Limbering up

I heard Shane Watson was playing for Sutherland against Randwick Petersham (the "Randy Petes") in a T20 at Coogee Oval today, so I went down to catch the last half hour. It’s a bit shameful I’ve never done that before in 7 years of living in Coogee and a bit weird Shane Watson should get me down there. I’ll argue that I’m a results-driven person and despite the bucolic appeal of a lazy afternoon at a weekend grade match – a thousand cricket paintings and poems make the case – I NEED ANSWERS, so the end bit of an already abbreviated game suits me well. I feel like the other kind of match is one you drop in on while doing something else. You’re out for a walk or a drive and oh look, there’s a game of cricket going on, let’s stop and watch a few overs and oh look they do a nice afternoon tea, isn't this lovely.

I knew I was at a local grade match because they sold Samboy barbecue chips at the kiosk, the sixes hit trees and there were no replays. Samboy chips! My stand-out memory of Samboy chips is seeing the H.R. Pufnstuf movie in the 70s and holding a packet up in front of my face during a stressful scene involving Witchiepoo. Sixes hit trees! Three good ones while I was there: hitting a tree, into the car park and into the street. No replays! Not long after I arrived (Randy Petes on 0/47 in the 9th over chasing 97) there was a wicket taken with a very good slips catch that I was looking forward to seeing again until, well, realising I wouldn’t… I started pondering the fact that almost all events plunk into the universe and immediately evaporate never to be seen again. Well, der, but it felt a bit freaky. I wasn’t stoned.

The Randy Petes had it and further to the local grade match vibe I could hear them singing their team song in the dressing room on the way out, to the tune of Little Peter Rabbit Had a Fly Upon His Nose. Sorry, Glory, glory, hallelujah! But presumably the Rabbitohs team song is to the tune of Little Peter Rabbit Had a Fly Upon His Nose.

P.S. No Shane Watson in the end! Not while I was there anyway. Not that it mattered.

My thoughts from the Australia v Pakistan ODI series

1. Shahid Afridi and Manu Feildel

It was really hard to find a picture of Manu Feildel looking moody and really hard to find a picture of Shahid Afridi looking cheery.

2. Anwar Ali and Rufus Sewell

Look for a picture of Rufus Sewell and prepare for a thousand bedroom eyes. I've tried to avoid that here.

3. And I saw Footloose for the first time a couple of weeks ago, so...

It's the eau de ferret.

4. Dean Jones was a bit of a trial as a commentator. He was irritatingly agog during the last over of the last match when Maxwell clinched the deal for Australia with a double wicket maiden. Come on, I thought, it’s not like it’s the final over of Australia’s second semi-final against South Africa in the 1999 WorldCup. Although there was a touch of the Hanse about Afridi’s dark looks from the sideline. I don’t mean in that way.