Oh well that is good to know. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

I am glad that decisions about the demise of threads is not an arbitrary one but rather a well thought out and rational decision based on democratic principles and the ideal of an aviation forum for the antipodes. :)

So onward... <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">

hey whiskery, know how you feel. I am sitting here watching India rip England apart 153/1 and tendulkar on 53 not out. i think the ozzies are going to go down this time and by the way it was Gillespie and Symonds who got dropped not Bichel.will be in Trivandrum tomorrow night listening on the world radio, good luck.

146, we have been thrashed in no uncertain terms. That's the fascination with cricket,one day the pidgeon the other,the statue. Tomorrow it may be the Australian's turn to be the statue. Haven't seen a lot of the series over here [all late night replay ,typical if Mother England are not involved] but must say,I think Australia need to extract the proverbial digit if they are to compete in the final matches.

New Zealand are the big improvers and were unlucky not to beat Australia in the test series.

Binoculars, Shane Warne's "unplayable" delivery to Mike Gatting was indeed the flipper. The confusion arises because it pitched outside off stump then came back into the batsman, taking middle and leg. A leg break pitches on leg stump and can take either leg or middle & leg stumps.. .Don't despair, Gatting was just as confused !

Whiskery, would you like a wager on the Ashes series next year?

[ 28 January 2002: Message edited by: Classic Dick ]</p>

Classic Dick,. . As a leg spinner myself (not a particuarly great one I must admit) your knowledge of this subtle art is sadly lacking.. . In other words you know jack **** . The ball that bowled Gatting was indeed a leg break.

Dick, unless we are thinking of completely different deliveries, you are terribly wrong.

That frequently replayed perfect ball to Mike Gatting, Shane Warne's first delivery in that Test, in what, 1993? the delivery that changed the face of Test cricket, was no more a flipper than I am an Arab. It was simply the perfect leg break. It pitched outside leg stump and took off stump; totally unplayable. No batsman in the world could have played it, and Gatting's shock was understandable.

The ball that Whiskery asserts as coming out the back of the hand, and the one you seem to be referring to, is not the flipper either, but the wrong 'un, turning from off to leg. Warne's wrong 'un has never been a potent weapon.

The flipper on the other hand doesn't turn at all. Delivered from the side of the hand with no loop, its value is in its increased speed. As it was performed by Warne at his peak, if you didn't pick it you were out, because it almost always pitched in line and hurried on so quickly that LBW was the only possibility. Ask Darryl Cullinan about it; it broke his heart and destroyed his career.

Alas, Warne hasn't bowled a decent flipper since his shoulder operation, but it was an absolute joy to watch at his peak.

P.S. Sorry to the guys who posted before me. The bloody forums have been down for so long that neither of your posts appeared by the time I got on to respond.

[ 28 January 2002: Message edited by: Binoculars ]</p>

Strewth! Australia win with three balls to spare.

Bevan just about deserves "Australian of the Year" after that effort! :)

Done some sums and just realised what a fine cricketing nation South Africa are. Does anyone know any South African supporter songs/chants?

Off to buy a Springbok flag; might come in handy over the weekend.

Michael Bevan - you are a legend !

Damian Martyn - get caught at backward point once more and you will probably get another 5 games, if the selectors are consistent.

Mark Waugh - sorry to see you go, but you had your chance(s).

<img src="smile.gif" border="0"> <img src="mad.gif" border="0"> :) <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

I don't know how many more of these nail-biters I can stand! Well done Bevan, I thought we had another game in the bag!

A particularly pleasing aspect of an incredible match was to see the Kiwi team applauding the Australian pair off the field at the end of the match.

Good to see that some sportmanship still remains.

Well done New Zealand and Australia for a great entertainment spectacle and diplay of sportmanship and prowess from both. <img src="cool.gif" border="0">

And on that note of harmony and accord. :)