Battle of the Infamous

[Howe_zat]

Also that Bodyline wouldn't have been possible without the bowlers able to do it, whereas I could have bowled the underarm delivery. It was a case of taking the entire contest out, which is why it's much more anti-cricket as far as I see. That said, it was one legal delivery and it didn't have the massively improved chances of maiming people, so it doesn't bother me that much.

If Chappell is also responsible for 10-11 then I think he deserves a knighthood if anything

 

[fredfertang]

I've always regarded the underarm incident as more of a comedy moment than anything else, and while I don't agree with what was done or condone it it's not the worst case of unsporting behaviour ever perpetrated by an Australian captain

But the Somerset incident was different as that was a fraud on those who turned up to watch a game of cricket - they may have got their money back, but they still lost a day of their lives - Thatcheresque behaviour imo - here's opening the evil one is on her way out in time for chrimbo and that her surgeon is incompetent (alternatively believes in karma)

 

[grecian]

pfft, you're all as biased against Somerset as the England selectors, was genius stuff

 

[BoyBrumby]

I've always regarded the underarm incident as more of a comedy moment than anything else, and while I don't agree with what was done or condone it it's not the worst case of unsporting behaviour ever perpetrated by an Australian captain

But the Somerset incident was different as that was a fraud on those who turned up to watch a game of cricket - they may have got their money back, but they still lost a day of their lives - Thatcheresque behaviour imo - here's opening the evil one is on her way out in time for chrimbo and that her surgeon is incompetent (alternatively believes in karma)

Judging by the way McKechnie slung his bat away after facing it his sides weren't splitting, tbf.

 

[uvelocity]

they weren't gonna win anyway

 

[grecian]

Judging by the way McKechnie slung his bat away after facing it his sides weren't splitting, tbf.

yeah, should have been fined for dissent for me.

 

[fredfertang]

Judging by the way McKechnie slung his bat away after facing it his sides weren't splitting, tbf.

Must confess I laughed, and my old man almost pissed himself, but then he laughed at some odd things, his mate Arnold for one - decent bat but a weird bloke - as my Dad made sure my brother and I were never alone with him I'm expecting him to get caught up in the Savile inquiry by the end of the year

 

[Cabinet96]

they weren't gonna win anyway

Which is why it was such a cowardly ****ty move. They had the faint hope of tying the game, and Chappell just took that from them in a move that manipulated a flaw in the laws of the game and took the whole skill and contest of a cricket match with it.

 

[uvelocity]

but on the upside it makes it pretty easy to troll kiwis

 

[hendrix]

underarm...such a boring controversy

yes bad sportsmanship and a dumb move. Not much else to say, and frankly not that controversial.

 

[Prince EWS]

How was underarm not controversial?

Even if you reckon you would've done it yourself, it was always going to be controversial. Massive moment in cricket.

 

[hendrix]

How was underarm not controversial?

Even if you reckon you would've done it yourself, it was always going to be controversial. Massive moment in cricket.

I wouldn't have done it myself, but I think there's plenty of other cynical moments in cricket history where people have played to the letter of the law but not in the right spirit. I don't really understand why the underarm incident is ranked so highly.

I'm far more incensed by matchfixing and spotfixing tbh.

 

[ankitj]

Match fixers and spot fixers are also doing "well" in this battle.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

I wouldn't have done it myself, but I think there's plenty of other cynical moments in cricket history where people have played to the letter of the law but not in the right spirit. I don't really understand why the underarm incident is ranked so highly.

I'm far more incensed by matchfixing and spotfixing tbh.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Seems a pretty uncontroversial opinion to me, to be fair.

Matchfixing is worse than ordering a ball be bowled underarm to win a game, which was technically legal under the then extant laws/playing conditions.

 

[smash84]

what are you unsure about?

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Seems a pretty uncontroversial opinion to me, to be fair.

Matchfixing is worse than ordering a ball be bowled underarm to win a game, which was technically legal under the then extant laws/playing conditions.

Yeah underarm was legal but he says that there are worse legal moments that go against the spirit of the game and then mentions match fixing which is illegal.

 

[hendrix]

Yeah underarm was legal but he says that there are worse legal moments that go against the spirit of the game and then mentions match fixing which is illegal.

I wasn't comparing the two.

In terms of legal acts that aren't in the spirit of cricket, there have been plenty of runouts when the batsman has left his crease but wasn't attempting a run, plenty of runners given to batsmen with cramps, plenty of batsmen with "injuries" in the 4th innings of test matches etc etc.

the underarm thing was quite cowardly, which it what has made it such a big deal. But ultimately it doesn't stand out amongst a number of cynical moves over the years.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Round 12, Battle 13 results

Ravi Shastri - 14
Greg Chappell - 12
Brian Lara - 0

Fine rearguard effort from Ravi.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Round 1, Battle 14

Merry Christmas, ****s.

Ricky Ponting (Australia)

Crimes:

- Thoroughbred douche
- Had first bat contract before growing first pube
- Tired? Stressed? You'll feel better on piss
- Ashes captaincy success rate: 25%
- Godawful captain
- Bowling first at Edgbaston
- Ferocious backer of Mitchell Johnson

Dissent collection:

- Ashes 2005
- Ashes 2010-11 (2:14)
- Pakistan, 2010
- South Africa, 2006
- Sri Lanka, 2004

Ricky fits (best of):

- wtf Srinath
- wtf Zaheer
- wtf Steven Smith
- wtf Indian media (1:37)

"In the past few days Ponting has presided over a performance that dragged the game into the pits. He turned a group of professional cricketers into a pack of wild dogs." - Peter Roebuck

"He is a very average captain. And he is a very average player too, especially here in India." - Harbhajan Singh

"I thought Ricky [Ponting] was crap when he was first captain in 2004, and nothing much has improved since then. I'm not the only one who thinks that ...everyone at home thinks he's **** at the captaincy." - Jeff Thomson

"I'm glad Ricky can't read my mind right now because he's not going to like it." - Allan Border

Whole match was very much like Ricky Ponting: short & desperately ugly.

I actually hope we lose this now so Ponting can suffer as much as possible. What an absolute ****.

Dennis Lillee (Australia)

Crimes:

- Consummate ugly Australian
- Bullied Kim Hughes out of Test side alongside Marsh
- Bet against own team at Headingley in 1981
- Throwing hands at Javed Miandad
- Metal-bat-gate
- Don't bounce me, bro
- Endorsing Mitchell Johnson as a 'once in a generation bowler'

"I think Dennis Lillee should keep quiet as president of the WACA." - Damien Martyn

"If you treated the Aussies in the way they treated everyone else, they found it a little bit foreign. I think they thought they had some sort of exclusivity on it and they didn't like it. There were people like Dennis Lillee, who was a past master at letting people have it, but he was a bit of a fairy when he got hit himself." - Tony Greig

"I have never had any qualms over the matter and I have never lost a moment's sleep because of it." - Lillee on the Headingley bet

When are we going to learn re: Johnson? How many spells of short and wide **** does he have to bowl to be black listed?

I blame Dennis Lillee.

1 - Dennis Lillee was a pivotal member of THE team in Australian history which was responsible for the Ugly Australian image. Lillee used to sledge and abuse batsmen as much if not more than players today. There was the infamous Javed Miandad kicking incident (which would have earned him a fine and a ban today) and his wager with Rod March AGAINST his own team in the 1981 Ashes series (which would have earned him a life ban today). HYPOCRITE.

2 - $49.95 for his autobiography!!! What a joke.........

Sreesanth (India)

- Petulant little thing
- Earning a pimp-slap from Bhajji
- Single-handedly getting Dhoni fined for a slow over-rate
- Almost starting a fight with an attendant over an airplane seat
- Trying to get name changed to 'Sreesunth' because an astrologer told him to

"My first name is Sree, my second name is Santh. There is no Shanthakumaran, there is no 'S' Sreesanth. There is no Sreehantha" - Sreesanth on why his birth certificate is a lie

"Graeme doesn't normally react in those sort of situations. It must have been something personal." - Paul Harris on Sreesanth rustling Smith's jimmies

"I told him before this match, if you take six-seven minutes to bowl an over, it will be difficult to pick you in the side." - MS Dhoni

"Instead of letting the attendants do their job, he got into a childish argument thereby delaying the take off by 15 minutes." - The guy who was supposed to be in Sreesanth's seat