Well you're clearly not thinking very hard, which is unlikely to surprise anyone else on here. You might also have mentioned K.S. Ranjitsinhji, Basil D'Oliveira, Phil Edmonds, Robin Jackman, Roland Butcher, Norman Cowans, Wilf Slack, Derek Pringle, Neal Radford, Devon Malcolm, Chris Smith, Graeme Hick, Usman Afzaal, Dermot Reeve and a few others besides. And keep an eye out for Jade Dernbach, Chris Jordan and Stuart Meaker (and that's just from one county club) amongst others over the next couple of years.

The bottom line is that one of our countries is a cosmopolitan melting pot that assimilates newcomers and allows them to thrive and flourish, and has done for thousands of years, and I'm pleased to say it's not Australia.

For a bloke who reckons to have no time for Test cricket you seem to devote an inordinate amount of energy towards following it and writing about it. Anyone might think you're a total loser with no friends who needs to get a life.

Oh, and one final pooint. You might be a little premature in writing off your own nation's chances. They've just called up reinforcements in the form of the Pakistani Usman Khawaja. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" eh?

Next thing you know they'll be calling up Dirk "couldn't wait to be Dutch when it suited" Nannes...

It's ok, that well known Aussie Usman Khawaja has been called up as cover for Ponting

Quite frankly, as long as the ICC recognises the players right/eligibility to play for a nation then I couldn't give a rats c0ck who wins the Ashes for England!!!!



Viva South Africa C

ICC shortlist for the greatest ever ODI team www.cricketworld.com/icc-shortli ... /26396.htm? who'd make your team?

ICC shortlist for the greatest ever ODI team www.cricketworld.com/icc-shortli ... /26396.htm? who'd make your team?

From that list, my ODI Dream Team would be....

1. Matthew Hayden
2. Sanath Jayasuriya
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Viv Richards
6. Jacques Kallis
7. Adam Gilchrist
8. Ian Botham
9. Shane Warne
10. Wasim Akram
11. Joel Garner

You've cheated, Tendulkar is down as an opener

Hayden
Tendulkar
Richards
Lara
Bevan
Botham
Gilchrist
Akram
Warne
Garner
Donald

True, but then technically so was Gilchrist......

No, what i meant was - I selected as per the groupings here

Opening batsmen (2) - Saeed Anwar, Sourav Ganguly, Gordon Greenidge, Matthew Hayden, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn Turner.

Middle-order batsmen (3) - Michael Bevan, Martin Crowe, Aravinda de Silva, Inzamam-ul Haq, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad, Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards.

All-rounder (1) - Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Andrew Flintoff, Richard Hadlee, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock.

Wicketkeeper (1) - Mark Boucher, MS Dhoni, Andy Flower Adam Gilchrist, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Moin Khan, Alec Stewart, Kumar Sangakkara.

Fast bowlers (3) - Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas, Waqar Younis.

Spinners (1) - Shahid Afridi, Carl Hooper, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne, Daniel Vettori.

I went for this awesome 11....

Sachin Tendulkar
Matthew Hayden
Viv Richards
Brian Lara
Michael Bevan
Jacques Kallis
Adam Gilchrist
Wasim Akram
Allan Donald
Glenn McGrath
Shane Warne

An unbeatable team surely

surely Fairbrother, Ian Austin and Warren Hegg should be in that team of One Day greats

I think fairbrother went some way to redefining what an ODI batsman was about

Sanath Jayasuriya
Sachin Tendulkar
Ricky Ponting
Viv Richards
Brian Lara
Andrew Flintoff
Adam Gilchrist
Wasim Akram
Shane Warne
Waqar Younis
Glenn McGrath

My team for the Fourth Test

Strauss (capt)
Cook
Trott
Pietersen
Bell
Morgan
Prior (w/k)
Swann
Anderson
Tremlett
Finn

Now is the time to drop Collingwood. People say he is a great slip fielder and a 5th option as a bowler but come on if he cant score runs which is primary job he doesnt deserve a place in the team at all. Morgan should play in his place moving Bell up to number 5. Allright young Finn is conceeding too many runs an over but he is the leading wicket taker in the series and must play at Melbourne.

I think we should contemplate dropping colly, as he usually then comes up with a big ton.

I agree with the post above. Colly will've read the press and know he is under pressure. I think he will play in Melbourne and pull something out the bag. If he fails again and we go into the last test 2 v 1 down he will be dropped for the decider, no doubt.

Not sure on the Steven Finn front, not sure any of the reserves can give us more with the ball. It's just whether our batsmen can re-find the form of the 1st and 2nd tests. If so, there is no need to try to extend the batting line up by putting Bresnan or Sharzad in.

I think England will stick with the same 11 from Perth.

I think this is, maybe, a series too far for Collingwood. The only thing that will save him is the fact the Morgan has had very, very little match practice throughout the tour.
I think Finn is at risk to Bresnan but maybe with Anderson having a slight side strain he'll stay in.

Interesting to hear that Shane Watson has called Jimmy "soft". This is the bloke who cried when one of his ex-birds left him AND when he kept getting out in the nineties. Kettle, pot, black.

In what context - the stuff i read referred to night watchman anderson looking desperate to get off strike, doing so, and collingwood getting out last ball of the day, which isn't really what a night watchman is there to do.

If it is in the context of that, i am entirely in agreement, his job was to go out there and 'man up'

He says all the talk is just "bravado" and that he is basically soft and weak. I think, basically, its from the Langer file the other year that called him a pussy.

Bit rich of Watson of all people mind.

And interesting to hear how much the Aussies are defending their "behaviour" as part of the game...funny how its part of the game when they are doing it and winning yet its unsavoury and over the top when we do it and win...

there does seem to a lot of talk about it all , i read an aussie website interviewing siddle (a junior wood chopper) about his spat with prior and did he fancy his chances behind the sheds, he did.

last two test could be fun

The nighchman is not sent in to protect the batsman currently at the wicket, he's
sent in to protect the next one due in, surely....?

both i guess

'In the sport of cricket, a nighchman is a lower-order batsman who comes in to bat higher up the order than usual near the end of the day's play. This nighchman's job is to maintain most of the strike until the close of play (remaining in overnight, hence the name) and so protect other, more capable batsmen from being out cheaply in what may be a period of tiredness or in poor light;

Ideally the nighchman should be on strike when the final over of the day commences, and should stay there. If he's out at that stage he's still done his job as play will close for the day and the over will be completed the following morning. If the senior batsman is on strike when the final over starts and there's an easy single to be had the nighchman should be looking to help him take it.

Frankly the whole logic of sending in a tailender to bat in awkward conditions is beyond me. Even if he does the job as expected, you're likely to lose his wicket early the following day, and in the case of the Perth Test it means someone like Ian Bell comes in even lower at 7, with even less chance of building a decent innings.

I believe Steve Waugh, during his tenure as Australia captain, decided they would not use nighchmen. If a late wicket fell the next designated batsman would have to go out and do the job he was picked for in the first place, and I would like to see England adopt the same stance.

The history of cricket is littered with nighchmen causing more trouble than they are worth. I remember a county match in which Surrey were 30/0 late in the day and a wicket fell. A nighchman went in and got out; a second nighchman went in and also got out. Finally the original number 3 went in at 5 and they ended the day on 31/3.

My favourite innings by a nighchman came from Robin Marlar for Sussex. He was out stumped second ball for 6.

There did seem to be a phase a few years back when night watchmen often hung around the following day making 20's and 30's and driving the bowlers mad.
It dosen't seem to happen so much these days.

Its one of my hobby horses that, because test players play so little county cricket, tailenders do not get enough batting practice in match situations. Some of them are quite adept at coming in having a slog and we've seen a few times recently when England's last pair have hung on for a few overs to save tests. But most tailenders are fairly hopeless when it comes to taking singles to manipulate the strike. During the 2006/07 series Duncan Fletcher commented on how much time they spent in the nets, but thats only going to help with blocking and slogging, it doesn't prepare them for match situations.