Sellsy's Monday Supplement

At about 7.00 am Tuesday morning England’s new hero Ben Stokes will bring up his double century to secure victory in the third Ashes Test, and then no doubt my alarm will go off to wake me from my dream! 

Even though Ben has given us supporters some hope on the fourth day, I do think he is delaying the inevitable. The Ashes are lost; there is no doubt about it, so let’s move on.

 

What next for England, or should I say who’s next? Well they have two more Tests to play, some pointless One Day Internationals and T20 games and then a trip back to Blighty – some might say on the slowest steam ship you can find. 

 

Between the Aussie trip and the English season in 2014, England have some ODI’s in the West Indies and then it’s World T20 series, but this is just a bit of fun before Test series against Sri Lanka and India next summer. Who will survive between the inevitable in Perth to the first Test in June at Lord’s? 

 

There are players in the current squad who have distinguished careers and their Test record proves this. But some are getting near or even past their sell-by-date. So is it time to say to some of these guy’s thanks and goodbye. Or should we question the coach, Andy Flower, and his back-up team, have they past their sell-by-date? 

 

Yes, it’s prediction time, or should I say my point of view. The Ashes are good as lost, so why not experiment with some players who have not featured so far in the series, or even look at some guys who are playing in the Academy out there in Aus. 

With Jonathan Trott now missing from the fold, there is an opportunity for someone to step up and come in to the England set-up and make number three his own. I don’t think Joe Root should be there at three, he is an opener, so let him open. Michael Carberry has had his chance, made a few scores, but not gone on to make a telling score.

 

I would like to see England give Gary Ballance an opportunity at three, Kevin Pietersen at four, Ian Bell at five, and then comes six and seven, seven being the wicketkeeper. Matt Prior should now give way. He has had an absolute nightmare series, with the bat and especially behind the stumps. Missed stumpings, catches he should be going for, sloppy keeping letting byes go between his legs etc. The wicketkeeper is a central part of a fielding unit, if he does well behind the stumps; the whole team aspires to this. Jonny Bairstow should be given a chance in Melbourne.

 

Ben Stokes will keep his place at six for now, the England need to decide what they want from him, a third seamer who can bat, a genuine all rounder or a batsman who is your fourth seamer. I must admit I do like the look of Ben; he has impressed me with his aptitude, his desire and his never say die attitude (yes have a go at Warner, Johnson and co.). 

 

If the batting is a problem, the bowling unit is a nightmare. I just can’t see where the next wicket is going to come from. Boyd Rankin should now step in, if Broad is fit or not. You must keep James Anderson in the side, and for now continue with Tim Bresnan. Then after the series is over have a look at other options.

The next two Tests I would line-up as: Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Gary Ballance, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann (just), Boyd Rankin and James Anderson. When finished say goodbye to Flower and co. 

Then for the first Test against Sri Lanka in June: James Harris for Bresnan, Danny Briggs for Swann and Jos Buttler for Bairstow. Then tell the likes of James Taylor, Eoin Morgan, go back to County cricket and heavily nudge the selectors. And also tell the likes of Matt Prior, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Chris Tremlett, goodbye! 

All this may seem that I’m hitting the panic button, but what I’ve seen and heard over the last three Tests changes need to be made. Look at Andre Villas-Boas, two thumping’s and he’s been sacked (had to have a dig at Spurs!). 

Anyway, enough of my point of view, I may off calmed down by next week. Time for a Thatchers me thinks, well it is 5.27!

Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Another humiliating defeat in the hands of the old enemy, what more can I say. Shall I try to break it down, a lot of other critics, experts, drinkers in the Cottage (experts then) already have!

 

·         Mitchell Johnson – Taken 17 wickets so far this series, the majority of them the English lower order. He is not as threatening as people make out, he only bowls in short spells, just need to see him off, aka Ian Bell

·         Dismissals – 21 of the English wickets to fall have been caught in the leg side. A very high percentage being caught and an even higher percentage on the leg side. In other words poor shot selection.

·         Can’t catch – how many more dollies?

·         Twilight of career - Some off the English players have already reached the top of the game, now they are in the slippery slope downwards, and not much is coming in behind – sound familiar?

·         Not enough depth – Who is going to replace the likes of Anderson, Swann, Prior, Trott, Pietersen? From what I can see in reserve, not much.

·         Andy Flower – Thank you for what you have achieved for England, now time to move on.

·         Unsure of best side – The side which went out in 2010/11, the 11 which started in Brisbane was somewhat a done deal! Now we don’t know who is going to open, go in at three, five and six, plus what bowling attack to use.

·         Shortcomings in the summer – 3-0 was the score to England, but it was a lot closer than that. The Aussies could and should of won at Trent Bridge and they had England on the ropes at Old Trafford and Chester-le-Street.  

I could go on, but what’s the point, need to move on. First thing is to get the selection right in Perth and not lose! I believe England have only won once there, and that was against an Australian 3^rd XI some 40 years ago. 

Then win at Melbourne and Sydney, happy hunting grounds recently, so the series will be tied and the Ashes retained. Then all what I’ve written above can be binned (but not forgotten).  

But will this really happen? Well this current crop of English players have surprised me in the past (notably India last winter), so why not or am I being optimistic? 

Ok, 5.27, time to get some much needed sleep, no skittles or Thatchers tonight!

Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Again the ECB has come up trumps with the 2014 County fixtures - a home game for Somerset on my birthday! In fact day three off a County Championship fixture against Nottinghamshire. I can already envisage a hot day, with a birthday cider slipping down my throat as I’m sat on Gimblett Hill, with Somerset chasing a mediocre score to win – role on May.
 

Somerset have a tough start to the 2014 County Championship campaign, opening up with fixtures against last year’s runners-up and champions, namely Yorkshire and Durham.  Ok, games in Division One are difficult whoever the opposition, so if the mighty Set have any aspirations for 2014, then there is nowhere better to begin than the top two from the previous season. Need to walk the walk, not let us go through hell and the prospect of relegation.

On reflection, it seems that I’ll be watching a lot more cricket during 2014. A lot of County Championship games start on a Sunday, so days two and three will be on days that I finish early at work! T20 cricket mainly falls on a Friday; again that falls in nicely with my work pattern. The only concern is the 50 over competition, it looks as if I will miss one home game, due to work commitments, but hey I can take a days’ holiday.

Has anyone any idea what the batting line-up will be for England for the second Ashes Test which starts on Thursday (midnight on Wednesday)? The only certainty is that Alastair Cook and Michael Carberry will open the innings and Kevin Pietersen will bat at four. So who at three, five and six? Ian Bell and Joe Root will take up two of those positions, probably three and five, which will leave one more space, the number six slot. So who will it be out off Gary Ballance, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow?

To be fair, the England batting order needs a good shake up, so it may not be a bad thing having to make changes in the top six. This Test will surely show the character of the tourists, especially suffering a heavy defeat in the first Ashes Test; then losing such an important player in Jonathan Trott. In contrast the Aussies are buoyant and by judging from the press down under, oozing confidence.

With all the talk about batting, England still need to get the bowling attack right - an attack which needs to take 20 wickets. It looks as if Tim Bresnan will feature in Adelaide; so I assume he will take the place off Chris Tremlett. No room for Monty? Somehow I think he may be needed.

If Monty does play, I just hope we don’t have the same stadium announcer as the one England had in their tour match in Alice Springs. For those of you who don’t know, Monty was introduced to the crowd by the announcer in a mock Indian accent, in which he was then subsequently suspended. I believe the row is still ongoing.

Ok, 5.27, no skittles, so no Thatchers. But a trip to Portishead instead for a 21^st birthday party (on a Monday!), now I wonder if they have Thatchers there?

Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Don’t Panic! I know England got a hammering in the first Ashes Test, but the score is 1-0, if we lost by 20 runs it would still be 1-0 (am clutching already?!?).  

Since the defeat a lot has been written in the media, said on social networks and discussed over a few pints in the Cottage Inn; it seems that everyone has an opinion, including me. 

But I am not here to rip in to selection, individual performances, who should play in Adelaide, lets look at the positives……………………………. Ok, let’s rip in to them or should I talk about flower arranging instead! 

What annoys me the most is that I tried my best to stay awake through these cold winter nights either listening to TMS or watching the coverage on Sky. All that practice I done in arranging my sleep pattern, don’t the England players know what sacrifices us dedicated supporters go through for the sake of English cricket. 

The news of Jonathan Trott leaving the tour because of a stress-related illness has certainly put the game into perspective. The comments of David Warner saying Trott’s display was “poor and weak” and he had “scared eyes” was certainly disrespectful at the time they were made, it has now added more fuel to flames the next time these two meet in under a fortnight’s time. On this occasion Warner has certainly got it horribly wrong. Trott has certainly made the right decision to return home, and I hope to see him back in an England shirt whenever he is ready. 

With Trott on his way back to the UK, his departure has echoes of the 2006/7 tour where Marcus Trescothick left the tour for the same reason, and England went on to lose the series 5-0. The backbone of the side was horribly exposed during the first Test, now it is surely broken. 

Trott along with Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson have been the main cogs in this well oiled Test side in recent years. After the first Ashes Test some of these cogs have seemed to have got rusty. Swann and Prior are not working like they were 12 months ago; the batsmen, who have wonderful Test records, are not going on to score big runs to take the team total over 400; and the bowlers are no longer performing as a unit. 

On the subject of bowlers, Stuart Broad. Why does it take some awful journalism to pump him up and make him unplayable? Surely pulling on an England shirt should be enough, not some shoddy newspaper articles. 

Time for wholesale changes? Well someone has to take Trott’s place at number three, probably Ian Bell will be promoted and one off Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow or Ben Stokes will go in at number six. Apart from that I wouldn’t do much more, but Prior needs to step up his game before it is too late and the Ashes are lost. Who is in the performance squad that can put pressure on his position, well none other than former Somerset player Jos Buttler. Food for thought? 

The first Ashes Test was a great advert for Test cricket, how a game can suddenly change in one devastating spell, shame it was Mitchell “porn star tash” Johnson and Australia, during an Ashes Test. Can England bounce back, let’s hope so. 

On a domestic front, great to see James Hildreth appointed Somerset vice-captain for the 2014 season, richly deserved. Trescothick will still lead the County for another season and with David Nosworthy ringing the changes on the coaching front – Andy Hurry moving sideways, Dave Houghton and Jason Kerr taking up batting and bowling coaching positions respectfully - the 2014 season already beckons to be an interesting, but exciting one. It seems that Nosworthy is going to be more hands on in the day to day running of the team. 

Ok, 5.27, time for a Thatchers or two before skittles.

Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Quality from Kevin Pietersen, just before the first Ashes Test, tweeting “No one has heard of Brisbane outside Oz!” It seems that KP and Stuart Broad are having a bit of banter with Aussie journalist on Twitter.

KP was pictured walking alone, listening to ear phones and wearing a rucksack as he arrived at Brisbane airport on Monday. Brisbane’s tabloid newspaper, The Courier Mail, put a picture on the front page with a headline stating “he’s so arrogant even his own team does not like him”.

KP thanked the reporter for the story. He wrote: “putting me on the front page does wonders for my ego! You've done me proud. Thank you x” then adding “I would have preferred a Sydney front page.....No one has heard of Brisbane outside Oz!”

Broad on the other hand, was somewhat different, as he was accused in asking that two spectators be ejected from the SCG for heckling him.

Broad was defending himself from accusations by Jimmy Smith, a former rugby league player who is now a radio journalist in Sydney.

Broad answered “If you're gonna make stuff up to get attention for yourself you may as well make it half decent. Pathetic.” Smith defended his claim by saying "not making it up Stuart. Heard directly from a witness. No knowledge of this then?" to which Broad replied “I think you can answer your last question from my previous tweets. Have a good day.”

This all stems from Broad not walking in the recent series here in the UK, where he edged the ball to slips and didn’t walk. Darren Lehmann, the Australian coach, then stoked the fire by asking the Australian fans to send “cheating” Broad home by making him cry following his refusal to walk in the Trent Bridge Test.

Somehow me thinks that this series could be a bit vocal, with loads of chatter, banter, abuse, sledging, whatever you want to call it. So who is going to have the last laugh? We will soon find out as the Ashes begin Wednesday night / Thursday morning, now how is my sleep pattern?

Nick Compton, who should be in Australia, has been keeping himself busy over the winter months by doing some excellent ambassadorial work.

He has visited a place called Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles. Just three years ago the FBI ranked it the 15th most dangerous place in the US. In the last six months alone there have been nearly 700 violent crimes. It is under gang rule and covered in their graffiti, the birthplace of drive-by shootings and drug warfare. In other words, the Compton name in LA is plains away from Lord’s, the home of the cover drive and the flick off the hip.

So why is Compton in Compton, well, there is a Compton Cricket Club, and Nick was intrigued and accepted an invitation to go over and see if he could help in a place rendered helpless.

In Nick’s words: “To give you an idea — three of the original Compton Cricket Club have since died and that is considered a pretty good survival rate in these parts. One of the victims, Jesse Cazarez, brother of fellow players Emidio and Ricardo, was killed in a drive-by shooting outside his home in February 2009, aged 20.”

“It was always my grandfather’s dream to give children who were deemed ‘at risk’ the opportunity to travel and go on tour, and reap the benefits of cricket with its sportsmanship and camaraderie. He wanted to convey the message of peace and cricket that the original members of the Compton CC have done. I’d like to realise my grandfather’s dream. It may not be the Ashes, but it’s certainly an exciting new adventure for me and not a bad way to spend the winter.”

The Daily Mail website has some very thought provoking pictures and more to the story about Cricket in the Hood! Well worth a look.

Nick is also an ambassador for FRANK Water, which saves lives through funding innovative and sustainable clean water projects in developing countries, and has recently come back from India, where he first become of their work during England’s tour last winter. More of this over the next few weeks, but anyway, well done Nick, great stuff.

 

Anyway, 5.27, time for skittles and Thatchers up the Cottage. Come on England!

Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Have you ever volunteered for a task, thinking how difficult could it be? And it ends up being a bit of a headache!

Well, yours truly has been tasked with searching the Over Stowey Cricket Club archives so as to document who held what position within the club since the war. The last 30 odd years since I have been associated with the club are easy to document (just some trouble with dates), however going back before that is a bit troublesome.

So where do I start, old minute books are favourite, but who has them? I first approached former club Chairman, Steve Little, for some help, guidance and direction. Firstly he has no minute books, secondly he believes that the great pavilion flood some 20+ years ago wiped out all records, but he did give me other names in who to contact.

My second port of call was another former Chairman, Simon Pickard, who gave me a bit more hope and guidance. He believes that the flood only wiped out score books, not minute books (phew), and he gave me a more positive lead in someone who to contact – my next step this week.

I now have names going back to the late 70’s and early 80’s to the present date, one or two holes to fill and one or two question marks over names in the right position within the club. Was Steve Darch ever 2^nd XI captain, me thinks he was.

Also, putting names on a piece of paper makes you think whatever happened to these guys? Where is Steve Holley now? Does anyone remember Jim Holden? Is Robin Moiser still scoring the majority of his runs behind square?

As you can see, I have more questions than answers, but I am confident things will unravel itself over the winter months. But is there anyone out there who can help?

Anyway, Ashes, just over a week away, and only one more warm-up game to go. Matt Prior is an injury concern, Michael Carberry looks as if he is favourite to open the innings, Joe Root will thus fill the number six spot, but who will be the third seamer? Has Graham Onions been called up yet?

Selection will become clearer during the final warm-up game over the next week. In the mean time I will start getting my Ashes practice in, adjusting my sleep pattern! So how will I do this, get home from work and straight to bed, wake up at 11pm, watch the first few hours under the duvet on my iPhone, then back to sleep for four more hours, then awake for the end of the last session before going to work. How difficult can it be?

Well, there are a few spanners, skittles Friday and Monday, so, no sleep before the start of play, thus missing the whole days’ play I expect. Plus I have the problem of work, in fact driving to work, something not to be done when tired.

A simple solution to all this is give up work, book up the next available flight to Australia and clear off for two months, now that would be nice!

Ok, 5.27, time to get ready for skittles, Thatchers et al!

Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Why is Graham Onions playing First Class cricket this winter in South Africa rather than International cricket in Australia? Answer: The English selectors have made a very grave error in overlooking the leading wicket taker in the English 2013 county season. 

I believe nearly everyone who knows something about cricket asked the question in why Onions was omitted from the Ashes squad.  Are the selectors really banking on Tim Bresnan being fit? If so, short sightedness comes to mind. 

Chris Tremlett, Boyd Rankin and Steve Finn are supposed to be vying for the third seamer spot. On the evidence of the first warm up game against, effectively a Western Australia 2^nd XI, I would put them on the first plane home back to the UK, 2^nd class with at least three changes in some remote airports in countries ending in “Stan”, where the local goat farmer acts as passport control! 

Ok, not really hitting the panic button yet, but between them they sent down 66 overs in the first innings for 300+ runs for just two wickets, not really International standard. Stick Onions on a plane to Australia now! 

Let the Ashes phoney war begin. Shane Warne has accused Alastair Cook being a negative captain. “I think he needs to be more imaginative," said Warne. "If Australia play well and he continues to captain the way he does, I think England are going to lose the series. I don't think he can captain like that. I'm not the only one who thinks Alastair Cook is a negative captain." 

I believe he said something similar before the last Ashes series last summer. Must I remind Mr Warne off the score? Ok, I will, 3-0 to England. Just stick to poker and eating burgers please. 

No doubt there will be other former players giving their opinions over the next fortnight before the first Ashes Test in Brisbane. Accusations, followed by counter claim, a few predictions then let’s get on with it and let cricket do the talking. 

I see Somerset have re-signed Alviro Petersen for next summer, nice one. As South Africa have no international commitments next summer, Alviro will be available for the majority of the 2014 campaign. Expect a lot of South Africans in County Cricket next summer me thinks.  

With the 2014 membership going on sale today (prices have been frozen), the news will no doubt encourage supporters to renew their membership, I know I will. Will 2014 be the year for Somerset? Just need to find a bowler who can take 70+ wickets, Jamie Overton, over to you. 

Ok, 5.27, skittles is back tonight, more Thatchers please.