Had some IT issues so just a short intro into today’s second match after our disappointing opening performance.
Also comments on Australia’s annihilation of New Zealand’s bowling this morning.
Fire away. Should be online this evening.
- Comment
- Reblog
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Being Outside Cricket 
Warner is probably the best Test opener in the world right now. Right now he just needs 85 runs in 9 overs to get to a triple ton in a single day of play. He can do it – he just took 16 of a Boult over.
LikeLike
Big bats though, innit, eh? All down to big bats. And he didn’t do a lot in England, did he, blah blah blah…
LikeLike
Flat track bully. Seen that one. Did they miss his first test ton in Hobart?
LikeLike
He can be a bit of a goose but he is one hell of a cricketer.
There wasn’t much life in the tracks he last summer and it seems to be the same this year. I wonder if it has something to do with “drop in pitches”. (I think I’m right in saying that all the grounds that are used for Aussie Rules in the winter now have drop in pitches.)
LikeLike
“He can be a bit of a goose but he is one hell of a cricketer.”
Seem to remember we had one of those.
LikeLiked by 2 people
He sweats too much, too. It can’t be considered a great innings when you sweat that much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He only does it in the second inn…… Oh.
LikeLike
He’s like Sehwag was at his best, absolutely amazing to watch when he’s in. What a brilliant innings.
He’s got to be averaging close to 70plus now at home, which is faintly ridiculous.
If we ever had a player like him, all we’d ever talk about is all the things he can’t do rather than what he can do. We love talking constantly about players’ weaknesses, apart from the Steely one, obviously.
Appears to be a bit of a dick, but so what, when you can play like that?!
LikeLike
It seems Boult has taken a battering here in particular and I do rate the fella too. It isn’t really that much of a surprise that the Aussies are dominant in home conditions but a disappointment that the Kiwis haven’t put up at least a bit of resistance. Perhaps several months away form test cricket with little preparation coming into this series has dulled them to a fair extent. I guess it really emphasises that much of test cricket at present is so home orientated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
England won toss and bat. Same pitch as last game so should be more spin.
England unchanged (I feel a rant coming on); Pakistan two changes.
LikeLike
Can’t help feeling another very simple Pakistani victory coming up. Sure the England batting tanked the last time, but in response we have a bunch of pea-shooters responding veritably to cannons when you think about the bowling options each side has..
LikeLike
We’ll need a above-par score here to stand a chance.
LikeLike
Time for a whispering campaign to be started against Warner, by the ACB and their compliant media?
Plus a dossier of misdemeanours, e.g. he didn’t clap loudly enough when his captain got to 5 no…
Yes Cook, Flower and Strauss, THAT will be your lasting legacy.
Well done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Careful now. You might be accused of being obsessed. 60-0 in the 12th, This is looking better.
LikeLike
Good to see Roy and Hales making a good start. I still fear for our bowlers though, I thought it was a bit mad not to have brought in a bit more firepower with the likes of Plunkett being on the sidelines.
LikeLike
Warner’s recent surge in form coincides with his being given a position of responsibility. I wouldn’t necessarily put this down to the brilliance of CA but more that there weren’t many alternatives.
Let’s hope they don’t ask him to email in his views on the coach and then leak them….
LikeLike
The analysts latest tweet……”quite something from someone who was originally just a T20 player.”
Even when they praise, they can’t remove their deep pompous disdain.
LikeLike
Under the latest from Strauss it would seem that if we had David Warner he wouldn’t be playing test cricket. He wants more separation of the teams. A new man with flair will find it harder, not easier, to play tests.
I, for one, cannot wait to see how Newman, who went mad when Morgan went to the IPL rather than play against Ireland, squares this circle.
Might be me but would it not be better to ignore what the jokers at the RFU are up to.?
LikeLiked by 1 person
And yet Hales is (presumably) going to open in the SA Tests? Plus Taylor has just established himself in both sides.
This must be some of the clarity Strauss likes so much.
LikeLike
Surely it makes sense that if certain players such as Root/Stokes are going to be regulars in the different formats, there might be a time for them to be given a bit of a rest. Also I have no problem at all with the decision to remove the likes of Cook, Bell, Anderson and Broad from the ODI teams. It does need some careful management of players that the ECB management have royally screwed up over the last few years.
LikeLike
Another KP Storm on Twitter.
Apparantly he was interviewed by Aggers , and made the point about England players should be allowed to play IPL. This made The Anyalist reply by saying that he had always said England players should play IPL and that KP should remember that. (He Seemed to keep pretty quiet about it when the ECB was taking the other view. Perhaps someone has an example of the anaylist writing a piece entitled ” KP is right” Or a front page splash on the cricketer magazine with “We back KPs views on the IPL”…….. Good luck finding that!!!
So now the ECB has U tuned on the IPL, the ECB media are all lining up to say that they always thought this. This forced the Ayalists munchkin followers to break into a boring rendition of ” it’s always about KP, and KP makes everything about himself.” ZZZzzzzzzzz
And the old anti KP chestnut about how we should “all move on” and we should congratulate the ECB for changing.”
To paraphrase one Roman Emperor…..” Oh how the ECB munchkin followers so wamt to be slaves to the ECB.
When I read these people I don’t even want to be on the same side as them. They are smarmy, boot lickers of authority. It is worth the whole KP saga just to piss these people off. Keep writing the books KP, and tweeting. You send these charlatans bat shit insane.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s good to remember that, similar to Stalin’s munchkins, our complicit media (and ex-players after retirement from playing cricket in their late 30s) almost completely rely on the ECB to keep them gainfully employed. Bearing this in mind, it is quite easy to fathom why they toe the ECB line so much.
Without the ECB’s support, they have and are nothing.
Of course, some of them really do believe in the ECB cause of course, e.g. Strauss,Cook and Flower to name but three.
LikeLike
Only they haven’t u – turned now. I’m confused. Have to listen to it all but this seems classic ECB…..
LikeLike
90/0 after 16. Good start.
Perhaps we can bat the full 50 today! Spinners on now though!
LikeLike
It’s interesting all the anti Warner stuff. It goes against one of their 10 commandments. “No dickheads.”
Whenever a dickhead succeeds, trust lets out a little sigh.
LikeLike
Are you sure Australia has a no dickheads policy? I’ve never heard of that, and at times I wonder if they actually have a positive discrimination policy.
Warner has a bit of attitude when talking to the press, and is very enthusiastic, but I doubt many of his team mates consider him a dickhead, more like they take the piss out of him, and enjoy what he brings to the team. .
LikeLike
I read that to be the press’s no dickheads policy, not Australia’s. I may be wrong.
LikeLike
Fred, it’s not the Aussies who have a no dickheads policy.
Certain sections of the English media claimed that the All Blacks have a no dickheads policy, and because they were successful English cricket should follow their lead. As they all think KP is a dickhesd, then he should not play for England again. It’s an argument pushed by the media.
I was just pointing out that Warner is the type of character who would fall into the dickhead role. So he wouldn’t get picked by England. Trust is are big thing now.
LikeLike
Oh OK, I get it. as Rooto says, the ploicy you referred to was from the UK press.
The first time I heard of such a policy was from, I think, the Sydney Swans AFL team. I could be wrong because I don’t follow that sport much. I think I read it worked for them. personally I think it’s a load of tosh, no one watches sport to observe good behaviour, they watch it to observe excellence, and people escaping drudgery on our behalf. If people get out of hand, like I thibnk Starc did in BBN, they get pulled back quick enough.
But if you were talking about this policy in respect to the UK press, then perhaps another way of phrasing it would be the “no egotistical South Africans policy”. Broad, Swann, and le grand fromage et al didn’t seem any worse than him.
LikeLike
Absolutely. I’m not sure that the All Blacks do have a no dickheads policy anyway.
I didn’t make it very clear. It’s a bit of an in joke about the English media.
LikeLike
Mark,
Ok, our comments crossed I think.
All Blacks and no dickhead is an interesting question. They have such an unheralded spirit in their team, I don’t think they’re a useful model for anyone. Just like no one can really aspire to be Bradman, it’s just not possible. The white guys should look a bit silly doing the haka, but they don’t. I don’t think the All Blacks have a no dickhead policy, I think they just don’t know what a dickhead is.
Would England put up with Warner? Botham, Gower? I don’t know English cricket well enough to identify who were the odd ones that were rejected, but there must be some. Didn’t Boycott fall foul of the establishment for no good reason, other than his cussedness?
Maybe Stokes is soon going to test this standard for England.
Anyway, as I said before, I don’t care what they’re like, as long as they stay within a reasonable boundary, I just want to watch them play cricket.
LikeLike
currently 170-1 with Hales ticking nicely on 86 (I’ve just cursed it haven’t I…)
LikeLike
Well done Alex Hales! A lovely guy by all accounts.
LikeLike
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/940377.html
Talk of double standards or what!
LikeLike
I didn’t hear Wednesday’s stuff so can’t comment. Lots on here interpreted his remarks as the loss of primacy of test cricket. That raised eyebrows. Now it appears as if a genie is being stuffed back into a bottle.
But I need to catch up.
LikeLike
“The irony of Strauss’ words will not be lost on Kevin Pietersen. Not so long ago, Pietersen was shunned by the ECB after he expressed his desire to participate in the IPL and claimed rest periods would improve his long-term performance. Now Strauss is embracing the IPL and agreed that rest is necessary if the best players are going to enjoy prolonged careers in international cricket.
Pietersen remains a pariah, however, with Strauss confirming that England have “pretty much identified the group of players we want to work with in the short term.””.
WHAT.A.JOKE.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quote from director, comma today via ECB Twitter account:
“I can’t foresee any circumstances in which we would weaken our Test team in order to allow a player to play in the IPL or or any other franchise-based competition.
“This is about striking the right balance in the long-term between red and white-ball cricket and giving players greater opportunities to improve in both formats.”
Plenty of clarity there then.
LikeLike
283-5 in the end. Could have been a few more given the start but it’s hard to time the ball on these pitches (unless you’re Hafeez that is). It’s certainly something to bowl at, but I get the feeling we’re a bowler light. My firat reaction when the unchanged side was announced was ‘WTF’. Hope they prove me wrong.
LikeLike
““I can’t foresee any circumstances in which we would weaken our Test team in order to allow a player to play in the IPL or or any other franchise-based competition.”
No, I bet you can’t . Because it’s going to get jolly difficult to sell £80 test match tickets if the best/ most exciting players are not playing
Strauss confirming that England have “pretty much identified the group of players we want to work with in the short term.””.
So they are not picking on form then? You have to be pre selected, and identified (what ever that means) Probably you have been put through The Lions under Flower to make sure you are made of the right sort of material to work with. No dickheads need aply.
LikeLike
Just goes on to show that they remain clueless. May be even incompetent. If they can’t groom the cricketers for the future, the least they can do is enable them to cope up with the present. But, no “D,C” and others at ECB can’t get around to embracing the change.
Their best players will only become better by playing against others in different format and conditions and not by sticking to one format of the game that only gets played at Lords.
What I read here makes me think England are headed back to the future when they played the likes of Ealham, Alleyene as ODI specialists… Those were the days…
LikeLike
Pakistan 10/2 with Hafeez out for 0.
England really should win from here.
LikeLike
I put the curse on Hafeez!! Let’s see if we can finish the job.
LikeLike
A pearl of wisdom from You Know Who.
“Rashid googly more potent than his legbreak for short form, imo. maybe he should use as stock ball, as if off break bowler with doosra.”
LikeLike
39/3 after 15 overs. Puts Hales innings into some context.
He really should have opened in the test matches. I know its a different format and all, but he could not have done much worse than Ali. And we lost Ali’s lower order runs. I suppose the risk is Hales becomes mixed up about how to play the different forms.
LikeLike
Now 46-4, Malik gone.
LikeLike
50-5, Azhar gone, even we couldn’t cock this one up from here (famous last words)
LikeLike
50/5
That should be game over.
LikeLike
Bit of a fightback from NZ in Perth but of course still way behind in the game. 9/280 in the day’s play which doesn’t make Warner’s batting on Day One look any worse.
Khawaja’s done a hamstring and looks likely to be out for a while.
LikeLike