Smith's Crew in SA

[dodge]

Yes, the ICC is a joke and this adds to a huge (in my mind) list of pandering to the self interest of countries that aren't Australia, England or New Zealand.

[Sexybronco]

Yes, the ICC is a joke and this adds to a huge (in my mind) list of pandering to the self interest of countries that aren't Australia, England or New Zealand.

Need to get some aboriginals in our team quick smart!

[LP]

Need to get some aboriginals in our team quick smart!

You can't say that..........!

[malo]

You can't say that..........!

ha, yeah on first glance that remark would seem inappropriate, even if it is close to the mark !

But, lets look into that one statement a little more.  In terms of participation & an untapped resource for Australian cricket, it is a statement that stacks up.  Indigenous kids are, almost without exception, heading to the 2 main football codes (AFL, Rugby League) & those two codes have benefited enormously from the pool of talent &  skills that they bring to both of those games.  Cricket is well & truly missing out.......as was the case for many years  in South Africa.  The local black population was always a huge un-tapped talent for cricket & I always thought that the Saffers had the potential to be the next fast bowling megapower (similar to the Windies) if even a little of that talent could be siphoned off from Soccer to Cricket in that Country.  We are are starting to see the results of that now ......even if their method (the quota system) is flawed & goes entirely against my grain.

It's probably even harder for cricket to capture the imagination of indigenous kids in this country, but its something they have to try to do if the game is to grow.  There have been & continue to be blokes with aboriginal heritage involved in cricket at the highest level (Gillespie, Darcy Short for starters), but no-where near enough.

Just my thoughts

cheers

Mal.

[laj]

Moving away from South Africa for a moment, England are 8/23 in the First Test in New Zealand.....lol!!!!!!

[flyboy77]

Moving away from South Africa for a moment, England are 8/23 in the First Test in New Zealand.....lol!!!!!!

aLL OUT 58.

NZ 1/8.

[JonHenry]

I agree. There is no moral authority because the ICC are just an amoral mob looking out for their own interests.

Unlike the AFL

[DJC]

ha, yeah on first glance that remark would seem inappropriate, even if it is close to the mark !

But, lets look into that one statement a little more.  In terms of participation & an untapped resource for Australian cricket, it is a statement that stacks up.  Indigenous kids are, almost without exception, heading to the 2 main football codes (AFL, Rugby League) & those two codes have benefited enormously from the pool of talent &  skills that they bring to both of those games.  Cricket is well & truly missing out.......as was the case for many years  in South Africa.  The local black population was always a huge un-tapped talent for cricket & I always thought that the Saffers had the potential to be the next fast bowling megapower (similar to the Windies) if even a little of that talent could be siphoned off from Soccer to Cricket in that Country.  We are are starting to see the results of that now ......even if their method (the quota system) is flawed & goes entirely against my grain.

It's probably even harder for cricket to capture the imagination of indigenous kids in this country, but its something they have to try to do if the game is to grow.  There have been & continue to be blokes with aboriginal heritage involved in cricket at the highest level (Gillespie, Darcy Short for starters), but no-where near enough.

Just my thoughts

cheers

Mal.

Many of the Aboriginal blokes I worked with were very keen cricketers but weren’t interested in anything above local club cricket.  I guess family and cultural issues may have played a part in that, as well as wanting to be ready for footy season.

It would be interesting to see how a Clontarf style cricket academy would go.  :-\

[Sexybronco]

You can't say that..........!

I know, I was only half serious and the other half frustrated. We saw how contrived the ICC was when Symons was hung out to dry with the 'Monkey gate' saga, all we want is consistency. Aussies aren't angels and transgressed just as much as the Saffies in the 2nd test, Lyon dropping the ball near AB De Villiers was disgusting, should have been rubbed out for bringing the Australian sporting reputation into disrepute. Anyway should be interesting to watch the side show in the next test!

[spf]

Bancroft it appears will have something to answer for - ball tampering for one. I think they have him on video, the replay I saw seems to suggest he had some type of plastic guitar pick to rough up the ball.