The Ashes 2009

[RevdKathy]

Thinking about the situation in the UK with cricket (not) on free-to-air TV makes me think of the Packer debacle. In the end, money always talks (mine usually says goodbye) and the free channels just didn't have the dosh. I think the ECB missed something significant: without cricket on TV, young people won't be inspired to try the sport so in 15 years time we'll have no-one who can bat or bowl. Oh, wait...

(My Uncle's assessment of Headingley: "we can’t bloody bowl and we can’t bloody bat.")

 

[Orac Zen]

[...] Ponting refuses to bowl our best spinner, Katich.

Man, you really can't stand Ponting, can you? Like Clarke, Katich has had injury issues and has hardly bowled in recent times. We've had enough problems with bowlers hardly able to land the ball on the strip so far this series without using a part-timer with little recent bowling behind him. YMMV, of course. As for Hauritz, he's bowled okay from what I've seen and taken some useful wickets. Credit where it's due, BB.

As for the TV issue... Given Cricket Australia's reverence for the dollar it's only a matter of time before Nine loses the coverage rights to pay TV, which is when I'll stop watching cricket. The game's administrators don't seem to have much capacity for forward thinking / planning; all they see is $$$.

 

[RevdKathy]

Apparently, Johnson has freely admitted that his problem for the first few tests was mental - and that without any dodgy dossiers!

Sadly, it sounds like he found the prozac.

 

[Orac Zen]

^
And not before time, either.

Yet again, Andrew Hilditch has indicated that he occupies a different planet to the rest of us. I have no problem with his remarks on Lee, but to suggest Stuart Clark has little or no future in Test cricket is insane - even by his recent standards (such as they are).

 

[Botany Bay]

[...] Ponting refuses to bowl our best spinner, Katich.

Man, you really can't stand Ponting, can you? Like Clarke, Katich has had injury issues and has hardly bowled in recent times. We've had enough problems with bowlers hardly able to land the ball on the strip so far this series without using a part-timer with little recent bowling behind him. YMMV, of course. As for Hauritz, he's bowled okay from what I've seen and taken some useful wickets. Credit where it's due, BB.

No credit is due at all - the seamers were getting carted on day 3 by Swann and Broad, and Katich and North were standing around with their hands in their pockets. We had a lead of - what? Over 150 at that point? A 5th grade captain would have put a spinner on.

And as for Ricky. One of our greatest batsmen (shown once again in his inngings in the last test), but as a tactician and role model...not so sure.

It's probably England's best bet with only Horrorshowitz available for us. M. Clarke is allegedly too injured to bowl his handy left arm orthodox, and Ponting refuses to bowl our best spinner, Katich.

Are we still knocking Hauritz? The guy was joint third highest wicket taker leading into the fourth test so he deserves a bit of credit.

I agree he's done more than anyone expected of him in this series - I admired the way he kept on bowling after that hideous finger injury at Lord's - that takes guts, and to maintain control the way he did was a top effort.

But let's be honest about things -when he's in the team, we struggle to bowl sides out.

Latest talk today is that Tresco will be approached to come back and play one more test. I did feel sorry for him, the way his career ended. He's a quality bat.

 

[Orac Zen]

No credit is due at all

Back up a bit. That remark doesn't really match up with this one:

I agree he's done more than anyone expected of him in this series - I admired the way he kept on bowling after that hideous finger injury at Lord's - that takes guts, and to maintain control the way he did was a top effort.

Leaving aside the rest of what you said for the moment, either you're giving Hauritz credit or you're not. Which is it?

As for Ponting's tactical nous, I agree it's limited and I've said so in this thread. As for him being a role model, that's a mixed bag. I've always thought people should look closer to home for those...but that's a whole other issue.

Agree to disagree, I suppose.

 

[RevdKathy]

Ponting's nous is pretty average. But to be honest, Straussy hasn't been innovative in that department. Not all great players make great captains, and some of them find their own game goes down the pan. I'll agree that I don't thing Punter's a great role model: he has a reputation here for a bad temper, swearing kicking doors down etc. But in public he's always been charming. He's a bloody fine bat, and no question. (And we really can't talk about role models after giving the captaincy to Fred at one point!)

Not so sure about Tres getting a call up. He said 'no' when he retired from internationals. Would you put a man who retired from the Ashes with depression into a must-win test against the Aussies? Cos I sure as hell wouldn't (unless you have meds handy to induce hypo-mania). The news appears to be good on Fred, in which case I suspect they'll leave our batting unchanged, and give the Bopper a chance to come good.

They've sent Bell, Bopara, Cook, Onions and Swann back to their counties to try to get a bit of confidence in the next few days. Unfortunately, it sounds like Swanny has piggy 'flu, so won't be playing.

 

[Botany Bay]

No credit is due at all

Back up a bit. That remark doesn't really match up with this one:

I agree he's done more than anyone expected of him in this series - I admired the way he kept on bowling after that hideous finger injury at Lord's - that takes guts, and to maintain control the way he did was a top effort.

Leaving aside the rest of what you said for the moment, either you're giving Hauritz credit or you're not. Which is it?

I should have clarified that a bit, my post was a dog's breakfast.

Here is my assignment of credit :

0/10 to Ponting for his Day 3 match awareness at Leeds.

10/10 to Hauritz for playing out of his skin this series.

Apologies for the confusion - my Trekbbs posting time is limited to 20 minutes on the train at the moment, like Swanny, I have the latest version of the flu (had swine already - god knows what it is this time, but I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy) and I didn't read over it properly.

Rev K - please play Bopara!

 

[RevdKathy]

Ouch!

But so nearly true.

 

[RevdKathy]

See, you just type here, and it 'tweets' to the whole world. Just ask Philip Hughes!

We used to warm up with the birdie song in my day - none of that dangerous football lark.

Trying to keep this thread on the front page till next Thursday.

 

[Orac Zen]

^



According to his Times column, Trescothick's ruled himself out of playing at the Oval. I can't believe his name was even mentioned, actually - depression isn't something to muck around with and from what I read around the time he left international cricket his issues were / are pretty severe. For all the significance we attach to the Ashes, they surely can't be more important than someone's long-term health.

There's still talk that Clark won't play at the Oval, either. Do our selectors have even one functioning brain cell between them?

 

[RevdKathy]

Inside stories (as in people who know him) tell me that Tresco's problems stemmed from a health problem his wife was suffering while he was on tour, namely a pathological inability to keep her knickers up.

He apparently thought about making himself available for the last test for a few hours. Then had a nightmare about not being able to get his England kit out of his kitbag for a team photo while everyone was waiting for him and woke in a cold sweat. That told him that his sub-conscious didn't want to do this. He happily carried his bat for 80 in a Pro-40 slaughter of Gloucestershire last night, while also standing as Captain. He's happy where he is.

In other news, Trott scored 121 in a country match yesterday, in a lovely partnership with Bell, 92*.

And yes, most opinion I've read (including quotes from Clark himself) suggest he will be dropped.

 

[Orac Zen]

If that version of events made it across to this country, I didn't see it. I did read about the nightmare this morning, though. Whatever the story, it seems he's out of contention.

Our selectors will probably bring back Lee before Clark. Imbeciles.

 

[RevdKathy]

^It didn't. It's not an official version at all. I heard this this week from someone in the know from Somerset.

From what I read here of your selectors, they're either going to play the exact same team at Headingley or swop Hauritz back in if the pitch looks like they need a spinner, which would leave Clark out.

 

[Orac Zen]

Yeah, I'd gathered it wasn't any sort of common knowledge. Then again these stories have a way of growing legs (the "Michael Slater fathered Adam Gilchrist's child" tale a few years back springs to mind) so it may not be long before it's in general circulation.

I have very little faith in the ability of our selectors to get it right. One out of four isn't very promising, after all.

 

[RevdKathy]

Dropping down the page again. Just five more days guys!

One of my Twitter-friends is big on photo shop. I particularly like this one!

As predicted, England have dropped Bopara in favour of Trott. That's one hell of a gamble, given he's a complete novice to international cricket. But they probably couldn't do much else after choosing him in the squad for Edgbaston. The good bit is a) he's in cracking form and b) he's Bell's regular partner at Warwickshire.

Edit in to add this one!

 

[Orac Zen]

Three amusing things about this article:

1. How badly edited it is.

2. On the Oz's sport page, it refers to someone called "Nauritz".

3. Rogue seagull steals bail. I hope there's footage somewhere of Lee chasing said bird to try to recover it.

 

[RevdKathy]

Good grief! I thought Australians were at least vaguely literate? Terrible repetition - he loses at 'just-a-minute'!

The edited in photo in my post above features the seagull. No shot of Lee in persuit, sadly. Is he known for running after birds?

 

[Orac Zen]

Well, poor old Murdoch's down to his last few billion so presumably his papers don't hire editors any more (proofreaders have long since been dispensed with, I'll wager). The writer in question is usually a bit better than that; maybe he hit the turps after play, or laughed so much at the seagull he lost the ability to write.

As for Lee chasing birds, I suppose he has to have something to do to stay in shape.

 

[RevdKathy]

Murdoch gets more than enough out of me just for the luxury of watching cricket that should be on free to air. Mind, quality reporting like that isn't going to increase his sales, is it!

If Lee is up for chasing birds, I'm over heeeere!