England retaining the Ashes and becoming No1 in the world are just some of my cricket highlights of 2011
1 There came a point last winter when the hard work had been completed and the finish became a stress-free run to the line. The Ashes had been retained in Melbourne after Christmas, but still there remained the possibility that Australia could remove some of the gilt by winning the last Test in Sydney. Instead, they were blunted, not for the first time, by Alastair Cook, and then, for good measure, batted into oblivion by Ian Bell and Matt Prior. The job was all but done, and finished by the completion of another emphatic bowling display on a euphoric morning. I spent that evening in the generous company of the ECB chairman and others, and in two and a half decades of this job have never felt happier.
2 World Cup final. Perhaps it was written in the stars that India would become world champions in the home town of their greatest deity. There was to be no Tendulkar century of centuries that night, but instead the occasion was graced first by a sublime hundred from Mahela Jayawardene and then by the Indian captain MS Dhoni, who promoted himself up the order, played the most perfectly judged innings, and finished the match by launching a huge six into the velvet sky and the upper tiers of Wankhede. Afterwards, I walked the couple of miles to the Taj Palace hotel, through joyous, honking, celebrating gridlock and saw how much it meant to India.
3 Nothing in cricket can match the anticipatory fervour of a full house watching a fast bowler, on a hat-trick, champing at the bit at the end of his run. A little more than a year ago, Stuart Broad had been on the receiving end, Peter Siddle's third victim on the opening day of the Ashes. Now, at Trent Bridge, it was Broad's turn. It is the 88th over of the Indian innings and, with the second new ball, he is about to turn on its head a match that India were starting to dominate. Dhoni plays with leaden feet and Jimmy Anderson at second slip pouches a nonchalant catch. Next ball Harbhajan Singh goes lbw, the umpire unable to detect the inside edge on to pad and the batsman without recourse to a review. Finally Praveen Kumar is castled neck-and-crop through the gate. Despite a first innings lead of 67, India lost by 319 runs.
4 When, at Edgbaston, Sreesanth looped a catch to Kevin Pietersen in the gully to bring to an end the third Test against India, it secured not only the series win but England's place as the No1 ranked Test side in the world. More than a decade ago at the Oval, when Nasser Hussain, as England captain, was jeered as they became recognised as the worst team around, such status seemed unattainable, little more than a pipe-dream of optimistic ECB mission statements. Now the Andys, Strauss and Flower, have capped the work started by Hussain and Michael Vaughan under Duncan Fletcher, and continued by Peter Moores. Recognition for Flower came with the awards of UK coach of the year and UK specialist coach of the year. Now he has to keep them at the top.
5 Virender Sehwag is a phenomenon. The injudicious timing of a shoulder operation deprived India of his services in England until belatedly, he arrived and at short notice played at Edgbaston in the third Test. He got a king pair, out first ball in both innings. But then, three weeks ago, glued to my television screen to watch him bat in the fourth ODI against West Indies at Indore's Holkar stadium, I and millions of others were able to see the real Viru. His 219 from 149 balls was of a magnitude unprecedented in 3,223 matches, and an innings of such good-humoured brutality ? 25 fours and 7 sixes ? that by his exhausted end, caught on the boundary, the opposition were reduced to headshaking admiration. Sometimes you just have to go with the ride.
6 We should be immensely proud of the England women's team, for at times, they have reached a level of excellence never seen before in women's cricket. In 2011, they faltered on occasion, losing their single Ashes Test and ODI series in Australia. But beyond that, they have been supreme, dominating T20 in particular. In the wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor, they have perhaps the only female cricketer capable of playing at first-class level. The captain, Charlotte Edwards, meanwhile has achieved the stature of Strauss. At Sydney's Bankstown Oval, albeit in a losing cause, she made an unbeaten 114 out of 207, recognised as one of the finest innings played by a woman. The ECB has doubled its investment in the women's game to ensure they retain pre-eminence.
7 Two cricketers, one from Sri Lanka, the other Indian, produced articulate performances off the field that matched any of their achievements on it. In early July, Kumar Sangakkara was invited to make the MCC's Cowdrey 'Spirit of Cricket' lecture and offered an impassioned insight into Sri Lankan cricket, its power struggles and what the game means in his country. Stirring stuff. Then, a few weeks ago, in Canberra, Rahul Dravid delivered the annual Bradman oration and, as with Sangakkara, produced a perfectly pitched, immaculately judged masterpiece. Just like his batting. The game needs to cherish ambassadors such as these.
8 Cricket, as a recreational game, has to compete as never before, and the ECB is committed not only to attracting new participants but to bring back those who have drifted away. One third of its net TV revenue is committed to grassroots development. So it was gratifying to see a 5% increase in club cricket across all age groups, and the fact that the Chance to Shine campaign has introduced cricket to 1.4 million children. More than 45,000 coaches have graduated from the Sky Sports ECB coach education programme since its launch five years ago. There is a way to go but if that is not heartening, then nothing is.
9 We shall never see Dravid bat again in a Test match in England, but what a legacy he left. None of India's travails last summer could be laid at his door, and to score at Lord's, Trent Bridge and the Oval, three centuries in four Tests, mostly in adversity, was remarkable. Calling him the Wall does not do him justice. This is the Great Wall.
10 For its participants, all sport is transient. Sooner or later we all become ex-players, baton-carriers if you like, to pass on to the next generation. At the Oval towards the end of June, Andy Flower asked me if I would present an ODI cap to a debutant, Jade Dernbach, a task generally undertaken by more notable luminaries. I was honoured, and for the five minutes we stood as a team group out in the middle, while I was allowed to address them, I felt once again the England player I had been and part of a fellowship. For me it was very special.
11 England's one-day performance abroad continues to be mediocre. But even as they were being whitewashed in India during October, there was evidence that shrewd management of young cricketers is paying dividends. After a summer of county cricket, and strength and conditioning programmes, Steve Finn bowled with pace, vigour, accuracy, hostility and strength on sluggish pitches. By the end of 2012, I expect him to be an integral part of the best pace attack in the business.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/dec/28/mike-selvey-highlights-2011
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