Australia v India, 3rd test *Day 1*
Mum, Ce. and I drove to Perth early on Wednesday morning, she dropped me and Ce. at the WACA ground at about 9.45am - Gates had opened at 9.30am for members, and we joined the queue to get in. We were about 400m back from the gates, and could see the spacious grounds of the neighboring school, Trinity College, a posh, expensive and good all-boys school. It must be fun for the young students who have classrooms overlooking the WACA ground. They would have a great view of the domestic cricket season from September through to December.
Anyway, back to the cricket.... after a wait of about half-an-hour, we made it into the WACA. There is a crazy rush as everyone gets set free from their line and makes a mad dash into 'their seat'. a seat picked out carefully by the member who has discovered (in their opinion) the best view of the cricket from that vantage point only!. For Ce. and I, this meant making our way to the lowest level of the Lillee-Marsh stand, and to the block of seats around the sight-screen. It's a nice place to sit right behind the bowlers arm, doesn't get too busy(!), and we can find shady seats there too - quite important in the scorching Perth summer heat. It is now around 10.30am and we have applied some sunblock, drunk some water (no opened bottles allowed in the ground!! so we can't drink until we get in)... and watch the Indian and Aussie teams doing their warmups. India is playing footy (Aussie rules) which, for the uninitiated is a whole heap better than soccer!. As usual, I get a bit star struck and pick out all the players..saying to Celine.. "Wow! there is Sachin!!"... "Look.. Dravid!".. 'Ganguly..., Laxman!!"
Next I head down under the stadium to the handwashing part of the ladies toilets, to see in the mirror while I put on some blue zinc! (Go India!). As I head back to my seat I spot a lady in a gorgeous blue saree through the bars that look onto the players race. I come back to Celine and tell her "She is going to be singing the national anthem.. bet you!!' and 20 minutes later I am proved correct. :) It was beautiful listening to the Indian and Australian national anthems. I love them both as I feel equally attached to both countries and cultures. When the anthems finish players from both sides shake hands with each other. A nice gesture. Now it is time for the play to start!!!!
Sehwag and Jaffer open the innings, Sehwag starts blazing away! yay. this is fun to watch, I am glad they recalled him as India need to get Australia on the back foot from the start. Give the Aussie team just 1 advantage and they will never let you forget it. So a good selection by India. I am also happy to see India have picked one of my all-time favourite players - Irfan Pathan. I followed him from the domestic cricket scorecards on cricinfo.. through to his debut as a 19 year old 4 years ago here in Australia. He is a wonderful player and I can't wait to see him bowl later in the game.
Sehwag and Jaffer come and go, and India may be in a little trouble here. But it is Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid at the crease. They dig in and bat well.... they seem to be doing a great job of holding off the Aussie attack. I heard the groundsman say on morning radio as we were driving to Perth that he wanted the first day to be a 10 or 12 wicket day. By that standard, India have been playing exceptionally today. I hope this play continues.
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