Rudi Koertzen the Sightless

Oh geez. Rudi, Rudi. Don't ever go to Australia. You won't make it past the baggage carousel. Instead of those cute beagles that they bring out to sniff your baggage, the airport authorities will bring out a Rottweiler and set him on you. That life to Bell was ludicrous.

Edgbaston, 2nd morning

Good thing I had a rough morning and woke up early to catch the Ashes action. Plenty of wickets; dodgy Koertzen LBWs (though I feel no sympathy whatsoever for Johnson, who shouldered arms to a straight ball), a good wicketkeeper catch, and a captain's self-destruction (could Ponting have played a worse shot than that awful hook?)

Flintoff's non-reaction to the Prior catch was very interesting. Its almost as if after the dropped catch, he realized that he is having an awful morning and is not being adored any more. And it rankles.

Very good drama all around. Crowds are crackling, and wickets are falling; truly, there is nothing like test cricket.

Rumours of demise greatly exaggerated etc.

Australia. South Africa. First Test. A victory by 162 runs. Three debutants. One scores a century in the first innings. One scores 75 in the second dig after an embarrassing duck in the first. The third returns match figures of 56-16-126-3. And a fast bowler, Mitchell Johnson, who frankly, has scared me more as a batsman than anything else, (at Perth and Mohali), got close to a ton, and to solving Australia's all-rounder problem (not that I think it wasn't a fake one to begin with).

South Africa could still win this series but I think the dancing over the Aussie corpse needs to stop, largely because it has been dragged away and resurrected.