I was just about to congratulate Andrew Symonds for being the first non-white person to score a Test century for Australia in men's cricket. Of course, he's the second... one Jason Gillespie beat him to the punch by eight months.
Still, it's testimony to the conservative, imperial institution that Australian cricket has been over the past century and a half. It's getting better - very, very slowly.
Dates and venues for the Shane Warne Final Farewell Tour have been announced through till September 2007, and can be viewed at a glance on the Hampshire section of the CricInfo website.
Tour dates for 2008 will be released towards the end of November next year. Tickets from the usual outlets. Be there!
"It wasn't enough for Melba to become one of the greats of the Golden Age of Grand Opera. She wanted to be the greatest. her glorious voice took her to the top; her ruthless determination to overthrow any rival kept her there long after the voice had begun to decline. Revealed in this relentlessly candid yet sympathetic study is Melba the drama queen, the monstrous prima donna, the canny businesswoman, the generous and kindly friend, the unique star who refused to fade."
The crowd erupts. The Waltz King is beaten by a glorious leggie.
Well I'll be.
I really thought he was going to stay on for the 2009 Ashes. What we will now see is a SCG dead-rubber which plays second fiddle to Warnie's swan-song in the manner of Steve Waugh 2004.
Here's the SMH report broken just a few minutes ago.
I wonder if Cricket Australia will give him a gold watch, or maybe a gold mobile phone...
With two dead erasers still to go in The Ashes of 2006-07, The Biggest Tasmanian Since Errol Flynn has a slender lead in the polling for the Midwinter-Midwinter.
B.T.S.E.Flynn is one point ahead of The Bloke Named After Eddie's Football Team, with, not the Lord of the Rings, but the Lord of the Text Alerts one point further back in third place.
For an explanation of what the hell the Midwinter-Midwinter is all about, refer to my post of November 24 on the subject.
"What depresses me most is not the fact that England lose in Australia, but that they're laying down and dying."
These were the words of Ray Illingworth yesterday, one of the many who have tried and failed the seemingly impossible task of elevating England to a competitive cricketing nation.
The Ashes are ours again!
Analysis later.
