Australian Cricket Thread

[sussexpob]

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/sou ... 2000-61829

August 2000.... god I feel old

[Durhamfootman]

Can't remember exactly when, but Australia played SA in a ODI series that was hosted indoors at the Melbourne docklands stadium sometime in between the 1999-2003 world cup. Can remember Lance Klusener lauching one of his trademark biffs onto the roof..... think its used for one of the BBL teams now also, but couldn't tell you how often as I dont really follow the T20 franchise leagues

I remember Mike Hussey hitting the roof in the telstra dome (is that right) for australia against the rest of the world. I remember the commo's saying before the game that it was impossible to hit the roof in that stadium

[alfie]

Tasmania are trying (as I understand it) to get an AFL team going and the stadium is a requirement for that. I saw pictures of the stadium proposal with a glass and timber roof in place and it looks spectacular. However there are concerns that the roof may cast shadows on the playing area which could make it unusable for cricket, so they are hastily looking again at the design/materials/size of the thing.

It does seem crazy to me that a cricket ground can have a roof. It just feels impossibly vast somehow, but technology moves on

Probably need a roof given it is in Tasmania ... though in truth Melbourne and Sydney can't talk about the likelihood of rain interruptions either

AFL likes to flex its financial muscle : made sure this Shield Final couldn't be played at the Adelaide Oval ; so Cricket will need to push the government vigorously to make sure this new stadium isn't rendered useless for serious cricket due to bad design.

[Durhamfootman]

I see that Pucovski has retired.

A good decision, I think. It used to worry me the number of times he got concussions from being hit on the head. I used to get Phil Hughes vibes about him

[alfie]

Unfortunate for Pucovski that his once promising career was derailed in this manner. But yes , I have felt all along that his concussions were just too regular to be explained by happenstance - and too dangerous to be invited to continue. Retirement has been inevitable for a while. Glad he has got out more or less in one piece.

[GarlicJam]

Tasmania are trying (as I understand it) to get an AFL team going and the stadium is a requirement for that. I saw pictures of the stadium proposal with a glass and timber roof in place and it looks spectacular. However there are concerns that the roof may cast shadows on the playing area which could make it unusable for cricket, so they are hastily looking again at the design/materials/size of the thing.

It does seem crazy to me that a cricket ground can have a roof. It just feels impossibly vast somehow, but technology moves on

Probably need a roof given it is in Tasmania ... though in truth Melbourne and Sydney can't talk about the likelihood of rain interruptions either

AFL likes to flex its financial muscle : made sure this Shield Final couldn't be played at the Adelaide Oval ; so Cricket will need to push the government vigorously to make sure this new stadium isn't rendered useless for serious cricket due to bad design.

Hobart is the second driest capital city in Australia. If a roof isn't needed elsewhere, it is not needed in Hobart. The AFL are being absolute bullies, and took advantage of Tasmania's need to have an AFL team. We've had 20+ years of AFL being played down here, with no roofed stadia, this has never been a problem. Even so, Aussie Rules is a winter sport, let them play in the rain.

Pathetic behaviour from the AFL to insist on a roofed stadium. Very dumb decision by the previous state premier to lock that in,and pigheadedness by his successor to plough on regardless of the strong opposition to the plan as it stands.

I'd love to see Tassie playing in a new stadium in Hobart - I realise that a Tasmania team must be based in the capital, and the government really want that modern thing: a new stadium within walking distance of the CBD. But this location, as charming as it is, is just the wrong spot. No public transport, in a geographical bottleneck, and it will cost way more than the small population of Tassie can afford.

[GarlicJam]

Unfortunate for Pucovski that his once promising career was derailed in this manner. But yes , I have felt all along that his concussions were just too regular to be explained by happenstance - and too dangerous to be invited to continue. Retirement has been inevitable for a while. Glad he has got out more or less in one piece.

for someone who was (supposedly) such a prodigious talent, he got hit in the head an extraordinary number of times. It is good that he has faced up to the inevitable.

[Durhamfootman]

I see that you feel very strongly about the new stadium, GJ.

[sussexpob]

Pathetic behaviour from the AFL to insist on a roofed stadium. Very dumb decision by the previous state premier to lock that in,and pigheadedness by his successor to plough on regardless of the strong opposition to the plan as it stands

Would the AFL team own the stadium? If so, wouldn't it be a case of making the venue available for other events that generate money, like concerts, EXPOs and what not? OF course, I doubt Taylor Swift is coming to Hobart, nor I doubt are many people who could fill a stadium of 30,000 considering the population size, but these false discussions about revenue generation when public money is being smashed down are always needed to justify the cost. Put a roof on it, we can host the world EXPO and pretend ACDC will do a gig once a summer - happens everywhere now.

I'd love to see Tassie playing in a new stadium in Hobart - I realise that a Tasmania team must be based in the capital, and the government really want that modern thing: a new stadium within walking distance of the CBD. But this location, as charming as it is, is just the wrong spot. No public transport, in a geographical bottleneck, and it will cost way more than the small population of Tassie can afford.

Is there mass support for the project? A quick google is saying the costs could go over a billion AUD - which is the type of project I'd expect in Russia with Putin getting a 90% kick back, but its frankly absurd for a small provincial town of 250k to be paying this for a modern state of the art facility. Several lower league English football clubs build stadiums in the recent past, all using shared or pre-paid designs. Swansea paid like 25 million for the Liberty, even accounting for inflation since its under three figures for a stadium good enough to host Premier League, International football and world class concerts.

It happens a lot in the USA nowadays with local government and sporting sides - the latter always try to demonstrate the idea that the government paying for the stadium will bring some uber benefit to the local economy...... the fact is, they are about as profitable as making a mountain of tax payers cash then setting it on fire, with no exceptions. The costs never outweigh the benefits.

[sussexpob]

Unfortunate for Pucovski that his once promising career was derailed in this manner. But yes , I have felt all along that his concussions were just too regular to be explained by happenstance - and too dangerous to be invited to continue. Retirement has been inevitable for a while. Glad he has got out more or less in one piece.

for someone who was (supposedly) such a prodigious talent, he got hit in the head an extraordinary number of times. It is good that he has faced up to the inevitable.

Been a lot of debate about this in the NFL with Tua Tagoviaola's repeated concussions. What you find with Tua is, he had 1 or 2 horrific head trauma's caused by huge hits early in his career, but since then any form of even light or random contact can trigger it. His last concussion he wasn't even tackled, he just went into a slide to try to get a first down, and the contact of his bum hitting the floor with no head contact was enough to trigger concussion. He has had others another where he lightly bangs into a blocker, contact level that wouldn't usually knock someone of their stride much, and he ended in hospital.

I think its the same for Will, he got concussion just diving at a ball in the field and not even contacting the floor with his head, just by the force of diving in the air. I don't know if there is some observer bias in the idea he is a train wreck at the short ball. You might find a batsman gets hit on the helmet 100 times in their career with 95% of those balls just glancing off to the boundary and you play on... but if in his case even negligible contact triggers serious injury, each one sticks out.

All you need is to get unlucky I guess, and top batsman get hit on the head. Just look at that first session of the 2005 Ashes where Harmison nearly took 3 world class players heads off. Remember Ntini flattening Langer badly too....

Its pretty sad for him. Scored a 50 on debut, so there was talent there. But really, we should celebrate the sensible and courageous decision to put his safety first.

[GarlicJam]

I see that you feel very strongly about the new stadium, GJ.

There's no denying that I would love to see that stadium at Macquarie Point, and see it a successful venture, even hopefully for the whole state, but I am worried that it is going to screw Tasmania over for decades.

It is a terrible deal for what looks like being a lovely boutique stadium (if it CAN host cricket - including tests) in a lovely looking position.

Lovely doesn't always go hand in hand with practical though, as I am sure you and your wife have discussed over those years - happy birthday, btw.

Traffic flow is terrible in Hobart, along with and maybe contributing to, public transport is busses only. The stadium should be on the other side of town - around the (old?) Showgrounds. I reckon at least 60% of the state live north of here, and it would save them from having to travel into the city (which is a terrible drive for a large town of Hobart's size) There is land galore there - it is WAY too tight at Mac Point and a couple of things have heritage listing to some degree, including an old building (rail/shipping related??) that needs to be picked up and moved a few hundred metres.

The government seem to be keen on the idea of it validating Hobart as a city, and there is no doubt that it will be quite picturesque and will add to the shoreline of Hobart. Part of me wants to see it happen, but part of me also wants to go and eat at this fancy restaurant, but I can't see it happening atm.

[GarlicJam]

Pathetic behaviour from the AFL to insist on a roofed stadium. Very dumb decision by the previous state premier to lock that in,and pigheadedness by his successor to plough on regardless of the strong opposition to the plan as it stands

Would the AFL team own the stadium? If so, wouldn't it be a case of making the venue available for other events that generate money, like concerts, EXPOs and what not? OF course, I doubt Taylor Swift is coming to Hobart, nor I doubt are many people who could fill a stadium of 30,000 considering the population size, but these false discussions about revenue generation when public money is being smashed down are always needed to justify the cost. Put a roof on it, we can host the world EXPO and pretend ACDC will do a gig once a summer - happens everywhere now.

I'd love to see Tassie playing in a new stadium in Hobart - I realise that a Tasmania team must be based in the capital, and the government really want that modern thing: a new stadium within walking distance of the CBD. But this location, as charming as it is, is just the wrong spot. No public transport, in a geographical bottleneck, and it will cost way more than the small population of Tassie can afford.

Is there mass support for the project? A quick google is saying the costs could go over a billion AUD - which is the type of project I'd expect in Russia with Putin getting a 90% kick back, but its frankly absurd for a small provincial town of 250k to be paying this for a modern state of the art facility. Several lower league English football clubs build stadiums in the recent past, all using shared or pre-paid designs. Swansea paid like 25 million for the Liberty, even accounting for inflation since its under three figures for a stadium good enough to host Premier League, International football and world class concerts.

It happens a lot in the USA nowadays with local government and sporting sides - the latter always try to demonstrate the idea that the government paying for the stadium will bring some uber benefit to the local economy...... the fact is, they are about as profitable as making a mountain of tax payers cash then setting it on fire, with no exceptions. The costs never outweigh the benefits.

There is strong support for the AFL team, but definitely not for the stadium - especially in the North of the state where half the population live. It is something like 67% anti-stadium in the North-West.
The state govt will own the stadium - which has bi-partisan parliamentary backing (wedge politics...) - and it is planned that it is a multipurpose community. Will it be a white elephant though? An independent report released recently has poured strong doubt on the govt estimates of how much it will cost, as well as the potential return to the state.

Like you suggest, this report thought it would return about 40 cents in the dollar, not the $1.50 plus that I am sure the govt estimates.

To be fair, it will be a unique stadium, so some of the high costs can be believed/justified. Besides being roofed, in some self-cleaning acrylic, I think, it will be predominately made from wood.

Whatever happens, it will be very silly to go ahead with current plans, if cricket (test cricket at that) cannot be played in the place.

[GarlicJam]

A couple of pachyderms have been wandering around the selection room at Cricket Australia for a while, unaddressed.

This test championship loss has brought forward the time for them to be discussed and maybe shipped on.

First one is not picking the best players for particular positions - an example is moving Marnus to open (after Smith, and proposing Green). I think a move back to specialist openers will be a good move. It sometimes works, as with Khawaja, but often not. Uzzie is due to retire soon, surely?

and that touches on the other elephant: the age of the team. How many will plan to keep playing post-Ashes? I wouldn't be surprised if we lost Khawaja, Smith and Starc. Maybe even Lyon. That's a heck of a lot of experience and skill.
The bowling backups are even getting on - perennial "in case" bowler, Scott Boland is at least 37. Aus has had plenty of potential test bowlers around the past few years, but the quartet of pacers have just been too good. This may bite in the next year or two.

[Durhamfootman]

I rather agree with that

in the final team, only Cam Green is south of 30

[Arthur Crabtree]

Seems a while since Australia had what looks like a classic batting lineup.