Australia
They might be about to draw a series they would have marked down as a win, but they got to see Smith unleashed and can now get rid of North with no heavy conscience. Also Douggie finally got it right. Better late than never.
Pakistan
In the field had plenty of their old problems. Have the bowlers to defeat anyone, but their fielding was often sloppy, their captain looked confused and they didn’t look like they were trying hard. With the bat this was a whole knew Pakistan. Cold, calculated and calm. You know, until they lost two quick wickets and looked like shitting themselves.
Who’s in front
Australia, no, Pakistan. Pakistan, they should still get home with only 4 wickets down.
Play of the day
Ben Hilfenhaus put in a great fielding effort where he tried to mimic some of Danish Kaneria’s best work. He followed a ball down to the boundary and let it trickle into the rope as he ran past it, over it and beside it, all seemingly at once. Few fielders beat the ball to the rope, but Hilfy might have.
Honourable mention to the Headingley power grid for going out. The press box fell into chaos, people were ripping their clothes off, smearing feces all over them, stabbing people with pens, and having to check the scores on their iPhones. Oh the humanity. The best moment was when it was confirmed how lazy you get with the TVs in the room as it took several Australian journalists –myself included – about 30 seconds to work out if Paine or Clarke was facing up.
Testicular moment of the day
Before today, Smith was seen as a bits and pieces project player, today he was a proper test cricketer. No Australian cricketer had counter attacked Pakistan on this pitch without looking like a fool. Smith looked like a superstar. Even when the new ball came out he was in charge. This was a ballsy attacking kick ass innings; it was not the innings of a test number 8.
Working class moment of the day
Imran Farhat was lucky early, but then was the rock in this innings. The first Pakistani to make a 50 in this game. But he is still Imran Farhat. If he fails in the next test, or somehow Pakistan stuff this up, people will still going back to abusing him. He is Pakistan’s Shane Watson. And he will need a lot more than one top innings to change people’s mind.
Weird factoid of the day
If you have automatic toilets and the power goes out, they aren’t automatic any more.
Question of the day
Have you ever noticed how most cricket laws seem to be made to stop play from happening, rather than encouraging it?
Read the recap at crikey.
“(…) Smith (…) Smith (…) Smith (…)”
Yes.
Sorry to hear about your encounter with the feces, I hope they were nice ones.
You’re dead right about the laws seeming to stop play rather than encourage it. Cricket seems to have been shooting itself in the foot now for years.
To a non-cricketing person watching a Test match who could possiby get interested in following the game, the site of the players walking off for bad light with a big floodlight in the background must look ridiculous, and have that person wondering what is going on.
Never mind the colour of the ball with the background and all that nonsense, it’s a spectator sport, if someone drops a skyer and makes an ass of himself, so what, it’s entertaining.
See Watto gave another one of his 11 wickets back with his drop of Farhat on 4.
With only 4 wickets down? I thought it was 3.
rrttr, 3 wickets, is how many is down now, 4 wickets is how many I imagined they would lose.
Wait, you’re a journalist now?
Well, Ramizraja me!
And it was good to see Watson return to his usual shit self with the ball…
That Hilfy moment encapsulated the Aussie efforts in this match. They are really trying but it’s all going horribly and hilariously wrong.
I love Hilfy, he is about the only loveable one we have now, but shit I laughed and laughed when I watching him getting confused over something he has done about a few thousand times in his life without thinking.
About Clarke or Paine batting. Check the back of their helmets, if there is cute little blonde wispy bits hanging down from the bottom of it ala Christopher Robin, it’s Paine.
Or Christopher Robin.
If it’s got Jerk tattooed across the back of the neck, it’s Haddin.
Jrod – quick question mate – how worried should Haddin be at the moment? Payne was very very tidy in this series, and gloved the ball majestically … I guess that Hadden is still slightly ahead (well maybe a little more than slightly) in the batting department … I don’t know, but if I was Hadden, I’d be thinking I better perform well in India.
Rusty, according to E Cowan, not worried at all, according to me, just a bit more worried than not worried at all.
Which is a bloody farkin shame >.<
Haddin will have the gloves till he retires. Paine will be a part-time option till then.
I like the cut of his jib and he looked the most comfortable of our batsmen against the swinging ball in this test but then played ‘channelling Haddin’ brain fart shots to get out. That was so disappointing. Maybe Nielsen told him that goes with the territory? You know, ‘we want you to make us think that Haddin is still there?’ type crap?