Test cricket at Lord's

On Wednesday 14 July, Tim had the day off work and went along to the "Home of Cricket", Lord's, to watch Day 2 of the Test match between Pakistan and Australia. Pakistan are currently banned from playing any cricket in their home country due to security fears, so their "home" matches are being hosted in England and the UAE. This is probably the only time Tim will ever see Pakistan play at home!

After weeks of stunning weather in London town, Day 1 of the Test had been affected by a few random showers here and there and the perennial problem of "bad light" that Lord's suffers from. The forecast for Day 2 was not flash either, with a fine morning predicted to be followed by heavy showers in the afternoon. Thankfully the forecast was wrong and, apart from two or three very minor spots of rain, Tim saw a full day's cricket.

Australia began Day 2 on 229/9. Mr Cricket himself, Mike Hussey, added some vital runs in the morning session, ably assisted by number 11 Doug Bollinger, taking Australia's total up to 253 all out when Bollinger lost his middle stump. Hussey ended up on 56 not out.

Pakistan were good sports and entertained the crowd with some scintillating strokes. Unfortunately for them, they also lost wickets at a steady rate. The highlight (at least from a crowd point of view) was Shahid Afridi's whirlwind knock of 31 from just 15 balls, which included two massive sixes. He only knows one way to play, whether it's a Twenty20 match or a Test in bowler-friendly conditions at Lord's! Salman Butt batted brilliantly for a well deserved 63. Pakistan were bowled out for a disappointing total of 148.

Katich and Watson set about adding to Australia's first innings lead in positive style, before a late flurry of wickets brought Pakistan back into the contest and kept the crowd enthralled. Sadly, one of Tim's Hall of Famers (and the main reason Tim bought his admission ticket), Ricky Ponting, was given out LBW without scoring. Australia ended the day on 100/4, with a lead of 205. In a low-scoring Test, they were firmly in control.

It was a very enjoyable day out. You can't complain with 15 wickets and 272 runs in a day's play! Aside from the cricket, there was plenty of entertainment around the ground, including a brass band playing during the lunch break! The food was solid too - the cheeseburger and chips went down a treat at lunch!