All posts by maxbenson

@sofa_maxb

Ah the English summer. Well, April, anyway.  What better place for the Sofa to begin our 2012 county coverage than at dear old Lord’s? Middlesex are taking on Surrey’s bright young things at HQ in what is, as ‘Mr Surrey’ Sofa Dan would have you believe, the fiercest derby in world sport. At least the 1,200 or so hardy souls in attendance on day one would agree.

After last week’s win over Sussex at the Oval, Lady Hamilton-Brown’s boys are desperate to prove they can walk their talk. But the Spice Boys of said captain, Jade Dernbach, Tom Maynard and co. were innocuous at best before lunch after inviting the hosts to bat.

Elderly war horse Jon Lewis added to his four wickets from the Oval early on, having Joe Denly snaffled behind by Steven Davies for ten. Dernbach also pinned Chris Rodgers for 20 before all nipped off for isotonic sandwiches or whatever it is that gives one an ‘incremental advantage for elite performance’ at the lunch break these days.

Then came the inevitable deluge. Still, it provided a golden opportunity to remark upon the excellent drainage at the Home of Cricket for those with word counts to reach and deadlines to meet. God knows what the charming people from a Japanese TV company made of it all as they wandered around the Media Centre looking for anyone from The Times.

The minds of the players wander, too, and it wasn’t long before Daniel made inventive use of social media – taking to Twitter to play mind games with Middlesex batsman Gareth Berg and his middle-order colleagues, at this sacred ground of all places. The man knows no limit.

Back on under powder blue skies, Middlesex began to crumble. First, Tim ‘The Viscount’ Linley removed Sam Robson’s off pole before captain Neil Dexter was bowled by Dernbach off an inside edge playing two bad shots to one average delivery and John Simpson feathered behind the next ball.

And the boy Berg copped it soon after, losing his leg stump to the Viscount in a triumph for the Sofa’s social media experiment.

Dawid Malan was stoic for his unbeaten 62, though, helping his side to a recovery of sorts and 225/9 at the close, paving the way for a century partnership for the last wicket tomorrow if anyone not from Surrey has anything to do with it. Now then, where’s Mark Ramprakash on Twitter...

We’re doing our (probably sporadic) county coverage this summer for you, Sofragettes. Let us know what you think and what sort of stuff you’d like us to cover over the English season by tweeting @testmatchsofa or by sending us an email to thesofa@testmatchsofa.com.

@sofa_maxb

‘’My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game.’’

The retiring words of Rahul Dravid – the living definition of conscientious and a man whose love for Test cricket will forever course through his veins and our minds.

After more than 24,000 runs in Tests and ODIs and a world-beating 210 Test catches, the time has come, at 39 years-of-age, for one of the best batsmen we have ever seen to step aside, grace and dignity predictably intact.

It is testament to the genius of Sachin Tendulkar that a true great like Dravid was often cast coolly in the shadows, and few articles about him pass by without mention of this fact. Dravid deserves far more respect than that. He should be mentioned in his own right.

In excelling at the top of his sport for a decade and a half he became the second most prolific batsman in Test history, just behind Tendulkar, his long-time partner at the crease. It will be a good while before another Indian batsman reaches those heights, if it's even possible, but more worrying for all of cricket is that the appreciation for what took Dravid to the top diminishes in his absence.

For the man from Bangalore is much more than the tens of thousands of runs he compiled over the years. Those oft-forgotten quiet qualities so readily mistaken for fear or awkwardness were among Dravid’s greatest and it only worked because they were no facade or affectation.

Sport needs its mercurial characters and box-office exhibitionists, and there was an increasing clamour throughout Dravid’s career for those swift of blade and sharp of tongue. Shahid Afridi. Kevin Pietersen. A hundred more.

But successful teams need constants. They need men whose resolve, character and discipline can lift the rest up to their level. Dravid had enough of all three for a whole touring party. And he never felt the need to shout from the rooftops about it.

He was the fulcrum around which the flair of Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman et al could thrive. It took India to the top of world cricket, to the immense pride of an enthralled nation.

Watching Kapil Dev lift the 1983 World Cup on television switched Dravid on to the possibilities of a career in cricket. 13 years later, he made 95 in his first innings on the same Lord’s turf in what became The Wall’s trademark obdurate manner.

It is somewhat against the grain for such a ruthless compiler of runs to be so mindful of the team’s fortunes rather than his own. He moved up and down the order to suit the needs of those around him and even served as a capable wicketkeeper when the need arose. Here’s hoping his legacy includes a young Indian batsman or two making the grade having been equally enchanted by his prowess, respect and unyielding strength of character.

Rahul Dravid is enduring proof that the good guys can succeed, and then some.

@sofa_maxb

Going unbeaten through 2012 was the stated aim and it’s a case of so far so good for England’s women as they completed a whitewash of New Zealand in the early hours of this morning.

Sarah Taylor’s unbeaten 109 and 84 from Lydia Greenway in a double century stand steered their side to comfortable six-wicket win against the Kiwis. It wrapped up a 7-0 drubbing over the three ODIs and four Twenty20s, with the fourth scheduled T20 in Invercargill washed out without a ball being bowled.

They have now won 14 straight games under the stewardship of Charlotte Edwards - herself a centurion having belted an unbeaten 137 off just 88 balls in the penultimate game in Lincoln – and could hardly have made a better start to a tough year of cricket at home and abroad.

This continued development with a young squad is particularly heartening given the hole left by the retirement of the great Claire Taylor in July last year. It also demontrates that the investment in the England Women's Academy is starting to pay dividends, with a bright future very much on the cards.

The only gloom for the tourists on the land of the long white cloud was the question raised over the legality of Jenny Gunn’s bowling action. The all-rounder was reported by umpires after the first ODI in Lincoln and, although cleared to continue playing for the time being, she must now submit an ‘independent analysis’ of her action to the ICC.

A break from competitive action now comes until June brings the next test of their world-dominating credentials when India land for T20s at Canterbury and Chelmsford. Five ODIs follow, beginning with a showpiece fixture at Lord’s on July 1st.

A challenging summer ends with five T20s against the West Indies before they decamp, along with their male counterparts, to Sri Lanka for the ICC World T20. The tournament could prove to be a pinnacle for England, as they seek to regain the title they took at the inaugural final at Lord’s in 2009.

Australia took the crown in 2010 as top-of-the-world England tumbled out in the group stages, so what better incentive than to steal the cup back from the Old Enemy?

England’s summer opponents have just completed a tight series in the Caribbean, with the hosts narrowly coming out on top in the five T20s and three one dayers. Both pose a threat for Edwards’ charges, with India boasting the world’s top-ranked batter and bowler in former captain Mithali Raj and medium-pacer Jhulan Goswami.

20-year-old Jamaican Stafanie Taylor, meanwhile, remains one of the game’s brightest prospects with bat and ball and will play an integral part when her side kick off the T20s at Chester-le-Street on September 8th.

Much to play for in an exciting 2012, then, with England’s women and men both striving to meet great expectations in all forms of the game.

@sofa_maxb
 
England go into tomorrow’s deciding T20 in Abu Dhabi as definite favourites following a fortnight that has transformed a tour that had teetered on the brink of disaster.
 
Having been whitewashed in the Test series, few were predicting much of a comeback from a young limited overs squad still very much a work in progress over three years away from the next World Cup.
 
But Alastair Cook and now Stuart Broad have led their ODI and T20 charges admirably. Kevin Pietersen's dramatic return to form has been handy, too, as has the continued development of Steven Finn into a high-class international pace demon.
 
Team England's meticulous approach to youth development has also begun to bear fruit as 22-year-old Johnny Bairstow - the city of York's finest export since Dame Judi Dench - blazed his way to an unbeaten 60 in Dubai to set up tomorrow's finale.
 
It was an innings reminiscent of his arresting 41 off 21 balls on debut against India in Cardiff last September and went some way to justifying the faith put in him after his unremarkable Lions tour of the subcontinent. Jos Buttler struggled again against international bowling but his fellow Lions graduate's success should inspire rather than deflate a young batsman with bundles of raw talent.
 
Eoin Morgan's complete lack of form is a more pressing issue. This was billed as a perfect tour for the Irishman's innovative technique on spin-friendly pitches, but he has faltered badly, failing to score higher than 31 in twelve attempts in the Emirates.
 
His performances in the hectic world of T20s shouldn’t diminish his selection chances for March’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, but a stage may soon be reached where a break from the international treadmill is seen as the best course of action for a player so demonstrably short on confidence.
 
At the other end of his career, the fulcrum of Pakistan's Test success over the tourists, Misbah-ul-Haq, is now facing serious questions over his captaincy in the limited overs formats. How quickly things change.
 
Awais Zia enjoyed just one scoring shot in the twelve balls he survived at the top of the order on Saturday and has a long way to go to carve out an international career. At 25-years-old it is debatable how much potential is left to flourish into international talent.
 
Quality spinners are in plentiful supply for Pakistan and Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and the inimitable Shahid Afridi can be ably complemented by Abdur Rehman and Shoaib Malik to both constrict and bowl out the best sides.
 
The pace department is a concern, though. Umar Gul’s recent regression has exposed a lack of depth and, while Junaid Khan could lead the line one day, it is an area in which Pakistan need to improve quickly if they are to prosper on wickets away from Dubai and the subcontinent.
 
Regardless of tomorrow's result, England's one day boys come away from the desert with reputations generally enhanced. Pakistan, quite unexpectedly after the Tests, have much to ponder ahead of September T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

*Join us from 3.45pm tomorrow for live coverage of the final T20 between Pakistan and England in Abu Dhabi.

@sofa_maxb

It is fitting that the first full series we cover in our new era with The Cricketer is the format designed to engage a wider audience in the game we all love.

The 20-over incarnation has been an innovative shot in the arm to a sport that was stagnating. Its influence has benefitted immeasurably the popularity of Test and limited overs cricket at home and abroad, capturing imaginations all over world.

More selfishly than that, England are the best on the planet. Their only global title remains the 2009 T20 World Cup when Kevin Pietersen and Craig Kieswetter blew away Australia in the Barbados final.

Pietersen was crowned Player of The Tournament that day and many will argue it took until this week for his limited overs form to return to the heights his immense talent demands. A match-winning 111 in the third ODI – his first one day ton for over three years – was bettered by a mighty 130 on Tuesday as England reciprocated the Test series whitewash.

The other consecutive centurion from the series, captain Alastair Cook, is unexpectedly staying with the squad due to injury concerns - chiefly over Ravi Bopara, who was one of four replaced for Tuesday’s win along with the rested Jimmy Anderson, Graeme Swann and T20 captain Stuart Broad.

Kieswetter has opened the batting with Nottinghamshire's Alex Hales for England’s last four T20s and tough selection decisions need to be made with Jos Buttler, Johnny Bairstow and Samit Patel among those fighting for places. Strength in depth is not a problem.

The new ninth-best ODI bowler in the world, Steven Finn, is a shoe-in alongside Broad. It is a question, then, as to whether Tim Bresnan has shaken off enough injury-induced rust to find a place with Anderson far from a selection certainty in this form of the game.

Danny Briggs, the young left-arm spinner, was composed and bowled intelligently to pick up 2/39 on debut earlier this week. He would count himself unlucky were he to miss out here.

Pakistan are likely to introduce fresh blood to their side. An opener in domestic T20, Awais Zia could make his international debut at the top of the order. Exciting all-rounder Hammad Azam, meanwhile, may also make his T20 bow.

Signs of promise were visible in the bowling of 22-year-old Junaid Khan on Tuesday. He should have done enough to secure his spot ahead of the bang-out-of-form Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz and Aizaz Cheema for what will likely be a single pace bowling place.

We’ll be on air at 3.45pm GMT for the first game of three so, if you’re new to The Sofa, check out the homepage to see the many ways in which you can listen and join in the fun. You can also tweet us @testmatchsofa to be part of the discussion or to share with us anything that's on your mind.