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Cricket Lovely Cricket!!
Cricket Lovely Cricket!!
So, how are you enjoying the World Cup? “I’m loving it!”
Everyone is entitled to my opinion
chixchix wrote:
Another magic moment for me was when one of the O'Brien brothers was interviewed after the match and was clearly more nervous about that than the game itself. He stuttered his way through the usual rubbish questions even though he'd much rather be enjoying the post match craic with the boys. But it was far better to watch his absolute elation and, dare I say, astonishhment than the rehearsed responses that we usually get from the media coached big boys.
My predictions have been awful so far so let me put the mockers on England by confidently stating that sanity will return tonight and they will overcome Canada (er, well the Indians etc. wearing Canada shirts) by a not insignificant margin. Yes, yes I know England is a bit of a United Nations too.
I don't hold out much hope for the Netherlands playing the Aussies though, but if there is a God of cricket then "Please Lord, You know what to do!"
Oh my gawd! Please, anyone but Australia! What a day to be Bangladeshi though! Beating India and then seeing the Irish beat Pakistan! Fantastic cricket especially seeing the so called minnows keep their nerves to chase down the totals. I imagine Muddy Murphy's dispensed a few hangovers last night especially on St Patrick's night! And to think Ireland's best batsman (Ed Joyce) got a duck playing for England the night before!Hmm I wonder who is gonna win the whole match series..hopefully Australia
Another magic moment for me was when one of the O'Brien brothers was interviewed after the match and was clearly more nervous about that than the game itself. He stuttered his way through the usual rubbish questions even though he'd much rather be enjoying the post match craic with the boys. But it was far better to watch his absolute elation and, dare I say, astonishhment than the rehearsed responses that we usually get from the media coached big boys.
My predictions have been awful so far so let me put the mockers on England by confidently stating that sanity will return tonight and they will overcome Canada (er, well the Indians etc. wearing Canada shirts) by a not insignificant margin. Yes, yes I know England is a bit of a United Nations too.
I don't hold out much hope for the Netherlands playing the Aussies though, but if there is a God of cricket then "Please Lord, You know what to do!"
Everyone is entitled to my opinion
The cricket world is mourning the loss of Bob Woolmer and quite right too. But the purpose of this post is to ask cricket fans to spare a thought for the family and friends of another cricketer, of whom you have probably never heard.
When I was playing back in Harrow one of the things we did to pass the time when rain stopped play (and in England you need a few of them!) was to discuss who we would like to have as at a cricket dinner party and Bob Woolmer was always on the list. We wanted to hear him indulge in his love of talking about cricket and as a great innovator we were sure he would be interesting to listen too.
At 22, Manjural Islam was at the other end of his career from Bob Woolmer and his promise epitomises that of his country, Bangladesh. In the probable 30 for the World Cup but not making the last 15, Manjural was killed in a motorcycle crash together with another cricketer Sajjadal Hussain.
While cricket has gained from some fantastic action on the pitch, it has lost a great character who fulfilled his potential and a promising young man robbed of his opportunity to do so.
On the field, good luck to the Scots, they’re going to need it against the Proteas tonight, who despite their denials, I reckon will be out to win more handsomely than the Aussies did. And come on you Kenyans! If they can beat NZ then I might even consider picking up Freddy Flintoff’s bar tab!
When I was playing back in Harrow one of the things we did to pass the time when rain stopped play (and in England you need a few of them!) was to discuss who we would like to have as at a cricket dinner party and Bob Woolmer was always on the list. We wanted to hear him indulge in his love of talking about cricket and as a great innovator we were sure he would be interesting to listen too.
At 22, Manjural Islam was at the other end of his career from Bob Woolmer and his promise epitomises that of his country, Bangladesh. In the probable 30 for the World Cup but not making the last 15, Manjural was killed in a motorcycle crash together with another cricketer Sajjadal Hussain.
While cricket has gained from some fantastic action on the pitch, it has lost a great character who fulfilled his potential and a promising young man robbed of his opportunity to do so.
On the field, good luck to the Scots, they’re going to need it against the Proteas tonight, who despite their denials, I reckon will be out to win more handsomely than the Aussies did. And come on you Kenyans! If they can beat NZ then I might even consider picking up Freddy Flintoff’s bar tab!
Everyone is entitled to my opinion
You see? I told you there wouldn’t be any upsets in the first round of the cricket world cup! Congratulations to Bangladesh and Ireland for confounding me and all those who were questioning the validity of having the upcoming nations in this tournament. Bangladesh in particular appear to be on the rise with a very young team and hopefully we can see them establish themselves as a test playing nation and serious competitor in ODI’s too. A shame though that it will still be a club of 8 as the demise of Zimbabwe bereft of the Flowers brothers etc. appears complete – they even lost to Pakistan for goodness sake!
Bermudans, you were wonderful, even if there were fears that Dwayne Leverock’s 20 stone frame hitting the deck after his swallow dive at 1st slip to remove Uthappa could have caused a minor tsunami in the Caribbean. I’d like to take a sentence to doff my cap to Mohinder Singh Dhoni too. He it was, despite having had the construction of his house vandalised after the defeat against Bangladesh, that looked to me as if he actually walked for lbw without waiting for the umpire to confirm the obvious to the world as the last chance against Sri Lanka trooped back to the hutch. For me though the catch that accounted for Agarka was definitely grassed and as someone who played the game for many years I reckon the fieldsman, bloody well knew it.
With the departure of India my predictions for the final four are already looking a bit sick but I will continue to defy the tv experts that South Africa are certs to be definitely in the semis. The “different bowler, same bowling”
Bermudans, you were wonderful, even if there were fears that Dwayne Leverock’s 20 stone frame hitting the deck after his swallow dive at 1st slip to remove Uthappa could have caused a minor tsunami in the Caribbean. I’d like to take a sentence to doff my cap to Mohinder Singh Dhoni too. He it was, despite having had the construction of his house vandalised after the defeat against Bangladesh, that looked to me as if he actually walked for lbw without waiting for the umpire to confirm the obvious to the world as the last chance against Sri Lanka trooped back to the hutch. For me though the catch that accounted for Agarka was definitely grassed and as someone who played the game for many years I reckon the fieldsman, bloody well knew it.
With the departure of India my predictions for the final four are already looking a bit sick but I will continue to defy the tv experts that South Africa are certs to be definitely in the semis. The “different bowler, same bowling”
Everyone is entitled to my opinion
Cricket is the most boring game on the planet -- it's pretty bad when you watch once of those "match highlights" things where they condence the whole bore-o-rama from eight hours into 30 minutes, and you still find yourself nodding off because nothing's happening.
But at least here in cricket-mad India I've just had the exquisite pleasure of watching a billion people's hopes get crushed as the utterly pathetic Indian team got their ass handed to them on a platter by not just Sri Lanka, but Bangladesh as well.
If only Bermuda had beat them too... 
But at least here in cricket-mad India I've just had the exquisite pleasure of watching a billion people's hopes get crushed as the utterly pathetic Indian team got their ass handed to them on a platter by not just Sri Lanka, but Bangladesh as well.
If only Bermuda had beat them too... Vaguely heretical thoughts on travel technology at Gyrovague
I was going to reply earlier jpatokal but I only just finished clearing up all the scadenfreude that oozed out of my screen when I read your post!
Australia will win the world cup. So what, everyone knows that. But what I am able to reveal exclusively to readers of this forum is that the only team that has a chance of beating them to it is England. Yes, you read it right, England! But only if they manage to squeak through the Super 8’s.
You deserve an explanation. First off, let’s deal with the people’s second favourite, South Africa. I disagree with the received wisdom and their ranking. The batting is brittle, look at how it fell away after the captain retired hurt against Australia when they were lots for one. Then against Sri Lanka, Slinger Malinga almost polished them off with 4 wickets in 4 balls. When South Africa hit the winning runs it was relief on their faces not triumph. They nearly choked again and they knew it!
Next the bowling - same, same and more of the same. Pollock was a fine player, world class. Note the past tense, was. The Aussies felt he was right for a tonking and he was reasonably expensive against Sri Lanka too. SA can change the bowler but not the bowling so if 2 batsmen get set and start knocking off 6 an over half way through the innings, they will even have trouble defending a total in excess of 300. Don’t talk to me about their ability to overcome these true bounce pitches with swing either. Look at the Sri Lanka game again, swing for Malinga, none even for Langeveld.
Australians are keen to remind the English of Kevin Pietersen’s birthplace (conveniently forgetting it was the same country as one of their former openers, Kepler Wessels) but they should also remember that it was playing against the team from the land of his birth where KP first came to such prominence. So, the fixture between South Africa and England on 17th April is the key. By that time England will have painted themselves into a corner such that they will need to win 4 games on the trot to lift an improbable trophy. Now where have I heard that before?
A win against SA will be imperative and KP will perform. Next come the West Indies who, I predict will be fresh from a tight win over Bangladesh on the 19th. Australia will beat New Zealand leaving England needing a win over the hosts in the last Super 8 game on 21st April. If they win that they will face Australia on Wednesday 25th for what in effect will be the final. If the Commonwealth Bank Trophy spirits can be summoned up again, there could be a surprise name on the scoreboard for the Barbadians to shout for on Saturday 28th.
Remember where you heard it first!
“Of the many things England has given to the world, cricket is the most noble and inspiring.”
Australia will win the world cup. So what, everyone knows that. But what I am able to reveal exclusively to readers of this forum is that the only team that has a chance of beating them to it is England. Yes, you read it right, England! But only if they manage to squeak through the Super 8’s.
You deserve an explanation. First off, let’s deal with the people’s second favourite, South Africa. I disagree with the received wisdom and their ranking. The batting is brittle, look at how it fell away after the captain retired hurt against Australia when they were lots for one. Then against Sri Lanka, Slinger Malinga almost polished them off with 4 wickets in 4 balls. When South Africa hit the winning runs it was relief on their faces not triumph. They nearly choked again and they knew it!
Next the bowling - same, same and more of the same. Pollock was a fine player, world class. Note the past tense, was. The Aussies felt he was right for a tonking and he was reasonably expensive against Sri Lanka too. SA can change the bowler but not the bowling so if 2 batsmen get set and start knocking off 6 an over half way through the innings, they will even have trouble defending a total in excess of 300. Don’t talk to me about their ability to overcome these true bounce pitches with swing either. Look at the Sri Lanka game again, swing for Malinga, none even for Langeveld.
Australians are keen to remind the English of Kevin Pietersen’s birthplace (conveniently forgetting it was the same country as one of their former openers, Kepler Wessels) but they should also remember that it was playing against the team from the land of his birth where KP first came to such prominence. So, the fixture between South Africa and England on 17th April is the key. By that time England will have painted themselves into a corner such that they will need to win 4 games on the trot to lift an improbable trophy. Now where have I heard that before?
A win against SA will be imperative and KP will perform. Next come the West Indies who, I predict will be fresh from a tight win over Bangladesh on the 19th. Australia will beat New Zealand leaving England needing a win over the hosts in the last Super 8 game on 21st April. If they win that they will face Australia on Wednesday 25th for what in effect will be the final. If the Commonwealth Bank Trophy spirits can be summoned up again, there could be a surprise name on the scoreboard for the Barbadians to shout for on Saturday 28th.
Remember where you heard it first!
“Of the many things England has given to the world, cricket is the most noble and inspiring.”
Everyone is entitled to my opinion
stupid indian adverts!
i totally agree with you on the number of stupid commercials we are subjected to during the game! why the hell do they start playing them even before the ball is dead!
I spoke to starhub, and they gave me an even more vesiferous answer than they gave you! - "if you dont like the coverage, then we can stop it for you, but we cant refund the money"!..... errrr....i didnt ask for the refund, i only wanted to enquire whether you can please cut down on the non-relevant adverts!
No I am not interested in hyundai Verna, or that stupid "no confusion" crisps advert - guess what I DO NOT LIVE IN INDIA, I CANNOT BUY THE STUPID CHIPS even if i wanted to!
isnt there somekind of legislation against broadcasting foreign adverts in singapore? - well if there aint one, PLEASE CREATE ONE... THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS!
if there is a support group for this, please let me know! - I almost broke the plasma screen last night in anger! when the adverts came on and they completely missed a ball being played at yesterdays match!
STARHUB! - PLEASE GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!
I spoke to starhub, and they gave me an even more vesiferous answer than they gave you! - "if you dont like the coverage, then we can stop it for you, but we cant refund the money"!..... errrr....i didnt ask for the refund, i only wanted to enquire whether you can please cut down on the non-relevant adverts!
No I am not interested in hyundai Verna, or that stupid "no confusion" crisps advert - guess what I DO NOT LIVE IN INDIA, I CANNOT BUY THE STUPID CHIPS even if i wanted to!
isnt there somekind of legislation against broadcasting foreign adverts in singapore? - well if there aint one, PLEASE CREATE ONE... THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS!
if there is a support group for this, please let me know! - I almost broke the plasma screen last night in anger!
when the adverts came on and they completely missed a ball being played at yesterdays match!STARHUB! - PLEASE GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!
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