Wednesday, November 25, 2009

West Indies Series Preview

Australia will win 3-0.

It's that simple.

The real issue as we start this summer which promises little but will probably over-deliver is the ridiculous schedule that has been adopted ever since Australian Cricket authorities gave the one-day Tri-Series the flick.

The West Indies will play Test Matches in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth between tomorrow and December 20. They will then go home.

The Pakistanis will come for three more Tests, renewing their love affair with Bellerive in mid-January after Boxing Day in Melbourne and New Years in Sydney. They then play ODIs in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and two (?) in Perth, before a Twenty20 in Melbourne. This will all occur before the first week of February ends, or traditionally when the International summer used to finish during the time of the Tri-Series.

Then back come the West Indies for ODIs in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne (again), before two Twenty20s in Hobart and Sydney. Remember than Australia have never lost an international Twenty20 match on home soil.

The International summer will finish on February 23.

First of all, the Test Matches should start the weekend after the Melbourne Cup, or at the latest the weekend after that. This year we are starting three weekends after the Melbourne Cup.

That would give the program an opportunity to play three Test Matches (say for 2009, Nov 12-16, Nov 20-24 and Dec 3-7) before a series of ODIs and Twenty20s before Christmas (Dec 11, 13, 16, 18 & 20 with a Twenty20 on Dec 22).

Then the Boxing Day and New Years Tests would proceed as usual, followed by a Third Test at the same time it is in 09/10 (January 14-18). The ODI/Twenty20 fixture would also be the same for this second series, meaning the International summer would finish in the first week of February, meaning that interest and crowds (especially in a place like Melbourne, where AFL interest really kicks in mid-February) wouldn't peter off. Have you ever been to a ODI in Melbourne in February or March (like in 07/08)? It's like a chore just to attend.

Moving Tests earlier in November would also ensure that cricket fills a sporting void after the Spring Carnival that is currently being filled by speculation about Luke Ball. Anything would be better than that.

Touring teams would also come and go, rather than come and go and come again and go again.

Anyway, here's hoping the Aussies bat tomorrow, Punter makes a 100, and all this stuff is soon forgotten.

Monday, November 23, 2009

The trouble with cricket

Apparently, cricket is in trouble. Shane Warne is in today's stable of News Limited newspapers articulating, if you can call it that, his panacea for all things ill in today's game.

For my part, I must state first and foremost that I love Test Cricket, enjoy One-Day cricket and pay to attend ODIs, and tolerate Twenty20 matches, while vowing never to pay money to attend one in person.

Recently it has been asserted Test Cricket is more popular than ever in places like Australia, England and India. James Sutherland, CEO of Cricket Australia, said as much on Offsiders on Sunday morning.

That isn't entirely true. In Australia, Test Cricket is popular in Melbourne and Sydney. Attendances are really good in Adelaide, but many of the attendees are tourists from other states. Attendances are poor in Brisbane and Perth, but the GABBA Test survives because of tradition and inability for states that lay to the south to host a Test Match in mid-November, and the WACA Test survives because the last session of each day screens into the Eastern States in primetime.

In India, while Test Cricket may be at an all-time high of popularity, that doesn't mean it is popular. A recent poll indicated that 9% of Indians consider Test Cricket to be their favourite form of the game.

It is clear that Australian cricketers still consider Test Cricket to be far and away the pinnacle for any cricketer. However, the lack of enthusiasm for this form of the game in other countries, and the lack of quality cricketers, means that Australia may have to endure more summers like the one about to occur, when Australia will host the pathetic West Indies and the nomadic Pakistan.

The money being offered for Twenty20 cricket in India will provide another problem for administrators. If the ICC would create a two month period for this form of cricket each year, then that would be advantageous to other forms of the game.

Also, no more One-Day series of more than five games, unless the World Cup is up for grabs. And it is difficult to see a reason for retaining the Champions Trophy, despite the fact Australia have won the last two.

Cricket also needs to think about innovative solutions, and stop being so married to traditions of the past. Ninety overs in six hours of cricket per day in 2009 is almost impossible, as captains, rightfully, spend significant periods of time on field placings and bowling changes. Give teams an extra half hour at the start and the end of the day.

It is nowhere near too late for Test Cricket, and the game overall is growing. But a few small changes could make plenty of difference.

Monday, November 16, 2009

A rambling post on television

A warning: this blog entry is going to seem a little like a self-indulgent whinge.

Correction: this blog entry is going to seem a little more like a self-indulgent whinge than my usual slightly self-indulgent entries.

Anyway, last week Rosso, or Merrick and Rosso "fame", announced he was quitting his breakfast radio show in Nova in Sydney. He currently hosts the show with his comedic partner, and former Home and Away actress Kate Ritchie.

The news coverage about this was something akin to the moon landing.

This morning the lead article on both the Herald-Sun and The Age websites was about Rove McManus ending his self-titled Channel Ten show.

For me, Merrick and Rosso are just some comedians who have had some success. They had a TV show on Channel Nine called Merrick and Rosso: Unplanned (I used to call it Merrick and Rosso: Unwatched), and I liked Merrick's work on The Hollowmen (I, rather surprisingly, didn't like the show overall).

While Rove won three Gold Logies, this is not the big deal it was in the 1980s. For God's sake, Kate Ritchie won Gold Logies in consecutive years, the second just last year! Rove's three wins just go to show the dearth of real personalities we have on Australian television, considering the award is for the most popular personality. Actors have won 10 of the last 13 Gold Logies.

Rove's flagship Channel Ten show was never "Can't Miss" TV the way IMT or the Don Lane Show was, anyway. You could argue that the last Australian "Can't Miss" TV show that wasn't acted or news-related was The Comedy Company.

Australian television has been veering towards low-cost entertainment that use unknowns as the stars for sometime. It's just embarrassing that if in 2002, instead of giving it to Georgie Parker, they had given the Gold Logie to the person who probably was the most popular personality on TV in the preceding 12 months: Sara-Marie Fedele from Big Brother.

Next week, Australian Idol will conclude, and Channel Ten has promised at least another year. It will probably be it's last.

I know shows like Today and Sunrise have to fill their 3 hours somehow, but a little bit of proportion please. The end of Merrick and Watts on radio is not Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis breaking up, and Rove leaving his tired show isn't exactly big news.

Maybe I'm just too concerned about television for someone who is getting married in 20 days. My fiance would agree with me. For once.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Another World Cup Win Coming Up

It is amazing how quickly things can change. Not three months ago we were bemoaning the lack of planning and character as the Australian Cricket Team meekly wilted against a barrage of swing at The Oval, unhappiest of all locations in England for Aussie cricketers. By the time the next Ashes take place in England, in 2013, chances are highly likely Australia will take a squad that includes no one who has tasted victory in a series in England. The good thing about that was that the last time this happened was 1989.

Fast forward those three months, and the Australians are victorious once more. What is more impressive is that is has been accomplished with an eleven of similar quality sitting back in Australia either injured, or with papers marked "Never to play for Australia again" (and I'm talking about you, Brad Hodge).

The side that destroyed India on Sunday was Marsh, Watson, Ponting, White, Hussey, Voges, Manou, Johnson, Hauritz, Bollinger and Clint McKay. Graham Manou is Australia's third string keeper, so comparitively inept with the bat he bats at number eight. Paine and Haddin often open the batting when playing for Australia.

Cameron White has left no one pining for Michael Clarke's return, and Adam Voges has more than covered for the promising Callum Ferguson.

The side that's not playing at the moment? Haddin, Paine, Clarke, Ferguson, Hodge, D Hussey, Hopes, Holland, Siddle, Lee & Bracken. A match between those two teams would be a coin flip. And I couldn't find a spot in either side for David Warner , Ben Hilfenhaus or Moises Henriques.

This is why, if Australia can maintain their form in the one day version of the game, they should be looking forward to a fourth consecutive World Cup win in 2011.

Australia should start selecting one-day squads now for 2011. Despite his reasonable current form, Michael Hussey should probably be left to resurrect his test form (and dropped to number five in that form of the game). Brett Lee should be filed in the same area of the cabinet draw as Brad Hodge. He's old and brittle.

The selectors should also consider Brad Haddin's long term future in one-day cricket. It's not like he's a long time fixture in the team, anyway. Keep him fresh for the test matches too, and groom Tim Paine now.

A fifteen man squad for the next 18 months could ideally look like this: Ponting, Marsh, Watson, Clarke, White, Ferguson, Hopes, Johnson, Hauritz, Bracken, Siddle, Paine, Bollinger, Voges & Henriques. Plenty of quality outside of that fifteen, including players we may have not heard much about yet.

The Australians probably won't get much of a challenge this summer from the West Indies, and Pakistan are notoriously unpredictable. Let's hope the Aussies can get the challenge they need to keep at top form, and over the twelve months after that before the next World Cup. Things are looking good.