Noughts, Crosses and 99 runs

"It looks like a game of noughts and crosses" - Richie Benaud on the Aussies bowling markers.

25 No-balls! It's a stat that I don't like.
To me, bowlers who bowl no-balls are also doing that in training, I have trained with a cricket team for 2 years, and after I got over the initial problem of landing my foot behind the first line, instead of just behind the second, it was of the utmost importance to me that whatever, wherever, whenever I did anything in training, it was done as though it was the most important ball I had ever bowled, the most crucial shot, or the most desperate fielding, or the whole run-and-dive-for-the-crease-and-the-game while I was batting..(the first 'practice' game I did that in, all 14 boys who I trained with ran up to me in unison, as they had never seen anyone so committed to not being run-out in training so much they would dive!) I'm a firm believer in the fact that however you practice, when put in a pressure situation will be how you will play... now I'm not sure if the Aussie bowlers actually play around with where they land their feet in training, but if they do, I've got no sympathy for what is happening to them now.

Meanwhile, the Aussie team have struggled with lbw's (some a little dodgy, but that's life) and are 5/99 at stumps on day 2 at Trent Bridge. I watched from the start of the Aussie innings, until about over #12, and especially the way that the Pommy team set Haydos up for his lbw, I could just see the whole collapse coming :(

This is also my 50th post! not bad considering I only started a blog as something to do one day!