Category: cricket

Don’t read this blog!

Despite looking like he wants to sweep your chimney, Iain O’Brien is an international cricketer. Not only that, but he’s blogging all about it. JRod (twice), Paul Holden and Mike (and Ben) on Cricket have all pointed to this bit of cricketing literary genius. He’s simply writing honestly about what it’s like to play international Cricket. And he writes well.

This is brilliant, and should have happened years ago. Imagine if, say, Richard Hadlee had blogged the Brisbane test:

Woke up. Gave the mo a good trim. Did those Aussie bastards all day. Can’t believe Vaughan fucking Brown got that wicket. I should have dropped it. Entered stats into the book back at the hotel to relax. Slept for seven hours and forty five minutes. Disconcerting dream about Karen.

Iain, if you’re reading, wanna swap links?

Day one of the Australia v New Zealand test series

Well that went alright.

It’s only day one, but we mean business. Southee will sleep tonight untroubled by Ricky Ponting nightmares. Nightmares of Brett Lee formation dancing through a Bollywood number, but not Ricky. Brilliantly, Jesse Ryder has the Jerry Coney-like knack of picking up wickets, and seems to find it all a bit of a laugh, too. Having the Aussies in the field for two hundred odd is more that we could have hoped for, well done to Dan and his bowlers

There’s a loooong way to go in this game and series, but the chaps will take great heart from this, 10 wickets in hand makes a huge psychological difference. The three bloggers below, all vastly wiser than me on matters cricket, pick our opening partnerships as vital to our success. I’d like to see How and Redmond still there after an hour. At lunch, even. We need to take our time and make sure we get a first innings lead, especially if the pitch still has life. We saw how Australia responded to pressure in India, so let’s keep it up.

Proper cricket bloggers preview the series / summer:
CWB on how we can win (Aussies’ batting effort was as effective as JRod’s Mo, really)

Ben on reasonable achievements

Hamish McDouall with his predictions for the summer

I’ve also found cricinfo’s WAP site, perfect for keeping up if you’re dragged into a meeting: http://wap.cricinfo.com

Links on Friday

Don’t think this guy really gets what batting’s all about. Hitting the ball and that. You can see him thinking ‘F**king YOUTUBE’ on the way back to the shed.

Six classic footballs. Tango = 1982 = undisputed champ

Arsenal 4 v Spurs 4 fanzone commentators. They got too excited at the start and left themselves nowhere to go, really.

Sean of the Dead‘s Simon Pegg on Why Zombies Shouldn’t Run, He’s writing about E4’s Dead Set *opens torrent*.

sportreview.net.nz guide to New Zealand sport fans

Rugby Cricket Netball League
Match day

Match itself dreadful bore, but networking top class

 Behind the bowlers’ arm or listening to Radio Sport in the bar
 You can GO to a game? No way! Waving a big flag  and being there each and every largely unrewarded week
Eating and drinking Buffet left a little to be desired, must have a word to PA on Monday
 Off season spent on piss smuggling strategies Milo, mostly, with the odd family sized Milky Bar Big bitter, salty tears of disappointment
Showing support Blues and All Black scarfs kept in boot of the Jag Agonising sunburn and patchy nightclub eviction record Ruth Aitken embossed dinner trays Queues overnight for all matches, sell out or not
Patron saint Colin Meads – so rustic and charming to talk to
 Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, or anyone with a bad attitude
 Lois Muir. Or Jo Seager The Mad Butcher
TV Good god, no Usually catches highlights on clubhouse big screen, where you’ve been sleeping rough after Cheryl got house and kids, the bitch

 Slightly perturbed at missing Coro, but TV’s set to ONE permanently as it is, Mittens ate the jolly remote years ago Away matches at Workingman’s club. Better win / loss record in meat pack raffle than Warriors in NRL

Links on Friday

Never get EXTREME, team – someone could lose an eye.

Great sporting losers – All Blacks feature, as do the 1999 Safas. But Brazil 1982 – here they are taking Ray Woolf’s All Whites to bits in a leisurely fashion.

RIP Paul Newman – not only is he a decent pool player, but he had a Volvo station wagon with a frickin’ V8 in it, too.

If you take on the Killeroo you will get your face eaten off.

Crusaders fan with no interest in Cricket talks you through the Black Caps’ Bangladesh series

…so Yoda pulled up in his Ford and says “What the bloody hell are you doing in my wheelie bin?”…

What’s that mate? Cricket? Shiiiiiiiiiit. Cricket’s about as interesting as shopping, I reckon. Shopping that’s not at Bunnings.

How are we going, anyway? We lost to Bangladesh? Doesn’t surprise me. Bloody  Black Caps. They’ve got more losers than the Graham farkin’ Henry fan club AGM.

We won the next one? Doesn’t surprise me. You can turn bad form around pretty farkin’ easily when you want to. Reminds me of Smelly Dave’s 21st. He was spewing when we called compulsory six wine skulls, one for each toe on his left foot. He did them alright, but had to go sit quietly in the laundry for a while. Fair enough, it was 8.30am. Still did a 3.19 for the yard, pretty fair effort, that.

Last one’s tonight? We’ll lose. There’s no mongrel. They need mongrel. And Robbie Deans. Robbie’d have that pack of pretty boys performing before you could say “SORRY I BURNED THE TOAST, PREFECT MERTHENS, NOT THE STRAP, NOT THE STRAP!” Ah ha. Yeah.

I might watch the match, but fark, if something else comes up, like a case of Canterbury Draught in the driveway with the dog, forget it. We done? Good.

…so yeah, I don’t reckon the Wallabies’ white bra-stripe is that bad, actually…

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