Monthly Archive for January, 2007

Luck-Lack

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dano
1 year, 5 months ago
in Black Caps, Cricket, Football, Hammers and Sport
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Mitchell Johnson dismisses Peter Fulton and New Zeaoland lose their second wicket, Australia v New Zealand, CB Series, 8th match, Perth, January 28, 2007“You make your own luck” in sport they say. Gary Player once said, “The harder I practice the luckier I get” as if things were really that simple.

No team deserves to win a game dropping Hayden twice before he’d scored 4 or chasing 334 but Lady Luck did not shine her torch on the Black Caps at Perth tonight. Falling 7 runs short with 5 wickets in hand is an outstanding performance in anyone’s book, and more evidence that the summer has been turned around since that awful shellacking by Sri Lanka in December.

But … but … We could have done without Rauf firing Vincent out when he was looking in great touch and don’t get me started on the rain interruption! It’s hard enough being competitive in Australia when everything from the travel schedule to having to play the best team in the world is stacked against you. For the last seven or eight years this Black Cap side has backed itself to score 11+ an over in the final ten if they have wickets in hand (and they bat accordingly). Duckworth-Lewis doesn’t take that into account (and probably shouldn’t even try) but it was the rain break that killed the run chase – and it never seems to happen to Australia IN AUSTRALIA.

[And on the subject of luck: how about losing your best striker for seven months to a munted ankle in his first ever England training session. And your new star signing doing his ankle ligaments 20 minutes into his first game for the club - out for seven weeks minimum. I'd like to see Gary Player explain away that rubbish.]

Still, we scored 335 against Australia and Oram’s 100 was the fastest ever by a New Zealander in ODIs. Our luck will have to change soon.

Astle Retires

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dano
1 year, 5 months ago
in Black Caps, Cricket and Sport
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Nathan AstleNathan Astle called a 9am press conference this morning (West Australia time) to announce his retirement from international cricket.

While many words are going to be written about Astle’s personal achievements I want to think about the intangibles he brings to the Black Cap side; factors that are going to be sorely missed in a couple of months when this team tries to win the World Cup in the West Indies.

Astle made his ODI debut in 1995, one year after his flatmate Stephen Fleming. When Fleming was elevated to the captaincy in the 96/97 season it was Astle who became his go-to guy. Whenever New Zealand struggled in the field Fleming would turn to Astle to bring some dignity and accuracy back in to the proceedings, often at the expense of bowlers who Fleming didn’t trust like Paul Wiseman.

I’d like to tell you how many times they opened the batting together for New Zealand in ODI’s but that data seems to be buried pretty deep inside Cricinfo - suffice to say that it is “a lot” (even more if you add the number of times Astle’s other opening partners were out cheaply bringing Fleming to the wicket early).

So, my immediate concern now is for Fleming. If, and most likely “when”, our bowling falls apart or we need to doggedly defend in the middle overs who will Fleming turn to? Of that perennial domestic trophy winning Canterbury side of the 90’s that formed the Black Cap backbone for so long Cairns and Harris are gone and McMillan is hanging on by the skin of his teeth.

It was always likely that this World Cup was going to be a year or two too far for many of the Black Caps and so it has proved for Astle.

Boneheaded

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dano
1 year, 5 months ago
in Asides and Cinema
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Boneheaded Academy Award Nominations (Scott Weinberg at Cinematical):

“Plus I just don’t like living in a world that calls Click an Oscar nominee.”