Tag Archives: chris-from-barwon-heads

Friday musing – ashes cricket, Mitchell Johnson, Jacques Kallis……

January 3, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

At this time of the year cricket is the most dominant sport with tennis just kicking off with a build up to the Aussie Open.

The Poms have finally won a toss and sent Australia in to bat. I remember the old ABC cricket books used to have a section devoted to captains who invited the opposition to bat. It is not all that unusual these days, with Michael Clark getting away with it in the Melbourne test. I went along on the first two days and up until the second session on day three, the Poms held the whip hand. From there Australia wrapped up the match over the next three sessions, a big surprise. The prevailing philosophy is still to win the toss and bat and I think that Alistair Cook should have done so in Sydney, but time will tell.

Mitchell Johnson was again awarded the Man of the Match award and that makes it three out of four tests this series, but Chris Rogers & Nathan Lyon must have been very close as well with Brad Haddin again performing well. I understand Johnson has the best percentage of Man of the Match awards to tests played of any Australian test player. Not a bad achievement for a sometimes maligned figure in Australian cricket. I think in the past he has produced herculean performances dispersed with poor performances, but in this series he has been very consistent and does not seem to be spraying the ball around as much.

Speaking of Man of the Match awards, the news that Jacques Kallis was retiring did not come as a great surprise, but you would have thought he would have seen out the summer with Australia due to tour there next month. Kallis is certainly one of the best all-rounders of all time and compares favourably with Sir Garfield Sobers who is regarded as the benchmark for all-rounders. Kallis has the record for the most Man of the Match awards in test cricket with 23 from 166 matches. A true great of the game.

I always thought that Shane Watson had the attributes to be a very good all-rounder and at times he has shown us what he is capable of, but a fragile physique has mitigated against him. Test wise I think his bowling and catching ability are up there with Kallis, but unfortunately his batting falls a long way short.

Fingers crossed for the 5-0 whitewash of the series.

Have a good weekend and happy New Year!

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Friday musing – cricket, the Ashes, soccer, Arsenal……..

December 18, 2013 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well what good timing for a Musing with the Aussies securing the Ashes on Tuesday! I thought Australia were a good chance in the series on the back of some pretty encouraging performances in England earlier in the year, but I did not think we would win the first three Tests in good style.

I mentioned last week about the toss playing a big part in teams winning and the last six results in Ashes test matches have seen the team winning the toss and batting coming out on top. You would think that the team batting second should have the best of the batting conditions, but England have not capitalised at all and have trailed in each of the first three tests. So much so that Australia have declared four of their six innings to date.

Mitchell Johnson seems to be most pundits pick for man of the series so far, but Warner, Haddin and Clarke are not far behind and when you factor in the performances of Siddle, Harris, Lyon and Smith, you can see why Australia are winning. That is not to down play the performances of Rogers and Watson who have also been solid contributors. Bailey has saved his spot because the team is winning and they can afford to give him time to settle. He certainly did his job on Monday morning.

I think the performance of Nathan Lyon needs a special mention. He has been much maligned and I have been guilty in that regard, however, you look at his scalps so far in the series and he has picked up crucial wickets. In the last test he got Cook in the first innings and Stokes in the second who were their teams highest scorers. He has earned his spot.

I can now go to the Boxing Day test and enjoy the cricket. Some would say it would be better to still have the series alive, but it is like being 10 goals up on Collingwood going into the last quarter just knowing you can enjoy the game.

Last week I lauded the Gunners for making the knockout phase of the Champions League for the 14th straight year and then they go out and lose to Manchester City 6-3. That is a tennis score isn’t it? Man City have been irrepressible at home this year and I suppose you could look on the positive side and say “well at least Arsenal got 3 goals”. I think the fixturing so close to the away game in Italy may have had an impact, but for the top team to concede 6 goals it is a bit of a worry.

Have a great weekend and a very Merry Christmas and we will muse up again in the New Year!

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Friday musing – the Ashes, Champions League, Arsenal……..

December 13, 2013 sportzfan Leave a comment

With the result of the test in Adelaide and the results of the other tests recently it became very obvious that winning the toss goes a long way to winning a test match. This has always been the case, but it does seem more so now with the way pitches are prepared. Captains have always been preferred to bat first, but usually the pitch offered a fair bit of assistance to the quicks, particularly in the first session. The side batting second usually had the better of the conditions so you could still set up a win batting second.

It all seems to have changed with the “drop-in” pitches as they don’t seem to offer as much bounce early nor spin later. There has been some suggestion that there be a toss for the first test of a series and then it be rotated after that, but I would not agree with that suggestion. I think the better idea is for a return to the old style of pitch preparation which gives both sides an even chance.

Good to see the Gunners make it through to their 14th Champions League knock out phase in a row. Interesting how Napoli miss out with 12 points and yet St Petersburg get in with 6.

Have a great weekend!

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Friday musing – Essendon, James Hird, the Ashes….

December 7, 2013 sportzfan Leave a comment

I was disappointed to see the Essendon saga rear its head again this week, although it would seem that the major spotlight is on the AFL and not my club. There is still a bit more to play out on this matter obviously and if the Herald-Sun sees fit to put it on the front page and then devote 4 pages at the front of the paper instead of the sports pages, then it still must sell papers. I just want to put it all behind me and concentrate on football.

One of the issues seems to be James Hird getting paid. From what I understand him not being paid was part of the original sanctions, but not part of the final deal. Certainly not a Hird/Essendon problem, but certainly a problem for the AFL. I know it is quite a different set of circumstances, but police that have been charged with serious criminal charges are suspended on full pay. Hird has not been found guilty of any criminal charges and it is only governance issues so good luck to him. Given that it appears the AFL fed most of the leaks to the papers perhaps they have been hoist by their own petard.

With regard to the cricket what a good toss for Australia to win, but the first day produced 4 players getting a start and not going on and getting a century. At the time of writing Michael Clarke has made his second century of the series and Brad Haddin has just got his 3rd half century of the series and Australia look like batting their way into a position where they really could not lose the test. It is amazing when you on the back foot in a series that the catches don’t stick with the Poms dropping three on day one.

Great to see the Gunners season rolling on, their defence seems to be holding up pretty well this year and they haven’t forgotten how to score.

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Friday musing – Ashes, sledging, Jason Day & more

November 29, 2013 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well I don’t think we can let an Aussie win in a Test match go without a bit of commentary, particularly as the Aussies were closing in on a record number of tests without a win.

Mitchell Johnson produced one of the great all-round performances in a test match in my time
following cricket. 103 runs for once out and 9/103 with the ball, so by my reckoning he is leading the averages with bat and ball at this stage. We all know one test doesn’t make a summer and in the last Ashes series in Australia he only produced one good performance, so I am not getting carried away, but it was a damn good start for a player that thrives on confidence.

Cricket is often identified as a ‘team sport for individuals’, but the contrary view to that is
that batting partnerships are intrinsic to winning matches. Australia produced three of the best partnerships of the test and won the game with Haddin/Johnson in the first innings and Warner/Clarke & Haddin/Johnson again in the second innings.

Speaking of Warner, we all like sportsmen that break the mould and speak their mind, however, I think he went a bit too far with his comments about Jonathan Trott. He should’ve just left it as “a few of their batsmen looked a bit scared out there”. Clearly Trott was showing signs of stress and perhaps Warner’s comments helped polarise his position and in turn prompted him to return to England and seek help. It was interesting to read Greg Baum’s article in the Age during the week about cricketing suicides. It is clearly an issue and while we don’t like to see them make runs, I don’t think anyone gets any joy from the cricketers, or any sportsmen for that matter suffering mental
breakdowns.

Away from the cricket it was also good to see Jason Day salute in the Golf World Cup. I thought
given what happened in the Philippines he performed very well and it was a fine gesture to donate a portion of his winnings to the victims of the typhoon. Hopefully the headlines from that will raise the profile of the plight of the people from his mother’s homeland. I have waxed about his performances before in the Majors and I don’t think it will be long before he finally snares one.

You also have to acknowledge the performance of Adam Scott. He wins the Aussie PGA,
Masters and shares the team result in the World Cup with Jason Day as well as finishing 3rd overall and is the overnight leader in the Aussie Open. I hope he becomes the 2nd golfer to take home the triple crown as he seems to be a very humble and likeable fellow.

Have a great weekend!

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Friday musing – Back to basics with umpiring decisions……

November 22, 2013 sportzfan Leave a comment

Due to work commitments getting in the way of a good time, I didn’t see or hear much about the first day of the first Ashes test yesterday so I don’t know if there were any controversial decisions. But that got me to thinking about the Decision Review System (DRS). When it was first introduced I thought it was a good idea, because the umpires were coming under increasing scrutiny due to the technology available to the television broadcasters. Taking into consideration what happened in England in the last Ashes series, I think the system should be scrapped and it should return to just adjudicating on run-outs and stumpings. It would seem the DRS has created more issues than it has solved. The umpires decision is final and it should remain so. If the technology reveals that umpires are making mistakes then get better umpires.

I think this also carries over to the AFL. The goal review system was introduced to avert the howlers like the Tom Hawkins goal in the 2009 grand final. From what I have seen, the camera angles are inadequate and so it is impossible to come to a definitive conclusion and it usually comes back to the goal umpire. I think that system should also be scrapped and we should go back to relying on the goal umpire’s decision.

There is a push for goal line technology in the world game and if the experience in cricket and AFL football is any guide I would avoid it all costs.

One sport where the technology does seem to work is in tennis.

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Friday musing – Melbourne Heart, the Ashes, Jarrod Lyle…….

November 15, 2013 sportzfan Leave a comment

I was watching the Melbourne Heart on SBS2 last Friday night and looking at the crowd, there was more noise coming from the West Sydney Wanderers crowd than the Heart supporters. It occurred to me that the Wanderers have established a profile because they are linked to an area of Sydney, whereas the Melbourne Heart supporters are probably made up of soccer fans who do not follow the Melbourne Victory. The Heart really needs a profile that people can relate to, otherwise I can see them disappearing before too much longer. This is compounded by their inability to win games. They really deserved a draw against the Wanderers, but didn’t have the class to capitalise on their opportunities. It doesn’t help that Harry Kewell can’t get on the park. Whoever owns the rights to the Heart should consider relocating to Geelong or establishing a base in an area of Melbourne which has a strong soccer culture.

I was also interested to see that George Bailey and Mitchell Johnson have been named for the 1st Test starting next week in Brisbane. I think naming George Bailey has some risk based on his performances in India where batting records were established with big run chases, so clearly the pitches were batting friendly strips. His 1st class average is below 40, but then again so is that of Alex Doolan who was the other batsman in contention. My guess is that the selectors opted for Bailey because he can assume the captaincy should Michael Clarke’s back let him down again. I think if Cameron White can turn a few of his 50s into 100s then he could come back into contention as well.

Turning to Mitchell Johnson, we all know that at his best he is a redoubtable cricketer and a fine
fast-bowler, but at his worst he is a liability. He has probably got another chance because of the injuries to the young incumbents and while I remain sceptical, I certainly hope he strikes form and punches a few holes in the England batting order.

Great to see Jarrod Lyle make a good comeback yesterday and let us hope he makes the cut for the Australian Masters.

Have a good weekend all!

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Friday musing – Watson, Ponting, Warne & more

November 8, 2013 @packers4 Leave a comment

I think I have commented on Shane Watson’s fragile physique before, but watching him come into bowl and do his hamstring re-emphasised this point. I mean the man was hardly charging in like Dennis Lillee on the long run, he ambles in like a park cricketer! Don’t get me wrong I am a bit of a Shane Watson fan because I think he is a genuine all rounder and they do not pop up very often. At his best in both batting or bowling he probably gets a game in the Australian team, but he is so rarely at his best that he does get very frustrating for the fan. Couple this with our captain’s bad back and the continued breakdown of our fast bowlers and it is no wonder we are struggling internationally.

Keeping to the cricket theme I was disappointed with Warnie’s rant the other day about Ricky Ponting. I think you read between the lines and you sense some sour grapes about missing out on the Australian captaincy. He is clearly supporting his friend Michael Clarke, but Clarke is the current captain of the team and can look after himself. Having said that, I never thought Ponting was a great captain, although his record would suggest otherwise, at least he kept the team together. Michael Clarke is a better on-field captain, but seems to lack the other qualities which make great captains like Mark Taylor and Ian Chappell who were both good on and off the field.

Now getting on to the Melbourne Cup and this is a comment through my hip pocket. Leading up to last weekend I had been on Fiorente, but after Dear Demi’s run in the Mackinnon I jumped horse and had a bit each way on her. I still had Fiorente in quinella’s and trifectas. I was never happy with Dear Demi in the run and she never seemed to settle and was gone a long way from home. I was then astounded to read Chris Munce’s comment the next day that he was happy in the run, but she didn’t stay!! My guess is that he stirred her up early to get a good position before the first turn, which she did have, but this was contrary to how she had been running and it ruined any chance she had. A great performance by Fiorente and fully deserved win for Gai Waterhouse.

Not satisfied with stuffing up on Melbourne Cup day I did a similar thing on Oaks Day. I was on Solicit in the Wakeful and changed to Gypsy Diamond for the Oaks. Solicit just gets pipped and runs a good third, while Gypsy Diamond struggled into fourth. The trick is to get onto the horse I was on, but got off and you will have a win!

Good to see the Gunners get up twice since the last Musing. A good win over Liverpool and a very good away win over Borussia Dortmund which extends their away record to eight months without a loss. The big test will be this week against Manchester United.

Sticking to the world game, I saw the A-League game last Friday night between Adelaide and West Sydney and it was a very good standard and it will not be too long before Tomi Juric plays for the Socceroos.

Have a great weekend and go Gunners!!

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Friday musing – International Rules, Captain’s Pick, Derby Day…

November 1, 2013 sportzfan Leave a comment

My first thought this week was with the International Rules series recently completed in Ireland. Initially I thought it was a good idea to have an indigenous team representing Australia because when Kevin Sheedy loaded up the team with indigenous players previously they had performed very well. A lot of the indigenous players are very quick and very skilful and matched the Irish in this regard. Where they are not so good is their defensive game and while I didn’t see either game, by the scores, we clearly were not good defensively. It was also telling that the second game was a worse result than the first, whereas it is usually the other way around as once the players are more used to the round ball, the result improves. I think this latest series spells the end for the concept.

Talking of concepts the AFLs proposed “captains pick” game was knocked on the head very quickly and probably understandably so. However, I have raised the issue of representative football before and I do think the game needs it. I think most people would like to see the best against the best as we see in the Rugby League State of Origin series or the various sporting World Cups. The AFL doesn’t have anything since the game went truly national. Concepts need to be explored and maybe it is East (Victoria, Tassie, NSW & Qld) versus West(WA, SA & NT) and then it becomes a scheduling issue. I do not have the answers, but the AFL definitely needs something as the players were the driving force this time behind a representative game.

Derby Day this weekend which is probably the best days racing in Australia. There has often been calls to reduce the distance of the Derby, but the Derby is an older race than the Melbourne Cup and while it doesn’t always get the best fields I would not mess with history. My tip this week is Savvy Nature.

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Friday musing – Cox Plate, Fiorente, Arsenal, Wenger…..

October 25, 2013 @packers4 Leave a comment

It was disappointing to see Atlantic Jewel is out of the Cox Plate as she was the clear favourite and it would have been great to see her win the race. It is now a lot more open with Itsadundeel likely to start the favourite, but having missed a run with a foot abscess, I think he is vulnerable. I am going to get in before the Gelding and tip (Mark) Fiorente to keep it in the Sportzfan family!

Also disappointing to see the Gunners concede a late goal against Borussia Dortmund and not escape with a draw. Arsenal has had a great run since their opening loss of the Premier League season against Aston Villa. The Champions League group stage has got a bit to play out so all is not lost.

I did finally get a look at Jack Wilshere’s goal scored against Norwich City. What an absolute cracker and an early nominee for the Goal of the Season!! In the newspaper article they suggested that it was a goal that had Arsene Wenger written all over it and I would agree it is the type of slick football that is the trademark of his teams. Perhaps a bit more focus on defence will take them further in all competitions though.