I’m sick of all the Ponting-bashing I’m seeing. People need to fucking stop it!
People would do well to remember that this current state of Australian cricket has been rapidly approaching us for about 2-3 years now. Ponting has been the one who has (pretty much single-handedly) held the downfall…
(Source: crissren)
The 4th Ashes test match has finished early on day 4 here in Melbourne with a crushing defeat to Australia. England have outclassed Australia yet again to retain the Ashes Urn with one game remaining.
Australia can still draw the series, but that little bloody urn is out of reach till the next Ashes series in a few years.
I have been going through a rough patch at the moment, and not being able to turn on Channel 9 or listen to ABC’s grandstand and see/hear a competitive Australian team do battle….is disappointing.
Its funny how sport can give you an escape… and how much you take some things for granted. Watching/Hearing the Aussie Batsman falling like flies without so much as a whimper was like an added kick in the guts/nuts. Albeit that the Poms bowled well and, apart from their brief lapse in concentration at the WACA (blaming the WAGS?), have outclassed and outplayed the Aussies… the insipid performance of our boys is heart breaking.
I know that people will say I am a sore Aussie loser … but any fan of any team should be allowed to feel shyte when their team (weather being a recent powerhouse or not) is ….. shit.
So… whos to blame? Should there be any finger pointing at all? No? well maybe..
Ponting
Is it Ponting’s fault? Well I don’t know about his captaincy … but if your a number 3 bat and you don’t get a score in any innings of any game in a series. Should he drop down the order a bit? My thoughts are that he won’t want to. Reakon he would retire before dropping down the order and/or giving up the captaincy.
Selectors
Is it the selectors fault? hmmmm …. you gota wonder… maybe not so much for the decisions made this series … but in the years leading up.
Should we have blooded more youngsters and worked on a deeper squad. Probably…. the years of Warne, McGrath, Gilly and Hayden feel soooo bloody far away now. How about some planning??!
Aussie Batsman
Watson has batted well… but should he be opening? hmmmm … The surprise of the series has been Hussey who has stood up (despite the last 2 innnings) when the top order has crumbled. Clarke, North, Ponting… tsk tsk tsk. Smith and Hughes might be ok… but may need the added confidence of a stronger team around them.
Aussie Pace Bowlers
At times the aussie pace bowlers lacked some mongrel! At the WACA (yea yea its a seamers pitch) we saw a bit of mongrel, but, with the exception of Siddle, I wouldn’t be too happy with the peformance. Can an aussie swing a ball?!!!! HELLOOO!!! 
Spinner
Hauritz got shafted…. but he is probably not cut out for the big stage. Smith in the team as a battsman and Clarke doesnt get much of a go. I tell ya … they better play a spinner in Sydney. As Harris is probably out after breaking down yeserday, you would think the 12th man for the last 2 matches, Beer, would be a shoe in….. you would think.
Poms
Maybe the Poms were just too good ;) nuff said on that one hey? hehehe
Rant complete… vented … feeling better?
errrr no
Well we all wondered how long the Tigers winning run would last…. well I guess not long enough.
I went along to the MCG today to watch a hapless Tigers outfit succumb to the North Melbourne Kangaroos by 50 points.
In a wet and scrappy game, the Tiges were lackluster, showing none of the hunger of recent weeks.
The final score was
North Melbourne 15.13 (103) def Richmond Tigers 7.11 (53).
….dissapointed
The recent hospitalisation of Richmond star Ben Cousins has again brought the spotlight back on the use of legal stimulants by AFL players. Apparently Cousins was admitted to Intensive Care due to a reaction to a sleeping tablet, prescribed to counter the effects of legal stimulants taken the day before in Richmonds (awesome!!!) game against the Sydney Swans.
Due to Cousin’s previous shady history with drugs, there are a few question marks surrounding this particular incident.
However, the use of legal stimulants by elite AFL players is clearly an issue…. or issit?
Players have been reported to load up on Caffeine pills, No-Doze and/or Energy Drinks before they run out onto the ground. These substances are totally legal and socially acceptable. But should our players be putting their bodies through this? Especially when they sometimes require the use of prescription sleeping medication to “come down” and get a nights rest?
This doesn’t sound right to me.
One fear is that the youngsters looking up at their footy idols will start following suit and start loading up for their local footy games.
As far as health concerns go, too much caffeine is definitely not good for you…. evelvated heart rates and possible addiction.
With regards to energy drinks, substances like Taurine, although legal and “approved”, are relevantly new to the consumer market. What are the long term effects of excessive consumptions? well … we wait and see.
And this problem is not only in AFL camps. It seems athletes and sportsmen/women from a range of different sports are doing similar.
I hope Benny Cousins recovers well and can take the field again for the Tiges. Preferably without the use of stimulants.
what do you think?
I received my first Richmond membership in the mail yesterday. It is only a 3 game membership … but its a start.
The plan is to catch a min of 3 home games once my uni exams finish and I get my (guilt-free) weekends back.
So far the Tigers are winless this season… and there is a good chance that they will be winless at the end of the season.
This has not influenced me against getting a membership OR wanting to attend some games! …..
cue the abuse and taunts
