A lot to play for

April always comes with showers, and of course the start of the county season, and then probably some more showers. For any team and player there is always a lot to play for, titles to be chased across all three formats, and promotion and relegation perhaps even more significant with the move away from the 16-game championship after this season. And for some, there may be an added incentive: the prospect of a place in England's test side.

As has often been the case over these past few years, England's test eleven is far from settled at the beginning of an English summer. Though the past year may have seen an Ashes victory and success in South Africa during the winter, there are still several spots in the side yet to be truly sewn up, particularly so with the batting. Perhaps the most obvious among those would be the opening spot. It's the place surely everyone is tired of talking about, but the talk will only continue until someone comes in and truly makes it his own.

Alex Hales has not done that yet, but after just four tests, does probably deserve more of a chance before time is called on him too. Yet whilst Hales is resting, others will be looking to lay down a marker. Ben Duckett has already hit the ground running with 282* in the opening match of the season, and other young batsmen like Tom Abell, Daniel Bell-Drummond, and Alex Lees will be hoping to make an impression too. It may yet be too soon for those four, but a good season would certainly put them in the selectors' thoughts. Adam Lyth and Sam Robson are men who will be hungry for a second chance, and it's not out of the question for Nick Compton to return to the opening position either - one of the county game's most consistent batsmen and one of the more successful men to have taken on the position since Strauss's retirement. It's not a done deal just yet.

Compton though is still yet to secure his own place in the team. He had a mixed time with the bat in South Africa: a strong start, with 85 in the first test and two more scores in the forties; before somewhat fading in the latter half. The familiar issue around his scoring rate seemed to come up again on his return, and might easily have affected his performance - even the coach Bayliss was reported to say he would prefer a more attacking player in the role. Compton is well capable of steadying the ship when needed, but he might need to find that extra gear in his innings to keep his place in this attacking new England side. Either way, batsmen like Gary Ballance and Ian Bell already look to be pressing hard for a return to the team, and others like James Vince are hoping to break through.

Sadly, there is one place we already know that needs filling. James Taylor might not quite have nailed down his spot in the order, but with tours to India and Bangladesh coming the following winter, would certainly have been a big part of England's plans with his ability against spin bowling. This year might have been his breakthrough year in the test side, but now we're just left to wonder what if. It's a desperately sad situation, but at the same time we're lucky it wasn't even sadder.

Looking at the bowlers, it looks like a matter of fitness as much as anything. Mark Wood and Steven Finn were the definite leaders for the third bowler slot, but both had to miss chunks of the winter through injury. Finn though should be making a full appearance in these early championship games, and providing he returns to the sort of form he showed in South Africa, has to be the favourite for that spot in the team. But April is hunting time for pace bowlers, and brings a chance for the chasing pack to stake their claims too. Chris Jordan and Liam Plunkett featured heavily in the recent World Twenty20, whilst Chris Woakes was the man who replaced James Anderson when injured in South Africa. Mark Footitt has also been around the England setup for a while now without making the jump to the team, and by moving to Surrey hopes to further his international ambitions. Depending on conditions, fitness, and form, there's always a chance.

There's a lot for many to fight for, with those battling to keep their places being chased by a pack battling to take their spots. I always love the start of the county season, the reassuring feel that cricket has returned, and also the anticipation of what lies ahead both internationally and domestically. Even if the rain starts to fall as soon as that first ball is bowled.

James Taylor

Today came with the shocking and sad news that James Taylor has been forced to retire from cricket after being diagnosed with ARVC (Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy), a serious heart condition. Whilst there is a relief at the condition being caught now, often presenting itself when already too late, it still brings a sad end to a career of a man who - just 26 years old - still had a lot more to deliver.

Taylor had a bright career from its very beginning, being awarded the Young Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year in 2008 and the following year being the PCA Young Player of the Year after scoring 1,207 first class runs for Leicestershire, only 19 years old. Call ups to the England Lions team soon followed and in 2012 he also captained the team, a recognition of his leadership qualities as well as talent with the bat. The weight of runs continued at his county - 1,602 first class runs in 17 matches in 2011 - and it was only a matter of when that full England cap would come.

That moment came in 2011, an ODI in Ireland as part of a largely inexperienced side. His first test cap came a year later, that match famously overshadowed by the drama surrounding Kevin Pietersen. Taylor hit an almost unnoticed, yet important, 34 runs in partnership with Pietersen, yet by the end of the summer seemed forgotten again and was passed over for England's tour of India. Two tests against South Africa and two ODIS against Ireland - two years also between those matches - hardly seemed to represent a fair chance, yet other batsmen moved ahead of Taylor in the pecking order.

But Taylor took his next chance. Coming in for Alastair Cook in an ODI in Sri Lanka, Taylor scored 90 and followed it up with 68 in the next game. Whilst England crumbled in the first match of the World Cup, Taylor showed his fighting spirit with 98* - harshly missing out on a century when Anderson was incorrectly run out at the other end. That maiden century came later in the year, against the same opposition, with Taylor scoring 246 runs across the five match series. His return to the test team in Pakistan came with a maiden test fifty, and as he showed himself to be one of England's most effective players of spin, many were left wondering why he hadn't been picked sooner.

Against South Africa again, Taylor's 70 on Boxing Day was one of the most important, if underrated, innings of the series. A partnership of 125 was shared with Nick Compton, taking England from their precarious position at 49/3 to 174/4, and helping pave the way for an opening victory. Though runs were harder to come by after that first test, Taylor's fielding at short leg during the series was also important to the team success - including two spectacular catches as England tore through South Africa at the Wanderers.

With his recent ODI successes, it seemed a harsh call when Taylor was dropped for the one-dayers that followed, even if one eye was on preparations for the upcoming World Twenty20 competition. It was another harsh call to add to a list of harsh calls that seemed to follow Taylor throughout his England career - dropped after hardly having a chance to impress, dropped after having a chance and impressing. Though a significant career looked surely to come, the one he had might have been something more. Questions - somewhat tiresomely - always came around his height, but Taylor was a fighter, always working hard and showing the mental qualities to succeed; something you can control, unlike your size.

That's what Taylor is, a fighter, who now faces his toughest fight of all. In times like these you see how strong and supportive the cricket family is. Social media has been flooded with messages of support and sympathy for Taylor at such a life changing moment, to which I can only add my own. Tonight Two Short Legs raises a glass to one excellent short leg.

World Twenty20 reflections

Four balls, four sixes. The final was over, just like that. A final full of twists and turns; ups, downs, and ups again; forty overs filled with drama. England found themselves in a strong position with the West Indies needing 19 runs from the last six balls, but Carlos Brathwaite only needed four of those to pull off a spectacular win. It was one of those brilliant, freakish innings that you can't count on to happen, and yet happen they do. England, and especially the bowler Ben Stokes, were left heartbroken. For the West Indies, it was time to celebrate.

But as painful as that final turned out to be, to finish the tournament as runners up is still a great achievement for this very young England side. It was a team that had made tonnes of progress over the past year, but over which there were still plenty of questions to be answered, plenty of new tests to be had. It was a team with minimal experience of playing in India, and a side that still seemed to be searching for its best eleven. It was a team filled with the optimism of youth and promising results over the past year, but whose confidence might easily have been dented by a Twenty20 series defeat in South Africa, with many also involved as a 2-0 lead was surrendered in the ODI series. It was a team that had the potential to do something, but just as much potential to crash out in dramatic fashion.

And after a game and a half, it was the latter that seemed the most likely outcome. An opening loss to a Chris Gayle-inspired West Indies, and the tall task of chasing down 230 against South Africa. The tournament had barely begun and England were already facing an uphill task to make it through to the next stage.

But there was Joe Root, and Jason Roy, and Jos Buttler. The total was, unbelievably, chased down. That mantra of no fear, to always play with confidence and aggression, didn't look quite so foolish as it sometimes could. This was a team that backed themselves, a team on the up. They stumbled against Afghanistan but they still came on through, then delivered two of their best and most complete performances in matches against Sri Lanka and New Zealand - the first an effective knock out game, the second being the semi final.

The players were coming through, making their mark on the big stage. The ones you'd expect - Joe Root and Jos Buttler making key innings with the bat, Ben Stokes taking on key overs at the death. And then those perhaps less heralded faces. Chris Jordan, often maligned, but who has turned into England's main man with the ball at the death of an innings. Liam Plunkett, in and out of the side, but becoming England's most economical bowler once he found his way back in. David Willey, England's leading wicket taker who earned a spot in the team of the tournament. Jason Roy was another rising England star who made that team (Root and Buttler being the other England men), his innings of 78 against New Zealand being a particular highlight.

The final, well, it was a bit of a rollercoaster. 23/3 down in the powerplay, a recovery led by Root and Buttler, then further stumbles, comebacks, and stumbles. 155/9 was a total that didn't quite look enough, but at the same time a decent total considering the start they made. And it looked a better total after Joe Root - of all people - opened the bowling and dismissed both openers Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle. England were taking wickets and keeping things tight, but they couldn't budge Marlon Samuels, his 85* keeping West Indies in the game. But still, with 19 required from the last six balls, England had to be the favourites. Then there was Carlos Brathwaite.

Ben Stokes will be hurting after that final, after that over. But it's what sport is about: those amazing moments for one team that are so heartbreaking for the other side; those setbacks and how the person responds. Stokes has already had his share of setbacks in his brief career, and still has come back to do brilliant things. And I would back him again, he will learn from this experience and come back stronger.

Yet still, England can be proud of their performance in this tournament. For an unfancied, unproven team to get to the final - and come so close to winning the thing - is still an achievement, and bodes well for the future. There might still be some maturity to learn, but already they are showing the potential to beat anyone and challenge at the top. And if you compare the team now to how they were after the 50 over World Cup, things are almost unrecognisable. What a difference a year makes. Hopefully the upward curve will only continue.

Stop gatekeeping cricket

Here's the thing: I wrote something similar to this a year ago. And I'm still angry. Another global tournament has rolled around, and once again associate teams are being treated as second-rate nations. A mere inconvenience before the big boys join the tournament. It's hardly even a surprise.

Today was a heartbreaking day for associate teams at this World Twenty20. Rain was the only winner, completely washing out Netherlands v Oman and cutting Bangladesh v Ireland short before a result could be achieved. It meant both the Netherlands and Ireland were knocked out of the competition after just one full game. What chance can a team really be given to impress anyone, if that's all it takes to knock them out? Or is that the point - a pat on the back and a 'thanks for coming, we can take it from here'?

But the sport doesn't belong to anybody. It's not one group's job to act as gamekeeper and keep the rest out. William Porterfield summed it up in the post-match press conference today:

It doesn't happen in any other world competition. Every other sport grows their competition. 

Cricket doesn't. Cricket does its best to maintain the status quo, stop it from growing with excuses of promoting competitiveness. Money has the loudest voice at the table, with what sells best to the broadcasters having more influence than the growth of the game. God forbid a test nation is knocked out early at the hands of an associate. The effect their underachievement might have is obviously far more important than what progress the associate team is making.

But look, look at the achievements associates have made. Look at Oman - in the fifth division of the World Cricket League - springing an upset over Ireland in their very first match at an ICC global event. Watch that catch by Zeeshan Maqsood and say it wasn't a special moment. Look at Afghanistan, and how they have every reason to think themselves with the upper hand when they take on Zimbabwe tomorrow for a place in the next stage of the tournament. Who would have thought that they could have risen so quickly through cricket in such a short space of time? And sure, both Netherlands and Ireland will come away from this tournament disappointed, but both have shown again and again that they are worthy of a place, an opportunity to compete with the others.

And yet they will barely get that chance. Opportunities are becoming more and more limited, what with World Cups cut down in sides and few chances to play full members in between. Money seems barely to reach them either. How then can you have that chance to improve to the point where those in charge will deem you as 'competitive'? The standard of associate cricket gets better and better, but still the gap widens.

I suppose it's all there in the names. Full members, associates, and affiliates. There's the hierarchy, the list of priorities. Test status, ODI status, T20I status. Because a match played by a team without the right status obviously doesn't count as a full international, doesn't deserve its place in the record books. Sure, associates lose more matches than they win against full members, but that doesn't mean that they don't deserve their chance. That they haven't earned the right to be there. Watch Peter Borren today, and say that they don't matter.

But cricket is guarded by its elite, ring-fenced so nobody leaves or enters. The gatekeepers do their job, put their interests first, look after what they see as the good of the game. Me, I think there's a brilliant sport, a sport that I love - and why wouldn't you want it to grow stronger, more accessible, reach further? Associates deserve better.

Unhappy endings

The tour of South Africa came to a crushing finish, the happy high of the test series disappearing as five straight defeats saw a 2-0 lead in the ODI series surrendered and both Twenty20 matches lost. After six straight Twenty20 wins, hopes had - albeit somewhat cautiously - started to rise ahead of the World Twenty20 in a few weeks time. Right now it feels like they have as much work to do as ever. Maybe it's their own way of managing expectations - a few reassuring collapses just so we don't get too far ahead of ourselves.

Of course, a great thing about Twenty20 is its unpredictability. Each World Cup has seen a different winner emerge at the end, and within the space of a few balls the match situation can feel drastically different. Batsmen can so suddenly find themselves on a hot streak, but wickets can fall quickly and then they're under pressure once again. And England can be just as unpredictable. They have players of immense talent and with pedigree in the format, and the six game streak shows how they can deliver - putting on big scores and coming through in pressure situations. But at the same time, there's always a collapse around the corner that can lose them the match. I can't predict their chances in India because I honestly don't know what to expect. But it will be tough.

Reece Topley will be hurting after the first match, but really it was the batsmen who let England down. There are always those tiny moments that have the final impact on the match - the last wicket to fall as a team desperately battles for a draw, the dropped catch, the missed run-out chance that was the case for Topley. But it was a great effort from the bowlers to get into the position where they should have won the match in the last over - Chris Jordan particularly impressing with figures of 3/23 from four. 15 runs were needed in the final over, but Chris Morris was there again - just like he had been in the ODI series. Two full tosses proved costly, dispatched for ten runs. Two were needed from the last delivery, and two were scored as Topley fumbled the throw from Root. It was a cruel way for things to end.

But it should have been better from England. They started strongly - 50 runs from the powerplay and 36 of those in the first three overs. But then they stuttered, and stuttered, and stuttered. Wickets fell in clusters, and batsmen couldn't get away. Buttler was left with a repairs job rather than being able to express himself in the way he can do so well. In the end, they might not have needed that many more, but a total of 134 never looked like being enough. The four wickets of Imran Tahir left a sense of foreboding ahead of a World Cup on the turning pitches of India.

It could have been different in the second match, too. There are few ways to stop AB de Villiers when he gets in the sort of mood he was in when South Africa went out to bat, but there must be ways to stop the kind of collapse that sees a team 171 all out after being 157/3. The scorecard makes horrible reading, progressing from the scores of Root (34 from 17), Morgan (38 from 23), and Buttler (54 from 28) onto something that looks more like a phone number: 1, 5, 1, 1, 2, 1. And then came de Villiers. 71 from 29 balls, six fours, six sixes, strike rate 244.82. Amla's 69* from 38 almost looks slow in comparison. The innings didn't last long, the total chased down within 15 overs with only one wicket to fall.

So once again, England are left with a lot to think about on the eve of a major tournament. It wouldn't be a major tournament otherwise. I don't want to get too pessimistic, because they're a talented bunch of players who have had success in the format over the past year - but it's also fair to say that results in South Africa have dampened expectations a fair bit. Part of it seems to be that they don't quite know their best eleven, or their best batting line-up. There are many all rounders there to work out the order for - David Willey comes in all the way down at number ten, for example. They haven't been able to play Steven Finn in the past few months due to injury, there's the question of James Vince or Jason Roy, and whether or not they want to play the third spinner once they reach India. England can be so full of surprises, good or bad, that it's hard to know what to expect. But it's usually worth watching to find out.

Lessons to be learned

This ODI series has proved that, as exciting as this England side can be, they still have a lot left to learn. A 2-0 series lead slipped to a 3-2 series loss, as despite having the chances to wrap up a historic double series win in South Africa, England were left to rue mistakes and misjudgments and fall to a series defeat. It was an excellent comeback from South Africa, no doubt about it, but there too is the feeling that England let themselves down.

Patience is the key with this young England side; patience for those watching them, and something for the players to learn themselves. The first match saw them score 399, not even the first time they've been around the 400 mark in the past nine months; but it's not something that's going to happen every time. Of course I'm fond of this self belief, this mentality where there's no limit when they go out to bat. But there is a line between positivity and stupidity, between aggression and recklessness, and England can swerve too much over to the latter side. Take the final match as the most glaring example - crying out for someone to build a partnership with Alex Hales as he made a century. It wasn't a 400 pitch, but one where if a batsman settled, he could be rewarded. But nobody stayed there long enough, and despite an early struggle, it became a fairly comfortable win for South Africa. They made partnerships - de Villiers (101*) with Amla (59), and then with Wiese (41*) - and they reaped the rewards.

Mistakes in the field were also costly for England. They put down three catches at the Wanderers, where they had their best chance to secure the series win. Rashid's drop of Morris on 14 was the most costly - he then made 62 from 38 before finally being dismissed with the scores level. South Africa won by a single wicket. How it could have been so different. They are tiny, tiny moments, but it a format like this it doesn't take long for a batsman to get away and the damage to be dealt.

There are still a few questions over the bowling, though in a batsman's world it will always be a tough task. Reece Topley continued to make a good impression, finishing as the leading wicket taker on either side, but others struggled. Broad, Woakes, Willey, and Jordan took only one wicket apiece, and Topley was the only bowler to average below 40. Jordan suffered the most, conceding over eight runs an over throughout the series. Maybe it was the lack of a truly quick bowler, with Finn, Plunkett, and Wood all on the injury list. It was a hard series for the bowlers in any case with batsmen like de Kock in full flow, and further fine centuries from Amla and de Villiers. But there was still the feeling that something was slightly missing.

There are still the positives, of course. Alex Hales and Joe Root were the leading runscorers of the series, and adapted the best to the situations and conditions. Hales passed fifty in every innings, finally rewarded with a century in the final game after being out for 99 in the second. It was a marked difference to the man who was ill at ease in the test series, looking much more assured in both attack and defence against the white ball. The first match showed exactly why it's so easy to get excited about this team - an opening partnership to get off to a flyer; a middle order with the freedom to express themselves; and a flexibility too, with Buttler moving up to number four and scoring his century. Coming from 73 balls, it was his slowest one yet for England.

A lot of it is a matter of maturity, and this team should get better the more they play. Batsmen will make low scores, they will make bad decisions, chase after one that's not meant to be hit. It's just disappointing when they all do it one after the other when there's time for them to just settle in a bit. Even in the most electrifying innings batsmen still have time to play themselves in before the real battering comes along, just think of how many times you watch a batsman suddenly get on a roll and just hit it everywhere. Unfortunately the captain led by example. Morgan can be brilliant at times, and at other times so poor. He struggled to make a mark in this series, and at Cape Town his was perhaps the worst shot of the lot.

And so, the learning curve continues. Bumps in the road are to be expected, and it's still worth remembering how far they have come, nearly a year to the day since being dismissed for 123 against New Zealand at the World Cup. It was hard to see a way out of the mire at that point, and now we have a team playing with the freedom and self belief we had always hoped for. Maybe the trick now is learning the right time to reign things in a bit.

The struggle for consistency

Just when you think England have got the hang of this cricket thing, you get days like today. Matches like this and like the fifth test of the Ashes, where the series has been won, the focus has slipped away, and a heavy defeat has followed. It's hard to be too upset with a 2-1 series victory away from home and against the team who had been ranked number one in the world, yet it's a defeat that has made the series win slightly less sweet at its conclusion.

But still, there has been so much good from England in the series. They have delivered the sort of performances that show why they're a team to be excited about, and a team to believe in. Like that innings from Ben Stokes - the match was ultimately a draw with England in danger towards the end - but the innings will live on in the memory for years to come. Stokes has given that balance to the side - showing he can deliver with the bat at number six, and be a genuine wicket taking option with the ball. There was Broad's spell at the Wanderers, another one of his magic moments where he takes a team apart in the blink of an eye. In the same match came a brilliant century from Joe Root, one of his finest yet for England. There have been many fine innings from Jonny Bairstow, making a real impact at number seven, and bowling displays from Steven Finn before injury cut his tour short. They delivered when it mattered, and it was a well deserved series win.

Yet still consistency remains a challenge. As in the summer, when it felt like every high was followed by another low, England have again shown that pattern of having one strong display, and then not quite being able to follow it up. After Stokes helped England score 629/6 at five runs per over, they had an error-strewn display in the field, frequently dropping catches and handing the initiative back to South Africa. After running through the South African batsmen in the third test, the bowlers could never quite follow it up in the fourth, and again England were the victims of missed chances. The batsmen never showed enough fight, dismissed for 101.

That said, South Africa were excellent. It was a considerably different line up to the team that had lost the third test - five changes in all. It worked. The debutant Stephen Cook made a century on his first attempt, with Hashim Amla making 109 alongside him. England clawed their way back in - pulling South Africa back to 273/5 after they had been 237/1 - but then keeper Quinton de Kock took it away from them all over again. It was his maiden test century, 129 from 128 balls, that sort of counterattacking innings from a keeper that instantly brings echoes of Gilchrist. But it was a bowler, 20 year old Kagiso Rabada, that stole the show. South Africa needed a bowler to step up with Philander absent and Steyn also missing most of the series, and Rabada was that man. Three five wicket hauls in the last three innings, 13 wickets in this match, the youngest South African to complete a ten wicket match. They may have lost the series, but a star was born along the way.

England are still left with questions to ponder. Again, the batting is the most pressing among them. Compton and Taylor shared one of the most significant stands of the series on its very first day, but since then the runs largely dried up. With Compton it seems largely the same problem as in his first stint in the side: the pace at which he scores. And perhaps the issue got lodged in his head: at times he was calm and unflustered, at others he would be frenetic and taking uncharacteristic risks. He wasn't the weakest of England's batsmen and probably should have another chance in the summer, but he risks being leapfrogged by others before then. James Taylor will likewise be looking over his shoulder, having made less runs than Compton, though his fielding at short leg at least offers an extra string to his bow. Unlike Compton, he also has the benefit of limited-overs involvement to impress the selectors, and with tours to India and Bangladesh also on the horizon he should still be a prominent figure in selectors' thoughts.

Alex Hales though might have the most to worry about. England have come out of another series still considering their options at the top. Though four tests is hardly a fair run for Hales, with his predecessors generally being given seven games to make their mark, he remains in danger of the drop. So far England's hopes that he could become their David Warner haven't yet been realised and he's looked far from the confident, attacking player of the limited overs formats. Maybe it's part of that urge to prove himself in the test arena, maybe it's that the game isn't quite so suited to him. That said, Bayliss is looking for an attacking player in the top three and Hales still could be that man. He has a lot to play for over the rest of the winter, but so will many once the new county season begins.

So where are England at now? They've beaten both Australia and South Africa over the past year, drawn series with West Indies and New Zealand, and lost to Pakistan without completely disgracing themselves. It's a mixed bag really, and a reflection of a young team still finding their feet in many ways. But the hype is building, and it's easy to be excited. In the summer come tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that England will back themselves to win, and they will also want to build the sort of consistency and ruthlessness that the best teams have - no more one match on, one match off; no more heavy defeats in dead rubbers.

This series has in many ways shown what England are capable of - and what they still have to learn.