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Sonofthedesert

Listed below are comments made by Sonofthedesert between Thursday, 6th August 2009 and Tuesday, 15th September 2009.

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Button back on song in title chase 3:06pm on 15 Sep 2009 If Jenson Button finishes no more than one place behind Barrichello in each of the remaining races, he'll be champion, and of course this shouldn't be too difficult to achieve.

Unless, of course, his car fails him at the next race - leaving as little as a four-point gap to defend in the Brazilian goes on to win.

One of the great joys (and, occasionally, frustrations) of any form of motorsport is that everything can be changed in a second, and by the gratuitous whims of fortune.
Why 'Team GB'? 1:05pm on 03 Sep 2009 I'm sorry, but using the same name since 1896 is not an excuse. At that time, all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, and its people were not, for the most part, treated particularly well.

Now, I've no intention to get into the rights and wrongs of British behaviour in Ireland (north or south), but it is certainly true that at that time, the English weren't best known for their sense of inclusivity or egalitarianism. I'm sure very few people involved with a 19th century British Olympic team cared a whit for the position of the Irish, just as those associated with English cricket felt no urge to highlight the Welsh involvement in their side.

But it isn't 1896. Times have changed. The UK has changed, Ireland has changed, sport has changed, and this country's position in the world has been transformed beyond all recognition. We can't overlook part of our country, particularly not for a 'brand' that has only come into being in recent years.
Will Upton Park violence scupper 2018 bid? 10:26am on 27 Aug 2009 #4: "It shouldn't do. This fixture always brings out the worms from the woodwork and it always will. It's actually nothing to do with football."

I think the FA will be hoping just the same; after all, there's still quite a lot of time to go before the host is chosen, and the hope will be that, if it isn't repeated and the situation is dealt with quickly, all this will no longer be relevant when the votes are cast.

The point, made by a number of contributors, that other countries have far greater problems is a sound one, but overlooks two important details:

Firstly, that the impression - even if no longer the fact - of English hooliganism abroad is much more pronounced than for any other country, and it takes very little to inflame this; and,

Secondly, if Australia are serious contenders (and the US, though I don't believe that they are, at least not for 2018), they will no doubt make clear that they have had never had a hooliganism problem of any kind, and that that gives them an advantage over all European candidates.
Manchester City making waves 1:36pm on 24 Aug 2009 It's the quality of the players a club buys that matters, not how much is paid for them.

So, if we ignore for a moment the comparative prices and wage packets of this or that player, have City assembled a squad that has enough quality to compete for a top four position?

Visibly not. With the exception of Barry, City have not diverted players away from the leading sides in this country, or any other, by their financial muscle; they have been left to pick over the not-quite-as-good, the next shelf down - hardly Tony Pulis's strays, but not players that would attract the top four.
England batsmen fail again 12:48pm on 21 Aug 2009 #107: "Panesar????! he just hasn't improved at all in the last 12-18 months. as Warney said, he's "played the same test 30 times". he seems to have a poor cricket brain too. and doesn't even select his own field.
and 1 more point, he's only taken 10 wickets for Northants this season at 71 runs per wicket. he's in poor form.
For me, it should be Rashid as 2nd spin option and if not willing to play him then just go for 1 spinner as we have done."

I agree entirely, and was surprised to hear Aggers supporting Panesar's inclusion. Yes, this is a wicket that seems to offer something for the spinners, but Panesar is not the only spinner out there. Given the tripe he's been dishing up this season, what reason can there be for picking him? Just because he, like Bell, has been picked before and stands on the right side of the closed door, presumably.

Rashid surely has a fine career ahead of him, but not yet. I'd hope to see him at least taken to South Africa, and to figure in the matches against Bangladesh and the Windies that follow - but right now, England need to focus on picking their most dependably accurate bowlers to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Oval pitch. To which end, I think that the five selected (with the arguable exception of the inconsistent Harmison) were the right men for the job.
England batsmen fail again 12:23pm on 21 Aug 2009 #100: Bopara "needs to go back to county cricket and tighten up his technique and then he could still have a test career, further down the order."

Couldn't agree more. There seems to be a notion within the ECB that a player who could be good enough is good enough, and will always be so. This is rather odd, to say the least.

Stability is a fine thing, of course, and no-one wants a return to the days of using 25 players or more during a series. But stability can only take you so far with an underachieving side; and as much as is made of the harm that can be done by dropping a young player after only a few matches, far more damage can be brought about by forcing said rookie to keep playing when all is going against him. Ian Bell, for one, may have been able to develop the solid mindset to go with his undoubted talent if he hadn't had to keep playing at the highest level at such a young age.

There was much talk after Edgbaston of dropping Stuart Broad, with wails of opposition about his potential and his bright future. Regardless of what you think of Broad in particular - and he did better than most at Headingley - it is utter nonsense to suggest that a 23 year old will suffer some terrible setback if we don't focus solely on what he might achieve when he's 28.

It's probably worth remembering, too, that Strauss's spell out of the side eighteen months ago increasingly seems to have been the making of him.
England batsmen fail again 10:40am on 21 Aug 2009 "Srauss, Rudolph, Bell, KP, Trott, Prior, Swann, is a good batting line-up for the SA tour."

It's half of a good batting lineup for South Africa themselves!
They think it's all Oval... 12:45pm on 18 Aug 2009 Delighted to hear that the venerable Mr Fry will be popping into TMS towers. Is there any chance he could be given Geoff Miller's job, too? And perhaps bat at number three?

I'm sure he'd do rather better than the current incumbents.
England's bowlers face Oval challenge 1:04pm on 14 Aug 2009 "What we try to do in consultation with the ECB is to produce a wicket that favours the batsmen over the first couple of days and then spins towards the end of the match. It's flat. It's a good, fast batting wicket. You have to bowl well to get wickets at The Oval."

I realise that there are limitations to what any groundsman can do with a wicket, but would it not be reasonable to try and do everything possible to produce a wicket that favours bowlers, and would be more likely to give a side the chance of twenty wickets?

And if that means Australia win, so be it. But no-one wants a high scoring draw.
Indian cricket resists drug code 12:43pm on 06 Aug 2009 OllAnon:

My son likes cricket. If he ever develops the intention and ability to play the game professionally, I have no wish to have to present him with a list of (potentially harmful) drugs he'd have to take if he wishes to compete. It's worth remembering these rules - and this is true of any sport - are not just for a few at the very top, but for all those, at every level of the game. If, say, Shoaib Akhtar is allowed, encouraged even, to take drugs in order to compete, then so is the kid just starting at your nearest county or provincial side.

And to EVERYONE who keeps banging on about whether or not Sachin Tendulkar is more famous than Tiger Woods or Roger Federer:

It doesn't matter.

Get that? IT DOES NOT MATTER. The rules that Tiger Woods has to accept are the same that apply to the lowest ranked golfer in the world. Roger Federer must adhere to the testing regime just as Alex Bogdanovich must. And, once again, the rules for the top cricketers are equally applicable to the new kid at your local side.

Sport must be kept as drug-free as possible, for the benefit of all concerned: for the young hopefuls who want to play the game, for competitors who need a level playing field to allow their talent to flourish (but who aren't willing to cheat nor to risk poisoning themselves), and for those of us who'd like to watch a contest between competitors who have earned the right to be there naturally.

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