This Sporting Thread

This is the place to be if you want to talk about sport. Football, cricket, rugby, motor racing.....all are welcome!

 

I'll try and not mention the rugby as I'm sure most are getting slightly bored of the fact we won the world cup

I know we have some cricket fans here and I'm sure they will know we lost the one dayers to Sri Lanka yesterday, although the wheather didn't help us on that one
No need to feel bad though pash, it was pouring down with rain here too and you deserved the win after the first match where you beat us pretty comprehensively I think
But the question is how well do you think we will fair in the test series which I'm sure starts soon?

 

Well I've got no idea about cricket, but I obviously like the fact that we won the rugby...I didn't see the match though, was it good? (I heard it was very close).

 

Yay! Go Sri Lanka! Oh, our boys were good no?

Well, the tests should be interesting. There are so many new players on both teams. I will certainly be interested to see what's gonna happen!

Don't worry, Matt...I'm hoping England doesn't have any tricks up their sleeve for the test matches. [face_shocked]

After all, ODIs and Test matches are different...heheh...one's faster than the other!

As for rugby! Congrats to England...I was thrilled for you guys!

*looks around*

Phew, no Aussie friends around right now!

Great thread Matt...lots of sports to be discussed...what I don't know I can learn about!

 

Dom- the match was very tight but we did lead for most of it and should have scored at least one more try, so we deserved to win

Pash- No, your weather did you proud as it denied us a chance of winning, lol
The test series should be very interesting and you're right, will be quite different to the ODIs, for one thing we have a different captain for them (I think).
However pash, will you be more interested in the actual cricket or just the players?

I also think all the aussies are hiding in dark corners and wont surface for a few weeks yet

btw, the next world cup is in 2006 and is being played in Germany, before that we have the European championships next summer and that'll be in portugal

 

I'll try and not mention the rugby as I'm sure most are getting slightly bored of the fact we won the world cup

Never!!!

As for the cricket, I wasn't surprised that we lost the ODI to Sri Lanka as they are probably the only team in world cricket that can compete with the Aussies in that form of the game. Mind you back in 2001 we did become only the second team to win a test series against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka since 1994, so you never know for the Tests.

 

LOL!

Matt, well...we'll see how it goes...

Oh? Who's captaining the Test side? I must check this out.

However pash, will you be more interested in the actual cricket or just the players?

[face_innocent]

Well, nice scenery is always a plus point!

Darth_MacDaddy, yep! Tests are a different kind of game. More stamina to play for such long periods of time. Phew! [face_shocked]

And as for the ODI...our former captain, Sanath Jayasuriya changed the way ODIs were played...especially after the Wills World cup, back in...96 was it? Yay!

 

I think Nasser Hussain will captain the test side, while our one dayers are captained by someone else (sorry, can't remember his name, lol).

'Well, nice scenery is always a plus point!'

I bet
Funny how all these new players are also quite young too

Just out of interest pash, what do you think of the Indian player Tendulkar?
Some say he's the best ever (including my former boss), then again he was Indian so may have been biased.

 

Let me see...I think the ODI captain is Michael Vaughn.

Oh Nassir is captaining...ahhh yes.

Ahh, Sachin Tendulkar...the thing is, Sachin is a very dependable batsman. He can be relied to stay at the crease for ages and bat on, y'know. That will explain his amazing record of runs and stuff. He's also young...

Sometimes there's a lot of hype, yes...but Sachin is reliable. That's for sure. He's also known to play some amazing shots.

Extraordianry batsman...I gotta say we have a few!

See, Sanath, our former captain...plays one mean game when he gets in the mood. Occasionally he also gets out for a duck...so...it kinda balances out in a funny way!

I think India has some good cricketers...I like Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh. Dravid is a brilliant batsman and good cricketer on the whole...Yuvraj is an all rounder. There's a lot of talent in South Asia now...


Hmm, players being young...yeah...
Sometime soon, I'll be cradle snatching.

Oh, wait...back up. I already am!

 

I feel a bit sorry for Michael Vaughn actually, so far he hasn't exactly had a great start to being captain of the ODIs, and with England winning the rugby I'm sure he felt the pressure to win the series but the weather had other ideas

I agree with you about Tendulkar, he is pretty handy to have and quite an achievement for someone that age. Then again from what I have been told if he were to have a bad run his home fans would really lay into him, and the rest of the team. They take there cricket very seriously in south Asia, which I'm sure you can vouch for
Then again it pays off because you have the best teams, with the exception of Australlia.

lol@cradle snatching. Well you're still young yourself so I wouldn't worry too much about that
And I'm sure you'd impress those young cricketers with your vast knowledge.....you've impressed me that's for sure, lol.

 

Aah, yes Matt...captains do have a lot of pressure on 'em don't they? I remember a period when Sanath (our former captain) went through a bad patch coz he was weighed down by the captaincy. But he got the hang of it eventually. Now he's a regular player and he's back in form. So Michael Vaughn will come around. But the pressure from a nation and the cricket board isn't easy, I'll agree.

The weather is no ones fault...I hope the Test matches can be worked out.

Oh Cricket is a big thing here all right! Yep, I know. There were parties in the streets when we won the world cup for the first time. I was in school then and I remember crying when our boys held up the trophy. Most guys and girls here know loads about cricket.


Why thank you...it's nice of you to say that about the Asian teams...but England aren't easy customers...I'm sure the Sri Lankan team is getting ready to face some tough opposition at the Tests.

Well you're still young yourself

I'd like to think so too!

And I'm sure you'd impress those young cricketers with your vast knowledge.....you've impressed me that's for sure,

Well, you certainly know how to make a girl blush, Matt! Thank you...but trust me when I say that I know people who can tell you which ball to pitch to get a particular batsman out. [face_shocked] It gets so technical...I'm like... "Oh bowl him out, man!" or *shouting*"catch it!"*shouting*

Hahahah! My mom is a cricket fan too...she's my TV buddy. We watch cricket and even football together.

 

Awww, I didn't mean to make you blush, lol. But what I said was true
And you're only a year older then me so it's nice to reassure myself that I'm still young because at times I sure don't feel like it

I thought about it yesterday, and came to the conclusion that cricket captains are under the most pressure when it comes to team captains through-out all sports. I guess it's because they have to actually make very important decisions on the pitch that can determine the result of the game, so when they lose they get most of the blame.
I think Mike Atherton(sp?) became a better player when he was no longer captain, so must be a running theme

I'm hopefull the test series will go smoothly weather wise, I think it must be so disappointing for the crowd when games get called off by the weather, but it's part of the game I guess.

Pardon my ignorance, but what year(s) did you win the world cup? It wasn't in 1992 was it?
My knowledge of cricket is pretty lame compared to yours, lol.

My mum's the opposite, she doesn't like sport that much so usually groans when it's on the TV. I have a funnyish story actually, I worked at my dad's over the summer and there was only one guy interested in cricket and would always get the real-time scoreboard up on his computer over the internet. He was quite grateful for my pressence because I was the only one interested in the game and had someone to talk to about it. Well, I felt needed for once

 

I may have got the worng end of the stick here, Michael Vaughan is the Test captain aswell as the ODI captain. Nasser Hussain stepped down this summer just gone after the first test against South Africa.

I think Mike Atherton(sp?) became a better player when he was no longer captain, so must be a running theme

Michael Atherton actually averaged more as England captain that he did as not captain, also his biggest and best innings were while he was captain. This is possibly why he is England's longest serving Cricket Captain in terms of tests than anyone else.

Pardon my ignorance, but what year(s) did you win the world cup? It wasn't in 1992 was it?

Sri Lanka won it in 1996 in the Indian Sub-continent, the 1992 World Cup was won by Pakistan when they beat England against all the odds down in Australia. My that feels like years ago!!

 

Argh, yes Mcdaddy. You've proven that I don't really know that much about cricket

I must have missed Nasser calling it a day completely as England captain, although was I right in thinking he was going to do that job while Vaughan did the ODIs??

I was kinda half guessing with Atherton too, I just seem to rememebr him doing well after he gave up the captain job, lol.

I remember the '92 final well, even though I was 10 at the time. I just couldn't remember who it was against.

Back to the present day, how do you think the test is going thus far??

 

I've been at work and keeping up with the tests has been nuts...what's happening guys?

Oh don't worry Matt...I'm probably clueless about cricket when compared with lots of people I know.

 

I was kinda half guessing with Atherton too, I just seem to rememebr him doing well after he gave up the captain job, lol.

Right you are, he did do well after he gave up the captaincy, just statistically not so. Just shows you how they can lie

I think England will be neither happy nor sad after day 2. Sri Lanka all out for 331, probably 50 runs more than England would have liked, and England 97 for 2, but both openers gone. England need a big partnership tomorrow (150+) otherwise they'll have there backs against the wall I think, especially as the pitch starts to wear and Murali can start exploiting the extra turn in the final innings

 

hmmm, I don't think England are doing too well myself, although on the plus side it means pash will be even more happier then usual

I managed to watch some of it today on TV but have been too busy to keep a close eye onit unfortunately. But I think Sri Lanka will win this first test unless it decides to rain again
**does rain dance**

 

I can't believe England got a draw!!

 

Rain dancing, eh Matt?

Well, it looks like the rain saved England. My mum says we were so close to winning.

Aiyoooooooo... (that's a Sri Lankan expression, BTW! )

Blast...would have been great if we had won. Then I would have been happier than usual, Matt!

Darth_MacDaddy..what's next on the cricket line up?

 

Looks like my rain dance paid off then
We were lucky to escape with that draw and your Mum was right pash, you should have beaten us.

'Aiyoooooooo... (that's a Sri Lankan expression, BTW! )'

lol, not rude I hope?
I'm sure you'll win the second test though if you play like you did during the first, so there's still a chance for you to be even more happier yet

I'm not sure when the second test is though, but hopefully this one wont be distrupted as much by the weather.

Other news...the rugby parade today looked fantastic! I was tempted to go myself but the cold weather and the fact I had no one to go with put me off

 

Guess it did!

2nd test...hmm, must check the papers here.

Aiyooo means "Oh no" or "oh dear" or "oh gosh". Not at all rude. And the fact that it can mean so many things is a bonus. It's usually uttered when you are frustrated with something or bogged down.

Lke "Aiyooooo, we should have won" is like saying "Darn, we should have won."

Most of my JC friends like the fact that you can put a crazy number of "o"s at the end depending on how bummed you are.

Planning to rain dance for the 2nd test, Matt? ANd yeah...if the rain stays away, we might have some good games.

Rugby...yeah, I caught a bit of it on TV. It was on the news. Must have been cool, no? Pity you couldn't go, but I'm sure you were celebrating anyways.

 

The second test starts on wednesday, and unless it looks like we're heading for a lose (which is highly likely) then I will do my rain dance again
Nah, only joking. I hope we can have a proper five days play this time but I still don't fancy our chances

Argh, I see @ Aiyooooo
Good to know it's not rude, and if I were to be using that word at the moment I'd have lots of "o's" on mine, especially with our England cricket team

The rugby parade was great, well it looked that way on TV anyway
One good thing was that I could watch in the warm because it was pretty nippy out there yesterday, and I don't seem to handle the cold too well at the moment

 

Second test, and not a good day for England thus far

Sri Lanka all out for 382 (good score pash )
and so far England are 134-4

I think Butcher's early exit does not bode well for us, so guess I'll be doing my rain dance again later

 

Third test is looking dire

In all fairness, we've had our back against the wall all series and I'm not surprised that Sri Lanka look like there going to take the series in the final test.

 

Yep, you were right MacDaddy
One of the Sri Lankan stumpings was slightly controversial IMO, the benefit of doubt (and there was plenty of it) should have gone to the batsman but went to the fielder instead.

Ah-well, Sri Lanka certainly deserved to win the test overall and if it wasn't for the rain in the first one we probably would have lost that anyway.
Congratulations pash, guess you'll be celebrating well into the night now