I'm sorry but it is summer

[Roland Hearn]

Which means I have to mention cricket. I am so tired of waiting for the main event. Normally the Australian primary summer series starts in November. This year they played an opening tournament against Sri Lanka and then had a huge break before the feature series.

It is a tradition that on boxing day (the day after Christmas) the biggest cricket match of the year begins at the MCG. It will last five days and probably attract around 200,000 people. This years opponent is India. I'm just holding out until the first ball is bowled in about 46 hours time. tick tick tick.

[Jim Poteet]

Which means I have to mention cricket. I am so tired of waiting for the main event. Normally the Australian primary summer series starts in November. This year they played an opening tournament against Sri Lanka and then had a huge break before the feature series.

It is a tradition that on boxing day (the day after Christmas) the biggest cricket match of the year begins at the MCG. It will last five days and probably attract around 200,000 people. This years opponent is India. I'm just holding out until the first ball is bowled in about 46 hours time. tick tick tick.

I just wish I understood the game!

[Roland Hearn]

You know Jim if we get to spend any time together I might have to take you to a game :basic05

[Gina Stevenson]

You know, Roland, after having heard Cricket's something like baseball, I tho't, "Oh, OK," thinking I might at least have some idea of what was going on after hearing that comparison.

However, when I suddenly see your mention re bowling ... I'm again like, "Huh!? What's tossing a ball as tho' one's 'bowling' have to do with a baseball-like sport?" :fav03

[Roland Hearn]

You know, Roland, after having heard Cricket's something like baseball, I tho't, "Oh, OK," thinking I might at least have some idea of what was going on after hearing that comparison.

However, when I suddenly see your mention re bowling ... I'm again like, "Huh!? What's tossing a ball as tho' one's 'bowling' have to do with a baseball-like sport?" :fav03

Warning: You had best not get me started.

However, now that you have: Baseball is actually something like cricket. Baseball was a development of a game that was descended from cricket "rounders." Cricket has been around in some form for many centuries and began to look something like today's form from the 17th century. It has changed very little in the past 200 years.

Originally the ball in cricket was delivered with an action that was somewhat akin to what you may think of as "bowling" in other sports that is underarm and along the ground. However, because women were included in the social game and they wore huge dresses with large under wooden structures that would not permit underarm deliveries a new form of "bowling" was developed. The ball is delivered in the exact opposite way of an underarm "bowl" It is delivered overarm with the arm kept rigid. It is still called "bowling" but is not like what you would picture as bowling. The ball can be delivered in that fashion with a speed of anywhere from 45 mph to 95mph and even occasionally at 100mph. The ball also bounces before the batsmen hits it which makes it very difficult to determine which way it is going to go. There probably is not enough similarity between the two sports to make it easy to comprehend one by knowing the other but there are common elements.

[Jim Franklin]

I remember British evangelist, Jack Ford, trying to teach some of us blokes at NNC the rudiments of cricket back in the 50s when he came for a college revival.

[Roland Hearn]

That sounds like my kind of evangelist:laughing

[Ian Gentles]

I fancy Australia to win against India, but then who knows with cricket. Even here in the frozen north this is the game all are waiting for, it should be a hard fought game. :)

http://iangentles.livejournal.com

[Roland Hearn]

Well I hope they put up a good fight but I can't see them winning the series. The tip was that Sri Lanka was going to create an upset but couldn't even get close. Someone is going to have to put those cocky Aussies in their place sooner or later but it isn't going to be this summer.

[Ian Gentles]

And it sure wont be England next summer either the way our lot been playing. LOL

[Roland Hearn]

And it sure wont be England next summer either the way our lot been playing. LOL
I'm still hoping that I can find a way to get to that ashes test and spend a day with you at the oval or at Lords - you just never know.

[Ian Gentles]

We live in hope :)

[Ian Gentles]

Wish it was golf weather here could do with a round.
Any big golf tournaments in Australia anytime soon?

[Jim Poteet]

You know Jim if we get to spend any time together I might have to take you to a game :basic05

That would be great!

[Roland Hearn]

Wish it was golf weather here could do with a round.
Any big golf tournaments in Australia anytime soon?

We just finished the Australian PGA and Open, unlike the Australian Open Tennis championship golf doesn't have any huge tournaments down under there just isn't enough money here to get the big stars to come.

[Roland Hearn]

Well here we go, I'm as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. It is boxing day, the cricket has just begun, India v Australia. A television audience of around 1 billion people will be tuning into this game from every continent on the earth. It does not get much bigger than this. I hope you have all had a great Christmas. I ended up coming home from my folks place early and missing out on desert - I've got a bit of a tummy bug. But right now I'm as happy as I could be under the current circumstances. This feels like Christmas, it feels like summer - I'm a kid again for the next five days.

Three overs have past and almost nothing has happened but the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

[Jim Franklin]

Boxing Day I have heard of but it seems the origin I have heard is that after the Christmas gifts have been opened and evaluated as to their necessity or desire to own and decide that you don't really want some of them you "box them up for return." Am I correct?

[Jim Poteet]

Well here we go, I'm as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. It is boxing day, the cricket has just begun, India v Australia. A television audience of around 1 billion people will be tuning into this game from every continent on the earth. It does not get much bigger than this. I hope you have all had a great Christmas. I ended up coming home from my folks place early and missing out on desert - I've got a bit of a tummy bug. But right now I'm as happy as I could be under the current circumstances. This feels like Christmas, it feels like summer - I'm a kid again for the next five days.

Three overs have past and almost nothing has happened but the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Unfortunately those of us in the USA are not among the 1 billion viewers.:basic04

[Roland Hearn]

Boxing Day I have heard of but it seems the origin I have heard is that after the Christmas gifts have been opened and evaluated as to their necessity or desire to own and decide that you don't really want some of them you "box them up for return." Am I correct?

No actually the origin relates to the English aristocracy. The day after Christmas they would give their servants a gift in a box - at least that is the tradition that I have heard throughout my life.

[Roland Hearn]

Unfortunately those of us in the USA are not among the 1 billion viewers.:basic04

Because it is an Indian test you will almost certainly find it on pay-per-view. But if I remember right the cost was usually hundreds of dollars for a series and you could only order the whole series - even for me the price was too high given that most of the games were at times I wouldn't be able to watch.

[Roland Hearn]

Day one is done. A fantastic day of cricket. The day would rank highly for the quality of the competition, except for occasional lapses in Indian feeling. Australia won the toss and chose to bat. At the end of the day Australia is 337 runs with 9 batsmen dismissed. That makes the day fairly even with India probably just in front because at one stage it looked like Australia could have really got away with a big score.

Can't wait for day two.

[Ian Gentles]

India did great after tea dosent look like your guys are running away with this one. It now remains to be seen how Indias batsmen will do, this will be the big test for them, and will decide how this game goes.

[Roland Hearn]

India did great after tea dosent look like your guys are running away with this one. It now remains to be seen how Indias batsmen will do, this will be the big test for them, and will decide how this game goes.


The big test for them and the first real test for our bowling line up minus McGrath and Warne. The Sri Lankans didn't really tell us anything. I wouldn't mind at all if India now turned around and got 450. I would love to see Australia have to fight from behind to win. If they win this it will be #15 win in a row and closing in on Waugh's record of 16 wins in a row. It is just an amazing thing to be talking about that many wins in a row without a draw at Test level. I couldn't have imagined that when I was a kid. Not even the Windies of the 70s and 80s could pull something like that off.

[Ian Gentles]

Well ya got India on the ropes now ya decimated their batting.

[Roland Hearn]

Well ya got India on the ropes now ya decimated their batting.

The quality of bowling was just outstanding. On the spot hour after hour.

Day three - lets see how much of a lead Australia can build up, this looks like it could be win #15

[Ian Gentles]

I haven't yet checked day three score but expect your walking away with it now.

[Ian Gentles]

I see you set them a massive target to win, they wont do it!

[Roland Hearn]

No they won't but I fantasise about a great game. It is an impossibility to score 500 runs in the fourth innings to wind a game. In a hundred and thirty years no one has come close. But there are two full days of play and India has Dravid and Tendulka. What if they focused and got to the end of the fourth day say four down for 300? That would make an incredibly unlikely but exciting last day. All the experts are saying it will be over by the end of today, which is probably right but man I would like to see someone stand up and fight.

[Roland Hearn]

Another win to Australia.

The predictions were right they couldn't make it through a day. India has probably the strongest batting line up in the world outside of Australia but they looked like club players while facing some incredibly accurate bowling.

I said to Jacob Mercer on day one. It is hardly a fair fight they only have 1.2 billion people to choice from of which 55 million are registered cricket players. That just isn't enough to come against Australia over the last 15 years. Fifteen wins in a row.

[Ian Gentles]

The Indians were well and truly thrashed. Sad that match didn't give more excitement.

[Roland Hearn]

Now it is off to Sydney.

I guess the Australian team got a real scare when it lost the ashes in '05. They drew the first test after the Ashes with South Africa and have won every game since. Five against South Africa, two against Bangladesh, five against England, two against Sri Lanka and now one against India.

[Ian Gentles]

When does next test begin? I find after a test that everything seems kinda empty till cricket is resumed!

[Roland Hearn]

Oh you are so right Ian. The cricket has been a real God send, it has helped me to not focus too much on what is going on at the moment in my world. I felt cheated when it ended a day early. The next test starts January 2.

[Ian Gentles]

Hopefully India will put up a better game this time.

[Roland Hearn]

Here's hoping. They say that India is always a slow starter so let's hope that is true this southern summer.

[Ian Gentles]

India did well against England last summer, they have potential to turn on the pressure. We all want nail bighting games!

[Roland Hearn]

Well here we go, just minutes away from the start of the second test. I'm hoping for a good one Ian. Australia is batting first, as usual, I'm not sure why but it seems they get to bat first 70% of the time and it usually means they build a massive score.

[Roland Hearn]

Game on Ian, Just after lunch it is 121/5. This could be very interesting now.

[Roland Hearn]

Australia were 134/6 not long after I last wrote. Backs against the wall, the seventh wicket has now fallen at 307. That is what makes Australia so hard to beat they just keep coming and coming.

Now if India can get Australia all out for under 400 at least they will still be in the game but at one stage they were well and truly on top.

[Roland Hearn]

Ian,
As your rise this morning you may get the opportunity to see that there is a real game happening here. Australia managed 463, a simply staggering total given where they were half way through the day and India has slowly moved to 185/3. If they can get through tomorrow the could make it to around Australia's total with two days left to go for a result. You never know.

[Ian Gentles]

Now this is more like test cricket, what a game you got on down under! :)

[Roland Hearn]

I know this is a real struggle for supremacy. It does not seem likely now that there is enough time to get a result but it has been a real arm wrestle, which is so much better than simple submission.

[Ian Gentles]

Ouch, whats happening with this Indian refusal to play next test due to their man getting a ban? From what i am reading umpires heard nothing! Hope this is settled real soon, its going to mess up the test! :(

[Roland Hearn]

What a total debacle. As you know Australia was going for their sixteenth win in a row to equal the world record. They didn't declare until about an hour into their last day. It did not look like there could possibly be a result so I headed off on holidays. The most amazing thing happened, which is why we love cricket, with two overs left, nine minutes in the day and three wickets to get Clarke came on and got the last three out, we won and equaled the record - I missed it :gen06.

Then it erupted. One of the Indian players was cited for using a racial slur against one of the Australia players; he has West Indian parentage, but was adopted to English parents who raised him from two in Australia. On the recent tour of India signs around the stands were calling him "monkey" and thousands of people were doing monkey chants - it was clearly racist. With the Indians now coming here we have been bombarded in the media by advertising suggesting that racial taunts from the crowd would not be tolerated, in case the public were thinking of retaliation. Well one of the Indian players used that same racist taunt against Symonds during the game and the captain of the Australian team cited him. He was suspended for three games and the Indian authorities threated to cancel the tour if he wasn't reinstated claiming that the Australians made it up. It has been a media blood bath and an absolutely ridiculous sequel to what has been called one of the greatest test matches of all time.

Anyway it seems to have blown over now after a week of exhaustive media coverage on the sub continent and here. The good news is the cricket is still on and the next test starts today. It certainly will have a lot of attention.

And here comes win 17, bring it on.

[Chuck Millhuff]

Coach the N.E. Pats have had three names. Besides the Patriots what are they and why did they change one of them? It was a delicate reason, very delicate. Kind of like the MANUS.

[Chuck Millhuff]

Coach did you know that the two teams in the Super Bowl are coached by two of the most brutal coaches ever? They damage people for their own glory and money with little thought for the player's health and well being in the long run. Is this sport or is it the Roman Coliseum? How did this great game evolve to this and with most churches shutting down for it is it just a lack of understanding on the part of the public or is it that we just don't care? Bring out the lions !!!!