Cricket things that annoy you

[janty]

Every Kayo commentator that does the BigBash.

 

[Gethelred]

IIRC, there was a tour of South Africa in around 2009-12 by England, after Graeme Swann had taken 50+ wickets in a calender year. As such, the brains trust in SA cricket wanted to come up with a theory to defang him. While his stock ball, spin and drift was a weapon, his real trick against right handers - of which De Villiers, Smith, Amla, Kallis, and Boucher were all right handers - was dragging their front leg across then hitting them with an arm ball for LBW or bowled. South Africa came up with using the sweep defensively; take your guard on off stump, and step further outside off to sweep down on almost everything that gave you the length.

What this accomplished was it more or less completely negated the LBW threat. You're playing a shot, and you're already in front of off; if it hits you without turning, it's hitting you outside the line and there's something betwen the ball and the stumps to prevent his bowled. It was a decent counter to Swann, and it worked well enough.

Now, to the reason for this particular journey into history.

During Lyon's and Head's spells in this test, the English have noticably been taking an off stump guard, and they significantly got on the sweep to attack Lyon during their second dig. Crawley and Root in particular got him and got him hard, sending him for more than 5 an over. There were multiple balls that hit Crawley on the knee outside off that were close given not out.

Brook wasn't the only one to liberally use the reverse sweep to sweep Lyon. Both Crawley and Root used it very well. I think their plans to Lyon were based on the SA plans against them more than a decade ago, and the blatant refusal to place Brook's reverse in appropriate context - if you look at where his feet are, why he seems to be playing the wrong line, he's in the near perfect position to negate an LBW threat to the stumps - irritates the hell out of me.

This is the casualisation of this sport writ large. Far from T20 ruining the game, those deliberately dumbing it down are actively destroying it.

 

[Cleavy]

Michael Clarke's column referring to Nathan Lyon as "Lyono" for half the article. he didn't reference nicknames for any other players in the article.

 

[cricketnut14]

Michael Clarke's column referring to Nathan Lyon as "Lyono" for half the article. he didn't reference nicknames for any other players in the article.

he was also big on 'smiffy' back in the day

 

[010203]

Putting the word 'ball' at the end of a coach's nickname. Hopefully that fad goes when McCullum's tenure as England coach ends.

 

[Pistol Night]

Putting the word 'ball' at the end of a coach's nickname. Hopefully that fad goes when McCullum's tenure as England coach ends.

You blokes have won 2 flags with Fageball though

 

[Cleavy]

Putting the word 'ball' at the end of a coach's nickname. Hopefully that fad goes when McCullum's tenure as England coach ends.

thankfully I can barely remember who the other international coaches are, let alone know their nicknames for this.

 

[010203]

You blokes have won 2 flags with Fageball though

I actually don't mind it in the footy codes but with a coach not as important to a team’s success in cricket, I'd rather hear Patball, Smudgeball, Benball etc

 

[Ohitsthatguy]

You blokes have won 2 flags with Fageball though

I'm happy you kept the e in there

Not that there's anything wrong with that