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Archive | The Sydney Morning Herald

Articles that Peter Roebuck wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald.

Shane Warne

The Most Beautiful Moment the Game has Known

July 2005. A book could be written about Shane Warne’s first ball in Ashes cricket. Famously, it was the ball of the century, delivered with a rip of the fingers and snap of the wrist that sent the ball burning through the air and made it curl to leg before bouncing and turning prodigiously past […]

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Phillip Hughes in the nets

When Phillip Hughes Announced Himself as a Special Talent

Phillip Hughes emerged as a rare talent when he scored centuries against South Africa in both innings of his second Test in 2009. Durban: Phillip Hughes is a tough, pesky 20-year-old lefty from the sticks who bats and lives by his own lights. Australia’s new opening batsman scores an awful lot of runs in any […]

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Sachin Tendulkar

In Perth a Star is Born

3 February 1992. Sometimes it is a privilege simply to be there. Perth yesterday was one such occasion. To see Sachin Tendulkar batting was, for two hours, to be transported from our humdrum world and taken to a distant land, a land of magic, an impossible land in which a boy of 18 summers can […]

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Chris Gayle

Get a Grip – Lefties’ Success is a Right-handed Compliment

11 November 2006. Everyone has been batting the wrong way around. Right-handers ought to take guard as southpaws and vice versa. The reason is simple. Cricket is a top-handed game. Moreover, both hands have roles to play. Most racquet games are played one-handed. As far as batting is concerned, the dominant paw ought to take […]

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Ricky Ponting batting

Arrogant Ponting Must be Fired

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 […]

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Harbhajan Singh

Personal Distractions Make for Poor Match from Ponting

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 […]

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Bangladesh cricket team

Bangladesh, Ireland Light up St Patrick’s Day

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 […]

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Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib the Imposter

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 […]

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Matthew Hayden

Middle-order Decline Exposes Flaws

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 […]

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