Moments of anger, disappointment and embarassment... as a fan

[aussie]

word out, Maddy, Giddins, Such, Hamilton, Read, Adams, Silverwood, Habib & Irani playing test cricket really was a shocking side that year.

 

[DaRick]

Anger:

Aus vs SA Johannesburg 2006

Well, initially, my reaction was just pure shock when I woke up at 7 in the morning. It then quickly turned into anger. I mean, South Africa's effort (particularly Herschelle Gibbs') was monumental, no denying that. However, our bowling, from what I saw, was momentously dreadful, with the exception of Nathan Bracken, on a flat pitch. I mean, who the hell examines a pitch and says, "Oh, this is gonna be a 450 pitch!" Luckily, that match did bring about a few changes; Mick Lewis is no longer in the side, for one (thank God). Conceeding a world record (0/113!) - he should hang his head in shame. I'm sure it was great for South African fans, especially the Bracken dolly.

I haven't seen a match quite like this one and I hope that I don't again, tbh. Pitches where both sides can score 450 are an obvious worry, for it will make bowlers even more defensive. This in turn, my spill onto the test arena, making for some dull, unimaginative cricket.

Dissappointment:

Aus vs Ind Perth 2008

My Indian friends may disagree with this one (fair enough, it was a great comeback for them), but as an Australian fan, I was left dissappointed by a variety of things.
- One: The number of catches we dropped (particularly the one off Dravid).
- Two: Our irresponsible batting in the first innings (some loose shots got us to 5/61)
- Three: Ricky Ponting allowing his captaincy to be dictated by over rates
- Four: The triumphialist, hypocritical display by the Indian team after they won (whatever you think about our Sydney Test celebrations - which I don't think were too outlandish, given the situation in which we won - at least we didn't see Australian flags flying around the place)
- Five: The fact that we didn't surpass the world record
- Six: The 'stick-the-boot-in' attitude of the Australian media (Craddock, I'm looking at you) to the Australian team afterwards

Embarrassment:

Aus vs Ban Cardiff 2005

I am aware that Mohammad Ashraful scored an excellent hundred (he had briefly looked like kicking on after, but it never happened), but still...it wasn't really a great effort by our guys. Had we lost that first Test match against them in 2006, I would've put that here. That was potentially even more embarrassing.

 

[Jono]

- Four: The triumphialist, hypocritical display by the Indian team after they won (whatever you think about our Sydney Test celebrations - which I don't think were too outlandish, given the situation in which we won - at least we didn't see Indian flags flying around the place)

Why would an Indian flag come out after the Sydney loss?

 

[Richard]

oh come on...that 1999 England team was a nightmare. The standard of Englands play that summer was a low as it probably ever has been. Shocking

word out, Maddy, Giddins, Such, Hamilton, Read, Adams, Silverwood, Habib & Irani playing test cricket really was a shocking side that year.

Nah, with just a couple of small tweaks England could easily have won that series 4-0 or at least 3-1.

 

[The Sean]

Anger:

I've never been more annoyed than I was after the Wanderers Test in 2001\02, between South Africa and Australia. That game had no right, ever to happen; everything that South Africa could possibly do badly, they did. Dropped catches; crap seam-bowling; nothing batting in the face of totally unthreatening bowling. Even when people've done that much wrong, though, they rarely face margins this awful. Innings and 360 runs. And South Africa thereafter, not before time, showed what they should be doing to Australia, and matched them seamlessly in the next 2 Tests, winning one vibrant victory and losing one close loss. Why that rubbish had to happen first I'll never, ever know.

Rich, I don't think - and not for the first time - that you're giving the Australian team nearly enough credit there. You make it sound like South Africa were the equal of Australia and proved it by being competitive in those final two Tests, ignoring the fact that they'd been beaten 3-0 in Australia immediately before the Wanderers humiliation. Perhaps the Wanderers match was simply South Africa trying so hard to step up against a team that had proven themselves superior and had such a hold over them that they tried too hard and actually fell apart. It should be noted that the single "vibrant" win SA had came in the final Test of an already lost series, and after five consecutive defeats the Aussies. You can blame that single loss as much on Australia's "dead rubber syndrome" as you can the Wanderers on South Africa's meltdown.

 

[DaRick]

Why would an Indian flag come out after the Sydney loss?

Whoops, blooper on my part. I will rectify that right away. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

 

[Jono]

But you're right though, you don't see too many Australian flags on the field after a win, because most of the time they're on the back of all the bogans in the crowd.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

What I was wondering was why it wasn't. Always thought you had more affinity with Bangladesh than England.

Perhaps being so young in 1999 you might also not appreciate that we weren't actually quite as bad as some of the 1990s-bashers would have you believe.

No, no, England always comes before Bangladesh, always always. I just talk a lot about Bangladesh on here because no-one else really does and they need a voice. I have much stronger opinions on English cricket, just choose to stay away from threads about them. The series threads just move too slowly for me to follow.

 

[nightprowler10]

Anger:

- World Cup 99 Final. As some of you might know, I effectively stopped watching cricket following that until mid-2004. Of course it had less to do with the loss itself and more to do with the match-fixing crap.

- The whole doping scandal couple of years ago.

- Pakistan's exit out of the 96 WC.

Add Australia's refusal to play in Pakistan if it doesn't go ahead.

Disappointment:

- The finale to the recent ODI series we lost to South Africa. Tells one of so much that is wrong with Pakistani cricket.

- The manner of Inzamam's retirement.

- Woolmer.

- The Oval fiasco.

Embarrassment:

- Ireland is the obvious one. Don't think I've ever been more embarrassed.

- Pakistan's bowling attack in the Indian series.

- Pakistan's bowling attack in the first three Tests in England in 06.

 

[andruid]

Anger:

-The old KCA screwing Kenya's best shot at gettiong Test status post 2003

-Bangladesh getting test status before Kenya especially considering how poor their national team was back then.


Disappointment:

Both World Cups in 2007. Having got a good winning mentality going and basically rising over anything any associate team could throw at them including that thriller of a match against Ireland in the World Cricket league and playing some excellent cricket along the way seeing Kenya retreat into a shell against test opposition in the 50 over World Cup and then in the 20 over one only a few months later was a real let down.



Embarrassment:

Losing to Uganda in the T20 match at home. What's more I was in Kenya at the time and I read all the details from the generally hostile press and then saw the highlights on the news

 

[Richard]

Rich, I don't think - and not for the first time - that you're giving the Australian team nearly enough credit there. You make it sound like South Africa were the equal of Australia and proved it by being competitive in those final two Tests, ignoring the fact that they'd been beaten 3-0 in Australia immediately before the Wanderers humiliation. Perhaps the Wanderers match was simply South Africa trying so hard to step up against a team that had proven themselves superior and had such a hold over them that they tried too hard and actually fell apart.

Regardless of anything, two teams so relatively even (and they were relatively even, completely regardless of those next 2 Tests, even if Australia were superior) should never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever produce such a horrible mismatch. I'd expect that from Bangladesh or Sussex Second XI, not South Africa.

It should be noted that the single "vibrant" win SA had came in the final Test of an already lost series, and after five consecutive defeats the Aussies. You can blame that single loss as much on Australia's "dead rubber syndrome" as you can the Wanderers on South Africa's meltdown.

As for the Kingsmead victory, South Africa could very easily have won the previous game too, which would have meant a 2-1 victory in the second leg. I don't think it had anything to do with dead-rubber syndrome, as that had not affected the SCG game 2 months previously. South Africa simply finally played damn well, and Australia played less well (not before time, I might add).

 

[Richard]

No, no, England always comes before Bangladesh, always always. I just talk a lot about Bangladesh on here because no-one else really does and they need a voice. I have much stronger opinions on English cricket, just choose to stay away from threads about them. The series threads just move too slowly for me to follow.

Too slowly? Reason I only very recently started following them, and had stayed out for 3 years, was the precise opposite!

 

[Richard]

Embarrassment:

- Ireland is the obvious one. Don't think I've ever been more embarrassed.

- Pakistan's bowling attack in the Indian series.

- Pakistan's bowling attack in the first three Tests in England in 06.

What about Pakistan's bowling-attack in Australia in 2004\05?

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Too slowly? Reason I only very recently started following them, and had stayed out for 3 years, was the precise opposite!

Haha, typo. Yes, I get very tired refreshing my page and nothing happens, so much so that I lose track of the debate?

 

[DaRick]

But you're right though, you don't see too many Australian flags on the field after a win, because most of the time they're on the back of all the bogans in the crowd.

LOL. I don't doubt that. But imagine the media carve-up if Shaun Tait had been depicted waving an Australian flag around in the aftermath of Sydney?

What about Pakistan's bowling-attack in Australia in 2004\05?

Hmm...at least they had Shoaib Akhtar (even though he was insipid towards the end), Danish Kaneria (in the days where it was not inconceivable for him to pick up 6/150+ against strong batting lineups in hostile terrain) and hey, they uncovered Mohammad Asif, even though he didn't look the part in Sydney. Aside from Shoaib, the new-ball pairings mostly blew, although Mohammad Sami did bowl well initially in Perth (something he's largely failed to do before and certainly since).

 

[pasag]

But you're right though, you don't see too many Australian flags on the field after a win, because most of the time they're on the back of all the bogans in the crowd.

And if they take them off they'll get done for indecent exposure.

 

[James90]

As a Bangladesh supporter I certainly can't pinpoint three. Pretty sure I experience anger, disappointment and embarrassment every game they play.

 

[nightprowler10]

What about Pakistan's bowling-attack in Australia in 2004\05?

Shoaib Akhtar on his own then was better than the bowling attacks I mentioned.

 

[Richard]

Hmm... as I recall, only really in the first-innings at The WACA.

 

[nightprowler10]

Hmm... as I recall, only really in the first-innings at The WACA.

Exactly...