Tuesday, December 19, 2006

England vs Australia: T3 summary

All in all, a superb test match. I was seated for the last 3 days near a gentleman who has been watching Test matches for 50 years around the world, right back from when Len Hutton was given out obstructing the field (he showed me his own scorebook with that and other games in it). In his opinion, this was the finest Test match ever played.

It's difficult to come to conclusions like that. A lot of people confuse an exciting finish for a great Test match. Just look at Adelaide a fortnight ago for example. To my mind, what set this Perth Test apart from others I have seen was the all round quality that was on display. Put that together with a fabulous crowd, and a pitch that had something in it for everyone, and perfect weather, and I don't know that I'll ever see a better Test in my lifetime.

We had consistent top class pace bowling from start to finish by Stuart Clark, and some shows of real quality from McGrath, Harmison and Hoggard at various times. Monty Panesar provided an object lesson in finger spin, and Shane Warne went on to one-up him with one of his best spells in years. Michael Hussey played a classic test match knock in the first innings, Michael Clarke made a century that oozed class, and Adam Gilchrist was just one ball short of the fastest century in history. Add to that the simply sensational fielding of Andy Symonds, and some tremendous work by Hussey and Clarke as well, and Ponting's run-out of Jones on the final day, and there's really not a lot left to say. And remember, all of this was in the context of Australia wanting to reclaim the Ashes, and England trying desperately to keep a grip on them.

I loved every minute of it, and I was privileged to be there, and proud to say that I didn't miss a second of the action.

4 comments:

Tim said...

I'm going to be in Sydney but have been unable to get tickets so far. How many tickets are sold on the morning of each day? Is it worth me trying my luck?

Thanks a lot.

Tim said...

I'm going to be in Sydney but have been unable to get tickets so far. How many tickets are sold on the morning of each day? Is it worth me trying my luck?

Thanks a lot.

Anonymous said...

Tim - They have typically been a few hundred tickets released on or just before the Test matches. I also hear that there are some returns now that the series is over. On the other hand, with Sydney being Warney's farewell Test, it may be packed to the rafters, as it was when I saw Steve Waugh's farewell there a couple of years ago. It won't be easy, but there is no harm in trying, and if you're willing to pay a premium, there are plenty of touts on the streets.

Fourth Umpire.

Tim said...

Cheers mate.

Having read most your pieces on the 3rd Test, I noticed you queued up at very earlu hours. Do tickets come with seat numbers (if not, did you queue up because you yourself were buying them?)

I have looked on the ACB site, and at ticketmaster, but there don't seem to be any tickets currently available!

At least I have three days at Melbourne, though, and should be able to get tikets for the 5th too.