Cricket. What happened to you?

Is it just me, or do others feel that cricket has lost it’s lustre?

I remember the days, back in the mid 80’s. Lillee, Border, Marsh (both), Boon, McDermott, Merv, O’Donnell, Jones.

We had a magical team back then. Cricket was THE national Australian sport. Played everywhere. Watched by everyone.

What’s happened?

We’re facing a 7 game losing streak in One Day Internationals. We don’t hold the Ashes. Crowds are falling. Match Fixing allegations are flying.

It feels like the game is self-imploding. If it weren’t for the big money coming from India, I think it would be even closer to death.

We lost to Sri Lanka the other night because we couldn’t get their No. 10 and 11 batsmen out! Sad sad sad.

The last few years have really been disappointing for me as a cricket fan. I’ll go as far as to say that I’ve lost interest in most aspects of the game apart from test matches. 20/20 matches, for me, have ruined the original shortened version of the game, the 50 over ODI’s. The everyday fan is so keen to see players attempting to smash every ball and to have the game wrap up in 3 hours that they’ve given up on the laborious 50 over match.

At least test matches still hold that traditional feel, but when the Pakistani’s start to mess with match fixing, it even ruins the pure perfect version of the game.

I went to Lord’s in July and watched the Australians play Pakistan on the hallowed turf. It was a fantastic atmosphere being at the ‘home’ of cricket. Listening to poms around me, taking in the MCC members, drinking the English beer. It really hits home as to what cricket is about.

How can it recover? How can cricket come back to what it used to be?

Maybe McDonalds should start giving out posters of the teams from the ‘World Series of Cricket’ again. Maybe we should ditch 20/20’s and focus on the One Dayer again. I mean, did you see the 20/20 the other night? We were crap. We couldn’t slog to save ourselves, and if you don’t slog in a slogfest, what’s the point??

I still love the sound of leather on willow, the voice of the Channel 9 commentators and the local ABC radio covering the tests, but I am getting close to giving up on the shortened bastardised version unless something changes soon.

And to those that say 20/20 is the future, take a look at yourselves. It’s nothing more than a short, talent-less money grab. You don’t need a lot of skill to swing the bat and hope for a 6 or to bowl slower balls every 2nd ball to confuse the batter that has pre-determined his slog (shot).

I would be happy for 20/20’s to disappear from the game altogether, but of course that’s not going to happen whilst it is making more money than ODI’s and Test matches.

A Bolt out of the Beijing

Had to stay up tonight to watch some history.

History in the form of the freak of nature that is Usain Bolt.

If anyone stayed up on Saturday night, you would have seen Bolt win the 100m, in a stroll. He looked like he slowed down to win the highlight of the track in 9.69 seconds. A World Record.

Tonight it was the 200m. He jogged in the semi-final so there was really no doubt that he would win the final, but could he break Michael Johndon’s record from 1996 in Atlanta?

This guy is amazing. 6 Foot 5, personality and guts.

He killed them. Won the 200m in World Record time. 19.3 seconds. 0.2 seconds off Johnson’s record, into a head wind.

I don’t wanna go all Bruce McAvaney on your arse, but it was simply breath-taking.

The Olympics throw up so many surprises. I have been loving the efforts of the Sailors and the Opals and Boomers (who unfortunately went down to the Dream Team from the US tonight).

The Silver from Sally McLellan was pretty special last night too, and so was her reaction!

The BMX started today and I was glued to it at work (Thank you streaming). Great to see the Aussie that changed his name to Kamakazi sprint around the track.

What an awesome name.

I wanna change my name to a one word name as well.

Any ideas?

Olympic Pronunciation

I’m loving the Olympics right now.

I didn’t think I was that interested in it coming this time. I didn’t feel there was much hype about it or build up.

I have great memories of past Olympics. All the way back to the ‘Moscow..Moscow…tra la la la la la la’ theme from the 1980 Olympics (I was 4), to the efforts of Dean Lukin, Glynis Nunn in LA in 1984 to Debbie Flintoff-King and Duncan Armstrong at the 1988 Barcelona games. It’s still burnt into my brain.

I love the surprises that the Olympics always seem to throw up. Canoeing, Tae-Kwan-Do, Archery. Those obscure sports that you only think about every 4 years.

Channel Seven’s coverage has been pretty ordinary and blasted all over the place, but at the end of the day there are a shitload of events to cover and unless you can watch all day and spend time with every sport, you’ve got no chance, so you have to settle for the highlights they show in prime time.

What shits me though is the pronunciation of Beijing.

Am I wrong in thinking that it has always been pronounced as ‘Beige-ing’?

Why is it that ALL the Seven commentators have obviously been told to pronounce it as ‘Bay-Jing’

It sounds like how Kath & Kim would say it. “Let’s sit down with a bottle of ‘cardonay’ and watch the ‘Bay Jing’ Olympics”

Edit: Ok…I have gone and googled the pronunciation and apparently it’s said right by the commentators, but it still sounds STUPID

Anyway, GO THE AUSSIES. Let’s being home at least 10 golds and celebrate another successful games. We can’t expect to get another 17 this time!

Gilchrist, the best? Pull the other one.

I’ll probably be shot for this, but I DON’T LIKE ADAM GILCHRIST.

Never have. Never will.

Even right back to the beginning when he was brought in to replace Ian Healy. I thought it was crap that Heals was dumped before the first test in Australia and didn’t even get to farewell his home crowd at the GABBA.

Adam Gilchrists’ keeping is sub-standard.

He is getting close to breaking Healy’s Australian wickets record, but he is not even close to being at his level. He will drop a catch (easy ones) almost every test match and quite often will dive in front of first slip when it is a regulation catch for them.

He is really, only in the team for his batting which, admittedly, is very good. Yes, he can bat, especially when he gets loose balls, but I wouldn’t call him anything special.

And then he gets named as Australia’s greatest ever One Day Player. What load of crap!

Are their memories so short that they can’t remember the other ‘real’ greats?

Let’s pull some figures out of the bag here.

As of today:

Adam Gilchrist – 9246 Runs. Avg – 35.97. Strike Rate – 96.66. 15 100’s, 52 50’s.

Ok. Decent figures, sure. The average is ok for a one day player and his strike rate is almost run a ball.

Let’s look at some other contenders

Ricky Ponting – 10,594 Runs. Avg – 43.41. Strike Rate – 80.33. 23 100’s, 63 50’s.

Better average. More centuries. Still an excellent strike rate.

Let’s go back in time to one of the great one day players Australia has ever had.

Remember, this is before the days that teams were scoring 280 and 300 as a norm. If you scored 50 in the first 15, you were considered to be on track to a decent score.

Dean Jones – 6068 Runs. Avg – 44.61. Strike Rate – 72.56. 7 100’s, 46 50’s.

Deano was a revelation at the time. A big hitter, an entertainer but able to stick around when needed.

Speaking of sticking around. Was this man even considered?

Michael Bevan – 6912 Runs. Avg – 53.58. Strike Rate – 74.16. 6 100’s, 46 50’s.

He was one day cricket personified. A master at the finish and a handy bowler to boot.

And what about bowlers?

Glenn McGrath – 381 Wickets. Avg – 22.02.

Craig McDermott – 203 Wickets. Avg – 24.71.

You even had one day specialists like Merv Hughes, Peter Taylor and Simon O’Donnell to consider…

..

So, why Gilchrist?

Especially when he can hardly glove a simple catch.

Nowadays it’s just about the runs. 20/20 has been introduced and all of a sudden people are bored at Test Matches? Come on. It’s the only REAL version of cricket there is. If you want hit and giggle, watch the celebrity games, or go down to your local oval.

It just shits me that new players somehow overshadow the players that made our game great.

Cricket is back. Get me a Beer and a Bar-bee. It’s gonna be a long summer.

The squad for the Test Match against the Sri Lankans has been announced.

Player                                         State     Age
Ricky Ponting (captain) TAS 32
Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain) WA 35
Stuart Clark NSW 32
Michael Clarke NSW 26*
Matthew Hayden QLD 36
Brad Hogg WA 36
Michael Hussey WA 32
Phil Jaques NSW 28* (to replace Langer)
Mitchell Johnson QLD 25* (to replace McGrath)
Brett Lee NSW 30
Stuart MacGill NSW 36 (to replace Warne)
Andrew Symonds QLD 32
Shaun Tait SA 24*

A lot of speculation has been around whether McGill would make it and whether Jaques would replace Langer as opener. I think the answer is yes and yes, but the 13 man squad will be reduced to 12 next Wednesday.

I hope McGill gets a run. For too long he was bridesmaid to Warne’s heroics and the simple fact is, if Warne wasn’t around, McGill probably would have snagged as many or more wickets than Warne did.

I like the look of the team though. Mitchell Johnson is a talent and an able replacement for McGrath. Symonds is in too good a form to leave out of the tests.

It’s still an old team with only 4 players in their 20’s, but I think we have some good talent coming through to take over from the Hayden’s, Hussey’s and Gilchrist’s.

I think Hogg should be dropped for the test, and Tait made 12th man. We can go an all pace attack at the bouncy WACA.

Whoever they pick, let’s SMASH THOSE LITTLE SRI LANKANS!

Gutted

Like a Fish.

The Eels have done it to me again.

They get my hopes up.
They play inspiring exciting football.
They give me a reason to believe.

Then they give me nothing.

We’re out.

The game before the Grand Final.

Again.

5 times in 10 years we have fallen over at the game before the Grand Final.

The one time we made it? We were done by Newcastle by the end of the first half.

Personally. I just want to MAKE IT to the fucking Grand Final for once. I want to be there when we run out. I would rather LOSE a Grand Final than lose the week before.

FUCK.

Cause now…the Grand Final is here….with 2 hated teams and I don’t give a toss who wins.

And don’t give me “It’s only a game”, or “There’s always next year”.

Never…ever…say that to a guy after this team loses.

Well…at least within the first 24 hours…

FUCKIT.

….

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Bring on the cricket.