The Australian cricket non-official thread!

Bravo Mad Hatter - well said...
If we ran a poll, you'd be more popular than Shorten and the PM combined...

Mad Hatter for PM!!

Bravo Qld. Despite a day of rain, still rallied to win the shield.

And Matt Renshaw has a ticket to South Africa out of it.

For those that missed “The Back Page” tonight:

Kerry O’Keefe: “Ian and Greg Chappell once came to me at a lunch break and said ‘Skull, we want you to do something to the ball that you’ve never done before’...”
I replied “What....? Spin it??”

Fair dinkum - if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry. I think we can say with 100% certainty......that we have absolutely no idea what actually happened in Cape Town. Lies have followed lies, agendas have been pushed as fact, scapegoats have been found. I suspect that we will never truly know the facts of this situation, or how widespread the duplicity is.

... And speaking of heat, it's not all in the Australian Men's change rooms, over in Mumbai, it's the Poms V's Australia in the women's T20 at 330pm AEST...

Here's hoping Molinuex, Villani and Mooney can do their thang with the bat, and if anyone saw the hat trick Megan Schutt got against India earlier in the week, then then you'll know the pearler of a cricket saying - Schutt get wickets!!!!

The Mad Hatter said:

Bravo Qld. Despite a day of rain, still rallied to win the shield.

And Matt Renshaw has a ticket to South Africa out of it.

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Despite a day of rain? That day of rain helped Qld. Tassie had no choice but to declare in the second innings at 1/166, giving them a lead of only 127 and hoping for a miracle, it didn't happen. It was actually a pretty even contest and had a whole day not been wiped out could have got interesting.

BLOWN8 said:

Despite a day of rain? That day of rain helped Qld. Tassie has no choice but to declare in the second innings at 1/166, giving them a lead of only 127 and hoping for a miracle, it didn't happen. It was actually a pretty even contest and had a whole day not been wiped out could have got interesting.

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needed another 3 days to get a result from the pitch.. maybe more

Anyone interested!??

@bigAlcards Trade you a pocket full of sugar for it?

Ladborokes have announced they have issues refunds for all single bets placed during the 2017/18 Ashes series for England to win due to the ball tampering scandal

BoondasH1 said:

@bigAlcards Trade you a pocket full of sugar for it?

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Throw in a teabag and we have a deal!!

Great win to the Aussie Women today in Mumbai against the Poms...

Nat Sciver must still be wondering where Meg Lanning plucked that classic catch from...

Aussie pride...

Reports are emerging that Steven Smith has been suspended for 12 months, David Warner for 12 months and Cameron Bancroft for 9 months. James Sutherland will speak shortly, according to Fox Sports News.

This whole episode will be the gift that keeps on giving for so many people, but I would add one rider: when next you read or hear a comment from a former or current cricketer on the issue....ignore it. Few sports can match cricket for the art of holding grudges and operating personal agendas. I will continue to believe men like Robert Craddock, Peter Lalor, Malcolm Knox and Gideon Haigh - whose sole interest is the truth.

bigAlcards said:

Throw in a teabag and we have a deal!!

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That's gold!!!

The Mad Hatter said:

Through 35+ years of playing, watching, coaching and loving test cricket, I have admired so many players now tarnished - how long has this gone on etc etc. Their legacy should not be diminished by Smith and Warner.

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Well According to Tony Grieg before he passed it had been going on for at least 50 years, he referred to it as the most open secret in cricket. I think this is reflected in the fact that the maximum penalty set by the ICC is 1 match. Probably only a coincidence that it is predominantly ex players reviewing rules and penalties.

The ones I am rapidly losing respect for are all the current and ex players who are denying any and all knowledge of ball tampering. Lynn is the only one of the current crop to say it as it is. Adam Parore has openly admitted that New Zealand went to work on the ball with a bottle top in a Test in 1990. Grieg referred to it as the most open secret in cricket yet no one knows anything.
I never played cricket at a very high standard although I did play along side blokes who had played 1st grade in Sydney, League cricket in England, Shield Cricket and toured overseas with various representative teams. I can assure you they were all aware of ball tampering.

I think CA are in a sticky spot.

We've always liked to point fingers and cast aspersions.

But now it's us. And you know what? I'm happy they've come down on Smith, Warner and Bancroft like a ton of bricks. I'm hoping this warns all Aussies that ball tampering isn't acceptable and will not be tolerated as something to be giggled off with trite assurances about it never happening again.

I absolutely feel sorry for Steve Smith in some regards but in others, I do not. He's not some child or late teen (nor is Bancroft that matter). That he never thought to say stop or no is squarely on his shoulders. Yes, he's made a mistake and now his tale is the line in the sand. It's the boogeyman tale future generations tell their kids about when talking about cheating. Just remember kiddies - cheat and you end like Steve Smith who was captain of Australia - out on your arse. I'm actually gutted. Absolutely gutted. I adored Steve Smith. If he comes back, I hope it's not as a shadow of his former self. Sigh...it's just so very very sad.

Aside from that, it gives him time to consider how he is placed and to either fade away or come back. I mean, there is a little thing called the Ashes happening in June/July 2019, so...there's the carrot. I hope he gets the support and help he needs and I hope in time people like me can move on and forgive him.

I also like that Paine has been made captain. He seems like a mature head and someone isn't an a*****e. Neutral too - not a bat, not a bowler. Here's hoping that guys like Renshaw, Maxwell, Burns, Sayers, Richardson can move in to this side and become tomorrow's heroes. I'm glad they didn't cancel the 4th Test. I don't even care if we lose (hell...the 3rd test was the first time since I was 6 in 1982 that I didn't give a feather or a fig about Australia losing!) but I hope the fresh blood and those that remain can put away the arrogance and petulance and let their cricket skills do the talking. There's a test to be played and won, and leaving 2-2 would be a justifiable result.

As for the Kaboom Kid - see ya mate. It sounds like he is the leader of this scandal. The belligerent bloke won't be missed. Averaged 45 since 2016 and his overseas tallies are hidden behind some of the flat track bullying he has got away with. Go play T20. Bye bye.

I agree with @Matty76 too. Grudges in cricket...sigh. You only have to listen to Shane Warne in commentary to know just how much he hates Steve Waugh. But as the 12th Man's Tony Greig once said: To me, a grudge is just somewhere to park your car.

Finally, I saw this on Fox. It summed it pretty well I thought:

bigrob2307 said:

Ladborokes have announced they have issues refunds for all single bets placed during the 2017/18 Ashes series for England to win due to the ball tampering scandal

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LOL. Poms lost the Ashes because they were a truly horrible cricket team. One of the worst I've ever seen hit this shores and I watched all 5 tests of the 2000/01 West Indies summer of annihilation.

Ladbrokes is just doing this for publicity.