Keith without the Pipe

By Pantherlike
January 4 2016

Pantherlike reports on 1st day of Sydney Test with some Middlesex links including the company of our legendary fan. 

At the crack of dawn on the opening day of the third test between Australia and the West Indies at the SCG, I had the enormous privilege to collect my old fiend, and rusted on Middx/MCC/WI supporter Keith the Pipe Man from his hotel and take him to his, and as it happens my, first SCG test breakfast.

Around 350 in attendance we heard speeches from ABC radio presenter Jim Maxwell and new pundit Simon Katich. We then heard from new PCA 12th man Mark 'Tubby' Taylor and then from Windian commentator Fazeer Mohammed not one generally I backward in coming forward and this morning he was in fine form. We also had the honour of hearing from Daphne Benaud who briefly spoke of Ruchie's love of the game and years supporting the Primary Club.

The speakers and event ably handled by MC Mike Coward. Keith thoroughly enjoyed himself, then to make our way back to the Cricket NSW office so that Keith could collect his tickets. The man knows how to pass through secure areas and we had little difficulty walking through the player's and VIP areas to get to the office. A couple of lads from the swamy army approached us, of course they already knew Keith!

Meanwhile outside, it was an overcast and cloudy. The forecast for the week was not good, a shame really given that the last month has been excellent! That's the way it goes though. At least the Bureau had formed the opinion that we'd be okay for the first day (not the most accurate prediction as we will see later) and with day's 2 and 3 likely to be heavily affected, the Windies had a better than even chance of seeing this one through to the fifth day!

Things looked even better for he tourists when they won the toss and elected to have a bat. Strange decision it would be normally with all that cloud about, however the pitch whilst green, was even and as it would later show would be slow and difficult for the pace bowlers.

Whilst the coin was being tossed and decisions made, yours truly had needed to run a special errand for the Pipe Man, to buy a copy of Pup's tour diary from a nearby bookshop. This slotted in nicely between the brekky and start of play and Keith was keen to get a copy as Pup had mentioned him with a photo and had also told him he'd sign a copy during the day.

Whilst I was returning from my successful quest to procure said publication, the Windies had started their innings and true to form one-fer courtesy of the newly selected opener Shai Hope (at the expense of Chandrika) falling quickly to Hazlewood for 9.

It was apparent after Pattinson's three overs from the southern end that pace was going to be a task, and Smith showing that he can read the game had Lyon in the attack. Lyon has recently been handed the moniker GOAT (greatest of all time) by his teammates now that he's the highest wicket taking offie to wear the baggy green.

Lyon bowled unchanged in that first session and with the introduction of Stephen O'Keefe from the Paddington end late in the session we had spin from both ends on the first morning of an Australian test. 'It's like it's 1919!' giddily exclaimed a mate of mine sitting in the members, unsurprisingly also a spinner!

Despite the healthy over rate and turn that Lyon/O'Keefe were getting, the Windies amazingly went to lunch 1/97 with Brathwaite and Bravo batting manfully and with great determination and application, foregoing their natural wavering concentration spans to survive to the main break.

I had fully expected young Kraigg Brathwaite to lose concentration at either side of the main break, however to his enormous credit he doggedly hung in for the long haul. There's much of Chanderpaul about his approach, though thank heavens he resists the urge to continually nail a bail into his crease at every given opportunity!

In fact it was Bravo, the more likely innings shoulder that fell after the break when he was forced into an unattractive hook off a quick Pattinson short ball and not. Being able to get over it, could only watch in dismay as he holed out to Khawaja in the deep.

Having decided to bat first it was a shame to lose Bravo on 33 after putting in such an effort, and it would be interesting to see how the Windies would cope without their usual anchor. A Middx angle is available to me here as Bucky Rogers was heard to lament on ABC radio that 'sometimes you have to put those shots away'. But the damage was done and Australia again had one foot on the Windies' throat.

In came the hapless Marlon Samuels and Pantherlike (may I refer to myself in the third person?) would not have been alone in thinking that it would be monumental if Samuels could stay at the crease for even half an hour! Samuels' poor run of form is mostly down to himself and on the last ball before we would lose the afternoon session to the elements, he tried to call the largely inanimate Brathwaite through for a quick single after slicing a ball straight to Mitch Marsh at point. The ensuing confusion and mid pitch waving of hands, meant that Samuels would be watching the rain fall without the anticipation of being able to join play again should it stop.

After some will it won't it with the covers, tea was eventually taken and once play recommenced and so did Lyon. Of the 75 overs bowled in the day, only five weren't bowled by Lyon from the southern end. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the scoreboard after his 30th over with figures of 2/60. This must've been what it was like watching Laker, Gibbs, Grimmett or O'Reilly. It was that good. He spent periods around the wicket bowling to a 3-6 field and then would revert to over the wicket with the same setup; save for Warner who would be shifted from leg slip out to the 45.

After toiling away on middle and leg for a period his efforts were finally rewarded after smith deploying a silly point provided Lyon with the palate for a line wider of off stump. Only a few balls later, a patient Blackwood lifted his bat only to watch in horror as Lyon's drifted delivery gripped the turf and broke sharply to nip the top of the off stump. The perfect off spin delivery and Blackwood had been dealt his lesson.

Not long after yet another shorter rain interruption, Brathwaite who had just watched Lyon fizz a kicking delivery over his stumps, with stumps and a hundred beckoning, inexplicably decided to chase an arm ball. His attempted late cut pouched easily by Smith at slip. Lyon's 100th wicket in Australia. Not bad for a former groundsman at the Adelaide Oval!!

Brathwaite's unnecessary dismissal brought the skipper to the crease, and he was smartly snapped up at short leg by Joe Burns giving Steve O'Keefe his first test wicket. And here's another chance for a Middx related item. Seeing as Joe is new to the team, he's been lumped with the job of sticking on the kid and standing bat pad. To say he's had his moments would be an understatement. The kiwis batted him to near submission over their three tests, however all the work with Greg Blewett and practice paid off and his sharp reaction to Holder's deft flick was one of the day's major highlights. Well done Joe!

A good day's play with 75 overs bowled despite losing the middle session. The Windies had gone from 1/102 just after lunch to 6/207 at stumps. Some avoidable mistakes had cost them, but the superb display of pressure building from the spinners had found out an inexperienced middle order. The one bright light in the evening's gloom was Carlos Brathwaite who'd come to the crease with his side teetering after at the dismissal of Holder and promptly despatched O'Keefe over straight hit for six! Carlos's free swinging got the Windies' sleepy innings out of first gear as he and a woken up Ramdin cantered along at a near run a ball partnership of 48 before stumps.

I hope you'll forgive my largesse and indulgence in describing Lyon's day, however this little report of mine would miss the point of this first day if it didn't dwell largely on his performance. Now that his career stats are starting to tell the story of his career's significance, his own confidence and dare I say it a new found 'swagger' has been noticeable. This mixed with the weaker opposition perhaps, however his ability to impose himself and build pressure was a pleasure for me, Keith and the other 32,000 to witness.

Indeed, apart from the rain, a dogged Kraigg and a swashbuckling Carlos Brathwaite, we watched one of test cricket's most enthralling displays of marathon spin bowling on an opening day for many a year, perhaps ever in this country, or at least since 1919!

Keith had been about during the day, and even got himself mentioned in the Sydney's largest selling paper, the Daily Telegraph the next day!

A cricket legend with Shane Warnes in background

PS: The Bureau was spot on for day 2, only 11 overs were possible. Fingers crossed we get a drier third day!