The T20 World Cup underway in Oz. Some shocks, Ireland beat the Windies and Australia thrashed by NZ. England made hard work of their win over Afghanistan. Should be an interesting competition.

Looking forward to it I’m working lates so should catch most games
Afghanistan Bowled well against England

I betcha no one saw that result coming.

You would have thought England would have kept itself in front of the required DL rate


:dunno:

Poor performance all round by England but the Paddys played pretty well. Anyway I'm blaming the Aussies (for the weather) and Duckworth Lewis (that nobody understands) for the defeat. So England were robbed.

NZ thrashed Sri Lanka today. Fancy NZ to win this. Boult and Southee are top performers with the ball.

Well at least we turned up today keeps us in the mix

England through to the semis but not without a bit of a struggle against Sri Lanka to get over the line.

Curry for breakfast Thursday it is then :sultan:

Useless bloody Kiwis. Always failing when it comes to the crunch in limited-over cricket finals.

The Poms better win tonight.

One must uphold the standards of the Empire.


Gotta keep the bloody riff-raff out.


A Paki/Curry Muncher final is just not cricket


dancing

Near flawless performance

Fuckin brilliant was that. Quite a thrashing. Was waiting for the inevitable collapse, climbing run rate and the tail being left to try and sort it out. But none of that. Pakistan in the final, they tend to be brilliant or dog shit. I'll settle for dog shit.

The Poms will murder them

C'mon the Empire


Easy money










All winnings going on Australia in next week's Rugby League World Cup final. Currently, Australia is $1.10 to win.


The easiest way ever to pick up 10% interest in a couple of hours

The last time Australia played Samoa in an RL World Cup game they won 46-0.

Since 1972, Australia has only been beaten in one RL World Cup final

The numbers speak for themselves. Ya can't lose. Put the house on them


dancing

I’m sure we beat Samoa 60-6 in the group stage stranger things happened Bazza

Great win for England in the final. Was a tense run chase but the job got done. Stokes playing yet another critical innings.

First team to be double white ball world champions

They certainly did, mate. That's why it was such a shock to see England lose the semi-final.

Australia will still probably win the final but Samoa will be no pushover.

Actually, a win for Samoa would be in the best interests of the game. Australia has been virtually unbeatable for the last 50 years whether in World Cups, Ashes series, or Tests. All are built on a hugely popular, powerhouse domestic league where the best in the world play every week.


If a little place like Samoa can beat or threaten that, it will shake the game up a bit



Things are starting to change in cricket too. Look at the T20 WC. Ireland beating England, Zimbabwe beating, Netherlands beating South Africa, Australia struggling to beat Afghanistan etc


All good for the game.










That's all those good Aussie coaches teaching you the right way to play the game



dancing

Paki's vs Poms 1st Test


Looked at my phone and saw the Poms were 174/0. Ok doing well then looked again. That was at LUNCH after 27 overs. Never seen that before.


Ended up 506/4 off only 75 overs


Gotta be some kind of record that. And it was.

Rewriting the Record Books




Ok a flat pitch and rubbish bowling but they still did it.



What I don't understand is why Pakistan only bowled 75 overs. I thought 85 was the minimum in a day's play, weather permitting.


:clueless:

Turned out to be bad light. Same again on the 2nd day


:crazy:

I know you can get punished for a dangerous pitch they should be punished for producing a terrible flat useless wicket surely they can do it this day and age
I turned it off today

After England's record breaking day yesterday, tuned in today hoping to see Pakistan lose early wickets. No chance of that happening, the wicket is an absolute road. Pakistan look set to score around 500 runs. Game set to just drift off into mediocrity which isn't what anyone wants to see. Don't suppose anything can be done about it but there's little point in preparing wickets that offer bowlers fuck all.

Well that was a big surprise. Thought Stokes declaration was a bit generous and opened the door for a potential Pakistan victory. But the job got done in the end. Couldn't understand the hours of play. Sunsets around 4.30pm and even with the floodlights on its off for bad light and the end of a days play.

Fancy watching a game of T20? You would be in heaven at the moment.

Most days kick off with the Super Smash in New Zealand. This rolls into the Big Bash in Australia. When that finishes, the Bangladesh Premier League kicks in followed by the SA20 in South Africa and finally, the International T20 series in the UAE. A few women's games are intertwined with that lot plus on weekends, many of these leagues play double-headers.

All on tv. I can watch them all on Sky Sports, BT Sports and ESPN+ out of the USA. The FHD pictures I get from the English channels are stunning. I use an IPTV provider based in the UK and Australia. The cost is 60 pounds a year for 2 people which I share with my mate Stumpy in Chiang Mai.


Total overload as far as I am concerned but it is the way cricket has gone. It's all about the money and being a product for tv. Players play for the highest bidder. Loyalty to any team (franchise?) must be near zero. I mean who really cares who wins? Just another tin cup for the mantle piece.


Still, I get to hear the dulcet tones of David Gower again so not all bad.


I am still old school and really only follow the Tests and first-class games. The rest are meaningless to me.

Won't be long before those arseholes Warner & Smith will be gone and I can go back to watching the Australian Test team again.


Look out for Aaron Hardie when he makes the Test team. Only a matter of time. Another fast bowler allrounder. Just as good as Cameron Green and another Western Australian. He scored 174 no in last year's Sheffield Shield final and also opens the bowling for WA. Currently wowing them in the Big Bash. He also plays for Surrey. Yes, he was born in Bournemouth but I won't hold that against him. dancing


Hopefully he and Lance Morris are wearing the Baggy Green in the near future



:toot:

I was in the take away the other night and the Indian owner had the cricket on was T20 somewhere and I seen Cameron Bancroft at the crease first time I’d seen him since the ball tampering carry on

We’ve got one day series with SA starting Friday should catch a bit of it maybe all of the 2nd one

Totally agree with you Baz about T20. There's competitions on worldwide and mercenaries concentrate on this format and play wherever for whoever as long as they're getting paid big bucks. If you can get a gig in the IPL then you're guaranteed others worldwide. Can't blame them really as sports pros usually chase the top dollar. It's especially easy on quick bowlers only having to bowl a maximum 4 overs per game. Of course it just reinforces the fact how much harder First Class and Test Match cricket is.

The real cricket is back today. India vs Australia. Australia will be up against it. Not like playing the easy beats in Australian conditions like the last few months. When you have won only one Test series in India in the last 50-odd years, (in 2004?), you know you might be in a bit of bother.


A bit like winning an Ashes series in England which also hasn't happened since 2001.


England plays next week against the Kiwis in NZ so it will be wall-to-wall Test cricket from 0500'ish to around 1800 Thai time for a while though I still won't be watching when Smith or Warner is at the crease.


Every time their names get mentioned in articles on social media, the usual comments come up from both sides of the fence. It gets quite vicious at times. It doesn't matter if you are the Wisden Cricketer of the Decade, Alan Border medalist multiple times, Test or ODI player of the year or how much tv commentators say how good you are or if you cried like a baby on tv and said a hollow sorry, people will never forget the shame you brought to the Baggy Green and by extension, the Australian cricket public.


They will be stuck with it for the rest of their lives which is a good thing


:bigfinger

I'm sounding all bitter & twisted in my old age dancing

Warner didn’t hang about for long Bazza

Lost count of how many wickets I seen yesterday
Got up for the finale of NZ v ENG then when that finished put the IND v AUS match on & if my maths is correct 18 wickets in 5 hours play all in
Australia slight favourites going into the days play but imploded with the bat
England got a bit of fortune in bowling twice under the lights with a new pink ball against NZ top order wise decision first day to get 300+ on the board first day then declare to get into the bowling when the lights came on

I got up later than you Mr F. Checked with BBC Sport and England had won. So thought I would watch India v. Aus. Couldn't understand why there were some tarts on instead from NZ playing T20 franchise cricket. Took a while to work out that Test had also finished then it was back to the usual Sunday morning shit of watching The Bill. FFS.

A Sign of the Times



From the BBC Sport website

https://bbc.com/sport/cricket/




Future of Test cricket could be like Wimbledon, says Rajasthan Royals owner Manoj Badale

Here is the gist of it



You can imagine the comments underneath the main article.


I did not listen to the podcast where these comments were made




My view


So, basically a Test series between England, India & Australia. Play each other once then some convoluted formula to work out which team has won. Innings a maximum of 90 overs so all over in 4 days to save time. Done & dusted in less than 3 weeks


All to please the 10-15-year-olds in India.


Nearly 150 years of tradition out the window. ODIs gone as well.


No need for first-class cricket like county cricket or the Sheffield Shield. Suburban grade cricket and school cricket probably gone too.


Major and minor league T20 & T10 or "100" tournaments only. Naturally, all are run by the BCCI


This bloke has it all sorted out


There are huge multi-million (billion?) tournys planned in the near future in the USA and Saudi Arabia.


In the USA, Aaron Finch has been lured out of retirement to captain a side based in San Francisco. This series is backed by both Cricket NSW and Cricket Victoria. WTF???? It starts in July, the same time as the Ashes is on.



Finch Signed for Major League Cricket




Something will have to give. Tradition vs money. It is all about content for tv networks. We saw what happened nearly 50 years ago with the Packer circus World Series Cricket.


Money always wins



Dr Grace and "The Don" will be turning in their graves




:bigfinger:bigfinger:bigfinger

Been following that over here Baz. But basically this bloke is just an IPL franchise owner and his comments are just what he would like to see happen with cricket that would see the likes of him coining more money in. However it is still a worry that money will win over tradition. Apparently the 100 Competition (aka The 16.4) will revert to a T20 format this summer as it's been turning into a bit of a disaster. Supposedly it loses money, a number of players have pulled out and traditional cricket fans hate it. Personally I can't be arsed with it as the franchise teams mean absolutely nothing to me. Yet another massive fuck up by the ECB who have downgraded the Ashes so their 16.4 fuck up can dominate the summer cricket schedule. All this in a country where Test Match cricket makes more money than any other format. An Ashes series even more so.

Refuse to watch the 100 better everyone do the same to help save the test format that’s the sole reason the ashes is being crammed into about 6 week June/July

Nobody is more surprised than me that Australia won the 1st Test after the way England had played the previous 12 months and the first day of this match.


Many things went our way. The rather generous declaration, the Paki "bowled' on a no-ball, dropped catches etc. Like everyone else, I thought we were gone once Carey was out. Australia, despite their Test record, rarely chases down decent totals.


Obviously, a long way to go yet but, for now, it is time to get the popcorn out and read the comments on the BBC website. Always enthralling reading when England loses a Test match.


I haven't done much reading in the last 12 months


dancing

Yeah Bazza could have been different we made a few costly errors and still think we are light on the bowling front with stokes and mcCullum demanding dead pitches

It was a very exciting Test match. The declaration on the first day seems mad, but IMO it's just the way Stokes views things. Good total for Day 1 but lost a few wickets, so let's stick the Aussies in and see how they go. Might have worked, but a missed stumping and a no ball probably fucked it all up. Fine margins and I expect a lot more.

Hopefully the Headingley Test goes to Day 5 as could only get tickets for Day 4. Always amazes me watching England play at home and there are large gaps in the stands, when its practically impossible to legitimately buy tickets in advance for any England game.

Another self inflicted defeat by England. No idea what some of the batsmen were thinking about. Trying to play at every single ball and getting out namely Crawley and Duckett in the Second Innings. Bairstow then decides to go walkabout and loses his wicket. Bit of sharp practice by Carey but WTF was Bairstow thinking about? Over the course of the two innings England conceded 74 runs in extras compared to Australia's 39 runs. So there's 35 of the 44 England were short. I think Australia are the better team but England are capable of beating them, but won't if they continue playing in this shambolic way.

Went to Headingley for Day 4. Got lucky as if it hadn't pissed down for most of Day 3 there may not have been a Day 4 to watch. See if the link works of the winning runs.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1Q...KtkfV5ELcscFn7

Well I can see it let me know how it works for anybody else.

I got a Google error







Maybe Australians are not allowed to see it


dancing

Did you get tickets through ECB ?

Mate bought the tickets through Yorkshire CCC. Same as buying them off ECB I would think. They were bought around November last year and there wasn't much choice left, so we ended up in the East Stand. Good view though. They were £80 each I think. Bumped into a lad I used to play cricket with and he went to the Lords Test. Had tickets in the Dennis Compton Upper at £180 each.