All posts by csb10.top

The ongoing debate over Steve Waugh’s future as Australia’s captain surfaced again at the weekend with comments from two former players turned commentators, Jeff Thomson and David Hookes, that the time is right for him to step down.Thomson and Hookes said that with the Australian middle-order aging and with a series against Bangladesh starting in July, Waugh should go in the interest of the team. “It’s time to move on and it’s a good time to do it when the opposition isn’t that good,” Thomson argued. “When he [Waugh] got the hundred in Sydney, I thought that was enough. What’s he going to prove if he plays Bangladesh? Who cares if Steve Waugh gets a hundred?”Hookes, a long-standing critic of Waugh, agreed. “I can’t see any point [him] playing against Bangladesh. He won’t get a hit for starters. Look at the batting,” he continued. “You’ve got him, Lehmann, Ponting and Martyn to come back – they are not young blokes.Thomson went one step further, suggesting that Glenn McGrath should be relived of his new-ball duties in favour of Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie. “If the wicket’s got something in it, you may as well use Gillespie and Lee,” Thomson said. “Lee should be opening the bowling, get the choice of ends. To bowl Lee into the wind is not on any more. McGrath wouldn’t have to wait long. They are only going to bowl five or six overs.”

Teenage batsman Nick Kruger will make his ING Cup debut for the XXXXQueensland Bulls on Saturday in Adelaide following an arm injury toStuart Law.Kruger, 19, was named to make his limited overs debut for Queenslandfollowing the decision to rule out Law after he was struck a painfulblow on the arm yesterday in the Pura Cup match against the SouthernRedbacks.X-rays yesterday cleared Law of any fractures but he was unable to battoday in the Bulls second innings due to the injury.A hard-hitting left-hander, Kruger was twelfth man for the Bulls intheir outright Pura Cup win over the Western Warriors in Perth lastmonth and played for Queensland in their recent one-day match againstAustralian Country in Bundaberg.Kruger top-scored with 65 from 58 balls in the Bulls win over Country.The Bulls will look to rebound on Saturday against the Redbacks, afterlosing their most recent ING Cup match to the Bushrangers at the Gabbalast week and facing certain defeat in the Pura Cup match presentlyunderway.The Bulls are equal top of the ING Cup ladder along with the WesternWarriors on 22 points.XXXX Queensland Bulls v Southern Redbacks, ING Cup, Adelaide Oval,Saturday: Martin Love (c), Daniel Payne, Lee Carseldine, Clinton Perren,Nick Kruger, Brendan Nash, James Hopes, Wade Seccombe, Ashley Noffke,Nathan Hauritz, Michael Kasprowicz, Scott Brant (all 12 to play).

LEFT SIDE: “Where the left side, the left side, the left side and werehere.”MIDDLE: “Where the middle, the middle, the middle and were here.”RIGHT SIDE: “Where the right side, the right side, the right side and werehere.”ALL TOGETHER: “You’re the Sri Lankans, the Sri Lankans, the Sri Lankans andyou’re over there.”According to the Barmy Army melody (and it is not a hard one) you eithersupport England or you don’t. Broken into three bays upon Yabba’s Hill,Sydney Cricket Ground, the Barmy Army do their best to upset opposing fans,and during the England v Sri Lanka game, this Australian journalist learnt alot about the English spirit.Spending time with the Barmy Army is a multitude of melody mixed withgenerous serves of humour. Being able to take a joke is important whenaround the Barmy Army. This I soon discovered after enquires were made aboutmy favourite player and my response of Steve Waugh brought about a smile anda knowing look between members that made me think perhaps there was a betteranswer.Soon I was serenaded with a few Steve Waugh songs – Waugh: what is he goodfor and one about the current Test skipper not making the plane to Jamaicaand going into obscurity just like Mark.I assumed they would be cheeky and to the point. And I also assumed theywould be good fun. I wanted the fun and was not sure whether my thick skincould handle the criticism but luckily today Australia was not playing. (Forif the green and gold¹s were playing my skin would be thinner and theinsults would bring a defensive nature about myself.)Although, these boys and girls can sling mud better than any supporter groupI have known, they also respect and support their own to the death. SteveHarmison bowled a shocking first over; dot, wide, wide, wide, dot, dot, noball, dot, wide, three and six. Not the most impressive over from apromising young bowler but what impressed me was the support given by theArmy. Coming back to his fielding position in front of the Army they clappedand chanted OeStevo¹ as if the lanky quick had just taken a wicket.But being in the Barmy Army means you must also be cheeky.A few bays over to the left a contingent of Sri Lankan supporters haveamassed. Today they have brought with them drums, cymbals and horns to joinin with their clapping and singing as the Sri Lankans do good things.At every run, the horn blare, the cymbals crash and the drums are beaten -for this the Barmy Army really have no comeback. But wait, they start up aruckus chant of “You¹ve only got one song” and take off their shoes and bangthem above their heads to imitate the Sri Lankans. The Sri Lankans playlouder with the entire orchestra joining in. Generous laughter ripples fromthe surrounding England supporters and one journalist as I laugh at them.I find myself laughing a lot. They poke fun at everyone includingthemselves, and me, but they have an affable nature and it¹s not done in amalicious way at all.It¹s fun and done with good taste – they mean nothing by it. Today the pointof their chants is Sri Lanka, next week it may be Australia and in a coupleof months it will be the entire world – well those unfortunates who will goup against England and the Barmy Army at the World Cup.And today the aim is also directed at the Sydney Cricket Ground itself.According to the Barmy Army – it is curry day. When they were here for theTest, the SCG did not sell curry. But today because England is playing SriLanka curry is on sale. So the first commandment is to eat all the curry sothe Sri Lankans are forced to eat pies and chips.With only a small number remaining they may well fall short of the target.In addition to eating all the curry, the Army has made up a tune to go handin hand with Curry Day. Soon OeThe 12 days of Christmas¹ becomes OeThe 12curries of Sydney¹.The song written on a piece of paper at the pub this morning by two of themembers is soon rushed to a local Internet café where 200 copies are madeand then distributed to Army troops. The song is sung with gusto as Englandtries to keep the total as low as possible.The Barmy Army though is more than a bunch of English people who gettogether to sing songs and annoy the fellow spectators. During the week, thelads went up against the Kings Cross World Bar side in a match of cricket.With three balls to spare from a 30-over-a-side match played at CentennialPark, the Barmy Army XXI beat a World Bar XIX with all the money raised fromthe match going towards the Leukemia Foundation – it also gave England theirsecond win against Australia this tour.The time spent with the Barmy Army was fun and entertaining. They lovecricket and enjoy a joke along with a beer whether it is on the left, rightor in the middle.

Victoria faces a big test of character if it is to save its Pura Cup cricket match after Tasmania batted itself into an almost impregnable position in Hobart today.At stumps on day two, Tasmania was 6-435 with a first innings lead of 296.Its overwhelming position was built on a Michael Dighton century and big half centuries by Daniel Marsh, Shaun Young and wicketkeeper Sean Clingeleffer.The Victorian attack, minus the injured Damien Fleming, laboured long and hard to keep the Tasmanian scoring rate under control on a sullen first day of summerwhen a cold and swirling wind dislodged bails and sent rubbish skidding across the ground.Dighton and Marsh laid the foundation, batting through the rain-shortened morning session and well into the afternoon.Dighton, who had scored only 23 runs in four previous innings after being recruited from Western Australia, hit 126 in 319 minutes with 18 fours and a six.He was marooned on 90 for 37 minutes in an innings punctuated by elegant drives and sweetly timed flicks off his pads.With regular No.3 Michael Di Venuto due to return from injury, Dighton’s form gives Tasmania some needed competition in the top order.Marsh, who was once regarded as a spinner who could bat but now holds his position almost entirely through his batting, deserved his century.But he fell, from his first seriously false stroke, for 97 – an innings built largely on his powerful cutting.After Marsh and Dighton, having put on 184 runs, went in successive overs to the second new ball, Young and Clingeleffer continued the Victorian torture.They batted until deep into the evening, adding a further 119 runs before Young lofted a drive off part-time spinner Brad Hodge and went for 70.Clingeleffer batted on, steadily blossoming after a scratchy start, to finish on 73.In his last three first class innings he’s amassed 242 runs without being dismissed and has given Tasmania a batsman of quality at No.7.He’ll resume in the morning with Damien Wright on 16.

Indian coach John Wright won’t be attempting to stifle his players’ batsmanship as they go out to bat in the second National Bank Test against New Zealand starting in Hamilton tomorrow.While India were twice dismissed in less than 100 overs in total in the first Test, Wright said it would be dangerous for him to be telling his batsmen how best to do their job.”Coaching is more of a process. Obviously you can hope for the outcome but you don’t necessarily control that,” he said.It was unrealistic to expect the Indians to change their approach overnight.They had come to New Zealand from playing a series against the West Indies on some of the flattest pitches they had ever seen.His side were definitely the most attractive batting line-up in the world and he was hopeful that New Zealanders would get to see them playing their natural game.”It’s very important that you may give a message to players of what you want to achieve, it’s very dangerous when you start telling them how to do it.”I really don’t think that Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and [V V S] Laxman and [Sourav] Ganguly have achieved what they have in the game by playing a certain way. They have to express themselves.”Obviously there are guidelines about how to play in the conditions, and they have to work that out for themselves. If you start changing natural inclination, the way you play, that’s what’s got them there. I believe that from a coaching perspective. So hopefully, we will perform better with the bat and we know we’ve got a reasonable chance of getting 20 wickets.”It is dangerous to tell players how to achieve what you try and set out to do.”The biggest thing they need to achieve is the self-belief and confidence to go out and play their game,” he said.Because all of them wanted to go out and get runs, he added.India had shown several times in recent years that it could come back from 1-0 down in the series. While it was a little disappointing that this series only involved two Tests that was the way circumstances dictated.But a three-Test series at least allowed the chance for a comeback because players got to know each other better, he said.

The Victorian Bushrangers today announced a strong team to contest the season’s opening ING Cup match against the NSW Blues at Bankstown Oval on Sunday. Australian stars, Shane Warne, Damien Fleming and Ian Harvey are welcome inclusions for the Bushrangers, in a match which should be one of the highlights of the domestic season.New leader of the Bushrangers ING Cup side, Matthew Elliott said he was looking forward to the match and season ahead. “Obviously it’s been an unusual build up due to the resignation of John Scholes, but he leaves us in great shape and we’re really keen to open our account with a win this Sunday. The side is well balanced with plenty of options, and I think we’re embarking on what should be an exciting season for the Bushrangers in the ING Cup”.The Bushrangers have also announced the team for next week’s ACB Cup match against South Australia in Adelaide. Leading the side is Bushrangers regular Matthew Mott.BUSHRANGERS v NSW BLUES: Sunday, October 7, 2001 at BankstownMatthew Elliott (c), Jason Arnberger, Darren Berry, Damien Fleming, Ian Harvey, Ian Hewett, Brad Hodge, Michael Klinger, Michael Lewis, Jonathan Moss, Ben Oliver, Shane WarneVICTORIA v SOUTH AUSTRALIA: October 8-11, 2001 at Adelaide Oval (no. 2)Matthew Mott (c), Rob Bartlett, Will Carr, Shawn Craig, Simon Dart, John Davison, Peter Harper, Shane Harwood, Nick Jewell, Andrew Kent, Andrew McDonald, Peter Roach

The naming of Australian Rob Smith is one of the features of the State Otago Volts cricket side for the first two rounds of the State Championship, beginning next Monday.Smith (27), a right-arm leg-spin bowler and useful lower-order batsman, has a solid playing pedigree.A member of the extended Queensland Bulls squad two seasons ago, Smith has also been part of the New South Wales squad, a second XI player for the English county Glamorgan and a talent scout for the Queensland Under-17 squad.A first-grade player for 10 years, Smith has taken 257 senior club wickets at 27.7 and scored 834 runs at an average of 18.In seven matches for the New South Wales Colts he took 26 wickets at 21.3 and in five games for the Queensland and New South Wales second XIs he secured 11 wickets at 26.A former league player in the United Kingdom, Smith’s best season (1998) saw him secure two hat-tricks and record a best bowling return of 7-6 for Bridgend.Smith is a qualified teacher and is completing a Masters in Sports Marketing and Management.

Sachin Tendulkar ended the World Cup at the top of the PwC one-day ratings for batsmen, and India finished the tournament with four bowlers in the world top 15 for one-day cricket.But as the Final demonstrated, Australia remains the dominant team in one-day cricket. Matthew Hayden had a quiet tournament (he was number one coming into the World Cup and had dropped to 6th place by the end) but the Australians won every match in the World Cup thanks to their incredible strength in depth.Ricky Ponting ends the tournment as the top Australian batsman (4th), followed by Adam Gilchrist who is at his personal best one-day rating (5th), as is Damien Martyn (13th). Andrew Symonds, up 44 places to 29th, was one of the most improved players of the World Cup. Andy Bichel, who climbed in both the batting and bowling , established himself as an all-rounder.Already, another wave of Aussies is proving itself to be world-beating. The absence of Gillespie, Warne and two Waughs seems to have made not a hap’orth of difference.

A stubborn 137 minute stay at the wicket by the eighth wicketpair helped Services reach 297 for the loss of nine wicketsbut the visitors were still 21 short of saving the follow-onat the end of third day’s play against Delhi in the North ZoneRanji Trophy tie here today.Coming together in the 51st over of the day with Servicesstruggling at 210 for 7 after Delhi left-arm spinner RahulSanghvi ran through the middle order claiming four quickwickets, a determined CD Thompson and JP Pandey thwarted therival attack for 34 overs frustrating Delhi’s attempts to wrapup the tail and enforce a follow-on today itself.Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 62 for two,services continued their save-the-match tactics with overnightbatsmen cautiously defending for 22 overs before Delhi struckremoving Yahspal Singh (69), who while trying to sweep, edgedto keeper Pradeep Chawla off Rahul Sanghvi.Sanghvi struck again four overs later removing PMS Reddy (34,3×4), effecting a brilliant caught-and-bowled.Just when Services seemed to fold up meekly, skipper SanjayVerma played a blistering innings, which included tenboundaries. when the team seemed to claw their way back intothe game, Sanghvi came back with more venom and sent Vermaback.Verma (53) skied a Sanghvi full toss towards the mid-wicketand Sarandeep Singh committed no mistake.Four overs later, off-spinner Sarandeep produced a beauty andChawla latched on to a top edge flying out of new manSarabjeet Singh’s bat.The Sanghvi-Chawla duo continued working wonders for Delhi andthis time Sayed Javed perished to their designs for a duckgiving Chawla his fourth catch of the match.Delhi then prepared for the kill, bringing on seamers Bandhariand Arun Singh to finish off the tail. But the Thompson-Pandey partnership proved too stubborn.With his arsenal exhausted, Manhas brought himself on andeffected a turn-around six overs before close of playdismissing Pandey, who seemed to have lost concentration andended up snicking to Akash Chopra at first slip.He also worked a miracle with the last ball of the daydismissing Arun Sharma who hit a rash shot towards fine legwhere RS Gupta gleefully grabbed it.Delhi would have loved to garner full eight points with anoutright victory after dominating with a huge first inningsscore. For that to happen, they will have to grab 11 servicewickets on the last day tomorrow.On a dead Palam pitch, it is indeed an uphill task.

Indian captain Saurav Ganguly on Sunday put up a brave face followingyet another failure with the bat and drew solace from the fact that heclaimed two wickets in the triangular one-day series match againstZimbabwe.”If not with the bat, at least with the ball I had something,” saidGanguly after India’s comprehensive nine wicket win over Zimbabwe. “Itwas good I had a couple of wickets and a catch from the game.”Expressing satisfaction with his team’s performance, Ganguly said, “Webowled and batted well. It’s just one game and we still have fourleft, including the final. It will be all-important because we havenot been doing well in finals.”Ganguly admitted it was an important toss to win. “The toss wasimportant because the wicket was doing a bit. Our bowlers bowledpretty well and they (Zimbabwe) didn’t bat that well. I thought it(toss) would make a difference but I never thought it would make somuch of difference,” he said. “It was a good wicket when India wentinto bat. You rarely get such wickets with so much of life in thefirst session in a one-day match. I had seen it in Toronto whenwickets had so much life and I saw it today.”