Cricket | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
  • IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.

Cricket

This didn't age well.

England, their umpires, their 'control' of the rules of the game (still in 2023!), their players, their coach BMc (is he still actually a Kiwi? Naturalised English? Or just a pathetic wannabe Pom?), their invocation of the 'spirit of the game' ... only when it suits their interests as if they still own it!? Pope got NZ (is that one of Baz's former compatriots?) out in their last series V NZ in similar fashion. Gross hypocrisy in their typical way.

You sound very naive.

Hypocrisy goes both ways though Leon.

Broad didn't walk when he nicked behind and was lambasted in Australia for the "spirit of the game", enough so that he was booed constantly 2 years later when he returned to Australia and still to this day, many Australian's won't let it go, even though it is the umpires job to give him out.

Yet now "spirit of the game" doesn't matter because Australia benefited. Its 1 thing that both sides of shown, they are both hypocrites, but don't make out like it only goes one way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Cummins is a woeful captain. Who the *smile* invites Stokes to smack the ball over the fence every ball
The idea might have been to catch him. But dropped him at least twice in the outfield. Should have been all over earlier. But when we/Starc did catch Duckett., it was disallowed anyway (in a first invocation of the supposed "rule" I have ever seen) gifting them about 50 extra runs later.
 
What an embarrassing display of bowling from the Aussies. I assume they are bowling to the captain’s instructions if so it is pathetic captaincy as well. Bewildering.
I'm (enjoying) going through all these entertaining cricket posts retrospectively because I stayed up watching it all live into the aftermath. So didn't/couldn't go on the PRE thread then - just too tense and frustrated.
So, I;m just re-living it all now, without for one moment disparaging anyone's comments, because most of the same was going through m y head at the time too. Yelling at the TV often ... especially during Green's 2nd last spell which just fed Stokes' big hits.

But, retrospectively, I think a lot of the poor bowling as it seemed to us, was due to a pitch that was so dead and flat but lasted well for batting on the last day. Cummins referred to this later in a brilliant one-liner to a flog Pommie journo in the post-game.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
To be honest most of the short pitched bowling is due to the wickets, nothing to do with a side trying to ruff another one up. The reversions of going back to Bodyline are off the mark IMO, the whole idea of Bodyline was to rough the batsmen up with very quick short pitched deliveries. Not sure we have anyone playing that would be regarded as very quick.

It was more a division away from what we were doing as pitching it up, there was no real swing or seam (until Starc came on and had it bending round buildings!) so they went shorter to make the batsmen play off the bat foot more and hope to surprise them with either one that bounces a little bit more, or 1 that didn't bounce as much (but this didn't really happen either as there wasn't a lot of variable bounce).

Neither wicket so far has been great for the bowlers and in particular the English bowlers.
The first 2 wickets have surprised me, the curators were obviously asked to prepare a road for the first test, England won the toss and batted. The second test had a tinge of green grass, but gave very little to the bowlers.
Australia haven't won an Ashes series in England for over 20 years, I don't get why the wickets haven't been much the same as they have been for the last 20 odd years, it's like the English side lost their nerve.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Hypocrisy goes both ways though Leon.

Broad didn't walk when he nicked behind and was lambasted in Australia for the "spirit of the game", enough so that he was booed constantly 2 years later when he returned to Australia and still to this day, many Australian's won't let it go, even though it is the umpires job to give him out.

Yet now "spirit of the game" doesn't matter because Australia benefited. Its 1 thing that both sides of shown, they are both hypocrites, but don't make out like it only goes one way.
Agree with Broad.
I dont understand the bellyaching that he didnt walk.

We shouldnt expect professional cricketers to walk. There are the best umpires and outstanding technology to determine a catch.
Let the umpires do their job.

We can dislike Broad. Call him names including hypocrite and villian.
But not walking is not cheating. Its playing to the umpires whistle.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Ponting getting stuck into Aussies. Fair enough too.
However, is he one of the greatest "I told you so's" of all time? Likes to be right ... always, does Punter. (Must never have backed a loser ... if you asked him.)
 
The idea might have been to catch him. But dropped him at least twice in the outfield. Should have been all over earlier. But when we/Starc did catch Duckett., it was disallowed anyway (in a first invocation of the supposed "rule" I have ever seen) gifting them about 50 extra runs later.
Just on the Starc catch , it made me think about the players who throw the ball in the air immediately after catching it. If that rule was invoked wouldn’t some of those be deemed illegal ?
 
I think that innings by Stokes was brilliant. Sure Cummins captaincy and some of the bowling was patchy at times, but thats pressure and it happens, more brilliant from Stokes than shabby from us.
But Hazlewood and Green did start to get it right in their final spells, along with Starc and Cummins. Mixed it up far more, but mostly outside off, taking away his legside strengths from earlier. More short-form bowling, full and changes of pace, was smart ... finally!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
WG Grace was one of the biggest cheats the game has seen...... just saying.
You mean (one of) the fathers of the English game? Taught them plenty - set out the template. Anything England can get away with is ... in the Spirit of the Game (as owned by ECB/MCC and still are!).
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
All correct the issue is do you take advantage of those opportunities or not same as a mankad within the rules but perhaps a little sneaky in practice.

My view is I don’t like it and I wouldnt do it and that won’t change. Dont care how many videos are dug up showing such and such doing similar things you set your own character lines what someone else does isnt relevant.
And you are welcome to remain naive. And when Jardine on behalf of the MCC directed Larwood and Voce to bowl bodyline in order to curb and dismiss Bradman and other great Aust batsmen, we were too honourable to retaliate. Refusing to stoop that low and bring the 'game into disrepute.' So, we adhered to what we believed to be the 'spirit' of the game at that time.

So it was continued ... and our players kept getting hit. Someone may well have died - it was quite possible; no helmets or protection and Larwood could bowl at 90 mph. Just good luck no-one did.. Not sure how well that would have gone down for a family losing main breadwinner during the Depression. Your honour worth a death? Not to mention the implications for the Ashes and Eng/ Aust relations. This after after Aust sacrificing most casualties p.c. for any nation in WW1 in order to save the old country!

Retaliation from our fast bowlers would most likely stopped the unscrupulous English in their tracks. In my world, you fight fire with fire ... or die.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user