Third ashes test preview

England’s comprehensive victory inside four days in the second test means Australia have to win to keep their Ashes hopes alive.

Anything over than an Aussie victory will at least see England retain the Ashes, however with the real possibility of a 5-0 whitewash on the cards, England will certainly be going gung ho!

Team News
England have called up Monty Panesar to the 14 man squad ahead of the test match at Old Trafford with the pitch likely to spin more than the previous two.

James Taylor and Chris Tremlett have also both earned recalls for the game, however both will only start should others fail fitness tests.

Taylor has been selected due to the calf injury Kevin Pietersen sustained during the second match, with the Surrey batsmen’s selection for the third test still up in the air.

With both Steven Finn and Graeme Onions dropped for the third test match, Tremlett has been called up for cover for the trio of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan.

After making two changes for the second match, Australia will once again change their starting XI come Thursday.

The series ending injury to James Pattinson means another quick will have to come in, with the decision to recall Mitchell Starc from the first test or Jackson Bird the dilemma Australia are facing.

David Warner scored a fantastic hundred for the Australian B squad against South Africa last week and many feel he’ll be selected.

Warner, who lost his place for disciplinary reasons, has previously opened for Australia, however may have to do with batting in the lower regions of the Aussie line up.

Betting Tips
England once again are favourites and can be best found at 33/40 with Bet Victor.

After the way the Australian batting line up crumbled at Lords, it’s hard to look past another England win.

The break will certainly have favoured the Aussies though, as they were given another chance to impress in a warm-up match with numerous batsmen scoring runs at Hove.

Steve Smith and Phillip Hughes both failed at Lords, however between them nearly scored 200 in the first innings against Sussex, with Smith scoring an impressive ton.

At 4/1 with the majority of bookies, this is the longest you’ll find Australia to win a test match, however only the way they’ve been bowling this series gives you any justification as to backing them!

England to win the 3^rd test match – 33/40 with Bet Victor

Top Batsmen
Alastair Cook has so far failed with the bat this series, scoring just one half-century to date.

The England captain however usually does score big at least once in a series and at 5/1 with Coral, there is a lot of value in backing him to be England’s top run scorer at Old Trafford.

As for the Aussies the only world-class batsmen in their line-up is as short as 3’s and I suggest looking elsewhere especially given how he gave his wicket away to Joe Root last time out.

When Hughes has got in he has scored runs this series (granted was only once) and on the back of a good knock against Sussex, I suggest a small wager on Hughes at 6/1.

Alastair Cook to be England’s top run scorer in the match – 5/1 with Coral
Phillip Hughes to be Australia’s top run scorer in the match – 6/1 with numerous bookies

Other bets
Ryan Harris top Australian Wicket Taker – 5/2 with majority of bookies
Graeme Swann top English Wicket Taker – 3/1 with bet 365

New Zealand vs England 1st T20

England have the luxury of calling upon their fully fit T20 captain Stuart Broad who was forced to sit out the shorter side of the game in England’s previous tour of India. The Nottinghamshire bowler wasn’t at his best during the test series in India, however a hat-trick in Tuesday’s warm-up victory over a New Zealand XI. It is worth nothing that the test squad only has four representatives in the T20 squad.

Broad's return increases England's bowling options

Having settled his differences with the New Zealand cricketing board, the world-class Ross Taylor comes back into the squad. Their batting line up is full of match winners, in the form of Brendan McCullum, James Franklin, Martin Guptill and of course Taylor, however their bowlers are inferior to their opponents, and without Tim Southee, they could struggle.

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Pakistan vs Bangladesh OBO

Pakistan have eased home by eight wickets and we now know all of the eight sides who'll take place in the super eights!

19th over: Pakistan 176-2 (K.Akmal 22, Jamshed 29) Singles apiece from Akmal and Jamshed mean they just need three to win. A wide from Islam is given so just two required. Pakistan win by 8 wickets. Akmal see's Pakistan home with a beautiful boundary to finish,.

Islam 2.4-0-35-0 

18th over: Pakistan 171-2 (K.Akmal 17, Jamshed 28) Pakistan are cruising now and take singles from each off the first three deliveries. One more single and they are almost there. Pakistan need 5 to win from 12 balls. 

Razzak 4-0-30-0 (7.5 runs per over)

17th over: Pakistan 167-2 (K.Akmal 15, Jamshed 26) Singles are exchanged before Jamshed takes over with a glorious four before a fortunate six after his top edge is just over the boundary ropes! Akmal also hits a boundary and there was 17 from the over! Pakistan need 9 more runs to win from 18 balls.

Mahmudallah 2-0-24-0 (12 runs per over)

16th over: Pakistan 150-2 (K.Akmal 10, Jamshed 15) Jamshed smashes through the onside for his first boundary and with his next ball smashes a six on the offside meaning Pakistan have qualified for the super eights! Akmal joins in on the fun as he times it beautifully off the pads for his first boundary. Another four from Akmal as he cuts brilliantly through the gully area. 19 runs from the over! Pakistan need 26 runs to win from 24 balls. 

Abul Hasan 3-0-33-2 (11 runs per over)

15th over: Pakistan 131-2 (K.Akmal 2, Jamshed 4) The two new batsmen hit a single with each of the first five deliveries. Dot ball with the last one. Pakistan need 9 more runs to qualify from 30 balls. 

Al Hasan 4-0-23-0 (5.75 runs per over)

14th over: Pakistan 126-2 (K. Akmal 0, Jamshed 1) Nazir slog sweeps for four with the first ball of the Abul Hasan over. Nazir 72 c sub (Reza) b Abul Hasan. Bangladesh have their first wicket as Nazir tries one too many shots and was easily caught in the deep by the sub fielder Reza. Brilliant innings from Nazir though and one that mean Pakistan will progress. Hafeez 45 c Rahim b Abul Hasan. A second wicket in the over as the captain is caught behind playing at a wide delivery. Pakistan need 14 more runs to qualify from 36 balls.

Abul Hasan 2-0-14-2 (7 runs per over)

13th over: Pakistan 118-0 (Hafeez 44, Nazir 66) Quick running mean Pakistan get four from the first three balls when really they should have only got two! And all together there is six from the over. Pakistan need 22 more runs to qualify from 42 balls. 

Al Hasan 3-0-18-0 (6 runs per over)

12th over: Pakistan 112-0 (Hafeez 42, Nazir 62) Beautiful timing from Hafeez as he flicks of his pads for four runs! Another short delivery is smashed away by Hafeez and Pakistan are closing in on qualification here! Three more singles, 11 from the over. Pakistan need 28 more runs to qualify from 48 balls. 

Razzak 3-0-26-0 (8.66 runs per over)

11th over: Pakistan 101-0 (Hafeez 32, Nazir 61) Three Hafeez runs are backed up with a four from Nazir which brings up the 100 for Pakistan and also the 100 run partnership from these two. Eight from the over. Pakistan need 40 runs from 54 balls to qualify.

Mahmudallah 1-0-7-0

10th over: Pakistan 92-0 (Hafeez 29, Nazir 56) 50 from Nazir . In fitting fashion from the way he's played this innings, Nazir brings up his fifty with a six. It's also the fastest half-century of the tournament so far! Nazir and Hafeez exchange singles, and there was eight from Al Hasan's second over. Pakistan need 48 runs from 60 balls to qualify. 

Al Hasan 2-0-12-0 (6 runs per over)

9th over: Pakistan 84-0 (Hafeez 28, Nazir 49) First over from Abul Hasan who dropped Nazir when he was on 1! Nazir pulls Hasan's second delivery for four and goes within one of his half century. Quickly ran two from Hafeez. Seven runs from the over. Pakistan need 56 runs from 66 balls to qualify.  

Abul Hasan 1-0-6-0

8th over: Pakistan 77-0 (Hafeez 26, Nazir 45) Two singles are backed up with a beautiful lofted drive from Nazir for four more runs! Nine runs from the over. Pakistan need 63 runs from 72 balls to qualify.

Razzak 2-0-15-0 (7.5 runs per over)

7th over: Pakistan 68-0 (Hafeez 25, Nazir 37) Al Hasan after his brilliant knock with the bat is having his first bowl and with his first delivery should have had a wicket as their LBW appeal against Nazir would've hit the wickets! Just the four runs from the over. Pakistan need 72 runs from 78 balls to qualify.

Al Hasan 1-0-4-0

6th over: Pakistan 64-0 (Hafeez 24, Nazir 35) Razzak comes on for his first over and starts brilliantly with three dot balls as the last beats the edge of Hafeez. Hossain does brilliantly in the field to prevent a boundary, and in doing so saves three runs. Nazir however with the next ball makes the most of a short and wide delivery and hits it through point for another boundary. A single from the last ball means that there was six runs from the last power play over.

Razzak 1-0-6-0

5th over: Pakistan 58-0 (Hafeez 23, Nazir 30) Hafeez pulls for yet another boundary, before exchanging the strike with a single of the third ball of the over. More Bangladesh pain as Nazir lofts another boundary over the batsmen's head, the boundary brings up the 50 partnership.Nazir has 24 from 10 balls! Another huge six from Nazir and Pakistan are romping towards the 140 they need to progress!

Mortaza 3-0-30-0 (10 runs per over)

4th over: Pakistan 43-0 (Hafeez 18, Nazir 20) The first LBW appeal of the match really as Islam goes up for one against Hafeez however it's rightly not given. Nazir lofts the ball brilliantly back over the bowlers head for four, and the next Islam delivery is wide and races past Rahim for five wides. Islam drops too short and Nazir pulls it for another boundary. Another short delivery and this time Nazir pulls it even further and for six glorious runs. 20 runs from the over!

Islam 2-0-28-0 (14 runs per over)

3rd over: Pakistan 23-0 (Hafeez 17, Nazir 6) Hafeez drives beautifully through mid-off for four. However only one more run was added in the third over as Mortaza got better as the over got older.

Mortaza 2-0-15-0 (7.5 runs per over)

2nd over: Pakistan 18-0 (Hafeez 12, Nazir 6) Another easy drop! Abul Hasan won't get an easier chance this match as Nazir lofts Islam's first ball high in the air but Abul Hasan can't catch it, huge chance gone for Bangladesh. The duo share singles before Nazir whacks it through mid-wicket for another boundary. Good start from Pakistan.

Islam 1-0-8-0

1st over: Pakistan 10-0 (Hafeez 9, Nazir 1) First ball is edged just over first slip for four and Bangladesh are unlucky! The second boundary of the over is a more controlled one from Hafeez and Pakistan have come out quickly. A single apiece from Hafeez and Nazir take the first over's score to 10.

Mortaza 1-0-10-0

Pakistan are out and need to be better with their bat then they were with the ball and especially in the field!

Bangladesh led superbly by Shakib Al Hasan have posted 175, meaning Pakistan need 176 to win; however to progress to the super eights, they only need 140, meaning seven runs an over will be enough for them.

20th over: Bangladesh 175-6 (Hossain 16, Rahman 1) The last over of the innings. Al Hasan and Hossain exchange singles. Al Hasan 84 c U Akmal b Arafat. A full toss isn't connected with properly by Al Hasan and he is caught in the deep; however he has given his side a chance of progression with this innings! Rahman is on with just three balls left and gets a single with his first ball. Hossain thrashes Arafat through point for another boundary. Hossain 16 b Arafat. Hossain is bowled by a brilliant yorker with the final ball of the innings.

Arafat 3-0-25-3 (7.33 runs per over)

19th over: Bangladesh 168-4 (Hossain 11, Al Hasan 83) Hossain does the sensible thing and gets Al Hasan on strike with the first ball of Ajmal's final over. Al Hasan runs a very quick two. Al Hasan scoops Ajmal beautifully for three. A leg bye and Al Hasan single are followed up by a Hossain smash towards long off for his first boundary. 12 from the over.

Ajmal 4-0-33-0 (8.25 runs per over)

18th over: Bangladesh 156-4 (Hossain 6, Al Hasan 77) Gul is back on and his full delivery is swept excellently for a boundary! Gul follows up with a beautiful yorker and just misses the stumps. Umar Akmal misfields so Al Hasan runs a cheap two! Al Hasan pulls Gul once again and another boundary takes the over total to 10 with one to go. Another cracking shot from Al Hasan as he cracks Gul through the mid wicket for another boundary. 14 from the over.

Gul 3-0-43-0 (14.33 runs per over)

17th over: Bangladesh 142-4 (Hossain 6, Al Hasan 63) Ajmal is back on and Hossain runs an early two which is followed by a very quickly ran single. Three more singles ensure Ajmal only concedes six from the over.

Ajmal 3-0-21-0 (7 runs per over)

16th over: Bangladesh 136-4 (Hossain 2, Al Hasan 61) Mahmudallah c U Akmal b Afridi. With just his second ball Mahmudallah is caught in the deep as Afridi takes his first wicket of the match. Hossain is the next batsmen in and gets off the mark with the first ball. Afridi gets the outside egde however Akmal behind the stumps can't take it and Hossain gets away with it! Hossain is lucky again as he lofts it in the air, but safe! Just the three from the over.

Afridi 4-0-20-1 (5 runs per over)

15th over: Bangladesh 133-3 (Mahmudallah 0, Al Hasan 60) Just two from the first three delivers in Arfat's second over. Rahim 25 c Nazir b Arafat. Rahim is gone, caught smartly in the deep from Nazir. Mahmudallah is the next batsmen in; however Al Hasan faces and lofts Tanvir towards the deep mid wicket for another boundary.

Arafat 2-0-18-1 (9 runs per over)

14th over: Bangladesh 127-2 (Rahim 24, Al Hasan 55) Afridi is back and Al Hasan cuts the first ball for a single. A dot ball is followed by a wide ball before Rahim drags a short delivery through mid wicket for a a boundary. Singles are exchanged with the next three deliveries.

Afridi 3-0-17-0 (5.66 runs per over)

13th over: Bangladesh 118-2 (Rahim 19, Al Hasan 53) I'm not quite sure how Rahim has got away with that. Yasir Arafat with his first ball drops it short and Rahim offers Tanvir the simpliest of chances and he can't take it! Al Hasan gets a top edge and it brings about the 50 partnership between this two as it reaches the boundary. 50 for Al Hasan. Al Hasan pulls a poor Arafat bouncer for a huge six, in doing so brings up his 50. Afridi drops Al Hasan; however it was a very hard chance and the single is ran.

Arafat 1-0-12-0

12th over: Bangladesh 106-2 (Rahim 18, Al Hasan 42) Two singles from the first three balls is a good start for Ajmal and Al Hasan is fortunate not to be out as he skies a shot but it lands safely. Only four from the over as Pakistan look to recover.

Ajmal 2-0-15-0 (7.5 runs per over)

11th over: Bangladesh 102-2 (Rahim 16, Al Hasan 40) Gul is back and has improved his length from his previous over which went for 17 runs. Rahim gets a single with the second ball. Al Hasan is on one here and pulls Gul to the mid wicket boundary. Gul comes round the wicket; however another boundary as another cut shot from Al Hasan takes him to 39. He goes to 40 with a single back past the bowler.

Gul 2-0-29-0 (14.5 runs per over)

10 over: Bangladesh 90-2 (Rahim 15, Al Hasan 29) The number one T20 bowler is on for his first over and starts by conceding just the four from four balls; however a fortunate bottom edge from Al Hasan goes to the boundary! There was nothing fortunate about his second fur of the over as he comes down the track and lofts it to the deep mid wicket boundary.

Ajmal 1-0-12-0

9th over: Bangladesh 78-2 (Rahim 14, Al Hasan 18) Another Afridi over starts with two dot balls; however a Rahim edge produces a well ran three! Just one more from the over ensures Afridi has started well.

Afridi 2-0-8-0 (4 runs per over)

8th over: Bangladesh 74-2 (Rahim 11, Al Hasan 17) Rahim cuts well, however its just two runs when there should've been three! Rahim sweeps beautifully for the first six of the innings! Nine from the over in total.

Hafeez 3-0-28-0 (9.33 runs per over)

7th over: Bangladesh 65-2 (Rahim 2, Al Hasan 17) Afridi is on for his first over and as its the seventh over, its the end of the powerplay meaning the fielding restrictions are lifted! Just two singles from the first three balls, but the fourth ball of the over is given as a wide! Rahim ends the over with a single; however just the four runs from the Afridi over.

Afridi 1-0-4-0

6th over: Bangladesh 61-2 (Rahim 0, Al Hasan 16) Two consecutive drives from Al Hasan reach the boundary as Bangladesh make a flying start. Al Hasan flicks the fourth ball of the over for the third boundary of the over. Iqbal 24 run out (Hafeez). A gift to get Bangladesh back into the match as Al Hasan sends Iqbal back, but he's stumbling and Hafeez has the simple job of knocking the bails off, shame as he'd started like a train! Rahim is the next man in, however Al Hasan faces the last delivery which is a dot ball.

Tanvir 3-0-25-1 (8.33 runs per over)

5th over: Bangladesh 49-1 (Iqbal 24, Al Hasan 4) Hafeez replaces the wayward Gul; however he is cut to the boundary with the first ball. The second also reaches the boundary as Iqbal simply flicks it away. Four singles with the next four balls to see the over out.

Hafeez 2-0-19-0 (9.50 runs per over)

4th over: Bangladesh 37-1 (Iqbal 14, Al Hasan 2) Ashraful hits the first ball of the over for four. Ashraful 14 b Tanvir.  However he is castled with the next delivery as Tanvir gets the break through Pakistan needed! Al Hasan is the next man in and Tanvir strays wide with the first ball. A better line from Tanvir ensures Al Hasan can't get off the mark with the next two deliveries. He does get two with his third ball though with a lofted drive. Tanvir finishes with a dot ball.

Tanvir 2-0-13-1 (6.50 runs per over)

3rd over: Bangladesh 30-0 (Iqbal 14, Ashraful 10) Umar Gul is on for his first over, and starts with a dot ball. Iqbal pulls beautifully for his first boundary of the match. Gul see's Iqbal coming down the wicket so places it wider; however too wide and goes between the keeper and first slip for five wides! Two played and misses from Iqbal, however he connects this time as Gul strays slightly wide and his slayed for four. Another short ball from Gul is given the same treatment in the form of the fourth boundary of the over. 17 from it.

Gul 1-0-17-0

2nd over: Bangladesh 13-0 (Iqbal 2, Ashraful 10) Iqbal gets a single with the first ball of Tanvir's spell, which is also a no-ball, meaning Ashraful is given a free hit with the next ball and he scoops it beautifully for another boundary. Three dot balls are followed by a play and miss from Ashraful and is lucky not to edge it through to Akmal. Another play and a miss ensures its a good end to the over for Pakistan.

Tanvir 1-0-6-0

1st over: Bangladesh 7-0 (Iqbal 1, Ashraful 6) The captain opts to open the bowling for Pakistan. Gets turn with the first ball as Iqbal edges safely for a single with the first ball. Two dot balls are followed by a well lofted sweep shot from Ashraful for the first boundary of the game. A second consecutive slog sweep gives Ashraful two more, and is followed by a dot ball.

Haffez 1-0-7-0

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Mohammed Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (Capt & wk), Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Abul Hasan, Ziaur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shafiul Islam

Pakistan: Mohammed Hafeez (Capt), Imran Nazir, Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal

New Zealand are through whatever the result here as both Bangladesh and Pakistan can't have a better net run rate then the Kiwi's as a result of this match, so they can sit back and relax!

Team News: Abul Hasan replaces Elias Sunny for Bangladesh whilst Pakistan are unchanged.

Bangladesh don't just need to win, they also need to win by 36 runs or more! And when you consider the fact Bangladesh haven't been Pakistan in a one day game in 20 years, it doesn't bode well for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh win the toss and will bat first!

It's the last of the World T20 group stage matches and Bangladesh need to beat Pakistan if they've any chance of progression. Bangladesh were thrashed by a Brendan McCullum inspired New Zealand whilst Pakistan beat the Kiwi's by 14 runs.

Top 10 performances of the County season so far

1) Slow defence of a Championship award goes to Lancashire who have lost both their opening games. Having been easily beaten by Sussex in their opener, many expected them to bounce back against Warwickshire; however despite reducing their opponents to 52-5 in their run chase, it wasn’t enough, meaning Lancashire sit bottom of the County Division One table.

2) Graham Onions will no doubt of impressed the English selectors after taking 10 wickets in the rain affected draw with Middlesex. After losing his England place due to injury, Onions’ brilliant start to the season, 20 wickets at 9.40, has certainly improved his chances of a re-call for the Windies and South Africa test series in the summer. In both innings Onions removed the England captain Andrew Strauss for a second ball duck and 6 respectively, ensuring Strauss’ poor run of form was extended.

3) The game of the County Championship so far surely has to go to the Middlesex and Surrey, which saw the latter fail to chase down 141 to win their opening match. At 101-4 Surrey had looked set to win comfortably; however for the second time in the match they blew a good batting start (having been 85-0 in the first innings before finishing on 222 all out) and Middlesex claimed an unlikely yet extraordinary victory.

4) A combination of injury and wanting to go with 5 bowlers, meant Ravi Bopara missed out on selection for both of the tests vs. Sri Lanka in; however his return for Essex was perfectly timed scoring a brilliant 117 not out. A not out ton is always a good knock, but when you consider his score made up 59% of Essex’s first innings total with only two other Essex batsmen making double figures, makes his score all the more impressive.

5) Ravi Bopara wasn’t the only batter to carry his side in a batting collapse. England’s forgotten wicket-keeper Chris Read scored 104 not out as his Nottingham side were skittled out for just 162 inside 57 overs. Only one batsmen (Steven Mullaney, 10) joined Read in scoring double figures.

6) Warwickshire top Division one having won back-to-back dramatic matches. Despite their top order struggling to score runs (with their top 5 averaging just 19.4 runs per person in their four innings so far this season) a first innings 224 8^th wicket partnership between Darren Maddy and Rickie Clarke meant they were only chasing down 70; however another top order failure meant they were 52-5 before William Porterfield and Tim Ambrose edged them home.

7) Like I touched upon above, Warwickshire were struggling in their County Championship Division One match against Lancashire at 81-7; however Maddy and Clarke put on a massive 224 to turn the game on its head. Despite the score line when the duo arrived the both scored at an impressive rate with the number 9 Clarke in particular enjoying his 140, which included 13 boundaries and 3 sixes. The ton from Maddy ended a barren run for the former Leicestershire man who hadn’t scored a ton in a first class game since August 2008.

  

8) As debuts go, there was no better then Steve Magoffin’s for Sussex in his sides 10 wicket victory against Lancashire. Match figures of 9-55 were good; however his second innings demolition of the Lancashire score card was the match winning spell as the Australian Magoffin took 7-34 from 19.5 overs.

9) In a bowler friendly start to the County Championship, Somerset’s Nick Compton became the first man to hit a double ton in their rain affected draw with Nottinghamshire. In an attempt to force a result, Compton’s second hundred came off from just 81 balls; however his attempts were in vein as the weather meant Notts got away with a draw.

  

10)  The player of the fortnight has to be David Balcombe of Hampshire. 16 wickets from 2 County Championship matches at an average of 9.50 is a brilliant start for the Englishman. Hampshire having set the Division on fire just yet, with a win and a defeat from their opening fixtures; however Balcombe’s 5-33 in the first innings in their last match against Glamorgan gave Hampshire the platform they needed to win the game.

My Cricket team of 2011

Sri Lanka's first test win since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan brought the curtain down on a fantastic year of cricket. India won the World Cup in their own country, defeating a spirited Sri Lanka in the final, as England stormed to the top of the test rankings. Here is my cricket team of 2011, which after a great year for England, is not surprisingly filled with members of Andy Flowers's successful side.

Alistair Cook - England  927 Test runs in a fantastic year for Cook (which doesn’t include the runs he made in the first four tests in the 2010-11 Ashes), as well as earning the England ODI captaincy ensures the Essex batsmen opens the side. A top score of 294 vs. India was the highlight.

Shane Watson - Australia A peripheral figure for the Aussies in all formats of the game, smashing 185 not out in a record innings vs. Bangladesh. The knock included an incredible 15 sixes to ease past the previous record of sixes in an innings. One problem for Watson was converting test fifties into hundreds; however he deserves his place in the side.

Jonathon Trott- England The South African born Englishman averages over 50 in both formats of the game, and the Warwickshire batsmen like England has had a fantastic year.

Rahul Dravid - India despite India having an average year, ‘the wall’ has been in arguably the form of his life. No one score more test runs then Dravid in 2011, which included five hundreds in his twenty three innings.

Ian Bell - England The only batsmen to average over 100 in the year of 2011, with an incredible five hundreds in just 11 test innings. A brilliant 235 vs. India, which was also his maiden test double hundred, in the fourth test helped England to a comprehensive whitewash over the then number one ranked test side.

Virat Kohli - India Surprisingly unused in the test side, Kohli topped the ODI run scorer list. 12 scores of over 50, including four tons, Kohli helped India to World Cup success in their own country at the start of the year.

Kumar Sangakkara - Sri Lanka Despite his countries struggles, predominately in the test format of the game, Sangakkara has had another brilliant year. Sangakkara finished the year with the second most amount of test runs as well as the fourth highest ODI run scorer in 2011. This year he also recorded an incredible eighth test double hundred, with only Brain Lara and Don Bradman scoring more in the games history.

Stuart Broad - England After missing most of England’s ashes winning tour, Broad bounced back brilliantly in 2011 with 33 test wickets in just the seven matches. The Nottinghamshire bowler was a key part of England’s surge to the top of the test rankings. In 2011 Broad also inherited the T/20 captaincy. 

Saeed Ajmal - Pakistan 84 international wickets for Ajmal it was a very productive year for the Pakistan spinner, as no one took more test wickets then him in 2011. Despite not featuring frequently at the World Cup, Ajmal took 34 of his 84 wickets in the ODI format of the game.

Vernon Philander - South Africa Despite just the three test matches, the South African had a fantastic year. He and Steyn so famously destroyed Australia, bowling Michael Clarke’s side out for just 47. Averaging eight wickets per test match during 2011, Philander will look to make 2012 a better year.

James Anderson - England Anderson had a fantastic year as the leader of England’s formidable bowling attack. The Lancashire bowler missed just one of England’s eight test matches during 2011, ironically only one of the two tests they didn’t win the whole year, as Anderson took 35 test wickets and helped England to the number one ranked side.