Boy its been a long time since my last blog! Things have changed so much! India has continued to perform well on a far more consistent basis than ever before (and no, its not just in the subcontinent :)); South Africa is giving Australia a run for their money to hold on to their number one spot (they have already been dethroned in the ODIs and are mighty close of losing out in the tests as well); England has managed to lose their way (yes, yet again!) after a glimmer of hope provided by Kevin Pietersen's brief stint as the England captain.
As I put my brain under some stress wondering what had been the common factor in all these changes, I came to this conclusion: Its the emergence of the bowlers (or decline in some cases) that has lead to these changes. Not that I have anything against the batsmen, but really, the batsmen have more or less been the same. Lets delve into a little bit more detail here.
Australia:
The ever dominating Australian side has now lost its numero uno status in the ODIs, and has also lost their last two Test series against their closest rivals, India and South Africa. The recent loss at home to South Africa was their first in the past decade or so. What changed? They lost two of the greatest bowlers in the history of cricket, Glenn Mcgrath and Shane Warne. It is going to be a Herculean task for the Aussie selectors to try and fill in the holes created by the retirement of these two legends. Their spin department is in a real sorry state, they have tried four spinners to fill in that gap, at least a part of it, but Krejza, Cullen, Hauritz, and White (I don't even think he qualifies as a spinner but the Aussie selectors do!) have all failed miserably. Brett Lee appeared to have taken a liking to being the spearhead of the Aussie attack, at least at the initial stages, but the wheels came off with some injuries as well as some personal issues forcing him to take a break from the game and loose the steam. Mitchell Johnson is fast, very fast, and very strongly built too, but he is not special. He gets wickets off the worst balls that he bowls and somehow has been able to carry the burden of the Aussie pace attack in the absence of Lee. Shaun Tait has talent, but the pressure at the highest level has been a bit too much for him. Stuart Clarke, who had the best potential to fill in the shoes of Glenn Mcgrath, has been struggling with injuries too. So not much has changed on the batting front, they lost Langer but found Simon Katich who has just been as consistent (surprising me, I must say!). Apart from that it has been the same batting line up with the exception of Adam Gilchrist. And personally, I think Gilly is just irreplaceable, you get those kind of players once in 50 years. They still have Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Symonds, basically the core of their batting is still the same and can match the batting strength of any other team. The difference is that they haven't got a bowling attack that can take 20 wickets to win a test match.
South Africa:
South Africa has been by far the most improved team and has deservedly dethroned Aussies as the number one side in ODIs and is close to replace them as the top side in the tests as well. It has no doubt been South Africa's year. They haven't lost a test series in the past 14 months (they managed to draw the series against India in India). They beat the Aussies in Australia, they beat a confident England in England. I agree that Graeme Smith has been phenomenal, both as a captain and as a batsman, they have finally found a good batsman to bat at no. 3 (Amla, for me has been the most improved player in the last year and half). Jacques Kallis has had a bad run by his standards, but they have found JP Duminy (the find of the year). Again, not much has changed in their batting lineup. It is the bowling that has been the key to their recent rise. Dale Steyn has come out of nowhere, and has taken wickets in all kinds of conditions, be it on bouncy wickets in South Africa and Australia, swinging wickets in England, or dry, slow and low wickets in the subcontinent. He has been by far the bowler of the year. He has been aptly supported by the never tiring, ever chirpy Makhaya Ntini. They have also managed to find a good first change bowler in Morne Morkel, who is tall and hits the deck hard, hitting the 140 KMPH mark consistently. Even though they do not have a great spinner, they have stuck with Paul Harris and he has supported the fast bowlers by bowling a tight line and keeping the pressure on the batsmen. He has managed to chip in with crucial wickets on pitches that offer some help to the spinners. So again, the difference has been the bowling, to win you need to bowl out the opposition twice and they certainly have been doing that.
India:
India has been consistent in the last year and has been living up to the expectations that their fans have from them. There have been three very important changes in their set up. One, they have been blessed with MS Dhoni, he has been simply phenomenal. He is confident, audacious, level headed and of course talented. He has been the best thing that has happened to India since the batch of 73. Two, India has found a great opening pair in Virender Sehwag and GautamGambhir. Finally, Gambhir has been given his chance and he has held on to it firmly. The opening stands they have been providing to the famous Indian middle order has made a lot of difference and has shown in India's performance overseas. Third, and the most important one, India has found Ishant Sharma (the second best thing to have happened since the batch of 73). He has been instrumental in India's wins, specially overseas. He might not have the wickets to show for his efforts, he has bowled his heart out in the most trying conditions for a fast bowler. He also has a good head and has learnt quickly to adapt to the different bowling conditions. Zaheer Khan has finally come off age and has started to live up to his potential. Thanks to Greg Chappell and Kiran More, who threw him out of the team and made him understand the value of being fit and importance of performing consistently at the highest level. Hopefully, he won't forget the lessons learn in the near future and take his place for granted in the team. While Bhajji has been disappointing, Amit Mishra has been a pleasant surprise. He has at least partially filled in for the hole created in the spin department after Kumble's retirement. Kudos to the selectors, specially Narendra Hirwani, who gave him the chance that he truly deserved. Once again, it has been the bowling that has been the key in India's wins overseas. They have now got the firepower to dismiss the opposition twice.
On the other hand, West Indies, Pakistan and England (their bowlers keep blowing hot and cold) have been struggling to win matches as they continue their search for a crop of good bowlers who would perform in any kind of conditions with the capability of bowling the opposition out twice. I firmly believe (trust me, not just because I am a bowler myself) that sides with great batsmen and decent bowlers win a lot less than a side with great bowlers and decent batsmen. As the title goes, its the Bowlers who make all the difference!
As I put my brain under some stress wondering what had been the common factor in all these changes, I came to this conclusion: Its the emergence of the bowlers (or decline in some cases) that has lead to these changes. Not that I have anything against the batsmen, but really, the batsmen have more or less been the same. Lets delve into a little bit more detail here.
Australia:
The ever dominating Australian side has now lost its numero uno status in the ODIs, and has also lost their last two Test series against their closest rivals, India and South Africa. The recent loss at home to South Africa was their first in the past decade or so. What changed? They lost two of the greatest bowlers in the history of cricket, Glenn Mcgrath and Shane Warne. It is going to be a Herculean task for the Aussie selectors to try and fill in the holes created by the retirement of these two legends. Their spin department is in a real sorry state, they have tried four spinners to fill in that gap, at least a part of it, but Krejza, Cullen, Hauritz, and White (I don't even think he qualifies as a spinner but the Aussie selectors do!) have all failed miserably. Brett Lee appeared to have taken a liking to being the spearhead of the Aussie attack, at least at the initial stages, but the wheels came off with some injuries as well as some personal issues forcing him to take a break from the game and loose the steam. Mitchell Johnson is fast, very fast, and very strongly built too, but he is not special. He gets wickets off the worst balls that he bowls and somehow has been able to carry the burden of the Aussie pace attack in the absence of Lee. Shaun Tait has talent, but the pressure at the highest level has been a bit too much for him. Stuart Clarke, who had the best potential to fill in the shoes of Glenn Mcgrath, has been struggling with injuries too. So not much has changed on the batting front, they lost Langer but found Simon Katich who has just been as consistent (surprising me, I must say!). Apart from that it has been the same batting line up with the exception of Adam Gilchrist. And personally, I think Gilly is just irreplaceable, you get those kind of players once in 50 years. They still have Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Symonds, basically the core of their batting is still the same and can match the batting strength of any other team. The difference is that they haven't got a bowling attack that can take 20 wickets to win a test match.
South Africa:
South Africa has been by far the most improved team and has deservedly dethroned Aussies as the number one side in ODIs and is close to replace them as the top side in the tests as well. It has no doubt been South Africa's year. They haven't lost a test series in the past 14 months (they managed to draw the series against India in India). They beat the Aussies in Australia, they beat a confident England in England. I agree that Graeme Smith has been phenomenal, both as a captain and as a batsman, they have finally found a good batsman to bat at no. 3 (Amla, for me has been the most improved player in the last year and half). Jacques Kallis has had a bad run by his standards, but they have found JP Duminy (the find of the year). Again, not much has changed in their batting lineup. It is the bowling that has been the key to their recent rise. Dale Steyn has come out of nowhere, and has taken wickets in all kinds of conditions, be it on bouncy wickets in South Africa and Australia, swinging wickets in England, or dry, slow and low wickets in the subcontinent. He has been by far the bowler of the year. He has been aptly supported by the never tiring, ever chirpy Makhaya Ntini. They have also managed to find a good first change bowler in Morne Morkel, who is tall and hits the deck hard, hitting the 140 KMPH mark consistently. Even though they do not have a great spinner, they have stuck with Paul Harris and he has supported the fast bowlers by bowling a tight line and keeping the pressure on the batsmen. He has managed to chip in with crucial wickets on pitches that offer some help to the spinners. So again, the difference has been the bowling, to win you need to bowl out the opposition twice and they certainly have been doing that.
India:
India has been consistent in the last year and has been living up to the expectations that their fans have from them. There have been three very important changes in their set up. One, they have been blessed with MS Dhoni, he has been simply phenomenal. He is confident, audacious, level headed and of course talented. He has been the best thing that has happened to India since the batch of 73. Two, India has found a great opening pair in Virender Sehwag and GautamGambhir. Finally, Gambhir has been given his chance and he has held on to it firmly. The opening stands they have been providing to the famous Indian middle order has made a lot of difference and has shown in India's performance overseas. Third, and the most important one, India has found Ishant Sharma (the second best thing to have happened since the batch of 73). He has been instrumental in India's wins, specially overseas. He might not have the wickets to show for his efforts, he has bowled his heart out in the most trying conditions for a fast bowler. He also has a good head and has learnt quickly to adapt to the different bowling conditions. Zaheer Khan has finally come off age and has started to live up to his potential. Thanks to Greg Chappell and Kiran More, who threw him out of the team and made him understand the value of being fit and importance of performing consistently at the highest level. Hopefully, he won't forget the lessons learn in the near future and take his place for granted in the team. While Bhajji has been disappointing, Amit Mishra has been a pleasant surprise. He has at least partially filled in for the hole created in the spin department after Kumble's retirement. Kudos to the selectors, specially Narendra Hirwani, who gave him the chance that he truly deserved. Once again, it has been the bowling that has been the key in India's wins overseas. They have now got the firepower to dismiss the opposition twice.
On the other hand, West Indies, Pakistan and England (their bowlers keep blowing hot and cold) have been struggling to win matches as they continue their search for a crop of good bowlers who would perform in any kind of conditions with the capability of bowling the opposition out twice. I firmly believe (trust me, not just because I am a bowler myself) that sides with great batsmen and decent bowlers win a lot less than a side with great bowlers and decent batsmen. As the title goes, its the Bowlers who make all the difference!
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