Day four was spent watching India’s fightback and some grind-over-glamour action
Aaron Owen13-Dec-2014Choice of game
All football season – winter – I long for cricket’s local return. But when the season arrives I don’t always get to many games, so the annual Adelaide Test is an easy choice for attending. A good example of quality over quantity.On paper the Aussies, at home, look the stronger team. Of course, though cricket is recorded on, not played, on paper. And I also wasn’t sure which Indian side would arrive here. One ready for tough five-day matches, or one with eyes already on their World Cup defence?Happily by day four, Virat Kohli’s on-field aggression had already shown in his captaincy.Team supported
An Aussie in Australia, I’m unlikely to be supporting the Indian team. But as an appreciator of fine things (how painful does that sound?) the Indians again served up some fine dishes – especially when batting. And so, last night, thanks to India I digested in my dreams lots of punchy cover drives and sublime sweeping.Key performer
A little Dickensian perhaps, in that it was a day of two halves. The first went to Nathan Lyon, who added to his overnight wickets and finished with his first first-innings five-for, making good use of the dusty foot marks and bouncier-than-usual-deliveriesThen as the dry Adelaide afternoon baked the drop-in pitch, David Warner, much to Varun Aaron’s frustration, found fortune in being called back for a front foot no-ball after being cleaned up playing a silly sort of whoosh.One thing I’d have changed about the day
I’d pause the remote just before that delivery of Aaron’s to Warner and move his front foot back a bit so the delivery which would have denied Warner the chance to move on to twin centuries, as he did, would have been legal and sent him packing.Interplay I enjoyed
Lyon bowled neatly and Warner got the ton, but it was Warner’s less-blingy moments of toughing-it-out-till-the-break defence that most interested me. From the top tier of the new massive southern stand I could well have been a cameraman alone in a cherry picker such was the feeling of being on top of the action. Albeit sometimes the action was more grind than glamour.Filling the gaps
Mick Jagger told me never to name-drop. So I won’t. But one of my friends in attendance was a former Adelaide Oval resident historian, cricket museum curator, and cricket writer. So walking around during the breaks is something (I say something) akin to hanging with a celebrity at their place of employ. But it’s not the people who shake his hand that are most interesting. It’s him and his ad hoc walking history tour he provides to me and some others that is best.Wow moment
I’d borrowed my brother’s Member pass for the day, and late in the play I decided to call him. My friends and I had moved by then from the stand to the shady hill. I had to leave a message for Mike in which he hears the crowd cheers and me relaying the hitting of yet another six as Mitchell Marsh walloped Karn Sharma for 24.Player watch
The crowd of just under 30 000 oddly felt kind of small. The sparseness was especially notable with the ground’s increased capacity of around 50,000. So when Peter Siddle dropped a boundary-riding catch that would normally have been taken, he deservedly copped a little ribbing about it from an eager-to-engage crowd. But nothing that would have made him cry.Shot of the day
The Mitch Marsh six that was perhaps more memorable for the crowd catch than the shot itself. Caught by a green polo shirt-wearing Member, the catch was all the better because not one of the beers around him were even bumped, much less spilt. They just can’t teach you that sort of thing. It’s innate, mate.Crowd meter
Not that it matters nix but I was a big Phil Hughes fan, and I mean no disrespect whatever, but enough already with the clapping on 63, 64, 37 or 408. It felt morbid yesterday and a little cheapened. It’s the quantity versus quality thing – an aspect of life that Hughes himself sadly is a positive example of.Fancy dress index
The best effort of the day was from the older mates in front of us and their sartorial shirt selections. All five wore loud-as-hell Hawaiian shirts, and to some effect and acclaim.Entertainment
There was the once cute but now I-can’t-be-bothered-watching-little-kids-playing-cricket-on-the-oval-during-the-lunch-break, and some crappy whacking a ball game during the tea break. Cricket really needs to invest some funds into its at-game entertainment, not just into invasive and annoying devices like Spidercam.Tests v limited overs
The main difference is my level of satisfaction and memories taken with – so here it’s a no-brainer with the win going to Test cricket.Enhanced viewing
I took a bottle of water, notepad, pen (I was going to take a pencil but decided against it – wisely, I think), glasses and book I’m reading, Dracula.Overall
Good company. Good cricket. Good weather. Good stuff.Marks out of 10
8 out of 10 sounds about right.
