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Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #150
Henrique's days at test level are gone. His selection would be NSW nepotism at its worst.
I agree I wouldnt make Henriques captain but being from NSW would make him a candidate, he is also in the squad so the selectors must still think he can play at test level.But I think Smith would be seen ahead of him anyway, not by me though. Not sure if Smith is the full quid to be honest, after sandpaper gate you reckon he would be steering clear of anything that even looked liked placing him under scrutiny. Why he has to mess with the batting crease/guard area I dont know and I would have told him to clear out if I was Pant and leave my guard marks alone.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #151
Can't agree more,  what Smith was doing was mind bogglingly stupid,  so why do it?   Since when do players from the fielding side scratch at the wicket?  The only defence he has is that the umpires didn't pull him up instantly ob it,  so it wasn't deemed to be in a place considered "in play"?
DrE is no more... you ok with that harmonica man?

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #152
Can't agree more,  what Smith was doing was mind bogglingly stupid,  so why do it?   Since when do players from the fielding side scratch at the wicket?  The only defence he has is that the umpires didn't pull him up instantly ob it,  so it wasn't deemed to be in a place considered "in play"?
Umpires probably saw him shadow batting and thought its just Smith being weird as per normal, scuffing the guard marks away is what they probably didnt see at the time. I have seen opposition batters shadow bat off the pitch, mainly openers who think they might be batting soon and getting used to the light etc but never seen a fielding team player scratching at the guard marks.....
I think Smith knew what he was doing and took it one step further by working on the guard marks, mind you Pant shouldnt have been out there anyway after milking his injury to avoid keeping so maybe we will call it even.
I'd be changing the rules on injured players not being allowed to bat higher than their usual initial position and on fielders fiddling with the batting area.


Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #153
Henrique's days at test level are gone. His selection would be NSW nepotism at its worst.

A bit like bringing Bobby Simpson back ... but he could play ;)
“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?”  Oddball

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #154
Can't agree more,  what Smith was doing was mind bogglingly stupid,  so why do it?   Since when do players from the fielding side scratch at the wicket?  The only defence he has is that the umpires didn't pull him up instantly ob it,  so it wasn't deemed to be in a place considered "in play"?
Stupid ? Probably. Cheating? Most definitely not. Smith comes across as being a little bit OCD, very quirky. He'd be the type of bloke who walks around the house playing cricket shots (Air batting). I think his explanation was fair enough if you ask me. Media beat up yet again. As they said on SEN this morning, Paine's apology was a joke, basically apologising to the Twitter minority. FFS he called a bloke two feet away from him a DH. No racial slurs, no taboo topics like wives, kids, family etc. The country is stuffed I tell ya. Pandering to nuffies.
2017-16th
2018-Wooden Spoon
2019-16th
2020-dare to dream? 11th is better than last I suppose
2021-Pi$$ or get off the pot
2022- Real Deal or more of the same? 0.6%
2023- "Raise the Standard" - M. Voss Another year wasted Bar Set
2024-Back to the drawing boardNo excuses, its time


 

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #156
Stupid ? Probably. Cheating? Most definitely not. Smith comes across as being a little bit OCD, very quirky. He'd be the type of bloke who walks around the house playing cricket shots (Air batting). I think his explanation was fair enough if you ask me. Media beat up yet again. As they said on SEN this morning, Paine's apology was a joke, basically apologising to the Twitter minority. FFS he called a bloke two feet away from him a DH. No racial slurs, no taboo topics like wives, kids, family etc. The country is stuffed I tell ya. Pandering to nuffies.

But there's no need for it G2C.  Paine would have been better off concentrating on wicketkeeping, setting better fields, making better use of his bowlers and figuring out how to use the DRS.

He came across as more of a d1ckhead than Ashwin.  If you're going to sledge, you need to be on top of your game and do it with a bit of humour.
“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?”  Oddball

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #157
But there's no need for it G2C.  Paine would have been better off concentrating on wicketkeeping, setting better fields, making better use of his bowlers and figuring out how to use the DRS.

He came across as more of a d1ckhead than Ashwin.  If you're going to sledge, you need to be on top of your game and do it with a bit of humour.
Dunno, what I read as being said was probably some very accurate home truths on both sides, play on...
Let’s go BIG !

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #158
Henrique's days at test level are gone. His selection would be NSW nepotism at its worst.

I think he is 5th or 6th favourite, with some of the bookies, for Aus' leading run scorer at the Gabba.   Not sure if that is based on any inside info.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #159
If Henrique's is our new test all-rounder it's a sad indictment in our cricket.   That said,  I've seen him take some absolutely blitzing catches,  not bad for a bloke lacking in the athletic stakes relative to others.
DrE is no more... you ok with that harmonica man?

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #160
Had to laugh at Michael Vaughan claiming there is a dearth of quality spin because none are good enough to challenge Muralitharan's 800 wickets.

That's because nobody else is allowed to chuck it, and if some umpire called Muralitharan for chucking they were slammed as racists, which was just a cheap tactic used by then Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore to get his spinner off the hook!
The Force Awakens!

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #161
Warney, (admittedly not someone I hold in high regard), doesn't think Murali's a chucker.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #162
Warne doesn't understand the rule.  He IS a chucker

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #163
WTF,  Puckovski gets dropped for a bung shoulder, but Warner plays half fit!?!
DrE is no more... you ok with that harmonica man?

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #164
If true, it's a bit of a worry that a test spin blower like Warne doesn't understand the rules that pertain to his work. Murali was cleared twice by biomechanics experts, who in the course of their analysis found that other bowlers could also be construed as chuckers :

With the use of modern technology, the panel also found that legendary bowlers such as Dennis Lillee, Fred Trueman, Richard Hadlee, Curtly Ambrose, Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Allan Donald, although they looked perfect to the naked eye, also bent their arms too much when bowling, meaning they, too, were throwing.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/bending-the-rules-on-chucking-20041112-gdk3k3.html

My guess is that this all started to look like a can of worms, and the cricket authorities decided to leave it at that. Murali will go down as one of those controversial, polarising figures that appear to be legion in the sporting world.

And Darrell Hair is not exactly a great character.