Dead Pitch Blues

Runs. Everywhere you look, runs. The recent series in Pakistan, West Indies and currently in New Zealand have been a showcase for tracks where bowlers toil for next to no reward. The England tour of West Indies was won in one session, where England imploded in the face of some decent swing bowling from Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards. 1500 runs were scored in two-and-a-bit innings in the first test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Karachi in February. And New Zealand could do little to break down a stubborn India in Napier over the weekend with the pitch failing to deteriorate as Gautam Gambhir bedded in for the long haul.

This winter we've seen plenty of runs, an indication of where the game is going with the onset of Twenty20. Where's the incentive to be a top-class bowler these days? Most of the time you'll get flogged for no reward. Graham Gooch, a man who can be relied upon to talk a bit of sense about the game, has it spot on. Lifeless pitches contribute nothing to cricket as a spectacle. Only idiots derive any pleasure in seeing Ramnaresh Sarwan, great player though he is, bat for 10 hours in Barbados. It is this kind of attitude that gives the haters ammunition in calling test cricket boring, and which allowed people like Andy Hale-lookalike Allen Stanford to force gaudy Twenty20 circuses on us.

Of course, its no coincidence that the best cricket of all winter (and indeed since the 2005 ashes) has been played between South Africa and Australia, on pitches in both countries which have offered something to both batsmen and bowler. Witness Mitchell Johnson's devastating spells in Durban and Johannesburg; JP Duminy's magnificent 166 at the MCG; AB De Villiers, well, just witness AB De Villiers. Paul Harris getting wickets. Phil Hughes becoming the youngest man to score back-to-back centuries. Test match cricket at its very highest quality. Heed the call, governing bodies, or face dwindling interest and shrinking crowds. Twenty20 won't save you.

Jesse Ryder: A modern hero

We've not learnt an awful lot from the current New Zealand vs India series, apart from the fact that New Zealand Cricket knows what side its bread is buttered and has prepared some lovely batsman-friendly tracks for their visitors, whose governing body throws its weight around like Craig Bellamy in a Cardiff nightclub. We have, however, witnessed the emergence of a major star in Jesse Ryder, the rotund left-hander from Napier who scored 201 on his home ground last week, his maiden double-ton in international cricket.

Ryder burst (or should that be waddled) onto the scene last year by scoring 198 runs @ 49 in the ODI series against England, only to ruin his chances of selection for the return series over here by getting mighty sloshed in Christchurch and putting his hand through a glass window. Faith has been shown in him, however, and he has rewarded the selectors' patience with some devastating one-day performances and back to back big scores in the current series.

A natural hitter, Ryder is the perfect addition to the New Zealand team which, in test matches at least, has struggled with a less-than-adhesive top order. Martin Guptill's emergence gives them a hope of forging a decent opening partnership for a long time in a while, but Ryder's contribution in the middle order, alongside the talented if infuriating Ross Taylor, offers Kiwis a bit of stability there too. Since the retirements of the likes of Fleming, Astle and McMillan gaps have emerged that have yet really to be filled until now. Ryder's appearance, which initially strikes you as less than athletic, does not get in his way when it comes to the game as evidenced by his bowling, which gets more wickets than you imagine it should (in the best traditions of Kiwis like Craig McMillan and Scott Styris). Dubious though his fitness may seem, he is still able to remain at the crease for the best part of 8 hours to compile 200 and for this reason he is an inspiration to us all. Of course, not all of us can hit the ball quite as well as he can, but I'd rather not let that get in the way just now. He also seems to have the measure of Ishant Sharma, which by my logic makes him better than Ricky Ponting.

Yeah, alright, maybe in a few years....

Spin off

Welcome to the spin-off series associated with the surprisingly popular (in Iran at least) Euroballs. Ever since the appalling events at Trafalgar Square in 2005, we've become even more cynical about the wonderful world of cricket and the seeming belief, in the media if nowhere else, that England are any cop. Stanford's helicopter landing at Lord's only heightened the feeling (he landed on the square. How could you not tell he was a wrong 'un?). Believe it or not, there's a whole world of cricket out there and most of it is worthy of attention that it rarely gets in these parts. We'll aim to do that, rant about England, pull off some shockingly bad puns etc. The usual nonsense, basically, so eyes down and tuck in.