The Roar
The Roar

Arthur Pagonis

Roar Guru

Joined November 2011

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former ABC Television Sport Presenter/Reporter, coached and played cricket, baseball, tennis, football, golf...coached Australian junior and senior represenatative baseball teams on tour of USA and Australia, 60 y.o., married with 2 boys Nick and Matt

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If you think that Ian Healy, Michael Vaughan, Shane Warne, Mark Nicholas, Beefy, Bumble, Nas and every cricket commentator in the world went out and got plastered last night in London…you would be 1000% right. I would’ve if I could’ve.

They are entitled to be giggling their heads off this morning, while downing their Beroccas. For 60 days they have been very quick to explain why Australia have been falling apart in England for 20 years….and then England fall apart. When the Ashes was lost. When , some say, it didn’t matter! When Aussies believe it matters a heap!

The ball started talking after Tea. English batsmen said “Stuff this. Johnson’s knocking my block off. I can’t lay a bat on Marsh or Siddle or Lyon and they keep hitting me on the pinkies and head off a good length. We’re going down like nine pins…I’m outta her!”

The cricket world could scarcely believe their eyes in the session after tea at the Oval on Day 2. The Oval crowd packed up and went home, warm and snugly in the knowledge that this Test was gone, but that the Ashes was safe. For now!

3 Day Test here we come!!!!! Michael Clarke…you’rre a genius! Another holiday for 30 of the world’s best cricketers in English conditions. Let’s paint the town red and get on the drink….quick! Before we wake up!

Are Mitch Marsh and Peter Siddle… rejected, ridiculed, in and out of the team…the disciples of Merlin, Harry Potter reincarnate, or masters of Black Magic or Gods of Cricket?

Are Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann able to bend spoons at 20 paces like Uri Geller? Or can they select anyone and see them succeed……or are they just lucky??? Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it???

Let’s face it. What happened at The Oval as England lost 8/108 in 140 minutes was the exception for Australia , not the rule. But it was joyous for Aussie cricket because it redeemed and reinforced everything Aussie cricket stands for in our minds. We can actually play cricket in England when we get a fair shake of the weather, toss etc.

• Lords and the Oval are in London. The weather was dry and sunny for most of yesterday and all of the Lords’ Test. The wicket was rolled after Australia “brilliantly” struggled to 481. Rogers, Warner, Voges, Starc and Smith were gutsy and great…and lucky at times. No denying their guts though!
• England had been in the field for 5 sessions at the end of 5 mentally debilitating Tests and had won the Ashes.
• Australia felt that the Tests at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge made them look very bad, when the coin toss and the luck of batting first, when bowling first was mandatory, denied them the opportunity of attacking England in perfect bowling conditions. 60 and 136 will forever stick in my mind. Pure Luck!!!!!! All of it bad!!!!
• Australia’s brains’ trust picked 4 bowlers at Trent Bridge? Hello? Is that the move of 2 genius’? Hardly!
• So Australia lost Haddin, Harris, Watson, Shaun Marsh, Mike Clarke, in their heads, then had conniptions of kinds which shot them in the foot…and left Australia in the lurch. It was like a revolving door at Heathrow.
• Mitch Johnson was said to have failed again in English conditions. Mitch Starc was said to be all over the shop. Josh Hazelwood was suddenly a failure. Pat Cummins was “unpickable”. Mitch Marsh couldn’t hit a ball with a bat as big as a barn. Steve Smith could only bat at Lords and the Oval. Dave Warner didn’t find his box of bats until Trent Bridge. Adam Voges was the flop of flops. Australia was a technically flawed and failed bunch of no-hopers.

And in 140 minutes last night, all that was seen to be what we hoped it was…..a bunch of unmitigated crap!

You go to England with hope…..and you get kicked in the head and rolled for all your money by the Gods of Clouds, the Gods of swing and seam, the Gods of the Toss and 5 very good English seamers!

So if you think that Rod Marsh, Darren Lehmann, Mike Di Venuto and Craig McDermott are off the hook with the Australian public…you are certifiable! They have presided over a relative disaster. There is no system in the teams they have picked for the West Indies and England which looked after youth as well as experience. There was just some old guys on the last leg of their careers getting another Tour for sentimental reasons and in the hope that they would succeed.

Cardiff told them they were in a heap of trouble, if the next 4 wickets and conditions played havoc, because our batters could barely get the ball off the square at Cardiff.

Clarke and Harris had been badly injured and mentally affected by Phil Hughes’ passing. Watson was, is a shell. Haddin had family problems. Shaun Marsh got 2 innings on a green top under clouds of doom. Marsh and Lehmann never really ever invested in youth, other than Mitch Marsh. Pete Nevill was like 2-3 other wicketkeeping tyros back in Oz.

Josh Hazelwood, Mitch Starc, Mitch Johnson and Nathan Lyon were, are heroic. Not for yesterday, for the whole series. They are salt of the earth.

Mitch Marsh and Pete Siddle have my admiration for what they did in the Perfect Storm yesterday. Pete Nevill had not even figured in the series until Brad Haddin failed at Cardiff with the bat. He has been very good and will get better. Fawad Ahmed must think he is the 15th man on every tour. Pat Cummins must think he has leprosy. Shaun Marsh could be forgiven for spending the next 6 months on a shrink’s couch somewhere. Mitch Marsh wants to take a London Phone Book and tear it to shreds to show his manliness…when he just needs to learn the art of batting in England…and everywhere else. Ohh…and to complete the lunacy, Wally Edwards and Rod Marsh, the WA Connection, have taken up cigar smoking and brandy drinking for the rest of their cricketing lives. I think I’ll join them!

Footnote. If the ICC wants to bring some sanity to Tests in England or anywhere for visiting teams who are rarely if ever winning away from home, then it will dispense with Coin Tosses, allow the Home Team to chose whether to bat or bowl in tests 1-3-5, and allow the Visitors to chose in the 2-4 Tests. Apply it all over the world. And bring some certainty to the world of cricket.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

Ashes highlights: England vs Australia 5th Test - Day 2 cricket scores, blog

If you think that Ian Healy, Michael Vaughan, Shane Warne, Mark Nicholas, Beefy, Bumble, Nas and every cricket commentator in the world went out and got plastered last night in London…you would be 1000% right. I would’ve if I could’ve.

They are entitled to be giggling their heads off this morning, while downing their Beroccas. For 60 days they have been very quick to explain why Australia have been falling apart in England for 20 years….and then England fall apart. When the Ashes was lost. When , some say, it didn’t matter! When Aussies believe it matters a heap!

The ball started talking after Tea. English batsmen said “Stuff this. Johnson’s knocking my block off. I can’t lay a bat on Marsh or Siddle or Lyon and they keep hitting me on the pinkies and head off a good length. We’re going down like nine pins…I’m outta her!”

The cricket world could scarcely believe their eyes in the session after tea at the Oval on Day 2. The Oval crowd packed up and went home, warm and snugly in the knowledge that this Test was gone, but that the Ashes was safe. For now!

3 Day Test here we come!!!!! Michael Clarke…you’rre a genius! Another holiday for 30 of the world’s best cricketers in English conditions. Let’s paint the town red and get on the drink….quick! Before we wake up!

Are Mitch Marsh and Peter Siddle… rejected, ridiculed, in and out of the team…the disciples of Merlin, Harry Potter reincarnate, or masters of Black Magic or Gods of Cricket?

Are Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann able to bend spoons at 20 paces like Uri Geller? Or can they select anyone and see them succeed……or are they just lucky??? Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it???

Let’s face it. What happened at The Oval as England lost 8/108 in 140 minutes was the exception for Australia , not the rule. But it was joyous for Aussie cricket because it redeemed and reinforced everything Aussie cricket stands for in our minds. We can actually play cricket in England when we get a fair shake of the weather, toss etc.

• Lords and the Oval are in London. The weather was dry and sunny for most of yesterday and all of the Lords’ Test. The wicket was rolled after Australia “brilliantly” struggled to 481. Rogers, Warner, Voges, Starc and Smith were gutsy and great…and lucky at times. No denying their guts though!
• England had been in the field for 5 sessions at the end of 5 mentally debilitating Tests and had won the Ashes.
• Australia felt that the Tests at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge made them look very bad, when the coin toss and the luck of batting first, when bowling first was mandatory, denied them the opportunity of attacking England in perfect bowling conditions. 60 and 136 will forever stick in my mind. Pure Luck!!!!!! All of it bad!!!!
• Australia’s brains’ trust picked 4 bowlers at Trent Bridge? Hello? Is that the move of 2 genius’? Hardly!
• So Australia lost Haddin, Harris, Watson, Shaun Marsh, Mike Clarke, in their heads, then had conniptions of kinds which shot them in the foot…and left Australia in the lurch. It was like a revolving door at Heathrow.
• Mitch Johnson was said to have failed again in English conditions. Mitch Starc was said to be all over the shop. Josh Hazelwood was suddenly a failure. Pat Cummins was “unpickable”. Mitch Marsh couldn’t hit a ball with a bat as big as a barn. Steve Smith could only bat at Lords and the Oval. Dave Warner didn’t find his box of bats until Trent Bridge. Adam Voges was the flop of flops. Australia was a technically flawed and failed bunch of no-hopers.

And in 140 minutes last night, all that was seen to be what we hoped it was…..a bunch of unmitigated crap!

You go to England with hope…..and you get kicked in the head and rolled for all your money by the Gods of Clouds, the Gods of swing and seam, the Gods of the Toss and 5 very good English seamers!

So if you think that Rod Marsh, Darren Lehmann, Mike Di Venuto and Craig McDermott are off the hook with the Australian public…you are certifiable! They have presided over a relative disaster. There is no system in the teams they have picked for the West Indies and England which looked after youth as well as experience. There was just some old guys on the last leg of their careers getting another Tour for sentimental reasons and in the hope that they would succeed.

Cardiff told them they were in a heap of trouble, if the next 4 wickets and conditions played havoc, because our batters could barely get the ball off the square at Cardiff.

Clarke and Harris had been badly injured and mentally affected by Phil Hughes’ passing. Watson was, is a shell. Haddin had family problems. Shaun Marsh got 2 innings on a green top under clouds of doom. Marsh and Lehmann never really ever invested in youth, other than Mitch Marsh. Pete Nevill was like 2-3 other wicketkeeping tyros back in Oz.

Josh Hazelwood, Mitch Starc, Mitch Johnson and Nathan Lyon were, are heroic. Not for yesterday, for the whole series. They are salt of the earth.

Mitch Marsh and Pete Siddle have my admiration for what they did in the Perfect Storm yesterday. Pete Nevill had not even figured in the series until Brad Haddin failed at Cardiff with the bat. He has been very good and will get better. Fawad Ahmed must think he is the 15th man on every tour. Pat Cummins must think he has leprosy. Shaun Marsh could be forgiven for spending the next 6 months on a shrink’s couch somewhere. Mitch Marsh wants to take a London Phone Book and tear it to shreds to show his manliness…when he just needs to learn the art of batting in England…and everywhere else. Ohh…and to complete the lunacy, Wally Edwards and Rod Marsh, the WA Connection, have taken up cigar smoking and brandy drinking for the rest of their cricketing lives. I think I’ll join them!

Footnote. If the ICC wants to bring some sanity to Tests in England or anywhere for visiting teams who are rarely if ever winning away from home, then it will dispense with Coin Tosses, allow the Home Team to chose whether to bat or bowl in tests 1-3-5, and allow the Visitors to chose in the 2-4 Tests. Apply it all over the world. And bring some certainty to the world of cricket.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

Pitch doctoring: The loss of a venue’s identity

If you think that Ian Healy, Michael Vaughan, Shane Warne, Mark Nicholas, Beefy, Bumble, Nas and every cricket commentator in the world went out and got plastered last night in London…you would be 1000% right. I would’ve if I could’ve.

They are entitled to be giggling their heads off this morning, while downing their Beroccas. For 60 days they have been very quick to explain why Australia have been falling apart in England for 20 years….and then England fall apart. When the Ashes was lost. When , some say, it didn’t matter! When Aussies believe it matters a heap!

The ball started talking after Tea. English batsmen said “Stuff this. Johnson’s knocking my block off. I can’t lay a bat on Marsh or Siddle or Lyon and they keep hitting me on the pinkies and head off a good length. We’re going down like nine pins…I’m outta her!”

The cricket world could scarcely believe their eyes in the session after tea at the Oval on Day 2. The Oval crowd packed up and went home, warm and snugly in the knowledge that this Test was gone, but that the Ashes was safe. For now!

3 Day Test here we come!!!!! Michael Clarke…you’rre a genius! Another holiday for 30 of the world’s best cricketers in English conditions. Let’s paint the town red and get on the drink….quick! Before we wake up!

Are Mitch Marsh and Peter Siddle… rejected, ridiculed, in and out of the team…the disciples of Merlin, Harry Potter reincarnate, or masters of Black Magic or Gods of Cricket?

Are Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann able to bend spoons at 20 paces like Uri Geller? Or can they select anyone and see them succeed……or are they just lucky??? Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it???

Let’s face it. What happened at The Oval as England lost 8/108 in 140 minutes was the exception for Australia , not the rule. But it was joyous for Aussie cricket because it redeemed and reinforced everything Aussie cricket stands for in our minds. We can actually play cricket in England when we get a fair shake of the weather, toss etc.

• Lords and the Oval are in London. The weather was dry and sunny for most of yesterday and all of the Lords’ Test. The wicket was rolled after Australia “brilliantly” struggled to 481. Rogers, Warner, Voges, Starc and Smith were gutsy and great…and lucky at times. No denying their guts though!
• England had been in the field for 5 sessions at the end of 5 mentally debilitating Tests and had won the Ashes.
• Australia felt that the Tests at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge made them look very bad, when the coin toss and the luck of batting first, when bowling first was mandatory, denied them the opportunity of attacking England in perfect bowling conditions. 60 and 136 will forever stick in my mind. Pure Luck!!!!!! All of it bad!!!!
• Australia’s brains’ trust picked 4 bowlers at Trent Bridge? Hello? Is that the move of 2 genius’? Hardly!
• So Australia lost Haddin, Harris, Watson, Shaun Marsh, Mike Clarke, in their heads, then had conniptions of kinds which shot them in the foot…and left Australia in the lurch. It was like a revolving door at Heathrow.
• Mitch Johnson was said to have failed again in English conditions. Mitch Starc was said to be all over the shop. Josh Hazelwood was suddenly a failure. Pat Cummins was “unpickable”. Mitch Marsh couldn’t hit a ball with a bat as big as a barn. Steve Smith could only bat at Lords and the Oval. Dave Warner didn’t find his box of bats until Trent Bridge. Adam Voges was the flop of flops. Australia was a technically flawed and failed bunch of no-hopers.

And in 140 minutes last night, all that was seen to be what we hoped it was…..a bunch of unmitigated crap!

You go to England with hope…..and you get kicked in the head and rolled for all your money by the Gods of Clouds, the Gods of swing and seam, the Gods of the Toss and 5 very good English seamers!

So if you think that Rod Marsh, Darren Lehmann, Mike Di Venuto and Craig McDermott are off the hook with the Australian public…you are certifiable! They have presided over a relative disaster. There is no system in the teams they have picked for the West Indies and England which looked after youth as well as experience. There was just some old guys on the last leg of their careers getting another Tour for sentimental reasons and in the hope that they would succeed.

Cardiff told them they were in a heap of trouble, if the next 4 wickets and conditions played havoc, because our batters could barely get the ball off the square at Cardiff.

Clarke and Harris had been badly injured and mentally affected by Phil Hughes’ passing. Watson was, is a shell. Haddin had family problems. Shaun Marsh got 2 innings on a green top under clouds of doom. Marsh and Lehmann never really ever invested in youth, other than Mitch Marsh. Pete Nevill was like 2-3 other wicketkeeping tyros back in Oz.

Josh Hazelwood, Mitch Starc, Mitch Johnson and Nathan Lyon were, are heroic. Not for yesterday, for the whole series. They are salt of the earth.

Mitch Marsh and Pete Siddle have my admiration for what they did in the Perfect Storm yesterday. Pete Nevill had not even figured in the series until Brad Haddin failed at Cardiff with the bat. He has been very good and will get better. Fawad Ahmed must think he is the 15th man on every tour. Pat Cummins must think he has leprosy. Shaun Marsh could be forgiven for spending the next 6 months on a shrink’s couch somewhere. Mitch Marsh wants to take a London Phone Book and tear it to shreds to show his manliness…when he just needs to learn the art of batting in England…and everywhere else. Ohh…and to complete the lunacy, Wally Edwards and Rod Marsh, the WA Connection, have taken up cigar smoking and brandy drinking for the rest of their cricketing lives. I think I’ll join them!

Footnote. If the ICC wants to bring some sanity to Tests in England or anywhere for visiting teams who are rarely if ever winning away from home, then it will dispense with Coin Tosses, allow the Home Team to chose whether to bat or bowl in tests 1-3-5, and allow the Visitors to chose in the 2-4 Tests. Apply it all over the world. And bring some certainty to the world of cricket.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

The Ashes: England receive a timely reminder of their place in world cricket

If you think that Ian Healy, Michael Vaughan, Shane Warne, Mark Nicholas, Beefy, Bumble, Nas and every cricket commentator in the world went out and got plastered last night in London…you would be 1000% right. I would’ve if I could’ve.

They are entitled to be giggling their heads off this morning, while downing their Beroccas. For 60 days they have been very quick to explain why Australia have been falling apart in England for 20 years….and then England fall apart. When the Ashes was lost. When , some say, it didn’t matter! When Aussies believe it matters a heap!

The ball started talking after Tea. English batsmen said “Stuff this. Johnson’s knocking my block off. I can’t lay a bat on Marsh or Siddle or Lyon and they keep hitting me on the pinkies and head off a good length. We’re going down like nine pins…I’m outta her!”

The cricket world could scarcely believe their eyes in the session after tea at the Oval on Day 2. The Oval crowd packed up and went home, warm and snugly in the knowledge that this Test was gone, but that the Ashes was safe. For now!

3 Day Test here we come!!!!! Michael Clarke…you’rre a genius! Another holiday for 30 of the world’s best cricketers in English conditions. Let’s paint the town red and get on the drink….quick! Before we wake up!

Are Mitch Marsh and Peter Siddle… rejected, ridiculed, in and out of the team…the disciples of Merlin, Harry Potter reincarnate, or masters of Black Magic or Gods of Cricket?

Are Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann able to bend spoons at 20 paces like Uri Geller? Or can they select anyone and see them succeed……or are they just lucky??? Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it???

Let’s face it. What happened at The Oval as England lost 8/108 in 140 minutes was the exception for Australia , not the rule. But it was joyous for Aussie cricket because it redeemed and reinforced everything Aussie cricket stands for in our minds. We can actually play cricket in England when we get a fair shake of the weather, toss etc.

• Lords and the Oval are in London. The weather was dry and sunny for most of yesterday and all of the Lords’ Test. The wicket was rolled after Australia “brilliantly” struggled to 481. Rogers, Warner, Voges, Starc and Smith were gutsy and great…and lucky at times. No denying their guts though!
• England had been in the field for 5 sessions at the end of 5 mentally debilitating Tests and had won the Ashes.
• Australia felt that the Tests at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge made them look very bad, when the coin toss and the luck of batting first, when bowling first was mandatory, denied them the opportunity of attacking England in perfect bowling conditions. 60 and 136 will forever stick in my mind. Pure Luck!!!!!! All of it bad!!!!
• Australia’s brains’ trust picked 4 bowlers at Trent Bridge? Hello? Is that the move of 2 genius’? Hardly!
• So Australia lost Haddin, Harris, Watson, Shaun Marsh, Mike Clarke, in their heads, then had conniptions of kinds which shot them in the foot…and left Australia in the lurch. It was like a revolving door at Heathrow.
• Mitch Johnson was said to have failed again in English conditions. Mitch Starc was said to be all over the shop. Josh Hazelwood was suddenly a failure. Pat Cummins was “unpickable”. Mitch Marsh couldn’t hit a ball with a bat as big as a barn. Steve Smith could only bat at Lords and the Oval. Dave Warner didn’t find his box of bats until Trent Bridge. Adam Voges was the flop of flops. Australia was a technically flawed and failed bunch of no-hopers.

And in 140 minutes last night, all that was seen to be what we hoped it was…..a bunch of unmitigated crap!

You go to England with hope…..and you get kicked in the head and rolled for all your money by the Gods of Clouds, the Gods of swing and seam, the Gods of the Toss and 5 very good English seamers!

So if you think that Rod Marsh, Darren Lehmann, Mike Di Venuto and Craig McDermott are off the hook with the Australian public…you are certifiable! They have presided over a relative disaster. There is no system in the teams they have picked for the West Indies and England which looked after youth as well as experience. There was just some old guys on the last leg of their careers getting another Tour for sentimental reasons and in the hope that they would succeed.

Cardiff told them they were in a heap of trouble, if the next 4 wickets and conditions played havoc, because our batters could barely get the ball off the square at Cardiff.

Clarke and Harris had been badly injured and mentally affected by Phil Hughes’ passing. Watson was, is a shell. Haddin had family problems. Shaun Marsh got 2 innings on a green top under clouds of doom. Marsh and Lehmann never really ever invested in youth, other than Mitch Marsh. Pete Nevill was like 2-3 other wicketkeeping tyros back in Oz.

Josh Hazelwood, Mitch Starc, Mitch Johnson and Nathan Lyon were, are heroic. Not for yesterday, for the whole series. They are salt of the earth.

Mitch Marsh and Pete Siddle have my admiration for what they did in the Perfect Storm yesterday. Pete Nevill had not even figured in the series until Brad Haddin failed at Cardiff with the bat. He has been very good and will get better. Fawad Ahmed must think he is the 15th man on every tour. Pat Cummins must think he has leprosy. Shaun Marsh could be forgiven for spending the next 6 months on a shrink’s couch somewhere. Mitch Marsh wants to take a London Phone Book and tear it to shreds to show his manliness…when he just needs to learn the art of batting in England…and everywhere else. Ohh…and to complete the lunacy, Wally Edwards and Rod Marsh, the WA Connection, have taken up cigar smoking and brandy drinking for the rest of their cricketing lives. I think I’ll join them!

Footnote. If the ICC wants to bring some sanity to Tests in England or anywhere for visiting teams who are rarely if ever winning away from home, then it will dispense with Coin Tosses, allow the Home Team to chose whether to bat or bowl in tests 1-3-5, and allow the Visitors to chose in the 2-4 Tests. Apply it all over the world. And bring some certainty to the world of cricket.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

Watson captain, Harris six: The way Australia's Ashes should have been

Geoff, our fate lies in the Gods of Cricket, the Gods of Nature, a Coin Toss and the Duke Cricket Ball….we have no control of anything, least of all those crazy fun guys we call Head Coach , Head selector and selectors.

Watson captain, Harris six: The way Australia's Ashes should have been

Geoff, Geoff…does the term hoochy cooch mean anything to you?

Watson captain, Harris six: The way Australia's Ashes should have been

If Australia, and I , have ever learned a lesson, it was after Tea on Day 2 at the Oval. 481 on the board for the Oz and at 0/30 England were cruising. In 2 hours , Australia went from zero to heroes and put the test in danger of being completed in 3 days as Michael Clarke had predicted.

Now it is not that I resent anyone succeeding. But to be honest, I had bagged Nathan Lyon’s automatic selection and Pete Siddle being preferred to Pat Cummins, and I stand by my thinking. Mitchell Marsh, Lyon and Siddle had purple patches which Australia also curiously had at Lords on a flat deck after scoring 550. Scoreboard pressure. No incentive for England to perform in a dead rubber against a manic bowling attack intent on destruction. Just plain great bowling against a tired English team.

I thought all 3 bowled beautifully, as did Johnson and Starc. They were helped by cleverly thought out field settings employed by Clarke which restricted runs for long periods. Also, the cool late afternoon breezes, twilight-ish sunshine… and a dry track with irregular bounce leaping off the seam of the Duke ball. So irregular that keeper Pete Nevill had nightmares.

Siddle was dangerous with swing from ball 1. He displayed a frenetic intent and torturous length, swing and spit that the youth and uncertainty of Josh Hazelwood has not often been able to match in this series.

To be fair to all fellow critics, Lyon bowled Cook with his best ball of the Series, a cracker which pitched leg and hit off. Siddle bowled Bell with another cracker which swung late and hit the top of middle. Trott was not out…but was given so to Mitch Marsh when his bat brushed his pad/thigh pad at the same time as the ball beat the bat. And Lyth threw his wicket away to a lifting ball outside off from Siddle which he didn’t need to play at.

But you can take nothing away from Siddle who hit the fingers of the batter, beat the bat, held the seam upright and got lateral movement every over.

Rod Marsh might think he is a genius, but if he is, he would have had Siddle in the team in the First Test and would never have picked Ryan Harris until his fitness had been confirmed in Australia prior to the Tour.

Certainly the conditions and spite in the wicket after Tea on Day 2 have not occurred prior to this on both days.

England went from 0/30 to 6/83 when Johnson picked up Bairstow fending and Lyon bowled Buttler wafting thru the gate.

This was certainly an English lineup which yes, had won the Series, but was being destroyed by a hungry and angry Aussie team which sensed that the losses at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston were only because they didn’t bowl first.

Johnson was violent. Starc wasn’t even required. Siddle, Marsh and Lyon were licking their lips. It made a mockery of England’s intent, made a 2-3 result in this series look likely, and the difference between the 2 teams seems on this evidence to be only due to the toss of coins.

Marsh’s swing and bounce induced a rash launch from Stokes off a bouncer. He then got Broad to edge to Voges at slip with another beautiful away swinger to the lefthander to take his figures to 3/8 in 7 overs. He also had Wood caught by the same man off a no ball.

Curiously, there has been an avalanche of No Balls in this innings and in the Australian innings, several of which have cost wickets. I would suggest that the distance between the popping crease and the batters crease might be incorrect. No previous Test in this series has had such over-stepping.

Siddle and Marsh have been the only 2 Australian bowlers in this series who have genuinely swung the ball both ways. It was perhaps both men’s finest session in Test Cricket. And it has lifted Australian spirits immensely.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

Australia make like a tree in the fifth Ashes Test

If Australia, and I , have ever learned a lesson, it was after Tea on Day 2 at the Oval. 481 on the board for the Oz and at 0/30 England were cruising. In 2 hours , Australia went from zero to heroes and put the test in danger of being completed in 3 days as Michael Clarke had predicted.

Now it is not that I resent anyone succeeding. But to be honest, I had bagged Nathan Lyon’s automatic selection and Pete Siddle being preferred to Pat Cummins, and I stand by my thinking. Mitchell Marsh, Lyon and Siddle had purple patches which Australia also curiously had at Lords on a flat deck after scoring 550. Scoreboard pressure. No incentive for England to perform in a dead rubber against a manic bowling attack intent on destruction. Just plain great bowling against a tired English team.

I thought all 3 bowled beautifully, as did Johnson and Starc. They were helped by cleverly thought out field settings employed by Clarke which restricted runs for long periods. Also, the cool late afternoon breezes, twilight-ish sunshine… and a dry track with irregular bounce leaping off the seam of the Duke ball. So irregular that keeper Pete Nevill had nightmares.

Siddle was dangerous with swing from ball 1. He displayed a frenetic intent and torturous length, swing and spit that the youth and uncertainty of Josh Hazelwood has not often been able to match in this series.

To be fair to all fellow critics, Lyon bowled Cook with his best ball of the Series, a cracker which pitched leg and hit off. Siddle bowled Bell with another cracker which swung late and hit the top of middle. Trott was not out…but was given so to Mitch Marsh when his bat brushed his pad/thigh pad at the same time as the ball beat the bat. And Lyth threw his wicket away to a lifting ball outside off from Siddle which he didn’t need to play at.

But you can take nothing away from Siddle who hit the fingers of the batter, beat the bat, held the seam upright and got lateral movement every over.

Rod Marsh might think he is a genius, but if he is, he would have had Siddle in the team in the First Test and would never have picked Ryan Harris until his fitness had been confirmed in Australia prior to the Tour.

Certainly the conditions and spite in the wicket after Tea on Day 2 have not occurred prior to this on both days.

England went from 0/30 to 6/83 when Johnson picked up Bairstow fending and Lyon bowled Buttler wafting thru the gate.

This was certainly an English lineup which yes, had won the Series, but was being destroyed by a hungry and angry Aussie team which sensed that the losses at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston were only because they didn’t bowl first.

Johnson was violent. Starc wasn’t even required. Siddle, Marsh and Lyon were licking their lips. It made a mockery of England’s intent, made a 2-3 result in this series look likely, and the difference between the 2 teams seems on this evidence to be only due to the toss of coins.

Marsh’s swing and bounce induced a rash launch from Stokes off a bouncer. He then got Broad to edge to Voges at slip with another beautiful away swinger to the lefthander to take his figures to 3/8 in 7 overs. He also had Wood caught by the same man off a no ball.

Curiously, there has been an avalanche of No Balls in this innings and in the Australian innings, several of which have cost wickets. I would suggest that the distance between the popping crease and the batters crease might be incorrect. No previous Test in this series has had such over-stepping.

Siddle and Marsh have been the only 2 Australian bowlers in this series who have genuinely swung the ball both ways. It was perhaps both men’s finest session in Test Cricket. And it has lifted Australian spirits immensely.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
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Ashes highlights: England vs Australia 5th Test - Day 2 cricket scores, blog

When Steve Smith talks cricket it is all about his career, it is all about him. When he scores a hundred, it is all about him. The Nine Network perpetuates his star status. It’s all about Stevie!!!!

When he is Captain…it can’t be about him. It has to be about the Team.

He gave Mitchell Marsh very little support after Voges went this morning for a very well made 76. Same with Pete Nevill.

He was so inward looking, in a panic about his hundred, that he forgot when Voges went that 500 runs was still possible. Getting caught off a no-ball from Finn immediately after Voges departed was poor for the team. Poor judgement. Unthinking batting.

Reprieved, he was made to die a thousand cuts on the way to 3 figures…and it serves him right. His whole being is focused on getting a hundred…when the true team man thinks more about how the team can succeed and get to 500 via partnerships.

True the team generally succeeds when he does…but personal records play far too big a part in Test Cricket. It is another old hoary chestnut. I’d rather Adam Voges was Captain of Australia than Steve Smith from the perspective that Smith can focus on his personal achievements…and team achievements….and not be burdened with leadership.

Too late for that now…and another black mark against Cricket Australia’s management of this losing team. There is no settled, stable positivity. Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann and the coaches have presided over a monumental disaster because they depended wholly and solely on older players. It is their choice…and it has failed!

Smith has done well in the Series, Rogers even better, Warner succeeded when it was too late… but Australia has lost. Smith scored big at Lords and here…but that was on benign wickets.

He also made double figures only 3 other times. It is not his fault that Australia has lost the Series, and it is not the bowlers’ fault. The emphasis has not been on team performance in this Test Series by Australia. Batting and bowling and coaching have been far below par. The British Bulldog spirit prevailed over the Roo and the Emu who seemed to be befuddled and leaderless.

No digging in and fighting at Cardiff. Then rolled on minefields at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge in the first dig…and the series was gone. Like the wind.

It revealed a dispirited, panic-laden, anxious team, poorly led and coached. Watson came and went. Harris never got to the crease. Haddin, in for 1, then gone. Shaun Marsh in for 1, then gone. Mitch Marsh, in for 1, gone, now back….and we cannot keep any of the England quicks out. Clarke destroyed by the Poms and in a complete state of friction with Rod Marsh about team selection.

If Mitch Marsh is Australia’s alrounder at 6 against teams with good quicks or spinners, we are in trouble, especially if Di Venuto cannot shore up his defence. And that of all batsmen.

This is not good enough from Messrs Lehmann and Marsh, R. They can be interviewed and make whatever excuses they wish. It’s too late. They were given 2 bites at this cherry on 2 tours and 0-3 and i-3 looks likely.

Nevill came out this morning and showed he had learned nothing from his double failure at Trent Bridge. Foot nowhere near the ball in defence.

Michael Di Venuto and Craig McDermott have not been able to get their message across. They need replacing, like the Head Coach and Head Selector. The quicks have learned very little from McDermott that is visually obvious. Mentally they look fragile. Cannot create lateral movement both ways with the ball. Uncultured in England, the batters. 7/376 at Lunch and Nevill and Johnson looked suspect and went to lame shots.

Their job was to stay with Smith…couldn’t do it. Not mentally or technically efficient enough for consistent support and still making the same mistakes as all Australian batsmen. This team is technically bankrupt with the bat, and oblivious to how superior technically with bat and ball England are in England. They underestimated them, and perished. Athletically equal, mentally and technically struggling are Australia.

Geoff Boycott, Tom Moody and Mark Nicholas were quick to point out the team deficiencies as regards lateral movement by Aussie bowlers in England, selfish play and the instability caused by the Clarke, Watson, Haddin, Harris, Shaun Marsh sagas. It is telling that the lunch time interview with the Nine Panel was so contradictory of Lehmann that he was made to look bumbling…and dishevelled.

Lovely knock from Mitch Starc who should bat above Johnson from this point on, and the rest were ordinary. Smith’s 147 was a battling innings. Far from convincing, but invaluable as usual.

481 then was a huge relief on a placid deck with the Series lost…and it occurs to me that this was the worst Aussie side we could have picked. Nathan Lyon’s position in the side after this Series should not be a given. He is slight, has the qualities of a holding spinner, is sound in the field, can play ODI cricket, can take expensive wickets at Test and ODI level, especially left handers…but struggles to hold a bat…and is holding down a spot to spite 4 spinners who are younger, bowl leg spin and attack, and are more capable with the bat. Siddle and Marsh are the same style of bowler….so why Pat Cummins hasn’t played is beyond belief.

It is time to apply the blow torch. Lehmann, Marsh, Di Venuto and McDermott must go.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
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The Ashes: Australia finally show batting patience

If you truly love the game, question everything about it. Now that we have 3 forms of the game, question it even more.

Never accept that the Toss is the way to decide cricket matches. Let the home team chose whether they bat or bowl in Tests 1, 3, 5…and the Visiting team choses in Tests 2 and 4. And reverse the process when the team is playing away. If you believe in the integrity of the home country and the groundsman and the ICC, then you will allow the individual groundsman the freedom to produce a 5 day wicket. The ICC should scrutinise the preparation.

One can do nothing about atmospheric conditions, other then give each team a fair chance to use them first.

Tradition can be an excuse for lazy thinking. Why should Australia win 90% of home Series in Australia and England win 90% of home series in England???? What is the point??? Challenge everything! What we want in cricket is not to have visiting teams getting shellacked 3,4,5 nil. We want even competition and fair opportunity in all Series, wherever they are played. Why should we have such one-sided home series??? Question it!!!

Why, if the Duke Ball lasts longer, swings for longer, maintains it’s shape and colour longer, should we not use it in all forms of cricket throughout the world??? The ICC again should intervene. It should select a ball which is to be used for the World Cricket League, an 8-11 team competition of member Nations featuring 3 forms of the game…What do we then have??? Uniformity of ball! Uniformity of opportunity.

Why is Cricket Australia, the ECB and the BCCI controlling the running of the ICC via Wally Edwards , Giles Clarke and Mr Srinivasan and where is world cricket headed??? Question it! Ask CA why it is in such an unholy alliance which gives minor nations no choice but to tag along for pitiful money handouts. If what CA is doing is wrong…it is wrong. Don’t accept it, question it??

If Australia has lost this series 1-3, 1-4, 2-3…and the previous one 0-3 under the same people, why would you let those same people take the team for another stint?? Ask the question of CA…question it! Why should Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann, 2 lovely guys, but who have lost away Series like there is no tomorrow , be retained??? Is Justin Langer the best bet for Australia’s future…or do we have to hit rock bottom again to find the right formula???

Are we going to accept that every Australian team that tours overseas to the big 4-5 nations will lose????

Could we beat India, Pakistan, England or South Africa at their place in a Test, ODI or T20 series next week????

Is Steve Smith the best person to captain Australia?? Why??? Is Adam Voges the steadiest and best placed captain in Australia currently or is he too old…is it Dave Warner? Is it Moises Henriques? Would Pete Nevill be better? Never accept that anyone is the best when you can see and hear with your own 2 eyes and ears what is going on…accept nothing.

Why would Australia pick Shane Watson in the ODI Series but not in this last Test? Why does Michael Clarke play in the final Test when clearly out of form? Is it sentiment, tradition? Why did Peter Siddle play? Why did Shaun Marsh, Fawad Ahmed and Pat Cummins not play? These men are clearly miffed…you can see it in their body language. Question it!

Would Australian and World Cricket be better off with a World Cricket League run by Independent Commissioners?

Would each Member Nation be able to run a National League where the 3 forms of the game were played weekly? Why?

Do you believe the DRS is completely fool proof?? How could it be improved…..do not think you do not have the answer…you do! You watch as much cricket as the guys playing.

Why is the ICC not focused on bringing Ireland, Zimbabawe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Scotland, USA etc into the fold of Member Nations playing the 3 Official forms of the game if cricket wants to dominate the world of summer team sports???? Question it!!!!

Do you believe that Australia could have won this test series with Justin Langer at the helm of Australia and with him picking his coaches and his team? Do we need 4 test selectors or can Justin run the team with the help of a general manager like Rod Marsh or someone of the ilk of Adam Gilchrist??? Are Selectors necessary in a professional format such as a World Cricket league where teams are travelling the world monthly???

Is the selection of the Australian Cricket team or any Member Nation enhanced by having 3-4-5 selectors, or is it just sentiment and tradition??? Question it?? Question everything…because people…we do not have the best answers from those people who are running cricket in the world at present.

Cricket is not using it’s noggin….and it needs a good shakeup. Independent paid Commissioners to structure and grow the game is required…don’t you think???? That was my last question…do you have any more????

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

Australia need to maximise their time at the crease

3/287 batting first after losing the toss for the 4th time.

Australia’s bats first at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston and loses on dodgy wickets in dodgy atmospheric conditions.

The entire Australian Cricket community is at odds over the selection of this 5th test team.

Pat Cummins and Fawad Ahmed are the only 2 players not to play a Test on tour in a team which will lose the Ashes 1-3, 1-4, or 2-3.

Steve Smith and Adam Voges triumph after shaky starts on another Lords-like wicket.

Commentators give a 1000 and one reasons why Australia are in the position they are.

But it is all subjective. The only factor that counts in the end is that England won 4 tosses of the coin in this Series and will win the Series in England for the 4th or 5th time in a row…and by a convincing margin, just as Australia has done in Australia.

Is it time to look at how we can even up Test series by finding a better device than a “toss of a coin” to decide Test Matches.

Surely it is the great gamble of Cricket, just as the loss of billions of Superannuation dollars by the Australian Government’s insistence on tying Super Funds to the Australian and World Share Markets is a toss of the coin?

Is it simply because we have not thought the issue through, or is it just Tradition?

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

The Ashes: Australia finally show batting patience

0/82 at lunch gives an indication that this Test may well be more like the Lords Test wicket than the others. Nothing like Trent Bridge or Edgbaston. Very easy for batting. And the significance of the game allowed Australia to relax and have some fun….like at Lords. Nothing to lose! England did not have conditions to exploit…and they were far less potent.

It’s déjà vu all over again…and no sign of a 3 day Test.

How could Michael Clarke and Alistair Cook misread the wicket as badly as they have?

Why on earth did Cook choose to bowl? Sympathy for Clarke…I doubt it.

Why were Australia 0/82 at lunch? Simple. The wicket is much flatter and easier to play in and on, the cloud cover is not as bad as TB and Edgbaston, and the ball is not seaming as dangerously…and we are playing for beer money.

Is it James Anderson’s absence that has seen Australia prosper? Is the wicket as flat as Lords and Cardiff? Is the bounce more like an Australian wicket? Yes to all 3.

Will Pete Siddle take wickets on this track? Would Pat Cummins have taken more do you think?

Will Nathan Lyon and Moeen Ali take more wickets than the quicks? If so, why didn’t both sides pick 2 spinners?

What would Australia have lost using Fawad Ahmed who is either Australia’s next leg spinner…or he is not?

Is he a better bet than Ash Agar, Steve O’Keefe, Cam Boyce or Adam Zampa? If not, why is he in England?

This game is scheduled for 5 days. Let’s see how it plays out. In the end Siddle’s selection may not count either way. Nor the absence of Shaun Marsh and Ahmed. But to me, it is just another case of Australia’s management not being bold…and I hate to see Australia taking the defensive position in any Test, like they did at Trent Bridge.

Rogers made his 43 very nicely and his jumping edge to Cook was his only major aberration. Didn’t need to play. Enter the future Oz captain.

It is a horror watching Steve Smith bat early in his innings in England. He is all at sea. It is because he often plays front-on, like all of the Australian top order in this series. Credit England’s bowlers who swing the ball both ways and are a handful in every innings. Some of Smith’s early issues are because he often thinks he needs to score in boundaries to set the tone. He has a guy at the other end who is in the 70’s and he doesn’t think to give him the strike. It is typical thinking for an immature young man. He has not come to terms ever on this Tour (other than Lords) with being contained. Team cricket means it is not all about me….it is about feeding the player in form. He should adjust his thinking for his role as captain. He needs to relax and be more team aware. Australia must not depend on him every innings. At least 2 players…any 2….have to score a hundred. Clarke was never going to make a ton…and his dismissal was something of a relief.

Warner’s 85 on the other hand was fun, albeit that he didn’t use his feet to Ali at all well. His form is fine…but he may not be an opener in future Australian teams. He isn’t Matthew Hayden or Justin Langer…he is Dave Warner. He needs to bat where he can dominate attacks. Australia may pick young openers in future when Justin Langer is Coach. This will enable Warner to score large hundreds and double hundreds with Smith and others. This will only happen when strong opening partnerships by 2 technically competent young batters occurs to set the foundation. Warner is not technically competent. He is explosive….but as an opener, rarely does that translate to hundreds.

After tea when batting with Adam Voges, Smith looked more like the player who dominated India in Australia. He actually played a true cut shot in the 60’s. It was the best shot of his innings. This was because he did not move front on in front of balls outside off stump. His confidence, and that of Voges grew as the partnership raced past 50. It was one of the few times in this Series that an Australian batting partnership looked in full control.

ARTHUR PAGONIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD
10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA
PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874
SKYPE: apagonis2
WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

Ashes highlights: England vs Australia 5th Test - Day 1 scores

0/82 at lunch gives an indication that this test may well be more like the Lords Test than the others.

It’s déjà vu all over again…and no sign of a 3 day test.

How could Michael Clarke and Alistair Cook misread the wicket as badly as they have?

Why did Cook bowl?

Why are Australia 0/82?

Is it James Anderson’s absence? Is the wicket flat like Lords and Cardiff? Is the bounce more like an Australian wicket?

Will Pete Siddle take wickets on this track? Would Pat Cummins have taken more do you think?

Will Nathan Lyon and Moeen Ali take more wickets than the quicks? If so, why didn’t both sides pick 2 spinners?

What would Australia have lost using Fawad Ahmed who is either Australia’s next leg spinner…or he is not?

Is he a better bet than Cam Boyce or Adam Zampa? If so, why is he in England?

This game is scheduled for 5 days. Let’s see how it plays out. In the end Siddle’s selection may not count either way. Nor the absence of Shaun Marsh and Ahmed. But to me, it is just another case of Australia’s management not being bold…and I hate to see Australia taking the defensive position in any Test, like they did at Trent bridge.

Ashes highlights: England vs Australia 5th Test - Day 1 scores

You are trailing 1-3 in the Ashes and you leave out Pat Cummins, perhaps the fastest bowler in the world.

You are trailing 1-3 in the Ashes and you leave out Shaun Marsh who had just 2 innings in the series in losing the vital Test by an innings.

You are trailing 1-3 and you do not pick Fawad Ahmed to see what he can do in a test.

What does that tell you? It tells you that age and experience is king in the Rod Marsh/Darren Lehmann reign. That youth will have to wait. That their selections cannot be questioned. That Cricket Australia are backing them to the hilt.

Ignore the toss. We lost and were sent in. The wicket and the conditions are perfect for batting. At Edgbaston and Trent Bridge comparatively it was a minefield…and 136 and 60 was all Australia could manage. Goodbye Ashes…thank you for coming Australia.

But the key to this Series has been Australia’s inability and disregard of fighting fire with fire when the time came. So leaving Cummins out of this game is not terminal…but it is very negative. As are the leaving out of Shaun and Fawad Ahmed. It was another opportunity lost by Lehmann and Marsh to give players a chance to show what they can do. Fear prevented it. Fear of losing and going down 1-4. And the belief that Shaun, Pat and Fawad could not possibly have led Australia to a win!!!!

Let’s face it. We cannot match the superior technique of the English seamers over the course of 5 Tests in England, unless we win the toss most times. We only one 1 toss.

Their 5 pace bowlers have destroyed us in 4 innings in 2 Tests which were the Tests which saw us lose from a position of 1-1 after Lords. Mooen Ali has rarely been a factor…as is the case with Nathan Lyon. Pace, seam and swing have won for England. Australia did not use their trump card in Cummins even once in the Series because they deferred to age.

And if we had bowled first with the 4 best quicks, Johnson, Starc, Hazelwood and Cummins against England in those 2 Tests at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, it would be Australia with a 3-1 advantage.

Here we are bagging our team, when the toss and the conditions in 3 winning Tests worked perfectly for England to win the series.

It appears that Voges, Warner, Smith and Johnson will be the leaders in Australia’s short term cricket future. It is to be hoped that a more adventurous stance will be taken by Lehmann and Marsh after the failure of this Series.

In the Test that saw us down 1-2 when we needed to win or lose the Series, Lehmann and Marsh went defensive…and lost.

They picked 4 bowlers, not 5….and gain failed to pick Cummins…and lost the Ashes. I see that as grounds for sacking them.

It is past time for Glenn Maxwell, Joe Burns, Cam Bancroft, Cummins, Adam Zampa, Usman Khawaja, Chris Lynn, perhaps Marcus Stoinis, Ash Agar, Josh Hazelwood to wear the baggy green….again.

Shane Watson has had enough chances. Pete Siddle now has an opportunity to extend his career. But the message being sent to the best athletes in Australian Cricket is , “Don’t call us, we’ll call you!”

It is a thoroughly negative stance that is being taken by Australia’s cricket team management…and it should be remedied by appointing Justin Langer from the Bangladesh Tour forwards.

Ashes highlights: England vs Australia 5th Test - Day 1 scores

I think West Coast showed their hand when they asked for a $1000 fine after Masten was found guilty. In the sentencing phase, the emphasis is just on the sentence. The AFL had asked for 4 weeks. When the Tribunal gave 2 weeks, that was it for West Coast’s lawyers, when in fact they should be screaming about this..

If I had been West Coast’s lawyers I would have gone over and over the replay of the footage. The ball is nowhere in sight. Suban is riding Masten in to the ground. Suban initiates the contact, then rubs his nose in the dirt. Suban has a reputation as a serial offender.

Who should get sent out…Suban or Masten?

Chris Masten receives two weeks for biting

I think West Coast showed their hand when they asked for a $1000 fine after Masten was found guilty. In the sentencing phase, the emphasis is just on the sentence. The AFL had asked for 4 weeks. When the Tribunal gave 2 weeks, that was it for West Coast’s lawyers, when in fact they should be screaming about this..

If I had been West Coast’s lawyers I would have gone over and over the replay of the footage. The ball is nowhere in sight. Suban is riding Masten in to the ground. Suban initiates the contact, then rubs his nose in the dirt. Suban has a reputation as a serial offender.

Who should get sent out…Suban or Masten?

[Highlights] Eagles beat Dockers in spiteful derby

good thoughts all but what about these thoughts….
Ronan makes some good points especially about Road Records and winning away from home. But he doesn’t qualify who the various teams played. There are some key old axioms that Australian Cricket Coaches, Selectors, followers all cling to as if they are written in stone that are killing the thinking of Australian cricket. There is a tendency to get all warm and fuzzy about our players when they succeed and derogatory when they fail, which is clearly pointless.

The issues begin at the top of Australian Cricket. CA are embroiled in a Monopoly with ECB and BCCI, and they have lost the respect of many Australian followers. They have invested in Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann who rule over the selectors and the Captain with a firm iron hand, not gloves. They are clearly making the same mistakes they made on the 0-3 tour in 2012. They do not pick their most aggressive teams. They are not the best duo to be leading Australian cricket teams.

Mitch Marsh is not a God. Steve Smith is not a God. Mitchell Starc is not a God. Nor is Mitch Johnson. Nor David Warner. Nor anyone in the team I have selected below…but they are bloody good cricketers, and well coached, and managed , they will be winners.

It’s time for Australian cricket to pick youth, but not expect that they will all set the world on fire today! And I mean in the coaching and selecting ranks as well. Justin Langer should be the Coach/Manager of all 3 Aussie teams. Someone more contemporary like Adam Gilchrist should be head selector/General manager. Let Adam and Justin pick the coaches and the 25 players they want to be contracted.
Perhaps theses guys would suit Justin and the coaches.

Bats: Steve Smith, Joe Burns, Ed Maddinson, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Marcus Stoinis, Cam Bancroft, Dave Warner, David Lynn, Glenn Maxwell (9)

Quicks: Johnson, Starc, Hazelwood, Cummins, Pattinson, Behrendorff, Mark Steketee (7)

Spinners: Agar, Zampa, Lyon, Boyce (4)

Alrounders; Faulkner, Mitch Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile (3)

Keepers: Nevill, Wade (2)

That is the 25. Reserves might be: Travis Head, Sam Whiteman, Gurinder Singh, Jake Doran, Moises Henriques.

If you give 25 people such as these to Justin and co., they will win away games and home games. They will use a Duke Ball or a Kookaburra and win regardless. They will win series at home and on the road. There will be no old axioms like, “We must bat first if we win the toss”, “The Captain picks the batting Lineup”, “Off spinners are holding bowlers.”, “We cannot pick 4 truly quick fast bowlers, we must have an alrounder.”, “There are no leg spinners as good as Shane Warne in this country”, “Aussies can’t bat against spin, swing and seam in other countries.”, “So and so is an amazing athlete and we must pick him.”

What you will get with Justin and Adam is positivity and aggression and communication and understanding. You will also get great strategy, flexibility and they are contemporary thinkers, like Andrew Strauss and Trevor Bayliss. They are not shackled by old axioms or past events. they learn from them, but apply the logic of today’s cricket. that is what Australian cricket needs.

Australia's glut of batsmen bodes well for the future

Ronan makes some good points especially about Road Records and winning away from home. But he doesn’t qualify who the various teams played. There are some key old axioms that Australian Cricket Coaches, Selectors, followers all cling to as if they are written in stone that are killing the thinking of Australian cricket. There is a tendency to get all warm and fuzzy about our players when they succeed and derogatory when they fail, which is clearly pointless.

The issues begin at the top of Australian Cricket. CA are embroiled in a Monopoly with ECB and BCCI, and they have lost the respect of many Australian followers. They have invested in Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann who rule over the selectors and the Captain with a firm iron hand, not gloves. They are clearly making the same mistakes they made on the 0-3 tour in 2012. They do not pick their most aggressive teams. They are not the best duo to be leading Australian cricket teams.

Mitch Marsh is not a God. Steve Smith is not a God. Mitchell Starc is not a God. Nor is Mitch Johnson. Nor David Warner. Nor anyone in the team I have selected below…but they are bloody good cricketers, and well coached, and managed , they will be winners.

It’s time for Australian cricket to pick youth, but not expect that they will all set the world on fire today! And I mean in the coaching and selecting ranks as well. Justin Langer should be the Coach/Manager of all 3 Aussie teams. Someone more contemporary like Adam Gilchrist should be head selector/General manager. Let Adam and Justin pick the coaches and the 25 players they want to be contracted.
Perhaps theses guys would suit Justin and the coaches.

Bats: Steve Smith, Joe Burns, Ed Maddinson, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Marcus Stoinis, Cam Bancroft, Dave Warner, David Lynn, Glenn Maxwell (9)

Quicks: Johnson, Starc, Hazelwood, Cummins, Pattinson, Behrendorff, Mark Steketee (7)

Spinners: Agar, Zampa, Lyon, Boyce (4)

Alrounders; Faulkner, Mitch Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile (3)

Keepers: Nevill, Wade (2)

That is the 25. Reserves might be: Travis Head, Sam Whiteman, Gurinder Singh, Jake Doran, Moises Henriques.

If you give 25 people such as these to Justin and co., they will win away games and home games. They will use a Duke Ball or a Kookaburra and win regardless. They will win series at home and on the road. There will be no old axioms like, “We must bat first if we win the toss”, “The Captain picks the batting Lineup”, “Off spinners are holding bowlers.”, “We cannot pick 4 truly quick fast bowlers, we must have an alrounder.”, “There are no leg spinners as good as Shane Warne in this country”, “Aussies can’t bat against spin, swing and seam in other countries.”, “So and so is an amazing athlete and we must pick him.”

What you will get with Justin and Adam is positivity and aggression and communication and understanding. You will also get great strategy, flexibility and they are contemporary thinkers, like Andrew Strauss and Trevor Bayliss. They are not shackled by old axioms or past events. they learn from them, but apply the logic of today’s cricket. that is what Australian cricket needs.

Australia must not panic over Ashes loss

Chieka is the only coach who could get a team together anywhere and beat the All Blacks…end of story.

Cheika's cheapening of the Bledisloe a sad day for rugby

you’re a hard case Donald of Freo, but I like your sense of humour. go the Purple Army..

Are Fremantle's struggles terminal?

In Michael we must trust, Bruce. The evidence is he is very inclusive. He has given guys a reprieve who otherwise might leave Rugby. He has said to all the guys, “We’ll give you all a shot as long as you stick with the plan.” Now the plan wasn’t to get snuffed by 30 points, and to be honest, the team didn’t look up for it or positive or willing to meet the All Blacks head on….and that may have had to do with being beaten up when winning in Sydney. They just looked hesitant, there was little cohesion, and after the first try they were meat and drink for the Ferns. But look…there is a ton of talent IN THIS TEAM, they beat the All Blacks …and not many do that…and they are building to win the World Cup. The game is a raffle sometimes, especially when you get pedanticism of the type we see from the refs. Cooper went high, got 10 big ones…game over. Bledisloe gone. When we learn that EVERY game, every tournament, every time in the Green and Gold jersey, is mint…then and only then will we be as good as the Blacks.

Cheika's cheapening of the Bledisloe a sad day for rugby

Bang on David…and that could have been the team for Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and this last Test. But the selectors wanted Mitch Marsh at Lords, and he did well. That made it impossible for Cummins at Edgbaston…and then when we don’t bowl first, we lose the Series.

Cruel game cricket. 2 evenly matched teams, one gets beaten by the toss in the 2 games that count.

Pat Cummins must play at The Oval

Don’t worry about the Dockers Cameron.

Ross Lyon puzzles me as an individual. His arrogance isn’t easy to take.

So one has to assume that he has the same attitude around the Fremantle Football Club as he does in public.

His radio and television interviews and the newsprint interviews show a man who clearly thinks he’s the best, perhaps the only football brain in the room. Now if you take the 7 “experts” who ganged up on John Worsfold 7-1 and picked Freo to win the Derby, then you can understand Lyon’s thinking. But I’m betting Lyon wasn’t in Woosha’s camp when he made his selection prior to the Derby.

And I’m not so sure I like his discourse regarding the Dockers players. “I’m not sure about the players, but I know I am committed”, stands out for me on the AFL website.

It is almost as if Steve Rosich and the Dockers are scared to keep Lyon in check. No one likes an outsider in WA, let alone an outsider with attitude…but then, I guess Freo reckon if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Now we all see that there are several Dockers down on form who are causing poor old Ross to become acerbic and caustic in the coach’s box and in interviews. The radio jocks especially don’t seem to cop him so sweet. And let’s be honest here, Lyon and the Dockers have been perennial contenders, so they are certainly doing most things right, and Lyon knows that, and may not feel he’s getting enough love or respect.

So Clarke, Danyl Pearce, De Boer, Barlow, Lachie Neale, McPharlin, Clancy Pearce, Taberner, Dawson, and Johnson need to get better. And Crozier, Sheridan, Alex Pearce are still kids. So what…everyone has these issues in the AFL?

Does he, and his beleaguered coaches, not have the ability to bring the best out in them at game time?

Everyone else has to. Why not Freo? Adam Simpson has had as tough a year as Ross, maybe tougher, but he holds himself in great check, stays with the Plan, gives the press what they need and offers very little sarcasm…other than in a friendly banter way.

If Lyon bring the confidence levels up in all the “iffy” guys, the others will stand you in great stead. It is all about confidence. No one from Pav on down wants to feel like 2nd class citizens….and that appears to be one of the few shortcomings Lyon has. His standards might be high for his players, but what about his public standards for himself and the team? Why at this stage of the year would you be getting down on anybody in your club?

I think the Dockers will feature heavily in the finals and can make the grand final, but they are going to need a big dose of Ross Lyon positivity to do it. I hope he has it in him. The Fans and the club and the players deserve that from him!

And if they get that support, all one can hope is that the Dockers run out on Grand Final day at the G. After that the Gods of Spring, and Mr Lyon and his fabulous team get to decide who wins the flag.

ARTHUR PAGONIS

Are Fremantle's struggles terminal?

apologies if I talk too much and leave phone and address guys. Not concerned guys. Love the game, love Freo, love the Eagles …and as long as one of them wins the whole deal, I’ll be on cloud 9. Don’t love the umps. Have written to wayne Campbell and gillon about the nonsensical approach of making 4 whistle-stops in 3 minutes as being counter-productive. They get it. But the Derby was over-umpired. Most calls were right…but the 10% that weren’t didn’t need a whistle if you follow my thinking.

[Highlights] Eagles beat Dockers in spiteful derby

The Eagles lost another soldier today. Will Schofield joins Scott Selwood, Jeremy McGovern, Le Cras and Nick Natanui as potential outs for next weeks game with the Bulldogs in Perth.

But today the Eagles kicked 7 goals to 1 against Fremantle in the first quarter…and were supreme. 22 wins to the Eagles in Derbies. 20 to the Dockers.

Reversing the trend of Derby number 41 from earlier this season represents a 50 point turnaround roughly.That is a marker of West Coast improvement since round 3.

And in that game I think I recall Fremantle had 70 points by half time and looked like winning by 100 points. This is the key to the Eagles season. They have developed 30 all-purpose players when without Brown, McKenzie and other players this season…which is quite incredible.

They lost 2 of their first 3 games…and hadn’t been beaten again until round 10 when they visited the sunshine capital of the world and tripped up to North Melbourne. They then won 7 straight before a tired draw with Gold Coast in R18. Hawthorn last weekend in R19 were just a touch better than us, and even then they mostly had the Hawks measure without 3 of the guys mentioned in paragraph 1. So 14 wins, 4 losses and a draw as at today…and 2nd place. And a chance to catch Freo (16-3) and take 1st spot. And if they continue their rebound style, who’s to say they can’t win it all?

Points to note:

• Lycett and Sinclair are both required for the finals. So is Nick Nat and McGovern. The Eagles scarcely missed Le Cras. Schofield is also required, albeit that he has made a lot of silly mental mistakes this season. He is the last man standing at the back and that pressure is immense.
• Kennedy, Sinclair, Darling, Lycett, McGovern and Nick Nat can double up up forward and at the back, and the first 4 were brilliantly used by Coach Simpson in both roles today.
• There are some iffy contributors in the Eagles at times, like Schofield, Shuey, Yeo, Masten, Ellis and Rosa…but what errors they make seem like water off a ducks back. The Eagles have adopted a “no blame” insurance policy. They just simply get on with the game no matter if some dill of an umpire blows his whistle 10 times too many in a game like today. They do not spite the referees. They do not spite the opposition. They do not spite their own team-mates. They just get on with it.
• Gaff, Sheed, Sheppard, Masten, Priddis, Yeo, Wellingham, Cripps, Hutchings, Bennell do a hell of a lot of running, carrying, handball, kicking and tackling. They can bob up anywhere on the park. There is not an Eagle who is not flexible. They can play any role. They’ll bob up and kick a goal one minute, then save one at the other end, or win a hitout in the middle. Their style of play enables them to bottle teams up in their back 50, and get out on the break and score. Or they can burst out of a ball up in the centre or at any place on the park and make 3 kicks and goal. Or they can run out of defence with 6 handballs, kick twice and goal. They have 10 elite marking players. The key is they possess the ball 55-60% of the game. Hard to lose when you do that.
• If there has been a better all-purpose team in the history of WA football I haven’t seen it.

Now don’t write off the Dockers. They will have 30 fit players come Finals. And they won’t peak until then. Points to Note:

• Names such as Taberner, Crowley, Ballantine, McPharlin, Clarke, can come back into today’s side. This was their 3rd loss, if you can conceive that. So a 4 goal loss, while it looked severe, is nothing to them.
• There is a train of thought that Lyon is a little heavy handed control-wise…and that has hurt the Dockers. They are constantly being spied upon. They need to have the game at their beck and call on the field without Lyon getting negative in his addresses at breaks in the game. If he can find it within himself to be positive, the team will prosper. If he can’t pull back, they will struggle.
• Players like Barlow, Danyl Pearce, Neale, Alex Pearce, De Boer, Sutcliffe, Fyfe at times looked out of sorts today. Johnson looked short of a gallop. And they need to rotate the big guys, Sandilands, Clarke, Griffin, Fyfe up and down the park to kick goals and defend.
• What I like about the Dockers is their honesty. They are totally committed. Pavlich is a great leader. But blazing away like a millionaire instead of a professional can make Nat Fyfe a liability rather than an asset. He needs to realise he has many weapons. His leap, his mark, his kicking are dynamite…but his decision making is stunted. He can pass by foot, handball, run and carry the ball, and kick into space, and leap and tap at ball ups. He doesn’t need to blaze. He ignored 3 of those skills today too often when players such as Mundy, Neale and Hill were available. If you have the skill to make other players look great beside you…you must use it. Then the Dockers will have more than just 3 forward scoring options. Hill, Walters, Mayne, Pavlich, Fyfe and the big 3 men are all capable of goals…if they get within 60 metres of goal. As are Alex Pearce, Suban, Danyl Pearce, Crozier, Taberner and Mundy. They need to have Fyfe set them up when he can, and kick or handball truly when he is contained so play works to the team’s advantage.

[Highlights] Eagles beat Dockers in spiteful derby

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