Am I the only one here who is watching the cricket (well, the highlights anyway)?

[MossletoeAndWine]

Well am I?

Yeah i agree too.

Would be the come back of all come backs!

I am new enough at this malarkey to think England can settle themselves in for a long day's batting on a good wicket. The Aussies (unlike the English) will not ease up, though.....England just need to ease a cod to silly gully and take it at length on the offside and...things like that.....

mmm yes most insightful pann!

Lol Pann, that reminds me of Bill Bryson's description of cricket in Down Under, laugh out loud funny.

Weeeel - it sounds all 'exclusive'....."Silly mid on" - get out here!!!

Ha! Found a quote online from Down Under, Bill Bryson describing a radio cricket commentary...

'Neasden, it appeared, was turning in a solid performance at square bowel, while Packet had been a stalwart in the dribbles, though even these exemplary performances paled when set beside the outstanding play of young Hugh Twain-Buttocks at middle nipple. The commentators were in calm agreement that they had not seen anyone caught behind with such panache since Tandoori took Rogan Josh for a stiffy at Vindaloo in '61. [A sentence which conveys Bryson's perception that the bowling run up is long.] This was repeated four times more over the next two hours and then one of the commentators pronounced: 'So as we break for second luncheon, and with 11,200 balls remaining, Australia are 962 for two not half and England are four for a duck and hoping for rain.'

I don't understand a single thing about cricket.

PMSL - Sarah!!

yep, that's where I am!!

I know it all looks and sounds faintly ridiculous...but my friend has made it all sound so 'intelligent' and absorbing.........CAN'T wait for later.....

Sorry here is another quote, it is actually the bit just before the first bit I quoted...

"As if to emphasize the isolation, all the area radio stations began to abandon me...Eventually the radio dial presented only an interrupted cat's hiss of static, but for one clear spot near the end of the dial. At first I thought that's all it was - just an empty clear spot-but then I realized I could hear the faint shiftings and stirrings of seated people, and after a quiet pause a voice, calm and reflective said:
'Plichard begins his long run in from short stump. He bowls and . . . oh, he's out! Yes, he's got him. Longwilley is caught leg-before in middle slops by Grattan. Well, now what do you make of that, Neville?'
'That's definitely one for the books, Bruce. I don't think I've seen offside medium slow fast pace bowling to match it since Baden-Powell took Rangachangabanga for a maiden ovary at Bangalore in 1948.'
I had stumbled into the surreal and rewarding world of cricket on the radio.
"'So here comes Stovepipe to bowl on this glorious summer's afternoon at the MCG,' one of the commentators was saying now. 'I wonder if he'll chance an offside drop scone here or go for the quick legover. Stovepipe has an unusual delivery in that he actually leaves the grounds and starts his run just outside the Carlton & United Brewery at Kooyong.'
'That's right, Clive. I haven't known anyone start his delivery that far back since Stopcock caught his sleeve on the reversing mirror of number 11 bus during the third test at Brisbane in 1957 and ended up at Goondiwindi four days later owing to some frightful confusion over a changed timetable at Toowoomba Junction.'
After a very long silence while they absorbed this thought, and possibly stepped out to transact some small errands, they resumed with a leisurely discussion of the English fielding.'

I do love it! That's all though I promise.

I remember sitting at my ex boyfriend's watching a game, usually from behind a newspaper, and hearing the commentater say, 'and X is bowling well.... VERY LONG PAUSE.... you know I had a cat called X once.... LONG PAUSE.... and a very nice cat he was too,'

Snort

IT's true!!! Exactly!

this morning on radio, one bloke was talking about an old Test match, YEARS AGO, regaling a totally unfunny story - his mate points out the incident was on a different continent about 5 years ealier than had been described!! First bloke acknowledges this, then ploughs on as if mate had not said a word!!!!

AND NONE of it was relevant to this Test match at all!!!

Someone was slow on his medication.....

See this is what happens when you have a sport that goes on for days and for long periods nowt much happens...

I remember a tennis commentator saying that he had been taught not to bother speaking unless he could add something more to the proceedings, explanation, intelligent comment and so on...

I do wonder if cricket commentators might like to think about that, not that I am not desperate to know what pets they have named after cricketers, or whether they remind them of other well-known personages or if there was a very slightly similar occurance in a game 4 decades ago...

The only problem with that of course being whether even longer silences would be preferable to the inane (yet at times amusing) chatter you get now.

Ahhh, the joys of cricket.

For better or for worse I will tune in tonight again.

Here's hoping

I don't think Flintoff should have been made captain. I'm not sure who I would have wanted but I just don't think you make your talisman the captain. Not in cricket. I also don't think our preparations were great - esp with the whole Trescothick saga.

oh well it's all over. At least we were put out of our misery swiftly in this series.

Fox - agree about flintoff, he already bats and bowls, it was far too much extra pressure on him. Strauss was doing ok, and should have kept the job.

aDad agree re: Captaincy, I would have kept Strauss. I don't know why they don't make me one of the selectors, really I don't.

Anyway after this a.m. we have banned any talk of cricket in our house. It never happened.

what cricket?

...

"Later, there will be a change to the scheduled programmes. Mistakenly, we had adverised a sport-based programme. Instead, we will have the test card and some music. No, not the test card. Just a multi-coloured card. No test at all. Thank you."