Meanwhile, in Jaipur, it has been Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light. There were a few fireworks, provided mainly by Australians, and a bunch of Lightweights, in the form of the England side. If this was supposed to be a prelude to the Ashes, I’m revising my estimate from a 3-0 Aussie victory to a 5-0 sweep.
Of course next month things will be a little different. To start with England will have Monty. Also the 5-day game suits their batsmen much more. They’ll have Hoggard back too, and the Australian wickets will be more to the liking of Harmison and Mahmood. Then again, Australia will have their new find, Mitchell Johnson, who I was seriously impressed with. We shall see.
But there is still the matter of the Champions Trophy to be resolved. If, as I suspect will happen, West Indies trounce England as well, it sets up a fabulous final match in Group A in which the Australians will have to beat India to stand any chance of going through.
Sadly the ABC is not carrying commentary on their web site. But maybe that’s just as well because I’ll be back in California next week and the games will be taking place through the night.
I want to agree with you, I do. But neither Australian performance at the Champions has been convincing. More convincing that England, yes, but not convincing. Still, they should win the Ashes handily, especially if McGrath can get his groove back.
The Aussies don’t have to be convincing to win the Ashes, they just have to be better than England. How hard can that be?
Cheryl, nice work on the baseball-cricket comparison. I was trying to explain to my friend here what a revese swing is and chanced upon your page. You should bring out an abridged version that I can print out and give to co-workers before the world cup. In time for my world cup pool. Talking about Champions Trophy, how about that Brabourne wicket!!! Glad to not to see one of those 350 plus one day scores.
An abridged version? Eek! I guess you want it one page, yes? OK, I’ll think about it.
And yes, balance is all in pitch creation.