At the cricket, Boxing Day 2011

A highlight of Christmasses spent in Victoria is a trip to the Boxing Day test at the MCG. Pete and I love our test cricket, and this is our biennial experience par excellence.

We arrived early yesterday:



and to our surprise all seats, even general admission, were allocated. Fans of Big Bang Theory may laugh with us when we say that we've found "our spot" at the MCG - at least for watching cricket! And no, I won't give you those seat numbers :)

Sometimes we take a radio to the cricket; yesterday was not one of those days. This leaves you free to form your own firmly held opinions, unfettered by experience, expertise or perhaps even external validity. For example, I thought Ponting's panache as he took possession of the pitch highlighted Cowan and Warner's lack of confidence earlier - but it should probably be noted that my husband disagrees. Having no expert to settle the dispute either way, we could bicker about it for one and a half sessions ... and enjoyed doing so.

Warner's first four and six were highlights of the first session. At first, I felt frustrated by Cowan's low run rate, but as time went on I came to admire his "stickability". We were both quite excited when Ponting came to the crease:

and watched his dismissal with sadness, knowing this may be the last time we see him play live. I feel irrationally responsible for this, having turned to my husband and said "If he can just hold on for another 13 minutes until teatime ..." seconds before he was out, caught by Laxman, bowled Yadav. Other highlights included Gambhir's fielding (which I hope the commentators paid homage to), Dhoni's wicket keeping and, of course, Yadav's bowling, which we hadn't seen before.

I love being at the game and watching the fielding team's rhythm of attention: the way the their focus gathers, and dispels, during each delivery cycle.

The day was quite cold and drizzly until after lunch. We left part way through the third session, not wanting to be two tired individuals amidst tens of thousands at the Richmond station after stumps, so we missed seeing yesterday's two controversial dismissals live. Also - with my vampire-pale skin - I was probably the only person at the MCG getting sunburnt yesterday morning, despite SPF 30+ sunscreen and full shade! So when the sun came out, that was time for us to retire:

Pete and I have a knack for attracting interesting people at the cricket. Two years ago, a drunken man - who'd already been expelled from the ground for invading the pitch - settled beside us for a while, to our discomfort. The sight of police officers sent him running again. This year, we enjoyed listening to a father introducing his two sons to the joys of test cricket. Given the age gap between father and sons, we suspect a second wife in the background! However, it must be said his patience, discipline and love were a joy to hear. The younger of these boys provided the inspiration for this little list of more productive uses which could be made of those inflatable clapper things:

1. Re-create the soundscape from Fleetwood Mac's Tusk
2. Lumbar spine support against the rigid MCG seats
3. Paper-bag style breathing techniques faced with the fear of an Australian disgraceful defeat
4. ... let's face it, anything which doesn't involve loud noises near my ears, or dislodging the clip from my hair.

Cricket's on the TV and radio now, and in two years, we'll be back at the Gee again. Bring it on!