Facebook Farm

Spoiler Warning: The following post contains spoilers for the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. If you wish to read the book and do not wish to be spoilt, discontinue reading now!

Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.

Those words above are the final words to George Orwell's classic novel Animal Farm. It's a story about a group of animals, lead by intelligent and corrupt pigs, which take control of a farm, and highlights the flaws of revolution and the greed of people, when in the end the pig's lust for power turns them into the very thing they despised in the first place: the humans. Anyway, what does that have to do with this post? I'll get to that later.

It's funny how in a year of using Facebook how drastically my life has changed. I now use it to guide me through pretty much every portion of life; my friends, my family, my upcomming events. My frustration or sadness or glee is vented in the form of a Facebook status. Facebook changes my mood more than the hormones did in my teenage years. As soon as I log on, it's like an adrenaline rush seeing that lovely shade of dark blue. I automatically look to the bottom right of screen and I am especially ecstatic if I see that tiny red bubble pop-up telling I have large numbers of new notifications. I am disappointed if there a no or very few, and I get frustrated when the new notifications are useless ones asking me to test "how gay are you?" in the latest quiz.

I've also noticed recently that facebook is running my life outside of the cyber world. Whenever I take a photo, I automatically think, "should I post this to Facebook?". Whenever a photo is being taken of me, I think "will this be going to Facebook?" and change my pose accordingly. Not once do I consider putting that photo in a nice frame in my room or putting it on the front of a novelty card and sending it to friends at Christmas.

When I have nothing to do, gone are the days of watching my fish swim happily in my aquarium. Gone are the days of taking a walk to the shop, or going down to the cricket nets and rolling my arm over, or even turning on the TV and lazing back into the couch. Instead I sit on Facebook, hoping, praying for someone to say or do something interesting, so I can pounce like a tiger and make a sly comment, and relinquish some of my boredom.

On the positive side, since joining Facebook, I have been invited to more parties than ever before. Or should I say "events". Afterall, all you have to do is click "create an event" and you can give 250 people the place and time of your "event" in a matter of minutes. The thing is, even when orgainsing a "small gathering", people seem to create and event, even when they would only have to call up five or six people on the phone and tell them what's going on. Errrr, what was a phone again? Actually talk to people in real life? The very thought of it makes me squirm.

So now Facebook tells me where to be, who I can and can't talk to (denpending on whether they are on or offline on Facebook chat), how I feel, what music I should listen to, what my mates have been up to. It saves me from boredom. It changes my mood. It shows me when the next slick party is going to be. It's even given me study tips, pick-up lines, told me about eating noodles with chopsticks, helped me with my assignments, established friendships with people I've never met before, and destroyed friendships which were last-time-I-saw-them, close. I love Facebook, and Facebook loves me. Together we are an unbeatable team, as long as we stick together, we will never feel sad or left out or lonely ever again.

So now comes the part in which the previously mentioned Animal Farm passage begins to make sense.

You see, right at this very moment, I am logging on to Facebook. And no question now, what has happened to my life. As the beautiful dark blue theme of Facebook appears, and I glance down into the bottom right hand corner for my new notifications, I look from real life to computer screen, and from computer screen to real life, and from real life to computer screen again; but already it is impossible to say which is which.

Oktoberfest 2009: The Story

4:30 - 5:00 pm: After getting to the Oktoberfest field, the signs blatantly read "No pass outs", much to Alex's disappointment as he had to wait for a friend to come from Murdoch (Alex's use of the word "fuck" greatly increased at that point). But there was to be no waiting around today, and in we went! We got given plastic steins, of which we were all a little disappointed about, although we eventually agreed it a smart move by the organisers. First stop was to visit Phil Groom, one of our lecturers, at the first aid tent. We bid him farewell and hoped not to see him again that night. Finally, it was time to get what we all so dearly wanted: Beer. "Best beer I've had all day" I cheekily remarked. "Chris, it's the only beer you had all day" Alex much too soberly reminded me.

Oh yeah, by this point Alex's friend James had decided, just as we walked through the gates, that he wasn't going to come. And so the 3 hour long hunt began to find someone to buy it (by this time I had never heard Alex say the word "fuck" so many times).

Alright, this is where the memory starts to get a little bit hazy. I will try and piece it together as well as possible from a variety of text messages and what little fragments of memory I have left.

Around 5:20 pm: I think it was around this time when we abandoned Caitlin, Nic and Robbie and were in the line for a second beer, when I bumped into my old friend from school, Carla. It was nice to see her, as it always is seeing an old friend. Of course, Trish was meeting people she knew left, right and center. Everytime we went for a walk we would spend one minute walking and ten talking to a bunch of Trish's friends (we ended up moving a grand total of about ten meters in half an hour). I also remember a girl coming up to me and telling me that she was going to go back outside and jump the fence back in, just to prove that she could... ok then.

Around 6 pm: At this time I had purchased some kind of dark beer, by accident of course. I just went for the one on the end, and it tasted disgusting... no wonder there was nobody lining up! It must have taken me over an hour to finish it, it was rank! Anyway, finally the rest of the Environmental Biologists arrived, along with Kurt, who would continue to haunt me all night.

6:10 pm: I called Caitlin, but I couldn't hear her over the noise so the conversation consisted of many "what?'s" and "Huh?'s" and "Ok?'s". I was supposed message her my location, but I didn't - I forgot, or just couldn't be bothered.

6:13 pm: Text message received from Alex: "Where u at". I think at this time Neil, Lina, Trish and myself were lining up for the cubicals. I didn't get back to him until 6:46.

6:17 pm: I got a message from dad, something about going to the football tomorrow. Unfortunately by this point my hand-eye coordination was far too insufficient to reply anything other than a few mangled words, so in the pocket the phone went.

6:19 pm: Message from Caitlin: "Where r u". Hmm, yet another text that I didn't manage to reply to.

6:46 - 6:47: I finally got back to Alex, and he (to my surprise) messaged back instantly, he was still in line for the toilets. At 7pm I got another text from Alex: "Dude im still in the toilej line".

7:17 pm: Lina, Neil and myself had been long separated from the main group, when I got a text from Hank-Anthony: "hey where r u guys?". Yet another message I failed to send out a reply to, and in hindsight it's no wonder we couldn't find anyone all night.

Between 7:19 and 8:07 pm: I got a string of messages from Alex, telling me to meet him at the first shade tent. I think Neil, Lina and I were sitting on the ground in the middle of the festival in hope of somebody finding us - not a chance. A bit earlier we had found Trish and lost her again. I also think this may have been the point where I lost my wallet, and everything in it. While sitting on the ground, I must have taken it out of my pocket, put it on the ground and left it there. You idiot!

Probably around 8:10 pm: The three lonesome travelers stumbled our way to the first shade tent, where everyone was sitting there just chillin'. No rest for the weary though, as Lina and myself had to go to the toilet again. Of course, the lines were even longer, and I think we kind of barged our way into a frontal position and managed to hold it (in both senses of the word). Perfect. While I was in the cue I remember having a conversation with this chick that was next to me in the line. Well, if conversation is right way to put it... it was a bit more like a series of drunken noises exchanged between two people who were in desperate need of a toilet... in anycase, it worked out well as we both protected each other's position in the cue, beating back the drunken rabblers attempting to jump in front of us. I, being the gentlemen I am, went in before her.

8:20 pm??????: Well, at this point I realised that my wallet was no longer in my pocket, and the dread of losing everything in it should have hit me like a train... but it didn't. Furthermore, Lina so kindly lent me 8 tickets for another pint of Heineken, just to ease the pain. I think at this point I bumped into mutual friend of the day, Dane, the guy I sold my ticket to earlier in the piece. I can barely remember what was exchanged during this meeting, infact, I'm not 100% convinced it was even him!

Between 8:20 and 8:55: I think we just sat around for a while with everyone back at the first shade tent... I don't remember exactly who was there. Kurt was, and he made me give him quite a bit of my last beer. Alex continually stated he was "fucked" and wasn't gunna drink anymore. Syngeon was spacing, Nicola and Robbie were next to me... or maybe we wandered for a bit, because I specifically remember bumping into Erin and exchanging phone numbers, and I'm pretty sure she put in a number that wasn't mine... oh well.

9:00 pm: Since I didn't have any way of getting home (my smartrider was in my wallet), I decided I would have to get a lift home with Alex's wonderful mother. I am forever in her debt. As we walked towards the location where we were to be picked up, we both agreed we had to pee "so bad", and so to the nearest tree we went. I remember there was a girl coming out of the same patch of trees pulling up her pants... classy, then again who am I to talk? Just as I was about to go, Lina called, and as much as enjoyed talking to her, the wait was agonising, and the convo was a little rushed.

9:30 pm: As I got dropped off at the bus stop near my house, there were a couple of random people standing around, 3 in fact, 2 girls and a guy. It just so happens that they had just came back from Oktoberfest too. Then one of the girls asked me to come to some place in Freo with her. Hmmm, that sounded like a grand adventure, until I realised I had no money, no id, no hope. I dispiritedly turned her down and trudged home in disappointment.

11:43 pm: The night ended with me getting a call from Caitlin, wondering "If you are still here". No I told her, and that I left early because of my lost wallet. Then I listened as she went on an angry rant about someone stealing it, and that I should get a gun, and that if I had a gun I could have shot the person who stole it. Fair enough. The conversation ended with her saying "seeya on Monday". "Ok" I said, even though I knew I wouldn't see her 'til at least Wednesday. And that pretty much summed up the night, the night of utter confusion, mayhem, forgotten messages, lost people, lost wallets and and a whole lotta fun!

A Calypso Treat in the Rainbow Nation

The West Indian side which played in the recent Champions Trophy in South Africa mave been "second-string", but a lot of countries could learn a thing or two from those young men from the Caribbean.

Their best player is a 27 year old left arm orthodox spinner/all rounder who bats down at eight. Their first change bowler barely touches the 130kph mark. Their opening batsmen average 24.32 and 2.5 respectively, and their captian is a 37 year old Barbadian who has played no less than eight one day internationals. These statistics led many to believe that this West Indian side would be a liability to the tournament, but statistics often lie, and the appearance of this second-string side far from degraded the level of cricket in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.

I have to admit, I was a little bit skeptical about the quality of the West Indian side going into this years Champions Trophy. Afterall, it was this side who had lost all of their senior players to a dispute with the West Indian Cricket board, and then lost two tests against Bangladesh and been hammered in the corresponding one-day series. Although I am all for the underdog, I couldn't help but feel that Bangladesh would have made the tournament just a little bit more exciting and competitive than what the Caribbean side could throw up. I was wrong.

Yes, the West Indies struggled, in terms of solid cricketing ability. But what they lacked in pure talent, ability to play the swinging ball and precision to produce consistent bowling performances, they made up for in heart, and fight, and pride that they showed playing for their country.

It's an interesting word to throw around, pride. With all of the big money tournaments springing up seemingly every year, IPL, ICL, Champions League etc., one gets the feeling that many players have forgoten to behold the main reason for playing international cricket: to represent your country. When I was a young boy, much like many other young children around the world, all I dreamt of was representing my country, Australia, in an international cricket match. And if I was tallented enough, if I got asked to pull on the baggy green without pay I would more than happily ablige. I'm by no means suggesting that the top players should get no money for playing cricket, but I think some players (because of all the money in the game) are forgetting the simple, undeniable truth that they are, one of only 11 players who get to represent their country, out of all the millions of people residing in their nation.

That's why I enjoy watching this young West Indies team play, because they are the second string side, and they are less talented than some of the bigger cricketing nations, and they do have poorer first class systems, and they do get payed considerably less than what other players from other countries get... but they haven't forgotten they are representing their country, they haven't forgotten they are living a childhood dream, the dream that seldom others get to come true. It's something other players around the world can learn from these West Indies players.

I also love the amount of fight, and passion this West Indies side shows. They pushed both Pakistan, and then Australia to the limits of both sides abilities, when in reality they shouldn't have got anywhere close. I was in awe watching the fighting innings played by Nikita Miller when his side was struggling to push 100 in their match against Pakistan, and his demolishon of the Australian middle order in their second match. I thoroughly enjoyed the heart shown by Gavin Tonge who ripped through the Pakistani top order at the Wanderers. I loved watching Darren Sammy smash Mitchell Johnson, my idol, for two sixes as his side threatened to take victory out of the hands of the faultering Australians. But the image representing the West Indies that I will take away from this years Champions Trophy is that of Floyd Reifer, the 37 year old skipper from Barbados, at the toss of the match against India, the final one of their tournament. He looked extreemly shy, yet humble, honest, and not afraid to tell Ravi Shastri that he was proud of what his side had achieved, and that they were far from a liability to the 2009 Champions Trophy.

And I agree. The Australian Cricket board has made it clear that if a second string West Indies side tour Australia later this year, they will be looking elsewhere to try and improve the quality of cricket played over the summer. Yet I would be delighted to see this young side from the Caribbean tour down under in December, and furthermore, will be more than happy to pay the price of admition to see the Windies in action.

Friday Afternoon (Home)

Friday Afternoon. The deep breath before the plunge. Countless times I have sat in that room, countless times have I walked those halls. Countless times I have passed through those doors, looked out those windows, drank the sour water, smelt the musty air.  All is quiet in Environmental Biology on a friday afternoon, yet every time I walk in there, no matter how desolate, it feels like home. 

Are You Sure?

Ever heard the song "Are You Sure?" by Willie Nelson? It goes a little something like this:

Oh, look around you

Look down the bar from you

The lonely faces that you see

Are you sure that this is where you want to be?

These are your friends

But are they real friends

Do they love you the same as me

Are you sure that this is where you want to be?

It just about sums up where I was at a few days ago. At the Tav the previous Friday afternoon I just wasn't feeling happy. Even at Cindy's party I just wasn't there. I was going through the motions, not really enjoying life, and not sure as to which direction I was headed. Was Environmental Biology really for me?... I was stupid to question it!

On Tuesday night the students of Vertebrate Animals 202 (me included) went out to Harry Waring Marsupial Reserve, just south of Perth, to study some of the native wildlife. It was ten and a half hours of searching for reptiles, catching birds, and trapping, tagging and releasing marsupials. For me, it was ten and a half hours of pure enjoyment. 

It was probably about 12am and five degrees when it happened. I was walking though thick bushland with my close mate Kenny, having just captured, tagged and released a female bandicoot carrying two tiny pink babies in it's pouch.  I had been out in the wilderness for nine and a half hours, yet I didn't feel tired, nor cold. I felt so at home, so comfortable doing what I was doing. It was at that moment when I realised that this was what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my life. This was exactly where I wanted to be.

It's a feisty possum!

And a Bandicoot!

Me with "Edward" the Bobtail (Named after the Vampire).

They spend about 20 minutes just trying to uncurl this stubborn Echidna!

The Ashes

I wait nervously. Today begins the five most important days of this year. If we can win, if we can take home that little earn like we so deserve, that we all so desire, then life will be so, so sweet...

 But if we fail, heartbreak awaits, devastation is too feeble a word to describe how I will be feeling come the days after. Alas, I will eventually get over it. But memories of 2005 still haunt me as I walk down dark halls, my heart is still heavy as I dream of dispair and depletion, tears still well up in my eyes as I recall Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee at Edgbaston, I still close my eyes when I see Michael Vaughan hold up that little urn at The Oval, as red and white showers of confetti rain down upon the Old Enemy's celebration. I still wish that those 25 days could be written out of history...

If we let the Ashes slip from our grasp once more, then memories of 2009 will eventually do the same. Winning the Ashes is everything.

Lost Wallets, Pretty Bus Drivers and Cloning?

About 5 years ago, I wrote a feature article for english about cloning. I thought it was fascinating, creating exact same copies of a living thing without needing both a mother and father being sexually involved. Little did I know, that 5 years later I would actually be cloning for myself. 

Ok, so I wasn't exactly extracting an egg from a female sheep, and taking DNA from a second sheep and putting that DNA into the gamete of the first sheep, then putting the now fertile egg back into the female sheep and hey presto! A clone is created. I was however, cloning plasmid DNA using E. coli cultures!

Well, at least I think I was... unfortunately, you can't actually see Cloning happening in a test tube...

Today's cloning coincidence was not the only queer thing to happen to me today. First of all, I had left my wallet at my father's house, so with no concession card, I had to pay full fare for the bus. Four bloody dollars fifty, just to get to uni. 

Secondly, the bus driver that took me from the train station to uni was, to my utter surprise, extremely pretty. In fact, she was absolutely gorgeous. She was young, and blonde, and it made me sad... a pretty girl like her driving busses around all day. Oh well, if that's makes her happy, then I'm happy too!

Unfortunately after uni I had to go all the way out to the 'burbs, or as we sometimes say, "whoop whoop", to pick up my wallet from my dad's. As if that wasn't bad enough, on the way back from Bibra Lake, I just happened to get on the "school special". This was the bus that went to Winthrop Baptist College to take the school children home. As usual, the bloody teenagers were rowdy and annoying, and the girl that sat next to me conveniently used me as a chair. 

What are you gunna do?

The selfishness of sportsmen and women.

Today, Luke Pomerbach (West Australian and Australian Cricketer) has been charged by Police for drink driving and being involved in a hit and run incident in City Beach last night. He has subsequently been dumped by the Western Australian Cricket Association for his actions. 

There are plenty of young boys and girls out there, including myself, who would give almost anything to play cricket for Australia. And so the selfishness of the likes of Pomersbach, an elite sportsman, to go out and do something like that completely and utterly infuriates me.

In my opinion, Luke Pomersbach is one of the luckiest 15-20 people in WA, as he gets to represent his state at the top level playing cricket. I, just like hundreds of other boys and girls around the state, would absolutely love to be in his place, and be able to play even just one game for Western Australia. Pomersbach obviously doesn't get the fact that he is a role model to many young children, and so why he would be so utterly stupid to continually go out and wreck his career really alludes me.

One word screams at me when thinking about the previously discussed: selfish. Why play for WA if you are not going to take playing cricket seriously? And why put yourself in a position, if you are not going to take your sport seriously, to prevent other young players from coming into the side who actually want to, and would give up the world to be in your place ? Selfish. 

Pomersbach is not the only sportsman or women to be selfish about their position though. Andrew Symonds, Australian Cricketer springs to mind. He continually broke the team rules and hence was axed for drinking, not once, not twice, but three times. Selfish. 

Another one is Adam Gilchrist. No, the old WA favourite, Gilly did not stupidly break the simple team rules or involve himself in anything like that. But, as I read in his autobiography True Colours, Gilchrist, on multiple occasions throughout his career, cried himself to sleep because, when the game got tough, he hated playing cricket for Australia. Sorry, Gilly, but no sympathy here from me mate. If you are going to stop enjoying cricket and let the game get to you like that, then move over and let someone who would really appreciate it have a go. 

There are, and have been, too many law breaking, drug taking or just down right selfish sports men or women throughout history to name. It's too late for most them anyway. But to all future sporting stars, playing any sport at the top level, this is my message to you: No matter what happens, no matter how tough life gets or how much pressure there is on you to perform, no matter how much you get paid or how far away from home you must be, please make sure you enjoy every single minute you of it, because remember, there are millions, if not billions of people on this planet who would give anything, anything, to be in your position. 

Happy 100th Lost!

Here's a nice passage to help celebrate, if not somewhat belated, the 100th episode of Lost, the most influential show in recent television history.

"There aren't many TV shows that manage to hit - and pass - the 100-episode mark, but then again, there aren't any TV shows like Lost. Beyond the story, the characters, and the various time-slots it occupies all over the world, Lost has fast become a word that once said, invokes lively, enthusiastic, and territorial debate, but most of all - it simply gets a reaction. It doesn't matter whether you're a passionate fan, a casual viewer or just someone who never really got into the show - you're bound to have an opinion. And that's one of the greatest things about Lost - it's power to strike some kind of chord with everyone" - Official Lost Magazine 

I was wrong...

Dear Australian selectors,

Please disregard my previous blog post (Watson in, Hughes out). For having a go at your decision to bring Shane Watson in for struggling opener, Philip Hughes, I am sorry. 

For a long time I have been a big fan of Shane Watson, of his fantastic batting technique, his steady bowling and his feisty temperament. I have always thought that he has been a very good all-round prospect for Australia. 

I'm not sure what had gotten into me, to be honest. Maybe it was the fact that we were 1-0 down in the series, and that I was really at a loss as to what we were to do go regain some momentum after the loss at Lords. After seeing what Phil Hughes did in South Africa (losing momentum was not a word Hughes understood!), dropping him, to me, was simply out of the question. 

Maybe, it was the fact the you have messed around with Australia's one day and 20/20 line-ups so much, that, you have tried so many different openers in recent years in the shorter format of the game, which in my humble opinion, has lead to our great decline. I have seen what makeshift openers have done in our 50 over sides, the likes of Marsh, Warner, Ronchi, Haddin, Clarke, Hayden and even Watson himself. I have seen most of them fail, so surely you can forgive me for thinking that bringing in this "specialist batsman" for a specialist opener would be a big mistake.

Or maybe, it was just due to the fact that, there have been a lot of cases over the last two years, when Australia have been in a "rebuilding phase", where you have simply made the wrong decisions. Like when you decided that Cameron White could do the job as a frontline spinner in India... one had to question your motives after that series. And how about all those times in 08/09 when you continued to stick with Matthew Hayden, even though he was horribly out of form and hence letting the side down? And what about when you kept Brett Lee in the side against South Africa, even when injured and playing poorly, and you had a fine replacement in Doug Bollinger waiting in the wings? Or how about when you dropped McGain off the cotract list after one bad game, or axing Krezja after failing in Perth, or getting rid of Beau Casson even after he performed so solidly in the Caribbean, which has ultimately lead to his demise as a bowler? All this past decision making ultimately lead to me thinking that bringing in Watson would be yet another mistake, and so again, I apologise. 

Please forgive me, but also please take into account what I have said. You have done a fine Job for this Ashes series, not being afraid to ring the changes and play the inexperienced guys, which is something you have definately shied away from in the past. I also understand that you selectors are in a rebuilding phase yourselves, it must be hard to pick a side which once had everything, and now has nothing. I totally understand where you are coming from, desperately trying to stick with your tried and trusted players, your Lees, Clarks, Pontings etc... 

And so all I can say is, as I end this letter, to not be afraid of losing. Don't be afraid of slipping down in the test match rankings a bit, and don't be afraid of getting rid of some of the more experienced players in order to develop a young squad.

Keep making the tough decisions, yours sincerely, Chris.

Watson in, Hughes out.

Well, today I am in shock. I have just heard the news that Shane Watson will be replacing Phil Hughes in Australia's line-up in the third test starting in Birmingham tonight, and I am less than impressed...

In what looks to be a batsman friendly but heavily rain effected match, the selectors focus should have been on fixing Australia's shaky bowling attack. With Johnson spraying it around more than a garden hose, and Siddle bowling more inconsistently then I've ever seen him bowl, the selectors needed to make some drastic changes in that department more than any other. Instead they have decided to break up a very settled opening partnership to bring in a guy who will probably break down in the first session of the first day.

I'll say it once, and I'll say it again... makeshift openers have no positive effect on any cricket team. And unless the selectors are thinking about permanently entrusting "Watto" with the opening position, what's the point of bringing him in? If they want the extra pace bowling option, what is so wrong with dropping one of the struggling middle order batsman and leaving Hughes up top to further develop his game? 

And what is so wrong, if they are not happy with the way Hughes is developing, with bringing in a specialist opening batsman like Chris Rogers (averaging over 45 in county cricket this year) or Phil Jaques (who's test batting average is touching upon 48)?

I may (and will probably) be proved wrong, but at this very moment, it just doesn't make sense...

A Tale of Two Cities.

If Charles Dickens was to witness the first two Ashes test matches of 2009, he could have forgotten about his classic and just written about the cricket. Australia, dominating the first test at Cardiff, and just not turning up to the second at Lords, and England, off with the fairies down in Wales but suddenly in sparkling form in London. It truly was a tale of two cities, and the end result? 1-0 England after two.

You might say it was the occasion, or that the venue, the home of cricket overawed them, or that they are a young side that is undeniably still in a transition phase. But these factors didn't hinder the Australians in the first test, nor in South Africa in their previous series. They simply just didn't turn up, and were subsequently bounced by the English, boosted by their great escape in Cardiff. 

It was Australia's turn to be off with the fairies in the Lord's test. This time, it was Ponting who was gazing gloomily up to the dark English skies praying for rain, it was their bowlers who were ineffective and lacked zing, and it was their batsman who were out playing unnecessary shots and getting out cheaply. 

But the test will be most remembered for the umpiring, Rudi Kortzen and Billy Doctrove created massive controversy when in England's second innings, Nathan Hauritz claimed a low catch and it was referred to the third umpire after Ravi Bopara decided to question Hauritz's honesty. Then in the Australia's second innings, batting to save the match, Strauss claimed a similar catch at second slip after Andrew Flintoff found the edge of Philip Hughes' bat. Hughes asked Strauss if it had carried, and after the England captain claimed it had, Hughes began to walk. Ricky Ponting, watching from the non-strikers end, ordered his younger counterpart to stand his ground. This time however, Doctrove and Kortzen decided not to refer the decision, instead taking Strauss' word and sending Hughes on his way.

 The umpiring situation was already in question after Simon Katich had been caught off a clear no-ball in the previous Flintoff over, and was further put under pressure when Michael Hussey was given out, caught at first slip when a Graeme Swann delivery had hit the rough and turned past the outside edge. 

So, three clearly wrong decisions, and three wickets lost that, if not given out, could have easily meant an Australian world record victory, after Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke but together a fighting rearguard partnership on the fourth day. 

Understandably, the Australians are looking for answers after the 100+ run loss. Mitchell Johnson is first in the firing line after a well below par performance at Lords, and he is followed closely by young opener Philip Hughes. Both have been inconsistent to say the least, and both have far from recreated their world beating form they showed earlier in the year on the tour of South Africa. 

The Australians should be inclined to stick with the 28 year old fast bowler, who has taken over 100 wickets in 24 matches. Bowling coach Troy Cooley and coach Tim Neilson have both stated that they are going to keep faith in Mitchell Johnson, and to work on the chinks in his bowling armor over the next week. Philip Hughes should also hold the faith of the Australian people, however, many are talking of a possible exchange with "specialist batsman", Shane Watson.

These claims, in my opinion, are extremely unwarranted. Hughes has not looked badly out of form, and has had the wrong end of a couple of umpiring decisions. The opening batsmen have a tough job in England, the ball swings, and failures are inevitable. Hughes needs to develop, and unless you have a capable replacement opener in the squad, then there's no point replacing him. Australia don't, instead, they have the option of including Watson, the injury prone all-rounder, or even pushing Mike Hussey or Marcus North up the order, which, at test level, is not the right thing to do.

Australia have a practice game starting Friday which well determine where they are at before the Edgbaston test, which starts next Thursday.

Thoughts from the first test.

It was 2:08 in the morning, but I was as wide awake as I had been all day. My heart was pumping, my underarms were moist with perspiration, and my whole body was shaking; whether it was caused by the cold or the nervousness I could not be sure. It had taken to the final session of the final day for me and everyone who was watching to realise, that this year's battle for the Ashes would live up to all the hype and excitement of the corresponding 2005 series.

It was a fantastic game of cricket in Cardiff, even if it took me a while to get over the disappointment of  helplessly watching Jimmy Anderson block out the final over. I sort of sat there in my chair, stunned, and in awe of what had just happened. England had somehow played out a draw, after being completely outplayed by Australia for four of the five days. It was a game Australia probably should have one, with only 8 wickets to take on the final day, but looking at it again, there was a lot going against the Aussies: The rain in the final session of day four when England were reeling at 2-20, the amazing determination of Paul Collingwood and probably most of all, the extremely batter friendly, flat and oh-so-slow Cardiff pitch. But anyhow, here are a few lessons to be learned coming out of the first test:

1) The Australian Pacemen: 

In the end, the pressure of test cricket got the better of the inexperienced Australian bowlers. However, with only 35 tests between Johnson, Siddle, Hilfenhaus, and Hauritz, I thought they bowled extremely well to take 19 wickets on the flat deck (flat is a bit of an understatement!). Ben Hilfenhaus was probably the pick of all the bowlers throughout the test. He was the shock selection over Stuart Clark, but he deserved his place after his performance in South Africa, and his selection was certainly justified as he continuously swung the ball throughout and with great accuracy, took 5 wickets for the match. 

Peter Siddle, though expensive in the first innings, was extremely impressive. His spell in the middle session of day five, with an old ball and no juice in the pitch whatsoever, was one of the best spells of pace bowling I have ever seen. He hustled and bustled in, fired up, and was extremely aggressive, hitting Graeme Swan on the body three times in one over. 

Mitchell Johnson was very disappointing. He clearly lacked rhythm and form, his arm was low and slingy, he seemed to struggle to get to the crease, and ultimately sprayed the ball all over the place. The good news is, even when terribly out of form, he still picked up five wickets in the game (with what I like to call "the Johnson factor"). He is a rhythm bowler; he gets better and better the more he bowls... look out England in the coming tests!

2) Nathan Hauritz and England's spinners: 

"He's no good. He can't bowl". These were the kinds of things the English and Australian press were saying about Nathan Hauritz before the test. "Graeme Swann is a far superior bowler". I didn't see that in this match. Graeme Swann, and Monty Panesar were incredibly poor, taking one wicket between them. They bowled typically English; too flat, too fast and just put it in the wrong areas. Nathan Hauritz, although not ripping through the England batting, varied his pace, length and flight, and consequently got more out of the deck, taking 6 wickets. Nathan Hauritz should be looking forward to another test cap at Lords, whereas it will be a nervous wait for Monty and Swann; one of them will be dropped for a seamer for the second test. 

3) Paul Collingwood:

Colly is probably the most boring player I have ever seen bat. But god, I can't help but admire the guy. I think he batted for something like 4 hours and 270 odd balls on the final day, and single handedly carried England to an unlikely draw. He plays with the slightest back lift, sometimes it looks like he just holds his bat vertically and lets the ball hit it. He doesn't have the attacking range of a Flintoff or Pietersen, but what gets me to really like the guy is his application and determination. He didn't score, but not once in his innings did he panic, or loose concentration. If you want to use the old cliche, if you wanted anyone to bat to save your life, it might just be P. Collingwood. 

4) Preparation and application: 

There were notable major differences between the sides. On the field, Australia looked fresh, fired up and determined, ready for an Ashes battle. England, on the other hand, were constantly joking around, having a laugh, or off with the fairies, looking more like they were taking on the West Indies or Bangladesh. Australia's inexperienced bowling attack was well prepared, and fit. Not once did any of the bowlers show signs of injury or lack of fitness, and they continually got the ball to swing around... and when it wasn't swinging, they worked hard and reaped rewards (this was well represented by Siddle's spell in the middle of the fifth day). England's bowlers all had spells off the ground, with Stuart Broad having a calf problem on the second day and Jimmy Anderson becoming dehydrated and dizzy on the third. Apart from the burst from Anderson with the new ball on the third morning, they hardly got one ball the swing all game. And prehaps worse, they were helpless to stop the rampaging Australians when the ball was not moving in the air (Anyone for Steve Harmison?) 

5) The Batting:

It is hard to gauge the batting of the two sides on the performances of this game, as the wicket was extremely (and I mean extremely) batsmen friendly. I thought both sides were reasonably evenly matched throughout the test. Although England lost 19 wickets compared to Australia's 6 in the match, and none of them making centuries, they have plenty of talent, and plenty of experience. Once again, it was the application of Australia's batsman that really made the difference. Australia smartly and steadily ground their way towards England's first innings total of 435, and then blasted away with Brad Haddin to gain an almost match winning lead. England were ok, the openers didn't put up much resistance, which will happen from time to time with openers (it is their job afterall!). Pietersen was pretty decent in the first innings, but is still lacking form, Collingwood was brilliant in a gritty way, and Flintoff and Prior looked dangerous. If they hit form and get their decision making right, some big totals will be not far away. 

6) The Captaincy: 

Strauss needs to be more proactive in the coming tests. After winning the toss, it was almost as if he expected to make a big total, and then to bowl the inexperienced Australian's out cheaply setting up and easy win. But when Ponting, Katich, North, Clarke and Haddin decided to stick around in Australia's innings, and England needed wickets, instead of being creative with fields and bowlers, Strauss was having a laugh at slip and gazing at the gloomy Cardiff clouds, hoping desperately for the rain to come and wash away their misery. Ponting, in contrast, with runs under his belt, was determined for every ball in the field. He produced innovative fields, made risky decisions and lead the team brilliantly, a stark contrast to Strauss. 

So there you have it. Australia played well in the test but, it was a case of so close, yet so far. The sides go into the Lords test 0-0, but the psychological blows were dealt by Australia. England may have stopped Australia gaining all the momentum leading up to Lords, but they still have a lot of thinking to do in terms of side selection. I'm thinking they will drop Panesar (although he probably bowled better than Swann, England love the extra batting  strength Swann provides) and replace him with Steve Harmison, and maybe bring in Onions for Broad. Australia will look to develop this young side and go in unchanged (barring injury), and although I would love to see Andrew McDonald, there is certainly no place for him. Depending on the fitness of Brett Lee, the three pacemen will be playing for their places for the Edgbaston test, so keep and eye out for that little contest within a contest. 

Ok, that's it from me. Sorry about the length! Will keep you posted about any thoughts I have between now and the start of the second test on Thursday evening. Have a good one!

Lee injury, disaster or blessing in disguise?

The wait is finally over. Judgement day for all Australian and English cricket supporters has finally arrived. After the three warm up matches played so far, it is still impossible to pick a winner for the 2009 Ashes series...

It's less than three hours out from the first ball of the first test in Cardiff, Wales, and as usual, both captains are holding their cards close to their chests. Both sides have one big decision to make; England must decide weather they want to play two spinners, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, or go with the more conventional single spinner and play the miserly Graham Onions. 

From Australia's point of view, the side strain injury to Brett Lee, who was Australia's best bowler in their warm up game against the England Lions in Worcester, has sorted out one selection headache and created another; will they still decide to go in with four quicks, with Ben Hilfenhaus replacing Lee, alongside Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle? Or will they play the spinner Nathan Hauritz along with the latter three pacemen mentioned?

Although the Lee injury may have made the team selection for Cardiff somewhat easier on the selectors, it had certainly made Australia's hunt for victory a hell of a lot more difficult. Brett Lee bowled brilliantly in the England Lions match, bowling consistently over 150 kph and reverse swinging his way to seven wickets in the match. 

But losing Lee may not be as big a problem as many may think. With the main strike out for at least two matches, it will be up to Mitchell Johnson to again lead an inexperienced and somewhat under prepared bowling attack. 

As he showed in his last two test series, when given the huge task of leading Australia's bowling attack, Mitchell Johnson thrives. With only the 21 tests to his name, he was Australia's leading wicket taker in the home series against South Africa, and with no Stuart Clark or Brett Lee, pretty much single handedly demolished the Proteas in the return series in South Africa. When given the toughest of challenges, history suggests that Johnson obliges. 

And so it begins again. Australia vs England. The Ashes. The biggest series on the cricketing calendar. Three things come to ming when I think back to the corresponding 2005 Ashes series: thrilling, brilliant, heart breaking. It was arguably the most exciting and memorable series in cricket history, and although the sides look completely different, the resulting series should evoke the same kinds of emotions. Let's pray the gloomy English weather stays well away, and as they say, may the best team win. I just hope with all my heart, that that is Australia!

Not all who wander...

"I'm not lost anymore"

"How did you do that?"

"The same thing anything lost, ever gets found -- I stopped looking" - John Locke

It is a strange thing, life. We never ask for the life that is given, but it is given none the less, and with it, we can only do our best. Yet life itself is more baffling than any complex trigonometry equation, or how the birds can sing so cheerfully on a cold winters morning, or even the English language.

Why is it that, when we have everything going for us in life, we feel discontented? And why, when seemingly all is against us, do we feel the happiest we've ever been? 

We always end up asking ourselves the impossible to answer: Why do we always close our eyes when we sneeze? What else is out there? Were will I go when death takes me? Who in the world am I? 

Sometimes you just have to let go, and just let life be. Let the current take you to where it intends you to go. Just take a deep breath, sit back, and see where you end up. Sometimes, the harder you try, the worse it gets. Not all who wander are lost. 

For my dear friend Syngeon, may he find whatever he is looking for at the bottom of his glass.

The 2009 World Twenty20 Dream Team

It's been a great tournament, even after the abysmal performance by Australia. The quality of batting was awesome, and so many of the big stars (and the not so well known ones) shone on the big stage. The minnow teams played extremely well, with Ireland making the super 8's and pushing Sri Lanka and Pakistan all the way, and the bowling, although always unfairly treated by the twenty20 gods, were superb; Murali, Mendis, Botha, Ajmal and the like continued to prove that spin leads the new world order in 20 over cricket, and pacemen like Parnell, Gul and Malinga kept the art of pace bowling alive, where so many others had fallen. Fittingly, the two best bowling sides made the final, with the Pakistani's coming out on top.

This is my 20/20 dream team. I've only taken into account form in the T20 tournament, and I've only chosen players that I have seen play. Here's what I came up with (In batting order):

1) Christopher Gayle (West Indies): Don't be fooled by the Jamaican's mellow attitude, this cool cat is one of the most destructive batsman in world cricket. He played an absolute blinder (88) against the Australians, where he hit Brett Lee for a lazy 105 metre six out of the park at the oval. Along with his powerful batting, he can also send down a few overs of handy off-spin, and is one of the many candidates to captain the side.

2) Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka): If the world didn't know about Tillakaratne Dilshan before this tournament, they do now. He has a brilliant array of shots, seemingly able to hit the boundary anywhere around the ground. By far the batsman of the championship, he has carried the out-of-form Sri Lankan batting on his not so broad shoulders. Dilshan is also brilliant in the field, and was easily the first man picked in this side.

3) Jaques Kallis (South Africa): One of the finest cricketers to come from the rainbow nation, the old workhorse prooved he is playing better than ever in this year's world T20, with 238 runs and 3 wickets. Kallis is one of the most pleasant batsman to watch, and still gets plenty of zip with his medium fast bowling, so he just edges out Dwayne Bravo as the all-rounder in this side.

4) Kumar Sangakkara (wk) (c) (Sri Lanka): Just edged out Kamran Akmal with his performance in the final, Kumar Sangakkara is one of my personal favourites. He is one of the game's gentlemen, and a fine, classy cricketer on the field whether it be with the gloves or the bat. A great thinker, he has great understanding of the game, and hence is perfect for the captaincy role in this side.

5) Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (South Africa): In my opinion, AB de Villiers is the finest cricketer in the world at the moment. Brilliant in all forms, he was especially leathal coming in at number four for South Africa in the 2009 T20 tournament. He has the ability to play any role in the batting line up, from consolidating the innings early on, to hitting the ropes in the death overs. Being one of, if not the best fielder in world cricket, de Villiers was an easy choice for the dream team.

6) Younus Khan (vc) (Pakistan): Not as big hitting as some of his counterparts, this smiling assasin is a stylish and tyically sub-continental player, using his wrists to hit gaps on the on and off sides, and a brilliant player of spin. Also the vice captain of my side, he always has a huge grin on his face, lightneing the hearts of all who come to watch him play.

7) Shahid Afridi (Pakistan): In the side for his leg spin bowling more than batting, Afridi was brilliant in this tournament, taking 10 wickets at an economy rate of 5.37. To watch his bowling is worth the price of admission alone; he gets fantastic drift into the right hander and fools the very best with turn that can go both ways. His batting also hit the right gears towards the end of the tournament, making him the perfect man to come in at number seven.

8) Johan Botha (South Africa): Another one of my personal favourites, the controvesial 27 year old off-spinner is a fantastic cricketer. He is deceiving with his dart-like offies and handy with the bat late in the order. He's quick in the field, and knows the game inside out, yet another candidate to captain this side.

9) Umar Gul (Pakistan): Arguably the best 20/20 bowler in world cricket, Gul had a fantastic tournament in England, getting the best figures ever against the West Indies, with 5-6. Destructive with the ball in the death overs, he can hit the yorker length with extraordinary accuracy, and he stopped countless sides from getting away in the final overs in this year's tournament.

10) Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka): The slinger from Galle, he has taken 12 scalps in England, making him the equal highest wicket taker in the '09 championship. With his unique action, and absolutely impossible to pick slower ball, he can pick up wickets at any time in the innings, and is the captain's go-to man to break the big partnerships.

11) Wayne Parnel (South Africa): This little known about paceman from South Africa makes up the final spot in the XI. He adds plenty of variety as a left armer, he is quick, and like Umar Gul, can hit the yorker with precision accuracy. With nine wickets and best figures of 4-13 in this year's world T20, he was an easy pick as the final seamer in this side.

Australia continue to disappoint

You could see it coming from a mile away. Just the look of the Australian squad for the second World Twenty/20 screamed orthodoxy and tentativeness. Australia, bowing out of the tournament before minnows Ireland and The Netherlands was hardly surprising, and it just shows the ignorance of the selectors and their continued failure to learn from their early 'hit and giggle' mistakes. So what do the Australians need to revise?

1) The specialist spinner(s): It is unbelievable that the Australian selectors and captain continue to ignore the fact that the specialist spinner is the number one weapon in 20 over cricket. For 60 odd games of the IPL, the matches were dominated by the slow men. Most sides had at least 1 specialist and 3 other quality part time spinners, some even had 2 front line spinners and 2 seamers making up their attack. Again, in this year's world 20/20, spinners have dominated. The Murilitharan/Mendis and Botha/van der Merwe combinations for their respective sides make up some of the best bowling attacks in the tournament. When Hauritz was finally played in the Sri Lanka match, he was by far the most dangerous bowler for the Aussies. 

Yet, Hauritz was left out of the West Indies match, in which he was probably most needed. And even against Sri Lanka, when the game was slipping away, Ponting went to Shane Watson again, even after bowling a horrible first spell, before turning to Hauritz and Clarke. Ponting's reluctancy to use the spinner was highlighted when Hauritz's 20/20 stats were displayed on screen. They read: 2 matches, 3.4 overs. A guy like Aaron Heal from Western Australia would fit perfectly alongside Hauritz.

2) The captaincy: Ricky Ponting does not understand 20/20 cricket. Either that, or he is completely blind to the ways that 20/20 is played in the modern day. He refuses to do something different; he sticks to the same game plan every single game: bowl the quick men in the powerplays, bowl the medium pacers, and then bowl the spinners, finally turning back to the pacemen for the death overs. Sure, this strategy might work wonders in 50 over cricket, but it is completely obsolete in the 20/20 format. He needs to start using the spinners earlier, he needs to learn to trust his spinners, he needs to try new techniques, new combinations, and start to adapt and learn from other teams. I would personally like to see Brad Haddin leading the side.

3) The all too orthodox batting: Australia's batsman are too old fashioned, again struggling to adapt to the new styles of modern day batting. Time and time again, they continue to be bogged down, and lose wickets at crucial times. As I watched the game unfold last night, I thought to myself: this isn't the Australia of old. The batsman lack confidence, and are too afraid of getting out. In the powerplay overs, they try too hard, and loose too many wickets, too early, and they simply refuse to innovate. 

The batting against spin is a massive, massive worry. All batsman, bar Brad Haddin, lack the confidence to come down the pitch and attack the spinners. Even Michael Clarke, the supposed "best player" of spin in the side, in afraid to come at the spinners. And all, with the exception of Brad Haddin again, refuse to use the sweep shot, which is a vital part of any batsman's repertoire when facing spin. The Australians need to figure out their own ways to attack spin, because if they continue to be bogged down by the slow bowlers, I don't see them winning many more T20 games in the future.

The other worry for the Aussies is the inability to play the inventive shots; the reverse sweeps, the scoop shots, the inside out lofted cover drive, all of which are such important scoring shots for other players around the world. In the future I would like to see a total revamp of the batting line up, with the addition of some new, young, fearless and innovative talent, in the Dave Warner mould. 

4) The pace attack: Another flaw in the Australian side, again showing the failure of the selectors to adapt to modern T20 cricket. The balance is not right, and they are giving away too many boundary balls and extras. In this day and age, a good pace attack consists of one really quick, wicket taking bowler to bowl at the start of the innings and the death. The other 1 or 2 pacemen should be accurate, medium fast bowlers who can methodically send down 135-140k deliveries consistently, on a good length. At the moment, there is only space for one of either Johnson or Lee (Johnson deserves the spot more than Lee). Nathan Bracken no longer swings the ball and is too slow, and hence useless, and Shane Watson is too tentative. Guys who should be making up the attack are bowlers like Peter Siddle, James Hopes, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger and Dirk Nannes. 

The answer? So what I would like to see for the future is a specialist 20/20 side. No more slow, orthodox, 'tried and tested' type players. I would like to see a new side made of fresh, free and fearless talent, who are not afraid to use their feet to the spinners and hit over the top at any stage of the game. This is what I would like the squad to look something like for the next series of T20 matches:

Warner, Haddin (c), Hodge, Ferguson, Hopes, M. Hussey, D. Hussey, Johnson, Heal, Hauritz, Nannes, Rohrer, Noffke, Siddle.

A Fools Errand: Helicopter Style

Hello readers. Let me give you a little piece of advice; if you are trying hard to study for exams, do not let your mum bring you home a remote control helicopter from Sydney.

I actually get it to fly properly but by then it was too dark to get a good video...if you're that interested I'll try and get one tomorrow.

p.s. Sorry about the quality of the videos (and flying).

The Netherlands impress on a dark day for England

Yesterday the English people woke to find on the front page of their papers that their prime minister, Gordon Brown, had been gloriously humiliated. Little did they know that their country would face humiliation of a different kind later that day.

But this time, the humiliation wasn't over some expenses scandal, it was at the hands of the so called cricketing 'minnow' nation, The Netherlands. 

From the word go the day was destined for disaster. Low, grey clouds rolled over the english countryside and brought an end to the opening ceremony before it had even started, and so it was that ICC president, David Morgan, stood up in front of of the dull crowed at Lords and apologised. A spokesperson for the ECB then came out and said the alternate to a colourful opening ceremony would be the cricket. 

The ECB can thank the Netherlands for putting on such a professional yet thrilling show, because the indifferent looking and Ashes concerned England side could hardly do more to look as drab as the weather. 

The Dutch romped home to produce a last ball, 6 wicket victory that was later described by Netherlands captain Jeroen Smits as "the biggest day in Dutch cricket". The english scrapped to a modest score of 162/5 off their 20 overs after being sent in by Smits. They came out confidently and with all the belief, hitting 4 sixes to the Englands 0, and never really looked like falling short. 

The utmost credit must be given to the performance of the Dutch in the field. Aside from the firey pace from Dirk Nannes, the attack was led by a couple of scratchy medium pacers and a rather orthodox left arm spinner. But the ground fielding was superb, Smits' mixed and matched his bowlers well, and importantly, they held their chances, all three of which were things the english failed to reproduce in the Netherlands' innings. 

Edgar Schiferli and Ryan ten Doeschate are a far cry from some of the top-notch pacemen going around, but they proved that when you stick to the basics, you reap the rewards. They bowled accurately to well placed fields, and did well to keep England to 100 off around 10 overs. Dirk Nannes, the experienced Australian, bowled an extremely good spell at the top of the innings, and was ultimately too quick for the inexperienced England late order hitters Robert Key and James Foster towards the end.

When ten Doeschate removed openers Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright after the flying start, the rest of the English batting struggled to get the wily Dutch bowlers to the boundaries. Owais Shah fell early to Schiferli, and 'innovative' Irishman Eoin Morgan holed out to the very medium pace of Peter Borren. Skipper Paul Collingwood tamely chipped the left arm spinner Pieter Seelaar to long-on, and after both Key and Foster failed to capitalise on the all important death overs, one got the feeling that it just wasn't going to be England's day.

The Netherlands never really fell behind the required run-rate of 8.10 an over. Tom de Grooth played the innings of his life with 49 off 30 balls, after Darron Reekers smashed two sixes off experienced bowlers Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad earlier in the piece. Every time the men in orange lost a wicket, the new batsman was able hang in and build a new partnership. In the end it came down to the last ball of the final over; the Dutch needed 2 runs to win, as the injured Shiferli nudged the Broad ball onto the onside and set off for the run. Broad then collected and went for glory - a single would have taken the game to a super over - and missed, resulting in the second run, an overthrow, which handed The Netherlands a deserved victory.

The vastly different fortunes of the sides were summed up as the respective captains faced the press. Paul Collingwood stuttered and stumbled his way through, and his lack of clear thinking reflected obvious devastation. "It's pretty hard to take, you call them sides the minnow sides, but today they deserved their victory" said Collingwood. "The Boys are devastated in the dressing-room, but we've got to bounce back, and play a hell of a lot better on Sunday."

This was a stark contrast to the feelings in the Netherlands camp. As Collingwood continuously glossed over the loss, giving off the vibe that his side was just using the tournament as a bit of a practice-run before the Ashes. Jeremy Smits captured perfectly the perspective of Netherlands cricket as a whole: "We will have to get some more time away from work - it will cost us a lot of money - but I would love to take some days off."

The win may cost some of the Netherlands players a few weeks wage, but the cost for the English, in terms of pride and confidence, would surely be far greater.

Jacob > Jacob

Ok, so I know what all you Twilight fanatics are thinking: Jacob is soooo hot, and he is so great, and kind. When I grow up, I'm going to marry Jacob. 

Yeah, well good luck with that...

But what if I told you, that your Jacob wasn't that great after all? What if I told you, that there is actually a better Jacob? Impossible, right?

OR IS IT?

(www.lostpedia.com)

This man, is also called Jacob. But he is not just any old Jacob who can shape-shift or whatever, he is the Jacob.

You should already be convinced that this Jacob is better than the Twilight Jacob. But if you are not already convinced, let me show you...

What can your Jacob do, Twilight fans? Share a telepathic connection with other wolves in his pack? Imprint on another person giving a stronger feeling than love? Have a constant body temperature of 108 degrees? Wow, congratulations to you. This Jacob, represents the light. He is over 200 years old. He has the power to make a person not age, to survive blows that would normally kill any mortal man, and give a crippled man the ability to walk again. He also knows how to create tapestries. This man is not someone you go and see, this is a man who summons you.

So do you really think your Jacob is really that great? I didn't think so. So from now on, whenever you  are reading your precious Twilight books, or sitting in the cinema watching the New Moon movie, and your heart melts for Jacob, just remember; is he really the Jacob you want to be with?

Advantage, Madamoiselle Sharapova

Maria Sharapova is just great!

It's so wonderful to see her back on the circuit and firing on all cylinders again. I sure missed her in the Australian open, but seeing her powerful, intimidating game flourish again at Roland Garros just brings a smile to my face.

A lot of people get annoyed with her grunting and groaning, almost painful screams as she powers the ball back at her opponent, every single point. And a lot of people get really annoyed with her tediously slow pre-serve routine, but I personally think that both of those things are a vital part of the Sharapova game which makes her so fantastic to watch!

Of course, there is the looks factor, and yes she gorgeous...but for me it's not all about the short, short dresses, the tight sweaty tops and the down-the-top camera shots they just love to put on the big screen. I just admire the way she goes about her business, both on and off the court, I think she speaks politely and handles herself really well.

The glitz, the guts, the grunts, the glamour, and the triumphant scream of "come on!" after she comes out on top...the package that makes Maria Sharapova the great player that she is. A lot of people really loathe the way she goes about it, but I know one guy who will always be sitting up until the early hours of the morning, just to see her blow her kisses.

Awesome Love

I tried to not love Lost, but it was hopeless...because I did love Lost!

Sport: Just a short word.

"It's the great thing about sport isn't it? That the underdog can have it's day and the giant can falter" - Harsha Bogle

Georgia's last.

Today was the last day we would have Georgia's company at uni (for a little while anyway!). I can't imagine what life at uni would be like without her. Being her last day, and the last day of semester, and we celebrated accordingly! 

For George. Good luck with everything! You will be sorely missed, until we meet again.

Two for the Road

Another couple of shots from my journey to and from uni today. It's not the most exciting ride, yet it never ceases to amaze.

Oranges and Lemons

Ever had one of those days were you just feel upset, for no apparent reason? Today was one of those days for me. It sucks, doesn't it?

I don't really like writing blogs about how I feel, and that describe my day, but today...I don't know, I'm just going to.

Those of you that have read my blog previously would know, I'm

really not a big fan at getting up at six in the morning, just to be at uni by eight. At that time of morning, the world is beautiful, and the world just feels so clean, but this morning was the first time in a while that I just didn't want to be awake.

As I sat on the bus I found it hard to concentrate on my book, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. It's a hard book to comprehend anyway, even without so much going on in my head. I can't imagine how hard it would be living in a society like the one in the book. If I were Winston, I would have been vaporised a long time ago. But, Winston battles through the tough times by hanging onto the little things; the diary, the glass paperweight, the rhyme. That's what I would need to do today.

Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement's,

You owe me five farthings, say the bells of St. Martin's.

I met Brooke on the bus, as I usually do. She always manages to cheer me up a little bit. She said she'd been up since 3am studying for the Algology test we had later that day, yet she was happy as ever. I'd gotten three more hours sleep than her, I didn't really feel I deserved to be feeling that groggy after the night she must have had.

After having a nice chat with Brooke, and meeting the rest of my friends for our usual 8am date with the Sneese (our lecturer is called Ms. Sneesby, how great is that?), I was feeling a lot better. I even got 79% in my Quantitative Biology test, along with my good friend Alex. But as soon as the euphoria of that wore off, for reasons unbeknownst to me, I was back to feeling miserable again.

Brian, our Invertebrate Animals guy, gave us the stupidest lecture today. I had no idea what was going on, so I'm not going to bother trying to explain it (it involved something to do with Fintan, Mel, and 'Homo Stupidous'). Then he tried to convince everyone I came from Indonesia, just because I told him that my father is part Dutch.

'Art' I did in invertebrates.

Not even did an injection of Nicola, Brammo and various hilarious youtube videos (sneaking cat included!) could make me feel any happier, and those things always make me feel happier!

The highlight of my day was probably the Algology lecture. After we had gotten the test over and done with, it was really nice just to relax and spend some time with some quality people. Guys like Kenny, Fintan, Synge, Ant, Alex, Mel, Lina, Dan, Georgia and Simon are always great to be around. Jacob, our lecturer, was also in a happy mood!

Have a Rhodoriffic day!

Unfortunately, Georgia seemed to be a bit upset after the lecture, which reminded me of the somber mood I was supposed to be in. Speaking of which, I guess I was in one of Georgia's tired moods (just not as crazy, and actually tired. Nothing against you George, love you!). On the way home, I almost fell asleep multiple times reading my perplexing book. It was a long ride home.

I guess this story doesn't really have a point, except that sometimes, no matter how much fun you should be having, no matter how many friends you have to make you smile, no matter how brave a face, or how fake a smile you put on, sometimes, you just can't change the way you feel inside. Oh well, at least Australia's Next Top Model was awesome tonight!

Three of the best.

My top 3 favourite episodes of Lost ever:

3. Season 3, Episode 1: A Tale of Two Cities.

Such a good episode, not as much for it's advancement of the plot, but for complete all-round effect. The acting from all involved was top class, especially the Ben - Kate breakfast scene. The music was heart wrenching and the scenery was absolutely stunning. The opening 5 minutes were some of the best the show has ever produced.

"Something nice to hold on to"

2. Season 4, Episode 11: Cabin Fever.

Very close, in my opinion, to being the best hour of Lost ever made. It has the perfect mix of telling flashbacks, great on-island action, a bucketload of fantastic acting and plenty of Keamy just killing stuff.

"You can't be the quaterback"

1. Season 2, Episode 23: Live Together, Die Alone.

This episode is not only thrilling but I hold it close to my heart, and is just typical Lost. What can I say really? I just adore Desmond, I love the on-island hatch flashbacks, and the cliffhanger...the final scene where the guys in the ice station contact Penny Widmore, you just can't put into words how brilliant it was!

"Miss Widmore, I think we've found it!"

So there you have it, my top 3 all time favourite episodes of Lost. 

Episodes that didn't quite make the cut: S1E04: Walkabout, S1E23: Exodus, S3E20: The Man Behind the Curtain, S3E22: Through the Looking Glass, S4E09: The Shape of Things to Come.

(All images courtesy Lostpedia.com)