Limited Overs= little interest- unless i'm playing!

i know it not the purpose of this blog, but it is BF hard for me to be interested in short form cricket played OS.

As we know, Aus are the Champions of the Champions Trophy, well done to the boys, sorry that i just don't care!
For ODI i really only value the World Cup, as it at least gives lesser teams a chance at playing the big boys- who knows, one day we may get an Ireland or Holland side into a final! But a best of the best; just a same old same old to me- pouring $$$ back into the teams that need it less!

Great wins to NSW and Vic in the Champions league T20, for short form games, this is where i believe it is at: best club.

apart from that -until Australia play tests again- i'm a little engrossed in playing for Mordi!

We played week 2 in or one day comp yesterday and after last weeks win against last years winners, we were pumped. Unfortunatley, due to the importance placed on the team when it comes to selection through the club, we only had 4 of last weeks 10 playing.We lost... quite badly!

At 9 wickets for 100 i went in with still nearly 8 overs remaining. After last weeks duck and the acknowledgment i probably closed my eyes as the ball came through, i was determined to practice what i preach to my son, and watch the ball onto the bat; every ball!

the other batter Mark was a middle order batsman so i knew one end should be alright, but it was up to me to redeem last weeks fiasco and try and stay in for the rest of our innings; i had plenty of time to settle.

Mark informed me of the bowlers ability- not too quick and getting a bit of swing- and i then took the time to check the field and just enjoy the opportunity of stonewalling my end.
I let myself block or leave the rest of the over and just kept my eye on the ball and on to the bat; easy as!

The next over was a leggie who was getting no turn (which surprised me as i got heaps last week on the same track!) and getting onto a loose one i was away; the chance of a pair broken.
It is such a nice feeling when you rely on the basics and they pay off; there were no glorious shots, i concentrated on offering nothing in the air -one ok cover drive- a couple of streaky sweeps against the leggie, and one very close call on a run out -once again, saved by the basics: the massive furrow through the dirt before and crossing over the crease dispelled any doubt as to whether my bat was grounded!

They brought the opening bowler on to knock off the bunny, and the best thing about that was getting hit on the thigh pad a couple of time trying to turn the ball around my body. Because he was absolutely fizzing them in the blows allowed me to disregard any concerns of being hit; and when one lifted sharply at the body and smacked in to the thigh square and i just smiled back at bowler i knew i'd broke him down a degree. He got a maiden for his troubles, but he also stopped bowling at my body and his next over he was all over the place.

With one ball remaining we'd made it through our overs and when the other batsman called for a second run and ran himself out, we'd added 34 to the total and i walked off with 12 n/o. Happy days!

In the field nothing came my way as a chance, but i fielded well and received a nice big bruise on my left palm where a dive pulled up a certain 4. Brought on as first change again i was feeling really confident due to bowling 'on the spot' in the nets the night before.

The batsmen were well settled but i was mostly effective with a few smacking the pads turning in from well outside leg. Unfortunately as a 'newbie' i don't get to set my own field and while i respect the captains understanding of the game, i know my own bowling better. I would always put in a fly slip and deep leg slip; unconventional positions to be sure but i can get a lot of sideways on the ball so it goes across the stroke often or comes on quick to a batsman trying to play me down to fine leg. Given 2 chances for both of these positions went begging i better speak up next game.

In the end, my card belied how well i bowled- 0-28 off 5. There was a sitter dropped, and two shocking miss fields for 4 so i was fairly disappointed after my last over given so many ball landed well and most of the hits were not well controlled and very uppish. I'm not saying i was perfect, i bowled about 3 long-hops but apart from that...

I know stats don't tell the whole picture... i just hate it when they distort mine

stoph verismo
down the wicket

Cricket season hurrah!!

And so after a gruelling pre-season of boozing and not much else it begins with the real stuff. My cricket season has begun with the ever present hopes and dreams of a clean sheet and the gratefulness of a shortened match to kick things off. My hammies and feet sure were thankful come the 40 over mark when we changed innings rather than having to don the gloves for another 40 behind the stumps. I am surely not getting any younger and the body siezes up given the first opportunity as I discovered when I stood up to bat with only a dozen runs needed for victory off 4 overs.
We started our chase of 193 very slowly and were only 50 off 20 at drinks with two youngsters at the crease occupying but not scoring. The captain took them aside to let them know that things were a smidge urgent and so it was that the next 10 overs produced 90 runs without loss!! They let fly after getting their eyes in and were 48 and 70 respectively when they headed towards the rooms and it was left to the oldies to get the rest done. I waddled towards the crease as stated with the scorer needing 12 more runs and my partner on fire however he scooped one to mid on an over later and my captain wandered out with 6 to get. At this stage it was 6.20pm on an overcast evening and my 35 year old eyes were having trouble with timing. My captain knocked the 2nd ball he faced for 4 and I guided one through gully for my first run. We needed 1 off the last over with yours truly facing. Things looked decidedly darker from the other end with dark clouds on the horizon. I clipped the first one to the left of mid on and immediately yelled "YES!!" My captain was backing up so it looked a done deal however from the instant the words left my mouth and the time he heard them he had stopped. I scampered through and watched the throw let fly and then heard the horrible rattle of a direct hit followed by the raucous cheering of a positive result. My first game with a new club abd I run my captain out!! The next ball was a rank waist high fuller that beat batsmen and keeper and raced to the boundary. WE WIN!!
I look forward to reporting on next weeks game as I surely carry the refreshments......
Yours in cricket and I hope your teams had a win.

Sex Please, We're Not British (Any More)

The Hindustan Times has release a secret document prepared by Paddy Upton for the Indian cricket team and circulated by coach Gary Kirsten, calling on the Indian players to bonk until they drop as part of their best practice preparation for the Champions Trophy. It encourages players by claiming that performance before performance increases testosterone which has a positive effect on strength, energy, aggression and competitiveness.

Plastered across the front page of the Hindustan Times, one wonders if it was increasing the players circulation or their own that spurred on their basic urge in printing the article.

None of this comes as any surprise in Australia, where for decades panel vans have been parked on the boundary's edge of suburban grounds on the day of the grand final. Many players report that this was often their first sexual experience - the smell of the leather, the close sweaty atmosphere, the fear of being caught, the exaltation - and as a result, they usually invited a girl to share the experience the next time.

Besides, Shane Warne has been showing us the way for years in regard to text before sex before Test . Whilst all other bowlers can recall their match winning "pfeiffer's", each of Warnie's five wicket halls has a different girls name.

Upton's thesis even caters for ugly players, assuring them that an adherence to the Steven Stills lyrics "if you can't be with the one you love, then love the one you're with" is akin to taking performance enhancing tugs.

Its a nice concept but smacks a bit of having your cake and eating it too and leaves big question marks over the definition of performance. How any Indian cricketer expects to hold the Champions Trophy above his head with dead legs and a silly grin is beyond me and should they become proficient in this training schedule, the cigarette afterwards will almost certainly and eventually kill them.

If only John Dyson had known!

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/cricket/2009/09/24/1253385065038.html

It's just not cricket

Actually the headline is true, nothing at all to do with cricket...
This is a plug and a request for each of you to please vote for a CGU insurance competition that I entered with the help of Stoph, who'se cinematography is par exellance and his editing and mixing is even better. If we win I get my ugly mug on TV in their next ad and we get a few dollars.. so go to: http://www.cgurap.com.au/gallery/simon-the-gardener
and vote up big (if it lets you...I have had trouble the past coupla days).

(Cameron) White wash on the cards

I've had a bit of a ridiculous schedule of late, so there is no way i've been able to (or really wanted to) stay up for the ODI's against, but i have caught most of the replays; a better option at the moment. Watching last night some things became obvious.

The few things that have stood out are:
The different crowds at the ODI's compared to the tests. At the tests there is crowd applause for good cricket, regardless of the country. At these games you can hear the tumble weeds rolling down a road three blocks away when Aus get a wicket. While this is not particularly unusual anywhere in the world, i don't think i've ever heard such silence! It seems all of the Aussies in London left when the GEC kicked in!

England's fielding has been sub-par, and the replay last night highlighted this and made me think the result could have been somewhat different. Dropped catches -yeah, you Bresnan, what a sitter!- and Anderson's TWO failed run outs; not close calls- missed opportunities!

Of course there is the poor batting throughout the order too- apart from their imports (nice reverse sweep Morgan). Do Australia have any plan for Strauss?

On the flip side, Aus are looking solid. White should fight Punter for the #3 spot as it gives him even more time to create a big innings without having to belt it out of the park further down the line up. Can Ponting be persuaded to come in at 4? He must feel happy stepping back in at 3-0 up!

Talk on cricinfo is of the possibility of a 7-0 whitewash (or White-wash, if he stays at 3!). Who cares, one more, get the series, and then if we clean up, reflect further on what a waste 7 games is. It will be one more nail in the English 50 over game if Australia win the next game/series, no one turns up for the last three games and the ECB end up in deficit for the series!


Finally, i think most of us here -certainly myself- have had to eat a large slab of humble pie (with cockles and eel) in regard to Watson. Not only is he staying fit, but he is bowling efficiently, getting wickets and appears to be playing with a lot of heart: maybe too much as he looks totally gutted and on the verge of tears when hit for four! Maybe transferring his batting poker face (deals well with a bowlers lip and rot) over to his bowling.

stoph verismo
down the wicket

Ricky Won't Lose That Number

Australia skipper, Ricky Ponting, has stepped down from national Twenty20 commitments, siting the need to maintain his freshness if he is to have longevity in the game. In particular, he has his sights set on a third Ashes tour as Captain. Clearly, he wants the record he shares with Billy Murdoch to be his alone. Without jest, he wants to still be there in 2013 and not a burnt out husk sitting in the corner of an endless dressing room with the number 14 fading on the back of a collection of sponsors logos, occasionally separated by yellow.

Likewise, the decision to maintain playing status in one day cricket, where a rotation of players including the captain, has been happening for some time.

It's a sensible step and one that all players must eventually do and it highlights the broader issue which has been floating about ever since one day games started making money for the Packers. Players can serve two or now three masters in the games of cricket but they can't do it forever. Two types of player recognise that fact - the player to whom reputation is everything and the player to whom money is everything.

There is too much cricket being played at an international level and too little attention being given to tending the grass roots. There are also too many varieties , with the addition of Twenty 20 cricket in the last few years - a development which shows us we are so lazy as punters that we can't even be bothered to play our own backyard cricket anymore but would rather watch the stars doing it in our stead.

The big game - Test cricket - has survived and been made stronger by the money from one day cricket, true and the players remain committed to it being the form they would rather play, even if Chris Gayle finds it "a chore". Changes in over rates and a desire for results which started from Australia under Mark Taylor and soon spread to South Africa and India, has infected the world to the point that even England prefer to win than draw. That attitude brings a level of unpredictability to Test cricket that had died and makes it far more interesting to the consumer. Fielding is better, bowling lines are tighter and shot making improved all as a result of 50 over cricket.

What will Twenty20 bring us?

Money from and entertainment for the feeble minded whose attention span mostly carries them through an SMS but not always, which is why they sit with mates. This is a puerile waste of a cricket ball but at least Mum's roses will now have a chance to grow and that patch on the back lawn might get a covering of grass. It is the greatest possible confidence boost we could gain in Ponting that he would choose to no longer play this hit and giggle farce and concentrate on real and unreal cricket.

It's time for more separation. Different squads - completely different - for one day and Twenty20 games, not because some blokes can't play all but because they shouldn't play all. Some of the skills may be similar but the approach and mindset are totally different. We are supposed to be a great cricket nation - forget the No 4 thing - so we should have more than enough resources.

But we won't.

Why?

Marketing. We create a brand in one form of the game and spectators want to see that brand in all forms.

It lacks brains or long term planning but when did the pursuit of the holy dollar ever have much of either. Remember, they are appealing to a short term market both in terms of how long the consumer will be in the market to watch Twenty20 and how long they concentrate when they are there. They want to make their puppets dance.

Ricky Ponting has cut the strings. I say, well done!

Tony Cozier Article

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/418767.html

Sorry to post and run, but here's the latest Tony cozier article of the problems facing the West Indies. I'm starting to think we'll only be getting a sham tour.

two serves, anyone?

Not that it is really our format, but it begs addressing that Aus are now 2-0 up in the ODI (only dolts interested) comp in Blighty at the moment.

I missed the first game and was too tired to get into the 2nd due to a few days in the hills, but after reading a few reports and listening to the radio this morning it is interesting to see a team that plays with a lot more self belief... do we think this is due to Clarke at the helm? Or the quite different make up of the squad?

Ferguson has settled into his role there. The bowling team were consistent amongst themselves, with Hopes the only one going for more than a run a ball- admittedly only bowling 3 overs. Lee was frugal with 2 wickets and Jonno, Watson and Bracken all getting 2 also.

In the batting it was contributions all around apart from the skip, Hopes, and Hussey showing he is consistent with his form across all formats! Either Hussey is just the nicest bloke to ever strap on pads (possible from all accounts) or he knows of every crime and indiscretion every selector and member of CA has done and has made a list and is checking it twice!

Two more positive results in the yawn fests and Australia can then prattle on senselessly about how they have "redeemed themselves".

Talking of ODI's in the pejorative, it seems to me that the 'Little Master' has come to the same conclusions: ODI's in their current format are a fait accompli at the toss and so should be given a new structure to make them more competitive and hopefully more interesting.
Sachin has proposed a 2 innings game of 25 overs to ensure both teams bat under lights. I must say, i don't know why this hasn't been openly and broadly suggested before. I think it has the potential for a much more interest contest as it will bridge the gap between T20 and Test. Teams can go the tonk twice! Now i accept what it is about T20 that many out there dislike- the thoughtless crunching of the ball every ball; but as a "batsman" that only opens the shoulders my self, and as a bowler that like being taken on i think this is a serviceable way to preserve 50 over cricket.

I know i said around this time last year that ODI was dead and buried- and without some effective change it is- so as someone who was a captivated kid during the "Packer v ACB" days, i can't help being enthusiastic about this idea to rejuvenate the format.
It makes sense, but i'd like to hear why it won't work, anyone?

And because i haven't voiced an opinion elsewhere on this issue, let me say the in regard to Nielsen having a break now after the Ashes while the rest of the squad plays ODI cricket: i wish i received a holiday every time i failed to live up to my KPI's at work! In world sport, the cricket coach is the least called upon when it comes to on field activity and is therefore not much more than a skills coach/manager; if Nielsen needs a break after the Ashes and feels he can't do anything with the team to lift our standing in the next stage of the tour, maybe it should be a "permanent vacation".

stoph verismo
down the wicket