Bats too big for cricket

Bats Too Big for Cricket

There is nothing more frustrating as a bowler when you see a batsman miss-timing his shot and getting away with it, especially when it goes for four or six runs. Nowadays cricket bats are ridiculously huge which I think is unfair advantage to the bowler, especially on flat pitches where the ball doesn’t move around as much as a pitch with some grass on it.

This is where the ICC (International Cricket Council) and the governing bodies for each cricketing nation need to come up whit a plan to solve this issue. Whether it’s to reduce the size of the thickness of the bats or to go back to the bats that they used in the 1900 which were much more thin and slightly narrower, almost like a baseball bat.

Even if they reduce the depth for cricket bats by 5 or 6 inches, we may see a fairer contest between bat and ball. I suppose that the down side of using cricket bats with thinner edges is that the bats may not last very long, however this may not be the case if they were to be made using good quality wood which can make the bats last longer.

As a cricket fan, all I want to see is a much fairer contest between bat and ball. Cricket should not always be a batsman’s game, it’s time for the bowlers to have their say on how matches are decided.  I also think that some stadiums around the world have shorter boundaries, which is also an unfair advantage to the batsman as they do not have hit the ball as hard as they can to make the ball travel over the boundary without bouncing.

Cricket should not just be a batsman’s game but a bowler’s game as well where the batsman should be made to work hard to score his or her runs, and reducing the size of the cricket bats would make it a much more even contest between the batsman and the bowler which is what we want to see isn’t it?

Gareth Southgate right man England

Southgate the right man for England

From Under 21 coach to national team coach this is a big step to take for ex-England footballer, Gareth Southgate. Having said that, he has had some success from managing the young guns, guiding them to the final of the 2015 Under 21 European Championships.  

The Premier League is producing some fine young talent such as Dele Ali and Harry Kane. The question now is will these players can form a good partnership with Southgate and can Southgate himself use his experience of playing and managing in international tournament football to guide them to achieving success for the country in major tournaments?

Another factor in which both Gareth and the FA need to think about is the future of the current captain Wayne Rooney. Should he stand down as captain, is his international career about to end? I believe he still has one has one last World Cup in him even though he will be 33 years old, and I see no reason why he shouldn’t be in the squad especially if he’s fit enough to play as he is England’s most experienced player.   

There is no doubt that Southgate’s mental toughness will be tested, especially at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, should England qualify. Having said that, I think Southgate is the ideal replacement for Sam Allardyce as he knows most of the players inside out as a lot of them had been playing for him in the U21s for example, Harry Kane who has so far featured both in the Euros and U21 Championships. I hope that Southgate continues to look for fresh young players and especially the ones who are hungry and want to represent their country by preforming to the best of their ability. I would say that Southgate is a confident man who knows what he’s doing and therefore he’s the right man for the job in my opinion.

Having watched pretty much all of England’s games under Roy Hodgson, I think that England’s style of play was too vague in the sense that they didn’t seem to have a clear game plan, especially when it came to the international tournaments as they weren’t decisive enough with their passing and needlessly kept losing possession of the ball. What I want to see from Southgate’s England is some bravery and up the tempo of the way they pass the ball. I also want to see some more solidity in the midfield in which I felt was lacking during the Euros especially when were humiliated by Iceland. It all about having a good balance between attacking and defending and if Gareth can help us with this, I’m sure that we will become a better team and especially in major tournaments.Only time will tell as to whether Southgate is the right manager for England, can he handle the pressure of leading his country, I’m sure he can.            

 

All Time Football X1

All Time football XI

Casilias 

                    Fabio Canavaro                  Paulo Fereira        

Zinedene Zidane                  Christiano Ronaldo            Juninho                       David Beckham (c)

                                              Lionel Messi                    Thiery Henry 

Top 5 Sporting Moments of 2016

Top 5 Sporting Moments of 2016

NO:5 GB Women's Hockey team win their first ever Olympic Gold medal

What a moment for team GB's Women's Hockey team. The fact that they are the first Hockey team in Great Britain to win an Olympic gold medal at the Olympics is quite incredible, especially when no one expected them to do so.  i thought that played as well as i've seen any other hockey team play and they thoroughly deserve it. The stand out player for me was Kate Richardson-Walsh. I thought she was terrific and dictated most of England's games in terms of tactics and their style of play as well as their performance.    

NO:4 Bangladesh win first ever test beating England

Bangladesh are certainly turning out to be a good test team, especially in home conditions. The fact that they managed to beat England who are currently ranked 5 places above them in 4th is incredible. Yes you could say that England have issues with batting against spin bowling, but take nothing away from Bangladesh, they truly deserved it, especially new Bangladeshi off spinner Mahedi Hasan whom I though bowled superbly, especially in England's second innings.  

NO:3  Iceland beat England in Euro 2016

Apologies to all England fans, but my third best sporting moment of 2016 was when Iceland shockingly knocked England out of Euro 2016. i thought Iceland were the better team than England who were all over the place in terms of defending. i thought goalkeeper Joe Hart had a nightmare in front of  goal especially when we couldn't keep out what should have been a relatively straightforward save for him at the near post.  As for Iceland, it has to be one of the greatest moments in international football and in their country. 

NO:2 Andy Murray becomes number 1 player in the World

It can't get any better for the number 1 tennis  player, Sir Andy Murray. What a year it has been for him. There is nobody who i think has worked as hard as he has to achieve this remarkable landmark. if you think about what Andy has been through on his journey to the top of the rankings, it has been an incredibly tough task, especially playing against the likes of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.  Yes you could say that coach Ivan Lendl has had a massive influence on Murray's success, but it's more the motivation that makes you become a better player, and i think that's the difference between a player ranked number 4 and a number 1 ranked player.  

NO:1 Leicester City win Premier League 

If i were to go away for a whole football season and somebody told me that Leicester City had won the Premier League, i would think that they have gone mental, but this is actually a true story. At the start of the season, everybody was expecting the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea to be in contention to claim the title, But good old Leicester City decided to shock the world by claiming their first ever Premier League title. It just shows that football is a team sport, and you don't necessarily have to have world class players who can win games for you, if you can build a strong relationship with the rest of your team mates, and at the same time play at a high level of intensity for a whole season, you've always got a chance of doing something special in football which was what the Foxes proved to the whole footballing world.

Tottenham stun Chelsea

Blues denied winning streak record as Tottenham stun Conte's  Chelsea at the Lane 

High flying Chelsea went into yesterday's game looking to build on their 13 match winning streak. All odds were with them to pull of a record breaking 14 match winning streak. The first half was very  tight with both sides looking to settle into the match, but just before the break Dele Ali opened the scoring with a free header which flew pass Thibaut Courtios into the top right corner of the net. 9 minutes into the second half, Ali got his second with another header via a perfect cross from Chistian Erikson in which he headed past Coutois into the near post to clinch a well deserved 3 points. Chelsea were poor, especially during the last 5 minutes of the second half. I thought their decision making in the final third was shocking, you could see this by watching the confrontation by Costa and Pedro.  Although this was a bit of a shock for Chelsea, take nothing away from Tottenham. I thought they were the better team than Chelsea, especially in the second half.  Dele Ali for me has the potential of being a world class player, it would be interesting to see what happens to him when the season has finish as i suspect that many teams will be after him but i think he will remain a Tottenham player for the next 5 to 6 years.

As far as Chelsea are concerned, this is a shock to the system for the. I can just about imagine how they are feeling, but they must not let this defeat hinder their pursuit of winning the Premier League for the fourth time in 12 years. As for Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal and possibly Manchester City and United, there is now a small opportunity to catch up with the Blues. Games are coming thick and fast for all of these teams, it would be interesting to see if there are any twists and turns in the second half of the season. 

When Antonio Conte gave his reaction after the match, he said that the match was a 'good test for his side.  he knew this was going to be tough for them but he also said that the defeat was a 'tough one to take', 'Tottenham is a good team, but we must move on' 

How will Chelsea recover from this shock, we will soon find out?

Murray On Top of the World

Murray On Top of the World

  

Andy Murray wins ATP World Tour Finals to Claim No:1 spot in ATP Rankings.

What a year it has been for Britains no:1 Andy Murray.  From helping Great Britain win the Davis Cup to winning his second Wimbledon title to becoming world number1, Murray could not have asked for anything better.
Credit must go to coach Ivan Lendl as he and Jamie Dalgado had have a massive impact on Murray's most successful year thus far. Murray's court tantrums have been a rarity this year, i think that's what's been a big change since Lendl's return. Gone are the smashed rackets and foulmouth phrases, gone is the arguing with the court umpire's, are we starting to see a different Andy Murray? I think so.
After loosing to Djokovic in the French Open final, Murray has not looked back and is a much fitter and stronger player both mentally and physically. long may he achieve more success in the future. i suppose his next target would be to remain the no:1 player for as long as possible, however  this will not be straightforward for Murray as there will be a certain Novak Djokovic breathing down his neck and will be desperate to reclaim his place as world no:1.

Can Murray continue his dominance into 2016?

Will Djokovic reclaim his place at the top of the rankings?

Will someone else burst onto the scene in 2017?

All is to be revealed. 

Mourinho tantrums

Is Mourinho loosing his invincibility and Cool

Hothead Mourinho Kicks Water Bottle 

During Manchester United's  draw against West Ham, Jose Mourinho was once again sent to the stands following a water bottle kicking incident. A frustrated Mourinho was not happy with midfielder Paul Pogba's tackling incident which ultimately led to a caution for the record signing midfielder from PSG. However, this is not the first of many touchline incidents in which the 'Special One' has been involved in, in each club Mourinho has managed, there has been at least 1 or 2 incidents in which Mourinho has either had a falling out with the opposing manager i.e Arsene Wenger or the Referee. 

in terms of his new role as Manchester United boss, it has not been a great start for him. United are currently in sixth place after 13 games with just 5 wins, 5 draws and 3 defeats. Coming back to Mourinho, many people are starting to wonder if the 'Special One' is losing his invincibility which has lead him to success in every team that he has managed so far including Premier League rivals Chelsea. 

This is probably Mourinho's worst start as the manager of a new club. i can garuntee you that he has not had as badder start to a season with a new club. the water bottle kicking incident pretty much sums up how his new roll as Manchester United manager is going. I'm wondering if the fallout with the physiotherapist at Chelsea in which Ambramovic sacked Mourinho may have had an impact on his new role as Manchester United's manager, or could it just be a sign of nervousness?

Manchester United face a tough trip to Everton this Sunday. it will be interesting to see what sort of mood Mourinho is in and if it will have an impact on today's clash against the Toffees.