bracken lvs hussey v abdv
rsa v aus one day ninja highlights
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Tag Archives: v south africa
400+ choking
Packer is dead
The art of bowling has been eradicated absolutely
Hell, even the art of batting was absent from that game as the pitch and the ground itself seemed to simply expel balls
It was a game without a people, there were no players, no personality, no heroes – just a gound violently expelling balls into a crowd
crowd witnessed an incredible event, an apotheosis, something transcendant, fateful, a display of brilliant fate
mother of god everything operating perfectly
every gamble paid off
everyone, everything was choking with emotion at the sheer beauty of it all
for 1 day cricket where to from here…
an appealing figure
El Warno. When they build a statue of him outside gate 5 at the MCG it will invariably look something like a bronzed version of this pic. The more he’s turned down the better his appeals get – until the umpire just can’t refuse. This is no weakness of the umpire or even misfortune for the batsman. It is no different, for the batsmen, to having an unplayable delivery account for his wkt. It is the irresistible appeal – all part of El Warno’s great athleticism.
Watching Warno’s appeals on day 5 it seemed almost unfair that that no one had to pay for the privilege. Though I guess the arduosness of having to watch Pollock compile a half century provided a counterweight to the guilt I was feeling. Pollock is such a dully competent player these days that really he should be playing for nz.
what you wish for
What a day. The MCG was the happiest place in the world. As Hayden felt his way through his shot continuum, bringing up an immensely touching hundred (Hayden bats like a cellist, the tones not demarcated by frets, playing with great feeling, building crescendoes and stuff) his fishing buddy launched a brutal assault on the protean bowling attack, at the final second of opportunity kick starting a long and heroic test career. And then there were more of those great wkts of his.
Andre Nel Ice Cold 3000
The crowd shouting ‘Nel is a wanker’ could be far more ingenious and turn the chant into ‘Nel is a baddy’. He is the archetypal panto villain. The crowd should be shouting ‘he’s behind you’ to the umpire as he runs in to bowl. They’ve got the booing down to a tee it must be said. The air is always thick with nelodrama when he’s skulking around the corner!
he’s only got one shot
Matthew Hayden is again constructing another supreme innings. I’m finding that he is pretty much, since the departure of Marto, my favourite batsman to watch these days. Hayden’s batting is unique in that he really does only have one shot. In park cricket there are lots of batsmen that will have this specification attributed to them by the team on the other end of their quickfire 50 built from hoiks to the leg. But Hayden’s one shot is an all encompassing one shot – it is a single shot with which through subtle late variations can send the ball to any area of the ground. Whereas your run of the mill superstar batsman’s array of shots tend to be well demarcated – Ponting’s on drive, his off drive, his pull and cut; Langer’s cover drive, square drive and pull shot – (all clearly different shots) Hayden’s array of ‘shots’ all issue from the same movement with only a carefully timed articulation of the wrists or arms or both to vary the angle of despatch of the ball. Rather than segregated distinct shots Hayden produces an inclusive movement that contains a continuum of forces and angles. His leave becomes a front foot defence becomes a drive (on or off, cover, square) becomes a cut or pull. When he is executing the single movement well he is the smoothest of cricketers. Watching this movement produces an hypnotic energy that stimulates a power that can perhaps be called love but is more important than that.
celebrate
When Brett Lee clean bowled Jacques Kallis this morning after 40 odd days and nights of dot balls his celebration was unparalleled. He skipped high into the air, his fists appeared unsure of quite what move they could possibly perform to truly capture the joy of the moment – so they simply performed every move. And performed them to perfection. The cowboy roping steer lasso move was particularly admirable. Who would have thought that only a few hours later, shortly after the Milo Lunchbreak, this audacious celebration would be surpassed. Not once but three times. Andrew Symonds’ celebrations just got better and better with each wkt he took. He was only just staying on his feet. The whole of the cricketing world is praying that he scores a powerful blistering century in the second innings and retains his place in the side. Really with these celebrations it could be considered that he has done enough to cement his place in the side.
the comedy & the savagery
Earlier in the day the cricket viewing world witnessed one of the great test match scores of 11 (unbeaten). Capably assisted by Michael Hussey (122) the MasterMutterer helped put on 107 for the final wkt. The SA field expanded and contracted, inhaled and exhaled as the two batsmen shared the strike to a precisely devised gameplan. If, on the fourth ball of the over, the field stayed spread, Hussey would push a single and the Master would face the last two deliveries. If the field contracted Hussey would smash the last two deliveries over the infield for either a 4 or 6 & the Master would be happy to see out a maiden the following over. The pattern was supremely executed. Crikey, its been a beautiful test match so far.
Gilchrist got some beautiful new keeping gloves for christmas too. White with gold flares down the back of the hand.
binaries
ABdV’s innings today was like the evil twin to Hayden’s yesterday. Where Hayden rigorously left the ball alone outside off stump, ABdV would play and miss with similar application. I don’t think he deliberately let a ball go through to the keeper all day. Where Hayden would plunder the ball entering his refined strike zone to the long off or cover boundary, ABdV would slash at anything marginally outside off stump and edge it over or through the slip cordon for four. He was eventually out trying to cut a ball that hit his pads in front of off stump.
The two archetypes that would constitute the ABdV innings if it were to be digitised would be something like this:
1. Symonds to de Villiers, no run, a beauty! short of length outside off stump, moving away off the seam, gets beaten.
0. Lee to de Villiers, FOUR, short and wide outside off stump, de Villiers cuts hard, gets the top edge, just over Warne at first slip to the thirdman fence.
65 and 61 respectively, Hayden and ABdV then, themselves, become two equal yet opposing binary values defining the test match.
Nelodrama
Hayden’s innings was a masterpiece. It reached its pinnacle during the spell from Ntini immediately following lunch. The ball by ball commentary read like this:
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, FOUR, good shot! pitched up outside off stump, drives well past the short cover to the fence.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, FOUR, good shot! pitched up outside off stump, drives well past the short cover to the fence.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, FOUR, good shot! pitched up outside off stump, drives well past the short cover to the fence.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, FOUR, good shot! pitched up outside off stump, drives well past the short cover to the fence.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, FOUR, good shot! pitched up outside off stump, drives well past the short cover to the fence.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, no run, left alone outside off stump.
Ntini to Hayden, FOUR, good shot! pitched up outside off stump, drives well past the short cover to the fence.
and on like that interminably. A binary innings. Both teams were in complete control. The South African bowlers (not just Ntini) with a stacked field covering the off drive were relentlessly pitching up outside off stump. Hayden was rigorous in his leaving. His patience was impeccable, waiting for that aberrant delivery which would from time to time enter his strike zone and disappear to the boundary. Two relentless modulations making up an utterly mesmerising innings. It was sad and a terrible shock when Hayden eventually played loosely at a ball that was clearly just a little too wide and edged to slip.
Urn Malley had been dreaming of Hayden and Ponting being still at the crease together as the evening came in, as the shadows lengthened and the sun’s angle made the persistent yet weary South Africans look like they were starting to blend with the gleaming golden grass. Golden exhausted fielders at the end of an epic day’s partnership.
Dreams shattered by the melodrama that is Andre Nel.