Sydney Sixers v Brisbane Heat
SCG, December 16
For the past few Test series, notably against South Africa in South Africa, then in Australia, playing host to New Zealand, Brad Haddin has been roundly criticised for his incapacity to remain at the crease when restraint was required. Against South Africa in particular, Haddin’s rash strokeplay earned him significant criticism. I’m surprised he was allowed back in the country, given the vitriolic response to some his more flaymboyant strokeplay.
At a time when Australia’s wicketkeeper and number 7 batsmen should be working out how to leave a ball pitching just outside offstump, he is trying to slog sixes, with front foot not in the same postcode as the ball. This can’t be great for Haddin, in the lead up to the all important Test series against India. Nevertheless, Haddin, batting at the top of the order, powered the Sixers to victory last night against the Heat. In the first ever game of the much vaunted and much criticised Big Bash League, Haddin was in his element, scoring a dominant half century. How this exercise will improve his capacity to play a responsible innings in a Test, I am not sure.
Unbelievably, it was 40 year old legspinner Stuart MacGill, who set up the win for the Sydney team. Despite not having played first class cricket since 2008, MacGill appeared to have lost little of his ability. His dismissal of Matt Hayden, another ageing susperstar exhumed for this next generation series, was vintage MacGill. Pitching outside off, Hayden attempted to heave the legspinner over midwicket, yet the ball ripped off the pitch and cannoned into the stumps. MacGill’s celebration demonstrated ill feeling between the pair. MacGill was felt to be something of an outsider in his time in the Australian team. Intelligent, witty and engaging, MacGill was never accepted into the boys club of the Australian team. He enjoyed his dismissal of Matt Hayden, who is everything MacGill is not, and whom shared a dressing room with MacGill for most of his international career. They don’t like each other.
In terms of what Cricket Australia may have expected from the opening encounter, I am convinced that the bean counters will be disappointed. The crowds did not exactly flock to this first stoush, as had been predicted. Furthermore, with Hayden, MacGill and Haddin playing key roles, it is difficult to determine if this indicates a dearth of quality from the young generation of Australian players, or exceptional quality from these three, of whom only one plays regular cricket.
The acid test for the league comes tonight, when Shane Warne returns to cricket, as part of the Melbourne Stars outfit. Warne has a movie star fiancee, or girlfriend, I don’t know which; and appears to have had more plastic surgery than he would care to admit. Can he still draw a crowd? That is the question. A question, which in terms of the BBL, is far more important than the question of whether he can still perform at the age of 42.
Australian Cricket News 