As I type, Bangladesh is defending 251 against the Sethaffrikens, and have them 4-67 after 20 overs. And de Villiers, Smith, and Kallis represent three of the wickets. You gotta think that it's going to be nigh impossible for the Saffers to rebound from their atrocious start, especially with two of their three best batsmen retired to the pavilion. (I'll take Gibbs over Kallis any day in a one-day -- Kallis just isn't aggressive enough.) (UPDATE: SA are 8-140 after 39. And while Gibbs is still in the middle, this one is just about over.)
Who says that the minnows aren't fun? Do you real think that an old, cranky, and divided India could have rocked SA like this? All credit to your 2011 World Cup champs, Bangladesh. Even if they do manage to lose today, they've shown that they can compete with the big boys. But damn, Mushfiqur Rahim is a mouthy wicketkeeper. Makes Nixon look like a shrinking violet. Sort of the Leo Getz to Bashar's Murtaugh and Tamim Iqbal's Riggs.
In other news, Chimp Rage and I attended our first Nats game of the year last night. It's going to be a loooooong season. I really believe that the Nats could lose 120 games. And it doesn't help when you've got a mediocre journeyman like Chris Snelling who feels the need to repeat his OC ritual of 1) Unwrapping and wrapping gloves; 2) Tapping each cleat once; 3) Making a cross on the plate before each pitch. Especially in light of the fact that he seems to take time after every other pitch. That means 50% more ritual. And that means longer, yet still ultimately futile, at-bats. And that means longer, and even more painful, games.
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