Almanac Cricket: Australia v India 2024/25 – First Test Day 1 Perth
DAY 1 PERTH 2024-5
If you are watching on TV today or tonight how are you enjoying the new whizz bang production by the TV stations?
What with ‘The Emperor’, 4D replays, Hyper Layers, and Hindi you should be having a whale of a time. In fact if you are really careful you can go to sleep and not miss anything when when you wake up.
The next innovation will be replicants (Blade Runner) instead of the real players but the ‘players’ will take home the money!
On with the game! A good crowd coming in which will know doubt please the Commisars at the WACA who need every kopeck they can lay their hands on.
Gorgeous day in Perth but not for Bharat with Jaiswal(0) beautifully caught in the gully by winner of the batter-play-off, Nathan McSweeney, from a rampant Starc who has started the day superbly. Great start for the Croweater as well.
A remarkable war-horse is Starc who will turn 35 just after the completion of this tournament. Probably bowling better than ever.
Yashasvi Jaiswal at 22 is expected to be the heir apparent to Virat Kohli and it was not a good start for the youngester.
The greenish pitch is certainly helping the Aussie bowlers and the batters aprevery circumspect with their shot making.
Starc’s first spell has been superb 5 overs 1/3. Devdutt Padikkal never looked like making a run and it was no surprise when he tickled one through from Hazelwood to Carey. A very long duck if ever there was one.
Australia well on top and the triumvirate of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins continue on their wonderful careers in the colosseum, locally known s ‘Noah’s Arc’. I wonder how much ‘The Emperor’ is helping them?
Talking of the emperor, in comes King Kohli whose recent form has been disappointing from such a majestic batter.
Just been advised that the number of people in attendance has already beaten the highest ever for a first day in Perth.
KK (5) gets a pearler from Hazlewood and can’t keep his bat out of the way and Khawaja takes an easy catch at first slip. At 3/32 The Bahrat is in real trouble.
More trouble when the defiant Rahul (26), although he never got on top, feathered one through to Carey from Mitchell Starc. India 4/47
Things didn’t improve after the curry and jasmine rice as Durel(11) found the bounce of Marsh the younger too much for another simple catch in the slips cordon.
With the abscence of Rohit Sharma (in labour) and the question mark of the dropping of Jadeja and Ashwin it will be hard to see the visitors lasting a full five days this time round.
This makes the decison to bat even more puzzling by Jasprit Bumrah.
Bison Marsh is causing havoc on the prairie as he takes his second wicket when Washington (4) could not handle the extra bounce and Carey puts it in his pocket.
Pant is moving into his swashbuckling style but the bowling is so tight he is unable to change the tide of the game.
NK Reddy makes the green white and ornage flags flutter as he hits the ancient mariner Lyon for a couple of boundaries.
The old saying that ‘attack is the best form of defence’ has changed the Indian batting and with Pant and Reddy willing to do so they are making the game more interesting.
There won’t be much work done in accountancy practices in Perth today as they are all at the cricket. Dressed in colourful uniforms of shorts and shirts they could be seen from miles away. All for charity and there must be at least 100 of them parading up and down the corridors. Top stuff!
Meanwhile out in the middle the two batters Pant and Reddy – what a great act they would make, turning cents into dollars with some fine stroke making. Reddy hit 2 lovely backhand sweeps from Lyon to the boundary and captain Pat takes the ‘old fella’ out of the attack.
The score moves past one hundred as Pant, as only he can, tumbles over while hooking Cummins for six, an amazing shot if ever I have seen one. What a crowd pleaser he is!
Is Captain Pat panicking? He has three players on the boundary, deep point, third man nearly directly behind the keeper and fine leg all on the fence.
Well his panicking has got him a wicketas he bowls a fuller ball to Pant who goes to drive through the vacant infield but gets an edge and Smith does the rest at 2nd slip. India 7/121
McSweeney and Labuschagne combine for a great catch in slips to get Nitish Rana (7), and a wicket for Hazlewood. McSweeney dived kept the ball off the ground and Marnus did the rest. Wonderful reflexes by both players.
Reddy as a youngster, 21, is showing some courage and batting ability and has hit 5 fours and a six in his 34 not out.
The innings does not go much longer as the Indians hit out and they are gone for 150 which is not bad considering the start they made.
Reddy was the last man out for a fine 41. For Australia Hazelewood 4/29, Starc, Cummins and Marsh 2 apiece.
Well the ‘Great – Bat – Off’ didn’t work as Nathan McSweeney only reached a scratchy 10 before he missed a straight one for Jasprit Bumrah to go lbw. One must wonder what goes through a player on debut. He took a fine catch earlier in the day and assisted Labuschagne with another but batting against a champion in Bumrah is different. The Indian skipper is a class of his own.
And so it came to past.
Booomeraaah!!
Khawaja (8) caught in the slips and Smith first ball LBW. Australia 3/19. ‘No place for old men’. Jasprit 3/6
WOW! Will the mainstream media have a ball now? The question is more likely to be well who do we pick in their place?
The carnage continued as Rana beat Head (11) with a beauty after Kohli (not captain) made a few field adjustments. 4/31 Australia. This is ferocious bowling from both Rana , who looks like he is bowling every ball short, and the superb skipper Jasprih Bumrah.
Give me Test cricket any day!
The very large crowd, for Perth, have really appreciated the way the bowlers have orchestrated the day to their advantage. They have even created an encore with Marsh (8) superbly caught in slips by KL Rahul of Mohammad Siraj. Australia have missed the beat 5/38.
Labuschagne has been resolute but has only scored 2 runs from 45 deliveries but at least he is still there.
Siraj again with a toe-tapper that has ‘The Resolute’ plumb in fromt. No more runs to his score. Australia 6/47.
Rana has continued to bowl short but Carey is having his say by ramping him over the keeper for four on two occasions. Bumrah needs to come back on to keep the advantage.
He does and Cummins (3) tickles to Pant. Oz 7/59 and still quite a few overs to go today.
Well what a day before 31,302 loyal cricket fans!
At the end of the day’s play Australia are 7/67 with Carey 19 and Starc 6. Bumrah 4/17, rana 1/333, Siraj 2/17.
Australia trail by 87 runs and there will be a lot of discussion before play begins on Saturday.
More stories from Citrus Bob Utber can be read Here.
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About Bob Utber
At 84 years of age Citrus Bob is doing what he has always done since growing up on a small farm at Lang Lang. Talking, watching and writing sport and in recent years writing books. He lives in Mildura with his very considerate wife (Jenny) and a groodle named 'Chloe on Flinders' and can be found at Deakin 27 every day.
My Day 4 tix look about as valuable as a Kamala Harris Inauguration pass. The pitch was quick and bounced, but the old WACA was harder and faster. T20 on flat pitches has ruined batting technique. Everyone props onto front foot and goes hard with their hands. Border or Ian Chappell would have made tons on that deck.
Labuschagne and Smith both have backlifts to gully and play across their pads. Like Doug Walters. Imagine these blokes up against Holding, Roberts, Marshall, Croft and Garner. Be over by lunch on Day 2. This is not Test Cricket. It’s a T2O double header. Ch7 bought a dog with the cricket. At least tennis gave them 2 weeks of content. The midday movie will be on Sunday.
I know our bowling is our strength, but……….
Last evening I had flashbacks of the Windies in action at the WACA in 1984-85. Only a slashing 22 by wicket keeper Wayne Phillips got us past 50 in our first innings, allowing us to reach a ‘sterling’ tally of 76: we did better in the second innings, though still lost by an innings. Oh well, it won’t be an innings this time.
Yes Jaspirit Bumrah is one of the best bowlers in the world but the Indian attack is not the Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh quartet who destroyed our batting line up back in 1984-85. Our batting has been much vaunted by some in recent years. Look at last summers centurions, as Dave Warner is gone, and Cameron Green is out for the summer. The current top 6?
Not much point looking for form batsmen around the Australian first class ranks, as Alex Carey is the leading run scorer in the Sheffield Shield this summer. We have the same blokes who turned out for the Australian second 11, with the same tried batsmen who have never delivered at test level. Did someone say Will Puckovski?
Like Peter B I see a short test(s), with a long summer. No, Australia has some pretty glaring problems with no obvious solutions. As always happy being proven wrong, but………
Glen!
A most interesting first day’s play. Fast bowlers from both teams on top. That innings from Manus was extremely painful to watch and it was no surprise when he was finally out. What can one say about Smith, surely his retirement is not too far in the future. His slips fielding is his main grace at the moment. For a while I had serious doubts about Australia making 50. Day 2 promises to be another interesting day.
The content value of Channel 7’s cricket contract is devaluing faster than Zimbabwe dollars. Kerry Stokes is sending Ben Roberts-Smith around to have a chat to all the test pitch curators.
Thank you gentleman and PB for your interest in THE great game of Test cricket. PB 31,302 people cannot be wrong or are they Sandgropers who have nothing else to do.
You don’t have to see thousands of runs being scored when you have craftsmen like Bumrah and Starc showing their wares.
Both teams batting is brittle and/or inexperienced and I summise that there will be many scores under 200 during the series.
Always a delight getting responses from ‘those who only cricket know”. THANKS AGAIN!