Thought of the Day: England shouldn't be getting too chirpy ( & neither should Australia)

The completion of the Ashes series in England this week has allowed everyone involved to take a bit of a break from the game, go to bed a bit earlier and, in the case of some English players, do a little gardening.

Looking back on the series, the final result of 3-0 would indicate that England were the dominant team, though not as dominant as many in the media predicted at the start of the series.  Then again, it may be more of a reflection on how poor both teams actually are.  The Australian side may well have been the worst to visit England in recent times, but the side they were playing weren't as good as they were made out to be.

Not that they were as bad as the Quokkas CC

While England have now won 3 Ashes series in-a-row, they are hardly the might that the Australian team was during its dominant era, as badly as they may want to be.  Are Cook and Root the equal of Langer and Hayden? Hardly.  So let's drop that there.

Further, there was only one match in the series that England really dominated, the thrashing at Lords.  Credit cannot be taken from England for this game, they completely outplayed Australia, but this was the only game that they did.

England won the toss on 3 occasions and the weather stayed fine for all of these.  For the 2 occasions that Australia won the toss, draws eventuated that were very nearly wins.  Further, one of Englands wins was by 14 runs. Hardly dominance at all, particularly given the inconsistent make-up of the Australian team.

Australia used 17 players throughout the series, whereas England only used 14, with new players largely brought in to replace injured players rather than poor form.  The major exception here was the replacement of Stephen Finn by Tim Bresnan, which was an anomoly in a series that showed how shallow Englands back-up pool of players is. 

Englands talent pool.  Not shown: South Africa's talent pool.

While Australia was blooding new players and finding its best line-up, it still remained competitive.  England, on the other hand, looked increasingly dependent on the old-guard of Anderson, Broad, Prior, Petersen, Swann and Cook.  When this sextet failed or fell to injury, the lack of depth was further exposed.

The performance of Cook as Captain was particularly uninspiring for Cricket fans, with England playing for draws when winning was still achievable, providing some rather dull play.  This was particularly galling given the supposed difference in the quality of the teams.  This isn't to say that Clarke had a thrilling series, but at least he captained to win.

The final match of the series exemplified this approach best, with Australia declaring twice in the game to force a result despite Englands stoic play in the first innings.  That England almost provided an upset (through the cavalier Kevin Pietersen, not someone you could define as a loved member of the England team - or even as English) did not upset the balance of power for the game where Australia had control and the momentum.

"Hey Jacques, where do I get one of those shirts?"

While the England chase may provide them some momentum for the impending One Day tournament against Australia, Michael Clarke seems to have asserted his control over the series as the Captain in charge.

This isn't to say that Australia have anything to really gloat about.  While the much criticised batters seemed to finally work out their spots and how to play by the last Test, they were hardly convincing.  As one swallow does not make a summer, one Century does not make a great batsman, or in the case of Shane Watson - 3 Centuries in 7 years.

In all, this was a match closer series than we had anticipated, which is something that should be celebrated. With the next Ashes series only a matter of months away, we can surely expect a closer series on Australian shores, which is great for Cricket and Cricket Bloggers everywhere (because it's all about us).

Songs that Sound Similar 4

This one brought to you by the good folk at Buzzfeed:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/igold/did-you-know-how-similar-the-inspector-gadget-th-9r9p

Question of the day: Is this the end of chucking?

New Scientist magazine recently reported on an arm-brace that can tell whether a basketballer is shooting correctly.  This brace uses pre-defined biometrics such as arm and wrist position and the execution of the shot to determine how well the shooter is executing the action.

Given the on-going controversy of "chucking" in cricket (bowling with a bent arm) and the interpretation of the rules; does this technology offer the ability to finally rid the game of it?

Not naming names

Question of the Day: Where to now Australia?

The conclusion of the 4th Ashes Test in Durham saw England win by 74 runs in a game that had great moments of tension, though was decided by a combination of Australia's inability to bat and Englands (specifically Stuart Broads') ability to bowl.


The Australian bowlers mostly bowled well, though the form of Jackson Bird was in no way inspiring and he would be lucky to retain his spot for the next Test at the Oval.  Mitchell Starc, unlucky to be dropped for the Durham Test, would seem a natural inclusion.

The issue here is that, with James Pattinson out injured, there is no back-up for Ryan Harris should he (as expected) not be fit for playing 3 Tests in a row.  Harris has been Australia's best bowler on this tour and is arguably the best bowler playing in the Baggy Green for the last 4 years (when fit). 

If he isn't fit for the Oval Test, or if selectors just want to rest him ahead of the Australian summer, there is no-one left to bring in so a call may need to be made to South Africa where the Australian A side is playing some pyjama cricket.

Nathan Coulter-Nile could be the person with the longest name ever to play for Australia.

Still nothing on this guy

Shane Watsons newly injured hamstring is a bit of a blessing and a curse.  A curse in that he has been a very good bowling all-rounder in this series (nearly 50% of his overs are maidens) and scored a solid 60-odd batting at number 6, so is finally looking like the all-rounder he was originally picked as.

A blessing, though, in that fitting Watson in has been a pre-occupation of the team for the last 2 years with very little reward.  If he is unfit, it's a great opportunity to give young bowling all-rounder Luke Faulkner a go.

The big issue though, is (still) the batting.  The middle order is very much like a sandwich without the jam. 

Yes, as sad as this

While he has had some good innings, Steve Smith has only the 10th best batting average for the Test matches, while Usman Khawaja sits on 12th.  Phillip Hughes, who missed out in Durham, sits on 6th and may be given a go, but there is also some strength in the argument of giving these guys a proper go.

Steve Waugh debuted for Australia in 1985 at the age of 20 and was dropped in 1989 and then again in 1991 (for his brother), which led to a tougher attitude and approach to the game, and the small matter of over 10,000 runs scored.

While I'm not saying that Smith and Khawaja may turn into Steve Waugh, it is probably worth persevering with them until the long-lost and very talented twin brother of one (or both) turns up.

Thought of the Day: Plot for Star Wars 7 should basically be hide & seek

The announcement that Star Wars Episodes 7, 8 and 9 made earlier this year was met with excitement and nervousness by Star Wars fans everywhere.  And by Star Wars fans, I mean people who had to wait until they were in or past (or well past) their teenage years until they got to experience Episodes 1, 2 and 3 and Jar Jar Binks and Hayden Whatshisname from "Jumper".

I wasn't the only one that was disappointed that he didn't actually jump. Or get arrested by the Egyptian authorities.

The fact that Disney were producing the films was far from reassuring for most fans, given....well... the series' past inclusions of Jar Jar and Ewoks.  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing ostensibly wrong with Ewoks, its just more than a little far (far away) fetched that an army of teddy bears could knock out a clone army of Maori bounty hunters.  That Lucas et al were prepared to include the Ewoks was more of a tip of a hat to merchandise sales than actual story development.

That being said, it was also soon announced that JJ Abrams would be in charge of the productions, leading to a sigh of relief from Star Wars fans who were familiar with the excellent work he has brought to the Star Trek franchise.

Including the important "cast Brits as bad guys" rule.

But what of the story line?  It was relatively easy to develop a story for the prequels to Star Wars as everyone knew that Anakin Skywalker would become Darth Vadar, there was something called the Clone Wars and The Republic, and lots of Jedi's - plenty of material to build a story around there.

Yet there have been no hints as to what may lay in the future for episodes 7, 8 and 9...sort of.  Given that R2D2 and C-3PO are droids, they could well be still around and serving drinks, performing translations for giant slugs and assisting with mass-murder.

Of the other characters, Han and Leia all went through significant character developments in the episodes 4-6 while Chewbacca seemed pretty level throughout.  Lando was a bit of a special guest star, while old Obi Wan and Yoda are now ghosts that seem to turn up to barbecues uninvited.

They didn't even bring a salad.

Which brings us to Luke.  As I've discussed earlier, Luke is a bit of a bad-ass, but there is a very good reason for this and this should be the key to the next episodes: Everyone close to Luke dies.

Think about it.  His mother died giving birth to him so he went to live with his Aunt and Uncle.  They died horrifically.  Obi-Wan then took him under his wing and he let himself be killed within about 60 minutes. 

In Episode 5, Luke is seen riding a Ton-Ton.  It gets friggin eaten. Then he goes to visit Yoda under the instructions of the now-dead Obi-Wan.  While it doesn't happen straight away, Yoda dies.  This has particular significance in that Yoda had been alive for over 800 years training Jedi, but a bit of exposure to old Luke Skywalker and he's off to the big barbecue in the sky.

Luke seems to cotton-on to what is going on by Episode 6 and is much more aloof and reserved than previously.  He even wears a lot more black so people won't notice him. 

The bright green lightsaber is a bit of a give-away though

Luke goes to see Jabba about freeing his friend and, due to Luke's evil scheming, Jabba and seemingly all of his friends die - some of them terribly (being digested by not just any Zarlac, but the almighty one).

Once his friends are liberated from the now-dead Jabba, Luke goes off to see Yoda (who now dies) rather than spend time with them.  Perhaps this is his kind side coming through, he is only killing one friend, rather than three.

At the end of 6, Luke finally reunites with his father after he takes him to visit the Emperor (who dies).  Then his father dies.

I'm sure even Luke was getting the idea by this stage & feeling pretty bad about this whole "friends" business.  So, transport the storyline 30 years and I'm pretty sure Luke will have moved himself to a Galaxy far, far away where there is no-one for him to befriend.  Or perhaps just no-one left to befriend.

To make it interesting, Leia and Han should try and bring him back to help with some smuggling or something, while Luke does his darnedest to avoid them.  Should make for some good chase scenes at least.

Question of the Day: Is BE Hendricks a Quokka?

Taken from the 7th over of the Australia A v South Africa A match at Pretoria.

Thought of the Day: Old Trafford Cricket Ground is a Death Trap!

Watching the Third Ashes Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford, I couldn't help but notice the stairs that the players had to climb to from their rooms to the ground (displayed behind David Warners ego, below):

Pictured, stairs & walking DRS referral

Given that this test was ended early by rain and that rain is something that is familiar to the Manchester area, I thought it was concerning that players wearing metal spikes on their shoes were expected to walk up (or down) 2 flights of potentially wet stairs while being encumbered by cricket bats, pads etc.

Is there no OH&S in England anymore?  What happened to political correctness gone mad?  Do we need a player to slip and fall to their death before action is taken?  If so, can we choose who it is?

Not naming names

Thought of the Day: The implementation of the DRS teaches us how to use it

I've always been quite fond of computers and technology and as such often get asked by family members to help with all things technical, whether it be set-up an email address, configure a router or set the clock on the microwave.  My success ratio at doing such things has led to a rapid decrease in requests of late, but that's another story.

The DRS is a technical system that enables a Cricket Umpire who isn't on the ground to review decisions made on the ground by watching what has occurred on a TV, using footage of the game taken at different angles.  So far, the implementation of the DRS has been as successful as my own self at helping record future episodes of Matlock and so on.

Missing those eyebrows every damn day

One of the large issues with the DRS has been that teams are never sure when to use it, the limited number of referrals means that there is an extra degree of confidence needed when using them, which creates other issues - such as the level of faith a captain has in his bowlers or that batsmen have in themselves.

Shane Watson encapsulates the issues with DRS at what can only be so regularly that it seems like it may in fact be his full-time job.  That being said, Cricket is looking increasingly like it isn't his job, so I dare say he needs a back-up plan.

Watson is in a unique position in that he is an all-rounder who opens the batting (sometimes). This gives his the opportunity to use the DRS reviews as no-one else has gotten a chance to yet.  Combined with Watsons' self-confidence and (apparent) lack of team-play has exacerbated the view that he plays for himself and not the best interest in the team.  Well, he propensity to run-out team-mates doesn't help either.

As a bowler, Watson needs his captains approval to use the DRS when he believes that he has a batsmen out when an umpire doesn't, which is pretty often.  Unfortunately for Watson, his captain doesn't share his love of Watson, so has to turn him down - regardless of the accuracy of the decision.

Clarke, seen here using the Jedi mind trick on Watson, demonstrating his confidence in him.

With all these extra issues caused by the DRS, the simplest solution may simply be to not use it and trust the umpires.  Similar to a relative who may be of use but ends up taping "Home Improvement" instead of "Eurovision", it may be best just to leave these things to the experts (the Umpires) and not worry about the solutions that just cause more issues.