The Circus

Is Test cricket drinking itself to death?
The Guardian’s Mike Selvey has launched a curious crusade today, demanding that all drinks be banned from a Test arena, except for the official drinks break.

With swirls of arguments circling the globe regarding the uncertain future of the five-day game, Selvey is the first to suggest players slurping drinks during glove-changes or by the boundary mid-over is the problem.

But the figures back his case. Thirty years ago, pre-isotonic drinks, Selvey says there was one extended innings of 200 or more every 7.6 matches. The figure is every 4.89 matches now. There were no triple hundreds in the 1980s, but four in the 1990s and seven, plus a quadruple century, since.

Selvey argues that batsmen's concentration is greatly enhanced by not becoming dehydrated, just as bowlers retain accuracy over a full day by being able to partake in regular drinks, all undermining the endurance aspect of Test cricket.

Deal the cards! Deal the cards!
One guy who probably shouldn’t bet on whether Test cricket needs less drinks, or anything else, is the gambler who badly damaged his bank balance during yesterday’s First Test between Australia and West Indies at the Gabba.

As the Australians prepared to bat, he placed a phone bet of $20,000 on the locals scoring less than 414 for the innings. Australia was 5-322 at stumps on a flattening pitch, with plenty of batting to come. He then placed another $20,000 on Shane Watson to score more than 36 runs, exactly two balls before Watson was out for a duck. And so he phoned back, placing $20,000 on the other opening batsman, Simon Katich, to score less than 42 runs. Katich romped away to 92.

Dangerous Precedents in Sport #1
You may have heard that it hasn’t been a happy time in Wigan. The local football team, Wigan Athletic, was beaten 9-1 by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, conceding eight goals after half-time, and things have been a little crazy since.

Of most concern to sports performers everywhere is the reaction of the Wigan players themselves, who offered to refund the ticket price of every Latics supporter who bought a ticket from the club to the disaster at White Hart Lane.

This is a very dangerous precedent. Richmond Football Club players would have been paying fans back every week for the best part of two decades. Australian tennis players will need to find the cash for Melbourne Park’s capacity every January. The Wallabies would be hoping not many Aussies were at the recent debacle in Scotland.

The ramifications of Wigan’s epic English Premier League loss are still being felt elsewhere too. While Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is adamant that the players can’t wait to face Sunderland this weekend, to prove they can play, the reserves couldn’t begin that process against Liverpool because of a waterlogged pitch.

And in a shock twist, Wigan executives decided Monday probably wasn’t the day to open a grand new club store in Wigan central.

So, is there any good news for the Latics? Well, their youth team beat Macclesfield 4-0, but, then again, Macclesfield’s biggest claims to fame are that (a) it was the only Mill Town left not bombed during World War II (Wikipedia, so it must be true) and (b) The Times named it the “most uncultured town in Britain” in 2004 because of its distinct lack of theatres, cinemas or other cultural facilities.

Sunderland awaits.

A Circus Public Service Announcement
Look, it's almost Christmas. There’s a strong chance your company, family or mates will organise a pre-Christmas round of golf. You might even have a beer before teeing off.

So just know that, in Nova Scotia at least, hitting another golfer with your ball after attempting the famous Happy Gilmore run-up-and-tee-off technique (demonstrated by Padraig Harrington) is now legally recognised as a no-no. Damn lawyers.

The numbers game
92 - The number of runs Simon Katich made in the first innings of the First Test against the Windies, while not going on to score 100.

66 - The number of runs Mike Hussey made against the Windies, while not going on to score 100.

55 - The number of runs Ricky Ponting made against the Windies, while not going on to score 100.

0 - The number of runs Shane Watson made against the Windies, while definitely not going on to score 100.

Quote of the day No.1:
"That's the first time in your career you haven't looked cool." - News Limited's most hated cricketer Michael Clarke to Chris Gayle (picked up by the effects microphone) after the Windies captain sprawled to the turf, chasing an unlikely catch in the final session. With dreadlocks in place, wrap-around sunnies and earrings, Gayle may still have begged to differ.

Quote of the day No.2:
"Wake up!" - A member of the crowd to Rafael Nadal, who didn’t heed the advice and duly fell to Nikolay Davydenko, missing a spot in the last four at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Headline we’d like to read
AFL club admits new draftee isn’t Hird, Lockett and Judd rolled into one.