HITTING FOR SIX — THE ADELAIDE OVAL:
Even though it went through a big renovation five years ago there are few better sights in world sport than the famous Australian ground. Add in the fact it was a day-night Test — bathed under sun for a part of the day and then floodlights — and that a record crowd of 55,317 turned up (beating the 50,962 that were there for the second day of the 1933 Bodyline series) and you have as close a definition to “picture-perfect” as it is possible to get at a stadium bar, perhaps, Lord’s on a sunny July afternoon. Day-night Test cricket is here to stay and the scenes at the Adelaide Oval tell you why.
CLEAN BOWLED — MARK STONEMAN:
There’s an old saying that goes “catches win you matches.” Yes, it’s a bit of a cliche but it’s also fairly accurate and that’s why England and Stoneman will be cursing their luck at the dropped chance off Usman Khawaja. The Aussie batsman top-edged a pull shot to fine leg and Stoneman trundled towards the ball, eventually missing what was a fairly straightforward catch. He was only able to trundle, rather than actually run, because he was still wearing heavy-duty shinpads having fielded at short square-leg earlier. Why he was still wearing them out on the boundary is anyone’s guess.
Even though it went through a big renovation five years ago there are few better sights in world sport than the famous Australian ground. Add in the fact it was a day-night Test — bathed under sun for a part of the day and then floodlights — and that a record crowd of 55,317 turned up (beating the 50,962 that were there for the second day of the 1933 Bodyline series) and you have as close a definition to “picture-perfect” as it is possible to get at a stadium bar, perhaps, Lord’s on a sunny July afternoon. Day-night Test cricket is here to stay and the scenes at the Adelaide Oval tell you why.
CLEAN BOWLED — MARK STONEMAN:
There’s an old saying that goes “catches win you matches.” Yes, it’s a bit of a cliche but it’s also fairly accurate and that’s why England and Stoneman will be cursing their luck at the dropped chance off Usman Khawaja. The Aussie batsman top-edged a pull shot to fine leg and Stoneman trundled towards the ball, eventually missing what was a fairly straightforward catch. He was only able to trundle, rather than actually run, because he was still wearing heavy-duty shinpads having fielded at short square-leg earlier. Why he was still wearing them out on the boundary is anyone’s guess.
