Subj : Re: Yay!!!! England win the Ashes. To : alt.tv.farscape From : weirdwolf Date : Mon Sep 12 2005 22:38:20 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape "Steve Brooks" wrote in news:thlVe.5708$yF2.1632@newsfe6-win.ntli.net: > John I wrote: >> Steve Brooks wrote: >> >>> weirdwolf wrote: >>>> "Steve Brooks" wrote >>>>> weirdwolf wrote: >>>>>> "Kath" wrote >>>>> >>>>>> Quite, this has been the best series I have followed in er 25+ >>>>>> years of listening to cricket. Even better than 81. >>>>> >>>>> There's a Mr Botham over here who disagrees. >>>>> >>>> >>>> This has been more closely fought with teams who have both had some >>>> outstanding individual performances. Yeah we all remember Headingly >>>> and Bob Willis steaming after Botham's heroics, but there has been >>>> something mythic about the way that this series has swung, the >>>> tenseness of a final day where both sides have had to see out the >>>> overs in less than ideal conditions against some wonderful bowling >>>> to earn the draw. >>>> That little urn could have gone to either team up until an hour or >>>> so after the lunch interval with any of the four possible results >>>> acheivable. How often can you say that of a test series? >>> >>> >>> It has indeed been a fine series. It's a pity that the Aussies will >>> be able to claim - at least to themselves - that they were really >>> beaten by the weather. It would have been even more satisfying if >>> England could have come to a cunningly contrived draw over the full >>> five days. A fully deserved win would have been good too. But that >>> never really seemed on the cards after the first couple of days. >>> >> >> Didn't both teams play under the same sky? > > Yes - but England only needed a draw to win the series. Also the > nature of the game is that an interuption at any particular moment > will often be more of a problem to one team than the other. > The convicts were playiong on a different day and so got different conditions as is quite usual in this country. The weather plays a very important part in cricket, in England the ball tends to swing in the air, (moves after and before pitching,) in the mornings when the air is heavy with dew. If it is warm and sunny the pitch will dry out and you get movement off the seam, it might spin. If it stays hot the pitch might dry out and crack causing the bounce to become uneven and rough up and allow spinners to get the ball to bite and turn more. The umpires can offer the light if the conditions are such that it is dangerous, a bowler at 90+ mph steaming in and you can't see the ball, or the conditions are such that it is unfit for play,so dark that the fielders can't see the ball or the batsman can't see the ball leaving the hand of the slower spin bowler. This has all sorts of consequences, if you are a batsman in a team that needs to try to bat out the day for a draw, you would take the light with relish and put you're feet up for a bit. If you are looking to extend the lead you have as a batsman in a team in a good position you may want to decline the offer and try to get enough runs to really put the pressure on your opponent, which is what the Aussies should have done. It can also work to the fielding sides advantage, a few years ago in Pakistan on the final day of a test match England were looking certain to win by knocking off the few runs they required with plenty of wickets in hand when it started to get darker. In order to try to force the umpires into offering the batsman the light the Paistani's bowled their quickest bowlers, knowing that it would be viewed by the umpires as a situation where it is dangerous for the batsman, usually if a side want's to try to keep the opponents batting they will change to a slower spin bowling attack. The umpires did offer the light but the batsman declined and despite it being bloody dark and bowling touching 100mph they stayed on to win the game. Now can you see why a draw is just as important result as a win,loss or tie? By the way there was a so called endless test that could continue past the standard now of 5 days. The result in the end was a draw as they ran out of time. Ted -- Stare too long into the abyss and the abyss looks like a nifty place to hide the bodies .