ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 27: Former South African Batsman Barry Richards poses with the bat he made 325 in a single day at the Adelaide Oval and with the bat of David Warner of Australia during day one of the Third Test match between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide Oval on November 27, 2015 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)
Daniel Brettig, in ESPNcricinfo, 8 November 2016, “Marsh LBW correctly tracked”
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 07: Mitch Marsh of Australia looks dejected after being dismissed by Kagiso Rabada of South Africa after a DRS referal during day five of the First Test match between Australia and South Africa at WACA on November 7, 2016 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)
ONE: News Item in Daily News, 7 November 2016,entitled “Undefeated De Silva puts Sri Lanka in charge”
HARARE, Sunday – An unbeaten century from Dhananjaya de Silva put Sri Lanka in control of the second and final Test against Zimbabwe after a fluctuating first day at Harare Sports Club on Sunday. De Silva came to the wicket with Sri Lanka struggling on 112 for four after they had lost the toss and been asked to bat, but showed greater application than Sri Lanka’s top order as he hit his second Test century in just his fifth match.
The right-hander added a crucial 143 for the fifth wicket with Upul Tharanga before finishing unbeaten on 100, as the tourists closed the day on 290 for five.“I knew I needed to bat through the innings,” De Silva said afterwards. “Playing under pressure is my role, so it made me comfortable.
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Dhananjaya de Silva– Pic by Getty
AFP, 6 November 2016, http://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/tiny-misjudgement-led-to-phil-hughes-unsurvivable-injury-coroner/story-QPQrHL4KG3AWBHtctD4anJ.html
Australian batsman Phillip Hughes made a “minuscule misjudgement” before he was fatally struck by a cricket ball, a coroner ruled on Friday, attaching no blame to the bowler, verbal abuse or the tactic of sending down short-pitched deliveries. Hughes, who played 26 Tests, died from bleeding on the brain in November 2014 after being hit on the neck by a rising ball from Sean Abbott while batting in a domestic match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The death of the popular 25-year-old, who had risen through the ranks to play for his country, stunned Australia and the world cricket community, sparking an outpouring of grief.
A photo of Phil Hughes is displayed on a scoreboard as a minute of silence is observed before play on the first day of the fourth Test match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 6, 2015, less than two months after Hughes’ death. (AFP)The coronial inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes has raised questions around the culture of sledging in cricket. Hughes died in November 2014, two days after being struck by a ball in the back of the head while batting for South Australia in a Sheffield Shield game against NSW at the SCG. Although NSW Coroner Michael Barnes found no one was to blame, he took aim at what he said was an unhealthy culture of sledging by cricketers, who he urged to “reflect upon whether the practice … is worthy of its participants. An outsider is left to wonder why such a beautiful game would need such an ugly underside,” Mr Barnes said.
Phil Hughes poses for a portrait during a Cricket Australia player camp. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Continue reading
Though Stuart Clark and some Australian commentators implied that Smith was hard done by, Robert Craddock, Ian Chappel and Wayne Smith were among those who upheld Aleem Dar’s decision and reprimanded Steve Smith for the character of his remonstrance. Also note Sangakakra’s decisive opinion on the issue of the Umpire’s cCall for lbw decision and DRS. Michael Roberts
ONE: Robert Craddock, in The Courier Mail, 6 November 2016. where the title is “Steve Smith walking a perilous tight rope as he struggles to find his identity as a captain”
STEVE Smith is a captain is like a young Steve Waugh, a man searching to find himself but not there yet. It’s no crime for a young captain to have a formulative period where he works out who he is and what he stands for. Some leaders like Mark Taylor knew from the moment he was appointed who he was and what he wanted to do (it helps if you have Warne and McGrath). Taylor barely changed in the five years he had the job. Most leaders take more time. Steve Waugh struggled for a while, trying to be all things to all people before deciding “stuff this … I am just going to back my gut feeling and cop the consequences.’’
It is difficult for Smith to take this stance and be the person he wants to be because there are so many conflicting and confusing forces around him. He is walking on a perilous tight rope which has trouble either side of it. On one hand he senses his side is a quiet one and needs to find his voice and aggression. He wants Australia to get its marauding mojo back. On the other hand he is aware that in the fallout of the Phil Hughes death, sledging is suddenly a dirty word. So he and his team need to be confident but not arrogant, aggressive but not offensive, loud but not obnoxious. Continue reading
Kumar Sangakkara on Twitter as quoted recently by Wayne Smith in The Weekend Australian, 5/6th November 2016
“High time the ICC got rid of this umpire’s call. If the ball is hitting the stumsp, it should be out regardless of the umpire’s decision”
Note that Kumar was a law student at the University of Colombo before he discarded that career path for cricket’s roadways. .. and in Brian Scovell’s (of Surrrey) appraisal his Cowdrey Lecture was thee best Scovell has heard ever since it was initiated (recent emial note to Roberts).
Brydon Coverdale in ESPNcricinfo, 5 November 2016, where the title is “Players, umpires cleared of fault in Hughes’ death,”
The death of Phillip Hughes was a tragic accident arising from a “minuscule misjudgement” from the batsman and no players or umpires were at fault, according to the New South Wales coroner Michael Barnes. Mr Barnes on Friday released his findings from the coronial inquest into the death of Hughes, who was struck on the neck by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG in November 2014. Although the coroner determined that Hughes had been targeted by bouncers during his innings, he found that no laws of the game had been breached, and Hughes was well-equipped to deal with such bowling.
“Phillip was targeted by short-pitched balls bowled at or over leg stump or middle stump that placed him in greater danger of being struck,” Mr Barnes said. “Of the 23 bouncers bowled on that day, 20 were bowled to him. However, in view of the evidence of the other players, the presiding umpires, and Mr Taufel [former umpire Simon Taufel], that Phillip was, because of his high level of skill and confidence, comfortably dealing with the short-pitched balls, I conclude that no failure to enforce the laws of the game contributed to his death. The death of Continue reading
Detvarayan Muthu, for ESPNcricinfo, with the title reading “Sri Lanka overcome Zimbabwe’s resistance in last-hour win”
Graeme Cremer soaked up 175 balls and 121 dots to lead another lower-order rally and raise Zimbabwe’s hopes of saving their 100th Test, but Sri Lanka dug deep into their reserves to secure a hard-earned victory with 45 balls to spare.When the last hour began, Zimbabwe needed to bat out 15 overs with Cremer on 41 and No. 10 Carl Mumba on 3. Both batsmen played close to their bodies with a straight bat, blocking single-mindedly, and leaving Sri Lanka on the tenterhooks. They negotiated four more overs before Cremer jumped out of the crease and attempted an injudicious flick against the turn, off Rangana Herath, and was stumped for 43. He had faced 351 balls across both innings, the second-most by a No. 8 in a Test behind Wasim Akram’s 363, which incidentally came against Zimbabwe in 1996.
A Massacre at Johannesburg? Reflections
Michael Roberts
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