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I would have said Symonds was a far better player in the one day mode of the game, good fielder aswell. i can forgive him his hairstyle and the fact he turned his back on his country to play for the side down under but to play for Gloucestershire well…
Well done to Pointing for passing 10,000 test runs, i can see him getting close or even passing Lara’s record. West Indies look to me as if they are missing an Ambrose, Walsh, Marshall or Garner in their ranks.
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Interesting posts Andrew (& others).
Is (forecast permitting) backing England akin to buying money in tomorrow’s test? You do wonder have the Kiwi’s had their chance.
I think New Zealand have had their chance and, as the expression goes, bottled it. Back in March at Hamilton, they had a smaller first innings lead against the same team and won. But then they had Fleming to steer their batting. This time, they went to pieces under the pressure of being favourites and I can’t see them putting that right between Tests.
That said, I would never back this England line-up at short odds, unless it was against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. They seem to need to be pushed to the brink before they wake up and start playing. Rather like a lot of the county stuff, they seem to be going through the motions most of the time. Their batting is stuttering, Strauss and Cook aside, and the bowling is lightweight and inconsistent.
No bet for me at this stage.
It appears my continual lambasting of the boy Anderson is creating some sort of inverse phenomenon. The more I mock him, the quicker he bowls.
This may have serious consequences.
Page 333 of this year’s Wisden includes the following:
BOWLING RECORDS
Most wickets in an innings:
10-53….JC Laker…England v Australia at Manchester…..1956
When I open next year’s edition, I do not want to read:
10-52….Daisy Anderson…England Schoolgirls v NZ 2nd XI….2008
Given that Laker’s record has stood for fifty years, there is a good chance that I might be reading the above for the rest of my life.
Therefore, in order to avoid this statistical calamity, I shall reverse the flow of mockery
(ahem)
Mr James Anderson is the finest English bowler of this or any other generation and he is absolutely certain to pick up all ten wickets tomorrow.
There, that should do it.
Has probably cemented his place in the side for years to come now. can you lamblast Caddick please Andrew.Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Certainly, happy to be of service.
The flap-eared Hadlee impersonator from Somerset is so old he can barely drag his spindly limbs to the wicket in order to fling down his dibbly dobbly long-hops and wides. He is an embarassment to his county and the entire nation.
And that Langer can’t bat, neither.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
The egregious Kevin Pietersen yesterday hit two sixes left-handed and afterwards declared that he had ‘invented a new shot’ with his trademark blend of arrogance and stupidity. He has also declared that it should not be made illegal to do what he did.
In my opinion, changing your stance completely from a right handed to a left handed one, unlike playing a left-handed shot from a right handed stance (ie the reverse sweep) shoud be outlawed for several reasons.
It makes the job of the square leg umpire harder (in judging the height of lbw appeals)
In reversing which side of the wicket is the leg and which the off, it means that the fielding side will invariably be in breach of the rule that states that only two players can be behind square on the leg side, which was introduced to prevent leg theory.
It makes the job of the umpire at the bowler’s end more difficult, specifically with regard to the lbw rule.
Whilst giving the batsmen more options, it makes things harder for bowlers, particularly in one day games where umpires are particularly harsh on leg side ‘wides’
It also goes against the spirit of the game in that bowlers are required to inform the umpire which side of the wicket they will be bowling from and with which hand.
Some have suggested that it is harder for a right hander to bat left handed than for a bowler to bowl with the other arm. Anyone who has tried both will know this is nonsense. Indeed many right handed cricketers choose to bat left handed.
All in all, I think a swift addition to the rule book should outlaw this nonsense. Or am I being too old-fashioned? Am I one of those ‘purists’ (increasingly a term of abuse in cricket circles) who so irritate the likes of Pietersen and Allen Stanford?
Some have suggested that it is harder for a right hander to bat left handed than for a bowler to bowl with the other arm. Anyone who has tried both will know this is nonsense. Indeed many right handed cricketers choose to bat left handed.
i can confirmed from playing cricket in the back garden with my step-son that it is far easy to bat reverse handed then to bowl with the wrong hand, plus i agree with everything else you have written about the rules, Pieterson and especially Stanford
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
I disagree with just about every word
The reasons against are barely worth worrying about and its seems that this has more to do with a dislike of KP than anything else. Wonder if reaction would have been the same if it had been Sir Viv or Tendulkar
The umpiring and supposed fairness reasons agaisnt make no sense at all to me and simply do not outweigh the interest and excitement that this extraordinary innovation has brought about
Very few players are going to attempt it anyway and its going to be great fun seeing some try
I vere towards the tradiontal apprecaiation of the game but see no harm in this at all
Wonder if reaction would have been the same if it had been Sir Viv or Tendulkar
Wonder no longer, Clivex, it certainly would.
The umpiring and supposed fairness reasons agaisnt make no sense at all to me
I can draw you a diagram if it will help
the interest and excitement that this extraordinary innovation has brought about
Extraordinary innovation? He turned round and slogged the ball left-handed. Its the sort of thing players do all the time messing about in the nets.
The reasons against are barely worth worrying about
Can’t recall saying I was worried about them.
Some have suggested that it is harder for a right hander to bat left handed than for a bowler to bowl with the other arm. Anyone who has tried both will know this is nonsense. Indeed many right handed cricketers choose to bat left handed.
Certainly true in my case
My wayward leg-cutters were delivered right-handed and dolly catches to mid-off spooned left-handed. Could barely bowl at all LH but could just about bat RH. My ‘handedness’ is generally rather strange however: write RH, strum a guitar RH, screech a violin LH, slice golf balls LH. Ambisinistrous not ambidextrous sadly.
Agree with you concerning Pieterson’s ‘new’ trick. It’s just not cricket is it?
John Stephenson of the MCC (presumably the same John Stephenson who was an Aldi own-brand all-rounder for Essex and Hampshire until recently), was interviewed by Alison Mitchell on Five Live last night.
Presented by her with some of the same concerns raised in Andrew’s post earlier, Stephenson stated that the MCC was ruling nothing in or out with regard to Pietersen’s shot at this stage, and that a final decision will be made when the canvassing of its members’ opinions had been completed.
"Don’t expect anything overnight", he opined, adding, with no discernible trace of shame at the fact, "After all, we’ve only just finished re-writing Rule 6 after a four and a half year process"….
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ … 152404.ece
Atherton’s piece on this in the Times today. He comes down on KP’s side with slight reservations
Spoken like a true batsman
Atherton as ever writes with clarity and authority. Clearly, if this kind of shot is to be allowed, then the rules have to be adjusted to accomodate it properly, to allow bowlers a similar amount of leeway and tidy up the mess that it makes of the leg-side fielding rule, as I suggested yesterday. It’s all very well for people to say how exciting it was and how the MCC shouldn’t get involved, but it has exposed a flaw in the rules and so those rules need to be clarified. Rules may be tedious and appear restrictive, but without them, any sport would be a free for all that would quickly degenerate.
Though Jeremy’s point about the length of time these things take to change is a salient one.
I have to say im glad New Zealand won the latest one day international match at the Oval yesterday. I was’nt all that bothered who was going to win, just enjoying a good match but then the dismissal of Elliott left a bad taste in my mouth and i cheered on Vettori’s team.
Accidental or not, it looked like obstruction to me and should of been a dead ball, even the umpires face said it all, fair play to Collingwood for admitting he was wrong after the game, but it should never of happened. I thought England lost the game due to a lack of a fifth bowler, which meant Bopara, Wright and Collingwood had to make up ten overs between them.
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Has probably cemented his place in the side for years to come now.
can you lamblast Caddick please Andrew.
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