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.

Thought of the Day: Wattos' Christmas Gift?

Though, once again, it seems Christmas can't come soon enough.

Sign of the Times: Boof has a back up plan

Given the most recent Test result & Cricket Australia's history of treating recent coaches, it seems "Boof" Lehmann is on the front foot in planning for life after Cricket.

Sign of the Times: Telstra isn't profiling its customers very well

I received this text from Telstra yesterday:

Not sure why they think that would be of interest to me, but I'm not quite offended enough to switch.

Thought of the Day: Australian cricket has poor timing

The second Ashes Test ended in London in the early hours of Monday morning (Melbourne time) with England winning by one of the largest margins in history.  The loss was particularly compounded by the Australian teams inability to bat according to the demands of the game, seemingly unable to cope with a Test situation.

As dawn actually broke and the good cricket following people of the Australian eastern seaboard went to work they were greeted with news from Cricket Australia, about the Big Bash League.

The Big Bash League (BBL) is Australia's premier Twenty20 cricket tournament, involving private clubs (not State teams) that play off over the summer months.

The BBL has had some success in recent years, with fairly good crowd sizes that compare well with other summer sports (e.g. Basketball & Soccer) and even better than Sheffield Shield crowds.

However, the placement of the BBL in the middle of the summer causes obvious disruption to the Sheffield Shield season, as well as the development and performance of the players at a form of cricket that lasts for more than 20 overs.

Given that the majority of Cricket fans are distressed about Australia's ability to bat for more than 20 overs, I would suggest that CA has done more to hurt its own product than promote it.

Soon you can watch him score 6 runs in less overs!

Star Wars Image of the Day

Thought of the Day: Google Maps have some odd default addresses

Looking for directions from my office to the Grattan Institute brought some interesting 'auto populate' fields in Google Maps.  Are these just popular addresses for people, or is there something more to it?

For the record, I don't work in Israel, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, USA or China