Freedom of Speech

I’m confused.  It’s OK for a vile media whore like Katie Hopkins to get paid for spewing nastiness on the pages of some right wing rag but when Gary Lineker says something kind about refugees, another disgusting right wing waste of paper calls for him to lose his job.

It’s not OK to point out that the government hasn’t a fucking clue what to do about Brexit, there will be no control over immigration and the £350 million was total bullshit.  That makes me a whinging remoaner.

The right is the mainstream now, any dissenting voice gets shouted down.  Facism beckons.

But in case you think it couldn’t get any worse, take a look across the Atlantic…

Piss poor

Most cricket lovers will be pleased to see Bangladesh win their first test match against major opposition but I am an England fan.  To be fair, over the two matches the home side were the better team and deserve their result.  I listened to the grizzly end while fishing in my boat in Norfolk, it was grim.  Will the name Mehidi Hasan Miraz go down in history on the list of great spinners or did England just play badly?

England's selection must come under scrutiny.  What has Ballance done to prolong his run in the team?  Is Duckett really a test opener?  The omission of Broad and Batty in the name of rest and rotation showed naivety at best and arrogance at worst.  The team England put out should still have been good enough to beat Bangladesh, whatever the pitch and conditions but they played badly.  I keep saying it, England are no closer to knowing what their best batting line up is.  There are also big question marks about the bowlers to play in India too.

The next leg of the tour will be even tougher.  England will be playing better, more experienced players on wickets that are bound to turn.  England could improve and play well yet still lose 5-0.
I like playing selector.  XI for the first test against India;
Cook, Hameed, Root, Duckett, Ali, Stokes, Bairstow, Woakes, Rashid, Broad, Batty.

West Indies are playing Pakistan in the UAE at the moment and although they are losing as you'd expect, it's nice to see them at least showing a bit of fight and definite improvement.  They are in with a shout of winning the third test.  Coming up soon is a test series down under between Australia and South Africa, could be spicy!


Meanwhile...
I can't believe I could possibly have been writing all these random whinges without mentioning Halloween at some point.  It's better to be safe than sorry.  When I was a kid 'trick or treat' was just appearing but was seen as cheeky scrounging.  A generation on it's the expected norm and to not take part marks one down as miserable.  Well fuck off then, I'm miserable.

Confession.  Yes, when my kids were young I walked the dark streets keeping an eye on my children while they scrounged sweets off strangers.  If I hadn't done so my kids would have been the only ones in their school that didn't take part.

These days it doesn't stop at kids, adults can't wait to dress like bellends and get pissed in the name of Halloween.  What the fuck is it anyway?  Actually I don't care,  It's an American tradition that has been imported purely to be used as another tool to encourage people to spend a load of money on stuff they don't really want and definitely don't need.  It's bollocks.

Chittagong

Ah test cricket again at last!  But it's only Bangladesh so it should be a doddle!  Oh yes!

Backtrack for a bit, the team selection.  Firstly Moeen Ali moved up to bat at five allowing not one but two spinners to play.  Adil Rashid was picked again which is good because I like watching him bowl, even if he does lack control.  And veteran Gareth Batty got another cap, his first since 2005!  I like this selection, reward for an honest pro, i hope he does well.  Our seamers are strong too, Broad and Woakes along with the world's best all rounder Ben Stokes.  Bairstow retains the gloves and that is the bottom half of the team sorted.  Cook and Root were obvious selections but it was a bit of a surprise to see Ben Duckett picked to open and Gary Ballance is very lucky to retain his place.  The team is freshened up, players have a chance to stake a claim for the tour of India.  Doesn't matter who we pick does it?  We'll beat Bangladesh.  Or will we?

England won the toss and chose to bat.  The ball turned from the first over, our top order was wrecked by spin!  Thankfully Ali and Bairstow rescued the inning and England posted a decent 293.  Bangladesh batted well in home conditions and threatened to take a lead but Stokes knocked the tail over.

Once again the top order got in trouble but this time it was Stokes who got the runs with support from Bairstow again.  A target of 280+ should be way out of reach on the fourth innings but no! Bangladesh dig in again and at the end of day four the match was on a knife edge.  Bangladesh require 33 runs, England need two wickets.  In the end Bangladesh made 11 and Stokes knocked the last two wickets over, England had too much class and won a really good test match.

The two teams go again on Friday, Cook has hinted there may be some rotation so they can have a look at a couple more players ahead of the Indian leg of the tour.  England shouldn't take Bangladesh for granted.

Random Bollocks

Random bollocks & Stuff.

The coup failed, the Labour party re-elected Jeremy Corbyn with an increased majority.  First thing Monday morning the press starts up it's latest round of smears and propaganda, oh so predictable.  Billionaire newspaper owners don't have my best interests at heart.  I don't believe the crap they print.  I don't give a fuck what JC has done in the past, or not.

The Labour party is the only chance my children (and dare I say future grand children?) have of enjoying the privileges that I have benefited from.  Free health care, adequate public services a decent education, a fair crack at university and yes a helping hand if they should ever need it.  My better half enjoyed Downton Abbey and I found the whole class thing interesting.  Since Thatcher, the establishment has ever so slowly led working people down the road to a different kind of servitude.

When I was a kid the Cold war was it its scariest and we were programmed to believe that the Russians wanted us all dead and you couldn't trust anything that came out of Moscow.  At the same time we were led to believe our own government in Westminster was beyond reproach and our friends across the Atlantic in the good ol USA were paragons of honesty and virtue.

Nowadays it has become obvious to even an idiot that all governments tell lies so I ask myself how long has this been going on?  Was the west side of the cold war any more honest than the east?  I seriously doubt it.

Nowadays the lies are more obvious.  Statements are announced without any attempt to supply the evidence behind them.  These statements are repeated and become facts, just look at the EU vote and the US election for examples.  We all know its bullshit but we lap it up anyway?

 Appearance is everything; drive a fancy car that's owned by the bank, use social media to edit your lives and present exactly the image you choose.  Like the media, the truth doesn't match the headline.  Fashion is a brilliant invention for getting people to buy stuff they don't need.  More media brainwashing, the Establishment pays our wages, then tells us how to give the money back to them.  The proles just lap it up.

Things that piss me off part 1

It's good to rant.  I do it a lot, it's one of my hobbies.  Don't worry I'm not that miserable, I actually derive a great deal of pleasure from venting to my nearest and dearest so i thought I'd share this with anyone who is bored enough to read this crap.

So here we go...

Personalised number plates.

A car is essential for most of us but for some it is also a way of showing the world how cool and successful they are, even if it is mostly owned by the bank.  Personally, I don't care what I drive as long as it is reliable and will carry everything I need it to (i.e. family and fishing gear, not necessarily together).

All cars come complete with a registration plate but for some the fancy car is not enough and they have to extend their penis further by forking out more cash for a personalised plate.  These plates are supposed to represent the name of the owner but in reality it rarely comes close, even with the addition of an over sized black bolt or even a strip of tape.  In my opinion these people are C1_1NT5.  If these PR1CK5 really have cash to burn then why not give it to charity?  Why?  Because they are self obsessed AR50LE5 and the silly reg plate makes them look like 1D10T5.  When I pass one of these on the road I'm not impressed, I just think D1CKH34D!

Staying with cars I'm not a fan of convertibles, they seem pointless in a climate such as ours when the opportunity to drive with the top down are so rare.  I'll let them off a little because they make me laugh when I see them struggling in a sudden summer shower and on the first sunny spring day in March when they sit behind the wheel shivering in about six layers of clothes, complete with hat and gloves.

Queuing traffic is just a part of life these days, we all have to put up with it because, well we're part of the cause!  I really get the hump with people on dual carriageways who think its acceptable to nip into the inside lane and 'undertake' a few cars before nipping back into the outside lane.  This is also illegal, as far as I know, not that its my job to enforce the law...  A warning to anyone considering this maneuver on East Anglian roads, if you see a black Seat, it might be me and I ain't going to let you in.  As the pompous twat in the silver Mercedes on the M11 found out earlier this week.

Finally for now; I'd like to thank all the many businesses out there who choose to advertise themselves on the sides of their vehicles.  This is very useful as when their drivers behave like fuckwitts I can then make a mental note of which businesses to avoid in future.  If I ever need drainage or sewage consultancy I won't be contacting Binder of Claydon.  Should I get a flat I won't be calling GW Tyres.

I've been doing a lot of driving of late, does it show?

Conrad

Joseph Conrad wrote the following in "The Secret Agent" over a hundred years ago.  It's still true today.

“The imbecile bourgeoise of this country make themselves the accomplices of the very people whose aim is to drive them out of their houses to starve in ditches.  And they have the political power still, if only they had the sense to use it for their preservation… the middle classes are stupid… they have no imagination.  They are blinded by idiotic vanity…”

“He saw capitalism doomed in its cradle, born with the poison of the principle of competition in it’s system.  The great capitalists devouring the little capitalists, concentrating the power and the tools of production in great masses, perfecting industrial processes and in the madness of self aggrandisement only preparing, organising, enriching, making ready the lawful inheritance of the suffering proletariat.”

“The future is as certain as the past, slavery, feudalism, individualism, collectivism…”

“Do you know how I would call the nature of the present economic conditions?  I would call it cannibalistic.  That’s what its is!  They are nourishing their greed on the quivering flesh and the warm blood of the people, nothing else.”

Fourth test. One step forward...

England were supposed to win the fourth test as a demoralised Pakistan team crumbled under pressure, except no one told Pakistan!  In the end England were well beaten, we didn't bat, bowl or field anywhere near the level we've become used to.  For Pakistan, key players re-found form, notably Younis Khan with a brilliant 218 and Yasir Shah with five wickets in the second innings.

It's been a really good series between two well matched teams and 2-2 is probably a fair result.  England would have expected to win this series but in truth, positions 2,4 and 5 have not contributed anywhere near enough runs.  Pakistan have been really impressive in both the cricket they've played and the way they've played it.  Misbah ul Haq is a really good captain and a tough competitor.  Recent Pakistan tours of England have finished with controversy and bad blood, not so this time.

For England its another case of one step forward and two back.  There was a chance of us going to No.1 in the world rankings but this would have been undeserved.  This side is nowhere near as good as the one led by Andrew Strauss a few years ago.  We have a team full of star players but we are lacking key components for a truly world class side.

I think everyone likes Alex Hales at the top of the order, he looks so good but just hasn't made enough runs to make that position his own.  Perhaps sir Geoffrey Boycott is right when he says he would be better off in the middle order?  But who will open??  Maybe Ballance is better suited to playing up front or should Someone like Sam Robson get another chance?  Since dropping Ian Bell England have tried Compton, Ballance, Vince and the unfortunate James Taylor in the middle order but none of whom have contributed to the team in the way Bell would have.  Will he be given another chance?

Pakistan's attack is as good as any in the world so for me, Moeen Ali has proved he is good enough to bat in the top five for England.  This frees up a place in the team for a PROPER SPINNER!!!  Adil Rashid or ???  English cricket is seriously lacking in this department at the moment.  When it comes to pace/seam bowling we seem to have players to spare.  Chris Woakes has had a great series and looks like he could be a star of the future, he has the third seamer's berth nailed down for now.  Waiting in the wings we have Finn and Wood to name but two.

This winter we have two tough tours against Bangladesh and India where the ball will turn and we don't seem to have the bowlers to exploit this.  Last time we played in India we won a hard series but had Swann and Panesar in top form and we beat the home side at their own game.  We don't have the spin bowlers to pose that kind of threat at the moment.

At the moment some players are guaranteed to make the winter tour, assuming they are fit enough;  Cook, Root, Stokes, Ali, Bairstow, Woakes, Broad and Anderson.  The selectors will meet at the end of the county season and another eight tour places will be up for grabs.  Who gets them is anyone's guess at the moment.