Rushed Behind

Cricket: Best Spinners In Australia

2010-03-29T16:11:00.003+10:30

Ever since Shane Warne retired, there has been heated debate about who Australia's next test spinner should be. Now Nathan Hauritz has taken that spot, with some surprisingly decent returns. The Ritz has assembled a decent record with 15 matches, 56 wickets at 31.7 and an economy rate of 2.99. Not too shabby, especially for someone who has to bowl half the time on Australian, non-spinning pitches. I retain the right to dislike him, but he does a servicable job.

What happens if Australia want to play two spinners, like New Zealand are currently with Patel and Vettori? Currently the backup spinner for the NZ tour is Steve "The Golden Boy" Smith. Smith has had opportunities handed to him on a platter for all types of cricket, primarily on the strength of being a good 2020 fielder and a blond leg spinner.

The Australian contracted players list has no other spinners. So who is the best spinner in first class cricket?

My boy Bryce McGain. Yep, old Brycey boy has rebounded from being given a pasting in his only test on a non-spinning South African wicket to again be the leading shield wicket taker, despite only playing 8 of a possible 11 games. McGain took 26 wickets at 32, well ahead of the Golden Boy Steve Smith (21 wickets at 44). Other notable spinners include 3rd placed O'Keefe (NSW) with 15 wickets at 31, Krejza with 14 wickets at 54 and perennial Rushed Behind whipping boy Aaron O'Brien with 14 wickets at 63. Bryce also was the match winner in the Shield final, taking 4/70 in the final innings to win the game for Victoria.

McGain's career first class average is 35. That doesn't seem exceptional at first sight, but look at some other averages and you'll see that it takes an exceptional spinner to succeed in the Sheffield Shield. Nathan Hauritz averages 42 (driven down by the inclusion of his test figures in the first class stats). Steve Smith averages 49 (so at least he improved this season). Jason Krejza averages 49 too. Stuart Macgill only averaged 31. Hell, Brad Hogg averaged 41.

It is blatantly obvious who the best spinner in the Shield is and yet because of one bad game he has seemingly been banished forever. With the Ashes in Australia next summer, do we really want to risk the whole series on the fitness and quality of the Ritz, with the only backup the good fielding but mediocre everywhere else Golden Boy? And then we have the 50 over World Cup in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Ritz is a capable one day spinner, but on subcontinental pitches we need another spin option.

And for Fred's sake South Australia, don't pick Aaron O'Brien as a bowler. His first class average is 58 and even getting worse.

First Teams For AFL Round 1

2010-03-24T23:08:00.005+10:30

The teams for the first game of the season have been announced:

RICHMOND
B: Newman, Moore, Edwards
HB: Farmer, McGuane, Thursfield
C: Martin, Deledio, Nason
HF: Hislop, Riewoldt, Tambling
F: Roberts, Morton, Nahas
FOLL: Simmonds, Jackson, Cotchin
I/C: Vickery, Cousins, Connors, Thompson
EM: Polo, Polak, White

Martin, Nason, Roberts and Connors have been named.

CARLTON
B: Thornton, Jamison, Joseph
HB: Russell, Waite, Bower
C: Houlihan, Murphy, Scotland
HF: Carrazzo, Henderson, Simpson
F: Betts, Kreuzer, O'hAilpin
FOLL: Warnock, Gibbs, McLean
I/C: Anderson, Robinson, Walker, Yarran
EM: Grigg, Jacobs, Lucas

Warnock named, Lucas is an emergency.

The Footy Show has announced extended teams for the other games. I don’t know where they are sourced from but it should give an indication of who (particularly rookies) will play in this most important of rounds. Full teams will be announced circa 5.00 PM AEDST all over the internet (Sportal for example). Fanfooty has predicted teams.

MELBOURNE
B: Warnock, Frawley, Bennell
HB: Macdonald, Rivers, McDonald
C: Dunn, Green, Grimes
HF: Bruce, Miller, Moloney
F: Bate, Martin, Petterd
FOLL: Jamar, Davey, Jones
I/C: Scully, McKenzie, Trengove, Spencer, Strauss, Bartram, Bail, Maric

Scully and Trengove named with Strauss on an extended bench.

HAWTHORN
B: Guerra, Gibson, Gilham
HB: Brown, Murphy, Birchall
C: Ellis, Lewis, Hodge
HF: Osbourne, Shoenmakers, Morton
F: Moss, Roughead, Hooper
FOLL: Renouf, Ladson, Mitchell
I/C: Duryea, Grimley, Lisle, Suckling, Stratton, Kayler-Thomson, Williams, Shiels, Whitecross, Peterson

Ten man bench has just about every player who isn't injured.

SYDNEY
B: Bevan, Richards, Roberts-Thomson
HB: Shaw, C.Bolton, Kennedy
C: Kennelly, Kirk, Mattner
HF: Rohan, Goodes, O’Keefe
F: Jetta, Bradshaw, J.Bolton
FOLL: Seaby, Jack, McVeigh
I/C: Mumford, Smith, Grundy, McGlynn, Moore, White, Hannebery, Malceski

Rohan and Jetta starting. Malceski on extended bench subject to fitness.

ST KILDA
B: Gilbert, Dawson, Baker
HB: Gram, Blake, Goddard
C: Peake, Hayes, Dal Santo
HF: Armitage, Riewoldt, Schneider
F: Milne, Koschitzke, Gardiner
FOLL: King, Montagna, Jones
I/C: McEvoy, Geary, Clarke, Heyne, Ray, Gwilt, Stanley, McQualter, Eddy, Pattison

McEvoy should get 2nd ruck spot. Peake starts.

PORT ADELAIDE
B: Surjan, Carlile, Salter
HB: Stewart, C.Cornes, Krakouer
C: Salopek, Boak, K.Cornes
HF: J.Westhoff, Schulz, Pearce
F: D.Motlop, Tredrea, Hitchcock
FOLL: Brogan, Cassisi, Gray
I/C: Banner, Davenport, Ebert, Harding, Lobbe, Moore, Nash, Stewart, Thomas

Hitchcock starts. Banner and Lobbe on an extended bench. No sign of Trengove.

NORTH MELBOURNE
B: Firrito, Thompson, Urquhart
HB: Hansen, Pratt, Wells
C: Wright, Swallow, Ziebell
HF: Campbell, Jones, Anthony
F: Thomas, Hale, Edwards
FOLL: McIntosh, Rawlings, Harvey
I/C: Adams, Ross, Grima, Smith, Tarrant, Goldstein, Bastinac, Warren

No sign of Cunnington. Bastinac on the extended bench with Warren.

BRISBANE
B: Drummond, Merrett, Patfull
HB: McGrath, Staker, Adcock
C: Johnstone, Power, Rich
HF: Sherman, Brown, Brennan
F: Buchanan, Fevola, Collier
FOLL: Clark, Black, Rischitelli
I/C: Proud, Austin, Banfield, Hawksley, Stiller, Leuenberger, Raines, Redden, Polkinghorne, Maguire

No sign of Rockliff. Surely he will make it, but TFS can't fit him on a 10 man bench. Maguire is on this bench with Raines.

WEST COAST
B: Mackenzie, Glass, Waters
HB: Nicoski, Brown, Hurn
C: Rosa, Kerr, A.Selwood
HF: Embley, Kennedy, Natanui
F: LeCras, Lynch, McKinley
FOLL: Cox, Priddis, Masten
I/C: S.Selwood, Ebert, Jones, Hansen, Spangher, Swift, Schofield, Dalziell, Butler

No Shuey. Swift, Dalziell and Ebert on the extended bench.

WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Hargrave, Lake, Giansiracusa
HB: Morris, Williams, Gilbee
C: Higgins, Cross, Cooney
HF: Murphy, Hahn, Akermanis
F: Hill, Hall, Johnson
FOLL: Hudson, Boyd, Griffen
I/C: Grant, Ward, Addison, Roughead, Minson, Wood, Everitt, Harbrow, Picken, Moles

Moles on the 10 man bench.

COLLINGWOOD
B: Shaw, Prestigiacomo, Johnson
HB: Lockyer, Maxwell, O’Brien
C: Didak, Pendlebury, Davis
HF: Fraser, Cloke, Swan
F: D.Thomas, Anthony, Medhurst
FOLL: Jolly, O’Bree, Ball
I/C: McCarthy, Corrie, Brown, Beams, Cook, Macaffer, Sidebottom, Dawes, Wellingham, Toovey

10 man bench. No sign of Rusling.

FREMANTLE
B: Hayden, McPharlin, Dodd
HB: Mayne, Tarrant, Crowley
C: Headland, Suban, Ibbotson
HF: Duffield, McPhee, Schammer
F: Hill, Pavlich, Murphy
FOLL: Sandilands, Hasleby, Broughton
I/C: Johnson, Bradley, Clarke, Pearce, Van Berlo, Walters, Hinkley

Whoa! No Barlow? That has to be a mistake. Also no Morabito or Silvagni.

ADELAIDE
B: Johncock, Rutten, Doughty
HB: McLeod, Bock, Douglas
C: Reilly, Thompson, Edwards
HF: Dangerfield, Walker, Goodwin
F: Hentschel, Tippett, Porplyzia
FOLL: Griffin, Vince, Van Berlo
I/C: Cook, Maric, Mackay, Sloane, Petrenko, Stevens, Armstrong, Young

No Davis or McKernan. Young is some chance for the Otten role, but Stevens will probably take it.

I missed the teams for Geelong vs Essendon. Take these with a grain of salt (No Barlow, WTF!), but have a backup plan ready in the case of players who aren’t named.

AFL Dream Team 2010: Lock and Load

2010-03-23T12:34:00.004+10:30

With only 2 days until the start of the 2010 AFL season, you should have your Dream Team locked in by now. If you haven't started your research, then you will be saying goodbye to Mr. Finals this year. Even so, The Rushed Behind is here to help, by giving you some lockable options in each position which most serious players will have.

Backs:

Luke Hodge ($366,800): Absolute gun and underpriced.

One of Josh Hunt ($164,100), Beau Waters ($152,800) or Tadgh Kennelly ($204,700): Quality improvers who will fill the 7th backline position (Waters or Hunt could be used on the bench if you feel rich).

Matt Maguire ($101,700):Solid bench cover who should play 22 games.

Mids:

One of Gary Ablett ($522,000), Dane Swan ($523,500) or Jimmy Bartel ($480,200): Lock in captain.

Dustin Martin ($149,500): Will play 22 and score highly. The Rich of 2010.

Michael Barlow ($105,800): Elevated off rookie list and will score highly, playing most if not all games.

Rucs:

Robbie Warnock ($101,800): Should play quite a bit as your 3rd ruck

A $77,800 Ruckman: None of them will play, but you won't need them to. Consider Lobbe at $94,500 for dual positioning if you have Tippett in your Fwds.

Fwds:

Daniel Giansiracusa ($378,500): Gun who is killing it in preseason and was down last year on historical numbers

Lance Franklin ($354,900): Suspended for round 1, but will improve back towards his 2008 form with more supply this year.

Tom Rockliff ($101,100): By far the best performing bench forward in the NAB Cup

To help pick your bench players, Dream Team Talk has put together a guide to rooks for round 1. As for the rest of the team, best of luck and may the Virtualsports servers hold up long enough that you can get in to fix your team during the partial lockout. There are still a few spots left in the Rushed Behind league, so enter the code 192161 if you want a challenge. If you don't know what Dream Team is, check out N00bteam.

Cycling: Freire Too Strong At Milan-Sanremo

2010-03-21T16:58:00.004+10:30

The 101st running of monument classic Milan-Sanremo looked set to provide an exciting race. With Cavendish way below his best form, the title was wide open. Gilbert, Pozzato and Boassen Hagen were genuine chances to blow the race to pieces with attacks on the Poggio, while a bunch sprint could go to any of Boonen, Bennati, Petacchi or Freire. Many others were set to try their luck with a rare breakaway win or a devastating attack on the short sharp climbs that are key to the Milan-Sanremo.

A three man breakaway tried their luck with unknown Italian riders Piemontesi (Androni Giacatolli), Ratti (Carmiooro NGC) and Caccia (ISD-Neri) breaking away 3km from the start. In a race of almost 300km, this was a suicidal move with zero chance of success. They gained a maximum of 22 minutes on the peloton before they were slowly reeled in. However, for these riders a little coverage for their sponsors was their only goal for the day.

A crash on the descent of the Turchino lead to a 30 man group splitting from the rest of the peloton but by the 60km to go mark these groups were back together and had caught the breakaway. Caccia, clearly not satisfied with setting the pace for the breakaway over 230km set the pace for the lead of these two groups for another 5 kms after being caught. A roleur to watch?

There were several attacks on the flat before the Cipressa, with Bouet and Grabovskyy the strongest, getting each getting gaps of up to a minute. But no solo attack would work this early, with Liquigas feeling good about their chances and forcing the pace. As they started the ascent of the Cipressa, Katusha started to fancy their chances and set about helping Liquigas with their pacemaking.

Once they neared the top, and Petacchi's had shown he had good climbing legs on the day, Lampre set about dropping the other sprinters, with Cavendish one of the first to go. On the descent, the race situation started to become clear. There was a group of around 30 clear at the front from which the winner would come.

Yoann Offredo (FdJ) launched an audacious attack on the descent, but could only get 20 seconds on the group of the favourites. Once the peloton hit the Poggio, Tirreno-Adriatico winner Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) hit the front and pushed with all his might, making sure no one could launch a race changing attack and helping his teammate Luca Paolini. But Garzelli couldn't maintain the rage all the way up, allowing a brief window of opportunity for attackers near the top of the Poggio.

Surprisingly, the first significant attack came from Columbia's Rogers, who had obviously been given the freedom to ride his own race with Cav out of the picture. Gilbert and Nibali both tried attacks, but neither could pull clear far enough before the descent. Pozzato was ever present, following every attack hoping one would go clear, but today was not to be for the puncheurs. Nibali and Pozzato both tried desperate, Cancellara style attacks in the final two kilometres, but the chasing pack was too strong.

Liquigas rider Oss lead the bunch leadout from 1.5km to 500m from the line, where he eventually had no more to give. Bennati came off his wheel and tried to kick like his life depended on it, but Freire came from behind him to win by more than a bike length.

Boonen tried hard to out-do Freire, but one suggests that he is more desperate for the cobbled classics and he had to settle for second place. Petacchi managed to grab the final spot on the podium and special mention must go to Sacha Modolo (Colnago) who came from a long way back in the sprint to get 4th. Modolo has definately marked himself as one to watch for the future, given he is only 22 and in his first year as a pro.

Congratulations must go first and foremost though to Oscar Freire who wins his 3rd Milan-Sanremo as well as 3 World Championships, marking himself as one of the great riders of this generation. Notably, it has been 11 years since his first World Championship win in 1999 showing exceptional longevity. And it seems he is well liked in the peloton (especially by Andy Schleck after a bet with Baden Cooke).

Fun Facts: The tunnel at the top of the climb near Genova was not lit, meaning riders had to ride in the pitch black. Unsurprisingly there was a crash.

Youtube Highlights (With Italian Commentary):

Part 1:

Part 2:

Cycling: Peter Sagan Wins Again in Paris-Nice, Contador Retains Yellow

2010-03-13T17:32:00.004+10:30

Contador blew the field to pieces in stage 4, with Sagan finishing well down in 20th, 58 seconds behind Contador. Only Valverde, Sammy Sanchez and Rodriguez were near the same level as Contador, but Rodriguez pushed himself too hard and dropped 18 seconds, with the other two only dropping ten seconds.

But come stage 5 the stage was set for another Peter Sagan special, with a short sharp climb just before the finish. When Le Mevel attacked, Sagan just followed his wheel presuming that from this attack a collection of contenders would form. To his surprise, when he looked around for the others they were nowhere to be seen.

So Sagan kicked and blasted clear of the lead group. Then came a response from the main contenders who swept up Le Mevel on the descent. Sagan was clearly suffering trying to hold an advantage. He was alternating his time between gritting his teeth looking down suffering and looking backwards to see when he would be swept up. But he somehow managed to hold on before collapsing once he crossed the line.

This is a man who desperately wants to win and won't let his body tell him not to. In the words of Jens Voigt, "I say, Shut up, legs! Do what I tell you to do."

Contador still holds the overall lead by 20 seconds over Alejandro Valverde, with Sagan 8th, 42 seconds behind.

Cycling: Peter Sagan Wins Stage 3 of Paris-Nice

2010-03-11T02:31:00.003+10:30

The day after I started the Peter Sagan bandwagon following his 2nd place in yesterday's disrupted sprint, Sagan has gone one better pulling off the biggest win of his career. Sagan followed an attack up a 1km hill 5kms from the finish by Nicholas Roche and was being joined by Rodriguez, Contador, Martin and Voight. He then managed to hold off Rodriguez (2nd) and Roche (3rd) in the sprint and take 2nd overall (6 seconds behind Voight). So much for being a real star in a year or so, Peter Sagan is there already.

Cycling: The Peter Sagan Bandwagon Starts Here

2010-03-10T12:58:00.008+10:30

In the admittedly limited cycle racing so far this year, there has been one rider who has stood out. Not Theo Bos although anyone who beats Cavendish in a bunch sprint gets my respect. Not Jose Rujano despite his win in the Tour de Langkawi on the road to energizing the Giro later in the year. Not even Bobbie Traksel who survived brutal conditions in which only 26 of the 198 starters of Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne finished. This man even pipped Arthur Vichot.

This man is the Slovakian 20 year old riding with Liquigas Peter Sagan. A former junior mountain bike world champion who has also won the Slovak junior cyclocross championships, Sagan started his road career with Slovak team Dukla Trencin Merida. In 2010 Sagan has been lighting it up for Liquigas, starting by joining Evans, Valverde and Luis Leon Sanchez in the defining move up Willunga hill in the Tour Down Under. That is pretty elite company, but in a race that early in the season he could have just been in better condition than his contemporaries. Still, it established that he can climb hills and gave him a top 5 finish in the Queen stage to go with his 4th place on the punishing stage into Stirling. He managed this despite being involved in a stage 2 crash which left him with 18 stitches and out of contention for the overall.

Sagan has since been showing off his abilities at Paris-Nice, starting with a 5th place in the prologue time trial. This placed him ahead of time-trialling luminaries such as David Millar, Luis Leon Sanchez and Roman Kreuziger. He then found himself near the front in a disrupted sprint in stage 2 and showed he has quite a kick when necessary, being just touched out on the line by William Bonnet. His Paris-Nice form has shown that the TDU was not a fluke and that he can time-trial as well.

He can do everything already (except genuine mountains, but the later stages of Paris-Nice should clear that up) and he only turned 20 this year. Thats 3 years younger than "so hot right now" prodigy Edvald Boasson Hagen. Remember the name Peter Sagan, because in a year's time he will be a serious player.

AFL Dream Team NAB Cup Rd 2-Who is Running Hot?

2010-03-03T16:59:00.004+10:30

The first half of the NAB Cup has been run and won, giving a good indicator of Dream Team potentials. Who has stood up?

Burning up like a space shuttle on re-entry:

Tom Rockliff (Bris FWD, $101,100): Second year player who played 1 game last year has scored 87 and 89 playing in the Lions midfield. Lock in the Rock.

Michael Barlow (Freo MID, $105,800): Mature age rookie recruited from the VFL. Has scored 94 and 96 and is an effective certainty to be promoted to the senior list.

Nick Natanui (WCE RUC, $232,400): Went from a player only any serious DTer should avoid to a 2nd ruck option with an eye catching 115 in his 1st game. Expect an average closer to the 66 he scored in the 2nd game with Cox in the side.

Nick Malceski (Syd DEF, $242,800): Returned to his '07 form with scores of 83 and 100. Definitely consider, depending on your team structure.

Justin Westhoff (Por FWD, $283,600): The one trick pony has added another to his bow, with strong scores (72,106) as an around the ground ruckman ala Mitch Clark. Watch further before even thinking about putting him in your team.

Mitchell Banner (Por MID, $94,500): Has shown himself to be a hard in-and-under midfielder who can push forward. Scored 87 and 82 to make a play for your midfield bench.

Hayden Ballantyne (Freo FWD, $232,800): After struggling to make a significant mark as a mature age recruit last year, Ballantyne has scored 79 and 97 this year and shown great improvement.

Jarrod Kayler-Thomson (Haw MID, $77,800): The mature age rookie scored 98 in the 2nd game, showing his potential. A spot in the Hawks midfield is far from secure however, so there are probably better options.

Matt Campbell (Nth FWD, $223,400): An ex-North Adelaide Rooster who was previously known as a small forward has pushed up the ground in the Aaron Davey mould this year, scoring 88 and 71.

Dustin Martin (Ric MID, $149,500): Looks like he is ready to step in and lead the Tigers midfield. Has scored 88 and 78. Just get him.

Daniel Connors (Ric MID, $156,000): Is playing the Joel Bowden DT-whore role at Richmond. Has scored 98 and 64. Definately consider as a near-rookie onfield.

Warm like a cup of coffee:

Matt Maguire (Bris DEF, $101,700): Priced like a rookie, he should be solid but not spectacular scoring. Scored 70 in his single NAB game so far.

Amon Buchanan (Bris FWD, $268,400): Has played as an in and under midfielder and produced solid numbers . Watch with interest.

Matthew Leuenberger (Bris RUC, $201,100): Will play as Mitch Clark's understudy after Jamie Charman suffered a major ankle injury. Only scored 49 in his sole game so far, but is capable of more, with the increased game time expected.

Eddie Betts (Car FWD, $274,300): Scored 110 in his sole game so far, could be on the verge of a breakout year without Fev taking his supply.

Robert Warnock (Car RUC, $101,800): Has played both games so far without getting injured. Has only scored 23 and 51, but any game Warnock gets to the end of is a good game.

Luke Ball (Col MID, $366,500): Showed what he could do this year with a score of 105 in the first game before being rested for the 2nd. Injuries are the worry here.

Heath Shaw (Col DEF, $365,400): Expect a more consistent year from Heath, with sides opting to tag Swan and Didak instead. Scored 109 and 64.

Brent Stanton (Ess MID, $443,600): Scored 130 in his sole game and may be able to improve again this year.

Courtenay Dempsey (Ess DEF, $266,000): Scored 105 in his sole game in the NAB, should be able to improve again on his average of 61 last year, but don't expect him to punch out 105s with regularity.

Mark McVeigh (Ess MID, $268,400): Showed that he still has good footy left in him and paid off the DT-hype with scores of 82 and 85. Strongly consider despite Rd 1 suspension.

David Hille (Ess RUC, $237,300): A definite option for your 2nd ruck proved his fitness by playing the 2nd NAB game. Scored 65, which is serviceable but this should improve with a bit of footy under his belt.

Clancee Pearce (Fre BAC, $246,600): Looks to be a DT-whore in the vein of Duffield or Broughton, scoring 97 and 88. Is on the rookie list without a rookie price and will have to fight for promotion.

Chris Mayne (Fre FWD, $220,800): Has been injury prone in the past, but showed his potential with a 94 following a 54 in the first game. Doesn't seem a natural DTer, as he needed 5 goals for his 94.

Corey Enright (Gee DEF, $394,300): Scored 121 and 106, making him the clear standout gun defender. However, this was helped by 2 Geelong losses giving him more ball to rebound. Can he keep it up in the real season?

James Podsiadly (Gee FWD, $77,800): Should make a nice cashcow, being penciled in as Geelong's 3rd tall forward. Scored 35 and 73.

James Hunt (Gee DEF, $164,100): Showed what he will deliver the tens of thousands of probable owners for this year, with a good score of 72 and a spud score of 35. Still, at least hes not injured.

Sam Mitchell (Haw MID, $449,200): Is raring to go this season, blasting out scores of 139 and 97.

Jack Grimes (Mel DEF, $392,300): A risky selection, with an already high price and an injury prone history. But Grimes showed why he is still being considered by the brave and the foolish with a score of 136 in the midfield following a limited first game of 48.

Tom Scully (Mel MID, $157,500): Written off before the season as a project player by many DTers, Scully scored 49 and 67 to outpoint Trengove and put his hand up for a spot in the side.

Ben Warren (Nor FWD, $234,800): Warren showed he has the potential to up his average, with scores of 72 and 67. This may not be enough to justify his inclusion.

Jay Schulz (Por FWD, $199,500): Another player who was destined for the Richmond scrapheap looks like reinventing himself at Port. Jay has scored 82 and 51 and looks like being given a solid run in the side.

Cameron Hitchcock (Por FWD, $97,800): A livewire small forward, Hitchcock scored 48 and 65. He is on the rookie list, but looks like being promoted and could be a solid bench player.

Ben McEvoy (StK RUC, $194,100): Scored 90 in the 2nd game after 44 in the first. Could squeeze his way into the Saints retirement home ruck setup.

Matthew O'Dwyer (Syd MID, $212,000): Has struggled to cement a spot in the senior side for the past 2 years. A score of 90 in the 2nd NAB game will help his chances following a 53 in the first.

Mark Seaby (Syd RUC, $226,700): Scored 46 and 79 leading the Swans rucks. Could be a solid 2nd ruck option, but TOG isn't certain yet.

Lewis Jetta (Syd MID, $105,500): A near certainty to play round 1, the quick half forward won't be a big DT scorer but could be a solid bench contributor. Scores of 56 and 60 underline this.

Chris Masten (WCE MID, $293,900): A ball winning midfielder entering his third year, Masten scored 93 and 74. However, he had enough stats to have made a lot more points. Nervous starter or poor DTer?

Luke Shuey (WCE MID, 94,500): Scores of 49 and 74 don't tell the full story for Shuey. He started as a substitute in the first game and had limited TOG in the second. This shows his DT potential, but also that he isn't certain of a game.

Daniel Giansiracusa (WBD FWD, $378,500): Gia is a player who seems to be able to pull DT points from nowhere. Even when you hardly see him for the game, he gets 80. So when he is in good form, scoring 85 and 118, you know you want him.

Brodie Moles (WBD MID, $83,800): A mature age rookie, Moles scored 42 and 75, showing he may be a handy option. His problem will be breaking off the rookie list and then into the powerful Bulldogs midfield.

Jordan Roughead (WBD RUC, $94,500): Roughead looks certain of the number 3 ruck at the doggies, scoring 54 and 45 to be a good option for your ruck bench

Cycling: The Landis Case Gets Even Stranger

2010-02-16T15:44:00.005+10:30

It seems that pro cyclists are using the computer skills gained from the ubiquitous twitter profiles and putting them to nefarious deeds in a case that has echoes of the Dale Begg-Smith (who has added a silver in 2010 to his 2006 Moguls gold medal) affair.

An arrest warrant has been put out for disgraced doper Floyd Landis after he allegedly hacked into the computer system of a French drug testing laboratory. Landis tested positive for testosterone in the 2006 Tour De France which was odd in itself, as testosterone is easily detected compared to other methods available at the time (such as EPO). When presenting his defense against these allegations, Landis allegedly used documents which belonged to the French anti doping authorities (obtained through these hacks). An email with a trojan horse virus was allegedly sent from the computer of Landis' coach Arnie Baker, who is also sought by the French authorities. The trojan horse also provided for the removal and change of some documents in an attempt to show incorrect testing procedures.

Landis has fought hard in an attempt to clear his name, appealing to the Court for Arbitration in Sport and spending around $2 million in legal fees. He has had no success, except eating up most of WADA's legal budget. Landis has been unrepentant, and although the ban from his Tour De France doping has expired (in January 2009), he has only been able to get rides with minor teams such as OUCH and Cyclingnzshop.com. This arrest warrant is only valid in France, so with Landis recently only racing minor events, primarily in the US he may choose to simply avoid France and trial. I for one, hope that he faces the judgement, if only for the media circus that would result. For more details, check out cyclingnews or SBS cycling central.

N00bTeam - AFL Dream Team 101

2010-02-10T14:53:00.005+10:30

So you've never played Dream Team before, but your mates at school/work/family are always banging on about donuts and cash cows so you've decided to take up their challenge. What is this Dream Team stuff anyway?

The Very Basics

Dream Team is a game where you (the DT player) select a virtual team of 30 players. Each week you select 22 players from that 30 to score points based on their real life performances. These 30 players must be selected in positions (backs, midfielders, rucks and forwards) with each player having a defined position (or occasionally multiple positions, but we'll get to multipositioning later). The playing 22 will be 7 backs, 6 mids, 2 rucks and 7 forwards and there are 2 reserves in each position. Each player has a price which is based on their average point score from the previous year. The total price of all your 30 players must be below the salary cap of $7,962,500. Sounds simple, right?

Simple Strategy

You also get to select a captain who scores double points and a vice captain who fills the captain's role if your designated captain doesn't play. The easiest thing to do for captaincy is to just pick the player with the highest average. If you want to get more involved, read Calvin's Captains on DTTalk. There is no point spending much money on your reserve players. However, you will want a reserve in each of the main positions (back, mid, fwd) selected as an emergency who will cover any starting players who do not play. Unless one of your on-field players is injured, they will not be in your 22, scoring points. A general rule is to not pick anyone on the bench who is more than $150K. This allows you to spend more money on your point scoring players.

However, you do want your bench players to be playing in order to provide cover for injuries or to improve your trading prospects. Look at young players, especially high draft picks. A player who isn't playing cannot score you any points. Thus, make sure that the players you pick are (1) At least on the fringe of their team's best 22, (2) Not injured (3) Not suspended. You can substitute in a reserve if one of your players has a short term injury or suspension (or is just dropped, because they are shit), but if they are out for more than a few weeks you will need to trade them out.

Trading

Trading well is what separates great from good dream teamers. Sometimes you need to use a trade to replace an injured or non-selected player. But other times, trading can significantly improve your team. First rule of trading: Don't trade before the teams are announced. Teams for the coming weekend of matches are announced at around 5pm on every Thursday. It really screws your team if you trade a player in to cover an injury, and he is immediately dropped.

Player prices vary through the season based on their form.

A young player who started off as a cheap reserve who gets regular game time will increase in price. You can use this to your advantage by trading him out for a different cheap reserve who is yet to go up in price, netting you a cash profit. You can then spend this cash profit to upgrade a mid-range starter into a premium player who has had a few weeks out of form. Player prices change based on their last 3 (non-zero) scores. So when a rookie debuts, you have 2 weeks where he will remain at base price in which to determine whether he is good enough to trade in.

Initial Team Selection

Don't just pick a player because he is your favourite player or plays for a team you like. Every player you select should have the potential to be either (1) a "keeper" who you do not need to trade out at any stage and will knock out consistently high scores or (2) a "cash cow" who will increase significantly in price and be traded out during the season.

A simple way to determine whether a player is worth picking, is to use the "Raines Rule". With the RR you balance the possible risks inherent in picking the player (is he injury prone, old or on the fringe of his team's best side?) with the rewards (what type of average can he achieve if everything goes right, is he going to make a stack of money for you or be a keeper?). If a player is injury prone and on the fringes of his team's 22, with an average short of being a keeper then even if he is severely underpriced, he may not be worth it.

Even with your keepers, look for players who are going to improve their average. This means you will be buying them for less than they are worth, and consequently can have a better team.

This year, if players are selectable in multiple positions you can swap them between those positions if you have another dual position player who is in the other position. This can help you cover donuts or potentially improve your trading prospects. However, a spud who is dual positioned is still a spud. Only use dual positioning as the reason to pick a player when deciding between two otherwise equal options.

Terminology

DT=Dream Team

donut= a score of zero points

cash cow= a player who will go up significantly in price

spud= a dud player who will never score decent points

FF=fanfooty

SC=supercoach (the inferior version of DT)

gun= one of the top players in his position, a superstar of DT

keeper= one of the better players in his position, a player you would be happy to have from Rd1-Rd22

lock= a player who you are certain to have in your team (referring to preseason discussions)

on the bubble= a young player who has played 2 games and whose price will go up after he plays another game. If you want to get him in, do it now

junk time= the last few minutes of a game after the result is decided (a player who scores good DT points in this period is referred to as junking it up)

abc= Ablett, Bartel, Corey. Not in widespread use since Corey dropped his output, but these 3 were 3 of the biggest guns of the past few years

Leagues

If this is your first year, you probably won't beat the 200,000 or so likely players overall. But you can still win something by beating your mates in your league. You can have 3 leagues, which run in a head to head format, where each week (from Rd 4 to 18) you play against a different player. At the end of this, there will be a finals series in the same format as the actual AFL series for both the top 8 and bottom 8 (as separate competitions).

You can use the 'coaches box' chat to exchange jibes with your mates to psyche them out, or for general whining. There is nothing more dull than a quiet coaches box in a league. The Rushed Behind is running a league which is free to join for readers of this blog (or those invited by readers) with the code 192161. Enter this as the code when you join your second league. If you make your own league for your mates, then make sure they all get the code to enter.

Most Important Advice

Have fun!

AFL Dream Team 2010 is Now Open!

2010-02-01T00:54:00.006+10:30

And only 52 days, 17 hours until the first lockout! Click here for the Dream Team site, where you can enter.

The Rushed Behind has a league so enter the code 192161 to compete with the best DT minds in the business. There have been some significant changes to the game this year. In no particular order they are:

-Multiposition players can be swapped between their positions (swap the B/M in your backs for the B/M in your mids)

-Partial lockout for round 1 and split round, where you can make changes after the first Thursday game to your selections who aren't involved in said game

-If you register your team before the NAB Cup, you will be able to see how your team performs in these trial games

-Trading via the watchlist (quicker trading)

-See who is online in your league (code 192161)

Unfortunately, the discounts (given to some players from the standard formula of Magic number*last year's average=price) seem entirely arbitrary.

Having a quick glance gives you examples which just don't add up.

For example, Brent Staker played 6 games at an average of 53.5. He doesn't get a discount.

Adam Cockie played 7 games at an average of 58.7. He gets a 10% discount.

Clinton Young played 5 games at an average of 65.8. He gets a 20% discount.

Danny Meyer played 3 games at an average of 49. He gets no discount.

Ryan Cook played 2 games at an average of 62. He gets a 30% discount.

Brodie Martin played 2 games at an average of 71.5. He gets a 40% discount.

Jaxson Barham played 6 games at 71.3. No discount here.

Shaun Burgoyne played 9 games at 79.6. 10% discount.

Finally, Graham Polak played 2 games after recovering from serious head injuries after being hit by a tram at 34. No discount.

I can only presume that Virtualsports have made an arbitrary decision about which players were out because of injury and who was out simply because they didn't get picked. Or maybe they've made decisions based on making the game 'even'. The only general rule I can determine is that if a player played more than 10 games, they definitely don't get a discount, but below this it is undeterminable.

And finally, Goddard is still eligible as a Back, but is now dual positioned as a Mid also. Thats handy.

Cycling: Danilo Diluca Imageblog

2010-01-28T13:43:00.003+10:30

AFL Dream Team 2010 From Left Field - Matthew Wright

2010-01-26T14:55:00.004+10:30

Matthew (Matt) Wright is midfielder drafted from North Adelaide to the Crows. He should be listed as a dual position mid/fwd, though he is solely a midfielder. He is on Adelaide's rookie list, but this should not prove a barrier to selection, with both Otten and Martin likely to miss most of the year on the long term injury list, opening up places for rookie listed players. Wright is mature aged at 21 and a proven ballwinner at SANFL level. Chris Schmidt (2 games for Brisbane) is the obvious first choice from the rookie list, but has had an interrupted pre-season and is unlikely to play in the NAB so Wrighty should be the first cab off the ranks.

Wright was 3rd in the NAFC best and fairest last year, represented SA in the state competition and won North's best young player award. He unfortunately did his PCL late in the season for North, but this shouldn't have affected his preseason too much. He has a history of getting injured at the wrong time, most famously getting his skull cracked in by some party gatecrashers when he was first in line to be drafted a couple of years ago. Nothing special DTwise in there, so why would you pick him?

Last year in the SANFL, he averaged 93 DT points (96 if you ignore his 38 when he was playing injured in Rd 21). He is an inside midfielder who clocks up almost 3 tackles per game, has a positive k:h ratio (around 1.3) and gets near 2 frees for per game because he gets his head over the ball. He averaged 23 touches per game in the next best comp to the AFL last year and added a half dozen marks, despite his small stature. He only scored less than 70 twice in 17 games with 8 scores 100+. Matt also averaged .7 goals per game and will probably spend more time forward at AFL level.

Wrighty should be able to step in straight away and average 70-75. The only problem for Matt is that he needs to break into a Crows side that is historically reluctant to play youth. Take a punt if he gets gametime in the NAB or is named later in the year and you will have a unique pick that could make the difference.

Cycling: Tour Down Under 2010 Preview

2010-01-14T12:23:00.003+10:30

It seems like the World Championships were just a short time ago, but the first ProTour event of the year is almost upon us. The Tour Down Under has traditionally been a Tour De Sprinters, and this year should be no exception.

The Key Contenders:

Allan Davis (Astana): Defending champion and the only rider to have participated in every TDU so far, Davis is a very good sprinter who has the climbing capacity to survive Willunga hill. He

has strong support in the likes of Pereiro and Grivko to shepherd him up the climbs. Will be right up there for the win.

Andre Greipel (Columbia-HTC): Probably the 2nd fastest sprinter in the world at the moment (behind his Columbia team mate Cavendish) but also capable of climbing. Dominated the sprints at the Vuelta Espana last year. Probably not quite as accomplished a climber as Davis, but also a better sprinter. Has a traditionally powerful Columbia lead out train featuring Grabsch and Eisel as well as Rogers for climbing support. Should win the sprinter's jersey and may be able to

fight his way up Willunga Hill to win the overall.

Robbie McEwen (Katusha): A real wild card for the sprinter's jersey, McEwen has struggled with injuries since joining the Russian team Katusha. Is getting on in years, but still packs a punch and has the nous to disrupt the Columbia sprint train. Has no shot of getting up Willunga Hill with the peloton so will not contend for overall.

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse D'Epagne): Valverde will be racing every race as if it is his last with an impending doping hearing threatening to suspend him for 2 years for his role in Operation Puerto. He has a strong climbing team to support him featuring Luis Leon Sanchez and Ivan Gutierrez. Won't contend in the sprints, but may make a move to split from the bunch up Willunga Hill.

Stages:

Stage 1:

Stage 1 will decide who is here for real and who is using it as preseason training. Not tough enough that it will be decided outside the usual TDU sprint finish, but the hills n

ear the end, including Mengler's Hill should be enough to shed those who aren't prepared for this race.

Stage 3:

Stage 3, like Stage 1, will not be serious enough to avoid a sprinter's victory. However, the hilly terrain around the Stirling circuit will cause another cull of the pack, and the uphill finish will favour a climbing sprinter like Davis more than a McEwen.

Stage 5:

The traditional Queen Stage of the TDU will climb Willunga Hill twice, giving the best opportunity for a non-sprinter to breakaway for victory. Willunga Hill is 3kms at around 8% gradient, providing enough of a challenge that non-climbers will fall back. A decent climber, with a strong team around him may be able to hang onto the back and catch up on the descent, much as Davis did last year. However, expect a non-sprinter to win the stage from an elite bunch. This is the stage where Alberto Contador got what he deemed the most important win of his career coming back from cerebral cavernoma in 2005.

After all that, I will tip an Allan Davis win again, with Greipel winning the sprinter's jersey but being dropped up Willunga Hill.

AFL DT 2010 From Left Field - Phil Davis

2009-12-18T11:33:00.008+10:30

As regular readers will know, I have been doing a series of posts profiling potential 2010 Dream Team recruits. Since Dream Team Talk launched their 52 players in 52 days preseason guide which will cover all the obvious picks, I will be moving to the left field selections, especially those I (as both an Adelaide fan and a North Adelaide Roosters fan) have inside knowledge about.

Phil Davis is a key defender. He can also be selected as a forward. He is not quite what you would call a left field selection for those who have done their research already. Before you run to the hills in fear of a 30 average, he is a creative type player, in the vein of S. Fisher or Bock. He can also play forward. Last year, he was knocking so hard on the door of the Crows defence that almost any other team in the league would have been playing him. But at Adelaide, he had three major roadblocks taking the key defence roles in Bock, Rutten and Otten (2nd in the rising star). However, for 2010 Otten is out with an ACL knee injury leaving a spot free for Davis.

There are two worries for Davis on getting his spot. Scott Stevens could be thrust back into the defence to plug the hole. This is unlikely in light of Davis' form over last year and Adelaide's need to find some key defenders to take over after Bock and Rutten. The other faint possibility is that Daniel Talia finds some excellent form over the NAB Cup and leapfrogs him. Again, considering what Davis showed last year this is unlikely.

Phil was a first round draft pick before last season, showing his potential. Playing in an Adelaide defence which likes to share the ball around, he should be capable of putting up similar numbers to Otten last year, probably averaging around 60. By the end of 2009, his SANFL coach Daniel Healy claimed he was 'the best tall defender in the competition' and was a regular emergency for the Adelaide side. He will be priced at regular draftee price in 2010, making him a lock for your defensive bench.

Edit: Looking at Phil's 2009 SANFL stats, he averaged 58 DT points, with 3 scores from 18 games over 70. He looks like a Scarlett type scorer who has occasional massive scores when he is let free, but cannot maintain these. He averaged 16 touches and 5 marks with a greater number of handballs than kicks. Or he could just be showing glimpses of his potential at this stage. He should get the ball shared to him more at AFL level due to the higher possession gamestyle of Adelaide. In any case, anyone who can consistently play as a DT back at base price is a solid pick.

Making Test Cricket Testing Again

2009-11-20T14:24:00.004+10:30

At present, the West Indies, cricketing powerhouse of the 1970s-1990s are so feeble that the Queensland state side are ahead by more than 300 runs on the first innings of their tour match. They have only 4 players who would make an Aussie state side (Sarwan, Chanderpaul, Gayle and possibly Bravo). Yet this is not the threatened 2nd tier team which would have come had disagreements between the players and sponsors not been solved. It is time for a two-tiered top level in Test cricket. Test matches are about the contest between two evenly matched teams, a true test of players' skill and resolve. The coming series of 3 tests will not tax the Australian side one iota (even if one of their best batsman (Hughes) is not playing).

Let the West Indian players develop their game against weaker sides (New Zealand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Australia A, England A, India A, South Africa A). At the end of each calendar year, the top side from the lower division gets promoted and the bottom side from the top division goes down (with variation possible in the number of teams in each division depending on the number of strong teams). The A teams would also be varied depending on depth and which teams are strong. This would also have the added effect of giving some meaning to the ICC Test championship table. The lower division teams would still get to play the top level teams in series of meaningless ODIs as they do now (hello Chappell-Hadlee series). Anyone from Fremantle could tell you that getting flogged every week doesn't make you a better player.

And obviously, pitches need to be prepared so that there is something in them for bowlers. Low scoring test cricket is much more exciting than games where both sides make 500 in the first innings and sporting declarations are required to make a contest.

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Franklin, Lance "Buddy"

2009-10-27T14:36:00.004+10:30

Vital Statistics:

Name: Lance "Buddy" Franklin

Team: Hawthorn

Age:23

Position: Fwd

2010 Price: $354,900

2009 Avg: 80.8 from 21 games

Historical Avgs: 96 from 22 in '08, 79 from 20 in '07, 57 from 14 in '06, 51 from 20 in '05

Pros:

-Was below par last year, with poor supply and weight issues detracting from his point scoring

-Has been rarely injured historically (playing more than 20 games in all but '06)

-Had a strong finish to the year with scores over 90 in 5 of his last 6 games

-Should improve back to somewhere near his '08 average of 96

-Is still young and scarily could still improve

Cons:

-Suspension carried over from last year means he will miss round 1

-Has had a few troubles with the tribunal in the past (3 visits in the past 2 years)

-Has Tom Boonen like off-field problems which may lead to a suspension (if the AFL has decent testing procedures)

-Gives away a lot of frees against (-3 points each)

Best Case Scenario: 21 games at 98

Worst Case Scenario: 18 games at 86

At a Glance: Dipped last year, should be back up again in 2010. Make sure you have playing cover for round 1

Cricket: Dropping Your Best Player - Only In South Australia

2009-10-20T22:56:00.003+10:30

Last Sunday, the South Australian Redbacks played their first ODD game of the season, after a good bowling performance secured them a win in their first first class (does that even make sense?) hit-out. There's nothing specific of note in that. Except if you look at the team list. Neil Dansie medalist (best player across all formats for SA) from last year, Michael Klinger was absent. He topped the run aggregates for SA in the ODD competition with 469, just short of Lee Carseldine from Queensland as highest in the competition (although Carseldine had an extra game in the final). He is not injured, as he took his place in the Sheffield Shield game earlier in the week. He didn't exactly set the world on fire in that game, scoring 3 and 15 not out but surely you don't drop your best player after one poor innings. Instead, a batting lineup that had keeper and sometimes batsman Graham Manou at number four barely managed 9/249.

Tasmania chased it down with ease, almost getting a bonus point. This is partly because of an inexperienced attack, and partly because Aaron O'Brian is shit. Tasmania's fast men (with the exception of international Ben Hilfenhaus) were comparable to the Redbacks lineup. But the Tigers' spinners took a combined 3/77 off 18. O'Brian (SA's only playing spinner) took 1/49 off 8. This guy is keeping a real spinner (like Cullen Bailey) out of the side with a first class (bowling) average a tad under 50 and an ODD average of over 50. Sure, his batting is okay but by no means is he an allrounder. I mean seriously, Cameron Borgas has a better ODD bowling average (a touch under 50). Surely that says it all.

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Dalziell, Bradd

2009-10-13T00:42:00.005+10:30

Vital Statistics:

Name: Bradd Dalziell

Team: West Coast (traded from Brisbane)

Age:23

Position: Mid

2010 Price: $332,200

2009 Avg: 84.0 from 8 games

Historical Avgs: 95 from 7 in '08

Pros:

-Is an absolute ball magnet

-Good DTer, gets plenty of cheap uncontested marks

-Has been traded to West Coast and so can enjoy the wide open spaces of Subiaco Oval which suit his uncontested game

-Is still inexperienced and so has plenty of improvement in him

-Has one of the most inside players in the AFL (Kerr) taking the tags and feeding the ball out to him

-Has a 10% discount

Cons:

-Is possibly the most outside midfielder since Nathan Lonie

-Struggled to break back into the Brisbane side this year after a knee injury

-Has only played 15 games, yet is still priced at almost $400K

Best Case Scenario: 22 games at 102

Worst Case Scenario: 8 games at 90, West Coast realise that he is nothing but a stats whore

At a Glance: Superstar DTer, average player. Make sure his position in the side is secure during the NAB Cup.

Aside: I was going to do a rundown of the players involved in trade week and what it means for their DT scoring, but Dream Team Talk already has a full writeup so I'll just point you to them.

Cadel Evans - World Road Cycling Champion

2009-09-29T23:03:00.003+09:30

I never thought I would see the day when Australia's great white cycling hope Cadel Evans actually attacked. After 2 years of wheel-sitting to get himself 2 second places in Le Tour De France in '07 and '08, he completely ballsed up the '09 edition. He suffered from a throat infection and dropped down the leaderboard like a boulder attached to an anchor. However, a podium place (3rd on paper, 2nd once Valv.piti gets suspended for doping in the Operation Puerto affair) in a Vuelta showed signs that Evans was coming back. Then he exploded in the World Championships in Mendrisio.

After some great support from his Aussie teammates (who, unlike those at Silence are not useless) in bringing back the breakaways and keeping him in the right place, a small group of 20 or so (including Evans and Gerrans for AUS) was formed by a Spartacus attack. Several more attacks later and the group was down to 8 odd, with Gerro dropped. There were 3 Spaniards in the group, Valverde, Rodriguez and Sammy Sanchez while no other nation had any more than 1 (Kolobnev, Evans, Cancellara, Kroon, Cunego, Gilbert). Rodriguez blasted off the side through a gap in the road, with Kolobnev following him. This looks like the defining attack. Evans sprints across the gap, closing them down. No-one else can follow Evans across. Cancellara tries in vain to bring the trailing group forwards. They hit the last climb of the day. Evans goes hard, blasting away from the other two. Rodriguez is spent, he went away in an earlier break also. Kolobnev tries desperately to up the pace, but he can't match Evans. Rodriguez keeps following Kolobnevs wheel, but has nothing left to give. Cancellara has no friends in the chase group and they can't catch the duo of Kolobnev and Rodriguez. Meanwhile Evans is time-trialling at the front, even opening up a gap. No-one can catch him, he wins! Kolobnev 2nd, Rodriguez 3rd. Gerro got 10th, continuing his record of top 10 places in classics.

So thats what can happen if Cadel actually attacks and has support from his team. Probably the biggest win in Australian professional road cycling history. Way to end the season on a high. Imagine how long the mechanics will take to change his wheels now that he has the rainbow jersey curse?

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Andrew Mackie

2009-09-18T14:42:00.005+09:30

Vital Statistics:

Name: Mackie, Andrew

Team: Geelong

Age:25

Position: Back

2010 Price: $365,100

2009 Avg: 83.1 from 21 games

Historical Avgs: 91 from 18 in '08, 83 from 21 in '07, 70 from 14 in '06, 59 from 7 in '05, 36 from 13 in '04

Pros:

-Was below par at the start of the year, sucking his season average down

-Averaged a gun (as a defender) 91 in '08

-Plays 3rd tall defender/general mid-sized defender and so can play freely

-Is only 25, so he should keep improving for a couple of years

-Gets more kicks than handballs and plenty of marks around the back

Cons:

-Has never played 22 games in a season, although has only been a regular for the past 3 years

-Historic backman averages suggest he doesn't have any more than 10 ppg of possible improvement

-If Harry Taylor gets dropped, then he might have to play 2nd key tall

Good Luck Result: 21 games at 94 ppg

Bad Luck Result: 16 games at 84 ppg

At a Glance: Good player who should improve on 2009 figures

Science of Cricket - Drift and Dip

2009-09-12T22:16:00.006+09:30

This is the last of a series of posts on the science of cricket. Its not really related to the others, conventional swing, reverse swing and contrast swing except that it is science and cricket related. Reading the other posts first may also help you to understand the terminology used here. When a spinner bowls, a batsman can be 'beaten in flight' or comentators may refer to the drift of a ball or the dip. This is due to a phenomenon known as the Magnus Effect.

Consider first a non-spinning ball moving through a steady fluid flow as seen below. There are no variations in the flow field between the top and bottom sides

of the ball and so there is no irregular movement. As usual, I've

just mined the net for images that will be useful, this ones from google knowledge.

However, then consider if you add spin to the ball, speeding up the flow on the top and slowing down the flow on the bottom as the fluid from the boundary layer of the ball will follow its rotation (image from bound vortex)

This speed change changes the flow field, increasing presure on the top of the ball and decreasing it on the bottom. The flow field for a spinning ball is something like this below from the avalanche center.

Because the pressure is higher below the ball than above, there will be a force towards the top (in this picture). This can be considered, and is valid for any representation where a ball spinning in two dimensions is in a fluid flow. So a purely leg or off-spinning ball (with no topspin) can be considered only from a cut away view that is like an extension of a crease line. And with a purely sideways spinning ball, the relevant fluid flow is only the slow drop of the ball (presuming no crosswind for this case). This will produce little (effectively no) movement due to the magnus effect. But if there is a cross wind, then dip or lift may be produced by this wind. For the example shown above, an off spinning ball with a wind from the bowler's left will cause lift. A similar situation happens when a leggie has a wind from his right. For most situations, dip produced by a cross wind is small, at least compared with that produced by over or under spin.

If you consider a solely overspinning ball, then you can take a side-on slice (along where a straight seam for a seam bowler would be) of the view. This means that the above diagram needs to be flipped vertically, as the ball pictured has underspin. The ball will then have the oncoming velocity of the ball's flight to use and so can produce a large down force, significantly affecting the ball's flight. An underspinning ball (like a flipper) will have a lift force and so will lose more vertical energy in flight, rebounding off the pitch lower. Where it gets even more interesting is when there is a cross wind and overspin. A topspinning ball will also have a small component of force sideways, in a similar manner to a ball with sidespin only. But in this situation the ball will produce a slight forwards or backwards force.

For sideways drift, the ball either has to spin as seen in a top-down plane which can happen with a different delivery style, or the drift is simply drag. This would happen if there was a cross wind which would move the ball in that direction. A ball which is spun in the top-down plane will have minimal deviation, so if a drifting ball seems not to spin then this is the source.

The Magnus Effect is also a major influence on other sports, particularly baseball and soccer curveballs. However, despite what some sources may say, the swing of a fast bowlers ball is not (and realistically cannot) be due to the Magnus Effect. That would require a large spin to be imparted in the top-down plane, which would result in a spinning seam. Common knowledge shows that even a wobbling seam can destroy a bowlers swing (and my earlier posts show why) so a ball that spins like a top? Not a chance in hell.

External Links for Cricket Science:

The Science of Swing Bowling (I disagree with Mehta on some corollories of his theories, but well worth a read. Many other sites just rip off his ideas without the fluid dynamics fundamentals to assert anything different)

Cricket in Full Swing(PDF, not sure about the dimpled/furry theory of his)

Cricket Ball Swing on stadiumturf.com

Wikipedia page on swing bowling

Why a cricket ball swings (also contains a bit on the Magnus Effect)

The Magnus Effect (actually as much about swing as the Magnus Effect)

The Magnus Effect : Why Pitches Move (not actually about cricket pitches spinning their way around the world, but a post on baseball aerodynamics)

Analytic Functions, the Magnus Effect, and Wings (very equation heavy, only worth looking at if you have an idea of potential flow analysis already. Also not directly cricket related.)

Wikipedia page on Magnus Effect

Is there anything you disagree with, or that I've missed? Drop me a comment and we can get into some heated intellectual discussion.

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Luke Hodge

2009-09-09T12:08:00.005+09:30

Vital Statistics:

Name: Hodge, Luke

Team: Hawthorn

Age:25

Position: Back/Centre

2010 Price: $366,800

2009 Avg: 83.5 from 19 games

Historical Avgs: 97 in '08, 95 in '07, 90 in '06, 101 in '05, 74 in '04

Pros:

-Has averaged 90 or above for the past 4 seasons before '09

-Dropped his average in '09 due to an interrupted pre-season, in '10 he should be back to previous form

-Played all 22 games in '06 and '07 showing durability

-Has never played less than 15 games in a season

Cons:

-Has been tagged more in '09 so he may never get back up to his peak of over 100 ppg

Good Luck Result: 22 games at 98 ppg

Bad Luck Result: 18 games at 87 ppg, cops a heavy tag

At a Glance: A gun who historically should average at least 10 ppg more than his price

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Tom Swift

2009-09-06T22:14:00.005+09:30

Vital Statistics:

Name: Swift, Tom

Team: West Coast

Age:19

Position: Centre

2010 Price: $301,400

2009 Avg: 68.6 from 10 games

Historical Avgs: N/A

Pros:

-Averaged 95.6 over the last 5 games of '09

-Only 1 score below 85 in those 5 games

-Sucked his price down with 4 games under 45 in mid-season

-Has proven his ability to dominate a game in underage ranks

Cons:

-Has historically been injury prone, missed most of '07 and '08 with injury

-Could be dropped if he has a bad patch like in mid-season '09

Good Luck Result: 20 games at 95 ppg

Bad Luck Result: 4 games at 60 ppg, out with a season long injury

At a Glance: Potential gun worth the risk

AFL Dream Team 2010 Starts Now!

2009-09-04T14:24:00.003+09:30

The regular season of Dream Team is finished for 2009. So what should you do with your miserable lives for the next seven months? You can play Finals Dream Team for the first of those, but a four week competition where your team will change completely every week cannot compete with a proper Dream Team. You could play a Dream Team for another sport such as A-League soccer (except that you have missed the first 5 rounds) or NBL basketball. But I have a better solution that your Dream Team will thank you for. Give your team a big pre-season.

Even if you are not a Dream Team fanatic, you should note down the players you think have finished well this year and should improve next year. Right now, they will be fresh in your mind and this can make the difference betwen picking a Higgins and a Skipworth next year.

A genuine Dream Teamer can take this to the next level by combining gut feel with proper statistics and the opinions of those who should know better. You cannot yet plan your whole team for next year, because the salary cap, magic number and rookie prices (as well as what rookies will be where) are still unknown. But this shouldn't stop you from putting together a shortlist of players to consider. Fanfooty has tried to put together a 2010 planner, which should give you an idea of whether your team will fit under the salary cap. You need to sign up for a free fanfooty asccount to do this. Look for gun players who have been below par this year in comparison to previous years or young players who will improve next year.

To help you do this, FFGenie will give you all the Dream Team stats you could possibly need from this year. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it is easy enough to use. Just remember, if you are a first time user you need to click on Update all Rounds and then save the file. You can filter the stats almost any way you want to try to find that improving gun.

For data before this year, there are two methods. You can look up the player in the 2009 AFL prospectus book which gives you the advantage of all the players stats, so you can tell if they are a good Dream Teamer (lots of marks and tackles as well as touches) or just a good player. If you don't have the prospectus then you can use fanfooty's player search option to get past stats. The Prospectus is recommended if you have it.

You should also keep an eye out for players other people are recommending, to atleast do a check on them and see if they might be worthy selections. Information is power in Dream Team, so keep your ear to the ground. Dream Team Talk will give regular pre-season updates and should be one of your main sources in-season for Chook's Rooks and Calvin's Captains. Fanfooty is another priority source, giving live scores during games, depth charts (once we get closer to the season) and their player stats records. The fanfooty blog can be useful, but its not as good as DTTalk. The Coaches Box is a regular in-season and irregular off-season Dream Team podcast. I will also be doing player profiles on smokies here through the off-season.

Now we come to the less reliable sources of information - forums. There are a few of note, where the unwashed masses meet to discuss their picks. Make sure you check up these players with your own research though, some people have been known to put false picks in an attempt to throw off the unwary. The biggest AFL forum in the world, BigFooty has a Dream Team section that is well patronised. There are also a few Dream Team specific forums that are worth checking out. Fanfooty has a forum, used by the type of obsessive Dream Teamers who watch their scores live. There is also a forum attached to Dream Team Talk although the comments pages for DTTalk posts generally act like a forum anywayand a specific Dreamteamforum.

This should be enough info for you to start planning your assault on the Dream Team Premiership in 2010, so get to it and stay tuned for player profiles here on the Rushed Behind.

Science of Cricket - Contrast Swing

2009-08-31T17:58:00.004+09:30

This is the 3rd in a series of posts about swing in cricket. The terminology is introduced gradually, so it is recommneded that you read The Science of Conventional Swing and The Science of Reverse Swing first. This time, we will discuss contrast swing, which is often confused with proper reverse swing. Contrast swing is actually the most simple type of swing conceptually.

We will start with a diagram from Mehta again.

The first major difference you will notice is that the seam is pointed straight. This means that the only difference between the sides of the ball is the roughness. At conventional swing speeds only the boundary layer flow over the rough side will become turbulent, meaning that it will stay attached longer. This means that the pressure exerted on the smooth side will be greater and the ball will move towards the rough side, meaning the ball is moving 'reverse'.

At reverse swing speeds, both sides will transition to turbulence. If the rough side is exceedingly rough, this roughness may have a similar effect as the seam in reverse swing and weaken the boundary layer, causing earlier transition. I think however, that this type of swing would cause minimal ball deflection compared with slower contrast swing or either seamed swing types. Any movement that would occur would be towards the smooth side.

The seam is irrelevent to contrast swing and so this type of swing can be practised with a standard 1/2 taped tennis ball (not 1/2 a ball, 1/2 taped).

A note on speeds: For both slow contrast swing and conventional swing, there is not only an upper limit to the speed the ball is bowled at, but also a lower limit. Below a certain speed, neither side will transition to turbulence. So for you park bowlers out there, you may simply be bowling too slow to swing it. All these speeds mentioned will vary depending on atmospheric conditions, as explained in the post on reverse swing.

Next in the series is spin bowling 'drift'.

Cricket Dream Team: We Are Winner

2009-08-25T15:34:00.007+09:30

Just a little update, in between my science of swing research. With the Ashes over and the Poms somehow winning (despite averaging more than 6 runs per wicket less than the Aussies) you need something to cheer you up. So here are some recent fantasy results:

The Rushed Behind Blog League (as posted previously) came 7th in the overall best leagues competition out of 889. Go team! I reckon we shoulpd be 5th though because two of the leagues above us only did one or two tests. I personally (as the Rushed Behind) came in the top 400 (in 345th for those of you who like exact numbers) out of around 9000 entries after being screwed over by Michael Clarke's duck as captain in the last innings.

In the other Ashes fantasy competition of note, The Rushed Behind finished 9th overall. That's 9th as the 9th best team in total. Unfortunately, I can't tell you how many teams there were in total, because of the poor system used by SBS but I would estimate at least 1000 teams.

I read a great article on DTers the other day on dreamteamtalk.com, so check it out. I'm definately the "Injuries have F*%ked me this year" guy. Who are you?

A rapping cyclist. Now I've seen everything. Its also pretty funny, especially if you are into cycling, or just like seeing someone try to fit words like cardiovascular fitness and cadence into a rap. Disappointed he only has a $5000 bike though, Giant have a $18,499 model. Bonus points for also being Aussie.

Science of Cricket - Genuine Reverse Swing

2009-08-16T19:27:00.006+09:30

The Science of Cricket series continues with the second type of swing bowling, reverse swing. This series will gradually increase in complexity, so you can learn more and understand better by reading them in order. The first in the series is The Science of Cricket - Conventional Swing. Despite common misconceptions, reverse swing is not bowled with a straight seam. That form of swing bowling is contrast swing, to be discussed in the next post. True reverse swing is performed with a similar action to conventional swing but with the rough side at the front of the ball. The seam is still angled, but in this case away from where the bowler wants it to go.

Again, we will start with another diagram from Mehta, who is the media's go-to man when it comes to swing science (and I can't really be bothered drawing my own diagrams, when he has the basic flow ideas right).

So again, we have the ball flowing through a fluid (air). But on this occassion, the ball has the rough side oriented towards the flow. The ball is bowled at a combination of higher speed and/or more roughness at the front of the ball. This causes the boundary layers (layers of fluid near the surface of the ball) at the top and the bottom of the ball to transition to turbulence (irregular, chaotic flow) before the flow hits the seam. In this case, the seam cannot kick the flow into turbulence as it does in conventional swing bowling, as the flow is already turbulent. So the seam strips away the base of the boundary layer (visualise it as a thin stream of fluid flowing over the ball), leaving a thinner boundary layer. Now as discussed in the conventional swing article, any

asymmetry in flow will produce a difference in the separation point of the boundary layer. In this case, as the boundary layer over the top is thinner and has less energy holding it to the ball, it will separate more easily. From this point, the macroscopic consequences of this are a mirror image of conventional swing, with the fluid flowing over the top side of the ball exerting more pressure once the boundary layer has separated. This moves the ball towards the bottom, swinging the ball away from where the seam is directed.

Reverse swing appears to be later than conventional, but paradoxially, this is because it begins earlier. The only sideways (technically perpendicular to the direction of travel) forces which will act on the ball are those provided by swing, assuming there is no sideways spin on the ball, and any backspin is minimal (we'll get into the effects of that later, in the article on spin "drift" and dip). These forces keep working over time, and so the sideways speed keeps increasing all the way to the keeper. In most (elite level at least) cases of conventional swing bowling the ball is not travelling slow enough to generate any swing before it is close to, or even after bouncing. This means the ball can only generate side force during around the last 8 metres or so of its flight (number will vary rapidly betwen bowlers and conditions, but 8 is good for an example). This is why a conventionally swinging ball will often move rapidly after it has passed the batsman. But a reverse swinging ball can move from the moment it leaves the bowler's hand. This enables it to build up to a high sideways speed by the time it reaches the batsman (where it may sometimes have stopped accelerating sideways). For the same reason, all swinging balls will move faster later in their flight.

If the flow state is between reverse and conventional swing (ie the flow just before the seam (top of the diagrams used) is laminar and the flow over the bottom is turbulent then no swing will result, as both sides will have turbulent boundary layers of similar thickness.

In reverse swing, the smoothness of the "smooth side" is less important than the roughness of the rough side. If this smooth side is too rough, the boundary layer over this section after the seam will increase in thickness, negating the advantage gained by trimming the boundary layer with the seam. This will reduce the amount of movement, and combined with lessening seam protrusion as the ball wears is responsible for the ball stopping genuine reverse swing after a time.

The next post in this series will deal with Contrast Swing, aka "backyard reverse swing".

A "technical" aside, for those who want to know more: The flow will transition from laminar to turbulent at a certain "Reynolds number", smaller for a rougher surface. The Reynolds number is (ball speed*distance travelled along ball/kinematic viscosity) where kinematic viscosity is a property of the atmospheric environment. For example, the kinematic viscosity of the atmosphere is generally 8% higher at 1000m above sea level (lower than the Potchefstroom ground in South Africa) than at sea level, meaning a bowler must bowl 8% faster to get the saame reverse swing. But conventional swing can also be achieved at a speed of 8% faster at this altitude than at sea level. The kinematic viscosity varies all over the Earth too, and varies depending on weather conditions (if anyone reading this has links to measurements of kinematic viscosity, density or dynamic viscosity in sunny compared to overcast conditions, or England compared with Australia (to identify why swing bowling was so prevalent in the Ashes series of 2005 compared with 06/07) then I would appreciate the data) So to allow a ball to reverse swing, you can increase your speed, increase the surface roughness or increase your seam angle (although diverting this from the optimal will reduce the amount of movement, some movement is better than none). If you are trying to swing the ball conventionally then you need to keep the flow below transition over the bottom of the ball until separation (generally somewhere around 90 degrees around the ball). This means you may need to reduce your speed or change the atmospheric conditions, but changing the seam angle will not affect the transition speed. It will still affect the amount the ball swings.

Non-technical aside: Wow, that was a long post.

Science of Cricket - Conventional Swing

2009-08-11T14:14:00.005+09:30

Over the next few posts, The Rushed Behind will enlighten you as to the science of cricket. How do the different types of swing work? What causes "drift" of a spinning ball? Why does the amount of swing differ depending on the atmospheric conditions? These, and possibly more (if I can think of more questions) will be answered over the coming posts. But first, why should you believe my explanations over those of cricketers who claim it is an unexplainable art form? Well, as you will probably be surprised to know, I actually have a degree in Aerospace Engineering. So despite my bowling being more like ex-PM John Howard than Andrew Flintoff I can explain what is going on. And hopefully, in a way that a layman can understand (which is the problem with most other sources of information on these subjects).

So, first off is conventional swing. The key to conventional swing (from here on, just swing) is the seam. Lets consider a cricket ball with an angled seam, like the one drawn by Mehta below.

The fluid (air) flow over the top of the ball (as seen in the picture above) is disturbed by the seam, causing the boundary layer (fluid near the surface of the ball) to become turbulent. At this point, you are probably wondering what turbulent means. Any flow can be either laminar, turbulent or in transition between the two states. Laminar flow is nice and steady while turbulent flow has vortices and rotation of fluid. However, turbulent flow can stay attached for longer (because of the irregularities in the flow, but you don't need to know that) so the flow over the top remains attached for longer. This means that there is separation of the boundary layer earlier on the bottom of the ball and so the fluid exerts more pressure on the ball here, without the effect of the boundary layer. So there is more pressure on the bottom than the top, and the ball is moved by this pressure, towards the top.

However, the point of separation will also depend on the speed the ball is travelling at, and the smoothness of the front side. If the speed is too high or the ball is too rough then the boundary layer on the smooth side will transition towards turbulence, negating the advantage of the seam kicking the top flow into turbulence. This will negate the conventional swing, causing a straight ball and the bowler to look silly if he planned on swinging it. This is what happens when the ball stops swinging after a while as it gets roughed up. The ball may not swing from the start, as the lacquer is often less smooth than the leather of the ball itself. This will decrease the transition speed of the bottom side and so the ball will not swing. This is what is happening with the Duke balls used in England in the Ashes at the moment, with the ball starting to swing once the lacquer comes off. The wear on the ball will also lessen the effect of the seam, reducing the protuberance and potentially keeping the flow laminar for longer, reducing swing.

There are situations where conventional swing may only happen after the ball has bounced, if the seam is still in a good position and the bounce of the ball has reduced the speed below the threshold speed, but the seam position is so critical that this is rare.

Next Post - Reverse Swing

Cricket: Australia Smash the Broad Poms

2009-08-09T23:43:00.004+09:30

It was a return to the tradition of Ashes cricket for the 4th test, with Australia smashing the Poms by an innings and 80 runs. The English were bowled out for a paltry 102 in the first dig, with only Cook(30), Prior(37) and Extras(17) getting into double figures. Collingwood got the dreaded -20 points for a duck. Top marks if you picked Extras in your Dream Team. Siddle(5/21) and Clark(3/18) showed that good line and length and decent pace are all you need to bowl if the pitch is doing a bit.

Australia then piled on 445 in reply, thanks to North(110), Clarke(93), Ponting(78) and Watson(51). There were also decent bowler-batting scores for Johnson(27) and Clark(32). Australia scored at 4.27 runs per over, ensuring no economy rate bonuses for the English bowlers. The game was probably over as a contest once the Aussies past 300, but for DTers, the game isn't over until the last ball. Stewie Broad picked up 6/91 to be the pick of the bowlers while Anderson and Swann went wicketless (leaving Swann with 0 points up to this point). Katich got the -20, but 2 catches in Englands 1st innings meant that he wasn't looking at a negative score.

England tried a bit in their 2nd dig, but never had a chance to make a game of it. Their horrid batting lineup failed again, with Bopara getting a 1st baller and Bell and Collingwood getting 7 between them. Strauss(32) and Cook(30) got starts as did Prior(22), but it was the bowlers who shone for astute coaches. Stuart Broad got a swashbuckling 61, and Swann moved off the donut with 62 while Harmison got 19 not to ease the pain of those coaches who traded Broad for him, thinking Stewie would be dropped.

What happened in AFL Dream Team? Don't Go There!

Soccer: Leeds United - Most Loathed Club In England

2009-08-07T15:36:00.004+09:30

A survey has revelaed that Leeds United, currently stuck in the League 1 (3rd tier) are the most loathed club in England. As a Leeds United fan, its great that fans of other clubs still remember who we are. In fact, pretty much the only blogs you'll get from me regarding English soccer will be about Leeds (probably a bit about Adelaide United (Aus) too). I notice we've signed Patrick Kisnorbo, sometimes Australian international over the off-season who should strengthen the backline and add to the Aussie toughness with Neil Kilkenny. Leeds have had a good pre-season, including draws against Premier division Blackburn and Newcastle. Leeds first game of the season is tomorrow against Exeter, with the club looking to get an automatic promotion spot after missing out in the playoffs for the past two years.

Ross Lyon - Saint or AFL Dream Team Devil?

2009-08-07T01:05:00.004+09:30

Dream Team (DT) gets serious this week, with the first week of finals kicking off. So Ross Lyon decides to "withdraw with injury" 5 of his players, 4 of which are critcial DT players for many coaches. Riewoldt, Goddard, Montagna and Hayes (as well as Baker, who is of no interest to DTers) have been left out of the side to face Hawthorn. They are all listed as "unsure of exact diagnosis or prognosis" on the prime DT injury source. The only silver lining is that my man Geary and 'possible cover if you had him at the start of the year and got too many injuries to cash cow him' Dawson come back. On the downside, Gilbert has been kept back becuase of this resting policy too. I'm betting the Ross Lyon is playing someone who has a ton of St Kilda players in his DT finals series. For disgraceful coaching like this, Ross Lyon goes onto the RB Shit List.

Then chuck in Chappy's hamstring, Ellis, Grimes left out so Melbourne don't win too many games with a "hip", Skipworth omitted, Dazzle, Sidebottom, Barham, Harding, Ballantyne suspended and doubts on Stevie J and Jolly and you've got the DT week from hell. I'm carrying 2 donuts, but I know of people who have 6 or 7.

Nathan Lovett-Murray (of little DT importance) is still playing, despite being charged by police for possessing ecstasy. Looks like the AFL have taken the Tom Boonen route on this one. But then its no surprise, with the soft drugs policy they have. The AFL are content to go Dodo, sticking their head in the sand about anything they don't want to know about. Like tanking. Several clubs are obviously tanking this year, with coaches selecting vastly weakened sides (and constantly leaving out Jack Grimes). The players would never play at less than 100%, but the coaches certainly would.

Australia held out for a draw in the 3rd Ashes test, with Brett Lee and Brad Haddin possible inclusions for the 4th game, starting tonight. Flitoff has fitness concerns, but he has before every game this series. He'll play. Haddin should be fit enough to takes the gloves from Manou (who just shaded Hilfenhaus with the bat in the last test, scoring 21 runs in 2 innings (1 not out) to Hilfy's 20. The Haus did only get one inning though) but Lee will probably be left out. Australia's bowling attack in general seems uncertain still, so your only cricket DT certainties for Aus are Hilfo and Johnno (Hilfenhaus and Johnson to any Poms reading). Stuart Broad's spot in the Pommy side is uncertain too, with Sidebottom brought into the squad. But really, cricket DT is simple compared to trying to dodge tanks in AFL DT.

Edit: Add Bock and Fisher to the list of outs and 2 more donuts makes 4 for the Rushed Behind.

Cycling: Astarloza - A Star Loser !

2009-08-02T00:36:00.006+09:30

Mikel Astarloza, the Spanish cyclist who won stage 16 of this year's Tour De France and finished 11th overall has tested positive for EPO. It is not yet known what type of EPO (presumably CERA) but SBS has reported that it was during an out of competition test. A disciplinary hearing will be held next month by the UCI to determine his punishment (probably a 2 year suspension) after he tested positive on the 26th of June. The UCI needs to act faster on these cases, the sample was taken before the TDF and yet Astarloza was still able to compete. But at least thats another cheat forcibly removed from the peloton. Astarloza's stage win in the TDF this year was his first professional stage win (he won the 2003 Tour Down Under around South Australia) but he had consistantly finished highly overall in major stage races such as the Dauphine Libre and Le Tour. There was no obvious upspike in his form this year, indicating that he had been doping for several years before this. I have added him and Danilo Di Luca to the shit list for being cheating gits.

In other news, after the flurry of recent postings, I've decided to finally get a related address. So this blog is now at rushedbehind.blogspot.com. Neat hey. If you are reading this, you are on the new site. The whole blog has been moved, so all the archives are still here. Call me a traditionalist, but I reckon a blog should have an address related to its name. So if you still have the old site bookmarked, change it now. And if you don't have this site bookmarked, what a great opportunity to do so. I don't know if the rss feeds were affected, so if you use these, you might want to check it out. But if you are getting this, then you will get all future posts. I do seem to have somehow lost my blogroll, so this will be refilled gradually, as I remember which blogs were worth reading.

Go rain, go! You are Australia's only hope at staving off defeat (and poor fantasy cricket scores from Brad Haddin given his late withdrawal after my kiss of death)!

Cricket: You've Just Broken The Ashes' Finger!

2009-07-31T14:34:00.006+09:30

Late news from the 3rd test last night that Brad Haddin broke his finger. Apparantly he was facing the last few balls of the fast bowlers warm-ups and copped an injury on the end of his left ring finger. This was after the toss, but Strauss graciously let the Aussies swap in Manou for him, knowing that a one-handed Haddin would still bat better than Manou. He averages less than 25 in first class cricket. Thats less than Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Broad or Graham Swann. Will he bat at 9 or 10? Will he outscore Hilfenhaus? All these questions, and more will be answered during the remaining tests, which Haddin will miss. And Australia will lose the Ashes if they keep this no-hoper in. On the plus side, Shane Watson hasn't been injured yet, wonder if he was the fast bowler who broke Haddin's finger, just passing the injury curse around.

Send an SOS to Tim Paine immediately (ateast he plays like a batsman, even if his keeping is a bit average).

On a completely unrelated note, the Australian soccer world cup bid has a sweet soccer flash game. Check it out.

Ashes Fantasy Cricket - How To Win

2009-07-30T14:22:00.003+09:30

The key to victory in any Ashes fantasy cricket league is to have players from the team that wins. Particularly batsmen need to be from the winning team. Because the poms are cheats, you need some of their players, especially those who claim catches that aren't legit. Because catches are worth 12 points in cricket.com.au and 2 or 1 point for keepers in sbs.com.au. Can't beat that score! If you are in a comp that has a captain, put your kepper (Haddin, because Prior is shit) as your captain from the catch points. Also, don't pick Phil Hughes. He's been dropped! And Shane Whatswrongwithhimthistime has been brought in to replace him. He won't get through the first session. Thats what Australia gets for not bringing a backup batsman (even though Hughes doesn't deserve to be dropped).

Schumy is coming back! The Schuminator is replacing Massa after his injuries. Can he win the championship from here? I reckon Ferrari will suddenly become competive now that he's back.

Port suck! They lost the showdown by 70 points with all their downhill skiers going missing. They gave up more easily than Tom Boonen who left Le Tour early to get high. Speaking of getting high, Aussie pole vaulter Steve Hooker won the London GP recently.

Cycling: Di Luca Tests Positive

2009-07-29T13:28:00.008+09:30

I just found out that Danilo Di Luca, 2nd in the Giro tested positive twice for doping with CERA (the same version of EPO that Ricco used). For more details check here. First of all, what a cunt-face. Second of all, this is a win for the biological passport system recently employed by the UCI. Third of all, a quote from Di Luca after he was found out: "Would I be so stupid as to take CERA at the Tour of Italy one year after (Ricardo) Ricco, (Emanuele) Sella and (Davide) Rebellin were caught." Well, clearly yes, you cheating bastard. Fourth of all, extra congrats to Menchov for beating a drug cheat (despite him falling off about 4 times in Le Tour, maybe hes been taking some happy drugs). Fifth of all, (wow, thats getting a realy tired sentence intro, maybe I should use something else) CNN, learn to quote properly, there needs to be quotes at the start and end of your quotes. Sixth of all, I hope its not 3 months until we find out the cheats from Le Tour (I'm looking at you Wiggo).

Thats almost all for today, just wanted to express my disgust at Di Luca.

Also, respect to George Hincapie, who rode the last 4 stages of Le Tour with a broken collarbone. Now thats tough, and gets him onto the legends list. Not like Nick Riewoldt who just cried when he broke his.

Cycling: 2009 Tour De France Review

2009-07-27T20:14:00.007+09:30

So the main event in cycling is over for another year, with Contador reining supreme. This despite Jens Voigt and Saxobank's radical plan to defeat them in the Pyrenees (see interview below, and ignore non-english subtitles).

The Pyrenees in fact were pretty tame, with only Contador's attack on stage 7 proving at all decisive due to long descents between hilltops and finish lines on stages 8 and 9. And there weren't any bears either.

I can now reveal the secret to the Manx Missile (who won 6 stages, including the Champs Elysees finish) . According to wikipedia, many of the roads on the Isle of Man have no speed limit, while they are all paved. As a result, the Isle has become a haven for hoon drivers, with Jeremy Clarkson, Nigel Mansell and James Toseland all moving to the Isle. This explain's Cav's proficiency in tight, bunch sprints as he madly dodged speeding hoons on the roads of his youth. It also explains why he initially took up track cycling. Despite winning 6 stages, Cav failed to win the Sprinter's green jersey which went to the 'God of Thunder' Thor Hushovd. Thor couldn't match Cav's speed on the pure sprints, but he held his own in uphill finishes and critically, broke away from the field and lead alone over the top of 2 mountains to pick up 12 bonus points at intermediate sprints on stage 17. He beat Cav by 10 points.

As the race moved into the alps, the two best climbers were clearly Andy Schleck and Contador, with Frank able to match them when on his good days. Wiggins continued to amaze with his "I can't believe hes not on a cocktail of drugs" performances maintaining his high standing. The top 2 spots were decided from the moment the road tipped upwards. However, the 3rd place was up for grabs until the penultimate stage up Mont Ventoux due to a combination of factors. Firstly Contador's ability, and frankly desire to assasinate his own team members which lead to Kloden getting dropped from the Schlecks and Contador on stage 17 and Armstrong being deliberately left back to watch Wiggins on the same stage. And secondly, Frank Schleck's horrendous (for a GC rider) time trialling ability. This lead to Armstrong just managing to hold onto the 3rd position up Ventoux, despite Andy Schleck sacrificing the possibility of a stage win to try everything humanly possible to get Frank clear of Armstrong. Wiggins just got 4th by 2 seconds after he was dropped by Frank and Armstrong up Ventoux and got lucky to hold on. Contador however, was clearly the best rider in the climbs, and atleast the second best rider on the time trials, finishing 2nd in the prolgoue and 1st in the stage 18 race against the clock, even beating Spartacus. Franco Pellizotti won the KOM, after reassessing his goals during a horrid time in the Pyrenees.

Next year's tour is looking extra spicy, with Lance starting a new team Radioshack (likely to have a lot of his mates), the Schlecks a year older and Contador's team uncertain (any of a weakened Astana, Caise D'Epargne or Fernando Alonso) as well as other contenders (Ivan Basso anyone?). Now, if Contador and Sastre were in the same team that would be great to watch them try to drop each other (Alonso on left, Sastre centre).

But for now, its back to regular sports (Ashes, footy) until the Vuelta (and possibly a couple of classics that SBS might televise). As a footnote, I came about 120th out of 10000 or so in the SBS fantasy TDF competition.

Cricket: As English as Tea and Scones - Cheating

2009-07-20T14:45:00.006+09:30

It seems yet another great sporting contest is being ruined by umpiring that is at best horribly inconsistant and at worst actively biased. Australia had been outplayed by the Poms in the first 3 days of the 2nd test of the Ashes. Those blasted convicts decided to launch a fightback after they were set the imposing target of 522 in the last innings of the game. Well, the poms managed to find a great solution to their general bowling inadequacy. Just give the batsmen out regardless of what the rules say.

Simon Katich was given out despite a blatant no-ball from Flintoff.

The umpires refused to refer Strauss's catch, despite TV replays showing it clearly hit the ground, giving out Phil Hughes.

And then, a disbelieving Mike Hussey was given out despite hotspot showing that he clearly hit the ground, not the ball after a Swann spun past his edge.

Ignoring the rules or the spirit of the game is an English tradition, remember last time they won the Ashes with minty fresh breath and specialist fielders. And its not just unknown bloggers like me who reckon the umpiring was atrocious. Check out Cricinfo or Stuey MacGill. Bring in referrals for any contentious decision ASAP.

You can check out video of the dismissals at SBS. Just ignore the ads which come on at the start (and during the middle of last night's hill-climb in the TDF).

Brad Wiggins continued his unbelievable performance staying with, and even attacking Nibali, F.Schleck and Sastre and beating Evans and Armstrong. His past strong anti-doping stance may have melted a bit I reckon. Another cheating Pom?

Contador blew away the rest of the field, putting in what is apparentley the fastest climb in the history of the TDF (in terms of vertical climb rate). Even faster than the previous record by drug cheat Bjarne Riis or anyone else who was doped up the eyeballs in the Tour's wild days. Makes you think...

Cricket: Sending the Poms Into a Spin

2009-07-17T15:30:00.006+09:30

England somehow managed to hold Australia to a draw in the 1st test, primarily due to wasting time in the final session. This was aided by Nathan Hauritz taking only 3 wickets from 37 overs on the final day as Australia's only spinner (he did have a good economy rate, which is the important thing in the selectors eyes). Now he's gone and buggered up a catch on the first day of the 2nd test, dislocating his finger so he probably won't be able to bowl for atleast the next few days, leaving Siddle and Hilfy our only real options bowling (Johnno put in a day reminiscent of Bryce McGain's test debut yesterday, I bet he doesn't get thrown out and never given another test...). This (along with Hauritz's general shitness) is why we needed to take 2 spinners on tour (and probably a backup batsman would help too, instead of 2 allrounders and a backup keeper). Send an SOS to that Victorian leg spinner who might be a bit old, but he can still play despite a poor debut. Not Shane Warne, the other one. Or atleast Jason Krejza, he can at least spin the ball.

On the subject of Poms, the first probable drug cheat of the Tour De France has been identified. He hasn't tested positive for anything yet, but I've got a record of getting these guys right (I picked Schumacher after his ITT last year). Bradley Wiggins has gone from a time trial specialist who couldn't climb a ladder to suddenly sticking with the heads of state on the climbs in the Pyrenees. Even when the group thinned down to about 15 riders at the top of the Andorra climb (dropping riders of the quality of Kim Kirchen and Roman Kruiziger), Wiggins was there. This from a rider who finished 71st, 2hrs and 20 minutes behind in the Giro earlier this year, and couldn't drop Fabian Cancellara in the Tour of Switzerland. Just wait until a few stages time, when he gets done, and his Olympic samples are re-tested. There'll be a real shit storm.

Cycling: Lance In Yellow... Almost

2009-07-08T15:58:00.004+09:30

So we come to the first of my mid-Tour De France reviews. Fabian Cancellara still has the Maillot Jaune which some observers expected him to take in the first individual time trial and hold until the roads tip upwards, probably giving up the jersey after stage 7. However, The Lance almost managed to take it from him in the team time trial stage 4 last night (Australian time). Astana put in an awesome TTT, to take 40 seconds from Saxo Bank and put The Lance exactly equal with Cancellara (to the second atleast). After the race, the judges decided on a countback (don't you hate countbacks) to give the Jersey to Cancellara again.

Biggest Surprise

Team Columbia-HTC split the peloton on stage 3 around the 30 km mark, and the 28 or so riders in the front of the split (including contenders The Lance, Cancellara, Rogers and Kirchen) picked up 30 seconds on what was a flat stage. The Lance may or may not have the climbing legs to win the Tour, but he can still motor on the flat and pick the right move.

You Idiots!

Bbox Bouygues Telecom had a mass crash in the Team Time Trial after someone forgot to tell them that they weren't riding mountain bikes.

Sprinters

The Cav has dominated the 2 sprints so far, with wins on stage 2 and 3. He was helped by a crash which limited his opposition in stage 2. On stage 3, The "God of Thunder" Thor Hushovd (best nickname in all of world sport) was the only other sprinter in the front section of the split and couldn't pass the Cav. He should be a certainty for the Green Jersey if he can be bothered to climb the mountains. Or maybe he'll decide to quit half way and give the Poms a hand figuring out when to declare in the Ashes (after Haurtiz has sent down about 60 wicketless overs probably).

The Heads of State (GC)

Fabian Cancellara (1st, +0 s)

Has held the Yellow since the 1st stage, but wont be able to cut it in the mountains.

Lance Armstrong (2nd, +0 and a tiny little bit s)

Looks very strong, putting in extended shifts in the TTT. Mountain legs still uncertain.

Alberto Contador (3rd, +19 s)

Hasn't done anything to dispute his pre-tour favouritism yet. Missed the Columbia split but put in the 2nd best ITT. May be the Sastre to Armstrong's Schleck in a repeat of CSCs strategy last year.

Andreas Kloden (4th, +23 s)

Forgotten man of Astana, should just oplay a role for Armstrong and Contador, but may make an ambitious attack at some stage to try to take the team leadership.

Christian Van De Velde (12th, +1:16)

Has been coming back from injury, so his mountain legs are uncertain. Team Garmin put in a great 5 man TTT for him. Still paying $80 for the win and $14 for a podium (paying better money than Cancellara!?) , get on him now.

Roman Kreuziger (15th, +1:31)

Liquigas put in a better than expected TTT to give him a real shot at a podium in the finish.

Michael Rogers (16th, +1:32)

Had mechanical issues in the ITT which has him below where he could be. Won't have the mountain legs to catch Contador.

Andy Schleck (20th, +1:41)

Has improved his ITT abilities, but Saxo Bank were a bit disappointing in the TTT for him. Still a genuine contender.

Kim Kirchen (24th, +2:16)

Isn't up with the contenders on the ITT, but could still surprise on the mountains.

Carlos Sastre (29th, +2:44)

Has atleast got the TTT out of the way without race ruining damage, but will need to attack, and hard to beat Contador and Asrmstrong from nearly 3 minutes back.

Cadel Evans (35th, +2:59)

He would have been spitting chips when he heard there would be a TTT in this year's Tour, Silence-Lotto aren't nearly good enough to contend with the big guns in this discipline. Like Sastre, will need to attack to have any chance. Unlike Sastre, attacking is not Evans' strong suit.

Denis Menchov (72nd, +3:52)

Had a poor ITT, then fell during the TTT, costing him and his team time. Surely has no chance from here.

My tip is still Contador, but The Lance may be able to foul him up if he gets the team working for him.

Tour De France Dream Team Cycling

2009-07-01T16:53:00.003+09:30

I've started up a Tour De France DT League in the SBS competition for this blog's readers too. A bit late notice obviously (the Tour starts in a couple of days) but SBS= obscure, cycling=obscure and yet theres about $15,000 in prizes.

Pos.	Team	Mn.	Pts.
Crowmaniac.blogspot.com :
Last Updated: 01/07/2009 08:33:33
http://fantasytdf.sbs.com.au/
99999	Rushed Behind	0	0

Ashes Fantasy Cricket League

2009-06-30T14:16:00.002+09:30

With the Ashes series coming up, I've started a league in the official cricket Australia fantasy competition for this blog's readers. The address is http://fantasy.cricket.com.au/ and when you sign up, you will need to enter the league code 170599. It should be a lot of fun, Test cricket being one of the games most suited to Dream Team-like competitions (apart from Aussie Rules) and there is $20,000 in prizes to be won. My secret tip to winning is to not pick Nathan bloody Hauritz!

Split Averted... But Can Formula 1 Convert The Spare With The Tour Fast Approaching?

2009-06-25T19:54:00.003+09:30

Almost as soon as any real consequences of the potential F1 series breakaway were considered, the split is now off. Max Mosley has agreed to resign from his presidency of the FIA and now the teams are placated. Read more here... if you think that this situation will hold together for any more than a few days before someone decides to play some more politics of doom. It is exactly this kind of politics which continues to dog Formula 1. Where there is money, prestige and power, some people will seek to control it for their own ends, regardless of the impact on other parties. Witness drug cheats like Alejandro Valverde as another example. Valverde has been banned from the Tour De France this year by Italian authorities (wait, France isnt part of Italy is it?) because of his involvement in infamous Operation Puerto. The Italian Olympic Committee banned Valverde from racing in Italy for 2 years and this year's Tour passes through Italy briefly (well that explains why Italian authorities are involved). Valverde reckons that the Italian Olympic Committee have no power over him because he is Spanish, but its only a matter of time until the UCI act on the same findings that the Italians have used. And anyway, the ASO which runs the Tour has a record of being probably the harshest sporting body in the world on drugs (and rightly so). Tom Boonen has been banned because he has twice tested positive for cocaine in the past year. And last year the whole Astana team was banned because of the team's history of doping in the 2007 Tour, robbing Alberto Contador of the right to defend his title (even though he was with Discovery Channel when the doping occurred at Astana). Cycling may have drug cheast, but atleast they are trying to fix the problem. No-one in F1 seems to want to throttle back the backroom scheming. Now, I'm not saying that this is anywhere near as bad as drug cheating, just that they are both similar types of problems.

FOTA vs F1

2009-06-23T12:35:00.003+09:30

In recent weeks, the relationship between the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) and Formula 1 has grown increasingly fractured, until FOTA announced a week or so ago that they would form a breakaway championship next year. The big 3 reasons for this were money (budget caps), politics and freedom (technical). The only recognised teams left in the regular F1 championship for next year are now Williams and Force India. Presumably then, the FOTA championship will take over the niche that F1 has held within 2 years, and F1 will become a feeder category, because lets face it, nobody wants to see any competition that has a powerhouse like Force India a podium chance.

But more interestingly, what technical regulations will the FOTA championship have? Formula 1 has been vastly over regulated for a long time, curtailing engineering improvements to gradual aerodynamic improvements. There has been little innovation or real change since the pointy-up nose cone in the early 1990s. Soon after any team makes a real breakthrough, it is banned by the FIA who want a driver's series. If you want a driver's series, watch touring car racing. Formula 1 (or its FOTA replacement) should be about engineering the fastest possible car. Lets bring back some of the radical design ideas of the past...
The Tyrrell P34 for example, which raced in 1976-77.

Cycling: Menchov Crashes in Last Stage - Still Wins Giro

2009-06-01T23:45:00.008+09:30

The 2009 Giro D' Italia was decided today, with Denis Menchov and Danilo Di Luca pushing to the limit on wet, cobblestoned roads in Rome. Denis started with only a 20 second lead over the final 14 odd kilometer time trial, with Di Luca Menchov crashed in the final kilometer, and showed great guts (and top class a mechanic) to get straight back on a new bike and get home in time. I tried to cut together a video of this from my tv tuner, but windows movie maker does rather suck, so you'll have to do with the youtube version, with the Pommy comentator who sucks so much that SBS put a pair of local commentators on after the first couple of stages. Seriously, he sounds like he's trying to be monotonous, like he's describing a historical parade, not a bike race. And the Youtube video spells Menchov wrong on the title (even when it's displayed during almost the whole video) and has an odd pause around the crash. All credit to Denis, he deserved to win. Di Luca threw everything he had at him up Vesuvius and couldn't shake him from his back wheel.

Next stop Paris for the Tour (which SBS shows close to full stages of) and then the Vuelta (which I hope SBS will do the same thing as the Giro and show daily highlights). Armstrong started to show some good form towards the end of the Giro and should be strong enough for a top 10 in the Tour, but I don't reckon he has the legs to match Contador and will be stuck in a supporting role to him. Be interesting to see how Astana handle their riders in the Tour, with definately Armstrong and Contador and possibly Leipheimer contenders. They might get stuck like Liquigas did in the Giro, supporting too many riders and getting 3rd and 4th instead of 1st and 10th. CSC Saxobank showed how 2 leaders can work with Schleck and Sastre last year though.

Finally, Mick Doughty has done enough in his recent tagging roles to get off the Shit list, and Denis Menchov gets on the legends list for his effort as shown above.

Cycling: Giro D'Italia - Mark Cavendish - Typical Pom

2009-05-27T14:04:00.007+09:30

What is the typical English trait?

I reckon its smashing the easybeats and quitting when you have to take on the tough challenges. Look at the English cricket team. They have smashed the West Indies who barely deserve to be called a test team, but will get beaten by the Aussies when it really matters. England's football team has a history of not winning a major title since the 1966 World Cup despite inventing the game and having probably the strongest domestic competition. They always get partway there before quitting when they face some real opposition. This brings us to England's great quitter: Mark Cavendish.

Cav quit the 2007 Tour De France in the 8th stage. That's not even half way. He then quit the 2008 version of the race after 13 stages, citing a need to rest up for the Olympics. He was the only British track cycist not to win a medal at those Olympics (alteast according to wikipedia), so obviously he didn't quit early enough. Cavendish has just recently quit the Giro D'Italia after the 13th stage. He apparantly needed to rest up for the Tour. How does he need to rest for an event in which he will probably manage half the stages? No wonder a former team mate, Roger Hammond said early in 2007 "To be honest, he started the season so catastrophically that the staff were wondering what they could enter Mark for so that he could finish the race."

Now onto some better riders in this year's Giro. The contenders should be down to 3, unless someone like Basso does a Oscar Pereiro. Denis Menchov holds the pink jersey by 39 seconds from Danilo "The Killer" Di Luca. Carlos Sastre looked strong yesterday, and won stage 16 to move to 2 minutes 19 seconds behind Menchov. The Blockhaus stage tomorrow should decide the winner. I expect Sastre to attack hard for the mountaintop finish. Di Luca and Menchov have to react and stick with him after yesterday. Di Luca should be capable of doing it, but Menchov might be dropped. I tip Di Luca to be wearing pink after tomorrow.

There is only one more stage that might affect the general classification after that, stage 19 finishing on Vesuvius. Expect lots of attempted attacks without much success as the shorter climb will not allow much in the way of time gaps.

One big disappointment for this year's Giro, from an Aussie perspective has been Mick Rogers. he has done as expected in the climbs, not quite having the weaponary of a Sastre or Di Luca, but for a former 3-time world time trial champion to lose 2:46 on stage winner Menchov and even 28 seconds on Sastre, who is not a noted time-triallist is very disappointing. Atleast Simon Gerrans flew the Aussie flag by winning stage 14.

The Specialist Fielder - Jared Petrenkalenko And Legend Matthew Hayden

2009-05-21T21:16:00.008+09:30

The picture is worth 1000 words (or in this case, 46 if you count numbers as words). I guess I brought this on myself with my close wins last week. My undefeated streak is over, with losses in 2 leagues and the eliminator. On the plus side, now atleast I won't waste trades to keep a strong eliminator team. Two Points! Two Points? I blame Happy Chappy for this loss, if he had atleast played and went off injured in the 1st 1/4 (after getting atleast a kick) I would have won.

That brings me on to the second specialist fielder in history (not counting Cam White, who is a given) - Jared "Petrenkalenko" Petrenko

How did he keep getting a game? (He has just been dropped in the latest teams to be announced) Jared has had less than 10 disposals for his past five games. Sure, his first 3 games were fairly good, with 15, 18 and 14 touches, but surely someone better could have taken his spot.

Less than 10 touches for 5 games in a row - thats Specialist Fielder material and also earns him a spot in the Shit List.

Now lets talk about someone who quite clearly isn't shit at all. If fact, Matthew Hayden is the second addition to the list of Rushed Behind Legends.

Haydos has 546 runs at an average of 55 in 11 IPL games this year striking at above 140. He was the highest run scorer in the last T20 World Cup. Yet his hasn't been asked back for this year's comp. Instead Australia have opted for the dubious talents of Dave Warner, and the 'totally not an opener' options of Hopes, Watson, Clarke and Haddin (Phil Hughes was obviously deemed in too good form to be picked). The form Haydos is in, you'd consider him for the Ashes, even if he plays it like a T20 game. The only problem is that he has 'retired'. But, the retirement was forced by selcetors who would no longer pick him (unlike the Huss, who has stayed in the side despite a far worse run than Haydos ever had). Surely he could come back as a T20 specialist and pulverise attacks for another couple of years?

Geary You Legend!

2009-05-14T21:05:00.004+09:30

Rushed Behind is adding a new sidebar, like the Shit List, but to recognise players who aren't shit. Like Jarryn Geary (well okay, his name is a bit shit) who single handedly saved my Dream Team from its first and second losses for the season (across 3 leagues and the eliminator). He and Travis Cloke (now added to the shit list for his long string of third rate performances across this season) needed to beat Pendlebury or Dal Santo and about 15ish points in 2 of my leagues in the last game of last round. Travis Cloke took the responsibility and got injured. Jarryn fired up for a 94 which gave me wins by 7 and 8 points to keep my record intact. He has also gone up $112,900 (even further than Luke Hodge (also added to the Shit List for consistant underperformance in DT) has gone down) and averaged more than 80 over the season so far. "The Vital Cog" is proving to be one of my most inspired selections (along with Otten and Krak-Whore). After Higgins ripped a hole in my side last week (assisted by Cloke and Hodge) I'm down to 1400th (exactly) but with those two Shit Listers out, I'm on the way up. If anyone has had 2 closer leagues (in 1 round) than 7 and 8, I'd like to hear about it!

Too Many Games, Not Enough Openers, Still Too Much Hauritz

2009-04-29T12:42:00.009+09:30

Australia are playing cricket at the moment. Just thought I'd tell you, becuase noone seems to know or care. They are in Abu Dhabi playing Pakistan in a series of 50 over games. How many pointless ODIs are being played these days? Is anyone outside (or even inside, given the (SA)IPL is on) cricket mad India actually watching these games? In more relevant (and still not blogged about becuase I've been blogging about DT) cricket, we still don't know who the best test side in the world is after Australia beat South Africa 2-1, flipping the scoreline in Australia. There were then 2 T20s and 5 ODIs (after 2 and 5 in Australia). Why do we need this many ODI games? Everyone knows that the only ODI matches that count for anything are the World Cup (and theres far too many games there too). For the record, SA won most of the ODI games and Australia still didn't play Phil Hughes in any of them. This scheduling has gone too far.

The Aussies have played 708 Tests in 133 years, and 705 ODIs in 39 years. You could drop back the number of ODIs and stop the players bitching about playing too much cricket so easily.

Now, at the moment the ODI side has any of Haddin, Clarke, Hopes and Watson opening. I'nm disregarding Marsh, becuase he seems to usually be playing, atleast when he isn't injured. None of these players are proper openers. So, clearly Australia must have no-one qualified for the job. Lets look at the candidates:

Phil Hughes:

Averaged 69 in the 3 tests he has played against SA, struck at 58 (Haydos struck at 60, so Hughesy isn't too slow for it). Why oh why is he not in the ODI side?

Matthew Hayden:

Forcefully retired from the test side, now averages 59 at 152 in 8 games in the IPL. In the past 2 years (takes in the last 16 ODIs he played) he averaged 42 and struck at 83. Some players are forced to only play in one form of the game (ie Bracken), why not give Haydos a chance again?

Or you could throw the Huss (Mike) up there where he used to play, and play him into some form. Except that he's being rested, because he has played too many ODIs lately...

How the hell is Hauritz averaging 29 and going for 4.8 an over in ODIs? Well, 14 of his 22(63%) wickets have come caught by a fielder (ie slogging and got caught on the boundary), and 2(9%) stumped (ie slogging and missed). In comparison, that sheik of tweak Michael Clarke has 51 wickets (yes, he has played more games, thats why I'm putting %s) and 23 caught fielder (45%) with 3 stumped (6%). When it comes to a game that matters (hopefully not the Ashes), Hauritz will stink up the place worse than Bryce McGain's first day.

In unrelated matters, Stephen Hill has done enough to get taken off the Shit List.

Another Bargain Down With Injury

2009-04-23T21:15:00.005+09:30

Bargain No. 2 for this year's Dream Team has gone down with injury, following Andrew Raines (who is back in the VFL this week). Hayden Skipworth, selected by 89,991 Dream Teamers (basically everyone except this guy) has done a hammy and will be out until atleast round 8. He has only gone up 54K so far, and your rookies haven't gone up enough to turn him into a premium yet. So hang on, and play Walker (if you have him) or Brown on the field.

Now, about everybody's favourite Captain (except Calvin of DTTalk.com who recommended not to put him as C and got flamed down by irate commentors), Gablett! He knocked up 46 touches last week and 3 goals, but only netted himself 155 DT points. Thats some Daniel "No Marks" Kerr style "underpointing" (I know its not a word, but I reckon it should be). He was laughably "tagged" by a combination of Robert Shirley and Michael Doughty who both go onto The Rushed Behind Shit List for their efforts.

Facts About Players Selected In Dream Team:

Shane Valenti of Melbourne is the least selected player in all of DT, with only 352 people selecting him.

Surprisingly, Brent Moloney of Melbourne has only been selected by 672 people, despite him being actually playing and fairly good.

Nick Fosdike, who retired before the season started has been selected by 2663 morons.

However, thats nothing compared with the 4576 people who have Pat Garner (Bris) who was on the Rookie list to start with and did his 3rd ACL in the preseason. A special mention to the people who traded him in last week (his change in selections was +22 last week)

Of course, the gold in stupidity must go to the 7843 people who have Matt Egan, despite him probably never playing again and definately being out for the whole season.

So it clearly takes a special kind of skill to finish in the bottom 1000 of Dream Team. Why not try it next year?

All Hodge's Base Are Belong To Malware!

2009-04-16T22:41:00.004+09:30

I recently upgraded to the 21st century (not dialup) and somewhere during the process of getting a decent firewall, antivirus and anti-spyware combination, picked up some nasty malware. How does this affect my Dream Team? I hear you say. Well, if your computer is screwed, you can't get on the net to update your team or make trades. So shutup and let me continue my story... This particular program failed to show up in antiviral scans using both McAfee and AVG, and anti spyware scans with 3 different programs. So I had to get my hands dirty inside regedit and find the source (with a bit of help from your good friend the internet). Why am I telling you this? Becuase if you can't read my blog, theres no point in me writing it. So, for my sake, make sure you have the latest version of (Not internet explorer) your browser, and good quality firewalls (not windows firewall) , antiviral software and antispyware programs. Sermon ends.

Last week was a bumper week for Dream Team scoring, with my decision to keep the Blockmeister and Raines vindicated by a post-2100 score thanks to Chapman and Gablett (now that Nathan's retired, the G isn't really necessary) However, Hodge has still failed to click into gear (maybe he is infected too) , providing a microcosm of Hawthorn's overall performance. They do have some players out, but I think their performance is more that they simply weren't that good to begin with. The Cats were the best side for all of last year, except the one week that mattered (and when they lost to Collingwood).

That picture is copyright Me, 2009 :-) Hawthorn's cheer squad certainly know how to make a banner that breaks well.

Raines Limited to Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix

2009-04-09T17:19:00.006+09:30

Its decision time on sideways dream team trades. Especially for those of you with either Rushed Behind bargain pick Andrew Raines, premium Nathan Bock or rookie Liam Anthony(grr...). Or heaps of other players such as removing Stephen Hill (averaged 69.3 points in 3 pre-season games and 25.5 in 2 games in the real stuff, you are going onto the shit list!) or getting Dan Rich or Mitch Robinson into your midfield. For my team, I'm taking a risk and using my trades in a more cash-productive way, keeping Raines and Bock as reserves and playing Suban and Petrenko on the field. Robinson and Zaharakis come onto the reserves for the not-playing Anthony (grrr.....) and Cook. Injury Update lists Raines as Rd 5 and Bock as Rd 4 although anything could happen with Bock. Despite this, Raines still managed to disrupt the Formula 1 race in Malaysia over the weekend, forcing an early halt to the race after he apparantly "bucketed down on the track". Dream Teamers should thank their lucky stars that he didn't get hit while he was on the track, because getting hit by a Formula 1 car is a long term injury. Still, while he was around, the racing was better. Hopefully, until he is ready to get back into the Richmond side, Raines can affect more Formula 1 races. I almost forgot what overtaking was until last week.

Many of you won't have the luxury of 2 playing backs though, (and I might not either, both Petrenko and Suban are on extended Benches this week, but both played last week) so here are some options for Raines (if you have Bock and really want to sideways trade a premium this early, you can pick your own):

Shannon Hurn (197,400):
Provided a stack of DT points last week, in a performance which should remind coaches what he can do. Has averaged 70 over the 2 games. Plays a 1/4 back role in the defence, pushing into the midfield and is a preferred ball user (meaning more kicks and cheap sideways handball recieves) for the Coasters.

Jarryn Geary (192,100):
Has averaged 65, playing mainly in the midfield or defence. I still like the look of him, if only his teammates did too. Main downside is limited TOG and he is a midget, so there shouldn't be too many marks.

If you don't like the look of either of those, you could take your pick of rookies Rance (86,600), Cheney (86,600) or Petrenko (86,600) . Broughton will play his first game for Freo (named in a back pocket) and is 75,300 for those of you who need a bit more money for another trade.

Edit: Nick Gill is named at CHF for the Crows. Gilly! Gilly! Gilly! The best player who can't kick (except maybe Richo) is back in the side!

My Dream Team and Abbreviated Match Reports for 3 AFL games and the Melbourne GP

2009-04-02T18:13:00.004+10:30

You may have noticed (those of you who are paying attention and have, give yourselves a gold star) that I haven't blogged since my brief rookie DT round-up. I've been away in Melbourne for The Biggest Weekend of Sport Ever By A South Aussie (a registered trademark of the Rushed Behind corporatrox). Before we get into that, I said last time I would post my Dream Team for you guys. After some last minute tinckering (finding an internet cafe in Melbourne for the 160 minutes of madness, you need to get your priorities right :-)), it is as follows (ordered by first round score, becuase thats easier for me):
Backs:
"Better Than Fisher" Goddard (398,400)
Houlihan (244,900)
C.Cornes (379,500)
"Bockmeister" Bock (372,900)
Hodge (428,800)
Raines (188,100)
"Gears of War" Geary (192,100)
Reserve:
"Petrenkalenko" Petrenko (86,600)
Suban (86,600)
Mids:
"DT God" Ablett (495,700)
Dalziell (420,300)
Judd (378,600)
Otten (126,500)
Hasleby (257,800)
Kerr (339,200)
Reserve:
"Goddamn, Why Is He Injured?" Anthony (86,600)
Cook (86,600)
Rucks:
"McIntosser" McIntosh (296,600)
Cox (473,200)
Reserve:
Spencer (75,300)
Browne (75,300)
Forwards:
Skipworth (196,600)
"Lecture" Chapman (410,600)
Higgins (211,900)
"Cost Me A Prize" Pavlich (440,000)
T.Cloke (334,000)
"Cousin of" J.Riewoldt (257,800)
"Crack Smoker" Krakouer (189,300)
Reserve:
Walker (86,600)
Brown (86,600)

I saw 3 games live on the weekend, plus the F1GP in Melbourne. So I'll just give you some things I noticed.

Hawthorn vs Geelong
How did Hawthorn even get close? Geelong seemed a much better side for almost the whole game, but like in the GF last year, they just couldn't kick straight. Harry Taylor is officially on the Rushed Behind "Shit List" (I'll display this along the sidebar somewhere soon with links to the posts where they joined the list). He displayed a defensive ineptitude when opposed to either Roughhead or Franklin that has only been outdone by Stephen Gilham when he was on the Port list playing for North Adelaide (also a founding member of the "Shit List"). In the end, Geelong just managed to hold Hawthorn in an excellent quality game that showed why these sides will be competing for the flag on the LSIS.

Collingwood vs Adelaide
Another quality game, highlighted by the performance of "Bernard" Vince. Adelaide's young players performed exceptionally, showing that both Otten and Petrenko should be handy cash cows (or even keepers if they continue to improve). Otten plays like a Bock clone as a rebounding defender and Petrenko plays a rebounding half back or goal sneak. The umpiring was fine, despite what Collingwhine were bitching about. I reckon the supporters at the ground took it better than the president, probably becuase the average Pies fan has never read the rules (or anything more substantial than the TV guide). Both sides should be in contention for top 8 spots at worst.

St. Kilda vs Sydney
This game showed total dominance to one side at a time. Sydney were far better early, but failed to even score for long periods later. Zac Dawson was notable for not being shit. Jarryn Geary needs to buy some new deodorent because his team mates seem to want the ball anywhere but where he is. Riewoldt was almost unsighted, burning those DT coaches who chose him ahead of Pavlich as their most premium forward.

Melbourne F1 Grand Prix
Almost no passing occured (as is normally the case in F1) and yet it was an exciting race, with the new boys on the block, Brawn GP going 1-2 after 2nd and 3rd placed Vettel and Kubica collided, allowing Barrichello to take 2nd to his team mate Button. The twilight concept worked okay, although some fans would have struggled to see the action later in the day. The Who were excellent at the after race concert, proving that although their lyrics "I hope I die before I get old" may need to be re-written, they can still rock out.

The Rushed Behind is now lobbying to buy the naming rights for the newly re-named Etihad Stadium for next year, because almost every other corporatrox has endorsed the ex-Telstra Dome. I don't think this is quite as long as the Stat-tastic Aussie Cricket team was, but its still too long to put my thoughts on the Australia-South Africa test series into. I'll save that for the next post, at a relevent time during the ODI series.

Dream Team Lockout and Rookie List

2009-03-17T22:08:00.002+10:30

This year, as with last year the AFL has scheduled a Thursday game for the first round. this means that with the teams announced at 5pm on Thursday there will be only 160 minutes between team announcements and AFL Dream Team lockout. Expect the virtualsports servers to crash during this time as an overload of people try to get their teams in. So make sure your Dream Team is in, at least in a form that you will be happy with before the teams are announced. Because of this, The Rushed Behind will not be doing a full rookie breakdown as you want your rookies to be playing round 1. Heres some names for you to consider though:
Backs:
Petrenko(86600)
Suban(86600)
Hill(142600)
Rance(86600)
Broughton(75300)
Cheney(86600)
Mids:
Beams(86600)
Anthony(86600)
Rich(126600)
Dangerfield(115400)
Davenport(86600)
Steven(86600)
Robinson(86600)
Meyer(75300)
Moss(75300)
Rucks:
Meesen(86600)
Currie(86600)
Pyke(75300)
Graham(86600)
Jacobs(75300)
Fwds:
M.Brown(86600)
Sidebottom(110600)
Walker(86600)
Gumbleton(86600)
Yarran(130600)
Ballantyne(86600)

So theres a list for those who can't be bothered doing any research to pick from (I'm looking at you Danny Boy). I'll post The Rushed Behind Team after round 1 which may have a few from left field (ie. not on my lists of rookies or bargains) because I have to keep some picks to myself or I can't win the competition can I?

In other Dream Team news, bargain ruckman Robbie Warnock has been put on the long term injury list by Carlton, thus ruling out his selection as your 2nd ruck. You heard it here first! Well, not actually first, the linked story is dated 4 days ago. But The Rushed BEhind's regular source for AFL injury news www.injuryupdate.com.au still has him listed as "maybe right for round 1". Time to find a new injury source me thinks...

Prestigiacomo - I Will Win The Dream Team Premiership!

2009-03-13T11:29:00.003+10:30

In an exclusive interview with The Rushed Behind today, perennial Dream Team dud Simon Prestigiacomo announced a change in his game plan starting this year. "Presti" noted that despite his Collingwood side playing in the final of the NAB Cup tonight, they are not in a position to challenge Hawthorn or Geelong within next few years. Presti explained, "I'm 31 now, and I'm running out of time to play in a flag. I figure the best chance I've got of winning one is to change my focus. If I give 110% to the task of winning an AFL Dream Team Premiership, then I might be able to influence the results my way and come home with the title." It is clear that on current form, no Dream Team with "Presti" would stand a chance as he has provided an average rating under 35 for the past 5 years and only played 2 games last year. However, Simon seems determined to change this side of his game, announcing that "No one else will pick me in their teams. So if I can score big and help some of my Collingwood and Dream Team team mates score well too I should be in with a chance." Presti has assembled a fearsome collection of football minds to help him with his task, announcing that Swans stars Tadgh Kennelly and Nick Fosdike retired to accept better offers as assistant coaches to Presti. He noted "Sydney players traditionally score poorly due to their defensive gameplans. But if I can encourage them to change this, there could be some Dream Team gold there. I wanted them to keep playing, but they gave some horseshit excuses about morals. There's just no place for these things in a winning Dream Team side." At this stage The Rushed Behind tried to get a comment from Simon about the rumours surrounding Daniel Merrett and Matt Egan and their potential signings as playing assistants to his team. However, Presti would not be drawn on the issue, only saying "It would be illegal for players on different teams to collude to help one of them win a premiership. That is match fixing and frowned upon by the AFL.". He did however note that "It would be so much easier if there was a decent Serie A Dream Team, everyone there is so much more open to this kind of thing." So what does the future hold for Prestigiacomo? He reckons "I'll be playing like Joel Bowden for the next few years, maybe until 2013 so that I can play with the new Gold Coast and Western Sydney teams, lots of Dream Team potential there and then retire to become a full-time Dream Team Coach." The Rushed Behind is scared by what this may mean for the league and the future of other leagues once Presti Enterprises gets into full swing.

Presti also said "Its not too late to join the Rushed Behind Dream Team league, the number is 135697. I'll be there!"

An Open Letter to Test Cricket Curators

2009-03-02T13:01:00.004+10:30

Dear Sir,
A test match is supposed to be over with around 40 wickets taken within 5 days. Timeless tests went out long ago and frankly, with some of the pitches being prepared in Pakistan and the West Indies a timeless test at the moment could take a month. We simply cannot risk crictical players being absent from the IPL (and the huge $ they would make) because they are still playing, batting at 2/2222 (Ritchie Benaud will be missed) on the twentieth day of a test match (in reply to 10345 by their opposition in the first innings). At Bridgetown at stumps on day 4, the combined total from England and the West Indies is 15/1355, meaning an average score of 90 runs per wicket. This despite England's batsmen blatantly failing to convert centuries into double hundreds . From 4 test, there has only been one result so far, with odds of 1/16 on being quoted for the draw in 4th test and only one game left in the series. This includes the debacle at North Sound where only 1.4 overs were bowled. Seriously, the West Indies must been smoking a lot of weed over the past few weeks, because that is the only way curators could have got their job so badly wrong. On the subcontinent the pitches aren't much better with the Karachi test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka just finishing giving a total score of 18/1553 and an average per wicket of 86. This was improved by the 5/144 Sri Lankan 2nd innings on the last day when nothing was at stake and a result was almost impossible.

However, I implore you to head to South Africa for some advice. The test in Johannesberg between the host nation and Australia has yielded 32/1071 in 4 days despite losing time due to local weather conditions. An average of 33 will keep the bowlers in business and the seaming pitch has resulted in what should be an enthralling final day, with any of the three results still quite possible. So learn from your many mistakes and prepare your pitches to have some spice (even if the Poms get rolled for 51) and take a bit of spin. Most of all, lay off the drugs. At least while you are trying to prepare a test standard pitch.

From The Rushed Behind

PS. Keep the tame pitches for 20/20 games!

The Rushed Behind Rules!

2009-02-27T15:24:00.005+10:30

Last night, in the Richmond vs Collingwood match the first free kick for a rushed behind was called. For those of you who havent caught up on football news until football season actually starts, first shame on you and secondly, I'll have to explain the rule to you. Last year, in the Grand Final Hawthorn rushed far too many behinds to keep Demitriou happy. So the rules of the game committee decided that a rushed behind would merit a free kick against a team that does so deliberately. This would result in far less rushed behinds (obviously, because a rushed behind would probably be worth 7 points after a shot is nailed from close range). For now, this rule is in the NAB Cup only, but will probably be put into the rgular season also. At first, I thought this rule was stupid. It meant that rushing a behind was simply not an option, and who in a crowd doesn't like booing the opposition for this?

But then I watched a few NAB cup games. The new rule seems to work remarkably well, making defenders create to find an option from the last line instead of simply working set plays from a kick in. Score 1 for the rules committee! I've decided to change the name of this blog permanently to Rushed Behind, because it is wittier and easier to tell your mates about (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).

However, the other major rule change (which I believe has been brought into the regular season) is to penalise a player with a free kick and 50 metre penalty for any attention after they have disposed of the ball. This one hasn't been umpired to the letter of the law by the officials so far, but if it is, then a further softening up of this once-great game will result. So what if you sling an opponent in a tackle after he gets rid of the ball? It doesnt hurt him, but it lets him know that he has to be quicker next time and inflicts a bit of psychological damage. Next time he will get rid of it earlier, putting your team in a better position. That Nick Maxwell was initially given 4 weeks by the match review panel is a joke, surely. Its Australian Football, not Basketball or Soccer.

As a final note, I've got an Adelaide Crows season ticket for next year, so I decree there shall be more match reports!

Dream Team - Bargain Players

2009-02-23T13:40:00.005+10:30

The AFL Dream Team Season (the only Dream Team season of note, there are not enough stats for fair scoring in anything else) is fast approaching and the most important thing in getting a good team is your first 30 players picked. A good side will have a mix of stars, bargains and rookies. Anyone can pick good stars (Dean Cox) so I will run through my tips in the bargain and rookie areas before the season starts. The rookies will be left until atleast preliminary teams are announced for round 1, because you will want rookies that are playing most games.

If anyone doubts my Dream Team qualifications, I came in the top 5 for Rd 22 last year, and would have won the round and prize if I didn't have a 0 scoring Matthew Pavlich in my team (I checked those above me and was only around 20 points behind those teams with 22 playing). I aim to go a little better this year and win a round.

So, with no further ado,
Crowmaniac's Bargain Picks for DT 2009:
Defenders:
Traditionally, defenders are the hardest picks to get right, and this year is no exception. Try to find players who will move from stoppers to rebounders, or those who are young and likely to improve significantly. For my team, I will be trying to get more stars into my defence this year, becuase the bargain crop looks pretty woeful. Still, I'll try to find some value for you.

Shannon Hurn ($197,400) (WCE):
Played the whole 2007 season but found himself on the fringe in 2008. Should play all of this season barring injury and will continue to improve, playing as a rebounding 1/4 back in a team that is expected to struggle and play young players.
Trent Croad ($182,400) (Haw):
Has played more defensively in previous years, reducing his output in DT games. However, with the development of the Hawks' younger backs, may be given the chance to move to a Bock-like rebounder again. Even if he doesn't, should still play all games and average atleast 60.
Matt Maguire ($145,300) (StK):
Is coming back from an injury derailed 2008 season. Should play CHB and get some cheap stats. Won't score big, but should be a consistant 50-60 average and play most games.
Scott Selwood ($207,600) (WCE):
Young, but showed promising signs last year. Should step up to play most games this year, as a def/mid role.
Andrew Raines ($188,100) (Ric):
In 06/07 averaged 18 and 19 disposals per game. Had his 08 season derailed and only played 2 games.Probably the likely highest scoring bargain so far in this list and so he should be in your team (assuming he plays Rd 1)
Andrew McLeod ($318,100) (Ade):
Barely counts as a bargain, but should still play well, rebounding from an Adelaide defence that likes to share the ball around. Only concern is age, which may be a factor in him missing some games.

Midfielders:
A veritable array of talent is cheap in DT 09 that will play in the middle. It may be worth playing a cheaper midfield to strengthen up another area of your side. Not as many listed as for defenders, because they could all slot into your team easily. Also, good midfield rookies tend to be better than any other position (Selwood, Palmer, Dalziell etc.)

Daniel Kerr ($339,200) (WCE):
Like McLeod, barely counts as a bargain but is one of the best in the competition on the field and is available for $100K less than similar class players.
Paul Hasleby ($257,800) (Fre):
Is a seriously good in-and-under midfielder coming back from injury. Should be as good as your stars if he can keep his body right.
Brent Reilly ($284,000) (Ade):
A very capable midfielder who will alternate with rebounding from 1/2 back this year. Is capable of performing well above his price range if he can keep his body right.
Mark Coughlin ($176,400) (Ric):
A somewhat risky pick, despite his talent. But Coughlin is a class player and, if fit would be priced at $150K more than this.

Rucks:
Your second ruckman to Dean Cox should be a bargain type player. There are several worth looking at in the upper bargain range.

Kepler Bradley ($300,700) (Fre):
Also selectable as a forward, but good 2nd rucks are much harder to find. Kepler is now, with the departure of Warnock the obvious choice as 2nd Ruck to Sandilands at Freo. This would normally be a reason not to pick a player, but Kepler is the typoe of player who should hold down a key position and rotate into the ruck for 20-30 mins per game. Alsmost everyone has given up on him as a hack, so there shouldn't be too many who pick him either.

Justin Koshitzke ($319,700) (StK):
Not the player who he could have been, but still a solid utility key position player who will pinch hit in the ruck. Also selectable as a forward and should average 70 or so.

Hamish McIntosh ($296,600) (Ka):
Had a poor year last year, but starred in 07. Is better than his 08 form would show, but perhaps not as good as Kossie.

Ben Hudson ($263,600) (WB):
Appears to be dropping off towardsb the end of his career, but will still play every game as No. 1 ruckman. Main problem in DT is his refusal to kick the ball, opting for the cheap handpass instead.

Kurt Tippett ($191,300) (Ad):
Showed promise last year and with the Crows lack of quality up forward, should be picked for almost all games up there. Also selectable as a forward.

Forwards:
Travis Cloke ($334,000) (Col):
Good key forward who continues to improve. Plays a lead-out role, so he should get plenty of the ball and marks without too much attention.

Travis Varcoe ($271,300) (Gee):
Small forward/midfielder who should get more minutes this year and average over 70. Plays in a team that will share the ball, so should get cheap marks and kicks in forward 1/2 despite the more zonal defences this year.

Jack Riewoldt ($257,800) (Ric):
It may be too early for the brother of Nick, but he has abiltiy and should get more opportunities with Richmond needing to find a replacement for an aging Richo.

Scott Lucas ($222,800) (Ess):
Aging key forward, but should still play most games and is signifiacntly better than his price suggests. Will get picked in a lot of teams, he should be in yours too.

Hayden Skipworth ($196,600) (Ess):
Mature aged re-draftee who had heaps of games with Adelaide before being delisted. Despite what BS reckons, should be a very capable player who will play most games and get a lot of cheap touches for the 'Dons.

Trent Hentshell ($122,700) (Ade):
Was injured and has been absent from the AFL from the past 2 years. Howeverr, he played SANFL and reserves SANFL for the 2nd 1/2 of last year, and seems to have his body mostly working again. Should be a capable buy, and is at practically a rookie price. Get him.

So theres the run-down on your bargain buys for DT season 09. Check back here for a shorter run-down on the rookies you should be considering after 1st round teams are announced (hopefully that will be a bit earlier than the couple of hours before the DT deadline like last year, otherwise you might not hear from me at all on rookies).

Finally, I found a great run-down on the IPL teams for the coming season. It has prospective player lineups and the major team changes from last year's season.

More finally, if you want to compete with me in DT and compare teams, join my league number 135697 from the AFL Dream Team site
I will probably mention the league on this blog, and it has been started expressly for the readers of this blog. That means you. Yes you, sitting infront of the computer there.

The Specialist Fielder - Moises Henriques

2009-02-18T21:27:00.006+10:30

The Specialist Fielder will cover a player who has been picked for a sporting team with no recognisable skills with the bat or ball (in cricket) or just general incompetence in another sport. The classic specialist fielder is Cameron White for Australia, who bats at 7 or 8, has a highest score of 45 in 28 matches and an average of 24 with the bat overall in ODI matches. He only bowls occasionally, going for 6.4 runs an over when he does. Somehow he has maintained his position in the Australian ODI and 20/20 sides. However, sledging White is old-hat so this week's Specialist Fielder is:

Moises Henriques!

Moises was picked for the Australian 20/20 side for the match against NZ despite doing nothing at all to deserve the call-up except being young. He has averaged 19 with the bat and 39 with the ball in domestic one day matches , and these games have been gifted to him because of his "potential" and history as Aussie under 19 captain. Henriques will be a good player, in 5-10 years time but surely the best side avaialble must be picked, not the best side for the 2016 World Cup!
Unsurprisingly, Henriques was out for 1, batting at 8 and was not bowled, with the part time spin of Dave Hussey preferred. Hopefully he doesnt get another game until he is ready for it!

Match Report - Australia vs New Zealand ODI, Adelaide 10/2/09

2009-02-10T22:30:00.004+10:30

The Match report will be a section where I report on a match. That I've been too. Not too complex hey?

Today I saw Australia convincingly defeat NZ in the 4th Chappell-Hadlee game to lock the series at 2-2 heading into the decider on Friday. The highlights of the game were three great batting innings .First Ross Taylor (76 in better than even time) in the Kiwi's innings of 8/244 before Dave (79 at a strike rate of 82) and Mike (75 in better than even time) Hussey did the bulk of the chasing. Kyle Mills was the most impressive bowler in the match, proving impossible to get away and conceding only 30 runs from 9.2 overs.

NZ Innings:
An uncharacteristicly slow start from McCullum (playing despite his injuries) meant that the Kiwis struggled at around 3.5 runs an over for most of their innings. However, Ross Taylor opened up towards the end after the introduction of Cam White swayed the momentum away from the Aussies. White conceded 24 off 2 overs after strangly being brought on to help out Clarke as the 5th bowler (Clarke took 1/23 off 8 to have what someone looking at the scorecard at the end of the game would assume a best bowler performance). However, before White allowed the Kiwis the momentum, all of the 5 Aussie bowlers were going at less than 4 runs an over. The death bowliong was poor after this, allowing a defendable target when 210 was achievable for Australia. On the flip side, Taylor was very good, and Mills stayed with him in the death. Guptill and McCullum were servicable opening but were far too defensive.

Aussie Innings:
A slow start also for Australia, with Haddin and Clarke a makeshift opening combination again. Clarke fell reasonably quickly and Ponting followed with a slow, low scoring innings held tight by Mills. At this point, the game was slipping away from Australia. Dave Hussey had achieved only modest returns and some were questioning his position in the side. This would make or break his career as an international cricketer. Dave took it in his stride and, with some support from Haddin initially and his brother Mike compiled the perfect innings for the situation. He became bogged down just before reaching his half century but once this mark was achieved, he blasted out before missing a straight delivery from O'Brian. At this point, the result was really beyond reasonable doubt, with Ferguson joining Mike Hussey to finish off the chase.

Special Mention:
To the person in the crowd who brough in a blow up doll and hit it around the crowd like a beach ball.
To the person in the crowd who pretended to "have relations with" the blow up doll.
To the legend in the crowd who climbed up onto the bar underneath the Adelaide Oval scoreboard to retrieve a blow up animal and stayed up there for a good 10 minutes, infuriating police and being cheered by the crowd.
Not that I condone such behaviour, not at all .-)

Hopefully this is close to the first match report you can read on the net about this game!

The Game Plan - Adelaide Crows and Australian Cricket Team (against NZ)

2009-02-08T11:44:00.007+10:30

The Game Plan will be a segment where I dissect/ridicule the game plan of a sports team.
First up, the 2009 model Adelaide Crows:

The plan, as seen in last night's game against the Indigenous All-Stars is to chip the ball around the side of the field, taking as many possessions as possible and hence, improving Neil Craig's Dream Team score. For Fuck's Sake, play a proper Centre Half Forward like Nick Gill at CHF and direct the play through there. The chipping style works straight into the hands of the new zoning style defence because they can set up perfectly while you dilly-dally around the wings. Robert Shirley is not a lead-up forward. The structure of the side looked much better back when we had Ian Perrie in that role (becuase it was the only thing he was good for). However the convincing loss was due to more than the game plan. The Adelaide players refused to go in and get the hard ball or lay tackles onm the opposition, Myke Cook being one of the few who had a red hot go. Kurt Tippet showed glimpses, but against defenders giving away 15cm he should be able to monster them.

The Australian Cricket team's game plan against NZ seems to assume that NZ are completely incompentent batsmen. They are mostly incompentent, but when you presume that 220 will be a winning score and are satified with 3.5 runs an over batting first, you won't win many games.

Stat-Tastic: Australian Cricket Team

2009-02-03T13:39:00.004+10:30

Stat-Tastic will be a quasi-regular segment, looking at the stats behind an event in sport. This week, the demise of the Australian cricket team. The three of the past four series Australia has been involved in, they have lost (only beating New Zealand) and the number one ranking in ODI cricket has already been lost, with the test match ranking likely to soon follow. Certainly the opposition has been tough these past few series (beaten by South Africa and India, the other teams in the top 3 of each ranking) but Australia seems ot have lost its aura, shown by the poor result against New Zealand on Friday. Can the Stats tell us how this may be fixed?

The players used by Australia in the past few series will be listed in their positions:
Openers:
Simon Katich (Test Matches):
Despite doubts over whether he had enough ability to play test cricket, Katich has gritted out an average of 47 in 19 innings for Australia. Should remain an option for ODI cricket if Marsh and/or Warner fail as with an average of 37 he will provide a stable option (despite a low strike rate of 69).
Matthew Hayden (Test Matches):
In the past year he has averaged 24 in his 17 test match innings, well shy of his career average. Whether he retired too early is a matter for purely academic debate now, but he did manage an ODI average of 37 across 8 innings in this period.
Shaun Marsh (ODI):
Shaun had an exceptional debut series in the West Indies and has faded slightly in recent games. Still maintains an average of 43 and a decent strike rate of 76 in 14 ODI innings. However, his domestic figures question whether this can last as he averages only 34 in first class cricket and 36 in ODD matches. Will be considered to replace Hayden in Tests and will maintain his ODI position unless his form slumps further.
David Warner (ODI):
A revelation in the 20/20 format, Warner consistantly loses his wicket early in ODI matches, averaging only 21 with a strike rate of 86. You have to question whether he is ready for international cricket with such a difference between his domestic ODI average of 40 and strike rate of 109 and his international figures. David would seem to require more time at the domestic level to hone his game but with the injury to Marsh he will retain his place, almost by default as the others in line for an opening position (Jaques,Rogers,Hughes,Klinger) are all pigeon-holed as test match only players.
Phil Jaques (Indian Tour Squad Member before being sidelined by injury):
A test match average of 47 from 19 innings and 54 at domestic first class level underline the ability of Jaques. However, he has been sidelined by injury since the start of the Indian tour and is yet to hit form in his few comeback games. His ODD average of 43 and strike rate of 90 show he can play well in the shorter form of the game but in 6 ODI innings he only averages 21. Will be in the touring party for South Africa but may be bypassed for a place in the first 11 by Hughes or Marsh.

Batsmen:
Ricky Ponting(C):
Has been below his best in the past year, both with the bat and in captaincy. Averages 44 and 26 in Test and ODI matches in the past year, compared with 57 and 43 for his career. Ricky has also made mistakes with his captaincy at critical moments in Test matches, with "Overrategate" issues occuring. Also appears too defensive in his field settings, especially in Test matches. Ricky has a tendency to back players he likes to the hilt (such as Symonds) but can also lose confidence in players very quickly (Krejza). His place as a batsman is not under question but could he be removed as captain and remain in the team?
Michael Clarke:
Has been missed when recently absent due to injury. Is fast becoming a key player in this team, averaging 49 and 42 in Tests and ODI matches and chipping in with handy wickets at 37 and 34 respectively. May be force to carry the spin burden in test matches if a suitable spinner cannot be found.
Mike Hussey:
Still an excellent player and stats say that his recent bad form has been overreported. Has still averaged 34 and 48 in the past 12 months. Not quite as Bradmanesque figures as before this period but has recently started to pick his form back up and will be a key player for the next few years.
David Hussey (ODI):
Has filled a difficult middle-lower order position fairly well, averaging 31 and striking at 89 in a finishing role. His bowling however, has been less than stellar, recording only 1 wicket at 172 and an economy rate of 5.6 during his ODI matches. However, it is probable that his bowling ability has been overrated by Ponting and the selectors as he only averages 61 and 46 at domestic first class and one day levels. Needs to improve his results to be considered for a test match position on the upcoming tour but this should be possible with a first class average of 55.
Andrew Symonds :
Has been troubled by injury and personal problems in the past year which have prevented him from bowling and often even playing. Will cut back on his bowling duties for the rest of his career to prevent injuries (and hopefully his drinking duties). Averages 40 with the bat in both Test and ODI matches so should be capable of fighting his way back into the Australian side but will need to prove he can stay calamity free for a period with Queensland first.
Brad Haddin(WK):
Has been servicable without the batting performance many expected from a player who averages 41 in first class cricket. Has averaged 39 in Tests but only 28 at a strike rate of 80 in ODI matches. His position will be secure for several years unless his form dips significantly as Ronchi is an inferior batsman and keeper.
Adam Voges(Called up to current ODI squad):
Will get another chance for Australia, mostly on the strength of his career record. Recent form has been poor by all reports but a career ODD average of 46 with the bat and handy spin averaging 37 at first class level are figures worthy of a chance.
Callum Ferguson(Called up to current ODI squad):
Surprise call up from SA. Has been in good recent form but career records are below par. A career ODD average of 28 with a good-but-not-spectacular strike rate of 85 should not be enough to gain a position in the australian ODI side. However, with injuries and pigeon-holing thinning out the options Callum will get a chance to prove me wrong.

All-Rounders:
Shane Watson:
The injury prone Queenslander is an automatic pick if he is fit. But he is not fit. Ever. A test match batting average of only 20 with the bat belies the talent Watson has, better illustrated by a batting averge of 35 and strike rate of 82 in 54 innings for the ODI side. He also averages 36 and 32 in test match and ODI matches respectively with the ball. His first class figures also show the genuine all-round nature of his abiliies, averaging 45 with the bat and 29 with the ball. Should be an excellent player but if he can't get his body right his may be a career of opportunity lost.
Cameron White:
Is not a Test player. Period. Has averaged 29 with the bat and 68 with the ball so far. Is an option in the lower order of an ODI side but his bowling lets him down badly. In ODIs he averages 24 and strikes at 96 with the bat. Not bad if he can bowl right? His career economy rate in ODIs is 6.3. 6.3!
Andrew McDonald (Test):
Has only played the one test, averaging 15 with the bat and taking 3 wickets at 24 with the ball. Showed enough promise to be worth experimenting with, particularly considering the first class averages of 38 and 29 show he has real ability with both the bat and the ball.
James Hopes (ODI):
Needs to improve his batting to secure his position in the ODI side, averaging only 22 in 30 innings. Bowling has been handy, taking 33 wickets at 34 and an economy rate of 4.2. Will never be a test player but is a handy ODI option.

Spinners:
Nathan Hauritz:
Does not turn the ball but somehow has managed to average 32 and 33 in Test and ODI matches. However, his career first class average of 47 shows that this cannot remain the case. Needs to quit while he's ahead or learn how to bowl spin instead of simply slow bowling.
Jason Krejza(Test):
A surprise call-up to the test squad, Krejza impressed on debut but performed poorly in his second match, losing the confidence of Ponting and hence his position. Averaged 43 in his test matches and also averages 43 in first class cricket. Leaks runs badly and must improve his control to be given more matches while Ponting is cpatain.
Bryce McGain(Test squad for India before injured):
Has recently recovered from an injury which prevented his debut in India. The pre-eminent spinner in Aussie first class cricket, averages 34 in first calss games and 27 in ODD matches. Should be given a chance, either on the South African tour or against New Zealand in ODI matches.

Pace Bowlers:
Stuart Clark:
Has been below his best, even when fit and time may be catching up with Stuart, who averages 23 in Tests and 29 in ODI matches. Should still come back to the Aussie side when fit, but may not last long.
Brett Lee:
The past year has seen his slightly below his best, averaging 37 with the ball in Tests (compared with a career average of 31) but Lee is still the spearhead of the attack when fit. However, his body may be catching up with him and he has probably only a few years left.
Mitchell Johnson:
Has taken over the reins from Lee and done well as the main bowler. Is still not used as an opening bowler for some reason despite being able to swing the ball. Averages 29 and 26 with the ball in Test and ODI matches. Could become a handy lower order batsman too but cannot make a score in one day matches. Averages 26 and 25 in Test and first class games but 9 and 12 in ODI and ODD matches.
Nathan Bracken (ODI):
Is one of the best bowlers in the world in the ODI format, averaging 23 with an economy rate of 4.3. However, has been pidgeon-holed in this role after several tests a few years ago where he took 12 wickets at 42. Should be given a chance to show he can play Tests also (he has a first class average of 26) but will have to be satisfied with being an ODI specialist.
Peter Siddle (Test):
Showed promise by taking 17 wickets at 31 but has not been considered for the ODI side. Could be a long-term fixture in the Aussie side once Clark and Lee retire.
Ben Hilfenhaus (ODI):
Has played most of the ODI matches and averaged 29 but had a higher than required economy rate of 5.2. Has promise if atmospheric conditions are right for him but if the ball is not swinging he will struggle.
Shaun Tait (ODI):
Was the revelation of the '07 World Cup but has struggled with personal and injury problems since. Averages 25 in ODIs with the ball but recently has been worse than these figures indicate. Cannot maintain his pace for more than a couple of overs and once his pace slips he has few weapons. Still an option for the 20/20 side but should be left to play in SA for a while and get some match fitness up.
Doug Bollinger (Test):
2 wickets at 66. Bowled better than these figures suggest but will now be behind Lee,Johnson,Clark,Bracken,Siddle and Hilfenhaus for a position in either side.

Wow, that was much much much longer than I expected.

So basically, the problems with the Aussie side are many. The openers should be fixed by adding Phil Hughes (first class average of 60) to Katich in the test side and Marsh in the ODI side. The spinners are a serious problem in the long term as Bryce McGain will not be able to play for more than a few years at his age. The riot act must be read to the states to pick their spinners and develop them for the good of Australian cricket. The test match middle order batting is looking shaky with Haddin and an all-rounder at 6 and 7 so a genuine batsman or Watson (who averages like a genuine batsman at first class level) must fill the slot at 6. Brad Hodge should fill this spot. Michael Clarke will improve the side, coming back from injury but the ODI side appears too stacked with hitters rather than batsmen. If Dave Hussey doesn't improve then Hodge could be brought into this role as well. But above all, Australia must play a spinner in their ODI side. Unfortunately, the spin stocks are very thin at the moment in domestic ranks, with McGain the only real option regardless of age or form. Once Lee and Clark come back from injury, the bowling unit should look much more imposing and fast bowling should take care of itself.

Come In Spinner!

First Blog

2009-02-03T12:42:00.000+10:30

This first post from the Crowmaniac blog will serve to enlighten you as to what is to come. I am a sports loving Aussie who will blog about the world of sport down under, ranging from Cricket (for the next couple of months over the Aussie summer or on intermittant tours (such as this year’s Ashes contest)) to Aussie Rules (only 4 days to go until the NAB cup) and other sports such as Soccer and Motorsport as well as specials around important games in other sports (superbowl, tennis grand slams, tour de france, rugby league state of origin). I am a regular attendant of local (Adelaide) football (both AFL and SANFL level, especially Crows and Roosters games) and State level cricket (South Australia) so where possible I will give reports on any games I go to. This blog will probably be updated weekly, depending on other commitments. I will throw in quasi regular segments such as “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in Sport” on a random basis . At this point it would be pertinant to outline to you, the reader what my major allegiences ar, so you can tell what bias I am likely to provide (but thats all part of the colour of a blog compared to a regular news source right?).

Sports Teams:

Adelaide Crows

North Adelaide Roosters

Australian National Teams

South Australian Cricket Team

Leeds United

Adelaide United

Adelaide 36ers

Holden Racing Team

Saxobank

I'll also give a shout out to the BS Daily and note that this is (vaguely, witha several year gap) continuing on from my old blog