Offmessage

To be below Wales is unfortunate. To be below Argentina is downright careless.

The fact that no Northern Hemisphere teams are in Rugby’s top 4 comes as no surprise after the spankings we’ve all received in the last few weeks, I suppose.  Still, the fact that a team deemed not good enough to take part in the Tri-nations (Argentina) is above us all is properly depressing.

And choosing the seedings of the World Cup 3 years in advance, when Northern Hemisphere rugby is in such a state… Well, I could complain, but I can’t help feeling that these rankings are likely to stay around for a while.  Only Wales looks like they might be hard done by by the current rankings. Which makes the Six Nations look like a foregone conclusion too… Heigh ho, at least we’ve got the cricket football snooker darts.

So.  I’ve not written much about cricket for a while.  Not that I’ve lost interest, more that I’ve not had the time or the inclination to talk about a fairly dismal run of English form. Not a fair weather fan, I’d like to point out, but definitely a fair weather blogger.  There’s not much I can add to the comment in the papers, so why bother?

On the current topic, however, I do have something to say.  Who selected Pattinson?  Why?  And if we are to have another surprise selection let’s make it Graham Napier, please.  He’s a fine bowler and his form this season for Essex with both bat and ball makes him deserving of a chance.  Definitely more so than an Aussie that hardly took wickets for Victoria, let alone Notts.

I’m at Edgbaston for day 2 (a week today).  Here’s hoping for a more convincing performance.

‘We have decided that the government can make their position clear, but that it is not for us to intervene directly in this matter’

This makes me very angry. I was genuinely pleased that the Gordon Brown government seemed to be willing to step in when Blair wasn’t. I can’t understand why they simply don’t act. A single statement saves a ludicrous amount of trouble.

In the last 5 meetings (over the last 3 years) we’ve only beaten South Africa once. It was at Twickenham and it was only just (by 2 points, 23-21). Our total points difference is 116 against in those 5 matches.

We started the tournament 279-1 outsiders. We’re still 3-1 against as compared to the Springboks 2-1 on. But:

We’ve got Johnny

What a day.  I can’t say much, being one of the many people who consigned Northern Hemisphere rugby to certain failure this World Cup.  But oh my God, I’ve never been happier to be so so wrong.  France beat the All Blacks and England beat Australia in two thrilling matches.  Suddenly the World Cup has come alive.

So. England get humiliated by the South Africans 36-0 and a reasonable amount of blame is placed at the door of ex-League superstar, Andy Farrell. The question is asked (yet again) can players change code and continue their careers at the same level?

At the same time, rather overshadowed by the farce of the World Cup, the Guinness Premiership kicked off this weekend, and another code switcher made rather a different debut. Start, as they say, as you mean to go on.

(I’m glad my South African colleague doesn’t care so much for sport. Any other South African I’ve met would be making my life hell all week after both the rugby and the cricket)

It was obvious that we had no chance of defending our title, but today’s news pretty much puts the icing on the cake.

Given our appalling showing I had pinned my hopes on the French and the Irish as the two Northern hemisphere teams with some chance, but… Even that seems painfully distant now. Australia v New Zealand in the final, with New Zealand to win. But then we knew that months ago, didn’t we?

Two world cups this year in my two favourite sports… Somehow I should be more excited.

Wind your memory back three years… Paul Collingwod? England Captain? You’ve got to be effing joking!

Yet. Today it seems like the right choice.

England got booed off the pitch after their abysmal defeat to South Africa.

So predictable. So dull. It sums up the whole competition really. Only 3 or 4 exciting matches so far (South Africa v Sri Lanka, England v Sri Lanka, Ireland v Bangladesh, any more?). Teams looking bored, pointless matches, predicatable results. The only excitement has come off the pitch.

What’s really annoyed me is that whenever I’ve turned the TV on I’ve been able to identify the winner of almost every match within 10 minutes – it’s been so uncompetitive. I said some time ago it looked like New Zealand v Australia for the final, and there’s nothing that’s happened since then that makes me change my mind.

England’s appalling performance is just the sludgy icing on a very muddy cake.

Yesterday was all about the cricket. Sadly it looks like today is all about events off the field:

• Bob Woolmer (the Pakistani manager) dies after being found unconscious this morning in his hotel room after Pakistan’s early and ignominious exit from the World Cup,
• and Freddie is suspended for a match and sacked as vice captain after a late night pedalo incident.

Yesterday was better