The 2009 Ashes saw a fallout between Johnson and his mom. To be fair, it was probably his mum seeking attention from the media.
Now Haydos has said his statement, “he is an obnoxious weed,” should really have been, “a noxious weed.” Launching his new book, ‘Standing my Ground’, he says his mother, who “is a master of English,” corrected him.
Harbhajan will be relieved he is not obnoxious and the man-love between the two is strengthened by their participation in the IPL.
Are all these warriors really little mummy’s boys after all?
How many of the current Australian cricket team can blame their mum’s for the two Ashes losses in England and the inability to put India away last week?
Michael Clarke seems to have a fetish for underwear. He has modeled Bonds undies big enough to catch three tennis balls. He is now seeing underwear model Kyly Boldy. Understandable, then, that he forgot to put his foot behind the popping crease.
So we cannot really blame his mother here.
Marcus North could perhaps blame his batting coach Justin Langer. There is some history here and we need to go back to 2009 when Langer said he would like to captain WA.
This is what North said then: “But we have moved on. He had his chance to captain the state for four years and it is a great honour and privilege that I received that after him.”
This also raises the question of the worth of Langer as a batting coach. And also Nielsen’s role. I am waiting for the support cast to start alluding to their mothers as an excuse for the team’s hot-cold performance.
Michael Hussey can blame “mother” James Sutherland, who said it was “a fine line” between the dictates of Test cricket and an “elite” competition like the Champions League.
Please, Mr. Sutherland, spin us another. Or at least find us a spinner!
Shane Watson had the chance to put Australia in a commanding position yesterday, but was dismissed after scoring 50. He may well be stressed because his IPL team Rajasthan has been shown the door. The Royals, reportedly, were set to retain him for 2 million dollars for the next IPL.
That is a lot of conflicting reasons when you have a Test match to focus on. So we can excuse his mother in this instance.
You may have gathered by now that a lot of this is tongue in cheek, but the fact remains that some Australian cricketers could be focusing on money to the detriment of performing.
The most disappointing aspect is once again the leadership, or lack of it, shown by Cricket Australia. Sutherland’s statement yesterday will be seen by some as “ground reality,” but in essence it is giving in to the dictates of TV broadcasters.
For those that may not be aware, Jack Clarke, John Bannon and Andrew Hilditch are currently in Bangalore, sampling the hospitality of the BCCI.
The bright lights seem too much for these otherwise worldly men.
Prepare yourself, dear readers, for this brave new world. A world devoid of the valour of Steve Waugh against Curtly Ambrose. A world poorer because gladiators like Laxman and Ponting will be relegated to the occasional cameo of Test cricket.
The future stories of cricket will not be about a test of character. Coaches and administrators, even Saint Bennett, are single-minded about the “brand”. CA calls the three forms brands. If cricket is now a brand then consumers will exercise the right to look for “home brands” that are just as functional and in many cases the same product.
Suddenly the under thirteen’s cricket game at Castle Cove Oval looks very appealing.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Lolly,I was hoping someone would touch on my allusion to the money factor and in a way you have touched on this with your line "it makes it so difficult to have any respect for them" I was deadly serious when I said cricket was being "branded". Sheek touched on it in passing and perhaps both of you have misgivings,like I do, about the "spin" coming from Hilditch,Sutherland and some players. Make no mistake this is a divided dressing room. There are some that earn more than others. There are some,like Smith,who are cooling their heels and thinking if they may not be better off doing what Symonds is doing. There is the issue of the Captain not being a selector. Yes the captain has not had a say in selection from the moment Steve Waugh relinquished this right. He had to deal with dropping Shane Warne and Michael Slater and regretted having to do it.Even though it was the right thing. Ponting has wanted to be involved in selecting on tour. Maybe he wants changes but is being overruled by Hilditch. The chairman was in India and one would think he also had a big hand in deciding whether Hauritz played. The Ashes will not answer all these questions. In fact it will perpetuate the myth that all is well now and there is no need for change. I am amazed at the conservatism of past players and current administrators. There is no glory in going down with a sinking ship. The 2-0 scoreline in India showed how far this Australian side has fallen. Forget the narrow defeat and the exciting Test. In the cold hard light of day the gap between 1 and the rest is as big as ten years ago.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Brett,yes the Big Bash and Big Cash is a grudge the current cricketers are happy to have.
Lolly
Guest
But they, as in players and admin, are used to giving excuses now. It's a pattern. Kind of pathetic but there you are. Hilditch comes out and says stuff like 'Players have to perform to keep their places' which is blatant nonsense. We have a ring-around-a-rosy of nonsense from players and admin. It's makes it so difficult to have any respect for them. To give Hilditch his due, he probably thinks that this is the best 11 that we can put out on the park each match. That doesn't say much about his brain power, research or willingness to take risks though.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
he'll be fit for the first test. Read the Times..not a tabloid.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Sheek,I meant all of those interpretrations...and some more that I am loath to share on a family forum. I really don't see what the fuss is about Ponting. Sack the other ten and start again. You don't have to be einstein to captain a cricket team. Just the best batsman ,the best fielder and god help anyone who doesn't perform. Especially bowlers who have been given more than 10 tests to prove themselves. And while I am at it a middle order that either is dreaming of dollar signs and just not good enough. Do I want a Brearley captaining the Aussie team and scoring single figures?
sheek
Guest
Vinay, Sorry, we had to duck out for dinner. Working my culinary way around Asia. Indian yesterday, Thai this evening. So with so many Indian rustlers, this will conjure up another of those famous western sayings, 'here come the Injuns"..... BTW, loose pronunciation of 'fakir' can result in several different interpretations.....!
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Sheek,wherever there is an Indian there is a rustler. But with so many Australian cricketers and their managers and physios taking up permanent residence in India it is hard to tell the real Indian from the "fakir"
sheek
Guest
Vinay, Great reading as usual. With all these 'brands' becoming so fashionable these days, can we expect to see more "rustlers" trying to get in on the action.....??? And like the old TV westerns of yesteryear, will we be able to tell the good guys in the white hats from the bad guys in the black hats..........!!!
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
will,I would not put too much credence to what the daily mail says.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
agree,Betty b, if they have any respect for themselves..no excuses. Strong and authoritative direction from administrators and selectors..let them spell it out..look boys,no excuses!
Will
Guest
James Anderson has apparently suffered a broken rib, as a result of a boxing session on England's recent boot camp. He must be in serious doubt for the Ashes, at least the first 3 tests IMO. Broken ribs take an age to heal, because the bone cannot be stablizied with a cast, and the rib cage expands every breathe. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-1320673/ASHES-2010-James-Anderson-breaks-rib-boxing-fight-England-team-mate.html
Betty b
Guest
I wouldn't allow them the luxury of an excuse Vinay, mothers or money. They know what they have to do, they're capable of doing it - all they need to do is get on with it, no excuses allowed.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Bayman, I want to see a shift in direction from the selectors. A bit more authority. Where players actually are under pressure to perform. None of this "I didn't get the right field" or CA told me to stay back in South Africa. These are grown men and it is time they took responsibility. Players,selectors they all had better start behaving like responsible adults.Stop being nice Mr Hilditch and start by making some hard decisions and drop some incumbents that are not performing.
Bayman
Guest
Vinay, I guess it is fair to say that for an Australian cricketer, if the Ashes doesn't get you focussed then nothing will. The closer this next series gets the more I'm looking forward to it - and for the first time ever I'm not so concerned with the winning and the losing. While I will happily accept victory I fear that such a result could delay the inevitable changes that Australian cricket requires. On that basis, I can live with an England series win. You and I have discussed before the role of the selectors - and their failure to do anything which suggests selecting has been involved - it's been more like "As you were!" and that's a fairly simple, easy approach to our cricketing ills. Interesting to note that the three names you mentioned being entertained by the BCCI are all South Australians (Bannon, a former premier). I wonder if the upgrade of Adelaide Oval is going as well as could be hoped? Maybe they require some funding from the Indians. You give us a few mill, we'll make sure Adelaide remains a flat track for your batsmen. I also note, yet again, that Ricky maintains he is the best option to captain Australia. He may, of course, be right but I just wish it was Hilditch saying it and not the skipper. At least then I'd be thinking the selectors were actually picking the team. Or maybe, it's not them but their mothers. This would help explain the last couple of years! Whenever I read about how many series we have lost/drawn recently, with the captain sailing serenely through untouched, I think about poor old Bill Lawry who was dropped before the last Test of the 1970/71 series while only one down. Had he played in Sydney, even under Chappell, Australia would almost certainly have won the Test and retained the Ashes. Kenny Eastwood, his replacement and two years older(!), made just 5 and 0. Even Ken was gracious enough to admit that we'd have won if Lawry had been kept. I guess when Bradman, Harvey and Loxton were involved, players were a little less secure than seems to be the case today. All things change but not always for the better! This summer might be hard to swallow so I'd better follow your example and remove the tongue from my cheek to make it easier - but I'm still looking forward to seeing what transpires in the next couple of months.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Darwin,I agree with Brett,that elite cricketers desrve what they get and I don't want to see them paid "slave" wages. I see lots of eminent cricketers like Dravid and Ponting upholding the traditions of cricket. I know how har Dravid and Ponting train to be the best they possibly can. Even Laxman and Tendulkar train incredibly hard. There was a brief picture of Dravid practcising before the fifth day of the last test against left armers bowling wide off the offstump and him leaving them go. These guys are always straining to improve. My question to some of the Australian team then is " How ard are you trying?" and more importantly: "What is your focus"
Darwin Stubbie
Guest
I believe you've provided an answer in this response VV - well for me anyway, I've decided to give the international game a brief glance nowadays, and stroll down to watch the club and provincal / state stuff - at here you'll still get some semblance of why we hold the game in great esteem
Brett McKay
Guest
It's certainly a simple game this weekend Vinay - bring your gumboots!! I agree with you fully here, I was my club's Finance Director for many seasons until the start of last, and ground hire, curating costs and balls can take care of a grade club budget within a week. And no doubt, the gap between the grassroots and elite - in terms of finances - has never been greater than it currently is. And no doubting that the game flourishes because people play for the love of it, either. But at the same time, the guys at the top are the reason the national boards are as wealthy as they are, and without the players, the TV deals wouldn't exist. I won't begrudge these guys the right to earn what they're worth.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Brett, it was a simple game when my mom made me sandwiches when I was seven. It is still a simple game at your grade club and at all the suburban grounds around Australia. Putting out the covers every Friday night and making sure the visitor's dressing shed is clean. Making sure there are enough coldies in the fridge and giving the visiting team the best tea they have ever had. But when you consider a season's supply of new cricket balls for all the teams at Roseville District Club cost 10,000$ a year and the subs are only 6000$ you wonder how you are going to survive. And Dhoni has just signed a three year deal worth 42 million. The billion dollar TV deals do not enter the minds of debutant club cricketers. They actually pay to play. In the end cricket flourishes because people play for the love of it.
Brett McKay
Guest
Hmmm... yes, no ... maybe?? The arguments start getting very grey and murky when money enters the equation. Cricket is still a simple game at the end of the day.....
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
As tyhey say, mother knows best!