Well it was pitched near the crack, and he tried to slog it over mid on.
Was it ugly?
Yeah, but he kept his head down, and at least it was an attacking shot.
What now?
He will go off to make cook books and do lifestyle shows with Stuart MacGill.
Is that a fate worse than death?
Indeed.
Australia
Probably would have liked to get over 120 runs in front, but will be happy with anything really.
Will be excited with Peter Sizzle, and looking to give Johnson a rest real soon.
South Africa
The commentators seemed to think they were playing for a draw, they just seemed lost without Smith.
Boucher led from the front, even if South Africa doesn’t think he is deputy deputy leader worthy.
It was a weird day for them, they were holding on too tight for a draw for it to be dead rubber batting.
Who is in front
Australia is infront, but they have been there every test in the series, unless their bowlers wake up for the second innings this is a draw or a loss.
Play of the day
Twice in one day the ball hit the stumps without a wicket.
With Johnson it was funny.
With Hauritz it was his life story.
Testicular moment of the day
Mark Boucher has always been a tough sonofabitch, yesterday was no different, he held strong while the rest of his team mates looked confused.
I was a top knock, and one that deserved the three figure cheer.
Working class moment
Peter Siddle’s last spell may have been testicular, but his bowling all day was working class.
He already looks like Australia’s wind up toy bowler, give him the ball, point him in the right direction, and change the batteries when he slows down.
5 wickets.
59 runs.
27.5 overs.
11 maidens.
Vicious.
4 tests in and Peter Sizzle seems to worked out this test caper.
He aint no match winner just yet.
And the world isn’t quite his oyster, but it’s at least it’s his clam or muscle.
The great thing about Siddle is he seems to be enjoying test cricket.
Often newbies come in and look like they are being put through an enema with a fire hose.
Siddle seems to love every minute of it.
That is because he has done tougher things in his life.
He used to do this for fun.
I figure if you can live through this, and keep most of your toes, test cricket shouldn’t be that hard.
"he'll always be trying his best, that's Matthew"Kellie Hayden (Mrs Hayden, Wife of Matthew)
"We haven't been reading a lot of what has been written,"
"He is a pain in the bum."
"I thought he was pathetic today"
"He wasn't trying to score runs and he had forgotten how to hit the ball, and at his age he is not going to get any better, is he?"
Cricket With Balls are no longer the only cricket blog with a theme song.
Gaurav over at Naked Cricket has one too.
Although unlike CWB's theme tune, you don't have the pleasure of hearing him sing it like you do with mine.
Here is some of this work,
"I’m the toss
I’m the coin tossed
I’m the pitch report
I’m the soil
I’m the key that soils"
I'm the toss, indeed.
So get over there a see the whole thing.
When people who wear beige give you the title of Blogger of the year, you know its an honour.
Not directly because of the beige.
But because as utterly rubbish as New Zealand has become at cricket, they are pound for pound the best cricket bloggers going around.
So to snatch the award given by New Zealand cricket's best cheerleaders is indeed an honour.
The "BEst cricket blogger award" was given as part of the Sideline Slogger's (Beige's official blogging mouth piece) 2008 Miscellaneous Cricket Awards (part 2) and I am wedged inbetween Jesse Ryder and Ricky Ponting.
So i hope they both aren't drinking.
So thank you Beige brigade, and all your minions.
51 runs.
In a session.
With one wicket, and a run out.
What were South Africa thinking.
Is Graeme Smith’s departure so devastating that they cannot go on?
Is Andrew McDonald so hard to hit that 1/4 off 8 overs is inevitable.
Ponting had obviously decided to play the SCG waiting game.
It was a South Africa type bowling performance, one that you have to do without an attacking spinner.
Siddle & Bollinger both bowled well, Siddle had no luck with edges, and Bollinger probably had JP plumb, but Billy couldn’t remember why they were appealing.
Johnson goaded Kallis into a waft, it is uncanny how many times good defensive batsmen are conned into playing into his wide ones.
McDonald was Oramesque, just a tall dude with medium pace who hits the same place for so long, he eventually has to beat the bat.
Amla was unlucky, as the on that beat the bat looked to a naked eye pretty out, but with slow motion eyes it was probably a bit stiff.
AB’s dismissal was fucking pathetic, and if Smith hadn’t already broken his hand, he may have some so again by smacking AB’s ass.
He was caught looking at his refelection on his bat sticker, while Mitchell Johnson was flying around to get the ball, and by the time AB had woken up he was caught inches short.
Amla’s face was priceless, he couldn’t believe it was even close, but he didn’t realise that AB was thinking about fairies and pixie dust.
Australia is well on top now.
So much so that Hauritz might even get a few overs soon.
Australia
Yet again had a 2nd day party.
Clarke, Siddle, Hauritz and Johnson seemed to score at will.
And they finally damaged Smith, even if they still can’t get him out.
South Africa
It’s amazing to think South Africa are two nil up since Australia’s tail seem to spank them with a foot in the air.
Usually it is from a lack of intensity or creativity, this one they added dropping a chance.
As happy as they will be with a 2 nil, 3 nil, or 2 1 scoreline, when they put this one in the super computer they are going to see lots of things they can fix, which should make them even happier.
Who is in front
Any team 2 down (essentially) and over 300 behind has to be losing, but because of recent history, it doesn’t feel quite that way.
Ofcourse Australia will point to the cracks, and say we are looking good, and South Africa will listen to Colonel Tom Parker who says “forget about the cracks, the pitch is beautiful”.
Play of the day
Graeme Smith broke his finger.
Testicular moment of the day
According to the experts Australia will have to start playing less shots and bat more defensibly in order to score big totals in the future.
Michael Clarke scored 62 runs in the first session, and gave Australia the game to lose.
Working class moment
The Australian tail.
Way more productive than the Australian top order, and no where near as well paid, all they need is a manager helping out.
Two losses in 4 years of 2020 cricket isn't too shabby.
And it was only in Geelong, so it doesn't really count.
If you don't want to read about the vics, but just want to see Dirty Dirk.
Well Pitched has alerted me to the ICC Hall of Fame that is being created.
He thinks this list is the one they are using.
Initial 55 inductees: Sydney Barnes, Bishan Bedi, Alec Bedser, Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Lance Gibbs, Graham Gooch, David Gower, WG Grace, Tom Graveney, Gordon Greenidge, Richard Hadlee, Walter Hammond, Neil Harvey, George Headley, Jack Hobbs, Michael Holding, Leonard Hutton, Rohan Kanhai, Imran Khan, Alan Knott, Jim Laker, Harold Larwood, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammad, Rodney Marsh, Malcolm Marshall, Peter May, Javed Miandad, Keith Miller, Bill O'Reilly, Graeme Pollock, Wilfred Rhodes, Barry Richards, Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Brian Statham, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Frank Woolley, Frank Worrell.
Surely it can't be, no Trumper, Hall or Richard Chee Quee.
Luckily I have contacts, and the proper list was given to me.
Sutherland, Modi, Clarke, and Speed.
This is the first session Australia wanted yesterday.
A touch of luck.
A big strong partnership.
South Africa looking droopy.
Almost 4 runs an over.
No wickets.
And one of their batsmen going on to get a big score.
Actually they would have liked this session at anytime in the series, as it’s the first time they have gone through a session without losing a wicket.
Clarke looked very sharp, kept the ball on the ground, scored at will, and kept Johnson on the game.
Johnson is turning on every commentator in the world, they can’t wait to say all rounder, it turns them on, and he is all rounding all over them.
South Africa were pitiful.
They retreated to standard South Africa, things aren’t going well, lets bowl in the channel for 2 hours, someone is bound to edge one eventually.
And they did, but it Kallis snatched a drop out of Smith’s hands, and it was the only chance of the session.
Now only was it the only chance, it was the only thing that could resemble anything chance like.
Now South Africa have some work to do.
6/360 with dudes set like concrete in a jelly mould.
Luckily they have been in this exact position twice before in this series.
Although, the cracks on the Sydney pitch are already starting to show.
Australia
Australia didn’t have the worst day ever, but they lost two wickets too many, again.
If Haddin or McDonald stuck with Clarke, it’s a good day, because they didn’t, its just a standard Australian day of late.
South Africa
6 wicksts on a flat wicket is always handy, but keeping the batsmen to a slow run rate was the key.
They aren't dominating the game yet, but they wouldn't be too displeased with their position.
Who is in front
South Africa is in front, but one big tail partnership and they have a test on their hands.
With Australia sporting a foetal bowling attack, if South Africa can get the tail out quickly, they should be way more in front by the end of play today.
Play of the day
Andrew McDonald’s debut innings of 15 was highlighted by Morne Morkel knocking his helmet off.
The helmet went flying over the stumps and within seconds McDonald was smiling and joking with Amla.
It was a great moment of test cricket, fast bowler trying to knock the new blokes head off, and the new bloke loving every minute of it.
Testicular moment of the day
Congratulations Simon Katich, this was a proper Australian openers innings.
And a lovely tribute to the bloke at the other end, in his last test….
Working class moment
The South African bowling attack, Ntini as the foreman, Steyn as a fork lift driver, Morne Morkel as the machinist, Kallis as the truck driver and Paul harris as the wacky salesman.
How confused is Australia?
Andrew McDonald has 2 first class hundreds in 44 matches.
Brad Haddin has 11, with a test hundred, from 100 odd first class matches.
Cameron White has 13 from 90odd matches.
They all average pretty much 40, McDonald 38, Haddin 41 and White 40.
This is where it gets interesting.
In India Haddin batted at 7, and White at 8.
In Sydney Haddin is still at 7, and McDonald at 6.
For Victoria, White bats at 5 and McDonald at 6.
You see what I am saying.
Hopefully.
White bats before McDonald, who bats before Haddin, who bats before White.
That is the Australian middle order circle of doom.
Lucky they all aren't playing at the same time, Ponting's head may have exploded putting the team in.
The latest in the line of tony greig wallet stuffers is a Classically Australian, distinctively iconic piece.
It's a ceramic baggy green. 
Which does beg the question, how baggy can ceramic be?
Bryce's arm.
That golden arm of pure magnificent.
The arm of leg spinning genius.
The spectacularly enigmatic limb of Victoria's Amber headed prince is ready for action.
It is ready for battle.
Locked & Loaded.
It has a tinge on manly muscle about it.
A dash of rogueish charm.
A mole for good luck.
And all the leg spinning skill one can only get from being a Victorian legspinner.
It's a platinum arm.
A fantastical fin.
A breathtaking bow.
A wonderful wing.
And it is ready.
Next weekend people, Bryce continues to climb the summit for every working stiff who ever had a dream but was too crap or lazy to do it for themselves.
Bryce is mans struggle.
He is over coming adversity.
He is the little train that went woo woo.
A man of the people, for the people, from the people, who knows the people and will always love, the people.
Today is a good day, i just saw a dove having sex with a squirrel in a cross species erotica moment.
That is wha Bryce does, he brings people, and animals, together.
He is like Johnny Cash or Spartacus that way.
"When I speak to a player - Morne Morkel, say - I tell him that he is the managing director of Morne Morkel Limited, and that everything he does, whether it be training, nutrition, or mental preparation, will affect his share price."Jeremy Snape, SA sports psychologist
What about the Krab.
The man was all over the South Africans like hair gel on a greaser.
47 off 52, he was, dare I say it, a fake plastic Sehawg.
Hayden hadn’t bothered with batting, he was too busy looking into the SCG’s brilliant new hole next to the sight screen.
It was 3rd worldesque.
Then Kallis got Katich, and all the fun and frivolity stopped.
The SCG staff got sheets, and Ponting made another golden duck.
There were no runs, some good bowling, and exceptionally slow reflexes by Morne Morkel.
Pretty good session really.
All the South African quicks looked reasonably dangerous.
Steyn was on fire, although his best spell was against the tail, Hussey and Hayden.
Those two made it through till lunch.
It wasn’t pretty, but with a bit of luck, and some defensive intent, they made it.
And while the crowd was depressed watching it, Hussey and Hayden were laughing like they just saw Hussey’s dancing youtube clip.
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