Today is December 1st, and yesterday was the first day of the Australian Summer of Cricket: two tests against New Zealand, four against India, and then the ODI tri-series featuring Sri Lanka and India. All of these matches will be live on willow.tv.
And what’s even cooler is that the matches will be on during prime time here in the mid-western US. For some reason, I just assumed they would be starting at midnight or later, because that’s when Aussie Rules and A League matches start. But test cricket is a morning sport. I just never put two and two together.
Of course, I will be sleeping for good chunks of each match, but at least I will be able to watch some of it.
Part of me believes that I have strayed away from cricket because matches on the Sub-Continent are just not as accessible as matches in England. They are on at odd hours, for instance, and I do not have the ability to watch them online.
Hopefully, this Australian summer will bring me back to the fold. Last night I was following the match on my phone while at my wife’s show, that’s when I knew it was starting to happen for me again.
Sigh…
Most cricket blogs analyze cricketers, or cricket squads. Or they tell jokes. Or they dissect other cricket articles. Or simply at the very least make interesting comments about the sport. I do none of that. This blog is so…surface.
But I guess the point here was not to write for Cricinfo, it was simply to write, which is what I am doing, albeit wanderingly (not a word, but should be.)
On the pitch, the first day of Australia v New Zealand was shortened by rain (or “truncated” as the educated cricket followers say.) New Zealand had collapsed before lunch, losing four wickets in an hour, and then they lost another right after the break. But four-eyes and Brownlie steadied the ship with the 6th wicket partnership, 80 runs off 25 overs before the bad light and the rain.
They four young Aussie bowlers each took a wicket, with Starc taking two. That’s a good sign for the summer.
Meanwhile, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh…
…Pakistan crushed, CRUSHED, the hosts by five wickets with 146 balls remaining. My new favorite cricketer, Shahid Afridi, was 24 not out and took 5 for 23.
(This brings up something I find interesting: in Australia, a team’s score is listed with the wickets first, then the score. Australia is 5/123, for instance. While in the rest of the world, it is the opposite: Pakistan is 93/2. I wonder why that is? Worth reading about.)
Oh, and finally, in the Stanbic Bank 20 Series, The Mashonaland Eagles beat the Southern Rocks by 70 runs in the last group stage match, qualifying for the semi-finals taking place tomorrow.
That’s it for today. Until next time.
Limited Overs 