Trying -II

A short note amidst (and despite) consistently horrific hearings (and sightings) on the tsunami tragedy.

South Africa just battled out a tough draw against England, ending with no result a match that has been, at different times, swaying like a pendulum and delicately poised in conditions that have changed as much as the match direction. It was a thrilling last couple of sessions that I Managed to catch glimpses of, and it was truly unfortunate for England that it ended the way it did.

Unfortunate, but by no means unfair. Something a certain former captain would disagree with, it would seem. Nasser Hussain’s frowning and generally disagreeable demeanour (to me, at least) when he was a player has partly found its way into his voice and the commentary box. In fact, even into his interviewing skills- he grilled Simon Taufel with a ferocity that left in no doubt his opinion on the proceedings. In the same breath as his fellow commentators said how it was a consistent decision by the umpires, Hussain continued to harp on the “incredible” decision and wondered why Vaughan was not offered the option of bowling his spinners. Well, Nasser, nothing in the books (nor precedent) requires the umpires to do so. If Vaughan had seen it fit to switch ti himself and Giles of his own accord it may have postponed the umpires’ decision. If, in fact, he had even queried them on it on the pitch, they might have debated it (as Taufel mentioned). But Nasser Hussain’s insistence on a point agreed to be fair by the rest of the (English) commentators smacked of the same churlishness that seemed to dog his tenure as captain, and even bordered on whining.

He should, instead have been talking about the near 2 hours that Pollock and deVilliers defied the English attack.