The Surfer
Australia may have crushed the World, West Indies and South Africa this season, and unearthed a new-look middle order, but some former players including Mark Taylor and Michael Slater are concerned that the young talent is not coming through the
Ian Chappell, Michael Slater and Mark Taylor have resigned themselves to what they insist will be an inevitable period of decline, with most present state players not good enough for the rigours of international cricket.
Emma Macdonald bemoans the fact the women find it difficult to stay on a level footing with the men as they move through the age group cricket teams.
In the Guardian , Mike Selvey can hardly contain himself over Cricket Australia's latest marketing wheeze to use nicknames rather than player names on shirts for the Twenty20 clash with South Africa.
It is a totally duff concept. Firstly, the whole point of putting names on the back of shirts is for identification. If you are one of the uninitiated you would not know Skinny from Latte. So you would need to look it up in your programme. Which defeats the object.
I look forward to pictures of the twerps whose idea this was walking round the Gabba with 'Plonker' and 'Dickhead' inscribed on their backs.
As has been mentioned elsewhere in the blogosphere, redevelopments for the construction of the Providence Stadium in Guyana are well on course for the 2007 World Cup
OK, so we've had Freddie calendars, Freddie shirts, Freddie books, DVDs and even a threatened Freddie hit
Robert Craddock says in The Courier-Mail it’s time for Australians to dip their lids to Graeme Smith, a feisty captain and unifying influence .
Smith may be an occasional trash talker but the game is the richer for that. Most rival captains who visit Australia keep their tongues tied and their eyes down and end up being brutally nailed to the canvas.
Smith was aware of this and made a promise to himself he would go down swinging, or should we say sledging. It did not work but it certainly helped to generate a robust, competitive vibe among his team. World cricket is lucky to have him.
“If there are any doubters who believe Ricky Ponting isn't the best batsman in the world , try this one for size,” writes Jon Pierik in The Courier-Mail
A senior panellist had made a fourth successive error. Obviously these were not isolated incidents … Determined to recapture their aggression, Australia have been feisty all summer. No protection was given to the umpires until it was too late. By then the Proteas had decided to join the party ... Once appeals and words are not controlled, matters start to get out of hand.
Just as everything was finally falling into place for India's tour of Pakistan another glitch has hit preparations..