Ben on...more internet finds

Miss Field catches up with the Brisbane test, suggesting that the underperforming players should be dropped: Watson, Hayden, Ponting and the whole NZ team. (She's blogrolled.)

There's currently a big rave on about analysing your blog, so I thought I'd have a go at that. Since I write 91% of the blog at the moment, I suppose this analysis applies largely to me.

The Typealyzer reckons I'm an ESTP, a 'doer'.

The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

The GenderAnalyzer is 91% sure Mike on Cricket is written by a man, if any of you were wondering.

Ben on...stuff found on the internet today

A quick squiz at the Aussie blogs finds not much excitement about the weekend's test. JRod covers it, Stu mentions it and Beer and Sport make fun of Jesse.

Better add Stu and Beer and Sport to the blogroll.

I'll also add Damith to the blogroll. He's been badgering me about it in the comments so it would be only fair to acknowledge the work he has done in keeping our comments section alive. He also says nice things about our man Dan. (I'll add HoldingWilley to the links. It's a great site though I never seem to find the time to keep up with it.)

Closer to home, Sportsfreak critiques the test in a remarkably upbeat mood and the Public Address juggernaut finally posted about cricket, not in the sports blog Field Theory, but in Emma Hart's blog. Also, the Sideline Slogger has pointed me towards a blog by our very own Iain O'Brien! Awesome! He's covering every day of every test that he's in, in impressive depth. A great insight into what really goes on for pro cricketers. Highly recommended.

A new section has appeared on the Black Caps site, an archive. It's a bit rough, but the content is breathtaking. A treasure trove of stats. Did you know that there have been 18 double centuries scored at the basin? I should probably also add a link to the CricketArchive, which is the Aladdin's Cave of cricket statistics.

Ben on...Cricinfo goes a little bit beige

Cricinfo has a new blogger, Paul Ford, a founding member of the Beige Brigade. (Who we can safely assume is closely related to Paul Holden of Stuff's Sideline Slogger.)

Paul contributes to the blog called Different Strokes, which features 'views from the outside'. I don't know where they draw the boundary, but clearly the Beige Brigade lie outside it.

His first post, Paul analyses Bangladesh and New Zealand based on their performances in the first test and concludes that New Zealand were deserving winners 'by a freckle'.

Ben on...a Bangladeshi voice

I've been on the look out for a Bangladeshi blog to read during this series. The closest I have found is this fan site:

Ben on...Glossy! New!

Just got a signed e-mail message from Daniel Vettori himself about the blackcaps.co.nz site:

Welcome to the new BLACKCAPS.co.nz! Thanks for your patience while we got our new website ready. We hope you like it!

While the BLACKCAPS have been warming up for our series in Bangladesh, our website has undergone a transformation.

We've written to you, as a supporter of the BLACKCAPS, New Zealand Cricket or the game in general, that our new online presence is back and better than ever.



To receive regular updates on the latest news from our new look newsletter, just register on the site.

Thanks once again for support,



Daniel Vettori
BLACKCAPS Captain

And I have to say, the new site is pretty. The shambles that was the old site has been cleaned up – it now seems quite straightforward to actually find stuff. It also hits the usability notes: it's focussed on users, the pages aren't excessively busy, the navigation isn't as messed up as it was in the old site. Design wise, it's a winner.

It certainly beats the pants off the other associations, which all use pretty bog-standard templates. Cricket Australia | Tiger Cricket | ECB | BCCI (using a .tv domain, showing their priorities) | PCB | Cricket South Africa | Sri Lanka Cricket (MIA) | WICB

As I get most of my cricket from online sources these days, it's encouraging to see New Zealand leading the world in exploiting the internet. (We are kinda let down by this site though.)

That having been said, although there is a shitload of information on blackcaps.co.nz, there isn't a hell of a lot happening there. Perhaps there's some dynamic, interactive content coming, but until then I'll visit the site for the official word on schedules, but not much else.