England have suffered in their trials by video at Centurion but only tweaks are needed to ensure everyone is happy

THE CENTURION Test has been our first experience of the revised Umpire Decision Review System. My initial impression is that the changes made to something that was largely derided earlier in the year on the tour of the West Indies have improved it.

In the Caribbean, the third umpires had a shocker. This was because of the limitations of the system — partly due to poor technology, such as the wrong camera angle being supplied for use in some crucial decisions — and because of misunderstandings as to the exact role that the man in the box plays in guiding the umpires in the middle.

Those problems have now been removed. The most important change has been to allow the third umpire to use the predictive element of Hawk-Eye, whereas previously he was apparently forced to use a ruler as a primitive way of assessing the likely path of the ball in the event of a query over an lbw appeal.

This change emphatically does not mean that there is no debate. At tea yesterday, Sir Ian Botham and I got stuck into a decidedly warm discussion following the upholding of the not-out lbw verdict in favour of AB de Villiers. Hawk-Eye had shown that the delivery from Graham Onions would have clipped the leg stump pretty hard. The crucial point was that it was not within the tolerance levels prescribed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for such incidents.

So if a review shows that the decision of the man in the middle fell within the margin of error, the orange graphic comes up “Umpire’s Call”, and the original decision stands.

This does present an anomaly. We had a situation in which the umpire had given De Villiers not out, and Hawk-Eye suggested strongly that he should have been given out. However, because of the margin of error, the third umpire could not definitively say the original verdict was wrong, so the on-field umpire’s decision stood, and England had lost their final review. That was the point Sir Ian was most indignant about: that even if one accepted the decision as laid down by the rules of the system, it seemed harsh that England had lost the review when everyone knew Read more…

Administrator England, South Africa Aleem Dar, Amla, Anderson, Caribbean, Centurion, De Villiers, England, Harris, Hawk-Eye, ICC, JP Duminy, Kallis, Prior, South Africa, Steve Davis, Swann, Trott, UDRS

He has a smooth bowling action and a mild nature. Ravindranath Rampaul, nicknamed Hawk, is one of the few players of Indian descent in this Trinidad & Tobago squad. But quiz him about his Indian origin, and an almost embarrassed Rampaul says: “I don’t really know much about that except that my grandmother is from India. She visited us last year.”

Rampaul though claimed comfortable during his maiden trip to India. “This is my first trip here, but I have altogether a different feeling.

It’s wonderful,” he says with a smile. Rampaul is one of the many West Indies cricketers torn by the raging contract dispute in the Caribbean. And the 25-year-old Trinidadian pace bowler desperately wants it to end.

“This dispute is beyond my control. So, I am basically looking at the Champions League and other opportunities to get some cricket under my belt and wait to play for the West Indies again,” he said.

Jolted by an injury in 2005 that forced him out of international cricket for two years, Rampaul was gradually looking to seal his berth in the West Indies limited overs squad.

His outings against England and India this year had reinforced his claim to a West Indies berth when the contract issue reared its ugly head once again.

But despite all that, Rampaul has kept his dream alive. He wants to start a cricket academy in his village in Preysal, Trinidad.

He has completed a Level One coaching course. “After my injury in 2005, I was out of cricket for nearly two years. So, I had the time to do the course. There are a lot of young Read more…

Administrator West Indies Blogs.CMDN.com, Caribbean, Champions League, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Denesh Ramdin, Ravindranath Rampaul, Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies

If this morning the Black Caps have been able to reverse their disappointing ICC tournament semifinal history and beaten Pakistan to move on to the Champions Trophy final, that will represent a significant achievement given recent form and perceived ability.

Making the final of any major tournament is nothing to scoff at but does making the final on the strength of three wins devalue this tournament? Maybe so but the brevity of this tournament is nothing but positive given the current trends in world cricket and memories of the interminable World Cup in the Caribbean.

There are no minnows in this current competition, just the top eight nations going at it. Split them into two pools and 15 games gives you a full round-robin programme, semifinals and a final all within a two-week window.

When you compare that to eight weeks of drawn-out dross in the Caribbean, it’s a pretty good format. Where it may let itself down, however, is if it becomes very much a case of hit or miss and the eventual winner may not reflect form teams.

How quickly were South Africa, Sri Lanka and India lost from our screens?

It feels like there is not enough cricket in this tournament, which can’t be said for the Twenty20 world champs. They were chock-full of cricket in an action-packed two weeks of excitement. With only eight teams in this tournament, maybe a full round-robin schedule where every team plays each other with an automatic final qualifier and a semifinal that sees teams two and three play off may be a way around the shortcomings.

But let’s be realistic about what the Champions Trophy is. It is not the World Cup and neither should it pretend to be. It is important the World Cup is the ultimate cricket showcase - in the absence of a workable test championship, of course - but the Champions Trophy Read more…

Administrator Champions Trophy Black Caps, Blogs.CMDN.com, Caribbean, Champions Trophy, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, ICC, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, World Cup

Where are we with this Champions Trophy deal? It was a tournament that the ICC were touting as the saviour for 50 over cricket. It was supposed to rekindle the enthusiasm for this struggling version of the game by pitting the best against the best in anticipation of fascinating and intriguing results. Well, think again.

If we are brutally honest, what we have seen has been pretty dull cricket. Yes, we have seen some upsets but they have been largely dictated by the qualities of the surfaces that have been played on. That aspect has been a huge negative and one that is normally not associated with cricket in South Africa. How two pitches that are a mere 40 kilometres apart can be so different in nature escapes me. When batting at the Wanderers, first and foremost on the striker’s mind is survival and that is far from ideal. Cricketers want to play one day cricket on true, consistent tracks so that natural skill levels can be expressed to the maximum. What they have had during this event has stifled flair and in some cases elevated ability. So far, with the semi final stage looming, we have only had one close encounter and that was on the last day of the minor round and that is not a recipe for success.

The crowds have been predictably disappointing overall with capacity support afforded to only the home team. The West Indies have been a disaster and that well chronicled spat between their normal international regulars and the WICB has resulted in acute embarrassment. I can just imagine how some of the proud and patriotic Caribbean stars of yesteryear must be mortified by the current scenario. For the sake of quality, I feel the ICC should have ruled with an iron fist and rejected the second rank team that is wearing maroon in Gauteng. Their participation has done nothing but detract from the event.

Again, as viewers, we have been subjected to that tedious period of play between 20 and 40 overs where the only avenue of excitement and discussion is when the batting captain is going to employ the batting powerplay. No need to discuss that in any great detail as Read more…

Administrator Champions Trophy Blogs.CMDN.com, Caribbean, Champions Trophy, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Gauteng, ICC, WICB

The press release, when it came, told us everything. It came not from the England and Wales Cricket Board’s PR department, but from Andrew Flintoff’s own media relations man. It was posted not on the ECB’s website but on Flintoff’s own. From a cricketer no longer wedded to either international cricket or the notion that cricket is a team game, it was a statement of independence.

The reaction to the news that Flintoff has turned down an England central contract to become a freelance cricketer has been viewed in two ways: there are those who insist that he has turned his back on England, and there are those who have been taken in by the PR guff put out on his behalf that he intends to travel the planet, Phileas Fogg-style, in an attempt to become the best one-day cricketer in the world. Neither holds true.

Flintoff’s decision yesterday to refuse what has become known as an “increment” contract, essentially a small retainer for those England players who are expected to play the one-day game only, is about two things, and two things only: freedom — the wish to do what he wants, when he wants to, without any encumbrances — and the desire to maximise earnings, both from playing and endorsements, in whatever time is left to him as a professional cricketer.

It is a shame that his decision was accompanied by such a ridiculous press release because it detracts from what is essentially a straightforward decision. Really, do we need to be told that one of the things he has enjoyed more than anything else is travelling to different locations and experiencing different cricketing cultures and that he retains an insatiable desire to continue to do both? And that, by doing so, it will help him to become the best one-day player on the planet? Most cricketers at the end of their careers wouldn’t mind a few nights in their own Read more…

Administrator England Andrew Flintoff, Blogs.CMDN.com, Caribbean, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, ECB, England, Eoin Morgan, Flower, IPL, Joe Denly, Matt Prior, Sir Garfield Sobers, Strauss, Twenty20

The World Cup 2007 final, the ICC Twenty20 championship final, and now the Compaq Cup 2009 final, have all gone to the opposition. Has Sri Lanka become the new chokers in international cricket?

Here is a team that played out of their skins, winning fans over in the Caribbean and England, with their exhilarating brand of cricket. But they look as weak as Bangladesh when it comes to the crunch matches. It is almost always the bowlers who don’t deliver on the big day. Malinga being a chief culprit. He just fails to rock the opposition in any of the crunch matches. It’s like the nerves get the better of him.

When you concede over 300 bowling first in a final, your bowlers have let you down. That’s precisely what happened to the Lankans today. Their bowlers let them down badly.

Mendis gave away 70 runs in his ten overs. Malinga gave away a shocking 81 runs in his ten. And Thushara another 71 in his ten. Three bowlers that the Sri Lankans relied upon heavily to perform could not deliver. At no point in the Indian innings did it appear that these bowlers were targeted. They just bowled inconsistently.

India was no better, their bowling and fielding looked to crumble under a Sri Lankan counter attack. But as long as Mahela allows the opposition to create inroads into our top order, with his loose, irresponsible batting, Our batting line up is stretched with the fall of the very first wicket.

It is almost inevitable that taking an early wicket will lead to two, because Sri Lanka’s number three is almost always guaranteed to fail. Here is Mahela’s last 20 knocks for Read more…

Administrator SL Tri-Series Blogs.CMDN.com, Caribbean, Colombo, Compaq Cup, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Dambulla, England, Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Malinga, Mendis, RPS, SBNS, Sri Lanka, Thilan Samaraweera, Twenty20, World Cup

Ricky Ponting has drawn stumps on his Twenty20 international career. His last match will remain the six-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge in June that confirmed Australia’s early exit from the World Twenty20. It is one of the few trophies in cricket that he will never lift.

Although he would have had a swift chance to right that wrong, with the next World Twenty20 taking place in the Caribbean in seven months’ time, Ponting has understandably decided that he would rather have a rest and recharge his batteries for new challenges.

Australia have a tough schedule ahead, with the Champions Trophy following hard on the heels of this tour to England. Then seven ODIs in India follow, before West Indies and Pakistan come to Australia for Test and one-day series. After that there is a tour to New Zealand… Well, no wonder he needs a break come April.

Ponting has said he will play in the IPL next March, although he withdrew from it this year in order to rest and may well do the same again. With that schedule, I’d be surprised if he has the motivation even to get out of bed, let alone play some domestic cricket. It’s not as if Kolkata are paying him all that much anyway.

Outside of international matches, Ponting has played precious little T20 cricket. He made 98* for Australia in 2005, which remains the second highest score made in international T20, but he has played only five non-international T20 games, scoring 59 runs for Kolkata and Somerset. It is easy to see why golf or lounging around would hold more attraction. Read more…

Administrator Views Ashes, Australia, Blogs.CMDN.com, Caribbean, Champions Trophy, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, England, IPL, Kolkata, Michael Clarke, New Zealand, ODI, Ponting, Ricky Ponting, RT Ponting, T20, Twenty20, World Cup

All eyes are on one man as the Ashes head for Edgbaston – but England cannot cling to belief that one man can slay the Australians alone

English cricket and their somewhat undernourished supporters have done plenty of lionising in their time but never before has one man carried the kind of burden Andrew Flintoff takes on to the field here today. Whatever the weight, though, he can hardly complain.

Some men smile sheepishly and shrug their shoulders when heroism is heaped upon them. “Freddie” tends to look as though he is auditioning for a remake of Gladiator.

The question is a big one, however. Can he really carry the freight? Can he do what he did so memorably four years ago, when his body was much less assailed, and wage the fight right up to the moment the Ashes are regained? Or will he lapse into the mode of 2006-07, when the highest expectations foundered amid some of the worst neglect of competitive responsibilities ever seen in a major sportsman?

That might sound like a mean appraisal of Flintoff’s situation after his spectacular performance at Lord’s but we can be sure it is one the Australians, however highly they rate the recent evidence of their most celebrated opponent’s match-winning potential, will be entertaining today. Read more…

Administrator Ashes, England Andrew Flintoff, Andrew Strauss, Ashes, Cardiff, Caribbean, Edgbaston, England, fitness, Freddie, Glenn McGrath, Ian Botham, IPL, Lord's, Michael Vaughan, Paul Collingwood, Phillip Hughes, Pietersen, Ricky Ponting, Sophia Gardens

For a few fleeting hours in Grenada, Captain Shakib Al Hasan may well have been the doppelganger of Captain Jack Sparrow, the charismatic, happy-go-lucky pirate from the Disney movie. Impetuous, sharp and overall just scratch-your-head-pump-your-fist brilliant, Shakib revelled in the role of captain and truly established himself as the Pirate of the Caribbean.

But if Shakib played with the ease, class and nonchalance of a pirate captain navigating favored seas, Rokibul proved the perfect foil. He was an able first mate to Shakib and negotiated calmly the stormy weather Bangladesh faced at 67-4 in the second innings. It may be easy to forget but the young Rokibul was the second highest scorer in both innings and was as important to the second Test victory as his more illustrious counterpart.

And so the celebrations overtake us. Sweets are exchanged, backs slapped and a first-ever series victory, no, a first-ever series whitewash is celebrated with the enthusiasm it deserves.

However, as any good lawyer will tell you: read the fine print. And the fine print is this that despite our wonderful victory, which we shall savour till time out of mind, it was Read more…

Administrator Bangladesh Bangladesh, Caribbean, Chris Gayle, Darren Powell, Fidel Edwards, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal

Nobody can appreciate the massive emotional gulf between success in an Ashes series to failure in another quite as well as Andrew Flintoff.

Man of the series and national hero when the Ashes finally came home in 2005, he was captain of a ship that sank to a 5-0 defeat barely a year later.

Pictures of Freddie the happy match-winner had been splashed liberally across the tabloids during that glorious summer; but in 2006-7 the look of pure anguish he wore as his team spiralled to a horrible defeat in Adelaide provided one of the most haunting images of the series. Read more…

Administrator Ashes alcohol, Alec Stewart, Andrew Flintoff, Ashes, Caribbean, Derby, ECB, Edgbaston, England, fitness, Flintoff, Roberts, South Africa, The English, Twenty20