2009- A year to watch out for

Cricket fans all over the world, even the Australians, would be pleased to see some competition for the top spot after more than one-and-a-half decades. Australia, all credit to them, was almost invincible during this entire period. They won almost 80% of the ODIs and 90% of the tests they played. But this gradually changed since the exit of McGrath, Warne, Langer and Gilchrist. Today, it’s a tough call to make between South Africa, India and Australia. England too, is not far behind and is fast improving. All these make 2009 a year of promises.

South Africa won a whopping 11 tests in the calendar year of 2008, a record in itself. They would be hugely confident about 2009, especially after having won a series for the first time in Australia. They have lost just 3 tests in this period- to England in England where they won the series, to India in a dust bowl in Nagpur to concede a draw in the series and one in a dead rubber to Australia in Sydney. They won all the series they played in 2008 other than against India in India where the result was 1-1.

The Proteas could not have asked for a better captain than Graeme Smith to lead them into the New Year. Yes, he does have an excellent team to work his plans out but never once does he look short of ideas on the field. He sets high standards for the rest of his team to follow and his team happily obliges. He was the highest run getter in tests in 2008 with an average of above seventy. His commitment to the South African cause was for everyone to see when he came to bat out fifteen overs as the 11^th man in the dead rubber in Sydney with his left hand plastered, to deny the Aussies a win which wouldn’t have mattered to the outcome of the series result.

I would be watching out for Jean Paul Duminy in 2009. He batted in his debut series like a veteran of ten years. He was unlucky to be given out in his debut innings at Perth, but made up for it in the second innings by scoring the winning shot and in the process, his maiden fifty. But the world didn’t have to wait for long to see a much more spectacular innings from the young man. The 160 he scored by batting with the tail in the first innings at Melbourne was an absolute delight. He together with Dale Steyn and Harris rescued the Proteas from a precarious 210 for 7 to 440. He is an Usain Bolt in the field and as Mark Taylor rightly pointed out- if Duminy can’t chase down a ball, among the current players of the world nobody else can.

Dale Steyn is the leading wicket taker of 2008. Even on the sub-continental pitches in India and Bangladesh he had equal success with the new ball and the old ball. The old war horses Ntini, Kallis and Boucher have not lost one bit of the fire power. Neil Mackenzie too has made a strong comeback. A B Devilliers and Hashim Amla, have had an excellent year. Albie Morkel is knocking heavily on the doors of the test team and he will keep the veteran batsmen on their toes. Mornie Morkel, who has played just 5 tests so far, is already a feared fast bowler. Paul Harris brings a kind of variety to the bowling attack which the Proteas lacked for years since the exit of Pat Symcox.

Australia might have had their worst year in decades. They lost five tests in 2009, surprisingly three of them at home. During this time they tried out twenty three players in tests! They were thrashed twice in Perth and once in Melbourne-grounds where they have not lost in almost two decades. They conceded one of their heaviest ever defeats against India in Mohali. Another big challenge is round the corner when they will host the Ashes and Matthew Hayden’s poor form and retirement could not have come at a worse time. Their premier fast bowlers Brett Lee and Stuart Clark will be out for quite a while owing to injury. Other than Johnson and Siddle, nobody else looks capable of knocking down twenty wickets in a test match. Part timer, Michael Clarke looks better than Krezja or Hauritz and to think that Hauritz is the 12^th man even for his state team, South Australia! Australia would be just hoping that everything shapes out well as soon as possible. They don’t talk as tough as they used to in the past, since they no longer seem to be able to back their tongues with performance

Captain Ricky Ponting looked like a lost kid most of the time on the field while on the field against South Africa and India. The decision to bowl with part-timers Hussey and Clarke to better the over rates in Kanpur, a test they desperately needed to win to avoid a series defeat, was one of the stupidest captaincy decisions I have ever seen! This brings to one’s mind Ganguly’s statement that a captain is only as good as his team. When he had McGrath, Warne, Langer, Lee, and Hayden in top form, making the calls was much easier. But his decision to declare to set South Africa a target of 340 runs from 110 overs in the final test in Sydney was a truly courageous one. His timing of decision was perfect since they won the test with 10 balls to spare. Remember, earlier South Africa had chased down 414 in Perth. Had Australia lost the test, it would have been the first time they were whitewashed in a series in their entire history. Ricky Ponting would have been the most disgraceful captain ever. The test reminds us that the famous Australian spirit to claw back from any bad situation is not all lost.

India has had one of their best ever years in 2008, maybe better than even 1971, 1983 and 1985 in terms of consistent performance throughout the year. India stamped their authority as one among the top three teams in the world in all forms of the game. India beat Australia in a one day series in Australia, became the first team to beat Australia in Perth in 18 long years, beat Australia in a test series at home 2-0, drew with South Africa at home (the only team not to lose a series against South Africa amongst the teams South Africa has played against in 2008), beat England 5-0 in a ODI series(many believe it could have been 7-0 had it not been for the Mumbai attacks) and 1-0 in the test series at home.

Like South Africa, India too can boast of an aggressive and cunning captain in Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The twenty 20 championship is a golden feather in his cap but I think the decision to field a highly inexperienced team against Australia in the Commonwealth Bank series and to win was a much more remarkable achievement. Excluding Sachin, Harbhajan, Sehwag and Yuvraj, all the other players were playing for the first time in Australia. He had the guts to exclude an in-form Ganguly and veteran Dravid in spite of protests from all corners. He is an inspiring captain and induces a lot of confidence in the young guns. He finished 2008 as the top ranked batsman in the ICC ratings. Dhoni deserves a good share of the credit for the successful comeback of Raina and Harbhajan in 2008.

Excluding Sachin and Laxman all the other members in the team are under 30 or thereabouts and have lots of years of cricket left in them. Already they are a world beating side. It would be tough ask to emulate the achievements of Australia but it waits to be seen if this team is capable of going the distance. Almost all the batsmen had enjoyed a good stint in 2008. Sachin returned to form (well, he was hardly out of form, for that matter) and scored heavily in all the series except against Australia. Gambhir and Zaheer were the men for IndiaEngland. We might see more of Badrinath, Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay in this year. Ishant Sharma was deservedly the most promising young player of 2008. To trouble Ponting over long spells is indeed a big achievement. India has a long list of quality fast bowlers to choose from-Zaheer, Ishant, Munaf, Sreeshant, R P Singh, Irfan and Praveen Kumar. Gony, Joginder Sharma, Dinda and Dhawal Kulkarni are also waiting in the ranks. Agarkar might find it very tough to return. It will be a good battle between Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla to occupy the 2^nd spinner spot and they might even give the premier spinner, Harbhajan, a run for his money. This Indian team looks to be ready to take on the world in 2009. in 2008. Both are enjoying the form of their life. Gambhir looks unconquerable and has made big strides from the previous years. Zaheer is arguably the best with the old ball. Sehwag is as devastating as ever. Maybe after the retirement of Hayden and Gilchirst, he and Gayle are the most feared opening batsmen today. Yuvraj, Raina and Virat Kohli have tasted success in the one-dayers. Laxman, so typically of him, has silently scored more than 1000 runs in tests in 2008 at over 50 per innings. I love Rohit Sharma’s style and technique but he needs a bit more consistency to cement his place in the team. Yusuf Pathan showed a lot of promise towards the end of the series against

Among the other teams, England will keep the top three on their toes. They are now a much improved one-day side than they ever have been. Flintoff is possibly the best all-rounder in world today. The English fans would be hoping that the infighting in the team would get over very soon. Sri Lanka have made a fine find in Ajantha Mendis who single handedly destroyed India on almost all the occasions he played against them. After a long time, a lot of pressure will be off Murali’s and Vaas’s shoulders thanks to Mendis. Their batsmen –Sangakkara, Jayewardene, Kapugedara and Dilshan are also in good form. PakistanWest Indies are as unpredictable as they have ever been. In the Pak camp, the rift between the senior and the junior players is a matter of concern. Shoaib Malik has to prove his worth as a captain in 2009. For the Windies, the batting looks strong with Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Gayle in top form. It is the bowling and fielding that lets the team down. Dwayne Bravo bows the most deceptive slower balls in the game. But no bowler looks potent enough to lead the Caribbean attack. New Zealand probably had the worst 12 months in a long time. Other than for captain Vettori, who is the top ranked ODI bowler, none others seem to perform consistently. They have drastically gone down the rankings in tests, though they are not too bad in the one day format. Ross Taylor, one of my favourite batsmen, shows a lot of promise and is equally good in all forms of the game. In 2008, Bangladesh’s only win against a test playing nation came against Sri Lanka in an ODI. They came so close to winning their first ever tri-series but were denied by Muralitharan, this time with the willow for the change. Other than for these two performances, nothing much has changed. Zimbabwean cricket, too, looks to be on the decline. Not much promise was shown by any of their players in 2008. and

I believe that 2009 is going to be a fan’s delight. The top four teams will be vying for the top spot and hoping to maintain it in tests. Test cricket has not been this competitive in decades. The next two series’ will set the trend for 2009- India’s tour of New Zealand and the Ashes series. Can’t wait!