4th Test & beyond

South Africa won a good toss and batted.  England bowled poorly and didn't take their chances allowing SA to score 475 with centuries from Amla, Cook and De Kock. England had a stop start kind of innings, Cook, Root and Ali scored runs but Rabada bowled brilliantly and SA had a healthy lead which they built on steadily.  Once again Amla piled them up with support from Bavuma.  England were set four sessions to survive but didn't even managed two, blown away again by Rabada.

This has been a brilliant series and although 2-1 probably flatters South Africa, 3-0 would definitely have been harsh.  England fans will never forget Stokes amazing 258 or Bairstow's emotional 150.  Then there was Broad's 6-17.  South Africans will remember the brilliant run machine Hashim Amla but be very pleased by the emergence of Rabada and Bavuma.  This series has had a bit of everything, we deserve a fifth test!


South Africans my point to the injury to Steyn but it shouldn't be forgotten that Anderson and Finn both missed matches.  It makes no difference, the score books record that England have won away and dethroned the World No 1 team and this really is a great result.  But it has to be said, we've done it without playing at our best and we still have no clue as to what our best XI is!

Going forward some names are inked in with permanent marker.  Cook, Root, Stokes, Broad and Anderson are automatic selections, in the future all will be mentioned alongside the great names of world test cricket.  The skipper and the senior bowler haven't had their best series but have both contributed.  Root and Broad have had very good tours with brilliant moments.  Stokes has been our star man and has contributed in all disciplines.

Stephen Finn has arguably been our best bowler, he has really improved since returning and should always be in the side when fit.  Ahead of the series I'd have picked Buttler but Johnny Bairstow both had really great series with the bat but still needs to improve behind the stumps.  Hopefully this will be the beginning of a long career for him.  Moeen Ali has done OK, he is a good all round cricketer but at this moment in time he still isn't a world class spinner.  We will need another, better spinner in India next winter.  Those eight players are sure to be selected if fit, the other four players that featured won't be so sure.

  Chris Woakes played two matches as an injury replacement and didn't make much of a case to be picked again if Wood or even Plunkett are fit.Compton and Taylor both started the series well but have fallen away towards the end.  This has not been an easy series for batsmen but have they done enough to deserve another chance this English summer?  Poor old Alex Hales was on a hiding to nothing opening against Steyn and Morkel this series and even when the former was injured it didn't get any easier for him.  I like watching him bat in ODI cricket but he'll have to rack up a load of runs in the short form to maintain his place.  Gary Ballance has been waiting in the wings this tour and Ian Bell will be desperate to make a come back.  Should we try Compton as an opening partner for Cook again?

England have a young, talented squad of players for sure but are still far from the finished article.  When we reached No.1 in the world in 2011/12 the team picked itself but there are still places up for grabs in this one.  If we can find a decent opener and a spinner who can take wickets in Asia we may well reach No.1 again.

2015

I made a load of notes for some kind of Review of 2015 to post on here but they were forgotten until now.  So here it is, a little late but what the fuck?

Cricket.  The World cup was a farce, England didn't have a chance and were embarrassing.  New Zealand were superb but the bloody Aussies won.  From that point our ODI form improved beyond measure and we played as well as any team in the world, for the first time in years I actually took more than a passing interest in England's one day matches and this will continue for as long as this neew attacking style of play lasts.  There is a World T20 competition coming up soon and on recent form, England are in with a good chance.

Test cricket was inconsistent in 2015; a drawn series in the West Indies was a moral victory for the hosts but the drawn home series against a good Kiwi side was better for England.  But could we really compete with the in form Aussies?  Yes we could do more than compete, we could beat them.  The win in Cardiff set up the series, the bounce back win at Edgbaston was brilliant but Trent Bridge and Broad's 8-15 will be remembered forever, undoubtedly the cricketing highlight of the year.  The UEA against Pakistan was a tough tour but England played OK in defeat, if only we had a spinner we could have won.

As ever my CD collection continues to expand at a steady rate.  My favourite new releases in no particular order.
Leftfield - Alternative Light source, superb electronic dance music, as good as anything out there. Charlatans - Modern Nature, of my favourite bands of the nineties only the Charlatans and James continue to make fresh music.  This is a really good record with a couple of absolute belters on it.
Eels - Live at the Royal Albert Hall, the perfect live recording.  But I may be biased because I was there.

Gigs

Hardcore Punk started the year of, Fucked up, somewhere in in London, a good start to the year., noisy, exhilerating and damn good fun.
 Leftfield at the Forum- Fantastic, old school dance all night!
The Latitude festival was not as good as 2013 or 2014 but still brilliant.  Highlights, Vaccines were the stars of the weekend.  Short, sharp, singalong Punk tunes.  Brilliant fun! Charlatans were good but the festival set was too short, Noel Gallagher (who was much better than expected), Seasick Steve, who I've waited a long time to see.
We saw the Charlatans again in December, this time at Norwich, very good and nice to see the full set including SPG which always gets me emotional.

 I must read about one book a week on average and I can't remember half the titles.  I love reading.  There is a certain feeling that I get at the end of a good book.  There is an exhilaration as I near the end, I've travelled the road to completion but this is tempered by a knowledge that I have to leave the world created by the author.  This was once a "Books I've read lately" blog but I can't write proper reviews without giving the story away and I don't have time to even attempt it

As usual I read plenty of Crime fiction by the likes of Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly  and Elly Griffiths, I like pretty much everything these authors have published.  Stand out's from this year are Connelly's 'Burning Room' which features Harry Bosch chasing down a cold case and it really is a cracker.  Elly Griffith's latest 'the Ghost Fields' is pretty good and she has also introduced us to another crime solving team; Stephens & Mafesto based just after the war, so war, so good.

I love Irvine Welsh's novels and this year he brought out a belter, "Sex lives of Siamese twins" is a really good story and I didn't have a clue where Welsh was taking me and didn't expect where I ended up.  It's hilarious and the ending is brilliant.  I'm looking forward to another one from Irvine Welsh this spring.  Another really funny book is "Look who's back" by Timur Vermes.  The premise is Hitler wakes up in Berlin in 2013 and as he appears in public people assume he is a brilliant comedy actor.  The result is a brilliant satire.

I re read Harper Lee's classic "To Kill a Mockingbird" and it is every bit as beautiful and brilliant as I remembered from my school days.  I'll get a copy of the recent sequel when it appears in paperback.
I read a couple of books by Paulo Coelho, "Brida" started good but faded; "The Pilgrimage' was a really nice, spiritual book.

Stephen King is brilliant and I read a couple of his books last year.  I really liked "Mr Mercedes"; likeable characters, a horrible villain, several unexpected twists and a breathless finish.  There is a promise that these characters will return in a sequel. This isn't one of Kings very best novels but it come close.  "Revival" is a decent read but for me falls short of Stephen King's high standards.  I liked the main character but for some reason I couldn't really buy into the story.

Last year I loved Macus Zusak's 'The Book thief' so I took a chance and picked up a copy of 'I am the Messenger'.  This is another excellent book, a real page turner that I literally couldn't put down.  This book is unexpected, I didn't have a clue where it was going and it is heart warming.  I didn't realise it was meant to be 'teen fiction' until I was three quarters of the way through but it didn't matter.  The characters are young but the themes are ageless.  For me the end was a little disappointing but its still a really good read.

I don't read much non fiction, I prefer novels so kept Owen Jones' 'The Establishment & how they get away with it' on the pile for a while before I eventually picked it up.  The title pretty much tells you all you need to know about the content.  This book did not surprise me unduly because I already had a pretty cynical view of all things political but what Owen Jones has done is explain (as the title suggests) how "They" go about royally ripping us off.  It's not an easy read and it has the potential to be depressing but it actually gives me a little hope.  If more and more people read this book and learn how they are getting ripped off then maybe we can rise up and change things for the better?  Here's hoping.

2015 saw me actually become interested in politics again for the first time since...?  This is soley due to Jeremy Corbyn becoming leader of the Labour party.  I like Jeremy's politics but best of all, he isn't part of the Eton/Oxbridge bullshit clique.  I really believe he could make this country a better place.

On a personal note the second half of 2015 was very tough because my Dad became ill in mid summer and died on September 10th.  He was a simple, humble man who touched many people's lives with a big smile and lots of laughter.  His family adored him and we all miss him every day.  At times like this faith helps, even if it is as unconventional as mine.

2015 will always be the year that my Dad died but I must not forget there have been good times too, some of the happy memories are mentioned above, others elsewhere.  I'm most delighted to say that my family and my children in particular have all grown in character as well as years.  My kids have endured difficult times over the last couple of years but they probably don't realise how fantastic they have been, even though I have made a point of telling them.  They have made their Granddad proud.

England 2 South Africa 0

Wow what a test match!  And what a win for England!  South Africa should have made the most of the conditions on day one but no batsman passed fifty.  England were in trouble early but Root and Stokes counter attacked.  After two tough days, Joe Roots brilliant century seemed to give England a slight edge.  Rabada roared back on day three with five wickets and restricted England to a lead of just ten.  Then Stuart Broad bowled one of those spells and took the first five wickets to reduce the hosts to 35-5 and the game was as good as won.  Cook top scored with 43 as England chased down a small target to win by seven wickets.  Two up with one to play England have dethroned the world number one team in their own back yard.

England are starting to look like a seriously good team in development with several game changing players and in this series have kept coming out on top at the crucial moments.  South Africa are going the other way to England, a once very good side is now in decline.  There have been retirements and there will be talk of injuries but some have forgotten that Anderson missed the first test.

The neutral supporters may be disappointed that the series is decided before the final test but in truth England have dominated all three of the test matches so far and thoroughly deserve the win.  Can they go on to complete a 3-0 win or will they take their foot of the gas?

Cape Town test

The second test match from Cape Town will go down in history and will be remembered for as long as cricket is talked about.  England won the toss and amassed 629-6 with Bairstow making his first test century and Ben Stokes smashing 258 from only 198 balls.  In reply South Africa made 627-7 with Bavuma making the first test century by a black African and Amla making a match saving 201 from 477 balls.

It's fair to say that bat dominated ball in this match with some great innings played but Stokes assault on the Saffer bowling was without doubt the highlight.  With a strike rate of 1.303, if Stokes had faced as many balls as Amla he would have scored over 620.

Just when the game looked as if it was heading towards a dull conclusion England kept things entertaining by losing wickets at intervals that were too regular for us fans to be comfortable. By the time bad light stopped play we had reached a position of safety.

Despite the last day England are in good shape with everyone contributing to the team in some way, Cook is due a score.  Barring injury we are sure to name an unchanged side in the third test.

South Africa might argue they are in better shape.  They batted much better in this match and a second string attack had England a little worried at times on the first and last days.  Having been put under pressure and having responded in style, they may come out of the match the more positive of the two sides.  They also should have Steyn back for the next match.

England 1 South Africa 0

It is easy to be wise after the event but I had a good feeling about the England Vs South Africa series and this was before we went 1-0 up in the series.  My thinking was Kallis and Smith have retired, how could the team possibly be stronger?  Add to that injuries to Philander and now Steyn then the saffers are there for the taking.  Having taken the lead England should be favourites to win the series now.

Going in Anderson was unfit so Woakes came in, Bairstow kept wicket and it was great to see Finn back again.  With Hales and Compton added to the top three the team has evolved again.  SA won the toss and put England into bat in difficult conditions on a dark shortened day.  With two newish faces in the side, Compton and Taylor making half centuries, England shaded the first day and went on to make 303 on the second.  Some pundits thought this was a hundred runs short but this opinion didn't hold for long after Broad and Ali bowled the spine out of the Saffers and by the end of day two we were edging ahead.  The third day is so often pivotal, England dominated and pretty much ensured the win.  SA collapsed to 214 giving us a decent lead which we built upon steadily.  With Root making 60* England were 250+ ahead by stumps.

England went for quick runs at the start of day four and with Bairstow making 79 we were all out for 326 giving a lead of over 400.  SA started quite well with an opening partnership of 53 but wickets fell regularly thereafter.  Finn was on fire removing Amla and crucially DuPlessis in the final over of the day.  England were now all over South Africa.  The final day could and possibly should have been a tough one with England struggling to prise Saffer wickets out.  Instead SA collapsed quickly giving England a 241 run victory and Moeen Ali picked up man of the match with seven wickets in total.  Easy!

England seem to be purring.  A comprehensive win without our best bowler and without too many runs from our best two bats.  Every member of the team contributed to an excellent victory.  With Root and Cook certain to score runs and the newcomers all confident the batting looks good and deep.  If Jimmy returns then our bowling attack will have a total of  974 test wickets between them.  The pitches in South Africa are in the same vein as our own so suit England much better than those we struggled on in UAE.  Unless SA can turn things around quickly England could be 2-0 up this time next week.

The Charlatans. Norwich UEA 11/12/15

I loved the music of the early nineties.  There were loads of British bands making great music and the likes of Happy Mondays and James are lifelong favourites.  I've seen lots of bands of this era live at some point and I can recall few disappointments.  When it comes to consistency one band from the time stands above the rest.  The Charlatans have continued to make good music through a quarter of a century and they are always excellent live.  The latest album "Modern Nature" is a belter so a Friday night gig just up the road in Norwich was just too good to miss so once again the Purple Princess and I teamed up with Mr & Mrs Green for a night of dancing.

The UEA is a nice little venue and if I'm not mistaken had undergone a refit since the last time I'd been there?  There were a couple of support acts, I can't remember what they were called but Mr Green liked the first one and I preferred the second.  To be honest at this stage we were concentrating on becoming fully refreshed before the main event and in this we were successful.

The Charlatans came on about 9.30 Starting off with "Talking in tones" from the new album then belting out a couple of classics; "Weirdo" and "North Country Boy".  The crowd lapped it up with a riot at the front and freaky dancing all around.  (Throughout the night I done a lot of the latter and a bit of the former.)  With the audience hooked the band didn't let us off the hook playing several new tunes, the best for me being "Trouble Understanding".  Sprinkled in was a load of classics from all stages of the Charlatans career.  "One to Another" sounded great and "Only one..." always does.  Loads of tunes packed into ninety minutes and we danced the whole way through.  We had the obligatory 'encore charade' then back with a bang, signing off with the fucking classic "Sproston Green".  This is the traditional end to a Charlatans gig, you won't top SPG so time to go home.

This was the fourth time I've seen the Charlatans and they've been bloody good every time.  I am certain this won't be the last time.

Pink balls & Aussie cricketers

Day/night test cricket played with pink balls arrived in Australia last week.  The home team beat the Kiwis by three wickets, aided and abetted by a poor DRS decision that may in hindsight have decided the match.  The pink ball swings, (England will fancy bowling with it) but looking at the scorecard the ball may have dominated the bat a bit too much.  Whatever, I'm sure test cricket under lights is here to stay.

Elsewhere England have thrashed Pakistan in the limited overs matches, winning the ODI series 3-1 and the T20 3-0.  The latter series provided much excitement and two desperately close finishes, all very entertaining.  England's cricket is moving in the right direction in all formats of the game but in Test cricket we are moving slowly and still don't know what our best XI is.  The next match begins on Boxing day in South Africa, this will be a tough series but I expect England to at least compete.


I think most cricket fans are fair in their assessments of opposing players, we respect great players and good sportsmen from all the cricketing nations.  However as a passionate England supporter it has not always been easy to respect the Aussies, for a long time they caused us too much pain.  2005 changed that, having seen the great team beaten I for one allowed myself to appreciate them, a little.  When they all retired it became much easier.

The first Aussies I really became aware of were the Chappells, Rod Marsh and the fearsome Lillie and Thompson.  Both these latter two were never at their best when touring England and rarely that threatening.  The first Aussie to really get under my skin was Alan Border who was a dour, miserable bastard but a tough captain and a great cricketer.  He was the sort of batsmen who seemed to play few shots but when you looked at the scoreboard he was racking the runs up.  He also had a rarely infuriating habit of picking up the odd wicket with crap slow bowling.

Border was captain the first time I saw the Aussies play.  This was a day night game against the West Indies at the SCG.  Border was bowled by Carl Hooper for just 1.  Aus scored 234 with 82 from Geoff Marsh and 61 from David Boon.  The West Indies bowlers included Ambrose and the greatest, Malcolm Marshall.  The batsmen included Lara, Haynes and Richardson but Carl Hooper top scored with 77.  WI ended well short of the target with the wickets shared by McDermott, Reid, Whitney and SR Waugh.

 For me the best Aussie cricketer of the last thirty years was Steve Waugh, it is a little known law that you cannot mention his name without using the word 'tough' at some point.  He probably produced more heart breaking moments in Ashes tests than anyone else in that time and seemed to always do it when the team needed it most.  How many times did Steve Waugh walk to the wicket with the score around 150-4 and the opposition in with a shout, then just stay in and accumulate runs.  That bloke was hard as nails.  Waugh scored 34 in that Sydney ODI but the next time I saw him in the flesh he punished England for 78 not out.  (Ian Healy did well too!) This was 1993, the first test match Old Trafford which is famous for a certain leg spinners dramatic entry to Ashes cricket.  That all happened on day one and I watched it unfold on the BBC but on the fourth day I was at the match.  Also playing were Border and Merv Hughes, a big lump of a man with a huge moustache who looked like the sixth member of the Village People.  He was the target for much grief from the crowd but he had the last laugh when he bowled Gatting off the last ball of the day.  You couldn't help but admire Hughes as he ran in all day and never gave up trying.

Shane Warne will probably go down as the greatest cricketer of this generation and is certainly the best spin bowler I've ever seen.  I can't say I particularly like the Warne that sits in the commentary box but he was a hell of a player.  Warne played the mental games as well as any cricketer ever has.  He was great and he knew it; he exuded confidence/arrogance.  As mentioned I saw him play at Old Trafford and was there when he had Atherton caught at slip on his way to 4-86 and eight wickets in the match.  I saw him again at Trent Bridge in 1997 where he took 3-43 and along with McGrath and Gillespie bowled Australia to the Ashes.  Only Graham Thorpe stood up for England with 82 not out.  I was in the crowd in front of the pavilion when the fat bastard danced with a stump on the balcony.  Warne caused me pain on that day and on very many others but but it was a privilege to see the best slow bowler of all time.

That day began with Australia precarious at 167-4 and when Caddick removed Steve Waugh early on we hoped England would be on a roll, bowl Australia out and chase down a small target to square the series!  That hope was crushed by two batsmen.  I saw Ian Healy's first test hundred at Old Trafford in 1993 and four years later he spanked us for 63 and took the game away.  Adam Gilchrist is the most renowned Aussie keeper of recent times but for me Ian Healy was the better player behind the stumps.  The other player was Ricky Ponting who scored 45 in a match defining partnership with Healy.  I couldn't stand Ponting when he played, especially as a snarling/gloating captain but by god he could bat and comes across as a nice bloke now he's retired, I like him in the Com box.  Ditto Glenn McGrath even if he is the most biased commentator around but a great bowler!  He also caused me agony at Trent Bridge in '97 removing Atherton, as usual then blowing away the tail for 3-36.

I didn't get to an Ashes match for a long time after that so missed the greatest team and greatest agonies endured by England.  The Aussie teams captained by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting were truly great and pushed the boundaries of test cricket.  Gilchrist always came across as a decent bloke but by God he annoyed the hell out of me when he batted.  I admired Langer when he played, seemed a good bloke but went down in my estimation after he retired, when he slagged off the England team prior to the 2009 Ashes.  It was hard work ever liking Hayden though.

The more recent Aussies have been easier to like as in the last decade we've won five series against their two.  I respect Mitchell Johnson for coming back after all the stick we gave him and I think England fans like him really.  In truth he only had an effect on one of the four Ashes series he played in but in that one he was superb.  Brett Lee was a bloody good bowler and provided some classic moments in Ashes cricket in victory and defeat.  I particularly enjoyed the sight of him bowling to Piers Morgan.  Ryan Harris was class, his injury probably decided the Ashes this year.  Peter Siddle is probably my favourite of the recent Aussies, a bloody good bowler and a modest man.  He never stops trying.  I can't believe Australia don't play him more as he is difficult to get away and takes wickets.

I saw Ashes cricket again in 2013, the fifth test at the Oval.  A game mostly remembered by England nearly pulling off an unlikely win on the final day.  From memory we followed that passage of play on TMS while we watched Essex play at Colchester.  For once we were there for the first day, Aus won the toss and batted.  Anderson removed the vile Warner early on and Shane Watson LBW (usually a walking wicket if ever there was one), came out at no. 3.  However on this day he smashed us everywhere and ended up making 176.  He battered Kerrigan who'd made his debut and was promptly smashed right out of test cricket.  This was one of Watson's rare good days.  He looked like he should/could do everything and anything but ended up doing very little in test cricket.  He seemed to have the talent but not the intelligence and rarely caused us England fans much grief but every dog has his day.

Chris Rogers opened that day and its hard not to admire this bloke who didn't get a decent crack at test cricket until well into his thirties but proved to be absolute class and a really decent bloke.  He did struggle with Graham Swann and it was he who had him caught that day.  This brought Michael Clarke to the wicket, a real top class player who was well liked apart from the 2013/14 return series where he behaved like a prick.  He redeemed himself this summer as a sportsman who took defeat on the chin.  He has had a fair bit of practice in his Ashes career.  He didn't score many that day, bowled by Anderson and this brought another walking wicket to the crease.  Stephen Smith made an unbeaten half century that day and went to three figures on day two.  I think that may have been his first test century and he's made a few since.  He could go on to be a future great and he's starting to piss me off.

The next Ashes series will be in Australia in a years time.  The way recent series are going the home team will start as favourites and if the series goes to form there will be a fresh batch of Aussies to break my heart and earn my loathing but a few years after they won't seem so bad,