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A blessing and a curse
Brett Lee proved his fitness during the IPL, Andrew Flintoff lost his; no wonder some will swear by the tournament and some will swear at it
May 24, 2009
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Players swear by the IPL, but some English fans may have reason to curse the lucrative tournament. Two prospective Ashes opponents provide the perfect example of why this might be the case: Australian fast bowler Brett Lee and English allrounder Andrew Flintoff.
These two talented players are already etched in Ashes history, thanks to the famous photograph after England's nailbiting victory at Edgbaston in 2005. If it wasn't for a stint in the IPL after an ankle operation, Lee wouldn't have had much chance of being chosen for this year's touring party. On the other hand, Flintoff's short stay in the IPL resulted in an injured knee, another operation, and some doubt about whether he'd be available for this year's Ashes.
Flintoff, who has already missed the series against West Indies, and is out of the Twenty20 world tournament, is in a race to be fit for the Tests against Australia. If either player misses the Ashes series, it will diminish the contest, and if England were to lose because of Flintoff's absence, there's no doubt it will raise the ire of the home fans.
The Australian fans, on the other hand, can say a quiet prayer of thanks to the IPL, because without Lee there would have been a gaping hole in the bowling attack. As it is, the Australian selectors have confused more than convinced with some of their other choices.
The main area of confusion is the choice of Andrew McDonald as an allrounder and Nathan Hauritz as the sole slow bowler. McDonald is, as one writer described former New Zealand seamer Bob Cunis, "Neither one thing nor the other." He doesn't bat well enough to be in the top six, and his bowling is of the sort that should be provided by one of the frontline batsmen. McDonald's greatest virtue as a bowler is his accuracy, and Hauritz is also better equipped to contain batsmen rather than to run through a line-up. Containers are a blessing in the shipping industry, but not a priority when choosing frontline Test bowlers.
It was disappointing that the legspinner Bryce McGain was discarded after one, albeit horrendous, Test performance. Legspinners can confuse English batsmen, and they don't always have to be Shane Warne. McGain is certainly no Warne, but he's a lot better than what he showed in South Africa.
The other hard-to-fathom selection is the absence of a back-up opening batsman. This may sound strange in view of Phillip Hughes' mastery of all bowlers - Test or county - but there will come a time when the tide turns for the aggressive left-hander. If it were to happen at the beginning of the Ashes series and to coincide with a similar downturn for his partner Simon Katich, who is a "made" rather than natural opener, then Australia has no suitable alternatives.
| Containers are a blessing in the shipping industry, but not a priority when choosing frontline Test bowlers | |||
Michael Hussey could normally fill that role, but he's currently trying to decode the mysteries of bowling and probably doesn't want to hear about facing the new ball.
What makes this situation even more worrying for Australia is the rapid improvement in England's swing-bowling armoury. The West Indies batting line-up may be ordinary, outside Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and the occasional sortie from Chris Gayle, but the England bowlers were impressive in their destruction.
Remember how England beat Australia in 2005? By good, and at times great, swing bowling. Well, they're building up another attacking force faster than North Korea, most of them with the ability to swing the ball in devastating fashion. James Anderson has really come of age, and now looks as good as anybody when the ball is swinging. Stuart Broad is improving rapidly; Tim Bresnan, once he settled down, and Graham Onions looked capable when the ball was swinging.
And if England really want to handicap Australia, they could produce some dry pitches and play two spinners. This would give them much more than a home-ground advantage.
If England have the luxury of adding Flintoff to this much-improved group of bowlers, the attack will look so much more dangerous. There's no doubt Lee improves Australia's firepower, but Flintoff's presence is crucial for England; that's why at the end of the Ashes series some may be swearing by the IPL, while others will have reason to curse it.
Feeds: Ian Chappell
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Widely regarded as the best Australian captain of the last 50 years, Ian
Chappell moulded a team in his image: tough, positive, and fearless. Even
though Chappell sometimes risked defeat playing for a win, Australia did not lose a Test series under him between 1971 and 1975. He was an aggressive batsman himself, always ready to hook a bouncer and unafraid to use his feet against the spinners. In 1977 he played a lead role in the defection of a number of Australian players to Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket, which did not endear him to the administrators, who he regarded with contempt in any case. After retirement, he made an easy switch to television, where he has come to be known as a trenchant and fiercely independent voice.
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Most of the article has nothing to do with how people feel about IPL.. good article but i dont think it should have IPL in the title.. it is more of the selection issue for the Ashes.... Ian is trying to get readers attention by using the hot word these days...
Posted by AamirJadoon on (May 26 2009, 02:01 AM GMT)Well Ian chappel you did a very good analysis of the Ashes Series and its true that the england is in a top form but I think that Australia is a favorite for this series. But I want to make one point that If I will be in the selection team I will prefer Symonds on MecDonalld because Symonds is a real match winner he can win the matches both with the bat and with the ball.
Posted by vijaydev on (May 25 2009, 14:45 PM GMT)I personally feel that England are favourites in the ashes series.They have the edge over the Australians.They have very good bowlers compared to Australia.They lack the aggressive openers of caliber Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden.Nathan Hauritz had only one good match against India where as Bryce McGain had only one bad match.The selection of Nathan Hauritz is a blunder because he is a defencive player.Under the captaincy of Andrew Strauss,the team has done exceedingly well against west Indies.The recent Ashes series in Australia was won mainly with the efforts of Stuart Clarke,Glen Mcgrath,Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist.But everyone are retired except Stuart Clarke.Key players like Strauss,Collingwood, broad,Prior and Ravi Bopara are in top form.It is very clear that England are favourites in the ashes series.
Posted by Sammurai on (May 25 2009, 14:29 PM GMT)"Michael Hussey could normally fill that role, but he's currently trying to decode the mysteries of bowling and probably doesn't want to hear about facing the new ball." - Ian Chappell, its ur masterpiece or art of criticism. I appreciate it a lot. keepit up :)
Posted by Governor on (May 25 2009, 09:24 AM GMT)I do agree with Chappelli on a number of points. The selectors have got it wrong by picking Nathan Hauritz ahead of Bryce McGain. After one bad test match, they have not given a proven leg spinner at Shield level a chance to prove himself after 1 test match. Bryce McGain is a better legspinner than his figures against South Africa this year. Who remembers Shane Warne's first test match against India in January 1991? The selectors gave him a chance in Sri Lanka back in 1992 and he came through. Secondly, Nathan Hauritz is a defensive off spinner. Defensive off spinners don't win you test matches. And, picking Brett Lee in the touring squad is a huge mistake. He has an average record against England in England. And, if you look at our previous pace attacks (1989, 1993, 1997 and 2001), our pacemen were able to bowl on English wickets (McGrath, ALderman, Lawson, Hughes, Reiffel, Julian and Dizzy). Brett Lee cannot bowl on English wickets.
Posted by riteshjsr on (May 25 2009, 05:30 AM GMT)Another great piece by my favorite cricket writer. If Flintoff does not recover in time for the Ashes, and England go on to lose (which is very likely), some English fans might well put the blame on the IPL. The fact however, is that Flintoff could have got injured playing in some county game if he weren't playing in the IPL. I do hope that he recovers in time though. Flintoff is a fierece competitor and will give as good as he gets. I agree with Mr. Chappell's views on McDonald and the exclusion of a back up batsman. Australia could have selected Phil Jacques or Brad Hodge instead of McDonald. I read some comments deriding the inclusion of Lee in the squad. I'm sure these people did not watch the IPL. Lee was brilliant in the few games that he played and I have no doubt he will be crucial to Australia's chances. Aus seem to treat their greats rather shabbily. They dumped Hayden and look how he played in the IPL. Lee will answer his critics in the Ashes.
Posted by Chris_Howard on (May 25 2009, 04:56 AM GMT)Australia should have picked Rogers or Jacques instead of McDonald and Hodge for Watson. And then played either as Hughes' opening partner and pushed Katich back down the order and Hussey to six where he could work with the tail, which would bring the best out in him. So... Hughes, Rogers/Jacques, Ponting, Clarke, Katich, Hussey/Hodge, Haddin, Johnson, Siddle, Clark, Hilfenhaus/Lee That gives the Aussies two decent part time spinners and four seam bowlers. And then the only other thing to do is not make sure Michael Clarke doesn't know when lunch/tea/stumps are coming up...
Posted by angs on (May 25 2009, 03:03 AM GMT)I feel Lee is paramount if Australia are to succeed in this years ashes...I say this for two reasons one being his experience in bowling in england and i still believe he can swing the cricket ball...Lee is a great bowler when he has the right conditions...and all the talk about the new improved england batting with bopara and all...will come to none in the ashes...ans its another thing facing an Aussie attack..and the talk about the spinner...McGain or Hauritz i dont care...the englishmen are useless when it comes to handling spin...any kind of spin...may apart from pietersen...i am going with 3-0 for australia....!!
Posted by Caughtatmidwicket on (May 25 2009, 02:03 AM GMT)Well done Chappelli, once again you've managed to bet on every horse in the race so that in the end you can declare "I picked that!". If the condition are right England's bowlers will run thru the Aussies on seaming pitches. Unless they produce dry pitches and pick two spinner or unless Brett Lee fires up or the Aussies openers don't bat well or if Hussey finds form or Flintoff is injured or KP plays for Sth Afr or Warnie returns or the weather is bad or the global economic crisis worsens or Strauss steps down as captain or Ponting turns up for the toss drunk or the WAGs of both teams impose a sex ban...... In closing, if any, some or none of these things happen England OR Australia WILL win OR retain the Ashes - mark my words. Ian Chappell signing off from the fence.
Posted by bobagorof on (May 25 2009, 00:26 AM GMT)I don't see why Lee is such a key member of Australia's bowling attack anymore. He has lost the extreme pace that made him intimidating, but hasn't picked up the necessary tricks to keep him effective. Peter Siddle is now just as capable as Lee with the ball. I think that including Lee in the squad was a mistake, as he has taken a place that could have gone to a genuine swing bowler who is likely to be able to use the English conditions better (Bollinger, Bracken, etc) or to a second spinner (McGain, Krejza, etc). Until he regains his extreme pace (147-150 kph), Lee doesn't add anything to the side that isn't already there.