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The Ashes -- Third Test

The Aussies bounced back in to the Ashes reckoning with a big win in the third test. This was largely possible due to Mitchell Johnson who was not in the team for the second test which the Aussies lost . Johnson playing in his home ground at Perth batted with gusto in the first innings and then had England in all sorts of bother with four wickets in 27 balls to give Australia the edge in the first innings . Then Watson and "Mr Cricket" Mike Hussey ensured that England had a target that they could never chase in the fourth innings . Ryan Harris chipped in with the wickets along with Johnson in the second innings and Aussies were home and dry. That leaves the series tied at one each with two matches to go.

To me, Mike Hussey has been the big influence on the Aussie team so far . He has had a lean trot in the last two years but from the first test of this Ashes Series , he has been in form , fresh on legs , great body language on the field. Aussies normally click as a team but in the last three tests , that claim has been questioned very seriously. Shane Watson and Haddin to a extent , have been among the runs but others including Punter and Puppy have been short. Ponting , in fact has a injury and is doubtful for the Fourth test at Melbourne. Bowling has been poor except for this test match. All the Aussie bowlers had bowling averages that looked like batting averages ( excess of 100 runs per wicket !! ) .

I was terribly disappointed with the English batsmen. Their bowlers did a reasonable job but the batsmen were found wanting . The batting heroes of the previous tests, were struggling, no movement of the feet , rooted to the crease and were sitting ducks to the Aussie bowlers. What happened to their confidence is a mystery. England needs to regroup quickly and get their act together. I am sure they will, for this is their best chance to win a Ashes away from home.

Did you guys notice something evolving on Test Cricket ?

Test matches are no more bore draws - In fact, they are producing results or draws after good intense fights.

They do not last the full five days .

Scoring has been more than three runs per over , sometimes over four runs per over and in the India SA match on one day over 444 runs were scored.

Batsmen do not hang to their wickets. The phrase " hanging on to their wickets as if their lives depended on it " is no more a good phrase . Batsmen play attacking cricket.

Captains no more play to draw matches . They want to win … and all this means

"Crowds turn up in full to watch" .

Who says Test Cricket is dead and buried ?

May be it is the pressure of the Twenty Twenty that is impacting the five day tests but if that is the case, it is for the betterment of the game.

　

The Fiftieth Century

India lost the first test with South Africa but that does not matter .. Sachin reached a milestone in the Cricketing history. No cricketer so far had hit 50 centuries in Test cricket. Add the 46 that he has in One day internationals and that gives you a staggering 96 hundreds in International Cricket. Staggering achievement by this man who has remained focussed on the game for two decades, played it with great consistency, intensity , avoided controversies and has remained a level headed person. All of us must be proud to have Sachin playing for India. He is not young but the way he played the South African quick's , had time to play his shots , found gaps in the field with great artistry was a treat to watch. The TV channel that was broadcasting was sure about his getting to his Century. As soon as he played the ball for his hundredth run , the banner post appeared indicating the channel was proud to be telecasting this world record event. So much confidence on Sachin. Looking at the way he played, I believe that he has more years of Cricket in him and any talk of his retirement would be a big mistake ...