After last year's mixed bag here are another six
George Dockrell
In 2013, Ireland had quite the year. The associate nations have a red ball tournament. Ireland won that. They had an ODI tournament. Ireland won that. There was the T20 qualifier. Ireland won that. Irish cricket is in a very good place at the minute, where they completely dominate the other associate nations, particularly in white ball cricket, where they can compete with the lesser nations. At the world T20 this year, they face Zimbabwe, UAE and the Netherlands. They should win that group at a canter, and when they do, they can give South Africa, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka a hugely tough match.
Ireland’s main problem is their talent drain to England.
Their current side is very good, but would be hugely improved by Boyd Rankin,
and in particular, both the middle order batting and potential captaincy of
Eoin Morgan (William Porterfield is a very good captain whose batting has
suffered greatly because of it). The latest player they could lose could be
Dockrell, a highly talented left-arm spinner with huge experience in the white
ball formats. Still only 21, and likely to bowl his full quota in every game of
the world t20 (for Ireland that should be eight games); Dockrell has a chance
to put himself in the shop window, either for England, or for the IPL. England
need a spinner, and they may be tempted to head to the Emerald Isle again.
Nic Maddinson
Following a similar path to David Warner, and with a similar style, Nic Maddinson is the latest hard hitting left hander to come from Australia. Now 22, Maddinson has impressed since his debut at 18 for New South Wales with his power hitting. Whilst the aggressive and often aerial style are reminiscent of Warner, his stature is more that of Chris Gayle, if much less solidly built. Maddinson forte was T20 cricket, but many in Australia are impressed with his willingness to learn, shown by some excellent performances in the last Australian summer.
Maddinson was touted as a talent for the future, and made a
strong impression on the Australian A tour before the Ashes series, where he
was the highest run scorer. A T20 debut in India followed, but with Chris
Rogers now 36, and Alex Doolan not in the white ball sides and therefore only
able to make his case for a short period each year, if Maddinson can find a way
into the white ball teams again, with a world T20 in April, it could be a very
impressive and important year for him.
Tymal Mills
In a world of bigger bats, shorter boundaries, and greater freedom for batsman to play shots, the role of the true fast bowler has been threatened. The quicker they are, the faster they go. With Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar retiring, and Shaun Tait playing T20 only, it appeared true fast bowling might die. Fortunately, the performances of Mitchell Johnson this year, not just in his headline catching Ashes series, but also in his excellent performances in the IPL, have shown that fast bowling is not dead.
Tymal Mills bowls fast. He does not bowl accurately; he
doesn’t swing it and doesn’t possess the canny nuances of a seasoned paceman.
He simply runs in, and fires the ball at the batsman as quickly as possible.
Bought onto the Ashes tour to give England practice against left-arm pace,
Mills impressed all onlookers, particularly the Australian media set, with his
natural pace. Tim Bresnan can master both swing and reverse swing, and he may
get on top of a particular batsman. But medium and slow medium bowlers will
never scare an entire side, as Johnson has done in this Ashes, and there is no
terror in a batsman’s mind like knowing the bowler is simply too quick. England
face Sri Lanka (destroyed by Johnson last winter) and India this summer, two
nations not renowned for their ability to play hostile, short pitched bowling.
In ODI’s England may well advised to unleash Mills.
Sam Robson
Nick Compton, Joe Root and now Michael Carberry have all opened for England in 2013. Compton failed as he became completely introverted (not to mention the growing concerns about his role within the dressing room). Root was moved down the order after himself and Alistair Cook were unable to form a working opening partnership, one of them continually falling early, and now Carberry and Cook have suffered exactly the same problem. All three struggled to rotate the strike and score, and all failed to form a relationship with Cook.
The next opening bat off the rank appears to be Sam Robson.
Born and raised in Australia, Robson possesses an iron clad technique and has
shown an ability to bat for long period of time. He’s England qualified through
his parents, and throughout his early professional career was the subject of
the affections of both the ECB and CA to declare for them. Robson chose not to
declare for either country until he had qualified for both, before choosing to
tour Australia with England Lions this winter. Technically sound, hugely
mentally rated by all who have worked with him, it may be Robson’s turn this
summer.
Natalie Sciver
The one bright spark in this men’s Ashes series has been the emergence of Ben Stokes, a hugely promising all-rounder with match winning potential with both bat and ball. England women found their version in the summer in the shape of Tokyo-born Surrey all-rounder Natalie Sciver, who looks the best prospect in English women’s cricket since Sarah Taylor.
Sciver has been highly rated from a young age, but concerns
over her fitness left her on the outside looking in during 2012. Going through
the England Academy eased those concerns, and Sciver’s rise in 2013 has been
meteoric. In February 2013 she was England’s standby player for the World Cup.
Come June she made her debut against Pakistan, winning player of the match in
her second game. Selected in the Ashes squad, she wasn’t selected for either
the Test or the first ODI, which England drew, then lost. She played the next
five games, all of which England won. In October she took England’s first ever
T20 hat-trick, impressing with both bat and ball in a tri-series in West
Indies. She fulfils the role of batting six and bowling sixth that England
need, combining with Jenny Gunn to give England two genuine all-rounders.
The careers of Sciver and Stokes can well be compared. Both
21, both hugely talented and appreciated as such from a young age, both held
back by non-cricket problems (although being a bit chubby is probably a lesser
crime than Stokes’ drink driving) and both now heavily involved in England
cricket, they both have the potential to win a number of games for England in
the next decade.
Mohammed Shami
I have been watching cricket long enough to remember the last really good Indian quick bowler. Not Zaheer Khan, who despite being a very accomplished swing/seam bowler, was never a quick bowler with the skills they bring, such as bouncers and aggression. The last Indian quick bowler was Javagal Srinath, a highly skilled operator who took 236 Test wickets and 315 ODI wickets, often using methods alien to the current crop of Indian fast bowlers – pace, bounce and aggression.
Watching Mohammed Shami in his Test career so far has
reminded me of Srinath. Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav are talented bowlers, but
they often give the impression that they don’t know how to use the fast bowling
skills they possess. Bouncers are bowled not with intent, but as a ball to be
used to change lengths and get a dot ball. Shami bowls his bouncer with intent.
He’s not as quick as Srinath was, but there is time to add muscle, to refine
technique. India really struggled in England on their last tour due to the lack
of anything approaching even an adequate seam bowler. Shami may surprise a few
people this time around.
Six others worth a look – Corey J Anderson, Jamie Overton,
Unmukt Chand, Monimul Haque, Chadd Sayers and Holly Ferling.
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