Ok so i promised not to mention him for a week, then the next day i mentioned him.
Now i’m mentioning him again.
He proved me wrong as an opening batsmen.
I had a conversation with sime, and sime said he’d rather have hodge opening than jacques or “some shit cunt from wa”.
Sime you are completely right, Brad Hodge making a pair in this match against the warriors has won me over.
Only a true opening batsmen can make a pair.
I was interested to see during the week the retirement of New Zealand’s Craig McMillan. McMillan was coming off a purple patch of form which began with his recall to the New Zealand one day side in January, after losing his national contract.
He continued his good form through the real World Cup in the West Indies and almost single handedly carried the Kiwis through the Twenty20 World Cup.
McMillan was a talented batsman and handy medium pacer who developed a reputation as a partnership breaker. He was probably the only Kiwi I had any respect for as he was a fierce competitor and wasn’t afraid to take the game up to the opponent and he never backed down. All qualities never associated with New Zealand cricketers.
He overcame diabetes and the associated weight issues to play 55 Tests and 190 odd one dayers. New Zealand is going to find him hard to replace.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, Andrew Symonds was the stand out for Australia in the Future Cup. In game six he made a well earned century after Australia had made a quick start but found itself bogged down in the middle overs when the power plays had ended. The ball had lost its hardness and the Indians had identified the wicket was a slow one and had implemented their medium pacers and spinners to make reaching the boundaries difficult. Harbajan Singh was turning it sideways. Brad Haddin was new to the crease and was attempting to use some initiative and play himself in, with the idea of striking out in the later overs, as he had had a strong series to date. At 6 runs from 29 balls, it wasn’t working and the pressure was building…….
At the other end the old Andrew Symonds would have attempted to hit himself out of trouble, when faced with this scenario, and he would not have necessarily waited for the right ball. Sometimes this worked……more often than not it wouldn’t. In this game he was prepared to rotate the strike and turn singles into twos, without once taking a ridiculous risk. He also displayed a wide variety of deft touch by way of fine late cuts to very fine third man or fine behind square. Finesse never seen from him before. He seems focused on playing a lot straighter and his lofted drives in Game 6 were a feature, eliminating a lot of the risk associated with hitting in the air.
There is no question that even with this steady improvement in technique and attitude that Symonds would never have been able to break into Test cricket 15-20 years ago facing up to the likes of Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Malcolm Marshall, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram etc, who could make that little red ball ‘talk’ in ways we can only dream about now……..and at a very rapid rate that makes Brett Lee look like the Patrick Patterson he is……..
He has a chance of making it in Test cricket these days because there isn’t a single pace bowler in Test cricket that would be worthy of being the same state/province/county (depending where you come from) as the above mentioned legends of the craft of fast/swing bowling. I dare anyone out there to contradict this fact. Living proof is the fact that a no talent, big mouth like Kevin Pieterson can have the sort of record he does in Test cricket when he has the worst technique in the history of cricket. He only knows one way – to slog and thrash his way out of every situation. Swinging across the line at every opportunity, lifting his head, never moving his feet………it makes me sick to think this is what Test cricket has come to.
He has a worthy counterpart in this department in the equally ugly ‘axe man’ in South African skipper Graeme Smith. The only difference is that Smith hasn’t had the same luck, early in his innings as Pieterson. ……….Don’t even get me started on Shahid Afridi!! This style of batting is spreading through the ranks of Test cricket as well as the kids coming through, faster than Equine Influenza.
The Future Cup was a triumph for two veterans of the game in Matthew Hayden and Sachin Tendulkar. Hayden continued his rich vein of form until a worrying, untimely hip injury, which makes you wonder why he has to be played in such a series which has no importance, one month out from a Test series? Hayden is the perfect example of how best to hit out in a one day game at minimal risk. Hayden is the master of hitting through the line of a ball, using conventional cricket shots. He also uses his feet superbly to change the length of balls. When he has his full momentum through a ball, not unlike a golf swing, his timing is amazing and he is almost impossible to bowl to. Ricky Ponting has also mastered this art. Other countries should be adopting this play in an effort to compete with the Aussies.
Tendulkar on the other hand, turned his Future Cup around at the end of the series, after a very shaky start, using the Hayden method of one day attack, minus the power. It was a rare glimpse of the Tendulkar of old, absolutely murdering the bowling at times with his precise driving of anything over pitched on both sides of the wicket. Technically, he is almost perfect and only Ricky Ponting plays the horizontal bat strokes better. He teamed well with Ganguly at the top of the order, but sadly he couldn’t turn his fifties and sixties into a couple of hundreds he deserved. Time seems to have passed The Little Master by, but it is admirable the way he has adjusted his game to counter his diminishing powers.
Other notable performances from the Future Cup for India were the hundred scored against the tidal wave from Yuvaraj Singh, who is a prodigious talent who needs to venture from the dark side and polish his skills to be an impact player in Test cricket. See Matthew Hayden. Yuvaraj’s innings was one that required patience and he was left to carry the load, a role he isn’t familiar with as he has been used solely as a hitter in the past.
I never thought I would see the day when Murali Karthik would take six wickets in a game, let alone against Australia. He took advantage of the slower wickets and bowled very, very well. No batsmen could get hold of him and his variations, although slight were well executed, particularly the arm ball.
Finally, I felt Dhoni did a very serviceable job of captaining the side. He had clearly defined game plans and wasn’t afraid to take the Aussies on. This is a characteristic very few Indian captains have had recently and he looks like he might be able to lead from the front. Rarely was he flustered when things were on the skids and he backed his players to follow through, regardless. Having said that, he too needs to come from the dark side and put a higher price on his wicket and lead by example in the tougher game of Test cricket.
The big question remains, can the Indians expose the Australians lack of bowling depth in the up and coming Test series in Australia, as they did in the last series in Australia? Or, as Big Daddy has outlined earlier, will they wilt under the pressure of five day cricket? I feel they have the quality in there squad to cause us some headaches, but I doubt they have the constitution to follow through, particularly if they continue with some fading stars in Ganguly and Dravid. It promises to be an interesting series none the less, let’s just hope on the ground……….
Big Daddy, a future contributor to this blog, will be sitting on his couch at home with a very contented look on his face. More than likely he would be nursing his 5 and ¾ month old baby daughter, his greatest achievement in his short life to date. The topic of his second greatest achievement is one I wish to discuss in this blog………his prediction many years ago that Andrew Symonds would be a major influence on the fortunes of the Australian cricket side, in both forms of the game.
At the time Symonds was tossing up whether to stick to Australia or defect to England were he would be eligible to represent the Old Dart. Symonds was a long shot to get a chance to represent Australia. Big Daddy persisted in telling anyone who would listen that Symonds had the required talent, when the big Queenslander decided to stick fat with the Aussies.
Back in the day Symonds swung like a rusty gate in all forms of the game; rarely getting his foot anywhere near the pitch of the ball and rarer still, with anything that resembled a straight bat. His gentle medium pacers lacked spunk and weren’t getting the job done. His only saving grace was his exceptional fielding and infectious enthusiasm. Dressing room moral was another strength and this wasn’t lost, obviously, on a future Australian captain………..
As Symonds bumbled his way along in first class cricket with glimpses of potential and more frequent bursts of infuriating indiscipline when it came to building an innings, getting himself out by attempting to slog the wrong ball out of the park, when he had an attack at his mercy……still Big Daddy refused to yield, through plenty of thin…….until the 2003 World Cup and the opening pool game against Pakistan, one of Big Daddy’s favourite cricketing stories……
Symonds has had a few defining moments in his career since that day, both good and bad and has well and truly established himself in the Australian team come October 2007. But for me, I have witnessed a new, previously unseen cricketing wisdom in Symonds during the Future Cup.
For me, Symonds rise has reminded me of Uncle J-Rods greatest female conquest…….classy at all times, great team person and although his style of game initially wasn’t appealing to me it has come to grow on me and I would travel just about anywhere in the world to catch a glimpse……….even a trip out Glenferrie Road…….
Catch my blog tomorrow night, on the eve of the last Future Cup match, when I will reveal my highs and lows for the series from the controversial Brad Hogg to the gritty Little Master to the stars of the show Symonds and Hayden.
I have to be honest and admit that I didn’t see much of the second one dayer between Australia and India as the match started at 1pm eastern standard time in Australia. Unfortunately, some of us have to work for a living!! Having said that I am glad I had to work.
I managed to catch the gripping conclusion as Damien Fleming made a pretty strong case that India could still win although they needed 8 an over off the last twelve with 3 wickets in hand and Dhoni the only guy capable of holding a bat left at the wicket.
Very disappointing day for the game of cricket when the most noteworthy events that made highlight packages were the ugly confrontations between several members of both sides……who will remain nameless…….
Reminded me of many other matches between Australia and sub continental sides that have turned nasty. I hope I am wrong, but there seems to be a trend. Whether Australia is still viewed by the rest of the world as just your average tall poppy that needs slashing or is it the fact India have just come off a major international tournament win (I’m still not convinced it counts) and may have been viewed as a rising threat that needed some mental manipulation before the Australian summer by the Aussies. Would be interested in your views out there in Uncle J-Rod land…….
None the less, this match just reinforced my point of a blog ago that these sort of contests don’t do anything for anyone associated with the game. India batted poorly and unfortunately Sachin failed again and he would be advised to put in a phone call to Chris Grant………
The game had a fitting end as Dhoni refused singles to expose Sreesanth to the strike, something I haven’t seen in one dayer…….particularly when they needed 10 an over. To seal the deal he nearly killed Sreesanth with a slog down the ground and the farce was completed as Gilchrist showed more concern for Sreesanth’s helmet than he did the individual.
Bottom line – save the niggly agro crap for the first morning of the First Test in November when there is something actually on the line.
Monday night I witnessed the first half of the first one dayer between England and Sri Lanka and was pleased to see the stunning form of one of all time favourite non Australian players Sanath Jayasuriya. What a freak he is at 38. Made a typical Jayasuriya 41. Set the platform for what can only be described as restrained, pedestrian 269 from the time Jayasuriya was out. Disappointing considering the bowling was moderate to say the least. No Flintoff and Broad is still very raw and finding his feet at this level.
England was England and capitulated for 159 (luckily I didn’t have to witness this as I went to bed) although a noteworthy debut was made by England’s keeper, a guy named Mustrard……..yep…….Mustard, who put in a tidy effort behind the stumps and contributed some spunk at the top of the order before he was out for a 30 odd off 20 balls. The walkers came in next (Bell and Collingwood) and that must have been that…..
Keep an eye out bloggers for what sounds like the makings of an interesting Test in Pakistan were South Africa are taking on the home nation at the moment.
Uncle J-Rod…….I am too intrigued by Dinnie………
I would like thank Sime, our newest conspirator, for writing his first blog. I’m sure you will all look forward to his contributions, especially the ones where he compares every modern player negatively to Steve Waugh.
I am hoping he will become the Neil Harvey of this blog. Because things were always better in the old days, weren’t they Sime?
For people trying to get a grip on Sime as a cricketer let me say this, Atherton, Boycott and Lawry all look like Viv Richards in comparison. Brilliant forward defence, but all the intent to attack of a brick wall.
By the way, he bowls off the wrong foot, not sure what that has to do with his writing style, but its true.
When thinking of sime this photo says it all.
Thanks for showing me this pic Dinnie, it will stay with me forever.
As I sat and watched last night’s one day international between Australia and India, which concluded in an inglorious wash out, I wondered whether the direction interantional cricket is taking, is a positive one……
Hello to all of you out there in Uncle J-Rod’s cricket blogging world. If this column is any good you will come to know me as Sime. Uncle J-Rod’s parol officer when it comes to upholding the traditions and values of this great game we know as cricket. A traditionalist at heart, I love to watch pure cricket were all skills are on display and the correct techniques are implemented or at the very least that is the intention of the relevant player involved.
My favourite players over the journey have included such lead by example types as Alan Border, Steve Waugh and my current favourite player the immortal Ricky (always be Ricky to me) Ponting.
Which leads me to the topic of my first post. Too much cricket……..never could be too much cricket, I hear you say. Well not for the fans like you and me, who will tune in at anytime of day or night. I’m refering to the players. What on earth is the purpose of this 7 game series that began in India overnight, that I spoke of earlier? India competed in the Twenty20 World Cup final on Monday night in South Africa and less than a week later they are involved in a pointless one day home series which lasts three weeks.
Television committments I hear you say. Well it pains me to see a champion of our game, the great Sachin Tendulkar, in the decline he is, due partly to age, but mainly to an unrealistic, demanding schedule of mainly one day games which have worn away at his body, his confidence and robbed us of a few extra years of watching this once in a life time talent.
On the opposing side of last nights contest I wonder how long players like Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist can sustain this amount of cricket. Not only that, this amount of cricket makes it difficult to hold solid form and can cause many of these limit overs contests to degenerate into uncompetive farces.
One day specialists have emerged to rest or replace class players and this has resulted in the standard of international player to drop considerable from what it was 20 years ago. Outside of Australia, the standard of the rest of the Test playing nations in the last 2 years or so hasn’t been good enough.
In my next blog, if Uncle J-Rod will have me back, I am going to explore this topic in a little more depth.
