"Puj" as he is known to the players (I'd have quite liked "Chet" in honour of the great Chet Atkins, but...) struggled against some means protagonists of the moving ball, as he was ever likely to do. He's here to learn and an atmosphere conducive to swing was exactly what Messrs Hogan, Wagg and Allenby would have wanted.
None of our batsmen came to terms with the moving ball, although Gareth Cross got a season's best 30 in quick time. At 153-9 we were in danger of being out of touch, before Wayne White (pictured) and Mark Footitt added an aggressive fifty for the last wicket. White's 38 came from just 22 balls and wrested the initiative from the home side. We were 79 behind on first innings, but it could have been much worse.
When the home side made a brisk start to their second innings, we looked in trouble again, but the introduction of the pacy White to the attack brought two wickets in two balls. Just before the close, his reintroduction to the attack brought the wickets of both set batsmen to leave the game intriguingly poised.
White is a good cricketer and I would be delighted to get his services for a few seasons. He'll not always score runs and take wickets - who does? - but he presents a danger with bat and ball that offers potent possibilities.
All the bowlers did a steady job and special mention must be made of Alex Hughes, who kept things tight at one end and got the important wicket of Bragg. The lad is a good cricketer and I look forward to seeing the results of a winter of hard work in the nets and gym.
224 runs ahead, Glamorgan must be slight favourites and batting first in this game could turn out to be the deciding factor, but we're not out of this yet. Much will depend on how quickly we can remove the Welsh tail tomorrow and, with less favourable bowling conditions and greater resolve from the batsmen, we could feasibly chase a total under 300.
With a favourable forecast, there is a certain result in this game.
It could still go either way.
Postcript - there's an excellent piece on Pujara on Cricinfo today. Well worth a read.
I think you are being rather generous Peakfan. Cardiff was bathed in clear skies all day,not really the climate to aid swing bowling,even in September. We made a hash of it and that is the bottom line. The last wicket partnership took us past 200 but well short of what we might have expected.
ReplyDeleteWe have fought back with the ball but Glamorgan have a good lead now and must be favourites to go on and win the match. We could still win ourselves but with every run tomorrow our chances diminish. This was not a good day by any stretch and we have much work to do if we are to win. A draw is not an option for either side.
Theres a little naivety in suggestinv it cant swing when its sunny Marc!. When all the reports tell you that the ball was swinging around then it is very hard to argue. The development of stadia has changed conditions at some grounds and Wagg in particular has enjoyed his tims at Cardiff this summer.
ReplyDelete