Danny Briggs: No Spin Required

Hype can get a little boring, but after a disappointing season for Hampshire which saw them relegated from division 1 in the LV= County Championship as well as being dethroned as T20 champions by Leicestershire, Royals fans will take anything they can get!

Hants spinner Danny Briggs, 20, is the real deal though; no hyperbole required here. In the 2011 season, Briggs became the second youngest bowler after Derek Underwood to claim 100 first class wickets in County Cricket history, and this week he has joined up with England’s senior squad for the first time after his inclusion in the squad for the T20 series against the West Indies.

Born on 30th April 1991 on the Isle of Wight, Briggs made his debut for Hampshire’s first team in 2009 at the age of just 18. Breaking into the one-day side first, he later claimed the prized scalp of Somerset’s Marcus Trescothic in his County Championship debut.

After a successful first season for Hampshire Briggs was called up to England’s Under 19 squad for the tour of Bangladesh in October 2009, before travelling to New Zealand in January 2010 for the Under 19’s World Cup. Briggs excelled on both tours, returning from Bangladesh as leading wicket taker with 8 scalps from 7 One Day Internationals and was man of the match against Afghanistan at the World Cup, claiming 3 for 11 runs en route to the quarter finals in New Zealand.

Now firmly on the ECB’s radar Briggs returned to Hampshire for the 2010 season taking 34 wickets in all competitions and was his sides leading wicket taker in the shortest form of the game as Hampshire lifted the Friends Life T20 trophy in front of a home crowd at the Rosebowl.

Briggs was then named in the England Performance Squad to tour Australia at the end of 2010, shadowing the senior squad on the Ashes tour. “I want to break into the Lions squad and the EPS (England Performance Squad) will help me do that,” Briggs said of his inclusion in the squad. “This trip (to Australia) is about showing the coaches what I can do and improving my game. I’ve had a great year for Hampshire and it gives me a lot of confidence. There are some solid cricketers out there and it will be good to pick their brains in training and see what they do to get them to such a high standard.”

The Performance Squad went on to win both their matches Down Under with Briggs again excelling, taking 4-9 against Queensland XI. ECB Director David Parsons praised Briggs’ performances in Australia, saying “It re-enforces his reputation as a young player of clear potential.”

A successful spell in Australia resulted in a call up to the England Lions squad for the first time to tour the Caribbean in January 2011. The Lions took part in the West Indies Cricket Board regional 4 day championships and again Briggs impressed, taking 15 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 24.

James Hildreth, Lions Captain for the Caribbean tour was full of praise for Briggs, saying “Every time I put Briggsy on to bowl he seems to get wickets, and he’s really good at keeping it tight. He knows his game really well. He’s obviously flourished in the 20 over format, but watching him bowl in four day cricket over in Australia and now out here in the West Indies, he’s been doing really well.”

Hildreth continued “He works hard in the nets and he’s one of those bowlers who has quite a simple philosophy really – he doesn’t try and vary it too much. He’s got subtle changes in pace and spin and that works. He gets a lot of people trapped at the crease LBW and bowled and he knows what fields he wants.”

Back home, the 2011 season may not have gone to plan for Hampshire, but Briggs’ form has remained constant, something that has not gone unnoticed. Briggs’ Hampshire team mate Nic Pothas is one that sees the potential in the young spinner. Speaking in his Southampton Daily Echo column recently he said; “Briggsy is very young for a spinner but is maturing very quickly. He has been outstanding for us in the Friends Provident T20. He has the X-factor that most good spinners have in being able to read what a batsman is going to do next. If Danny Briggs reminds me of anyone, it is New Zealand star Daniel Vettori.”

“We’ve always said he is like a left arm version of Shaun Udal, but he is also very quiet and Vettori-like.”

After successful spells with England’s Under 19s, EPS and Lions teams in the past 12 months, the next step for Briggs was always going to be the full England squad, however the speed at which Briggs has made that step up – he is still only 20 after all – has been quite phenomenal.

He has the potential to be a top spinner for England and he will only develop by training with the senior England players, guided as he will for this two match series by the best English spinner of his generation, Graeme Swann.

Briggs knows that he has to keep doing the simple things well to continue his remarkable ascendancy up England’s ranks. “A good ball is a good ball to any player. If I can just carry on and keep it simple, the better I can be.” Hampshire and England will certainly hope the man from the Isle of Wight continues to do just that.

Tom Huelin for DieHard Cricket Fans
Follow Tom on Twitter @tomhue1

Do we have a Perspective ? In defense of Team India!

Since 2004:

One T20 World Cup Win, Test Series wins in West Indies [twice], Pakistan, England and New Zealand. Not lost a test series between 2008 and 2011 August. Drew level in South Africa and Sri Lanka. And finally an ODI World Cup win just 5 months ago !

Then they lost in England with practically two third of their best team not playing.

Since 2004:

UPA Government has doubled Petrol prices from Rs. 35 to Rs. 70. [Whopping Rs. 14 hike in last 12 months]. The scams have grown larger and larger. The bombs blasts and terror attack continue unabated. Not a single concrete action taken against enemies of the nation. This they have done as the United Prostrating Alliance of Sonia !

We didn’t elect or select Team India, they selected themselves with performances over the years.

We elected UPA, with the hope of better performance. The choice was not based on promises and not performance.

Team India had one, just one bad tour since the 2003 tour of New Zealand.

Team UPA has plundered the nation and moved on from one blunder to another blunder since 2004.

Now the visual and print media, experts and everyone is out with hacksaws to tear apart Team India !

Is a Cricket series loss a larger calamity than all those lives lost in terror attacks ?

Is a white-washed 4-0 Test Series worse than all those black-washed Crores in Swiss Banks by our swindlers ?

Do we have a perspective ?

Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans

End of Term

Sixth Place None The Richer

Promotion to Division One? A first County Championship title since 1934? No… the ultimate accolade won on the last day of the 2011 season went to Glamorgan, defeating Kent in the Canterbury twilight with a pink ball. There are no trophies, but the honour of finishing sixth in Division Two. You can’t buy that kinda glory…

It concluded a disappointing campaign on a high note, that much is true. Gareth Griffiths has already provided a very astute post mortem for Wales on Sunday – the link can be found here. And naturally, the first thought that springs to mind is whether the winter upheaval was worth the public fall-out.

Glamorgan finish the season and start the pre-season break, effectively, with just one of the senior personnel still in his original role – chief executive Alan Hamer. Captain, coach, president and chairman have all altered in the past year, with the latter arguably being the odd one out and not related to the others.

Congratulations to Middlesex CCC

For two successive seasons, Glamorgan narrowly missed out on promotion to the first division of the LV County Championship. Any ambition of “third time lucky” was unceremoniously neutered more than a month before the last day. It was the ungratifying price to pay for the changes designed to improve the Dragons’ limited overs form.

There was a little encouragement in the CB40, with an increase in the number of games won. But only slightly, with a defeat to the Unicorns and another unhappy showing in the Friends Life T20 making you ask if Glamorgan had only served to throw the baby out with the bathwater as the club’s landscape changed last year?

Where did it go wrong?

Before the season, I was concerned there wouldn’t be enough quality with the bat and that runs would not be easily acquired – due mainly to Mark Cosgrove being ousted as overseas player. However, I was much more confident about the ability of the bowlers to take 20 wickets in a four-day context.

Well, the final table makes me look a bit of a chump there. Glamorgan scored the third highest tally of batting points (44, behind Northants and Middlesex), while only bottom side Leicestershire scored less bowling points. I’m not sure that I’m altogether in the wrong though…

Hover Bowling. Not such a success

Glamorgan’s bowling attack was beset by injuries throughout the campaign. Not just front-line bowlers like James Harris and Graham Wagg (particularly early in the season), but able deputies such as Jim Allenby. And not forgetting that Adam Shantry and David Harrison both called time on their careers in 2011.

Dean Cosker fell one wicket short of 50 for the season, but times must have been tough if Gareth Rees was seen to open the bowling during the Friends Life T20.

With the bat, three scored more than 1,000 runs: skipper Alviro Petersen, young ‘un William Bragg and captain-elect Mark Wallace. Stewart Walters was the only to average more than 50, but he featured in half the number of innings than each of the three to pass 1,000. Gareth Rees was next nearest to 1,000 with 954 runs.

Statistically, the batting in County Championship games was fairly good, but the totals scored in limited overs games wasn’t quite enough on many occasions. The result would be, aside from a defeat, the wonder of what might had been if 10/20 more had been scored. (See also: Hampshire away, Friends Life T20)

Anyway, we’re seven months away from the start of the 2012 season and it’s time in which Matthew Mott can firmly shape the team in his image – you might call it an improvement on the limited time he had before the 2011 season. And already there have been announcements regarding personnel.

Marcus North comes in on a two-year deal, while a number of players have been retained. Nick James and Stewart Walters are two that can surely count on more game time next season after impressing in the opportunities that came their way – particularly during the latter stages of the 2011 campaign.

Simon Jones has been touted for a return, with his loan spell earlier this summer showing that the paceman still had much to offer the Dragons. Particularly when you consider how experience can rub off on the new generation of seamers. Mark Cosgrove’s return for the T20s wouldn’t go amiss either.

Walking out to bat...

He’d be playing for a newly-branded team, however, with Glamorgan Dragons to make way for the Welsh Dragons. Cricketing gods reacted to this change of name by requiring the Dragons to beat 2011?s CB40 champions, runners-up and one of the two other semi-finalists to qualify from the group stage of next year’s event.

Not that I probably have much cause for complaint. I’m not Welsh – those of you who are might like the change. But if we’re talking name changes, why not chase some insurance sponsorship and change the four-day name to Gla-morethan? I jest, of course… and a rose by another name still smells like a daffodil, right?

I mean, I still call it Sophia Gardens… (who doesn’t?)

Pete Hayman for DieHard Cricket Fans
Follow Pete on Twitter @petehayman

The Post England Tour Post

‘Twas the summer of 2011. Test No. 1 and ODI World Champions India went on a tour of England, a team which had just smashed the Aussies 3-1 in an away Ashes and had been fast becoming the most entertaining ODI team in the world. There were reams of newsprint, millions of blog posts (including quite a few by yours truly) written on the prospect of the contest which was set to unfold over the summer.
Alas the result turned out to be totally something else. Here is a short summary of the results.

• England win the 4 Test series 4-0.
• England win the one-off T20.
• England win the 5 ODI series 3-0 with one game abandoned and other tied on Duckworth -Lewis scores.

And there, I have been through the painful part. Whatever happened to our champion team and Dhoni’s legendary luck? In the 2 decades of my cricket watching/following career there have been a few debacles, Australian tour of 1991-92 followed by the 1992 World Cup, South African Tour in 1996-97, Australia in 1999-2000. But at no time have we returned winless in international matches (Here we did beat Kent, Surrey & Leicestershire). Here is my attempt to analyse the disaster that the tour was. So here goes  the final post of this tour.

• England were much better than India. Period. They out-batted, out-bowled and out-fielded us. When I had done the preview for the Pataudi Trophy, I had not given too much weightage to one essential bit that the games were being played in England. Also the English unit performed like a machine, the batsman got runs, a few “daddy hundreds” were scored, the bowlers took wickets. Replacements were readily available and fitted in seamlessly. And if the team somehow found itself in trouble, there was always someone to bail them out whether it was Broad in 2nd Test at Trent Bridge or the debutante John Bairstow in Cardiff.
• Zaheer Khan hamstrung at Lords. That was the single biggest factor contributing to this result. During the World Cup, he had remarked that “as a bowling unit I think I am doing well”. Might have been a slip of tongue but he couldn’t have put it any better. Given the current Indian bowling context, he is irreplaceable. Lots of talk takes place on who replaces our batting stalwarts, but that would be a simpler task as compared to replacing Zaheer.
• Injuries. Lots of injuries. Pujara, Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Ishant, Sachin, Rohit, Praveen, Munaf, Nehra. All injured at some point or the other. Not a match passed without one or two injuries in the team. Its not that the Indians were the only ones who got injured, the English team also had a few but they had far better and ready replacements. And ours had the more impact. Entire bowling lineup decimated by injuries, half the batting lineup, even the replacements getting injured. Some were accidental on-field injuries like Gambhir (twice!!), Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma etc, some could only be due to poor “injury management”, Zaheer, Sehwag, Tendulkar. The tour began with Zaheer limping off hamstrung on the opening day of the Lords Test and ended with Munaf beingcarried away in Cardiff.
• Poor scheduling. One 3-day game to acclimatise before the Test series. 3 side games before the ODIs. I do not understand who came up with this great schedule. My suggestion always have the ODI part before the Test series, gives more time to acclimatise. And there was a 4-day gap between the 4th & 5th ODIs for some unknown reason. We managed to get Praveen Kumar injured in this period.
• Some plain bad luck. This was true in the One-dayers. Dhoni loses all 5 tosses to start with. And there was rain to interfere in case we somehow get into a, lets not say winning, but an advantageous position.

Now the analysis over. Now for the positives from the tour. It might be shocking to discover that there were a few bright spots (albeit on an individual basis) on this dismal tour. But can’t be getting all negative here.

• Indian cricket and its fans learnt to appreciate Rahul “The Wall” Dravid again (I think I made him sound like a WWE entertainer here  ). 3 centuries in losing causes in the Tests. Was forced to open the batting, where he carried his bat through the innings. Fell afoul of the DRS (henceforth to be known as the Dravid Removal System). Out of the blue was also picked up for the ODI leg of the tour. Shocked, he announced his retirement, but signed off in style. A hattrick of sixes in his T20 debut-cum-farewell and a typical hardworking and understated 69 in the 5th ODI at Cardiff. For a long time fan, it was great to see the Legend getting his due. And now the BCCI has named him in an enquiry committee to find out what went wrong in the tour. Now thats going to be an interesting report.
• Praveen Kumar was the other hero for India. No one considered him test material. But a couple of tests down the line, PK was leading the bowling attack, and doing a good job of it. There was an entertaining cameo as well.
• Suresh Raina in the white shirt looked lost. A 42 ball pair at the Oval was the low point. Suresh Raina in the blue shirt was awesome. How can the same person become so different just by changing the format of the game. Also one player who is seen in the game throughout the play.
• Ajinkya Rahane with an awesome First Class average made his India debut in an T20 game. And performed quite well there as well as in the ODIs. Won’t be commenting too much as the chances might be few given our batting resources.
• Parthiv Patel swivelling around to take care of the short ball provided a welcome relief in the ODIs after Raina’s test struggles.

In short, England were much better than us and they got a little help for our bad luck. But that was thoroughly deserved. The injuries, rains, DRS contoversies, Ian Bell’s run-out and Anna Hazare combined to ensure that the Indian team did not get a roasting that it could have got from our media.

P.S. After writing out the post remembered that Sachin Tendulkar did not get to his hyped up landmark of  100 international 100s. Mind you, even getting to 99 is beyond anyone could have imagined though.

P.P.S Dear Team India, I know it was a very tough tour. And you were not able to perform to our expectations. But don’t worry, I will be there to follow and support you when you play next. Lets hammer the English at home.

Nishant Kumar for DieHard Cricket Fans
Follow Nishant on Twitter @NishantSKumar

How Selecting Pragyan Ojha Will Save Cricket

One of the great moans of the summer, not just uttered by me, but by a lot of Indian fans as well, was how Ojha continuously managed to fly under the radar of the selectors. By now he has brought this art to perfection, spectacularly bowling his county side Surrey CCC back to Division One by taking 24 wickets at 12.96 in the four must-win Championship matches for which he was signed when Surrey’s promotion looked in danger (please scroll down for the match list), but I dare doubt once more that the gospel has reached Indian shores.

Surrey cricket manager Chris Adams joins the chorus:

“It’s not for me to comment on India’s selections but I’m amazed he’s not playing Test cricket,” Adams said. “I strongly believe he will play 100 Tests for India, from what I’ve seen. I may be hitting high, but he’s a wonderful bowler with wonderful skills. I expect him in the next six months to break into the India team and be a permanent fixture.”

Which takes us to my obvious yet probably initially incomprehensible wish for a strong Indian Test side. Wait, what? Yup. Let me explain it to you.

Why it is in everybody’s interest that India take a leading position in the longer formats:

In Germany we have a saying: “Viel Feind, viel Ehr’!” (‘many foes, much honour’); whenever in my short career as a cricket fan Australia managed to beat India, it was a great reason to celebrate, a triumph eliciting joy and happiness. Compare this to the hollow dissatisfaction felt by most of the hopeful curious onlookers during India’s English summer, and you will know what I mean.

Secondly, India is undoubtedly the largest cricket market in the world. If India are doing well at Test cricket and ODIs, the market will stay interested in the Indian Test and One Day side, and thus Test cricket and ODIs will keep enjoying a somewhat high priority not just within the ICC but in general; a necessary counterweight to the dominance of T20, which is sprawling rapidly throughout all levels of national, international and regional cricket and taking possession of the virgin, susceptible minds of young players. No, I have not given up the hope yet that somehow we can get our European 50-over league back, fool that I am 

Thirdly, happy Indian cricket fans are friendly Indian cricket fans. It is very good for everybody’s nerves.

Of course you might argue that deflated Indian cricket fans are silent Indian cricket fans, which is even better… 
I think that’s a matter of personal preference; as a hippie I would pick the jolly ones over the suiciders.
Therefore, select Ojha.

Quod erat demonstrandum 

Pragyan Ojha’s Championship matches for Surrey in 2011:
2/19, 2/29 v Leicestershire
1/40, 6/8 v Northampstonshire
1/83, 2/42 v Essex
4/48, 6/42 v Derbyshire

Contributed by Wes
Follow Wes on Twitter @WesPFCNFS

The Wall That Stood Tall – A tribute to Rahul Dravid

It was one of those days that have become all too common on this tour — intriguing, confounding, depressing all rolled in one. Before play began on the second morning of the friendly match against Northants came the news that Rahul Dravid had been reinstated in the one-day squad which play England after the Test. Why would a World Cup-winning team want to turn the clock back almost two years was the buzz in the morning. It goes without saying that Dravid’s inclusion is not bereft of good reason. On this tour yet, Dravid has looked the most secure batsman in the team. English conditions are also unlikely to allow flat track strikers to thrive, and a player who can hold the innings together is vital and who better than Dravid for that job. Today at Cardiff, Rahul Dravid will play his last one day international; one last time in blue jersey.

A man who first stepped into international cricket when unorthodoxy was at its peak with pinch-hitters scoring runs defying the standard shots of cricket; Dravid has been truly head and shoulders above everyone when it comes to technique and style. Every time India has been staring down the barrel, Dravid has stood out like a lotus in the muck or a solitaire among the brick bats. Undoubtedly, Dravid has been one of the main pillars of the Indian batting line up with his blend of right technique and stylish shots. April 3, 1996, India was up against Sri Lanka in Singapore and it was the second match of the ‘Singer cup’. With the opposition in driver’s seat and the scoreboard reading 58/2, Dravid made his way out to the middle with a willow in hand to try and manoeuvre the team’s ship out of choppy waters which years later was going to be bread and butter stuff for him. His debut innings wasn’t anything of note, falling to Muralitharan for a single digit score and it’s fair to say his first couple of years in ODI’s weren’t anything to write about. It was only after that epic partnership with Sourav Ganguly in the world cup match against Sri Lanka at Taunton that he made his mark in ODI arena.

Initially seen as a liability in the one-day arena, he retooled his game over the years to become an adept middle-order finisher. Yes, the swashbuckling strokes which are so synonymous with the shorter version of the game didn’t come to him naturally but he certainly had all the makings of a solid middle order batsman who could hold the innings together with utter ease. For a player whose affluent essay came out of perfection, temperament and technique, Rahul Dravid has been India’s go-to man in pressure situations and till date he has served the team’s cause with whole hearted devotion. He has been undoubtedly the best that India has ever produced–in terms of technique, skills, grit and above all dependability. The skills are as solid as they were 15 years ago, the style seems to have got better and better with each passing year but one thing never seems to change and that is his grit and concentration–Those have been rock solid as ever.

In a nation like ours which is so obsessed with the game of cricket, where cricketers are demi-gods and everyday a new controversy pops up, Dravid’s sheer down to earth nature and humble attitude has helped him stay away from controversies in-spite of so much media scrutiny. Rahul Dravid started off as a shaky batsman with an apt technique, then came a phase wherein he became the sheet anchor and others played around him scoring runs freely and now with the advent of t20, Dravid seems to have moulded himself into a new avatar–a player who now keeps pace with the innings, who not only smacks the bowlers out of the park (pretty unlike the real Dravid) but also possesses an attitude that would make him reach the skies. Dravid’s greatness however is not limited to the number of runs he scores on the field. We certainly need to let that number roll off our tongues a bit more often because it is a colossal figure. His greatness is a potpourri of character, hard work and a genuinely good heart. Talent and character join hands to make consummate greatness-Dravid is a glittering example of that. A deeper scrutiny of his character shows his commitment towards Indian cricket–A selfless soul who always has been a team-man and whose personal records have been overshadowed by team heroics.

When Dravid retires today, the country will lose the greatest no 3 batsman it ever had, fans will be robbed of the privilege of watching this artist at work, media will mourn that he never got his due but most importantly, his departure will take away with itself a bit of gentle-manliness that the game tries to still portray as its inseparable element. He is a legend no matter what critics say–He has been the man responsible for taking India to new heights of success. Pressure can make a batsman crumble or can make him doughty and more confident. Dravid has time and again shown us that he enjoys such challenges. Demanding situations have seen him rise to the occasion and perform even better. He is known as the WALL for reasons which are pretty much self-evident.

So for one last time, let us enjoy seeing those toes which rise sweetly in sync with the pace of the approaching ball, standing tall and majestic and in control before disdainfully whacking the ball through the backward point. Let us enjoy how he bats and bats and bats and saves the team from a moment of crisis. Let’s get awed by his mastery over something we will always run away from–STRUGGLE. He indeed is a true-blue hero.

Hats off Dravid!!

Avi for DieHard Cricket Fans
Follow Avi on Twitter @KnightsDen