- Day two washed out at Bellerive Oval
- South Africa remain 86 runs ahead with five wickets remaining
That doesn’t leave us with a whole lot to say, except that Australia will resume bowling tomorrow in the same difficult position that they would have started in today. That is, 86 runs behind, needing another five South African wickets before knowing the scope of the task ahead.
Best case, they can run through South Africa and face a recoverable deficit of around 100, then bat well enough to set a decent target. Worst case, Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma will push the lead out to 200 or more, and Australia will be knocked over once again for an innings defeat.
Related: Rain washes out day two of second Test between Australia and South Africa
The umpires have made the call, with the field sodden and the forecast grim. Play is abandoned for the day, and will start half an hour earlier for each of the next three days.
So that means a 10am start local time, Australian eastern daylight savings variety, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
I also have to credit Mitchell Starc with actually making a decent joke in another radio interview conducted in the rain.
“It’s a lovely day, if you’re a duck, I guess.”
Some interesting points in that Sutherland chat - he’s a pretty straight shooter compared to many administrators. Whately wants to know if the scheduling and preparation was awry, with very little first-class cricket before the Tests. “The South Africans have had the same preparation that we’ve had,” counters Sutherland. “If you draw that comparison, the team that we’re playing against hasn’t had any different preparation.” So the difference is in the fundamental quality of the teams on the field.
When asked if they had considered replacing Rod Marsh as chairman of selectors immediately after he announced he would retire next year, Sutherland says no, but is measured in his language to avoid hollowly saying that the selectors have been doing a great job.
The television is now screening Australia’s 1999 World Cup win over South Africa. Brings to mind the comment yesterday from cricket’s most comprehensive online video archivist.
My YouTube channel is turning out to be quite the archive of a golden era of cricket before it turned to complete and utter shit.
Plenty of questions on exactly that subject of Australian disarray today. Gerard Whateley had Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland answering some tricky ones on ABC radio earlier today.
“Cricket is a funny game - not funny ha ha, certainly not over the last week anyway,” is Sutherland’s sad-sounding intro.
Still raining at Bellerive, obviously - Jim Maxwell’s usual description of bowlers coming from the Antarctic end is especially apposite in today’s meteorological circumstances for those of us shivering in Hobart.
The Australians may well be enjoying a break from being humiliated on the field. Here’s a great little note from reader Ian Forth on the current situation.
That ties together all of the South African Petersons / Petersens / Pietersens in the current discourse, given that Kevin with the latter spelling is commentating this series on TV, and Alviro with the middle spelling has just been charged with match-fixing by the South African cricket authorities.
Related: Former South Africa batsman Alviro Petersen charged over match-fixing
Seeing some highlights from the WACA Ashes Test back in late 2013, and one of the all-time great cricket records.
Namely, George Bailey, who played five Test matches in his career, but shares the record for the most runs in a single over. Shares it with... Brian Lara. Not bad.
Back to the present day, a guy who was run out for 1 in that botched run chase is banging a favourite drum on TV. “In all sport there are too many coaches,” is the sage position of Shane Keith Warne. “There’s too much information from too many people. It gets confusing.” He must have loved high school.
The beloved Tasmanian Good Boy George Bailey is more conciliatory toward the mentor class. “It’s great, you get different information about how to do things. A good coach is a good coach, if you’ve got lots of them around you that’s great. but a good player should be able to coach themselves.”
WICKET! McGrath c & b de Villiers (Australia all out 111)
Calamity for Australia! The young rangy paceman gets off the mark with a glided single, but once back on strike he chips a defensive shot back to the bowler. Utterly hopeless, he’ll never make a Test fifty.
WICKET! Martyn c Hudson b Donald 6
Oh no! Martyn may have undone his team here. He sees the wide ball, plays a big cover drive but he can’t keep it down. Hudson reels it in at cover, set well back - catches it on his chest. Glenn McGrath walks out at No11 in his third Test.
Seven runs to win, two wickets in hand.
Nearly caught! McDermott just clears cover for a biffed two runs. Martyn is then dropped at mid-off.
Unknown over: Australia 105-8 (Martyn 6, McDermott 24)
Great stuff from Craig McDermott, bashing several boundaries in the last few minutes as Australia narrows the gap to 12 runs required. Should be fine now with young gun Damien Martyn still at the crease.
Hello champs and champettes. Geoff Lemon back with you after what feels like a long time off the OBO. Lovely to be here.
Unfortunately though, I bear bad news for Australian fans.
In case you’ve not stumbled across it yet, the champs who combine to inhabit The Grade Cricketer have started a podcast. If this rain keeps up it might be worth a listen.
The good news is you’ll have the erudite Geoff Lemon to guide you through the afternoon session. The bad news is he’ll be narrating the same ark-inducing scene I have been. Although with more wit.
Here he is playing cricket somewhere even colder than Hobart.
12.10 update:
Speaking of Mr Manthorp:
Michelle, go to sleep. Close your eyes and dream of yesterday. We'll start again on Monday... :) OK - 5% chance we might play last hour... https://t.co/q6wgVQR3DZ
Tom Hopkins, great to have your correspondence.
“Morning Jonathan, lovely to hear that Jim Maxwell is on the mend. I think one of the things that TMS does really well over here is getting interesting voices from the touring side - gives a whole different perspective - and Jim’s always a highlight of an Ashes summer.”
Things to do while it’s raining #6 - enjoy cricket played somewhere drier. If you’re not familiar with the name Haseeb Hameed, get used to it, because it’s one you’ll be hearing for the next decade or two.
Related: Haseeb Hameed comes of age to warm Alastair Cook and England’s cockles | Ali Martin
For anyone not watching Channel 9...
Underrated sights of 90s cricket: Dave Richardson's tan leather keeping gloves. pic.twitter.com/4hmQb9Vzgi
Things to do while it’s raining #5 - visit MONA. Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart is so brilliant, on its own it can justify a trip to the Apple Isle. Even if you don’t appreciate traditional galleries, there’s an excellent craft brewery on site (Moo Brew) and the easiest way to get there is by a splendid 30-minute river cruise.
11.35 am update
The rain is not relenting and puddles are now starting to form on the outfield.
Chris Morris (not the satirist, or the South African allrounder) is the latest to distract me from contemplating the resemblance between Pat Symcox and Ray Illingworth...
“Bugger of a day to be doing the OBO,” Chris correctly begins. “Really enjoyed yesterday’s pitch, had something for pace and spin, a rarity in test cricket. Made every over interesting to watch.
The question I have is, is their any light at the end of the tunnel for Australia? There appears to be no obvious replacements in either bat or ball? Does Australia go for youth (like an AFL team rebuilding) or can that ruin a promising career by bringing talented but unproven players into the game too early?”
Rain still falling but not hard. We'll have another update soon. #AUSvSApic.twitter.com/4aDrYWYK4o
Things to do while it’s raining #4 - listen to rainy songs. Can anyone improve on The Beta Band?
Norman Burns has tuned in, and he wants to throw some pebbles into the pond.
“Hi Jonathan, just like to stir the pot out there and see what - if any - rule or format changes you would bring in to keep Test cricket relevant.”
▫️Yes it's raining in Hobart.
▫️Contrary to popular belief it doesn't "always" rain here.
▫️We are the 2nd driest capital
▫️Tweet nicely
Channel 9 showing highlights of the second Test between Australia and South Africa from 1994 in Sydney. Spoiler alert - the Proteas win. It made me wonder, is this the first time C9 have ever shown a package where Australia lost?
Things to do while it’s raining #3 - enjoy cricket’s capacity to bring communities together.
Related: 'I always believe there's a way': the journey that inspires Cricket Australia's Sam Almaliki
10.35 am update:
Still bucketing down at Blundstone Arena.
Well this is not very promising #AUSvSApic.twitter.com/sZnSO8XEG5
Things to do while it’s raining #2 - marvel at Jim Maxwell. The commentary chat is a nice segue into Russell Jackson’s predictably excellent interview with the avuncular voice of summer.
Related: 'It feels very strange': ABC cricket doyen Jim Maxwell on his summer absence
Which raises a worthy topic for debate - the Channel 9 commentary team after its rejig this winter. The departure of Brad McNamara means the broadcast has a new director, and there are a couple of new voices with the inclusion of KP and Michael Clarke.
My own observations are that there’s a much greater focus on cricket than previously - revolutionary, I know. The tedious locker-room asides into pizza toppings and who-did-what-to-whom-on-tour-in-the-good-old-days seem to have been jettisoned in favour of talking about what’s happening. Who knows if it will last, but it’s an improvement.
Phil Withall is one of the hardy souls braving the wet and wintry conditions on the OBO today.
“Morning Jonathan,” he writes. “Even if there is play today I feel we may well have had the high point of the day. The sight of Kevin Pietersen looking at Mark Taylor as if he was a demented simpleton as they discussed the reason for Australia’s poor batting choices. May well be a highlight of KP’s illustrious career.”
Things to do while it’s raining #1 - riff on Australia’s pain. Here’s Adam Collins laying the misery bare after yesterday’s debacle. Notable for coach Boof failing to offer anything in the way of a defence. Much like his top order.
Related: Australia coach Darren Lehmann refuses to rebut crisis talk – with good reason | Adam Collins
10.10 am update:
The umpires have just fronted the cameras and they’re not optimistic. “It’s not looking great,” Richard Kettleborough said from beneath an umbrella. “The ground-staff expect the rain to get heavier during the afternoon.”
Looks pretty unlikely for much play this morning...#AUSvRSApic.twitter.com/8LzO2Bqf4x
Good morning and welcome to the second day of the second Test in Hobart. After yesterday’s thrill a minute Aussie-bashing expectations are great for another day of high intensity Test cricket.
Or maybe not. It’s raining in Tasmania - really raining. Play will not start on time (10.30am local) and it’s unlikely there’ll be any play this morning. The forecast is bleak for this afternoon and evening too.
Jonathan will be here shortly so in the meantime, catch up on an eventful first day of play in Hobart that saw 15 wickets fall:
Related: South Africa build lead after Australia's first innings capitulation in Hobart
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