Cricket: More Than a Game

Trust this to be the Ashes where they aren't playing at Old Trafford, which is about 4 miles from me (mumble, grumble, mutter).

Tough break. I guess Edgbaston or Headingley could be a go for you, though. Oval's the most accessible for me at the moment, or Lord's, but tickets are ridiculous.

I'm looking forward to 2011, when we get our first Test at the Rose Bowl. With a club membership floating around, I might be able to get some half-price tickets or something.

Not a fan of either team, so I haven't been following too closely, sounds like the game was a cracker. Non fans could never understand how a draw is a good thing.

Personally I'm anticipating the Champions Trophy. Hopefully Graeme Smith can finally lift a tournament trophy.

Anyone coming down?

Oh, I would, but September is one of the busiest times of the year for me....and it's crappy one day cricket

A pity, the weather here is great for cricket then, and one day cricket is perfect for taking a day leave and having a piss up.

Quick question Mr DeVil - have you heard of an SA batsman called Madsen (I think his first name is Wayne, or something like that) ? He's the club professional at one of the Lancashire League clubs over here, but has been called up by Derbyshire to play in a National League game. Only got 7 in first innings, but is 126 n.o in the second. Just wondered if he had much of a buzz over there.

Lancs league seems to have a lot of SA players this year - guy called Daryn Smit (w/k batsman) is playing for Littleborough as well, and he is a very good player indeed.

Never heard of either of them. Honestly, there are so many SA players overseas they never get any press, and the domestic scene is very competitive.

Every now and then we get some guy in his mid to late 20s like Johan Botha or Paul Harris who suddenly appears in the national squad when their Kolpak contract expires. Usually spinners, because local conditions don't support their development.

Just been announced in a press conference over here that Fat Fred is retiring from test cricket after the end of the Ashes (came as news to me, as I assumed that he'd retired from actually trying in test cricket about 3 years ago).

He will, no doubt, be available for the IPL and any other form of paid activity, with the possible exception of playing for Lancashire.

MrDeVil909 wrote:

Never heard of either of them. Honestly, there are so many SA players overseas they never get any press, and the domestic scene is very competitive.

Every now and then we get some guy in his mid to late 20s like Johan Botha or Paul Harris who suddenly appears in the national squad when their Kolpak contract expires. Usually spinners, because local conditions don't support their development.

We had a fantastic young Saffer at our club last year. Name was Uwe Birkenstock, and made a really good contribution to the 1st team. He even hit a double ton in one of the Sunday league matches. Really classy, explosive bat and a good guy. No idea if he's still playing in the domestic leagues in SA, though.

Personally, I'm sorry to see Fred go. I think he's a great character and has proved to be a difference maker at times. That said, its probably time to give the younger guys a chance. He's done enough damage to himself to justify retirement, I feel.

Haakon

I'd agree with your stuff about Flintoff, except that as a Lancs member I feel that

- he just pissed about when given the chance to captain England
- he took central contract money then pissed off to the IPL and got injured
- his record as an all-rounder is mediocre
- he's done nothing in county cricket...Lancs are more prone to looking great then making a pig's ear of things than almost any other county.

And you just know that he'll be off playing IPL, like that concentrated schedule of 20-20 idiot cricket smashabouts is any less physically stressful than bowling 20 overs in a full day and then standing about in the field.

Still, at least with any luck we won't be blessed with his presence in the commentary booth.

Whereabouts in the UK are you based ?

I'm down in Hampshire, so we've got the same experience with Captain Ego. (Who I've got way less time for than Fred.)

Frankly, I don't see any of the central contract guys as county players anymore. They may be tied to a county, but they're not part of the county game. And that's fine with me.
Lowers my expectations on the England boys' performance domestically, so when I say I'll miss Freddie, I am only really judging him on his international form.

You've got some valid points. Dropping the ball on captaincy was poor form (not really cut out for it from the start!) and the whole IPL circus is just sad.
But when it comes down to it, I feel like he's put some big effort in for us internationally. His string of injuries was always related to him trying too hard (Sri Lanka 2002 was the start of it), rather than him being weak, and I'll miss him being in the side.

Maybe this is his opportunity to go back to the county game and justify the money spent on him.

hmmm. English are motoring along nicely, Strauss and Bell are doing good work. And they've managed to break a bowler, not bad.

Might have been a catch, but falling away and just shoving some fingers at it? Recipe for disaster.

Sitting there on the balcony though, you almost feel sorry for him. He's only a couple years older than my youngest brother.

MrDeVil909 wrote:

hmmm. English are motoring along nicely, Strauss and Bell are doing good work. And they've managed to break a bowler, not bad.

I think you mean Cook, DeVil

Bopara failed again - so Bell might be back for 3rd Test, or maybe they'll bump Mr Big Cheese up to 3.

I've seen funeral homes with more life than that pitch.

Even stevens first day, excellent knock by Strauss, usual calamities from FIGJAM and Fat Freddy. I suspect this might be FF's last test.

Considering that Australia's already weak attack was further hit by an injury to Hauritz, they can be quite happy with 6 wickets. Johnson must be bloody infuriating to bat against though - his usual over is 2 reasonable balls, 3 balls that a pub team player would not get out to, then 1 ripper. His action looks a little suspect at times as well, particularly when the ball leaves the hand.

450 must be a minimum on that pitch, though the forecast for the next two days is showery.

davet010 wrote:
MrDeVil909 wrote:

hmmm. English are motoring along nicely, Strauss and Bell are doing good work. And they've managed to break a bowler, not bad.

I think you mean Cook, DeVil ;)

Bell... Cook... All these English names are the same to me

A bit of a collapse in the middle order, but overall I'm inclined to give the day to the English.

2 more down after 5 minutes. Mate of mine who is there has just belled me to say that the pitch is a little more lively than yesterday...or in his words 'bleedin' ball is swinging round corners'.

Yeah, looking trickier now for sure.

Maybe that's some hope for the English bowlers.

Let's hope so.
The weather conditions will help, too. Its cloudy down here, so maybe Jimmy & Broad will get some movement.

That's the 400 up.
I didn't think we were going to make it to this point, but I'm continually pleasantly surprised by Anderson's batting and Onions hasn't thrown it away yet.

425.

Not too shabby, the Aussies really seem to struggle against the tail. They had the same issues against us in Australia. I think it's a lack of accurate, consistent pace bowling at the end.

What a freaking amazing day.

I waited to post until it was all said and done, because late in the afternoon, I just couldn't keep up with work AND the wickets. 156-8, with Siddle & Hauritz in for the morning session. I'm just disappointed I won't get to watch more than an hour or so before I have to go play.

Anderson was the pick of the bowlers for me, but Onions and Broad both hit the deck well. Shows what can happen when you hit your spots and find the right length. Two catches in the deep off the hook should tell you something about the boys' accuracy today.

Also, Broady's catch was great.

Haakon7 wrote:

What a freaking amazing day.

I waited to post until it was all said and done, because late in the afternoon, I just couldn't keep up with work AND the wickets. 156-8, with Siddle & Hauritz in for the morning session. I'm just disappointed I won't get to watch more than an hour or so before I have to go play.

Anderson was the pick of the bowlers for me, but Onions and Broad both hit the deck well. Shows what can happen when you hit your spots and find the right length. Two catches in the deep off the hook should tell you something about the boys' accuracy today.

Also, Broady's catch was great.

It was that - I hadn't been following the score during the afternoon as I was in meetings, but caught it in the pub afterwards. Beer and Aussies getting out, what a wonderful combination

Definitely England's day today, Australia needed to either get quick wickets or slow the run rate, and England are tootling along at 5.5 an over. Odd thing is that all the Aussies bowled well, apart from Johnson who just looks like some bloke they found playing in the park. Bopara definitely had his chance and blew it, and the Great I Am doesn't look fit at all...apparently he picked up an injury in February. Nasser Hussain, who quite clearly despises him, said that they should keep injecting him to get him through the Ashes, whereas David Lloyd was actually the voice of reason for once.

bat for an hour tomorrow, lead of 550 or so, then 5 and a half sessions to get them out. Could do with going 1-0 up before Punter inserts his brain cells and dumps Johnson.

Wow...

This is as badly as I have seen Aus play and England completely deserves to win this test.

currently Aus 145/5 chasing an impossible 515 (or so)...

You could make a case that Katich and Hughes were unlucky but apart from that England has completely outplayed Aus in this one.

Johnson won't get the chop but I certainly hope he bowls a touch better as this is as bad as I've seen him bowl in a fair while.

Don't speak too soon, AP.

313-5 at the close, some alarms but the two in have done well.

I'll have it on my PC at work tomorrow, fingers crossed !

Well played England. Completely outplayed us in this test and deserved the win.

Now the series really is interesting. Can't wait for the next test!

Bit nervy at the end, but the quick wicket early in the morning helped to calm the nerves, and Flintoff decided to put in a really good shift.

I don't know what changes Australia might make - almost everyone played well at some point in the game, and even Johnson might be difficult to drop after his innings, though I suspect that if anyone is going to get dropped for Brett Lee, then it's him.

Being reported here that England might be without The Great I Am for the rest of the series, which might be a bit of an issue as there aren't that many players around the counties who are queueing to replace him. I could perhaps foresee Bell replacing Bopara, but the only person I could see getting picked at 4 is Robert Key, who reminds me too much of my avatar to be regarded as a viable pick, plus he's in very poor nick at county level at the moment.

Wonder if Glenn McGrath's changed his prediction yet ?

Glad we finally got some play yesterday. I know its unlikely this match will end in anything but a draw, but I'm glad its back on. Ten days is far too long to wait.

Watson absolutely crushed our sh*t bowling last night, but there were at least three very, very close calls for him as well. I'd love to see Anderson or Freddie make him pay for those loose shots sometime this morning.

Botham was pretty adamant when talking with Warne about why they were starting at 5pm instead of knocking off for the day...25 overs = no refund

Typical of Lancs luck that they went out on a bowlout, and then the afternoon was the best day here for 2 weeks. I did have to laugh when i saw that there was a pitch inspection at 11am yesterday, Manchester had just had a 2 hour thunderstorm of armageddon proportions (or as it is known here - 'a heavy shower').

Oh, Graham Onions, you beauty. The perfect two balls to start the day.
I had just brought the laptop down to the living room and hadn't even sat down as yet. Needless to say, I didn't sit for the rest of the over. May have frightened the neighbors with my baying at the second ball.

I wonder why Strauss didn't crowd the bat on the hat-trick ball, though.