Cricket
I watched Australia slaughter the English for my entire Perth trip. For the first time in my life I was fully, 100% on the side of the Aussie's. Maybe that's because I'm considering becoming one but I think it really has more to do with the fact that I just cannot begrudge a team that good when they win.
New Zealand have headed to Hobart and will be taking part in the Commonwealth Bank Tri-series with England and Australia. While it is going to hurt when the Aussie's slaughter us (which they will, they are a sure-fire bet to win almost every game they play right now they're so on top of their game) it's not going to hurt as much as it used to. Right now they are just playing too well to be worried about losing to them. And if we manage a victory or two? Well, it'll just be even sweeter than usual.
But if we lose to England? That's really gonna hurt. England are a team on the brink of collapse. They have had a completely demoralising tour so far. It can't all be blamed on how well Australia are playing either since England also did embarrassingly badly in the Champion's Trophy late last year. Their excuse then was that they were too focussed on the Ashes. This was proven to be a lie a few weeks later when they couldn't even post a decent total let alone hold Australia back.
In saying that, even a team who seems completely down and out often only needs one, small, good thing to happen for them and it can completely turn them around. A win against New Zealand could be that thing. Hell, a score of 300+, even if they didn't then go on to win, could be just the thing. For both England's and cricket's sake I hope they do begin to improve. For the sake of my team I hope they don't. Lets face it, the less teams we have to struggle against in the World Cup the better.
I'm not sure about what England can do to fix their probelms either. Watching them during the Ashes and then again last night in their opening match of the CB Tri-series (Australia made their total of 240 look like a walk in the park) it looks like their problems are not just psychological but also technical. A lot of their players just aren't up to it technically at the moment. Kevin Pietersen's been sent home after being hit in the ribs by McGrath and that is a real blow to the team. Pietersen was probably the most consistent batsman throughout the Ashes and was definitely their best batsman last night.
Andrew (Freddie) Flintoff's cricket is struggling a lot and that is a danger for England. Flintoff is usually the one they look to when they are in trouble. He has the ability to dig them out of trouble and put them back on top, both with the bat and the ball. Last night he led England's bowling attack and opened with 11 runs off the first over. None of these runs came from the bat either. The first ball was a wide, the next went for 5 wides and three balls later he sent another one down for 5 wides. Obviously Flintoff's problems are all psychological but England desperately need to get him out of this funk. (He hadn't even shaved and, really, it should be against the law for red-heads to grow beards. Comments from a forum I read on - Originally Posted by _Ed_
[Freddie Flintoff] Looked to be running pretty gingerly after that last Ponting boundary.
That might have something to do with his beard though.
*snort* so funny)
Their new wicket-keeper surprised me. It was his debut ODI yesterday. That's not odd in itself. It's the fact that he is 36 years old that's the kicker for me. Why pick a player who's only going to be around for a year or two. Wicket keepers don't generally play until their early 40's. Keeping's just too hard on the body for that. Maybe if he was absolutely, mind-blowingly, brilliant but he's not. Or, he wasn't last night. He got a duck when batting and his keeping certainly wasn't anything special. He didn't manage to stop those wides of Flintoff's for a start. Also his technique is a bit odd when standing at the stumps to collect the ball. Most wicket keepers stand with their gloves as close to the stumps as possible so as to collect the ball and hit it straight onto the stumps to affect a run-out. This position also allows them to judge whether or not the throw will be a direct hit. Instead, Nixon stands in front of the stumps. This means he catches the ball rather than allowing for any direct hits. Every cricketer knows that every millisecond counts when trying for a run out and taking direct hits out of play loses the fielding side valuable milliseconds. His positioning also means when he does take the ball he has to reach back quite a long way to get the ball onto the stumps. Again valuable milliseconds are wasted.
Problems like these annoy me. They are, without doubt, coaching deficiencies. If Nixon really is the best keeper England can find at the moment then their coach should have noticed this little idiosyncrasy of his and should have worked on it. The coach should also have noticed that Flintoff is really struggling with the mental side of his cricket. New Zealand employ a sports-psychologist who travels with the team at all times for exactly this reason. It surprises me that England don't do the same.
Because I have mentioned the word 'coach' in a post about cricket I'm now going to have to change tack and focus on New Zealand cricket. I HATE John Bracewell. I admired him as a cricketer. He was never the best but he was gritty and determined. As a coach I can't stand him. He is AWFUL.
Some examples of the idiotic things he has done since taking the reigns. (And these are only the things I can think of off the top of my head)
- Taking so much responsibility off Stephen Fleming. Everyone who's watched New Zealand play over the last few years knows that Fleming plays better the more responsibility he's given. Also, the team responds to him so well that the whole team as a unit seem to play better. Flem used to have a hand in selections, now that has been completely taken off him. He doesn't even get a say in batting order anymore. Bracewell is a dictator and I'm almost surprised he hasn't come up with a way to tell Fleming every fielding position he wants at every moment and which bowler to bowl when. If the 12th man suddenly starts trotting onto the field at the end of every single over we'll all know why.
- Trialling Hamish Marshall as an opener when it's a position he has never played in at domestic level and he was appallingly out of form anyway. Bracewell kept him in that position for an entire season and I don't think he ever scored more than about 10. He should have been dropped not persisted with (I still maintain Bracewell mixed Hamish up with his brother James who IS an opening batsman)
- I have no proof of this but I have heard that he has made the team practice their batting blindfolded. Blindfolded!! He told them that it was to make them trust in their processes. Ummmmm how the fuck can you bat if you can't see the bloody ball?
- Trialling new players 3 months out from the world cup. This should have been done a year or two ago. Our team for the world cup should now be set, barring injury, and they should be playing together to get match-play as a unit.
- This ridiculous rotation policy. I understand rotation policies and approve of them if they are done well. Bracewell's isn't. He dropped Fleming for the first half of the Sri Lanka tour to give Vettori a chance at leading the team. This is crazy, Fleming was a bit out of form anyway and could have used the time to get himself back in. He is one player we NEED in form if we are going to have any hope of making any impression in the World Cup. Then, when he brought Fleming back in it was at the expense of Astle who was just coming off a century. Fine, he's in form so he doesn't need the match play. But it was an important game for us to win so we should have been fielding our strongest side. Also, Bond was never rotated out. He's our most fragile player and should be wrapped in cotton wool since he seems to be able to injure himself tying his shoelaces! If there's anyone the fucking rotation policy should be used for it's Bond!
- Letting us go into an important-to-win game with a ridiculously long tail when our batting previously had already been woeful. It wasn't our bowling side that needed bolstering, it was our batting. Yet, he did the opposite and the team responded by posting their lowest (or it might have been second lowest) total in history.
- Selecting Craig McMillan again. Yes, he was the top scorer in the last game and yes he's been doing okay at domestic level but he is just so inconsistent. We already have enough problems with consistency in our batting line-up without bringing the king of inconsistency back into the team.
- Not selecting Jesse Ryder. He should have been given the chance against Sri Lanka if Bracewell was so determined to select an entirely new team for the World Cup. He's been performing fantastically at domestic level and could be the answer to partner Astle at the top of the order.
- Playing around with our batting order so much. He took Astle away from his favoured opening position and only put him back when Astle mentioned in the media that he prefers opening and feels he plays better there. (Something fans knew and the coach of the team bloody should have known). He's moved McCullum up the order to open when McCullum has done the job for us so many times lower down the order. He's moved Vettori around when, like McCullum, Vettori has performed so well in his usual position. Batsman are funny people. They get a position they like and they often just don't perform as well if taken out of that position. So why the fuck is Bracewell messing with what works?
- Comments in the media like the one he made on Wednesday. "[England is] a side we hope have taken a dreadful towelling and will be blown apart in terms of morale by the time we arrive" This is an AWFUL comment for a number of reasons. One, it basically sounds like he's saying that now maybe we'll have a chance of beating them because their morale is low, rather than because our cricket is better. Two, making comments like that about other teams come across as a bit un-sportsman like. Three, what the fuck is 73 all out against Sri Lanka, Bracewell? Seems to me we've taken a dreadful towelling ourselves and should be blown apart in terms of morale. At least England were beaten by a fucking awesome team.
That's all I can think of right now but I guarantee you there are more.
Our team completely lacks consistency. Our fielding is the only thing I can think of to be proud of at the moment. Ross Taylor is looking good but I can't help thinking it's only a matter of time before Bracewell mucks that up. Gillespie is the same, he's doing well now but for how long?
Bracewell can't be blamed totally. Even with a terrible coach the Australian's would be a good team. But they have all of that individual talent to rely upon. They have 11 guys in their team that can single-handedly win the match for them. We have none that can be relied upon to do that. Our strength has always been in the unit, working together as a team. The Kiwi's need to remember that and start performing as a team again. If the openers fail then the number 3 and 4 have to stand up and make themselves counted. Players can't keep failing and expect their positions to be safe for the next match.
We need to take up Australia's offer to let us play in their domestic competition. If we field a North Island and South Island team in their domestic competition it can only make our cricket stronger. Our guys will then constantly be playing against strong competition and on fast, good tracks. Until this happens and until we get a decent coach I fear we're going to keep going downhill and will be the laughing stock of the cricket world for a long time to come.
Just to move to one final point before I stop boring everyone with my rambling. How many 'chuckers' are the ICC going to allow in the Sri Lankan team? I like Murali and I can accept that, maybe, his bowling action is legal. I'm not certain that having an arm that won't straighten therefore having no choice but to have a chucking action is a good enough reason to let him get away with it. If he's chucking then he's chucking, no matter what the reason for it. His doosra in particular seems like it must be a chuck. However, I've heard the debate for years and am totally bored with it so don't really care anymore. But Malinga? Aka Malinga the Slinga? I don't see how ANYONE can think his action is acceptable. It's no wonder he's getting so much speed with an action like that. It's far more like a baseball throw than a cricket bowl. Why is he allowed to get away with it? Have umpires become so worried about being accused of being racist that they won't call someone for an obviously dodgy action anymore? Because if that's the case I think my days of loving cricket might be numbered. Admittedly, I think his arm is straight the whole time so 'technically' it's not a chuck, but I think only by the definition we currently have. There is no doubt in my mind that it's a dodgy and unfair action.
That just ain't cricket if you ask me. share this: facebook
New Zealand have headed to Hobart and will be taking part in the Commonwealth Bank Tri-series with England and Australia. While it is going to hurt when the Aussie's slaughter us (which they will, they are a sure-fire bet to win almost every game they play right now they're so on top of their game) it's not going to hurt as much as it used to. Right now they are just playing too well to be worried about losing to them. And if we manage a victory or two? Well, it'll just be even sweeter than usual.
But if we lose to England? That's really gonna hurt. England are a team on the brink of collapse. They have had a completely demoralising tour so far. It can't all be blamed on how well Australia are playing either since England also did embarrassingly badly in the Champion's Trophy late last year. Their excuse then was that they were too focussed on the Ashes. This was proven to be a lie a few weeks later when they couldn't even post a decent total let alone hold Australia back.
In saying that, even a team who seems completely down and out often only needs one, small, good thing to happen for them and it can completely turn them around. A win against New Zealand could be that thing. Hell, a score of 300+, even if they didn't then go on to win, could be just the thing. For both England's and cricket's sake I hope they do begin to improve. For the sake of my team I hope they don't. Lets face it, the less teams we have to struggle against in the World Cup the better.
I'm not sure about what England can do to fix their probelms either. Watching them during the Ashes and then again last night in their opening match of the CB Tri-series (Australia made their total of 240 look like a walk in the park) it looks like their problems are not just psychological but also technical. A lot of their players just aren't up to it technically at the moment. Kevin Pietersen's been sent home after being hit in the ribs by McGrath and that is a real blow to the team. Pietersen was probably the most consistent batsman throughout the Ashes and was definitely their best batsman last night.
Andrew (Freddie) Flintoff's cricket is struggling a lot and that is a danger for England. Flintoff is usually the one they look to when they are in trouble. He has the ability to dig them out of trouble and put them back on top, both with the bat and the ball. Last night he led England's bowling attack and opened with 11 runs off the first over. None of these runs came from the bat either. The first ball was a wide, the next went for 5 wides and three balls later he sent another one down for 5 wides. Obviously Flintoff's problems are all psychological but England desperately need to get him out of this funk. (He hadn't even shaved and, really, it should be against the law for red-heads to grow beards. Comments from a forum I read on - Originally Posted by _Ed_
[Freddie Flintoff] Looked to be running pretty gingerly after that last Ponting boundary.
That might have something to do with his beard though.
*snort* so funny)
Their new wicket-keeper surprised me. It was his debut ODI yesterday. That's not odd in itself. It's the fact that he is 36 years old that's the kicker for me. Why pick a player who's only going to be around for a year or two. Wicket keepers don't generally play until their early 40's. Keeping's just too hard on the body for that. Maybe if he was absolutely, mind-blowingly, brilliant but he's not. Or, he wasn't last night. He got a duck when batting and his keeping certainly wasn't anything special. He didn't manage to stop those wides of Flintoff's for a start. Also his technique is a bit odd when standing at the stumps to collect the ball. Most wicket keepers stand with their gloves as close to the stumps as possible so as to collect the ball and hit it straight onto the stumps to affect a run-out. This position also allows them to judge whether or not the throw will be a direct hit. Instead, Nixon stands in front of the stumps. This means he catches the ball rather than allowing for any direct hits. Every cricketer knows that every millisecond counts when trying for a run out and taking direct hits out of play loses the fielding side valuable milliseconds. His positioning also means when he does take the ball he has to reach back quite a long way to get the ball onto the stumps. Again valuable milliseconds are wasted.
Problems like these annoy me. They are, without doubt, coaching deficiencies. If Nixon really is the best keeper England can find at the moment then their coach should have noticed this little idiosyncrasy of his and should have worked on it. The coach should also have noticed that Flintoff is really struggling with the mental side of his cricket. New Zealand employ a sports-psychologist who travels with the team at all times for exactly this reason. It surprises me that England don't do the same.
Because I have mentioned the word 'coach' in a post about cricket I'm now going to have to change tack and focus on New Zealand cricket. I HATE John Bracewell. I admired him as a cricketer. He was never the best but he was gritty and determined. As a coach I can't stand him. He is AWFUL.
Some examples of the idiotic things he has done since taking the reigns. (And these are only the things I can think of off the top of my head)
- Taking so much responsibility off Stephen Fleming. Everyone who's watched New Zealand play over the last few years knows that Fleming plays better the more responsibility he's given. Also, the team responds to him so well that the whole team as a unit seem to play better. Flem used to have a hand in selections, now that has been completely taken off him. He doesn't even get a say in batting order anymore. Bracewell is a dictator and I'm almost surprised he hasn't come up with a way to tell Fleming every fielding position he wants at every moment and which bowler to bowl when. If the 12th man suddenly starts trotting onto the field at the end of every single over we'll all know why.
- Trialling Hamish Marshall as an opener when it's a position he has never played in at domestic level and he was appallingly out of form anyway. Bracewell kept him in that position for an entire season and I don't think he ever scored more than about 10. He should have been dropped not persisted with (I still maintain Bracewell mixed Hamish up with his brother James who IS an opening batsman)
- I have no proof of this but I have heard that he has made the team practice their batting blindfolded. Blindfolded!! He told them that it was to make them trust in their processes. Ummmmm how the fuck can you bat if you can't see the bloody ball?
- Trialling new players 3 months out from the world cup. This should have been done a year or two ago. Our team for the world cup should now be set, barring injury, and they should be playing together to get match-play as a unit.
- This ridiculous rotation policy. I understand rotation policies and approve of them if they are done well. Bracewell's isn't. He dropped Fleming for the first half of the Sri Lanka tour to give Vettori a chance at leading the team. This is crazy, Fleming was a bit out of form anyway and could have used the time to get himself back in. He is one player we NEED in form if we are going to have any hope of making any impression in the World Cup. Then, when he brought Fleming back in it was at the expense of Astle who was just coming off a century. Fine, he's in form so he doesn't need the match play. But it was an important game for us to win so we should have been fielding our strongest side. Also, Bond was never rotated out. He's our most fragile player and should be wrapped in cotton wool since he seems to be able to injure himself tying his shoelaces! If there's anyone the fucking rotation policy should be used for it's Bond!
- Letting us go into an important-to-win game with a ridiculously long tail when our batting previously had already been woeful. It wasn't our bowling side that needed bolstering, it was our batting. Yet, he did the opposite and the team responded by posting their lowest (or it might have been second lowest) total in history.
- Selecting Craig McMillan again. Yes, he was the top scorer in the last game and yes he's been doing okay at domestic level but he is just so inconsistent. We already have enough problems with consistency in our batting line-up without bringing the king of inconsistency back into the team.
- Not selecting Jesse Ryder. He should have been given the chance against Sri Lanka if Bracewell was so determined to select an entirely new team for the World Cup. He's been performing fantastically at domestic level and could be the answer to partner Astle at the top of the order.
- Playing around with our batting order so much. He took Astle away from his favoured opening position and only put him back when Astle mentioned in the media that he prefers opening and feels he plays better there. (Something fans knew and the coach of the team bloody should have known). He's moved McCullum up the order to open when McCullum has done the job for us so many times lower down the order. He's moved Vettori around when, like McCullum, Vettori has performed so well in his usual position. Batsman are funny people. They get a position they like and they often just don't perform as well if taken out of that position. So why the fuck is Bracewell messing with what works?
- Comments in the media like the one he made on Wednesday. "[England is] a side we hope have taken a dreadful towelling and will be blown apart in terms of morale by the time we arrive" This is an AWFUL comment for a number of reasons. One, it basically sounds like he's saying that now maybe we'll have a chance of beating them because their morale is low, rather than because our cricket is better. Two, making comments like that about other teams come across as a bit un-sportsman like. Three, what the fuck is 73 all out against Sri Lanka, Bracewell? Seems to me we've taken a dreadful towelling ourselves and should be blown apart in terms of morale. At least England were beaten by a fucking awesome team.
That's all I can think of right now but I guarantee you there are more.
Our team completely lacks consistency. Our fielding is the only thing I can think of to be proud of at the moment. Ross Taylor is looking good but I can't help thinking it's only a matter of time before Bracewell mucks that up. Gillespie is the same, he's doing well now but for how long?
Bracewell can't be blamed totally. Even with a terrible coach the Australian's would be a good team. But they have all of that individual talent to rely upon. They have 11 guys in their team that can single-handedly win the match for them. We have none that can be relied upon to do that. Our strength has always been in the unit, working together as a team. The Kiwi's need to remember that and start performing as a team again. If the openers fail then the number 3 and 4 have to stand up and make themselves counted. Players can't keep failing and expect their positions to be safe for the next match.
We need to take up Australia's offer to let us play in their domestic competition. If we field a North Island and South Island team in their domestic competition it can only make our cricket stronger. Our guys will then constantly be playing against strong competition and on fast, good tracks. Until this happens and until we get a decent coach I fear we're going to keep going downhill and will be the laughing stock of the cricket world for a long time to come.
Just to move to one final point before I stop boring everyone with my rambling. How many 'chuckers' are the ICC going to allow in the Sri Lankan team? I like Murali and I can accept that, maybe, his bowling action is legal. I'm not certain that having an arm that won't straighten therefore having no choice but to have a chucking action is a good enough reason to let him get away with it. If he's chucking then he's chucking, no matter what the reason for it. His doosra in particular seems like it must be a chuck. However, I've heard the debate for years and am totally bored with it so don't really care anymore. But Malinga? Aka Malinga the Slinga? I don't see how ANYONE can think his action is acceptable. It's no wonder he's getting so much speed with an action like that. It's far more like a baseball throw than a cricket bowl. Why is he allowed to get away with it? Have umpires become so worried about being accused of being racist that they won't call someone for an obviously dodgy action anymore? Because if that's the case I think my days of loving cricket might be numbered. Admittedly, I think his arm is straight the whole time so 'technically' it's not a chuck, but I think only by the definition we currently have. There is no doubt in my mind that it's a dodgy and unfair action.
That just ain't cricket if you ask me. share this: facebook
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