Sellsy's Monday Supplement (SMS)

Not wanting to sound like Geoff Boycott the dropping of Samit Patel for the fourth Test against India was something I predicted in my blog last week. Plus in a roundabout way I also suggested that England should pick Joe Root as his replacement. So the news which broke in the early hours on Thursday morning came as no real surprise to me as it did to some of the experts in the media.

Root’s contribution in England’s first innings turned the games in the tourist’s favour, not only the runs scored but taking time out of the game ensuring that Test would be a draw, thus a series victory for England.

Root will now be in touring party to go to New Zealand where I am sure he will continue his role in the number six batting position and if he does well he we no doubt put pressure on Nick Compton to open the innings, something he already does for his county Yorkshire. Compo will also go to NZ as first choice opener with Captain Cook, rightly deserved with a good debut series averaging just under 35. How long he can stay as first choice opener will be intriguing indeed, especially for us Somerset supporters keen for Compo to succeed.

The majority of the Test squad will now fly home, with only a handful of them being picked for the T20 matches starting on Thursday. There may be a few sore heads on that plane back to Heathrow. Well done to you all and hopefully I will see Compo at The County Ground before Christmas to give him my congratulations.

Coming right down back to earth the West Somerset Cricket League fixtures are out for the 2013 season. Over Stowey 1^st XI start their Division Two campaign with a home fixture against Roadwater, however the fixture on June 22^nd will be the most anticipated when Stowey travel to Bishops Hull. The fixture last season was somewhat tainted and with comments made at the league AGM it seems that the value of the spirit of the game is completely lost by Hull. I could go on, but it is just my opinion, not that off Over Stowey.

A nice short one tonight and that will be it from me until the New Year. Have a good festive season, I know I will!

Right, 7.57, time for a few Thatchers before skittles.

Sellsy's Monday Supplement (SMS)

Douglas Jardine, two words that sends shivers down the spine of all cricket loving Aussies, will always be remembered for the infamous “Bodyline” series in the 1930’s. However, little may you know, he was the first captain to lead England to series win in India.

The present England side, led by Alastair Cook, are on the verge of history in India. They are 2-1 in the series, with one to play and with the present Indian side (and the cricket mad nation) in utter disarray, surely a series win is England’s to throw away.

A lot of credit, and rightly so, will go to Cook. He has led from the front, not only scoring hundred’s for fun, but lifting his side after a crushing defeat in the first Test. Boy, how the others responded, great batting, excellent bowling and this has been matched by wonderful support in the field.

The final Test starts on Thursday and England will travel to Nagpur aiming to win the series 3-1. Now this start date will mean that I may miss the third and fourth days, due to some festive celebrations going on, so my only hope is that the cricket goes in to the fifth day so that, hopefully, I will see some cricketing history.

With the Indian media putting the majority of the present team out to dry, including MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, the English media are heaping praise in every department, a bit different than what it was three weeks ago. I can’t foresee many changes for Thursday, if any at all. Steven Finn is now fully fit and will keep Stuart Broad out for sure, and with Ian Bell’s cameo to win the game on Sunday his place is now safe. The only possible change would be to drop Samit Patel for another batsman. Samit has contributed little with the ball, apart from a few overs so the front line bowlers can have a break, and his batting doesn’t inspire whatsoever. His saving grace is that he has been playing in a winning team, whereas bringing in a batsman like Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root or Eoin Morgan could be tricky as they have had no or very little time out in the middle to prove their worth.

This is just a minor detail compared to what Indian team will be selected for Thursday!

All this and not one word about Somerset’s Nick Compton! Just goes to show what an impressive start he has made to his Test career, averaging about 42, I am sure he will be delighted with this return, plus he has been in the middle when the winning runs have been scored to win the last two Tests. Expected he is absolutely thrilled to bits about proceedings.

Ok, enough superlatives about England, lets talk about the other end of the scale, Australia. Well, in fact Ricky Ponting. You may be aware that Punter has now hung up his international boots and with that all the tributes started to poor in. This included his international captain, Michael Clarke, who I am led to believe broke down in his own personal tribute to Ricky. Haven’t we seen this before with other Australian captains?

Ponting, for me, will be remembered for a few things. His utter brilliance in playing for Somerset, scoring runs for fun and the introducing the likes of Justin Langer to the county, where, then after, Somerset never looked back. His three Ashes defeats as captain and lastly the look on his face as he was caught out in the first Test in 2005 at Lord’s, as it was Somerset’s James Hildreth who took the catch, and he was only on as a substitute fielder! Thank you for the memories Ricky.

Right, 5.57, time for a few Thatchers before skittles.