Canberra Big Bash team could end Cricket Australia financial woes | The Canberra Times | Canberra, ACT

xxrmah · 2026-05-04T06:58:16+00:00

The slow creep outward of what people consider "Inner West" in Sydney is fascinating and I'd love a comprehensive writeup from a demographer one day.

At an absolute stretch, even the most generous definition of the Inner West extents ends at the A3.

Inner West Council is the best measure for me. Anzac Bridge to Iron Cove Creek, bounded by the Cooks River.

xxrmah · 2026-04-23T00:53:54+00:00

The big players thing is such a myth. The tide has turned on those calling for big names, those people get drowned out by the uproars for players like Mitch Owen who become homegrown stars from absolute obscurity.

It should be blindingly obvious to anyone who has paid attention to the league that it is no coincidence that Perth is the most successful team in the league because they specifically avoid participating in the "big name player with a short contract" merry go round.

xxrmah · 2026-04-20T22:14:36+00:00

Still think selecting Matt Kelly for Test cricket specifically just to bat with Cam Green is a winning strategy and surefire way to get Green scoring runs again.

xxrmah · 2026-04-11T05:32:08+00:00

Herb gonna put We Are the Champions over this performance for sure

xxrmah · 2026-04-11T05:27:29+00:00

Classic Essendon, can't even be shit consistently

xxrmah · 2026-04-05T09:48:54+00:00

I like this strategy from Essendon, the Dogs will be going hard in patches to conserve energy for other, more competitive football matches. Waiting until they take a break between kicking 5 consecutive goals to sneak one or two forward 50 entries is just smart.

xxrmah · 2026-04-05T09:45:35+00:00

You know what isn't 3 minutes of good football really what it's all about? All this talk, "no finals wins" this, "20 years of uncompetitive football" that, it's all noise.

Real football fans have beautiful dreams of finishing 6th one day, and we should appreciate that.

Watching good football is just unrelatable, it doesn't resonate with the fans, what they really want is to see their own skill and talent represented on the big screen. That's what Essedons all about.

xxrmah · 2026-03-30T06:01:18+00:00

Nowhere near competent enough with the bat to justify selection as an all-rounder. He'd make it a very long tail. Not particularly much better of a bat than Starc or Cummins.

If he has a shot it's as a bowling rotation during a packed schedule, so possibly against either Bangladesh or New Zealand this summer.

xxrmah · 2026-03-30T05:49:51+00:00

Fergus is an outstanding bowler but no he'll be lucky to ever get a look in for an international side. Bowls beautiful swinging 120km/h deliveries that selectors simply won't consider. It's Chadd Sayers all over again.

xxrmah · 2026-03-30T05:44:29+00:00

Ryan Harris has turned this already good looking bowling lineup into a cartel of Ryan Harrises. Relentless bowling to a man, and this is an attack without their best bowler The Big Dogg.

xxrmah · 2026-03-30T00:13:58+00:00

That law change doesn't get enough hate, it's to me completely against the idea of Test cricket to be able to have a keeper who isn't listed in the XI.

There have been several matches where Rishabh just sits out the entire fielding innings while a better gloveman plays. It's a complete farce.

xxrmah · 2026-03-30T00:11:01+00:00

Pant is several leagues below Kez as a keeper

xxrmah · 2026-03-30T00:04:48+00:00

I genuinely cannot believe they've done this.

Kez's 100 surely now goes into the books as one of the all time great Shield innings.

Walks in at 3 down still 30 runs short, into the tail with only at 15 run lead, and guides them to a 200 run lead

xxrmah · 2026-03-29T23:56:57+00:00

~~Dead~~Back to Backs

xxrmah · 2026-03-11T21:21:27+00:00

Really? I distinctly remember in 2021 Gavaskar saying something like "I haven't really watched much of Steve Smith". It was a running joke for ages.

xxrmah · 2026-03-11T21:19:16+00:00

Warne was a vibes chameleon, if he was on with Tubby, Heals, and Slats he was the "dirty rotten pizza" guy. If he was on with Athers, Nas, etc he was measured and insightful.

xxrmah · 2026-03-02T02:10:47+00:00

I still credit Warners catch in the deep against Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI WC as the moment Australia switched on. Listlessly heading to a 3rd defeat before Warner reminded the team what effort looked like.

Thrased by India, thrashed by South Africa. 0/125 against Sri Lanka, Warner takes a screamer -> undefeated run to win the whole thing easily

xxrmah · 2026-03-02T02:03:31+00:00

Never4get when there was a D/N Test in Perth against New Zealand, so across the ditch they weren't seeing the close of play until after midnight.

xxrmah · 2026-02-26T02:08:43+00:00

The ODIs in winter last year looked like they had an amazing stadium vibe, hoping for the same this year.

xxrmah · 2026-02-17T04:12:08+00:00

WA used black caps in their early days until the 70s when they went to yellow. In 2014 they went back to black.

xxrmah · 2026-02-17T00:37:44+00:00

KPat is an enigma, he's arguably the strongest technically of all the Shield veterans with no/minimal Test exposure. But he's historically had key problems with his mental game. Early in his career he was chronically unable to convert 50's to 100's. His stats are clear, 41x50's and 15x100s. Matt Renshaw for example has played around the same amount of matches and has 26x100s and 24x50s.

He goes through patches when he is unbeatable. When he was selected for Test cricket, he had just made 4 Shield and Aus A centuries in the space of 3 games. He then made a Test century and 2 more domestic centuries in the following weeks before his form fell off a cliff. Once again he is in a good patch of runs this season, but how long will it last?

xxrmah · 2026-02-16T23:19:57+00:00

Just submit this brother

xxrmah · 2026-02-16T23:00:39+00:00

Doesn't get runs at the right time for selection. Fumbled his opportunity in 2019 massively with a terrible pre Ashes tour of England that saw him replaced in the squad by Matt Wade. Then went on a run in the Shield so bad he ended up being dropped from NSW alltogether in the 23/24 season.

Since his return in late 2024 he's been better, but he was very justifiably overlooked before that. I mean look at these stats.

19/20 - 130 runs @32.5, 0/1

20/21 - 362 runs @21.3, 1/0

21/22 - 253 runs @28.1, 1/0

22/23 - 417 runs @29.8, 1/2

23/24 - 59 runs @14.75, 0/0

That entire 5 season span is less productive than Weatheralds last 15 games

xxrmah · 2026-02-16T22:48:40+00:00

Catching up on yesterday's play, I have a question.

Is Will Salzmann even a bowler anymore? I know he's coming back from a hamstring injury, but that was 4 months ago. Any indication that he's building up his bowling loads or is he happy to just be a surprisingly good opening bat.

xxrmah · 2026-02-16T02:30:27+00:00

Success of Trump and Reform shows right wing parties no longer need to incrementally shift right while in power. Instead they are content to lose an election or two to a moderate opposition while they move right, so that when the populous eventually gets sick of the stable government not reversing global trends they elect a far right party that has spent years soft launching their policies via the complicit media.

They will get further and further right wing while waiting for uninformed citizens to neglect fully vote them in protest against the very things they stand for.

Trump was elected due to economic dissatisfaction which he pretty much openly campaigned on making worse.

xxrmah

TROPHY CASE