There were two test matches going on today. One involved India against Australia, in Brisbane. What was more interesting was the other test match in Galle, Sri Lanka ! It was an advertisement for test match cricket. If you want details, do see http://www-ind.cricket.org/db/ARCHIVE/2003-04/ENG_IN_SL/SCORECARDS/ENG_SL_T1_02-06DEC2003.html
England needed 323 in the last innings to win. England never threatened to look at the target seriously. Earlier, Sri Lanka had won the toss and batted first. Today, England were staring down the barrel of the gun as Chaminda Vaas got into the act first and then Muthaiah Muralitharan took over. 323 as a score to chase in the final innings was always going to be tough.
However, there was an engrossing contest as their batsmen fought to the best of their ability to keep their wickets intact even as Murali wove a web of off breaks, top spinners and the occasional leg breaks.
On the personal side, there was carpentry work going on in the afternoon at my house. Please search "Common Text for All Blogs" below to find out more about the construction. I didn't bother to look into the progress of carpentry much as I got involved in the match - which is terming it lightly ! Actually, except for a cursory glance or two, I was in front of the television.
I am not a big fan of the English side. I feel the English media exaggerates the talent of their stars far more than what they merit. A case in point is the way they projected Graeme Hick. Going by the press reports, Hick should have been the best batsman after Sir Don ! His record is by no means comparable, though, nor was his style.
Today at Galle, I feel all the praise that the media showers on the English side is well deserved. Their batting display has earned my salute. Whether it was the steady Paul Collingwood or the gritty Gareth Batty, this was a performance that deserved kudos. Even when there were five close in fielders and half the side were out for around a 100 runs, they just kept the proverbial straight bat (and pad !) and defended stoutly. Muralitharan was not in peak form today, but this was a final day wicket in Sri Lanka and even a Muralitharan short of peak form was still a considerable threat.
The Lankan captain Hashan Tillekaratne kept smiling even as the pressure mounted on the English lower order. Just when it looked like England had a partnership that would take them to safety and end of day's play, a wicket would fall and the pressure would mount all over again. However, in the midst of the fall, one batsman would keep on going for England. Initially, it was Collingwood, then Batty and finally an unlikely hero in the obdurate batsmanship of Ashley Giles.
Tillekaratne tried 28 bowling changes to get the English side out. There were 8 wickets down and Murali and Kumara Dharmasena (or Upul Chandana or Sanath Jayasuriya) were still pegging away. The English batsmen survived and the number of maiden overs kept on increasing.
Run scoring was not the focus, crease occupation was. Used to calculating the run rate in one day internationals, I realised why test cricket is called that : it is a "test" of technique and more importantly, temperament ! Just to illustrate this point, the strike rate of Ashley Giles was 15 in 100 balls ! Yet, his knock is probably the single most important one in the context of the match !
The non-strikers, whether it was Batty or Richard Johnson or the last man Matthew Hoggard, also did their bit, but in the final analysis, it was Giles who stood and saved the day for England. After every over for the final 15 overs or so, the umpires took a look at the light meter readings, conferred and then cruelly resumed play ! It must have been a heartbreak for the tail enders. It certainly was a tense thing for the English side in the pavilion. The television cameras showed their tense attitude all too clearly !
When the umpires finally offered the batsmen the option of bad light, they took it and went off and Lanka were snatched a win in the first of three test matches. The last wicket pair of Giles and Hoggard had thwarted what seemed like an easy win for Sri Lanka, while entering the day. There was the chance that play might resume, but it appeared that the elements supported the courageous effort of the English batsmen.
The series may still go Sri Lanka's way with two more to play, but this performance from the English side augurs well for them - and for test cricket. The result of the match was not a win for either the hosts or the visitors. Still, this match showed why even a slow scoring cricket game with little of the thrill associated with one day internationals can be enthralling.
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
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England needed 323 in the last innings to win. England never threatened to look at the target seriously. Earlier, Sri Lanka had won the toss and batted first. Today, England were staring down the barrel of the gun as Chaminda Vaas got into the act first and then Muthaiah Muralitharan took over. 323 as a score to chase in the final innings was always going to be tough.
However, there was an engrossing contest as their batsmen fought to the best of their ability to keep their wickets intact even as Murali wove a web of off breaks, top spinners and the occasional leg breaks.
On the personal side, there was carpentry work going on in the afternoon at my house. Please search "Common Text for All Blogs" below to find out more about the construction. I didn't bother to look into the progress of carpentry much as I got involved in the match - which is terming it lightly ! Actually, except for a cursory glance or two, I was in front of the television.
I am not a big fan of the English side. I feel the English media exaggerates the talent of their stars far more than what they merit. A case in point is the way they projected Graeme Hick. Going by the press reports, Hick should have been the best batsman after Sir Don ! His record is by no means comparable, though, nor was his style.
Today at Galle, I feel all the praise that the media showers on the English side is well deserved. Their batting display has earned my salute. Whether it was the steady Paul Collingwood or the gritty Gareth Batty, this was a performance that deserved kudos. Even when there were five close in fielders and half the side were out for around a 100 runs, they just kept the proverbial straight bat (and pad !) and defended stoutly. Muralitharan was not in peak form today, but this was a final day wicket in Sri Lanka and even a Muralitharan short of peak form was still a considerable threat.
The Lankan captain Hashan Tillekaratne kept smiling even as the pressure mounted on the English lower order. Just when it looked like England had a partnership that would take them to safety and end of day's play, a wicket would fall and the pressure would mount all over again. However, in the midst of the fall, one batsman would keep on going for England. Initially, it was Collingwood, then Batty and finally an unlikely hero in the obdurate batsmanship of Ashley Giles.
Tillekaratne tried 28 bowling changes to get the English side out. There were 8 wickets down and Murali and Kumara Dharmasena (or Upul Chandana or Sanath Jayasuriya) were still pegging away. The English batsmen survived and the number of maiden overs kept on increasing.
Run scoring was not the focus, crease occupation was. Used to calculating the run rate in one day internationals, I realised why test cricket is called that : it is a "test" of technique and more importantly, temperament ! Just to illustrate this point, the strike rate of Ashley Giles was 15 in 100 balls ! Yet, his knock is probably the single most important one in the context of the match !
The non-strikers, whether it was Batty or Richard Johnson or the last man Matthew Hoggard, also did their bit, but in the final analysis, it was Giles who stood and saved the day for England. After every over for the final 15 overs or so, the umpires took a look at the light meter readings, conferred and then cruelly resumed play ! It must have been a heartbreak for the tail enders. It certainly was a tense thing for the English side in the pavilion. The television cameras showed their tense attitude all too clearly !
When the umpires finally offered the batsmen the option of bad light, they took it and went off and Lanka were snatched a win in the first of three test matches. The last wicket pair of Giles and Hoggard had thwarted what seemed like an easy win for Sri Lanka, while entering the day. There was the chance that play might resume, but it appeared that the elements supported the courageous effort of the English batsmen.
The series may still go Sri Lanka's way with two more to play, but this performance from the English side augurs well for them - and for test cricket. The result of the match was not a win for either the hosts or the visitors. Still, this match showed why even a slow scoring cricket game with little of the thrill associated with one day internationals can be enthralling.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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