Category Archives: peter lalor

April 25, 2013 · 1:33 am

T20 is killing Australian Cricket, says Taylor

Peter Lalor, in The Australian, 25 April 2013

the LOT-Brett Costello in daily tel 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 →

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Filed under Ashes Tests, Australia Cricket, Australian cricket, baggy green, cricket governance, cricketing icons, performance, peter lalor, player selections

March 16, 2013 · 1:16 pm

Shikhari! Shikhari! A Storm! A Storm! A Tempest of a Debut by Shikhar Dhawan

Cricket - India v Australia 3TD3 Pic courtesy of Cricinfo

Shikhari Dhawan’s century was a not only a bolt from the blue and a joy for cricket watchers! It now stands as the fastest century ever by a Test debutant. … and he is still there with 185 runs to his credit from 168 deliveries. Michael Roberts

Shikhar Dhawan explodes upon Test cricket

byPeter Lalor in Mohali for The Australian, March 16, 2013 10:34PM

SCIENTISTS seem certain the Hadron collider has discovered the God Particle, Indian cricket seems to have found its own in debut centurion Shikhar Dhawan.  This 27-year-old high energy particle accelerator has blasted his way into the game with the fastest Test 100 on debut. Dhawan  (185no) and Murali Vijay (83no) took the home side to 0-283 at stumps in reply to Australia’s 408. The pair scored at near enough to five runs an over, shutting Australia out of a game in two blinding sessions. Continue reading →

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Filed under Australian cricket, cricket and life, cricket in India, peter lalor, player selections, unusual people

January 12, 2013 · 12:55 am

Australia’s B-side produces A-class performance against Sri Lanka

Peter Lalor, in the Weekend Australian, 12/13 January 2013

351945-clint-mckay Pic from Getty Images

BY George, I think they’ve got it. For an alleged B team Australia put on an A-plus performance at the MCG last night to hammer Sri Lanka by 107 runs in the opening one-day international of the year. For a format that was supposedly on the nose, this was a one-day game that came up smelling like roses as the home side won in a canter. It was a shame only 27,000 showed up, for this was a match that provided everything but a contest. Continue reading →

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Filed under Australian cricket, cricketing icons, Gideon Haigh, performance, peter lalor, player selections, Sri Lanka Cricket

December 26, 2012 · 11:37 pm

Magic Mitchell Johnson back to brutal best

mitchell-johnson-bowlingPeter Lalor, in The Australian, 27 December 2012

A HOSTILE Mitchell Johnson gave Australia the upper hand against the touring Sri Lankans yesterday but his top-order teammates were less than convincing on the first day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. With the game prised wide open by what is almost a third-choice Sri Lankan pace attack, the first three Australian batsmen had the chance to inflict even further misery on the visitors, who had only 156 runs to defend.

By stumps, Shane Watson (13) and Michael Clarke (20) were the unbeaten batsmen, with the score on 3-150, but Australia’s position could have been so much better after stunning the tourists with the ball earlier in the day. Dave Warner was ominous and hard to fault in his brave, but not crazy, dash from zero to 62 in 46 balls. Sticking to his tried and tested “see ball, hit ball” mantra, he peeled off eight fours and a six and had a century there for the taking before he fell for a pull-shot trap set the ball before. Continue reading →

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Filed under Australian cricket, performance, peter lalor, player selections, Sri Lanka Cricket

December 12, 2012 · 11:54 pm

No more Rudi shocks for Kumar Sangakkara

Peter Lalor, in The Australian, 12 December 2012

kuamr s pads upHobart owes Kumar Sangakkara. Here, in 2007, the brilliant Sri Lankan was on 192 when Rudi Koertzen gave him out caught off the shoulder/helmet. The South African umpire apologised to the left-hander – who also scored a half century in the match – after seeing a replay.[1] Sangakkara has passed 200 on eight occasions; only Brian Lara (9) and Don Bradman (12) have done it more often. The veteran, back in Australia for just the second Test series in his 12-year career, averages 65 on these shores, but neither he nor his side has ever won a Test. At 35, he is keen to taste success here, even though he could be back. Asked if this was his last tour of Australia, he thought there was a chance he would get one more.

“Everyone gets older,” Sangakkara said. “You can’t stop that, unfortunately. “When you do get older, you do look for achievements where you haven’t really tasted victory, so here and in India (there are) Test matches still to win. That’s a great motivator for guys like (Tillakaratne) Dilshan, Mahela (Jayawardene), myself and (Thilan) Samaraweena – we’re the older brigade – but whether we get it or not, the key is to really contribute to the side. Everyone’s got an expiry date, I think. It’s no use worrying about when that comes or when that is. It’s about really enjoying your cricket.” Continue reading →

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Filed under Australian cricket, child of empire, cricket and life, cricketing icons, performance, peter lalor, Sangakkara, Sri Lanka Cricket, tower of strength, unusual people

August 16, 2012 · 2:33 am

Warne and Pietersen situations compared

Peter Lalor, in The Australian, 16 August 2012, where the title is “How Warne avoided dressing room chaos which has claimed Pietersen”

IRONIES abound in the Kevin Pietersen soap opera.While the first of them is that a South African in exile has caused such chaos in the middle of a Test series against his home country, this story has more layers than the Inghams – and more feathers. Not the least of the ironies is the interjection from Pietersen’s pal, Shane Warne. The pair became good friends at Hampshire and shared a hairdresser during the 2005 Ashes series. Warne might see some parallels in his mate’s situation.The Australian champion leg-spinner had personal troubles with texting, a fact celebrated in the song What an SMS I’m In from Eddie Perfect’s show Shane Warne: The Musical. Continue reading →

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Filed under Australian cricket, child of empire, cricket and life, cricket governance, cricketing icons, foul tactics, performance, peter lalor, player selections, politics and cricket, taking the mickey, unusual people

October 30, 2011 · 8:11 am

“Clark had influence on my sacking,” says Simon Katich

Peter Lalor, in the Weekend Australian, 29-30October 20111, with different title

SIMON Katich has hit out at Michael Clarke, claiming the Australia captain was responsible for him losing his contract, and said he believed he would never play for Australia while the new skipper was a selector. The prolific opener traced his downfall to a dressing room clash with his teammate in 2009. Katich, axed from the national team in June despite being one of its best performed batsman, also slammed Cricket Australia. Katich scored 110 for NSW at the SCG yesterday and returned to the dressing room to hear that the new chairman of selectors, John Inverarity, had said the door was not closed on his Test future. “It’s pleasing to hear, but you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that it is not just the selectors that had a part in sending me on my way, so that is one of those things,” Katich said. Asked what he meant, he referred to an incident in the same dressing rooms after a Test against South Africa when he grabbed Clarke by the throat in a late-night incident. Continue reading →

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October 19, 2011 · 9:16 am

Headhunting for Aussie cricket coach begins…. Rixon, Moody, Arthur in the line-up

Peter Lalor, in the Australian, 19 October 2011

CRICKET Australia’s new general manager has hit the ground running and will begin interviews to find a new chairman of selectors this week.  Pat Howard, a former rugby union high-performance manager, was appointed last Friday and is being guided by Mark Taylor in the search for somebody to take on the new job. Howard’s hiring has allowed Cricket Australia to fast-track the recruitment of a new head coach and a new selection panel, including a full-time chairman, in line with changes recommended by the Argus review. The organisation announced yesterday it had appointed corporate headhunters to scour the world for potential candidates for the new role of head coach. Continue reading →

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October 15, 2011 · 2:17 am

Lessons learnt from the Australian and English cricket series for Sri Lanka

Ravi Ladduwahetty,  in the Island, 14 October 2011

The Sri Lankan cricket team will be very disappointed that it lost the Test and the One Day International Series to Michael Clarke’s Australians. If one were to critically analyse it,Sri Lankawill also be disappointed that the batsmen did not have any solutions to the disciplined bowling attack of the Australians, especially the seamers. Special mention should be made of Ryan Harris and it was he who kept it very simple. He kept the deliveries outside the off stump, got the Sri Lankans to play those swung that away from both the right and left handers.

The Galle wicket for the first Test was prepared to suit spinners. Australian skipper Michael Clarke, walked up to the media box and said that he wished he could bat on that track. What he said by innuendo was that the wicket was very dry and that the side that batted last was going to have a torrid time. In all due fairness to Clarke, it was a pitch that was difficult to bat on. That held true withAustralia, still one of the best batting line-ups, was against what was a very mediocre Sri Lankan bowling attack. But the rider is thatSri Lankadid not have Muttiah Muralitheran and Chaminda Vaas who have retired and Lasith Malinga, who does not want to play Test cricket. So,Sri Lankadid not have the depth in bowling and was struggling on a dry track. Continue reading →

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Filed under Australian cricket, chaminda vaas, cricket and life, farewell game, murali, performance, peter lalor, player selections, Sangakkara, Sri Lanka Cricket

October 14, 2011 · 1:54 am

Wallaby Rugger Man to scrum down for Australian cricket

Peter Lalor, in The Australian 14 Oct. 2011, with title “”Cricket Australia picks a Wallaby, Pat Howard, to lead the way”

THE man appointed to lead Australian cricket out of the ash-strewn wilderness has played 20 Tests, but they did not involve stumps, red balls or lunch breaks. Pat Howard, 37, a former rugby international, was yesterday appointed to the new position of Cricket Australia’s general manager team performance. He played 20 Tests for the Wallabies during the 1990s and was recently the high-performance manager for the Australian Rugby Union, but admits his cricket playing experience is rather limited. Continue reading →

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