Top of the morning to you all. Here’s some belated highlights of Ireland’s fantastic win over the Windies yesterday. Enjoy. Or Cringe.
Watch Highlights of Ireland’s Win Over the Windies
Top of the morning to you all. Here’s some belated highlights of Ireland’s fantastic win over the Windies yesterday. Enjoy. Or Cringe.
As the anticipation escalates for the 2023-24 Big Bash League, we present to you our comprehensive wagering guide, brimming with crucial statistics, meticulous team breakdowns, and insights into past season trends to bolster your betting adventures. The BBL13, the twelfth iteration of the Big Bash League, is set to unfold in 2023-24. The Big Bash League houses eight fiercely competitive teams, each facing off against the others twice in the regular season, leading to a total of 56 thrilling...
We shouldn’t let the ODI series in Bangladesh go unmentioned. Yes, it was ‘only Bangladesh’, but not everybody realises that the Tigers are rather handy in their own backyard. In fact, England are the only side to have won a bilateral ODI series in Bangladesh since 2015. And now we’ve done it twice! It’s an impressive achievement. Who were our stars in the 2-1 series win? Two familiar faces excelled with the bat. Jason Roy returned to form with 155 runs at an average of 52 (although the lion’s...
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Ireland’s top seven in their batting order have 28 000 f/c runs between them.
Who knew they’d have some idea how to mount a run chase?
Yes they’ve got quite a few very useful domestic performers. Imagine if they had Morgan and Rankin too!
The outstanding thing for me was how the Irish went about their game, They were exuberant, sharp and alert, and enjoying themselves! In other words….free!!
It doesn’t seem like their game is clouded by micro management, stats about the size of the field, the “right” areas, according to a laptop, and all the other shite shackling the England team and Morgan!
I remember the BCOHG’s chilling pronouncement at Heathrow, that if any player didn’t want to play for England (in other words me and the ECB) they will be swiftly “moved on”
For me, this comp is all about towing the party line, unity in the dressing room, being “on message”…as Harmison once astutely said “Who needs opposition when you’ve got the ECB on your side”
Oh, before I forget, I heard Moeen this morning talking about “upskilling”!! I really despair, it’s endemic, Moore’s is doing their heads in!!
The irony about so called ‘ up skilling’ is that if it means improving your basic skill levels that’s a good thing. But why they can’t just say that instead of talking in ‘box ticking’ coach physco babble is a mystery.
However, you can’t improve your skills if you have no idea what the coach wants you to do. For example you can’t practice bowling Yorkers if you have been told you must ball short to compensate for the theodolite reading of 65 metres to 84 metres distance.
TGCOHG is fast becoming the cricket version of Glenn Hoddle. I’m surprised Eileen Dury is not out there giving spiritual guidence, and crank theories about coming back as an earwig. Remember how Hoddle hung David Beckham out to dry at the press conference after his sending off. Moores did eaxtly that with Broad and Morgan. After sending them out there to talk about stats and ground measurements to justify no Yorkers, Moores cut their legs off by then saying the Yorker was a good ball.
Hoddle also did not start Owen in the opening group matches claiming he was “not a natural goal scorer.” This resulted in England failing to win what was one of the weaker groups and insuring they played Argentina in the first knock out stage.
Just as an aside my spell checker keeps turning Hoddle into Noodle. Perhaps Moores will be turned into moron.
If only he were that clever !!!!!!!!!!!!
Perhaps the root of the problem is that England cricket managers see themselves running a multi million pound business, rather than a cricket team.
Of course, the truth is that they are running both – but it seems as though the playing a game for enjoyment bit has got lost somewhere along the way.
(Of course, Sky money and the end of FTA are not entirely blameless in this process.)
It could be these things Nigel. I just think the role of the cricket coach has undone mission creep over the last decade or so. What used to be decided by the captain now seems to be the coaches realm. There are some benefits to this but also dangers. The biggest being the players stop thinking for themselves. The notion of quick reaction to a match situation, a gut feeling, seems to have been replaced with plodding top down analysis from statisticians. If players are drilled to plans rather than natural instincts they may not react very well.
It’s quite worrying to hear Broad talking about the dimensions of the Adelaide Oval and how they should bowl there before they have arrived at the ground and even seen the wicket.
Only one team can win at the end of the day. What you want from a coach is that he is getting the best out of the players he has. Are England really getting the best out of what we have? Some will say yes, the players are average. I can’t help thinking they are better than this.
I just think the role of the cricket coach has undone mission creep over the last decade or so.
I agree – and my suggestion, FWIW, is that’s a consequence of being part of a ‘serious’ commercial organisation, where the staff under you outnumber the actual players.
After all, how many cricketers went into the game with the ambition to attend x (choose your number) meetings a week…
Well said Mark, entirely agree…they are far better than what they have been “coached” to be!!
Interesting comment about that from Matt Prior in the Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/feb/17/matt-prior-cycling-media-trained-robots
Ed Joyce has long been one of my favourite cricketers to watch on the county circuit.
I can’t help feeling England should have got more out of him. They should have persisted with him for longer and shown more flexibility about his place in the batting order. It’s a familiar story….
James here. Yes, Joyce is one of the most elegant players around.
Yes,
But does he have a plastic hat, and know how to use a measuring wheel?
James here. Yes, Joyce…
Very literary.
:-)
Test status for Ireland NOW!
All in favour say “aye”…