No, not Freddie too!

Things are looking very bleak for England. News has just arrived of Andrew Flintoff's latest ankle injury, which requires surgery next week, and a further 12 weeks of rehabilitation. He will not play another match in the English summer, and he will come to Australia without any match fitness - if he makes it on the plane at all.

With already three players of the Ashes Winning XI with fitness problems - Michael Vaughan, Flintoff and Simon Jones - one has to wonder if the series will be as huge as it has been anticipated. How many more players, from either team, will be removed from the contest?

Yousuf comes of age

I've been waiting until the England v Pakistan match finishes until blogging about the game and the performances within it.

I shall be honest. I have always regarded Yousuf Youhana to be one of those batsmen whose statistics flatter him, who would make runs only in easy circumstances.

But Mohammad Yousuf, who converted to Muslim earlier this year, has been a vital part of Pakistan's batting line up. He has made runs in tough situations, albeit on very flat wickets, but it is an improvement. I did not witness his 202 and 48 at Lord's, so I will quote from Kamran Abbasi's article on Yousuf's new steel from cricinfo:

His double-hundred was one of the best innings ever by a Pakistani in Tests, a complete contrast to Mohsin Khan's dashing, excitable, sometimes reckless, double-hundred twenty-four years earlier on this same ground. Yousuf was composed, almost flawless, and wonderfully graceful. Beneath MoYo's short-sleeve jumper and short-tangled beard it was a struggle to find YoYo, a gifter of his wicket and betrayer of his graceful talent.

Yousuf's critics label him a flat-track bully. While the wicket was placid here, the situation was one of high pressure, pressure enough to dismiss forever any barbs about him being an easy rider. Pressure enough, too, to conclude that only a player of immense inner calm could play an innings of such exquisite serenity.

Lovely words to describe one of the most talented batsmen in the world, and certainly one that I enjoy watching very much.

Vaughan won't be coming to Australia

The news England dreaded arrived last night. Michael Vaughan's troublesome knee is more damaged than was previously thought, and he will now definitely miss England's Ashes defence down under later this year.

This is a massive blow for England. As an inspirational and tactically astute captain, he was the player who provided serenity to the English dressing room, which lifted the performances of his players. Without Vaughan, England have lost their way. The ruthlessness is gone, the authority on the field is gone and they just don't look the same. More than that, on England's last tour of Australia, Vaughan was the only England player to achieve anything, with 633 runs from 5 Tests and the Player of the Series award. He will be missed.

I was reminded of an article I read four months ago, written by Tim de Lisle on cricinfo, which noted the curse of English Ashes winning captains. Excerpts below:

Michael Vaughan finds himself in a funny position. It's the fact that he hasn't won a Test since the Ashes, and now he won't have the chance for some time.

He is in distinguished company. England's last Ashes-winning captain, Mike Gatting, never won a Test again after that series in Australia in 1986-87. The one before was David Gower in 1985, and he never won another Test either, chalking up scores of 0-5 in the West Indies and 0-1 against India before being sacked in favour of Gatting, only to return, three years later, for a 0-4 drubbing by ... Australia.

The Ashes winner before that was Mike Brearley, master choreographer of the famous 1981 series. He too never won another Test.

Which begs the question - is Michael Vaughan's career over, at the tender age of 31?

The rest of the article is here.

Cricket grounds (continued)

Sydney Cricket Ground, one of the most beautiful grounds in the world. Above the SCG is Aussie Stadium. Both grounds are managed by the SCG Trust.

Melbourne Cricket Ground, home of cricket in Australia. Commonwealth Games 2006 was also held here.

Gabba, Brisbane. In the last Test match played at this venue, Brett Lee hit a massive six, which sailed over midwicket and landed in the practice nets to the left of the stadium.

Bellerive Oval, Hobart. Lovely, scenic ground.

Adelaide Oval. Gorgeous! This picture was taken before the Chappell stands, and the Victor Richardson Gates were built.

WACA, Perth.

Jayawardene and captaincy

Mahela Jayawardene has come of age. He appears to be one of those rare characters who flourish with the responsibility (some would say burden) of captaincy. He pushed himself up the batting order to number 3 with success, where he could dictate the innings. More importantly, his players played with a confidence rarely seen in recent times, as they dismantled an injury plagued England.

In truth, the spirit of Sri Lanka's tour of England started when Jayawardene's doggedness at Lord's in the first Test stopped a certain England victory. His younger players must have witnessed his steely resolve, his quiet confidence, which would have rubbed off on them. From that moment on, Sri Lanka played better cricket which shows that they have a bright future.

After fantastic results of 1-1 (Tests) and 5-0 (ODIs), should Marvan Atapattu get back the captaincy once he recovers from his injury? I don't think so. Atapattu is 35, turning 36 this November, and it is time to pass the captaincy on to a younger, and very capable leader.

Cricket grounds

Cricket venues are intriguing places. The size and shape of each ground a unique property. With the help of Google Earth, I managed to find a few Test match grounds. Here are a few from England:

The Oval, South London. There is a man, presumably the groundsman, standing on the pitch and there are NatWest sponsor logos on the grass.

Old Trafford, Manchester.

Lords, London. Basically a rectangle with curved "corners." The press box on the North East side of the ground looks very out of place.

Leed's, Headingley.

Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Australia Test match grounds to come later.