VB Series: The action heats up!

Well, the action has really heated up in the VB series as I write this blog. The first final is reaching the halfway stage and Pakistan is on top - and who has just put them on top - my choice for the best all-rounder in one day cricket today - Abdul Razzaq. Popeye really seems to have turned the corner as far as his form is concerned since he recovered from his spinach induced illness.

Pakistan is at its best when its batsmen are putting runs on the board. Its bowling suddenly has an extra spring in its step - it doesn't matter if Shoaib Akhtar is not available - Navedul Hassan can step up and do the job if there are runs on the board. This has been pretty obvious in the last two games at Perth where Pakistan won. Indeed this has prompted Shahryar Khan, the PCB chief to say that Shoaib may not be a certainty for the tour to India. Maybe, it might be a good idea for Pakistan to stick to its line and length medium pacers for the one dayers and bank on the ligthtning quicks only for the Tests.

Coming back to the VB series, it has become competitive towards the end and all the three results in the final three games in the round robin had unpredictable results. However, the Pakistan batting with all its solidity and muscle was able to win the crucial games for them. I dont remember any side that boasts the fire power that Pakistan enjoys in its lower middle order today - Razzaq and Afridi are certainly the two most explosive batsmen in the world and lately they have been very consistent. This does mean that their side can win matches against any opposition including the current world champions Australia.

Best allrounder today in world cricket

Abdul Razzaq's explosive batting and subsequent outstanding bowling spell against Australia, got me thinking whether he is the best all-rounder in world cricket today. Razzaq, who had an exceptional start to his career, had cooled off somewhat in the last couple of years - contrast his 99 world cup performance with his 2003 world cup - and you have a story of a career in decline. However, he has had a good season especially in ODI's, bringing back memories of Razzaq of old and with that the question if he is good enough to be called the best all-rounder in World Cricket today.

Ok , lets look at the candidates for the tag. Lets look at batting and bowling all-rounders and not wicket-keeper batsmen - Adam Gilchrist would probably win hand-down if that was the case. Also, I think you need to distinguish between ODI's and test cricket to perform the assessment.

ODI's first. The choice at this point of time is between Razzaq, Afridi, Azhar Mehmood from Pakistan, Kallis, Flintoff, Chris Cairns, Symonds and Upul Chandana. In terms of impact being made currrently and cuurent form, I think the finalists are Razzaq, Flintoff and Symonds. In my opinion, Razzaq probably is ahead by a nose. Mind you, this is not a comparison of careers - but a statement of current form. Razzaq wins more games for Pak than the others. Kallis and Chris Cairns have probably had more exciting careers overall, but they are not winning today as many games as the three finalists.

Tests. The choice here is between Kallis and Flintoff. I think Flintoff is a better bowler and Kallis a much better and more consistent batsman. However, Kallis's bowling is not having as much as an impact as it used to earlier. He is more a batsman than a bowler today. Hence, in terms of impact with both bat and ball, my choice here is Flintoff. Surprisingly, Razzaq does not come close to the two finalists in test cricket. Razzaq's bowling in tests has been pretty ordinary as his test record suggests. Also, he has not crossed 50 in tests for over a year.

England vs SA 3rd Test: Momentum shift?

England's tour of South Africa is indeed turning out to be an intriguing one and far better contest than was expected prior to the series. When England won the first test, there was a chorus that could be heard about how strong the English side was and how it could challenge the Aussies in no time. The chorus did also include me. The first test by all means did signal a side that believed in itself and one that had the mental toughness necessary to be a top team.

However, subsequent to the first test, the tide seems to have slowly turned the South African way. In the second test, the English side did tremendously well to force a draw in a game where they were in a very poor shape after the first innings. At the end, when bad light stopped play, the game was actually tilted England's way. However, the third test saw no English fightback in the second innings after a similar to the second test debacle in the first innings. The fact that they batted last did not have anything to do with change - South Africa is extremely poor in its spin resources to pose any major problems on a wearing wicket. Although the lower half of the batting order did put up a fight and reduce the margin to less than 200, it still was a one-sided loss for the English.

So has the mometum shifted? I guess it is early to say. Although, this must have given a tremendous boost to the South African confidence after their pretty ordinary outing in India. They looked like a fighting unit. The fact that the entire team was ostensibly playing on merit and form, probably allowed for a stronger team spirit and it showed on the field. I believe this has been recognized by the South African selectors and they have recalled Mark Boucher for the fourth test - inexplicably no solid reason has ever been given for his dropping - which by all accounts was arbitrary. Boucher today is probably the second best batsmen amongst wicketkeepers in the world - after Adam Gilchrist. It will be interesting to see if he gets his job straightaway from AB De Villiers who seems to have performed a decent job with the bat and the gloves. It has also helped that Jacques Kallis is back to his best and his recent form is testimony to the fact that he has toppled Dravid as the number one batsman on the ICC rankings.