Fantasy League Outcome

3-1

So, it’s done and dusted after a good month and half in the land of the Kangaroo

Never would one have imagined that it would have been such a walk in the park for the visitors

Never in their wildest dreams

The outcome is certainly astonishing

Moreover, it’s a good reflection or indication of how exactly proceedings have fared

What we have witnessed is nothing but complete domination on the one side and nothing but complete humiliation on the other

For some, it may be too hard to sink in or digest and who could possibly blame them?

Until the summer of 2013, where the Aussies will get an opportunity to redeem themselves, the Poms can savour their brilliance and look forward with an abundance of optimism

The moment belongs to them once more

In short, a formidable accomplishment and monumental feeling

At present everything is singing and dancing for them

As ever, there is room for consolidation, further progressiveness and maintenance of standards which they still have in their backs of their minds

It will be good to see them challenging for the number 1 status in Tests and beyond

With the progress, professionalism, planning and structure they have got in place, impossible is nothing and there is no reason why they can’t develop on their instrumental success in the years which lie ahead

WC is the next big thing on their agenda

Given their record on sub continental conditions, I find it hard to imagine them being a threatening force

Let’s wait and see if they can give us another mammoth surprise and shut up their doubters?

Just how damn good are they really?

Ashes Retained

An overwhelmed English Cricket Team perform the sprinkler at the MCG


England have done it! Yes, they have! They have successfully retained the Ashes with a whole Test Match to spare. They are thoroughly deserving winners. What a major feat they have accomplished, winning an Ashes series down under after 24 years of pain, wait and agony. What a golden year they have had as a unit. They have made remarkable progress and shown they can be true "world beaters." Well played Poms. Here is a reflection of what they have actually achieved. What stands out about them is the consistency in each and every format. Andy Flower deserves to be credited for the success he has been able to taste with advancing English Cricket in a positive direction.

- Winning the 2010 ICC World T20. Their first major global tournament.
- Securing The Ashes
- Beating Pakistan in all 3 formats on home soil
- Beating Australia 3-2 in an ODI series at home
- Test Record Played 14: Won 9/Lost 3/Drawn 2 ( 64% win ratio)
- ODI Record Played 16: Won 11/Lost 5 (69% win ratio)
- T20 Record Played 11: Won 8/Lost 2/Other 1 (73% win ratio )
- Overall Played 41: Won 28/Lost 11 (68% win ratio)

Overall, a memorable year for English Cricket. 2011 shall provide new fresh challenges which compromises of a sub continent World Cup and another Asian summer with Sri Lanka and India visiting this time around . Time shall tell whether they will be able to consolidate or maintain their high standards and levels of professionalism. For now they shall enjoy the moment and savour their sheer brilliance achieved. A thriving organisation with international excellence, systematic planning and continuous development.

Ashes Update After Perth

The Ashes series is now interestingly poised at 1-1 with 2 matches to go in due course at the MCG and SCG respectively following England's 269 run defeat at the W.A.C.A. It was a formidable turnaround from Australia who looked dead and buried with endless woes prior to the 3rd Test. However, they miraculously managed to transform their fortunes with some inspirational individual performances from Hussey, Johnson and Harris particularly. Australia now have the momentum with this moral boosting victory in which they demonstrated a great deal of skill and character to take England and worldwide viewers by surprise, having written them off previously.

One the stand out performers I would like to highlight is MJ who really began to click with his confidence, direction and responsibilities. He utilised the experience he had of bowling on his home ground and masterfully got the ball to talk appreciably both off the pitch and in the air too. It was a special exhibition of quality left arm fast bowling we witnessed. MJ notched up 9 scalps in the match and also contributed with a first innings half century in order to help Australia restore some respectability after being 69/5 at one stage on day 1. Overall, it was a drastic transformation from the Western Australian from being a lost soul to a threatening match winner.

From an English point of view the outcome was bitterly disappointing, but now it is important they quickly re-access, stay in a positive frame of mind and get themselves mentally and physically prepared for the traditional boxing day Test which is set to be a special occasion for all concerned.

Swann was below par at Perth and failed to make a constructive contribution, however the wickets at the SCG and MCG are highly suited for spinners. Therefore, this is an opportunity for him to stamp his authority and turn the tables. He is a world class performer England will be banking on in these moments of desperation.

Finn
Andy Flower raised doubts about Finn's inclusion in the following matches due to the heavy burden of bowling he has completed on this tour with mixed results. He has taken wickets which I credit him for, especially for someone of his age, but has been expensive. Personally, I feel this would be a perfectly reasonable and sensible move to side line him. One of the Yorkshire seamers could surprise the Aussies with their freshness and style. Hence, the decision could pay dividends and possibly be a refreshing one with all due respect to Finn and his fine contribution on this mentally challenging tour. He has coped and responded well, but England need to do what is best for them in order to successfully retain the precious little historical urn.

Bell/Collingwood Switch Over
It is inevitable that England's playing eleven won't change on the batting front of proceedings, however a slight alteration in the middle order could maximise their individual impact. Bell usually has to give his wicket away when batting with the tail and looking to accelerate which is a pity as he is a stylish attractive stroke maker and someone who is capable of making meaningful bigger scores if, as and when provided with the best possible opportunity. Colly has been out of sorts in this series and potentially a change in position and mindset could change this. Surely this is a logical and necessary move the England management need to enforce as a matter of urgency?

Tremlett's Come Back
It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Poms. The tall pole impressed with an 8 wicket match haul in his international return. Bowled with purpose, intent and extracted good seam movement and bounce to trouble the Aussies and give England hope. His goal should be focussed on maintaining consistency and staying fit because he is a handful on his day and one which has plenty of potential. The ECB selectors deserve praise here for picking him which was a brave and bold move, but it has paid off, richly. They clearly assessed the tactical requirements needed to flourish and picked accordingly, the surprise package.

Hussey Dominance
The left hander has been in prolific form in this 2010/11 series with scores of. He looks an organised player who really understands and senses game situations. He frequently delivers when it matters with his solid composure and authoritative game plan. In this ongoing series he has been in exceptional touch. From an Australian perspective, long may this continue for the 35 year old professional. He has all the assets and qualities to be remembered as one of the finest of this generation.

Merry Christmas to all. All international cricketing action will resume on Boxing Day including SA vs. India and the start of Pakistan vs. New Zealand in the first T20 at Auckland. Let me also take this chance to congratulate Sachin Tendulkar aka the little master for reaching his 50th Test Hundred at Centurion, funnily enough! What a player he has been and what a sparkling career he has had as a legendary sportsmen. Nonetheless, it was a grand failure for India who lost comprehensively by an innings and 25 runs. I told you previously, they were going to struggle on this tour and so far that has exactly been the case. It would be unreasonable to pass any judgement about them being overrated and overhyped as of yet, but by the end of the tour we should get a more insightful indication of where they actually stand in tougher conditions. Lets at least give them a chance to respond to their critics in all fairness.

Ashes So Far.................

Congratulations to England supporters on their comprehensive victory at the Adelaide in the morning session of December 7th 2010. It was pure humiliation for the Aussies and the media has come out hard against them. Now England only needs to win one of their next 3 Tests in order to successfully defend the precious little urn. So far they have outplayed the woeful Aussies in each and every department. They therefore thoroughly deserved the victory at Adelaide and thankfully for their sake rain didn't intervene quite early enough! Here is a reflection of some memorable moments in the series so far having played 2.

1) Strauss out of the third ball of the series. What drama this was. The English skipper departed early in the piece as Australia drew first blood.

2) Siddle's hattrick on his birthday on the 25th of November 2010 at the good old Gabba. What a special moment for him undoubtedly.

3) The unbeaten record stand of 329* between Trott and Cook in order to ensure the visitors had a comfortable draw having very much so had their backs to the wall earlier on.

4) Australia being 2-3 in the early minutes of the 2nd Test. What a shambolic start for the home side, but what an overwhelming, sensational and dream like start for the Poms. Literally unbelievable.

5) KP dismissing Clarke on the final ball of day 4 at the Adelaide Oval, caught at short leg by the Essex man aka Alastair Cook. He began to walk back to the pavilion reluctantly, but then changed his mind. Later he apologised via twitter for his action but this was symbolic of how emotionally tormented he was by the moment. So near, yet so far.

6) Swann claiming the final wicket of the 2nd Test with a classical off spinners dream ball. Lovely drift and length drawing the lower order batsmen out of his crease, which created a gap known as the gate for the ball to spin back into and dislodge the stumps. This created an air of delightfulness for the Barmy Army as they savoured a remarkable English victory, whereas Australia reflected on their absolute battering, dismally.

Will England be able to wrap up the series in Perth and consolidate on the joyfulness which they are presently experiencing when the 3rd Ashes Test commences on the 16th of December? Who will be the replacement for the injured players? Personally, I am backing England and would like to see Chris Tremlett preferably, however the Yorkshire boys are also more than capable of proving their worth if they get their chance to shine at the Waca. Hopefully, we see many more memorable moments.

Adelaide Test Preview

An Excellent birds eye view of the stadium is displayed below

The picturesque Adelaide Oval hosts the 2nd Ashes Test Match tonight! At this ground Australia have played 68 Matches and won 34/Lost 16/Drawn 18! England go into this match with confidence and momentum.

England have a fine record as this ground as they have won 16/lost 5/drawn 8! They will certainly fancy their chances of adding to this rather impressive record.

The pitch tends to be a flat one and therefore with the strength of the two batting line ups a draw is very much the likelihood once again.

However, having said, equally the bowling was not at its best by either side at Brisbane. Perhaps with a better performance from either bowling side, an outcome could be enforced in this 2nd Test Match.

The last time there was an Ashes Test Match played on this ground it was an absolute thriller in which Australia won by 6 wickets, despite England getting 550 and declaring in the first innings thanks to a brilliant hard working and gritty double hundred from Durham's Paul Collingwood! Australia went on to achieve the unthinkable. It was a fascinating Test in which Australia demonstrated great skill bonded with adorable belief to claim a remarkable victory.

Scorecard: http://www.espncricinfo.com/ausveng/engine/match/249223.html

England will certainly need to remain in a positive state of mind and forget about this nightmare this time around.

Australia will inevitably be ringing the changes following a frankly woeful bowling display at the Gabba in the 2nd innings. Johnson is dropped and Australia have the choice between Harris and Bollinger as the replacement who both have the potential to make an impact as well as show consistency. North will be under pressure to get some runs. His technical deficiencies for an international cricketer speak volumes and its important he contributes at number 6 which he has not been doing with regularity and doesn't seem to be able to do anyhow.

Personally, I am backing the great memories of this ground to come good for Paul Collingwood at number 5 who failed at Brisbane with the bat in the first innings. Perhaps the script is written for him to deliver here and produce the goods with his low bat lift and strong bottom hand craftiness combined with methods of unorthodoxy or gutsiness.

Should be interesting as ever. Have a good one whether playing or watching. Adelaide 2010 take it away!

Pak-Ind vs Eng/Aus

Personally I have an equal affiliation with both rivalries being a British Pakistani and therefore will clearly be fair and unbiased in analysis:

Why Ashes is bigger and better

1) More organised and systematic. Happens every 4 years in both locations. Everyone can understand where and when it will happen. Is planned more specifically and purposefully and therefore is much stronger administratively.

2) Historical context stretches for longer as the first series commenced in 1882. Plenty of history and tradition and it epitomised the popularity of cricket in they early days. Perhaps cricket would not stand where is does nowadays had this not been in place. This adds all to the meaningfulness and fascination for such a global spectacle.

3) Better conditions and pitches which are most conductive or conducive for the 5 day game which inevitably makes it undoubtedly more lively and interesting to watch or play in for that matter.

4) Anticipation and build up is second to none. For these two sides every thing with planning and feats are built towards this more or less. Whether this is healthy or not is certainly an argumentative or debatable like issue, however it all adds towards the fun in the overall equation when making contrasts.

5) Crowd and popularity/attendance for Tests is appladuable. It is considerably higher. Both countries on the whole show tremendous appreciation and acknowledgement towards the 5 day game which other countries supporters could take a leaf out of.

It would be reasonable to say that on the Test front Ashes is clearly the bigger and better affair. However, don't get me wrong, Pak-Ind rivalries are of also of high and well anticipated significance and a special encounter when ever and where the two sides clash in what ever format. On the ODI front, they are the biggest ecnounter in cricket which is followed with admirable intensity combined with a heart of passion, however the Ashes clearly remains the daddy when it comes to Tests.

In conclusion, both are needed to promote the interest, liveliness, beauty, enjoyment, history, patriotism and uniqueness of the beloved sport in this day and age. Both have done it previously, but as cricket fanatics we can only hope this great legacy continues for generations to come.

Today At The Test, Brisbane Day 4

Score: England 309/1 lead by 88 runs

England are on top at the Gabba on Day 4 thanks to centuries from skipper Strauss and an unbeaten century from vice captain Cook

They are going into the final day with confidence and the match very much looks like its heading towards a draw

England will be much happier with a draw then Australia for two reasons

1) They only need to draw the series to retain the Ashes. Thats how it works of course as they won the urn previously

2) Defeat seemed inevitable and the situation was ominious as Australia were in total command, yet they battled hard and managed to save the Test

I may be speaking too soon in all probability, however it will be very surprising if Australia can turn this one around from here and heavily disappointing on England's part if that happens

Player Of The Day (England): Strauss and Cook both were on song and led from the front. It was highly important that they batted with some responsibility and they did exactly that

Player Of The Day (Australia): As only one wicket fell, no one really. They struggled and plundered miserably

Ball Of The Day: North to Strauss. Of course it was the only wicket of the day, but a great delivery nevertheless from the part time off spinner which beat Strauss both with the flight and turn for an easy stumping by Haddin to complete the job

Photo Of The Day

^The two left hand English openers were centurions who dominated proceedings on day 4 with an opening stand of 188

Looking Ahead

Just keep going and batting for as long as possible. Its more or less just a matter of time. If KP, Collingwood and Prior can get in amongst the runs that will be brilliant from an English perspective as it would then mean that all batsmen have struck form in this all important Ashes opener at the Gabba. Most of the hard work has been done, now its just about ensuring they get the wanted result and the invaluable momentum going into Adelaide on the 3rd of December

Today At The Test, Brisbane Day 2

Score: England 260/Australia 220/5 at stumps (Hussey 81*+Haddin 22*)

Player Of The Day (Australia): Michael Hussey aka Mr Cricket. Stamped his authority and played good cricketing shots all over the wicket. Demonstrated professionalism and variety in approach.

Player Of The Day (England): Anderson got two crucial scalps either side of Lunch. There was a passage of play where he was really getting the ball to talk and deviate off the seam. Was really interesting to see.

SessionsMorning: Australia
Afternoon: England
Evening: Australia

Ball Of The DayAnderson to Watson. The perfect "in between" length creating uncertainty in the mind of Shane Watson whether to go back or forward, there was some movement off the seam, found the edge and Strauss accepted a catch in the slips to get England's first wicket of the series following an opening stand of 78.

Photo Of The Day


^An ecstatic Jimmy Anderson following the dismissal of Watson at the Gabba

Looking ahead....................

If England can strike a few early blows on day 3, they can bowl out Australia for not too much above what they got or even better I say with a sense of optimism. They need to believe they can make things happen in a flash and would and should believe that they can still win this match. I am backing them as a Pom to do it! They are still very much in the hunt if they bowl well and insert the pressure in the morning session, otherwise it could be a long and stiff task which lies ahead for them. I feel after they get Hussey, Swann will be able to rattle through the tail. There are signs of appreciable turn or purchase on this wicket and therefore if England can get some runs on the board, they stand a chance of making life tough for the Aussies as, if and when they come to bat in the 4th innings.

Ashes Final Thoughts

The winning moment at the Oval in 2009. What scenes and what a series.

England go into the Ashes down under with excellent preparation. Two significant wins against Western Australia and Australia "A" and a draw which was largely influenced by bad weather against South Australia. The signs are looking positive for Andrew Strauss's men as they search for their first Ashes win down under since 1987.

On 23rd August 2009 when Graeme Swann got one to bounce and pop up from the rough to gift a catch to Alastair Cook at short leg, the nation of Britain erupted once more just like it did on the 12th of September 2005 when Bowden and Koertzen dislodged the bails to symbolise a draw at the Oval and subsequently the fact that England had won the Ashes. Since that memorable day at the Oval in 2009, things in cricket have gradually changed for both sides.

Since the 2009 series

Australia played 12/won 8/lost 3/drew 1
England played 12/won 8/lost 2/drew 2

Prediction beforehand: 3-1 Australia
Revised Prediction: 2-2 and therefore England retain the Ashes

Why Revised?

1)Australia's record in their last 8 encounters across all formats: L/L/L/L/L/L/L/W
2)Last time England's preparation in their Australian tour was poor, not winning a single tour match prior to the first Test at Brisbane and that infamous wide ball from Steve Harmison to commence the disastrous series from an English perspective. This time it is considerably better.

Key Players

England

Graeme Swann. The off spinner has been phenomenal in the last year or so and is highly regarded as the best spinner in the world currently. His tendency to pick up a wicket in his first over is an amazing habit as is his ability to produce unplayable deliveries, become a nagging customer and be a true demon against left handers which Australia possess in their middle order. It is reasonable to say on balance that he is bound to do well and will need to perform like he has been doing in order for England to have a successful campaign.

Australia

No one really stands out for me. However, in the batting department Mr Cricket aka Mike Hussey has got the ability to turn around matches with his craftiness and experience. As a bowling attack, it's important they bowl as a unit and support each other. They lack experience and genuine quality in the spinning department which is an area England could capitalise on.

Come and Join Our Ashes Fantasy League

We are doing an Ashes Fantasy Competition here on BBK. This will be our 2nd Fantasy competition. We also did one for the 2009 ICC World T20. Hopefully we get as many participants as possible for this well anticipated illustrious cricketing rivalry. Let's see how good a selector you are!?

Usual rules apply. Select 11 players combined from both Ashes sides. You have a maximum budget of 125.

Deadline to join is only the 24th of November

The key to join our competition is: 1289142249 under "user comp join"
http://www.cricketweb.net/fantasycricket/index.php

This is how points can be scored

Each Five Runs Scored 1 Point
Scoring Rate 100+ 4 Points
Scoring Rate 80.0 - 99.9 2 Points
Scoring Rate 70.0 - 79.9 1 Point
Notes: Scoring Rate - Only batsman scoring 15+ runs

Each Wicket Taken 5 Points
R.R.P.O: 3.50 or Less 5 Points
R.R.P.O: 3.51 to 4.50 3 Points
R.R.P.O: 4.51 to 5.00 1 Point
Notes: Econ. Rate - A minimum of 3 overs must be bowled.

Per Catch 3 Points
Per WK Catch 2 Points
Per Run Out 3 Points
Per Stumping 4 Points
Notes: If applicable all players involved in a run out score points

50 Runs 5 Points
100 Runs 10 Points
150 Runs 15 Points
5 Wicket Haul 10 Points
Not Out 2 Points
Notes: These bonus points are on top of the standard points

Duck -5 Points
Golden Duck -10 Points
Bowler Concedes >= 60 Runs -5 Points

Have fun and best of luck. Should be interesting to see what happens both in the series and fantasy league.