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Exams

I hate exams. I've always hated having to revise for exams. I loved practial work, the hands on demonstration of the skills being taught. The revision, well you can keep it.

Right now, I'm revising for another exam. An exam that will help me get another certification on my lapel, something to help in the long term career. 2 chapters read this morning, about 60% absorbed. A long way yet to go.

At least there isn't any cricket to distract me. I admit, at one stage yesterday morning, prior to nipping into town for meetings, I felt England had lost their chance. Ian Bell, such a class player, way before his time, showed the great spirit that alas Flintoff decided to emulate. Woe, I thought, seeing Pieterson at the crease and dropped twice. We're gonna get a great Average out of him, much like out of Vaughan, about 70-80%, but he'll not last. That is what I thought - then whilst emerging from my last meeting, I checked the score on the P900. Blimey! Pieterson still battting and over a 100 runs. I looked at Collingwood, and blimey, he had absorbed dozens of balls like a sponge, but Jones couldn't match that. Giles was in, I thought there was a chance, and my flip-flop proved right.

England walked away with a draw, after a momentous total of another 300 plus runs. Thank the selectors for Pieterson and Bell. Great players. Now I'll see how India fare against Zimbabwe - once the perpetual bridesmaid of ODI finals, and rivals to Australia as the best batting side around, the reached their prime in two series against the Auz and their defeat of Pakistan in ODI and Tests. Then, it went downhill - largely due to the fall of Tendulkar and Ganguly doing bugger all with the bat. They have talent in abundance in the squad, but their mental state leaves a lot to be desired. A bunch of Bells I'm sure.

Right, time to continue reading - another chapter on UML awaits!
--
todays post was sponsored by Get everything done and still have time to play!

Comments:

  1. Blogger swisslet says @ 5:33 pm
    er Bell? Didn't he get a first ball duck, and only lasted 7 balls in the whole game? You're being very generous about him, I must say.

    ST
  2. Blogger The Num Num says @ 7:27 pm
    I kinda sent around his statistics this series to a few people, and the conclusion was - he's a bell.

    I have to admit, his performance in the 2nd test was rather good, and helped steer us to a good result.

    Unfortunately, he needs to be sent back to the drawing board, and someone else brought in - FFS he's batting at number 4! Compare him to other No 4s:

    Pak: Inzi
    WI: Lara
    Ind: Tendulkar
    SA: Kallis
    Aus: Martyn
    Eng: Bell

    Pretty illustrious company. 3 is an important position, stabilising the loss of an opener, and 4 is there to help open up the run rate for the sloggers below.
  3. Blogger The Num Num says @ 7:29 pm
    BTW- those No 4's were from their countries recent (last 12 months) test series. So its correct positioning - i.e. Tendulkar did open for India, but since the Pakistan series he was shifted to 4 whilst Sehwag and Patel/Chopra opened.
  4. Blogger swisslet says @ 8:40 pm
    I don't think Martyn is long for the Australian side either. I imagine England will keep Bell in and around the side, but expect to see KP moved up to bat at 4.

    ST
  5. Blogger swisslet says @ 8:42 pm
    (and to be fair to Bell, I saw him bat very nicely indeed in the second innings at Old Trafford in partnership with Strauss. He hoicked Glen McGrath to the boundary several times, and I think he has talent. Rodney Marsh said on the radio on Monday that Bell was a "nicker" - too good to play and miss, but sometimes meaning he is prone to edging the ball behind. I'm sure he'll be fine if he is given time, and one of the hallmarks of this side is that people *are* given time.

    ST)
  6. Blogger The Num Num says @ 11:22 am
    I agree, talent needs nurturing. What I consider, however, is the correct nurturing.

    5 tests.
    In the first he didnt do well. In the second he did. In the third, he didnt do well. In the 4th also.

    So why not drop him for the 5th, and take him to one side and say - mate, you seriously need to practise more, lets work on your batting a little more shall we? You can then take a place in England A in their next test and see if it has helped you improve?

    Rather than - go'on bell, go out there and show em what, sorry who you are! One ball later - sorry mate, better luck against pakistan (!)
  7. Blogger The Num Num says @ 9:59 pm
    john 3:16




    (this post has been brought to you by unimaginative spam ltd.)

    am i the first ever to spam myself?
  8. Blogger Aravis says @ 6:07 am
    tapemeasure 1-60

    (this object has been brought to you by crazed tailor spammer, LLC)
  9. Blogger The Num Num says @ 8:18 am
    Ha! I love, polite spam.

    Just what on earth is John 3:16 anyway?
  10. Blogger Aravis says @ 9:01 am
    I looked it up:

    "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

    Either that, or John is a forgetful fellow who needs constant reminders to catch his train at 3:16...
  11. Blogger The Num Num says @ 6:16 pm
    On a serious note about batting order, its important to realise just whats going on in the lineup (theoretically anyway).

    From what I have accumulated:

    1. Opener
    2. Opener - both stack up runs quickly
    3. Best Batsman - the one-drop player who can steady the ship and accelerate if needed.
    4. Best Batsman - like 3, but a bit more aggressive.
    5. Anchorman King
    6. Aggressive Tail End Guider
    7. WK dude
    8-11 Tail enders


    Or as changeofhart distilled it

    Open
    Open
    Steady
    Slog
    Steady
    Slog
    WK
    Cannon Fodder

    So from that, we see Bell at 4- the Slog/Batsman specialist.

    Does he cut it? Inzi/Lara/Tendulkar/Kallis and Bell?
  12. Blogger Toenex says @ 3:43 pm
    birdie num nums. Peter Sellers in The Party. Just love that film. Sorry got no idea what your post was about, just the caught my eye.

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