The day that was
Australia started the day in a commanding position and piled constant, constantly-increasing heaps of misery upon the Indian bowlers, progressing from 348-2 overnight t0 572-7 declared after Steve Smith (117) made his fourth Test century of the summer and further cemented himself in the hearts of Australians.
Shane Watson (81 from a meandering 181 deliveries) perished through an unforced error that again denied him a century he seemed determined to reach and likewise Shaun Marsh (73) might have filled his boots with India’s tame offerings. Rookie Joe Burns (58 from 114) will be glad to have a score under his belt and Ryan Harris (25) provided the kind of big-hitting cameo that makes him so beloved of the locals.
Of the Indian bowlers, Mohammed Shami can at least hang his hat on a five-wicket haul at the SCG but it was pure filth to be honest - most of his breakthroughs came from wild and misdirected slogs rather than any consistent guile. The less said about his mates the better, though Ravi Ashwin was tireless and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled under considerable physical duress. Why he’s even out there is a matter for the Indian selectors to explain.
This game seemed perfectly poised for an Indian collapse - a factor not out of the question when Murali Vijay perished for a duck in Mitchell Starc’s innings-opening over - but Rohit Sharma and 2-Test rookie Lokesh Rahul have both played determined hands since. Their job tomorrow is considerable. Make sure you join us for all the live action and all things being equal, hopefully some hot cross buns.
@rustyjacko Mitch Johnson discussing tactics with Mitch Stark before the 4th Test. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/attOApKbEs
— wonk_arama (@wonk_arama) January 7, 2015
Stumps on Day 2 - India 71-1 in reply to 572
25th over - India 71-1 (Rahul 31, Sharma 40)
Starc takes the ball for the final over of the day and concedes a single to Sharma before producing an absolute jaffa of a bouncer to have Rahul hopping about. Perhaps as more of a psychological gambit, Smith calls for another helmet for a man in close. It probably has more impact than Starc’s sledging, which seems rote and a little forced. What has Warnie doen to this kid? Where’s the goofy smile we love, Mitch?
Rahul gets two to mid-off from the penultimate delivery and then defends confidently on the back foot to the last to see his side through to stumps. Starc gives him another mouthful, possibly inquiring as to why the batsman refused to yield to four fairly regulation deliveries that barely required a shot. You never know though, it might have been something even wittier than that.
24th over - India 68-1 (Rahul 29, Sharma 39)
Lyon has one more chance to make a breakthrough before stumps and he sends Rahul all around the crease in search of an edge to the men in short. Rahul survives a maiden and has done very well to keep his head this afternoon.
Robert Wilson isn’t buying all the Harris love. “Big deal on Harris’s cartilage-free knee,” he says. “I’ve got one of those two (and only half in the the other one). I struggle on, punctuation unaffected, milking cows, making my own shoes and helping old ladies across quite broad streets. Admittedly, I have not quite put it to the test of an international sporting contest but, all the same.”
I’m pretty sure I saw competitive cow-milking on Eurosport once but I could be wrong.
1 over remaining for the day.
23rd over - India 68-1 (Rahul 29, Sharma 39)
I’ve read Steve Smith’s mind here, not that it was hard. Good areas Rusty. Starc is the man who returns for the weary Harris and he starts inauspiciously with a half-tracker on Sharma’s hip. That’s tucked away for four but he also sends one fizzing past the outside edge next ball up.
Starc tries a bit more tough talk at the end of the over but that has the air of Richie Cunningham pretending he’s Fonzie. Nobody’s really buying it.
Two overs remain.
22nd over - India 63-1 (Rahul 28, Sharma 35)
Lyon has a huge LBW shout against Sharma when the latter tries to sweep and instead gets rapped on the pad as he slips and crumples into a heap in front of the crease. The only problem was that he got an inside edge as well and the decision against Lyon is a good one. Ful marks for theatrics from everyone concerneed though, it looked like a piece of performance art.
What is it called though? ‘The Futility of off-spin’?
21st over - India 59-1 (Rahul 25, Sharma 34)
Harris looks a little weary at this point and his speeds are well down around the low 130s. Even halfway through the over he’s bending down on his haunches and sucking in air, signalling that it might be time for one last blast of Starc before stumps.
When Harris overpitches to Rahul and gets creamed for a boundary through cover, he’s not even angry with himself, he’s just disappointed.
20th over - India 54-1 (Rahul 21, Sharma 33)
Lyon has a slip and men under helmets on both sides of the pitch to Rahul and off his final delivery looks a threat when a short one angles across the Indian, spits out of the dust and takes him on the gloves. Luckily for Rahul it deflects away fine of the man at short leg.
5 overs remain for the day. Can this pair survive?
19th over - India 53-1 (Rahul 21, Sharma 32)
Deference be damned, Rohit Sharma is even going after Harris now. He drives him for three through cover and then the Indian pair trade in singles as Harris huffs and puffs and grimaces his way back to his mark. Ryan Harris would look like he was staring into blinding sun on even the most overcast day. He might actually have been born with that squinty, pained expression on his face.
18th over - India 48-1 (Rahul 20, Sharma 28)
Mark Taylor has a plan for Nathan Lyon: bowl one through Rohit Sharma’s gate. With tactics like that, is it any wonder he was such a great captain? Maybe Lyon should just produce that ‘Gatting ball’ that he’s kept up his sleeve for his whole career. That’d be a good one to try.
17th over - India 44-1 (Rahul 17, Sharma 27)
Right as Brett Lee reminds us that Ryan Harris has no cartilage remaining in his knee, the latter returns to replace Hazlewood and presumably put himself through some fresh physical torture. It’s worth it though because he threatens constantly in this over and might have a fright or two in store for the batsmen as we head towards stumps.
@rustyjacko Steve Smith looks like he invented the sport, Watto looks like he is trying to find the cursor on his laptop without a mouse
— Rcg (@Gundric_RC) January 7, 2015
16th over - India 43-1 (Rahul 16, Sharma 27)
Lyon does everything bar take Sharma’s wicket here. He tosses one up with men swarming around the bat and watches on in mild horror as Sharma clips it over their heads towards square leg. Close shave. The whole over is pregnant with drama, actually, a real role reversal as far as Australians bowling spin at Indians.
15th over - India 41-1 (Rahul 15, Sharma 26)
Now Lokesh Rahul gets in on the act, latching onto a short one from Hazlewood and bashing it through square leg for a boundary before pushing two more through mid wicket. His stance his upright and his bat elevated as Hazlewood charges in and he sees his side through to drinks.
14th over - India 35-1 (Rahul 9, Sharma 26)
There’s conversation aplenty between Smith, Haddin and Lyon leading into this over and the Aussie skipper places a ring of fieldmen around Sharma on the leg side. They’re not much good in close in this instance, because the only catch taken is by a man 15 rows back at cow corner. That’s much more like the Rohit Sharma we know and love.
13th over - India 28-1 (Rahul 8, Sharma 20)
The by-product of the Sharma single that retained strike last over is that he’s pretty equipped to blunt the influence of Hazlewood. There’s a single for each batsman here but neither looks interested in undue risk as the day winds down. Maybe it’s Steve Smith’s turn to get proactive here.
12th over - India 26-1 (Rahul 7, Sharma 19)
Lyon has a little more confidence to toss it up to Rahul and he draws a false stroke when the youngster sends an inside edge shooting past Burns at short leg. Sharma gets a single to finish the over and keep the strike and the Indians are quieetly consolidating here with probably 12-13 overs left to play for the day.
I want to disbelieve this but it’s on the internet so it must be true.
Today Brad Haddin hit his 1st ball for SIX, he is the 1st Aussie since GChappell (Lord's 1975) to hit his first ball for 6 in Tests #AUSvIND
— Cricket Record (@cricinfo_record) January 7, 2015
11th over - India 24-1 (Rahul 6, Sharma 18)
Hazlewood draws an inside edge from Sharma but it only squirts as far as the inside flap of his leg guard so he’s able to pluck it out and throw it back to an Australian fieldsman. That’s not the only ball that Hazlewood has tailing in towards off stump and he’s really nagging at Sharma in this maiden.
Lies, damned lies and statistics:
Shami has regular wickets but India have barely looked like bowling anyone out. Johnson statistically equal but looked effective. #AUSvIND
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) January 7, 2015
10th over - India 24-1 (Rahul 6, Sharma 18)
Steve Smith has seen enough bounce and perhaps a few puffs of dust that tell him Nathan Lyon is the man to replace Harris rather than Shane Watson. Lyon doesn’t exactly toss it up but Rohit Sharma is confident enough to hop down the wicket and deposit the new bowler over the long-off boundary for six.
Did one of the Richie Benaud impersonators catch that? Their ranks are thinning somewhat from earlier in the day. Perhaps a few Daphnes have put in the dreaded phone call and made an early declaration.
9th over - India 17-1 (Rahul 6, Sharma 11)
Josh Hazlewood bounds in from fine leg for his first Test spell on his home ground and you’d think that this is the sort of match situation that will suit him down to the ground; one hesitant rookie at the crease, one notoriously-impetuous dasher and twilight descending upon a sun-drenched day.
Rahul pushes two through cover but Hazlewood is asking all sorts of questions, namely, “are you going to nick me through to the cordon or what?” Rahul avoids that fate for now.
8th over - India 15-1 (Rahul 4, Sharma 11)
Ryan Harris is metronomic in his fourth over, nagging away in the corridor outside off stump but perhaps not jagging it in the way he was in his first two overs. Still, a maiden keeps the pressure on the Indian pair. That’ll be it for his first spell, you’d think.
Warner on send-offs: "We've got to be careful not to get overexcited & in batsman's face. Let them walk off," Guess he didn't talk to Starc
— Shirin Sadikot (@ShirinSadikot) January 7, 2015
7th over - India 15-1 (Rahul 4, Sharma 11)
Starc is far better this over, constantly threatening Lokesh Rahul with short, well-directed pace. The second delivery is straight but swerving away from the batsman and is followed by yet more sledging, the next short on leg stump and ramming into the gloves of the batsman, falling between short leg and leg gully.
Rahul’s pain continues with another rap on the gloves but he survives the hostilities with a lot of pluck and courage, greeting Starc’s barbs with stony silence. It’s aggressive, absorbing cricket the likes of which we rarely if ever saw from the Indian pacemen.
6th over - India 15-1 (Rahul 4, Sharma 11)
This situation might require a little more understanding by Rohit Sharma. When Lokesh Rahul defends into a small gap on the off side he’s called through for a quick single by his partner but again Rahul was more absorbed in his shot than anything else and went within a clean gather and throw of being run out. Might Rohit have a word in the youngster’s ear and tell him to be on the look-out for those? Rahul seems more focused on survival in these early stages and you can’t really blame him.
5th over - India 14-1 (Rahul 3, Sharma 11)
Starc’s first over was an absolute gem but he’s fallen back into bad habits a little since, bowling too straight on occasion and not giving the new ball the opportunity to move away towards the cordon. When you combine that with digging it in short on this lifeless pitch, it’s no surprise to see Rohit Sharma launch another sprightly pull away to the fence at deep square leg.
When Starc does get his line right it’s too full. He needs to be careful not to waste the new ball here.
4th over - India 10-1 (Rahul 3, Sharma 7)
Lokesh Rahul has a classical batting technique that owes a debt to another notable Rahul, but he’s got a task on his hands here replicating his stellar first-class batting form against the likes of Ryan Harris. When the latter overpitches, Rahul steps into a handsome drive through cover for two and that seems to settle him down nicely to confidently defend the next few.
I’m still not so sure about that send-off from Starc.
@rustyjacko On the flipside, Shane Warne is very happy with Starc's body language. Probably cost him 20% of his match fee though.
— Will McDougall (@WillMcDougall) January 7, 2015
3rd over - India 7-1 (Rahul 1, Sharma 6)
Another running mix-up! Thankfully for the Indians it’s to the relatively weak arm of David Warner. Sharma scurries back into his crease and probably would have been safe even from a direct hit, but his botched attempt at a quick single might plant seeds of doubt.
Starc’s pace is up again, well ver 140kmph and asking questions of the batsman. A run out looks just as likely to bring this pair undone though. Rahul was ball-watching as his partner charged down the wicket.
Sharma’s best form of defence is normally attack and here he plays a cracking pull shot inches over the head of Burns at short leg. That flew to the boundary like a tracer bullet.
2nd over - India 2-1 (Rahul 1, Sharma 1)
Rahul played some bizarre shots to get himself out in Melbourne but he’s far more conventional to get off the mark here, playing Harris watchfully to the leg side for a watchful single. Sharma gets one too and there’s a successful shy at the stumps from Lyon.
Rahul is back to his old tricks thereafter, pushing unconvincingly at a Harris gem that shapes away from the batsman and nearly kisses the outside edge of the bat. This is going to be quite a spell to endure if Starc’s tail is up.
1st over - India 0-1 (Rahul 0, Sharma 0)
Starc ends up with a wicket-maiden to get things kicked off and he really gave Vijay a spray as he ran past the batsman. Not a great look, all things considered. There goes David Warner’s ‘no send-offs’ theory.
Rohit Sharma is the new man. This’ll be fun.
WICKET! Vijay c Haddin b Starc 0 (India 0-1)
Starc strikes in the first over!
The maligned left-arm paceman takes the new ball for Australia and in theory, Murali Vijayis wide in protecting his young partner from having to face the first delivery of the innings. The only problem is that Starc is breathing fire and moving them away at 147 clicks. He tempts Vijay forward and the Indian opener nibbles unconvincingly, sending the simplest catch through to Haddin.
That is a disastrous start for the tourists.
Smith declares on 572
...and that will give Australia somewhere in the region of 20-25 overs to have a crack at the Indian top order. Those men, Vijay and Rahul, will doubtless be wearing the aches and pains of nearly two full days in the Sydney sun and also probably some mental fatigue. Not exactly the best conditions under which you’d want to face up to Ryan Harris, but that’s part of the job description unfortunately.
For all you Mohammed Shami fans out there, the medium pacer finished with 5-112 from his 28.3 overs. Was my assessment harsh? He didn’t bowl many ‘wicket balls’ but they’re in the book now.
Now to the Indian innings and I for one am looking forward to seeing how Lokesh Rahul turns things around from his disastrous first Test. The Australian bowlers should be fresh and firing. Aside from Harris’ little batting cameo, they’ve had their feet up for the best part of two days.
WICKET! Harris c Ashwin b Shami 25 - Australia declare on 572-7
Harris is here for a good time, not a long time. He clears the front leg again and belts a four over the bowlers’ head, sends long off scrambling to keep the next to two and then prompts Shami to deliver an inept bouncer that’s called a wide. Finally and somewhat inevitably, Harris slaps a follow-up bouncer straight down the throat of the man at deep mid wicket.
With that, Steve Smith call his men in and signals the Australian declaration.
Shami got 5 wickets, too, the ropiest 5-fer you’ll ever see.
152nd over - Australia 565-6 (Haddin 9, Harris 19)
Party time it is. Harris takes one backward step towards square leg and hammers Kumar for two consecutive lofted boundaries down the ground and then goes searching for another to deep square leg. That’s only two but it’s followed by four more over the top of deep extra cover.
Kumar’s response is to stick it in the slot once more and Harris swings it over mid wicket for four more. This is some crisp, unfussy tail-end hitting. Harris expertly biffs a single to deep cover to retain the strike. What a man. You’d think he’ll keep going along these lines to Shami as well.
151st over - Australia 546-6 (Haddin 9, Harris 0)
We probably shouldn’t expect much nuance here from Ryan Harris. It could be party time, in fact. He’s really champing at the bit to get on strike.
WICKET! Burns c Rahul b Shami 58 (Australia 546-6)
Burns, Burns, Burns... Burns is the word. He probably got the word at tea, actually. Mohammaed Shami ambles in and gets smashed for a straight four but the next ball Burns gets a little too excited an skies one down to long on where Rahul finally hangs on to a catch at Test level. It was a good one too, reversing back out towards the boundary and diving backwards with a clean grab.
Burns will be disappointed with that demise but happy that he’s shown his talents for a prolonged period at Test level. That 58 came from 118 deliveries and featured ten boundaries.
Shami might take 5 wickets here. Can you believe that?
150th over - Australia 542-5 (Burns 54, Haddin 9)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets the second session under way and he’s now so hobbled and slow that Saha has moved up to the stumps to take his 114kmph cutters. Burns and Haddin swap singles and if there’s an assault on the cards this is the calm before the storm.
“You never want to judge a pitch until both sides have bowled on it,” says Shane Warne rather hopefully. Australia couldn’t do any worse than this, surely.
That session in brief and looking forward
Well, Australia put together 118 for the loss of Shaun Marsh in that middle session. Their dominance was gradual rather than punishing but a tiring India could be forgiven for lacking in intensity now as Australia near a potential declaration What the tourists must do after tea though is keep Joe Burns and Brad Haddin from accelerating too quickly. Haddin in particular is capable of inflicting series pain and following on from him both Harris and Starc are capable of calculated biff.
There’s not much to write home about for the Indian bowlers. Mohammed Shami has 3-101 from his 27 overs but that probably faltters him, while Ravi Ashwin’s 1-142 from 47 overs probably underplays his efforts to keep his side competitive. He didn’t get much help in the field, either.
“Can you recall another test in which *all* of the top order has made runs?” asks Matt Harris. “It seems quite remarkable to me. Do you have any thoughts on how much of this is down to the friendly wicket? Will we see India bat for two days (probably for slightly fewer runs)? “
A docile wicket, cannon-fodder bowling and disciplined batting has been the tale of woe for India, Matt. If you want to look at top-order dominance, looks through Australia’s 1989 Ashes scorecards.
With that we’re only moments from the start of the evening session.
Tea on Day 2 - The Aussies are in charge
149th over - Australia 538-5 (Burns 52, Haddin 7)
Speaking of declarations, Joe Burns probably wants a say in that. He’s got a maiden Test century sitting on a platter here as we approach tea but you’d think he’ll get a word from his captain during the break that hell have to really move things along.
Smith will naturally want to unleash a quick birst of fast bowling against a fatigued Indian batting line-up this evening. Can Burns get to his milestone before then? He’s still 48 away, I’m probably getting ahead of myself a little.
Anyway, Australia are in a commanding position at tea. I’ll just go and grab a drink and be back to take you through the session that was.
148th over - Australia 536-5 (Burns 51, Haddin 6)
Sorry about this folks but I had a few technical difficulties during the Ashwin over. Burns nudged a single and declaration talk is filling the Nine commentary box. Again, some things never change.
147th over - Australia 535-5 (Burns 50, Haddin 6)
Brad Haddin is not a man to leave you in doubt and there’s a disdain about the way he walks down the pitch and hammers Shami for a straight six from his first delivery at the crease. Haddin turns his back and faces the cordon before the ball has even crossed the rope. That’s a statement and one that draws a few words from Kohli. Some things never change.
Tailor-made for a no-nonsense fast 50 here from Haddin
— Daniel Jack Paproth (@pappy90) January 7, 2015
WICKET! Marsh c Saha b Shami 73 (Australia 529-5)
It’s a miracle! Shami has taken another wicket and when it was least expected. Marsh had just creamed him down to the long-on boundary for four but the bowler sends one angling across the left-hander and he helps an edge through to a diving Saha behind the stumps. It must be said that Marsh has missed another golden opportunity for a century there but he played beautifully in patches. India really laboured for that wicket but it’s finally come.
Joe Burns brings up his maiden Test half-century
146th over - Australia 525-4 (S Marsh 69, Burns 50)
Confidence appears contagious in the Aussie pair now and Burns brings up his maiden half-century in Tests when he convincingly sweeps Ashwin through mid-wicket for four. There’s no ostentatious display upon reaching the landmark and he’ll probably be steeling himself for three figures. He should because there’s one here for the taking.
145th over - Australia 521-4 (S Marsh 69, Burns 46)
Yadav is about as physically imposing as Miss Marple now and after nudging him around a bit for most of the over, Marsh uses some width outside off stump as an excuse to lash the bowler through cover for commanding boundary. The shackles are well and truly off these two batsmen now.
144th over - Australia 514-4 (S Marsh 63, Burns 45)
Ravi Ashwin is back but with similarly limited impact as in his last spell. Burns comes down the track and belts him over his head for four and there’s plenty of singles on offer too.
“Any mail on who is the current Australian cricketing baked goods expert?” asks Matt Leonard. “Past lineups have had us wheel out Merv and Warnie who obviously knew their cakes, pies and pasties. This current lot are all modern day sporty types. I can only think of Watto. I could see him smashing a lamington or 3 after every stupid dismissal.”
Tim May owned a bar, that’s about as close to the hospitaity industry as I can remember. Stuart MacGill is a noted wine buff and had a show on the Food Channel, perhaps he could step in as a judge of The Great Australian Cricket Bake-off.
Warnie does seem obsessed by party pies though, as well as his “dirty rotten” pizzas but I can’t really take him seriously on this front. The proof of the pudding is in the spare tyre and Warnie’s looking too lean to be counted as an expert analyst.
Australia brings up 500
143rd over - Australia 508-4 (S Marsh 62, Burns 40)
Yadav started well enough in this spell but he reverts to type here, giving Burns width outside off stump to glide four more down to third man and then banging in a half-tracker that’s dispatched out to the rope at deep mid wicket. Burns had fallen into a bit of a holding pattern there but that might bring him alive.
Peter from Brisbane has a story of visiting bakery purgatory. “I remember visiting the USA for the first time as a school boy and wondering how they could call themselves a superpower when there was not a bog standard suburban bakery in sight, let alone a vanilla slice (I am averse to passionfruit seeds in the icing - just saying).They also didn’t do meat pies, sausage rolls, chiko rolls, meringues, iced buns ... and don’t start me on the lollies, coffee and beer.”
“I did enjoy the Mexican food but that’s from Mexico.It’s been a little better in the past decade but USA sweet treats are still woefully short of what I expect of a superpower.Of course English, Russian, French and Italian bakeries have had their acts together for centuries. And funnily enough the Chinese are a dab hand with flour, sugar and cream.”
This should be the way that countries are ranked from a livability perspective. Say what you like about England’s dreariness, but those people know how to bake a pie.
142nd over - Australia 499-4 (S Marsh 61, Burns 32)
Most people at the SCG have had enough of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s mediums for the day but not Virat Kohli. Marsh feathers him wide of point for a boundary and then crunches three down the ground from a ricochet off the bowler’s boot. Was that his good foot? Does he have a good foot at this point? He looks like he needs to lie down.
Baking fever is upon us.
Today Brayshaw has talked for around an hour about how Mark Taylor's wife is good at cooking biscuits. #AUSvIND
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) January 7, 2015
141st over - Australia 490-4 (S Marsh 53, Burns 31)
Burns breaks the relative deadlock with a single off Yadav and Marsh follows suit, but neither side is particularly endearing itself to the crowd or TV viewers right now. Even the 300 Richie Benaud impersonators in the outer have quietened down. It’s certainly not what you’d describe as marvellous cricket at the moment.
My fiancee is even weighing in on the hot cross bun debate now an with a more pragmatic take. “Aren’t hot cross buns generally available as “fruit buns”?” she asks. “If not, people can just have fruit toast. Same thing. Different format.”
Updated
140th over - Australia 488-4 (S Marsh 52, Burns 30)
Bhuvi Kumar is down to 115kpmh now, begging not only questions about whether he might dip below three figures, but also whether it’s possible to bowl at negative speed. Any physicists out there who can crunch some numbers for us? The one that counts for Captain Kohli is that the over is another maiden. That’s two in a row. At this rate they might bore the crowd away completely. The run rate’s now dipped below 3.5 per over too.
Bakery talk, meanwhile, has now somehow filtered through to the Nine commentary box, where Ian Healy is talking about his wife’s kitchen offerings. Just a reminder, this is the 2014-15 Indian tour, not the 1947-48 one. India could probably do with Lala Amarnath right now, mind.
139th over - Australia 488-4 (S Marsh 52, Burns 30)
Umesh Yadav’s probably been a little shirty at having to cool his heels in the outfield for so long but he’s also been dreadfully expensive in this game so can hardly blame his captain for taking so long to throw him the old ball. Yadav brings with him an immediate lift in intensity - a whole 138kmph of it - and keeps his line tight around off stump to produce a maiden and the faintest amount of pressure.
In a measure of how far this game has drifted into torpor though, Joshua Hines arrives with another passionate opinion on baked goods. “I agree with the hot cross bun being a standard bakery item,” he says, “this has been a massive issue with me and the baking community for a long time. Mince pies doubly so.”
I hope the head honchos at Baker’s Delight and Brumby’s are OBO readers.
138th over - Australia 488-4 (S Marsh 52, Burns 30)
Virat Kohli looks like a man who wants to be seen to be doing the right thing at the moment, so he uses the drinks break as an opportunity to bring his men together in a huddle and lay down the law. Perhaps they’re just debating that hot cross bun conundrum though, who really knows?
If Bhuvi Kumar was a bakery item right now, it would have to be a stale dinner roll. Indian keeper Saha moved up to the stumps late yesterday, but now he stands in a non-committal position about 6 metres behind the stumps as though he’s keeping to junior. That tells you something of India’s current intensity.
The Aussies, on the other hand, look to move things along through Marsh and he launches a risky lofted drive over the in-field for two before looking to drive straighter and along the carpet.
Marsh’s 50, in case you were wondering, came from 87 deliveries and featured 6 fours and a six. At the moment the only way he looks like getting out is via an unforced error.
Shaun Marsh brings up his half-century
137th over - Australia 486-4 (S Marsh 50, Burns 30)
Raina continues to Marsh and though he manages to tie him up for five deliveries of nonthreatening spin, Marsh nudges a single to bring up his milestone. The crowd applauds but at a volume that indicates they’d like a few more shots and also that Marsh is only half-way there.
Phillip Meng wants me to lay into Watto a bit more than I am, but he’s also a little perturbed about what he’s finding in the supermarket catalogues. “Doing a bit of light reading whilst watching the cricket with the sound down and radio on, I came across an advertisement for hot cross buns. Not a bad price, but, it has only been TWO WEEKS since Christmas! For the record, it is 88 days until Easter, or about half the apparent length of the ODI World Cup.”
Surely there is no such thing as a bad time to eat hot cross buns though, Phillip? They should be a standard bakery item, perhaps replacing those awful pink-frosted tart things with Smarties for eyes and hundreds-and-thousands sprinkled into the shape of a smile. The latter really offer nothing to the bakery display case other than sheer novelty. Does anyone buy them? These are the things I often ponder because I’m such a restless intellectual.
136th over - Australia 485-4 (S Marsh 49, Burns 30)
I like to prsonalize my stats so here’s one for you: not a single wicket has fallen in this Test while I’ve been OBOing. Do the BCCI need to pay me to go on a holiday? Will the BCCI pay me to go on a holiday? Seriously, someone get word to them. I’m open to an arrangement.
Ned Hurley is no Suresh Raina fan. “Given Rahul dropped Rogers on 19 and has been woeful in his attempts to trap the ball, how many runs in arrears will he be when he comes out to bat?” he asks. “At this stage he’ll have to make 80+ to break even...”
But more importantly, will he wear those wraparound sunglasses when he bats?
Meanwhile, Shaun Marsh is one run away from another half-century. Surely there’s no better time than this to chalk up a ton?
135th over - Australia 484-4 (S Marsh 48, Burns 30)
Virat Kohli is hardly blessed with bowling options right now but going back to the well and asking anything of Suresh Raina is a bit of a stretch. Declaration bowling, even. That’s not going to happen anytime soon though.
“Indian bowlers will be sweating on the declaration before our tail comes in,” says ‘Disco Bob’. At least Raina manages a maiden here. Small mercies.
134th over - Australia 484-4 (S Marsh 48, Burns 30)
Kumar is a little depressing to watch at the moment. His captain needs him to keep bending his back but he’s hobbling around and firing blanks. Marsh belts him for a straight boundary and again it’s only the lack of pace on the ball that prevents any further damage on the scoreboard.
133rd over - Australia 480-4 (S Marsh 44, Burns 30)
Marsh dices with danger here to Ashwin, cutting a ball that was well flighted and spinning away and only just avoiding the diving man at slip. That three brings Burns on strike and he’s really growing into this innings, confidently sweeping Ashwin from well outside off stump to pick up a boundary out at deep square leg. What a time to be a batsman.
132nd over - Australia 473-4 (S Marsh 41, Burns 26)
Bhuvi Kumar is back with the same right-arm lethargic he offered yesterday and this morning. He retains the full run-up he’d use when he was fully fit, but a couple of steps would probably do to produce the 120kmph nude-nuts he’s sending down.
At that pace, there’s a fairly minimal margin for error and with that in mind Burns absolutely canes a half-tracker to the mid-wicket fence. Perhaps the only discomfort for these two batsmen facing Kumar is that the ball isn’t quite coming onto the bat as quickly as they’d like. Burns shapes to drive the final delivery here but he probably could have changed his gloves and had a quick sip of Gatorade by the time it finally arrived at the bat.
131st over - Australia 468-4 (S Marsh 40, Burns 22)
Marsh and Burns are just milking Ashwin for singles now. Kohli waits until the final delivery of the over and brings a helmeted man in to short leg for Burns but the latter is growing in confidence and his forward defence of the ensuing delivery impenetrable.
Peter Leybourne has a question of cricket terminology. “The woeful effort of diving over the top of the ball as beautifully demonstrated by Rahul et al at the SCG is called a “Harbour Bridge” in club cricket here in NSW.Does this misfield go by any other moniker elsewhere?”
I’ve played in Melbourne and in England, Peter. Always a “Harbour Bridge” in Melbourne but I think I heard “London Bridge” in the Hampshire League. “Village” is perhaps a more apt description though, all things considered. Absolutely village.
130th over - Australia 465-4 (S Marsh 38, Burns 21)
Rare has been the occasion in this series where Mohammed Shami has looked up to snuff as a Test bowler and this spell so far is no excpetion. When Bruns isn’t letting innocuos length balls go he’s forward to the inevitably-overpitched one and slamming three through cover. Only a flashing neon green man could make Shami look any more pedestrian right now.
129th over - Australia 461-4 (S Marsh 37, Burns 18)
Ashwin’s given two slips to Marsh but that doesn’t really make a difference when you drop short and give a batsman like him the invitation to biff it through the covers. Marsh accepts with relish.
If the Australian top order has made 450+ this innings, just imagine how many our in-form tail will amass. #AUSvIND
— Dan Liebke (@LiebCricket) January 7, 2015
128th over - Australia 457-4 (S Marsh 33, Burns 18)
Kohli spares us any more gooey custard from Raina but his replacement Mohammed Shami barely does any better with his first effort, a juicy half-volley that Marsh crunches through the bowlers’ legs for a straight boundary. That was less a buffet ball than room service brought right up the edge of the bed.
Rather unkindly, Nine start splicing in images of Michael Holding bowling between each of Shami’s deliveries, which is like looping a Jimmy Hendrix guitar track over the top of one of Kid Rock’s.
127th over - Australia 452-4 (S Marsh 28, Burns 18)
Perhaps half-trackers are contagious. Ravi Ashwin doesn’t bowl many himself but paired with Raina here, he drops woefully short to Marsh and gets gleefully pulled wide of mid-wicket for a boundary.
Not for the first time in the series, a declaration appears India’s best chance of respite today but Burns has also played a couple of uppish and streaky shots as well so they might bank on a wicket from a mistake rather than skillful bowling. Not much of a tactic, really. Neither is starting a session with a part-time spinner.
126th over - Australia 445-4 (S Marsh 23, Burns 16)
If Suresh Raina reminds you of someone, perhaps cast your memory net further than the Test cricket ranks because it’s possibly someone you played with in a fifth grade Sunday team. He drags one down short outside off and Burns cuts him for four, but there are plenty of other opportunities that the watchful rookie also turns down. That probably takes some restraint.
125th over - Australia 440-4 (S Marsh 22, Burns 12)
Ashwin has a short leg and a leg slip to Burns and accordingly pursues a line around the batsman’s leg stump but Burns manages to bisect those two fieldsmen by cannily smothering a glance around the corner for two. Ashwin is certainly a threat, but what a great time for a batsman like Burns to pick up some cheap runs and get his confidence going.
124th over - Australia 436-4 (S Marsh 21, Burns 9)
Raina keep on gently rolling his arm over to Burns, whose focus seems to have shifted from attack to avoiding the abject humiliation of departing to such filth. Ian Chappell is less concerned with that than the pre-innings rituals of certain batsman. Let them play cards/listen to music/purge their stomachs, seems to be Chappelli’s attitude. Brad Haddin’s the next man in. He’s probably watching this bowling and having fantasies.
123rd over - Australia 435-4 (S Marsh 21, Burns 8)
Having pinched the strike from the last delivery of the Raina over, Marsh is in a position to take a better look at Ravi Ashwin. The spinner moves him around the crease in canny style, but Marsh’s footwork passes the test and he bats away a maiden.
I don’t know the context on the below but instinctively agree.
Why on earth would any film promoter want Ian Healy reading out an ad for their film? #AUSvIND #cricket
— General Ursus (@GenUrsus) January 7, 2015
122nd over - Australia 435-4 (S Marsh 21, Burns 8)
Whatever Virat Kohli’s post-lunch plan is, you could hazard a guess that it’s not exactly an attacking one because Suresh Rain is the man chosen to partner Ashwin. Shaun Marsh probably thinks Christmas has come again, because he dances down the track like Michael Flatley and deposits the part-time spinner over the long-on boundary for six.
121st over - Australia 428-4 (S Marsh 14, Burns 8)
Ravi Ashwin gets us under way after lunch and he’s bowling to Joe Burns, who nervlessly skips down the track to the second ball and drives it through cover to the boundary. Not a bad way to get off the mark, really. It took Burns 19 deliveries but one brings two, because the next ball he’s advancing again and hoicking Ashwin over mid-wicket for four more. Slightly less convincing, the latter
Is this a concerted effort to unsettle Ashwin and open up both ends to attack? Perhaps. Maybe Burns just got sick of being stuck on a duck.
The Aussies are cruising
So much so that Dave Warner and Mitch Starc have now moved out into the middle of the ground to watch their respective partners participate in a Channel Nine catching competition. To be honest there’d be more entertainment on offer if a few of the Indians were sent out there to have a go.
At the risk of laboring the point, I wouldn’t mind adding my two cents on Shane Watson. Yes he’s doubtless been affected by the Phillip Hughes tragedy, no there is not currently a viable option banging down the door but Watson’s career strike rate in Tests is currently hovering at around 53. Today it sunk to 44 in his 81 off 183 deliveries. For those following at home, yes that’s more deliveries than Dave Warner has ever lasted in a Test innings, but the problem is that Watson ambles along so slowly like he did here.
Does this fit with the Lehmann ‘velocity’ mantra? You wouldn’t think so.
And can you really carry a number 3 who averages 35 at that sort of strike rate? My hunch is Australia won’t for too much longer, but Watson really might have moved things along today against such pedestrian bowling from the tourists. India really has one viable option right now - Ravi Ashwin - how might Watson fare against an even half-decent English attack in 6 months time?
@rustyjacko has Watto left the field yet? Do you think he's subject to a different set of physical laws wrt time and space? #AUSvIND
— wonk_arama (@wonk_arama) January 7, 2015
First Innings Steve
This is quite a remarkable stat:
Steve Smith's last 7 knocks in the first innings of a Test: 111, 115, 100, 84, 162*, 192, 102*. #AusvInd
— Ethan (@ethan_meldrum) January 7, 2015
This, of course, refers to Smith’s innings in the first innings of the entire Test and doesn’t count Tests in which Australia batted second, but it amply illustrates why he’d be having absolutely no hesitation in electing to bat when he wins the toss.
Afternoon OBOers
Russell Jackson here, again slightly disconcerted by my introduction. “Throbbing” with cricket knowledge? If there’s one cure for throbbing, I think it might be found in the ineptitude of this Indian bowling attack. Just ask Shane Watson. He’s as flaccid as can be right now, I bet. Poor bloke.
But down to business. I’ll be ushering you through until stumps today, so feel free to email me on russell.jackson@theguardian.com with your observations, or else get me via twitter @rustyjacko
In this upcoming session we’ll hopefully be getting a better look at Joe Burns than we did in Melbourne and Shaun Marsh too has an ideal opportunity to put up some numbers. Against these tiring Indian bowlers, they’ll be kicking themselves if they don’t cash in.
Lunch: Australia 420-4
On pure numbers that was India’s session. Two big wickets for India (Watto!), a relatively pedestrian 72 runs for Australia, an overheated laptop for me. But all the damage was done yesterday and India just need to keep going, with Ashwin looking the man most likely.
Enjoy your lunch, I’ll enjoy mine, and thanks for your company, emails and lively offerings on the demise of society. Let no-one say I don’t get to the heart of the matter when I’m commentating on cricket.
I’ll be back for session three tomorrow. Meantime, your host for the rest of the day will be Russell Jackson whose cricketing brain all but throbs with knowledge.
120th over: 420-4 (Marsh 14, Burns 0)
No duck breaker for Burns, but Marsh breaks the run of maidens with a four blazed to deep cover point. And that’s lunch as Oliver Benson sinks the slipper a little deeper: “I’ve just read that Smith has as many hundreds in this series as Watson has in his test career to date. What a goose.”
119th over: 416-4 (Marsh 10, Burns 0)
Ashwin is as tight as Burns’ nerves, and the Aussie faces six balls for no run. The pressure builds.
Jonny Hodgetts again, on the topic of the rise of Steven Smith: “Considering he made his Test debut back in 2010, I’ve just noticed that one quarter of all balls faced for Smith have come in this series. He truly has come a long way from being Warne’s poster boy for the future of legspin.”
118th over: 416-4 (Marsh 10, Burns 0)
Another maiden. Burns would love a run before the approaching lunch break, wouldn’t he?
117th over: 416-4 (Marsh 10, Burns 0)
This game has slowed right down, illustrating my point about the pressure on the Australian men at the crease.
Your emails: “If you wave at Chris (111th over) he might give you a courtesy finger in reply,” offers Matt Leonard. No, Matt, Chris and I are cool.
And Patrick Megan has found a live stream, but “the commentary is woeful. A bunch of tossers and not an Oirish accent among them. So I’ve kept your link going at the same time. That was a surprising shot by Watson. And Joe Burns? He’s Oirish isn’t he?”
116th over: Australia 416-4 (Marsh 10, Burns 0)
Shane Warne says that the sudden shift in momentum shows that this game is mental. At first I thought he meant it in the colloquial manner, but unfortunately he was referring to its effects on the psychology on its participants.
Neil McGwyre catches me out. Or does he? “Need I point out that Thin Lizzy were, in fact, Irish anyway? Obviously there’s nothing to say that they wouldn’t have had an Irish cousin - and I suppose the chances of said cousin also being called Thin Lizzy would be pretty slim. It appears that I’m arguing with myself now, which is an all together too familiar situation.”
115th over: Australia 416-4 (Marsh 9, Burns 0)
Dropped! Ashwin, looking even more dangerous now, has the left-handed Marsh edging as he pushes forward. Vijay, in the gully, dives right and he got there, but perhaps too soon, the ball striking him on the right wrist before hitting the grass. A real opportunity missed there, yet another in this match.
114th over: 415-4 (Marsh 9, Burns 0)
Yadav completes a wicket-maiden by missing Burns’ off-stump by ‘this much’ after the new man to the crease shoulders arms. Kohli smiles ruefully. There’s been a shift in atmosphere all of a sudden, but Australia have the runs on the board and wickets in hand. Still, there’s pressure on two men looking for runs for different reasons.
WICKET! Smith c Saha b Yadav 117 (Australia 415-4)
A double breakthrough for India, and a wicket for Yadav to encourage him to not give the game away. Smith looked to drive but he edged behind, misreading the speed of the ball it seemed. He may have got stuck on the crease a little too, understandable enough after a long time at the wicket.
113th over: Australia 415-3 (Smith 117, Marsh 9)
I hate to see Watson’s long face, but Oliver Benson loves it: “I’ve been flicking between work and your commentary all morning with the hope of seeing Watto out before he gets his hundred. There is very little that amuses me more than seeing him make a start, although admittedly he did score about 50 more than usual. The only thing funnier is seeing his reaction when he bowls something that may have come close to a wicket hadn’t the ball been a foot outside off and left by the batsman. Oh the anguish of what may have been had he only nicked it! No, you goose. No.”
I’d guess that you’re not president of the Shane Watson Fanclub, Oliver?
112th over: Australia 414-3 (Smith 116, Marsh 9)
Three singles as Yadav’s figures inexorably climb to 0-119 from 20. This is a benign pitch, so far, but still.
111th over: Australia 411-3 (Smith 114, Marsh 8)
A tight over by Ashwin who has been the pick of the bowlers today. But what’s the point, right? Unless something incredible happens Australia will bat as long as they like.
Chris is a he, by the way. But because of our shared Irish roots, he’s not going to hold anything against me. Which is good. I’m in a serious relationship and have two kids.
110th over: Australia 409-3 (Smith 113, Marsh 7)
Shami encourages an edge from Marsh’s bat, but it’s of the thick outside variety, and it races to the third man fence.
That Watson face truly is a thing of misery, writes Finn Liddy, Thin Lizzy’s Irish cousin I presume. “Poor old Watson. That’s how people should look when they walk/drive to work. Funereal and condemned.”
109th over: Australia 403-3 (Smith 112, Marsh 2)
Watto, Watto, Watto.
Jonny Hodgetts agrees on Three Men and a Boat, which is one of his favourites. “And for further timeless Victorian comedy may I suggest George Grossmith’s ‘Diary of a Nobody’? A train of thought that now has me thinking of The Pickwick Papers’s bit of cricket; “Capital game—smart sport—fine exercise—very”.”
108th over: Australia 402-3 (Smith 111, Marsh 2)
On the first ball he faces, Marsh racks up a double to long leg. But we’re still shaking our heads at Watto shooting himself in the foot.
Updated
WICKET! Watson c Ashwin b Shami 81 (Australia 400-3)
Watto, Watto, Watto! With boundless space on the leg-side, Watson pulls a shortish ball and finds Ashwin —who doesn’t have to move an inch— at deep midwicket. Another hundred goes begging, and on a pitch reader Jeff Jones calls “benignant” (“Sadly google assures me this is actually a real word with little of the scorn I intend it to convey”). Watto, Watto, Watto. And there’s the drop of the head, the mournful walk off.
107th over: Australia 400-2 (SMith 111, Watson 81)
Another single to Watto. Meantime, Patrick Megan is tuned in from Hong Kong “where the rain and fog have moved in for the day. There’s no swing here, well except for a some early morning ‘swingers’ in Wan Chai who haven’t found their way home yet. Trying to find a decent live stream but until I do, I’ll have to put up with yours. So far so good.”
Why does that make me feel like I’m being judged?
106th over: Australia 399-2 (Smith 111, Watson 80)
A single to Watson. But the real action is in my email inbox.
“Waving at drivers who stop at crossings is tantamount to saying ‘thank you for not running me over due to your negligence’,” says Chris Owen. “My big driving bugbear is tailgating. Guys, just get out of my boot. There are three lines of traffic, all doing the limit. The guy in front on me is doing the limit, the guy to the side of me is doing the limit. I’m in this lane because in 3k I need to turn right and no bugger is going to let me move out further down the road. Capiche? Just be patient.”
And to remind us that there is a cricket match going on, he or she adds. “And why are India so awful? You’d think in a country of over a billion, mostly cricket obsessed, people, they could find four or five guys who could bowl to Test standard?” Anyone?
105th over: Australia 398-2 (Smith 111, Watson 79)
Smith dropped! But that’s a harsh way to put it. Smith looks to tickle Ashwin down leg (easy) but he clips it too fine and after brushing his trousers it finds the tips of Saha’s gloves. But it’s gone before Saha would have known anything about it.
Got that Pony Face album for Christmas. Decent score. Also Jerome K Jerome’s classic fictional travelogue Three Men and a Boat. Considering it was written over 120 years ago it is remarkably modern in its feel. And funny, too. So now you know what I got for Christmas. As you were.
104th over: 396-2 (Smith110, Watson 78)
Shami returns and Smith complies another three runs to see us to the drinks break.
A musical interlude? Melbourne band Pony Face doing the Boss’ Nebraska. Be warned, it’s melancholic. If you’re Indian and already feeling glum, don’t watch.
103rd over: 393-2 (Smith 107, Watson 78)
Some encouragement for India when Ashwin catches the inside edge of Watson’s bat. It goes for a single but it may put doubt into the big man’s mind. And he doesn’t need more of that.
102nd over: 392-2 (Smith 106, Watson 77)
Oh Yadav. Ball three is as wide and juicy as a new season mango. Smith crunches it through cover. At this rate Australia will bat all day, perhaps leaving an hour before stumps to inveigle a couple of Indian wickets. It’s a good track, we must remember, and time will be needed for Australia to take 20 Indian wickets.
101st over: Australia 386-2 (Smith 102, Watson 76)
Kumar doesn’t trouble Watson who works three runs from the over, two of them courtesy of a misfield that India can scant afford.
Matt Leonard has a different angle on the waving debate: “I also recognise that modern society is crumbling around us by the demise of the courtesy wave/nod from a pedestrian crossing the street to the driver. Note that I nearly wrote courtesy finger there but taken out of context, that opens up a whole other topic.”
As long as you don’t mean when the pedestrian is crossing with the green man, I agree. Sometimes I think drivers expect pedestrians to be grateful the driver is letting them cross at a crossing. Seeing drivers push through pedestrians at a cross really makes me shake my fist. If I was on twitter I’d hashtag that.
100th over: Australia 383-2 (Smith 102, Watson 73)
While Smith brings up his ton, the discussion continues:
Matt Harris with a telling contribution: “One thing that really grinds my gears is people who wave after pushing in. Don’t wave at me, I didn’t let you in! It bothers me to think of them, easing their consciences by waving, as if that retrospectively makes my braking voluntary, as opposed to a last-second attempt to not have a car crash. Maybe I need a second coffee. Or fewer coffees. It’s so hard to tell.”
Fair point, Matt. I’m starting to think I should organise National Fist-Shaking Day: a day where we can release out frustrations in solidarity by shaking out fists at the heavens in the company of likeminded souls.
A century to Steve Smith
A double to Smith through mid-on gets him to 98 and the final ball of the over. Yadav, showing what an obliging fellow he is, bowls him a full toss on his legs and he cracks it through midwicket for four. Smith is scoring so many hundreds he may be starting to devalue them.
99th over: Australia 376-2 (Smith 96, Smith 72)
Kumar slips a loose ball to Watson’s legs and he flicks it to the fine leg boundary. Kohli looks a little cross. He reminds me, Kohli, of the chickenhawk from those old Warner Bros. cartoon. Small, feisty, willing to take anyone on.
Who cares about raised fingers and waves, says Dean Kinsella from the west of Ireland, from where, incidentally, me mammy hails. “Frankly I don’t care what drivers do with their fingers here in the west of Ireland if they would only please, please, please use their indicators! Any swing for Kumar?” Not nearly enough.
98th over: Australia 371-2 (Smith 96, Watson 67)
Here comes Yadav, caned yesterday to the tune of 0/96 from 16 (6.06 per over). Can he redeem hismself? Well, after a Watson single, Smith, in a hurry to post yet another hundred, rocks back and pulls classically through mid-wicket. He can hit shots in a style you’ve never seen before (think fly-swatting, bug-crushing, lantana-clearing) but then he can do the classics too. An exchange of singles follows and Smith moves to 96.
97th over: Australia 364-2 (Smith 91, Watson 65)
A Rahul misfield at cover gifts Smith an easy run, and finally, after my laptop fadeout, I’ve caught up.
96th over: 363-2 (Smith 91, Watson 64)
Smith powers into the nineties with two boundaries. The first, when he helps a full ball down leg-side to the square leg fence; the second, a sweet caress through the covers.
How much effort does it take to lift a finger? My brother toots drivers who don’t give him the wave. He then waves frantically at them to drive home the point. Which I’m sure they don’t get.
95th over: 355-2 (Smith 83, Watson 64)
Watson, striving for a century to prove he does belong at three no matter what anyone says, works a couple through midwicket. I hope he gets a century. I don’t know if I can bear to see his lugubrious, bat-dragging countenance if he ‘fails’ again.
Chandy adds his two bob to the driver courtesy diversion. “Totally agree with you re the dearth of courteous drivers. It’s apparently universal - thought it was just restricted to a**h***s in North America!”
Anthills?
94th over: Australia 353-2 (Smith 83, Watson 62)
Three leg byes as Watson tries, but fails to duck a bouncer, but it ricochets off his lid and over the slips.
On the pressing subject of wavers, Jony Hodgetts, who lives in Outback NT, says “most drivers are wavers or at least forefinger raisers. I think because we don’t often see other vehicles. On one Christmas drive to Sydney from Tennant Creek, my hand popped up as others pass and a wave was most often returned. Until Cobar. I would like to declare Cobar the dividing range between us wavers and those non-wavers; the breakdown of society begins there!”
93rd over: Australia 350-2 (Watson 83, Watson 62)
Smith sees out a Kumar maiden. You beauty.
Wendy writes back: “Have just seen that you know where Wollongong is located — thought you must be a Victorian like Russell J.”
I may live here the rest of my life, Wendy, but I will never be a Victorian.
Updated
92nd over: Australia 350-2 (Watson 83, Watson 62)
Now it’s Watson’s turn, a man who continues to show that number 3 is just not his spot, even though Shane Warne has just said it is....
WOAH! My laptop just crashed. Unbelievable. I’ve had to call for a change of equipment, waving my old laptop in the air like a pair of sweaty gloves. In the meantime, two singles from an uneventuful SHami over as I scramble to catch up.
Updated
91st over: Australia 348-2 (Smith 82, Watson 61)
Kumar, who had 0/67 off his 20 overs yesterday, gets us underway and, showing some consideration for yours truly, Smith blocks out a tight, if unthreatening over. Just getting his eye in.
Not for the first time, someone is concerned for my state of mind. Wendy Cowling is first out of the blocks this morning, showing appreciated concern. “Good morning Paul,” she writes in italics, “very concerned about your state of mind - tired already and the day has not begun! Warmish day here on the upper South Coast of NSW (half an hour from Wollongong but should be a nice breeze later at the SCG.)Would you care to estimate how many runs will be made before S. Smith takes pity on the Indian bowlers and declares?”
You are right to be concerned, Wendy. I seem to be making mtypos in every second word. I am still in beach mode. To think, two days ago I was taming the surf at North Wollongong, blinding the young ladies with my alabaster-toned body. Now I’m back at home, in a hot little office, tapping away at my laptop like a captive chimp.
Oh look, the cricket is about to start!
Before I get started, I have to admit that I didn’t see —or have described to me by convivial middle-aged men— a single ball of day 1. I was driving the seemingly endless monotony of the Hume Hwy between Wollongong and Melbourne, a journey of some 11 hours when you factor in breaks for ablutions, leg-stretching, and mini-tantrums (not all mine). On account of some yob having snapped off my car’s aerial some time ago there is no radio reception in my well-worn vehicle. Normally this is a blessing (there is so much noise in my life I enjoy the silence when I drive), but it means no cricket on the radio. But that, in turn, I suppose, is a blessing for my fellow passengers who’d rather do maths homework in their summer holidays than listen to cricket on the radio. So, I come into this game somewhat cold. Let’s hope I don’t pull a hammy going for that first quick single.
As usual, your input is welcome. So drop me a line: paul.connolly@theguardian.com. Happy to canvas your thoughts on a range of subjects, driving related or otherwise (cricket, even). On that, you want to know my pet hate? Drivers who don’t give you a little wave of acknowledgement —even a single finger lifted from the steering wheel— when you let them in. C’mon, people, we live in a society!
Good morning, everyone. In case you’re wondering, and why wouldn’t you be, the last time I was in this seat was for that incredible final session of the first Test. I don’t want to brag but, in what was my Test debut, I oversaw eight wickets for 73 runs in 37 overs, figures none of my better credentialed OBO’ers have come close to matching. The effort left me exhausted, I won’t pretend otherwise, but it also left me worried. Where do I have to go after that but downhill?
If India is to have any hope in this Test I’ll they’ll have to come close to matching my those figures. With Australia at 2 for 348, India will surely need a swag of morning wickets to give themselves a chance of victory; a chance that already looks slim. With run machine Steve Smith on 82 n.o. and Shane Watson threatening to convert a 50 into a ton, Australia will start with high hopes of grinding India into the SCG turf.
Paul Connolly is the man to guide you to lunch on this second day of the fourth Test in Sydney. Before he slips into the hot seat though, why not bring yourselves up to speed on day one’s events...
A poignant century from David Warner put Australia in complete control of the fourth Test against India, with the hosts 348-2 at stumps on day one.
Warner and Chris Rogers shared their most productive opening stand, hammering home the hosts’ advantage after Steve Smith won the toss at the SCG.
Warner paid tribute to Phillip Hughes upon reaching 63 not out, removing his helmet and kissing the pitch where his close friend was felled by a bouncer while on the same score.
Read the full day one report here.
