I can't believe we are discussing Bhajjigate after all this time ! Must be a paucity of quality cricket. Geez, you guys start to show withdrawal symptoms fairly quickly, I must say.

Penny, I can't believe I have to repeat this so often. The incident that you refer to WAS done knowingly and is indefensible. The connotation by then had been well known due to the wall-to-wall coverage. But at the time that it first surfaced, it was relatively unknown among Indians. Shucks, I did not know it myself. You guys pretend that you are privy to what was captured on the stump mic. If indeed he did say monkey with the full knowledge that it was racist, it is abhorrent. But, he did not, we can only judge him on the basis of our prejudices.

ArrogantOz says: ...that is, whenever they can spare time from beating up Indian taxi-drivers.
Your heart must be swelling with pride, mate. Must be a deed after your own heart going by the way you tout it. But, Aussies are always welcome in India.

Pom_in_Pretoria, no, it is not common knowledge in India. Monkey is NOT a racist word here and very few know that it is. In fact, one of the prominent Indian gods is a monkey. :-)

Pom_in_Pretoria, I still have a problem with calling Bhajji a racist. An idiot for sure but racist? I am not so sure. If, indeed, he used the "maa ki" phrase which he claims he did, it is common usage in Punjab, it could very easily have been misconstrued by Symonds. It does sound eerily like "monkey" to the person who does not know Hindi. Unless the mic recordings are made public, it is Bhajji's word against Symonds'.

Pom_in_Pretoria, tell me about Ayers Rock. It is the biggest tourist scam in the entire world! I fell for all the promos too and expected something worth seeing. No amount of lights could alleviate my sinking feeling that I paid good money to see a none-too-impressive mound of compacted mud. The fairy penguins, by comparison, are far more impressive even if you have to see them through a microscope.

I cannot believe the scoreline in the current series is 4-0 in favour of England. SA showed no indications that they were in for this kind of drubbing and England is definitely not as good as the results suggest. It is just a case of too many SA batsman hitting a rough patch at the same time. Just wait for the series to end and you'll have the euphoric English experts making slogans like "Bring on the Aussies...". We all know what happens next when the Aussies do come.

ArrogantOz says: ...the controversy that marred India's tour of Australia was ENTIRELY the fault of Andrew Symonds...
Finally, the truth dawns on Arrogant ! It took a while coming but I am happy it finally hit home. But then some people are a little slow on the uptake. Well, Roy does not seem to have anybody left on his side now except Penny. CA is even suggesting that he get psychiatric counseling! Ponting and Clarke have already said their fill in not so flattering words. I think envy might have a hidden role in this. I mean, the guy commands US$1.2 million for a month's work while Punter has to slave it out for 2 years to make the same kind of money. So much for the great Aussie team spirit !!

Arrogant, I perceive a distinct softening of stance from your end towards T20. Proffering your local dancing girls is a definite beginning. Hallelujah! We have a new convert !!

Does Tuesday think any colored player in the SA team deserves his place outside of the quota system? (Darker shade of zinc paint does not count.)

I can't believe that I am agreeing with ArrogantOz on this. The Champions Trophy is an albatross and I don't think the tournament excites anyone. It has to go the way of the now defunct Aussie Triangular. It is time to replace it with a spanking new T20 championship - bikini-clad dancing girls and all. I am sure ArrogantOz will agree with me on this.

Two down for next to nothing. With M&M still to roll their arms over, 142 seems a long way away.

Oh, you poor ArrogantOz. You are so predictable. Does not take too much to push you over the edge, does it? Careful with the laptop keys, mate. You're frothing all over them.

crimson, now that is what that old rooster wants to hear. Some support for his tired old "ultimate form of cricket" crow. Now he'll go on and on for another month. :-) Wait for his spitting and swearing - lots of fun, though.

I see that nothing has changed here over the last couple of weeks. That old coot Arrogant is still harping on "the ultimate form of cricket" thing. I hope someone puts him out of his misery like the Lankans did to the Indians.

Close to fifty to me is the wrong side of forties. Looks like you are in one of those nitpicking moods. You are regurgitating the very points that I have been making.

After conceding a lead of 130+, it will take some effort from the Indians with the bat. It is curtains if they cannot handle M&M this time around too. The erstwhile Big Four had better fire this time.

What is your point, Tuesday? I was answering Penny who thinks batsmen these days have much higher averages than players of yore. Do you disagree with that?

Lest, I forget, Penny, how often do we get out-and-out bowler-friendly wickets these days? Even Perth has lost its venom these days. Batsmen in test cricket have never had it better. No wonder everyone seems to have an average near the 50 mark.

maxohr, my question had nothing to do with T20. I was just curious about what the test match viewing patterns of my fellow forum members were. Personally, I could not sit through 6 hours of cricket at anytime - even in the pre-t20 era. But, I did enjoy following it - mostly in an encapsulated form.

PennyPacker, the batsmen these days are just plain have better equipment while the bowling in the modern era has tailed off. Not to mention the inclusion of a couple of minnows in the test playing arena. Nothing like playing against a minnow to plump up the ol' average. A luxury that the batsman of the yesteryear did not have. It is a combination of factors not just one that help explain the better averages.

Shifter, can't agree with you more. The role of a captain is way overrated. How many captains have looked clever in defeat? I mean, most teams have just 5 bowlers. With 2 bowlers already on, the choice of a bowling change is among 3 others. Fielding positions in these laptop days are a no-brainer. They keep track of every stroke the opposition batsman has ever played and where his strengths and weaknesses lie. A dash or pot-luck and a couple of in-form cricketers will make any captain look a genius.

Dareno, blame that on the zeal of a newbie captain. Once Pieterson has a few losses and disappointments under his belt, he will regress into a jaded stupor that most captains wear.

The Indian Big Four is now down to the Big Two as Sehwag and Gambhir make their debut into the "big" list. Is it time to put the erstwhile biggies on the pension? Or is it too early to say? The debate rages on...

I have a question to the die hard test fans in this forum. How many of you watch a test match from start to finish? I know it is real cricket and all that. But just wondered how many of you had the stamina to sit through an entire day's play. Personally, I can't do more than 15-min bursts. Just curious...

Personally, I have never had a chance to see Warne as a captain before the IPL. But, having seen him in action, I can categorically say that he is one of the best captains I have had the privilege of watching.

"I hate being away from home so it's great because I love having family around. She knew I wasn't in a happy place and stayed on to give me extra support." What is with all these english cricketers? Surely, the dreary, grey island cannot hold that much of a charm that cricketers miss home after just a month away. Maybe it is a cultural thing to whine about homesickness started by that whinger of whingers Harmison.

Ahhh... it is all well for you guys to suggest he could have stayed at home and be a wet nurse for his fourth child. But who will pay for the nappies? He needed the appearance money. As if he cares if England won or lost. As long as he has that extra buck, he is happy.

This man is embarrassing. All his whinging and whining on overseas tours is sickening. His very presence can be demoralizing to the team. Just get rid of him and get a youngster with more heart for a fight.

I propose Peter Roebuck as a commissioner :-)

"If I look long-term it (the injury) seems a minor hiccup." Did you say long-term Stuart? Pssst...I'll let you in on a little secret - YOU ARE 36 !!! There IS no long-term for you. Save yourself some money and forget about the surgery. Even if you did have one, the Aussie selectors do not have long-term memory.

Wow !! Finally we get to see some accountability for umpiring decisions. A step in the right direction. But what about Bucknor? If they had done this to him would it have become a race issue ?? One only wonders.

India has struggled in this match just as much as Pakistan did. India's batting in the first innings was equally shaky and the lead was hardly a match-winning one. They just about got their nose ahead on the 4th day. Another 50-60 runs and it might have been anyone's game. I think it will be another ball-game if the two "Y"s come to the party. Cannot wait for the second test to start !!

Er... Alumrock, any comments please? I am like a junkie without his daily fix. I need atleast 1 dose of Alumrock each day.

Er...Alumrock, did you say 4-1? Ahh.. you meant that for India. You ought to be a prophet yourself !! It was the most pathetic display of competitive cricket I have seen from Pakistan. Shoaib is atleast 4-5 years older than he claims he is. Reminds me of Jeff Boycott's comments when Afridi made his debut at "14" years of age - "he probably shaves more often than I do".