Official Cricket Thread

[harsha]

*this can be merged with the old thread when all the threads get back

until then

update from India

Ganguly looks set to make his comeback after scoring an 83 in a match where all the indian batsmen with the exception of Irfan Pathan(=batsmen :o ) failed against the South African Reserve side,i dunno how good that side is but i wouldn't rate that bowling a lot considering that Pathan got a 100 and 40 odd unbeaten runs... :D

right now the Indian press is too busy baying for Chappel's blood,funny how things can change in a couple of months....3-4 months ago,we were hailing Chappel/Dravid Combo as the saviours of Indian Cricket.....

anyway,the way i see it,India can only go up as they can't sink to lower depths than they have already........

[Viv]

Rest of SA is a decent side but if the batting fails like this then I'm afraid the test matches will be over in 4 days at most. I do think Ganguly will make a comeback but he has to avoid mistakes like the one in the second innings coz this is most definitely his last chance.

[555-04Q2]

Rest of SA is a decent side but if the batting fails like this then I'm afraid the test matches will be over in 4 days at most. I do think Ganguly will make a comeback but he has to avoid mistakes like the one in the second innings coz this is most definitely his last chance.

I actually rate our Rest Of South Africa side as a better outfit than our National team are.

[Viv]

I actually rate our Rest Of South Africa side as a better outfit than our National team are.

And why is that??consistency?

[Schultz]

I bet it has something to do with the quota system the South African's have. So they have a certain amount of black people in the national team.

[555-04Q2]

I bet it has something to do with the quota system the South African's have. So they have a certain amount of black people in the national team.

Yes and no. Ntini is one of the best players in South Africa so he belongs there for sure :up:

I have a problem though with guys like Telemacus and Prince as they are average players filling the colour quota :( Our politicians said we have to learn to be a nation of losers for a while until we can win again :s hock: Politics and sport are not good things to mix :down:

[555-04Q2]

And why is that??consistency?

Consistency is one thing, but also the players are younger generally and hungrier than the "top" guys who are "comfortable" with their positions in the top team.

We have a number of world class players who get poached by other countries before they get to our national and provincial setup due to poor player management relations. In short, we do not care about our assets in South African cricket.

Smith our captain should have been dropped ages ago and have to play his way back into the team but he is the love child of our selectors and hence he stays.

Incidently, Pollock is our most successful captain ever (bar the 2003 world cup fiasco) and he was given the boot because he was not the right person in the selectors eyes. He was thrown into the captaincy after the Hansie scandal and had a 70% win rate in ODI's. What more do our selectors want than that :?:

South African sport has always been about politics but after 1994 it has become a joke with winning no longer important to the politicians. Pre 1994 politicians got involved to ensure South African rugby and cricket teams were strong, today it is all about political will and using players as pawns in the greater scheme of things.

[Viv]

Consistency is one thing, but also the players are younger generally and hungrier than the "top" guys who are "comfortable" with their positions in the top team.

We have a number of world class players who get poached by other countries before they get to our national and provincial setup due to poor player management relations. In short, we do not care about our assets in South African cricket.
I know only Kevin Pieterson..can u tell me a few more names?


Smith our captain should have been dropped ages ago and have to play his way back into the team but he is the love child of our selectors and hence he stays.
Well Smith isn't playing well in the ODI's, except in that world record chase..and the last one dayer against us but I think he's done well in the Test matches, though I don't remember his recent record. I did feel that he should be dropped from the one day side...but I think he's good enough to retain his place in the test side.



Incidently, Pollock is our most successful captain ever (bar the 2003 world cup fiasco) and he was given the boot because he was not the right person in the selectors eyes. He was thrown into the captaincy after the Hansie scandal and had a 70% win rate in ODI's. What more do our selectors want than that :?:
I agree with you on this. The world cup was just a mistake and that shouldn't have cost Pollock the captaincy. I remember being angry that he was dropped, but, like u said the selectors(or politicians) probably wanted an excuse to fire him because of his support to Hansie even after that scandal, and hence put Smith as he was from a totally new era, even though he was not a regular in the side at that time.

[555-04Q2]

I know only Kevin Pieterson..can u tell me a few more names?


Well Smith isn't playing well in the ODI's, except in that world record chase..and the last one dayer against us but I think he's done well in the Test matches, though I don't remember his recent record. I did feel that he should be dropped from the one day side...but I think he's good enough to retain his place in the test side.


I agree with you on this. The world cup was just a mistake and that shouldn't have cost Pollock the captaincy. I remember being angry that he was dropped, but, like u said the selectors(or politicians) probably wanted an excuse to fire him because of his support to Hansie even after that scandal, and hence put Smith as he was from a totally new era, even though he was not a regular in the side at that time.

1. Andrew Strauss is another one playing for England. He's also a South African Boetjie. We have recently lost a few good club players to Australia. Dont know their names. Two years ago, one of my teammates (Ant) was drafted to play for an English County side and he may yet make it all the way to play for England some day. He is far better than Kevin Pietersen was at the same age.

2. Smiths average has plumeted from 46 odd to 35. He needs a kick up the backside and some time away from the first team and captaincy to concentrate on his game.

3. Yeah. Polly was the scapegoat for the South African Selectors. In order to save their jobs, they fired Polly and hired Smith for the job. Polly was treated like a second class citizen and a lot of fans (including myself) were not happy about the whole situation. Our new era needs a wake up call. Smith needs to start firing or we could end up with a new leader for the World Cup, or an opening bat/captain who is a liability.

[555-04Q2]

P.S. Viv, whats the story about Ganguly. I keep on hearing that he is on his way out of the team and captaincy :s hock: Is this true :?:

[Viv]

P.S. Viv, whats the story about Ganguly. I keep on hearing that he is on his way out of the team and captaincy :s hock: Is this true

On his way out??Nope..he just made his way back into the team :p : They kicked him out of the team(and captaincy) 9 months ago after his infamous disclosure of his 'chat' with Greg Chappel who said Ganguly should step down from captaincy during the tour of Zimbabwe. To be fair to the selectors Ganguly wasn't performing well with the bat at that time(for quite some time). But the time they actually took him out in the Pakistan tour(when the disclosure incident took place) he scored runs in tough situations..both innings he scored(only about 35-40 in each innings but many din't even do that. Plus he did get a century in a test in Zombabwe even if it was very slow). Instead the selectors said they wanted to give youngsters the chance..so they made him the scapegoat eventhough those 'youngsters' weren't doing well themselves :mad:
Finally they had no option but to select him coz he's doing well in the domestic league while the 'youngsters' are failing miserably.
Aaaaand Ganguly scored 83 in the match against rest of SA :D .but I suppose u know that :p :

[Viv]

Smiths average has plumeted from 46 odd to 35. He needs a kick up the backside and some time away from the first team and captaincy to concentrate on his game.
Maybe they can just take his captaincy off first n see if his batting form improves..else they can give him a kick in the backside..like u said.


Yeah. Polly was the scapegoat for the South African Selectors. In order to save their jobs, they fired Polly and hired Smith for the job. Polly was treated like a second class citizen and a lot of fans (including myself) were not happy about the whole situation. Our new era needs a wake up call. Smith needs to start firing or we could end up with a new leader for the World Cup, or an opening bat/captain who is a liability.
Maybe your selectors need to be fired first :p : btw..are the selectors the same ones who behaved like irrational fools with Polly??

[555-04Q2]

On his way out??Nope..he just made his way back into the team :p : They kicked him out of the team(and captaincy) 9 months ago after his infamous disclosure of his 'chat' with Greg Chappel who said Ganguly should step down from captaincy during the tour of Zimbabwe. To be fair to the selectors Ganguly wasn't performing well with the bat at that time(for quite some time). But the time they actually took him out in the Pakistan tour(when the disclosure incident took place) he scored runs in tough situations..both innings he scored(only about 35-40 in each innings but many din't even do that. Plus he did get a century in a test in Zombabwe even if it was very slow). Instead the selectors said they wanted to give youngsters the chance..so they made him the scapegoat eventhough those 'youngsters' weren't doing well themselves :mad:
Finally they had no option but to select him coz he's doing well in the domestic league while the 'youngsters' are failing miserably.
Aaaaand Ganguly scored 83 in the match against rest of SA :D .but I suppose u know that :p :


Thanks for clearing that up for me mate :up:

[555-04Q2]

Maybe they can just take his captaincy off first n see if his batting form improves..else they can give him a kick in the backside..like u said.


Maybe your selectors need to be fired first :p : btw..are the selectors the same ones who behaved like irrational fools with Polly??

1. Smith needs a wake up call if anything. He is arrogant and abrupt. Politics and poor selectors got him into his captaincy position. Maybe taking the captaincy away for a while will wake him up and/or get him to concentrate on his batting. He needs to come right though considering the world cup is just around the corner.

2. Our selectors are a bunch of idiots. There are some new selectors since the Polly fiasco but there are still too many idiots pulling the strings and the selectors are the puppets.

To be honest, with all the political meddling and union favouritism in our sport, I am amazed that we do as well as we do. If our sportsmen were not chased away to other countries and our selectors and coaches stopped their childish games and the politicians went back to parlament and worried about running our country properly instead of spoiling our sports teams, we would be a major force in world sport. This will shock the Australians but we have better sportsmen than the Australians do accross the board but they are far superior to us and most countries when it comes to sport. Its all down to grassroots level training, to player management and wellbeing to politicians meddling in things they shouldn't that has thwarted our sporting assault on the world stage.

The cricket world cup in '92, winning the rugby world cup in 95, winning the African Cup of Nations in '96, Atlanta '94 was a sign of our strength in world sport. Sadly, the good days are gone. Politicians are here.

Sadly, we are just another average sporting country at the moment.

[Viv]

1. Smith needs a wake up call if anything. He is arrogant and abrupt. Politics and poor selectors got him into his captaincy position. Maybe taking the captaincy away for a while will wake him up and/or get him to concentrate on his batting. He needs to come right though considering the world cup is just around the corner.
My knowledge about Smith is limited.If he's arrogant then maybe he does need a kick. I think getting to such a position without having achieved anything is he cause of his arrogance n a reminder of the other end(removal from team) will act as a catalyst for him. He does need to fire coz I think he is a good player and can contribute a lot for South African cricket.



To be honest, with all the political meddling and union favouritism in our sport, I am amazed that we do as well as we do. If our sportsmen were not chased away to other countries and our selectors and coaches stopped their childish games and the politicians went back to parlament and worried about running our country properly instead of spoiling our sports teams, we would be a major force in world sport. This will shock the Australians but we have better sportsmen than the Australians do accross the board but they are far superior to us and most countries when it comes to sport. Its all down to grassroots level training, to player management and wellbeing to politicians meddling in things they shouldn't that has thwarted our sporting assault on the world stage.

The cricket world cup in '92, winning the rugby world cup in 95, winning the African Cup of Nations in '96, Atlanta '94 was a sign of our strength in world sport. Sadly, the good days are gone. Politicians are here.
I dunno about other sports but in cricket atleast I thought SA was the team to beat until a few years ago..atleast in the Cronje era. Cronje, inspite of all his faults, was a brilliant captain n I'd have voted him as the best captain on any day..against anyone at that time, including Steve Waugh.


Sadly, we are just another average sporting country at the moment.
Sadly the apartheid policy seems to have left a scar..in the form of favouritism :(
But it's the case in Indian sports too. There is favouritism while picking teams..especially cricket, the other sports seem to be a little better off. The new players coming up are very often from the zone of the selectors. Other sports are neglected at the cost of cricket n politics keeps us from achieving our potential even in the one game which has suficient sponsors. Had they invested half as much in other sports we'd have had more than 1 medal(for 1 billion people) in prestigious events like the olympics.

[Storm]

India v RSA today at the Wanderers....a big test for our over-paid prima donnas if there ever was one..whats happening though anyone who is near a TV ?
BBC Sport says start of test delayed....rains?

[555-04Q2]

India v RSA today at the Wanderers....a big test for our over-paid prima donnas if there ever was one..whats happening though anyone who is near a TV ?
BBC Sport says start of test delayed....rains?

Unfortunately I am going to miss the entire days play today and tomorrow :( Will be in front of the TV on Sunday though :) Will try and get the score for you from the radio. Give me a minute.

[555-04Q2]

There seems to have been a delay in play. Only been 30 minutes of play and India are 7 for 1 :(

[555-04Q2]

India now 15 for 2 :s hock: Does not look good :(

[Storm]

:s

[harsha]

well,why was the start of the game delayed...one possible reason was that the curator saw some cracks and decided to apply some "damp resin" to bind the cracks together...surely not afraid of Anil Kumble :p :

[555-04Q2]

Probably a rain delay. We have had rain every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the last 7 weeks which does not bode well for this Test Match :(

[harsha]

nope not rain,it didn't rain the previous day,the curator himself admitted that he took the decision to apply the resin thereby causing the wet patches on the pitch... :s ,why are the south african's afraid of spinners so much???? esp in tests,in one dayers,they play them decently but not in tests....

[555-04Q2]

Because we never play against spinners in our country. We have one thousand seamers to every spinner. Our pitches are to blame. Would be spinners realise they need to become seamers to get wickets on our pitches.

[harsha]

When other countries have brilliant spinners(excluding the sub continent) but look at NZ,England(to some extent),Australia....,what's the matter with the Proteas??

When will they realise that the only thing stopping them from really challenging the Aussies and the sub continental teams(in their back yard) is a good spinner(not a Warne,but maybe some one like Harbhajan,Vettori etc)

[555-04Q2]

Exactly :up: Our Cricket Board should be funding a clinic to find young potential spinners, train them to become world class spinners and give them an extended run in top flight matches to hone their craft. But this is not happening ( not on a big enough scale anyway ) to our detriment :( A Shane Warne we need but cannot find :down:

[Storm]

36/2 in 21 overs....slow but then I will take it versus 55/5 anyday.
Hopefully a consolidation job underway and for once bloody Tendulkar show us why you are idolised when you actually do nothing?

[555-04Q2]

Hopefully a consolidation job underway and for once bloody Tendulkar show us why you are idolised when you actually do nothing?

I was looking at his record the other day. I was shocked at the number of runs, half centuries and centuries he has amassed. He is definetely the secong greatest batsmen of all time after Sir Donald Bradman. I hop we get to see some of his class.

[555-04Q2]

Dravid just scored a boundary and goes on to 12. India 52/2.

[Storm]

73-2 (32.4 overs) post lunch session.
Tendulkar on 39 and Dravid on 16....fingers crossed that they carry on batting till I reach home (which is about 1 hr more , damn the traffic :) )

Bye 555 and have a good week-end and watch some cricket (hopefully you get to see the Indian batsmen showing their class rather than the much know English trait of collapsing) ;)

[555-04Q2]

Bye 555 and have a good week-end and watch some cricket (hopefully you get to see the Indian batsmen showing their class rather than the much know English trait of collapsing) ;)

Cheers Storm. Will enjoy the cricket on Sunday :)

[555-04Q2]

Tendulkar out for 44 !!!

[555-04Q2]

Forgot the score of 83/3.

Kallis goes onto 200 wickets.

[Viv]

Laxman gone at the fag end of the day :(
Atleast Ganguly's there..hope he does well...

[555-04Q2]

Looks like we have been taking tips from the English Cricket Team :( India will go 1 : 0 up in this series today :s hock:

[Schultz]

Laxman gone at the fag end of the day :(
Atleast Ganguly's there..hope he does well...

That's a name I haven't heard for a while...

[Storm]

VVS Laxman and Ganguly! Welcome back :up:

It could be a very interesting day today with SA 165/5 chasing 402 to win.
We should win but then Pollock and Boucher are still there..sure to be a result as 2 full days left. A very good game of test cricket I thought..some superb bowling by the Indian pacers and some good batting by 1 or 2 of them.

Graeme Smith and Gibbs...what were you thinking?

Scores so far:

India 249
SA 84 :eek:
India 236 - Target 402.
SA 165/5

[Storm]

Day 4 underway and bye bye Boucher

RSA 168-6

[oily oaf]

Day 4 underway and bye bye Boucher

RSA 168-6

Oh dear.
How sad.
Never mind :wave:

[Storm]

lol oily

264/9

almost there :)

Kumble is on a roll with the last 3 wickets with the old ball..As expected Pollock did put up a good fight.

[Viv]

Finally.. A win in South Africa :D

[Valve Bounce]

lol oily

264/9

almost there :)

Kumble is on a roll with the last 3 wickets with the old ball..As expected Pollock did put up a good fight.

Sounds like Kumble is on a rumble. :p :

[555-04Q2]

We suck at Test Cricket :( :down:

Good play from India :up:

[Storm]

:D :D :up: :up:

This is sweet. A first ever Test match win on South African soil.
That too after the spineless performances in one-dayers losing 4-0... this is incredible stuff. Anyways we all know test match cricket is the real deal not the idiotic 20/20 or whatever.

[Storm]

Lets see if we can carry this into the Durban test on Boxing day. S Sreesanth was the Man of the Match with 8 wickets. Well done!

[harsha]

:D :D :D :D .....finally,gr8 performance from Sreeshanth,let's hope india can clinch it at Durban

[harsha]

Round 2 Durban,India Vs South Africa starts today,and this will be a much more interesting test match than that damn ashes :p :

Let's hope for a brilliant match after SA was embarassed by the Indians in the first match....

[Bebee]

Yay!! :D I'm so happy.... :D The next thing that needs to be done is to get Irfan back in form and on the team. :p : :D

When I got back from Melbourne, I heard India totally slaughtered them in the first Test. :D

Anyway, things in Melbourne aren't too bad either...

[Storm]

SA won in Durban to level the series and now the 3rd test is evenly poised after day 2.

India 414 all out
SA 144/1

The pitch is quite benign in Cape Town so SA has a very good chance to make a big score here. India were 390/5 but the tailenders lost the plot.

[Bebee]

Oooooh.... Sounds like some Indian batsmen scored runs! :D

And the best thing of all... there's actually a contest at Newlands unlike what's been happening this summer in Australia. :rolleyes:

[oily oaf]

Oooooh.... Sounds like some Indian batsmen scored runs! :D

And the best thing of all... there's actually a contest at Newlands unlike what's been happening this summer in Australia. :rolleyes:

Now come on be fair I thought some of our coin tossing to be absolutely first class and the way the England batsman have covered the distance from pavillion to crease and back again has been nothing short of Olympian in it's rapidity :s mokin:

[Bebee]

:laugh:

But that's like only five minutes from a whole day's worth of cricket coverage. I'm not that arsed to be sitting through the boring bits for that! ;) :p :

[ShiftingGears]

Warne top scored for Australia by hitting 71. Some tense moments when he was on 49 I can tell you, I thought he was gonna try and slog it and get caught like when he got 99! Very good partnership between Warne and Clark, and it looks like we could wrap up the test on day 4 at this rate.

[Storm]

South Africa 206/3 (71.0 overs) Lunch on Day 3.

[Bebee]

Warne top scored for Australia by hitting 71. Some tense moments when he was on 49 I can tell you, I thought he was gonna try and slog it and get caught like when he got 99! Very good partnership between Warne and Clark, and it looks like we could wrap up the test on day 4 at this rate.

Did you get lost while wondering around here, or you just missed us that much? ;)

At least he's going out on a positive note. :)

As for the score, isn't England still trailing by a few?

[Viv]

281/6 SA. Keep going India :D

[Storm]

Niiiice. Get them out by 350!

[Bebee]

Unfortunately, that looks to be unlikely. Score is 326/6 with Boucher on 34 and Pollock on 18. Unless... if their tail's as equally hopeless as India's. :D

[Viv]

373..too bad..India had a chance to get them for far lesses. Draw mostly, unless the Indians again prove that they cannot last a day in crunch situations

[Storm]

373 is a bit too much but Bebee their tail as indeed as bad! Just that their tail is shorter...but they went from 370/6 to 373 all out :)
lead of 41 is not that bad either.

[Viv]

A lead of 41 is not bad but the scores of the first innings plus the fact that there isn't much play remaining that makes me think this match will head for a draw, unless the pitch breaks.

[Storm]

What started out so well ended in something too familiar.

2-1 series loss to SA :(

[555-04Q2]

What started out so well ended in something too familiar.

2-1 series loss to SA :(

To be totally honest, I am surprised that we beat you guys. We have not played well for a year now and are still only playing at 70% of what we were 12 months ago :(

[Valve Bounce]

To be totally honest, I am surprised that we beat you guys. We have not played well for a year now and are still only playing at 70% of what we were 12 months ago :(


Well, you could try to re-patriate Pietersen :p :

[Valve Bounce]

Watched the game last night - what a thumping time it was. The high point of the game for the Aussi spectators was Pietersen dropping Cameron White in the last over, for which Pietersen got a standing ovation from his adoring fans when he went back to the outfield.

For those who didn't watch it and want more detalis, I'm sure they can read all about it on the Baggy Green website.

[Rollo]

Just a little interesting type fact from Aggers on the radio last night. Of the 11 games of Twenty20 played in Australia, the side batting first has always won.

I would like to see the results for all matches played and see whether this bias rings true.

[harsha]

Australians decimated England yesterday,well it's the same old indian story,dominate the whole match and lose it in the session that really counts :(

[Valve Bounce]

Just a little interesting type fact from Aggers on the radio last night. Of the 11 games of Twenty20 played in Australia, the side batting first has always won.

I would like to see the results for all matches played and see whether this bias rings true.

Look!! to be perfectly honest, with the rabble that lined up for the Poms it wouldn't have mattered if they batted first or last - they would have been thrashed either way.

I really felt sorry for Anderson - one of our openers slammed the ball and it narrowly missed his head :eek: ; he ducked just in time. He looked shell shocked, and bowled as if he just wanted to live after that.

[Valve Bounce]

............and for those who missed it on th etelly, here's something from Foxtell internet: http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/scp_v3/viewer/index.php?pid=16471&rn=248153&cl=1637144&ch=248154

[Storm]

20/Twenty or 20/20 or pro20 whatever the hell it is being called this morning is rubbish!

[Valve Bounce]

20/Twenty or 20/20 or pro20 whatever the hell it is being called this morning is rubbish!


Not that I totally agree, but 20/20 is popular with the fans, and anything that will bring fans to watch cricket cannot be all bad.

I feel that as a prelude to all test matches, a 20/20 game is a good warm up for both sides to at least have an opportunity to enjoy the light hearted side of the game before things become deadly serious.

[Storm]

A 20/20 game once in a while is perhaps fine, but one in every one-day series (which are too many as well) and now even a world championship of it is too much as in any real sense this type of game is not a game at all, totally one-sided (in favour of the bat) which for sports fans like me is a disgrace as we want to see a proper battle between bat and ball.

But like you say VB perhaps people like me are in the minority and hence we are slowly switching away from watching cricket. (except Test match cricket :p : )

[SEATFreak]

Doesn't matter what it is. Whether it is 20/20, a ODI or a Test Series, frankly, like most sports played there, any cricket match against the Aussies in that glorified sun trap they inhabit is the worst hellish nightmare you can imagine and a totally meaningless no-contest considering they will win every time before it starts.

A man living in the North East was even so sure Australia will beat us 5-0 he even bet on it.

Yet it is one we can so easily drop all and walk away from at the drop of a hat. So I don't know what the disgrace to International cricket that our so-called "cricketers" have become are waiting for.

[Rollo]

Just a little interesting type fact from Aggers on the radio last night. Of the 11 games of Twenty20 played in Australia, the side batting first has always won.

I would like to see the results for all matches played and see whether this bias rings true.

Make that a neat dozen. Tasmania have beaten NSW in tonights fixture at Stadium Australia and like everyone else batted first.

Bias continues.

[Valve Bounce]

A 20/20 game once in a while is perhaps fine, but one in every one-day series (which are too many as well) and now even a world championship of it is too much as in any real sense this type of game is not a game at all, totally one-sided (in favour of the bat) which for sports fans like me is a disgrace as we want to see a proper battle between bat and ball.

But like you say VB perhaps people like me are in the minority and hence we are slowly switching away from watching cricket. (except Test match cricket :p : )

Let's not get carried away with this 20/20 thing. I said that it would be worthwhile as a fun thing before a test series. However, if we have cricketers play too many different series, they will be playing too often, and injuries will be very common. I think Gilchrist said something about playing too much cricket in this context.

I firmly believe that a test series is the ultimate test of cricketing greatness.

[stevie_gerrard]

20/20 is a good game to have once in a while, its a chance for the fans to see some entertainment, and it doesnt last long either :)

England were pretty poor, but i dont think that it will reflect our performances in the one dayers, i think we can put up something of a fight

[Valve Bounce]

England were pretty poor, but i dont think that it will reflect our performances in the one dayers, i think we can put up something of a fight

Luckily, the Kiwis are in the triangular series also, so there is hope for the Poms. :p :

[Ranger]

England's hopes of winning anything this series took a blow tonight - Kevin Pietersen is out of the series with a fractured rib! :s hock:

Shame, he's the best batsman in their current team by far.

[Valve Bounce]

I think the interest in this series has just about evaporated with the departure of Pietersen. I was just going to write a fairly long post about why I think Kevin should be captain, but now that's gone too. :(

[stevie_gerrard]

:( :( :( I hate Australia :p :

[Valve Bounce]

:( :( :( I hate Australia :p :

So does Sheik Hilali. :D

[Valve Bounce]

Kiwis are history. I don't think there will be much of a competiton this year. :(

[Ranger]

Nice hat trick, but not much in the grand scheme of things.

[stevie_gerrard]

Congratulations to Australia for winning the Commenwealth Bank Tri-Series, well deserved victory :(

[Valve Bounce]

Nice hat trick, but not much in the grand scheme of things.

Yeah! the guy looked so happy. Having Symonds and White at the lower middle order was just awesome. The Aussis have such depth that they can afford to bat steadily in the middle part of the innings and then go for the bash towards the end.

[millencolin]

So does Sheik Hilali. :D

that has to be the best call ive seen all week

[Valve Bounce]

One of the cricketers yesterday hit a six into the stands. There was this guy talking on his mobile phone, he switched hands to hold the phone in his left hand, continued his conversation on his cellphone, then made a one handed catch with his right hand.

I hope Kevin Pietersen saw the catch and learned something.

Maybe Duncan should lend Kevin his mobile phone when he is fielding. :p :

[Storm]

Indian team declared for one-day series vs Windies and Sehwag and Pathan are not in it .Finally the selectors are growing a spine? Oh and yes Ganguly is in ;)

[Valve Bounce]

Indian team declared for one-day series vs Windies and Sehwag and Pathan are not in it .Finally the selectors are growing a spine? Oh and yes Ganguly is in ;)
They are putting Ganguly in just to irritate Greg :p :

[Valve Bounce]

Kiwis got rolled with one ball to go. Now the Poms can celebrate with their win, and maybe they will get another MBE for their efforts. :p :

[stevie_gerrard]

Hey, they arent gonna get an MBE for their ridiculous and shameful efforts..........................
























Maybe a Knighthood :p :

Congratulations to Sir Duncan Fletcher for his Lackful contribution to cricket :p : and the england team for winning the one dayers ;) :p :

[harsha]

Herschelle Gibbs was suspended for two matches for alleged racial comments against pakistani spectators.... :(

[harsha]

Greg Chappel gets assaulted by a man in Bubeneshwar Airport,The Man assaulted Greg in order to protest against the non inclusion of players from the state of Orissa in the World Cup Team...how stupid can you get?,Greg has very little role to play in the Selection Process...

this is a travesty............ :(

[Storm]

There are a lot of stupid people in our country :(

On a happier note, India v Windies in Nagpur yesterday
India 338/3
WI 320+/7 odd....
Ganguly 98 back with a bang to the 1-day squad as well

[Valve Bounce]

Greg Chappel gets assaulted by a man in Bubeneshwar Airport,The Man assaulted Greg in order to protest against the non inclusion of players from the state of Orissa in the World Cup Team...how stupid can you get?,Greg has very little role to play in the Selection Process...

this is a travesty............ :(

Well, he never shoulda done that underarm thing. :D

[Camelopard]

Well, he never shoulda done that underarm thing. :D

make one little teeny weeny mistake and pay for it for the rest of your life!! :p :

[Bebee]

Yay... India won! :D Still, a little too flukey though.

Storm, is the coverage on DD?

[Schultz]

Well, he never shoulda done that underarm thing. :D

That was Trevor wasn't it? :confused:

[Storm]

Schu, Yeah but Greg asked him to do it :p :

Bebee, its not yet on DD...Nimbus got the rights and apparently want DD to show it delayed by 15mins which DD doesnt like so the govt is stepping in.
:dozey:

See if you do get Neo Sports which is the Nimbus channel.
I really don't like when these Zee/Neo/Sony etc get cricket coverage....too many ads, pathetic commentary and such.
Star and ESPN has the only decent coverage.

[Bebee]

Star and ESPN have good coverage. :) The problem is that I don't get Star or ESPN for free. :p : Meanwhile, I pick up DD for free (and yes, I don't like the obscene amount of ads they have, but at least they're not charging me to watch it). On the other hand, Zee not only charge Aus/NZ viewers for their channels, they expect viewers to pay an additional $100 for the cricket coverage (if cricket's being played in India) and they show even more ads than DD. Greedy Zee dickheads!

Anyway, have to try to get Neo Sports...

Australia vs NZ on Sunday at the WACA, I have tickets but considering how one-sided the match will be, I think I'm going to give it to my Dad.

[Valve Bounce]

That was Trevor wasn't it? :confused:

And who instructed little brother Trev to bowl underarm? ?

[harsha]

well it is being broadcast on DD with a seven minute delay,if only espn star had won the contract,they cover the sports pretty well,

[stevie_gerrard]

India struggling a bit today, West Indies have been bowling a good line, they just need amother great batting performance then it looks like it will be 1-1 in the series.

England yesterday were absolutely shocking with the bat, but the bowling is a lot better, so i expect if we can fix our batting problems, so we have both a good batting and bowling performance in the same game, we can make a half decent challenge at the world cup :) :p :

[harsha]

india spared the humilitation of being bowled out below 100 by an excellent innings by Dinesh Karthik and Ajit Agarkar....they got them to a below par total of 189 :s

[Valve Bounce]

Strange nobody is talking about the thrashing the Kiwis gave to the Poms.

[Storm]

India struggling a bit today, West Indies have been bowling a good line, they just need amother great batting performance then it looks like it will be 1-1 in the series.



It did look that way for a while but India managed to pull off a great win last night! Windies bowled out in 48 overs for 160 odd. 2-0 lead !

[harsha]

yeah,although the windies should have won that match...Chanderpaul seems to have only two modes,attack or defense,he doesn't seem to have the one mode in between...

Magnificient Innings by Karthik in the context of the match though,well deserved man of the match for him :up:

[Bebee]

Doh! I missed it! :(

When's the next match and what time's it on?

[stevie_gerrard]

Strange nobody is talking about the thrashing the Kiwis gave to the Poms.

erm i think i did mention it just before you had to boast :p :

[Valve Bounce]

England yesterday were absolutely shocking with the bat, but the bowling is a lot better, so i expect if we can fix our batting problems, so we have both a good batting and bowling performance in the same game, we can make a half decent challenge at the world cup :) :p :


I don't think this translates into an absolute thrashing by the Kiwis in anybody's imagination. It sounds more like an iffy buttwe but never mindwe digression of a projected hoped for performance in the World Cup that never ain't never going to ever happen.

[Valve Bounce]

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/engine/match/249234.html

[oily oaf]

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/engine/match/249234.html

Sorry mate I'll try and read that when the tears of laughter have cleared from my eyes ;)

(returns to Australian citizenship form)

[harsha]

Bebee-the match is scheduled for tomorrow and i think it's a Day -Nighter.....the younger players have been given a go with Yuvraj and Anil Kumble returning to the side :up: ,and Pathan might be given a bowl in the 4th match in Baroda... :down: :p :

[stevie_gerrard]

I don't think this translates into an absolute thrashing by the Kiwis in anybody's imagination. It sounds more like an iffy buttwe but never mindwe digression of a projected hoped for performance in the World Cup that never ain't never going to ever happen.

well i do apologise Valve, what i meant was it has been a disasterous series (not helped by today :mad: ) But there is some hope that we may see the good bowling (on a number of occasions) and the good batting (on the one occasion) put together and give us something to cheer about in the world cup.

One can hope, cant they Valve? :p :

[Valve Bounce]

well i do apologise Valve, what i meant was it has been a disasterous series (not helped by today :mad: ) But there is some hope that we may see the good bowling (on a number of occasions) and the good batting (on the one occasion) put together and give us something to cheer about in the world cup.

One can hope, cant they Valve? :p :
"It stunk of a team that has as little pride as it does character, of a group of professional sportsmen as bereft of skill as they are drained of confidence, and of a unit that is counting the minutes until it can fly home. "



I don't think so. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21123856-5001505,00.html

[Valve Bounce]

OMIGOD I just read the report ( I am in Vail) and I just cannot believe what I read. I go to Mid Vail for coffee and there is a POM who makes the Long Black for us, and I just don't have the heart to tell him what happened. This is just encroyable.

[harsha]

This will be tough to take although the English Cricket Fans might have gotten used to this by now :p :

[Valve Bounce]

Maybe they should hold a collective gathering outside Buckingham Palace, and throw their MBE's back over the palace wall.

(Apologies to Shane Warne). :p :

[SEATFreak]

I see the wider picture of both the Ashes and the Triangular Series' and I have to say both England AND Australia are guilty of bringing the two competitions into shame and total farce.

We all know England because of how bad they were. And the only solution (so atleast us "poms" have a solution to our problem) to not just English cricket but English sport is to find a Brian Clough figure, in Rugby and Cricket especilly, to give the most fierce tongue lashing possible and to kick all those ressponsible into which ever sewer they came from.

But let us not forget A******ia. A******ia because of how unbeatably good they now are. We might as well forgo the rounds in the World Cup and go straight to handing over yet another cup into their hands in yet another monotinous trophy ceremony involving A*******ia. Because you just cannot see how A******ia will ever loose at anything again.

It is a depressing future we have because of them.

[Valve Bounce]

Maybe we could lend the Poms a few players like Jacques, Hodge, Boof, .......

and even resurrect Bevan out of retirement to give them a few clues. Maybe somebody else can think of something.

[harsha]

England's performances were disgraceful,Even Bangladesh can give them a run for their money :(
funny how a team can go all downhill after beating the Aussies in the last ashes series not so long ago

[SEATFreak]

Maybe we could lend the Poms a few players like Jacques, Hodge, Boof, .......

and even resurrect Bevan out of retirement to give them a few clues. Maybe somebody else can think of something.

I have someone who, better yet, is not only English, but because he isn't an A***ie also means you not only beat us at every f*****g thing but also have privelage of showing us how to play sport properly. And that is one of the most famous names in English Cricket....W G Grace.

If we dug him up he would do more than that pathetic bunch of sh1te losers I am ashamed to call not only English but also Cricketers!!

[stevie_gerrard]

Bring Darren Gough back, thats the answer. he was maybe not the best England international ever, but not only is he alive, hes actually very good in the one dayers, didnt he hit half centuries in the limited cricket for the pro40's sometime last year? he is a good bowler and more handy with the bat than Tremlett, Plunkett and Lewis put together!!

[Storm]

Bad performance by the Indian middle order to go from 230/3 to 268 all out when a 350 total was possible.
On the other hand saw in the news the whacking Oz gave England yet again.

Last evening was bored so watched a bit of NZ vs Oz....NZ was 199/5 chasing an impossible 345 or something and Jacob Oram played a fantastic knock! I didn't watch it after the rain interruption (by which time Oram had hammered Clarke and McGrath for massive sixes) but read in the papers that the Kiwis lost by just 8 runs! Oh well :(

Maybe England can learn something from the Kiwis...always a team which perhaps lacks a bit of talent but never lacks determination or fight.

[harsha]

yeah! that was a top rate knock,but the only thing that can stop the australians from winning the world cup is themselves i'm afraid :(

[Valve Bounce]

Poms rolled by Kiwis :http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/engine/match/249238.html

Better start packing Duncan.

[harsha]

Indians win the 4th one dayer to win the series 3-1....do hope they can carry this momentum to the World cup...

Sachin a 100 of 72 balls and Dhoni 40 of 20 allowed India to post a total of 342 and the West Indies capitulated for 181 all out,good knocks by Ganguly
and a rather sedate innings by dravid each scoring half centuries......
Also on a slightly off note,i do hope we get much better coverage than what we are getting at DD...Seems like Nimbus has decided not to even show clippings of the shot's played earlier :mark:

[Storm]

On top of that my cable guy has decided to actually replace Neo/Nimbus with DD coverage :s
Might check tonight if there are any highlights as the whole match took place while I was in office, but considering its DD we are talking about, no chance of it I would think..

[stevie_gerrard]

another loss for the english, but it was nice to see Nixon attacking, shame it came a bit too late :p :

It is simply not good enough to have 3 or 4 players making half decent scores, we need it to be more 6 or 7 making decent scores, then we could post a total like 320 to defend, or even to win.

bring on the aussies i say :p :

[harsha]

i wouldn't blame your cable guy Storm,Nimbus are charging 60 Rupees for that package which we won't even see unless there are cricket matches....And the highlights not coming is basically down to Nimbus editing the feed before giving it to DD...they won't even show the shots hit by the batsmen or how the batsmen got out.... :( ,if you miss it once,you can't see it again...this sucks....

[harsha]

damn,why didn't ESPNSTAR get that package..... :mad:

[Viv]

Absolutely true Harsha, No one will remember Nimbus now that the matches are over and it'll be back to it's isolated state. But it's well that they din't get the World Cup coverage. That would have been too much to bear.
Good match by India though..good to see them play as well as they did..I just hope they haven't peaked at the wrong time :p :

[Valve Bounce]

another loss for the english, but it was nice to see Nixon attacking, shame it came a bit too late :p :

It is simply not good enough to have 3 or 4 players making half decent scores, we need it to be more 6 or 7 making decent scores, then we could post a total like 320 to defend, or even to win.

:p :

That'll be the day. :rolleyes:

[stevie_gerrard]

yup, a day neither of us will see Valve. :p :

But if there is one optimistic England fan, then its got to be me, and im hanging out for the impossible to happen.

[Valve Bounce]

yup, a day neither of us will see Valve. :p :

But if there is one optimistic England fan, then its got to be me, and im hanging out for the impossible to happen.

Well, something has to happen, and it will have to be extreme. If there is something wrong with English cricket, now's the time to weild the axe, put in fresh blood, and I mean this ahs to go right up to the top.

Who could possibly foretell 4 months ago that the Poms would go on a 4 month tour down under and win only 1 game? Something is dreadfully wrong and has to be fixed.

For a start, I'd axe Duncan - I wouldn't even feed the guy.

[Ranger]

STOP PRESS!

England beats Australia!! :s hock:

[harsha]

No way!!!!!!!,i cannot believe it,have the England team got some backbone at last

[Valve Bounce]

It's true: http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/engine/match/249235.html

and the Poms earned themselves a bonus point.

[harsha]

Sehwag gets another chance,however he's in the middle order,they fancy him as a late order bat and a bowler for the world cup IMO....

[SEATFreak]

YESSSS!!!

A little late maybe but...hey, Valve!!

#Your not signing, your not singing, your not singing any more, your not singing any more!!#

#Who are ya?! Who are ya'?! Who are ya'?!#

I hope this is only the start.

To keep the spirits of us P**s high after recent times I have treated us to this:
http://www.convictcreations.com/culture/jokes.html

[stevie_gerrard]

I have great pride in now saying that England beat Australia on their own turf by 92 RUNS!! :D

to be Fair though, an Australian team without the likes of Ponting and Lee does seem a bit lacklustre, so until we beat you fair and square, best team vs best team, im gonna keep quiet about it.

They played a stronger team today and won by 5 wickets, Ponting 104, just think if he had got that against the Poms on friday, then we would have lost again and everybody would still be complaining about how useless we are!

its one victory, a victory im proud of for this country, but we still have to win on tuesday, and thats the next game we must concentrate on, if we can get to the final, then maybe we will see some good cricket!! :D

[SEATFreak]

I have great pride in now saying that England beat Australia on their own turf by 92 RUNS!! :D

More than that we can take pride period. A mix of lots of things have robbed us of any reason whatsoever to feel the same pride that them lot down under are used to day in day out. At no point in one of the most farcical Ashes series ever seen ,or this equally farcical triangular series, apart from the New Zealand win, which in effect was out first win since arriving in A*****ia, have we had cause to be even slightly pleased. The whole time in that country has been an unmitigated hellish nightmare of the most horrific.

But now we have the pride needed to be able to beat our chests and gloat like them lot for a change and like them lot have done every day since late last year when the team landed. Dunno about you SG, but I for one am not going to waste a rare chance to take the opportunity to gloat over them lot for a change.

[harsha]

more good news for England fans as England beat NZ by 14 odd runs courtesy of a well made century by Paul Collingwood,they qualify to the finals

[555-04Q2]

more good news for England fans as England beat NZ by 14 odd runs courtesy of a well made century by Paul Collingwood,they qualify to the finals

Depends on the definition of "good news". Making it to the final and getting lambasted again is "bad news" in my book ;)

Hopefully Freddie and Co. can mix it with the boys from Down Under and make it a great final. Bring it on :)

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Two wins in a row for England :D

The quality in the side has always been their, but we never perform under pressure.

[555-04Q2]

BTW, anyone here been following the Pakistan tour to South Africa ODI Series :?:

Two great matches so far ( 1 X Pro20 game and 1 X ODI ) and we are looking bloody good to enter the World Cup as joint favourites with the Australians. We have the strongest side in the history of our competing in ODI's so we should be able to make and win the final this year.

[555-04Q2]

Two wins in a row for England :D

The quality in the side has always been their, but we never perform under pressure.

Your batsmen performed well after losing 3 quick wickets to get you to a winning target.

[fly_ac]

BTW, anyone here been following the Pakistan tour to South Africa ODI Series :?:

Yeah that were two great games. :)
I just hope they are going to keep that up and not fall apart when it counts most. :(

[harsha]

just hope the proteas do well in the world cup,if there was any other team apart from India that i want to see win the world cup.it should be them

[stevie_gerrard]

England v Australia final, just what i like to see. I have to say i have becopme very impressed by Liam Plunkett recently, ok it took him forever to get in the squad, and that was only to injuries, and he bowled 9 wides in his first over yesterday, but he is bowling an awesome line and probably deserves a seat on the plane for the World Cup. Saying that, its gonna be mighty tough to get on it with the amount of other decent bowlers we have (according to our standards)


Congratulations to Sir Duncan Fletcher for his Lackful contribution to cricket :p : and the england team for winning the one dayers ;) :p :

You heard it here first ladies and gentlemen ;)

South Africa :up: I do agree with most people here, they look in brilliant form and id put my money on them going far in the world cup.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

England win again :s hock:

Well done Collingwood!!!!!!! :up:

[harsha]

Collingwood,great innings.... :up:

[stevie_gerrard]

Welll, surprise surprise, Englands 3rd win in a row, and all of a sudden we could actually win this thing. :D

I have to say watching this in the uni bar this morning, the atmosphere of cricket fans in there was electric, we had an awesome time :up: and then i was late for my next lecture :p :

Quick mention for Colllingwoods awesome catch from Ponting, it was an awesome catch but i thought that Pontings response wasnt particuarly gracious, this is his quote:

"My dismissal was probably as bad as anyone's, it was a pretty ordinary ball and a pretty ordinary shot and we found ourselves under pressure afterwards,"

Im not saying that Ponting is a bad captain or ungracious aussie, he is an awesome batsmen, probably the best batsmen ive seen in my life, even ahead of Lara, but surely he can just accept was one hell of a good catch to get rid of him? and surely he can accept that England were just the more consistent side on the day? I know its disappointing when you get out, but it was something of a rather special performance from Collingwood.

(I apologise in advance to any Aussie who found the previous comment unacceptable, its just what i thought at the time when he said it)

Bring on Game 2 of the finals, game 1 lived up to expectations, and was thoroughly enjoyable, heres to the same in Sydney on Sunday. :up:

[SEATFreak]

Has anyone noticed an apparent distinct lull in support from the A****es that haven't long abandoned their seats, especially whenever an England batsman racks up the runs in the way Colly did or when an A*******an player is caught out?

I think part is because we are finally able to owe them big time and the boot is well and truly on the other foot.

[Schultz]

Just remember. Sri Lanka won the first match in the tri series final in Australia last year. We all know what happened to them in the next two matches.

[harsha]

aussies got too confident,which is why they lost......they gonna come back hard and it will be a cracker of a match provided England don't disappoint us again

[ShiftingGears]

Wicket off McGraths final ever ball at the SCG...FANTASTIC! :D

Lee's c & b was also brilliant, lets see what we can do with the bat!

[Ranger]

I don't believe it.

Australia are looking straight at series defeat at the hands of ENGLAND! :s hock:

Ah well, I guess the Aussies just got fed up with beating them all the time. :laugh: :p :

[Ranger]

And its official (rained out), England have won the ODI series.

[Rollo]

I am currently sitting on Central railway station in the rain waiting for a mobile sardine to take me home and I must admit, there's hardly any cheering in the streets tonight :D

England have won the Second Chance Draw and the Convicts for the first time this season are a wee bit po faced.

[stevie_gerrard]

Congratulations England!! Its about time we won something in Australia :p :

Good game by the aussies though, they will regroup against New Zealand, and then come back stronger than ever for the World Cup, i wouldnt completely write them off cause of this one slip up.

But i do say that England with a couple of additions (Pietersen, Vaughan, Anderson) can challenge for the world cup, not saying they will win it, but they can challenge for it, and put up a fight for once. Really looking forward to the World Cup now!! :D :up:

Pakistan-South Africa: Pakistan 107 all out!! :eek: my word, i was shocked when i read that score this morning

[harsha]

ozzies got too overconfident.... :up: well played England

[Schultz]

Good stuff England! Was glad i wasn't able to watch the match. Might have just slit my wrists in the frustration of that pathetic batting performance by Australia.

[Viv]

Well done England :D
Another typical performance by the Indians, lost a match they should have won easily :down:

[Bebee]

Finally, some teams in good form just in time for the WC! :D

Looking at the groups for the WC, I'd say the finalists of the last WC (Australia and India) have a more difficult run in the first stages of the tournament (having South Africa and the West Indies, respectively) compared to England and NZ.

[harsha]

India got Srilanka in the first stage Beb,not that it makes things easier

[oily oaf]

I should like to add my congratulations to the victorious England cricket team but unfortunately I have slipped into a shock related catatonic coma from which I will probably never emerge.

Who just said "good!"? :mad:

[SEATFreak]

What gets me miffed is the typical response from the A***ie leader Ricky Ponting. Virtually none.

Ou team have been beaten to within an inch of our confidence's life since we arrived late last year for the Ashes and we have showered them with more praise than they deserve every time and they loose three games to us and not a peep from them. "They played well at times" is all we have heard thus far from the sore loser in gold and green that is Ponting.

To get those down under more used to the feeling of loosing is it now time for an Ashes series in football to replace atleast some of the meaningless friendlies?

[stevie_gerrard]

Ponting did say on the BBC highlights last night that he was very impressed by England and their recovery, and that they deserved to win, with their two best performances in the finals.

i'll let him off now, i think he does understand that England are a good side, and not to be underestimated :)

Im loving Englands chances to get past the group stages, we get warm up games against Bermuda and Australia (which i think are good choices :up: ) and then we have NZ, Canada and Kenya in the actual competition.

Happy days!! :D :p :

[Daniel]

What gets me miffed is the typical response from the A***ie leader Ricky Ponting. Virtually none.

Ou team have been beaten to within an inch of our confidence's life since we arrived late last year for the Ashes and we have showered them with more praise than they deserve every time and they loose three games to us and not a peep from them. "They played well at times" is all we have heard thus far from the sore loser in gold and green that is Ponting.

To get those down under more used to the feeling of loosing is it now time for an Ashes series in football to replace atleast some of the meaningless friendlies?
You need to calm down.

Those En***sh players weren't that crash hot over the whole tour and were just lucky to hit form at the right time for the one dayers.

[Storm]

Maybe the fact that their Aussie ordeal would soon be over spurred them on a bit coupled with complacency from Australia.

[harsha]

and most of the cricket teams announced....Kaif not there in the Indian team for the WC...

Dravid,Sehwag,Tendulkar,Ganguly,Dhoni,Pathan,Agark ar,Yuvraj,Karthik,Zaheer,Harbhajan,
Kumble,Sreeshanth,Munaf Patel,Robin Uthappa....the indian squad for the WC,although i must say that the Australian squad looks even stronger than the one in 2003 if it is possible

[Storm]

Kiwis :up: :)

2-0 up in the Chappell-Hadlee series...saw the highlights..that Taylor bloke and McMillan played really well. Will this world cup actually be a little unpredicatable or will the Aussies comeback and win everything in sight again?

I hope not.

[Storm]

oh and India finished their WC preparations well with a 2-1 come from behind series win over SL... Ganguly is really back :cool:

[fly_ac]

Thanks to the Kiwi's :up: for winning against the Aussies, that means that now South-Africa are officialy No.1 in the ICC rankings. :)

1) South Africa 128
2) Australia 126
3) Pakistan 111
4) New Zealand 111
5) India 109
6) Sri Lanka 108
7) England 106
8) West Indies 101
9) Bangladesh 42
10) Zimbabwe 22

[stevie_gerrard]

Is the World Cup here yet?? :p : im fed up of waiting for it :p :

[harsha]

guess the standings in this case really do reflect on the team's strengths..leaving australia in number 2....just interchange SA and Australia,and you have the correct standings in my opininon but this years world cup seems to be really open..........a number of teams could win,

[harsha]

DADA :cool: Ganguly Rulezzz :D :p :

[Viv]

Excellent run chase by New Zealand :D

[555-04Q2]

Australia looking a bit wobbly just before the CWC. The rest of the teams will be smiling.

[GridGirl]

I'd still put money on Austrailia reaching the final though.

I'm still shocked that no one has threw a tantrum over pay yet and threatened to boycott. That normally happens about 3 weeks before CWC starts.

[stevie_gerrard]

it certainly opens up this years competition, i wouldnt be surprised if the aussies struggled, then again, i wouldnt be surprised if they won it, it depends on which aussie side turns up.

[Jaws]

Congratulations to both England and Kiwis for giving us a resounding flogging.
Will certainly make for an interesting World Cup.

I think I'll be putting a buck or 2 on N.Z. if the price is right .

Well done guys :up:

[Quattroporte]

Wow that was an amazing game last night. 350/9? I was on the floor in pain from all the stress of watching it!

[Ranger]

Without Vettori and Bond, I sort of got the impression that NZ were just playing for pride anyway... and they won!

Of course Ponting and Gilchrist were both missing but I hope Team Oz learned something from their recent demises, because there isnt going to be a secong chance in the world cup.

[harsha]

Brett Lee out for the WC :eek: ,it's a big blow but the australians have quite a lot of depth in their bowling attack,this wont upset them maybe as how it upsets the other teams,imagine SA without Pollock,Sri Lanka without Murali................... :eek:

[Hazell B]

Not exactly on topic but here goes anyway.

Yorkshire're getting Gough back :D :D :D :D

YEEHEE!

[stevie_gerrard]

to be fair that is some good news, i do like Darren Gough :)

About Brett Lee, it is a blow yeh, but i dont think its the worst situation in the world, Stuart Clark has been immense this summer, im surprised he wasnt picked in the original 15.

and finally some good news for you aussies, gilchrist will be available for all of the world cup after the birth of his third child.

[harsha]

just a question,who is the better wicket-keeper batsman gilchrist or sangakkara.....can never figure that out

[stevie_gerrard]

id say on recent form sangakkara, gilchrist gets started, but gets out cheaply so often recently

[Jaws]

Not exactly on topic but here goes anyway.

Yorkshire're getting Gough back :D :D :D :D

YEEHEE!

Hazell,

I had the pleasure of having a beer or 2 recently with Goughie when he was out here for "Beach Cricket" recently. He is a champion bloke and I asked him if he knew why Aussies liked him so much.

He said he had no idea why, but I told him it was because he has a big ticker and somehow I think Aussies have an affinity for Yorkies.

Cheers and bring on Goughie :up:

[harsha]

well,competition seems pretty open.......

Australia still the favs in my book,the proteas will possible choke although i hope they prove me wrong and i can keep the Indians in the same chokers category [ :D ]

[harsha]

and who do you guys think the best cricket commentator is....

Geoff Boycott for me :cheese:

[Storm]

Bill Lawrie :up:

Ian Chappell and Boycs

[harsha]

today a practise match between India and Netherlands,at 8 pm indian time,hope the Indians bat first,i can see a bit of their innings...

[555-04Q2]

well,competition seems pretty open.......

Australia still the favs in my book,the proteas will possible choke although i hope they prove me wrong and i can keep the Indians in the same chokers category [ :D ]

We didnt "choke" during the 438 game ;)

[Storm]

We didnt "choke" during the 438 game ;)

It was a not a big tourney though :p :

[555-04Q2]

It was a not a big tourney though :p :

It was a mini tourney. Played OZ 6 times (including Pro 20 match) and won 4 times with 2 losses ;)

We have our best ODI side ever at the moment and we have the firepower to go all the way. Adapting to the pitches is going to be our biggest hurdle. India, Sri Lanka and West Indies have a slight edge over everyone else in that department.

[harsha]

We have our best ODI side ever at the moment and we have the firepower to go all the way.

i thought the 99 SA team was the best though ;) and the SA only choke in the World Cup,add the bad luck in the 92,99,2003 i should say 96-u guys looked the part until Brian Lara decided to show up :D

anyway all the best,if India won't win,i'll be happy if SA ....

[harsha]

so much cricket is played around the world,pitches have slowed up everywhere....i don't really think India/Sri Lanka have an advantage there

[futuretiger9]

and who do you guys think the best cricket commentator is....

Geoff Boycott for me :cheese:


As an expert summariser, Boycott is hard to beat. He knows the game inside out, and can never be accused of sitting on the fence. In terms of a pure commentator, I like the BBC's Jonathan Agnew. Sound knowledge coupled with genuine enthusiasm.

[Storm]

Agnew's articles on BBC Sport website are sleep-inducing though :\

[555-04Q2]

[i]i thought the 99 SA team was the best though ;)

Our current side is brilliant, even better than the 99 team ;)

[harsha]

maybe that's a matter of opinion....... ;)

[Daniel]

Our current side is brilliant, even better than the 99 team ;)
I've changed my flag to reflect who I support ;)

lets hope they're better than the 99 team :)

[555-04Q2]

I've changed my flag to reflect who I support ;)

lets hope they're better than the 99 team :)

Better than the '99 team and better than the '96 team which was our previous strongest team.

We have strength in all areas except when it comes to a quality spinner.

The last 14 months have been brilliant - beat Australia, beat India, beat Pakistan etc etc. Our current team has also gone past 400 in ODI's twice now and holds 3 of the top 6 team totals of all time, all done in the last 12 months by the current side at the World Cup.

Realistically though, this tournament could be won by the following teams:

1. Australia/South Africa (favourites)
2. Sri Lanka/India (second favourites)
3. New Zealand/England (third favourites)

West Indies have no chance (lets be honest even though they are at home) and Pakistan are too erratic for my liking.

[harsha]

i think Windies have as much of a chance as the Indians do...agreed about Pakistan though,they are not looking too good at the moment

[Viv]

Better than the '99 team and better than the '96 team which was our previous strongest team.

We have strength in all areas except when it comes to a quality spinner.

The last 14 months have been brilliant - beat Australia, beat India, beat Pakistan etc etc. Our current team has also gone past 400 in ODI's twice now and holds 3 of the top 6 team totals of all time, all done in the last 12 months by the current side at the World Cup.

Gone past 400 twice?I remember the chase against Aussies. When was the second time?

[harsha]

Kenya defeat Canada on the only match worth seeing today

[futuretiger9]

As expected, Australia have easily overpowered the Scots.

[555-04Q2]

Gone past 400 twice?I remember the chase against Aussies. When was the second time?

It was against one of the smaller nations. We got 420 odd. Cant remember who it was against though. Mark Boucher scored a superb 160 odd of something like 90 balls.

Will try and find out the exact scoreline for you.

[555-04Q2]

Gone past 400 twice?I remember the chase against Aussies. When was the second time?

Here you go Viv. The top ten ODI team totals as at 15 March 2007.

443-9 (50 overs) Sri Lanka Netherlands Amstelveen 2006
438-9 (49.5 overs) South Africa v Australia Johannesburg 2005/06
434-4 (50 overs) Australia v South Africa Johannesburg 2005/06
418-5 (50 overs) South Africa v Zimbabwe Potchefstroom 2006/07
398-5 (50 overs) Sri Lanka v Kenya Kandy 1995/96
397-5 (44 overs) New Zealand v Zimbabwe Bulawayo 2005/06
392-6 (50 overs) South Africa v Pakistan Centurion 2006/07
391-4 (50 overs) England v Bangladesh Nottingham 2005
376-2 (50 overs) India v New Zealand Hyderabad (Decc) 1999/00
373-6 (50 overs) India v Sri Lanka Taunton 1999

[Viv]

Here you go Viv. The top ten ODI team totals as at 15 March 2007.

443-9 (50 overs) Sri Lanka Netherlands Amstelveen 2006
438-9 (49.5 overs) South Africa v Australia Johannesburg 2005/06
434-4 (50 overs) Australia v South Africa Johannesburg 2005/06
418-5 (50 overs) South Africa v Zimbabwe Potchefstroom 2006/07
398-5 (50 overs) Sri Lanka v Kenya Kandy 1995/96
397-5 (44 overs) New Zealand v Zimbabwe Bulawayo 2005/06
392-6 (50 overs) South Africa v Pakistan Centurion 2006/07
391-4 (50 overs) England v Bangladesh Nottingham 2005
376-2 (50 overs) India v New Zealand Hyderabad (Decc) 1999/00
373-6 (50 overs) India v Sri Lanka Taunton 1999

:eek: I din't know there were so many 400+ totals. Guess I'm losing track of things. Thanks for the list :D
Does the list contain unofficial matches too?

[555-04Q2]

:eek: I din't know there were so many 400+ totals. Guess I'm losing track of things. Thanks for the list :D
Does the list contain unofficial matches too?

They are all official ODI matches only.

[harsha]

the finals will reveal everything,it just takes one bad match to lose the cup you know :)

[555-04Q2]

:eek: I din't know there were so many 400+ totals.

The one that really stands out for me is the 397 for 5 that New Zealand scored in 44 overs at a rate of over 9 RPO. If they had batted for 50 overs they would have passed 450 :s hock:

[harsha]

score's against Zimbabwe...enuff said but the scores made by SA and the Aussies against each other were great :cheese: esp the SA

[555-04Q2]

Here you go Viv. The top ten ODI team totals as at 15 March 2007.

443-9 (50 overs) Sri Lanka Netherlands Amstelveen 2006
438-9 (49.5 overs) South Africa v Australia Johannesburg 2005/06
434-4 (50 overs) Australia v South Africa Johannesburg 2005/06
418-5 (50 overs) South Africa v Zimbabwe Potchefstroom 2006/07
398-5 (50 overs) Sri Lanka v Kenya Kandy 1995/96
397-5 (44 overs) New Zealand v Zimbabwe Bulawayo 2005/06
392-6 (50 overs) South Africa v Pakistan Centurion 2006/07
391-4 (50 overs) England v Bangladesh Nottingham 2005
376-2 (50 overs) India v New Zealand Hyderabad (Decc) 1999/00
373-6 (50 overs) India v Sri Lanka Taunton 1999

We can now add India's 413-4 to the above list. Well done to them for joining the relatively exclusive "400 Club" :)

[harsha]

finally the indians played with some purpose

[stevie_gerrard]

I thought i would bump this thread back up, as the summer has started, and there is test cricket ongoing.

Starting with the draw for England vs West Indies, is it just me or if you get 4 centurions in your first innings, arent you supposed to wrap up the game quite easily? England were brilliant against the Windies poor bowling attack, yet Englands attack seemed to struggle as well against a WI side who didnt make a century in the match. England really need to learn to wrap games up like that, i have to say without Brian Lara in the squad, they seem a bit under par.

Bangladesh-India looks quite a game as well, i saw the brilliant catch to dismiss dravid, bangladesh really need to push on tmrw to have a chance of saving this match.

[futuretiger9]

England have announced their squad for the 2nd Test against the West Indies starting at Headingley on Friday.

There is a surprise recall for Ryan Sidebottom. The main news, however, is the return of Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff.

I agree that England need the steady and strong leadership of Vaughan, but the Flintoff issue concerns me. Will his ankle last the full five days, and how many overs will he be able to bowl?

[stevie_gerrard]

i dont think flintoff is confirmed yet. i think anderson will come in for him if hes not fit (which i think will be the case)

[AndyRAC]

Flintoff and Vaughan haven't proved that they are in form, should go back to county cricket and get runs/wickets before being selected. Picked on reputation, as for Anderson, oh dear!!! Time for Graveney to go

[ozrevhead]

For the Current Aussie series vs India and Pakistan....

BUMP!!!!!!

got a new website ive created mainly on cricket - http://www.worldofcricket.co.nr/ - its brand new so It wont have many threads.....hope to have some posters worldwide

hope u dont mide me plugging it Pino.......**hides in a corner**

[harsha]

looks like the series is gonna be a hot tempered one with the allegations of racism against some indian spectators....

[ozrevhead]

when you call a black player a monkey it is racist

but im sure you will use the 'australians are worse routine' as always

[Bebee]

For the Current Aussie series vs India and Pakistan....

Actually, it's Sri Lanka and India heading over. :p : I think the Sri Lankans are already in Australia for the upcoming Test series...

[ozrevhead]

lol - its midnight here almost.... cut me some slack

:o

[Jaws]

looks like the series is gonna be a hot tempered one with the allegations of racism against some indian spectators....

I'll give you the script. As soon as India arrive, our moronic Aussie media will start stiring things up. In true Aussie fashion our blood will start to boil and as soon as the Indians hit the field it will be bedlam. I'd hate to be that bigmouth Indian who was sledging batsmen when he wasn't even in the 11, he honestly doesn't what he's in for....Holioake and Andre Nell do.

[harsha]

India Vs Australia 2nd test

:cheese: :cheese: :D

great bowling by Amit Mishra...impressed with the discipline by Shane Watson and Sehwag and Gambhir finished off the day nicely...

surprised by the aussies flunking on a flat wicket

[stevie_gerrard]

This took some digging out the archive files didnt it? :p :

Totally agree it was great to see India and the aussies slogging it out again, India tend to do really well at home, especially against Australia, who i think werent on their top game this test. It will be interesting to see how they react depending on whether they can live up to the great standards of Mcgrath and Warne and Gilchrist in the good old days when Australia were good ;) (just kidding :p : )