*Alternative title: Justice rolls on like a river.
Jrod went to bed after Prince McCullum holed out, but sometimes, to take his analogy and pervert it for my own ends, still waters run deep, and the less glamorous friend of the person you thought you fancied turns out to be the one who'll come through for you.
I was at the Oval for this match, resplendent in my cricketwithballs tshirt, and it was a proper dramatic, twisty-turny game, which didn't come down to the last ball; it came down to the overthrows after the last ball.
England: despite a few batsmen getting starts, they didn't manage any kind of acceleration and were bowled out within the 50 overs. KP got 0, immediately after Botham said that the pitch was ideal for him.
New Zealand, as you know, lost McCullum very early. Styris and Oram built things up again, and NZ were ticking along very nicely indeed, until losing Oram (who struggled with the short stuff throughout), Styris and Vettori in fairly quick succession.
England used so many bowlers that the woefully-inadequate-in-every-way scoreboard didn't have space for them all.
Then The Controversial Event occurred.
Ryan Sidebottom was bowling to Elliot, who hit the ball very near to his own feet. The batsmen ran, Elliot charging for the other end at the same time as Sidebottom charged in the direction of the ball, and the two collided and ended up on the ground. As Elliot got up and half-ran half-limped to the other end, Ian Bell effected the run out.
Mark Benson gave Collingwood the option to withdraw his appeal for a run out, while Elliot received treatment on the pitch. As I inwardly screamed "dead ball! dead ball!", and the NZ dressing room outwardly screamed some rather colourful stuff, Collingwood presumably declined.
Elliot started to walk off, shaking his head and giving the England team a death-stare, the scoreboard hadn't even changed, but then the music started and everybody knows that the music is definitive, so we knew he was out.
By the time the 9th wicket (Southee) fell, NZ still needed 12 runs to win. There was plenty of time, but there was only 1 wicket left.
9 deliveries went past without a run, including two Collingwood balls that missed Mills' stumps by the thickness of a layer of lipstick. Next ball, though, Mills shows that what runs in his veins is pure, pure ice, by smashing an enormous six.
Final over: it's given to Luke Wright. 3 needed, Mills keeps strike.
1. Single! 2 needed, but Gillespie is on strike.
2. Dot.
3. Dot.
4. Dot
5. Almost a run out when GIllespie manages to get the ball away, but hits it straight at Mills, and both batsmen have to turn back to their ends. Dot.
6. Gillespie hits one! A safe single, Swann picks up the ball and throws it to the stumps, and to where four fielders were converging, but no-one is backing up! Overthrow!
The camera cuts to the New Zealand balcony, where Vettori (more fired up than I can ever remember seeing him, ever) screams "Run! Run! Run! Run!" to his batsmen while McCullum leaps around beside him. Mills realises what is happening and runs the final run, bringing the Kiwis home. Vettori then screams something I daren't try to lipread, while pointing to his right.
Luke Wright's head is in his hands after an excellent last over.
Collingwood is then snubbed - snubbed! - at the door of the Kiwi dressing room.
Later, Collingwood accepts that he may have been wrong about the Elliot run-out. Vettori apologises on his part, and (choosing his words carefully) says that now that Collingwood has admitted he's wrong they can move on, and he hopes that the next game can be played in the right spirit. Ouchie.
The final of this series, which will decide whether NZ can take away a series win or not, is on Saturday. This will be the 19th out of 19 consecutive fixtures between England and New Zealand and I thought I'd be sick to death of the sight of the Kiwis by the end, but I'm absolutely champing at the bit for the next match now. www.cricketwithballs.com
Now with new proper english lady blogger.
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