Field Theory: He's good, but I still don't like him
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The rankings are strange aren't they, Bond was no. 1 for much of last year despite not playing for NZ at all during that time. I've never figured out how they're done, really.
I could be wrong, but I understand we have never been fully told how the ratings are calculated. I think the algorithm was a commercial secret for the various companies that used to look after the ratings, but now that it they are with the ICC, I just don't know.
Without seeing the algorithm and all the weighting factors we can never know how fair the system is. I do believe it includes some quite dodgy factors, like giving more weighting to a score that was part of a victory for example.
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Nadal, on the other hand, is just this bundle of energy, which means he's tiring to watch. He seems to bustle.
Which is now being bred out of him - his coaching staff are teaching him to play the more fluid traditional approach of Federer because the huge stress that his unorthodox, self-taught style places on his body will cut his career too short. His forehand for example will have a traditional cross-body follow through shortly.
The change in uniform is part of a "re-branding" because his look doesn't get the endorsements that Federer and the like do, so they are actively toning him down/growing him up.(Can't find where I read this - was on a plane recently so plausibly it was the Qantas magazine in advance of Melbourne)
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Taylor’s ODI form home and away v England wasn’t that great, so he will only have started rising since the tour of Bangladesh.
And scores against the Bangles and the Windies don’t count for that much.
And the way things are going, even a good score against Australia won’t change things much either.
Favourite commentary moment from Langer last night. “Hussey can still get a 100 here.” This was with the 43rd over about to start and him on 49. Out next ball.
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Since we are playing this game,
Favourite commentator moment "With the injuries to their top players New Zealand really lack depth"
Then latter..
"Who is Neil Broom!?"
Every other country invites an opposing commentator to tell us just these things so they don’t have to Google "Broom, N Cricket" when he runs out their captain. -
There was another bit involving Broom after he completed the run out where the commentators were basically revealing their lack of knowledge of NZ cricket.
I forget who, but one of them was suggesting that the stance & throw of Broom's runout indicated that the Blackcaps might have had some training from someone involved in Baseball.
Correct me if i'm wrong, but haven't we had that training happening for over a year now?
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heh, just read the Australian article too -
"David Hussey has not passed 50 since the first game against South Africa and was unlucky to be given out caught tickling a delivery down leg yesterday. "
So, if he was tickling it, then he must have hit it & if he hit it & was caught out, how exactly is that unlucky?
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Terry Alderman on Radio Sport (ABC) last night summed up: "The best team won." So full marks for fairness, if not grammar.
No marks for Radio Sport closing down as soon as the cricket had finished, when the tennis was into the fifth set. There may be some issue of broadcast rights, I don't know: but, still. A guy in a studio giving updates would have been better than nothing (and no, not everybody has 24 hour internet access everywhere they go).
Mind you, tennis is the worst sport for radio commentary: "FedererforehandNadalcrosscourtbackhandFeder-Nad-Fed-Na-net!"
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Mind you, tennis is the worst sport for radio commentary:
Yachting would push it.
Only difference is that tennis televises well.
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Emma wrote:
(Federer is Sampras, surely: Nadal is Agassi.)
Yeah, that comparison holds up, not least because although Sampras still holds the record for the most open victories, he never won the French Open, whereas Agassi is one of the select group of players to win all 4 slams. On the other hand, it doesn't hold up for me, because I preferred watching Agassi to Sampras, whereas I prefer watching Federer to Nadal. That said, I do like Nadal and I'd prefer watching him the terminally boring Sampras, too. Jeez, watching Sampras was like watching a robot. Brilliant player, obviously, but...
Still on tennis matters, does anyone else think the women's draw is quite weak at the moment. Five or so years ago, we had Hingis, Davenport, Clijsters, Henin-Hardin and the Williams sisters all duking it out, these days it seems to all hinge on whether the Williams sisters can be bothered to turn up (literally as well as figuratively). I mean, don't get me wrong, what red-blooded male doesn't enjoy the, erm, 'aesthetic' value of say, Sharapova playing Ivanovich, but the actual quality of the tennis seems a tad tepid compared to a few years back.
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Another reason to like Federer: he's got Murray from Flight of the Conchords as his coach
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=mulAi7cno2Y -
Brad Haddin learns from Karl Rove, attacks Vettori for his lack of "decency":
Vettori said Haddin's reaction to the incident had been "disappointing" given he believed the Australian gloveman "knew something (was) wrong" with the dismissal.
That drew an angry response from captain Ricky Ponting, who said if Vettori was calling his teammate a "cheat" he should have the evidence to back up such incendiary claims.
Haddin also retaliated today, saying he was also disappointed that Vettori had not approached him before making his feelings known.
"I was disappointed in that, because he had not had a chance to speak to me after the game. I was very shocked after reading today's paper that he did not come and speak to me.
"I am pretty disappointed he has questioned my integrity. I think that is quite poor."
Haddin said he did not know his gloves had passed over the top of the stumps as the ball approached - but said he was still certain it had hit the wicket before it nestled in his palms.
"I was unaware at the time that my hands were in front of the stumps … but the ball, I am 100 per cent positive, hit the bail first and then came up into my gloves," he said.
"I am pretty disappointed in Dan that he did not have the decency to come and speak to me after the game if he had an issue, rather than air his thoughts in a press conference.
"The polite thing or the decent thing to do would have been to come and ask me. He has played as lot of cricket now and he knows all too well what happens in these situations.
"I thought it was a bit low he did not come and talk to me."
After Ricky Ponting said he might approach Vettori to discuss the issue before the next one day clash on Friday in Melbourne, Haddin said he would not.
"I don’t think I need to. This game is gone and we move onto the next one."
(WA Today)
I think the obligatory cliche here is: hole, stop digging.
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Favourite commentator moment "With the injuries to their top players New Zealand really lack depth"
Then latter..
"Who is Neil Broom!?"
Yeah, I liked Benaud chiming in to remind people that there are athletes outside of Australia blessed with talent. Of the run out he said, more or less: "My guess is that Ponting hadn't got much of a look of Neil Broom. Now he has."
The haddin thing: no way the guy didn't know where his gloves where, he's very lucky that NZ won. But it should still have been brought up and I'm glad that Vettori did. I'm sure there'll be a few choice words said on the matter on the field during the remainder of the series, too.
Fox Sports Australia chose to remain impartial over the incident: "Tension over Daniel Vettori slur on Aussie keeper Brad Haddin".
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I think my favourite moment of the commentary was when we needed 2 from 2, and one of them said "They outlawed the underarmer, right?"
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So, why is it that people supposedly don't like Kyle Mills? There was one notoriously bad spell of death bowling IIRC, but wasn't that 5 years ago?
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So, why is it that people supposedly don't like Kyle Mills?
Because his test performances have not matched his ODI achievements. Not even close.
And, increasingly, this doesn’t appear to bother him.
His brother’s actions / comments probably don’t help either.
Well that’s my take anyway. -
Because his test performances have not matched his ODI achievements. Not even close.
It's not like he, or NZ, have had a lot of opportunities to change that, though.
And, increasingly, this doesn’t appear to bother him.
Why should it? He's a one-day specialist in a team that specialises in one-day cricket.
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Agreed that we are starved of test cricket, although we did play 14 of them in 2008.
Don’t agree that Mills is an ODI specialist though. He’s got the range of skills to be a decent test player, and that includes his batting.
I mean if Iain O’Brien can become a decent test player over the last 12 months…
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So, why is it that people supposedly don't like Kyle Mills?
It's not Kyle himself that bugs me. He's a good enough bowler who can sometime add a few runs.
But why oh why does every NZ commentator have to insist that he's a "much better batsman than his average"
He is precisely as good as his average. That's what the averages mean - on average he will get stuff all runs. Which is OK, he is after all a bowler.
Test average 12
ODI average 16 -
for Haddin cheating
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That drew an angry response from captain Ricky Ponting, who said if Vettori was calling his teammate a "cheat" he should have the evidence to back up such incendiary claims.
Haddin also retaliated today, saying he was also disappointed that Vettori had not approached him before making his feelings known.
Fuckers.
Nadal versus Federer
Ah. So Andy Murray's out then?
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for Haddin cheating
Wow. I was on the tennis at the time and didn't actually catch it till now. That's pretty much indefensible. He knew what happened.
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He is precisely as good as his average. That's what the averages mean - on average he will get stuff all runs. Which is OK, he is after all a bowler.
What they're referring to -- and they should be competent enough to just say so -- is his first-class record. He has a century and a dozen fifties at that level, and averages 26.
I actually thought Mills showed last night that he's starting to bring that skill level to ODI batting now.
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That's pretty much indefensible. He knew what happened.
My facebook status for the last 20 or so hours has read "Giovanni thinks Haddin is a scumbag". Just thought you all might like to know.
I would have loved to hear Ghilchrist speak about it, but the group of commentators on at the time dissected it for one segment and then after the following ad break it was never mentioned again.
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I mean if Iain O’Brien can become a decent test player over the last 12 months…
The selectors didn't find O'Brien in a bag of chips, you know... He's been a very good performer domestically in the longer form of the game for some time - has the right temperament and range of deliveries. (Aside from being a kickass blogger, I mean). Mills, for whatever reason, appears unable to make that jump, although he has been more than serviceable at times in tests too.
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Brad Haddin learns from Karl Rove, attacks Vettori for his lack of "decency":
Isn't that a ripper? - fantastic.
Playing the victim, because there is no way that an Australian cricketer would ever stoop so low as to unfairly claim an advantage to win a game or preserve a career .... it would be positively un-Australian :)
Now if only we can get Brad to talk a bit more about himself in the 3rd person, the picture would be complete.
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