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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.
England’s Commonwealth Bank Series win completes my misery
By Scott 3 years ago, mid-February, 18 Comments »
I have a toothache from hell. It set in on Friday night, and my dentist can’t fit me in until Wednesday morning. So between that, and England totally outplaying Australia in the one day finals, I have not been a happy little camper. At the moment, I’m taking refuge in alcohol for pain relief. Meanwhile I wonder if Andrew Flintoff is taking pain relief from alcohol. The last time Flintoff was involved in winning a trophy off Australia, his alcohol intake was spectacular. I’m partial to a drop myself, but I have to admit I don’t think I could keep up with Freddy when he’s up for a drink.
Anyway, enough of vices. I asked in my previous post if Duncan Fletcher would have anything to do with the resurrection of English fortunes, and it turns out he did have a bit to say.
Whereas a matter of weeks ago England’s planning for the World Cup almost revolved around picking random names out of a hat, Fletcher now says there is a clear plan heading into the tournament.
“We’ve got a side that have won here and done very, very well and yet we are still missing people of the calibre of [Michael] Vaughan and [Kevin] Pietersen who are two very important players for us, so it’s still going to be very difficult for us [to narrow down the squad].”
“But we’re a lot clearer than we were at the start of this series. We really believe in the side now, four in a row is a great achievement and we’ve just got to continue with that momentum.”
Fletcher, himself, received a special mention as Andrew Flintoff relished his first success as captain. “The one person I really want to thank is Duncan Fletcher,” said Flintoff, “throughout the trip he has kept taking the knocks for us but he has kept backing us.”
While most of the plaudits will go to Paul Collingwood, and rightly so, I think that the emergence of Liam Plunkett also has a lot to do with the turnaround in England’s fortunes. And Monty Panesar has had a role to play too. He hasn’t taken a hatful of wickets, but he’s always kept things tight, and a good spinner is worth a fortune in any form of cricket.
Australia have got some thinking to do. They are in danger of losing their ranking as the best ODI side in the world to South Africa. To me the two issues are that Michael Hussey has lost his magic touch, as well as Symonds’ injury. Michael Clarke could do with some more runs as well. My own view was that White should have replaced Symonds as the batting allrounder. Instead, they’ve chosen Watson as a bowling allrounder, which is fine except that he’s barely had any cricket since the Champions trophy. Bringing him back for the finals smacked of hubris, and hubris gets punished.
My understanding is that Will will be returning from Kenya in the next few days, with plenty of photographs and hopefully some insider gossip about his adventures. For an Englishman’s perspective, be sure to read the Reverse Swing Manifesto (and speaking of which, why hasn’t Troy Cooley done us any good in the ODI’s?) In the meantime, I leave you with one final question before I drown my sorrows. What exactly is the Duckworth/Lewis algorithim? I once heard it described as being so complex as to make Einstein look like a bit of fun with an abacas, but even still!
18 Comments »England can smash and grab a trophy today
By Scott 3 years ago, mid-February, 20 Comments »
Barely three weeks ago, England had plunged to awful depths with consecutive humiliating losses in Adelaide; now they are on the cusp of winning the Commonwealth Bank Series. If they do it, it will be a massive form reversal. And even if they don’t win today, they still have a chance in Adelaide on Tuesday.
But England’s best chance is in Sydney. England’s record in ODI’s vs Australia is much better at Sydney then it is at any other ground in Australia.
England’s much maligned coach, Duncan Fletcher, has stayed in the background, and I wonder how much of the form uptick is his doing?
20 Comments »Ticket to nowhere
By Scott 3 years ago, at the end of January, 5 Comments »
The Barmy Army can’t even give tickets away to Australia vs England at Sydney. Fortunately, England’s tour of duty is nearly over. And they are really treating it as a tour of duty.
Gary Hayes is one of South Australia’s most respected and sociable cricket coaches. He coaches Adelaide University’s first-grade side, a club where Liam Plunkett once passed a contented and productive season. His desire to wish Plunkett well at an England net session this week required a security officer to hover a yard from his shoulder, antennae twitching. Hayes is half-Malaysian – he recently coached the Malaysian team – and wonders if that explains it. “Goons,” he concluded, suitably unimpressed.
Had the security team investigated Hayes further they would have discovered that he had also contacted Plunkett during the second Test in Adelaide, the Test where England’s last-day capitulation sealed their Ashes defeat. Plunkett went out for dinner with his one-time coach and some former colleagues but had to eat at a restricted list of restaurants vetted by England. As he left the hotel his Durham colleague, Paul Collingwood, joked that he would not be having room service for the first time on tour. How can it be beneficial for an England cricketer to tour in such a reclusive manner?
This is kind of hilarious. Where do they think they are, Australia or Iraq? What on earth are they so frightened of? It’s hard to imagine anyone telling the likes of Steve Waugh or Matthew Hayden where they could or could not eat on tour. But as an Australian fan, I’m delighted to read this, because no England team is going to come here and win with this sort of mentality.
5 Comments »Australia v England, Twenty20, Sydney
By Will 3 years ago, mid-January, 9 Comments »
It’s the hit-and-giggle of the winter season. I can’t imagine for a second England will win it, even with this new bloke Michael Vaughan in the side. In fact, especially with him in the side. Still, it’s always good for a giggle – even if Ricky Ponting refuses to enjoy it, or see the fun side. It’s a game, Ricky…
I think it starts at 8am tomorrow so, if you’re up and interested, post your thoughts here.
9 Comments »Australia v England, 5th Test, Sydney, 3rd day
By Will 3 years ago, at the start of January, 33 Comments »
The third day from the SCG. We could be in for a spectacular display of fireworks, none of which I will see as I’ll be asleep. In fact, it could even be all over by the time I arise from my slumber.
Chat away!
33 Comments »Australia v England, 5th Test, Sydney, 2nd day
By Will 3 years ago, at the start of January, 64 Comments »
A better day for England yesterday. What has day two in store? Andrew Flintoff is not out this morning, which is often a good sign. If anyone’s watching, leave a comment.
64 Comments »Rain, rain, go away.
By Scott 3 years ago, at the start of January, No Comments; be the first!
Keep track of the rain in Sydney with the Sydney area radar.
No Comments »Australia v England, 5th Test, Sydney, 1st day
By Will 3 years ago, at the start of January, 2 Comments »
Happy New Year to all. Hope you’ve decided your new year resolutions. And let’s hope England have, too. I don’t think comments are working here at the moment…if they are, do leave one. If not, rock on like the rockers you are.
2 Comments »Those bally fine chaps from the antipodes
By Will 4 years ago, at the end of November, 6 Comments »
If an advert like this appeared on a bus in Britain, slagging off the Aussues, the transport company would be sued on the spot (by the Australian embassy, firstly, followed by the Equality For All Things With Four Wheels movement).
Shuper advert that, though.
Request for Saturday’s Sydney Daily Telegraph
By Will 4 years ago, mid-November, 6 Comments »
If there are any Sydney readers, I have a big favour to ask. Could you nip out and buy Saturday’s Daily Telegraph, then get in contact? I could do with something scanned or photographed. It’s not massively urgent but would be a terrific help.
Thanks chaps.
6 Comments »Photos of England arriving in Australia
By Will 4 years ago, at the start of November, 1 Comment »
I’ve just put up Getty’s photos of England arriving at Sydney airport. Suddenly, it feels as though the tour really has begun. England’s mission now seems a lot clearer, if it wasn’t already abundantly obvious: bring that bloody urn home!
This. Is. Massive. See Flintoff here and the photo index of the tour here.
And here are some from Yahoo News courtesy of AP
Lee and Clarke cut the Ashes cake
By Will 4 years ago, mid-August, 6 Comments »
As mentioned yesterday there are but 100 days until Brisbane. As if we didn’t need reminding. And today, or earlier today, Brett Lee and Michael Clarke cut a cake on Sydney Harbour to mark the countdown. There are no words…
100 days until the Ashes
By Will 4 years ago, mid-August, 2 Comments »
It might seem a long time until Brisbane, but in fact it’s just 100 days until the first Ashes Test of the 2006-07 series. Brett Lee and Michael Clarke will mark the countdown in Sydney tomorrow morning by cutting a cake. Not sure what that signifies, or indeed whether the cake will be made of ashes, but it’s all a bit too exciting for words.
2 Comments »Andrew “Roy” Symonds starts repaying what he owes.
By Scott 4 years ago, at the end of April, 2 Comments »
Andrew Symonds’ big night out on the day before an ODI against Bangladesh in 2005 will go down in infamy in Australian cricket lore, and probably will be celebrated in Bangladesh for a while to come as well. But he did redeem himself somewhat with a match-winning century in Dhaka to win the 2nd ODI for Australia yesterday.
It must be said, in all honesty, that at the moment he looks like he’s been on an even bigger bender then his 2005 effort. The dreadlocks look scruffy and the beard makes him look like a vagabond. At the moment, if any Australian cricketer is crying out for a makeover by the folks from ‘queer eye for the straight guy’, it is Symonds.
He may look like a drunken derelict, but his 5th ODI century for Australia was a most sober and abstemious effort. He came in with a bit of a crisis happening and Australia struggling after losing 3 for 10 after Adam Gilchrist got interrupted just as he was really warming up. That brought to mind his innings in Sydney against Sri Lanka, where Chaminda Vaas roughed up the Australian top order. Starting this time at 3 for 65, he combined with Michael Clarke to compose a brilliant but ungainly knock.
It’s one thing to score a glittering century on an easy paced but reliable SCG wicket; this wicket at Dhaka was simply diabolical. It was slower then a Madagascar sloth and deader then WG Grace. He came out wearing a helmet but there was no way Mashrafe Mortaza was going to get a bouncer to get beyond rib high at best. Pitch preparation is a black art at the best of times, but whoever was in charge of this one should hang his head in shame. Bangladesh may be poor, but if they can afford to put on a gloriously manicured outfield, there’s no excuse for a pitch like this.
So once the fast men finished their spells with the new ball, we had the rather dreary sight of spinners bowling and the batsmen working them over for singles. It is this sort of cricket that drove the ICC in frustration to introduce monstrosities like power-plays and supersubs. It is hardly the batsmen at fault in situations like this; in Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds, Australia had two of its most positive minded batsmen at the crease. But Clarke only scored 2 boundaries in his 54.
Credit must go to the bowlers, especially the redoubtable Mohammed Rafique. The veteran spinner has clearly been the pick of Bangladesh’s bowlers right through this Australian tour. Of course, it does help his cause that as a slow left arm spinner, he is a member of the spin caste that has troubled Australians the most over recent years. Daniel Vettori is another that springs to mind.
So Symonds played Rafique with respect, picking him off, working him over for the singles, and waiting for the loose ball from the other end. These were not in short supply once Bashar had to face the chore of juggling to find ten overs from his ‘fifth’ bowler, but again the conditions conspired, and the lack of bounce clearly frustrated Symonds. However, instead of losing his head and his innings, he managed to keep his composure, and his wicket, and in the end his century came off 122 balls; slow by his standards but fast in the conditions.
Bashar perhaps missed a trick; he seemed content to allow Australia to pick off singles, and I wonder when a captain is going to be bold enough to try keeping his inner fielders close enough to the batsmen to make singles hard work. It could have paid dividends.
But it was never tried, so they tied Australia down for a while but they could not get them out though, and a late burst saw Australia through to 250. And once the Australian fast men knocked off the top order of Bangladesh’s batting, that was it as a game. Habibul Bashar played a good captain’s knock to ensure Bangladesh had some respectability with their reply of 183, but Symonds was the man who made the difference. And a good thing too, because against this opponent, Symonds owed his country a match-winning innings or three.
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