The Official Cricket Thread

[LordShiva]

Let's start it off with discussing the Champions trophy, and keep it running through the World Cup

[LordShiva]

After the Pakistan doping scandal, here's more shocking news:

Champions Trophy Group A, Mumbai: West Indies 234-6 (50 overs) bt Australia 224-9 (50 overs) by 10 runs

Jerome Taylor took a hat-trick as West Indies stunned favourites Australia by 10 runs in Champions Trophy Group A.

(click the smilie)

[Maquiladora]

The only cricket worth talking about is the Ashes.

[snoopy369]

Wait, in cricket you score like two hundred ...whatevers. How is a hat trick hard?? I'd think anyone who DOESN'T hit three in is sort of pathetic...

[FrostyBoy]

I have played Cricket, Baseball and Softball a lot. Out of the 3, I have found Cricket to be the most physically challenging and most strategically challenging.

[Frozzy]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Wait, in cricket you score like two hundred ...whatevers. How is a hat trick hard?? I'd think anyone who DOESN'T hit three in is sort of pathetic...

It's when you get 3 batsmen out on 3 consecutive balls.

[ravagon]

Originally posted by LordShiva
After the Pakistan doping scandal, here's more shocking news:

Calling it shocking news would ordinarily tend to imply that it's bad news ...

I just wish I could get a Carribean radio station at work. Annoy the blazes out of my colleagues ...

[LordShiva]

No, it's not bad news at all, just surprising

England vs. Australia tomorrow.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Maquiladora
The only cricket worth talking about is the Ashes.

Pah! Nonsense.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by LordShiva
West Indies 234-6 (50 overs) bt Australia 224-9 (50 overs) by 10 runs

Well played the West Indies - who'd a thunkit after their game against Sri Lanka? I'm looking forward to India vs Australia. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to England vs Anyone as we're crap.

[Cort Haus]

http://www.cricketnext.com/news/pcb-blames-inzamam-for-oval-fiasco/21315-13.html

PCB blames Inzamam for Oval fiasco

Karachi: Inzamam-ul Haq's conduct during the Oval Test has come in for sharp criticism from the new Pakistan Cricket Board President Naseem Ashraf who has squarely blamed him for the forfeiture.

Ashraf's attack on the skipper comes amidst a compensation claim of £80,000 being slapped on the PCB by its England counterpart.

"Inzamam is to be blamed for the forfeiture of The Oval Test because he refused to return to the field. It is because of his way of protesting the ball tampering charges that we are being asked for a substantial compensation by the ECB," Ashraf was quoted as saying by The News on Thursday.

But having said this, Ashraf also insisted the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was not justified in asking Pakistan to pay compensation, pointing out that it were the umpires who triggered the crisis.

Team manager Zaheer Abbas had also blamed Inzamam for refusing to take the field on the fourth day of the fourth day of the match.

Ashraf, who was in the thick of action during the proceedings that led to The Oval forfeiture, said it was only after several officials including him and former PCB chief Shaharyar Khan convinced him to take the field that Inzamam agreed to resume play but by then it was too late.

Pakistan were later cleared of the ball tampering charges by the International Cricket Council but Inzamam was banned for four One-Day Internationals for bringing the game into disrepute.

But Ashraf said Pakistan would not pay any compensation because the umpires and not Pakistan were responsible for the farcical end of the Test.

So Asharaf simultaneously blames Inzie for forfeiting the test, while blaming the Umpires for the reason of the abandonment. Which is it?

I can see why the PCB are pissed off that the ECB is demanding they foot the bill, but they can't blame both the Umpire and the captain. Anyway, I thought that Inzie was pressurised by Waqar Younis to pull the tantrum.

[duke o' york]

I blame the umpires!

Oh, wait, this isn't the Cricket Official thread.

Ashraf is an idiot. Maybe that's why he's heading up a cricket board.

[Cort Haus]

http://www.cricketnext.com/news/gayle-fined-30-per-cent-match-fee/21312-13.html

Mumbai: West Indies player Chris Gayle was on Thursday fined 30 per cent of his match fee for arguing with Australian batsman Michael Clarke during their ICC Champions Trophy match in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Gayle was found guilty of breaching C1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players -- failing to conduct play within the spirit of the game -- by Match Referee Mike Procter in a hearing on Thursday.

Gayle got into an argument with Clarke while bowling during the Australian run chase at the Brabourne Stadium.

However, Clarke was found 'not guilty' of the same charge in a separate hearing, an ICC media release said.

"What started off as banter between the two players got out of hand and Chris Gayle went over the top in his reactions," Procter said after the hearing.

"We do not want robots on the field and we want to ensure players play with enthusiasm and passion. We saw a great deal of that during an excellent match yesterday, but there is a line between what is acceptable and what is not and Chris crossed it," he said.

The charges were laid by the two on-field umpires, Mark Benson and Rudi Koertzen, as well as third umpire Aleem Dar, and the trio attended both hearings.

I'd love to know what was said. The best banter of all time came between Oz and the W.Indies. Glenn McGrath and I think Sarwan.

McGrath : What does Brian Lara's c0ck taste like?

Sarwan : I dunno, you should ask your wife.


As for "We do not want robots on the field ", I wonder if Procter has read Life, the Universe, and Everything?

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
I'd love to know what was said. The best banter of all time came between Oz and the W.Indies. Glenn McGrath and I think Sarwan.

McGrath : What does Brian Lara's c0ck taste like?

Sarwan : I dunno, you should ask your wife.

Yeah, that's a good one. Here are some others:

• Greg Thomas, a Glamorgan fast bowler, thundered in and beat Viv Richards's bat. "It's red and it's round. Can't you see it?" the bowler taunted. The next ball was precisely the same; pitching three quarters of length on middle and off, seaming away, and once again Richards was comprehensively beaten. "It's red and it's round and it weighs four-and-a-half ounces. Can't you see it?", Greg Thomas quipped. The next delivery was right in the slot, and Viv smashed the ball out of the ground and straight into the river that flowed around it. The batsman then said to the bowler: "You know what it looks like... go get it!"
• Australian Merv Hughes to Englishman Robin Smith: "Does your husband play cricket as well?"
• Shane Warne when bowling against Arjuna Ranatunga wondered aloud what would draw him out of his crease. Wicketkeeper Ian Healy piped up, "Put a Mars Bar on a good length. That should do it." Ranatunga not to be out done believed to have said " Then i'm sure Boony here will get it before me" referring to David Boon who was fielding at first slip.
• Shane Warne (Australia) to Daryll Cullinan (South Africa): "I've been waiting two years to humiliate you again." Cullinan: "Looks like you spent the time eating."
• Mark Waugh to James Ormond coming out to bat in an Ashes match: “Mate, what are you doing out here, there’s no way you’re good enough to play for England.” Ormond: “Maybe not, but at least I'm the best player in my family.” (Mark's twin brother Steve was captain of the team.)
• Ravi Shastri vs. the Aussie 12th man, Shastri hits it to the 12th man fielding and looks for a single and the fielder gets the ball in and says “if you leave the crease i’ll break your ****ing head” Shastri: “if you could bat as well as you can talk you wouldn’t be the ****ing 12th man”
• Glenn McGrath to Zimbabwean Eddo Brandes after Brandes had played and missed at a McGrath delivery: "Oi, Brandes, why are you so ****ing fat?" to which Brandes replied: "Cos every time I **** your wife she gives me a biscuit!"

[Cort Haus]

:applause:

It must be one of the perks of being a cricket umpire to get to listen to this stuff. I'd love to watch Zinedine Zidane trying to play cricket.