Moody two shoes - Bumble
Bumble's Blog: David reports back from Lord's and he is full of admiration for Tom Moody.
2nd npower Test
England v Sri Lanka
Live on Sky Sports 1 from Edgbaston, May 25-29
Live commentary on skysports.com
BUMBLE'S BLOG - on SKYSPORTS.COM
Email Bumble here | Bumble needs you! Click here to help
The first Test of the summer was a long, drawn out affair. It looked for a while that it would be over by Sunday lunchtime but the Sri Lankan boys dug in and showed a lot of fight.
It is unbelievable to bat for so long, and it was a great effort and the only thing England didn't do was catch.
I agree with Mike Atherton that you put it down to being one of those games and from a coach's viewpoint, what you do next time at practice is do a little bit more catching, or nothing at all, just carry on.
Everybody is getting irate and saying 'my Mum could catch it in her pinny' - that's a line I have heard about 50 times - makes no difference. The players themselves will be so angry that they put the chances down and they will want to put it right. It is what they talk about all the time, the fielders supporting the bowlers.
Atherton and Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart were talking about this at Lord's and they said they can't remember playing in a Test when England spurned so many chances - they were not saying they were better than the current team - and neither can I. Everybody was at it, it wasn't just one person, and it got quite laughable in the end.
It cost England the game, but from a coaching viewpoint you have to be relaxed about it because they practice every day without fail. Same routine, same amount of time, same players. Sadly, it is just one of those things.
The one thing England do know now, from what we have seen in this Test match, is that this is certainly not a mis-match. Everybody said that this would be a comfortable Test series for England, well don't believe it! If Sri Lanka bat first, on the right pitch and with sunny conditions, Muralitharan will then bowl at one end for a long time and he will be absolutely thrilled. But they will need to play an extra or different pace man, preferably someone with pace.
Their coach, Tom Moody, seemed to have a bit of pressure on him from back in Sri Lanka, with their Chairman of Selectors shooting his mouth off. Moody was pretty passive for a little while but his Australian attitude shone through when they followed on. He really took charge out in the nets and he had them firing before play each morning.
Sometimes the Sri Lankans can mope around, lean on each other and feel sorry for themselves, but you would have thought from their morning practices that I watched with Sky Sports, they were the ones bossing the game. So good on Tom Moody and good on Sri Lanka for the way that they responded.
BUMBLE ANSWERS YOUR EMAIL...
CAPTAIN'S CALL
I have for a while thought that Michael Vaughan was only worth his place in the Test team for his captaincy skills. Now we seem to have a good replacement in Andrew Flintoff. Do you think Vuaghan deserves to come back in automatically? Phil Rounce.
BUMBLE SAYS: Phil, I think if you asked that question to Michael Vaughan, he would tell you that he doesn't deserve to come back automatically. I have spoken to him and what he wants to do is play for Yorkshire, get some games under his belt so that he his confident that his knee has mended and is up to what is required. Then he can think about playing Test match cricket. So he would say no, he doesn't come straight back in and nor would he want to. Andrew Flintoff has also answered the question, and he he says he is only keeping the job warm for Vaughan.
SWINGING WITH WILLOW & STUMPY
Dear Bumble, Can you please ask Willow and Stumpy to explain why overcast conditions make the ball swing? I understand why the ball swings in general, with the shiny -vs- rough sides, but not why overcast conditons would make the ball swing particularly. Cheers Bumble, Ben and Simon (London).
BUMBLE SAYS: I'll get on to it lads! Watch the next Test and I'll have a word with Willow and Stumpy and see what they come up with. I'll give it a crack myself though and when it is overcast, there is a heavier atmosphere and that helps to make the ball swing. That heavier atmosphere creates friction against the ball and so the shiny side wants to travel quicker than the rough side and so it swings. It is like when you play golf. If it is a sunny, clear day, you can hit the ball a lot further than when it is a cold, damp or muggy, overcast day. The heavier atmosphere helps the movement in the air but I will get Willow and Stumpy on the job!
THE FINE-AL WORD ON MURALI
Dear Mr. Lloyd, I appreciate that it is too late to query Muralitharan's bowling action when bowling his off-breaks, although I still believe it is suspect. However his 'doosra' is different. I dare you to show it on television in slow motion and to then comment. It is very sad for the game that the history books will one day show Murali as one of the highest wicket takers ever, when he is a 'chucker'. As I said at the beginning, the debate on his off-breaks is over, but there is time to stop him chucking his 'doosra'. Robin Elsdon-Dew.
BUMBLE SAYS: First up, I will declare an interest, Murali is a personal friend. I have never moved from saying that I think Murali is very unorthodox. It is the only way I have ever put it. I have watched and studied Murali's action, particularly at 'Hi Motion', and I have listened to what the experts have to say about it. The 'doosra' is different, Robin, but after studying him in Hi Motion, I think he is absolutely fine. I have listened to people like Michael Holding and Angus Fraser, who are on the panel, and the 'doosra' falls within the ICC regulations of a 15 degree bend in the elbow. He works between 12 and 14 degrees to deliver it. The faster he bowls it, the straighter his arm is. The slower he bowls it, and the more it goes in the air, the angle becomes greater, but stays within regulations. I will move away from 'unorthodox' - of course it still is unorthodox - but I will declare now that I think he is absolutely fine.
The other thing that is unbelievable, and show me someone else who can do this, is that he can rotate his wrist through 360 degrees. Have a go! Amen for Hi Motion, because Hi Motion will show front on and side on, the incredible wrist action, the incredible shoulder action and that the elbow action is minimal. People looking at his elbow miss the point, it is his wrist and his shoulder, that he nearly dislocates when he releases the ball, that make Murali so unorthodox and such a good bowler.
Here I am, I have coached England, I have listened to it all, watched it all and now I have said it all. He is absolutely fine.
EVEN MORE BUMBLE
Hi David, I was wondering are you going to be part of the new show "Cricket AM" as it looks fantastic and also how will our boys get on against Sri Lanka and Pakistan? Look foward to you entertaining us as always on Sky Sports! Ben, aged 14.
BUMBLE SAYS: Right Ben, it is going to be tougher than people expected against Sri Lanka and, mark my words, I think it is going to be very tough against Pakistan; I think they are an excellent team. I am on Cricket AM and watch out for the pitch reports. Tune in to Sky Sports 1 at 9am on Saturday morning - Pitch Reports!
Help Bumble!
I have been saddled with the weatherman's job on Sky! Is there anyone out there who can give me some tips? For starters which way is north and which south? I have been given the job but I am struggling. Help!
