Cricket

[Ferret]

Anyone seen this 'dead ball' farce with Steve Finn? Well I'm going to nail my colours to the mast as follows:

1. Finn needs to sort it out. He'll cost England a run out one of these days by knocking the stumps over in his delivery stride.

2. Graeme Smith is being a total ****. He's been in the umpire's ear about this; it's premeditated and he's done it to gain an advantage, not because he's distracted at all, a point proved by him hitting two subsequent 'dead balls' for 4.

3. Steve Davis has fallen for what is naked gamesmanship hook, line and sinker. And he looks a complete fool, whatever backing comes from the MCC or the ICC.

With regard to point 2 - I realise this is contentious, but I stand by it for the follwoing reason. I'm no better than a club cricketer, but if I was facing Steven Finn or anybody even remotely quick, I'd not be paying any attention to anything but the bowling hand and the ball being released. What he does to the stumps is irrelevant - it's instinct, it's self-preservation, it's bat v ball. Smith himself proved this point by hitting two balls for 4. I'm afraid the umpire has allowed himself to be sucked in by Graeme Smith's gamesmanship. He should know better, and as such, should find himself having to answer some searching questions from the ICC as to why he should remain on the elite umpire's panel.

 

[ainsworth74]

Fully agree with you Ferret I think Finn needs to sort it out but in the mean time Steve Davis is being somewhat daft and has fallen as you say for gamesmanship by Smith.

 

[ACE1888]

Honours even after Day 1 I reckon, England need to 'mop up' the rest ASAP in the morning, strange to obmit Swann though, seamer friendly Headingley pitch or no...:roll: Not a fan of 'part time' bowlers at all me..

 

[LE Greys]

Honours even after Day 1 I reckon, England need to 'mop up' the rest ASAP in the morning, strange to obmit Swann though, seamer friendly Headingley pitch or no...:roll: Not a fan of 'part time' bowlers at all me..

I would tend to agree, and so would Michael Vaughen. Swann would be able to tie down one end while the seamers had a go at the other. At least Broad has begun to get his act together now.

And Finn ought to go around the wicket more often.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Now after lunch on the second day with South Africa remorselessly carrying on at 402-8 after 131 overs. At least Petersen is no longer batting.

 

[Ferret]

John Holder the umpire was on the radio at lunch, and he said although Steve Davis was applying the laws as he saw them, he didn't think it was very smart. Interesting to hear the perspective of a top umpire as well....

 

[andrew bell]

Few points. Yes by law Steve Davis was right to call dead ball after Finn knocked the bails off but what Smith done was not in the spirit of the game, look at Bell v India last year, correctly given out but India upheld the appeal through the spirit of the game. Smith should of said I'm out and should of walked. I wonder if Strauss is out caught he will say I pulled out as I was 'distracted'
Finn's bowling style has changed since I played against him as a colt cricketer, and I think its the England management thats changed it, and it has made him worse

 

[Ferret]

What makes Finn effective in ODIs is getting close to the stumps, to bowl wicket to wicket. Graeme Smith is well aware of this, and he's sought to do something about it - exploiting what is a flaw in Finn's run up to gain an advantage. It leaves a very sour taste, and I think it's wholly unnecessary - South Africa are the better team, I've held this opinion for some time and the 7 days of Test cricket played this summer have not changed my view.

Of course, Smith has form for this kind of thing - Michael Vaughan's autobiography recounts an incident where Graeme Smith attempted to get Vaughan banned from a Test match at a disciplinary hearing. I'm afraid, history will remember him as a decent cricketer, but one who was not afraid to use sharp practice.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Cook must surely be rueing his missed slip catch on the first day when Alviro Petersen had only scored 29, as his final score of 182 really consolidated the South African match position over the first two days of this Test Match.

 

[Ferret]

Well, that Pietersen innings has set the cat loose among the pigeons. And if Smith has really hurt his knee, the Saffers are in bother, with Alviro Petersen also injured. This Test series just got *very* interesting! Imagine if England get a lead tomorrow through Pietersen, Prior and Bresnan.......

 

[LE Greys]

Well, that Pietersen innings has set the cat loose among the pigeons. And if Smith has really hurt his knee, the Saffers are in bother, with Alviro Petersen also injured. This Test series just got *very* interesting! Imagine if England get a lead tomorrow through Pietersen, Prior and Bresnan.......

It certainly is! My long-wave radio is on overtime.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

On home matters, what could have been a thrilling final days play with the match between Lancashire and Somerset was ended somewhat prematurely when that thunderstorm saturated the outfield at Aigburth.

 

[Ferret]

And Warwickshire missed their opportunity to nail a lead at the top of the Championship. Sometimes I wish Bell and Trott weren't playing for England!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

So the Second Test ended in a draw, but at least the English bowlers discovered the knack of taking South African wickets again and whilst Jimmy Anderson only took one wicket in their second innings, his inning's bowling figures were very good in runs conceded per over. It reminded me of Richard Hadlee, who was very good at keeping one end quiet whilst the other bowlers attacked at the other end.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Where do people stand on the KP issue? I must admit that much of what I read about makes him the very opposite of the kind of person I can take to, by this I mean the celeb lifestyle etc and all that entails, but I do have a kind of admiration for him, I think that he is a dedicated and committed cricketer, and commentators are generally agreed that he is first into the nets and last out....but can England afford to treat him differently? ( he won't be the first, Boycott was also a maverick - remember his self imposed exile before he said 'Oh, you can pick me again, now' and even earlier Fred Trueman refused to tour India.....

 

[Johnuk123]

Unfortunately KP has caused a lot of unrest in the dressing room so the sooner he goes the better.

 

[Ferret]

The thing with KP is that he wants to be loved, but he wants to be free to do as he pleases. The problem for the ECB is that they don't want to accomodate individuals, just have 15 clones to choose from. We get a clash of various egos, and then we get KP
suggesting that the Lords Test may be his last.

The simple fact is that KP needs to be allowed a little room for his own indulgences, if he is to play Test Cricket. He wants to play the full IPL apparently - well fine - he'll miss a Test series against NZ. Ideal opportunity for England to blood James Taylor, maybe Sam Northeast, maybe Alex Hales. Wins all round.

It needs pragmatism from the ECB, and KP to commit to the important series like the Ashes, the T20 World Cup, and the 50 over World Cup. The ECB and KP need to realise that the cricketing public are what matters - the people that pay to watch. Find a compromise folks, and remember that one day, Pietersen will retire. We've seen what happened to Australia when established batsmen are replaced by inexperienced batsmen - England have an opportunity to ensure this does not happen to them. I suggest they negotiate with KP, let him sit out the odd series, and blood new players.

Of course, we all know this will not happen.

 

[Johnuk123]

The thing with KP is that he wants to be loved, but he wants to be free to do as he pleases. The problem for the ECB is that they don't want to accomodate individuals, just have 15 clones to choose from. We get a clash of various egos, and then we get KP
suggesting that the Lords Test may be his last.

The simple fact is that KP needs to be allowed a little room for his own indulgences, if he is to play Test Cricket. He wants to play the full IPL apparently - well fine - he'll miss a Test series against NZ. Ideal opportunity for England to blood James Taylor, maybe Sam Northeast, maybe Alex Hales. Wins all round.

It needs pragmatism from the ECB, and KP to commit to the important series like the Ashes, the T20 World Cup, and the 50 over World Cup. The ECB and KP need to realise that the cricketing public are what matters - the people that pay to watch. Find a compromise folks, and remember that one day, Pietersen will retire. We've seen what happened to Australia when established batsmen are replaced by inexperienced batsmen - England have an opportunity to ensure this does not happen to them. I suggest they negotiate with KP, let him sit out the odd series, and blood new players.

Of course, we all know this will not happen.

That's fine till a few more players want to be indulged because if any special rules are made for KP then they have to apply to everybody.

 

[Ferret]

That's fine till a few more players want to be indulged because if any special rules are made for KP then they have to apply to everybody.

Like the special rules that have been made for the England Test Captain? Or Graeme Smith for SA? Or Ricky Ponting, or Michael Clarke?

 

[Whistler40145]

Does England really need Kevin Pietersen?

IMHO he thinks they do.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Does England really need Kevin Pietersen?

IMHO he thinks they do.

Did not Tony Blair have the same opinion of himself ? Sorry for being OT, but I could not resist this association of leadership...

 

[Stephen55a1960]

Did not Tony Blair have the same opinion of himself ? Sorry for being OT, but I could not resist this association of leadership...

The same,I believe, was once said about the late Ted Heath? Apologies from me for being OT too.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Back to the matter in hand. The third Test Match, subject to weather, now has the makings of a far more even contest after the debacle that occurred for England during the first Test, provided that the English bowlers have learnt something from the second Test.

 

[LE Greys]

Back to the matter in hand. The third Test Match, subject to weather, now has the makings of a far more even contest after the debacle that occurred for England during the first Test, provided that the English bowlers have learnt something from the second Test.

And let's hope that they pick Swann for this one. Boycott was probably right, he just might have made the difference at Headingley.

 

[Ferret]

Oh yes, massive error not to play Swann. Bresnan out, Finn out, Onions and Swann in for me.

 

[ainsworth74]

Onions and Swann in for me.

Argh get your hands off! We need him more
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It seems that the ECB having decided to delay the decision on the future of Country Cricket out to 2014 have decided to consult the people that actually make profession cricket possible, namely the fans. They've launched a survey seeking our views on the game and you can access the survey here.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

It's quite a survey!

managed to go to Old Trafford yesterday for the England Lions game, real shame that it wasn't marketed better, a sparse crowd (and I mean sparse) had a great days entertainment (if you were an England supporter, that is) in fantastic cricket-watching weather, for once. Such a shame that there wasn't greater support, after all many of these players might be hopeful of playing in next years Ashes and they deserved better.

 

[Ferret]

Did anyone sing at Mitchell Johnson?

'He bowls to the left'...!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It's quite a survey!....managed to go to Old Trafford yesterday for the England Lions game, real shame that it wasn't marketed better, a sparse crowd (and I mean sparse) had a great days entertainment (if you were an England supporter, that is) in fantastic cricket-watching weather, for once. Such a shame that there wasn't greater support, after all many of these players might be hopeful of playing in next years Ashes and they deserved better.

The clash with the latter stages of the Olympic Games might well have had something to do with the size of the attendance at Old Trafford. Nice to see that Manchester does not always have the old Music Hall jibe of being continually rained upon. I remember very good weather being at Old Trafford when I was in my early youth when Jim Laker took those 19 wickets in a Test Match in 1956 against Australia.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Did anyone sing at Mitchell Johnson?

'He bowls to the left'...!

The last time than an Australian was on the end of a witty ditty at Old Trafford from the spectators when I was there was when Shane Warne was greeted by the "Gazza" football song...."Who ate all the pies"..

 

[Johnuk123]

I see it's reported today that KP was texting South African cricketers whilst the last test was taking place with "less than flattering" comments about his soon to be ex-England team mates.

With the revelation he trains on his own and makes jokes in Afrikaans with his South African mates whilst on the pitch surely he's finished.

Consider how England stood by him when he couldn't hit a cows a**e with a banjo.