|
|
[an error occurred while processing this directive] |
| ||
 |
|
|
 |
Previous Stories Why Cricketers Are More Sporting Than Golfers A cracking tournament in Dhaka New Zealand cricket is on track Taranaki Ignore the Distractions An Extraordinary Sporting Family Another New Cricketing Experience Dave Eats His Crow - A First Time For Everything Black Caps Are Not Strictly For The Birds Not Beefing, Just Disappointed There Are None So Blind That Will Not See A Matter of A Satisfactory Start Horse Laughs and Crocodile Tears A Slow Over Rate Means A Slow Team
|
||||
We should be after that third and last day's play in the first test at Edgbaston. Jim Newbigin e-mailed me from Hawke's Bay to say "what a terrible day's play, bowlers not pitching the ball up and batsmen not using their feet through the whole match". Another prominent cricketer Austin Parsons faxed me:
"Let's look at the way we got ourselves out: 16 caught, 2 bowled, lbw, stumped. Was it so difficult to bat there? It was for two inferior sides. The hangover of the World Cup is that the very qualities Austin demands are absent. The next two four day matches, against Yorkshire at Headingley and Kent at Canterbury, must be used by our team to address these deficiencies. Bell and Harris must use these games to play long innings proving their test match credentials. Long net sessions are the first requirement and suitable technical analysis is paramount. Why is Martin Crowe not called in to assist? Similarly Hadlee should be working our bowlers over after that poor display on the third day. The match was not lost here, it was lost in our second innings when we collapsed to 8 for 52. Thanks to Doull we scrambled to 107 but his knock gave Tudor and the English camp the key to their approach. Fleming tried hard but the others lacked the necessary test match qualities. It was a time to stick around, not flash away outside the offstump. Then I had the distinct impression that we thought England was simply going to fold up in turn. On the contrary they had a plan and it worked marvellously. They knew that the square boundaries were easy and Tudor could afford to go for it because he was on a shot to nothing. As it happened he played a blinder, one of those purple days when nothing can go wrong. This was where history was made. What a sensational 99! There have been some extraordinary 99's in tests but this must be the prize of all. He will be remembered long after for this simple statistic as well as England's victory. The amazing background to this is that his only previous 50 in first-class cricket was made four years ago. All the emphasis has been on his bowling although in his debut test at Perth he batted well also. The Poms reaction was to omit him from the next test, even though he also took four wickets including both Waughs. Perhaps Nasser has a tougher approach and saw in him the potential to take it to us with the bat? If so it was a clever and flexible approach, one that we have been lacking. We must develop a harder attitude if we are to progress. Too many players take their position for granted because they are not under challenge. In the next few days I'll reveal some ideas that may intrigue you. Meantime send Dave your ideas on the first test fiasco.
| ||||||
