12/21/24
April 19, 2006
Double century:: Australian pace bowler Jason Gillespie, sent in as a night watchman, scores 201 not out against Bangladesh. More distinguished Test batsmen are probably weeping or turning in their graves.
Wow. That's as much an achievement of endurance as it is of skill. (In baseball terms, it's more like someone hitting safely in, say, 40 straight at-bats. It's a phenomenal accomplishment.) Well, fair play to him.
posted by chicobangs at 11:05 AM on April 19, 2006
I've spent most of today wondering how Shane Warne must feel - does he still lead the list of high scorers that haven't scored a century? I just tried to find out on Howstat, but just ended up rummaging as usual and forgetting what it was I was looking for in the first place - David Gower went 119 innings without scoring a duck! On preview: I think you're about right there Chico - having watched Dizzy bat, I'm going to guess it was more a triumph of endurance than swashbuckling class.
posted by JJ at 11:14 AM on April 19, 2006
I was very confused reading the explanation of the FPP... Obviousely, I'm not a golfer.
posted by tron7 at 11:14 AM on April 19, 2006
It was pretty hard to come up with an equivalent baseball analogy. A double century is hard enough even in club cricket, for a recognised batsman. Dizzy managed a fair run rate and a couple of sixes, so while not a swashbuckler, he's no slouch. The endurance element was made a little bit easier by the innings being spread over three days, with rain interruptions. The fact that he did it on his 31st birthday is also worth noting, for sure.
posted by owlhouse at 11:33 AM on April 19, 2006
Clearly an amazing achievement though I'd like to know what night watchman means in cricket. "He went down on one knee to loft Abdur Razzak straight over his head and then smacked part-timer Rajin Saleh into the crowd over mid-wicket." This is the other question I have. I didn't realize that cricket was so violent that you whacked the opposing players.
posted by billsaysthis at 03:03 PM on April 19, 2006
billsaythis: night watchman
posted by ?! at 03:55 PM on April 19, 2006
So in cricket the batting order can be changed at the team's whim? Thanks for the reference ?!
posted by billsaysthis at 11:34 PM on April 20, 2006
Well, after thinking about it: maybe not 40 straight at-bats, but it's certainly like a ballplayer going 6-for-6 in a game; it's happened before, but on the rare occasions it does, it's news.
posted by chicobangs at 02:55 AM on April 25, 2006
For baseball fans, I guess this would be like a pitcher hitting 3 grand slammers in one game. Or something.