Comments on: How Joe Denly got to play for England

By: King Cricket

King Cricket — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:36:52 +0000

That’s a proper recommendation.

Why don’t the rest of you play more games alongside the parents of future England players?

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:59:30 +0000

I played with his dad, Nick who captained the UK Customs side in the 1990’s. If he has half his mettle, he will be Strauss’s long term replacement. His old man was batting with me against the Fire Brigade at Dunstable. They hold the British handgliding championships in the same valley so it was a bit windy and it didn’t need Nick blowing kisses at the Aussie opener every time he hooked him for four with me waiting downwind at the other end. Denly’s good enough and if lineage means anything he won’t be the psychological wreck some of his recent peers have turned into Tresco, Ramps, Hick et al.

By: Bobby K

Bobby K — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:43:02 +0000

Excellent suggeestion D Charlton. Can I suggest that we add another count, SudEfrikanshire to the mix to produce match winning batsmen for us.

By: King Cricket

King Cricket — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:12:05 +0000

Australians don’t like to lose because losing has consequences in grade and state cricket. That’s what creates that pride.

Pride isn’t some innate Australian quality – although Aussies would like to think that it is.

By: King Cricket

King Cricket — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:08:08 +0000

Our illusions are intact. The whole point of the article was that so many games in county cricket don’t count. ‘There’s always next time’.

And English players being champions one week and not trying the next – that’s the same again.

Stop agreeing with us and painting it as a disagreement.

By: sam

sam — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:26:28 +0000

mahahahahaha

By: D Charlton

D Charlton — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:14:26 +0000

That Ashes loss must have been a real blow then, Ned.

By: batting in ned kelly's helmet

batting in ned kelly's helmet — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:14:49 +0000

King, in Australia a player who isn’t in the Australian side will also play for their club side. Paine could have played anything up to 18 games for his club side (probably more like half that) so the volume of cricket isn’t massively less – the difference is that every game counts. Not for points on the table, but because your mates aren’t going to put up with anything less – Paine will have grown up in club cricket with a lot of older blokes who might never play first class cricket but they are tough old bastards who aren’t going to take shit from a youngster like Paine, no matter how good or pretty he might be.

I hate to shatter your illusions, but the difference is pride. Australians don’t like to lose, don’t like to fail, don’t like to look weak – ever. English players are champions one week, and don’t even bother the next. No pride.

By: SixSixEight

SixSixEight — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:23:35 +0000

Just forget the 2nd division exists from next season – there down to 9 counties already.

By: Bert

Bert — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:24:21 +0000

D Charlton has it! The solution to all our concerns. Eight counties in the league, being:

Durham (as champions)
Wiganshire
Oldhamshire
Rochdaleshire
Manchestershire
Liverpoolshire
Boltonshire
The South

Think of it! A never-ending conveyor belt of gritty, honest fast bowlers who’ll run in all day and who aren’t scared of a bit of graft and who’ll put in an honest days toil and… (continued in Fred Trueman’s autobiography). And from The South, a series of laid-back, curly-haired fops to do the batting. The only conceivable problem with this idea is that it might be difficult to get all the required cricket played on the five days it’s not raining.