2nd Test	England	v	Australia
Pre-rating	1093.6		1221.3
Form	+13.0		-22.7
Expected Margin	Australia by 14 runs
Actual Margin	Australia by 405 runs
Post-rating	1075.1		1244.8

Being at the World T20 Qualifiers, I saw only a few highlights, but heard many a description of Australia`s dominance. As we`ve seen repeatedly over the past two years, they are a very very good side if they get runs on the board, and if their bowlers take early wickets. The weaknesses if they don`t, particularly if Smith fails (and he can`t score runs every innings), remain. Nevill looked good, but it was an easy moment to bat. Rogers has scored heavily, but may be suffering the after-effects of illness. It seems churlish to downplay such a dominant victory, but the series remains tied, and Australia remain a side that has lost as well as won by big margins in recent series.

England, following Australia`s lead in the first test, have dropped Ballance in favour of the in-form Bairstow. Form though, is at best, a limited effect. Bell will definitely be one hoping so, as he hasn`t scored runs in some time. The shift up the order could be disastrous for England if they continue to expose Root and those below him to the new ball. Cook has played well, given his own problems, but batting all the way down is only a partial substitute for runs at the top.

1st Test	Bangladesh	v	South Africa
Pre-rating	597.5		1288.3
Form	+4.4		-12.2
Expected Margin	South Africa by 295 runs
Actual Margin	Match Drawn
Post-rating	604.1		1279.2

What was shaping up as an interesting contest, with Mustafizur Rahman taking 4/37 on debut, to keep South Africa to 248, and the home side responding with 326. But with both day 4 and 5 rained off, there was no chance of a result, and Bangladesh`s best opportunity of a win against one of the top half dozen in some time went begging. It seems unlikely the home side is pleased with either washed out draws or the income losses associated with them. Yet, matches for Bangladesh are the last scheduled, and the most likely to suffer from this kind of waste. Hopefully the second test will be luckier, but it seems unlikely Bangladesh will make as good a start.

Rankings at 29th July 2015
1.	South Africa	1279.2
2.	Australia	1244.8
3.	Pakistan	1115.2
4.	India	1089.7
5.	England	1075.1
6.	Sri Lanka	1011.2
7.	New Zealand	1000.5
8.	West Indies	867.0
10.	Bangladesh	604.1
12.	Zimbabwe	559.8
9.	Ireland	611.1
11.	Afghanistan	586.2
13.	Scotland	418.9
14.	Namibia	369.1
15.	Kenya	276.4
16.	U.A.E.	248.5
17.	Papua New Guinea	219.4
18.	Netherlands	164.7
19.	Hong Kong	150.1
20.	Canada	147.9

Shaded teams have played fewer than 2 games per season. Non-test team ratings are not comparable to test ratings as they don`t play each other.

Cricket - Ratings - Test 29th July, 2015 09:33:16   [#] [0 comments] 

Semi-Finals
Hong Kong 116 lost to Scotland 117/5
Ireland 128 lost to Netherlands 129/5

Fifth place playoff
Oman 127/9 lost to Afghanistan 130/5

Hosts:
Andrew Nixon (@andrewnixon79)
Russell Degnan (@idlesummers)

Direct Download Running Time 6min. Music from Martin Solveig, "Big in Japan"

Cricket - Associate - Podcast 26th July, 2015 06:03:35   [#] [0 comments] 

PNG 127/6 lost to Afghanistan 128/4
Namibia 148/9 lost to Oman 150/5

Hosts:
Andrew Nixon (@andrewnixon79)
Russell Degnan (@idlesummers)

Direct Download Running Time 15min. Music from Martin Solveig, "Big in Japan"

Cricket - Associate - Podcast 24th July, 2015 16:51:05   [#] [0 comments] 

Afghanistan 161/7 lost to Hong Kong 162/5
Namibia 135/6 lost to Netherlands 137/6

Guest Interview: Mark Chapman

Hosts:
Andrew Nixon (@andrewnixon79)
Russell Degnan (@idlesummers)

Direct Download Running Time 15min. Music from Martin Solveig, "Big in Japan"

Cricket - Associate - Podcast 22nd July, 2015 07:04:34   [#] [0 comments] 

Jersey 122 lost to Ireland 123/3
USA 142/6 defeated PNG 129/9
Hong Kong 197/8 defeated Namibia 114

Hosts:
Andrew Nixon (@andrewnixon79)
Peter Della Penna (@peterdellapenna)

Direct Download Running Time 15min. Music from Martin Solveig, "Big in Japan"

Cricket - Associate - Podcast 20th July, 2015 17:51:47   [#] [0 comments] 

Nepal 105/8 lost to Jersey 107/3
Scotland 173/5 defeated Oman 150/7
Afghanstan vs Canada abandoned
Namibia 181/5 defeated PNG 132
Hong Kong 125/9 lost to USA 128/3
Kenya 97 lost to Netherlands 98/6

Hosts:
Andrew Nixon (@andrewnixon79)
Tim Wigmore (@timwig)

Direct Download Running Time 15min. Music from Martin Solveig, "Big in Japan"

Cricket - Associate - Podcast 19th July, 2015 18:00:31   [#] [0 comments] 

Nepal 93 lost to PNG 99/2
Jersey 161/4 lost to Namibia 164/1
Canada 172/8 lost to Netherlands
UAE vs Oman abandoned
Hong Kong 129/8 defeated Ireland 124/8

Hosts:
Andrew Nixon (@andrewnixon79)
Bertus de Jong (@BertusadeJong)

Direct Download Running Time 15min. Music from Martin Solveig, "Big in Japan"

Cricket - Associate - Podcast 18th July, 2015 18:28:41   [#] [0 comments] 

Canada 135/8 lost to Scotland 139/2

Hosts:
Andrew Nixon (@andrewnixon79)
Russell Degnan (@idlesummers)

Direct Download Running Time 15min. Music from Martin Solveig, "Big in Japan"

Cricket - Associate - Podcast 17th July, 2015 05:08:13   [#] [0 comments] 

1st Test	England	v	Australia
Pre-rating	1082.1		1236.2
Form	-13.2		+9.4
Expected Margin	Australia by 27 runs
Actual Margin	England by 169 runs
Post-rating	1093.6		1221.3

Australia have three problems out of this game. The first is that their batting is plainly struggling in English conditions. Moving on Watson and Haddin, with their limited footwork and hard hands will be useful. Whether Marsh and Nevill are sufficiently skilled to make a difference remains to be seen. It is hard to believe any player would make fewer runs than Haddin has of late, but Marsh is as useful for his extra overs as his batting abilities, and they are mostly replacing one oft-injured bits-and-pieces all-rounder with another.

The second is that England`s deep batting lineup means they can put on reasonable scores once Starc and Johnson get tired, or if the new ball is successfully negotiated. A slow pitch didn`t help, but England haven`t been hurt by Lyon. And in their attack, Moeen Ali continues to convince batsmen to get themselves out attacking him, even as he gives them plenty of run-scoring opportunities without creating them.

Finally, Australia`s inability to control the run-rate with three attacking pacemen means England need only wait. It could easily turn around, if they breach the English top order they could run all the way down and make a game of it. But the loss of Harris who kept things tight, in preference for Starc who bowled well, but doesn`t, is proving more problematic than they`d have hoped.

1st Test	Bangladesh	v	South Africa
Pre-rating	597.5		1288.3
Form	+4.4		-12.2
Expected Margin	South Africa by 295 runs

Bangladesh look a proper cricket team in the one-dayers, but they have still struggled to produce decent test match performances. In recent matches at home the pitch has been so dead that a draw is their best possible result. It would be a surprise if that changed here.

Rankings at 16th July 2015
1.	South Africa	1288.3
2.	Australia	1221.3
3.	Pakistan	1115.2
4.	England	1093.6
5.	India	1089.7
6.	Sri Lanka	1011.2
7.	New Zealand	1000.5
8.	West Indies	867.0
10.	Bangladesh	597.5
12.	Zimbabwe	559.8
9.	Ireland	611.1
11.	Afghanistan	586.2
13.	Scotland	418.9
14.	Namibia	369.1
15.	Kenya	276.4
16.	U.A.E.	248.5
17.	Papua New Guinea	219.4
18.	Netherlands	164.7
19.	Hong Kong	150.1
20.	Canada	147.9

Shaded teams have played fewer than 2 games per season. Non-test team ratings are not comparable to test ratings as they don`t play each other.

Cricket - Ratings - Test 16th July, 2015 18:46:31   [#] [0 comments] 

Ireland 123/9 lost to PNG 124/8
Jersey 87 lost to USA 88/5
Oman 144/7 defeated Afghanistan 104
Nepal 109 lost to Hong Kong 110/5
Kenya 147/5 defeated UAE 105

Hosts:
Andrew Nixon (@andrewnixon79)
Russell Degnan (@idlesummers)

Direct Download Running Time 15min. Music from Martin Solveig, "Big in Japan"

Cricket - Associate - Podcast 16th July, 2015 17:50:54   [#] [0 comments] 

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