Summer Fun

Well it's been quite a while since the last post, and there is a bit to report on. So lets get cracking!

The first test (MCG)

A bit of a strange one really, the Aussies outplayed the Indians on a pitch that was closer to the conditions that they are used to, with the pitch being low and slow, with the only real positive for the Indians being that Tendulkar batted like the genius he is scoring 60 odd of only about 70 balls, he made batting look easy, while his team mates were left looking decidedly ordinary.

A few things stuck out for me, the first that the outfield was very slow with good grass coverage, which made the Indians have to run to score their runs, not being able to hit lots of boundaries like they do at home, makes a big difference when your used to getting free runs like that and coupled with the terrible running between wickets, probably cost them quite a few in the end. The second thing was when Aust. declared, I think part of the reason they declared when they did was not to give the Indians the belief that they could bowl the aussies out twice. A big mental edge I think.

Result: pretty firm win for the Aussies.

Second test (SCG)

Could've been considered a great test except for the bad umpiring and all the crap that followed. Fantastic batting by Hayden and Symonds and sublime performances by Laxman and Tendulkar.

The umpiring was not great, but this happens and I believe that it evens itself out, if you remember back to the 05 Ashes in England, Damien Martyn and Simon Katich were given out more then once to some very dubious decisions, with Martyn out LBW twice off inside edges, it nearly finished his career!!! But what is obvious is that the rub of the green tends to follow the more dominant side of the match, England were the better side during that series and got the best of the 50/50 decisions and I think that the same goes for the Aussies.

The Singh saga, well it's a beat up really, the word monkey may by derogatory, but it isn't racially offensive, the only thing that makes it so, is that both teams signed off on a bunch of words which were considered off limits before the series started and monkey was one of them!! Give him a suspended sentence and lets get on with the cricket.

Result: a lucky win for the Aussies, and yes lots of people will say the umpires this and that, but what it comes down to is they gave themselves a chance to win and kept up the intensity, while the Indians only had to bat out the best part of a full days cricket and couldn't, Aust. sporting teams don't generally go down without a fight, what's that saying..."it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog"!

Bring on the Perth test (starts today 16th Jan at 1.30pm Syd time) lets play four quicks and watch the boys duck and weave, Aust. to win this one based purely on knowing how to bat and bowl on a pitch that is quick and bouncy.

Cheers