For England 2012 will be a busy year with 15 tests and
countless ODI’s and a T20 World Cup; there is likely to be no letup for anyone
in the England setup. In terms of the national following of the game, Cricket
will be overshadowed by the Olympics and Euro 2012 which is quite disappointing
given the successes of the current England cricket team and the challenges that
lie ahead in the next 12 months.
Test Series’ against South Africa at home and away against
India are as appealing as it gets in the current international climate. South
Africa are England’s closest competitors for the no.1 test spot and in Dale
Steyn have the clear star bowler in
international cricket at present; he will be looking to improve on his average
performances against England so far in his career. England will likely be too strong in home
conditions and South African’s mental problems are likely to continue to hold
them back from being the dominant team in international cricket.
India will be a completely different task entirely and may
well be the defining moment in how this England team goes down in history. Win
and they will be worthy outright No.1 team in the world and potentially the
greatest English test team ever, lose and they’re a very good team but one who
couldn’t quite dominate every frontier. India are in decline and who knows what
state their veterans will be in 11 months time but at home they are as strong
as it gets and England have struggled for ever in the subcontinent. I fear it
may be a touch too much for England to win in India but I just hope for an
exciting series that invigorates cricket.
Before all of this of course, England travel to UAE to face
Pakistan in what is likely to be a strong guider to their chances of success in
India later in the year. Pakistan are an improving force and seem to be more
settled but the pitches in the UAE are flat and the cricket can be boring.
Expect England to grind down the Pakistani’s and come out with a 1-0 victory.
Pakistan may sneak a test if Saeed Ajmal fires whilst the England batting
combusts in a mad session late in a game but otherwise Pakistan lack the
firepower in both batting and bowling to really worry England.
Whereas the test cricket this year is likely to be riveting
and competitive with the best teams playing, the ODI cricket surely will be
another year of rebuilding for the England team. After a poor World Cup, 2011
was an up and down year. Winning consistently at home but getting thrashed away
from home, thankfully the next world cup is in Australia where conditions are
more suited to England than most other places. There is need for
experimentation and a clear plan of attack for a team that is laughed at for
their poor performances in ODI cricket. It is probably time for some of the test
regulars of Bell, Trott and Anderson to make way in ODI cricket and give
sustained runs in the side to Taylor, Stokes and Bairstow amongst others. There
are an exciting list of players who should and could flourish in ODI cricket
but they need to be given the experience before the World Cup comes around in
2015.
Predictions: Who Knows but England are strong in test
cricket and I fancy them to win 4/5 series they play and remain firmly the best
test nation in the world. ODI cricket will again be a transition period and I
don’t expect England to repeat their Twenty20 2010 success in Sri Lanka as they
will surely struggle on the lowing bouncing wickets.
