You know what really grinds my cricketing gears?

[Pratters]

Bowlers throwing the ball back to the keeper straight at the batsman:

You know the scene when a batsman plays the ball back to the bowler and he decides to pelt it back to the keeper where the batsman is standing, trying toget him to move. Or if you are watching the India and Pakistan Test Danish Kaneria did it 10 minutes ago to Rahul Dravid. This has to be the most pointless time wasting exercises out there when a bowler trys and does this rubbish of trowing the ball at the batsman. What is more worse is when the piss weak batsman runs away. FFS if said bowler is going to do that rubbish then the batsman should just stand there and hit the ball away in another direction then, as he is IMO well within his rights to do so. Bowlers should stop wasting our time and go back and figure on how he is going to get said batsman out because him going back to the crease is the greatest victory of them all.

Yeah, irritates me as well.

 

[Craig]

I have to rant:

Rain delaying Muralitharan getting his 709th wicket:

WTF is wrong with you rain? You trying to spite us? When Muralitharan is on the verge of getting the world record back and with Sidebottom having no idea you just couldn't wait and had to start raining to which it delays play and means that some people like myself and plenty others won't get get to see it happen in all likelyhood. It pisses me off no end when rain interrupts cricket, especially when something special was almost set to happen.

Having cricket on three different channels at the same time:

Such a luxery and yet I don't know to watch? I have India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England and South Africa and New Zealand, how am I meant to watch all three at the same time? Ah bugger it India and Pakistan will do.

 

[pasag]

Having cricket on three different channels at the same time:

Such a luxery and yet I don't know to watch? I have India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England and South Africa and New Zealand, how am I meant to watch all three at the same time? Ah bugger it India and Pakistan will do.

This rant will probably annoy the hell out of 90% of CW.

 

[Craig]

This rant will probably annoy the hell out of 90% of CW.

You mean the rant was dire or being jealous that they don't have that option?

 

[Richard]

Having cricket on three different channels at the same time:

Such a luxery and yet I don't know to watch? I have India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England and South Africa and New Zealand, how am I meant to watch all three at the same time? Ah bugger it India and Pakistan will do.

Haha, yeah. Not a problem when England are playing (esp when I'm reporting the day's play) but I've frequently had to choose "what the hell am I watching this time" in the last year.

Thank Fuller for highlights.

 

[pasag]

You mean the rant was dire or being jealous that they don't have that option?

"I just don't know whether to take the Ferrari or Rolls Royce to work in the morning"

 

[Craig]

Haha, yeah. Not a problem when England are playing (esp when I'm reporting the day's play) but I've frequently had to choose "what the hell am I watching this time" in the last year.

Thank Fuller for highlights.

This is sometimes why I'm not a fan of choice

 

[Craig]

"I just don't know whether to take the Ferrari or Rolls Royce to work in the morning"

Touche

 

[NZTailender]

What grinds my cricketing gears lately is people saying that Zimbabwe or Bangladesh are no better than club sides. FFS, they're not that bad. If you honestly put a first grade club side against Zimbabwe or Bangladesh I would expect them (the club side) to get beaten 10/10 times (unless the club side somehow managed to pull in all of it's international/domestic players that some teams seem to have).

A more accurate thing to say would be "Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are no better than most first class teams."

 

[Prince EWS]

What grinds my cricketing gears lately is people saying that Zimbabwe or Bangladesh are no better than club sides. FFS, they're not that bad. If you honestly put a first grade club side against Zimbabwe or Bangladesh I would expect them (the club side) to get beaten 10/10 times (unless the club side somehow managed to pull in all of it's international/domestic players that some teams seem to have).

A more accurate thing to say would be "Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are no better than most first class teams."

I think it was actually true of Zimbabwe for a little while, TBH, and I follow them quite closely. They were really awful in that series against Sri Lanka and I think some of the first grade teams in Australia would have given them a run for their money. They've managed to get a few players back lately, though (Taibu, Price and.. err.. Brent) and most importantly, their players have improved signficantly recently as they've matured as cricketers (Sibanda's batting has improved tenfold, as has Chigumbura's bowling, and the general "steeliness" of the batting seems to have improved a bit as they play more sensibly as a whole). The batting holds up to "poor to average first class team" standard now, which is good, but the bowling is still pretty rank, actually.

 

[Perm]

Ray Price has also returned for Zimbabwe, think he's done alright too.

 

[Flem274*]

I think it was actually true of Zimbabwe for a little while, TBH, and I follow them quite closely. They were really awful in that series against Sri Lanka and I think some of the first grade teams in Australia would have given them a run for their money. They've managed to get a few players back lately, though (Taibu, Price and.. err.. Brent) and most importantly, their players have improved signficantly recently as they've matured as cricketers (Sibanda's batting has improved tenfold, as has Chigumbura's bowling, and the general "steeliness" of the batting seems to have improved a bit as they play more sensibly as a whole). The batting holds up to "poor to average first class team" standard now, which is good, but the bowling is still pretty rank, actually.

Hey Prince, slightly/extremely unrelated question here but I've noticed that you seem to be a bit of an NZ fan. I remember you stating that Mills is your favourite bowler currently in world cricket and you're a big Sinclair fan too, just wondering why you'd want to like us, of all teams?

 

[Prince EWS]

Hey Prince, slightly/extremely unrelated question here but I've noticed that you seem to be a bit of an NZ fan. I remember you stating that Mills is your favourite bowler currently in world cricket and you're a big Sinclair fan too, just wondering why you'd want to like us, of all teams?

Haha, very random. I like New Zealand because they tend to make the most out of their resources (other than, perhaps, with selection at the top level, but every country seems to have that problem lately anyway). Their domestic structure seems good and the fact that they compete dispute having a small population and a relatively small number of registered cricketers is quite impressive.

I wouldn't actually call myself a New Zealand cricket supporter as such, though, and my fondness of players such of Franklin, Mills and Sinclair has more to do with how they play the game and their styles as cricketers than the fact that they're Kiwis. I get that a bit here, though - new members often think I'm a New Zealander or a South African at first.

 

[Flem274*]

Haha, very random. I like New Zealand because they tend to make the most out of their resources (other than, perhaps, with selection at the top level, but every country seems to have that problem lately anyway). Their domestic structure seems good and the fact that they compete dispute having a small population and a relatively small number of registered cricketers is quite impressive.

I wouldn't actually call myself a New Zealand cricket supporter as such, though, and my fondness of players such of Franklin, Mills and Sinclair has more to do with how they play the game and their styles as cricketers than the fact that they're Kiwis. I get that a bit here, though - new members often think I'm a New Zealander or a South African at first.

Didn't Fiery call you british once?

 

[Prince EWS]

Didn't Fiery call you british once?

I tend to get the British jokes from the more established members, once they realise my cricketing views regarding draws and batting aggression. I don't get people legitimately thinking I'm English very often.

 

[Flem274*]

I tend to get the British jokes from the more established members, once they realise my cricketing views regarding draws and batting aggression. I don't get people legitimately thinking I'm English very often.

Fair enough.

8* (108) then?

 

[Prince EWS]

Fair enough.

8* (108) then?

Exactly.

 

[pasag]

Bowling to Left Handed Batsmen.

 

[pasag]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/counties/durham/7204256.stm

 

[Son Of Coco]

Bowling to Left Handed Batsmen.

I love it...but it can occasionally be fraught with danger. I'll change that to I love it when I'm bowling well. Didn't like it so much last weekend when I got pulled for 6 off an accidental short ball.