The entire MCG crowd is deathly silent as Lillee comes charging in at Gavaskar, he reaches the crease with that gorgeous action in full flow, my lord it’s good to see that again in the flesh, the ball is back of a length and Gavaskar gets back and across to defend the ball resolutely. Lillee follows through so that he’s right in front of Gavaskar, the two of them exchange glaring stares, this isn’t just going to be an exhibition match, they’re going to be at full throttle out there (of course that’s how the ICC programmed them to play so it’s not really a surprise).
As soon as the ball is bowled the crowd erupts into a deafening cheer which lasts until Lillee reaches the beginning of his run-up as once again the crowd falls silent. Lillee seems to be running in with even more purpose this time, Lillee approaches the crease with menace in his eyes and he unleashes a real cracker, it’s lightning fast and has swung late to clip Gavaskar’s off-stump. Gavaskar looks at his stumps in disbelief as the 1st XI try and chase down Lillee who has taken off in celebration.
What a start to this game! As Gavaskar slowly trudges off George Headley makes his way to the crease. The contest between the two No.3s is something that I’m very much looking forward to, who will fare better, Headley or Bradman? Well, we’ll soon find out.
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12 overs have been bowled here at the MCG and the 2nd XI are 15-1. You have to say that Headley and Hutton seem to be struggling to adjust to the pace of the game, Hutton more so than Headley, who is starting to find his feet. You have to admire the way Hutton has hung in against Marshall and Lillee, who have been bowling sensationally well. That Yorkshire grit certainly seems to be the only thing keeping him at the crease.
It looks like Lille is going to be replaced by Akram, it will be too early for Akram to find any reverse swing but Warne seems to have realised that Hutton is struggling against this extreme pace and one would think that Akram will give it a real go here. As he delivers his first ball to Headley, the ball goes screaming through backward point. That was a simply brilliant stroke from Headley, I don’t think he could have played it any later, he now seems to be settling down a bit and is starting to look in ominously good touch.
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We are one over away from lunch on the first day with 29 overs having been bowled. The score is 82-2 and the two West Indians, Headley and Lara are at the crease. Headley is in imperious form and it is a delight to watch this master batsman at work. He and Lara have been going at quite a rate, Akram has struggled to find his line and Headley and Lara have taken full advantage. Headley is on 46* and Lara is on 25*.
Hutton departed for just 5 after really struggling against the pace of Lillee and Marshall, eventually he was undone by a skiddy Marshall bouncer which did him for pace, the ball looped up to first slip and Warne was more than happy to take the catch.
It looks like Sobers is going to come on to bowl the last over before lunch, I wonder what he will bowl, Warne has not found too much turn but there has been some swing.
Here we are with the last ball before lunch, so far in the over Sobers has bowled all manner of different deliveries, no doubt this is a ploy by Warne to unsettle the batsmen. Sobers runs up from his longer run, the keeper is standing back, and he releases a tantalising chinaman which has completely fooled Lara. He has gone to flick it into the leg side but he was too early on the shot and the ball has taken a leading edge which lands safely in the hands of Richards at cover. Brilliant bowling from Sobers and great captaincy from Warne. Looks like I’ve done the 1st XI a real favour with that one!
So we go into Lunch on the first day with the 2nd XI 84-3. The 1st XI look on top but the presence of Headley will make them uneasy, especially with the form he is displaying.
It seems to me the 2nd XI are relying quite heavily on Headley as after Hammond only Khan and Knott are left of the batsmen before a long tail. One wonders whether Hammond will face the same kind of struggles as Hutton, even Headley looked more comfortable against the spin of Warne than the pace of Marshall and Lillee.
I have a feeling that Warne might have a few words in the ears of Hobbs and Bradman with regards to their fielding during the Lunch interval. On many occasions they have escorted the ball to the boundary without diving and needless to say, as they walk off the pitch, their whites are spotless. However frustrating it is for Warne, no doubt it will be worse for Imran Khan, whose side contains Hutton, Headley, Hammond, Trueman and Barnes. One would suspect he will have a challenge on his hands to get this group to dive full length in order to save one run.
All in all it has been a most fascinating start to this match, please join me for the afternoon session where Headley and Hammond will look to rebuild the 2nd XI innings.
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