Tag Archives: cricket

Cricket: RIP Gary Gilmour

June 10, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

One of Australia’s most dynamic all-rounders and a player immortalised in the World Series Cricket jingle C’mon Aussie C’mon with the words “And Gilmour’s wielding willow like an axe”, Gary Gilmour has passed away aged 62.

Forever remembered for his performance in the 1975 World Cup final against England, where he took 6-14 and then guided Australia to victory with a gritty 28 not out, the bowling part of which was named by Wisden as the best bowling performance in the history of ODI cricket in 2002, Gilmour was a left arm swing bowler who played 15 tests for Australia.

He had a liver transplant in 2005 and has long battled ill health.

Vale Gary: one of the larrikans of the great game.

Cricket: 2014/15 Queensland Bulls Squad Named

June 10, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Queensland Cricket has today announced its squad for the 2014/15 season.  The squad is:

Cameron BOYCE

Nick BUCHANAN

Joe BURNS

Ben CUTTING

Luke FELDMAN

Jason FLOROS

Peter FORREST

Cameron GANNON

Ryan HARRIS (Cricket Australia)

Chris HARTLEY

James HOPES

Usman KHAWAJA

Chris LYNN

Alister McDERMOTT

Michael NESER

James PEIRSON

Nathan REARDON

Mark STEKETEE

Nick STEVENS

 Rookies

James BAZLEY

Ben McDERMOTT

Ronan McDONALD

Matthew RENSHAW

Billy STANLAKE

Jack WILDERMUTH

Interestingly, Nathan Hauritz has been left out of the squad and will need to make any return to the Queensland Bulls top XI through club cricket.

No annoucement has yet been made about the schedule for first class / short form domestic cricket in Australia this summer however this squad looks a strong chance to defend its Ryobi Cup title from last season and again challenge for the Sheffield Shield.

Cricket: the Mankading “controversy” … Why controversial one asks?

June 4, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

I have reading, with much bemusement, about the controversy overnight surrounding the Mankading of Jos Buttler by Sachithra Senanayake in the 42nd over of the 5th ODI fixture between England and Sri Lanka.

My bemusement comes from the fact this dismissal is actually controversial! Consider these facts:

1. Senanayake warned both batsman in the 42nd about backing up too far.

2. Buttler ignored both warnings and backed up a significant way out of his crease on the ball that led to the dismissal.

3. Mankading, as a dismissal, is part of the laws of the game. Indeed in 2011 the Laws of Cricket were amended to make the mankad easier to pull off.

4. The spirit of cricket, which ostensibly is a fairness standard, allows for this form of dismissal in the context of the batsman both being warned and repeatedly offending in backing up too far.

Why then the alleged controversy? All we have seen in this game is the laws and spirit of the game actually working. I could understand umbrage being taken if no warning had been given but to have warned twice and then acted strikes me as conduct entirely within the game’s spirit.

English fans will no doubt make some allegation of cheating against Sachithra Senanayake but frankly the only cheats on the ground in the 42nd over over night were the batters backing up too far. The fact that one of them was dismissed by a bowling knowledgeable in the laws of the game and the spirit surrounding there application ought be lauded rather than demonised!

Well played Sachithra Senanayake for following the game’s laws and Angelo Matthews for backing his player in upholding the appeal.

If anyone should be hauled over the coals for breaching the spirit of cricket doctrine it is the English players for their over the top sledging of Matthews and others when it came Sri Lanka’s turn to bat but, of course, the ICC is part run by the ECB now so the chances of that happening are slim at best.

Cricket: Some thoughts on match fixing and corruption

May 26, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

You couldn’t be a cricket fan and not either know about the recent revelations surrounding Lou Vincent’s evidence to the ICC nor have an opinion on it.

I have held fire on making a comment of any significance as I have been keen to see how things are played out in either the ICC disciplinary hearings or in the court hearings that may follow if criminal charges are laid.

That said, the more I think about it there are some issues that comment does not need to wait for those things to happen for them to made.

1. How is appropriate that Vincent’s evidence has been leaked?

Am I alone in being very bothered about the fact that Lou Vincent’s evidence has been papered all over newspapers and cricket news websites? I allude from what has been printed that Vincent has made admissions of bad conduct however he is also entitled to due process and to have details of his evidence plastered all over the cricket media before he has (or had) been charged and found guilty is reprehensible.  The ICC should be ashamed about this leak and about how this matter has been handled.

2. I know it is cheating but does cheating in games of no consequence matter?

I have scanned with interest the evidence given (allegedly) by Vincent.  It is striking that none of the allegations relating to fixing games include games on either the international stage or of a first class nature.  It is simple: the games in question are, frankly, insignificant in the realm of world cricket.  They are domestic T20 and other short form games.  This raises a question in my mind as to whether the level of culpability here is as great as if the games in question had have been a test match or an international match.  It is only my own view but I think it does.  Putting the question in the title a different way: is cheating in a match that does not matter really cheating?

3. It is obvious that this is the tip of the iceberg: what comes next might horrify … is the ICC up for it?

It sticks out like the proverbial that what has been stated in the press as being what Lou Vincent has admitted to is merely the tip of a very very large iceberg of corruption in cricket.  There is just too much money floating around the game, particularly in the subcontinent, for there not to me more going on is certainly my gut instinct.  I fear we are on the cusp of another “Cronje” incident and I wonder whether the ICC and its investigators are up to the challenge of investigating what is obviously a very sophisticated operation.  They have snared Lou Vincent here, it would seem, largely off his own admissions.  What would they be doing without said admissions?  I expect we would still not be talking about corruption in cricket because the ICC just don’t seem to have the skills to get an investigation over the line (don’t forget the last international fixing scandal was actually discovered by a British tabloid newspaper).  That needs to change and change quickly.

Corruption of any type is a scourge on society as is cheating.  I look forward to seeing what happens at the inevitable ICC disciplinary hearing / court hearings and hope that the ICC is lifting its game to find the next tranche of offenders because they are out there!

Cricket: Ashes 2015 Match Schedule announced

May 12, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

The ECB and Cricket Australia have announced the schedule for the 2015 Ashes tour to England and Wales. The matches that matter are as follows:

June 25-28: Four-day match v Kent in Canterbury.
July 1-4: Four-day match v Essex in Chelmsford.
July 8-12: 1st Test v England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.
July 16-20: 2nd Test v England at Lord’s, London.
July 23-25: Three-day match v Derbyshire in Derby.
July 29-August 2: 3rd Test v England at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
August 6-10: 4th Test v England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
August 14-16: Three-day match v Northants in Northampton.
August 20-24: 5th Test v England at The Oval, London.

Australia will be seeking to retain the Ashes urn convincing won in Australia 5-0 only some 4 months ago.

The battle begins now!!!!

Cricket: Australia in 2013/14 … a requim

April 5, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

Cricket is finished for another year, well at least in the sense that the Australian cricket season is over (I am abundantly aware that we seem to play cricket all year round these days) and, since Australia bombed out of the WT20 I have had a few moments of reflection thinking about the season that was.

It has been a wonderful season for Australia’s cricketers. If I had have said that to you in July and August 2013 I would be declaring that Australia’s season was wonderful you would have asked me what I had been smoking. Then, deep in the heart of an Ashes tour that was replete with much pain, things looked as dim as the English summer weather.

Since then, Australia’s turnaround has been nothing short of spectacular. Here are my 5 moments that mattered for Australia in 2013/14:

1. Darren Lehmann becomes coach

It would be too cute to simply suggest that Lehmann becoming coach was the panacea for the change in the performance of Australia. However it would also be remiss not to say that from the moment that Darren Lehmann has come on board for Australia as coach the performance of Australia at the top level has been lifted to a new level. From the outside looking in Lehmann has instilled some old school values and enforced the basics, and that approach has seemed to instilled some pride back into the team. From that the results have flowed!

2. Ryan Harris stays fit

Much has been written about the work of Mitchell Johnson during the season just gone and I will write more of him shortly. To focus just on Mitchell Johnson belies just how important getting multiple test matches in row from Ryan Harris was for Australia. Harris takes big wickets, bowls his heart out and has played through a terrible injury. That last part has been nothing short of inspirational and his fellow players have responded. You only need to look at him returning to the crease at the end of the last day of the last test of the summer and taking two big wickets to see how important he was.

3. The Smith and Haddin show: papering over the cracks of a fragile top order

Australia’s top order, particularly in the first innings, in the test matches in Australia this summer was patchy to say the best. Of late, before the Ashes series, when Australia was 3 out often it was all out. Against England in the summer that did not happen for two reasons. Steve Smith and Brad Haddin are those reasons. One, making a comeback, and the other, in the winter of his career, stood up when Australia needed it most and the runs flowed. Without them, I don’t think Australia wins in Australia nor in South Africa: it is that simple.

4. Pace and aggression: welcome back!

I mentioned Mitchell Johnson earlier and what a season he had. Indeed, what a season it was for aggressive cricket and fast bowling. Australia won against England and South Africa off the back of its fast bowling cartel and targeting opposition players with aggression. Michael Clarke telling James Anderson to prepare for a broken arm was just the tip of the iceberg of Australia’s aggressive approach to the opposition and it put them off. Indeed it put them off so much that by the end of both series it was pretty obvious that Australia had the psychological edge over both oppositions.

5. Warner: from a king hit to the king

This has been a summer of redemption and renaissance for David Warner. He started it by punching Joe Root and being suspended and ended it by being the man of the series against South Africa. I might not like the way he plays the game and the verbal that surrounds him but I would be lying if I did not say that his performance, in South Africa mainly, was a moment that mattered for Australia. If he did not play the way he did Australia might have struggled in South Africa.

So there they are: my moments that mattered in Australian cricket in 2013/14. There is no reference to ODI or T20 cricket in this post and the fact is that as time goes on I enjoy those forms less and less. Equally, to me, the cricket that matters is test cricket and these are the moments that mattered in it this year.

Bring on season 2014/15!