Author: CaughtOutCricket

The old saying goes, “all good things have to come to an end.” Ricky Ponting was good, very good, in fact he was a great.

For Ponting the end is nigh. When he walks out at the WACA on Friday morning, it will be his 168^th and final Test, a career that has seen him claim 108 Test victories, with 48 of those as captain.

You can’t help but hope for a fairytale ending for Ponting. How about a hundred in his final match at a ground where it all began for him in 1995 and a victory over South Africa that would lift his side back to number one in the ICC Test Rankings – it would be a fitting end to a glorious career.

After announcing his retirement, Ponting said that he wanted to win his final match more than any other game he has ever played. The drive and determination is still there, but unfortunately for Punter, age has finally caught up with him.

It seemed the Australian selectors were willing to grant Ponting his one last wish and final frontier – an Ashes series on English soil, but in sport things don’t always pan out the way you want them to.

Recently reading a Sidharth Monga article on espncricinfo.com, I picked up on this wonderful quote on Sachin Tendulkar’s ongoing struggles:

“People are struggling to come to terms with his mortality. They want him to retire because they want to live with happier memories. That’s selfish.”

It made me realise that I had thought this about Ponting. As a big fan of his, I wanted him to go on and reclaim the Ashes in England, but I didn’t want him to continue to struggle and look a part of his former self. That Jacques Kallis ball that dismissed him in Adelaide wasn’t what I wanted to remember him by, but instead the slight of him bringing up another Test century with a crisp drive through the covers.

We all have to realise that our favourite players can’t go on to play at their best forever, there has to be a time when we have to respect the timing of a players retirement, after all only the player himself knows, when to make that difficult call.

For all of this I think Ponting picked the right time to hang up his bat and depart from the game. He has been in inconsistent form over the past 18 months, but if it wasn’t for his mental input on the side and his determination to work hard, then Michael Clarke’s men wouldn’t be vying for the Test mace right now.

Although Clarke has led the side through their rebuilding process, he has still relied heavily on the likes of Ponting and Mike Hussey as his go to men. There is no way Australia could have let Ponting and Hussey depart from the side after the retirements of key players such as Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and to a lesser extent Brett Lee and Simon Katich – all in the past six years.

Ponting is a once in a generation player, only Greg Chappell can rival him as Australia’s best batsman since Sir Donald Bradman, players like this don’t come around very often. For over a decade Ponting was the best batsman in the world’s best team.

His stats are overshadowed by no Australian bar Bradman. His 13,366 runs are more than any of his compatriots ever managed as are his 41 Test hundreds and his final Test appearance at Perth will equal Steve Waugh’s haul of 168.

In ODI cricket his three World Cup victories – with two as captain stand out, as does his 30 ODI centuries.

So after 17 years of service to the Baggy Green, it’s time to say farewell Punter, I hope you do a Steve Waugh and bow out the way we all want you to with your side back on top of the world, but if not we will remember the stroke play, dedication and passion that you brought to Cricket Australia during its most successful period.

Michael Clarke’s unbeaten 259 in the first Vodafone Test against South Africa again proved his ongoing worth as both Australia’s captain and premier batsman.

Since taking over the Test captaincy from Ricky Ponting nineteen months and fifteen Tests ago, Clarke has scored 1618 runs at 64.72. So far in 2012 he has scored 1041 runs in seven Tests, at a remarkable average of 115.66.

The responsibility of captaincy has certainly brought out the best in Clarke. In 2012 nobody has scored more Test runs than Pup. Along with his 259 against the Proteas and his scores of 329no and 210 against India earlier in the year, he becomes only the third player behind Ponting and Don Bradman to score three scores of over 200 in a calendar year.

His conversion rate of fifties into hundreds is also an impressive one, of his 42 Test scores of over 50, 20 have been turned into hundreds.

It’s also no coincidence that four of Clarke’s seven Test scores of over 150 have come since he took over the captaincy. He now understands the needs of the team more. With Australia’s current weak middle order, it’s up to Clarke to make the most of his starts and go on to score the big runs.

While Clarke’s batting stats speak for themselves, it’s his positive captaincy that is finally winning around his critics and haters.

Since he took over the job they call the second most important in Australian society (the first being the Australian prime minister) he has led his side to nine wins, four draws and just two defeats. This was meant to be a side in transition; under Clarke they haven’t lost a series.

His captaincy has been as refreshing as it has been successful. He’s a gambler, where as Ponting was a percentage captain, Pup makes his decisions on instinct, unsurprisingly there are hints of Shane Warne in his captaincy, together they share the ability to read the game and give their side the best possible chance of victory.

The 31-year-old has always shown a willingness to learn more about the game, be it from his mentor Ponting or his great friend Warne. As a batsman, a tactician and occasionally a bowler, he is always looking to keep the game moving, always looking for opportunities for runs or wickets and always pushing his team towards greater success.

Things haven’t always been easy for Clarke despite his dream entry to Test cricket in 2004. A debut innings of 151 in India was followed by 141 in his fifth match against New Zealand. The blonde bombshell from New South Wales had arrived into one of the best sides in the history of the game and things couldn’t have begun any better for him.

Things quickly changed for Clarke though, as he was dropped from the side just a year after his debut. Although he would later return after missing only seven Tests, his place in the side was not longer guaranteed.

Clarke worked hard on his game and was soon a regular in the side again making the number five spot his own, but for a time he wasn’t always the most popular player amongst both players and fans alike.

It was easy to look at Clarke and see the tattoos and the metro sexual image and choose not to see the dedication he brought to him game. There was a time when he was viewed even by some of his teammates as a bit of a glory boy. Richly talented and with an impeccable pedigree, this kid was along for the ride – the only 20-something in a team of hardnosed 30-somethings who ruled the world.

At times the Australian media portrayed the views of many in the public, one journalist once wrote: “His problem is a little more delicate. Michael Clarke is a tosser. Or, to give him an out cause, he appears to be a tosser.”

Over the years he has not only found it hard to earn the respect of the Australian public, but of his teammates too. In 2009 after a Test victory in Sydney, Simon Katich grabbed the then vice-captain Clarke by the throat after an argument over when the team song would be sung, Clarke had requested to leave early to attend a meal with his then fiancée Lara Bingle.

Despite all of this no one can ever question Clarke’s mental strength. In early 2008 he spent two months away from the game, firstly attending to his ailing father and then helping Bingle deal with the death of her own father, upon his return to the side he scored a fluent 110 against the West Indies in Antigua. Two years later he again showed his ability to deal with personal issues in the middle when he scored a first innings 168 in New Zealand, just a week after his well publicised split-up with Bingle.

That mental strength has since served Clarke well, the consistency of his batting has improved so much so that he is now ranked amongst the best batsmen in the world, his captaincy is fresh and exciting and his popularity is finally on the rise, the once unloved pup is now Australia’s top dog.

When Australia and the West Indies meet on Friday for their semi-final encounter, all eyes will be firmly on two players, Chris Gayle and Shane Watson.

The story of the tournament for each side has been – lose your boundary biffing beast early, and struggle thereafter. Gayle and Watson are those beastly figures, irreplaceable forces in the shortest form of the game and match winners on their day. To put it bluntly, they put bums on seats.

So reliant on their star bashers have Australia and West Indies been this tournament, that when they have failed with the bat, their middle orders have looked suspect and under cooked.

After four man-of-the-match awards in a row for Watson, his first failure with the bat coincided with Australia’s first defeat of the tournament, as he made just 8 during his side’s 32-run loss to Pakistan.

Those four man-of-the-match awards were achieved with scores of: 51, 41no, 72 and 70 as well as bowling figures of: 3/26, 2/29, 3/34 and 2/29.

Gayle too, has similarly had to carry the West Indian hopes of a large total on his broad shoulders. His one real failure with the bat came in their biggest defeat of the tournament, a 9-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka, in which he scored just 2.

His dominance with the bat hasn’t quite reached Watson levels, but scores of: 54, 58 and 30 have been vital in winning causes for the West Indies.

The biggest difference between Gayle, Watson and the rest has been the speed in which they have scored their runs. In his four innings this tournament Gayle has scored 144 runs at a strike rate of 158.24, while Watson has 242 runs at 154.14 in his five innings.

Gayle will look to hit Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and co from ball one – long, straight and far, bowl too straight at your peril. The big Jamaican favours hitting in the V, perhaps his favourite shots of them all are; the effortless six over long off or the carve through the covers off both front and back foot, Australian bowlers beware.

Watson, like Gayle, loves nothing more than smashing the ball into the bleachers. He thrives on anything short or even back of a length. Always quickly into position, his pull shots have been a joy to behold in this tournament, as both pace and spin has been deposited to the fence with minimum fuss, this is the way Watson bats.

His 70 against South Africa was particularly impressive, after losing partner David Warner early, Watto played out hostile spells from both Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel before taking the attack to the spinners.

If Watson outlasts the opening spells of Ravi Rampaul and Samuel Badree, then Sunil Narine will have to be at his very best or Watson could take the game away from an average West Indies bowling attack.

Gayle will look to do likewise. With the West Indies middle order currently being as unpredictable as the Sri Lankan monsoon season weather, it will be up to Gayle to go big and long. If he is there past the fifteenth over, then 200 would not be out of reach for the Windies.

This time tomorrow we will know who will play Sri Lanka in the World T20 final on Sunday, the questions remain though: will it be Chris’ West Indies or Shane’s Australia? Will either of the opening destroyers go big and pull out a match winning performance? Will both decide on a personal “boundary hitting duel.” The Gayle verses Watson show – has a ring to it, doesn’t it.

Should either perform to their very best, then there will be two winners tomorrow and cricket will be one of them.

After his dropping by England for their T20I at Old Trafford on Monday evening, I ask – what is next for Ravi Bopara’s international career?

The stocky right-hander has failed miserably in recent times, scoring just 28 runs in his last five international innings, surely not the returns of a man worthy of the England number three position.

After pulling out of the England squad for the second Test with South Africa at Leeds for personal reasons, his scores (for Essex and England) have read: 0, 1, 3, 2, 16, 0, 6, 0 and 6. Such scores suggest Bopara isn’t mentally right for the game right now.

This is where England’s conundrum comes into it, what do they now do with Bopara?

After being replaced by Luke Wright at number three for the recent T20I match in Manchester, it appears unlikely that Bopara will now regain his place for the ICC T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka later this month.

Surely England can’t carry a batsman struggling to hit the ball off the square, for such an important tournament, they are after all defending champions. The 15-man squad cannot now be changed unless of an injury, so Bopara will have to go as one of the reserve batsmen.

Back in June things were finally looking up for Bopara, a man whose international career seems to have stalled more times than a learner driver.

After missing England’s winter Test series in Sri Lanka due to a side strain, he was due to play the Test series against the West Indies in May, but again injury (this time a thigh problem) put pay to his chances, leaving Jonny Bairstow to instead debut in his place.

Bopara didn’t let the two setbacks deter him though, he went back to Essex to regain his fitness and form and with it, his place in the England ODI side.

His returns in two ODIs against the West Indies and four against Australia were: 8, 19no, 15, 82, 33no and 52no as England won all six. Ravi was back and raring for another go at Test cricket.

That’s when the disappointments started again. Picked to bat at number six against the might of South Africa in the first Test at The Oval, he scored only 0 and 22 as England were well beaten.

Due to play for Essex in a Pro40 match in between Test matches, he pulled out stating personal issues and immediately informed the ECB he would be unavailable for selection for the Headingley Test match.

It’s not our right to speculate on what the problem in Bopara’s personal life is, but his form (since pulling out of the England squad) has been none existent, this too after withdrawing from the England Lion’s squad on the morning of their match with Australia A on August 7^th.

Surprisingly though as his batting has suffered his bowling has not. Often a bowler who is quicker than most think, his economy rate in recent ODI’s has been excellent. Whilst bowling in the recent South Africa ODI series he had economy rates of 3.10, 3.77, 3.00 and 4.00, perhaps he feels less pressure in bowling than batting – the discipline he has earned his reputation for.

Always a man who has shone on the domestic circuit, Bopara must again feel his international career slipping out of his grasp, and not for the first time.

Since making his Test debut against Sri Lanka in December 2007, he has played in only 13 of England’s 62 Test matches since – a damning statistic alone, this highlights his inconsistent form and fitness over the past four and a half years.

His numbers don’t lie either. His 13 Tests matches have brought him 575 runs at just 31.94 – this in an era where top order batsmen shouldn’t be averaging much under 40.

The fact that his first-class average is 41.99, ten more than his Test average also tells a tail of its own, perhaps Bopara is never destine to be the great international cricketer his talent once suggested. These things happen – remember Graeme Hick or Mark Ramprakash, great in County cricket, but a disappointment on the biggest stage.

At 27, Bopara still has time to rectify this, but with England’s Test squad for their series in India this November due to be announced on Thursday, I don’t expect to see Ravi’s name on the list.

Despite the fact that the Kevin Pietersen debacle is still ongoing, Bopara is likely to remain down the picking order or the cab rank as the England selectors like to call it these days – with Bairstow, James Taylor and Nick Compton the more likely middle order candidates.

With no more ODI cricket scheduled for the rest of the year, it appears Bopara won’t again play for England until at least 2013, the best he can now appear to hope for is a place on the Lion’s tour of India in December – Until then his only opportunity seems to be by seizing on the misfortune of an injured teammate at the T20 World Cup.

Andrew Strauss has announced his resignation from the England captaincy retirement from all forms of cricket with immediate effect.

The news was announced at Lords on Wednesday afternoon during a press conference that was also attended by Alistair Cook – the man who will replace Strauss at the helm of the Test side.

Strauss’ decision comes just over a week after England were beaten 2-0 in their Test series with South Africa, a series in which he only scored 107 runs at 17.83 in three Test matches.

Strauss addressed the press with these words: “For me the driver to it all quite frankly was my form with the bat. In truth, I haven’t battled well enough for a long time now. I think I have run my race.”

As always, Strauss was highly dignified in his exit, putting the needs of the team first, as he has done his whole career.

He added: “I am extremely proud of everything I have achieved as a cricketer and I have found myself very fortunate to play in an era when some of English cricket’s greatest moments have occurred. I have loved every minute of it.”

With his retirement, Strauss ends a highly successful England career as both captain and batsman. Since his Test debut in 2004, he has gone on to play 100 Test matches, scoring 7037 runs at 40.91 including 21 centuries.

But it was perhaps his captaincy that will be most missed in the England dressing room. He took over the reins from Kevin Pietersen in early 2009, following turmoil in the dressing room after a public falling out between both Pietersen and then coach Peter Moores. In all he went on to captain his side in 50 matches winning 24 of those, whilst leading England to number one in the ICC Test rankings at the same time.

With retirement it ends a 15-year career in the game for the 35-year-old Strauss. He started out playing for both Durham University and Middlesex in 1997 before persistent run-scoring forced the selectors to pick him for an ODI series in Sri Lanka, in late 2003.

It wasn’t long before he soon forced his way into the Test side too. When making his debut in May 2004 at his home ground Lords, he scored 112 and 83. Since then, despite a brief spell out of the side in 2007, he has been an almost ever presence in one of English cricket’s most successful times in their history.

His most memorable moment will no doubt be leading his side to victory in Australia during the 2010/11 Ashes, where he became the first Englishman to win the urn on foreign soil since Mike Gatting in 1987.

The retirement and resignation of Strauss begins together a new dawn for English cricket. After losing their number one Test status to South Africa just nine days ago, they will hope Cook has what it takes to lead the side forward. His first assignment starts in India during the winter.

Cook has had enough experience of top level captaincy before. He took charge of the Test side in Bangladesh in 2010 when Strauss was being rested and went on to win the two-Test series 2-0, he has also been in charge of the ODI team since Strauss gave away the captaincy after the 2011 World Cup in India. Since the turn of the year, Cook has led England to eight victories out of nine in the shorter form of the game.

Cook was quick to praise his mentor and former captain Strauss, as he himself takes over the most coveted job in English cricket: “Andrew’s contribution to England cricket in recent years is evident to everyone who follows the sport but only those of us who have been lucky enough to share a dressing room with him are fully aware of his immense contribution to our success.”

The always calm and well-spoken Strauss leaves cricket behind only Michael Vaughan as England’s most successful captain of all time, and like Vaughan and Nasser Hussain previously, his captaincy falls victim to Graeme Smith and his touring South Africans.

Watch the whole press conference here.