Roar Guru
Joined February 2013
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Broadcaster - SEN. Ex-Nine Radio 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR. Former middle order wannabe for the Roseville Cricket Club. Love the big red V.
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It slipped my attention that Saturday, March 6th marked ten years since the passing of my uncle, Vinay Verma. Many on The Roar would…
The Davis Cup, a tournament steeped in 118 years of tradition, is now officially the Little River Band of world sport. It exists in…
We have a tendency when compiling 'best ever' teams to default to overall records. You're three schooners in, and off the top of your…
For a brief moment, we faced the nightmare of a summer without a ball being bowled, such was the acrimony in the cricket pay…
Be it humility or platitude, the professional sportsman is prone to stating they're happy to have simply played one game in the top grade.…
In last year's Round 22 clash between the Raiders and the Tigers, I was completely enamoured with James Tedesco. He was irresistible that night.…
The term 'one-Test wonder' has become a pejorative expression. With connotations of luck and a whiff of a hoax, it's a name unbecoming of…
Sport loves a scapegoat. Finger-pointing and blame-shifting is the predictable by-product of failure - especially in a time-honoured contest like the Ashes The Argus…
There's nothing sexier than a rift, especially when it's between members of an ostensibly happy family. As the travails of Australian cricket play out…
We Sydneysiders are an arrogant lot. The 'yeah but we have the harbour' attitude sees us claim to have the best city in the…
Tigers legend Stephen 'Blocker' Roach once remarked he'd only ever seen the hill at Leichhardt stand for three players whenever they touched the ball…
Scanning The Roar's cricket comments is a riveting pastime. A symposium of passion, some points are well made, some less so. Some posts push…
In the second Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth, the Aussies were bested by their own hubris as much as the gorgeous reverse…
Don’t get the lows, sure, but don’t get the highs. Supporting a crap team reminds me of somethin my university lecturer once said – “why do we bang our head against brick walls? because we like the feeling when we stop”.
Having said that, I also don’t support an NFL (or NBA) side. It does make it easier to sleep I’m sure.
Avoiding heartbreak: Is sport more enjoyable when you don't have a team to support?
Les Davidson famously punched Peter Kelly’s headgear off. He also married Norm O’Neill’s daughter. Certainly you didn’t want to get into a fist fight with him. The same could be said about Ian Roberts and David Furner.
Fittler was a freak, but interestingly, Gus said the most gifted player to come through the ranks at Penrith was Greg Alexander.
The 60 players who explain the 1990s: Memorable characters from rugby league's unprecedented decade
That is an impressive side. Agree Rocket Reddy in for Choppy. Steve Simpson for Gerard, perhaps? Lachlan Lam…stiff…. 😂
Big boppers and brilliant backs: Rugby league’s alliterative XIII
Root is in peak form, which may render past performances in Australia somewhat redundant. I recall it took Dravid a bit of time to find his feet in Australian conditions. For the sake of the urn, I hope Root doesn’t fire but I suspect he has his first Aussie hundred in him.
Can Joe Root break the record for Test runs in a calendar year?
You’re correct, Mary. Far from being an arbitrary rule, there was design in the imposition of age limits. It’s been dreadfully undermined as a result of this decision. As for the threat from rugby, it’s overstated.
Joseph Suallii should not be playing in the NRL until he turns 18
Very kind of you, John. I remember you well. It was fun while it lasted. The Roar is a wonderful forum for like-minded sports nerds. You learn a lot of funky stats and first-hand accounts of events past. Good fun.
Remembering Vinay Verma: Ten years on
I think a grand final has to carry weight. Hornby captained the 2010 premiership side and is the most capped joint venture player. He should be halfback, with Barrett t five-eighth. Widdop on the bench.
Don’t see how Hunt is hooker. Dean Young in the 9. Luke Bailey deserves a spot over Paul Vaughan.
St George Illawarra's greatest NRL team
Kyle White was a good player. Rex Terp played in a GF for the Dragons. In the early days, The Steelers often resembled a retirement village.
The forgotten players: Illawarra Steelers
The full home and away stopped Mitchell Johnson from one last hurrah with the Scorchers.
Lengthy BBL fixture makes same old mistakes
Don’t get me wrong, I think there’s too much Big Bash.
To be fair though, the new prolonged schedule (days, not matches) is to allow for some COVID wiggle room. Additionally, by best ensuring all matches get played, CA get full freight from the broadcasters.
Average crowds are down yes, but total numbers are steady. Further, the schedule for BBL 10 allows for more prime time coverage. This is especially important if crowds are restricted or prohibited.
Lengthy BBL fixture makes same old mistakes
Of course CA will never grant those players a no-objection certificate.
Lengthy BBL fixture makes same old mistakes
Speaking of the West Indies down under, I’ll always remember seeing Roland Holder chatting up a blonde outside the dressing rooms at the SCG. I suspect it’s not just cricket fans who would celebrate their return 😂
Cricket Australia must invite the West Indies Down Under
Vote #1 Stumpy. Three WSC tons is an indicator of his class.
The best nervous 90s Test team
“The appearance of impartiality is vital to how sport operates. This piece itself functions due to the fact that the above looks bad. I definitely do not think Illingworth or Kettleborough were cheating in favour of their home nation, and that is a ridiculous theory.”
This is the crux of it. No one is calling Kettleborough biased.
I once asked Paul “Blocker” Wilson about home umpires. He said if he were to give Virat Kohli out LBW on an umpire’s call during, say, a Boxing Day test, he’d be accused of favouritism.
The problem with non-independent umpiring
Agree with your assessment of Ponting as a slipper. Probably the best all-round fielder I’ve seen though.
Warner, too, is brilliant all over the ground.
As for outfielders, Mike Young (fielding coach) had a very high opinion of Mitchell Johnson.
Australia’s best fielding XI since 1970
Players don’t get signed because they’re good goal kickers. Offered a 5 year contract after 17 first grade games. That’s what the trust is about. A lot of good juniors fail to match their hype. It’s a gamble. I like Zac, don’t get me wrong. It may well pay off and I hope it does. Time will tell. But the Dragons could find themselves in a position after 2 years with a player who hasn’t kicked on.
Look at Aitken. Once touted as an Origin bolter, the club is now happy to be rid of him. Imagine if he still had 3 years to run on his contract.
Is Zac Lomax a future NSW Origin rep?
A thoughtful article. You can get a headache comparing across eras. Factor in the intangibles like pitch conditions, helmets, bats, boundary ropes etc and it makes the task more onerous (although no less fun).
It’d be interesting to see how the collective batting average of said team (1-7) compare to the next best of that time. Likewise the bowling group average. May paint a picture of how much better they were than to their opponent.
Which was the greatest Test team assembled on a single day?
Brad Fittler has always had a high opinion of him, but glimpses aside, he really hasn’t shown that much in his career thus far. The Dragons took him on trust when they signed him for 5 years. He’s a centre in my opinion. Has promise, but the hype has always troubled me.
Is Zac Lomax a future NSW Origin rep?
Interesting background. I humbly nominate Piloo Reporter to officiate.
Get a job: The Occupational XI
Sure, but it makes Warner’s performances against them look relatively good. Harsh to discredit David’s effort against so-called weak opposition when the great Steve Smith fails (relative to his usual high standard). If Smith had scored heavily at home he would have won and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Not saying the voting system isn’t problematic, but the notion of “important” series is transient. At some point we could have an extremely weak England side and an extremely strong NZ side who lived up to their test ranking.
Do we keep moving the goalposts depending on the standard of the opposition?
Warner's win means it's time for an Allan Border Medal rethink
“If not all matches are equal, then it stands that not all performances are. And that should be reflected in Australian cricket’s highest awards.”
So do we mark Smith down for not performing against weak opposition at home?
Warner's win means it's time for an Allan Border Medal rethink
Enjoyed these two articles. Lara did say in hindsight he wished he’d shared the 365 with Sobers.
Should Paine have let Warner chase Lara? Part 2
Insightful as always, JGK. Poor Inzy. Very Inzy areas, though.
The edge of greatness: Cricket’s '49 club' and how close they came to the coveted 50 average in Tests