It's a lock out

The Australian writers who were locked out of the ground in Brisbane need not worry if the media dispute over images and online use makes it to parliament. Old John Howard will surely sort it out. Cricket has a funny habit of making the headlines when it comes to disputes such as this. Perhaps it is the slow pace of the game that allows the splash, as opposed to the Rugby and Soccer World Cups when governing bodies relent and everyone is happy.

The bottom image is Aggers famously reporting from Galle.

Aussie archives analysed

As the Australian Test summer edges closer, so too the plethora of press releases from Cricket Australia, complete with its daunting 'HUNGRY FOR IT' logo.

One such email was read with interest though: CA have opened its archive for two prominent cricket authors who have turned the opportunity into a book.

“Inside Story: Unlocking Australian Cricket’s Archives”, analyses the decision-making behind the Australian game’s major controversies, with a forward by Richie Benaud.

And as the email was about to be deleted, the last two lines about Richie caught my eye:

"... He notes that the two questions he is today most often asked are: did you play first-class cricket; and has the game changed since you first played? (The answer is “yes” in each case)."

The next best thing?

I think I have changed my mind. After years of neglecting those porcelain, dog-pictured plates on the back of magazines, there is now a suitable replacement for worst tack award.

The ABC blog reports that Cricket Australia has come up with a new marketing baby. Literally.

'Steve, the Little Aussie Supersub' apparently feels just like the real thing thanks to its 'Realtouch vinyl skin'.

And like ABC, I've got the creeps. It links to the Sydney Morning Herald, where it says "for the likes of Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson, who do not yet have any children, it may be just the thing to ward off the loneliness on tour."

However, Steve is still not able to solve Ricky Ponting's current bowling problems.

The Don of Mayfair

A cricket-loving foundation has brought out an Ashes Monopoly set - and like the current series, the game has been taken over by Australians.

The 10,000 limited edition set puts Sir Don Bradman alongside 'Mayfair' which will also feature LBWs, being caught behind, Test cards and other famous players like the Chappell brothers, Mark Taylor and Allan Border. Shane Warne is 'Oxford Street' while fellow spinner Stuart MacGill replaces the cheap rent of 'Old Kent Road'. Is there a get-out-of-jail-free card for England I wonder?

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The Rugby World Cup Final in 2003 between England and Australia was a much sought after ticket, but on the day of the game why were there touts of scouse nature still left with hundreds of tickets?

Well, it's like this: as soon as big events such as that Final and the Ashes go on sale, tickets get snapped up in no time. When it comes to the day of the event, people who didn't want to go in the first place virtually give away their tickets, leaving the touts who want a mark-up with whole batches (this was the case at Brisbane and Adelaide). Cricket Australia (CA) said the first four days were sold out at the Adelaide Oval but anyone wanting to come down to enjoy the cricket, did so knowing they wouldn't be breaking the bank at the same time. Late nights logging on to CA's site to buy Ashes tickets all those months ago? What was all the fuss about?

Let the battle commence

The Ashes battle has begun already... off the pitch that is, in the fans' quest to secure tickets for this winter. With jammed phone lines and web browsers freezing, around 180,000 tickets were snapped up as Cricket Australia (CA) released a minimum 635,000 tickets on the web and phones, for the 'Australian Cricket Family' out of the 720,000 available.

Aussie forums have been quick to show their irritation at the apparent ease in which Pom fans have secured their tickets (CA's qualification process meant fans had to provide a valid Australian postal address, but it seems Brits have got round that obstacle). A quick call to a mate in Sydney confirmed that the Poms have already caused stress to the Aussie cricket fraternity, while four days have sold out at the SCG and 20 fans even queued outside one outlet from 6am to be told that it was web and phone only.

With fans breaking records in their bid to secure tickets - this series is already set to be one hell of a sequel to last year's events.