*Official* England in Sri Lanka

[marc71178]

Correction: Flower Throwing Hippy

My apologies!

 

[Richard]

If by 'even' you mean 'rubbish', I'm inclined to agree with you. Now if we can get Kenya involved, that'd be a pretty good triangular series

We've got West Indies - a perfect broth of mediocrity.
Or rather an imperfect coctail of poor players getting more poor players to make them look good.
And their Press will all claim it's a mid-table match-up. And the stupid thing is, the ODI Championship supports this misleading (IMO) view!
ICC's latest lot of Championships do what I previously thought impossible - made PWC look not quite as bad as I previously thought it was!
The original Test Championship was a brilliant one - why did they have to spoil it.
The format is just so biased and wavering it's untrue.

 

[Neil Pickup]

The original Test Championship was a brilliant one - why did they have to spoil it.

!

 

[marc71178]

ICC's latest lot of Championships do what I previously thought impossible - made PWC look not quite as bad as I previously thought it was!

Still working on something that will be completely unbiased and better than PwC then I guess.

The original Test Championship was a brilliant one - why did they have to spoil it.

Oh, yes, when SA were ranked number 1 in the World that was such a brilliant format wasn't it.

The format is just so biased and wavering it's untrue.

Please explain how it is biased and wavering.

 

[Richard]

Changing points awarded for series that different placements in time would have seen different scores awarded (eg different points for different-ranked teams) can never be a consistent system.
The notion of a period in time being counted one day and not the next is ludicrous.
It quite simply isn't possible to devise a fair ODI Championship - the solution would have been to make WC every 2 years, something suggested by Matthew Engel 4 years ago and something I agreed with on the spot.
The Test Championship was fine when it was just a consistent system - did ICC really think they could cut-out "dead" matches? What a waste. They have concocted another fluctuating, inconsistently-awarded points system instead.
If Australia are ranked above everyone by most people that just shows, yet again, the perception amongst cricket followers that they think they must know better than the game itself. If Australia get knocked-off the top it's their fault and no-one else's for not playing Zimbabwe when they should have and not playing Bangladesh.
Personally I think you're just making a huge issue out of a fairly irrelevant matter to try and denegrate something that was better than something you like. Not for the first time.

 

[Neil Pickup]

There's only one Test Ranking that counts for anything in my book, and that's the CW one.

And as for ODIs, me and Barrie are working on one at present.

 

[Craig]

With Anderson twisting his ankle playing squash, some part of it tell me he was stpuid for doing such a thing and unlucky to injure himself.

Meanwhile rain looks like being England nemiss.

 

[raju]

Once again the English are denied certain victory by rain.
Roll on the test matches, it should be a corker of a series.
Now that England have restored the second best spinner in the world into their set up I think that is enough to tip the balance in their favour. The experienced seam attack is also a huge plus. Over the course of a 5 day match the rain will not be able to save the plucky Lankans.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Welcome to the forum raju and thanks for that comical first post.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Meanwhile rain looks like being England nemiss.

Or nemesis even.

 

[marc71178]

Is that Evesham, as in Evesham in Worcestershire?

 

[Tom Halsey]

Now that England have restored the second best spinner in the world into their set up I think that is enough to tip the balance in their favour.

Surely not Ashley Giles!!!!!!!

 

[Legglancer]

Or nemesis even.

Perhaps "nemesis" is not the term to accurately describe englands plight ..... "Saviour" seems a more suitable description from a 3 - 0 whitewash in the ODI series as in 2001.

At least England did better than Canada against SL

 

[Neil Pickup]

Surely not Ashley Giles!!!!!!!

Croft, I would assume..

I'm not entirely sure I would class Hoggard, Johnson, Anderson and Kirtley as experienced either.

 

[luckyeddie]

Once again the English are denied certain victory by rain.
Roll on the test matches, it should be a corker of a series.
Now that England have restored the second best spinner in the world into their set up I think that is enough to tip the balance in their favour. The experienced seam attack is also a huge plus. Over the course of a 5 day match the rain will not be able to save the plucky Lankans.

A great start, Raju - Welcome to the world-famous CW.

I didn't know they had terraces in Evesham

Second-best spinner in the world?

Fred Swarbrook retired years ago.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Second-best spinner in the world?

Fred Swarbrook retired years ago.

Rawl Lewis.

 

[marc71178]

Compared with Pickup, there's no decent spinners in the World!

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Flattery gets you nowhere Marc.

Sarcasm however does.

 

[Craig]

A great start, Raju - Welcome to the world-famous CW.

I didn't know they had terraces in Evesham

Second-best spinner in the world?

Fred Swarbrook retired years ago.

Before I was born? As I dont remember him playing during my lifetime.

IMO Murali is the best spinner in the world. Murali is the best spinner the worl d and Warne would be equal when he is playing and in form or just ahead or just second to Murali.

 

[Legglancer]

How bout John Davison