PaulC Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 on another note because a lot of AB fans on here he is 14/1 be top runscorer in World Cup, maybe you guys should back him e/w going to go McCullum myself at 12/1 Out of the New zealanders I'd got for Williamson. The most consistent player. AB maybe but he bats at 4 and I always feel the top 3 have the best chance to get the most runs. Other than that Smith or Warner for Australia. Bell or Root for England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Mike Marqusee – It’s Not Just CricketWe may all be unique, but few could be as unique as Mike Marqusee, who died last week, as it’s hard to argue that what the world has too many of is American socialist cricket fanatics.Usually described as ‘writer and activist’, for Mike this phrase was nonsense, as each activity was meaningless unless they combined with and enhanced the other.His life as a glorious mix of disparate cultures began on his first day, born in New York in 1953 to white Jewish parents, who became civil rights activists travelling to Mississippi to oppose segregation, and one day he came home from school to find Martin Luther King in the living room.His attitudes were shaped partly by a youth spent in 1960s New York, when defiance of authority moulded every corner of culture. So as well as organising campaigns for civil rights and against the Vietnam War, he was embroiled in the battle for fun. He was captivated by the music, poetry and occasional spliff of the times, and developed a special affection for sport.All aspects of this background landed with him, when he came to live in England in the nineteen-seventies. He joined the Labour Party, becoming a prominent supporter of Tony Benn, and more fundamentally became obsessed with cricket.One product of this fusion was a book that helped to transform sports writing, Anyone but England, an account of the game that lauded its beauty while raging against the snobbery and racism that had spewed from those who’d controlled it throughout its history.This was a blasphemy that must have burst a million arteries amongst those in charge of English cricket. Books about cricket were supposed to depict glorious summers and splendid figures and never stoop to ask grubby questions such as why the MCC supported apartheid, or why the odd England captain admired Hitler, because this was cricket. Anyone but England was cricket’s equivalent of a scientific breakthrough that smashes all previous laws. And he was American! The impertinence!The book was shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year Award, and praised around the world by figures such as Pakistan captain Imran Khan. But its greatest effect was in enabling thousands of cricket fans, who’d always felt uneasy about English cricket’s imperial image, to proclaim a corner of their peculiar game.For Mike, cricket was probably the ideal spectator sport, because it allowed time to dwell. A day watching cricket with him was an extraordinary education, as he’d discuss which province in India the batsman came from, then the role that region played in winning independence, its architecture, the poetry the batsman read, then why all this contributed to the reason he got out to spin bowling.His next book on sport analysed the figure that did most to unite the defiant culture of his youth in both sport and politics. Redemption Song – Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties ricochets between Vietnam, Alabama and knocking people out, each strand shaping the others, culminating in the thrilling scene in which Ali stands in a military office, refusing to cross a yellow line as his name is called out to be drafted into the army, declaring “I ain’t got no quarrel with the Viet Cong.”He employed a similar combination of admiration and enquiry for Chimes of Freedom, on Bob Dylan’s influence on the sixties. Then he confronted an institution arguably even more challenging than the cricket authorities; the state of Israel. ‘The Story of an Anti-Zionist Jew’ flashes between a personal account, and a history of the Middle-East that manages to embrace the prophet Amos.It begins with his shock as a schoolboy at a Jewish Sunday School, when a young soldier who’s fought for Israel in the 1967 war is introduced to the class.“He told us the Arabs are ignorant people, who go to toilet in the street. I’d heard this language before, from bigoted white Southerners towards blacks. I raised my hand and said this seemed to me, well, racist. Angrily the teacher turned to me and said there would be no discourtesy to guests in the classroom.”This incident began a lifelong tussle with Zionism, never as raw as when he was accused of being a ‘self-hating Jew’ for opposing the ethics of the Israeli regime. He enjoyed quoting the Jewish son of a friend who was accused of this, and replied “No you misunderstand, it’s you I hate you bastard.”Throughout each project he played prominent roles in campaigns such as Stop the War, and in local groups opposing cuts in his area of Hackney.In 2000 he left Labour, assessing the radical change he supported was unlikely to be advanced by an organisation led by Tony Blair.His partnership with Liz Davies, who he’d met when they were both in the Labour Party, was much more impregnable, and the constant pride they exuded for each other was almost implausibly heartening.In 2007 he was told he had multiple myeloma, a cancer diagnosis that created a new subject for enquiry. Amongst the articles he wrote on his illness was one called The Bedrock of Autonomy, describing the multitude of characters that led to his treatment being possible, written while on an IV drip. It includes “all who contribute to the intricate ballet of a functioning hospital, the Irish physician Frances Rynd who invented the hollow needle, those who built and sustained the NHS… the drip flowing into my vein is drawn from a river with innumerable tributaries.”One of his most frustrating times was when he was in a ward for 3 days with only one other patient, who appeared to have no interest in any subject at all. Eventually this chap noticed a headline in the newspaper about the Chinese army shooting at Tibetan monks and said “That’s terrible.” Mike thought ‘at last I’ve got something to discuss with this bloke’, until the other patient said “I mean, you can’t just let monks run all over the place like that.”Despite this, throughout his illness Mike continued to write, speak about and be fascinated by William Blake, Kevin Pietersen, Indian poetry, the campaign against the Bedroom Tax, ways to confront UKIP and the corporate nature of the Indian Premier League, and how they all collide with and impact upon each other.And he could convey his thoughts in a manner so inspiring they could make you thump the table and yell in public.Because what seemed to drive him above all, was the idea that it makes no sense to have fun in this world, if you’re not prepared to insist that fun should be equally available to all of humanity. But there isn’t much point in contending for a fairer world, unless in the process you’re not prepared to have an enormous amount of fun. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAVe80 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) Off to a good start in the World Cup then... Taylor moved from 3 to 6?! What the Hell was that all about?! Edited February 14, 2015 by dAVe80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderPower_14 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Taylor deserved the ton but the moronic finish didn't affect the result at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAVe80 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Yep, very disappointed not to see him get to 100. He fully deserved to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Well Aus and NZ looking good for a final square off then. Which would be a terrific match. And still an england captain leads by bad example. Deary me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted February 14, 2015 Moderator Share Posted February 14, 2015 Why did they abandon all the work they'd done in the long build up - suddenly change the order, change the opening bowlers? Changing the roles of players at the last minute was daft. I watched Moores interview on the telly before the game on Sky last night and sort of despaired. He talks a lot of hollow rubbish. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Off to a good start in the World Cup then... Taylor moved from 3 to 6?! What the Hell was that all about?! They don't know what they are doing do they Dave. They have all this time to prepare and still can't decide on the line-up. Also they took the risk of not having a 6th bowler and they still can't bowl at the death. I don't blame the batsmen for this defeat, its the bowling and fielding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) When I put TMS on this morning there were 7 and a bit overs to go (of the Aussie innings) and the next half an hour or so of the commentary was about how stupid it was to keep bowling slow bouncers as they were being hammered to every corner of the park.To continue to do something that was being hit for four over and over again smacks of a coach decision about what the individuals in the team will do until told otherwise from on high. Edited February 14, 2015 by snowychap 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 When I put TMS on this morning there were 7 and a bit overs to go (of the Aussie innings) and the next half an hour or so of the commentary was about how stupid it was to keep bowling slow bouncers as they were being hammered to ever corner of the park. To continue to do something that was being hit for four over and over again smacks of a coach decision about what the individuals in the team will do until told otherwise from on high. Although I didn't watch their innings I heard the comments and have seen it before. If you keep bowling the same ball, batsmen know whats coming so its just making it easy for them. We lack a left arm seamer and Australia have two very good ones. All our seamers are right arm and pretty much the same pace 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 That catch by Steve Smith was extraordinary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avfc96 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Woeful- Morgan's atrocious form shows no signs of ending The constant slow ball bouncers that don't work at the end of every innings The changing of the batting order right on the eve of the tournament beginning, when they had sixth months to specifically prepare for it. Lack of variation in our quick bowlers Lack of a proper spin option Ali not being good enough against the top nations Not being able to take wickets in the middle overs And to top it all of, of all the test nations only Zimbabwe have a worse record when bowling at the death than England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Ali not being good enough against the top nationsWhich top nations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avfc96 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Ali not being good enough against the top nations Which top nations? Record in last 10 ODI's- (4 vs Aus, 4 vs Sri Lanka, 2 vs India) Batting: Average 18.6 High Score: 46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Record in last 10 ODI's- (4 vs Aus, 4 vs Sri Lanka, 2 vs India)Batting:Average 18.6High Score: 46That's last 10 ODIs out of the 18 he has played in total in his nascent career?Why have you selected the last 10 games?If you're including Sri Lanka and India (as 'against top sides' - and 6 of your sample 10 games are against those two sides) then, in dismissing the other 8 ODIs he played - the ones just before you decided to start your analysis, you have missed out the following innings:02/09/2014 India Edgbaston b R Ashwin 6705/09/2014 India Headingley c U Yadav b B Kumar 926/11/2014 Sri Lanka R Premadasa Stadium c & b B Mendis 11929/11/2014 Sri Lanka R Premadasa Stadium b T Dilshan 203/12/2014 Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium run out 58That's five innings averaging 51 (unless my arithmetic/eyesight fails me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 he average 25 and 26 against Australia and India, not really that great and in 7 innings vs Sri Lanka he has 236 runs with 119 in one innings except for that innings he be down to 19 in 6 games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) ...in 7 innings vs Sri Lanka he has 236 runs with 119 in one innings except for that innings he be down to 19 in 6 gamesExcept for three innings (out of the seven, only, he has played) against them (where he scored 2, 4 and 0) his average is 57.5.I'm not saying Moeen's record against anyone is great or that he'll turn out to be great, decent or even okay enough for England but to make the claim that he's 'not good enough against the top nations' requires more robust and sound work than either the other poster or you have supplied here. Edited February 15, 2015 by snowychap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I would say he isnt good enough but you could label that at majority of England squad at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Especially Morgan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 yep, he probably wouldnt get in Ireland team on current form Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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