Book review: The Vincibles, by Gideon Haigh

On a lazy summer
afternoon with the cricket coverage in the background I completely galloped
through this incredibly entertaining work by Haigh. Within pages the fortunes
of the Australian test team paled into insignificance as I desperately read
onto the next chapter in the life of the ‘Yarras’ 2001-02 season.



As the title
suggests Haigh at no stage sought out to write a serious cricket book

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Crazy Grandpa still runs world football

Recent noises from Geneva have suggested that world
football’s out-of-touch grandpappy, Sepp Blatter, has focused his attention on staging a Winter World Cup in
2022.



In some weird logic puzzle, this makes sense: the
tournament will be held in Qatar, which during the summer boasts
an average temperature of 38°.  But given most major leagues operate
during the northern winter, this change

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Short Pitch: Squeezing responsibility from stones

Brad Haddin's second wind seems less gusty than his first.  During his near-game winning innings on Saturday and Sunday, the Australian vice captain batted with a responsibility often lacking during his first tenure in the Australian side and during his initial stint as the national team's vice-captain.


That was by some distance the best innings I've seen from Brad Haddin. He will be upset, but

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How far we've come (part one of many)

Before the blogosphere, there were spreadsheets.

For me, at least.

The picture below comes from an exploratory dig into the darkened reaches of my computer's hard disk - a saved spreadsheet that documents my leanings at the time towards the All-Time teams for each major Test-playing nation.  And my, how long ago it was!

Now, many of these players would barely trouble the subs' bench while

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2013 Ashes draft, part 5: Reflections

In concluding our Ashes draft with Dave Siddall of World Cricket Watch, we both take a moment to reflect on our teams.



Drafting the 2013 Ashes

Part 1: The Elite

Part 2: The Foot Soldiers

Part 3: Nature's Lower Middle Order

Part 4: The Dregs










Dave's XI
Pick no.

Matt's XI
Pick no.









Watson
5

Cook
1


Cowan
11

Root
6

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2013 Ashes draft, part 4: The dregs

In part four of our Ashes draft, Dave Siddall of World Cricket Watch and I continue to choose players to form a side to play for what's really important: bragging rights.



Introduction

Part 1: The Elite

Part 2: The Foot Soldiers

Part 3: Nature's Lower Middle Order



Selection 11

Matt - Now it’s onto the two reserves, as Haddin is reserved for the ceremonial last pick.  Who to go for?  

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2013 Ashes draft, part 3: Nature's Lower Middle Order

Selection 8

Matt - Again, I’d like to strengthen the bowling and with that - and to my disappointment, considering the nagging suspicion I harbour that he benefits more from others’ leadup work than his own - Steven Finn joins my XI.  It was a toss-up between him and Bresnan, and rumours seem to suggest that Finn is more likely to play than the Yorkshireman.  I’m not in love with the selection,

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2013 Ashes draft, part 2: The foot soldiers

In part two of our inaugural Ashes draft, Dave Siddall of World Cricket Watch and I select those players that we'll win and lose with - the foot soldiers. Click here for the rules, and here for part one (the elite).



Selection 5

Matt - With Clarke gone, the rest of the batting talent available (bar one) doesn’t appeal.  So I’ll take the other closest thing to a certainty in both bowling

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Moyes' new era at Manchester United starts in the back room

And so ends David Moyes' first week at Manchester United. The seven days has seen him prove his ruthlessness far more quickly than anyone had calculated.  Multiple bids have been made for former charge Leighton Baines to the disquiet of his erstwhile employers, and gone are stalwart and respected coaches Eric Steele, Rene Meulensteen and Mike Phelan.

The replacements for this back-room trio are

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2013 Ashes draft, part 1: The elite

In yesterday's post, Dave Siddall (of World Cricket Watch) and introduced our first ever Ashes draft. Today, we break down picks 1 - 4.



Selection 1

Matt - there’s only one person I want with the no. 1 pick in the draft: England captain Alastair Cook.  The young skipper has an excellent record against the Old Enemy, averaging 50.36 in fifteen Tests and 69.00 as captain.  Subtract his forlorn

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Drafting the 2013 Ashes

When American sports franchises begin to lose their on-field mojo, in order to remain relevant in a busy cultural and social environment, the typical executive response is to expand their interest-base.



Bring the family!  There’s gourmet food for Mum, a run-the-bases opportunity for Junior, and competitions the entire family can enjoy - like guessing which coloured craft will cross the finish

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