Wednesday 14 July 2010

A Good Day At The Office...........................

Asif was the star of the day for my point of view, he claimed 3 big wickets in quick succession and thrived in the English conditions to turn the game on its head!

Rain delayed the start of the historical Test Match at Lords but eventually play started at 12pm when Shahid Afridi won the toss and invited the opposition into bat on an overcast day. Mohammad Amir struck first blood when he bowled out Shane Watson cheaply as the Aussies went into lunch as 36/1 after 13 overs.

Ricky Ponting then went on to pass Brain Lara as the 2nd leading run scorer in Test Cricket but was then brilliantly caught at short leg by debutant Umar Amin of the bowling of Mohammad Amir as the Aussies were 51/2!

Simon Katich and Michael Clarke put on an excellent partnership and looked in top touch during the afternoon session. Clarke was playing some delightful shots whereas Katich was proving irritating to bowl to with his unorthodox batting method. However, after a partnership of 120, Mohammad Asif struck gold by dismissing the Aussie T20 skipper with an in dipper and Ian Gould raised the finger for an LBW on the brink of tea.

The 45th over of the innings was a sensational one from Asif and for Pakistan as Asif claimed 2 wickets with two real gems and suddenly the Aussie middle order collapsed. Umar Gul then came to the party and dismissed debutant Tim Paine with a leg cutter and Danish Kaneria found some form and rhythm and claimed the wickets of Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson with some high class leg spin bowling. Bad light finished the day's proceedings with Australia placed at 229/9 after 70 overs. An exceptional come back from Pakistan in the last session! Asif was voted our player of the day as his seam bowling triggered the Aussie middle order collapse.

We must not get ahead of ourselves folks as of yet, but the bowling in the last session was exceptional and has provided us with a really good opportunity in this match, hopefully this time we will make full use of it and consolidate on the superb platform that has been set. However, we all know how good Australia are at making the unthinkable a true possibility and how they can turn the tables with their self belief and fighting spirit.

http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan-v-australia-2010/engine/current/match/426394.html

1 comment:

Stani Army said...

Maz, I think the conditions e have in this country for cricket (when it's not raining) must be the best in the world.

Katich is very irritating and it was a poor decision from Gould that gave him an extra life and went on to score the bulk of the runs.

Yes, there is a long way to go. We should slow everything down and pick up the singles and they'll make a big difference to the total.

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