If you could get rid of one thing from the cricketing scene...

[Richard]

Well you have lost the Commonwealth Banks series twice in a row, also losing to New Zealand 3-0 last year as well.

Not to mention South Africa 3-2 2 years ago.

 

[Redbacks]

We have lost a few tournements in recent times

We won back the Chappell-hadlee trophy this year. I'm not sure if its been mentioned on here before but the attack on Tait before the series was ridiculous, unless bias doesn't allow me to see clearly, his action seems fine.
Just would have though holding the ICC and WC trophies would put us a bit of away ahead of the pack. Not entirely sure how the rankings work in ODI's, but while your team holds the last 3 WC's you don't have to.

 

[Richard]

The rankings and the World Cup are different things. The World Cup is a tournament designed to reward the best team over 4-6 weeks (whatever it is), the rankings are a ranking designed to reward the best team over 4-6 years.

The trouble with ODIs is, they're not so straightforward as Tests. With Tests the best ranking system - so straightforward it can be called a Championship - is counting the most recent Test series between two countries, 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw. With ODIs, it's better to try taking account of every game - though only those between top-8 (at the current time) teams.

 

[pasag]

Cricinfo - 1st Test: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Karachi, Feb 21-25, 2009

 

[Goughy]

One of the reasons that I like to take draws out of the formula when statistically assessing players.

IMO, stats only become remotely comparable when one team is capable of taking 20 wickets in a game (ie there is a common theme that binds all the games). Otherwise it is comparing church spires with charm bracelets.

 

[four_or_six]

Younis Khan had a batting average of 49.14 before this innings, he's now up to 52.24 atm.

 

[G.I.Joe]

I think its pretty funny that the captain calls for better pitches in the country, and the very next game sees three individual 200+ scores.

 

[Something_Fishy]

Indian franchise leagues, but I'd like to say franchises in general. Stanford's already gone, so that's a start. But I don't see the point in SA cricket to have 'Cobras' and 'Titans'. What's wrong with Western Province? Or then WP Cobras. But this goes for rugby as well. (Don't even get me started on stadiums)

 

[Richard]

Cricinfo - 1st Test: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Karachi, Feb 21-25, 2009

Much as I'd be happy to see the back of ARG-esque games like these... except maybe one every 4-5 years... it's certainly not the first thing I'd look to get shot of TBH.

 

[Langeveldt]

Indian franchise leagues, but I'd like to say franchises in general. Stanford's already gone, so that's a start. But I don't see the point in SA cricket to have 'Cobras' and 'Titans'. What's wrong with Western Province? Or then WP Cobras. But this goes for rugby as well. (Don't even get me started on stadiums)

Definitely, but I think its to do with money.. Sahara St Georges pays more than St Georges Park..

Hate the names, it gives people less of an affiliation to their team for mine.. My friends dad who isn't a total cricketing nonentity was sat in front of the pro20 for half an hour the other night before asking "So which ones are we?"

 

[Something_Fishy]

Definitely, but I think its to do with money.. Sahara St Georges pays more than St Georges Park..

Hate the names, it gives people less of an affiliation to their team for mine.. My friends dad who isn't a total cricketing nonentity was sat in front of the pro20 for half an hour the other night before asking "So which ones are we?"

Sigh... As always.
But this frustrates me so much. They want more money but the fans word afgeskeep (sorry, don't know the correct term in Eng). I mean, not even half the games get televised! They are driving cricket away from the masses, and it's very sad to see.

I know. My own mother, a great cricketing fan, only knows the Cobras and the Titans (where she lives and where she used to live). She doesn't even know the names of the rest. And now there's going to be 2 more, I hear.

 

[silentstriker]

One of the reasons that I like to take draws out of the formula when statistically assessing players.

IMO, stats only become remotely comparable when one team is capable of taking 20 wickets in a game (ie there is a common theme that binds all the games). Otherwise it is comparing church spires with charm bracelets.

It's a good formula, but it falls apart for the team with the best attack and the worst. The best attack would be able to take twenty wickets where most other attacks would be a draw. So in essence, the batsmen who are on the team with the best attack get the advantage of a flat pitch and no chance of a draw, while the other batsmen don't. Same thing happens to the team with the worst attack - a better attack might have forced a win, but they had to settle for a draw despite scoring a lot because their attack wasn't good enough to take 20.

With Australia of the last 10-12 years, I saw many games which would undoubtedly be draws, but were victories because of one side's bowlers. I saw the reverse with India overseas a lot too.

 

[Aimless]

South Africa. :ninja:

 

[jondavluc]

Flat pitches for me. I don't like bad umpiring (which would be my second choice) but nothing is worse than a boring bat feast in a test match with no result.

 

[Langeveldt]

Sigh... As always.
But this frustrates me so much. They want more money but the fans word afgeskeep (sorry, don't know the correct term in Eng). I mean, not even half the games get televised! They are driving cricket away from the masses, and it's very sad to see.

I know. My own mother, a great cricketing fan, only knows the Cobras and the Titans (where she lives and where she used to live). She doesn't even know the names of the rest. And now there's going to be 2 more, I hear.

But the fans get neglected?.. Don't think it's that bad, just a bit short sighted, and the fact we are called the warriors allows us to have a warrior like addition to our hard hats.. I guess it's fairly obvious where the Cape Cobras and Highveld Lions come from anyway

And as for fans getting driven away by games not being televised, well I think the Pro20 has a huge party atmosphere that seems to be bringing people to the ground, attendances are still very good for it, and TV coverage here is far more comprehensive than what the UK have to put up with

 

[cover drive man]

Sleging, I think. Basic bullying.

 

[funnygirl]

Flat pitches absolutely .

 

[Something_Fishy]

But the fans get neglected?.. Don't think it's that bad, just a bit short sighted, and the fact we are called the warriors allows us to have a warrior like addition to our hard hats.. I guess it's fairly obvious where the Cape Cobras and Highveld Lions come from anyway

And as for fans getting driven away by games not being televised, well I think the Pro20 has a huge party atmosphere that seems to be bringing people to the ground, attendances are still very good for it, and TV coverage here is far more comprehensive than what the UK have to put up with

Thanks, that's the word.

Pro20, yeah, fair enough. But the 45over version? No way. Tiny crowds, and only some games televised. How are you meant to follow one team's progress in the season? (Yeah, I know you can get the results and scores, but for the average cricket fan it's not worth it) And the SuperSport series is a joke. No broadcast, free tickets; our small Test crowds will decrease further (OK, this series against Aus is a bad example because its Aus and we just beat them, but I can only predict a bleak future in terms of attendance rates and cricket support in SA)
That said, I am a pessimist. Would love to be proven wrong. (By the crowds, not CW posters)

 

[Evermind]

The worst thing about the cricketing scene is the mindless arguments concerning the game on the internet.

 

[Uppercut]

Flat pitches for me. Rain is annoying, bad umpire decisions frustrate me, franchise leagues won't be great for the game, but at least they all give a bit of drama and something to talk about. Flat pitches just completely waste everyone's time and bore the pants off us.