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titan_uranus

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Everything posted by titan_uranus

  1. Pick 8 - Rangana Herath (SL) And then... Pick 9 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
  2. NFL

    titan_uranus replied to Dappa Dan's topic in Other Sports
    Broncos and Patriots should win comfortably, highlighting the overall weak standard of the AFC. As for the NFC, being a 49ers fan I sincerely hope the home field advantage will be enough to overcome Aaron Rodgers and that bevy of receivers, but I worry about our defence. Justin Smith is key, but even if he's back to 100%, we've had a bad few weeks, Aldon Smith is out of form, and we're just conceding too many big plays. Russell Wilson and Tom Brady tore our secondary apart, and Aaron Rodgers is better than both (with better receivers). Meanwhile, Kaepernick is all over the place. If he gets it together like he did in Foxborough, then maybe we can match the Packers on offence. It's going to be close. Seattle-Atlanta should also be close. All week I've been leaning towards the Seahawks, but having watched their game against Washington, they were flat and started terribly. At Atlanta, maybe they Falcons can put up some early points and put some pressure on. They will certainly be more effective on offence than Washington with RG3 on one leg was. I'd love an Atlanta win; for one, they deserve it, but more importantly, I think SF can beat them in the Championship game, whereas I fear that, even at home, we'll lose to Seattle. I'm tipping Patriots to beat Denver in the AFC Championship, making it a NE v SF (hopefully) Superbowl.
  3. In the first article, if you'd read it (can you read? I'm not sure anymore), you'd note Healy's very positive tone towards Wade, including justifying Wade's mistakes as a keeper with the fact that he's young, he's only been doing it for a year, and he has time to improve, especially given his batting. In the second article, if you'd read it, you'd note that Healy's tone is, 5 days later, completely negative, calling Wade out for not being that young (25 is young. Full stop. Haddin was brought into the team at 31), and all of a sudden not giving him the 'one or two years' to get accustomed to Test cricket. I bolded those two phrases just to highlight the point. If you'd read the full articles, and read the clearly contrasting tones, you'd understand. But, you don't.
  4. Ian Healy, January 6 - "The confidence of that batting performance will flow into his keeping and he's working hard. It takes maybe one or two years for a wicketkeeper to think properly and to be able to switch up and down with the concentration and to stop stressing. It's a hard road. He's the right age and he's got all the skills and the ability so he'll get there." Ian Healy, January 11 - "Matthew Wade says he's still young and he wants to keep improving, but I don't think he's that young. He's 25." Hypocritical [censored].
  5. Oh yeh, I remember doing this! It was fun. I'm in, but only if it's OK that I might not be able to check any more frequently than once or twice a day over the next month. If that's OK, then I'm in, but if it's going to make it too slow then so be it.
  6. So I've been AWOL from here the last couple of months. Suffice to say, not a lot has changed. We still have enough fast bowlers, we still don't know which 3 are our best, we still aren't sure about Lyon, we still have a flakey top order, and we still probably aren't good enough to win the Ashes, or even the series in India. It will be interesting to see what we do in India with our batting line up. I see Cowan, Warner and Hughes, with Clarke at 5. Put Wade back to 7 (Johnson at 7 is dumb for a billion reasons). Then we have 4 and 6 to fill. Watson as a batsman only isn't good enough, I don't think. As an all-rounder he could move to 6 and bowl a bit, but I'm not convinced he's good enough at that either. Sounds like Khawaja will come in, maybe to 4, so maybe Maxwell to 6 to add a second spinner. David Hussey has been floated around, as he can bowl too, but, as much as our batting lineup will be devoid of experience, I don't see Hussey coming in as an option being realistically contemplated. As for the bowlers, Siddle to me is the only certain fast bowler. Johnson went from hero to zero (again), Starc is inconsistent, Bird is new and I like him, but to me is superseded by Pattinson, who has injury problems all over the place, and Hilfenhaus is now way back in the queue. Siddle starts. If all others are fit, then Pattinson also starts. That leaves one more spot, which I see as being between Bird, Starc and Johnson. The selectors loved Johnson in Hobart but he simply is not good enough to bat at 7, and we can't afford to go into India against potentially 3 spinners and only take 5 specialist batsmen, one of whom will be Khawaja who is crap. I'd start with Bird, which is harsh on Johnson, but so be it. Thus: Warner Cowan Hughes Khawaja Clarke Maxwell Wade Siddle Pattinson Lyon Bird
  7. It's such a pity, really. There are fair arguments to say that the washed out day in Brisbane and Pattinson's injury in Adelaide cost us those two matches. We were on top in both of them, and we could easily be up 1 or 2-0. But one terrible day, and the series is now gone. Really, we've only played one shockingly bad day all series (today); they've had more bad days and played worse for longer. That's Test cricket, I guess. Hastings won't get another Test any time soon. He's bowled one good ball all match (got de Villiers out). Starc has no control, nor does Johnson, both bowled far too many short deliveries. Siddle walks back into the side, and Hilfenhaus probably joins him for Hobart, with Hastings and then one of the lefties to go. As for the batsmen - in every innings we've been 3 down for not much, only today Clarke and Hussey weren't able to bail us out. Warner is not a Test batsman, he simply isn't. His 100s look good but they continually get followed with sub-20 scores. He's a boom/bust batsmen and that's not good enough. He has to drop down the order or go. Cowan isn't doing much better, but I see a Test batsman at least in him. Watson's also not a Test batsman, and isn't going to go anywhere if he keeps batting by plonking the front foot down the crease. Chances are we'll be bowling for a lot of tomorrow and then have a futile 2-3 days to have to bat to try to score about 500 or save the match. The only chance of either of those is if we get a top order platform. Hopefully Ponting makes some runs and helps out in that regard.
  8. NFL

    titan_uranus replied to Dappa Dan's topic in Other Sports
    Drew Brees' record of consecutive games with a TD pass is over! He was terrible yesterday v Atlanta, threw for 5 interceptions (there was a 6th but it came back via a penalty) and his only TD pass also died off due to a penalty. On the one hand, Green Bay was about as effective against the Giants last Sunday night as Melbourne generally is at Kardinia Park. So maybe they're in a bit of a form slump. On the other hand, maybe that loss will spark them to get moving towards the playoffs again, especially since they've lost the number 2 seed to Chicago as it stands.
  9. Good call from Ponting. Let's hope he can crack one final ton and help us win the Test. With Siddle and Hilfenhaus both out, hopefully it's Hazlewood over Hastings (I like Hastings, but I don't see a long term future in Hastings and I don't think his bowling is threatening enough to take wickets against South Africa). Lyon needs to play.
  10. Really? I liked it. The pitch simply wasn't a threat at all; the bounce was consistent and easy to read and there were no cracks or holes or dints or anything, it was flat. I thought he did his best.
  11. Crazy Test. No doubt we have 'lost' this draw and they 'won' it, no one would have given them a chance when Amla and Smith fell before tea on Day 4 and they were 4 down at stumps. But you can't blame the bowlers, they genuinely gave it their best. The pitch didn't deteriorate at all (was probably at its worst yesterday; there was no up/down like when Steyn got Clarke lbw), du Plessis played the innings of his life, de Villiers and Kallis were in the zone, and with Pattinson down, we not only lacked a strike bowler, but it meant we had to run Siddle into the ground. Siddle was a legend, coming back late to take more wickets despite clearly having no energy left at all. Lyon got great spin and bounce where Tahir was completely ineffectual. Hilfenhaus was merely average and didn't threaten like he should have, but wasn't terrible. In the end, though it's harsh to say, Wade may have dropped the Test when he dropped du Plessis off the second last ball before Tea. A terribly tough chance, of course, but had he held that, we probably could have done it. He was the difference.
  12. Indeed. Very reminiscent of McGain in 2009. Tahir tries to take a wicket with every delivery; he's very impatient and doesn't build pressure. Like any bad leggie, he overuses the googly and he can't get through an over without either a full toss or long hop. Lyon, on the other hand, reduces the bad balls (they're not completely gone, though) and is able to build pressure and bowl to a plan.
  13. Fantastic declaration from Clarke. 430 should be enough, and we gave ourselves an hour before tea, duly getting rid of Smith and Amla, their two best batsmen who aren't injured. Hugely important wickets, and Lyon was a millimetre from getting Rudolph for 2. I'm such a big Lyon fan, so glad to see him get Amla. He can spin it and bounce it, whilst retaining control (unlike Tahir), and he works batsmen over. Should get a few more on this deck too. Pattinson apparently is out for the summer, which is disastrous. Horrendously, Mitchell Johnson's name is being bandied around the traps for Perth, apparently because he's taken wickets there before. Surely we've moved on from Mitch. Give Starc or Bird or Hazlewood a go.
  14. Clarke gone for 38, which hurts, but Hussey looks solid and our lead is already almost 350, which is good. With the time left in the game, though, we'd want at least 400, if not 450.
  15. It's rather ironic that the speed of us scoring our runs actually opened the door to a possible loss. Whatever target we set, there's going to be plenty of time for South Africa to chase it down.
  16. I hate Hughes and don't want to see him back in the side, but there are two spots available I think: Quiney's and Ponting's. Ponting's not making runs, and his technique is completely shot.
  17. Quiney and Ponting have to be close to gone. We're now 5/103, in huge trouble. Need the Hussey-Clarke partnership to net us about 100 runs. Game is on right now.
  18. NFL

    titan_uranus replied to Dappa Dan's topic in Other Sports
    Sanchez running into his teammate was hilarious, it was like he had his eyes closed! The AFC is so weak, the Pats should at least make the Championship game. Ravens and Texans are the other threats but I don't know how I feel about the Texans right now, they've struggled to put away Detroit and Jacksonville the last two weeks. Yeh that rule is weird. I mean, I understand the general rule that you can't benefit from illegal conduct, but I'm not sure why throwing a flag after a TD is 'illegal'. I mean, in the heat of the moment, you want to get something checked, so you throw the flag. I don't see how that leads to a situation where you've waived your right to a challenge: you wanted it, it was going to come anyway, but now they're taking it away. Doesn't really make sense.
  19. NFL

    titan_uranus replied to Dappa Dan's topic in Other Sports
    http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000099428/Patriots-vs-Jets-highlights Three TDs in 53 seconds. The Jets actually look like a rabble.
  20. NFL

    titan_uranus replied to Dappa Dan's topic in Other Sports
    Kaepernick is apparently going to start for us this week vs New Orleans. Smith is no longer injured, he's been dropped. Amazing move from Harbaugh, will be interesting to see whether Kaepernick keeps up the form he showed vs Chicago. I feel bad for Smith, he's had a tough go at the position in his career and if we can put it together and take a run at the title this year, I'd like to see him get reward. Having said that, I want us to win more than anything, so if Kaepernick is better, so be it. In other news, I just saw Jim Schwartz give Houston a touchdown after trying to challenge a scoring play, which is illegal in the rules, meaning then that the NFL wouldn't review the decision of a touchdown as he'd acted illegally. A bit of a weird rule, but them's the rules, and if he'd not thrown the flag, they'd have overturned the touchdown. Redskins over Cowboys too...Dallas is so unpredictable.
  21. Lost 5/22 to slump to a situation where we aren't going to get to 550 now, I doubt. Pattinson and Lyon can both bat, and this is a good pitch, but I don't think we'll hold on. Disappointing, Hussey getting out late yesterday was important to them, as I think if he'd been back today, we might still be 4 down. Wade was so disappointed to get out for 6, missed out on a big chance. Amazing that we've had the three centurions, but next best is Pattinson on 11. Looking forward to seeing us bowl on this deck, and more importantly, seeing how Lyon goes. Edit: Pattison is batting really nicely for a number 9. Just benefited from a drop (simple chance but du Plessis was looking into the sun). 539 now, which means 550 is now not impossible, which is nice. Edit: Took 3 minutes, but there you go. 550. And as I write, it's over. So there you go.
  22. He's scored 1265 so far this year. I was wondering if he was a chance to take the record for most runs in a calendar year (since we have 3 more Tests after this one). The record is 1788 by Mohammad Yousuf in 2006. 3 Tests, potentially 7 more innings...it's not unfathomable, but still highly unlikely.
  23. He's. A. Star. That many runs in one day is insane. If we can push on towards 650 then we'll have plenty of time to push for our wickets. Lyon is going to be important. Tahir was insipid today, but Lyon knows Adelaide and was quite good in Brisbane. If Kallis doesn't bat, his chief destroyer is out, which helps.
  24. For me, it's Clarke and Amla. Chanderpaul and Kallis have also had good 2012s, but Amla pulls out 100s at the right times of series, and Clarke has been sensational. Not so sure about that. Tahir for Kleinveldt is clear, but don't be surprised if they play Tsolekeile instead of du Plessis, to relieve de Villiers of the keeping duties. I'm not sure how long de Villiers can keep batting at 5 for if he stays keeping wicket in long innings. His batting just isn't as good as it was when Boucher was around. So that one could go either way. The issue I have is that umpires are only checking when a wicket is taken. Once the ball becomes a wicket-taking ball, they then check to see if it's a no-ball. Ed Cowan was given four runs when he tried to pull a short ball. It didn't hit his bat, it hit his helmet. No one stepped in to review that. He kept runs he didn't deserve. Frankly, if the umpire doesn't have the confidence to call it live, and wouldn't think twice about it if the delivery wasn't a no ball, then I have a problem with them using the wicket as an excuse to check it. Of course, the solution to it all is to stop bowling no balls, and I don't disagree that bowlers shouldn't be allowed to get away with it, but I have a problem with the inconsistency in the way umpires check their decisions.
  25. To move on from the above banter and assess the match, I thought Lyon did a pretty decent job when he was asked to this match, and rewarded the selectors' faith. I also think South Africa really messed up playing Kleinveldt over Tahir. Lyon got good bounce and spin, and didn't shy away from Amla and Kallis going after him, which they're going to keep doing, as they seem him as weaker than Siddle and Pattison (fair). I think he bowled quite well, to be honest, and he got Rudolph, the leftie, out twice. Thought Siddle and Pattison were enormous with their lines and lengths today. No balls killed us, but that's easier to fix (hopefully) than being crap. Hilfenhaus was ordinary and surely will be under pressure from Starc. Mitchell Johnson always bowled well against South Africa; I wonder if the left arm angle is something Amla/Kallis/de Villiers/etc don't like that much. Either way, I think Hilfy's in trouble. Batting wise, Clarke is just a legend (average now above 50, as deserved), and proved yet again that he is in the top 3 or 4 in the world right now, and that has come from batting where he belongs, at 5. Cowan showed he has the perfect opener's technique, leaving the wide stuff and defending when he has to (similar to Katich in that regard). If Watson's fit for Adelaide then sadly I think Quiney makes way, but Warner and Ponting need to make some runs. Ponting's age is a huge concern for him; despite the stack he made last summer, if he slips out of form he can't hold his spot forever. Warner is on thin ice IMO: one proper opener's innings (v NZ last year). The 180 in Perth was amazing, but he's not Hayden and can't do that regularly. The rest of his career is all little innings with no substance. Isn't there yet.