mick's clock

In Australia we have a very well respected football coach who some people despise.

He has a theory about how to judge when your footy team is ready to win the flag.

The premiership clock is what he calls it, and he works out where his side is and coaches them accordingly.

Between 11 and 1 is your chance at winning. Your team has the right mix, and this is their window.

Once you get to 2-4 you need to look at rebuilding. You’ve gone too far, you had your chance, which you either took it or not, now its time to start again.

5-7 is for rebuilding, your team is sh1t, so you have picked a bunch of young kids and are hoping like hell they become good.

8-10 is teams who are almost ready, but not quite. You are almost there, but you’ve won jack all.

So what time is it for your test team?

Australia

In 2005/06 they were at 1, but now they are back to 10. If guys like Jacques, Haddin and Johnson step up they go straight back to 11 and will be there for a while. If not, they could end up at 3 or 9 quickly.

Bangladesh

They are firmly at 6. Up near the north pole in Alaska and such, there are times when its permanently dark or light. In Bangladesh its permanently 6.

(the) England

They are at 3, but no one seems to have told them. A seemingly intelligent man is betting they are at 9, but I think his clock is upside down. Only a Fredacle could change that.

India

Alot of Indian supporters will tell you they are at 11, but they could actually be at 2. They have a very old middle order, and in Australia the two young guns Jaffer and Yuvraj were horrible, so what if the old fellas are finished up. Their bowling is good, but it is not going to be good enough to carry an aging batting order or an inexperienced one.

New Zealand

They get a 7 instead of a 6 because of appointing a youngish captain. Everything else about them screams 6. They have quite a bit of rebuilding ahead of them just to become ordinary.

Pakistan

I thought they were better than a 7, but a look at their recent record suggests 7 is as good as it gets. They are a long way from good, but they are young, and that’s better than being old and ©rap.

South Africa

They are at 4, and they believe they are at 10. Their batting is old and fragile, and with Ntini losing form and Pollock losing his spot, their bowling is relying on a youngster and a mental patient. They need to get rid of a lot of dead wood, but there doesn’t seem to be any good players pushing through.

Sri Lanka

Hmmm, how long can a probotic captain hold back this side. How good is Kumar, how long will Murali bowl for? I say 8.30, but there are a lot of holes in their side, but Kumar is coming into his own and Murali isn’t slowing down, so its an 8, but they could easily end up at 3 without knowing how.

West Indies

I’m willing to give them a 7. They have a better line up right now than they have had in a while. They have a lot of young cricketers with potential and some middle aged guys who can play, they may stay at 7 or creep to 8.

Zimbabwe

Mugabe has banned all clocks. Apparently time is subversive.www.cricketwithballs.com "the only cricket blog that offers $ex with evil dragons"