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WEDNESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2001 "I'm not sure we deserved to lose that, yet I'm not sure we deserved to win it either"! That was my initial and somewhat confused thought immediately after the recent one-day match against the Bulls at the 'Gabba. With the torrential rain that swept through northern New South Wales and Queensland for the couple of days prior to, and during, the game, we were fortunate to get a game in at all and by the end of the match the run-ups and surrounds were barely playable. Kevin Mitchell and his groundstaff deserve a huge pat on the back for getting and keeping the ground in decent shape. It was interesting to note the newspaper report the following day called the wicket 'remarkably dry'! Whilst I am sure the reporter was alluding to the weather, any wicket where you bat first and almost tear a hamstring marking your guard is far from dry in my books! I am sure that many of the Bulls would have felt as though justice had been served after a similar strip was presented at Bellerive for the corresponding match last month. Fortunately that day the result of the toss was different and so was the final result. After battling hard to score 8/134 off thirty-nine overs (which was increased to 147 thanks to Duckworth/Lewis) we had the Bulls 7/67. That was until Andy Bichel walked to the crease and, with Jimmy Maher, saw them home with nine balls to spare. I take my hat off to Bich in particular as he assessed the situation very well. Realising that he was likely to get out defending, he came out swinging and, whilst he enjoyed plenty of luck, his innings managed to completely reverse the momentum of things. I don't think we lost it as much as they simply won it! I couldn't help but cast my mind back to November last year when Andrew Symonds and Martin Love's similar heroics snatched a Pura Cup match away from us. Same scenario, just different names and now Queensland, where the Tigers have enjoyed reasonable success during the Bulls' recent era of dominance, provides a new challenge. The loss was particularly disappointing as it all but ends our hopes of playing in the Mercantile Mutual Cup Final. Whilst the mathematicians around the land would still rate us a chance, we no longer have control over our own destiny. As well as us getting bonus points (or at least one) from our remaining two games, we also need sides above us to lose whatever remains for them. Not an easy task but the campaign now rolls on to Launceston, where I am certain an almost full house at the NTCA will hopefully inspire us to victory over the Vics. The game marks the 150th year anniversary of first-class cricket in Australia, at the same venue and between the same two sides from where it all began. What many people will not know is that Tasmania won that game to be Australia's first winner of a first-class game - not a bad question for a quiz night! Let's hope that the result remains the same this time around.
The reverse sweep and paddle sweep off the medium pacers. Mike Gatting was hanged in the British press for his botched attempt at reversing Allan Border in the 1987 World Cup Final against Australia and I think ever since that moment the stroke has been frowned upon and deleted from Australian coaching manuals. I can report, however, that Gatting's disaster has not deterred many other English pros from playing and, in some cases, perfecting the stroke. Without doubt, my most frustrating moments as captain of Somerset have come from trying to set fields against someone proficient in the stroke and I nearly jumped over the balcony when I first saw a Somerset player attempt it. However, I soon learnt to appreciate the cunning power of the stroke as it always tends to leave you a fielder short and on lower, slower English wickets can be the difference in winning or losing games. Zimbabwe's Andy Flower is one of the best exponents of the stroke on the international scene and his successful attempts have led to Steve Waugh's captaincy being challenged for one of the few times this summer. The stroke almost enjoyed its finest hour in Zimbabwe's chase of 303 in Perth recently. Needing fifteen to win off the last over, Doug Marillier, batting in Australia for the first time, stepped inside Glenn McGrath twice and paddled him to fine leg for four - sheer brilliance from my living room! This forced Steve Waugh to put fine leg back and bring up mid on, opening up a more conventional stroke to find the fence. Unfortunately that could not be managed and the Zims lost by a run. But I, for one, was certainly impressed. In this age when the Aussie coach seems to embrace multi-skilling, who is going to be the first of his players to play the stroke on a regular basis on the international stage?
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