AGB Cricket

DON'T MENTION THE BORDER-GAVASKAR TROPHY

Dean Jones mentioned it once and he thinks he got away with it:

THE WORST PERFORMERS

India. The BCCI and some of its players must realise that it is very important to play well away from home. I am over their excuses. If it was not for the courageous performances of some countries when fighting away from home through World War I and World War II, we would not be playing cricket today! I know I am pulling a long bow here, but you must ask yourself, if we lost both those wars, would we be playing cricket?

Long bow? Mark Waugh as quirky is a long bow, but an understandable misapplication if Slogger Slatts is your favourite commentator:

SPECIAL COMMENTS

If I were Channel Nine, I would be hiring Mark Waugh. I love his quirky humour, his straight-forward, blunt analysis and his opinions. Mind you, I still love listening to Bill Lawry and Michael Slater.

"Special" comments is right, but.

DEARTH BOWLERS

Starc, Christian, McKay, Lee, Hilfenhaus, Watson, Pattinson:

Unmentionable pacemen must step up for death bowling

FORMER Test paceman Damien Fleming has called on fellow Victorian James Pattinson to step up and take ownership of the death bowling duties in Australia's one-day side.

Australia might have won the first of the best-of-three one-day international finals against Sri Lanka in Brisbane on Sunday night, but that wasn't evident from the grim expression on Michael Clarke's face afterwards, with the Australian captain bemoaning poor bowling during powerplays and in the dying stages.

"Hasn't been good enough throughout the series and unfortunately it continues to let us down," Clarke said.

Not sure about this:

"There is no better time to bowl," said Fleming, who famously did the job for Australia at the 1999 World Cup. "You can win the match for your country. That's a pretty important job.

The Way Back Machine:

49.1 Fleming to Klusener, FOUR, stepping back and driving the covers, amazing stuff, can he do it yet again, McGrath pitching up from around the wicket

5 runs needed off 5 balls

49.2 Fleming to Klusener, FOUR, driving thru the wide long off, and again, too wide of Mark Waugh in the deep

Scores are tied, Australia will go to the final if the match remains this way all 11 in the infield

49.3 Fleming to Klusener, no run, pulled down the wicket, to the mid on, Lehmann with the run out chance, Donald too far backing up

Direct would have been out

49.4 Fleming to Klusener, OUT, run out gone, Australia have done it AA Donald run out 0

IN: "DROPPED" OUT: "RESTED"

The NSPGU has only made one change to the F50 squad for the tri-series finals:

NOW hear this. The selectors want to make one thing very clear: Ryan Harris has been dropped, not rested or even rotated, from the one-day side.

• Michael Clarke
• Shane Watson
• Dan Christian
• Xavier Doherty
• Peter Forrest
• Ben Hilfenhaus
• David Hussey
• Mike Hussey
• Brett Lee
• Clint McKay
• James Pattinson
• Matthew Wade
• Dave Warner

The squad for the West Indies F50 is the same as above, but also includes Klutzy Haddin, Lyon, Nathan and George Bailey.

SAME DIFF, DIFFERENT E.H. DIFF

Does any side that visits Australia whine quite as much as India? Malcolm Conn lays into their "over-paid, over-indulged, over-aged bunch of prima-donnas":

Indian team a "rabble with no redeeming features"

CAN India find anything else to whinge about?

Thank goodness Tuesday night's game against Sri Lanka in Hobart will be India's last on this tour - barring some major mathematical quirk of results which will see them make the finals.

WU KOO

Which final over was Andrew Wu watching on Friday night? What composure did Koo Starc re-gather? The five balls Starc bowled to Angelo Matthews gave Starc every chance of emulating the five balls Bruce Reid bowled to Allan Lamb during Reid's final-over meltdown against England in January 1987 (I do not remember Simon Davis's over):

With Sri Lanka needing 18 to win in the last over of the match, Starc conceded a four and a six from his first two balls but re-gathered his composure to close out the game. In doing so he avoided joining the likes of Bruce Reid and Simon Davis as players whose teams suffered improbable defeats after final-over meltdowns with the ball.

Starc's almost-over was a shocker. You could even make a case that the ball which fluked Matthews's wicket was the worst ball of the over.

A Sri Lanka team-mate runs in with some drinks and a possible instruction or two for the batsmen. Starc to bowl the last over

49.1 Starc to Mathews, FOUR, Angelo gets the boundary off the first ball, hammers the shortish delivery through midwicket, man in the deep puts in the dive but touches the ropes

49.2 Starc to Mathews, SIX, Angelo has put Sri Lanka on the brink, what a stroke under pressure, takes on the pitched up ball, gets front leg out of the way and mows it over long off, punches the air as soon as he sees the ball sail away

49.3 Starc to Mathews, 1 run, swings a full delivery on the leg side, gets only one this time to deep square leg

Seven off three, well as someone says, it went down all the way to the wire, in fact

49.4 Starc to Prasad, 1 run, low full toss, he somehow drops it towards point, and they take on the throw, direct hit and he was gone, Ponting has his hands on his head, Angelo is back on strike

One big blow should do it

49.5 Starc to Mathews, OUT, but he has holed out, oh dear, heartbreak for Angelo and Sri Lanka, Australia and Starc can breathe now, makes room for the short ball, winds up and has a crack at it, but can only spoon it in the air as far as long on, Australia get together, they will be a relieved lot

AD Mathews c Christian b Starc 64 (101m 76b 4x4 1x6) SR: 84.21

Mind you, the Wuster could merely have been taking his cues from Mathew's good manners:

Starc's ability to bounce back in the face of adversity impressed Angelo Mathews and prevented the Sri Lankan vice-captain from stealing victory for his country. ''The latter stages the pressure is on, when the bowlers are under pressure they tend to crack, but he held his nerve pretty well in the last couple of overs,'' Mathews said.

HIT THE BALL BACK AT ME LIKE A BULLET...

... never a chance to move.

Brett Lee should do the "chainsaw" to cut off the offending tootsie:

Lee out of tri-series with broken foot

"Brett Lee sustained a fracture of his right foot when he was struck by a ball in the last over of his spell during the KFC T20 against India at the MCG on Friday night," Cricket Australia team doctor Trefor James said. "He was able to complete the over however the foot became more painful and swollen the following day. An x-ray has confirmed a fracture of the small toe and we now expect Brett will return to cricket in four to six weeks."

F50 SQUAD

No great surprises from the National Selection Panel Group Unit as far as the F50 squad is concerned. Peter Forrest has recently pinged the radar, Ricky Ponting's signal has been fading but he is still a force, Mitch Marsh is an international player in waiting and this year's "potential" selection, while Matthew Wade surfaced right beside the good ship Australia, Klaxtons blaring. The obvious omission is Paper Cut Watson, who appears to have sustained a Glenn Lovett-esque array of soft tissue injuries:

• David Warner
• Ricky Ponting
• Peter Forrest
• Michael Clarke
• Daniel Christian
• David Hussey
• Michael Hussey
• Matthew Wade
• Brett Lee
• Ryan Harris
• Mitchell Starc
• Xavier Doherty
• Clint McKay
• Mitchell Marsh