The first 2 days were harsh days of cricket at its most distant and slippery (sunscreen smeared). I couldnt get a handle on it. The WACA is a beautiful little stadium but it needs a bit of care, an investment in more yards of shade cloth, and a review of its security co. contract. The WACA’s grassy banks should be the most perfect places to watch cricket from but they arent. Shade is too minimal and security is too imbecilic, overdone. Day 2 was 42 degrees, standing in the shade was banned. Stopping people from standing in thoroughfares at the SCG is fair enough – you can barely move at the SCG – but at the little WACA with its capacity of about 18000, theres barely even queues for hotdogs at lunch. Day 1 unfolded slowly with pace bowler after pace bowler shifting in and out of the attack – some nice partneships almost developed in the middle session. Clark/Johnson : Lee/Tait v Dravid/10dulkar. Dravid and 10 managed to hit odd boundaries diminishing the forms that were building up around them without ever really imposing any form themselves. These were cloudless skies. Day 2 there were hallucinations of sweet little m**key magic clouds whistling along, coming to sit above one’s head and slow the melting. But the real forms were elsewhere. The australian batting was imaginary, the shapes produced by the indian attack were unaccountable. Something beyond geometry. Australia needed ice but the conditions didnt support it. Some el sombreroed ones in the crowd spoke with respect of a banner that had been hung on the fence depicting m**key magic leaping from a golden cloud. It was no longer there and they wondered if it ever really was. The 3 indian pacemen were clearly enjoying being a pace attack.

Day 3 the test emerged into the real. Cloudcover. Clark and Lee in form. Even Tait, in the last over before lunch, was finding something that might have been called form. Unfortunately for Taito Ponting lacked any confidence in his spearthrower and Tait wasn’t seen after lunch. The middle session was a very curious one. Ponting had given up on Tait and Johnson all together. Laxman was batting with Dhoni. 1 more wkt and india could have been sunk with Australia needing to chase around 250/300. Dhoni was looking scratchy early. Ponting brings on Clarke and Symonds. Plays Dhoni into form. He waits a long long time before he brings Lee into the attack. It was unfathomable that, with the breakthrough absolutely imperative, Ponting didn’t even look like wanting it. Australia lost the test here. it was the first time ive ever seen Punter not back his team to do the job. His batting in the 2nd innings displayed the same lack of energy and belief. Sharma made him look clueless. Clarke’s 80 was the best innings of the match and Johnson won back some hearts with his swashbuckling batting at the jolly jolly end of the test after all had been decided. It was a great fun way to go down. The Swami army dancing dancing. One feels that the hearts Johnson won with his batting could be quite fickle though. For the first time in many years the Australian crowd are watching a team that they do not yet have faith in. Johnson and Tait bare the brunt of it. Popular opinion would have Tait never ever play another Test. I dearly hope he plays in Adelaide and gets some backing from his captain.