Morne Morkel's Inside Info

http://www.sportsillustrated.co.za/cricket/article.php?article_id=2785

Morne Morkel's writing an IPL diary for South Africa's Sports Illustrated magazine. Gotta love cricket diaries. Any chance to get inside info from the men themselves. I can't help but feel Morne's embarrassment in carrying around a teddy bear wherever he goes, but it teaches everyone a lesson. Never hide the teddy.

Speaking of inside info - this is possibly the most hilarious, fantastic video I have seen in a long time. That is quite sad, but you really have to understand my level of obsession with this South African cricket team. AB de Villiers' time spent in front of the mirror doesn't really surprise me, but I love how Dale Steyn seems to be the go-to man for most questions. He's funny, hungry and can't dress - 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

http://www.espnstar.com/media-player/?goTo=http://publish.vx.roo.com/espnstar/flashmain/?vxSiteId=1458d2e1-b8e3-4d73-8b76-e8420617f8b8&vxChannel=Cricket+Features&vxClipId=2168_ESSCIC_morkel&vxBitrate=300

Sorry bout the dodgy link. But it works

Freak Alert

Phil Hughes, Australian cricket's newest saviour, has made yet ANOTHER century on debut, this time in English county cricket with Middlesex.

It makes me wonder - how many weetbix does he have for breakfast?

Good signs for Australia for July's upcoming Ashes series. All this fuss about Hughes and other Australian cricketers gaining the advantage by playing in England before the Ashes leads me to ask one question - isn't it also an advantage for English players who can see first hand his strengths and weaknesses AND test themselves against him before the competition really matters? I think it plays into the hands of both sides. So quit whinging.

'Phalaborwa Express'

Dale Steyn = "Phalaborwa Express"...i like it!

In case you don't know - Dale grew up in a small mining town on the edge of the Kruger National Park, that town being Phalaborwa.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?newslett=1&em=200671a1a20090422ah&click_id=4&art_id=vn20090422055750533C112882&set_id=6

Shocking revelation from South African cricket writer Stuart Hess:

This MTN ODI series has been noteworthy for the efficiency with which the South
Africans have gone about their play; particularly the batting where AB de
Villiers has starred. In eight one-day matches against the Australians this
summer De Villiers has scored 393 runs with four half-centuries at an average of
65.5. Throw in his exquisite inner-ring fielding in the first half of the
innings, and his boundary fielding at the end of an innings, as well as the fact
that he kept wicket in two of those matches, and his value to South Africa's
limited overs side is in the category of priceless. In fact he is now part of
the spine of the unit that includes Smith, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Dale Steyn. Increasingly Albie Morkel will become part of that core too, but that is dependent on him becoming more consistent with his bowling.

I thought he already was 'part of the spine'. At least it's good to know he now is.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=17&art_id=vn20090415063921183C291372

'Spirit of Cricket'

Aw how sweet, the spirit of cricket, with Dale Steyn -

Dale Steyn - Catch the Spirit @ Yahoo! Video

Note: Please ignore the use of the word 'black' to describe the boy - he is not racist. Simply stating the truth. You tell me what is an appropriate word to use nowadays.

Marc Murphy

I have a new object of my affection -



Marc Murphy - born 19/7/87 in Melbourne, midfielder with Carlton in the AFL, taken 1st draft pick 2005. He clearly has some talent. I was aware of him, but I obviously never gave him enough credit. I am very, very disappointed with the lack of internet info on him! For shame google, for shame.
However, I did find this:



What a day at footy can do to open your eyes.


Marc Murphy & Bryce Gibbs, number 1 draft picks 2005 & 2006 respectively -
http://bigpondvideo.com/afl/42545

Aus v SA - 5th ODI

Australia won. finally.

OK, now that's been covered, we shall have no more mention. This Aussie team only knows how to win dead rubbers anyway.
Hence why I am ignoring this result and focusing on the glass half full approach -
South Africa won the series 3-2. duh
South Africa won the ODI games overall (Aus & SA) 7-3. so ner!
South Africa is still the number one ODI team in the world. And they won a large cheque
AB de Villiers was stand out Man of the Series.
South Africa is by far the better looking team.

Victories all round. Now for the bad news - no more regular Aus v SA games on TV. How will I cope?

AB de Villiers = Greatest Man On Earth

Quite frankly, he just about is. And I figure a post about AB de Villiers is the perfect way to start any blog.
Don't believe me yourself? How about I let cricket commentators Merv Hughes and Neil Johnson convince you:

NJ: De Villiers is becoming a superstar in everything he does - test cricket, one day cricket, in the field; not too bad catching in the slips or gully either, and not a bad wicket keeper by all accounts. Merv's asking can he bowl - I think he has a text wicket or two. Pretty good tennis player, plays a bit of golf with a handicap of one...pretty much an allrounder. And he's just come out with a CD too...
MV: Multi-talented people: they really annoy me, they really do, they just make me sick.
NJ: He's better looking than you as well.
MV: Why can't they just be happy with being good at one thing? Be a good cricketer - he's good at everything; batting, fielding, wicketkeeping, catching, ground fielding, playing guitar, tennis, golf...the list goes on, it's like a shopping list.

I think I sense a little envy, am I right Merv?

Taking over the world, one talent at a time.

Welcome!

Welcome everyone to my new blog!!
Just a little background info for you all -
I'm an Aussie, and I'm female, but I appreciate SPORT just as much (if not more) as i do the people who play sport. I love just about all sports, especially football(soccer), cricket, NRL, AFL...the list goes on forever...but i really cannot understand the interest in lawn bowls, golf, baseball...just don't bother. As you will soon understand, I follow the South African cricket team religiously, along with football teams like Arsenal, Real Madrid, the Socceroos and the Spanish national team. Any questions - just ask!
Thanks for visiting my blog! I look forward to hearing from you and I hope you enjoy!