What if, just like one-day and twenty20 cricket, pink-ball test cricket is something that requires a slightly different skill set? What if an increase number of day-night tests sees the evolution of pink-ball specialists? What if this is how Glenn Maxwell returns to the Australian Test side? After the complete capitulation of the Australian side…
Sure, they invented the format, but in a world where franchise-based T20 competitions are the new black, few would argue that the current English domestic T20 setup is ideal. This is how I would fix it.
It’s November 30th and Phillip Hughes should’ve been surrounded by family and friends celebrating his 26th birthday, a 27th first-class ton should’ve been under his belt, and a likely return to the baggy green just a few days away.
Is it time for the Comets to make a return to the Australian one-day domestic scene? With recent changes to what is now known as the Matador One-Day Cup, I think it is.
In the last day or so – it’s proximity to the launch of KP’s book hardly a coincidence – a “strictly privileged and confidential” 5 page document highlighting some of Kev’s alleged misdemeanours during last summer’s Ashes tour has sprung up. Let’s look at the “highlights” of the document that may or may not be the ‘dossier’, which may or may not exist, and covers the things that KP may or may not have done and said.
Whether you love it or hate it, the Big Bash League gets a lot of things right. However it’s got two prominent issues, both of which can easily be solved. The tournament is (slightly) too long, and the finals system is flawed.
Just ask Mike Hussey. Six games into BBL03 and the Sydney Thunder have just chalked up, unbelievably, their 19th consecutive loss. They’ve been without a win since December 2011.
Despite having gone unchanged through 5 consecutive Ashes Tests, Australia will obviously need to take more than 11 guys on the trip to South Africa next month. The first 11 should pick themselves, but beyond that who should they pick?
Following the conclusion of the Boxing Day test and another win for the Australian side – taking it to 4-nil for the series – the selectors made their first real change to the squad this summer (ignoring the mid-series “bowling cover” inclusions of Bollinger and Coulter-Nile). With Ryan Harris’ knees a potential worry and Shane Watson clearly not 100% in Melbourne, the selectors have added Tasmanian batsman Alex Doolan to the 13-man squad. So, will he play?
The actual depth of the player pool is one of the biggest questions raised whenever expansion is discussed. So, is it possible to pull together a full squad using only players that aren’t already signed up for one of the real Big Bash League teams? I’ve given it a crack.
The Decision review system (DRS) has an annoying, if not fatal, flaw when dealing with LBW reviews, that flaw is “umpire’s call” ruling. Non-sense fence-sitting rubbish. The technology is there to remove the non-sense fencing sitting rubbish not contribute to it. The ball is either going on to hit the stumps or it isn’t. It really should be that simple. There should be no grey area. Grey areas just make people grumpy.
They don’t make a right, and so on. If you were on twitter this morning and happened to be following David Warner and journalist Malcolm Conn then you were in for a show. Warner, upon waking to a Robert Craddock penned article that apparently touched a nerve, fired a tweet in Craddock’s direction – Craddock didn’t reply, but Malcolm Conn did. And then it was on.
Chris Rogers is the shock selection that pretty much everyone expected. He’s the guy who most probably aren’t aware isn’t actually a test debutant in waiting having already played a solitary test 5 or so years ago against the Indians when Matthew Hayden was injured. He’s also the guy who has scored more first-class runs on Pommy soil than English captain, and resident gun batsman, Alistair Cook.
A tweet from Adam Spencer yesterday evening, referencing a comment made by former Aussie captain Mark Taylor, caught my attention. Taylor was being interviewed, I don’t know what sort of question preceded the comment, but Taylor suggested that 4 day tests should be ‘investigated’. Interesting.
Ponder this for a moment. What if players in the IPL were only paid for the games that they actually played in? For example, Glenn Maxwell, the only million dollar man out of the most recent IPL auction, hasn’t played in either of Mumbai’s opening two games, but he’s still pocketed around $60,000 per game. Great if you’re Glenn Maxwell, slightly ridiculous if you’re the Mumbai Indians.