Cricketers From Australia

"Australians must decide for themselves whether this was the land of the dreaming, the land of the Holy Spirit, the New , the Millennial , or the new demesne for to infest."

"The inhospitable environment and the past had predisposed the minds of its European inhabitants to hand over the government of their country to men who were wary of visionaries and all those who held out a promise of better things for mankind. Australians seemed chained for decades to come to the role of being a New Britannia in another world. The young Henry Lawson and all the other prophets of Utopia were doomed to a bitter disenchantment."

"The proposals for the use of a southern continent had a history almost as long though by no means so distinguished as the history of its discovery. Some saw it as land dedicated to the Holy Spirit; some saw it as a land fit only for the refuse of society, on the principle that the political body, like the human body, is often troubled with vicious humours, which one must often evacuate."

"By the middle of the seventeenth century the Dutch had written the very first page in the history of European civilization in Australia by stating that there was no good to be done there. William Dampier popularized this idea amongst the English reading public half a century later."

"Civilization did not begin in Australia until the last quarter of the eighteenth century. The reason lies partly in the environment and way of life of the people inhabiting the continent before the coming of the European, and partly in the internal history of those Hindu, Chinese, and Muslim civilizations which colonized and traded in the archipelago of south-east Asia. The early inhabitants of the continent created cultures but not civilizations."

"A turbulent emptiness seized the people as they moved into a post-Christian, post-Enlightenment era. No one any longer knew the direction of the river of life. No one had anything to say."

"I think you've got to embrace it. The crowd's obviously going to be very one-sided but it's also in sport there's nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that's the aim for us tomorrow."

"It's just a little bit of a confidence thing but in this format you've got to take it on and we're learning that as we go and hopefully it's a bit of a kick starter for us today."

"We've enjoyed one another's company (and) the girls' effort at training and around preparation for matches tactically, has been spot on."

"We've been playing some pretty good cricket and I cannot fault anyone in the group, the energy and the positivity has been there the whole time."

"It's been a while since I've bowled and it's nice to contribute to the team as much as I can – it just went my way today, probably beginner's luck in a way"

"I know I will regret this for the rest of my life. I'm absolutely gutted. I hope in time I can earn back respect and forgiveness."

"At 26, he is a fine young man with extraordinary talent, excellent leadership qualities and a terrific temperament."

"I don't actually like watching cricket that much and would prefer to be out there batting and just getting the job done."

"Our selection policy is pretty clear. We pick the best players and we have a bias towards players we think might play for Australia in the future. It's probably a big call this early in Arjun's career but he's a very, very talented cricketer. A very good bowler and a very good batsman as well. He's a little bit different, he spins the ball both ways and is quite hard to pick out of the hand and a very, very good competitor."

"So many thought processes. When I'm not playing or training I'm thinking 'what more can I do to improve'. I'll train most days, I'm very hungry for wickets and runs and that's been the main key to what I've done. I think mental preparation is the key to succeeding."

"I saw him (Sunil Narine) play in the Indian Premier League and thought, 'this looks pretty different', so I watched him bowl on YouTube and tried it in the backyard. I've trained to the point where it's coming out well now."

"My goal is to play for Australia in all three formats of the game"

"He likes to take wickets, he likes to score runs and he likes to be in the game -- he likes to be the match winner. So, he fits very well into the mould of a NSW cricketer. We like to keep the game moving and play attacking cricket and Arjun is certainly one of those cricketers."

"Arjun Nair is one you need to look out for, he's a massive talent. I saw him play NSW versus Queensland schoolboys and I said to Freddy [NSW state talent manager David Freedman]: 'I don't care what he's doing, he's going to be playing in my [NSW] 19s [team]'. For a guy to be able to bowl like that, turn it both ways legally ... I would not be surprised if he was here training with the big boys in the next couple of years."

"He's one of the most exciting prospects coming through from the Thunder region and he's in our academy as well as being our development rookie this year. He still has a lot to learn in taking the next step to play in the Big Bash but he's certainly on the right trajectory."

"He [Arjun Nair] started as a batsman and the bowling took over, now he's picking up the batting again, which is good because it is important he offers something [more] than his bowling. Finger spin in Australia is challenging at the best of times and you just have to give yourself more opportunities to be selected. In this professional age it is important he offers as much as possible to maximise the number of opportunities he gets. Fielding is another aspect, like all young cricketers. Arjun needs to make sure he nails that because you can't afford any deficiencies if you want to break through."

"It's a good sign... because batting has probably been a worry for us. [Many have asked] 'Where are the next generation of batsmen coming from?' And all of a sudden we are starting to see some new names that give us some hope. It's good they've got an opportunity, and it's even better that they've taken it"

"He [Arjun Nair] started as a batsman and the bowling took over, now he's picking up the batting again, which is good because it is important he offers something [more] than his bowling. Finger spin in Australia is challenging at the best of times and you just have to give yourself more opportunities to be selected. In this professional age it is important he offers as much as possible to maximise the number of opportunities he gets. Fielding is another aspect, like all young cricketers. Arjun needs to make sure he nails that because you can't afford any deficiencies if you want to break through."

"Now that cricket has been put aside for some few months to come, and cricketers have assumed somewhat of the chrysalis nature (for a time only 'tis true), but at length again will burst forth in all their varied hues, rather than allow this state of torpor to creep over them, and stifle their new supple limbs, why can they not, I say, form a foot-ball club, and form a committee of three or more to draw up a code of laws? If a club of this sort were got up, it would be of vast benefit to any cricket-ground to be trampled upon, and would make the turf quite firm and durable; besides which it would keep those who are inclined to become stout from having their joints encased in useless superabundant flesh."

"Disappoints me some journo's think in an interview being a dick is cool. Tip, if u want people back don't be inappropriate, arrogant or smug."

"I don't like him and I'm not in a club of one."

"Anyone can look at our books and what we've done over 12 years, we have absolutely nothing to hide. We are under attack despite doing nothing wrong, I along with the board and all our ambassadors devote our time for free to raise funds. I've put over USD 150,000 of my own money into the foundation and never received a cent. I'm spending four to five hours a day on the foundation ... and getting grief for it"

"We have absolutely nothing to hide ... This is a disgrace and absurd and will go down as an expense. Go through everything you want at anytime as we have nothing to hide, but you pay for it, as the foundation would rather spend the 10,000 dollars on children in need than on an audit. It’s a real shame that certain journalists are continuing this ridiculous crusade/personal vendetta against the foundation & I can’t understand why. The board, patrons, ambassadors & everyone else involved at the foundation donate their time to make a significant difference to children & their families, which we have. We have saved children’s lives & without our support would not be on this planet."

"I ordered up a cup of tea in the morning. We were staying at this magnificent hotel called the Gateway of India – a Taj complex looking over The Gateway of India, which is this beautiful old monument that sits right down on the peninsula of Mumbai. I opened up the screens and I looked down and there were 50 to 60 people all wearing perfect white standing underneath my window. And they were laughing. I thought ‘what are they doing’. One person started laughing and then another person would start, and the next one would start laughing and it was - now I realise – a laughing meditation. It’s very very hard to be unhappy when you are laughing. It’s the truth. That was the start of their day. It was 5.30 in the morning, the sun was just creeping through the Taj complex and over the Gateway of India, I was hearing this laughing meditation and all the whiles in the background I knew that this was actually my time that I was going to arrive as a cricketer. I knew it in my heart. I knew it from the moment I set sights on India."

"The first time I ever met him, he was the same little obnoxious weed that he is now."

"This has been a big incident, hasn't in. In reality, James Anderson was a B-grade bowler who got his arse-whipped by Australia that many times it's not even funny. Frankly I don't care what he has to say but at least he has improved his bowling, thank goodness"

"Well it’s quite obvious Cricket Australia don’t give a damn; the selectors don’t give a damn. The Australian cricket team has an X-factor that no other team in the world has. The others look at us with envy. It’s about the culture of the team and you can’t mess with that. The lack of empathy that has been shown to Brad Haddin after the trauma he has gone through over the past two weeks has messed with the team culture; I have no doubt about it"

"Let them sit in Australia and talk about their pitches. Tell them not to waste their time about Indian tracks. Come and play here. After a 103 Test matches, I deserve a voice and I will have that voice for the betterment of cricket. And there some terrific reactions. For example, Ravi Shastri just said the popular view 'Go back home and worry about your own pitches. Non-Indian commenting on the conditions in India and I reckon probably 80 percent said 'mind your business and go back to Australia and worry about your own country' which is fair enough. But 20 percent of the people that understand the game and have a great passion for the game, a comment like mine whether they like or not is from the base of loving this sport, from the base of loving conditions and also experiencing diverse conditions across the world."

"Mahindra is a very natural fit for me. Firstly it is a product that is owned, operated and managed out of India. So there’s that great connection to that link between Australia and India."