Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Welcome to my Nightmare

It’s close of play at the end of day one at the Gabba - the scoreboard says - 'Australia 354-1' (Or should that be 1-354?) Hayden is not out 173, Ponting not out 85.

Steve Harmison has shown all the control of a nine-month-old baby that has just eaten a bar of Ex-Lax. Saj has been using a radar that he appears to have bought off a guy wearing a flat cap and a dodgy camel hair coat in Ridley Road market and the critics were right - Hoggard can't swing the kookaburra ball for toffee in Australia. As a result, Freddie has had to bowl 30 overs in the day to keep the overall run rate down below 5 an over, and the skipper is now lying in an oxygen tent and a saline drip in each arm.

The King of Spain has bowled three spells consisting of one over each - his runs off each over looking like Posh Spice's vital statistics - 24-18-22.

Additionally, Andrew Strauss is off the field with a broken finger as a result of dropping a simple chance at slip when Hayden was 7 not out, and is unlikely to be fit again until the fourth test.

Geraint Jones has dropped three sitters behind the stumps and let though a hatful of byes – However, Duncan Fletcher has described his performance as 'promising'...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

On the other hand....

England close the first day by causing havoc in the Aussie top order: 249-7.

Flintoff has bowled with pace, bounce and accuracy knocking over 4 top order batsmen including 'bunny' Gilchrist.

With only Ponting looking in any form there was no escape from the 90mph+ three pronged English attack that found an extra yard once a baggy green helment was put into their sights.

in 2005 Giles removed every one of the top order and started this series in the same vein when Langer tried to biff him out of the ground only to be caught at deep square leg.

The aging Aussie side are clearly doubting themselves as they watch the innings unravel again, only this time on home soil.

Gary Pratt is said to be on standby at a local club side.

Mark said...

Thanks David - I needed that!