Roar Guru
Joined March 2015
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The author is a member of the Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA) and has a family member that is a Director of the GBOTA. These opinions are his own. I am a loyal Souths supporter and have played a lot of cricket, bowling an almost infinite number of full tosses in my life.
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Over the Easter weekend former champion galloper and one of my all-time favourite horses, Might and Power, passed away. Perhaps fittingly it was the…
Every year around Melbourne Cup time there are seems to be a series of articles heavily critical of horse racing, most are easily dismissed…
Last week the NSW Auditor-General published a scathing report into the ill-fated advertising campaign to ban greyhound racing. In the criticisms of the campaign,…
Some people have earned the right to be listened to, while others deserve to be ignored. It would be simplistic, and almost certainly wrong,…
Appeals for increased money to grassroots cricket, now where have I heard that before? Now, it's not as though juniors, park and grade cricket…
A few months ago, I received a phone call from a betting agency that gave me pause for thought. “I'm just setting up an…
The long, drawn out political process for greyhound racing in NSW is nearing completion. Last week the government passed legislation that almost entirely mirrors…
The thing about manipulative people is not that they lie, but they insist on others repeating those lies on their behalf. Not long ago,…
We've witnessed premature claims of the fall of greyhound racing in NSW, but now are we to see the rise? The events of the…
Explosive government documents released to the public reveal that the NSW Government has been spending over a million dollars of taxpayer money advertising a…
Greyhound racing needs reform. It's needed reform for years. But before people cheer on the decision, and before I have a proper read of…
Is there a group more maligned in Australian thoroughbred racing than the breeders? Constant accusations of too much power and too little responsibility are…
Finally, after more than 12 months of mind-boggling and depressing nonsense, someone outlined the very real problems that racing in Australia has left alone…
On Thursday a sensational night of racing awaits at Sandown greyhounds with the heats of the Sandown Cup over the 715m for the stayers.…
So apparently Sydney Racing has a problem, not enough people are coming to the track. It's even acknowledged by the powers that be. The…
There's plenty of sport in Sydney over the Easter weekend to keep you occupied, and the annual Golden Easter Egg at Wentworth Park on…
This year the ads for the Sydney Carnival tell us that "the tradition continues". And there's nothing quite like Slipper Day. Born and bred…
Sometime in 2017, racing will awake from its collective slumber and make changes to the lazy business model that has served it post-privatisation. This…
Sandown Greys has announced that the out-and-out champion that lit up greyhound racing in 2015, the mighty Fernando Bale, has been retired. A genuine…
I've often felt that the NSW parliament is the best argument one could give against democracy. It is an institution with a long history…
I think he’s right, India is a place where you really get rewarded for attacking. Yes Root played a terrible shot but he just needs to pick the shot for the conditions rather than dial down the aggression.
They shouldn’t be talking about Bazball tactics but the basics. Too many dropped catches and poor running between the wickets is costing them dearly. And no matter what your tactics, those things’ll hurt you every time.
McCullum hits back at Bazball critics after England's embarrassing rout: 'I don't want our guys to ever doubt themselves'
The old saying is you need three top class props to win a premiership. One on the field, one injured and one suspended at all times.
NRL News: Roosters great calls it quits, Turbo gives ballet a whirl in bid to overcome injury woes
How does Hugh McGann compare? His career was just ending when I started going to games but he had a big reputation at the time.
NRL News: Roosters great calls it quits, Turbo gives ballet a whirl in bid to overcome injury woes
If they expect quality, independent decision making from Root I guess they weren’t paying much attention to his captaincy over the years.
Slow wicket, skiddy bowler, two slips and a gully are all pretty good indicators that a reverse scoop isn’t the shot to play. I understand that Root is playing that shot to change Bumrah’s line and length and strategy, but there’s more than one way to attack. Maybe just chalk it up to experience and pick the bowlers and conditions where not to play the shot.
But, honestly, the quality of English batting when they’re trying to bat time, as seen in the last two tours of Australia, is so dire that I don’t think a few crazy dismissals should be of concern.
Poms defend Root amid furious reaction to 'stupidest shot in England Test cricket history' as Bazball under fire again
If he scores 200, the only complaint that can be made about the pitch is that the spinners can’t get enough out of it on days 2 and 3. And that would be an unusual complaint against India hosting an England side with rookie tweakers!
As for Duckett, his 40-odd average at this stage of his career opening the batting against the teams he’s faced tells me he’s well worth his place as a test cricketer. We’ll find out soon enough if he has a higher ceiling, I personally suspect there’s marginal improvement in him but some players really lift their game in their early 30’s.
Let’s put it this way, if he was Australian we’d be bagging the selectors big time if he was overlooked to allow Warner an extended swansong and beyond.
Ashwin out of Test after reaching major milestone as Duckett's Bazball blitz gives England a fighting chance
True, but he’s played a lot more tests, nearly a hundred?
It’s when you compare him to players like Imran Khan or Jacques Kallis that you realise he’s well short of a generational talent, let alone the best player England has produced.
'Never heard more crap in my life': Haddin hits back at Atherton's claim Stokes intimidated Aussies in '13 Ashes
He was a bit chirpy, did score a few. I mean, it’s not really against the spirit of cricket or anything but it’s quite strange to admit to setting off on a bit of verbal when you’ve got out off a no ball. Bit like when Robinson gave Khawaja a send off after he got him out for a hundred. Not a big deal in the scheme of things and over-egged in the press but self awareness is a bit lacking.
'Never heard more crap in my life': Haddin hits back at Atherton's claim Stokes intimidated Aussies in '13 Ashes
To be fair he bowls a fair bit more though, 2 wickets/test compared to 1.2 or something is an important difference in contribution for an all rounder.
'Never heard more crap in my life': Haddin hits back at Atherton's claim Stokes intimidated Aussies in '13 Ashes
Do these ex-players really remember the fine details of a bit of verbal over a decade ago? I mean whatever you reckon Athers but there really is a who cares about all of this.
For the kiddies, if you do get out of a no-ball best to just keep to yourself for a bit. You’ve not exactly got one over your opponent, you’re likely to make the same mistake soon enough, you make yourself a target and look like a bit of a dill. Rather than being intimidated, someone probably just took Haddin aside and told him to settle it down a bit, which would be normal.
'Never heard more crap in my life': Haddin hits back at Atherton's claim Stokes intimidated Aussies in '13 Ashes
I’m a little concerned about the approach to this series. Australia have been up a while with the WTC final, Ashes and recent tests. I’d have thought Starc and Hazelwood could have had a game off under the ol’ rotation policy to have them firing for NZ. I fear they’ll be like the Cox Plate winner that races again on the last day of the carnival only to be cooked and run third to two donkeys.
Of course, I’ve been wrong plenty of times before, but I’d have had Neser and/or Boland for a test against the Windies, hard to see them getting a start now.
Bailey defends decision to recall veteran ahead of young guns as Aussies reveal Test squad for New Zealand tour
He looks quality to me. Be interesting to see if the selectors look to rotate him in when conditions are favourable or have him as the spare in case one of the three get injured. I personally think the younger blokes should be the former and the more experienced the latter, but the current strategy appears to keep the incumbents going til they leave in a wheelchair and figure the rest out later. Which may work as well as anything else I suppose.
'He's got a bright future': Bartlett bolts into Test frame as selectors face choice over injured quicks
It’s a fundamental part of cricket which the spirit of cricket was, in some respects derived from. That is, the spirit of cricket is an unavoidable consequence of giving the players the choice over whether to appeal or not.
How many modes of dismissal are there? Too many - the precious ‘spirit of cricket’ tarnished by outdated, unnecessary laws
Absolutely, England took a conscious decision based on their current generation failing, and their belief that younger players would not develop into test players in their domestic first class competition. Getting a coach from NZ, where that is the norm, has also helped them greatly.
India, on the other hand, decided to include the IPL to develop young players rather than the inflated batting averages from their first class games.
I could go on, but it’s not just the selections that matter, they are more often the consequence rather than the cause.
Windies' dynasty decline a cautionary tale for Australian selectors with major transition period looming
The Windies batting would collapse more than a few times if they played a full Shield season!
Where Pakistan were massively inferior to a Shield side was catching, and that really boosted the stats of a few of the Aussies.
Broadly I agree with most people here, and I think that selectors are probably thinking to themselves, are the players learning enough in Shield/bbl/IPL/county or do we have to be more patient when they get the opportunity? In the 90’s it was clear to everyone who wasn’t an English selector that country cricket wasn’t preparing players for test cricket, and instead of persevering with players who needed time they discarded players too quickly and stuffed nearly two generations of cricketers.
So, I’m of a mind to give these a players a little more time beyond just accounting for statistical variance.
Aussies face huge call over batting experiment with Smith and Green failing again as Windies turn Test on its head
The worry for me isn’t so much Green’s ability, I think he needs time. The real worry is that one of our best Shield batsman is finding that playing the West Indies bowling attack is a step up from Shield cricket.
Aussies face huge call over batting experiment with Smith and Green failing again as Windies turn Test on its head
Not the worst idea, perhaps even go a step further and ask why the same amount of cricket is played on a workday and a weekend? 4 1/2 hour evenings on Thursday/Fri and 7 hour days Sat/Sun/Mon or something like that. Doubt everyone would agree though.
Day-night Tests make dollars and sense but India’s reluctance means pink ball snookered by red
A few things. First, I know it’s already a long article, but at least some mention of how their defence compares would be good. I mean, Reynolds was no Owen Craigie but where so many rookie halves are a liability in defence, how did Ilias go and did he improve the defensive line?
Second, yeah the long kicking game of South’s is dire. But, in part, that’s because both he and his team don’t give him enough time to kick. He needs to stand two or three yards further back and his teammates need to run in front and pretend to catch the ball. Or just blatantly block the market like other teams do. Threatening to take on the line in an attacking kick is smart, not so much when giving it a roost. The fourth tackle options rarely help in setting for the kick either.
Finally, is he being used correctly? The key to attack, as far as I’m concerned is for the fast blokes to get the ball on a break. He’s pretty sharp, but forwards aren’t looking to offload to him nor is he backing up on dummy-half runs or linking with Mitchell. The system needs to accommodate him a little more before we judge him, I think we probably both agree in general on that.
Ilias v Reynolds: Will 2024 be the year that proves why Souths were right to let their talisman go?
When you put it like that their record seems pretty solid with a few howlers (keeping Warner too long). But it’s a lot harder for a selector to make howlers when your country has probably 20 test class cricketers than when it has 5 or 6!
The bowling depth worries me the most. Although the spinners look good a lot of the seamers, including the back ups, are a bit on the older side and the rotation policy is more often reactive rather than proactive.
Picking apart the selectors’ choices in the Bailey era: Masterstrokes tarnished by blunders as Australia face future upheaval
It’s a bit hard when you write an article like this to put in all the little details of the past, else it becomes really long, but to my mind a lot of the rule changes made the game different as well as professionalism.
Take the examples you have cited. 1970 was the last year of the four tackle rule, which was changed precisely because of the “panic football” it inspired. 1989 was when synthetic footballs had largely taken over from the leather ones to encourage more passing but in one of those unintended consequences began the demise of the “chip ‘n chase” that was easier to control with the leather football.
The 80’s saw a defensive orientated era, but part of that was that you now got the scrum feed if the opposition knocked on in your own half. Who wouldn’t throw the ball a bit more in their own half if they got the feed when they dropped it?
Also, the defensive structures changed as well. Fewer people entered the tackle so that a marker was there to prevent the “tap and go”. You were offside if you went before the ball left the ruck and in the late 60’s and early 70’s the refs stood at the ruck and pinged you on spec, so no-one rushed out of the line other than to deck someone and cause a fight. Numbers of replacements/interchange also affected the game.
Was the game better or worse? Well, the teams of now would thrash the teams of the past whatever the rules, but I love watching old games and just find them different. But each to their own I suppose.
Just like in rugby union, rugby league nostalgia is not what it used to be
Or we could paint the sightscreen dark red….
Cummins cleans up again but Pakistan recover from collapse with wagging tail frustrating Aussies
I reckon you should just lose your reviews the next innings you bat for slow over rates. Lose one review for every two overs behind, or something like that.
Cummins cleans up again but Pakistan recover from collapse with wagging tail frustrating Aussies
Should spend the four matches umpiring some Green Shield games, get some understanding of what the umps go through.
Mind you, I always had great fun umpiring and walking off the field to see seven blokes out lbw in fifteen overs….
'Didn't expect the stand-off': BBL Pom apologises to ump, 'deeply regrets' controversial incident as ban upheld
For some of the umps it didn’t seem to matter, they were just happy to talk racing to someone.
COMMENT: BBL Pom's disgraceful ump incident deserves bigger ban - and shame on Aussie icon for 'both-sidesing' it
I told one ump I knew a trackwork rider who tipped me something. It won at 6/1 and I took 6-for with four lbws. Next match we got the same ump who asked where I was, and they told him I was promoted to firsts.
Suffice to say, the lbws were a little more tightly regulated the next time!
COMMENT: BBL Pom's disgraceful ump incident deserves bigger ban - and shame on Aussie icon for 'both-sidesing' it
Oh, and India cut off singles to the openers and pushed England in the second dig to score boundaries. Slow run rate, tentative shots and a mix up for a run out was the result. How about we give them the credit for not sticking eight blokes on the boundary after the fourth ball of the innings?
McCullum hits back at Bazball critics after England's embarrassing rout: 'I don't want our guys to ever doubt themselves'