The Bitter Ashes!

[philcom55]

...Yes. I'm afraid it is true!

Congratulations to our Australian chums though. :-/

- Phil Rushton

[stevezodiac]

Thank god its all over - I think I hate cricket more than anything on earth. Number one thing to be uninvented along with formula 1 and rugby.

Sorry but I've been waiting years to get that off my chest

[matrix]

Here is 'Tiger Tim' and the boys having a bit of fun in 1959. 'Tiger Tim' appeared on the cover for a few months after 'Tiny Tots' joined 'Playhour'.

[philcom55]

Brilliant!

The sad thing is that England's cricketers actually make Tim's pals look good by their current form!

I must admit that my own memories of playing cricket at school tend to echo Steve's: hours of stultifying boredom spent fielding in the long grass, punctuated by moments of sheer terror as a lethal cricket ball suddenly aims itself at your head like a guided missile coming out of the sun! (...followed by public disgrace when one inevitably fumbles the catch!)

- Phil Rushton

[stevezodiac]

The last time I played cricket I was out with the firat ball bowled at me by a dwarf. True. When I was in my twenties me and my mates went over to Deptford Park for a game and one of the blokes who hung about with us was about four feet tall. The ball rolled under my bat and hit the wicket - comical beyond belief. And i've never understood that thing bowlers do with their legs before thay throw the ball.

But when I was a teenager I came home from school and put the portable telly in my bedroom on all set to watch a nice documentary about Starlings. Then in walked my older brother and changed channels saying "lovely cricket!" - I think that's what put me off it for life.

[paw broon]

Now this is a turn up for the books as I, in my Highland Fortress - well a wee house in Central Scotland - and being a pro Scottish independence advocate, love cricket. Especially listening to the commentary on Radio 4. Never played it and don't want to, just enjoy the atmosphere. What I really dislike is football. How boring - big boys greetin' and threatening to tell their maws that another big boy hit them. And the bad acting and bad falling down! It's probably all the years I spent watching Airdrie week after week, before and during the time when many of the fans were slinging bricks from the ground at the visitors buses.
I enjoy watching a couple of other sports - American Football and Rugby League ( Union is a mystery to me and the kicking game leaves me cold.)
I wasn't particularly surprised at the defeats in Australia, more the gaping chasm between the 2 sides.
I await the onslaught of indignation and perhaps worse in response to my temerity.

[matrix]

Now this is a turn up for the books as I, in my Highland Fortress-well a wee house in central Scotland-and being a pro Scottish independence advocate

Are you amassing a secret army up there Stephen! I don't think you'd have much of a problem as none of them in charge have any b..ls! Except Mr Farage!

In respect to sports, from a parent point of view, my children played many over the years cricket being one, once you understand what goes into the training and technical side you can appreciate things a bit more. My children also did 'Judo' for years, as a spectator sport 'Judo' is probably boring to most but I love watching it along with mma.
In defence of 'cricket' I agree it does have many yawn a minute moments but the high level of skill required to keep your concentration in the game must be very difficult especially in some of the hot conditions that they play in.

Anyway back to comics 'The children of Cherry Green' seemed to handle their once a year cricket match very well, with most doing something else during the game!

[stevezodiac]

I almost forgot - I hate American Football too. Four hours of men standing around with their hands on their hips and twenty five minutes of actual football. Dullsville, Arizona. Its just gone into 3rd place knocking Formula 1 down to fourth. I'd rather watch those Scots lasses doing the Curling again.

[Phoenix]

And i've never understood that thing bowlers do with their legs before thay throw the ball.

Just to clarify, Steve, bowlers don't throw the ball, they bowl it. The rules do not allow them to throw it.

[philcom55]

I await the onslaught of indignation and perhaps worse in response to my temerity.

There's nothing wrong with being termitey paw: they're amazing little critters - especially the ones that build those gigantic hills!

On Scottish independence I've a sinking feeling that it will come about this time... and for precisely the same reason that our cricketers did so badly in the current test series: sheer complacency. I don't know how much coverage the subject is receiving in the rest of the world but here in England our politicians seem to be taking the arrogant view that if they ignore the vote it'll simply go away.

To be honest I'd probably vote for independence myself if I lived in Scotland, but as I don't the whole idea fills me with dread since the loss of those parliamentary seats north of the border looks set to condemn the rest of us to all the horrors of a never-ending Tory hegemony.

- Phil Rushton

[AndyB]

I've split off Phoenix's reply into a separate thread under Non-Comics Discussion as Scottish Independence is well worth a good thread of its own.

[paw broon]

Termites indeed! But I read in today's "I" paper that Flower didn't want Pieterson to play again for England while he (Flower) was in charge. There was an opinion piece as well suggesting that while many think KP is the best England player, he isn't and is not as important to the side as many commentators claim. Just heard on the radio that Flower has denied the reports. Ah well. Imo, KP isn't all that great and seems more interested in himself than the team. So, I'd be happy if he were to sign up for the IPL and did not play for England again.

[philcom55]

As far as I can tell cricket never seemed to get quite as much coverage in British comics as some other sports - especially football; in the case of DC Thomson one can't help wondering if this had something to do with their Scottish roots.

...Which makes it all the more interesting that Valiant's Rick and Charlie Wild - two of the most promising comic strip heroes ever to play for an English County side - were actually scotsmen themselves, having grown up in the bleak Hebridean environment of Worrag Island:







- Phil Rushton

[Phoenix]

They do say that there is no copyright on ideas, but there does seem to be some recycling here, and perhaps a bit of poaching from Thomsons. In The Wizard's 1950 serial The Strange Story Of A Red-Haired Halfback Rory Grant is brought up by the Blind Laird on the otherwise-uninhabited Isle of Arra to become an incredibly talented footballer, who eventually stars for the English First Division club Longport Wanderers. As for Charlie Wild's first ball to Cannonball Cragg, one must inevitably recall Shane Warne's first ball to Mike Gatting in that Test Match in 1993, the so-called 'ball of the century' that was flighted to curve away so far to Gatting's leg side that he saw it as just so much rubbish and decided there was no point in playing it, only for it to spin back an unbelievable amount and bowl him. I don't know whether Shane ever read The Wild Wonders, but it would be fascinating to learn that the first Test wicket of his wonderful career for Australia was born in an English picture story paper.

[stevezodiac]

Phoenix will know the answer but i'm sure there was a story in a Thomson story paper about cricket - the title was something like "(insert name)....gets the runs"