I agree with your sentiments about the wicket feeling cheap, and definitely prefer to see wickets taken through skill. It's why I've always felt a little uncomfortable about the mankad, even if the batter is taking an advantage in that situation it just feels instinctively wrong for a wicket to fall before a ball is even bowled. But I accept it is a legitimate tactic now.
However I just struggle to feel any sort of sense of injustice for Bairstow or any genuine desire for Cummins to have withdrawn the appeal. Ensuring the ball is dead is drilled into us from a young age and it just looks lazy for Bairstow to unilaterally declare the over has finished without even a cursory glance at the keeper. I've watched Kane Williamson his whole career thoroughly and cautiously ensuring the ball was dead before walking to the middle for a chat with his batting partner. That most batters are similarly cautious feels like an unspoken acknowledgement that failure to do so means a genuine risk to your wicket.
I refer to The Grade Cricketer's Ian Higgins who asks a pertinent question re. the dead ball, end of the over argument: if Carey had a mare, missed the stumps, and the ball had dribbled into no man's land, would Bairstow have run one or two?
Jul 3, 2023·edited Jul 3, 2023Liked by Dylan Cleaver
Nice work Dylan. Firstly on the motorsport, no complaints here. Would be great to see Lawson in an AlphaTauri car - they're not bad cars and of course a stepping stone into the glamour team if you drive them well.
Onto my favourite, the cricket.....seems to me that some heat is already going out of the Bairstow incident. Most of the *English* pundits, among them Strauss, Morgan and Hussein have refused to condemn the Aussies, in fact some have been far more critical of Bairstow's sloppiness. Notably nobody is arguing that the dismissal was against the rules, again it's the nebulous "spirit of cricket" argument. McCullum fell back on that and IMO went too far by saying the English won't have a beer with the Aussies, Ben Stokes walked back from that statement the same day. I tend to your concept of a "long stumping" - I was out like that on my 1st XI debut aged 14, and nobody, my team mates and coach included had any sympathy for me. From that day on I always secured the crease.
As for the cricket itself, what a brilliant game. You have to give it to Stokes though - is there a better big moment player in the world? How he only averages 36 with the bat in test cricket with that outstanding technique *and* the ability to attack like he does is a mystery to me - he's played some of the most memorable innings....
England have problems, and I think they'd be better off focusing on making some hard calls that constantly putting themselves on a moral pedestal, be that by pushing the Bazball or Bairstow angles. McCullum is a very clever manipulator of the press IMO - those little self deprecating comments here and there that the English press so adore are calculated but they'll also wear thin when it becomes clear the Ashes are flying Qantas out of Heathrow. For pure ability to exploit conventional swing its hard to go past Anderson in his pomp, but to me he looks done. I believe he's been bowling to protect his figures for a few years now, and revealingly he asked Stokes to take him off - "there's nothing in this *for me*".
I don't think Australia are miles better, but they are clearly better. I wouldn't be surprised to see England take a test, but I don't think they are good enough to take 2 or 3 and the weather is likely to force a draw somewhere as well. When you look soberly at the Lords test I think the scoreline flattered England - I don't believe they were ever going to make 370 in the fourth innings with a tail that started at 8, and remember they won the toss in bowling conditions and made no headway.
Really enjoying this series, and the Bairstow incident has added a bit of spice. Interestingly the Wisden Editor Lawrence Booth has said that he doesn't think England are much loved by the Aussie team because of the moral posturing. Should be some good viewing to come!
I did wonder if NASCAR would make a showing - someone who knows better than me wrote that Van Gisbergen only has one equal in ‘car control’, and that is Max Verstappen.
Russell Ingall observed that while SVG won, it looked like NASCAR might have better cars than SuperCars, and perhaps there are things to be adopted from the USA as a result. Not forgetting the NASCAR entry did really well at Le Mans 24hrs recently.
And finally - add in Hayden Paddon and Emma Gilmour to the current crop. Extreme-E might be a bit gimmicky at times but it’s early days and trying to develop some innovations that are coming. And to have the first ever female works driver at McLaren being a Kiwi is neat on several levels.
Seems to me that the 2 are actually very similar: once in a lifetime talents, stone-cold killers on track - but off track in the public eye they both seem quite awkward and retiring, and not very 'superstar' in their home lives.
The streaming footage when Max is gaming with his glasses on and his partner's wee girl is assaulting him with her toy rabbit and so on is endearing, its like there are two Max Verstappen's, one animatronic version packed in a trunk that Christian Horner carts around the world and jump-starts for each Grand Prix, one living a quiet life of gaming and swimming and family dinners.
Two observations on the ashes series: 1) It is England that is providing the spark that has given us two outstanding matches to date. Watching England play is to fall back in love with test cricket. 2) Pat Cummings, by not recalling Bairstow, joins Greg Chappell and Smith the Sandpaperer, in the Aussies Hall of Infame.
My understanding (which is limited to be honest), is that he's always been too big for the top single-seater classes. Somebody might be able to correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what I've been told.
I agree with your sentiments about the wicket feeling cheap, and definitely prefer to see wickets taken through skill. It's why I've always felt a little uncomfortable about the mankad, even if the batter is taking an advantage in that situation it just feels instinctively wrong for a wicket to fall before a ball is even bowled. But I accept it is a legitimate tactic now.
However I just struggle to feel any sort of sense of injustice for Bairstow or any genuine desire for Cummins to have withdrawn the appeal. Ensuring the ball is dead is drilled into us from a young age and it just looks lazy for Bairstow to unilaterally declare the over has finished without even a cursory glance at the keeper. I've watched Kane Williamson his whole career thoroughly and cautiously ensuring the ball was dead before walking to the middle for a chat with his batting partner. That most batters are similarly cautious feels like an unspoken acknowledgement that failure to do so means a genuine risk to your wicket.
Bang on
I refer to The Grade Cricketer's Ian Higgins who asks a pertinent question re. the dead ball, end of the over argument: if Carey had a mare, missed the stumps, and the ball had dribbled into no man's land, would Bairstow have run one or two?
Nice work Dylan. Firstly on the motorsport, no complaints here. Would be great to see Lawson in an AlphaTauri car - they're not bad cars and of course a stepping stone into the glamour team if you drive them well.
Onto my favourite, the cricket.....seems to me that some heat is already going out of the Bairstow incident. Most of the *English* pundits, among them Strauss, Morgan and Hussein have refused to condemn the Aussies, in fact some have been far more critical of Bairstow's sloppiness. Notably nobody is arguing that the dismissal was against the rules, again it's the nebulous "spirit of cricket" argument. McCullum fell back on that and IMO went too far by saying the English won't have a beer with the Aussies, Ben Stokes walked back from that statement the same day. I tend to your concept of a "long stumping" - I was out like that on my 1st XI debut aged 14, and nobody, my team mates and coach included had any sympathy for me. From that day on I always secured the crease.
As for the cricket itself, what a brilliant game. You have to give it to Stokes though - is there a better big moment player in the world? How he only averages 36 with the bat in test cricket with that outstanding technique *and* the ability to attack like he does is a mystery to me - he's played some of the most memorable innings....
England have problems, and I think they'd be better off focusing on making some hard calls that constantly putting themselves on a moral pedestal, be that by pushing the Bazball or Bairstow angles. McCullum is a very clever manipulator of the press IMO - those little self deprecating comments here and there that the English press so adore are calculated but they'll also wear thin when it becomes clear the Ashes are flying Qantas out of Heathrow. For pure ability to exploit conventional swing its hard to go past Anderson in his pomp, but to me he looks done. I believe he's been bowling to protect his figures for a few years now, and revealingly he asked Stokes to take him off - "there's nothing in this *for me*".
I don't think Australia are miles better, but they are clearly better. I wouldn't be surprised to see England take a test, but I don't think they are good enough to take 2 or 3 and the weather is likely to force a draw somewhere as well. When you look soberly at the Lords test I think the scoreline flattered England - I don't believe they were ever going to make 370 in the fourth innings with a tail that started at 8, and remember they won the toss in bowling conditions and made no headway.
Really enjoying this series, and the Bairstow incident has added a bit of spice. Interestingly the Wisden Editor Lawrence Booth has said that he doesn't think England are much loved by the Aussie team because of the moral posturing. Should be some good viewing to come!
Fully agree about the cricket Andy. I know nothing about motorsport so can’t comment beyond that I’m happy to read about it here!
I did wonder if NASCAR would make a showing - someone who knows better than me wrote that Van Gisbergen only has one equal in ‘car control’, and that is Max Verstappen.
Russell Ingall observed that while SVG won, it looked like NASCAR might have better cars than SuperCars, and perhaps there are things to be adopted from the USA as a result. Not forgetting the NASCAR entry did really well at Le Mans 24hrs recently.
And finally - add in Hayden Paddon and Emma Gilmour to the current crop. Extreme-E might be a bit gimmicky at times but it’s early days and trying to develop some innovations that are coming. And to have the first ever female works driver at McLaren being a Kiwi is neat on several levels.
Actually not surprised Super Max is a fan and friend of SVG, this was nice: https://the-race.com/formula-1/the-shock-win-and-insane-style-that-left-verstappen-screaming/
Seems to me that the 2 are actually very similar: once in a lifetime talents, stone-cold killers on track - but off track in the public eye they both seem quite awkward and retiring, and not very 'superstar' in their home lives.
The streaming footage when Max is gaming with his glasses on and his partner's wee girl is assaulting him with her toy rabbit and so on is endearing, its like there are two Max Verstappen's, one animatronic version packed in a trunk that Christian Horner carts around the world and jump-starts for each Grand Prix, one living a quiet life of gaming and swimming and family dinners.
Two observations on the ashes series: 1) It is England that is providing the spark that has given us two outstanding matches to date. Watching England play is to fall back in love with test cricket. 2) Pat Cummings, by not recalling Bairstow, joins Greg Chappell and Smith the Sandpaperer, in the Aussies Hall of Infame.
Could van Giz do it in an F1 car? Genuine question.
My understanding (which is limited to be honest), is that he's always been too big for the top single-seater classes. Somebody might be able to correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what I've been told.
Ah, right, that'd make sense. Thanks
I’m here for the motor sports and the warriors but enjoy all of your essays.