Upendra Kanda, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
While it was exciting to watch the first game of a reasonably busy Australian Sri Lanka Tour last night, it was also a little underwhelming and felt like a perfunctory beating from the current T20 World Cup. My greatest excitement came when I misheard a commentator call one of the on-field umpires Lyndon Honeyballs, possibly one of the greatest surnames that could be bestowed upon a man. My disappointment was palpable this morning when I discovered his family name is in fact Hannibal. Sure there are jokes to be had there and lotions to be spoken off, but fictional serial killer comedy just isn’t my bag.
But I digress. Australia continued it’s wonderful shortest form form (not a typo!), led in the field by the inimitable Josh Hazelwood. That man has turned out to be one of the premiere T20 bowlers in the world and it’s not by offering a range of dazzling tricks or bowling so wide the crowd could kiss the ball (yuck). Mister Consistent has continued to be Mister Consistent no matter what form of the game he’s playing. It turns out that his test line and length are just as difficult to play in 20 over cricket. His 4 wickets were pivotal in keeping Sri Lanka to a seemingly un-defendable total of 128.
However… the first couple of overs of Australia’s innings produced the illusion that we may have a game on our hands with both Theekshana and Thushara getting some sweet reverse (I think?) swing, making David “Kaboom” Warner and Aaron Finch look a tad uncomfortable. But then the ball stopped moving, Finch continued to look uncomfortable and Warner went on his merry way controlling the ball and power hitting as needed. In some ways, Warner looks in as good a form as he’s ever been in. He brings a slightly less exciting, but smarter and more productive brand of cricket to the pitch – like the difference between hardcore porn and an erotic European art film. Unfortunately Finch sat in stark contrast for the early part of his innings, as if trying to tell a joke at a party but mostly falling short of landing the punchline (I can empathise). Being the nuggety little fighter he is though, he stayed out there after riding his luck and managed to get some quality shots away, finishing with a solid 61 not out after hitting the winning runs with a lovely 6, Warner by his side. Ordinarily this would make me happy however I declare them both selfish bastards. “Why?” you ask? Because they robbed me of seeing Mitch Marsh bat! I don’t want to see shots of Marsh, all padded up on the team bench, pretending to laugh at Kane Williamson’s jokes. I need to see him instructing the ball in the fine art of aerial flight and introducing it to it’s new friend, the hard bitumen of the road outside the ground.
The next game is tonight! Wall to wall cricket is my jam.
Did I mention Lyndon Honeyballs?
