The Official Cricket Thread

[Nashwan]

Nash , I was in the country and , having never watched this form of the game before , T20 came as a bit of a shock , music ringing out , girls dancing , a swimming pool by the side of the field , and so on. I can see why some purists hate it , but it looked a good piss up .

It's called "Instant Entertainment", Humph, and there are very few "sports" now whereby "Sky" does not have music blaring away and all sorts of unrelated things going on during the course of a game. The punters seem to love it, so it seems that it's me who's out of step. Besides, I've forgotten what a piss up is like since my current ailments preclude me from partaking of the amber nectar!!

Hope life is treating you well, incidentally. Supreme performance by Canford Cliffs in Ireland last weekend, although the fillies' equivalent didn't look up to scratch to these aging eyes.

[Humph]

It's called "Instant Entertainment", Humph, and there are very few "sports" now whereby "Sky" does not have music blaring away and all sorts of unrelated things going on during the course of a game. The punters seem to love it, so it seems that it's me who's out of step.

One thing I did notice , aside from some curious looking improvised shots , is that fielding standards have moved on greatly . The days of players sporting beer guts ( Jack Simmons ) appear to be a thing of the past.

Hope life is treating you well, incidentally. Supreme performance by Canford Cliffs in Ireland last weekend, although the fillies' equivalent didn't look up to scratch to these aging eyes.

Life's just fine , ta . Yourself ?

I made it to Newmarket for both Guineas - talking of piss ups , Newmarket on 2000 night certainly fits the description - and thought that the colts looked , in the paddock , a below average bunch with the fillies seeming classier . However , on early form , the colts look the better group , so I couldn't agree more. Here's looking forward to Canford Cliffs taking on the likes of Paco Boy and Rip Van Winkle.

[Nashwan]

One thing I did notice , aside from some curious looking improvised shots , is that fielding standards have moved on greatly . The days of players sporting beer guts ( Jack Simmons ) appear to be a thing of the past.

I believe that all sportsmen are called "athletes" nowadays and those bygone days of people like Botham allegedly getting pie-eyed on a regular basis are truly a thing of the past!

A decent attendance at Lord's today for the initial stages of the test against Bangladesh. Batting practice for England, to be honest, as the Bangladeshis don't possess a bowler who is likely to frighten anybody.

Life's just fine , ta . Yourself ?

I made it to Newmarket for both Guineas - talking of piss ups , Newmarket on 2000 night certainly fits the description - and thought that the colts looked , in the paddock , a below average bunch with the fillies seeming classier . However , on early form , the colts look the better group , so I couldn't agree more. Here's looking forward to Canford Cliffs taking on the likes of Paco Boy and Rip Van Winkle.

Still getting my money's worth out of the NHS, thanks, Humph, hence my recent need to bugger off to foreign climes for a couple of weeks of "currant bun". Glad to hear that you managed to get to the Guineas' meeting. Have to agree with your assertion about the colts; really looking forward to the mid-season action and the reappearance of Rip Van Winkle in particular.

[Tabata]

CA confirms split-innings one-dayers

One-day cricket in its familiar form could soon become a thing of the past after the Cricket Australia board gave the green light to a trial of split-innings state games next summer. If the new format is successful, Cricket Australia will take the idea to the ICC as a plan to keep ODIs alive, meaning the 2015 World Cup could feature a split-innings format.

Although there has been no decision on how many overs each innings would be - four innings of either 20 or 25 overs are the most likely - CA will finalise their concept in the coming weeks. The first four rounds of the FR Cup will be played under the existing rules before the new format is introduced for the remaining six rounds, which will start in February.

Link

I’d rather watch T20 than this crap. Make the madness stop someone.

[Tabata]

Australia’s tour of The British Isles starts against Ireland in Dublin in not too long.

The ODI series against England kicks off on Monday.

[Tabata]

Well played Ireland. Definitely gave me a few scares throughout the game!

[Tabata]

This is counted as a win for both England and Ireland, right?

Well done to Hazlewood, youngest ODI debutant for Australia ever.

[Tabata]

Second game in a row where the 1st innings total was well below par. The batting seems to be seriously lacking an attacking approach so far. If we win the toss in the next game send them in just to shake things up.

[Tabata]

This game is going down the same path as the previous two. Another below par 1st innings total.

The bowlers are going to have to win this.

[Tabata]

212 was very unlikely to be enough with this attack. This one isn’t completely over yet but it’s late so I’m off to bed.

[Tabata]

Well that was an interesting ending to say the least. Was listening to it all go down in bed and couldn’t help but think we might just steal it! Oh well, onto London.

[Tabata]

You really get the whole lot with Tait don’t you? Unreal pace, runs, wides, cartwheeling stumps!

Had a massive impact on this series.

[Tabata]

Muttiah Muralitharan, the leading wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs, will retire from Test cricket after the first Test against India in Galle, which begins on July 18. While he will not play the subsequent tri-series, and will pick and choose which ODIs to play in, Murali will be available for selection if the team needs him for the 2011 World Cup, which Sri Lanka is co-hosting.

Link

Murali retiring very soon from Test cricket.

He's 8 wickets away from 800 Test wickets so it'll be pretty interesting to see if he gets it at Galle.

[Tabata]

It’d be an understatement to say Ponting winning the toss and sending us in has backfired unbelievably badly.

Australia and India are both in all kinds of trouble right now.

[Tabata]

History being made in Galle, Muralitharan on 799 Test Wickets. Has 3 more Indian wickets left to get it.

[Tabata]

What a hell of a finish this is. India 9 wickets down now and Muralitharan is still on 799!

[Tabata]

The tension is finally over. Muralitharan has taken his 800th and last Test Wicket. Congrats are in order.

[Tabata]

If North ends up getting dropped then this loss will be worth it. He probably won't though.

Congrats to Pakistan. Aamer is going to be a star.