Cricket Dream Team: We Are Winner

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 - Conventional Swing

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

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!

Ross Lyon - Saint or AFL Dream Team Devil?

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.

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

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

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.

Cricket: As English as Tea and Scones - Cheating

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

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.