Give Harmy a Break

Tim de Lisle

November 28, 2006

Steve Harmison's action, his radar and his confidence have all gone, and there is no Troy Cooley in the camp to put them right © Getty Images

What do you do with a broken spearhead? That's the question for England as they try to pick up the pieces after Brisbane.

There seems to be a widespread assumption that Steve Harmison will play in Adelaide. But it isn't his kind of pitch: it's too flat and too slow, with short square boundaries just inviting the cut and the pull, if the batsman can reach the ball. And he is in his worst form since the beginning of the last Ashes tour.

It's certainly possible that everything will suddenly click back into place, as it did at Old Trafford in July. But would you bet on it? Harmison's troubles at the Gabba didn't come out of a clear blue sky. This is the third winter in a row that he has struggled: in his last 11 Tests for England overseas, he now has 27 wickets at an average of 52 and a strike rate of 96, with no four-fors, let along five-fors. His action, his radar and his confidence have all gone, and there is no Troy Cooley in the camp to put them right.

The main argument being advanced against dropping Harmison is that it would be handing the Aussies a psychological boost. There's some truth in this. But last Thursday, the same effect was achieved by playing him.

England need to ask themselves a simple question: who should take the new ball? Which pair of bowlers offers the best hope of those vital early wickets? The first choice would surely be Andrew Flintoff himself, reluctant as he is to push himself forward. The second, Matthew Hoggard. He may have been nervous and toothless early on at the Gabba, but he bounced back later with a superb little spell of 2 for 7 in six overs, he has conquered most conditions over the past few years, and he is a natural foil to Flintoff - different length, different pace, different shape. Last time England won abroad, in Mumbai in March, these two opened the bowling.

There seems to be a widespread assumption that Steve Harmison will play in Adelaide. But it isn't his kind of pitch

In a perfect world, there would be the option of Jon Lewis, the English Stuart Clark. In a perfect world, there would also be a spare top-order batsman, so that England could move Ian Bell back down to six, the already overstretched Flintoff to seven and Geraint Jones to eight, while replacing Jimmy [James] Anderson with Monty Panesar and putting their trust in four skilful bowlers rather than five rusty ones. On this scenario, they would have to pick their four best bowlers, and that wouldn't include Harmison - it would mean Flintoff, Hoggard, Panesar and Sajid Mahmood.

Last time England played at Adelaide, they won the toss, batted, waltzed to 246 for 2, and still lost by an innings. That was with five bowlers. There is a mysterious thing about the fifth bowler: it often doesn't help. It worked a treat in England in 2005, but then Simon Jones was fit and firing as the Platonic ideal of the fourth seamer. Since he succumbed to injury, England have been unbeaten with four bowlers (Oval 2005, all four home Tests v Pakistan 2006) while losing more than they have won with five (the nine Tests in between, plus the Brisbane drubbing - won two, lost four).

Four bowlers would rule out two spinners, unless England were prepared to have Paul Collingwood as the third seamer. And it would be taking a risk with Flintoff's fitness. But that risk would not be as great as the planned punt on Harmison's form. And the negative message sent out would not be as bad as the one sent out last week, as loud and clear as all those tedious PA announcements, by the dropping of Panesar.

I'm not saying they should drop Harmison - I'm saying they should rest him. Send him ahead to Perth and take up Dennis Lillee's generous offer of remedial work. He can have a break, work with Lillee, and chat to Michael Vaughan, who handles him well. He can also acclimatise ready for the third Test, which will be played on a surface that, even if it is not what it was, should suit him better than Adelaide. And Flintoff will have one less problem on his plate.

Tim de Lisle is a former editor of Wisden. His Ashes blog is at http://blogs.cricinfo.com/ashesbuzz and his website is www.timdelisle.com

© Cricinfo

'We were outplayed in all departments' - Chappell

Dileep Premachandran at Cape Town

November 26, 2006

Shame on the rookies: Veteran Anil Kumble runs out Mark Boucher by smartly deflecting the ball onto the stumps © Getty Images

Greg Chappell wasn't a happy man after a game in which India had South Africa in deep strife at 76 for 6, and yet managed to capitulate to an 106-run defeat. He insisted that there was no easy answers and no obvious solutions as the team continued on the downward spiral in the one-day game. After winning 21 of 29 matches last season, they have managed just three wins from 14 matches since.

"We were outplayed in all departments of the game," said Chappell, who added that the dropped catches - South Africa took all their chances - made all the difference. "We are not playing well enough. That's the basic problem. Too many players are out of form, key players are not doing well.

"I am not sure whether there is a solution other than working hard. We have to try and turn things around. It has got to come from the players. They've got to dig deep and find a way to do it."

He refused to single out individuals for criticism, and said that tactics like trying Dinesh Karthik in the middle order would continue to be employed until a corner was turned. "We are struggling and we need to try something different," he said. "Indian batting teams with better credentials have struggled under these conditions before. The ball bouncing between waist and chest is not something that happens regularly in India. It takes some adjusting and I don't think we are doing it well at the moment.

"There has got to be a big physical and big mental effort. We've got into winning positions but haven't finished them off. There are some critical areas where we are falling off. We missed a few opportunities after they were 76 for 6 and that was the turning point of the game."

When asked whether the failure of the other batsmen to deliver heaped even more pressure on Rahul Dravid's shoulders, Chappell said: "It puts a lot of pressure on the captain, but then again that comes with the territory. There's a lot of responsibility on him. He's a key player and he's expected to do well. But he needs support. You can't rely on one or two players. There has to be a consistent effort from the team."

Following the 157-run defeat at Kingsmead, there had been calls in parliament for Chappell to be sacked. When asked about such remarks, he said, tongue firmly in cheek, "They are entitled to make any comment they like. That's what they are paid to do in parliament." As for the fans, whose mood turns uglier with each reverse, he could only say: "There's not much you can say at this stage. This is the squad we've got till the end of the series, and we've got to work hard."

At the moment, hard work alone looks unlikely to salvage this series. A flash of inspiration like that provided by Justin Kemp today is what the team is crying out for, but in these conditions, it's hard to see where it's going to come from.

Dileep Premachandran is features editor of Cricinfo

© Cricinfo

Brain Lara Closes-in on Sachin Tendulkar's Record.

By: S Rajesh

November 21, 2006

Brian Lara's magnificent century at Multan put West Indies on top and put them in a position to try and level the series. Cricinfo lists out some of the statistical highlights of the knock.

• This was Lara's 34th century, and puts him in second place in the list of batsmen with most hundreds, just one short of Sachin Tendulkar's record of 35. It was also his 19th score of 150 or more, beating Don Bradman's record of 18. Sachin Tendulkar is next in the list with 15, while Steve Waugh (14), Sunil Gavaskar (12) and Garry Sobers (11) are the others in the top five.
• When this series began, Brian Lara had scored all of 178 runs from eight innings in Pakistan, with a highest of 44. In three innings in this series, he has set right that anomaly, scoring 379 in three innings to lift his average in Pakistan to 55.70. This was also his fourth hundred in successive Tests against Pakistan. (Click here for Lara's performances against Pakistan.)
• Lara finished the day with 196 in 230 balls, but before lunch he set an even more frenetic pace, getting to his hundred off a mere 77 balls, making it the ninth-fastest century in terms of balls faced. The bowler who suffered the most at his hands was Danish Kaneria, who leaked 71 from the 59 balls he faced from him. Kaneria's 30th over was especially memorable, when Lara blasted 26 in an over, the third-highest ever in Tests.
• Lara also became the sixth batsman to score a century before lunch. Batsmen have scored 100 or more runs before lunch 19 times, but only on five previous occasions have batsmen started their innings and got to their hundreds before lunch.
• Lara is now within touching distance of becoming the highest scorer in an innings for West Indies in Pakistan. He needs just 22 more to get past Rohan Kanhai's 217 at Lahore in 1958-59.
• In his last 18 Tests (including this one) Lara has scored eight hundreds at 55.94. (Click here for his stats in his last 17 matches.)
• The 200-run partnership between Lara and Dwayne Bravo is the highest fifth-wicket stand in Tests for West Indies against Pakistan, and the third-highest for all wickets. The 446-run stand between Garry Sobers and Conrad Hunte in Jamaica in 1957-58 is the highest, while Sobers and Clyde Walcott added 269 in Guyana in the next Test of the same series.
• This is only the fifth Test at Multan, and already four batsmen have scored more than 190. Virender Sehwag leads the way with his 309 in 2003-04, while Sachin Tendulkar (194 not out) and Marcus Trescothick (193) are the others to have struck it big here. (Click here for all the hundreds at Multan.)

S Rajesh is stats editor of Cricinfo.

© Cricinfo

Drugs ban appeal delayed until November 20

By: Usman Samiuddin

The anti-doping appeals committee hearing the cases of Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar has adjourned until next Monday after a preliminary hearing at the National Cricket Academy at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium.

The delay came about as Abid Minto, the lawyer representing Shoaib, asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to produce certain documents without which he was unable to proceed. Aftab Gul, the former Test cricketer, is representing Asif.

The three-man committee, headed by retired Justice Fakhruddin Ebrahim, met with lawyers representing the two players and insisted that despite the delay they were seeking as early a finish as possible to the hearing. The panel also includes former Test player Haseeb Ahsan and sports medical expert Dr Danish Zaheer as members.

"All parties, particularly the PCB, are very anxious that the matter is disposed off as early as possible," Ebrahim told reporters outside the Academy. "We have started the hearing partly and despite the fact that there was a request of adjournment we insisted on making some progress. It will continue on Monday and it will continue day to day until it is concluded."

The committee also announced that Mark Gay, the lawyer who represented them during the ICC hearings into the ball tampering controversy, will be assisting them if and when required. "It all depends upon whether we need him or not," said Ebrahim. "We have no personal interest in the matter and let the case be decided in accordance with the law. The tribunal needs assistance and though the PCB started proceedings under its regulations, we have to take the decision. But we need assistance from every quarter, though ultimately only we will decide."

Ebrahim refused to set a timeline for the conclusion of the hearing, insisting only that it would depend partly on "how much time the counsels of two players take. We have to give them complete opportunity to make their submissions. I am expecting to finish this as early as possible."

Shoaib was handed a two-year and Asif a one-year ban by a doping committee on November 1, after both players tested positive for Nandrolone, the banned anabolic steroid. The tests had been conducted internally by the PCB in September, although the results only came in mid-October.

Both players were withdrawn from Champions Trophy on the eve of Pakistan's first match, and they have since insisted they did not knowingly take any banned substances.

Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo

© AFP

Source: http://content-pak.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/267968.html

Pakistan strive to get Shabbir cleared

LAHORE, Nov 12: The Pakistan Cricket Board is striving to get paceman Shabbir Ahmed's banned bowling action cleared by sending him to Australia for expert biomechanical testing, the board's chief said Sunday.

“Pakistan Cricket Board is sending Shabbir to Perth for biomechanic tests on his action in the University of Western Australia and hope his ban is overturned,” Nasim Ashraf, the board's chairman, told reporters.

Last year Shabbir became the first bowler to be banned for 12 months for his technique.

The lanky 29-year-old seamer's bowling action will be tested by Professor Bruce Elliott.

Dr Ashraf, who took over as PCB chief last month, hopes the results will see Shabbir cleared.

Pakistan lost key fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif to doping bans recently and are keen to get Shabbir back into Test cricket before they tour South Africa early next year.

Shoaib and Asif tested positive in PCB tests in September and were banned for two years and one year respectively.

Shabbir, who has taken 51 wickets in 10 Tests, has been plagued by an illegal bowling action.

He was first reported in 1998 but was cleared after undergoing corrective training guided by former West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding.

Shabbir was reported again in January 2004 but cleared by a panel of Pakistani bowlers. His action was reported again in May and then November last year, after which he was banned.—AFP