Cricket 2008

[silver]

That was an awesome innings by McCullum to watch but what really impressed me was how controlled and tight our bowling was. Losing Bond is a big loss but the rest of the bowlers stepped up. Vettori is great and Oram is becoming a much better bowler instead of a part-time all-rounder.

Great to watch. Now to do the same in the test matches and later to England

[Pete_k104]

That must have been some epic batting from McCullum. Like Dez said, doesn't matter about the opposition there, it is still awesome batting

It must have been really frustrating for Jamie How at the other end

Quote Australian paceman Stuart Clark has risen to No.2 on the ICC Test bowling rankings after another impressive performance in the Boxing Day Test. The New South Welshmen snared figures of 5-48 against India in the First Test to move up two spots in the rankings behind record-breaking spinner Muttiah Muralidaran who finished the year atop the bowling rankings. South Africa's Makhaya Ntini, India's Anil Kumble and Aussie speedster Brett Lee rounded out the top five bowlers. Despite falling two places, Ricky Ponting was still Australia's highest player in the batting rankings in third position. The Australian captain could only manage scores of four and three against India which allowed Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara to jump two spots and finish the year atop the batting rankings. It is the second time this year the Sri Lankan has knocked Ponting off his No. 1 perch with the first coming after his knocks of 92 and 152 in the first Test against England in Kandy in early December. Jacques Kallis' failure in the first innings of his side's recent loss to the West Indies during the First Test in Port Elizabeth kept him in second position while Australia's Mike Hussey, who is fast closing in on 900 Test runs, and Pakistan's Mohd Yousuf finished fourth and fifth respectively. In other rankings news, South Africa's recent Test defeat at the hands of the West Indies has ensured they will drop down the ICC Test Championship table regardless of the result in the remaining matches of the series.

Good on ya Clarkie

He's certainly had a great start to his test career taking 60 wickets in 12 test matches at an average of 19 and strike rate of 45. He's only taken one five wicket haul too. That just shows consistency

And if Chucka is number one, I'm inclined to say that Clark is the best bowler in the world at the moment

[Pete_k104]

Quote Originally Posted by silver That was an awesome innings by McCullum to watch but what really impressed me was how controlled and tight our bowling was. Losing Bond is a big loss but the rest of the bowlers stepped up. Vettori is great and Oram is becoming a much better bowler instead of a part-time all-rounder. Great to watch. Now to do the same in the test matches and later to England

I forgot to mention that. Vettori is one of the best spinners in the world. He's been one of my favourite players in the game for quite some time. He's one of the few Kiwis that could actually make the Aussie side

[Dez]

Quote Originally Posted by Dez Symonds showed a lot to me this Test, he's showing a bit of consistency with the bat and is getting a few starts. I can see a big innings from him soon and I think Sydney might be the place it happens.

Yup just like I said and what does he do? Ton up in Sydney, used all his luck and made the most of it.

Also a sensational innings from Brad Hogg scoring 79 and looked absolutely perfect, played every stroke in the book to perfection and it was thrilling to watch.

[Showman]

Ouch, tough luck for India...Symonds was out but Bucknor didn't think so. And Symonds has went on to do most of the damage...instead of having Aus. at 191/7 they're now at 376/7 with Symonds still in there.

lol and Harbajhan got Ponting out again, although there was an edge onto the pads and he was looking to be in good touch this match. Theres been a few words in the media with these two...Ponting claimed hes not Harbajhan's bunny and Harbajhan replied that Ponting hadn't lasted long enough against him lol.

[Pete_k104]

^^ Symonds was lucky, he was out twice. That's cricket though. He really made the most of his stroke of luck

What a great day of cricket. Australia were in a lot of trouble at 6/134. To finish the day at 7/376 is unbelievable

Hogg and Symonds did so well. Most unfortunate that Hogg didn't finish with three figures, he really was hitting them so well

Earlier on in the day, when they were at 6/143, I was thinking that of Australia could get to 250 then they would have done quite well. I am now thinking that they should reach 450+ quite easily

Depending on what time I wake up tomorrow, I may go out there tomorrow, it will be a good day to watch

[GB7]

What do I say? Man that was a harsh day on us. We should have had Australia packed up and with the luck that went against us, we have our back to the walls.

Lets hope our batting line-up doesn't crumble.

Also, what I don't get is why Sharma was picked ahead of Pathan.

[Pete_k104]

What a shame, Brett Lee was looking really good out there. He got a really bad decision there and was given out for 59. Although its hard to complain at this time as Symonds was out twice yesterday

Australia 8/422 now

He wasn't too far from his test high score of 64. In any case, it was a very good innings. He and Symonds added a very handy 114 there

Johnson in now, he can bat, as can Clark. They are still a really good chance of putting up a big score of 450+

Andrew Symonds now on 148. He has only scored one test ton and he scored more than 150 that time as well

[Pete_k104]

Australia all out for 463. A great effort considering that they were in a lot of trouble yesterday

Kumble cleaned up in the end. He moves to 595 career wickets and probably even more impressive, 99 of them are against Australians

Chucka can only manage 59 against Australia

Australia will get fifteen minutes to bowl at India before lunch. The pressure will be right on now

[Showman]

India 216/3. Laxman has kept India in it with his century. Dravid added 53 and its Tendulkar and Ganguly batting now. With all the bad decisions yesterday, its interesting what Steve Waugh had to say, that neutral umpires should be discarded. I don't think thats a great idea considering the amount of controversy there has been in the past when local umps were in place for Tests.

Also, NZ are dealt a huge blow if the reports are true of Shane Bond having joined the ICL.

Quote Bond might have joined ICL - report Cricinfo staff January 1, 2008 Reports suggest that Shane Bond might be signing up with the Indian Cricket League © Getty Images Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations, says the rights of cricketers must be weighed against the importance of retaining strong Test teams as speculation mounts that Shane Bond might join the Indian Cricket League (ICL). New Zealand Cricket is already encouraging its selectors not to choose players who have already taken part in the league and now a report in the Australian suggests Bond has agreed to play in the ICL in 2008. "With New Zealand and these other poorly paid countries, it's incredibly enticing at the end of their career, or even in the middle of their career, to look after themselves," May told the paper. "It's their job and they're trying to do the best for their families. "You may well see more ICL contracted players signed up. So what are we going to do, have a New Zealand second XI out there? Is it in New Zealand's national interest to put out a half-baked team? "Is it in world cricket's interest? These are the questions people really need to sit down and think about. And there is also the rights of the players to ply their trade. We want to encourage people to play cricket professionally, don't we? It's not necessarily a bad thing, this ICL."

Tim May have a point here. From what I hear, the NZ players don't earn that much and if they have a chance to make a better living through the ICL, should their players really be banned?

[GB7]

I think we managed to decently on day 2, with VVS and Dravid putting up some resistance; now its upto Sachin and Sourav to build on it. Lets see how it goes.

In the last few years we have managed to hold our own against Australia, and since 2001 we've got a fairly decent record as well. I wonder how Australia must hate the sight of Kumble and VVS without whom we would have struggled to say the least.

As for the New Zealand Cricket-ICL situation, this was something that was predicted ages ago and NZC have had a chance to offer better money to their players; but as is symptomatic of all New Zealand sporting bodies the players are rarely paid enough, so they are bound to suffer defections when the opportunity for money comes up.

[Dez]

Quote Originally Posted by Showman India 216/3. Laxman has kept India in it with his century. Dravid added 53 and its Tendulkar and Ganguly batting now. With all the bad decisions yesterday, its interesting what Steve Waugh had to say, that neutral umpires should be discarded. I don't think thats a great idea considering the amount of controversy there has been in the past when local umps were in place for Tests.

Watching Rahul Dravid bat is the most painful experience ever, yeah sure it's a Test Match but for fucks sake that was simply pathetic. However, VVS Laxman on the other hand was absolutely brilliant to watch. His strokeplay and finesse was like nothing I've seen in a long time, the way he dealt with Mitchell Johnson was brutal.

Looking forward to see what "The Little Master" can produce tomorrow, should be exciting to watch.

[Pete_k104]

Quote Originally Posted by georgiebest7 I think we managed to decently on day 2, with VVS and Dravid putting up some resistance; now its upto Sachin and Sourav to build on it. Lets see how it goes. In the last few years we have managed to hold our own against Australia, and since 2001 we've got a fairly decent record as well. I wonder how Australia must hate the sight of Kumble and VVS without whom we would have struggled to say the least.

Precisely one of the things that I like about a lot of the Indian cricketers.

Laxman, Tendulkar have great career batting averages and they manage to have a better batting average against Australia

Same can be said for Kumble with the ball.

There are many cricketers around the world who seem to do well with the bat and ball against most nations but cannot produce against Australia. A lot of Indians tend to do well

The test match is in the balance now. India play well at the SCG. I remember in January 2004, it was Steve Waugh's last test. Sachin and Laxman put on 350 together. Lee got hammered for 4/203 and I got really badly sunburnt.

It's raining here now, (I live about 30 Km from the SCG) it's been on and off stuff. I hope it doesn't affect the start of play tomorrow

We really need quick wickets in the first session tomorrow

[GB7]

I still remember that test in 2003 where Steve Waugh refused to lose to India. We had that one in the bag, but he just refused to lose to India in his final match.

Brian Lara commented that he was glued onto that match on TV because it is not often that Australia are in for a thrashing and it was a pleasure watching someone do that to them.

[kaneforchamp]

India put up a good fight today and like most people have said already in this thread it was great to see Laxman in full flight. I don't think that Australia will be too disappointed with there position thanks to those two late wickets.

South Africa have made a steady start against West Indies in the second test. South Africa bowled them out for 243 and at lunch on day two they are 52/1. I was watching some of this yesterday when the West indies were batting and the ground is a shocker. The ball would stop dead when driving along the ground. The oval reminded me off some grounds I played on in Under 13's cricket not a test match venue.

On the NewZealand situation I can definately see Bond quitting New Zealand and just playing for the ICL. He is injury prone so the reduced schedule and high pay of the ICL will suite him perfectly.

New Zealand international cricket players all have to have outside jobs unless they are in the top three players in the team. The pay backed fired on New Zealand cricket early 2007 when Hamish Marshall rejected a national contract from New Zealand cricket so that he could play as a local player in English county cricket. He has an Irish passport and it must have a real kick in the nuts for New Zealand that he would prefer to play county cricket than International cricket because he can make more money.

[GB7]

He should have taken the IPL offer to be honest. Would've made him more money and also let him continue playing for New Zealand.

Also, I remember a few years ago that Craig MacMillan decided to find a day job because he wasn't offered the top contract and because of that he couldn't afford living just on cricket.

[silver]

Internationals isnt too bad in pay but you get paid shit all in the domestic league. Nobody goes to those games...So if you're not one of those 20 contracted players to NZ cricket, the only way to make money in cricket is to play domestic. Thats why Craig McMillian had to get a job cos he missed out on the 20 contracts.

Im a little surprised at Shane Bond's interest in the IPL since the only other NZders that play in that league are retired or will never get into the Black Caps again but I can see why he would do it since with all those injuries over the years, he must have not made so much money and wants to make some cash before another injury forces him to retire.

I think hes gunna go for the deal

[Dez]

Quote Originally Posted by silver Im a little surprised at Shane Bond's interest in the IPL since the only other NZders that play in that league are retired or will never get into the Black Caps again but I can see why he would do it since with all those injuries over the years, he must have not made so much money and wants to make some cash before another injury forces him to retire. I think hes gunna go for the deal

It's the ICL not IPL he's reportedly joined.

IPL = Good

ICL = Bad

[Pete_k104]

About bloody time that we got India all out

It's been a tough day out there for Australia

Sachin played well today and he was supported really well by Harbhajan , Sharma and RP Singh

Sachin sure does love batting here in Sydney

So India have a 69 run lead now. Australia are going to need to be at least 300 ahead by about this time tomorrow. No team has ever scored more that 300 to win a test match batting last in Sydney.

I hope that a result is still on here

This last twenty minutes will pose some difficulty though

[GB7]

Finally a day we can be proud of in the series. Our batting line-up finally clicked, and Sachin did what he does best, score runs and quite a few of them.

I haven't been watching the cricket mainly coz it is on all night, but first thing I do every morning is check the score on my phone while still lying in bed. For the first time I got happy after seeing what the score was.

Hopefully we can bowl Australia out before they manage to set us any total of any sorts. Coz if Australia set us a target we are going to play for a draw.

[GB7]

Quote The British government is set to ban Zimbabwe from touring England in 2009, removing the pressure from the ECB to make a decision on sporting relations with the country. An article in The Sun quotes a government source as saying: "We can't pretend it's not a matter for the government any more. It's quite clearly our job to stand up and be counted. Mugabe needs to be given clear signals from all quarters that his regime is unacceptable." Under Tony Blair, the ECB was encouraged not to play against Zimbabwe but his government refused to go any further, leaving the board with the choice between carrying on or boycotting games and facing massive fines from the ICC. Gordon Brown has shown a firmer approach, staying away from a summit in Portugal because Mugabe had been invited to attend. "England's cricket authorities wanted assurances from us about what to do," the government source added, "and now they have it." A spokesman for Gordon Brown confirmed that the government will hold talks with the cricket authorities on a possible ban, but said it was too early for any decision. "I think that it's very early to be making these sorts of decisions. We obviously will need to discuss this with the ECB closer to the time. A decision will have to be made about this at some point but we are not at that point at the moment." New Zealand's government banned the Zimbabwe side from entering the country in 2006, leading to the cancellation of their tour, and in May 2007 John Howard, the then Australian prime minister, ordered the Australian board not to fulfil a tour to Zimbabwe. While few will shed tears over Zimbabwe not playing a series in England, there are greater possible ramifications as in September 2009 the ICC World Twenty20 is scheduled to be held in the country. It seems unlikely that the ICC would allow a tournament to go ahead when one of it's Full Members is barred from participating, and so it is possible that the event might be moved elsewhere. The financial implications for the ECB were that to happen would be far more devastating that any ICC fines. An ECB spokesman declined to comment on what he said was a "speculative story based on insider quotes".

I'm not sure if this is a sensible decision by the British government, they've tended to behave like an utter bunch of twats in all matters relating to Zimbabwe, but by extending this to sporting events is utter stupidity.

By that regard shouldn't they also kick out all Zimbabwean sportspersons from entering the country.

I can understand they don't want to help Mugabe siphon off more funds, but the ECB will have to give ZC a pay-off anyway, and that will enter Mugabe's pockets regardless.

[Dez]

I'd say they are banning Zimbabwe just to avoid losing to them, makes sense really England do suck after all.

[Pete_k104]

That bloody Harbhajan

As if the Aussies didn't hate him enough, he goes and does that shit when he took the wicket of Ponting

Harbhajan is in a world of trouble apparently. He allegedly called Andrew Symonds a monkey yesterday. Investigations are ongoing and he is required to face a panel at the end of this test match.

This incident is a grade three charge which is the most serious

[Chet]

Apparently Cricket Australia gagged Symonds and denied him the opportunity to talk about the situation.

Good move, Symonds is a fucking big mouth and just would've gotten himself in trouble.

[Dez]

Quote Originally Posted by æir_chéstér Apparently Cricket Australia gagged Symonds and denied him the opportunity to talk about the situation. Good move, Symonds is a fucking big mouth and just would've gotten himself in trouble.

Thou shalt not speak ill of Symonds, back to your soccer thread you soccer loving faggot and

[Showman]

lol, Harbajhan gets Ponting for the 8th time. And that celebration showed how happy he was lol.

What do you all think, Is Ponting Harbajhan Singh's bunny?

[Chet]

rofl I copypasta Jamie in that soccer shit

Symonds has a big mouth, it's a fact of life Dez, sorry.

[Dez]

Quote Originally Posted by æir_chéstér rofl I copypasta Jamie in that soccer shit Symonds has a big mouth, it's a fact of life Dez, sorry.

I SAID!!!!!!!

[GB7]

Well its good they've put a gag order of Symonds. The stuff at Mumbai was disgraceful, but I find it a bit hypocritical of the Aussies crying about abuse.

[Pete_k104]

Quote Originally Posted by georgiebest7 Well its good they've put a gag order of Symonds. The stuff at Mumbai was disgraceful, but I find it a bit hypocritical of the Aussies crying about abuse.

That thing in Mimbai was horrible. One of the worst things that I have seen in a sporting arena

Some have made that comment already about Australia being a bit hypocritical. However, while Australia do have a bit of a history of sledging on field, they have never done anything of a racist nature what Harbhajan is alleged to have done

It's a bit of a shame because this test is set for a great finish and unfortunately it will be overshadowed by what happens after the match with Harbhajan's hearing

[Chet]

Well it's alleged he called Symonds a "monkey", which may be an OMG big thing in cricket, but seriously, there's ALOT worse things that could have been said.

Big fuss over nothing imo

[Pete_k104]

Australia are batting far too slowly this morning. They really must get a move on

252 right now is a decent lead but they really must send India out to bat some time this session and for them to that, they really must be at least 300 runs ahead

[Dez]

JAFFER GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lee gets his bunny for a duck.

India 1/3 Australia get a wicket right before lunch.

India need 330 to win in 2 sessions.

[Pete_k104]

That was great to pick up a wicket before lunch.

I feel that the declaration came a bit too late but Australia can still win this one

I have been there before to see Warne and MacGill take seven wickets on the last day in different tests. Hopefully Hogg, Clarke and Symonds can do something

Lee looked quite good in his one and only over too

[Dez]

SARFRAZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VVS Gone, plumb LBW by Clark.

2/34 with 299 remaining for the win with 8 wickets in hand, that brings "The Little Master" to the crease.

This is going to be a great days cricket, bugger the streak I don't care what happens this is just great to watch.

Except someone needs to either shoot Mitchell Johnson or kick him square in the nuts, he's bowling absolute shit if he plays in Perth there will be a one man riot from Melbourne.

[Pete_k104]

OOOHHHH YEAH

Good On Ya Roy

2/1 from his last over and it is getting exciting

I look forward to seeing Symonds bowl to Harbhajan. That will be quite a contest

[Dez]

Although Dravid wasn't out.

However it did even out when Hogg had Dhoni caught by Ponting, but was turned down.

Still think this will be a draw, Ganguly's batting very very well.

[Pete_k104]

^^ Both Dhoni and Ganguly are showing a lot of resistance

I'm still quite hopeful of an Aussie win here

They still have 30+ overs to take only five wickets. It's more than possible

[Pete_k104]

Make that four wickets to get

Ganguly gone for 51

[Dez]

What a bloody Test Match, Michael Clarke removed Harbhajan and RP Singh in the space of 2 balls and then 3 balls later removed Sharma to give Australia their 16th straight Test Match win with 1 over to spare in the Test Match.

Australia won the 2nd Test in Sydney by 122 with Andrew Symonds rightfully being named Man Of The Match with his sensational innings of 162* and his 61 in the 2nd innings but also his 3/51 from 19 overs in the 2nd innings in which he grabbed the wickets of Dravid, Yuvraj and Dhoni.

Quite a brilliant all round effort from Roy and it's great to see him finding his feet in Test Cricket after such as shaky start to his career and what a Test Match, Amazing Adelaide eat your heart out.