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Loading ...Evening Will, evening all.
Am listening to KP talking on Sky, reckons 400 is a minimum.
Sounds like the kiss of death to me. My money’s on 290 all out.
Australia v England, 5th Test, Sydney, 2nd day
By Will last year, at the start of January Leave a comment on this post
A better day for England yesterday. What has day two in store? Andrew Flintoff is not out this morning, which is often a good sign. If anyone’s watching, leave a comment.
Tags: ashes, australia, england, england-in-australia, sydney, the-ashes |
64 Responses to “Australia v England, 5th Test, Sydney, 2nd day”
January 2nd, 2007 at 11.09 pm
January 2nd, 2007 at 11.14 pm
Flintoff out within 10 overs.
England all out for 367.
January 2nd, 2007 at 11.39 pm
Michael - if Flintoff’s out in 10 overs, they’ll never get near 367.
Ball’s doing plenty. First wicket can only be minutes away.
January 2nd, 2007 at 11.45 pm
That’s my story and I am sticking to it =)
January 2nd, 2007 at 11.48 pm
Collingwood should be renamed Colliwobble. Plays great for one game per season… ooh ah Glen McGrath.
January 2nd, 2007 at 11.53 pm
That’s such an awesome delivery from McGrath. Unplayable.
January 2nd, 2007 at 11.55 pm
Colly’s fine on pitches with no bounce - Adelaide - sub continent. But hey, that ball would have got most batsmen out.
January 2nd, 2007 at 11.58 pm
I’m listening on the radio (first time for, well - years) and it did sound a jaffa. What did it do, cut back into him and square him up?
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.00 am
Extra bounce and squared him up. Nipped away slightly. Played at it instead of leaving it.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.02 am
Ah well. Time for a Flintoff hundred. Oh dear, there goes Read who “played that like a tail-ender” says the TMS commentator
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.03 am
Still sticking to 367, Michael?
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.03 am
Read down, playing away from his body to a ball not doing a whole lot (Lee is raw pace only). This makes an interesting debate. Has Read done much more than what Jones was already doing?
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.04 am
That was a typo. It should read 267 
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.05 am
Fucking hell, Mahmood gone now!
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.05 am
Pitched on off stick and went away - don’t think he could have left it.
And there goes Saj Mahmood - first ball.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.05 am
Lee on a hatrick!!! Mehmood no idea!
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.11 am
Just to clarify - comment 15 refers to Collingwood and not Read who most definitely could have avoided it. Hat trick ball.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.12 am
Don’t you just love the twits at Cricinfo these days? (I’m watching the game with Cricinfo up as well. )
“Lee to Mahmood, OUT, in the air and gone! Lee’s on a hat-trick, Mahmood has no idea where that’s gone - to Hayden at first slip as it happens.”
1st Slip? Hayden was at a squarish point. I swear these guys spend more time trying to be funny than actually reporting on the game…
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.15 am
Will - just in case they’re not telling you on the radio - Lee is bowling out of his skin.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.16 am
Michael, it’s an honest mistake. It is very, very difficult commentating on the cricket and writing at 100+ words/minute; getting the update done accurately (granted, that’s a mistake, but it’ll be fixed soon enough), informatively and within a few seconds of the ball being bowled. There is so much happening, so much to watch while typing “blind,” mistakes do happen
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.16 am
Wouldn’t happen if our William was on the keyboard
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.17 am
Indeed he is. He has a point or two to prove. He’s been a shadow of his belligerent best with bat and ball as he was in England 05.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.18 am
Yeah that’s a good point Will. I’ll give you that. But why must they go on and on about so much else? Like what they’re eating. Or complaining for days about the wicket in Adelaide…
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.18 am
100 wpm is motoring. I reckon I could only to 75 absolute tops.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.19 am
Isn’t there like 2 or 3 of them typing though, taking turns on balls or something?
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.20 am
I think they’re trying to give a sense of atmosphere, Michael.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.20 am
Because the overwhelming majority, well in excess of 90%, love it. We’ve been doing it since last summer (June/July 06) and it’s been very well received. Sure, it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, but there are alternatives for those not interested in the commentary and more interested in the score. And we never miss a ball.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.22 am
There are two on at the moment. We sometimes have three, but rarely; it’s done on hourly shifts. I’m off to sleep.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.22 am
Michael, I’m pleased for Lee - he’s taken a load of stick and I don’t reckon he’s bowled that badly all series to be honest - it is clicking for him today though, make no mistake.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.23 am
Goodnight Will.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.24 am
Will - how can you go to sleep at this time? Lee versus Fred - top contest.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.26 am
OK - I’m thinking this pitch is the nearest Australia have got to the Old Trafford track that Harmy enjoyed so much last year. I wonder if he will deliver on it (with the ball I mean).
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.27 am
Evening Sean and Michael, night night, Will. Freddie is giving it a bit of a whallop, isn’t he?
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.29 am
Yeah he is… I wonder if they’ll ask him to come to #4 when he runs out of partners… or maybe, just maybe, he’ll show KP how to shepherd the tail properly and play sensibly.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.29 am
I was just thinking, where’s our Chardonnay drinking correspondent from Germany? Evening Wraye, lovely to read you.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.30 am
Evening Wraye.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.30 am
Harmy can certainly hit the balls if he wants to, or tries his best most of the time.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.37 am
Golden Kaan Chardonnay tonight, mates. Gawd, I need a drink listenening to this. Sorry I could post earlier. What are you both supping to keep you going, then?
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.38 am
I’m at work. I’m sipping cold water and nibbling Sun Chips. Harvest Cheddar flavour. Thanks for asking.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.40 am
Coffee - got work tomorrow - not looking forward to it either.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.41 am
Damn this SA wine - could not post, I mean. I do hope Freddie puts up a show and tweaks the Aussie nose. They can learn to protect the tail better. KP was shocking. His singles could easily have added more to the score if the sod had taken them on the last ball of the over instead of the first.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.42 am
Piece of comedy there. Split finger bouncer from McGrath and Flintoff was ducking before it reached him. Quite comical. Then he flashed at a very, very wide one very next ball.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.44 am
Correct! Also, Ponting was criticized for negative tactics when placing up to 7 men in the deep for Pietersen. Then Gilchrist shows Flintoff that (laughing here, and Flintoff wasn’t so criticized for the SAME tactic) 7 men in the deep means nothing to a true hitter.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.49 am
What was that farce with Harmy diviing for his crease - have the shiping forecast now.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.57 am
Harmy is plumb out - good little partnership though and some intelligent batting from Fred.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12.58 am
Have to be up in 4 hours so I’ll leave the game in your safe hands. See you later.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.01 am
I’m off at lunchtime. See you.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.11 am
Flintoff didn’t deserve the century. It’s like he went into bash only mode. I’ve only seen two players who can do this consistently. Viv Richards and Adam Gilchrist.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.18 am
There’s a thousand for Warney. Did in the opposing spinner with a flipper. Nice.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.20 am
Damn’ one run out. (see comment #1) I didn’t see Fred in bash only mode - I saw him manipulate twos in the field whan he was batting with Harmison. You’re right though Michael, Sir Viv and Gilly a class apart when it comes to hitting the cover off it.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.22 am
I’m off to the fartsack. See you at close of play.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.26 am
Oops… I should have clarified. It was in the past few balls before his dismissal that he started playing some bigger, uglier shots. Switching to bash mode. The one handed swipe/bash and charging the quick. You’re perfectly right though, until then he was doing it perfectly! Making plenty of two’s which is critical to keep the strike!
I think he should have played the way he was doing until the three figures came up and THEN played bang ball.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.27 am
Haha, Sean wins! 1 run off the prediction is pretty damn good… yeah I wish I was that close
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.32 am
New ball blitz..
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.34 am
..into the square leg boundary for four.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.45 am
My comment was in reference to Australia’s blitz with the new ball, but I laughed at you finishing my sentence.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1.50 am
Ah yes! The 3 front line fast men from NSW cleaning up 9 of them… At least Warney got one. He had the chance to bow out the Brandman of the bowling arena, one stroke short of a frontier never crossed.
January 3rd, 2007 at 2.00 am
What frontier would that be?
January 3rd, 2007 at 2.04 am
Nevermind… I forgot the chucker already passed a thousand.
January 3rd, 2007 at 2.08 am
Heh, precisely.
Still 1000 international wickets in a team where another player has 900 odd (McGrath) would be considered a greater achievement. Murali takes a majority of Sri Lanka’s wickets, and has done so for the best part of a decade, albeit amidst allegation.
As Will so beautifully pointed out, he’s no Warne.
January 3rd, 2007 at 4.18 am
Glad it’s going well.
Got a question –
Can someone explain the particular characteristics of an opening batsman vs a 3 or 4th place? I.e. why are Ponting and Hussey good at 3 and 4 but not marked as openers?
Given that they are all good batsmen, what factors decide the place they bat at?
January 3rd, 2007 at 5.45 am
Hussey is in fact an opener - opened most of his first class career, and made his first Test century opening down in Hobart against the West Indies.
I suppose openers must be settled in the beginning of the innings, a must when facing the new ball. Ponting is a bit jumpy for his first dozen runs, shuffles across a little, and usually when he comes in the ball is a little older, doing a little less, and as such he can settle without having to contend with aspects of the new ball.
When you do see him come in early, he looks a little unsure, and he’ll either get out quickly, or settle and make a huge century.
It’s an interesting question though.
January 3rd, 2007 at 7.58 am
Think of it like this: building a Test innings is like building a house. Your openers are the surveyors who then start the foundations - wine cellar or dab of concrete. Middle order are your main builders. How you play is how much you want to pay. Big family house or nerdy doghouse. Lowers order are the fitters and joiners - nice slidiing patio doors or a naff porthole. Tailenders are the interior decorators. Mostly you just get a lick of paint here and there, but sometimes you find an absolute darling you transforms the place and makes the neighbours seeth with jealousy.
January 3rd, 2007 at 3.17 pm
So, by keen observation then, the English team consists mainly of interior decorators,,,,,,,???
Bilbo
