“You got an MBE, right? For scoring seven at the Oval? It’s an embarrassment.”
– Dr Shane Warne to Paul Collingwood MBE, Sydney Cricket Ground, 4.1.07.
Continue reading “Sydney Day Three: You did *what* for an MBE?”
Sydney Day Two: Warne’s 1000th vegetable
You have to hand it to the Murdoch comic books. One week they are celebrating – in advance – the Lord Of The RingsText Alert’s 700th wicket, the next week they are celebrating his 1000th wicket. With that rarest or rarities, the full page colour liftout commemorative poster.
So what are we celebrating again? Shane Warne’s 1000th international wicket. As in all “full internationals”. Let me explain, by introducing the rickeyre.com vegetable index (More about the fruit index later) Continue reading “Sydney Day Two: Warne’s 1000th vegetable”
Sydney Day One: Con te partiro
Imagine an artist at the canvas on the boundary fence of a packed SCG on the opening day of the New Years Test. Imagine Jack Russell, brush in hand, white floppy hat, characteristic moustache, outlining the curves of Aussie Stadium peeking from behind the Noble Stand, the clock on the Members Stand showing a quarter past four.
A man neatly dressed in a suit appears in the middle of the arena. But it’s not the CEO of one of the myriad of sponsors – not unless he is a classically-trained opera singer. Suddenly, the painter’s hat flies away, the moustache curls up, Jack Russell has morphed into Salvador Dali, and the SCG clock melts away. Continue reading “Sydney Day One: Con te partiro”
Enjoyable claptrap, but you knew that
New South Wales v Queensland, Big Bash Trophy
North Sydney Oval, 8 January 2006
Queensland 167ao (17.3), NSW 5/168 (18)
New South Wales won by 5 wickets with 12 balls to spare
Scorecard
I attended my first Twenty20 game yesterday. While I won’t be hanging out for the second, there are plenty who will. And that’s a good thing. Continue reading “Enjoyable claptrap, but you knew that”
Ashes 2005: Fifth Test The Oval
Unlock with PatreonEssex takes revenge for 1948
Essex v Australia, Chelmsford, 3-4 September 2005
Stumps Day OneEssex First innings Runs Balls 4s 6s WI Jefferson b MS Kasprowicz 64 73 10 1 AN Cook c JN Gillespie b MS Kasprowicz 214 238 33 1 RS Bopara b SW Tait 135 220 17 2 ML Pettini c ML Hayden b SW Tait 8 16 1 0 +JS Foster not out 38 61 0 0 JD Middlebrook not out 26 30 0 0 Extras (b 4, lb 5, nb 8, w 0) 17 Total for 4 wkt (105 overs) 502 Bowling Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Extras B Lee 13 0 69 0 - JN Gillespie 22 3 80 0 - SW Tait 15 1 72 2 - SCG MacGill 24 0 128 0 - MS Kasprowicz 19 2 85 2 - BJ Hodge 12 1 59 0
Ashes 2005: Fourth Test Trent Bridge
Great moments in tour management
Board’s itinerary goof up leaves team stranded in Bulawayo
Ashish Shukla/Press Trust of India, 27.8.05
The BCCI’s revenge perhaps for player tardiness in Mumbai and Harare?
A great English victory beckons
Something I thought I would never see, well not in this decade anyway, appears to be unfolding at New Road, Worcester, today.
It’s lunch on Day Three of the Second Women’s Test between England and Australia. The visitors made 131 in their first innings. England, after being 227 for 9 at the close of the second day, advanced to 289 all out. Australia faced sixteen overs before lunch. They are currently 13 for 3. Continue reading “A great English victory beckons”
Worcester Test Day One
Nothing will stop me from cursing the England and Wales Cricket Board for their counterproductive policy of scheduling women’s tours simultaneously with the men. There’s an important, indeed, sudden-death women’s Test match going on at New Road, Worcester which is being totally eclipsed for media attention by the most riveting men’s Ashes series in almost a quarter of a century. Continue reading “Worcester Test Day One”