A new calculation for rating all-rounders
How do you rate all-rounders? For a start, there are different views on what an all-rounder is. If there isn’t agreement there, it’s hard…
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How do you rate all-rounders? For a start, there are different views on what an all-rounder is. If there isn’t agreement there, it’s hard…
In the first Test against New Zealand, David Warner joined Ricky Ponting as the only Australian to score hundreds in both innings of a…
It has been noted that the South Africans were the first visiting team since the 1992/3 West Indians to win a second successive series…
The not particularly evocatively named Mr Price Kings Park, Durban. The not overly fan-friendly time of 3:10 am, Sunday eighth July. One of those…
In all of the debates about Australian cricket selections lately, one almost constant has been the criticism of Brad Haddin, with calls for him…
Three-quarters of the way through pool play at the Rugby World Cup and it’s hard to find anyone with a good word to say…
The 2000th cricket Test match has just begun between England and India at Lords. Some are querying whether it is really the 2000th Test,…
[caption id="attachment_16689" caption="Australia\'s bowler Simon Katich, third from right, with teammates, celebrates. AP Photo/Themba Hadebe"][/caption] Simon Katich was – and deserves the opportunity to…
It’s been popular on The Roar to talk about the relative weakness of the Australian conference in the Super Rugby competition in 2011. The…
In the hand-wringing that has (quite appropriately) followed the Ashes series, one snippet is worth noting – discounting the Perth match (which starts to…
There have been a couple of articles recently on The Roar regarding the haka. It’s been a popular bone of contention – how do…
Posts on The Roar in recent weeks have discussed selecting all-time World, West Indies, India v Australia and West Indies regional teams. Some of…
Good luck to Green (and Cartwright) but it should be pointed out that yesterday was fine and hot, after being hot, steamy and very overcast all the previous day (which should be remembered when looking at Richardson’s figues, encouraging though it is to see him back playing FC). Once the day got on a bit yesterday it would have been much better for batting than it had been, and the scorecard is consistent with that. A bit of a shame that WA weren’t a bit more aggressive in trying to win the game, rather than making defeat very very unlikely. Their prerogative of course, but declare 50 behind (instead of batting on to be bowled out 50 ahead) and Qld, who really need to win, would have had to give themselves a couple of sessions to try to bowl WA out, meaning they had only until lunch today to try to set a target. With only a day to play and having to overcome the first innings deficit, there isn’t time for them to do that after WA didn’t declare. That leaves WA’s only chance being to bowl Qld out cheaply – conditions today are much like yesterday, so it will be a good effort if they can manage it.
Green mounts Test recall bid with runs for WA, Blues blow Tassie away as 24 wickets fall in a day, Vics on top of SA
You’re pretty much right about Australia’s 2007 WC campaign, which did include a number of big wins and it’s fair to say none of Australia’s games ended up being close. The England game was probably the closest – Aust chased down 248 with 16 balls and 7 wickets to spare – so still nearer comfortable than close.
On the other hand, 2003 wasn’t a procession. For a start, it was a bit of a special case for Australia as they’d come in under pressure from the Share Warne suspension, and while they ended up winning their opening game by a lot against Pakistan they had been in trouble batting first and it took 143* from Andrew Symonds to get them to a strong score. There was a real sense at that time that with Symonds coming of age they had a chance of overcoming Warne’s loss, which had not looked any certainty before that. They were challenged strongly in the England pool game (needing an all-time all-round performance by Andy Bichel and a Michael Bevan special – chasing only 208, it took a 73 run 9th wicket partnership by those two to win a game they really should have lost). One or two of the other pool games weren’t complete cakewalks, but at the end of the day the managed to start well but still save the best performance for last.
You’re correct that NZ had won all their games up to the final in 2015, but don’t forget NZ played all its preliminary games, and its semi, at home. While NZ won all those games they certainly weren’t unchallenged – they only beat Australia by 1 wicket, they had a real scare against Bangladesh and a fair bit of a one against Scotland, and won their semi against SA with precisely one ball to spare. They then played the final in different conditions in Melbourne. I’d say the change in conditions to ones suiting Australia much more than them (and a very strong Australian team) had more to do with their loss than any attitude issues or failure to time their run to the big occasion.
Winning a World Cup takes more than just good form: Was India a victim of its own success heading into the final?
Seriously, on what basis would Harris be the frontrunner to take over from Warner ahead of Bancroft?
Selectors line up three-way battle to replace David Warner in strong PM XI
No, that was taking away the lowest scoring overs first. The highest scoring overs remained. It is hard to believe that no-one sat down with some old scoresheets to see how that might work out in practice before this method was adopted because surely it wouldn’t have been hard to guess (particularly back then) that there’d be some number of overs where 0, 1 or 2 would be scored, such that in the event of losing overs you may well only drop a small number of runs off a target despite losing a similar number of overs.
While reducing a target by an average, or a median, might seem like a possibility, there’s a good chance that that will unduly favour the chasing team, because it will take no account of wickets or of how much easier it is to go after quick runs for a short period if losing wickets isn’t a big factor. It’s very attractive to try to find simple solutions but it seems to me that DLS will get things nearer to right far more often. In the current case yes you have to have sympathy for any side that loses after posting 400, but if the opponents reply with 1-200 in 25.3 chasing 402 off 50 (or in other words, a tiny fraction past the half way mark in overs and a tiny fraction short of half way to the target) it hardly seems outlandish to say that they (with 9 wickets in hand and 2 set batters in very high scoring conditions) are a very good chance.
COMMENT: It's great for the World Cup - but Pakistan's DLS-assisted win over NZ proves the system needs a rethink
But aren’t Smith and Marnus best suited to batting in the top 4? Why do they have to move to accommodate Green? You can readily argue that the way they each bat now if everyone is available only 2 of the 3 of them can fit into a side on good batting wickets, but that’s a bit of a different argument.
Australia dealt huge blow with Marsh out of World Cup indefinitely after returning home
Litchfield seems like a talent but she’s certainly received a rails run from the selectors compared to Harris, both in getting picked in the first place and in getting to open most of the time.
Healy hopeful of India tour despite needing surgery for 'quite gory' hand injury from dog attack
Fair enough on the “can’t mention everyone” point Gibbo. Although I’m tempted to say – why not?!
Sheffield Shield Wrap: Who impressed in Round 1?
One of the sentences for NSW v Qld might have been something like “green pitch on the first day that turned into a road”. Good luck to NSW and Edwards but hard to read too much into games played on pitches like that which are the absolute bane of Shield (and Test) cricket.
Teague Wylie deserved a mention also in my view.
Sheffield Shield Wrap: Who impressed in Round 1?
Only those who sing the second verse should be eligible to play.
Don't blame Latrell for picking the Koori Knockout over the Kangaroos - ask why the Roos brand is so devalued
Mind you, a flagrant resort to the facts like this has never been the Roar way.
Wallabies lose another two young guns to World Cup injuries - but Eddie won't call up anyone yet
Tamika Upton has been injured every time it’s come to Australian selection, not just last year, but every year since she started playing? That’s the only possible explanation for her not having debuted previously that makes any sense. As for Teagan Berry rivalling her, terrific in attack particularly against the less strong teams, but I would have thought you’d occasionally have to have a shot at a tackle before being in line for an Australian team.
Jillaroos squad: Upton rewarded for stellar form with debut as Donald sticks solid with World Cup stars for Kiwi Ferns clashes
Strangely, the last time I recall uncontested scrums in a test involving Australia (for any period of time anyway) was way back in 2008 v England – and it was England who ran out of front rowers, not Australia. It remains true that scrummaging was a major casualty of Eddie Jones’ first stint as coach. The major casualties of his second stint to date include …
Exclusive: Eddie set for midfield switch as Wallabies sweat on miracle World Cup finish and CEO pops in
I usually make it a matter of principle to keep watching a game to the end (live or on tv) particularly if my team is clearly going to lose. If other people have a different approach, that’s fine. However, had I been at the ground for that game, I think I would have been leaving early to try to make or at least reinforce the point that the supporters did not consider that performance to be acceptable.
Exclusive: Eddie set for midfield switch as Wallabies sweat on miracle World Cup finish and CEO pops in
Or alternatively you could say that you wouldn’t pick him because he failed every time he played?
Marshter blaster: Mitchell sizzles in stifling heat as Aussies end pre-World Cup slump with thumping win over India
Not sure who you’re disagreeing with seeing that I didn’t say they were the same! In the same category, yes, the same no. Obviously, as you say.
Underrated as a player, Walters doing likewise in coaching by stepping out of Wayne’s shadow to revive Broncos
I’ve checked and yes he did play all 6 for Souths in Brisbane. I remember when he started playing – much less massive than he became but still bigger and stronger than virtually all of his opponents at that time (Chris Close the exception) and quick with it. Gary Belcher was indeed also a star for Souths in that era. Another who went to Canberra was Peter Jackson. You’re quite right in your NRL comment, although if I was also going to nitpick I’d point out that I didn’t actually say he played any NRL GFs! Just because some sort of shorthand is needed, I think it’s ok to read “NRL” as meaning “the NRL as it currently is, and if we’re talking about seasons in the past, the then top level Sydney based rugby league club competition”.
Underrated as a player, Walters doing likewise in coaching by stepping out of Wayne’s shadow to revive Broncos
If you count the pre-Broncos BRL competition and the competitions St Helens played in it could be even more than that. Wikipedia mentions a number of finals Meninga’s St Helens team won. I don’t know enough about to be able to say which should be counted as being of the same nature as a NRL GF. In the 7 seasons he played in Brisbane, his team (Souths) made 6 GFs (which wasn’t a coincidence). Without putting a lot more effort in, I can’t tell whether he played all of those GFs – he played at least 4, to add to the 5 he played in Sydney.
Underrated as a player, Walters doing likewise in coaching by stepping out of Wayne’s shadow to revive Broncos
With respect to all concerned, I think that’s a large correction.
SPIRO ZAVOS: My message to Hamish McLennan and Eddie Jones: 'In the name of God, go'
Yes, although not in crucial world cup games that I can recall.
'Complete dismantling': Eddie apologises for World Cup debacle, Hoops calls out moment that summed it up
The other part of the story from Geoff Richardson I’ve had to do some googling to try to get straight. He said, I thought, that the Wallabies had been well beaten in the first couple of games and copped a fair bit of ridicule, then were well behind in the last game before one of the AB centres was injured but stayed on, turning into a turnstile in the second half. The Wallabies picked that up, and ran at him at every opportunity. The impression I always had was that they came back to a rousing win to bury the “Woeful Wallabies” taunts. Unfortunately, half memories, inaccurate inferences and misunderstandings (all I stress my fault, not that of the teller), seasoned by a lot of years still have to bow to the recorded facts – Australia were indeed well beaten in the first test, and as it turns out, even more well beaten in the third. They had been copping a similar smacking in the second test, but did have a much better second half to be at least somewhere in the region of some sort of respectability by full time, but still lost (by a reasonable margin). The rudimentary press reports I can find in a quick look on line don’t mention the injured AB centre, but that seems very possible.
SPIRO ZAVOS: Return of the 'Woeful Wallabies' after 'coaching failure in heat of battle' - and how high can the Fijians fly?
Danny and OB – you beat me to it on saying it wasn’t Greg Growden (who started writing on rugby in the 80s) who coined the “Woeful Wallabies” tag. I recall a then teacher and coach (Geoff Richardson, who played 2 of the tests against NZ in 1972) telling us in the 70s that they’d been called that in NZ. Being mistaken on that minor matter doesn’t take away from Spiro’s basic points mind you.
SPIRO ZAVOS: Return of the 'Woeful Wallabies' after 'coaching failure in heat of battle' - and how high can the Fijians fly?
More in the catching positions in red ball cricket also. Make a mistake/get a good ball early in white ball cricket and there’s a better chance than in red ball cricket that it flies through a vacant spot in the slips for 4.
Warner, Head on all-time opening partnership pace as monster stand, Marnus ton help Aussies pummel Proteas
You could add Matt Renshaw to that list of batsmen (and Jack Wildermuth).
Looks like being a much drier summer than the past couple of years – does that give Swepson more opportunities? He had one very good Shield season back in 2020-21 – then hardly got onto the field before playing tests in tough conditions last year, and has barely got onto the field since. Sadly, it isn’t hard to imagine him fading away from here. Let’s hope not.
The glaring issue holding the Bulls back: Queensland 2023/24 squad preview
Kept both sets of Ashes.
UK View: Piers Morgan, Ben Stokes take swipes at Matildas in Ashes 'revenge', England praised for 'dark arts' mastery
The wide certainly looked wide, but to be fair to the other umpire, when it comes to the Ellis non-four he was getting out of the way of the shot but on the way through the ball flicked off the bowler’s hand and followed him. Not much he could realistically do.
'It's hard to wrap my head around': Wade rages at umpires after non-call sees Aussies fall to India again