Driving Test...
Jan. 1st, 2004 10:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mcgillianairePassed the Drums, didn't make the Slope. Will repeat slope on Saturday. Lengthier entry after arrival in M'real (Jan 7th).
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Back to work on Monday
Date: 2004-01-02 03:15 pm (UTC)The Indian batsmen saw out ten overs of the second new ball last night. 500 is on the cards if they can bat another ten overs without loss this morning.
Predictions
Date: 2004-01-03 12:03 am (UTC)So let me see if I can improve my spirits:
Hayden will make 400.
Australia will win the test match.
Re: Predictions
Date: 2004-01-03 03:06 am (UTC)Re: Predictions
Date: 2004-01-03 12:31 pm (UTC)Just to be on the safe side.
Interestingly Poised
Date: 2004-01-04 02:27 am (UTC)I like the rate @ which the Aussies bat. It's exciting stuff. And this series has been awesome cuz we've done pretty well.
Any guesses on the final result? Bloody Al-Italia. Do I have to spend Day 5 in Milan's International Airport ...
Man of the match contenders:
Date: 2004-01-04 02:28 pm (UTC)b) Anil Kumble
c) Anil Kumble
d) Jason Gillespie
Truly, this pitch is so good for batting that a bowler deserves man of the match. I watched most of Kumble's spell yesterday, and he bowled magnificently - the best I've seen him bowl outside of India. He made them tumble again.
Apparently they're forecasting rain for day 5, so it will take Australian over-attacking today to give India the 2-1 victory.
To show just how ludicrous this test match has been, consider out of context my following summary of day 3:
India's innings ended after two early wickets to Brett Lee. After safely seeing out the 70 minutes before lunch, Langer and Hayden blasted the Indian attack, being particularly brutal on Murali Kartik, after the interval, scoring 94 runs in the first hour of the middle session.
Hayden was eventually out for 67, getting a leading edge from a Kumble wrong'un. Langer continued uninhibited, raising his century with a reverse sweep from 120odd balls.
India fought back late in the day, with Langer (116), Ponting (25) and Martyn (7) all falling to Kumble's accurate bowling, and retiring hero Waugh (40) and Gilchrist (6) being dismissed by young paceman Pathan.
Australia ended the day at 6/341, scoring at an average run rate of 4.25 per over, with Katich on an unbeaten half-century.
It was a excellent day for India, and Australia will be very disappointed.
---
World cricket has a problem with India:
Ganguly (31)
Chopra (26)
Sehwag (25)
Laxman (29)
Dravid (almost 30)
Tendulkar (30)
Parthiv (18 - 18! I feel old...)
Harbhajan (23)
Pathan (19)
I'm not convinced that Zaheer will be anything more than a good fast bowler, but I like the look of Pathan. And apart from Kumble, the squad will stay unchanged for a few years.
Now I know that it's quite possible for India to go back to their usual ways of not all clicking at once, but if they play to 2/3 of the form they've shown this series, they will win several series away from home.
Dravid's batting was such that I don't think McGrath would have made an impact on him. Laxman and Ganguly may have struggled a bit more if our attack had been at full fitness. Tendulkar played extremely patiently in this last test, and McGrath would have done little except bowl maidens to him. Chopra knows how to leave a ball, and though he got the occasional nick (several of which should have been caught), he clearly has the right temperament to play the sheet anchor. Sehwag is a freak.
My last comment before the test match is concluded (when I shall pass judgement on the aesthetics of the series) is that the balance between bat and ball has been far, far too heavily in favour of the bat. This has been especially true of this series, but it is true in cricket generally today. I don't know if you've seen the stats on the frequency of double-hundreds in the 21st century.
Off the top of my head, we now have Graeme Smith, Hayden, Ponting, Gilchrist, Dravid and Tendulkar all averaging over FIFTY-FIVE!
We may not be getting many draws (if it doesn't rain), but I do hope that next summer the Pakistanis will bring out some better quick bowlers.
I lied.
Date: 2004-01-04 11:31 pm (UTC)Kumble's getting the pitch to do stuff, but still... lots of runs for not many wickets were scored on it today.
I shouldn't really let myself think that we can win. But....
Re: I lied.
Date: 2004-01-06 03:04 am (UTC)I just tried to post a message, but it was too long, and then it disappeared when I clicked "Back". I'll re-type later.
Day 5 and the series
Date: 2004-01-06 09:54 pm (UTC)Steve Waugh has played his last international match. He now sees out the season with NSW, and let us hope that he can bring some of the crowds back to the 4-day game as well.
I think everyone was a bit disappointed when he got out going for his century, but that disappointment disappeared as he walked off the ground. Sadly, I had watched the day's play from the Tea Room, and play finished at about 5:30pm and I wanted to be home to eat tea before 7, so I didn't see the presentations.
Speaking of which, Tendulkar got man of the match. This is an absolute disgrace. Kumble was by FAR the best player in this match.
Kerry O'Keeffe is famous for his wheezing laugh. He gave listeners quite a bit of this laugh during this exchange with Harsha on day 3, not long after Gillespie had resumed the attack.
KOK: Gillespie's as stiff as a triple scotch.
Harsha: A triple scotch. That's very stiff.
(pause)
Harsha: So Kerry, how many stiffs did you have last night?
KOK: Oh Harsha! Hahahahakhkhkhkhkhkehehe.
Harsha: Kerry, in your career did you ever bowl a ball and as soon as you bowled it, you thought, "I wish I hadn't bowled that"? I just had one of those moments.
KOK: Harsha, I'm fifty-four! Khkhkhkhkh. Just the one! Hmhmhmhmhkhkhkhkh....
To aesthetics.
Sehwag's feet are often in plaster, and so whilst he's entertaining, he's not enjoyable to watch for his technique. Laxman reminds me of many West Indian batsmen - there seems to be something a little raw and uncoached about his offside play. Tendulkar can play wonderfully through the off-side but chose not to in his big innings. I didn't see Ganguly's century, but I imagine he looked as graceful as ever, despite his lack of footwork (he and Damien Martyn both have this ability).
Dravid was fantastic to watch. I could happily watch an hour of his forward defensive strokes. Of non-Australian batsmen, I would only prefer to watch Michael Vaughan's cover drive to any of Dravid's shots.
On the Australian side, Katich looked very good in this last test. I know it's not a good indicator of how he'll go on more Murali-friendly pitches in Sri Lanka, but his feet move so fast that I hope he can hold the middle-order up in the forthcoming tour. Darren Lehmann also wouldn't go astray.
So international cricket in Australia is over for the summer. The one-day series remains. Most matches being day-nighters, I'll probably see most of the second innings, but I won't move myself from my desk to watch the first innings. Perhaps I should. I get distracted from work very easily in the quiet honours room, and I am actually more productive when there's cricket on.
India deservedly have retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Let us hope that it has been regained by year's end.
Bits and pieces.
Date: 2004-01-06 10:13 pm (UTC)Yes, David Shepherd missed a few no balls in that game against Pakistan. This is where Channel 9's coverage is superior to Sky Sports. Ch9 almost NEVER show the fixed-camera view of the front foot unless there's been a no ball. If they showed these replays more often, we would find lots and lots of missed no balls, from all umpires. Often you can pick them up in the (non-fixed camera) side-on replay after a wicket.
I would add to his argument that doubt be incorporated into the Hawk-Eye decisions (the Hawk-Eye people say it's accurate to 5mm, but I'm not convinced based on replays - I think an inch would be closer to the truth). And also this from David Shepherd - the game isn't made for umpires, but for players.
Whilst I'm on the subject of Hawk-Eye, the fact that it adjudges so many batsmen out as compared to umpires is that the average human doesn't realise just how little the ball has to travel after hitting the pad before reaching the bowling crease. It's about 2m over 20. If the ball has been delivered from 30cm left of the stumps, the angle will only take it another 3cm. Even allowing for inward movement, it's not a lot.
www2b.abc.net.au/cricket/forum used to be a place where maybe 15-20 regulars chatted, mostly about cricket. There were some outrageous opinions, strongly argued (often by name-calling, but often also by good statistics), and you knew who all the characters were, so it was quite entertaining. Now the format of the forum has changed, and outrageous opinions remain, without any entertainment.
Perhaps the worst example of this was by someone who posted a message highly critical of Cricket Australia for being too friendly to the Indians. Why didn't we make them play in Perth? Why did we give them a flat track in Sydney? CA should have ordered bouncier wickets, etc.
Now I thought to myself, "This is one stupid idiotic Australian cricket supporter." I grew up learning that subcontinental sides doctored pitches to the captain/coach/board's will, and that this was appalling behaviour. We may have wanted to murder the WACA curator after he prepared a greentop for Curtly Ambrose in 92/3 (Ambrose took 7/1 in one spell), but there was never any suggestion that the ACB should have intervened and asked for a less bouncy pitch to be prepared.
So anyway, that wasn't the real problem with that poster. There were three replies to it, AND ALL THREE AGREED WITH HIM! O the horror of it.
A Barmy Army song
Date: 2004-01-07 09:38 pm (UTC)"Throw, throw, throw the ball, gently down the seam
Murali, Murali, Murali, Murali, chucks it like a dream
Bowl, bowl, bowl the ball, gently through the air
Murali, Murali, Murali, Murali, here comes Darrell Hair ... No Ball!"
Re: A Barmy Army song
Date: 2004-01-08 10:26 am (UTC)Re: Day 5 and the series
Date: 2004-01-08 10:21 am (UTC)Harsha, what a blunder. :-) That's not the first time I've heard Harsha use that line "bowl a ball you wish you hadn't" though, interestingly. Can't remember the other instance(s).
To aesthetics.
During his 195 Boycott thought Sehwag would do good for an advertisement on swashbuckling superglue. Like Ramesh, he hardly moves his feet; and is a freak. He lives and dies by the sword. If it's there to hit, he tries to hit it and loves to reach milestones with big shots. Just needs some more time @ the highest level to harness his talent and mature. There's no doubt he's exciting to watch when he connects, but when he doesn't, sometimes I plead aloud for the nonstriker to go across and whack him across the head with a bat. The Opposition need never fear him because you always know you can get him out @ any time. It's only worrying when he misses good balls because inevitably he doesn't miss out on bad ones. Sometimes, he hits good ones as well.
Chopra should've gotten out cheaply several times, but so should a lot of Aussies in various games, incl. the last innings. :-) He has the right temperament indeed.
Dravid. Enough said.
Tendulkar. The double was painfully fascinating. 80% of the runs on the onside!! Most from the ondrive, considered to be the most difficult shot to play by several coaches. His mind was made up from the beginning. "Do not get out." What I liked most about his century, was the context - the big parternership with Laxman. It was great because you just knew it would be big because Sachin had decided just not to get out. And because of that, even if Laxman was flicking it around so much, you felt safe into knowing Saching was not going to do the same and increase the chances of a wicket to fall anytime.
Laxman, Austraya's favorite of recent times. ;-) Silky as ever. Apparently he rated his 75 @ the Gabba as the best innings of the tour and unfortunately I didn't get to see it. He does have that West Indian thing about him and I often feel he could get out to silly shots anytime. The difference between him and Sehwag though is that he uses those things between the ears more often than never. :-) Post-series advice: Insure those wrists. They'll be worth a fortune when he retires ...
Ganguly. Didn't get to see too much of him, cept for the 73 @ the MCG. Thought it was a good innings within the context. Unfortunately lost concentration after Dravid got caught behind. Would loved to have seen the ton. As you said, must've been graceful as ever. Greg Chaps thinks that is a turning point in his career and by the time he retires will have a 50+ average. Time will tell. At the moment, I think we got a pretty solid middle order. Let's hope they click as often overseas. Whether you're in the opposition or not, one has to admit they're a pleasure to watch.
Parthiv Patel. Cheeky little bugger. He's got promise. I liked that hook off Brett Lee @ the SCG. Atta boy, Parthiv!
Continued @ the Bottom ...
Re: Day 5 and the series
Date: 2004-01-08 10:21 am (UTC)In that context, 705 was a shitload to fool around with and I guess he'll be happy with an 8-fer. I'm really happy for Kumble because as Boycott said, you know he's the kind of guy who will bowl for you till the moment he drops dead. And not just that, he'd have tried his level-headed best to bowl a tight line and length. The bowling version of Steve Waugh perhaps. Great, but not the greatest like Warney or Bradman.
The other bowlers admitedly were rather poor although Agarkar did get more wickets than any Aussie. :-) The next time we visit Oz and he's in the team I hope they've implemented that substitute rule. We need to use it when about 6 or 7 down.
On the Australian side...
Langer gets too carried away. He has the capacity to score big double hundreds more often.
Hayden too can get carried away but seems more safe a player than Langer. Probably the reason he could reach 380 and Langer hasn't.
Ponting. The Indian Dravid? ;-)
Martyn. Perhaps as an Aussie I'd be disappointed with his performances. Had a few starts. Kumble worked him out nice first innings @ the SCG.
Waugh. I'm really happy he did well in his final innings. As you know I missed the last day's play but before I left I told my dad the ideal scenario would be a Waugh hundred, backs to the wall and an Indian victory just after tea. It nearly worked out...
It nearly worked out but for a certain Katich. Great knocks in both innings, even though I only got to see the first one. His fleeted feet movement augur well for SL. I hope he does well. If he hadn't done well who would've replaced him ... Love, Lehmann?
The one-day series remains.
Just over a month ago I thought it would be a pointless tourney because we'd have been battered to sand and even the Zims'd've sniffed a chance. That has obviously changed but I still can see India losing a match or two to them. :-)
It would be great to have the 3rd final come into play because @ the moment the world only seems to be hearing two teams challenging each other in both Tests and ODI's ... ;-)
India deservedly have retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Let us hope Steve Waugh's final frontier cricketing dream never comes true. :-)
Re: Day 5 and the series
Date: 2004-01-08 10:42 am (UTC)One of the reasons the cricket was so entertaining was because of the rate @ which Australia bats. Without that, there is no way the last test could've become as exciting as it did on Day 5, or just before it. Perhaps a target of 400-420 might've made it even more interesting...
Will be adding more thoughts to some of your other messages here in the latest entry so stay posted.
Cheers!