Mntboy

He is looking very calm and composed. Definitely a strong favourite for the win!

Watching on Tiz Cycling and refreshing the GCN+ stream. They are now showing a Technical difficulty message below the banner. Hopefully they'll sort it out soon and won't have the same problem next weekend with Strade Bianche!

Nope, just an error message. Will try again on my laptop in a moment or two.

Try again at 15:45, that's when they are supposed to start their coverage of the race.

A very special young talent with the capacity to win a GT for sure. Let's hope he can come back to the same level and confidence he was prior to his crash.

Very smart ride from them once again. It's kinda become remarkable how good they've become at winning their home races if you consider their troubles from a few years ago. The Stannard win being the best example. Also just how cool is it to see the Muur van Geraardsbergen in a race. Just such an iconic and beautiful climb!

All back together again but I wouldn't be surprised if JA somehow pulls off a bunch sprint win. Although I'm hoping one of the Belgian besties, GvA & Neasen, can get a win. 9k to go.

Watched some of the match while visiting family in Fisherhaven. It seemed a difficult pitch to get in on as the batsmen had an incredibly hard time picking whether the ball will be turning or not in addition of trying to read the spin from out the hand of the bowler. I think a lot of the wickets were created by the threat of big turn as much as it was gotten with turn. Apparently the pink ball also skids more due to the extra layer of lacquer on it, which made playing arm balls and straighter deliveries both harder and paramount. England's selection policies being called into question but Nasser Hussain has also points out that the Indian spinners are better than the English ones. While this link isn't highlights it is a fascinating discussion regarding an incredible test match (and entertaining series): Hussain, Atherton, Key & Ward react to England’s 2-day defeat to India! ❌ - YouTube Just remember that if England somehow manage to square the series it'll be Australia playing against New Zealand rather than India, as it is at the moment, in the WTC Final. India needs to win or get a draw to ensure that they play in that final.

I ended up getting 5 but I reckon I had two lucky guesses!

He won the Top 14 twice, both with Racing 92 iirc, as well as the Toyota Top League post his International retirement. He very nearly joined both Bakkies Botha and Brad Thorne as guys who have won all the elite tournaments that they have participated in. Shows just how good he was as a player.

Carter wasn't a slouch on defense. I might not have highlighted it but it doesn't mean that I thought poor in this area. Lest we forget he started his SR and International career as 12 in order to accommodate one Andrew Merthens. Doubt his coaches would've done that if they didn't believe he was up to scratch defensively.

Dan Carter has called time on his career! Personally I reckon he is the greatest 10 the game has seen. His ability to pull the strings on attack and his reliability as a set kicker was pretty much top notch for the greater majority of his career.

For this First Class season the averages (Bat/Bowl) are as follows: WM 43.83/44.33 DP 7.66/29.75 GL 35.83/23.2 Also including Linde's just for comparison. It also needs to be borne in mind that DP was a part of the SA squad against England so he has not had much FC game time in order to improve those averages.

Pretty simple: Andile has performed at international level more consistently than what Chris has given that both have over 40 ODI's to their credit. Andile's ODI record is better than that of Chris with both bat and ball whereas Chris merely shades Andile in T20I's. Chris is the better red ball player and it does reflect in their numbers but he hasn't played a FC game in a year and a half and to my best knowledge you must be a part of a domestic teams FC squad to be considered for Test selection. However I don't think either is the planning for the Test team given how well Maharaj has gone and the emergence of both Mulder and Linde as genuine allrounders. Mulder in particular is exciting given that most of his FC cricket has either been our Franchise matches and game time on the county circuit as an overseas pro. Plus when he made his FC debut as a teen it was because Geoff Toyana (the coach of the Lions at the time) didn't want to lose him to another franchise because he felt that Mulder could be as good as one Jacques Kallis at some point in the future. I, for one, wholeheartedly concur with Toyana's view of Mulder. Here are links to the Cricinfo Profiles for both Chris and Andile: Chris Morris - Check Morris's News, Career, Age, Rankings, Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com Andile Phehlukwayo - Check Phehlukwayo's News, Career, Age, Rankings, Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com And a link to Firdose Moonda's profile of the talented Wiaan Mulder: Wiaan Mulder sheds weight and carries the load for South Africa (espncricinfo.com) Edit: Some our Protea ladies might also query as to why their names aren't being thrown into the best allrounder in SA discussion. In particular Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Marizanne Kapp and Dane Van Niekerk might feel their records are good enough for them to be considered.

Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while. A dashing wicketkeeper batsman if memory serves me right.

I somehow there being more defenders than that! Good photo though!

Looking back on it now it is a fantastic goal. At the time though I hated his guts!

So are you also thinking he jumped before he could be pushed? Cause that's what I'm thinking. Or is it a case of him leaving before he tarnished his own reputation with an unnecessarily long run of poor form? Either way the wording gives me the impression that this was a decision that was being discussed for some time before he made it. That said Faf was a wonderful player and a fantastic captain. His presence in the team will be missed.

Sadly I am a little to young to remember the glory days of Rush, Aldridge, Barnes and Grobelaar. I do remember the stories my older brother (by 5 years) used to tell me though and loved watching Fowler, Mcmanaman and Owen and the like playing. That 96 FA Cup final is why I am a Red even though we lost. One of the finest games of football I watched.

Nothing short of rotten luck. Looking forward to when Van Dijk and Matip are both fit and available. We are better team when they are available! Hopefully next season we will be back to our best!

Fergie still had to blend that talent into a title winning team though and he was incredibly good at it. 13 titles in 20 seasons does take some doing but not all of that was simply just due to their financial circumstances/advantage but yeah I get your point.

Just remember it could have been worse. He could've defected to the wrong half Manchester. Instead he just did an Ince.

Nothing like our 30 year wait for a national title. So last season's win means a helluva lot to me. Trust me the Fergie years were pure hell for non MU fans and in particular us Liverpool fans. Not sure any team will ever touch the heights that Fergie's teams did or be as consistent at winning titles.

I kinda figure Pep and his team knows a thing or two about closing a season out, so would be very very shocked if they somehow conspired to lose it. Shows one how tough the Premier League is. And no, it's not a laughing matter if that occurs. At least to us Pool fans. And yes I'm nervous about tonight's away fixture against Leipzig. Hoping we can get away with a either a draw or sneak a lucky win.

Part of the reason why I haven't gotten DSTV is that I would basically just be using it to watch sport (not just cycling). I just couldn't justify spending that much on something I wouldn't use often for a variety of reasons but GCN+'s additional content goes into things that peak my interest makes it an worthwhile investment imho.