LOOK WHO LIT UP WHO’S THE SEASON BACK - … 2015 campaign against co-host New Zealand in Dunedin...

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ICC EUROPE EDITION 10p01_Cover-AOC112.indd 1 22/01/2014 16:37

2 | AOC | JANUARY 2014

Happy New Year! 2014 is looking to be an exciting year for the Pepsi ICC Development Programme in Europe, this month we have had the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2014 in New Zealand and can look forward to the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in UAE. There will also be many other cricket programmes taking place across the region; we are excited by what this year will bring. Let’s build a bigger, better global game.

Nick PinkICC Regional Development Manager - Europe

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Welcome to another issue of All Out Cricket magazine, brought to you in partnership with ICC Europe. It’s been an eye-opening experience, watching Australian cricket rediscover its mojo, so make sure you read our Aussie writer Geoff Lemon’s beautiful piece on Mitchell Johnson. Elsewhere we’ve got a cracking interview with Graeme Swann and Felix White, middle-order lynchpin of The Maccabees. It’s basically an electrifying and very funny chat between two mates enjoined by a shared desire to be doing what the other one does. With the Women’s Ashes now in full swing we have a brilliant audit of where the balance of power currently lies at the top of the women’s game.

Phil WalkerEditor, AOC

WELCOME TO YOUR MAGAZINE

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ICC President Alan Isaac has congratulated Scotland for winning the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier New Zealand 2014 (CWCQ) after the side defeated 1994 champions United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the final by 41 runs in a match live-streamed on the official ICC website, www.icc-cricket.com, from the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln.

The two teams had secured their positions in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after recording victories on the last day of the Super Six stage of the ICC CWCQ NZ 2014 and the final determined which pool each team will join in 2015.

Scotland will join fellow qualifier Afghanistan, four-time champion Australia, co-host New Zealand, Bangladesh, three-time finalist England, and 1996 champion Sri Lanka in Pool A of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

UAE will be placed in Pool B along with defending champion India, qualifier Ireland, 1992 champion Pakistan, South Africa, two-time champion West Indies and Zimbabwe.

After watching the final, ICC President Alan Isaac said: “Congratulations to Scotland for winning the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier for the second time.

Congratulations go to both Scotland and UAE for a tremendous effort in reaching the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, and for their exceptional performances in the final here in New Zealand. The final was played in the spirit of the game, and I am delighted that fans around the world could enjoy the high standard of cricket displayed by both teams through the online live-streaming.”

“I wish the teams the best of luck as they begin their preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, which is only 12 months away,” he said.

Mr Isaac thanked New Zealand Cricket and the venues across the north and south island for hosting the event. “I would like to thank the venues, the ground staff and New Zealand Cricket for their hard work and dedication to making this tournament a great success,” he said.

Mr Isaac also thanked the ICC’s commercial partners: “To our commercial partners, Reliance, LG, Pepsi, Emirates, Reebok, Castrol, MoneyGram and Hyundai, your ongoing and loyal support is of the utmost importance as we continue to promote cricket around the globe,

particularly Associate and Affiliate cricket,” he said.

“Lastly, I would like to thank the match officials, the support staff and the players from all ten participating teams for giving their best performances while upholding the spirit of the game. I have no doubt that the players will take a lot of positives from this tournament.”

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 CEO John Harnden said: “The Qualifier has been full of action-packed matches and emerging heroes, and in Scotland and UAE we have exciting additions to ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.”

Scotland will open its ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 campaign against co-host New Zealand in Dunedin on 17 February. Its matches are as follows: Tuesday, 17 February – New Zealand v Scotland, University Oval, DunedinMonday, 23 February – England v Scotland, Hagley Oval, Christchurch Thursday, 26 February – Afghanistan v Scotland, University Oval, Dunedin Thursday, 5 March – Bangladesh v Scotland, Saxton Oval, Nelson Wednesday, 11 March – Sri Lanka v Scotland Bellerive Oval, Hobart (d/n)Saturday, 14 March – Australia v Scotland, Bellerive Oval, Hobart (d/n)

UAE will play its first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 against Zimbabwe in Nelson on 19 February. Its matches are as follows: Thursday, 19 February – Zimbabwe v UAE, Saxton Oval, Nelson Wednesday, 25 February – Ireland v UAE, GABBA, Brisbane (d/n)Saturday, 28 February – India v UAE, The WACA, Perth (d/n)Wednesday, 4 March – Pakistan v UAE, McLean Park, Napier (d/n)Thursday, 12 March – South Africa v UAE, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington (d/n)Sunday, 15 March – West Indies v UAE, McLean Park, Napier

*****

ODI Status By virtue of finishing in the top four of the ICC CWCQ NZ 2014, the UAE, Scotland, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea have attained ODI status until 2018. They are joined by Afghanistan and Ireland, who qualified directly to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after finishing in the top two of the ICC World Cricket League Championship 2011-13 and securing the first two qualification spots at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Scotland and UAE book their places at the 2015 World Cup

A delighted Scotland celebrate after beating UAE by 41 runs in the final of the CWCQ in New Zealand.

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KEITH OLIVER RECIEVES OBE

Keith Oliver, Cricket Scotland’s Chairman for the last 13 years, has been awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List.

Appointed as the Chairman of Cricket Scotland in 2002, in 2010 he was also elected by the other 105 countries around the world to sit on the Executive Board of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a two year period and was re-elected for a further two years in 2012. Mr Oliver was also the voluntary Chairman of The Lords Taveners in Scotland, contributing greatly to the role of this famous charity in Scotland.

He plays a key role in the day to day running of Cricket Scotland, supporting the professional staff and representing the sport with external bodies such as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the ICC. Also, the driving force behind setting up a new charity, the Scottish Cricket Development Trust, to ensure investment was available to support grass roots cricket throughout Scotland.

Always happy to be behind the scenes, he has worked tirelessly to promote the sport, grow the game and drive forward the business of Cricket Scotland. He has been instrumental in concluding commercial partnerships for the sport, as well as arranging fixtures and exchanges with other countries.

Commenting on the award, Chief Executive Roddy Smith stated, ‘’During his period in office, the sport has had to deal with many problematic and difficult situations. He has led the Board through the decision making process, showing clarity of thought and not being afraid to make decisions that may not be well received by all. He has always had the best interest of the sport at heart and made decisions for the long term betterment of a game he dearly loves. He has purposely not pushed himself forward publically for praise, preferring to take a back seat and allow the credit to go to the staff and

volunteers involved in the game. The truth is without his input over a decade of voluntary service these successes would not have been achieved. We are all delighted that his contribution has been acknowledged with this award. I can’t think of a more deserving recipient.”

*****IRELAND TRAVEL TO THE CARIBBEAN FOR

THE NAGICO SUPER50

Phil Simmons is returning to his Trinidadian homeland with Ireland, who have been invited to participate in the West Indies domestic tournament - the Nagico Super 50.

The eight team competition sees Ireland drawn in Zone A alongside Guyana, The Windward Islands and Jamaica, with games scheduled to take place between January 30 and February 15.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Ireland’s cricketers to play in this prestigious competition,” said Irish coach Simmons.

“There’s no doubt that the matches will be of a very high standard and it’s a perfect platform for Irish cricket to show the West Indian public just how far their cricket has

progressed in the past few years.“The Caribbean holds a special place in

Irish cricket history - for many this was where our unique journey started in 2007, and hopefully will be the catalyst that sees Ireland eventually be granted Test status by 2020.

Simmons, who played 169 times for the West Indies in Test and ODI cricket, is certain that his squad will prove themselves genuine contenders for the competition.

“We won’t be coming just to make up the numbers - we’re here to try and win the trophy, and while it will be difficult given the calibre of opponents, there’s no fear factor in Irish cricket any more. We have much to be proud of and this past season where we won all three trophies we competed in has given the squad great confidence going into 2014.”

Cricket Ireland Performance Director Richard Holdsworth paid tribute to the WICB for the invitation: “We’re extremely grateful to the West Indies Cricket Board for this opportunity. It will give the squad exposure to a high standard of competition which is vital as we prepare for the 2015 World Cup.”

All Ireland’s games will take place at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, with Guyana their first opponents on January 31. Their second fixture is The Windward Islands on February 3, while their group stage concludes against Jamaica on February 8.

The semi-finals take place on February 12 and 13, with the final on the 15th.

Phil Simmons will be taking the Irish side back to his Trinidadian homeland this February.


UndEr-19 CriCkEt WOrLd CUP nEWSUnder-19 Cricket World Cup Groups

Group A India

PakistanScotland

PNG

Group BAustralia

BangladeshNamibia

Afghanistan

Group CSouth AfricaWest IndiesZimbabwe

Canada

Group DNew Zealand

EnglandSri Lanka

UAE

Scotland have been grouped with India in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, who will start its title defence against traditional rival and two-time former champion Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS), Dubai Sports City, on 15 February 2014.

The tournament will be staged across seven venues in the UAE from 14 February to 1 March, and will also be participated in by Afghanistan, Canada, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) besides the 10 Full Members.

India, which also won the tournament under Mohammad Kaif and Virat Kohli in 2000 and 2008, respectively, defeated Pakistan by one-wicket in an enthralling semi-final before going on to beat Australia by six wickets in the 2012 final in Townsville, Australia.

In the 2010 event in New Zealand, Pakistan beat India in a last-ball thriller in the quarter-final in Lincoln. The two sides also met in the final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2006 in Colombo where Pakistan defended a modest total of 110 to win by 39 runs.

In the 16-day tournament, 48 matches will be played across seven venues, which are: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi; Abu Dhabi Oval 1; Abu Dhabi Oval 2; Sharjah Cricket Stadium; Dubai International Cricket Stadium,

Jersey Cricket Board have put to good use Cricket Factory skills sets as development work continues on the island.

Dubai Sports City; ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai, and ICC Academy Oval 2, Dubai.

On the opening day of the tournament on 14 February, four matches will be played, with 1998 winner England taking on the UAE at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi; Zimbabwe locking horns with Canada at Abu Dhabi Oval 1; New Zealand meeting Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, and South Africa taking on the West Indies at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The format of the competition is such that the 16 teams have been divided into four groups, with the top two teams progressing to the Super League quarter-finals, while the two bottom teams from each group qualify for the Plate Championship quarter-finals.

ICC General Manager – Cricket, Mr Geoff Allardice, while announcing the groups and fixtures in Dubai, said: “The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is a hugely important event for international teams and for the ICC, as it showcases the future stars of international cricket.

“Teams will need to be at their best every day if they want to win the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup. We expect to see some spectacular cricket.”

For more information relating to ICC U19 Cricket World Cup click here. #u19cwc

US tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams take a shot at cricket while Down Under for the Australian Open.

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6 | AOC | JANUARY 201452 | AOC | FEBRUARY 2014

nO l CK REQUiREDfOR THE iRiSH

nO l CK REQUiREDThroughout the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates wicketkeeper Gary Wilson

tracked the ups and downs of the Irish team’s campaign – and there weren’t many downs.

arrIVal IN uaeWe’re under a lot of pressure to qualify for Bangladesh and not only that, we’re under a lot of pressure to win the whole tournament. Out of the 16 teams taking part six will progress to the World Twenty20 next March – we need to make it through. At dinner with Stirlo [Paul Stirling] last night we decided that while we are confi dent of going through we do need to make sure we play our best stuff and we need to be particularly careful at the beginning of the tournament because we haven’t always been the best of starters.

aCClIMatIsING to the New CoNdItIoNsI’ve just had three days of the toughest training I think I’ve ever been involved in. It’s been 35 degrees and it’s been horrible – horrible, but necessary. The fi rst day off after the three days of double sessions allowed Tim [Murtagh] and me to make our way to a golf course. I teamed up with our coach Phil Simmons, joining Tim was Kev [Kevin O’Brien], and it didn’t go our way. I’m not convinced by Kev’s handicap of 18, personally! The real test gets underway soon, a warm-up match against the Netherlands.

warM-uPs doNe, BrING oN the real thINGWe had two interesting warm-up matches. We beat the Dutch in our fi rst run-out but the next day came up short against a fearless Papua New Guinea side. We spoke afterwards and all pretty much agreed it was unacceptable for us to lose to a side like PNG – no disrespect to them. They were better in every department but while we were obviously not happy with ourselves afterwards we didn’t allow ourselves to get too down – we know if we play as well as we can then we can beat anyone. Something which is particularly in our favour is the experience of our side. We know each other’s games inside out – something that Will [Porterfi eld] has always encouraged – and I really think that helps to breed confi dence.

three FroM three!We’ve had a good start to the tournament proper. Our fi rst match was against Namibia – the same team who shocked us 18 months ago – and in the end it was fairly comfortable. Stirlo and Will got us off to a fl ier and we managed to score 160-odd which we thought was above par. We were impressive with the ball, Cusey [Alex

Cusack] and Tim proving why they’re so vital. No rest for the wicked though and we were in action the next day against Canada – possibly our biggest competitors in the group. We were put in on a dry, used wicket and did well to get to 168. Everyone chipped in and I enjoyed a nice partnership with TJ [Trent Johnston].

Canada’s turn with the bat couldn’t have started better for us, with Max Sorensen picking up two wickets in two balls, but then the momentum swung towards them and going into the last over, to be bowled by Cusey, Stirlo said, “Cusey has never gone for 15 in an over in his life” – this led to some worried glances when the third ball was dispatched back over his head for six but we got over the line in the end.

So going into the match against UAE we were one win away from being in a really great position at the two-day break. We were in a diff erent stadium and the track wasn’t quite as good for playing your shots. We were quickly three down but Kev and I managed to put on 92 before he fell in the penultimate over. We got 138 – roughly par – and we knew we’d have to deliver in the fi eld. Early on in their innings Stirlo turned to me from slip and said: “They’re gonna be block-bash here, mate. It’s gonna be dot, dot, six.” I replied “Nah, mate.

In Ireland’s eight games Paul Stirling hit 292 runs at 36.5 and took 11 wickets at 11

p52-55_IrelandT20_AOC112.indd 52 12/12/2013 22:49

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Difficult wicket to hit sixes on, this.” The next ball was duly dispatched over mid wicket for six. We looked at each other not knowing whether to laugh or not – we knew we were in a game. UAE did well and it was only after some great bowling from Stirlo and George Dockrell that we did enough to win the game.

Nearly there…We’re at the business end of the competition now – in our semi-final we’ll be playing either UAE or the Netherlands, depending on which side comes out on top there. All the big teams will be fancying their chances at this stage but I reckon a few teams finishing second and third in their group were checking whether they had to play us. Against Hong Kong, Stirls and Kev really went for it – they’re our two big names and it’s probably the first time in the tournament that they’ve both come off at the same time. They just took Hong Kong apart. As a team we haven’t really all played to 100 per cent yet so it’s very nice that we’ve still been able to win our matches despite that.

Winning is a good thing to get into the habit of doing. You often see with teams on a roll that they almost struggle to lose matches. Even when they’re in a position where it looks probable that they will lose, they somehow turn it around in their favour – often that comes down to experience. It was a little bit like that for us when we won this tournament two

years ago. Because we lost that opening match against Namibia we had to play more matches than Afghanistan – the team we eventually beat in the final – and it felt like we were able to get up a head of steam throughout that run.

This year the boot’s on the other foot though, with us having four days away from tournament cricket. It’s a tricky one because there are pros and cons to being in both situations. It’s good to have a break but you don’t want to halt that momentum. But if you were offered both options before the tournament you would definitely take the one that meant you had already qualified for a World Cup, not the one that saw you having to play two extra games.

the last two hurdlesIt takes a lot to go through any tournament unbeaten, no matter who is playing. To have done that in these World Cup qualifiers is very satisfying and something that we as a group of players can be very proud of.

The semi-final against UAE was on a used pitch and, as such, was always going to suit them more than us. They arrived with a plethora of spinners, as we knew they would, and made life very difficult for us in the opening 10 overs of our innings. We were on for a below-par total but TJ took Nasir Aziz for 20 runs off the 18th over to help us past 145. It’s not the first time the big fella has managed to take our total up

SCORECARDSSEmi-finAl

ireland 147-8 (Johnston 35) BEAT United Arab Emirates 85 (Sorensen 4-15) by 62 runs

finAl

ireland 225-7 (Stirling 76) BEAT Afghanistan 157 (Johnston 3-34) by 68 runs

It takes a lot to go through any tournament unbeaten, no matter who is playing. To have done that in these World Cup qualifiers is something that we as a group of players can be very proud of

“In Ireland’s eight games Paul Stirling hit 292 runs at 36.5 and took 11 wickets at 11

p52-55_IrelandT20_AOC112.indd 53 12/12/2013 22:49


to something that is a little bit more imposing for the opposition.

TJ’s runs took us to 147, a total that we were always confident of defending on that wicket. As it was, UAE were never really in the game with Max Sorensen leading the way, taking four for spit, to see them bowled out for 85.

We meet againSo on to the next day and the final. Once more, the two leading teams in associate cricket would contest the final of a qualifying competition. The way it should be. We know a lot about Afghanistan by now. They play their cricket hard but they play it with a smile on their face. It’s always a great occasion, not least for the amount of fans they bring to the games! There must have been around 10,000 of them in for the final.

Batting first, we simply could not have asked for a better start. From the moment Hamza Hotak let a shot from Stirlo travel over his head and go for six we knew that it could be his day. The next 20 overs had

everything and he scored 76 off just 43 balls. I must save a special word for TJ as well. Playing in his last limited-overs game for Ireland he came in at No.4 to up the rate and scored a blistering 62 to take the game away from the Afghans.

Once we got 225 it was always going to be difficult for them to win the game. Not often do you see that many runs chased down in a 20-over game. What we did know, however, was that they were going to give it a right good go and if we needed any reminding, Mohammad Shahzad cleared his left leg and the first ball of their innings disappeared over mid wicket for six. Dockrell came on in the fourth over to stop the carnage and had Nawroz Mangal bowled almost immediately. When he had Shahzad dismissed in the sixth it was more than just advantage Ireland.

In the end we won comfortably but it was no more than we deserved. From the start of the tournament we felt like we had played the most consistent cricket. Our reward? A place in a group with Zimbabwe, the Netherlands and UAE in March next year. Roll on then.

TRENT JOHNSTONI’ve got to say a few words about TJ. He’s been absolutely massive for us for the best part of 10 years and if there was one man you’d want to be able to play forever it would be him.

It’s a real shame that he’s going to miss out on making it 200 appearances by just two caps, he would have been very deserving of that accolade. He’s a natural leader – always has been – and even since William Porterfield took over as captain he’s remained an important part of the leadership team.

When he hangs up his boots it’s going to leave a huge hole in our attack, and not just that, it will leave a huge hole in the whole team ethos – especially when we’re touring.

He’ll be rightly remembered as one of our best ever cricketers but what’s perhaps more important is that he’s remembered as an absolutely bloody great bloke.

THEASIANINVASION

Ireland’s World Twenty20 Qualifier

win earned them another crack at the big boys next year in

Bangladesh. But aside from their continued dominance, the wind

appears to be changing in associate cricket. Tim Brooks reports.

November’s World Twenty20 Qualifier will be remembered as the tournament

where a new world order began to take shape among the ICC’s Associate Members. While traditional non-Test heavyweights Kenya, Canada and Scotland were knocked to the canvas, emerging Asian nations Nepal, Hong Kong and UAE punched above their weight to seal their places at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh next March.

This year’s qualifier was much more exciting than the 2012 edition and that was in large part down to a cunning ruse by the ICC. With six qualification spots up for grabs, compared to just two in last year’s tournament, there were plenty of do-or-die showdowns going into the last round of group games. That Ireland, Afghanistan, the Netherlands, Nepal, Hong Kong and UAE have progressed to a group stage in Bangladesh, the sextet have earned the opportunity to compete with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh for two places alongside the world’s top eight countries in the ‘Super 10’.

There were some familiar names from


Of the four Asian qualifiers only Afghanistan were a pre-tournament favourite and now the continent will host a tournament in which eight of its nations participate. This is a great achievement for the Asian Cricket Council and demonstrates that, given time, public passion can translate into on-field progress and increased profile.

UAE have world-class facilities and Nepal boast a record at youth level that most Test nations would be proud of but Hong Kong were something of a surprise package. Enormous credit must go to their coach Charlie Burke for moulding a professional unit from a limited player base and an amateur league. In hard-hitting opener Irfan Ahmed and young stumper Jamie Atkinson, they boast two players even full members will fear.

In stark contrast, cricket in the Americas has been in decline for some time now, with the exception of the West Indian World Twenty20 win in 2012. Canada benefit from additional High Performance Programme funding but they were simply outgunned by less established sides, in spite of the good form of their returning captain Ashish Bagai.

Meanwhile, the USA team was a rag-tag outfit of West Indian veterans and assorted ex-pats and though they showed some early promise, they faded badly. Their 75-run defeat to Ireland was nothing short of a humiliation. Young Steven Taylor, a left-handed strokemaker, remains their ray of hope.

Kenya and Namibia have both played in World Cups not so long ago but though blessed with some talented players, they have been surpassed in class. Uganda tried valiantly but just did not possess the quality or consistency to seriously challenge.

LONG LIVE THE VETERANThere were plenty of emerging young talents strutting their stuff in UAE but a mark of the tournament was the vintage performances put in by some golden oldies. Kenyan legend Steve Tikolo, hauled out of retirement like Bruce Willis for one more rescue mission, starred with bat and ball – claiming figures of 4-2 in the win over Scotland and hitting an unbeaten half-century to see off Bermuda. But even he couldn’t reverse the fortunes of an ailing team.

A year older at 43, David Hemp, who played for England A as far back as 1994, rolled back the years with two accomplished half-centuries for Bermuda while Hong Kong’s moustachioed spinner Munir Dar, 41, claimed 17 victims with his wily left-arm spin. Khurram Khan,

UAE’s answer to Peter Pan, secured his side’s passage to Bangladesh, and with ex-England gloveman Geraint Jones in the runs for Papua New Guinea and Trent Johnston starring for Ireland, this tournament helped dispel the myth that Twenty20 is just a young man’s game.

EMERGING STARSPapua New Guinea didn’t quite make it through to their first major world tournament but they were the form team of the early stages. Opener Tony Ura dished out some fearful tap and scored a memorable century from just 60 balls against the Netherlands. Other star performers included Nepali captain Paras Khadka, who is the equivalent of David Beckham in his homeland, and Sussex’s Matt Machan, who almost took Scotland to the promised land, only to be denied at the last by the Netherlands, and finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer.

Having lost the services of Boyd Rankin and now Trent Johnston, the Blarney Army will have been heartened by the pace and hostility shown by seamer Max Sorensen, who claimed 4-15 in the semi-final win over UAE. For the Dutch, young seamer Ahsan Malik was a standout performer, finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 21 victims and an economy rate below six.

Tim Brooks is an expert on non-Test playing nations and can be found @CricketAtlasPapua New Guinea showed

some good form in the tournament’s early stages

the county circuit on display, such as hard-hitting Middlesex batsman Paul Stirling, Northants’ Kyle Coetzer and former Warwickshire stalwart David Hemp, who is still turning out for Bermuda at the ripe old age of 43. And with live streaming of the group games and Sky Sports covering the final stages, the tournament provided a rare opportunity for stars from world cricket’s emerging nations to make a name for themselves.

The tournament got the finale it deserved. Both Ireland and Afghanistan are on the cusp of becoming major cricket nations. They have contrasting styles, are packed with match-winners and are desperate to be acknowledged as the heir apparent to full membership. As a result, this year’s showpiece carried real context. The corresponding fixture of the 2012 tournament had seen the same teams play out an epic duel, with Ireland winning by five wickets, and in this year’s rematch the Irish would emphatically reaffirm their position as the kings of the associate world.

But the tournament wasn’t just about the big two. It was encouraging to see the progress made by several of these teams in the space of a year. Traditionally teams at this level have accumulated workmanlike scores but in this tournament almost every country had impact players in their ranks and the ratio of nurdles to soaring sixes swung decisively in favour of the boundary-finders. Of the 16 teams competing in UAE, only USA and Denmark looked genuinely outclassed and a close tournament led to much drama and excitement.

ASIAN ELATION BUT AFRICA AND AMERICAS ALL AT SEA

FINAL STANDINGS1. IRELAND2. AFGHANISTAN3. NEpAL4. UAE5. NETHERLANDS6. HONG KONG

7. SCOTLAND8. pApUA NEw GUINEA9. ITALy10. NAMIBIA11. KENyA12. CANADA13. UGANDA14. BERMUDA15. UNITED STATES16. DENMARK

Top six qualify for the World Twenty20 group stage


theinterview

the bumper

IAN GOULDFormer England ODI stumper turned international umpire, Ian ‘Gunner’ Gould on the impact of DRS, umpire-player relations and coping with a clanger.

interview | JOhn Stern

Let’s start at the beginning – you were a handy footballer as well as cricketer weren’t you? I was a keeper at Arsenal – I only played five-a-side because it was the only bar I could reach! I played in the youth team for three seasons from 1971, the year they won the double. It was a great experience. I was just this little boy from Slough walking into Highbury and then into Lord’s when I joined Middlesex. Lord’s was this pompous place that I really couldn’t understand. They didn’t seem to find it funny when I chipped a nine-iron off a clothes brush out of the dressing-room window on to the Test match pitch. It was horrendous back then but it is a great, great ground now with exceptional people.

What are the highlights from your playing career?Playing in an exceptional Middlesex side, although it wasn’t for that long; and then the opportunity to find Brighton by moving to Sussex. I love Brighton and I’ve just bought a flat there. Winning the NatWest with Sussex [in 1986 against Lancashire] was a great moment but a sad one too to see the end of Clive Lloyd, who’s been a great supporter of mine. He made nought, which I was hysterical about at the time, but it was sad. To get picked for England was a great honour. I’d been at Middlesex with an inferiority complex because I was pretty much the only bloke who hadn’t played for their country. Then I left and within a year I was on a tour to Australia. I have to thank Middlesex twice – I was sacked as a player and went to Sussex, which was the best thing that ever happened to me. Then I was sacked as coach almost 20 years later and I became an umpire. I can’t thank them enough!

So how did you become an umpire?I’d done a couple of 2nd XI games when I was coaching Middlesex and enjoyed it. My wife was on at me to give it a go. But I was thinking, ‘Really, standing there all day? I’ve slagged off umpires for years, how can I do that now?’ I did a Warwickshire 2nd XI game at Bournemouth and their coach, the late, great Neal Abberley, said I was a natural. So I went for an interview and luckily there was a space on the reserve panel. I was driving back from a game at Folkestone when I got a call from the ECB asking me if I was free to do a three-day game starting the next day. Ok. Where? Essex. Ok, who are they playing? Australia. I nearly fell off my feet. Nasser was coming back, leading up to the Tests, and Australia had a full-strength side. It was one of God’s great experiences. That proved to me I could do the job.

What makes a good umpire?Concentration – which Graeme Fowler still laughs about because he reckons I had the attention span of a gnat – focus and just being yourself. Work with your team – square leg can be a really big help to you. My old man, when he was in the business, used to say that you need to feel safe with the people you’re working with. That’s a big thing for me – feeling safe with my partner (or partners as it is these days).

What are the best and worst bits about being an international umpire? There aren’t too many bad bits. After a while the travelling gets to you a bit but it’s not for me to moan about things like that. The best bit is simply the opportunity to stand on a cricket field with 22 of the best players in the world

and see them perform. I still find that exhilarating.

Can you appreciate the quality of cricket when you’re immersed in decision-making?You don’t at the time but you do at the end of the day when you sit down with your partners and talk through it. I remember seeing Virat Kohli as a young boy – typical youngster, he got 50, played like a god and then chipped one up in the air. But we were all unanimous that he could be something special. That’s when it hits you. That’s when you appreciate how lucky you are to do the job.

Is it possible to get to know the players? That’s changed dramatically. Everybody keeps out of each other’s way now but in my book if you’re rude enough to walk past someone and not hold a conversation then you’re not worth living with. It’s important to try and get to know the players because that can make life a lot easier for both parties. They will know where you’re coming from and what your standards are. If you do get a chance to have five minutes with players, whether that’s at practice or socially, you find out what makes them tick and they find out what you’re like. If you’re aloof from everybody I don’t think you’re doing your job properly.

Is it ever a lonely existence?No, this is the best group of 12 umpires I’ve worked with since being with ICC. No disrespect to the previous guys, but we’ve got a great set of lads. They’re a lot younger – which probably means I’m a lot older – and they’re very driven.


They’re good company and if we have a bit of a stinker we can laugh at each other and get on with our lives.

What has been your toughest experience as an umpire?I did a couple of Tests in South Africa [2011/12] where Australia got rolled for nothing in both games. The wickets were both damp and they did all sorts – things that you don’t normally see in Test cricket. It was going everywhere and you really had to be on your wits. Sometimes it went for me, sometimes it didn’t. I had two in two that were wrong by review and I found that really tough.

Do you agonise about wrong decisions?People who know me know I can park it. Don’t bother talking to me for 10 minutes after a day’s play but having had time to

The Ashes last summer was mad… some of the behaviour was appalling. There were more appeals in that series than in any I’ve seen

FACTFILEAGE: 56PLAYING CAREER: Keeper-batsman who debuted for Middlesex in 1975 but moved to Sussex in 1981 after Middlesex signed Paul Downton. Toured Australia with England in 1982/83 and, as a substitute, took a fine catch in the covers to dismiss Greg Chappell during Australia’s thrilling run-chase at Melbourne, which England won by three runs. He played 18 one-day internationals including seven during the 1983 World Cup. In 1986 he captained Sussex to victory in the NatWest Trophy final after which, on receiving the trophy, he said: “Watch out, Soho.”NON-PLAYING CAREER: Formed a coaching team at Lord’s with his old mate Mike Gatting after returning to captain Middlesex’s 2nd XI in 1991. After being sacked in 2000 he took up umpiring. He joined the international panel in 2006 and the elite panel in 2009. Up to the start of December he had been an on-field umpire in 35 Tests and 86 one-day internationals.

ref lect and kicked a couple of walls then I’m fine. I don’t deal in the past.

What’s your favourite place to tour? I’m still trying to find out all about Sydney. I was there for New Year’s Eve a couple of years ago and I knew it would be too manic to go out in the evening so I went out for a drink or two at lunchtime. My wife phoned me to check I was ok and not on my own – this was two o’clock in the afternoon – and I reckon there was about 250,000 people around me. So bless her cotton socks but…! I’d like to explore South Africa more but it’s a difficult place to travel on your own; India’s fascinating. But you can dump me in Barbados with a pint of Guinness and Wayne Daniel and you won’t find a happier man.

Gould gives Ishant Sharma some technical tips


p32-36_Mitch_AOC112.indd 32 13/12/2013 12:33


THEINTERVIEW

THE BUMpER

Sir treVOr MCDONALDKnight of the Realm, patron saint of broadcasting and lifelong devotee of the game, Sir Trevor on cricket and politics, his second home at The Oval, and the majesty of CLR James.

INTERVIEW | MATT THACKER

Trevor, you’ve just fi nished your fi rst year as club president at surrey. How’ve you enjoyed your time at the helm so far?In all honesty it’s probably the highest honour that I’ve ever had, to be president of a cricket club and even more so to be president of Surrey County Cricket Club. I was born in the West Indies – in Trinidad – and so cricket is in my blood, but this place, The Oval, is also in the blood of West Indians. I read a book many years ago by Viv Richards and I will never ever forget that in it he said, “When we, the West Indies, play at The Oval it’s a home match.” I have followed Surrey for 30 years and to become president of this club, I felt like I was coming home. It’s just been an extraordinary year. Looking in from the outside I’d never appreciated what the role involves. The fact that I get to pop in to see the players and get to know them, and the fact that the players respond to the office that I hold in a very generous and warm way is thoroughly enjoyable. I didn’t expect to have that affinity with the players.

what have been the highlights?It’s been a very busy year with the ICC Champions Trophy and the Ashes and to be president in a year when the Australians were here was the crowning glory for me. Australian cricket has always been a very important part of my cricket life for several reasons. My father bought a radio for the fi rst time when I was still a very young boy so that we could listen to the West Indies playing in Australia. The other thing is that I got to know Frank Worrell and Gerry Gomez, who was manager of the West Indies team, after that historic tied Test with Richie Benaud’s Australian team at Brisbane in 1960. I remember Gerry telling me the most extraordinary thing, that I don’t

think has ever been replicated in cricket, where at the end of the tour, on the day that the West Indies were due to leave, something like 100,000 people gathered in Melbourne to see them off . So I’ve always had an affi nity and a great feeling towards Australian cricket and to have the honour of hosting Wally Edwards, the great Rodney Marsh and the wonderful John Inverarity during the Ashes was one of the greatest days of my life.

And it was an eventful match in the end. what did the Aussies you were hosting make of Michael Clarke’s declaration? Yes, it ended up a fantastic game. The Australians were worried about what their captain had decided and that’s putting it very mildly! Mr Marsh pronounced it to be “not Test cricket” and left early because he thought it was a scandalous declaration. He said a sporting declaration is when both sides have a chance of winning the match and he thought that Australia had no chance of winning. In the end I was rather glad that it didn’t end up with the decapitation of Michael Clarke because I loved the challenge that he put to the England team and it made it a memorable end to the series.

Having spent the last 40 years or more in the UK, where do your allegiances lie when the west Indies play England?I will never ever lose the pleasure of seeing the West Indies do well but I’ve now been in England for more years than I was in the West Indies and this is my home now, my life is here. So when the sides clash, I sit nicely on the fence. My mother never understood my preference! I had this thing with my mother that whenever I was in Northern Ireland or Beirut and there were bombs going off , I would always call her just in case news fi ltered through that I was there. Once, in 1983, at the time when India beat the West Indies [in the World Cup fi nal], I was in Beirut and there had been a nasty day and a lot of people had been killed. I just called my mother to say that I was fi ne and she said nothing apart from, “How on Earth could the West Indies allow that to happen? Losing to India!” I don’t think the fact that I was in Beirut ever registered. She never asked me anything about the bombs!

I remember Sir Grantley Adams, the prime minister of the West Indies Federation, saying to me: “Mac, if this federation collapses, what is going to happen to the West Indies cricket team?”

Sir Trevor on the charge

He’s good enough to do it himself. He doesn’t need my helpsudhir Naik, curator at the wankhede stadium, has faith in sachin ahead of his fi nal Test

p11-32_TheBumper_AOC111.indd 20 13/11/2013 10:19

32 | AOC | FEBRUARY 2014

p32-36_Mitch_AOC112.indd 32 13/12/2013 12:33


MITCHELL JOHNSON

TIMEMACHINE

Australia is carving out a new identity for itself based uncannily on one we’ve

seen before, led by a fragile moustachioed warrior who doesn’t do dull moments.

Australian writer Geoff Lemon has witnessed at close-hand the return of pre-

eminent pace to the epic Ashes story.

There is this moment, just before Mitchell Johnson will fi nd himself on a hat-trick for the second time in half-an-

hour, just after he has taken his fi fth wicket of the innings. For the hat-trick ball the crowd will emit a rising distended roar, but for the one preceding it they are quiet. Four wickets have fallen in his last 17. Afternoon sun slants across his shoulders as he pauses, a natural lull like the space between heartbeats. It is a moment when concentration has not yet given over to delirium. They are fi xed on him as he streams to the crease with that hunched springing run, ghosting his fi ngers over a ball that cuts in toward the left-handed James Anderson, carving past the stroke, destroying the middle stump’s camera in a carnival of timber.

This is the story of true pace and its pre-eminence. Cricket’s followers can list the game’s ornaments: pet shots by pet batsmen, quick feet down the pitch, supernatural spin, the power and innovation of the biggest hitters. But the simplicity of bowling fast, the kind of fast that needs no modifi er, the kind around that triple-fi gure mile mark, draws a visceral response. It’s timeless, the most brutal attacker versus a solitary defence. It has become mandatory to award pace the appellation ‘raw’, with all those implications of something caustic, primal, unmeddled with. Of batsmen,

perhaps Bradman and Sir Viv had the power to intimidate a team from one to 11. Shane Warne could sometimes reach that height with spin. But it is the common state of no one but the thunderbolt quick, this ability to dominate one side and lift the other through the sheer mechanism of power.

One half hour on the third day in Adelaide, and this Ashes becomes a throwback tour, both inside the ground and out. Suddenly a symbol of Australian machismo is celebrated and commercialised. Johnson is front and back of every newspaper. His moustache is debated on breakfast radio. It’s a consciously ironic nostalgia: the love for Merv and Boony is driven more by the comedy of facial hair than any on-fi eld deed. Johnson is in fancy dress, apt given his new mode as a gru� enforcer is also an act. Glaring from his follow through, he is Tom to Joe Root’s Jerry. When he mimics the look on Ben Stokes’ face, he looks more than half cartoon.

We know it’s fake. A man whose career trademark is inconsistency, whose nerve has been known to fail under pressure, is held up as invincible. But there’s a deeper longing behind this. Australian cricket has been enduring an identity crisis, forced by several mediocre years into unfamiliar humility. There’s been an absence of identifi able heroes. Now, the passing of a fortnight o� ers the chance of

p32-36_Mitch_AOC112.indd 33 13/12/2013 12:33


The story of the Ashes is the story of fast bowling. Frank Tyson perhaps the fi rst athlete named for inclement weather. Demon Spo� orth’s fi gures in the ninth ever Test match, still the second-best by an Australian. Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald: the former “a giant of superb physique” according to Cardus, while the “satanically destructive” McDonald produced “bowling of havoc but also of rare beauty”. There is Larwood punching Bill Woodfull in the heart, John Snow channelling the crowd barrage, even the conspicuous lack of a Test career for Eddie Gilbert, the Aboriginal bowler who Bradman declared the fastest he’d ever seen.

Johnson begins to write himself into this tradition not with his afternoon of carnage, but the previous evening.

Alastair Cook’s day in the fi eld has been long, hot and frustrating. He’s given 20 overs to bat before stumps. His feet are slow, a blankness in his eyes instead of the focus that has seen him through eight daddy hundreds and 17 baby ones. His listless prods outside o� stump suggest a lookalike has been employed. When the coup de grace comes he hovers on the crease, boots in molasses, jabbing down a clear eight inches from the ball’s route to o� stump.

A fast bowler’s signature is the bouncer: the peril, the mind game, the test of nerve, the clean spring of the ball so even the crowd at mid wicket can see the mode of attack. But his great achievement, his Mortal Kombat fatality move, is the batsman clean bowled. It is the resolution of cricket’s quintessential contest without recourse to outside assistance. Somehow all the catches in slips or the nicks behind seem like technicalities, things that sustain fast bowlers until the next time they see a stump spinning back, hear the thunk of a delivery that has swung or seamed or skidded to the point of that fi nal sealing contact. “Stumps fl ying like spears,” as Cardus had it, the sight indicating the batsman’s most abject failure, the bowler’s fullest ascendancy.

Captain Cook is England’s long-innings man, the one who helped add 351 runs in one stretch last time he played on this ground. This time, he lasts nine balls from Johnson and doesn’t add a single run against him. His second innings will be better: that time he will fi nd a run, before a counter-attack that betrays a frazzled mind. It is spurious to apply symbolism after the fact, but we all do. Given its manner, it is di� cult not to see this fi rst English wicket as the moment they are beaten.

Johnson was not supposed to be here. He was down on form for most of a year, out of the team for a year after that. He fl oated

A MAN WHOSE CAREER TRADEMARK IS

INCONSISTENCY, WHOSE NERVE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO

FAIL UNDER PRESSURE, IS HELD UP AS INVINCIBLE. BUT THERE’S A DEEPER LONGING BEHIND THIS. AUSTRALIAN

CRICKET HAS BEEN ENDURING AN IDENTITY CRISIS

“

renewed self-esteem. There is a craving to reach back to that fuzzy-chested medallion-wearing past, archaeologically excavating a caricature of Australian masculinity, only pausing to wipe off sweat with one finger. All the pub talk, according to writer and serial nostalgic John Harms, has been, “I haven’t seen an Australian bowl that quick since the ‘70s.”

The pairing of Lillee and Thomson is now treated less as history than mythology. Lillee wins the greater respect, but Thommo generates the awe. Bat and gloves at nose height, as Christian Ryan recorded it, but Thommo’s bowling “like a wave breaking, over the top it crashes.” The rawness – that word again – of character, approach, technique; the sense of an elemental force; the untestable nature of the claims about him. Others are accorded greater reverence, but Thomson at the peak of his powers is the transcendent Australian cricketer. He is the invocation of most potency. He is the comparison everyone gropes for instinctively through that afternoon and the days that follow, unable to comprehend a spell of such velocity without framing it in terms of 1975.

p32-36_Mitch_AOC112.indd 34 13/12/2013 12:33


JACK GREGORYAshes series: 1921; wickets: 19; average: 29.05; strike-rate: 57.5A giant of a man, who contorted his body beyond its limits in the pursuit of blood-curdling speed, Gregory enjoyed a successful yet brief Test career. His second year at the top, in 1921, was his most fruitful (43 wickets at 27.09) and he was at his most ferocious that English summer. In the first encounter at Trent Bridge, Gregory hurled down a bullet that crashed into the skull of Ernest Tyldesley, ricocheting onto the stumps. Tyldesley was out cold and Gregory went on to take six in the innings and eight in the match as England were skittled out for 112, on their way to a 10-wicket defeat. Australia went on to win the following two Tests to claim the series 3-0 as the home batsmen failed to recover from the mental and physical scars inflicted by the colossal destroyer.

HAROLD LARWOODAshes series: 1932/33; wickets: 33; average: 19.51; strike-rate: 40.0There would have been no ‘Bodyline’ without Larwood. For all Douglas Jardine’s needle, he would have been toothless without the speed and unerring accuracy of the Nottinghamshire legend putting his ‘leg theory’ into practice. Don Bradman was the main target, after pillaging 974 runs in the 1930 series, but even he had no answer for Larwood’s classical yet deadly release, falling to him four times in eight innings. Bradman was lucky to get away with merely dented pride, as Larwood struck opposition captain Bill Woodfull above the heart with a bumper and Bert Oldfield had his skull fractured. An angry mob had to be suppressed by mounted policemen, as the Australian public spat with rage at the callousness of Larwood. As his biographer Duncan Hamilton wrote: “History embalmed Larwood in the Bodyline series, as though he died bowling it. As a cricketer, he is preserved only in its controversy.”

FRANK TYSONAshes series: 1954/55; wickets: 28; average: 20.82; strike-rate: 43.1The ‘Typhoon’ was a man of raw, unadulterated pace, yet he had the head to not get carried away with it. After losing the first Test at Brisbane by an innings and 154 runs, a match in which he took just one wicket, Tyson shortened his approach and finished the second at Sydney with 10 scalps for 130 runs. “I was 50 yards back at slip to Frank – nearer the pavilion gate than the wicket,” said England batsman Tom Graveney, when describing Tyson’s second-innings 6-85. “It was like fielding tracer bullets.” Tyson would go on to take nine more in the next Test at Melbourne, which included a second-innings haul of 7-27 as the Aussies were blown away for 111.

JOHN SNOWAshes series: 1970/71; wickets: 31; average: 22.83; strike-rate: 58.2In his pomp, Snow was unflappable, unapproachable and borderline unplayable. His flair gave character to the English cricket team, but he was often his own worst enemy – barging over Sunil Gavaskar and bowling bouncers in training at Tom Graveney, his own vice-captain, on a treacherous deck in Pakistan, elicited two omissions through malfeasance. But with his sights set firmly on the Australians in the seven-Test series of ‘70/71 (of which he played six), the clergyman’s son-turned rebel did his worst. He targeted fellow paceman Graham McKenzie, clocking him in the face with a bouncer, before serving up the same to topple Terry Jenner in the final Test at Sydney, much to the inebriated fury of the home support. “I’ve a streak of hardness but I wouldn’t call it meanness,” said Snow. “The bouncer in my book is legitimate intimidation.”

DENNIS LILLEE AND JEFF THOMSONAshes series: 1974/75; wickets: Lillee 25; Thomson 33; average: Lillee 23.84; Thomson 17.93; strike-rate: Lillee 58.4; Thomson 42.4One would have been more than enough. Two was excessive. England suffered, and suffered bad. Coming into the series, Lillee was recovering from an injury and Thomson, well he was nothing but a plucky upstart with one Test to his name. Reality hit home – then head, chest, arm, hands and further south – as the pair set about tearing English batsmen limb from limb, with some truly barbaric spells. In the second Test at Perth, Lillee and Thommo took four and seven wickets in the match, respectively, as they tormented the enemy to within an inch of their lives. Nothing better summed up the effect the duo had on England’s batsmen than skipper Mike Denness’ take on the state of David Lloyd after he had battled skittishly before falling for 49: “Lloyd’s body was quivering. His neck and the top half of his body were shaking, suffering from the effects of never having to move so quickly in all his life.”

RODNEY HOGGAshes series: 1978/79; wickets: 41; average: 12.85; strike-rate: 42.4

That England triumphed 5-1 in the series does little to dampen the exploits of Victorian speedster Hogg, in an Australian side grossly depleted by World Series Cricket. His performances were all the more impressive when you factor in his asthma, which meant he was only able to bowl in short, sharp bursts. He always ensured he had enough in the tank for a few choice lines and if his words weren’t heeded he wasn’t afraid to throw in the odd intentional beamer. “It helped even things up,” he reasoned. Even when he kept it on the deck, he still beat England for pace, especially Geoff Boycott whom he dismissed on four occasions.

ASHES TEARAWAYSPAST ASHES SERIES WHEN IT’S ALL bEEN AbOuT FAST AND NASTY quICKS…

p32-36_Mitch_AOC112.indd 35 13/12/2013 12:34


around, popped in for the odd cameo when back-up was required. A new generation of seamers proved more reliable. Included on the autumn tour as an India specialist, Johnson only played as an injury replacement in the fi nal Test, where he was out twice for three runs and took no wickets as Australia lost inside three days. Left out of the touring party to England, his Test career was as good as done.

And yet. In the space of three overs on one afternoon, one of the most criticised cricketers in Australia’s history is forgiven. A triple-wicket maiden. Eight runs from the next. Two more wickets in the third. Two hat-trick balls, both fended in the air without going to hand. His nine wickets at Brisbane were good, spiteful balls bucking o� a bouncy deck, but all of us have talked down the pitch at Adelaide as dead, slow, locked in for a draw. Visions of interminable English batting swim in our heads. Then there’s Johnson.

It’s not just the wickets, it’s the ferocity. He’s demolished England before, but that spell involved swing. Think back to Perth 2010 and I can still see the shape of the ball curving into the front pad of Trott, Pietersen, Collingwood. Today, it’s just speed as a guy slipping you a foil at a truck stop might describe it: pure, clean, does the job with a bang.

The ball is coming down faster than anything I’ve ever seen. From this docile track it’s lifting and humming into Brad Haddin’s gloves. Matt Prior gets a Woodfull ball to the chest, then one rears over his shoulder, making him twist away like an insect in a fl ame. The next tears past o� stump, drawing the edge of a batsman in six minds and none at all. The press box is a hundred metres behind Stuart Broad, but the ball that rips through him makes some in the front row fl inch. Graeme Swann is pure panic, Clarke bending back at slip like a Slinky. In the excitement, it is probably only the Anderson ball when everyone realises they’re watching one of the great Ashes spells.

Johnson has joined the pantheon. The power of pace compels them. Some will dispute this, saying it takes more than two good games to win such acclaim. But this isn’t about the man being ‘back’. Longevity is no requirement for pace bowling’s immortals. Tyson played 17 Tests, Spo� orth 18. McDonald and Gregory played 11 together over less than a year. Nothing lasts forever, but the perfect peak of fury barely lives before decay. In a few games’

time, on a dead Colombo pitch, Johnson may be nothing. He may not care. A commenter named only as Matt writes on my article that day, “Frankly, I don’t care about consistency, the future or anything. If he destroys England here and in Perth, he can be whatever he likes for the rest of his career. He will have his name in history like Thommo, as a man who changed the Ashes.”

Thommo again. The most vital part of cricket is a real, proper, dirty quick. Pace simplifi es the game, reducing the complex mechanics of skill and tactical planning to something with two moving parts, an atavistic contest based on velocity and the thrill of fear. These are uncertain times for cricket. The most explosive bowlers, those like Lasith Malinga and Shaun Tait, look to short matches. Fair enough. Why kill yourself with 30 overs a day?

But Johnson is here, in this series, shaking it till its teeth rattle. The emotive response, then, comes from seeing something timeless, out on the Test arena where it belongs: 4-61, 5-42, 7-40. When the third English innings of the tour ends, Johnson will have over half the wickets to fall. They’ll cost him less than nine runs each. He’ll have taken one every 20 balls, and in seven days of cricket will have all but regained the Ashes.

Adelaide, the dying ember of that third English innings. Johnson was taken o� at nine wickets down, but returns for England’s last man. The travelling English fans don’t make a sound. I jot down a note.

“He bowls to the left. He bowls to the right. Either way you’re f***ed.” It takes him two balls to rush through Monty Panesar.

Four times in this innings the stumps have gone down. Four of Johnson’s seven wickets have arrived with that sound, the explosion of movement as the bails scatter, the keeper almost levitating in delight. In cricket’s staid progression that fl urry is like a single fi rework in a blank night sky, a frothing shoot of champagne at a Seventh Day Adventist funeral. Now Mitch is popping corks left and right and the congregation is getting sloshed. With arms round each other’s shoulders, they sway and announce in slurred tones that they never really say this, but they love you, man. In years to come they will remind each other they were here, attesting this with a fi erce a¡ rmation that says: I was part of something, I was real, in some small way I will never die.

The unidentifi ed Matt is right. What happens next doesn’t matter. Mitchell Johnson may never take another Test wicket. But this moment is real, and when we look back, it’s this we’ll see. It’s this that creates the fervour rippling out from the Adelaide Oval on a sunny afternoon; 7-40 is the fi nal number, but the real moment is that fi ve-wicket spell. It’s that frantic patch of sheer destruction. It’s preparing to bowl to Anderson, the long pause, the crowd quiet, the moustache bristling, the arms beginning to pump. As that ball comes in, carving past the inside edge, beating the pad, lifting the middle stump out of the ground to leave the other two beaming a gap-toothed grin, Johnson is telling young fast bowlers, we can still rule the world.

p32-36_Mitch_AOC112.indd 36 13/12/2013 12:34


around, popped in for the odd cameo when back-up was required. A new generation of seamers proved more reliable. Included on the autumn tour as an India specialist, Johnson only played as an injury replacement in the fi nal Test, where he was out twice for three runs and took no wickets as Australia lost inside three days. Left out of the touring party to England, his Test career was as good as done.

And yet. In the space of three overs on one afternoon, one of the most criticised cricketers in Australia’s history is forgiven. A triple-wicket maiden. Eight runs from the next. Two more wickets in the third. Two hat-trick balls, both fended in the air without going to hand. His nine wickets at Brisbane were good, spiteful balls bucking o� a bouncy deck, but all of us have talked down the pitch at Adelaide as dead, slow, locked in for a draw. Visions of interminable English batting swim in our heads. Then there’s Johnson.

It’s not just the wickets, it’s the ferocity. He’s demolished England before, but that spell involved swing. Think back to Perth 2010 and I can still see the shape of the ball curving into the front pad of Trott, Pietersen, Collingwood. Today, it’s just speed as a guy slipping you a foil at a truck stop might describe it: pure, clean, does the job with a bang.

The ball is coming down faster than anything I’ve ever seen. From this docile track it’s lifting and humming into Brad Haddin’s gloves. Matt Prior gets a Woodfull ball to the chest, then one rears over his shoulder, making him twist away like an insect in a fl ame. The next tears past o� stump, drawing the edge of a batsman in six minds and none at all. The press box is a hundred metres behind Stuart Broad, but the ball that rips through him makes some in the front row fl inch. Graeme Swann is pure panic, Clarke bending back at slip like a Slinky. In the excitement, it is probably only the Anderson ball when everyone realises they’re watching one of the great Ashes spells.

Johnson has joined the pantheon. The power of pace compels them. Some will dispute this, saying it takes more than two good games to win such acclaim. But this isn’t about the man being ‘back’. Longevity is no requirement for pace bowling’s immortals. Tyson played 17 Tests, Spo� orth 18. McDonald and Gregory played 11 together over less than a year. Nothing lasts forever, but the perfect peak of fury barely lives before decay. In a few games’

time, on a dead Colombo pitch, Johnson may be nothing. He may not care. A commenter named only as Matt writes on my article that day, “Frankly, I don’t care about consistency, the future or anything. If he destroys England here and in Perth, he can be whatever he likes for the rest of his career. He will have his name in history like Thommo, as a man who changed the Ashes.”

Thommo again. The most vital part of cricket is a real, proper, dirty quick. Pace simplifi es the game, reducing the complex mechanics of skill and tactical planning to something with two moving parts, an atavistic contest based on velocity and the thrill of fear. These are uncertain times for cricket. The most explosive bowlers, those like Lasith Malinga and Shaun Tait, look to short matches. Fair enough. Why kill yourself with 30 overs a day?

But Johnson is here, in this series, shaking it till its teeth rattle. The emotive response, then, comes from seeing something timeless, out on the Test arena where it belongs: 4-61, 5-42, 7-40. When the third English innings of the tour ends, Johnson will have over half the wickets to fall. They’ll cost him less than nine runs each. He’ll have taken one every 20 balls, and in seven days of cricket will have all but regained the Ashes.

Adelaide, the dying ember of that third English innings. Johnson was taken o� at nine wickets down, but returns for England’s last man. The travelling English fans don’t make a sound. I jot down a note.

“He bowls to the left. He bowls to the right. Either way you’re f***ed.” It takes him two balls to rush through Monty Panesar.

Four times in this innings the stumps have gone down. Four of Johnson’s seven wickets have arrived with that sound, the explosion of movement as the bails scatter, the keeper almost levitating in delight. In cricket’s staid progression that fl urry is like a single fi rework in a blank night sky, a frothing shoot of champagne at a Seventh Day Adventist funeral. Now Mitch is popping corks left and right and the congregation is getting sloshed. With arms round each other’s shoulders, they sway and announce in slurred tones that they never really say this, but they love you, man. In years to come they will remind each other they were here, attesting this with a fi erce a¡ rmation that says: I was part of something, I was real, in some small way I will never die.

The unidentifi ed Matt is right. What happens next doesn’t matter. Mitchell Johnson may never take another Test wicket. But this moment is real, and when we look back, it’s this we’ll see. It’s this that creates the fervour rippling out from the Adelaide Oval on a sunny afternoon; 7-40 is the fi nal number, but the real moment is that fi ve-wicket spell. It’s that frantic patch of sheer destruction. It’s preparing to bowl to Anderson, the long pause, the crowd quiet, the moustache bristling, the arms beginning to pump. As that ball comes in, carving past the inside edge, beating the pad, lifting the middle stump out of the ground to leave the other two beaming a gap-toothed grin, Johnson is telling young fast bowlers, we can still rule the world.

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ann

p42-51_Swanny & Felix_AOC112.indd 42 12/12/2013 22:39


Felix White – lead guitar

ist

for The Maccabees and sel

f-

proclaimed cricket tragi

c –

met up with Graeme Swann

–

England’s spin supremo an

d

wannabe rock star – to ta

lk

about the beautiful game

,

rock ‘n’ roll and fame, i

n no

particular order.

When Swanny met Felix


www.alloutcricket.com | AOC | 1942 | AOC | FEBRUARY 2014

Phot

ogra

phs b

y Lu

cy V

ann



Felix White – lead guitar

ist

for The Maccabees and sel

f-

proclaimed cricket tragi

c –

met up with Graeme Swann

–

England’s spin supremo an

d

wannabe rock star – to ta

lk

about the beautiful game

,

rock ‘n’ roll and fame, i

n no

particular order.

When Swanny met Felix



Two stars of their profession, both longing they were in the other

man’s shoes. Graeme Swann – one of England’s all-time great spinners; wannabe rockstar. Felix White – lead guitarist of indie rock band The Maccabees; cricket tragic. Both rounded characters, both with the wit and wisdom to enjoy life outside of their vocations. The same. But diff erent. And both that tiniest little bit star-struck.

Swanny was in London and suggested a meet at the Sanctum Hotel – full of edgy glamour and bohemian fl air. Well suited to these two. As we sat down on the roof terrace, the manager strolled over – having recognised both of them – to tell us that the hotel was part-owned by Iron Maiden. Which was nice.

Once he’d gone, we turned the dictaphone on and let the two of them get on with it…

Formed in 2004, Brighton-based indie-rock band The Maccabees have released three hit albums, Colour It In (2007), Wall of Arms (2009) and Given To The Wild, which was nominated for the 2012 Mercury Prize.

GIVEN TO THE WILD

FELIX WHITE: Did you think you’d ever play for England again when you went for so many years without getting a look in? GRAEME SWANN: No, I ‘d completely written it off. I moved to Notts to play in a better team and was more than happy with my lot. FW: Did you still think you should have been playing for England during those years out of the side?

GS: Erm, I really hadn’t thought about it because Duncan Fletcher was in charge. If he were still in charge now, I wouldn’t be playing for England. FW: Why’s that? GS: He just hated me from that first tour [to South Africa in 1999/00]. I don’t blame him though. I was a young upstart who was nowhere near good enough. When I look back now it’s like watching Educating Yorkshire where you’re watching 15 year olds and thinking, ‘You’re a d**k and you’ll look back in 10 years and regret what you’re doing.’ It makes me cringe thinking about it. FW: What were you doing, just playing up? GS: Playing up, talking back to everyone, telling jokes when I shouldn’t have been. Half the reason was that I was intimidated by people in the changing room. These were my heroes: Alec Stewart, Mike Atherton. And Nasser who was captain – the angriest captain in the world! FW: Angry with people?

GS: God yeah, he used to shout and scream. Brilliant captain, but Christ! I remember going to field as 12th man, he was at mid off and I was at cover. I threw him the ball and was so scared when it didn’t land perfectly in his hand. He just looked at me and said, “What the f **k are you doing?” I get on great with Nasser now and we have a laugh and a joke about things. I think, deep down, he quite liked me and the fact I was a bit different. But as captain he was never going to pick me. I was awful. I didn’t have any inclination to train or improve as much as I needed to. FW: You were 20, right? That’s really young. You were basically still a child. GS: You’re not street-smart at all. In some ways that’s a brilliant thing, especially in the case of Joe Root. The first time he played Test cricket he was like a wide-eyed kid. It’s like with young golfers – they always hit aggressive putts because they haven’t missed one that’s cost them £5,000. By the time they’re 30, they’ve got the yips. Root didn’t have a care in the world. To be honest, playing for England back then, I knew I didn’t deserve it. I was a complete charlatan on that tour – picked on the back of one good England under 19 match and a game I played on TV for Northants.

Duncan Fletcher just hated me from

that fi rst tour. I don’t blame him

though. I was a young upstart who

was nowhere near good enough



FW: What was the game on TV?GS: It was before Sky did domestic cricket and the BBC had one game every two months. We played Essex and they got 281 in a 50-over game which at the time was a ridiculous score. FW: The kind of score where you’re thinking, ‘We’re never chasing that! Five-an-over!’ GS: Yeah, game over. I bowled 0-40 off six overs – terribly – and then when I batted I got 30 off 10 balls. Then I got some wickets against Pakistan in the under 19s and all of a sudden I was on the Test tour. It was ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous. FW: Not dissimilar to Simon Kerrigan making his Test debut this summer?GS: He’s had a few more years putting in performance after performance for Lancashire in county cricket. FW: What did you think about him not being in the Ashes squad? GS: Probably the best thing for him is to get his confidence back and bowl well again. I’m

sure he’ll be a good Test bowler – it was just the pressure of the whole thing. FW: We were in the studio at the time and we had the game on. I saw during his second spell that you gave him a bit of a pat on the back. It’s one of those moments where you want to do the right thing and be supportive but you don’t want to embarrass him…GS: I didn’t really know where to go because I don’t know him that well. Say that was Jimmy [Anderson] having one of those games, I would know exactly how to deal with it. I could try a bit of humour with him. FW: Wind him up? GS: Yeah I could just say, “Not getting any worse, is it?” But for a guy you don’t know it’s difficult. The crowd were trying to be really supportive as well. But, like I say, he’ll do well. Test cricket is a completely mental game and it probably showed up more than ever in that Test match. You have to feel for him but he’ll bounce back.

MIXING IT WITH THE AUSSIESFW: Can I ask you something, and you might not be able to say, but there seems a genuine rivalry between you guys and the Australian players. It’s not made up, is it? There’s something there? GS: There’s the odd player who’s exacerbated the situation. The tension is there because of the fact you’re playing in the Ashes – it’s a huge series. Even when I’m talking to the opposition on the morning of the game, and it can be one of your good mates, I’d

purposefully go over and talk to them, knowing he was going to get bollocked by his team and that would unsettle him. FW: So that was a real thing? GS: Oh yeah. The thing with Warner is that he is a spiky character. But the fact that he is a good player as well makes him twice as easy to hate because you know he’s more than capable of backing it up. When he doesn’t back it up and gets out early, and you see that ejection of raw emotion from

the bowler – that’s real. When Jimmy got him out at The Oval that was real. We were very glad to see the back of him. I mean, he picked on Rooty of all people.FW: Do you think you’ve been dealt with quite harshly by the media? By the end of the summer even Warner was given the benefit of the doubt with people saying, ‘Oh, he’s actually quite a good character.’GS: The Australians are fairly good at playing the media at the minute. I mean, to lose 3-0 – and it would have been four had the series lasted five minutes longer – and the press are still saying ‘Well England are dour’ etc, then I think they’ve been quite clever about it. They’ve used Shane Warne well. FW: Do you think that’s down to our English mentality, that we’re uncomfortable with winning?

GS: 100 per cent. FW: You know what I mean? Like there’s something odd about it. There’s always got to be a reason why we’ve just won, and not just because we’re a good side. GS: You only have to look at all the ex-players who were very quick to say, ‘Yeah you’ve won the last three Ashes, but the Australians I played against were way better that this lot!’FW: That’s true. The Australians weren’t getting

Joe Root made a fearless start to international cricket

Anderson was particularly happy to see the back of Warner




MIXING IT WITH THE AUSSIESFW: Can I ask you something, and you might not be able to say, but there seems a genuine rivalry between you guys and the Australian players. It’s not made up, is it? There’s something there? GS: There’s the odd player who’s exacerbated the situation. The tension is there because of the fact you’re playing in the Ashes – it’s a huge series. Even when I’m talking to the opposition on the morning of the game, and it can be one of your good mates, I’d

purposefully go over and talk to them, knowing he was going to get bollocked by his team and that would unsettle him. FW: So that was a real thing? GS: Oh yeah. The thing with Warner is that he is a spiky character. But the fact that he is a good player as well makes him twice as easy to hate because you know he’s more than capable of backing it up. When he doesn’t back it up and gets out early, and you see that ejection of raw emotion from

the bowler – that’s real. When Jimmy got him out at The Oval that was real. We were very glad to see the back of him. I mean, he picked on Rooty of all people.FW: Do you think you’ve been dealt with quite harshly by the media? By the end of the summer even Warner was given the benefit of the doubt with people saying, ‘Oh, he’s actually quite a good character.’GS: The Australians are fairly good at playing the media at the minute. I mean, to lose 3-0 – and it would have been four had the series lasted five minutes longer – and the press are still saying ‘Well England are dour’ etc, then I think they’ve been quite clever about it. They’ve used Shane Warne well. FW: Do you think that’s down to our English mentality, that we’re uncomfortable with winning?

GS: 100 per cent. FW: You know what I mean? Like there’s something odd about it. There’s always got to be a reason why we’ve just won, and not just because we’re a good side. GS: You only have to look at all the ex-players who were very quick to say, ‘Yeah you’ve won the last three Ashes, but the Australians I played against were way better that this lot!’FW: That’s true. The Australians weren’t getting






MIXING IT WITH THE AUSSIESFW: Can I ask you something, and you might not be able to say, but there seems a genuine rivalry between you guys and the Australian players. It’s not made up, is it? There’s something there? GS: There’s the odd player who’s exacerbated the situation. The tension is there because of the fact you’re playing in the Ashes – it’s a huge series. Even when I’m talking to the opposition on the morning of the game, and it can be one of your good mates,

I’d purposefully go over and talk to them, knowing he was going to get bollocked by his team and that would unsettle him. Obviously with what happened before this summer’s Ashes with David Warner and everything, that just exacerbated things. FW: So that was a real thing? GS: Oh yeah. The thing with Warner is that he is a spiky character. But the fact that he is a good player as well makes him twice as easy to hate

because you know he’s more than capable of backing it up. When he doesn’t back it up and gets out early, and you see that ejection of raw emotion from the bowler – that’s real. When Jimmy got him out at The Oval that was real. We were very glad to see the back of him. I mean, he picked on Rooty of all people – the nicest kid in the world!FW: Well you don’t walk up to someone and just punch them, do you? I don’t know anyone who actually does that. GS: I don’t know what was actually released in the end, but anyone who knows Rooty knows he’s the most angelic kid in the world. That rankled everyone and you almost felt like you had to stick up for your little brother. It added some spice to it. Obviously their coach ramped it up with the whole Broady thing, so it was quite spiky. FW: Do you think you’ve been

dealt with quite harshly by the media? By the end of the summer even Warner was given the benefit of the doubt with people saying, ‘Oh, he’s actually quite a good character.’GS: The Australians are fairly good at playing the media at the minute. I mean, to lose 3-0 – and it would have been four had the series lasted five minutes longer – and the press are still saying ‘Well England are dour’ etc, then I think





Australians weren’t getting told that they were playing a poor England side when they kept winning. It was just ‘What a great Australian side!’GS: To be honest, I don’t think it’s just the press. I think it’s the whole nation. We’re very pessimistic. We always fear the worst and I think it permeates through the whole of society. We’re not comfortable with winning. Look at America; they love winning teams over there and anyone associated with winning teams is immortalised forever. They’ve got countless ‘Halls of Fame’. In England we have to go back to 1966 to find sport stars who were really revered. Bobby Moore was probably the last great hero. FW: I think Bradley Wiggins is coming close. GS: Even with Wiggins, he won the Tour de France and then a year later Chris Froome was picked as the main rider and Wiggins got a load of stick with the press saying that he faked injury and this and that. He won the Tour, got knighted and less than 18 months later

he’s being questioned by people instead of being given

the benefit of the

doubt. FW: Yeah, that would be really claustrophobic to me – that kind of pressure. But it must spur on a team?GS: I think we got very defensive this summer, with the whole Root thing and Broady being called a cheat and vilified for not walking. I think the best thing about that was the Australian team turned around and said, ‘Hang on a minute, none of us walked – you don’t walk unless the umpire gives you out.’ The Aussie players didn’t have a problem but their reaction was overlooked because there was a spark. Broady was unfairly chastised about it; he didn’t do anything different than 90 per cent of cricketers around the world would do. There are only one or two really honest ones – like me! – that would have walked off. I think we should get away from that because in the 2010/11 Ashes, the Australian press loved us and they turned on their own team and that felt brilliant. It felt a lot better than being the hounded victors, as it were. FW: Do you think Broady will get a hard time in Australia? GS: He probably will, but he’ll be fine with it. He’s the most stubborn individual I’ve ever met, which will work in his favour. He’ll go out there and bowl fast.

FW: Do you think we’ll win? GS: Yeah, I think we will. I don’t think we’ll bat as badly, collectively, as we did in the series just gone.FW: I was sad that Graham Onions wasn’t picked. GS: I know. Sport’s harsh in that respect. FW: Yeah, it f ***ing is. GS: I think if we were playing in England again, he would be involved because I think his bowling matches the conditions so well. When he was in the squad this summer, it was really touch and go whether he would play or not. If he had played he would have probably taken 15 wickets in two games and been on the tour. He’s a good mate of mine, I love him to bits, and it is harsh on him.

I’ve been on the other end of that phone call being told I’m not going on tour. No, I tell a lie actually. I never got a call – I was never that close to the team.

FW: You didn’t get a call when you were dropped after the South Africa tour in 2000? GS: Nah, they would have just sent me home if they had a military jet that could get me away fast enough. Or sent me into a warzone.

In England we have to go back

to 1966 to find sport stars who

were really revered. Bobby Moore

was probably the last great hero

Sir Bradley.

AD


they’ve been quite clever about it. They’ve used Shane Warne well. FW: Darren Lehmann seems to have gone out of his way to do that… GS: Yeah, well Lehmann is one of Warne’s best mates. Whatever he says our press lap up so he uses it very intelligently. What we have to get better at is realising when people are being duped and just ignoring it. If you let it get to you, like the garbage about our over-rates… I mean, our over-rate for the whole series was +13; I don’t think we’ve ever played a series where it has been that far ahead, apart from in India where we were operating with two spinners. It seemed very well spun. FW: Do you think that’s down to our English mentality, that we’re uncomfortable with winning?GS: 100 per cent. FW: You know what I mean? Like there’s something odd about it. There’s always got to be a reason why we’ve just won, and not just because we’re a good side. GS: You only have to look at all the ex-players who were very quick to say, ‘Yeah you’ve won the last three Ashes, but the

Australians I played against were way better that this lot!’

FW: That’s true. The Australians weren’t getting told that they were playing a poor England side when they kept winning. It was just ‘What a great Australian side!’GS: To be honest, I don’t think it’s just the press. I think it’s the whole nation. We’re very pessimistic. We always fear the worst and I think it permeates through the whole of society. We’re not comfortable with winning. Look at America; they love winning teams over there and anyone associated with winning teams is immortalised forever. They’ve got countless ‘Halls of Fame’. In England we have to go back to 1966 to find sport stars who were really revered. Bobby Moore was probably the last great hero. FW: I think Bradley Wiggins is coming close. GS: Even with Wiggins, he won the Tour de France and then a year later Chris Froome was picked as the main rider and Wiggins got a load of stick with the press saying that he faked injury and this and that. He won the Tour, got knighted and less than 18 months later he’s being questioned by people instead of being given the benefit of the doubt. FW: Yeah, that would be really claustrophobic to me – that kind of pressure. But it must spur on a team?GS: I think we got very defensive this summer, with the whole Root thing and

Broady being called a cheat and vilified for not walking. I think the best thing about that was the Australian team turned around and said, ‘Hang on a minute, none of us walked – you don’t walk unless the umpire gives you out.’ The Aussie players didn’t have a problem but their reaction was overlooked because there was a spark. Broady was unfairly chastised about it; he didn’t do anything different than 90 per cent of cricketers around the world would do. There are only one or two really honest ones – like me! – that would have walked off. I think we should get away from that because in the 2010/11 Ashes, the Australian press loved us and they turned on their own team and that felt brilliant. It felt

a lot better than being the hounded victors, as it were. FW: Do you think Broady will get a hard time in Australia? GS: He probably will, but he’ll

be fine with it. He’s the most stubborn individual I’ve ever met, which will work in his favour. He’ll go out there and bowl fast.FW: Do you think we’ll win? GS: Yeah, I think we will. I don’t think we’ll bat as badly, collectively, as we did in the series just gone.FW: I was sad that Graham Onions wasn’t picked. GS: I know. Sport’s harsh in that respect. FW: Yeah, it f ***ing is. GS: I think if we were playing in England again, he would be involved because I think his bowling matches the conditions so well. When he was in the squad this summer, it was really touch and go whether he would play or not. If he had played he would have probably taken 15 wickets in two games and been on the tour. He’s a good mate of mine, I love him to bits, and it is harsh on him. I’ve been on the other end of that phone call being told I’m not going on tour. No, I tell a lie actually. I never got a call – I was never that close to the team. FW: You didn’t get a call when you were dropped after the South Africa tour in 2000? GS: Nah, they would have just sent me home if they had a military jet that could get me away fast enough. Or sent me into a warzone.

In England we have to go back to 1966 to find sport stars who were really revered. Bobby Moore

was probably the last great hero



AD

MEDIA MANAGEMENT FW: When you do interviews, there’s a bit of ‘Gallagher’ about you, isn’t there? You don’t really do interviews like a cricketer – you do them like a musician…GS: [Laughs] For me, because I got back in to the England side a bit later, I don’t really care about the consequences as much. FW: Can you say what you want, knowing you’re not going to get dropped?GS: Well I don’t know about that! It’s certainly easier when you’re older and when worst comes to the worst you know that you’ve played a bit and taken some wickets. When I was first on tour I would say anything and got nowhere near the team. If I was 19 now and on tour, I’d be scared witless and not say anything. I’d be so sensitive. I feel sorrier for the young lads because they have to be media trained. FW: What is media training? GS: It’s basically practicing what questions you’re likely to be asked.

FW: I thought that was a joke when people say ‘Oh, he’s been media-trained.’ GS: It’s so you don’t put your foot in it and get the unwanted attention of saying the wrong thing by accident. FW: Ain’t that a shame though? GS: It is. That’s the thing about musicians and actors – there are no rules. You can do and say what you want. I like to be cheeky and express a bit of character in my interviews. But still, even in this one now, I guarantee I’ll read the final product and think, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have said that.’FW: Don’t read it! GS: I’m a massive believer that, you know, it’s tomorrow’s fish and chip paper. Once you’re playing well, it’s fine. We mentioned David Warner earlier – by the end of the series this summer, when he was playing well, he was almost seen as a hero. And that was on the back of batting really well at Durham. It’s similar to KP over the years. FW: I think the way it’s played out with KP has been great – he’s a great character. He says the right things and I like him for it.GS: If he doesn’t score runs for a while, the press gang up on him and they hate him and they vilify him. Then he scores 150, in a way that only he can, and he’s a great hero again. It proves runs and wickets trump anything else. FW: Have they tried to media train you?

GS: Yeah, we’ve all had it. FW: I really don’t understand what it is. So, you just sit in a room in a meeting and you have this guy who says, “Right, they’ll ask this…”GS: It’s more that they’ll teach you the right way to handle an interview. It’s like the old video in The Office – the customer service video: “This is the right way to do it, this is the wrong way…” Just like that. FW: It’s a shame, man…

GS: It is a shame, but I can understand why they do it. You see with some of these Yorkshire lads that come in – they obviously didn’t go to school for very long, so they’ll put their foot in it! Dear old Bres [Tim Bresnan], when he first started on Twitter someone put up a photo of him that they had inflated to make him look

even fatter, and he couldn’t help himself! Me and Jimmy were there saying, “Just ignore it – you’ll get loads of that, make a joke of it.” But he couldn’t help himself from saying: “Crawl back to your mum’s place you…!” And that doesn’t go down well. Part of the training is how to be media savvy, not necessarily telling you what to say. FW: Well it’s the press’ fault as well then, surely? Didn’t cricketers used to hang out with the press not so long ago?

I like to be cheeky and express a bit of character

in my interviews. But still, even in this one

now, I guarantee I’ll read the final product

and think, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have said that’

Bresnan: couldn’t stop himself...www.alloutcricket.com | AOC | 49

AD

MEDIA MANAGEMENT FW: When you do interviews, there’s a bit of ‘Gallagher’ about you, isn’t there? You don’t really do interviews like a cricketer – you do them like a musician…GS: [Laughs] For me, because I got back in to the England side a bit later, I don’t really care about the consequences as much. FW: Can you say what you want, knowing you’re not going to get dropped?GS: Well I don’t know about that! It’s certainly easier when you’re older and when worst comes to the worst you know that you’ve played a bit and taken some wickets. When I was first on tour I would say anything and got nowhere near the team. If I was 19 now and on tour, I’d be scared witless and not say anything. I’d be so sensitive. I feel sorrier for the young lads because they have to be media trained. FW: What is media training? GS: It’s basically practicing what questions you’re likely to be asked. FW: So they train you with the right answers? GS: Yeah – you protect the brand image of English cricket. It’s very carefully doctored… FW: I thought that was a joke when people say ‘Oh, he’s been media-trained.’ GS: It’s so you don’t put your foot in it and get the unwanted attention of saying the wrong thing by accident. FW: Ain’t that a shame though? GS: It is. That’s the thing about musicians and actors – there are no rules. You can do and say what you want. I like to be cheeky and express a bit of character in my interviews. But still, even in this one now, I guarantee I’ll read the final product and think, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have said that.’FW: Don’t read it! GS: I’m a massive believer that, you know, it’s tomorrow’s fi sh and chip paper. Once you’re playing well, it’s fi ne. We mentioned David Warner earlier – by the end of the series this summer, when he was playing well, he was almost seen as a hero. And that was on the back of batting really well at Durham. It’s similar to KP over the years. FW: I think the way it’s played out with KP has been great – he’s a great character. He says the right things and I like him for it.GS: If he doesn’t score runs for a while, the press gang up on him and they hate him and they vilify him. Then he scores 150, in a way that only he can, and he’s a great hero again. It proves runs and wickets trump anything else.

FW: Have they tried to media train you? GS: Yeah, we’ve all had it. FW: I really don’t understand what it is. So, you just sit in a room in a meeting and you have this guy who says, “Right, they’ll ask this…”GS: It’s more that they’ll teach you the right way to handle an interview. It’s like the old video in The Office – the customer service video: “This is the right way to do it, this is the wrong way…” Just like that.

FW: It’s a shame, man…GS: It is a shame, but I can understand why they do it. You see with some of these Yorkshire lads that come in – they obviously didn’t go to school for very long, so they’ll put their foot in it! Dear old Bres [Tim Bresnan], when he first started on Twitter someone put up a photo of him

that they had inflated to make him look even fatter, and he couldn’t help himself! Me and Jimmy were there saying, “Just ignore it – you’ll get loads of that, make a joke of it.” But he couldn’t help himself from saying: “Crawl back to your mum’s place you…!” And that doesn’t go down well. Part of the training is how to be media savvy, not necessarily telling you what to say. FW: Well it’s the press’ fault as well then, surely? Didn’t cricketers used to hang out with the press not so long ago?



now, I guarantee I’ll read the fi nal product


it, this is the wrong way…” Just like that.

Bresnan: couldn’t stop himself...



AD

MEDIA MANAGEMENT FW: When you do interviews, there’s a bit of ‘Gallagher’ about you, isn’t there? You don’t really do interviews like a cricketer – you do them like a musician…GS: [Laughs] For me, because I got back in to the England side a bit later, I don’t really care about the consequences as much. FW: Can you say what you want, knowing you’re not going to get dropped?GS: Well I don’t know about that! It’s certainly easier when you’re older and when worst comes to the worst you know that you’ve played a bit and taken some wickets. When I was first on tour I would say anything and got nowhere near the team. If I was 19 now and on tour, I’d be scared witless and not say anything. I’d be so sensitive. I feel sorrier for the young lads because they have to be media trained. FW: What is media training? GS: It’s basically practicing what questions you’re likely to be asked. FW: So they train you with the right answers? GS: Yeah – you protect the brand image of English cricket. It’s very carefully doctored… FW: I thought that was a joke when people say ‘Oh, he’s been media-trained.’ GS: It’s so you don’t put your foot in it and get the unwanted attention of saying the wrong thing by accident. FW: Ain’t that a shame though? GS: It is. That’s the thing about musicians and actors – there are no rules. You can do and say what you want. I like to be cheeky and express a bit of character in my interviews. But still, even in this one now, I guarantee I’ll read the final product and think, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have said that.’FW: Don’t read it! GS: I’m a massive believer that, you know, it’s tomorrow’s fi sh and chip paper. Once you’re playing well, it’s fi ne. We mentioned David Warner earlier – by the end of the series this summer, when he was playing well, he was almost seen as a hero. And that was on the back of batting really well at Durham. It’s similar to KP over the years. FW: I think the way it’s played out with KP has been great – he’s a great character. He says the right things and I like him for it.GS: If he doesn’t score runs for a while, the press gang up on him and they hate him and they vilify him. Then he scores 150, in a way that only he can, and he’s a great hero again. It proves runs and wickets trump anything else.

FW: Have they tried to media train you? GS: Yeah, we’ve all had it. FW: I really don’t understand what it is. So, you just sit in a room in a meeting and you have this guy who says, “Right, they’ll ask this…”GS: It’s more that they’ll teach you the right way to handle an interview. It’s like the old video in The Office – the customer service video: “This is the right way to do it, this is the wrong way…” Just like that.

FW: It’s a shame, man…GS: It is a shame, but I can understand why they do it. You see with some of these Yorkshire lads that come in – they obviously didn’t go to school for very long, so they’ll put their foot in it! Dear old Bres [Tim Bresnan], when he first started on Twitter someone put up a photo of him

that they had inflated to make him look even fatter, and he couldn’t help himself! Me and Jimmy were there saying, “Just ignore it – you’ll get loads of that, make a joke of it.” But he couldn’t help himself from saying: “Crawl back to your mum’s place you…!” And that doesn’t go down well. Part of the training is how to be media savvy, not necessarily telling you what to say. FW: Well it’s the press’ fault as well then, surely? Didn’t cricketers used to hang out with the press not so long ago?



now, I guarantee I’ll read the fi nal product


it, this is the wrong way…” Just like that.

Bresnan: couldn’t stop himself...



GS: They did but I think that’s just a change in society. Now with 24-hour tabloid television and Sky Sports News everything’s a story. FW: That must be horrible – like somebody’s out to get you at all times. GS: It is a little bit but I’ve always thought there’s no point being antagonistic because they’ll crucify you. And even if you feel you’re being harshly judged, like we did over the summer, there’s no point in me suddenly snubbing the press and giving one-word answers because you’d get ripped to shreds. I’ve always viewed the press just as blokes. Especially when you see them on tour, they’re nice blokes; to a man, you’d happily sit there and have a beer with them. If I do an interview I talk as if I’m having a beer with them. There are one or two that have written things about me that I do harbour grudges about deep down, but I’m not letting you know who they are. Or them for that matter! FW: It’s strange. I can’t imagine what that’s like. I suppose the interesting thing is that kind of attitude, what you’ve just described, has permeated into music. You see more and more bands saying disinteresting things. You like a lot of modern music. Have you noticed it? GS: Well I used to read NME all the time

and I remember reading an interview with Pete Doherty when he had just been put away after robbing Carl Barat’s fl at. He was so open. It was just an incredible interview. I’ve not read anything from a band since then that was even remotely as interesting.

THE FUTUREFW: Are you going to retire after the tour of Australia? GS: Me? I don’t know. I hope not because I hope I can carry on. I’m taking it month-by-month really, especially injury-wise. My elbow doesn’t like playing cricket anymore. After a one-day game recently I honestly felt like I’d been set upon by a gang of thugs. FW: Does it hurt while you’re playing? GS: Yeah. I hope I get through the winter fine, and I’d like to break Derek Underwood’s record [number of Test wickets for an England spinner] as well – I think I’m about 50 off. For that I’d need another year or so of Test cricket. I don’t know, I’ll wait and see. Retirement

wouldn’t be so bad though. I’d like to see my band go global! FW: Honestly, would you want to do that? What do you reckon you’ll do after cricket? GS: I’d like to think I’d do a lot of things – you only live once, don’t you? It’s been a good life and I think cricket will always play a part in it but I hope it’s not the be-all and end-all. You see sportsmen go on about their kids so much – that’s because once you have kids you realise cricket isn’t everything. My two kids are much more important to me than bowling or whatever. I’d like to think that whatever I end up doing it’ll be good crack. I won’t lie to you – I’d love to do what you do. I’d love to be in a band. That would be amazing. I thought that at Reading festival last year. I’d just watched you play and Jimmy and I were walking back to the VIP bit looking at each other thinking, ‘This is just ridiculous.’ In a fi eld with 100,000 people and everyone is united in this chemically enhanced euphoria – we weren’t, obviously – we were just like, ‘What would you give to be up there?’FW: It’s very positive, isn’t it? People just want to experience the music and be euphoric in that moment. GS: And you see their faces right down in front of you – when you suddenly hit the first two bars of their favourite track, and


IAN BOTHAM AND ERIC CLAPTONBeefy’s rubbed shoulders with many a rock star over the years but it takes a special kind of kinship to invite a man fi shing

with you, and even more so to televise the event. Botham on the Fly saw Sir Ian visit his favourite fl y-fi shing rivers in the UK and take a chum along for company. The undoubted highlight of the series was when axe-man supreme Eric Clapton joined him to explore the River Test in Hampshire. We defy you to watch Beefy reel in a brown trout while Clapton serenades him with Wonderful Tonight and not come over all misty-eyed. It really is poignant stuff .

DWAYNE BRAVO AND BEENIE MANThe King of the Dancehall and West Indies’ ODI skipper have been mates for some years now but it hasn’t always been plain sailing. In fact two years back they had a dispute that threatened to tear their friendship apart. The long and short of it was that Beenie Man liked football, but Bravo preferred cricket. Rather than risk their friendship they decided to try and solve the issue by releasing a single, titled Beenie Man & Bravo, about the relative merits of their favoured sports. Dig it out on YouTube to listen to both sides of the argument. Persuasive stuff we think you’ll agree. Ultimately they agreed to disagree, and the bromance has continued to blossom.

STEVEN DAVIES AND ELTON JOHNElton’s a long-time fan of our beautiful game, hosting parties with the England team in his hotel suite during the 1986/87 Ashes and duetting with Andrew Flintoff on Rocket Man at a benefit event in 2006. So when Surrey keeper Davies came out as the first openly gay cricketer in 2011, the Watford warbler sent him a couple of bottles of bubbly and a letter of support. Later, after learning that Davies was struggling to come to terms with the death of his teammate Tom Maynard,

Elton invited him to join him on his tour of the Far East. “It

was exactly what I needed,” said Davies, who admitted he was considering quitting the game before Elton came to his rescue.

Cricketers and musicians in perfect harmony…




GS: They did but I think that’s just a change in society. Now with 24-hour tabloid television and Sky Sports News everything’s a story. FW: That must be horrible – like somebody’s out to get you at all times. GS: It is a little bit but I’ve always thought there’s no point being antagonistic because they’ll crucify you. And even if you feel you’re being harshly judged, like we did over the summer, there’s no point in me suddenly snubbing the press and giving one-word answers because you’d get ripped to shreds. I’ve always viewed the press just as blokes. Especially when you see them on tour, they’re nice blokes; to a man, you’d happily sit there and have a beer with them. If I do an interview I talk as if I’m having a beer with them. There are one or two that have written things about me that I do harbour grudges about deep down, but I’m not letting you know who they are. Or them for that matter! FW: It’s strange. I can’t imagine what that’s like. I suppose the interesting thing is that kind of attitude, what you’ve just described, has permeated into music. You see more and more bands saying disinteresting things. You like a lot of modern music. Have you noticed it? GS: Well I used to read NME all the time

and I remember reading an interview with Pete Doherty when he had just been put away after robbing Carl Barat’s fl at. He was so open. It was just an incredible interview. I’ve not read anything from a band since then that was even remotely as interesting.

THE FUTUREFW: Are you going to retire after the tour of Australia? GS: Me? I don’t know. I hope not because I hope I can carry on. I’m taking it month-by-month really, especially injury-wise. My elbow doesn’t like playing cricket anymore. After a one-day game recently I honestly felt like I’d been set upon by a gang of thugs. FW: Does it hurt while you’re playing? GS: Yeah. I hope I get through the winter fine, and I’d like to break Derek Underwood’s record [number of Test wickets for an England spinner] as well – I think I’m about 50 off. For that I’d need another year or so of Test cricket. I don’t know, I’ll wait and see. Retirement

wouldn’t be so bad though. I’d like to see my band go global! FW: Honestly, would you want to do that? What do you reckon you’ll do after cricket? GS: I’d like to think I’d do a lot of things – you only live once, don’t you? It’s been a good life and I think cricket will always play a part in it but I hope it’s not the be-all and end-all. You see sportsmen go on about their kids so much – that’s because once you have kids you realise cricket isn’t everything. My two kids are much more important to me than bowling or whatever. I’d like to think that whatever I end up doing it’ll be good crack. I won’t lie to you – I’d love to do what you do. I’d love to be in a band. That would be amazing. I thought that at Reading festival last year. I’d just watched you play and Jimmy and I were walking back to the VIP bit looking at each other thinking, ‘This is just ridiculous.’ In a fi eld with 100,000 people and everyone is united in this chemically enhanced euphoria – we weren’t, obviously – we were just like, ‘What would you give to be up there?’FW: It’s very positive, isn’t it? People just want to experience the music and be euphoric in that moment. GS: And you see their faces right down in front of you – when you suddenly hit the first two bars of their favourite track, and


IAN BOTHAM AND ERIC CLAPTONBeefy’s rubbed shoulders with many a rock star over the years but it takes a special kind of kinship to invite a man fi shing

with you, and even more so to televise the event. Botham on the Fly saw Sir Ian visit his favourite fl y-fi shing rivers in the UK and take a chum along for company. The undoubted highlight of the series was when axe-man supreme Eric Clapton joined him to explore the River Test in Hampshire. We defy you to watch Beefy reel in a brown trout while Clapton serenades him with Wonderful Tonight and not come over all misty-eyed. It really is poignant stuff .

DWAYNE BRAVO AND BEENIE MANThe King of the Dancehall and West Indies’ ODI skipper have been mates for some years now but it hasn’t always been plain sailing. In fact two years back they had a dispute that threatened to tear their friendship apart. The long and short of it was that Beenie Man liked football, but Bravo preferred cricket. Rather than risk their friendship they decided to try and solve the issue by releasing a single, titled Beenie Man & Bravo, about the relative merits of their favoured sports. Dig it out on YouTube to listen to both sides of the argument. Persuasive stuff we think you’ll agree. Ultimately they agreed to disagree, and the bromance has continued to blossom.

STEVEN DAVIES AND ELTON JOHNElton’s a long-time fan of our beautiful game, hosting parties with the England team in his hotel suite during the 1986/87 Ashes and duetting with Andrew Flintoff on Rocket Man at a benefit event in 2006. So when Surrey keeper Davies came out as the first openly gay cricketer in 2011, the Watford warbler sent him a couple of bottles of bubbly and a letter of support. Later, after learning that Davies was struggling to come to terms with the death of his teammate Tom Maynard,

Elton invited him to join him on his tour of the Far East. “It

was exactly what I needed,” said Davies, who admitted he was considering quitting the game before Elton came to his rescue.

Cricketers and musicians in perfect harmony…




you see people almost burst into tears. They’re not even looking at you – they’ve already started singing the song. FW: It’s probably the most romantic thing you can do; start a band with your brothers and childhood friends and 15 or 20 years later you’re still together, doing it. GS: When you were growing up, did you say to yourself, ‘We’re going to be big’? FW: Absolutely, and it was because of Oasis. I didn’t want to play guitar – I didn’t have any inclination to play but we had a guitar teacher who taught us the chords to Stand By Me and we just learned after that. GS: Music wasn’t cool at my school. It was a big rugby school. I remember there was this one lad who you would never speak two words to. Suddenly one day when we were 18, he brought in his guitar and amp and plugged it in in the sixth form common room and was like, “Right, what do you want me to play?” No one knew he could play so we just asked him to do the guitar solo from Some Might Say. He didn’t just do it; he did it with absolute panache. Suddenly he went from this geeky swot with long hair to this outrageously cool dude. That’s when I started thinking, ‘I wish I played guitar.’ Still didn’t do it for another six years but when I did, I tried to learn Some Might Say. Even now when I get a new car, the first song I have to play in it is that one, otherwise it jinxes the car. I’m convinced by it. Even if I can’t find it, I’ll have the radio off for three days until I fi nd it. I’m screwed in the head like that.

Swanny on the formation of his own band Dr Comfort and the Lurid Revelations. I was in a pub in about March 2007, before I got in the England team, and a group of us had one of those moments that wannabe musicians have when they’re listening to music and think, ‘We could do this! Why don’t we?’ We sorted out who would be lead guitar, bassist and drummer.

Normally on these occasions you wake up the next day and forget you’ve ever had the conversation but Andy Afford – AOC alumnus – just said, “We’re doing this!” and booked us a rehearsal room. He’d even gone to a pub in Nottingham – Southbank Bar – and said, “Look, I’ve got this band, we’re amazing – and Swanny’s in it, and he’s singing!” We hadn’t even practiced yet! He told them: “You won’t believe how good we are; put us on Sunday night this week. We need sound equipment though – if you buy it for us we’ll do it for free.”

We met at Newark Cricket Club on a Wednesday night when it was flooded and we did a Hootie & The Blowfish cover. We were dreadful.

We get to this pub on the first night and it’s absolutely heaving. The bloke took about £11,000 over the bar, which he said was second to none, so we got a regular slot. We only had half-a-dozen songs that we rehashed three times. Then I got picked for England and had to spend my time elsewhere.

BRETT LEE AND ASHA BHOSLEThe collaboration between a Victorian speedster and a septuagenarian Bollywood diva was both touching and hilarious. “Unlike the constraints of cricket, where administrators may frown at individuals who don’t conform… music allows people to express themselves,” Lee said in his autobiography My Life. And so the lyrics “Do you like me yet? Can we call this fate? I really like you girl. Can we go on just one date?” were born. You’re The One For Me reached No.2 in the Indian Singles Chart in 2006 and Lee found himself a friend for life. “Asha is a lovely gentlewoman with a wonderful sense of humour,” he said of his partner.

CHRIS GAYLE AND SHAGGYIt wasn’t me! That’s what Shaun Udal said when we asked him to confirm reports that he’d attended a party at Chris Gayle’s house ahead of the Caribbean Premier League final. He wasn’t lying either. Turns out it was the other Shaggy, the rapper responsible for 90s mega-hit Oh Carolina and a bosom buddy of the Jamaican master-blaster. It’s a little known fact that Shaggy actually penned his smash-hit Mr Boombastic after watching Gayle in the nets at Sabina Park.

Making the bandMaking



Turn over for G

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on’s

report fr

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Twenty

20 Qualifi

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GO BIG OR GO HOME...

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HUSSEY, MARTYN & KATICH ON THE STATE OF AUSSIE CRICKET

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GO BIG OR GO HOME...

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HUSSEY, MARTYN & KATICH ON THE STATE OF AUSSIE CRICKET

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PANE

L

As England and Australia prepare for the second part of their Ashes double-header down under, AOC takes stock of the players currently mixing it at the top of the tree in women’s cricket.

The last year has seen the World Twenty20 (last autumn) and the 50-over World Cup (in February), plus the women’s Ashes – played out in a new format comprising all three forms of the game. Development is ongoing: as in the men’s game the world’s top nations still play diff erent amounts of cricket and receive varying degrees of fi nancial support from their boards, while the future of the Test game remains uncertain. But the standard of play is generally on

the rise, and now is the right time to run through the top performers on the world stage.

Our expert panel were each asked to choose their top 20 players in the world, in order, taking into consideration form over the last two years in all formats, box offi ce appeal, lifetime achievement and potential. The rankings were averaged out and the resulting list (pretty conclusive, we think…you?) lays before you. Some excellent performers have missed out only very narrowly, but hey – that’s showbiz…

Feel free to let us know what you think via Facebook or Twitter, or by writing to [email protected].

20TOP

THE BEST WOMEN’S CRICKETERS

IN THE WORLD


Claire Taylor Former world No.1

batter; retired England legend[@SCT_Tails]

Lisa Sthalekar Recently retired

Australian heroine; off

spinning allrounder

[@sthalekar93]

Isabelle Duncan Author of Skirting the Boundary: A

history of women’s cricket

[@fi neglance]

Raf Nicholson Women’s cricket

historian and writer

[@RafNicholson]

Amy Lofthouse Women’s cricket

journalist [@amy_cricket]

Martin Davies Author of the

Women’s Cricket blog at womens-cricket.blogspot.

co.uk [@wmnscricketblog]

Alison Mitchell Presenter, journalist,

broadcaster – BBC, ESPNcricinfo[@AlisonMitchell]

Ed Kemp AOC women’s cricket editor

[@EdKempAOC}

p65-75_Top20Women_AOC112.indd 65 12/12/2013 23:03

PANE

L

As England and Australia prepare for the second part of their Ashes double-header down under, AOC takes stock of the players currently mixing it at the top of the tree in women’s cricket.

The last year has seen the World Twenty20 (last autumn) and the 50-over World Cup (in February), plus the women’s Ashes – played out in a new format comprising all three forms of the game. Development is ongoing: as in the men’s game the world’s top nations still play diff erent amounts of cricket and receive varying degrees of fi nancial support from their boards, while the future of the Test game remains uncertain. But the standard of play is generally on

the rise, and now is the right time to run through the top performers on the world stage.

Our expert panel were each asked to choose their top 20 players in the world, in order, taking into consideration form over the last two years in all formats, box offi ce appeal, lifetime achievement and potential. The rankings were averaged out and the resulting list (pretty conclusive, we think…you?) lays before you. Some excellent performers have missed out only very narrowly, but hey – that’s showbiz…

Feel free to let us know what you think via Facebook or Twitter, or by writing to [email protected].

20TOP

THE BEST WOMEN’S CRICKETERS

IN THE WORLD


Claire Taylor Former world No.1

batter; retired England legend[@SCT_Tails]

Lisa Sthalekar Recently retired

Australian heroine; off

spinning allrounder

[@sthalekar93]

Isabelle Duncan Author of Skirting the Boundary: A

history of women’s cricket

[@fi neglance]

Raf Nicholson Women’s cricket

historian and writer

[@RafNicholson]

Amy Lofthouse Women’s cricket

journalist [@amy_cricket]

Martin Davies Author of the

Women’s Cricket blog at womens-cricket.blogspot.

co.uk [@wmnscricketblog]

Alison Mitchell Presenter, journalist,

broadcaster – BBC, ESPNcricinfo[@AlisonMitchell]

Ed Kemp AOC women’s cricket editor

[@EdKempAOC}



20MIGNON DU PREEZSOUTH AFRICAAge: 24Role: Right-hand bat, occasional wicketkeeperStyle: Power-hitting Saff er superwoman

About: A recipient of Cricket South Africa’s fi rst-ever female central contract, du Preez has played a huge role in raising the profi le of the

game in SA. She scored a double-century aged just 12 in a provincial match, an innings which included 25 fours and 16 sixes. Making her international debut in 2007, she was handed the captaincy in 2011 aged just 22. Her impressive ball-striking has worked well in both the ODI and T20 arenas.

Champagne Moment: South Africa v Bangladesh, 2nd ODI, Johannesburg, September 2013 A true captain’s innings saw du Preez hit her maiden ODI century. Her 106-partnership with opener Lizelle Lee kept Bangladesh well out of the game as South Africa won by 95 runs. AL

17NICOLA BROWNENEW ZEALANDAge: 30Role: Right-arm medium-fast, hard-hitting right-hand middle-order batStyle: Tall, wise

About: Despite retiring in 2011 after seemingly becoming disillusioned with the game, Browne battled celiac disease to return to

international cricket for 2012’s World T20. The top wicket-taker for New Zealand in T20 internationals, Browne is the experienced face of the White Ferns. Named Player of the Series in the 2010 World T20 tournament, Browne’s economy rate has made her one of the most respected bowler’s in the format, with Charlotte Edwards rating her one the toughest opponents she’s played against.

Champagne Moment: West Indies v New Zealand, 1st ODI, Jamaica, October 2013In a match that went down to the fi nal over, Browne built on her already impressive fi gures of 3-28 with some tight death bowling and a run out that handed New Zealand a nervy one-run win. AL

19AMY SATTERTHWAITENEW ZEALANDAge: 27Role: Left-hand top-order bat, occasional right-arm medium-pacerStyle: Dependable top-order lynchpin

About: Satterthwaite surprised everyone when in only her fi fth ODI against England back in August 2007 at Taunton she took 6-17:

fi gures which remain the best ever by a woman in a T20 international. Since then, however, it’s been her solid performances with the bat that have impressed. She has recently opened for New Zealand in T20s, and her 103 against England at the World Cup in February, though in a losing cause, was one of the innings of the tournament. Vice-captain of the White Ferns for over three years, she was recently one of only four women to be off ered semi-pro contracts by NZC.

Champagne Moment: New Zealand v Australia, 4th ODI, Sydney, December 2012Australia won the match by seven runs and the Rose Bowl Trophy 3-1, but Satterthwaite took 3-59, hit 38 and was awarded both the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards. RN

18JODIE FIELDSAUSTRALIAAge: 29Role: Right-hand middle-order bat, wicketkeeper, Aussie captainStyle: Smart, tough skipper

About: Replacing Aussie legend Karen Rolton as captain in 2009, Fields has gone on to lift both world trophies – as the Southern

Stars won the World T20 in 2012 and the World Cup in early 2013 ahead of the Ashes last summer. Struggled with the gloves in a tough tour of England, but Fields is a steely and dedicated competitor who leads a successful side in the fi eld and with the bat.

Champagne Moment: Australia v West Indies, Women’s World Cup Final,

Mumbai, February 2013Fields capped an extraordinary six months for her and her team, lifting a second global trophy to cap her team’s reputation as the best in the world, having usurped England. Fields’ own 36* from 38 balls helped set up a match-winning 259-run total, as the Aussies won by 114. EK

NICOLA BROWNE

Browne has taken 41 wickets at 17.07

in 45 T20Is

41



16ANYA SHRUBSOLEENGLANDAge: 22Role: Bustling right-arm fast-medium opening bowler and boundary-seeking lower-order batStyle: All fi re and brimstone. Wears her heart on her sleeve. The sort you would chuck the ball to in a crisis

About: Came of age for England in the 50-over World Cup in February 2013 when she was arguably the bowler of the tournament. She has

genuine pace, prodigious inswing and bounce, and forms a formidable opening partnership with Katherine Brunt, when they can both stay fi t. Likely to be a mainstay of England’s bowling attack for years to come.

15ANISA MOHAMMEDWEST INDIESAge: 25Role: Right-arm off spinnerStyle: Beguiling twirler

About: It is no coincidence that Mohammed’s career has corresponded with the most successful period in the history of West Indian women’s cricket. Since

her 2003 debut against Japan, aged just 15, she has played a key role in this success in both the 20-over and 50-over formats. Her 99 ODI wickets have included fi ve fi ve-wicket hauls, the highest number by any woman in ODIs, and all this at an impressive economy rate of 3.11. And, with 71 wickets to her name, she holds the current record for highest wicket-taker in women’s T20 internationals.

Champagne Moment: West Indies v Pakistan, Women’s World Cup Qualifi er Final, Mirpur, November 2011Mohammed’s incredible spell of 7-14 in 8.3 overs saw Pakistan bowled out for just 120, and signalled the resurgence of the West Indies as a force in women’s cricket. RN

14JENNY GUNNENGLANDAge: 27Role: Right-arm medium-fast; right-hand middle-order batStyle: Deceptively eff ective allrounder

About: Having debuted in 2004, Gunn has now played in over 100 ODIs and has become a stalwart of the England side, being appointed vice-captain in June 2010. Despite

early concerns about her distinctly odd bowling action, she has gone on to become England’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs, with 106 wickets to date at an average of 27.45. 2013 has been a good year for her, with two fi ve-wicket hauls, against Pakistan in July and New Zealand in October, and a rise to fi fth in the ICC’s ODI bowling rankings.Champagne Moment: England v New Zealand, 5th Match, T20 Tri-Series, Barbados, October 2013An injury to Charlotte Edwards saw Gunn take the fi eld as stand-in captain. She handled the pressure, took 5-18 and landed England a spot in the fi nal of the tri-series. RN

Champagne Moment: England v New Zealand, 1st T20, Wellington, February 2012Her fi rst fi ve-fer and Player of the Match performance, where she returned fi gures of 5-11 from her four overs, clean bowling her fi rst three victims to demolish the White Ferns top-order. MD

ANYA SHRUBSOLE

In her five matches at the 2013 World

Cup, Shrubsole took 13 wickets at 7.23

7.23



16ANYA SHRUBSOLEENGLANDAge: 22Role: Bustling right-arm fast-medium opening bowler and boundary-seeking lower-order batStyle: All fi re and brimstone. Wears her heart on her sleeve. The sort you would chuck the ball to in a crisis

About: Came of age for England in the 50-over World Cup in February 2013 when she was arguably the bowler of the tournament. She has

genuine pace, prodigious inswing and bounce, and forms a formidable opening partnership with Katherine Brunt, when they can both stay fi t. Likely to be a mainstay of England’s bowling attack for years to come.

15ANISA MOHAMMEDWEST INDIESAge: 25Role: Right-arm off spinnerStyle: Beguiling twirler

About: It is no coincidence that Mohammed’s career has corresponded with the most successful period in the history of West Indian women’s cricket. Since

her 2003 debut against Japan, aged just 15, she has played a key role in this success in both the 20-over and 50-over formats. Her 99 ODI wickets have included fi ve fi ve-wicket hauls, the highest number by any woman in ODIs, and all this at an impressive economy rate of 3.11. And, with 71 wickets to her name, she holds the current record for highest wicket-taker in women’s T20 internationals.

Champagne Moment: West Indies v Pakistan, Women’s World Cup Qualifi er Final, Mirpur, November 2011Mohammed’s incredible spell of 7-14 in 8.3 overs saw Pakistan bowled out for just 120, and signalled the resurgence of the West Indies as a force in women’s cricket. RN

14JENNY GUNNENGLANDAge: 27Role: Right-arm medium-fast; right-hand middle-order batStyle: Deceptively eff ective allrounder

About: Having debuted in 2004, Gunn has now played in over 100 ODIs and has become a stalwart of the England side, being appointed vice-captain in June 2010. Despite

early concerns about her distinctly odd bowling action, she has gone on to become England’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs, with 106 wickets to date at an average of 27.45. 2013 has been a good year for her, with two fi ve-wicket hauls, against Pakistan in July and New Zealand in October, and a rise to fi fth in the ICC’s ODI bowling rankings.Champagne Moment: England v New Zealand, 5th Match, T20 Tri-Series, Barbados, October 2013An injury to Charlotte Edwards saw Gunn take the fi eld as stand-in captain. She handled the pressure, took 5-18 and landed England a spot in the fi nal of the tri-series. RN

Champagne Moment: England v New Zealand, 1st T20, Wellington, February 2012Her fi rst fi ve-fer and Player of the Match performance, where she returned fi gures of 5-11 from her four overs, clean bowling her fi rst three victims to demolish the White Ferns top-order. MD

ANYA SHRUBSOLE

In her five matches at the 2013 World

Cup, Shrubsole took 13 wickets at 7.23

7.23



Matt thacker Jon Hotten Dileep premachanDran Tanya aldred Osman samiuddin Rob SmytH Vaneisa Baksh andy Wilson James holl anD BoB Kapl an AnAnd VASu Daniel norcross PAtRick neAte Firdose Moonda rob steen siddhartha Vaidyanathan tom Holl And JarroD Kimber amol raJan cHRiStiAn RyAn Jonathan Wilson rahUl BhaT Tacharya rOd EdmOnd S.J . litHeRl And keith Booth SAAd SHAfqAt eMMa John marcus BErkmann l awrence booth Gideon haiGh david Foot Tim BrooKs andy ZaltZman sharda UGra miRzA WAHeed neil Manthorp SuReSH menon John crace matthEw mErritt chloe salTaU dAVid oWen aaKash chopra al an tyErs Mike JakeMan marTin cl ayTor luke Ginnell anJali doshi RobeRt WindeR eD weech kaMakshi ayyar marK hooper lynn mcconnell Mike harField sTeven lynch s rajEsh Patrick collins neil hannon alex massie liam hErringshaw olly ricKetts raF nicholson iSA GuHA Tom Jeffreys richard hOBsOn dAVid toSSell Mark rice-oxley scott oliVer dAVid mutton nicholas hogg Peter dell a Penna

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3AUTUMN 2013


AOC113 ADVERT.indd 1 21/01/2014 16:43


Matt thacker Jon Hotten Dileep premachanDran Tanya aldred Osman samiuddin Rob SmytH Vaneisa Baksh andy Wilson James holl anD BoB Kapl an AnAnd VASu Daniel norcross PAtRick neAte Firdose Moonda rob steen siddhartha Vaidyanathan tom Holl And JarroD Kimber amol raJan cHRiStiAn RyAn Jonathan Wilson rahUl BhaT Tacharya rOd EdmOnd S.J . litHeRl And keith Booth SAAd SHAfqAt eMMa John marcus BErkmann l awrence booth Gideon haiGh david Foot Tim BrooKs andy ZaltZman sharda UGra miRzA WAHeed neil Manthorp SuReSH menon John crace matthEw mErritt chloe salTaU dAVid oWen aaKash chopra al an tyErs Mike JakeMan marTin cl ayTor luke Ginnell anJali doshi RobeRt WindeR eD weech kaMakshi ayyar marK hooper lynn mcconnell Mike harField sTeven lynch s rajEsh Patrick collins neil hannon alex massie liam hErringshaw olly ricKetts raF nicholson iSA GuHA Tom Jeffreys richard hOBsOn dAVid toSSell Mark rice-oxley scott oliVer dAVid mutton nicholas hogg Peter dell a Penna

239,000 WoRdS560 PAGeS 73 eSSAyS|70 WRiteRS | 4 iSSueS|

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3AUTUMN 2013


AOC113 ADVERT.indd 1 21/01/2014 16:43


13ALEX BLACKWELLAUSTRALIAAge: 30Role: Stalwart right-hand middle-order batStyle: Ms Cricket

About: Vice-captain of Australia, helping skipper Jodie Fields keep the young pups in check. Prolifi c middle-order batter who has

also been known to trundle up and bowl medium-pace right-arm stuff , but not recently. Has an identical twin sister Kate, who has also played for Australia; they were the fi rst identical twins to play cricket for their country. She captains the immensely successful New South Wales Breakers team in the WNCL. Champagne Moment: Australia v England, Women’s Ashes Test, Sydney, January 2011Captaining in place of the injured Jodie Fields, the ever-dependable Blackwell led the side to regain the trophy, including a steady second-innings 74 to steer her team to victory. Made 54 in the return Test last summer at Wormsley. MD

12JHULAN GOSWAMIINDIAAge: 30Role: Tall right-arm opening bowler and long-arming lower-order batStyle: One of the few big names of Indian women’s cricket

About: A former captain of India and acclaimed as the fastest bowler in women’s cricket after the retirement of Cathryn Fitzpatrick, regularly

delivering at over 120kph. She is India’s leading wicket-taker in ODI and T20 cricket, but her best years may be behind her. Though she was recently rested from the Indian squad to face Bangladesh, she may well be back in the squad for the forthcoming World T20 in 2014.Champagne Moment: January 2012Awarded the Padma Shri (the fourth highest civilian award in India) to sit alongside the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid, and VVS Laxman. MD

11LYDIA GREENWAYENGLANDAge: 28Role: Left-hand middle-order batStyle: Fielder extraordinaire, compulsive sweeper, fi nisher

About: Since smashing her way onto the international scene in 2003 with a record 203-run fourth-wicket stand with Claire Taylor in the fi rst

Test against South Africa, Greenway has become one of England’s biggest assets with the bat, averaging 30.08 in ODIs and 25.58 in T20Is. She was England’s Player of the Year in 2011. Equally importantly, she is widely accepted as being the best fi elder the women’s game has ever seen: no one is safe from a run-out when she has the ball in her sights.Champagne Moment: England v Australia, 2nd T20I, Southampton, August 2013Greenway hit an all-time chasing knock of 80*, sweeping and reverse-sweeping her way to the highest ever score in a T20I by an English woman, to take England to an unassailable 10-4 lead on points in the Women’s Ashes. RN

10JESS CAMERONAUSTRALIAAge: 24Role: Right-hand top-order batStyle: Punter

About: Since her debut in 2009 against the Kiwis, Cameron has established herself as one of women’s cricket’s most prolifi c batters,

and a cornerstone of the most successful women’s team of the last few years. Batting at No.3, her 45 off 33 balls at the World Twenty20 fi nal in October 2012 helped secure the title for Australia, and she also proved integral to their victories in the 2011 Ashes and 2013 World Cup. She is the only player, male or female, to have been awarded the Player of the Match award in two World Cup fi nals.Champagne Moment: Australia v West Indies, Women’s World Cup Final, Mumbai, February 2013Cameron hit 75 and won Player of the Match as the Southern Stars regained their global 50-over title. RN

Greenway’s 80* at the Ageas Bowl in August was the highest ever score by an English

woman in T20Is

80*



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Interview: Ed Kemp

So Meg, obviously there was disappointment in England – but what did you make of the new Women’s Ashes format [the Ashes was contested in a points-earning format taking in one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is]? I think the new format was a success, it kept the interest all the way through – it wasn’t until the second-to-last game that England claimed the Ashes, so it was certainly a great contest, and England played very good cricket. They were probably a bit more consistent than us over the series and that was where they were able to get the better of us. Looking back, it was disappointing: the score was 12-4 in the end, which is quite a convincing scoreline in England’s favour – we didn’t

play as well as we could have, but luckily it’s not long until we get another chance.

And what did you make of the level of interest in the women’s game while you were over in England?There was an increase in media attention but also public attention, in terms of the crowds coming to the games – we noticed a big pick-up in that area, which was great – one of the T20s we played in Chelmsford was a sell-out and it wasn’t even a double-header, so that was a really good result. The English media were able to create a lot of interest; I think the new format helped that a little bit and certainly from our perspective in Australia, the media have taken a lot more of an interest over the last few years in women’s cricket. I think being able to win those World Cups has helped

09MEG LANNINGAUSTRALIAAge: 21Role: Right-hand top-order batStyle: Aggressive opener, future legend

About: One of the most natural ball strikers in the women’s game, Lanning rarely fails to catch the eye at the top of the Australian batting

line-up. In just 25 ODIs she’s already made four hundreds and four fi fties: she scores at a run a ball in 50-over cricket and quicker still in T20s. As confi dent and talented a young batter as the women’s game has yet seen, she hit another half-century on Test debut during the Ashes in England, and could well become a record-breaker for the Southern Stars. In England captain Charlotte Edwards’ words: “I remember her fi rst hundred in Perth on the 2011 trip, and I thought, ‘This girl’s 18! She’s going to have a huge future in the game,’ and I think the best is still to come from her. She’s exciting and she’s good for the women’s game.”Champagne Moment: Australia v New Zealand, Group Match, Women’s World Cup, Cuttack, February 2013After rivals New Zealand made 227, inspired by a ton from skipper Suzie Bates, Lanning led Australia to a dominant victory with a 104-ball 112 at the top of the order, hitting 17 fours and a six, and putting on 182 alongside Victoria teammate Jess Cameron as the Southern Stars wrapped things up with almost 12 overs to spare. EK

that, but now England are coming out here for the Ashes, there will be even more interest – hopefully that can continue.

Cricket Australia recently increased their payments to women’s players. Do you see someone like yourself becoming a full-time professional cricketer when you’ve fi nished your studies [Lanning is studying for a degree in Sport & Exercise Science]?I think that is perhaps something that could happen in the future. I think the step that Cricket Australia took to increase our contract payments was really good and really helpful, especially for people that were working full-time – it just enables them to perhaps work four days a week instead of fi ve, and not be so rushed throughout the week. At this stage we’re

268 The number of

boundaries hit by Lanning in her first

59 international innings



not quite at the point where we can just be cricketers and not work otherwise, but it’s certainly helped with our ability to train more and focus a little bit more on cricket. Hopefully over the next fi ve to 10 years that will keep increasing and perhaps we can turn professional and really focus our time on cricket.

You’re one of the most exciting players to watch in the women’s game. Has your approach always been the same?Yeah, I grew up batting at the top of the order – No.3 – and I’ve always been a naturally aggressive batter; I like to keep the game moving, and I suppose international T20 cricket has increased the chance for batters to go out there and be aggressive from the start. I enjoy going out there and trying to hit boundaries. My idol was Ricky Ponting: I loved the way he was always attacking – he could have been in second ball of the innings but would always play his shots and keep the scoreboard going, so I watched him a lot when I was younger. I looked up to him and modelled my game a little bit on the way he attacked the bowlers.

You’ve had a successful start to your international career – where are you with your game at the moment?I’ve been reasonably happy with how I’ve started. I’ve been on the international stage for three years now so for me looking forward it’s about performing consistently, and turning my scores of 50 and 60 that I got in the Ashes in July/August into bigger scores. That’s certainly what I’m aiming for in January.

The Women’s Ashes starts on January 10 with the Test match at Perth.

08DEANDRA DOTTINWEST INDIESAge: 22Role: Right-hand batter, right-arm medium-pacerStyle: Chris Gayle of women’s cricket

About: The most eff ective antidote to those who have tried to suggest that the women’s game is without power, Dottin became the fi rst

ever woman to score a century in T20Is back in 2010, during a World Twenty20 match against South Africa. An incredible innings that featured nine sixes and fi ve fours, her 38-ball century remains the fastest by any cricketer, male or female, in T20 internationals. More recently, her 46* in 35 balls in the T20 tri-series fi nal against England saw the West Indies take the trophy and Dottin awarded Player of the Series.Champagne Moment: West Indies v Australia, Super Sixes, Women’s World Cup, Mumbai, February 2013Dottin hit 60 and won Player of the Match as West Indies beat Australia by eight runs, and secured their fi rst ever appearance in a World Cup fi nal. RN

07MITHALI RAJINDIAAge: 31Role: Right-hand top-order bat, occasional leggieStyle: Classically silken strokemaker

About: As a stalwart of the Indian side, Raj has seen women’s cricket in India take on a series of hurdles. Despite the BCCI’s apparent lack of

interest in the game, Raj’s own profi le has gone from strength to strength after she burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old to score a staggering 214 in the second Test against England in 2002. Despite a recent run of inconsistent scores (her position in the list owes a little to former glories) Raj is still one of the most highly-rated batters in the game. As a skipper, she saw two impressive fi nishes in the 2005 and 2009 World Cups, before this year’s tournament ended in disappointment,

and 24-year-old Harmanpreet Kaur (a near miss for this list herself) took over the captaincy.Champagne Moment: India v Pakistan, 7th Place Play-Off , Women’s World Cup, Cuttack, February 2013Although India fi nished a disappointing seventh in the competition, Raj fi nished strongly; her unbeaten 103 seeing India claim victory with six wickets to spare. AL

06SUZIE BATESNEW ZEALANDAge: 26 Role: Right-hand bat, right-arm medium-pacer, skipperStyle: Kiwi Commander

About: The best known of New Zealand’s women cricketers, Bates has fi ve ODI centuries to her name. One of the best all-round talents in

the world, Bates also belongs to a unique group of women who have played for their country in two diff erent sports after she represented New Zealand in basketball in the 2008 Olympics. Captain from 2011, and indisputably her country’s fi nest player, Bates has a heavy burden to carry, but her controlled, aggressive approach has seen her lead from the front with a series of high scores – only to see the team fall at the fi nal hurdle on more than one occasion.Champagne Moment: Australia v New Zealand, 3rd T20I, Melbourne, January 2013After a mixed tour of Australia, the captain led well in a low-scoring match. Bates’ 67 came from just 44 balls, including 10 boundaries, as New Zealand won by seven wickets to claim the series 2-1. AL

38 The number of balls

it took Dottin to bring up a record-breaking (for men or women)

T20I century



not quite at the point where we can just be cricketers and not work otherwise, but it’s certainly helped with our ability to train more and focus a little bit more on cricket. Hopefully over the next five to 10 years that will keep increasing and perhaps we can turn professional and really focus our time on cricket.

You’re one of the most exciting players to watch in the women’s game. Has your approach always been the same?Yeah, I grew up batting at the top of the order – No.3 – and I’ve always been a naturally aggressive batter; I like to keep the game moving, and I suppose international T20 cricket has increased the chance for batters to go out there and be aggressive from the start. I enjoy going out there and trying to hit boundaries. My idol was Ricky Ponting: I loved the way he was always attacking – he could have been in second ball of the innings but would always play his shots and keep the scoreboard going, so I watched him a lot when I was younger. I looked up to him and modelled my game a little bit on the way he attacked the bowlers.

You’ve had a successful start to your international career – where are you with your game at the moment?I’ve been reasonably happy with how I’ve started. I’ve been on the international stage for three years now so for me looking forward it’s about performing consistently, and turning my scores of 50 and 60 that I got in the Ashes in July/August into bigger scores. That’s certainly what I’m aiming for in January.

The Women’s Ashes starts on January 10 with the Test match at Perth.

08DEANDRA DOTTINWEST INDIESAge: 22Role: Right-hand batter, right-arm medium-pacerStyle: Chris Gayle of women’s cricket

About: The most effective antidote to those who have tried to suggest that the women’s game is without power, Dottin became the first

ever woman to score a century in T20Is back in 2010, during a World Twenty20 match against South Africa. An incredible innings that featured nine sixes and five fours, her 38-ball century remains the fastest by any cricketer, male or female, in T20 internationals. More recently, her 46* in 35 balls in the T20 tri-series final against England saw the West Indies take the trophy and Dottin awarded Player of the Series.Champagne Moment: West Indies v Australia, Super Sixes, Women’s World Cup, Mumbai, February 2013Dottin hit 60 and won Player of the Match as West Indies beat Australia by eight runs, and secured their first ever appearance in a World Cup final. RN

07MITHALI RAJINDIAAge: 31Role: Right-hand top-order bat, occasional leggieStyle: Classically silken strokemaker

About: As a stalwart of the Indian side, Raj has seen women’s cricket in India take on a series of hurdles. Raj’s own profile has gone from

strength to strength after she burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old to score a staggering 214 in the second Test against England in 2002. Despite a recent run of inconsistent scores (her position in the list owes a little to former glories) Raj is still one of the most highly-rated batters in the game. As a skipper, she saw two impressive finishes in the 2005 and 2009 World Cups, before this year’s tournament ended in disappointment, and 24-year-old

Harmanpreet Kaur (a near miss for this list herself) took over the captaincy.Champagne Moment: India v Pakistan, 7th Place Play-Off, Women’s World Cup, Cuttack, February 2013Although India finished a disappointing seventh in the competition, Raj finished strongly; her unbeaten 103 seeing India claim victory with six wickets to spare. AL

06SUZIE BATESNEW ZEALANDAge: 26 Role: Right-hand bat, right-arm medium-pacer, skipperStyle: Kiwi Commander

About: The best known of New Zealand’s women cricketers, Bates has five ODI centuries to her name. One of the best all-round talents in

the world, Bates also belongs to a unique group of women who have played for their country in two different sports after she represented New Zealand in basketball in the 2008 Olympics. Captain from 2011, and indisputably her country’s finest player, Bates has a heavy burden to carry, but her controlled, aggressive approach has seen her lead from the front with a series of high scores – only to see the team fall at the final hurdle on more than one occasion.Champagne Moment: Australia v New Zealand, 3rd T20I, Melbourne, January 2013After a mixed tour of Australia, the captain led well in a low-scoring match. Bates’ 67 came from just 44 balls, including 10 boundaries, as New Zealand won by seven wickets to claim the series 2-1. AL

38 The number of balls

it took Dottin to bring up a record-breaking (for men or women)

T20I century


05KATHERINE BRUNTENGLANDAge: 28Role: Right-arm fast-medium, right-hand lower-order bifferStyle: Angry Yorkshire-ite

About: The spearhead of England’s attack for many years, Brunt has overcome fitness issues and a constant back condition to establish

herself as one of the fastest bowlers in women’s cricket. She has played integral roles in some of England’s most important victories, including winning the Ashes in 2005 for the first time in 42 years. A feisty competitor in all three formats, she excelled in the recent Ashes series, with her combination of raw pace and well-controlled outswing making it hard for the Aussies to get away early on. Her fine bowling is nearly always followed up with a sharp word or five.Champagne Moment: India v England, Group Match, Women’s World Cup, Mumbai, February 2013After a last-ball defeat to Sri Lanka the week previously, Brunt raised England’s spirits as she dismissed India’s top-order cheaply, ending her spell with figures of 4-29. AL

04ELLYSE PERRYAUSTRALIAAge: 23Role: Right-arm fast-medium, right-hand batStyle: Brett Lee with a ponytail

About: A genuine allrounder, Perry has become one of Australia’s most marketable stars due to her skills in cricket and football. One of the few

bowlers able to generate pace from even the most placid of pitches, Perry is, at only 23, possibly the finest fast bowler in the world, having already come through injury after injury to head up Australia’s developing pace attack. Her batting may have taken a back seat in the past 12 months but she is still as explosive as ever, with her quickfire 30 from 20 balls in the first T20I against England last summer almost ending the hosts’ bid for Ashes glory. Champagne Moment: Australia v West Indies, Final, Women’s World Cup, Mumbai, February 2013After giving Australia’s batting a much-needed boost with an aggressive middle-order cameo, Perry limped in on the ankle that had troubled her throughout the series to bowl a spell of three overs, two maidens, 2-3, and hand Australia victory. AL

03SARAH TAYLORENGLANDAge: 24Role: Right-hand No.3 bat, wicketkeeperStyle: Eye-catching, ball-catching class

About: One of the world’s most naturally gifted strokemakers, Taylor’s easy-on-the-eye style is a fixture at No.3 for England.

After a disappointing World Cup she came back to form with a bang during the summer’s Ashes series, with a succession of telling contributions with the bat when it mattered (including a 64 at Hove and a 77 at Chelmsford). Behind the stumps, she’s the best keeper going, and after pre-season speculation that she could play a part for Sussex men’s 2nd XI last year she showed why with a breathtaking catch during the

third ODI at Hove, which saw her anticipate a reverse-sweep from Jodie Fields before taking a full-length diving catch off the face of the Australian captain’s bat. Energetic, athletic, straight driving and one-legged whipping (and still only 24), her tally of 22 international fifties and five hundreds seems certain to grow rapidly. Recently named Sussex captain in place of Holly Colvin.

Champagne Moment: West Indies v England, 3rd ODI, Trinidad, November 2013In between Ashes series, with West Indies jubilant after success in the T20 Tri-Series with England and New Zealand, England were 8-1 in the third ODI of the subsequent bilateral series, after the loss of skipper Charlotte Edwards. Taylor hit an even 100 from 108 balls out of a total of 185 (the next highest score was 18) in what Edwards calls “one of the best innings I’ve ever seen in the conditions”. EK



Interview: Ed Kemp

Stafanie, not long ago you topped all three rankings tables in ODIs – the fi rst ever. Quite an achievement…Yes, it’s fantastic reaching such a milestone as that, it was never planned like that. I always wanted to be No.1 in the world for batting because I enjoy doing that. Since we had Saqlain [Mushtaq] here in the Caribbean doing a bowling camp, he turned my mind around. He said to me, ‘Do you know, if you put time into your bowling, how much of a player you can be? You can be No.1 in the world of batting and be No.1 in the world of bowling’. That inspired me. I used to bowl with my arm f latter. Now I know that I’m more looking like a spinner and a spinner who gets bounce and turn, even the doosra I have worked on. I haven’t used it in a match because I’m not so comfortable with it yet but he taught us it and we practice it. Saqlain is really teaching us about shape and turn and bounce.

02STAFANIE TAYLORWEST INDIESAge: 22Role: Right-hand top-order bat, prolifi c off spinnerStyle: Spanish Town superstar

About: Having taken up cricket at the age of eight, at 10 Taylor became Jamaica Women’s youngest ever debutant during a tour of

Guyana (“the only scary thing was the plane ride” – she tells AOC). Primarily a batter, she has already made fi ve hundreds and 27 fi fties at international level, but her ability to hit boundaries and bat time is not the only thing that makes her one of the most feared players in the game. Increasingly Taylor’s off spin has become the ever-improving West Indies’ primary weapon with the ball; her economy and strike rate making her the world’s leading allrounder by a distance. Champagne Moment: West Indies v New Zealand, 3rd ODI, Jamaica, October 2013In a series-deciding game on her home island, Taylor led West Indies to a thumping 95-run win over the touring Kiwis. After hitting a 148-ball 135 from No.3, she then bowled eight overs for fi gures of 4-35, in a performance that summed up her all-round infl uence on the world stage. EK

Who were the players you saw as role models coming through?I didn’t really know many players when I was growing up, but when I started I loved Tendulkar and all of those legends. But my star right now is [fellow Jamaican] Chris Gayle. I watch a lot of Chris Gayle, I love him. We’re good friends – whenever we are in the same place he would always call me up and we’ll talk. We might have a similar character but we’re very diff erent players!

So what kind of player do you say you are, then?I hit when it’s required. In general, I’m more of a strokeplayer and take my time to play the ball around: I love doing that. I have a set approach now. I’ve changed lot of stuff about my batting style: I’m working on hitting the ball more straight down the ground. Basically I love making runs, so I want to get more hundreds under my belt and see

how many more runs I can get by the time I reach retirement around 30, maybe with time I can get just over 5,000 runs.

You’re still yet to play a Test – would you like to be given the chance in the longer form?The longer you’re out there and the more time you spend at the crease, the more chance you have to score runs. So if you’re playing some Test games you build yourself up as a player and then you’re actually improving in the one-day games because you know how to score your runs. I feel that if I play some Test games, it will build me more as a player in the one-day games, because then you know how to pace yourself as to when to attack, when to defend. I guess they feel like we’re not ready yet. Obviously we have to be more consistent and when they see us being more consistent maybe we’ll get the chance.

three rankings tables in ODIs – the fi rst

West Indies v New Zealand, 3rd ODI, Jamaica, October 2013In a series-deciding game on her home island,

148-ball 135 from No.3, she then bowled eight overs for fi gures of 4-35, in a performance that

In late 2013 Taylor was briefly top of the ICC’s

ODI bowling, batting and allrounder rankings –

the first player, male or female, ever to lead all

three at the same time in either Tests or ODIs


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once we knew we had them under pressure, we could really hammer it home. That was something we hadn’t done in quite a number of games against them. You start to see cracks – and we needed to see that to give us that belief.

And how will the challenge be different down under?We’re not fearing going out there – we’ve won there before. But we do know it’s going to be a bigger challenge than the summer because they’re on home soil and they know their conditions better than anyone, so it’s set up nicely. Out there there’s no margin for error – the wickets are so good, and I guess we’re not going to get the assistance we got over here with the moving ball, especially off the seam. But I still maintain that the best team wins and it’s not going to change things dramatically – it’s just that they’re going to be more comfortable; they’re an attacking team who will play their shots on better wickets, we are going to have to bowl really well against them. But I think our bowling attack definitely out-bowled theirs in the summer, and I think which team bowls the best our there on quite flat wickets will be the key.

A new points system: one Test, three ODIs and three T20s – what were your thoughts on the new women’s Ashes format?It’s probably the most intense three weeks that I’ve had in cricket. Every game

felt like it was a final, in effect. The Test match had so much at stake [six points for the winner, two for a draw] and it was a fantastic way to start the series – there were a lot of nerves around, you could sense that, and every game from thereon in you knew the stakes were high – especially for us: they only needed a draw to retain, whereas we had to win. With the extra media coverage and exposure it was an unbelievable three weeks – really mentally and physically draining. There was definitely an extra edge to the whole competition and something that I’ve not really experienced before.

Did you think there was progress made for the women’s game over the summer then?It was unbelievable: the new format – but also the hype that came with that. As soon as the men retained the Ashes, the spotlight came over to us, and we definitely felt that – and it kind of spurred us on in a way, and it was great to see that kind of reaction from the team – they were loving the fact that there was a lot more spotlight on them. Obviously for me at times it was quite stressful! But it was great for the game – two very, very good teams playing against each other for one of the biggest trophies in cricket… I think we did the game justice, which was the most important thing.

Obviously you were winning for most of the summer, but are the team

prepared for the possibility that more media coverage also means dealing with more criticism?Definitely. I even felt that at the Test match at certain points – you can sense there are more people watching, more people commenting on it, so there is extra criticism – we were exposed to that, especially the younger players. But you’re absolutely right, what comes with more coverage is going to be more criticism! The girls seem to be dealing ok with that so far, but it’s obviously helped that we were winning. Hopefully that will continue! I mean, you kind of feel for the guys… they’re under such media scrutiny all the time – and we got just a little bit of experience of that in the summer… you realise how harsh it can be – but that’s what you’ve got to deal with as an international sportsperson: I’d rather have that than have no one watching us.

Just finally, there’s no Holly Colvin in our top 20 – as she’s opted to take a break from cricket to pursue a career outside the game. She’s only 24. Not long ago Isa Guha retired at 26… how do you look at the issue of players moving on ahead of their prime?Overall, it’s disappointing, because you think, ‘Well, Holly’s only 24’. But then, you have to look at it and think, ‘Well actually, she’s played cricket for England for nearly 10 years, and at some point you’re going to look to other things.’ This is the problem we’ve got: the girls start so young, so that by the time they’re 25 they’ve actually had what they feel is a quite long career, and that’s frustrating because you feel their best cricket is in front of them – I know I’ve played my best cricket from 27 onwards. But everyone’s different, and you admire Holly for wanting to follow her career for a little bit, which I’m sure she’ll be really successful at.

As a player she’s a huge loss to us. She’s been pivotal for a long time, But she’s also very career-driven; an ambitious girl, and she feels now is the right time for her to step away and follow that career-path for a bit. She’ll be missed, but it is another opportunity for someone else. With our academy system in place now we have girls who are ready to come in and perform – hopefully we’ll see that with Holly’s replacement. We’ve got a lot of excellent young players coming through and taking their chances, which is giving us plenty of selection headaches! There will be some extremely disappointed girls left at home this winter, but that’s the progress we’re making as a growing squad.



01CHARLOTTE EDWARDSENGLANDAge: 34Role: Right-hand top-order batter, skipperStyle: Queen of English cricket

About: One of the women’s game’s few veterans, Edwards has been an England player since the age of 16 and in the course of a

glittering career has become the most capped ODI player of all time, topping the all-time run-scorers list in the format, as well as winning two world titles and the Ashes as captain. A calm and steady presence as leader of a young side, she’s been more prolifi c than ever with the bat in the last two years and continues to devote herself to boosting the profi le and accessibility of women’s cricket across the UK and the world.

Champagne Moment: England v Australia, 3rd T20I, Durham, August 2013After losing both world titles to the Aussies over the winter, Edwards tastes redemption as she lifts the Ashes trophy after a dominant 12-4 points win in the new format.

Interview: Ed Kemp

So, heading down under to play Australia again, Charlotte!?Yeah, it’s exciting. It’s a quite unique situation to have two so close together. As we’ve seen from watching the men, both teams know each other incredibly well now and it’s going to be just as close a series. It’s highly exciting – I can’t wait!

Aft er such a tough winter, losing out to Australia in the two world trophies, coming from behind to win the Ashes so convincingly must have meant a lot? Yeah, we went behind in the series because we massively underperformed in the ODI at Lord’s – we got ourselves into a position to win the game and threw it away. We had some honest conversations, and the reaction was one that we’d hope for. The next game at Hove – it wasn’t just about us winning, but the way we went about it. We were much more positive, we took the game to the Australians. That was the fi rst time we’d seen them under pressure for a while, and that gave us a lot more confi dence –

1101CHARLOTTE EDWARDSENGLANDAge: 34Role:Style:


Champagne Moment:Australia, 3rd T20I, Durham, August 2013After losing both world titles to the Aussies over the winter, Edwards tastes redemption as she lifts the Ashes trophy after a dominant 12-4 points win in the new format.

Interview:



11102 Edwards is set to captain

England in ODIs for the 102nd time during

the Women’s Ashes, overtaking the record of

former Aussie skipper Belinda Clark


__


once we knew we had them under pressure, we could really hammer it home. That was something we hadn’t done in quite a number of games against them. You start to see cracks – and we needed to see that to give us that belief.

And how will the challenge be different down under?We’re not fearing going out there – we’ve won there before. But we do know it’s going to be a bigger challenge than the summer because they’re on home soil and they know their conditions better than anyone, so it’s set up nicely. Out there there’s no margin for error – the wickets are so good, and I guess we’re not going to get the assistance we got over here with the moving ball, especially off the seam. But I still maintain that the best team wins and it’s not going to change things dramatically – it’s just that they’re going to be more comfortable; they’re an attacking team who will play their shots on better wickets, we are going to have to bowl really well against them. But I think our bowling attack definitely out-bowled theirs in the summer, and I think which team bowls the best our there on quite flat wickets will be the key.

A new points system: one Test, three ODIs and three T20s – what were your thoughts on the new women’s Ashes format?It’s probably the most intense three weeks that I’ve had in cricket. Every game

felt like it was a final, in effect. The Test match had so much at stake [six points for the winner, two for a draw] and it was a fantastic way to start the series – there were a lot of nerves around, you could sense that, and every game from thereon in you knew the stakes were high – especially for us: they only needed a draw to retain, whereas we had to win. With the extra media coverage and exposure it was an unbelievable three weeks – really mentally and physically draining. There was definitely an extra edge to the whole competition and something that I’ve not really experienced before.

Did you think there was progress made for the women’s game over the summer then?It was unbelievable: the new format – but also the hype that came with that. As soon as the men retained the Ashes, the spotlight came over to us, and we definitely felt that – and it kind of spurred us on in a way, and it was great to see that kind of reaction from the team – they were loving the fact that there was a lot more spotlight on them. Obviously for me at times it was quite stressful! But it was great for the game – two very, very good teams playing against each other for one of the biggest trophies in cricket… I think we did the game justice, which was the most important thing.

Obviously you were winning for most of the summer, but are the team

prepared for the possibility that more media coverage also means dealing with more criticism?Definitely. I even felt that at the Test match at certain points – you can sense there are more people watching, more people commenting on it, so there is extra criticism – we were exposed to that, especially the younger players. But you’re absolutely right, what comes with more coverage is going to be more criticism! The girls seem to be dealing ok with that so far, but it’s obviously helped that we were winning. Hopefully that will continue! I mean, you kind of feel for the guys… they’re under such media scrutiny all the time – and we got just a little bit of experience of that in the summer… you realise how harsh it can be – but that’s what you’ve got to deal with as an international sportsperson: I’d rather have that than have no one watching us.

Just finally, there’s no Holly Colvin in our top 20 – as she’s opted to take a break from cricket to pursue a career outside the game. She’s only 24. Not long ago Isa Guha retired at 26… how do you look at the issue of players moving on ahead of their prime?Overall, it’s disappointing, because you think, ‘Well, Holly’s only 24’. But then, you have to look at it and think, ‘Well actually, she’s played cricket for England for nearly 10 years, and at some point you’re going to look to other things.’ This is the problem we’ve got: the girls start so young, so that by the time they’re 25 they’ve actually had what they feel is a quite long career, and that’s frustrating because you feel their best cricket is in front of them – I know I’ve played my best cricket from 27 onwards. But everyone’s different, and you admire Holly for wanting to follow her career for a little bit, which I’m sure she’ll be really successful at.

As a player she’s a huge loss to us. She’s been pivotal for a long time, But she’s also very career-driven; an ambitious girl, and she feels now is the right time for her to step away and follow that career-path for a bit. She’ll be missed, but it is another opportunity for someone else. With our academy system in place now we have girls who are ready to come in and perform – hopefully we’ll see that with Holly’s replacement. We’ve got a lot of excellent young players coming through and taking their chances, which is giving us plenty of selection headaches! There will be some extremely disappointed girls left at home this winter, but that’s the progress we’re making as a growing squad.


www.alloutcricket.com | AOC | 3774 | AOC | FEBRUARY 2014

01CHARLOTTE EDWARDSENGLANDAge: 34Role: Right-hand top-order batter, skipperStyle: Queen of English cricket

About: One of the women’s game’s few veterans, Edwards has been an England player since the age of 16 and in the course of a


Champagne Moment: England v Australia, 3rd T20I, Durham, August 2013After losing both world titles to the Aussies over the winter, Edwards tastes redemption as she lifts the Ashes trophy after a dominant 12-4 points win in the new format.

Interview: Ed Kemp



1101CHARLOTTE EDWARDSENGLANDAge: 34Role:Style:


Champagne Moment:Australia, 3rd T20I, Durham, August 2013After losing both world titles to the Aussies over the winter, Edwards tastes redemption as she lifts the Ashes trophy after a dominant 12-4 points win in the new format.

Interview:



11102 Edwards is set to captain

England in ODIs for the 102nd time during

the Women’s Ashes, overtaking the record of

former Aussie skipper Belinda Clark


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