Graeme Smith Wonders

Not A Winter Of Discontent

Someone please explain. I am too far from the action to get a real feel for what is going on but is The England getting better or are the SA boys in decline?

Don't cop out and say a it's a bit of both.

The Biter Bit

Dale Steyn doesn't look too comfortable with the bouncer but it didn't stop him playing an important cameo knock.

The fast bowler always knows he will get another chance to share the love!

The Dismisal De Jour

Agonising and entertaining run outs are current video fodder. Funny how these things seem to be infectious and, like the ever popular ball to the groin, always more fun for those watching than those involved.

Calling Fellas!!

Eye contact is good if you make it before the run is over, but there is no substitution for a good clear call.

C'mon man!

Respect

The greatest tribute you can give a fast bowler is that they always kept charging in.

Makhaya Ntini has charged in for 100 Tests and surely deserves every accolade that comes his way. At his best he was damn near unplayable but it was his attitude as a new boy and now an aging master that most impressed me.

Youth And Wisdom

Now what might Waqar The Wise be telling his young apprentice?

Is he telling him that Watson is twice as big a knob as most other cricketers or perhaps is he reminding him that the Aussies are twice as good as the Black Caps?

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

I am not sure why, but I have noticed an increasing number of cricketers photographed at the seashore in the last year.

What does it mean? Perhaps the good folk at Getty Images are growing a little tired of the green sward.

Jonathan Trott does look at home but then of course he is, isn't he.

Knobsville

While my internet might not of been functioning my Sky was, so I too witnessed Watson make a fool of himself with what Frank Zappa would have called a "petulent frenzy".

Funny how after Test 1 the Windies were so bad they shouldn't have been allowed to play a team as exulted as the Chosen Ones, while by Test 3 they were able to  expose a number of raw, and stupid, nerves.

Funny old game cricket.

In further developments Watson says he was teased by Gayle who said bad things about him - Border and Waugh must be cringing.

I'm Back

Five days without a post and I bet no one even noticed!

The enforced lay off was due to trouble with my wireless connection but I don't want to bore any one with technicalities, especially ones I don't understand myself.

What better way to get back into the swing of things than an image of the great Sehwag practicing a shot only he could play.

Welcome To The Big Time

Clint McKay gets the hat that matters but he probably wished he could kick off against someone other than Chris "The Pirate King" Gayle.

Still, it can only get easier, eh?

Travis Dowlin Sees Red

Any one who has ever played the game of cricket knows how Travis is feeling.

If the ball was only a bit bigger, redder, softer and movd a bit slower!

Straight And True

And that refers to both the shot and the pitch.

The Sign of the Wildebeest

Cricket coaches these days need to add value in new and interesting ways, or someone will ask why they are employed.

Here Andy Flower is seen practicing his signals, something he picked up from contact with a baseball throwing coach.

The meaning of the sign is obscure but some of you with local knowledge might be able to tell us what he is trying to say.  

An Appealing Individual

I like Danish Kaneria.

The bowling variations.
The enthusiasm.
The appeals.
The bell bottom cricket pants.
The way Craig McMillan pronnunces his first name like a european race.

I do hope he stays healthy for Aussie because he could do some real damage there.

Good Call? Bad Call?

It is just possible that making the right decision could be the wrong thing to do. The amount of frustration for both players and umpires is pretty clear in this image.

A Penny For 'em

Any one got any ideas about what the Wing Commander might be contemplating?

Potrait of a Legend as a Young Man

Watching and listening to Ritchie Benaud at the Adelaide Test brought home how old the man is getting.

Icons are supposed to have a bit of age about them but elite sportsman deserve to be remembered as they were in their prime. This old image captures a fair bit of what we were to see over the next 40 or 50 years.

Direct, eye to eye opinion.

The Camera Does Lie

You wouldn't know it from this image but Kemar Raoch is one of the smoothest, balanced and self contained fast bowlers going around.

I look forward to watching him on a green seamer - just so long as he keeps his head up.

Usain Gayle

You got to be the real deal to strike the pose - today Chris Gayle was good enough.

Now he just needs to work on the elbow angle and getting 10 Aussie wickets.

A Fun Day Out

I got almost as much pleasure as Chris Gayle watching the proceedings at Adelaide yesterday. Great to see the Windies having a good day, showing a bit of character and getting the occasional giggle in.

It also took my mind of the  less than amusing Basin Reserve debacle.

Ross Taylor Reflects

And it might go something like this.

"Why did I not play a shot?"

"Am I an idiot?"

"Will Dan save us again?"

"Can Fulton score a run?"

"Are we really playing the same game as Sehwag?"

The Face Of The Sublime

No words are adequate or necessary.

Promotion Without Shame

Shorter than the Complete Works of Shakespeare!

Longer than a Donald Duck comic!!

Funnier than A Short History of Time!!!

Sexier than The Bedside Book of Birds!!!!

Check out Great Uncle Jrod's latest literary offering!!!!!

Any one who can make a misery guts like me laugh on an almost daily basis can't be a complete tosser!!!!!!

PS. If Freddy is Jesus you just know Sehwag must be God.

The Big Three Bend Down

Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar at practice. How many time must these guys have hitched the whites, bent the knees and switched on? One of the hardest things for a long lived professional sportsman must be maintaining the enthusiasm for practice. I guess it is self selecting - if you can keep the focus you can keep getting the results, and these three have turned in the odd good result in the last 20 years.

The Lion Roars

Tim Bresnan lets it all out.

Great to see tourists expressing themselves in a foreign land and proving to critics such as myself that they can be competitive over winter. I do hope some one has warned them of the Sun City equivalent of the pedalo!