The real culprit of the Lord's Test Match
The cricket world is rocked by a betting scandal again. Are we surprised? The players, the legitimate, incorruptible ones at any rate, have not been listened to. Are we surprised? The spectators, the ones that pay £90 ($155 Australian) to witness a day at the cricket, are being forgotten again. Are we surprised? The answer to all these questions is an emphatic “no” and it is about time that the administrators of the game wake up to this fact and start acting in a manner approaching...
Cricketers face mafia extortion threats
By Andy Withers @ FoxSports"They kidnap people: Pakistan players involved in spot-fixing may face mafia extortion threats", Geoff Lawson saysThe players at the centre of the match-fixing allegations surrounding the fourth Test against England at Lord's may be the subject of extortion threats, former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson.Pakistan captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif have been implicated in the allegations after self-confessed match-fixer Mazhar Majeed told News of the...
A Cancer of Doubt - The Spot fixing Controversy
The latest alleged sudden fall from grace, if proven true, will send Pakistani Cricket back to the stone ages. Two of the best fast bowlers going around in the world, including a sparkling teenager with a million watt smile, with abilities compared to the finest exponent of left arm fast bowling ever, are in the middle of this quagmire. This is not a couple of cagey veterans caught in a get-rich-quick scheme. Due to internecine politicking that has come to define Pakistani cricket, the current...
Is Ricky Ponting obsessed with self-preservation?
Is Ricky Ponting, as some are suggesting, really the worst Australian cricket captain in modern history?Should he be leading yet another ashes bid? If so, should he be batting at number 3?Allan Border made himself a versatile batting contributor, and was happy to move around the order for the betterment of the team. Bob Simpson did the same.Those are the suggestions which are being made – and have been made from some time – among the grumblings from the backrooms of cricket hierarchy.Past...
Saving the ODI
Martin Crowe and Dean Jones, two legends in their respective countries have recently added their considerable weight behind the push to extinguish the One Day International. It is the general assumption that this format with the introduction of T20 is now the scourge of cricket and hinders the game’s progress. Administrators, like they regularly do, are sitting on the fence and waiting to see where the most popular opinions and markets lay before they make a genuine decision; but there is a way...
Are Australia Running Scared? (Written by a Pom)
No is probably the short answer to that question. As a sporting nation being afraid is the one emotion that rarely, if ever, goes through the Australian psyche on the sporting field. The question should probably be; is Ricky Ponting scared of losing his third Ashes Series as captain? The answer to this; undoubtedly yes. Over the past few days there have been a series of statements and comments emerging from the Australian camp which,are uncharacteristic of an Australian side prior to an...
Swann spins England out of trouble
By Reuters from abc.net.au Graeme Swann kept England in contention in the third Test against Pakistan at the Oval overnight by capturing his 100th Test wicket during an absorbing battle on day two. Swann finished with 4 for 68 in Pakistan's first-innings 308, a lead of 75, with Azhar Ali stranded on his highest Test score of 92 not out. Pakistan's lead looked all the more challenging when captain Andrew Strauss was caught in the slips off the fourth ball of the first over from Mohammad Amir for...
England to start third Test against Pakistan
England are just hours away from starting the third Test against Pakistan at the Brit Oval, hoping to increase their lead to an unassailable 3-0 in the Four-Test series. England will be unchanged from the side which claimed comfortable wins over today's opposition at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, whilst Pakistan are set to make four changes to the side humiliated by nine wickets nine days ago. The injured pair of Umar Gul and wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, one of only two Pakistan...
Hauritz assured of an Ashes birth, says Ponting
By AAP from abc.net.au Australia Test captain Ricky Ponting says spinner Nathan Hauritz is a "lock" for the upcoming Indian tour and the Ashes series. Hauritz has taken 57 wickets at 31.82 in 15 matches and enjoyed a breakthrough summer in Australia against lowly West Indies and Pakistan in 2009/10. However, the New South Wales off-spinner faces competition from exciting leg-spinner Steve Smith. The 21-year-old Smith made his debut in the two-Test series against Pakistan in England in July,...
Coaching innovation lacking
Dissecting Australia’s form over the last two years has been easy. There is simple so much that can be critically analysed as not many aspects of their play is solid enough to withstand scrutiny. Those that have criticized have generally concentrated on their own field; former bowlers have chipped at bowlers, batters have alluded to their time when it was so much harder while the media has focused on peripheral issues like captaincy and scheduling as to the reasons for the downturn. One aspect...
