Who Is The Best Pace Bowler Pakistan Have Ever Had?. >

[Rachael]

LOL - and now you've actually introduced a player I genuinely liked (and still like): Sheringham always struck me as the real star of the Sheringham-Shearer double act. A kind of English Bergkamp. With a guy like Sheringham doing al the hard work to get the ball in the right place it's hardly surprising Shearer scored so many damn goals: he could hardly have missed with most of them!

I've never quite got my head around good cricket - football analogies.. but the sort of muscular route-1 football played by Shearer always strikes me as akin to blast and block, agricultrual batting or guile-free short-pitched thunderbolt bowling.

Needless to say I always prefer watching the Bergkamps of this world just pass the ball into the net with deft touches and no physical contact :-)

[Ernest]

Rachael I dont believe you can bring your dislike of pace into a football topic

Anyway pace was Michael Owens trade mark, being able to run onto the ball quicker than defenders.

Now you have to be strong in football, sadly this is lacking a little with Owen, his one problem is, he is pushed of the ball with ease.

I wonder what you think of (dare I say) Rooney?.

[Rachael]

Ah... in soccor, Ernest.. it's the artists all the way for me: Cantona, Bergkamp and very, very few others. If they can't collect a 30 yard pass on their toes (and I mean pretty much as if catching it with their hands) and then curl it with the deftest of delightful touches... I'm really not that interested :-)

Actually.. I also have a soft spot for both Robbie Fowler and Alan Smith.. and a deep dislike of Joe Cole... all of which, at least at first glance, kinda blows that generalisation out of te water: I never have really worked out what it is about a footballler that endears him too me.. I just know that McManaman and Sheringham count amongst the good guys (along with Woodgate, Ferdinand, Silvestre, the Neville Brothers, Kirkland, Fabian Barthes and Bergkamp) and that Rooney and Shearer (plus Ashley and Joe Cole) are on the other side of the fence :-)

I was going to say "Don't try to make any sense of that... it's just an instinctive thing".. but even as I write I wonder if a lot of it is to do with the selflessness of the players: the selfless workaholics go down well... as do the perfectionists.... the glory boys don't.

Ah.. how do you bring any sort of rationale to liking to see David Coulthard do well in Grand Prix (not a nationality thing: he's the first british racer I've liked in decades).. plus loving to see the French or the Welsh kick butt rugby union.. and almost praying that Henin will do well in the tennis. There's SOME common themes.. and a colective list might reveal something about what one holds dear.. but the link between what one likes in theory and who one follows in practice has never, for me, been particularly straightforward.

Maybe appeal of following sport is actually to help clarify that.. I'm attracted by the cricket of both Kirsten and Ramprakash... of both Giles and Tufnell.. of both Russell and Read.. of both Fraser and Caddick. I see something exemplified and worthy in all these individuals. What is it? Maybe it's the fact that there's no easy answer that keeps me following things - i don't know.

[Shaka]

Originally Posted by Ernest

Rachael I dont believe you can bring your dislike of pace into a football topic

Anyway pace was Michael Owens trade mark, being able to run onto the ball quicker than defenders.

Now you have to be strong in football, sadly this is lacking a little with Owen, his one problem is, he is pushed of the ball with ease.

I wonder what you think of (dare I say) Rooney?.

I think you do Owen a grave injustice here. Pace apart, he is a finisher supreme. One on one he will time and again win the battle with the GK. Rooney is also a supreme talent but he has the temperament of a Gascoigne which makes me wonder if he will be able to cut it in the long run.

[Ernest]

Strange but interesting post from you Rachael, and I find myself in agreement with a lot you say, I would agree that Cantona was an artist, he also had an artists temperment, lot of people don't like him though.

I have time for Shearer for one reason, he does work dammed hard, and if hw looses form and is down, he picks himself up.

You may find this a strange comment from me, but despite his years not long ago England needed him, and he was the form player.

Tennis showing my age here, but I will never forget Virginia Wade holding that trophy high, and how she deserved it, the current crop of players have been a dissapointment to me, at least the British players, Tim henman has never lived up to his early promise, and for Greg R well.

I think the tennis player I have enjoyed the most in the last ten years, would have to be Pete Sampras(spelling not sure), he was cool even when injured.

Golf I liked Tony jacklin, he was dedicated, even tok to managing the Ryder Cup, I liked Nick Faldo, but for some reason I dont know, he went down in my destination.
Cricket

Originally Posted by Rachael

Maybe appeal of following sport is actually to help clarify that.. I'm attracted by the cricket of both Kirsten and Ramprakash... of both Giles and Tufnell.. of both Russell and Read.. of both Fraser and Caddick. I see something exemplified and worthy in all these individuals. What is it? Maybe it's the fact that there's no easy answer that keeps me following things - i don't know

Gosh.I am in complete agreement, caddick? he could bowl like a man possesed, but he seemed to save his best for the 2nd innings, Like Anderson though, he produced wickets out of the blue, that is one thing they had in common.

You are not on yur own folowing a lot of different sports, I have took stick from mt son, when I watched GP, he could not understand why I would sit there for 2 hours watching cars go round and round, but things happen, you will only notice if you watch.

Ern

[Ernest]

No Shaka I was not disputing the finishing power of Owen, I have watched generations of Liverpool teams, the great side that won everything there was for years, E Hughes singing "Liverpool are magin, Everton are tragic", He he copped it for that, all I am saying over Owen is that he could do with just being of a larger build.

Ern