Proclivities wrote:

T-20 cricket is a fair bit of fun - designed for short matches that encourage hitting for the boundaries and fancy knocks to send the ball in different directions. It has started to influence one day and test cricket where players in some situations realise it is better to just go for it than to play defensively. 

With a booming South Asian population, a world-class pitch, and a growing network of teams, the sport has put a Raleigh suburb on the international map.

 haresfur wrote:

The Cricket Australia match report

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:

wow

For anyone who follows cricket, This was absolutely astonishing.
He could hardly walk in the end due to cramp. 

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:

Yeah, how about Afghanistan? Aside from a couple of outliers I don't pay much attention to, the tournament looks pretty evenly matched.

hang on mate.  this is the real news.

Man pleads guilty to fraud after using stolen money to lure international cricket players to Australia

"To some, the thought of Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan hammering fours and sixes on Dandenong's Shipley Oval — while DJ Havana Brown blasted tunes in the innings break — simply sounded too good to be true.

In the end, it turned out only to be half-true …and not entirely legitimate.

The first of the two scheduled games went ahead as planned, but the second was called off when allegations emerged that a tournament organiser had bankrolled the event using stolen money."

But you have to admire his dedication to the sport.

Want to watch the Ashes but don't understand Test cricket? Here's a basic guide

India beats Australia on last day of Gabba Test, winning Border-Gavaskar Trophy with remarkable run chase

That was down to the wire

 haresfur wrote:
 
Wouldn’t have been an issue had Nathan Lyon not fumbled the run out...

Anyway- great test- I take my hat off to any player who can win a match single handed like Stokes did. I think this series has been the equal of 2005 so far; let’s hope, from an Australian perspective, that the final result is different.

But that lbw...

 hobiejoe wrote:
 

Damn.

Stokes was batting well when I went to bed.

Would you believe that Kate brought back some friends for tea this afternoon. This never happens.

The husband is an aussie. I had assumed that the test was lost, so abandoned the coverage and tried to do the social thing to the best of my ability.

Noticed a certain amount of furtive 'phone activity, and then news of an extraordinary victory.

Wow- I never knew there was a cricket thread on here; looks like it was started during the epic 2005 Ashes series. I’m assuming the audience here is mostly from North America and so this thread is pretty quiet...fair play, I’ve never warmed to baseball. 

We may be watching something quite special with Steve Smith; I hope he’s not affected too much by the blow and concussion when he eventually returns. I don’t think Jofra Archer’s conduct was against the spirit of the game, though- it was certainly no worse than what the West Indies dished out in the 70s and 80s (ironically, Archer is Barbadian). 

Steve grew up near me and plays for Sutherland in the Sydney grade cricket competition; I actually know a couple of his former team mates. 

 haresfur wrote:
 

Well, unstoppable except by a fast ball to the neck . Cricket is not a gentleman's sport. I don't like this trying to hurt someone aspect of the sport, whether it is from an Aussie or a pom.

Steve the Unstoppable: Smith completes rare Ashes double century 

 hobiejoe wrote: 
At least your best players are allowed to be on the team. 

You know all this stuff about the End Of Days, The End Times and all that cross-eyed wingnut crap?

They might actually have a point.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jun/10/scotland-england-one-day-international-match-report

South Africa v Australia: Here's how the ball-tampering incident unfolded

I'm so pissed off at Steve Smith and the rest