The Buzz
Bratich stole my son says Johnson's mum
Though Warne and McGrath have rolled back the years with some traditionally ridiculous pre-Ashes banter, the build up to the 2009 Ashes has been uncomfortably genial
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
Though Warne and McGrath have rolled back the years with some traditionally ridiculous pre-Ashes banter, the build up to the 2009 Ashes has been uncomfortably genial. But that hasn’t stopped Mitchell Johnson’s mum from wading in, slamming – for want of a more appropriate, non basketball-sounding phrase - both Cricket Australia and Johnson’s lady, karate kid herself and belle of the ball, Jessica Bratich.
All is not well chez Johnson. "I get a text on Mother's Day and a text on my birthday," she sobbed to Australia’s Herald Sun. "The last time I actually spoke to him was when the beach cricket was here (and) Dennis Lillee told him he had to ring his mother, so Mitchell rang me that day. It has been like this since Jess came on the scene.”
Poor Cricket Australia have been hit a double blow by two forthright ladies – Bratich last week, and now Johnson’s mum, Ms Harber.
"For the wives and the children I think it is great that they support them and send the over there, but who are these girlfriends? They are just girlfriends,” Ms Harber said, in a string of quotations that sounds more like a script for Neighbours. "Mitch met Jess and since then she has flown off to South Africa, to England and the Bahamas. She gets all these trips, she gets flown there, accommodation, food and all of that."
Full postBratich fights the WAGs' corner
Those who have slammed Cricket Australia for allowing WAGs – that sorry acronym to describe wives and girlfriends, which can’t help but sound derogatory and infantile – should watch out
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
Those who have slammed Cricket Australia for allowing WAGs – that sorry acronym to describe wives and girlfriends, which can’t help but sound derogatory and infantile – should watch out. Jessica Bratich, Mitchell Johnson’s other half, has come out fighting in their defence, and she’s no walkover. She is in fact a black-belt in karate.
"The boys are away four and a half months," she retorted to the former players and critics who have attacked CA. "Mitch goes from there straight to South Africa so they're actually away for six months. I think it's a bit ridiculous to think we're not going to go over there and support them."
One of the critics is Michael Slater, though his comments are slightly devalued given that he divorced his wife during the 2001 Ashes tour. He also drop-kicked Cricket Australia for allowing wives and girlfriends during the pre-Ashes camp at Coolum.
Full postEngland win the Blogger's Ashes
For those who seek omens at this stage of the build-up to an Ashes campaign, a fairly sizeable one was on display at Barnes Cricket Club last week, when England beat Australia by 28 runs … in the inaugural Blogger’s Ashes
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
For those who seek omens at this stage of the build-up to an Ashes campaign, a fairly sizeable one was on display at Barnes Cricket Club last week, when England beat Australia by 28 runs … in the inaugural Blogger’s Ashes. The match was a 30-over-a-side affair, arranged by the men behind the Village Cricketer and Cricket with Balls blogs. England batted first and made 202 for 8, with Ed Craig, deputy editor of the Wisden Cricketer, top-scoring with 34 and scoring a direct hit on a lady sunbathing in a nearby garden. Australia, in reply, were rolled over for 174, with Patrick Kidd of The Times taking 3 for 25. The event raised more than £1000 for the Everyman Male Cancer Campaign.
Full postThe un-Australian prime minister
John Howard must be spitting out his tea in disgust at the comments of his successor as Australia’s prime minister, Kevin Rudd
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
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John Howard must be spitting out his tea in disgust at the comments of his successor as Australia’s prime minister, Kevin Rudd. Howard is the ultimate cricket tragic and his green-and-gold tracksuit will no doubt be his outfit of choice during the upcoming Ashes series.
While Rudd is also a cricket fan, he this week teetered dangerously on the edge of being labelled un-Australian – one of Howard’s favourite terms – when asked in a radio interview who was his favourite athlete. Rudd surely would say Don Bradman … surely. Or at least an Australian icon from another sport.
But this was Rudd’s response: “I can't go past Garry Sobers. There you go." Rudd cited Sobers’ unbeaten 254 for the Rest of the World at the MCG and his six sixes in an over of county cricket. “I thought, this guy has got the gift, the gift of the gods about him," Rudd said. "So there you go, he's not an Australian. Garry Sobers."
Full postBritain all set for the Ashes
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
While the thousands of Australians living in Britain scoff and laugh at the "heatwave" sweeping the nation, it gives cricket fans a good chance to expose themselves to dangerous levels of sun while catching a taste of the Ashes on the big screen. The ECB's hugely popular Cricket in the Park events will be available across the country throughout the Ashes, ensuring that the country will once again be gripped by the Ashes wherever you might be.
The venues are as follows:
- Southampton, Hoglands Park - Fri 10 and Sat 11 July (during Cardiff Test)
- Liverpool, Sefton Park - Sat 18 and Sun 19 July (Lord's Test)
- Cambridge, Parkers Piece - Sat 1 and Sun 2 Aug (Edgbaston Test)
- Derby, Markeaton Park - Sat 8 and Sun 9 Aug (Headingley Test)
- London, Regent's Park - Sat 22 and Sun 23 Aug (Brit Oval Test)
Ponting the mellow 'England' skipper
Things are a bit confusing in Worcester this week, with Australians sitting on both sides of the fence, and even Ricky Ponting forgot his allegiance
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Things are a bit confusing in Worcester this week, with Australians sitting on both sides of the fence, and even Ricky Ponting forgot his allegiance. With two of his former coaches, John Buchanan and Dene Hills, in the ground working with the England Lions ahead of Wednesday’s tour game, Ponting referred to himself as “captain of England”.
The correction came instantly – “er, captain of Australia” – but it was a revealing slip to a question over whether his outlook had mellowed since 2005. “Not as a competitor, not as a cricketer,” he said. “I hope I am as competitive as I’ve ever been on a cricket field. Things away from the field are pretty good, although I have been away for five weeks from the little one [his baby daughter Emmy].”
Buchanan, who guided Australia for seven years, spoke to the Lions and England Under-16 squads and felt comfortable working across the oval from his old team. Hills, a former assistant to Buchanan and state team-mate of Ponting, is part of the local coaching staff. The game no longer contains state secrets.
Full postMark Webber lends Ponting his ear
Australian sportsmen are a friendly bunch – with eachother, if not always their opponents
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
Australian sportsmen are a friendly bunch – with eachother, if not always their opponents. Mark Webber, the Australian Formula 1 driver, was spotted at Wimbledon last week with his fellow countryman Lleyton Hewitt, who seems to have developed a new lease for life, demonstrating his characteristic whippet-like scampering across the baseline and raucous “come on!” calls to his fans.
It goes without saying who Hewitt thinks will win the Ashes – “you got lucky in 05” was his relievingly-predictable jibe last week – and in the meantime, Webber was today spotted chatting to Ricky Ponting at a training session, ahead of their match against England Lions in Worcester on Wednesday. Australia may not have a spinner worth his salt, but as anyone who lives in London will confirm, they are not lacking support.
Full postHair company boss sets council Ashes wager
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
He may not be playing for Australia any longer, but the shadow Shane Warne casts still looms large – as, indeed, does his face.
A six-foot high poster of Warne appeared on a bricked-up window of Advanced Hair Studios, the company to whom Warne is their now-hirsute ambassador. With depressing predictability, Camden Council have told them to take it down, but they hadn’t banked on the chairman of the company being an Australian, and a feverish cricket fan to boot.
Full postAshes poetry on Twitter
Neil Fannon and Thomas Walsh, the creators of the concept album Duckworth and Lewis Method , be warned: they have competition in the little-tapped-into cricket music industry this summer
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Neil Fannon and Thomas Walsh, the creators of the concept album Duckworth and Lewis Method, be warned: they have competition in the little-tapped-into cricket music industry this summer. Npower, the sponsors of England cricket, have employed David Fine to compose poems during the upcoming Ashes series. Fine also did poetry and sketches during the previous series but this time they will be on Twitter.
Fine said writing on Twitter, with its 150-character limit, was like writing a haiku. On his blog ashespoetry, Fine said the first poem of the series will be titled Cellophane. Here's an extract from his poem on Stuart Clark from the 2006-07 series.
Not that you’d notice him for seeing, the sort of bloke in the office who always comes to work on time to a tidy desk all parts done efficiently yesterday. Pays the drinks kitty and sweepstake promptly and tells the sharpest stories about the bosses secretly (not that you notice him for seeing.)
It's all El Nino's fault
The Ashes is but 12 banter-filled days away, and English fans already have the perfect excuse prepared if the unthinkable should happen and England fail to regain the Ashes
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
The Ashes is but 12 banter-filled days away, and English fans already have the perfect excuse prepared if the unthinkable should happen and England fail to regain the Ashes. It's all due to El Nino.
It's quite a relief. Before 2005, a generation of fans had only the flimsiest of reasons to lay bare at England's calamitous displays against Australia. Their inability to play spin; a weakness against the short ball; county cricket protecting too many average losers; the fact they can't catch, can't handle the pressure, the heat, the rain, or simply can't play the game very well. Now, triumphantly, scientists have the answer.
According to a study published today in Weather, the El Nino Southern Oscillation phenomenon has two phases which have had dramatically influenced Ashes results. During “El Nino years”, Australia won 13 out of 17 series (76%) but only 5 out of 13 in “La Nina years”. Remarkably, England have won just one series in the last 100 years following an El Nino event – the Bodyline series of 1932/33.
"This study shows it may be possible to tell by next winter whether England has a better chance of success in the following Ashes series than previous tours," said the study's author, Manoj Joshi, from the Walker Institute at The University of Reading.
Full post