[the saint]

I was listening to that in the car today. I'm pleased for Plunkett. The boy has a really sweet action and I think he will go a long way.

[paulg]

Monty bowled very well too ... if only he didn't throw and catch like a girl

Paul

"Monty Python comes up and bowls"
Five Live Sports Extra commentators

[FrancesHinden]

the saint, on May 25 2006, 05:32 PM, said:

I'd like to thank Frances for not being there!!

Not only was I not there, I wasn't even in the country. What a success!

p.s. We found that you can get Radio 4 longwave in Switzerland. But you have to be as dedicated as my husband is to try and listen to it over the interference and distortion.

[Walddk]

I assume that Frances has taken notes regarding this summer's international fixtures. Then she will know when to be out of the country. Additionally, she will get to travel much more than she and Jeffrey had anticipated, and that can't be bad.

How about Denmark? Fares from Stansted to Copenhagen and/or Malmö are ridiculously cheap.

Roland

[the saint]

Walddk, on May 29 2006, 08:41 AM, said:

I assume that Frances has taken notes regarding this summer's international fixtures. Then she will know when to be out of the country. Additionally, she will get to travel much more than she and Jeffrey had anticipated, and that can't be bad.

How about Denmark? Fares from Stansted to Copenhagen and/or Malmö are ridiculously cheap.

Roland

I did Gatwick-Billund last year. Has the additional benefit of being able to go to Legoland.

The good news is that I have an excellent success rate when seeing England in action, and I will be going to the Pakistan test at the Oval and possibly to the Sri Lanka ODI there too. If any of the rest of you have tickets you wish to donate so that I may bless the team, do not hesitate to volunteer them!

[Walddk]

By the way, it's good to see that the Windies are getting back in business. They have been out of it far too long. Defeating India 4-1 in the ODIs is not to be sneezed at.

Who doesn't remember the likes of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Lloyd, Harper, Ambrose, Walsh, Marshall, Holding, Roberts, Garner and many more? Maybe Alan, Mark, Frances and a few others are too young to remember, but they have surely read about them.

Those were the days. Are they coming back I wonder.

Roland

[paulg]

Walddk, on May 29 2006, 06:17 PM, said:

By the way, it's good to see that the Windies are getting back in business. They have been out of it far too long. Defeating India 4-1 in the ODIs is not to be sneezed at.

Who doesn't remember the likes of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Lloyd, Harper,  Ambrose, Walsh, Marshall, Holding, Roberts, Garner and many more? Maybe Alan, Mark, Frances and a few others are too young to remember, but they have surely read about them.

Those were the days. Are they coming back I wonder.

Roland

My first test was watching Lillian Thompson bowling at a grey-haired old man so I've seen most of the great West Indians. Their performance seems to have been transformed by Bravo's dismissal of Singh to win the second match and the Indians appear to have lost all heart. It will be interesting to see how the Test series goes now.

I think it will be some time before we see a team as good as the 70s and 80s. At that time they had enough world-class players so that island politics did not have a great impact. Now they have a couple of exciting players and it will be interesting to see how they develop especially when they travel abroad.

Paul

[FrancesHinden]

Sadly I'm not too young to remember Walsh, Ambrose and Hooper (particularly the Hooper bowling technique).

We were discussing last night our 'team supporter' order: when any two Test teams are playing each other, which one would we support? Jeffrey and I didn't have quite the same list, but mine is

1. England
2. New Zealand
3. West Indies
4. Bangladesh (typical English love for the underdog)
5. India
6. Pakistan
7. Zimbabwe (used to be higher but country is too depressing now)
8. South Africa
9. Australia

Then we got onto the football world cup, but that belongs in a different thread.

[mr1303]

Viv Richards was still around when I first started watching cricket (or at least the first cricket match I remember watching).

However, the trouble with West Indian cricket is that their islands have been influenced too much with American (and therefore non-cricket playing) culture. As a result, youngsters grow up wanting to become Michael Jordan (basketball player) rather than Michael Holding, which is a shame.

[GeeGee]

Walddk, on May 29 2006, 05:17 PM, said:

Who doesn't remember the likes of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Lloyd, Harper,  Ambrose, Walsh, Marshall, Holding, Roberts, Garner and many more? Maybe Alan, Mark, Frances and a few others are too young to remember, but they have surely read about them.

I can recall seeing Gary Sobers playing for The International Cavaliers at York, one lovely Summer Sunday.

Can't remember who else was playing.

Geoff

[Walddk]

GeeGee, on May 30 2006, 01:49 PM, said:

I can recall seeing Gary Sobers playing for The International Cavaliers at York, one lovely Summer Sunday. 

Speaking of Gary Sobers, captain of Nottinghamshire at the time. What about 1968 at Swansea against Glamorgan? 6 sixes in an over. Poor Malcolm Nash. Want to see the video?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1...71645&q=cricket

Roland

[Walddk]

FrancesHinden, on May 30 2006, 09:02 AM, said:

We were discussing last night our 'team supporter' order: when any two Test teams are playing each other, which one would we support? Jeffrey and I didn't have quite the same list, but mine is

1. England
2. New Zealand
3. West Indies
4. Bangladesh (typical English love for the underdog)
5. India
6. Pakistan
7. Zimbabwe (used to be higher but country is too depressing now)
8. South Africa
9. Australia

My list is somewhat different, but I guess that's normal for a non-English citizen. However, I must admit that my heart belongs to England, possibly because I lived there when I was young(er).

1. England
2. West Indies
3. Australia
4. India
5. New Zealand
6. South Africa
7. Pakistan
8. Bangladesh
9. Zimbabwe

Roland

[FrancesHinden]

I think that your list is a little unusual in that you aren't Australian yet you don't have Australia at the bottome of the list.

Would you really have been disappointed had Bangladesh beaten Australia in the first test?

[the saint]

I do remember the West Indies quicks. The best test innings I've ever seen was Gooch's 154* at Headingley 1991 on a pitch that was doing everything against Marshall, Walsh, Ambrose and Patterson while shepherding the tail. I did like the Windies when they were great, and I'm glad to see signs of life coming back. Calypso cricket needs to return!

[Walddk]

FrancesHinden, on May 30 2006, 04:42 PM, said:

I think that your list is a little unusual in that you aren't Australian yet you don't have Australia at the bottome of the list.

Would you really have been disappointed had Bangladesh beaten Australia in the first test?

I can understand why an Englishman wants Australia at the bottom of the list, but since I am not English, I can't join that camp. My list is based on a combination of passion and skills, and I do indeed enjoy watching the Aussies - also against England.

Sure, it would have been nice if Bangladesh had beaten Australia, and I am glad to see how BD have improved considerably over the past couple of years. But I am also a subscriber to top class cricket, and in that area Australia are still a mile ahead of the rest.

I wish that I am proven wrong, but although my heart wants England to retain The Ashes, my mind tells me that it's unlikely to happen when the Aussies are on home soil.

Roland

[jikl]

I find all the lists unusual in that Zimbabwe are included, even though they have been suspended from Test status. Yet, noone has included Sri Lanka.

Sean

[Walddk]

jikl, on May 31 2006, 10:53 AM, said:

I find all the lists unusual in that Zimbabwe are included, even though they have been suspended from Test status. Yet, noone has included Sri Lanka.

Sean

Whoops. Sri Lanka is not the same team any more, but they should obviously have been there. Put them in at number 8 and throw Zimbabwe out if you like.

By the way, how would you all like to list a World XI (1) vs. World XI (2)? Tough job, I know. You are allowed to include as many players from one country as you please in both teams. Let's assume that every player is fit.

You go first, and I'll give you my line-ups later.

Roland

[FrancesHinden]

Oops.
That's what comes of doing it in a hurry: I knew I had the right number of Test teams at the end of it!

1. England
2. New Zealand
3. West Indies
4. Bangladesh (typical English love for the underdog)
5. India
6. Sri Lanka
7. Pakistan
8. South Africa
9. Australia

The reasons behind this order are subjective, complicated and personal and it may change over time as the teams change... don't take any of it as an insult, whoever you are (except that Australia won't come off the bottom until they are no longer boringly better than everyone else at any sport they play).

[FrancesHinden]

Walddk, on May 31 2006, 11:12 AM, said:

By the way, how would you all like to list a World XI (1) vs. World XI (2)? Tough job, I know. You are allowed to include as many players from one country as you please in both teams.

You go first, and I'll give you my line-ups later.

Roland

Are they supposed to be equally balanced teams - both having the same chance of winning?

It's tricky, because individual country teams have a huge amount of team spirit, morale and understanding as well as a captain who knows the players well. That's one of the reasons I think Australia hammered the "world XI" recently.

By the way, where is the match being played? There are pitches where Murali is my first choice bowler and others where he's very low down the list.

[Walddk]

FrancesHinden, on May 31 2006, 11:18 AM, said:

Walddk, on May 31 2006, 11:12 AM, said:

By the way, how would you all like to list a World XI (1) vs. World XI (2)? Tough job, I know. You are allowed to include as many players from one country as you please in both teams.

You go first, and I'll give you my line-ups later.

Roland

Are they supposed to be equally balanced teams - both having the same chance of winning?

It's tricky, because individual country teams have a huge amount of team spirit, morale and understanding as well as a captain who knows the players well. That's one of the reasons I think Australia hammered the "world XI" recently.

By the way, where is the match being played? There are pitches where Murali is my first choice bowler and others where he's very low down the list.

Equally balanced. The venue is Lord's, and the weather is great for cricket. 5-day game of course.

Roland