The Cricket Thread

[capriccioso 2,545]

Gary Kirsten, meanwhile, becomes the first coach to lead two Test nations to No. 1 in the world. How i miss him in the indian dug out!

Just how much of a difference does a good coach make? Pakistan for instance seem to have improved dramatically more because of Misbah's captaincy rather than any coaching input.

[Ankit 3,176]

Just how much of a difference does a good coach make? Pakistan for instance seem to have improved dramatically more because of Misbah's captaincy rather than any coaching input.

What has Pakistan done so dramatic? As far as i know they are still a mediocre unpredictable side. I guess the upcoming tour of South Africa will give us a clearer picture.

I am not saying that a good coach makes all the difference. I am pretty sure you know the fact that it is easy to go from being world no.7 to world no.3/4 but it is more difficult to go from being world no.3/4 to being world no.1 Just ask any South African cricket fan. They were always the 2nd best side in the world. Loosing in semis or quarters(storming through the group stages). This is where people like Gary Kirsten and Andy Flower come in the picture. That is why i say they are important. They give the team a direction and provide them stability. Ofcourse the captain is equally important. But a good coach makes a team from being competitive to being world class.

[capriccioso 2,545]

What has Pakistan done so dramatic? As far as i know they are still a mediocre unpredictable side. I guess the upcoming tour of South Africa will give us a clearer picture.

I am not saying that a good coach makes all the difference. I am pretty sure you know the fact that it is easy to go from being world no.7 to world no.3/4 but it is more difficult to go from being world no.3/4 to being world no.1 Just ask any South African cricket fan. They were always the 2nd best side in the world. Loosing in semis or quarters(storming through the group stages). This is where people like Gary Kirsten and Andy Flower come in the picture. That is why i say they are important. They give the team a direction and provide them stability. Ofcourse the captain is equally important. But a good coach makes a team from being competitive to being world class.

They were a mediocre side before he took over, he has transformed them to a decent test outfit- capable of beating anyone, at least in 'home' conditions. They are still unpredictable, but that's virtually a national trait for all Pakistani cricketers regardless of era

On another note, I think New Zealand's cricketers should perform the Haka when they face India next. They might even win

Intimidating!

[Ankit 3,176]

One of my Favourite and World's best bowler is a Chelsea fan. Wohoo.

[Ankit 3,176]

@Cap: That 'HAKA' is seriously intimidating. I would think twice before facing them in a rugby match.

But since Rugby is not popular in this part of the world. Would like to know what's it origin? Why do they do it? Is it a cultural thing?

[Duppy Conqueror 1,532]

@Cap: That 'HAKA' is seriously intimidating. I would think twice before facing them in a rugby match.

But since Rugby is not popular in this part of the world. Would like to know what's it origin? Why do they do it? Is it a cultural thing?

my auntie is Moari (my uncles wife) it`s an ancient tribal war dance by doing the haka they are laying down the challenge to their opponent. there are various kinds of haka. and it`s not only New Zealand who do it but Fiji,Samoa and i think Tonga but i can`t be sure on that last one. some teams stand up to it and don`t back down,some people see this as disrespectful to them,presumably the over enthusiastic and clumsy PC brigade ,but other more sensible people see it as them just accepting the challenge as they should. Ireland have got up into their faces as they have done it in the past (tho quite a few years ago now) and Wales have stared them down and refused to turn away making the kiwis turn away first. that was all part of it tho..there is the thing of who backs down first sometimes. Moaris are great proud people and Rugby fans from all over the world have some love for them..they are the Brazil of Rugby with an even longer span of greatness. my grandad on the welsh side of the family was a player on the team that were the national champions of Wales in 1936 (cross keys) hence why i love Rugby and support Wales in it.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,532]

One of my Favourite and World's best bowler is a Chelsea fan. Wohoo.

i don`t know if you remember the England batsmen Alec Stewart and Graeme Thorpe but they have been Chelsea fans since lil boys and go to watch the Chels whenever they can. our Chelsea legend Ron "Chopper" Harris was an apprentice wicketkeeper/batsmen with Middlesex but chose to pursue a career with CFC instead.. in the pre WWII era,many footballers in England played football and cricket and a few played for England at both sports.

[Ankit 3,176]

i don`t know if you remember the England batsmen Alec Stewart and Graeme Thorpe but they have been Chelsea fans since lil boys and go to watch the Chels whenever they can. our Chelsea legend Ron "Chopper" Harris was an apprentice wicketkeeper/batsmen with Middlesex but chose to pursue a career with CFC instead.. in the pre WWII era,many footballers in England played football and cricket and a few played for England at both sports.

Oh i do remember the classy wicketkeeper batsman Alec Stewart and the Left hander Graeme Thorpe. Being an Indian, Cricket was the first thing in my life . Then came football. So i am well versed when it comes to cricket. I also follow Stewart on Twitter and has seen him tweet about Chelsea so knew about it. I actually don't really know who follows Chelsea in the current crop of cricketers. Dale Steyn was a pleasant surprise.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,532]

the question was due to me not knowing your age really. i`m 36 and probably the average age is quite a bit younger than that on here.

growing up in London was great for cricket as a kid i grew up in a multi-ethnical area where there was mostly West Indians in my neck of the woods with some Indians among other asians too..used to all watch it together.

i much prefer going to The oval..than to Lords tho,luckily The Oval was the nearest for me,not far away atall..

if you can find it about last summer i spoke of my childhood and the famous cricketers i met.in particular an encounter with Sunil Gavaskar.(i was in a wheelchair at the time as i was a sickly child) anyway the story is there somewhere back on this thread..may need a large cup of tea if you are gonna attempt it tho as it`s pretty long) Ravi Shastri was another one. used to watch him play for Glamorgan when visiting the welsh side of my family..i saw him one time not only hit the ball out of the ground it went over the road outside and over the double decker bus that was parked up at a bus stop,i`ve never seen anyone hit a cricket ball so far..Glamorgan werent playing on their main ground (sophia gardens) and it didn't have any big stands or anything but still.hell of a hit. Kapil Dev i used to like too but Gavaskar was the Indian cricketer i loved best..i`ve always had a thing for opening batsmen..the dual between them and the opening bowler,it`s probably my favorite part of a test match,when the pitch offers a bit to both parties.

there`s no real Surrey boys in the England team at present so probably not any Chelsea fans there now,tho ya never know...with Steyn being a fan,that`s probably a recent development but in England really,you are likely to become fans of a football club at a much younger age..like 5 is probably the age that most pick a club,was certainly in my childhood.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,532]

*double post*

[capriccioso 2,545]

Christian Vieri was a very good cricketer in his youth, names his hero as Alan Border and has often said he would trade all his footballing achievements for just one test match playing for Australia

[Ankit 3,176]

@ Duppy Conqueror That's completely fine. I am 22. So have been watching cricket since the mid 90s. I still remember my granddad waking me up at 4 30 AM to watch India touring Australia. From there on, it was all cricket in the family with my granddad ,dad , me and my elder brother all hooked up to the TV sets. Unfortunately we got beaten pretty bad as Indian team was a horrible horrible travelers . But it was all worth it!! You must certainly know a lot about the cricket in 80s. I sometimes wish i was there in 1983. I certainly hope to see one Test Match at Lord's and the Oval.Also MCG and SCG It's like a childhood dream.

Been to many Test Matches here at Mohali myself where i live. Shook hands with many Englishmen, Australians and ofcourse Indians as well. Have only one regret, i didnt click any pictures of them with me.

[Madmax 9,219]

Aren't KP and Warne Chelsea fans as well? Surprised about Steyn, United are very big in South Africa.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,532]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_cricket_and_football_players

this may be of interest to you guys...there`s been 12 players who played for England at both football and cricket..

there`s also a list of the footballers who have played county cricket..our very first goalie "fatty" was one of them.

[capriccioso 2,545]

SCG It's like a childhood dream

The SCG isn't that great. The view is pretty poor unless you manage to get yourself on the front few rows. If you can't get a ticket for the bottom most tier then you may as well not go.

At least that was the case when I last visited the SCG, which was about 4-5 years ago. I was a lot shorter then, I might be able to view proceedings properly from the upper tiers now