I watched the ODI between Australia and England for a couple of hours last night. The English Sky commentators are almost terminally dull - the one exception David Lloyd had the day off - and they all seemed almost entirely uninterested in the game or finding anything to say about it that might interest the listener.
Instead they spent a lot of time on the future of one day cricket, talking up 2020 and suggesting 50 over games might not be long for this world.
I guess having three versions of the game running alongside each other is unlikely long-term, and of the three, 50 over cricket is the one most likely to head for the great pavilion in the sky.
But I was bemused to hear it being suggested that 50 over cricket could be replaced by two innings of 20 overs each.
Isn't the very thing that makes 2020 so popular the very fact that it's all over in three hours? Yeah the slogging too, but that you don't have to devote all day to it is a big plus surely.
Australia won but you got the feeling that no-one cared too much, including the players.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
New Zealand v Sri Lanka
The test series gets almost no attention in the Sunday papers today. Seems they just can't get interested in this poor level of cricket and who can blame them?
One of the papers suggests Vettori may not be just our best bowler - but also our best batsman? Of course he has more freedom batting at number 8 than say an opener - but that this can be seriously discussed is an indictment on our batting.
One of the papers suggests Vettori may not be just our best bowler - but also our best batsman? Of course he has more freedom batting at number 8 than say an opener - but that this can be seriously discussed is an indictment on our batting.
Blogging
I love cricket and hope to have heaps to say on this blog. Of course you don't know, maybe my cricketing thoughts will expire more quickly than I expect.
I don't see many great cricket blogs around.
There was one - briefly. The Black Cap bowler Iain O'Brien blogged for a while on a blog he set up himself. When he began it, about two years ago, it was raw and real. He said what he really thought, he was honest about the team's ups and downs, about his opponents, the crowds. He swore and quoted others swearing. He was funny and revealing.
Then there was a comment about crowds that got picked up in the press and made a fuss about. The cricket authorities then ruled he had to run his blog posts past the media manager. They said it would make no difference to his posts. But suddenly the blog was cleaned up. No revelations, no swearing, no criticism of anything. Just the sort of bland talk about nothing that is typical of what the players say when interviewed in the media. Just banalities and cliches.
Iain O'Brien is clearly capable of independent thought. But don't worry - they soon bashed that out of him.
I don't see many great cricket blogs around.
There was one - briefly. The Black Cap bowler Iain O'Brien blogged for a while on a blog he set up himself. When he began it, about two years ago, it was raw and real. He said what he really thought, he was honest about the team's ups and downs, about his opponents, the crowds. He swore and quoted others swearing. He was funny and revealing.
Then there was a comment about crowds that got picked up in the press and made a fuss about. The cricket authorities then ruled he had to run his blog posts past the media manager. They said it would make no difference to his posts. But suddenly the blog was cleaned up. No revelations, no swearing, no criticism of anything. Just the sort of bland talk about nothing that is typical of what the players say when interviewed in the media. Just banalities and cliches.
Iain O'Brien is clearly capable of independent thought. But don't worry - they soon bashed that out of him.
New Zealand v Sri Lanka
As I write this the Black Caps are about to lose again to Sri Lanka.
What a depressing tour it has been for NZ fans. Really there hasn't been a single performance to be cheery about. Poor batting, poor bowling.
The 2-0 result will probably put New Zealand second to bottom in the ICC test rankings, ahead only of Bangladesh. And deservedly so.
Hard to be anything but down about that.
What a depressing tour it has been for NZ fans. Really there hasn't been a single performance to be cheery about. Poor batting, poor bowling.
The 2-0 result will probably put New Zealand second to bottom in the ICC test rankings, ahead only of Bangladesh. And deservedly so.
Hard to be anything but down about that.
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