Cricket: Scheduling squeezes all too apparent among the chaos

IPL 2014 is taking over the cricket fixture for two months (picture: Informal Sports)

Trying to work international cricket around domestic – and vice versa – does not really work.  Why?

For starters, too many matches are crammed within timeframes which leaves players fatigued – and next, they’re jumping to another country for the next tour.  International teams rarely come home.

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AFL: 1-5 for the Lions in rebuilding stage

Billings & Raines collide in a tough contest on ANZAC Day (photo: AFL Media)

It has been a while since I took some sort of “point out a problem” stand on Beyond Realisation.  This time around, the target is the Brisbane Lions.

However, rather than call the Lions a target, it is instead a topic that got me very excited on ANZAC Day.  The Lions mustered their first win – albeit a very, very nervous one – by three points against a determined St. Kilda outfit in Wellington.

Cricket: IPL appeal in Australia still exists, just harder to find

Glenn Maxwell belts a six during his 95 (photo: BCCI/ESPN Cricinfo)

The United Arab Emirates is the stage for the 2014 Indian Premier League – installment seven – and after just four matches, there has already been a platform set for all teams to play high quality cricket.

Let’s stop there for a moment, however.  How does the world see such a contest, and in particular, Australia?

Cricket: Southern Stars 3-peat a major boost

 

Australia’s cricketers celebrate their WT20 triumph (photo: Cricket Australia)

Australia’s female cricketers returned this week from what was a gutsy and determined World Twenty20 campaign in Bangladesh – and they returned with silverware.

Throughout the course of the tournament, the quality of the performances was high, and the games enthralling.  Forget that the crowds were small, or that most overseas viewers could not tune in visually until the semi-finals. 

EFL: Croydon outlasts East Burwood at home

Players dive for the ball in East Burwood’s forward 50 (photo: Davis Harrigan)

The expected morning rain never showed, and Croydon Park was in near-perfect condition for Croydon to achieve a hard-fought 14 point win – 9.8.62 to 7.6.48 – against East Burwood at home.

Both the Rams and the Blues scraped home in round one, which was the perfect platform for a contest on Saturday at Croydon Park. 

Cricket: World Twenty20: Did Australia blow expectations in Bangladesh?

The expressions from Bailey & Starc sums up Australia’s campaign (photo: Getty Images)

Australian Twenty20 captain George Bailey had big shoes to fill, after the national side won an astonishing 12 of 13 games against England during the recent summer.

Travelling to Bangladesh red hot on form, things took a turn the moment Pakistan wielded the willow in their first group game in Mirpur.