The Times list of world's 50 best cricket websites

Many unfamiliar to me but I'll check (most of) them out.

Cricket Central - The Times: The world's 50 best cricket websites

Cricket catchup

Have returned home after a few weeks away visiting family. Didn't get to see much cricket except for a snippet or two of highlights on TV, so have been catching up since my return.

Jet lag recovery enabled me to watch some India - Aust ODIs in real time, including nos 5 ( masterly Tedulkar innings not enough- just - to deny Aust) and 6 (Aust demolishing Indian top order early).

For details of the 7 match series (which a progressively injury riddled Aust won 4-2) see here .

Since I returned it's been hot - correction very hot - so didn't get to see as much of the SA - Qld Sheffield Shield match as I'd have tried to do in more moderate conditions.

I did spend, with a handful of other spectators, a little time at the Oval on the last day when SA wasn't able to convert its comfortable first innings lead to an outright victory. There didn't seem to be a lot of energy in either side's play. This was understandable to some extent after four high 30degC days, yet disappointing that the Redbacks didn't attack more, especially when it was clear early on that the Bulls weren't going to go hard for victory.

Scorecard .

Both sides are going to play a 50 overs game at Alice Springs on Saturday: no respite from the heat there!.

2901 and counting...

Since I last posted I've spent a few days in Melbourne and across the cricket world a dozen or so ODIs have been played.

In UK England managed to take the last game of the series to deny Australia a 7-0 result and in South Africa ODI #2901 , a match between India and Australia in the Champions Trophy has just been washed out.

T20 grows in Brooklyn

The New York Times isn't noted for its coverage of cricket but occasionally it finds room for a piece about the game. This week Simon Akam writes about a New York Police Department attempt to engage with local immigrant communities:

The Gateway Cricket Ground in Brooklyn is a spartan place — a grass oval tucked in by the Belt Parkway, in the shadows of the towers of Starrett City and beneath the flight path of Kennedy International Airport.

But on Tuesday morning it was crowded with players, some toting paddlelike bats, and filled with the sound of leather balls struck by wood.

The sport they were playing is as ancient as it is baffling to most Americans, yet the New York Police Department has chosen cricket as a way to foster relationships with newer immigrant communities.

The Police Department established a cricket competition for young men in the city last summer; the project was a success, and on Tuesday, play began for another season. Interest has expanded, with 10 teams and 170 players involved this year, compared with 6 teams last year.

Mr Akam makes a pretty reasonable fist of rendering the game intelligible to his fellow New Yorkers:

A cricket match can last as long as five days and still end in a tie. However, the Police Department has adopted a shorter form of the game, called Twenty20 — in this form, a match lasts around three hours. The shorter form encourages big, crowd-pleasing hitting.

Twenty20 cricket has a serious international following, but John L. Aaron, the executive secretary of the USA Cricket Association, believes this abbreviated form is particularly suited to the mind-set on this side of the Atlantic.

“The sports psyche of the average American is: get home from work, see a game and get the kids to school in the morning,” he said.

The police have also had to make other adaptations to cricket to fit New York conditions. For example, a strip of rolled and immaculately trimmed grass is normally used as the playing surface on which a ball bounces before it is struck by a batsman. But that strip is expensive and rare in this country. So the league’s matches, played at Spring Creek Park in Brooklyn and Kissena Park in Queens, use a substitute: a heavy, fibrous mat that is staked to the ground before a game.


All this reminds me of Joseph O'Neill's novel Netherland, which was favourably reviewed by the NYT when it was published last year. The Times has also made the novel's first chapter available online. O'Neill's description of a (real) cricket ground on Staten Island is magnificent:

By the standards I brought to it, Walker Park was a very poor place for cricket. The playing area was, and I am sure still is, half the size of a regulation cricket field. The outfield is uneven and always overgrown, even when cut (once, chasing a ball, I nearly tripped over a hidden and, to cricketers, ominous duck), and whereas proper cricket, as some might call it, is played on a grass wicket, the pitch at Walker Park is made of clay, not turf, and must be covered with coconut matting; moreover the clay is pale sandy baseball clay, not red cricket clay, and its bounce cannot be counted on to stay true for long; and to the extent that it is true, it lacks variety and complexity. (Wickets consisting of earth and grass are rich with possibility: only they can fully challenge and reward a bowler's repertoire of cutters and spinners and bouncers and seamers, and only these, in turn, can bring out and fully test a batsman's repertoire of defensive and attacking strokes, not to mention his mental powers.) There is another problem. Large trees — pin oaks, red oaks, sweetgums, and American linden trees — clutter the fringes of Walker Park. Any part of these trees, even the smallest hanging leaf, must be treated as part of the boundary, and this brings randomness into the game. Often a ball will roll between the tree trunks, and the fielder running after it will partially disappear, so that when he reemerges, ball in hand, a shouting match will start up about exactly what happened.


A few lines later the cricket playing narrator says that Don Bradman and Garfield Sobers have played there. I'm not sure about this though the NYC Parks & Rec website ,apart from confirming that the park is named after a prominent local cricketer who died in WW1 (very Australian that), lists Bradman and W G Grace among those who have played there.

Update 2 July

Don Bradman did play at Walker Park in three one day matches for the 1932 Australians against "All New York" on 17, 18 and 19 July 1932.

These followed three one dayers against the "New York West Indians" at another New York ground on 14 , 15 and 16 July. Six days of cricket without a break! Wouldn't happen nowadays.

Miller's Tale

ABC TV's Australian Story is currently showing "The Millers Tale" (sic), a two-part series about the life of Keith Miller.

Well worth a look, not least for its portrayal of the hirsute hero's personal and family life (or, in the latter instance, lack thereof). On Monday Part 2, which is introduced by Shane Warne, will be screened for the first time.

If you miss either episode video and transcripts are available on the program website.

Sheffield Shield final winds up domestic season

I've been watching the final of the Sheffield Shield. Victoria dominated throughout, secured a reasonable first innings total (510 is barely par for these 5 day attritional contests) then bowled Queensland out for 200. Disappointed as the Bulls would have been this was at least an improvement on their 506 run first innings deficit against Victoria a week before.

Both sides went through the motions of a second innings but the game, which the Bulls needed to win to knock the Bushrangers off their unbeaten perch, fizzled out. Perhaps Martin Love , the last man standing of the side which first won the shield for Queensland , thought otherwise, though his apparel (inc at least two shirts, sunhat and cap, as the photo above shows) gave the Fox Sports commentators something to talk about in the slow passages.

Victoria deserved to win, even though the Bulls had three key players (Ashley Noffke, Ryan Harris and Chris Swan) unavailable because of injury. The Bushrangers' talent pool was deep enough to cover international call ups to Andrew McDonald and Bryce McGain: they were able to omit a recent England Test player .

Scorecard

During the telecast Fox Sports interleafed some archival footage, including some of the last time South Australia won the Shield by hanging on for a draw against Western Australia, who were on top throughout. I was there and remember the tension building as the last few South Australians hung on grimly as the April light faded. (Interesting to note that only Mike Hussey of the 22 players in that match is still playing).

Passages from India

The Weekend Australian has reprinted two interesting pieces from The Times, one by Mike Atherton, another by Simon Barnes

Atherton:

The most tempting thing in the aftermath of terrorism is to exaggerate the danger and the effects on daily life. After all, if you want to drive into Lord's the day before a Test match, you have to let the sniffer dogs do their bit there as well. As it happened, I didn't have my pass on the day I arrived here, but I managed to walk through the gates of the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium and out to the middle without anybody asking to see it. The chief sports writer from the Daily Mirror (and you know it's a big story when the “chiefs” arrive) got in by showing his FA Cup pass.

Madras is 825 miles (1,329km) from Mumbai, more than 12 hours by rail and God knows how long by bus. Language and cultural differences are vast enough to make Lancastrians and Yorkshiremen seem like blood brothers by comparison. Might as well be another country.

There is no sense that Madras is in mourning. People here have a very matter-of-fact view of life and they are going about their business: earning a crust, cooking meals, playing sport, looking after the kids and generally getting on. Most Indians haven't got time to dwell and ponder.

Sheila, the bookseller in the Taj, reckons that business is a little slow for the time of year, but Haribabu, who has worked here for 18 years and now mans the patisserie stall, reports a fine trade in chocolate truffles and black forest gateaux.

Outside, on the Nangambakkam road, the sellers of fruit and dhosa (crêpes) are doing good business, girls from the Sacred Heart High School are hurrying to their lessons, people are chatting and spitting underneath the “do not spit” signs, the drivers of the death-on-three-wheels (tuk-tuks) are winding their way through gaps you don't think exist, and families ride, helmetless, three or four to a bike. 'Elf and safety wouldn't like it.

Down at the Marina beach, which runs the length of the city, all manner of activities are taking place. Joggers are braving the afternoon heat and the air quality, which the World Health Organisation reckons is seven times the recommended levels of pollution. Children are flying kites and there are dozens of cricket matches going on. More than 200 people lost their lives during the tsunami at this beach in Madras, many of them children playing cricket, so they know a bit about getting on with things here. After the tsunami, the beach was washed away, but it is back now, wide and sandy, all 12 kilometres of it.

At the ground, K. Parsatharathy, the groundsman of 35 years, sits on his roller looking unconcerned that a Test is about to start. He'd have liked to have a bit more time to work on the pitch, but he shrugs and says it will be pretty much like all the others he has prepared here: some pace and bounce early on, with plenty of spin later. His staff, women in bright-coloured saris, sit close by, chatting and waiting for instructions.

Cricketers are practising in the nets, but over in the pavilion there is a bit of a commotion because Kevin Pietersen and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are about to unveil the series trophy. Before they do, the big cheese from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the sponsor, wants to say a few words and she blathers on about RBS's wealth-management service (as if anybody has got any money left these days), its global portfolio and the important role RBS plays in local communities. You feel like saying, “Come on, love, forget the cricket and just lower your mortgage rates.”

Then she's done and she asks Pietersen and Dhoni to unveil the trophy. All of a sudden there is an almighty scrum as dozens of cameramen, photographers and journalists surge towards the captains. Reg Dickason, the England security adviser, has seconded his son into action on this trip (and that tells you all you need to know about how the security business is doing very nicely out of this show), and it is his responsibility to guard the England captain. Dickason Jr has a look of sheer panic as he finds himself on the wrong side and he tries to fight his way through the scrum. James Avery, the ECB's laconic media officer, leans against the wall, smiling. This is India, after all, and chaos is a given.

All this was happening yesterday in Madras, much like any other day there when Test cricket is on. Cricketers practising, bankers bull*****ing, columnists writing, locals getting from home to work and back again in a variety of ways, children playing cricket on the beach and chaos unfolding.

That is what happens after the terror. And today, the Test begins.

Barnes:

Sport and terrorism are two of the main growth industries of the past 40-odd years and it is inevitable that they have from time to time come together. More often than not, sport has responded by carrying on. Some will argue that this is mostly about not wanting to lose money; others will argue that it's all about politics; no one will argue that such points are not a factor in the decision to carry on.

But all the same, carrying on feels right. Defiance feels right. The restoration of normal life feels right: not crassly and coarsely and insensitively, not in any pretence that the sport is more important than matters of life and death, but because the return to sport after a period of terror is both a blow against terrorism and the sort of comforting normality we need after times of trouble.

.....

The sport continued after the pipe bomb exploded at the Atlanta Olympic Games of 1996, which killed two and injured 111. Rather more questionably, the Olympic Games of 1972 carried on without interruption during the killings, the prolonged siege and then eventual airport shoot-out in Munich, a time in which it appeared that the allocation of gold medals was more important to the International Olympic Committee than the murder of athletes.

But in most cases, the decision of sport to carry on in the aftermath of terror feels right, and is right. It is seldom that sport has been the specific target of terrorism: Munich and the bogus bombs of the Grand National are about as close as it gets. If sport ever became a regular and specific target of terror, we would have to rethink everything.

But it is not. All the same, sport cannot take place without the security industry dominating most leading events, and we accept this as a matter of routine. We are aware that the price of fighting terrorism is eternal vigilance; we are in the process of learning about the price of eternal vigilance.

Sport is a weapon against terror; a weapon on the side of the ordinary, the amusing, the trivial. That is not to deny, still less to trivialise the devastation caused by the terrorists, rather, it is to put them in perspective. There are wicked people in the world, but there are also people prepared to graft out 123 runs in a day's cricket. Sport can't defeat terrorism unaided, but it can certainly celebrate the truth that terrorism doesn't create anything but terror. So three cheers for the England cricket team, and three more for the India team; I hope they both win. But then they already have.

Don Bradman centenary

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sir Donald Bradman , IMO the greatest cricketer ever.

I doubt whether many cricket followers would disagree with me, even though the Don did not play the shorter versions of the game.

There are tributes and assessments aplenty in the media, including from the Federal Parliament via Cricket Australia and, as you'd expect, a wide coverage on Cricinfo, including pieces by Suresh Menon and Gideon Haigh.


Update 28 August

The Times Online in its "tribute" to Sir Donald's centenary has published a photo depicting him as a left handed batsman!

Standing in the cyber slips cordon: the new world of cricket supporters and commentary

A good piece " Cyber sledging draws back cultural curtain" by Peter Lalor in The Australian.

Extract:

Controversial decisions are replayed on YouTube. Opinions voiced on blogs, private and commercial. News stories are beamed from the SCG to Channel Nine and Chennai. The emphasis and angle of those stories is rarely the same.

One thing has become apparent in the din of this feverish summer and it is that the modern game is played in front of an international audience whose opinions shout and shape with the immediacy and volume once reserved for the heartily lunged likes of Yabba on Sydney’s hill.

Should Yabba have shouted at Harbhajan Singh to leave our flies alone he may well have found himself featured at the top of the next hour’s news bulletin everywhere from Kashmir to Kochi and the subject of blog-analysis in Mumbai and Baroda.

“Fat Aussie Fool with Fly Fetish attacks her Bhaji! Effigy Burned in Punjap Protest!’’

Things have changed irrevocably.

Quantum physicists believe the act of watching affects the observed reality. Cricket is not immune, but this summer it has become apparent that its observed reality is affected by the number and cultural backgrounds of the observer.

Colours lowered

The title of my previous post was not intended to put the knockers on Port Adelaide in the AFL final, though their colours were certainly lowered metaphorically by Geelong, and literally by a supporter, as the photo above which I took yesterday in the Adelaide Hills shows (apologies for the picture quality: I'm still coming to terms with a new camera).

PS I've now posted the answer to the question as an update to my previous post.

Bob Woolmer

Bob Woolmer, as Cricinfo sensitively puts it, "has died in a Kingston hospital after being found unconscious in his hotel room hours after his side's elimination from the World Cup".


I first saw Bob play cricket when I was living and working in Kent at the turn of the 1970s. He progressed from the Kent second XI (Wisden said tersely of his 1967 performance there "R Woolmer, medium paced, did enough to join the staff") to the first, and thereafter to the England team. Of course he subsequently became coach of South Africa and then Pakistan.

I saw him play for Kent several times. My abiding memory of him is of an exchange during the Kent v Warwickshire match at Gravesend in 1970. One of the Warwickshire batsmen (Dennis Amiss, I think) was scoring freely off the Kent bowling (Derek Underwood, who took 14 wickets in the match, must have been out of the attack at the time) and the scoreboard, which consisted of several revolving cylinders (like a large combination lock) was having trouble keeping up with the score. I called out "Steady on, the computer in the scoreboard's broken down" to which Woolmer, who was fielding nearby, replied "Computer or commuter?" I've not made many interjections as a cricket spectator, but this was the only time I've ever received a response. It's also the earliest recollection I have of anyone mentioning a computer.

The last time I saw Bob in person was at the Adelaide Oval in 2005 after a Pakistan v West Indies ODI . Our eyes met, though at first I didn't recognise him; he didn't remember me either, but then he had no reason to. Over the intervening 25 years his hair had turned greyer and his body fleshier, which reminded me that neither of us were young any more. Nor were we, and especially Bob, old, which makes his untimely and perhaps unnecessary death all the more poignant.

Update 22 March

The Jamaican police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Woolmer's death. Here are reports from the BBC and Cricinfo and some links to other media comment .

Reading for pleasure when there's not much pleasure to be had

Cricket has a reputation for fostering fine writing, yet most followers of the game probably don't know (or care) about the leading players' reading tastes (or whether they read at all). It therefore comes as a surprise to read on Cricinfo that the troubled England team has set up, apparently at the instigation of Andrew (Freddie) Flintoff, a book club:

"They bring their own books in to discuss and exchange them with the others. Fred has just given me a new book to read," said a team spokesman, "he felt it would be a good idea to help the guys talk and think about things not associated with cricket."

Speaking of good writing, David Fine, the poet of the Ashes, is negotiating with a publisher about producing book of his poems.

[Also posted at Casting a short shadow]

2006: end of a season as well as a year?

From an Australian (and, alas, also a South Australian) perspective the cricket, like the bushfire, season has peaked early.

The Ashes are lost and the rubber is dead. England (or some English players) are talking positively but the stuffing seems to have been knocked out of the team's collective will to resist. IMO this is not because each of the four matches played has seen Australia on top throughout, rather because whenever England has gained the ascendancy, as it did for much of the Adelaide and some of the Melbourne test, Australia has lifted beyond reasonable expectations.

Underpinning Australia's success is the fact that it hasn't really had to carry any passengers. Of the newer faces Stuart Clark and Michael Hussey's abilities were well known beforehand, while Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds have exceeded expectations.

And England? Apart from being weaker than Australia they've also made some tactical errors which cost them dearly: the decision to declare in Adelaide at 6/551 looks more and more like a blunder, while some of the team selections have beggared belief. Monty Panesar may not be the spin whiz his devotees think he is but he's more effective than Ashley Giles and should have played from the outset.

What does England need to do to lift in Sydney? In previous Ashes tours where it has grabbed a facesaving win in a dead rubber it has usually done so on a platform of solid batting performances coupled with some unexpectedly penetrative bowling. The potential is there, and has been demonstrated, eg by the Pietersen - Collingwood partnership in Adelaide, but Australia is now openly pursuing the 5 - 0 series result, so there's unlikely to be any easing up there, as may have occurred in previous dead rubber wins.

Whatever happens, the fifth Test may well provide more interesting cricket than the limited overs games which follow hard on its heels: watching whether England can shake itself out of its mental lethargy should hold one's interest for at least the first couple of days of the test. England's one day squad is quite similar to its test one (though the captain has yet to be appointed) , and while Australia will be, as it has for some time, minus Shane Warne, in recent tournaments this has not proved to be a fatal flaw.

And beyond that... the World Cup. Still technically in season 2006 - 2007, but to be played in faraway countries of which we know little, and what we do know from occasional reports, such as one in The Age today which suggests that the tourist/ logistical infrastructure isn't all it could be.

And South Australia's year/ season? They are like England in several ways, not least in having a number of under- and modestly- performing players as well as a few like Shaun Tait and Jason Gillespie, who are effectively carrying the team. However, unlike England 's opposition , the composition of Australian state teams (both four and one day) fluctuates due to test and one day international commitments, so that the Redbacks may still be able to lift their game(s) for the rest of the season. I live in (some) hope.

"The most hilarious press release ever issued by a senior politician"?

This (minus the question mark) is Matt Price's assessment of Mike Rann's tribute to Shane Warne (who today took his 700th test wicket). It hasn't yet appeared on Mr Rann's website but Matt has transcribed it to his blog. A print edited highlights is at Matt's sport column at p39 of Saturday's Australian.

I'm reluctant to agree that it's the most hilarious press release ever, but I concur that it is over the top. It is certainly much more flowery than the statement issued by Prime Minister Howard in a doorstep interview (but perhaps he didn't want too many people to ask him about his retirement plans).


[Slightly different version posted at Casting a short shadow]

Billy won't be a hero (or a minor media celebrity)

Unlike so many others, I've refrained from commenting upon the sacking of Darrell Hair from the elite panel of umpires, a matter of which we may not have heard the last: see here for a recent (13 November) report.

Today's Australian publishes a letter from Tom Veivers ,a former Test cricketer (not, as he mistakenly states, umpire) , who criticises both Hair and Cricket Australia:

During my own Test umpiring [sic] career the best umpires were invariably those who were the least noticed.

There are many who see Hair falling into the category of those umpires who seem to believe that spectators come to matches to see them umpire. Why does Cricket Australia want to continue the controversy by appointing him to officiate in our domestic cricket?

I've sent this to the Australian:

I'm a cricket spectator who agrees with Tom Veivers that the best umpires are those who are the "least noticed". I've never attended a game to see Darrell Hair (or anyone else) umpire, so don't see why, in the absence of more compelling evidence about his alleged lack of competence, that he shouldn't umpire Australian domestic first class games. I would also like to know why, if being "least noticed" is a criterion for selection of test match umpires, Billy Bowden has been appointed to the first Ashes Test.

I'm obviously not the only person who has a similar concern, as reports of his appointment elsewhere in the media, eg here , suggest. The Age report summarises the issues succinctly :

His flamboyant signalling , often unguarded media comments and cultivation of personal publicity have made him a minor media celebrity.He was highly rated by players at the start of his international career, but last year 73 per cent of Australia's 25 contracted players rated Bowden the second-worst umpire in world cricket.

I'll reserve my judgment, and give the benefit of the doubt to a man who has claimed "God - he is my third umpire in a way".

To give him his due, Mr Bowden has occasionally admitted to occasional fallibility , It's probably just as well that India aren't playing for the Ashes (they may be working on it but have a little way to go) otherwise he might come in for even more criticism like this.

Let it go through to which keeper?

With almost a fortnight to go before the first test, England has shown its hand by announcing, as Cricinfo reports, that Geraint Jones will keep wicket in the first test.

Having watched Jones's performance in the 2005 Ashes on TV and read various reports about his attempts to recover some form, including an uneven performance in the Canberra match where, true to form, he took one very good catch but dropped a sitter, I'm surprised. It may be that playing him in preference to Read will turn out to be a blunder of the same magnitude as Nasser Hussain sending Australia in after winning the toss four years ago at Brisbane.

At the local level the South Australian selectors have dropped vice-captain and no1 wicketkeeper Graham Manou for the three day game against England. Shane Deitz will keep wicket in his place. SA chairman of selectors Paul Nobes is quoted in The Australian and Cricinfo as saying "Graham (Manou) continues to show he has talent with the gloves, but we need a stronger return from that position in the batting order.We need our 'keeper to not only keep well, but also to bat well." I think this is a very fair comment. Manou has looked out of touch with the bat this year and unfortunately for him the modern game expects the keeper to pull his weight with the bat.

PM triumphs despite silly hat

The Prime Minister's XI "proudly supported by Canberra Investment Corporation and the Guinness Peat Group" convincingly defeated an England XI in the traditional (so traditional that the players wear white and use a red ball) one day fixture in Canberra. The margin of victory (or defeat, depending on your allegiance) was such as to generate much vaunting and puffing up among the Australian , and much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the English media.

The PM himself clearly relished the occasion as this photo of him with, in a rare public appearance, the Queen's representative here, shows. Matt Price's accompanying comments are great , though he's drawing a long bow to compare Phil Jaques with Malcolm Turnbull (has Turnbull ever dropped as many catches as Jaques did in last week's SA - NSW match?).

On the English side, .Alan Lee of The Times describes England's performance as "woeful", and Derek Pringle in the Telegraph
describes it as "execrable", and even when he tries to encourage players the best he can do is to damn with faint praise:

In his first competitive cricket for a year, Ashley Giles was not disgraced after taking one for 53 off eight overs, five more than his spin rival, Monty Panesar. Giles' new action, with its slow, deliberate walk to the wicket, seems to hold little mystery, however, with Phil Jaques and Travis Birt hitting him where they pleased.

That said the game was played between one team whose members had some recent competitive match practice under their belts and another which, according to The Australian, have been enjoying a celebrity lifestyle since they arrived. Apparently they didn't even have to queue for U2 concert tickets: what would Alec Bedser say about this?
The two star performers for the PM 's team - Jaques and Tait - are both liabilities in the field: in last week's SA v NSW match I saw Jaques put down three in the slips while Tait (who admittedly bowled well) missed a ballooning sitter at deep backward square leg at a crucial stage. He also can't throw from the boundary to the wicketkeeper. To put it another way, Australia has two potential Panesars. Barmy Army take note.

Benaud in blue and other media moments

A couple of cricket related snippets from this morning's TV.

Sunday (but not mentioned on its website ) had Richie Benaud previewing (and in his low key way plugging the telecasts of) the Ashes series. As usual everything he said was measured and substantial. What struck me, though, was his attire: a blue jacket, not his customary cream, beige or thereabouts. What or who is behind this? Someone of his reputation doesn't need to reinvent himself at this stage of his career.

ABC TV's Offsiders, which should but doesn't have its own website, had a home video type clip of Barrie Cassidy, batting in spectacles but minus pads, being dismissed in a game. He was hitting across the line, which he doeesn't often do on either Offsiders or Insiders.

31 in 9 balls to grab victory

The SA Redbacks have defeated the NSW Blues (sponsors' names omitted) in a close one day game in Sydney: the scores are here.

Cameron Borgas biffed 31 from 9 balls to guide the visitors to a a win with two balls to spare after it had for some time looked as if NSW were cantering to victory.

The TV news (Channel 9 and ABC) both showed some highlights which confirmed Jim Maxwell and Kerry O'Keefe's opinion (on ABC Radio) that the match finished in near darkness.

Beer mismatches

Allan Border has denied that his resignation as an Australian cricket selector has anything to do with a conflict of interest between his personal sponsor and the Australian team's sponsor, which happen to be two competing breweries. Some people will believe him.


The fact is that alcohol and cricket are closely linked, though conflicts of interest at the sub-international level seem to be managed by sweeping them under the carpet. Of course it's also forbidden for rank and file spectators to take a sponsor's or competitor's product into a ground (but perfectly OK once inside to buy a plastic cup of the lightest strength beer the sponsor manufactures).


The irony of all this is reflected in the "official" names of several state teams . Two of them today completed a first class match (in a competition sponsored by a milk company): each team was sponsored by a competing brewer. These details only feature prominently on the Cricket Australia website, which, if the delays in posting its "live" scores are any indication, dissuade many people from lingering thereon.