TYLER: Welcome back to Let’s Talk Sport, I am stating on the record that this will be the GOAT Let’s Talk Sport; you boys will have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks because I have four very good topics this week.
We will start with my first topic today…
LOCAL IPL AUCTION
The IPL auction was a couple weeks ago. If there was a local IPL based in India, who do you think will be the best purchase?
DAVE: Well, I think as a selector you have to balance your team out. Do you go for a hard-hitting batter, a weapon of a bowler or a dominant spinner?
For my batter I will go Chris Bright from Kooweerup, he is a very hard-hitting bat, I think twice this year he has hit the first ball of the match over the fence for six… he doesn’t mess around.
From an all-rounders point of view, I think I will go a tried and tested Russell Lehman from Tooradin. He would be an economical bowler in the Twenty-20 format and nudges the ball around pretty well too. He’s been a champion, a league medal winner…so he’ll do me.
TYLER: The all-rounders are definitely the bargain buys, Lachie, who are you taking?
LACHIE: I am going to be a bit of a progressive thinker on this one because I don’t think it will be too long before we see a women’s IPL…
DAVE: I like it!
LACHIE: I am going to go Chelsea Moscript from Dandy, she bats (and) she bowls. She is in really good form for the Dandy women’s side at the moment.
DAVE: What about you, Tyler? What happens if the auctioneer faints too, have you got a back-up plan?
TYLER: We don’t have a back-up plan, so everyone please stay hydrated at the local cricket IPL auction.
I think my selections will be Ruwantha Kellepotha from Casey-South Melbourne; he is probably a cop-out from me because he has played some first-class cricket. But he had 5/7 on the weekend and he whacks them with the bat.
My other one is Jordy Wyatt from Springy South, I am a big fan of the way he goes about it, lots of positivity at the crease.
DAVE: I’m just thinking to myself as you speak. What would Chris Bright or Russ Lehman do if they secured $1million at auction…that’s probably a scarier thought than their cricket!
As we talk about a spin option there with last year’s Wookey Medallist Ruwantha Kellepotha, there is a spinner that made his state debut for Tasmania last week…
NIVETHAN RADHAKRISHNAN
He is ambidextrous, Dave! He can bowl left and right arm off-spin. There is lots of discussion about Nivethan, does – in your opinion – he have to tell the batter what arm he is going to bowl?
DAVE: If we have had this discussion 20 years ago, I would’ve said absolutely he has to but now the batters switch hit and the bowler gets no warning.
If you have the skill to come in and do that I think you can, obviously it has an impact on field placements, but so does switch-hitting. Fielding teams have had to adapt to batters playing shots out of the ordinary and I think the batters now have to too; it’s a natural progression of the game and good on him if he can do it.
LACHIE: I agree with Dave, I have heard Glenn Maxwell on a podcast say that he uses the switch-hit purely to manipulate and move the field around. If the batters can do it freely without notifying everyone, I don’t understand why the bowler can’t too.
If he comes right-arm over, and then switches to left-arm around, it’s the same as a leggy bowling a wrong-un… he doesn’t have to notify the batter.
DAVE: I don’t know your thoughts yet Tyler, but with the batters switch-hitting, he or she can change their position in a split-second after the bowler has chosen their delivery, but with a bowler, you can see them coming. Unless they can bowl off the wrong foot and keep it to the last second where the batter doesn’t know, the batter can definitely tell what they’re going to bowl… what are your thoughts on it?
TYLER: I love it! If you have the skill to do it, then you should be able to put on a bit of show freely. I agree with you in the lead up, Dave, it is a bit obvious, if you can see a ball half-way down and know to pull it then you will definitely be able to see a bowler in their stride.
There will be an interesting fall-out to the leg-side behind square rule, does that rule change if he changes the arm without changing the field? Bit of a watch this space there.
Another fascinating topic is Covid and the upcoming finals.
COVID + FINALS =?
I have had some mail in recent weeks that some clubs have been rolling into games with known positive cases. Around the table again here, what do you think will come finals, Dave? Will there be a bit of naughtiness; do you think some clubs will operate with the mantra ‘you’re not positive if you don’t test’?
DAVE: I once got told if there was ever a horse called ‘self-interest’… back it, because you know it’s going to be trying!
Every club has self-interest at this time of the year, they’re not going to surrender, and I would doubt a club is going to sacrifice the opportunities built for six months unless someone is a danger. I think some clubs will roll the dice.
LACHIE: I think the RAT test has changed the game, if a player can quickly test before the game and wait 15 minutes, what if it is positive, will they throw it out? It’ll be interesting to see that in footy as well.
DAVE: imagine that, if every player had to do a RAT test 45 minutes before a final…wouldn’t that be tense?
TYLER: I know it’s a bad thing to say, I am not making any accusations, but I think clubs will maybe give the hint behind closed doors ‘don’t test unless you absolutely have to’.
There are some players out there that have to test frequently because of their careers, but I think there will be a few players out there that will be told not to test at all in the run home.
Obviously there is a lot more on the line here than local cricket grand finals, flirting with danger there, but I know of multiple instances… one the player needed to qualify for finals and has played while unwell. And several instances where a player has been negative, but has a partner or kid at home with it and has played anyway…
DAVE: Off the top of my head right now, I can think of a couple clubs that would roll the dice and then a couple that would stay firm to the rules, I think it comes down to the individual too. I think the player is the one that makes the decision on whether they let the cat out of the bag or not.
TYLER: Moving on. I think Lachie mentioned footy season there in that topic, it’s a perfect segue for me into the final topic of this Let’s Talk Sport!
FOOTY IS BACK!
TYLER: I would love a BOLD footy prediction for the local season, I can’t wait for it, I expect the round-one crowd to be a bumper crowd, and I might camp out the front of the local ground to ensure I get a park like the old grand final week in the AFL.
What have you got for me, Lachie?
LACHIE: I think Cranbourne will get the crown in its new league and settle right into the Southern Football League.
We have seen them in the SEFNL, the Outer East and now Southern. I think they’ll find the transition quite easy, who knows, they might forge a new rivalry with Dingley or St Kilda City.
TYLER: What about you, Dave? Is there something you have for me in West-Gippy, you’re also covering Beacy this year in Eastern Div 1. Are we going to see Beacy go on to win the flag and give the people what they want in 2023… the Battle of the Creek?
DAVE: Oh how good would that be! I haven’t delved too much into the second tier too much yet, I will be doing that in the coming week, so we can expect some more footy content in the coming papers.
But that would be the ultimate, we have so many photos at the paper of the presidents standing over the creek holding the cup, it’s an iconic battle around here.
In West-Gippy footy though, the big test will be for Phillip Island, without Covid they would’ve probably won four on the bounce by now. With that in mind, I like what Nar Nar Goon is building, there is a rumour going around that they’ve picked up two of Pakenham’s best players.
Tooradin were also timing its run nicely last year, so Phillip Island and Inverloch have been the powerhouses, but here is a bold prediction for you: I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a Nar Nar Goon v Tooradin grand final this year!
TYLER: Wow, that would be big…You mentioned Pakenham there and I am covering the Outer East this year. I think it is Narre Warren’s to lose! With other teams leaving, I think they will take it out comfortably.
DAVE: I am a little bit disappointed in you Tyler; Narre Warren winning the flag is hardly a bold prediction. Give me something! (A fair bit of Hawthorn’s John Kennedy Snr in this request)
TYLER: Okay okay… I think there is a chance we don’t see the Battle of the Creek… because the two teams trade places in the Premier Division of Eastern.
DAVE: (claps) Now we’re talking! I wanted you to offend someone before we closed it out, well done.
TYLER: Apologies to Clint Evans, please still take my call when I do my season preview next week!
