Tsotsobe to leave Essex after comments on Twitter

A lot has happened off the field down at Essex again today. Yesterday, Tsotsobe came out with the above tweet and today it has caused a bit of a stir, leading Paul Grayson to say that Tsotsobe would be "on the first flight back to South Africa" after his short stay at the club has all but ended.

It has not been an easy two months for Tsotsobe off the field either. His coming to Essex was delayed after a family bereavement, so that must have been difficult. He also must have realised that he, as Grayson admitted, was the third choice behind Peter Siddle (a deal had been done but Siddle pulled out, probably scared that the Barmy Army would appear at Chelmsford) and Tim Southee (who has now joined Scott Styris as one of Essex's overseas Twenty20 players). 

It's difficult to comment on Tsotsobe's performances without having actually seen him in action for Essex, but from what I've heard, read and seen on the scorecards, it's also been a torrid time for him on the field as well.

His bowling debut against Northants wasn't easy, as he went for over 154 and bowled 15 no-balls. Understandable after having not played cricket for a month and coming to a country with a different climate and a different ball to have to learn to control. He improved after the high scoring draw at Northampton as Essex returned to Chelmsford and faced Glamorgan. All together he bowled 35 overs for 128 runs, far, far better than the 27 he bowled at Northampton. However, whilst the economy rate came down, Tsotsobe only picked up two wickets and it was listening to his second Pro40 match against Lancashire that something seemed to be wrong.

He took four wickets in this match, and he dragged his economy rate down from over 9 to less than 6. But as I listened to the commentary on BBC Essex, Tsotsobe didn't seem interested. He had his hands in his pockets and his attitude just didn't seem right. It was something that the BBC Essex team went on about for a while, as Tsotsobe was not bowling particularly well until he finally picked up his four wickets. To be fair to Essex, they stuck with him, even though his economy rates were astronomically high (although against Notts, everyone's rates were astronomically high, even the carthorse of Dave Masters). 

After the four Pro40 matches in which he picked up seven wickets at 29 each, it was back to County Championship cricket as Essex faced Derbyshire in Derby. It did not go well for Tsotsobe. In an attack where the other four bowlers all went for around 3 an over and bowled only 5 extras between them, Tsotsobe bowled 8 no-balls and had a rate closer to 5. Not exactly ideal when you're wanting to keep the pressure on. In Derbyshire's second innings, with Derbyshire requiring 223 for victory, Tsotsobe did not open the bowling as he had done in the first innings.

After this performance, Tsotsobe was dropped for the match against Surrey and in came Graham Napier, who'd been out with injury for the majority of last season. Napier went beserk with the bat, picked up a couple of wickets in Surrey's innings and went for about 4 an over. Maurice Chambers, who had been playing for the second eleven, took up the honour of not bowling well and went for over 6 an over as Surrey chalked up 506 in reply to Essex's 548.

Tsotsobe returned to the team on Sunday for another Pro40 against the Unicorns down at Chelmsford, which will almost certainly be his last first team appearance for the county. He took one wicket and went for 39 off 8, so far better than some of his previous exploits. He took 8 wickets at 30.25 a piece during his Pro40 outings. 

The above tweet was posted on Monday and I assume it was probably done after he had been give some idea that he hadn't done enough to regain his place in the County Championship side. Instead the 17 year old Reece Topley, doing his AS levels at the Royal Hospital School in Ipswich (what is it with Suffolk and producing youngsters with some talent at the moment?) was called back into the side, although he only arrived at the ground today 20 minutes before play. It's certainly one way to celebrate the end of your exams! 

Like I said, it's difficult to judge Tsotsobe on just scorecards and what I've read/heard, but I do feel slightly sorry for him. He's clearly unhappy here, he's a long way from home and he probably thinks he's not been given a fair chance. But, once again, it's another incident of a person in the sporting world using Twitter to air their disapproval and in the case of Tsotsobe, it's got him sent home and a first-class coach questioning your attitude as an international cricketer. 

After the loss of Kaneria due to spot-fixing allegations and the ill-fated Twenty20 Finals Day disappointment of Dwayne Bravo, it's not been the best year for Essex with regards to some of their overseas players. At least Scott Styris seems to enjoy it here. Hopefully Tim Southee will feel the same way. For now though, Essex and Tsotsobe must move on from this incident. Tsotsobe can return home and prepare for the South African season to begin in October. Essex need to focus on not collapsing when they bat against Middlesex over the next few days and try and carry on their good one day form before the Twenty20 season starts. 

Test cricket's back on Thursday!

Well, in England it is. Yes, the summer where England's Ashes heroes take on a Murali-less Sri Lanka and India, who are currently world number one in the Test rankings, begins down at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff.

It's being heralded as a 'new dawn' in the press, as England have three different captains for the three formats. Andrew Strauss retains command of the Test side, a side that he and Andy Flower have helped to turn around since the West Indies tour back in 2009. This summer will pose them probably one of the toughest tests at home so far.

Sri Lanka are also a team going through a 'new dawn' as such. They have lost their lead tormentor, have a new captain (with the two previous captains still in the ranks) and some of their bowling attack have probably not experienced English conditions. Having said this, Sri Lanka have won two out of two tour matches against Middlesex and the England Lions (England Lions having posted 493 in the first innings) and have bowled their opponents out for under 200 in the side's second innings. We know Sri Lanka have got some truly special batsmen in their ranks. Dilshan is dangerous once he's got his eye in, Jayawardene can be like a limpet and when Sangakkara's in form, you don't want to be on the end of it.

The squad has been announced and contrary to what some people anticipated, Eoin Morgan was selected instead of Ravi Bopara. I like Ravi, but that's because I'm an Essex fan. Not many other people seem to and suggest that he is a good county player but once in the headlights of a high(ish) quality international cricket/under pressure, he thinks too much and loses his 'swagger'.

Bopara turned down the IPL because he was so determined to get back in the good books of the England selectors that he didn't want to jeopardise any opportunity he had by heading over to a circus in India. Instead, he has scored a couple of centuries for Essex, one to lead Essex to their first victory of the season over Glamorgan (morgan!) and the other in a match saving innings against Derbyshire. These are two of the ten innings he has had in county cricket. He's made a couple of starts, but the rest have been in the single figures/low teens. He could not stop the Essex top order crumbling to Darren Stevens on the opening day of the county season (nor could Alastair Cook, we were 53-6 at the close of play. Horrible, horrible viewing). In the Lions match, Morgan scored 193 in the first innings and built a huge partnership with Samit Patel, whilst Bopara scored only 17.

Bopara batting against Kent on the first day of the County Championship back in April

But form is not the only thing that should be considered. Eoin Morgan played Test cricket last summer whilst Bopara was trying to help Essex stay in Divison One of the County Championship. Morgan went to Australia this winter, meanwhile Bopara was playing cricket in South Africa. Even though Morgan went to the IPL, the fact he was a part of the Ashes squad tells you how much he is in the England's selectors thoughts. Morgan is an exciting talent, his innovation could prove handy when England are looking for quick runs lower down the order. He also seems to have a good, cool head on his shoulders, but has so far yet to show how to deal with one of England's "tricky situations". However, with Collingwood gone, England's strongest contender for a part-time bowler is Kevin Pietersen (not Trott. Never Trott) and whilst I don't think we should play 5 bowlers, Bopara may well have been a handy option to bowl some medium pacers before the new ball. 

Having said all this, whilst it's probably a personal and psychological blow to Bopara, it's a blessing in disguise for Essex. Yes, it would be great to have two Essex players representing England, but the reality is that now Cook is ODI captain, we're going to be seeing a lot less of him. With Bopara not playing for England in the Tests (I hope that he's in the ODI squad, because he has shown he can be a good player in that format in the past), it's crucial to have someone with his experience and batting ability in the Essex line up. It's also important that he tries to score runs as many runs as possible, to keep him in the selector's minds, just in case Morgan or even Bell get injured.

The bowling attack was a far easier thing to select. With the announcement that Tim Bresnan was injured, it was just a question of who would be called into the squad and be the likely drinks carrier now that Broad is back and the others have had a break. Again a Middlesex player, in the form of Steven Finn this time. Finn had a mixed Ashes series. On the one hand, he took a 6fer. On the other, this 6fer was for 125 runs off about 30-odd overs. When England are trying to build up the pressure, it doesn't help if there's someone who leaks runs at the other end. But Finn, at 22, is relatively young and whilst it'll annoy Middlesex fans that they've lost him, he can be used as a replacement should any of Broad's niggles flare up again.

What do I expect on Thursday then? I'm not sure what the pitch is going to be like, but I'm looking forward to seeing (hearing) Mendis in action. Sri Lanka haven't got Vaas any more and haven't selected Malinga with his crazy bowling action, but if their pace attack can settle into English conditions, then they could be a handful. However, Strauss has scored a big century against them and got another one the other day against Glamorgan. Cook's hoping to continue where he left off in Australia and Trott's probably looking to do the same as well. All the media eyes will probably be on England's number four, that of Kevin Pietersen, for numerous reasons regarding captaincy, form and pretty much everything from whether his heart's not in it to whether he's going to run off with Piers Morgan.

Unlike my winter escapades, it's likely that I'm only going to see a couple of days of Test cricket this summer. I won't even be able to watch a full day of cricket until at least July, because I have exams to revise for in mid-June and will basically be relying on TMS and Cricinfo again, plus Channel Five/ECB highlights, but this time at a far more reasonable hour. I'll probably try and start off a Twitter chorus of Barmy Army songs at some point on Thursday, so feel free to join in with that. All together now: And did those feet... 

Ipswich Town 2010/11: It started off well, then got progressively worse

So there we go. A 4-2 loss to Leicester City and our miserable season has finally finished. Some of the Town players were probably thinking of their holidays abroad even before kick-off. Some of the other Town players were probably thinking of other lucrative contract deals, taking them away from Suffolk. It's a far cry from where we were mid September.

It's difficult to believe that we were once second. In fact, it was so long ago that I don't really remember. I did, however, take a screenshot of the table in a mild delirium at Ipswich actually doing well: 

The one game that we'd lost was to QPR and that was the night that we were served a dose of reality. In order to get out of this division, we'd have to be slick on the counter attack, take our chances and pretty much play better than we have done for the past 5 years. I know I hark on about Darren Bent and the like, but those are scars we have never recovered from. I know I keep harking on about them, but we have never been able to replace the goals we once had.

At the moment, we have a striker that I could probably out run, Tamas Priskin and an 18 year old capable of wonder goals, but who's still growing and requires nurturing properly (hence why, I believe, it'll be better for him to remain at Portman Road and really hope that he does for the moment).

After the start, which was superb compared to the previous season where we didn't win for 16 games, things seemed to reach a blip around mid Ocotber. By mid November, it still seemed to be a blip, as we recovered from three league losses on the bounce to beat Millwall and Sheffield United (I was there, which makes a victory even more incredible), but little did we know what was lurking around the corner. Derby, then Barnsley (where the crowd ironically cheered Barnsley's football), then Hull beat us. Three losses in a row. Again. Then came the big one, the East Anglian derby, the first for a season. Excitement was building, annoyance was growing that the BBC had handed the job of presenting the programme to a Norwich supporter, Town fans hoped for a performance, Norwich fans were looking for revenge.

And that's exactly what they got. Holt got a hat-trick in Norwich's 4, Delaney got sent off, Darren O'Dea was awful, the Town players didn't look bothered and Keane continued to watch broodingly on from the sideline.

The result was very much the beginning of the end for Keane. Some of the supporters who'd backed him through thick and thin began to turn and the run got even worse as Swansea and Preston (bottom of the league, couldn't win at home, victory on a plate) beat us. We'd lost 6 League games in a row and had only won two of the previous 10. Even the Carling Cup run couldn't distract Town fans from the depressing reality. If we didn't improve sharpish, we were looking at a relegation fight.

One of the stand out games in the League last season was the one played on December 18th, the day the south east was at the mercy of the elements. Heathrow had been submerged, London based Premiership matches were postponed and even shopping centres were shut down. I was making my way back from university and managed to miss all the madness. Until I got into Ipswich.


The snow began to fall as soon as my dad parked the car. It continued through the warm up, but it wasn't too bad. Then, when the game kicked off, it got to blizzard conditions and I, unfortunately, was in the very front of the South Stand... 

The game was, luckily, being shown on the TV, because if it wasn't, it would've been called off. It was a bizarre experience for the crowd present inside Portman Road, the management of both Town and Leicester and most of all, the players. We were 3-0 up in the first half, with Norris opening the scoring and Scotland bagging a couple (it was perfect conditions for him, as he was able to hold the ball up). Then Atwell took the players off. Leicester fans were hoping that would be it. Town fans started chanting, "Get your brooms out for the lads" as the groundstaff and stewards desperately swept the pitch to give Town the precious three points:

And it worked. In the end, Town won 3-0, after two delays as sales of hot beverages went through the roof. It would be Keane's last victory as Town boss, as the bitter winter weather saw the Watford home game be called off (to the disappointment of all the groundstaff) and Doncaster call off the match after a heavy frost. New Year's Day saw us draw 1-1 with Coventry (I was still in Australia) and a couple of days later we lost 1-0 to Forest (again, still in Australia).

The defeat to Forest was the final nail in the coffin for Keane. He was sacked after nearly two years at the helm. It ultimately proved to be an expensive experiment and Keane has since said that he joined the club without meeting the Chief Executive. When he came to Portman Road, I was not a big fan of the idea. To me, it was the new owner trying to get some revenue into the club by creating some press coverage. We were "Roy Keane's Ipswich". As soon as he was shown the door, we were back to being plain old "Ipswich Town" again. And that, that, was wonderful.

Charlie McParland was given the role as caretaker for the menacing FA Cup fixture against Chelsea. It didn't go well. I was in on my way home and my mum and dad kept me updated as I sat in Bangkok Airport. I had to board the flight again at half time, so had no idea we'd lost 7-0 until I landed at Heathrow (severely tired, but determined to stay awake until a reasonable hour) at 5:55 in the morning.

After that hammering, our attention turned to my favourite fixture and arguably our best performance of the entire season. 

Our Carling Cup run had been a success of Keane's tenure at Portman Road. It all started back in August, as we made the long trip down to Exeter City (luckily, my brother lives around the corner from the ground, so it wasn't too bad for me). It was shaky as our youth mixed with experience managed to overcome Exeter in extra time to win 3-2. We beat Crewe, then Millwall, then Northampton and were facing West Brom a few days after the travesty that occurred in Norfolk. I couldn't get to Portman Road that night, but I have a decent excuse of being in the top end of Lancashire. Many stayed away, citing ticket prices, poor football, a fear of being absolutely thrashed and wanting Roy Keane gone. What happened was fantastic. I listened to the first half and couldn't handle it. We were playing so, so well and I just feared that West Brom would hit us on the counter-attack and be in the semi-finals. It didn't happen. Leadbitter got a penalty and we were into the semi-final of a major competition for the first time in my lifetime of supporting this club. We were drawn against Arsenal.

Wednesday 12th January 2011 is a date that will forever be in my memory. A week earlier, I'd been in Sydney, watching England pile on the runs against Australia to win the Ashes 3-1. Portman Road was packed, not always with Ipswich fans (I'm pretty sure I was surrounded by Arsenal fans, which was absolutely gutting). There was a buzz. We were playing one of the best sides in the country. We were 19th in the Championship, couldn't buy a win unless it was being played on a blanket of snow and had just been thrashed 7-0 by Chelsea.

So when Tamas Priskin scored in the 78th minute to hand us a lead as we went off to the Emirates, it was incredible. 

It was only the first leg and of course we were always going to lose at the Emirates, but at that moment, the players had finally shown they could play with pride, passion and commitment. They put a smile back on our faces. Which made Cesc Fabregas' and his comments regarding a "rugby kick" and the state of our pitch, public enemy number one at Portman Road. A team containing Arshavin, Bendtner, Walcott, Wilshere and Fabregas could not break down our defence. We'd exposed their weakness and I like to think that we played a small part in the eventual break down of Arsenal's title challenge in the Premiership.

For some unknown reason, I was one of the lucky ones to be sent a letter informing me that I was entitled to a ticket for Arsenal away. I'd only been to three away games, Exeter, Sheffield United and Preston. I was back up in Lancaster, but I'd got my ticket before going away to Australia. So I set off down to London after my seminar and was set on enjoying it, like many other Town fans. I didn't care about the result, I just wanted Town to play with pride and give Arsenal a game. And we really did do just that.

At half time, it was 0-0, we still had the lead and some optimists around me were cautiously allowing themselves to believe. Of course, it all came to nothing in the second half, as our absolutely shattered team finally succumbed to the Gunners, but they had done everyone proud. I left the Emirates with my head held high, and as I wandered through the swathes of Arsenal fans back to the tube, I felt very proud of the Suffolk Punch badge on my chest.

The bright side of losing to Arsenal was that we no longer had the Carling Cup as a distraction.  We also now had a new boss. McParland had gone after the Arsenal home game and Paul Jewell had been handed the reigns after having a break from football. Paul Jewell has done a decent enough job at most of the places he's been, his Wigan side pipped us to promotion in 2004/05 (we beat them in fog. It was awesome) and so long as he could lead us to safety, he'd be able to build a squad.

It started off with a loss to Millwall on the Saturday after the Arsenal home game. It was expected, our players were knackered after their exploits. Doncaster at home followed the next Saturday and it was this match that seemed to suggest that happier days may well be returning to Portman Road. 1-0 down at half time, Town equalised then took the lead, only for Donny to equalise themselves. Edwards scored in the 64th minute and we had our first win since the Leicester game. The Doncaster victory and the amazing loan signing of Jimmy Bullard only added to the happier feeling around Portman Road. Victories over Derby and Sheffield United meant we were chasing a fourth win in four, something that hasn't happened at Town for years. We drew 1-1 with Barnsley on a dodgy sounding pitch, but then bounced back with an astonishing 6-0 win, where Wickham scored a hat-trick, over Doncaster in the rearranged fixture after the postponement in December.

The run was fantastic compared to the miserable form we'd been in through November/December, but it came to a halt as we faced the team destined to become the Championship winners, QPR. Whilst we played a lot better than we did in September against them, we still lost 2-0 as our defence showed its weaknesses again. This was followed up by a defeat to Portsmouth on a grey and miserable late February afternoon (again, I was there), as  David Nugent showed why I really, really cannot stand him by celebrating like an absolute moron. Again.

The form was erratic, as we beat Cardiff, then lost to Reading (although they were on a role that saw them become play-off contenders and finish 5th) and Watford. There was a draw with Leeds, then a victory over Scunthorpe that signalled the beginning of a run of form that put us 6 points off the play-offs (before another harrowing defeat to Norwich). We beat Burnley and then Palace with a couple of crackers from young Josh Carson. But then, that fourth victory in a row eluded us again as we drew 3-3 with Middlesbrough. 

This match was a good match for neutrals. Town started really well and scored in the 6th minute, but then, after a horrible injury to a Seb Hines, in which he broke his jaw, it all started to fall apart. Boro equalised, then took the lead as our defence fell apart. Delaney was having a nightmare as he inadvertently set up Boro's second by hitting it onto our own crossbar. When Boro took a 3-1 lead, things were looking grim. But then Wickham scored and suddenly we were believing. In the 76th minute, Lee Martin was tripped in the box (I still maintain there was contact, I was in the top of the North Stand) and Leadbitter stepped up to score the equaliser. Either side could've won it, with our defence looking nervous every time Boro came forward, but it was this result that has given me some hope for next season.

After a well fought and scrappy victory over Bristol City, where we won after playing with 10 men for over an hour and a nasty knock to the head for Grant Leadbitter that created over 10 minutes of stoppage time, gave us the belief and contributed to the optimistic build up to the second East Anglian derby of the season. I'm not going to go over the result again. There's another blog for that and to be honest, I'm feeling pretty happy at the moment so would rather not remember that awful night. 

After all the optimism had been ripped out of us after the result, we headed down to South Wales for more misery. I'd decided to go, because I'd never been to Swansea and fancied a new stadium. We had no Bullard and no Wickham, so that wasn't the best of starts and then we lost 4-1, to add insult to the massive injury given to us on the Thursday. We beat Preston in a game of two halves and then lost 4-2 to Leicester in a game where the crowd were there to pretty much to have a good time, regardless of the score.

So. That was the season briefly summed up. It's been a performance that Jekyll and Hyde would be proud of, as we've gone from sublime to abysmal in the space of 90 minutes and it's made for a pretty interesting summer. 

I've been having a think over the past few days about what could happen over the summer and where it'll leave us in August. Jewell now has time to build his own squad and get rid of the players that he doesn't want. Delaney signed a contract citing "optimism" was his major reason. I've come up with some reasons to be cheerful and some reasons to be worried, and because I'm a pessimist, it's the latter that has more of them.

Reasons to be cheerful

• The youth. We've seen some potential "stars" emerge from the youth academy. Much has been written about Connor Wickham, but names like Josh Carson, Luke Hyam (although he appears to have disappeared), Ronan Murry and Shane O'Connor (and others) have all put in decent performances over the past season, and they've all been given a chance by Jewell with contract extensions. 
• Money is said to be there (although I will do the counter claim in the next bit).
• Jimmy Bullard seems to want to play for Ipswich Town.
• We have put in some decent performances at points over the season, whether it be in just the first half. 
• We don't have to play Norwich next season. 

Reasons to be worried:

• Simon Clegg. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him and essentially, don't really trust him to do well with any contract talks as he stated that "the club wouldn't be held to ransom" by any player. His press releases are mostly political spin and he just doesn't seem to understand football all that much. 
• Lack of money for leaving players. Again, this can be put down to Clegg and co. McAuley, Norris and Murphy have all been allowed to leave the club (good luck to them all) but on a free. We paid £2 million for Norris, meaning we have lost money. My fear, fuelled on by our completely ridiculous local press, is that should someone come in with an absolutely mad offer for Connor Wickham, he'll be allowed to leave, which whilst it may be good for the club to have some money (although how much would be available would be questionable), it wouldn't be best for the player. Of course, by saying this, I'm helping to contribute to rumours and I am just being a massive pessimist, all too used to good players leaving Portman Road.
• The Jimmy Bullard saga. I'd love to sign him. You'd love it if we signed him. But we could just be looking at another Gio situation, which would be of no help to anyone. 
• Claims of money being available have been made in the past, so I'm always cautious whenever this statement is made.
• And then, the usual concerns with the defence, striking department, etc... that have been on repeat for the past 5 years.

I hope Jewell has a good summer. I hope our pre-season helps us to become a team and I hope that we find a decent centre half to replace McAuley, who has been a decent enough performer for us over the past few years. He's always been the better of a bad bunch. And good luck to Norris. Whilst many think he may not be that bigger loss, he has been one of our top scorers this season. I thought he was a good enough captain (even though I still think the football captaincy doesn't really matter, but then I love cricket and am probably being blinkered) and he always worked hard in midfield. But then running around a lot doesn't really win many people over. It wasn't his fault that we paid so much for him, but still. Good luck to both of them for their futures.

So, what do I think will happen next season? It all really depends on what happens over the summer, but it'll probably be mid-table again. I've seen flashes of brilliance, but not enough to inspire great hope and belief that we will be challenging for the promotion next season. So much is relying on the signature of Jimmy Bullard and that situation changes every day. It's certainly going to be an interesting few months, but the thing is, even if Jewell does create his own team, it won't happen immediately.

 

And in that case, bring on 2012/13. 

Cook and Broad named as ODI and Twenty20 captains, respectively.

And Strauss retires from so-called pyjama cricket.

So, what to make of it all really?

You could tell during the World Cup that the winter had taken a lot out of Andrew Strauss. In interviews, he looked shattered. However, the main target of the winter was to win The Ashes, and that they did. They came up with a masterplan, they worked hard at creating a squad that was able to be rotated, had youth mixed with experience and created a superb team spirit. Once the final wicket had been taken in Sydney, the world was England's oyster.

But then, things changed. Cook, England's record breaking Ashes run scorer, was sent home after not being selected for the ODI series. Injuries started to crop up. Suddenly, that well organised squad looked in disarray. Liam Plunkett was called up from the Caribbean for one, meaningless ODI match (Adil Rashid was playing for South Australia, for jet lag purposes, this might've been a better idea, but then he did have a contract to honour). Steven Davies was dropped and Matt Prior was brought back in at the top of the order, despite his position up the top being questioned on countless occasions. 

The 6-1 loss to Australia in the ODI series was miles away from the well organised and well prepared victory in the Ashes. And it just got worse at the World Cup as fatigue, more injuries and homesickness got the better of most of the squad. Even Swann, the always seemingly happy and joking kind of man, got sucked into a bitter and angry persona as catches went down, dew soaked the ball and Mahmudullah smacked him around the park in a historic victory for Bangladesh. 

England's World Cup campaign ended in much the same disarray as the ODI series in Australia. Eoin Morgan was out, then he was in after KP got a hernia injury. Jade Dernbach was called up for one match against Sri Lanka, as was Adil Rashid after Mike Yardy had gone home. Stuart Broad and others were injured, Anderson's radar had clearly been left at the SCG and England's fringe players of James Tredwell and Luke Wright were outplaying their shattered counterparts. And Strauss, who had spent about 10 days at home since October, was probably frazzled at this point.

Therefore, today's announcement that he's stood down as ODI captain and retired from the format isn't really a surprising one. He's 34, so with this, he can still have a good few years at the helm of the England Test side, leaving it well set up for his ultimate replacement of Alastair Cook.

Strauss didn't go to Bangladesh last year. He decided to rest, which earned him a lot of criticism from the press, who then took it back as soon as England retained the Ashes Down Under. In his place as captain was Essex's Alastair Cook. He'd been the unofficial vice-captain for a while, as Strauss and Flower steadied the ship after the Pietersen/Moores debacle. Cook did alright at the helm, England won the ODI series 3-0, after some tense moments and Tamim Iqbal and won the Test series 2-0, even after some dodgy sessions which would've been punished by a better side.

With India (World Cup champions) and Sri Lanka (World Cup runners up, have a tendency to thrash us consistently) coming over this summer, it's going to be a massive test for Alastair Cook. As an Essex fan, it is a massive blow, as it means we not only lose him for the Test series, but now for ODI series too. However, as an England fan, I'm not certain about this. He was overlooked for the ODI series against Australia and overlooked for the World Cup. I know that he can perform in domestic one dayers, he's been a key performer for Essex in limited overs for the past few years. But on the international stage, I am unsure. 

I can also understand why the ECB have selected him too. Strauss isn't going to be around forever, and for England, the ODI format is the one where they have been known to groom their young, future Test prospects (Stuart Broad, for example) before putting them in the Test side. This, however, can be seen as England not taking that format seriously. If they genuinely want to become number one in this format, they have to take it as seriously as Test cricket, rather than shoving in someone who they've not selected for a year and hoping that he learns to become England's next Test captain in 100 over matches.

As for Stuart Broad's Twenty20 captaincy, well, could we possibly be looking at another Flintoff situation (only without all the booze, pedalos and awful, awful Morrisons adverts)? It may only be Twenty20, so he only has four overs to work with, but could he chuck himself in too early and use up all his overs, thinking he's the answer to England's problems? If he's seriously considering becoming an all-rounder, could this impact upon him?

I'm going to wait and see how this all figures out. It's a three way captaincy, which is also going to make watching England an even more interesting one over the next few months. For me, I'd have liked to have seen someone like Ian Bell be given the ODI reigns and then England recall Cook into the ODI squad. But then the ECB don't really work like that, do they?

Easter woes continue for Town.

We conceded 9 goals over the Easter break, something that our defence and our goalkeeper almost certainly caused for themselves. One of those goals was a McAuley own goal, another was a penalty after a clumsy challenge by Mark Kennedy (who having just failed to tackle to guy previously, thought it would be a good idea to have another crack when he had no chance), the rest were caused by goalkeeping errors (Swansea times two yesterday, definitely one against Norwich) and not having enough pace at the back.

Both Darren O'Dea and Mark Kennedy looked hopelessly outpaced by Swansea's wide man, Dyer. He skipped past O'Dea in the first half many a time, it was his inability to control him on the wing that led to Swansea's opener, which was, arguably at the time, against the run of play. However, for Swasnea, they settled down and played the football that shows why they're one of the top sides in the division, and like Norwich, they took advantage of our non-pace and non-threat upfront and ran us ragged on the counterattack.

Against a team like Swansea, and with us having nothing to play for, I would've thought that it would have been the perfect game to give Jaime Peters a crack. He has pace and possibly could've matched Dyer. Peters always, always puts the effort in and he gets forward too, whilst keeping his position at the back, something that has always been a problem with Carlos Edwards.

With Bullard and Wickham out, and us recalling Ronan Murray from Torquay, I'd have liked to have seen him given a chance up front with Jason Scotland. Scotland is not the type of player you want when your team get so frustrated that they play route one football. He can't run, can't jump and his first touch is appalling at times, so hitting a long ball up to him is highly unlikely to work. Scotland has scored 10 goals this season and I bet you that if you could see all the higlights, he'd have had the ball passed at his feet, rather than lumped up field. I thought he'd be a good player for us should he pick up a bit of match fitness, but he like every player tipped as the answer to our goalscoring woes, he's been disappointing.

The other thing with our well documented striking problem is that nobody seems to want to get in the box. We get the ball, we faff around outside the area, but when you look into the area, there is nobody there. So then we faff around a bit more, waiting for someone to magically appear in the box, but then you look around the field and most of the players seem disinterested. Yes, we're safe, but for heaven's sake, you've just lost 5-1 to our hated neighbours. A reaction, a better performance or even just the slightest showing of passion would be much appreciated.

My blog a few days ago about Ipswich's season not being mathematically over (it is now) is redunant now. When I wrote that, I hoped for a much better showing from Town in both the derby and South Wales. Instead, at this stage, if we seriously want to challenge for promotion next season we have got a long, long way to go. So, Paul Jewell, against Preston on Saturday, a team who've been relegated but will probably play with more pride than our players can even imagine, please play the fringe players. Give Brian Murphy another crack in goal, play Jaime Peters, give Luca Civelli a start. If you think a player's not going to be here next season, don't play them. Give even more of the youngsters a go, like Joe Whight. Look at the players you've offered contracts to, to give them a chance to impress you and possibly cement a starting place next season.

The start of next season marks almost 10 years since we got relegated from the Premier League. Since then we've come close to the play-off final twice, but since 2005 and have been stuck eternally in midtable.  Delaney signed his contract stating that there was "optimism around the club". After these two results, I wonder just how much optimism there is now.

Ipswich 1-.... I can't even bring myself to write the score.

I've had a good twelve hours to calm down. I had a night out with my friends and have slept for most of them, but today, I feel like an old, beloved pet has died. I've also just made the mistake of going on BBC Sport, so now that feeling of wanting to cry has returned. So please forgive the following blog, as I am emotionally unstable and am likely to go into a rant at some point about Grant Holt.

The only football match I have ever wanted to cry about was back in 2005. I was 13, had been having a pretty naff year at school due to bullying and going to a different school to all my friends. I remember the night of the 18th May like it was the day before yesterday. We'd fought back from 2-0 down at Upton Park to be at 2-2 on aggregate. I knew what a loss would mean, our key players would leave because they wanted, and deserved, Premiership football. We'd finished third, there was an optimism around Portman Road, finally, finally after relegation in 2002 we would be heading back to the "Promised Land" of the Premiership.

We ended up laying down and allowing West Ham to win 2-0 on the night. We lost 4-2 on aggregate, West Ham had a trip to Cardiff, they beat Preston 1-0 and they've been in the Premiership ever since, whilst we've been languishing in mid-table since that killer blow. After that loss to West Ham, we lost Shefki Kuqi, Darren Bent and Tommy Miller.

Whilst you may not believe it now, between them they scored about 40 goals. It's something we've never recovered from. Since the 2005/06 season, we've cemented our place as a mid-table Championship side, doomed to spend seasons in obscurity, which, compared to clubs like Charlton, Southampton and this season, Sheffield United. In a way, it's a kind of achievement. An unwanted one, but an achievement nonetheless.

So, that was the last football match I've wanted to cry about. Until last night.

As you can see from the two previous blog posts, I was actually feeling optimistic, which is rare for me. I was sucked into the pre-derby hype. I believed we were a changed side, a better side, a side with confidence, pride and passion. What turned up at Portman Road in the blue shirts last night was the first time I have felt ashamed of my football club.

Yes, I still love Ipswich Town, and will be off to Swansea to cheer them on again, I'm still immensely proud to call myself a Tractor girl, I still clapped them (quietly and with a scowl on my face) as they were going off. But everyone who wasn't in that dark corner of the Cobbold Stand at Portman Road expected a better performance than the absolutely humiliating one yesterday. You thought Carrow Road was bad? It had nothing on this.

I must give credit where it's due, Norwich have got together a decent side. They deserve to be up there. They exposed our weaknesses, kept Wickham quiet and hit us on the counterattack. But in a way, for all that, we were the ones who caused our own downfall.

First goal, Arran Lee-Barrett couldn't stop a cross and instead put it in the path of Surman. Second goal, McAuley somehow hit it into the back of the net. I think the fourth or fifth goal, we had two players inexplicably unable to tackle one player. Josh Carson had given the ball away, something that all the players had done all evening. We did the fancy stuff outside the box, but had nobody, NOBODY, in the middle, so instead had to faff about outside it and waste a glorious opportunity by taking Cesc Fabregas' advice and kicking it over the bar.

The defence has always been questionable this season. The Middlesbrough game was an example of how much of a disaster it can be. Yesterday, at some point during the second half, Carlos Edwards had the ball in the box we were defending, and instead of booting it up field, he decided to run towards Lee-Barrett, then try and run round two Norwich players. He nearly lost the ball in a dangerous area.

We left people unmarked, we passed the ball to a yellow shirt far too many times after being in a good run of possession. There were no hard tackles, the closest we got to passion was Darren O'Dea mouthing off at the lump that is Grant Holt.

Holt was looking for a fight. He was also always looking for a free kick. In the first half, and this is why I will never think of him as a good player (and it's not because he plays for Norwich), he was battling with O'Dea or Carson (I couldn't tell as Holt was behind them and I don't really know their haircuts), and Holt grabbed onto the back of the Town player and as soon as they got the ball, let go and tumbled to the ground so theatrically that he should be in the Royal Shakespeare company. He didn't get a free kick, because the referee actually had his wits about him. He gave our players shoves in the backs, sly elbows and pretty much convinced me that the man is an absolute disgrace. So I'm so pleased that the absolute tosser didn't score against us last night, although it provides me with very little consolation.

So what do we do now?

Well, firstly, the players need to take a long, hard look at themselves. They need to realise just how much they've let the fans down. To lose 4-1 away to your fiercest rivals was embarrassing, to lose 5-1 at home to them is almost unforgivable. And to do it in such an abysmal fashion?

Secondly, Paul Jewell needs to give the fringe players a chance. He needs to play a formation that suits his players. He needs to realise that Jason Scotland is not the answer to our striking problems. We've got three games left, we're safe, we might as well give them a chance. Jaime Peters, Luca Civelli. I don't think Luke Hyam's injured anymore and the same with Shane O'Connor. At least give them a shot to see what you've got next season. It can't do any harm.

Thirdly, Simon Clegg. You are taking the piss. You CANNOT complain about the fact Roy Keane stayed in the job for too long when YOU are the chief executive and it was YOUR decision, along with the owner, to keep him in the job for so long. You get no sympathy here. You also get no sympathy for your statements regarding the players contracts. I know he's not a normal chief executive, but our club has become just a mass business opportunity. Ticket prices are hugely inflated (adult away fans have to pay at least £30. Preston vs Ipswich is hardly the Championship fixture of the century), the communication with fans seems to be poor and if I'm honest, the heart of the club seems to have gone. The owner claims to be a fan, yet very few people know what he looks like, whether he's a true fan or just using our club as a strewd business opportunity. And sadly, I think it's the latter. Since his takeover, nothing much has happened. Magilton got sacked two years ago. What's honestly changed?

And finally, the fans. Last night I saw people get kicked out of the Sir Bobby Robson Stand for fighting with each other. Some fans greeted the cattle driven Norwich fans with taunts, which was expected, but then on the way back to the coaches and stations, they stopped people with young children getting home. Arrests were made and people behaved like idiots. Yeah, I'm disappointed and angry, but I'm not going to go and try to fight someone. I saw people kick seats, which almost broke. My language last night was appalling, but in the atmosphere that greeted me in the North Stand, it was difficult to keep a cap on your emotions. Not everyone behaved like animals though. At the final whistle, I stood with the group of people I was stood with all match and looked around the lower tier. Everyone had the same face I had. Disappointment was in the eyes and no smile was present. We were heartbroken, not because of the play-offs, that was a pipe dream anyway, but because of how easily we'd just laid down and handed our rivals victory, and probably promotion on a plate.

So, like I said, I'm off to Swansea on Monday. Today, however, like many other Town fans I'm sure, I'm wallowing in disappointment, avoiding all media sources that have football on it. So, mum, turning on Sky Sports News so I have to endure a drunken Delia Smith singing is really, really not appreciated.

Ipswich Town's season not mathematically over...

But, if we're all perfectly honest and realistic, it probably is.

On Thursday, we have part two of the East Anglian derby of the 2010/11 season. Norwich fans are getting excited about the thought of automatic promotion, Ipswich fans are getting excited about spoiling their party. But something has happened in the months since Paul Jewell has arrived at Portman Road. Suddenly, we are a team that seems happy, a team that seems to enjoy playing together and a team that, whilst it's disappointing to lose, know that if they have one bad game, they're not going to be cast away in the abyss, to be forgotten about or sent on loan to Crystal Palace.

Compare that to the team that, embarrassingly and spinelessly, got hammered 4-1 at Carrow Road. That team was disorganised and in a downward spiral, something I depressingly witnessed at Preston back in December. I witnessed Keane's last win, but that was down to the weather and Sky Sports being there. The next time I watched Ipswich Town, we had won 1-0 against Arsenal and again looked a completely different team. It was like a monkey had collectively been taken off the players' backs and suddenly, happier days could well be back at Portman Road.

Since January, the form's been up and down. We can go on a three game winning streak, then end up losing/drawing the elusive fourth win. For us to even have a sniff of the play-offs and to take advantage of those (which is a lot of teams) around us slipping up, I would say we have to win all our games. We have four games left. We won on Saturday against Bristol City in a scrappy, luck-riddled, but ultimately gritty performance. We have to face our dear rivals from Norfolk and Swansea, both sides that have been up in the top six for the majority of the season, Preston, a team fighting for their lives and Leicester, another one of those sides that could, but probably won't, be up there come May 7th.

However, after we lost to Reading, Watford and Portsmouth (it was grey, miserable and dire), I thought our season was over. After the horrendous run in November and December, being near the bottom of the table and getting worried about relegation, the fact we even have an outside chance of the play-offs is some achievement.

Do I think we'll do it? No, of course not, I'm a pessimist, but it's nice to have a dream. Having said this, I also, to some extent, wouldn't want us to get into the play-offs. Whilst we're on a good run of form, we got very lucky against Crystal Palace, as the Palace strikers didn't have their radars on. Against Middlesbrough, albeit after a sickening injury to Seb Hines, where he broke his jaw and managed to get up and play on, we lost concentration and after playing well, lost communication in defence and ended up going 3-1 down. Delaney had a mare and managed to inadvertently set up Boro's equaliser. Whilst we came back from what would've been a probably undeserved defeat, we have been in the same position against teams like Reading and Watford and lost. They are the teams above us, Boro are below us.

The comeback against Middlesbrough showed character, the performance with 10 men for an hour (and after Grant Leadbitter's nasty clash of heads, get well soon Grant) on Saturday also showed character. But the way we've played all season, with the inconsistent performances and all the youngsters coming through, I'd prefer next season to the real "OPERATION PREMIERSHIP" that seems to have disappeared from the season ticket application forms this season.

This, of course, won't stop me coming up with ridiculous scenarios. Imagine if we did finish 6th and then Norwich finished in 3rd. An East Anglian derby play-off semi-final? Crazy. If we finished 6th and Norwich didn't finish 3rd, we could face Cardiff, a team we've been doing quite well against in recent years. But, like I said, these are just ridiculous scenarios that I've conjured up in excitement for Thursday.

I'm excited for Thursday. I'm in the North Stand for an East Anglian derby for the first time ever. I have so many memories from down the years of the derbies. Sito's sending off, that 3-2 victory that was Jim Magilton's last game managing, Pablo scoring a penalty to equalise and cause waves of people to run on the pitch...

All I can ask from Ipswich Town is a win this Thursday. Do it for the new manager, to convince him to give you a new contract. Do it for yourselves, to prove the match in November was a one off embarrassment. But perhaps most of all, do it for the fans. All you need to do is look at the ITFC hashtag on Twitter at the moment to understand how much it means to us all. The Norwich fans are fishing for a keyboard fight and Darren Huckerby's doing his "slap the scum" thing again, but the banter is mostly good natured.

So Town, I beg of you allow us this one glory. Give it your best shot, injure Grant Holt and make it worth a red card this time, get lucky, score a winner off your backside, I don't care. Because you have no idea what a victory would mean to the Ipswich Town supporting people of inside and outside of Suffolk.

Come on you Blues.