A quick look at England’s selections for the first test in Pakistan, due to start early tomorrow morning UK time.
Yesterday I concluded my alphabetical all time XIs project. Tomorrow morning should be seeing the start of England’s first test series in Pakistan in a good many years, and England have named their XI. However an illness is sweeping the England camp and they are in negotiations to delay the start of the match. Before I look at the rights and (mostly) wrongs of this England XI I will say as an English person that England should get no special treatment – if they are not out in the middle and ready to play at the appointed hour the game should be awarded to Pakistan as per the laws of cricket.
THE ENGLAND XI
This is the XI England have named:
Overall I cannot say that I am impressed by this selection. Crawley has no business being in a test side and clearly only retains his place because his father is a golfing buddy of one of the top people in English cricket. Duckett to replace Lees is a reasonable call, though I consider Lees less in need of being replaced than Crawley. Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes and Foakes are all pretty automatic, with Bairstow injured. It is numbers eight to 11 that especially concern me: Livingstone is mainly a batter, with bowling very much his second string, and plays little red ball cricket these days, Robinson has had injury problems and while few could argue with Leach and even fewer with Anderson, the bowling looks to be lacking in both depth and variety, with the seam/ pace element limited to the new ball pair and Stokes, and Leach the only front line spin option, with Root and Livingstone by way of support. Pakistan pitches are usually flat and I cannot see this bowling “attack” taking 20 wickets on a flat track. Frankly this XI has all the appearance of one that has been selected to not lose, rather than selected to win, with extreme emphasis on batting depth and a skeleton bowling unit. Potts should be in there to support Robinson and Anderson, and if a batter who bowls spin is a must, then Brooks should miss out, with Stokes and Foakes each moving up one place and one of Rehan Ahmed or Will Jacks debuting at number seven (NOT Livingstone).
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off….
The flesh of this leaf has been almost entirely eaten away, leaving the vein structure perfectly exposed.
A brief look at the IPL super auction and a special photo gallery.
The IPL Super Auction is over, and all the 10 squads are assembled. I look at some of the key moments and end with a very special picture gallery.
THREE BIG MONEY OVERSEAS SIGNINGS
Royal Challengers Bangalore made the first big money overseas signing of the auction when they went to 10.75 crore INR (just over £1,000,000) to secure Sri Lankan leg spinning all rounder Wanindu Hasaranga. Hasaranga is a superb T20 player and this was probably a good signing even at such a high price. Punjab Kings did good business when they secured Jonathan Bairstow for 6.75 crore. Nicholas Pooran, neither as good nor as versatile as Bairstow then went for 10.75 crore.
DIFFERING STRATEGIES
Punjab Kings were consistent over the two days, making a number of excellent signings. Liam Livingstone was their most expensive at 11.50 crore, and two very different seam bowling all rounders, India Under 19 star Raj Bawa and Gloucestershire’s quirky veteran Benny Howell were both obtained cheaply. Howell at seven, Bawa at eight, Rabada at nine and two other bowlers at 10 and 11 is a good lower part of the order, while Dhawan, Bairstow and Livingstone will all be in the top half of the order (IPL allows four overseas players in a playing XI and up to eight in a whole squad, which can have a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 25 players), and Bairstow, Livingstone, Howell and Rabada would be my four first choice overseas players from their squad.
Mumbai Indians did little on day one but came to the party on day two. They paid 8.25 crore for Archer, who won’t play this season due to injury, but who they can retain for next season. They also secured Tymal Mills and Tim David. They are unlikely to win IPL 2022, but if Archer is fully fit by then they will be formidable in IPL 2023.
Rajasthan Royals left things very late indeed, making a flurry of signings in the closing stages of the auction when nearly everyone else had completed their squads. They got some useful players at this late stage, but overall their approach cannot be said to have worked.
Royal Challengers Bangalore tailed off after a strong start, and exhausted their budget with several places still available in their squad.
Sunrisers Hyderabad did not even make a strong start, and they too ran out of money rather than filling all 25 slots.
The two new franchises, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans both had their moments along the way but neither were entirely impressive.
Delhi Capitals had a solid auction, and they should do well in the tournament.
Chennai Super Kings had a good second day, and their squad looks decent.
Kolkata Knight Riders had a mixed couple of days with some good signings and some questionable ones.
The tournament should be good, though it is overly long. I will be supporting Punjab Kings – they had a superb auction.
A brief account of today’s second #INDvENG ODI, telling the story of a remarkable chase.
This post is an account of the match that has just finished in Pune.
THE PRELIMINARIES
Morgan and Billings were both injured, being replaced by Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone, while Reece Topley came in for Mark Wood, leaving England without an out and out speedster. For India Shreyas Iyer was injured and Rishabh Pant was selected in his place. Stand in skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and decided that England would bowl, which at the time looked questionable.
THE INDIAN INNINGS
India started steadily, and built through the middle overs. Rashid Khan and Moeen Ali both bowled reasonably well but neither looked like getting wickets, and after 40 overs India were 210-3. Then, as in match one, England had a horror show in the final ten overs, as the Indian score mushroomed to 336-6. Though he picked up a couple of wickets among the mayhem Tom Curran has surely bowled his last for England. Moeen Ali was economical, but never looked like taking a wicket. India’s total looked formidable.
ENGLAND’S CHASE
Roy and Bairstow got England away to a strong start, but when Roy was out the game was far from settled either way. Ben Stokes came in at no3, and reached 50 from 40 balls, though he was a trifle fortunate to be given the benefit of the doubt on a very close run out caused by the fact that he had failed to realize the danger and was jogging rather than running full pelt. Having got himself a start Stokes proceeded to go absolutely berserk, blasting 49 from his next 11 balls before edging one behind to miss out on a century by the narrowest of margins. Bairstow and Buttler fell in quick succession, but England were so far ahead of the rate that even losing three wickets so quickly was barely a set back. Some solid blows from debutant Liam Livingstone and Dawid Malan took England home, Malan enjoying one moment of good fortune when an edged shot flew through third man for four – had India posted anyone in the slip area they would probably have been in business. I will draw a veil over the Indian bowling figures, none of which their owners would wish to be publicised. Hardik Pandya, supposed tn be an all rounder, was not called upon to bowl while his team mates took horrendous punishment. England had 6.3 overs as well as six wickets to spare when they completed the task and levelled the series.
FINAL THOUGHTS
England need to find a way of not being destroyed in the final ten overs – it has happened in both matches this series, though they made up for it today with the bat. They also have a virtual obligation to select leg spinner Matt Parkinson for the final game, given that he has been in bio-secure bubbles since January and played no cricket. India have a quandary in the spin bowling department – Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya were both slaughtered today. Also there are questions about their batting in the first 40 overs – it is not great to be reliant on a massive burst in the final 10, especially when it is not guaranteed that said burst will be enough: they scored 126 in overs 41-50 inclusive today and England made the chase look like an absolute cake walk. Sunday’s grand finale starts at 9:00AM UK time (an hour later than the first two games because British Summer Time kicks in overnight between Saturday and Sunday, with 12:59AM becoming 2:00AM as the clocks move forward an hour).
An account of the ‘Challenger’ match between Scorchers and Heat, a note on the England no three situation, a link to an important petition and some photographs.
While the main part of this post deals with today’s ‘Challenger’ match, the penultimate game of BBL10, I will also be touching on the question on England’s no 3 with Crawley injured.
SCORCHERS OUTCLASS HEAT
A quiet opening over from which four runs accrued gave no hint of the fireworks that were to follow. The second over bowled by Mark Steketee went for 13 and Scorchers were properly off and running. Bartlett bowled the third, and his second, saving him from what have been a sixth ‘supersubbing’ of the tournament and at the end of it Scorchers were 23-0. 10 came off the fourth over and Scorchers at 33-0 were going reasonably. They moved into higher gear immediately thereafter, cashing in on Bartlett being given a third successive over by taking 14 from it, and then adding another 14 of the leg spin of Swepson in the next over. Heat’s second leg spinner, Labuschagne, was lucky to escape with his first over going for only nine. By the halfway point Scorchers were 108-0 and looking at a monster total. They did not claim the Power Surge immediately, while the expected ‘supersub’ by the Heat bringing Morkel on for Steketee did happen. With Livingstone falling in the 12th for a magnificent 77 off 39 balls Scorchers endured their only quiet spell, overs 11-14 yielding them 19 for the loss of that wicket. At that point, with Bancroft set and Mitch Marsh starting to go well they took the Power Surge, and they took 22 off the first over thereof, and then 11 more off the second to be 160-1 after 16. They maintained the momentum thereafter and were 189-1 off 18.1 overs when the rain came down.
The interruption lasted long enough to terminate the Scorchers innings and eat into the number of overs available for the Heat to chase in. The resumption came with Heat facing a DLS adjusted target of 200 off 18 overs, four overs of Power Play at the start, but controversially only one over of Power Surge later on. Scorchers used both their Power Surge overs, and did so with devastating effect as shown above, and if after 18.1 overs they had failed to do so there would be no real cause for compensating them for their own stupidity in delaying the surge so long. 200 off 18 overs was a fair enough target given that Scorchers had they had their full 20 would have been somewhere in the region of 215-220 or approximately 11 an over, precisely the task facing Heat, but I do feel that Heat should have had two overs of Surge and not one. I do not for one instant believe that this slightly harsh treatment of Heat affected the result in any way.
Heat made a bright start, scoring 32 off the first three overs, to be not a million miles behind the rate. Disaster struck in the next over however, when openers Denly and Lynn fell in successive balls – Denly caught off a skyer during which the batters crossed and Lynn bowled by the next ball, to end the Power Play at 37-2, with Labuschagne and Heazlett together. Heazlett was unable to even threaten to repeat his ‘Sambulance rescue’ act from Heat’s previous match, and at the halfway point Heat were 66-4, needing 134 off nine at 14.89 per over to win. In a last desperate gamble they claimed the Power Surge hoping to revive their innings, but they could only take nine off their single over of Surge and at 75-4 after ten needed 125 off eight overs to win. By the end of the 12th over they were six wickets down and all but out. A flourish in the next period saw them boost the score to 121-7 after 15, but 79 off three overs is not something that one can expect be achieved, especially by lower order batters. In the end Heat just brought up the 150 with a boundary off the last ball of the match, finishing on 150-9, fully 50 short of the target. Scorchers will thus face Sixers in Saturday’s final, and one hopes there will not be another AJ Tye deliberate wide to end that one.
My only mild criticism of Scorchers today is that they should have taken the Power Surge immediately at 108-0 after ten, rather than enduring that brief quiet patch in overs 11-14, but their timing of the taking of the Surge was by no means foolish, and they did make brilliant use of those two overs of fielding restrictions. Heat did well to get as far as they did after a very poor start in the tournament, and Scorchers also made a slow start, although not as much as Heat, and are in their best form at the right time. Sixers have been superb throughout the tournament and will start the final, at the iconic SCG on Saturday, as favourites. In the end, the bizarre and byzantine qualification system and knock out stage has seen justice done with the two best sides locking horns in the final.
ENGLAND’S NUMBER THREE
England’s intention to revert to their preferred top three of Sibley, Burns and Crawley has been thwarted by an injury to Crawley. My understanding is that Crawley will definitely miss the first two tests, and that his place at no3 will be taken by Dan Lawrence. I approve of this – the other options available to England have even less appeal: Have Pope, returning from injury and with no experience of batting near the top of an order, bat at three, move the skipper up one slot from no4 when he has historically never performed at his best in the no3 slot and is enjoying a bonanza at no4, Stokes at no3, which would be a huge ask for an all rounder, or play Buttler as a specialist batter at no3, which is perhaps the least bad of the alternatives. England are definitely underdogs in this series and will need plenty to go right to have any chance, but if Sibley and Burns can see off the new ball, Lawrence manages something at no3 and at least one of the engine room pair of Root and Stokes can go seriously big they could have a chance.
LINK AND PHOTOGRAPHS
Just before my photographs, I have a petition to share with you calling for key workers to be given a pay rise. There is a screenshot below and I urge you to sign and share it by clicking here.
Some thoughts on the (in)action of the England selectors this week, some mathematical teasers and a few pictures.
INTRODUCTION
A couple of days ago I wrote about England’s series win over Indiaand presented some problems and solutions. This post is on similar lines, dealing with the actual behaviour of the England selectors and my thoughts thereon.
AN OPPORTUNITY SQUANDERED
England, with the series already in the bag, had a diamond-encrusted golden opportunity to experiment with options to fill gaping holes in their top order. Cook’s announcement of his impending retirement from international cricket should have acted as an extra spur. Instead of which we see very little in the way of forward planning or of experimentation of any sort. Even with the certain knowledge that a new opener will have to come in to replace Cook the selectors persevere with the proven failure Jennings.
Three individuals who can feel more aggrieved than most by this behaviour are Rory Burns(another 90 against Essex yesterday after the latter won the toss and chose to bowl first), Dan Lawrenceand Liam Livingstone.Â
In view of Cook’s impending retirement I would have recognized openers at 1,2 and 3 (not a bad approach in test cricket anyway), with a view to the two other openers than forming a partnership in future matches. This is why in the previous post I mentioned Tammy Beaumont, a recognized opener who has been scoring stacks of runs recently. Batting is at least as much about timing and placement as it is about brute power, and that is why I believe (unlike in the case of fast bowling) a woman could mix it with the men even at the highest level, similarly with slow bowling and possibly wicket-keeping (for my money the best user of the gauntlets in world cricket across the board at the moment is Sarah Taylor). A number of the all-time greats of test match batting have been of diminutive stature (Bradman, Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Hanif Mohammad and several of the finest Sri Lankans spring to mind instantly). I am well aware that this super-radical option will not happen, but the alternatives that that leaves with are:
Two brand new openers, neither of whom have any experience of international cricket.
One new opener and one opener who has shown already that they are not actually good enough (Jennings)
Two openers who gave failed to prove themselves (presumably Jennings and a recalled Stoneman).Â
Of those three options, none of which massively appeal, my choice would number 1, which might end up working out well, and then the question is who to choose to open alongside Burns (whose case for selection is undisputable in the circumstances).Â
Having taken the “ostrich option” re their top order difficulties the only outcome from this game that could be acceptable is not merely a win to make it 4-1 for the series but a win by a massive margin. The timidity of the England selectors means that at least one and possibly two England openers will be starting their careers on overseas tours, with their first home test series being against those well known softies, the Aussies.
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
I will start as usual with answers and solutions to the previous problems (all from brilliant.org) before offering up some new problems.
WHAT IS THE AREA OF THE QUADRILATERAL
First the answer:
The hackers solution is that there are only two really serious possibilites since the shape is a square, namely 67 (giving an area of 289 = sides 17 units long) and 102 (giving an area of 324 = sides 18 units long), and since the question gave one three tries just enter those values for the first two tries (if your first entry does not come up right). Here, courtesy of Jeremy Galvagni is an elegant genuine solution:
THE .99 STORE
First the answer:
The figure in front of the .99 part of the price can vary, so all we need to know is how many .99s add up to answer ending in .89, and the answer is 11 (11 x 99 = 1,089, so 11 x 0.99 = 10.89), and the next number of items after 11 that would give us an answer ending in .89 is 111, the lowest price total for which would be $109.89. Thus Marie purchased 11 items.
NEW PROBLEMS
First an astronomy themed problem:
Now a question that has got almost three-quarters of those who tackled in on brilliant, but is not actually difficult:
aspiblog 