Posts
PLEASE NOTE The Corridor is moving grounds at the moment. This is the old site, and comments have been disabled. Check back tomorrow and we should be safely ensconced at our new home
follow-on
Ponting’s mission
2 years ago, at the end of NovemberI couldn’t decide whether Ricky Ponting’s decision not to enforce the follow-on was the old Ponting or the new. One the one hand, he was rubbing England’s bloodied noses in the dirt. On the other, he has given them a window of opportunity to save the game - especially if you believe the rumour Australia will bat until lunch today. England would then need to survive five sessions on a wearing pitch against Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clark and Shane Warne. Unlikely? Yes. But this is cricket - odd, inexplicable things happen.
Can you imagine the response from the media if Australia draw this Test? Maybe England can use that delicious thought as inspiration.
Zen and the art of cricket torture.
2 years ago, at the end of NovemberTake note. If you are playing Australia, you do not have to worry about the ‘follow on’ rule anymore. Honestly, if yesterday was not the time to enforce it, I do not know when it is.
And to make things worse for England, they will be fielding for a while this morning for just a little bit longer. Langer will be given a chance to get his century, and Ponting will have the chance to order another dose of the heavy roller, to assist in breaking the pitch up. Ponting will also like to plant seeds of uncertainty into English minds.
Yesterday’s play was bizzare though because to the casual observer, you would swear that they were playing on two seperate surfaces. The pitch that the English batted on was up to all sorts of tricks, and McGrath and Clark were able to get the ball to cut and seam about alarmingly.
Yet when Australia went out to bat, there was barely a deviation to be seen. So it will be interesting to see how it plays today. Of course it could just be that the Australian bowlers were the only ones to be able to get the balls into the right areas, but even Flintoff was unable to get any tricks happening.
For England, there was one bright light yesterday and that was the batting of Ian Bell. He showed plenty of grit and application to the task at hand, something that his team mates could take note of. However, given the movement that was happening, you just have to give credit to the bowlers. Cook and Flintoff, for example, never stood a chance against the deliveries they faced.
Today’s play is a sell-out. I wonder how many will turn up?
