The Pavel Florin Supporters Club and Cricket Thread

[Devon Malcolm]

Let's talk about cricket again. We used to a lot. And let's watch something, too:-

 

 

Graham Thorpe gets his career high score of 200 not out and Andrew Flintoff scores his first test century in Christchurch against New Zealand in 2002. One of the great partnerships I've ever seen this. They came to the crease with England struggling on a seaming pitch and produced an amazing counter attack. From the same match:-

 

 

Nathan Astle hits 222 and almost takes New Zealand to a target of 550.

 

An incredible test match, one of the strangest in some ways because of the difference in innings scores between the first and second, but it had absolutely everything.

[Magnum Milano]

Morgan's been absolutely horrible. No idea where this idea has come from that he's a specialist player of spin. He looks worse against it than Robin Smith.

Always nice to see 'The Judge' get a mention (even if it's knocking him); fearless in the face of the Windies quicks of the late 80s/early 90s, but not a clue on the turning pitches of the sub-continent.

[Devon Malcolm]

Morgan's been absolutely horrible. No idea where this idea has come from that he's a specialist player of spin. He looks worse against it than Robin Smith.

Always nice to see 'The Judge' get a mention (even if it's knocking him); fearless in the face of the Windies quicks of the late 80s/early 90s, but not a clue on the turning pitches of the sub-continent.

 

Judge is one of my favourite England players of all time. In fact, most of mine tend to be players in shitty England teams getting slaughtered by the Aussies doing really well by themselves - Judge, Graham Thorpe, Michael Vaughan, Darren Gough.

 

Back on the subject of Robin Smith, this is one of my favourite cricket videos:-

 

Edited March 8, 2012 by Gladstone Small

[PowerButchi]

I think pretty much all of my favourite cricketers were in piss poor 90s England sides.

 

Hick, Steve Watkin, Smith, Athers, Cork, Rhodes, others.

[Magnum Milano]

I think pretty much all of my favourite cricketers were in piss poor 90s England sides.

 

Hick, Steve Watkin, Smith, Athers, Cork, Rhodes, others.

The wicket keeper, Steve 'Bumpy' Rhodes?

 

Pleasant surprise on watching that clip Gladstone linked to, in finding out that another Worcestershire stalwart Phil Newport actually got capped by England, which was something I was completely unaware of.

[PowerButchi]

The very same. I was always a giant fan of his.

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

And Richard Illingworth, embarrassingly enough. God knows why a child from by Wrexham would love Worcestershire so.

 

[close spoiler]

");document.close();

[Devon Malcolm]

I think pretty much all of my favourite cricketers were in piss poor 90s England sides.

 

Hick, Steve Watkin, Smith, Athers, Cork, Rhodes, others.

The wicket keeper, Steve 'Bumpy' Rhodes?

 

Pleasant surprise on watching that clip Gladstone linked to, in finding out that another Worcestershire stalwart Phil Newport actually got capped by England, which was something I was completely unaware of.

 

Sure was. He was that type of English seamer that doesn't get called up these days, but should have gotten more of a chance. See also - Martin Bicknell.

 

The very same. I was always a giant fan of his.

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

And Richard Illingworth, embarrassingly enough. God knows why a child from by Wrexham would love Worcestershire so.

 

[close spoiler]

");document.close();

 

Ahh, Illy. His greatest moment - taking a wicket with his first ball in test cricket - only for it to almost not be seen live because BBC1 had cut off the coverage to go to the 1 O'Clock News.

[Devon Malcolm]

Rahul Dravid has announced his retirement from everything except the shitty IPL. Good article on him from the BBC:-

 

Rahul Dravid did not merely hang up his boots today [Friday]; a special type of player returned with him to the pavilion, perhaps never to be seen again.

 

Dravid believed that the best sportsmen were incomplete if they did not conduct their lives with dignity, integrity, courage and modesty, all of which were compatible with pride, ambition, determination and competitiveness.

 

He was the embodiment of his ideals, and that, over an international career of 16 years is as significant as the runs he made or the catches he took.

 

In that period, he scored more runs than Sachin Tendulkar and made an incredible 23% of the runs scored by India in the 21 Test victories under Saurav Ganguly (at an average of 102.84) that put India on the road to becoming the No 1 Test team in the world.

 

It was the quiet, dignified confidence of Dravid that allowed the next generation to display the aggressive entitlement associated with the likes of Virat Kohli who is the most obvious successor to the great man.

 

Dravid's strike rate in Twenty20 internationals is 147. In one-day internationals, he is one of only 10 batsmen with over 10,000 runs. Those figures say more about his character and professionalism than his record in Test cricket, the format he was born to play.

 

In his early years it was believed that he was a misfit in one-day cricket; in the evening of his career received wisdom was that he did not fit into the Twenty20 scheme of things. Dravid has made a cottage industry of proving such perceptions wrong.

 

About three years ago, it was assumed his career was over.

 

Dravid alternated between batting well without luck and struggling to score but making enough runs to keep his place. When he looked good at the crease, his fans worried because it invariably led to an early dismissal. But when he did score runs, the grace and charm that were associated with his batsmanship were missing.

 

Like Tendulkar - his friend and partner in a world record 146 matches - Dravid dug deep and found an inner strength that abruptly removed all the cobwebs and cleared all the confusion.

 

A century in Chandigarh against England and two more against Sri Lanka showed he had lost nothing. He was no longer tentative. The focus was back in the eyes, the helmet continued to rain down sweat through a long innings. Dravid was back in touch.

 

Last year, at 38, he finished with the highest number of runs among international batsmen.

 

The difference, of course, is that on the earlier occasions when he made a century, India did not lose. Now Dravid's three centuries were the only consolation for an Indian team that was thrashed 4-0 in England. By the time India had lost by a similar margin in Australia, Dravid had been bowled six times in eight innings.

 

Dravid belongs to that fine sporting tradition in his home state of Karnataka where world class performers and all-time greats are modest to a fault.

 

Men like Gundappa Vishwanath, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Prakash Padukone hate to draw attention to themselves despite being confident men who are self-aware.

 

It is a temperament the modern sportsmen find difficult to understand. It might have meant fewer endorsements in the marketing world, but their's is an old-world charm that is fast dying out. Dravid belongs to two traditions that seem to be on their last legs, the other being the text-book player who can adapt his game to other formats, but is happiest in the longest version.

 

Few players captured Dravid quite as dramatically as Steve Waugh, who said after the 180 in Calcutta and the famous partnership with VVS Laxman: "Rahul's batting was poetic, with flowing follow-throughs that capitalised on exceptional footwork and a rock-solid base. His head was like the statue of David, allowing for perfect balance."

 

The man who announced his arrival on the big stage at Lord's not just by scoring 95 but "walking" when he knew he was out, was the touchstone against which other players around the world checked themselves.

 

"I take inspiration from Dravid," said Ricky Ponting when the cries for his head grew in Australia. The most terrible thing he has done on a cricket field is to chew on a lozenge.

 

When he started out, Dravid's ambition was to be clubbed with Gavaskar and Vishwanath. In a country obsessed with rankings, Dravid will be ranked above his heroes.

 

Batting at number 3 is one of the most tension-filled jobs in cricket. Dravid has earned his rest. But what of the rest of us? When India are in trouble, we can never again console ourselves with the thought: "Dravid's at the crease, all's right with the world."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17308981

Edited March 9, 2012 by Gladstone Small

[digforvictory]

Rahul Dravid has announced his retirement from everything except the shitty IPL. Good article on him from the BBC:-

 

Rahul Dravid did not merely hang up his boots today [Friday]; a special type of player returned with him to the pavilion, perhaps never to be seen again.

 

Dravid believed that the best sportsmen were incomplete if they did not conduct their lives with dignity, integrity, courage and modesty, all of which were compatible with pride, ambition, determination and competitiveness.

 

He was the embodiment of his ideals, and that, over an international career of 16 years is as significant as the runs he made or the catches he took.

 

In that period, he scored more runs than Sachin Tendulkar and made an incredible 23% of the runs scored by India in the 21 Test victories under Saurav Ganguly (at an average of 102.84) that put India on the road to becoming the No 1 Test team in the world.

 

It was the quiet, dignified confidence of Dravid that allowed the next generation to display the aggressive entitlement associated with the likes of Virat Kohli who is the most obvious successor to the great man.

 

Dravid's strike rate in Twenty20 internationals is 147. In one-day internationals, he is one of only 10 batsmen with over 10,000 runs. Those figures say more about his character and professionalism than his record in Test cricket, the format he was born to play.

 

In his early years it was believed that he was a misfit in one-day cricket; in the evening of his career received wisdom was that he did not fit into the Twenty20 scheme of things. Dravid has made a cottage industry of proving such perceptions wrong.

 

About three years ago, it was assumed his career was over.

 

Dravid alternated between batting well without luck and struggling to score but making enough runs to keep his place. When he looked good at the crease, his fans worried because it invariably led to an early dismissal. But when he did score runs, the grace and charm that were associated with his batsmanship were missing.

 

Like Tendulkar - his friend and partner in a world record 146 matches - Dravid dug deep and found an inner strength that abruptly removed all the cobwebs and cleared all the confusion.

 

A century in Chandigarh against England and two more against Sri Lanka showed he had lost nothing. He was no longer tentative. The focus was back in the eyes, the helmet continued to rain down sweat through a long innings. Dravid was back in touch.

 

Last year, at 38, he finished with the highest number of runs among international batsmen.

 

The difference, of course, is that on the earlier occasions when he made a century, India did not lose. Now Dravid's three centuries were the only consolation for an Indian team that was thrashed 4-0 in England. By the time India had lost by a similar margin in Australia, Dravid had been bowled six times in eight innings.

 

Dravid belongs to that fine sporting tradition in his home state of Karnataka where world class performers and all-time greats are modest to a fault.

 

Men like Gundappa Vishwanath, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Prakash Padukone hate to draw attention to themselves despite being confident men who are self-aware.

 

It is a temperament the modern sportsmen find difficult to understand. It might have meant fewer endorsements in the marketing world, but their's is an old-world charm that is fast dying out. Dravid belongs to two traditions that seem to be on their last legs, the other being the text-book player who can adapt his game to other formats, but is happiest in the longest version.

 

Few players captured Dravid quite as dramatically as Steve Waugh, who said after the 180 in Calcutta and the famous partnership with VVS Laxman: "Rahul's batting was poetic, with flowing follow-throughs that capitalised on exceptional footwork and a rock-solid base. His head was like the statue of David, allowing for perfect balance."

 

The man who announced his arrival on the big stage at Lord's not just by scoring 95 but "walking" when he knew he was out, was the touchstone against which other players around the world checked themselves.

 

"I take inspiration from Dravid," said Ricky Ponting when the cries for his head grew in Australia. The most terrible thing he has done on a cricket field is to chew on a lozenge.

 

When he started out, Dravid's ambition was to be clubbed with Gavaskar and Vishwanath. In a country obsessed with rankings, Dravid will be ranked above his heroes.

 

Batting at number 3 is one of the most tension-filled jobs in cricket. Dravid has earned his rest. But what of the rest of us? When India are in trouble, we can never again console ourselves with the thought: "Dravid's at the crease, all's right with the world."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17308981

 

Great player and a total gentleman. The way he played during the shambles of the Indian tour last year summed him up. Class, bravery and an attitude that the team was the most important thing. I know it's always easy to be gracious after you've won but I was genuinely delighted when he made a hundred at Lords last summer. He deserved his name on the board at the home of cricket. Sad to see him go.

[Devon Malcolm]

India are going to miss him a lot more than they will miss Tendulkar when he retires. They will always find excellent stroke players, but someone with the technique to cope with all kinds of bowling in all conditions like Dravid can? They don't really have anyone like that coming through. The nearest they have is Virat Kohli but he's largely unproven outside the sub-continent. They're a bit fucked, really.

[The Curious Orange]

There's a few talented players knocking around like Raina who have the potential to come in, but could do with something a season ot two of county cricket so they don't look clueless on pitches that aren't slow spinning pitches. Problem with that is the money in the IPL means they're always going to choose to stay at home - bit similar to football with English players sticking to the Premier League when we could probably do with a few taking a crack at Serie A or something.

[Baz Windham]

Yeah Raina and Kohli are world class when conditions suit, but it was a bit embarrassing in the end for Raina last summer, looked totally lost.

Edited March 10, 2012 by Baz Windham

[Devon Malcolm]

Durham bowl Durham University out for 18.

 

Why are these university sides still being afforded first class status? Ridiculous.

[LariatTom]

Wow...that's a pretty shocking result. It's an incredibly one sided result, but that shouldn't meant that the first class status of the university sides should be brought into question. There have still been some competitive matches between county sides and the unis, and who is to say that the funding that the teams get would still be there if that first class status were removed?

 

They do a good job in helping to bring some players through into the county game...but a result like that is just ridiculous.

[The Curious Orange]

Don't see the point in pretending the matches are something they aren't though. If it does just come down to funding that's incredibly short-sighted by those involved. List A seems the right level for it, particularly with the counties bringing in fair few second XI players most of the time.

 

Anyway, that last test match finally saw England bat properly. Bell's the one who still looks a bit dodgy against spin but in English conditions he'll probably look our best player during the summer. Now the doubt against Patel seems to have moved onto whether his batting is good enough to be an all-rounder with Prior coming in ahead of him - reckon Bopara or maybe Bairstow will be in at 6 for the next test at home.

 

Also, did anyone else watch the IPL games today and see them put a tweet up from Dean Ayass on screen saying how Brett Lee was Chris Jericho under a pseudonym?