SECOND TEST: BELLE FLOP?

With opinions on chucking all over the place like a mad woman's, and despite great heaps of leather-flinging, willow-wielding, flipperty-jibbet guano, Spanky Roebuck is still a pretty sensible cricket writer:

Australia's dominance just the natural order

STEADY on, chaps! Australia has played one Test match and already the summer has been written off as a waste of time. Australia's new team has won one match and already opponents are advised to approach Brad Hodge and Cameron White.

The truth is, Straya aren't as far ahead of the pack as the chaff-heads would have us believe. Bowlers win matches, and we've just lost two of the best, so we better get used to a few more draws and losses. Does anyone honestly think well sweep India four-nil? Nor do I think that because we flogged the Shrees last week, we're automatically set to repeat the dose this week.

Still, Ponting just won the toss and will bat first, so there's a good start. For us.

That leaves the one key question: How many times will Channel Nine show boats going past Bellerive?

DAY ONE

Bat first, tick; Hayden slap-nut, tick; Ponting doosra'd, tick; Hungry ton, tick; Hungry slap-nut, tick; Hussey ton, tick; Hussey compared to Bradman, tick; 3 down, tick; Giles named spin coach for England juniors, ti... what?

DAY TWO

Possibly the most pointless write-up in the history of sports reporting, now we're past Day Three, but...

Clark runs, tick; Roy runs, tick; Gilly runs, tick; 500 declaration, tick; stumps, tick. 

DAY THREE

Marginally less pointless...

Shrees all out, tick; 'Dos doosra'd, tick; Hungry runs, tick.

Mind you, Hussey's non-catch of Sangakkara was gold. Sure, Porky didn't give it, but it was a nice grab nevertheless. (I would have paid it.) The hardest catch in cricket is the one where a slip fieldsman has to come forward to take a ball that would otherwise land in front of him. The only person I've seen do it as well as Hussey did today was Tony Grieg, a wickedly under-rated cricketer despite being a nob commentator.

The rest of our non-catching was dreadful stuff. Surely a misguided sense of hospitality hasn't driven us to put down a few so as not to embarrass the Shrees for their dreadful fielding. Bing overcooked a straightforward C&B; Stuey Clark made a casual attempt at a high one; and now that Gilly has taken to dropping sitters, Darren Berry must be choking on his recent article: "Gilchrist's recent work behind the stumps has been outstanding." Who knows, maybe Gilly has a squash ball in his keeping gloves.

Did anyone sea Mark Nicholas and Murali at the tea break? Appalling flim-flammery that was introduced as something "you just have to see if you are interested in the magic of spin bowling" or some such rubbish. I dunno, maybe Nine are trying to set him up, because all it did was confirm what I already knew: Murali chucks it yo-yo style.

DAY FOUR

A declaration earlier than I advised. A target lower than I advised. A depleted bowling attack (no Roy, virtually no Minefield Bully). A road. A juicy record target just waiting to be achieved. Suckers given a break. I won't say I told you so... but get stuffed.

DAY FIVE

Never in doubt.

Comments

[Adsy]

Even if it blowing 40 knots out on the water, there will still be some stupid boatie out there because they know odds on they will get onto the cricket.

Howl me down if need be but I hope that the Aussies get rolled for 200 this innings.

[Tony T.]

Burn the heretic!

[Russ]

Any news on why the Shrees have dropped Vaas, simultaneously weakening their batting and bowling?

Naturally as soon as I typed that Hayden got out, thus meaning I've mozzed him in two innings. I'd feel guilty but he probably deserved it.

[RT]

Couldn't agree more. India will at least be a challenge to bowl out twice, especially if Tendulkar & Dravid perform. Thier left arm quicks and spin bowling aren't all that bad either. Some decent needle carryover for the recent ODers is of added interest.

When we beat Sth Africa 3-0 and 3-0 home and away 2 yrs back it was a fair feat. Can't see it happening again and they'll be tougher next year, looking forward to that. Another Smith choke wouldn't go astray though. Poms will be planning for '09 and that should be a great series.

NZ, Sri L, West Indies are falling away however and really no competetion to Aussie power and Pakistan is....Pakistan. Bangers and Zimby Mash are totally irrelavant.

Test cricket is the best sport by a mile.

Tone, going to the Adelaide test with a bunch of drunken crew if keen. Being teetotal however, you might want to keep your distance.

[Tony T.]

Well, that was a pretty reasonable sesh, despite Russ getting 'Dos caught behind.

A tight start and a gradual increase in score and 1/86 at lunch. Tick.

Pity I didn't see or hear any of it. Obviously, I work too hard. Obviously!

[Tony T.]

Regarding Vaas/Laslinger, Russ; the Shrees are on a dilemma with horns. They obviously reckon Vaas is struggling, but the also must think Laslinger is a bit of a liability.

Anyhoo, here's what Bayliss said the other day:

Bayliss revealed Dilhara Fernando, who took 1-130 in 34 overs and lacked penetration and direction, was in fact the first seam bowler picked, and that Malinga was, in fact, in competition with veteran swing bowler Chaminda Vaas for the last spot.

[Tony T.]

Oh, and I can't go to Addle-Aide next Straya Day because we don't get a long weekend.

Not that I could anyway. I mean, I can already see the boss sitting there with her whip; slowly, methodically, menacingly, tapping the handle on the desk.

[Tony T.]

Nauseating:

Muralitharan to Ponting, OUT, It's the master who prevails! Murali strikes. Fantastic bit of bowling against a batsman using his feet so well. Sucker punch from Murali, the doosra pitched perfectly on off and spinning away, Ponting takes a stride forward and pushes, gets the edge and Mahela Jayawardene gobbles up the catch at first slip. Ponting was looking on top but it's Murali who prevails. A great batsman done in by a great bowler. Six to go for the record. This may be a special Test.

[Russ]

Tony, that makes a certain amount of sense from a long-term perspective. They obviously want Fernando toi lead the attack, with Malinga as a potential match-winner and Maharoof as a steady all-rounder. They might also think that giving the young bowlers a run in Australian conditions is good for their development - though that's more an argument for more first class fixtures than for weakening the test side.

Perhaps it is not Malinga they think is the liability, but Murali. If Murali is playing to form, then the best tactic is to let him take the wickets, and just stop runs - which is more or less what they tried to do in the first test. But if Murali is struggling a little, then they need more penetration, or it is just open season on Vaas and Maharoof. They lose a lot leaving Vaas out though, and I am not sure it is for much gain.

[Tony T.]

Say, ummm, Hungry old buddy. Ahhh, sorry, about that, errr, crack about the fruit-filled career...

Hungry's hundred reminded me of Hayden's dreadful century against the Windies in 1997. Numerous lives; sloppy footwork; dodgy bottom hand; slappy through the off side; unconvincing on the pull; shit shot to get out. Still, a ton's a ton, so he's got that going for him. But if he goes on to have a long and fruit-filled career I'll eat Murali's arm brace.

[Russ]

Good work from Hungry. He's an ugly batsman. Never seems settled. But he scores at a solid clip, and he worked hard in Brisbane.

[Scott Wickstein]

Rather dull and hundrum today, despite Hungry's Whopper with cheese...

[Tony T.]

Hundrum: Another Hungry Hundred.

Like it.

[Scott Wickstein]

By the way, the Channel Nine boat sighting count is into double figures by now.

[Adsy]

Well I take back my previous comment... I hope we score 700 and Murali doesn't take another wicket. Although it was a good ball that good Punter.

This has been said before but Hungry = Gnome Mk.1

[Tony T.]

Stupid Glenn Mitchell. "Jaques is really in the zone now" my foot!

Stupid Hungry must be full.

[Russ]

Another lazy (if not downright stupid) dismissal straight after achieving a milestone. Clarke must be loving having to face up with only a few overs left to play each evening. Still, better that than a few overs before lunch.

[Scott Wickstein]

It was downright stupid, let's not beat around the bush.

I'm beginning to think that Hungry might be a few fries short of a Happy Meal, with this sort of shot selection.

[Tony T.]

Happy Meal? Isn't that more your Colin McDonald territory? I'm tipping Hungry is your Whopper with cheese, large fries, large onion rings, large THICK shake kind of guy.

Diet fanta, though.

[Tony T.]

Now, about that Hussey slump...

[Tony T.]

Snap poll: Are Ponting and Hayden...

a) Scrubbers?
b) Hacks?
c) Batting well, but getting out?

[Uncle J Rod]

The save our Cameron White sausage sizzle starts here.

[Tony T.]

I heard he's transfering to Namibia on a one-for-one swap with Bryan Murgatroyd and a gnu.

[Carrot]

I didn't ever buy into the "McGrath-Warne-Langer exit, we're crap now" bandwagon. In fact, I've been petrified for years that we'd been playing them too long, and every series for the last 2-3 years had me worried that this one would be the bridge too far, the series we came unstuck, etc etc. Now that they've retired to the commentary box and their various ghosted newspaper columns, I'm as confident about the side as I've ever been, given the quality they've been replaced with. Seriously, how can you doubt a batting line-up like ours at the moment? Our bowling's pretty bloody good too, Mitchell Johnson is a gun, and has been for awhile.

My prediction - you saw it here first - Bellerive will be (and already is) a carbon-copy of Brisbane, Murali won't get the record, we will be MUCH too good for the Injuns when they arrive too, and we will beat the consecutive test wins record. The only potential headache I can see is Adelaide, always a difficult test against sides that can really bat. It might not be as easy in the one-dayers, but seriously, who cares?

I can see you all choking on your cornflakes when you read this, and I appreciate that as mozzes go it's on the large side, but this is how I feel. If we don't do it, and we lose every test for a year from here on in, you can all blame me.... but seriously, it ain't gunna happen.

[Fredfillis]

Here's a laff. Had to check the calendar to see if it was April Fools Day.

Giles named spin coach for England juniors.
http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/320576.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

[Tony T.]

Carrot, "McGrath-Warne-Langer exit, we're crap now" is one name too many. It's the loss of great bowlers that matter most.

And anyway, I'd be giving it 12 months before I made those kinds of calls. In fact, now that The Kumar At No.3 is back, it will be interesting to see if we can roll the Shrees twice on this Bellerive strip. I wouldn't be surprised if the match ended up a draw.

[Carrot]

Perhaps it IS the loss of great bowlers that matter the most. But I'd argue that neither Warne or McGrath were great bowlers on form when we lost them, and so when it comes down to it, we haven't really lost great bowlers (which is despite McGrath being named man of World Cup, which I thought was a crock - Hayden should have won it)! Warne averaged 30+ a wicket during the Ashes last year and McGrath looked more and more like a nagging line-and-length merchant as the series went on - and we all know that at his peak he was SO much more than that. And forgive me if I'm wrong, but Stuart Clark was easily our best bowler all series, and he's one of the guys that's still around.

Asides from which - twelve months? Given the schedule, we'll have played something ridiculous like 21 tests between now and then, won't we? I'm more interested in what happens during that time, not what happens afterwards. And to continue my variation on the same theme, I think we'll win a whole lot more than we'll lose in that time, RSA being a tougher side notwithstanding.

[Adsy]

On Mah Roof is out with an ankle apparently, so with only Slinger and Can-You-Hear-The-Drums backing up Murali, I might have to go with Skull and say that even though we will make a big score, expect him to go mighty close to the record today.

[nick]

Sri Lanka will be coming back after their Test Series at home against England. They will play, at the invitation of John Howard, for the Murali-Rudd Cup, in a series of matches along the Murray. It is hoped that the rain (which follows the cricket) and the bullshit (which follows Rudd and Murali), will encourage verdant growth in water flow and vegetation, defeating climate change, topsoil loss, and the water shortage in one fell swoop.

[Scott Wickstein]

Hands up who wants us to bat to stumps, instead of allowing the Shrees to make a light appeal?

According to Cricinfo there's another 39 overs scheduled- we could sail well past 600 before it got dark. Come on Ricky, you know you want to!

[Russ]

It gets dark pretty late in Tasmania (the lovely interweb says sunset is at 8:15pm!), so dark shouldn't be an issue. I'd still think 15 overs at them would be nice. That wouldn't preclude us going past 600 in the remaining 20 overs. More if these two stuck around.

[Scott Wickstein]

Well, Ricky doesn't want to- 542 for 5 declared... 31 overs remaining.

I don't know- I'm all in favour of pillaging tired attacks.

[Professor Rosseforp]

One gets the impression that the Australian batsmen have been trying to prove a point against Murali during this series -- not only wrecking his stats and denying him the world record, but giving him an absolute caning in terms of boundaries, such as Gilchrist's 6 out of the ground. If I were Murali, I would have had the umpire check Gilchrist's gloves, as I don't think you can hit a boundary like that without a squash ball or two stashed away in there.
Also, what's with the spelling change in Murali's surname? I thought it may have been to create separate entries in stat books for 5 degree wickets and 15 degree wickets -- but maybe Muralitharan won't fit onto Channel 9's scoreboard and Muralidaran will.

[Carrot]

Jeez - we're bowling hand-grenades at the moment! How many times have they played and missed so far this morning?

Must admit I thought that "catch" was out even from looking at the replay. That said, I wish Ricky wouldn't be so obnoxious when things don't go his way in these sorts of situations! It's not a good look.

[Scott Wickstein]

Yeah that 'catch' was indeed a catch. Got to give credit though for not claiming it. And I agree that Punter shouldn't be carrying on about it.

Three very close chances we've let slip in this innings. It must be said that our fielding isn't what it once was.

[tONY]

Gideon was full of shit on "Offsiders" this morning. Talk about following the ICC line - is he looking for a job?

Prof, is it against the rules to have a squash ball in there? I must confess I haven't followed the debate.

[Russ]

Sangakarra is looking ominously comfortable out there. MacGill is being given no respect at all. Not the sort of player you want to drop early. Nor should we be missing runout chances like that!

[CB]

You can't have a squash ball in your gloves but you can bend your arm 45+ degrees to fling your ridiculous dickhead ball at batsmen. Check it out, it's in the rules.

[Russ]

How on earth did Jayawardene's shot carry to the fielder on the fence? He barely flicked it (yes, yes, bats these days...).

Good knock though, and another solid, if slightly expensive, effort by Lee. I'm guessing a declaration (god willing) shortly before lunch tomorrow, about 500 in front.

[David Barry]

The MCC, who are in charge of the laws, said that it is perfectly legal to have a squash ball in your glove. "It is no different to wearing inners, etc."

[CB]

In that case, the Australians should be able to roll out a bowling machine against all and sundry. One that costs less runs and money than Brett Lee. It'd be more accurate too. Next thing you know, you'll be able to bowl underarm...

[Tony T.]

My prompt report for Day Three and even prompterer report for Day Two are up. You'll note they are incredibly detailed; that's despite my seeing only sporadic (sporadical, if you're Slogger Slatts) passages of play.

As for Day Four. I hope we bat 'til an hour after lunch and get 600+ ahead. I also hope the Shrees and Murali in particular don't pick up any cheapies as we chase quick runs.

[Russ]

Tony, you mean like this?.

And despite comments from the misinformed, that is NOT the doosra.

[Brett Pee]

Tony- i told you a couple of years back about Phil Jacques and his potential for test tons. He refined his game in Pom Land and returned a much better player- the Poms ARE good for something after all. Just hope he doesn't turn into another Stuey Law !!!

Incidentally, Law has been made Skipper of his State side In England at the ripe old age of 40 !!!!!!!

[Tony T.]

Russ: Yep, that kind of yo-yo stuff. Although they didn't show that footage, just a whole lot of stuff of Murali flexing his arm and bowling at a set of stumps on the outfield of Bee-yoo-tee-ful Bellerive. No super-slo-mo, either.

Brett: You did - eighth of January 2004, to be precise. You'll notice my response revealed a typically detailed knowledge of Strayan cricket. (But have a look at the very next exchange.) And it's good to see the Poms going for youth.

[Tony T.]

Sigh. I dunno. Why do we always declare about 100 too soon? I mean, apart from the fact we nearly always win. But someone, someday is gonna run down 500+. Never give a sucker an even break.

[Russ]

One down at lunch. I'm not overly fussed by the declaration (I predicted it after all), but playing till lunch would have made sense. We had 11 overs to get an extra 50 runs, and only would have lost 8 overs to bowl them out. 110 a session is a sufficiently tough ask, and it never hurts to give them an outside sniff.

One down though (should have been 2 but Gilchrist was too deep first up). It is a bit tedious but it's good cricket.

[nick]

I think Ponting is making several points - to the Sri Lankans and the Indians.

1. Win the games, crushingly.
2. Deny Murali the record on Aus soil.
3. Play the game at Ponting's and Australia's pace.
4. Scare the Indians.

If Malinga, Vaas and Murali haven't made a dent in the Australian batting, the Indians are likely to have a big problem. In addition, Lee, Johnson, Clark, and possibly Tait, are going to cause big problems for the Indian bats, who are all far more susceptible to pace and bounce than Pietersen, Kallis, Vaughan et al.

[Scott Wickstein]

See, if we'd batted on back on day 2 none of this would have happened. Like Tony says, someone someday is going to chase down 500. And they'll do it against us. It's always against us, for fucks sake.

[nick]

That ball by Lee to Jayawardena was like the ball they were showing from Thommo to Grieg - with the same result - absolute Gold.

[nick]

I'm sorry. I'm full of it. Sri Lanka will win, Sangakkara will get 200, Jayasuriya will bat like it's 1996, draw the series, and herald an era of ignominy for Australia.

[Tony T.]

When we lose I'm blaming Carrot.

[Carrot]

Yep, I'll stick my hand up and take the blame if that happens....

Don't think it will though! Or am I only making it worse if I say that?

[Carrot]

Incidentally, speaking of strange premonitions, I had a bizarre dream on Friday night... Sangakkara and Gilchrist had a screaming match on the field, that then developed into a fist-fight! Can't remember all the details, but it looked pretty entertaining. Sangakkara was batting, so who knows, it may yet happen...

Weird...

[Russ]

Brett Lee, you are a superstar. Pity it took you 60 tests to show it.

[David]

Ditto for his bowling partner. Now that the Roof is in - why was his runner blamed for his runout in the first inning, when he was also out of his crease, just acting the spectator?

[David]

Now Lee's in the action with a catch, and that Lee look alike sub fielder in with a nice run out. All we need is a good wrist spinner, and Australia's future is bright.

[nick]

Looks like Sanga and Mash at the moment. Defining moment of this series will be Murali's cartwheeling middle stump in about 20 minutes.

[Russ]

Sangakarra is all class. I wish he'd get out, but he is a pleasure to watch. Malinga looks hopelessly inept, but he keeps getting the bat there.

[Scott Wickstein]

Sri Lanka need 149 to win. Sangakkara would need to get 300 to make it happen. But... Hobart's famous for unlikely run chases.

[Scott Wickstein]

Oh, top shelf mozzing, Scott. Terrible decision, but I do think I have excelled myself. Even if I do say so myself.

[Russ]

Ridiculous. Bowling bouncers at a bloke on 190. Wasn't even close to out and cost 20 runs. Bowl yorkers for f***'s sake.

[Russ]

Very nice Scott. Better even than my mozz on Kumar in the first dig.

Does Murali even watch the ball?

[Scott Wickstein]

Murali's technique ="Shutee eyes, swingee hard".

[nick]

Murali's an English all-rounder - can't bat, can't bowl, can't field.

[nick]

Atapattu's just thrown in the towel.

[Tony T.]

Jeez! A bloke does some work, comes out for a break and a spot of cricket, and the game's over.

Oh well, time for another comprehensive write-up.

[Tony T.]

So Sangers was out to a dodgy decision, was he. And CricInfo "Mails are pouring in, castigating the decision and praising Sangkkara's knock". Diddums. We were dudded when we lost the 2005 Ashes because of dodgy umpiring. Craig McDermott was rooked when we lost to the Windies in Adelaide in 1993. Absolute. Shocker. When Gilly went LBW for a golden duck to Harby in India in 2001 it pitched way outside leg stump AND he hit it. Where's your guide dog, umpire?!?

But you won't catch me complaining about any of them.

[David]

I had a visitor at work five minutes after the match finished, and we were both long faced, despite the victory. I hate it when the other team has the chance to say 'if Sanga hadn't been robbed, we would have won!'. That Craig Mc one was a bit different (was it one or three runs to get? My memory's a bit hazy these days).

I was also surprised that the Sausage (is this his official nick name yet?) didn't get man of the match, although Binga was absolutely stupendous, taking more wickets than the whole of the Shrees lineup.

To repeat something I said earlier, hope we find a good leggie in the next few weeks.

[Tony T.]

The McDermott one was with ONE run to go. And really, to be fair to the ump, it was closer than I made out. Not that the umpire is reading this.

Come to think of it, maybe Steve Kiddy-Fiddler Randall was the umpire then. Even if you are not reading this, Randall, piss off.

Bit surprised about Sangers, too. 192 and 57 is probably worth more Brownlow votes than 8 wickets, but Lee's wickets seemed to come at crucial times, AND we won.

MacGill out - Hogg in.

[Tony T.]

Goody! A staff meeting.

[nick]

It may have been Hair in 93, although I think it was King. If it was Hair, he probably is reading this, given that his views are very congruent with most of those expressed on this site, and...well what else has he got to do at the moment?

[Russ]

Definitely Hair in '93, though my first impression was out at the time (and not today). 96 runs is a lot to get still, and do we need to mention that Australia could have made the target 700 if they wanted?

Mind you, some of the bowling this morning was complete trash.

MacGill has done himself no favours, though on that form Sangakarra would have dominated any spinner. Hogg is probably in the form of his career. Add in his fielding and batting and he is probably worth a place. Might depend on Symonds though. We could always go with four pacemen and let Clarke and Symonds carry the spin duties.

[Pedro the Ignorant]

McGill has demonstrated a little fragility on the fitness front. He is getting a little long in the tooth, however, and even the biggest bastard captain in the world (which does not eliminate Punter, BTW) would not keep him bowling hour after hour while the part timers who are younger and fitter lounge around in the outfield swapping hair tinting recipes and showing off why their multi coloured sunnies are cooler than the next blokes.

I like to see jugulars being ripped out, reputations being ground into the dirt and alleged "bowlers" being smashed all around the ground, but I would also like to see the savagery and bloodlust confined to the opposition.

If Rudy had 'no balled' the Google Eyed Chucker about forty odd times as well as dismissing Sangukkara because he had been there long enough and smoked salmon was on the lunch menu, then he would have my vote for an Order of Australia, the Brownlow, the Sandover, and (honourary) Australian of the Year.

[nick]

If Symonds is fit, and if MacGill is unfit (or uncorked, according to Foxtel), why not play Tait or Hilfenhaus? Given MacGill got flogged by the Indians last time round, why take the chance again? If Symonds is unfit, who is the next cab off the rank? Watson must still be unfit (I think he is permanently unfit, and his good performances can be likened to a broken clock being right twice a day), so the next cab off the rank would be Hodge - weak outside off, and fresh from being FTB 2007 against a depleted attack.

[Tony T.]

Watson has to play a full season of Puras before he can be considered for Test selection. That way we can see if he stands up to a long campaign.

I watched a tape of last night's highlights this morning over breaky. Bowling was dreadful, but Heather Lockyear is a better fielder than England's Prior, the bloke what run out Ponting in 2005. I'm still not sure about 12th man/designated fielder, but it seems to work.

[Tony T.]

Sangers' decision was a shocker, too.

But to quote Spanky:

Alas, the matter could not be referred to the third umpire in the pavillion.

Presumably Spanky won't mind me holding him to that for ALL contentious decisions.

[Tony T.]

And while I'm at it.

Did anyone hear Slogger Slatts yesterday when Johnston missed his hat-trick, tossing the ball well down the leg side? The word that comes to mind is "hmmmm".

"He gassed it! As they say in cricket 'the gas truck arrives'."

Dunno about Slatts, but that's not what I would call an optimum choice of words, no bons mot. Gassed? Gas truck? Extremely. Dubious. Or maybe Slatts has a very different interpretation than me of the origins of that remark.

[nick]

Perhaps Spanky could allow Murali's action to go to the third umpire, with super slo-mo. And that was a Healyism from Slatts.

[Carrot]

'Tis a pity that Sangers got the wrong decision. It would have been pretty freakin' incredible if he'd have made the difference though - he was batting with the tail after all, and Slinga wouldn't have lasted THAT long.

All this talk about "it would have been a different series if Sangers had played in Brisbane" is a bit flawed as well. That would have been like saying that we'd be crap without Ponting. Without Ponting, we'd still have Hungry, Flatty, Pup, Roy and.... erm, Gilchrist (is he Sideshow? I can never keep up) to score the runs for us, and let's face it, they're all pretty handy on their day. If the Shrees are rubbish without Sangers, then they're a one-man team, and we all know that'll only take you so far. That doesn't address the fact that they didn't manage to get more than half our side out on three seperate occasions, either.

PS, bring on Day 3 at the SCG, my first New Year's Test for six years, it'll beat the hell out of a day in London at that time, let me tell you!

[Tony T.]

Yeah, undoubtedly the Shrees' lack of a cutting edge with the ball was their main weakness; you can't consistently let the other mob run up comfortable 500s. But don't discount one man batting shows in cricket. When the Sanger was in full flight he reminded me of one Brian Charles Lara, who when on song, could not be stopped from getting runs and never looked like getting out.