Sydney Day Two: Warne’s 1000th vegetable

You have  to hand it to the Murdoch comic books. One week they are celebrating – in advance – the Lord Of The RingsText Alert’s 700th wicket, the next week they are celebrating his 1000th wicket. With that rarest or rarities, the full page colour liftout commemorative poster.

So what are we celebrating again? Shane Warne’s 1000th international wicket. As in all “full internationals”. Let me explain, by introducing the rickeyre.com vegetable index (More about the fruit index later) Continue reading “Sydney Day Two: Warne’s 1000th vegetable”

Sydney Day One: Con te partiro

Imagine an artist at the canvas on the boundary fence of a packed SCG on the opening day of the New Years Test. Imagine Jack Russell, brush in hand, white floppy hat, characteristic moustache, outlining the curves of Aussie Stadium peeking from behind the Noble Stand, the clock on the Members Stand showing a quarter past four.


A man neatly dressed in a suit appears in the middle of the arena. But it’s not the CEO of one of the myriad of sponsors – not unless he is a classically-trained opera singer. 
Suddenly, the painter’s hat flies away, the moustache curls up, Jack Russell has morphed into Salvador Dali, and the SCG clock melts away. Continue reading “Sydney Day One: Con te partiro”

Essex takes revenge for 1948

Essex v Australia, Chelmsford, 3-4 September 2005
Stumps Day One

Essex First innings  				Runs  	Balls  	4s  	6s
WI Jefferson 			b MS Kasprowicz 64 	73 	10 	1
AN Cook 	c JN Gillespie 	b MS Kasprowicz 214 	238 	33 	1
RS Bopara 			b SW Tait 	135 	220 	17 	2
ML Pettini 	c ML Hayden 	b SW Tait 	8 	16 	1 	0
+JS Foster 		not out 		38 	61 	0 	0
JD Middlebrook 		not out 		26 	30 	0 	0
Extras 	(b 4, lb 5, nb 8, w 0) 	17
Total for 4 wkt 	(105 overs) 	502 	 
	
Bowling  	Overs  	Maidens  Runs  	Wickets  Extras
B Lee 		13 	0 	69 	0 	-
JN Gillespie 	22 	3 	80 	0 	-
SW Tait 	15 	1 	72 	2 	-
SCG MacGill 	24 	0 	128 	0 	-
MS Kasprowicz 	19 	2 	85 	2 	-
BJ Hodge 	12 	1 	59 	0

Continue reading “Essex takes revenge for 1948”

A great English victory beckons

Something I thought I would never see, well not in this decade anyway, appears to be unfolding at New Road, Worcester, today.

It’s lunch on Day Three of the Second Women’s Test between England and Australia. The visitors made 131 in their first innings. England, after being 227 for 9 at the close of the second day, advanced to 289 all out. Australia faced sixteen overs before lunch. They are currently 13 for 3. Continue reading “A great English victory beckons”

Worcester Test Day One

Nothing will stop me from cursing the England and Wales Cricket Board for their counterproductive policy of scheduling women’s tours simultaneously with the men. There’s an important, indeed, sudden-death women’s Test match going on at New Road, Worcester which is being totally eclipsed for media attention by the most riveting men’s Ashes series in almost a quarter of a century. Continue reading “Worcester Test Day One”