Arguing the toss

Apparently, Essex lost the toss again in their County Championship match against Somerset and have yet to win one this season. That’s five games played, five lost tosses.

Tosses can be important in cricket because the weather conditions are so important to how a game progresses - but can they really determine the outcome of the match?

Surely with so many variables, not to mention the performance of both sides, the toss shouldn’t be so crucial?

Despite being thrashed by eight wickets with a day to spare by Lancashire in the County Championship, Essex coach Paul Grayson reckons his side might have won the game had they won the toss.

Speaking to Dave ‘Darnell’ Arnold of the Essex Chronicle, he said: “It was the first day pitch that was a bit lively, we lost the toss and they exploited the conditions.

“I think if we would have won the toss, I’m pretty confident we would have won the game, because I think we would have bowled them out for a similar sort of score.”

It might have helped if they’d have had Jimmy Anderson at his fearsome best playing for them too. But is that a reasonable assessment, can games be won or lost or tosses?

Former Essex and England batsman Nasser Hussain was good at losing the toss. When England captain, he lost the toss for the 14 consecutive times.

Ironically though, Nasser was most severely castigated when he won the toss in the first Ashes match of the 2002-3 series in Brisbane and decided to bowl rather than bat against Steve Waugh’s team.

Hussain’s England were roundly thrashed and Australia went on to win the series 4-1. Many pointed to that first morning decision after the toss of the coin as a turning point.

Winning the toss and making the right decision can be important but if Nasser’s lads had bowled better his decision might not have been so ridiculed. Besides, they were up against Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Warne, McGrath and co in their pomp.

And Steve Waugh later admitted he would have bowled had he won the toss.

Ton-up Billy

Essex will be reasonably happy with the first two days of their County Championship match against Somerset at Taunton.

On what’s reported to be a reasonably benign pitch, Somerset made 387 all out with David Masters once again the pick of the Essex bowlers, taking four for 83 off 27 overs.

Even more encouraging for Mark Pettini’s side was Billy Godleman’s maiden century for Essex. The opener fell just short of a ton in the opening game of the season against Hampshire but he mixed poise with panache in his 106 runs off 196 balls, including 12 fours and 3 sixes.

Essex finished the day on 262 for five and with Foster and ten Doeschate settled in they will want to at least match Somerset’s total on day three of the contest.

Fozzie for England (# 293)

I'm tired of writing it, you're tired of reading it, even James Foster is fed up of being asked about it... but the Essex wicketkeeper really should be the England gloveman.

In his round-up of the opening salvos of the cricket season, Patrick Kidd looked at players who might score a 1,000 runs before the end of May and noted that Surrey wickie Steven Davies was leading the chase.

But he then noted that Foster had got off to a flyer runs-wise scoring 325 runs at an average of 65, despite the Lancashire debacle, making him the fifth highest run-scorer in Division One of the Championship and the sixth most valuable player in the PCA ratings (his Essex team mates David Masters and Ryan ten Doeschate lie seventh and eighth respectively).

Foster has also been named by Jack Russell as not just the best glovesman in the country but in the world. Pretty high praise from one of the most brilliant keepers this country has produced.

With those credentials, you'd think Foster was a certainty for an England call...

But no, when the England squad for the first Test against Bangladesh in May is announced, you can be sure James Foster's name won't be on it.

Read Patrick Kidd's article here http://timesonline.typepad.com/line_and_length/2010/04/ten-thoughts-on-the-county-season-so-far.html

Don't panic, don't panic

Essex need to heed the time-honoured words of Lance-Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army after two morale-sapping defeats in the space of three days: Don’t Panic.

The crushing County Championship loss to Lancashire a day early on Friday was followed by a 10 wicket rout by Yorkshire Carnegie in the first match of the rebranded 40 over competition yesterday.

The latter loss was Essex’s heaviest defeat in a one day match which Yorkshire achieved with more than four overs to spare.

Few positives can be taken from either match, save a couple of half centuries from Ryan ten Doeschate and Alastair Cook in the longer format and a typically assured, intelligent century from Grant Flower in the one day game.

If the Championship game was all but lost after the batting collapse on the first day, the 40 over game was a stroll in the park for Yorkshire’s batters after Essex posted a middling total but then bowled without a hint of menace or threat.

The omens were bad from the start when Alistair Cook was befuddled by a full toss from Tino Best which knocked over his middle stump. The West Indian’s delight at removing the Essex and England opener was evident in his rather extravagant celebrations which provoked laughter from the crowd. They didn’t have much to laugh about the rest of the day.

From there on, the Essex innings was a stuttering affair with no fluency. Most Essex batsmen conspired to give their wickets away rather than be bowled out and every time Mark Pettini’s side seemed to be settling into a groove they lost batsmen. Their modest total of 232 looked very gettable on a pitch which didn’t seem to do a lot.

If the batting was unconvincing, the bowling was uninspired. Yorkshire openers Andrew Gayle and Jacques Rudolph were comfortable from the outset and never looked in trouble. One spilled catch was the only sniff of a chance for Essex and a strange sense of resignation set in early on.

Essex’s bowling performance was almost entirely lacking in energy and ideas. A worrying sign.

Next up today in the Championship are Somerset who've lost both their games so far and lie bottom of the table.

A good time, then, for Essex to show some character and get back in the winning habit.

113 beers, not out

The beers are on you, Grant...
Essex have had little to celebrate the last few days after successive trouncings from Lancashire and Yorkshire.
One Essex player can take some consolation, however. Zimbabwean Grant Flower chalked up an unbeaten 113 against Yorkshire Carnegie in the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition on Sunday and will no doubt be pleased with his knock, his first One Day century for Essex.
Even more good news for Grant comes with the fact that he’s being sponsored by The Golden Fleece in Chelmsford and the Brentwood Beer Company this season to the tune of a pint for every run he scores. On Sunday’s tally, he’s due 113 pints next time he drops into The Golden Fleece so I might keep popping by the pub myself, just in case he’s got a brewery’s worth of beer amassed at the bar.

Essex need to regroup

St George's Day, a time to celebrate all things English like tea, scones, immaculate lawns and batting collapses.
The latter has certainly been evident at the County Ground in the last few days. Today Essex managed to follow up their awful batting display of Wednesday with something equally abysmal today.
Lancashire trounced the home side by eight wickets today to inflict Essex's first defeat of the season.
Only Ryan ten Doeschate put up serious resistance with a defiant half century in the first innings and today Alastair Cook was the only Essex batsmen with any staying power. And that didn't last that long.
Essex had the merest sniff of a chance in this match when they had Lancashire three down on Wednesday night and then 134 for five on Thursday, still 40 odd behind.
But while the stunning win against Hampshire and the encouraging draw with Durham might have allayed fears about Essex's ability to compete in the first division of the County Championship, this match exposed the side's batting and bowling weaknesses.
Godleman, Mickleburgh, ten Doeschate and Foster have all shown they're capable of scoring runs this season but other batsmen need to show they can too. Messrs Maunders and Pettini in particular could do with some runs.
On the bowling front, David Masters has been the most effective but the others are not carrying enough menace. Chris Martin, if his travel plans can be organised, will be a welcome addition. Even more so Danish Kaneria. The Pakistan spinner has been Essex's most destructive bowler in recent years. He could be the key to Essex's season but he'll be on international duty from July onwards.
The best tonic for Pettini's men, of course, would be a win in their first 40 over game of the season against Yorkshire at Chelmsford on Sunday.
Maybe a spot of bowling and practice tomorrow would be useful too.

Bouncebackability

Well, it could have been worse. After a disastrous morning session, Essex bounced back this afternoon thanks to a resilient innings from Ryan ten Doeschate and some useful support from Chris Wright.
I managed my first foray to the County Ground this afternoon after tea and caught up on the day's events with some of the crowd. Jimmy Anderson was on fire for Lancs, swinging the ball on a green wicket, but none of the other bowlers were that menacing according to my new pals at the River End.
I saw Tendy reach his half century and apparently he'd endured a couple of body blows in the day from short deliveries, but soldiered on. Essex were all out not long after for 176.
A poor total but after being 78 for six at lunch it had a whiff of near respectability about it. And for England fans it was reassuring to see Anderson back from injury and in fine fettle, finishing with figures of six for 44.
Lancashire got off to a flyer in reply with Chris Wright's wayward bowling being punished by Stephen Moore in particular who got a half century in double quick time. But three Lancashire wickets before the end of play, including that of Moore, left the visitors on 83 for three.
Undoubtedly, Lancashire had the best of the day but the match is still nicely poised. One thing Essex do seem to have is bouncebackability, as Ian Dowie would say.

One of the chaps I was talking to on the boundary was Alan Saywood, vice chairman and secretary of the Essex Cricket Society and a popular figure at the County Ground.
I spent an hour and a half chatting with him as the shadows across the pitch lengthened and it was great to hear his stories of the players and former players who give talks to the society.
Check out their website at http://ecs.councilcricketsocieties.com/

Also check out http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/ for live text updates on Ess.ex matches this season. It features some sharp banter from David Arnold. He's very much looking forward to your feedback...

Collapso cricket

Deary me. The County Ground may have been bathed in sunshine this morning, but Essex's batsmen haven't covered themselves in glory.

A collapse worthy of a house of cards built on the slopes of an Icelandic volcano has been taking place with Essex 7 for three early on before a recovery led by skipper Mark Pettini and wickie James Foster got them out of the mire. But this didn't last long and at lunch they are 78 for six with Ryan ten Doeschate needing to put in a few hours at the crease to get his team out of this particular hole.

Dutch courage needed this afternoon, Tendy...

Essex thwarted, Duckworth Lewis Method nominated...

Essex should, on paper, be very satisfied with their draw away to reigning County champs Durham but on the long journey back home they were probably reflecting on what might have been a momentous win.

After a sticky start on Thursday morning, Essex dominated most of the match due in most part to some fine batting from Jaik Mickleburgh and James Foster who took Essex from 102 for four to an imposing 441 in their record-breaking fifth wicket stand of 339.

Essex then lost six wickets for just 43 runs, showing just how crucial that partnership was.

For Mickleburgh it could prove to be a breakthrough innings. The young Norfolk batsman has already impressed the folk at Essex having come through the academy there and this winter was part of the England Performance Squad.

England selector James Whitaker saw the 20-year-old’s mature innings against Durham and must have been impressed. Whitaker will have also seen James Foster’s 169 which included 19 fours and two sixes.

Already acknowledged as the country’s best gloveman, it can’t be long before the clamour grows again for Foster to get a long overdue chance behind the stumps for England if he continues to bat like this.

But then again, we’ve heard that argument every season for the past four or five years. Foster must feel like he has to score a century each innings and take at least 15 catches a match to be considered.

Stubborn Durham batting and the weather played their part in thwarting Essex’s second win in a row on their return to the top tier of the County Championship.

It also didn’t help that Durham were captained by Hollywood superstar Will Smith. The Men In Black star donned his whites for the match at the Riverside with temperatures as low as a bracing 9 degrees on at the start of the match.

Not exactly the Californian temperatures he’s used to but Smith, a nippy bowler who can reverse-swing in the right conditions, toughed it out in the north east.

Kiwi bowler Chris Martin, Essex’s overseas signing in the absence of the delayed Danish Kaneria, has been delayed himself. The two Vs are holding the New Zealander up… a visa and a volcano.

There’s been a delay in the processing of his work visa (apparently he was being confused with the lead singer of Coldplay who’s not allowed back in the country) and even so the ongoing problems with air travel meant he would have been unlikely to make it to Essex in time for their next Championship game against Lancashire, which begins at the County Ground this morning (Wednesday).

Caps off to Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh, aka the two cricket mad Irish men behind The Duckworth Lewis Method, who’ve been nominated for an Ivor Novello Award.

The cricket-centric pop duo released their debut, eponymous album last summer to coincide with the Ashes, creating a new musical genre in the process.

All the songs were about the beauty, eccentricity and absurdity of cricket and performed by these magnificent musicians sporting blazers, boaters and substantial facial hair. I saw them at the Latitude Festival and they were first rate.

On news of being nominated, DLM said: ““We, the Duckworth Lewis Method, are politely jubilant to be nominated in the best album category of this year’s Ivor Novello Awards. What joy! What honour!

"Our hippopotomously titled debut album really was as fun to make as it sounds. And it is to the eternal credit of this august, nay, July institution that ‘a record about cricket’ should be afforded the same opportunities as its less niche compatriots.”

There’s another chance to see them in their whites as part of the Meltdown festival at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, on June 17.

Find out more about these fine fellows at www.dlmethod.com

Beard before wicket

WG Grace didn’t just dominate his cricketing era with sporting prowess, indefatigability (I’ve always wanted to write that… try saying it) and gamesmanship. He dominated the opposition using his great big beard.

You’re unlikely to see a finer specimen of facial hair on a gentleman (or scoundrel) than the huge beard sported by his Grace. Imagine how intimidated some callow, apple-cheeked youth from the shires would have been coming up to bowl to the great Grace with his eyes a-glowering and his beard a-billowing in the gentle summer breeze.

“Just you dare try bowling me out,” WG’s bristling beard would seem to say.

And even if some young whelp did have the impudence to topple the great man’s wicket, there was no guarantee he would actually be out. In exhibition matches, Grace is said to have refused to walk if he felt he hadn’t had a chance to show what he could do in exhibition matches.

One apocryphal story about Dr Grace concerns the match between the Gentlemen and Players at the Oval in 1894. Grace had played for the Gentlemen, nominally amateurs, since 1865 and had turned round their fortunes against the professional Players after a long losing streak.

In this match, the Gentlemen were 84 for three when fast bowler Timothy Gingerman had Grace trapped lbw with a low skidding delivery for just 27.

Incredulous at the umpire's decision and Gingerman's confounded cheek, Grace huffed and puffed, claiming that the ball had first made contact with his voluminous beard before hitting his body.

"A batter cannot be given out beard before wicket," Grace is said to have thundered at the umpire who promptly reversed his decision rather than face the wrath of the country's most famous sportsman.

Grace went on to score a century and the Gentlemen subsequently won the game by an innings and 39 runs.

Beards are not so fashionable among cricketers these days and it's hard to see many modern players being able to claim the BBW defence against being given out, except perhaps the magnificent Hamish Amla and his extraordinary beard.

The South African and Nottinghamshire batsman, who had a short but very successful stint at Essex last season, has a dark, thick beard that Dr Grace would certainly approve of... but he is probably far too much of a gentleman, and too good a player, to resort to using BBW to get him off the hook.

*More blatant untruths here I'm afraid. Serious posts will follow soon...

Coldplay's Chris Martin joins the Essex bowling attack

Essex announced today that they’ve signed New Zealand pace bowler and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin as their overseas player for late April to early May, covering for spinner Danish Kaneria who’s involved in a domestic tournament in Pakistan during this period.

The 35-year-old right arm fast medium bowler is awaiting a visa but should be available for Essex’s match against Lancashire at Chelmsford beginning next Wednesday (April 21). Martin will be registered with the ECB for the minimum 21 day period so he’ll also be available for selection up to and including the Championship game against Yorkshire which starts on May 4.

An experienced cricketer who’s represented New Zealand in all forms of the game, Martin’s dogged bowling has seen him rise to fourth highest wicket taker in Kiwi history with 56 Tests to his name.

However, he’s renowned for his dreadful batting and it took him 36 Tests to reach double figures. CricInfo.com calls him “outrageously feeble with the bat” adding “Getting Martin out is as difficult as making a cup of tea and often takes less time.”

But Martin hasn’t been snapped up for his batting. Before the start of the season, experts were saying that Essex’s bowling attack could be the weak link in their bid for a successful return to the top flight of the County Championship.

With Kaneria absent for much of the season, Essex do look a little lightweight with the ball - David Masters and Chris Wright need to step up this season and prove that they can cut it at the highest level of the county game.

With the likes of Daniel Vettori and Yusuf Pathan previously being touted as overseas signings, Martin might not seem the most illustrious recruitment but his reliance on accuracy and seam movement may suit conditions in England. His ability to craft a catchy, heartfelt tune is thought to have been a major factor in the club's decision to sign him, with Essex keen to keep morale high in the dressing room in the wake of spot betting allegations against two players.

It is unknown whether Chris Martin intends to work on new material for his band Coldplay while in the UK. Sources close to Martin says he wants to concentrate on cricket and not get "bogged down" with songwriting.

Meanwhile, with the decision on Essex’s proposed ground development at Chelmsford deferred until June because of the general election, it seems the county have been looking at the possibility of using the Olympic Stadium in Stratford as a venue for Twenty20 matches.

The East London stadium could be one of Essex’s festival grounds (like Southend and Colchester) and it’s thought matches would generate a lot of interest in an area otherwise lacking in first class cricket. With talk in the air once again of a possible English city franchise Twenty20 competition, the Olympic Stadium might also provide a suitable setting for such a competition were Essex to be involved.

Essex began their second championship match against Durham at the Riverside, buoyed by their dramatic win against Hampshire but facing the reigning two-time champions.

*Warning: This blog contains blatant untruths.

Highs and lows

What a few days it’s been for Essex.

Highs and lows probably doesn’t do justice to the contrasting emotions the players must have been going through at the County Ground recently.

News broke on Friday that two Essex players were being investigated for ‘spot fixing’ a specific type of illegal betting that doesn’t necessarily affect results but does involve certain events taking place during a match. Essex Police are investigating the claims and were apparently alerted by a member of the playing squad. National papers have named players who, if found guilty, will face severe punishments.

So it must have been with gritted teeth and tightly clenched jaws that the Essex players came out to play the first game of the season last Friday, their return to the LV Championship Division One being an encounter with Hampshire.

After a bright start from Essex, especially debutant Billy Godleman who nearly scored a century, the game looked to be petering out to a draw by day three. But then it Hants sniffed victory on the fourth day when, needing 248 to win, were 170 for four and looked in control.

Enter Ryan ten Doeschate (pictured). Having already helped rescue Essex’s second innings from collapse with a sturdy 66 not out, the Dutch all-rounder produced an astounding spell of bowling which saw him take five wickets for just 13 runs in 5.5 overs, taking Hampshire’s last wicket with the penultimate ball of the day to secure an unlikely victory.

Who says the County Championship can’t be exciting and produce results?

It wasn’t just ten Doeschate who shined for Essex in their season opener. Godleman can be very pleased with his well-compiled 92 debut knock for the county while James Foster showed his prowess with the bat once again with a tidy 88 in the first innings. Expect the inevitable clamour for him to be considered for the England wicketkeeper’s position if he produces a couple more innings like that in the next week or so.

Tom Westley will also be chuffed with his second innings 69 which dug Essex out of a hole after losing their openers cheaply.

If nothing else, the Hampshire win it shows this Essex team has resilience. A siege mentality can set in when teams face adversity and if this is the case, Essex could be set for a successful return to the top tier of the County Championship.

They’ll need to be at their best for their next match… a trip to the north east to face reigning champs Durham on Thursday.

Mighty oaks

As the new county season stirs into action, we have to bid a fond farewell to one of England's finest ever bowlers. Alec Bedser passed away over the weekend and the affectionate tributes have been pouring in ever since.

In The Times, Christopher Martin-Jenkins said it was as if "an old and mighty oak tree has fallen at last" while Richard Williams in The Guardian recalls seeing Alec and his twin Eric at the 1953 Ryder Cup dressed in "matching tweed suits, check shirts, club ties and proper shoes, and seated side by side on identical shooting sticks."

How very different cricket and the world is now to those days when Bedser was turning his massive shoulders to befuddle batsman with his fast-medium deliveries, especially his famous leg-cutter.

Don Bradman rated him highly, struck up an abiding friendship with the young bowler when he wrote to him for advice and declared one ball from Bedser that had got him out in an Ashes match as the greatest delivery he had faced.

Life and cricket move on relentlessly, but it is not just moist-eyed nostalgia that should make us remember the likes of Bedser.

Read below for some inspiring tales about humble men who played cricket for the sheer love of the game...

Alec Bedser

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article7087653.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/apr/06/alec-bedser-tribute-mike-selvey

Tom Graveney

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/feb/18/tom-graveney-mike-selvey

Problems with foreign bodies

If Essex were none too pleased last week when the Indian Cricket Board scuppered Yusuf Pathan’s plans to play for the county in the t20 campaign, there'll be smoke coming out of their ears with the news that the Pakistan board have this week delayed the arrival of Danish Kaneria until the end of April - especially as it’s to allow him to play in a domestic competition.

Kaneria is one of the world’s best bowlers and has been a star performer for Essex since his first stint here in 2004. Last season he claimed 108 wickets in all competitions for the county with 75 of those in the championship including a hat-trick in the last game of the season against Derbyshire which helped clinch promotion to Division One.

In a short statement announcing Kaneria’s delayed arrival, Essex chief exec David East says the news is “disappointing” but behind the scenes the county’s management team must be livid as not only have they lost their most effective bowler for the first month of the season but it is likely Kaneria will also be unavailable for the final three months of the 2010 campaign when he'll be on international duty with Pakistan. This means he’ll only be available for Essex during May and June.

Perhaps most tellingly, Essex coach Paul Grayson says he is “disappointed but not surprised” by the news. The cricket boards of the subcontinent are probably not the most popular organisations with the counties at the moment. Reneging on done deals is never going to make you friends, especially when those same counties have released players for the IPL.

A week after the hammer blow of losing the explosive Yusuf for the t20, Essex now faces another search for an overseas player in what is already becoming a “bits and pieces” season where players may have to be drafted in for short stints of a few weeks. And this is before the County Championship even starts this Friday.

For Essex’s management team this must be a real headache. They thought they had the Pathan deal sewn up back in February and were no doubt counting on Kaneria spearheading their start to the season. Now they will look to find a player for all competitions for half of the season as well as one for the annual Twenty20 bonanza. This means a lot of work will have to be done in a short space of time.

After the Pathan deal fell through, David East said: “We’re not just going to go out there and buy anyone, they’ve got to add some value to our team. If there isn’t anyone available that will add value to our team then we won’t do it.”

The problem Essex have is such a player will not only have to add value to the team, he'll need to add dosh to their bank account after their recent statement about last season’s financial losses.

Like it or not, Twenty20 is every team’s biggest money-spinner where a capacity crowd is a minimum requirement for the county’s coffers. And a big name player would certainly help ensure big crowds at the County Ground during the balmy evenings of June and July.