Cricket

[Buttsy]

I think that size of lead with two days to go gives them both options open to them. I wonder what the weather forecast for the last two days is like ?

They didn't follow on - boring bar stewards...

 

[Whistler40145]

Graeme Smith is to retire from International Cricket at the end of the 3rd Test against Australia.


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[DownSouth]

Graeme Smith is to retire from International Cricket at the end of the 3rd Test against Australia.

So he can spend quality time with Swann, Anderson, Prior, Tremlett and Flower.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Third Test...End of day 4

Australia...303-5 dec (2nd innings) (58 overs @ 5.22 runs per over)

Warner 145 (4x6, 13x4)

Abbott 3-61

South Africa...71-4 (2nd innings) (41 overs @ 1.73 runs per over)

Still 440 runs behind with only the final day to come.

 

[DownSouth]

Incredibly, when AB de Villiers moved his score along to 14 he then have 38 balls before he next scored over an hour later. I don't think there has ever been a partnership between AB and Hashim Amla that has been that boring!

I don't think a win for South Africa is an option, but with their crisis management specialist Faf du Plessis still to come in a draw is definitely on the cards if Australia can't get the first two wickets (the nightwatchman Abbott and one of AB or Faf) quickly.

I'll be keeping track of it while watching the day/night Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval. Opinions of the pink Kookaburra so far seem to be mixed, some batsmen are struggling to adapt but the consensus is that it's reasonably good at standing up to 80 overs and thankfully doesn't look like a comet as the previous orange ball did.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

On the final day, South Africa started at 71-4 and despite one South African player getting a 50 and no less than four more registering 40's, they were eventually all out for 265, meaning that Australia had won by 245 rums.

I really must make mention of a most excellent pace bowling effort by Harris who had the following second innings bowling figures:-
24.3 - 15 - 32 - 4.

 

[Whistler40145]

Will it be already decided who is to become the new South African Captain?

 

[DownSouth]

We had a very similar finish to the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval tonight (day/night game with pink Kookaburra balls) as the Test last night, but with the opposite result - South Australia couldn't get the last remaining wicket against New South Wales and the match was drawn. It wasn't just the match on the line, winning would have locked in top spot on the table and the right to host the final.

That failure sets up an interesting last round next week, with the top three teams equal on points the two spots in the final are open to four teams as well as the venue. Kind of appropriate to have such a hotly-contested Shield in what has also been one of the greatest ever summers for the national team though!

Will it be already decided who is to become the new South African Captain?

Cricket South Africa has said they will consider it carefully. It's not like there's a hurry, they already have a different captain for Twenty20 and no further ODI or Test matches scheduled until the next home summer begins in December. I'd say Vernon Philander would make a good captain for the long term with AB de Villiers as the vice-captain, or maybe the other way around with Philander to step up when de Villiers retires.

They have just announced their contract list for the next year though, and it's probably safe to say the next captain will come from within the seven players on two year deals: AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn.

 

[andrew bell]

Cricket South Africa has said they will consider it carefully. It's not like there's a hurry, they already have a different captain for Twenty20 and no further ODI or Test matches scheduled until the next home summer begins in December. I'd say Vernon Philander would make a good captain for the long term with AB de Villiers as the vice-captain, or maybe the other way around with Philander to step up when de Villiers retires.

They have just announced their contract list for the next year though, and it's probably safe to say the next captain will come from within the seven players on two year deals: AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn.

AFAIK Amla does not want the captaincy full time, Steyn is their main strike bowler so giving him the captaincy is not suitable, Morkel not sure about his leadership skills.

The other 4 on the list would be suitable choices, with JP being the outsider of the 4. I think they will go with ABDV with Faf being vice, and when ABDV decides to either retire or is injured Philander will be promoted to vice, with Faf being the main captain

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There was a down side to the 107 scored by Joe Root in the last ODI win over the West Indies, as he has since been diagnosed with a broken thumb, which will keep him out of all the T20 matches.

 

[Whistler40145]

Oh dear oh dear, Luke Wright fails again!

England need to look elsewhere.


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[Cletus]

Hopefully like the ODI's, lose 1st game, get tactics right, win series.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

West Indies...170-3
Samuels 69 (1x6, 10x4)

Both Dernbach and Bresnan finish with figures of 4-0-36-0

England...143-9

Badree 4-0-17-3....All the top three in the England order fall to him.

Matters looked even more ominous when the score was 73-6.

 

[Whistler40145]

It puzzles me that England with its baggage of coaching staff can put up such a bad performance & a blind skier without much assistance & funding can win a Gold Medal!

If I was an England Cricketer, I would be so ashamed of myself!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Hopefully like the ODI's, lose 1st game, get tactics right, win series.

Well that "cunning plan" went somewhat astray...

Lose 1st game

Lose 2nd game (and the series)....

 

[Cletus]

But we've hit form at the right time (clutches at straws).

Strange game last night, a perfect start followed by the usual collapse. Finally Chris Jordan's four sixes in the final over.

Jade Dernback bowled a wicket maiden - he could get an MBE or OBE for that.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

But we've hit form at the right time (clutches at straws).

Strange game last night, a perfect start followed by the usual collapse. Finally Chris Jordan's four sixes in the final over.

Jade Dernback bowled a wicket maiden - he could get an MBE or OBE for that.

The old adage of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted is ringing a merry chime of bells this morning..

 

[Cletus]

Ben Stokes out of 20/20 World Cup, after punching a locker :roll:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/26585499

England all-rounder Ben Stokes will miss the ICC World Twenty20 due to a hand injury suffered when he punched a dressing room locker.
Stokes, 22, was angry after being dismissed first ball in the third Twenty20 international against West Indies on Thursday.
Stokes said: "It was a huge error in judgement following a frustrating tour for me. I deeply regret my behaviour."

 

[Whistler40145]

Oh dear, I do hope Ben Stokes isn't turning into a Jesse Ryder or Kevin Pietersen type of character, we don't need another disruptive influence in the dressing room, so hope this is a one off incident.


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[Xenophon PCDGS]

Oh dear, I do hope Ben Stokes isn't turning into a Jesse Ryder or Kevin Pietersen type of character, we don't need another disruptive influence in the dressing room, so hope this is a one off incident.


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Indeed so. Having reached the age of 22, one hoped that he would have grown out of fits of childish petulance.

 

[Johnuk123]

That's a bit unfair, Trott has a stress/anxiety related illness and deserves sympathy

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cr...-and-opponents-will-feel-he-did-a-runner.html



By Michael Vaughan I feel a little bit conned we were told Jonathan Trott’s problems in Australia were a stress-related illness he had suffered for years.
We were allowed to believe he was struggling with a serious mental health issue and treated him with sensitivity and sympathy. but he was struggling for cricketing reasons and not mental, and there is a massive difference


Trott is being blasted by a few fellow ex-players over this con-trick.
If he had admitted he just couldn't cope in Australia at least he would have been honest.
The ECB are also just as bad by trying to hide the real reason Trott came home - disgraceful.

 

[Oswyntail]

... I feel a little bit conned we were told Jonathan Trott’s problems in Australia were a stress-related illness he had suffered for years.
We were allowed to believe he was struggling with a serious mental health issue and treated him with sensitivity and sympathy. but he was struggling for cricketing reasons and not mental, and there is a massive difference


Trott is being blasted by a few fellow ex-players over this con-trick.
If he had admitted he just couldn't cope in Australia at least he would have been honest.
The ECB are also just as bad by trying to hide the real reason Trott came home - disgraceful.

Michael Vaughan was a decent cricketer, but he has forfeited all respect himself for this piece. He is obviously very "old school" in his approach to mental illness. Trott seemed to be suffering from "inner demons" way before Australia, and one of the typical, critical features of depression is that, though you know things are going wrong because of it, you just cannot put them right. You try, and try - but depression defeats you. How many cricketers will now feel unable to get help if a sainted former England captain is going to tell them it's not depression, you just can't bat.:roll:

 

[DownSouth]

Has there ever been any confirmation that Trott's "stress-related illness" was actually a euphemism for depression and that the words didn't just mean what they said? I may have missed it but I don't recall seeing a statement from Trott or the ECB that actually used the word depression. He does seem to have had a remarkably rapid recovery compared to some of the other athletes who have come out and actually said the big D word in the past.

Depression or not, if an elite athlete doesn't have the right psychological mechanisms to help them cope with a sudden unexpected period of significantly poor performance it would certainly be possible for those stresses to have physical effects. If they stopped eating properly they might get sick, or if they tried to pull themselves out of it by a mad burst of overtraining without taking care of their physical conditioning side they would start getting otherwise unlikely soft tissue injuries. On Trott's previous tour of Australia he was clearly struggling with his physical conditioning as he needed a runner practically every time he batted for more than an hour - his use of a runner to account for poor fitness was the final straw leading to the ICC phasing them out soon after.

 

[Johnuk123]

Simple case of a player who wasn't good enough and couldn't take it.
How could he be burnt out when he was normally on his way back to the pavilion after about 5 mins.
Nothing to do with depression at all, simply very poor form.

 

[Oswyntail]

Simple case of a player who wasn't good enough and couldn't take it.
How could he be burnt out when he was normally on his way back to the pavilion after about 5 mins.
Nothing to do with depression at all, simply very poor form.

And there, in a nutshell, we have a summary of the simplistic approach to psychology:roll:
PS: Care to explain "couldn't take it"?

 

[Johnuk123]

And there, in a nutshell, we have a summary of the simplistic approach to psychology:roll:
PS: Care to explain "couldn't take it"?

So if someone can't cope with anything they're suffering from depression ?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Everything in life doesn't have to have a medical label.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

ICC World Twenty20...Group "A"

Hong Kong 153-8 (20 overs)
Afghanistan 154-3 (18 overs)

Nepal 126-5 (20 overs)
Bangladesh 132-2 (15.3 overs)

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


In the match when New Zealand took to the field against England, when lightning strikes of frightening power were in the match area, it was obvious that the old music-hall act of Duckworth and Lewis would soon be required to perform their act, but it is interesting to note that in the New Zealand winning match total of 52-2 from only 5.2 overs, Stuart Broad did not exactly lead by example with his bowling figures of 1-0-16-0..

 

[tony_mac]

Michael Vaughan was a decent cricketer, but he has forfeited all respect himself for this piece. He is obviously very "old school" in his approach to mental illness. Trott seemed to be suffering from "inner demons" way before Australia, and one of the typical, critical features of depression is that, though you know things are going wrong because of it, you just cannot put them right. You try, and try - but depression defeats you. How many cricketers will now feel unable to get help if a sainted former England captain is going to tell them it's not depression, you just can't bat.:roll:

Did you read what he wrote? Because it seems to me that's the exact opposite of what Vaughan was saying.

It is Trott that said he wasn't depressed - and was rather disrespectful about mental health issues : "I'm not a nutcase" - “I’m not crazy I was just burnt out."
I think a major problem for people who do suffer from stress-related illnesses is that other people don't understand the condition, or the severity of it.
It doesn't do them any favours when other people falsely claim a 'stress-related illness' when they are not actually ill, but are just having a bit of a hard time, or feel "burnt out".

That seems to be what Vaughan was complaining about, and I largely agree with that point of view.

 

[Johnuk123]

Did you read what he wrote? Because it seems to me that's the exact opposite of what Vaughan was saying.

It is Trott that said he wasn't depressed - and was rather disrespectful about mental health issues : "I'm not a nutcase" - “I’m not crazy I was just burnt out."
I think a major problem for people who do suffer from stress-related illnesses is that other people don't understand the condition, or the severity of it.
It doesn't do them any favours when other people falsely claim a 'stress-related illness' when they are not actually ill, but are just having a bit of a hard time, or feel "burnt out".

That seems to be what Vaughan was complaining about, and I largely agree with that point of view.

You're dead right, nowadays unfortunately everybody needs a label.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

ICC World Twenty20...Super 10 / Group 2

Pakistan 191-5 (20 overs)
U Akmal 94 (4x6/9x4)

Australia 175 all out (20 overs)
Maxwell 74 (6x6/7x4)
Finch 65 (2x6/7x4)

Australia were on track when the score was 126-2, but their last 8 wickets fell for only 49 runs in a match they should have won. Feel sorry for Maxwell and Finch's hard work being thrown away.