Gautum Gambhir – 4: His recent struggles at Test level continued – he has now gone 20 innings without recording a hundred. Another of India’s walking wounded.

Rahul Dravid – 9: Immaculate exhibition of technical excellence to hold India’s 1st innings together, record his 33rd Test hundred and go past Ponting to become the second highest run scorer in Tests. Looked as good, if not better, than his skipper behind the stumps.

Sachin Tendulkar – 5: Failed in his final attempt to get on the Lord’s honours board thanks to some excellent England bowling that first becalmed him in each innings and then stole his wicket.

VVS Laxman – 5: Gifted his wicket in the 1st innings and then struck an attractive fifty on the final day before again giving it away with a lazy pull.

Suresh Raina – 6: Bounced back well from a 1st innings duck to compile a brave 78 second time around to justify his inclusion ahead of Yuvraj.

MS Dhoni – 4: Fell both times to Tremlett with the second new ball – the first dismissal was tentative and the second was shocking given his side were fighting to save the game. Not at his best behind the stumps and even gave himself 10 overs with the ball. Rumours that he also makes the tea in the dressing room are so far unfounded.

Harbhajan Singh – 3: A game to forget for Bhaji. Went at more than four runs an over in the 1st innings, only took one wicket in the match and scored 0 and 12.

Praveen Kumar – 8: He may not be the quickest, but Kumar showed his mastery of swing with a five wicket haul in the 1st innings. His performance was all the more impressive given Zaheer’s injury. He may find conditions at Trent Bridge to his liking.

Zaheer Khan – 5: Won his first duel with the England openers and had both Trott and KP in real trouble before departing with a hamstring injury. India’s chances of fighting back in the series probably depend on the timing of his return.

Ishant Sharma – 6: Innocuous in the 1st innings, but absolutely brilliant in his pre-lunch spell on Sunday when he brought India roaring back into the game.

Alastair Cook – 3: So Cook is human after all. Failures in both innings to bring his remarkable run to a shuddering end. Will hope to bounce back at Trent Bridge.

Jonathan Trott – 6: Looked his usual assured self and a hundred appeared his for the taking before he was surprised by Praveen. Another to get a beauty from Ishant in the morning session on Sunday.

Kevin Pietersen – 9: Wonderful double hundred, which was so workmanlike for its first 150 runs that it could have been carved by Trott or Cook. The final flourish was vintage KP though as he became only the third English batsman – after Hammond and Hutton – to hit three Test double hundreds.

Ian Bell – 6: Looked a million dollars in scoring 45 in the first innings before getting an absolute beauty from Ishant second time around. Stunning catch to remove Laxman on the final morning.

Eoin Morgan – 4: Followed up a first innings duck with a poor shot in the second innings after he and Prior had begun to repair the wreckage caused by Ishant’s inspirational spell. Welcome to Test cricket, Eoin.

Matt Prior – 9: Won his first battle with Dhoni to see who is the best Test keeper-batsman hands down. Looked assured behind the stumps and his batting was sensational – adding much needed momentum in the 1st innings and reviving England second time around. Should probably have been Man of the Match.

Stuart Broad – 9: Bounced back after a wretched summer and first ball duck to more than justify his selection ahead of Bresnan. Bowled fuller and reaped the rewards with seven wickets – let’s hope the Enforcer nonsense can now be put to bed. Looked classy with the bat too in scoring 74 not out in his vital union with Prior.

Graeme Swann – 6: The Lord’s pitch didn’t provide him with much assistance, but Swann bowled tidily and did his job of supporting the seamers with aplomb.

Chris Tremlett – 7: Hostile throughout with his pace and bounce visibly unsettling the Indian batsmen. His duel with Tendulkar either side of lunch on Saturday was Test cricket at its most thrilling.

James Anderson – 8: Disappointing first time around in conditions tailor made for him, but magnificent on the final day with five wickets to confirm his position as one of the top three fast bowlers currently playing Test cricket.

Whenever India visit England, for this writer at least, it brings back memories of the 1979 series. It wasn’t a classic by any means, although it did have a pulsating climax, but it was the first series I watched unfold from first Test to last.

My earliest recollection of Test cricket was seeing my father getting rather excited by Geoff Boycott scoring his 100th career ton against Australia at Headingley in 1977. I’d also seen David Gower – all grace and poise – effortlessly caress his first delivery in Test cricket to the boundary against Pakistan a year later.

But the Indian tour of 1979 was my first ‘proper’ series – the one that drew me hook, line and sinker into the unique and wonderful world of Test cricket. And it was the aforementioned Gower and Sunil Gavaskar that were to become my first batting heroes thanks to their heroics in the series.

The India of 1979 were a shadow of today’s side – difficult to beat at home, but seldom travelling well and coming into the series on the back of a deeply disappointing World Cup. However, in Gavaskar they had one of the best batsmen in the world and one that would take 10 centuries off the formidable West Indian attacks of the 70s and 80s. They also had Kapil Dev, who along with Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee and Imran Khan would become one of the four great allrounders of the next decade.

England were much the stronger side having beaten a Packer-ravaged Australia 5-1 on their own patch over the winter. They had also performed well in the World Cup, finishing runners-up to West Indies after being blown away by Viv Richards and Collis King in the final before Joel Garner applied the coup de grâce.

So, England wore the tag of overwhelming favourites and justified this with a crushing victory by an innings and 83 runs in the first Test at Edgbaston. After winning the toss, Boycott compiled a typically patient seven-and-a half-hour 155. But it was Gower that captured my imagination with a seemingly effortless 200 not out full of splendid cover drives and masterful pulls. Has England ever produced a more graceful batsman? Well, in over 30 years since, I’ve yet to see one.

Brearley declared on a mammoth 633-4 once Gower had reached his double ton. India never looked like saving the match although they did show some of the resilience that would become a feature of the series. Gavaskar scored 61 and 68 as India totalled 297 and 253, but much better was to come.

The next two Tests were both weather-affected and were drawn, but India’s performance in the second Test at Lord’s demonstrated that they were not going to simply roll over. After being bowled out for just 96 on the first day, they faced a daunting first innings deficit of 323 after Gower had top-scored again with 82. But after Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan gave India a solid start, a superb 210 run third wicket stand between Dilip Vengsarkar (103) and Gundappa Viswanath (113) coupled with rain led India to safety. For Vengsarkar, it was to be the first of three Test hundreds at Lord’s.

The third Test at Headingley was even more badly affected by the weather, but my abiding memory was a quite brutal hundred from Botham with his 137 coming off just 152 balls. Like many English boys of my age, the swashbuckling Botham and the classical Gower were to become my two favourite cricketers over the coming decade. The two protagonists had contrasting fortunes in Leeds: Gower’s good run came to an end with a six-ball duck while Gavaskar propelled India’s response to England’s 270 as India reached 223-6 before the weather intervened once again.

So, onto The Oval for a final Test bathed in glorious sunshine throughout. England’s dominance looked set to continue as they built on a first innings lead of 103 to declare at 334-8 in their second innings, with Boycott hitting his second hundred of the series.

But, undaunted by an imposing target of 438, Gavaskar set about compiling one of the great Test innings. Indeed, when the last 20 overs of the match began, India were 328-1 and Sunny was still at the crease. As so often for England, it was Botham that swung the match back in his side’s favour with three quick wickets (including Gavaskar for a quite brilliant 221), a run out and a catch. In the end, with all four results still possible with three balls to go, honours were declared even with India on 429-8 – tantalisingly just nine runs short of what would still be the biggest successful run-chase in Test history.

Botham was named the Man of the Series for his 244 runs at 49 and 20 wickets at 24, but it was Gower and Gavaskar who had captured the imagination of this wide-eyed seven-year-old.

We wrote:

“Kevin Pietersen likes the big occasion and it doesn’t get much bigger than this – the 2000th Test against the best side in the world at Lord’s. Don’t be surprised if KP marks the occasion with a sparkling hundred”

Ok, we didn’t get the sparkling bit right as KP’s unbeaten 202 was a real workmanlike innings. He was like a cat on a hot tin roof against Zaheer Khan on Thursday and perhaps fittingly he nearly used up all his nine lives before he finished with a flourish taking only 25 balls to go from 150 to 200.

Pietersen now has three Test double centuries. The only other England batsmen (see full list here) to have achieved this are Wally Hammond (who reached the milestone an incredible seven times) and Len Hutton (who did it four times). That’s pretty good company for KP to be keeping.

Given the circumstances in which Pietersen got to 200 yesterday, we doubt it will be the last time he does this for England. This innings will act as an inspiration to him every time he is struggling at the crease and thus spells danger for opposition bowling attacks.

Where next?

Indeed Edmund Blackadder would probably argue that Zaheer is as cunning as a fox that has just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.

He was certainly too smart for England’s batsmen at Lord’s yesterday. Alastair Cook fell for his lowest Test score since last summer and Andrew Strauss was outsmarted by Zaheer in the first battle of what promises (should that now be promised?) to be some duel this summer.

Zaheer deserved more than his two wickets and had the ball on a string throughout the day. Even the normally unflustered Jonathan Trott looked in a flap against him and Kevin Pietersen was like a cat on a hot tin roof.

And then suddenly he was gone, clutching his right hamstring and grimacing in pain. With four Tests in five weeks, his departure could be serious for India as their seam attack looks pretty average without him. Indeed, even if he didn’t comically trip over an errant cricket ball, this could yet prove to be another Glenn McGrath Ashes 2005 moment for England.

Let’s hope not. We may be passionate England fans, but this series will lose some of its lustre if Zaheer is unable to exhibit his wares, so with any luck his injury is nothing more than a tight hamstring and he will be back this morning to continue his torment of England’s top order.

He may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the splendidly eccentric Henry Blofeld is an unadulterated commentary hero here at the Reverse Sweep.

Whilst Test Match Special remains the pinnacle of sports broadcasting in our view, it has lost some of its intrinsic character in recent times. That could be something to do with the sharp increase in the percentage of its team who have recently played international cricket. Selection seems to be based on this more than on the skill of actually commentating.

However, its lustre is quickly recaptured whenever ‘Blowers’ makes one of his all too irregular stints in the TMS commentary box. Blofeld, who was actually a decent cricketer at Eton and was even tipped to play for England until he lost an argument with a bus whilst riding his bike, is a shining example of why not all commentators should have played the game at the highest level (obviously Charles Colville isn’t).

Charisma, character and hi-jinks drip from almost every word and whether it is his quaint references to pigeons or London buses, or his many gaffes and mistaken identities, Blowers could never be accused of being boring.

Unfortunately, with the inverted snobbery that is all too sadly prevalent in today’s society, Blofeld’s privileged background, education at Eton, clipped vowels and old-school eccentricity are all seized upon and sneered at by the critics.

But not by us and the more we get to hear Blofeld’s japes and unique brand of joviality in the TMS box, and general ‘splendid form’ the better.

Rob Key (Kent) – So near, yet so far for Key after his vainglorious 162 came so close to leading his side to an improbable victory at The Oval.

Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire) – A career best 184 in front of the watching Geoff Miller will do his England chances no harm at all. One of our ten to watch in 2011 and also 2010.

Zander de Bruyn (Surrey) – His 179 on the first day formed the bedrock of Surrey’s win over Kent, even if Key’s heroics meant it was squeaky bum time at the end.

Chesney Hughes (Derbyshire) – His side were in the mire with only six second innings wickets left and still 63 behind Glamorgan until a brilliant 167 turned the game around at Derby.

James Hildreth (Somerset) – After a stellar 2010, this season has been one of frustration for the Lions captain, but maybe his first Championship hundred of the season against Notts could finally get things going.

Matt Prior (Sussex) – Kieswetter, Foster and Wallace all may have scored hundreds, but Prior’s fabulous unbeaten 97 not out steered Sussex to a tricky victory target against Hampshire at Hove to seal his spot in our XI.

Jonathan Clare (Derbyshire) – A dream all-round match at Derby saw Clare hit a career best 130 and 29 with the bat and take five wickets with the ball.

Tim Linley (Surrey) – Outshone all the international bowlers on show at The Oval to return match figures of seven for 100 from 38 economical overs.

David Masters (Essex) – Took his Championship tally for the season to 52 wickets with another five for at Grace Road as Essex defeated the home side.

Monty Panesar (Sussex) – Just shaded his battle of the left-arm spinners with Danny Briggs at Hove with seven wickets in the match.

Tony Palladino (Derbyshire) – Completed a remarkable turnaround victory against Glamorgan with five for 50 to give him eight wickets in the game

Kumar Sangakkara’s almost Churchillian MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture at Lord’s, where he related the history of Sri Lanka and how cricket slipped “through the crack in our anti-western defences and has now become the most precious heirloom of our British Colonial inheritance”, was a truly fascinating one.

But not everyone enjoyed the lecture. Sri Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage ordered a probe after Sangakkara was particularly scathing about political interference from “partisan cronies” that has led to “corruption and wanton waste of cricket board finances and resources”.

This would appear to be the real reason why Sangakkara resigned the captaincy so abruptly after the World Cup and why he was such a reluctant leader when Dilshan was ruled out of the third Test at The Rose Bowl.

Sadly, the travails of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board – the postponement by a year of the Sri Lankan Premier League is another indicator of their woes – are shared by a growing number of their counterparts worldwide

Chris Gayle’s increasingly fraught confrontation with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) seems to have reached the point of no return with his recent public statement. West Indies cricket can ill afford to be at war with its star batsman but have effectively exiled him from their struggling team. Indeed, the pressure on WICB has become so great that WICB Exposé – a blog purporting to leak classified information from within the WICB itself – has made a number of shocking revelations in recent months. Anyone with an interest in WI cricket and a couple of hours to spare would do well to pay WICB Exposé a visit. It raises some interesting questions.

The extent of the problems in Sri Lanka and with the WICB has taken the spotlight somewhat off the Pakistan Cricket Board and its chairman Ijaz Butt. Since he took over in 2008, the PCB has lurched from crisis to crisis and seems to have failed in its primary role – that being supporting Pakistani cricket. The spot-fixing scandal and the fact that Pakistan have been unable to play at home since the Lahore attack of 2009 have hardly helped but Butt has at times appeared to make the situation worse, interfering and making bizarre public statements.

Unfortunately it doesn’t stop there. Cricket Australia was once held up as the shining beacon for all cricket boards to aspire. They had an all-conquering side, a domestic set-up envied by all and an infrastructure that suggested the future was assured. Much has changed though and the situation Down Under is now far less optimistic.

Even taking into account the inevitable dip that was going to follow the retirement of legends like Warne, McGrath and Gilchrist, the decline has been alarming. This was highlighted in the Ashes series – first with the naming of a 17-man squad at the behest of Cricket Australia’s own marketing department and then a number of interesting selections, such as Xavier Doherty. The recent dropping of Simon Katich, a man who averaged 47 in the last two years, has raised more questions about the role of Andrew Hilditch, Australia’s Chairman of Selectors – a man appointed by Cricket Australia.

It’s not just the national team either, with the strange (and now mercifully aborted) experiment with split innings in domestic one-day matches and the organisation being increasingly in thrall to Twenty20. Even worse could follow with the new franchise Big Bash League, something that Gideon Haigh believes could be disastrous for the future of Australian cricket.

The Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI), while not perceived by many as a paragon of virtue, is in rude health by comparison. Its team are the top ranked Test side and World Cup holders and the IPL effectively remains a licence to print money. However, allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest with regards to ownership of the IPL franchises in particular continue to abound.

And what of the ECB? Well, unfortunate liaisons with shady characters like Allen Stanford aside, it seems to be performing effectively, although that’s always easier when the team is on a high. The England team are thriving and the infrastructure in place for future player development seems relatively sound. There are concerns of course: the packed domestic fixture schedule, the absence of 50 over cricket at county level, financial problems in maintaining 18 counties and the issues surrounding the process of awarding international matches to grounds, but compared to other international board the ECB certainly stands up well to scrutiny.

With problems affecting most boards across the globe, Sangakkara hit the nail on the head when he said that a solution could be the ICC “taking a stand to suspend member boards with any direct detrimental political interference and allegations of corruption and mismanagement. This will negate the ability to field representative teams or receive funding and other accompanying benefits from the ICC”.

The recent ICC Conference suggested that something along these lines will be implemented in the coming years. It cannot come too soon for the likes of Sangakkara and Gayle.

However, not everyone who has represented Australia and England in the ultimate sporting contest has been blessed with greatness; far from it in fact. Certainly, in the 30 or so years that this writer has been addicted to the fiercest of cricket battles, a number of duffers have donned the Baggy Green or Three Lions cap.

The names that follow are a mixture of the downright obscure, confused selection strategies and the odd surprising name that proved to be a complete Ashes flop.

So without further ado, here are the teams starting with England today and Australia tomorrow:

Mark Lathwell – Heralded as the next big thing, he was drafted into the team for two Tests in the 1993 series and promptly stank the place out. Disappeared as quickly as he had arrived and never got near England selection again.

John Stephenson – One of 29 players called on by England during the disastrous 1989 series, Stephenson played his only test at The Oval scoring 25 and 11. He never played another Test.

Paul Parker – Having secured the urn in 1981, the England selectors decided to experiment with Parker for the final Test at The Oval. He scored 13 in his solitary innings and it certainly proved unlucky for Parker who never received the call again.

Usman Afzaal – Like Samit Patel, fell victim to the selectors aversion to those carrying a few extra pounds, Afzaal admittedly didn’t impress too much in his three tests in the 2001 series – although he did score a fifty at The Oval.

James Whittaker – Another of England’s one cap wonders, the loyal Leicestershire batsman played his only test at Adelaide in 1986 in place of the injured Ian Botham. Unlike Beefy, Whittaker didn’t leave his mark on the Ashes, scoring 11 in his only knock.

Derek Pringle – Pringle was more of a no-rounder than an all-rounder when it came to the Ashes averaging 20 with the bat and 58 with the ball. This writer remembers him being part of the worst England attack ever at Headingley in 1989 – a past it Neil Foster, Phil Newport and Phil De Freitas.

Chris Read – Surprisingly, England haven’t really picked a duffer behind the stumps in the last 30 years. We opt for Read simply because by the time he was finally chosen for the last two tests of the 2006/07 series, his confidence had been shattered by being dropped in favour of Geraint Jones at the start of the ill-fated series. He hasn’t played for England since.

Robert Croft – English (or Welsh) spinners have hardly set the Ashes alight in recent times and Crofty didn’t even raise a spark taking 11 wickets at 52 in seven Ashes tests from 1997-2001. But he can bat, I hear you say. Not against Australia against whom he averaged 9.54. Made Peter Such and Eddie Hemmings look like world beaters in comparison. About as useful as a cat flap in an elephant house.

Jimmy Ormond – Like Afzaal, fell victim to Duncan Fletcher’s dislike of fat cricketers after playing one Ashes test at The Oval in 2001. The one for 115 probably didn’t help matters either. Ormond did leave a mark though with his infamous retort to Mark Waugh, who had welcomed Ormond to the crease “Mate, what are you doing out here? There’s no way you’re good enough to play for England.” Ormond replied “Maybe not, but at least I’m the best player in my own family“, prompting much hilarity from Junior’s team mates.

Martin McCague – From a list of useless England seamers including Paul Jarvis, Mark Ilott, Phil Newport and a certain Jonathan Agnew, McCague took the biscuit. Dubbed “the rat who joined the sinking ship” by the Australian press on account of his upbringing down under, McCague may well have been a double agent judging by his shocking performance at Brisbane in 1994.

Mike Smith – We played in a five-a-side tournament for Smith’s benefit and he relayed how he was treated like a stranger in the England dressing room and hardly spoken to when he was called up for the Headingley test in the 1997 series. Graeme Thorpe dropped Matt Elliott in Smith’s third over – Elliott scored 199 and Smith went wicketless in his only test. Falls into the unlucky rather than the downright rubbish category.

A version of this article first appeared in the third and final edition of Cricket Sadist in November 2010.

The exception is when it is all square going into the last game. Everything is up for grabs and the match takes on the feeling of a final.

Much of the cricket in the current England-Sri Lanka series has been poor but after two crushing victories for each side, today sees an all to play for decider at Old Trafford.

Will Cook continue to do a passable impersonation of Virender Sehwag? Will Stuart Broad finally put in a good performance this summer? And will Kumar Sangakkara pause prematurely during his innings and regale the watching supporters with more of his Churchillian oratory?

All will be revealed later on today.

And it isn’t it nice to see an international at Old Trafford again?

Yesterday, we joked that Alastair Cook would go and prove us wrong by smashing a hundred off 60 balls in the 4th ODI at Trent Bridge.

He didn’t quite manage that, but 95 not out off 75 balls is hardly shabby and certainly damaged the credibility of our column in All Out Cricket this week where we suggested that Cook was the last of the Geoffrey Boycott type openers.

In our (slightly suspect) defence, we did concede that Cook deserved time to see if he could adapt his game to 50 over cricket especially given he is still yet to play 30 ODIs.

Whilst one swallow does not make a summer, the early signs are that like Andrew Strauss before him, Cook has the talent and aptitude to remodel his game and be a success in the shorter form of the game.

267 runs in the series so far at an average of 89 and more importantly at a Sehwagesque strike rate of 98 suggests there are more recipes in Cook’s repertoire than many (including us) had believed.

The humble pie he served up last night was surprisingly appealing.

At this rate, a call-up to the T20 side cannot be ruled out.

But on this form don’t count against New Zealand sneaking what would be a major shock series win.

Here’s how the Black Caps rated in Hyderabad (see India marks out of 10 here):

Tim McIntosh – 9: Magnificent and gutsy comeback after bagging a pair at Ahmedabad scoring a deserved hundred in the first and 49 in the second to ensure that the first innings deficit was overhauled with no wickets down. Maybe he is a test match opener after all?

Brendon McCullum – 9: The latest batsman after the likes of Dilshan and Watson to prove that in any aspiring middle order batsman is a test opener struggling to get out. You can’t ask for much more than a double hundred in the second innings on India – even on this runway of a pitch.

Martin Guptill – 7: Made India and Sreesanth pay for his dismissal off a no ball in the first innings and can count himself unlucky not to have reached three figures.

Ross Taylor – 4: A couple of failures with the bat means that New Zealand’s star batsman is the only one of the top six yet to shine in this series. Will it be his turn at Nagpur? 

Jesse Ryder – 7: A terrific knock in the first innings confirmed the impression he made in Ahmedabad that his appetite for runs is nearly as large as his huger for hamburgers. If he can just stay fit…

Kane Williamson – 7: Poor decision prevented him from becoming only the seventh man to begin his Test career with back-to-back centuries. An immense talent.

Daniel Vettori – 8: A fine bowling display full of variety and cunning earned Superdan a deserved five wicket haul and with his charges continuing to perform with the bat his shoulders must feel slightly less burdened than Atlas for once..

Gareth Hopkins – 6: Safe again with the gloves, but his first innings dismissal means he has a lot of work to do with the bat.

Tim Southee – 6:  Bowled with plenty of heart and fire – just ask Sreesanth and got Dravid with a beauty. Is he quick enough to be a test opening bowler though?

Brent Arnel – 3:  Went wicketless and now averages 68 after three tests – how  Vettori must wish that injuries hadn’t led to Shane Bond having to call it a day.

Chris Martin – 8: Bowled much better than his figures of 1/87 suggested and the ultimate tail-end rabbit even managed to score more runs (3) than his career average (2.37).

Where next?

1st Test ratings: New Zealand and India

Au revoir to Shane Bond 

Specialist openers – an endangered species?

India now go into the final test at Nagpur on Saturday under some pressure to record the victory that will give them the series. Here’s how they rated at Hyderabad.

Gautam Gambhir – 6: Will have been relieved to have got his first fifty for six tests but will have been furious with himself for the leg side dismissal that wrecked all his hard work.

Virender Sehwag – 8: Missed a hundred in the first innings after an injudicious slog sweep against Vettori led to nothing but the dreaded death rattle. But two fifties in the match is not exactly a poor return.

Rahul Dravid – 6: Outdone by Southee after a typically dogged knock – it’s not often you see The Wall missing a straight one.

Sachin Tendulkar – 4: A very strange innings indeed from the Little Master and a dismissal most unbecoming of him. If his poor series continues at Nagpur, expect Vettori’s phone to be ringing from all the other international captains on the circuit.

VVS Laxman – 7: A combination of finally playing a Test on his home ground and some tight New Zealand bowling meant that this was one of Laxman’s more circumspect innings. Will have been disappointed not to turn his patient 75 into a hundred in front of his adoring public.

Suresh Raina – 3: A dreadful dismissal suggests Raina has a lot of work to do before he can justifiably call himself a test batsman. Chipped in with a couple of wickets in the second innings.

MS Dhoni – 3: Dismissed after being beaten in the flight by Vettori to continue his recent struggles with the bat. Not his most inspiring performance as captain either.

Harbhajan Singh – 9: At this rate they’ll be calling him an all-rounder after his second successive hundred made it 295 runs in the series. Bowled excellently in the first innings but his poor recent form returned in the second. Now has 31 wickets at 44.7 from his last nine Tests and he’s needed more than 97 balls for each of those wickets. That’s not good enough for a bowler of Harbhajan’s ability.

Zaheer Khan – 7: Is out of Nagpur with a dodgy groin and without him India were devoid of ideas. Bowled well in the first innings and now has 41 test wickets at 22.92 this year – that is close to superhuman given all of his efforts have been on subcontinental wickets.

Pragyan Ojha – 5: Three wickets in 74 overs tells you everything you need to know. Now has 28 wickets at 46.96 from eight games in 2010 with a woeful strike rate of 100.3. How India miss Kumble. Maybe it is time for Mishra or Ashwin to be given a chance?

Sreesanth – 6: Batted well to help his old sparring partner Harbhajan to his hundred and gave everything with the ball. Is probably already dreaming of bowling on the more receptive South African pitches in a few weeks

Where next?

1st Test ratings: New Zealand and India

Sachin Tendulkar’s Annus Mirabilis

Heroes: VVS Laxman

Zulqarnain Haider

Is this the most blatant example of a fixed cricket match ever?

The disappearance of Zulqarnain Haider from the Pakistan team hotel in Dubai and his subsequent appearance in London has so far provided more questions than answers. We know that he alleges to have received death threats if he didn’t help fix matches in the recent ODI series with South Africa, but we don’t know the identity of any other players who may or may not have been involved.

One story that has emerged however, is that Zulqarnain confirmed that he had also been asked to include certain players in the Lahore Eagles side he has captained in domestic cricket.

This admission has again put focus on a match that would appear to be one of the most blatant examples of a fixed match we have ever seen – the match between Haider’s Lahore Eagles and a National Bank of Pakistan side (see scorecard) featuring a certain Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Kamran Akmal during the Royal Bank of Scotland Cup in 2008-09.

NBP needed to win and drastically improve their net run rate to qualify for the semi-finals. Haider was relieved of the captaincy before the match despite having been captain for the rest of the tournament, and his side batting first made only 122 in just over 40 overs.

Now here is where the plot thickens. Firstly, Lahore opened the bowling with a debutant named Usman Sarwar, who conceded an amazing 78 runs in just three overs and who hasn’t played another List A game since. This enabled NBP to chase down their total in only 6.1 overs with Butt scoring 92 not out off only 25 balls – even Virender Sehwag has never got near that strike rate.

You don’t need to know anything about cricket to sense that something smells a bit fishy here. That is unless you are the PCB, who despite media reports to the contrary said it had found nothing untoward about the match. Why, does that not surprise us?

Where next?

Exclusive: The New Ten Point Pakistan Player Code of Conduct

The next 11 crazy events that will hit the Pakistan cricket team

A Hollywood film about a homeless cricket team and match fixing

Eyes on the ball

England has had many fine wicketkeepers so selecting just one for an all-time England Ashes XI is not one of the easier choices we have had to make in this series.

We’ve narrowed the shortlist down to four, which means that we’ve had to leave several good wicketkeepers out. Men like Godfrey Evans, Bob Taylor, George Duckworth and Jim Parks, who all deserve a mention but on this occasion were adjudged to be just short of our top four.

First we considered Alec Stewart, partly because he is the England keeper we have seen most of, but also due to him being the closest England have to Adam Gilchrist. Or so we thought. However, Stewart’s record with the bat against Australia when wearing the gloves was nothing to write home about with no hundreds in 26 tests and an average below 30. Given he is the worst keeper of our four that means the former Surrey man misses out.

Next up is Jack Russell, who eventually lost his place in the England side due to his supposed weakness with the bat. But Russell actually had a decent record against Australia with an average of 32.58 from his nine Ashes test and a highest score of 128 not out. He was also a brilliant and eccentric keeper who deserved better treatment from the England selectors.

Les Ames, England’s pre-World War II keeper is the only gloveman to ever score 100 hundreds, with one of them coming at Lord’s in 1934 in England’s last Ashes win at HQ before their 2009 triumph. But for one with such a batting pedigree his overall Ashes average of 27 in 17 tests is disappointing. So Ames misses out to another Kent and England keeper.

Our choice as England’s best ever Ashes keeper is Alan Knott. As a batsman he could attack or defend as the situation demanded and along with Tony Grieg was steadfast in the face of the Lillee and Thompson barrage of the 1974/75 series. Knott scored more Ashes runs (1675 at 33) than any other keeper and in his 33 tests against Australia, hit two hundreds and 11 fifties. From what we’ve seen and read about Knott’s keeping, it was more or less faultless particularly when standing up to Derek Underwood.

Where next?

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder

Heroes: Bob Willis

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, if Lillee don’t get you, Thommo must

We’ve narrowed the choice down to four candidates with an honourable mention to Bert Oldfield who stumped 31 of his 90 Ashes victims and earnt a badge of valour during the infamous ‘Bodyline’ series.

The first of our four candidates is Don Tallon – the wicketkeeper of the 1948 Invincibles side and the man selected by Bradman as the gloveman for his all-time Australian Ashes XI. Tallon was by common consent of his contemporaries, Australia’s finest ever keeper. But in 15 Ashes tests he only scored 340 runs and averaged under 20. Given the more multi-facteted qualities of the other three candidates, that rules Tallon out of the equation.

Adam Gilchrist – The phenomenon

Next up is Rodney Marsh – a familiar face from our childhood, who was a magnificently athletic keeper and a useful battling batsman down the order. Indeed, Marsh scored more Ashes runs than any other Australian gloveman (1409 at 25.61) in his 37 tests, as well as snaring 131 English victims. It will be hard to leave this combative keeper out.

It took Australia a few tries before they finally found a decent replacement for Marsh in the shape of Ian Healy. He became a very good batsman (scoring 1269 Ashes runs at 31) as we at the Reverse Sweep can testify having seen Healy’s belligerent 134 at Brisbane in 1998. Like Marsh, it is also hard to leave the wicketkeeper with the most Ashes dismissals (135) out, but they have been pipped to the post by a phenomenon.

Adam Gilchrist may not have been technically the best wicketkeeper ever and he was certainly not as good as the other three candidates here, but he was proficient enough and made few errors. We may be purists at the Reverse Sweep, but Gilchrist’s sensational batting tips the scales here. England bowler after England bowler was visibly scared of him and even if Andrew Flintoff got the better of him in 2005, he bounced back to hit that brutal 57 ball century against a shellshocked England at Perth in 2006/07. In all Gilchrist scored 1083 runs at 45 from 20 Ashes tests and hit three hundreds whilst making 96 dismissals.

For his ability to hit his side out of trouble or to embellish an already commanding total, it is Gilchrist that gets the nod here. The thought of him coming in after the top six we have selected is frightening.

Where next?

All-time Australian Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder

Our World Test XI of the noughties

Cricket’s top 10 masterblasters

For India, there will be disappointment and even some embarrassment at slipping to 15 for five in their second innings, but also pride in their fightback on the last day through the wonderful partnership between Harbhajan and that master of second innings knocks VVS Laxman.

Gautam Gambhir – 3: Missed a straight one from Ryder in the first innings and then got a duck in the second. Has now scored only 86 runs in his last nine test innings and must be close to getting the axe in favour of Murali Vijay.

Virender Sehwag – 8: A typical blazing hundred in the first innings and a failure in the second courtesy of a crazy run out to continue his poor record in the second innings.

Rahul Dravid – 7: Probably cemented his place for South Africa with a first innings hundred, but then ran out Sehwag in the second innings before tamely departing himself.

Sachin Tendulkar – 6: So the man is mortal after all. Will have been disappointed to fall to the innocuous Patel when well set in the first innings and can judge himself a bit unlucky to have played on to Martin in the second. We wouldn’t be surprised to see normal service resumed with a big Tendulkar hundred in the second test at Hyderabad.

VVS Laxman – 9: For the third test in a row, Laxman produced a second innings masterpiece with India in trouble. It took a shocking umpiring decision to prevent the silky one from registering a hundred but Laxman can console himself with the fact that he had shepherded India to safety by then. Gets extra marks for getting the runs when they really count.

Suresh Raina – 2: A Test to forget for Raina with scores of 3 and 0 and the manner of his dismissals suggest that he has much work to do on his game if he is to succeed away from the subcontinent.

MS Dhoni – 5: Occupied the crease in the second innings after coming in at 15 for five, but looks to be struggling a bit with his batting at the moment. Brilliant stumping of McCullum was one of the highlights of the match.

Harbhajan Singh – 9: Fantastic performance with the bat to score 69 in the first innings and then his maiden test and first-class hundred in the second to suggest that he could be an all-rounder in the making. Will be disappointed with his bowling however and he must be concerned that in his last 11 Tests he has averaged 44.25 with the ball at a strike rate of 90.5. But those worries can wait for another day for the hero of the hour.

Zaheer Khan – 6: The pitch didn’t offer much assistance to India’s premier strike bowler and nor could he find the devastating reverse swing that so unsettled Australia. But he bowled tidily and showed enough to demonstrate that New Zealand’s batsmen will find him hard to handle on a more helpful pitch.

Pragyan Ojha – 6: Ojha may have taken four wickets in the match, but one can’t help but feel that he is a pale imitation of former great Indian spinners. His test bowling average of 40 would seem to confirm this observation.

Sreesanth – 5: Gave his all as usual but the pitch didn’t help him but one wonders if he has the quality needed to be a top test fast bowler.

Where next?

Sachin Tendulkar’s Annus Mirabilis

Is India’s batting future post Sachin, VVS and Dravid brighter than expected?

Heroes: VVS Laxman

But there will be disappointment also that they were unable to take advantage of the position that Chris Martin’s inspired spell of bowling gave them when India looked into the abyss at 15 for five in their second innings. Daniel Vettori will know that in the final reckoning at the end of the three match series, his side may come to regret letting India off the hook.

Tim McIntosh – 0: After bagging a pair, McIntosh gets his third zero of the match. In danger of becoming Zaheer Khan‘s bunny after getting out to him twice.

Brendon McCullum – 6: His first test since relinquishing the gloves for good and he played well for his 65 until he was brilliantly stumped by Dhoni. We’re not too sure about his bowling though.

BJ Watling – 2: Bowled by the first ball of spin he had faced in India, which doesn’t bode well for a improved performance in the next two tests.

Ross Taylor – 6: Looked calm and assured in compiling 56 before playing a terrible shot to gift Harbhajan his only wicket of the match. 

Jesse Ryder – 8: Ryder’s talent may not quite much the size of his girth, but his composed hundred means he now has a test match average of 52. New Zealand will hope that Ryder regains full fitness in time for Hyderabad.

Kane Williamson – 9: You cannot ask much more from a 20 year old on test debut to score a hundred against the number one ranked side and New Zealand look to have found a real talent on this showing. A long and successful career beckons.

Daniel Vettori – 8: Superdan was his usual reliable self taking four wickets in a long and controlled stint of bowling and hitting a useful 41. If he had hit the stumps with Harbhajan stranded early on the final day then he could have been celebrating a famous victory.

Gareth Hopkins – 6: Outfoxed by Ojha in his only innings but kept tidily enough to suggest that McCullum’s days with the gloves are indeed over.

Jeetan Patel – 5:  After a poor performance on the first day and a torrid time at the hands of Sehwag, Patel bounced back well to snare Tendulkar and Laxman on the second day. Went at nearly five runs an over though.

Hamish Bennett – 3:  Injured his groin on the first day so his 15 wicketless overs for 47 will be his only contribution of the series. If he had been fit on the final day, who knows?

Chris Martin – 8: Bounced back after a poor performance in the first innings to bowl an inspirational spell with the new ball in the second, which nearly won his side the match. Figures of five for 63 on that pitch means that Martin deserves all the plaudits that came his way.

Where next?

India vs New Zealand: 1st Test – India Marks out of 10

Au revoir to Shane Bond 

Daniel ‘Perseus’ Vettori fails in his impossible quest

Ian Botham

Being a child of the late 1970s and 1980s, the English all-rounder that immediately springs to mind for an all-time England Ashes XI is that hammer of the Aussies – Ian Botham. But before we come to Beefy, there are a handful of other English all-rounders who warrant consideration.

When you read the reports of the time about the 1981 Ashes Series where Botham almost single-handedly ensured that the Ashes stayed in English hands, a number of writers compared Botham’s quickfire hundreds at Headingley and Old Trafford in terms of brutality to Gilbert Jessop.

Even as a nine year old this piqued our interest to find out more about Jessop. We quickly learnt that like Botham in 1981, Jessop had turned an Ashes test match England’s way pretty much on his own. in The Oval test of 1902, Jessop came to the crease with England 48 for five chasing 263 for the win and proceeded to make 104 out of 139 in 75 minutes, taking England to an improbable victory. However, this was the only time that Jessop’s star really shone in test cricket despite many similar feats at county level.

The next all-rounder has much more claim to be England’s greatest despite playing his first test as a number 11 (indeed he was at the crease when England hit the winning runs in Jessop’s test). The legendary Yorkshireman Wilfred Rhodes is the highest wicket taker ever in first-class cricket with 4204 victims. By the time he retired after a long and glittering career he had become Jack Hobbs’ test opening partner. In Ashes tests, Rhodes snared 109 victims in 41 tests at 24 and hit 1706 runs at 31 including one hundred (179 at Melbourne in 1912).  Even if he doesn’t get the nod here then Rhodes will come into the frame again when we look at the spinners.

The third candidate is Tony Grieg. Like Botham, the South African born all-rounder was a larger than life character who thrived on standing toe to toe with the Australians. In 1974/75, England were outgunned, outclassed and undone by the pace of Thomson and Lillee, but Grieg was uncowed as evidenced by his brave hundred at Brisbane where he riled the Australian bowlers by signaling his own boundaries. In all Grieg played in 20 Ashes tests, hitting 1244 runs at 36.58 and taking 42 wickets at 38.03 with his cunning brand of medium pace. Unlike Botham and the final candidate, Grieg was also a decent captain.

Post-Botham, we lost count of the number of so-called English all-rounders who were tagged as the ‘New Botham’, but it wasn’t until the emergence of Andrew Flintoff that a true successor presented himself. Due to injury, Freddie had to wait until 2005 to make his Ashes bow, but he made up for lost time by being the man of the series with 402 runs and 24 wickets and putting in a Bothamesque performance in the infamous Edgbaston test in particular. Things didn’t go so well of course, when Flintoff led England to a 5-0 defeat in 2006/07. He bounced back in 2009 when he may have played a peripheral role in the series, but he did provide crucial flashes of brilliance such as on the final morning at Lord’s and in his run out of Ponting at The Oval. In all, Flintoff played 14 tests against the Australians and hit 856 runs at 34.24 and took 43 wickets at 36.11.

But it is Botham that stands out from the crowd. From the moment he took five wickets on debut at Trent Bridge in 1977, Botham put in a series of inspirational performances whenever the Baggy Green came into view. In all, he played in seven Ashes series, winning five and it was Botham who invariably played the crucial innings or took the vital wickets that took England past the winning post. In addition to his well-documented heroics of 1981, Botham took 31 wickets in the 1985 series and hit a hundred at Brisbane and took a five for at Melbourne in the two wins in the 1986/87 series. In all, he took 128 Ashes wickets (he took another 19 in the 1979/80 series where the Ashes weren’t at stake) at 28.04 and took seven five fors. In addition, he hit three hundreds (four if you include the one at Melbourne in the aforementioned 1979/80 series) and scored 1486 runs at 29.13.

For his ability to win test matches single-handedly and his all-round brilliance and dominant personality, there is only one possibility for the all-rounder position in an all-time England Ashes XI and that is Ian Botham.

Where next?

Botham’s Ashes

10 reasons why Andrew Flintoff was a true England great

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5