THIRD TEST: WAC WAC WACA DOO

1. Preview
2. Crick Veneer
3. Gabba Gabba Hey What?!?
4. Day One
5. Sorry Day
6. Crises? What Crises?
7. Pepper Spray
8. On The Wrong Track
9. Day Two
10. Tit For Tait
11. Hawkward Silence
12. Day Three
13. Day Four

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PREVIEW #

Apart from the obvious, what do Paul Reiffel, Merv Hughes, Craig McDermott and Mike Whitney have in common? Hint: It's not umpiring, Test selecting, homemade porn or crap reality TV; as far as I know, anyway. No? Well, that quartet represent the last time Straya took four fast bowlers into a Test. That match was against India at the WACA and was notable for the fact that Victorian Wayne Phillips was controversially included after local boy Geoff Marsh was dropped against Allan Border's wishes.

Today Straya are again set to go into a WACA Test against India with four quicks and a new opener. Although it remains to be seen whether Chris Rogers plays more than Phillips' one Test.

"If there's a small chance something might go wrong, you'd better worry about it."

~~ Norm Geras, Men of Waugh

Everyone has been eagerly anticipating India being mugged by four Strayan quicks. It's a mouthwatering prospect, to be sure, but a word of caution: I remember another Perth Test. This one was against the Windies in 1993 when, hot on the heals of an agonizing loss in Adelaide, Border won the toss and batted on a minefield. Apparently, AB wanted to make a statement. Well, he made one alright: "We were sh1t!" Straya got rolled for rock all and beaten by an innings inside three days.

I'm not saying the Indian quicks present the same sort of threat that Curtley Ambrose and this chums did back in 1993, but you should be careful what you wish for. To prevent the WACA track drying out, the ground staff have given it a lot of water so it's possible whoever bats first will do so on a juicy green-top. Remember, it's not that long ago that India bowled first and had us 6/140, so their quicks are capable of putting us under pressure.

If Straya bowl first they have to get it right. The 1992 quartet might not be the most illustrious in the annals of the caper, but at least they were capable of putting the ball in the right spot... sorry, in good areas. The 2008 version is a less predictable unit. Sure, they might be better in the long run and The New Brett Lee and Stuey Clark can - touch wood - be relied upon to keep their sh1t together, but Mitch Johnston and Larry Tait are hardly household names in frugality.

I was at a cricket clinic in 1983 where WA medium pacer Wayne Clark was talking about bowling on the WACA. He said the secret of WA's success was that their bowlers never tried to overdo it. "Just put nine out of ten balls on a good length in the corridor and wait for the batsman to nick it," he said. "It's as simple as that." Let's hope that's a lesson not lost on today's quicks. Gruesome thought: Mitch Johnston was about one year old in 1983.

Then there's batting last on the WACA. Apparently it has been helpful for spinners on day four in the Puras, which means batting on day five in a Test could be awkward. If the Aussies take in four quicks, India will be the only side with a key spinner. Two if they pick Rollerboy, which they might be tempted to do if they think it will keep Ponting on the hook. I've got a hunch, too, that playing two spinners in Perth, especially two who get as much bounce as Kumble and Rollerboy, would be a good move on a hard deck.

Anyway, it could be a good toss to lose.

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CRICK VENEER #

Jake Niall in The Age:

Under the civilised veneer, cricket is no gentlemen's game

ENGLISH cricket's 19th-century colossus, W. G. Grace, reputedly once picked up a dislodged bail and placed it back on the stumps after he was bowled. "Windy day, isn't it?" he remarked to the umpire, who, unmoved, sent Grace packing.

Dr Grace was notorious for employing gamesmanship. From what one can gather, the physician did not play cricket according to anything like the Hippocratic oath. He did whatever he could get away with.

W. G.'s approach is worth noting as Ricky Ponting's team stands accused of violating the "spirit of the game" with its unsporting behaviour in the second Test. Belligerent and ungracious as they might have been, the notion that the Australians transgressed a longstanding "spirit" of cricket — the charge made by the Indian captain and innumerable critics — is nonsense.

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GABBA GABBA HEY WHAT?!? #

I once wrote that I thought John Howard was not an authentic cricket tragic. The same must be said of Kevin Rudd. I suspected as much last week when he fluffed his lines and called the sightscreen the sightboard before hastily correcting himself. But this one takes the baked confection:

Howard loves cricket, Rudd too

The Prime Minister repeated the story of his first Test cricket experience as a 17-year-old who had come to town by train to stand on the Hill at The Gabba in Brisbane to watch Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson in full flight against the English.

Mr Rudd remembered the chant "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if Thommo don't get you, then Lillee must", but mostly he remembered 42-year-old Colin Cowdrey - called to duty from England to halt the carnage - walking onto the field and going up to Thomson to shake the hand of the man who was going to hurt him..

For a start it goes "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if Lillee doesn't get you, Thommo must." Second, I can't precisely remember whether it was a journalistic invention or a caption for a cartoon, but it would have appeared after the first Test at the Gabba. Third, no one to my knowledge chanted it at the Tests. Fourth, Colin Cowdrey missed the first Test at the Gabba; he was drafted in for the second Test at the WACA.

Rudd to aide: "Get me some cricket memories, will you."

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DAY ONE #

The WACA squibbed it, shaving off Monday's green grass. Soft. For weeks we'd been led to believe the strip was going to be a speed merchant's dream, but what do we get? A road. It's typical of them to run away from giving us some action. The WACA and Channel Nine will be happy to get their five days of cricket, but I feel gypped.

The reviews in the comments are spot on the money: Dumb shots from Laxman and Dravid turned a positive day for India into a positive day for Straya. But the pitch played well yesterday and the hot sun is not going to make batting any easier, and with one new player and others struggling for form, Straya could well struggle.

In short: it was a good day's cricket. In shorter: mostly.

The 'flingers were fine. Lee and Clarke were excellent. Johnston was good. Clarke and Roy were handy. Tait was rubbish. I don't know if his selection was predicated on the WACA pitch being pace friendly, but his selection looks dodgy now. Until he can learn to keep putting the agate on the spot, he should be strutting his stuff in the Puras. Were I a selector I would have been suspicious of what the WACA groundstaff were up to and taken an expanded list to Perth. If the pitch was green and hard, let Larry loose, but if the pitch was anything else bring in Ashley Noffke. He gets runs, he gets wickets, he can play, he's 30 and ready to roll.

The 'wielders did a reasonable job. Dravid and TLM were excellent. Laxman and the Raj looked fine until they got out. Laxman to a stupid shot and Raj to one of those catches that stick or don't stick. Jaffer needs to get runs in the second innings or he will be dropped. V-Slog is rubbish. I don't care if he has an average of almost 50. Stand, count, swipe is park cricket. His average is an insult to all the great batsmen that have gone before and a testament to the lack of good bowling in the world today. And before you jump in, Straya had a stop gap attack in 2003/04.

The Strayan fielding was top class as usual, except for Clarke's bungle off Dravid. Maybe it was because Gilchrist and the cordon misread the pitch, but they didn't seem confident the ball would come through clean. Either way, Clarke missed a sitter. What is it with the Strayan catching this summer? Especially off Dravid. Rarely in the documented history of the caper can one batsman in one series have benefited from such largesse. We are playing the Wall back into form brilliantly. By the time we get to India in October he should be mentally ready to smash us.

This match reminds me of the third Test against UnZud in 2001. Back then the Kiwis batted first and ran up 7/293. Just like today two batsmen got scores: Vincent 104 and Fleming 105. Astle and Parore were in at stumps, but on resumption it was expected Straya would clean up the tail quick stix and set about knocking off the deficit. Instead, what happened? Astle and Parore made tons and the Kiwis were eventually out for 534. Then when Straya batted they needed Shane Warne's famous 99 to squeak past the follow on. This match has the same sort of feel. India are 6/297 with Irfa Kitt (an all-rounder like Astle) and Dhoni Kebab (a belligerent keeper like Parore) at the wicket. Both can bat and are well capable of knocking up a challenging target.

By the way, Kiwis will tell you they were unlucky not to win. Balls! They were saved from Straya pulling off a great win when Steve Waugh was run out backing up after Gilly smashed the ball back down the pitch and it deflected off Vettori's hand and onto the stumps. Had that partnership stayed together Straya would certainly have won.

Anyhoo, if Straya had managed to find even a couple of edges instead of all the plays-and-misses and if Clarke had held Dravid - if, if, if - India would have been all out by tea. But now, if Straya don't run through India quickly this morning, they could be looking at real trouble.

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SORRY DAY #

Enough of this nonsense:

Australians lose aggressive appeals

AUSTRALIA'S cricketers went from bad boys to choir boys after apologising for appealing against India's batsmen in strange scenes at the WACA Ground yesterday.

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CRISES? WHAT CRISES? #

John Benaud is my favourite cricket writer:

The ICC are producing a game devoid of charm

Cricket is always having crises. Books are written and entitled, inevitably, 'Cricket At The Crossroads'. You'll recall Bodyline, the World Series Cricket breakaway... and in between the occasional tuppenny bunger, like pathetic over-rates, chucking and so on. Generally, there's a good guy and a bad guy, and in the above real-deal controversies Douglas Jardine and Kerry Packer were nasties.

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PEPPER SPRAY #

Belated, but it was good to see Gideon Haigh give a serve to Angry Sunny:

Gavaskar's double role

Sunil Gavaskar is bomb-thrower and bomb-defuser put into one, who somehow manages to operate as the chairman of the ICC's cricket committee while also acting as peppery columnist and media provocateur.

The usual excuse for misbehaviour on the cricket field is that it was done in the spur of the moment, in an excess of competitiveness, under the pressure of the situation. It doesn't always render such incidents forgivable, but it sometimes makes them more understandable: after all, these are young men strung up to concert pitch fighting for their livelihoods and in the name of national honour.

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ON THE WRONG TRACK #

How come we were led to believe the WACA track was dynamite?

Ponting duped as Indians make hay

On a very hot Wednesday, everyone was in their Sunday best and on their best behaviour. Over the years, the intelligence networks in Australian cricket generally have worked very effectively.

But on this occasion something went awry and it will be interesting to see who fesses up to Ponting. Someone needs to. For weeks now there was expectation that the WACA pitch would revive memories of the halcyon days when Rod Marsh stood nearer to Gloucester Park paceway than to the batsman to take Dennis Lillee at head height.

At the same time, it was common knowledge that this Test would not be played on one of the four recently re-laid pitches but on one of the three still to be renovated by curator Cameron Sutherland.

Officials denied suggestions that the position of television cameras was a key determinant for this and said the re-laid area, on which the Twenty20 international with New Zealand was played last month, needed more time to settle.

But still cricket folk had visions of the ball flying about as it did when Shaun Tait was so frighteningly quick against the Kiwis.

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DAY TWO #

That was fun, wasn’t it. Straya’s single most dismal day’s cricket since… well, India 2001. Even in the 2005 Ashes we played better as we fought out every match.

You got the impression the Strayans, after rolling India in the first hour, thought they would come out and cruise to a hefty target. They looked, if not outright overconfident, then certainly blasé. Hussey, Hungry and Roy all got out to ambitious shots right when due diligence was called for. What’s wrong with head down, arse up? Grafting is good when the bowlers are bowling well.

It looked to me that once again the Indians had succeeded in “playing to our arrogance”. They just put the ball in good areas and waited for us to get ourselves out. Not that I want to seem like I’m playing down the excellent Indian bowling. If your tactic is to wait for mistakes, you’ve still got to put the ball in the right spot, or you’ll be waiting a long time. Just because the Strayans batted like boobs, doesn’t mean the Indians didn’t bowl beautifully. There was doubtless some chicken and egg: we batted poorly because of India’s good bowling. RP and Irfy looped it around, Karma put it on the spot and got some handy bounce and dart, and Kumble brought himself on at exactly the right time to put the brakes on Symonds and Gilchrist. He set some sensible fields, too, challenging Roy and Gilly to play audacious strokes if they wanted to keep going at a run a ball. This led to Roy’s dismissal, caught cutting a close one, which is always a risky proposition at the WACA; especially off a top-spinning bounce-bowler like Kumble.

As for the Strayan bowling at the end: phht! What a load of tripe. But you knew that was going to happen, didn’t you. How often does one side come out and bowl grenades, getting nicks and miss-hits galore, then the other mob wanders out and can barely induce a play-and-miss. I expect the same today. This Perth pitch seems better suited to India’s swing that Straya’s pace and bounce.

But are we surprised? Are we f~~k! Look at the recent AGB cricket posts and you will see a litany of references to Straya’s impending mortality. No one wins for ever. Eventually you lose. Especially to a side as capable as India. All this talk of Straya extending their streak into the twenties was so much dashed balder. The reality is we were going to lose sooner or later. Excuse my indulgence, but sooner according to me just about every time I ventured an opinion.

Then there’s the flip-flops. We are either great or in trouble. Maybe it’s the journalistic imperative to “get the first one in”. Adsy linked to Crasher’s doom-and-gloomer in the Herald Sun: “Is this the end of one of the greatest cricketing dynasties of all time?” It’s almost as if the streak is the dynasty. You win 16 out of 16 and it’s a dynasty. You win 16 out of 17 and you’re gawn. Like Adsy goes on to say, “We get rolled (in one innings only mind you) for the first time in about four years, and its all over bar the shouting.”

ANY side would have struggled against India yesterday. They bowled bloody well. To put yesterday’s performance beside the 2005 Ashes and conclude that Straya have a weakness against good swing bowling is like saying flies have a weakness against Mortein. Everyone struggles against good swing. They key as a bowling team is to replicate it again and again. Bob Massie, anyone? India might think they will continue to dart the ball all over the place - and to be fair, confidence your gear is working feeds off itself - but it's not as simple as that. India could go out on to the SACA next week and barely move the ball off the straight. The same sort of thing happened for the Strayan batting yesterday. They waltzed out onto WACA thinking they could drive and cut with impunity. They couldn’t. While Straya have gone for years in Perth not having to worry about the ball moving around, yesterday they suddenly had to content with considerable swing. Of course they struggled. That’s another thing about streaks: eventually you are going to get ambushed.

But in short: out with the nice, in with the nasty.

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TIT FOR TAIT #

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HAWKWARD SILENCE #

Hawk’s been relegated from laughing stock to… well, John Pierik didn’t even bother with it.

Chris Rogers' debut knock turns sour in Third Test

Rogers began the day in high spirits after claiming a superb diving catch at point off Stuart Clark to dismiss Indian captain Anil Kumble during Australia's rash of wickets in the opening hour.

However that joy evaporated when the left-handed opener made only four before he was given out lbw by Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf.

Replays showed the swinging Irfan Pathan delivery would have speared past leg stump.

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DAY THREE #

There’s not really much to say about day three. Apart from the obvious.

Tait was dreadful. Something had been nagging at me since the start of the Test when we discovered the pitch wasn’t going to be a screamer. Last night I finally realized what it was: Why was Tait playing? That’s not a hindsight question. Pretty much everyone agrees that taking four speedsters into a Test is asking for trouble in all but the most favourable conditions. Yet once everyone knew the pitch was, if not dead, then certainly less than a minefield – Ponting would have batted first, after all – they still picked Tait. Call it a reverse Edgbaston, but shouldn’t they have plumped for Hogg? Sure, he was not great in Sydney, but he wasn’t dreadful and would have been bound to find something in the pitch that Tait hasn’t been able to; he can bat, too. Nope. I’m very puzzled with Tait’s selection.

Then there’s Straya’s failure to capitalize on early breakthroughs. Suspicions were proved correct by reports today that Ponting bowled Clarke and Symonds for extended periods because Straya had to pick up the over rate so that Ponting wouldn’t get suspended. Had Straya been able to break through in the second session, the game might have been up for grabs. Instead momentum was allowed to drift strongly towards India as Roy and Clarke dawdled through the best part of a session. That a side can allow its game to be so heavily compromised by a slow over-rate is madness. And apart from anything else, it’s a good reason for playing Hogg.

The pitch is interesting. Initially we were led to believe it was a speed track. That notion was dispelled after a couple of overs when we discovered it was a day one road. Then as the match unfolds we see the pitch deteriorate to the point where it is difficult to get settled on. So all in all, you’ve got to say it’s a pretty good Test pitch. I just wish we knew that at the start. The chunkheads on Inside Cricket need a good hard look at themselves.

The day in general? Well, despite early Strayan breakthroughs, you always felt India had their noses in front. At no stage did it look to me like Straya were about to take the ascendancy. That was down to the first innings batting. Unhealthy deficits will do that to you. Despite Straya often coming from behind to win Tests, you always had the feeling India’s batting depth – especially when Laxman, Dhoni and RP only had to face part time spin – and the fact India would bowl last meant that India had the whip hand. The only way that feeling could have changed is if Straya went through India in the first session.

Oddly enough, I’m strangely relaxed today. Were Straya chasing 250 I’d be sh1tting bricks, but with the game pretty much out of reach, I’m sanguine. Not quite to the point of “it would be good to lose one” but certainly to the point of “it would be good to end the streak”. India may regret not picking Rollerboy, but their bowling has been good anyway and no one has looked settled on this pitch. If you are going to chase down a large target you need a good track and this ain’t it.

Regarding the streak. I hate the fact that it distorts match priorities. Individual Test matches are enough of a rollercoaster without having to worry about future matches. Not that I want it to end for the same reason Charles Happell wants to end the streak.

Defeat the perfect way to wipe Australia's cricketing slate clean

The Sydney Test, which ended in rancour, bitterness and racism allegations, would – in this correspondent’s eyes – be an appropriate spot for the Australian run to end. That would be the watershed moment. They could then draw a line under that unhappy experience and their boorish reputation, wipe the slate clean – both with their behaviour and their consecutive wins’ record – and start afresh.

I do find it interesting, though, that the streak is bracketed by Tests at the WACA.

Finally, we’ve been saying here for ages that Straya will face plenty of struggles in the coming seasons. Bowlers win matches and we’ve just lost two superstar match winners in Warne and McGrath. Straya will spend more time in the field and we can no longer afford to bat like millionaires. We’ve also lost important batsmen and are about to lose more. Nor is there a great deal of depth in the Puras; not obvious depth, anyway. In short: we’ve been realistic and appreciate the challenges ahead. But, Crash, maaaate… put down the beater:

India clouds Australian air of invincibility

FASTEN your seat belts for the day that could change the cricket world.

If India wins today, it will be redefined as a Test nation and also will redefine the Australian team.

If India can storm the castle that's been unchallenged for 16 Tests, you can bet within months other nations will be bursting through the barricades and crash-tackling an Australian side to soon tour Pakistan, India and the West Indies.

Hungry, revenge-hunting locals will be waiting for it.

Even if India doesn't win, the word is out on the street . . . Australia is gettable.

If the Aussies can stumble in Perth, they can stumble anywhere. This is a massive day for the game . . . don't miss it.

PS: Why does News have alternate headlines for online and off line? The above is offline, the online is Does India know how to win a Test match?

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DAY FOUR #

So the streak is no more.

Let’s not beat around the tea tree, India played better than Straya to win the Perth Test.

Square. And. Fair.

There’s been a lot of “they were due” talk surrounding Straya’s loss. I don’t buy it. That Straya have twice been able to win 16 on the trot has much more to do with a talented list, dynamic game plan and determined mind set and much less to do with the fact they were, as “they were due” might imply, simply on a roll. You don’t win 16 straight Tests because you’re a downhill skier – not that downhill skiers are famed for their rolling or Test cricket – you win them because you’re good. Bloody good, when you consider how tough it is to win one Test, let alone 16. And anyway, if India were rubbish in Perth, they would have lost and there’d be no “they were due” talk about Straya.

Eventually, though, you are going to come up against a side that gets it’s act together like India did in Perth. Toss in something I mentioned in the post for the second Test: all it takes is one bowler or batsman to have a blinder, one bad decision, rain at the wrong time, a dropped catch. Take New Zealand in 2001. Do you seriously think they were as good as Straya? Yet they nearly pinched a rain affected series on the back of an ambush in Perth.

In Perth, India, with a better side than the 2001 Kiwis, beat Straya. That the result was a shock shows just how badly the hard of thinking misread international cricket in general, and this series in particular. India might have been flogged in Melbourne, but their bowling was reasonable. They improved on that in Sydney to the point when one more early first innings wicket would have seen Straya routed. That form line coupled with an inherently talented list suggests that if things went their way in Perth, they should have been a better chance than the betting money indicated.

No, Straya lost, not because “they were due” or even because they played bad, but because India played better where it matters most: in the bowling. RP and Irfy maintained excellent, sustained swing to nullify our lefthanders. Instant Karma was sensational. There has been a lot written about his mystical duel with Ponting and how Karma won a brilliant victory against the bruised Aussie champion. Blah, blah, blah. Karma was dead set unplayable. The way he bowled, jagging the ball back at Ponting, getting bounce, having the ball hold its line, moving the occasional one away, would have made any right hand batsman in the history of the game struggle. Kumble was Kumble, bowling steady spells of accurate spin on a friendly pitch.

India’s fielding was an improvement on the first two Tests and Kumble set some good fields. Certainly they were better set up than the haphazard affairs in Melbourne. The deep midwicket to Ponting was a solid idea. Do you reckon Gary Kirsten might have had an influence here?

Nor do I buy the line that India performed a great feat by winning in the dominant Aussie stronghold of Perth. “WACA, Perth, was India’s haunted house, Australia’s impregnable fortress,” wrote India’s Sunday Express. Far as I can tell, this WACA wicket and the Perth breezes were better suited to India’s swing and spin, than Straya’s speed and bounce; especially after the Strayans ballsed up their initial selection by picking four quicks. I look forward to India in October when the BCCI order wickets tailor made to suit Straya. I mean, it would be the hospitable thing to do. And as for Dennis Lillee’s advice suddenly turning the Indian bowlers into super-seamers, well, I’m not having that either. With conditions to suit and two ostensibly identical left-arm away-swing bowlers, it doesn’t matter which end they bowl from.

The key word, though, is ambush. Straya might know the Indian attack reasonably well. Kumble, better than well. But all of a sudden they faced a largely unheralded if capable attack which was darting the ball around all over the place. Any side struggles when suddenly confronted with the unexpected. That so many Strayan batsmen got out driving in the first innings is testament to their being initially unaware the ball was looping around. Then, of course, once Straya had fallen so far behind on the first innings, they were always well behind in a contest that was increasingly likely to be decided on a deteriorating pitch.

The same happened in the 2005 Ashes when suddenly England had a potent attack which moved the ball around. Ironically, India had the same ultimate problem as England: despite playing out of their skins and having Straya well below their game, they still struggled to put the Aussies away.

Whatever the wash-up, though, it was a good Test on a good Test pitch. Both sides gutsed out their batting, both sides fielded well, but India bowled better for longer. India were able to get consistent performances from all four bowlers with garnish from V-Slog, Straya really only got extended service from Lee and Clark. Johnston was handy in patches, and has a future. Not just a bowler, for that matter. I think he could come close to bowling all-rounder status. His hitting on day four wasn’t the rank tonking of a park hack; he was comfortable in defence and well balanced in attack, keeping his head still and swinging clean through the ball. His Bradmanesque average will come down quicker than Hussey’s but his batting cold be a real asset in the future.

I don’t want to dwell on the controversies too much, but here’s Mike “Bangalore Sunsets” Coward in today’s Strayan:

What a wonderfully different world we inhabit at the end of this Test match. This is how the glorious game is meant to be played and won and lost.

Gone is the rancour, resentment and mutual disrespect which so blighted the Sydney Test and cast a pall over the series.

Apart from the racial incident, I’m struggling to see how the two Tests can be so divergently viewed. Both had bad umpiring, sledging, over-appealing and overt celebrations. Both had acts of provocation. Sydney had Rollerboy’s celebration and Perth had Irfy’s I-can’t-hear-you gesture to the WACA crowd.

There might be animosity directed at the Strayans for their so-called arrogance in victory, but I’m tipping that if India won 16 straight their heads would be so big and their strut so strutty, that at least half the ICC member countries would declare war.

Still, Mike’s last paragraph is sensible:

History suggests Australia will be difficult to defeat in Adelaide and India must prove it can maintain a standard of excellence against a formidable opponent whose pride has been wounded.

In Adelaide, if the Indians keep swinging the ball like they did in Perth they’ll be hard to beat. Hell, if they continue to bowl like they did in Perth, they’ll be a handful for a long time. October’s not looking good. That said: the Aussies dealt with the swing better in the second innings in Perth, putting their heads down and sticking it out on a skittish pitch so they ought to fare better on the SACA than the WACA.

Flatty will be back for One Test Rogers. Hungry will be better for the exposure although back-and-across is dubious against the out-swinger. Ponting’s not going anywhere. Hussey put away the loose drive. Clarke looked as comfortable as I’ve seen him under pressure until he did a Mark Waugh, which is not a good sign for future Puptain Nemo. I’m still not convinced by Roy’s batting, but he’s one of those blokes you have in a side because he can do anything and if he’s good for 50, that’s good for me. Gilly is Gilly. And the tail is handy.

And there’s every chance that this time round Straya will come out breathing fire… well, warm breath, anyway.

PS: Sorry about the delay, but I’ve been a bit busy the last two days.

Comments

[Carrot]

Hooray, we've picked a redhead!! First since Billy, how we've missed him.

[tONY]

Hope he does better than that other unlamented bloodnut, Fat Cat. "The folly of leaving out Greg Ritchie..." - bitter memories.

[Tony T]

Shudder.

[tONY]

I think you're wrong about Howard, Tones - I think he's genuinely a cricket (and rugby union) tragic. With more time on his hands, I wouldn't be surprised if he turns up here (or maybe he has already - has anyone actually met Wicky?). You could see it in his face when he talked about the game.

But you're undoubtably bang-on about Rudd - you can't tell me Howard would have dropped a clanger like that Cowdrey comment. As soon as I read it I though "eh?". While the 74/75 series is a particular interest of mine (the first time I realized my own tragic nature, you might say - Martin Jenkins wrote a very good account of the tour. A bit "boys own" on re-reading, but he captures the mood), no-one with a real interest in the game, who had been to one of those tests, would get it confused.

Given I already thought Rudd was a wanker, I didn't need any more evidence - I'd just mark this down as "typical".

[Scott Wickstein]

For the record, I'm not John Howard. Really, I'm not.

[pat]

Memory can be a pretty rubbery thing. There's some things I'd swear blind I remember and am astonished when confronted with facts that contradict aspects of my story. Take DK bowling Viv last ball, with the the Lillee chant going, after just taking both openers. I'd swear that was in Perth but you or someone corrected me it was in Melb. Bloody Hell, is my entire childhood memory a sham I wonder. Perhaps its all a memory implant like those cyborgs from Blade Runner. But you can tell Rudd's making it up. Howard's just got things a bit askew.

ABC radio interviewed Richie Benaud in Sydney the day his statue was unveiled and they asked him about his first cricket memories. Talk about amazing. He named the entire NSW eleven in order, related who got what, how outs etc etc. Remembered who bowled from what end, comments his old man made about players and how he got to and from the ground. You can tell wit Richie, he was born to the game. Whatever it was he was transfixed from the first moment he saw the game live at the SCG.

For others like me, I remember feelings more than precise details. I remember the 80's. I have a pain memory. I remember McDermott getting out in that Adelaide Test to Darrell Hair. I think I remember AB smashing a cricket ball he had in his hands into the ground as Billy's wicket fell. Oh the pain, the pain. Details could be wrong but I remember the pain.

[Adsy]

I'm getting in early in what could be another epic thread.

For my tip:

India - 130, couldnt handle the quicks, especially early
Australia - 350, best of the conditions, one bat to make big score
India - 300, better effort but still smarting after Day 1 batting
Australia - 3/80, struggle early but get home

Individiuals:

Tait - Bowl bloody quick but not take many
S.Clark - To dominate
Lee - Good as usual
Johnson - Bowl far too wide of offstump for far too long

Kumble - Again best bowler for India
Quicks - Smashed in the fast conditions
V.Slog - Could make a few in second innings
Jaffer - Struggles whilst playing for career
I.Pathan - Why hasnt he played before now?

Other:

Australia to still chirp on the field
India to be dudded at least once by poor umpiring, probably from Billy Bent.
India to struggle in the field

Worth a look back at the end.

[Russ]

Pat, Border did indeed have a ball he threw into the ground (and then back up into the roof if I recall). But memories are very rubbery. Take the Perth test Tony alludes to. I remember Jo Angel (on debut) clocking Desmond Haynes with a bouncer and then losing his tree trying to do the same to a hat-less and happy Richie Richardson who contemptuously swatted him (and any hope we might still had of winning) over the fence.

Okay, most of that is true, except that if you'd asked me I'd have said Richardson had made about 120, with about six sixes. But the scorecard says he only made 47. Rubbery, and painful.

Other comments. Good article by Jake Niall, not least because it is roughly what I'd planned to write on the so-called "gentleman's game" before the beach beckoned.

Last comment on the second test: I've seen lots of sides win games they didn't deserve to, and lose games they didn't deserved to. But I've never seen both sides fail to get the result they deserved. India deserved to lose in Sydney and they did.

Australia generally bounces back from bad games, and they'll be up for it today. India I am not so sure about. They can be dangerous but they could just as well be abject. Expect a lot of runs to be scored today though, the pitch, the field, and the bowlers are fast, and the bats will come out swinging.

Tone, you've got your wish, a lost toss.

[Russ]

Oh, and why is Mitch Johnson still opening. He doesn't go for runs (which is good) but he does so by bowling wide, wasting the new ball. Clark is so much the better option.

Having said that, this is his kind of pitch. I think he'll take a few by the end of the match.

[Tony T]

Looking at the pitch right now, I'm not sure losing the toss was such a good thing. It looks like just the sort of deck Ponting would have batted on. Unless he had an ... sob, Edgbaston moment.

V-Slog is batting by numbers at the moment. That's a worry.

[Adsy]

Um, change that prediction to 330 for India first innings.

[Tony T]

I'm not convinced about Howard's tragicism. That said, he's less fake than Rudd. To paraphrase: Rudd "trained it down to the Gabba and most remembers 42-year-old Colin Cowdrey shaking Thommo's hand while listening to the crowd chant 'Ashes to Ashes...'" Yeah, right. Only an idiot or a liar would buy that. Rudd made it up. Or at least, his Special Advisor On How To Be Strayan made it up after five minutes research from his local internet.

[Tony T]

I would have included a mention of Joe Angel if that was his only Test, but he played a couple more in his illustrious career.

Another thing I remember of that Test was Joe sconning Dezzy and then Richie Rich hooked him to fine-leg where Craig McDermott dropped a difficult-ish chance, which went for six. After that it was all downhill, which is saying something when you're already at the bottom.

[ThirdCat]

Off topic, I suppose, but howcome Mike Whitney seems not to be getting a guernsey in the reprised Gladiators?

[Tony T]

Good to have Turkey Tom Moody in the ABC box. He knows his stuff and gets it across in easily digestible chunks. Let's hope he gets a wider brief than just the Perth Tests.

TC: Because he's a wood-duck.

(There's no off-topic here.)

[Russ]

What a hack V-Slog is. Clark is looking really frustrated with what is going on here.

[Tony T]

You took the words right out of my keyboard, Russ. That V-Slog is rubbish but is getting runs is galling. That the commentators keep talking up his swipes with lines like "Great shot! That's the way he plays!" makes it all the more gall-worthy. At least they acknowledge he has played-and-missed 453* times.

* Conservative estimate.

[Tony T]

Wicket! V-Slog, caught Gilly, bowled Mitchy.

Get lost, Slog.

[Scott Wickstein]

He didn't miss that one. Good work by Johnson to finally get an edge.

1 for 57 isn't too bad but another wicket before lunch is definitely needed.

[Adsy]

How the hell is Slog averaging near 50? Must play a lot of Bangers and Zimbos.

And funny how the commentators went to great lengths to say how good a decision Rauf Mauf made to give Jaffer not out. Even if it missed his glove by about 3 foot.

[Tony T]

That one that hit Jaffer on the arm guard was one of those decisions where us TV viewers see it live in normal speed and go "nup" without even a moment's deliberation. Clearly not out.

The standard of umpiring in Sydney has obviously lowered the expectations of the commentators.

[Tony T]

Wicket! Jaffer, caught Gilly, bowled Bing.

The opening-watchman is gone. Didn't look out to me.

[Tony T]

I think I'm wrong. I think.

[tONY]

Hawkeye didn't agree, but I thought that LB shout a while ago was definitely worth a look.

Adsy, hate to say it, but according to Cricinfo Slog's made most against the Paks, us and the WI.

Any speculation on why no Larry, so far?

[Tony T]

Big prediction: Larry will bowl the previous over.

I thought roughly the same thing about the elbee shout, although I didn't have a problem with it being given not out.

[Gareth]

Re Rudd. I reckon that yarn you've quoted is a distortion of what the Ruddster acutally said, or certainly what I remember him saying on Channel Nine in the tea break. I thought he said that Cowdrey was his favourite player in that series, rather than him actually remembering seeing him play at that particular Test. Although maybe he said something different on ABC radio?

PS. Richie might be getting a bit doddery but can still serve up some withering political comment. Did anyone hear his comment just then? "When it's coming up to lunch time here, it should be coming up to dinner time in Jamaica. Steve Bucknor should be enjoying some sacraficial lamb, some peas, potatoes, very nice."

[Adsy]

Ian: We were furious in 91' when the West Indies only bowled 24 overs in a session. Australia has done the same thing here. Somebody has to be furious?

Richie: Aaaah, you could [Benaud Pause (TM)]... try the ICC.

[Tony T]

If that's true, Gaz, it's a bit rich from the Faifax hax. But it still doesn't excuse the memory of the A-to-A chant.

Richie's not the doyen for nothing. "Very nice" is the clincher.

[Gareth]

That was gold, Adsy!

[Gareth]

See, even the "chant" thing I reckon has been inserted by the reporter, not the Ruddster. He certainly uttered those words ("ashes to ashes etc). But I don't recall him saying he was sitting on the edge of the dog track screaming at the top of his lungs alongside 15,000 fellow Queenslanders.

Don't exactly know why I'm defending Mr Smarmy, it's not like I voted for him.

[Tony T]

And the punchline: "try the ICC." ROTFTyewsjgh437128==++LOLOLLLL%*@KM ! Who said the writers were on strike?

[tONY]

Don't want to bang on about over rates, but 24 in a session is pretty poor.

Was Morgan a sacrificial lamb, though, really? Yes, the Indians carried on and have thrown their weight around - but he really had a shocker, day after day. If you can't turf an umpire after a display like that....

Maybe Rudd was like any other normal 17 year old on his own at the cricket, and just got pissed.

[13th Man]

Just logged on to cheer Richie on for the sacrificial lamb comment - well heard Gareth. Then right at the end he slated the ICC for doing rock all re: slow over rates. He's still a sly old bugger.
My thought of the day (I don't like to exert myself): I'd try to keep Dravid in, but really box him in and keep his scoring down (although he tends to do that himself) and work over the other end. I reiterate - he's a fucking liability, and while he's there we aren't facing two decent batsmen. Just pick 'em off one at a time until we get near the tail, then sort Dravid out. Incidentally, like the much-vaunted Little Bastard, he too was pinged for ball-tampering - against Zim! How sad is that?

[13th Man]

Bugger me, I type slow. Well heard TT.

[Tony T]

That all being the case, I don't think Kruddler is going to talk to Damien Murphy in a hurry. You just can't trust the Irish... I mean, Catholi... I mean, Fairfax hax.

Still, Kruddler did cite the ABC and not Channel Nine, so there must have been two interviews. Not like him to stray off message, even on something as supposedly casual as an interview at the croquet.

[Tony T]

Clem Alderman on touching gloves: "A very determined Shazam between Tendulkar and Dravid."

A shazam. Funny the first time, but I wonder how long it will take before I hate it. Or maybe I hate it because of the number of times the Poms did it last summer, despite being beaten like a red-headed Rogers. Or maybe it's just Terry Alderman. A girl I know thinks he is a super-spunk, which proves that even the best looking blokes can be boring.

Or maybe it's just Clem's voi...zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[Bruce]

Larry was certainly the pick of quartet so far. He is the cello setting the base that all those flighty, run-leaking violins and violas can work off.

Perhaps he was at that same clinic in '83 and heeded Wayne Clark's advice. The similarity of the name is the clincher.

[Bruce]

And when I say Larry - I mean of course Stuey Clark.

[Joshn]

Can't get reception at the desk, can't see a teev, just shithouse...

Has spanky had a spot on the ABC yet?

[Gareth]

Tait's action looks dodgy as on the slow-mo, particularly the short ball.

[Gareth]

Bring on Hados as a sub fielder.

[Gareth]

And whilst I'm talking to myself, Pup dropping that has averted another major geopolitical crisis. Lee overstepped the crease, and he wasn't called.

[tONY]

They could reach Perth with an airstrike, too, Gareth. I'm surprised no-one has issued a "range map" like they do when North Korea has a test launch, only showing what parts of Oz are within range of India's nuclear weapons...

That will prove to be an expensive drop, I'd reckon.

[Tony T]

I don't think a slipper has ever dropped an easier chance than Clarke off Dravid. The only explanation is that Clarke knew Lee had overstepped and dropped the ball on purpose in the aid of international relations.

We seem doggedly determined to get Dravid back in form.

[Tony T]

I can't remember India dropping a catch yet this series.

Official* Drop Table.

India - 0.

Straya - 176.

* Unofficially.

[os]

If you reckon Clem sounds dull, you should hear it when he teams with Bob Massie on the Shield games. I don't mind Massie's comments, but boyoboy, he is monotonous.
Joshn, no, Spanky isn't here - Wolfy cleared that up in the first half hour of the program at 8.45am WST, it was about the first SMS that came in.

[Gareth]

Some gold by Slatts in the box there. Immediately after Roy's big LB shout.

Greig: "Look at him (the umpire). Not. A. Blink. Of an eye."

Slater: "How can you tell behind those sunglasses, Tony?"

Buffoon!

[Tony T]

But Spanky IS there. He commentated for about half an hour before lunch, but I haven't heard him since. He's probably off concocting another crisis that he can then write about how he solved all by himself.

Nor would I ever leave Massie out of the boring. He's azzzzzzz bad azzzzzzz Alderman and Terry Jenner.

[Tony T]

Why are so many balls dropping in front of the cordon? This new old-style WACA pitch can get f**ked!

[tONY]

Not looking very threatened, are they? There's the occasional stumble, but they look comfortable. Unless something horrible happens to this pitch (unlikely in Perth), I think we're heading for a draw.

[os]

ooh, i stand corrected then. i haven't been listening to the radio, just took that info from the morning program.

[Tony T]

Wicket! TLM, elbee Lee.

TLM is unlucky he's a shortarse. Although Hawkeye says EVERYTHING is too high. Except this time it's right. Too high.

[Gareth]

That is as good an argument as any for home-grown umpires. An Australian umpire who has actually stood at the WACA would never give that out.

[Russ]

Tendulkar was unlucky. But, you know, commentators always like to claim the benefit of the doubt lies with the batsman. The laws don't though. Lots of umpires seem to give the doubt against the beaten player, and TLM was thoroughly beaten by that one.

Tony, edges landing in front of slips really annoy me. But! First over of a spell always has a few looseners and they often fall short. Gilchrist needs his head kicked though. There has been a solid dozen balls landing short of the slips off genuine nicks this summer.

[Scott Wickstein]

Thank God it was the Pakistani umpire that gave him out, though. Imagine the ruckus if it was a white guy?

[Tony T]

Very true about the local umpires, Gaz.

Elsewhere. Ever since the relaying of the turf and refurb of the ground in the 1980s, the WACA poeple haven't seemed to know what to do with the pitch. The 1993 Test has them spooked about short Tests and lost revenue, and talk of this being a speed-demon's paradise has made them shave all the life out of the bloody thing so as to make the match last five days. Unless, of course, they've got a cunning plan where the pitch falls apart on day five.

[Scott Wickstein]

Can we now have a third man please? Today? Not tomorrow.

[Scott Wickstein]

Bye bye Gin-GanGuly. Great catch by Hussey.

4 for 214- probably still in a bit of trouble here, we need a lot more out of our bowlers before stumps.

[Tony T]

Wicket! GingGang, caught Cricket, bowled Mitchy.

Now THAT is a CC worthy of the name and not a doddle like that rubbish C&B to Kumble in the last Test.

[Bruce]

1 hour of play scheduled - 28 overs still to be bowled.

They won't even make it to the new ball!! FFS Punter! Pull your finger out. Surely not even an ICC match referee could ignore such tardiness.

[Tony T]

Fine the buggers! Better still, penalise them 5 runs per over unbowled.

Dravid was more out than TLM with that elbee.

[tONY]

What about that one? Square up for TLM? Only thing I can think of is he must have thought there was some bat?

[Tony T]

Dravid must be a magic bloke. (Apart from the lollies on the ball incident.) Without doubt the umpires and our fielders want to see him do well.

Without. Doubt.

[Tony T]

Wicket! Dravid, caught Punter, bowled Clarke.

Going on that rank hoik, it looks like Clarke got under his skin with his fast overs.

[pat]

Dhoni do some stupid things!

[Tony T]

Wicket! Luckshmun, caught Tait, bowled Lee.

Awful shot.

India are lucky Clarke felt sorry for Dravid.

[pat]

Laxman,not,Dhoni. Better still.

Pretty sad end to India's day. Looks like India will struggle to make 350 leaving the game wide open for Oz to take.

Seems like a grinder's wicket with no fancy stuff required. Alderman's bet that this match is a draw is looking very shaky now. The money's gotta go on a result at the moment.

[Russ]

Shocking cricket from Dravid and Laxman (and Ganguly, for that matter). Turned a solid day for them into a slightly below par one. I am not sure this is a bad score, since the heat tends to cause some serious cracking in the WACA pitch. Depends whether we can run through them with the new ball tomorrow.

Nods to Lee again. Except for the first couple of overs he was good. Clark was unlucky. Johnson always looks ungainly, but he bowled okay today. Fielding was decent today as well.

Batting could be interesting tomorrow. Two debutants (more or less) at the top, and a captain in questionable form at three. We'll have to slug it out to get the advantage, but there are plenty of runs to be had if we do.

[tONY]

I wonder if he remembers seeing him in Vegas? Or maybe it's another memory he has in mind.

[tONY]

...enough taking the mick out of the PM, back to more important business.

While it ended up looking better for us, it was a tough day at the office - Perth is not pleasant when the temperature rises and the easterlies blow - it takes a lot out of you. Forecast hotter today, late sea breeze. But cooler Friday and the weekend. So they really need to clean up the Indians quickly this morning, because they can't afford to spend another day in the sun. If they make 400+ and stay out there well after lunch, we'll be in trouble.

Lets hope Chris Rogers doesn't do a Wally Edwards - I wonder if Ruddy remembers him?

[Bruce]

Is it the '80s again? 12 overs per hour is hopeless and Punter must be called up in front of the referee on that.

The bowling was pretty solid - apart from Tait. Perhaps he was trying too hard. Clark will bowl worse than that and take a bag. I continue to love his work. The New Brett Lee continues to put me back in place. His performances this season have me thinking he can lead the pace attack for the next few years. I hope he maintains his current mindset. Visiting teams usually get sucked in to the Perth mythos and bowl too short - yesterday was (mostly) a lesson in the right lengths to bowl. Australia have the batsman to punish a team that drops their length back too far - Punter and Shameless being the prime examples for mine.

Is that the 4th or 5th time in 5 innnings that Dravid has edged to first slip and remained at the crease? The Aussies have done a great job of playing him into form by giving more time in the middle than he has deserved. Yesterday he finally cashed in on the chances and I dread to think what he might do if given another couple of lives at Adelaide.

A good day's cricket with the advantage being fought over all day with the ebbs and flows that us test cricket fans love. The late (and tired looking) wickets of Dravid and Laxman put the needle slightly in the Australian side but both the guys at the crease can bat and it will be their performance that determines whether or not India are knocked over for under 350 or can push out past 400.

[Bring Back CL's blog]

I was oing to pick that up on rudd's comment and then he corrected himself. He didn't see Cowdrey at the Gabba.

Aussies saythey play hard but fair. That is meaningless gibberish. Playing hard is usually not playing within the sspirit of the game. Ask Graeme Smith.

Indians only have themselves to blame. All except Gangles got a start but none went on with it.

Dravid was always going to get out to Symonds as he looked to have a brain explosion. Symonds can't bowl toffee. Give him respect and you will always make runs. give him no respect and you get out embarassingly.

Not convinced either johnson or Tait are test bowlers. Why hasn't anyone told Johnsomn how to hold the ball if he wants to swing it!

This test should end in a draw.

[Tony T]

Homer, whatever "hard but fair" is, I'm completely sick of it. And you're right that the Indians did themselves no favours with some injudicious shot selection.

I agree with you about Tait, but the selectors must think he has something. Not sure what that something is. And I think Johnston is worth persevering with in the short term.

[nick]

Johnson looks like a good bowler - but not with the new ball. Tait should partner Lee on a greentop (after serving a good long appenticeship in the one day side) and Clark should have it the other 99.9% of the time. 'Hard but fair' is a sop to the subcontinent.

ps : Isn't it awful to see our 3 best ground fielders in the slips? Do Jaques or Rogers field there for their States? Surely Hussey and Jaques can replace Symonds and Clarke in the slips.

pps : Symonds is a God (not a monkey one either). Explosive bat, best fielder in the world, picks up wickets, good team man - he would walk into any cricket team on the planet. Bye Bye Watto.

[Tony T]

You can see now why the selectors, Ponting, etc wanted Symonds to come good.

Paper Cut's gone. At least in the near future.

[Tony T]

Blimey! The Classic Catches are so lame now that they've had to go back years for the candidates. Not only that, you have to pick the batsman, not the catcher.

Trescothick
Alec Stewart
Graeme Smith

[RT]

In that '92 test match Dead Rubber Deano made 150no in the 2nd innings. 3-0 up already, you would have put your house on it.

Thankfully D R Deano is no where near a commentary microphone these days.

Interesting to hear Tom Moody on ABC radio. Talks a lot but seems to make some sense.

[Tony T]

Fashion Victim: Slatts has those horrendous pointy shoes.

At least they aren't white like the dead set Dedicated Followers of Idiocy.

[Tony T]

Saw DR Deano in a World Series Classic last night. He made a big hundred against England at the Gabba in 1990/91.

Those World Series Classics are gold.

Was interesting to see the Strike Rate was called the Batting Rate and it was calculated out of 1000 like baseball.

[Scott Wickstein]

Is the fielding coach on holiday? It's just the slips feels all wrong.

Bowling has been good but so has the batting- I think these Indians will be very very hard to get out- could be a huge first innings score still coming up. The reference to NZ that Tony made was very pertinent.

[pat]

350-400 and it's even money, with the result edging India's way. Anything over 400 and we are screwed.

As S Waugh and Tone said, we've all been bluffed about this pitch. India may now regret dropping Bhaji, as spin will win this Test if it is to be won. It's a long way to go but this Test already has the feeling of eternity about it with the thought of a 4th innings Oz collapse chasing approx 200 the horrorfying spectre lurking there.

[Tony T]

Wicket! Kebab, elbee Clark.

Bit like TLM, it looked good in fast motion, but the side-on is bound to have it going over the top.

[Scott Wickstein]

If Stuart Clark ever comes to my house, I'm going to buy him a slab of beer. Huzzah for that wicket.

Hungry Jacques doing the honesty thing. Effigy makers ares spewing.

[Tony T]

Is it too much to ask that Stuey Clarke and Lee bowl every over?

[Scott Wickstein]

Geeze, now he drops one. Right, I'm keeping one of those sixpacks for myself.

At least Mitchy fixed Pathan up next ball.

[Tony T]

After all, if Clark bowls every over he can't drop them at gully.

Bloody! Dropping! Bloody! Bloody!

[Tony T]

Wicket! Irfy Kitt, elbee Mitchy.

Plumb.

[Scott Wickstein]

Everything I touch, I mozz.

[Scott Wickstein]

Wicket! Great catch by the new boy- who is destined to fail miserably with the bat.

[Tony T]

Wicket! Kumble, caught Bluey, bowled Clark.

Classic CC.

I better unbolderate that, Wicky, to avoid confusion. Afterall, the umpiring's not that bad that batsmen get out twice. Yet.

[pat]

Kumble thinks he's Buble singing "Call me Irresoponsible".

[pat]

Whoah! All out 330: Advantage -> Australia.

[Tony T]

Wicket! RP, caught Cricket, bowled Mitchy.

Not a Classic CC.

Good to get the Injuns rolled quick stix. I couldn't have handled them hanging around like the Kiwis in 2001.

[Adsy]

Well they ran through them there like a dose of salts at the end. Rauf Mauf effigy's must be running out the stores in India at the moment.

Well the 130 I turned into 330 after about half an hour yesterday (#7) turned out to be spot on. Hope the 350 for the Oz doesnt turn into 150.

That's not a mozz by the way. I'm not that good at it.

[Bruce]

20 balls after the introduction of Clark and the innings is over. I love the big bastard, although what is he doing in gully.

[Scott Wickstein]

You can't mozz but you can pick India's innings precisely? That sounds unlikely to me.

[Scott Wickstein]

After Grog Blog

[nick]

99 from Bing to save the follow on for Aus.

[Scott Wickstein]

Rogers- Robbed! No way you could give that out!

[Tony T]

Wicket! Ranga Rogers, elbee Irfy.

Rauf Mauf with the square up.

And right after Nicholas was talking about how good it would be if Rogers hit a four to get a hundred.