BUMBLE ON THE TEST
OPENERS ARE JUST WALKING WICKETS
THESE England openers are a sorry sight. Both Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed are playing across the line. It doesn’t matter how the bat goes back in the stance, but it has to come back to address the ball in a straight line. All the talk was about the pink ball under lights — well, it didn’t do anything! All the Aussie bowlers had to do was put it in the right place and the openers went across the line — again. They are walking wickets I’m afraid.
... AND I’D DRAFT ZAK AND JONNY BACK IN
I’D change both of them for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. England might as well open with Joe Root and Dawid Malan because they are repeatedly in so early! Or how about going back to picking one of the one-day openers? Only England got the wrong one in Jason Roy last time. The other one has got six Test centuries. He’s Jonny Bairstow (above), and I’d open with him and Zak Crawley.
IT’S YARNS GALORE OVER AT TMS
ENTHRALLED to hear both Jim Maxwell and Ian Chappell on Test Match Special. Jim, with his experience and cricket knowledge, is as good as it gets while Ian is one of the best. He’s a fine storyteller and was reminiscing about the old manual scoreboard at Adelaide and its operator, Roy. He used to cycle home from the ground and would stop at each of the six pubs he had to pass.
SLIP DEBACLE ALL TOO FAMILIAR
LOOK at Burns’ dismissal and where Steve Smith ended up taking the ball at slip. It was waist high. Compare that to England. The chances were there but the slips were too deep and the ball was falling short. We have seen it so many times before. The position of slips is dictated by the keeper, but traditionally Australian fielders stand much closer.
LET’S HOPE SANTA GOT THE PJ HINT!
I WAS back on Channel 7 in their English tea-time slot. It was at a bit more of a civilised time in a day-night Test, but I decided to go on air in my pyjamas again. Not so much because I’d just got out of my bed, but more as a massive hint to my family. My jim-jams are in bits and Christmas is around the corner. I just wonder if Father Christmas might bring me a new pair...
NESER DEBUT HAS SHADES OF HEGG
MICHAEL NESER making his debut at 31 reminded me of when we gave Warren Hegg (right) a first cap at the same age at Melbourne in 1998. He came up against his hero Steve Waugh, who said to him: ‘A debut at your age? You’re an embarrassment! You should be ashamed.’ Warren was almost in tears.
ADELAIDE PUB CRAWL IS UNRIVALLED
THE Adelaide Oval is a beautiful ground in a beautiful city. If you’re ever there — and we didn’t have to worry about Covid — I would recommend coming over the bridge on your way out of the ground and turning left into O’Connell Street. Have one in The Cathedral, then go up to The Archer, stop off at The Oxford and finally end up at The Royal Oak. The Oak is a pub combined with a wine shop, and to get from one to the other you have to go through a football-style turnstile. It’s one of the great nights.