The Ashes 2009 thread

One of my friends just claimed on his facebook profile that Stuart Broad deserves a knighthood as much as (if not more than) Chris Hoy.

Proven best in the world at what he does > team player who has so far contributed one great performance in an ashes series

that's a little silly, isn't it. gongs are dished out when a sportsman has clearly reached the pinnacle of his career after years of dedication.

Anyone know if there's going to be an open top bus? I'm more than keen for some flag waving and high jinx in Trafalgar Square if so

no bus.

I love a good rich tea

so does Ramnaresh Sarwan.

no bus.

:(

so does Ramnaresh Sarwan.

that was Eddo Brandes. Sarwan's reply was brilliant though, purely because of McGrath's reaction :D

that's a little silly, isn't it. gongs are dished out when a sportsman has clearly reached the pinnacle of his career after years of dedication.

My thoughts exactly. Chris Hoy can rightfully say that he is the best in the world.

Stuart Broad can say he had a good day and was part of a decent team.

Broad's session after the rain break was mouth dropping.
Rubbish pic of the game when Aus were 111.7

1 Attachment

Sink!

Bump!

you have highly achieving sportsmen/women (i refuse to use the word 'great' as that suggests some humility and lack of conceit) because australia has little else to be proud of. no culture and little of achievement outside sport. what culture it does have is not supported as the indigenous people and their culture has been suppressed, most of the cultural and literal intelligentsia have the foresight to leave to achieve recognition and success, i'm still trying to figure out what talents the resident forum antipodeans are trying to export to the mother country?

Nice try.

I love it how some English people feel that it's ok to use a narrowly-achieved victory in a sporting event to belittle an entire nation and all of its achievements. I've never experienced that in any other country. Why is that?

I was just in Germany watching the World Athletics Championships. The contrast in behaviour between the mostly-German athletics crowd and the English cricket crowds at Cardiff and Lords (the tests i attended) was enormous. The Germans supported their athletes vocally and passionately, but there was absolutely no niggling of athletes (or supporters) from other countries. There was definitely no booing of foreign competitors, even in events where a German star was narrowly beaten by a foreigner (the women's high jump, for example). Plenty of genuine respect for good performances, and when Australian athletes won medals people would come to us and congratulate us.

Apart from the English pricks who thought an Australian winning the women's discus was a good time to sledge us about the Ashes.

And we get called bad sports. What a fucking joke. You do your country no credit, mate.

Athletics and sports like cricket, rugby and football are poles apart in terms of the crowds, you think the fans at FC Hamburg go and congratulate the winning team's supporters when they lose?

And I think you are being a little unfair, Ponting was booed as he is often quite vocal in his protests and excuses, he is seen as the archetypal sore loser.
Australia will be sure to return the favour as they have always done, I'm sure Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen will be looking forward to the polite applause as they take to the feild of play at the Gabba.

he will get called a bad sport/sore loser no matter what he says. what we said after the game was fine - if you see the stats, the aussies had the better figures over the series but lost. it is the standard response to cry sore loser or whinger.

in the same way that the article posted was called whinging. it just states facts, and granted, it was a fucking stupid time to publish it, but i didn't see all that much whinging.

i guess will be called one now too.

you have highly achieving sportsmen/women (i refuse to use the word 'great' as that suggests some humility and lack of conceit) because australia has little else to be proud of. no culture and little of achievement outside sport. what culture it does have is not supported as the indigenous people and their culture has been suppressed, most of the cultural and literal intelligentsia have the foresight to leave to achieve recognition and success, i'm still trying to figure out what talents the resident forum antipodeans are trying to export to the mother country?

without wanting to get involved in the hippy baiting, i believe we have been called poor winners, too.

:)

Sporting triumphs aside, your fish and chips is fucking shit.

Mine?
Fuck you Victorian!

:P

Not you, you plank... these fuckin poms.

oh, yeah.
bastards.

Sporting triumphs aside, your fish and chips is fucking shit.

I'm rescinding your allen key holding privileges.

he will get called a bad sport/sore loser no matter what he says. what we said after the game was fine - if you see the stats, the aussies had the better figures over the series but lost.

there's a lot of this talk about stats, but I can't see where people are making the calculations, it was 2:1 to England.

Most of the stats were on our side: http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/422102.html , but Australia lost the series by collapsing in the first innings at Lord's and the Oval, and failing to bowl England out at Cardiff. Simple as that.

That's always been the nature of test cricket: the team that wins the crucial sessions wins the matches.

So why the fuck does that justify being called a bunch of useless convict pricks and sore losers? the aussie team's behaviour was exemplary on this tour, and Ponting didn't put a foot wrong (despite the selective editing of his comments after Cardiff).

And I have never seen a top player (yep, I rate Strauss and Pietersen) booed in Melbourne (I'm a Melbourne CC member and I've been there a lot over 20-odd years). The receptions for Tendulkar, Lara and Smith have been better than for most Australian players. This idea that our crowds would behave the same way to opposition players is way off the mark: it's a transparent attempt to justify bad behaviour.

Now i'm going to get called a fucking whinger. Whatever. Maybe BRM and I can go and drink shandies together in some wine bar or something.

Be quiet ya whinger..

Can we talk about phones now?

So why the fuck does that justify being called a bunch of useless convict pricks and sore losers?

who called you that? I certainly didn't, and wouldn't, it's not justified, but I can see how a few people might suggest poor sportsmanship when all we seem to be hearing is how aus were the "better" team "on paper" and the stats this the stats that, the toss, the pitches blah blah. Maybe it's harder for you because losses are not something you are used to, but it happens, 5 test series is enough to find out the best team.

so shut up, you useless convict prick and sore loser ;)

why are they so worried about south africans anyway? didn't they beat them to become the best in the world? maybe a nation that is inherently racist has a problem with all this, but I've never heard anyone here moan that an aus/kiwi/saffer batsman was born elsewhere. And what of our players with pakistani/indian origins? are they also under scrutiny? no, I thought not.

the english players of indian/pakistani descent aren't under scrutiny because they were born here, unlike Pietersen and Trott with their perfect British accents, raised in the South African system and basically indicative of the quality of South Africa's ability to produce good players, rather than England's.

Trott: "born in Cape Town to a South African family of British descent. Educated at Rondebosch Boys' High School and Stellenbosch University, he played for South Africa at both under-15 and under-19 level"

Pietersen: moved to England in when he couldn't get a game for Natal, aged about 20.

Can't you grow your own?

Strauss and Prior left South Africa as kids (although Strauss first played cricket for Caulfield Grammar in Melbourne, surprise surprise), so we don't mind as much.

Ravi Bopara: born 4 May 1985, Forest Gate, Newham, London
Monty Panesar: born 25 April 1982 in Luton, Bedfordshire

There's nothing wrong with South Africans, as long as they play for South Africa.

what a load of utter bollocks.

Most of the stats were on our side

that's irrelevant. england were the better team the only stat you need is 2-1

So why the fuck does that justify being called a bunch of useless convict pricks and sore losers? the aussie team's behaviour was exemplary on this tour, and Ponting didn't put a foot wrong (despite the selective editing of his comments after Cardiff).

he wasn't too bad this time round. he was booed at the presentation when he blamed the pitch and cheered when he praised england. do you really think it would be any different in australia? you have your jingoistic blinkers on if you do.

And I have never seen a top player (yep, I rate Strauss and Pietersen) booed in Melbourne (I'm a Melbourne CC member and I've been there a lot over 20-odd years). The receptions for Tendulkar, Lara and Smith have been better than for most Australian players. This idea that our crowds would behave the same way to opposition players is way off the mark: it's a transparent attempt to justify bad behaviour.

well it doesn't seem to bother him
“I am told that some people have been upset about the fact that some English fans were booing me, but I thought it was a terrific atmosphere to play in,” Ponting writes in his column for The Times. (ANI)"

as for the crowds down there being an example of decorum, that's laughable.the sledging out in the middle and from the crowds is part of the game, the most famous ones are australian (my fave is 'why are you so fat?' because every time i shag your wife she gives me a biscuit') . i distinctly remember the boundary microphone picking up "go home yer pommie bastard" as an england batsman walked out in the previous ashes in australia.

Now i'm going to get called a fucking whinger. Whatever. Maybe BRM and I can go and drink shandies together in some wine bar or something.

yes you are whinging. you wouldn't be a real australian if you weren't.
it's how you deal with losing, you only have to read the press article linked earlier for whinging proof

read these and have a chuckle, it might make you feel better.

*Hey Tufnell, can I borrow your brain? I’m building an idiot” *- Australian fan to England’s Phil Tufnell. *“Mate, if you just turn the bat over you’ll find the instructions on the other side” *- Merv Hughes to Robin Smith.
“All right, which one of you bastards called this bastard a bastard?” – Vic Richardson, the Aussie vice-captain interrogates his team after England skipper **Douglas Jardine **complains he’d heard someone swear at him on the field.
Aussie wicketkeeper Ian Healy: “You’re a fucking cheat.”
England batsman Mike Atherton: “When in Rome, dear boy.”
Aussie batsman Mark Waugh: “Mate, what are you doing out here. There’s no way you’re good enough to play for England.”
James Ormond: “Maybe not, but at least I’m the best player in my family.”
Aussie wicketkeeper Rod Marsh: “How’s your wife and my kids?”
Ian Botham: “Wife’s good, but the kids are retarded.”
*“Hey Gatting – move out of the way. I can’t see the stumps.” *Dennis Lillee to a rotund Mike Gatting.
*“The other advantage England have when Tufnell is bowling is that he isn’t fielding.” *Aussie ex-player and pundit Ian Chappell.
“I don’t mind this lot chirping at me but you’re just the bus driver.” Nasser Hussain to Justin Langer