Blue versus Red

I'd just started thinking about cricket season. I'd just started thinking 'hey, wouldn't it be cool if some of the state games were played at North Sydney Oval?' (which is conveniently 15 minutes walk from my house). I'd just started going glassy-eyed over the prospect of going to matches and to meet dashing young cricketers on the boundary fence when I spotted a massive advert in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald's sport section on a NSW vs SA game at North Sydney Oval. The only one at the ground this season, in fact (the rest are all at the Sydney Cricket Ground - not walking distance from my house - or, oddly, in Canberra).

So I went. It sprinkled a bit. The second innings got cut by 7 overs and the target reduced to 267 (the NSW Blues made 5-291, an excellent score in any weather and particularly scintillating on an inclement day). The Redbacks (SA) needed 105 off 10 overs (difficult) but managed to do okay and needed 18 off the last over. A six, a single, a wide, a six and a six later and they had it in the bag. We wuz robbed!

However, I did have a great day out despite the fact that it was 35C yesterday and about 20C less than that today. I was shivering as the cold breeze swept across the ground, wishing I'd gone back for my jacket having paused just outside my building this morning. Some sixes hit the roof or went over (North Sydney is a pretty small oval) so they had to bring replacement balls out. I was amazed that, out of the dozen or so sixes (some sort of record, surely?) in the game, no one in the crowd caught one. It's $100 a catch!

Anyway. No more games there so thus ends my cricket season (seeing as the Ashes tickets have sold out). I entered a comp to win some so I'll see how that goes...