Cricket, lovely cricket

[Adam Went]

Macdonald has been a solid all-rounder for Victoria for years and has played a handful of games at national level, just never really cemented his place in the side....

Is that something resembling praise for an Australian I hear from you, Monty?

Cheers,
Adam.

[Adam Went]

Incidentally, Owais Shah is coming down here to play in our new T20 franchise, the Hobart Hurricanes....so likewise, I will be barracking for a Pom.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Adam Went]

Hmm....very quiet in here all of a sudden!

Cheers,
Adam.

[Steven Russell]

Hmm....very quiet in here all of a sudden!

Cheers,
Adam.

Too busy basking, dear boy. Pass the Pimms would you?

[Adam Went]

Pimms, Steven? Please explain?

Or perhaps "Pimms" is a codeword for Mike Hussey? In which case, ya can't 'ave 'im. He's done it all in the current test match.....taken a catch that makes Jonty Rhodes' highlight reel look amateurish, taken a wicket of a top order batsman in both innings (including that of Kumar Sangakkara), and something else....hmm, what was it....oh yes, scored 142 with the bat in the first innings.

Can't blame you for wishing he was yours, Steven, but the only condolence I can give you is that you'll get to see him weave his magic in person in 2013.

Meanwhile, Sam Stosur just took out the final of the women's tennis at the US Open.....Australian sport is rising back to its peak of brilliance. Now for the Wallabies to destroy Old Man Wilkinson and his crew at the next WC and it's all done....

Cheers,
Adam.

[Steven Russell]

Adam,
Pimm's is an alcoholic drink with an image closely associated with the British upper classes.

I saw the ICC awards 2011 yesterday. Yery gratifying to see no fewer than five England players in their test team of the year. And no Aussies.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Adam Went]

Steven:

Ah. Well if it's upper class then of course we wouldn't have heard of it - nobody likes a snob, Steven.

As for the ICC Awards, there may have been 5 Soap Dodgers in it and no Aussies, but then there was 5 Aussies and no Bath Avoiders in the best team of all time announced just recently, was there not? I know which of the two i'd be talking up more.

Cheers,
Adam.

P.S. Warney was on TV down here last night, looking very fit....says he's going to play a few games of T20 in our new franchise starting soon for a Melbourne based team. Excellent.

[Steven Russell]

The so-called best team of all time was a joke. No Garfied Sobers! This was voted for by the public worldwide and had the bias towards subcontinental and current players one would expect from such a poll. No one likes England except the English probably for historical reasons i.e. The Empire.

Richie Benaud is a proud Aussie but one who can look at things with more objectivity than most koala shaggers. His all time best team does contain England players.

The ICC team was selected from current players by an international panel of experts.

As usual, when England are doing well, you resort to cricket history, which is where all the best Aussie players can now be found. Either that or, "Wait till 2013". With the Aussies having been on top for what seemed like an eternity until quite recently, it's wonderful as an England supporter to live happily in the present for a change. If and when we stop winning, I'll probably do the same as you and hit the nostalgia button. But at the moment, now is a very good time to be an England supporter.

Best wishes,
Steve.

PS Ribbing aside, good luck, Warney. His name was one of the first to get into my all time XI.

[Adam Went]

Steven:

Nonsense. I don't even know what the final result of the best team ever was, but if there's 5 Australians (not sub-continental), and allowing 2-3 for other teams like South Africa and New Zealand (not sub-continental), then the vast majority of the team is not sub-continental, is it? If there's only 11 players in a team then you can't fit everybody, Steven....

Let me put this to you: Which English player/players would YOU have put in the best XI of all time?

I don't have a clue what the sud evaders are up to at the moment, are they even playing cricket at the moment? I know we are, and are in the process of handing Sri Lanka's collective arses to them....

Cheers,
Adam.

[Monty]

Awww, its nice to know you have a team you can play against who is on the same low level as yours.

Gives you a little hope.

I watched a bit yesterday and must say, I aint worried.

So go and find a sheep to 'play' with whilst the big boys are talking. And wipe yer mouth, you've vegimite all round it...wait, that's not vegimite....that's Bullshi....

You do talk a lot of it.

Monty

[Steven Russell]

There were FOUR Australians, four Indians, two West Indians, and a Pakistani:

Sehwag
Gavaskar
Bradman
Tendulkar
Lara
Kapil Dev
Gilchrist
Warne
Akram
Ambrose
McGrath

Apart from Bradman, whose omission would have made the thing truly laughable, all the rest are either still playing or recently retired. This is a good team but no way can it be the best of all time.

Best wishes,
Steve.

PS Come on, Adam! I don't know much about research but this was p!ss easy to check and get my facts straight. Or does your Aussie bias actually extend so far as to make four into five?

[Adam Went]

Monty:

Two centuries in a row from Mike Hussey doesn't phase you? Wasn't long ago at all that you lot were writing him and Ricky off....

Are you also saying that players like Sangakkara and Jayawardene are no good?

I bet the UN are kicking themselves that they didn't try and nab them for their own team when they were a bit younger, ala Eoin Morgan.

Steven:

Apart from Bradman, whose omission would have made the thing truly laughable, all the rest are either still playing or recently retired. This is a good team but no way can it be the best of all time.

I will concede that there's a couple of players in there who don't deserve to be - especially Sehwag at the top, what the hell is up with that?

BUT....recently retired? Ambrose and Akram haven't played for at least a decade, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar are probably more like 20 years.... you idiot.

I would have thought a few SA's/NZ's would have been in there.....amongst Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Allan Donald, Martin Crowe, Richard Hadlee, etc....can't fit everyone though

You still haven't answered my question though. Which English player(s) will you honestly say deserve a spot in that all time best team?

PS Come on, Adam! I don't know much about research but this was p!ss easy to check and get my facts straight. Or does your Aussie bias actually extend so far as to make four into five?

But Steven, I don't need to look it up, when i've got you to look it up for me....thanks mate.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Steven Russell]

Twenty years ago is recent history to me. Certainly it is recent compared to the whole history of cricket. The fact that I've been out of nappies for more than five years and have learned how to shave does not entitle you to call me an idiot. (However, there are legitimate reasons if you only knew me better).

I don't have to nominate England players for the all time best test eleven because better judges than me have already done so.

Number one test team in the world, Adam. Suck it up.

Away from the internet for a week or so now so talk to you soon.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Monty]

England are the best team in the world.

Nothing phases us.

Chilling aint it?

Monty

[Adam Went]

Steven:

Clearly you don't understand Australianisms.....here, to call somebody an idiot is a term of endearment. In fact, if I walked up to Monty, grabbed him in a headlock and said "What's up, c**kface?" - that, too, would be a term of endearment. Maybe.

I don't have to nominate England players for the all time best test eleven because better judges than me have already done so.

Read: "I can't nominate a single England player who deserves to be in that list without making myself look stupid in the process."

Face it, Steven, England have had a lot of good players over the years, but many of them - i.e. Botham - were only occasional performers. The true mark of greatness is being able to single-handedly bring crowds through the gates and perform at a high level game after game after game.

It's no different to the team you've got now - in all seriousness here, they are a very good team, but as far as I can see there are no standout players, no superstars in that team.....just a team of good players who do a good job. Would you agree?

If there is a player or players who you feel should be on that list for England, then go ahead, speak up and name them! I don't care what the selected judges thing, I want to know what YOU think!

Monty:

Chilling? Hardly.

It's no coincidence that the dramatic decline in popularity of test cricket has coincided with the rise in the rankings of England - their brand of boring, one-pace cricket is ruining our beloved game. The sooner we rise back to #1 the better it will be for everybody.

Cheers,
Adam.