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Originally Posted by mudney Didn't Symonds just score 155 the other day or am I missing something? |
Did you not watch / listen / read about it? I did a mix of all three... and can assure you that the spectacle was acutely painful, like watching Eddie the Eagle ski-jumping but without the same fun factor.
The following comes from the cricinfo text commentary....
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27.3 Harmison to Symonds, no run, oh yes. Symonds beaten all ends up and left groping at air. Mind you, his footwork was almost completely non existent
30.2 Mahmood to Symonds, no run, and again it swings away from Symonds who aims a massive swish as if this was the final over of a Twenty20 thrash
30.5 Mahmood to Symonds, no run, Symonds finally gets his mind set about what to do and he leaves the ball outside the off stump
31.2 Harmison to Symonds, no run, Symonds spars at the ball and edges it a yard short of first and second slip. This is painful and those who have argued Symonds is not a Test player have more ammunition than the US army so far
31.4 Harmison to Symonds, 1 run, loud - and possibly sarcastic - cheers as Symonds turns the ball to leg to get off the mark
33.1 Harmison to Symonds, no run, angled into Symonds who gets in something of a muddle and the ball plops into the off side
33.4 Harmison to Symonds, no run, this beats Symonds, who has just got outside the line, and it hits him high on the right thigh and dribbles into the slips
34.4 Mahmood to Symonds, no run, Symonds turns square to get everything behind that
34.5 Mahmood to Symonds, no run, full,swinging into the right hander and Symonds jabs down and keeps it out, but again without any real conviction
37.6 Harmison to Symonds, FOUR, ooh, streaky from Symonds, flashing hard at this outside the off stump and it flies past gully for four. To his credit, he played that deliberately
39.2 Harmison to Symonds, 1 run, short, rising on Symonds who refuses to hook - there's a man out there, mind - and he paddles it in front of square, rather awkwardly
42.1 Hoggard to Symonds, 3 runs, bash! Bit of horticulture in that stroke, scything it through extra cover with ugly power
43.1 Harmison to Symonds, no run, classic Symonds; it be short, it be wide and Symonds tried to carve it into the sea. He would've succeeded, too, had it hit it...
Most of the bowling was pretty poor.. and the captaincy was dire, with men wasted in the deep instead of crowding the bat... but this one over from Hoggard warrants highlighing....
Code:
44.1 Hoggard to Symonds, no run, crash! A thumping, monotone drive to mid off
44.2 Hoggard to Symonds, no run, ah well bowled! Excellent cricket all round in fact, Hoggard sending down a slower ball which ended up as a full toss. Symonds spotted it rather late and could only defend it off the back foot
44.3 Hoggard to Symonds, no run, squirted into the gully
44.4 Hoggard to Symonds, no run, on leg stump and Symonds rather misses out here, hitting it too straight and finding mid on
44.5 Hoggard to Symonds, 1 run, swinging into Symonds before cutting away, just a touch, and he streakily drives this on the up, with one hand off the bat, just past a diving extra cover; Bell ending on his knees
Even the balls that went for four were unspeakably ugly shots: these two in particular had me wincing as I watched....
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46.2 Hoggard to Symonds, FOUR, smashed on the up past Bell at short extra cover. Smashed is the only way to describe it
48.2 Hoggard to Symonds, FOUR, shot, Symonds! This is ugly for England. Symonds using plenty of bottom hand to spoon it over midwicket for a powerful, resounding four
Boycott's comment was something to the effect that the England players should go hide in the dressingroom in embarrassment if they let this clot get to 50.
Sadly... the batting was not much better after he passed 50 and then 100 and then 150... and even towards the end of the innings, Boycott was noting that Symonds didn't seem to have any idea about using his crease for back foor shots.