Senility having robbed me of some of my powers of concentration I tend to concentrate on short-read stuff rather than books – although I still have in excess of 50 books here waiting to be read.
Headlines and short columns have become my thing.
Senility has not, yet anyway, robbed me of my love of cricket and I watched the first test of the current Oz-India test with interest this week.
Much of the interest is tinged with sadness that the teams include players once “best in the World” now in their final year (or so) before retirement – and in the Ocker case with very few behind them chasing their places.
We have seen the best (ever?) of Kohli, Smith, an exemplary Ocker bowling attack and two Indian spinning craftsmen unavailable (and un-needed) for that first test.
India v Oz in Oz now comes close to challenging The Ashes as must-watch sport’s finest moment.
I was therefore rather surprised to look at the NewstalkZB website this morning and read this headline;
Black Caps v England: Is New Zealand-England the most exciting cricket rivalry in the world?
Without doubt the most inane headline in the history of “news” organisations since Mr Gutenberg started work.
No Minister 
I agree Tinman.
What 12 year old produced that headline.
BTW Kohli’s second innings hundred suggests he may have a couple more left in him in this series. Not the batsman, or fielder he was (that catch he dropped was almost in the dolly category for a test match slipper) but I would still like to have him in my team.
As far as NZ is concerned I would like to see Young open with Latham, Conway to 5, Mitchell 6 and Blundell 7. Patel plays too because you do not dump your best spin bowler.
pdm Patel has never taken a test wicket outside of the sub-continent. Is he really the best NZ has?
I wonder if we should add Williamson to Kohli and Smith etc?
Hardly allowed to play anywhere else.
Compare him with Vettori who hardly missed a test. You cannot expect Patel to come from club cricket, as he has often been required to do, and be in test bowling rhythm.
Play him, bowl him and he will take wickets against the best.
Don’t play him, don’t bowl him and he won’t.
I agree with Tinman here pdm re Patel, although TBF that three test whitewash of India in their back yard was remarkable in the wide range of NZ heros who brought possibly the best cricket team in the world to their knees.
Henry and O’Rourke bowling in test one with Ravindra and Conway amongst the runs. Test two saw Conway Ravindra and Latham in the runs with Mitch Santner taking 13 of the twenty Indian wickets. Then in test three, It was Mitchell and Young for the runs and Patal getting eleven scalps.
Nine NZ players all making the difference.
An interesting comment from the talking heads at Perth Stadium suggestions that now India can produce quicks perhaps it is time tor Cricket India to abandon their dusty spin wickets and head for harder faster wickets as their batters have become better against quicks and not so flash against the slow bowlers with drift and turn.