I haven’t been on here much in the past week. Basically I’ve had to take a very important decision in my personal life, and now it’s finalised, I can sort of concentrate on the blog again.
Providing that I give a stuff.
Sure, we’ve had the smoke blowing up the England team’s arses from the lot out there, and back at base, and while some of the big beasts are sitting this tournament out, there is still enough Farby to go round. A human energiser bunny, a man who could find the bright side out of a foggy day, Farby is doing the old ra-ra, and we’re supposed to be going loco with excitement. Straussy gets his props too, as the visionary who told England to stop being shit at limited overs cricket, and bob’s your father’s brother. Simples.
Tomorrow is a decent test, but as was shown today, anything can happen in T20. I won’t be watching as I’m still gainfully employed, but feel free to comment below – as you lot do!.
Thrilled at the reaction to the county cricket piece! Won’t be bothering with that again for a while!!!!!
In all seriousness, it has been a hell of a week. Blogging was the last thing on my mind. There were so many thoughts going through my head that I really paid no attention to much of anything outside of family and decision-making. I put those two posts up last Friday and it is interesting to see what gets the attention and what doesn’t. I hope people understand that I can’t do this as regularly as I maybe was one or two years ago, partly because the material is harder to come by, and because the enthusiasm for the main team I write about is at an all time low.
But we’ll struggle on. Have a good evening, and for those watching the cricket, enjoy!
Being Outside Cricket 
By Lovejoys, for Lovejoys..
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Flogging another betting company I see.
Nobody in English cricket can speak without flogging some tat or service. It’s like they’re all hucksters.
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Like I’ve said before old bean, your posting on this blog has been prodigious and exceptional for a blog. If you ease up you’ll only be coming down towards the level most bloggers achieve.
As for the T20, I shall be hopeful England can do a good job, whilst secretly wishing Chris Gayle turns it on.
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Agree on all counts!
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Many thanks Benny. You’ve said it a few times. I’ve always had the personal bits in my writing and they won’t stop.
Anyway. If you don’t get your fix here you could go to “must read” http://www.ecb.co.uk . More puff pieces than a blogger at the World Pipe Smokers Convention.
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Just like to echo Benny’s comments. Dmitri, you need not apologise for lack of content. It’s your blog site. You can write what you like, when you like.
Things will wind down now because the crazy cabal of snouts at the trough freeloaders have taken over English cricket. They have made it very clear England is a private club that does not pick on merit. The club exists for no other reason than to enrich it’s own chums. That model has won the day, and it seems a bunch of people are happy to support It. They chose to drive people away from cricket. Not us.
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Yep.
Perversely they thought that if England started winning that it (i.e. we) will all either go away or fall into line.
However, after victories in both the Ashes and away to the number 1 team South Africa, there was still an enormous majority in the online Telegraph poll wanting KP back in the team. They could win the T20 World Cup, the next 5 Cricket World Cups, all future series to zip… and it won’t change my mind or thousands of others’ minds.
A huge injustice has been done and it is not going away.
Atherton, Hussain, Marks, Vaughan (the supposed good guys), it is not ever going away. it is therefore time that you did your job and started addressing this and relentlessly questioning the ECB. Yes, started, instead of sweeping it under the carpet and pretending that it never happened.
It is a huge stain on your collective reputations.
I won’t hold my breath.
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Don’t.
They’ve “won”.
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They won the battle, but they lost the argument.
To win, they were forced into lies, distortions and broken promises. All pumped out by the most corrupt journalists in British sport. (at least football journos will dare to criticize the governing bodies of football. Not so cricket journos.)
I wear it as a badge of honour to be on the other side of these scum bags.
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The storm has passed. There has been some damage to the slums but they’ll be cleared away for the new people to take over.
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Proud to be on the outside, and will be forever more I guess! I may not watch cricket anymore, but at least I have my integrity to cherish!!
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I can’t say this at the Guardian, because I’ll be no-platformed.
But I genuinely couldn’t give a stuff about this match or this tournament, apart from (in the latter case) what it says about global governance.
Hope everyone else enjoys it.
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I’ve never wanted an England team to fail, but do admit it would be amusing to see them crash and burn in he format that the ECB wants to make dominant in our game. On a practical level England’s chances will to a large degree depend on how well they play spin – even part-time spin on turning wickets. Surely we don’t have that capability?
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I think they might do quite well. We’re pretty explosive, I think Rashid is our trump card, and think experience of India is overplayed. That’s three “thinks”. Do I care? Hmmmm.
Go corporate Team England. The counties depend on you.
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I think they might do quite well. We’re pretty explosive, I think Rashid is our trump card, and think experience of India is overplayed. That’s three “thinks”.
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The Pakistan v Bangladesh game has been surprisingly one sided so far with a fine top order performance from the Paks followed up with a good performance with the ball from an attack that has typical depth. Boom, Boom has succeeded with both bat and ball but has actually got away with a bit of filth.
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Pity the stadium seems half-empty.
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I thought Indians were supposed to like cricket?
If Pakistan vs Bangladesh had been played in England, it would have definitely sold out.
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Yeah, I’m surprised. There are enough exiled Bangladeshis who live the other side of the fence so to speak to fill the ground. Then again you never know how easy it has been to buy tickets and whether or not the locals will be bothered to see other teams.
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Seems to be partly down to it being a day game on a weekday (a few more people have turned up as the day’s gone on) and partly down to the complete hash made of the ticketing process by the organisers. Shame, because it’s been a pretty decent game.
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Its an early game on a weekday. People might still join in for the game later.
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Maybe it’s because Indian fans are parochial!
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England reasonably well placed here and they’ve promoted Buttler from the listed batting card. A good move I reckon.
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Windies looking good at 103-2 after 11. If Gayle stays they’ll make a mockery of our total. Bowling sounds like it’;s been a bit ragged at times. OOh 103-3, Ramdin out, Dwayne Bravo in.
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He is making a mockery of it. 146-4 after 14. Just hit 3 sixes off consecutive balls
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The acceleration England needed in the last 8 overs really didn’t happen. I never thought 182 would truly be enough unless Windies played some pretty poor cricket. The writing was on the wall fairly early in the chase in my opinion. Our bowling looks predictably well short of the class needed in this and I’m not entirely sure Roy is a smart enough player at this level.
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West Indies well placed here. 103/2, with Gayle in and well set after 11 overs, chasing 183.
And just as I type that Ali gets Ramdin with the first ball of the twelfth over. Still plenty of batting to come for the West Indies
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Think we were typing simultaneously!
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Nine wides now.
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Has anyone ever seen D’Arthez and SteveT in the same room simultaneously?
*raises eyebrows*
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. 4lb . — decent start to the fourteenth over by Moeen. Then Gayle clubs three sixes, so the West Indies only need a run a ball to get to victory.
If West Indies play sensibly here, they’ll win comfortably. England need some real magic. Can Jordan provide some?
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Not Straussy-Waussy or Farbsy-Warbsy?
Nasser has just been waxing about the importance of Gayle’s IPL experience without any sense of irony.
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These days I get the impression that cricket journalists (a few good ones excepted) don’t do irony, simply because they don’t remember anything that either did not happen in the last 5 minutes, or has not been part of their ECB-mandated brainwashing.
The only England player with a bit of IPL experience is Morgan. And he has had a few seasons in which he hardly got a game (no games in 2012 and 2014; and not that many in 2015). And his record there is rather mediocre (average in low 20s, SR of just 124) – many Indian domestic players have equal if not better records (eg. Suryakumar Yadav). So there is really not that much of an incentive to give Morgan a more or less guaranteed starting slot. Why waste a slot for an expensive foreigner, if you can give an Indian lad the spot, with better results?
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Chris Gayle 36 years old.
Kevin Pietersen 35 years old.
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Chris Gayle “The preparation has been really good, it’s all about practising then doing it in the middle. The dew played a part as well. After facing the first over I took a while to get back on strike, but Marlon helped ease the pressure. We wanted to stay ahead of the run-rate, pleased to finish the game and not leave it to anyone else. I was pumped today. Before I went out, Sulieman Benn said ‘entertain me’. The guys who play the IPL know it’s a good wicket so we knew we always had a chance to chase it down.”
Who’d want this sort of insight/approach?
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As this is effectively the last international cricket for most of the West Indies squad, the motivation level is pretty high.
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“a young side that no longer relies on the play-as-you-please types, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo. They are most obviously better off without them”.
Mike Selvey 4/5/15.
It takes something to make the WICB look smart – but Selvey manages it.
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Well, the thing is these days, Mike Selvey writes the truth – you just have to add a “not” to every sentence to make it appear.
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Let’s see.
“Not a young side that no longer relies on the play-as-you-please types, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo. They are most obviously not better off without them”.
Hallelujah! It works!
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Third fastest T20I century – behind Levi and FDP.
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Also third most sixes in a T20I innings – after Finch and Levi.
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The innings in full:
••46•••••4•11411661•1••6611641•••6661•46•611•11•
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Shahid Afriyie 36 years old,
Kevin Pietersen 35 years old.
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Afridi* lol
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Well, that was a shame.
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Trust made a lot of runs again.
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I wouldn’t worry men. Straussy’s building for the 2018 T20 WC as we speak.
Was it that 182 was too little or did we bowl a load of Mr Kiplings?
(Watches highlights on BBC website)
I’d say Mr Kiplings!!
Yorkers, base of off stump? Am I wrong?
How did the interviews go? Denial of reality from the captain? I ain’t gonna bother looking.
As SimonH says, well batted Mr Trust.
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I wouldn’t put it past Strauss to be preparing for the 2018 WC. If it doesn’t exist the ECB will invent it and invite, ooh, at least two other teams to contest it.
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According to “I played 3 test matches” Selvey, yorkers are not the panacea that everyone assumes.
He didn’t mention a good alternative, though.
They’re known as “The Saker Years” now.
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When do you think “the Saker years” will be available as a (small) box set from Sky?😉
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Well, it didn’t take long for all the pre-match hype about a competitive England to be exposed. Root claimed post-match that a score of 185 was “above par,” when apparently a par score for a T20 on this ground is 200. With our bowling, 220 would have been hard to defend.
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Yes I picked up on that. It’s that experience again. Gayle said that the W.I. felt ok chasing that total and that he’d seen 200 chased a few times at Mumbai, so they were confident.
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180 is the par score for IPL matches so I thought Root’s comment was fair.
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Yes. I agree. But that still does not take in to account outrageous individual talent. If only we had one of those.
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Don’t blush baby??????
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Didn’t watch the game, nor do I care too much for the result. The World T20 has been a farce from the start it, however I see the old ‘data’ argument has come out of the woodwork from the England camp.
I just wish there was a talented, experienced T20 pro with knowledge of local conditions that England could call on…oh wait..
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If Chris Gayle were English. … you know the rest.
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He’d have been hounded out years ago by the ECB and their sycophantic lapdog press?
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There are no vacancies…
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Progress, ECB style.
Overflowing with Smashie and Nicey trust.
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Who hasn’t missed Sam Peters?
A few other “usual suspects” have worked themselves up into an amusing dudgeon about that Pietersen comment.
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Silly man. I don’t know any serious cricket fan who has been discussing the match last night who necessarily felt that England had got an above par score – a competitive score but not one that would have been too much for either an on song Windies or one that should worry many of the better sides in the super 10 stage given England’s bowling line-up.
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Grounds aren’t half-empty just because of the late scheduling. This Twitterer Vipul has some great info on pricing, such as:
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He can be annoying sometimes but this by Jonathan Liew is the best bit of analysis of yesterday’s game that I’ve found:
” In the seventh over, Morgan introduced Rashid, who bowled Gayle a googly first up. Gayle picked it. He left it. He shot Rashid a little stare, so Rashid knew he had picked it. In the very next over, Rashid bowled Gayle a slider. Gayle hit it into the top of the stand. Rashid took a deep breath and bowled him a conventional leg-spinner. Gayle hit him again, in exactly the same place. And despite the fact that it was only the ninth over and the West Indies still needed more than 100, this felt like the pivotal moment: the West Indies’ best batsman taking apart England’s best bowler. Game over”.
Morgan should still have brought Rashid back though….
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Tag team BTL police:
westcorkthinktank 11h ago
“I only mention this because it seems quite a few guys on here seem to need to take themselves. their personal obsessions and cricket in general a bit less seriously and angrily.”
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http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/15/iccs-world-t20-plan-leaves-ireland-netherlands-and-co-as-mere-footnote#comment-70719190
Someone hold me back.
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I saw a tweet that compared KP commenting on England cricket to inviting Jimmy Savile to a kids party.
That one way anger, eh?
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I think this is the most nauseating post I’ve ever seen BTL at the Guardian – it beats all of wctt and DDB, and is rivalled only by culinaryarts’s preening about his email to the OBO where he called all the sceptics “nutjobs” in August 2012.
I have found “impertinent” and “misty-eyed cobblers” and am trying to locate “relentless churl”.
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NOC, I’ve replied with links to “impertinent” and “misty-eyed cobblers”.
Like yourself, I can’t remember where “relentless churl” cropped up except it was Selvey to Poetseye and was triggered by something Selvey wrote about Bell getting out to Steve Smith (Poet may have gone over the top in her comment – but her central point that certain favoured players don’t get written about like that was perfectly reasonable).
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Glad you got there first, to be honest!
Three’s a flurry of references to “relentless churl” on 17-18 April 2015 (e.g. on this site), and a few on BOC afterwards, but I can’t find anything on Guardian articles around that date. It’s also the wrong time for Steve Smith – Selvey’s pieces from around then are about the draw in Antigua and how Ben Stokes needs to grow up.
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I’ve saved it in case it is modded.
Wasn’t relentless churl on a tweet?
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I am bemused by wctt’s complaint that the Guardian’s area below the line is not a “safe place” for its vulnerable commentariat.
The same plea is currently being promulgated throughout campuses up and down the land, where highly vocal students are choking free speech on the grounds that the sensitive souls are entitled to be kept safe from ideas that might challenge, hurt or offend them. The idea need not be objectively offensive, just at odds with the nebulous world view felt by the complainers.
These students, and wctt in his way, in pushing so hard at the “no platform” concept, lack all self awareness and fail to recognise that their behaviour is not just intolerant, but usually disproportionately hateful towards those it criticises.
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This is precisely what the original complaint brought to mind. Yesterday I put those terms in inverted commas, but didn’t elaborate because I don’t want to stray on to politics. But that kind of intolerance actually scares me, as does the apparent pride and self-righteousness with which the “millennials” attempt to enforce it.
(Actually, twenty years ago we had a minor example at my university, when the film society wanted to show DW Griffith’s Birth of a Nation and the sabbatical officers vetoed it)
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In reply to Nonoxol (2:25pm)
Nick Cohen, with perfect timing, has just published this in The Spectator http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/03/idea-university-free-space-rather-safe-space-vanishing/
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Don’t want to get too involved in discussing today’s students and their precious safe places, but they should be at home hugging a teddy bear rather than in a place of learning.
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No platforming is cowardice. Any one of my critics is free to comment on here. They are free to protect their own positions. They choose not to for their own valid reasons.
Reading The Persuaders, a book about influencing people, there’s a nostalgic look at how debate was a social sporting occasion in Victorian times. Now it’s something to be scared of.
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“I only mention this because it seems quite a few boys in Lower 4B to need to think very carefully about their recent behaviour. We do not tolerate temper tantrums at St Grauniad’s. Let me remind you of our ancient motto Infra lineam nil nisi bonum – nothing but good below the line.”
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Oh no. We can’t have any dissent. Not a bit of it. There’s a line to take and we can’t go off it.
One mustn’t frighten the horses. We need safe spaces for really good debates we like.
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That gave me a good chuckle. Thanks, Zeph!
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I now really wish you hadn’t tagged that link. Sums up everything that is wrong with that rotten newspaper.
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Comfortable enough win in the end for SL but Afghanistan certainly not outclassed or disgraced.
Afghanistan really lost it in the first ten overs in their batting. Their seamers also slightly disappointed and there was some poor fielding (but some good stuff as well – Nabi’s run out of Kapugedera was brilliant). Their lower middle order batted well and their two main spinners were very good.
Herath and Chameera (best young paceman in the world after Rabada IMO) bowled well for the Lankans. There was some footage of Malinga in the nets and he didn’t look good – limping heavily and a bit overweight as well.
Can’t see either team beating WI or SA unless they get very lucky with the conditions. Their matches against England are tough to call.
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The crowd was poor again by the way (although those who were there were enthusiastic).
Afghanistan brought in a player, Karim Sadiq, who hadn’t played any of the matches last week. He batted No.4 and made nought (out to a horrible shot). He opened the bowling and was carted. I heard mention somewhere (and now can’t find it) that he is a relation of someone on the selection panel. Anyone know more about this?
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I always like to see Sri Lanka do well, but a win against a major team by Afghanistan would have done the heart good and banished cynicism for a week or two. The ICC must be relieved its plan to do away with the associates hasn’t been upset yet.
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It was definitely a match where I wanted both teams to win.
Sadly, that isn’t possible under the current rules (although Giles Clarke is working on it for future England vs. India games).
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