Why Not Have A Trundle?

2nd Test, Australia v India

Day 4, January 5th, 2012

 

All the overnight talk was about Tendulkar. Would he finally get that 100th century? It had been proving elusive, even for the Little Master. He was 8 not out at stumps, and had not looked all that convincing in the final hour of play. But Tendulkar can be like that. A little scratchy, then suddenly he changes gears; and before the viewer even realises, he has peeled off a few boundaries and is away again.

 

And so it was on the fourth morning. As luck would have it, I had the time and inclination to camp on the couch and watch the Little Master at work. He was at his imperious best. Determined not to get bogged down, despite the monumental task facing India. I could watch this man bat all day long. And, by lunch, I was beginning to think that today I might just get that opportunity. Tendulkar was not deterred by the loss of Gambhir; if anything, it spurred him on to greater heights. And, at last, Laxman was showing some ticker. The Aussies had their work cut out for them.

 

I am not so sure about destiny. And certainly not in the way that Drew and Co kept banging on about it on the radio. 100th Test at Sydney; Clarke, Punter and hussy breaking records of all sorts; blah, blah, blah. No. Not destiny. But the way Tendulkar was batting, it seemed that a ton was a mere formality.

 

Which made his dismissal all the more surprising. He hadn’t looked like getting out.

 

Until Clarke decided to roll his arm over. Unbeaten triple-century, bat-makers lining up with fistfuls of dollars, the prospect of presiding over an Australian renaissance, model girlfriend watching on. Why not have a trundle? Lob a few up at the Great Man to see how he responds. I almost fell off the couch when the L M nicked it. Luckily for Haddin, Hussey was awake at slip. Game, set, match. You just knew now that India would not be able to bat on into day 5.

 

Michael Clarke will long remember this match on his home ground. As will we all.  A clean-sweep of the series is unlikely, but still looms as a possibility despite some minor reversals of form by the under-performing Indian bats. I am loving this series, but I hope India can bounce back. Perth should be another ripper.

 

The couch and I are looking forward to it.

 

 

 

About Darren Dawson

Always North.

Comments

  1. John Butler says

    Smokie, Clarke had the sort of test you usually only dream of.

    The way India are playing, I wouldn’t write off that clean sweep.

  2. Peter Baulderstone says

    I cannot understand how Haddin continues to get a game. My theory is that the Selectors want Tim Paine as successor and will hang on to Haddin until Paine is fit again. They don’t want to give Wade a few Tests and then either have to drop him, or have given themselves an invidious choice. His batting has been below par for a while, and his keeping has followed it down. Australia were lucky that his fluffing the Tendulkar edge rebounded to Hussey.
    Any other theories about why he still gets a game?

  3. JB

    The thing that has surprised me is not the fact that Australia are 2-0 up,
    but rather the comprehensive nature of the victories. This is despite a
    top-order which retains a certain fragility. Remember, Australia was
    4/27 in the 2nd innings in Melbourne, and 3/37 in the Sydney Test.

    Yes, the negatives get highlighted when you are getting trounced, but
    India have looked really old and slow in the field. There were a number
    of instances in Sydney of Indian fieldsman trying to stop the ball with
    their foot rather than diving etc. And it was all summed up by the sight
    of Sehwag, bald patch glistening in the sun, strolling in to roll his arm
    over.

  4. Pete,

    The number one reason a keeper is selected is for his keeping.
    And Haddin’s glovework has slowly declined across the tours
    of Sri Lanka and Sth Africa and now back at home. Sure, he has
    taken a number of catches, but Jack the blind miner could have
    snaffled the majority of those edges. It is the grassed chances
    which really tell the tale.

    It is instructive that Ian Healy seems to be growing increasingly
    frustrated in the Ch 9 box.

    I like your theory about T Paine, and I reckon the Inverarity era
    may prove to be one of conservative selections. Time will tell.

    As a former keeper myself, I will be watching with great interest
    the performance of B Haddin on the bouncier Perth deck.

  5. Peter,
    Maybe Hadds has photos of Richie Benaud wearing a Black or god forbid, Navy jacket…

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