Glenn Maxwell batted three in the last test match. He hit a breezy 37 off 28 in the first dig and just 4 in the second – however, he did manage to squeeze a reverse sweep in.
The following quote from Maxwell exemplifies everything that is wrong with the Australian cricket team today, let alone society in general.
“They back me to play that reverse sweep no matter what the situation of the game. They understand for me that it’s no different from a cover drive for any other batter. They have instilled confidence in me to play that shot and they have seen it come off time and again. They accept the fact that for me it’s a normal shot, it’s no different from someone else getting beaten in defence. My best form of defence is attack anyway, so they would much rather me go out playing my natural game than defending and getting caught at bat pad,” Maxwell said.
Excuse me? That’s probably the most arrogant thing I’ve ever read – and I’ve read the Latham Diaries.
The reverse sweep is not like a cover drive. It’s a trick shot employed by kids in the backyard. It has some merit as a surprise tactic, but it is certainly not akin to The Cover Drive – the purest stroke in the game. Bradman would be rolling in his grave at this kind of rhetoric.
I don’t want to go into this in too much detail, but Maxwell is just another Gen Y dickhead who will come and go. They’re as ubiquitous as the iPhones they use, and just as disposable.
Just dig in, mate. You’re probably a decent batsman, otherwise how the hell did you even get a run at state level? Was it all reverse sweeps and ramp shots in the U12 rep team? Seriously, how did you even get in the test team?
I’m no wowser, but when it comes to test cricket, I’m positively Menzian in my respect for tradition.
Robert Menzies was, as you may know, the instigator behind the “Prime Minister’s XI” – the annual tour match held in Canberra at Manuka Oval, where the Australian team is comprised of players picked by the sitting PM.
Menzies would be horrified by what the Australian test side has become. Ditto Hawke, Keating and Howard.
Meanwhile, here’s some more shit from Maxwell.
“On a fourth- and fifth-day wicket you need to put the pressure on the bowlers and get rid of those bat pads. My plan was to try to get rid of those guys as early as possible in my innings and hopefully get into my innings and make it easier to get singles and manipulate the field. Unfortunately it didn’t quite come off.”
No shit it didn’t come off. Jesus, you’re employing the “hit them out of the attack” philosophy? Really? Fuck me you’re a basic human being.
By selecting Maxwell at three, Darren Lehmann and the selectors are basically giving the finger to old school test cricket values such as patience, strategy and technique.
The world is a silly place in 2014. We rely on smartphone apps to hook up sexual partners and upload photos of our food to social media in a bid to garner ‘likes’. Political disengagement has soared to new levels, while the threat of terrorism burns brightly in the background.
Society is fucked, sure. But please, let’s take a little bit better care of our cricket team.
By Dave Edwards
Hear hear. How about knuckle down with a strong defensive technique so the bowlers grow tired and start bowling where you want? This sh*t about ‘backing yourself’ comes straight from the retarded chronic gambler Ponting and costs Australia every time we need to actually concentrate. It’s 21st century psychobabble for the coach not having the balls to actually tell the player what’s required. After all, they’re Gen Z and can focus for about… oh.. let’s say… – is that a rabbit over there?!
Ricky Ponting – only THE most successful captain and one of the most prolific run scores the games has ever seen. What would that “retarded hronic gambler” know about batting #3 or game tactics?
Well said Dave Edwards. Glenn Maxwell is a talented cricketer who nonetheless should never have been allowed to bat at first drop. The Test #3 is arguably the most important position in the batting lineup; a player with similar responsibilities to the openers – ie the ability to assess the conditions/bowling and temper their approach accordingly, to see off the new ball when required but with the added expectation of playing a variety of scoring shots. Maxwell has every shot that’s not in the book, but not many of those that are. He is pretty much the opposite of the traditional, textbook cricketer, and in T20 (and to a lesser extent ODI) that’s ok, but in a Test #3, it is unacceptable. As are the comments above. I don’t believe for a second that the coaching staff encourage a T20 style approach to batting from our Test #3, or from any of our batsmen for that matter. The Pakis smashed us partly because of our relative vulnerability on spitting, turning dustbowls, but far more importantly, because our batsmen simply do not place enough value on their wickets. It’s a damning indictment that of the 20 Australian wickets to fall, only Mitch Marsh and Steve Smith faced more deliveries than our first innings nightwatchman Nathan Lyon, in a match that could have been saved but not won. Lads, how bout we get back to cricketing basics, and instead of playing for the cameras, start playing the conditions?
perfect. Thank you, Dave.
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Steve Smith should be at 3 – he will be our next test captain in my opinion, any body else agree?
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Let the boy play his game, he said he had been backed to play what ever shot he so felt so what’s the problem? His efforts had no effect on the Pakistan test series nor would have a better replacement, we all know the outcome would have remained same. He is natural talent who deserves a go at no.3. If you could think of someone else who could come into the team to save our skins at that time then please, because you would be right of course (lol). This is the perfect time for the Aussies to experiment with orders before some serious tests (India, England). Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Dear cantankerous old man,
Irrespective of whether you disagree with how Maxwell plays the game (which is of course an entirely acceptable thing to do), don’t call the man a “dickhead” or a “basic human being” – in doing so you simply reveal yourself to be guilty of the charges you lay against him. He’s a nice guy and if you want to write a rant about how T20 cricket has corrupted the technique of our test batsmen or about how Maxwell never should’ve been picked, fine, but launching a character attack like this is uncalled for, insensitive and fuckwitted.
Dear ‘Concerned Citizen’.
Fuck off.
Regards,
Dave Edwards
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