Cricket

[thenodrog]

"I feel that now is the right time to step down."

Really? For whom?

Clearly he doesn't care about the prospect of a whitewash. Maybe they've already forfeited.

Unless he's been asked to quit then that's pretty gutless not to stay and fight until the end of the series.

It really is like we just had no intention to compete in this series whatsoever. I feel a bit sorry for our Australian cousins. It's been a pretty hollow victory for them, with both sets of fans being short-changed.

Seems out of character. Maybe he's been dropped and has decided to come home for Christmas. Maybe his missus is 'bothering'. Maybe a parent / child is poorly, maybe too much cricket without a decent break. Maybe a dozen reasons.

Best to wait and see.

Edited December 22, 2013 by thenodrog

[SouthAussieRover]

Don, I'm just sorry he's not going to play in Sydney. It would have been an interesting battle.

Yes Dave I agree.

He's going to be a big loss to England and the game in general.

[Guest Norbert]

Swann has been our best spinner for years. It will be interesting to see who'll take his place. Patel is too fat, Monty is comical in the field and with a bat, and I can't really think of any others. We might simply end up with another dobber in the Giles mould who simply don't spin the ball.

[SouthAussieRover]

Anyone watching South Africa vs India at the moment.Great Test cricket but sadly few in the ground watching it.

[Guest Norbert]

Outside the Ashes, no-one cares about test cricket any more. And I'm not sure the Saffers are that keen on it anyway.

[jim mk2]

Extraordinary decision by Swann really, especially the timing of it. Couldn't he have waited until the end of the series ? Early 30s is too young to retire to for a slow bowler. As a club player who played until my fifth decade I wasn't even at my peak at 33 !

As with Trott however i think there may be a subtext with his decision. Probably involving his marriage.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Yeah 33 is no age for a slow bowler. I think maybe the sheer amount of time Test players spend away from home is having a bearing. They'll be out there until early Febuary as I understand it, playing for nothing now.

[Guest Norbert]

It is crazy the amount of time our players spend on tour. Even when they are in England, they still have to go to hotels etc. so they don't get to see much of friends and family. Not that the ECB give a sh_t as they count the money, but if this carries on, I can see many more players experiencing burnt out nerves and family problems. Which of course will lead to retirements such as Trott as Trescothick.

[dave birch]

It seems Swann has been having a little swipe at some (unnamed) team mates.

Those things are better left unsaid. All it does is create rumours about those that are still up for it.

Shame, it's all unravelling for him, after a pretty good career.

Graeme, you should have left, and said nothing.

[SouthAussieRover]

Apparently he has now said he was referring to the likes of Michael Vaughan and Derek Pringle.

He should give Twitter and Facebook a rest for a while.

http://m.sportsfan.com.au/TOPSPORTSTORIES/Default.aspx?pg=nw&sid=3&articleId=9256&mob=bom_AGGS__T_A__SN_34__FN_19__N_+Swann+denies+criticising+England&cid=AGGS__T_A__SN_34__FN_19__N_+Swann+denies+criticising+England&mob=bom_AGGS__T_A&cid=AGGS__T_A

Edited December 23, 2013 by SouthAussieRover

[Kamy100]

Swann is backtracking big time on the comments he made, he deffo wasn't referring to Vaughen and Pringle when he said ""Some people playing the game at the minute have no idea how far up their own backsides they are,"

Now it could be players from another team but to me when I read that comment I immediately thought that he was talking about KP.

[thenodrog]

Does Sir Geoffrey write his material do you think? KP.... "there's more brains in a pork pie"

[pg]

Monty is comical in the field and with a bat, and I can't really think of any others.

Monty shows more guts with the bat in Adelaide than most of your top six.

[dave birch]

I notice that Swann's Granny is getting in on the act, blaming "an Aussie" for him retiring.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just seen the scorecard - almost everybody got in and then got out. Not good enough.

[Gav]

Not only do you have to contend with Aussies bowling at 90mph, but hundreds of flies seem to have got in on the act, than in itself was a war of attrition!

[SouthAussieRover]

Briefly moving away from the Ashes its sad to see the great Jacques Kallis announce his retirement from Test cricket.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Not only do you have to contend with Aussies bowling at 90mph, but hundreds of flies seem to have got in on the act, than in itself was a war of attrition!

Mm, plague of flies or major flooding ? It's a hard one to call. Having said that if we get flooded out Noah will be building another ark.

[jim mk2]

Just seen the scorecard - almost everybody got in and then got out. Not good enough.

Quite right. Six wickets down and at least 100 runs short. Pietersen dropped twice too. England's batting has been a problem for almost 2 years now.

[Kamy100]

Seems to me that our batsthey men don't have the patience to build their innings, getting good starts and then not converting them into big scores. To be fair, in this test the majority of the wickets were due to good bowling rather than poor shot selection.

[dave birch]

Kamy, they didn't put any pressure on the bowlers. They let Johnson, Siddle, Harris and even Lyon dictate terms. The bowl of the day had to be Watson to Carberry, an absolute pearler.

One wonders what would have happened had Pietersen been caught early on?

[SouthAussieRover]

Maybe it's the wicket?

[dave birch]

Looking that way, Don.

[dave birch]

Ball of the day, today, was Jimmy to Clarke, the exact mirror reverse of Watson's to Carberry.

This test is looking to be very close.

[SouthAussieRover]

That was a shocking miscalculation by Clarke. I reckon every run that England are ahead will count as double in the long run.

They have to get the 10th wicket cheaply.