Andy Pakes looks at the emergence of Australia's James Pattinson and compares him to his England-capped brother Darren.
Sam Holloway looks at why test match cricket is not going to become extinct just yet
Manraj Bahra looks at the subtle differences between the forms of cricket and how teams shouldn't look to pick the same players in all forms.
Sports Editor James Tompkinson looks at the continuing problem of corruption within cricket as the cases of three Pakistani cricketers accused of spot fixing comes to an end
Batsman of the summer – Ian Bell. This is without a doubt the most difficult category to pick a single England player from, as all the men in the top six have made their mark this summer one way or another. However, I’ve gone for Bell because there is nobody in the England side better to watch. While Alastair Cook accumulates fantastically and Kevin Pietersen brings an exciting element to the middle, Bell is technically the best player in the England side and the fluidity of his stroke play is unbelievably classy.
The key to Bell’s success is his head and feet position. Everything moves together and you will very rarely see him play a shot without his head right over the top of the ball. Bell hit four test match centuries this summer, including a double ton against the Indians in one of the best innings that you will ever see. He has easily contended with batting in different positions, and adapted effortlessly to batting at number three when Jonathan Trott picked up a shoulder injury. Bell is such a different player from the tentative, nervy batsman that we saw against the Aussies in 2005, and has been an integral part of England’s recent successes.
Bowler of the summer – Stuart Broad. Despite a relatively average showing against the Sri Lankans in the earlier part of the summer, Broad’s performances against India in both forms of the game were crucial in securing two series whitewashes. He openly admitted that after the Sri Lanka series he went away and worked with bowling coach David Saker on improving his game, and that hard work definitely paid off. Broad’s biggest problem in recent times has been that he has a tendency to bowl too short, but against India he bowled a much fuller length and reaped the rewards.
Broad also has the invaluable ability to change games, with both bat and ball. He hit 74 valuable runs in the first test match to stabilise England’s second innings and set the Indians an improbable target to win the game. But it is his bowling that has shone through in the latter part of the summer, with 25 wickets in the series against India showing that Broad has really taken on the responsibility entrusted to him as a senior bowler for England. His spell that demolished the Indians in the second test at Lords, taking five wickets for no runs in sixteen balls that included a hat-trick was the best spell of bowling that I have ever watched. For me, it was the moment that changed the summer and ensured that the Indians would be consigned to second place behind their hosts.
Unsung hero – Matt Prior. It always bemuses me as to why Matt Prior doesn’t get more credit for his England performances. He is a good enough player to get into the England team on his batting alone, but it is his wicket keeping skills which have improved immeasurably in the last 18 months. Prior is without a doubt the best wicket-keeper/batsman in the world, and anyone who would have argued MS Dhoni’s for that title case may want to re-evaluate after Prior put him to shame this summer. He also has a habit of saving England when they really need it, another invaluable skill that he brings to the table. Despite some good performances from Craig Keiswetter in the ODI form of the game this summer, I still think that Prior should represent England in all forms of the game, not just in test matches.
Comedy moment of the summer – Aggers’ “rubber” comments on TMS. Watch this and laugh. Enough said really.
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