrew Strauss, Blogs.CMDN.com, Bob Willis, Cricket, David Lloyd, Dhoni, Geoffrey Boycott, Matthew Hoggard, Michael Vaughan, Mike Atherton, Paul Collingwood, Robert Croft, Steve Harmison

Sri Lanka have earned their Test ranking position but must end their Indian jinx to maintain it

If you were asked to stick pins on a map of the world to denote the most hallowed venues in cricket, it’s safe to say that Barnfields in Staffordshire probably wouldn’t get one. Moddershall, who play there, do have a claim to fame, though. It was from the relative anonymity of North Staffs & South Cheshire Premier Division cricket that Rangana Herath was summoned to Sri Lanka to play a Test series against Pakistan. The quintessential journeyman had been asked to replace the irreplaceable Muttiah Muralitharan, and he surprised everyone by doing just that, taking 15 wickets in three Tests.

The reward? To be left out for the opening game of the series against New Zealand, with the out-of-sorts Ajantha Mendis returning to the fray. The 31-year-old Herath is not your average crumbling cookie, though, and when given his chance at the SSC in Colombo, he took an eight-wicket haul, thwarting a rousing lower-order charge orchestrated by the magnificent Daniel Vettori.

Sri Lanka’s 2-0 series win has given them a little more breathing space in the ICC’s Test Championship table, and only two points now separate them from the No1-ranked South Africa. India trail them by a point, while Australia are a further three back, but all that could change this winter, with the top sides facing contrasting challenges.

Australia should prove too strong for Pakistan and West Indies, while South Africa have to confront an England side buoyed by Ashes success, before travelling to India to Read more…

Administrator SL vs NZ Alastair Cook, Ashes, Australia, Barnfields, Blogs.CMDN.com, Colombo, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Daniel Vettori, England, Galle, Gooch, ICC, India, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Perth, Rangana Herath, Rudi Koertzen, Samaraweera, Sambit Bal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, SSC, Staffordshire

In the course of my travels over the last couple of days, I’ve watched Ravi Bopara and Alastair Cook get out for one and four respectively at Lord’s, seen Kent skipper Rob Key score an assured 90 only to miss out on a ton when he was lbw to a straight one at Northampton, and called in at The Oval to sit in on an interview with Mark Ramprakash, to hear him say he’d definitely play for England again, if asked.

What a week this is turning into for speculation, counter-speculation and player watching.

Once Bopara and Cook were dismissed at Lord’s, England selector James Whitaker sat in the media centre, glued to the television, awaiting news of Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott from Trent Bridge.

The skies were leaden and it wasn’t a good day for batting. Who’d be an England selector?

Wholesale changes aren’t needed for the Oval. Yes, England had a horrendous time at Headingley, batted and bowled abysmally, but you don’t become a terrible side overnight (or even in two-and-a-half days as the case may be). Read more…

Administrator Ashes Alastair Cook, Ashes, Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Edgbaston, England, Headingley, Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Kent, Kevin Pietersen, Leeds, Lord's, Mark Ramprakash, Ravi Bopara, Rob Key, The Oval, Trent Bridge

The biggest problem for England without Kevin Pietersen is that they may have to compromise a strength to cover a weakness

As mind-altering drugs go, the Ashes is right up there. At the start of the series, the notion of anything other than outright fear at the prospect of an England team without Kevin Pietersen would have felt absurd, but after two weeks of seemingly ceaseless twists this afternoon’s announcement that Pietersen will miss the rest of the series following achilles surgery feels almost like a blessed relief. From the distracting circus surrounding his fitness, from the risible condemnation of his most minute failings, and from the unedifying sight of a truly great batsman struggling to wrestle with the grubby limitations of mortality.

It is an enormous blow, clearly, but it is not a fatal one. England’s most memorable success of the last four years, in the CB Series of 2006-07, came without Pietersen, and they might be secretly glad that they finally know where they stand. Since the start of the series the cricket fraternity has felt the constant need to talk about Kevin, and many people will now be glad that he has given them cause to shut up. The simple truth is that Pietersen, surely, had no option but to have an operation. Whether you regard him as an insufferably selfish character or someone who is only invigorated by a glory that is intrinsically characterised by team rather than personal achievement (the latter, since you asked), there can be no doubt that this decision would have been taken with the heaviest of hearts.

The deterioration in Pietersen’s condition from even the first innings at Cardiff to the second innings at Lord’s, a span of only nine days, was so pronounced as to prompt the conclusion that this was not so much a decision as a reluctant acceptance of the inevitable. Read more…

Administrator Ashes, England Alastair Cook, Ashes, Blogs.CMDN.com, Cardiff, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, England, Flintoff, Geoff Miller, Kevin Pietersen, Tony Greig

These are my ratings for the 22 men who played in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, as England completed a rare win over Australia in a memorable Test at the home of cricket.

ENGLAND

Andrew Strauss - 9
A wonderful century on the first day set the tone beautifully, and it looked even better when Australia folded so rapidly on the second day. His captaincy is fast improving, though he perhaps let the game drift a little on the fourth afternoon with some defensive field placings.

Alastair Cook - 8
Scored quickly in both innings on a ground that has served him well in the past. Looking much better outside off-stump and dealt with the short stuff really well. It’s the straight one that’s the only problem.

Ravi Bopara - 4
Got a pretty good ball before he had really established himself in the first innings, but made very heavy weather in the second innings with little pressure on England - and frankly looked a little out of nick.

Kevin Pietersen - 6
There is no doubt that the various injections Pietersen has had to ease the pain in his Achilles is affecting the way he moves at the crease. Still, scores of 32 and 44 meant this was no total disaster for KP. Read more…

Administrator Ashes Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Andrew Strauss, Ashes, Australia, Ben Hilfenhaus, Blogs.CMDN.com, Brad Haddin, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, England, graeme swann, Graham Onions, James Anderson, Kevin Pietersen, Marcus North, Matt Prior, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Paul Collingwood, Peter Siddle, Phillip Hughes, Ravi Bopara, Ricky Ponting, Simon Katich, stuart broad

Established: 1814
Capacity: 30,000
Floodlights: Yes
Ends: Pavilion End, Nursery End
Home Team: Middlesex
Test History: 116 Tests; 43 home wins, 27 away wins, 46 draws
Ashes History: 32 Tests; 5 England wins, 14 Australia wins, 13 draws
Last 10 Tests: 3 home wins, 1 away win, 6 draws
Last 10 Tosses: 4 batted first (1 win, 3 draws); 6 bowled first (1 win, 2 defeats, 3 draws)

Overview
As the home of English cricket - indeed world cricket - it has been suggested that Lord’s inspires the opposition more than it does the hosts.

It’s a theory that certainly holds water when it comes to the Australians. England haven’t beaten the old enemy at HQ since before the Second World War and have only one win since the reign of Queen Victoria.

In recent years it has become sometihng of a batting paradise - despite the infamous slope - and has produced a fair number of draws. Indeed, six Tests in a row here were drawn between Australia’s 2005 victory and England’s three-day defeat of West Indies earlier this summer. However, the pitch is playing rather quicker this year by all accounts and offering assistance for everyone rather than just fancy-dan batsman looking to get their name on the dangerously overcrowded Lord’s honours board.

Despite the MCC’s reputation for stuffiness, the ground has been extensively redeveloped to keep it at the forefront of cricketing venues, and many of the additions - notably the futuristic Media Centre at the Nursery End - are strikingly modern without diminishing the famous venue’s historical power.

Last time out
England beat West Indies by 10 wickets to end a run of six straight draws at HQ against an out-of-sorts and apparently uninterested Windies outfit. Ravi Bopara’s 143 and Graeme Swann’s entertaining 63 not out took England to Read more…

Administrator Ashes Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ashes, Australia, Blogs.CMDN.com, Brendan Nash, Brett Lee, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Denesh Ramdin, Devon Smith, England, Glenn McGrath, graeme swann, Justin Langer, Lord's, MCC, Michael Clarke, Middlesex, Nursery End, Pavilion End, pitch report, Queen Victoria, Second World War, Shane Warne, West Indies