***Official*** NatWest Series/Challenge

[tooextracool]

What an absolutely brainless dismissal. We might see Vikram yet if Geraint fails early doors.

1 off several brainless dismissals today.

 

[tooextracool]

Two things;

Ricky Ponting is still a God in the field. Shame Gilchrist couldn't match the brilliance in what would have been outstanding out cricket if he had..

it was actually an excellent day in the field for australia. even michael clarke actually fielded really well.

 

[kendall]

I do hope the selectors now choose Thorpe although lets not start overly critising pieterson after a couple of failures but england need thorpe and hampshire need pieterson!

 

[tooextracool]

Good to see him back in the runs though. His dismissal could, however, mean England's total will be far short of challenging.

its a pity that neither jones nor flintoff realised that the best way to get runs off lee is not by trying to slog him out of the park but by using his pace and playing orthodox cricketing shots. shots either side behind the keeper is always good.

 

[tooextracool]

1. Sorry LE, whilst I agree that ODIs have little do to with Tests, identifying and capitalising on weaknesses is a touch different to giving away wickets as the Aus have done all summer..

i'd say gilchrist has been every bit as worked out as anyone else in the england side.
ponting on the other hand looked like he had a big score coming around the corner, and it happened today.

 

[tooextracool]

Yeah, I agree. However Botham is suggesting that you select your sub after the toss, I think the best way is select your 12, then name the sub after the toss.

If we want to make the games more interesting, the teams should name 12 players, then the opposing captain chooses a player they don't want to play.

the best way would be to not have it at all actually.

 

[tooextracool]

I like the discussion between Holding and Hussain regarding the rule changes. Both bringing up valid points.

not to mention that both of them are the only 2 people on sky who know what they are talking about.
gotta love holding's "i've never bowled a no-ball in career, if i did, the umpire just wasnt looking properly"

 

[tooextracool]

yeah i heard, pretty wild suggestion by Nasser

err could it be that he was just joking?
the laughter than ensued after that surely would have suggested something?

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

it was actually an excellent day in the field for australia. even michael clarke actually fielded really well.

Michael Clarke is in the top three or four fielders in the Australian team, alongside Symonds, Ponting and maybe Hussey. He was just a bit rusty at the start of this tour. Normally, you won't see very many close ground fielders better than Clarke, and he's close to the best in the world at throwing down the stumps.

 

[tooextracool]

idiots like Richard and TEC

i really think that was quite unnecessary.

 

[tooextracool]

and Vaughan just generally seems out of touch

actually i wouldnt say that someone whos scored 57,0, 59* and 1 against australia is in particularly poor form, especially considering that got a poor decision today and well letting a ball go isnt really a sign of poor form, just poor judgement.
but then again if theres anything i've learnt about vaughan since hes taken over captaincy is that when he looks to be in form he doesnt really do much, and when he looks absolutely woeful he ends up scoring.

 

[tooextracool]

gillespie will be persisted with, that seems rather obvious to me, bar a really awful showing in the next ODI ( and i mean really really awful ).

you mean like how hes been for the rest of this series?
kaspa has IMO outperformed gillespie since his return, and at least unlike gillespie he doesnt look short of pace or completely out of it.

 

[luckyeddie]

i really think that was quite unnecessary.

Well, you do seem to think that you know an awful lot more about cricket than the average international (test or ODI) selector, which is more than a little unlikely.

No, on second thoughts, you're probably right. Apologies are due. Not idiotic - delusional.

 

[marc71178]

There's also some room for doubt with regards to the Hawkeye representations; the first ball from Lee missed the off-stump by about 10 cm but Hawkeye showed the ball missing by about 1cm. Big difference for things like LBW's

And the reason why I oppose the introduction of it.

 

[marc71178]

KP undone by his huge favouring of the leg side, think that's his Ashes chances gone for a burton too.

Realistically, how many people thought he'd get in ahead of Thorpe?

 

[marc71178]

Yes but then Giles won't be able to bowl. The substitution is for the rest of the match.

Personally had they needed the sub I'd remove Gough.

 

[marc71178]

Hmmmmmmmmm....................Collingwood VERY lucky to survive the stumping. I thought it was out. The side-on view showed that there was doubt whether his left heel was in the air but I thougt the stump vision erased that doubt. As I said, VERY lucky.

Does the 3rd umpire get the stump-vision view, or only the square on ones?

 

[luckyeddie]

Personally had they needed the sub I'd remove Gough.

Quickly - before he bowls.

 

[vic_orthdox]

problem for him is that he plays with hard hands. hard hands + poor footwork is always going to be a problem. it was a poor ball by brett lee and he somehow managed to drag it back onto his stumps.

You really think it was that bad. To Pieterson, I would have thought that this is the sort of area that you'd want to be bowling to try and dismiss KP, make him hit against his natural tendency towards the leg side.

It was clear in that shot that his bottom hand just went into overdrive, and if he had've hit it the ball would have travelled through mid-off such was the direction his bat took.

 

[Mister Wright]

first of all their situations are different during the time when Langer wasn't considered in the ODI team it was justifiable because he used to be a slow scorer and their wasn't a place for him, now he is just a bit too old & it wont make sense to pick him & he will only be doing the job for a short period of time.

Its debatable over who is a better batsman.

Katich is struggling to get a game for Australia in ODIs and when he has he hasn't set the world on fire. Maybe, a case of not getting enough games and therefore not being able to get consistency in his game. Sad situation, but its happened before - Jimmy Maher, Anthony Stuart & Brad Williams, just to name a few.