I think I might have a heart attack if I was where Norm is. Still, I hope Norm’s cheering goes well. It’s good to see that some people on the left can put aside their differences over the recent unpleasantries, and agree about the important things: the quality of the Australian defence!
Norm and I are on different sides of the Ashes conflict, as well as the conflict over the justifiability of the current war. But I think we’re on the same side on the longer term questions of what direction human progress ought to take and who is the greatest bowler of all time. (Well, I’m pretty sure on the first of those, and infer the second from various things he’s said).
Yoiks! Speaking as a UK resident, this series seems to have gripped the public imagination in a way cricket hasn’t since Before My Time.
And for that matter the second Test even made the Dutch papers De Telegraaf, and the snootily intellectual NRC Handelsblad (the latter of which cheered itself up by hinting that the umpiring was biased in favour of the home side, and that Warne had Lee [sic] plumb lbw in the second innings. Bless).
Even having been out of the country for the end of the last match and the start of this one my nerves are frazzled to a turn — roll on the next one, for sure, but not, please, just yet.
(We’d’ve had ’em but for the weather, too, and it isn’t every day you get to say _that_ about the Aussies.)
hmmm, the “pictures are better on radio” thesis was rather undermined for me by the fact that the TMS commentators seemed to spend most of their time talking about the Channel 4 action replays they were clearly watching. Test Match Special is a shadow of its former glories; the play-by-play commentary is not particularly sharp (they banged on about reverse swing as if they’d learned the phrase that morning, which would have been alright if they hadn’t confidently predicted that the new ball wouldn’t swing and got it wrong), the match analysis is nonexistent (unless you’ve got a diagram of the field positions in your head, their commentary was worse than useless because they only talked about the set of the field in terms of the position names; completely missing any high-level description of the set – even something like “there are a lot of men clustered round the bat” would have been more useful) and their belief that the current crew have just as much charm and good humour as Johnners, Blowers et al is misplaced. Christopher Martin-Jenkins irritated me most, but the two whiny Aussies they had in there were also very bad. I’m thinking of writing a letter to the Tellygrarff to complain.
Blowers was certainly still part of the TMS crew as recently as the ODOs — it’s Trevor Bailey that we, for one, pine for. (And CMJ could certainly stand to be expended.)
But surely everyone _has_ a diagram of field positions in their head?
CMJ has been the bane of TMS for decades. Why do they keep him on? My spies suggest that even Johnners was not completely happy with him. No, I agree with you Daniel about the current state of TMS (though sitting here in the midwest with a dodgy internet connection its the best I could do); and in fact where cricket is concerned I never really believed that the pictures were better on radio, even in TMS’s heyday (though I might have in earlier days when Arlott commented on the radio). It’s well worth a letter to the DT. IN fact, you could start a series of them…
Des, there are people without a diagram of the field positions in their heads. I’m glad that none of them are CT readers though…
Hey, I have a partial diagram … Comes from 12 years with someone who was raised on cricket grounds. Seriously. His father was a groundskeeper. At Lords’, among other places…
Yeah, the Poms really outplayed us this match – they just forgot to arrange the weather. I still (slightly) favour us to retain the Ashes though – we won’t play as badly again (you could live a lifetime and never see Gilchrist miss two stumpings and two catches in the one day). OTOH the English bowling has been superb in exploiting the prevailing conditions all series.
It’s a preview of things to come – when McGrath and Warne retire we’ll be right back to the field.
As for the comment about umpiring, they have made a lot of mistakes. And as is usual most of the mistakes seem to favour the home team, wherever home is (Australia is no exception to this, BTW). I think its just crowd pressure – at least I hope its nothing worse than that.
The 4th Ashes Test begins August 25, a week from Thursday, at 5:30 AM EDT, running ’til about noon. It will run for (weather and play permitting) for 5 days consecutively, sorta like a golf tournament.
American audiences are encouraged to click on the link provided, to experience an alternate baseball-like universe, but mostly to hear what it would be like if Mr. Deltoid, the pervert parole officer from A Clockwork Orange, were a sportscaster named Henry Blofeld.
I’m sure we can all identify elements of TMS that particularly get under the skin, but the thing that caused me to yell vile imprecations at my laptop was the constant wittering about the light from about 5pm onwards, especially Jonathan Agnew.
Usually, Aggers is pretty bearable, but I will concur with those who would like to see CMJ deep-sixed. Goochy,..hmmm…could do better.If you’re going to have an ex-pro, I thought Gatting was better during the ODIs.
As for the Aussies, Jim Maxwell gets on the the tits a bit, but Geoff Lawson’s OK.
{ 17 comments }
Brian 08.15.05 at 9:46 am
I think I might have a heart attack if I was where Norm is. Still, I hope Norm’s cheering goes well. It’s good to see that some people on the left can put aside their differences over the recent unpleasantries, and agree about the important things: the quality of the Australian defence!
harry b 08.15.05 at 9:57 am
Norm and I are on different sides of the Ashes conflict, as well as the conflict over the justifiability of the current war. But I think we’re on the same side on the longer term questions of what direction human progress ought to take and who is the greatest bowler of all time. (Well, I’m pretty sure on the first of those, and infer the second from various things he’s said).
Carlos 08.15.05 at 12:42 pm
Oh, Jeebus, not another socker post.
Brian 08.15.05 at 12:56 pm
we did it … this series is very exhausting. well played england.
joe o 08.15.05 at 1:05 pm
It is only a test. When is the real match going to be played?
Harry 08.15.05 at 1:48 pm
bloody hell. That must have been the most exhausting day in test cricket since…? Brilliant. That’s why all other sports pale.
des von bladet 08.15.05 at 2:25 pm
Yoiks! Speaking as a UK resident, this series seems to have gripped the public imagination in a way cricket hasn’t since Before My Time.
And for that matter the second Test even made the Dutch papers De Telegraaf, and the snootily intellectual NRC Handelsblad (the latter of which cheered itself up by hinting that the umpiring was biased in favour of the home side, and that Warne had Lee [sic] plumb lbw in the second innings. Bless).
Even having been out of the country for the end of the last match and the start of this one my nerves are frazzled to a turn — roll on the next one, for sure, but not, please, just yet.
(We’d’ve had ’em but for the weather, too, and it isn’t every day you get to say _that_ about the Aussies.)
nick 08.15.05 at 3:04 pm
Lovely that Aggers gave a shout-out to people around the world, in internet cafés, listening to their laptops. The patrons of the bookshop where I managed to get a wireless connection may have thought I’d wandered in from the mental hospital…
dsquared 08.16.05 at 5:05 am
hmmm, the “pictures are better on radio” thesis was rather undermined for me by the fact that the TMS commentators seemed to spend most of their time talking about the Channel 4 action replays they were clearly watching. Test Match Special is a shadow of its former glories; the play-by-play commentary is not particularly sharp (they banged on about reverse swing as if they’d learned the phrase that morning, which would have been alright if they hadn’t confidently predicted that the new ball wouldn’t swing and got it wrong), the match analysis is nonexistent (unless you’ve got a diagram of the field positions in your head, their commentary was worse than useless because they only talked about the set of the field in terms of the position names; completely missing any high-level description of the set – even something like “there are a lot of men clustered round the bat” would have been more useful) and their belief that the current crew have just as much charm and good humour as Johnners, Blowers et al is misplaced. Christopher Martin-Jenkins irritated me most, but the two whiny Aussies they had in there were also very bad. I’m thinking of writing a letter to the Tellygrarff to complain.
des von bladet 08.16.05 at 5:42 am
Blowers was certainly still part of the TMS crew as recently as the ODOs — it’s Trevor Bailey that we, for one, pine for. (And CMJ could certainly stand to be expended.)
But surely everyone _has_ a diagram of field positions in their head?
harry b 08.16.05 at 7:18 am
CMJ has been the bane of TMS for decades. Why do they keep him on? My spies suggest that even Johnners was not completely happy with him. No, I agree with you Daniel about the current state of TMS (though sitting here in the midwest with a dodgy internet connection its the best I could do); and in fact where cricket is concerned I never really believed that the pictures were better on radio, even in TMS’s heyday (though I might have in earlier days when Arlott commented on the radio). It’s well worth a letter to the DT. IN fact, you could start a series of them…
Des, there are people without a diagram of the field positions in their heads. I’m glad that none of them are CT readers though…
Luis Villa 08.16.05 at 7:33 am
I suggest that the gentleman who thought this post was about socker probably lacks such a diagram… ;)
Luis (whose only diagram is from nights he couldn’t sleep in bangalore, and one drunken afternoon in Dublin)
Another Damned Medievalist 08.16.05 at 6:42 pm
Hey, I have a partial diagram … Comes from 12 years with someone who was raised on cricket grounds. Seriously. His father was a groundskeeper. At Lords’, among other places…
derrida derider 08.16.05 at 7:33 pm
Yeah, the Poms really outplayed us this match – they just forgot to arrange the weather. I still (slightly) favour us to retain the Ashes though – we won’t play as badly again (you could live a lifetime and never see Gilchrist miss two stumpings and two catches in the one day). OTOH the English bowling has been superb in exploiting the prevailing conditions all series.
It’s a preview of things to come – when McGrath and Warne retire we’ll be right back to the field.
As for the comment about umpiring, they have made a lot of mistakes. And as is usual most of the mistakes seem to favour the home team, wherever home is (Australia is no exception to this, BTW). I think its just crowd pressure – at least I hope its nothing worse than that.
tvd 08.17.05 at 12:48 am
The 4th Ashes Test begins August 25, a week from Thursday, at 5:30 AM EDT, running ’til about noon. It will run for (weather and play permitting) for 5 days consecutively, sorta like a golf tournament.
American audiences are encouraged to click on the link provided, to experience an alternate baseball-like universe, but mostly to hear what it would be like if Mr. Deltoid, the pervert parole officer from A Clockwork Orange, were a sportscaster named Henry Blofeld.
Most would agree it’s a trip, yessssssssssssss?
derrida derider 08.17.05 at 4:29 am
Oh, yesssssssss, Henry Blowfly is a delight – much loved over here as the sterotypic English eccentric gentleman.
Alan 08.17.05 at 11:09 am
I’m sure we can all identify elements of TMS that particularly get under the skin, but the thing that caused me to yell vile imprecations at my laptop was the constant wittering about the light from about 5pm onwards, especially Jonathan Agnew.
Usually, Aggers is pretty bearable, but I will concur with those who would like to see CMJ deep-sixed. Goochy,..hmmm…could do better.If you’re going to have an ex-pro, I thought Gatting was better during the ODIs.
As for the Aussies, Jim Maxwell gets on the the tits a bit, but Geoff Lawson’s OK.
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