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Post by weststigersbob on Sept 22, 2020 0:02:58 GMT
So the IPL has started - and my worst fears are being realised. 1. Low, Slow “pudding” pitches and teams struggling with chasing moderate totals from winning positions. (Both KXIP and SRH butchered wins) 2. The commentary is as bad as usual. It’s like they deliberately get the worst from around the world, instead of the best. 3. The “crowd noise” is shockingly bad. It’s only a matter of time before the ‘computerised virtual fans’ ive seen in baseball is employed - which will make it worse. 4. Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh did SFA (has there ever been more inconsistent cricketers ?) Good Things : 1. ABDV, whilst looking completely gassed, still looked a class above. 2. Marcus Stoinis is a gun at this level 3. Decent sized grounds and no dew helps the spectacle along. Get the pitches right and it’s golden....
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Post by Aj_June on Sept 22, 2020 0:27:28 GMT
So the IPL has started - and my worst fears are being realised. 1. Low, Slow “pudding” pitches and teams struggling with chasing moderate totals from winning positions. (Both KXIP and SRH butchered wins) 2. The commentary is as bad as usual. It’s like they deliberately get the worst from around the world, instead of the best. 3. The “crowd noise” is shockingly bad. It’s only a matter of time before the ‘computerised virtual fans’ ive seen in baseball is employed - which will make it worse. 4. Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh did SFA (has there ever been more inconsistent cricketers ?) Good Things : 1. ABDV, whilst looking completely gassed, still looked a class above. 2. Marcus Stoinis is a gun at this level 3. Decent sized grounds and no dew helps the spectacle along. Get the pitches right and it’s golden.... One of the big problems with IPL is horrendous fielding ability displayed by non-superstar Indian players. They don't even put any effort to change. I believe batting and fielding are largely dependent on your ability but anyone can obtain a decent fielding skills with hard-work and practice. The second problem is that two franchise (Delhi and Kings X1 Punjab) refuse to do well year after year. So 2 teams are out of the competition by their 10th game.
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Post by weststigersbob on Sept 22, 2020 7:16:29 GMT
So the IPL has started - and my worst fears are being realised. 1. Low, Slow “pudding” pitches and teams struggling with chasing moderate totals from winning positions. (Both KXIP and SRH butchered wins) 2. The commentary is as bad as usual. It’s like they deliberately get the worst from around the world, instead of the best. 3. The “crowd noise” is shockingly bad. It’s only a matter of time before the ‘computerised virtual fans’ ive seen in baseball is employed - which will make it worse. 4. Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh did SFA (has there ever been more inconsistent cricketers ?) Good Things : 1. ABDV, whilst looking completely gassed, still looked a class above. 2. Marcus Stoinis is a gun at this level 3. Decent sized grounds and no dew helps the spectacle along. Get the pitches right and it’s golden.... One of the big problems with IPL is horrendous fielding ability displayed by non-superstar Indian players. They don't even put any effort to change. I believe batting and fielding are largely dependent on your ability but anyone can obtain a decent fielding skills with hard-work and practice. The second problem is that two franchise (Delhi and Kings X1 Punjab) refuse to do well year after year. So 2 teams are out of the competition by their 10th game. Forgot about the fielding to be fair - and you are completely correct AJ. The standard is abysmal from the non-International guys. Same goes for the CPL actually. On the other hand, in the BBL its the opposite. Guys of average batting / bowling talent try and get themselves noticed by being gun fielders for the most part. Maybe its an Aussie thing, but apart from Khawaja i cant think of an australian batsman that has been anything less than a 7 in the field, with most an 8 or 9.
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Post by Aj_June on Sept 22, 2020 7:34:12 GMT
One of the big problems with IPL is horrendous fielding ability displayed by non-superstar Indian players. They don't even put any effort to change. I believe batting and fielding are largely dependent on your ability but anyone can obtain a decent fielding skills with hard-work and practice. The second problem is that two franchise (Delhi and Kings X1 Punjab) refuse to do well year after year. So 2 teams are out of the competition by their 10th game. Forgot about the fielding to be fair - and you are completely correct AJ. The standard is abysmal from the non-International guys. Same goes for the CPL actually. On the other hand, in the BBL its the opposite. Guys of average batting / bowling talent try and get themselves noticed by being gun fielders for the most part. Maybe its an Aussie thing, but apart from Khawaja i cant think of an australian batsman that has been anything less than a 7 in the field, with most an 8 or 9. This is because of bad culture which has developed over the decades. I remember once when Madan Lal was coach and asked Mohd Azharuddin to practice, Azhar taunted him by saying what was your batting average?Even though Azhar himself was one of the better fielders of Indian team his attitude there represents the privilege Indian society has provided to famous people. Which is a bit astonishing because Indian migrants are known for hard work and most Indians even in India work work more than for what they are compensated. Ganguly had even worse attitude to hardwork. It seemed he didn't even want to practise. Things slightly change when Dhoni entered the side. And even though Kohli is an arrogant person, he is a very hardworking person who puts in the effort. But whatever improvement has come in Indian fielders has been limited to national side players only. Domestic players are below average (definitely horrible) when it comes to fielding.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Sept 22, 2020 19:27:29 GMT
I was about to point out Azhar was actually a brilliant field, but you already said it. If he didn't practice at all than he threw away the opportunity to be on the level of a Rhodes/ Ponting/ Collingwood/ Hussain through laziness. Also explains his underwhelming batting average. While 45 is nothing to be ashamed of, it is for a bloke who should have averaged 50+
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Post by weststigersbob on Sept 23, 2020 14:28:25 GMT
Forgot about the fielding to be fair - and you are completely correct AJ. The standard is abysmal from the non-International guys. Same goes for the CPL actually. On the other hand, in the BBL its the opposite. Guys of average batting / bowling talent try and get themselves noticed by being gun fielders for the most part. Maybe its an Aussie thing, but apart from Khawaja i cant think of an australian batsman that has been anything less than a 7 in the field, with most an 8 or 9. This is because of bad culture which has developed over the decades. I remember once when Madan Lal was coach and asked Mohd Azharuddin to practice, Azhar taunted him by saying what was your batting average?Even though Azhar himself was one of the better fielders of Indian team his attitude there represents the privilege Indian society has provided to famous people. Which is a bit astonishing because Indian migrants are known for hard work and most Indians even in India work work more than for what they are compensated. Ganguly had even worse attitude to hardwork. It seemed he didn't even want to practise. Things slightly change when Dhoni entered the side. And even though Kohli is an arrogant person, he is a very hardworking person who puts in the effort. But whatever improvement has come in Indian fielders has been limited to national side players only. Domestic players are below average (definitely horrible) when it comes to fielding. This is part of why I believe that for 25-30 years (1983-2013 roughly) Indian Cricket Team were easily the most underperforming side in world sport. The sense of entitlement, near enough is good enough, making the side is the achievement - it’s as plain as day to outsiders. When you look at the side in the late 90’s and early 2000’s : Sehwag, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman, Tendulkar, Kumble and Harbhajan. That’s 7 of the best players of all time. The amazing thing is though, they all played as individuals and never as a team despite the fervent protestations of many Team India (and especially SRT) fans. Ridiculously selfish in their approach, poor tourists and so reluctant to change. The epitome of this was when a Greg Chappell was coach. He clashed with virtually every single player, and almost always about changing their role for the betterment of the side. The perfect example of this was Tendulkar opening the batting in ODI cricket. Tendulkar was adamant that he had to open. His only spot in the team. Liked batting with all the field up, ball hard and in that era when the white balls hardly ever swung. Chappell, likewise, was adamant that Tendulkar tuk tucking along at a run a ball and bringing up yet another 100 was great for his stats, but India weren’t getting into winning positions. Chappells idea was that a run a ball in the middle overs after a raging start or a 2/10 start is a much better position to be in, and Tendulkar wasn’t that opener. Chappell got very heavy push back from the BCCI, with a suit and tie literally telling him that Tendulkar had to be in positions to score 100’s, and this was more important than winning games, and batting 4 he couldn’t do that. Seriously. The other ridiculous story was that of Sourav Ganguly when he was a youngster. He was invited to an youth overseas tour as a very young man (16-17 years old). A few players took ill, so Ganguly was told he would have to assist the 12th man with his duties for the day. Ganguly refused outright. “I don’t do drinks”. He then got the shits because he wasn’t allowed to play games, only train. “I can do this at home in better conditions”. A few other anecdotes : VVS Laxman complained that it was too hot to have a net. In Hobart. Zaheer Khan complained that it was too cold to have a fielding session.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Sept 23, 2020 15:15:58 GMT
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Post by Aj_June on Sept 23, 2020 16:13:39 GMT
Too early to say but it seems Jofra is not an all-rounder as was initially suggested. In international cricket he doesn't seem to have any clue about batting. Just checked. He averages a pathetic 8.6 after 16 innings in tests and still worse 6.75 in ODIs.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Sept 24, 2020 11:00:37 GMT
Bad news guys - Dean Jones has passed away - still in his fifties as well - he leaves us with a beautiful batting legacy.
R.I.P. DJ
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Post by Carl LaFong on Sept 24, 2020 11:12:38 GMT
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Post by Carl LaFong on Sept 24, 2020 11:17:55 GMT
Bad news guys - Dean Jones has passed away - still in his fifties as well - he leaves us with a beautiful batting legacy. R.I.P. DJ Oops, I posted about this but in the wrong thread (the CV one.) Massive heart attack in hotel in Mumbai. RIP. Too young.
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Post by weststigersbob on Sept 24, 2020 12:13:07 GMT
Jones was in a room full of people and had Brett Lee standing right next to him, when he literally dropped dead....
The legacy DM Jones left in cricket is easily identifiable. He truly was the pioneer of the “run hard” and put the pressure on the fielder. He had all the shots, especially the ‘big ones’, and all the flair and swagger. But running between the wickets was his revolutionary idea in ODI cricket.
While many laud his Madras double ton in the tied test in ‘86 as his best innings (and rightly so), his partnership with Steve Waugh in the 1st Test of the ‘89 Ashes at Headingley was arguably his finest hour in Test cricket. A wonderful partnership well worth a look on YouTube...
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Post by Carl LaFong on Sept 24, 2020 12:27:07 GMT
Jones was in a room full of people and had Brett Lee standing right next to him, when he literally dropped dead.... The legacy DM Jones left in cricket is easily identifiable. He truly was the pioneer of the “run hard” and put the pressure on the fielder. He had all the shots, especially the ‘big ones’, and all the flair and swagger. But running between the wickets was his revolutionary idea in ODI cricket. While many laud his Madras double ton in the tied test in ‘86 as his best innings (and rightly so), his partnership with Steve Waugh in the 1st Test of the ‘89 Ashes at Headingley was arguably his finest hour in Test cricket. A wonderful partnership well worth a look on YouTube... Nightmare. Thanks for the info. He has the same name as the actor in The Love Bug. Used to love that film as a youngster!
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Post by Aj_June on Sept 24, 2020 13:31:49 GMT
Really a very sad news about Deano. He was among most famous cricket analyst in India so I am sure his death is being mourned by millions away from his home. To die so young in this age is tragic. Feel for the family and friends.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Sept 24, 2020 20:44:55 GMT
Between this and the recent death of my sister who had a 75% blockage in her heart which caused a blood clot, I encourage all of you if you experience chest tightness, shortness of breath, fatigue etc to get your hearts checked.
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Post by Aj_June on Sept 24, 2020 20:54:37 GMT
Between this and the recent death of my sister who had a 75% blockage in her heart which caused a blood clot, I encourage all of you if you experience chest tightness, shortness of breath, fatigue etc to get your hearts checked. I thought of writing the same. About 2 years back one of my friend who was 32 had died of cardiac arrest. I request everyone to take care. If you have high cholesterol level then better get checked and run/jog a bit to make things right.
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Post by Aj_June on Sept 24, 2020 21:17:54 GMT
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Post by Aj_June on Oct 1, 2020 23:39:03 GMT
Cummins is bowling superbly in the desert! Hey hoskotafe3 Is Australian borders open to the outsiders at the moment? I just realised that I have Australian PR so I can return. Not decided but I am contemplating my options given how Corona has disrupted my plans and put me back by a year.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Oct 1, 2020 23:50:16 GMT
You can definitely request an exemption from travel restrictions as a Permanent Resident. At the moment arrivals in are limited and capped for each state. You lived in Victoria if I remember correctly and I'm not sure what their situation is.
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Post by Aj_June on Oct 1, 2020 23:56:03 GMT
You can definitely request an exemption from travel restrictions as a Permanent Resident. At the moment arrivals in are limited and capped for each state. You lived in Victoria if I remember correctly and I'm not sure what their situation is. Yes, I lived all my 5 years in Australia in Victoria itself. If I returned it would most likely be to NSW as finance related jobs are mostly available in Sydney. Will definitely not return without first securing a full-time job and I seriously doubt I can easily get a job during this pandemic environment. But I still see it as option.
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