LET'S GET READY TO NURDLE

Tonight, for three nights only, T20, a Tables, Ladders & Chairs Smackdown: Hangover Black v Michael Clarke.

Feb 05, 2010	Pakistan	MCG		(7:35pm)
Feb 21, 2010	West Indies	Bellerive	(6:35pm)
Feb 23, 2010	West Indies	SCG		(6:35pm)

Comments

[Hangover Black]

Clarke gets a three hour head start on me while I wait to watch it "live" at 1930 WST.

[Tony]

It is staggeringly difficult to believe that Channel Cvnting Nine would delay the match by three hours. You guys are getting royally reemed.

[Hangover Black]

Like I said previously, it's a good warm up for Friday night footy when the telecast starts at 8:30pm, a good half hour after the final siren sounds in Melbourne.

To complete the parody, Foxtel starts their FNF replay at 9pm, and because they don't fvck around with ads, they manage to overtake the Seven coverage by about half time.

[Tony]

When you eventually get to see the coverage don't be alarmed at the swirly grass. It's an illusion cause by the three hour delay.

[patard]

Akmal's strike rate: 223.52

Reckon that'd be allright to watch. Sure beats nurdling.

[patard]

Spoiler alert if you're in WA...Don't read below if you haven't seen it.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Crokinfo:"...but Australia win a thriller to sweep the Tests, ODIs, and Twenty20 of what has been a pretty one-sided series, congratulations to them

pretty one-sided?

How on earth did the Pak lose that?

Poor bastards.

[Tony]

TT text at 9.59: "Get Kamran Diaz and Pak will cough it up."

[patard]

That's just tragic but.

If it was the poms I'd be laughing all weekend and possibly a year, but these Sh*tPakers don't deserve this. They've got enough on their plate without having to have this absof*ckinglutely clean sweep of everything served up cold for breakfast.

Chin up lads.

Well done our boys but don't let it go to your heads. You better do the f*cking same to those you know who cnuts.

Go the Colts.

[Pedro the Ignorant]

I am seriously impressed in paying $100+ a month to Foxtel (in WA) to watch some delayed telecast of a nothing game constantly interrupted by ads, slo mo replays of nothing to pad out the time, and having to listen to the Channel Nein fools masquerading as "commentators". Money well p*ssed away.

Bring on the Shrees so I can vent my fury at the chucker still being allowed to walk the Earth.

[Lou]

Real shame they go home without anything, but the Aussie pacemen did a pretty good job at pretending to be 70's/80's style quicks.

[RT]

That sounds real tough Hangover. The internet and phone usage in WA must drop dramatically as 4.30 clicks over and knowing the result becomes taboo. Particularly during footy season if the Eagles or Shockers are playing over east on FNF. There should be a statement on all WA job ads to eastern staters clearing stating this phenomenon. Reminds me of that story by Rod Marsh in the WSC daze when Mick Malone got hit for 6 by WI's Wayne Daniel (no batting genius) off the last ball of the game to win a ODer at Waverley Park. Even after a few beers with Rod and the boys after the game, Mick was still feeling dejected about it so he decided to ring home to the wife in Perth for a bit of comfort. Before he could speak, Mrs Malone - "don't tell us the result! It's on replay and it's starting to get interesting!" Or words to that effect.

Pity Larry Tait has a pea for a heart in the long form. Seems a plethora of 130 to 145km test bowlers around, without the genuine paceman.

[Tony]

When Tait clocked that ball over 160 I was thinking it will be only a matter of milliseconds before the selectors shoe-horn him into Test consideration, like they did against India in Perth, 2008. New Zealand, Siddle out, Tait in - the selectors will be tempted.

[Tony]

When I first moved to Perth Channel 7 did a Claremont match on delay. John Rogers, a Seven sports personality of dubious eminence (think Sandy Robers), introduced the match with "Sit back and enjoy Claremont destroy Whoever." My mate, a Tigers fan, had a fit.

Come to think of it. That was about 1985, and would have played a part in Groper's manic fixation with sports blackout.

Another mate, Bryce, takes the other tack. He flatly refuses to watch matches on delay and, by way of personal protest, will only listen to radio broadcast.

[Hangover Black]

Not sure how you'd call that first round, Tony.

Clarke at 3 would have been happy with the early wicket as it allowed him to bat during the field restrictions. His 30-something was a bit better than a run-a-ball, but not by much.

After all the middle order hitting had fallen in a heap, we could actually have done with his nurdling.

Perversely, I'm not sure that was a good result for Australia. I think they needed their arses handed to them on a platter, rather than getting away with a close one. It will only lead them to believe that scores of 120+ are defendable, which in the real world, they're not. Better long term that the Pakis got the score in 10 or 12 overs, and fully exposed their inadequacy.

[Vindicate]

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/447127.html

I want whatever it is this guy is smoking.

[Lou]

I agree, hangover, they did need a kicking last night. There is no way that any other team is going to pat out a 16th over bowled by MJ and Smith is going to be buying his wickets at a much higher price till he improves enough to be considered a proper bowler.

Tait isn't fit enough to play first class, he's barely fit enough to play one dayers. The Redbacks haven't managed to talk him roundt, so I can't see the Aussie management doing it.

[Adsy]

If Clarke is going to play in this form of game, he needs to be a "floating" position depending on the state of the game because he's a run-a-ball player only. Like HB said, if early wickets fall, he comes in to steady and "nurdle". If they get off to a flyer up the top, he drops down to provide the singles support to the big hitting middle order. If its a good start, he could also come in late to bat with the middle to tail to make sure the innings doesn't run out of steam like it did the other night.

Really he should bat anywhere from 3 to about 7 given the right situation. The other night I would have gone Watson, Warner, White, Hussey, Clarke, Birt, Haddin etc, because the start was reasonable and White/Hussey can both start circumspectly before exploding when they get their eye in. Clarke behind them would have given the strike support as well as batting with Birt, and hopefully telling him to shelve the stupid little lap sweep.

[Tony]

There is another cricket game on, T20 in 'Bart. This summer refuses to die.

[patard]

The Eels vs Panthers trial game I went to last night drew a crowd of 11,113. The Swans vs Carlton game just up the road at the same time drew a crowd of 9,732.

Combined crowd 20,845. Pretty impressive considering these games had nothing hinging on the outcome and were played well away from Sydney centre. What was the last MCG ODI crowd, 15,000 or thereabouts?

Everyone's waiting for this summer that refuses to die, to die already. Bring on the footy.

[Tony]

2009/10: "I'm not dead yet."

[Tony]

News Flash! There was a dot ball in Australia's first over.

[Tony]

Not dead yet? You soon will be.

[Tony]

Stop the presses! Warner blocks one:

7.2 Miller to Warner, no run, pushed it into the leg side off the front foot

[Tony]

See! No good will come of forward defensive shots. Caution threw Warner off his game:

7.4 Miller to Warner, OUT, Miller fires it on leg stump, it's fullish, an invitation for Warner to go downtown, gets plenty of elevation there but not enough on it to clear Pollard at long-on.

[Adsy]

Good to see that some traditions continue right till the end - the Windies sledging Papercut.

[Tony]

If these two nervous nellies don't get a move on I will miss the start of QI. Come on, you two, your deadline is 9:30.

[Tony]

Is there any point sledging PC? Every time the bowling side gets into him he gets a score.

[Tony]

Oddly, 13 runs an over doesn't seem to do this massacre justice.

[Tony]

Stretch it out, Christian. Make your innings last. Hit a single off the last ball of the over.

[Hangover Black]

Care to call the fight, Tone? HB is asleep (not from a KO) in the red corner, despite Warner's best efforts to keep the match exciting.
They reckon that ODIs are losing their appeal because they have no meaning - nothing riding on them. If they're not careful, these international T20s will go the same way. They'll play 3 or 5 per summer against two visiting teams for nothing more than filling Nine's schedule.

[Tony T]

HB, the six operative words: "nothing more than filling Nine's schedule".

There can be no doubt that the summer schedule exists to satisfy the advertising requirements of "Cricket Australia's valued broadcast partners".

No matter the quality of any game, eight hours of airtime for five or six Tests, ten F50 and three T20 represents an enormous slab of advertising exposure for a TV station that wants to cash in during the summer non-ratings period. The summer of cricket nets Nine a tidy profit. Imagine the rumpus at Nine if CricAussie told them they were cutting it down to five tests, three one dayers and a couple of T20.

It would be nice if there was a league format for world cricket, but failing that revolution, we'll get more of the same.

[Russ]

Tony, only if people are watching. The cricket used to be a guaranteed ratings winner for nine all summer, but they've been losing to seven as often as not this year. If nine think they'd be better off with fewer games and better scheduling they'll pressure CricAus into doing so. A drop in ticket prices must surely be on the cards as well. It can't be good for the coverage to show banks of empty seats with no crowd noise to speak of.

[Tony T]

What the empty seats will lead to is a return to Nine's time-honoured invitation: "Melbourne will now leave us for local programs. Come on down to the MCG to watch a great match where it's all happening."