Trott leaves Ashes Tour in Turmoil

Jonathan Trott has returned home from the Ashes tour after the recurrence of a stress related illness.  When I heard the news,the mauling England had taken in the first Test in under 4 days did not matter one bit.  There was a bigger issue here, Trott's health was at risk.

Those nine balls Trott faced in the second innings must have felt like an eternity and agony for him.  Although Trott batting in a such a frenzied way seemed so out of character for him, certainly the public would not have seen this coming.  I was genuinely shocked.

This was England's number 3 who had previously been so "in the zone" when batting with all his rituals of scratching the pitch and taking his time at each delivery, that it often felt like he was batting in a bubble.  Unfortunately, that bubble could, and has, burst, resulting in Trott needing to take a break from cricket.

All the routine when Trott is at the crease may now be seen as steps he needed to take to keep the demons at bay with Andy Flower confirming Trott has been dealing with this for several years now.

Mitchell Johnson's hostile round the wicket bowling and David Warner's derogatory comments have not caused Trott's illness, but we will never know if they were the tipping point to make the illness resurface.

Warner especially will hopefully learn from this and think twice about calling any fellow professional "pretty poor and weak" or looking "scared".  Despite Warner not knowing at the time what Trott was suffering from, those comments were still unacceptable.  This wasn't something Warner said in the heat of the moment in the battle on the field, but these comments were made in the relative calmness of a press conference.

He might not feel it right now, but the bravest thing for the Warwickshire stalwart to do was acknowledge this illness and return home so he can get the professional help and support from his family that he needs.

It is natural to make comparisons between Trott's return home and that of Marcus Trescothick on the 2006/7 Ashes series also suffered with a stress related illness.  All of these illnesses shouldn't be put under the same umbrella.  Trescothick's trigger was being away from his family and home support, it does not mean that Trott will never tour abroad again.  Trott's trigger could be something different and individual to him.

Although attitudes towards stress related illnesses are better now than ten years ago, there are still those who through their ignorance fail to recognise it as an illness.

Some still fail to understand what stress can come from doing for a living what many dream of.  However, cricket today is not how it used to be.  Gone are the days of cricket being a summer sport.  Today the life of the International cricketer offers no respite as they shoulder the burden of the demanding touring schedule.

The International Cricket Council should take notice that this is the third England cricketer in seven years to return home from an overseas tour with stress related illnesses.  For those three that have sought help,  how many others are there still suffering and battling in silence?  How many are there in other international teams where they might not have as good an infrastructure as the England Cricket Board and the Professional Cricket Association's Mind matters programme.  How many play for countries where mental illness is still a taboo?

Back to back Ashes series in the same year can't happen again. The entire International schedule needs addressing.  The longevity of a cricketer's career is ever diminishing.  Playing all three formats of the International game means that you physically and mentally can't carry on as long cricketers used to.

In addition, as players careers end, often in their early to mid-thirties, this adds to their mental stress.  Everything they have known in their life is often over by 35.  What is a cricketer to do then?  Not everyone has the luxury of a spot in the Sky Sports studio or newspaper column.  Something needs to be done,

My thoughts go out to Jonathan Trott and hope he makes a full recovery and return to cricket.  Even if Trott does not play cricket again, the important thing here is ensuring that he has his health back.  This demonstrates despite how much an Ashes series means to both players and fans, sport never comes before the well being of an individual.

England complete Aussie demolition job

England completely outplayed Australia to batter them by 347 runs in 4 days.  As someone who grew up watching England in the dark old days of the mid to late 90s, the nature of this Test win was all the sweeter.

I grew up listening to commentators, coaches and captains just wanting England to "compete".  No real expectation of victory, just to compete with Australia and that would be a job well done.  That was all we could realistically expect.  It has gone full circle, as this time the calls were for the Aussies to show a bit of grit, to compete, to put up a fight. 

But how do you compete when you collapse in such spectacular style to 128 all out in your first innings? Once the first wicket fell for 42 runs, the rest of the Australian order folded like a pack of cards to rack up a first innings deficit of 233 runs.

Tellingly, England were 28 for 3 in the first innings and posted 361 runs.  Second time round they were 30 for 3 and went on to declare on 349 for 7.  That demonstrates just how wide the gulf is between the top order batsmen of the two sides, and the depth that England possess.

Ian Bell seems to have the knack of being overshadowed when he scores a century.   In the last Test, the saga of whether Stuart Broad should have walked overshadowed Bell's century.  In this match despite a century in the first innings and 74 runs in the second, Joe Root will be taking all the headlines.  Nevertheless, England will be more than pleased with the Warwickshireman's contribution so far in this Ashes series.

Just as a few murmurs were brewing questioning if 22 year old Root is the right man to open for England, he answers his critics with a sublime 180 runs at the Home of Cricket.  In doing so, he became the youngest Englishman to score an Ashes 100 at Lord's.  The baby-faced opener played with great composure and kept a very calm temperament.  Root didn't let the situation get the better of him as he dug in for almost eight hours to rescue England from a potentially precarious situation.  

The only chance Root offered was when he on 8. An edge neatly dissected Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin as neither moved for the catch.  How they will be rueing that opportunity!  Root took on every bowler and caressed the ball throughout his innings.  Joe Root definitely has what it takes to be an opener for England for many years to come.

Just in case, Root's efforts with the bat weren't sufficient, he picked up two vital wickets bowling his off-spin.  Clarke and Usman Khawaja had shown some character batting second time round, with both players scoring half centuries.  However, the Yorkshireman dismissed them both in consecutive overs to soon put Australia back in their place.

When England set Australia an incredulous 582 runs to win the match, it was a declaration Steve Waugh would have been proud of.  Again as a youngster, I saw Waugh captain Australia for many years and run England ragged in the field until there was no more left in the tank.  The door was always slammed shut on England, never left ajar to find a way back into a match.  Mental disintegration was what Waugh was all about.  Grind the opposition down; and that's exactly what England did.  

The inexperience and lack of control of Ashton Agar and Steve Smith meant they could not hold an end down.  This resulted in the pace attack bowling longer and more frequent spells than desired by Australia as England built up their mammoth target.

Compare that to Graeme Swann who took 9 for 122 the match.  Swann is a world class bowler and his consistency with the ball is a real weapon for Alistair Cook - especially on a surface like Lord's which had craters on day 4.  This meant not only was Swann a wicket taking threat, but the pacemen could also be rotated to be used efficiently.

The only disappointment for England will be the left calf strain Kevin Pietersen picked up. There is a chance that he might miss the Third Test that starts in 10 days; which would be an interesting dilemma for the England selectors.  

However, seeing England dominate and boss this game the way they did will be what is at the forefront of everyone's minds.  England have now won four consecutive Ashes matches, can they make it five at Old Trafford?  If Australia's batsmen fail to deliver again, it will be five.

England hold their nerve to clinch first Ashes Test

Who needs to go to a theme park to get their thrills when this first Ashes Test had everything a roller-coaster could offer? Highs, lows, a quick double loop as we waited for the third umpire's decision. This Test had it all.

Ashes cricket is all about who handles that pressure cooker atmosphere the best.  Who keeps calm when the temperature is reaching boiling point.  Who stands up when everyone else is falling to the wayside.

Today that man was Jimmy Anderson.  At the start of the day Australia needed a further 137 runs, or England needed to take 4 wickets to win the Test.  Anderson bowled a Herculean spell of 13 overs unchanged.  Anderson's persistent probing and searching for the edge resulted in 3 for 29.  All the wickets were b Anderson c Cook.  

Bowling such a lengthy spell takes great effort.  Anderson was like the Duracell bunny.  He just kept going and going.  Eventually Anderson's body gave in to cramp and he briefly left the field. The  job was still unfinished at lunch.  Australia now needed 20 runs, or England that one, so far elusive, wicket.  

Anderson recharged his batteries during the interval and was once again roaring in at Brad Haddin and James Patterson.  In his second over after lunch, Anderson put an end to Haddin's dogged resistance as he edged behind to Matt Prior.  Third umpire Marias Erasmus was required to confirm the edge, and he ruled in England's favour.

As the England team saw confirmation of the final wicket on the big screen, Anderson led the way to celebrate, just as he had led the bowling attack.  Anderson finished with 10 wickets for 158 runs in the match, with 5 wickets in each innings.  That was an outstanding return on this slow, dry Trent Bridge wicket.  In addition, Anderson was constantly offering support to his fellow pacemen, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn.

At the start of the series, Anderson was England's joint 3rd leading test wicket taker with 307 wickets, same as Fred Trueman.  Now Anderson is 8 wickets behind Bob Willis, then only the great Sir Ian Botham is front of him with 383 wickets.

Aged 30, providing Anderson stays fit, there is no reason why he will not end his career as England's leading test wicket taker of all time.  What a long way he has come from being the lad from Burnley with dyed hair.

Spare a thought for Haddin who in scoring a determined 71 runs took Australia to the brink of victory.  Haddin batted like a tenacious boxer; a jab and blow here, a solid defensive shot there.  This is one man who knows how to fight.  There was a feel of Edgbaston 2005 about today.  That iconic image of Brett Lee being consoled by Andrew Flintoff when Australia fell 2 runs short, was not re-created to the same extent today.  But Anderson did have a prolonged handshake with Haddin and some words of consolation.

This series is not going to be the one sided affair that some predicted.  As the Aussies showed today, they aren't going to go down without a fight.  The roller-coaster ride begins again on Thursday at Lord's.  Make sure you are strapped in as it could be a bumpy ride.

Foxes on fire as they defeat the Outlaws

Leicestershire Foxes served up a brilliant team performance to beat the mighty Nottinghamshire Outlaws by 7 wickets.  Until now, the Outlaws were undefeated in the T20 campaign and had only lost once in the YB40 this year.  So something special was going to be needed to even considering beating them; and last night certainly was special as Graceland became dreamland.  A crowd of over 3,000 people witnessed a performance that brought back memories of that successful T20 campaign of 2011.  

Youngster Shiv Thakor took a great low running catch to dismiss Michael Lumb.  Thakor then went on bowl a spell that had immense control and a maturity well beyond his 19 years. Coming on to bowl the last 4 overs of the innings, Thakor took 3-30 and helped contain Notts to 158 for 6 from their 20 overs.

Tight bowling from Leicestershire's captain Josh Cobb and overseas player Shakib Al Hasan also helped Leicestershire's cause.  Just as Thakor showed control and maturity with the ball, Cobb demonstrated the same with the bat.  Cobb took the responsibility of playing the anchor role and went on to make 67 not out from 52 balls and batted through the entire innings.

In previous matches, Leicestershire have been guilty of wanting to whack very ball out of the ground and becoming unstuck.  But Cobb mixed his 7 fours and a six with an array of delicate shots and picking up singles.  Cobb's anchor role allowed Al Hasan to tee off.  The BPL Dhaka Gladiators teammates put on unbeaten partnership of 67 from 43 balls.  

Al Hasan's 43 not out from 21 balls was his first real success for the Foxes with the bat.  The highlight being 2 consecutive sixes from the last 2 balls of a Graham White over.  Al Hasan's 43 included 3 fours and 3 sixes.  Cobb and Al Hasan's different batting styles made it a very dangerous and productive combination for Leicestershire.

Just as the sun was shining on Grace Road, lady luck was also shining on Leicestershire as some very average fielding by Nottinghamshire saw them drop at least 3 catches.  

Cobb hammered the ball for a boundary in the 18th over to bring up the victory.  Hopefully, the nature of the win and the support of the crowd will boost Leicestershire.  They have a foot on the first rung of the ladder of success.  Let's hope the rest of the T20 campaign sees Leicestershire climb that ladder.

The only disappointment for Leicestershire was that Jigar Naik suffered a dislocated shoulder whilst fielding off his own bowling.  This is will a real blow to Leicestershire.  After Naik missed most of last season with an ankle injury, this will be a bitter pill to swallow for the spinner.  However, Naik has come back so strongly this season after his last injury, I have every confidence he will come back even stronger after this latest setback.

Ashes Prediction

It is the eve of the Ashes and as the temperature soars outside, Ashes fever soars across the country.  On the back of an incredibly successful weekend for British sport that saw an Ashes victory in the rugby, and Andy Murray ending a 77 year wait for a male Wimbledon winner, a nation expects.

Previously, we might have dared to whisper that we're in with a shout to win the Ashes.  Such has been the contrasting forms of the the teams over the years that we're now shouting it from the roof tops that we can beat the Aussies.  Sir Ian Botham is making a 10-0 prediction over the home and away legs.

Whilst I believe England win will the Ashes, I think the series will be closer than many initially thought.  Since Darren Lehmann's appointment as coach a fortnight ago, Australia have gone from strength to strength.  "Boof" is a determined character, like a dog with a bone. He just doesn't know when to give up - and that will be what he is trying to instil to the Aussies.

However, in Andy Flower England have a coach that knows what it takes to win the Ashes.  Having helped England to a victory in the 2009 home series, Flower ended 24 years of hurt by orchestrating an amazing away Ashes series win in 2011 too.

The Zimbabwean won't be affected by the hype and the unusual tag of "Ashes favourites". Flower's thorough and methodical work ethic will ensure the England team also keep their feet firmly on the ground.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is more overcast then of late.  An ideal start would be for Alistair Cook to win the toss at Trent Bridge and for Jimmy Anderson to exploit the conditions to get some early wickets.

My prediction is 3-1 to England with a victory at Trent Bridge to get England on the journey to retaining the Ashes.  What a glorious summer of sport this could turn out to be.

2 T20 defeats in 2 days for Young Foxes

 Leicestershire's T20 campaign got off to an awful start with two defeats in two days.  On Friday, Leicestershire batted first and made 183 runs.  But they never looked like defending the score as Nottinghamshire reached their target with 7 wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare.

Yesterday, captain Josh Cobb won the toss and elected to field first on a gloriously sunny afternoon at Grace Road.  This decision may be due to Friday's result when the bowlers could could defend a very good T20 score.

It made no difference to the result.  This time, Leicestershire's batting imploded chasing 174 to win giving Derbyshire a 24 run victory.  Leicestershire were 149 all out after 18.2 overs.

This is a very young Leicestershire side who are still learning.  They don't have the experience of Paul Nixon, Claude Henderson, Abdul Razzaq, Will Jefferson and Andrew McDonald, to name but a few, from the winning 2011 T20 campaign.  We must not forget that.

A very good example of youth coming of age, has been 22 year old Cobb's impressive season as captain.  His own form has gone from strength-to-strength since taking charge.  Cobb's three YB40 centuries in successive matches being the pinnacle.

Yet whenever Cobb does fail with bat, the team seem to lose their way and panic.  Yesterday was a prime example of that.  Cobb made a brilliant 47 off 26 balls to setup a good platform.  When he was dismissed, the score was 54 for 1 in the 6th over and a victory still on the cards. 

However, the Foxes lost 4 middle order wickets for 4 runs in the space of 11 balls, losing the way completely in this run chase.  Following the captain's dismissal, Leicestershire lost 9 wickets for 95 runs in 13 overs.

Cobb was very frank in his post match interview.  He expressed his disappointment with the result and rued the soft nature of the batsmen's dismissals.

The bowling attack also appeared to need a wiser head to turn to.  Leicestershire's three winning T20 campaigns have always centred on good bowling by taking the pace off the ball.  So I was surprised that Leicestershire didn't bolster their bowling by including Jigar Naik in the final 11 to support Cobb and Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan.

The T20 is Leicestershire's best chance of success this season.   They have been firmly at the bottom of division 2 of the County Champion for most of the season.  The YB40 campaign got off to a great start with the 3 consecutive victories; but his has been followed by 3 defeats.  A financially struggling club like Leicestershire needs a good T20 campaign.

In both matches so far, you would have backed Leicestershire as favourites at the mid-innings interval, so it is a bitter pill to swallow for this young Foxes team.  Leicestershire have now lost their last 5 games in all competitions.  The Foxes don't play until Friday now.  It will be a good opportunity for them to re-group and attempt to find that winning habit again.

Finally, during yesterday's match a little boy called Archie was struck in the back of the head by a ball Derbyshire's Chesney Hughes hit for 6.  I'm pleased to say Archie is fine and he high-fived a very apologetic Hughes at the end of the game.  Archie also received some signed memorabilia from Hughes.  That'll be a story to tell everyone when he grows up.

India win Champions Trophy as England self-destruct

Cricket is a game full of what ifs and maybes, and that is definitely what England will be saying as they assess their capitulation in the final of the Champions Trophy that led to them losing to India by 5 runs.

A final almost didn't take place due to the persistent heavy rain that fell over Edgbaston.  Play finally started at 4.20pm and the game was reduced to a 20-over competition.  This decision would have pleased an Indian team coming into this tournament on the back of the IPL.  Yes the sell out, patient crowd deserved to see a match; but how fair is it to reduce a final from 50 to 20 overs each because there is no reserve day?  

Apparently, the International schedule did not allow for a reserve day because England are due to play New Zealand in a T20 match on Tuesday in a completely pointless 2-match T20 series.  The two teams must be sick at the sight of each other.  They have played 15 matches against each other in all formats of the game in the last 5 months, in addition to the two T20s scheduled for next week.

England might still have lost to India in a 50 over final.  But the reduced overs is something to consider especially when Alistair Cook cannot get into England's T20 team.

England will also be wondering what would have happened if they'd fielded better. In the 3rd over, Tim Bresnan wildly threw the ball high to Jos Buttler and it went for 4 overthrows because Eoin Morgan was not backing up properly.  Morgan also gave away another single overthrow a few overs later.  

During the 8th over, Bresnan made a sliding stop on the boundary and appeared to save 2 runs.  However, as the new father pushed the boundary back whilst diving, it was harshly given four and Bresnan picked up the ball where the boundary should have been.  I'm unsure quite how the umpire managed to make that call.

Jonathan Trott dropped Virat Kohli who added another 7 seven runs before he was out.  These incidents may seem immaterial, but they all contributed to India's 129 runs, which were crucially five more runs than England could manage.

England's response with the bat gave them more "if only"situations than in the field.  Ian Bell was adjudged to be stumped by Australian third umpire, Bruce Oxenford, in ridiculous fashion.  

When Bell's foot was in the air, the stumps moved as MS Dhoni went to break the wicket. However, by the time the wicket was actually broken and the bail out of the grooves, Bell's foot was back behind the line.  All the replays showed this, so I don't know what conclusive evidence Oxenford had to give Bell out.

England's batsmen panicked and when Ishant Sharma picked up the wickets of Morgan and Ravi Bopara in consecutive deliveries, after he had bowled two wides in the same over, it just that today would not be England's day.

This was in stark comparison to earlier when Bopara bowled brilliantly to finish with 3 for 20 off 4 overs.  The pinnacle being a double wicket maiden when he removed Suresh Raina, and the Indian captain for a duck.

England's unfunny comedy of errors as was summed up when Bresnan was run out after an lbw appeal was turned down.  There wasn't a run to attempt, so again, if only he'd stayed in the crease rather rather being stranded half way down.

15 runs from the last over was too much for Stuart Broad and James Tredwell to score. The rest, as they say, is history.  England are still waiting to make history and win their first 50-over International tournament.  It might have been a 20-over match today, but the trophy was theirs for the taking.

 

We often accuse South Africa of being chokers.  But England have now twice been in the Champions Trophy final in England, and lost when they were in the driving seat.  In 2004, the West Indies lower order held their nerve to chase down 218 with 2 wickets to spare as England sprayed the ball.

Credit to India though.  They have been the form team of the tournament and remained unbeaten throughout.  129 runs didn't seem enough at the innings break, but Dhoni knew exactly when and how to utilise his bowlers.  Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja picked up the Golden Bat and Golden Boot awards respectively.

But for all of England's good work in getting to the final, they must be thinking of all the missed chances and opportunities that might have got them over the line and in doing so, 38 years of waiting for a 50-over trophy.  

England outclass South Africa to reach Champions Trophy final

England outplayed South Africa with both bat and ball to beat them by 7 wickets with 12 overs to spare; and in doing so booked their place in the ICC Champions Trophy final.

When England won the toss and chose to field on the muggiest day of the year; and then to find out that Dale Steyn had failed a fitness test for South Africa, you thought this just might be England's day.  The ever-reliable James Anderson got the ball to swing from the first ball. He got it swinging both ways to brilliantly set up Colin Ingram to be trapped lbw fifth ball of the innings.

Some inspired captaincy from Alistair Cook meant Steven Finn (in for Tim Bresnan who was awaiting the birth of his child) bowled the second over of the day instead of Stuart Broad.  It worked a treat as danger man Hashim Amla was caught behind to a good low catch by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler to leave South Africa reeling at 4 for 2.  Buttler went to have a great match behind the stumps and ended up with six catches.  He is only the 7th ever cricketer to take six catches in an ODI.

South Africa never recovered as poor shot selection from key batsman coupled with tight bowling from England left South Africa reduced to 80 for 8.  The middle order had no idea how to read James Tredwell's spin bowling.  It was his lack of spin that caused the batsmen a problem, they kept expecting turn but the straight ball was catching them out.  Tredwell took 3 for 19 off 7 overs to receive the man of the match award.

Nothing summed up South Africa's dire situation like Ryan McLaren's "run out".  The ball deflected off McLaren's pad to Jonathan Trott at first slip.  McLaren had come so far down the wicket attempting a shot, that when Trott threw the ball at the stumps, McLaren was run out.  Had it gone the keeper it would have been a stumping because McLaren was not actually attempting a run.

The one positive for South Africa was the 95 run 9th wicket partnership between David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt.  They more than doubled the score from the 80 for 8 when they came together and made the highest scores of the innings - Miller with 56 runs and Kleinveldt with 43.  Stuart Broad broke the partnership and took two wickets in consecutive balls to wrap up the innings at 175 runs.

South Africa still have the tag of chokers, having never won a knockout match since 1998.  Today was slightly different as this was a South African side missing pivotal players such as Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn.  Nevertheless, the manner in which South Africa collapsed was criminal.  It didn't look like they knew it was a 50 over match at times.

With no pressure in terms of run rate, England steadily started their run chase.  Cook made only 6 and became the first wicket to fall with the score on 22.  South Africa might have had a glimmer of hope when Bell was caught behind having made 20 making it 41 for 2.

The Trott masterclass dashed any hopes South Africa had.  Trott has received some, in my opinion very unfair, criticism for his supposedly slow strike rate.  This is a man who today made 82 not out from 84 balls. Trott's strike rate in this tournament is nearly 90 and he averages nearly 70.  For years England have been crying out for someone to anchor the innings to make full use of the 50 overs.  The longer Trott stays in, the better his strike rate.  Having a new ball from each end in ODIs now means you need someone to play almost a Test innings rather than the pinch hitters we have become used to seeing.

Joe Root continued to impress making 48 runs. He got out playing an innovative shot you could sense he just wanted to practice.  Eoin Morgan will be pleased to have finished unbeaten on 15 as he has struggled for runs this tournament.  Trott scored the winning runs by hitting a four in the 38th over.

England will now face either the form team, India, or the only team to have defeated England in the tournament, Sri Lanka, at Edgbaston in the final on Sunday.  England shouldn't worry too much who they will face, but instead focus on themselves.  Finn still doesn't seem at his best, and the middle order might become exposed against spin.  Even if Bresnan or Swann are available for the final, I wouldn't want to change a semi-final winning side.  Tredwell performed brilliantly and Finn gives a better balance to the bowling attack if the ball doesn't swing.  A very professional performance by England today and we're now one match away from our first ever 50 over trophy.

Warner antics leave Aussies in disarray

In case life wasn't tough enough for the Aussies on the field, David Warner's antics are making life tough for them off the field too.

After England's victory over Australia at Edgbaston, Dave Warner was involved in an "unprovoked attack" on Joe Root at a Walkabout bar at 2am Sunday morning in Birmingham.  Some have questioned why Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Joe Root were out at 2am in the middle of an International tournament.  That does not really concern me.

The bigger question has to be what was Dave Warner thinking?!  Rumours are that Joe Root was larking around with a beard and wig, next Warner came over and punched him on the chin.

This is not acceptable behaviour in any walk of life, let alone sportsmen.  So much is said in the media these days about sportsmen and women setting an example to youngsters, whether that is cricketers for claiming dropped catches or footballers for diving.   For Warner to react in such a way is completely irresponsible.  Australia left Warner out of the match against New Zealand today as a result of his actions.  This comes only weeks after Warner was fined £3,700 for abusive posts on Twiiter to Australian journalists.

It will be interesting to see what further action Cricket Australia take against Warner.  In March, coach Mickey Arthur saw it fit to drop vice captain Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja for a Test match against India for failing to complete and submit their feedback on team management.  I wonder what Arthur deems fit in this situation?

All this comes at a time when several Australian legends are already becoming exasperated with their failing side.  Shane Warne hinted that the number of openers in the Ashes squad indicates Australia don't know what their best side is. Imagine what the greats like Steve Waugh, David Boon, Glen McGrath and Warne make of the Warner incident.  All these men fought hard on the pitch, but never lost their cool with their opponents off it.

It's a shame for the Australian side that with the Ashes imminent people are talking about an individual's negative behaviour instead of the battle that is the Ashes.  Michael Clarke must now be suffering with a major headache to go with with bad back after today.

England beat Aussies in ICC Champions Trophy Opener

England won the first of many encounters against the Aussies in the upcoming months thanks to an outstanding bowling performance resulting in a 48 run victory over the Aussies.  This was an eagerly anticipated match, but void of key players.  Kevin Pietersen was ruled out before the ICC Champions Trophy began, Michael Clarke was missing due to on-going back problems,  Graeme Swann was ruled out due to a back spasm on the morning of the match and Stephen Finn was dropped due to poor form.  

England won the toss and chose to bat on a glorious, sunny day on what looked like a very dry Edgbaston pitch.  Alistair Cook hit the first delivery from Mitchell Starc for four to be greeted by massive cheers from a packed Edgabaston crowd.

There was chaos in the third over when both Cook and Ian Bell ended up at the same end. There was an appeal for a run out, then overthrows and all this occurred on a no ball. The result was 2 runs and a free hit.  After that moment of frenzy, Cook and Bell batted steadily to bring up 54 runs at the end of the first 10 overs.

England lost their first wicket when Cook was caught behind by Matthew Wade off Shane Watson for 30 in 12th over with score on 57.  This brought in Jonathan Trott. The two Warwickshire Bears, Bell and Trott, made the most of home advantage and read the Edgbaston pitch very well.  They went to have a 111 run partnership off 132 balls.  During this time, Bell brought up his 50 off 70 balls.  The England run rate hovered around the 4.8 mark and the two batsmen never appeared to be in much difficulty.  You were left waiting for an increase in runrate that never came.

The partnership ended when Trott was out for 43 off 57 balls with the score on 168 in the 34th over.  Trott's innings had remarkably only included a single boundary.  Bell was out shortly afterwards for his highest England ODI score at Edgbaston, 91 runs, when he was bowled by James Faulkner.  Bell's 91 came off 115 balls and contained 7 fours.

The score was now 189 for 3 in the 38th over. England needed to re-group now having lost two set batsman.  But unfortunately England failed to do this.  Joe Root was dismissed with the score still on 189.  Much was expected of Jos Buttler after his 47 not out from 16 balls in the last match against New Zealand, yet he only managed a single run.

England had a mini collapse to go from 189 for 2 in the 38th over to 213 for 6 in the 44th over.  England lost wickets at critical stages when they should have been looking to build on their great start.  Thankfully, an unbeaten 56 run partnership between Tim Bresnan and Ravi Bopara from 35 balls got the score up to 269 for 6 from the 50 overs.  Bopara has been given several chances from England over the years so it was a good to see him deliver. His 46 not out came from 37 balls and contained 3 fours and the only six of the entire England innings. Bresnan chipped in with 19 off 20 balls contains 2 fours.

At the interval, 269 may have seemed 30 short of where England might have expected to finish given the start they got.  However, a good start from England's bowlers would put an inexperienced and short of form Aussie team under pressure.  James Anderson and Stuart Broad did not disappoint.

A brilliant display of bowling meant the Aussies did not score their first boundary until the 4th over.  Broad picked up the first wicket when Dave Warner (9) was caught behind to a fine diving catch by Buttler making the score 17 for 1 in the 6th over.  Broad and Anderson bowled unchanged for the first 10 overs as Australia struggled to 35 for 1.

The good work was continued when Bresnan and James Tredwell came on to bowl.  Tredwell bowled a maiden in the 14th over to be followed by a wicket maiden from Bresnan in the 15th over.  Bresnan had the skill to reverse swing the ball very early on in Australia's innings.  Previously, England's weakness in bowling was the 10 overs made up by the part time bowlers. This time, Root and Bopara bowled 2 for 54 off their combined 10 overs.

As there was no weak link in England's bowling, when Australia lost the wicket of Adam Voges to be 127 for 4 in the 33rd over, it seemed very unlikely that they would reach their target of 279.  Stand in captain, George Bailey offered some resistance with 55 from 69 balls, and James Faulkner hit out towards the end when the result was in no doubt to finish unbeaten on 54 from 42 balls.  Faulkner hit the only six of the Aussies innings.

When Anderson took the wicket of Mitchell Marsh, he overtook Darren Gough to become England's leading ODI wicket taker. By the end of the match Anderson had 237 ODI wickets.  Anderson finished with 3 for 30 from his 10 overs and would have been a contender for man-of-the-match had it not been for Bell's innings.

England might have hoped to bowl Australia out.  Instead they lasted the 50 overs to finish on 221 for 9 mainly due to Faulkner's innings.  This was a comprehensive ODI victory for England over a fragile Australian side and an important psychological win for England with The Ashes imminent. Despite all the positives for England, to progress in the Champions Trophy and when faced with tougher opposition, there are areas to work on; such as the middle order batting and how to push on the score.  However, first blood to England in an Ashes summer is hopefully a sign of things to come.

Middlesex Panthers pounce to thrash Leicestershire Foxes

Leicestershire Foxes unbeaten run in the YB40 competition came to a dramatic end as Middlesex Panthers beat them by 10 wickets with 9 overs to spare.

Middlesex won the toss and elected to field.  Leicestershire welcomed back Niall O'Brien from International duty with Ireland, and Jigar Naik came into the side for James Sykes to play his first YB40 match of the season.

Josh Cobb, who had scored 3 YB40 centuries from 3 innings prior to today, hit the first ball of the innings for a four.  Then when he repeated the feat with the first ball of the second over, a decent score looked to be on the horizon.

Leicestershire were still looking good when they reached 50 without loss in the 7th over. Cobb was bowled by James Harris next ball.  Greg Smith hit the last ball of the 10th over for the first six of the innings.  Smith and O'Brien had a 47 run partnership before Smith was caught behind by Adam Rossington off the bowling of Tim Murtagh, making the score 102 for 2.

That is when Leicestershire's problems really began.  Leicestershire went on to lose 3 wickets in the space of 9 balls to go from 102 for 1 to 103 for 4 in the 17th over  In this frantic few minutes, O'Brien (who ended up as top scorer with 41)  was caught by a sharp catch by former Leicestershire player Chris Rogers, and Joe Burns was out for a duck.  Both wickets fell to Gareth Berg.

This meant Matthew Boyce and Shiv Thakor really needed to steady the ship.  They only managed to move the score to 133 for 5 in the 25th over before Thakor was out for 12.  Boyce followed 2 overs later for 22 to make it 138 for 6.

Michael Thornely batted well, bringing up Leicestershire's 150 with a six in the 29th over.  Wickets continued to fall but the lower order played their shots with Naik, batting at 10, hitting a Six too.  Thornely was eventually out for 39 from 40 balls.  The innings concluded when Naik was caught for 14 off 13 balls from the pentiultimate ball of the 40 overs.  Leicestershire finished 220 all out.  Middlesex's 5 frontline bowlers all picked up 2 wickets each and went for less than 6 an over.

Defending a small score, Leicestershire could have been off to the started they needed. Leicestershire only conceded a leg bye from the first over.  Anthony Ireland then had Paul Stirling playing away from his body and the ball carried to second slip only for Smith to drop it. Stirling then hit the next 3 balls for consecutive boundaries to send an ominous warning of just how costly that drop would be.

Middlesex didn't really offer Leicestershire any other chances throughout their innings.  50 came up for Middlesex in the 7th over, same as Leicestershire, but they soon rushed to 100 without loss in the 12th over.  No matter who bowled for Leicestershire, Stirling and Dawid Malan had the measure of them.  Anthony Irleand suffered the most with his 4 overs going for 43 runs.

Stirling made 50 from 29 balls which he went on to convert to 132 not out from 96 balls and contained 19 fours.  His 100 came from 71 balls. Malan ably supported Stirling making 80 not out from 86 balls and contained 7 fours and a six.  Malan had reached 50 from 58 balls.  Middlesex put Leicestershire out of their misery when Stirling with a four from Naik's last over. Middlesex had reached their target of 221 in the 31st over with no wickets lost.

The manner of Leicestershire thrashing after earlier results in the YB40 competition has come as a surprise.  The batting is a concern.  As soon as Cobb was dismissed, the batting looked fragile and lacked composure.  Then when it came to the bowling, Stirling and Malan made it look like they were batting on a different pitch.  However,  3 wins from 4 is still good.  Leicestershire have no matches until next Sunday's YB40 match away at Scarborough.  Let's hope today was just a blip and recharging the batteries will produce the right result next week.

Fantastic Foxes stun Somerset Sabres

The last time Leicestershire Foxes played the Somerset Sabres was the 2011 T20 final, which of course Leicestershire went on to win. That along with both teams being unbeaten in YB40 competition set up a tantalising match today.

Leicestershire won the toss and Josh Cobb put Somerset in to bat.  With glorious sunshine, this was a somewhat surprising decision - especially when Somerset amassed 323 runs from their 40 overs for the loss of 3 wickets.

Somerset's opening pair of captain Marcus Trescothick and Peter Drego put on a partnership of 120 runs in 16 overs.  The signs of a big score were there from the beginning when Trego hit a six in the 4th over and Trescothick did the same in the 6th over. Trescothick was first to his 50 in the 13th over and was closely followed by Trego who reached 50 in the 15th over.  Trescothick was bowled by Rob Taylor for 57 off 45 balls.  His innings included 4 fours and 3 sixes.

Arul Suppiah scored 20 off 18 before being bowled by Cobb.  Trego was then supported by Alviro Petersen. Somerset reached 210 for 3 in the 30th over and you could sense they were ready to really turn the screw.  Trego reached his hundred off 90 balls and included 12 fours and a six.  Trego was eventually caught by Matthew Boyce off the bowling of Nathan Buck for 118 runs.

There was no reprieve for Leicestershire as next in to bat was Jos Buttler.  Buttler's innovative batting with shots all round the ground produced 54 runs from only 25 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes.
Petersen went on to make 63 not out. His partnership with Buttler was unbeaten and consisted of 82 runs as Somerset racked up 323 for 3 from their 40 overs.  Heads were beginning to drop in the field towards the end of that innings as Somerset made 113 off their last 10 overs.

The consensus round the ground in the interval was that the final partnership really hurt Leicestershire and it was just too many runs.  I said to someone myself, "Maybe if Cobb gets a hundred...but it's still too many runs." I'm delighted to say I was right about the century, but wrong about the result.

Leicestershire had to get off to a good start in terms of both not losing wickets and keeping on top of the run rate to get near the target of 324.  So when Cobb hit 2 fours in the first over, more of the same was demanded by the crowd. - and how he delivered!

Cobb reached his 50 off 35 balls with 10 fours in the 9th over. Cobb was ably supported by Greg Smith and Leicestershire reached 112 after 10 overs.  Smith soon reached his 50 too.  It came off 27 balls with 8 fours and a six.

Cobb went on to record back-to-back YB40 centuries as he brought up his ton from only 62 balls. It included 16 fours and a six.  A decent sized crowd were really backing Leicestershire now with almost every run being clapped.  Leicestershire were still going at 10 an over and brought up 200 in the 20th over.

Cobb eventually fell for 130 runs (from 87 balls) with the score on 235 to a good Yorker from former Leicestershire bowler Steve Kirby. Cobb's innings included 20 fours and a six.  Two further quick wickets, Joe Burns (1) and Ned Eckersley (5) meant the game was still in the balance.

Smith went on to record his ton in the 27th over off 68 balls, again with 16 fours and a six just like Cobb.  Matthew Boyce was out for 11 leading to Shiv Thakor to come to the crease.  A run a a ball 18 from Thakor with him hitting the winning runs in the 39th over completed a memorable victory for the Foxes.  Smith finished as the highest scorer, unbeaten on 135 from 109 balls with 18 fours and a six.

Chasing down 324 is not an easy task for anyone, let alone such a young Leicestershire team.  Boyce was the oldest player in the eleven at the grand old age of 27 today.  Batting with maturity applies to most of Leicestershire's batsmen today, and captaincy is obviously suiting Cobb very well. The young team shows great promise in the one-day format.

Let's hope Leicestershire make it 3 wins from 3 when they take on the Unicorns at Wormsley tomorrow.  It's a shame we don't have any bank holidays in June or July, because the two May bank holidays have brought great weather and two great victories for the Foxes.

Foxes off to YB40 Flier

Leicestershire thrashed Gloucestershire by 115 runs to get their YB40 campaign off to a winning start.  Gloucestershire won the toss and decided to bowl first. They must have soon regretted that decision as both Leicestershire openers, Niall O'Brien and Josh Cobb, went on to score centuries.

Wicketkeeper O'Brien was first to his hundred.  It came off 79 balls and included 12 fours and a six.  O'Brien was caught for 104 and had taken the score to 193 with Cobb at this point.  Leicestershire reached the 200-run mark in the 27th over.

Josh Cobb reached his hundred from 89 balls and included 8 fours and 3 sixes. Leicestershire kept losing wickets at regular intervals and failed to reach the 300-plus score that many supporters thought was on after the opening stand from O'Brien and Cobb.  Leicestershire made 289 from their 40 overs with Cobb finishing as top scorer with 104.

289 turned out to be plenty as Leicestershire ripped the heart out of Gloucestershire's batting order.  Robbie Williams trapped New Zealander Hamish Marshall lbw in the second over and the Gladiators never recovered. Gloucestershire were reduced to 44 for 5 in the tenth over due to accurate bowling and great fielding. O'Brien took a good diving catch to remove Alex Gidman and there were run-outs from Rob Taylor and Matthew Boyce.  

Cobb returned the best bowling figures of 3 for 34 from his 8 overs to add to his contribution with the bat.  It is easy to forget that Cobb is only 22 years old. He batted with great maturity and captained the team well.  Cobb seems to continue to improve in every match.

Gloucestershire managed to delay the inevitable until the 35th over and were 174 all out. Leicestershire's win was all the more pleasing for two reasons.  Firstly, this match was coming on the back of Leicestershire only yesterday losing a 4-day LVCC to Gloucestershire by nine wickets; and secondly Leicestershire fielded a young team with only two players over 30.

A promising start by Leicestershire in the YB40 on the same day that Leicester City made it to the play offs, and Leicester Tigers won, completed a very successful day for sport in Leicester.

Leicestershire 2013 season preview

To say Leicestershire didn't have the best of seasons last year is an understatement. After being T20 Champions for the third time in 2011, expectations were high for 2012. Finishing 7th in Division 2 of the LV Championship, 6th in their group for the CB40, and bottom of their group for the T20 Championship was not the plan.  However, losing key players from the 2011 campaign was a major reason for this.

I am feeling optimistic about the 2013 season though. Jigar Naik has made a full recovery from the terrible ankle injury that caused him to miss most of the season and Leicestershire have made some good signings over the winter too.

Seamer Anthony Ireland and Australian Joe Burns bolster the squad.  Whilst Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien and Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan bring further International class to the squad.  Al Hasan, currently ranked the world's number one ODI all rounder, is quite a signing for Leicestershire.

Josh Cobb played with Al Hasan in the winter for the Dhaka Gladiators in the BPL. The team included other International stars like Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan.  The Gladiators went on to lift the BPL trophy.  This overseas experience can only add to an already promising career for the Foxes youngster.

Time will tell how the Ronnie Sarwan situation will affect Leicestershire. Sarwan's unexpected recall to the West Indies team after almost 3 years of being overlooked came as a surprise. This could significantly affect Sarwan's availability for the 2013 season.

Providing the snow stays away and we actually get something that resembles cricket weather, I feel Leicestershire have a strong enough squad to improve in all formats of the game compared to last season.