What a winter it has been for the cricket fan. It is absolutely fantastic of course to see England triumphant and shamefully delightful to see the Aussie grovel. They are always so charmingly pompous and proud that knocking them down several pegs is far better than merely beating them.
See this England side play so well has been a joy and there should be nothing but praise for the way they have performed. But there is always a but.
This Aussie side is not the full swagbag. They are short of at least two class bats and three bowlers. You'd only pick Johnson, Clarke and Hussey with Ponting an outside choice if he gets his form back and Siddle a worthwhile gamble. But note that young Usman was really promising and he is the future. Give them two years and they will be back I betcha, as they will say.
So England are indeed very good now. To be able to lose Broad and still have good enough bowling to roll the Aussies over is terrific. We have seen some stunning performances from all our players, with Cook especially pleasing. I have always rated him top drawer. He has application, technique and the build to be very very good and he is now on his way. We need to expect him to have a bad patch sometime but be willing to stick with him. Openers of his class are rare - maybe only three or four in a century. Think back, I am about right.
Anderson always is best on hard pitches and he loves beating the Aussies. Broad was looking great when luck tripped him up. He will be back and I reckon he will be a true all-rounder one day soon. And we have some near ones now - which is why we are doing so well. Look back and you will see the best sides bat deep.
Bresnan is clever and keen. Tremlitt's height is a bonus and he shows skill. Swanny is a shoo-in. Ditto Prior now he also keeps wicket at top class; an all-rounder keeper has been a key to England in the past from Ames onwards. Bell, like Cool=k, picks himself when in form. But he looks a mood player and needs managing well. Peterson would pick himself and we have to agree but he needs to be persuaded to believe he is fallible not godlike! Strauss is a good bat and skipper with a couple of years in him yet. Colly has been an asset as a man as well as a cricketer so we need someone like him; the classic English bits and pieces cricketer.
The fielding has largely been brilliant with some of it incredible. In Aussie that matters a lot. Outfields are usual fast and they hit the ball very hard. Good fielding is worth a half century and three wickets every time.
I have one worry. It looks good to only bat seven times against the opposition's 10 but it means we still need to know how we bat are when really up against it. I seem to recall there was a match like that this tour and we lost it.
But what the heck right now - open the bottle and drink your dreams boys!
Friday 7 January 2011
Thursday 6 January 2011
A new year's revolution...
Well maybe not exactly a revolution but I really do think the coalition will fall apart this year and probably sooner rather than later. Not soon enough to limit the damage of course.
Those of us who believe that the crisis we face was created by the banks far more than New Labour and that the worst of it should start to clear if and when the banks demonstrate the sorts of skill, endeavour and success they keep paying themselves bonuses for. Just today I saw someone blame Labour for an alleged £4.8 trillion of debt. Since no such debt existed before the banking disaster they have done really well to run that up on their policies alone in some two years!
Of course a lot of it isn't really debt anyway - it is the worthless shares we had to buy to stop the banks collapsing. They are yet to return anything like the value we put in but it will happen in due course.
On top of all that the stock market has just had a good year. Stone me, the nations is reeling until the pips squeak and the FT goes through 6,000! Again! Anyone old enough to recall the 70s share phenomenon will forgive me for calling this the Poseidon effect! Some people will bet on anything and sometimes they win.
Now quite apart from the cuts hurting children, the poor, mothers and the elderly and disabled there has been another cut - in support for the Lib Dems. As I write the good people of Oldham will be withdrawing their support for Clegg and co and handing either a black eye to Labour or the Tories. Interesting that Clegg has decreed there will be no election pact with the Conservatives. Bet they are glad - they couldn't afford the handicap!
So what will 2011 bring us? Massive unemployment, rising repossessions, soaring bankruptcies, lengthening waiting lists for everything, increased mortality among the newborn, the young, the poor and the disadvantaged, falling spending, lower pay levels, higher interest rates, probably climbing inflation.
But the FT will soar to 7,000, profits will climb while corporate taxation falls, Tesco will open another 5000 stores including an Express on The Mall, M & S will be taken over by Walmart, the NHS will be sold to a consortium of Russian oligarchs and the City will pay itself the biggest bonuses of all time. Cameron may even announce himself Tsar and scrap elections as unaffordable.
I shall moan and possibly cry. Happy New Year.
Those of us who believe that the crisis we face was created by the banks far more than New Labour and that the worst of it should start to clear if and when the banks demonstrate the sorts of skill, endeavour and success they keep paying themselves bonuses for. Just today I saw someone blame Labour for an alleged £4.8 trillion of debt. Since no such debt existed before the banking disaster they have done really well to run that up on their policies alone in some two years!
Of course a lot of it isn't really debt anyway - it is the worthless shares we had to buy to stop the banks collapsing. They are yet to return anything like the value we put in but it will happen in due course.
On top of all that the stock market has just had a good year. Stone me, the nations is reeling until the pips squeak and the FT goes through 6,000! Again! Anyone old enough to recall the 70s share phenomenon will forgive me for calling this the Poseidon effect! Some people will bet on anything and sometimes they win.
Now quite apart from the cuts hurting children, the poor, mothers and the elderly and disabled there has been another cut - in support for the Lib Dems. As I write the good people of Oldham will be withdrawing their support for Clegg and co and handing either a black eye to Labour or the Tories. Interesting that Clegg has decreed there will be no election pact with the Conservatives. Bet they are glad - they couldn't afford the handicap!
So what will 2011 bring us? Massive unemployment, rising repossessions, soaring bankruptcies, lengthening waiting lists for everything, increased mortality among the newborn, the young, the poor and the disadvantaged, falling spending, lower pay levels, higher interest rates, probably climbing inflation.
But the FT will soar to 7,000, profits will climb while corporate taxation falls, Tesco will open another 5000 stores including an Express on The Mall, M & S will be taken over by Walmart, the NHS will be sold to a consortium of Russian oligarchs and the City will pay itself the biggest bonuses of all time. Cameron may even announce himself Tsar and scrap elections as unaffordable.
I shall moan and possibly cry. Happy New Year.
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