The Missing Link?

England's recent thrashing away to India raised plenty of questions for Andy Flower and his boys heading into their New Year in the subcontinent. The media cameup with one answer: Eoin Morgan.

There's no doubt that England missed Morgan on the tour - he's had as much IPL experience as any other England batsmen, and he had some success on the subcontinent against Bangladesh last year. As MS Dhoni and India brought their totals up to and over 300, English fans were left hoping rather than believing that England's middle order could up the pace and challenge the home side. The 5 defeats ranged from the nailbiters to the collapses, but there was only one game where England ever really looked in total control. That didn't last long.

Is Morgan the answer? Why is such a relatively young player seen as so critical to the hopes of the world's top Test team, the T20 World champions? England always do badly in the subcontinent - would Morgan's presence have turned the series around?
In reality, no. The real problem isn't that Morgan was missing. It's that no one else on the English team plays in a similar fashion to him. I'm not asking for the improvised reverse pitching wedges and scoops over fine leg - the day Jonathan Trott tries that shot is the day cricket will end - but the English batsmen all showed a marked inexperience when it came to simple things.

Playing India at home is tough. Their spinners (now without Harbhajan Singh) can slow teams down as well as take wickets. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina can hold up one end while allowing a more attacking bowler the chance to strike. Their batsmen enjoy the dry pitches, and when MS Dhoni is in the form he showed on that tour it's tough to stop the juggernaut.
But you know you're in trouble if you're only taking Kohli for 5 runs an over. When Raina keeps you on strike for an over. What Eoin Morgan does as well as anyone is rotate the strike. He finds the gaps. That doesn't mean launching drives through cover for four. It means jinking and nurdling the ball behind point and square, between the keeper and fine leg. It means keeping the bowler off balance, and keeping the field moving. It means turning dots into singles, and singles into twos.

This English team is young, particularly some of the batsmen. They are still learning their craft. Alastair Cook is still finding his feet as a captain. But to succeed on the ODI stage, they need to adopt the Morgan approach. Cook has class, and his opening partner Craig Kieswetter has raw power. Morgan has both. Kieswetter might get you off to a flier, with 40 off 20, but how will he fare in the middle overs. There are times when it seems like it's the big shot over extra cover or nothing at all. If the boundary doesn't come off the first 3 or 4 balls of the over, all the pressure's on the batsman. Morgan doesn't let that happen. There's nothing more frustrating than watching your side bowl to a man who seems able to churn out 6 and 7 runs an over while playing risk-free cricket. Eoin Morgan can do that as well as anyone in the world.

As for the last ten overs, when a team needs to push on, he's just the man to have at the crease. He seems to shift gears effortlessly, and has the strength and wrists to clear any boundary. Again, though, what marks him apart is his nous. Samit Patel might hit three sixes and then be caught at long on. Morgan will hit a six and then take the single. Samit might make 30 off 18. Morgan will make 80 off 60. He sees the target, and finds a way to get there. His maiden ODI century came against Bangladesh when England were up against it. He barely raised the bat - his focus was on the job in hand, and working over the opposition to finish it off.

Not every player can play like Eoin Morgan; he's England's best ODI batsman, and guys like him don't grow on trees. But if England want to bring their dominance to the 50-over format, they need to learn from Morgan. Of course he has the physical attributes, but above all else he has a good cricketing brain and an ability to adapt his play to the situation. There are times when you want Jonathan Trott batting, to make his 50 even if it take 780 balls (typo, but I'll leave it). There are times when you want Samit to have a whack. Eoin Morgan can do both without changing his game.

It's always a little bittersweet to watch Morgan, thinking of what might have been with Ireland. But when he makes a matchwinning contribution, there aren't many you'd pick to watch instead.

Part 2

What a dreadful first quarter-final. We got to see some great bowling from Pakistan, and about four nice shots from the West Indies. The writing was on the wall when Gayle went in the third over, and by the time Sarwan and Chanderpaul began their painfully slow partnership, the wall was no longer visible. Pakistan cruise through to the semis without breaking a sweat, and tomorrow’s quarter-final will determine their opposition.

The second quarter-final promises much, but can it deliver?

On the one hand are the triple world champions, who made it through their group without much fuss, but totally failing to set the tournament alight.

On the other are the home favourites, a team with as powerful a batting order as any, and yet who have managed to set unremarkable totals following lightning starts.

Australia v. India – the past v. the future? That may be unfair on Australia – whatever they are, they’re scrappers. They won’t give up any game without a fight.

Australia have been unimpressive throughout the World Cup, and yet remain favoured by many to pick up a 4^th consecutive crown. They cruised through the dullness of Group A, perhaps being fortunate that the Sri Lanka game got washed out before finally having their 34-game unbeaten record destroyed by Pakistan. Losing the record might not be the worst thing for them going into the knock-outs; it takes a little of the hype out of each game, and allows them to concentrate on the here and now.

Shane Watson, as was expected, has been the stand-out performer with the bat, ably supported by a somewhat circumspect Brad Haddin. Ricky Ponting still looks as though he couldn’t hit a four through an empty outfield, and no one is using up deliveries better than Cameron White. Michael Clarke has once again faced down his critics with a couple of useful, and relatively well-paced, innings, and after that come the rather questionable “all-rounders”, with the exception of the hero that is Michael Hussey.

Brett Lee has spearheaded the bowling superbly – he hasn’t let time diminish his abilities, taking wickets and slowing the run-rate game after game. Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait have had their moments, but still look liable to go for plenty around the couple of wickets that they do have in them. Jason Krejza? Enough said. Yes, he had a wonderful test debut, and yes, he’s performed reasonably so far, but he is not a man to lead your spin attack, particularly when there’s no one following behind.

India. India, India, India. What can you say. Not many teams can hit 338 and afford to be disgusted with it as a total. Not many teams can score a couple of hundred runs for fun in 30 overs before seeing how quickly they can lose all their wickets. Then again, not many teams have the power of Sehwag, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Yusuf, alongside the class of Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli and Zaheer Khan.

On paper, India are brilliant. Perhaps they are a strike seamer short, with Munaf Patel providing useful but not terrifying back-up to Zaheer. Their spin attack is led by Harbajhan Singh who, although he has not taken many wickets, has dried up the run rate in almost all the games to date.

Yuvraj Singh has arguably been one of the players of the tournament so far, scoring four 50s and taking a handful of wickets as well. SRT has made two hundreds, while Sehwag, Kohli and Gambhir have added useful runs.

So what’s the problem? MS Dhoni accused his team of showboating against South Africa, and not playing for the team. The result? The last 9 wickets falling for 29 and ultimately failing to keep South Africa out with the ball. India don’t seem to know how to finish off a 1^st innings – they get to 250 or 260 with oodles of time to go, and then send in Yusuf to hit some 6s. Perhaps the key for India is to bowl first. With a target in sight, and that batting line-up, you wouldn’t bet against them taking down any total. In a game against such a fragile batting order as Australia, this could well be the right move.

Dhoni has tinkered with the batting order, sending in Yuvraj, Yusuf, and himself in at 3, 4, 5 – wherever. I LOVE when a captain is prepared to shift players depending on the situation, but Dhoni’s getting it wrong. When wickets have fallen with 15 overs to go, he’s opted for Yusuf over Virat Kohli. Yusuf wouldn’t know what to do with 15 overs. Kohli is a classy batsman, who doesn’t score slowly – send him in for ten overs, and then by all means bring in the power player. Dhoni has wasted Kohli throughout this tournament, and I can only hope that another good knock against the Windies has shown the Indian captain his young charge’s true worth.

The verdict?

India. Not because they’ve been convincing so far – they haven’t. But neither have Australia. India have all the players there; they just have to use them. Australia don’t. Maybe Ponting will find some form in the knock-outs, but I doubt it. He’s looking an old man at the crease now, and however much he says he won’t retire, the choice might not be his for too much longer. Smith and Krejza don’t have the nous to disturb some of the best players of spin in the world, and speaking of which, Australia can’t play spin. Clarke might make a few, but it will be amidst falling teammates.

To have any chance, Australia need all three fast men to be on fire, something we’ve never seen.

Get ready for fireworks in the semis – India v. Pakistan coming up.

Down to Business

A month on, and the World Cup is getting tense. No team has come through unscathed, but whatever happened before no longer matters. One team is three wins away from glory. Let's have a look at what they all face now.

The first quarter-final sees the two teams who do unpredictable best. We’ve seen Pakistan struggle to make it through the group stages in T20 World Cups, and then blaze through to the final and victory. West Indies can slump against any team in the world, or Chris Gayle can knock Brett Lee into next week. Their roads to the quarter-finals have been different – West Indies have failed to convince so far, managing to despatch the lesser teams of Group A, and failing to capitalize on a winning position against England, while Pakistan have played some excellent cricket, only coming unstuck against a ferocious Ross Taylor, and recording wins over Australia and Sri Lanka.

I didn’t think the Windies would make it this far, and now that they’re here, I’m going to send them out again. Yes, they can be inspired – a good start from Gayle can floor any opposition, and Kieron Pollard is as brutal as any with 5 overs to go. But if these men misfire – Gayle does frequently, and Pollard almost always – there’s not a lot to rely upon. Chanderpaul and Sarwan are looking tired and out of ideas, and young Darren Bravo, however much he might remind one of Brian Lara, hasn’t performed consistently after a solid opening knock.

Their bowlers are the real problem. Yes, Kemar Roach has had a great tournament, including a hat-trick, and Ravi Rampaul did well to take 5-for against India, but they look short of variety. Sulieman Benn has been found out by several teams, and if the pacemen get off to a poor start it’s a severe knock to the confidence. Darren Sammy has played a good captain’s role, taking wickets at crucial times, but he will need all his bowlers firing, even against the wobbly batting of Pakistan.

What of Pakistan? Once again, they’ve showed that they can pull out big performances when it matters. Victories over Australia and Sri Lanka, the finalists of 2007, in the group stage proved this once again. Although their batting has been questionable, with their top 3 failing, someone has always been ready to take up the mantle and play a guiding innings. Asad Shafiq, Misbah ul-Haq and, perhaps most crucially, talented young Umar Akmal have all provided important innings where required.

Pakistan’s bowling attack has of course been stripped of a couple of major players, for reasons known to the world and its mother, but they have continued to light up the limited overs game with their displays so far. Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi, heroes of ODI and T20 cricket for Pakistan, have continued their dominance, taking 30 wickets between them so far, and drying up the runs at the same time. It appears that Shoaib Akhtar might not play again, but despite some erratic bowling, he remains a trump card that can carve through a top order at any moment. Wahab Riaz was unimpressive against India, but he and Abdul Razzaq provide a solid back-up to Gul in the pace attack. Afridi has been the spinning star so far, but Abdur Rehman and Mohammed Hafeez have played important supporting roles, with Saeed Ajmal a very dangerous man waiting in the wings.

So what’s the verdict? As I said at the beginning, predicting a match between these two is nigh on impossible. Having said that, however, I’m going to stick with my pre-tournament prediction of Pakistan to make the semis. While both teams can implode, the West Indies are more reliant on certain players – if Gayle and Bravo don’t fire, I’m not convinced that the middle order can rebuild the innings, leaving Pollard most likely to last only a couple of massive swings before giving his wicket away. Pakistan, on the other hand, seem to be taking 15-2 as the natural starting point for an innings, and so the innings that Mohammed Hafeez will produce at some point will merely be a pleasant surprise.

The Pakistani bowlers have the ability to defend almost anything, while the Windies…don’t. I’d take Razzaq as a finisher in ODIs ahead of Pollard too.

If India knock out Australia in their semi-final, the winner of this will find it very difficult to progress to the final. India’s recent batting collapses notwithstanding, Pakistan might come up against a team their bowlers can’t scythe through. Bear in mind that those collapses left them with 265 and 296 – not tiny totals. Australia are certainly there for the taking, but I’d expect India to oblige before anyone else gets the chance. More on that tomorrow.

We’ve seen Pakistan do the unthinkable in the T20 World Cups – they’re a team for the big occasions. They have a least one more win in them this time round, and I think they’ll see off Darren Sammy’s men. Whatever the result though, the first quarter-final promises to be full of interest – I won’t promise any big runs or classy innings, but it won’t lack passion.

World Cup: Team By Team

India - Where better to start than with the hosts and favourites? They've got an endless batting line-up. Actually, it might end with Yusuf Pathan, because there are often no survivors. In Zaheer Khan, they have a man who's led lower bowlers to triumph before, and Munaf Patel and Sreesanth could well be those bowlers. Harbhajan Singh is world class. They have part-time spinners all over the park. A good captain in MS Dhoni. Virat Kohli is fast becoming my favourite player to watch. They've got it all. And yet....it's too much of a fairytale.

Prediction - Who would not love to see a Sri Lanka - India final? I think they will make the final, but I'll only give them a runners-up spot.

South Africa - The bottlers supreme. Their batting line-up looked shy and their tail pretty long against India, but Jacques Kallis back should make a difference in balance. With Hashim Amla at the top, you can nearly give them a 50-run lead. Will Johan Botha do the business with JP Duminy alongside him? They have a team of fantastic players - De Villiers can kill off a game when required, and Dale Steyn is the best bowler in the world. For a long time I've said they'll win this, but they really need every man in the team to perform, and I'm not sure that'll happen 3 games running.

Prediction - Semi-finals, maybe runners up.

Australia - They've won the last 3 - that's a good start. On the other hand, Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Langer, Hussey....etc aren't here. Ponting's hit a couple of 50s in the warm-up, and they beat a poor England 6-1, but I don't know. They've drawn the easier group - Canada instead of Ireland, New Zealand and Pakistan instead of South Africa and England, but I still think they'll have it tough. They should still make it through without too many problems, and from there on in it's a shootout. I don't think they have the bowlers - Lee did it for them Down Under - India's a different kettle of fish. Jason Krejza, well, good luck.

Prediction - Quarter-final exit.

New Zealand – They have a history of performing well in the big tournaments, and while they should make it to the quarters, they don’t have a the class to compete. Brendon McCullum’s IPL pedigree will serve them well, and in Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill they have two very fine batsmen, but I can’t see them troubling the big teams. They’re too close to a batting collapse, even with the experience of Scott Styris and Jacob Oram in as props. Daniel Vettori is a world-class spinner, but he can’t do it all on his own, and there are a couple of untested young men in the attack who could be taken to the cleaners.

Prediction: Quarter-final exit, but watch Martin Guptill make some runs first – he’s one for the future.

Sri Lanka - Here we go. Tilikaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga to open. Sangakkara at 3. Mahela at 4. Samarweera at 5 before maybe Matthews at 6. That all adds up to a million runs - who's going to defend them? Only a man with 590-odd ODI wickets and the most terrifying paceman you can see coming at you. How can Lasith Malinga work? No one really knows - he shouldn't be hitting line and length but he does. 4 wickets in 4 balls 4 years ago - I smell a hat-trick again. This is a truly class team. They showed great composure chasing the West Indies' total of 280 in the warm-up, after bowling well to keep them to that number. Sangakkara is a canny captain with a great team behind him.

Prediction - Blasted away from victory last year by Adam Gilchrist, I see them going one better here. 15 years on from their last triumph, the last team to win it before Australia are set to do it again. Champions.

Pakistan – It’s foolish to write them off – they can win anything from a standing start. They actually have some ok form coming into this, and plenty of players have put their hands up. Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammed Hafeez are an exciting opening pair, and Hafeez has shown himself to be a very useful second spinner behind Saeed Ajmal. Shoaib Akhtar is bowling well, as is Wahab Riaz, and Umar Gul could get into any ODI side he wanted. Misbah-ul-Haq has faced down his critics by producing some lovely ODI innings recently, including a run-a-ball century against Bangladesh in the warm-ups. If he can hold down one end and allow Afridi and Razzaq to tee off from the other side there could be some big scores. The big question marks are over the Akmal brothers – Umar Akmal’s stunning start to his career has ground to a halt – he needs to build a couple of innings to get his confidence back – and Kamran needs some runs now he’s taken the gloves back from the third brother, Adnan.

Prediction: Realistically need a top-two finish in the group to avoid India and South Africa in the quarters, but I think they’ll manage that ahead of Australia. Semi-finalists, and from there, who knows?

England - I'm sure I'll get flak for this, but they're not a great ODI side. People brushed aside the 6-1 to Australia, and fair enough, but the focus was on the absentee bowlers. The problem was the misfiring batsmen. KP must perform, as must Strauss. Trott must speed up. Prior must get runs. The opening partnership has changed again, with KP promoted. Will it work better than the last 20? Who knows? Without Eoin Morgan, the team lacks the innovation required to win this tournament. Collingwood, Bopara and Yardy aren't going to finish a game like the Irishman. England need more planning for this, starting with bringing Alistair Cook into the ODI game. Do they not watch him for Essex?

Prediction - Quarter-final Exit.

Bangladesh – A lot has been made of this team, and not without cause. Shakib al-Hasan has prove himself to be able to manage the captaincy alongside being a key with both bat and ball. Tamim Iqbal is one of the best openers in ODI cricket. Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim Juanid SIddique and more runs to a solid batting line-up, and with several solid spinners in the team they can cause trouble to any batting line-up. They’re most often criticized for a lack of a good pace attack – this should be less important in the subcontinent, although Rubel Hossain showed some good form against Pakistan in the warm-up.

Prediction – Expect some upsets from this still very young team. I have a sneaky feeling that they’ll qualify from the group stages, but that could leave them facing Sri Lanka in the quarters, which is where, for me, they bow out.

West Indies – Where to start? What a frustrating team. Chris Gayle, Shiv Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy. That’s a team that should produce fireworks every time it goes out. Unfortunately, 50% of the time it’s a damp squib. They are undoubtedly going to have some big performances, led by the big man himself, but that’s the problem. Get Chris Gayle out early, and you should win. Against Sri Lanka in the warm-up, Gayle fell after a quick 50 and the run rate plummeted. Pollard’s job is to provide a flurry at the end, but that’s not such an easy task if the score’s 100 for 5. The bowlers are interesting – Sammy and Kemar Roach are a pair I’d like to see open, but I just don’t think that Nikita Millar and Sulieman Benn are penetrative enough in India. To be fair to him, Benn took 3 and only gave 4 an over to Sri Lanka, but he doesn’t have the consistency.

Prediction – I think they’ll beat England in the group stage, but still fail to qualify. If Gayle can be knocked over early, Bangladesh and Ireland have a great chance of taking the Caribbean scalp.

Ireland – Expect this preview to be heaped full of bias. Ireland are a very good team. They played a couple of very solid warm-up games, including a victory over Zimbabwe without using captain William Porterfield and Sussex opener Ed Joyce, arguably their two best batsmen. Kevin O’Brien showed great maturity alongside old hand Andre Botha in rebuilding after early wickets. Historically, the batting has been our problem – suddenly there are quite a few men with form. With Joyce at 3, we then have to choose from Botha, the O’Brien boys, Gary Wilson, Andrew White, Alex Cusack and John Mooney for our next four. Boyd Rankin and the ever-reliable Trent Johnston are a solid opening pair, and young George Dockrell has bowled tidily if not brilliantly so far. The main problem against Zimbabwe was conceding a huge number of runs off the last 10 overs – our death bowling has never been strong, and that’s where Trent needs a good partner once the Batting Powerplay is taken.

Prediction – Getting out of the group is a huge task – I expect a thumping from South Africa and India, but every other team is beatable. I would expect them to win maybe two games, but to get all the results to get through in such a short space might just prove too much. But I’m not going to type a nailed-on prediction…..

A Tale of Two Teams

Let's face it - India, South Africa, England and the West Indies weren't too worried about who came through the qualifying tournament for the T20 World Cup. For the two teams to succeed however, it was a massively important week.

On the one hand, Ireland - a country which, since its fairytale success in 2007, has asserted itself as the dominant Associate nation, and is looking to push onwards and upwards with an application for Full Member status.

On the other, Afghanistan - last year, a Division 5 team with little or no media coverage. A brave journey in the 2011 World Cup qualifiers was brought to a premature end, but they showed the cricketing world that they're ready to play with the big boys again this week. Having beaten Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup 4-day match last month, Afghanistan went on to defeat William Porterfield's team twice more on the way to T20 success, and indeed were the only team to trouble the Irish. They played with a mixture of skill and sheer nerves in the tournament, and a single defeat to the Netherlands was the one game that got away.

Both teams head to the tournament proper as massive underdogs, but their performances in qualification will give them heart. Ireland never play to lose, but the losing draw hands them matches against England and the West Indies, arguably the easier sides, and they'll fancy a crack at both. West Indies are an up-and-down side, and if Chris Gayle fires we can probably pack the bags, but on their day they're takeable. England still haven't totally figured out the shorter format, and Porterfield's men will fancy their chances against a team including old teammate and newly-instated IPL batsman Eoin Morgan.

Niall O'Brien was fantastic as ever behind the stumps, and his aggressive batting was near its best, making some important scores. Alex Cusack was the real hero of the batsmen this tournament, with a 65 in the semi-final paving the way to victory over Holland. Porterfield himself never got a big score after a few starts, but he's a good enough player to bounce back.

As for the bowlers - Trent Johnston was as crucial as ever, taking wickets and drying up runs, but the find of the tournament was 17-year old George Dockrell. The Gonzaga College and Leinster left-arm spinner has big shoes to fill with Kyle McCallan's retirement and Regan West's injury problems, but he delivered. Having taken wickets throughout the tournament, he bowled quite beautifully against the Netherlands to claim career-best figures of 4-20. Spinhas proved to be a crucial part of the T20 game, and Dockrell will be eyeing some big scalps in May.

Afghanistan have more than pure guts - they've some very talented players. Noor Ali, Mohammad Shahzad and Mohammad Nabi all showed batting prowess, while bowlers Hamid Hassan and Nabi again had fantastic figures: 12 at 11.41 and 13 at 10.53 respectively.

The jury is still out on whether Afghanistan can keep up this form into the future - they don't have the facilities they would like at home, nor is it the least turbulent country at the moment. We've seen Ireland's difficulties to break into the game - it won't be any easier for the Afghanis. In saying that, they've gained ODI status for the time being, and there's nothing to stop this particular team of players capitalising on their success. When they go to the Caribbean, they'll enjoy themselves. They'll get to bowl at Sehwag, de Villiers, Dhoni, and Smith, while trying to fend off the wily Harbhajan Singh and the terrifying Dale Steyn. Whether the win or lose, i's a massive learning experience to play the best in the world - we saw that with Ireland in 2007 - and who knows? It's T20, and upsets happen. Just remember Netherlands & England last year.

In a week where Sachin Tendulkar notched up his 47th Test century and Dale Steyn his 4th 10-wicket-haul, it is a tribute to cricket that we can look at the minnows of the game with such excitement. They'll be on our screens in just a couple of months time, and I, for one, cannot wait.

Honours Even

It's no use playing the more stylish cricket, making the tons, and topping the stats lists if you can't do the basics. Australia discovered this to their detriment in the Ashes, and until the Johannesburg test it looked like South Africa might go the same way.

But after two frustrating draws delivered by the unlikely champion Graham Onions, South Africa totally outplayed Andrew Strauss's England and handed them a crushing innings defeat.

Yes, Graeme Smith took advantage of a shocking review decision to play another fine innings of 105, but Strauss isn't going to hold that up as an excuse. The English batsmen didn't do their job, and against the class of the South African bowling they were lambs to the slaughter. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel showed themselves to be a fantastic pace duo, picking up 14 of the 20 wickets in the test between them.

Yet again, Paul Collingwood played two gritty, determined innings. For me, Colly deserves the man of the series award on the English side - Onions may have been the headline hero, but England would have lost the two drawn matches by a country mile but for Collingwood's determination. He's not always pretty, but he's not going to let you down temperament-wise.

For South Africa's part, they were clinical. The pitch was a good one to bowl on, but they still managed 423 declared, and they didn't waste time in the field. Paul Harris was left out after a disappointing series, and unless he develops something interesting in his bowling Mickey Arthur will be on the look out for a new spinner.Mark Boucher batted superbly all series and was unlucky to miss out on a century to cap it off. Smith got his game going in the final two tests, and once he sets up the Protea innings, it's very difficult to beat them.

1-1. England will be satisfied enough given the fact that they were outplayed bar the one match, and South Africa will be glad they didn't lose a series that they shouldn't have.

Where next? South Africa head to India for a series that has all cricket fans licking their chops - the one thing we need is for some decent pitches - no one wants to see another couple of 700-run innings. They are the two best teams in the world at the moment, and we can hope for a compelling tour.

As for England, well, they have some issues to think about. Ok, they won one game, but they never threatened in the other three. Once a batsman came in and played patiently - Amla, Kallis, Smith, Boucher, they found it impossible to dislodge them cheaply. Swann bowld very well all tour, but I still maintain that the four-man attack was the wrong option - you just don't have enough diversity to take 20 wickets.

Kevin Pietersen will be a slight worry, averaging just 25 in the series, but let's be realistic - he's only just returned to the test arena; any player needs time to get back into form. He won't be gone for too long. On the flipside, Ian Bell made some useful runs, including the best century of his life, and has made quite the case for holding his spot. Bell's batting troubles aren't over yet, but at least he can't be ignored any more, and if he can get into a good run, he's a wonderful player to watch.

England's next series is in Bangladesh who, if you ask India right now, are no pushover, and I don't think the mutterings about leaving out Strauss are all that wise - the last thing England need is a defeat to a resurgent minnow team.

We were treated to an enthralling series in South Africa this year, and while South Africa played some great cricket, Collingwood and Swann in particular deserved England's 1-1 result.

Both teams have a lot to think about going forward, and it looks like 2010 is going to be a fantastic year of cricket.

A Step In The Right Direction

Whether as a player or a supporter, cricket in Ireland can easily frustrate. We go out there, play some great matches, take some great scalps, and then, back home to work.

Some of our strongest players head across the water; while infuriating for Irish fans, you can see their point: they want to play cricket at the highest level; they want it to be their career. It hasn't worked out for Ed Joyce yet, and although Eoin Morgan has had a promising start he's going to find it difficult to hold down a regular place, especially with Kevin Pietersen back.

If the situation stays the same in Ireland, with a glass ceiling stopping us from progressing any further, and limiting the professional contracts available, it’s going to continue.

The move this week from Cricket Ireland to apply for Full Member status from the ICC, allowing them to play Test match cricket, is a hugely positive move. But will it be crowned with success?

Ireland’s performances on the pitch have certainly given them a good platform for application: unbeaten in first-class matches since 2004, Super-8 qualification in both the ODI and Twenty20 World Cups, victory in the 2011 World Cup qualifying tournament, and three Intercontinental Cup wins in a row. No one can say that we don’t have a competitive, passionate, and ultimately successful team. The performance against Bangladesh in the World Cup this year was composed under pressure, and a perfect example of how to pace a run chase.

So what are the problems?

Cricket is about money. The ICC and he national boards are money mad. Whether it’s their association with Allen Stanford or the scheduling of endless ODI series, so much of world cricket seems to be about the next dollar. If Ireland want to break into the top flight, they’ll need to show that they can bring money to the game, and not just be a drain. Ireland need to show that they can get their matches on TV, and Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland CEO, identified this as key. England, South Africa, and India matches were all shown in 2006, but this year Ireland haven’t been on the screen except in the World Cup.

Bangladesh were the last team to be elevated, back in 2000. However, they have a much larger population to draw from, and are helpful to India as a voting partner. The politics of cricket are finely balanced, and don’t be surprised if the subcontinental teams vote against the application.

Commentators have also pointed to Ireland’s facilities – can we host Australia in test matches? The ground in Stormont is a good ground, and is fine for ODIs, but it will need work if top-class cricket is to be played. Given the importance of getting fans to the matches from a commercial point of view, we’re going to need bigger stands that we can fill. I can’t see Brian Lenihan’s budget sending a lot of money Ireland’s way, but at the same time, Irish cricket does receive sponsorship from various source.

Let’s be honest – the odds are that Ireland will be refused. However, even the application process is a big move in the right direction. It shows the world that we have ambition and drive, that we want to play with the big boys. It may not happen straight away, but we’ve shown out intent, and no one can deny that Irish cricket has a bright future ahead.