DOWN THE WICKET"S OWN

In a show of acknowledgment and support of Down The Wicket and services to "HIll's" cricket and cricket in general, our very own Lefty has been asked to toss the coin for the 2nd Test. About time too!

BOM- Adelaide forecast! first 3 days of Test

Friday Mainly fine. Partly cloudy. Min 17 Max 30
Saturday Fine. Mostly sunny. Min 21 Max 35
Sunday Cloudy. Possible shower. Min 23 Max 33

Which Finger Is That Nathan?

I don't know which finger he spins with but it would seem Nathan Hauritz's middle finger might be the one the Aussie selectors are noticing this evening. Follow the link for the story.
Nathan Hauritz Takes Five

sneak preview of T's back

and there is the front. the colour strip was not a funky design thing, it was put on because for some reason when i was doing the names they went through and so were backwards on the front...crazy! so it was a bit of a cover up.








just a few more lines to cut out of the front stencil and they will be done- here is a sneak preview of the back.

i'm not an expert, so they are not perfect with a few smudges and the like...but they are unique!

next year, i'm running a pole and only doing one back and one front- this was a CRAZY BIG job!!!
just as well i've been home sick this last week, or i wouldn't have got it done!

stoph verismo
down the wicket

ps. 2 more sleeps ntil the DTW crew hit Adelaide! TOPS!

risk aversion and the end game. or, we don't need to win

in the wrap up of the first test, heaps of comment will be made about selection, selectors, the pitch and tactics... all valid.

i want to look at something else to be taken from the result- intent.

while i totally concede a captains goal must be to win the series, I'm putting it out that Strauss pea-hearted a chance (admittedly slim on the flattest of flat-tracks) to play for a result, only because England currently hold the Ashes.

Sure it is a captains prerogative to play as he sees fit, and as stated, i know a result was unlikely due to the track, but for mine Strauss turned yesterdays middle session into psychological warfare and an exercise in fatiguing Australia's bowlers before the quick turn-around to Adelaide.

If that is the case, i'm of the belief that Strauss may have done Australia a favour. Clearly Johnson is the weakest link in the bowling line-up, and now the selectors have virtually no option but take him out of the mix... something that may not have happened for Adelaide.

So, for that i thank you AA#2, but for your inability to declare a session earlier and put the onus and challenge back on the Aussie batsman, i award you the "Pisum Sativa Cardio" medal for the first test... if you continue to play out the series for draws just retain the Ashes, a bigger prize awaits!

stoph verismo
down the wicket

Oh Dear - What Can The Matter Be

One single camera shot from the morning's play sums up where this series is heading. It wasn't the sight of Alastair Cook celebrating his double century or Jonathon Trott his single. It wasn't the sight of Ricky Ponting in endlessly repeated conferences with his bowler and the sound of commentators and crowd alike demanding he stop wasting time. It wasn't even the vision of Michael Clarke flooring the easiest slips catch imaginable.

No, it was a picture of the players area in the stand. In the middle ground, the next two men in - Pietersen and Collingwood - were reclining in apparent ease and comfort in their chairs, grins firmly fixed. In the background, Andrew Strauss and batting coach, English legend and former captain Graham Gooch were laughing loudly over some point or other. In the foreground and to the bottom right of screen, a forlorn, well dressed gentleman sat with his head in his hands, his shaking head wagging an earpiece presumably feeding him commentary. For nearly sixty seconds between overs that scene remained the same until the distressed man sat up and dropped his hands.

Andrew Hilditch has never looked worse.

From The Cricket Tragics

Batting Collapses

After yesterday's potentially match winning partership between Hussy and Haddin we totted off to bed all warm and safe in the notion that Australia would once again triumph in Brisbane. All manner of sins forgotten amid the elation of twin centuries and damn near a double. What is now becoming more apparent by the minute is how important the failure of most of our line up was as Strauss and Cook eat away at our lead. If only our top order or tail end could have offered some sort of resistance and maybe a hundred or so more runs our total and lead would have at the very least made sure that we could not lose this test. As it is we are faced with the very real possibility of a tricky run chase on the last day.
Let's face it Australia were a bad umpiring call away from being bowled out for two hundred going on the return from our tail end and would almost surely be staring defeat in the face by now. The pitch is still good and England have all their wickets in hand and only a deficit of less than a hundred to navigate. After that the test is square and it becomes a case of how many we chase and how long we have to get them, or hold on.
We need to win this test and take full advantage of the two H's partership otherwise England will take far more from Brisbane than we will. We really needed to bury them yesterday and should have made them bowl out the entire day. As it is we now rely on a catastrophic England batting collapse to regain the ascendancy which doesn't seem likely.