Bleacher Report - Articles by Kimeshan Naidoo

English Cricket: Michael Vaughan Run Drought Puts Test Series in Doubt

Kimeshan Naidoo — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:52:30 -0400

After captaining England to victory in that spectacular Ashes series, Michael Vaughan would have forever written his name in English test cricket folklore.

The inspiring captain, barring Kevin Pietersen, is no doubt England's premier batsman in the longest form of the game. When Vaughan gets a big score, England usually wins.

Why? Because the best way to inspire a team is to lead by example. In the same vein, when he fails, all is not well for England and that is immediately evident in the test series against South Africa which is looking ever more precarious.

If we contrast Vaughan's last few innings to those of his opposite number, Graeme Smith, we see a rather shocking disparity.

In the first test at Lord's, although England scored a mammoth total, Vaughan managed only six. In contrast, the Protea's skipper blasted a magnificent century in an exquisite opening partnership with McKenzie to save the test and snatch a draw when all hope seemed to be lost for visitors.

At Headingley, Vaughan departed for a duck and than failed once again in the second innings, only managing 21 painstaking runs from 90 balls before fiddling outside his offstump to be caught by Boucher off a rejuvenated Makhaya Ntini.

More so, Vaughan holds the important number three position, which leaves England in disarray when he is sent back soon after arriving at the crease. While South Africa's number three, Hashim Amla, goes from strength to strength every match, displaying remarkable style and calmness for a man eight years younger than Vaughan, who is proving to be erratic at the best of times.

Historically, Vaughan has struggled against South Africa, having only scored one century and an average of 30.72, which is a long way short of his career average of over 42.

If England are to bounce back against South Africa, one thing that will have to change is their captain's run drought. England's skipper simply has to find his feet, and, more importantly, find some form.

Calling the shots is great—but leading by example can do silent wonders to a team struggling as England are at moment.

England vs. South Africa Preview: Second Test

Kimeshan Naidoo — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:29:18 -0400

Series situation

After South Africa snatched a tenacious draw from the jaws of defeat at Lord's, it means the series is still wide open. Headingley will now have added pressure since first blood has not been drawn by either side.

England, with only three days rest after toiling in the field for two days, will go into the match slightly fatigued and perhaps still ruing the missed opportunity to take a 1-0 lead in the four match series.

South Africa's psychological advantage is evident but both teams will be desperate for a win. At 0-0, the four-match series is effectively a three match series now and whoever triumphs at Headingley will most likely go on to win the series.

Team changes

England: After the English bowlers failed to bowl out South Africa, all-rounder Flintoff is back in the England squad. The big question on everybody's lips though, is: Who will he replace?

The most likely candidate is Paul Collingwood who, to be fair, was unlucky to be given out, but his bowling didn't prove to be successful either.

South Africa: The Proteas failed to bowl England out in the whole test match and this will be an immediate concern for the men in green caps. Big fast bowler Andre Nel might be brought into the set-up while Steyn and Ntini will be looking to make early inroads into the England batting line-up.

Tactics

If South Africa win the toss they will most certainly throw the ball back to England. The English bowlers will feel dejected psychologically and have suffered physically after unsuccessfully bowling for two days.

Panesar failed to take a single wicket after bowling sixty overs in the second innings, and that will have surely dented his confidence. England will surely look to bat first and give their bowlers a rest and they will be confident in their ability to handle the South African pace attack as they haven't been bowled out yet.

Whatever the tactics, neither team will begin by playing for a draw. The series is still there for the taking and an exciting encounter is definitely on the cards.

Prediction

It is a cliche but the toss will play a huge part once again.

If England are made to field they may well feel like sheep being thrown into a lion's den after such a short break. In this case, South Africa will win, possibly by an innings.

If England choose to bat, South Africa's overawed bowlers at Lord's will certainly be more deadly. England will have to bat a lot better.

In this case it will all depend on how England negotiate the Proteas pace attack during the first couple of days. In this circumstance I'm going for an England win barring a fatal collapse in their first innings.

Match Starts: 18th July 2008, Friday, 11:00 (British time)

England yet to face vintage South Africa: Proteas will only get better

Kimeshan Naidoo — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:40:10 -0400

Apart from one of the most obstinate batting performances in the history of Test cricket, South Africa's performance at Lord's was a shadow of the usual world-beaters that we have come to know.

The first three days were unquestionably England's as South Africa toiled in the field with an inexperienced bowling attack that lacked creativity as well as a poor batting performance, leaving the team reeling with two days to go.

Before coming into the test, South Africa had beaten New Zealand at home and successfully toured the subcontinent, winning the series against Pakistan and Bangladesh while drawing in India. Their confidence was understandly high before the series against England but the performance displayed in the first test was lacklustre and the team was "undercooked" as South African captain Graeme Smith admitted.

One of the factors contributing to the poor bowling performance was the sense of occasion. Playing at Lord's is every cricketer's dream and Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Paul Harris showed obvious signs of nervousness and inexperience with the new conditions.

Now that Lord's is over and they have a few wickets under their belt, South Africa's fast bowlers certainly will improve in the next test at Headingley, and Makhaya Ntini, at 31-years-old, will be looking to hit top form and leave a positive mark on possibly his last tour of England.

England will definitely have to up the ante at Headingly after they failed to capitilise at Lord's. South Africa will go into the second test with a big psychological advantage knowing that they got out of jail from the last test.

It will be a concern for England that with only three days rest until the second test which starts on Friday, the English bowlers will be feeling a bit fatigued after battling unsuccessfully in the field for two days. You can be sure that if South Africa wins the toss, England will be made to field once again.

South Africa's top order batsmen will also be on a high after centuries from Smith, Mckenzie, Amla and Prince. Amla has been the most impressive so far; since arriving in England he has scored three successive centuries: two in the warm-up matches and adding a stylish century at Lord's.

England may struggle to bowl South Africa out knowing that they failed miserably in the last test.

A vintage performance by South Africa in the next test will mean England will have to cope mentally and show character after not taking advantage in the opening test. If both teams can raise their level of play then we're in for an exciting, fascinating test match; which is something that is much needed to enhance the image of test cricket in the age of the more ostentatious Twenty20 style of cricket.

Let us hope that cricket's original and most true form of the game can deliver something of a classic when these two great nations lock horns on Friday.

Match starts: Friday, 18 July 2008,11:00 (British Time)

Liverpool Must Show Character at the Bridge

Kimeshan Naidoo — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:44:05 -0400

Football can be a paradox. Last week the Reds dominated Chelsea for 94 minutes that preceded the disastrous own goal. It was totally undeserved by Chelsea but it turned the tie on its head. It goes to show the level of concentration required at Champions League level as the slight misjudgement by Riise swung the advantage to Chelsea in the dying seconds of the game. An unlucky own goal like that can have one of two effects. It can destroy a team's morale or provide more verve to win in the second leg. Liverpool must show the latter like they've done many times in recent history.

Benitez and Liverpool have a mystique in Europe because Liverpool seem to play their best when they have their backs to wall. When the pressure is on, they respond in dramatic fashion. The Reds must show this type of character at the Bridge. In 2005, the Reds came back from dead when 99% of other teams would have given up. They have beaten Inter Milan in their own backyard, and showed tenacious character against Arsenal when all hope seemed lost.

You can be sure that Chelsea will be loud and vociferous at Stamford Bridge where they never seem to lose. They will come out in their numbers with their blue and white checkered flags and try to use the home advantage to triumph against Liverpool. Unfortunately for the Blues, it simply won't work. Liverpool have played at bigger, tougher and more hostile stadiums and atmospheres before like the Nou Camp, the San Siro and the Stadio Valedrome, and have come out victorious. You can be sure Benitez will have a masterplan for every single possibility, weakness and scenario that may occur and Liverpool will love the fact they have the underdog tag once again.

Liverpool supporters will be quietly confident that the Reds may yet be on the way to Moscow to set up a dream showdown with their arch-rivals Manchester United. There is no denying that it's advantage Chelsea on Wednesday night but don't count Liverpool out, it still could yet be a 6th European crown.

Liverpool on the Continent: Another Triumph Against All Odds?

Kimeshan Naidoo — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:23:23 -0500

It was big news.

Rafa Benitez had been appointed Liverpool manager.

The Reds were pathetic in the league and Benitez was guaranteed to be sacked according to the press.

In Europe though, the Reds were a different team, and performed on Europe’s biggest stage with skill and passion that saw them become champions of the continent and on route beat Juventus, Chelsea and AC Milan.

Last year, it was a similar story in the league and Arsenal sent the Reds crashing out of the League and FA Cup. To make matters worse, the Reds drew then current holders Barcelona, who had a far superior team on paper. Yet, astonishingly they flew past Barca, murdered PSV, edged Chelsea and found themselves in a second European Cup final in three years. Unluckily, an Inzaghi chester-handball deflection saw them lose narrowly to AC Milan in the final 2-1.

This year around, the Reds find themselves in a déjà vu situation. Like last season, the Reds have drawn opposition in the round of 16, that would more be fitting for a final. Inter Milan, the Italian Champions, are coming to Anfield! It’s a mouth-watering clash. Utterly scintillating and a heavyweight clash that will be closely fought. This time around Rafa Benitez will not have to rely solely on his tactical genius, as Liverpool have a team that can match Inter on paper. Combined with a astute tactician in Champion League football in Rafa Benitez, it is very probable that the Reds will repeat a European run equal to or better than last season.

Nevertheless, Inter Milan are favourites. If the Reds do come out victorious—not for the first time, in fact for the sixth time in under Benitez—it will be a sheer triumph against all odds showing why the Mighty Reds are five time European champions and the most successful club in English football.

Liverpool Letdown: The Reds' Nightmare Season

Kimeshan Naidoo — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:26:44 -0500

Liverpool’s season thus far can only be described with one word—frustrating.

Currently, the Reds find themselves a massive 14 points behind the leaders. The one statistic that explains this is that Liverpool have drawn 6 times at Anfield this season.

This converts to 12 points being dropped and is why the Reds find themselves so far adrift of the top.

On top of this, Manchester United, much to the suffering of the Reds' fans, walked away from Anfield with all three points while Chelsea sent Liverpool crashing out the Carling Cup. Having started the season in fine fashion, the Reds followed this up with a series of poor results and the wait for that elusive 19th crown continues.

Rafa Benitez seems to have finally recognised his first eleven but the lacklusture painful draws continue to roll in as the Reds refuse to convert their chances and inevitably let the opposition back into the game often after being 1-0 up.

The finishing has been less than clinical at times, with Torres and Babel showing glimpses of sheer class but with nowhere near the level of consistency necessary. Being new players, we can expect much more from them next season.

Gerrard continues to be the heart and pride in Liverpool’s team, but we cannot rely on our Captain Fantastic to win every game. Other players need to step up, and the wingers need to score more often to lift some pressure off Torres and Gerrard.

It’s still early to make any conclusions about this season but it is imperative that Liverpool strike an 8 or 9 game winning streak to get back in the title race.

With still the league, FA Cup and the Champions League at stake, we have plenty to play for.

If we are to win one these trophies, then players need to take their chances and ownership talks and rumours must be concluded as quickly as possible, as they have definitely affected the Reds on the pitch, no matter how focused the players say they are.

Lets hope that come May, when the trophies are handed out, Steven Gerrard’s hands are full of the silvery goodness that will ultimately define our season.