The strangest one-day international match has just finished, and I still can’t quite believe what I saw! Batting first, Australia posted 434 for four in 50 overs. Now, even a hundred runs less than that is supposed to be enough to finish off a game. But here comes the twist: South Africa chased the target and got there!
They got there by the skin of their teeth, but they did win it. By one wicket.
Over 860 runs in 100 overs. A nail-biting finish. I hope I never get to see anything like it again!
No doubt the game will go down in the history of cricket as the “greatest” match ever played, and in the euphoria it will be forgotten that it featured two of the worst bowling performances, that too by two sides of the calibre of Australia and South Africa.
Bigger and bigger scores have ostensibly made one-day cricket a spectacle, and in the hype what is often glossed over is the fall in standards of the game, both batting and bowling. Today’s game was a perfect example of that. So, while I enjoyed myself thoroughly, for the sake of cricket I hope I never see this sort of thing again!
~PD
I have no idea what you are talking about, but I’m commenting before you have the chance to harass me!
Yay for whatever team Jan wants to win! 😀
I do not harass! 👿
I never understood this about people who like watching cricket — arent you bored of it already with so much of it being played all through the year?
It’s ludicrous to see ESPN-STAR promoting it as the greatest match of all time! How can it be a great match if not one bowler could turn in a decent spell. Honestly, the bowlers of both sides should be ashamed. No matter how good or bad the pitch is – there is no excuse for conceding 400 runs in a single ODI innings. A thrilling match. And a great advertisement for the game – the game of baseball!
it was a great great match!
Maybe it was insofar as one team getting battered for 430-odd runs and yet refusing to give up. But as an advertisement for the game, it was a terrible match! Of all the damage one-day cricket has done to cricket in general, this must have been the worst blow. And that’s not just me, who is a bowler at heart, saying it. One of the world’s most hard-hitting batsman, Barry Richards, got there first!:mrgreen: