Cricket
England complete Ashes rout
There was a bizarre feeling at the opening day of the 5th and final Ashes test in Sydney last week. I can attest to it as I was there personally. Although it would be harsh to claim it was an anticlimax, with a packed house piling into the SCG, there was definitely a feeling of perverse irony in all the hearty gusto with which the local fans cheered for the Aussies. As a test match it fast became a never ending tedious anti-climax, or a four day carnival of wonderment if you're English. England were not as devastatingly good as they'd been in Adelaide and Melbourne with bat or ball. Nor were Australia quite so bad as they had been at times during the series. Yet the game ended up every bit as distressingly lopsided, with England amassing their highest ever score in Australia, 644, on their way to a third innings win of the series.
Full scorecard.
Old rivals split short form pair
Although there remains a semblance of novelty and superfluousness to the Twenty20 game, it provided two particularly enjoyable contests this week. The spectre of Australia's Ashes horror meant that the traditional early January T20s were treated with amusingly over exuberant gusto instead of the usual lazy indifference. There have been higher quality games, but both went to the last over and for once it was an intriguing contest between bat and ball, not a nauseating six-a-thon.
England took a thrilling Game One when debutant Chris Woakes scored the necessary 158th run from the last ball of the match, off the bowling of poor old Shane Watson who smashed a wonderful 59 and took four wickets to boot, and still couldn't find himself on the winning team. Game two followed a similar formula, with more frustrating middle order performances limiting Australia to only 147. It would have been worse if not for the efforts of young Aaron Finch who hit an enterprising 53 not out off 33 balls. England looked comfortable with openers Ian Bell and Steve Davies at the crease but after a vital two-wicket over from Mitchell Johnson, the middle order stumbled. Watson once again was a standout with the ball and the pace trio of Lee, Tait and Johnson managed to withstand some late scares and hold on for a much needed 4 run win.
Game 1 scorecard.
Game 2 scorecard.
Football
Socceroos survive medical nightmare
The Asian Cup continues to throw up drama and surprises into its second week. Three time champions and general Asian superpower Saudi Arabia have already booked their tickets home with a shock 1-0 loss to Jordan, following up their 2-1 defeat to Syria in the first game. China also find themselves with a face full of egg after an unexpected 2-0 lesson at the hands of hosts Qatar. Australia's group seems on schedule to finish with the Socceroos and Koreans tied atop the table on seven points after they played out a scrappy but enthralling 1-1 draw. The Socceroos had the better of the first half chances after some good set piece play but found themselves 1-0 down after a defensive lapse in the centre of the park. Mile Jedinak equalised midway through the second half with his first international goal as the Socceroos continued to show impressive elements, but made far too many silly errors and couldn't match the sensational fast passing game of South Korea.
The biggest concern for the Socceroos is a trio of potentially tournament ending injuries to Jason Culina, Luke Wilkshire and David Carney. Culina's central midfield slot should not be hard to fill with Carl Valeri and Matt McKay showing good form, but the respective flank positions in the defensive line could be a bigger problem.
Roar paddle through flood waters
The devastating floods in South-East Queensland have had a profound impact on many in the sporting community. Australian and English cricketers and their respective boards have gone to particular efforts to provide financial support, and today saw a novelty fundraiser featuring the stars of the Tennis world in the lead up to the Australian Open. But it is the A-League who have, in unimportant sporting terms, been affected most of all. The runaway league leaders Brisbane Roar have trained on four different grounds in the past fortnight, and this week found their iconic home Suncorp Stadium under water. Sunday's game against the Wellington Phoenix has been postponed until January 26 but it appears that potentially the entire of the Suncorp's remaining allotment of fixtures may need to be shifted to other grounds around greater Brisbane, or even to Gold Coast United's Skilled Park.
It remains to be seen what effect the troubles of the past week will have on the Roar, who have the luxury of an upcoming bye. If Monday was any indication though the plight of their friends and families will only spur the Roar on. As the crisis in Brisbane began to play out, the team played a thrilling high quality 3-3 draw against an impressive Central Coast Mariners in Gosford. The top 4 remains safe with the Roar, Adelaide United, Mariners and Gold Coast still by far the pick of the competition. But the battle for the remaining two places in the finals remains particularly interesting. Melbourne Victory are looking likely to qualify but are doing their best to throw it all away, with an awful performance at home last weekend, destroyed 4-1 by Adelaide following on from a 2-0 loss to the 8th placed Wellington Pheonix, keeping them within striking distance. Sydney F.C have kept their slim hopes alive with a 2-1 win visiting an inconsistent and injury ravaged Newcastle Jets who nevertheless cling to 6th. Both the Jets and 7th placed Melbourne Heart scored rather inconsequential wins over a decidedly average North Queensland Fury to start the new year, but neither have yet shown enough to consistent form to suggest a finals place is in the bag.
Tennis
Hewitt pulls Kooyong surprise
Preparations are complete for the Australian Open which begins tomorrow at Melbourne Park. Aside from the odd inspiring cameo from names like Molik, Stosur and Dokic, local fans have had precious little to celebrate in the recent past. 2011's edition may not be different in the grand scheme, with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal looking unbeatable and Kim Clijsters' favouritism shortening every day. But the signs have been promising this week. Hewitt, the clear outsider in ranking terms, took a somewhat unexpected trophy at the disappointingly tiny and insubstantial but still high quality AAMI classic at Kooyong. Hewitt scored three impressive wins over top players. Russian top 10 stars Mikhail Youzhny and Nikolay Davydenko were both quality conquests, and Hewitt wrapped up the title with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Gael Monfils. Hewitt will need all the form he can muster, for a first round clash with the class of long time rival David Nalbandian, who has come off a strong performance in Auckland where he was runner-up to David Ferrer in the Heineken Cup.
Aussie women reverse roles
There is massive hype around Samantha Stosur going into the Australian Open. The world No.6 who reached her first grand slam final in Paris in 2010, is seeded No.5 for the tournament, the highest Australian women's seed since Wendy Turnbull in 1984. However it was not Stosur who flew the flag for the Aussie girls this week but young up and comer Jarmila Groth. Groth took out her second WTA title this week at the Hobart International, beating fellow young sensation Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States. It follows Groth's maiden title at the Guangzhou International open in China just four months ago. Stosur meanwhile went out in the second round of the Sydney International to former World No.1 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Despite the setback, Stosur's challenge still looks on track. Kuznetsova was particularly impressive and Stosur gives every indication of being a woman who is peaking at the exact right time.
Showing posts with label Queensland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Queensland. Show all posts
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
This Week in Sporting History: THE TIED TEST
Australia vs West Indies,1960/61 - 1st Test
Wooloongabba, Brisbane
December 9-14 1960
West Indies: 453 (Sobers 132, Worrell 65, Solomon 65, Davidson 5/135)
Australia: 505 (O'Neill 181, Simpson 92, Hall 4/140)
West Indies: 284 (Worrell 65, Kanhai 54, Davidson 6/87)
Australia: 232 (Davidson 80, Benaud 52, Hall 5/63)
MATCH TIED
This week exactly fifty years ago saw the famous Tied Test, the first ever instance of a complete Test Match finished with both teams equal on the same total (constituting a TIE as opposed to the common DRAW occurring when the 5 days expire without a completed result) in the 498 match and 83 year history of Test Cricket up to that point. The story of this iconic match has gone down in legend, indisputably the greatest ever cricket match (not just for the final drama but on overall quality throughout the match) to anyone lucky enough to have witnessed it.
The wider context of this historic match has perpetuated its legend. As the 1950s wore down Test Cricket was becoming increasingly dull and was entering a period of extreme divisiveness, with the real danger of losing fans in their drones. Frank Worrell, now a West Indies legend perhaps more for his endearing personality than his cricket, led a star-studded West Indies team to Australia which for the first time ever, was rated a genuine chance of challenging and beating the hosts. Worrell had in recent times become the first ever black West Indian captain, a major milestone in the history of a predominantly anglo-centric sport (India were still young in their independence and retained white-anglo elements, and Pakistan had barely yet registered as an international force). Worrell's team and the Richie Benaud led Australians gathered in Brisbane in 50 years ago this week for the series opener, two of the game's greatest ever figures as captains going out for the opening toss. What ensued was not only five days of competitive Test Cricket and pure theatre of the highest order, but five whole Tests of similar quality, resplendent with vibrant aggressive play and in played in a spirit consigned forever to the realsm of fantasy in the modern age. Record crowd figured flocked to all five Tests, matches which in many views, single-handedly recharged Test Cricket into its popular heights of the next decade and beyond.
As for the actual match, The West Indies won the toss and batted. Some wonderful enterprising batting from the god-like genius Sir Garfield Sobers saw him make 132, an innings Benaud described as the greatest innings he ever witnessed. An astonishing 50 from fast bowling No.10 batsman Wes Hall then helped carry the total to beyond 400, the Windies making a strong 453, at a 3.37 run rate which would be impressive even by today's standards. But the Australians were equal to the task, making full use of the flat wicket to amass 505, spearheaded by a majestic 181 from Norman O'Neill, an innings criminally underrated in the annals of cricketing history. As the pitch began to show signs of wear, The West Indies fought hard to 284, on the back of another stodgy captain's 65 from Worrell. This left Australia little more than five hours on a patchy final day wicket to make 233. Hall was in his element and ripped through the Aussie top order, reducing an ominous top order to 5/57.
At 6/92 midway through the day captain Benaud joined Australia's bowling hero Alan Davidson and the rest is history. Eschewing conventional logic which suggested attempting to defend for the draw, Benaud made the decision to attack and the pair put together an epic partnership, which took Australia to within a whisker of victory. But with just seven runs remaining a suicidal call from Benaud ran Davidson out for a magnificent career best 80. Enter the final either ball over and Australia found themselves needing six runs to win, with three wickets left. After a single from wicket keeper Wally Grout, Benaud was caught behind of a wild barely controlled bouncer from the bounding Hall from 52. A thigh-smashing scrambled leg-bye and a woefully grassed catch by Hall later and 3 runs were needed from 3 balls. No.10 batsman proceeded to slog Hall beyond where any modern rope would stand, but a spectacular chase and direct hit throw (from upwards of 75 metres) from Conrad Hunte caught Grout short going for the 3rd and winning run. This brought in Australia's final man Lindsay Kline with the scores tied. Kline tapped the penultimate ball square and called Meckiff through for a scrambling single. From almost exactly side-on, with one stump visible, Joe Solomon's aim was true and Meckiff was run out. The West Indians jumped for joy, most presuming they'd won. Australian players and fans were unsure which team had won, if either, so implausibly unlikely was the concept of such a long form contest finishing tied. Finally once the confusion settled the astonishing reality became clear. Cricket's first tied Test. Half a century later the result has only been repeated once, between India and Australia in similarly dramatic circumstances in 1986.
For the record Australia won the 5 Test series 2-1, after 25 days of supreme Test cricket and thanks largely to a miraculous draw in the 4th Test where Ken Mackay and that poor No.11 Kline again, batted for nearly two hours at 9 wickets down, preventing the West Indies from taking the final wicket to win the match.
Wooloongabba, Brisbane
December 9-14 1960
West Indies: 453 (Sobers 132, Worrell 65, Solomon 65, Davidson 5/135)
Australia: 505 (O'Neill 181, Simpson 92, Hall 4/140)
West Indies: 284 (Worrell 65, Kanhai 54, Davidson 6/87)
Australia: 232 (Davidson 80, Benaud 52, Hall 5/63)
MATCH TIED
The West Indies celebrate as Joe Solomon
affects the most famous run-out in cricket history.
This week exactly fifty years ago saw the famous Tied Test, the first ever instance of a complete Test Match finished with both teams equal on the same total (constituting a TIE as opposed to the common DRAW occurring when the 5 days expire without a completed result) in the 498 match and 83 year history of Test Cricket up to that point. The story of this iconic match has gone down in legend, indisputably the greatest ever cricket match (not just for the final drama but on overall quality throughout the match) to anyone lucky enough to have witnessed it.
The wider context of this historic match has perpetuated its legend. As the 1950s wore down Test Cricket was becoming increasingly dull and was entering a period of extreme divisiveness, with the real danger of losing fans in their drones. Frank Worrell, now a West Indies legend perhaps more for his endearing personality than his cricket, led a star-studded West Indies team to Australia which for the first time ever, was rated a genuine chance of challenging and beating the hosts. Worrell had in recent times become the first ever black West Indian captain, a major milestone in the history of a predominantly anglo-centric sport (India were still young in their independence and retained white-anglo elements, and Pakistan had barely yet registered as an international force). Worrell's team and the Richie Benaud led Australians gathered in Brisbane in 50 years ago this week for the series opener, two of the game's greatest ever figures as captains going out for the opening toss. What ensued was not only five days of competitive Test Cricket and pure theatre of the highest order, but five whole Tests of similar quality, resplendent with vibrant aggressive play and in played in a spirit consigned forever to the realsm of fantasy in the modern age. Record crowd figured flocked to all five Tests, matches which in many views, single-handedly recharged Test Cricket into its popular heights of the next decade and beyond.
As for the actual match, The West Indies won the toss and batted. Some wonderful enterprising batting from the god-like genius Sir Garfield Sobers saw him make 132, an innings Benaud described as the greatest innings he ever witnessed. An astonishing 50 from fast bowling No.10 batsman Wes Hall then helped carry the total to beyond 400, the Windies making a strong 453, at a 3.37 run rate which would be impressive even by today's standards. But the Australians were equal to the task, making full use of the flat wicket to amass 505, spearheaded by a majestic 181 from Norman O'Neill, an innings criminally underrated in the annals of cricketing history. As the pitch began to show signs of wear, The West Indies fought hard to 284, on the back of another stodgy captain's 65 from Worrell. This left Australia little more than five hours on a patchy final day wicket to make 233. Hall was in his element and ripped through the Aussie top order, reducing an ominous top order to 5/57.
At 6/92 midway through the day captain Benaud joined Australia's bowling hero Alan Davidson and the rest is history. Eschewing conventional logic which suggested attempting to defend for the draw, Benaud made the decision to attack and the pair put together an epic partnership, which took Australia to within a whisker of victory. But with just seven runs remaining a suicidal call from Benaud ran Davidson out for a magnificent career best 80. Enter the final either ball over and Australia found themselves needing six runs to win, with three wickets left. After a single from wicket keeper Wally Grout, Benaud was caught behind of a wild barely controlled bouncer from the bounding Hall from 52. A thigh-smashing scrambled leg-bye and a woefully grassed catch by Hall later and 3 runs were needed from 3 balls. No.10 batsman proceeded to slog Hall beyond where any modern rope would stand, but a spectacular chase and direct hit throw (from upwards of 75 metres) from Conrad Hunte caught Grout short going for the 3rd and winning run. This brought in Australia's final man Lindsay Kline with the scores tied. Kline tapped the penultimate ball square and called Meckiff through for a scrambling single. From almost exactly side-on, with one stump visible, Joe Solomon's aim was true and Meckiff was run out. The West Indians jumped for joy, most presuming they'd won. Australian players and fans were unsure which team had won, if either, so implausibly unlikely was the concept of such a long form contest finishing tied. Finally once the confusion settled the astonishing reality became clear. Cricket's first tied Test. Half a century later the result has only been repeated once, between India and Australia in similarly dramatic circumstances in 1986.
For the record Australia won the 5 Test series 2-1, after 25 days of supreme Test cricket and thanks largely to a miraculous draw in the 4th Test where Ken Mackay and that poor No.11 Kline again, batted for nearly two hours at 9 wickets down, preventing the West Indies from taking the final wicket to win the match.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
FINAL REPORT: Cook and Trott ensure remarkable draw
Monday November 29 2010.
England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 481 (Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Finn 6/125)
England - 1 dec 519 (Cook 235 n.o, Trott 135 n.o, Strauss 110, North 1/47)
Australia - 1/101 (Ponting 51 n.o, Watson 41 n.o, Broad 1/18)
MATCH DRAWN
MotM - Alastair Cook (Eng)
5 Test series level 0-0 after 1 Test
Full scorecard here.
The 1st Test felt like a strange bastard child of the past three Ashes series, from the 2005esque spectacular drama and compellingness of contest, to
Monday’s final day provided, as was feared, with more of the same following on from Day 4. Alastair Cook and Jonathon Trott, resuming at 1/309, continued to put
Alastair Cook finished with an epic unbeaten 235. Cook is a batsman free of large flourish who seems to be nothing but walking technique, and whose technique considering that is rather flawed, yet somehow he now has 14 test hundreds before the age of 26.
I only hope we don’t end up with a 0-0 series draw because neither team can take 20 wickets. This is an exaggeration but not by much, both bowling units look thoroughly unconvincing (thanks to Graeme Swann’s lack of substance in
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Strauss and Cook turn the tide
Australia vs England, 1st Test - Day 4
Sunday November 28 2010.
England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 481 (Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Finn 6/125)
England - 1/309 (Cook 132 n.o, Strauss 110, Trott 52 n.o, North 1/22)
Full scorecard here.
The first two days of this opening Ashes test at the Gabba featured captivating to and fro Test cricket. The unfailing curatorial genius of Kevin Mitchell Jr has produced another sensational pitch in keeping with Brisbane's reputation as having the best pitches in the country. The balance between bat and ball had set up a fairly even contest before yesterday, Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin blasted away any lingering thought that the pitch was anything other than flat and true for a well set batsman.
To the despairing chagrin of Australia, England openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook vehemently reinforced this fact today. Cook is a strange case, going about his business quietly and usually at a slow pace and rarely being talked of with the sort of respect afforded to many players far less deserving. Here is a 25 year old man who has just achieved his 14th Test hundred. Few of even the greatest all time players can lay claim to such a tally at that early age. Today saw if not his greatest innings, certainly his most important. Cook batted through the entire day, starting slowly but ending unbeaten on a near chanceless 132.
Captain Andrew Strauss played the more exciting but also more danger-fraught innings. While Cook battled along, Strauss, after a slow start, surged past 50 and onwards on the back of devastating cuts and drives through the off side field. Ricky Ponting did his best to help the English cause, with some astonishingly petulant captaincy, at times changing his field after every ball to combat the latest inevitable English boundary. Australia's bowling was too short at times and inconsistency but, similar to England yesterday, not all that bad. Even Johnson looked better although he remains frustratingly short of spectacular best. Strauss and Cook were merely too good. Strauss brought up his hundred with a sublime cut for 4 off Xavier Doherty, who again bowled tidily and consistently but was slightly too full and fast to be truly effective on the unique Gabba surface. Marcus North, who bowled impressively for 12 overs, showed the more appropriate line and length with good flighted off spin. It was North who got the eventual breakthrough, ending the opening partnership on 188 when Strauss skipped down the wicket in a rather ungainly fashion, missed the ball as it spun away, and was calmly stumped by Haddin for 110.
This was only the beginnings of Australia's woes however, with new batsman Jonathan Trott immediately on the attack, just as Cook upped the ante and increased his scoring rate. 121 more runs came by the end of what was all in all a thoroughly depressing day to be an Australian. England go into the final day leading by 88 runs with 9 wickets in hand, with a draw now looking the most likely result.
Highlights
*** - The wicket. It is a testament to what a terrible day for Australia this was that this is the best I can do for a three star highlight. It was a sublime piece of bowling from a supposed part timer though.
** - For all my unabashed patriotism, kudos must go to England's 3 batsmen who played with great patience and judgement on a pitch that still has a bit in it, and whose cracks are really starting to show.
* - Ben Hilfenhaus. Hilfenhaus for mine was the best of the Australia bowlers, and the only one to consistently get his length right. Like James Anderson yesterday he toiled all day without luck.
Lowlights
*** - Where to begin. Although it is acutely mainstream and boring to always berate poor Ponting for his captaincy, it is with reason today, not so much for specific tactics as for his general lack of self assurance.
** - Mitchell Johnson. Poor Mitch. It's just not his Test match. First an average first innings bowling effort than making a duck. He bowled a lot better today but had the misfortune of dropping a catch off Strauss when he had 69. It wasn't an easy chance, above the head at mid-off, but it was one that should have been held.
* - This may be a bizarre point to make, and of course remaining positive is the most obvious way to keep yourself from feeling stressed and under pressure and therefore playing worse, but I was frustrated today by the happiness of the Australians, as strange as that sounds. While England smashed them to all parts of the ground, many of the Australian players, particularly Ponting, Clarke, North and Siddle seemed to be having a great laugh a great deal of the time. I admire that the Australians, for all their history of being over-intense sledgers, are showing that they can enjoy their cricket and have fun regardless of the situation. It is good to play in the spirit of the game like this but Jesus, when the opposition is 1/300 there needs to be more anger, the kind of anger that leads to a steely Aussie determination to win games of Cricket.
Sunday November 28 2010.
England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 481 (Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Finn 6/125)
England - 1/309 (Cook 132 n.o, Strauss 110, Trott 52 n.o, North 1/22)
Full scorecard here.
The first two days of this opening Ashes test at the Gabba featured captivating to and fro Test cricket. The unfailing curatorial genius of Kevin Mitchell Jr has produced another sensational pitch in keeping with Brisbane's reputation as having the best pitches in the country. The balance between bat and ball had set up a fairly even contest before yesterday, Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin blasted away any lingering thought that the pitch was anything other than flat and true for a well set batsman.
To the despairing chagrin of Australia, England openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook vehemently reinforced this fact today. Cook is a strange case, going about his business quietly and usually at a slow pace and rarely being talked of with the sort of respect afforded to many players far less deserving. Here is a 25 year old man who has just achieved his 14th Test hundred. Few of even the greatest all time players can lay claim to such a tally at that early age. Today saw if not his greatest innings, certainly his most important. Cook batted through the entire day, starting slowly but ending unbeaten on a near chanceless 132.
Captain Andrew Strauss played the more exciting but also more danger-fraught innings. While Cook battled along, Strauss, after a slow start, surged past 50 and onwards on the back of devastating cuts and drives through the off side field. Ricky Ponting did his best to help the English cause, with some astonishingly petulant captaincy, at times changing his field after every ball to combat the latest inevitable English boundary. Australia's bowling was too short at times and inconsistency but, similar to England yesterday, not all that bad. Even Johnson looked better although he remains frustratingly short of spectacular best. Strauss and Cook were merely too good. Strauss brought up his hundred with a sublime cut for 4 off Xavier Doherty, who again bowled tidily and consistently but was slightly too full and fast to be truly effective on the unique Gabba surface. Marcus North, who bowled impressively for 12 overs, showed the more appropriate line and length with good flighted off spin. It was North who got the eventual breakthrough, ending the opening partnership on 188 when Strauss skipped down the wicket in a rather ungainly fashion, missed the ball as it spun away, and was calmly stumped by Haddin for 110.
This was only the beginnings of Australia's woes however, with new batsman Jonathan Trott immediately on the attack, just as Cook upped the ante and increased his scoring rate. 121 more runs came by the end of what was all in all a thoroughly depressing day to be an Australian. England go into the final day leading by 88 runs with 9 wickets in hand, with a draw now looking the most likely result.
Highlights
*** - The wicket. It is a testament to what a terrible day for Australia this was that this is the best I can do for a three star highlight. It was a sublime piece of bowling from a supposed part timer though.
** - For all my unabashed patriotism, kudos must go to England's 3 batsmen who played with great patience and judgement on a pitch that still has a bit in it, and whose cracks are really starting to show.
* - Ben Hilfenhaus. Hilfenhaus for mine was the best of the Australia bowlers, and the only one to consistently get his length right. Like James Anderson yesterday he toiled all day without luck.
Lowlights
*** - Where to begin. Although it is acutely mainstream and boring to always berate poor Ponting for his captaincy, it is with reason today, not so much for specific tactics as for his general lack of self assurance.
** - Mitchell Johnson. Poor Mitch. It's just not his Test match. First an average first innings bowling effort than making a duck. He bowled a lot better today but had the misfortune of dropping a catch off Strauss when he had 69. It wasn't an easy chance, above the head at mid-off, but it was one that should have been held.
* - This may be a bizarre point to make, and of course remaining positive is the most obvious way to keep yourself from feeling stressed and under pressure and therefore playing worse, but I was frustrated today by the happiness of the Australians, as strange as that sounds. While England smashed them to all parts of the ground, many of the Australian players, particularly Ponting, Clarke, North and Siddle seemed to be having a great laugh a great deal of the time. I admire that the Australians, for all their history of being over-intense sledgers, are showing that they can enjoy their cricket and have fun regardless of the situation. It is good to play in the spirit of the game like this but Jesus, when the opposition is 1/300 there needs to be more anger, the kind of anger that leads to a steely Aussie determination to win games of Cricket.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Brave Hussey leads tough fight
Australia vs England, 1st Test - Day 2
Friday November 26 2010.
England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 5/220 (Hussey 81 n.o, Katich 50, Anderson 2/40, Finn 2/61)
Full scorecard here.
Australia
Hussey's aggressive intent from ball 1, particularly on the back foot and against an oddly reticent Graeme Swann was a joy to watch. He came to the crease at the most highly charged and challenging of moments, with a fired up English attack having taken the double break through of Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting to bring the game back to an even keel. Aside from an edge just shot of first slip on the first ball he faced, Hussey looked totally in control. His crucially timed partnership of 77 with Brad Haddin, which will resume tomorrow, tookAustralia
The day started positively forAustralia with Shane Watson and Simon Katich surviving a good spell of pressure bowling from England Anderson
Watson’s dismissal leftAustralia Australia England Australia
The match remains very alive, but save for a big collapse tomorrow morning,Australia Australia
** - Marcus North. I feel quite sorry for North because he's an honest hard-working cricketer and I have a lot of respect for what he does. Once he gets in he can reach Rahul Dravid-like levels of concentration and immovability, usually without the pervasive boredom as well. But he hardly ever reaches double figures nowadays. If he doesn't do something big in the 2nd innings this could be his last test, but I would hope Australia don't find themselves in a last innings position sufficiently desperate to need such heroism.
Friday November 26 2010.
England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 5/220 (Hussey 81 n.o, Katich 50, Anderson 2/40, Finn 2/61)
Full scorecard here.
Hussey's aggressive intent from ball 1, particularly on the back foot and against an oddly reticent Graeme Swann was a joy to watch. He came to the crease at the most highly charged and challenging of moments, with a fired up English attack having taken the double break through of Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting to bring the game back to an even keel. Aside from an edge just shot of first slip on the first ball he faced, Hussey looked totally in control. His crucially timed partnership of 77 with Brad Haddin, which will resume tomorrow, took
The day started positively for
Watson’s dismissal left
The match remains very alive, but save for a big collapse tomorrow morning,
Highlights
*** - Mike Hussey without a doubt. A quality score is never out of the question but the intent and style of his innings was tremendous, possibly his best knock since the vintage of 2005-07.
** - Shane Watson and Simon Katich. Australia's unlikeliest all time great opening pair continue to impress with another solid 78 runs today. Their foundation could prove key to an Ashes winning summer.
* - Movember. I should really have mentioned them yesterday seeing as Australia were bowling, but in all the excitement I scarcely had time to even think about them. But Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus' moustaches are truly fantastic. There is a very pleasing three musketeer quality about Johnson's pornstar look, Hilfenhaus' cut short handle bar hash job (thanks to Mr Hilfenhaus who vetoed the full handle bar) and Siddle's grub which inexplicably somehow completely suits his face. All for a worthy cause too.
Lowlights
*** - Michael Clarke. Yes above Marcus North. I know everyone's allowed a bad day but Clarke's was a particularly awful day today. The demons that kind of an innings can cause don't usually heal fast. A first ball duck would probably have been far less damaging to his confidence and Australia's overall Ashes chances.
** - Marcus North. I feel quite sorry for North because he's an honest hard-working cricketer and I have a lot of respect for what he does. Once he gets in he can reach Rahul Dravid-like levels of concentration and immovability, usually without the pervasive boredom as well. But he hardly ever reaches double figures nowadays. If he doesn't do something big in the 2nd innings this could be his last test, but I would hope Australia don't find themselves in a last innings position sufficiently desperate to need such heroism.
* - Bad light delays. As the Channel Nine commentators alluded to, a review is badly needed of the archaic rules relating to bad light. Leaving the field if ambient light becomes insufficient was implemented before the time of helmets and door-sized under-clothes padding specifically as an option if the umpires deemed it a hazard to the physical health of the players to continue. This is hardly a problem nowadays and Bad Light calls have become inherently tactical, especially as traditionally an umpire will 'offer' the opportunity to leave the ground to the batsmen. Late afternoon periods of fading light will always be supremely tough to bat during and no mentally sane batsmen is going to decline a bad light offer. Think of the drama we'd get in Test matches with some nice juicy periods of play in the dusk.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Simple Siddle does the trick
Australia vs England, 1st Test - Day 1
Thursday November 25 2010.
England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 0/25 (Katich 15 n.o, Watson 9 n.o)
Full scorecard here.
The halcyon days of McGrath, Lee and Gillespie and Warne may seem like a distant memory for the Australian bowling unit, but there is life in the old dog yet. What’s more, the sources of this revival in hope and enthusiasm are far from what you’d expect.
For all the talk of an inconsistent, inexperienced attack and their presumed struggle at taking 20 English wickets, Australia has surprisingly healthy pace stocks. The core of Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris are backed up by the promising young talent of Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Peter George, Josh Hazlewood, Trent Copland and Mark Cameron, just to name a few. Meanwhile on the spinning side of things, the plethora of been and gone candidates since the great one’s retirement, while hardly ideal, at least speaks to the depth of near-international quality spin bowling in a country not evolutionarily designed to support the art. But with the developments of the past 12 months, Johnson, Hilfenhaus, Bollinger and Hauritz locked in as incumbents and the vibrant young brigade being given their due, few would have picked Peter Siddle as Australia’s next great bowling hero, and surely none would have thought of Xavier Doherty as the man most likely to take the spin bowling chance and grasp it with both hands.
It is the variety of our quick men which makes them at once threatening and frustrating. The wild, unreliable and dangerous slinger Johnson. The McGrathesque (or maybe DamienFlemingesque would be more appropriate for his prodigious ability to swing the ball and his consistent if always varying spot of minimal facial hair) Ben Hilfenhaus. The left arm new ball specialist Doug Bollinger, with all the cult excitement he stirs up. Peter Siddle somehow appears to be the misnomer, the eggshell amongst broken glass. He is straight up and down, a hard-working, toiling, honest bowler with a mean 140something speed on his day. He’s not quite the gun slinging wild child that is Johnson or the ever-reliable Hilfenhaus. He inexplicably doesn’t even feel remotely like Bollinger, even though they both essentially fill that same intermediary role between Mitch and Hilfy. Siddle, and I mean no disrespect because he is a match for anybody in the world at being so, is one of those bowlers who seems to possess little variety in his arsenal. Invariably he bowls them straight, without prominent swing, at a consistently fast but not spectacular pace, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. While some may have doubted his natural ability, no-one I know has ever disliked Siddle. He is a man whose work ethic would be unmatched even in the most heinous Nazi concentration camp, and if that isn’t enough to miff any survivors of Auschwitz, the indecent joy and happiness with which he seems to do his work every day surely would. Now on perhaps the most important day of his short test career, he’s gotten all rewards he’s deserved for his years of passion, and then some.
A full decade has passed since an Australian last took a test hat-trick (Glenn McGrath against the West Indies in 2000). It is two years longer since the feat was achieved in an Ashes test, by Darren Gough in Sydney in January 1999, a match I was privileged enough to attend, my first as a spectator. Siddle’s hat-trick is reminiscent of Gough’s in that it was the most spectacularly pure and aesthetically pleasing that a hat-trick can get, with two shoe-splitting yorkers firing under Matthew Prior and Stuart Broad’s bats. The ball that got rid of the stubborn Alastair Cook to start the rout was a gem in itself, finally enticing the cautious opener to push ever so slightly outside off stump and edging to the slips.
Siddle’s 6/54 was the hallmark of engrossing day of test cricket at its absolute finest on a beautiful if somewhat sluggish pitch offering a little something to everybody, including the makers and sellers of sawdust. Australia fought hard to dismiss England for 260 by stumps. Simon and Shane Watson ensured Australia’s upper hand by lasting until stumps with the score on 25, Katich looking particularly confident in his aggressive welcoming of Graeme Swann to Ashes cricket at the Gabbatoir.
If the recent tradition of the nerve-jangling opening over providing a glimpse into coming fortunes is anything to go by, Australia are in very good shape. After the interminable pre-series hype and as the climax of the much anticipated first ball began to subside, England’s captain and most important batting stabilizer hit the third ball of the series straight to Michael Hussey. Short outside off stump is not what Ben Hilfenhaus had in mind for his first wicket of the series, but it was nevertheless an extremely clever delivery, deviating back at the left-handed Strauss just enough to cramp his cut shot, a sure fire way of getting yourself caught in the cordon. England 1 for 0. It was the kind of spectacular start that always seemed likely, and for a fleeting moment thoughts of England all out for 30 by lunch flashed through the mind. But a positive start from No.3 Jonathan Trott, and the typical uninspiring stoicism of Alastair Cook began what was a gripping contest all day.
Trott looked in fine touch and it needed a jaffa to remove him, Shane Watson seaming a full ball back in through the gap and disturbing his stumps. As ever Watson was penetrating and difficult to play, and it was Watson who recognised the need to be full and straight. With the slow pace and tinge of green in the wicket, a length bordering on the half volley becomes the new good length ball. So it proved as Watson removed Trott with the perfect ball for such conditions, and inspired Siddle when he returned to the attack after what had truthfully been a scratchy opening spell.
Siddle’s full deliveries outside off accounted for Kevin Pietersen on 43, just when he looked ready to take the match from Australia after showing a headache inducing streak of vintage form, and Paul Collingwood for just 4. At 4 for 125, the in form Ian Bell and the defiant Cook fought back, with a partnership of 72 before all hell broke loose. After Cook’s vigil ended on 67 in the waiting hands of Shane Watson, and Matt Prior was comprehensively bowled, Siddle had to wait an extra minute or two for confirmation of his hat-trick as Stuart Broad played the controversial Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) card to challenge his palpably plum LBW decision. Broad was struck on the toe on the full, not going close to digging out the searing if rather fortuitous yorker Siddle ended up delivering.
Siddle’s 6th wicket was Graeme Swann for 10, another plum LBW and another pointlessly wasted decision review. Pietersen and Ian Bell were the only batsman who looked to have mastered the conditions, and the overall consistent (apart from Johnson arguably) Australia bowling. Bell played perhaps his best innings against Australia, attacking test debutant Xavier Doherty with particular gusto on his way to 76 before rather inevitably become Doherty’s first test wicket.
My judging standard may be particularly low after all the spin troubles we have had, but Xavier Doherty had to me an absolutely sensational debut innings with the ball. His surprise inclusion over Nathan Hauritz and Steve Smith, despite a frankly woeful first class bowling average of 48 over nearly a decade, was said to be the result of a certain big game quality the selectors saw in him. His four wickets on One Day International debut recently against Sri Lanka gave the earliest glimpses of this and rose to the occasion today. Doherty, a containing one-day bowler by trade really, bowled typically tightly and with great discipline, every bit the match of Hauritz’s cool temperament. More than this, for a supposedly straight up and down containing limited overs bowler he seemed to get a notable amount of purchase out of the wicket, turning the ball far more consistently and often considerably further than Hauritz usually managed. He remains unlikely to ever really run through a team and no doubt the pitch offered him an unusual amount of assistance for a Day 1 Aussie test pitch, but given the context of his meteoric rise and distinctly unimpressive average, his performance was nothing short of sensational. The only blemish on Doherty’s day was a tough but catchable chance he dropped from Cook at cover point earlier in the day.
It is easy to get caught up in the hype of what was really a magnificent day of test cricket, silencing the long form’s doubters. But the truth of the matter is that England’s 260, if their bowlers can do the job tomorrow, may not be that far off the mark. Australia has the disadvantage of batting last on a pitch that has shown signs of likely wear and tear as the game progresses. Australia’s performance was far from flawless either. Ponting’s tactics remain decidedly questionable and Mitchell Johnson showed little to suggest he won’t be carted around the country for the next six weeks, although he will surely have one of those inevitable destructive spells in there somewhere. England were in a fighting if not dominant position of 4/197 before Siddle’s hat-trick, and without the collapse could very easily have gone close to 400, an ominous score on such a economical pitch.
These are all petty details though on a day that was first and foremost, enthralling top level sporting competition, and most importantly for the partisan Aussie, overall a very successful and promising day. These Ashes aren’t a foregone conclusion yet for the Poms.
Highlights
*** Siddle’s enterprising fast bowling and sensational hat-trick. Fast bowling of the like has rarely been seen in Australia or the world for the matter for some years. The last comparable spell I remember is Mitchell Johnson’s destruction of South Africa in Perth two years ago.
** Doherty’s mighty mature performance, the perfect foil for Siddle’s heroics.
* Channel Nine reigning themselves back from the uncontained idiocy of the early summer games to present a focused and, unprecedented within the past few years, almost passing for acceptable commentary. Michael Slater is still annoying as a commentator though. And Mark Nicholas is still a pompous idiot.
Lowlights
*** Kevin Pietersen. While his batting at full flight is always a highlight visually, his form today was worrying. It is too early to make elaborate judgements from one innings of 43, but he’s showing every sign of another return to form just in time for the Australians.
** Mitchell Johnson. My constant criticism may seem overly harsh and he didn’t bowl particularly atrociously today, certainly not compared to the trash he can throw down. My concerns remain however. If we get to about the 3rd or 4th test and his consistency hasn’t improved and his devastating spell hasn’t come yet, it might be time to bring Dougie back for Mitch. Hilfenhaus/Siddle/Bollinger is as formidable a pace attack as any. I think I’m just biased against Mitch because a tattoo artist has made his arm look like a charcoaled log after a bushfire. He was so attractive too.
* Mitchell Johnson’s tattoo. There are other Australian problems to bring up but they are not yet sufficient as to cause grave concern. After such a good day of cricket it’s a fitting tribute to only have two genuine lowlights. Besides that tattoo really is bad.
Thursday November 25 2010.
England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 0/25 (Katich 15 n.o, Watson 9 n.o)
Full scorecard here.
The halcyon days of McGrath, Lee and Gillespie and Warne may seem like a distant memory for the Australian bowling unit, but there is life in the old dog yet. What’s more, the sources of this revival in hope and enthusiasm are far from what you’d expect.
For all the talk of an inconsistent, inexperienced attack and their presumed struggle at taking 20 English wickets, Australia has surprisingly healthy pace stocks. The core of Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris are backed up by the promising young talent of Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Peter George, Josh Hazlewood, Trent Copland and Mark Cameron, just to name a few. Meanwhile on the spinning side of things, the plethora of been and gone candidates since the great one’s retirement, while hardly ideal, at least speaks to the depth of near-international quality spin bowling in a country not evolutionarily designed to support the art. But with the developments of the past 12 months, Johnson, Hilfenhaus, Bollinger and Hauritz locked in as incumbents and the vibrant young brigade being given their due, few would have picked Peter Siddle as Australia’s next great bowling hero, and surely none would have thought of Xavier Doherty as the man most likely to take the spin bowling chance and grasp it with both hands.
It is the variety of our quick men which makes them at once threatening and frustrating. The wild, unreliable and dangerous slinger Johnson. The McGrathesque (or maybe DamienFlemingesque would be more appropriate for his prodigious ability to swing the ball and his consistent if always varying spot of minimal facial hair) Ben Hilfenhaus. The left arm new ball specialist Doug Bollinger, with all the cult excitement he stirs up. Peter Siddle somehow appears to be the misnomer, the eggshell amongst broken glass. He is straight up and down, a hard-working, toiling, honest bowler with a mean 140something speed on his day. He’s not quite the gun slinging wild child that is Johnson or the ever-reliable Hilfenhaus. He inexplicably doesn’t even feel remotely like Bollinger, even though they both essentially fill that same intermediary role between Mitch and Hilfy. Siddle, and I mean no disrespect because he is a match for anybody in the world at being so, is one of those bowlers who seems to possess little variety in his arsenal. Invariably he bowls them straight, without prominent swing, at a consistently fast but not spectacular pace, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. While some may have doubted his natural ability, no-one I know has ever disliked Siddle. He is a man whose work ethic would be unmatched even in the most heinous Nazi concentration camp, and if that isn’t enough to miff any survivors of Auschwitz, the indecent joy and happiness with which he seems to do his work every day surely would. Now on perhaps the most important day of his short test career, he’s gotten all rewards he’s deserved for his years of passion, and then some.
A full decade has passed since an Australian last took a test hat-trick (Glenn McGrath against the West Indies in 2000). It is two years longer since the feat was achieved in an Ashes test, by Darren Gough in Sydney in January 1999, a match I was privileged enough to attend, my first as a spectator. Siddle’s hat-trick is reminiscent of Gough’s in that it was the most spectacularly pure and aesthetically pleasing that a hat-trick can get, with two shoe-splitting yorkers firing under Matthew Prior and Stuart Broad’s bats. The ball that got rid of the stubborn Alastair Cook to start the rout was a gem in itself, finally enticing the cautious opener to push ever so slightly outside off stump and edging to the slips.
Siddle’s 6/54 was the hallmark of engrossing day of test cricket at its absolute finest on a beautiful if somewhat sluggish pitch offering a little something to everybody, including the makers and sellers of sawdust. Australia fought hard to dismiss England for 260 by stumps. Simon and Shane Watson ensured Australia’s upper hand by lasting until stumps with the score on 25, Katich looking particularly confident in his aggressive welcoming of Graeme Swann to Ashes cricket at the Gabbatoir.
If the recent tradition of the nerve-jangling opening over providing a glimpse into coming fortunes is anything to go by, Australia are in very good shape. After the interminable pre-series hype and as the climax of the much anticipated first ball began to subside, England’s captain and most important batting stabilizer hit the third ball of the series straight to Michael Hussey. Short outside off stump is not what Ben Hilfenhaus had in mind for his first wicket of the series, but it was nevertheless an extremely clever delivery, deviating back at the left-handed Strauss just enough to cramp his cut shot, a sure fire way of getting yourself caught in the cordon. England 1 for 0. It was the kind of spectacular start that always seemed likely, and for a fleeting moment thoughts of England all out for 30 by lunch flashed through the mind. But a positive start from No.3 Jonathan Trott, and the typical uninspiring stoicism of Alastair Cook began what was a gripping contest all day.
Trott looked in fine touch and it needed a jaffa to remove him, Shane Watson seaming a full ball back in through the gap and disturbing his stumps. As ever Watson was penetrating and difficult to play, and it was Watson who recognised the need to be full and straight. With the slow pace and tinge of green in the wicket, a length bordering on the half volley becomes the new good length ball. So it proved as Watson removed Trott with the perfect ball for such conditions, and inspired Siddle when he returned to the attack after what had truthfully been a scratchy opening spell.
Siddle’s full deliveries outside off accounted for Kevin Pietersen on 43, just when he looked ready to take the match from Australia after showing a headache inducing streak of vintage form, and Paul Collingwood for just 4. At 4 for 125, the in form Ian Bell and the defiant Cook fought back, with a partnership of 72 before all hell broke loose. After Cook’s vigil ended on 67 in the waiting hands of Shane Watson, and Matt Prior was comprehensively bowled, Siddle had to wait an extra minute or two for confirmation of his hat-trick as Stuart Broad played the controversial Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) card to challenge his palpably plum LBW decision. Broad was struck on the toe on the full, not going close to digging out the searing if rather fortuitous yorker Siddle ended up delivering.
Siddle’s 6th wicket was Graeme Swann for 10, another plum LBW and another pointlessly wasted decision review. Pietersen and Ian Bell were the only batsman who looked to have mastered the conditions, and the overall consistent (apart from Johnson arguably) Australia bowling. Bell played perhaps his best innings against Australia, attacking test debutant Xavier Doherty with particular gusto on his way to 76 before rather inevitably become Doherty’s first test wicket.
My judging standard may be particularly low after all the spin troubles we have had, but Xavier Doherty had to me an absolutely sensational debut innings with the ball. His surprise inclusion over Nathan Hauritz and Steve Smith, despite a frankly woeful first class bowling average of 48 over nearly a decade, was said to be the result of a certain big game quality the selectors saw in him. His four wickets on One Day International debut recently against Sri Lanka gave the earliest glimpses of this and rose to the occasion today. Doherty, a containing one-day bowler by trade really, bowled typically tightly and with great discipline, every bit the match of Hauritz’s cool temperament. More than this, for a supposedly straight up and down containing limited overs bowler he seemed to get a notable amount of purchase out of the wicket, turning the ball far more consistently and often considerably further than Hauritz usually managed. He remains unlikely to ever really run through a team and no doubt the pitch offered him an unusual amount of assistance for a Day 1 Aussie test pitch, but given the context of his meteoric rise and distinctly unimpressive average, his performance was nothing short of sensational. The only blemish on Doherty’s day was a tough but catchable chance he dropped from Cook at cover point earlier in the day.
It is easy to get caught up in the hype of what was really a magnificent day of test cricket, silencing the long form’s doubters. But the truth of the matter is that England’s 260, if their bowlers can do the job tomorrow, may not be that far off the mark. Australia has the disadvantage of batting last on a pitch that has shown signs of likely wear and tear as the game progresses. Australia’s performance was far from flawless either. Ponting’s tactics remain decidedly questionable and Mitchell Johnson showed little to suggest he won’t be carted around the country for the next six weeks, although he will surely have one of those inevitable destructive spells in there somewhere. England were in a fighting if not dominant position of 4/197 before Siddle’s hat-trick, and without the collapse could very easily have gone close to 400, an ominous score on such a economical pitch.
These are all petty details though on a day that was first and foremost, enthralling top level sporting competition, and most importantly for the partisan Aussie, overall a very successful and promising day. These Ashes aren’t a foregone conclusion yet for the Poms.
Highlights
*** Siddle’s enterprising fast bowling and sensational hat-trick. Fast bowling of the like has rarely been seen in Australia or the world for the matter for some years. The last comparable spell I remember is Mitchell Johnson’s destruction of South Africa in Perth two years ago.
** Doherty’s mighty mature performance, the perfect foil for Siddle’s heroics.
* Channel Nine reigning themselves back from the uncontained idiocy of the early summer games to present a focused and, unprecedented within the past few years, almost passing for acceptable commentary. Michael Slater is still annoying as a commentator though. And Mark Nicholas is still a pompous idiot.
Lowlights
*** Kevin Pietersen. While his batting at full flight is always a highlight visually, his form today was worrying. It is too early to make elaborate judgements from one innings of 43, but he’s showing every sign of another return to form just in time for the Australians.
** Mitchell Johnson. My constant criticism may seem overly harsh and he didn’t bowl particularly atrociously today, certainly not compared to the trash he can throw down. My concerns remain however. If we get to about the 3rd or 4th test and his consistency hasn’t improved and his devastating spell hasn’t come yet, it might be time to bring Dougie back for Mitch. Hilfenhaus/Siddle/Bollinger is as formidable a pace attack as any. I think I’m just biased against Mitch because a tattoo artist has made his arm look like a charcoaled log after a bushfire. He was so attractive too.
* Mitchell Johnson’s tattoo. There are other Australian problems to bring up but they are not yet sufficient as to cause grave concern. After such a good day of cricket it’s a fitting tribute to only have two genuine lowlights. Besides that tattoo really is bad.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Ashes Preview
Australia vs England 2010-11, 1st Test
Wooloongabba, Brisbane
November 25-29 2010
Deja-vu for Ricky Ponting as he hands another
Baggy-green to another untried spinner.
Baggy-green to another untried spinner.
The last time
Pre-series turmoil, uncertainty and ever-widening odds seem to be one of the most favourable conditions to win an Ashes series in recent decades. One can only hope this will apply in 2010-11 considering the stark contrast in the preparation of the two teams.
All the theoretical early running is with
Warne. Even four years after his retirement he’s nearly as talked about as any current player. The word from Ian Healy this morning is that Strauss may seriously consider bowling first merely because of the confidence gleaned from not having to face Warne in the 4th innings. This strikes me as a very big and wild jump. For all the talk of cold temperatures, green tops and potential invitations to the opposition to bat, it would overall be extremely unlikely if either captain did anything other than emphatically choose to bat. Ponting has batted on far greener pitches and would still have nightmares about Edgbaston 2005 when he put
For all the expectation of this Gabba test and all the clichés pertaining to how the first session of a series can often define the final result (or indeed the first ball as in 4 years ago), I can’t help but feel the Gabba test this year might not be so foreshadowing.
Likely Elevens
Australia
Shane Watson
Simon Katich
Ricky Ponting (C)
Michael Clarke
Michael Hussey
Marcus North
Brad Haddin
Mitchell Johnson
Peter Siddle
Xavier Doherty
Ben Hilfenhaus
England
Andrew Straus (C)
Alastair Cook
Jonathan Trott
Kevin Pietersen
Paul Collingwood
Ian Bell
Matthew Prior
Stuart Broad
Graeme Swann
James Anderson
Steven Finn
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