Adelaide Test – Day 3: Answered Prayers

This day has started with many issues swirling around the firmament;

  • the tributes being paid to Nelson Mandela.
  • the state of our car and airline industries.
  • the fact that the lady concerned can’t locate a whole raft of angel’s dresses which are supposed to be being  worn at our little local Lutheran Church’s nativity presentation for this year,
  • has the Adelaide Oval lost its character?

The cricket; I just love it that with my 63 inch HD Sammy I can follow the camera  right into the batsmen’s eyes as they face the power of Johnson et al.

Today has started quietly enough, as I have been messing around on my computer.  As an ex Croweater I nod with approval when Kerry O’Keefe on ABC radio talks about the Adelaide crowd being too interested in the cricket to be messing around with beach balls. This reminds me of an incident  in January  1959 when as a 12 year old I was attending my first Test Match, that is the Fourth Test in the 1958/1959 Ashes Series when the cricket was much slower than it is  today.

I had been, with my sister, sitting in the John Cresswell Stand and had been paying rapt attention to every ball but was momentarily distracted by an ice cream vendor, “Choc Ice for sale, Choc Ice for sale”  and started to have an argument with said sister as to the destination of a one shilling coin which had been flicked in the general direction of seller and lost in transit. My Dad was right on it, spitting out with  angrily hissed emphasis “If you can’t concentrate on the game then don’t expect me to ever bring you to the cricket again”. Lesson definitely understood.

What’s this!!!!. Root, having hung around and not being in much trouble against the most ferocious bowling of Johnson or that matter Harris, has suddenly had a slog sweep at Lyon, misjudged and sent the ball towards deep backward square leg. Rogers has rushed in to take a finely judged catch. Jonathan Agnew is horrified, it was Lyon’s first ball to Root.. (By the way, Agnew seems to be a thoroughly decent bloke who is very fair in his ball to ball commentary). The “experts” commentator reminds us that Clarke could have easily been out first ball against Monty when he  had gone for a shot and put it into the air where it could have gone anywhere.

It gets better. Pietersen has hit Siddle to mid wicket where Bailey at who at first had juggled, spilled and juggled the ball again then completed the catch.

Since then England has mounted a real counter attack with both Bell and Carberry showing that it is possible to score runs, and quickly, with Bell taking g a particular liking to Lyon with two quick sixes down the ground. Carberry has made a fine fifty, absolutely an innings of sheer guts.

Warner has just taken a fabulous one handed catch at square leg, having dived left and holding the ball in his left hand to have Carberry dismissed for 60 off Watson, ten minutes before lunch, after the side had scored collectively nothing from 5 overs.

Lunch Day Three England 4 for 116.

Immediately after lunch Stokes out LBW, first of the series. Plumb in front, not given, Erasmus obviously thought it had hit the bat but was wrong. Johnson has struck again he is simply too good for the Poms. Follow on coming up? How were we trounced by this mob last year? Now Prior has been caught behind off Johnson again. 6 for 117. Bloody hell, now Broad bowled,  behind his legs as he moved too far across exposing his stumps. He had tried to delay the inevitable by claiming a reflection off of the infrastructure of the sight screen but it was all to no avail broadly speaking. Hat trick ball? Sadly, no.

Swann sharply  caught by Clarke off guess who? Now he has a Michelle! But there is more, now Anderson has been bowled neck and crop by Johnson who suddenly has 6 for 36. If there has been a more inspired spell of fast bowling I don’t recall seeing it, and this from  a bloke who I had previously thought was useless, but hang on, he has suddenly become Australia’s tenth most prolific wicket taker. Where did that come from? Well it has certainly shut up the Barmy Army, a grouping that I have mostly seen as being basically not only not  being a particular ornament to the game, but rather a disparate annoying  bunch of English morons. The only problem is that Australia’s “Oi” “Oi””Oi” brigade is even more moronic. Anyway, I doubt that Johnson will be subjected to many more sneering, derisive remarks from that quarter.

Johnson, off for an hour, comes back, 3 balls later bowls Panesar, but the latter showed real guts in hanging around for nearly an hour. Bell batted well with his four sixes at providing proof that at least couple of the Poms can bat. Johnson finished up with 7 for 40.

Clarke has not enforced the follow on, good idea really, the Perth Test is too close but it does give England a chance to break into the Australian order and perhaps sow some doubts. Rogers has done just that edging a very simple chance to Prior off Anderson. Unfortunately Rogers place is by no means secure, in this instance he should have shown better footwork. Watson out for a second ball duck, hitting to point! Wattoed himself out having a wild slash,  bloody hell, now it is up to Clarke, again.  Great over though Anderson, had thought that he was not really fair dinkum in the first over, seemed to be going through the motions.

Sanity has been restored, Warner has just hit a great square cut, just don’t get out. Channel None had a puff piece on the bloke during the tea break, hope that it doesn’t go to his head!

I am not sure that I was hearing correctly but I am sure that I heard Chapelli saying that there was no place for premeditated sledging on the field; really!? Well, he reckons that is up to the captain to take control when on field comments get out of hand, not the umpire. What if the captain fires up, what then?

Our blokes are looking a bit safer now but the innings still only totals 26, sure in the scheme of things it not  a real worry but never give a sucker an even break

I was just saying to the Minister For Home Affairs that Panesar was looking pretty damned good, turning the ball a lot, and blow me, Clarke missed a straight one as the ball hit the top of the off stump. Still we have a lead of 466 but like a few others Smith need to consolidate his place in the side.

Warner 52 from 79 balls, got the fifty with the ball going through Pietersen. How sweet it is!

Australia has now gone to  a lead of 500 with a pretty much mistimed hoick from Anderson, by Warner, from which three were scored. All the same, even though you think that he might be out next ball, he has now gone to 68.

Warner has just flat batted Stokes straight back past his ears for four at long on.

Now Smith and Warner have a fifty partnership in 52 balls.

Stumps, Oz 530 ahead, Smith finishing off the day with a back cut for two runs, ending as Jim Maxwell said, “an astonishing day”, with as Terry Alderman saying that “people will say that they were at the Adelaide Oval when Mitch Johnson skittled the Poms”

For those cricket followers in industries where they must worry about their jobs, for those who mourn the death of Nelson Mandela,  and remember he was a cricket lover, for our nativity lady even, today was a day where if you were an Australian barracker, you could forget your problems for an hour or two and isn’t that what sport, and in particular cricket is all about? Oh and the Adelaide Oval looked terrific. What a venue it is going to be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Peter Schumacher

Wannabe footy commentator and writer, used to be a wannabe footballer

Comments

  1. Good to find someone else who remembers the John Creswell Stand before it was morphed into the Bradman Stand. I reckon they used to call out “Choc Ices aaaaand Assorted Sweets”. And there was the mystical ‘dry ice’ smoking out of the top of the ice cream bag.
    You had to watch EVERY ball in those days because there was no instant replay on the big screen if you were reading the paper when a wicket fell.
    Sweet memories.
    Great report of the day’s play. I enjoy humiliating the poms more than beating them. Cheers.

  2. Malcolm Ashwood says

    Ditto above remember the choc ices and the steam rising vividly
    Great report , Peter and Chappelli is correct there is this misconception that , Ian said a lot on the ground he said v little unless some , 1 like , Glenn Turner got involved with the umpires and then , Ian put him back in his box or ,Pascoe was bowling and , Ian decided he could put him off his length when batting against him by some verbal chat
    Overall tho from speaking to quite a few of the players from that era they all have made the point that , Ian Chappell in general did not say much on the ground
    Overall Peter great account of , 3rd days play . Thank you

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