January 26, 2008. Matthew Hayden’s hundred at the Adelaide Oval was an act of will. From the moment he walked to the crease he steeled himself to construct a massive score. Forced to watch the Perth Test from the sidelines, he suffered as his team slipped to defeat. He spent the first two days of […]
17 January 2008. Cricket, unlike other sports, lacks a code that – although not mentioned in any rule book – is universally accepted and lends the sport a commonness of purpose. Every game has codes and customs handed down by the generations and honoured by tradition. Often it is these customs that supporters point towards […]
Jan 8, 2008: Ricky Ponting must be sacked as captain of the Australian cricket team. If Cricket Australia cares a fig for the tattered reputation of our national team in our national sport it will not for a moment longer tolerate the sort of arrogant and abrasive conduct seem from the captain and his senior […]
Jan 6, 2008: Ricky Ponting has had a fractious match at the SCG. From a distance it is hard to avoid thinking that he has allowed a petty squabble with an immature opponent to affect his judgement. His confrontation with Harbhajan has taken a toll of his form as a batsman and tactician. He has […]
2 January 2008. The world’s most fanatical cricket nation must get serious about long-term success in the game and doing whatever that takes. India faces a stark challenge in the years that lie ahead. Not once in 60 years of independence has this cricketing powerhouse attained top ranking in its chosen game. Certainly, it has […]
19 December 2007. Australian cricket is fierce, attacking and spirited. In many ways it reflects the country’s origins and history. A tour to Australia counts amongst the most challenging experiences cricket has to offer. Teams visiting the antipodes and returning with the spoils are honoured. Englishmen coming back from an Ashes triumph in 1928-29 were […]
5 December 2007. A working man without ego or vanity, Harold Larwood, having beaten the Australians, went and joined them. Harold Larwood is my favourite cricketer because he was honest, modest, and the epitome of the properly raised working man. Nothing of the celebrity could be found in him, no hint of glamour or touch […]
4 December 2007. Self-indulgence and self-interest are to blame for West Indies’ present condition. Not long ago a rising West Indian batsman asked an old hand for help with his game. Since the elder was a selector, the youngster might have supposed that he’d be happy to offer advice. Not a bit of it. Instead […]
23 November 2007 Over the years cricket has not handled throwing well. Thankfully that seems to be changing, if slowly. Throwing has been the most emotional topic the game has known. Considering the fury of the argument, it might be imagined that batting was in peril and practitioners were constantly taking blows from some demonic […]
May 5, 2007: Australia was overwhelmingly the best run side at the 2007 World Cup. As ever the deeds of champions can be instructive. By no means did Ricky Ponting have a bunch of supermen at his disposal. To the contrary the Australians looked vulnerable, arriving with their tails between their legs, not an easy […]
Mar 18, 2007: When the mighty fall they land with a thud. What a week it has been to be sure! And what a night! India crushed by Bangladesh, Pakistan given a St Patrick’s Day drubbing by the Irish, two titans tasting the sourness of defeat within an hour of each other. Inzaman’s bedraggled troupe […]
Mar 16, 2007: Unless cricket prospers in Africa it will soon resemble an antiquated game reserved for enthusiasts on two continents and hardy souls elsewhere. Australian mining companies have noticed that Africa’s potential remains untapped. Around the world immigrant communities from the continent are starting to escape from their ghettos to make their mark in […]
Mar 3, 2007: Bob Woolmer was a softly spoken cricketing philosopher with an observant, probing mind that penetrated numerous layers of the game without ever quite reaching the core. No-one who met him could dislike him yet few knew him intimately. Throughout he was in love with the game of bat and ball, endlessly thinking […]
Mar 2, 2007: Enough is enough. Shoaib Akhtar does not belong on a cricket field anywhere let alone as a participant in the forthcoming World Cup. An impostor whose reputation relies upon a handful of bursts spread over a career lasting a decade, he has been more trouble than he is worth. No captain, no […]
Feb 27, 2007: John Duckett was hoovering as the bell rang, His fourth child was sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of the arrival of guests at the family home in Maroubra. Having completed his garbo round, John was attending to his duties. He likes working as a garbo because it keeps him fit and he finishes […]
Feb 20, 2007: Australia’s chances of retaining the World Cup have shrunk. Their aura of invincibility has been broken. It was a precious asset. The five defeats suffered in the last fortnight have been caused by a combination of poor thinking and slipshod cricket. On this form Ricky Ponting’s side will be lucky to reach […]
Feb 16, 2007: A scorching sun was sending shimmers across Albrecht Oval in Alice Springs. The Macdonnel range was providing a glorious, barren, ancient backdrop. South Australia was chasing 218 on a field turned green by recent rains that broke a five year drought and caused The Todd to flood Queensland had plundered 80 runs […]
Feb 9, 2007: A strong partnership between Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden was the highlight of a patchy Australian innings that began brightly and ran out of steam on a holding surface. The second wicket pair took the score to 1/170 whereupon the innings fell apart in the most abject manner as a changed and […]
Feb 8, 2007: Hair has been in the cricketing spotlight in recent days and in both cases the reason is absurd. Zimbabwe’s more hirsute youngsters have been told to cut off their dreadlocks, an order presumably designed to improve their games, and an instruction that disregards the performances of brilliant sportsmen like Andrew Symonds and […]
Feb 3, 2007: Every team is entitled to an off-day. Really the surprise is that Australia’s day of struggle has been so long coming. From the time the season began in Malaysia last September until this lacklustre session at the SCG, Ricky Ponting’s side has been playing superb and undefeated cricket. A few awkward hours […]
Oct 13, 2006: Fears that the World Cup taking place in the West Indies next autumn will be a debacle have been laid to rest. Far from falling behind in their preparations, the organisers are months ahead of schedule and expect to have everything in place before the end of the year. Unprecedented co-operation between […]
Jan 1, 2005: Dravid and Laxman New Targets No longer is Sachin Tendulkar the prized scalp in the Indian batting order. Given a choice of batsmen in the opposing line-up to remove cheaply, the Australians would name Rahul Dravid and V.V.S Laxman. It is quite a change because Tendulkar has been highly regarded downunder ever since […]