John Howard, the self-styled "cricket tragic" who takes seems blissfully unaware of either one-day cricket or Twenty20, made a cameo appearance at Maroubra Beach this morning to toss the bat prior to the Australia v England Beach Cricket international. England won.
Just finished listening to an interesting half-hour interview with Bob Woolmer on the BBC World Service. It's available online until next Saturday (the 27th).
Just about everything I have to say about Tuesday night's Twenty20 international at the SCG was said one year ago after the Australia v South Africa game.
Just a few additional observations:
If the game was a sell-out, and the official attendance was 35628, then that's about 11000 members who didn't turn up!
If we didn't know before, we do now. Australia's 5-0 drubbing of England in 2006-07 is the first such triumph since 1920-21. But which was the bigger achievement?
"The performance in the Ashes series has been a great disappointment and a number of lessons must be learned. This review will be comprehensive and broad ranging with the clear objective of regaining the Ashes in 2009 and significantly improving England's results in one-day international cricket in the next four year cycle."
- ECB chief executive David Collier, 5.1.07
Not since the Harlem Globetrotters last beat the Washington Generals has a foregone sporting conclusion been so rapturously and emotionally received by a sell-out crowd.
All over by lunchtime. Australia 5, England 0. Warne 708, McGrath 563, Langer 7698, Buchanan 68-11-10. Lots to reflect upon and digest, but that will have to wait for this evening.
Was this just another Pommy sledge, or a pagan ritual aimed at raising Sir Neville Cardus from the dead?
Fifth and final Test between Australia and England at the SCG.
Also known as the Warne McGrath Langer Buchanan farewell spectacular.
Recommended links:
live scorecard from my good friends at CricketArchive;
OBO from my good friends (if I actually knew any of them) at The Guardian;
and the all-important weather radar from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Alas but the SCG webcam hasn't been updated since Friday.
190: The approximate number of overs left unplayed when the Melbourne Test finished two and a bit days early.
244,351: The cumulative number of spectators at the MCG over the three days of the Test, an average of 81450 per day. The record cumulative crowd for a Test in Australia was 350,534 for the MCG Test against England in 1936-37, a six-day Test thus averaging a mere 58422 per day.