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Australia

They might be about to draw a series they would have marked down as a win, but they got to see Smith unleashed and can now get rid of North with no heavy conscience.  Also Douggie finally got it right.  Better late than never.

Pakistan

In the field had plenty of their old problems.  Have the bowlers to defeat anyone, but their fielding was often sloppy, their captain looked confused and they didn’t look like they were trying hard.  With the bat this was a whole knew Pakistan.  Cold, calculated and calm.  You know, until they lost two quick wickets and looked like shitting themselves.

Who’s in front

Australia, no, Pakistan. Pakistan, they should still get home with only 4 wickets down.

Play of the day

Ben Hilfenhaus put in a great fielding effort where he tried to mimic some of Danish Kaneria’s best work.  He followed a ball down to the boundary and let it trickle into the rope as he ran past it, over it and beside it, all seemingly at once.  Few fielders beat the ball to the rope, but Hilfy might have.

Honourable mention to the Headingley power grid for going out.  The press box fell into chaos, people were ripping their clothes off, smearing feces all over them, stabbing people with pens, and having to check the scores on their iPhones. Oh the humanity.  The best moment was when it was confirmed how lazy you get with the TVs in the room as it took several Australian journalists –myself included – about 30 seconds to work out if Paine or Clarke was facing up.

Testicular moment of the day

Before today, Smith was seen as a bits and pieces project player, today he was a proper test cricketer.  No Australian cricketer had counter attacked Pakistan on this pitch without looking like a fool.  Smith looked like a superstar.  Even when the new ball came out he was in charge.  This was a ballsy attacking kick ass innings; it was not the innings of a test number 8.

Working class moment of the day

Imran Farhat was lucky early, but then was the rock in this innings.  The first Pakistani to make a 50 in this game.  But he is still Imran Farhat.  If he fails in the next test, or somehow Pakistan stuff this up, people will still going back to abusing him.  He is Pakistan’s Shane Watson.  And he will need a lot more than one top innings to change people’s mind.

Weird factoid of the day

If you have automatic toilets and the power goes out, they aren’t automatic any more.

Question of the day

Have you ever noticed how most cricket laws seem to be made to stop play from happening, rather than encouraging it?

Read the recap at crikey.

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Australia

Their front line bowlers were pathetic; their back up bowler saved their ass.  Then the ball stopped swinging and they eased the ball around the poorly throughout field.

Pakistan

Didn’t make enough of their great position with the bat, and yet again let Shane Watson get to them.  Once Australia got on top they seemed to lose all real energy and played like they were bored.

Who’s in front

According to the bookies, Australia is.  Barely.  They still have a big job to do, but they were definitely playing like the winners in the afternoon.  Pakistan will need someone to ignite them otherwise… Poor bastards.

Play of the day

There was some competition for this today, Shane Warne seemed to laugh so hard at the comedy run out of Danish Kaneria he couldn’t speak.  But Umar Amin beat that.  Amin faced a bouncer from Hilfenhaus that he dropped under, but left his bat up for.  The classic periscope.  Not only did he leave the bat up there, he held it form enough so when the ball crashed into it, the ball rebounded to square leg and he was caught.

Testicular moment of the day

No matter how much you hate him, Shane Watson is here to stay.  Like Chlamydia.  Pakistan probably wish there was pill or ointment to get rid of him.  He was the perfect bowler for this situation; slow enough that the ball would swing, and innocuous enough that they would attack him.  I don’t really understand how he got six whole wickets, but it seems fairly impressive to me.

Working class moment of the day

Mohammad Asif is perhaps the best bowler in the world at the moment.  But that pesky potential teenager keeps getting all his media.  Just before the bad light in the afternoon he bowled a spell were there were two amazing deliveries that deserved wickets.  There were close LBW shouts, appeals for caught behinds and more than a few play and misses.  No wickets came.  And I bet the Katich dismissal will be played a few times.

Weird factoid of the day

Only Hussey and Ponting of Australia’s top six batsmen do not have a wicket haul.  Katich (6/65 vs Zim), Clarke (6/9 vs Ind), North (6/55 vs Pak) and now Watson.  Hussey and Ponting are massively under performing with only bests of 1/3 and 1/0 respectively.

To read about how Marcus North is nondescript go here.

To read a full review of the day go here.

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Australia

Have had slightly better days.

Pakistan

Losing the toss in this test might be the greatest thing to happen to Pakistan cricket since the invention of the wrong’un.  Only need one good session in the morning and they are off and racing.

Can Australia win

Sadly, yes.  In some ways an Australian win would be the greatest thing because of the come back element.  But if it leads to mass suicide in Pakistan, is it worth it.  They were 206 runs behind in Sydney; will they even be that far behind this time?

Play of the day

When Ricky Ponting went out there was so much excitement from Pakistan than Asif high fived the short leg – Amin or Ali I assume – and clear knocked him over.  But then didn’t even stop to pick him up.  Getting Ponting out is so good you can knock over a team mate and ignore him.

Testicular moment of the day

As brilliant as the Pakistani bowing was, it was the batting that really surprised.  And that was Salman Butt.  Sure he only makes runs against Australia, but these were very good runs.  It was a captain’s 45.  It was as important, if not as exciting or well executed, as Ponting’s knock at Headingley last year.  If Butt goes out early Australia might have 5 or even 6 wickets by now.  An important 45.

Working class moment of the day

Tim Paine probably only has two tests to stake his claim on the keeping job.  He was by far Australia’s best batsman in this shitty innings.  He chose to do the team thing and go after quick runs when Douggie was with him.  This meant going out in an ugly way as the top scorer of 17.  Then after sacrificing himself after out batting his team mates he was peppered with utter crap down the legside making him jump around to defend his bye total.

Weird factoid of the day

At the start of play there were more people paid to be at the ground than there was paying punters.

Read more at crikey.

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Australia

The sort of professional performance you would expect from a bunch of well trained athletes, kind of boring.  The batting wasn’t great, but it was effective.  Bowling was less so, but they’d have to collapse into mental bowls of tomato soup to lose.

Pakistan

Without the clouds gone they seemed to lack the sexual machismo required to put Australia away.  The whole Hilfenhaus experience was proof that no matter who the captain is, no one can lose interest like the Pakistani cricket side.

Who’s in front

Australia will win, unless they lose, which would actually be great but won’t happen.  Record chase for Pakistan with a batting line up made from left overs, un-ripened fruit and last year’s party favours would be great.  Without clouds it could be an interesting day.  With them it could be over very early.

Play of the day

It was windy at Lord’s, not so much in the press box, but everywhere else.  The sort of day that if you had a cap on that could be tightened, you’d fasten it as safely as you could.  Not Afridi, he kept his loose, and I counted it coming off at least six times.  Perhaps it was all an elaborate rouse to show people his luscious locks more.

Testicular moment of the day

There was a time when Ben Hilfenhaus was a walking declaration. He was a proper number 11 type number 11.  It wasn’t that he didn’t try, you could see the effort on his face, but then the bemusement as he would thrust at ball after ball with hiss bat and pad together never really hitting many at all.  Then last month on a sticky wicket in Queensland for Australia A he scored a first class 50, and something must have clicked.  Now he is batting like a real human being, and he has a 50 in test match cricket.  That injury that kept him out of bowling was certainly worth it for his batting.

Working class moment of the day

When Simon Katich was on 79 I tweeted that he wouldn’t make a hundred. He went out for 83.  Katich does this a lot.  Hence why I said he wouldn’t make it.

Weird factoid of the day

Ricky Ponting is the third top scoring Tasmanian in this match.  Also, he doesn’t have a 50 at Lord’s, but Ben Hilfenhaus does.

Read the crikey shit here.

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Australia

Struggled, clawed and begged for runs as the ball swung around them. Then they gave up the fight a little and made the swinging ball look like a magic dancing orb. Not their best day.

Pakistan

Hung in there even when the luck was against them, and when the luck came back they pounced on it. Should be pleased with how they bowled, but you know, batting is important too.

Who’s in front

Pakistan should be, but if their bowling line up were on one half of a sea saw, and the batting unit were on the other, the batting unit would be high in the air. If the ball moves for the Australian bowlers the Pakistan batting line up of inexperience and mediocrity will struggle.

Play of the day

Ricky Ponting and the elbow of cricket. It doesn’t seem to matter who Ponting plays at Lord’s he fails. But this time he failed after a great catch and then stood in the crease due to shock. Then young Aamer/Amir – who is partial to ending up within physical contact of batsmen he has got out – got just a bit too close. The grumpy old bastard then put his elbow up to make sure the young buck knew he was in the wrong place. He then did a typical Ponting thing and told everyone who came between him and the fence about how rude it was someone was anywhere near him when he went out.

Actually I forgot Watson.  He left a ball, was given out LBW and was bowled.  When the cricket gods don’t want you around, they aint subtle.

Testicular moment of the day

Asif, baby. I mean come on. He bowls at the Nursery end without every really looking like the super smooth medium fast bowler he is. Then he moved to the other end, and it all changed. Then Asif took over. McGrathesque was used so often in the press box I was hoping he’d start bowling long hops just to shut people up. Instead he bowled like he was some sort of serial killer who had been trained in medicine and was very good at taking out vital organs.

Working class moment of the day

S Katich. Bit of luck, lots of graft, no hundred.

Weird factoid of the day

Marcus North has made more scores in single figures and triple figures than he has in double figures.

For my crikey wrap up go here.

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