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