Quintus de Zylva
Fifty years have passed since Ian Meckiff’s fast bowling action was “called” by leg umpire Col Egar during the test match against South Africa in Brisbane in 1963. His second, third, fifth and ninth balls were considered illegitimate by Col Egar. Captain Richie Benaud did not give Ian Meckiff another over to bowl and so ended the 18-Test career of this fast bowler at the age of 28. Richie Benaud’s spineless action was in contrast to that of Captain Arjuna Ranatunga who stood by Murali’s bowling action and threatened to take his team off the Adelaide cricket ground some years later. Biomedical expert Darryl Foster at the school of human movement at the University of Western Australia conducted tests that showed Murali’s flexion to be within a fifteen degree range that was considered acceptable. Continue reading
Comments from Asanga and Dinouk, 12 June 2013
On 12 July 2013 08:09, Dinouk Colombage <dinoukc@gmail.com> wrote:
Boof certainly has the “Australia” grit of yesteryear that they are lacking. In some ways he would fit in more with the Merv Hughes era than that which he played in. For Australia, they need to look back to the mid-80s where under Border they learnt to win. I think yesterday was a glimpse of a team who is ready to win, even if it isn’t pretty.On Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 12:32 PM, Asanga Welikala <awelikala@gmail.com> wrote: Sacking that tinpot Napoleon, Arthur, and putting Clarke in his place, was the most inspired decision of Cricket Australia in ages. The whole turn around with “Boof” is amazing – anyway, I prefer eating-drinking buggers… Continue reading
Peter Lalor, in The Australian, 25 April 2013
Pic by Brett Costello in Daily Telegraph
MARK Taylor believes Twenty20 cricket is to blame for the impoverished state of batting in Australian cricket and says that the existing players have to stand up if the visitors are going to have any chance in the Ashes. The former captain, who was one of the authors of the Argus review and is tipped to return to the board of Cricket Australia this year, was speaking at the announcement of the Ashes squad in Sydney yesterday.
The selectors have, as revealed in The Australian, gone back to Brad Haddin to inject some experience in the side. The wicketkeeper replaces Matthew Wade behind the stumps and Shane Watson as vice-captain, although Wade remains in the squad. Selectors have also dusted off 35-year-old opener Chris Rogers who has scored more than 19,000 first-class runs — many of them in England — but has played only one Test, in Perth in 2008. Haddin and Rogers, along with Ricky Ponting, were the form batsmen of a Shield summer in which no young batsman could score enough runs to force his way into one of the weaker Test batting lineups of the past two decades. Continue reading
Sharm de Alwis, in the Island, 12 September 2012
Arunabha Sengupta has opened a can, and I join the feast. Don Bradman has been universally acclaimed as the best batsman who ever lived. Jack Fingleton always added the caveat, “on good wickets.” There had been more enterprising batsmen in the golden era; Ranjit Sinhji and Victor Trumper, come to mind. Of Ranji it was said that the bat was an eastern wand in his hands. Of Trumper, “the very blades of grass bowed in obeisance when he arrived at the crease.” Of Bradman, the celebrated broadcaster Ray Robinson said, “then came Bradman. A single here, a single there, like a millionaire practicing thrift.” Although he grudgingly acknowledged Bradman’s virtuosity, Jack Fingleton always added the caveat “…on good wickets.”
Bradman was an accumulator. Not content with a century, he would sit in a remote corner and plot a double or a triple, whilst his team-mates would have a double scotch. Teetotalers have been known to buy a round of drinks. Even a skin flint like Len Hutton admitted: “I have bought a drink, but not often.”
But Bradman was parsimony personified. He would rather read a book than breast the bar. When Arthur Whitelaw presented Bradman with BP 1,000, For his 334 at Leeds in 1930 (today’s exchange rate is over 200), he didn’t buy his mates a single drink.
Apart from stinginess, Bradman’s problems with team-mates also arose from sectarian issues. As a Mason, he was with Bill Ponsford, Bert Oldfield and a few others, whilst the Catholics, included Jack Fingleton, Bill O’Reilly, Stan McCabe, Leo O’Brien and Fleetwood-Smith. Even though the Don and ‘Tiger’ patted themselves warmly calling each other the best in their respective trade,
O’Reilly said, “Bradman was a chap who never made the slightest effort to be a real hundred percent team man.”
Rancour was fuelled. It is well known that Bradman’s vindictiveness resulted in the premature end of ‘Tiger’s career. Continue reading
The captains of teams who will feature in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Queensland, Australia pose for photographs at the Allan Border Field, Brisbane. Sri Lanka’s Sanitha de Mel is third from left in the second row. (Pic from ICC/Matt Roberts)
Sri Lanka, South Africa and Bangladesh in the toughest group*
Picking two qualifiers from Group ‘D’ of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2012 seems to be an uphill task as Sri Lanka, South Africa and Bangladesh are fully capable and prepared to play in the Super League stage while Namibia can turn out to be the surprise package of the event which will run from 11 to 26 August in Queensland, Australia.
Group ‘D’ matches will be played in Brisbane and on the opening day, Sri Lanka will take on Bangladesh at the Allan Border Field.
Sri Lanka finished fourth in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2010 after losing a close semi-final to eventual winner Australia by two wickets. Sri Lanka then suffered a four-wicket defeat against the West Indies in the third/fourth position play-off. Continue reading
Filed under Australia Cricket, performance, Under 19 cricket
Adam Mountford, for the BBC
Jonathan Agnew began his podcast with Geoff Boycott on Thursday talking about how romantics were dreaming of an historic England victory. Well if those romantics did not get the result they wished for in the first Test, they should at least be pleased with the venue for the second because the P Sara Stadium is an enchanting location. To give it its full name, the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium is the oldest cricket ground in Sri Lanka and is home to the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club.
The ground was famous for having a female curator named Amravati who worked at the P Sara for 40 years. Although she is long retired, her sister Saroja continues to be involved. It is a little rough around the edges and there is clearly a last-gasp effort to get things ready in time for Tuesday’s 10am start, but the ground has a wonderful aura of history.
Its most famous feature is the beautiful ivy-covered scoreboard – surely one of the 
most distinctive on any international ground. When I visited, the scoreboard was showing a team total of 631 and when I asked one of the current groundsman what the wicket was like he just looked at me and said “it’s for the batsman”. I asked him whether England should play two frontline spinners and he said “it doesn’t matter”! Continue reading
Filed under Australia Cricket, Bradman, cricket tamashas, performance, Sri Lanka Cricket
When Sri Lanka accumulated 321 runs after being put into bat at Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Their followers would have been well-pleased, as indeed I was. But Sri Lanka had chased around 310 runs twice in South Africa and the wicket was clearly a feather-bed. Moreover, when Sangakkara was interviewed between innings,he remarked that Sanath and Tharanga had led a chase for some 325 runs in an ODI match in England and Sri Lanka had reached the target in 36 overs. This remark suggests that Sri Lanka were not complacent.
India reached the imposing target in just that — 36 overs. The Sri Lankan skipper and team were simply steamrollered and eviscerated by all the batsmen and by Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina in particular. It was a brilliant display, a set of gems for connoisseurs.
Any lessons? I broach one. On feather bed wickets pack your team with more spinners and/or bowlers with guile.
Pic by Getty
A Statisical Summary with a Focus on Kohli, by Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan, courtesy of cricinfoESPN
Mahinda Wijesinghe
Quite a furore was created in the current CBN series game between India and Sri Lanka played in Brisbane when Sri Lankan batsman Lahiru Thirimanne, at the non-striker’s end, was run out by Indian off-spinner Ashwin when the batsman was found to have left the crease before the ball had been delivered. In other words, Thirimanne was found to be taking a ‘foul start’. When Ashwin appealed to umpire Paul Reiffel – with Thirimanne well out of his crease – the latter without doing his avowed duty of giving his decision walked across to his partner Billy Bowden. After a three-way discussion, with Bowden and the Indian skipper Sehwag, Thirimanne was permitted to continue. Despite this let-off, Thirimanne still continued with his walkabouts. Something that confused most. Indeed the Laws of Cricket are very clear on this issue. Last year, to dispel any doubts on this vexed matter, the MCC reiterated and stated very clearly that “the bowler is permitted before releasing the ball and provided he has not completed his usual delivery swing, to attempt to run out the non-striker.” Can it be any clearer?
Hence, the Indian bowler Ashwin was not doing any act that even bordered on questionable sportsmanship. That question should be posed to the Sri Lanka batsman who was wittingly or otherwise taking an unfair advantage by taking a foul start. Remember, just one run could quite easily make the difference between victory and/or defeat, and more so in the shortened version of the game.
Gideon Haigh, in the Weekend Australian 17-18 December 2011
“KFC T20 Big Bash League is the most talked about event in the country. Fans love their teams and families and kids of all ages pack grounds around the country. Dressed in their team’s colours, they come every week to watch the best T20 players on earth.” “The Vision” for the Big Bash League, Cricket Australia’s new-fashioned domestic T20 tournament which began at the SCG last night, reads like rather a lot to do with the BBL, as though composed in half a minute by someone carrying on two telephone conversations at the same time (“Mate, have you done that ‘Vision’ yet?” “Sorry mate, I’ve been flat out. I’ll bash some crap out now.”)
It does, though, encapsulate CA’s sky-high hopes for what in a cricket sense is really old fast food in a new wrapper: more or less the same players as in the old domestic T20 tournament spread a little more thinly among eight city-based rather than six state-based teams, albeit sprinkled, like Colonel Sanders’ herbs and spices, with New Improved Warnie. Continue reading
