Mega Thread 2022/23 Off-Season Sports Thread

[BStaff17]

I went along as I’m a big test cricket fan and wouldn’t miss it. If you lived in Perth you’d know it’s a pretty cricket savvy public and know when they’re being shafted. McGowan knocked back an ashes test. Interesting attitude. he just said cricket players have to follow the same COVID rules as normal people and the English didn’t want to do the quarantine. Had the first test been scheduled in Perth the next tests could have been played unaffected.

Definitely annoyed CA wasn’t able to schedule a 5 test series against India tho, no reason not to other than India not wanting to. One of a number of fails of CA( and WACA too tbh)

After next year series in India i think in February its 4 tests.

But after that every Border-Gavaskar series moving forward after that will be 5 tests so Brisbane & Perth will be both guaranteed tests every time India play now.

Both CA & BCCI agreed to it earlier this year.

 

[im_a_lazy_sod]

It was one of the worst penalty shootout performances from one team you will ever see from Japan.

Worse than the 2019 A-League grand final? I still shudder at some of those attempts and Redmayne's unpenalised tactics

 

[estibador]

Some of those Brazilian goals this morning... * chef's kiss *

Just beautiful team play.

 

[Wobbly Punt]

Anyone watch the ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson fight in the ufc today? What a fight, what a performance, let alone for a 40yo.

Just watched it last night, what an effort. Different sport but that one runs a close second in guts to Jai Opetaia who won his fight whilst boxing with a busted jaw earlier this year. I'll never know that sort of determination and guts. Unreal.

 

[Wobbly Punt]

I always pictured the Dockers as the Browns ngl

Having been a Bengals fan since 1986, I would say we're closer to the Bengals than the Browns but I see your point .

 

[greatgatsby]

Having been a Bengals fan since 1986, I would say we're closer to the Bengals than the Browns but I see your point .

Yeah, I reckon it's a close call. Bengals have a notoriously tight-fisted owner. Some of these guys are nutters, like the blokes who own the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Commanders.

 

[ImperialPurple]

Shame Japan didn't win.

Booooooooo!!!

 

[greatgatsby]

Booooooooo!!!

Thought I'd get something out of you. Just want to see Asia-Pacific football progress

 

[ImperialPurple]

Thought I'd get something out of you. Just want to see Asia-Pacific football progress

You got me. But still - ajmo Vatreni!!

 

[drxce]

Having been a Bengals fan since 1986, I would say we're closer to the Bengals than the Browns but I see your point .

I think it's the obnoxiously strange mascot and colour scheme of the Browns, coupled with the years of mismanagement and lone star players etc.

 

[Wobbly Punt]

Yeah, I reckon it's a close call. Bengals have a notoriously tight-fisted owner. Some of these guys are nutters, like the blokes who own the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Commanders.

Yeah the Brown family who own the Bengals have done all they can to drive thew fan base away over the years. Seems to have changed a bit in recent years though, even slightly before Burrow.

Snider at the Commanders is a complete knob by the looks of everything coming out now - even hiring private investigators to collect dirt on other owners and threatening them with it if they tried to force a team sale. That on top of the team name disaster and all the other crap they're being investigated for as well.

I think Biscotti at the Ravens is pretty solid though. Biscotti seems pretty well regarded. Unless you mean The previous Baltimore team who moved the Baltimore Colts out in the middle of the night to Indianapolis and who seemed like a huge piece of drunk crap. Different team though.

 

[Wobbly Punt]

I think it's the obnoxiously strange mascot and colour scheme of the Browns, coupled with the years of mismanagement and lone star players etc.

I think the weirdest thing is they are named after a guy who's family owns a division rival and, although he was their first and very successful coach, he's also a guy coached against them.

 

[greatgatsby]

Yeah the Brown family who own the Bengals have done all they can to drive thew fan base away over the years. Seems to have changed a bit in recent years though, even slightly before Burrow.

Snider at the Commanders is a complete knob by the looks of everything coming out now - even hiring private investigators to collect dirt on other owners and threatening them with it if they tried to force a team sale. That on top of the team name disaster and all the other crap they're being investigated for as well.

I think Biscotti at the Ravens is pretty solid though. Biscotti seems pretty well regarded. Unless you mean The previous Baltimore team who moved the Baltimore Colts out in the middle of the night to Indianapolis and who seemed like a huge piece of drunk crap. Different team though.

Yeah, you're right about the Orioles - I was thinking of Angelos(?). Snyder is a piece of work. There is pressure on him to sell the team and the DC govt are after him for a bunch of things, although not for being a misogynist twit who doesn't know anything about football. The word is that Bezos wants to buy the team and I don't think anyone's going to outbid him. Long suffering Washington fans will welcome him with open arms. The team's going OK already in a shite stadium and with that clown as owner.

 

[Beak_A]

After next year series in India i think in February its 4 tests.

But after that every Border-Gavaskar series moving forward after that will be 5 tests so Brisbane & Perth will be both guaranteed tests every time India play now.

Both CA & BCCI agreed to it earlier this year.

That’s more like it !

 

[Beak_A]

After next year series in India i think in February its 4 tests.

But after that every Border-Gavaskar series moving forward after that will be 5 tests so Brisbane & Perth will be both guaranteed tests every time India play now.

Both CA & BCCI agreed to it earlier this year.

That’s more like it !

 

[Nodgey]

Yeah that certainly was the complaint from administrators and sponsors when test cricket was played at the WACA on its classic fast bouncy pitches - the players loved the challenge though as it was unique in world cricket . I think you’ve hit on one of the key reasons the cricketing public are losing interest - it’s becoming just another sports entertainment product and is managed as such

Spot on. I went to the first three days of the test. I was hoping the Windies would bat first, we'd steamroll them, then build a big lead and win by an innings. At one stage though I'd seen something like 5 wickets fall for about 750 runs and it wasn't that exciting at all.

I wonder f the increased use of drop-in pitches is giving us all these roads. And teams barely ever enforce the follow-on anymore which coincidentally makes the match go longer...

Aust could/should have declared at 500 instead of 600 given we don't enforce the follow-on anymore. It's a waste of time and IMHO a rather selfish act in a team game to wait for players to bring up milestones. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating declaring on a batsman who's 96*, but I have no problem declaring if he's 156* or in the 80s.

 

[Wobbly Punt]

Drop in pitches are certainly contributing. I think there has been an over reaction to the early versions of these pitches worldwide. Many early versions did seem to give the bowlers an advantage and I think threatened the ongoing acceptance of them so they flattened them out, and that's gone too far the other way, as is human nature.

I get the financial element and it needs to considered for sure. The viability of the Test game depends on it being well patronised. My guess though would be that if we had a string of tightly contested 3-4 day Tests where wickets fell regularly, runs were still made and the contest was tight, then crowds for ensuing tests would far exceed the crowds we just saw here or will see in Adelaide and Brissie. I know I'd be back in a heartbeat if I wasn't destined to endure 3/400 on each of the first 2 days and then a hopefully daring declaration and a wearing pitch which meant we got a contest for 1 of the 5 days.

 

[Wobbly Punt]

Yeah, you're right about the Orioles - I was thinking of Angelos(?). Snyder is a piece of work. There is pressure on him to sell the team and the DC govt are after him for a bunch of things, although not for being a misogynist twit who doesn't know anything about football. The word is that Bezos wants to buy the team and I don't think anyone's going to outbid him. Long suffering Washington fans will welcome him with open arms. The team's going OK already in a shite stadium and with that clown as owner.

Aah you switched codes on me. Yeah the Orioles owner hasn't done them any favours or put out any decent teams for ages. He's not the worst though, the LA Angels guy is a disaster but both of those only in terms of on field performance.

Noone I can think of in any sport over there matches Snyder in the off field department. He's the NFL's Donald Sterling (code switch again).

 

[Joao]

Pitches with pace and bounce keep the bat and the ball in the game. Fast outfield too. Poor bowling gets spanked but there are wickets if you bowl well.

Ship the WACA dirt (the stuff they used in the 70s-90s) around the country. Import the stuff from that pitch O'Keefe took 14 wickets on in India for the SCG. Also leave shedloads of grass on the Gabba and Hobart (especially) like they used to in the shield. Done.

 

[Taylor]

And start the test series at the GABBA every year where we are basically guaranteed a win even if the Indians kick up a fuss about it.

Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney in that order. The Ashes are won in Perth.

 

[Dockeroo]

We don’t owe the West Indies anything

But if test cricket in Perth is just a box ticking exercise for officials is it any wonder no one can be bothered going to watch it

This is the attitude from Australia that has triggered the decline in test cricket.
Some people think australia should only play India or England and everyone else can piss off.
This form of the sport will continue to decline globally if the only teams Australia England and India play are each other.
There is great potential in the new countries to grow cricket if the desire is there!

 

[Beak_A]

Pitches with pace and bounce keep the bat and the ball in the game. Fast outfield too. Poor bowling gets spanked but there are wickets if you bowl well.

Ship the WACA dirt (the stuff they used in the 70s-90s) around the country. Import the stuff from that pitch O'Keefe took 14 wickets on in India for the SCG. Also leave shedloads of grass on the Gabba and Hobart (especially) like they used to in the shield. Done.

I like it

 

[Beak_A]

This is the attitude from Australia that has triggered the decline in test cricket.
Some people think australia should only play India or England and everyone else can piss off.
This form of the sport will continue to decline globally if the only teams Australia England and India play are each other.
There is great potential in the new countries to grow cricket if the desire is there!

I think we’re in agreement ? I’m keen to see all nations play, just not in pissant 2 test series. It’s going to be interesting to watch countries like Bangladesh and Afghanistan follow that development pathway that Sri Lanka took when they were the noobs once upon a time

 

[Beak_A]

And start the test series at the GABBA every year where we are basically guaranteed a win even if the Indians kick up a fuss about it.

Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney in that order. The Ashes are won in Perth.

Can we have the Lilac Hill festival match back too ?

 

[CakeEater]

Can we have the Lilac Hill festival match back too ?

Dennis Lillee and his son to open the bowling again?