view the complete nontest gallery
nontest photo gallery
Reply
Tag Archives: (le tour)
blimp shots
ll l lll
lll l ll
the bet fair blimp shows us ricky ponting sophia gardens expressing fractal elements pitches are mowed in clustres that appear as wkts – there is one perfect set – or wkts in formation.
everyones thinkin about drivin in pontings beard plans linesre full n spreadin wide his beard field is attacking the drive seeing its a good field that states drivin clearly can not be misread got the batsmen thinkin about drivin they may drive succesfully but we ricky ponting must remain brave keep faith in our ricky pontings schemes i believe in the ponting beard
there is little preexisting force. previous ashes series have prior to any action carried massive forces with them. legends intensities the pure force of vengeance. 06/07 is forgotten the forces that drove that series have all but completely waned. 05 remains very much alive but perhaps only in surrounding commentary. what remains of that series? barely warne. the force of this series is open to production.
englandre patient or lack intensityre circumspect
australiare striking blows which lack force
the force will come out of consistent application of force the formation of legend comes out of consistent application of force. that which imparts force forms. the future of cricket with time machine fabian cancellara
le cycle path at the back of sophia gardens provides clara with a perfect view of the sport
remember the good times
One of my International Research Assistants of Mystery found these postings to the Deluxe Bicycle Club’s Chat Group – reminding us of that magical first test where le tour and le ashes melted into one another as if in a dream (and Australia were still comfy winners):
Comments: …Brett Lee’s next ball to Vinokourov is short of a length, Vino opens the shoulders and swings but miss cues and the ball skews high, high into the air and just past the outstretched fingers of Gillespie who is fielding at deep mid wicket. Dizzy stumbles backwards and pulls up just short of a giddy precipice and just in time too as, moments later, a breakaway group of riders containing Cadel Evans, Michael Rasmussen and Shane Warne plummeted by on the treacherous descent of the Col du Telegraph and, I don’t know about you Phil, but I think Warney’s been sneaking powerbars out of the KOM’s musette bag…
Comments: Brilliant mate, love it.
But will Warney be dropped on the first climb up the stands to Col de Bay 13?Or will he attack as they descend from the outer?
Now we just need a pommie equivalent to Gabrielle Gate to bring us some fine gordon blue brit cuisine b4 the first over.
C’arn Cadel.
the Australians declare a day of rest
Last night I was sure the rain was appropriately declaring a rest day in the cricket to honour Lance Armstrong’s final ride in the maillot jeune and his 7th straight le tour victory. Undistracted coverage for sbs would have been fine, Australia had given themselves plenty of time. The Australian’s wouldn’t have begrudged Lance his day. The two greatnesses have coincided for many years, the Australians are not strangers to the problems of yellow, the respect is huge and mutual – the Australians gathered together on the balcony to pay tribute to Lance, who earlier had toasted Glenn McGrath’s performance from the comfort of his bike. As it turned out the weather didn’t quite come through for Lance – his final ride was a wet one into Paris and the cricket started up just in time to conflict with the final few kilometres of le tour. Australia did their best to minimise the impact, it took them only 40 mins of game time to finish off the last 5 wkts. McGrath was doing that thing he does late at night where the wkts just keep replaying themsleves. In the end, over the course of the test match, McGrath dismissed every single English player, except the great KP. One day le P will be the saviour of English cricket, one day he will win the Ashes for his team (not this year though).
(Do those cute little stubbie holders the Australian’s keep their celebratory vino‘s warm in have their names on the back?)
ride into the sunset
So now there’s nothing but days & a trail of small clouds in clear skies leading us to the Ashes! Only stages of le tour. On the horizon, nothing. Nothing but the Ashes! Bearing straight ahead 8 days sailing cap’n.
Decision made
At long last, a decisive decider. I went to bed after the England innings because I got frustrated trying to watch Le Tour on sbs (lets hope they get their satellites into gear before the Ashes!) I woke up at about 2.30am and turned on the television to see where the game was at. The first thing I saw was Adam Gilchrist bouncing about in slow motion celebrating his century. I figured Australia were on top. They had launched (This catch by Kaspro may have been a wasted effort so far as preventing a 6 went, but it showed clearly that Australia were now inhabitating a higher strata). Turned out they needed about 12 runs off about 793 balls. Marto smashed a few fours and that was it, Shep danced on 2/222 for the very last time and a ball or two later he broke the stumps and wandered from the field, receiving loving hugs from the players as he went. Perfect moment to retire, Shep, put ya feet up and watch the Ashes! What a guy.
overcast clearing later
By far the most exciting part of Thursday’s game was the flicking over to sbs to watch the finish to stage 6 of Le Tour. I liked the idea that was being bandied around about the sun at Headingley and the role it plays in cricket there. The suggestion is that there are only ever two teams that play there – the overcast conditions vs when the sun comes out. Weather and cricket of course have a close and intricate relationship – cooked pitches and moisture laden balls moving in clandestine directions; players with cold hands or suffering from heat exhaustion. So I like this Headingley mythology which really brings this to the fore, where the sun gets man of the match awards. But really, Ponting’s boys were disappointing. It was very disappointing that they couldn’t use the talents of the weather better – England certainly harnessed the form of the sun very well – it was inspired recruiting. The weather also put in a big stage in Le Tour – Persistent Rain moving up the general classification after a powerful lead out by Slippery Corners.
the end of one day cricket as we know it
oh my god how does one find the energy to write anything about last night’s final, the delirium of sleep deprivation combined with the emotional exhaustion, the wringing of anticipation from one end of the match to the other – and in the very end one is given a tie. Stomach tied in knots, heart bursting from a blank, empty emotion with no value either way or in any familiar direction. O my god what a seductive game – and we will never see its like again. This was the last of the old-school 50 over matches.
The McGrath and Lee opening partnership is so fantastic, I simply love it. When Lee bowls a cricket game goes astray, it loses its way, off the rails, out of control, it gets the speed wobbles basically. Which means there’s an opportunity for someone to take control. McGrath is the master of it. In a repeating binary pattern of 6 balls chaos 6 balls complete control the two of them are mesmerising. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful thing in cricket than McGrath’s spell last night, never seen a more beautiful thing than that map they show of where his deliveries have pitched. I thought Flintoff’s was exquisite (and Harmison, he’s just frikkin built to bowl – he’s a huge obstinate shape that appears not to be designed with any function in mind but to bowl) but McGrath just took the pitch daubing to a new level. I was sitting there on my couch with a cat on me (the cat watches the cricket purring away with her eye’s closed – it’s too much for the little sweet pea to absorb) clenching my fists in the air and shouting to myself – I love you so much Glenn McGrath! Oh my god Glenn! The cat wasn’t disturbed, she understood perfectly. It all made the last over so surreal and unbelievable – how could he send down such a dog of an over? After Australia had England 5/33 the game started drifting by like a dream, clouds passing behind a daydream, at times the match future would appear as in a vision. Even immediately after the 5th wkt fell scorecards were flashing into view that showed, after several very insubstantial partnerships at the top, one single great extended line that defied all logical progression yet was inevitable enough that one always knew England would come close in the end. The tail end of the dream was presenting itself early on, but there was no hint of McGrath bowling a nightmare final over such as he did. The emotion of the tie is an emotion of its own. It has no resemblance to happiness or to sadness, its not anger or frustration (how can you feel anything like that after you’ve been given such an incredible game of cricket?). The frustration comes on now that the tour schedule gives us the NatWest Callenge series. I can’t believe we have to put up with 3 more 50 over games (however much they fiddle about with new innovations in the rules) between Australia and England before we get close to the commencement of the Ashes. Surely after this epic game they could just cancel the Challenge. Who has any further need for one day cricket after this? (Who has the energy for it?) – This was the pinnacle man. Bring on the tests.
I worry about Dizzy.