In order to avoid catching this awful disease then I'd suggest the West Indies slip cordon is a safe place to stand. They couldn't catch anything at the moment.
Ravi Bopara is henceforth known for the rest of this innings as the Cat. He's offered ample catching practice to the West Indies lads and they just won't hang onto them. But with the referall system he'd be tucked up inside the pavillion already.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
English Test summer begins
You can tell by the rain in the air that today heralds the start of the English Test summer. Fortunately it's stayed away from Lord's so far and we're two sessions in to the first Test against the West Indies.
After snacking on Indian Premier League for a couple of weeks or so, it feels good to be sitting down to a balanced, square meal such that Test match cricket represents. Nobody is proud of themselves after a superficial diet of take-outs and fast food, and neither am I after a smorgasbord of IPL cricket dominating the TV schedules chez moi. No more DLF maximum bollocks - and Robin Jackman, I'm coming for you after you committed the heinous crime of using 'DLF' as a verb, to whit "he's DLFed it out of the ground" - instead the monotonous ramblings of Nasser and pals on Sky's increasingly annoying coverage.
And what of the cricket so far? Well, we've only had two sessions and Kevin Pietersen has transferred his IPL form to the bigger stage by getting a first baller, a superb delivery from Fidel Edwards who continues to impress, and Ravi Bopara is the latest to look at least fleetingly good at number three. Early days yet, but he's gone pretty well. England line up with Graham Onions and Tim Bresnan on debut in a long tail and I really never thought I'd see the day when Bresnan got a Test cap. How he's made it into the side ahead of his much more impressive team-mate at Yorkshire, Adil Rashid, is one of those mysteries of life that future generations will shake their heads at in disbelief. Meanwhile for the West Indies, someone really needs to tell them how to catch small red balls. If they'd hung on to catches, then they'd be batting already.
The big difference between this and the crash, bang wallop in South Africa is over rates. There is no reason why sides should not be able to go at fifteen overs per hour. Rates of thirteen and lower are pathetic. Some time ago, Chris wrote about flat pitches beating the living daylights out of Test cricket. So are slow over rates. The fines aren't working. Either they need to be upped, and upped significantly, or penalty runs brought in. Or both. Oh, and suspensions for captains.
After snacking on Indian Premier League for a couple of weeks or so, it feels good to be sitting down to a balanced, square meal such that Test match cricket represents. Nobody is proud of themselves after a superficial diet of take-outs and fast food, and neither am I after a smorgasbord of IPL cricket dominating the TV schedules chez moi. No more DLF maximum bollocks - and Robin Jackman, I'm coming for you after you committed the heinous crime of using 'DLF' as a verb, to whit "he's DLFed it out of the ground" - instead the monotonous ramblings of Nasser and pals on Sky's increasingly annoying coverage.
And what of the cricket so far? Well, we've only had two sessions and Kevin Pietersen has transferred his IPL form to the bigger stage by getting a first baller, a superb delivery from Fidel Edwards who continues to impress, and Ravi Bopara is the latest to look at least fleetingly good at number three. Early days yet, but he's gone pretty well. England line up with Graham Onions and Tim Bresnan on debut in a long tail and I really never thought I'd see the day when Bresnan got a Test cap. How he's made it into the side ahead of his much more impressive team-mate at Yorkshire, Adil Rashid, is one of those mysteries of life that future generations will shake their heads at in disbelief. Meanwhile for the West Indies, someone really needs to tell them how to catch small red balls. If they'd hung on to catches, then they'd be batting already.
The big difference between this and the crash, bang wallop in South Africa is over rates. There is no reason why sides should not be able to go at fifteen overs per hour. Rates of thirteen and lower are pathetic. Some time ago, Chris wrote about flat pitches beating the living daylights out of Test cricket. So are slow over rates. The fines aren't working. Either they need to be upped, and upped significantly, or penalty runs brought in. Or both. Oh, and suspensions for captains.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Surrey won a game!
Praise the Lord! That expensively assembled bunch of prima-donnas finally won a match this season!
Alright it was only against Yorkshire, but a win's a win.
Alright it was only against Yorkshire, but a win's a win.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Saints be praised, it's a miracle
Remember where you were and what you were doing at 12:27pm on Thursday April 30, for it was a momentous occasion. Tirumalasetti Suman, batting for Deccan Chargers against Delhi in the IPL cleared the fence over the covers for half a dozen runs. That in itself isn't that momentous, although the young all-rounder was included ahead of VVS Laxman, but it was for events off the field. Neither commentator referred to it as a 'DLF maximum'.
That is quite incredible. This tournament has turned previously decent commentators - and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan - into little more than cheap advertisers with their plugs for the tournament sponsors any time someone does something well. That makes this incident a turning point. I expect nothing less than a retraining course for Mark Nicholas and Kepler Wessels though summary sacking remains a viable and likely option.
After all, the BCCI thinks it controls commentators as well as players these days. In the Indian tour of New Zealand over the winter, Sky NZ had Craig McMillan in the com-box, much to the BCCI's chagrin because he went to play in the rebel ICL for a bit. In keeping with that Kiwi spirit that saw the ANZUS Treaty ripped up when New Zealand told the US to feck off if they thought they were allowing their nuclear subs into it's waters, Sky told the BCCI to flip off and keep it's nose out of business that clearly wasn't theirs.
Moreover, whatever happened to the professional commentator in cricket? In most sports you have a lead commentator who knows the job with colour provided by an ex-pro. Not in cricket. Your voice is only allowed anywhere near if you've played at the top level (though Nicholas is pushing it). At Sky in the UK, you really need to have been an England captain to stand a chance. While the knowledge of the game isn't up for dispute - even in Nasser Hussain's case - some leave a lot to be desired when it comes to adding verbal illustration to the pictures.
That is quite incredible. This tournament has turned previously decent commentators - and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan - into little more than cheap advertisers with their plugs for the tournament sponsors any time someone does something well. That makes this incident a turning point. I expect nothing less than a retraining course for Mark Nicholas and Kepler Wessels though summary sacking remains a viable and likely option.
After all, the BCCI thinks it controls commentators as well as players these days. In the Indian tour of New Zealand over the winter, Sky NZ had Craig McMillan in the com-box, much to the BCCI's chagrin because he went to play in the rebel ICL for a bit. In keeping with that Kiwi spirit that saw the ANZUS Treaty ripped up when New Zealand told the US to feck off if they thought they were allowing their nuclear subs into it's waters, Sky told the BCCI to flip off and keep it's nose out of business that clearly wasn't theirs.
Moreover, whatever happened to the professional commentator in cricket? In most sports you have a lead commentator who knows the job with colour provided by an ex-pro. Not in cricket. Your voice is only allowed anywhere near if you've played at the top level (though Nicholas is pushing it). At Sky in the UK, you really need to have been an England captain to stand a chance. While the knowledge of the game isn't up for dispute - even in Nasser Hussain's case - some leave a lot to be desired when it comes to adding verbal illustration to the pictures.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
A question of technique
Simple games often become complicated by over-analysis. Football: very simple. Get ball, kick ball, goal. And yet whole days of TV coverage and an ever-increasing amount of newsprint can be wasted on every 50/50 offside decision and not-given penalty. Every top flight player has the very basics of their game poured over in excruciating detail to the point of tedium. American football takes it to the nth degree, but that may be something in the American psyche. All their sports seem to lend themselves to their inner statto.
Cricket is also a simple game, but it lends itself all too kindly to over-analysis. The time between overs has to be filled, as do lunch and tea breaks, let alone the periods between days. TV companies have a duty to fill these interregnums and hiatuses, but the administrators and coaches also seem to keep themselves busy at such times. The ECB are the worst culprits with that bloody Academy. In an illuminating piece in the Guardian, the mantra of Virender Sehwag - "watch ball, hit ball" - gets to the root of batting in four words. How many more hours are we going to have to sit through a Bob Willis lecture on technique and trigger movements or listen to a coach explain how a batsman doesn't make it to the England side because his head isn't in the right place? Then that player goes and gets his action or technique remodelled in the Academy and comes back with a string of stress fractures and a career shortened by a good five years.
And yet these are the same people lamenting the retirement of Marcus Trescothick. The last decent, powerful opener England had plays like his feet are superglued to the floor. He makes up for this with an incredible eye and throwing his hands through the ball. If Shivnarine Chanderpaul - the man who the word 'unorthodox' was invented for* - were English, he'd have no chance at the top level. We'd have seen Murali and Johan Botha thrown on the scrapheap years ago (though Botha may be ending up there all by himself anyway).
It seems like England forgot individuality many years ago and just wants a side made up of eleven automatons. Whither England's Sehwag? Probably having that irritating tendency of being unpredictably brilliant and infuriating in equal measure coached out of him in Australia.
* - See also Paul Adams.
Cricket is also a simple game, but it lends itself all too kindly to over-analysis. The time between overs has to be filled, as do lunch and tea breaks, let alone the periods between days. TV companies have a duty to fill these interregnums and hiatuses, but the administrators and coaches also seem to keep themselves busy at such times. The ECB are the worst culprits with that bloody Academy. In an illuminating piece in the Guardian, the mantra of Virender Sehwag - "watch ball, hit ball" - gets to the root of batting in four words. How many more hours are we going to have to sit through a Bob Willis lecture on technique and trigger movements or listen to a coach explain how a batsman doesn't make it to the England side because his head isn't in the right place? Then that player goes and gets his action or technique remodelled in the Academy and comes back with a string of stress fractures and a career shortened by a good five years.
And yet these are the same people lamenting the retirement of Marcus Trescothick. The last decent, powerful opener England had plays like his feet are superglued to the floor. He makes up for this with an incredible eye and throwing his hands through the ball. If Shivnarine Chanderpaul - the man who the word 'unorthodox' was invented for* - were English, he'd have no chance at the top level. We'd have seen Murali and Johan Botha thrown on the scrapheap years ago (though Botha may be ending up there all by himself anyway).
It seems like England forgot individuality many years ago and just wants a side made up of eleven automatons. Whither England's Sehwag? Probably having that irritating tendency of being unpredictably brilliant and infuriating in equal measure coached out of him in Australia.
* - See also Paul Adams.
Thursday, 23 April 2009
At Least It's Sunny Here
With the IPL now in full swing in South Africa one of the main reasons for taking the competition to there was the weather. Now I'm no expert but its Autumn in South Africa, the weather is turning. Winter is around the corner and the Quinziste Rugby season is now in full swing with the Super (sic) 14.
So, how can Lalit Modi be over impressed with some of the weather that they have faced so far in South Africa. Rain hit the second day of the competition at Newlands when the Delhi Daredevils overcame Kings XI Punjab on the Duckworth/Lewis method. Then the move over to Durban didn't help Kings XI Punjab as they lost their second game via Duckworth/Lewis, this time to Kolkata Knight Riders and the ensuing game between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Meanwhile the start of the season in England has escaped the worst of the April weather as the country currently basks in a late spring heatwave. Pretty ideal conditions for cricket to be honest.
Well done Mr Modi, a great decision to take the tournament to South Africa.
Oh, and DLF Maximums. Stop it. Now. It's a 6.
And before anyone reminds me, I know it's 75 years. Even Manchester City have won a title in that time.
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
County Championship Week 2
8 LV County Championship matches take place this week, four beginning today and four tomorrow, including the Champions Durham kicking off their title defence.
LV County Championship: Division One
Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire, Trent Bridge (Tuesday)
Sussex v Lancashire, Hove (Tuesday)
Durham v Yorkshire, Riverside (Wednesday)
Warwickshire v Hampshire, Edgbaston (Wednesday)
LV County Championship: Division Two
Gloucestershire v Essex, Bristol (Tuesday)
Kent v Northamptonshire, Canterbury (Tuesday)
Derbyshire v Surrey, Derby (Wednesday)
Middlesex v Glamorgan, Lord's (Wednesday)
Hampshire will look to build on the good start they made last week during their visit to Edgbaston. Ian Bell helped himself at Taunton and it will be interesting to see if the notoriously mercurial number three can carry that on. All the other matches last week, mainly due to the weather, ended in draws but with good weather forecast for the next few days we should begin to see some results filter through. Keep an eye out for the game at Hove which, if history is anything to go by, should be a cracker.
LV County Championship: Division One
Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire, Trent Bridge (Tuesday)
Sussex v Lancashire, Hove (Tuesday)
Durham v Yorkshire, Riverside (Wednesday)
Warwickshire v Hampshire, Edgbaston (Wednesday)
LV County Championship: Division Two
Gloucestershire v Essex, Bristol (Tuesday)
Kent v Northamptonshire, Canterbury (Tuesday)
Derbyshire v Surrey, Derby (Wednesday)
Middlesex v Glamorgan, Lord's (Wednesday)
Hampshire will look to build on the good start they made last week during their visit to Edgbaston. Ian Bell helped himself at Taunton and it will be interesting to see if the notoriously mercurial number three can carry that on. All the other matches last week, mainly due to the weather, ended in draws but with good weather forecast for the next few days we should begin to see some results filter through. Keep an eye out for the game at Hove which, if history is anything to go by, should be a cracker.
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