Saturday, November 27, 2010

So much for modern technology




Brisbane Day 3: England 260 & 19-0, Australia 481

As the cricketers swelter in the Queensland heat, it's a winter wonderland in much of Northern Europe, including our back garden (right).

Let's not dwell too long on the accuracy of my Day 3 cricket prediction (or lack thereof). Suffice to say that Australia are giving the Poms a salutary lesson in Test match cricket.

After a few pints of Guinness last night at our local Irish pub, there was no way I was going to get up early enough to see much of today's play. Maybe it was just as well. By the time I was woken by the kids, I had already lost faith in my own prediction and experienced that familiar sinking feeling when I finally dared to switch on the TV.

The first ball I saw (the first of England's second innings) should have seen the end of captain Strauss for another 0. The "Hawkeye" technology must have been having a really bad day at the office, because to the naked eye that ball was hitting the stumps halfway up. Plummers. 

Yet for some unaccountable reason the computer decided it was going just over the top. 99 times out of a 100 the umpire would have given it out anyway and the batsman would not have lingered for a second opinion. All probably irrelevant though unless England make 500 in the next two days.  I'm sticking with my prediction that England's batsmen will dig in on Day 4 but the Aussies should still win at a canter on Day 5 to go 1-0 up.

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