At Red Alert we are committed to making sure that political issues are debated through the period of the Rugby World Cup. It falls to us as the mainstream media abandon the day to day of politics for anything related to rugby. The writing was on the wall the other night when both major TV networks led with the naming of the All Black team to play Tonga.
Having said that, we here in the ship of social democracy are capable of thinking about more than one thing at a time, and for me, and some other colleagues we might just have a wee tad of interest in the Cup. So we will do some brief posts along the way.
So to start, what should folks be looking for in terms of rugby in the first few weeks of the tournament?
- massive score blowouts as the big teams (think us, England, Aussie, South Africa etc) play the minnows of the rugby world, Georgia, Russia, USA etc (yep the power balance in rugby is pretty much the inverse of geo-politics).
- wailing and gnashing of teeth that the All Blacks still don’t look quite right. (This will happen whether they do or not).
- the possible rise of the Pacific nations. I think Samoa, Tonga and to a lesser extent Fiji will be the big movers of the early rounds. The Pacific teams are now stacked with players who ply their trade in the Northern Hemisphere competitions. Combined with a bit of local and NZ based talent, they will be tough opponents for anyone. Fiji and Samoa sprang surprises four years ago in France, and they now have an even bigger base of professional players.
My suggestion for getting through the first few weeks of the tournament is pick yourself an underdog team and live your life through them. The All Blacks will be fine in pool play, give someone else a go too. Then rejoice as the Georgians actually score a try, or the Romanians hold Scotland to half a cricket score. And then when they play each other- there is the chance of a win!
Ah, it is exciting isn’t it? Now, move along, nothing to see here, back to the politics….
Posted in Sport, Music and other time wasting activities. |
Its Wellington Cup day today. A chance for Wellingtonians to dress up in their finery, get on the train to Hipkins country, hide from the sun (its already pushing 20 degrees) and drink beer and wine from plastic cups. I will be there. I blame geography for my interest in the horses. I grew up a stones throw from Forbury Park in Dunedin. My father and I would sometimes go down in the evening, filled with Presbyterian caution and put $1 each way on number 7 or number 9, his lucky numbers. Just after he passed away last year, I took my brother back there, and an evening of betting on 7 and 9 netted us a healthy return.
Later on I flatted with Terence who thought he had invented the perfect betting system. This was before the days of home computers. The whole thing was on index cards, and took paintstaking effort to keep up. The system eventually fell away, but my interest stuck. I dont get to more than three or four meetings a year nowadays but I still love it. For me it is the only form of gambling that I have any time for. There is some considerable skill and knowledge that you can apply, and there is the thrill of the race itself. Interestingly problem gambling is less associated with racing than other forms of gambling. Though that is not to under-estimate the dangers. I have not shaken the Presbyterian caution, but inflation has caught up!
Cup Day is a great day, one of a number of well attending race meetings in the summer period. But I know the Wellington Racing Club and other clubs would love to see bigger crowds throughout the year. I share my colleagues concerns about the some time unhealthy relationship between the gaming trusts and racing clubs, but I also want to see the clubs survive. Any trip to a summer race meeting this year will have made clear to people that these are great events for bringing communities together. Clubs have gone to great effort to make days family friendly as well.
Anyway time to get ready. If you are looking for a tip for the Wellington Cup (timed to go at 4.42) you can’t go past Red Ruler. With a name like that I have to support it really, but it is also the favourite. And as a bit of an outsider, take a look at Manonamission. But keep that one to yourself 
Posted in Sport, Music and other time wasting activities. |
When 20/20 cricket first arrived, I “decided” to have nothing to do with it. A life-long cricket tragic I had always preferred the longer forms of the game, and had come to 50 over games through the beige tinted glasses of the early 1980s. But 20/20 looked like too much of a slog fest for me. Technique and tenacity make way for hitting and hoping. But it is time for me, and anyone else who feels the same way to face the facts. This is where cricket is going.
This summer New Zealand Cricket have poured their marketing money into the underwhelmingly named HRV Cup, having seen the format go off in India and England. The marketing has paid off. Big crowds- bigger than I would suggest have ever attended domestic cricket have been heading along. There have been a number of close games, the Black Caps are mostly playing, and the weather has pretty much played its part. It is also the only domestic cricket competition that actually is set up to work. It starts and goes until it finishes. The 50 over competition started in December, is currently having a break and gets going again in February. The 4- day competition started in November, has multiple breaks and finishes at the end of March, snow flurries permitting.
I went to one of the games at the Basin Reserve recently, and despite myself enjoyed it very much. The truth is the 20/20 format suits our modern lifestyles. The crowd wandered down to the Basin on a summer evening after work, had three hours relaxing in the sun and were home in time for a suitably timed summer dinner (or an excursion down Courtenay Place). It did not take a whole day. It probably pays not to analyse this too much as it is reflective of the decrease of our collective attention span and stupidly busy lives, but it is reality. And, of course, it works really well for Rupert and the TV people.
I do still despair for what it means for the cricket. Test cricket provides the ultimate forum for showcasing talent, both batting and bowling. It has multiple battles within battles, twists and turns. It requires patience, knowing when to attack and when to defend. It is a game of skill. I am still not convinced that much of that is on show in 20/20. But it is pulsating, exciting, innovative and cut-throat.
Continue reading ‘Saturday Sport: 20/20 Vision’
Posted in Cricket and Sport, Music and other time wasting activities. |
As someone who harboured childhood dreams of being an All Black or a Black Cap it was always re-assuring when I would look at the birthdays of players and see that there was still someone older than me in the team. I still had a chance. For several years I willed Dave Hewett to be picked in All Black squads. Sadly, at 38 these days are gone. Perhaps I need to re-focus on the Lawn Bowls team for the Commonwealth Games.
In any case this comes to mind as I thumbed through New Zealand Cricket’s glossy magazine previewing the year. The birthdates for our bowling attack give an old fella some hope.
Chris Martin-1974, Darryl Tuffey-1978, Shane Bond-1974, Jacob Oram-1978, James Franklin-1980, Daniel Vettori-1979, Kyle Mills-1979, Jeetan Patel-1980, Iain O’Brien-1976, Tim Southee-1988
Bond and O’Brien have already gone (from tests at least in Bond’s case), but only Franklin, Patel and Southee are under 30, and Franklin and Patel will both pass that mark by the end of next year. Through age and on-going injury almost all of the list could be gone in the next year or two.
There is a desperate need to bring through some young talent and have them playing at international level on a regular basis. If we end up with all of the above going in one hit we will struggle to bowl any international team out. I know there are some good young bowlers out there (I saw Corey Anderson at the Basin Reserve on Sunday and he looks good) but waiting any longer will leave them horribly exposed when they are called up.
Otherwise, I will put my hand up to roll down a few medium pacers. That is if my back holds out.
Posted in Sport, Music and other time wasting activities. |
I only saw Iain O’Brien’s wickets on the highlights package last night, but I understand his spell was a five over highlights package. This was not the battling into the wind O’Brien; the toiler punching above his weight. This was a very good spell of pace bowling. He looked to be surpassing the 140km/hr mark pretty much every ball. He was aggressive, questioning with every delivery.
I think there is one reason for his current success- confidence. O’Brien is a bit different. Not only is he NZ cricket’s only real presence in the blogsphere, he is clearly an emotional player. We have become used to the serenity and elegance of Stephen Fleming and the studiousness and seriousness of Daniel Vettori. O’Brien’s emotions may have got on top of him a bit in the past, but some success, and perhaps more importantly some appreciation and credit from the media and the public have him firing.
But it is his personality traits that are ultimately ending O’Brien’s career while he is at the top. Its a great pity for the New Zealand cricket public, desperate to see some kind of spark in the bowling attack. But for O’Brien it is no doubt the best thing. Not only will he have the family life he desires, but he will end his career on an absolute high, playing his very best cricket. In another scenario he might have a mixed series against the Aussies, play a bit next season and fade out.
This way round he and we get the brief pleasure of a player who has found his place- on the field and off, and he gets to be the most unlikely of heroes, finishing on top for once. You can’t begrudge him that.
Posted in Sport, Music and other time wasting activities. |
