An Indian Summer
‘IT isnt often that a cricket match not involving England leads the back page of one of our newspapers, but its not every day that Australia get beaten in their back yard.
| Don’t worry, Oz, there’s always the World Armpit Squeaking Championships? |
England have managed it a couple of times in the last two Ashes series Down Under, but both times the series has been lost and the victories very much in the consolation category.
Not so yesterday when India fought back from 85-4 in pursuit of the hosts massive first innings total of 556 to win the match by four wickets.
It prompts the Independent to ask: Was this Test crickets greatest comeback?
It ranks it alongside four other classic Tests, all involving Australia and including of course the famous Headingley match of 1981 in which England became the first team ever to win a Test after following on.
However, the one match that it most obviously resembled was the Calcutta Test in 2001, in which Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman shared their first 300+ partnership.
[In Adelaide, they became only the second pair to share two 300 partnerships in Test matches.]
In that match, dubbed the Miracle of Calcutta, India won after being forced to follow on 274 runs behind. They went on to win the series.
Meanwhile, Australias dominance of this mornings sports news continues in the Times, which (with the other papers) reports on England rugby coach Clive Woodwards fury at the BBC.
The reason is their crass decision to invite former Aussie winger and professional Pommie-basher David Campese to present the World Cup winners with their BBC Team Of The Year award on Sunday night.
Its typical of British sport that when you achieve something fantastic, someone tries to make a joke of it, he said.
We had Princess Anne, Sir Bobby Charlton and George Cohen in the audience and they could have delivered the trophy. To pick a guy who in international rugby has got little or no respect was a bad error of judgement.
Campos response? Get a life, Clive.
Meanwhile, on a night when Arsenal moved into the semi-final of the Carling Cup with a team that even Arsene Wenger would struggle to name, the happy news is that from next season we can all watch even more football.
A deal between the Premier League and the European Commission means the end of Skys monopoly and live matches on terrestrial television.
Everyone reserve your seats for Middlesbrough v Aston Villa now…’
Posted: 17th, December 2003 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
