Trick cyclists,
Spent last Sunday in an interesting exercise of watching two very similar games of cricket in a kind of parallax view.
Attended the SCG for day three of the Milk Cup match NSW v WA.
Two old ladies, who must have been in their 70’s, somehow found themselves a pair of chairs and installed them in the air-conditioned comfort of Monty”s Bar in the MA Noble Stand, pretty much with a perfect view of the ground behind the bowlers arm at the Paddington end, and just over their shoulders was a telly with the test match on it, with the Channel Nine commentary gently piped throughout the bar.
They got themselves a schooner each at 11am, and settled in for the day.
A class act.
There is no other player in the first class caper at the moment who can take imperious command of the centre square like Simon Katich does.
It’s as if everyone is out there for the sole purpose of serving up runs on a platter.
Like when he stands up to the quicks on the back foot and plays an immaculate defensive shot, and the ball just rolls away to mid on for a single.
Has all the answers for the spinners and scored most of his 25+ boundaries off them,
Thinking that he must take slow bowlers for idiots, or at least the ones that aren’t very good at it.
Would have been disappointed to be out for 189, with the double looming, but you can hardly blame him – one of those lazy shots that creep into your game after hours and hour and hours at the crease, that you would normally get away with nine times out ten.
And in any case it wasn’t about personal scores on the day anyway.
The Kat knew all too well that someone had to make a big score to try and run down the first inning points and then take whatever lead you can get, as the first innings lead in any game is worth its weight in gold.
And with Haddin out early, he knew it was all down to him.
Some Beau Casson fireworks extended the lead to about 90, which was more than enough in the end, but we missed the four quick wickets very late in the day with Doug “Champagne” Bollinger on fire yet again [closing in on 50 first class wickets for the season] as me and me mate Trev had by then retired to the comforts of a beer garden near Central station, to tell more lies and talk more nonsense.
Katich – now here’s a bloke who has already scored a thousand first class runs this summer at an average of about 118, with four big tons [including the triple] and a string of 50’s to win/save games etc.
Here’s a bloke who has now scored a thousand first class runs against every state except NSW [and he scored a few when he was playing against us for WA!].
Here’s a bloke who averages about 55 in all first class cricket [and he’s played a helluva lot of county cricket] -- there aint many of them that do that.
And here’s a bloke who can’t get a game for Australia, let alone a Cricket Australia contract!
Go figure?
At least NSW has had the decency and sense to look after him as captain guaranteed for the next four years, on a fair whack.
Meantime, at the test match in Adelaide, MJ Clarke was doing nothing more or less than was expected of him by his captain – score a big hundred on a deck that lets face it your grandmother could have scored a big hundred on, after nursing Punter through to his own hundred.
Interesting that he adapted well to the circumstances - well in on a dead pitch against some pretty good bowling; put away about half your usual shots, and concentrate, concentrate, concentrate.
I haven’t had a look at the score card, but I think you’ll find about 50 of the hundred was scored in singles and you could count the number of boundaries on the fingers of one hand.
And jeez he’s pretty to watch against spin, the footwork is balletic and he worked a bit more off the backfoot in this innings trying to negate the irresistible urge to go dancing and find yourself out of your ground.
Wouldn’t have been disappointed to get out to an absolute screamer at 2nd slip - just ran out of luck at the end.
Something of a worry though in the field.
Dropped a couple of howlers in both Perth and Adelaide.
Should spend more time behind the slips machine.
But you can hardly blame him; Pup doesn’t know whether he’s Arthur or Martha fielding at first and second slip.
Someone needs to decide where he’s going to stand, and leave him alone.
Or perhaps he could be like Steve Waugh of recent memory, and become a prowling specialist cover point.
I’m sure The Iceman would tell you it’s a pretty good spot from which to move the cattle about.
Nice spell of bowling too in tandem with Roy, with Taity out of favour, and Hoggy getting hit.
A couple of excellent wickets to stash away in the kit.
Some mention should be made in passing of the retirement of the great Adam Gilchrist.
Always rated Gilly as best all rounder of his generation – possibly the best all rounder in living memory [ie since Keith Miller] – even though he never bowled a single ball in first class cricket
Always a batsman first and a wicket keeper second, he changed the way test cricket is played forever almost single-handedly with his flamboyant, aggressive line in batting, to the point where scoring slowly in test matches is now considered un-Australian!
A scholar and a gentleman to boot -- and there aren’t many of us left – and a genuine ornament to the game, who’s ears will be sorely missed.
And then…in a crazy week…the Tait kiddie…goes mad!
Where will it all end?
Certainly hope he doesn’t do a Johnny Briggs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Briggs_%28cricketer%29
