***The Official Cricket Lovers Thread***

pjfan31

Why does England have to be so shit??? They have now caused Australia a selection nightmare...

If they put up a bit of a fight, Smith could have had a bowl and we could have seen how he went.

Now heading into Melbourne, they will probably have to drop siddle for Beer. I actually like all those boys in there for this test, and if Smith went well, he could have played as our front line spinner and left a 4 prong pace attack....

Fuckin England....


Love it!!!

TroubledSoul

im still perplexed by the selection of smith if they keep the same XI for the 4th test. i like smith, but he's not in the top 6 batsmen in australia. granted he bats in the top 6 for nsw and has made runs, but hes not a test #6. neither is he the best spinner in australia. so he's sort of an insurance policy, which is pretty risky at #6 when ponting and clarke havent hit it off the square for 2 years. i guess you could look at it differently if hadds batted 6 and smith, 7, but i still think playing smith and beer is wrong for he mcg. if youre going to pick beer for boxing day, then smith should go for another top6 batsman... we werent found out by this interesting selection in perth because harris and johnson bowled so well. oh and hughes has to go. no questions asked. his technique is so highly flawed at the top level it's not funny. cant let this win get in the way of the fact that watson, hussey and haddin at #7 is what's holding us together with the bat.

nuffingman

Bollocks!!!!!!!!!

pjfan31

I would love to keep the same 11 for MCG, but I know it can't happen... I'd be reluctant to change the team too much (beer fo siddle prob the only one. They have a winning feeling now... I agree about Hughes, but I like him (maybe its the NSW in me, but my favourite players aren't determined by the state they're from) If he gets lucky and hits a ton, all of a sudden he will be the flavour of the month....


Thrilla? where are you???

theserialthrilla

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm24X92Wm2s

pjfan31

So it was a great test, and as I will try and do is make my team of the series up.... SO here goes

1 Cook
2 Watson
3 Trott (not too impressive here)
4 Pietersen (um, Clarke doing nothing)
5 Hussey (I think he is man of the series so far. Maybe a tie with cook, but Hussey has been the backbone)
6 Bell
7 Haddin

8 Anderson (losing form, disappointing for a quality bowler especially seeming he was bowling at fast bowlers heaven)
9 Johnson
10 Harris
11 Finn
12 Swann just... (has struggled)


Special mentions to Tremlett, bowled very well
A four prong pace attack....

And even though he is not in the team, captain goes to Ponting. Tactically one of the best games he has had for Australia. He set good fields, he lobbied for the 4 seamers and he lead well. Batting.... Well here's hoping he comes good.

theserialthrilla

told you before this ashes started johnson would a test on his own...hes done it ..bugger.his 5 wickets in the first innings won this match


whats up with the captains :?

ponting still looking crap.and ours like to find the slips

pjfan31

Yeah I know....

Ponting said yesterday that he doesn't know how his form is because he hasn't been able to hang around long enough to see...

Had a couple of good cherries early, brilliantly caught by Collingwood, and a stupid tickle down leg side...

Strauss is a funny one, for a few balls he looks good, then just seems a shadow of himself in other balls.

But as I said in an earlier post, I think tactically it was the best game Ponting has played as a captain in a long time... Set good fields.... Plenty of pressure behind the wicket, bowlers didn't bowl to short (apart from that spell from Siddle where he got Prior) Bowled full and most of the wickets (perhaps all) were either bowled, LBW or caught behind the wicket.

pjfan31

Bowled the best ball of my life today. Man I was so excited.

Bowling to my old captain, who is a decent left hand bat, he is still playin and has scored 160 from his last two digs. Anyway, we were just in the nets, and there was a strong breeze blowing from left to right, so I bowled around the wicket, throwing the ball into the breeze, which was holding the ball up nicely and I was getting a bit of turn (offies).

Bowled him about 6 balls, bowled a few goodies, he played some good shots. Next ball I bowled a quicker one, no flight probably 10-15km faster than normal pitched middle and leg, he came to defend it with a good stride forward bat and pad together and the ball whizzed past the outside edge and hit the top of off....

I was pumped,

Sorry for boring you, but I could only tell my mum and sister and they know nothing about cricket so didn't understand.

threefish10

pjfan31 wrote:

Yeah I know....

Ponting said yesterday that he doesn't know how his form is because he hasn't been able to hang around long enough to see...

Ha, the man is an idiot, I'd say if you can't last more then 15 balls your form is pretty shit. There still wasn't many positives in that test, sure the win is good but think of how fucked we would have been if Johnson sat out another test. Our batting still needs a lot of improvement if we are to win this thing overall. If we could bat it should have been a bigger flogging then that. England had two days to score 300 and something runs, just lucky for us they didn't.

I honestly think we were the slightly less shit of two shit sides out there this week.

theserialthrilla

pjfan31 wrote:

Bowled the best ball of my life today. Man I was so excited.

Bowling to my old captain, who is a decent left hand bat, he is still playin and has scored 160 from his last two digs. Anyway, we were just in the nets, and there was a strong breeze blowing from left to right, so I bowled around the wicket, throwing the ball into the breeze, which was holding the ball up nicely and I was getting a bit of turn (offies).

Bowled him about 6 balls, bowled a few goodies, he played some good shots. Next ball I bowled a quicker one, no flight probably 10-15km faster than normal pitched middle and leg, he came to defend it with a good stride forward bat and pad together and the ball whizzed past the outside edge and hit the top of off....

I was pumped,

Sorry for boring you, but I could only tell my mum and sister and they know nothing about cricket so didn't understand.

and then the alarm clock went off

pjfan31

I agree, Australia won that test with 5 players. Hussey, Watson, Haddin, Johnson and Harris and I agree to an extent about Ponting.

Brisbane he got caught behind for 10 (can't really remember his innings)
then he got 51 not out on a flat deck.

Adelaide he got an absolute pearler first ball and that would have got anyone out. THen caught at slip off Swann.

Perth he was looking good for the runs he got, and got caught spectacularly by Collywobbles.
Then 2nd innings that was a shocker.

Obviously the results have been rubbish, but people are way too harsh on him. He is coming off a decent tour of India (didn't score a ton but a couple of good fifities) I hope he hits a ton and people will back off him cause he is one of the greats. Plus Australia don't have anyone to take over from him.

pjfan31

theserialthrilla wrote:

pjfan31 wrote:

Bowled the best ball of my life today. Man I was so excited.

Bowling to my old captain, who is a decent left hand bat, he is still playin and has scored 160 from his last two digs. Anyway, we were just in the nets, and there was a strong breeze blowing from left to right, so I bowled around the wicket, throwing the ball into the breeze, which was holding the ball up nicely and I was getting a bit of turn (offies).

Bowled him about 6 balls, bowled a few goodies, he played some good shots. Next ball I bowled a quicker one, no flight probably 10-15km faster than normal pitched middle and leg, he came to defend it with a good stride forward bat and pad together and the ball whizzed past the outside edge and hit the top of off....

I was pumped,

Sorry for boring you, but I could only tell my mum and sister and they know nothing about cricket so didn't understand.

and then the alarm clock went off

Seemed like a dream, but it was all true my friend.

threefish10

pjfan31 wrote:

cause he was one of the greats.

Fixed.

TroubledSoul

pjfan31 wrote:

theserialthrilla wrote:

pjfan31 wrote:

Bowled the best ball of my life today. Man I was so excited.

Bowling to my old captain, who is a decent left hand bat, he is still playin and has scored 160 from his last two digs. Anyway, we were just in the nets, and there was a strong breeze blowing from left to right, so I bowled around the wicket, throwing the ball into the breeze, which was holding the ball up nicely and I was getting a bit of turn (offies).

Bowled him about 6 balls, bowled a few goodies, he played some good shots. Next ball I bowled a quicker one, no flight probably 10-15km faster than normal pitched middle and leg, he came to defend it with a good stride forward bat and pad together and the ball whizzed past the outside edge and hit the top of off....

I was pumped,

Sorry for boring you, but I could only tell my mum and sister and they know nothing about cricket so didn't understand.

and then the alarm clock went off

Seemed like a dream, but it was all true my friend.

haha and it woulda been the alarm clock on his phone.... which would no doubt be left on for hilditch's call.

JK109224

I made 107* in Under 14's...

pjfan31

nice work man. I love re-living the good times. Not too many good times for me, but still good to reminisce.

pjfan31

I think I am more excited about the boxing day test than xmas day.

best way to relax after xmas festivities watching the boys in front of 91,000 people....

Come on Australia

Thoughts_Arrive

Can hardly wait.
Bring it.
Bay 13 hooligans!

pjfan31

Thoughts_Arrive wrote:

Can hardly wait.
Bring it.
Bay 13 hooligans!

You going???

Boxing day huge day for sport

Celtics v Magic @6.30am

Then

Lakers v Heat

then boxing day test.

Don't think I will be watching b ball though