Anyone that follows test cricket will know that all the sides are ranked, for example, at the time of writing South Africa are (rightly) ranked the best side in the world. I’ve long felt that the system used to rank teams needs revising, as it often seems to produce rankings that are clearly at odds with how well teams have been playing. Let me use the current rankings as an example.
Posts Categorised: Test Cricket
0New Zealand 0–0 England: Good for Test Cricket
It’s not often you’ll hear me cheer a series where all of the test matches finished in draws, and it’s even less often that I celebrate England failing to win a series. However that is exactly how I feel about the recent drawn series in New Zealand. Now before the barmy army hang draw and quarter me, give me a chance to explain myself!
0Cricket: A Testing Future?
The other day I had the brief pleasure of watching Bangladesh versus Sri Lanka on the goggle box. It only lasted about an hour as other family members succeeded in prising the remote away from me as soon as my back was turned.
But it was test cricket at its best. There wasn’t a flurry of wickets and only a few runs were scored but from the perspective of the game it couldn’t have been more vital.
The awesome and ever green middle order batsman Kumar Sangakkara had crafted yet another fine century as he looked to marshal the tail to get a meaningful first innings lead over the hosts. Sri Lanka had a lead of around 40 runs with only four wickets in hand. Gripping test match cricket as the game ebbed and flowed.
The sad thing was the crowd – or lack of. I wasn’t there I could only see what the TV beamed back. But from what I could see it was like watching a second XI match in terms of bums on seats. It was the proverbial ‘one man and his dog’ stuff.… Read Full Article
“The pink ball appears grey/blue in red/green deficient vision, depending on its severity. I did a simulation with colour blindness…”