CHADLEE

The good old ODI. I've said it before, but it warrants repeating: dumping the ODI in favour of T20 - mooted by idiots like me - is stupid. ODIs, even if the Aussies treat them as practice matches, are relaxing and entertaining Sunday afternoon fare.

Comments

[Professor Rosseforp]

I feel a bit sorry for them, playing in this heat and humidity, but I suppose they've played under worse conditions, and get plenty of money for their efforts.

[Tony Tea]

I'm tipping they are all rapt to be out there.

[Tony Tea]

Except Wade, who would prefer Maxwell had been picked in his place.

[Philsgone]

wicket in first over came as a shock,given it wasnt Starc bowling

[Sotto Voce]

relaxing and entertaining Sunday afternoon fare

Quite agree and was thinking this this arvo.

(PS. I have two comments now in your blog's upper colon.)

[m0nty]

Just because you like Vanilla Coke is no reason to ban production of Coke Classic.

[Tony Tea]

Fair catch by Smith. But without wider context these reaction times currently being espoused by Nine are pure filth.

[Philsgone]

We won.

[Carrot]

Oh Christ, it's happened again. The ECB have absolutely no shame. Keaton Jennings, who was born, raised and coached in South Africa, made his first-class debut in South Africa, captained the South African Under-19s side (including a tour against England!), just made his debut as an English cricketer. What an absolute fucking piss-take.

[Philsgone]

And he got a ton debut, so they are all geniuses.

[Tony Tea]

And a duck on debut. A bit of justice.

[Philsgone]

It will be interesting to see what we learn from the Poms in terms of our team for India. News today is that they are pushing Cummins for India. I will personally load the gun and shoot any selector who thinks that is a good idea. I dont own a gun, so this is simply a metaphor for being very unhappy if it happens.

[Carrot]

Given the disasters that routinely ensue for touring sides that pick mediocre spinners for tours to India and the subcontinent- players that wouldn't normally have a prayer of being selected back home, Gareth Batty and Jon Holland im looking at you - it wouldn't necessarily be such a bad thing to actually play to our strengths and pick quick bowlers for India. There is surely no future in thinking that the best players of spin in the world are going to just crumble to fringe Shield players with nosebleed bowling averages. Pick Lippy and SoK by all means, but for the rest, better the devil you know. It worked in 2004 and nearly in 2001 as well.

[m0nty]

England are just putting into place their quota policy.

[Tony Tea]

One for you, Carrot: Cricket South Africa admit they are powerless to stop England player drain.

[Carrot]

Tony, the GUARDIAN?? What have you become?

(Ha ha, I read it too. But the SJW stuff really does my head in)

The Kolpak/quota thing is obviously something to be considered. I can certainly understand why white South Africans would want to play county cricket when quotas are being implemented. The Kolpak players can't qualify for England though - when you play as a Kolpak you're ineligible for national selection for anywhere, no matter how long you're in the county system.

My beef is with the Jennings/Trott/Pietersen players, who can very clearly begin their careers in another country but end up qualifying for England because they have European passports. It's just a lie for the ECB to select them and pass them off as their own when they're know that they're by very definition the product of another board and country's set-up. If you have reached the stage where you're playing first-class cricket somewhere else, and you've captained your the under-19s side of another country, you are not an English player, are you? The ECB are very cynically taking advantage of South African selection policy.

PS - Brexit won't help. The European passport holders will still be able to do whatever they want.

[Tony Tea]

It popped up in my Twitter feed. I don't think I've ever gone straight to the Groan.

[Tony Tea]

As I have mentioned before, the ECB is the New York Yacht Club of cricket. They pretty much treat the rules as optional by-laws.