@Donsteppa said in Other Cricket:

Sri Lanka are 147/2... go you good things!

Very good batting from Mendis and Fernando (O). Very impressed, played straight and looked good doing it

Sri Lankans 94/2 chasing 197. Outstanding stuff.

@ACT-Crusader said in Blokes Advice - relationships, family matters, Tinder stories etc.:

@MN5 my uncle split with his wife quite a few years ago. They had two boys together and they were pretty good to each other and the boys grew to be well balanced and fantastic men. I don’t doubt that the way they treated each other after the split contributed to them turning out that way. I still call my ex-Aunty, ‘Aunty’ and there are extended whanau things that she sometimes comes to with her new husband.

It’s rare but possible.

Usually if you have those life skills and maturity, you can maintain a relationship

@taniwharugby said in NH Ditch Junior rep sides:

@nzzp so like everything in life then? Not rewarding excellence and hard work?

I think that's an over-reaction. At 11, it's not usually hard work, but more like early growers or people born early in the year.

@taniwharugby said in NH Ditch Junior rep sides:

As I said above, I really struggle to understand the logic and how this is supposed to encourage kids to stay in the sport, let alone return/start, if anything, I think it could have the opposite effect.

They seem to be saying that those who miss out are disappointed, and less likely to stay in. Therefore, by removing the (very young) talent pathway, they hope to keep more people on till later.

Not sure if it works, but good luck to them for trying. Being aspirational is all good, but at 11, dollars to donuts it's the parents with unrealistic expectations. I still cringe at the thought of some parents of another cricket club videotaping their six year old batting to work on it later. Other teams were getting growled at and shamed by their coach ... betting the drop out rate is high there

@Rancid-Schnitzel good luck fella, teenage years are 'interesting'. Hang in there

@Siam said in Black Caps v Bangladesh:

CdG to surprise all and be one of our best performers on English conditions

We're hoping a hitter like him finds a couple of weeks of good form, and just rides his luck to the final.

But yeah, not expectant of this cup

@Duluth said in Sharks vs Blues:

Yeah, as mentioned elsewhere I don't think we have an option to replace Collins. He'll probably be the fullback for the 3 rounds at least

I've managed to watch teh first half, and the direct running of the back three is noticeable - particularly Collins. He wasn't awful in teh first half - the bad kick pass drop aside.

So far (again, first half only), our defence is OK aside from the mauls. Again. And hopefully next year some new people will shore that up ... it astonishes me that we can be so weak in an area for so long.

@Duluth I remember that 2014 game at Albany. Such a stupid, brainless, insipid performance from the Blues. Very frustrating watch.

Last years, though, was bloody woeful

@nzzp said in Religion, Morality and Political Correctness on campus:

@No-Quarter said in Religion, Morality and Political Correctness on campus:

From what I understand Semenya is a genuine edge case as she is intersex which is an anomaly. I don't know the best answer to her situation, though it seems obvious she has an advantage over other women.

Yep, and as soon as yo umove the goalposts, you will have others with a comparative advantage. It's an issue as womens sport is protected - if you open it up, main stream women can't compete sensibly. So then you get into real issues about where to draw the line.

Suffice to say, I think the line has probably been taken too far into the 'men' territory, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of science around it. This is also why the Indian Sprinter managed to get the testosterone limits overturned.

Updates on the upcoming case
IAAF money quote:
“For it to serve its purposes, which include providing females opportunities equal to males, it must have eligibility standards that ensure athletes who identify as female but have testes, and testosterone levels in the male range, at least drop their testosterone levels into the female range in order to compete at the elite level in the female classification.

“This standard is necessary to ensure fair competition for all women. Indeed, without it, we risk losing the next generation of female athletes, since they will see no path to success in our sport.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/18/caster-semenya-hearing