The Cricket Thread

[Guy]

Well I have been looking at the threads and there is bearly anything about Cricket! So I decided to create a thread about cricket.

On here you can talk about whatever you want that is to do with cricket. Talk about players, stadiums, ledgends, ODI's, tests and the ICC.

I also have a question... Are there any americans or other europeans who play it. I know some people who have never heard of it!

[Guy]

I must say though I thought the great all timer of cricket (other Brian Lara) has to be the ledgend 'WG Grace'

1848-1915

[zingerburger]

Well, duh. Of course Australia is the best team in the world at the moment, by far. Despite a loss to England, that was only a one off event. They'll take out the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia and are highly likely in winning the World Cup.

Although Lara and Grace are absolute legends of the game, my pick would have to be Don Bradman.

[ODST]

Australia are the best by a long distance from South Africa, but that'll change in a few years when half their team retires...can't wait

Pakistan however have the raw talent and ability to beat any side on their day.

Only problem is that day happens once every 5 blue moons.

[Reidy]

Good to see other one of these at last.

And I disagree ODST. Pakistan may well have one of, if not the best batmen in the world currently (Yousuf) but apart from that they are quite limited. In a way they are similar to the England team in that there are only a handful of quality players on form at any time, and so never achieve their potential.

I would have said that Australia are favourites for thw World Cup, but judging on SA's performance on Sunday I think they might *just* be in with a chance. Particularly now that Symonds isn't going to play.

[ODST]

Good to see other one of these at last.

And I disagree ODST. Pakistan may well have one of, if not the best batmen in the world currently (Yousuf) but apart from that they are quite limited. In a way they are similar to the England team in that there are only a handful of quality players on form at any time, and so never achieve their potential.

Here we go, haven't had a discussion on cricket in ages

There is quite a lot more than just Mohammad Yousuf in Pakistan's line-up, and I'm sure many people would agree. Just looking at the squad you can see how unreliable the team is really...

We've got Shahid Afridi who when he gets it right - which is hardly ever, is probably the most devastating batsman in the world - he still holds the record for the fastest international century which he made in his first innnings and he has hit more sixes than anyone else, and I can't think of a match we've lost when he's stayed in for more than 5 minutes.

Similarly Abdul Razzaq can also be a devastating lower order batsman, but again, not very consistent.

And then we come to Shoaib Akhtar - say what you will, but again when he is on song he can (and has) ripped through the world's best batting line-ups (like in Colombo he reduced Australia from 74-0 to 74-4 for example), problem is he isn't consistent.

The middle order of Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam has saved Pakistan on numerous occasions when our openers have collapsed and these three are the only consistent ones in the entire side (except for maybe Mohammad Asif).

Yeah it's true that Pakistan has declined a lot since the two W's left and Saeed Anwar left us without a decent opener, but our results haven't really changed, we've pulled off some stunning victories but then had an equal number of very humbling defeats, but then with a team of mavericks you can't expect much.

I think England's problem is form and injury, Pakistan's is simply the way they play - blindly aggressively, either they look good or they flop stunningly.

Wow...I could probably write a thesis on Pakistan cricket...

I would have said that Australia are favourites for thw World Cup, but judging on SA's performance on Sunday I think they might *just* be in with a chance. Particularly now that Symonds isn't going to play.

South Africa and Australia are easily the two top teams in the the World Cup, but then we shouldn't read too much into Sunday's performance. Sure it was an amazing display of how to crush a sub-continent side (by watching them implode) but no side from there has ever been successful in those kinds of conditions (God-knows why). But still, South Africa will be the front-runners after Australia.

[Guy]

Australia were totally dominated by New Zealend in their latest ODI losing by 10 wickets! Australia's worst loss to date.

[Richard]

New Zealand are currently the best for beating Australia. They will be the best until Australia beat them back, which is inevitable...

[zingerburger]

If you mean "the best", as in ranked No. 1 in the world in ODIs, then South Africa is the best. Australia is now currently second-best but we all know that they are "unofficially" the best.

Have you guys tried out the World Cup fantasy league? If you haven't, give it a go. I might consider starting up a private competition between members of this forum if there's enough people.

www.cricketweb.net/fantasycricket

[Ippius]

GO AUSTRALIA!
*ahem*
Australia is overall the best team but right now it's not performing to it's usual standard...perhaps it's the coach or something...

[Darkragnar]

Booo @ Thread , where's India on the poll sure the suck at the moment and id gladly throw tomatoes and rotten eggs at them but they still have potential with their lineup and you can never comptletly underestimate them.

That being said , im willing to be crucified as a traitor in India, but i think The Australians are ****ing Robots programmed to win without exception , every time, all the time.

[boofhead]

Australia WAS the best (being an Aussie myself). But with the retirement of many backbone players over recent weeks from certain variants of the game, and especially after Australia's 3-nil defeat by NZ in the recent finals of the Chappell-Hadlee Cup........who knows?

I have to admit I have been rather bored over the last decade or so with cricket due to Australia's absolute dominance. We Aussies tend to like to see the underdog win....when I was a kid the West Indies were kings, Big Bird Joel Garner etc...to win against them was such a great feeling. Now, when Australia wins.........(disgusting toilet sounds).

If Australia is no longer No.1 I will be glad. As far as the one-dayers go let the World Cup decide. I was so happy when Australia lost the previous Ashes.....I saw something to actually fight for.....some friends labelled me "unpatriotic" LOL others agreed.

We'll see. Cricket needs a new dominant team. Even Aussies are sick of Aussies being the best LOL.

[Velerius_0087]

Australia.. still. I get the feeling they know what is going on, even when they seem to be losing. And they always capitalise on their opposition's mistakes. They will win the WC again.

[Scorch]

I find it funny people say "When half their team retires", half the team already has retired, yet we can still beat any team. We could have fielded a 2nd XI that could have beat the Poms in the Ashes.

The fact is, we've got such a wealth of talent, and even when Warne, Martyn, Waugh and a few others retired, we still dominated.

And the fact is, it's the younger players that are in form, Tait, Hodge, White, Clarke, Bracken and countless others.

South Africa haven't got a chance.

[Guy]

Well I was pretty suprised seeing as Ireland did so well. They beat Pakistan just but played really well getting a 6 on the last hit just to wind em up.

[Scorch]

Yeah, and frankly I'm sick of Pakistan.

I'm sick of the way they burn effigies of umpires who decide against them, I'm sick of them burning effigies of players that don't do well and I'm sick of them burning effigies of coaches who don't get results.

I'm sick of them burning effigies of anyone they're not happy with. I think they need a new, more respectable and less barbaric way of dealing with their frustrations.

End rant.

[boofhead]

Yeah, and frankly I'm sick of Pakistan.

I'm sick of the way they burn effigies of umpires who decide against them, I'm sick of them burning effigies of players that don't do well and I'm sick of them burning effigies of coaches who don't get results.

I'm sick of them burning effigies of anyone they're not happy with. I think they need a new, more respectable and less barbaric way of dealing with their frustrations.

End rant.

Speaking of Pakistan's coach - he just died today in a hotel room

[Scorch]

Yeah I know, and I don't think the pressure they put on him helped.

[MasterAdnin]

Currently yes, Australia is the best, but as ODST said, Pakistan has the capability to be the best, but are very inconsistent. Some people that ODST forgot were Muhammad Sami, he can be more devastating than Shoiab at times, and Muhammad Asif is an incredibly accurate and deadly bowler, Imran Nazir is the only person I've seen that's sixes rival that of Afridi's, Salmaan Butt, incredible opener, and there are many others, Umar Gul, etc.

Yeah, and frankly I'm sick of Pakistan.

I'm sick of the way they burn effigies of umpires who decide against them, I'm sick of them burning effigies of players that don't do well and I'm sick of them burning effigies of coaches who don't get results.

I'm sick of them burning effigies of anyone they're not happy with. I think they need a new, more respectable and less barbaric way of dealing with their frustrations.

End rant.

Are you kidding me? Pakistan are the ones who are barbaric? Look at the ICC, they accuse all non-whites who exceed the talent of their players of cheating. David Shepard was a racist umpire who frequently would give Pakistan bad calls.

There is still much racism and biased in cricket, so don't feed me any crap that if Shoiab Akhtar was Australian he'd still be accused of chucking, or Malinga wouldn't be accused of chucking. If all these talented young men were white, the ICC and Umpires wouldn't bat an eye.


Salaam,
Adnan

[Scorch]

I'm not talking about racism, frankly, there's gonna be racism everywhere.

I'm saying that in most countries (even other Islamic countries) people will express their frustration with a coach or player that isn't performing in the media, or just in public. And yes, in the end, that player/coach will get dropped.

But you don't see any of those other countries rioting, or burning effigies of those players, they just don't do that. Creating public disorder over the performance of a player or coach is what I call barbaric. Drop the player, fire the coach, and get over it.

As for racism, I agree that David Shepard made a bad decision, but why automatically cry racism? Steve Bucknor makes a fair few bad decisions against white teams, yet as a black umpire there are no cries of racism. Or Aleem Dar or Asad Rauf, yet there are no cries of racism.

David Shepard may well have been a crappy umpire, but not a racist one. And Bucknor, Dar and Rauf may make decisions that go against white players, but they may just be having an off day, or possibly may just have thought their decision was right, they're not racists.

As for the ICC and chucking, there have been some white players - such as Botha - accused of chucking, and they have been sanctioned. Yet when Murali is accused of chucking, the ICC change the degree of bending allowed, making his action legal.

I actually haven't heard accusations of Akhtar chucking, but I don't really care anyway, he's a drug cheat.

Look at the ICC, they accuse all non-whites who exceed the talent of their players of cheating.

So Akhtar and the other Pakistani player that tested positive to drugs in a drug test issued by the PCB are having their talents limited by the ICC? Give me a break.

Oh, and if you still believe the ICC don't do anything about white people cheating, I've got a name for you.

Shane Warne.

Coming into the 2003 World Cup, he was a key member of the Australian team, yet was banned from International Competition for a year for taking diet pills that were on the black list.

So the ICC administrate the game fairly, and calls of racism are just a form of reverse discrimination against white umpires who make calls going against nations of other races.