Saturday 6 November 2010

Selectors or Sabatuers??


After the most recent humiliation in the ODI against Sri Lanka I am forced to ask the question. Are the selectors deliberately sabotaging our cause? How can a kid take 4 for plus a brilliant run out and then be replaced by Hauritz in the next game? If this is their ridiculous rotation policy I am horrified. Surely we don't have the depth of talent to be resting obviously in form players? Hauritz's form has hardly foced him into the side.
Apart from harming Australia's chances it also belittles a brilliant performance by Doherty. The best by an Aussie for quite a while which should have won us the game. Clarke's captaincy was woeful. The senior bowlers failed to step up when the game was there for the taking and the one that gets it in the ring gear is the BOG?
Congratulation Hilditch and Co. you have managed to top yourselves.

Friday 5 November 2010

Kiltage, have left the building!




Sledgeys new Heritage of Wales cilt

heads up blokes:
the order of our cricket attire has been packaged and picked up by the freight company in Paisley (Glasgow).

estimated landing date this tuesday.(9/11)
as i said, this company are very good and have always been early- estimated date when order placed was the 15th (i think).

i will keep you informed as i know more, or you could track it yourselves:

http://fedex.com/Tracking

FEDEX- TRACKING # 790729795016

Thursday 4 November 2010

Lay down Aussie... or you smash my bouncer, here's another bouncer!

Who knows what i'm thinking?

Well, if it rhymes with, "Why would you constantly bowl short balls (many too slow or going down leg side or wide!) when they keep getting hit for boundaries?" you'd be spot on.

Now there are many fine deliveries that can be bowled in cricket and the bouncer is one of them. And, rubbish balls do get good batsmen out, but good balls are needed to get tailenders out. Malinga and Mathews last night proved that not enough thought is going into strategy within our bowling squad... and that clearly that part of the team will let their frustration override their focus on their task!

Siddle and Hastings just kept banging them in too short (it is bloody hard to slog a yorker to the boundary boys!) Jonno continued going too far across and away to the right handers- if you are going to negate the possibility of LBW, why not mix it up a little Mitch and come around the wicket?

Watson bowled a better line and length, but was still a tad short to allow the subtle movement he was getting to come into play, therefore, ineffective.

Smith was ridiculously under used particularly when the 2 right handers were taking a long handle to everyone else! If your back was sore too (like Marsh) what the hell is going on with our conditioning coaching?

Doherty... well, what a first few overs he had; he won us the game with his run out and 4/15... but wait a minute...

It is easy to be critical from the sidelines...so i will continue to be!
Pup, if Smith is landing them, bowl him (to r/h tailenders particularly!).

Hastings, what the hell are you even there for!??!!!??

We all know the score wasn't enough, so the batting squad needs to get a full length mirror too!

I said Doherty won us the game, and without a doubt he opened the double doors, not by getting Sangakarra out (he got himself out, even though it was a good ball), but by getting the other wickets that pushed Sangakarra into that mindset that produced such a shot. For mine, Kumar looks very complete (again) this season and will be difficult to contain- i doubt he'll throw it away like that in the next 2 games!

I thought the plan was to get a couple of wins under the belt to build momentum before the cricket season started... when you give away a game like that, i'd imagine Australia just put ALL of the pressure back on themselves for the rest of the season!
Does Australia need a repeat of the Montreal Olympics (no success) to revamp every facet of its cricketing structure? I hate losing, but if it takes a summer of no joy to shake things up, so be it, because last night SUCKED!

stoph verismo
down the wicket


p.s Congrats Malinga on your best ODI score. you had fun, took us on, and won...a good night out.

Monday 1 November 2010

the shame!

double dose of shame today:
1) because i watched the Aus innings last night (my boy was very excited to have cricket back- that is the ONLY reason i watched).
2) the Aus innings itself last night!

My shame in watching will wane.
The team's shame should be very acute today! what a poor performance! Apart from some crisp hitting by Haddin and Smith we can take nothing from what i saw.

to their credit, Sri Lanka bowled realy good line and length allowing little to be put away, but if T-20 is a batsmans game, why did ours fail to make runs?

not having watched the SL innings i can't comment on how our bowlers looked more than just going by their scorecard...