Stop me if you've heard this one before...

The 50 over game.

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:20:13 GMT

Bumble asks if the One-Day game needs an overhaul. Or if as Warnie suggests, it should be scrapped entirely.

Firstly I would be against scrapping the game entirely. I thing there needs to be an intermediate game between Twenty20 and test cricket. Without that tether I fear tests will drift off into a fond (or stale) memory.

Now, I'm not yet convinced that the game needs an overhaul, but if it did, what would it look like?

More like tests, I say. So I'd like to see these two new features.

1. Two innings per side. But I would want asymmetrical innings with the second innings shorter than the first. For example 30 and 15 overs (I suspect 5 overs will be lost due to the innings breaks).

2. The possibility of a draw. The side batting last in a lost cause can still prevent their opponents from winning by not losing any more than (for example) 2 wickets.

The innings breaks will need to be kept as short as practicable (considering player and broadcaster requirements).

By the way, if you are on Twitter, my cricket posts are at http://twitter.com/LGD_Cricket

Edit: Few other points. Kill 7 match series. Limit it to 3 games, as a rule, for everybody. Secondly, cut down the teams for the Champions trophy with the rankings system acting as the qualifier. Can New Zealand, England and the West Indies really be considered champions? Thirdly, give tournaments desirable names. Who wants to tell their grandkids tales about the quest for the 'Compaq Cup'? And finally, don't play any ODIs in the run up to the World Cup or the Champions Trophy. The England-Australia series right on the doorstep of the 2009 Champions Trophy kind of numbed the brain rather than whet the appetite for the prestige tournament.

Edit 2: Can New Zealand, England and the West Indies really be considered champions? Hahaha.. shows what I know (Those teams performed better than anyone expected, while favourites South Africa, and Sri Lanka were knocked out.) - I hope this doesn't make my sugestion about 2 asymmetrical innings with a draw less credible ... :-/

The new CricInfo

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:04:48 GMT

Their website has been redesigned. I don't like it. Far too busy looking.

Are there any other websites that offer a similar level of coverage that you could recommend?

Edit: I do however like the new Live Scorecards.

"The ICC has no power under the laws of cricket to decide that results should be altered"

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:06:18 GMT

"The ICC has no power under the laws of cricket to decide that results should be altered, whether it feels it's 'inappropriate' or otherwise. As far as we’re concerned there is no record of any other result [but a forfeit]" - MCC

Too bloody right. We can't have games being decided by a committee sitting in Dubai.

Indians kick Australian arse, celebrate on moon.

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:52:39 GMT

Hahahaha.

Shame about the lack of crowd though. I mean.. India versus Australia, that's big. And India kicked arse. Every single sports news presenter on New Zealand TV couldn't hide their delight at telling us the news. I did of course watch it live, despite some infuriating commentary, especially by Sunny Gavaskar. Both tests were great to watch.

In celebration India sent a rocket out to place a picture of Sachin on the moon. Well.. that's what they should've done, but instead they just sent a flag.

Meanwhile across the border, Danny Vettori saved New Zealand from embarrassment against Bangladesh. How depressing.

Pakistan has kicked coach Geoff Lawson in the nuts and told him to bugger off. Pakistan's lack of success cannot be attributed to him, I mean the team, the management, the board, heck even the country is in an atrocious state. To their credit they've decided to play games in the UAE. They should relocate there on a semi-permanent basis until their country gets fixed (it'll be awhile).

Sometime during the IPL I read Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene say that tests will always take precedence. I laughed.

Tests cannot compete with IPL, and T20 will increasingly squeeze tests into a tiny corner of the calendar. So it came as no surprise to read that Mahela and his team have refused to play a test series in England, which clashed with the IPL schedule. Board president Arjuna Rantunga, who is a fan of the long game did try, but there's only so much he could do. He won a lot of praise when he allowed players and umpires from the ICL (rival to the Indian board's IPL) to participate in the Sri Lankan domestic tournament. Unfortunately the board is bankrupt and will requite strings-attached help from the Indian board. Oh well.

Would Tebbitt approve?

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:24:44 GMT

Favourite ground: Newlands.
All-time sporting hero: Ernie Els.
Favourite food: Braai.

Who? Captain of the England cricket team of course -- Kevin Peter Pietersen from South Africa. The South African players' responses were more international.

The Grant Elliot Incident

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:58:38 GMT

I'd put this on par with the Murali run out at Christchurch, December 2006. In both cases the captain should've called the batsman back. At least, unlike Fleming, Collingwood later apologised and expressed regret. He did say something about a split-second decision, although that's just rubbish. By the time Elliot was given his marching orders, the physio was at his side administering the magic spray; and it seemed from the body language and expression of the umpire that he was at pains to make sure Collingwood really wanted to go through with the appeal.

I couldn't find a youtube video yet, so here's my account of the incident:

The collision itself was an honest, genuine collision. Elliot defended and droped the ball onto his foot. It rolled away towards where silly point would've been. Sidebottom was on his way to retrieve the ball. Elliot looked up and saw that his parter was taking a run. So Elliot took off but he didn't get far. The next moment both he and Sidebottom were on.. well their bottoms. The ball rolled off to a side, Swann, I think, picked it up and lobbed it to the bowler's end where the bails were taken off. Elliot got up and hobbled to the bowlers end. The English team gathered round concerned for his welfare. Collingwood was in discussion with the umpire. The physio was treating Elliot. The umpire approaches Elliot and tells him the news. He is less than pleased and so is the dressing room.

Youtube video:

And here's the dramatic last over which woke up my neighbours presumably...