le trail de taff moves between the ground n the river itself. the taff end of the pitch is said to be wet – there are pockets in the soil structure which hold water. ponds under the pitch can create unreliable pace n bounce. the cathedral end is drier faster n more reliable. there is actually dust. the holes in the surface of the pitch is also of marked interest. microscope view close ups showing the impact of crickets activities on pitch geology. geology is a science of eons. all manner of earthly and cosmic pressures over all time creating formations rocks sediments ponds footholes. the structures direct the pressures the earthly and the cosmic in partnership. hughes bounces around the crease bends through or somersaults over trajectories earthly and cosmic. this is good banana country. ponting channels laws. work hard count on stupidity. warne bowls like hes playing park cricket fielders in the deep from the very start count on the stupidity of batsman. this morning the stupid english batsmen were foolhardy terrible shots made a lot of runs. nothing sustainable yet devastating australia early. dust n ponds a test matchs a massive unit of time. it breaks down into various eons and ages. balls stick in the pitch a bit like wkts stick in the pitch. all the whiteys running round the green.

The banana tree looks like a palm, but is actually an enormous herb with elongated fan-like leaves that can grow to over three meters in length. It grows a completly new “trunk” every year and dies back to its roots after it has flowered and fruited. This is remarkable, considering some kinds grow to heights of forty feet. The trunk is composed of overlapping bases of leaves wrapped tightly to make a fairly rigid column. New leaves constantly emerge at the top, forming a crown of leaves which are blown into tattered strips by the wind. This lowers the wind resistance because their “trunks” are not real trunks and, therefore, not as strong, and could easily be blown down. Eventually, a stem emerges at the top, bearing a large flower surrounded by red bracts. The bananas develop a little distance away from the flowering tip of the stem into clusters called “hands” that contain up to 200 bananas and point upwards through the leaves. Bananas start off growing downward, but then turn toward the light causing their tips to bend upward. This and their increasing weight cause the stem to bend over so that the fruits point upward, explaining why the banana has a slightly curved shape. The “hands” are comprised of ten to twenty bananas set in a double row in a half-spiral around the stem. There may be up to fifteen hands in a complete bunch which can weigh up to ninety pounds or more. Banana plants are propogated by replanting sections of the underground roots or budding stems. Growing rapidly, they produce beautiful red, yellow, and black flowers within a year.