god! eeesus – this entry comes two days later but I’m still exhilirated when I think about the end of the test! So massive so extraordinary so delightful so sad. Watching the Australian tail approach the victory target It always felt like they would fall short -basically the unlikely that they were dealing with was far too huge. So initally it was just nice and relaxing cricket, watching Warne and Lee score a few runs, knowing that surely soon a wkt would fall and then another – but it was nice that they had lasted a few overs and were making England work. But the runs required just kept coming down – the crowd was completely silent all morning, this could have been some sort of hint I guess. Even when El Warno trod on his stumps (another incredible event in an incredible series of events) and Kaspro came in the runs required kept coming down. At some indeterminate point I started to believe it might actually be possible for Australia to win. Or at least I entertained fantasies of such a happening without really believing it. This put me in the awkward position of knowing that the closer Australia got the more painful it was going to be when the wkt eventually did fall. I started counting down, first by 10s, then 5s, then 9,8,7… jumping about with excitement, white knuckles, edge of seats, adrenalin. When the end came only 3 runs short of victory there was barely any disappointment at all. I couldn’t have imagined a more fantastic way for a test match to go. Ok, 3 more runs would have been better in the short term – the massive joy that comes with the impossible being rendered unlikely and the unlikely achieved. As regards the long term though, now it feels as though the rest of the test series will be like this all the way – 3 x 5 days straight of pure adrenalin. Gideon Haigh put it very nicely – “Like no other match I’ve attended, in fact, this one has left me feeling both privileged and proud: privileged to have been part of it, and proud of the game I love.” Thank the cricket gods for back to back Tests, I couldn’t imagine having to wait more than a couple of days for the cricket to recommence.
I watched the highlights show the next evening and found it devastatingly sad, knowing already the way things would go. Hearts bleed for Kaspro and Lee.