Cricket

[muddythefish]

Yellow and red cards in cricket? Yes, absolutely. Crowe is correct; Warner is a nasty piece of work, as Joe Root can testify. He needs reining in.

 

[Busaholic]

Does Pietersen's unveiling of his new tattoo depicting all the places he made test centuries indicate the message has finally got through that he ain't coming back?

Another question more easily answered by someone in the know. Does the DRS not feature in the current tri-series in Aussie, and, if that is so, does it mean it won't be used in the World Cup?

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Does Pietersen's unveiling of his new tattoo depicting all the places he made test centuries indicate the message has finally got through that he ain't coming back?

Another question more easily answered by someone in the know. Does the DRS not feature in the current tri-series in Aussie, and, if that is so, does it mean it won't be used in the World Cup?

Interesting question....DRS is definitely not being used in the tri-series, so therefore for consistency with India it can't be there in the World Cup - can it? DownSouth will probably know for certain!

 

[ainsworth74]

I believe the ICC insist on DRS at global competitions so it will feature.

 

[Busaholic]

Just a quick comment on England's emphatic win over India - obviously great to see Finn firing on all cylinders again, and Anderson was doing things with the ball apparently that weren't possible for lesser mortals; Bell's first ODI half century for 10 matches; note Buttler's 4 catches and 1 stumping (off Mooen), and conceding no byes - he's beginning to look to the manor born.
Have heard from a Durham acquaintance that Ballance has fractured something or other, but haven't seen it reported in media?
Kieswetter unfortunately has suffered further setbacks in his recovery from that horrific injury and won't be playing at all this summer.
Trott, ever the pragmatist, has responded to Vaughan's suggestion that he could open for England by indicating his receptiveness to the idea. Hope Warwickshire respond and open with him at start of the season so it can be assessed ahead of the tests.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Whilst recalling somewhat unkind past comments that Jimmy Anderson is too old for ODI matches and an elderly "pie-chucker" who cannot obtain the best from Australian wickets in his latter years, he seems to have found an affinity with the Brisbane wicket and managed to produce bowling figures of 8.3-2-18-4 in the ODI tri-series match against India, which now takes him onto a total of 271 ODI wickets.

 

[DownSouth]

I read today that Craig Kieswetter may not play cricket again after struggling in his comeback from nasty facial injuries last year. It sounds similar to the incident which ended Mark Boucher's career a few years ago.

Hopefully he will get the help he needs to restore his vision properly - and that the medics involved will come away with more of the knowledge needed to help more people with similar injuries whether they be inflicted by sport or other accidents.


Speaking of English cricketers of South African extraction, what on earth is up with KP's accent? He has made a great contribution to the Big Bash League broadcasts (and like Murali, he is glad he came back after a couple of rough tours here) but his voice would have to be one of the strangest things I've ever heard.

The former New Zealand batsman, Martin Crowe, has castigated David Warner for his thuggish behaviour on the pitch, basically stating that his attitude will one day potentially lead to something more serious. Although Crowe suggests that others also display 'childish and boorish' behaviour, he suggests that Warner is the worst of them. I wonder whether this element of gamesmanship has gone to far. Should the umpires step in more often and should they have other sanctions? Red cards, anyone?

I didn't see the match on Sunday night (too busy at the Tour Down Under - I met the former British national champions Geraint Thomas and Eileen Roe by the way ) but I understand that words were exchanged both ways (thuggish? really?) and it went no further than that apart from Warner getting fined by the ICC essentially for saying it while the stump microphone was switched on. Warner will probably get his money back from the Nine Network for that - just like Clarke did last summer when he dropped the f-bomb while stopping Anderson from assaulting Bailey.

It is worth noting that Rohit and Warner have each been 'rested' from their teams' next match due to vaguely described 'injuries' - nicely played by both teams to get things cooled down a bit.

Yellow and red cards in cricket? Yes, absolutely.

Could you do without your best fast bowler though? Australia would be the ones having the last laugh if Warner got banned for goading Anderson into a situation where he too got banned.

Crowe is correct; Warner is a nasty piece of work, as Joe Root can testify.

Really? He's on the record as saying it was just a misunderstanding and no harm done, and I have no reason to believe that Joe Root is a liar.

I wasn't there obviously, but if what the papers said was true and Root really was blameless, he should stand up and say so. But he hasn't, so it's only fair to assume there was a very good reason for letting it go without anything more than a media innuendo campaign, lest the whole truth come out at a time he would find inconvenient.

He [Warner] needs reining in.

I agree that Warner should ease off on the verbals a bit, along with Clarke, Dhawan, Rohit and Jimmy A.

I also think the stump microphones should be used a little more judiciously, so we can all go back to the old days of it being left on the field and the spectators remaining blissfully unaware.

Interesting question....DRS is definitely not being used in the tri-series, so therefore for consistency with India it can't be there in the World Cup - can it? DownSouth will probably know for certain!

It has been confirmed that it will be used in the World Cup - and it is also certain that MS Dhoni will put it to good use as he did last time despite the administrative-level objections of the BCCI.

I still can't work out why it's not being used for the Australia v England matches in the same series. This is, after all, a ODI series primarily put on as a World Cup warmup.

 

[Busaholic]

It has been confirmed that it will be used in the World Cup - and it is also certain that MS Dhoni will put it to good use as he did last time despite the administrative-level objections of the BCCI.

I still can't work out why it's not being used for the Australia v England matches in the same series. This is, after all, a ODI series primarily put on as a World Cup warmup.

So that Ian Bell can be given out LBW from an inside edge, first ball.

 

[DownSouth]

So that Ian Bell can be given out LBW from an inside edge, first ball.

The only uncertainty with that one was whether there was one time zone or two between the bat and ball.

The same applied, but incorrectly this time, in the favour of the bowling side with the Maxwell decision later in the evening. The ICC should commission a committee to look at how to make the signals for wide and out more obvious so they can't get mixed up like that again.

 

[andrew bell]

I reckon the reason why there's no DRS in the tri series is India's refusal of it. The ICC need to be stronger and say it's in use for all matches between test playing nations (with the ICC offering to pay for some equipment use) and if 1 team object to it, then the ICC should say we won't provide any umpires and match referees and the team that refuses to use DRS loses the series to nil.

Or the other option is to ban the team that refuses DRS for the following ICC tournament, but with India basically running world cricket, that will never happen

 

[Busaholic]

I reckon the reason why there's no DRS in the tri series is India's refusal of it. The ICC need to be stronger and say it's in use for all matches between test playing nations (with the ICC offering to pay for some equipment use) and if 1 team object to it, then the ICC should say we won't provide any umpires and match referees and the team that refuses to use DRS loses the series to nil.

Or the other option is to ban the team that refuses DRS for the following ICC tournament, but with India basically running world cricket, that will never happen

The problem is, India is, de facto, the ICC. Money talks in sport as in every other facet of life. Blatter and Ecclestone may be better known as individuals, and the names at the top of cricket don't exactly come tripping off the tongue, but the shoddy compromises in cricket are probably proportionately as bad as in the other sports and , where betting is concerned, threaten to ruin the game completely. Factor in the English 'old boy' network and you have a lethal cocktail.

 

[DownSouth]

Lots of off-field action in the world of cricket today. The Supreme Court of India gave its ruling on the IPL conflict of interest case, and in Britain the Metropolitan Police have been investigating a blackmail attempt against England's ODI captain Eoin Morgan.

In the BBL, tonight Brett Lee played his last cricket match at the SCG before retiring - he has a semi-final and potentially a final still to come, but they will be away matches in Adelaide and Canberra respectively.

The problem is, India is, de facto, the ICC. Money talks in sport as in every other facet of life. Blatter and Ecclestone may be better known as individuals, and the names at the top of cricket don't exactly come tripping off the tongue, but the shoddy compromises in cricket are probably proportionately as bad as in the other sports and , where betting is concerned, threaten to ruin the game completely. Factor in the English 'old boy' network and you have a lethal cocktail.

One of the big names in cricket is N Srinivasan.

He was today legally barred from recontesting his role at the top of the BCCI if he does not divest himself of certain other business interests involved IPL teams and the Champions League T20, and the BCCI declared to be a public body subject to public accountability. This is a huge win for cricket.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Lancashire have signed 34 year-old Alviro Petersen as a non-overseas player under the Kolpak ruling on a two-year contract with the option of a third year.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

International Triangular Series ODI...at Hobart

England 303-8 (50 overs)
Bell 141 (1 x 6 / 15 x 4)
Root 69 (6 x 4)

Australia 304-7 (49.5 overs)
Smith 102 not out (1 x 6 / 6 x 4)

Well, the crowd looking for attractive attacking cricket certainly got their moneys-worth, with both sides exceeding 300 and both teams producing a centurion of note and the closest possible ending to an excellent match.
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4th International ODI...Port Elizabeth

South Africa 262-8 (50 overs)
Miller 130 not out (3 x 6 / 11 x 4)

Holder 10-1-53-4

West Indies 266-9 (49.3 overs)
Samuels 68 (2 x 6 / 5 x 4)
Russell 64 (5 x 6 / 5 x 4)
Sammy 51 (2 x 6 / 5 x 4)

Another very close ODI match this weekend, with West Indies winning with three balls to spare. Miller must be wondering what might have been if his excellent batting had been matched by his team mates.

Incidentally, giving my age away, it is good to see a West Indian bowler with the name Holder returning a 4 wicket bowling performance. That certainly takes me back quite a few years when another Holder (Vanburn Holder) was in the West Indies bowling attack.

 

[Oswyntail]

... when another Holder was in the West Indies bowling attack.

Vanburn? Always the least conspicuous of the attack, but did his job well.

 

[Busaholic]

[QUOTE

Incidentally, giving my age away, it is good to see a West Indian bowler with the name Holder returning a 4 wicket bowling performance. That certainly takes me back quite a few years when another Holder (Vanburn Holder) was in the West Indies bowling attack.[/QUOTE]

I believe Jason Holder is a cousin of Vanburn's. Vanburn was a good servant of Worcestershire cricket, just as fellow Barbadians John Shepherd and Keith Boyce were for Kent and Essex respectively. West Indies were not a very strong side at the time when Holder was playing, with the retirement of yet more Barbadians in fast bowlers Hall and Griffiths, Sobers and Kanhai past their best and players like Greenidge, Roberts and Fredericks only just beginning, not to mention the blazing comet Laurence Rowe (who he?)

Vanburn became a first class umpire in England after retirement, not to be confused with namesake John, no relation.

 

[Buttsy]

I always think fondly of Vanburn Holder thanks to the Half Man Half Biscuit 'Let's Not' lyric 'Vanburn Holder joins a local grindcore outfit'...

 

[DownSouth]

I just saw an interesting result from the Asian Cricket Commission Twenty20 Cup earlier today.

The Maldives reached a score of 138/9 batting first - a score which you would call reasonable in any match between opposing teams of roughly the same level. Kuwait knocked off that target inside nine overs at a run rate of 16.2 - well into video game territory!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

International Triangular Series ODI (at Perth)

India 200 all out (48.1 overs)
Rahane 73 (1 x 6 / 3 x 4)

Finn 10-0-36-3

England 201-7 (46.5 overs)
Taylor 82 (4 x 4)
Buttler 67 (7 x 4)

Binny 8-0-33-3

England look to have now qualified for the final. Good economical bowling figures by Finn, but when England were 66-5, it did not look good for England's chances. However, Taylor and Buttler batted well together and made the win possible.

 

[DownSouth]

England look to have now qualified for the final.

Correct.

The difference in points for England and India before yesterday's final group match was three, small enough that the four points on offer would have taken India over England into second place if they won, so yesterday's match was a virtual semi-final.

It would be tempting to react to this poor performance over the last couple of weeks and say India's preparation for the World Cup is now looking very shaky. However, it should be pointed out that this is not an accurate form guide - the winners of the last two World Cups (India in 2011, Australia in 2007) lost their last ODI series before the tournament to sides which would then fail to make the top four at the World Cup.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I do recall that certain doubts were expressed about Buttler keeping wicket in both ODI and Test Matches, when he was first mooted to take over this role, but his performances in both versions of the game, plus his batting, seem to have proved his doubters wrong.

 

[Whistler40145]

Yes, Mr Buttler does like to prove the doubters wrong.

He's the kind of cricketer who doesn't like to hold back with his six hitting skills in ODIs, then he can be the opposite in Test Matches.

 

[Busaholic]

I expect the reason Somerset were keen to keep Kieswetter rather than Buttler was that they thought Buttler wouldn't be playing many games for them in future. Incidentally, Prior's name seems totally out of the frame now : amazing how quickly wicketkeepers can go from being undisputed number one to nowhere rans, cf Geraint Jones.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I expect the reason Somerset were keen to keep Kieswetter rather than Buttler was that they thought Buttler wouldn't be playing many games for them in future. Incidentally, Prior's name seems totally out of the frame now : amazing how quickly wicketkeepers can go from being undisputed number one to nowhere rans, cf Geraint Jones.

The horrific facial injuries that Kieswetter suffered whilst batting last season will see him miss all the coming 2015 season and there are now doubts being expressed as to his future career in the game as a result of these.

 

[Busaholic]

The horrific facial injuries that Kieswetter suffered whilst batting last season will see him miss all the coming 2015 season and there are now doubts being expressed as to his future career in the game as a result of these.

All very sad. David Fulton, the Kent captain and opening batsman, did make a sort-of comeback after his eye injury, but he was never the same player again and had to retire earlier than hoped. Kieswetter's injuries were obviously more severe but include impairment of his eyesight, and given that he's a wicketkeeper as well as more than competent batsman his future as a top-class player must be in doubt. Knowing now what we and he didn't know then though, how fortunate the result wasn't fatal.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

All very sad. David Fulton, the Kent captain and opening batsman, did make a sort-of comeback after his eye injury, but he was never the same player again and had to retire earlier than hoped. Kieswetter's injuries were obviously more severe but include impairment of his eyesight, and given that he's a wicketkeeper as well as more than competent batsman his future as a top-class player must be in doubt. Knowing now what we and he didn't know then though, how fortunate the result wasn't fatal.

...and I'm sure that you'll remember the late great Colin Milburn too, the first cricketer I ever saw back in 1966. That was a tragedy, even though he was desperate to resume his career after losing an eye, it wasn't possible. I recall that it was the leading eye that he lost, unlike Pataudi in the same era, who did manage to play again quite successfully.

 

[DownSouth]

More recently, Mark Boucher did not make a comeback from his eye injury - though this might have been influenced by the fact he was getting close to retiring anyway.

 

[Whistler40145]

Another dismal ODI performance by England, it doesn't seem to matter who's in the squad, they always fall short, especially in a final and against Australia.

 

[Busaholic]

Another dismal ODI performance by England, it doesn't seem to matter who's in the squad, they always fall short, especially in a final and against Australia.

Morgan's third total failure in a row as a batsman, disregarding his role as captain, meaning he can't be replaced! Don't like to say 'told you so' but the writing had been on the wall for him for so long it was getting faded. The only hope, which won't come to fruition, is for him to stand down at this almost-too-late stage and be replaced by Taylor as captain. Add to that his reluctance to use Bopara as a bowler (he surely can't justify his place solely as a batsman). Frankly, it'll be a surprise if England get beyond the group stages. Our only hope is if Jimmy and one other (Mooen?) get among the wickets.

 

[Whistler40145]

Sheer incompetence comes to mind.