Anyone who follows the sport knows what happened, making any
subsequent commentary as relevant as a fat man blaming the last of 15
cheeseburgers for his weight.
That being said, its time to tuck in to number 16...
Chris Rogers is more than a Dancer
Australia defeated the West Indies to win the Frank Worrell
Trophy, which used to be something that Australia vied for years for, though
now only takes 3 days. While I’m all in
favour of efficiency in performance, this was a little ridiculous.
In many ways it reminded me of the Sri Lanka – Australia
series of 2011/12 in which Mitchell Johnson was able to scare out most of the Sri Lankan batsmen who simply weren’t used to the ball coming at them that
fast.
Australia used that Series to start building momentum
towards the Ashes in England, and more specifically managed to use it to get
Mitchell Johnson back into a rhythm which saw him so decimate the English that
many of them retired.
 |
| Retiring with your pads still on shoes some kind of fear. Photo courtesy of the Courier Mail. |
While there were no clear Mitchell Johnson-type dominant
performance, the continued improvement of Josh Hazlewood and emergence of Adam
Voges from the edge of retirement to Man of the Match were both positives.
That being said, it is hard to really judge the positives
for the Australian team given the capitulation of the West Indian side.
Being bowled out for 216 after being 4/180-odd
doesn’t really indicate a team that can tough out a Test match so much as a
bunch of guys that have an early dinner reservation and a couple of days of
golf booked.
 |
| This is what Golf in Dominica looks like. Probably worth it. |
On the flipside, Australia were also unconvincing with the
bat, as the endearingly have been for the last 5 to 6 years. You can read more about this here and here.
 |
| Or here, thanks Jesse Hogan! |
The absence of Chris Rogers gave Shaun Marsh another chance
to secure a spot in the team, which he did about as convincingly as Shane
Watson has done since 2010.
The failures of Michael Clarke, Steve Smith, Brad Haddin and
Watto were a rarity (excluding Watto and Haddin in away series), though do
suggest that the lack of application in the team in the absence of Rogers makes
the side look about as sturdy as the ECBs administration.
 |
| Pictured: The ECBs preferred tournament partner. |
With the series won, this may be the perfect time for
Australia to try some new players (e.g. Mitch Marsh for Watto, Nevill for
Haddin, anyone at all for Shaun Marsh).
Is Test Cricket now a
Bowlers game?
The paucity of high scores in Test Cricket of late,
particularly in comparison to the scores in One Day Cricket (and T20) do suggest that Tests have become a bowlers
game, as opposed to a batsmans, which reiterates the claim that Tests are a
greater challenge.
While the entertainment of limited overs cricket is obvious
through the big-hitting of the batsmen, it is the pressure and guile that
fielding teams put on the batsmen that make Tests the more intriguing
viewing. Selling and administering that,
though, seems a totally different proposition.
Death of a Gentleman
The sale of the game itself is the subject of a brilliant
new movie; Death of a Gentleman, which premiered last week in Sheffield.
The culmination of 4 years work, it looks to be one of the
best cricketing movies made, along with Fire in Babylon.
Detailing the passion and romance of the game of Cricket as
it is held by players and fans alike, the movie documents how the game is being
commoditized and sold for the best price at the cost of tradition and its
future.
I, myself, have been known to grumble about the poor state
of Cricket Administration and marketing from time-to-time (or even here, here,
here, here, here, here and so on) but this film actually does a comprehensive
job of analysing the game and talking to its powerbrokers (and Ed Cowan),
rather than simply spout onions while eating 16 hamburgers.
Get along and support it.
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