Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 1st Test

I've learned from this Test that I have a bit of a tin eye for fine batting. I have no beef with Tendulkar and I enjoy the sense of occasion that swells around him, but once he'd settled in on Day 2 I was happy to make other plans and leave him to it. It’s like the incredible economy of effort and sense of ease is so effective that I can no longer see that anything is happening at all. As a technical dunce with zero experience I need things spelled out in big bold characters and only really respond to a vigorous spanking. A little more action, a little less sublimation, you get the idea.

At first I thought this was the opposite to my taste in bowlers. I used to say that Warnie fascinated me as a debutant because his wickets were like supernatural conjuring acts compared to the relatively transparent mechanics of fast bowling. But who am I kidding? As true as it is that Warnie is a tactical magician with all the freakish proficiency of a Tendulkar with the ball, I probably wouldn’t have paid attention if he hadn’t also played up the part of the big, bold character of the magician and put on the whole stage show.

Thing I

I have been following Ishant Sharma on Twitter purely on the back of this charming description of himself as “foodie, tidy and happy-go-lucky”, but I’m finding him just as charming as a visitor. So long and bendy and likeable, smiling sheepishly whether he’s been bouncing or been bounced.

Thing II

Harsha introduced Geoff Lawson twice on Day 1 as “Henry Lawson”. It made me wonder if he thought that was in fact his name, but it could have been some extra-dryness on Harsha’s part. I know “Henry Lawson” is the hidden stepping stone between “Geoff Lawson” and “Henry”, but it stays hidden, right? It’s either “Geoff Lawson” or “Henry”, right? Not “Henry Lawson”. I’ll give Harsha the benefit of the doubt. He seemed sad when he first came on and I thought he might have been missing P. Roebuck.

Thing III: James Pattinson, man of the thatch

When Warnie was first selected for the Australian team, he wore a fragrant beached mullet and only started to take wickets when he culled the party out back.

Twenty years later, young Australian bowlers have learned from their forebears and tame the mane prior to selection, but cannot escape the long arm of the search engine. I give you James Pattinson, c. 2008-2009:

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* See here.