Buzzin Cricket

Graeme Swann

England bowled South Africa out for 418 on the second day of the first Test match at Centurion, following a long day in which South Africa built patiently on their overnight score of 262 for 4, making things extremely difficult for the English bowlers.

Graeme Swann scored the third five wicket haul of his short Test career, at a cost of 110 runs, while Graham Onions took 3 for 86, with Paul Collingwood collecting four catches for England, but missing out on a record five in one innings when he dropped Harris on 24.

A tired looking England had to wait until after tea to finish South African off  before setting about the task of run making.

The South African bowlers Ntini, playing his 100th Test, and De Wet put England under pressure from the start and Cook was first to go for 14 runs, caught Boucher, bowled De Wet.

Jonathan Trott at number three survived a strong lbw appeal that had to be reviewed by the TV umpire before settling in alongside Strauss and building a quick 50 partnership.

Score at the end of Day Two, First Innings:

South Africa : 418 all out    England : 88 for 1

stuart broad

England fast bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson have snubbed the lure of the Indian Premier League and it’s riches to concentrate on their respective England Test match careers, and the upcoming back to back series against Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2010.

23 year old Broad and Anderson 27, were widely expected to cash in on their Ashes win this year by playing in next seasons Indian Premier League, but good news for England is that the pair will instead focus their energies on their international careers.

Both players have suggested that they would be interested in joining the IPL, should the opportunity arise in the future. Broad said;

“It was a hard decision – the IPL is a hugely exciting prospect and it’s something I would love to play in at some stage, especially leading up to the 2010 World Twenty20. I have four Tests in South Africa that will be hard work. At 23, I should give my body a break whenever I can. A three-week break after a hard winter’s touring will be better used resting my body.”

Broad also revealed that his agent had spoken to a few IPL teams and says that there is definitely plenty of money around, but he will be sticking by his decision for now.

Anderson also has concerns over keeping his body fit and is already looking ahead to the Ashes series in Australia next winter, he said;

“I am proud to be playing cricket for England and my international career is more important than anything which is why I have decided not to compete in the IPL in 2010. Taking on Australia next winter is going to be a huge challenge and one that I am fully committed to. I want to be an integral part of the first England cricket team to retain the Ashes since 1972 and I will be giving myself the best possible chance of achieving that by not playing in the IPL.”

England all rounder Andrew Flintoff picked up his knee injury while playing in the IPL last year and Kevin Pietersen is believed to have aggravated his Achilles problem while training with Bangalore Royal Challengers, a claim that the player has vehemently denied.

Mark Lane, head coach of the England Women’s Cricket team has been named as the UK Coach of the Year, by the UK Coaching Awards. The 41 year old also won the high performance coach of the year for his achievements in the World Cup and World Twenty20 competitions.

Lane had taken over the role as head coach of the England Women’s Cricket team in April 2008, following the sudden resignation of Mark Dobson midway through a tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Lane coached the Womens side to unprecedented victories in both the World Cup and the World Twenty20 finals during 2009.

Hugh Morris managing director of England Cricket said: “I would like to congratulate Mark on his awards which are thoroughly deserved after an outstanding year for women’s cricket in England and Wales.”

While Clare Connor, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s head of women’s cricket, said: “Mark has played a key role in helping the England women’s team develop into a truly world-class side and he should be congratulated on a year of unprecedented success.”

What are the chances of Mark Lane being offered a place on England Men’s coaching staff?

virender sehwag

India’s unbelievable blitzing of Sri Lanka in the third Test, by an innings and twenty four runs has moved them to become the world’s top ranked Test team for the first time.

And how they deserve to have reached such a pinnacle, made all the more fitting by their recent performances in the final home Test match against Sri Lanka.

Virender Sehwag’s blistering innings of 293, deservedly earned him the man of the match and man of the series awards as India won the series 2-0.

Captain Sachin Tendulkar said of the current Indian team;

“I would not hesitate to say this is the best team I have ever played with, if you look at the batting line-up, right from the number one batsman to the number seven batsman which is Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it’s a solid line-up.”

I think the process of getting to the number one spot really started when (coach) Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton took over, along with Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh.

The aim of the whole team then was to get to be the top in the world. All credit to Kirsten, he handled the team brilliantly and credit also to the other players who have been a part of this team over the last 18-20 months.”

When they are in full flow, India are a true delight to watch, possessing some of the most in form batsmen in world cricket at present, if they can maintain this level of cricket they will be at the top of the rankings for a long time to come.

andrew strauss

Both England captain Andrew Strauss and South African captain Graeme Smith feel that their respective teams are capable of better performances than they have so far achieved in the five game ODI series and both will be hoping for a dominant performance in the final game tomorrow.

England, perhaps surprisingly, have the edge over South Africa in this competition so far, leading 2-1 with one to go following the first match wash out, they are in a position where they cannot lose the series and a far cry from the dreadful ODI series against Australia earlier this year.

Smith meanwhile will be spitting feathers whenever he reads the scoreline, he said ahead of the final game;

“If we had played to our potential England would have had to take a few more risks up front while they were batting instead of us allowing them to play a certain way. We haven’t pushed them to perform under pressure and that is disappointing.”

Strauss acknowledged that England had put South Africa under pressure in the series, and says that the team have progressed quite a long way but adds that England are far from the finished article and still have a long way to go.

The England captain said; “We have to play well tomorrow and have to expect another South African backlash.”