Super.
–adjective
1.
of the highest degree, power, etc.
2.
of an extreme or excessive degree.
3.
Informal. very good; first-rate; excellent.
You can only use that word to describe the very top sportsmen and Freddie Flintoff fits that bill completely.
So the news this morning that he will quit cricket after the Ashes series, comes as an awful shock.
Flintoff may not have the best statistics for an England player (76 tests, batting average 31.69 and bowling average 32.51) but there are times when stats do not tell the whole story.
Flintoff was the talisman, the man the captained always turned to get a wicket - and invariably he did.
He excited crowds and was the man his team mates loved, always willing to put in the hard yards.
At just 31, he is way too young to retire, but his body seems to have gone because of his total effort and commitment to the cause.
He will be sorely missed on the test stage. Supermen don't grow on trees.
Wednesday 15 July 2009
Pont calling kettle black
After such a fantastic 1st test with the dramatic, gritty conclusion, it seems a shame that the focus has been on Australian captain Ricky Ponting moaning again.
Ponting's argument that England bringing on the physio and 12th man to waste time between overs was against the spirit of the game was probably a valid one. But it did it make any difference to the result? No. The final over needed to be started before 6.40pm. The final over finished at 6.43pm. The physio and 12th man were not on the field for longer than three minutes and therefore made not a jot of difference.
This is the very same Ricky Ponting that was warned for time wasting by Steve Bucknor in the 3rd Ashes test in 2005 at Old Trafford on the 4th day. You will remember that Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee hung on on the final day with Australia nine down. No England moans then.
Ponting has also been in trouble with the ICC for various misdemeanours in his time and along with his refusal to "walk" and excessive appealing, he is proving himself to be very hypocritical indeed by making such comments.
Ponting's rant also seems to further undermine his ability to captain under pressure. It's not difficult to captain when you have Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne in your side, but Ponting is now discovering that captaining a test side is not so easy.
It was about time that a situation like Sunday went in in England's favour. They should have won the Boxing Day test at Durban 2004 (when South Africa went off for bad light after Makhaya Ntini had hit 16 off the last over with the home side eight down). They should have won that Old Trafford test in 2005. And they should have won in both Antigua and Trinidad only last winter with West Indies holding on (with even more obvious time wasting tactics employed).
No, it was entirely just that something like that went in England's favour. And Ponting should realise, what goes around, comes around.
Ponting's argument that England bringing on the physio and 12th man to waste time between overs was against the spirit of the game was probably a valid one. But it did it make any difference to the result? No. The final over needed to be started before 6.40pm. The final over finished at 6.43pm. The physio and 12th man were not on the field for longer than three minutes and therefore made not a jot of difference.
This is the very same Ricky Ponting that was warned for time wasting by Steve Bucknor in the 3rd Ashes test in 2005 at Old Trafford on the 4th day. You will remember that Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee hung on on the final day with Australia nine down. No England moans then.
Ponting has also been in trouble with the ICC for various misdemeanours in his time and along with his refusal to "walk" and excessive appealing, he is proving himself to be very hypocritical indeed by making such comments.
Ponting's rant also seems to further undermine his ability to captain under pressure. It's not difficult to captain when you have Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne in your side, but Ponting is now discovering that captaining a test side is not so easy.
It was about time that a situation like Sunday went in in England's favour. They should have won the Boxing Day test at Durban 2004 (when South Africa went off for bad light after Makhaya Ntini had hit 16 off the last over with the home side eight down). They should have won that Old Trafford test in 2005. And they should have won in both Antigua and Trinidad only last winter with West Indies holding on (with even more obvious time wasting tactics employed).
No, it was entirely just that something like that went in England's favour. And Ponting should realise, what goes around, comes around.
Tuesday 7 July 2009
"All we need is Ravi Bopara...
better than Lara, and Sangakkara."
That's what England fans sing about their new No 3. And you cannot blame them because Ravi Bopara certainly looks the part.
Three consecutive tons have cemented his place in the team and he seems a much more confident and composed character than either Ian Bell or Owais Shah.
Which makes Shane Warne's comments in the Guardian last month surprising: "Bopara is a good first-class cricketer, but he is not an international cricketer. I think he's got all the talent in the world, but I just don't think he's got the temperament. He can be put off his game too easily and he's too worried about how he looks. Let's hope England aren't relying on Bopara [for the Ashes] because they could be in trouble."
An Aussie stirring things on the eve of the Ashes? Where have I heard that before?
From what I've seen, Ravi Bopara has the perfect temperament for international cricket. His 52 off 53 balls led England so close to victory against Sri Lanka in the 2007 World Cup, his quick-as-a-flash ton in Barbados should have put England in with a chance of victory, and his reaction to his unfathomable dropping in Trinidad first class.
If these comments are likely to continue from Warne, I'll have to turn the sound down during what promises to be another exciting Ashes series.
That's what England fans sing about their new No 3. And you cannot blame them because Ravi Bopara certainly looks the part.
Three consecutive tons have cemented his place in the team and he seems a much more confident and composed character than either Ian Bell or Owais Shah.
Which makes Shane Warne's comments in the Guardian last month surprising: "Bopara is a good first-class cricketer, but he is not an international cricketer. I think he's got all the talent in the world, but I just don't think he's got the temperament. He can be put off his game too easily and he's too worried about how he looks. Let's hope England aren't relying on Bopara [for the Ashes] because they could be in trouble."
An Aussie stirring things on the eve of the Ashes? Where have I heard that before?
From what I've seen, Ravi Bopara has the perfect temperament for international cricket. His 52 off 53 balls led England so close to victory against Sri Lanka in the 2007 World Cup, his quick-as-a-flash ton in Barbados should have put England in with a chance of victory, and his reaction to his unfathomable dropping in Trinidad first class.
If these comments are likely to continue from Warne, I'll have to turn the sound down during what promises to be another exciting Ashes series.
Wimble-done
Wimbledon was a great but tiring two weeks. 150 hours graft in a two-week period is not many peoples' ideas of fun but I enjoyed every minute of it. No real shocks in the tennis - with Federer and S Williams triumphing - but some wonderful matches. I cannot wait until next year's action upon the lawns of the All England Club.
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