Welcome to the second instalment of a weekly blog offering a forum for cricket-loving folk around the world
So we have established that you lot do not hibernate. Or you hail from warmer climes, many thousands of miles from St John's Wood.
After all, this is the WORLD Cricket Forum. And that is official. I have received a memo from HQ asking me to inform you that this is to be the modest, unassuming little title of his new outpost ? The World Cricket Forum. Everyone is welcome, though there may be Martians who feel excluded.
So we had better start beyond these shores. In Mumbai, West Indies have been scoring lots of runs; there is some talent there but they don't know how to win yet. Unbelievably for those who played in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s, when the West Indies were supreme, we now desperately crave a Caribbean revival.
If ever there was a chance for Sachin Tendulkar to score that 100th hundred in international cricket it is in Mumbai against West Indies. We have been waiting for that landmark for some time, so he must be mortal.
So, too, is Ricky Ponting. Like Selve, I wanted him to score a hundred in Johannesburg this week. His 62 was significant, but should it be enough to guarantee his place this Australian summer? Timing is everything in cricket. I do not want to watch two of the greatest ever, Tendulkar and Ponting, scratching around like journeymen for a few more runs while trying to defy the calendar.
The two little giants might have their final showdown in Australia after Christmas, when India tour. For Ponting, much depends on the view Mickey Arthur takes. Arthur is Australia's first foreign coach and his first match in charge ? a Test against New Zealand in Brisbane ? starts on 1 December. The challenge here is to debate his prospects without dwelling upon the South African influence in the England side. Recent experience suggests that won't be easy.
Back in England, David Morgan has delivered his report on domestic cricket. He has been around long enough to know that the chances are that he will satisfy no one. I notice from our man in the north that Yorkshire are proposing that the number of first-class counties should be reduced. Are they magnanimously volunteering to stand down?
Then there is the case of James Taylor, who has had a lot of friends lately. Several counties have wanted to sign the Leicestershire batsman. Nottingham has emerged as his preferred destination. But terms between the two counties cannot be reached. Taylor is contracted for one more year. So the two clubs are arguing about the compensation figure: Leicestershire want a sum which equates to Taylor's salary; Nottinghamshire were hoping to pay rather less. Taylor waits and hopes for a resolution.
It's also time to contemplate our own Christmas shopping. Which cricket books (remember them?) would you like to give or receive this festive season?
And finally on the World Cricket Forum (don't forget that name), I hope there will be fewer epitaphs ? we have had enough of them recently ? and more contemplation of the latest concoction to emerge from Selve's kitchen.
And elsewhere ?
? The PCB has deferred its appointment of new national team coaches in the wake of a meeting between a three-member committee and the PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf. Dawn.com reported that Intikhab Alam, who headed the committee "told reporters after the meeting that more time was sought to further do the spadework on the new appointments ? It may be mentioned here that two former Australian Test cricketers - Dav Whatmore and Dean Jones - are prominent candidates for the post of team's head coach."
? And Australia's Pat Cummins is a minor doubt to feature in the first Test against New Zealand after admitting he is suffering from a bruised heel. "I pulled up a little bit sore after the game the other day," said Cummins. "Hopefully I should be right to go."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/nov/24/guardian-world-cricket-forum
No comments:
Post a Comment