Almanac Cricket: Second Test – Australia v South Africa Day 1: Boxing Day at the ‘G

 

 

 

 

As usual a beautiful day for the piece de resistance of cricket the Boxing Day Test.

 

There is something about wandering down to a sporting event at the ‘G’ particularly an event of major significance such as the Grand Final (Geelong by the way are reigning premiers) or the ‘big’ cricket.

 

The crowd are always looking for something grand happening at the G.

 

Of course that is the debate today. What actually is the ‘big cricket’?

 

The media tarts are running hot at the moment again talking about the death of Test cricket at the expense of the money grabbing by players and to a lesser extent  national organisations around the world in the devil’s canyon called T20.

 

The MCC are expecting a crowd of 65,000 today and they are usually pretty correct with their estimations. (By the end of the day it is 64,876).

 

Whilst the opposition has looked terrible this summer the crowd will roll in today despite who is playing and recent form.

 

Cummins wins the toss and decides to bowl.  Bowl at the G on day one?  Come on Captain Pat that was a pretty ordinary decision.  Methinks the Aussies are still reeling from their 4 wickets lost in the second dig in Brisbane. I don’t think they are enamoured with the Proteas attack or was he protecting David Warner in his 100^th test match?

 

However one must bare in mind that five of the 11 in the South African lineup have a batting average less that 20 with their number 3 batter (Du Bruyn) averaging just 19.2

 

Has Warner repented or resigned?  I see he is wearing the Australian floppy green cap for the first time in a while.

 

No change in the Australian side with all the talk pre-game being about whether Scotty B would hold his place despite his Test average of 10 runs per wicket.

 

A slow start as expected with both Starc and Cummins beating the bat  Elgar looks determined to stay today and is giving nothing away After all he has scored 5,000 runs in Test matches.

 

Scotty is beamed down to patriotic applause from the Vics in attendance and it isn’t long before he gets the first wicket when Uzzie catches Erwee (18).  What a marvel Boland is always taking wickets in his early overs.

 

The visitors consolidate for awhile and then it happens 3 wickets for 3 runs including a brilliant run out by Labuschagne to send Elgar (26) back to the pavilion.

 

Are on-field umpires becoming obsolete?  He was out by a mile and yet the umpire went upstairs.  They are just too afraid to make a  mistake nowadays.

 

At lunch the Proteas are 4/58 and unfortunately it looks like this match is already heading for a couple of days rest for the participants.  In particular Cameron Green so he can spend more time counting his money. Is ‘real’ cricket doomed?

 

What a superb fielder Marnus is. Diving away at full strength to his left he takes an indiscriminate cover drive from Zondo (5).

 

South Africa 5/67 and they have now lost 4/11 in a display very similar to what I witnessed from West Indies in Adelaide.

 

Starc and Cummins are getting some bounce now and they are giving Verreynne and Jansen a hard time. The South Africans will remember.

 

In a rare treat Marco Jansen plays the shot of the day when he beautifully straight drives Boland for four.

 

Kyle Verreynne  (42), who is the most gritty of the Proteas, does not give his opponents an inch, is holding his team together with great support from Jansen (42) and they take the team to close on 150 at tea time.

 

A rather simple catch, dropped by Khawaja, just before tea was handy as well.  Not the greatest outfield is our Uzzie.

 

Another fitting tribute to S.K.Warne when just before 4 pm the game stopped for a minute’s silence to the great man. The love that Warnie has in cricket circles is second to none still.

 

This has been a great fight back by the two batters who have taken everything the Australian bowlers have thrown at them.  Mind you they are not regarded as top five batters. They have put on over 100 runs with both Kyle and Marco passing their half centuries.

 

They have not mastered the Australian attack but they certainly have blunted it to the pleasure of the crowd.

 

What an interesting figure it is if a spectator transgresses onto the ground during play.  You will be fined $11,095.20.  Does that include CPI?

 

Verrynne’s fine innings (52) comes to an end when ‘Greenback’ gets one to move a little and Smith takes comfortably at slip.  South Africa 6/179.

 

Here we go again as Jansen (59) nicks the Greenback to keeper Carey and all of a sudden SA are 7/182.  The men in India will be rubbing their hands (and money) with glee as their pay packet is bowling like a millionaire. Come to think of it he is a millionaire!

 

Rabada (4) plays on to Green and the big fella has taken 3 wickets in the last 2 overs as SA slump to  8/186.  That means, in raw figures that during the day they have lost 7/18 in two short periods of play.  Make that 8/18 when Maharaj (2) hits out at Lyon.  South Africa 9/186.

 

Make that 9/21 as Cameron Green cleans up the poker table in fine style with his best figures ever. Green 5/27 of 10.4 overs and South Africa all out for 189. All the other bowlers used took 1wicket each.

 

As we have heard many times over the 200 years plus of cricket – what a funny game!

 

What I have been waiting for Rabada vs Warner. Find it hard to work out the placement of the SA slippers. They seem to be all over the place like starting blokes at Stawell.

 

Kagiso’s over is a but all over the place and Warner can relax.

 

But there is more as Ngidi comes on from the other end.

 

Not much to worry about by the Oz openers in the first 2 overs as Verreynne has to work overtime behind the stumps.  As if he hasn’t done anything today!

 

Warner is already redeeming himself with the bat and is quickly away to 17 playing with the swashbuckling confidence that has eluded him in recent times.

 

Khawaja takes a while to get of the mark but doesn’t last much longer when on 1 he gets a tickle from Rabada and that fine player Kyle Verreynne takes a simple keeper’s catch.

 

Hat takes Rabada’s total number of wickets this year to 46 in 15 innings against Jack Leach’s 23 innings for the same total.

 

Has not been a great day for Aussie Uzzie.

 

Warner and Labuschagne are certainly young players who know how to run between wickets –  one four and a couple of threes  would not be achieved by other players.

 

So at stumps Australia are1/45 with Warner on 32 trailing South Africa 189 by 144 with nine wickets in hand.

 

An interesting day’s play if you are looking for action.  Plenty of wickets with some fine bowling by the man with the golden arm Cameron Green and some stubborn batting by Verreynne and Jansen and a belligerent David Warner.

 

With another holiday in Melbourne on day two there should be a good crowd in attendance.