Monday September 24, 2007
Dhoni game for a laugh
AUSTRALIA did not lose a semi-final played in front of a seething crowd in Durban. India won it. Mahendra Dhoni and his merry men produced a tumultuous performance on a vibrant evening and deserved their famous and fraught victory over a weakened Australian outfit.
Saturday September 22, 2007
At any rate, an overdue return to times past
HAPPILY, four strong teams have reached the last four of the inaugural world Twenty20. For a variety of reasons, recent world cups have not been as lucky. Among those still standing, Australia are best placed to win the battles of the new ball, India have the most dash, Pakistan have been a vibrant and varied outfit and the Kiwis are the most tenacious. Happily, too, both semis pit Antipodean muscle against subcontinental panache.
Thursday September 20, 2007
Spin can straighten out woes
Australia's reluctance to include a front-line spinner proved costly in a defeat against Pakistan.
Wednesday September 19, 2007
Lawson's liaison may not turn out to be so dangerous after all
AS HE sat watching the closing stages of the fraught contest between Pakistan and India, Geoff Lawson did his best to retain the sangfroid widely regarded as essential among coaches.
Tuesday September 18, 2007
Nothing to write home about
A FORTHRIGHT but flawed performance from the Australians was enough to secure the points in their opening encounter of the second phase of the inaugural Twenty20 competition.
Monday September 17, 2007
Bowling over masses
IF NOTHING else, Twenty20 has moved along at a hectic pace. Although the cricket has not been to every taste and not every ground has been crammed, the package has worked. To drift into a pub on Saturday night was to find locals watching not provincial rugby, as expected, but their team's meaningless but eventful win over Bangladesh.
Saturday September 15, 2007
Canny Poms could teach Australia a thing or 20
ALTHOUGH it might stick in the craw of some, Australia's thinktank could have learnt a lot from watching England's gradual demolition of a spirited, youthful Zimbabwean team, writes Peter Roebuck.
Thursday September 13, 2007
Action galore, but a game without soul
ONLY stick-in-the-muds were unable to enjoy cricket's first multinational staging of a frenzied game. Only grumps did not cheer as the ball was belted to every corner of a famous arena. Only grouches did not appreciate the flashing lights, blaring music, fireworks, skimpily clad dancers and slogs laid before a heaving and cosmopolitan crowd, writes Peter Roebuck.
Saturday September 8, 2007
Cricket's most exciting extravaganza? Ho-hum
NO ONE in their right mind is going to take the forthcoming 20-overs extravaganza seriously, writes Peter Roebuck.
Sunday April 15, 2007
Most of them aren't worth tuppence, yet greed is king
EAGERLY awaited wherever the game was played, the 2007 World Cup has been a debacle. Presumably interest will grow in the last fortnight as the only four sides worth tuppence finally reach the knockout stage, writes Peter Roebuck.
Saturday March 31, 2007
Who will administer the antidote to poisons that are killing sport?
LAST week, a distinguished headmaster and school coach wrote to say
that he was in despair.
Saturday March 24, 2007
Now is the time for the madness to stop
HOW did it come to this? How did we allow a game to become a murder scene? A respected son has been cold-bloodedly killed under the noses of the game's greatest players, in the middle of the game's most prestigious event. Until these past few days, it could hardly be imagined that any game could suffer such a loss.
Tuesday March 20, 2007
Woolmer's passion for cricket his undoing
The Pakistan cricket coach was exasperated by his team's
elimination from the World Cup.
Monday March 19, 2007
How green party made the world a better place
WHEN the mighty fall, they land with a thud. What a week it has been, to be sure! And what a night!, writes Peter Roebuck.
Sunday March 18, 2007
Normally you would bet on the Australians, but ...
THE World Cup is wide open and cases can be made for at least six teams taking the biscuit.
