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shedmanlarge

Listed below are comments made by shedmanlarge between Wednesday, 27th August 2008 and Tuesday, 25th November 2008.

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If only Banger was back... 3:29pm on 25 Nov 2008 I forgot to congratulate him on his book winning the award.

I haven't read it yet but clearly it is more than a cut above the usual "fluffy" sporting autobiography. Sums the man up perfectly.
If only Banger was back... 3:26pm on 25 Nov 2008 Tres is a batsman to match anyone I have watched. As your article mentioned, his 90 odd before lunch on the first morning of the second Ashes Test in 2005 was just about the most impressive batting I have ever seen from an opener. Middle order batters are often the most glamorous but obtain their accolades from scoring freely when the ball is a few overs older. Tres stood down McGrath and Lee before dealing emphatically with Warne. Legend barely covers it.

As a Somerset man I look forward to watching him for his county for many more years.
Beware a wounded Australia 1:53pm on 10 Nov 2008 Test Cricket gains something from this result.

In India, the success might rekindle some interest in the longer form of the game.

It has kick started the backwards and forwards of opinion and comment regarding the Ashes and focussed attention on the series in the run up.

None of that can be bad.
The end of a cricketing era 10:19am on 23 Oct 2008 India is a tough place to play for all sorts of reasons. Australia are not at their strongest. India had a great test match. I can't help but think that we would all be kidding ourselves if we thought that was enough evidence of the end of Aussie dominance.

They will never reproduce an opening partnership like Langer/Hayden or a keeper batsman like Gilchrist let alone a decade dominating, match winning pair of bowlers like McGrath and Warne. But, in depth what's left for them to pick from is still going to be competetive against all of the major sides.

Legends are made over time. No-one knows who the next generation of legends might be but don't bet against Clark (the underwear modelling batter not the metronomical, half-baked, injury prone McGrath clone)

Like most international teams, the Aussies are a really good spinner away from a team capable of winning consistently on the sub-continent. Nevertheless, they are a team capable of remaining at number 1 in the rankings.
Kevin Howells' team of the season 08:46am on 25 Sep 2008 Like the team. A good blend of style and power, it is a team I would love to watch.

Perhaps in place of the no-longer first class fixtures against the Universities there could be a PCA All-stars v's England game as a warm up for next season?

Great to see a mixture of ex-internationals and potential top-flighters play against the current lot and see how both shape up.
The most divisive and tasteless selection in cricket history 11:49am on 10 Sep 2008 I refer to comment 71 about how devicive giving a slect few the oportnity to set themselves up for life.

This is 1 million dollars not pounds. Just over half a million quid is not going to go very far if, like most professional, sportsmen you are retired by 35.

Half a million quid to support yourself until your 80 - just over 11 grand a year! get a grip, your average footballer loses that playing cards on the way to a match. (Yes, I know there are investment possibilities)

Us normal guy's who don't earn hundreds of thousands of pounds a minute find it hard to look at these sort of sums rationally.

I begrudge soccer players what they earn because it seems to me that playing for England is less important to tham than it should be. I don't think that the same can be said of the English cricket team. The highest paid players are the centrally contracted ones and to be centrally contracted takes some doing (I am not going to comment on MV here) Therefore, in cricket the accolades, the prestige the money are all focussed towards the elite end of the sport.

Doesn't that mean that the incentive is there for whichever type of person you are to reach the highest level?

Did Ryan Sidebottom run in for 5 years hoping to get back into the test team because he needed the money or because he was driven to greater things within his chosen profession?

I don't care what the answer is to that question. He did enough hard graft to get where he's got whatever his motivation and deserves all he gets for his effort and ability. (Mr Sidebottom's name having been plucked out of the sky. No implication intended)

As an ex-girlfriend of mine once said "don't knock it 'til you've tried it"
The most divisive and tasteless selection in cricket history 10:55am on 10 Sep 2008 Ref No.89

I hate what football has become. However, in football each player has their own, individually negotiated contract. Everyone in the team has a different pay scale and I'm sure there is quite a difference between what they earn. In some cases the highest paid players get lambasted for their performances, effort, commitment etc but there doesn't seem to be a high level of disharmoney amongst team mates over how much they earn. If it was rife we'd read about it - football is the most reported upon sport after all.

Maybe, just maybe, the fact that the rewards at the top of the game are so massive it will inspire the rank and file county player to up their performances to put themselves in contention. This is the exact oposite of football where the clubs provide the vast majority of a players income and the cash incentive to play for England (for example) is minimal.

I don't know how things will turn out but one should trust the professionalism and integrety of the players. Afterall the temptation to take a bung of some description must be greater without $1m dollars in your pocket than with it! Cronje's actions were actually testament to the temptations of bribes from bookmakers in a pre-20/20 world of cricket where the rewards were not as high. The loss of a career in cricket in the 90's was less of a financial risk than it would be now. Also, any inducements offered to a player now would need to be massive. Didn't Cronje accept one for £5000 and a leather jacket? I can't see that being very tempting to anyone now.
The most divisive and tasteless selection in cricket history 10:20am on 10 Sep 2008 Great set of responses!

If the fact that 2 teams will play for one of the biggest pots in sport shines a spotlight on Cricket, fantastic.

If this game gets a slot on network news in the states and a little interest is created, brilliant.

If Cricket as a whole benefits who cares if the current crop of players stand to make a few quid out of it - $1,000,000 (£566,000ish) is enough to pay of their mortgages and make their very long retirements more comfortable but put it into perspective. By my calculations £566,000 equates to 5 weeks work for a top professional footballer. That professional footballer will earn that every 5 weeks making about £8m a year ($16.5m) - this Stanford game is once a year for 5 years, very few players in this first one will be around to see the payday in the last one. Don't get me wrong it's a shedfull of cash but don't grudge them the oportunity.

As for the other arguements about the EWCB selling it's soul to the devil and accusing Stanford of bigging himself up, I think it would be better to wait and see the outcome.

Don't forget they haven't won the cash yet!
Shah shows value for England 10:21am on 01 Sep 2008 I've played 20 over cricket in near darkness and although it is marginally easier to bat in than to field in, I cannot help but wonder how good those boys eyes must be to deal with 90mph+ deliveries from Steyn and Morkel.

Another fantastic performance has left me wishing that the international season wasn't ending 3 weeks before the domestic one. If I have just read it right Somerset (my local hero's) have 4 first class games to play with the last one finishing on the 28th September. What a shame the the champions trophy isn't going ahead. England would be right up there with a chance and we'd have some more cricket to look forward to with them in such devastating form.
Can sorry South Africa fight back? 4:01pm on 27 Aug 2008 Enough grumbling already.

Let's just keep smiling with them! Fred with a smile on his face is such a great sight for English fans and such a bad sight for the opposition. If we all keep smiling perhaps Freddie will keep on performing.

Enjoy it while it's going well, I know I am.

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