1. BBL. The key selection in any BBL team is the keeper. Look at the best teams... they have a great wicketkeeper-batsman (Carey, Phillipe, Wade...Rahul). This allows the team to have six decent batsmen. The combination has to be 6 bats-1 allrounder- 4 bowlers. I am increasingly of the view that outside of two bowlers you could almost bowl anyone. In the end you need runs so load up the batsmen and get rid of useless keepers. Jay Lenton from the Thunder is one such keeper. Zero runs is a complete liability. Getting a batsman as keeper eg. AB de Villiers is an outstanding bonus.
Further to last week, in addition to the smoke cancellation, the Thunder have had a game cancelled be electrical failure (v Heat in 2018) when the lights went out too...a throwing cheating scandal this year with Chris Green and so many rain affected games. Shane Bond the coach loads the team up with bowlers and what do you know...they struggle. They also had the Hurricanes and Strikers score a record total between them for a BBL game and bounce the Thunder out of the 2019 finals by the looks of it too.
2. Matthew Wade. An incredible innings - 130no off 61 balls. Cricket Australia needs to get our schedule right so Aussie players can participate in the full breadth of this tournament. Can you imagine Indian players not playing in the IPL? The BBL suffers with blokes coming and going too much.
3. Olyroos. Great effort to get back into the Olympics. However, it will be a minor miracle if they can win anything there. Once that is over the Western Sydney Wanderers should sign up Graham Arnold. He is one of Australia's best ever coaches - all codes.
4. Nick Kgyrios. A great win into the fourth round, but you would have thought he had won the whole tournament the way he went on. He lacks class and listens to the wrong voices. A shame as he has talent, but he lacks grace and class. Nadal will clean him up.
5. Australian Open Tennis #1. It is possible to win a tournament like this for any of the top twenty men world wide, however if you play five setters along the way your chances diminish massively. Federer will now struggle. Djokovic looks sharpest.
6. Australian Open Tennis #2. Is anyone sick of whinging, whining tennis players? So many spoilt brats. Arguments, complaining and tournament supervisors... the worst side of the sport. The press conference and the try hard Kgyrios v Nadal conflict nonsense is part of it. Refreshing to see Ash Barty win and not carry on like a pork chop.
7. A League - Brisbane Roar. Starting to move with a string of wins, but Sydney FC have it all in the bag.
8. Manchester United. The coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is getting desperate. Signing Carlos Tevez at 35 years of age...ummm. The great club is in strife.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Wrap - Cheating Scandals
1. Sydney Thunder. This BBL franchise is under a hex. If there is a controversy or a way the game can turn on its head, the Chunder will find it. They locate controversy and seem to attract it endlessly. Smoke cancellation... super over losses, rain shortened games... Their season is on the line again and the chances are they will miss out. There is a massive problem with the condition of their home deck (every season!) and they take games to Canberra which is not a lot better. They are the Adaams family franchise...the bad weather follows them.
2. Australia v India. We are still lacking the hammer blow player and are too slow at key times. We rely heavily on our bowlers and with the post 'sandpaper gate' disappearance of reverse swing, it is staggering. We are lacking the killer blow. The Gilchrist Factor. We have come up short with Ashton Agar and Ashton Turner. Neither have the flair or experience on the sub continent. Turner actually had one of the worst IPL seasons on record so it is tough to know why he was chosen for India - and played. Darcy Short was surely a better option. Maxwell, Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh... this slot of accelerating the run rate has been our disappointment for a long time now. Kohli is awesome - averages 96 on the chase!
3. MLB Baseball Controversy. This week saw the demise of the Boston Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, with a dark cloud now hanging over their 2018 World Series win. The LA Dodgers are whining loudly of course too. So you know, a catcher signals what sort of pitch to throw - disguised from between his legs - taking instruction from his own dugout coaches. They feign and fake signals and secure a clear understanding in the end. The pitcher usually delivers what they are told. Unsighted by the opposition - except if you have a video camera pointed on the opposition catcher. You can get the sequencing and signs and predict what will be thrown.
Electronic messaging of opposition signals to batters - or banging a drum in a certain sequence - allowed them to know what sort of pitch they were about to receive from the opposition pitcher. Cheating by violating the code of baseball and its integrity rankles the US sports fan. The Houston Astros have been punished for their role. The Astros must forfeit their regular first and second-round selections in 2020 and 2021 drafts as well as paying a $5 million fine. However, there is much more to come here I suspect.
Players will spill their knowledge in time...retirees especially. Many players are affected as they were dropped/ traded, etc when the opposition actually was cheating with video footage of their signs. Some others profited.
Going into the changeroom to decode opposition signals is not acceptable either. This is bigger than the steroids revelations of the 1990s - Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, et al. It is like a poker player having knowledge of what is on an opponent's cards!
4. Western Sydney Wanderers. Has there been a team that has fallen in a bigger heap than this lot? Their big crowds and chanting mob have evaporated and their bright start to the season has died. Their coach 'Babbel' has had enough and the crowd have had enough of losing under his lead. Farewell. They need a new ethos. More locals and more talent.
5. More Cheating - English Rugby. What about Saracens? They won four league titles in the last five years and have been doing a Melbourne Storm all along! They should have records adjusted and stripped off them. Saracens will drop into the Championship following their salary cap breaches, but there should be more consequences. We are still waiting for NRL player managers to fall some five years later.
6. NFL. Green Bay v 49ers... Titans v Kansas City... winners to the Superbowl. The Titans have stunned the USA with their two away wins v the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens. The NFL is huge business in the US.
7. UFC. Violent, violent stuff. Conor McGregor is back. Is that a good thing? If only this lot listened to Justin Langer's recommendation for sportstars to 'abandon social media'. Muhammed Ali on Twitter would have been interesting!
2. Australia v India. We are still lacking the hammer blow player and are too slow at key times. We rely heavily on our bowlers and with the post 'sandpaper gate' disappearance of reverse swing, it is staggering. We are lacking the killer blow. The Gilchrist Factor. We have come up short with Ashton Agar and Ashton Turner. Neither have the flair or experience on the sub continent. Turner actually had one of the worst IPL seasons on record so it is tough to know why he was chosen for India - and played. Darcy Short was surely a better option. Maxwell, Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh... this slot of accelerating the run rate has been our disappointment for a long time now. Kohli is awesome - averages 96 on the chase!
3. MLB Baseball Controversy. This week saw the demise of the Boston Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, with a dark cloud now hanging over their 2018 World Series win. The LA Dodgers are whining loudly of course too. So you know, a catcher signals what sort of pitch to throw - disguised from between his legs - taking instruction from his own dugout coaches. They feign and fake signals and secure a clear understanding in the end. The pitcher usually delivers what they are told. Unsighted by the opposition - except if you have a video camera pointed on the opposition catcher. You can get the sequencing and signs and predict what will be thrown.
Electronic messaging of opposition signals to batters - or banging a drum in a certain sequence - allowed them to know what sort of pitch they were about to receive from the opposition pitcher. Cheating by violating the code of baseball and its integrity rankles the US sports fan. The Houston Astros have been punished for their role. The Astros must forfeit their regular first and second-round selections in 2020 and 2021 drafts as well as paying a $5 million fine. However, there is much more to come here I suspect.
Players will spill their knowledge in time...retirees especially. Many players are affected as they were dropped/ traded, etc when the opposition actually was cheating with video footage of their signs. Some others profited.
Going into the changeroom to decode opposition signals is not acceptable either. This is bigger than the steroids revelations of the 1990s - Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, et al. It is like a poker player having knowledge of what is on an opponent's cards!
4. Western Sydney Wanderers. Has there been a team that has fallen in a bigger heap than this lot? Their big crowds and chanting mob have evaporated and their bright start to the season has died. Their coach 'Babbel' has had enough and the crowd have had enough of losing under his lead. Farewell. They need a new ethos. More locals and more talent.
5. More Cheating - English Rugby. What about Saracens? They won four league titles in the last five years and have been doing a Melbourne Storm all along! They should have records adjusted and stripped off them. Saracens will drop into the Championship following their salary cap breaches, but there should be more consequences. We are still waiting for NRL player managers to fall some five years later.
6. NFL. Green Bay v 49ers... Titans v Kansas City... winners to the Superbowl. The Titans have stunned the USA with their two away wins v the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens. The NFL is huge business in the US.
7. UFC. Violent, violent stuff. Conor McGregor is back. Is that a good thing? If only this lot listened to Justin Langer's recommendation for sportstars to 'abandon social media'. Muhammed Ali on Twitter would have been interesting!
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Wrap - Bit Bloody Long (BBL)
1. Australian Cricket. Pretty dire financial times when we need to get to India for a nothing ODI series in the middle of our summer. What is worse is having India dictate our scheduling of possible Test venues and try and avoid the Gabba. Are we kidding? When did that start? It would be good to see Kevin Roberts show some spine here. I suspect that he is 'everyman'...four day Tests ('we'll look at it'), ridiculous betting bans ('we won't review'), Israel Folau playing Test Cricket (ummm), bushfire legend fundraisers (great).... Maybe he should just focus on getting cricket played properly in the country.
On the Bushfire Fundraisers...a public vote of ex-cricketers to be involved would have been the way to go...maybe Kerry O'Keefe would have bowled!
2. BBL. The BBL can drag on...does anyone remember a result from last week? Not sure if it is just Reserve Grade cricket for the IPL at times. Gratuitous entertainment for a thirsty cricket nation? Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh and Marcus Stoinis have certainly provided that. Plenty of sixes! Stoinis' 147 - awesome power! He is well cut!
All three look like specials for the Australian T20 World Cup team. AB de Villiers arrives this week so that will create more interest!
Love the nickname of that Hinchliffe for the Melbourne Stars - Ron Burgundy! Very funny.
Melbourne Renegades won it last year and can't win a game. Go figure. The import in any team needs to be a player that changes a game for you...not a pedestrian military medium bowler like Gurney and Gleeson! Harsh lesson learned.
3. Latrell Mitchell. At least he is keeping the violence and nonsense of the off season parked elsewhere. Long may he stay silent once his contract is resolved. Souths will need to back end it heavily so it may be one they pay for down the track.
Great signing really for Souths. Latrell needs to lose five kilos though. He looks to have beefed up. If James Roberts can aim up this will be an incredible backline... Reynolds-Walker-Mitchell-Roberts-Gagai-Campbell-Johnston...that is some sort of pace and strikepower out wide. Premiership winning if it is on song.
3. Shane Flanagan. Is the man to be trusted in his new role at St George-Illawarra? Coming out saying he wants a Head Coach role when he is a fresh, newly appointed Assistant Coach, tells me he has been promised something. Or has learned nothing. He needs to rebuild his own credibility first after blatantly defying rules... was there any supplements scandal involvement too? Then we have Issac Luke telling everyone he wants to end his career at the Rabbits. Honestly.
4. Alex De Minaur. Superb tennis, but you don't beat Nadal easily. Nadal is still king, but the Joker wins everything on hardcourts (read Australian and US Open) these days. Despite the talent of Nick Kyrgios, he is unpredictable and cannot string a week or two of quality performances together. Simple as that. As a result a quarter final is generally his PB.
5. Tim Tszyu. There is a lot of rubbish in the boxing game. The Jeff Horn v Tim Tszyu bout stands to be Horn's last bout and Tszyu is talking tough. Horn needs a lot of cash from it before his life comes under scrutiny and the pressures of setting up a new car wash franchise get to him and it is all squandered.
6. EPL. Liverpool are crushing it it this year, being 16 points ahead of second placed Leicester City. Remarkable streak. The rest simply implode although Lampard's Chelsea are hotting up. Norwich, Watford and Bournemouth look headed back the reserves now. A lot can change between now and May however.
7. NFL. Interesting to note the San Francisco 49ers are carving it up once again. And Jarryd Hayne has thrown that away too! The Tenessee Titans have excelled beating the Patriots and the Ravens yesterday. Awesome effort! Their coach has said he will cut off his own knackers if they win the Super Bowl! That is committed to the cause!
I love the honesty of the Green Bay Packers' QB, Aaron Rodgers: "I don’t know that even our fans felt supremely confident in us". Green Bay oust the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs triumphed too. The business end.
8. Yet another Cameron Smith excelling. Winning the Hawaiian Sony Open in a playoff was very clever. Good coin for a good guy.
On the Bushfire Fundraisers...a public vote of ex-cricketers to be involved would have been the way to go...maybe Kerry O'Keefe would have bowled!
2. BBL. The BBL can drag on...does anyone remember a result from last week? Not sure if it is just Reserve Grade cricket for the IPL at times. Gratuitous entertainment for a thirsty cricket nation? Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh and Marcus Stoinis have certainly provided that. Plenty of sixes! Stoinis' 147 - awesome power! He is well cut!
All three look like specials for the Australian T20 World Cup team. AB de Villiers arrives this week so that will create more interest!
Love the nickname of that Hinchliffe for the Melbourne Stars - Ron Burgundy! Very funny.
Melbourne Renegades won it last year and can't win a game. Go figure. The import in any team needs to be a player that changes a game for you...not a pedestrian military medium bowler like Gurney and Gleeson! Harsh lesson learned.
3. Latrell Mitchell. At least he is keeping the violence and nonsense of the off season parked elsewhere. Long may he stay silent once his contract is resolved. Souths will need to back end it heavily so it may be one they pay for down the track.
Great signing really for Souths. Latrell needs to lose five kilos though. He looks to have beefed up. If James Roberts can aim up this will be an incredible backline... Reynolds-Walker-Mitchell-Roberts-Gagai-Campbell-Johnston...that is some sort of pace and strikepower out wide. Premiership winning if it is on song.
3. Shane Flanagan. Is the man to be trusted in his new role at St George-Illawarra? Coming out saying he wants a Head Coach role when he is a fresh, newly appointed Assistant Coach, tells me he has been promised something. Or has learned nothing. He needs to rebuild his own credibility first after blatantly defying rules... was there any supplements scandal involvement too? Then we have Issac Luke telling everyone he wants to end his career at the Rabbits. Honestly.
4. Alex De Minaur. Superb tennis, but you don't beat Nadal easily. Nadal is still king, but the Joker wins everything on hardcourts (read Australian and US Open) these days. Despite the talent of Nick Kyrgios, he is unpredictable and cannot string a week or two of quality performances together. Simple as that. As a result a quarter final is generally his PB.
5. Tim Tszyu. There is a lot of rubbish in the boxing game. The Jeff Horn v Tim Tszyu bout stands to be Horn's last bout and Tszyu is talking tough. Horn needs a lot of cash from it before his life comes under scrutiny and the pressures of setting up a new car wash franchise get to him and it is all squandered.
6. EPL. Liverpool are crushing it it this year, being 16 points ahead of second placed Leicester City. Remarkable streak. The rest simply implode although Lampard's Chelsea are hotting up. Norwich, Watford and Bournemouth look headed back the reserves now. A lot can change between now and May however.
7. NFL. Interesting to note the San Francisco 49ers are carving it up once again. And Jarryd Hayne has thrown that away too! The Tenessee Titans have excelled beating the Patriots and the Ravens yesterday. Awesome effort! Their coach has said he will cut off his own knackers if they win the Super Bowl! That is committed to the cause!
I love the honesty of the Green Bay Packers' QB, Aaron Rodgers: "I don’t know that even our fans felt supremely confident in us". Green Bay oust the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs triumphed too. The business end.
8. Yet another Cameron Smith excelling. Winning the Hawaiian Sony Open in a playoff was very clever. Good coin for a good guy.
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Wrap: Lyon's Share
1. Cricket v NZ. The resting of Southee, the mystery virus that displaces a struggling captain, the arrival of a bloke from the beach, the weak batting line up, Ross Taylor's shockers... New Zealand have been quite the misery. Their efforts with the bat in the first innings have been pretty disappointing... one bloke bowled between the legs, one spooned to mid on, a ridiculous run out, a farcical stumping of no. 11, the batting of a bloke (Henry) with a broken hand. What gives? The number two Test nation in the world? Not on your life.
Very pleased to see no Swepson playing in this Test. He is not the goods as Warnie would love you to believe. There are better...Boyce, Short, Pope...
Nathan Lyon picks up five wickets in an innings and leaps to 17th most in world cricket. Phenomenal really. He has plenty of time left yet too. Knocking over Harbhajan Singh would be a good goal. Steyn's strike rate (42.3) is amazing.
2. The Great Migration. Intriguing article (C/-Gus Masters) on the rise and spread of South African cricketers into New Zealand may tighten up their batting in the years ahead. https://m.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/111593/the-great-migration The politics and the shenanighans is incredible.
3. Latrell Mitchell. And still it spins on out of control. Talk about a fiasco and the Roosters don't want him around either which is fair enough. Getting Nick Politis offside is not smart.
4. Media. Loved the Daily Telegraph headline re Sivo..."Trouble Maika". Parramatta desperate he does not head the way of Semi Radradra.
5. New England Patriots. Absolutely shredded. A wild card exit and their season in tatters - ended. They need some receivers. Gronkowski has been missed more than anyone will admit it.
6. BBL - Chris Lynn. What an awesome player he is. Such power and skill. When AB de Villiers joins the Brisbane Heat, look out.
7. Initials. Speaking of which... cricket players known by their initials..AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, BJ Whatling, VVS Laxman, MS Dohni...others? WG Grace... which also led to SCG MacGill of course and even today: SPD Smith (Steven Peter Devereux).
The best are two West Indians:
1. Andy Roberts - AME Roberts (Anderson, Montgomery Everton) OR
2. Eldine Baptiste - EAE Baptiste (Eldine Ashworth Elderfield Baptiste).
Very pleased to see no Swepson playing in this Test. He is not the goods as Warnie would love you to believe. There are better...Boyce, Short, Pope...
Nathan Lyon picks up five wickets in an innings and leaps to 17th most in world cricket. Phenomenal really. He has plenty of time left yet too. Knocking over Harbhajan Singh would be a good goal. Steyn's strike rate (42.3) is amazing.
2. The Great Migration. Intriguing article (C/-Gus Masters) on the rise and spread of South African cricketers into New Zealand may tighten up their batting in the years ahead. https://m.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/111593/the-great-migration The politics and the shenanighans is incredible.3. Latrell Mitchell. And still it spins on out of control. Talk about a fiasco and the Roosters don't want him around either which is fair enough. Getting Nick Politis offside is not smart.
4. Media. Loved the Daily Telegraph headline re Sivo..."Trouble Maika". Parramatta desperate he does not head the way of Semi Radradra.
5. New England Patriots. Absolutely shredded. A wild card exit and their season in tatters - ended. They need some receivers. Gronkowski has been missed more than anyone will admit it.
6. BBL - Chris Lynn. What an awesome player he is. Such power and skill. When AB de Villiers joins the Brisbane Heat, look out.
7. Initials. Speaking of which... cricket players known by their initials..AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, BJ Whatling, VVS Laxman, MS Dohni...others? WG Grace... which also led to SCG MacGill of course and even today: SPD Smith (Steven Peter Devereux).
The best are two West Indians:
1. Andy Roberts - AME Roberts (Anderson, Montgomery Everton) OR
2. Eldine Baptiste - EAE Baptiste (Eldine Ashworth Elderfield Baptiste).
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