our performance has been less than optimum....we have been outbatted, outfielded, outcaptained and outbowled....how good has it been to see a good leggie?...am starting to worry that my ratty voodoo doll "dubberya" has (like the koala) seen better days.....of course the doll has clearly no effect on either magoo or bung, both of whom have performed err ----- (fill the space)....magoo has a top order wicket in the 2nd and bung was the hero of the 1st innings....guess this means they are both auto selections for the next few years
― horace, Monday, 5 January 2004 06:59 (twenty-one years ago)
Not many can hold their heads high in the last couple of matches.
MCG test: Hayden and Ponting outstanding, Bracken very good, Williams
not always top notch but tried his heart out. India imploded and threw
the match away when it was theirs for the taking.
SCG test: Gillespie tried hard and bowled pretty well overall. The
rest were dismal. The batting story is not complete yet, but Hayden, Langer and especially Katich have emerged with credit so far.
A phenomenal effort by the top order will be required for Australian victory tomorrow. Gilly is too far out of form and the tailenders are a joke (apart from our tailender). Also, Kumble is bowling beautifully on a helpful pitch. Even a draw looks out of the question IMHO.
― ojitarian (ojitarian), Monday, 5 January 2004 11:49 (twenty-one years ago)
Well, it was winnable until Marto decided to play like he was in a minefield - if Katich or Waugh himself had come out at that point instead of Martyn, I think we would have gone very close.
The field placement for Bracken was wrong but, like Blee and even Dizzy, he bowled too much outside the line. Given the majority of the success they had was when bowling at the stumps, you'd think they would have caught on eventually. :-(
Trivia question: which Test bowler has taken the most "wickets" with no-balls? Blee did it twice in Sydney, and I'm sure I can recall earlier episodes.
Still, full credit to Hayden, Langer, Katich, Waugh and Gillespie. Dizzy in particular deserves the highest commendations for his effort, given his lack of match practice this season. (He was also one of the very few players to sign autographs for the kids while fielding on the boundary. Was tempted to try to get a signature on my singlet . . . )
PS: I was there when Tugga played his last innings.
― tailender (tailender), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 05:30 (twenty-one years ago)