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For the second time in two Test matches, Bangladesh have surrendered meekly after putting up some sort of fight towards the back end of the match. In the first Test, a 130 run partnership between captain Mushfiqur Rahim & Mahmudullah gave Bangladesh hope of salvaging arguably the best draw in their history. In this Test, Tamim Iqbal & Mominul Haque put together a 110 run partnership which gave the Bangladesh 2nd innings so much promise. When I was able to watch parts of the fourth day (early morning Sydney time), all I heard was West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin claiming that “one wicket will bring two or three, it’s happened before.” This time, one wicket brought eight as Bangladesh went from 158/2 to 192 all out. At the moment, being a Bangladesh fan is a tough ask. For the West Indies, there are positives to take out from their 500th Test thanks to some promising performances from some of their players ahead of tougher asks against India & South Africa.

Also for the second time in the series, Bangladesh decided to bowl first after winning the toss. This time, the decision made more sense as there was assistance for the seamers and Bangladesh picked three seamers who I thought did pretty well throughout the match after such a disappointing first session. Bangladesh either bowled too wide or down the leg side too often which allowed the West Indies openers to settle. Kraigg Brathwaite and Leon Johnson (on debut) would have both been disappointed to get out in the 60s with the opportunity for triple figures looming. From there, Bangladesh kept chipping away well with the ball, leaving the West Indies 269/7 on day 2, eventually bowling them out for 380, again hurt by Shivnarine Chanderpaul who was again not out after reaching a 50+ score. It could have been better for Bangladesh, with Nasir Hossain dropping a catch in the slips off Chanderpaul’s edge on the first day. However, it turned out to be the least of Bangladesh’s problems by the time day two was complete. The West Indians, led by Kemar Roach who made clear of his goal of reaching no.1 in the Test ranking, were ruthless and tore through the Bangladesh line up, with the Bangladeshis 104/7 at the close of play. A full length with swing with the occasional short ball to keep the batsmen honest was a super strategy and it was executed perfectly. Sure, this strategy will require more patience against India & South Africa, but seeing the West Indies bowl with wicket taking intent is good to see. Bowling coach and legend Curtly Ambrose is making his mark on Roach, Taylor & Gabriel. Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 161, which was then followed by another Shivnarine Chanderpaul 100 (again unbeaten) with the Windies declaring at 269/4, leaving Bangladesh with an improbable 489 to chase for victory.

While I hope that the West Indies do well in Tests in the near future, it hurts to see Bangladesh show so little appetite to fight it out in the middle. I can’t remember seeing a worse Test series by Bangladesh since 2008. In every Test series Bangladesh have played since 2008, they showed much better signs than what they showed in this series. The main problem with the Bangladesh batsmen is that they don’t adjust their approach to match the conditions. You simply can’t think that you are batting on a flat Dhaka or Chittagong pitch when in fact you are encountering swing and movement in St Lucia. Only Tamim Iqbal (who again failed to push on with starts in this Test) and Mahmudullah held a good account of themselves in the 1st innings. The batting is just too loose which gives the bowler confidence knowing that a wicket could just be around the corner. This was also the case in the 2nd innings, bundled out for 192 after sitting pretty at 158/2. Tamim & Mominul both registered half centuries but that’s as good as it got for Bangladesh. Suliemann Benn was accurate and miserly again, and Bangladesh lost patience, handing him his sixth five wicket haul. How he goes in India will be interesting.

So there you have it, the West Indies take the series 2-0 and will be encouraged by the performances by the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite, Leon Johnson, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Shannon Gabriel, Jerome Taylor, Suliemann Benn & Kemar Roach. If they go in to the India series with belief, who’s to say they can’t cause India problems? India’s Test woes are for the world to see. However, a 2-0 series win here doesn’t really depict what this West Indian side can truly achieve and while you have to beat who is in front of you, Bangladesh were pretty poor right throughout. This is evident in the fact that the West Indians dropped quite a few catches this series but weren’t made to pay. Drop catches in India & South Africa and you will pay the price. For Bangladesh, their next assignment is a 3 match home series to Zimbabwe. Bangladesh will be favourites with the return of Shakib Al Hasan (and potentially Sohag Gazi) but on current form, Zimbabwe can definitely believe that they can go to Bangladesh and win the series. If Bangladesh lose a Test series at home to Zimbabwe, even their own passionate fans may begin to really doubt whether they belong at Test level. All to play for.

As expected, the West Indies wrapped up victory relatively comfortably on the fifth day’s play to take a 1-0 lead in the two match Test series against Bangladesh. West Indies openers required just 2.4 overs to knock off the 13 runs required after Bangladesh scored 314 in their second innings largely thanks to Mushfiqur Rahim’s 116, his 3rd Test hundred.

Personally, I felt that Mushiqur Rahim and Bangladesh made a big mistake in winning the toss and electing to bowl first on the opening day. From there, trouble was beckoning for the Bangladeshis and there was a wonderful opportunity for the West Indian batsmen to score large. Kraigg Brathwaite scored his maiden Test double hundred against an attack that was barely Test standard at times, but he showed good patience and relatively solid technique in reaching his milestone. It was a fine effort from Brathwaite but for Bangladesh, questions must be asked of their tactics & strategy. If you pick 8 batsmen, what you’d hope for first and foremost is to win the toss so you can get the first opportunity to bat and post a score on the board to bowl at. Why on earth would you bowl first? This was made all the more incredible not only because 8 batsmen were selected, but also because the bowling attack comprised of just three specialist bowlers. The first, Al Amin Hossain was just in his fourth Test. The second, Rubel Hossain, had an average of 81 after 19 Tests before this one. Now that bowling average has crept up even further. Surely this is his last Test for a while at least. The third, Taijul Islam, was on debut. This is arguably the most defensive decision I’ve ever seen from a Test side. They aimed for the draw from the outset, and went about things on the opening two days to ensure that. Don’t worry about wickets, just keep the runs in check for a while. This is exactly what I was worried about before the Test match began – a defensive approach from Bangladesh with the ball from Day 1.That’s not the attitude to have when trying to improve in Test cricket and to tell the world you belong. Poor stuff.

Then, there was the batting. I challenge any cricket fan to find a tougher ask than to be a Bangladesh fan and watch the team bat. There’s so much ability and talent in the side but the mindset is poor most of the time. Patience, temperament and discipline are paramount for batsmen at this level and most of the Bangladesh batsmen failed to show any discipline for a prolonged period of time. Do they not know how to leave a ball? In Test cricket, leaving the ball well is key because the bowler will have to bowl closer to you to get you out. Bangladesh need to realise that forcing the bowler to bowl at you will make the opposition’s life harder rather than playing loosely outside the off stump with a packed slip cordon waiting to pounce. Imrul Kayes is certainly not a viable, long term no. 3 option for Bangladesh. Part of the reason he averages only 20 after 18 Tests is because of his lack of awareness in terms of where his off stump is. He plays at far too many deliveries outside his off stump in the early part of the innings. Bangladesh need a more solid, stable no. 3 and Mushfiqur Rahim is the man for the job. He was the main shining light in a disappointing outing for Bangladesh’s batsmen. He scored 48* in the first innings, stranded when his team was bowled out for just 182, and scored 116 in the second dig. Sure, he was dropped a few times but he has the best technique in the team and is the most reliable batsmen by far. Personally, I think he should let go of wicketkeeping and focus solely on being a batsman in that no.3 position. He and the team would benefit more than him being at 6. Other performances which were positive were the half centuries to Mominul Haque (1st innings), Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah (2nd innings). Mominul Haque showed the huge potential he had, looking very organised in his knock of 51 in the first innings. If he can kick on and have a good 2nd Test, Bangladesh will be more competitive. Tamim Iqbal again showed why he’s considered a very talented player with a well composed 2nd innings half century. However, he again showed that he makes too many starts without converting, throwing his wicket away when trying to drive Suliemann Benn through the covers off the back foot against the turn. He should be averaging 45 rather than 36. Mahmudullah has been a man under pressure but has ensured his spot for the next Test with a fighting 66 in the 2nd innings. His 130 run partnership with Mushfiqur gave Bangladesh hope but their 5th morning performance (namely Nasir Hossain’s awful shot and Bangladesh’s non-existent tail) extinguished all hope of salvaging a draw.

The West Indies won comfortably in the end but that was more down to Bangladesh’s incompetency rather than their brilliant cricket. There wasn’t enough here to suggest that they’ll push India and South Africa in their next Test assignments. Firstly, their catching was appalling, dropping some absolute sitters. If I dropped the same catches in Grade Cricket, I’d be hearing about it for months and rightly so. Also, their batting was solid without being great. The second day run rate of 2.50 was poor and if you are playing against a better side, you don’t win a Test where you waste a day’s play. They should show a little more authority against a moderate attack so they hold themselves in better stead for the tougher games ahead. However, the West Indies would be delighted with Kraigg Brathwaite’s runs. He’s considered a player with great potential, and if he does well in India & South Africa in the coming months, then the West Indies could have a serious player on their hands. Despite his 212, tougher tests await and it’ll be interesting to see how he goes. There were runs for Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo and Shiv Chanderpaul also, and the West Indies will hope that those runs act as confidence boosters for the next Test. In addition, their bowling was pretty solid with Suliemann Benn and Kemar Roach proving their worth well in the Test. The West Indies would want to see an improved performance from Jerome Taylor while Shannon Gabriel showed improvement after his poor New Zealand tour, bowling with good pace and accuracy.

So what I took out from the game was that the West Indies, despite winning handsomely in the end, still have so much work to do if they are going to climb up the rankings. That is literally the case too, with a 2-0 series win only handing them 1 ranking point. While this is a negative for the West Indies, this is also the case for Bangladesh as they lost heavily to an opponent who I felt didn’t really play that well. If the West Indies play like they have in this Test, they won’t only experience problems from India & South Africa, but also from Bangladesh in the 2nd Test as I back them to put an improved showing at St Lucia.

With all the ODI cricket going on in England & Zimbabwe, Test cricket between the West Indies and Bangladesh begins in St Vincent. Both sides have quite a bit to prove here, with the West Indies looking to recover after losing their last Test series at home to New Zealand and Bangladesh looking to build on their solid Test form over the last few years. However, despite Bangladesh’s decent Test form, 2014 has been a terrible year and the selectors look as if they are losing the plot. The West Indies also have had their own challenges to deal with ahead of this series, with Sunil Narine & Andre Russell choosing to play in the Champions League T20 instead of this Test series. Nonetheless, they look comfortable favourites here.

Both the West Indies and Bangladesh have played just the one Test series each thus far in 2014, with both sides losing at home. Bangladesh lost 1-0 to Sri Lanka in January-February but did very well to bounce back with a draw after losing by an innings and 248 runs in the first Test of that series. West Indies lost 2-1 to New Zealand, failing to extract revenge for their heavy 2-0 away defeat to the same opponents in the West Indian winter. Therefore, both sides will have motivation to do well here. For the West Indies, they’ll want to improve their home form in Test cricket – they’ve won only two of their last eight home Test series (against New Zealand in 2012 and Zimbabwe in 2013), which is a poor record for any top flight Test team. For Bangladesh, they’ll want to build on some good Test cricket they’ve played since the West Indies toured Bangladesh in late 2012. Despite the Windies winning that series 2-0, Bangladesh spurned a great chance to win the first Test of that series, getting bowled out for 167 chasing 245 on the final day. Since that series, Bangladesh drew a Test in Sri Lanka, won a Test in Zimbabwe, held New Zealand to a 0-0 draw in their two Tests against them at home, and picked up a draw in their last Test match against the Sri Lankans. In fact, they’ve won one, drawn three, and lost just once in their last five Tests, a solid record for a team that has struggled in Tests since their arrival in 2000.

However, despite these positives for Bangladesh, they are in a mess. As a massive follower and fan of the team, 2014 has been a difficult year, as the team has wasted many winning positions in the limited overs formats. Losses to Afghanistan and Hong Kong this year have made things worse but they have a chance to put that behind them with a good showing in this Test series. However, I don’t think this will happen for a couple of reasons.

The first is that the selectors seemed to have lost the plot. The fact that I’m hearing rumours that Mominul Haque might be left out of the side is just terrible. His record in Tests stands at 755 runs at an average of 75.50. How can you even think of dropping a player who has shown great potential so far? How can you think of dropping a player from the Test side because a few low scores in ODIs? It is ridiculous and if Mominul is not picked here, then the selectors should have a long look at themselves because they would be doing a terrible job. Also, the way Robiul Islam has been treated since his heroics in Zimbabwe last year has been pretty disappointing. He was unbelievable in Zimbabwe, swinging the ball late and bowling deliveries that even top batsmen would have struggled with. Since that series (where he won man of the series), he was picked to play whilst injured against New Zealand last year (then dropped) and then was dropped after the first Test against Sri Lanka this year when the plan was for him to bowl short. When a bowler can move the ball, why get him to bowl short on slow Bangladeshi tracks when his top speed is barely 130km/h? He’s a good prospect, he must play over Rubel Hossain who averages over 81 with the ball after 19 Tests. I can also go on about doubts over Shamsur Rahman’s place in the side and why someone like Marshall Ayub isn’t on tour but you and I haven’t got all day.

The second reason is Bangladesh’s mindset. Sure, the realistic goal for them with an inexperienced bowling attack would be to draw the two matches in the series. However, Bangladesh must play the game with intent. They must try to take wickets when they bowl and play with discipline when they bat. You should never enter any match without intent to try and put the opposition under pressure. If you play well for the first few days and a draw is a possibility, it is then you work hard to try pick up the draw. Say Bangladesh bowl first and play for a draw from Day 1, the West Indian batsmen can break all sorts of records as their opponents will only try to keep the runs down which doesn’t work at Test level. Sure, Bangladesh’s bowling stocks seem very weak without Shakib Al Hasan and Sohag Gazi, but you need to give yourself the best chance of competing. Spreading the field out and having no catchers in place won’t help you to compete. Showing intent is especially important as there is a chance that Jason Holder might bat at number 7, meaning that the West Indies might play with quite a long tail. Playing defensively, especially with the ball and in the field, won’t help Bangladesh’s cause at all. They must search for wickets with the ball.

For the West Indies, they have fewer concerns. Fresh off a 3-0 clean sweep of their opponents in the ODIs, they’ll be looking forward to a good outing in the Tests. Their bowling attack looks pretty decent despite the absence of Sunil Narine and their batsmen, who will be led by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, fresh off a big score of 183 for St Kitts against the Bangladeshis, will look to cash in against an inexperienced Bangladesh attack. As a Bangladesh fan, the signs don’t look good for my team and I back the West Indies to prove my fears right.

Batsmen to watch:
For the West Indies, Denesh Ramdin tortured the Bangladeshis in the ODI series, snatching victory away from them in the 1st ODI then thumping 169 in the 3rd ODI to help complete the clean sweep. As captain of the Test side, he’ll want to continue his good form with the bat and get off to a winning start in this series.
For Bangladesh, Mominul Haque must play. If he does, I’m interested to see how he will go in the West Indies. While he batted beautifully at home against New Zealand and Sri Lanka (scored 3 centuries in 4 Tests), he batted on pretty flat surfaces. He’ll be challenged more here especially with the opposition more aware of his strengths and weaknesses. How he plays the short ball is key but he has the talent to make a good score or two. I think common sense will prevail and he will play.

Bowlers to watch:
For the West Indies, Jason Holder is touted as a bowler with immense potential. He’s tall and can cause problems for the Bangladeshis with extra bounce. A good performance here will certainly increase his confidence for the future.
For Bangladesh, their bowling stocks are looking extremely thin. It is difficult to see how they are going to pick up regular wickets (especially with their mindset) but Al Amin Hossain can be one who nips out a few for Bangladesh. He was super in the ODIs and despite his high Test bowling average, he hasn’t had much luck at all with plenty of chances missed off his bowling in his Test appearances.

West Indies likely team: 1. Chris Gayle, 2. Kraigg Brathwaite, 3. Jermaine Blackwood, 4. Darren Bravo, 5. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6. Denesh Ramdin (wk & C), 7. Jason Holder, 8. Kemar Roach, 9. Shane Shillingford, 10. Suliemann Benn, 11. Jerome Taylor

The Bangladesh team that I think is best given their squad: 1. Tamim Iqbal, 2. Shamsur Rahman, 3. Imrul Kayes, 4. Mominul Haque, 5. Mushfiqur Rahim, 6. Nasir Hossain, 7. Mahmuduallah, 8. Shuvagoto Hom, 9. Taijul Islam, 10. Robiul Islam, 11. Al Amin Hossain

Prediction: I expect Bangladesh to have a few good moments in the game but if they are to genuinely compete, I think they need to bat first and get runs on the board if they are to put the West Indies under any sort of pressure. As a massive fan, I really hope they do that because I love seeing them do well, especially in Tests. However, because of Bangladesh’s lack of confidence, the absence of star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, selector confusion and thin bowling stocks, I expect the West Indies to grab a win on either the 4th or 5th day of the match and take a 1-0 lead in the two match series.

A terribly one-sided series (thankfully) ends in Headingly. For India, it has been a series which has further reinforced their 2015 World Cup credentials. They’ll look for a 4-0 clean sweep here after claiming their first ODI series win on English soil since 1990 in the 4th ODI. Tougher tests await for the Indians but they are looking a good unit in the ODI format. For England, it has been a series where the doubters (namely Graeme Swann & Michael Vaughan) have not been proven wrong at all. They have been thrashed in all three completed ODIs this series. Alastair Cook looks a beaten man.

The statistics mirror the results in this series. Five Indian batsmen are averaging over 50. For England, one batsman averages over 30. Only one Indian bowler has an economy rate of 5 or more with that man being last match debutant Dhawal Kulkarni – economy rate of exactly 5.00. For England, every bowler except off spinner James Tredwell has been going at greater than 5 runs an over. What contrast between the two sides.

These statistics mean that England need a major turnaround just to win one match. How can anyone really take their World Cup “credentials” seriously? Even their captain, Alastair Cook, has claimed that their World Cup chances look pretty slim. And slim they are. They simply do not possess the aggressiveness required to be successful in the ODI format. Their batting is poor – low run rates and loss of wickets at regular intervals. Their bowling is also very disappointing as there is so little wicket taking intent. Alastair Cook’s body language when the Indians were 0/30 odd in the last match said it all. I called for a mercy rule right there and then.

For India, Shikhar Dhawan found some form and Ajinkya Rahane finally hit that big score that was seemingly always around the corner. However, I think India would like to be challenged a little more in this game so they can see where their death bowling is at and how strong their middle order really is. Nonetheless, they have the team and the passion for this format to take this game by the scruff of the neck and build on their success in the coming months.

Batsmen to watch:
For England, Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler are considered to be the dynamic players in this England line up. They’ve all been under par this series, which has contributed to England’s disappointing batting performance. England and Alastair Cook (who is also struggling) would want solid contributions from at least two of the three.

For India, Ajinkya Rahane is such a wonderful player to watch. He’s such an elegant player and when he’s in good touch, everything seems effortless. Another good score from him will further stake his claim for the opener position in ODIs.

Bowlers to watch:
For England, their lineup requires a complete team effort but I would love to see Steven Finn find some form here. He’s arguably their best pace bowling prospect and he’s still living on future potential. He’s been around in international cricket for 4 years now, so needs to start showing what he’s made of on a more consistent basis. For me, he must open the bowling and Alastair Cook must try to take wickets when Finny is bowling. Alastair, that means catchers, please.

For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one to watch at the top. His dismantling of Alex Hales in the previous game was quality stuff. His tour of England started so brightly in the Tests but he faded away just like his team. The ODIs have brought him back to life and he continues to impress with that awesome swing he possesses. He’ll want to have another solid outing here.

Prediction: India to win again. England are a mess and I can’t see them turning it around at Headingly. India are on a roll and they’ll continue on their path towards the World Cup with another win here. Whether England put up a better fight remains to be seen.

Zimbabwe’s last two games have given their players and fans hope. Hope for an unthinkable finals appearance and hope for their future. They’ve responded really well after being humbled by Australia on the opening day of the tournament, by challenging South Africa in their 2nd game, and beating Australia in their 3rd. However, they not only need to win by a bonus point here, but thrash South Africa so that their net run rate can put them in a position where they can challenge for the trophy in the final. Surely, their time in the tournament will end at the conclusion of this game.

Despite Zimbabwe’s need to win big, their main focus should be to play smart cricket and compete throughout – trying to smash South Africa should be the last thing on their minds because it will affect their performance negatively. What’s important for Zimbabwe is they do the simple things well and challenge South Africa to make the moves in the match. If they can put South Africa under enough pressure, just as they did in their last meeting against the Proteas, who’s to say Zimbabwe can’t pull off another upset?

For South Africa, their last two games have been well below what they’re capable of. They would have been disappointed with their batting efforts in these two games and their death bowling leaves plenty to be desired. Mitchell Marsh knows very well the Proteas’ inability to finish off an innings well with the ball, smashing 80 odd off just 51 balls in the last game. This means that there is no room for experimentation or complacency within the South African camp as they look to prepare themselves for a shot at silverware ahead of the World Cup. One thing is for sure though, and that is whoever goes on and wins this tournament, they’ll have had to work incredibly hard for it, which for me shows that this series has been pretty successful thus far.

Batsmen to watch:
For South Africa, Faf du Plessis has been fantastic, scoring two consecutive ODI hundreds against the Australians. He kept South Africa right in with a shot at winning against the Aussies in the last match only to step onto his stumps when working the ball onto the onside. If he can hold the innings for South Africa in this game, he’ll give the likes of De Villiers and Duminy the chance to bat around him which is an ominous proposition for Zimbabwe.

For Zimbabwe, scores of 1, 0 & 15 do not represent Tino Mawoyo’s ability at the top of the Zimbabwean batting lineup. He needs to improve on his average of 8.28 after 7 ODIs and he has a wonderful chance here when his side needs him to perform. He has a top score of 163* in Tests, that against Pakistan and will look to prove the doubters wrong in ODIs.

                                                                 Bowlers to watch:

For Zimbabwe, who else but Prosper Utseya? He has been so superb in this tri-series for Zimbabwe, taking 7 wickets in three games (including a hat-trick against SA) with an economy rate of under 4.50. Zimbabwe will be looking to him to cause further problems for the Proteas.
For South Africa, Dale Steyn would have been disappointed with his finish against Australia when he was hit for three sixes in a row by Mitch Marsh. Despite the conditions likely to suit the spinners, Steyn will be looking to bounce back. Zimbabwe better watch out if he gets going.

Prediction: This is a danger game for South Africa, as they’ll face a Zimbabwe side with nothing to lose. Zimbabwe will be on a high after beating Australia and will do their bit to make life as difficult for South Africa as possible. However, I expect South Africa to win as their class will shine through. I expect to see them step it up a gear and put in a good performance as they would want to fine tune their skills before the final.

Will the real England please stand up?

Wait, the England that we’ve witnessed in their 2 ODI defeats in this series so far is the real England. Former players Graeme Swann and Michael Vaughan voiced their concerns about the England ODI team, their captain, their approach and their World Cup chances on the eve of this 5 match series against India. Two completed games later, there has been nothing to suggest that their concerns weren’t called for. Since the 2013 Champions Trophy which India won on English soil, England have lost 12 out of 20 completed One Day Internationals, including a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Australia in Australia, where the 2015 World Cup is to be held. In addition, England haven’t won an ODI series at home since thrashing Australia 4-0 in 2012. Whether it’s the attitude of current players or different players who need to come into the side, something needs to change.

England know that they must win their last 2 games of the series to salvage a draw after the first match was washed out. How likely is that to happen, though? England have been disappointing so far and India have barely been worried about what their opponents have had to offer. England’s batting has been pedestrian to say the least, with Geoffrey Boycott claiming that England are batting like “chumps.” For me, this was especially the case against spin with the 3rd ODI providing evidence of their lack of intensity in the middle overs. Overs 18 to 44 is a period where the scoreboard needs to stay ticking while keeping wickets in hand for a final launch. In the England innings, only 1 boundary was struck between the 18th and 44th overs, with the run rate barely 4 during that period. That, with losing wickets at regular intervals resulted in England crawling to 228 off their 50 overs, a total that was no where near enough to challenge a strong Indian batting line up.

England captain Alastair Cook remains under huge pressure. His captaincy and batting have come under serious scrutiny in recent months but that pressure eased a little after they smashed India in the last 3 Tests. However, Cook faces a different proposition here as India are a stronger ODI side than they are Test and will be in no mood to relent as they aim for their first bilteral ODI series win over England
in England since 1990. That combined with Cook’s lack of rhythm at the crease further increases his pain and the pain of his supporters. He did score 44 in the last match, but struggled. If you are going to take up 65 balls for 44 runs, you have to cash in and make a bigger score. For me, he’s on his last legs not only as an ODI captain but batsman, too. Will he be there by the time the World Cup starts? England have plenty of limited overs assignments ahead of them, so time will tell.

For India, they’ve responded well after their disappointing Test series. They’ve thumped England so far and will look to keep it going as they continue to fine tune their skills ahead of the World Cup. Their spinners look in good form and they’ve made life awful for the England batsmen. Ravichandran Ashwin, who has struggled in overseas conditions in the past has done well here and it’s important for India that he continues to do so as his confidence will increase. In terms of their batting, they’ve generally looked pretty comfortable. Ajinkya Rahane has oozed class despite not making a bigger score yet (41 & 45), Suresh Raina has scored 142 runs in 2 games including a century, Ambati Rayudu helped see India home with 64 not out and Virat Kohli scored some vital runs for his own confidence in the 3rd ODI. They certainly seem more stable than the England side at present.

Batsmen to watch:

For England, who else will be more closely watched than Alastair Cook? A strong innings in this game helping England to win would be ideal for him to keep the doubters away a little longer. He needs to rotate the strike as much as he can and focus on his strengths. If he fails here, the pressure will continue to mount.
For India, there are quite a few batsmen that will be of interest to viewers but for me, it’s Shikhar Dhawan’s time to show that he can score runs outside the subcontinent. He’s had it tough in the ODIs so far, scoring 11 & 16 in the two games.

Bowlers to watch:
For England, Steven Finn’s performance is key. Along with Dale Steyn and Ryan Harris, he is my favourite seam bowler. When he’s on, he’s awful for batsmen to deal with and England need him to step up here after making his comeback in the 3rd ODI. He’s been good in ODIs for England but it remains to be seen whether the changes in his run up and action work wonders.

For India, Ravichandran Ashwin has been quite impressive in this series so far, bowling with good control. He’ll look to use his variations to keep the runs down and take wickets as a result of the pressure he can build. Sterner tests perhaps await Ashwin but the signs have been good in England thus far.

Prediction: It’s do or die for England. Their batting has been disappointing and their bowlers haven’t tested the Indian batting enough. Despite the pitch said to have more grass on it, which will provide less help for India’s spinners and a fighting England, I predict that India will win their 3rd consecutive game to take the series. All to play for.

Thought this match would be a dress rehearsal for the final? South Africa, Australia and Zimbabwe in a triangular tournament – two powerhouses of world cricket along with a side fighting towards the bottom of the world rankings, you would’ve been forgiven for thinking so before Australia’s last game against Zimbabwe. Now, Australia face a near must-win situation if they are to progress through to the final.

In my opinion, the hope for Australia lies in the fact that South Africa too struggled against Zimbabwe and had to fight for their victory in the end. That means that South Africa aren’t invincible and are certainly beatable, especially in the ODI format where they are as not as strong as they are as a Test unit. At the halfway point of the Zim v SA match when South Africa were left to defend 232 after being 0/142, Zimbabwe were right in the match. South Africa have quite a bit of improvement left in them and they’ll look to this game to improve their performance with the final ever closer.

Australia coach Darren Lehmann and captain Michael Clarke expressed their disappointment at the team’s performance in their shock last start defeat to the hosts. They lacked confidence with the bat and need to play spin far better than they did on Sunday. It doesn’t take a genius to know South Africa will look to test the Aussie batsmen with their spinners – mainly Imran Tahir, Aaron Phangiso (if selected) and JP Duminy. Despite the difficult pitch, some of the Aussie dismissals against the Zimbabweans were pretty poor. I recount two dismissals in particular. The first was Phillip Hughes caught at first slip. With the ball turning quite substantially, is the sweep shot from outside off against Prosper Utseya, spinning the ball away from the bat, a safe shot? Certainly not. Batting on that surface required discipline and making sure you’re playing high percentage shots. Phillip Hughes didn’t do that and he’ll be looking for a good score against the South Africans. That’s going to require discipline and good shot selection. The second dismissal that disappointed me was George Bailey who was bowled by left arm spinner Sean Williams. Usually when the ball rips past the bat from around the wicket, the batsman could consider himself unlucky that he got an unplayable ball. However, George Bailey brought it on himself as he exposed all three stumps! That’s ludicrous against a sharply turning ball. He wasn’t bowled with the ball hitting the top of off, but the top of middle. These two dismissals show that the Aussies certainly have some thinking to do.

For South Africa, not all is smooth sailing for them either after they collapsed badly against the Zimbabweans. They wouldn’t want a repeat of that and they’ll be boosted by the expected return of superstar AB De Villiers. What a player he is and he’ll give the South African side that extra bit of quality. However, for me, the batsman to watch for SA is David Miller. He has loads of potential but hasn’t had much of a chance to show his worth on tour so far. His best chance was in SA’s last match but was dismissed first ball to hand Prosper Utseya his hat trick. He’ll be hoping to get going here.

For Australia, there are two batsmen that I’m looking forward to see play. George Bailey’s 50+ ODI average is no fluke – he is quality in this format. This is a chance to step up when Australia need him and play a skipper’s knock in Michael Clarke’s absence. The second is Steve Smith who was inexplicably left out of Australia’s side in their loss to Zimbabwe. He’ll surely come into the side (if he doesn’t, then surely something’s wrong somewhere) and will look to show his all-round capabilities. If he does, Australia will enjoy the tiring conditions much more.

In terms of the bowling, Nathan Lyon v Imran Tahir is a battle that will be interesting to watch. Whichever one of these two bowlers comes out on top in this battle might very well determine which team finishes on top. Both have a significant role to play in this match.

Prediction: A really tough one to call. There’s no definitive prediction to make for a match like this as both sides are pretty strong. However, I’ll go with Australia to win in a tight one simply because they have more to play for. South Africa want to win this game. Australia need to win this one. Here’s hoping for an improved Australian performance.

Zimbabwe hadn’t beaten Australia in a One Day International dating back to 1983. 31 years. Fast forward to 31st August 2014 and Zimbabwe have finally done it. And what an awesome performance it was, too! From the opening moments of the Australian innings, you just thought that the impossible could be possible with the intensity and appetite for wickets that Zimbabwe showed, exposing Australia’s continuous weakness against spin. Phillip Hughes looked uncomfortable again and George Bailey inexplicably left all three stumps exposed to Sean Williams bowling around the wicket to him. On a difficult pitch, don’t make the bowler’s task easier. Zimbabwe were good enough to expose Australia’s flaws this fact is all the more impressive considering Australia thrashed the same opponent by 198 runs just last week.

Seeing the near capacity Harare crowd signing, dancing and cheering every run was refreshing to see despite being disappointed with the result as an Australian supporter. Sure, these aren’t the sort of conditions that teams will encounter at the World Cup in 6 months time but to be a great team, you need to be able to counter all conditions and still come out on top. Zimbabwe assessed the conditions better, picked the right team and choked the Australians with their spinners. Australia on the other hand, left out the promising Steven Smith which surprised me considering he’s a good player of spin bowling (uses his feet very well) and he’s a very handy legspinner who would’ve spun the ball miles on the driest surface I’ve seen in a long time. To make things worse, the Aussies picked an unfit Michael Clarke. Why take the risk with a hamstring injury? That too of Australia’s most prized batting asset right now and this while leaving out Smith. Questions were asked of the selections and Darren Lehmann and co. paid the price.

Take nothing away from Zimbabwe. They were awesome despite putting down numerous chances in the field. What a response from them after their first up thrashing by the Aussies. After that match, you would’ve been forgiven for not following this triangular tournament until the final where South Africa and Australia were bound to contest it. Now all of a sudden, Zimbabwe are in with a shot of a shock final appearance if they upset South Africa and Australia lose to the Proteas. You would’ve also been forgiven for thinking that Zimbabwe were gone at 156/7. But Elton Chigumbura showed that his ODI batting average of 24.72 after 163 matches does no justice to his talent. I’ve seen him play some fine knocks such as his 90 recently vs South Africa when his side was rolled for 165. However, this was an innings in a pressure situation – his team, so low on confidence and without a win in ODIs since leading 2-0 against Afghanistan a couple months back, had a chance of being no. 1 ranked Australia. And boy, did he deliver, smoking Nathan Lyon (Zimbabwe’s nemesis taking 4-44) down the ground for two fours in the first three balls he faced. From there, I sensed he needed a partner to dig deep and support him. Who else but Prosper Utseya.

Prosper Utseya isn’t one of the most talented cricketers going around but he has a lot of heart. I’ve considered him one to watch in many Zimbabwe games because of his wonderful control and economy rate with the ball. He’s super consistent and he also always fights hard with the bat. I remember a time in January 2009 where Zimbabwe were on the brink of an ODI defeat away to Bangladesh but he stepped up and fought it out in the middle. This was an innings on a whole other level, showing he has what it takes in a pressure situations against the Aussies, a different proposition altogether. He showed his fighting qualities with a super 30 not out, including a six to win the game off Mitchell Starc. In my opinion, he wouldn’t be out of place in the some of the stronger ODI sides in the world, including Australia’s.

For Australia, it’s back to the drawing board. As an ardent follower of the side, I don’t want to see a quality allrounder for these conditions (Smith) left out and wishing he was available during the match. I don’t want to see a lack of slower balls. I was surprised to see James Faulkner rarely use that great slower ball he has out of the back of his hand. That would’ve been very effective on the tired Harare track. South Africa’s up next and Michael Clarke is going back home. The Aussies made it clear about their desire to win this piece of silverware ahead of the World Cup. They better step it up a notch or two if they are going to do that.

Half way through this tournament and the competition is poised in favour of Australia and South Africa, as expected. Australian captain Michael Clarke returns after injuring his hamstring before the tournament opener. Australia will look to bounce back after a defeat to South Africa in a high scoring game, while Zimbabwe will look to build on their improved showing last match against the South Africans despite being bowled out for their 2nd score of below 200 in as many games.

Australia have finally understood that spin and pace off the ball will give you the best chance of restricting the scoring in what has been a tournament underlined by free-flowing scoring until South Africa collapsed from 0/142 against Zimbabwe. In that match, Prosper Utseya and John Nyumbu caused the damage, taking 8 wickets between them and ripping through the Proteas’ lineup. This means that Nathan Lyon will play and will have an important role when coming on to bowl.

For Zimbabwe, they would want to improve their batting as their batsmen let a glorious chance slip against South Africa. Looking at their target of 232, you would have given them a chance considering they had all the momentum following South Africa’s collapse. I certainly gave them a chance and despite declaring they were going to be more competitive than they were in their 1st match against the Aussies, I expected better from their players including Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor. For Australia, they’ll know how vulnerable their opponents are and will look to be as ruthless as possible in an attempt to get back to winning ways.

Zimbabwe’s batting must improve and this means their best batsman, Brendan Taylor, needs to get back into the runs. Dropped for the 3rd ODI against South Africa in the ODI series preceding this triangular tournament, he is yet to prove the selectors wrong, scoring 10 and 0 so far. He has plenty of class about him and needs to step up.

For Australia, it will be interesting to see how fit Michael Clarke is. He will certainly be itching to get a good score under his belt and hit form as the business end of the competition looms. Zimbabwe will look to spin as a means of taking wickets and restricting the Aussies, playing right into Clarke’s hands as we all know how good he is when playing spin bowling.

Prediction: Zimbabwe at home is never an easy proposition as results over the last few years indicating, but predicting a solid Australian win as they possess more quality and will look to bounce back from a last start defeat.

After South Africa’s clash with Zimbabwe yesterday, do you genuinely feel South Africa can win the World Cup? With players like Hashim Amla, AB De Villiers, Faf Du Plessis, Jean Paul Duminy, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and co, you’d think they’re a great chance but there’s always a worry when watching South Africa play limited overs games in tournaments.

Yesterday’s match was part of the preparation for the World Cup just six months away. It was touted as a low key clash where South Africa could work on their skills and get more confidence under their belt. Instead, it has raised more questions in my mind (and surely in the minds of many other cricketing fans) as to whether they can go all the way in Australia & New Zealand. They collapsed from 0/142 to 9/195, showing how brittle they can be when placed even under a little pressure. If this happens in a supposedly low key clash against a struggling Zimbabwe, what can happen at the World Cup against stronger opposition?

Not taking anything away from Zimbabwe, they fought hard and played pretty well – Prosper Utseya was fantastic. It takes courage to keep fighting with your opponents 0/142 with players such as Du Plessis and JP Duminy following up. In the end, their brittle batting gave way and were unable to chase 231. I felt Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor were the two vital players that needed to make substantial contributions to cause an upset but it wasn’t to be, both bowled through the gate by left arm spinner Aaron Phangiso for 25 and 0 respectively.

As expected, South Africa won pretty comfortably in the end but more questions will be asked rather than answered. Some might say that getting into a position where you need to defend 231 rather than 300+ might be beneficial but the way they collapsed here doesn’t bode to well for the future in my opinion, especially when they’ve had a history of “choking” at the global events.

Hashim Amla, the stand in captain with De Villiers rested due to slight illness was pleased with the way the South Africans fought and made the most of what seemed a very gettable total. However, he pointed that the batting blowout must be put behind them so it doesn’t cause them problems in the future and the near future has plenty in store for all cricket fans. South Africa must improve in the ODI format by improving their mental strength in pressure situations because you might not pay the price for a 6/21 collapse against Zimbabwe, but you will against the likes of Australia and India at the World Cup.

Pretenders or contenders? We’ll have to wait and see.