Current Cricketers You have a SEVERE loathing against?

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Lemming

I've not heard of any umpire question Giles' bowling, calling it defensive? Have you any examples of when this has happened?

The concern most widely heard is that not all umpires are as yet prepared to entertain the notion that Giles can appeal for LBW when bowling what has traditionally been regarded as a "negative" line.

In at least one Test last year the King of Spain was denied stacks of appeals from one umpire.. then changeed ends and changed fortunes.

Needless to say.. Giles' effectiveness is pretty dependent on the batsman believing that LBW is a real threat.

[Trescothick]

Even if he is 'negative' it doesn't make him boring too watch, infact it makes it more the interesting as England clamp down the runs and its interesting to see how they respond. I've always been a keen admirer and haven't seen it as negative anyway because the no. of wickets he takes shows what a class act he is.
I always look forward to his innings with the bat as well, a quick run scorer and consistent.

[Lemming]

My question was just referring to whether Giles had ever been warned or not by an umpire for bowling a negative line. Obviously it is against the rules to bowl constantly outside leg-stump, and alot of commentators have said bad things about Gilo but I just wanted to know if he had ever been wronged by an official.

Bowling over the wicket, as Gilo does so much, does make it difficult to get lbw decisions though as well. Pitching it in the "red-zone" could well mean the ball will go on to miss off, and obviously pitching outside leg-stump should not be given out lbw. Gilo hardly ever comes around the wicket and so will hardly ever get lbw decisions anyay. But I believe you are indeed correct to say that umpires doubt his appeals.

Gilo has only ever been out 8% of the time when batting. Can't be bothered to check other low-order/tailender guys but that may be a bit low. Maybe when Gilo is aroud the umpires finger never goes up for lbw!

[Lemming]

Originally Posted by Trescothick

Even if he is 'negative' it doesn't make him boring too watch, infact it makes it more the interesting as England clamp down the runs and its interesting to see how they respond. I've always been a keen admirer and haven't seen it as negative anyway because the no. of wickets he takes shows what a class act he is.
I always look forward to his innings with the bat as well, a quick run scorer and consistent.

A good overview of the man Gilo!

[Rachael]

I like Giles a lot.... but even so... I have to concede that he is not one for the connesieur. He is to spin bowling what Mark Richardson was to top order batting: effective.

If the art of slow bowling is dependent on giving the ball lots of air and working through a repertoire of well disguised variations to deceive in the air (drift, dip, etc) and then bamboozle off the pitch (spit, kick, etc) then to be quite honest a youngster would do better to watch Harbhajan (or even keedy or the now retred Tuffers) than to watch Giles. Which is not to say that there's nothing to be learnt from Giles on that front... but simply that Giles isn't anythign special on that front.

Doesn't mean that same youngster couldn't learn something about blocking up an end, building pressure and so on from watching Giles...

It wouldn't be unreasonable to say that a youngster would learn more about orthodox swing bowling from Akram than from McGrath... and even from Bicknell or hoggard or Anderson than from McGrath... but in terms of learning about taking Test wickets... that same youngster could still learn more from McGrath than from almost any active bowler in world cricket.

Can't we appreciate the guy without pretending he's something he's not?

[Kirsty Harris]

Originally Posted by Rachael

Can't we appreciate the guy without pretending he's something he's not?

Certainly we can, and do - I don't think anyone is making out Giles is the English Shane Warne! He's just a great bloke, who works his socks off for England, both with the ball and bat, He makes the best of his ability and has achieved notable success because of this. That, to me, is something to applaude, not ridicule. That's what would annoy me so much going back just over a year ago, when people were all to willing to stick the boot into Giles for being the best spin bowler in the country. It's nice that he is getting a (generally) fair go nowdays, but I do feel some people try and make out he was the worst bowler in the history of cricket and suddenly came good, when it is just not the case. He has come on a bit, certainly, but it hasn't been a magical transformation!!

[Teatime FatCat]

He is however, along with Tresco, an extremely boring interviewee! In fact the england side seem to be split into the interesting camp and the 'tow the party line, the lads had a good game, we played to a plan, the lads done well etc etc etc yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn' boys.

Interesting Interviews -
Butcher
Strauss
Freddy
Hoggy
KP
Key Lime Pie


Yawners -
Tresco
Vaughan
Gilo
Harmy
Jones S
Jones GO


Undecided -
Bell (never seen him)
Thorpe (talks like a yawner, but I think he is secretly taking the ****)
Fletcher (is he mute?)

[DaveGillespie]

Thorpe reminds me of pre-retirement Atherton when it comes to interviews. Atherton was about as interesting as a brush shaft, but immediately became witty and incisive after retiring. Thorpe has an air about him which suggests he has his own private joke going on.

[Teatime FatCat]

Exactly DG! He seems to verbally toe the party line, but there is a twinkle in his eye, and you think that he might go straight back to the dressing room and take the **** out of the interviewer!

Also, in all of Athers / Hussains / Hughes books, they all mention him as a complete non-conformist! I suggest his book will revel much.

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by DaveGillespie

Thorpe reminds me of pre-retirement Atherton when it comes to interviews. Atherton was about as interesting as a brush shaft, but immediately became witty and incisive after retiring.

When you're England captain you've got to watch what you say. Atherton did mention Ray Illingworth at a dinner speech he gave at our club. He said of Illingworth: 'He liked to call a spade a spade ... as Devon Malcolm found out'. Not the thing you expect from an England skipper! And treading a fine legal line too into the bargain. I think most people know what Ray is alleged to have called Devon.