Player Profile: Alastair Cook

The Ashes 2009

Player Profile and Prediction

by Chris Smith

Alastair Cook

With the exception of Kevin Pietersen, Alastair Cook has arguably been England’s most consistent batsmen in recent history, with his major problem most recently being converting good starts into hundreds. Cook has always been a fairly limited batsman, with fewer scoring shots than his team mates, but this limited style has brought him success. Cook plays to his strengths and very rarely goes outside of his comfort zone. He is an excellent player of pace bowling and proved this in the Ashes summer of 2005 with a double hundred against the Australians at Chelmsford. He is also a good player of finger spin as his success in India and Sri Lanka show. However, he has sometimes looked a little at sea against good wrist spin. These strengths should arm him well against the Australian team, whose main threat will be pace bowling. Cook’s main weakness is clear for everyone to see, in that he pokes at too many balls outside off-stump and is liable to edge to wicket-keeper and slip. The Australians will be probing away just outside off-stump, particularly Stuart Clarke, to see if Cook fancies a nibble. Cook needs to leave the ball well outside his off-stump and make the Aussies bowl a straighter line to him, which will suit his limited style of play.

Prediction

Cook is a key player in the series, especially the way the Australian bowling attack looks to be setting up as they all seem to suit his style of play. If he can give England a good consistent start to their innings, this will allow a good stroke making middle-order to play with more freedom. Cook can be the rock around which good totals are set for England.

Cook has only played one series against Australia, and on the whole a disappointing one. However, Shane Warne may have played a large part in this and Australia’s current attack is also lacking Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clarke will be his main threat. Cook should have a successful series and will enjoy the pace of Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, a key ingredient to enable England to make good starts to their innings.

Career Statistics (as of 7/12/08)

Overall: Matches: 34 Runs: 2573 Ave: 42.88

Vs Australia: Matches: 5 Runs: 276 Ave: 27.60

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The Ashes 2009 Player Profile or The Ashes 2009 Early Preview/Prediction

Player Profile: Michael Hussey

The Ashes 2009

Player Profiles and Predictions

by Chris Smith

Michael Hussey

Australia’s best batsman and has been since his introduction to the team. He is a player that seems to have little or no weaknesses, both technically and mentally. As an Englishman I am straining for a weakness in his batting to exploit. Against all batsmen in world cricket a plan of attack can be made, there are weaknesses that can be probed for. Is there a plan for Hussey? The fact that I cannot think of one and that in every test I have seen Hussey play against all oppositions, there has not been a plan put into place, says a lot about his game. Opposing teams bowl more in hope of getting Hussey out than expectation.

Although Hussey is a difficult man to dislodge, recently I have seen a ‘chink’ in his armour. Hussey, in accumulating his runs is becoming slower and slower. He relies on others around him to take the game on and if England are good enough they can use this to their advantage. Putting pressure on Hussey to score is the best way to get the man out. If they can put pressure on Australia’s batting order either by placing most of the responsibility on Hussey to score runs or by bowling in such a disciplined manner as to force Hussey to play positive cricket when he gets in, they can truly test how Hussey handles pressure. This needs to be coupled with England playing a positive game themselves. If England can play more positive cricket this will force Australia to emulate them and also the Australia team of old. The Australia team of old were an imposing and positive team, possibly the most positive team in the history of test cricket. The new Australia, and this is shown in the style of their best batsman, are not like this. In many ways I think the team still want to play in the positive frame of old, the Australian media want them to play like this and the Australian public want them to play like this. The trick for England is to make Hussey think this way as well, to burst the concentration bubble, which he is so good at getting into.

Prediction

Australia’s man of the series in my opinion, but whether this due to a series of backs to the wall, match saving innings or the consistent accumulation of totals to put Australia in position to win test matches, remains to be seen.

Career statistics (as of 30/11/08)

Overall: Matches: 31 Runs: 2824 Ave: 64.18

Vs England: Matches: 5 Runs: 458 Ave: 91.60

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Player Profile: Andrew Flintoff

The Ashes 2009

Player Profiles and Predictions

by Chris Smith

Andrew Flintoff

England’s talisman and most consistent bowler is the player that the Australians will fear the most in the England team. He can do it with bat and ball and at the same time has the capacity to get the whole country behind him and the England team like no other player can. Flintoff carried England to victory on a wave of emotion in 2005 and evoked a passion for cricket in English people that had been lying dormant for many years. He is an exciting player who wears his heart on his sleeve on the cricket field, something that for most fans of any sport is truly entertaining and inspirational.

It goes without saying that for England to be successful Flintoff needs to be on form and conversely for Australia one of the keys to the series is to subdue him, which will also have the effect of subduing the crowds in England, the best 12th man England have in their ranks (even better than Gary Pratt). Flintoff’s bowling is less of a worry than his batting. I am convinced if there’s swing he’ll find it and he will bowl in the right areas for every batsman, in this he has been very reliable for England for a number of years now and his injury seems not to have diminished his ability to do this. His inconsistency of late has been in his batting. Flintoff was such a key to England’s success when he was batting well and England’s tail didn’t necessarily have to last a long time in support of him for Flintoff to get lots of runs, he was destructive. Flintoff’s batting recently brings back memories of his first few years in test cricket, where his technique and temperament was found wanting. He seems to have a particular weakness against spin at the moment, so he may be fortunate that the Australians may come to England without a world-class spinner. Confidence is the key to Flintoff’s batting and a need to sure up his play outside the off-stump. Even at his best Flintoff never left many balls, but there was a conviction and control when he played them, this is what he needs to rediscover.

Prediction

Flintoff makes a massive difference to the England team in all departments and I am in no doubt that he will rise to the occasion once again and inspire the England team. However, expect a greater impact with the ball in his hand than with the bat. England’s bowler of the series but may struggle with the bat.

Career statistics (as of 30/11/08)

Overall: Matches: 70 Runs: 3494 Ave: 32.35
Wickets: 206 Ave: 32.21

Vs Australia: Matches: 11 Runs: 706 Ave: 33.61
Wickets: 42 Ave: 29.59

Player Profile: Ricky Ponting

The Ashes 2009

Player Profiles and Predictions

by Chris Smith

Australian Captain

Ricky Ponting

Ponting has one of the best winning records of any captain in test cricket, but one wonders how long this will last and also if the winning record he has is down to his captaincy or being fortunate to have some of the greatest test cricketers of all time in his team. Some might say a combination of both, but I have always been of the opinion that Ponting is in fact a poor captain particularly with respect to his tactical acumen. This was shown in England in 2005 where Michael Vaughan captained him off the field and more recently in India in the fourth test. On the fourth day Australia had India reeling before tea and with wickets after tea might have had Australia looking at chasing a gettable target to level the series. Instead worrying about over rates, Ponting had his spinners on and even Michael Hussey’s medium pace and not his strike bowlers. Momentum was lost and Australia ended up chasing too many on the last day and subsequently lost the series. I have thought that for a long time, even with quality players Ponting has been a captain that has erred on the side of defence, which can let other teams gain the upper hand. He is also quick to lose his cool in situations that don’t favour his team, he gets easily upset, which can lead to a lack of focus on the field. This seems to be happening more often as wins are harder to come by.

One thing that is not in doubt, despite Harbajhan Singh’s ridiculous comments, is his batting quality and the respect of his players. I’m not sure how you can criticise a batsman who is averaging 57 in a test career spanning 124 matches. Ponting is truly a great batsman, with a good record against England, but perhaps not as good as you might imagine.

His main weakness in his batting is early on in his innings. Ponting has always had a pronounced forward movement when he bats and because of this can be unbalanced to begin with. This can cause two weaknesses that England can probe for at the start of his innings. The first is a tendency to play around his front pad early on, opening up lbw possibilities. This does get better as he goes through an innings though and Ponting then starts to become particularly severe on any balls bowled near his pads. The second is a problem dealing with a ball of extra bounce, just back of a length, I have seen him out a number of times caught in the gully off the shoulder of the bat. But again if the bowler is too short there is no better puller of the cricket ball in the game. The margins for error, as with most great players are small.

Ashes prediction

One of the leading run scorers in the series for Australia, only behind Michael Hussey. Ponting’s wicket will be of vital importance.

Expect Ponting to get frequently flustered when captaining in the field as his side will have many questions to answer without McGrath and Warne in English conditions.

Pontings test record (as of 24/11/08)

Overall: Matches: 124 Runs: 10386 Bat Ave: 57.06

Vs England: Matches: 26 Runs: 1978 Bat Ave: 48.40

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Player Profile: Kevin Pietersen

The Ashes 2009

Player Profiles and Predictions

by Chris Smith

England Captain

Kevin Pietersen

Still an unproven captain but quite possibly England’s finest and most talented batsman of the modern era. He backs up his talent with an amazing work ethic off the field. His planning and preparation for every match are of the highest order. He devises plans against teams and indeed against individual bowlers, the fact that he can carry out what he intends to do shows his talent, the fact that he makes such good and sometimes audacious plans is the measure of the man’s confidence and cricketing brain. This summer’s series against South Africa showed mostly the best but also the worst of his game. His plan against Makhaya Ntini almost rendered the bowler useless against him, using the angle of the bowler against him and playing beautifully through the leg side. In fact throughout the series he had many of the bowlers scratching their heads. Just when you thought he was invincible though, Pietersen showed his fallible side. With such a desire to dominate and a huge ego to boost, he finds it very difficult to hold back when the situation demands it. Pietersen needs to play in a flamboyant and sometimes risky way, this is the character of the man, he cannot graft his way through difficult situations he has to apply his game to the situation. The problem Pietersen has, is knowing that when he is on top and in top gear, to not search for a higher gear still and give his wicket away when games are for the taking. This was never clearer illustrated than in the third test against South Africa when he gave his wicket cheaply to Paul Harris at a crucial time when South Africa were looking ragged. In that moment the game and the series were lost. There probably wouldn’t have been a chance without Pietersen but his greatness rests on winning games for England and he could have won that game for England, South Africa were all out of ideas.

Ashes prediction

Pietersen loves the big games and always raises his game for Australia. This series will be no different, I expect plenty of runs from England’s captain in a very attacking style. His plan will be to not let Australia’s bowlers bowl at him and expect some innovative and exciting batting. England’s player of the series.

Pietersen’s test record (as of 24/11/08)

Overall:

Matches: 43

Runs: 3890

Bat Ave: 50.51

Vs Australia:

Matches: 10

Runs: 963

Bat Ave: 53.50