An Aussie take on Fatullah
Yeah, I know, lazy blogging, but this is good stuff. An email from my friend Joe Thurbon (tearaway fast bowler on our C-Grade team in the Northern Sydney Suburbs League):
"They've (the Bangles) been pretty good this test I think (obviously, I guess). It's not the first time they've been very competitive in a test. The last series they played they (for a while) looked like they might roll Sri-Lanka. Their real test comes now, I think. If they can keep up their intensity today, they're in with a real shot of a bigger upset than that ODI that never happened. This has been where they've fallen over in the past, about day 3.
That said, the Aussies have been pretty dreadful in a lot of ways. Damien Martyn's shot to get out before lunch was ridiculous, Hayden had a brain fade (I had assumed that the ball he got out to had swung down the line, but it didn't really, just moved a bit off the seam. Punter got done by one that kept low and moved dramatically, although the commentators blamed him for not getting forward enough, I thought he did everything pretty reasonably. I didn't see any of the other dismissals. I would be willing to bet that the next innings is a different story (but not bet a huge amount, though)
I also thought we bowled like we were still in S. Africa, far too short for this pitch. It's no surprise that the wickets went to people who didn't bowl in the last series. But, ugh, Stuart MacGill. Is there a bigger wanker in world cricket (especially when Warne is off the ground)? Anyway, I think the Bangles have looked pretty good. They batted well, and more impressively to me, have bowled with a plan and stuck to it. They've been helped by a pretty lacklustre Aussie side. Perhaps most importantly, they don't look as overawed as I had thought they might. Dav Whatmore is something of an emerging cricket nation specialist, I think.
The pitch has been interesting, too. It's kept a bit low (much more on day two than on day one), but it hasn't done any 'leaping up off a length' that I've seen. So, I think that the Aussies can bat on it if they adjust a bit and stop playing back so much. I think the true nature of it is somewhere in between 435 and 6/90, to tell the truth. It's no road, but its also no minefield (although the commentators were predicting it to fall apart today or tomorrow).
Finally, how good is the timezone for this series? Cricket from early afternoon to late evening. Can we tour Bangladesh more frequently?"
"They've (the Bangles) been pretty good this test I think (obviously, I guess). It's not the first time they've been very competitive in a test. The last series they played they (for a while) looked like they might roll Sri-Lanka. Their real test comes now, I think. If they can keep up their intensity today, they're in with a real shot of a bigger upset than that ODI that never happened. This has been where they've fallen over in the past, about day 3.
That said, the Aussies have been pretty dreadful in a lot of ways. Damien Martyn's shot to get out before lunch was ridiculous, Hayden had a brain fade (I had assumed that the ball he got out to had swung down the line, but it didn't really, just moved a bit off the seam. Punter got done by one that kept low and moved dramatically, although the commentators blamed him for not getting forward enough, I thought he did everything pretty reasonably. I didn't see any of the other dismissals. I would be willing to bet that the next innings is a different story (but not bet a huge amount, though)
I also thought we bowled like we were still in S. Africa, far too short for this pitch. It's no surprise that the wickets went to people who didn't bowl in the last series. But, ugh, Stuart MacGill. Is there a bigger wanker in world cricket (especially when Warne is off the ground)? Anyway, I think the Bangles have looked pretty good. They batted well, and more impressively to me, have bowled with a plan and stuck to it. They've been helped by a pretty lacklustre Aussie side. Perhaps most importantly, they don't look as overawed as I had thought they might. Dav Whatmore is something of an emerging cricket nation specialist, I think.
The pitch has been interesting, too. It's kept a bit low (much more on day two than on day one), but it hasn't done any 'leaping up off a length' that I've seen. So, I think that the Aussies can bat on it if they adjust a bit and stop playing back so much. I think the true nature of it is somewhere in between 435 and 6/90, to tell the truth. It's no road, but its also no minefield (although the commentators were predicting it to fall apart today or tomorrow).
Finally, how good is the timezone for this series? Cricket from early afternoon to late evening. Can we tour Bangladesh more frequently?"
posted by Samir Chopra at 6:45 PM
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