If there is a blemish on his amazing record it is the absence of a significant innings on one of those “sticky dogs” of old – so wrote Wisden about Don Bradman as one of the Five Cricketer’s of the Century. Here we see how true that was.
South Africa is a unique place to watch test cricket. Grounds are never empty, but they’re rarely full as the majority of fans save themselves for limited-over games. Tickets are remarkably cheap, and the Western culture draws a lot of beer-drinking fans out for a day in the sun. In keeping with the country itself, the stadiums are stunningly beautiful with the Wanderers and Newlands amongst the greatest places for cricket in the world. Now, South Africa is also home to the world’s number one cricket team.
Much has been made over the past 12 months about Australia’s return to the field in the longer form of the game. Occasional criticism has rightly been raised of Ricky Ponting’s captaincy and of a batting line up more prone to collapse than was the case with those of the immediate past. But are these really the burning problems in Australia’s Test line up?
The Champions Trophy starts this afternoon, and we at Cricket Web have decided to make a few predictions on who the movers and shakers will be this time around. Glaring into their respective crystal balls, resident Poms Martyn Corrin, Martin Chandler and Paul Wood face off against beer-drinking Aussies Cameron Burge, Brendon Goff and Simon Fitzsimmons. Effigy-burning Indian fans Ganesh Venkat and Manjunath Reddlapalli test out their future sight skills alongside site owner James Nixon and the inimitable Richard Dickinson.
With Group B underway, eyes will now turn to Group A which gets underway tomorrow. It will feature Pakistan who were originally meant to be the hosts, along with holders Australia, India and the West Indies.
The Champions Trophy gets underway in South Africa tomorrow. Cricket Web takes a look at the four teams taking part in Group B which is the first of the groups to get underway.
Australia currently sit five-nil up against England in a one-day series that is being panned throughout the cricketing world. Is this indicative of a general decline in one-day cricket, and does the format need new ideas to save itself?
Over the coming months staff members will be looking at their heroes – Martin begins the series with a profile of the Notts Express, Harold Larwood.
The legality of some bowling actions has caused controversy from time to time since the game began. Here we go back nearly half a century to look at the case of Ian Meckiff and how he was treated.
When Michael Hussey shot out of the blocks his performances were described as “Bradmanesque”, but did he really deserve that accolade? Here we look at whether anyone ever has.