It’s been a frenetic first half of the cricket season with England lurching from triumph to disaster in the World T20 competition (well done to Pakistan), Australia forced to spend a fortnight in Leicester and Somerset proving themselves a decent punt for the later rounds in the domestic competition.
Well, the international scene has been dominated by the hit and giggle form of the game during June – which isn’t everyone’s idea of entertainment not least because it is yet another form of cricket that England pioneered then watched glumly as the world overtook them at it. My sympathies go out to Graham Napier who has probably spent more time waiting forlornly in bus shelters than he ever thought possible.
After Chris Gayle’s men proved a slighty uninterested aperatif – which England duly dispatched with nonchalance – comes the Ashes. The squad was perhaps unsurprising given that it is loyal to those who were given a chance in the first series of the summer (is a two-match event a series?) but eight bowlers??! Picking three spinners is also a little odd as Monty is not remotely in form to face Australia right now. No Vaughan (no runs tends to do that) or Harmison (probably has had his last Test hurrah) but room for Bresnan, Onions and I’m glad to see Rashid in the mix.
Shane Warne has been chipping in with his pearls of wisdom and while backing Rashid, he strangely doesn’t like Ravi Bopara who for me could be a massive player for England. Either way, there are plenty of new faces on both sides so it has the feel of a potential upset by England but Flintoff and Pietersen need to fire.
Meanwhile, Somerset have been putting teams across England to the sword in the T20 and found time to beat Yorkshire and Sussex in the County Championship which lifts them into third last time I looked. It will be the track at Taunton which may yet frustrate them though Durham are still out in front. In the current match, Yorkshire have scored nearly 400 but good to see Andy Caddick back in the side – though there will always be a question mark over his fitness with the desire to have a fit and firing AC something Somerset will crave.
