Category: BIG BASH

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South Africa v Sri Lanka at Durban, 2nd Test

Just a few notes from last night’s test match:

1. I was able to watch the final 60 or so overs of the day.  I missed the first two wickets, but I saw Ponting’s 50, and Cowan’s 50, and the two wickets that weren’t, and the two wickets that were.

2.  Regarding the above commentary:  The wicket’s of both Cowan and Hussey would surely have been over-turned if a review system was in place.  Yes, I know, it is a flawed technology, but it is better than nothing.  Those two wickets changed the entire day and turned the match in India’s favor, and it is really unfortunate that both decisions were wrong.

Further, I think not having DRS available puts more pressure on the umpires, not less as some would suggest.  And I believe that that added pressure is a big reason behind why both calls were flubbed.

The technology exists, and for the flaws in it to be ironed out, the technology needs to get used on stages such as the Boxing Day test match at the MCG.

At the end of the day, Indian, Australian, or neutral, you have to feel for Eddie Cowan.  He played a marvelous debut innings, and he should still be out there batting.

3.  I mentioned in a post a few days ago that “three magical deliveries out of nowhere will change everything” – or something like that.  And that is exactly what happened last night.  The wickets of Ponting, Clarke, and Hussey were taken with just wonderful attacking balls.  And whether or not the decisions would have been overturned by DRS does not diminish the quality of those deliveries.

Zaheer Kahn really is a special bowler.  The only real match changer out there for India, and they are lucky to have him.

That is not to discount the performance of his fellow fast bowler, Umesh Yadav, who took three for 96, but Kahn is just simply a step ahead of him, skill wise.  For now, anyway.

4.  For the first 25 or so overs last night, Willow.tv’s quality was impeccable.  After tea, unfortunately, the quality started to decrease, but before that it was just lovely.  Hopefully it was a sign of things to come.

5.  During the match last night, there were a few promos for the KFC Big Bash League.  The juxtaposition of that circus to a wonderful test match was impossible not to notice.  BBL is all noise, signifying nothing; while the test match was of the highest quality, and was operating on multiple levels.

As I have said before, I truly believe there is room for both forms, and I understand that money-printing domestic competitions such as the BBL have to exist, for financial reasons, but gah the BBL makes me a little ashamed to be a cricket fan.

6.  Twitter is a real hoot during big matches.  At one point, nine of the ten trending topics in India were related to the Boxing Day test match.

7.   I am going to start writing down ideas for blog posts.  I thought of one yesterday while writing my match preview but now I cannot remember what it was and it is DRIVING ME CRAZY.

8.  I did not watch a single ball of South Africa v Sri Lanka.  Maybe tomorrow.

9.  Only one over was lost yesterday due to rain.

One.

A cynic could even attribute that lost over to Indian’s notoriously low over rates instead of Mother Nature, but I am not a cynic.

10.  70,000 people at the MCG yesterday.  And my rough estimate says that 1/3 of them were India supporters.  So much for home-field advantage.

11.  During the first hour or so of the second session, the Aussies were cranking along at 4.55 runs per over.  That, for me, is the story of the match so far.  India’s bowlers were very poor after lunch and if not for Kahn’s heroics and the two dodgy decisions, the visitors would be in a whole lot of trouble.

12.  Day 2 begins in five hours and 25 minutes.

13.  Until next time.

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Cape Cobras v Dolphins at Cape Town, Franchise 1-Day Cup

This morning I was scheduled to write about Essex County Cricket Club, but I then I thought I would take a break from County Cricket for a day and explore some of the other domestic cricket competitions taking place right now:  in Banglandesh, in India, in New Zealand, in Pakistan, in South Africa, in Zimbabwe…it seems the entire Southern Hemisphere is alive with cricket.  (Missing from that list is Australia, but it looks as though The Sheffield Shield returns on 2 December, the Ryobi One-Day Cup on 7 December, and of course, the BIG BASH LEAGUE ramps up on 16 December.)  Plus, writing about a County might not seem like it, but it is a time consuming effort, and I could use a quick morning post.

So let’s chat about Zimbabwe’s Stanbic Bank 20 Series instead.

It is a short competition, lasting only from the 25th of November through the 4th of December, barely a week.  It features five clubs, the same five clubs that I discussed in my post on Zimbabwe’s other domestic competition, The Castle Logan Cup.

Each club plays each other club once, with the top four teams advancing to a knock out stage.  (Yeah, 80% of the teams make the playoffs, that’s almost a higher percentage than the NHL has.)  The knockout stage is single elimination, two semi-finals and a final.

This year, the competition features several international players of note: Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes, Ryan ten Doeschate, and of course the enigmatic Chris Gayle.

Gayle plays for the Matabeleland Tuskers, and his squad has already played their four matches, winning three and losing one, and has advanced to the knockout stages.  The Mountaineers and the Mid West Rhinos have also advanced, so the last spot is left for the Southern Rocks and the Mashonaland Eagles (ten Doeschate’s squad) to fight over. The former has two points to the latter’s none, but the Eagles have a match in hand.

The semi-finals are on Friday and the final on Sunday.  As I have previously mentioned, the matches are available live on Willow.tv, and the final is actually on at a not too ungodly hour: 6am CST.  Will I watch??  We will see.

The Zimbabwean Cricket Association is bullish on the tournament, and sees it as a chance for ZC to show the ICC that cricket is growing exponentially in their country.  Big crowds are expected this weekend at the finals, as it is a school holiday.

Now, I am no big fan of Twenty20 (especially at the international level) but for cricket to grow, in my opinion, domestic competitions in lesser nations, not just test nations but in all Associate member nations, competitions such as the Stanbic Bank 20 Series, need to succeed and thrive.  I really believe these tournaments will feed test cricket, which is what we all want, at the end of the day.

Of course, like most folks, I hate the idea of the best international players flying all over the world to play in 15 different domestic tournaments a year, but that might have to be the catalyst which helps these domestic leagues grow.  I point to Major League Soccer and their “designated player” rule, which has seemingly worked quite well.

So, here’s hoping nothing but success for the Stanbic Bank 20 Series.

Until next time.

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Lahore Lions v Rawalpindi Rams at Faisalabad, Faysal Bank Super Eight T-20 Cup, Semi-Final

As I was falling asleep last night, my brain was swimming, SWIMMING, with topics to write about this morning.  I must have used them all up in my dreams as I am utterly empty headed right now.

One bit of news yesterday from the ICC meetings in Hong Kong, the number of teams in the t20 World Championships (I think that’s what it is called) was reduced from 16 to 12, which means only two of the associate or affiliate nations will be able to compete in the tournament this fall.

One would think that the ICC would know better:  don’t tick off the Associates. They are already planning a protest.

There was really no explanation behind the move.  It probably was simply a trade off for increasing the teams participating in the 2015 World Cup from 10 to 14.  But I seriously do not get it: why is the ICC so hell bent on limiting the growth of the game?  We are are global society, and for cricket to compete, in needs to globalize itself.  This means allowing non-test countries to compete in all ICC events.

What’s really bizarre is that Associate Qualification is already well under way.  Only now there are only two spots up for grabs, instead of six.  Imagine if FIFA, halfway through a world cup cycle, changed the format of the tournament?  The world would end!  Furthermore: they would never do that!  Because that would be insane!

Also:

BIG BASH!!

Last night I was watching the first few episodes of Two Pricks at the Ashes, the precursor to The Chuck Fleetwood Smiths (aka, the Two Chucks).  These were from late last year, before the show was gobbled up by the Worldwide Leader.  Very entertaining, if a tad rough.

It seems the two guys simply met while covering the Ashes in Australia and started making a video podcast which, not a few months later, was acquired by ESPN.  It’s wild to think how all of that can happen so fast.  I mean, I realize these guys are not superstars or anything, but it is, well, inspiring.

Oh, and one of the Chucks has another book coming out this summer.  I am looking forward to it. I am judging a book by its cover here, but it looks like Hunter S Thompson is alive, well, and writing about the Ashes:

Now here is a topic to write about, now that we are nearly done: entire libraries have been filled with books about cricket.  And as such I have been having a terrible time picking one to read, so I have read none of them.  I think the above might be my first one.  I also was intrigued by A Last English Summer.  More than anything, I want to read about the county game, but I don’t want to slog through 500 pages of county history.  I will figure something out.  Or maybe I will write my own.

On the pitch: rain in Bridgetown, semi-finals in Pakistan (hey, ball by ball!), and a full slate of county games to follow.

(It is positively crazy that Cricinfo has ball by ball for Pakistani domestic t20, but not for English county games. It must be a copyright issue).

And two more things: the Future Tours Programme (PDF, big file) was ratified by the ICC yesterday.  Loads of interesting things to talk about going forward (it is seriously crazy that the next decade of international cricket is for all intents and purposes already planned), but I will save that discussion for another day.

Quickly though, it looks like Pakistan is, interestingly enough, slated to host England next year, I am assuming that is going to be at a neutral venue though, unfortunately.

Why, unfortunately?  Because for some reason I get a ton of clicks when I mention Faisalabad stadium.

It does look like international cricket will be returning to Pakistan soon, however, as Bangladesh are scheduled for a test series there in 2012.

Finally, it looks like there is going to be a World Test Playoff in England, in 2013.  I think I am going to make a real effort to get there.

Until tomorrow.

BIG BASH!!

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Scotland v Netherlands at Aberdeen, 2nd ODI

I thought for sure the above match was part of the ICC’s plan for an ODI tournament for the Associates, which would run alongside the Intercontinental Cup.  But it seems it is simply just part of a Dutch tour of England and Scotland.  Hm.  The ICC just needs to come up with a plan for the Associates and stick. with. it.  Every 18 months or so it seems like a new process our tournament is being announced to slowly feed the Associates into full Member status.  It is oh so confusing.  Hopefully this latest complicated structure of matches will do the trick.

Okay, I just spent 15 minutes reading about the Intercontinental Cup, the Intercontinental Shield, the World Cricket League Division 2 and holy crap now I am even more confused.   But, wait, I just found this article over on (where else?) ESPNCricinfo – wonderfully entitled:  The Mystery Unraveled. While that post is a tad old, it does clear it up a little, I guess.

But I still have found very little about this mysterious ODI tournament for the Associates – isn’t that simply the World Cricket League, division one?

Maybe this is why the ICC tried to leave the Associates out of the 2015 World Cup.  The qualification process would be just too laborious.

Alas*, the ICC changed its mind yesterday and expanded the 2015 World Cup to 14 teams.  They probably just could have made it 11 and allowed Ireland to play, as they seemed to be more upset about the snub than anyone.  I will freely admit, however, that I don’t read a great deal about Afghani or Kenyan cricket.

(Not really “alas”, as I am happy they expanded it).

Back on the pitch: England destroyed Sri Lanka yesterday in a rain shortened ODI.  It was a good old fashioned thumping, thanks mainly to James Anderson and his four early wickets.  Swann also took three, while poor Stuart Broad was 0-32.  Down in Bridgetown, the pitch is the man of the match so far, with yesterday seeing 13 wickets in the first day’s play.  Back in England, Sussex are finally playing a County Championship match again – it feels like it has been nothing but t20 for them lately.  Unfortunately, it is showing, as they have lost five early wickets. Nash, Joyce, Wright…all gone.

Oh, and finally, while reading the early notes on the test match in Bridgetown, I learned players can earn up to one million USD for playing in Australia’s t20 tournament – also known as the Australian BIG BASH.  Which is, seriously, and excuse me, the dumbest fucking name for anything…ever.  I will take corporate sponsorship names for tournaments over that any day.  What’s next, is MLB going to rebrand itself as AMERICAN SUPER HOME RUN TOWN? Or maybe the Friends Life NOTHING BUT SIXES?

Why am I shouting?

The ESPNCricinfo commentator says it right: give me test cricket any day.

I don’t mind twenty20 cricket, but this super premiere league cash grabs just feel…gross.  And there is just one after another after another.  I guess I am on the anti-t20 bandwagon now.

But I am still excited to watch the Sri Lankan Premiere League on ESPN3.  Mostly because I like the league’s name.

I am fickle.

Until tomorrow.