Given my suggestion for a 16 team competition, I reckon that the eight quarter-finalists should qualify automatically for the next world cup and everyone else regardless of historic status or otherwise within the cricket world should have to earn the right to be in the tournament by going through qualifying. Also, before anyone asks, I do not believe that host nations should qualify automatically – they too should be me made to earn the right to take part in the competition.
A lady came in to see me today. She was beside herself as the DWP had treated her very badly over numerous different aspects of her claim. She had been misled and lied to, but this is the thing that’s making me want to roll some heads…
Her phone call to DWP last year….
Lady: I am calling to inform you of changes to my health; I now have cancer. DWP: Well? Lady: I was told to inform you of any changes to my health. DWP: Well, are you going to die? Lady: I’m not sure. I’ve only just been diagnosed. DWP: Well, I can put you through on the special rules for terminal claimants, but if you don’t die within six months we will prosecute you.
A personal view of England’s exit from the Cricket World Cup
The match between England and Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval has just ended, with James Anderson being clean bowled to give Bangladesh victory by 15 runs. This means that Bangladesh are in the quarter-finals, and irrespective of what they do in their last game against Afghanistan England are heading home at the first possible opportunity. Buttler’s aggressive 65 kept the match alive longer than the England team as a whole deserved. The dismissal of Chris Jordan, run out when his bat was over the line but in the air, summed up England’s failings in a nutshell.
This is England’s worst ever showing in a cricket world cup – although morally speaking 1996 when England progressed into the quarter-finals only by virtue of unconvincing victories over Holland and the United Arab Emirates was on a par.
To Bangladesh, and especially Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim who batted so beautifully, the former racking up Bangladesh’s first ever world cup century my heartiest congratulations. To England: it is time to face facts – you are not even a passable one day side – never mind a good one.
For the rest, I hope that Ireland can conjure up one more good result against either India or Pakistan to ensure their progress to the quarter-finals. I think that todays result is a good one for cricket as a whole – it nails for good and all the notion that the quarter-final line ups could be predicted from the start of the tournament.
The best match of the 2015 Cricket World Cup so far took place at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart this morning GB time. Ireland, with a century from Ed Joyce and 97 from Andrew Balbirnie reached 331-8. In reply Zimbabwe fought brilliantly, and at various times, not least when they took 19 from the 49th over, bowled by Kevin O’Brien, to leave themselves needing seven of six balls, they looked like favourites for what have been the largest successful chase in World Cup history. Alex Cusack kept a cool head, and put the finishing touches to a fine bowling performance by capturing the two remaining Zimbabwe wickets for the addition of a single, in three balls. A full scorecard can be viewed by clicking here. Having set the scene with this opening account I will share some pictures before moving on…
This device appears above Paper Klip, the Fakenham stationers.
Not only was that match a classic, featuring quality performances from many players, but the eventual result means that Ireland have now won three matches at this tournament, and are very well placed to progress to the quarter finals. The only disappointment to me was that the Player of the Match Award went boringly (and in my opinion wrongly) to Ed Joyce for his hundred when the key to Ireland’s victory was the cool head under pressure displayed by Alex Cusack. Having witnessed this amazing match I am more convinced than ever that the ICC would be utterly wrong to reduce associate nation involvement in the World Cup. My response to Aakash Chopra who gets to publicise his ideas on www.cricinfo.com and who believes that the World Cup should be reduced to ten teams and that the associates should concentrate on getting to play more matches against full members outside of world cups is twofold. First he is guilty of presenting a false dichotomy: it is not a case of either or – i would like to see both more matches between full members and associates outside of world cups and greater associate participation in World Cups. Whether he is guilty of any offence beyond sloppy logic I am not prepared to say, but it is only in cricket that anyone argues for a smaller world cup. My thoughts on how the Cricket World Cup should be formatted can be viewed by clicking here.
Congratulations to Ireland on a magnificent performance. Before sharing some more pictures I will comment on nations who first entered the world cup as associates and are now full members:
Sri Lanka – played 1975 and 1979 as associates before being granted full membership – Won in 1996 (a feat never achieved by England), Runners up in 2011.
Zimbabwe – made world cup debut in 1983 as an associate,promoted to full membership in 1992 – beat Australia in their first ever world cup match, nearly beat India (eventual champions), later in that competition, and in 1999 when England were ejected from their own party embarrassingly early came with an ace of qualifying for the semi-final.
Bangladesh – No great highlights yet, but are going fairly well this time, and there is at least one person who would not be in the least surprised were they to end up progressing further than England.
Now for the second batch of pictures…
I was delighted to see cormorants back on the structure I have dubbed Cormorant platform as for some weeks due to nearby roadworks they had not been in evidence.
I spent today imaging items for a Timed Bid auction which will go live on Monday (check out http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/search-filter/auction-catalogues?AuctionType=3 at that time). I managed to get everything I needed to do done in spite of the fact that my work computer was functioning at about the same level as the West Indies batting had been when I listened to commentary from the cricket world cup before setting off for work!
The items covered a variety of categories. This set of Royal Doulton plates was the very first lot I imaged today…
While these could appeal either to pottery enthusiasts or lovers of railwayana, they were beaten for breadth of appeal by lot 2085, which has stamps, postal history, medals and art (at least) covered…
This French medallion (lot 1502) came out well…
I finish this eclectic selection of images with some stamp album lots where I decided rather than photographing whole pages to focus on smaller quantities of stamps…
He knew it was risking too much to appear
On TV with his main oppositional peers
Lest pretence became all too abundantly clear
That he has no defence for his leadership years.
So Call-me-Dave wrangled, all Divo a-dangle
High-handing his arrogance on a gold plate
And his posse-by-proxy manhandled to strangle
The fate of a woefully unsurprised State into
Showing him hiding as one head entangled
In brevity measured to crowded debate.
“This is our final offer” Cons proffered in haste
After months of a chaos they’d fought to create
And the broadcasters’ practise did keenly berate
For the leaving of times and the terms far too late.
And the country cried chick chick chick…
Watching Dave run
From the hum of his shit
And his enemies’ guns
And the fun carried on when his frenemy, Clegg
Made a scramble to lay the Conservatives’ egg With a pledge to stand…
The following is from my friend,Charlotte Ryan, who was expected to attend work interviews or lose her benefits just weeks before she died. This was written on December 12, 2014:
I have terminal cancer, my prognosis is 0-3 years and I was diagnosed in March 2014 with my brain stem glioma. In April 2014 I was placed in the support group* for 3 years and I have gone from being able-bodied to hopelessly disabled. I have many neurological deficits including diploplia, dyspraxia, dysarthria and dysphagia. To save you googling, this means that I have double vision and am going blind, I’m very clumsy and most days I drop everything I pick up, my speech is failing and one day I won’t be able to communicate verbally at all and I have such difficulty swallowing that I now have a feeding tube.
There has been much talk at the Cricket World Cup about how the tournament should be formatted, especially given that there are those who would reduce it to a ten team tournament (so utterly harebrained a notion that I do no more than mention it). Several of the associate nations at this world cup have given good accounts of themselves, with Ireland having a strong chance of progressing to the quarter finals.
My formula for a Cricket World Cup would be as follows:
16 teams to play in the tournament. Stage one would involve two groups of eight teams, the top four from each group progressing. Each group would play its matches in sets of four (hence two groups of eight), making seven rounds of matches for each group, to played on alternate days (i.e. this stage would span two weeks, with each side having a day off between matches.
After the group stage would be a three day break before the quarter-finals, which would be played all on one day. After a two day break the semi–finals would take place. Then following another two day break the final would take place. This would mean that the tournament would be played in a period of three and a half weeks (a sensible length for a global tournament).
As for the TV people: If they don’t like it they can lump it.
Now for some pics…
Developments at King’s Lynn bus station.
These magpies played a good game of hide and seek with me – but as this picture proves I emerged the winner!
This was taken in a Jobcentre, therefore exposing that there certainly are targets for benefit sanctions, something which the government has always denied. Apparently the Jobcentre where it was taken isn’t being named at this point, presumably to protect the whistleblower, but the photo has already been passed on to a parliamentary select committee. Let’s hope the committee acts on this.
My day at James and Sons was dominated by Numismatism as I had been left a selection of coins and banknotes to image. I will take you through a selection of the items that I imaged today.
There were four albums of banknotes, from which I shall settle sharing the gallery for lot 224, which consists of three images…
The first coin lot I shall feature is number 321, which was the first of two proof sets of the last issue of pre-decimal British coinage…
Lot 323 was a single coin, for which I produced a full gallery…
Lot 324, a set of four commemorative coins from Jersey, also seems worth sharing…
To finish, lot 344, a medallion issued by the Tower of London…
While these could appeal either to pottery enthusiasts or lovers of railwayana, they were beaten for breadth of appeal by lot 2085, which has stamps, postal history, medals and art (at least) covered…
This French medallion (lot 1502) came out well…
I finish this eclectic selection of images with some stamp album lots where I decided rather than photographing whole pages to focus on smaller quantities of stamps…
Lotte Ryan
Lot 324, a set of four commemorative coins from Jersey, also seems worth sharing…
To finish, lot 344, a medallion issued by the Tower of London…
aspiblog 