Party pooper Fletcher

LAID-BACK england coach Trevor Bayliss and his personable No 2 Paul Farbrace would surely not be fazed if the cricket media attended the eCB’s reception to watch the New Year fireworks, as was the case on the 2006-07 Ashes tour. But miserable former england coach Duncan Fletcher — a social misfit — complained so strongly about the press being there that reporters have not been invited since. THE Ashes umpires, who make themselves unnecessarily conspicuous in public by travelling between venues in ICC branded kit, told cricket fans at Melbourne airport that they will be cracking down at Sydney on both sides throwing the ball in on the bounce. The practice scuffs the ball to help bowlers achieve reverse swing. AUSTRALIAN rules football, which has failed to make any impact outside its birthland, is at the heart of the drop-in pitches controversy following the lifeless MCG wicket proving so unsuited to Test cricket. Yet Aussie rules, whose players don’t like playing on hard cricket squares, takes priority at the MCG because it fills the 90,000-capacity venue on a regular basis.