IPL boredom

I've lost track of the IPL and when the group stage finishes - when does the exciting knock out bit begin?

Perhaps it's because I don't have ITV4 and don't have a broadband connection that would allow me to watch YouTube coverage without annoying screen freezes (not to mention a lack of available time!), but I'm now totally bored of this part of the competition. Whenever anything amazing happens friends send me clips of great catches, misfields, great balls and great shots so hopefully I'm not missing much. If someone can let me know when the group stages are over, that would be greatly appreciated, and then I'll take a bit more of an interest....

That said, ITV seem to be doing pretty well out of it, and Modi deserves some praise for giving away the UK rights to the IPL cheaply to stimulate a bit of much needed interest outside India.

Swann drink drive arrest

It had to happen - what makes him "a character" and therefore successful on the field was always going to lead to problems off it! So Graeme Swann's arrest for allegedly drink driving is probably not a surprise to the England team management - hopefully they have a plan of action for any event like this happening to an England player. Whether it's Flintoff, Swann, or whoever, they need to be guided through it with the minimum fuss possible so that it doesn't impact on their performances on the field.

I hope and trust that the number 3 bowler in the world will not be any the worse for his arrest....

I think I might be missing the point

I think I've burbled before about dancers at T20 games - I just don't see the point, and that's not an old duffer talking. I'm a huge fan of T20. But I'm really confused about the current competition.
Why with the matches being held in India are all the dancers blonde caucasians ?
When we went to Lord's to see Rajashan Royals take Middlesex apart all the performers - dancers and musicians - were Asians.
It's clearly marketing and I think someone's got some explaining to do.

Collingwood finally makes IPL debut

Good to see that it went well (he scored a half century) - although it looks like the game will rightly be remembered for David Warner's century...

Time to bring back single-wicket cricket ?

As we get closer and closer to the days when players move around almost at will - or to wherever the next pay cheque is (no criticism this, just natural order), and on a day when, like many I hope, I'm now watching Tendulkar bat like a god for a team in blue against a team in darker blue (who cares which team is which when you get entertainment like this?), I wonder whether the time can be long off for the return of single-wicket cricket. It had a revival in a not very serious way as an end of season filler at Lord's in the late 60s and very good it was too!

Michael Lumb in the IPL?

That Shane Warne Hampshire connection obviously runs deep - I hadn't realised Lumb had got an IPL contract with Rajastan Royals. But sadly he was out to the first ball of the match today.

Excellent value at the 'G

Fancy watching Victoria play Queensland at the MCG here in Melbourne? It's the final of the Sheffield Shield and Victoria are looking good to win tomorrow.

The cost of a family ticket is $10 (about £6). The same ticket at Hove or Lords for a county championship game would be £35-£40. Excellent value and worth a trip down to the ground I'd say.

Kumble photography book

Reading about how Anil Kumble has produced a coffee table book with all the photos he's taken throughout his career, I thought that could be a nice (if totally unecessary) buy. So I went to the site - wideangle.canvera.com - and clicked on the link to see how much it would be in pounds. £97 apparently - seems a little steep, even for a cricket obsessive like me. Might keep my money in my wallet....

IPL shrewd business in India

Apparently investment in an IPL team has turned out to be a shrewd investment for India's billionaires - far better than the stock market.

Cricket all balls to Hitler

"Hitler has only got one ball, the other is in the Albert Hall..." I believe it goes, but it sounds like Hitler never quite got the hang of bowling a cricket ball. According to this account, he couldn't get his head around the Laws and wanted to make cricket more violent.

Without helmets in those days, it's just as well Mitchell Johnson wasn't around - he could have done some damage playing to Hitler's laws...

The Lara Bingle / Michael Clarke summary

I've been expecting an Aussie point of view on the Bingle/Clarke affair in Australia but it hasn't happened so for the Brits, here's my brief summary....

Bingle is a model - very attractive and darling of the tabloids.

When she was aged 20 a married sports star with a child had an affair with her - not sure of his name but I think he was a rugby league player or Aussie rules or something.

The guys wife left him and the affair became public. Bingle claimed not to know he was married.

She meets Michael Clarke who not unaturally thinks she's a bit of a hottie. And then the start to officially date.

They get engaged.

The guy she had an affair with makes public some nude pictures of her in the shower.

She is appalled. Clarke returns to her side rather than play for Australia in the ODI series v New Zealand. Much criticism of Clarke's loyalty to his other half rather than the national cricket team.

Clarke announces that their engagement is off on Friday. And that he'll rejoin the team for the first Test in NZ.

There you go - citizen journalism at it's best!!

Shut up Dominic Cork

I've had virtually no time to take an interest in the current Bangladesh v England Test match, but I did tune into TMS yesterday morning to see how things were going just before tea. I was free to listen until the end of the day's play, but the period I listened to wasn't exactly pleasurable listening as Dominic Cork's ego took over, so I switched off.

Commentating with Simon Mann he seemed to want to somehow get the better of the senior commentator. He has a right to his opinion and there are many that were arguing like him that England should have enforced the follow on, but he puts his point across like a spoilt teenager arguing with his mother having not been allowed out one evening. Multiply Ian Botham's bleating by 10 and you'll get the idea. And then he started to say that Trott should be dropped - that's when I switched off....

Perhaps CMJ could take him to one side and explain that he is meant to give his opinion, but the days of him having any influence on the decision are over. His role is to give the rationale for his opinion and let the listeners consider it for themselves - not ram his view down the throats of the listeners without giving both sides of the argument. So next time, shut up Dominic.

Sussex announce Dilshan signing

Unlike Middlesex, Sussex are in a position to actually announce a class signing for the summer - Dilshan will play in Hove in Twenty20 cricket. The world's best Twenty20 batsman is not a bad bit of work by Sussex although without knowing what he's being paid it's difficult to know if he'll be good value for money.

Now all I need to do is work out what time I'd need to start work in order to complete a normal day's workload and get back to Hove in time to watch Dilshan play in evening Twenty20s....about 2am!

Mysterious

I missed Middlesex's early season forum so could only read the reports on line. Apparently they've got new stars coming later in the season but who it is is the big secret, they were even named at the forum and all were sworn to secrecy. Can't wait. http://www.middlesexccc.com/news-detail.asp?NewsID=1986 and http://www.cricketnetwork.co.uk/main/middlesex-ccc/s66/st155303/march-2010-forum--minus-the-juicy-bits

A batsman with a better Test average than Bradman?

There is one apparently. I didn't realise that - this article on The Roar about unfortunate cricketers explains that Andy Gantaume of West Indies scored 112 in the 1st innings of his only Test and didn't bat in the 2nd.

D/L method struggling to keep up with powerplays?

I couldn't agree with Daniel Vettori more. How can New Zealand lose 5 overs, including 2 Powerplay overs, in their chase against Australia, and only get 8 runs knocked off their target? Australia scored 41 in their 5 batting powerplay overs (9, 9, 6, 8, 9) so I find it difficult to see how that was worked out. Anyone clever/mathematical wish to explain? Thought not!!

Goal line technology rejected by Fifa

We've had many debates about technology being used to increase the accuracy of decisions in cricket on Cricket Burble. It seems that even the simplest use of technology in football - goal line technology to check if the ball has crossed the line - has been rejected. Ironically, on that same day a Birmingham goal was ruled out by the officials who didn't have access to the TV replays.

Anything that allows the watching audience to check if the referee of umpire are correct should be considered in all sports, if the ruling bodies want to see the authority of referees and umpires to remain. The only question really needs to be how the technology can be used without a huge impact on the sport in question. Goal line technology is a no brainer - it's not going to be used very often so won't impact on the game much and when it is used, it won't take long at all - it either is a goal or isn't.

FIFA say "the door is closed" but it's only a matter of time before they are forced to put this in place - I'm not sure if it will be years or decades but it will happen. Imagine if the World Cup final hinged on a wrong refereeing decision about the ball being over the goal line! More poor leadership from a sporting body (note "leadership" as opposed to "management" - most can manage, it's harder to lead).

Cricket Porn

Totally gratuitous cricket porn - but I think I know my audience....

McCullum brilliance

I went straight on to YouTube the other day to see if McCullum's innings was there following reports of his ramp shots during his Twenty20 hundred v Australia. At that point there were no highlights there, but highlights are there now. Some incredible shots!!

New Zealand just got home today in the first ODI too - it seems to me there have been a huge amount of close games in all formats over the last year or so. Just me?

Windies plumb new depths

After the surprisingly competitive test series between Australia and West Indies there was some talk about how the Windies may have turned a corner. It appears that was yet another false dawn after they managed to lose this T20 match against Zimbabwe, despite an incredible six ducks in the Zimbabwe innings, including all of the first four wickets to fall.