A focus on cricket

It is a relief to take my head out of the swirling and confusing pro-tour and anti-tour clouds for a second and reflect on actual cricket for a change. All this yelling and shouting is so violent and ungentlemanly. What a relief then to sit back and read about the polite and chivalrous manner with which the Australian and English cricketers are treating each other.

Uncle Tom Cobbly speaks about Zimbabwe

I think the New Zealand Herald will soon run out of "experts" willing to speak about New Zealand Cricket's awkward position with respect to Zimbabwe. Here a sports and commercial law specialist speaks out.

Andrew McLean weighs in on Zimbabwe

Wisden Cricinfo's take on the whole New Zealand vs Robert Mugabe circus is, not surprisingly, focused on cricket and cricketers. Andrew McLean is the author of this opinion piece for the website.

White men don't run cricket any more

In the Herald Richard Boock gets stuck into Phil Goff for failing to understand the workings of the ICC, while John Minto goes on a rant which bizarrely ends here:

The regime's abuse of power deserves much more than international condemnation - it requires action. The fine words of our political leaders mean nothing to the people whose homes have been bulldozed or to the families of black Zimbabweans who have lost their lives in the struggle against oppression.

New Zealand has the chance to show the maturity which comes from learning a critical lesson from our past. The cricket tour must not proceed.

Huh? I absolutely agree with that first paragraph - but what a wimpy way to end. Minto, having got onto his high horse, should surely be asking for a damn sight more than the end to a single cricket tour. Or does he think that this is the only "action" it will take to topple Mugabe?

Building up the second tier

Changes last year saw the development of a well-funded first-class competition between non-test nations. Now the ICC has announced that the top six non-test nations will have one-day games between each other recognised as full ODIs. This is accompanied by a further increase of funding and, in my opinion, can only be good for the development of the game.

A view from Zimbabwe

"Anyone who believes President Robert Mugabe will lose sleep over New Zealand not coming to Zimbabwe might as well believe he is not his son's mother or her mother's daughter.

...

It's strange that the MDC did not find it necessary to urge Angola or Gabon to snub their football World Cup fixtures in Harare against the Warriors, who draw close to 60 000 spectators and millions others who watch on television. After all they are our black brothers who 'understand our problems better'. "

From an editorial in the Zimbabwe Independent, an anti-Mugabe paper.

Zimbabwe continued

Good grief! Some people are getting hysterical enough to suggest passing a law to take the passports off the New Zealand cricketers. Surely their efforts would be better spent on actually stopping the maniacal actions of Robert Mugabe. I mean, the sum total of international sanctions against Mugabe so far consists of nothing more than an EU travel ban on members of his government, an EU arms embargo and a freeze on the European assets of those suspected of being involved in human rights offences. The only part of that with any significance is the arms embargo, but even that is pretty useless given that it only applies to European countries.

A legend who failed life's tests

Peter Roebuck continues with the theme of media immorality in a piece on Shane Warne. Roebuck, as always, is excellent but he surpasses himself here:

Few things are more contemptible than the sight of the wild dogs of the press as they feed upon the carcasses of the exposed. Newspapers chastise a man for some misbegotten indulgence while themselves behaving like schoolboys peeping through a hole in the girls' showers.

"Drunk and Sobers in Nottingham"

Harry Pearson makes an excellent observation in The Far Corner, his entertaining book on football in Northern England - the fact that the media spends so much time banging on about the decline in modern morality is actually a reflection of declining standards in the media and nothing else. Back in the old days the guy out drinking with Andrew Symonds would have been the hack who today simply snaps his photo and runs off to the highest bidder. The fact that we need articles like this one at Cricinfo to bring us back down to earth again is confirmation of that.

Lies, damn lies and statistics

Tim deLisle has an interesting piece in the Times and statistics and how misleading they can sometimes be. In particular he points out how matches against the "axis of feeble" (Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) corrupt batting figures.

Fielding restrictions and substitutes

The ICC has introduced some major new rules in one day cricket. Each side will be able to make one substitution during the match and captains will have to decide when to enforce 10 of the 20 overs of fielding restrictions.

More politics, more Zimbabwe

John Campbell is running a couple of polls, you have to register to vote - but that is a fairly painless process if you feel strongly about the issue.

Meanwhile Phil Goff has tonight indicated that while he "cannot" prevent New Zealand touring Zimbabwe, he can refuse to allow Zimbabwe players into the country. Which, given they are due to tour in December, might well mean that we will have to endure another summer with a reduced level of international cricket.

A sports' psychologist speaks

The Australian is wondering whether the Australian team might be too old. They have called in a sports' psychologist to discuss the effects that aging has on the minds of athletes. And this is the kind of sports' psychologist I like. After a bunch of mumbo-jumbo about "mental energy" he is asked for a solution. His reply? "I think the four-by-two treatment between the eyes works well," he said. "A kick in the pants always does wonders for shaking people out of their lethargy."

More on politics and Zimbabwe

Phil Goff has spoken out. Again though, the people commenting on this issue seem to be under the impression that paying the ICC $2million will make this whole problem magically disappear.

Bowlers in county cricket

This is interesting. John Bracewell apparently talked Dan Vettori and Jacob Oram out of playing for county sides this winter. Jolly good job too. Those two need their rest.

Tour under threat

It seemed that National radio could talk about nothing but how disgraceful it is that the New Zealand team are still planning to tour Zimbabwe. Martin Snedden has made a good case for the tour going ahead, but all any of the critics (Rod Donald, John Minto, Zimbabwe nationals living in New Zealand) seemed to hear was that the government just needs to stump up $2million to pay the fine and we don't have to go. Unfortunately things are more complex than that. What these critics should have been doing, and should have started doing years ago, is to put pressure on the body which can actually do something about allowing tours into that troubled country - the ICC. There is no point putting pressure on New Zealand Cricket because any action they take will have far worse implications for New Zealand than they will for Zimbabwe.

New Zealand team to Zimbabwe

Assuming the tour goes ahead, the side will be:

Test matches: Stephen Fleming (captain) Daniel Vettori (vice-captain) Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Craig Cumming, James Franklin, Hamish Marshall, James Marshall, Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Lou Vincent, Paul Wiseman.

ODIs: Stephen Fleming (captain), Daniel Vettori (vice-captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Hamish Marshall, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Lou Vincent.

Pieces of good news have been highlighted. Jeetan Patel is the bolter in the side, the Wellington offie making it on the basis of a handful of domestic one-dayers last summer (or at least I hope its that and not his iffy first-class record).

Its interesting to note that Craig McMillan made the one-day side and not the test team. I think the selectors are still in limbo over the Canterbury basher.

I'm not entirely sure how Kyle "bowling average of 91" Mills made the line-up, but can only assume its because we need someone around if Bond or Oram break down again. I understand Mills is a good team man so he can presumably keep them company at the hospital. Anyway, I sure as hell hope he hasn't been picked for his bowling.

It took me a wee while to realise that we are taking a squad of 15 for the tests. Two spinners, five pace men, a 'keeper and seven specialist batsmen. Doesn't that have a nice balance to it? Okay, so three players won't even make the bench in each test match, but at least we are not going to suffer too badly if injuries start cropping up.

Sigh. We are past the longest day, cricket teams are being picked and the sun is shining. I can almost smell the freshly mown pitches of summer already.

Cricketing cliches

I mentioned the Spin's search for cricketing cliches a wee while ago, and here is the outcome:

Three weeks ago the Spin asked you to send in your favourite cricket cliches. The response was overwhelming, not to say slightly worrying. Because as the emails poured in, the Spin swore it had made occasional use of some of the phrases which you regard as tired and lazy. A quick look through some of its recent columns indicated that cliche is very much in the eye of the beholder.

What became clear is that many of you are fed up with the formulaic nature of cricket's vocabulary. Lbws are always "plumb", cover-drives "elegant", sixes "towering". Bounce is invariably "steepling", catches are "pocketed", and timing is "exquisite". Nagarjun from Bangalore pointed out the cricket is too often referred to as a "game of glorious uncertainties". Richard Earnet felt that, with monotonous regularity, "cricket was the winner". Andrew in Perth reckoned that batsmen tended to be bowled "neck and crop". Peter and Thomas Gaffney wondered why "any leg side shot played by a subcontinental player is 'wristy'".

Chris Sowton had cottoned on to the fact that "Glenn McGrath is always described as having 'metronomic accuracy,'" while Yajnaseni Chakraborty could barely prevent himself from screaming every time he heard a commentator say "when he hits it, it stays hit". Tony Mole offered this observation: "There's always the 'straight out of the MCC coaching manual' and 'if there are any small boys watching', but I'm sure they don't count." They most certainly do, Tony.

Others had even more specific pet hates. Here's Alan Synnott. "A personal favourite of mine comes from Ray Illingworth who used regularly to talk about deliveries that 'offered to straighten'. It generally meant that either (a) the fielders (usually English) were so delighted to have seen the ball hit the pad that they would all appeal in perfect chorus, no matter how far it was missing the stumps by. Or that (b) the ball was thrashed to the fence but was still rated by Raymond as a good 'un, on the grounds that if the batsman had missed it he would have been out."

Will Symonds took issue with the use of a particular noun. "A 'talisman' is a trinket thought to give protection against evil - you know, the sort of thing you pick up for 50p in Romford market on a Saturday afternoon. Andrew Flintoff, on the other hand, is a once-in-a-generation cricketer. Oh to read two consecutive articles without Sir Frederick Flintoff being described as 'talismanic' or worse still 'England's talisman'."

But the Spin's personal favourite came from Julian Kitching. "There's many a batsman who has apparently 'done the hard yards', 'put his hand up', 'stepped up to the plate', and 'come to the party, big time'. I am waiting, with some confidence, for Barry Richards to use them all in a single sentence." Julian, a copy of Cricket: Celebrating the Modern Game Around the World is on its way to you.

They can't beat Bangladesh, but boy they are paid well

Good grief Australian cricketers get paid well. Admittedly they are not in the realm of the stupid like rugby players or footballers, but when state players get between A$34,000 and A$98,000 (plus $A3300 per match) you do have to wonder why New Zealand's first-class cricketers aren't migrating across the ditch. The base "retainer" for international cricketers will rise to a minimum of A$160,000 in the next couple of years. Presumably they have a scale similar to that in New Zealand Cricket meaning that Brad Hogg will be somewhere near the base and Ricky Ponting will receive significantly more. On top of this retainer players also receive A$12,750 per test and A$5100 per ODI.

In contrast I believe the New Zealand figures are something like a maximum retainer of $28,000 for a first-class cricketer and a retainer of between $45,000 and $220,000 for those contracted to New Zealand Cricket. I am not sure what they get in terms of match fees.

John R Reid

The July issue of the Wisden Cricketer will have a feature on former New Zealand captain John R Reid in it. You can read it here.