Crushed

Sigh…
The All Blacks struck back in resounding fashion, crushing the Wallabies at Eden Park 39-10.

Sigh…

Deans 1 – Henry 0

Graham Henry finds the pressure mounting post the Wallabies 34-19 destruction of rugby’s perennial number 1, the All Blacks in Sydney last weekend. Australia sit back and bask in vaulting to the top of the Tri-Nations series, and winning the first of the Bledisloe Cup games.

New Zealanders the world round were left feeling “what if…” post the dismantling of the pride of the nation.  Robbie Deans was widely regarded as being the right man for the job post the quarter-final loss in the World Cup last year, over Graham Henry – the man who coached them during the campaign that many Kiwis saw as ending in a debacle.

There was no denying Henry’s pedigree, despite the loss in France last year. Henry had created a squad that many saw as being incredibly deep, and on their path to the World Cup, Graham Henry’s All Blacks were the winning-est team ever to don the Silver Fern.
However, many a Kiwi regarded Henry as the past, and Deans as the future. Whilst Henry has the winning percentages with the All Blacks, the loss in France (in the quarters, salt on the wound) stands out to many as a stain that no gloss can shine over. Deans is the most successful coach in the history of Super 14s. And there’s no doubting that the Crusaders side he created is one for the ages.

And the Australian team that took the field had many similarities with past Crusaders teams. They played an expansive game, the defense had better structure, and they were well-prepared for the All Blacks.
All Black back Dan Carter declared to AAP that the biggest change was how Deans had given the Wallabies confidence.

“What he does is bring the best out of players and the Wallabies are playing with real confidence, the way they play is a lot more expansive.”

New Zealand head into the next game with some major injury concerns.  Both Andy Ellis and Jimmy Cowan were injured in the game, and for once the All Black pantry looks pretty bare. Piri Weepu – once discarded by the ABs – looks like an obvious choice, but beyond him the options are pretty raw.

For sure, the New Zealand crowd in Auckland on Saturday will be screaming for Australian scalps, but for the first time in many years, the Wallabies will be well-prepared, and eager to take on the All Blacks.  And should the locals falter, it won’t be Australian blood that the mob are baying for…

Aussie football – the basics…

Fast approaching the end of the Australian football season (the league is the ‘Australian Football League’), so it’s appropriate to have the basics of the rules explained…

Hair Restored

Darrell Hair – the umpire sacked and left out in the cold for nearly two years over a controversially abandoned cricket Test between England and Pakistan, has been reinstated as one of the game’s top officials.

Ever since Hair and colleague Billy Doctrove penalized Pakistan five runs for alleged ball-tampering during the fourth and final Test against England at The Oval in August 2006, Darrell Hair has not officiated at the top level in cricket.
The decision incensed the Pakistani team, and their captain Inzamam-ul-Haq refused to take the field. This resulted in the match being abandoned after tea on the fourth day with England awarded the first victory by forfeit in the history of the game.

A meeting of the world’s top cricket-playing nations cleared Hair to umpire at the game’s top levels (ODI’s & Tests). Of late, Hair’s only been officiating one day internationals involving minor cricketing nations.
Even though Darrell Hair has been cleared to officiate after taking part in a 6 month long (ahem) ‘rehabilitation program’, it’s unlikely that Pakistan will change their belief that he is unfit to umpire at the elite level.

For his part, Hair maintains that he made the right call on that fateful day.

“It’s easy to say, look, if I’d known how to deal with that sort of issue, the communication and management issues then, if I knew then what I know now I may have done things differently.
But I don’t believe so because there’s a certain limit to what the umpire needs to do under those circumstances and I believe that both the umpires fulfilled those obligations both with the ball tampering and the refusal to play.”

Hair believes that the way he was treated – compared to Billy Doctrove who also officiated at the match (and wasn’t penalized) – is an indication of the influence the very strong Asian Bloc has over the ICC.

This is something that was mirrored in the way the ICC dealt with the furor that erupted Down-Under during the Sydney test match between India and Australia. India responded to contentious decisions with the tried ‘n’ true bully-boy approach of ‘well-then-we’ll-take-our-bat-and-ball-
and-go-home’.

Both issues serve to highlight the growing gulf in international cricket. The old nations England and Australia in the corridors of power, are finding themselves challenged by the economic giants on the Asian continent.
And it’s an economic power that we’ve seen India bring to the fore in recent times…
I for one am not entirely sure that it’s good for the game.

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Hell No, We Won’t Go

As often as not, when sports and politics collide, sports-fans decry the meeting. Without a doubt, it’s a nasty pairing. One is pure escapism – verily ‘games’, and the other is – or rather, should be – of the utmost seriousness. And with the Olympic Games looming in Beijing, more sports/politics unrest could follow.

No Aussie Cricket for Pakistan…

Just recently the Australian cricket team pulled out of a tour to Pakistan, due to fears over safety whilst the tour would be on. Officially, the word ‘postponed’ is used – but in reality, it’s been canceled. Tours of other countries within cricket happen on a relatively regular basis – ‘postponing indefinitely’ amounts to ‘well-this-time-we’re-not-coming’.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland said in a recent interview with Australia’s ABC

“There are a couple of windows in 2009 and 2010, there might be a little bit of massaging in order to make that happen… but I guess that’s where we are setting our sights at the moment.”

Pretty much just platitudes, but at this point in time, Cricket Australia has very little else to offer Pakistan.

The tour was due to begin at the end of March, but current players and CA itself had continually expressed fears over Pakistan’s ability to maintain security in a country where conflicts appear to be escalating. The recent bomb blast in Lahore (one of the venues slated on the tour) which killed 20 really forced CA into this decision… a decision that received supported from the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith.

Hopefully, this will all facilitate a speedy and equitable resolution to the issues that exist there. Yes, a cricket tour of Pakistan by Australia being canceled is only a small drop in the ocean… but it is a drop.

Eventually there’ll be another tour, and that will be good for cricket. But Australia deciding not to tour Pakistan because of the current problems there, and with the support of the Australian government… that’s good for cricket too.

Cricket – Still Here

Just an update to the cricket fans that yes, we’re still on for Thursday’s 4th Test at Adelaide.

Calendar on cricket…

• Jan 24~28… 4th Test between India & Australia at the Adelaide Oval
• Feb 1… Twenty20 match between India & Australia
• Feb 3… ODI tri-series begins: India vs Australia
• Feb 5… ODI: Sri Lanka vs India
• Feb 8… ODI: Australia vs Sri Lanka
• Feb 10… ODI: India vs Australia
• Feb 12… ODI: Sri Lanka vs India
• Feb 15… ODI: Australia vs Sri Lanka
• Feb 17… ODI: India vs Australia
• Feb 19… ODI: Sri Lanka vs India
• Feb 22… ODI: Australia vs Sri Lanka
• Feb 24… ODI: India vs Australia
• Feb 26… ODI: Sri Lanka vs India
• Feb 29… ODI: Australia vs Sri Lanka
• Mar 2… ODI: First Final
• Mar 4… ODI: Second Final
• Mar 7… ODI: Third Final

Chasing History – India/Australia, 3rd Test (Day 4 in play)

Wow… Australia pursue history in two very important ways today. 1 – 17 test victories in a row… 2 – they literally ‘pursue’ the highest fourth innings run-chase on home soil, with 413 needed to obtain victory.

Some pundits declare it unobtainable, especially given the failure, yet again, of openers Jaques & Rogers. Last night, on yesterday’s discussion here, I stated:

“Really, really dangerous time for Australia: now.
A mere 40 minutes of play left… really, this is better for India than another 20 runs or so.”

And indeed it was. India’s Pathan picking up two quick wickets.
Still, if any team can chase down such an extraordinary run total, surely it is Australia. Only three sides in the history of the game have chased down a higher total, and no side in the 131 years of test cricket on Australian soil has chased down anything higher than 370. Australian coach Tim Nielsen told The Age,

“It’s an achievable result for us… In the back of their minds will be that this will be a special thing if they (Australian batsmen) can chase down this total. It could fire them up a bit.”

The only times a feat of this magnitude has been achieved were 7-418 by the West Indies against Australia in Antigua five years ago, 4-406 by India against the West Indies in Trinidad in 1976 and 3-404 by Australia against England at Headingley in 1948.

On the aforementioned pairing of Jaques & Rogers, I do believe that they will one day be good batsmen for Australia. However, as it stands at the moment, neither appear able to be the ‘senior guy’ out on the field.

The Indian side has certainly set up the match to be won. The only thing that could be worrying them is that they have left Australia 2 days in which to complete their task. Still, if play follows the previous 3 days, the Indian bowlers have given Australian batsmen nothing to play with.

Australia’s innings at the end of yesterday’s play:

	Australia 2nd innings (target: 413 runs)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	CJL Rogers	c Dhoni b Pathan	15	18	3	0	83.33
	PA Jaques	c Jaffer b Pathan	16	30	3	0	53.33
	RT Ponting	not out	24	27	2	0	88.88
	MEK Hussey	not out	5	16	1	0	31.25
	Extras	(lb 3, w 1, nb 1)	5
	Total	(2 wickets; 15 overs)	65	(4.33 runs per over)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	RP Singh	5	1	24	0	4.80	(1w)
	IK Pathan	6	1	22	2	3.66
	I Sharma	3	0	10	0	3.33	(1nb)
	A Kumble	1	0	6	0	6.00

Play begins at 11:30 local time, with Ponting on 24 & Hussey sitting on 5.
Game on.

Edit: ended up being a very good win to the Indian side. The batting was too good, the bowling too strong. Some issues for the Australian team, with the failure of the openers, and some poor bowling.

Here’s the card for the final innings:

	Australia 2nd innings (target: 413 runs)		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	CJL Rogers	c Dhoni b Pathan	15	22	18	3	0	83.33
	PA Jaques	c Jaffer b Pathan	16	46	30	3	0	53.33
	RT Ponting	c Dravid b Sharma	45	139	71	6	0	63.38
	MEK Hussey	lbw b Singh	46	165	113	5	0	40.70
	MJ Clarke	st Dhoni b Kumble	81	160	134	10	0	60.44
	A Symonds	lbw b Kumble	12	18	14	1	1	85.71
	AC Gilchrist	b Sehwag	15	51	22	2	0	68.18
	B Lee	c Laxman b Sehwag	0	8	6	0	0	0.00
	MG Johnson	not out	50	101	80	5	2	62.50
	SR Clark	c Dhoni b Pathan	32	55	35	3	1	91.42
	SW Tait	b Singh	4	15	8	1	0	50.00
	Extras	(lb 6, w 8, nb 10)	24
	Total	(all out; 86.5 overs; 396 mins)	340	(3.91 runs per over)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	RP Singh	21.5	4	95	2	4.35	(3w)
	IK Pathan	16	2	54	3	3.37
	I Sharma	17	0	63	1	3.70	(7nb, 1w)
	A Kumble	24	2	98	2	4.08	(3nb)
	V Sehwag	8	1	24	2	3.00

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India/Australia – 3rd Test (Day 3 in play)

Well, India certainly appear to have Australia on the ropes. A pretty good batting performance in the first innings, coupled with a dominant bowling spell has Australia reeling with a first innings total of 212, 118 behind the Indian team.
If they can lay down the law with their second innings total, this test is theirs to win.
Jaffer yet again fell cheaply, but Sehwag finally looks dangerous.

Still, cricket’s a funny game, and anything can happen.
And if there’s a team that can make ‘anything’ happen, it’s Australia. Rest assured, this is no ‘dead rubber’. Australia are well aware of the place this game has in history, and will not lay down without a fight.

Day 3, and play resumes with India in their second innings, at 52/1.
Sehwag’s on 29, and Pathan has 2…

Game on.

Edit: ok, Day 3’s over… wrap up tomorrow, but here are the innings thus far…

India’s first innings…

India 1st innings		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	W Jaffer	c Gilchrist b Lee	16	53	2	0	30.18
	V Sehwag	c Gilchrist b Johnson	29	58	6	0	50.00
	R Dravid	c Ponting b Symonds	93	183	14	0	50.81
	SR Tendulkar	lbw b Lee	71	128	9	0	55.46
	SC Ganguly	c Hussey b Johnson	9	12	2	0	75.00
	VVS Laxman	c Tait b Lee	27	56	3	0	48.21
	MS Dhoni	lbw b Clark	19	52	2	0	36.53
	IK Pathan	lbw b Johnson	28	44	4	0	63.63
	A Kumble	c Rogers b Clark	1	6	0	0	16.66
	RP Singh	c Hussey b Johnson	0	2	0	0	0.00
	I Sharma	not out	0	5	0	0	0.00
	Extras	(lb 19, w 9, nb 9)	37
	Total	(all out; 98.2 overs)	330	(3.35 runs per over)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	B Lee	24	5	71	3	2.95	(6nb, 1w)
	MG Johnson	28.2	7	86	4	3.03	(2w)
	SR Clark	17	4	45	2	2.64	(1w)
	SW Tait	13	1	59	0	4.53	(3nb, 1w)
	A Symonds	10	1	36	1	3.60
	MJ Clarke	6	1	14	0	2.33

India/Australia – 3rd Test (End of Day 1, Day 2 in play)

West Australian Cricket Association Ground (WACA), Jan 17th.
India versus Australia, 3rd test.

At the culmination of the 1st day’s play, India had seen themselves to a very respectable 297/6. Playing well, Tendulkar scored 71, and Dravid missed out on a century by a mere 7 runs. The wicket has proved to be no where near as fearsome as was expected, with only Brett Lee performing any where near expectations. The much-touted Tait, has not shaken off erratic performances of the past, and really has to step up if he has any dreams of remaining an Australian test cricketer. Clark’s done well, and is unlucky not to have wickets. 37 Extras to this point in time is way too many, and the Australian side will have to tighten that up considerably.
Whilst India will be happy with their score, they will be unhappy with the performance of their highly-regarded batsmen. Jaffer failed yet again (16), and Ganguly couldn’t reach a double figure score (9). The performances by Sehwag (26) and Laxman (27) were only marginally better.

Today, the Indian tail kept wagging, with Dhoni making 19, and Pathan 28, before they both fell.

Update… final scores for India’s first innings:

India 1st innings			R	B	4s	6s	SR
	W Jaffer	c Gilchrist b Lee	16	53	2	0	30.18
	V Sehwag	c Gilchrist b Johnson	29	58	6	0	50.00
	R Dravid	c Ponting b Symonds	93	183	14	0	50.81
	SR Tendulkar	lbw b Lee	71	128	9	0	55.46
	SC Ganguly	c Hussey b Johnson	9	12	2	0	75.00
	VVS Laxman	c Tait b Lee	27	56	3	0	48.21
	MS Dhoni	lbw b Clark	19	52	2	0	36.53
	IK Pathan	lbw b Johnson	28	44	4	0	63.63
	A Kumble	c Rogers b Clark	1	6	0	0	16.66
	RP Singh	c Hussey b Johnson	0	2	0	0	0.00
	I Sharma	not out	0	5	0	0	0.00
	Extras	(lb 19, w 9, nb 9)	37
	Total	(all out; 98.2 overs)	330	(3.35 runs per over)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	B Lee	24	5	71	3	2.95	(6nb, 1w)
	MG Johnson	28.2	7	86	4	3.03	(2w)
	SR Clark	17	4	45	2	2.64	(1w)
	SW Tait	13	1	59	0	4.53	(3nb, 1w)
	A Symonds	10	1	36	1	3.60
	MJ Clarke	6	1	14	0	2.33

Australian Open Tennis – Go Jo!

Jan 14-27 Melbourne, Australia – The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific

Thus far the story-lines are exactly as you’d expect… the top seeds are winning, no real upsets thus far… tho’ already some of the lower-ranked seedings have departed.  As yet, the famed Melbourne heat hasn’t kicked in, and doesn’t look to for the next few days… but that sun’s hot!

Look out for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – the French Muhammad Ali look-a-like, who sent England’s Andy Murray home packing…

Of interest:

• Robin Haase (Ned) defeated 17th seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia (6-7; 6-3; 6-0; 7-6)
• 3rd seed Novak Djokovic (SRB) defeated Ben Becker (Ger) (6-0; 6-2; 7-6)
• Richard Gasquet, the 8th seed from France defeated Australia’s Nick Lindahl (6-0; 6-1; 3-6; 6-2)
• Juan Ignacio Chela, the 18th seed from Argentina lost to Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (4-6; 2-6; 6-1; 2-6)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France defeated the 9th seed, England’s Andy Murray (7-5; 6-4; 0-6; 7-6)
• USA’s 6th-seeded Andy Roddick had little difficulty beating Czech Lukas Dlouhy (6-3; 6-4; 6-5)
• Spain’s Carlos Moya (16th seed) departs after losing to Austria’s Stefan Koubek (7-6; 6-7; 7-5; 6-4)
• 2nd seed Rafael Nadal easily accounted for Viktor Troicki (7-6; 7-5; 6-1)
• 1st seeded Justine Henin (Bel) thrashed Aiko Nakamura of Japan (6-2; 6-2)
• Russia’s Maria Sharapova (5th) defeated Jelena Kostanic Tosic (Cro) (6-4; 6-3)
• 3rd seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia beat Austria’s Tamira Paszek in a drawn out match (2-6; 6-2; 12-10)
• American 7th seed Serena Williams was just too strong for Australian Jarmila Gajdosov (6-3; 6-3)
• Russia’s Anna Chakvetadze retired against German Andrea Petkovic
• Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova (2nd seed) defeated Nathalie Dechy of France (6-3; 6-1)

 …

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