Tommy Smith's Contributions

Good point Russ, and I think a lot of your ideas have legs sheek. Aussie cricket needs a good shake up and some of these ideas are really pertinent.

How I would fix Australian cricket

2 Feb 2011

You've obviously put a lot of thought into this, sheek, but there are a couple of holes. - Supertests attracted poor crowds, and weren't a success. Otherwise they would have been adopted, like a huge number of other WSC innovations. - re. point 13, impatience is a poor reason to hastily rush into a major shift in the laws of Test cricket. - Single session tickets doesn't make any sense. If you bought a ticket to the first session, why would you leave? Unless there is a veritable army of stewards checking every spectator's ticket, the plan falls apart. Imagine at grounds with general admission, like Perth and Adelaide, if every patron just bought a single session ticket, the ground's capacity would be oversubscribed three times over. So this idea, while a decent one, is wholly impractical and impossible to implement. I really like the idea of streamlined domestic cricket, and scheduling Tests to accommodate the top drawer players participating in the SS.

How I would fix Australian cricket

2 Feb 2011

Towser I agree that sensible recruitment from smaller leagues is more effective than throwing cash at fossils (best example is the perennial underperforming aloisi amongst a host of other flops, elrich at wellington, etc.) but the question is, did an untried manager have the right to embarress a player whose wage packet and achievements - including many performances this year - warrants much greater respect. As you say towser, this is an imbalance that undermines the league at the moment. Mick, i dont dislike the NQ - to avoid the spoon in their first year is a good acheivement. but ferguson is a plodding tracksuit manager who has assembled a squad of Sydney and adelaide rejects, and relatively, Fowler deserves better. Ferguson (or Postecoglou) might be short term winners but these issues will certainly erode unity in the dressing room, and it will be these kinds of merry go round gaffers who get punted if they lose the trust of the players.

Ferguson Vs Fowler should only have one winner

29 Jan 2010