posted Jan 25, 2007

AC/DC also commented "Hell ain't a bad place to be" although the England tourists may argue this point at the moment.
As a wicket keeper in a good standard of league cricket, the position if often expected to rally the troups & keep energy high when facing adversary.
The WK does have the advantage of constantly being within ear shot of the batsmen and any advantage that a choice comment may bring should be utilised.
However a comment based around wit & humour rather than mere abuse will bear more success.

I'm not sure why everyone is suprised about England's selection policy on keepers, look how few tests / ODI's Jack Russell played !!

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posted Jan 25, 2007

I think its a greta selection and hes an example of a passionate wicket keeper. Most county players fall along the wayside by his age. One day cricket is about energy and he gives that energy and he can bat. Unlike Read and Jones. I believe keeping is about batting these days.

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posted Jan 25, 2007

Part of England's malaise is the fact that they show deference to Australia during a game.
As far as I'm concerned Nixon is just what the doctor ordered.

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posted Jan 25, 2007

There is absolutely no problem in giving the batsman a bit of stick when he is at the crease. Bowlers and slips do it to. They do it to intimidate the batsmen and disturb their focus. It is part of the game, and sometimes the batsmen give the fielders a going over themselves. There is no problem!!

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posted Jan 26, 2007

Dear Mr Grunill,

I couldn't agree with you more.

I cannot speak for Test cricket, but the behaviour of fielding sides in school and club cricket is deteriorating all the time. Fielders, especially wicketkeepers, now seem less concerned with stopping the ball and more with generating noise. Their aim is more about distracting the batsman than offering deserved encouragement for good bowling.

Only those in line with the stumps – wicketkeeper, umpire, perhaps first slip or even the bowler himself – are qualified to offer praise when the ball swings in to the right-hander and nips away past the outside edge of the bat. Frequently, however, if not incessantly, those at square-leg and cover-point can be heard chanting ‘Well bowled fella!’ or ‘Great lines son!’ in reply to a delivery which has barely managed to stay within the leg-side tramline of the batting crease.

Fielding can at times be tedious and tiring. Faced with this challenge of tedium, many may feel the need to ‘get in the game’. With this in mind, shouldn’t energy be conserved so that a fielder’s ability to stop the ball isn't compromised when it eventually arrives?

Such tactics create a generally disruptive influence on the game. Spectators (if there are any) and batsmen are forced to tolerate a barrage of inanities. Indeed a case might be made for the game being played in complete silence. Or maybe batsmen should be permitted to wear ear plugs – the lack of communication between batsmen could then be remedied by abolishing run outs.

Whatever the solution, cricket would benefit from a more sophisticated form of interaction within rather than between sides.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Hutton.

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posted Jan 26, 2007

Nixon should reel his neck until until he's done something to shout about.

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posted Jan 26, 2007

Mr Hutton.

Surely square leg is in as good a position as anybody to comment a the length a bowler bowls?

There is nothing wrong with saying 'well bowled fella' if it is apparent, as most often is the case, that a delivery has beaten a batsman all ends up.

However I would also a gree that saying 'keep it up Smithy' while a spectator throws the ball back to long on from row Z can be counter productive.

There is always room for deserved praise on the cricket field, but anything more than that is transparent to anybody who plays the game - I am sure there are many people who feel like slapping the one or two players in their own side who get carried away and just talk nonesense.

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posted Jan 26, 2007

Nixon needs a bigger mouth guard.

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posted Jan 26, 2007

Now you see....this is probably where the problem with english cricket lies. What a question to ask Ian Chappell!!! You won't get respect from the aussies by trading verbals!! Scoring runs and taking catches will earn you australian respect! When Nixon starts doing that then he can start opening his mouth!
That was my 2 cents.

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