tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post6959442059056884683..comments2024-02-06T16:17:25.826+00:00Comments on THE GRØNMARK BLOG: After seeing Mitchell Johnson's two monstrous balls on Thursday morning, I thought this series was over Scott Gronmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-58775175033807283442015-08-02T18:36:19.938+01:002015-08-02T18:36:19.938+01:00In the first test at Wellington against New Zealan...In the first test at Wellington against New Zealand in 1978, the “shit human being” – England’s captain at the time – took 7 hours and 22 minutes to make 77 runs. England lost their first match against the hosts in 64 years. During the second test, in which England needed to make quick runs, Vice-Captain Bob Willis promoted 22-year old Ian Botham to 4 in the order and sent him out with two instructions – to score rapidly and to “go and run the bugger [Boycott] out”. Which he did 20 minutes’ later. As he walked off, Boycott said, “What have you done? What have you done?” To which Botham allegedly replied, “I’ve run you out, you c***”. England leveled the series.<br /><br />I agree with your three suggested rules (especially the one about Nick Compton, who deserves another chance) and would add another: “If you receive a bouncer from Mitchell Johnson within 15 minutes of starting your innings, drop on all fours immediately – you’ll look a right prat, but you’ll still be in.” <br /><br />I think you’re a bit harsh on Graeme Swann: I rather admire him for admitting he was no longer good enough to play test cricket – although I agree he should have waited until the end of the series. I hadn’t heard his Kevin Pietersen impersonation – it’s quite superb (especially the bit about the practice game in St Lucia and the line: “Listen, I am ready at any stage to come back to play for my country – or England, if they ask, as well.”) The interview can be found here:<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q61UJexCLn8<br />Scott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-81456166166012256922015-08-02T13:24:53.294+01:002015-08-02T13:24:53.294+01:00Tremendous victory.
Would punters pay to see Geoff...Tremendous victory.<br />Would punters pay to see Geoff Boycott these days? I am old enough to remember Barrington being dropped in 1965 having taken 7 Hrs 17 Mins to score 137 against New Zealand and Boycott [great commentator, shit human being] suffering the same fate in 1967 because he took 10Hrs to score 246 against India. They were the Chris Gayle and Brendan McCullum of their day. One bloody six after another!<br />The Ultimate Bore was Chris Tavare. In 1982 he scored the second slowest 50 of all time [5Hrs 15Mins against Pakistan - this was Imran's first game as captain. His first act was to drop his legendary older brother Majid Khan on the morning of the match.How could you do such a thing?] . Tavare followed this up in 1983 by scoring 35 runs against India in 6 Hrs 30 Mins. He was not dropped because he was very quiet and self-effacing - a good attitude when dealing with the blazered classes.<br />All this whizzbang Test cricket is great to watch while it lasts [not so good for the hypertension] but it does deprive young test cricketers of valuable time in the middle because of lost days [Bairstow, Buttler and Stokes could have done with another outing with the bat] and also the poor spectators [especially those who pay to attend and have pre-booked]. Already in this Ashes series 4 days out of a potential 15 have been lost [let the businessmen worry about the loss to the TV companies, clubs, catering franchises etc. That's their risk], but a way of ensuring that the next two matches run their full course would be:<br />1. Ban attempted 6s or reverse sweeps before a team has reached 350.<br />2. Re-call Nick Compton. Institute a no shaved head policy.<br />3. Conduct an enquiry into the ECB with a special focus on the selection committee<br />I am not a fan of Graham Swann, but his impersonation of Kevin Pietersen on "The Willow Talk" Radio Show is priceless. It is on YouTube if you have not already caught it.SDGnoreply@blogger.com