2 minute read Ricky Ponting must be nearing retirement age because we’re starting to appreciate him. We read a statistic the other day that about one in five top seven Test batsmen average over 50. That’s a ludicrous figure, but players like Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting were averaging over 50 long before
Continue readingCategory: Australia
Brett Lee’s reverse swing yorkers
< 1 minute read It doesn’t matter that it’s only a one-day international at the arse end of the season. It doesn’t matter that it’s an Australian against England. The simple fact is, proper fast bowling is a fantastic sight. Brett Lee bowled reverse swing yorkers at 95mph. It was just like Waqar Younis
Continue readingTim Paine, Australia’s wicketkeeper
< 1 minute read Name of a professional wrestler. Face of a junior tennis player from the Home Counties.
Continue readingHow old is Brett Lee?
< 1 minute read Brett Lee is nearly 33, but he’s tried to obscure this fact by getting a spiky haircut. Unfortunately, spikiness is only considered a youthful hair quality among the middle-aged, so Lee’s made an error here. It’s the kind of hair that looks like it should have a Global Hypercolour T-shirt
Continue readingEngland’s 2010 fixtures
< 1 minute read The unstoppable fun train is careering around the UK during summer 2010 and no mistake. England will play no fewer than 13 one-day internationals. This commitment to 50-over cricket has been reinforced by the ECB’s parallel decision to not play any 50-over county cricket ever again. Instead, county cricketers will
Continue readingWhy Australia lost the Ashes
< 1 minute read The thing about Australians is that when it comes to the crunch situations, they’ve got no backbone. It’s because of how they’re brought up. They’ve got a gentle, sunny climate, they’ve got a high standard of living and they’re all too well off. They don’t have to endure any hardships,
Continue readingWinning the Ashes isn’t shit
< 1 minute read That was nice, wasn’t it? Did you enjoy it?
Continue readingThe team with no spinner should lose
< 1 minute read Always play a spinner. Always. Always, always, always. It offers variety; a change of pace that might unsettle the batsman. Maybe the odd ball will turn more than you think. Or maybe – just maybe – a batsman who’s untroubled by pace will, for some inexplicable reason, be totally unable
Continue readingBrett Lee chasing the birds
< 1 minute read From the BBC: “Liam Plunkett was cleaned up by Lee for a breezy 34. The dismissal sparked a bizarre incident when a seagull swooped on one of the dislodged bails, escaping with its plunder with Lee in hot pursuit.” Many people would let the bird have the bail and gone
Continue readingIs the Australian team better?
< 1 minute read Certainly Australian cricket is better. Look at the players that aren’t even playing: Phil Jaques, Test average 47; Brad Hodge, Test average 56; David Hussey, first-class average 55. That short list can quite easily be extended. The English system produces the odd exceptional player and that’s being generous – more
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