posted by
santos on
14.Jul.2009
1 Comment
A blog by santos:
a great Testmatch
England started with a dominant first innings to only then realise that it was a docile pitch and there were actually more runs available if the batsmen had applied themselves.
A great batting performance from the Aus top order with the only concern being the out of form Hussey. In truth England seemed to run out of options when North and Haddin came together and only dismissed Haddin when he was chasing quick runs at the end of the innings.
The surprise of the Test Match was the performance of the spinners from both teams.
England’s much touted spin twins of Panesar and Swann were suppose to put the Aus batting order in a spin and collected 1-246 between them. Whilst Hauritz who can’t bowl to save his life before the Match took 6-158.
Ponting’s choices at the end were found wanting and both captains lack the instinct and creativity of past leaders.
a question of balance?
Is it just me or does the England team lack balance in their make-up?
Invariably when teams go top heavy on the bowling department they usually come undone with the team balance and results are not there to justify the shift in the team make-up.
They have Prior batting at 6 who is capable of scoring runs in a hurry (as Gilchrist in the past) but more than that is required at 6. You have to also be able to stop a batting collapse if need be, adapt to the scoring rate required including increasing it when required. That is the job of a specialist Test Match batsman not a wicketkeeper who has enough on his plate with other duties. Prior should be free to do his thing at 7 let the top order do their job.
Also Bopara looks a good batsman but who should probably serve an apprenticeship at 6 and let the gritty Collingwood bat at 3 to relieve some pressure on the lower order.
KP is KP and he has to do his thing. Sometimes it won’t come off but more often than not it will. Players of his ilk like Gilly are game breakers and need the freedom to do their thing.
The bowling also seems to lack depth with Flintoff out of form. It was all too much up and down from the quicks with only Anderson in spurts offering real challenges for the Aus batting lineup.
Only one Test Match so far and it could all change in an instant.
Looking forward to Lords and what the home of cricket has to offer.
santos is an administrator of the forum “Silly Points”
and moderater of “tracing the songlines – Australia”
the Ashes
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posted by
©hinaman
on 13.Jul.2009
3 Comments
A blog by ©hinaman:
Wow,
what an end to a test match.
A glorious draw to remember -
no replays or bowl-outs or the toss of a coin necessary to settle who was better.
It can only be in Test cricket.
a heart torn in two
It was difficult, even more as a neutral observer, to watch the final overs.
Talk of heart being torn into two.
One part of me wanted Australians to get a deserved victory.
The other half wanted the efforts of Collingwood, (battered and bruised) Swann, Anderson and Panesar, not to be in vain.
It was a draw – I will happily take that.
And what a match.
What a start, the perfect, to this Ashes series.
Test Cricket wins the honours.
the Ashes
©hinaman
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posted by
andruid
on 26.Jun.2009
2 Comments
They say an ill wind blows no one any good, so when I woke up to see this splashed across the headlines of just several major cricket websites, I could not help but sense more than just a draft of bad vibes coming from the general direction of the ICC towards its associates and affiliates. The official stated reason was that they did not think that the approximately 250,000 dollars of its own money that Cricket Kenya had sunk into the project would suffice to make the tournament work. never mid that the ICC had yet to provide any fiscal assistance to the preparation for the event
For those of you who not keep an eye on youth cricket, the ICC’s next u19 World Cup is an event which the Interenational Cricket Council has traditionally hosted in its smaller members (Malaysia, and Nepal both hosting events) as well as showcasing the best u19 cricketers the world has to offer. The decision to shift the tournament to New Zealand, therefore seems on that level to act against the spirit of the tournament, as a vehicle to spread the cricket gospel far and wide. That the ICC having not previusly mentioned any indications that preparations were bad enough to warrant it, prior to making this decision (merely 8 months before the tournament was due to begin) is something that no cricketing body should have to suffer.
The last time the ICC created a tournament meant to raise money for developing the World Game They started the ICC trophy. But after two editions that mantra was dropped the tournament was renamed non-test teams were exculded and eventually we ended up with the farce now called The Champions Trophy. Here’s hoping logic trumps the lust for ‘bigger revenues’ that made that happen is kept out of the u19 World Cup.
With Canada, listed as hosts for the next u19 World Cup in 2012, starting to get cold feet over meeting the ICC’s shifting requirements the damage tthis decision could do to the confidence of the lesser lights in the ICC is already starting to show.
See andruid’s other blog
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