Quite right. I’ve said before, it’s like saying great players make great coaches or commentators. History tell’s us what nonsense that is.

That’s what I thought. It looks from afar that Mr Langer has seen his future, ie to lighten up and to shut up and has decided that getting the sack would be best the way to go out. He can then go and do plenty of emotional self pitying interviews about how ‘ his boy’s’ turned on him when all he wanted them to do was say ‘how high?’ when he ordered them to jump.

Well said Paul D….Isn’t it sad that so few can, and do, spoil it for everyone. I’ve loved cricket with a passion for over 50 years. I like watching it, listening to it, reading about it and most of all, talking about it. I found that after 4 seasons of umpiring in Queensland Grade Cricket, I started hating the game. In the lower grades, the standard of behaviour was beyond feral. I found it totally bizarre that the worst players were the ones with the biggest mouths. As you say, we received zero help from the people allegedly running the game. I vividly remember telling one old, overweight, former supposed champion of the game ( this was in 3rd Grade ) to stop using a racist phrase to a young Sri Lanka player.I was ignored, but when old mate come out to bat, the young Lankan called him a fat waste of space ( or words to that effect! ) our man, literally with tears in his eyes demanded I put him on report! You honestly couldn’t make it up.
I pulled the pin shortly afterwards and still enjoy the game…but my love for it has been sadly diminished with the player standards of behaviour ever since.

Leave Jacques Kallis alone !

Can you only imagine what state the Barmy Army would be if they’d spent the whole day drinking full strength beer, a few rum and cokes and half a dozen vodka mixers to wash it all down?
The only upside would be that they would be the only ones left in the ground as everyone else would have left shortly after lunch.

The problem is that if Langer can’t keep his mouth shut now, what’s he going to be like if ‘his boy’s’ have a bit of success over the next few months. He’ll be here, there and everywhere telling us how he turned it all around,what idiots his critics are and how he sorted ‘his boy’s’ out. It’ll be unbearable.

I’ve always been amazed Dave with this obsession with all rounders. In England we’ve been obsessed with finding the new Botham since I started watching the game. Usually, these all-rounders average less than a decent batsmen with the bat and less than a decent bowler with the ball. I know it’s a novel concept, but how about just picking your 4 best bowlers and 6 best batsmen. Here in England, we’re totally obsessed with bit’s and pieces players who can do a bit of this, a bit of that but don’t do anything well enough to make a difference to most games.

When I started umpiring with the QCA I started off in 4th Grade and thoroughly enjoyed it, despite most of my colleagues being elderly, seen it all, heard it all, drunk it all know alls. The first game of my second season, my partner was a young Indian fellow, who admitted, after persistent questions from me that he had umpired first class cricket back in India. In that game he was absolutely outstanding. Both captains gave him top marks at the end of game review ( they didn’t give me them! ) and I emailed the head of umpires at the QCA saying how good he’d been and he was really one to watch. He really was outstanding.
At the end of that season, I was umpiring 2nd Grade ( way above my abilities ) and my Indian friend had umpired 11 4th Grade games in a row. He was also never given Sunday games, I got one nearly every week.
The next season, I noticed he wasn’t there anymore and that he’d given it away. A year later I bumped into him in the street and we had a cup of coffee together. He told me that after his first season, they ( the old QCA umpiring mafia ) told him he wasn’t up to standard and he’d never progress past 4th Grade. So he gave it away. This young man should and could have been umpiring First Class cricket, he was that good but instead he was lost to the game.
To my eternal discredit and shame, instead of me resigning in disgust, I shook his hand, wished him well and umpired for another season.
One of my favourite sayings ( and I’m paraphrasing slightly ) is…All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing……I did nothing.

Robinson should have a decent tour.He’s not express but neither was McGrath. I just hope he isn’t bowled into the ground. I have a hunch that the surprise packet from the England camp could be Chris Woakes. Apparently he’s added a yard of pace to his bowling ( we don’t know because the England lack of Brains Trust hardly ever pick him ) and is champing at the bit to get out there and play. Which is more than can be said for some of those selected. We keep hearing rumours that certain players are still waiting for guarantees before they’ll totally commit to touring. Enough is enough now. Anyone who doesn’t want to tour…Don’t!!! Pick players who want to make a name for themselves and let’s get on with it. There’s been far too much discussion, let’s just see some action.

It’s been strange following the narrative here this morning. Barely anyone has focused on his mental health issues and just seem delighted that he can grip a bat for the first time in 6 months. It will be interesting to see which way this situation plays out.

Back in England in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s they still had the amateurs and the professionals. The amateurs supposedly played for the love of the game and were usual named as the captain. The strange thing was the amateurs were able to claim living expenses which were usual significantly higher than what the professional were earning. A usual example was that at an away game the professionals had to spend their night 3/4 to a room in a cold damp boarding house, while the amateurs were up the road sleeping off a 5 course dinner in the local 5 star hotel.
The late war hero Bill Edrich, who turned professional after the war, actually worked out that if he turned amateur before one tour, he be significantly better off financially than if he toured as a professional. He wasn’t selected to teach him a lesson.

The Allen Stanford affair was an absolute disgrace. The ECB were totally pathetic ( even by their incredibly high standards of patheticness) in their handling of the entire fiasco. Even a cursory check on his background would have told them that this was a man to be avoided but they ploughed blindly on until the inevitably diabolical conclusion.
Every professional sport is at the mercy of those entrusted with running their game and, in England at least, we have been badly served by them for far too many years now. This past summer in England we had 5 different levels or competitions of cricket going on. Test Cricket, County Cricket, The 50 Over Comp, The 20 over Big Blast and the ridiculous 100. Yet if you asked the average sports lover who won what, I doubt most of them have a clue what went on. Until we get administrators who have a genuine love and feel of the game, things are only going to get worse.

If only the umpires would take back control of the game, most of the problems would be solved. The average time a batsman (sorry Batter!) spends in the middle would be less than 30 minutes. Why do they need drinks breaks at all?

Why not have a golf buggy drive the Batsman ( sorry Batters ) to the wicket.That’d save some time. They could call it the Batter Mobile…The kids would love it!

It’s very easily sorted. The next time the mention of Central Contracts comes up, put a clause in that says if you don’t want to play or tour you won’t get paid. I think you’ll find that most of the players will make themselves available to tour just about anywhere then.

You make your points well Matth. My comment was badly written. The final sentence was referring to the way the ECB and CA have handled the whole affair. It should have been handled quietly, behind closed doors not dragged out for the past couple of months in the public arena.
Having said that, I think Australia’s handling of the vaccine roll out has been diabolical. It has given power mad, ego driven State Premiers far too many opportunities to have their collective moments in the sun. The UK’s covid performance has been beyond pathetic from the start. We’ve only been saved from 300,000+ deaths by the success of our vaccine roll out, which has been the only thing the government here has done well. Perception in Politics is everything, and the perception here is that your Federal Government is a lame duck and the States are running the show. That’s why there’s been so much diffidence about the tour going ahead.

Yep, they’ll love all that but will probably go home once the actual cricket starts.

The only one they should concentrate on is limiting the drinks breaks and equipment changes. Never mind limiting them, ban them. If the players can’t bat, bowl or field for 20 overs without having 3-4 drinks breaks they shouldn’t be out there. The rest of it is just a complete joke.

NO ONE LIKES YOU STOP
I’M THE NEW ALAN JONES ON THE RADIO STOP
I’M DOING AUSTRALIA’S SECOND MOST IMPORTANT JOB STOP
WHEN SOMEONE HITS THAT BALL THINGY I JUST WISH I COULD STOP IT STOP
I HAVE TO GO AS MY HOMING PIGEONS HAVE JUST COME HOME STOP

That was the main reason Sky over here sacked him from the commentary box. He turned into a latter day Fred Trueman with his constant ‘ we didn’t do this, and it’s not as good as in my day’ nonsense. He was held in contempt by most of the modern day players who thought his comments were generally pathetic.
Once again,being a great cricketer/footballer/rugby player doesn’t mean they’ll make an even competent commentator or coach.

Eoin Morgan should have either retired or been asked to retire after the World Cup. He seems to have morphed into a modern Mike Brearley, a specialist captain whose batting form isn’t good enough but apparently whose captaincy is essential to the team.
Alex Hales has made some poor decisions in his personally life and has let himself badly with some of his behaviour but for Morgan to take the high moral ground and basically ban him playing is a disgrace.
Remember this is the same Eoin Morgan that refused to tour Bangladesh due to security concerns and then on the day his team arrived was seen at a race meeting in the UK in a private box having a fine old time.

Don’t ever doubt Paul’s influence on world cricket matters! Honestly though, there has been far too much written and said about this whole fiasco. Just about everything should have been sorted out behind closed doors instead of the ridiculous will they, won’t they, should they or who gives a stuff they.
If ever it was in doubt, the last 12 months has shown how absolutely totally useless both the ECB and CA are.

Michael ( 2005 Ashes winning Captain ) pulled out of coming to Australia last year to commentate on the Aus v India series because he didn’t want to quarantine.
Stuart Broad is very keen to tour but I don’t think the England selectors share his enthusiasm. It’s taken him a lot longer than anticipated to recover from his calf injury and if he does tour, he’ll have played hardly any cricket for nearly 6 months.

That’s the point though isn’t it Tempo? It’s all very well opening the borders but you have to then hold firm and not close them again the moment someone tests positive. That’s been the main issue with the England players.The thought of them being locked out of a state and not being able to see their families. The whole thing has been a shambles, badly handled by all parties from start to finish.

If I was still a betting man, my money would be on a 4 Test Tour ( No Perth) with the tour all over after the New Years Sydney Test. Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne then Sydney. It’s interesting here but apart from the Daily Telegraph and Michael ( 2005 Ashes Winning Captain ) barely any other media outlet or pundit has touched this yet. As I’ve previously commented, apparently there’s a final meeting on Friday where all be be revealed. If I was still back in Brisbane, I certainly wouldn’t be buying any tickets for any games just yet.