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 […]
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 […]
African Counterparts Need to Make Stand at Cup
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 […]
Woolmer Lived for the Game until Stumps Were Called
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 […]
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 […]
An Aboriginal Champion
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 […]
Australian’s Lose Aura of Invincibility with Run of Losses
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 […]
Aboriginal Cricket on the Rise
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 […]
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 […]
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
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 […]
England at Last!
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 […]
Fear Not: Caribbean has World Cup Under Control
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 […]
India V Australia 2003
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 […]
In the Name of God, Go
17 November 2005. Peter Roebuck on why those running cricket in Zimbabwe have got to be swept aside. Evil does not know its name. Tatenda Taibu has been forced to flee his home. After holding his tongue through numerous abuses of power committed by the Zanu-PF heavies running cricket in his country, Zimbabwe’s captain joined […]