The Unpopular Opinions Thread

[Burgey]

Never been to Europe before actually. My girlfriend was accepted into the Churchill Fellowship recently & was approved for a fully-funded trip to Paris, London & a few places in America to research & present a report on immigration policies + educational systems, etc. Very fortunate to be able to tag along with her as the fellowship is paying for all of her expenses so I won't be required to pay for any accommodation whilst I'm over there!

One week in Paris, another week in Amsterdam & then I get a chance to get away from the touristy destinations by spending a week in Périgueux. Not too shabby.

What a top opportunity. Shout her dinner at Le Cafe de Mars and have the foie gras. Best I reckon I've had. It's a great little spot.

 

[jimmy101]

What a top opportunity. Shout her dinner at Le Cafe de Mars and have the foie gras. Best I reckon I've had. It's a great little spot.

Oh for sure mate. Will be going all-out with the boyfriend duties whilst I'm over there as she's really offered me a big opportunity with this trip, and have put the name of that restaurant into my phone just now so I can remember it!

 

[TheJediBrah]

I mean professional mens cricket. Maybe not international, but perhaps FC/List A/T20. Some of the spinners and wicketkeepers in the women's game are excellent. Doubt if any of the batters or quick bowlers could make it - anecdotally it seems they hit their ceiling at the level just below that, but then again, none of them ever set out with the goal of making it at that level.

Give it time, I could see it happening. It's definitely a fair way off at the moment though.

There's the theory that you only become as good as you are forced to. If more women competed with the men more often it might push them to a higher level than if they only competed with other women.

 

[Red]

To me it’s really only conceivable if she was a dominant spin bowler.

 

[thierry henry]

This is probably gonna sound like a guy pushing some agenda through BS anecdotes but whatever...

My brother scored a century playing Senior A cricket (i.e. club 3rd XI) against a current White Ferns spinner (current then and current now). He said she was handy but Senior A was about the right level (my brother is no better than an average 3rds player btw so not some gun playing above his level)

I don't have a comparable story but I play indoor cricket against an Auckland under-19s player and current top club player who hasn't cracked the Auckland team yet. In social mens indoor cricket she is the worst player in the team.

Make of that what you will. From my observations and bit of experience as a player I think the gap is a lot bigger than you all are making out.

 

[Bahnz]

Wasn't it Ian O'Brien who said that when he was doing some coaching work with the English women's team, that him bowling off 3 paces was just too quick?

 

[jimmy101]

I think a sport where men & women could complete against one another without any restrictions is volleyball. The women tend to move a bit quicker than the men imo.

 

[stephen]

Cricket has one of the wider gaps between genders IMO. I bowled to some first and second grade girls in the nets once and they told me I turned the ball more than anyone in their competition. Thing is, I don't turn the ball much for a wrist spinner.

 

[jimmy101]

Your wrists must have had a lot of conditioning over the years.

 

[cnerd123]

I've heard through the grapevine that one of the current white ferns (can't remember who) is actually a gun indoor cricket player in NZ too? Someone I know used to play with her growing up and claims she was often the best player in her all-male teams.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I think a sport where men & women could complete against one another without any restrictions is volleyball. The women tend to move a bit quicker than the men imo.

I'm not sure that's true at all. Men's volleyballers are far more athlethic from whay I've seen.

Cricket has one of the wider gaps between genders IMO. I bowled to some first and second grade girls in the nets once and they told me I turned the ball more than anyone in their competition. Thing is, I don't turn the ball much for a wrist spinner.

AFLW is the worst imo

 

[jimmy101]

I'm not sure that's true at all. Men's volleyballers are far more athlethic from whay I've seen.

They're pretty bloody quick across the court. YouTube has some awesome highlights packages of the Women's volleyball world championship from last year. Definitely worth a geez.

 

[DriveClub]

I love watching womens beach volleyball, brazil is my favourite team

 

[TheJediBrah]

They're pretty bloody quick across the court. YouTube has some awesome highlights packages of the Women's volleyball world championship from last year. Definitely worth a geez.

I'm sure they're great, and it's no slight on a physically demanding sport to say that the women are not quite as strong or agile as the men. It's just biology.

 

[thierry henry]

I think a sport where men & women could complete against one another without any restrictions is volleyball. The women tend to move a bit quicker than the men imo.

I mean, this just doesn't really make sense. Men are a certain % faster than women on average (not to mention taller which is massive in volleyball) so it defies logic that volleyball playing women specifically would somehow be inexplicably faster or more explosive relative to the men.

 

[thierry henry]

I've heard through the grapevine that one of the current white ferns (can't remember who) is actually a gun indoor cricket player in NZ too? Someone I know used to play with her growing up and claims she was often the best player in her all-male teams.

Not sure, but no doubt someone like Sophie Devine would be a good player, bowling accurately at say 110kph and obviously being a gun bat. Nevertheless if she was playing at a high level she would be running into a few bowlers who would be bordering on too quick for her, and her own bowling would be military medium (which is not necessarily fatal as some of the top indoor guys aren't really express).

That was the issue with the Auckland under-19s/club prems girl, this will sound like a humble brag but I was a bit too quick for her and I'm just....some old, obese guy. Her bowling was in the slow-medium category. It's not like she was awful, she obviously knew what she was doing, it's more like if you got a team of regular players together who also knew what they were doing, she'd be a step or two behind in terms of bowling speed and reaction time with the bat.

Man I hate to be the spokesbigot for this point of view but someone's gotta do it I guess. Maybe I just have it in for women because they are shorter than men on average.

 

[jimmy101]

Yeah, not saying they'd be faster or stronger. But some of the best women volleyball players out there would be able to hold their own in a mixed comp, in my opinion anyway.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Not sure, but no doubt someone like Sophie Devine would be a good player, bowling accurately at say 110kph and obviously being a gun bat. Nevertheless if she was playing at a high level she would be running into a few bowlers who would be bordering on too quick for her, and her own bowling would be military medium (which is not necessarily fatal as some of the top indoor guys aren't really express).

That was the issue with the Auckland under-19s/club prems girl, this will sound like a humble brag but I was a bit too quick for her and I'm just....some old, obese guy. Her bowling was in the slow-medium category. It's not like she was awful, she obviously knew what she was doing, it's more like if you got a team of regular players together who also knew what they were doing, she'd be a step or two behind in terms of bowling speed and reaction time with the bat.

Man I hate to be the spokesbigot for this point of view but someone's gotta do it I guess. Maybe I just have it in for women because they are shorter than men on average.

I think it's important for common sense to prevail sometimes. Everyone should feel empowered to try and achieve whatever their goals are but sticking your head in the sand and pretending that everyone is the same in every way doesn't help.

 

[stephen]

I remember reading somewhere that the female applicants for military positions retired different standards for acceptance than the men because even the best women were in the bottom tenth percentile of what the male applicants were capable of.

Testosterone is a ridiculously powerful hormone when you're jacked up on it your whole life.

 

[cnerd123]

To me it’s really only conceivable if she was a dominant spin bowler.

there are a lot of mediocre spinners in professional cricket. I reckon a top female spin bowler could go just as well. Whether or not she'd get selected is another issue - they're likely to be a bit behind other players in fielding and batting.

Sarah Taylor played grade cricket as a keeper right? But had to bat down at 10/11.