Monthly Archives: August 2013

The Ashes: Katich is not coming back … next topic please!

August 1, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

I have been reading a lot recently about a possible return of Simon Katich to the Australian set up, particularly given the issues that Australia have been having at the top of the order. I have exclaimed on this blog before and I will say it again here now: Katich is NOT coming back and it is time to get over it!

I remain firmly of the view that Michael Clarke has marked Katich's card “never to be selected again” and whilst Clarke is not a selector it would be idiocy to suggest that the selectors would put a player into the team that the captain did not wish to play with.

That really should be the end of the argument: regardless of form Katich is not going to be selected because Clarke does not want him there. I don't understand campaigns on social media and in print to bring Katich back for that reason alone. So lets consider a hypothetical scenario where Clarke decides that he wants Katich back in the team. The fact is that even in that scenario he could not come back to the Australian team for a very simple reason: on 12 June 2012 he retired from first class cricket in Australia.

Read that date again: 13 months ago the man some believe to be a saviour to the Australian cricket team ceased to be a first class cricketer in the Australian system. Yes he played in the BBL in season 2012/13 but he did not play any other top level cricket. I concede that he has been in excellent form in the county cricket competition but the question must be asked: Has Australian cricket fallen so far that a soon to be 38 year old who is a part time cricketer at best and who does not play in the first class competition in Australia is the only answer?

More to the point: do we really want someone who has clearly shown he has no interest in being involved in the Australian set up (why else would he be playing in England first class cricket but not in the Australian version) back in the team?

Don't get me wrong: I rate Simon Katich as a cricket and I firmly believe he should never have been dropped from the Australian team. I would go so far as to say that I would love to have him in the team right now. However, these are the facts:

  1. The captain of the Australian cricket team does not want him in the team; AND
  2. The man himself has shown, overtly, that he does not want to be a part of the Australian set up.

Given those facts, surely it is time for pundits and fans alike to cease beating the dead horse that is the ongoing campaign for Katich's return and focus on supporting the players that actually do want to be involved in the Australian setup?

The only thing worse than this focus on a return from Katich is the yearly campaign for a return from Shane Warne but it is becoming a close run thing … and that is really saying something is it not?

The Ashes, 3rd test: expectation management for Australian fans

August 1, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , 1 Comment

I, like many Australian fans, was seduced by the Australian team's fighting effort in Trent Bridge into thinking that Australia was an even money chance at Lords to win and was proven woefully incorrect. I think we can all agree that the performance at Trent Bridge was an illusion that glossed over the current deficiencies in this team which had been sharply pushed into the open in India and then had the metaphorical bandaid ripped off at Lords.

 

So what now for fans of the Australian cricket team as the count down to the 3rd test swiftens pace? I would love to be sitting on my lounge hopeful of win for the baggy greens but I am also a realist and thus think it is important to set myself some expectations for this test match that I suspect are equally applicable to most Australian fans.

 

Here are my 5 expectations from the Australian team for this test match (assuming selections are as I think they will be):

 

  1. Australia will fight hard: As sad as it is to say, during some of the tough moments of Lords test match, particularly with the bat, Australia seemed to simply “give in” in the face of pressure. I am sure that Darren Lehmann has “spoken” long and hard to his charges about this during the 10 days since Lords and I expect to see Australia play with renewed vigour and tenaciousness that will translate into fighting England all the way.
  2. A draw is as good as a win: I know that is counter-intuitive and smacks of England in the 90s thinking but it is time to face that fact that Australian cricket is in a re-building phase and for a while going into every game expecting, as a fan, to win can not be the norm. This is not the team of early to mid 2000s and, frankly, our opponents have all caught up!
  3. An Australian batsman will score a hundred: It may well be a Michael Clarke special but I hope it is someone other than the captain that steps up and scores a hundred for Australia in this test match and I expect one of them will. The hundred drought for Australia's batsmen other than the captain extend far into distant memory and with the 10 day break being spent to work on form and technique and a hard pitch in Old Trafford it is really now or never and I expect a batsman, yet to be named, to step up.
  4. Australia is going to have bad sessions: With the recognition that this is a team in transition comes the obvious follow on effect that Australia is probably going to lose more sessions than it wins in test matches. A bad session must not be met with the lamenteous hand wringing that has been in the past by pundits and fans alike: they are a fact of life at the moment.
  5. Shane Watson will have a big game: Not many of the people I follow on Twitter or speak to around cricket fandom have much of a wrap on Shane Watson. So much so that my recent Twitter sabbatical basically came off the back of the ridiciulous amount of negativity surrounding him. To me it is simple: Australia plays well when Watto is playing well and off the back of a 10 day spell I expect him to have a massive game for Australia with the bat and the ball at Old Trafford.

This is going to be a tough test for the Australians: coming back from a devastating loss always is. England have the pitch they want and a cockahoop and they deserve to be. I would love nothing more than an Australian win don't get me wrong BUT If the Australian team meets my expectations set out above I will be a happy fan.

 

 

The Ashes: 3rd Test … my Australian XI

August 1, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

The third test at Old Trafford is nearly upon us which means more sleepless nights, more water cooler talk about the parlous start of Australian cricket and team speculation. I have been a strong advocate for NOT making too many changes to the Australian team and I stand by that position. That being the case: here is my selection for the 3rd Test and why.

 

Watson, Rogers, Khawaja, Hughes, Clarke (c), Smith, Haddin, Faulkner, Siddle, Harris, Lyon

 

James Faulkner comes in for the injured James Pattinson. That is a very rough call on Jackson Bird but I like the variety that comes from having a left arm swing bowler in the team. My perfect world preference would be Siddle not being in the team and Bird in in his place but selectors and fans alike seem to worship at the alter of Siddle so that is unlikely to happen any time soon.

 

Nathan Lyon comes in for Asthon Agar. I think even blind Freddie could see that Agar is a talent for the future. Blind Freddie could also see that the experiment that has been his inclusion has failed. Ignore the media hype and the one excellent innings: his job is with the ball and he had not yet gotten the job done. The English spinners took 11 of the 20 Australian wickets to fall at Lords whilst Agar could not take one. It is time to return Nathan Lyon to the team.

 

No place for Davey. Warner has returned to the squad from his African sojourn. I am sorry to the all the Warner fans out there but one good innings on a road in Pretoria against a semi-first class attack does not a return to form make. He will be on standby for Smith so his return to the team could be by default but on form I still remain to be convinced he is anything more than the myth I have long thought him to be.

“The Vow” by Malcolm O. Varner

August 1, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

This is a poem about emotions common to many of us. I love the vows set out in reply to those emotions.

No matter how deep the sadness or wide the pain,
I vow to live for a brighter day will come again.

No matter how many mistakes I’ve made in the past,
I vow to live and in the future avoid them, surefooted and fast.

No matter how many tragedies beyond my control take place,
I vow to live and stay my course within this race.

No matter how poor or rich I may ever be,
I vow to live and aspire to search for the dignity in simplicity.

No matter how much a lover may pierce the inner core of my heart,
I vow to live for like spring I’ll get a new start.

No matter how isolated and alone I may feel,
I vow to live and do something for someone else to heal.

No matter how hopeless my situation my appear,
I vow to live and reflect until my viewpoint is clear.

No matter what happens in this life – good or bad
I vow to live, do my best, and just for living – be glad.

I will do my best and that is all I can ask of myself let alone anyone else!