da blaze casino： Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the first Test between Australia and Pakistan
da doce： Osman Samiuddin and Brydon Coverdale at the MCG29-Dec-2009Swing and a miss
Marcus North appears to be one of the coolest-headed members ofAustralia’s team, which makes it all the more surprising that he reactedso angrily to his dismissal. North played on to a fullish delivery fromMohammad Aamer and immediately swung his bat in disappointment. Lucky forhim it sailed a few centimetres above the bails; had he made contact asummons from the match referee would have been inevitable.Bolly would love a musical number
There’s already so much to like about Doug Bollinger. Now we learn that hesings to himself at the top of his bowling mark to help calm him down.Bollinger made the admission in a television interview before play on thefourth day and it raised the question, what would Dougie sing? Given thathe has also previously said he struggled to hold down a job beforebecoming a full-time cricketer, the answer seems plain. Get a haircut, andget a real job…Boxing clever
Bollinger has proved difficult to face over the past few Tests and itmight be because he likes to aim for the batsman’s box. After Bollingergave that line on Channel Nine, Shane Warne clarified for any viewers whodidn’t understand: “What he’s trying to say is that he aims for the top ofthe batsman’s middle stump.”Nagpur revisited
Mohammad Yousuf took a leaf out of MS Dhoni’s book when the prospect of afirst Australian hundred of the summer began to loom. Dhoni’s defence asattack theory in Nagpur in 2008-09 against Australia had seen him employ8-1 fields through a third day that yielded just 166 runs. Shane Watson has had anervy time of it in the 90s recently and when he entered it this time,Yousuf and Mohammad Asif decided to test him. Soon after morningdrinks, a lone mid-on patrolled the entire leg-side as Asif pitched widerand wider, tempting Watson into indiscretion. What followed was eithervery compelling or very dull, disgraceful or very clever. It almost workedas well.Drop counter
Keep the count going: Pakistan dropped three chances in Australia’s firstinnings and two more were added the second time round. Imran Farhat, who oncedropped six catches at Lord’s, put down Marcus North at midwicket, thoughit didn’t cost too much. Then, with Watson on 99 and all of Australia’snerves on his fingertips, Abdur Rauf grassed a sitter at point, to allow afirst Australian hundred of the summer and general relief across the landat the lifting of a jinx. What Rauf was doing at point is anyone’s guess,though he deserves a stand to be named after him at the MCG. At the veryleast, Watson’s first child should be christened Rauf Watson.Kat call
Why doesn’t Simon Katich bowl more often? He hadn’t bowled a single overall summer until he came on as the day drew to a close today andimmediately things began to happen. Umar Akmal, who rarely needs an inviteto attack a spinner immediately pulled his first ball, but only as far asNathan Hauritz at midwicket, who duly spilled it. Next ball it needed theintervention of the third umpire to adjudge Umar not out off a stumping.Finally Umar managed to pull him through midwicket for four and whenYousuf did the same in the next over, to be subsequently bemused by a fulltoss as high as the sky, the reasons for Katich not bowling so much becamea little clearer.
