The Surfer
Ashes ardour will come and go with a rush
Charles Happell writes on the crammed schedule for the 2006-07 Ashes series:
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Charles Happell writes on the crammed schedule for the 2006-07 Ashes series:
No foreplay, little titillation. Just wham, bam, thank you ma'am and not even time for a post-coital cigarette.
Captain's call
Ricky Ponting says delivering the news to a dropped player is as bad as it gets
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Ricky Ponting says delivering the news to a dropped player is as bad as it gets. Today he writes in The Australian about his conversation with Michael Clarke. "I knew he wanted me to be the one to tell him if he was going to be dropped, and as a result I was the one who broke the news to him first before the selectors spoke to him."
Stuart MacGill admits he’s “hard work” for umpires but tells the Sydney Morning Herald they should be paid more.
Full postThe Christmas No. 1 is...
Please, say it isn't true
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Please, say it isn't true. The England team are going to release their own rendition of Jerusalem, the new 'anthem' of English cricket in time for Christmas - Girls Aloud and Robbie look out. On a serious note the proceeds are going to be split between the Asian earthquake appeal and two cricket charities. So if you are caught buying one in the shops you can always say it is for a good cause.
Full postAn accident waiting to happen
David Hopps says that Steve Harmison's instinctive pick-up and throw, which ran-out Inzamam-ul-Haq, arose from England's unabashed commitment to aggressive cricket but adds that there is a sense that they are pushing the spirit of the game to the
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
David Hopps says that Steve Harmison's instinctive pick-up and throw, which ran-out Inzamam-ul-Haq, arose from England's unabashed commitment to aggressive cricket but adds that there is a sense that they are pushing the spirit of the game to the limit.
BBC Sport's Jonathan Agnew argued that the same incident highlighted the growing, and unwelcome, trend of fielders hurling the ball at the batsman under the guise of aiming for the stumps.
Also read Sambit Bal's take on Inzamam's run-out decision.
Full postBlast from the past
The Surfer stumbled on two pieces that evoke history.
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
The Surfer stumbled on two pieces that evoke history.
After the Hobart Test, Mike Coward watches Australian and West Indian players engage in a game of soccer and says:
The cordial relations between the teams is a far cry from the general mood of the 1980s and 1990s when more often than not brutal contests led to resentment and bitter enmities that could not be or were not resolved over a beer or rum punch in the dressing room.
In The Age, Doug Ackerly revisits a tour that began 20 years back, when a group of outcast Australian cricketers began the first of two controversial rebel tours of South Africa.
Full postGilo ... the strongest link
Ashley Giles showed that he is also the King of Brains by winning an Ashes special of the Weakest Link
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Ashley Giles showed that he is also the King of Brains by winning an Ashes special of the Weakest Link. The Times' television critic, Giles Smith, tunes in.
[via Zainub]
Full post One way to make a match fizz
Martin Johnson was in Faisalabad when an exploding gas cylinder briefly stopped play.
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Martin Johnson was in Faisalabad when an exploding gas cylinder briefly stopped play.
Such are the security measures attached to England's visit that the loud blast around the boundary edge soon after tea had rather more sinister possibilities until it was discovered to be nothing more than a gas canister being used to put the fizz into a Pepsi machine. It could even have been a marketing gimmick as the only (legal) drink in Pakistan capable of leaving you glassy-eyed and wobbly-legged.
The Scotsman, however, seemed to blame Shahid Afridi, not only for scuffing up the pitch but also the blast with their headline:
Full postClarke's woes
Trevor Marshallsea writes that Michael Clarke may not get too many chances to make a quick return to the Test side.
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Trevor Marshallsea writes that Michael Clarke may not get too many chances to make a quick return to the Test side.
Also read Malcolm Conn's piece in The Australian, where he says Ricky Ponting has warned there may be further casualties if players do not perform.
Meanwhile, Peter Roebuck feels that if, and when, Clarke returns to the Test side, the celebrity will be a cricketer, and the millionaire a man.
Full postShot in the arm from a student of Tranquillity
Peter Roebuck celebrates Dwayne Bravo's century at Bellerive Oval:
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Peter Roebuck celebrates Dwayne Bravo's century at Bellerive Oval:
Bravo chose a fine time to produce the performance of his career ... West Indies needed someone to raise their spirits. An entire cricket community was suffering. Bravo met the challenge with style and composure.
Also read Chloe Saltau's take on the unlucky life of Brian Lara.
Full postThe first black man to play Test cricket
With the West Indies now engaged in a Test match in Tasmania for the first time, it's timely to revive our memories about Sam Morris , the first West Indian and the first black man of any nation to play Test cricket
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
With the West Indies now engaged in a Test match in Tasmania for the first time, it's timely to revive our memories about Sam Morris, the first West Indian and the first black man of any nation to play Test cricket. Morris, incidentally, was born in Tasmania. Ian Woodward tells his story
Full post