You know what really grinds my cricketing gears?

[Matt79]

I'm a Mark Nicholas fan. Make no apologies for it tbh. He's the best commenator after Benaud imo.

Not sure about 2nd best after Benaud, but I quite like Mark Nicholas as a commentator as well.

[Matt79]

Oh wow - I'm going to have a few here. I'll try to do them in some kind of order.

1) Captains and bowlers piss-farting around, taking 3 minutes of conferencing and adjusting the field and themselves, before every delivery is bowled. I favour captains being suspended if they can't get their bowlers to get through the overs at the required rate.

2) People who refuse to enjoy what we have today because they're stuck in nostalgia for the past.

3) The incompetance of most international teams and their management. How long has this been a professional sport? Don't play silly buggers with selection. Don't give yourself no opportunity to acclimatise to the local conditions. Don't pick injured players. Don't have no freakin' plan to win the match or players who are so uneducated about their role in the team that they don't try to stick to that game plan. If all of your players keep on getting injured during tours, actually try to do something about it.

4) Ian Healy. I can't listen to him. I physically can't. Have to be careful not to exaggerate and be silly, but I think I can safely say that he's the worst commentator in the history of the universe.

5) Boundary ropes being 15 metres in from the fence. Why?

6) People who don't rate spinners.

7) People who think 6's are the only entertaining part of cricket.

8) Unfit players. See point 2, but c'mon, get serious.

There's more, but that'll do for now.

[FaaipDeOiad]

State bias in Australia

So annoying. Honestly, I couldn't care less if there aren't any Victorians in the national side if we're winning. It's always nice to have someone representing us (vic) and to cheer for at the MCG but the bias you see from some fans toward certain players and in their hometown media is just astounding. Does my head in sometimes.

Good post. Probably the most irritating element of Australian cricket fandom.

[Richard]

1) Captains and bowlers piss-farting around, taking 3 minutes of conferencing and adjusting the field and themselves, before every delivery is bowled. I favour captains being suspended if they can't get their bowlers to get through the overs at the required rate.

3) The incompetance of most international teams and their management. How long has this been a professional sport? Don't play silly buggers with selection. Don't give yourself no opportunity to acclimatise to the local conditions. Don't pick injured players. Don't have no freakin' plan to win the match or players who are so uneducated about their role in the team that they don't try to stick to that game plan. If all of your players keep on getting injured during tours, actually try to do something about it.

5) Boundary ropes being 15 metres in from the fence. Why?

7) People who think 6's are the only entertaining part of cricket.

8) Unfit players. See point 2, but c'mon, get serious.

Damn straight on all of 'em.

2) People who refuse to enjoy what we have today because they're stuck in nostalgia for the past.

[Richard]

Hmmm, comparing Kev and himself in the same sentence.

Nice try, Richard - but you're not as smart as you think.

And you're normally so good at spotting my sarcasm...

[Athlai]

Crickets ability to provide such great anti-climaxes in games that promise so much. Games like this years semi-finals were decided hours before the end of the match, in other sport this happens, but seeing that cricket is one of the longest playing sports in the world its very disheartening.

But this heavy price also brings much greater appreciation of those great close games. But when your down your down.


(Hopefully tonights match will be able to swing that the other way.)


Oh, and players who give up before the match is decided. Watching the NZ - SRL match, you could see James Franklin who is quite a good batsmen looking very disheartened, and then Jeetan Patel comes along giving it his all. A good contrast IMO, and I also think Patels attitude rubbed off on Franklin, and for a while I think, the Sri Lankans felt a tiny bit of fear.

What if they did come back?

This kind of attitude is what I want to always see in this game. Even 9 wickets down, and 100 runs off, there is still a chance. You'll never win if you don't try.

[Craig]

The team you support losing

The pain is slightly lesser if you were an Englishman and were expecting it from the start.

If you are expected it to be a loss from the start, what is the point in watching in the first place?

Shane Warne

Great cricket but Christ I could not stand him off field though. I remember during his drugs ban and in the past when he has been in the commentatory box he has nearly made me turn the TV off.

[nightprowler10]

Rain.

[alternative]

Good thread from saggers to continue from OT.

Anyway dead set the worst thing is teams having a cry about sledging, its an art imo and move on instead of crying day and day out.

[Matt79]

RAIN!!!!


Rain rain go away... come again any other day!

[Johnners]

nah, don't go away altogether, just migrate to Australia for a few months

[Anna]

If you are expected it to be a loss from the start, what is the point in watching in the first place?

Because anything better is a bonus

[Richard]

If you are expected it to be a loss from the start, what is the point in watching in the first place?

^^^^x2 - wot she said, TBH.

[Craig]

Seems pretty defeatist IMO.

[nightprowler10]

Seems pretty defeatist IMO.

Isn't that a synonym for English?