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…

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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…

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Paul Collingwood is a quiet-spoken, thoughtful man, not prone to making big claims or overembellishing a situation and he cut straight to the point when asked to reflect on the tour of South Africa so far.

“It’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster ride, in terms of results and performances. It’s been an up-and-down tour.”

That it certainly has. England won the first T20 international - the scorecard says by one run on D/L but if it hadn’t rained they probably would have won more comfortably with SA needing 76 in seven overs at the close - and then were walloped out of sight in the second, with South Africa making 241.

Just as the press pack started preparing stories about the tour going off the rails, England produced one of their most accomplished and clinical displays at Centurion to take a 1-0 lead in the ODI series, then followed it by being pummelled at Newlands on Friday, conceding more than 350 runs and losing with eight overs unbowled.

Cue doom and gloom again, but two days later the same England bowling attack have just dismissed South Africa for 119 at Port Elizabeth, two runs fewer as a team than AB De Villiers made on his own on Friday. As I type, Trott and Strauss have taken England a quarter of the way to winning this game and going 2-1 up.

As journalists we like to deal in black and white. It is a justified criticism of the British press that England are painted as either the worst side in the world in the history of the game ever - or they are triumphant and magnificent and let’s have them round to the palace for OBEs and Read more…

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His first four appearances were so disappointing that in another, more successful side, he may have been forced to wait a very long time before being invited back for another go.

But this was the England team in 2001, not exactly a powerhouse of one-day international cricket, and sure enough when an experimental squad was unveiled to travel to Zimbabwe later that year Paul Collingwood of Durham found himself on the plane.

Deliverance came in the first match in Harare - a maiden wicket (thanks to a James Foster stumping) and an important innings of 36 in what was a tricky run-chase. The seed for further success was sown, and eight years on he has become the most capped player for England in one-day internationals.

Over the course of the decade, an exceptionally resourceful cricketer has emerged, one who has delighted coaches by pouring so much effort into training sessions. That hard work has frequently paid off with individual moments of brilliance at backward point, making him arguably the greatest fielder to represent England.

In the summer to end all summers, 2005, his catch to end the innings of Australia’s Matthew Hayden in a match at Bristol must be considered one of the best ever.

And on Sunday, he marked his 171st appearance with another stunner to send South Africa’s AB de Villiers on his way, proving again that his agility and flexibility is unrivalled in the England team.

Collingwood’s batting has had predictable peaks and troughs over the years, but his bowling has developed with the times, morphing from bog-standard medium-paced seam-up to a conjurer’s bag of tricks with slow cutters, faster bouncers and a bit of old-fashioned swing.

When, also in 2005, he followed up a century with a six-wicket haul in a single match against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge, the scale of the achievement was predictably tarnished Read more…

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As England’s biggest talent (and ego) arrives in South Africa, Stephen Brenkley gauges the mood of the dressing room, from a side that won the Ashes without him

The Brylcreem Boy flies in today. It will not quite be the return of the conquering hero. Kevin Pietersen will arrive largely unheralded at OR Tambo International airport in Johannesburg – though should his latest sponsors insist upon slicked-down hair it may may well turn a few heads – to be met by a liaison officer and whisked to the England team’s hotel.

There, apart from a visit or two to the gym to enhance his recently reacquired fitness (don’t spoil the hair Kev), he will spend the next day kicking his heels waiting for his colleagues to arrive from their business in Bloemfontein. When team and star player are eventually reunited he may find that things have changed, that in his absence they have moved on.

England still need Pietersen’s runs and his outrageous methods of making them but in the last four months the team have demonstrated that they can do without him. It may be to the ultimate benefit of both parties. The rest of the side now recognise they can truly perform and have a terracotta urn containing the Ashes and a Champions Trophy semi-final place to prove it.

Pietersen himself may feel somewhat unburdened and although he has always paid generous lip service to the team ethos in the past, there has always been the suspicion – because it was based on reality – that if he did not do it they might not. Equally some players are transformed by Pietersen at the other end and Paul Collingwood, for instance, looks a better batsman with Pietersen around.

As the off-spinning all-rounder Graeme Swann put it yesterday: “It’s exciting for us that he’s coming back, and, you never know, he might have to fight for his place.” Swann was being typically jocular but it was a joke imbued with a certain seriousness. The top-of-the-bill act has not been indispensable.

Swann, who has visibly grown into an international cricketer of stature while Pietersen has been away, said: “Kev’s Kev, he’s a massive personality and a massive player. He’s got to Read more…

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…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…

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The debate goes on, after Mike Atherton’s article (Grey Clouds Lie Over Moral High Ground) calling for the preamble to the laws of the game, entitled The Spirit of Cricket, to be given out. Simon Barnes has joined in by writing that cricketers lost in the finest and most complex of moral mazes are desperate for clarification, something made more difficult by the laws and the spirit of cricket being two quite different things. Cricket is not an easy game at which to cheat, but it is easily tarnished.

The interpretation of the spirit of the game generally considered to mean what is thought of as being honourable and less than honourable is essentially a matter of personal discernment, and highly susceptible to changing times. That cricket is a game to be played according to written laws, and at the same time within a code that is not written, lays it open to dispute.

In one of several examples given by Atherton, when a batsman might or might not have been done a favour by the fielding captain, his view and mine of the outcome are diametrically opposed. Like me, he can have seen the incident, which took place in a recent Champions Trophy match between England and New Zealand, only on television; but that provided more than enough evidence on which to form an opinion.

The batsman was Paul Collingwood, who, having played and missed at the last ball of an over, started, after a brief pause, to walk down the pitch for the now customary between-overs chat with his partner, to be concluded no doubt by the modern fad of touching each other’s gloves in that peculiarly demure way. Nothing could have been clearer than that Collingwood had no intention of stealing a run.

The square-leg umpire was already moving in to take up his position for the next over when Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand wicketkeeper, threw down the batsman’s Read more…

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One of the most anticipated awards at the ICC annual awards is the spirit of cricket award. There was a time some years back when cricket had become so intense that there were some players who thought it was a boxing ring with no hold barred as far as winning was concerned. Thankfully the Boards have now become proactive than reactive and are instructing their teams that playing hard to win is one thing but that is no reason for behaviour on and off the field to go down the tube. The disciplining and fining of some well known hell raisers has certainly helped as it has shown that the administrators are serious and that has made a big difference. Players will still have the odd chirp here and there but generally it’s not nasty and personal and so does not cause offence to the one addressed to as well as the viewers who can lip read if not hear everything, thanks to TV technology.

New Zealand won the Spirit of Cricket Award this year which is adjudicated by the umpires and match referees. Just a day earlier the cricketing world had seen the evidence of the spirit when Daniel Vettori recalled Paul Collingwood after he was adjudged run-out as he went down the pitch after awkwardly moving away from a short delivery thinking the ball was dead and it was the end of the over. Brendon McCullum who had gathered the ball behind the wickets saw Collingwood out of his ground and rolled the ball and knocked down the stumps and appealed. The square leg umpire went up to the TV umpire who ruled it out since the batsman was quite clearly out of his crease. Collingwood stood his ground and both umpires then conferred with each other and then with Daniel Vettori, withdrew the appeal and so Collingwood could resume his innings. It was quite ironic that it was Collingwood who was the beneficiary since a couple of years back when he was captain of England’s one-day squad he had refused to recall a New Zealand batsman who had collided with the bowler and so was stranded well out of his crease. He was criticised heavily in the media then and it was probably one of the reasons why he opted to quit the captaincy a little while later. Again ironically it was the same New Zealand team which had appealed successfully when Muthiah Muralidharan went out of his crease to congratulate Kumar Sangakarra on completing his century. The umpires ruled the ball was not dead though it was quite obvious that Murali was not trying to take a run but only going to congratulate Sangakkara Read more…

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We’re on the verge of the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy, and this tournament has by far exceeded expectations.

From a domestic point of view, it has helped that England have somehow turned their fortunes around with their unexpected win over Sri Lanka and their unbelievable innings against South Africa, but being here at the event is incredibly exciting.

The 50-over game has come in for a fair amount of criticism as the Twenty20 game becomes ever more popular, but whilst it must be pointed out that crowds here have been very disappointing (except for South Africa matches and the India/Pakistan game) the format of the tournament means that every match has had something riding on it.

We’ve also had some tense finishes, and there have been more than a few talking points.

The Australia-Pakistan game went down to the last ball as the Aussies sneaked top spot in the group to set up another ODI against England in the semi-final.

The batting of Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan was breathtaking, as the hosts, South Africa, crashed out at Centurion, and the debate will rage as to whether a runner should be allowed for cramp.

In many ways it’s a shame the World Cup proper can’t follow a similar format to this; short, sharp, easy to follow (no ‘Super Sixes’ - what stage of the tournament is that?) with every match a potential ‘do-or-die’ situation.

People talk about ‘tournament football’ whenever the European Championships or Word Cup comes around, and in cricket it should be no different.

A five (or heaven forbid) seven-match one-day series is the time to allow side to lose a few games then make a comeback. In a tournament, the thrill should be in knowing that a bad game will make life difficult and two bad games could mean it’s all over. It’s about hitting form Read more…

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South Africa choked once again in a world tourney and went out of the Champions Trophy after losing to England. There was huge expectation that after their wonderful tour of Australia last year, when they beat the world champs in both the Tests and limited-overs series, they would dominate the sport like the Australians did in the last couple of decades.

That was not to be as the Aussies swiftly claimed revenge by winning the Test series when they toured the Rainbow Nation. At that stage, the excuse was that South Africa were still on a high after the tour of Australia and were not prepared for the return series.

When the ICC World Twenty20 began strongly for the Proteas, the talk was about who they would be meeting in the final.

It is one thing to play the league matches where teams know that there is another game to recover but quite another to play in the knockout stage when you know that there is no other chance. Not surprisingly, the Proteas choked in the semi-finals. This Champions Trophy was the opportunity to show that they were not chokers and that too in front of their home crowd. That chance was in jeopardy from the inaugural game itself where South Africa were pummeled by Sri Lanka. Still, it was felt that beating New Zealand and England would not be a problem.

England are a different team from the one seen in the recent series against Australia and they batted superbly to get over 300 runs. South Africa did make a spirited effort but it was never going to be easy chasing 300-plus under the lights. Paul Collingwood is in tremendous touch and Eoin Morgan is turning out to be a dangerous batsman in the slog overs. Also, the South African pitches are giving the seamers some assistance and they are looking better than Read more…

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