Random thoughts and observations
England has deservedly won the 2010-11 Ashes series 3-1 after completing its unprecedented third innings victory over Australia. There has been some media discussion about Australia’s performance in comparative terms. A caller to ABC Radio suggested this was the “worst Australian team ever”, which drew a rebuttal from Jim Maxwell that 1978-79 was a more insipid performance. My immediate reaction was to disagree with Maxwell.
I always rated Allan Border highly as a bowler, probably more so than himself. He started his career as a batting allrounder, but didn’t bowl much after his test debut in 1978. However, he had great success with the ball against the West Indies, including a match-winning 11 wickets. For the record, Border finished with 39 test wickets at an average of 39.1. His first-class record was 106 wickets at 39.25.
Allan Border famously banned wives and girlfriends from travelling with the Australian cricket team on the 1989 Ashes tour of England. Border insisted that winning had to come first, and that’s what happened. He still cops flak about the decision from some of the (ex) players’ wives, apparently. However, it puts into context the decision [...]
Hard to believe it’s 25 years since Kim Hughes broke down at a press conference at the Gabba while announcing his resignation from the Australian captaincy. Mike Coward relives the moment in The Australian. Kids today are so used to Australia winning they can’t relate to the turmoil that existed in cricket at that time. [...]
The demise of the West Indies is rather sad, really. They were the dominant cricket power when I was a boy; today they’re a rabble. Peter Roebuck has suggested they may be better off forming national sides based on their countries, eg Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, etc. If they can’t get their act [...]
