Official Cricket 09/10 Thread

[intedomine]

lol @ Clarke going out cheaply, always enjoyable.

Decision referral thing is a load of bollocks, North was clearly out, Doctrove is a gun umpire, and he's had a correct decision overturned by supposedly superior "hawk eye" technology.... get rid of it.

 

[Axver]

Honestly, I like the referrals system. It has flaws, but I think it's corrected more wrong decisions than not. I'm all for retaining it. I do agree it shouldn't be based exclusively on Hawkeye though.

And hilariously enough, I totally forgot the game was even on today. Had it in my head that it began tomorrow.

 

[MadForIt]

Asif knocked the stuffing out of you Aussies!
Was Gul injured for the other tests? He is pretty decent

Come on Pakistan

Kallis hit a hundred to save South Africa on day 1 in Cape Town

 

[1stepcloser]

what on earth happened to australia? i stumbled in my house last night at 3am, turned on the tv and you lot were 10-3 or something.

i should watch cricket when i'm drunk as fuck more often, it was quite enjoyable.

 

[cobl04]

Was Gul injured for the other tests? He is pretty decent

are you kidding me? he didn't play because he was in shit form, and that showed. he didn't look like buying a wicket until he got through Bollinger's gate.

Sami bowled really well, it was disheartening for me to flick through his career to date and find he averages 50.

 

[MadForIt]

so they dropped Aamer after he got 5 in Melbourne?

I only saw the highlights on sky this evening
it was very enjoyable
Mitchell Johnson should be up the order, he is quality

 

[cobl04]

nah, Aamer pulled out with a groin injury. that's why Sami played.

Johnson is awesome a better bat than Swann?

 

[cobl04]

great article Dan by Peter English on cricinfo:

Ricky Ponting has experienced major bouts of discomfort over the past month but his team's self-inflicted pain on the opening day in Sydney could turn into the most damaging of the summer. Boosted by Australia's resurgence in Melbourne last week and convinced that his hastily re-jigged order could perform like his men of three years ago, Ponting ignored the specks of green across the pitch, won the toss and batted. Just like Mark Taylor or Steve Waugh would have done.

Ponting doesn't have charge of the same quality as that duo and just when he thinks his side is ready to dominate again in every terrain, his emerging men show they aren't.

Ponting knew it would be tough and understood that intense application would be required to survive the swing and seam. Then he played a soft shot to his opening ball, being hurried into a pull to deep square leg. Other batsmen contributed to their respective dismissals, but none was more culpable than Ponting.

 

[MadForIt]

i literally just read that off cricinfo
plus the articles on Sami and Asif
that Pakistan team has a few comeback heros

Asif - failed drugs tests
Sami - ICL
Yousuf - ICL and retirement
Misbah ul haq - years in the wilderness

If they win they should get Younus Khan back for the 3rd test!

 

[dan_smee]

Yeah, I read the Peter English one. Big difference between waugh and taylor and what ricky did... They would have backed up by scoring 100s themselves. Ponting flapped like a wet fish at the short ball in an effort for some pseudo-heroic display with a bung elbow. Ponting doesnt have 1/1000th of the heart, brains or talent as s waugh.

Pakistans batting reaffirms how awful the call was. The pitch now looks like a road.

 

[cobl04]

it's not a total road though. salman butt was interviewed afterwards and attributed some of the wickets to the pitch, because the batsmen weren't able to settle in.

australia will start their 2nd dig at effectively none for -200.

 

[dan_smee]

it flattened out late, looks a belter now. Dont you hate it when watson somes in and gets 2 bunnies and then has semi respectable figures. Shits me off

 

[cobl04]

yep especially when all the talk is siddle gets dropped for hilfy, even though he's just about been the pick of the bowlers and just had no luck.

north's drop was worse than umar's

 

[dan_smee]

Unfortunately for Siddle, he has tried hard, but he just hasnt been dangerous enough. He has looked good without ever looking like breaking through. Luck is part of it, but you can average 63 over summer and have it all being 'just bad luck'. He needs to go and dominate shield cricket and earn his spot bck.

 

[cobl04]

here's hoping they don't blood steve smith for a long while.

 

[dan_smee]

Thing about Smith is, hed probably average 40 with the bat too, but his bowling is better than North., as is his catching!

 

[cobl04]

yeah. warne thinks he'll be a bowling allrounder, i haven't seen much of his domestic work but i know he averages 75 with the ball, and there's a shitload of blokes ahead of him for a place in the national squad for a batting spot.

is he a batting allrounder at domestic level at the moment?

 

[dan_smee]

Depends on which form of the game.

He is NSW front line bowler in t20, first choice spinner in one day, and 2nd choice spinner in the shield team. 75 is very inflated for his talents. He played a few games when he was 18 and 19 and returned 0/200. The average would more realistically be 35 to 40ish based on how he is going now. Still not ideal, but Warne's was similar when he was drafted in. I think everyone agrees that while results arent on his side, the way he bowls, flights the ball, turns it a mile, has good variations, he is clearly the right move going forward.

 

[Axver]

So, am I the only person who doesn't think much of Bollinger at all?

 

[dan_smee]

I dont think a great deal of him as a bloke, but he is a quality bowler.

 

[MadForIt]

Umar who you say
Glad he got Watson out
Come on Pakistan
Hussey is running out of lives, he has used about 7 already

Eng in the shits v SA
Smith literally got a spade, smacked all the england players around the head, dug a big hole and is in the process of burying them as i type.

 

[intedomine]

He needs to go and dominate shield cricket and earn his spot bck.

Since when has domestic dominance meant anything ?

Where the hell is Bracken? Bollinger looks ridiculous. Hair replacement should make someone reasonable looking, not ridiculous.

 

[Axver]

I dont think a great deal of him as a bloke, but he is a quality bowler.

I don't know. He's been taking wickets lately but I'm really just not that impressed by him. None of the Aussie bowling attack really impresses me. Some of them are good, sure, but for a country that prides itself on its bowling attack, this really is an underwhelming Australian attack. It's not about to inspire the fear of god into opposing teams quite like the bowling attack of ten or even five years ago did.

Also, I'd just like to say, Channel 9's commentary gets worse and worse by the year. They've never been the most balanced commentators, but wow, the bias has become obnoxious. During the Windies series and especially now with Pakistan, they seem to go out of their way to rag on just about everything the opposition do. I'm increasingly getting closer and closer to just muting the TV whenever Richie Benaud isn't at the mic.

Oh, and MadForIt, I'm surprised you reckon Hussey's running out of lives. He's perhaps the only person on the Aussie team right now that I genuinely like, and he's playing well at the moment. When he was the darling of the Aussie sports media and being over-rated to the heavens by everyone, I wasn't keen on him, but now that sense has prevailed, I've been rather warming up to the guy. Good cricketer.

 

[Axver]

If Australia think they won that game by any means other than the fact Kamran Akmal is a useless keeper who can't hold catches, they are fucking kidding themselves.

Can't believe Pakistan just lost. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

[coolian2]

fuck

 

[1stepcloser]

i don't congratulate the aussies very often but fair fucking play for winning that. i watched hussey get his century last night before i went to bed, wanted to watch the whole thing but it was getting too late. pakistan must be absolutely kicking themselves.

graeme smith does absolutely jack shit all series then hits 183 and pretty much ends our chances of winning.

 

[cobl04]

Also, I'd just like to say, Channel 9's commentary gets worse and worse by the year. They've never been the most balanced commentators, but wow, the bias has become obnoxious. During the Windies series and especially now with Pakistan, they seem to go out of their way to rag on just about everything the opposition do. I'm increasingly getting closer and closer to just muting the TV whenever Richie Benaud isn't at the mic.

Oh, and MadForIt, I'm surprised you reckon Hussey's running out of lives. He's perhaps the only person on the Aussie team right now that I genuinely like, and he's playing well at the moment. When he was the darling of the Aussie sports media and being over-rated to the heavens by everyone, I wasn't keen on him, but now that sense has prevailed, I've been rather warming up to the guy. Good cricketer.

some of it's fair though. their criticism today of pakistan re their negative tactics and poor fields was warranted.

they hung on to him and kept him until he was back in form, but what an innings from him, even though he was dropped multiple times.

If Australia think they won that game by any means other than the fact Kamran Akmal is a useless keeper who can't hold catches, they are fucking kidding themselves.

Can't believe Pakistan just lost. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

steady on, ax. i was disappointed as well, but they played out of their skins to win. glad to see hauritz the pre-pubescent boy doing so well.

 

[Axver]

some of it's fair though. their criticism today of pakistan re their negative tactics and poor fields was warranted.

It would have been fair if they didn't go completely overboard and find things to hang shit on that they would praise if Australia did it. The bogan ratio of Channel 9's commentary is getting worse by the year. How the fuck does Shane Warne have a commentary contract anyway?!

steady on, ax. i was disappointed as well, but they played out of their skins to win. glad to see hauritz the pre-pubescent boy doing so well.

I'll pay this (and yes, Hauritz in particular was great), BUT if Akmal had held those catches, it would've been irrelevant since Pakistan would've had the easiest of totals to chase. The Australians only got the chance to play out of their skins due to wicketkeeping worse than schoolboy level. How he dropped such regulation catches, I'll never know.

 

[intedomine]

Disgraceful by Pakistan....inexcusable.

Richie's arguably the worst in the box, pretending to sound as if he's got something insightful and worthwhile to say, when really he doesn't say anything at all and just rambles. Bill and Tony are just two easily-excited cricket fans watching cricket. Healy adds nothing. Taylor actually isn't too bad, but isn't very articulate. Chappell is pretty spot on with his views but is boring. Warnie, Slats and Nicholas are the only ones worth listening too.

 

[MadForIt]

I was on about Hussey's lives in that innings as Akmal is a joke
No wonder Pakistan are rubbish, no discipline, rubbish tactics. Yousuf should be sacked as captain after that

Only Warne and Mark Nicholas are quality commentators on the coverage. Where is the token pakistani commentator? Sky usually get someone from the opposing nation to make it a bit even. Richie Benaud talks a load of garbage now. And why has Tony Grieg got a job on tv, he was nothing special as a player.

At this rate, KP will be hosting cricket in the UK in a couple of years

Eng are relying on Ian bell to save them. Oh dear.