It must be spring

Good lord! Wellington Cricket is having a good old fashioned spring cleaning. Woooosh! Out goes the rubbish!

And good riddance to old trash too. Matthew Walker is one of those players that Wellington produces in abundance and which I loathe with a passion. A slogger who jammies runs with luck and brute force, rather than technique and timing. A bowler who has no pace and does nothing with the ball but manages to take bog loads of wickets on New Zealand's green and dibbly dobbly friendly surfaces.

Now, lets hope Wellington can offer his fat contract to a young and impressionable quick bowler from another province.

Wisden doesn't like Kyle Mills

I'm not surprised, who does? And you do have to ask what he is still doing in the side when he hasn't done a damned thing in 33 ODIs. On the other hand, we haven't exactly got pace bowlers falling out of our ears. And I guess a good bloke who is a very average medium pace bowler is a better selection than a guy who is a very average medium pace bowler and nothing more.

And with a wig like that, he probably has a few good party tricks up his sleeve.

Keith Miller

Keith Miller, one of the game's best all-rounders and most entertaining characters, is dead. The Sydney Morning Herald has a tribute, but I thought I would add my own.

There are many stories attributed to Miller; the devil-may-care fighter pilot who once crash-landed his plane at 11am and joined a game of cricket at noon; the length of his run-up which was usually dependent on how he had spent the previous evening; the day he let himself be bowled for nought just to show his team-mates that he really didn't give a damn. But my favourite story is about the only time he was allowed to captain Australia. He led his team-mates out onto the field and strolled off to slip. His team stood around in confusion, waiting for Miller to tell them which positions to take up. One of them pointed out that Miller hadn't actually told them who was 12th man and that there were infact twelve of them on the field. Miller glowered at his team; "right, one of you bastards piss off and the rest of you scatter."

Keith Miller. Born 1919. Died 2004. Right-handed batsman, right-arm fast bowler. 55 tests, 2958 runs at 36.97 and 170 wickets at 22.97. Last of the great entertainers.

John Bracewell likes Andre Adams

Something for Karl and Dan. I know what big Andre Adams' fans you are, and I am sure you will be pleased to find that John Bracewell is a big fan too.

Biege makes a return

Yeah, yeah. So Michael Clarke played so well on debut, in the first game of the most eagerly anticipated series of recent years, that he almost made Peter Roebuck cry. But the real news of the day is that New Zealand will be playing at least one international in 1980s-style biege uniforms this season.

Jeremy Coney, Ian Smith, Richard Hadlee, Lance Cairns and co. must be feeling so proud.

Sinclair, McMillan, Adams and Fulton all in

The ODI side for the Bangladesh tour has been announced:

Daniel Vettori (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, Chris Cairns, Peter Fulton, Chris Harris, Hamish Marshall, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Matthew Sinclair, Scott Styris and one more to be named.

Fleming and Oram are being rested for the one-dayers. Which shows how much respect the selectors have for Bangladesh. The "one more to be named" is probably going to be Tuffey, but that is dependent on him passing a fitness test. I am glad to see Skippy and Fulton there, but it does beg the question - who will open? I am guessing that they will open with Sinclair and Astle, and Wisden tells me that Sinclair has scored 530 runs as an opener at 27.89 - which is not too bad. However, Astle and Sinclair are similar players in terms of their instincts and shot-selection. So perhaps the selectors will be tempted to experiment with McCullum or Vettori, or try to squeeze Fulton into the role. None of those options strike me as being particulary big and clever, but I suppose it is only Bangladesh.

Fulton, for those who haven't seen him, looks like an even taller version of Chris Harris (something in the Southern air can't agree with cricketers and hair) and has a very stylish technique - he reminds me of Fleming a little in the lithe tallness of his strokes.

I also see that Sinclair has been called in to cover for Papps in the test matches. What a relief it must be for him to finally drag himself out from beneath McMillan's shadow.

Papps out of Bangladesh tour

From the New Zealand cricket website:

Canterbury opening batsman Michael Papps dislocated his shoulder while fielding during the Black Caps training camp at Lincoln yesterday and has been forced out of the Bangladesh tour.

Black Caps coach John Bracewell said the injury would see Papps unable to play for four to six weeks and as a result he is out of the whole of the Bangladesh tour. His replacement for the Test match section of the tour will be announced tomorrow.

I wonder if, having already said they don't want Fleming to open, the selectors will opt for another specialist opener or whether they will be forced to eat their own words. If they do select another opener, who will it be? Who has any form in that position? Matthew Bell and Jamie How were the openers for the 'A' side and neither covered themselves with much glory. My pick is that Craig McMillan will get a reprieve and that Fleming will find himself marching into the middle with Mark Richardson again.

Why India and Australia mean so much to each other

From Lawrence Booth and "the Spin", his weekly round-up of cricket for the Guardian:

Dennis Lillee is in little doubt. The India-Australia four-match Test series which begins at Bangalore tomorrow "amounts to a world championship contest". The hyperbole is entirely understandable. But it is just that: hyperbole. The reason India v Australia is so mouth-watering is not because India are the second-best side in the world (by any objective standards, let alone the ICC table, they are probably not). It is because of the mythology that has built up around the fixture.

The truth is that the sides have become obsessed with beating each other, and you can hardly blame them. Australia's traditional foe, England, have been cannon fodder for 15 years; India, on the other hand, almost went through the entire 1990s without playing their arch-enemies, Pakistan. Both sides have looked elsewhere for a
challenge - and they have ended up gazing squarely into each other's eyes. The upshot has been some of the most thrilling cricket in Test history, which is not necessarily the same as a world championship.

Australia haven't won in India since Bill Lawry led them to a 3-1 win in 1969-70, but it wasn't until Steve Waugh took over the captaincy that victory in India became Australia's holy grail. India became to Waugh what those four runs at The Oval in 1948 were to Bradman: just as the Don never did average 100, Waugh would never win a Test series in a country that beguiled him. And as Waugh took his place on the pantheon, so the elusive victory in India grew all the more tantalising.

From an Indian perspective, doing well against Australia has disguised a multitude of sins. They played quite superbly a year ago to come away from Australia with a 1-1 draw, and their victory at Kolkata after following on in 2000-01 will forever be the stuff of legend. But results elsewhere, usually away from home, have been patchy: for every historic win in Pakistan, there is a feeble surrender in New Zealand. And don't forget that their most recent home series ended in a 0-0 draw with those pesky New Zealanders.

This is not to wipe away the drool ahead of this week's Test series. It is merely to redirect it. Ever since Waugh called Sourav Ganguly a "prick", there has been a frisson between the sides that transcends anything in the game - and which is made all the more delectable because it has nothing to do with tradition (like the Ashes) or politics (like India v Pakistan). India-Australia pre-series kidology is now as riveting as the cricket itself.

But do not be fooled into thinking that these sides loathe each other. On the contrary, they need each other. Australia need to win in India to complete their jigsaw and prove to themselves that they don't have a hang-up about that part of the world. India need Australia for a feel-good factor of their own - because as long as they're giving the best side in the world a run for their money, the dodgy results
against New Zealand can be swept under the carpet.

Expect an epic. But please, don't call it a world championship.

Can you smell the freshly cut grass yet?

Wisden previews the upcoming New Zealand season.

Fleming to play county cricket

He has been named captain of Notts. Which is a little bit odd. Because I thought his Surrey contract fell through because he wanted to take next winter off to have an operation for his abdominal injury.

NZ 'A' lose again

Which makes it 0-1 in the "tests" and 0-3 in the ODIs. This time it was a thriller. Having been set 297 to win, we were cruising at 283/4. Then came the collapse - we lost three wickets for one run and then lost our last three wickets in three balls. 283/4 became 292 all out.

Jamie How is having a terrible time on tour. He scored 4 today and had 65 taken off his 8 overs. Peter Fulton meanwhile continues to florish, top-scoring for New Zealand 'A' with 98.

Cap'n Dan

Jonathan Millmow reported in this morning's Dominion Post that Daniel Vettori has been shoulder-tapped to captain the New Zealand side in the one-dayers against Bangladesh. Millmow reported that Stephen Fleming is still suffering from his abdominal injury and will be rested before the matches against the Australians.

Meanwhile titanium Shane Bond has undergone back surgery and is hopeful of being fit for the post-Christmas games. Bond also admits that if he does not come right this time, his career is over.

I just had a terrible, shaky thought of New Zealand taking on the Aussies without Fleming and without Bond. If that were to happen I think I would spend my summer under the bed - avoiding the radio, the television and anyone who might tell me the score.

Poll results

Clearly my latest poll bored most of you. Or perhaps my question was a little too loaded. I asked "Is the ICC Trophy a worthwhile competition?" and only 7 of you bothered to answer. 2 said "yes", 1 said "no" and 4 agreed with me and thought it could be, but not in its current form.

I have posted a new poll about the Bangladesh tour. Think a little about this one before answering. Bangladesh have been on the improve lately and had the better of the West Indies in a draw at St Lucia on their last tour, while New Zealand appears to be in test ranking freefall.

Cricket standings

Ben has done some maths and has calculated that even if we thrash Bangladesh 2-0 in the upcoming series, our international rating score will only move from 94 to 95, which will move us from 7th place to, errrr, 7th. The best we can hope for in the near future is for South Africa to get their arses kicked by England, and for Sri Lanka and Pakistan to both somehow lose when they play each other next month.

Here are Ben's figures. For reference the team above us is South Africa with 102 points us and the team below us is the West Indies with 73 points:

NZ 0, Bangladesh 2 -> NZ 84, Bang 11
NZ 0, Bangladesh 1 -> NZ 84, Bang 9
NZ 0, Bangladesh 0 -> NZ 86, Bang 4
NZ 1, Bangladesh 1 -> NZ 90, Bang 5
NZ 1, Bangladesh 0 -> NZ 93, Bang 2
NZ 2, Bangladesh 0 -> NZ 95, Bang 0

Interestingly Pakistan (105), India (104), Sri Lanka (103) and South Africa (102) are only seperated by three points. England, in second, is only just ahead of them with 109 points.

He's behind you!

And now, a Tendulkar musical. Okay, so its not panto - but it is Bollywood. A new Hindi musical called "Main Sachin Tendulkar" (I am Sachin Tendulkar) is in production. The play "...takes on Tendulkar's excellence in the cricket world which in turn leads to a series of events and happenings in the life of the common man." I don't know why they don't just show highlights of Tendulkar smashing hell out of Shane Warne. How can anything beat that for entertainment?

England vs West Indies

Anyone feel like changing their votes in my poll? What a cracking match! Not that I saw it of course - bloody time zones. But it sounded good. And a tournament which ends in a climax like that can't be all bad. Its just a pity that so much drek came before it.

I wonder if they managed to sell out the final? And what the TV viewing numbers were like? It would be such a pity if such a great match went unwatched.

The first-class programme

Frankly, I can think of nothing better than wandering down to the Basin on a glorious summer's day to watch a couple of hours of domestic cricket - checking out the promising new players I might have read about, admiring the old hands and groaning at the predictable success of whichever crap Lincoln Doull clone Wellington is playing this season (hello Matthew Walker).

Despite my patronage and all the success that indicates, New Zealand Cricket has decided to do another little rejig of the competition - the eight round State Championship now leads to a five-day final. And sadly there will be no games for an 'A' side. South Africa 'A' and India 'A' were scheduled to tour, but both have pulled out. With short tours the standard now there are no longer many warm-up matches between international sides and domestic teams and this, coupled with the lack of 'A' games, leaves little space for new players to make their mark. I suspect this is one reason why the final will be over five days - to give players some little taste of what test cricket is about in the absence of international opposition.

The best part about this little story is that it the smell of cricket is in the air again. And the prospect of summer makes spring in Wellington just that little bit easier to bear.

Stickcricket

Got a spare ten minutes? Why not waste it playing Stickcricket?

Skippy does good

268 vs South Africa 'A' and Sinclair still can't make the New Zealand team touring Bangladesh. What does the guy have to do?

Here's a comparison for you:
Batsman - 1st class - Test average
Lou Vincent - 31.58 - 29.00
Hamish Marshall - 26.15 - N/A (one innings of 40 not out)
Matthew Sinclair - 47.94 - 38.54
Nathan Astle - 38.84 - 38.06
Stephen Fleming - 41.61 - 38.65
Craig McMillan - 40.49 - 40.07
Mark Richardson - 43.75 - 47.94

When you look at those figures, you do have to wonder why Vincent and Marshall have been consistently preferred over Sinclair for the past few years. Its not like Sinclair has done much wrong in the few opportunities he has been given - in his last test (against South Africa) he scored 21 and 74.

The trend I find most worrying here is the age of the batsmen with those good records. McMillan is the youngest at 28 and his form has been tailing off for years, while Mark Richardson is almost as old as me. Who amongst the younger generation is going to be able to replace them in five years time? Vincent and Marshall if they pick up maybe, but how about some of this lot:

Batsman - 1st class average
Jesse Ryder - 44.60
Peter Fulton - 44.50
Rob Nicol - 39.00
Tim McIntosh - 37.03
Michael Papps - 35.07
Nick Horsley - 34.43
Jamie How - 32.10

Some of those averages might look good, but in the past season or so Ryder, Nicol, McIntosh, Horsley and How have all slid backwards. Sinclair apart, Fulton has been the form player of the South African tour and at the moment he is the only one I see having much of a future.

By the way, Scott Styris' first class batting average is 32.36. Good enough to bat at number four in the test side? I don't think so.

England vs Australia

Best story in this morning's Dominion Post. The pre-match annoucement by the Australian team that Brad Hogg had injured himself and would be out for the final, so a replacement would be flown over. Hello Hubris, meet Nemesis.