Mud Pie
Baked for a long time. The ball didn't bounce very much did it?
I woke up, switched on the radio, found out that Pakistan were batting. My heart sank. Then I heard that they were 73-3. Heart lifted a little, but only a little. Even listening to the radio, the pitch seemed slow and flat. I realised how slow and how flat when I went down to watch at my Dad's a little later on. A good length for the seamer's was almost a half volley. Pitch any shorter and the ball just stopped. It reminded me of sodden pitches which I played on as a kid. Only the ball probably did a bit off those. I don't envy our seamers.
As for our spinners, well, there weren't too many signs of improvement. It's not looking good for the rest of the winter. The Indians must be pretty happy. Pakistan only have one world class batsman: Inzaman. India have three: Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar. I don't think Laxman is too far behind either. If the pitches in India are like those in Pakistan, which take the sting out of our seam attack, then the Indians will bat forever before unleashing Harbajan and Kumble. Come on Ash. What's going on?
One good thing: no Collingwood. Bell even bowled pretty well, better than Collingwood would have done maybe. I'm not sure about his catch though. Commentators for the past few years have been almost universally adamant that debatable catches shouldn't be referred to third umpires, because the replays almost always suggest that the ball might have grounded. Personally, I think that that's because, in those situations, the ball almost always has been grounded. The catcher might think he's caught the ball cleanly. He will be able to persuade himself quite easily. It's not really a question of honesty, not when the ball hits the ground and the catcher's hand(s) almost simultaneously. Yousuf wasn't out.
What a joy he was to watch too. He reminded me a lot of David Gower, with a lazy backlift towards fourth slip before bringing the bat around and gently down. Batsmen like that really are a joy to watch: Dujon, Gower, Laxman, Mark Waugh. Inzaman lacks a little grace but makes up for it perhaps by being extra easy. He really is very cool. As for Afridi...
It was great to see the crowd's reaction to his entrance. It was great to see a crowd even. Congratulations to the authorities for letting so many people in for free. Perhaps test cricket isn't so unpopular on the subcontinent after all. Perhaps it's just that the people out there haven't got a whole lot of money. Duh.
Anyway, I won't be tuning into tomorrow with much hope of England having made inroads. Unless England bat like idiots, which is quite possible, given the quality of Pakistan's spinner(s) and the likely size of Pakistan's first innings total, the most likely result is a bore draw. When I started watching cricket, that was the likely result of ever test match everywhere. Test cricket really is so much better than it ever was. It is a shame that an extra flat pitch can still make it a bit tedious. The contest between bat and ball stops being a contest. Batsmen fill their boots. Averages are bloated. People say cricket is boring. Sometimes it is. I quite enjoyed watching it this morning, but I did read a lot of the paper whilst doing so.
I woke up, switched on the radio, found out that Pakistan were batting. My heart sank. Then I heard that they were 73-3. Heart lifted a little, but only a little. Even listening to the radio, the pitch seemed slow and flat. I realised how slow and how flat when I went down to watch at my Dad's a little later on. A good length for the seamer's was almost a half volley. Pitch any shorter and the ball just stopped. It reminded me of sodden pitches which I played on as a kid. Only the ball probably did a bit off those. I don't envy our seamers.
As for our spinners, well, there weren't too many signs of improvement. It's not looking good for the rest of the winter. The Indians must be pretty happy. Pakistan only have one world class batsman: Inzaman. India have three: Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar. I don't think Laxman is too far behind either. If the pitches in India are like those in Pakistan, which take the sting out of our seam attack, then the Indians will bat forever before unleashing Harbajan and Kumble. Come on Ash. What's going on?
One good thing: no Collingwood. Bell even bowled pretty well, better than Collingwood would have done maybe. I'm not sure about his catch though. Commentators for the past few years have been almost universally adamant that debatable catches shouldn't be referred to third umpires, because the replays almost always suggest that the ball might have grounded. Personally, I think that that's because, in those situations, the ball almost always has been grounded. The catcher might think he's caught the ball cleanly. He will be able to persuade himself quite easily. It's not really a question of honesty, not when the ball hits the ground and the catcher's hand(s) almost simultaneously. Yousuf wasn't out.
What a joy he was to watch too. He reminded me a lot of David Gower, with a lazy backlift towards fourth slip before bringing the bat around and gently down. Batsmen like that really are a joy to watch: Dujon, Gower, Laxman, Mark Waugh. Inzaman lacks a little grace but makes up for it perhaps by being extra easy. He really is very cool. As for Afridi...
It was great to see the crowd's reaction to his entrance. It was great to see a crowd even. Congratulations to the authorities for letting so many people in for free. Perhaps test cricket isn't so unpopular on the subcontinent after all. Perhaps it's just that the people out there haven't got a whole lot of money. Duh.
Anyway, I won't be tuning into tomorrow with much hope of England having made inroads. Unless England bat like idiots, which is quite possible, given the quality of Pakistan's spinner(s) and the likely size of Pakistan's first innings total, the most likely result is a bore draw. When I started watching cricket, that was the likely result of ever test match everywhere. Test cricket really is so much better than it ever was. It is a shame that an extra flat pitch can still make it a bit tedious. The contest between bat and ball stops being a contest. Batsmen fill their boots. Averages are bloated. People say cricket is boring. Sometimes it is. I quite enjoyed watching it this morning, but I did read a lot of the paper whilst doing so.
posted by djbrd at 1:00 am
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