*Official* Tour Matches

[tooextracool]

Bopara ring a bell? It's understandable that he'd have been forgotten by now.

Bopara was hyped up? I cant recall quite why anyone would hype Bopara up when he'd failed his first test stint against Sri Lanka a couple of years prior and b) he scored runs against a pretty dismal WI side at home.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I don't really buy into this attitude of Johnson being Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde either. I can understand that hes taken a lot of wickets but by and large much like the accusation that was made against Harmison during his career, hes been played pretty poorly. Yes hes more wayward sometimes than on other occasions, but by and large even when hes accurate its not like hes bowling jaffas left and right. Hes got very little variety in his bowling or the cricketing intelligence to work a batsman out. Hes lucky that he bowls with his left hand because the fact of the matter is that thats the only novel thing he has going for him.

Don't disagree, apart from the highlighted bit. Johnson has shown he can work a batsman out on occasions, whether it was by accident or on purpose I don't know.

You won't find me championing Johnson as a great bowler.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Bopara was hyped up? I cant recall quite why anyone would hype Bopara up when he'd failed his first test stint against Sri Lanka a couple of years prior and b) he scored runs against a pretty dismal WI side at home.

Yeah, he was. Wasn't that why Warne took such delight in his failure?

It may not have been by people who had any idea though...

 

[Jarquis]

I think it's because we're used to you guys going bananas over someone when they do well against weaker teams leading into an Ashes series (Bopara...Bell...Swann to an extent last time...there's quite a list), we feel someone has to restore some sanity to proceedings

There have been some very, very good spin bowlers to tour Australia recently and not go so well. If Swann does better than all of them then he will deserve to be heartily praised at the end of the series. He has played very well against SA, and did much better than our bowlers could manage against Pakistan, so he may well perform better than any other spinner recently has in Australia.

I find it understandable that people have their reservations though. I think this current Australian side will probably offer Swann and the other English bowlers some assistance, so he may well take a bag. There's a massive difference between saying, "I think he's good, but maybe not great" and writing him off too.

Everyone with half a brain knew Bopara wasn't up to much, he hits everything head high and the West Indies dropped him about 700 times across his 3 centuries. Swann to an extent... but like it or not he was bowling to a much better batting lineup back then and he actually did perform well in some key moments. I pretty much expect him to go similarly this time round, while the batting's got worse IMO, conditions will be tougher.

I said in my post I'd understand reservations, but saying "he's just not that good" is horse ****.

 

[social]

I don't really buy into this attitude of Johnson being Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde either. I can understand that hes taken a lot of wickets but by and large much like the accusation that was made against Harmison during his career, hes been played pretty poorly. Yes hes more wayward sometimes than on other occasions, but by and large even when hes accurate its not like hes bowling jaffas left and right. Hes got very little variety in his bowling or the cricketing intelligence to work a batsman out. Hes lucky that he bowls with his left hand because the fact of the matter is that thats the only novel thing he has going for him.

And bowling 90 mph + which is precisely why he's the fastest in history for a left arm pacer to reach 150 wickets

Dont get me wrong, I reckon Mitch is all over the shop but there has to be a reason why he has such a great strike rate and has made guys like Rahul and Sehwag look so foolish of late

 

[GIMH]

He's weak as piss like Harmison. The only time he looked half-decent in the Ashes last year was when we were a mile behind the 8 ball at Headingley. Went to pieces at the pressure points. He can be devastating, sure, but everything I've seen during and since last year's Ashes suggests he is Australia's Harmison. For West Indies 04 see South Africa 09.

 

[social]

He's weak as piss like Harmison. The only time he looked half-decent in the Ashes last year was when we were a mile behind the 8 ball at Headingley. Went to pieces at the pressure points. He can be devastating, sure, but everything I've seen during and since last year's Ashes suggests he is Australia's Harmison. For West Indies 04 see South Africa 09.

Destroyed SA in SA etc etc

Main problem is that we have no Warne, McGrath etc to pick up the slack in between

Mitch is a potentially devastating THIRD bowler but that's it

We have no support and I'm realistic about itbut he's no Harmison

Harmy is the ultimate soft-**** who wouldnt run in if his life depended upon it

MJ runs in all day, every day

Some good, some bad

 

[zaremba]

Takes wickets, quick, got a great bouncer, sprays it around, figure of fun, gets in sledging contests with tailenders (and loses). The guy's box office, gotta love him.

 

[Prince EWS]

The key to appreciating Johnson properly is to not actually watch him bowl because the crap he serves up is completely disproportionate to how effective he is. Look at the the batsmen he gets out, look at the the partnerships he breaks, look at his figures.

I get the Harmison comparison as there are similarities, but I think he's a class above, really.

 

[GIMH]

Destroyed SA in SA etc etc

Main problem is that we have no Warne, McGrath etc to pick up the slack in between

Mitch is a potentially devastating THIRD bowler but that's it

We have no support and I'm realistic about itbut he's no Harmison

Harmy is the ultimate soft-**** who wouldnt run in if his life depended upon it

MJ runs in all day, every day

Some good, some bad

Johnson's a soft **** who couldn't keep his mother and woman from making an arse of him. He bowls awfully in pressure situations and resorts to sledging when things don't go his way. Harmy would put his tail between his legs. Johnson embarasses himself.

 

[Prince EWS]

As for Swann, I think he's ****ing gun. However, I don't think he's going to have a particularly good series here. If England are expecting him to lead the attack and take 30 wickets @ 25 they're going to be sorely disappointed - the quicks are going to need to do most of the damage for England to win the series. That's not to say Swann won't be a factor, but he's not going to be the main weapon. Realistically I think he'll have a similar Ashes to his Ashes in England - he'll take a few wickets are a pretty poor average that fails to reflect the impact he has in the fourth innings of matches. If England get Australia on the ropes in the second innings, Swann will finish them off, but he's not going to put England in good positions to start with here as he's done elsewhere IMO.

 

[Jono]

It's kind of funny how Mitch's exploits in SA, which whilst awesome, are constantly brought up. A batsman who did extremely well in a series on batting friendly tracks will be dismissed, and won't be brought u constantly when their ability is questioned. But the minute Mitch is detracted a bit, a series that occurred ages ago at the best place to bowl as a fast bowler is immediately referred to.

Such inconsistency.

 

[Prince EWS]

It's kind of funny how Mitch's exploits in SA, which whilst awesome, are constantly brought up. A batsman who did extremely well in a series on batting friendly tracks will be dismissed, and won't be brought u constantly when their ability is questioned. But the minute Mitch is detracted a bit, a series that occurred ages ago at the best place to bowl as a fast bowler is immediately referred to.

Such inconsistency.

I think it holds him back as a cricketer more than anything else as well. He swung the ball in two Tests out of a career spanning almost 40 so far, in the country most suited to his bowling in the world, and took a stack of wickets. Woopdy ****ing do; time to move on. He hasn't been able to replicate that style of bowling before or after it, so it's pretty much irrelevant. Whenever he's tried to swing the ball aside from that series he's bowled excruciatingly awful pies, so he's much better off focusing on his strengths.

I actually think the home series against South Africa where he bowled some awesome spells just by being hostile and getting that natural off-cut away from the right handers at high pace is much more important in the context of his career. That's his bowling style at its best and what he should be trying to replicate - that 8/60 odd in Perth was what Johnson is about when he's bowling well, not an unnatural obsession with bowling outswingers at all costs.

 

[GIMH]

Jono wins

 

[Burgey]

Lol Cook. Lol.

Keep fishing, Al.

 

[zaremba]

Lol Cook. Lol.

Is it autistic of me to appreciate the near-perfect triple palindrome?

A man, a plan, a canal: Panama!

 

[Burgey]

Worries me now that I did that without noticing.

 

[zaremba]

Draw, O coward?
Now, sir, a war is never even; sir, a war is won!

 

[Jarquis]

Do geese see God?
Nurse, I spy gypsies. Run!
Lisa Bonet ate no basil

 

[andyc]

Do geese see God?
Nurse, I spy gypsies. Run!
Lisa Bonet ate no basil

YouTube - "Weird Al" Yankovic - Bob