Best oz bowling figures in the first innings: 3/50 which he then follows up with an insanely entertaining 72. Six sixes? Maaaaaaate! Not to mention continuing his genius fielding ways. No way can they drop him now! Nyer nyer nyer nyer nyer, da!
Justine Larbalestier
The various writings of Justine Larbalestier
cute hair he has.
i read a profile of the late kerry packer in my newspaper yesterday, and they mentioned that australians call defibrillators ‘packer whackers’. god, you guys have the best words!
Symmo does inded have cute hair that the crusty commentators are always demanding he cut off. Stupid commentators.
“Packer wacker” is great, but it’s not exactly a common useage . . . I’d only heard it like once before
SatanKerry Packer died.We do have lots of great words. Scott borrowed a bunch for his Uglies series: littlies, crusties, spag bol—all of ’em Aussie.
A fabulous evening’s entertainment on the Internet. Delighted to see Symonds proving the media wrong.
What about that Kerry O’Keefe then? No wonder you find Blowers boring.
That cricketer chap looks a lot better without his golly paint.
i figure symonds is good through to the end of the tour of south africa, based on this test. no way could they drop him for sydney then they have one dayers and the tests in r.s.a. if he can play well in those games, he’s in for some time. jacques on the other hand, is gone.
Cheryl: You know I can no longer listen to the ABC cricket commentary because of Kerry O’Keefe. He talks across play happening. His laugh is like chalk down a blackboard. I don’t dislike Blowers cause he’s boring; it’s his ludicrous poncey accent that does me in.
Margo: He’s a nice looking bloke.
Jonathan: It was so wonderful to see Symonds finally hitting his stride on the big stage. Yay him!
I’m afraid you’re right about Jacques. You have to really dazzle a la Hussey and Hodge to have any hope of staying in the test side. Too many blokes waiting in the wings.
if that’s all you dislike about o’keefe you are very tolerant indeed. at first i figured he was probably very drunk, but it looks like he behaves like that all the time.
belinda clark, on the other hand, has the makings of an excellent commentator. it is rare to have someone in the box who can talk intelligently about field placing (as opposed to just moaning that the fielders are not where they would put them).
jacques, I think, was on a hiding to nothing. langer is fit again, and it would have taken a phenomenal performance from jacques to keep him out.
Cheryl: that was just the beginning of my list. As you intimate there’s so much to dislike.
I’m sorry that I missed hearing Belinda Clarke. I’ve heard her interviewed and been very very impressed.
Yeah, you’re right about Jaques, but Langer’s getting on and so’s Hayden, if Jacques had pulled something big out he’d’ve been putting himself in prime position to replace one of ’em.
apropos sports: did you see this post?
http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/2005/12/26/lady-bloodlusting-mercenaries/
i know the link to test cricket is tenuous, but i thought you’d enjoy it. work with me.
Claire: Ace article with which I wholeheartedly agree. There is a strong connection to test cricket. Belinda Clarke, mentioned by Cheryl, is one of Australia’s most successful cricketers and captains, but for the women’s team, so, naturally, very few people have heard of her. I’ve never seen her play. That sucks.
I figure Symonds is safe until Watson is fit… if he’s gonna keep him out after that he needs to keep taking wickets and prove he’s not just a batsman…since everyone seems obsessed with finding an Australian Andrew Flintoff…
I have confidence in Symmo’s continued wicket taking ability. I’ve not been impressed by what I’ve seen of Watson at test level.
Justine,
Do you honestly think Andrew Symonds is test Quality?
In all honesty I don’t know. He’s definitely just given a fabulous performance in Melbourne. Will he be able to keep that up? I hope so. Andrew Symonds is really good for test cricket: flashy, bold, swashbuckling. He’s always fabulous in the field and he gives the crowd their money’s worth.
Cricket is all about many things, but entertainment is definitely one of them. So, yeah I hope he keeps up this level of performance. It’s good for cricket. (You know, just as long as he doesn’t give Shane Warne any more shoulder-damaging bear hugs.)