Monthly Archives: November 2013

Sheffield Shield Round 2 and Australia “A”: players to watch

November 6, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

6 November 2013 represents the start of four first class games which represent the last chance for Australian cricketers to press their case for national honours with the first test match team for the Gabba test set to be named on 12 November. I have been overt in my view that the first test team has already been names internally at Cricket Australia Towers however an injury to Shane Watson and question marks over the captain’s fitness mean that this round of fixtures take on a, possible, new meaning. Also, given that CA has played its hand around fast bowler management in its decision to rest Josh Hazlewood from all cricket this week it is also important to keep an eye on the fast bowling stocks around the country.

All that said: here are my players to watch for this round of first class cricket:

Alex Doolan:

Seemingly already coronated as the replacement for Shane Watson, certainly so if you read the News Limited press, Doolan is off to a flying start to the season with a hundred and fifty in round 1 of the Sheffield Shield. This time last year scored a big hundred against South Africa in the same game and will again need big runs in this game to: a. mask his first class average of less than 40 and b. prove to everyone he is worthy of the “next best” slot.

Usman Khawaja:

Was in the test team in England and failed to grasp his opportunity with both hands. Now is seemingly on the outer (again principally with the News Limited press) and did not do anything to impress the selectors in round 1 of the Sheffield Shield. Is behind Doolan in the pecking order on form but has the advantage of test match experience which could be useful at the selection table. Needs to bat for a long time in this game but, in doing so, needs to show that when he plays spinners he can rotate the strike which he failed to do in England.

Phil Hughes:

Can Hughes make another push for the number 3 slot in the test team that many believe to be rightfully his? His attempt to do so commences in Perth where he will, one expects, open for the Sandgropers. Coming off a nothing tour of India he will need big runs in this game to get his name to the front of the queue. It must be noted that this is precisely the situation he found himself in last season when, via weight of first class runs, he charged into the test frame. The big question mark is whether one game is enough.

Moises Henriques:

Captaining the Australia A team is the first taste of first class cricket Henriques will have this season given that he has been mixing the cordials in India and missed the 1st round of the Sheffield Shield. A tour to India under his belt that can only be described as a disaster means he has test match experience and if he can perform against the English in Hobart he may be the man to replace Shane Watson if the NSP decide to replace an allrounder with another allrounder.

Ben Cutting:

The man of the series in the Ryobi Cup in the eyes of everyone but for Channel 9’s biased commentators, Cutting struggled with illness in the first round of the Sheffield Shield. Has match turning power with the willow and is one of the swiftest bowlers in domestic cricket on his day. Missed out on selection two years ago at the Gabba when the NSP went for hair gel (Pattinson) over substance. The only way he will get in the test team is if he takes that many wickets even John Inverarity can not ignore him and this game against the English is the first step on that path.

John Holland:

Holland is in the frame for a possible test birth for one reason and only one reason: Kevin Pietersen has a problem with left arm orthodox spin. Massive question mark for me is the fact that he has not played first class cricket in 13 months. Second question mark for me is a bowling average of 39.18 at the top level also does not inspire confidence. That said: if he gets KP out twice in the two innings he bowls at him in Hobart watch for the push for him to selected for the Gabba (again particularly in the News Limited press which has a problem with Nathan Lyon).

I am sure there are other players in the frame however these are the players I think the selectors will be looking at closely, whether they should be or not!

All eyes also will be on the MCG for the Victoria v New South Wales game and whether the captain’s rickety back can stand back to back first class games.

Melbourne Cup Day: a must for any bucket list

November 5, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

As the sun sets on yet another Melbourne Cup Day, I have had pause to reflect on yet another losing day on the punt and consider what makes this day of racing so special.  For me it has nothing to do with the racing and frankly, unless you are going to Flemington on the day it not all that special at all rather it is just an excuse for low productivity and skiving off work (unless you are in Victoria and get the public holiday).  What makes “Cup Day” special for me is seeing the race live.

If you have not experienced a Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington you simply must: whether you are a sporting fan or not.  There are few events in my lifetime of attending events both sporting and cultural that match it.  Right from the time you get in public transport to the track to the time you leave, no matter whether you are in a tent or standing with the masses, the day is just shear bedlam as 110,000 people from all walks of life cram themselves into the race track.  It would be fair to say that Melbourne Cup day at Flemington is a microsm of life in Australia with just about every socio-economic and ethnic group represented from those in the most glamorous of marquees through to the staff behind the bar.  

That fact, of itself, makes is day a special one and stands it apart from most other events, in my opinion, in this country.  Simply: anyone can buy a ticket and attend.  If that was all that makes is event one for the bucket list then I am sure people attending would be happy to tick said list.  All of this though forgets the actual race.

I have never heard a crowd hush, as I did the day I attended the Cup, before the start of an event.  110,000 people all of a sudden quietened and listened to the final instructions of the starter to the jockeys before he released them.  And then the roar started and did not end until, in my case, Americian hit the finishing line. It was nothing short of breathtaking and, frankly, Channel 7’s coverage does not do it justice.  I can only remember one other experience like it in a sports ground, the hush and then the roar, and that was at the Gabba before and after the infamous “Harmison ball”.

If you are a fan of sport, indeed if you are Australian, then attending the Melbourne Cup at Flemington is a must for your bucket list.  It is right up there with attending a World Cup final, an Ashes test and a Grand Final of a winter code.  

A word of warning to finish with: if you think the day at the races that is Melbourne Cup Day is as Channel 7 portrays then you are going to be left disappointed.  No one looks as good as they did when they walked into the course at the end of the day, not all of us can afford to be in the Birdcage and there are actually horses that loose.  All of that said: this is a day worth taking a chance on … You will regret it if you do not.

PostScript: My thoughts go out to all of the connections of Verema which was euthanised on the course after suffering an injury in the Cup. 

Shumpty’s Punt: Melbourne Cup 2013

November 4, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

It is time for the race that stops the nation tomorrow. Every year I say to myself that I am not going to bet on the Cup as I have always found tipping in this race akin to throwing a dart at a dart board. This year though I have followed the fortunes of one horse all the way to this race and thus I am confident to tip the horse is as the horse I think will be the winner. I have also come up with a “mega” boxed first four that I am quietly confident in.

Shumpty’s Melbourne Cup Tip: Foreteller (Number 7)

Shumpty’ Melbourne Cup Mega First 4

Dunaden (Number 1)
Sea Moon (Number 4)
Brown Panther (Number 5)
Fiorente (Number 6)
Foreteller (Number 7)
Dandino (Number 8)
Hawkspur (Number 18)
Simenon (Number 19)
Verema (Number 21)

Box them all up and you just might get a good return.

As always: good luck and good punting.

Social Media Hiatus: interim disruption or a permanent change?

November 4, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

I have not checked in to any of my social media accounts since Friday. No twitter. No tumblr. No linkedin. No Google plus. And on Thursday I shut down my Facebook.

There was no one “thing” that lead to this occurring. I will confess that I had been enjoying social media less as my timeline appears to have been taken over by the political and the negative rather than the banterous discussion that I am used to. That issue though is easily fixed by unfollowing.

It has also been a very busy weekend filled with time with family and friends. And that is probably where my social media vacuum has come from: I have been having face to face interactions with friends and family that has gotten in the way of other social interactions.

You know what though: it has felt great! Now I am not saying that the interactions have been any more genuine or heartfelt because they have been face to face rather than over 140 characters. What this time away from social media has shown me though is the importance of making time to see people face to face rather than just behind the screen of a phone or computer. That is certainly a promise to myself moving forward.

Will I come back to social media is the other thought I have, certainly yesterday and this morning, had. The short answer is yes: this is only an interim disruption brought about by a confluence of events. That said, I think out of this weekend I have learned to seek deeper engagement in my interactions and that is what I will be looking for in my usage of social media.

That means more blogging and tumbling I think over and above twitter because of the greater flexibility the unlimited nature of the length of posts. Bring on deeper interactions I say: but this blog aside not just yet … I think the interim disruption (posts on this blog aside) can last just another day longer.

Cricket: Johnson and the early leave pass

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

News overnight from Cricket Australia Towers that Mitchell Johnson is returning home early from India to prepare for the Ashes confirms what must be the worst kept secret in cricket, and something I commented on earlier this week, that the Australian team has already been selected for the first test of the Ashes.

If you don’t agree with that then consider this: the series in India is presently drawn at 2-2 with one game to play and Johnson has been Australia’s best bowler. Given the apparent importance placed on this series by Sutherland and Invers could there be any other reason for his return other than the fact that he is in the team already?

Removing him from India removes him from the prospect of another shocking run chase and the mental scarring that comes from that which will be vital if Johnson is to perform in the Ashes.

I salute CA for this move. I don’t agree with Johnson’s selection and think moving him back to Australia makes a mockery of a series that has been indicative of the shambolic state of the administration of the game in this country. However if he is to feature in the tests he has to be mentally right and the best place for him to get right is at home.