Ken Gargett

many thanks and brave of you. sadly, that likely means your time on the forum is about to come to a shuddering halt. i am still vilified.

i was castigated for this. it was on a fishing trip to Chile. Rob and i brought cigars. another bloke as well. that left 2 or 3 who apparently thought that Rob would bring cigars for them. because they are bone lazy and not very bright. they were outraged when they found out that Rob had not. in a desperate move (exactly as you suggest), to ensure he was still loved by all, he wanted to chop up my SLR DCs (certainly would not have been loved by me). i was the worst person on the planet for not agreeing - even though i did hand over my PLPCs and a few others. oh, the perfidiousness. i have no doubt i will be absolved by future generations.

i've travelled with Rob. he'd be going around finding out who had what and then insisting that your SLR DCs be chopped in half so they go further. i am still scarred by that sacrilige. and i was a bad person because i refused. take the entire cigar but never chop it up. westie, you might think of him as gilligan but i think mr howell is more apt.

westie, i can do that any time.

john, apologies. that 20 from Sobers was the warm up game for the 68/69 series against the west indies, not the rest of the world.

john, he certainly did and he raved about it. it was a brilliant innings. i remember it. he spanked Lillee - and just where one ranks Lillee amongst the great fast bowlers, and personally, if not top then certainly top two or three - all over the MCG. but Dad still ranked Brisbane higher (i told Sobers that). i saw him play at the Gabba on that tour against Queensland in the warm up game (too young to be allowed into the members for tests which pissed me off enormously). he came out late on the first day and was clearly a bit bored with the game. he cracked five fours in an over or two - all brilliant shots - and then got hit in the pads (members at the Gabba is behind the bowlers arm so we had a great view). pretty certain he was out but he did not wait. walked. only time i have seen a bloke walk on an LBW. a day or two later, the last session was washed out. mates and myself were waiting for our fathers to collect us. we just about lived at the Gabba. used to play our cricket under the stands. out came gavaskar, bishen bedi (one more i can't recall) and we had a great chat with them. terrific blokes. so kind of them to come over to 3-4 kids and chat. made our day, for sure. i think i was 11 or 12 and already taller than gavaskar. one thing about that 3rd test. Lillee still picked up something like 8 or 9 for 180 for the match.

very sad to hear of the passing of Garry Sobers, one of the absolute elite sportsmen in history. no doubt bradman was the greatest batsman but Sobers was a brilliant batsman, superb quick, wonderful spinner, could field in slips as well as anyone, or in the outfield. and a very good captain. met him a few years ago. had a very quick chat. lovely man. my old man always said that his 130 odd in the tied test was the greatest innings he ever saw played. RIP.

lisa as mrs howell? brave man.

rob would make a great gilligan.

shame, ayala, shame. there is no legitimate reason ever, for anything, to support england in any sport. synchronised swimming against epstein island, you'd still back the pedos. the only thing i do not like this Newsweek article does not truly stress how much we despise english sporting teams. Hooray! It’s OK To Hate England updated Jul 15, 2026 at 05:10 PM EDT England supporters react after Argentina scores to draw level as they watch a live broadcast of the 2026 World Cup semifinal football match between En The despair felt in England after their 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals may appear inconsolable, but there is a upside. The England team’s failure to reach their first World Cup Final since 1966 comes with the knowledge that, for a while at least, the globe is united. In a world bitterly divided by ideology, religion and national rivalry, there is one thing that can still bring people together: it’s OK to hate England. Argentina’s animosity towards England is well documented, expressed on the soccer pitch in fractious World Cup meetings in 1966, 1998, 2002 and, most famously, 1986 in Mexico City when Diego Maradona proved he was both a cheat and a genius. That 2-1 win 40 years ago took place in the shadow of the 1982 Falklands War and Maradona was clear that beating England was revenge for the Argentinian soldiers who died in the conflict (the fact that Great Britain’s victory in that war all but ended a vicious military dictatorship in Argentina seems to have escaped those who now proclaim their hatred of the English). But Argentina will have to get in the queue. The prime spots for this national pastime are held by the other constituent parts of Great Britain itself, in particular Scotland and Wales, where hating England (if not individual English people) has become a compulsory part of the national culture. Argentine banners have been on show all week in Scottish cities, where the “anyone but England” mantra may as well be written on the flag of St Andrew. In Wales, loathing of England is most often expressed around the sport of rugby rather than soccer, based on an assumption that English people are “arrogant” and even today tainted indelibly by England’s historic role subjugating Welsh independence. It has been pointed out, in a polite English way, that many Scottish and Welsh soldiers died fighting in the Falklands War, so it seems counterintuitive to support the football team of the country that killed them. But this just shows how ingrained anti-Englishness has become. Even if the truth of a famous speech before a Wales v England rugby match in 1977 has been called into question, that doesn’t stop some fans wearing phrases from it on T-shirts today. The Wales captain Phil Bennett was supposed to have said: “Look at what these b******s have done to Wales. They've taken our coal, our water, our steel. They buy our houses and live in them for a fortnight every 12 months. And what have they given us? Absolutely nothing. We've been exploited, raped, controlled and punished by the Englis—and we're playing them this afternoon.” So, the answer to the question “Why is it acceptable to still hate the English so vociferously?” can be answered with “It’s history, stupid” and it wouldn’t be far wrong. On a superficial level this is true of the French, who although being England’s longest running historical adversary (1,000 years and counting) are prolonging a kind if England-hate cosplay out of habit. France is Britain’s closest European ally, but nobody likes to admit that in public. Australia sends much of its bored, restless youth to England each year to work in bars, and the historical ties with the mother country as among the closest of any two countries in the world, yet Australians still feel perfectly willing and able to decry the English as feckless, arrogant and pompous when it suits them. Again, this is most often expressed in the context of sport, in this case cricket. The historical animosity is most raw for Ireland, which endured centuries of colonization, mistreatment, mismanagement and in some cases terrible bloodshed at the hands of its nearest neighbors. The anti-English sentiment extends deep into the US too, from the idea that nasty old King George III was a tyrant in 1776 right up to today. What Joe Biden meant in 2023 when he answered a request by BBC journalist for a quote by saying “The BBC? I’m Irish” was less a proud proclamation of his heritage but an assurance that he was anti-English. Many Americans love to discuss their family’s personal heritage, with one notable exception. There is a similar sense of low-level resentment and suspicion among the Indian and Pakistani establishment both for England’s (as part of Great Britain) colonization of their countries and as an expression of a thrusting national identity. The desire to project 21st-century power means that post-colonial countries will hang on to their resentment of England—in particular—even after 80 years have passed since they gained independence. It’s just too convenient as a national rallying point. Disliking England, even if it’s just for show, is the sentiment everyone can get behind. The irony is England doesn’t often seem a like a very powerful, confident or indeed arrogant country anymore. Huge sections of English society don’t care for being English, perhaps egged on by the evidence that so many other nationalities feel the same way about England as they do. Only 45 percent of those in a series of recent polls said they were proud to be English, with “embarrassment” tracking at around 10 percent. The Scots and Welsh are living in the same “Broken Britain” as the English, a fractured society with an underpowered economy, yet they are still permitted to cherish their national identity. Many English people feel like they’re not allowed this luxury, which is contributing to the English nationalism feeding into the rise of the populist Reform UK party. Even flying England’s own St George’s Cross is a source of continual public debate about whether it is a symbol of oppression. There is a football club in south London called Millwall, once notorious for its hooligans, whose most famous chant became “No one likes us, we don’t care.” This World Cup has proved once again, that England may have to accept being the Millwall of the world, whether it likes it or nor. Perhaps England should take it as a compliment. It’s probably better to be hated than ignored.

1, France, 2, no, yes. 2. argentina, 4, no, no. tiebreaker - 8

at least it is a lovely blue.

happy birthday to your dad. mum turns 95 on the 17th. stuff planned for next weekend.

i did not watch the game but in fairness to Balogun, you are saying that he is not as good as one bloke who is surely one of the greatest three or four players ever to play the game and another bloke who is possibly the best player in the world at the moment? neither is anyone else on the planet. he is clearly a very good player but no one is comparing him to all time greats. i'd also suggest, as you acknowledge, that all this c**p was certainly something he did not ask for. the actions of FIFA and friend basically put a spotlight on him and had the whole world watching him. how do you reckon most of us would have gone under that sort of pressure?

never heard of any of them. don't expect to be able to even remember the names ten secoonds after i click off this thread.