Remember the spelling.
Write it down if you have to.
This was a coming out innings.
This is how you greet Test Cricket.
It was like a Disney film about how to make your debut test century.
His team needed it, check.
Batting with the tail when the big guns had failed, check.
Against the current number one side, check.
At the biggest cricket ground in world cricket, check.
All he needed was a girl to run out on the field as he went out, give him a kiss as the music swelled and the camera panned around him.
The innings was created from a place of batting perfection.
His footwork was genius.
He was fred astaire with a bat, and sometimes even ginger rogers.
His sense of moment was way beyond his years.
The occasion didn’t get to him, he got to it, and did the right thing at the right time.
His technique was sexy as hell.
The technique was so hot you would sell your first child to hitler if it meant your second child would have skill to bat like this.
And he came out like few before him.
It was Ali v Liston.
It was Zatopek in London.
It was Genghis Khan in Europe.
It was Lara in Sydney.
It was Tendulkar, also in Sydney.
Bill compared him to Neil Harvey.
Nicholas compared him to Lara.
Compare him to who ever you want, the boy can bat.
That was an innings that doesn’t just guarantee you a career, it changes the world of cricket a little bit.
Sometimes things are on your side, Steyn should have been cleaned up multiple times, and Australia were one bowler down on an increasingly flat looking wicket.
But Tendulkar and Lara didn’t make their scores on tough wickets to bat on.
It was how they made them that mattered.
JP made his look easy, calm and sexy, and it wasn’t as if he was batting with Ravi Shastri, he had to make the runs and control the tail ender at the other end.
He just made the most out of every last ball.
Time will be his big test, but JP will always have this, and so will everyone who saw it.
cricketwithballs
lil too much praise for a man who was only taking advantage of some truly miserable bowling and fielding. he doesnt stand a chance against quality bowling (eg. Sri Lanka), a man is only as good as his first class average suggests.must have been a frustrating day for aussies..even worse than Ponting brain freeze in Nagpur
Twas a twinkling, old-style knock. Proper batting. The Saffers will presumably want to get Prince back into the side somehow, seeing as he’s vice capt. Can he open? Or maybe Mackenzie out, Amla opening and Prince first drop.Anyhow, did you hear Smith’s girlish scream when JP got his hundred. Love is in the air.
Pah to you mean-spirited Anon! It was a lovely lovely innings of grace and control
Old Batsman, you beat me to it… that was a seriously girly scream.All Disney components were present… my favourite (other than said girlish scream) being that his name may as well be Jiminy and he plays cricket. Perfecto!
dancing the steps backwardslike Ginger Rogers? – of course the backfoot.that’s brilliant JRod, :) I admit I missed it at initial reading
Another wildly seesawing test. It was telling that Kerry O’Keefe had already proclaimed Australia the winner on day 2 and then recanted on day 3. Whoever decided to go in with 4 bowlers, and with Lee and Symonds carrying injuries into the match, it didnt pay off. Without Lee its a very inexperienced bowling lineup. The Saffers are yet to fully convince though. Their batsmen had a customary collapse and it looked like they were going to choke yet again with a series victory in their grasp, but unexpectedly the bowlers showed more intent to occupy the crease than the batsmen.
its becoming ponting’s team rather than australia’s team. only his inner coterie are selected. nothing else would explain hayden’s presence or the selection of an injured symonds. i hope the selectors realise that hayden is only there for personal pride and not for the team. and watson must be wondering what more does he have to do to justify his place in the team. and to trump it all, katich doesn’t get a ball. everyone is calling this the worst day in australian cricket but that happened in nagpur when ponting gave up while the series was on the line. yesterday was just another instance of the same.
A class knock for sure! His bat looked 3 feet wide and while he was on strike, they never looked like losing a wicket.then again, when pretty much anyone was on strike they never looked like losing a wicket. Was there even an appeal yesterday?
I dont like either teams, but watching Duminy dismantle Aus gave me almost the same pleasure as Sehwag dismantling Steyn/Ntini/Morkel/Harris at Chennai
I think when JP looks back on this innings he would have to thank Steyn at least 40% for it. If he had not stuck around I dont think he would have got any where near what he did.It could be the innings that saves the series and wins their first over Australia.JP will go down in folk lore for this.
aren’t you a tad bit angry that the team you hate on has done what no other team could do? nice to see you become suddenly gracious when you should be burying your head in the sand like an ostrich,or hide in a kangaroo’s pouch….whatever. And then there is a post by anither genius saying JP did well coz it was against a poor bowling/fielding side….hahahaha…the game is such a leveller…by the way,the are poor coz the SA team made them look like that. So owner of this blog,its time for you to pack up and leave….I know u never saw this coming,u might not have much to hate on the SA any more….and since u pretty much will be eating crow henceforth,might as well find something else to do…loser!!!!!
aren’t you a tad bit angry that the team you hate on has done what no other team could do? nice to see you become suddenly gracious when you should be burying your head in the sand like an ostrich,or hide in a kangaroo’s pouch….whatever. And then there is a post by anither genius saying JP did well coz it was against a poor bowling/fielding side….hahahaha…the game is such a leveller…by the way,the are poor coz the SA team made them look like that. So owner of this blog,its time for you to pack up and leave….I know u never saw this coming,u might not have much to hate on the SA any more….and since u pretty much will be eating crow henceforth,might as well find something else to do…loser!!!!!
Yeah Jrod. Ner.
Anon, thanks for reading sunshine.