March 2013
Fawad Ahmed: from refugee to baggy green?
Australian cricket has had few positive news stories in the past few weeks on the back of a disastrous tour of India, both on and off the field. But while the Michael Clarke led outfit was struggling in the sub-continent an Ashes aspirant with a far from conventional background was plying his trade in the […]
Read More →Time for action, not words from Australian cricket
There is no way to sugar coat it – Australia’s tour of India was an unmitigated disaster. For the first time in over 40 years Australia suffered a 4-nil series defeat. Not even the most ardent Aussie fan would have seriously entertained a series victory when Michael Clarke’s side left for the sub-continent. But neither […]
Read More →With Clarke out, Australia’s dearth of leaders is laid bare
This summer has largely been one of discontent for Australian cricket fans. Spleens have been vented and heads vigorously shaken over what the fans have perceived as significant shortcomings with regard to the national team – rotation policy, a lack of quality spin, an evaporating talent pool of class batsmen, injuries to pace bowlers, Pat […]
Read More →Cranky Don revered, but not loved: Is Clarke the 21st century version?
Don Bradman was the finest batsman of his era and statistically the greatest of all time. That said, it obviously made him far and away superior to any of his teammates with willow in hand. Michael Clarke is no Bradman. No one ever will be. However, like The Don, Clarke is head and shoulders above […]
Read More →Who’s responsible for Australia’s plight?
At present everyone has an opinion on the Australian cricket team and its governor, Cricket Australia. In the main those opinions are strongly held and given voice with passion. With the team floundering in India at present and facing the prospect of a four-nil whitewash some fans are really going in hard – on twitter, […]
Read More →Can Australia get over ‘Homeworkgate’?
The Australian cricket team faces one of its greatest tests of character over the next five days in the wake of the sensational of-field happenings of the past week. Trailing 2-nil in the four Test series it must produce an unlikely victory at Mohali to have any chance of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Even with […]
Read More →Pat Howard leading Cricket Australia from crisis to crisis
In many ways this has been Australian cricket’s summer of discontent. The fans have found plenty to vent their spleens over – selections, rotations, the coach, the standing down of players. And yet, perhaps the greatest no-confidence vote has been levelled against a man who neither selects the team nor travels with it. His name […]
Read More →Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse
The Chinese communist government of the 1970s had a problem with a gang of four and it’s now a similar situation for Australian cricket. If consecutive one-sided losses, questionable selections, a spluttering top-order and a dearth of quality spin bowlers weren’t enough for Cricket Australia to deal with, things have gotten infinitely worse in the […]
Read More →Australian cricket is on the nose
It is time we all face facts – Australian cricket is at a modern-day nadir. We can blame the selectors, we can blame Indian pitches, we can blame the alignment of the planets. The bottom line is we are struggling in many of the key areas that are required to sustain excellence, or indeed, even […]
Read More →There will never be another Sachin
Some sporting records appear written in stone, unlikely ever to be surpassed – Cal Ripken’s 2632 consecutive games in the US Major Baseball League and St George’s 11 consecutive rugby league titles are an example. In cricket, there has always been Don Bradman’s Test average of 99.94 and more recently Muttiah Muralitharan’s 800 Test wickets, […]
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