Cricket: More Than a Game

davet010 wrote:

It's also worth noting that Australia's 'performance' in India should give them much more cause for concern, particularly given the apparent splits in their dressing room and lacklustre performance on the pitch.

Believe me, people are concerned...

Panic might be a better description for it.

Our top order has been criminally bad, the bowling has been erratic and it looks like the entire team culture has died.

A number of extremely disturbing stats were released at the end of this years 4-day domestic competition. Essentially, batmen are (averaging) batting for shorter lengths of time and balls, scoring less and the games are shorter. There has been a large amount of games finished <= 3 days this season.

I genuinely think that Twenty20 is slowly corrupting the technique and temperament of batmans. This is directly reflected in the Australian Test team currently. They don't seem to have anyone who has the temperament to graft out an innings, as opposed to slogging their way through the tough times.

I predict we'll get smashed in both Ashes series, and after what I saw in India, deservedly so.

First outdoor net of the season in about ten minutes... And its snowing.

Haakon7 wrote:

First outdoor net of the season in about ten minutes... And its snowing.

Probably going to keep a bit low then

They will tend to skid on a bit, but that drift outside off stump on a good length is going to be a tester.

Aussies. I tell you. No sense of humor.

It wasn't snowing that bad, but at least it was only fielding drills. Talk about winter hands...

I used to whinge about cold if it was less than 15C for cricket. I would worry my hands would shatter under those conditions.

Man, I knew there were a lot of Pakistanis in England, but it's like a home game for them here in Edgbaston. Nasty track too.

You've not been to Birmingham then - the home of the balti ?

Looking like a good game on the cards.

No, never had the opportunity to travel. Unlike most of the population of Wimbledon.

Would have preferred to see a few more runs on the board, but looking okay so far.

Good win in the end - SA's total looked a bit light, but that pitch was difficult to read and Pakistan didn't help themselves.

The injuries haven't helped SA. Pakistan are struggling, and I don't think there's any way they are going to beat India based on talent alone, but stranger things have happened in that rivalry.

This is a great time to have a new addition to the family. I have a great excuse to sit and watch the CT all day. Every day.

Not a bad bowling performance without our main bowlers. Glad they figured out that constantly bowling short doesn't get them anywhere, hopefully they remember that. I don't know why they tend to default to nice short bouncers on slow surfaces.

Yeah, Pakistan has some decent bowlers and a shortage of batting talent. To win they need to get some early wickets.

Seems this ale-can's been at it again. David Warner dropped for allegedly attacking England's Joe Root in a nightclub.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket...

Shame really - now the Aussies might find someone who is actually any good and send him over, rather than this overrated gobsh*te.

I read a couple pages of this thread. It is like you guys are speaking a foreign language. No idea what you are talking about.

Anyway I saw some people playing cricket in my town on the baseball fields this weekend. First time ever. Did a double take. They were probably exchange students.

Well, to be fair davet usually is speaking a foreign language. He's from Manchester after all.

"Oh Manchester, so much to answer for.."

goman wrote:

I read a couple pages of this thread. It is like you guys are speaking a foreign language. No idea what you are talking about.

Anyway I saw some people playing cricket in my town on the baseball fields this weekend. First time ever. Did a double take. They were probably exchange students.

Go see if you want to join in. That's kind of what I did. Played cricket in some random schoolyards and also some very surreal places in DC before I moved to a civilized country that plays it properly and everywhere. In certain parts of the world, 15 people standing in a field on a Saturday afternoon is considered normal.

davet010 wrote:

Seems this ale-can's been at it again. David Warner dropped for allegedly attacking England's Joe Root in a nightclub.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket...

Shame really - now the Aussies might find someone who is actually any good and send him over, rather than this overrated gobsh*te.

god I hate David Warner...

He can definitely play, but just a disgusting temperament...

Warner is a flat track bully worse than even the Reverend Flatty (Hayden). He has one gear and claims "that's the way I play" is an excuse for his appalling shot selection.

When it comes off, he goes great and can turn a match in a session. That happens about 1 in 8 tries. He is not an opener's arsehole.

I'm hoping Rogers gets the call up as he has been doing very well in FC this county season.

Root probably deserved a whack though - taking the piss out of Amla with a fake beard.

I know it isn't proper internation cricket but Lancashire bowled out Essex for just 20 runs .

5 wickets for Glenn Chapple as well - can't believe he made his Lancs debut in 1992. Would've made a better fist of international ODI's than some of the Southern softies who've cluttered up the field over the years, shame he was never given the chance.

Oh man. I switched jobs so I haven't been going to our local Indian food buffet at lunch. So I neither get my fix of aloo gobi, and tikka masala nor international cricket.

I am really surprised it doesn't catch on more. The sport has lots of scoring and great tension. It is not that hard to follow. 20 minutes on wikipedia and you are off.

I found that baseball has a lot of the same rhythm and tension points. I once took one of my American relatives to day 3 of a 5 day test at Old Trafford...his bemusement at the concept of it not being finished after a whole day was palpable, but diminished by the amount of beer that we drunk and the appearance of people dressed as the Pink Panther, which he only noticed after the 6th pint and which he still refuses to believe wasn't a Boddingtons-induced hallucination.

Yeah, the fundamentals of cricket are pretty simple to pick up. The finer details can take a while to assimilate, but you can still appreciate it without the detailed insight.

That Lancashire achievement is remarkable.

In the champions trophy the weather worked out nicely for us in Cardiff. Somehow Duckworth Lewis gave SA a draw with the Windies. I'll take it.

Fangblackbone

How to start a discussion with any cricket fan..

1. Pronounce the following sentence "All of Muralitharan's achievements should have an asterisk next to them".

2. Stand back.

Translation note - Muralitharan is analagous to Barry Bonds, except that in the former case, his action clearly broke the ICC definition of a 'bowling action', so they kept changing the definition.

davet - it pains me to think that in 50 years I am going to have to explain to young cricket fans about Murali. They will just look in Wisden, see the numbers and assume he was one of the most amazing cricketers ever seen.

And I will have to explain about cheating, expediency, the corruption of the ICC/BCCI etc. Maintain the rage!!!

Feel the burn Bruce, I had to put up with having the cheating get playing for Lancs as well !

England through to the ICC Champions Trophy, after SA decide they'd rather not bother - well, most of them didn't, Miller and Kleinveldt excepted.

And can I just clarify with those who know more about SA cricket..Tsotsobe - he's a professional cricketer, right ? Not some bloke they found in a bar to make up the numbers ?

I don't like the chokers tag being applied to our boys. It's ugly and classless. But I don't know what else to call that.

And yeah, Lopsy is a professional. He's done the job for us before, but he's just wildly inconsistent.

I'm not a fan of the word, but it's something like 12 years since SA won a knockout game in an ICC tournament. Given the quality of players that they have had over that period, you would have expected at least one win.

Yeah, and it's dumb losses. Throwing away wickets, or consistently bowling short that costs these pressure games.

At least some of the younger players seem to be decently confident.