Cricket - Expert Opinion
Players need to get to grips with pink
DAY-NIGHT Tests are crucial to the future of cricket but administrators need to bring players along for the ride to guarantee its success, writes Ian Chappell.
Complex Crowe set a high bar
THERE is a subtle mark of a champion player that goes beyond cold statistics. It’s when other great players impersonate them, writes Robert Craddock.
Beware the Ugly Coach: scourge of junior sport
THE Ugly Coach imposes unsuitably sophisticated methods borrowed from top-flight professional sport on kids. Don’t be that guy, for their sake, and your own.
‘Now we’re on top, we’ll be hard to knock off’
IAN CHAPPELL gives his verdict on an Australian Test summer that saw Steve Smith’s side rise to the top of the rankings in a quietly efficient manner.
Australia verging on No.1: is it deserved?
WITH Australia on the verge of the No.1 Test ranking, there’s still a long way to go before Steve Smith’s men are genuinely considered the best team in the world writes Richard Hinds.
Smith’s perfect 10 achieved with little fanfare
STEVE Smith is like a good umpire: he goes about his job quietly and efficiently and it’s only afterwards you realise he wasn’t just on the field but also in charge.
The other factor in Warne-Waugh feud
THERE will be a cure for global warming before Shane Warne and Steve Waugh share a beer together, and, while Warne says his being dropped by Waugh was the cause, there was another major factor at play.
Warner, Thommo cut from the same cloth
ALLAN Border Medal night had two standouts; David Warner and Jeffrey Robert Thomson, writes Australian cricket great Ian Chappell.
Why BBL’s wrist-spin win can help our ODIs
WHILE one day internationals vie with the BBL for fans’ attention, it’s easy to see how skills developed in the latter are being applied in the former, writes IAN CHAPPELL.
Sorry Dhoni, it’s time to review
INDIA’S philosopher and cricket captain MS Dhoni was having a whinge about umpiring. How old school.
Holder didn’t deserve Smith put-down
JASON Holder, the West Indies’ young captain, doesn’t deserve to cop any flak for declining to take part in an artificial finish to the rain-ruined Sydney Test match.
Time to relish a series of greater tests
WITH all chance of a whitewash over the West Indies drowned by rain at the SCG, Australia can now look to a true test of their mettle against India, writes IAN CHAPPELL.
Gayle’s mistake has enhanced Mel’s image
IN terms of time, place and context, Chris Gayle was well out of order, says Ron Reed, but if it happened in a social setting no-one would bat an eyelid.
Not a boundary in sight for Gayle
CHRIS Gayle has no trouble finding the boundary when he bats but away from the crease there’s not a boundary in sight, writes Robert Craddock.
No city should host two Tests: Crash
A COUPLE of months ago Sydney was flat out hosting a first class game. Now they want two Tests? Robert Craddock suggests they pull the other one.
He’s the luckiest man in Aussie cricket
MITCHELL Marsh is set to keep his spot for Boxing Day despite damning numbers, with a twist in the selection battle between Joe Burns and Shaun Marsh.
What happened to the Merchants of Dread?
KNOWN as cricket’s merchants of dread during the 1980s, the West Indies have become the merchants of dreadful, writes Richard Hinds.
Cricket must find its niche in the US
IF cricket could have one wish for its future it would be to crack the big time in the US. Many years ago it actually did, writes Robert Craddock.
Game needs Windies but can do without DRS
WEST Indies has a brittle batting line-up and no firepower in their attack which leaves cricket worse off. So does the DRS, writes Ian Chappell.
This is dulling our umpire’s instincts
A BAD verdict by a Test cricket umpire at the weekend showcases the grave dangers of the modern game, Robert Craddock writes.
Historic Test an instant success
AS Dennis Denuto might have argued, it was the anticipation, the atmosphere, the novelty and the vibe that made the day-night Test an instant success.
Jury still out on skipper Smith
THE spotlight has on the spotlights and the pink ball but Steve Smith’s captaincy remains a point of heated debate for Australian cricket, writes RICHARD HINDS.
Simple strategy wins out in historic Test
THERE was the historic nature of the occasion to be handled but in the end it was simple cricket strategy that prevailed, writes Ian Chappell.
As it happened: Day 1 day-night Test
AUSTRALIA is well placed after bowling New Zealand out on day one of the historic first day-night Test in Adelaide. Re-live Greg Buckle’s blog here.
Time to tart up the grand old girl
TEST cricket has ambled along, unchanged and untroubled but the demands on our time is forcing officials to tart the old lady up, writes Robert Craddock.
Pink ball proves an early success
FOR 138 years Test cricket crowds dreaded the onset of darkness. On Friday, those at Adelaide Oval could hardly wait for night to fall, writes Richard Hinds.
Day-night Test a long-time coming
IT was January 23, 1978 that cricket first saw the light of a day-night cricket match. Now, 37 years later, the game is going back to the future, writes RICHARD HINDS.
Marsh selection highlights our lack of depth
SELECTORS might have made a backwards decision in giving Shaun Marsh yet another lifeline, but the reality is the ‘future’ is not banging down the door.
It’s carcass TV as Kiwis shredded in Gabbatoir
AUSTRALIA have notched another victim in Brisbane. This time it was more chopped liver in the shape of New Zealand , writes IAN CHAPPELL.
