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Honestly, Michael
By Ian 3 years ago, at the start of June, 13 Comments »
Just read the piece on Cricinfo about Michael Vaughan implying that the Fredalo incident ruined England’s chances at the World Cup and it got me thinking. There has been plenty written in the last few months that Vaughan should not be skipper; his ego hurts the team; he’s not worth his place etc etc. While his classy hundred against the Windies at Headingley may have bought a little respite from the nay-sayers, it wouldn’t take much for them to get tetchy again.
What this article tells me is that he is still the right man for the job. Vaughan is basically saying that Fred was a bloody idiot and messed it up for everyone by attracting every tabloid paper to the hotel lobby. Fair enough, he did. He also went on to criticise himself and admit that his ODI record sucks. It does. But given how guarded interviews tend to be nowadays until the sportsman has retired, this was pretty candid. A new skipper might not have been so forthright, but Vaughan is about the only one who can say boo to a goose like Freddy or his buddy Harmy for that matter. And we need those two loons back to full throttle if we’re going to threaten the Aussies next time round. Which, if I’m really really honest with myself, is all that matters in the longterm. Vaughan, 32, is still the man to do that.
As for ODIs, I would let him continue as skipper. I’ll admit I am a big fan of his (the Michael Vaughan extra cover drive marks the start of my summer), so this is subjective as ever, but given nobody else is nailing down a place in the top three, what harm is he doing….?
13 Comments »Cricket videos on Youtube
By Will 3 years ago, mid-May, 8 Comments »
As has been well discussed, Youtube is the tardis of online video, and there is an awful lot of tripe there as a result. But in between the mundane crap there are some priceless and rare gems, and one particular user was a guaranteed supplier of the better material. Cougarcricket was his name. He is now in the past, either missing in action or dead. Or, more likely, banned by Percy and pals in their blind and insatiable corporate greed to run the planet their own way. Soon, we’ll all have golf courses under the sea (or whatever Ian Chappell’s recent brilliant quote was). What the ICC have failed to realise is the internet is not a Zimbabwe, or any other cricket board; with it being essentially an ungovernable medium, people are continuing to upload whatever they like, as they should do.
So we need a replacement to Mr Cougar, and / or a list of the latest and greatest cricket clips. Your nominations, please.
8 Comments »Photos of Australia’s World Cup parade in Sydney
By Will 3 years ago, at the start of May, 9 Comments »
If you can stomach it, Matt Sterne has taken some photos of the Australian winners in Sydney.
Over and out
By Ian 3 years ago, at the end of April, 11 Comments »
The final live was every bit as loony as it must have appeared on telly, but it was still a cracking day out. Indeed, given we were staring at rain covers for the first couple of hours, any action was good action. Gilchrist’s innings was worth the entry fee alone. I also loved the partnership between Jayasuriya and Sangakkara. But no team, however plucky, could have maintained 8 an over against those bowlers in that light.
The ICC has yet again proved itself to be an ass, but it may have dodged a bullet on Saturday. It was lucky that Ponting won the toss and batted first. Had Sri Lanka posted, say, 230 runs for the Aussies to chase in the half-light, it would have been a tall order, even for them. If it had been the Lankans dragging their heels between deliveries to waste time and Malinga bowling 85 mph in the gloomy drizzle, it could have kicked off some ugly scenes in the crowd. Would Australia have accepted being dealt such a poor hand as graciously as Sri Lanka?
OK, so I’m stirring. The right team won and it would have been a travesty if Ponting’s men had been robbed by weather conditions. As my cabbie said the night before, “if you’re the best team, you’re the best team, and you deserve to winâ€. I’ll admit too that the Aussie supporters were excellent in our stand. Save, of course, for the shouts of ‘no-ball’ whenever Murali bowled – can you not just let it go?!
There is the temptation to dismiss the Aussie players as charmless automatons who grind out results, but that is a disservice. They have flair, instinct, guile and panache by the bucket load. The players’ celebrations at Gilchrist’s hundred and the ultimate victory (both times) were genuinely endearing. There is no arrogance, just well-earned confidence. It matters more to these Australians and so they deserve the glory. Thank goodness they can’t play forever.
Ian Valetine is a freelance journalist blogging who has blogged the World Cup for The Corridor
That was the World Cup that wasn’t
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of April, 19 Comments »
You can come out now, it’s safe. The interminable has finally been put back into hybernation for another blissful four years, while the ICC scratch their chins and wonder how they can make it even worse. They really will struggle to produce anything quite so flawed and farcical as the 2007 World Cup which has been strung out over the past 47 days, like a terminal patient on a life support machine.
I’m so glad it ended as it did, too. There was a hope (or fear, depending on the levels of cynicism germinating inside you) that the final would sweep all the controversy of the tournament under one, big, happy carpet. But it didn’t. It ended in complete, incomparable farce. No one person was at fault for the last rites, when Australia’s celebrations were cut short – forcing them back into the dark of night to bowl another few overs. True, Aleem Dar ought not to have officiated in such a rigid manner and shown some semblance of logic – Sri Lanka were not going to win the game. Everyone knew that. But that is Dar’s way, and it is uncomfortable criticising umpires’ roles. They have a thankless task at the best of times and are first in the firing line.
Who’s fault was it, then? Anyone watching from afar – even if knowledgeable of cricket eccentricities – would have found it quite astonishingly bizarre that a side could be allowed off for bad light, seemingly handing the win to the opposition, only for both sides to be forced back onto the field. In pitch blackness. Cricket simply does not help itself half the time. Today should have showcased the best players in the world, demonstrating what a remarkable sport cricket is. Instead, the sport was reduced to an embarrassing pantomime.
Was the Cup doomed from the start? Is it the flawed idea of cricket having a World Cup, full stop? After all, one-day cricket remains the cheap, frilly cousin of Tests, so how can it be described by some as the sport’s greatest event? It palpably is not. It is a frenetic exercise to embezzle as much money into the pockets of the ICC and the organisers as is feasibly possible, at the expense of everyone – especially the developing countries and the locals hosting the tournament.
Call me cynical, and you will, but covering a tournament so closely has inevitable consequences. Australia are the best one-day side in the world, and probably the best in history too. But we have learned little else from this drab event other than the ICC are even more greedy than we first suspected, and Australia’s opponents – Sri Lanka apart – aren’t even close to chasing their coat tails.
19 Comments »World Cup final: Australia v Sri Lanka
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of April, 162 Comments »
The interminable 2007 tournament is finally drawing to a close, but before we tear the ICC apart for organising such a ridiculously long event, Australia take on Sri Lanka in the final. Both teams are deserved finalists.
I’m rooting for Sri Lanka. The teams are pretty well matched but I just hope Sri Lanka can apply some of their own bulldozering techniques and not let Australia gain an early upper hand. Get that Matthew Hayden early, too.
Anyway, keep an eye on the scorecard and leave your thoughts below.
162 Comments »Top dogs
By Ian 3 years ago, at the end of April, 2 Comments »
Excitement now building for the final, especially as the best two teams have made it by playing attacking cricket. Here’s hoping they serve up a hum-dinger. Highlights for me have been watching live Ponting, Clarke, Watson, De Villiers and Jayawardene playing shots I can’t even play in my dreams. Messing about in the Caribbean on a 90 foot yacht has been pretty cool too.
Having done the Loser XI, here’s our A-team. There are a few that are unlucky to miss out, including Michael Clarke, Jacques Kallis, AB De Villiers, Daren Powell, Shane Bond, Mashrafe Mortaza and Paul Nixon, but I’m sure they’ll get over it.
1. Hayden 2. Jayasuriya 3. Ponting 4. Jayawardene 5. Pietersen 6. Styris 7. Boucher 8. Hogg 9. Malinga 10. Murali 11. McGrath
Sangakkara has a great chance of stealing the keeper’s berth tomorrow, especially after Boucher’s first baller yesterday, so everything to play for. The others pick themselves, no?
Ian Valentine is a freelance journalist blogging the World Cup for The Corridor
2 Comments »Thanks for coming
By Ian 3 years ago, at the end of April, 18 Comments »
Gadzooks – yet another one sided match. And in a tourney of one sided matches, this was about the most imbalanced. “They’ll choke,” said the Aussies on the boat this morning after a choppy overnight crossing from Musquite, and choke they did. All the confidence the Boks showed in Barbados against the English had evaporated. What they could have given for the captain’s performance that Jayawardene provided yesterday!
And so on to Barbados for the final. All we want is a proper game of cricket. Can the plucky Sri Lankans test the Aussies? So far they have lost no more than six wickets and they’ve bowled out every opposition – it would be harsh if they are not recoronated world champions. But all the more delicious for all that! That said, it would be wonderful to see Adam Gilchrist score some runs in the final. So far he was scored two runs in the two innings I’ve seen.
Before we get stuck into a few sundowners on St Lucia, here’s a team we’ve put together entitled ‘Thanks for coming’. It’s a team that at the start of the tournament could have been the stars, but they have flattered to deceive. No doubt, we have missed out the odd loser or two.
1. Michael Vaughan 2. Chris Gayle 3. Sachin Tendulkar 4. Ross Taylor 5. Inzi 6. Michael Hussey 7. MS Dhoni 8. Shaun Pollock 9. Shahid Afridi 10. Saj Mahmood 11. Makhaya Ntini
Ian Valentine is a freelance journalist blogging the World Cup for The Corridor
18 Comments »Live chat: Australia v South Africa, 2nd semi-final, St Lucia
By Emma 3 years ago, at the end of April, 79 Comments »
So much for essay writing, this is going to be far more interesting. The two, of course, haven’t played since the group stages, and Australia still haven’t lost a game. Will this be the one? South Africa have won the toss, and elected to bat.
Catch Will, and the scorecard, over here. In the meantime, chat away!
79 Comments »Live chat: New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 1st Semi-Final, Jamaica
By Emma 3 years ago, at the end of April, 23 Comments »
So, after weeks of play, we’ve finally made it to the first semi-final back where Pakistan exited the competition in such spectacular fashion. We can only hope, after such a long wait, that both this match and that at the Beausejour Stadium tomorrow, offer good, tight contests.
But whatever happens, you can watch the scorecard and commentary at Cricinfo, and chat about it here.
23 Comments »West Indies transport woes strike at last
By Scott 3 years ago, at the end of April, 1 Comment »
The great fear about the 2007 World Cup, brought to you by the ICC and a list of Corporate Partnersâ„¢ as long as your arm, was that the transport infrastructure might not be able to cope. In the wake of constant fumbling by the ICC, these fears have been overshadowed, and there have not been any great cock=ups.
It was better to be a piece of luggage than a player – Australia’s luggage was sent on a 40-minute direct flight from Grenada to St Lucia while players were five hours in transit after having to go through Barbados.
South Africa’s luggage beat the team to St Lucia by two hours, after the travel-weary Proteas arrived last night three hours behind schedule.
At one stage in Grenada, the Australian, New Zealand and Sri Lankan players disembarked the flight after waiting for 30 minutes in their seats before being summoned back on board as it left 95 minutes late.
The pilot of the charter flight apologised on the tarmac and the players were starting to wonder whether the pilot may have lost his bearings when he signed off with “goodnight”.
It was noon.
Room was so tight on the flight from Barbados to Grenada that some players, including Matthew Hayden, struggled to find room to put their feet.
The Sri Lankans and New Zealanders were more disadvantaged because they are playing tonight (AEST), whereas Australia does not play South Africa until tomorrow night.
One Sri Lankan player quipped: “The way we are going our first look at the ground will be on match morning – from about 6000 feet.”
Whoops!
1 Comment »Domestic parades
By Emma 3 years ago, at the end of April, 9 Comments »
There is one thing to be said of one-day tournaments. No one expects an English impression. Of course, my inner patriotic flag-waver occasionally gets over-excited by gritty half centuries and out-swingers that inevitably evade the edge, but it was evident from as early as the tentative pushes played to Dwayne Leverock’s tweakers that this World Cup was going to be little different to the last.
So back to the drawing board, and the full length game. As any revising teenager will tell you, time is short between England’s return and May 17th. Yet somehow, Peter Moores, along with a criticised selection committee and a captain under pressure, must select 11 players to take the field at Lord’s. Although it has been a long winter for many of those returning from the Caribbean, it is surely a question of how many appearances they will make for their counties, and not whether they will appear.
Whilst those in the national one-day squad have been touching up the Bajan suntan, some of the Ashes party have already started their first-class accounts for 2007 with mixed success. Pleasingly, the first round of Championship matches has not undergone a domination of rain or, indeed, of any particular discipline. Both teams failed to successfully remove the other at a high scoring game at Taunton, while Mushtaq Ahmed ran amok in the first innings at Sussex after declaring himself below full match fitness. Alastair Cook made his second century in as many games after captaining the MCC last week, Hoggard made a good second innings four-for, while Will has already flagged Harmison’s impression on return. Geraint Jones, however, compounded his disappointing winter with single figures in both innings, and Ashley Giles spent the first week of the season in Colorado undergoing exploratory hip surgery.
Difficult decisions will have to be made before England play again, not least being how much rest to give the players returning this week. Unfortunately for both Jones and Giles, their names almost certainly will not be amongst those causing concern.
9 Comments »Eleven pioneers of one-day cricket
By Ian 3 years ago, mid-April, 15 Comments »
When you get too many cricket nuts sat round a table, it doesn’t take long before you start picking the greatest teams of all time.
And so it was last night. Our goal was slightly different, in that it was not a question of results, figures etc, but rather picking which eleven players had most altered ODI l cricket for the better. Those whose skill, style, attitude and innovation added new expectations to those players that followed them. As a result, batsmen like Ponting, Tendulkar, Lara, Pietersen don’t get a look in, nor do bowlers like McGrath or Murali, as others set the bench mark, which they would later raise further. No doubt, there are players we’ve missed out! Surely there is an Indian or two…
1. Adam Gilchrist 2. Sanath Jayasuriya 3. Viv Richards 4. Mark Waugh 5. Clive Lloyd 6. Michael Bevan 7. Jonty Rhodes 8. Lance Klusener 9. Wasim Akram 10. Shane Warne 11. Waqar Younis
Thoughts?
Ian Valentine is a freelance journalist blogging his diary of the World Cup for The Corridor
15 Comments »Aussie fans: a case study
By Ian 3 years ago, mid-April, 5 Comments »
“That’s a bloody disgrace, getting out like that! He should be ashamed of himself. Disgusting! What an idiot!â€
To listen to the Aussie next to me (this was a rough translation – please add expletives to taste), you could be forgiven for thinking that Matthew Hayden had missed a full toss first up. Of course, the big Queenslander had just helped himself to another hundred on a blazing hot day in Grenada. From a television screen behind us in this perfect cricket ground, I could hear the commentator Mark Nicholas pouring forth his usual treacle, hailing the innings as a treat for the crowd and a display of expert strokeplay. Which it was.
Perhaps, therein lies the difference between winners and losers. A hundred wasn’t enough, even if the score was 220 odd for 3. Imagine if Michael Vaughan had scored 100, would we be berating him? Hayden also stalked off like he had just swallowed a wasp, before saluting the massed ranks of jubilant Aussies that had swelled the ground to a record attendance. I sat in the party stand for an hour or so until it got too hot for my pommy skin and I marvelled at how the ‘Hayden strut’ is so much part of the Australian male. They all walk about like him, shoulders back, chest puffed and chin forward. My favourite example was a skinny wretch built like Mr Muscle, who still tried to make the most of what he had, posturing about like Arnie in a street brawl. But at least he was fully clothed, unlike the Speedo brigade who hugged and grappled every time something went their way. Aussies are real men!
Joking apart, it was great to see a proper total posted. Shane Watson was the surprise package, playing shots that defied belief, all of them pure and proper. I was one of the many who couldn’t understand why the selectors kept coming back to him. “He’s like chopped liver,†said one of the Aussies on the boat, which I presume is a bad thing. However, and not for the first time, I was proved wrong. He was brilliant.
Ian Valentine is a freelance journalist blogging his diary of the World Cup for The Corridor
5 Comments »England v West Indies, Super Eights, Barbados
By Will 3 years ago, mid-April, 77 Comments »
It’s a day of last hurrahs. England’s final match; West Indies last game; Duncan Fletcher’s and Brian Lara’s last in international cricket and, apart from those departing, it’s an utterly meaningless encounter. Due to Fletcher’s retirement, England are apparently now up for the match (which is nice). All we want is a Lara hundred though, don’t we?
Leave your wibblings below and keep an eye on the scorecard.
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