Owing to illness, Peter Flynn was unable to provide his scheduled report.   For those marketing types on constant lookout for ways to repackage cricket as an ‘entertainment product’, this match should hopefully serve as a reminder that cricket has long offered one of the best entertainment packages there is to be had in sport. [Read more]

Australia vs New Zealand. 2nd Test, Bellerive Oval, Hobart Day 3.   A catastrophic – but not unfamiliar – batting collapse by New Zealand in the morning session saw them forfeit their strong position in the Second Test. From the healthy, but hardly impregnable, overnight score of 3/139, the Kiwis lost their last seven wickets [Read more]

  Australian cricket has long worn aggression as a badge of honour. In our modern period of domination  that badge was often brandished with zealous fervour.  It gave our cricket with an uncompromising edge. Sometimes it seemed we courted controversy for its own sake, even when it was superfluous to the requirements of victory. In [Read more]

Day One Patrick O’Keeffe   Despite predictions of a closely fought Test series, the First Test saw a comprehensive victory to an Australian side showing signs of regeneration. In media engagements, the New Zealand players promised a better showing in Hobart.   The New Zealand batsmen could have expected a flatter pitch. The Bellerive wicket [Read more]

A question: can two tests really constitute a series? Talk of Australia ‘sweeping’ this two game affair seems a little grandiose. There’s talk of a green pitch in Hobart. Maybe early, but the usual road would be expected at some stage. Can Michael Clarke win a toss? Any other thoughts  folks?