the Adelaide Oval - Will India salvage some pride ?

Heard of Cameroon and its star player Roger Milla ?  As India kept losing – it is 7 tests in a row Overseas now, one thought there could be a major shake up.  Here is something interesting on what teams do to get the winning streak away from practicing, strategizing and et al.   Read my earlier post on this :  http://sampspeak.blogspot.com/2012/01/cameroon-relies-on-juju-what-will.html 

Adelaide  is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide is a coastal city situated on the eastern shores of Gulf St Vincent.  Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide.  The city was founded in 1836 and was planned as the capital for British province in Australia; named  after Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen.  Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline; 1792 –  1849) was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom.  Going by our practice, we should be organizing rallies for changing the name of this place in to some local sounding name, if this were to be in India.  Adelaide is noted for its many festivals and sporting events, its food, wine and culture, its long beachfronts, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors. It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist's World's Most Liveable Cities index in 2010. 

One thing that flummoxes me often is why the cricket grounds are not of uniform size and shape ?    The Adelaide Oval is one of cricket's most picturesque Test venues. The ground opened in 1873 amid bitter local disputes over boundaries and money.  In 1884-85 it staged its first Test. . In 1932-33, the Bodyline affair reached its nadir at The Oval when Bill Woodfull and Bert Oldfield were struck, and on the third day mounted police patrolled to keep the 50, 962 spectators in order.  The ground is a true oval, which makes straight sixes a rarity but ones square of the wicket more common. 

This morning Australia won the toss in supposedly batsman-friendly Adelaide Oval pitch.  India plays almost the same team – Ashwin coming in for Vinay kumar and Saha made to play for the banned Dhoni.  For a change, Australians are 98/3 at lunch.  Yes they have lost 3 wickets and two of them to Ashwin. For Aussie, the offspinner Nathan Lyon  who was part of groundstaff att he venue last summer is playing;   Mitchell Starc was named 12th man.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar