Jarrod Kimber
Don't rob us all of KP
Recently I heard Michael Holding say players are children and boards are parents. It was about the disastrous relationship the WICB have with their senior players
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Recently I heard Michael Holding say that the players are the children and boards are the parents. It had nothing to do with Kevin Pietersen or the ECB but was about the disastrous relationship the WICB have with their senior players.
Cricket boards are usually run by older people, those with business or sports administration backgrounds. That, and their role as employer of the players, gives them a position an authority.
So when these very same people then spill the secrets of one of their own players for political or personal reasons, they should take the toughest fall.
Full postIan Bell and the naked truth
There was a time when I thought that instead of playing Test Cricket; Ian Bell should be oiled up, naked and playing his cover drive in a giant birdcage at parties
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
There was a time when I thought that instead of playing Test Cricket; Ian Bell should be oiled up, naked and playing his cover drive in a giant birdcage at parties. It was just such a perfect looking shot, one that might have been designed with a Keatsian obsession with beauty. As for bringing him many runs in Test cricket, that looked less likely. The birdcage seemed the best way to go.
That was the old Ian Bell, the nervous Ian Bell, the Ian Bell who one minute could play a cover drive so good that Leonard Cohen would write it a song and then next minute miss a straight ball that would make his mother consider changing her name.
The new Ian Bell is something else: when he's in his special happy place, the ball dances off his pretty blade like a butterfly on a beautiful spring day. He's almost impregnable to danger. Technically sound, mentally tight, and easy. No matter who he plays against, when he's in that magic mode, it looks like you could fire bricks, missiles or copies of 50 Shades of Grey at him, and nothing would get through him.
Full postUnexpected bullies must finish the job
South African sort of tripped, fell, hurt themselves and had other things on their minds as the first Test started.
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
South African sort of tripped, fell, hurt themselves and had other things on their minds as the first Test started.
Their last series was an unofficial T20 competition where they were beaten by Zimbabwe in the final. From there they went to Switzerland for the sort of male bonding camp that sports psychologists and coaches love. Then their heart, the South African rock, Mark Boucher almost loses an eye and has to go home. They lose a back up bowler with real pace from their squad. And even while winning the first Test one of their previous team-mates had a positive urine test come out.
They shouldn't have won the first Test so easily. And they shouldn't be in a position where in this Test they can't lose.
Full postRavi and the Dragon
Ravi Bopara may have just been slain by the dragon. Not the giant lizard thing, but the term some cricketers use for a drag on (see what they did there?)
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
It sounds like a weird fairytale, but Ravi Bopara may have just been slain by the dragon. Not an actual giant lizard thing with wings, but the term some cricketers use for a drag on (see what they did there?).
It was a perfect ball to drag on. Short enough to encourage a back-foot shot, slow enough for the batsman to go a bit early, wide enough to be played with an angled bat, and Bopara played his part to perfection. It was as if Terry Gilliam had meticulously directed it.
If it wasn't Ravi Bopara, I wouldn't be writing this.
Full postTime to offer Amla some cheesecake
I've not been inside Jonathan Trott's head for the last two days, but I bet he's had more than one nightmare in that time. You know the nightmare
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
I've not been inside Jonathan Trott's head for the last two days, but I bet he's had more than one nightmare in that time. You know the nightmare. You mark your guard on a flat pitch, twice, face a whole host of dot balls, clip a few on midwicket till you get to 60 runs, and then suddenly realize you're naked as the bowler comes in and you play a rash cover drive giving up a hundred.
To make Trott feel worse, he's had Amla showing him exactly what he should have done. Make a big hundred and bat the opposition out of the game. There is a little Trott in Amla, but not as much Amla in Trott.
Trott is not an ugly batsman to watch; if Graeme Smith is a Morlock (and he is) when he bats, then Trott is an Ewok. But Amla is something far more fetching. He bats in a way that tests the sexuality of many cricket fans. Every back-foot push through the covers sent the Oval crowd in semi-orgasmic murmurs. And, like Trott, he can bat for days and days without seemingly being affected by the world around him.
Full postCricket, the England way
Unlike Australia or West Indies of previous generations, England's style is not that of domination or brutality. England do what English cricket teams have done since cricket was first civilized
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
"That's the Chicago way" said Sean Connery as Malone in The Untouchables.
England are no Al Capone. In fact, they're probably the opposite of the hot-headed mobster.
Unlike Australia or West Indies of previous generations, England's style is not that of domination or brutality. England do what English cricket teams have done since cricket was first civilized. They take the shine off the new ball, take no undue risks, keep all the good balls out, and make sure that by the time the middle order come in their job is to simply cash in on stale bowlers and an older ball. They just do it far better than almost every other English cricket side before them. It's cricket the England way.
To beat England you either have to play them in the subcontinent, or get past their top three.
Full postAustralia sleeps through Bailey's best
When George Bailey came to the crease batting at No 7 in a rain-affected match in a series that Australia had already been smashed in, while most Aussies were tucked under their doonas
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Cricket, like watches and clocks, is all about timing. When George Bailey came to the crease batting at No 7 in a rain-affected match in a series that Australia had already been smashed in, while most Aussies were tucked under their doonas, it was a largely pointless innings.
For Bailey, the uncontracted Australian T20 captain who has batted in five different positions in nine ODIs, it was the worst possible time to play what was perhaps his best innings yet for Australia. Australia had slipped to 5/77 off 19.1 overs. Their run rate was comically slow early on, compounded by a glut of middle over wickets, they were playing Duckworth Lewis cricket the exact opposite of how you should.
Australia ended up with a total of 145. After Bailey came in, Australia added 68 runs, Bailey added 46* of them. He did this while batting the last 10 overs with the tail. Waiting until the very end to hit out, he took 19 runs off 9 balls in the last two overs, including a monster six from James Anderson.
Full postThe 'Rashes' effect
If you listen intently you can almost hear the hum of a huge Test series coming up. That is if you have an ear trumpet and it's aimed at Somerset this week
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
If you listen intently you can almost hear the hum of a huge Test series coming up. That is if you have an ear trumpet and it's aimed at Somerset this week. South Africa's opening press conference is where the hype usually kicks off, but instead most of England's reporters were watching the inevitable result of Australia losing at Chester-le-Street.
Before I wrote this article, I'd barely even thought of the Test series. And other than chats about how stupid it is to have a three-Test series, or a little bit of Dale Steyn longing, it's like it doesn't exist at all.
I'm not the only one to overlook it. Cricket Writers on TV' is three cricket writers sitting around Paul Allott, talking about English and world cricket. It's a pretty simple show; there is breakfast on the table in front of them to show how intimate it all is. The closest thing to a special effect is Allott holding up a newspaper to camera. It's all very polite and proper compared to Australian or Indian cricket shows.
Full postAustralia no longer a top-class ODI team
Like all Australians, my proudest day was back on October 5 in 2009. It was the day when Australia proudly sported their white jackets as the victors of the most important prize in cricket, the Champion's Trophy
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Like all Australians, my proudest day was back on October 5 in 2009. It was the day when Australia proudly sported their white jackets as the victors of the most important prize in cricket, the Champion's Trophy. That victory was enough to wipe clear any memories of getting smashed in India, losing at home for the first time since Dakota Fanning was born - beaten by South Africa - or handing back the Ashes to England.
In fact, no matter how poor Australia could be in Test Matches, they have managed to stay on top of the ICC ODI table. Not that it means much as MS Dhoni lifted the World Cup. But the point is, they were still pretty good.
Now, they're not.
Full postSmith gamble fails to pay
Steve Smith is barely 23 years old and he's already a relic of another era. He is the last of Andrew Hilditch's big Ashes gambles
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Steve Smith is barely 23 years old and he's already a relic of another era.
Smith is the last of Andrew Hilditch's big Ashes gambles. Some may argue that Andrew Hilditch's reign should have ended years before he disappeared. But there he was in 2010-11, seemingly sharing his position of chairman of selectors with the National Talent Manager Greg Chappell. Between them they came up with three young players to save Australia.
Phil Hughes had barely made a run for the summer in Shield cricket and was oddly brought back at the WACA to face Chris Tremlett and Steven Finn after being dropped because it was assumed he had a problem with the short ball. At Sydney, Usman Khawaja came in to bat at No. 3 for his first Test (Bradman batted at seven in his first Test, Ricky Ponting at five), against an attack that had routinely shredded Australia's batsmen.
Full post