Ashes 4th Test preview
In spite of the dead rubber, there are many questions yet to be answered as we head into the 4th Test. When will Warne take his 700th wicket? Will Warne take a big wicket haul at his last home ground Test? Will Shane get back with Simone? I think there's 21 other guys involved in this Test although I forget their names.
What with Warne and Pigeon retiring and Warnie gunning for wicket #700, the crowd record of 90,800 should be cracked on Day 1 unless there's a deluge in Melbourne. If the Test goes to Day 5 which is likely considering Melbourne weather, the crowd aggregate will get up over 400,000 (the previous record is 350,354) which boggles the mind (cue the image of James Sutherland writhing on a bed of money).
I expect Gilly to go for a century of Test sixes. In fact, considering I'll be on holiday over the last 4 days and miss much of the action, I wouldn't be surprised if he breaks Viv Richard's fastest century record while I'm out on a beach blissfully unaware (not that I'm bitter).
I've picked draws in Adelaide and Perth to no avail. However, yet again I'm picking a draw for various reasons. Firstly, I picked 3-1 at the start of the season (which I'm now having grave doubts) so I need that draw to get in the ballpark. I'm expecting an improved England performance as they always play their best when it doesn't matter. There'll also be a drop off in the Australian performance. Ponting may talk big about a series whitewash but no matter what they say, you can't maintain the same level of intensity in a dead rubber. But in the end, the winner on the day will be the Melbourne weather. There are forecasts for rain all week which will mean several sessions lost. Considering we won in Brisbane with 2 and a bit sessions to spare, in Adelaide with 3 overs left and in Perth with less than 2 sessions to go, a couple of sessions of bad weather should be all it takes to deliver a draw. I'll be monitoring the Melbourne radar map closely this week.
| Posted by JC on Tue 26 Dec |  1 comments |
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