AGB Cricket

PICKEN TIKKA

Six Age cricket writers, Greg Baum, Malcolm Knox, Chris Barrett, Jesse Hogan, Andrew Wu and Dean Jones, picked their First XII from the World Cup. Several players featured highly with Mitchell Starc, AB de Villiers, Kumar Sangakkara, Steve Smith, Trent Boult and Martin Guptill being unanimous choices, while the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Brendon McCullum and Glenn Maxwell received multiple nominations.

Guess who picked the following team:

1. Guptill (6 nominations)
2. Dhawan (5)
3. Sangakkara (6)
4. Smith (6)
5. de Villiers (6)
6. Maxwell (5)
7. Dhoni - captain (1)
8. Ashwin (1)
9. Starc (6)
10. Shami (2)
11. Boult (6)
12. Tahir (3)

THIRSTY BERK

People aren't criticising the Aussies for getting on the fuel during post match celebrations - even though I personally reckon Aussies should drink less - they are criticising Warnie for relentlessly shoving booze down the viewers' throats as if he was shilling the sponsor's product, or he was trying to get himself invited to the party, or simply that he is a dummy with nothing better to ask:

Do gooders get stuffed. Straya is the best place in the world, not politically correct, keep it real. Aussies celebrate properly ! #thirsty

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) March 29, 2015

MA SNIGGER

Don't jump to any confusion:

With due reportof word uttering yesterday in bw the matchwhile mentioning with Tks toNicholas, not anyother slangword to make any confusion.

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) March 16, 2015

Afridi actually said "Mark Nicholas," but it sounded like "Ma nigga" because he was chewing on a cricket ball.

MINORITY DEPORT

Scotland drops Majid Mac, so Majid calls the selectors racist:

"Always tougher when you're in the minority! #colour #race"

THE FAG SHOW

It's kind of comforting to know that the Shrees have stupid fans too:

Australian cricketer branded a ‘fag’ at Sri Lanka cricket match

A Sri Lankan cricket fan waved a sign branding Australian cricketer Glen Maxwell a ‘fag’ during a Cricket World Cup match.

The sign reads “Maxwell Ponnaya” – which roughly translates as “Maxwell is a fag”.

PAIR SHAPED?

This won't backfire, will it?

CUT YOUR LOSSES

Sambit Bal reviews 2014 and naturally includes a pat on the back for the ICC for Big Cricket's crackdown on chucking ("naturally" because even the hardest core chuckanista must acknowledge cricket's purge - well, maybe not Dean Jones, who appears to want to allow chucking):

The big purge

the ICC can take a bow for its decisive and bold campaign against illegal bowling actions.

What is at odds with Sambit's gambit - not the mot juste; I just wanted to write "Sambit's gambit" - is his sop to the chuckanistas that the banishment of chuckers is some kind of loss:

It is quite likely that two big names - Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine - will miss the World Cup, which will indeed be a loss.

It's no loss. If you're a chucker who's burgled top flight cricket and you've filled your sack with ill-gotten wickets, it's time to go. You shouldn't have been there in the first place.

LOVING CUP

WINNOWS

Good news for the 2015 World Cup:

Minnows earn right to play at the World Cup

THE 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will feature 14 nations not 10, the International Cricket Council announced last night.

The sport's governing body had announced in October last year the World Cup would be cut back to a 10-team event, and in April this year said the tournament would be restricted to the 10 Test-playing nations only.

But at a meeting of the ICC executive board in Hong Kong last night, a 14-team competition was announced that will allow four associate countries to qualify for the tournament.