Submitted by rickeyre on
I think this Test is going to be a draw already.
Midwinter-Midwinter points for Day One: Paul Collingwood 3 pts, Ian Bell 2 pts, Kevin Pietersen 1 pt.
Please note: the official pronounciation of XSPF is "spif", even though it stands for "XML Shareable Playlist Format". About eighty minutes of poddage from the ABC, BBC, Guardian, CricInfo, Telegraph and Daily Mail.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Looking at the teams that Australia and England have fielded for the First and Second Tests, it is obvious where the real experience lies.
Australia has seven players with one or more books published. England has just two.
The teams, with links to their books as listed on Abebooks.com:
Australia:
Justin Langer
Matthew Hayden
Submitted by rickeyre on
Submitted by rickeyre on
First Test, Lords 2005: Australia defeated England by 239 runs. England won series 2-1.
First Test, Brisbane 2006-07: Australia defeated England by 277 runs. Is history about to repeat itself?
I doubt it. The yawning experience gap makes the difference this time, added to the intense hunger that the Australian team feels to regain the Ashes.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Has Australia blown its best chance of regaining the Ashes?
I'm serious.
Honestly, what was the point of batting on just long enough on Sunday morning to allow Justin Langer to get his hundred? Apart from allowing Ricky to strain his back while taking a run and thus keeping him off the field for the rest of the day... and possibly for the Second Test.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Do you think Ricky Ponting has enough confidence in his team? How big a target will he set England before he can breathe easily at the thought that the opposition can't win? Will 700 be enough? Maybe he'll bat till tea-time Sunday and hope that even Australia's bowlers can contain Strauss and Cook to less than 800 runs in four sessions.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Australia 602/9, England 53/3. We've been there before. Many times.
What if Freddie had won the toss yesterday? And said "this pitch has a bit of life in it, we'll bowl first"? Yeah well, what if he decided to have a bat? Maybe they would have gotten 400 and felt happy with themselves.
Instead, they batted second... starting about an hour before stumps on the second day. They might make 400. In fact, they need 403 to avoid the follow-on. That's not looking too good right now.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Throughout the Ashes, I'll be watching the Prime Ministerial website for cricketing references in John Winston Howard's media interviews. I'll also be keeping score on the number of references he makes to Darfur or any other major African conflict. (As regular followers of this blog will already be aware, the number of times that John Howard has used the word "Darfur" in public as recorded either in Hansard or in the pm.gov.au transcript archives currently stands at zero.)
Let's kick it off with JWH's interview with Virginia Trioli at 2BL ABC Local Radio Sydney on November 13:
Submitted by rickeyre on
So Natural Foods Australia Limited
(ASX code SNF)
21 November 2006Response to Announcement of Retirement from Swimming of Ian Thorpe
So Natural Foods Australia Limited ("SNF") advises that while we at SNF will miss Ian competing in the pool, we understand his decision and fully support him as he moves into the next phase of his career.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Australia is poised to become the first country to make copyright infringement a "no-fault" offence, a move aimed at broadening criminal penalties for infringement.
- Source: Intellectual Property Watch, 17.11.06
More on the potential impact of the amazing Copyright Amendment 2006, currently before the Senate, in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald.
