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Tour diary: Jo’burg, day two
By Rich Abbott 2 months ago, 3 Comments »
Graeme Smith is one of those batsman who, if given a reprieve, you can bet your last rand on making a big score. He is also one of those batsmen who scores big hundreds – especially against England – so Strauss’s men can at least be thankful that his triple figure score today was only the second time, out of six centuries against them, that he’s failed to make in excess of 150.
If that sounds like a small mercy, then that’s all England have at this stage in the match. That, and the wildly fluctuating Johannesburg weather. The weather could yet play a part, but the match situation – South Africa 35 runs ahead, with eight wickets in hand – has developed quickly for an end of day two score. Despite Smith eventually making 105, to complain about the second chance he received when on 15 – an edge behind which was denied by the third umpire despite overwhelming audible evidence – would be to ignore the hopelessness of England’s situation regardless.
Miscarriages of sporting justice occur, and are galling, but complaining about them rarely does the offended party any favours. England have lodged an official complaint, but in the context of this match, the damage has been done. That damage was exaggerated by a few uncharacteristic fielding errors, and as the morning session wore on, the slip cordon began to amble down the wicket in between overs, abandoning the near-sprint they began the day exhibiting. Even Matt Prior’s hyperactive legs seemed drained of energy.
It says much about this match from an Englishman’s point of view, that the most impressive factor of the day’s play was the ground’s drainage system. Not long after the heavens opened, in the afternoon session, about 75 per cent of the the outfield was submerged in water. To an untrained eye, the likelihood of play for the next week seemed remote, but after a lengthy delay, another four wicketless overs were possible, with the outfield holding up well.
Weather-watch will be central to the next three days play. I grabbed a word with Matt Prior during the break. Some South Africans I’ve encountered still like to claim Prior as their own, but I can dispel that once and for all. On the subject of the weather, expecting him to pedal some line about wanting to win the series outright, I was surprised to hear that he’s holding out for three days of solid rain. You can’t get more English than that.
3 Comments »Edgbaston washout
By Will last year, at the end of July, 3 Comments »
The Ashes may be thundering into the public consciousness at the moment, but when the players take the field tomorrow, they’ll need their wellies. In fact, the word on the Brummy street is that they won’t even get that far. The outfield is like a bog, it’s been raining almost constantly all day, and the groundsmen haven’t even begun to look at the sheets covering the pitch. It’s looking downright miserable, and there’s even some concern over whether there will be any play on Friday.
Steve Rouse and co. are working through the night, in between more heavy showers, but it’s going to be an uphill battle against the great British summer. Flapping hell. Keep your eyes peeled on the radar and, in the meantime, have a listen to Rouse’s cracking interview with us on the Switch Hit cricket show which we did yesterday.
3 Comments »New Zealand robbed
By Will 2 years ago, mid-June, 1 Comment »
You have to feel some degree of sympathy towards New Zealand. Their tour reminds me of most that England went on in the 1990s. Not only was there discontent with management and selection, but injuries would occur at the worst possible moment, and any luck they had was all bad.
Yesterday’s match was as close to a farce as one-day cricket can produce. The kiwis only needed seven runs from the 20th over (which constitutes a match) to beat England, but the match was called off after 19 overs owing to the lashing rain. And the fact it was nearly pitch black. It was a fair decision by the umpires to take them off when they did, but New Zealand should never have been in that situation – and they wouldn’t have, had the regulations not stipulated on a 30-minute interval between innings.
How impossibly pathetic it was. We had all waited until 3pm for the start as the rain poured down, and worse was forecast for 7pm. The emphasis was to get the game done and dusted as quickly as possible, yet this ridiculous, anal regulation held up play for 30 precious minutes, and all the while the clouds lifted and light remained good.
More at Cricinfo if you’re interested, but it’s probably best we ignore this game and never think about it again.
1 Comment »Rain, rain, go away.
By Scott 3 years ago, at the start of January, No Comments; be the first!
Keep track of the rain in Sydney with the Sydney area radar.
No Comments »The plot (and the humidity) thickens
By Scott 4 years ago, at the end of November, 4 Comments »
The second Test here in Adelaide has had an interesting prelude with the news that Glenn McGrath will need a fitness test in the morning. It appears that his troublesome heel isn’t getting better and there must be doubts as to whether or not he is fit enough to last five days.
Faster then you can say ‘Mitchell Johnson’, the English writers are reminding us of Edgbaston. Certainly, removing McGrath from the game goes some way to making it an even contest, but that won’t help England’s bowlers take 20 wickets.
What might help though is that about 4pm this afternoon a sudden downpour hit the city of Adelaide. I was about a mile from Adelaide Oval when it struck, and if the pitch was uncovered when it happened, it will have had an effect on it. It was not very long, but it was enough to put a dampener on the Oval (and me).
The recent hot spell that has been engulfing Adelaide will now subside, and players should enjoy almost perfect weather conditions to play in, without the enervating heat of Brisbane, and there might be more humidity then at Brisbane as well. So the fates are turning ever so slightly in England’s favour. The question that remains is, are they good enough to seize the moment?
4 Comments »England fight back, and some thoughts on coaches
By Scott 4 years ago, at the end of November, 5 Comments »
To the audible relief of South Australian cricket administrators, England provided some much needed resistance on day four, and saved them the prospect of half-empty stands for the Second Test starting on Friday.
England were set an insane target, worked out by Ricky Ponting on the formula of multiplying my overdraft times the speed of light, or some such nonsense, and let his bowlers loose, while retiring to the massage table. He would have dined well as England lost two early wickets, and with Cook playing a range of loose shots, promise of more to come.
However, Pieterson and Collingwood provided stout resistance and some fiery entertainment for another large crowd, stated as being 37,000.
Yet England will surely lose, and they deserve to lose- while there was some magnificent batsmanship today, there was also some shameful episodes. Strauss, Cook, Collingwood, Flintoff and Pieterson were all guilty of some dreadful shot selection at various points in the day, treating an Ashes Test as little more then a knockabout in the park.
Pieterson’s innings was an instructive example. There was some lovely drives, all through the V, yet there were also some grotesque cross-bat swipes. None of these have cost him his wicket (as yet), but what happens if rain comes about three PM tomorrow and England have been bowled out at 2.35?
If England had batted with a slightly more applied approach, they might well have been three wickets down tonight, not five. That’s a big difference.
****
What do readers think about Andrew Flintoff’s dismissal? Shane Warne gave him an ugly serve on his way, and Justin Langer was smiling in delight even before he took the catch; the arrogance of it will grate on English sensibilities.
But it is an arrogance reflective of an Australian team that knows the value of their wickets, and the absolute folly of Flintoff’s shot. I don’t recall Ricky Ponting playing such an agricultural heave during his defensive masterpiece at Old Trafford last year. Duncan Fletcher may or may not remind his charges of that innings between now and the morning.
****
Speaking of coaches, I came across this article on my web-meanderings this evening, asking about the worth of overseas coaches. Given the kvetching about Duncan Fletcher that I’ve read in British media outlets the last few days, I wondered about the role of the coach.
It seems to me that for a coach to be a benefit, rather then a hindrance, there needs to be an absolute understanding between the coach and his captain. In many first class teams, it seems to be the increasing trend that the coach is the top banana and the captain merely his on-field lieutenant, rather in the way a football manager operates. That may work, but there does need to be a clear line driven, and both sides working in tandem.
It’s never been the Australian way. Would you fancy being the coach telling Steve Waugh how he was to arrange his batting order? John Buchanan always knew his place in Waugh’s order of things.
I’m not sure about the inner workings of England’s team, but Michael Vaughan and Duncan Fletcher certainly were working on the same wavelength. It may well be that the relationship between Fletcher and Andrew Flintoff isn’t quite so attune.
5 Comments »
A day for umbrellas
By Emma 4 years ago, mid-September, No Comments; be the first!
Someone needs to find Chris Adams and ensure that he is in no way performing any kind of rain dance. After a morning deluge washed out Thursday’s play at Old Trafford as well as Edgbaston, Lancashire’s chances of staying level in the title race are becoming faint. With Sussex sitting out this week’s round, they have been unhampered by the bad weather. Mark Chilton’s men, on the other hand, have now suffered two games running, with good performances against Warwickshire going to waste for the same reason. Requiring maximum bonus points and victory to grab top spot, they have only taken four Durham wickets, and are running out of time.
At the other end of the table, Yorkshire will also be rueing the lack of play in today’s Division One matches. With their two remaining bats skittled in what little action they saw at Headingley, the win Craig White’s side desperately need will be a hard task. The last thing they will want to see is third from bottom Durham holding on for a draw, especially as they will be playing each other next week. Maybe they will take some heart from the fact the only Harmison they will face will be batsman Ben – his older brother has been ruled out as a precaution.
No Comments »England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Lord’s, 5th day
By Will 4 years ago, mid-May, 26 Comments »
Live chat of the first Test between England and Sri Lanka
I don’t suspect many actually care about this Test any longer but…chat away if you do. It’s raining in SW13……
26 Comments »Jason Gillespie Tribute Post
By Scott 4 years ago, mid-April, 2 Comments »
Well, every dog will have his day but not every night-watchman gets his century! He resumes today on his birthday on 102 not out, and who knows what else is possible if he goes the tonk! (has a slog, for those of you not fluent in Australian).
Osman Samiuddin calls Gillespie the tailender who isn’t. Malcolm Conn noted his discreet celebrations and Nabila Ahmed called him resurgent. Rick Eyre notes a historical fact.
Anyone want to tip what his final score will be? I’ll guess 126. Mike Hussey meanwhile could get anything. Although a declaration might not be far away if it rains.
2 Comments »A Barmy Englishman in India
By Scott 4 years ago, mid-April, No Comments; be the first!
Phil Long is with the Barmy Army and he wrote an account of the riot at Gawahati for the BBC.
I’m not sure what sparked off the initial trouble but certainly where I was perched it wasn’t the result of any tannoy announcement as there simply hadn’t been any.
Only when the first advertising hoardings were being ripped from their frames to be used as material for the on-terrace fires that followed was a plea of ‘Please be patient’ made – and ignored.
After that, the whole thing snowballed and although I later found out that some injuries occurred I never felt in any particular danger.
This feeling was reinforced by the local police who instead of tackling the trouble head on found it inconveniently coincided with their lunch break.
So we witnessed the somewhat surreal sight of the local constabulary munching contentedly on their lunch as chaos ruled around them.
I don’t think there was anything particularly sinister about the riot. Just the locals were extremely peeved about not seeing any cricket. Sadly, rain interruptions and soaked outfields are just as much a part of the game as reverse swing and cover drives. Anyway, it was a very interesting read by Phil Long.
No Comments »England avoid 7-0 humiliation
By Will 4 years ago, mid-April, 2 Comments »
“Seven nil, seven nil, seven nil…seven nil” was the widely expected chant to be heard ringing from the Indians but alas they’ll have to settle for 6-0. That’s assuming England don’t win the sixth or seventh one-dayer, which is a perfectly reasonable assumption. Yes, today, England avoided defeat thanks to perfect English conditions which suited their one-day game to a tea.
Not a ball was bowled thanks to the rain.
2 Comments »No play at Centurion
By Will 5 years ago, mid-January, 6 Comments »
Spitting rain, on and off, at Centurion so doesn’t look like there’ll be any play. Cricinfo’s take on it:
Official news from the umpires is that we are lookingat a 15:00
start
That is if the rain does not get back before that
I would put money on the rain beating the players out
Sorry to say, I am off to the bookies to fetch my money, the rain
has won and the covers come back on
Bit dodgy mentioning the Bookies word at this ground isn’t it?…:)
6 Comments »