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GeeGee, The important thing to think about when asking this question is to ignore Lara. Lara was a freak, he would have been an even better player in other teams that were more competitive. All countries will produce players like this from time to time. Think about the fact that a Zimbabwean was once ranked number one batsman in the world. So, let's remove Lara from the teams of the last 20 years. If you think back on it there are only a few names that really stand out: Ambrose Richardson (I guess, not convinced though) Walsh Now the important thing to think about when compiling a cricket team is not the automatic picks, it is the second tier players that come from the domestic competition that have worked hard and earned their spots. Not from pure talent, but pure hard work. How many years did it take Matthew Hayden to get back into the Australian team? The West Indies domestic competition is crap. The grounds (before the WC) were crap. The pitches used to be like concrete, now they are slow; and realistically they are uniform. Pitches in many countries are so similar you may as well play on the same ground 3-5 times and say screw travelling. In summary, Lara has made the West Indies worthy of disappointment, without him they would have been bottom 2-3 for last 15-20 years. Some of it goes back to when Viv was captain. Clive Lloyd was a very good captain, certainly he had exceptional assets to utilise. Viv had the same assets but had to grind out far more wins than his predecessor. Then we had Richardson, he more hoped his assets would perform than believed in them. It has all been downhill since Lloyd. Also they are losing potential players to NBA basketball, they are losing players to athletics. The cricket culture is not set up the right way there, especially with the partisan island culture. The West Indies will never be a force again unless they can really get their crap together and not rely on a Lara to scrape them to more wins than they deserve. How many years will it be before they have another? They have no depth at all because they must rely on their star players. With most other cricket teams you can name an able replacement if a key player is injured, probably moreso in Australia since the domestic competition is so strong. Anyway, I have rambled on far too long. Sean

All in all, it was a decent tournament. It was FAR TOO LONG though. Without boasting, I really do think the best team won the cup. The size of the Australian victories is a testament to that. It was a disappointing finale, but it was made up for with the Gilchrist innings. Sean

Let's just face a fact non-Americans, they cannot and will not accept any arguments on this matter. No matter how much logic, rationale or intelligence you show in this debate, they want guns. Quote any statistics you want, it will make no difference. Let's stop wasting our time. Sean

Americans and their &*%*^%^&% guns. I am so glad I came back to Australia. Sean

Now we come to the really important game. South Africa win they are basically through. England win they are almost certainly through. (It would take WI to seriously thrash England to make up nett run rate) Last night's match was basically a nothing match becuase they rested all their good bowlers. Sean

Bangladesh beating South Africa has certainly opened the window for England progessing, and even the West Indies have a chance again now. Go Bangladesh! Sean

Well there are some technical problems with this change in the laws. How do you define someone setting off for another run? The most obvious definition is that some portion of their body has made contact with the ground outside the crease. Or that their is no part of their body in contact with the ground behind the crease. (This actually happens quite often about 4-5m past the crease when deceleration after this single is happening, have a look sometime) The first one has problems in that it means you could take a running leapfrom behind the crease to set off for a run but technically have not left the crease. The latter means that every time you are turning for a run you have a problem as you are outside of the crease, (apart from the grounded bat). It is a real can of worms. Sean

Hey, I just meant where is Ashley Giles :) Sean

I am not even going to comment on cricketer of the year. Sean

I think HoneBase use WBF rules, not HomeBase Rules Sean

NZ beating WI has made it a little easier for England. In some ways during the Super 8 England should be hoping for Australia, South Africa and New Zealand to beat everyone except them. Sean

Bidding challenge hands quite often do not resemble what would happen at the table by the same expert. Sean

OK, realism time, can England make the semis considering they will probably need to win 5 out of 6 to do so. Sean (They have to play Aus, SA, SL, WI, Ba, Ire)

This all depends on your AGREED NT range, if it is 8-11 as Justin said, even with every 10 and 9 in the deck it still won't be strong enough. So it now comes down to which lie you will make in tempo, personally I would probably do 1♦ on maybe both of them, although I do lean further towards 1♥ on the first one. Sean

I think this is due to lack of choices. Which conservative government will I vote in to office? Oh? Voting isn't compulsory? I think I will play bridge instead. Sean

*sniff* Insulted for being constructive :) Sean

In this example, won't you be giving the opps the information on how to beat 3NT even if it is right if you use a checkback? I think you need to make the definitive decision now. Sean

On a sort of related note, how many people will Bush pardon when he leaves office? Sean

WHy not just keep it simple, use a 15-18 NT rebid with asks (you jump to show the higher range), and make the jump NT rebid 19-20 with the same asks. The question I have, is if 2♦ is 18-19 bal, does that make 1♣ - 1♦ - 2NT some sort of weird balanced raise? And therefore, what does that make the other bids? Sean

I would pass, ESPECIALLY if I knew partner opened that crap. Sean

I remember one time really screwing with the opponents at the table, we were not vul, they were vul and I found out at the table that they used only take out doubles after 1NT-X. So I watched them squirm as we played in our 2-1♦ fit, they both knew they had 4-5♦ each but couldn't really do anything :) We went 4-5 off, can't remember, they were cold for 3NT. Sean

The interesting thing here is if Justin "thought" W pitched, then it must have been a ♠, a red card would be more obvious to everyone at the table. Now if W did in fact revoke with a ♠ pitch, now that suit becomes far more interesting. Sean

This sounds like a good system :) You appeal, the opponents who want the appeal to fail give written evidence obviously favouring them. The only other person giving evidence is the director with whom you disagree... Hrm, I am surprised they didn't keep your money and take it to the bar on that system. Sean

The only thing Australia has done is help get them kicked out of the Commonwealth. The Australian government is trying to force the cricket team not to tour there, which is interesting as an aside because if the cricket board can't prove it is a security risk they get fined $2mil for not going. Sean

Graeme Smith suffering from cramps ruined a good match. Jacques Kallis should be dropped, I know he scored 48, but he always protects his average. It was the way he scored it, far too slow, he gave SA no chance. Anyway, go Bangladesh! And then off to the Super-8s. Sean