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I read somewhere that piers said the unnamed warm up bowler was faster than Lee.

An interesting comment on the Kallis/Sobers debate on cricinfo..

Posted by Clavers on (December 29, 2013, 13:46 GMT)
A few points about Sobers vis-a-vis Kallis:
Both had outstanding batting averages, Sobers a little higher, but of the two Sobers could probably score faster.
As a bowler, the glaring difference of course is that Sobers bowled left-arm spin, both orthodox and Chinaman, in addition to fast-medium. He also bowled a lot more overs than Kallis. Kallis averaged 12.4 overs per innings in which he bowled; Sobers 22.6. Sobers had the slower strike rate but better economy, and his test bowling average came out slightly higher than Kallis (34.03 to 32.53). So in a few respects he offered more to his captain than Kallis did.
While Kallis was a fine fieldsman, Sobers was among the very best ever. There are video clips on Youtube of Sobers taking catches at "silly leg slip." Ridiculously close to the batsman; freakish.
Sobers would be 2nd player picked after Bradman in an all-time World XI. But if Sobers were "injured," Kallis would replace him as the batting all-rounder.

I faced Wayne Holdsworth playing in-door cricket in the mid-80s and he was a very fast and aggressive bowler who was selected on an ashes tour but never played a test for Australia.

Not a particularly tall guy but the speed he could generate was quite amazing and when facing his bowling you had to prepare to play a shot as the ball left his hand.

Brett Lee erred in trying to hurt the big mouth Pom..........But he didn't miss.

Originally Posted by Wally Dorian Raffles

Sobers would be 2nd player picked after Bradman in an all-time World XI. But if Sobers were "injured," Kallis would replace him as the batting all-rounder.

Fair call.

A shame Kallis has retired before the SA-Aus series in a month or two's time. Would be interesting to see how Aus play against quality opposition.

Originally Posted by kingwilly

Would be interesting to see how Aus play against quality opposition.

Ian Botham said it wasn't good enough.

Fellow ex-England skipper Andrew Strauss went further.

"I feel sick to my stomach," Strauss said on Sky Sports 2.

"There's not going to be much sympathy from the England supporters," Strauss said after England suffered an eight-wicket defeat on Sunday in the fourth Test in Melbourne to go 4-0 down in the Ashes series.

"We've seen this great resurgence (in English cricket in recent years), and to see it in the state it's in at the moment is hard to take. It's all pretty depressing."

As England head to Sydney in a bid to avoid defeat and stop Australia recording a 5-0 sweep, former star allrounder Botham was shaking his head at the tourists' batting collapse of 179 all out in their second innings.

Leading by 51 on the first dig, England only managed to set Australia a target of 231 to win.

"Three wickets for one run at the top of the order yesterday, five wickets for six runs later on... It's just not good enough," Botham said on Sky Sports 2.

"The batsmen have come out and looked like they're scared to play a shot.

"There's no pressure put on the Australia bowlers. Nathan Lyon on a wicket that's not turned - five for 50? You've got to be kidding me."

Another former England skipper Michael Vaughan said on Twitter: "4 games and 4 hammerings against a Good but not Great Aussie team..."

England captain Alastair Cook, who played in Andrew Flintoff's side which was crushed 5-0 Down Under in 2006-07, said this one was hurting more.

"Especially as I'm captain as well," Cook told his post-match news conference.

"A lot of questions are always asked when you lose lots of wickets in clusters.

"You have all these meetings about building partnerships and you know the first 20 runs of a partnership are crucial but the bottom line is that the players aren't performing out in the middle.

"The part of this game that makes it even more frustrating is that we got ourselves into a good place to put some pressure on Australia: 100 ahead and no wickets down in the second innings.

"I suppose that might be where we are as a side. When you're winning games of cricket, you get yourself in a good situation like that and you really take advantage of it."

Cook said he was totally responsible as captain for his side's defeats.

"At the end of this series, if the selectors decide that I'm not the best man for the job, then so be it," he said.

"It would hurt.

"I have no plans of going anywhere, I am desperately trying to use much of my experience of playing 100 Tests to help turn this team around.

"If someone decides there's a better man for the job, I have to take that on the chin.

"In a strange way, I'm enjoying the job - I'm enjoying the challenge."



The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Cricket Australia
Former skippers launch at England

Who else could captain England besides Cook?

He is still their obvious choice for skipper, but he made need to take a few night classes on tactics and the power of positive thinking. He has looked like a depressed one trick pony this series.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Brett Lee erred in trying to hurt the big mouth Pom

Never give the Pom's an inch, are you sure you ain't got
a bit of blue blood in ya LT.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Whilst the ashes victories are nice I can honestly say I have not really enjoyed watching the games apart from a few close sessions.

Now I'm sure you got some blue blood in ya

LT is a Pom in a canary yellow shirt. Born and bred in Berkshire by the sound of him.

From the album: Timeline Photos

By Cricket Australia

"Australia's fourth thumping win from as many Tests this summer has left England a broken, dispirited remnant of the team that arrived here two months ago with a swagger in their step and the #Ashes in their keeping" - Australia demolish hapless England

Watch MCG Test in three minutes: The MCG Test in three minutes
Watch extended MCG Test highlights: MCG Test full highlights
Joy and pain; the captains speak: Pleasure and pain: The captains post-match

Kallis hits a ton in his farewell test as India struggle.

India 334 & 71/4 v South Africa 500

England skipper accepts his position under review


As both teams mull over changes to playing personnel for the final Ashes showdown in Sydney, England skipper Alastair Cook has placed the future of his heavily scrutinised captaincy squarely in the hands of his national selectors.

Cook’s capacity to lead England into a new era following their disastrous Australian tour is being questioned in many quarters, not only because of his own poor form and ineffective tactics but due to a growing belief that now might be time for change at the top.

England have already lost spinner Graeme Swann to retirement, and vice-captain Matt Prior who was dropped in favour of Jonny Bairstow for the Melbourne Test.

But Bairstow failed to impress and his immediate future is suddenly in doubt, along with all-rounder Tim Bresnan and spinner Monty Panesar who could be replaced by uncapped Scott Borthwick for the final Commonwealth Bank Ashes Test beginning at the SCG on Friday.

At the same time, but for totally different reasons, the Australian line-up that has remained unchanged for its four successful Tests of the series to date is expected to undergo at least one change due to attrition.

All-rounder Shane Watson was inconvenienced by groin soreness during the Melbourne Test even though he bowled in both England innings and scored an impressive unbeaten 85 as Australia easily chased down a victory target of 231 for the loss of only two wickets today.

And new-ball bowler Ryan Harris remains under a cloud due to his ongoing battle with chronic knee soreness, even though he declared at game’s end today that he had every intention of taking the field as Australia chases a rare five-nil Ashes whitewash in Sydney.

“Try and stop me from playing,” Harris told Channel Nine. “I want to be in there, I want to be playing all five (Tests).

“I feel fresh and an extra couple of days off is going to be perfect.”

While conceding that any final decision on the pair’s availability would rest with the team’s medical staff, in keeping with the captain and coach Darren Lehmann’s “if they’re fit, they play” ethos of selecting the best available XI for each Test, Clarke made it clear he wanted both men on board.

“I’m not sure about Watto and how much he’ll be able to bowl,” Clarke said today.

“With Rhino (Harris), my opinion is exactly the same as it was in the first Test match (of the series) – if he’s fit to play then I don’t see any reason why the selectors won’t pick him.

“If they’re both fit, I want them playing.”

While there’s no doubt that Cook will be leading his embattled team on to the field in Sydney in the new year, Cook acknowledged that – as the leader of a unit that has failed at pretty much every turn on its current assignment – his position as skipper is ripe for review.

When asked if the time had come to subject himself to some harsh self-assessment, Cook claimed he was in no doubt that he wanted to continue as captain, a position he has held since Andrew Strauss stepped down in 2010 and in which he took England to the top of the world’s Test cricket rankings.

But he added that if, in the course of the inevitable post-mortem to be conducted of England’s abject failure in this campaign, it was deemed that his leadership was a contributing factor then he would accept the axe with grace, if not willingness.

“In a strange way, I’m enjoying the job,” he said in the wake of England’s latest loss. "I’m enjoying the challenge.

“I’m totally responsible for the team and if, at the end of this series, the selectors decide that I’m not the best man for the job then so be it.

“I’ll take that on the chin. It will hurt, but I’ve got no plans to go anywhere.

“I’m desperately trying to use my experience of playing 100 Test matches to turn this team around.”

Cook fended off a series of questions about his future and that of teammates that are struggling to justify their position in their country’s Test XI with varying degrees of success at his post-match media conference.

As such, it was a thumbnail sketch of his batting throughout the summer and, more recently, his catching prowess which saw him turf two crucial chances on the final morning in Melbourne that helped ease Australia’s path to victory.

But he showed his only real flash of indignation when it was suggested that perhaps this series had brought to light the fact that some of those on his team sheet were simply not up to, or were no longer able to cope with, the demands of Test cricket.

“That’s a very big shout,” Cook shot back.

“We have got some very good players in our dressing room who have some very good days of cricket in an England shirt left (in them).

“We need that coming out of us in Sydney. We need an outstanding hundred, an outstanding five-for and then everyone jumping on the back – that’s what turns a team around when it’s struggling like we are at the moment.

“I think a lot of these questions you are going to ask me are going to be quite hard to find the answer to, because if I knew the answer I would be doing as much as I could about it.

“The bottom line is we haven’t been good enough.”



The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Cricket Australia

Captaincy not in my hands: Cook

Having the captain quit or replaced would top the summer off nicely. With sick notes, sudden retirements and top players either being dropped or playing poorly we have not only won the series, but have ground the poms into the dust.

I'm expecting the Lyon to roar in Sydney, and our quicks to keep up the assualt. Clarke, for one, will get a ton.

the upper lip will be aquiver

next they will be complaining about being called rude names ....

I think that's a fair point, Turnipfeatures. Let's just all try to be nice to one another...
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^ Careful Betty, I have pictures that will make you cry and am prepared to post them....


Perfect send off for Kallis as SA chase down 59 to beat India by 10 wickets.
I seriously don't know why India bother to tour. They are shit away from their doctored up home pitches.

No one will be named 5th in line for the Throne. But they will get a healthy cash bonus....

Australia's Ashes-winning players are to be granted a tasty bonus of more than $500,000 as reward for their drubbing of England this summer.
Leading 4-0 approaching Friday's fifth and final Test in Sydney, Michael Clarke's players have emphatically put behind them a year of turmoil to be the toast of the country. And just as the MCG was full as a world-record crowd descended on the MCG on Boxing Day, so will be the players' pockets with the lucrative financial windfall for their exemplary efforts over the past seven weeks.




Read more: Windfall awaits Michael Clarke's side after Ashes triumph

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Originally Posted by kingwilly

Would be interesting to see how Aus play against quality opposition.

+1

I think the reason Clarke opted to bowl first in the last test after we had already won the series was to test his team out in a more difficult scenario - in preparation for the upcoming series against SA.

This, as well as inflict more psychological damage on the poms of course.

Originally Posted by Necron99

^ Careful Betty, I have pictures that will make you cry and am prepared to post them....

Post them Necron

Betty deserves them

I tried telling her over and over that our bowlers were better, but she laughed and polluted the thread with endless big gay pictures during and after the last series

I'll post this for Betty to enjoy.

South Africa overpowered India by ten wickets in Jacques Kallis' final Test to give one of the greatest of Test careers the perfect end. Kallis will retire satisfied at having been an integral part of a South Africa side who are the undisputed No. 1 in Tests, having lost just one of their previous 25 series stretching back to 2006.
The great are gone.

I hope the Bokkers smack your collective fannies to bits... grumble, grumble, grumble...

^^ Thanks Wally, thought it didn't exist after days of looking.

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