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I was all cricketed out for the better part of two months, and decided to gave the blog a break. Perhaps it was made easier by the fact that the kiwis weren't involved in international fixtures of any kind. Still, there was plenty going on all the while.

A riveting series
After that disastrous tour Down Under last December, you could argue that the only way for the Pakistani test side was up. But the rematch home-away-from-home series in England provided a great reminder of what Pakistan brings to the test match table. The essential ingredients were all there - great pace bowling, muddled and occasionally solid batting, a change in captaincy, flirtation with disaster, and finally walking off with a share of the spoils. It must be said they were aided by a not-so ruthlessly efficient Australian side who still carry themselves with the proud swagger of old, but are unable to consistently back it up in the middle. Ricky Ponting's brazen decision to bat first at Headingley was a case in point.

Woeful Windies
Sadly, no such revival for the West Indian test fortunes. Aside from a surprise win in the Port Elizabeth test of the 2007 series, they have never been in the same ballpark as the South Africans over this decade. It was no different this time. Get back Fidel Edwards and with Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and Suleiman Benn and you have a potentially test-class attack - but we've had these thoughts before. By now you'd expect guys like Brendan Nash and Narsingh Deonarine to lend support to the likes of Gayle and Chanderpaul; again, just not happening. South Africa, on the other hand, are for my money the best team in the world in spite of indifferent performances at home against England and Australia last year. What a difference a top-class speedster like Dale Steyn makes.

Pat the minnows
OK, referring to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe as 'minnows' is demeaning in the same way as referring to a country being 'third world'. Nevertheless, the cellar-dwellers of international cricket seemed to have shown some real progress during their respective assignments in England and Zimbabwe. Bangladesh remain a frustrating test side, but they seem to have unearthed a few fine players, the sort who will keep the opposition wary (how is it that Tamim Iqbal has not been sought out by an IPL side yet?). New Zealand tour Bangladesh in a couple of months, and although the tests have been scrapped, I predict they'll get more than they bargained for, particularly if they view it merely as preparation for the World Cup. As for Zimbabwe, it is clear that things are looking up a notch after the dark days of player rebellion and the despotic board. The team seems to have found the right mix of players from the Heath Streak era (such as Taibu and Masakadza) and the new crop (Craig Ervine, for example). Too early to say whether they might reapply for test status, however.

Meanwhile over in Lanka...
Ho hum. I'm clearly not alone in wondering whether the most boring test cricket happens to be confined to the subcontinent. Although the final India-SriLanka test is shaping up nicely, and the first test was memorable for the manner of Murali's exit, most of us will be glad when this is done. I suppose the bowler-dominated tests over in England have highlighted the issue even more. But it isn't just the lifeless pitches; it's the scheduling as well. The kind of scheduling which has resulted in India and Pakistan squaring off in four series between March 2004 and November 2007, and the Indians and Sri Lankans seeing more of each other than their own families presumably.