Australia v. India - First Test, Gabba

[Donny]

What a ripper innings from Hayden. A great team man.

On 93, he drove a mighty six. His 99 took just 98 balls. At Test level, and for an opener, that's fast - damn fast!!

Australia declared on 3/284 with Martyn on 66 n.o. and Waugh, 56 n.o.

When the game was called off, India had scored 2/73. Bracken (2/12) took 2 wickets in his first over from consecutive balls.

[GreekLunatic]

at least he isnt as boring as say mark taylor pity he didnt make a hundred

[piedys]

[Newelly]

The Schadenfreude is so thick in here you can cut it.

[Newelly]

Anyway, I think the Aussies still would have triumphed if the weather allowed the full five days of play. I know I`m gonna get some flag from CC and JVC, but the way the team was batting suggested they could of got a lead in excess of 300 and India having to bat last on a 5 day pitch would not likely have been up to the task. The best chances of trumping the Aussies in that situation would of been

1. England
2. New Zealand
3. RSA

As these teams seem to tour the best. Sub-continent teams for some reason are like Guiness - they do not travel well and leave you wishing you had the home brew version.

[HAL]

Hmmm. . . . You really think so?

[Donny]

Game drawn after Hayden assault

The Wisden Bulletin by Anand Vasu

Steve Waugh provided an already exciting Test with one final twist by declaring late on the final day, just when no one expected it. Australia set India an improbable victory target of 199 from 23 overs, on the back of a savage 99 from Matthew Hayden. India then lost both openers cheaply before Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman took them to a respectable 73 for 2 from 16 overs, at which point play was called off, and the Test drawn. Amazingly, even with almost ten hours lost, this Test kept spectators interested till the very end.

When Akash Chopra and Virender Sehwag walked out to bat, chasing over 8.5 runs an over, they had little to gain and almost everything to lose. They could either shut shop and help themselves to some time out in the middle, or go for quick runs and risk being dismissed cheaply. What the openers attempted to do, we will never know, but the results were there for all to see. Sehwag (0) tried to flick the first ball he faced, from Nathan Bracken, closed the face of his bat too early could only get a leading edge to Damien Martyn at midwicket (4 for 1). Chopra (4) poked at the very next ball, and presented Justin Langer with a catch in the slips.

In an instant, the match came alive, and Bracken was on a hat-trick on Test debut. VVS Laxman came out to the middle. Sachin Tendulkar, who was off the field for 48 minutes of the Australian innings, could not bat till that much time had elapsed, or five wickets had fallen. Laxman squirted the first ball he played through gully to avoid the hat-trick.

From then on, there were no scares for India. Dravid dominated MacGill to pick up an unbeaten 43 from 47 balls, while Laxman (24 not out) was his charming self, as India reached 73 for 2 from 16 overs, and the match was drawn.

But for the last session, and Hayden's savage assault, the day did not hold as much interest as the scorecard might suggest. On the fourth day, India's tail had wagged with all the enthusiasm of a terrier's when in pursuit of a fox, but it subsided limply on the morning of the final day. India lost two wickets without adding to their overnight score of 362 for 6. Ajit Agarkar (12) slashed one to the slips and Parthiv Patel's (37) top-edged hook was well taken by a diving Andy Bichel at fine leg.

Zaheer Khan (27) then merrily drove three boundaries, and lofted one glorious straight six, while Harbhajan Singh (19 not out) swatted the ball in inimitable fashion as India pushed along to 409. Zaheer took some effort to convert a MacGill delivery into a yorker, and was bowled (403 for 9). Ashish Nehra then confirmed his number. 11 position in the batting order by padding up to the full one from MacGill. While Nehra might have looked quizzically back at Steve Bucknor when the finger went up to confirm the lbw, it is unlikely to inspire any of the outrage another similar incident did.

India had taken a first-innings lead of 86, which in itself was an achievement, for a team written off by many even before the series began. And when Langer (0) edged Agarkar to Parthiv Patel, the Indians were cock-a-hoop. Australia were 6 for 1 and suddenly Test cricket down under did not seem such a tough ask after all.


Hayden then brought the Indians crashing back down to earth with an array of heavy strokes that would have done an axe-wielding psychopath proud. He stood on the crease, transferred his weight from the back to the front foot, and simply bludgeoned the ball in all directions. The straight hits were particularly insulting, and left the bowlers spinning in their follow-throughs to track the flight of the ball back towards the fence. And he did this with gay abandon even as Ricky Ponting made a less-than-inspiring 50 and departed. He continued to biff the ball as the 100 approached, and moved from 93 to 99 with one such hit.

His confidence high, perhaps too high, on a wave of form that has made him the first man to score 1000 runs in a calendar three times in succession, Hayden holed out. He swatted Harbhajan straight down Sehwag's throat at the midwicket fence. Hayden's 98-ball 99 had put India on the back foot.

With the field well spread out, and Zaheer Khan back in the pavilion nursing a hamstring niggle, Waugh (56 not out) and Martyn (66 not out) kept the scoreboard ticking over at a steady pace. A brace of sweetly timed straight sixes from Martyn signalled that a declaration was imminent. It came with 23 overs left in the day, with India needing 199 for victory, but did not change the end result.

[Donny]

Yes, Dyso, but I think I remember him going out for 98 in India.

Our most recent 99er was Warney and I've listed other recent members of the 99 club.

DM Jones lbw v New Zealand Perth 1989/90

ME Waugh bowled v England Lord's 1993

MJ Slater caught v New Zealand Perth 1993/94

SR Waugh not out v England Perth 1994/95

GS Blewett bowled v West Indies Adelaide 1996/97

GS Blewett bowled v New Zealand Hobart 1997/98

SK Warne caught v New Zealand Perth 2001/02

Before Hayden, the most recent 99s in Test cricket were:

SM Pollock not out S. Africa v Sri Lanka Centurion 2002/03

AJ Hall not out South Africa v England Leeds 2003

Asim Kamal bowled Pakistan v S. Africa Lahore 2003/04

Australian scorers of 199

MTG Elliott bowled v England Leeds 1997

SR Waugh lbw v West Indies Bridgetown 1998/99

Most recent in Tests:

A Flower n.o. Zimbabwe v South Africa Harare 2001/02

Scores of 299
DG Bradman not out v South Africa Adelaide 1931/32

MD Crowe caught N.Z. v Sri Lanka Wellington 1990/91


Majid Khan, Mushtaq Mohammad and DL Amiss all scored 99 in the same Test

MJK Smith, G Boycott, RB Richardson, JG Wright, MA Atherton, Saleem Malik, GS Blewett and SC Ganguly have all scored two 99s

Clem Hill followed his 99 with scores of 98 and 97 in his next Test.

[Donny]

Although Saurav Ganguly earned some respect as a batsman, in the first Test, he missed a big chance to put his opposition skipper and the Australian team under real pressure.

Once India had got to within 50 of Australia's first innings, it was unlikely there would be conventional win to either side, given the time lost to rain.

Had he declared at that point, the onus would have been on Waugh and Australia to make the running.

The sheer audacity of a team declaring behind the mighty Aussies would have been psychologically a good move. They are rarely put under pressure, these days, and strange things can happen in situations like that.

[JLC]

India drawing this test match is a moral win for them as no one expected them to achieve that much.

Me thinks they would be happy with a drawn series or go for the win in the Sydney test on a spinners wicket.

jlc

[commonwombat]

Sydney is somewhat less of a spinners track than it was during the Peter Leroy days (@83-latish 90's). Probably getting back to what it was before, a reasonably good batting track with some bounce and encouragement for the quicks and turning more on days 4-5.

And thank God for that, though Shane's probably not.

[Donny]

'Why are they all lined up like that, Dad?'

Roving Reporter by Dileep Premachandran - Cricinfo


The match was nearing its death rattle when Matthew Hayden put his skates on after lunch, creaming the bowling to all parts, and perhaps sweeping Harbhajan Singh out of India's Test XI. The testimonial atmosphere livened up a notch as the strokes were uncorked, and by the time Hayden walloped a huge six off Ashish Nehra to take him to 99, the few stands that were occupied were buzzing.

"Come on, Matty" and "Come on, Haydos" were the yells, even as the Hayden family looked on in hope high up in the stands. A top-edged sweep later, there was deathly quiet apart from celebratory cheers emanating from what a local paper had called the Swami Army.

Queensland's finest wasn't a happy chappie as he walked off, throwing his helmet and gloves to the ground and smashing the bat against his side as he disappeared into the tunnel. The disappointed family headed for the exits soon after, prepared for the long drive back to Kingaroy. "Bit of bad luck, that," said Laurie Hayden with a rueful smile as he walked away.

Hayden's dismissal was the cue for Steve Waugh to emerge to another standing ovation. The Indian fans greeted him with some humorous placards, including one that said "Get out, Marto [Damien Martyn] ... before Steve runs you out." A yell of "Fluke, fluke," went up when he got off the mark with an edged four. By the time Parthiv Patel fluffed a stumping, the hecklers had had their fill. And to be fair to Waugh, there wasn't much to heckle afterwards, unless you're some weirdo who jeers at an immaculate cut-shot.

The Waving the Flag contingent got their opportunity when he reached 50, although the declaration that followed stunned most of the crowd, who had been packing their bags to head home. When Virender Sehwag and Akash Chopra went in and out quicker than Errol Flynn, the barracking reached a crescendo. "Why are they all lined up like that, Dad?" one little boy asked his father, seeing four slips and three gullies lined up for Rahul Dravid. "It's cos the Indians are nicking everything," said Dad, moments before Dravid played an exquisite cover-drive to the fence.

Andy Bichel came in for some cheers from his faithful following, but it was hard to escape the feeling that it could be his last appearance in the baggy green for a fair while. In an interview to a TV channel earlier in the day, Trevor Hohns – Australia's chairman of selectors – had said that Brad Williams would be a definite contender for Adelaide, despite his unfortunate "wrong arm" comment earlier in the week. "We know the kind of character Brad is, and that was probably a throwaway line. Cricket Australia have dealt with it, and we have no problems."

Mike Coward of The Australian, who has watched more of the Aussie team down the years than most, admitted that Australia had missed Williams's direct approach and aggression here. "He's very impetuous and hot-headed, but maybe that's not a bad thing for a fast bowler."

There's been much doom and gloom about Australia's lack of pace-bowling resources over the past few days, but if those in the know are to be believed, there are some handy performers waiting in the wings. Greg Chappell, who coached South Australia until recently, has high hopes of Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait and Trent Kelly. Chappell knows a thing or two about picking talent. When he was an Australian selector, three new boys were thrown in at the deep end to sink or swim. Their names? David Boon, Geoff Marsh and, er, Steve Waugh.