Give me a cricket tidbit!

[MacGyver]

Have the Indians just given up or something?

Yes. Although is a frikkin' road (its Adelaide Oval after all) so should be interesting to see if the Indians pile on the runs as well. Days 4 and 5 the pitch generally deteriorates making batting tough so that's when the fireworks (in the sense of wickets tumbling) may start.

[allblacks]

And here I was thinking Brendon McCullum was incredible with his dive away chips over the keeper!

[angryboy]

That was awesome!! On my wish list is to watch Warner in a 20/20 at the MCG.
On another note,Wade did the biz for Aus. last night so I hope they don`t persist with that other clown.
He hasn`t scored anything decent in yonks and his keeping has been average at best.Time to shelf him.

[MacGyver]

In Perth now so lucky enough to see it on the box last night. Right out of the screws, amazing shot. And it went miles! A regular batsman would have been happy to get it that fat batting normally, let alone switch hitting!

[allblacks]

The only thing I didnt get was the dancers under the KFC sign. Whats that all about?

[MacGyver]

Pffft that's the BS T20 cheerleaders. Same as the IPL. In fact the trend prolly started with the IPL.

[allblacks]

One of my regrets is never seeing Gilchrist bat live. I missed out in Auckland because he got out cheaply while I was en route to the game after finishing work. Anyone here seen him?

[MacGyver]

One of my regrets is never seeing Gilchrist bat live. I missed out in Auckland because he got out cheaply while I was en route to the game after finishing work. Anyone here seen him?

I was gonna say yes but then realised I spent all of the naughties in Japan and didn't see a live match in all of that time....

[BergKatse]

I think it's great that cricket is played in all these places. Sure, it's T20, which is an abomination, but still...

[MacGyver]

Indeed it is, although the main argument against it is most of the teams are expats. And Afghanistan are a bunch of pricks. Such a shame they are doing well and the cricket world is in love with them. A bunch of arrogant pigs. Had the displeasure of seeing their conduct up close and personal at the WCL Div. 5 tournament in Jersey in 2008 (or was it 2007?).

A pity the PNG boys didn't do a little better. I see their Pommy ringer didn't help them much either.

[angryboy]

West Indies 179/3 (73.0 ov)

[MacGyver]

West Indies 179/3 (73.0 ov)

Took em 2 whole days to get 470 or something.....Farken hell dullsville. Only saving grace is that the time difference is such that I can't watch any of it. Although if I had trouble sleeping I could have put it on and it would have done the trick by the sounds of it!

[angryboy]

Game on!!
I`m expecting to wake up to see an Aussie win tomorrow.
What a turnaround!

[MacGyver]

Game on!!
I`m expecting to wake up to see an Aussie win tomorrow.
What a turnaround!

Went to bed when the WIndies were 9fa just before lunch. And sure enough we knocked em over and knocked off the runs with 7 wickets down to have a win. Quite the turnaround indeed. But having said that the Windies didn't help themselves with such a slow run rate. If yer gonna bat 2 whole days you need to get a few more than 450.

[MacGyver]

Saw the final day of the recently concluded SL/Pak test at Galle. Was good fun although not much of a game. Also the crowd didn't have the atmosphere that I thought it would. OK, its not India and it was a test match, but I thought the crowd would have been a little more boisterous for sure. And no where near as much booze as I expected although there was some liberal consumption of rum where I was sitting. Coincidently, Steve Davis, who I've met a few times and took around Tokyo back in 2004, was ump'ing. Would have liked to caught up with him for a chat but that was not possible.

[Wage Slave]

That Mitchell Johnson is a real gold - No one ever knows what he's going to do next. A glorious pantomime villain. The look on Clarke's face yesterday after he produced yet another front foot no ball and free hit was treasure.

[MacGyver]

Australia has DK to thank for Mitchell Johnson. If it wasn't for that one comment, I doubt he would have ever played for Australia...

[Wage Slave]

What comment was that?

[angryboy]

What comment was that?

"Once in a lifetime (pie chucker) bowler"

[Wage Slave]

Thanks. Would that be Dennis Lillee's "One in a lifetime prospect." at the age of 17 comment?

He was right really. Mitchell can bowl brilliantly and can bat more than a bit as well. It's about his temperament, not about his ability. He's still got a test average of around 31 which is good. The thing is, that's an average. What you get in any particular session really could be anything from brilliant to laughable.

[MacGyver]

I thought he said "Once in a generation" but meh same thing really. Splitting hairs. And yeah Mitch was still pretty young so 17 sounds about right. He's actually a very good batsman and has gotten Australia out of strife more than a few times. This is gonna sound strange but its not so much his inconsistency that is frustrating, although that is part of it, but moreso that one minute he is unplayable and the next he can't even hit the pitch. Yes sure that is the definition of inconsistency but what I mean is its not so much that he is pretty good one minute and average the next just that he goes from 2 massive extremes, often in the same game! I think a cricket commentator recently said that he shouldn't be picked anymore cause a match winning performance every 10 test matches isn't good enough. When it was every 5 or so, the team could carry him but not one in every 10. Which basically means he has a good match every second or third series....

I was naive enough to think that he'd struggle to get back in after his long layoff with the new crop of young fellas coming through. What a dickhead I was....

Sorry forgot to mention temperament. Interesting point. I remember someone familiar with the team telling me once (I forget who) that he was pretty weak between the ears, which is unusual seeing as most Aussie fast bowlers are generally pretty tough. Reminds me of Harmison in that way. Both big, burly men yet soft in the head. I guess you shouldn't read a book by its cover....

[Wage Slave]

Terrible shame about Boucher's accident yesterday. Everyone hopes he recovers but it must be touch and go. A very similiar acident ended Paul Downton's promising career.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/18772425

South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher is a doubt for the Test series against England after suffering a serious eye injury. The 35-year-old was struck by a bail while standing up to the stumps on day one of the tour match with Somerset. He underwent surgery on a lacerated eyeball at 19:00 BST on Monday. "It is a significant injury. I don't think he will be ready for the first Test, if the series," said South Africa team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee.

Time for some sort of eye protection for wicketkeepers standing up to the stumps? Once was bad enough, a second terrible and a third would look like negligence.

[RalphWiggum]

Tragic end to Boucher's career...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/18778820

[Wage Slave]

Dreadful. It must be possible to develop some sort of eye protection - And quickly. It mustn't happen again.

[RalphWiggum]

Dreadful. It must be possible to develop some sort of eye protection - And quickly. It mustn't happen again.

Any pair of sunglasses would have stopped it. It's not even like you need safety glasses.

[Wage Slave]

I was wondering about that. I expect you're right. The bails can fly off at tremendous speed so they would need to be a bit special but it doesn't seem like a huge leap for mankind.

[MacGyver]

Yeah its happened before and yeah probably sunglasses (or clear lenses for those that don't want to wear tinted lenses) would work. Standing up to the stumps, even to a spinner, without a lid is dangerous business. As a former keeper, I've done it a lot and very rarely wore a lid. But besides balls, stumps, and bails hitting you, you could also be hit by the bat, and I've seen that happen, this year in fact. Had he been wearing a lid, it may not have happened, but then that would depend on the angle the bail hit him in eye. But then a bail in the eye is extremely rare. I don't think its necessary to legislate for this. If keepers don't wanna wear a lid or protective eye wear, then that's up to them. The upside from not wearing a lid is that it keeps you on your toes and I find it helps me focus more, which is why I've never worn one keeping or batting. And if you are afraid to be standing up, you shouldn't be doing it.

Still, it is a tragic end to Boucher's career, although this was his last tour anyway as he was to retire at the end of it. I just hope his eye heals so he can have a normal life after retirement.

[MacGyver]

So Brett Lee just announced his retirement. No doubt the time had come for sure but I'll be sad to see him go. Great player and by all accounts great bloke too. Still have a pair of his cricket shoes his manager gave me years ago....

[Wage Slave]

Yep, one of the greats without question. We'll miss him.

[RalphWiggum]

So Brett Lee just announced his retirement. No doubt the time had come for sure but I'll be sad to see him go. Great player and by all accounts great bloke too. Still have a pair of his cricket shoes his manager gave me years ago....

So that leaves the Aussies with approximately no talented players...