There is no doubt that David Warner is a destructive batsman; however despite making his ODI debut 3 years before his Test debut, he was never the accomplished ODI opener and was more successful at test level.

That is quite ironic given his style of play, but his record shows how he excelled in tests and never really did as well in ODIs in the initial part of his career.

In 5 years, between his ODI debut in January 2009 till the end of 2014, Warner played 50 matches, in which he managed only 2 centuries. His average during this period was a meager 31.4.

That average was a good 17 runs below his test average.

He made his test debut in December 2011, and in his first three years of test cricket, he played 35 matches, scored 13 centuries, and averaged a healthy 48.1.

Warner was a nightmare for test bowlers.

He played test cricket the modern way, in aggressive fashion, and scored big for Australia.

But he never really replicated the same success in ODI cricket.

Till now.

Right now, Warner, is having his most prolific ODI summer ever. He has scored 5 centuries in his last 10 ODIs, which is the most centuries for an Australian batsman in an ODI season (equal with Matthew Hayden).

Warner started the year 2015 with his 3rd ODI century, and he has never looked back since.

In 42 ODIs since the start of 2015, Warner has amassed over 2,000 runs at a phenomenal average of 58.6.

He smashed 10 centuries during this period and 6 half centuries.

Warner is averaging almost double of what he did in his first 5 years of ODIs, in ODIs over the past 2 years.

He has taken his ODI average from 31.4 at the end of 2014 to just over 43.

His turnaround has been so awesome that he is the leading run scorer in all ODIs played in the past two years, since 1st January 2015.

No one has scored more runs or more centuries in ODIs than Warner has in the past two years; and only AB de Villiers has a higher average and strike rate than he does.

Truly phenomenal.

Well, its a pertinent question, is it not?

Sure they are the number 2 ranked Test Team in the world with a clear 10 point lead over the team at number 3. But the difference between South Africa at the top and Australia is 19 points. That is a huge difference.

What that really means is that Australia is close to the same level as Pakistan, New Zealand, India, and England. Only 14 points separate Australia at 2 and England at 6. Furthermore, they were clean swept by the number 3 team just last year.

That is not even the reason why I asked the question though.

The fact that really surprised me was that Australia has won only one of the last 15 tests they have played in England.

Yes. ONE. Out of FIFTEEN.

Damn! Right?

But there's more to the story.

In the entire history of Test Cricket, Australia is the only team that has won more games away from home than it has lost.


However, in the past 5 years that is not the case any more,


In all Tests played since the beginning of 2010, Australia have lost more than they have won away from home. Their W:L record is similar to England's, who have traditionally been considered poor travelers.

It is clear that Australia has lost some of its mojo when it comes to playing tests on foreign shores. Especially in England.

Even the personnel is not good enough.

Besides their captain Micheal Clarke and Chris Rogers, none of the top 6 batsmen in their line up have a record to speak of in England.

While Rogers, mostly due to his significant exposure to English conditions through his county stints, averages slightly more (43) in England than he does in his career (40), Clarke averages 6 runs less in England.

David Warner has a career average of 46.47, but his average in England is almost half that - 25.9. In fact Warner's test record is entirely due to his record at home in Australia and his 3 centuries in 3 tests in South Africa, where pitches play similar to the way they play in Australia. In India, he averages a meager 24.4, and in West Indies, he averages 26.9.

Steven Smith has rapidly become Australia's most reliable batsman and the heir to the all important number 3 spot previously occupied by greats like Ponting, Langer, Boon, Chappell, and the greatest Sir Don Bradman. His career average of 55 and 9 test centuries in only 29 Tests shows why he is considered to be the best of the lot. But even he averages more than 20 runs less than his career in England! Smith's record is also inflated by his performance at home, which yields an average of 66 and 6 test centuries. He averages 34 in England and in the low 40s in India and the UAE.

Adam Voges is too new to be judged yet, but even that questions why the Australians would play a green batsman at 5 in an Ashes series when the likes of Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh are warming the bench.

Moreover, how can they even think of benching the Marsh brothers while playing Shane Watson at 6!??

Watson has a career Test average of 35. How that gets him into an Australian top 6 is beyond me. Australia's infatuation and persistence with Shane Watson is beyond me. He never really made is as a test cricketer, and now when he is over the hill, he is still being preferred. Mindboggling!

It is not only Australia's batsmen who do not perform on tour as well as they do at home; even their bowlers have found it tough in foreign locations.

Mitchell Johnson, who is this lean mean machine on Australian pitches and makes the batsmen hobble around, transforms into a medium pacer who is so easily bullied in England and other foreign locations. He averages 24.5 in Australia; his averages in New Zealand (23) and South Africa (25) are also respectable. However, in England he averages a shocking 41.9! He averages above 40 in India an Sri Lanka as well.

On top of all this, they lost Ryan Harris, the one bowler who was their premier strike bowler, especially in Ashes Tests.

So while Australia is still ranked number 2 in the ICC's test rankings, I believe they are grossly over rated. Their players dominate at home and become the tamed on tours. This used to be true for teams from India and England in the past.

Now, even he Aussies can be tamed.

There was a time when host nations just could not win the ICC World Cup. That trend was disrupted by India who held aloft the World Cup trophy in Mumbai in 2011, and now Australia have joined them after doing the same at the MCG in 2015. And while doing so, Australia also achieved numerous other remarkable distinctions

It is an unprecedented 5th ICC World Cup win for Australia. They have now won the World Cup in every continent that has hosted one, and probably every continent that will ever host an ICC World Cup.

They have appeared in an ICC World Cup Final in every decade since the inception of the World Cup in the 70s and have won at least 1 World Cup in every decade besides the 70s.

11 World Cups. 7 Finals. 5 Titles. Talk about dominating a sport. There is absolutely no cricketing nation like Australia.

Interestingly however, Australia is the only ICC World Cup Champion that did not win the World Cup in their first ever appearance in a Final. All the other champions - West Indies, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka - won the World Cup when they appeared in the Final for the first time.

There was an achievement for Darren Lehmann too, who became the first person to win an ICC World Cup as a player (1999) and as a coach (2015). Given the number of World Cups Australia wins, there might be some more players who will join Lehmann in achieving this feat in the future.

The build up to this World Cup for Pakistan fans was all about repeating the feat of 1992, the last time the World Cup was held in Australia & New Zealand when Imran Khan led Pakistan to an unlikely first ever win.

The hashtag #LetsRedo92 trended all over social media networks and fans went crazy citing similarities between 1992 and 2015.

What they probably forgot was that other teams may also be looking to do the same! i.e. #Redo92 !

Now that the ICC World Cup 2015 is over, one can easily look back and see why in fact it was like 1992 all over again.

1. In 1992, 89,000+ spectators at the MCG for the final broke the world record for attendance on a single day of cricket in Australia. In 2015, 93,000+ spectators at the MCG for the final broke the world record for attendance on a single day of cricket in Australia.

2. In 1992, Pakistan's captain Imran Khan top scored for his team with 72 and led Pakistan to victory in the World Cup Final in his last ever ODI appearance. In 2015, Australia's captain Michael Clarke top scored for his team with 74 and led Australia to victory in the World Cup Final in his last ever ODI appearance.

3. In 1992, Wasim Akram, a left arm paceman, picked up 3 wickets in the Final and was declared Man of the Match. In 2015, James Faulkner, a left arm paceman, picked up 3 wickets in the Final and was declared Man of the Match.

4. In 1992, Javed Miandad was Pakistan's top scorer in the World Cup with 437 runs at an average of 62.42 and he scored a 50 in the Final. In 2015, Steve Smith was Australia's top scorer in the World Cup with 402 runs at an average of 67.00 and he scored a 50 in the Final.

5. In 1992, New Zealand's Martin Crowe was the leading run scorer in the World Cup. In 2015, New Zealand's Martin Guptill was the leading run scorer in the World Cup.

6. In 1992, Wasim Akram, a left arm fast bowler and part of the World Cup winning team, was the leading wicket taker of the World Cup. In 2015, Mitchell Starc, a left arm fast bowler and part of the World Cup winning team, was the leading wicket taker of the World Cup.

7. In 1992, New Zealand dominated the World Cup beating every opposition except the eventual World Cup Champions, Pakistan. In 2015, New Zealand dominated the World Cup beating every opposition except the eventual World Cup Champions, Australia.

8. In 1992, Wasim Akram, Pakistan's left armer, came back for another spell in the middle of the innings and took two wickets in one over to take Pakistan ahead in the Final. In 2015, James Faulkner, Australia's left armer, came back for another spell in the middle of the innings and took two wickets in one over to take Australia ahead in the Final.

9. In 1992, Pakistan's Captain and Vice Captain were involved in a century partnership for the 3rd wicket. In 2015, Australia's Captain and Vice Captain were involved in a century partnership for the 3rd wicket.

10. In 1992, the 3rd highest run scorer of the World Cup was Peter Kirsten of South Africa. In 2015, the 3rd highest run scorer of the World Cup was AB De Villiers of South Africa.

11. In 1992, South Africa lost in the Semi Final to England who lost the Final. In 2015, South Africa lost in the Semi Final to New Zealand who lost in the Final.

12. In 1992, Pakistan reached their first ever World Cup Final after completing an improbable chase in the Semi Final at Eden Park. In 2015, New Zealand reached their first ever World Cup Final after completing an improbable chase in the Semi Final at Eden Park.

I'm sure we can find many more similarities if we keep looking, but it wasn't like 1992 the way we wanted it for Pakistan. It sure was for Australia, who are absolutely the best cricket nation this world has seen.

I don't think any other team has dominated a sport the way Australia has dominated cricket. Brazil comes to mind. They have also played in 7 FIFA World Cup titles, won 5 of them, and won them across 4 continents. However, that has come over 20 tournaments, as compared to 11 for Australia. If anything, Australia has been twice as dominant in cricket than Brazil has in Football. Australia's run also includes three consecutive World Cup wins, something Brazil has not managed.

Talk about dominating a sport. Salute to Australia!

Given his experience you’d have to think James Faulkner is the heir apparent to Shane Watson’s title of Australian cricket’s number one all-rounder, if he isn’t there already. But in Mitchell Marsh he has an understudy who has the talent to forge his own long and successful international career in all forms of the game. It’s going to be interesting, and a lot of fun, to see which of these two young, exciting all-rounders emerges as the number one over the next 10 years.

The team flies to England, the venue of their most important test series of the year, for the Champions Trophy.

Today, on December 3rd 2012, Ricky Ponting played his final international innings. As his innings ended, so did the career of a true legend and arguably the best batsman this generation has seen.

If not the best ever, I personally think he was the best batsman to play the game during the past 15 years.

Ponting retires as the second highest run scorer ever in the history of both test matches and ODIs.

He retires as a 3 time World Cup winner; twice as captain.

He retires with 30 ODI centuries and 41 test centuries, the second and third highest number of tons ever respectively.

He retires with an ODI average of 42, the third highest ever for all batsmen to have played over 300 innings.

He retires having captained Australia in 77 test matches, winning 48 of them - a win % of 62, the second highest win % for players that have captained in at least 25 tests.

He retires with the most number of ODI caps as a captain having led Australia in 230 ODIs, winning 165 of them - a win % of 76, the second highest win % ever for anyone with more than 30 ODI caps as captain.

The only reason why his batting records are second or third on a list is because of the presence of two other legends with whom Ponting's career coincided - Sachin Tendulkar & Jacques Kallis.

His captaincy records are second only to the man he succeeded - Steve Waugh (tests), and the man who led the best cricketing team ever (ODIs) - Clive Lloyd.

The overall statistics will show that he was the second best batsman of all time in tests and ODIs, but as I mentioned above, I think he was the best.

Largely because the game has not seen a bigger match winner than Ricky Ponting.

In test matches, 30 out of his 41 centuries resulted in a win, as compared to 20 (51) for Tendulkar and 21 (44) for Kallis. In ODIs, 25 out of his 30 centuries resulted in a win, as compared to 33 (49) for Tendulkar.

He was involved in 108 test match victories and 262 ODI victories as a player. No other cricketer has been involved in 100 test victories, with the closest being Shane Warne with 92. Kallis and Tendulkar have been involved in 76 and 66 respectively and are the only two cricketers with more than 60 test victories who are not retired yet.

In ODIs, his closest rivals that are still playing are Tendulkar (234 ODI victories), Kallis (206), and Shahid Afridi (195).

These are records that will probably never be broken and Ricky Ponting will remain as the biggest match winner that cricket has ever seen.


Earlier this year, when Ponting's ODI career ended, I wrote about my top 5 Ponting ODI innings and hoped that I wouldn't have to write about my top 5 Ponting Test innings any time soon. But here I am, nine and half months later, doing just that.

The Big Comeback in Adelaide, January 2012
Ponting had not scored a test century for two years when the series against India began on Boxing day last year. In the second test of that series, Ponting broke that drought with a 134 in Sydney. Many wondered whether the form was back or if it was just a glimpse of Ponting of the past. In the 4th and final test of the series in Adelaide, Ponting cracked the 6th double century of his career, scoring 221.

It was one of the finest test innings ever because of the circumstances and the way it was played. No one knew how much longer Ponting would play, and everyone knew he was no longer the batsman that bowlers all around the world feared. He was a much more sedate Ponting who played a classical test innings of 221. His runs came at a strike rate of 54.7 and included only 21 boundaries.

That was not the Ponting we all knew, but it was a determined Ponting who was fighting to play on for far longer than the 11 months since then.

A Stunner in Sydney, January 2006
South Africa declared their second innings on 194-6 to set Australia a target of 287 in 76 overs. It was a sporting declaration and one done in order to try and square a series. That was the only way for Graeme Smith and company. Most of us thought that the match will end in a draw unless South Africa were able to pick up a few quick wickets.

No one really expected Australia to chase down the target even though they were known to score at 3.5-4.0 runs an over in test cricket during those days. But it was a day 5 pitch.

Ponting had other ideas. He walked into bat at 30-1 in the 12th over of the innings and unleashed a belligerent attack on South Africa. He smashed 16 boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 143 of only 159 deliveries and Australia raced to the target in only 60 overs scoring at 4.76 on a day 5 test match wicket.

Only Ponting was capable of something like that.

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Master Class in Manchester, August 2005
The 2005 Ashes is definitely a sour memory for Ponting the captain. But Ponting the batsman will be remembered for playing one of the best test innings ever to save a test match during that series. The series was level at 1-1 going into the 3rd test at Old Trafford and England were brimming with confidence hoping to take a lead.

England were on top throughout this test and had set Australia an improbable target of 423 with the Michael Vaughan giving his bowlers a full day and 10 overs to dismiss the Australians.

It was yet another game that many thought would go England's way. Victory for Australia was highly unlikely and no one really expected the Aussies to fight it out for 100+ overs considering their attacking nature of play.

But where there is Ponting, there is a way. Ponting threw down the anchor in that innings like never before. He curbed his natural instinct and put together his best rearguard effort ever. He batted for 9 minutes short of 7 hours, faced 275 deliveries, and scored 156.

He came to the crease at 25-1 in the 11th over of the innings and the 8th delivery of the final day of the test. He did not leave the crease till the 104th over of the innings, just 4 overs before the close of play. He was the 9th batsman out for Australia and the last pair ensured that Ponting's effort did not go to waste and hung on for a draw.

If even one more recognized batsman had stayed on with Ponting, he might have even gone for the target as Australia ended 52 runs short. But no other batsmen for Australia crossed 40 in that innings, which shows the true master class of Ponting's 156.

The Fightback in Perth, November 1999
Ponting was having a torrid time against Pakistan with his 3 innings in the first 2 tests of the series reading 0,0,0. Wasim, Waqar, and Shoaib had got him once each and he was horribly out of form. In the third test, Pakistan's pacers were on top and had Australia reeling on 54-4 when Ponting walked out to bat.

From there on, Wasim, Shoaib, Mahmood, and Saqlian had no answer as Ponting produced a magnificent innings of 197. He was involved in a 300+ run partnership with Justin Langer that not only rebuilt Australia's innings, but also took the game away from Pakistan.

For a man who was woefully out of form, he should have been a sitting duck for the in form Pakistani pacers; yet Ponting rose to the occasion and batted like he had never to notch up his then highest test score.

Putting it Right in Bangalore, October 2008
In 14 previous test innings in India, Ponting had managed only one fifty - a highest score of 60 in Kolkata in 1998. He had never crossed 18 in the other 13 innings. He had always struggled on the spinning tracks of India, with the most famous rut coming during the 2001 series where he managed 17 runs in 5 innings including 3 ducks.

So when he captained Australia to India in 2008, no one gave him a chance.

Throughout his career, Ponting has been at his most dangerous when people have not given him a chance. He has always stood up and proved them all wrong, and the first test of the 2008 series against India in Bangalore was another such occasion.

Ponting walked out to bat on the 4th delivery of the first morning of the series and grinded it out for five and half hours for a well made 123. His nemesis, Harbhajan Singh, and Anil Kumble could not do much to unsettle Ponting who was determined to prove his detractors wrong.

With his first century in India, he ensured that he had scored a test century in every country where he had played at least two tests (Ponting has played only 1 test each in Pakistan and Zimbabwe; the only two countries where he doesn't have a test century).

For all that Ponting has achieved he deserves trophies from the board, the players, and the fans.

Ricky Ponting is a legend of the game and in my view the best batsman to have played the game. There was none like him, and highly unlikely that there ever will be. There was a time when it seemed like he will overtake Tendulkar as the leading run scorer in tests, but a Tendulkar purple patch coincided with a Ponting run rut and that record remained elusive.

Nevertheless, Ponting leaves the game as its biggest ever match winner, and that tag will remain with him forever.

I said their bowling was shit.

I said Stuart Broad was worse than shit.

Not only did England win the Ashes, Stuart Broad played an instrumental role in taking them to that series win.

I don't have an egg, I have a full omelette on my face!

Broad and Swann, whom I always expected to have an impact during the Ashes, took the game away on the 2nd day itself when they had Australia bending over after being bowled out for 160.

The game was always going in only one direction after that.

Not even the most optimistic Australians would have thought they stood a chance.

It is an unbelievable result because I really did not think England had it in them to win the Ashes this year.

Looking back at the series, I really don't know how they managed it.

As many as 8 centuries came from the blades of Australians; as compared to only 2 from the English.

The highest batting average (besides Jonathan Trott) belonged to an Australian.

The most number of wickets belonged to an Australian.

In fact the top 3 wicket takers in the series were Australians!

The best bowling average belonged to an Australian.

Yet, through some freak act of nature or something, England won the series 2-1.

How the hell that happened, I will never understand.

Ricky Ponting got booed for pointing out how looking at the stats no one will be able to say that Australia did not win the series, but if I was in his place, I would have said the same damn thing.

As for England. Wow. Second Ashes series win in as many Ashes series at home. Achievement that is!

And Stuart Broad. He ended as the highest wicket taker on the England side.

Probably he ain't shit any more.

Ricky Ponting, though, is.

Poor guy; I feel for him. I really do.

Two series in England as captain and two series losses; he's in the company of not many Australia captains.

At the end all I can say is - Unbelievable!

It took me over an hour to get to where I was supposed to; when I got there I found out that the morning session of the 3rd Ashes test had also been greeted by rain.

I waited all afternoon for play to start; when it finally did, I was shocked.

I was shocked to see the news that Phil Hughes dropped from the side!

Hughes had a dream debut series against South Africa and after just two below par performances in this Ashes series, he finds himself dropped.

I never thought that the Australian team could act like the Pakistan one who have hardly shown patience with their openers in recent times.

Having said that, Australia got off to a great start courtesy Shane Watson and Simon Katich.

Maybe Hughes would not have provided a similar start but I still don't think he deserved to be dropped.

His replacement however, Watson, was impressive. He played a few lovely strokes. Katich's cameo was a surprise though; I have never seen him play so aggressively. In test cricket atleast.

Australia are off to a flying start in this 3rd test; while I am too with my first day in the UK giving me a taste of both the rain and the bright sunshine.

It is amazing how quickly the weather changes within minutes here. Almost as quickly as Pakistan's cricketers change shades!

I read this and then wondered how it could even be an option.

And its not only Shane Watson who is willing to open; apparently Tim Nielsen is backing him to do so as well.

Why?

Phil Hughes has scores of 36, 4, and 17 in this Ashes series so far.

Is that all it took for the Aussies to contemplate dropping the man who was going to be their run scoring machine this summer?

Has Hughes' awesome debut in South Africa already been forgotten?

Michael Hussey has been failing repeatedly; why don't they replace him with Shane Watson?

Surely a batting order that reads Michael Clarke at 4, Marcus North at 5, and Shane Watson at 6 makes more sense if Watson is to come into the team that is.

I have no issues with Watson coming into the XI; but I have a problem deciphering how anyone could think of dropping Phil Hughes.

Not that Hughes is indispensible, but already?

Pakistan ended day 4 with only 53 runs ahead and only 4 wickets in hand.

On day 5, they not only added another 240 runs, they also declared their innings to have a crack at India for 20 overs.

Remember this?

South Africa ended day 4 with another 187 runs to get with 7 wickets in hand.

On day 5, they lost only 1 wicket and got to the target.

So then.

Do you see any reason why Australia can't get another 209 runs tomorrow?

Do you see any reason why Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin can't continue in the same vein?

Do you see any reason why Mitchell Johnson can't join them to see Australia to the target?

Unless you are an optimistic Australian or a pessismistic English person, your answer should be yes.

I am neither, yet my answer is not that.

75 years of misery is way too long a time to wipe out in a matter of 5 days.

Every English fan will be thinking that; every England cricketer will be thinking that.

Boy aren't we lucky we are not in their shoes.

Can you even begin to imagine what they will go through if Australia manage to chase 522?

I can't. I don't want to.

The two largest chases in test cricket have come against Australia; maybe it is time Australia sets that record straight!

What a time for Jeff Thomson to say something like that.

Well he's a shit captain alright.

But do you really want to say that days away from an Ashes campaign?

Shouldn't Thomson and the rest of the Aussies be trying to give their captain some confidence?

Pakistan A is on a tour to Australia for 2 tests, 3 ODIs, and a T20 game.

Did you know that?

The 1st 4-day test match started 3 days ago and is set for an interesting final day tomorrow with a potential declaration and a rivetting chase on the cards.

Sounds more interesting than the ODIs going on between India and the West Indies.

It will sound even more interesting when I tell you who top scored for Australia A in their 1st innings score of 399.

Jason Krejza!

Not only top scored, he scored a century - 101 of 160 deliveries with 4 sixes and 7 fours!

His first ever first class century.

His highest score in all forms of cricket before this was 65.

What were the Pakistanis doing letting a discarded Australian offie get to 101?

They had them down at 211-6 before Krejza joined Henriques (76) for a 7th wicket partnership of 120.

Wahab Riaz, who played a few ODIs for Pakistan last year, picked up a 5 wicket haul for the 'A' Pakistanis.

They then responded with 338 in their 1st innings with opener Azhar Ali top scoring with 78.

Azhar Ali has been one of the leading run scorers of the last two domestic seasons in Pakistan and has been on the fringes of Pakistan's senior squad for a year now.

A good showing in Australia will do his case a lot of good.

Azhar got good support from Umar Akmal (54), Kamran's younger brother, Fahad Iqbal (42), Faisal's younger brother, and Sarfraz Ahmed (56), Pakistan's backup wicketkeeper.

Fast bowler Clint McKay picked up 6 wickets.

I don't know much about him, but he's Victorian; I'm sure Jrod will have more information on him for us.

Australia A are on 128-6 in their 2nd innings and tomorrow is the final day - here's the scorecard.

I am not too sure.

Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, and Ben Hilfenhaus did a top job in South Africa earlier this year.

Lee is coming back from injury as is Stuart Clark. Before they went away, they were the leaders of the attack, with Johnson their aide.

Since then Johnson has surely risen through the ranks and is now undoubtedly Australia's best fast bowler.

So when Lee returns, does he automatically get his place as the leader of the attack back?

His form has hardly been the kind to suggest that.

He suffered in the World T20. He didn't exactly set the IPL on fire. Nor was he a threat to Pakistan in the one-off T20 in Dubai.

So then, is Lee a sure shot for the XI that Australia will field when the Ashes kick off?

The Aussies are playing Sussex right now. As I write, the figures of the pacers are as follows.

Lee 5-0-22-0

Hilfenhaus 5-2-10-1

Siddle 6-0-18-2

Clark 6-3-10-0

Early days yet, but based on this which one will you leave out?

Afridi has been approached by NSW to play for their T20 team, and possibly their Sheffield Shield team as well, next season.

After Younis Khan (South Australia), Umar Gul (Western Australia), and Sohail Tanvir (South Australia), Afridi will become the 4th Pakistani player in 2 years to represent an Australian domestic side if the deal goes through.

That is good news for the allrounder, who is probably still on a high after leading Pakistan to the World T20 title.

What's next?

A higher valued IPL contract?

Possibly.

The Deccan Chargers would be kicking their behinds for canceling his contract earlier this year. If he was still on their roster, he could have represented them at the Champions League.

Irrespective, the Chargers won, Afridi won, Pakistan won, so alls well that ends well!

Patrick Kidd describes this rather hilarious sms exchange between a press reporter and the Australia T20 opener.

I guess the Aussies are still hurting.

Everyone's been speaking about Roy, except the man himself.

Take a read at what everyone's been saying and thinking, and then I'll tell you what I think Andrew Symonds is going to say once he sets foot on Australian soil.

The Suave One: This has got to be the last time he ever gets to pull on an Aussie jersey, hasn’t it? This must be number 6002 in his sozzled history, and surely that’s enough for any one predator.

Amy S: Ah, and now he might just lose his central contract. Well done, Roy. It was all worth it for that one drink, wasn't it?

She also has a sound clip of James Sutherland at the press conference - worth a listen.

Achettup: Anyway, his absence makes the T20 side significantly weaker. Johnson might make the top six after all!

And then he gets into his element and talks about Bangladesh offering Symonds a contract! Entertaining read.

AP Webster: Apparently he broke team rules relating to alcohol and other issues, which sadly doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

Jrod: When you sit down in the Drunkard’s Valhalla, you can do it proudly, as you pissed away your career with stunning masculinity and brutish charm. Cheers to Roy.

This above from Jrod is the conclusion of one of the best Symond posts that I've read. Once your done reading that, go over and read Jrod describing Roy as the Daniel Johnston of cricket. Beautiful!

Will Luke: It’s all rather sad now. Hugely gifted player and his career’s come to a drunken full stop.

Megha: It is a pity that he refuses to learn from his mistakes. Although, in all honesty, it is difficult for me to feel sad for him!

BK for BCC!: In an unexpected twist , it has been announced that Symonds will now stay on in England to perform during the Opening Ceremony.

Worth a read in full!

Patrick Kidd: Would Symonds really let his team-mates down on the field? It is a moot point but one thing is certain: with him now gone and probably retired, there is a vacancy for a team pillock.

Fake IPL Player: Most people in the team believe that TMK is going back partly because of himself, but mostly because of the No. 4 slot.

Leela: That is how it is with Symonds for me. I like Roy. What a great potential. What a star... Is it the beginning of the end? Sure looks like it. And that is just a lump of sh*t situation.

NightWatchGirl: Oh dear. NWG has been struggling to write this post as her heart has been bleeding non-stop (turns out plasters aren't really suitable for serious blood loss).

Sam: What a waste. What a sheer waste. 3 instances didnt make Roy realise that one more alcohol stint would end his career. And there it is. The END. The dead end. Roy's career ends right here. i dont feel sorry for him. I feel disgusted. I feel he deserved this.

Megha in her debut for BCC!: She talks of Andrew and Shoaib and asks, "Who will be the first one to retire?"

And the most intriguing of the lot:

Cricket-Blog: I'm having a deja vu moment to the last time Australia toured England in 2005, beginning with Roy getting himself booted off the squad for drinking followed by an upset defeat at the hands of Bangladesh and then losing the Ashes.

Apologies if I missed something you said about Roy, but these were all the ones that appeared on my reader and seemed interesting enough to replay for you all, since I didn't have much to say on the topic.

All that I do have to say though is that I'm looking forward to Andrew Symonds' statement regarding the whole deal.

I don't think it is going to be one of those "I'm sorry, I made a mistake" speeches.

Beware CA.