I love waking up to 179/2 🙂
The Proteas won the toss and despite all the hype preceding the game of the wicket being a ‘greentop’ and what appeared like a fair amount of cloudcover Graeme Smith elected to bat.
As is customary I awoke for the toss and first ball, (play starts at midnight GMT that’s 2am our time.)
I saw Smith go out early (LBW to Pattinson after an Oz DRS review) and then crashed! (Not my car…. to my bed ;))
Petersen (that’s Alvero not KP) our other opener was out for a fine 64 leaving Amla and Kallis to carry the innings. They’re both still in @ tea 🙂
Game on!
Picture ESPN cricinfo
Hours of play 00.00 – 07.00 gmt
Boadicea's Chariot 
Kallis was out (caught) but after an umpire review it was established that Siddle bowled a no ball, quite rightly Kallis was called back.
Of interest is that it is now law that the 3rd umpire reviews all dismissals looking for no balls, that’s good for the game!
Our guys have reverted to clueless ineptitude, while yours have been playing as befits a #1 team. Unless something radical changes, and quickly, there’s not much doubt about a decisive SA victory. 2-255 when light stopped play. 😥
Howzit Bearsy
Yes, good day for us even if the run rate did slow down a bit after tea.
Bad light (Grrrrrrrr!!!!) my pet hate, 8 overs lost, conditions sure looked playable at the time of the toss, to lose time at the end of the day when the morning light isn’t completely used sure does annoy me. So what if the ICC bigwigs have to pitch up for their breakfast an hour earlier?
I’m assuming that play will start ½ an hour earlier tomorrow.
KP is warmimg up nicely now in the sub-continent. 🙂
We moved in here on the 13th July – and have watched the grass turn brown and at least one small tree die for lack of water. We had no rain for three months – and we’ve really had only a smattering of rain since then…
However, this evening the skies have opened and we’ve got real rain for the first time in months…
… the forecast for tomorrow is ‘Cloudy with rain periods and a possible thunderstorm.’
What is it about cricket that makes it rain 🙂
Hi Soutie, I wonder if Jacques Kallis will ever get the international recognition he deserves. Statistically he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest cricketer of all time. And yet he remains relatively unknown. I think that is because he is a thoroughly modest and decent individual. A couple of years ago I saw him in my local pub, Cafe Verdi, in Wynberg. Wynberg Boys, just up the road from there, is his alma mater. He arrived with no fanfare and was just one of the boys having a quiet drink. His stats as an all-rounder are better than anybody else’s. Ever!
Its raining !!!~ (sob :()
While I’m delighted for Queenslanders (lets face it, there are few here who know and live with drought conditions more than I do) I do wish that the weather gods would have chosen last week or perhaps next!
Weather.com.au indicate rain all day today and probably clearing tomorrow
‘JP Duminy has been ruled out of the rest of South Africa’s tour of Australia with a ruptured left Achilles’ tendon, Cricket SA (CSA) said on Friday.
“The injury occurred during a fitness training drill after the opening day of the first test at the Gabba,” CSA said in a statement.’ (Supersport)
He was of course included in this match’s starting XI, (we’ll miss his batting and perhaps more importantly his bowling) can we beat the Aussies with 10 men?
Morning Sipu,
I think that Kallis is well recognised as one of the best players of all time.
Funny enough we were picking a world XI only yesterday, he (as always) was first name on the sheet (the only other S. Africans being Amla & Steyn.)
He’s certainly the greatest all rounder of my generation but comparisons with say Sobers is always going to be difficult. (Louis/ Ali, Pele/Best anyone?)
Morning Soutie,
Damn rain. I’ll need to go to bed early now.
Apologies for not replying to the rugby comments on my Maradona blog (1. Maradona 2. Zidane. I don’t follow boxing so can’t make a judgment). I did watch the videos and read the comments and sorry, fellas, I’m still not convinced by the arguments for. Now I’m not a steadfast person and have been known to change my tune yet I still don’t get rugby.
JW, maybe I can help. One of the two games respects its own rules, discourages prima donnas and play-acting, punishes malefactors properly and promotes intelligent discussion.
Well then. who would have thought it?
I was rather disappointed with our 449, hats off to the Aussies for getting the 7 wickets but at 44/3 is there a possibility of a result?
Perhaps only with an Oz collapse and subsequent follow on.
There was an air of despondency in this house this afternoon… Bearsy gave up watching after the first Aussie wicket! 🙂
The Ursine One could hardly be pleased with the news from Paris either! 😦
I know the feeling, I gave up watching hours ago 😦
What’s with the no-balls? (22 of them and 2 wickets lost!)
As damp squibs go this must be about as damp as it gets!
Best day’s cricket I’ve seen in a long while.
4-487 at stumps. Wow!!
The no-balls helped a bit – thanks, Soutie 🙂
A draw 😦
Losing a day to rain, didn’t help, although if the match could be awarded on points the Aussies certainly seemed to have the upper hand but then our bowling (and batting) was severely impeded by the early loss of JP Duminy to injury.
We need a change to the DRS rules. Granted the system is still in its infancy but I’m firmly of the opinion that if, during the review a no ball is identified than the challenging team should not lose one of their appeals. Lets face it, if the umpire misses the no ball from perhaps 3 yards what chance has the opposing captain (probably fielding at slip!) who on the basis of the ball being allowed asks for an appeal?
It seems unfair penalizing the fielding team for what is at the end of the day an umpiring error.
I’m always reminded of Fred Trueman’s apocryphal one-liner. He’d had a couple of appeals turned down and promptly skittled the batman. “By ‘eck, I nearly ‘ad ‘im that time!”