After suffering through a Grand Final loss featuring Tony fucking Archer and pouring rain, two things that the Roosters are allergic to, my attentions turn now to cricket I guess. I'm not sure what else to do with myself to be honest, after a massively boozy, yet ultimately disappointing extended weekend. So cricket it is, and arriving home I got to watch the tail end of Ricky Ponting captaining the Aussies to another Test loss...and with some cricketing mastermind coming up with the Two Test series, it could well be another Test Series loss for Punter. The thing that annoyed me the most was Mitchell Johnson somehow managing to take 5 wickets in the first innings. I'm sure Punter thought that was all well and good, but watching him bowl leg-side pies to try and close out the match was a bit hard to cop. I honestly have no idea how that guy won an ICC Cricketer of the Year award. Was every other cricketer in the world just absolute rubbish that year?!? Surely there was someone who at least had an alright year...maybe every batsmen facing Johnson that year got cut-shot-from-a-wide-one-and-caught-at-point happy. It's the biggest mystery of the sporting world for mine. Actually, it's the second biggest. The biggest is why you'd even bother to select Nathan Hauritz if you're just going to bowl Marcus North at the business end of the match. Maybe it was just Punter's way of trying to justify a guy being in the team who's been clogging up the No. 6 spot in the order with meaningless knocks for a couple of years. Seriously, how the fuck is Marcus North still in this team? Don't we have the best domestic competition in the world? Is there no-one else? Do we have to settle for such mediocrity these days? Apparently so. If you're going with North as your off-spinner then how about picking another batsmen to compensate for the huge hole that's at No. 6.
The other big news in cricket is the introduction of a new one-day format, seemingly devised by James Sutherland. I've generally found that when Sutherland has anything to do with anything, it gives me the shits. But anyway, the new Ryobi One Day Cup has split innings and is like a "mini-Test match". I boycotted the first match because it sounds as stupid and not properly researched as everything else that James Sutherland has ever been linked with. You can re-invigorate the game all you want, but in the end, cricket is simply ball vs bat in any form of the game. If you really want the crowds to come back to the one-day matches, here's a free tip pal; let the people have a bit of fun. And by fun, I don't mean sitting silently and motionless, drinking light beers all day and not building cup-snakes. That's not fun you clown and that's why no-one goes. Seriously, cricket in this country would be the only sport in the world to ban the Mexican Wave...
The Second Test vs India starts this weekend, let's see if Punter can bag a 2-0 loss to prepare for his final frontier...a possible home Ashes series loss.
2 comments:
Oh, for fuck's sake.
I watched most of the last day of that Test and the scary thing was that I was calling Punter's moves moments before he made them. And I have the SMS conversation with my brother to prove it.
In fact, just about the only thing I mispredicted was that I thought Pup would be the one to have a wild hurl at the stumps and miss (only to have the commentators go on and on about how he's usually so deadly accurate). Congratulations Steve Smith - you're not the new Warney, you're the new Pup.
Interesting fact: If Pakistan had lost this Test match from this position making the captaincy decisions that Punter made, there would be deafening whispers of nefarious bookies affecting the result.
Not that I'm accusing Punter of throwing the game. I'm just accusing him of being a rubbish skipper.
Still, the good news is that Magnetic Marcus North still has the selectors backing (http://www.cricinfo.com/india-v-australia-2010/content/story/480291.html). It's anybody's guess as to why.
OTOH, I'm a Dragons supporter, so the week wasn't a total loss for me. (Sorry Captain)
It would be fair to say that the Roosters take to a wet track like Marcus North to batting at No. 6 in the Aussie Cricket Team...i.e, not at all. I think you're right though, Punter is getting a bit too predictable, he needs to change it up a bit more, especially if the match is on the line. How about some Katich? Maybe Hussey at the other end. When that doesn't work, maybe he could roll his own arm over for old time's sake. Give Hilfenhaus a single over so then he can bowl with the wind. Then back to Johnson and North to polish them off. Can Tim Paine bowl I wonder? Could be an option, maybe throw Bollinger the gloves...
What Hilditch neglects to mention when lauding North's good times, or maybe it hasn't even occurred to him yet, is that his good times have come on awesome batting pitches when the Aussies have been in strong positions. When there's any hint of pressure, he's as effective as Todd Carney when the heavens open...
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