tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10033739377243113672012-01-28T19:52:15.682+10:30Mostly cricketShortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.comBlogger6501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-32230468462666682552012-01-28T19:48:00.003+10:302012-01-28T19:52:15.745+10:30

Australia 7/604 dec & 5/167 dec def India 272 & 201 (69,4 ov, Sehwag 62, Lyon 4/63, Harris 3/41) by 298 runs: T4D5 at Adelaide Oval. Australia, having regained Border-Gavaskar Trophy,  win series 4-0 With the writing plainly on the wall after India's second innings collapse yesterday, it would have surprised few (though a very good crowd  - 10,000+ in my estimation - took advantage of the free

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-26641131236223530232012-01-27T22:44:00.001+10:302012-01-27T22:44:06.354+10:30

India 272 & 6/166 (56 ov, Sehwag 62, Lyon 3/57) need 344 runs with 4 wickets in hand to beat Australia 7/604 dec & 5/167 dec (46 ov, Ponting 60*): T4D4 at Adelaide Oval. One moment from today's play encapsulated the gulf between the teams: Virat Kohli attempted a quick single to keep the strike from Ishant Sharma, who'd been sent in as nightwatchman (to protect no 7!), but was caught short of

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-24514186296802909962012-01-26T19:57:00.001+10:302012-01-26T20:06:20.716+10:30

Australia 7/604 dec & 3/50 (14 ov)  lead India 272 (95.1 ov,  Kohli 116, Siddle 5/49, Hilfenhaus 3/62) by 382 runs with 7 second innings wickets in hand: T4/4 D3/5 at Adelaide Oval. Virat Kohli's resolute 116/213b (1x6, 11x4) saved India's face, to a degree anyway, after the big four (or five if you include Gautam Gambhir) failed to stiffen his team's batting backbone. On another hot day,

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-89066611449030061052012-01-25T19:24:00.005+10:302012-01-25T19:24:56.821+10:30

India 2/61 (21 ov) trail Australia 7/604 dec (157ov, Ponting 221, Clarke 210, Haddin 42*, Ashwin 3/194) by 543 runs om first innings with 8 wickets in hand: T4/4 D2/5 at Adelaide Oval. Another hot - almost 36 degree - day in Adelaide saw Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting continue from where they left off yesterday.  Both posted double centuries and both batted through to lunch, adding 134 from

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-86911475319106680102012-01-24T22:07:00.003+10:302012-01-25T08:22:13.327+10:30

Australia 3/335 (90 ov, Clarke 140*, Ponting 137*) v India: T4/4 D1/5 at Adelaide. Virender Sehwag, India's standin captain while MS Dhoni serves his one match suspension for his team's slow over rates, for a while made the best of a bad job after losing the toss and having to field, but he lost focus and his team gradually wilted under a 37 degree Adelaide sun and another huge partnership

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-47083800182844076522012-01-15T22:32:00.002+10:302012-01-15T22:32:33.703+10:30

Australia 369 def India 161 & 171 (63.2 ov, Kohli 75, Dravid 47, Hilfenhaus 4/54, Siddle 3/43)  by an innings & 37 runs: T3/4 D3/5 at WACA, Perth. Australia lead series 3-0 and regain Border-Gavaskar Trophy. For a while, when Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli were together, it looked as if the Test might last more than a couple of sessions, but the Australian bowlers chipped away, then swept the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-20663109816209193862012-01-15T11:04:00.000+10:302012-01-15T11:04:59.562+10:30

India 161 & 4/88 (32ov) trail Australia 369 (76.2 ov, Warner 180, Cowan 74, Yadav 5/93) by 120 runs with 6 second innings wickets in hand  T3/4 D2/5 at WACA, Perth. A more modest day's play today as India reached for the towel it threw in on D1, bowled Australia out for only 369, then dropped it again as the top batting folded once more to the tenacious home attack. So much has happened in

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-67728292916312801902012-01-13T21:46:00.002+10:302012-01-13T21:46:21.300+10:30

Australia 0/149 (23 ov Warner 104*, Cowan 40*) trail India 161 (60.2 ov, Kohli 44, Hilfenhaus 4/43, Siddle 3/42) by 12 runs with all first innings wickets intact. T3/4 D1/5 at WACA, Perth. This would have to be, given the reputations (and records) of the adversaries, one of the most onesided day's play in Test cricket history. Each team looked at the wicket and opted for an all pace frontline

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-92132822147275581252012-01-06T18:16:00.003+10:302012-01-06T18:16:47.956+10:30

Australia 4/659 dec def India 191 & 400 (110.5 ov, Gambhir 83, Tendulkar 80, Laxman 66, Ashwin 62, Hilfenhaus 5/106) by an innings & 68 runs: T2/4 D4/5 at the SCG. Australia lead series 2-0. India made a better fist of batting in their second innings but only when Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman were at the wicket  did they look like making Australia bat again. At least one, and

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-43512895139891560272012-01-05T22:55:00.000+10:302012-01-05T22:55:12.401+10:30

India 191& 2/114 (41ov) trail Australia 4/659 dec (163ov, Clarke 329*, Hussey 150*, Ponting 134, Zaheer Khan 3/122) by 354 runs with 8 second inings wickets in hand: T2/4 D3/5 at the SCG. Michael Clarke's unbeaten 329/468b (1x6, 39x4) quite rightly defined the today's play. It was the highest individual score made by an Australian in a Test at the SCG and, had he chosen to bat on for a few

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-25714050101591562992012-01-04T22:53:00.004+10:302012-01-04T22:56:26.534+10:30

Australia 4/482 (116 ov, Clarke 251*, Ponting 134, Hussey 55*, Zaheer Khan 3/106) lead India 191 by 291 runs with 6 first innings wickets in hand: T2/4 D2/5 at SCG. Test cricket days don't come much more one sided than this one (though South Africa v Sri Lanka T3 D1 overnight at Cape Town isn't far behind) . Australia lost 1/366: the one being Ricky Ponting who moved steadily, apart from an

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-88523563079321502622012-01-03T23:25:00.000+10:302012-01-03T23:56:56.545+10:30

Australia 3/116 (26 ov, Clarke 47*, Ponting 44*, Zaheer Khan 3/26) trail India 191 (59.3 ov, Dhoni 57*, Tendulkar 41, Pattinson 4/43, Hilfenhaus 3/51, Siddle 3/55) by 75 runs with 7 1st innings wickets in hand: T2/4 D1/5 at SCG.  After India won the toss and batted, the 100th Test match played at the SCG began with a wicket off the third ball, Gautam Gambhir, caught at slip for a duck off

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-35427059007580598922011-12-29T19:52:00.003+10:302011-12-29T19:52:53.643+10:30

Australia 333 & 240 ( 76.3ov, Hussey 89, Ponting 60,Pattinson 37*, Yadav 4/70, Zaheer Khan  3/53) def India 282 & 169 (47.5 ov, Tendulkar 32, Ashwin 30, Pattinson 4/53, Siddle 3/42) by 122 runs: T1/4 D4/5 at the MCG. Australia lead series 1-0 with 3 matches to play. Today only 12 wickets fell for 230 runs compared to yesterday's 15/247. Australia, mostly through the tail after Mike

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-91618125406707594472011-12-29T00:10:00.001+10:302011-12-29T00:10:18.292+10:30

Australia 333 & 8/179 (60 ov, Hussey 79*, Ponting 60, Yadav 4/49) lead India 282 (94.1ov, Tendulkar 73, Dravid 68, Sehwag 67, Hilfenhaus 5/75, Siddle 3/63) by 230 runs with 2 second innings wickets in hand: T1/4 D3/5 at the MCG. Today 15 wickets fell for 247 as both India and Australia bowled well and, with some honourable exceptions, batted poorly. The unravelling began when, with the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-68963437166213348942011-12-28T00:07:00.000+10:302011-12-28T00:07:37.286+10:30

India 214/3 (65.0 ov, Tendulkar 73, Dravid 68*, Sehwag 67) trail Australia 333 (110ov, Cowan 68, Ponting 62, Siddle 41, Zaheer Khan 4/77, Ashwin 3/81, Yadav 3/106)  by 119 runs with 7 first innings wickets in hand; T1/4 D2/5 at the MCG. Had Sachin Tendulkar held on until stumps instead of playing on to Peter Siddle for a feisty 73/98b (1x6, 8x4) India would hold the whip, rather than the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-23137129516950979262011-12-26T21:33:00.001+10:302011-12-26T21:33:30.234+10:30

Australia  6/277 (89 ov, Cowan 68, Ponting 62) v India T1/4 D1/5 at MCG An intriguing day's Test cricket: interrupted by rain but nevertheless attended by 70,000 spectators. The play wasn't always of the highest quality, yet there were some good combative passages, not least the unbroken 63 partnership between Peter Siddle 34* and Brad Haddin 21* which put a gloss of respectability on

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-6550871942064834972011-12-25T11:51:00.000+10:302011-12-27T09:43:31.896+10:30

Spectators who last week went to the Gabba to watch the home team take on the Melbourne Stars in the  Big Bash League (BBL) were denied the opportunity to hear and see this Gideon Haigh in The Australian in his customarily incisive way has brought this, and its wider ramifications,  to our attention But had you been present at the ground, this would have eluded you, because Warnie was

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-61747446970411888792011-12-22T20:45:00.001+10:302011-12-22T20:46:18.394+10:30

Check out  Gideon Haigh in today's Australian: Australia's latest Test cricketer, Tasmania's Ed Cowan, is a friend of mine. A good friend, too: I've stayed at his home; he's been a guest in mine; I use a bat he gave me when I play for my club in Melbourne; he's the author of a book I helped with the writing of. This is going to be awkward... Ed is not only an accomplished cricketer but a

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-59844068112699142172011-12-16T22:36:00.000+10:302011-12-16T22:36:41.390+10:30

There's been much comment in cricketing circles about the Bradman Oration which Rahul Dravid delivered in Canberra on Wednesday. I saw extracts on TV and have watched the video (which can also be found here )  The transcript is available here . Well worth watching or reading, not just for the comments on cricket, though they're pretty astute, but for the broader observations about links

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-67305868683722152632011-12-12T21:06:00.001+10:302011-12-12T21:06:16.480+10:30

New Zealand 150 & 226 beat Australia 136 & 233 (63.4 ov, Warner 123*, Bracewell 6/40) by 7 runs: T2/2 D4/5 at Hobart. Series shared 1-1, Australia (as holders) retain Trans-Tasman Trophy. This was a great Test match, and the better side won, so congratulations New Zealand (and apologies for implying that they couldn't do it). Even when, without Australia adding to its overnight total,

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-12551957178418150692011-12-11T20:26:00.001+10:302011-12-11T21:09:19.476+10:30

Australia 136 & 0/72 (19ov, Warner 47*) need 169 more runs with 10 2nd innings in hand to defeat New Zealand 150 & 226 (78.3 ov, Taylor 56, Lyon 3/25, Pattinson 3/54, Siddle 3/66) T2/2 D3/5 at Hobart. Australia's bowlers, aided by some careless batting, took 7/87 in the first, and by far the longest, session of another rain interrupted day. The top six New Zealanders all reached double figures,

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-85213140533123326782011-12-10T19:52:00.000+10:302011-12-11T11:20:35.644+10:30

New Zealand 150 & 3/139 (44ov, )  lead Australia 136 (51ov, Siddle 36, Bracewell 3/20, Boult 3/29, Martin 3/46) by 153 runs with 7 second innings in hand: T2/2 D2/5 at Hobart. OK, I didn't call it properly yesterday but I didn't put the boot into the Black Caps like Gideon Haigh in The Australian   .did. In NZ -like conditions (would we all be more comfortable if Tasmania became NZ's West

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-3684216100541077932011-12-09T17:29:00.001+10:302011-12-09T18:11:59.754+10:30

Australia 1/12 (4.2 ov) trail New Zealand 150 (45.5ov, Brownlie 56, Pattinson 5/51, Siddle 3/42) by 138 runs with 9 first innings wickets in hand: T2/2 D1/5 at Hobart. On paper New Zealand's position doesn't look too good but it's better than looked at one point in the morning session when, after being sent in by Michael Clarke, the top order batting folded, and they were 6/60. From there Dean

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-19285659849396282122011-12-04T21:12:00.001+10:302011-12-04T21:47:51.632+10:30

Australia 427 & 1/19/ (2.2 ov) defeated New Zealand 295 & 150 (49.4ov, Brownlie 42, Pattinsson 5/27, Lyon 3/19) by 9 wickets: T1/2, D4/5 at the 'Gabba, Brisbane. Australia lead series 1-0 with 1 Test to play.  OK, New Zealand's batting wasn't as inept a display as Australia's  47 all out at Cape Town, but it was still pretty poor, even though James Pattinson's bowling was outstanding. 

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-56432875736012352642011-12-03T18:19:00.001+10:302011-12-03T18:19:39.860+10:30

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-20862437027892490832011-12-03T18:16:00.001+10:302011-12-04T21:11:34.638+10:30

New Zealand 295 & 1/10 (7 ov) trail Australia 427 (129.2 ov, Clarke 139, Haddin 80, Ponting 78, Martin 3/89 ) by 122 runs with 9 second inns in hand : T1/2 D3/5 at the 'Gabba Brisbane While Ricky Ponting, didn't go on to get the century which all his supporters had hoped for, two others whose performances have been under scrutiny , Michael Clarke and  Brad Haddin, did put Australia ahead

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-75587548567040050372011-12-02T19:24:00.001+10:302011-12-02T21:27:05.596+10:30

Ausralia 3/154 (46 ov, Ponting 67*) trail New Zealand 295 (82.5 ov, Nettori 96. Brownlie 77*, Lyon 4/69) by 141 runs with 7 first innings wkts in hand T1/2, D2/5 ar the 'Gabba, Brisbane. Ricky Ponting's aggressively watchful (no oxymoron intended) 67*/123b  (11x4) was IMO  the best innnings of the day, but he'll need to bat on tomorrow, and get some support from his teammates, to convert it, or

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-29133666227463348312011-12-01T19:32:00.001+10:302011-12-02T14:35:59.657+10:30

New Zealand 5/176 (51 ov, Vettori 45*) v Australia: T1/2 D1/5 at The Gabba Brisbane Old Kiwi hand and late blooming batter Daniel Vettori in an 80* run 6th wicket partnership with newcomer Dean Brownlie has (sort of) restored New Zealand's position from a perilous 5/96 which threatened to make this Test a short one. James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc both had success, even if they, especially

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-54505111774181695942011-11-30T23:06:00.001+10:302011-11-30T23:59:58.755+10:30

There's been a lot of talk, much of it loose, about the changes, both actual and projected, which Australia will make to its Test team  in the next few weeks. The new 5 man selection panel committee has  been forced by injuries to Patrick Cummins, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Shane Watson, to selecte several fresh faces for the First Test (of two) v New Zealand which begins

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-15469617889366514062011-11-27T14:32:00.001+10:302011-11-27T16:29:30.425+10:30

India 482 (Ashwin 103, Tendulkar 94, Dravid 82, Samuels 3/74, Rampaul 3/95) & 9/242 (Kohli 63, Sehwag 60, Rampaul 3/56) drew with West Indies 590 (Bravo 166, K Edwards 86, Powell 81, Ashwin 5/156, Aaron 3/106) & 134 (Ojha 6-47, Ashwin 4-34) : T3/3 D5/5 at Mumbai. India win series 2-0. A high scoring match for the first four days- 22 wickets for 1153 runs (including Sachin Tendulkar again just

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-82652636927980225022011-11-22T12:36:00.001+10:302011-11-22T17:08:11.442+10:30

Australia 296  & 8/310  (86.5 ov, Khawaja 65, Ponting 62, Haddin 55, Philander 5/70) beat South Africa 266 & 339  by 2 wickets: T2/2 D5/5 at Johannesburg. Series tied 1-1. You couldn't ask for a much more riveting day's play in any form of cricket (or any sport). Fortunes, as they've done throughout the match, fluctuated.  South Africa broke through early before some gritty Australian defiance,

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-59302120753624559382011-11-21T11:40:00.001+10:302011-11-21T18:20:35.506+10:30

Australia 296 & 3/142 (37 ov, Khawaja 65, Ponting 54*) need 168 more runs with 7 wickets in hand to beat South Africa 266 & 339 (110ov, Amla 110, de Villiers 73, Steyn 41, Cummins 6/79): T2/2 D4/5 at Johannesburg. Australia improved beyond expectations (though not supporters' dreams) for most of the day, although a late (and modest) South African batting revival and the loss of Australia's

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-64341907670010561322011-11-20T12:38:00.001+10:302011-11-20T13:41:45.477+10:30

South Africa 3/229 (69 ov, Amla 89*, de Villiers 70*) & 226 lead Australia 296 by 119 runs with 7 second inns wickets in hand: T2/2 D3/5 at Johannesburg The day began with a tribute to Basil D'Oliveira  who died overnight aged 80. When play started Australia kept South Africa in check with three wickets before lunch, but were unable to  separate Hashim Amla 89*/196b (13x4) and A B

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-62571425697286192802011-11-19T17:18:00.001+10:302011-11-19T18:06:39.016+10:30

South Africa 266 & 0/0 (0.4 ov) trail Australia 296 (76.4 ov, Watson 88, Hughes 88, Steyn 4/64, Imran Tahir 3/55) by 30 runs with 10 2nd inns wickets in hand: T2/2 D2/5 at Wanderers Johannesburg.  Another topsy turvy day in which Australia climbed the heights in the first session only to plunge to the depths thereafter. At lunch Shane Watson and Phil Hughes had stroked and cudgelled Australia

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-5592453862463664832011-11-18T09:51:00.001+10:302011-11-18T14:27:58.414+10:30

South Africa 266 (71ov,de Villiers 64, Kallis 54, Prince 50, Siddle 3/69) v Australia: T2/2 D1/5 at Johannesburg. I turned in at tea, when AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince seemed to have South Africa, at 4/213, emerging from the danger zone of 4/129 and on target for a respectable total, if not one in the region of 500, which at one point didn't seem beyond the bounds of possibility.

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-84122151587699187822011-11-17T18:38:00.001+10:302011-11-17T18:51:11.727+10:30

Just watched the last rites of a one sided Test where India have thrashed West Indies by an innings and 15 runs: 7/631 dec (Laxman 176*, Dhoni 144, Dravid 119, Gambhir 65) v 153 (Ojha 4/64, Yadav 3/23) & 463  (Darren Bravo 136, Samuels 84, Barath 62, Yadav 4/80). Will Australia, who like West Indies, will be forced to field a changed (weakened?) team - Khawaja for Marsh, Cummins for Harris -

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-37489199316557552862011-11-13T21:38:00.001+10:302011-11-13T21:41:14.602+10:30

Peter Roebuck has died . Apparently by his own hand. He could be acerbic but was almost always incisive in his assessments. A sad loss, the more so for being premature.

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-67022737903259563602011-11-12T20:36:00.001+10:302011-11-13T21:44:36.856+10:30

South Africa 96 & 2/236 Amla 112, Smith 101*)  beat Australia 284 & 47 by 8 Wickets: T1 D3 at Newlands, Cape Town. South Africa lead series 1-0 with one Test to play.  Graeme Smith 101*/140b (15x4) and Hashim Amla 112/134b (22x4) batted South Africa to an emphatic and considerably more substantial than seemed likely on the first two days,  victory. The Australian bowling lacked zip, while a

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-86625841377791513502011-11-11T15:37:00.001+10:302011-11-11T15:48:07.736+10:30

South Africa 96 (24.3 ov, Watson 5/17, Harris 4/33)  & 1/81 (17ov) need 155 more runs with 9 2nd inns wickets in hand to beat Australia 284 (75 ov, Clarke 151, Steyn 4/55, Philander 3/63, Morkel 3/82) & 47 (18ov, Philander 5/15, Morkel 3/9) : T1/2 D2/5 at Newlands, Cape Town. I was not alone among  cricket followers, including a former Australian captain , in retiring after Australia had

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-34651489993154982852011-11-10T12:46:00.000+10:302011-11-10T12:50:05.157+10:30

Australia 8/214 (55ov, M Clarke 107*, D Steyn 4/31, V Philander 3/54) v South Africa: T1 D1 at Newlands (aka Sahara) Cape Town. South Africa won toss and chose to field. Michael Clarke's 107*/ 114b (17x4) has kept Australia in the match on a first day abridged by   weather, umpiring prissiness and infrastructure failure.. The experienced Dale Steyn and newcomer Vernon Philander made good use

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-77016591855944788372011-11-09T10:11:00.000+10:302011-11-10T11:18:47.482+10:30

Back after a break away from cricket viewing/watching , including a UK trip where I went to two soccer matches : Sheffield Wednesday 2 v Colchester United 0 (League 1) and Chelsea 3 v Arsenal 5 (EPL). Test cricket has been in pretty full swing around the world. I missed Ts1 & 2 of the Pakistan - Sri Lanka series in the Gulf, which were played in the shadow of the UK court case and subsequent 

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-52927123368676175932011-09-21T20:07:00.003+09:302011-09-21T20:14:33.524+09:30

Australia 316 & 488 (138.5 ov, Hughes 126, Clarke 112, Hussey 93, Herath 7/157) drew with Sri Lanka 473 & 0/7 ( 2 ov): T3D5 at Colombo (SSC). Australia win series 1-0 and retain Warne-Muralitharan Trophy. A not unexpected match result after five days and a good series win for Australia (though not one I'd expected). When Phil Hughes was out early for 126/220b (1x6, 16x4), Sri Lanka may have

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-22378382972998016522011-09-20T12:10:00.001+09:302011-09-20T12:11:55.550+09:30

Australia 316 and 3/209  (68ov, Hughes 122*) lead Sri Lanka 473 (174 ov, Mathews 105*, Dilshan 83, Sangakkara 79, M Jayawardene 51, Siddle 4/91) by 52 runs with 7 second inns wickets in hand: T3D4 at Colombo (SSC) With a day to play Sri Lanka could still conceivably win. But to do so they'll need to show much more energy with the ball in the first session of D5 than they did with the bat in the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-25563291044535340892011-09-19T12:35:00.000+09:302011-09-19T12:35:25.500+09:30

Sri Lanka 6/428 (155ov, Mathews 85*, Dilshan 83, Sangakkara 79, M Jayawardene 51) lead Australia 316 by 112 runs with 4 first innings wickets in hand. T3D3 at Colombo (SSC). It was Sri Lanka's day alright: the first for the series where they have not been fighting to save the match. 4/262 from 90 overs suggests measured more than flamboyant progress. This was certainly the case in the morning

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-84999221548164737232011-09-18T14:06:00.003+09:302011-09-18T14:13:38.844+09:30

Sri Lanka 2/166  (65ov, Sangakkara 61*, Paranavitana 46,) trail Australia 316 (104.3 ov, Hussey 118, Marsh 81, Ponting 48, Eranga 4/65) on first innings by 150 runs: T3D2 at Colombo (SSC). I've been away from live TV coverage for the last couple of days so have had to rely on Cricinfo (whose comments and analysis are good yet lack the immediacy of real time TV coverage) and,TV highlights.

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-8424484844723372232011-09-12T23:12:00.000+09:302011-09-12T23:13:38.829+09:30

Sri Lanka 174 & 6/317 (114.3 ov, Sangakkara 69, Paranavitana 55, M Jayawardene 51) drew with Australia 7/411 dec: T2D5 at Palekelle. Australia lead series 1-0 with one match to play. Today, when rain permitted play, Sri Lanka added 4/95 from the 35.3 overs bowled by Australia. All the Sri Lanka top order made handy scores though the two of whom big things were expected didn't build on the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-3511398585227549872011-09-11T21:03:00.007+09:302011-09-11T22:04:10.356+09:30

Sri Lanka 174 & 2/223 (79ov, Sangakkara 69* , Paranavitana 55) trail Australia 7/441 dec by 14 runs with 8 second inns wickets in hand: T2D4 at Pallekele.Michael Clarke declared at Australia's overnight score. Given the amount of time lost to weather and a none too promising forecast he had no choice (despite what some of the studio based Fox Sports commentators said).For the first time in the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-87585593651029320992011-09-10T21:36:00.011+09:302011-09-10T22:38:51.111+09:30

Australia 7/411 (132ov, Hussey 142, Marsh 141) lead Sri Lanka 174 by 237runs with 3 first inns wickets in hand. T2D3 at Pallekele.Mike Hussey and Shaun Marsh eventually added 258 before Hussey fell for 142/244b (18x4). Marsh followed soon after for 142/315b (16x4), as did Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson to successive deliveries from Suraj Randiv (Ryan Harris narrowly avoided the hat trick).Both

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-68381214064601399232011-09-10T10:32:00.004+09:302011-09-10T11:54:07.335+09:30

Australia 3/264 (91.3 ov, Marsh 87*, Hussey 76*) lead Sri Lanka 174 by 90 runs with 7 innings wkts in hand: T2D2 at Pallekele..When bad light stopped play just after tea Shaun Marsh and, once again, Mike Hussey had taken Australia from a sub-optimal 3/116 to a much healthier 3/264 in about one and a half sessionsMarsh on debut batted in doughty mode at first (his 50 took 133 balls, inc 7x4)

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-41647423885943617382011-09-08T21:11:00.002+09:302011-09-08T23:49:02.761+09:30

Australia 0/60 (17.4 ov) trail Sri Lanka 174 (64.1 ov, A Mathews 58) by 114 runs with all 1st innings wickets in hand. T2D1 at Pallekele.I didn't expect that, having won the toss and choosing to bat, Sri Lanka would reprise their Galle meltdown, but they did come close. After Ryan Harris and Trent Copeland took the wind out of Sri Lanka's sails things did improve (could they have got much

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-90765317727513454502011-09-03T19:20:00.007+09:302011-09-03T20:46:27.358+09:30

Australia 273 & 210 (59.2 ov, Clarke 60, Herath 5/79) def Sri Lanka 105 & 253 (95.5 ov, M Jayawardene 105, Mathews 95, Harris 5/62) by 125 runs with a day to spare: T1 at Galle. Australia lead 3 match series 1-0. For a time today, when the Mahela Jayawardene-Angelo Mathews partnership blunted the persistent Australian attack, Sri Lanka looked to have an outside chance of an improbable win.

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-79206382554676700892011-09-01T23:10:00.007+09:302011-09-02T00:41:00.521+09:30

Australia 273 & 5/116 (33.5 ov, M Clarke 60) lead Sri Lanka 105 (50ov, N Lyon 5/34) by 283 runs with 6 second inns wickets in hand. T1/3 D2/5 at Galle. Two batting meltdowns, a major one by Sri Lanka who lost 7/18 to post an abysmal 105 all out followed by Australia's 5/116, on a bowler friendly - but not that friendly - wicket. have put Australia in control of the First Test after only two days

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-69273449174112976762011-08-31T21:52:00.004+09:302011-08-31T22:31:58.725+09:30

Australia 273 (86.4 ov, M Hussey 95) T1/3 D1 at Galle. A fascinating day of sub continental Test cricket. That is, one where the ball turned and the visitors struggled. Each of the Australian top order reached double figures, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin laying solid foundations, but only Mike Hussey's characteristically gritty, laced with some aggression, 95/177b (3x6, 7x4).

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-76264567869701612602011-08-23T14:08:00.006+09:302011-08-23T14:59:21.528+09:30

Sri Lanka 6/213 ( M Jayawardene 71, C Silva 63) beat Australia 211 (46.1 ov, S Watson 56, L Malinga 3-35 inc hat trick) by 4 wickets with 18 balls remaining: ODI#5 at Premadasa Stadium Columbo. Australia win series 3-2. Four of the top six Australian batters got a start but didn't notch large scores: the other seven combined added 17. Lasith Malinga's hat trick turned a possible score

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-19206018437328304582011-08-23T12:36:00.005+09:302011-08-23T13:33:06.234+09:30

England 6/591 dec (I Bell 235, K Pietersen 175) def India 300 (R Dravid 146*) & 283 (S Tendulkar 91, A Mishra 84, G Swann 6/106) by an innings and 8 runs: T4D5 at The Oval. England win series 4-0. The result was the same as the preceding Tests, but this time Rahul Dravid 146* /266b (20x4) carried his bat through India's first innings and showed his teammates what might be done to resist the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-17717166099308521732011-08-21T12:32:00.002+09:302011-08-21T13:48:32.233+09:30

Australia 5/133 (28 ov, S Marsh 70) def Sri Lanka 132 (38.4 ov, M Jayawardene 53, B Lee 4/15, X Doherty 4/28)by 5 wkts: ODI#4/5 at Colombo (Premadasa Stadium) . Australia lead series 3-1. Sri Lanka fell apart with the bat, losing 8/37 in the face of some good Australian bowling by Brett Lee and Xavier Doherty. 132 didn't look enough, and Shaun Marsh, brought into the team in place of Steve

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-42560405234356081502011-08-17T19:48:00.009+09:302011-08-17T23:22:49.792+09:30

Sri Lanka 9/286 (50ov, U Tharanga 111, T Dilshan 55,D Bollinger 4-42) def Australia 208 (44.2 ov,M Hussey 63, L Malinga 5-28) by 78 runs: ODI#3/5 at Hambantota. Australia lead series 2-1. Sri Lanka at last performed as everyone knows they can. An opening stand of 139/151b between Upul Tharanga 111/139b (12x4) and Tillekeratne Dilshan 55/59b (4x4) provided a launching pad for a total which looked

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-28918326409628132212011-08-15T16:06:00.006+09:302011-08-15T16:53:56.557+09:30

Australia 2/ 211 ( 38.2 ov, R Ponting 90*,M Clarke 58*) beat Sri Lanka 208 (49.3ov,K Sangakkara 52, ) by 8 wickets: ODI#2/5 at Hambantota. Australia lead series 2-0. Another good, verging on very good, performance by Australia. Sri Lanka crumbled against a tightly drilled attack, with all 6 bowlers used (Steven Smith wasn't) doing their bit. Doug Bollinger's 3/35 from 10 overs was an

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-89592514795154681622011-08-14T17:30:00.005+09:302011-08-14T17:53:56.234+09:30

England 7/701 dec def India 224 & 244 (55.3 ov, MS Dhoni 74*, J Anderson 4/85 ) by an innings and 242 runs;lead series 3-0 with one match to playL T#3 D4 at Edgbaston. England lead series 3-0 with one match to play. England wrapped up the match and the series more or less as expected, ie emphatically. They are now officially, and deservedly, the no1 ranking Test playing nation. Congratulations

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-33401861658021521972011-08-13T17:38:00.009+09:302011-08-13T18:44:46.715+09:30

India 224 & 1/35 (12 ov) trail England 7/710 dec (188.1 ov, A Cook 294, E Morgan 104, A Sfrauss 87, K Pietersen 63, T Bresnan 53*) by 451 runs with 9 2nd inns wkts in hand: T#3 D3 at Edgbaston. To be honest I didn't watch all that much of the day's play: there was more appealing fare on other channels, notably a telecast of a live performance of Don Giovanni. I did see the only quarter decent

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-13873477225502145222011-08-12T19:01:00.008+09:302011-08-12T19:40:17.464+09:30

England 3/456 (115 ov, A Cook 182*, A Strauss 87, K Pietersen 63) lead India 224 by 232 runs on 1st innings with 7 wickets in hand: T#3 D2 at Edgbaston Have there been many more one-sided Test matches? The scorecard says a lot , especially about the high quality of England's batting, with Alistair Cook's 182*/339b (26x4) poohpoohing those who thought his Australian Test summer was a five Test

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-56505349183694082942011-08-11T19:05:00.005+09:302011-08-11T19:53:37.153+09:30

Overnight, courtesy of the Foxtel/ Fox sports red button (a well kept secret which deserves to be more widely promoted), I was able to keep an eye on two intriguing international fixtures at the same time. If you didn't opt via the button to watch one match on full screen, you could watch two parallel, albeit smaller, pictures showing vision from England v India T#3 at Edgbaston and Sri Lanka v

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-43696255940364020792011-05-26T10:27:00.003+09:302011-05-26T10:38:27.153+09:30

Cricket followers who are looking to check out the form of Australia's next Test opponents Sri Lanka will need to be glued to the box tonight, because it's the only day (of five scheduled) when Fox Sports, which has traditionally relayed the full live UKSky TV coverage of England's home Test matches, will be showing live coverage of the first Sri Lanka - England Test. And the cricket isn't

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-89166514517335169882011-05-25T18:22:00.007+09:302011-05-27T10:02:03.321+09:30

Terry Jenner has died at the age of 66. The Advertiser/ Adelaide Now report includes a video of him in action with the ball.Yet I remember him best for his gutsy 74 on a damp Adelaide Oval pitch in the 1975 Ashes Test against Derek Underwood in full flight his element (Derek never flighted the ball much but he earned his nickname "Deadly" on a turning wicket).In between his first class

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-19629487697459675622011-05-19T22:28:00.000+09:302011-05-19T22:28:41.971+09:30

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-67142324694509179212011-05-02T14:35:00.004+09:302011-05-02T16:33:31.376+09:30

Well, at least for SACA members, only about half of whom, according to Adelaide Now/ The Advertiser , are expected to vote either by proxy or at this evening's Special General Meeting which will, we are told, determine the future of the Adelaide Oval.The issue has been widely canvassed in the local media, including the online Indaily and the News Ltd outlets: Adelaide Now has just posted ,

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-74942248786196880002011-04-03T22:09:00.007+09:302011-04-04T10:19:05.639+09:30

India 4/277 (48.2 ov, G Gambhir 97, M S Dhoni 91*) beat Sri Lanka 6/274 (50ov, M Jayawardene 103*, K Sangakkara 48) by six wickets: CWC 201 final at Mumbai ( aka Bombay). India win tournament.Well done, India. Your victory confirms you as the top world team in the two major forms of the game: Tests and ODIs. T20 has taken a back seat for the moment and the future of the 50 overs (or

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-18254564529924872962011-03-31T17:46:00.003+10:302011-03-31T18:04:06.656+10:30

India 9/260 (50 ov, Tendulkar 85, Wahab Riaz 5/46) beat Pakistan 231 (49.5 ov, Misbah-ul- Haq 56) by 29 runs: CWC 2011 semifinal #2 at Mohali. India will play Sri Lanka in final.Sachin Tendulkar has played many better innings than his 85/115b (11x4) but few of such value to his team and country. Without it Pakistan would probably have won.It was also a very lucky innings: dropped four times

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-77463506323029206932011-03-30T12:40:00.006+10:302011-03-30T13:22:35.362+10:30

Sri Lanka 220 for 5 (47.5 ov,T Dilshan 73,K Sangakkara 54, T Southee 3/57) beat New Zealand 217 (48.5 ov, S Styris 57, A Mendis 3-35, S Malinga 3/55) by five wickets: CWC2011 Semifinal #1 at Colombo. Sri Lanka progress to final; New Zealand eliminated from tournament. Sri Lanka deservedly won the match when their bowlers took the last 6 NZ wickets for 25 and their batters chased down, with some

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-70194375886004841582011-03-29T23:05:00.004+10:302011-03-29T23:36:51.853+10:30

It must have been hard for Ricky Ponting to fall on his captain's sword as publicly and graciously as he did today . Yes, his batting form (the last innings century v India excepted) hasn't been all that flash and his captaincy has displayed some abrasiveness which, had it come from some of his predecessors, would have been excused. At least he was only booed onto the field by opponents'

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-60288623890267859902011-03-27T18:24:00.003+10:302011-03-27T19:18:11.466+10:30

Sri Lanka 0/231 (39,3 ov, T Dilshan 108*,U Tharanga 102*) beat England 6/229 (50 ov, J Trott 86, E Morgan 50) by 10 wickets: CWC 2011 quarter final#4 at Colombo. Sri Lanka qualify for semi finals, England eliminated from tournament. After some ragged fielding and steady bowling by Sri Lanka had allowed England to post what several TV and radio commentators thought was a competitive score,

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-38076987318994329562011-03-26T13:27:00.006+10:302011-03-26T16:00:28.484+10:30

New Zealand 8/ 221 ( 50 ov, J Ryder 83, R Taylor 43, M Morkel 3/46) beat South Africa 172 (43.2 ov, J Kallis 43, J Oram 4/39, N McCullum 3/24) by 49 runs: CWC quarter final #3 at Mirpur. NZ go through to semifinals, South Africa eliminated from tournament.What a result! A modestly credentialled New Zealand team, albeit one which was correctly selected for the conditions, ie included three

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-3742776905294917362011-03-25T12:27:00.003+10:302011-03-25T18:44:13.614+10:30

India 5/261 (47.4 ov, Yuvraj Singh 57*, S Tendulkar 53, G Gambhir 50) beat Australia 6/260 (50ov, R Ponting 104, B Haddin 53) by 5 wickets: CWC2011 quarterfinal #2 at Ahmedabad. India qualify for semi-finals, Australia eliminated from tournament.A good match which had moments of greatness.It fluctuated intriguingly until India's maligned middle order batting regrouped to see off the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-37562695791206490402011-03-24T17:58:00.004+10:302011-03-24T19:19:26.888+10:30

Well, the CWC aka Cricket World Cup 2011 has at last, after a measured progression through the preliminary round, reached the quarter final stage.As expected, the minnows, aka the non-Test playing nations, were eliminated though some, notably Ireland , had a few overs of fame. Enough of the contests, particularly the India- England tie were close enough to refresh interest in the 50 overs a

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-35042199349845197262011-02-07T13:07:00.005+10:302011-02-08T21:45:15.650+10:30

Australia 7/ 279 (50 ov, A Voges 80*, D Hussey 60, Extras 30, J Anderson 3/48) beat England 222 (44 ov, M Yardy 60, M Johnson 3/18, S Tait 3/48) by 57 runs: ODI#7/7 at WACA Ground, Perth. Australia win series 6-1.There was little to play for and, with the World Cup in the offing, no player wanted to be added to the lengthy injury list of both sides. Both teams fielded their two wicketkeepers. (

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-88492416186016935062011-02-06T23:12:00.006+10:302011-02-07T11:25:04.183+10:30

South Australia 2 /155 (17.3 ov, C Borgas 62*, D Harris 48*) def New South Wales 8/153 (20 ov, D Smith 43, M Henriques 41, K Richardson 3-31) by 8 wickets: T20 Big Bash final at Adelaide Oval. SA won title.On Offsiders today Gideon Haigh pooh-poohed both the T20 competition and South Australia but the fact remains that last night 27000+ (including me) turned up at Adelaide Oval hoping that the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-92109866719029968412011-02-03T19:34:00.001+10:302011-02-03T20:10:53.819+10:30

Australia 8/334 (49.2 ov, M Clarke 82, M Johnson 57, S Watson 51, C Ferguson 46) def England 6/333 (50 0v, J Trott 137, A Strauss 63, I Bell 45) by 2 wickets: ODI #6/7 at SCG. Australia lead series 5-1.The approach of Cyclone Yasi towards the North Queensland coast preoccupied me for much of the time this match was being played but today, when the bad weather had subsided, I filled the gaps in

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-38887122466798109922011-01-31T14:42:00.007+10:302011-01-31T16:28:35.185+10:30

Australia 249 (48.3 ov, M Clarke 54, C Woakes 6/45) def England 198 (45.3 ov,K Pietersen 40, S Watson 3/25) by 51 runs: ODI#5/7 at Gabba, Brisbane. Australia lead series 4-1.Back to the couch to watch this one, which fortunately wasn't played here, where the temperature reached 42.5 deg C.The first nine Australian batters got a start (of sorts), ie reached double figures, but only acting captain

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-7915632159988417242011-01-27T17:35:00.005+10:302011-01-28T11:28:27.584+10:30

England 8/299 (50 0v, J Trott 102, M Prior 67, D Hussey 4/21, S Smith 3/33) def Australia 7/278 (50 0v, S Watson 64) by 21 runs: ODI #4/7 at Adelaide Oval. Australia lead series 3-1. For various reasons I haven't watched a lot of cricket since the Ashes Tests, but yesterday I went to the Adelaide Oval to see if Australia could wrap up the seven match series with a fourth consecutive victory. They

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-29008573288123650232011-01-07T12:18:00.004+10:302011-01-07T12:57:42.990+10:30

England 644 defeated Australia 280 & 281 by an innings & 83 runs: T5 D5 at SCG.England win series 3-1 and retain ashes.Player of the Match and Series: Alistair Cook.As expected, England wrapped up the match and series this morning after some resolute if belated resistance from Steven Smith and Peter Siddle.Congratulations to England: they outplayed Australia in all departments of the game.

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-52721980807890712942011-01-06T19:10:00.008+10:302011-01-06T19:46:35.871+10:30

Australia 280 & 7/213 (67 ov) need 152 more runs to make England 644 (117.5 ov, A Cook 189, M Prior 118, I Bell 115, A Strauss 60, M Johnson 4/168, B Hilfenhaus 3/121) bat again. T5 D4 at SCG.Australia's agony continued as first England piled on the runs to move past 600, Matt Prior continuing to make merry before he virtually threw his wicket away for 118/130b (1x6, 11x4), after whic the last

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-69949589098346157942011-01-06T11:25:00.003+10:302011-01-06T14:37:33.956+10:30

South Africa 362 (J Kallis 161, H Amla 59, S Sreesanth 5/114) & 341 (J Kallis 109, M Boucher 55, Harbhajan Singh 7/120) v India 364 (S Tendulkar 146, D Steyn 5/75): T3/3 D4/5 at Newlands, Cape Town.India need 340 runs, or South Africa to take 10 wickets on the last day to win the series 2-1.Overlapping the last rites of the Ashes series, South Africa and India have been contesting the decider of

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-56562424751328172002011-01-05T18:49:00.003+10:302011-01-05T19:29:38.094+10:30

England 7/488 (141 ov, A Cook 189, I Bell 115, A Strauss 60. M Prior 54*) lead Australia 280 by 208 runs with 3 first innings wickets in hand: T5 D3 at SCG.England batted through the day adding 4/323 from 93 overs and by doing so snuffed out any hopes Australia might have had achieving a first innings lead or, more realistically, a relatively small deficit. After nightwatchman Jimmy Anderson and

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-91941873407194308052011-01-04T18:29:00.005+10:302011-01-04T22:17:47.608+10:30

England 3/167 (48ov, A Cook 61*, A Strauss 60) trail Australia 280 (106.1 ov, M Johnson 53, J Anderson 4/66) by 113 runs on first innings: T5/5 D2/5 at SCG.Mitchell Johnson 53/66b (1x6, 5x4) and Ben Hilfenhaus 34/58b (1x6, 3x4) saw Australia to a better than expected, if still below par, 280 before Andrew Strauss cut loose, with Alistair Cook in support, in a first wicket stand of 98 which

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-29888253524999602272011-01-03T19:20:00.007+10:302011-01-03T20:34:35.188+10:30

Australia 4/134 (59 ov, S Watson 45) v England: T5/5, D 1/5 at SCGAfter Michael Clarke won the toss and opted to bat Australia struggled against the tight England bowling we've come to expect to post a modest, though not disastrous, total on a day shortened appreciably by rain and bad light.It looked as if they'd get through the first session without loss, but then in the last over Philip Hughes,

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-81640221525110103322011-01-02T20:54:00.006+10:302011-01-02T22:10:11.467+10:30

That's certainly what many cricket followers will be wondering, and Australian supporters hoping, on the eve of the Fifth Test.It's already been confirmed that Michael Beer, after being in the squad since Perth, will make his Test debut. I wish him well but can't see him having a great influence on the match. He's simply too inexperienced at first class level and nobody apart from his old St

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-49166381865100631022010-12-29T11:50:00.004+10:302010-12-29T12:27:57.414+10:30

England 513 defeated Australia 98 & 258 (85.4 ov, B Haddin 55*, S Watson 54, T Bresnan 4/50) by an innings & 157 runs: T4D4 at MCG: England retain Ashes, lead series 2-1 with one Test to play. Player of the Match: Jonathon Trott.There was little deviation from the script that had been written before the day's play began as England completed a massive, and well merited victory over Australia.

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-55985872665787828102010-12-28T17:52:00.008+10:302010-12-28T19:02:12.485+10:30

Australia 98 & 6/169 (66ov, S Watson 54) need 246 more runs with 4 second innings wickets left to avoid losing by an innings to England 513 (159.4 ov, J Trott 168*, M Prior 85, A Cook 82, A Strauss 69. P Siddle 6/76) : T4 D3 at MCGSome time, probably before lunch tomorrow, England will take Australia's last three wickets (the injured Ryan Harris is highly unlikely to bat), complete a well

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-81223406714358966912010-12-27T19:07:00.008+10:302010-12-27T21:44:21.310+10:30

England 5/444 (136 ov, J Trott 141*, A Cook 82, M Prior 75*', A Strauss 69. K Pietersen 51) lead Australia 98 by 346 runs with 5 1st innings wickets in hand: T4/5 D2/5 at MCG. There was little to write home (or blog) about today unless you are a staunch England supporter (perhaps one of the 67,149 spectators who were at the MCG), in which case you are allowed a generous measure of triumphalism at

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-85197698685642525172010-12-26T19:06:00.009+10:302010-12-27T12:05:08.821+10:30

England 0/157 (47 ov, A Cook 80*, A Strauss 64*) lead Australia 98 (42.5 ov, C Tremlett 4/26, J Anderson 4/44) by 59 runs with all 2nd innings wickets intact: T4/5, D1/5 at MCGAfter as one-sided day as anyone with even a rudimentary grasp of current cricket form could have expected, or as England supporters might have wildly fantasised about, Australia surely can only be saved by the weather from

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-79096824383559451212010-12-20T21:18:00.005+10:302010-12-20T21:41:50.390+10:30

While the last three matches of the Ashes are being played here the top two ranked world Test teams, South Africa and India, are playing a series in South Africa. I was expecting a tight contest in the first Test but South Africa did as England did at Adelaide a couple of weeks ago and and trounced their opponents by an innings: 4/620 dec v 136 & 459.As you'd expect there were some significant

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-91107846573881435142010-12-19T14:45:00.003+10:302010-12-19T15:32:17.977+10:30

Australia 268 & 309 def England 187 & 123 (37ov. R Harris 6/47, M Johnson 3/44) by 267 runs: T3 D4 at WACA ground, Perth. 5 match series level 1 all.It didn't take long for Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson to scythe through the 5 remaining England wickets, including those of Ian Bell and Matt Prior, and complete a comprehensive victory for Australia over England, one which looked unlikely after

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-76826023607248397562010-12-18T20:41:00.004+10:302010-12-18T21:54:58.068+10:30

England 187 & 5/81 (27 ov) need 310 more runs with 5 wickets in hand to defeat Australia 268 & 309 (86 ov, M Hussey 116, S Watson 95, C Tremlett 5/87) T3 D3 at WACA ground, Perth.At the start of play I was hoping that Australia would be able to set England a reasonable target, by lunch hope had become expectation, which the subsequent loss of 6/57 only slightly changed. I didn't even

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-85137545487601170392010-12-17T18:53:00.003+10:302010-12-17T20:51:37.212+10:30

Australia 268 & 3/119 (33ov, S Watson 61*) lead England 187 (62.3 ov, I Bell 53, A Strauss 52, M Johnson 6/38) by 200 runs with 7 2nd innings wkts in hand: T3D2 at WACA ground, Perth.A fascinating day's cricket began with Alistair Cook and Andrew Strauss continuing from where they'd left off on D1, before Mitchell Johnson ripped through the England top order (much as England has done to

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-35503955229462821202010-12-16T21:25:00.003+10:302010-12-17T14:40:31.860+10:30

England 0/29 (12 ov) trail Australia 268 (76ov, M Johnson 62, M Hussey 61, B Haddin 53) by 239 runs on 1st innings: T3/5 D1/5 at WACA Ground, Perth. The Third Test began in much the same way as the Second, with an Australian batting collapse against tenacious bowling supported by high quality fielding, followed by a revival of sorts, though not enough to deny England the upper hand at stumps.But

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-14230151235856464102010-12-15T21:58:00.003+10:302010-12-15T22:16:52.714+10:30

These have recently come to my notice.1. The earliest surviving film of a Test in Australia Australia v South Africa SCG 1910Extract from National Film & Sound Archive notes It was screened to Australian audiences in December 1910. Filmed at the Sydney Cricket Ground, this is the earliest known surviving Test match action filmed on Australian soil and the first time Australia was playing a

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-56520323027966833892010-12-11T21:10:00.007+10:302010-12-11T21:43:29.574+10:30

I'll let everyone else make a pun or other smart comment out of Michael Beer's selection in the 12 for the Third Test in Perth.The fact is he's new to first class cricket, having made his debut this season for Western Australia (after some years playing for Shane Warne's club St Kilda in Melbourne district cricket). His record is modest: 16 f-c wickets at a tad under 40 apiece so far. He appears

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-6473008145111986292010-12-07T16:54:00.007+10:302010-12-07T22:03:43.107+10:30

England 5 /620 dec def Australia 245 & 304 (99.1 ov, M Clarke 80, S Watson 57, M Hussey 52, G Swann 5-91) by an innings and 71 runs: T2 D5 at Adelaide Oval. England lead 5 match series 1-0 . Player of the match: Kevin Pietersen.This morning England wrapped up, sooner than most Australian supporters hoped, a victory which had looked pretty much inevitable since the first 15 minutes of the match.

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-21650684127654469212010-12-06T21:13:00.003+10:302010-12-06T22:25:34.101+10:30

Australia 245 & 4/238 (79.2 ov, M Clarke 80, S Watson 57) trail England 5/620 dec (152 ov, K Pietersen 227, A Cook 146, I Bell 68*) by 137 runs with 6 second inns wickets in hand.England batted on this morning and declared with a lead of 375. Kevin Pietersen continued as he'd batted the day before and was eventually dismissed by the hapless Xavier Doherty for 227/308b (1x6, 33x4). This was an

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1003373937724311367.post-22091517935221732882010-12-05T22:29:00.010+10:302010-12-06T21:10:35.935+10:30

England 551/4 (143.0 ov, K Pietersen 213*, A Cook 148, J Trott 78) ) lead Australia 245 by 306 runs with 6 1st innings wickets in hand:L T2/5, D3/5 Adelaide OvalKevin Pietersen is batting extremely well, Alistair Cook was eventually dismissed for 148/269b (18x4), Ian Bell looks well set, while Paul Collingwood's 42 in the context of the England innings constitutes a failure: these were the

Shortshadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0