Nospmas, i totally agreed (past tense) with you comments about McGills commentry during the last test etc... but tonight, i'm enjoying it! (possibly due to the Fat Yak). i hink all 3 of em have found their place and are having a good time with the task.
but we're here for cricket.
BLOODY POMMY RAIN!
great first up spells from Hilf and Siddle- very old school from Hey-diddle given the good balls he bowled when he looked like he could just take a less-than-casual-old-scchool-aussie-chunder on the track at Lords!
A.Strauss, i've seen some good leaves in my time, but... Good swing and cut Hilf!
Hughes, i'm not too surprised; i'd predicted that he and Johnson will not shine as expected, maybe due to pressure, but to be fair the expectations were too much!
Punter; bad luck, you get those now and then. He certainly didn't look as nervouse as normal... no matter what the commentaators said!
Great pace from Freddy: a hard situation for me with him, as i like his sportsmanship, and want him to do well, just not take wickets!
Clearly Kat and Huss need to have a fair knock each: i hope Huss can do it not only for the team, but himself too; the constant rain breeaks after lunch are a good test for him, (hopefully not an excuse for the selectors should he not do well!), as long as they get bacck on some time soon!
Rain in Le Tour too!
stoph verismo
down the wicket
Would Ponting be filthier at the Saffer giving him out or 6 of his batsmen that went out trying to pull?
ReplyDeleteCannot beleive it.
certainly sets up a huge fight to save the test.
Great set up for the Ashes really isn't it. Aus are likely to be in the same position as Eng in the first test - trying to save it. With Johnson out it's a huge task for Hauritz (who can bat) to go along with Siddle for as long as possible. Come on rain!
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see another catching controversy... didn't loook like Hauritz caught it to me but that doesn't mean he didn't. From the best angle the 3rd umpire had to work with you could not tell. Was there any agreement between the captains regarding catches? From the looks of Pontings behaviour there was.
ReplyDeleteBloody good to see him stand up for his players.
Get your arse over here for the 3rd test Pook.
Lets face it Ponting could quite easily have been given out LBW. It was close enough. He would be more pissed at the cavalier attitude of his so called senior batsmen. Once again they unable to rein in their shot selection when the situation demanded caution. Now that Australia cannot simply impose their will on a contest on demand they must grind out innings. Ugly runs are still runs as the great S Waugh will attest. He never gave his wicket away lightly having cut his teeth in the dark days of Australian cricket. Even the younger batsmen are not disciplined enough to value their wicket more than quick runs.
ReplyDeletePonting needs to go public with his disdain for his batsmen throwing their wickets away with poor shots that were not warranted. At 4 for F all an extravagant pull shot in the air is irresponsible and the reason we are looking down the barrell of removing the most embarrassing winless streaks in sport.
Put back in at the start of day 3 - Strauss is worried about rain! I agree with you NL - go in the media about poor shot selection. But, even if Ponting wasn't given out caught that was going down leg - came back a mile. No way you could be sure that was hitting the stumps. Here's the defining moment for our batting lineup. Records are made to be broken.........
ReplyDeleteSee you Thurs night Sledge. Game on.
i have lots to answer to you all... but 1st:
ReplyDeleteFreddy, how good is he? but, (While i want to win) with that limp, he shouldn't do more this match, which is a pity, coz i like him; a cricket champ!
Ponting; this is his MOST important innings.
maybe Hussey's too.
posting:need to read incoming.
just add: this IS what (cricket) test, is all about!
ReplyDeleteas you all know!
Ponting was gone either way with that; i'm ok with it.
ReplyDeleteBut Hughes decision...bugger me! What was that all about?
Strauss; i never rated you until this test, then i had to concede, "good knock."
Now you are forever a FUCKING CHEAT!!! (my 1st actual profanity on this site!)
he may not have known in the heat of the moment, but he would have had a doubt...weak CUNT! (2nd) what a F/wit!
England HAVE played better, and if they win, congrats, but that was just SHITE!
http://pulse2.timesonline.co.uk/pulse/times/#game
ReplyDeletewatch this. interesting
ReplyDeletethe way i see it:unless we need to block it, or if it is not a really loose ball, we need to leave everything...and Clarke is the man
ReplyDeleteflintoff ball to clarke's head: proves Strauss (new P/enemy no #) will appeal for anything- what a twat!
ReplyDeleteStrauss KNEW his fingers weren't under it for sure otherwise they would have been crushed between the ball and the ground.
ReplyDeleteWHY THE FUCK did Rudi not go upstairs? It looked to the naked eye to have bounced FFS!!
No ball to Katich was piss poor too. Not even close to the line!!
They should be strung up for this. Close LBW's I can accept, even edges but no balls and catches that don't carry are common dog fuck and should not be gotten wrong!!
Having said that I think we are in with a shot if we can negotiate the new ball.
Let's hope it pisses down and England don't get the result they want. It's always sour grapes to bemoan poor decisions but talk about key wickets: Hughes, Katich and Hussey - 3 out of your top 4 batmen!
ReplyDeleteAt the very least we've shown that our batting is in good form overall. We can be confident Hussey is back and will likely make a big score in the series.
Good on your Clarke, making runs when we need them the most.
On the decisions: valid points made by all. Missing no balls is fundamentally wrong as it is the first thing an umpire is looking for. With any referral system this is the first thing to be looked at. For a dubious catch why the hell didn't the umpires go to the third as they already had done for a close catch. The precedent was set so it makes it look even worse to make the wrong call yourself. Also, Pietersen does not look good and neither does Flintoff. Surely neither can make it through 3 more tests even with 10 days break til the next one.
Karma will get England fellas.
When Dougie Made The Double
ReplyDeleteSummer blazed in grainy black & white,
until I walked through a TV window
past stands of old corrugated iron and older wood,
into the vivid colours of my youth
and found a new home between
the Randwick and Paddington ends.
White skins were pink and brown
and black came in different shades
as a battle between willow and leather
made the sounds of resonant gun shots
across an oval billiard table
of deep green, light green mown magic.
I passed my first Test watching a first.
National service done but, he still stood to attention
to clip laconically to leg or pull with surprising violence
and all recorded in scribbled tallies
in the vacant back pages of 6th class maths.
Such days, such firsts
never to be repeated
never to be forgotten.
Heroes dressed as heroes are,
all stains and flaws lost in the whiteness,
all the same, all different,
all heroes through twelve year old senses
fresh to colour and sounds and smells
too big to imagine or rich to swallow
without savouring the sensation.
Cut grass aromas new just now;
a bobbing towelling hat mosaic
in hues so bright I still squint;
the cheering politeness to both victor and vanquished;
and a crowd wit still entertaining
down this winding corridor of years.
Wonders not lost on an aging boy’s spirit.
I was there.
I still am.