cricket with balls

Australia

Had the same problem they had at the Gabba, no one could make the big score and wickets kept falling regularly.  Hussey batted the into a real hole, and the Windies never let them out.

West Indies

Kemar Rocha and Sulieman Benn gave the Windies a chance in this game. They were generally on the money all day.  Was a great day of cricket from them.

Who is in front

Windies can make the game go anyway they want.  Both teams can still win. But it is the Windies who have to make all the choices.

Play of the day

Sulieman Benn is a character, and possibly, a bit mad. In the past he has been in trouble for tripping batsmen, and he is never short of a word. Yesterday he invented a mystery ball so good that no batsmen could hit it. The reason was he didn’t have the ball, he came in with the Haddin over the bat, and all the fielders in place, but the ball was behind him on the ground. It was the best surrealist ball I have ever seen not delivered.

Shane Watson did something funny too…

Testicular moment of the day

Play of the day and Testicular moment of the day, well done Benn.  When the Windies beat England at Jamaica this year it was Benn who set up the game before Jerome Taylor came in and got the headlines.  After that game I thought he would really become a top test match bowler, since then he has been horrible, until yesterday.  All day he kept the batsmen guessing and they never got on top of him. His 5 wickets on a benign surface were well earned.  Top effort big fella.

Working class moment

Kemar Roach was probably the pick of the bowlers. He was proper class. Moving the ball late, making the Aussies play, working over Hussey, and only picking up 3 wickets.  He is almost as good as the commentators constantly make out.

Question of the day

A collapse or a declaration?

Check out my book, ashes 09: when freddie became jesus.

Australia

Except for one hour, Australia had this day by the scruff of the neck. What an annoying hour though.

West Indies

Finally got their batting right, but their bowling was not good. Their two best bowlers are out injured, Sammy was not fit, and when the ball stopped moving they looked like a club attack. Not a great one either.

Who is in front

Knowing the two sides you would rather be Australia, but all the Windies need is one bowler to “pull a broad” and they can win this game. Roach is the only one who can, but I just don’t see it.

Play of the day

I’ve always been a fan of DJ Sammy, and not just because he has a magnificently shaped head. The problem with him is that he is not a good enough batsman to play as a batsman, and is not a good enough bowler to justify being one of the top four on most surfaces. Yesterday should have been a great chance for him, instead his action seemed to resemble that of an American man bowling for the first time. He has never been graceful, but this was hideous, with his leg injury on his mind probably the best thing would have been to put him down. Instead he bowled 9 hobbly overs.

Testicular moment of the day

Shane Watson’s position as opener does not make sense. Even Ricky Ponting agrees. And with a failure in the first test the selectors could have already been looking for a change. They might not have dropped him, but Watson would have been concerned. So when he came out and Roach was swinging the ball it could have ended badly, instead he smashed this average attack hard. Now he is 4 runs from his maiden hundred, and knowing his history of going out straight after a break in play, I suggest he runs down the pitch first ball and tries to hit it for six.

Working class moment

They keep saying that Ravi Rampaul was a batsman once upon a time. Now he bats at 11. Yesterday batted so well that he almost got Nash to his hundred, although I think Rampaul should be pissed off as he was on his way to an easy 50 before Nash went out. Then Rampaul went out to bowl. That wasn’t as good.

Question of the day

Will Australia lose a wicket before they pass the Windies score?

Check out my book, ashes 09: when freddie became jesus.

Australia

Would be happy with their position, haven’t done anything special in this match, but would have to start chugging whisky at the breaks to lose from here.

West Indies

Kept trying with the ball, came out fighting with the bat, but then lost four quick wickets and it all just faded away. Chris Gayle’s referral said it all, it was misguided, but at least he wanted to keep batting enough to try it.

How far is Australia in front

Far enough.

Play of the day

Haddin saw a nick, dived, caught it mid air in the webbing, got up expecting the adulation. It was probably as good a catch as Haddin has taken for Australia. It just happened that Peter Siddle had popped himself over the crease.

Also funny was Watson getting out Nash. Well it made me laugh.

Testicular moment of the day

Travis Dowlin was one of the strikebreakers against the Bangladeshis. He made 95. Now he his playing against Australia in a test and was out there during the collapse of 4/14. Ponting dropped him and he was edgy, but for a man of his limited ability (first class average of 30), who is essentially there to fill in for Sarwan, there was a lot of guts and a not out at the end of the day.

Working class moment

The Windies bowlers just kept hanging in. Australia expected them to fall apart at any time, they were grinding and grinding just waiting for the Windies to give up. The Windies wouldn’t. It was a good effort considering their best bowler didn’t bowl. Then their batsmen let them down within with 18 overs.

Question for day two

Can Travis Dowlin make a test double century batting with Kemar Roach?

Useless stat of the day

You have a 12% chance of using the referral system if you bat behind Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Nerd info

The Australian slip cordon has changed, again. Marcus North, the most logical choice, has moved to first slip. Watson has moved to third slip, and Clarke has been moved out altogether.

Check out my book, ashes 09: when freddie became jesus.

Australia

Had their professional hats on. Other than Katich everyone looked a little scratchy, but there are mouths to feed, so they still got the job done. They would have hoped for better.

West Indies

Got to bowl on a wicket that gave them some assistance and did well at times. At the end of the day their best bowler hardly bowled, but they dropped Hussey and Katich at bad times, chose not to send Ponting for a referral, and may not get a better chance than this.

Who is in front

Australia at over 300 with half their men down, against a team as ropey as this they would feel comfortable. The Windies only need two wickets to be well into the tail and can bowl Australia out for under 400, which is good considering that every Australian batsmen, bar one, got a good start.

Play of the day

Brendan Nash seems like a nice hard working test player, but a bit of a nerd. Today I am willing to change that position on him as he had a Marat Safin type group of blondes all with Team Nash shirts on in the crowd. They could have been relatives, but still.

Testicular moment of the day

Kemar Roach was essentially playing his first test match (the strike series doesn’t count). He was at the ground that many an international player has been sacrificed on the first day. Kemar is flighty and unpredictable at the best of times, didn’t have the senior bowler backing him up and lost his run up several times. He could have rolled over and played dead. Instead he looked most likely to do any sort of damage, regularly beat the bat and hit the pads, and could have had Ponting or Hussey earlier on a lucky day. I was impressed.

Working class moment

66 runs to M Hussey. It was painful at times. He seems to have no idea what an off stump is at the moment and was middling everything to third and fourth slip for awhile. He got dropped off Benn. Almost stepped on his own stumps. And then went out in the most incredibly soft way. There was desperation in it, no one wants their cap more, but that one day form did not seem to be there.

Call of the day

Tony: When do you get most excited, Bill?
Bill: When South Africa lose.

Question for day two

Can the Windies knock the tail out quickly to make a test of it?

Useless stat of the day

162 mentions of Kevin Mitchell Jnr on Channel 9.

Check out our newest book ‘ashes 2009: when freddie became jesus‘.

Australia

Tried to bowl England out for one ball, then thought they would wait for a declaration. Got to 7 past their score in the first innings opening partnership, good for them.

England

Did what they had to do. Weren’t bad in the field, but seemed to wait for something to happen. Shouldn’t feel nervous.

Can Australia still win/retain the Ashes

Yes, but they wont.

Play of the day

Ricky Ponting got hit in the face, not just metaphorically.

Testicular moment of the day

I was hoping Jonathan Trott wouldn’t be picked, today proved why. He was cool under pressure, batted with a retro charm, kept out the bad balls and made his teammates look like a pack of underachievers.

Working class moment

Nathan Hauritz came out to carry drinks a few times.

Question of day four

Is 466 a redonk total?